So finally some more right? Sorry I've been pretty busy since the semester is close to the end. For anyone still waiting on my other fics, I'M WORKING I SWEAR! Anyway, so this one is actually pretty long so enjoy.=^-^=

Ch. 11 - Mental Block


It wasn't entirely clear why the agents suddenly decided to retreat, but the Saturdays took the victory as it was. They'd had too much going on these past few days not to be grateful for it. It was just after breakfast when Doc reported their destination was just about reached. "Go ahead and get ready. We're not going to stay long since the other Scientists, and quite possibly other unwanted guests, probably have it under surveillance."

Drew nodded as she got her sword ready. "I don't doubt it. This is one of the most foolish places to go in this situation, but I need to get a good look at some of my texts to see if what that cat said was true or not. I'm still a bit skeptical in how I could have missed it if it's true, but I'll try anything at this point." She then turned towards the main corridor looking for her son only to find Fiskerton and Doyle leaning by the doorway. "Where's Zak?"

Doyle pointed down the hall. "Said he wanted to talk to Danny about Phantom. It makes sense since Danny's probably seen him in person several times before." He then stood up straight. "Want I should go get 'em?"

"Just tell him to get ready. We're going to use this chance to get some supplies as well." She requested as her brother started down the hall.

"No problem."


The two boys seemed to be waiting for some sort of cue as they waited for the other to finally speak. Zak had been quick to drag Danny away that morning as to not lose his chance, but now that he was here, bringing up the question proved slightly difficult. "Well?" Danny inquired as he crossed his arms. "Are you going to ask first or did you just want me to follow and immediately spill my guts to you?"

"The second one." Zak responded somewhat commandingly as he too crossed his arms.

Danny raised a brow. "Sorry, but it'll take too long just to try and tell you the whole story."

Zak seemed frustrated by the response, but kept his cool. "Fine, you and Phantom are the same person right?" He finished with high confidence.

"Yeah." Danny responded dryly.

"How?" Zak inquired immediately afterwards. "I mean, I guess you guys do look kinda similar and have the same first name…. your last names sound similar, and you sound similar, but" He continued with emphasis. "However you look at it, you guys are obviously different."

Danny took a moment to think about it before posing a new question. "Do you want the simple answer or to you want the elaborate explanation?"

Zak took his own moment to contemplate the choice before deciding. "Let's just go simple."

Danny gave a nod before looking towards the door and quickly scanning the rest of the room. Once he felt safe, he activated his morph ring and it quickly replaced Fenton with Phantom in a bright presentation. It had the desired effect Danny was looking for as he found the younger boy seemingly speechless. The halfa smirked in satisfaction while the boy's amazement held on his face. Once it faded, however, confusion seemed to replace it. "How did you do that? Does this mean you're a ghost?"

"Well I guess that's more of a yes and no." Danny started while still thinking it over himself. "I'm actually more of a half ghost. I can change between human and ghost whenever I want like just now." He then took his chance to change back into Fenton. "It's kind of how your situation is. You're human but also the incarnation of an ancient cryptid. I guess you could also be defined as half cryptid."

Zak raised a brow and held his chin. "So you're half dead? And half alive? Can you even be both like that? It's supposed to be one or the other." Zak tried to argue. This skepticism most likely stemmed from his father's point of view.

"I thought you wanted the simple one?" Danny questioned in slight irritation. "If you want science, my mom has a better theory on that one. I don't know what else to tell you."

Zak didn't seem too broken up by that and continued with questions. "Okay so half ghost super hero, cool. So why the secret? I mean I get the secret identity thing, it's superheroes 101, but why not tell us?"

Danny took a breath before speaking with a serious tone. "Sorry, Zak, but I don't go telling everybody about the half ghost thing. My mom didn't even know until yesterday to be honest."

The younger boy looked really confused by that. "You're kidding me right? Why not?"

Danny wasn't too happy to answer this question in particular as he reached for the back of his neck. "How long have you had your powers, Zak?"

The young Saturday was surprised by the question. "Ever since I was born as far as I know."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, that would make sense then. I've only had mine for a year or so. Let's just say that telling my ghost hunting parents that I was suddenly half ghost wasn't really at the top of my list of smart ideas at the time." He then turned to give Zak a pointed expression. "And you can't tell anyone else. Got it?"

Zak shrugged. "Sure, but why not? My parents are Secret Scientists, it's not like they can't keep a secret."

Danny shook his head. "Come on, Zak, just think about it. Your secret got out somehow, I don't want mine getting out next. You may have a group of scientists after you who care about your well-being, or claim too, but I have an entire government agency that would jump at the chance to make me their next big science experiment if they found out; not to mention all the other wackos out there. No, the less people that know, the better."

Zak scratched the side of his head. "Oh….. I guess that makes sense then, but can we at least let Fiskerton in? He did see you shoot that laser thing before."

Danny wasn't happy about the idea, but it was better he went ahead and let him in before he tried something like last night again. "Alright fine…"

Meanwhile, an eavesdropper waited in the hall as they continued their talk. Doyle couldn't believe what he'd heard. 'Danny is Phantom…. Crazy!' He thought as he continued to listen. Danny had just agreed to let Fiskerton in when a tap on the ex-mercenary's shoulder made him almost jump. "Whoa!" He let out in a muffled cry, before turning to see Mrs. Fenton with a finger over her lips. "Sorry I couldn't help over hearing…." He whispered with a sheepish expression.

She nodded and motioned him down the hall. "It's alright, I understand." She said with a knowing expression. "Just pretend like you don't know for the time being okay?"

Doyle seemed uneasy about the idea at first, but quickly changed his mind with a casual two finger salute. "Gotcha, Mrs. F." If there was anything Doyle knew by now, it was how to keep a secret even if it's from the rest of his family.


The airship parked over the disheveled Saturday house silently and its occupants swiftly descended inside. "So I'm going to guess that redecorating was on the table at some point?" Danny inquired as he looked at a damaged scaffolding for one of the three branched off sections of the house.

He, Zak and Fiskerton were sent to gather supplies from the utility locker while Doc and Drew looked through the library for clues. "Yeah, but it wasn't even halfway finished by the time the other scientists suddenly started chasing us." Zak responded. Fisk let out an apologetic grumble. (My bad…) "Come on Fisk, it's not really your fault that you somehow made these weird robots that trashed the house."

Danny raised a brow in slight amusement and curiosity. "Rampaging robots huh? Well that's pretty cool. My dad once sucked our house into another dimension while mom went to visit Aunt Alicia."

Zak turned to him. "Really? That must've been awesome." Fisk agreed in excitement. (Yeah!)

Danny gave a shrug. "I guess though I don't really remember it. I was only seven at the time, but my dad wouldn't let me answer the door again until I was ten." He finished with a laugh which was joined by his companions.

"We don't really get people knocking on our door all the way out here, but we're not home a lot anyway." As the two of them finally reach the storage room they were startled by a strange noise. Danny made his way to the wall first as to stay out of sight of whatever was inside while Zak and Fisk peaked inside. He found himself rolling his eyes before joining the boy. "I don't see anything, maybe we're just being paranoid." Zak deduced from the still and empty room.

"Paranoid indeed." They heard from behind. The three of them turned to find one V.V. Argost gazing over them with a twisted smirk.

"The heck!?" Danny sputtered in confusion before Fiskerton jumped in front of Zak and growled.

"What are you doing here, Argost!?" His tone was subdued as to not attract any unwanted attention.

The television star rubbed his chin with a dramatic expression. "Yes, a very astute question, my young Saturday, but I have a better one. What are you doing here? Certainly your family knows how easy a target this ruin is?"

"What's this all about, Zak?" Danny jumped in after being frustrated by his confusion. "Isn't this the guy in that TV show you were watching last night?"

Argost jumped at the mention and wore a surprised expression. "So you have been watching it seems. I was beginning to think you had decided to renege on our little deal."

"Not yet." Zak shot back.

Argost gave a chuckle. "Well then, I ask again, what are you doing here? The Auizotle happens to reside a whole hemisphere away."

Fiskerton growled deeper in response to his attitude but the man ignored it. "That has nothing to do with you! We have our reasons for being here, and your 'lessons' are just going to have to wait!" Zak shot back at the pompous man with air quotes. "Now get out of here before my parents see you!"

Argost then raised his finger as he sifted through his sleeve with his free hand. "Tsk tsk tsk, why such a hurry? I couldn't possible leave before show and tell." He informed as he pulled out a strange green medallion. The green skull bore red eyes which glowed along with the rest of it as Argost held it out towards Danny.

In a flash the confused teen was involuntarily transformed into his ghostly alter ego to the surprise of the other boys. "What the heck!? What did you do to me!?" Danny demanded after looking over his form and balling his fists.

Argost chuckled again. "It may be show and tell, but this is too good a development to simply give away like that." He mused before jumping back. He quickly threw down a ball which exploded into smoke to cover his getaway.

As Zak and Fisk dashed forwards after him Danny grabbed them both to stop them. "No!" He declared as a very familiar blue ghost cat appeared in the smoke. "You cannot trust him, young host of Kur! He is a villain!" While Zak tried to figure out the words of the strange dialect Danny found his attention fixed on the ghost. "Please, ghost child, you mustn't allow this to pass! I know you see him for the villain he is!" She then disappeared after Argost.

"What the heck was that all about!? What was that sound it was making?" Zak practically yelled in frustration while Fisk rubbed his chin in thought. He then tried to mimic the sounds but failed miserably.

Danny continued to look down the hall. "You couldn't understand her?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"Of course not. It was like hearing gibberish through a fan."

Danny scratched his head in confusion. He had no problem understanding the cat and she seemed to speak in perfect English. "What was it then?" He wondered to himself.

"By the way, how did you know that cat was there?" Zak asked as he put his claw away onto his belt. "You grabbed us both before the ghost cat even appeared."

Danny turned back to him and nodded. "Yeah, I felt my ghost sense. I can almost always tell when a ghost is nearby, and where it is."

"You can 'sense' a ghost? Like feel it and not see it?" Zak asked for clarification.

"Yeah. It's like a sixth sense. Automatic no matter what I'm doing." The halfa explained a bit more. "I don't really know how else to explain it."

Zak seemed to be thinking about it rather seriously as Danny released his ghost form. Fiskerton then approached them both holding a box and grumbled. "Oh right…. Supplies." Zak realized as he turned back to the room.


"Be sure to let Ulraj know we're leaving again, and the sea serpent will probably do the same." Doc requested as Drew entered the hanger. The quick supply run went off with no incident aside from the boy's strange run in. The three of them are keeping their mouths shut of course while the Saturday parents get the ship underway.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Saturday, but have you seen my mom around?" Danny asked as Doyle closed the hatch door behind the teen.

"She's in the lab right now. She said something about going over the energy readings she recorded last night, but I didn't get all of it." Drew informed promptly as she began to ring the Kumari King on the video phone.

Danny scratched his head as he headed off towards the lab. "Readings?" As he entered the room he immediately noticed the frustrated expression on his mother's face. "What's up, mom?"

She turned to him with a lite smile. "Oh hey, Danny. How was the supply run?"

"It was okay, nothing happened." He said smoothly with practiced ease. "So what are you looking at?"

Maddie made a few key strokes and sighed in frustration. "These energy fluxuations from last night. That whole incident with Epsilon got me thinking. Why would they leave so quickly? They didn't even seem to grasp how outmatched they were and yet they left at the drop of a hat." She then pulled up a graph. "Around 3 this morning I got a huge reading on the Speeder's onboard computer, but I can't seem to figure out the source. It's like the ones from Greenland and even back in Amity Park, but this one just appeared out of nowhere. No matter how many times I run the numbers it's just impossible. The closest I've gotten were several hits throughout the ship, but it was moving too fast; very unnatural." She finished as she shook her head.

Danny looked over the graphed data in slight confusion. "So whatever was happening in Amity Park, then Greenland was happening in the area around the ship last night?" Danny tried to piece together.

"Yes, but I can't seem to figure out how." She took a breath to think. "It's making me think more and more about what that ghost said. Maybe the Ghost Zone is reaching out somehow and causing these unnatural readings to occur, but why? And why in that spot?" As Danny took a moment to think over the question he found himself feeling nervous. He didn't know why, but it bothered him.


Doyle looked over his sister's shoulder as she flipped through an old and ratty text. "Someone doesn't take good care of their text books." He teased much to Drew's annoyance. There had been a very large and damaging crack along the back wall of their library and so many of the books had been damaged even more than the one she held in her hand.

"Considering it has lasted several hundred years already, I think I deserve a little leeway on its condition. Besides, I'm not completely sure if it's what we need or not."

"Then why take the risk and bring it out of the house?" He inquired as he crossed his arms.

Drew shook her head. "It was all I could think of at the time that could maybe help. Remember what that cat Gaia said? She said Kur wasn't evil and that there had been other incarnations of him."

Doyle raised a brow. "Okay, and?"

"Drew has a theory." Doc started in as he headed over towards the flight console. "If what that cat said was true, and Kur had other incarnations that weren't evil, then if we can find some evidence-"

"We can get those other egg heads off mini-man's tail." Doyle finished with enthusiasm. "Sounds good. I'm game."

Drew shook her finger before returning it to the pages of her ancient text. "Just hold on. First we have to figure out where to go. This text is supposed to be from the ancient Mesopotamian area; the Fertile Crescent."

"That mean it's about Sumerians?" Doyle asked while feeling like he knew the answer.

"Yes and no." Drew responded. "While it's supposed to date back to that time, this transcription is actually about a lesser known civilization that was later conquered by the Sumerians. There isn't much of any other record of them in existence which is why I never thought to look here for information on Kur." She flipped through the pages a bit. "There is also no form or mention of Kur in this text anywhere."

"Then how does that help if it doesn't have anything to do with Kur?" The young ex-mercenary questioned in confusion.

"I never said that." She corrected. "As a matter of fact, this would have never lead me to think of Kur until yesterday, so I can understand your confusion. According to this, the Sumerians called this smaller civilization, the Children of the Earth, and they were actually conquered a short time before Kur was supposed to have risen up to ravage the ancient world. While the dates are questionable at best, I find this to be very persuasive towards the idea of a connection." She continued as she turned a page and showed off an ancient image. It depicted a blue spirit which resembled a large cat ever so slightly. "Look familiar?"

"Ghost cat?" Doyle guessed with a pointed finger at the picture.

"That's what I was thinking. Also, the name Gaia referred to 'mother earth' in Greek Mythology. The Greeks had renamed many places in the areas of their empire including the area here which is now referred to as Mesopotamia."

"Does that mean were going to Greece?" Zak asked as he entered the room with Komodo following close behind.

Doc gave a nod. "Yup, but we won't know exactly where until we can decipher that map."

Drew held down the map to show him. The young Saturday took a look for himself at the aged hand drawn map. While he never claimed to be a geography specialist he quickly found something wrong with the compass rose. "So are those the Greek symbols for directions or something?"

Drew shook her head in response with confusion marring her own face. "No, these are Greek letters; Theta, Mu, Omega, and Psi. I can't really place why they're there or why those four are being substituted like that, but I can't accurately read the map until I do. There are no especially identifiable land markings on here aside from an unnamed body of water which could be any of a hundred. The only specification it shows is a small structure of some sort with written directions below it. It's the only part written in Sumerian. 'She calls the morning light to welcome her children and guide them to her loving embrace'."

Doyle laughed at the translation. "Sounds like every other vague and metaphoric clue you find on old maps."

"Which makes it sound really easy." Zak added in. "Morning light is the sun, so all we have to do is look for some land map when the sun rises."

"You're missing the point Zak, we still don't know where to look for this land map, and aside from this text, that ghost cat isn't mentioned in any other texts or mythologies." Drew tried to reason out in slight frustration towards her son's simple attitude.

"The most we can do with what we have is head to the Mesopotamian area and hope for the best." Doc reiterated.

"Or we can go here." Maddie suddenly interjected as she entered the room. She pointed to the navigational map above Doc where she highlighted a specific landmass in the Aegean Sea.

"Why here?"

"Because it's an ectoplasmic hot spot." She confidently responded. "I was doing some comparisons in the lab which eventually lead me to this one in particular. Its signature matches the ghost cat, Gaia, perfectly."

"Then we can go find a land map there." Zak reiterated with a confident smirk.

Drew gave the information a grateful nod. "After last night, I was starting to think it would be a horrible idea to keep you involved, but I'm glad you stayed."

"Coordinates are set." Doc stated with determination. "Now we just have to get there. Hopefully we'll find some answers."


Zak sat along the edge of the observation deck as his father checked on the navigational controls. He looked listlessly at his Claw while kicking his feet back and forth. Once Doc had finished his check, he got up and saw his son's sullen mood. "Zak?" Zak didn't respond as he sighed for about the hundredth time and laid his chin on the rail. "Okay, Zak, what's bothering you?" His insightful father inquired as he leaned over the railing next to the boy.

"Nothing…." Zak responded as he tapped the Claw on the metal bar.

Doc raised a disbelieving brow. "I'm your father, Zak. I know the difference between nothing and something." He informed with an air of determination. "It's about your powers isn't it?" He ascertained as he looked down at the boy.

"Yeah…." Zak relented with another sigh. "I was just thinking about how much trouble they've been giving me since Antarctica. Why? They've been hard to use before, but I was really getting used to them. Now I can barely connect with a Cryptid without them going crazy."

Doc gave him an understanding expression. "Well, I can't really tell you how to fix that problem. All the information me and your mother have about Kur is centuries old. I will give you some advice though. In science, many things start out as strange and mysterious. Take Cryptozoology for example. Cryptids are generally thought of as make-believe to most of the general population. It takes a determined and inquiring mind to try and prove otherwise and figure out why things happen."

Zak furrowed his brow as he looked up at his dad. "Are you telling to figure it out for myself?" He then shifted his expression towards irritation. "Somehow, I was expecting something different."

Doc shook his head. "That's not quite it, Zak. I'm trying to tell you to think about it from more than one angle. Don't look at it as if it were unexplainable and mysterious. Instead, try and reason out what changed; Cause and effect." Doc explained more clearly.

"But you are telling me to figure it out for myself?" Zak questioned yet again with a dry expression.

"In a way…" Doc started which elicited a frustrated groan from Zak.

"That's what I've been trying to do…." He then found his gaze shifting over to the large windows below out of impulse.

"You know you're not alone in this, Zak." Doc reaffirmed which elicited a nod from Zak.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just frustrated. This whole Kur thing has gotten way out of hand for me…" He lamented before his attention was drawn to a small form in the distance. He watched curiously as it grew ever larger on its approach. "Uh, dad?" Zak started before pointing. "Is that plane headed right for us?"

Doc took a look for himself. "I don't think that's a plane, Zak…" He continued after a moment as his eyes widened. "That's a bird!" He then ran over to the navigational controls.

Zak jumped up and followed. "A bird? It's huge! What kind of bird is that?"

Doc took off the autopilot and brought the creature on screen. "Large Bird of prey, possibly a Thunder Bird…." He thought aloud as he looked over it.

"It looks like a giant hawk." Zak stated curiously. Cryptids were generally exotic looking so seeing one like this, which looked rather average aside from its size, was rare.

Doyle then ran through the doors looking rather frantic. "Hey, you know there's a….." He stopped once he saw Doc already analyzing the creature. "Oh…. I guess you already know then." He then strolled up behind Doc to look for himself. "So what exactly is a Roc anyway?"

Doc looked up at him. "A Roc?"

"Uh Doyle…. That's a bird, not a rock." Zak tried to correct.

"Sorry, mini-man, but Drew says it's a type of bird."

"Really?" The preteen questioned.

"Yeah, I said the same thing."

"A Roc?" Doc reemphasized. "Now this is getting out of hand. These cryptids never go over large bodies of water unless they're migrating, and that's not supposed to happen this late in the year." As Doc redirected the ship to stay out of its way.

"Maybe he's a straggler?" Doyle suggested until another of the birds flew down in front of the ship.

"Whoa!" Doc cried as he made a sharp turn.

"Or not…." The red head retracted as he held tight to the railing.

"Don't tell me I'm attracting cryptids again!?" Zak let out in frustration.

"Considering recent events, probably." Doc confirmed as the other one joined the first Roc.

Drew then entered the room with a serious expression. "Did you find all three of them?"

"No." Doc responded. "Just these two. The third one must be close by though."

"How do you know there are three?" Zak inquired as he held tight to the railing.

"These Cryptids travel in squads of three usually. They don't attack in smaller numbers, and they migrate in large flocks, but they remain in smaller groups of three while they do so." Drew informed. "In most cases, two younger Rocs are led by an older male. These two appear to be of far different ages." She pointed out as she directed their attention towards the head of the second Roc. "You can tell by the beak and by the tail feathers; they have a darker color."

"But what about that third one you were talking about?" Doyle inquired as the two birds circled back towards their airship. A screech marked its position above the ship as the ship shook violently.

"Looks like its friend found the solar array." Doc noted as he looked over the ship's diagnostic screen. "No damage, but that won't last long."

"Roc talons can tear apart large animals in midair. They're most common hunting method involves scooping up large prey after separating it from a heard. They then share the kill even before landing."

"So what, take out?" Doyle joked at the information.

"Nice." Zak said with approval and a laugh.

"It's only funny until you find yourself ripped from the ground, and the main course for three large predatory birds." Drew added in which stopped their amusement. "Anyway, they usually hunt in large open areas nowhere near the ocean. These look to be from an arid dessert, maybe North American? Unless they migrated up from the Sahara."

"It could be either." Doc concurred. "Considering our position, neither distance is too far from them. They don't seem to have come from the mainland, that's east of us not west."

"Does where they're from matter? They don't look like they're about to stop attacking the ship." Doyle pointed out as he headed over towards a storage closet. "We need to stop them."

Drew quickly moved to stop him. "Are you really going to fly out between three large CARNIVOROUS birds with just a jetpack?"

Doyle gave a shrug. "Well I was going to bring some concussion grenades too, maybe a flash grenade…"

Drew rolled her eyes. "For the love of-"

"Take me, Doyle!" Zak suddenly insisted as he put on a helmet.

"What? No!" Drew instantly disagreed.

"Sorry, mini-man but I think I'm gonna have to go with the parents on this one."

Zak raised up his claw. "Come on, mom, I can do this."

"Zak, I don't think-" Doc was cut off.

"No, dad just let me try! You said I have to figure this out right? We're over the Atlantic Ocean, miles from land. These cryptids are only out here because of me, I just want to help them."

Doc let out a sigh. "Zak, I understand you're frustrated, but this situation would not be the best for trial and error."

"Doc the birds!" Drew directed as the flying giants swooped towards them with talons raised.

"I got it!" He called back.

As both of his parents were distracted Zak turned to Doyle. "Come on, Doyle, please?" He whispered.

The ex-mercenary seemed cross as he let out a sigh. "Alright, come on." He whispered back as he ran towards the door. Zak dashed close behind in excitement. By the time either of the Saturday parents noticed them, they had already opened the side door and were jumping out. Doyle had Zak fastened to himself tightly as they moved out of the airship's path.

Drew immediately jumped to the intercom. "Doyle! You come back here right now! You are not playing keep away between three giant predatory birds and my son!" She yelled at him with no response.

Meanwhile Doyle took a back glance before turning to look down at Zak who was strapped into the jetpack against his chest. "So what's the plan, mini-man?" Zak remained quiet for a moment which made Doyle a bit worried. "You do have a plan?... Right?"

"That one!" Zak declared as he pointed his claw towards the elder Roc. "Mom said the leader is supposed to be an older one. If I can get a connection to that one with my powers, I bet I could get them to leave." He then unclasped the claw. "Just get me in close."

Doyle chuckled. "Easier said than done, mini-man."

Zak looked back at him with a raised brow. "So you can't do it?"

Doyle scoffed at him. "I didn't say that. Just work your magic, and I'll work mine." Doyle then moved and directed himself towards the large birds. The elder Roc seemed to lead the pack as they converged on the smaller humans.

Zak kept his claw pointed as it glowed along with his eyes. "Alright just-" Just as the Roc began to respond, it backed off and let the two younger ones dive for them. "Whoa!"

"Hold on, mini-man!" Doyle instructed as he started his evasive maneuvers. The two cryptids were relentless. Every time he'd doge one, the other dove in next giving Doyle only seconds to doge.

"Come on, Doyle, we need to get back to that first one. I almost had him."

Doyle grunted as he flipped them out of the way of another swipe of the bird's talons. "Gotta give me a sec….." He leveled off and turned, but the second Roc cut him off. "Man, this would be a whole lot easier if there were only two of 'em." He dove under its wing to dodge the claws only to be surprised by the leader. It screeched angrily as it swiped at them with its talons. "Whoa!" Doyle pulled back to doge. He was able to stay out of reach, but Zak slipped from the newly torn harness from the force of the jerk.

"Doyle!" He called out.

"Shit! I commin for ya, Zak!" He dove down, but with two of the Roc's interfering, he wasn't catching up anytime soon. "That's it! No more Mr. Nice Guy." He growled out as he pulled a concussion grenade from his belt. He tossed it up at one of them and both scattered from the explosion. Doyle took his chance to dive once again for the boy, only now he had competition. The third Roc was diving for him too, and at a surprisingly fast pace. He cranked his jetpack up higher and began to catch up, but the bird reached him first. He couldn't stop himself from being relieved since Zak was just above the water when he was caught. "Alright, now I gotta get him back before they start carving." He was quick to get on the tail of the large cryptid who held Zak firmly in its right talon. The young boy seemed intent on escape until the bird lowered its head and took the boy into his beak. "Back off, bird!" Doyle yelled as he raised another grenade. He was ready to throw it but stopped when the Roc tossed Zak up and he landed on the large cryptid's back. "What the heck?"

Zak turned back to him and waved his claw hand. "No worries, Doyle!" He then took firm hold of several feathers as the bird climbed in the air. "Alright, to that one in front." He directed the bird confidently.

Doyle rode up from behind in confusion. "You get it with your powers!?" He yelled in question.

Zak shook his head. "Actually, he's a friend."

The hawk almost seemed to smirk in response. "What's up?" Doyle almost lost his stability at the sudden speech.

"It's Phantom, Doyle. He possessed the Roc."

Doyle gave him an impressed expression. "Sweet. I'll get the other one, and you get Zak close enough to the head honcho."

"No problem." Danny responded with confidence. The two of them broke off, and the other young Roc quickly followed after Doyle as expected. The elder one seemed intrigued by the younger Roc who appeared to be coming after him. Danny banked right in order cut off its flight and Zak got his claw ready.

"Just give me a minute." Zak requested as he locked his eyes with the Roc. The bird glared back at him and screeched angrily. "Come on… just… come on!"

"Calm down, Zak." Danny instructed as he heard the younger boy grumble in frustration.

"I am calm!" Zak shot back.

Danny turned back to him and saw he wasn't getting anywhere with the cryptid. The calm intrigue that held the Roc was wearing off the more frustrated Zak got. "Nope, we're done!" Danny stated in a stern tone. He flew away from the cryptid which quickly shook away the boy's control when he lost eye contact.

"Hey! What's the big idea, Danny!?"

Phantom continued to fly away as he responded. "I was saving you the trouble of losing control. That bird wasn't going to stay calm much longer."

Zak glowered at him. "And what would you know about how my cryptid powers work? I almost had him!"

Danny jerked a bit to stop Zak from continuing. "You may have forgotten, but you tried them on me remember? When I was in the Sea Serpent?"

Zak wore an expression of annoyed intrigue as he nodded. "Yeah, and you told me to buzz off."

"Yeah, I did. I was trying to concentrate and didn't have time to explain, but you didn't really put up much of a fight either."

"It's not like you let me." Zak countered. "I wasn't really expecting it to tell me to buzz off."

Danny chuckled. "I guess not, but my point is that you weren't trying hard enough."

Zak wore a puzzled expression as he pulled up higher on the cryptid's back. "I was trying as hard as I could. My powers have just been acting up since Antarctica and they're harder to control."

Danny took a moment to think before banking again. The elder Roc was keeping its distance from them while the other was still busy with Doyle. "You said you found out about the whole Kur thing in Antarctica right?"

"Yeah." Zak answered in a sullen tone. "It's like they have a mind of their own now."

"Maybe not." Danny started as he adjusted his position with a flap of his wings. "I think it's your problem, not your powers."

Zak seemed bewildered by the statement. "My problem? I never had problems before Antarctica!"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but you also didn't know you were Kur."

Zak paused at that. "Well I…."

"I'm not going to pretend to know how your powers work, but I know how mine do. I knew from the start that I had ghost powers. The half ghost thing wasn't too far a leap in logic either. You only just found out what your powers were and it scares you. My parents told me ghosts were evil monsters all my life, just like yours probably told you how evil Kur was. You're afraid of using your powers now because you don't want to be Kur."

"Why would I!?" Zak questioned in frustration.

"I don't know. I didn't want to be half ghost either, but I can't help it."

Zak looked over towards the air ship which had been following the confrontation with the Rocs. "These powers do nothing but cause problems."

"Oh, I know that feeling, but that is your problem. You need to stop working against your powers and use them."

Zak looked at him in scrutiny as if what he was just told was absolute madness. "These powers are…"

"Dangerous?" Danny questioned. "So are mine, but if I don't use them, I can't keep ghosts from going crazy in Amity Park." Danny then took a sharp turn to face the enemy Roc. "Look, it's now or never, Zak. You aren't the Kur your mom and dad told you about. You control the power, the power does not control you." Danny hovered a moment. "So, ready for another shot?"

Zak gave him a confident smirk. "I've got this."

"Good." Danny then made a B line straight for the cryptid which mimicked the action immediately. The two birds headed for each other like it was a game of chicken while Zak pointed his claw intently on the enemy cryptid. "All right now…" He started as his eyes began to glow. He was calm now unlike before as his glow transferred to the cryptid before him. "I don't want to fight." He expressed. The cryptid seemed deterred a bit, and broke off completely after a moment more. It remained hovering in the air as Danny banked around it. "Good, Roc. Now I need you and your friends to get back home. You don't need to come to find me anymore." The bird cocked its head to the side. "Yes, go home." After a moment the Roc complied and let out a screech. This seemed to call back the other Roc who was pursuing Doyle.

"Aw yeah!" Doyle cheered as he approached the huddled birds. "I knew you could do it, mini-man."

Danny gave a nod in agreement. "Go ahead and grab him so I can get out of this bird would ya?" Doyle complied with a two finger salute. "I'm on it." He grabbed Zak up easily before the bird seemed to falter a bit.

After Zak, and Doyle were out of the way, the young Kur directed the birds away. "Alright now, guys, go straight home, got it?" They appeared to get the picture and flew away peaceably.


So I hope you enjoyed! I know lot's of you were curious about Argost, and as you read, he's still here. Also, I thought I should go about getting Danny and Zak to work together a bit more. Since Danny has known his powers from the beginning, I figured he'd be good at giving advice you know? Danny knows he's not evil and so he could give Zak a push. Yeah it's a mentor moment and there will be more so deal. Zak's got his own bag of tricks to teach so look forward to that too.=^-^=

As always, questions are welcome and I love to hear what ya'll think!=^-^=