Chapter four!

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The moon light bestowed the desert work site in dusty silver rays, the grains of sand mirroring the glimmer of sun upon snow. The entire site had gone to sleep, the earth giving a sigh of relief from the end of another day under the blistering sun. Zak had tried all he could to sleep, but his guarantee that he had made to Fisk kept him up. The power waiting within the cavern was unnerving enough, but anticipating exploring the tunnels was almost unbearable.

Zak finally creaked open one of his eyes to catch his parent's oil lamp snuffing out, the Saturday scientists heading for rest. Zak was fidgeting in his cot, Komodo growling nearby in an attempt to get the boy to stop. Fisk was up as well, his red eyes scanning the tent like room sharply. Zak finally rose after what seemed like an acceptable amount of time. This wasn't the first time the child had snuck out of bed.

"Fisk. Fisk!" Zak hissed, grabbing the Claw that had been lying nearby. "Let's go." Fisk followed with utmost caution, afraid Komodo might loudly follow them. But the giant Komodo dragon only laid his head down with a hopeful sigh, praying that quiet was soon to come.

Zak pushed the tent flap open, and searched to and fro for any signs of a late worker on the site. Fisk was leaning over his human companion, and gave a small murmur that the coast was clear. The two scampered along the desert, the boys constantly quarreling with one another to keep the noise down.

"I told you to keep it down, Fisk!" Zak exclaimed under his breath when Fisk had fell over a small pile of shovels.

"I am!" Zak deciphered from the lengthy sentence of gibberish Fisk had shot back with.

"No, that wasn't quiet!" The boy gave an exasperated sigh, and helped pull the shovels from the Cryptid's feet. "Watch your feet, okay Fisk?"

"Sorry…." Fisk tried to say. They crept over the small dunes, the walk not as unbearable under the moon.

The lunar orb stood high in the velvet air, full as a mother with child. Cold had settled along the dry sand, Zak suddenly shivering. His white spiky hair was now a shade of light blue thanks to the moon, and his skin looked unnaturally pale. Fisk's tan fur went gray, the creature blending into the sand, which had changed color under the lunar rays as well.

Zak had led their way to the desert abyss, and peered down it once more, surprise making him lean closer to its edge. The once blue glimmering light was pure silver, radiating off the lighter rocks, some even chalk white beneath the earth's night light.

"Whoa…. We gotta check this out!" Zak's quiet state had vanished, his excitement finally fulfilled. "Onward ho, Fiskerton!" The boy thrust his claw in the air like a pointer, his form now resting on Fisk's shoulders.

They descended down the cliff side as Fisk's form molded into the gaping hole, the Cryptid's shadow falling into the scar of the sand.

"Yes, yes. Onward ho, dear boy." A voice crowed, its low tones rumbling into a laugh.

"Its looks even cooler at night, don't ya think!" Zak admired from atop his friend's shoulders.

"Definably." Fisk babbled back, leaping back down to the familiar ledge from the previous afternoon. Zak slide down and planted his feet upon the rock, the moons light still breaking from above.

"So… where should we go first, old sport?" Zak leaned the Claw over his shoulder, scanning the tunnels that had intrigued him before. Fisk pointed to the boy's spot of vision. "Alrighty then, let the exploration begin!" Zak hopped off the ledge onto another, weaving his way down to the bottom, Fisk right behind him. "And so, the brave and dashing Zak Saturday, explorer extraordinaire, marks another daring adventure by making his way down the evil caves of… Where are we right now, again?" Zak stopped his monologue, stuck in an action pose.

"Abrabira" Fisk babbled (trying to say Arabia), Zak giving an 'ahh yes…' in reply. Fisk only muttered something else to his friend, and Zak looked back at him while attempting to swing over a small hole in the rock ledge he currently was on.

"Of course you're an explorer too! I just…. Didn't get to you yet." Zak assured, and launched himself over the hole, his body flying over the swirling pool of water under them. The two stopped at the bottom of the entire cavern, suddenly feeling small. Fisk gave a sound of amazement, Zak only scanning the tunnels behind him. A chill compelled him to shiver again, the mystic whispers snapping at his ears. Zak's power snapped loudly this time, Fisk jumping in fright. Zak took a step back. "I know, it gets weird down here. That's why I wanted to check it out."

"Are you sure we should go down there?" Was the sentence that choppily fell from Fisk's mouth, Zak understanding his friend's bubbly words.

"Yeah. I mean, if something IS down there, don't you think we should find it and talk to it, instead of some poor worker discovering it later?" Zak persuaded his soft hearted 'brother', who finally gave an unsure noise of agreement. The boy started off for the first tunnel, its smooth, blue waxy walls quiet different from the jagged stalagmites that had lined the way till now.

"Something's not right down here…." Zak trailed off when his vision brightened orange again and faded with a snap. Fisk hurriedly babbled behind Zak about the sound, the Cryptid slowing his pace to stay with the Saturday boy. "I told you Fisk, it's just like what happened down with the Amaroks. It shouldn't be anything to worry about yet."

"Yet?" Fisk managed to clearly slip out, his sarcastic tone making Zak pull a pout of some sort.

"It's fine right now." Zak promised his pal, and continued on. A sudden marking on the wall made him stop. "Was that- Did we see that before?" The young man swiveled around to Fisk, who shook his head.

The markings were in some ancient form of gibberish, the foreign carvings almost drawing the two in. Zak looked around, realizing that the light had changed. A tanner tone was being emitted across the entire hollowed out dome end of this tunnel, which lit up every inch of carved wall.

Fisk began to burst out in his odd language, pointing at one section of pictures. Zak rushed over with a 'what!?' and was greatly rewarded.

"Its… you Fisk. Tons of yous!" Zak uttered, placing his hand against one of the crude drawings of a Fiskerton phantom. "And Zons. And look! More Amaroks! And flashlight frogs… and-" The boy was soon listing off every Cryptid he knew, along with coming across some he didn't. Fisk followed the boy with excitement, seeing more upon the ceiling of the hall. Once Zak had taken in the drawn encyclopedia of Cryptids, he noticed that there were people too. The same people over and over, conversing and interacting with the creatures: A braided, spotted robed woman. A turban headed man. A boy with a staff and a hood over his head. And a girl with long hair and draping robes. Another look at all four characters rang a bell as he cried to Fisk:

"The Cryptid Speakers! They're the Cryptid Speakers! All four of them! We found the place where they must've lived." Zak placed his hands on his hips. "All in a day's work for Zak Saturday, explorer extraordinaire!"

Fisk gave a demanding toned statement, and Zak rolled his eyes.

"With the help of Fiskerton Phantom, strongman extraordinaire!" Zak floundered for a word, but Fisk was pleased. "Let's go look for more!" Zak bolted down one of the small adjoining tunnels. "Mom and Dad are gonna be so happy when they see this!"

Fisk merely replied with a disbelieving sentence of his own words as he caught up.

"Well they'll be mad at first, but THEN they'll be amazed at our dedication to the art of science!" Zak thrust his index finger into the air as if to make a point. Fisk managed a groan of uncertainty.

The light had shifted back to the blue hue of the original cavern; Zak feeling an odd sense of built up energy from within this section. Fisk only watched the walls, still following the fading carvings for more of his ancestors. Zak suddenly stopped, his vision shifting and blurring in front of him.

"Fisk, Fisk." His friend halted a ways from him, immediately yanking his attention to Zak. "I- I don't know what's-" Zak put a hand to his forehead, trying to regain strength. Fisk babbled over him, trying to figure what was wrong.

Lights snapped in front of him, the boy almost leaping back in surprise, but he oddly found that Fisk did not see them. Pictures played like a flip book within the boy's head. A desert sun, robed and turbaned people, yelling, fleeing Cryptids, a woman crying out a name, and then a splash….

More images followed and were woven in, but they were moving so fast that his mind could not grab at them to remember. The phenomenon lasted for a second, and then was forgotten, leaving the Saturday child in awe.

"What in Kur's name was THAT!?" Zak shook his head, Fisk trying to decode what had occurred. Zak's eyes shot up to where he believed the Cryptid stood, but only saw a cave wall, Fisk moving to his side. But something else caught his attention. Zak rose from his slumped position slowly, groping for a logical answer. A mirage, an illusion, a…anything to tell him that what he was seeing was impossible. Fisk stopped his fussing and gawked with Zak, the two locked where they stood. The frozen object remained in their line of vision and Zak finally spit it out.

"It's a..."

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Hey! Two chapters in two days! But could you guys do me a favor and review? I have no idea if anyone is reading this or not…