The Legend of Gourmet: The Regal Mammoth

Ryo and Hakai got themselves settled in. Ryo just sat there as Hakai fiddled with the belt buckle, trying to figure out how it worked.

Robert climbed in and sat next to Komatsu as Kali sat across from him.

Yio forced herself to go in. She was quite nervous about riding inside this...thing but she kept telling herself that there will be food to try to keep herself calm.

Robert saw Hakai having trouble with his belt buckle. “Hey, Hakai. The buckle goes like this.” He said as he clipped his own buckle together with ease.

After everyone was inside, the helicopter took off, and was quickly approaching its destination. It was clear to everyone that Lumeste didn't quite like flying in the helicopter. To make matters worse, when the helicopter turned, Lumeste was accidentally pushed into Robert. She spent the rest of the ride with a bloody nose.

It didn't take them long to finally make it to the 1st Biotope. There was a large building in front of them, with tough-looking people standing at the gates. "If you would follow me please." the man who drove the helicopter said, while walking to the building. Inside, everyone was taken back by how much food there was! There were conveyer belts stockpiled with food, all leading to different places within the research facility. Workers in white clothing were making sure that everything on the belts were good to be released to the public.

"Wow~ This place is so huge!" Komatsu said. It was clear that he was impressed.

"Fooooood!" Soven said, trying to jump over the guardrail and over to the conveyor belts, but Toriko grabbed him by the back of his bodysuit.

"You don't weigh so much for someone your height." He said, before putting Soven back down on his feet.

"Yeah... I've been trying, but no matter what I do, nothing happens." he shrugged.

Lloyd held his head, taken back by all the sudden vass of different smells. "My gods. There's so much food. You'd think this entire world was a farm, or atleast extinct of animals at the rate you guys all eat." However, as he slightly complained, his stomach growled much more loud then someone his size should and he turned slightly red. "I guess I have no room to complain though."

“Whoa, this place is incredible!” Exclaimed Robert.

Kali was at lost for words. She was so taken aback by the size that she couldn't find the right words to describe it.

“Oh my god! Look at all the food!” Yio exclaimed, leaning on the guardrail, her two stomachs growled loudly at the same time. “Are we gonna try any of it?” She said, a little embarrassed from the loud growl.

Hakai just drooled as he stared out the window.

Ryo had more of determined look though...This wasn't food to him. It was ingrediants....Rare unheard of ingrediants back home.

"Sounds like you have plenty of room!" Soven said to Lloyd, and Lumeste slapped him upside the head for such an incredibly lame joke. "Sorry..." He muttered, rubbing the side of his face. Gename just laughed.

"That was funny!" He said.

Their trip through the room with the conveyer belts came to an end. They all got into an elevator. Before the door closed, their IGO escort bid them farewell. "Say hello to the chief for me." He said, and they were well on their way upstairs. Ding! The elevator rang.

"Don't be too surprised at what you're about to see." Toriko said, and the doors opened. The second it opened, there was a large octopus with sharp teeth right there to greet them!

"YEEEEEEEE!" Komatsu yelped, not expecting to see something like that just a few feet away from the group.

"Gaaah!" Lumeste cried in shock, before jumping behind Toriko, instantly regretting the idea, and backed away slowly from the man while fishing through her bag for a tissue. the large octopus let out a growl-type sound, and then went to charge the elevator patrons, but it was stopped by a thick plexiglass wall. Two men in white clothing rolled it away.

"Don't worry, all of the animals here are separated from us by thick plexiglass walls. You're safe." Toriko said at the panicking group members. They all left the elevator feeling relieved (and in Lumeste's case, lightheaded). Komatsu walked up to a giant crab that towered over Toriko.

"Wow, the plexiglass is so clear! It looks like there's nothing there." He remarked. The crab breathed heavily, and Komatsu felt it, clear as day. "YEEEEEE! That's because there's nothing there!" He shouted before running. It was a muscle crab, an extremely strong crab that wouldn't go down with a fight.

"Komatsu!" Toriko yelled, before someone else yelled. A yellow aura with a three-headed golem appeared in front of the muscle crab.

"Go to bed!" The person said, and the muscle crab ran quickly back into its holding pen. the door closed. "I told you guys to watch these animals more carefully!" A man walked out of the shadows. He was just as tall as Toriko. He was very bald, with two scars on the right side of his face. He wore a green camo shirt and khaki pants with sandals. In his hand was a bottle of liquor.

"Hello chief." Toriko said with a smile.

"What? Did you just call me handsome?" The Chief said. Toriko's smile turned to annoyance.

"No I did not!"

Yio was in a panic as she clinged to Robert's arm without thinking when they met the giant octopus. She was starting to settle down but then freaked out and clinged back onto Robert when they faced the giant crab.

“Th-th-th-this section is scary.” She whimpered, squeezing Robert's arm.

“Ow, ow, ow...hey, easy there. The crab is back in its pen, everything will be ok.” Robert said.

Yio let go of Robert's arm but was still shaking.

Robert turned to the Chief. “Hello I'm Robert.”

“I...I'm Yio...” Yio said.

“I'm Kali.” Kali said. She noticed one of the animals looking right at her and she took a few steps away from it. “What do you do with these creatures anyway?” She asked.

"I LOVE THIS PLACE!" Lloyd shouted, laughing as he threw his hands up in the air, his sleeves flowed majestically around him as he marched over to the plexiglass pen. "First that giant bird freaked me out but now I love it! If only I was bigger, these would be worth the hunt! Able to actually chase something bigger then me!" He laughed and then growled at the crab. He blushed slightly and then rubbed the back of his head, tapping the glass slightly. "Sorry. My inner instincts talking." He apologized to the group, afraid to look back at them in embarrassment. Lloyd spin around, his arms out agian, "Well. This is either a large zoo, a museum of oddities ((*shot*)), domesticated livestock or they are the main courses!" He looked back at the crustation answering Kali's question. "You however would be an appetizer wouldn't you crab cakes?"

Ryo staired at the octo perplexed. "It's smaller than the ones back home, but it some how comes off looking much meatier. Facinating."

What facinated Hakai though was very different! He had his face pressed up against the glass making all sorts of weird and funny pressed in faces.

By no means did the octo look impressed.

Mansam had to turn his neck a little to see everyone that Toriko had brought. "What an interesting group." He looked at Kali. "In a few minutes, I'll show you what we do with these animals." He turned back to Toriko. "Listen, the IGO has been getting reports like crazy that the Bishokukai have been making their move. Of course, the higher-ups have been scrambling because of this. There are even rumors of assembling all four of the Heavenly Kings."

"I haven't heard much about Zebra since we all split up." Toriko said, scratching his head.

"He was caught and thrown in prison." Mansam replied before taking a swig from the bottle he was carrying.

"Really? Man, that problem child..." Toriko said. He looked very happy to hear that this "Zebra" was in prison.

"Well, anyway, our next objective is to get the Jewel Meat from the Regal Mammoth before the Bishokukai get to it. That's why I've called you here, but we have a little time before we can go. Ready to see the cage again?"

"Man, I haven't been there for a long time. It's gonna bring back some memories." Toriko said more as an afterthought instead of adding anything to the conversation. Mansam went up to a door and opened it. Everyone could see that there was a giant domed arena with hundreds, if not, thousands of spectators. They were all cheering.

"This is the Gourmet Coliseum. Here the IGO hosts battles between different animals here for the sake of research and entertainment." Mansam said. "But it's not all bad. See everyone in the stands? They're all rich and powerful people in the IGO-affiliated countries. They pay through the nose to come and see these fights. We donate the proceeds to the poorer countries." He took a drink.

"Well, that's nice of you." Lumeste said.

"Did you just call me handsome?" Mansam replied. Lumeste just kinda shrank and hid behind Soven. They all took a seat at the front. "today's match is going to be a great one!"

Lloyd got this bad feeling in his gut, one he hadn't gotten to often but when he did, it almost made him sick. "Excuse me." He stood at the end of the aisle as everyone took their seats. "Are you pinning these beasts to fight each other for their lives? Like some kind of game? And then what? You eat the one that dies and the living one lives to fight another fight that will probley be his last?" He said, his hand clenching tight in his glove and sleeve.

Kali gave Mansam a look. “Why do you ask people if they called you handsome when they didn't?” She asked, a little irritated.

Robert leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh. “I'll never understand the 'hobbies' of the rich.” He said.

“Urrgh...I'm starving...and I didn't eat breakfast...” Yio complained. Her stomachs growled so loudly that people around her could hear it clearly. She immediately put her hands on her stomach, leaned forward, and looked embarrassed. She looked at Lloyd and was scared of what he might do.

The chef closed his eyes keeping his nose in the air, "When an animal is caught, it should be killed quickly and painlessly so as to not ruin the flesh. Many kinds of fish release certain chemicals when in fear. These chemicals can ruin the meat."

Hakai nodded, "Doesn't matter need food! I'm with Yio on this one."

Toriko got up and put his hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "I know how you feel. When I was younger, I was fighting for my life in this same arena. Same with Coco. Really, people don't know what it's like until they get into the arena and experience it for themselves. There is a purpose to it besides watching animals beat each other up. It's for safety reasons, believe it or not-" He said, before the announcer's voice came on.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! It's time for the main event!" He shouted and the crowd cheered. Four gates opened. "Out of the first gate comes a true contender! It's the Elephantasaurus!" The Elephantasaurus was giant and green, the end of its trunk had a dinosaur head on it. "Out of the second gate comes a fierce amphibious predator, the Gauchi!" The Gauchi looked like a giant blue walrus, with two giant tusks and sharp, smaller teeth inside its mouth. "Out of the third gate comes a true boss, the Silverback Troll Kong!" A giant gorilla with four arms sped out of the gate. Its body was covered with silver fur. "And out of the last gate, we have a true death god form the skies, Mystery Bird Gerold!" An orange, 5-headed bird trotted out of the last gate. All of the animals stood there, snarling at each other. "Now for the two beasts you've all been waiting for! From the fifth gate comes the strongest wolf, reigning supreme from ancient times, the Battle Wolf!" A giant white wolf with black and pink eyes walked out of the gate slowly, fangs bared and growling menacingly.

The four animals that were introduced first took one look at the legendary beast and stepped backwards, keeping their distance. All of them were trying to size it up, but they all knew that they were dealing with a true fighter.

"How come they aren't fighting?" Soven asked. He wasn't too thrilled by having the animals fight-he was more in to watching humans fight in an arena-but anything to get the match over with quickly. Gename stared at the Battle Wolf. In fact, he was staring at its eyes. Those black and pink eyes that he grew so accustomed to seeing back at home. He sat there, eyes never leaving the Battle Wolf's. The crowd started getting antsy. Mansam grabbed a walkie-talkie and started talking into it.

"Rin, the crowd's getting upset. Can you send some more Battle Fragrance this way?" He asked.

"I'm working on it, baldy!" Rin replied. She sounded irritated.

"What? Did you just call me handsome?" Mansam asked, sounding a little excited.

"No I did not! Jeez! Give me a few moments to get the B.F. into the arena." There was static on the walkie-talkie. In a few seconds, a very fine, pink mist started permeating the air inside the dome. The Elephantasaurus, the Gauchi, the Troll Kong, and the Mystery Bird all lunged at the Battle Wolf together. The Battle Wolf stood its ground and took all four animals at once, but something was wrong! Instead of fighting its attackers, the Battle Wolf stood there, panting.

"Wait, why isn't it fighting back?" Lumeste jumped up in her seat. "What's going on?"

Lloyd remained standing, his hands clenching on a railing of sorts in the aisle. He watched all the creatures attack the one creature at once. "It's just standing there. Maybe it wants to die. Maybe it's a coward. Why isn't it fighting back." The bar under his hand began to clench and dent in under his grip. "Don't sto illic. Adversor sis vivo! Sis morior atleast progredior bellator!" He yelled, getting very upset. "How can this be for safety reasons?! Expecully if they put humans like you in something like this. Even if the proceeds are for a good cause. This is torture."

((Don't stand there. Fight back if you want to live! If you want to die atleast go out fighting!))

Kali looked very bored, she didn't want to watch these animals fight. Now she understood why Coco didn't want to come here.

When the Battle Wolf came out Kali perked up her head and stared at the majestic creature. The wolf is a symbol of her family since their spiritual energies take the form of a wolf when using the right spell. And for that she loves wolves.

Kali stood up when the said wolf wouldn't fight back as it was being dog piled by the other monsters. “Wh-what the? Something is wrong...very...very wrong...” She said, gripping the railing.

“Why won't it fight back?!” Yio cried. “Someone do something!” She added.

“God...this...this is madness...” Robert said. He was in shock at the whole display.

Kali looked over the wolf again and again to find out if anything is wrong with it. Why is it panting so hard? It just walked out there's no way it could be tired out now. “The poor thing could be sick.” Kali said. “Or...no...that's impossible they wouldn't let an animal in that kind of condition...”


(Madness? THIS...IS...SPARTA!!!!!)

Someone once said...

That there is a miraculous well from which natural curry roux gushes, mixed with wild herbs. A curry well.

That there is sponge cake smelling of the perfectly sweet scent of buttermilk, thickly overflowing with syrup the color of caramel. A pancake fruit.

The world is in the Gourmet Age. It is the age of pursuing undiscovered flavors.

Komatsu saw something floating around. He looked up, and money was falling from the sky! "Money? Is it because the Battle Wolf is causing such a big upset, Toriko-" He looked at Lloyd, expecting to see Toriko there, but Toriko had somehow disappeared. "huh, where did Toriko go?" He asked, looking around.

Lumeste frantically turned to Soven. "Soven, you can see the Truth; why isn't that wolf fighting?!" She practically shouted at him. Her brother just crossed his arms.

"I don't have enough fuel to even try." he said. Lumeste almost hit him in the face with an apple. He took it, and ate it. His red eyes became rimmed with purple, and his pupils turned blood red. He stared at the giant wolf and the surrounding area turned black. The only thing he could see now was the giant white beast. "Tell me your secrets." he thought to himself. The abdomen of the wolf started shining brightly, and he could see a smaller wolf standing beside the big one. He snapped out of his vision and stood up quickly. "Mansam! Call off the match right now! That wolf is pregnant!" Before he could though, the crowd seemed to get louder.

"Is that Toriko?"

"Bishokuya Toriko? He's in the match?"

"We can bet on Toriko?" Sure enough, the reason why Toriko had disappeared was because he somehow had made it into the arena.

"Chief!" Lumeste cried.

"Right." he said, pulling out the walkie-talkie he had earlier. "Rin! We need Super Relaxation right now!"

"Baldy, I have my own problems right now! The Devil Serpent is super pissed!" Rin said, still very annoyed. She then heard the chants of the crowd over the device. "What? Toriko's here? In the arena?" She asked. "Uwaaaah~ I get to see Toriko again~" she swooned.

"Now's not the time for that! Call off the match right now!" Mansam shouted.

"Be quiet, baldy!" Rin snapped back.

"What? Handsome? Did you just call me handsome? you called me handsome, didn't you?" Mansam retorted. It was unclear whether he was doing it on purpose or not.

"Shut up! I'll do it!" Rin said before turning off her device. Instead of going to stop the Devil Serpent or the match, she went to a table to put on some makeup.

"He's going to get killed! How on Earth did he get inside?" Lumeste said. She was practically pressed up against the dome at this point.

"I think he got in that way." Gename said, pointing up at a giant hole in the dome.

"That idiot..." Mansam said, shaking his head. There was a loud "ping" head in the stands, and everyone looked up at the leaderboard. It seems that someone had the bright idea to add Toriko to the contestant list. He was also first on the board.

"What?!" Lloyd yelled, turning to Soven. "I'm gonna go even the numbers!" He said, grabbing Soven and dragged him through the hole after him. He laughed, grinning slightly, "Arn't afraid of some giant beasts are you?" He said and jumped down next to Toriko. "Soven says the wolf is pregnant. She probley doesn't have the strength to fight back, and I'm not gonna sit there and watch her be torn to pieces!!" He looked around, having noticed the size of the creatures up close. "Yeah, I'm gonna regret this." His eyes glowed slightly and he hunched over, disappearing into a light sillutee that morphed shape. "Indulgeo mihi matris pro ego have sinned." Before a shimmering white dragon stood in his spot and stood in front of the wolf. "Yep, gonna regret this." Letting our a surprisingly loud roar for his size to threaten the other beasts back slightly.

((Forgive me Mother for I have sinned))

“Wow...so that's what he looks like when he's transformed...” Robert muttered. He had known that Lloyd was a dragon or some kind of reptile beast from his wings. He suddenly looked angry and he kicked the glass as hard as he could, hurting his foot. “Gah! I feel so useless right now!!!” He shouted, not even fazed by the stinging throbbing in his foot. He wanted to help the Battle Wolf but unable to. He could do nothing to help but just stand by and watch. He sighed and turned to Lumeste.

“I'm sorry if I startled you...it just frustrates me that I'm unable to do nothing but just sit by and watch...” He said. “I wish I could help them.” He added, looking at the trio of men in the dome.

“You're not the only one.” Kali said, looking at the dome for another way in. That hole was way too high for her to reach and even though she can jump pretty high, there was no way she can reach that.

Hakai HAD jumped up, pulling his gun out and everything. But Ryo quickly pulled him back, "This isn't our fight. The last thing we need is unwanted attention."

Hakai bit his lip and nodded, "We have no bounties here...So I guess it's best we avoid getting any then."

"I knew that she was pregnant. I could smell the amniotic fluid, mixed in with every other scent here." He didn't flinch at Lloyd's transformation, thinking that it was a form of Intimidation. "You two focus on the animals, I'll take care of the Battle Wolf." He said, turning to the wolf, who had now flopped over on her side. "To a king like you, being made a spectacle must be degrading. Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Complete with celebratory fireworks." He said, striding over to the Elephantasaurus. It got angry and rushed him, but Toriko braced himself and grabbed it. In an impressive feat of superhuman strength, he picked it up, and tossed it straight at the dome. Mansam laughed.

"Wahahahaha! This reinforced plexiglass is two and a half meters thick! Nothing can get through it!" He boasted.

"Then explain how Toriko got in via the dome." Lumeste said. It was clear that she was irritated by her tone of voice. Mansam stopped laughing and looked up at the hole Toriko created. the now airborne Elephantasaurus smashed full-force into the dome, right over the hole.

"Stop it Toriko!!!" Mansam shouted, but of course he didn't listen.

"Sorry chief, but you'll have to close down the arena for a little bit!" Toriko replied, as he leaped into the air. "Five-Hit...Nail Punch!" His fist met with the glass, and five echos could be heard. Then some cracking, and then a loud crashing sound. Toriko had done it-he had completely shattered the dome, and the glass falling caught the sunlight, making them sparkle and shimmer. "Everyone, the wild beasts are getting out! run away!" The crowd took Toriko's advice. They were all screaming their heads off and heading for the nearest exit. "Everyone, isn't it beautiful? Fireworks for welcoming a new life in to this world!" Now that the dome was gone, everyone had entered the arena. In the short time it took for Toriko to clear the stands, the mother Battle Wolf had given birth to her pup. The two sat there, licking each other.

"It's so adorable!" Lumeste said, walking up to Soven. She was getting extremely clingy due to the heartwarming scene unfolding before her. Gename, too, seemed to get a little misty-eyed.

"Argh, Lumeste, I need my space too you know." Soven complained. Still, he couldn't really take his eyes off of the scene either.

Meanwhile, Rin was walking hastily away from the table she was at. "I had forgotten how long it takes to put makeup on..." she muttered to herself as she made her way to the 6th gate. "All right you, it's time to calm down!" she said to the animal behind the gate. She put a mechanism on her hand and took a little vial out of her pocket. "Super Relaxation fragrance. This will calm even the wildest beast." she said, before putting it into the device on her arm. However, before she could spray it, the animal charged Rin and sent her flying backwards. She readied her device again, but it spat venomous acid at her, and went in the opposite direction, to the arena...

"Why does the smallest thing have the biggest teeth. That thing could swallow me whole." His multicolored eyes scanned the creature, his wings shifted nervously before charging the creature, taking a firm grip of one of it's tusks with his full mouth, his tail wrapping around it and he pulled hard. The Gauchi pulled back hard, practically dragging the beast on the ground. "I can't get a grip." His wings expanded and he fly up in the air, pulling hard but go yanks back, his teeth slipping and smashed into the ground. "Ow." He stood up, his forked toung licking his mouth slightly before roaring at the walrus. He attempted his position again and landed onto of the creature's face, drilling his claws into it's blubbery head for support to not slide around like he was on the ground.

“Awwwwww, it's so cute!” Yio said as she stared at the pup. “It's the miracle of birth!”

Kali smiled and nodded. “Yes it is. Her mother must be so proud.”

“You can tell it's a girl?”

“Yes.”

Robert stared at the little pup and how her mother was licking her. A tear slid out of his eye and he quickly wiped it away.

“I saw that tough guy.” Said Yio.

“What? Oh, no. A piece of glass landed in my eye.” He said, making a lame excuse. “...Alright so I'm not made of stone.” He said, giving up on his lame lies.

Yio perked up her head when her ears picked up the sound of something making its way to them. “Uhh...g-guys? Is it me or do I hear something coming towards us?” She said, sounding scared. “And it sounds really...really big...”

The marksmen took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he slowly placed his rifle into his shoulder blade.

The chef sigh with a bit of a smirk, "I was really hoping we could avoid getting involved."

Hakai opened his eyes, transfixed and unmoving, "You won't have to."

Ryori's smirk grew as he began to flick his knife between his fingers, "Oh? And if you miss?"

The Romance Dawn's all to often under-estimated second mate was silent, unmoving. It was as if his entire body had turned to stone. Not even a breath could be heard, "...I won't..."

"Shashu Shell 3. 'Yoroi Toppa' unblockable."

Ryo took a step back, "Don't go tearing your arm off moron."

CRACK! His whole left side lerched back as the recoiling rifle smacked into his shoulder like a cannon. But the results were instant and unflawed. In less than a second, a single well aimed bullet had torn through the 5 skulls of the mystery bird.

It squawked and trampled. It's a known fact that most long necked birds can survive shortly with out their heads. But it didn't have much longer. The monster would be dead in minutes.

Ryo laughed, "Very nice." being met with an instant cry of agony the moment he patted Hakai on the shoulder.