Augustus felt noxious as he returned to his senses, as if a strong perfume had seeped into his mind. He could feel his arms suspended via chains. A blurry red and light-brown mass was forming before him, until August could make out the smirking, scarred face of a mandrill. "Well, you seem a tad resistant to the pheromones. You have quite the will about you. Captain Augustus, I was told?"
"Peh…Are you the guy they call Scarlemagne?"
"Yes, it's a pleasure."
"But tell me… are you also the boss of Gourmet Corp.?"
"Hoo hoo who, me?" The mandrill gestured at himself. "But of course not, I have only just been acquainted with these chaps. And besides, my loyalty is to the Kremling Krew. But my word, you must be famished after your long trip." Scarlemagne snapped his fingers as a servant walked up with a plate of apple crumbles in hand.
"Yep. Ahh, haven't eaten anything since Glacia." August sighed, keeping his chill smile. "Had a few lollipops, but those don't fill up the belly."
"Then allow me to ease your suffering." Scarlemagne took a crumble and held it to August's mouth.
"No thanks. I ain't eating anything until my whole crew is back together. Now, tell me where Tama is."
"Ah, the little Historian girl, you mean? Now, how might you have come to have someone like that in your crew?"
"What do you think, buddy?"
"Ho ho! In any case, Tama is being treated in the 'luxury' room. We are stuffing her full of fattening sweets and reaping her of her dango. I took a picture of it, have a look." He held a phone up to the captain.
"UUUUGH!" Augustus wanted to barf in repulse. "God, you're a damn dirty monkey!"
"Ha ha! Hahahahaha!" Scarlemagne laughed madly. "And that's not all! Her dango has become an ingredient in this very dessert!" He emphasized the apple crumble, which was actually a dango crumble. "That Claiborne woman is an excellent confectioner. She created these through a mix of my sweat, Tama's dango, with eyecrust to serve as the topping. …A rather repulsive topping, but the result is satisfactory. Now, I insist, EAT IT!"
The crumble was shoved into Augustus's throat, the captain squirming in resistance. "Hmmmmmmpp! Gourmet Arts Special Technique: SPIT!" And he hacked the crumble straight into Scarlemagne's face.
The ape wiped it off with a furious growl. "I had only offered you a taste test since I can easily pump you with more pheromones. But now you don't even deserve a place among my servants! Yuzu!" He clapped hands.
Yuzu obediently approached, her eyes dull from having been brainwashed by the pheromones. "Yuzu?" Augustus spoke with worry.
"Your little friend here has submitted to the will of Scarlemagne. Now, Yuzu, why don't you go for his leg?"
Like the zombie she had become, Yuzu drew her knife. She bent down and stabbed Augustus's leg, blood spewing out. "AAAAAHH!"
"HAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!" laughed the ape. "Oh hoho, yes! Perhaps a little pain will work up an appetite! Meanwhile, I have a new pet to feed! Come along, Yuzu!" Scarlemagne did a twirl and marched out of the holding room. …Yuzunite smirked and winked at August before following the ape.
Unbeknownst to anyone, a pair of eyes had overseen the interaction from a vent. Augustus heard it open and looked over. "Shh!" An African-American boy in a white shirt and green hat climbed down. "Are you okay? I think I have something…" He searched in a magenta backpack.
"No, don't worry about it." Augustus said.
"But, you're bleeding!"
"No I'm not, it's ketchup!" August held his leg up. The boy walked up and could smell the tomatoey scent from the "blood" seeping through his pants. "Heh, I have a couple bottles taped to my body like protective pads. Yuzu knew what she was doing."
"Huh…weird!" He perked up with a smile. "Well, since you're not injured, want me to lend you a hand?" He revealed prison keys from his pack.
"That'd be mighty fine of you."
The boy proceeded to unlock August's shackles. "My name's Benson. I've been hiding out here for at least a month."
"Benson? Wolf mentioned you."
"You know Wolf?"
"Yeah. We know about Kipo, too. Listen, you know how to fight? We're about to do some major butt-kicking."
"I have this slingshot!" Benson withdrew it. "These pellets are special mutant seeds that grow into Piranha Plants."
"Sounds handy. But let's lay low here for a bit. I'm actually expecting some help to arrive soon. We'll take Scarlemagne by surprise once they do. Wolf should be with them."
"Got it! I can't wait to finally get out of here!"
…
Scarlemagne's palace was actually a grandiose, banana-colored mall with the label 'Mall Vistas.' The guardians of the palace grounds—the parking lot, were tremendous mutant dogs haphazardly prancing around and playing. One of the dogs had two noses and six legs, one had four eyes, and another had three tails. "OOOOOOOHHH!" Cruella de Vil couldn't hold in her squeal as she skipped onto the parking lot like a happy puppy. "Such big, beautiful coats! Oh, please tell me where I might find a Dalmatian! How I LONG to wear a giant-sized spotted coa-" One of the Mega Dogs pounced and crushed the Fur Hunter before prancing along. "Ooo, that one is gonna get it!"
"Say the word and I'll blast him right between the eyes." Clayton said as he locked his shotgun on the pup.
"Didn't I tell you idiots to ride the flamingos?" The British hunters looked up at Iron Mask, mounted on one of the two-headed pink birds.
"Cruella had insisted on seeing the dogs."
"Just get up to the palace! We have Captain Augustus and one of his friends captured, and I doubt their crewmen will just leave them behind. We'll catch them along with the Firstborn!"
The Mega Jaguar had been tied to the ground outside the palace entrance. As it began to return to its senses, Scarlemagne approached the feline with a dango crumble. "For you… Kipo." He slipped the crumble into the jaguar's mouth. Kipo instinctively chewed and swallowed the dessert, and her irises receded. "Now… purr for Master!"
"Puuuurr…puuuurr…"
"And lick my fingers."
Kipo licked the ape's fingers.
"It worked! Hahahahahaha! Finally, the Mega Jaguar is under my control! Untie her, boys! It's time for our new pet to play!"
Somewhere in town
Kohaku was able to hide inside a building, watching as Hungry Men and Kremlings were in search for them outside. She had set wolf under the stream of a broken water fountain, which was now behaving like a normal fountain, and the grotesque crust slowly washed away. The young warrior's vision returned, making out Gourmerry's innocent expression. "Wolf, are you okay?" Wolf looked as Kohaku's tall, lean figure approached her with the eyes of a concerned big sister.
Realizing her feeble position, Wolf scrambled to get up. "Where's Kipo?!"
"Augustus wanted me to take you two and run. He and Yuzu were cap-"
"I asked about Kipo!"
"Er, she was probably taken as well."
"Great! As if things couldn't be any worse!" Wolf kicked a rock in exasperation.
"Wolf, we're going to save them." Kohaku smiled in confidence. "Our other friends are going to help us. We'll save Kipo and everyone else!"
"Yeah, what can they do?" Wolf asked doubtfully.
"Well, they…hmm…actually, I don't think I've ever seen the talking babies in action." Kohaku thought aloud. "I know Haylee's a pilot and Tressa's an airbender…"
"Talking BABIES?! What kind of water bears have you been drinking, woman?!"
"Hm? I thought talking babies were a common thing to outer space."
"THIS ISN'T OUTER SPACE!"
"Well, I guess it technically isn't, but…hehe, maybe I'm just the odd one then!"
"You sure are. Your friends are in danger and you're just smiling and laughing."
"I'm just trying to stay positive! Besides, even in captivity, I doubt Augustus and Yuzu are going to sit quietly. They'll be fine, but we have to do our part, too."
"So, what're your friends gonna do?"
"Kohaku, this is Haylee. I think we're close to your position." The pilot spoke via the communicator. "Keep an eye out, the kids are about to drop."
"Huh? Wolf, let's look." Kohaku headed to the window, Wolf and Merry curiously following.
Kohaku could make out the Ace Hunter's dark underside in the distant sky; if not for her hawk vision, it would be hard to distinguish the small-looking object. However, Kohaku could make out an even smaller, but still remarkably large object drop out of the ship. "What are we looking at?" Wolf asked.
"It's a… giant crocodile?!"
"Huh?!"
A huge, obese Kremling was plummeting to the street like a meteor, clothed in green samurai armor. It might have shaken the region if a parachute hadn't sprung open, ensuring the giant a soft landing.
"So, whewe is Cabain Augus?" K. Lumsy asked as he viewed around. "Ooo, wook! Pretty bunny!" He spotted a slumbering Mega Bunny and gleely skipped up to it.
"Slow down there, Lumsy!" Stewie said, riding the Kremling's horned helmet and pulling reins to stop him. "We have business to attend to."
"I can't believe you had THIS inside the BASEMENT!" Tressa exclaimed, riding the shoulder.
"He's not exactly the kind of crewmate we can bring on any mission. Plus, there's only so much combat he can handle, but he may be a major asset to this one."
"Tressa!" The riders looked back to see Kohaku and Wolf running up.
"Hey, guys!" Tressa called. "Turns out they had a monster in the ship!"
"But I'm not a bonster." Lumsy replied in his babyish tone.
"Relax, buddy, you're just different." Stewie patted his head in comfort. "Now, where might we find our dear captain?"
"Yeah, Wolf, where is Scarlemagne's palace?" Kohaku asked.
Wolf narrowed her eyes at the giant non-trustingly. "Well, I could point it out if we get someplace higher."
"Lumsy: lift!" Stewie ordered.
"Yay, new fwiends!" Lumsy happily reached down and grabbed the girls.
"AAAAAAH!" Wolf yelled. "Put me down! Hey!"
"Hee hee! What a cute pwuppy!" Lumsy held his palms flat so they could stand.
"I am NOT a puppy!"
"Wolf, just tell us where the palace is!"
"Fine, it's that way!" Wolf pointed to a yellowish structure in the distance. "That building over there is the palace. But it's guarded by Mega Dogs and a bunch of Kremlings."
"Well, Lumsy, you really are fit for the job." Stewie said. "Charge for the big and obvious building! Squish all in your path!"
"I wove squishing without killing! Hee hee hee! Here I come, Cabain!" The giant Kremling stormed toward the palace. (Play "Don't Stop Now" from Kipo!)
Act 2
K. Lumsy became the center of attention to all the Kremlings in town. A horde of Kasplats charged at the giant, but Lumsy effortlessly crushed them beneath his soft-padded soles. Some Kasplats retreated and slammed shockwaves to knock him over, but Lumsy stepped over the waves and kicked the Kasplats away. They reached a wooden barrack where Kannons were blasting the giant. While his armor protected him, Lumsy had to open his belly plate in order to bounce the balls back against the barrier. Enough damage was able to topple the barrack and allow Lumsy to proceed.
A large portion of the road was broken with only small platforms available, but they were too far for the giant to jump. Tressa dropped down onto Lumsy's foot and spun whirlwinds over the gaps, allowing Lumsy to step on them and keep him uplifted. He could cross to the platforms thanks to Tressa's wind, but Karbines (robotic owls) tried to shoot fireballs above the winds. Lumsy stepped across with good timing and crossed the ruined road.
Lumsy began to march his way up a jungle path. Missile Bills were launched from hidden cannons in the trees. Stewie readied his own missile launcher to intercept them. Mecha-Zingers hovered above the giant to drop Orange Grenades. Since Stewie was focused on the missiles, Lumsy chucked Wolf straight into the air to cut the bees down with Stalky. She flew high from the force, dropped down to Lumsy's hand, and was flung up again. Kremlings were chopping trees down toward Lumsy, so he moved quickly to avoid them.
A giant purple bat called Squeekly flapped in front of Lumsy and tried to force him back with sonic waves. Lumsy powered through the waves and stormed forward, grabbing the sides of the bat's gaping mouth and slamming it to the ground. Almost fittingly, they had to enter a large cave where bats lined the ceiling, blasting soundwaves. While Stewie shot at them, Kritters were clambering up Lumsy's back and attempting to jackhammer through his armor. Kohaku swiftly leapt around the giant's body to kick the Kremlings off.
The cave seemed straightforward, but they noticed an alternate route to the right. Lumsy could cross the chasm to that route using Tressa's whirlwinds. This cave was lit green as Rockkrocs were running back-and-forth erratically. These rock-skinned Kremlings would trip Lumsy, so he had to toss Wolf up to barrel switches. The barrels were labeled 'GO,' so Wolf switched them to 'STOP,' turning the cave red as the Rockkrocs curled in place. Lumsy stepped up tall stairs of Rockkrocs and kept tossing Wolf up to flip the switches, but there were little windows of time before the crocs would GO again.
Despite this, Lumsy made it past the Rockkrocs and entered a cave of giant dandelions. He followed the light at the end of the tunnel and was outside the cave. He found himself on a giant mound of monochrome fluff, overlooking Scarlemagne's mall. Down to their left, they could see the exit for the other route they could've taken.
It was then the mound of fluff began shaking: a gigantic Kittentia awakened, practically twice Klumsy's size. The giant floof stomped toward the palace with its earth-shaking paws, and they could see the Mega Dogs wrestling in the parking lot. "AROOO?" The dogs perked up at seeing the imposing kitten. Kittentia stepped over the wall and onto the lot as the dogs began tackling the floof. Lumsy saw a giant Kittentia Pad in the corner of the lot, so he steered her in that direction. The Mega Dogs tried to bite and pull Kittentia back, but Kittentia kept going until she was on the pad.
Kittentia exploded into a cloud of dandelion spores that were actually tiny Kittentias. A giant, bone-shaped doggy treat hovered to the center of the parking lot: the treat bore Kittentia's likeness with the text, Kitty Nibbles: adds a little floof to your woof! The dogs began fighting over the treat, leaving the hunters to approach the palace entrance. (End song.)
Of course, whether it be a giant cat or crocodile, alarms were bound to start ringing from the palace. "Aha! I knew they would come!" Iron Mask exclaimed. "Get 'em, you punks!" He threw open two Darkballs, one releasing Scizor and another freeing a Sneasel.
"Hurry, get in the palace!" Stewie ordered as he jumped off Lumsy and morphed into his Hulk form. He rushed to grab Scizor's claws and swing it into Sneasel, but the crab Pokémon recovered to engage him again. Sneasel leapt atop Scizor's head to claw Stewie's, so he reached up to slap the cat away.
The others bolted toward the palace entrance and entered the foyer. Kremlings and brainwashed servants faced them with weapons raised. "Who dares to interrupt our soiree?!" exclaimed the mandrill up on the piano platform. Clayton and Cruella stood at the base of the stairs.
"Scarlemagne!" Wolf raised her spear.
"THAT'S Scarlemagne?" Tressa questioned.
"Have you come to offer yourselves as my subjects?"
"No! We're here to get our friends back!" Wolf stated.
"Darn right!" Kohaku waved her daggers with an eager smile.
"We'll see what your free will has to say about that! Spray them!" The minions raised perfume bottles and charged.
"Hold your breath!" Wolf warned. "That stuff will brainwash you!"
"I like my air clean, thank you!" Tressa spun the air to keep the perfume away. Kohaku held her breath and swiftly kicked the bottles across the foyer, the girls mercilessly attacking and KOing the underlings.
"Don't just stand there, you fools, attack them!" Scarlemagne bellowed.
"How did we end up working for this monkey?" Clayton wondered.
"Let's just make this quick." Cruella said. The woman morphed into a Dalmatian and Clayton into a purple-back gorilla.
Wolf gasped as the dog-woman came for the assault, quickly jabbing her spear at Cruella. Stalky struck the spots as they disappeared, but Cruella was unfazed as she swiped claws at the wolf-hooded girl. "Does that wolf coat pass for fashion in these parts?" Cruella taunted. "How primitive!"
"Well, I don't like wolves, anyway!" Wolf countered.
Clayton leapt to smash Kohaku with his fists, the hunter dodging and slicing her daggers across his arms. Clayton pulled back and tried to grab her, but she nimbly leapt onto his arms to stamp him in the eyes. However, Clayton managed to grab her leg before she could escape, attempting to squeeze it. Seeing her in danger, Wolf rushed up to stab Clayton's arm, allowing Kohaku to escape.
Wolf passed a smirk to her fellow fighter. "These mutants picked the wrong fighters to mess with."
"They sure did." Kohaku agreed. "Let's show them what Gorilla and Wolf are made of!"
"Gorilla?"
Kohaku flinched when she realized that. "Do NOT tell anyone I said that!"
"I've about had enough of this rebellion!" Scarlemagne stated. "If you don't surrender posthaste, I shall signal my guards to execute your captain!"
"Uh-oh!" Augustus gasped. "Guys, we better do what he says, the captain can't lose any more ketchup!"
"But Captain," Tressa argued, "we can't just… wait a minute."
The captain in question was casually standing by a doorway. "HE'S ALREADY FREE?!"
"WHAT?!" screamed Scarlemagne. "WHO?! Who let you out of your cell?!"
"I did!" Benson stepped out from behind Augustus, twirling the prison keys.
"Benson?!" Wolf exclaimed.
"I KNEW you had hidden somewhere! That's it! I'll let my new servants take care of you!" Scarlemagne withdrew a bell and rang it.
A fierce roar filled the room as the Mega Jaguar landed with a startling pounce. Its receded eyes fixated on the intruders. "Kipo?!" Wolf was confused as to why she answered the ape's summon.
"Wolf, be careful!" Benson yelled, drawing a slingshot to shoot the enemies. His pellets exploded into Piranha Plants to bite the pirates. "He's found a way to brainwash Kipo!"
"Yeah!" August followed. "He's using Tama's dango!"
"Hahahaha! And that's not all!" Scarlemagne laughed. "Your little chef has surrendered to me, too!" Yuzu approached from another staircase behind the piano. The Marzipans were in shock to see their friend under his control. "And I command her to go down and break your bones!"
Following her command, Yuzu bent her leg back, turned, and KICKED Scarlemagne in the jaw. The mandrill keeled back and smashed his own piano. "YUZU!" cheered the hunters, except for a knowing Augustus.
"HOW?! You…"
"I'm immune to brainwashing, dipwad!" Yuzunite stuck her tongue out. "You brainwash one of me, the other me takes over!"
"GROWL!" Kipo pounced up in attempt to bite Yuzu, but she performed a stylish flip onto the jaguar's back.
"WOO, ride 'em, cowgirl!" August cheered. "As for me, I've got a Tama to save!"
"Don't go by yourself!" Tressa joined him further into the mall. Cruella tried to chase them, but Wolf jumped onto her back and stabbed an area between her spots. Cruella endured the poison and shook Wolf off. Kohaku had jumped Clayton from behind and was attempting to choke the gorilla in her arms, enduring as he tried to smash her against the floor.
"Kipo, stop Augustus at once!" Scarlemagne ordered. The jaguar pranced in the captain's direction, Yuzu falling off in the process. She got up and raced after it.
Several Kremlings were shooting perfume-loaded arrows, but Tressa defended herself and August with airbending. The captain threw his Gobstopper to strike the nearby Kremlings. "I heard they were stuffing Tama with sweets to harvest her dango. Where do you think she would be?"
"Uh, how about the bakery??" Tressa pointed to the second floor. They could vaguely make out the corner of a cupcake design.
"Good eye!" They hurried to an escalator, but the jaguar jumped in their path.
Yuzunite was bolting toward them full speed, but some Kremlings were able to shoot arrows around her. The perfume filled her nostrils, and her eyes lit back up into Yuzudaay. She hurried away from the smoke, watching as Augustus wrestled with Kipo's fangs. "…" Yuzu focused on the eye of the jaguar. …Somehow, she could almost feel a voice from her… a voice like…
"Hey, Captain!" They looked back at hearing Yuzu's call. "I need you to help me try something."
"I'm a little busy, Yuzu!"
"No, I wanna try something with the jaguar. Tressa, I hate to ask, but could you go search for Tama ahead of us? I'll try to send the others your way."
"I'm not sure what you're thinking, but okay. You two better not get hurt!" Tressa ran for the escalators, using airbending to repel the perfume arrows.
"'kay, so what do you want me to do?" August asked, still wrestling with the feline.
"Just keep her like that." Yuzu approached them calmly. Growing more curious by her intention, August watched as Yuzu stood close and gazed into the beast's purple eye. She felt as though she could peer into its very soul. (Play "Purple Jaguar Eye" from Kipo!)
Boss fight: Kipo
A jazzy guitar theme began to play as Yuzu found herself surfing on the strings of a giant guitar. The starry night was relaxing as the jaguar's shining purple eyes peered from the distance. Yuzu had to jump strings when purple clouds of poison spouted on some parts. Jumping to the beat of the music, Yuzu was drawing closer to the jaguar's shadowed form at the end of the guitar. The strings ended as Yuzu landed on solid ground. Dubstep Bees were dancing to the groove, but they would aim stingers at her and lunge. The chef used her frying pan to bat the bees up at Kipo's eyes, blotting the glowing purple.
The area grew darker as a glowing purple girl appeared, her spiked hair in a ponytail. She was trapped in cage of string, but Yuzu could reach through and grab her. She tugged as best as she could, some of the strings snapping, but Kipo was yanked back in.
Yuzu was shocked out of the strange vision as Kipo leapt away from Augustus's grasp. "Well, what did you do?" Augustus asked.
"I was using my Haki. I could hear her voice! Captain, try to hold her again!"
Augustus gasped, suspecting what she meant. "You got it!" he responded confidently.
Tressa had made it upstairs and blew down the Kremlings guarding the bakery. To her disgust, Tama was stuffing herself with sweets. A device was scooping out her molding eyecrust while another was picking her dango. "What the HELL are you doing to her?!"
"Making one hell of a recipe, that's what!" Claiborne replied, drawing her water balloon guns. Tressa dodged the projectiles and bent gusts to knock the weapons out of her hands.
Benson decided to head outside to survey the situation. A Hulk-like monster was still fighting Scizor and Sneasel, while a giant Kremling was playing with the Mega Dogs. "Uhh…starting to think it was safer inside."
"Hey, bruh, you ain't from around here, are ya?" Benson heard a voice and looked down to his left. There was a five-year-old African-American boy in blue clothes and an afro.
"Where did YOU come from?"
"I'm trying to get my irresponsible babysitter out of prison. The name's Rallo."
"Uh, okay. I'm Benson!"
"Cool. Listen, you know a good place I can stick my stereo?" Rallo's afro unveiled stereos.
"Whoa! Isn't that heavy?"
"No, I'm sort of a metahuman."
"Well, I know a good place. But can we use my music?" Benson withdrew a cassette.
"Show me what ya got~" Rallo smiled.
Augustus used Fork to counter Kipo's claw swipes, followed by a quick Gobstopper to the nose. He jumped to hug the jaguar's neck and bring her to the ground. Yuzu focused on her eyes once more and mustered her Observation.
She was surfing the guitar strings once more, this time with a wider area and more strings. This time, a giant four-eyed pig was standing up from random sides and munching huge chunks out of the guitar. Yuzu had to quickly jump right, then jump left. The pig rampantly switched to either side for quick bites, so Yuzu jumped either way every second. The pig sprung up in the center, pushing the middle string up. Yuzu could surf up that string, over its head, and down the other side.
She landed on the open ground under the jaguar. Dark spheres of energy were shot down from her eyes. Yuzu had to swing her way up a series of hanging spiders while avoiding the spheres. Kannons were shooting between some spiders, so Yuzu swung with good timing, eventually making it level with the eyes. Kannons were shooting barrels, so while swinging, Yuzu kicked the barrels into the eyes. The chef dropped back to the ground as the caged girl reappeared. Yuzu grabbed her again and struggled harder to pull. More strings snapped, but the girl was still yanked back in.
Yuzu got back up and focused her eyes determinedly. She dashed at the caged girl and dove through the strings, going straight through the other side with the girl in her arms.
With a gasp, she snapped back to reality. Kipo had shaken Augustus off her and retreated. "Captain! I got it!"
"Got what?"
"Listen, here's what we need to do!"
Outside, Stewie had succeeded in KOing Scizor and Sneasel. "Useless fools!" Iron Mask growled, withdrawing another Darkball. "Lugia, destroy that mon-"
"CAAAAAWW!" His flamingo steed began screeching and flying haphazardly.
"Hey! W-What's happening?!"
The Mega Dogs began howling in dismay. "Dwuh? What's habbening?" Klumsy asked.
Stewie leapt onto the monster's head and morphed back into infant form. "That's Rallo's musicbending! He must've found the palace's PA system. He's sending out a sonic signal that's sensitive to animal ears."
"S-Sawnic…sis-sis-sis…" Lumsy tried to repeat what he just said.
"Ugh, just get in there so we can retrieve the others!"
Benson had showed Rallo a vent leading to the mall's speaker room. He was using his stereos to play a distorted version of one of his songs. "Um, I thought you were actually gonna play the music, not ruin it."
"Relax, the music's still fine. I'm just mixing it up a bit."
"Yyyyeah…I don't think I'll lend you my tapes again."
Cruella and Clayton growled as they succumbed to the noise. Kohaku and Wolf looked over them curiously, but they welcomed the aid. "Let's go find Kipo!" Wolf suggested, she and her friend running off. Scarlemagne grit his teeth as he stuffed cotton into his ears.
Some Kremlings were still trying to shoot perfume at Tressa, but she used her bending to redirect the gas at Nurse Claiborne. The villain became still, falling victim to Scarlemagne's scent. Tressa jumped back into the bakery and kicked the sweets away from Tama, lifting the fattened child and hauling her away quickly.
Kipo became stunned by the distorted music, allowing Augustus to shove the jaguar on her side. "Alright, Yuzu! Do it!" he yelled, trying to restrain Kipo's legs.
Wolf and Kohaku hurried into the main area, spotting Kipo squirming. "!" Wolf froze in utmost horror: Yuzu raised her knife and SLICED Kipo down the stomach. "AAAAAAAAAHHH!" A blood-hurdling scream exploded from Wolf's throat.
Augustus jumped before the stomach. "Gourmet Arts: BARE HANDS!" He performed quick hand motions before hardening them. His hands slightly increased and assumed rugged, aggressive shapes. The captain dug into the torn stomach like dirt.
"I'LL KILL YOOOOUUU!!!" Wolf charged the captain with the full intent to impale her Deathstalker tail through him.
And it was then Augustus pulled a girl out of the stomach. Wolf immediately stopped before she could accidentally stab her, her eyes widening in shock. The girl in Augustus's arms had light-purple skin and spiked hair. She wore an off-shoulder aero-cyan T-shirt with a tiny ringed-planet design, dark-purple jeans, bracelets on her right wrist, and amaranth high-tops. Wolf's eyes welled up with emotions. "K…Kipo…"
"Mmmmmnn…" Kipo moaned.
The mall shook and pillars crumbled as K. Lumsy stormed in. "Hey, are we ready to go?!" Stewie yelled.
Tressa dropped down with Tama in her arms. "Tama's in really bad shape!"
"Klumsy, use initiative 'Take Candy and Run Like a Baby!'" Augustus ordered. "And grab the jaguar, too!"
"Bwuuuuh!" The giant quickly scooped his friends up in one hand, then hauled the dead jaguar up over his left shoulder. He about-faced and dashed toward the exit as fast as his hefty frame would allow. Rallo and Benson peeked out the music room and scrambled after them. "WAIT FOR UUUUUS!"
Wolf slid down to Lumsy's tail, hanging onto the very tip. Benson ran faster and jumped to grab her ankles, with Rallo holding his, and Wolf hauled them all onto the tail. As soon as they were outside, Stewie pulled a string on Lumsy's armor. Several plates opened up and puffed into hefty balloons, floating the huge mass and his passengers up to the sky.
"Come back here with my PETS!" Another two-headed flamingo was flying up. This one was black and was merged with a pink car, driven by Scarlemagne. He pressed piano keys in the car to shoot cannonballs from the flamingos' mouths. Augustus punched the projectiles away while Stewie fired missiles, but Scarlemagne evaded them. "OUCH!" A bullet shot him in the arm. He glared up at a small plane, driven by Haylee with Maggie in the backseat. Maggie locked her rifle on the flamingos' wings and shot holes through them, causing Scarlemagne's vehicle to sink. "This is not the end, you fools! The Kremling Krew will rise again! And when we do, you will be the first to go…!" his voice echoed as he fell.
"Yeah, well you owe me some ketchup!" Augustus shouted. "…And a clean pair of pants! Seriously, it was really weird to fight with ketchup dripping down me…"
"I'll bet it was, Tomato Boy~" Rallo retorted. (End song.)
Ace Hunter
Tama was quickly brought to the bathroom so Kohaku could wash the crust out of her eyes. Tressa was picking numerous dango from her body, slowly shrinking the ninja back down to her normal, skinny self. "Mmmm…oooouuu…"
"She's waking up." Kohaku said. "I guess the brainwashing is wearing off."
"Good. Let's show the captain."
They escorted the weary Tama to the bridge, where Kipo was lain on the couch. "Mmm…August'n…"
"Tama!" The captain hurried up and knelt to the child's level. "How do you feel?"
"O-Tama feels so hungry… but she feels like she ate too much. August'n… O-Tama missed thou…"
Augustus hugged her warmly. "I missed thou too, Tama."
"Mmm…" She smiled sweetly and hugged back.
"Uuuu…" It was then that Kipo's purple eyes finally regained sight. "Boy, what a weird dream…"
"Kipo!" Wolf grabbed her friend in a hug.
"Wolf! W-Where…"
"I'm so glad you're okay! When you didn't change back, and Benson was taken, I thought I was gonna be all alone again! And I was! But now you're both back, and-; and we're…"
"Heh, Wolf, calm down…"
"We were able to save you thanks to these guys!" Benson said, directing her to the Marzipan Pirates. "They came to rescue one of their friends, and, well, paths crossed!"
"But who are they?"
"We're Gourmet Hunters." Yuzu answered, approaching them with a smile. "Heh, welcome to the crew! Looks like I have plenty more mouths to feed."
Kipo helped herself up, looking Yuzu over. Her eyes fell to Yuzu's pink Converses… and she held one of her high-tops beside them. "…So, a Converse girl, huh?" Kipo smiled.
"Who doesn't love 'em??"
"I hear that!"
Kipo and Yuzu shared a high-five. "Not what I expected them to bond over." August commented.
…
As the crew proceeded to brief their mission to Team Kipo, they walked down to the storage room, where the jaguar's corpse had been lain. "So… you separated my human body from the jaguar body?"
"Yep." Yuzu nodded. "I could sense a sort of 'voice' from you with my Haki. I use my Observation Haki to prepare ingredients… and, it just sort of…"
"She listened to the voice of the ingredient." Augustus smiled. "Like a true chef."
"W-Wait… what do you mean ingredient?" Wolf asked.
"Since we saved Kipo, this jaguar is just an empty shell now. So, let's cook it!"
"My thoughts exactly!" Yuzu perked up.
"WHAT?!" Wolf flared up. "You can NOT eat my friend!"
"We're not eating Kipo, we're eating the jaguar." August corrected.
"But that's still a part of Kipo! Kipo, you're not gonna let them eat your jaguar body, are you?!"
In response, Kipo's stomach rumbled. "Mmmm…I could go for some jaguar meat!"
"Then let's start cooking!" Yuzu cheered. ("Gourmerry!")
"B-But, but…ugh…"
…
Gourmerry sunk her little teeth into the jaguar husk, slowly sapping it as pink substance traveled from it and into her mouth. "Wow, so you can even sap Bang Gas from mutant bodies?" Yuzu asked. "But I guess doing that with living things would drain their own life force. Either way, this should make it much safer to eat."
"Gourmerry!"
After an hour of hanging around the ship, the crew gathered at the bridge's dining table. Yuzu served them all plates of cooked, purplish meat, with a side of aurora-colored fish. A purple sauce was applied to the meat. "This sauce comes from Glomourian Volcano Jellyfish. Got it from GKND. Don't make it for jelly~"
Wolf could only look at the meat with stunned, disgusted eyes. "May we give thanks to all the ingredients in this universe." Augustus said in prayer.
"Mmmmmm!" Kipo had already started digging into the meat. "Boy, this is what I needed!"
"Kipo… you're eating yourself." Wolf emphasized.
"Yeah, and I taste great!" Kipo continued munching away. …Wolf moaned at her friend's carefreeness. She picked up her piece and took a bite. …It tasted kinda good, so she ate another.
Gourmerry sat next to Tama, both smiling joyously to be reunited. The taste of the Aurora Bream felt like a warm blanket on a chilly night, covering and cozying their hearts. The meat bore a lushness that gave their tastebuds a rush like that of a wild jaguar. "Here's to another amazing meal with an incredible crew." Augustus announced, taking a drink of flavored water.
"So, how was this meal, Gourmerry?" Tressa asked. "Was the extra-long wait worth it?"
"Gourmerryyyyyy!"
"I can toast to that!" Yuzu raised her own grape-flavored water. "Captain, it's time to add two more items to the menu!"
"Aaaaaye-aye!" And so, Augustus wrote the names 'Aurora Bream' and 'Kipo' on the Fish and Meat sections.
"DON'T PUT KIPO'S NAME!" Wolf yelled. "At least write 'Mega Jaguar,' Kipo's not a snack!"
"Oh, yeah." Kipo stared at her arm in curiosity. "I wonder if I can still transform after that." Her arm twitched as she tried to focus power to it. "Oh!" A hint of fur grew on the arm. "Heh, 'guess I'm still a jaguar! Boy, puberty's going to be tough…"
"Let us know when you can fully change again." August requested. "We might need seconds later."
"You got it!"
"DON'T AGREE TO HIM!" Wolf shouted.
"Hey, Wolf, we finally got you out of there!" Kipo realized. "Now you can live at Station Square with us!"
"Yeah, but… our Mobian friends are still savage. The Timbercats and everyone. Shouldn't we help them?"
"Oh…you're right." Kipo bowed her head in worry. "We have to do something."
"We'll take you to GKND." Yuzu said. "They can work out a plan to save them. All you need is strong Music Chi."
"Preferably not Rallo's." Augustus noted.
"I agree." Benson nodded.
"Y'all are tasteless." Rallo remarked.
"But it's getting pretty late right now." Yuzu said. "You all can spend the night with us and we'll take you to GKND in the morning."
"But it was just daytime." Wolf replied.
"Wolf, there's no daytime in space~" Kipo winked. Some of the crewmates snickered, Wolf sighing in cringe.
"Wanna come with me to bring K. Lumsy his share?" Yuzu asked, standing up.
"Aye!" August stood. "He was a big help today!"
The crewmates carried a larger plate of meat down to the lower quarters, and would watch happily as the giant, childish crocodile ate his fill. Haylee steered the ship far from Mobius, the crew finding peace and comfort in the void of space. With all their friends back together, they would sleep soundly and happily. Now, only two parts of the Full Course Meal remained…