Hey, Butterflies! I'm back with Chapter 11! I can't believe we are almost halfway through "Remember Your Promise!" It feels great! Anyways, here is Chapter 11: Back at It
Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and Cartoon Network.
Trigger Warning: Child abuse mentioned.
When Doc returned from taking Wadi home, we all explained Komodo's idea. At first Doc was in denial, refusing to believe that we would have to return there, but he eventually accepted it. Now, we are on the way to Peru, and time is running out. With just a few hours and a day to solve this riddle, we are all silently hoping this is the right place.
The further southeast we go, the brighter it becomes, until it gets to be around sunset. I head into the cockpit; we should have arrived in Peru hours ago, but we are still above water. Something is definitely off.
In the cockpit, I see Doc at the controls of one seat, but the other one is empty. Seeing Doc alone in the cockpit lowers my mood, and I feel a familiar melancholy. I shove that aside and remind myself that we are about to be one step closer to finding Drew. But then I clear my throat in order to get Doc's attention. Doc notices me, but he keeps his eyes glued to the airspace around him. I ask Doc what is taking so long to get to Peru, and Doc puts the airship on auto pilot. He looks at me, his one good eye an impeccable window into the grief and sorrow he feels, and sighs. He explains that living in Alaska with a solar powered airship is not great when trying to keep fuel in the airship. Basically, most of the fuel was used up when he was transporting Wadi, and for the entire flight the airship has been trying to store energy and and use energy at the same time. Then Doc glances at the various gauges on the controls. Next, he turns back to me.
"Lily, tell the others we're stopping at the Galapagos Islands for the night. We don't have enough fuel to make it the rest of the way, so we'll have to wait until the morning." I leave the cockpit to go inform the others of our overnight pit stop. They protest for a brief moment, but they soon accept the fact. Doc lands the airship shortly thereafter, and we all get ready for bed. I stay up for while, staring out at the world around me. I think back on my life.
Being raised by Dad as definitely something I will always cherish. He as an amazing father, especially considering he was a single parent working as a mercenary. He always made time for me, and he always knew what I needed most. He always played with me, and he made me feel loved; I never doubted his love or his ability once growing up. But then Argost came. By then, my powers had been showing up in small bursts, but nothing ever really happened. Nevertheless, it was enough to attract the attention of that monster, and soon Argost had promised Dad that I would his protegé and that he would take care of me. Argost returned the January before my seventh adoption day, so I tell anyone who asks that I was seven.
Life with Argost was confusing for me. I had to learn a new language, new rules, and new powers. Argost made sure to assert his dominance in every way possible, and he made sure that I only used my powers when directed at a specific cryptid; I later learned this was because Argost himself was a cryptid. Argost was a strange guardian. He never did anything without a reason, but determining those reasons was difficult. He liked to make people suffer. For me, it was the mental, verbal, physical, and emotional abuse I received. For Munya, it was the cryptid DNA that was slowly killing him, and the time he had to go to Mom's lab in Antarctica to retrieve her piece of the Kur Stone; it was a reminder to Munya of what he had lost, even if he didn't remember it, and it also did other things too. It forced Mom to see what her brother had become the entire time she thought he was dead, it caused physical pain for Munya to be in the cold like that, and it reminded Munya that he could never be human, that he would always be a half cryptid mutant.
For Dad, it was having to see me and not be able to talk to me or interact with me. It was also sending Dad and Doyle to the Saturday's home, to remind Dad of his days with Drew and to remind him that his daughter's mother lived there with her family. And for Doyle, it was sending Doyle to the Saturday's house that one time, and later having Doyle confront his sister; it served as a reminder to Doyle of the family he lost.
There are other examples too, but there are simply too many list. The worst part of it all is that Munya and I, we loved Argost. We admired him and wanted nothing more than ensure his comfort and pleasure. Some could say it's like the Stockholm Syndrome, but instead of romantic love, it is an admiration love. I don't know what it is, but the guilt and the shame of knowing I called that monster my master and served him with pleasure sickens me every day. When added into my mix of other problems, is it any wonder, then, that I am so sick and so determined to make an early exit from the play we call life? I'm haunted by my past, scarred by my present, and condemned by my future.
The sound of something sharp scraping metal awakens me. Zut! Dang, it's the last day to find Drew. Then I revert my attention back to the noise. I race to the nearest window and scan the surrounding area. I don't see anything at first, but a huge black lizard attacking the side of airship near the window startles me. Please tell me that is not a cryptid.
Zak, who has emerged from his room, has the same thought and disappears somewhere in the airship. When he returns, he has a white and orange device that looks like some kind of mobile device.
"What in the world is that?" I ask.
"It's a cryptidpedia. Lily." The awful sound of teeth on metal continues. "We need to figure out what's attacking." Zak races over to the window and scans the lizard that startled me only minutes before. By now everyone is awake and trying to figure what's going on. Zak looks through various entries in the cryptidpedia based off the scan he was able to do through the glass. "Guys, they're Galapagos Marine Iguanas," he explains. Doc gets a confused look on his face.
"What?! Those live on the coast, not this far inland! And they eat algae, not airships!" Zak shrugs. Doyle, Fisk, Zon, and Komodo begin making a ruckus about how we need to leave, but when Doc looks at the fuel guage, he shakes his head. We still have a few more hours to go.
"Fine! We just need to get these iguanas to stop attacking the airship!" Doyle shouts. In that moment, an idea dawns on both Zak and Fisk, They make a plan and race out of the airship before anyone can stop them. I hear Doc swear some under his breath, and he rarely swears.
Outside Zak is sitting on Fisk's shoulders and trying to get a connection with the iguanas. From what I can see, he is able to make connections quickly, but he struggles to hold the connections. I'm not sure if that is because Zak is a little rusty with his Kur powers or if the iguanas are not fully cryptids, but Zak needs to get his game on. I watch Zak for a while longer, and he appears to be having no more luck than when he began. Then a thought occurs to me. If I have the powers of Ningirama, who was the Sumerian god of healing and protection from snakes, I wonder if that protection extends into all reptiles. It's worth a shot, so I head outside to help Zak.
The iguanas are unrelenting in their attack. I wish I knew why they are attacking; none of the information we found on them show any kind of aggressive behavior to this magnitude. Zak sees me and starts trying to convince me to go back in the airship.
"I've got it!" he yells.
"Sure you do, Zak. I suppose you've figured out to make them stop attacking the airship, then." The mockery is evident in my voice, at least I hope it is. Then I approach one of the iguanas. I try to keep calm and approach the iguana with reverence and calm, but inside my heart is pounding. I have never used these powers before, and I'm quite sure how to use them. I'm hoping that what I'm doing is the right way to use them.
The iguana looks at me, but I can't figure out if that's good or bad. It makes a noise, and I can make out the word Ningirama. Maybe the iguana actually said the name, or maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I step closer to the iguana. It makes the same noise as before. Surely it is saying Ningirama.
"Why are you attacking?" I ask. The iguana snaps at me; I draw back but ask again.
"You are not Ningirama," it hisses.
"No, I'm not, but I have his powers. Why are you attacking?" I still get no answer to my question. A silence falls between us. "Can you tell me why I'm able to communicate with you since I am neither Ningirama nor Kur?" The iguana looks at me.
"Ningirama had the ability to communicate with all reptiles as part of his power to protect from snakes. Since you have his power, you have a dash of the ability, but that ability was truly bound to his soul, as his powers should have been." I nod. This just got even more confusing.
"Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, would you all please stop attacking our airship? We will gladly help you in any way we can." The iguana tells the others to stop attacking, and he reveals that they somehow ended up very far away from their home on the shore. I tell the Saturdays, and we help the iguanas return to their home. Then we are on our way to Peru once more.
Stars I hope Drew is there.
So that's the end of Chapter 11! It was a little longer than normal, but I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll have Chapter 12 up as soon as I can. Thank you all so much for reading! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! I love you all so much!