A Little Wild Kratt

Chapter 8

Six years later...

Cassidy began to get more bold and adventurous as she got to see more of the natural world. She was a natural born climber, just like her dad, and could swim better than her uncle Martin. The eleven year old often wanted to go exploring on her own, but her dad didn't think it was a good idea to let her go off on her own, even though her auntie Aviva gave her a Creature Pod and Power Suit of her own. She waited for her dad and uncle to leave before she slipped out of the Tortuga, into the South American rainforest. She didn't have to go far before she found a Bushmaster snake sunning itself on a rock and activated her Creature Power Suit, transforming into a tiny light grey and black version of the massive snake, her size going from 1.5 inches tall to 30 cm long, the same size as a Bushmaster hatchling. Cassidy smiled as she flexed her tail, exploring it's mobility. Meanwhile, Gourmand, a endangered species chef stalked through the bushes quietly, frying pan in hand, ready to club anything that thought it would try to make trouble with him, or ready to scoop up anything that looked tasty. He blinked though, hearing rustling. "Hmm, a meal choice?" he asked under his breath, looking around the skies to see if those pesky Wild Kratts were around... but he saw no sign, and after making a suspicious face, he started to creep towards where the noise was coming from. Maybe it was his lucky day, and he had arrived just as the brothers released something rare and delicious back into the forest, giving him a golden chance to cook a special, rare meal without being caught this time. He peeped through the bushes at the spot where the noise from... and at first, saw  nothing... until he spotted a brief flash of grey. Blinking, he sunk down lower, watching as he breathed silently. " A rare ingredient..." Cassidy smiled as things grew quiet around her, and she opened her eyes, peering out into the jungle. She grinned as she murmured softly, "Heat-seeking vision, on!" Her goggles flashed grey for a moment and then the world then changed into a range of colored hues, showing her an infrared map of the place, with cold rocks and hot body heat. She turned around, her body slithering silently through the underbrush as she looked around in the general vicinity. This was so amazing, and she was quite capable of taking care of herself, so why didn't her dad want her out here alone? Cassidy started to look around and then grinned as she allowed her tongue to flick out. She could feel the split tip and she giggled as it flickered in the air before withdrawing and entering the pit in the roof of her mouth. Nope, no smell or taste of anything dangerous anywhere nearby either! She smiled though, commenting softly into her Creature Pod, "Okay, so far, the infrared sensor and my sense of snake-taste haven't been altered! They both work fine!" She started to slither through the underbrush, 'tasting' the air as she went, looking around for a warm sunning spot. She was upwind at the moment, unaware of who was downwind of her, and thus, unsmellable for the moment. Gourmand grinned as he waited... hearing the small snake-person speaking, catching the voice of a young girl and starting to grin as he listened, chuckling, so... a little girl was out in the woods alone... doing a test with the Wild Kratts equipment... how... appropriate. He had been out here planning on making his famous noodle soup with some kind of endangered ingredient... but it looked now as though he had found the noodle AND the ingredient... after all... what could be better than a Kratt snake noodle dish?! He grinned, rummaging in his pack and finding his strong net, he moved a little closer, lining up his throw, getting ready... and then flicking the net into the air, aiming for it to land directly on the tiny girl... if he could trap her, and then grab her before she could shout for help, it would be a mighty wonderful dish that he was serving tonight! Seeing a warm spot, Cassidy crept closer, but then smiled as she saw it was a small jaguar that was getting a drink from a flower that had collected some rainwater. "Aw, you're so cute." she said with a chuckle. The feline looked at her, but then went back to drinking and then left. She watched it go and continued to look around.As her teeny tongue flicked out again, she froze as she tasted... garlic? She yelped as a net slammed down on top of her suddenly, the weight of the rim and the net pinning her down. She shouted as the rim of the net also caught her right on her right wrist and she heard a clear disquieting 'crack'. She knew it wasn't her wrist, so it had to be her Creature Pod! She took a look, she couldn't communicate, but it was putting out a tracking signal, but she wasn't sure how that would help. Instinct took over and she balled up, writhing to get away from this thing pinning her down, but unfortunately, this just curled her up into the actual net! She then used her human logic and rushed forwards, trying to burrow out under the lip of the net, straining against it. Then Gourmand let out a triumphant laugh as the net not only caught the small girl, but pinned the arm on which her communication device rested. No longer needing to conceal himself he straightened up, and stomped through the bushes, gathering the net into his hands at the top, and lifting it up, peering in at the small creature he had captured, and giving another triumphant laugh. "Oh this is tooo good... I never mind when I catch some Kratt side dish... but today... you're going to be the main course!" he laughed triumphantly, and started back towards his van, carrying the small kratts girl, careful to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't find some dirty trick to get away or call for help. Grinning, he got back to his truck, and activated the restaurant transformation before walking into the kitchen, and dropping his catch into a large bowl, with the net still holding him as he examined him. "Oh you're the perfect size for a large portion!" he laughed. "My endangered, snake noodle soup... today it'll be Kratt noodle soup." As she tried to get the lip off her arm, Cassidy shouted as the net seemed to come alive all around her, bundling her up into a pile of coils and netting. She stiffed as she was lifted up into the air, the snake instincts instantly disliking this. Without something to hold on to, the snake got nervous and she found herself bunching up into a ball of coils, peering out nervously. What was happening?! She scowled as a familiar face loomed into view and there was a loud bark of laughter. "Gourmand!" she shouted, uncoiling and glaring angrily. She knew of the man from newspaper clippings and from what her dad, aunties and uncles said about him."What are you up to!?" But apparently, the chef didn't hear her as he spoke, calling her a 'main course' and starting to walk towards his van. Cassidy felt her stomach clench and her heart skip a beat, trembling slightly. She knew very well that her suit would keep her safe from being eaten by anything, but she knew that was a well-guarded secret for those on the Tortuga. If that secret got out... She shuddered to think of what the chef would do with that! As she was carried into the expandable kitchen, Cassidy coughed as she was dumped right into a large mixing bowl. She instantly tried to get loose, but the net tangled her up and she couldn't get her coils free! As the huge chef leaned over her and made it plain he planned to incorporate her in a dish, Cassidy did tremble slightly. But she recalled how her dad had described to her his experience with the chef, with Plato the platypus, and she tried not to let the talk unnerve her, shouting up, "Gourmand! What are you doing here? You know you're breaking the law by hunting endangered animals!" She tried to get in contact with her dad, but then moaned as she saw the screen of her pod was dark and unresponsive. "Oh great... It's broken but at least it's still putting out a signal ..." she murmured quietly. As the small girl challenged him that what he was doing was illegal, Gourmand laughed heavily, shaking his head, "No, there's nothing illegal at all about what I'm doin!" he argued, pulling out his chopping board and starting to finely dice vegetables, and add them to a large pan of water. "After all... there's no law protecting snake-people," he laughed triumphantly as he started to add some spices, and some real noodles to the water, starting to heat the mixture. "You're not a girl right now, so hunting you isn't illegal, you're not a snake either, and you're definitely not a registered protected species." He chuckled darkly. "You're dinner." Once the water was on to boil, he straightened up, and went to his computer terminal, phoning Zack. "Mah friend, how would you like my most rare and expensive dish ever?" he asked, grinning. "Grey-Kratt noodle soup..." "Would I!" exclaimed Zack. "I'll be there!" "I'm sending you my co-ordinates now. Hurry up, before it gets cold!" He ended the call, and grinned at the trapped snake girl, checking that the net was secure again. "I may not know you, but you'll be one less thorn in mah side... no doubt your friends won't be long to follow without their precious grey friend watching their backs ... they'll go real nice with somethin' tomato based." Chris and Martin meanwhile, had picked the emergency tracking signal from Cassidy's Creature Pod. The fact was concerning and Chris contacted base."Aviva? Aviva come in, is something wrong with Cassidy? Her Creature Pod is putting  out a tracking signal." he asked, frowning as Aviva's face paled. "Chris, she's not in the HQ. She's gone."... Cassidy's scowl faded as the chef laughed at her, protesting that he wasn't doing anything illegal. Sighing that she would have to explain that hunting for protected animals WAS indeed illegal, Cassidy's heart fluttered as the chef made it plain that this time around, there were no endangered animals involved. It was just HER.  As she was 'labeled' as dinner, it finally struck her how much trouble she was in and she could only squeak in shock, "Dinner?!" She had thought the chef was just bluffing to make her nervous! But as the chef went and called a familiar nasal-voice, Cassidy felt her heart speed up. She had to get out of here! Not only could she not allow this 'protection' to fall into the hands of a robot-making maniac... but she didn't want to get eaten by Zach! The thought made her skin crawl! Zach would gloat and gloat... and then realize things weren't progressing as they should. And that couldn't be allowed to happen! When Gourmand approached her again, wearing a big, unnerving smile, Cassidy felt her snake instincts kicking in, bunching up again nervously as as the chef made it clear that he planned to go after her dad, aunties and uncles at a later date. Glaring, Cassidy 'sat' up, shouting, "Leave them alone! And let me go! You're wasting your time!" She tried again to squirm free, working her coils to lift the net off of her. Idly, she thanked the powerful musculature of the bushmaster as she managed to lift a side of the net, and with the speed the bushmaster was known for, she made a break for it, slithering along the counter and heading for the forest. As the chef was checking the water was on the right heat, he blinked as he heard a clank, and looked at the bowl, scowling as he realised that his main ingredient was escaping. "Oh no you don't!" he shouted, leaping after the snake with a clatter, knocking pots and pans flying as he snatched up the small form, squeezing her firmly in his hand as he carried her back into the kitchen and opened the pot of the now bubbling noodle soup. "Do you WANT me to add ya to the soup right now?" he demanded, dangling Cassidy frighteningly close to the liquid. "I was gonna add you as live ingredient later, but if ya won't stop wriggling, you can go in now!" he said, glaring at the small creature. Then he grabbed a small cage firmly, and dropped the snake into it, closing the door and locking it. "Now stay put, Zack'll be here in no time, and he won't pay top dollar for you unless you are good and lively." Chris and Martin meanwhile, had alerted the others to their situation , telling Aviva to hone in on his tiny daughter's signal. Then he had set about flying again, his sharp eyes searching for any slithering grey shapes in the undergrowth, while Martin covered the water and ground. As she heard the man yell, Cassidy doubled her efforts, skittering here and there among the pots and pans to escape. The snake in her was helping her to escape, using her sense of taste and sensing vibrations to help her avoid the chef's huge hands, seeing him [rightfully] as a huge predator, and thus putting all effort into trying to escape. Just as she was about to leap off the edge of the counter, Cassidy squeaked almost comically as one huge hand wrapped around his snake-belly, squeezing HARD, painfully so! She whimpered, her coils instantly wrapping around the hand to try and get a grip and leverage to escape, but the chef had her firmly, making the snake [and thus Cassidy] more and more panicked! She was usually very good at controlling herself, but as she had seen with her Uncle Martin's bass experience, sometimes an animal's instincts were too strong to deny! And frankly, the snake in her was getting terrified, making her terrified by association. She still knew she was safe from digestion, but that fact was fading more and more as the snake kept getting frightened! As she was carried back into the kitchen, Cassidy ducked her head without thinking, slamming it into the chef's hand. She groaned as she rubbed her head, wondering WHY she had done that, but as her tongue flicked out again, she realized the snake had tried to bite! She shivered as the chef carried her with purpose, whimpering. Oh why didn't her auntie Aviva not add the venom to the Bushmaster suit? Her thoughts were interrupted as the huge pot was uncovered, the rush of heat and steam making it clear to the snake that that was NOT safe, and she coiled around the huge fingers, whimpering as she stared down into the pot, her eyes wide as her heart hammered. A bubble burst, splashing a tiny spot of liquid on her tail and Cassidy yelped, coiling tighter. That had HURT! Suddenly, she had a horrible thought. They knew that bathing in acids was safe... but they had done no temperature tests! And with her now as a cold-blooded creature, any temperate change was magnified! Cassidy then knew she was in serious trouble. She might LITERALLY get cooked alive! "N-No..." she quietly whimpered, as the huge eyes glared at her. She was relieved as she was yanked out of the pot, but then shouted as she was tossed roughly into a mesh cage, rendering it impossible for her to escape. The snake in her didn't like this, feeling claustrophobic, and try as she might, the snake was starting to take over, and Cassidy started to grab at the bars, shaking them and trying to knock them loose, eventually hollering in a panic, "DAD! DAD, HELP!" Zack's jet roared overhead after a short while longer, and set down nearby, the man emerging, rubbing his hands already as he came over to the chef's restaurant, up the steps, and standing, sniffing the air. "Oooh, it smells fascinating!" he exclaimed. Gourmand grinned, going over to greet his guest, and guide him to a table, where he settled him down, "Main course is just a few moments away," he said, grinning. "I promise this will be my finest dish ever!" He rushed back to the kitchen, and prepared a large bowl, picking one with handles. He scooped a large helping of soup into the bowl, and left it to cool as he reached into the cage and captured the grey Wild Kratt's snake form, pinning her gently down to the work surface as he grabbed the tiny hands, and swiftly tied them with a string of tough liquorice, far too strong to be broken easily, but entirely digestible. Then, he made a harness out of the liquorice, and after testing the temperature of the now-cooled soup, he began to slowly lower her into the liquid, securing the harness to one of the handles in such a way that it was too short for the snake girl to go anywhere. Chris meanwhile, frowned as he spotted Zack's jet land, and quickly made his way over to it, landing beside it, and peering curiously at the thing... why was Zack here?! What was going on. He had not yet noticed Gourmand's moblie restaurant, as his view of it was blocked by the jet, but he was just a stone's throw away. Cassidy grew more frantic as she was utterly ignored and she started to scrabble at the cage more and more energetically, trying to find a gap, a hole, ANYTHING to escape! When she heard and felt the familiar roar of the jet overhead, she coiled up in a corner of the mesh cage, her blue eyes wide as she fought to retain control of herself, shivering badly. She didn't want this, she didn't want this... She wanted her daddy! Seeing Zach arrive, Cassidy's eyes grew bigger and she started to fuss with the cage again, whimpering as nothing came loose, not even a tiny sliver of the mesh wiring! She had watched a helping of soup get poured into the bowl and left it to cool and she tried to rock the cage, tried to get it to move, but she couldn't even coordinate her coils well enough in such a tiny space! 'The stomach will be smaller...' She didn't know why this thought came into her mind, but it caused the snake in her to snap. Frantic now as her heart pounding, she pounded at the cage walls, crying out for her dad again, trying to escape, but then stared, wide-eyed as the chef came back in a hurry, looking excited. Huddling into a back corner of the cage, Cassidy shivered in a pile of coils as the chef poured out some of the hot soup into a handled-bowl, and then came for her. Shouting, Cassidy tried to escape, but her tail was roughly grabbed again and she was hauled out, despite grabbing for the cage, her heart racing. "No, lemme go! I'm not dinner!" she wailed, but she was ignored as she was carried to the work-surface. She was so small, barely a foot and a half long, and thus she was far too easily pinned down to the cold, hard surface. She whimpered as she was crushed down firmly on her front, only the tip of her tail being able to move, twitching helplessly as the chef messed with her hands. She moaned softly as her arms were yanked behind her back, pinched there firmly by the big fingers, and as she cried weakly again for her dad, Cassidy had to watch helplessly as her hands were tied firmly behind her back.Once this was done, the chef started to work with more licorice, and Cassidy tried to escape, but with her arms tied so tightly, it was hard to move and she sort of flopped around. She then yelped as the chef grabbed her quickly again, putting a harness of the candy around her chest, lifting her into the air with it. She gulped hard, pleading, "Gourmand... Just... let me go! You're going too far!" The tip of her tail encountered wetness and Cassidy jerked almost comically, staring down in shock. Seeing the soup below her, her long body writhed and curled, trying to wrap upwards, but as she was lowered into the soup, Cassidy realized with a sinking feeling that the warmth of the soup was relaxing the muscles to such a degree that they were practically useless now! She tried again to escape, muttering, "N-No... No, I'm not dinner!" but before she knew, she was waist deep in the delicious-smelling soup, her coils twitching and shifting pointlessly, confused by the bone-deep heat and the weird bumps and lumps in the soup! As the chef tied her harness to the handle, Cassidy felt her heart beating so fast she was amazed it hadn't burst. She started to writhe again, splashing the soup slightly. "No... NO! Let me go! DAD! HELP!" She was unaware that all the noise in the kitchen drowned out her little cry and she could only thrash as best she could, splashing the soup a bit more. Gourmand grinned hugely as the snake co-operated so wonderfully with the hot soup, and he placed the bowl on a plate, and gave a loud call of "Dinner is served!" he carried the tray delicately over to the table, and set it down dramatically before Zack, who rubbed his hands gleefully and leaned forwards. "Oh you'd outdone yourself Gourmand!" he said, grinning, and reaching for the chopsticks beside the bowl, freezing as he looked at them. "Um... what is this?" "Chopsticks... you're meant to eat noodle soup with chopsticks." Said Gourmand. "Um... Noo..." disagreed Zack. "I need a spoon... soup should always be eaten with a spoon... it's a liquid!" "This is asian cuisine, you eat the noodles with the chopsticks and then drink the soup out of the bowl!" argued Gourmand. "It's proper etiquette!" "Etiquette Schmetiquette!" snapped Zack. "I need a spoon!" What the two did not notice as they argued, was that Chris's attention had been attracted by the shout of dinner is served, and he had taken off again, peering into the restaurant with his eagle vision, his heart all but stopping as he spotted the grey shape tethered in the serving bowl. Chris couldn't wait for Martin to show up. He had to move... and FAST! He tucked his wings back, and went into a dive, his aim careful, ignoring the two arguing men as he gathered speed, dropped almost to the ground and then changed direction, shooting into the restaurant instead, landing hard beside the table and snatching up the bowl. The two men shouted angrily at him, trying to grab for the bowl, mostly getting in each other's way... but Chris backed up nonetheless as they grabbed at him, frowning as he realised he was backed into a corner... the two men blocked his exit... he could get out... but not while he was holding Cassidy and the bowl. He had no other choice... he needed to free his wings up! Frowning, he brought the bowl to his lips, knowing he had to hurry as he started to gulp at the slightly too-hot soup. If he could tuck Cassidy away safe... he could fly them out of there in no time. Cassidy felt her heart threaten to burst from her chest as she was yet again ignored and Gourmand only happily started to get the dish ready to serve. The Kratt daughter was forced to look up as the chef carried her a small ways and then set her down delicately in front of a familiar, pale-skinned man. Cassidy trembled, having only sern the man from the safety of her dad's pocket, not in person. She recalled her dad's horrified description of how eager Zach had been for a bit of green Kratt crouton, trying again to work herself loose, but with her hands tied so tightly and her muscles in shock from the sudden temperature change, she was utterly helpless! Looking up at the two men, Cassidy tried to plead, to beg them to let her go, but they were ignoring her as they argued about what silverware was to be used. She trembled, squirming a little in the soup, feeling the vegetables and such bumping into her, and her mind started to focus on all the wrong things, her wide blue eyes focused on Zach's mouth as the man argued, telling her how she would fit and then she'd end up somewhere small and cramped... and acidy... There was a sudden rush of motion and a lot of yelling, and Cassidy couldn't follow any of it at all! She was sloshed and splashed around in the soup, shouting as a bit of spinach washed over her face, blinding her. She shivered, but stuck out her little forked tongue, but only tasted the delicious soup, which make her stomach turn alarmingly. She heard shouting, lots of it, and she idly wondered if the villains were fighting over her, but then she felt something happen to her tail. It was like her tail had managed to slip out of the bowl! She could feel a hard rim under her tail and she started to smile, thinking it was her chance to escape! But then she felt a warm rush of liquid, and horrifyingly, it swept her tail along for the ride! She shook her head, trying to clear the spinach, feeling more and more panicked as her long, slender body was washed along! Terrifying images of a drain flashed into her mind and she winced as she did realized she could feel her body was in a tunnel of some kind, but this one was warm, and slick and slipp... A throat. Cassidy let out a scream of, "DAD, HELP!" as she thrashed like a mad thing, but her weak, boiled body could only twitch uselessly. She WAS on the menu and she was already being eaten! She whimpered as she was drawn in nightmarishly fast, her tail and body slipping down and down and down the throat until it started to bunch up somewhere soft and cozy-close. She could feel something soft against her back now too, something warm, and she assumed she was leaning back on a piece of cooked vegetable. Trembling and almost crying now, Cassidy shook her head violently. "DAD! Dad, you've got to... h-help...mmm..."She had shaken the spinach off... and it revealed to her that she was lying on her back in a mouth. She stared upwards, seeing the palate almost touching her nose, and turning, she could see the teeth arching around her, ringing just above her head, and looking down, she could only see the light grey scales of her belly as it curved away off down the gullet. "Dad!" Cassidy wasn't able to fight it anymore and went into utter and full panic mode, thrashing as best she could, even though it was so weak thanks to the hot soup. She looked up, seeing the tether that kept her anchored to the bowl and she shivered, thanking it for now, as it was stopping her from slipping off down Zach's throat. She shuddered hard, whimpering as she wriggled, her tail curled up somewhere warm, but very damp... somewhere down below the throat! Chris was surprised to hear his baby girl yelling for him... but realised that in all the confusion, perhaps he had not been recognised. Frowning, he knew there was no looking back now, and he swallowed hard, quickly sucking down the soup, and long, thin form as he dodged the two villains trying to grab him. Then... something seemed to stick... Cassidy wouldn't go down any further. He felt with his tongue, and then remembered the tether he had seen. He had to get his daughter loose! He bit down hard on the ropey substance, recognising the taste instantly as liquorice, and working to bite through it. Fortunately his incisors made short work of the job, and he dropped the bowl, dodging Gourman's attempt to stun him with a frying pan, and leaping over Zack as he felt the last of the snake meal trickle down into... well... not his stomach... somewhere... just above it? In his chest? It didn't feel good at all having that much of anything bunched up like that, and he worked to swallow again hard as he finally managed to reach the edge of the restaurant awning, and leapt out, spreading his wings wide, and arching upwards, dodging flying knives and other cooking implements as the Gourmand hurled them at him. He banked hard right, towards the trees, just as his meal finally sloshed down into his stomach, stretching it, and rounding him out a little... that had been a LOT of soup... and a lot of snake... he hoped Cassidy had room to breathe in there, but he had to get to the trees and hunker down before Zack could come after him in his jet. "Hang on baby girl..." he panted, "We're getting you out of here."