Whoo! Chapter 5 is here! This one's more of a "revelation" chapter. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy!
"You're quite sure that you'll be able to keep Zak under control until you can find a way to remove that parasite?" Miranda asked.
"I think we have decent containment rooms on the airship," Doc said.
"I'm just worried, Doc. You know we can't do anything to help Zak if he finds Argost again. We'll all be trying to kill him again," Miranda said. Doc hoped that the remorse in her voice wasn't imaginary.
"From what I saw today, Zak can fend for himself pretty well," Drew smiled.
"Don't remind me, okay?" Miranda groaned. She had had a rough time fighting against Zon and it wasn't something she wanted to do again anytime soon.
Doyle walked into the room, effectively silencing everyone. "Mini-man's locked up nice and safe. Fisk's watching over him right now, but he's just been sitting there, staring."
"Good," Doc said. "I guess we'll be leaving then."
"We'll try and figure out how to get the parasite off of him without getting Argost involved," Drew said.
Miranda nodded. "In the meantime, we'll try and track Argost as best as we can. If things look fishy or dangerous, we'll let you know immediately."
"Sounds like a plan," Drew said. She turned and left the hangar with Doc and Doyle in tow.
Now that Zak was in custody and the Secret Scientists had formed some kind of plan, the situation was starting to look much better. Although no one knew how to remove Argost's parasite, Zak was safely contained on the airship where he wouldn't hurt anyone. The Saturday cryptids were back to normal and not out to hurt anyone. The situation may have still been grim, but at least it wasn't hopeless.
On the walk back to the airship, Doc, Doyle, and Drew discussed how they might get rid of the parasite. "We might have to go back to Weird World if we want to find out how to remove it," Doyle suggested.
"We should do everything we can to try and get rid of it ourselves before we resort to going back to Weird World," Doc said. The airship bridge lowered and the three boarded.
"Doc's right. When we're not investigating the parasite, at least one of us should guard Zak at all times," Drew pointed out.
"It's getting late," Doc stated. "You two should get some sleep. I'll stay up and watch Zak for the night."
Drew began to protest, "Not the whole night, Doc! You must be –"
"I'll stay up with him. I can also start looking at the parasite. If I'm right, Zak only does anything if Argost tells him to. I'll be safe," Doc explained.
Doyle was happy to accept the plan. "Sounds good to me. I'll see you in the morning then," he yawned and walked off to his room.
"Be careful, okay?" Drew said. She gave Doc a quick kiss before saying, "Wake me up if you need anything or if you get too tired."
Doc watched her head off towards their bedroom. With a yawn, he walked to the airship's containment area. He placed his Power Glove on a table outside of the area so that he could get a look at the parasite without the glove getting in his way.
The containment area was a rarely used room. One wall was all Plexiglas so anyone being held could be watched. The rest of the walls were made out of steel. There was a simple cot in the room along with a toilet and sink. Doc noted the resemblance of a jail cell, but he reminded himself that the containment area kept Zak safe.
When Doc entered, he found Zak sitting on the cot. He stared blankly at a spot on the opposite wall. "Hi, Zak," Doc ventured to say. He didn't expect a response and received none. "I'm just going to take a look at this parasite you have, okay? Maybe I can find a way to remove it."
Doc sat down next to Zak on the cot. He gently pushed his son's head forward a bit and lifted up his hair. Argost had definitely put some time into upgrading the parasite. This new model was a little glowing yellow circle that resembled a button. Doc put his fingers around it and tried to pull it off of Zak's neck. The parasite didn't come off. Doc tapped it, but nothing happened.
"Zak, stand up," Doc said. Zak didn't respond, confirming Doc's suspicion that only Argost could control through the parasite.
With a sigh, Doc pulled himself off of the cot and knelt in front of his son. "Zak, can you hear me at all?"
Zak's empty eyes slowly moved to meet Doc's own, but something was happening in them. Doc watched as Zak's eyes slowly seemed to fill with a fierce anger. Suddenly, Zak lunged at Doc and tried to claw at his face.
Doc easily pushed Zak off of him and ran out of the containment area, making sure to shut the door behind him. Zak pounded on the door for a few minutes before giving up. His arms dropped to his sides and he stopped moving entirely.
Something clicked inside of Doc's mind and he left to tell Drew what he had found out. He was confident that Zak would not do anything while he was gone.
Doc entered his bedroom and lightly shook Drew awake. She blinked several times before focusing on him. "What's the matter, honey? Do you want me to watch Zak?"
"No, I don't think it's necessary," Doc said. He then explained, "I think that any unfulfilled order Argost gives Zak remains in Zak's mind since it was never finished. When an opportunity arises for Zak to finish the order, it comes back into his mind full force and he tries to complete it."
"That would explain why he tried to attack me at Cheveyo's base," Drew mused.
"What happened when he attacked you?"
"He looked at me first and then something changed in him. It was like –"
"He was mindless at first and then suddenly became angry?" Doc offered.
"Yes, I guess you could say that."
Doc thought for a moment. "I believe that, unfortunately, the only way to get that parasite off of Zak is to ask Argost how to do it."
"He would never tell us how to get rid of it," Drew said.
"No, but there's probably something in Weird World that would deactivate the parasite."
"Doc, that's like finding a needle in a haystack that's trying to kill you before you can find it."
"It's all we've got right now, hon. I'm confident that Zak won't try anything while we're away from him, so I'm going to get some sleep," Doc said as he began to change for bed. "If we don't get rid of the parasite soon, Argost will find some way to get Zak out. With the two of them, there will be more killings. This isn't a war, it's a slaughter. We'll have to face Argost again tomorrow whether we're ready or not."
This one's kinda wordy, but things will get interesting in the next chapter. As a warning, things are also about to get really dark, either in the next chapter or the following one. I won't say how dark, but you've been warned! Thanks for reading and remember, reviews are wonderful!
Also, if you want to submit an idea for The Saturday Chronicles, leave a review and tell me your idea! I'll try my best to put it in after The Real War of the Cryptids is finished!
