This may be the last chapter before the Origami Hiatus.

Gourmet 4: Sulfurina

Science Kingdom

Kohaku and Senku led the explorers to the shore of a vast river. A rope bridge connected the shore to a group of islands with straw houses. Twilight glimmered along the river, presenting the village with a peaceful air. There were people out and about and children playing, but most peculiar were the telephone pole, its wires stretching into the forest; a smithy where swords were forged from melted rock; one of the tribe girls was taking pictures of her sisters with a camera; and there were light poles that were on the verge of coming on, the children eagerly watching for it to light up. There seemed to be a device for cutting wood into boards.

"So, this is… Science Kingdom?" Augustus asked.

"I first came to this kingdom on an expedition with some friends of mine." Senku began. "The travel agency made us hand over all our stuff. We split up while searching for materials, and I found Kohaku trapped under a tree, the poor girl."

"I was in a fight with someone!" Kohaku shouted in defense. "Still… I'll never forget that day." She smiled warmly as she kept Nel in a gentle embrace. "Senku spent all day trying to help me. He created something called a 'pulley' and lifted the tree into the air. It was almost like magic. I brought him to my village and told everyone what happened… and since then, we've come to know the magic of Science."

"Nel never forget day she met Aughsucks." Nel said. "Aughsucks not smell like poo like other cavemen, but smell poo from Aughsucks' friends. Aughsucks have other smells that make Nel want to mate, but Nel too young at the time."

Kohaku stared at the cavechild with slight disgust. "A lot of stuff happened back then," Senku followed, "but that's the basic gist of it. It was law that this world wasn't allowed to evolve, but I had to wonder… was that really the best fate for these people? I get that this tribe survived for thousands of years, but there was so much they were missing out on. I wondered if my coming here was fate… but then I realized that 'fate' is an illogical phenomenon!"

"You taught science to the Stonies because you thought it was your duty?" August asked.

"Don't call us that." Kohaku requested.

"I wanted to know if this world could evolve if it had the chance." Senku replied. "All these devices you see are made with natural materials found in this country. Don't get me wrong, I ain't trying to turn Historia into a second Earth, but I think I did a few favors for this country. Just ask Suika."

"Uh-huh!" Suika reached into her melon's eye socket and pulled out a lens. "Suika had Blurry Eye Disease, but thanks to Senku's science lens, Suika can see!"

"You were nearsighted." August smiled knowingly. "I'm impressed. You have me beat, Senku; even Stewie couldn't science anything up on this rock."

"Senkuuu! Kohakuuu!" The group turned as a blue-robed boy with dark-brown hair raced over with a katana in hand. "Check out this baaaaad sword that Kaseki made! He says it can cut rocks in half!"

Kohaku set Nel down and took the sword. It cut through the air with ease, was smooth, and shiny. "I'm not sure if it'll work with my technique, but I'll give it a try!"

"Hey, who're these guys?"

"Chrome, these guys are from outer space like me." Senku explained. "I only just met them personally, but if I remember the wanted posters, this man is pretty famous."

"More outsiders? What're they here for?"

"To start off," Augustus flicked his lolli stick to the ground, "turn your attention to the little spirit on Tama's back."

"Oh! Suika wondered what that was!" Suika said as Tama turned and showed Gourmerry. "Is it an animal?"

"It's not like any animal I've ever seen." Chrome said. "Senku, do you know?"

"This spirit is Gourmerry." August smirked. "And if we don't feed her… she'll devour this entire planet."

"WHUH?!" Suika fell back. "B-B-But the planet is too big to eat! And Suika doesn't wanna be food!" She curled up in her melon.

"That's BAAAAAD!" cried Chrome.

"Yo, chill out, you weirdoes." Yuzunite ordered. "It's like this:"

The group explained the Gourmet Hunt and their mission to create a Full Course for the spirit. "Ah, one of those quest things." Senku said simply. "Heh…these spirits sure make life difficult for us scientists."

"So, the Emerald Spring is one of the ingredients you're looking for?" Kohaku asked. "If Gourmerry drinks it, she won't destroy the planet?"

"Bear in mind that the 'destroying the planet' part is only in theory." Augustus said. "But there's a lot of evidence and 'science' behind it."

"Well, that's all the reason I need." Senku shrugged. "Nightfall's almost here, so I don't suppose you feel like resting?"

"Heck no!" Yuzu declared. "I only just woke up! I don't wanna conk out now!"

"You said that other hunters were here, so we oughta get looking for it. But we'll take anything to eat if you have it. I'm sure Tama must be hungry."

"Hai." Tama nodded. "Gourmerry truly hath her fill of me." She popped a dango off her cheek and fed the spirit.

"Waaaah!" Suika screamed. "Her cheek came off!"

"Wouldst Suika like a bite of dango?" Tama popped another piece off.

"Uhhh…" Confused, Suika took the ball of dough and slowly ate it. "…Mmm, it's good! Do all cheeks taste like that?"

"No, Tama's kind of a dango monster." August replied.

"How the heck does that work?" Chrome asked, bending to Tama's level and studying her cheek through a magnifying glass. "Outer space sure is full of baaaad stuff!"

"Shyah, but get this," Yuzu began, "Tama's actually from-"

Augustus slapped her mouth shut. "That's not important right now~. So, what's for dinner? We gotta get moving ASAP."

"How about we grill some crocodile burgers?" Senku suggested.

"Suika wants cotton candy!" the melon head cheered.

"You even got a cotton candy thing?!" August exclaimed. "Heh, sorry, lollipops, I'm trying some fresh Historian cotton!"

Gourmet Corp. Dining Kitchen

Eustace, Victoria, and Muntz returned to their castle, built at the very top of a dark, arched landmass that stretched across the sea like a rainbow. The former parked his Mechon in a recharging bay as the chest opened, allowing Eustace to step off. (From Courage the Cowardly Dog.) His human head resembled the robot's, long-chinned and bald, glasses over his pale eyes, and a mechanical black suit of armor.

"Dang it, Vicky, I can't believe you let them get away!" Eustace stated as he stomped into a communications chamber. "We woulda caught up with them if you ain't fall behind!"

"You will call me QUEEN Victoria! And perhaps if that suit was worth its metal, you would've crushed those brats yourself!"

"Bah! Thanks to you, there ain't a drop of Precursor soup in mah belly! Stupid dog!" he yelled over at the pink dog. "You better have them backup batteries!"

"Uh-huh…" The dog reached into his being and pulled out a large battery.

"Get them in my suit pronto! Since I ain't get soup, I wanna get lookin' fer that Starmaker. And when you're done, I want you to mosey on back here and spell 'hors d'oeuvre' for me."

"Owoh…" The dog moaned in dismay and scurried off on his two hind legs.

Muntz (from Up) activated the large computer screen and spoke, "This is Muntz to all Gourmet Corp. officers. We've had an encounter with a group of KND operatives, and they've gotten away. I expect they will inform their higher-ups of us, so they may attempt to hinder our operations."

A figure appeared on the screen: a large, wide mouse with dark-yellow fur, sunglasses, and a thin curved mustache. "Not even the first day and you already messed things up?" the mouse asked in Skinner's French accent. "This had better not complicate our Avalar operation!"

"Were they really Kids Next Door?" Victoria asked. "I recognized one of them. Augustus Fizzuras, a former Big Mom Pirate now in command of a small-time crew of brats."

"You mean this Augustus?" Muntz brought up the wanted poster of him. "He must be participating in the Hunt. But I'm certain he is affiliated with the KND. Especially since-"

"Did you say… AUGUSTUS?!"

The hunters faced to attention when a slender man in red and black, shiny armor marched in. He had a curved mustache on his long-nosed face and a black hat with licorice tied on it, as well as a red feather. "Lord Licorice!" Skinner beamed. "These rejects were just informing me of their most recent failure."

"Silence!" Licorice raised a green candy gun (he's from Candy Land). "Of all the people to stand in my way, it had to be Augustus again. You fools should have worked harder to kill him!" He swung his gun angrily.

"Yeah, Victoria!" Eustace yelled. "Ya shoulda got him when ya had the-" He flinched to silence when Licorice shot his gun and blew Eustace's hat off.

"Master! Master!" A brown and white dog pranced into the room, using a mechanical collar to communicate as he spoke to Muntz. "We have learned of a legendary doggy treat that we can-"

Licorice shot the dog and killed him. "Don't interrupt me! At any rate, we must proceed with the plan as scheduled. The Boss requires as many ingredients as possible by the final day of the festival." He turned away with a wicked smirk on his features. "But revenge on Augustus will serve as an excellent side dish. Perhaps I'll do a speck of hunting on my own…" He stepped out of the room with a new motivation.

Muntz sighed, staring down at the body of his dog. "Well, you know the Hunter's Code: you must eat what you kill. We must honor our fallen comrade."

"Well, I 'ave a beast to search for." Skinner said. "Iron Mask does not like to be kept waiting." Transmission ended.

"I still can't believe the Boss hired Licorice as his vice-leader." Eustace said. "Lucky dog, workin' for the government and makin' a bunch of money… 'ey, where are ya, ya stupid dog?!" The cyborg stomped out of the room. "I don't hear no spellin'!"

Stone Kingdom; Green Mountains

Kohaku led the charge, skipping across the valley like a natural predator. As stars decorated the sky, the group arrived at the shore of a pond glimmering a blue-green, pouring from a waterfall at the foot of a tall mountain, on which the blue-green falls glimmered as they stripped down the peak. Kohaku perched herself on a rock overlooking the pond.

"Yuzu, whaddya make of that water?"

"I dunno." Yuzunite cranked her wristband and jolted herself back to Day Yuzu. The chef stuck her mouth in the water, sipping a drink. "Mmmm! That really washes the food down! But it's not as tasty as I was expecting. This can't be the spring."

"The actual spring rests at the top of this peak." Senku answered, his smirk unchanging. "Its 'pure' flavor becomes filtered out the further it travels downstream. The mountain is treacherous and full of beasts, but luckily, Kohaku's a wild gorilla when it comes to this stuff."

"Putting his analogy aside," Kohaku said with a glare, "I'm a hunter myself. Nothing gets past my killer eyesight. In fact, I even saw you guys get off that ship earlier. …But how did you and Tama show up from that ray of light?"

"You'll find out soon enough." August assured, biting off another piece of cotton candy. "Man, who'd-a thought this stuff could feel so cultural?" He held the cotton up by Nel, the shoulder-riding child biting a piece.

Kohaku smiled, biting a piece of her own cotton. "And to think 'outer space' is filled with wonders like these…" She stared up at the stars with dreamy eyes, the stars that even her hawk-like vision couldn't discern in detail. "Augustus, can you really take me up there?"

"Augustus never goes back on a promise!" the captain declared. "You'll help her, won't you, Nel?"

"Only if she admit that Nel is more sexually appealing!"

"Uhhh…" Kohaku felt uncomfortable with the cavechild's statement. "What?"

"Ay, this kid grew up too fast." August shook his head. "But yeah, she will. Now, lead the way, Gorilla Warrior!"

CLOK!

In a split second, Kohaku's hand seemed to grow giant as she clocked August in the head, leaving a big bump. "Only Senku gets off safe." She spoke strictly as she pranced over to a path of rock steps along the pond.

"And I thought I was the Stone Fist~" Augustus remarked smoothly. Nel and Tama seemed to fume in envy, while Yuzu sighed. (Play "Blue Mountains Music" from Rayman.)

Act 2: Green Mountains

Addendum: Holy frick, they remade the first Rayman game, oh my God, distraction, oh my God.

The crew traversed left along the shore and followed Kohaku across the stone platforms. Piranhas jumped out at them, but were easy fodder for Augustus's Gobstopper. The stones led to the cliff, on which they could jump and climb their way up some small footholds. They leapt past the front of the waterfall and climbed a more rugged wall to reach a ledge. They were on the first level of the mountain, a small grass area where the river cut through. "Watch out!" Kohaku alerted when monkeys leapt out from some trees, chucking rocks at the intruders. August punched a rock away and threw his Gobstopper at one's face, while Kohaku was already slashing the apes with the quick work of her daggers. The apes soon retreated from the threatening humans.

"Looks like this cave got blocked up." Senku observed, approaching a gap in the wall that was cluttered with rocks. "Luckily, I brought plenty of explosive powder." He opened his robe to reveal several sacks strapped to his body.

"Uh, you wanna borrow our Infi-Cube?" August asked worriedly. Senku tossed some powder and blew up the rocks, allowing them to enter a narrow cave. The cave sloped up and left, exiting to a series of tall peak platforms. There was a large gorilla stationed on the cliff at the end of the platforms, and it was bouncing boulders down them in a strangely precise way. Augustus used his Mallet attack to knock the boulders away, he and Kohaku having to make high jumps onto each platform. With August leading them, they made it up to the gorilla as Kohaku began attacking it with a flurry, with August joining to KO it with a Fork. Afterwards, they went back down to help the others jump up the platforms.

They followed a path into the next level of the mountain, a wider area with a river flowing through. There was a bush of green apples growing on the other side, so Yuzu jumped the river to pick one and bite it. "I wonder if these will taste better with the Emerald Spring." Yuzu smiled as she took a few. Kohaku trudged across the pond and showed them a secret tunnel behind the waterfall. (Senku decided to keep his powder in August's Infi-Cube to keep it from getting wet.) They would have to keep trudging water within the cave, with Kohaku using her katana to quickly stab piranhas swimming up within the shallowness.

The cave was short and let out on a wide river enclosed by cliffs. Yuzu had to carry Tama as they were submerged into deeper water. Kohaku readied her sword, seeing the back of an alligator approaching. She clashed against the reptile, and August got to its side to deal Fork and KO the gator. Two more alligators attacked them, but as the fighters dealt with them, Senku went over to a pile of rocks in the river and blew them up with explosive powder. A gush of water sprouted up, and the group entered to be pushed up onto another layer. They continued trudging within the water, approaching a narrow path where the river flowed down like long stairs.

This river flowed quickly in trying to push them off, so the group ran up it forcefully. Once at the end of this section, they found their selves on a high cliff. The river flowed out from a small tunnel, so the crew had to jump some thin platforms further along the cliffside. Yuzu used a Soul Rope to link between platforms that were further apart. Eagles swooped down in attempt to grab them as they were crossing, but August hit their beaks with the Gobstopper as it bounced back to him each time.

From the last platform, they could climb vines and reach a new level with a lake. "There are underwater switches we need to hit." Kohaku said. "They'll make platforms rise. Leave it to me." The warrior dove in and swam around the lake. She pressed three stone switches underneath, causing three platforms to rise up. The group swam to the shortest platform by a shore, and it had a stalagmite Yuzu could connect to one at the shore, using a Soul Rope. From there, the 2nd platform was too far to link to, but a large eagle was flapping by. Yuzu linked a rope to the eagle's talons, then the 2nd platform's stalagmite. The eagle was stuck between the two ropes, so the group could cross it, briefly stepping over the bird. "Sorry." Yuzu said.

Once at the 2nd platform, two eagles attacked them out of possible revenge. However, Tama tossed them some dango, and once they ate it, the eagles fell in love with the ninja. Tama asked them to line up a fair distance between them and the 3rd platform, allowing Yuzu to link them and for them to cross up to the platform. They were near the cliff's waterfall and could see a stone lever hidden behind it. August pulled the lever with the Licorope, triggering pegs to stretch out of the waterfall. Kohaku swung her way up the pegs in a nimble fashion, setting foot on a ledge partway up the cliff. She pressed a switch to make wider platforms stretch out, allowing the others to follow her up.

A thin path curved around and along the mountainside. The path ended, and they would have to jump up footholds that stretched in and out. They carefully jumped the platforms and made it onto the next layer, a small area of grass with trees and bushes. "WHOA!" they screamed when a lion pounced out of the bushes. Kohaku clashed her katana with the lion, but it smacked the sword away. Nel grew to adult form and kicked the lion's snout, and afterwards leapt onto its back to choke it with a leg lock. Kohaku dealt cuts with her daggers, but the lion shook Nel off and leapt away. Tama tossed it a dango, but the lion smacked it, swiping its claws at Nel's kicks. Senku tossed a bomb to startle the lion, leaving it vulnerable for Kohaku to stab its back. "Nel do better! Only Nel and Augsus eat meat!"

"Be my guest." Kohaku replied. Behind the bushes, they entered a cave that sloped up to another narrow, enclosed area with a river. There were pillars composed of stone stacks on either side, and Senku used the explosive powder to blow up the pillars and reduce them to different heights. He made the beginning pillars shorter and left the ending ones taller, in which the tallest pillar could help them reach the next path. Once he was finished, the group jumped up the escalating stacks.

"The Emerald Spring is right up there." Senku pointed up one last ledge and the platforms leading up to it. "We've almost made it."

"Hey, Senku… is that Suika over there?" Kohaku pointed at the valley beyond the edge of their cliff. (Play "Fluff Festival" from Mario Sunshine.)

It seemed that there was a garden of giant dandelions a mile across the valley. There was a dandelion floating in a circle, and Suika's melon was attached to the stem, though only Kohaku could see her with her superb eyesight. Kohaku studied the fluffballs beneath her, wondering which one was safest to land on. …One of the fluffs was monochrome. Kohaku worked with Yuzu to carefully aim the latter's Soul Arrow and shoot Suika's dandelion just when she was above the monochrome fluff.

Suika bounced off the fluff. It grew ears and a tail, revealing to be Kittentia. Kittentia and Suika stared at each other with their cute, unchanging expressions. Afterwards, they turned to the nearby hill and began to roll in place, building momentum. The kitten and the melon zoomed down the hill and curved to roll off into the night. Kohaku watched them until the very end, watching as their little round forms rolled beyond the horizon.

With this task completed, the crew jumped the platforms up to the top of the mountain. Up here was an open field with a hole in the center, a mystical blue-green glow emitting from it. A teenage boy and girl appeared to be stepping out of it with a sealed barrel. (End song.)

"Oh, hey there!" the boy greeted. "Are you guys natives?"

"No, Iizuka." The girl said with narrowed eyes. "Some of them don't look like locals."

"Oh, I know these guys!" Yuzu beamed. "They're Mera and Iizuka! I saw them on the Cooking Fest broadcast."

"Well, I didn't expect to see Yuzu here." Mera said.

"Wait, you know me?"

"The most famous chef in the Kids Next Door?" Iizuka inquired. "Of course we'd know you! Especially since Sector JP is all the rage in Japan. How come we didn't see you at the festival?"

"I was kind of holed up, but I've decided to join the Gourmet Hunt!"

"It looks like they got here before us though." Augustus noticed.

"Yes, we came here for the Emerald Spring." Mera affirmed. "Securing this water was quite difficult."

"I'll bet it was." Senku smirked. "But don't spoil the surprise."

"What dost Senku-san mean?" Tama asked.

"This should be interesting." Iizuka said. "Wanna stick around and watch?"

"I suppose." Mera shrugged.

The Marzipans were confused by the implications as they stepped closer to the glowing pit. The pit was a gaping crater, and they gaped at the sight of the gorgeous, glowing spring. …But that wasn't the only beautiful thing: inside that spring was what appeared to be a goddess. She was huge with vast, flowing blue hair, a white toga, and slender bare legs and arms. Giant, angelic wings were growing from her back, her eyes pure and welcoming. "She… look so… ripe…" Nel spoke with worry and envy.

"That is the spirit of the spring." Senku said. "Her name is Sulfurina."

"Sulfurina?" August asked. "What kind of name is that?"

"Gourmerry! Gourmerry!" cheered the Firstborn.

"O-Merry thirsts for the spring spirit's beverage!" Tama beamed. "Let us drink!" She raced down eagerly.

Yuzu gasped, quickly jumping down the slope. "No, Tama, that's-!"

She yanked the ninja back just as Sulfurina snatched a gigantified hand, her form having changed into a hideous, gaseous being with a skull head and two pairs of teeth, hissing venomously as toxic ooze dripped from her body. (Play "Inside AI Pod" from Metal Gear: Peace Walker!)

"The Emerald Spring emits hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide." Senku revealed. "It has given life to this spirit. She's ten billion percent deadly!"

"Gourmerry! Gourmerry!" the Firstborn shook.

"What ails thee, O-Merry?" Tama asked.

"Tama, get back!" Yuzu helped her to dodge when Sulfurina swiped her hand again. "We can't serve this to Gourmerry, it's straight-up poison!"

"Nonsense!" August yelled. "We just gotta grab some and filter it out later!"

"Then shouldn't we have taken some from the lower levels?!"

"Maybe it tastes better if we filter it from the source! Let's find a way!"

"You might wanna wear these!" Senku brought out gas masks. "They'll help filter the air, but don't breathe her poison for too long!"

"Thanks for the heads up!" August retorted.

Boss fight: Sulfurina

Sulfurina swiped hands at Yuzu and Tama, holding their breaths as they evaded the mass of gas. She splashed the spring and sent globs of water at them, the girls hurrying sideways along the crater, but Sulfurina's hand came flying from that direction. The girls ducked—Gourmerry inhaled a breath, and Sulfurina HISSED as two of her fingers were gone. "Huh?" Yuzu gasped. Sulfurina raised her other hand and smashed down, the two jumping to the side. Before Sulfurina raised it back, Gourmerry sucked in the thumb, causing the spirit to cry out again. "Gourmerry…" Yuzu assumed Gourmerry wouldn't die from poison, being a Firstborn, but she assumed the sickness would still affect her. "…Do you like poison?"

"Gour." She shrugged.

Sulfurina tried to smash them again, but as they dodged her hand, Yuzu grabbed Gourmerry and held her to suck the gas up, engulfing the whole hand. Fuming in anger, Sulfurina channeled spring water up through her body and spewed it at them, but Gourmerry kept her mouth wide open and drunk every last drop of poison with Yuzu holding her. "Gee, Yuzu, way to use her as a shield!" Augustus remarked.

"I think it's working!" Yuzu assured. By the time Sulfurina ceased, the spring had sunk down and Gourmerry was swollen. Her cheeks puffing, she spewed the poison straight at Sulfurina's face, seeming to drown and damage the spirit. Gourmerry was still partly swollen by the time she stopped. Sulfurina screeched in rage, but as the spring was naturally refilling, she grew her limbs back. Sulfurina flew to the sky, spreading a cloud of gas that caused it to rain. Kohaku tossed her shield down to Yuzu, allowing her to raise both it and Gourmerry to defend herself from the Acid Rain (Tama had left the battle zone).

The rain stopped, so Sulfurina flew down to dip into the spring, rehydrating herself. She returned to the air and rained more acid. "Let's just drink from the spring!" Yuzu suggested. Once the rain stopped, she quickly dipped Gourmerry in the water, slurping some up, but they hurriedly dodged when Sulfurina swiped a hand down. The spirit followed with another swipe, but Kohaku rushed by to grab them and escape. Kohaku took Gourmerry and ran to the other side to have her drink from the lake. Sulfurina swiped, but Kohaku ran back while hurdling Gourmerry back over to Yuzu. Yuzu tried to dip her in the spring again, but Sulfurina suddenly swiped the Firstborn away.

Yuzu raised Kohaku's shield as Sulfurina squeezed Gourmerry and spewed the poison at her instead. She was able to keep the shield positioned, but to save Gourmerry, Senku threw a powder sack and exploded it against Sulfurina's arm. Gourmerry returned to Yuzu, who seized the weak moment to refill her with poison. She dodged before Sulfurina could attack, having Gourmerry inhale her hand. She then fed Gourmerry more spring water, and the Firstborn returned a gush of it at Sulfurina's face.

The spirit hissed and willed the spring to mold up into a cyclone, moving it up and along the slope. She kept the liquid away from Gourmerry while stretching her own body to attack with gas. Gourmerry inhaled one of her hands, but she would return to the cyclone and replenish it. Yuzu lured Sulfurina over again, and this time, Senku tossed a bomb at her face. As she tried to reform herself, Yuzu passed Gourmerry to Adult Nel, who tossed her to Kohaku by the cyclone. Gourmerry drank from the cyclone, but Kohaku got away and tossed her back to Yuzu before Sulfurina could catch on.

Sulfurina burst into a cloud that covered the area, so Yuzu used Gourmerry as a vacuum to suck some up. As she cleared some ground, Sulfurina reformed a hand to attack, but Yuzu passed Gourmerry to Nel and held her breath. Nel threw Gourmerry to the cyclone to drink some more, so Sulfurina redirected the hand that way. Kohaku held her breath, grabbed Gourmerry, and chucked her back to Yuzu. "SPIN!" Augustus tossed his Gob-Spinner into the weakened cyclone, spinning the opposite way to thwart it. This weakened Sulfurina further, allowing Gourmerry to spew poison at the spirit.

The gush of liquid seemed to completely dizzy Sulfurina, her gas collapsing on the ground. Yuzu hurried over with Gourmerry and had the Firstborn inhale the spirit completely. (End song.)

"Well, I wasn't expecting that." Iizuka remarked. "What kind of creature is that?"

"Gourmerry is a Firstborn." Yuzu answered. "And I'm starting to think she's a poisonbender. Gourmerry… are you okay?" she asked in concern of the creature's swollen body.

"Gour…Gourme…GoooouuuurMERRY!" And with that, she spewed a fountain of crisp, clean water, and Sulfurina emerged in her beautiful, angelic form.

Augustus opened his mouth to catch the water. "WHOA! This water's greater than ever!"

"I don't believe it…!" Kohaku beamed, letting it pour on her tongue.

"The spring's chemicals make a good medicine once mixed properly." Senku said, having a drink. "But the water itself is extremely tasty once filtered. But this is ten billion percent better!"

"O-Tama wishes Kawa Town's water was this yummy!" Tama cheered through gurgles.

"Gourmerry spat the poison back out," Yuzu realized, "and kept the purified water stored inside her! You're amazing!"

"Gourmeeeeeee!"

"Who'd have thought acid could be so tasty?" Augustus smiled. "You think she could do the same to other foods? Yo, guys, let me borrow this." He approached Mera and Iizuka and dipped one of the green apples into their barrel of the poison water. "Gourmerry! See how this tastes!"

He tossed the apple to Gourmerry, who caught the whole fruit in her mouth. "Mmm…mmm…Merry!" She spat the apple out, half-bitten and shining a sweet green.

Augustus took a small bite. "YEEK! It's so… sweet… it feels like the sweet lips of an angel are… kissing me…"

Sulfurina giggled at his analogy. "NOOO!" Nel leapt and kicked the spirit's face. "No kiss Augsus, Giant Ripe Ghost!"

"Hmph…we are disgraced." Mera sighed.

"Hah, totally." Iizuka chuckled. "These guys totally showed us up. Then again, I would say using a Firstborn is cheating."

"I've never heard of such a Firstborn like this. Regardless, she is clearly some sort of culinary spirit, and she favors this group. We do not deserve to keep this spring water."

"Come on, of course you deserve to keep it!" Yuzu insisted. "You guys probably worked way harder than we did."

"Of course we did!" Mera shouted. "Of course we were going to keep it! I was merely testing you!"

"Oh! Uh, okay…" Yuzu blushed awkwardly.

"I don't know how you found this creature, but just remember that no cook is truly blessed. We were going to purify this water with our own means, but that won't be enough, anymore. To top what you've done here, we will find a flavor to make this water far more powerful! Let's go, Iizuka!" She began the race down the mountain.

"Heh heh…she can be very headstrong when challenged." Iizuka laughed. "You've done an impressive job, Yuzu." He followed after his partner.

"Take what you can of this spring right now." Senku suggested. "It'll fill with poison again before long, and Sulfurina will reassume her other form."

"Then we'd better go." Yuzu acknowledged. "Thank you for the water, Sulfurina! Perhaps we'll see you again!"

Sulfurina smiled and waved cutely at her little visitors.

…

The group returned to the base of the Green Mountains. "Senku! Senku!" called the incoming watermelon that was Suika. "How did it go?"

"Try some, Suika." Senku gave her a glass of the water.

Suika's big eyes sparkled upon taking a sip. "Aaaaaah! Suika can feel Sulfurina giving a nice, warm hug! And she's not trying to kill Suika this time! Thank you, Senku!"

"Much obliged, but this young lady was the real genius this time." Senku praised. "I suppose you'll be on your way now."

"We still have a day until we can leave." Yuzu replied.

"Well, we can leave any time with Nel." August reminded. "But I guess you wanna do things the legal way."

"Yeah, kind of…"

"Don't forget about our deal, August." Senku said.

"Ah, yes. You want to get Kohaku off the planet, right? I'll take her now if she's ready."

"I…I'll be able to come back, right?" asked the warrior.

"Of course! Unless you feel like stayin' with me~"

"NO!" Nel shouted. "Cavegirl cannot mate with Aughsucks!"

Kohaku gazed at the heavens for a moment. The stars that had always decorated her sky. The stars where Senku and his group came from, where the magic of science was completely commonplace. Even after Senku's arrival, she could only dream of going up there and seeing the endless cosmos, but now the opportunity was being apparently handed to her. "…Alright then. I'll see what it's like."

"I would go with you, but the agency is expecting me back as well." Senku said. "So, let's promise to meet up soon, Kohaku."

"Hm hm…okay, Senku." She passed him a smile.

Kohaku stood with August, Nel, Tama, and Gourmerry as the cavewoman Ascended them in a ray of light. "Let's go rest at the village." Senku said to Yuzu. "I'll bet you can cook us up a heck of a meal. Suika, anything you want for…?" Senku glanced down, but no melon head was found. "Where did Suika go?"

Ace Hunter

Nel Descended the group back into the ship's bridge. "Welcome back, gang!" Haylee greeted perkily. "I was just about to head for bed! Who's that girl?"

"Meet Kohaku!" August introduced. The girl in question was viewing the ship's interior with an awestruck expression. "We abducted her like aliens!"

"HUH?! You kidnapped another Historian?! We're gonna get in so much trouble, Captain!"

"So, this is… a spaceship?" Kohaku whispered, brushing her hand against the posh, white wall. The texture felt much more refined than anything even Senku helped create. "AAH!" she yelped when Rallo and Maggie approached. "What're those things?!"

"Looks like we got a xenophobe." Rallo remarked. ("Mw-mw.")

"The universe is filled with many strange creatures." Augustus said coolly. "You've only just begu-"

"AAAH!" Haylee screamed. "What is THAT?!"

It seemed that a melon with eyes was gazing at her. Even more freakily, the melon grew a humanoid, childlike body with sandals and a dress. "Suika is Suika. How did we get up here? Was it with science? Science is so cool!"

"Uhhh…oh, great." Augustus sighed. "Looks like we have a new one for the daycare."

If there's anything good about 2020, it's become the Year of Remakes! We got Xenoblade: Definitive, Spongebob: Rehydrated, and now we have Rayman Redemption! Can't wait to revisit that old classic! X3