((EDIT February 23, 2018 Friday))
Thanks to LunarCatNinja, East Walkers, acrisafu, AshBlackRabbit and Matt for reviewing!
And we hit over 100 reviews! Thank you so very much :D!
YOU ALL CAN THANK TigerLily89 FOR REMINDING ME THAT IT'S THE FIFTEENTH. Sorry I'm sick so it slipped my mind.
A/N: IAMSORRYNOTSORRY.
Frick I'm scared of how y'all'll react. I tend to write A/Ns before the fic so I may modify this.
I don't know Morse Code; I used a chart. Code Lyoko had it in an episode and I always wanted to learn it. Homestuck also uses it at a point, and so does Stranger Things.
So, um, Zak and Arthur were supposed to be in this chapter but it didn't end up that way and I don't want to change the title.
EDIT : There seems to be this misconception that "Antagonist" means "evil". Arthur obviously has a warped view, which the final A/N will explain more than the final chapter, but I actually don't consider him evil.
*Warning for violence and blood these last two chapters*
DISCLAIMER: Not mine still.
"Our natures can define us; we must choose what those are, and what they mean to us. You are kind as long as you strive to be, and as horrific as you allow yourself. Choose good, and act upon it.
And for those who don't know or can't define; they can still very well end up the hero.
No one else can define our nature for us." - some more made up stuff by me, SubtleShenanigans
"Zak... is Kur."
- Doc Saturday in Kur: Part One
Finalé Part 1:
Nature
As Zak left, Drew took a moment to latch onto Doc like any adoring wife.
But unlike most adoring wives, she tapped on his arm in Morse code:
(Dot-dash-dot-dot dot dot-dot-dash-dot dash)
.-.. . ..-. -
L E F T
Doc took a moment to glance out of the corner of his eye. Then, while still nodding to some stuffy, annoying beneficiary, he let his gaze trail the room. He clasped his hand into Drew's, tapping:
(dash-dash dot dash-dot)
- . -.
M E N
He took a moment to make a joke that the others laughed at, then turned and smiled at his wife. Their eyes held a brief conversation, to which he outloud said, "Isn't that right, Honey?"
Am I right?
She smiled sweetly. "Absolutely."
You've got it.
Conversation delved back into what it originally had been, though the Saturday couple was ever tense. They were making their way towards one of the now-obviously suspicious men in the room, when the night took a turn for the worst.
"Nobody move!"
A smaller man had grabbed a young lady around her neck and pulled her close to him - her jangling necklace and earrings of real diamond and white gold showing her as someone definitely of class. He had a pistol held up to her head, his gaze twitchy as he looked around.
"I'll be taking this dame with me, and keepin' her, unless ya'll can provide me with the necessary figures; unnerstood?"
"Let go of my daughter!" One of the older bureaucrats shouted, held back by what was either his son or son-in-law.
He shoved the gun a little more roughly against the woman, grinning harshly, "Not 'til I get my money, capisce?"
Drew had pulled away from Doc, deftly taking the compressed Firesword out of her bag. Doc too, circled, slipping on his glove and flexing his fingers. In the background the other Secret Scientists began to move, keeping concealed weapons of their own. They'd been in too many sticky situations to not do so.
But before a move could be made there was a gunshot, the armed man going down and clutching his leg, grimacing while blood seeped through his fingers. One of the men Komodo had espied before had pulled out a much larger gun.
"Oh thank you-!" The woman he had saved made as if to go forward stopped suddenly, his gun on her. She backed up as he sneered.
"We don't care about you choks or your money. The Secret Scientists are to come with us, or else."
Too late they all realized that by arming themselves they had automatically been grouped together - and were easily drawn close. All the burly men were hemming them in, until they were back-to-back.
"What should we do now Doc?" She asked.
"Stall for a minute; I'm contacting the others - at least Zak is safe with Arthur," Doc said, hiding his communicator behind his back and blindly typing with one hand; his non-dominant one. He was confident he'd get the message through though.
Luckily, Miranda Gray proved to be a great distraction. "What is the meaning of this?!" She spat, an electric staff materializing in her hands. She had already hit the call button for Deadbolt, though he was only half-fixed.
Chk-chhk! One of them brought his gun up, saying with no emotion, "Our employer is pretty upset with you all. Said we could do away with whoever we want - long as we save a few for 'im." A wolfish grin.
"This 'Neil' person?" Doctor Washtda, the older geographicastronomicalologist asked. The older woman was armed with nothing save her purse, which she wielded like a weapon anyways.
"Sent," Doc whispered.
"New Zealand?" Drew murmured back.
"Heck yeah."
They powered their weapons, missing the man's response; their fellows were prepared too, and looked at one another and nodded.
"Now!" Doc yelled.
It was simple but brutal; they mainly were aiming to disarm the men, Doctor Washtda grabbing the earlier kidnapper's pistol just in case.
Doc had the first guy he hit out like a light, the glove's power intensifying the hit. It's not like Doc was a light guy, either, so his punches really packed a punch, with or without the glove.
Drew had her Fire Sword out, the solar power stored from earlier igniting it with a crackling ring of metal. Two of the men before her fled, the third taking his chances and holding the huge gun like a shield.
"Sorry big guy," Drew shrugged, "but that's not gonna do you much good."
Scchfffwish!
The two halves of still-warm gunmetal fell from his hands as he fled, only to be knocked down by Komodo with a startled scream.
She took the time to glance around and saw that most of the guests were running screaming, the snack table and drink coolors knocked over and the food trampled.
"Oh yeah; definitely New Zealand," Drew commented before returning to the chaos.
That had been a fun anniversary.
Miranda jumped with a yell, jabbing a man in the throat with her staff, eliciting a gurgling scream from him as he fell.
"A little much don't you think?" Doc asked, punching his opponent once more on the face. He was pretty sure he broke the guy's nose. Whoops.
Miranda angrily yanked her staff up, face contorted angrily.
"He betrayed us," she said with disgust.
"Who?" Doc shoved a man until he stumbled into Deadbolt, shocking him unconscious.
"Arthur."
"What?!" He turned shocked, ducking as she shoved her staff forwards and hit someone behind him. He watched them fall, commenting, "What do you mean Arthur betrayed us?"
She grunted as she swung at another guy - it seemed there had been reinforcements - stating, "When Doctor Wasdta asked about the Neil guy who invited us - the jack-rabbit said it didn't matter what his name was - Neil, Allen, or Arthur - he intended to take us down."
"But Zak is-" Doc realized with horror.
Miranda's own face mirrored his expression. "Oh no."
Drew had just shaved some of an opponent's hair with a swipe of her sword, the smell of burning follicles caused her to scrunch up her nose in disgust, when she heard Doc calling her. He fought his way over, panting with adrenalin and fear.
"Drew, Drew! It's Arthur! Arthur is Neil!"
"Oh no. . ." she whispered in horror, a chill climbing up her spine. She looked around wildly, yelling "Zak! Zak!"
Suddenly, crystal clear through the pandemonium, a gunshot rang out.
And that was about when the fire started.
LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK
Zon circled in the forest around the compound, the frosty breeze agitating her scales, but she endured.
The party had been going for a few hours already, some sort of divine sounding classical music arising from it as the aristocracy and those of the lesser known knowledgable world talked and danced the night away in a demure, wistful sense of composure.
. . . Whatever that meant.
Zon was a simple cryptid, and such fancy-fancy didn't process well with her.
She could smell some sort of fish - tuna?! - inside, and really hoped Zak would bring her some. He was a good ch'ck-ling, she was sure he would.
(She should probably think of him as a youngling, rather, since he was past the stage of nest-rearing and more in that of flight-testing.)
(Not that he could actually fly of course, but Zon had had ch'ck-lings before that left the nest long ago, and Zak was similar in many ways.)
She shook her head; ruffles of feathery-fur stuff whipping about. Zon needed to be alert. That's what Doyle-Bl'ckw'll said. And Doyle-Bl'ckw'll was good-friend who called her J'rass'c and gave her pets and fish. She missed Zak-youngling sometimes, but was happy living with his fiery-haired uncle.
. . . And it was a little easier to be away from the Power of K'r. She trusted Zak without a doubt, but she could feel that power from quite a distance, and after awhile the pin-pricking of it became uncomfortable, especially when he was emotional.
She guessed not all Cryptids felt it the same.
. . . Huh. She could kind of feel it right now actually. Weird.
But then she smelt smoke, and realized with alarm that there was fighting going on in there, and- and-
She swooped lower and twisted around, and saw Zak through a large window, arguing with a man holding a Bwoosh-click! thing, and without a second thought, she dove and crashed through the window in a scream and tinkle of glass, just as the trigger was pulled.
LINE BREAK LINE BREAK ME SNAKE LINE BREAK
Drew let the rare curse slip out, this one in English, which really showed how distressed she was.
The fire swept throughout the building, catching fast on the cheap carpet and odd pieces of furniture. She wasn't sure if a candle had fallen from the one chandelier, or if someone had deliberately set the place on fire.
Either way.
"We have to get to Zak!" She shouted, as the roar of fire consuming things grew.
"But we have to get the others out," Doc yelled back, glancing around in growing uncertainty.
Doctor Gray passed by them. "You go get Zak! We'll take care of this! Make Arthur pay!"
She raced away and with barely a look, Drew and Doc did the same.
The hall had escaped the inferno but it would only be so long before the entrenching crescendo reached them. They crashed through doors finding nothing until the last one at the end of the hall on the right.
It was locked.
They looked at one another. And with a nod, they turned back to the door.
Doc readied his glove and Drew her sword, and then they crashed in.
The door fell beneath their combined desperation, but when they looked up, their hearts fells into their stomachs.
They did not move, not right away, as footsteps echoed behind them and Doyle caught up, the other three nowhere to be seen.
"Holy moly. . ."
The room was empty save for Zon in the corner, who lay crumpled in pain and keening softly from the bullet that tore through her wing. Doyle was upon her instantly, murmuring and checking the injury.
"It only tore through the membrane, thank heavens," he sighed.
"But where's Zak?" Drew said, voice choked.
They all looked to the far wall.
Glass spread on the floor before the open window like fallen diamonds, twinkling as the breeze from the open night swept in. There was nothing save the forest beyond, illuminated by the moon.
Nothing, surely, save, Arthur and Zak.
TO BE CONCLUDED IN FINALE PART 2: ZAK.