A/N: How's it going, everyone? It's Friday once again, and you know what that means! Time for another new chapter, and it's quite the beefy one today. Of course, a lot of it IS sort of just recapping the events of Secret Saturdays so that the team knows exactly what Zak's deal is, but at the same time, they also get to know Zak a lot more because of that, so let's not waste any more time and dive in, shall we? This is…

Chapter 55: Communing with Cryptids

…..

Gwen let out a soft sigh as she came through a set of automatic doors. The team had returned to the airship, and she had just finished performing a spell that sent all of the poachers straight to Plumber Headquarters. Thankfully, she was only a little winded from the experience, the Anodite finding it easier each time she needed to teleport a large group of people. "Phew, okay, now that all of the jerks are gone…" Gwen set her sights over to the three Saturdays, with the team all gathered around them. "How about we finish off our introductions for the day?"

"Heh, good idea." Zak chuckled, placing a hand on his chest. "Well, you guys know me already, and I heard my mom and dad already introduced you to Zon here…" He reached up and pet the Ornithocheirus' head, earning a delighted chirp from her. "But I don't know any of you guys, aside from Ben and Ruby, so…"

"Right, names." Yang jerked her thumb to herself with a friendly grin. "Well, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister." She gestured over to her teammates, who both bowed their heads to Zak in greeting. "And this is Weiss and Blake. Together, we're Team RWBY!"

Zak's eyebrows rose up in confusion. "Wait a sec…" He tilted his head to Ruby. "You mean the team's named after you?"

The other three girls deadpanned while Ruby's cheeks became a shade of pink, an awkward laugh escaping her throat. "AHAHA! N-No, of course not! That's RWBY, as in "Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang". It's only a coincidence that it's also my name…"

"OH! I get ya! It's the first letters of your names all put together, that's neat." But then, another question came to Zak's mind. "Wait, so… why do you have a team name in the first place if you're already part of the Omni-Hunters?"

The group of Remnant teens couldn't help but laugh a little at that, with Jaune coming up to answer him. "Heh, well you see, Zak, our teams were formed WAY before we became Omni-Hunters. See, we went to a special academy that trained Huntsmen prior to Ben arriving in our world, and that's the place where we got assigned to our teams." He gestured over to his own team. "For example, my name's Jaune, and this is Nora, Pyrrha and Ren." The three teammates greeted Zak respectively before Jaune stated; "Together, we're Team JNPR."

At that point, Zak was extremely into everything that Jaune was saying. "Woah! So you're saying that in your world, there's special schools that train you for combat?!"

"Indeed." Pyrrha affirmed. "There are the primary combat schools and then there are the Huntsman Academies, where we are trained to fight Grimm."

"Grimm…" Doc echoed, placing a hand to his chin. "And what exactly are those?"

"Dangerous creatures that are made from pure darkness." Weiss answered, her brow furrowing seriously. "They're kind of like Cryptids, only everyone knows about them since they're everywhere. They're a threat to Remnant's very way of life."

Blake folded her arms over her chest. "Exactly… and their master, Salem, is the biggest threat of them all…" From there, the teens went on to explain Salem's end goal of gathering all of the ancient Relics from the four kingdoms in order to bring the Gods of Light and Darkness back to Remnant so they can cast their judgement upon the world. They also made sure to introduce themselves to Zak along the way as well.

In the end, though, the Saturdays were left utterly speechless after hearing their story. "…Wow." Drew muttered. "You know, if we HADN'T gone through so much already, I probably wouldn't have believed all that."

"We know it's pretty hard to believe." Sun nodded. "But it's all true."

"And if we don't stop Salem from bringing all four Relics together…" Neptune bit his lip with a slight pause. "…our world could be doomed."

Zak, with concern across his features, leaned in toward the heroes. "There… there has to be SOME way you guys can beat her, right? No one's indestructible after all… unless you ARE a god, in most cases."

Ilia shook her head. "There's no known way to defeat Salem… not yet at least."

"We were told, in fact, that there may not BE a way." Penny added, the android raising a finger to make a point. "However, it is important to distinguish that the context in which we heard that piece of information was very specific to someone we know, implying that THEY could not beat Salem, but it might be possible that someone else CAN."

The Saturdays blinked at Penny's expositing, unsure of what to make of that word jumble. "Um… okay, I understand." Doc scratched his head. "…I think." The man shook it off before offering the teens a smile. "Well, anyway, if you kids want some additional help, you can bet that we'd be more than happy to lend a hand."

Ren and the others were understandably surprised by Doc's willingness to help, even more so when Drew and Zak nodded in solidarity with him. "Wait, really? Even after everything we said about Salem?"

"Of course!" Drew waved off, wearing a confident smile. "I mean, it wouldn't be the FIRST time we've had to deal with world-ending threats, after all."

With a thumbs up, Zak only echoed her sentiments. "Right, we're professionals in Cryptid conservation AND keeping the world safe from creeps like this Salem lady. We'll help in any way we can." He pressed a fist over his heart, swearing on it. "You guys can count on that."

"Hah, wow." Rex put his hands to his hips, impressed with their bravery. "Our band of allies just keeps getting bigger and bigger, doesn't it?" As he thought about that, though, Rex couldn't help but feel his thoughts going back to his own Earth… 'Jeez, I hope everyone's doing alright. Noah, Tuck, Skwyd, Kricket… White Knight… even Circe. Man, they'd all be really awesome to have around here right about now to help us in this fight.'

Weiss noticed her boyfriend getting lost in his thoughts, though, reaching up to tug on his sleeve. "Rex? Earth to Rex."

Rex stiffened as he was pulled from his mind and back into reality. "O-Oh! Ah, hehe… y-you startled me, Ice Princess."

The former heiress narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "Rex, is everything okay? One minute you were good, the next you're like a statue." She put her hands to her hips as she confronted him. "And don't try to hide it, because you're terrible at doing stuff like that."

"Gah!" Rex's face flushed in embarrassment, even more so now that everyone's eyes were on him. "W-Well, it's… hmph…" He lowered his head, taking his eyes off of Weiss and moving them to the floor. "It's just that… seeing the Saturdays made me think… about all the allies I have back on my Earth. I'm wondering how they're doing, you know?"

"Oh, yeah that's right." Zak spoke up, catching Rex's attention. "I heard that you're from an alternate Earth, too, right?"

"Yeah, one where an accident led to the creation of EVOs." The young man confirmed, transforming his arm into a Smack Hand for emphasis. "But that's ancient history since I managed to cure the entire planet… but still." Rex furrowed his brow, bringing his arm back in. "There's still plenty of dangerous enemies back in my world. And with me gone… I'm worried that they might try to make a move."

Weiss pursed her lips, also feeling concern. "I know, Rex, and I promise, we WILL find a way back to your world."

Blake interjected to try and offer her own support. "Yeah, I mean, isn't your brother working on it as we speak?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Rex began tapping his foot absentmindedly. "You'd think it'd kill him to pick up the pace on that."

The rest of the group smiled with nervous drops of sweat trickling down their foreheads. 'He's impatient.' they all thought.

Ruby cleared her throat as her attention shifted back to Zak. "Oh, um, Zak! Please, tell me…" She leaned forward with her eyes twinkling in anticipation. "Just what the heck ARE your powers exactly? And how did you use them to calm down that Wampus Beast? A-And what about that headache you had afterward? Is that a side effect or what?"

With every question she asked, Ruby took a step closer, only making the young salt-and-pepper-haired teen more apprehensive. "W-Woah, Ruby, I appreciate the curiosity, but let's take this one step at a time, huh?"

"Oooooh, what power are you guys talkin' about?" Nora popped in from out of nowhere between the two, making Zak yelp and jump back about five feet. However, Nora covered that distance in no time, her gaze just as inquisitive as Ruby's. "It sounds like YOU can talk to Cryptids, Zak, is that true?"

"W-Well, yes—er, I mean, kinda." Zak waved his hands, hoping to get some personal space back. "I-It's not really "talking" in the traditional sense, more like… communicating." He saw their confusion, so he continued to explain. "Think of it as… me expressing my thoughts to the Cryptid. Most times, I DO talk to them, but my thoughts are what I'm mainly conveying to it through my powers."

Nora opened her palm and bumped her fist into it. "Ah, yeah, I kinda get ya! You express your feelings to the Cryptid psychically, right?"

Zak bobbed his head from side to side. "Well, more like empathetically, but close enough."

"So how long have you had these powers?" Ruby followed up.

"Heh, since I was born, technically." Zak rubbed the back of his head, knowing that the conversation was going to start getting VERY strange. He craned his head over to his mom and dad, hoping they'd be able to help him. "Mom, dad, I think it's best if you guys start off on that whole thing so they get the right idea."

With enquiring eyes, the team's focus went back to Doc and Drew, who both straightened up as if to prepare themselves. "Hm, you're right, son." Doc concurred. "It probably IS best if we start things off." There was a small pause as Doc made sure everyone was paying attention before starting his story. "…You see, kids, a little over sixteen years ago, before Zak was even born, us and several other Secret Scientists stumbled upon a discovery that would change our lives forever; the Kur Stone. An artifact that was said to be able to lead one to Kur himself."

Immediately, the team recognized that name; Kur. "Wait, that's the Underworld dragon god that Enoch mentioned, right?" Neptune mentioned. "The one who took all of Ishtar's armor when she went down into the Underworld?"

"The very same." Drew confirmed, somewhat astonished. "I'm honestly surprised that you know about that myth. Not many do."

"Yeah, well, Enoch was kind enough to tell us about it AFTER he stole the tablet." Gwen informed, with Drew becoming quite curious herself. "See, apparently he stole it because it's supposed to help lead to a piece of that armor, though not without the other pieces."

Drew nodded in understanding. "Hm, well, whoever was smart enough to break them apart must've had the same idea we had with the Kur Stone, after… oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself." She wore a bashful smile as she rubbed her neck. "Hehe, can't get TOO far into the story without telling you ALL the important parts."

"Right, so, the Kur Stone?" Ilia asked.

"Hm, yes, the stone." Doc closed his eyes as he recounted the events. "In truth, when we unearthed it, we had no idea what we had… though when it was dropped, we quickly found out that it wasn't something to be messed with." His eyes opened and he extended a hand toward the group. "You see, it WAS the key to finding Kur, as we eventually found out… but what we didn't know at the time was that it actually held the essence of Kur himself."

A slew of gasped echoed throughout the room. "Wait, hold on!" Jaune exclaimed, wide-eyed and shocked. "So you're saying that when that burst of energy came out of the stone, that must've been—"

"Kur's essence, yes." Doc confirmed. "And when it was released, it went straight toward the nearest and easiest vessel it could inhabit…" Slowly, his sights went over to Zak, who wore an awkward expression. "And that vessel just so happened to be our unborn son."

And just like that, the room went silent, with everyone letting that sink in. Kur's essence… went into Zak, who was still inside his mother's womb at the time. And that could only mean… "Zak…" Ruby began, her silver sights locked onto the boy. "So is your dad really saying that—"

"YOU'RE THE REINCARNATION OF A CRYPTID DRAGON GOD FROM THE UNDERWORLD?!" Nora shouted at the top of her lungs, making everyone cover their ears. "…Oops, sorry."

Zak let out a sigh, the cat now effectively out of the bag. "Yep, that's the gist of it. I'm the reincarnated form of Kur… or rather I was." That made the team just send him even more perplexed looks, wondering what he met. "You see, almost three years ago now, Kur's essence was actually taken out of my body, which also took my Kur powers with it… or so we thought."

"In truth, Zak's powers were just left in a weakened state." Drew elaborated further. "And they've been slowly coming back ever since." She sent a confident smile to her boy. "Thankfully, it seems like the Kur part of him really IS gone for good, though, at least from what we've been able to tell." Drew set a hand on Zak's shoulder. "I've taken him to the best mystics in the world when his powers resurfaced, and they can't find any malicious force inside of him, so that's a good sign."

"And I've performed every test on his brain that I can." Doc interjected, wearing a somewhat smug grin. "Also found nothing."

Drew rolled her eyes and pointed to her husband's chest. "Oh please, I keep telling you, hon, you can't tell if something's inhabiting someone else's mind with a brain scan."

But Doc didn't back down. "And I've told you that it's better safe than sorry, dear, just in case those mystics missed something."

Zak deadpanned and slapped his forehead. "Oh for the love of—can we not get into this debate while we have company?" Both of his parents immediately stopped, realizing that their son was right. "Thank you." Zak smirked. "Last thing we want is to scare off the gang, right?"

"So, um, if you don't mind my asking…" Pyrrha spoke up. "Where DID Kur go after he was forced out of you?"

"Ah, right…" Doc got back on track, suddenly becoming quite serious in that moment. "That's the part that Drew was about to get to earlier. You see, after we found the Kur Stone, someone disguised as one of our digging crew came in and stole it right from under our noses." He swiveled around in his chair and looked up at the computer he was sitting at, typing in a few commands before a picture came up that sent a chill down the heroes' spines. It was of a tall man who stood with a hunch, his body covered in black clothes with a grey cloak over his shoulders. He had on white gloves and a white stone mask over his face, which made him resemble some sort of ghoul. He also had long, white hair and gleaming yellow eyes, which only added to his frightening appearance. "This "man" was the one who stole it; V.V. Argost."

Blake's ears folded down, feeling intimidated just by the image alone. "Woah… he's spooky."

Yang quickly agreed with her partner. "You can say that again. He seems like the kinda guy who'd be right at home in a haunted house."

Ben, however, was rather puzzled by Argost. "Weird… he also seems kind of familiar."

"Yeah, you're right." Kevin put a hand to his chin. "I feel like I've seen him a lot, actually."

"Well, that's probably because you probably HAVE." Zak said as he went over to the computer console, pulling up a video file. "Here, this'll probably jog your memories…"

On the screen appeared a rather large and spooky mansion, its tall spires all the more imposing as it was backdropped by dark storm clouds. A flash of lightning crashed through the background before the title of the program; "Weird World", came up on the screen in big, green, oozing lettering. From there, the title disappeared and the camera zoomed into the mansion, a fadeaway shot leading into a spacious room that was practically littered with all different types of artifacts. And, at the end of this room was a desk, with a tall chair directly behind it. The chair suddenly turned, revealing Argost himself.

"Greetings and Bienvenu, my esteemed guests!" The man bowed his head before standing up, raising his arms. "Welcome once again to Weird World. I am of course, your host for the evening as always; V.V. Argost, and today, we have a VERY special theme to discuss… werewolves! Myehahaha!"

Ben and Kevin's eyes widened in realization, the latter slapping his forehead. "Oh yeah! He was the host of—"

"Weird World!" Kevin was interrupted as, much to everyone's surprise, Gwen shouted out in excitement before rushing toward the screen. "Oh my freaking GOD, I haven't watched this show in YEARS! I always loved it back when I was a kid!"

Zak felt his jaw drop. "Woah! Seriously?! Gwen, you were a fan of Weird World?!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Ben deadpanned, shaking his head with a smirk. His attention went back to the screen, however, watching intently as Argost discussed the episode's topic. "But yeah, I remember this show, too." Ben snapped his fingers, pointing to the screen. "Oh, it was always on at the same time as Sumo Slammers, which is why I wasn't into it all that much."

"Huh, funny, I wasn't much into Sumo Slammers." Zak commented.

Both Doc and Drew wore similarly disgusted looks as they watched their old enemy speak. "God, I WISH you had been into Sumo Slammers." Drew mumbled, sending a questioning stare at her son. "Which leads me to ask… WHY exactly do we still have so many episodes of Weird World stored on this computer?"

Right then, Zak paled a bit as his gut sank, only realizing then that he screwed up. "O-Oh, uh, hehe… I kept them for… research purposes?"

"Uh-huh, yeah, well I think this is one "research project" that needs to have the plug pulled."

Doc stood up, crossing his arms at his son in disappointment "Your mother's right, son. You know darn well how we feel about you watching this."

"Oh come on, dad, Argost's gone AND I'm a lot older now!" Zak argued, thrusting his hand to the screen. "It's not like it's causing any harm or anything, is it?"

"That's not the point, sweetie." Drew countered, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter if Argost's dead or not. You know about every terrible thing he did, and yet you STILL watch his programming. What do you think that says about you?" Zak's expression became utterly guilt-ridden at that moment, the boy sucking in his lower lip as he craned his head down. "Hm, that's what I thought." Drew pointed at the computer. "I want these files off our main system and deleted, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am." Zak sighed.

Drew smiled and went up to her son, ruffling his hair in reassurance. "That's my boy." she said before giving him a smooch atop the head.

Zak broke out in a blush as he moved away. "Gah, mom! Peers, remember?"

It was then that Drew realized… the teens had seen that whole bit of family drama go down. Sure enough, the moment she spotted them, she saw that they were standing in silence while keeping their eyes off the scene, no doubt feeling awkward after seeing that. "O-Oh, gosh, kids I'm sorry you all had to hear that."

Doc bowed his head to the group. "Yes, I'm sorry too. You can probably tell that our family doesn't exactly have the best thoughts on Argost…"

"Honestly, that seems like an understatement." Nora stated. "What exactly did he do after stealing the Kur Stone?"

"Well, when the Secret Scientists went to retrieve the stone after he stole it, about fifty of us went INTO Weird World to get it." Doc closed his eyes solemnly. "When we actually got out of that house of horrors… there were only seven of us left." The teens were visibly aghast by that, which made Doc nod. "I know, which is why we decided to split the Kur Stone into three pieces and hid them so that Argost wouldn't find it… but even then, that didn't stop him."

Sun raised his hands. "Uh, question, but I noticed that you put one quotes when you described him as a "man" earlier. Why was that?"

"Because he technically wasn't a man at all, Sun." Drew answered. "In reality, he was actually a super-intelligent Yeti from the Himalayas who wanted to rule the world through Kur's power."

"Okay, new question." Neptune piped up. "The heck's a Yeti?"

Rex decided to reply this time. "Heh, even I know this one; a Yeti's like a giant primate that walks like a man and is SUPER tall, basically the Himalaya's version of Bigfoot…" Just then, though, Rex's eyes snapped open, Drew's words finally sinking in. "WAIT JUST A GODDAMN SECOND! Did you just say that Argost was a YETI?!"

"Yep, why do you think he wore that mask all the time?" Drew nudged her head toward the screen, sneering at Argost's visage. "It was to make sure no one was the wiser to his ugly face."

Yang narrowed her gaze at the disguised yeti. "Honestly, I don't think it did him any favors. So, what happened to him?" She quirked her brow over to Zak. "I heard you said that you had your original Kur powers taken away, so was that him who did it?"

"Yeah, but he regretted that REAL quick." Zak replied with a smirk. "Because after that, I zapped him out of existence when he tried combining my Kur power with anti-matter from an alternate universe that he stole from a doppelganger of myself." …And immediately after he said that, he saw a slew of confused and bewildered looks once again. "…I lost you guys, didn't I?"

"You had them up until "zapped"." Ruby smiled sheepishly. "But I think I got it. An alternate universe evil doppelganger, huh? And here I thought Ben got into some weird stuff."

Ben scratched the back of his head. "Heh, yeah, I mean I've dealt with evil duplicates of myself before, but never ones from alternate universes." He pointed up to Zak's hair. "Heh, I've gotta ask… did he have your hair colors but inverted?"

"Oh, you bet." Zak chuckled. "Hehe, and guess what his name was? Zak Monday."

The teens couldn't help but laugh at that, with Penny saying; "Ah, yes, I get it… because Mondays are the exact opposite of Saturdays." She straightened herself up as she explained further. "Due to Monday falling on the beginning of the week when people have to go back to work and kids return to school, it is seen as a reviled day, whereas Saturday is celebrated for being the start of the weekend."

"Uh, yeah, thanks Penny, we got that." Weiss pat the android on the shoulder.

Blake leaned against the wall, her hands on her hips. "So, with Argost gone, where does that leave all of you?"

"Honestly, we've just kept up what we've been doing." Doc answered with a shrug, though he did wince a little bit. "Sure, our relationships with some of our Secret Scientist colleagues haven't fully healed after that incident—"

"Namely because they tried hunting Zak down when they found out he was Kur..." Drew added with a bit more of an edge in her voice.

"BUT we have been working on mending fences." Doc finished, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder to help her relax. "After all, when everything was said and done, all of us gathered to mourn the ones that were lost after Argost was defeated." He waved his hand, hoping to change topics. "But I think that's enough story-telling for one day. Now, I think it's time we get to studying that tablet—"

WHAM! All of a sudden, a door opening caught the group's attention, followed by a panicked holler; "AYAYAOOOOH!" The noise sent Zon flying up into the rafters as Fiskerton came barging in, with Komodo right on his heels. The teens were taken aback as the large, hairy Cryptid started pointing down the hall he came down, blithering and babbling out word that no one could understand. "Ajabeebaba! AWOO! AWOO!"

Zak's eyebrows shot up, realizing what Fiskerton was probably saying. "Woah, woah, Fisk, slow down! What's going on with the wolf?!" In response, Fiskerton made an angry face and growled, taking swings at the air with his hands. "Oh… that's not good." He snapped his head toward the team and told them; "The Smoke Wolf's awake, and it's clawing at its cage! Come on, let's move!"

The Omni-Hunters were quick to follow, but some were also completely dumfounded. "You UNDERSTOOD that?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Of course, I did!" Zak called back as he and his family took the lead down the hall, peering over his shoulder to give them a wink. "I've known Fisk since I was five. When you're around him long enough, you start understanding him without even NEEDING Kur powers." It wasn't long before they reached their destination; the science lab, where indeed, the Smoke Wolf was awake and currently biting and clawing at the cage bars… only for it to be met with painful shock from the energy bars. "Oh boy, not good. The shocks are only making it angrier!"

Ren leaned forward, eyeing the young man. "But you can get it under control, right?"

Zak took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I can certainly try. Like I said, my Cryptid abilities aren't like how they used to be…" He drew closer to the wolf, which noticed him and snapped around to growl in his direction. "…But this guy needs my help, so I'll do what I can." Zak took the Claw off his hip, the Hand of Tsul'Kalu opening up as his eyes began to glow. The Hand lit up as well, and before long, the Smoke Wolf's eyes did the same. "Hey, hey there buddy, no need to be so hostile…" He raised his free hand, showing that he had nothing else on him. "I'm here to try and help."

The Smoke Wolf seemed confused for a second, still keeping its guard up. But then, all of a sudden, a flush of emotions came pouring into its mind, giving it pause. It seemed… almost comforting in a way, as if it were being told that there really wasn't anything to fear. And then, it realized… these emotions were coming from Zak himself. The boy winced, already feeling another headache starting to crop up. "Hm, yeah, that's right. I'm no threat to you, buddy, and neither are any of us." He gestured over to his family and the Omni-Hunters, who tried to appear as friendly as possible. "We just wanna study you and then send you right back where you belong, okay?"

A low grumble came from the Smoke Wolf's throat, unsure of what to think of that. He took a quick glance to the teens and the Satudays before going back to Zak, moving slowly toward the edge of the cage to stick his muzzle between the bars. Zak smiled and extended his hand, knowing it wasn't going to bite him. "Yeah, there ya go, pal." he rubbed the canine's snout as his eyes stopped glowing, the wolf giving a small while as it laid down on the cage floor. "Alright guys, we're good."

A sigh of relief echoed throughout the room, with Doc going up to his son and setting a hand on his shoulder. "Nice work, Zak. How's your head feel?"

"Not AS bad as with the Wampus, thankfully." Zak rubbed his temple, squeezing one of his eyes shut but keeping his smile all the same. "I think the headaches are starting to become more manageable… at least I hope so."

Drew nodded and went up to him as well. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, honey. I'm sure that with time and practice, it'll feel exactly like how you used to do it before."

"Agabehba, mmhmm!" Fiskerton nodded cheerily.

"Heh, thanks." Zak set his sights over to the team before nudging his head toward the cage. "You guys can deactivate that cage now, it's fine."

Immediately, several eyebrows went up, with Kevin being the most troubled by Zak's words. "Uh, I'm sorry, but I think you missed the fact that there's a two-hundred-pound WOLF in there the size of a pick-up truck. And you want to let him OUT?"

But Zak still didn't seem concerned. "It's okay, I think he and I have come to an understanding." He activated his powers again briefly as he spoke to the Smoke Wolf. "You won't hurt anybody while you're here, will you, boy?" A short whine escaped the wolf's throat in response as it sat straight up, wagging its tail eagerly. "See? Nothing to worry about."

Kevin narrowed his eyes at the Cryptid whisperer, still not certain. "I dunno…"

"Ah, c'mon, what's the harm?" Ruby asked as she approached the cage without fear, staring straight into the wolf's eyes. "Hey, um… I know that you tried to eat me and my friend yesterday, but if you can behave and NOT eat anyone, we'll let you out. Heck, we'll even feed you! How does that sound?" At that, the wolf started panting, its tail wagging even faster.

Zak felt his mouth open in shock. Ruby had just communicated with a cryptid without any fear whatsoever. She didn't even have any special powers like he had, she just… spoke earnestly. "Hah, wow, I think you made a connection with it faster than I did, Ruby."

The Hooded Huntress raised a finger, giving him a wink. "If owning a dog's taught me anything, it's that the way to its heart is through its stomach!"

"But what're we gonna feed it?" Sun asked. "It's not like there's any giant steaks around."

"Hm, good point." Doc tapped his chin. "What could satisfy a wolf this big…"

As if to answer their question, however, the door to the lab opened up, revealing Grandpa Max walking in with a piping hot pot of… something in his grasp. "Ah, there you all are! Sorry if I'm interrupting, but since it was getting close to lunch time, I thought we could all do with a good ol' fashioned camp snack!" He set the pot down, revealing that it had tentacles and many other unidentified meats floating in a thick, brownish-red broth.

Needless to say, everyone was horrified. "GAH! Grandpa, what the heck IS that?!" Ben exclaimed.

"Good god, it looks like the appetizer from SpongeBob!" Rex shouted, his complexion becoming a sickly green.

"Oh, just a recipe from Piscciss that Patelliday shared with me a while back." Max revealed, pointing to the dish with pride. "That is one-hundred-percent seafood right there."

Blake had to admit… if that was fish, it was the first time she ever thought fish was unappetizing. "Urp… could've fooled me." However, it was then that she noticed… the Smoke Wolf was focusing intently on the pot, its tongue lolling out of its mouth as it practically was begging to be let out. "Wait… that's it! I know what it'll eat!"

Yang, with her nose plugged, eyed her partner incredulously. "You think it'll eat THAT?"

"I mean, probably. Dogs will eat almost everything, won't they?" Blake cleared her throat, wearing a sheepish expression as she faced Max. "I-I mean… that is, if you're okay with the Smoke Wolf eating your cooking, Max."

"Hah, of course! The more the merrier." Max permitted, much to everyone's relief. "Besides, there's plenty more where that came from." With that thought of dread in everyone's heads, Max turned around and went back out of the lab. "I'm gonna go make some more. Feel free to give that pot to the wolf, kids."

On the one hand, Zak was overjoyed at that… but on the other, he just wanted to let the wolf out so they didn't have to bear the sight of that "dish" anymore. "Great, good to hear, now PLEASE let it out, Kevin!"

The Osmosian sighed, facepalming for good measure. "Alright, your funeral…" He pressed the button on the cage and the Smoke Wolf was freed in an instant, and not one second went by before it bounded over to the pot. In no time, it stuck its head down and started eating ravenously, almost at a shocking pace.

"Hah, wow, he was HUNGRY, that's for sure." Ilia commented.

"No doubt about that." Drew concurred before going to her husband again. "Well, with all of that settled, I think NOW would be a good time for us to start studying up on that tablet." As Doc agreed with her, the white-haired woman's attention went to the team with a curious gaze. "Any of you kids want to join us? You're more than welcome."

Gwen immediately raised her hand. "Ooh! I'd like to join you, actually! I'm utterly fascinated by stuff like this, and I really want to get to the bottom of what the Forever Knights are after."

Kevin crossed his arms, glowering at the massive wolf. "I'd better stay, too, just in case wolfey here decides he's had enough of playing nice."

"Sheesh, Kev, have a little faith, why don't ya?" Ben rolled his eyes before turning toward Zak, extending a hand to him. "Meanwhile, I think it'd be a good idea for the rest of us to hang around with Zak for a while. After all…" He jerked his thumb back toward Fiskerton and Komodo. "You never DID introduce us to these two."

Zak slapped his forehead in realization as his parents left the lab along with Gwen, all while Kevin kept his eyes locked on the wolf. "D'oh, that's right! I didn't give you guys a formal introduction, huh?" The boy bent down and placed a hand on Komodo's head. "Guys, these are my bros, Komodo…" The dragon gave a short growl as Zak stood and pat Fiskerton on the arm. "And Fiskerton."

"Haahaahiya!" Fiskerton smiled with a friendly wave.

Jaune folded his arms across his chest with a small laugh. "Hah, well, I guess when your parents said you had some non-biological brothers, they weren't kidding."

"Yeah sure, they're Cryptids." Zak shrugged before bringing his arms around his brothers. "But as far as I'm concerned, they're part of the family—AH!" Just then, Zon came swooping in and landed on Zak's shoulders, screeching happily. "HAHA! Y-Yeah, of course Zon, you too! Haha!"

"Aw, it's obvious that you guys must all be really close." Nora placed a hand over her chest, beaming at the four of them. "Talk about adorable!"

Blake and Sun, however, seemed to be confused, staring at Fiskerton with curiosity in their eyes. "So, uh… Zak? I hope you don't mind us asking…" Sun pointed up at Fiskerton, who was scratching his head in bafflement as well. "What exactly IS he? Is he a gorilla? Or some sort of giant cat?"

Zak gave a laugh, patting Fiskerton on the back. "A little bit of both, actually. Fisk is one of a kind, really."

"I see…" Blake noted as Fisk approached her and Sun, the Cryptid spotting her cat ears and his monkey tail. Fiskerton uttered an inquisitive noise as he reached a finger out to her ears, only for Blake to cover them so he wouldn't. "Uh, n-no, Fiskerton, those are not to be touched, please."

"Yeah, sorry, dude." Sun pulled his tail closer to his body. "The Faunus parts are off limits."

Fiskerton lowered his head to them, respecting their wishes. "Aggagbuuhh…"

Zak clapped his hands together, taking in a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself. 'Okay, Zak, it's time. You've been prepping for this kind of moment for a LONG time, so now it's time to put your training into action… and try to interact with other teenagers for a change.' He extended his hands out to the others and asked; "So, uh… w-what exactly do you guys do for fun when you're not out saving the world and stuff?"

Ruby instantly brightened up when he said that. "Oh, lots of things, actually! Ben and the others have been showing us TONS of Earth stuff, even back when they first arrived on Remnant. Video games, movies, books, toys—" But then, she cut herself off, her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink as she scratched her face sheepishly. "Th-Though of course, whether you're into that kind of stuff is—"

"Try me." Zak said with a smile, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm game for anything, honestly… and who knows? Maybe I can show YOU guys some cool stuff, too?"

The Hooded Huntress had to admit, she really liked the thought of that. Being able to experience new things while getting to know someone new at the same time was something she was very excited about… though for some reason, she couldn't help but feel a bit bubbly inside. Sure, meeting new people was always a treat for her, but with Zak, something was… different, and she couldn't exactly place why. "Oh, u-um…" she bit her lip in hesitation, but ultimately decided to go for it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Gwen's 3DS. "Do you… like Pokémon?"

A sense of relief washed over Ruby the second she saw Zak's eyes light up. "Oh, NOW you're speaking my language." He pulled out his own 3DS from his pocket and put on on a determined gaze, which Ruby was more than happy to return. "Let's battle!"

…..

"Oh my god, there's NOTHING on!"

Meanwhile, in Bellwood, Rojo was bored. Plain and simple, she was bored ridged. The redhead was sat on the couch, remote in hand and lounging about lazily as she flipped through the channels, desperately trying to find something to watch as Neo sat next to her on one of the chairs. Unfortunately, her search proved fruitless, to the point that she had even considered putting on some cartoons, but she pushed that thought out of her mind immediately. 'Cartoons nowadays aren't the same, especially if they're on TV.' Ultimately, she threw the remote over to the nearby chair, her frustration getting the better of her. "Ugh, we should just sign up for a couple streaming services, regular TV stinks!"

"I believe that you've forgotten that we're technically broke." Rojo moved her eyes up to see Cinder leaning over the back of the couch, the Fall Maiden's eyes locking with hers. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have to hijack the cable from the hotel we're leeching off of."

"Hmmm… why do you always have to be right?" Rojo turned on her side, pursing her lips as she watched news program she'd landed on. "This sucks. No heroes, no trouble to cause thanks to that Hydra throwing a wrench into our plans. It's like we're just sitting ducks here!" Neo nodded in agreement, sinking into her chair hopelessly.

Cinder clenched her hand slightly, hating to admit how right she was. They really WERE stretched for schemes to pull off at the moment, no thanks to that blasted beast from the day before. Plus, the fact that they didn't know where the Omni-Hunters went was also a problem, taking away a form of release for them. "Hmph, move your legs, please." Rojo pulled her legs up, allowing Cinder to flop down on the couch next to her.

"Any ideas spring to mind?" the bounty hunter asked.

"Not particularly at the moment." Cinder admitted.

Rojo sighed again as she sat up, propping her elbow on the armrest to rest her chin lazily on her hand. "Is it too much to ask to have SOMETHING fall into our lap?"

"I doubt it works that way, Rojo." The Fall Maiden eyed her partner, her gaze moving across the woman's rather poor posture. On the one hand, it irked her that Rojo was hunching in such a manner… but on the other, the redhead was also in a white tank top that showed off her shoulder and back muscles as well as a bit of cleav—SLAP!

Rojo and Neo's eyes snapped up to Cinder in surprise. "Cindy? Did you hear that?"

"N-No, Rojo, what do you mean?"

"I thought I heard a slap just now…"

"Hah, don't be ridiculous. Your mind must be so bored its playing tricks on you."

A ponderous hum escaped Rojo's lips before she ultimately shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right. Hey, want somethin' to eat? It's getting close to lunch."

Cinder nodded hastily, ignoring the stinging pain in her left cheek, which Rojo couldn't see. However, Neo DID see it, and what she saw was a bright red handprint. Cinder seemed to brush the whole situation off as she tried changing the subject, all while Neo narrowed her eyes at her. "Oh, yes, of course. Perhaps some take out? I've been hearing a lot about this type of cuisine called "Chinese" and I'd like to give it a try."

And just like that, Rojo lit up in a smile as she stood up and got out her cellphone. "Ooh, Chinese food is a great choice, Cindy. Hold on, I'll call it in…"

"G-Great, thank you." Cinder muttered, all while trying to ignore the tight feeling in her chest. The moment Rojo smiled at her… her gut did a flip and her cheeks threatened to turn red. She did well to keep that last part under control, but this all but confirmed her worst fear; 'I… I really AM beginning to feel something for her, aren't I?' Cinder screwed her eyes shut and shook her head. 'No, no, NO, Cinder! You cannot fall in love. You're the Fall MAIDEN. By definition, you are to remain single!'

Despite herself, though, she couldn't help but glance up to Rojo, who was currently ordering their food over the phone. She took in every detail of the redhead's form, from her amazing face, her toned upper body, and… 'Oh god, that butt—NO! STOP IT, CINDER!' But she kept staring, unable to stop herself. 'But she's so amazing… so strong… so beautiful…' She found herself staring at Rojo's arms, suddenly wishing to know what it felt like to be in them… and then…

Tap-tap "AH!" Cinder fell off the couch, taking Rojo by surprise. However, Cinder immediately scowled up to the person who spooked her; Neo. Of course, the monochromatic girl wore a sly grin, knowing exactly what was going on. "Why you little…"

"Woah, Cindy, you okay?!" Rojo leaned down and offered Cinder a hand. "Wow, you must've been REAL deep in thought there."

Cinder shook her hand, clearing her throat in hopes that Rojo hadn't noticed where she was staring. "Ah… y-yes, sorry." She took Rojo's hand, getting back to a vertical base while keeping her glare locked on Neo, who was giggling behind her hand. "I was simply wondering how we'd be able to make the most out of the day after lunch…"

Rojo smiled, nodding to her in understanding. "I get ya. Honestly, it's getting to the point where even going on a bounty sounds fun… wait, why DON'T we just do that?"

Cinder's eyebrows rose up, realizing that WAS a viable option. Even Neo seemed interesting in the idea. "…You know, I can't believe it took us THIS long to think about it." She wore a determined smile, giving an approving nod back to Rojo. "Alright, I'm game for that. What about the others?"

"We can ask them as soon as our lunch gets here." Rojo replied, craning her head over to the bedrooms. "Besides, something tells me that it'll be a while before Em and Merc are ready for anything..."

…..

Never before in her life had Emerald Sustrai felt so awkward. There she was, sitting cross-legged in Mercury's room, on his bed, with the silver-haired assassin sitting just adjacent to her on his swivel chair. …And not one word had been spoken since she popped in. Of course, they had a brief exchange when he answered the door for her, but that was it. Since then, nothing but silence, and both of them knew why. It all led straight back to yesterday, and everything that had transpired during the fight with the Hydra. Emerald had basically exploded at Mercury in his attempt to try and work as a team to take the beast down… in a manner similar to how HE had snapped at HER under a week before.

That had been the incident that led to this whole drama between them… and she had repeated it, only worse. And in the end, Emerald felt horrible about it. He didn't even try to snap back, he just… fell off the Hydra in the most forlorn manner possible. Almost as if she had just shot straight through him with her words. It was eating away at her the way she treated him, and her complicated feelings weren't helping the matter either. In short… 'I feel like an utter bitch.'

Unfortunately, though, neither one of them could find the words to say, not knowing where to even begin. Both of them WANTED to say something, but their nerves were getting the better of them, afraid that they'd mess up if they said the wrong thing. It had been like this for ten minutes already, and it was beginning to frustrate both of them. But then… Mercury coughed. Emerald snapped her eyes up instantly. "Oh, were you—"

"A-Ahem, uh, sorry." Mercury pointed to his neck. "I was just clearing my throat."

"…Oh, right. I see." Emerald nodded, craning her head back down. A few more seconds passed before Emerald decided; 'Ugh, that's as good of an icebreaker as we're going to get here, isn't it?' She perked up once more, biting her lower lip before asking; "Are… we ever going to start talking about all this?"

Mercury put a hand to his opposite arm nervously. "I mean… we COULD just stay quiet and tell Rojo we—"

"You and I both know that's not gonna work." Emerald countered.

"Yeah, I know." Mercury grumbled. "But a guy can hope, right?"

With a soft sigh, Emerald shook her head. "Mercury… we HAVE to talk about this, and we both know it." She saw her partner wince, coming to terms with that reality. "This past week has been nothing but tension. Hell, we stayed AWAY from each other for close to five DAYS because of what happened." Emerald reached around, pulling on a lock of hair and twirling it sheepishly. "To tell you the truth… while I WAS mad, there was a part of me that missed having you around."

That got Mercury's attention, taking him off guard. "You… you did?"

"Of course, I did." Emerald assured. "I nearly suffered heat stroke because I was worrying about it all so much."

Mercury's eyes widened in a snap. "Hold on, WHAT?!"

'Why'd I know that'd be your reaction?' Emerald thought before raising her hand guiltily. "Yep, I locked myself in my room the day of the heatwave and didn't come out for hours… and I almost ended up cooking in my own room like it was an oven." She placed a hand on her neck with a sad smile. "…You probably think I'm dumb for doing tha—"

"Don't EVER do that again!" And just like that, it was Emerald's turn to be surprised as Mercury got out of the chair, standing before her with a serious expression. He wasn't mad by any means, though, his voice filled with concern. "Emerald, why didn't you tell me that sooner?! Hell, why didn't the OTHER girls tell me that?!"

Emerald tapped her fingers together, her guilt growing. "Oh, um… we didn't want to make you worried, so—"

"And how long were you planning on keeping THAT from me?!"

"Not long, honest!" Emerald insisted. "I just…" She stared into the young man's stormy grey eyes, which she could see were filled with worry and fear. …All for her wellbeing. Her lips parted in stunned silence, taking a while to find the words. "…Mercury, I'm sorry."

Mercury softened as the apology hit him. "H-Huh?"

The green-haired thief bowed her head in shame. "I said I'm sorry! I'm sorry for slapping you, I'm sorry for saying all of those mean things to you when you were just trying to make things right, I'm sorry for making you worry about—ah!"

Without warning, Mercury came up and pressed both hands down on Emerald's shoulders, breaking her out of the apology streak. "Em! If there's anyone who has to apologize… it's me." He lowered his head to her in return. "If I hadn't snapped at you, none of this wouldn't have happened. I was so angry back then, losing time after time to Ben and the others, that I was blind to your feelings." His eyes met hers, his gaze sad and upset. "I let you down that day. I let my partner down that day. And most importantly…" He reached down and grabbed her hand, giving it a soft squeeze that made her heart suddenly skip a beat. "I let down my closest friend. Please, forgive me for my dumb, stupid actions, and if you would…" Mercury bowed his head low enough to touch the mattress. "I'd like a second chance."

Once more, silence permeated throughout the room… but it didn't last long. Emerald could feel her lips tugging up into a grin as she gave a small chuckle. "Hmhm, guess we BOTH have a lot to feel sorry for."

"Huh? Em, I'm not blaming you for—huh?!" Just like that, Mercury was cut off when a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, with Emerald burying her head into his neck.

"Shut up and come here, you dummy."

"I-I… where did this…"

"Hey, I'm offering both of us a chance to bury the hatchet here." Emerald pulled away and gave him a bright smile, one that made his heart leap up into his throat for a brief moment. "Now are you gonna hug me or leave me hanging?"

Mercury blinked twice in shock… but ultimately, he saw absolutely no better way to let bygones be bygones. Of course, there WAS still a lot that they had to go through, and he still had a ways to go in his training… but… 'If I can become someone she's proud of, maybe there's a chance… we could be more.' Mercury returned the smile and pulled his arms around Emerald's waist, returning the embrace. "Heh, if you say so, Em. …Thank you."

"No, thank YOU for making such an effort for me." Emerald countered, setting her head back down on his shoulder. "I'll admit, I was a tiny big skeptical when I heard you and Khyber were going through that training, but the results speak for themselves." She pulled a hand down, setting it on his chest. "I'm sensing a lot more… calmness inside you, if that makes sense."

"Heh, I guess you could say that." Mercury agreed, hoping she wouldn't notice his blush. "Say, uh…" Her eyes glanced up to him curiously. "I, um… as part of my apology, I… kind of wanted to treat you to something. Lunch… maybe dinner, something just to show how much I appreciate you as a partner, so—"

Before he could go further, Emerald broke out into a rather mirthful smirk. "Why Mercury Black, are you asking me out on a date?"

And just like that, his complexion became as red as a tomato, waving his hands frantically in denial. "AH! W-What? No, o-of course not! T-Tell me why I'd go risking our friendship like that so soon after we fixed it, huh?!"

"AHAHA! Oh god, dude, I'm just kidding." Emerald winked, nudging him with her elbow. "Oh man, you should've seen your face, though, that was great." Once she had pulled herself together, she gave her partner a genuine smile. "In all seriousness, that actually sounds really nice, and very thoughtful. Let me know the time and place and we'll do that."

With a sigh of relief, Mercury raised a finger to her. "Ah-ah, hold on there. I said it's MY treat, but YOU will be the one to choose."

"Hm, very well then. Tomorrow, noon, Burger Shack."

That took Mercury off guard a little. "Burger Shack?"

"Uh, have you HAD their burgers and chili fries?" Emerald's eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head. "Oh, SO good. Trust me, you'll like it, and I'll make sure we're hidden from everyone else."

"G-Great! Sounds like a plan." Mercury concurred. "And Em? …Thanks again."

Emerald stood up from the bed and waltzed her way over to the door, giving him a small chuckle. "Hmhm, you're welcome, Mercury… and just remember;" She peered to him over her shoulder, sending another wink his way. "I'm looking forward to this little date." That got the young man to jump and squeak nervously, just like she'd hoped. "Hah! Kidding, kidding… partially." Emerald twisted the doorknob to make her way out…

…Only to find Cinder, Neo and Rojo on the other side wearing absolutely wolfish grins. "Well, hello there." Cinder said slyly.

The two partners let out simultaneous screams, mortified by the implications. "C-Cinder?! Rojo?!" Emerald's hands flew up to her face as her cheeks turned red. "H-How long were you standing there?!"

"Eh, only a few seconds." Rojo put a hand to her chin, clearly intrigued. "But it was just long enough to hear you guys laughing. Plus we heard the word "date" being thrown around."

"I-It's not what you think!" Mercury insisted.

"Oh, so you haven't made up?" Cinder guessed.

Emerald tapped her fingers together awkwardly. "Well, we DID, but it's not a DATE-date, it's just an outing." She saw Mercury hastily bobbing his head up and down in confirmation. "Merc's just taking me out to lunch as a way to make up for everything."

"Huh, well I think that's very sweet, Merc!" Rojo came in and put an arm around the young assassin's shoulders. "Congrats on finally putting all this to bed!"

Mercury cleared his throat, hoping to change the subject fast. "Ahem, yeah, thanks Rojo. Glad we're all on the same page again. So, um… have you guys figured out what we're gonna do today, or…"

"Well, I actually just ordered us some take out." Rojo pointed out toward the living room. "It should be here in about an hour, so we won't go hungry. But Cindy, Neo and I were just talking about maybe heading out on a bounty a little after lunch." She noticed that both of their interests were piqued. "I mean, it HAS been a little bit since we did a job, ya know?"

"Hm, yeah, good point." Emerald said before giving a thumbs up. "Alright, I'm in!"

"Count me in, too." Mercury placed a hand on his chest. "Anything to get out and do SOMETHING."

Emerald extended a fist to her partner. "And this time, we'll make sure we're BOTH on the same page."

Mercury gladly returned the fist-bump. "Hm, exactly."

Rojo clapped her hands together, ecstatic to hear that. "Great! Now c'mon, why don't we talk strategy and see what we can find on the Extranet?" With that, all five team members went back out into the living room… where they walked in at just the right time.

"Our top story this morning; The Return of Moth Man?" This gave everyone a moment's pause as their sights went straight to the TV, with Rojo in particular very much taken aback. "This news story comes to us straight from the heart of Moth Man country; Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where several sources claim that Moth Man was seen in the most compelling sighting since the Silver Bridge incident of 1973."

"…Moth Man?" Cinder asked, with the others tilting their heads. "What in the world is that?"

Rojo furrowed her brow at the TV, skeptical at the news woman's story. "He's said to be some sort of monster that lurks around that little town, and has been for over fifty years." But the redhead waved it off. "But most sightings can be boiled down to people mistaking him for owls and other kinds of birds. There's no WAY he's actually—"

"And in a shocking twist, we might actually have solid proof of the beast's existence!"

"Say what now?"

The news woman furrowed her brow on the screen as a separate video player came up next to her head. "The eye witnesses, a group of four teenagers who were at the infamous TNT Area late that night, managed to capture a brief video as they ran away. The footage is blurry and shaky, but rest assured, what you are about to see is stunning and awe-inspiring…" The footage began to play and immediately, the first thing they heard was screaming and indeed, it was shaking quite a bit. …But at the same time, the camera was being held up at a consistent angle, allowing everyone to see a tall, winged silhouette with bright red eyes standing against a bright purple light in the middle of the woods. Then, from out of nowhere, a second figure rose up, one that was even MORE bestial with large claws, and was covered in glowing purple patterns.

"…What the hell?" Mercury muttered as the two creatures began to wrestle each other before the footage was cut off.

"I have no idea…" Emerald muttered.

"As you can see, the video is very compelling." The news reporter continued. "Not only can you see what the witnesses described as the Moth Man himself, but ANOTHER creature emerging to attack the Moth Man." She pointed up to the paused video, singling out the massive, glowing beast. "Stranger still, the eyewitnesses say that THIS was actually a normal bear that got changed the second it came into contact with the purple light you see in the background, the source of which was from a meteor containing a strange, glowing purple rock that landed just a few yards away from them. Utterly frightening, I tell you."

"Purple rock…" Rojo muttered, only for her eyes to snap open in realization. "…Oh my god."

"W-What?" Cinder asked in alarm. "Rojo, what's going on?"

The bounty hunter gave a serious look to her team as she answered; "We need to get the Boss Lady AND Doctor Viktor on the horn. Something tells me this is the opportunity that Vik's been waiting for…"

…..

Back in Virginia, Zak was having the time of his life… while also being in utter disbelief as Ruby celebrated across from him. 'She… beat me.' the young man thought, watching as Ruby bounced up and down in happiness. A full six-on-six double battle, and he lost despite him having the more experience. Granted, he didn't really have the chance to do battles with real people often since not many of his other friends were into Pokémon, but still, it was quite shocking. He was even more stunned when Ruby had brought out her SHINY Gardevoir and had it Mega-Evolve, making him insanely jealous that she somehow found a really cool Shiny.

But at the same time, he also felt pretty happy as well, namely for her. It was obvious from how Ruby was celebrating that her day had been made. "WOO! Haha, I won! I actually won my first double battle!"

"Congratulations, Ruby!" Penny gave her friend a high-five. "You have truly mastered the art of Pocket Monsters!"

"Hehe, yeah, thanks Penny." Ruby said with a wave. "But let's not forget; it was down to the wire. Any of us could've won there, honestly." She extended her hand down to Zak, offering a handshake. "It's just that my Gardevoir managed to out speed your Gallade that time, but you really had me sweating bullets back there, Zak. Great battle!"

Zak smiled back up at her and returned the gesture, standing up from his seat. "Thanks, you too. Gotta say, I wasn't expecting that last move." But then, he put on a smirk. "Next time, though, I WILL win."

"Hmhm, we'll see." Ruby winked.

Around the two of them, the rest of the team began to spread back out, having crowded up to see the battle better. Ben let out a sigh and placed his hands on his hips, satisfied after seeing a good battle between trainers. "Alright, not a bad way to start things off. So, any ideas on what to do now?"

"Yeah, maybe take your fun somewhere else?" Kevin suggested, wearing a rather annoyed expression as he kept his eye on the Smoke Wolf. "Hard enough watching this thing while YOU guys are making so much noise."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at the Osmosian. "Wow, such a sour-puss today, Kevin."

Kevin craned his head toward her and retaliated; "Well sorry if I'm the only one taking THIS thing seriously." He jerked his thumb over to the Smoke Wolf… which was actually just laying on the floor doing nothing but stare at all of them.

"Hey, it's like I said, dude, he's not gonna do anything." Zak tapped the side of his head. "I managed to reach through to it, so we've got nothing to worry about, 'kay?" He saw Kevin was about to argue back, but he raised his hand, cutting him off before he could get a word out. "Tell you what; why don't I take the Smoke Wolf and keep an eye on it? I'll be the one responsible if anything ends up happening."

With a tilt of his head, Kevin was intrigued by the offer. "Hm… well, if you really want to, then I guess I've got no problem with it. But what do you mean by "take it"?"

"Well, I'm gonna take it to MY room, of course." Zak explained, taking everyone off guard.

"Um, Zak, I really don't think that's necessary." Ren advised.

"Yeah, I mean, what if it ends up breaking all of your stuff?" Jaune added.

But Zak wasn't worried, not from what they could tell. "Guys, it's fine, trust me. Besides, I make sure to keep all of my REALLY important stuff back in my room at my actual house, so if the wolf goes berserk for some reason, nothing of BIG value will be lost."

The group weren't expecting that answer… but they had to admit, it was actually a good point. "Hm, actually, I kind of get that logic." Neptune nodded. "I mean, why keep something valuable in a giant moving airship that has the potential to crash?"

Zak pointed over to Neptune. "Exactly." He tilted his head back to Kevin, who still seemed skeptical. "So c'mon Kevin, I promise it won't cause any trouble."

"Mmm… ugh, alright fine." Kevin waved off as he went over to the door on the other end of the room, where Doc, Drew and Gwen had gone. "But don't come crying to me if that beast loses its cool. I'm gonna go see what Gwen's up to."

"Uh, alright dude." Ben saluted to his best friend. "Have fun, I guess." As Kevin left, though, Ben couldn't help but shake his head. "Man, what is UP with him today? It's like something crawled up his butt and died."

Yang let out a laugh at his remark. "HA! Nice one, Green Boy. Honestly, I've got no clue why he's so sour 'bout the wolf, but if Zak says it's okay, then I think we're good. Question is, though…" She sent a questioning eye over to the aforementioned boy. "You're really gonna let us into your room? A bunch of people you've only JUST met?"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Zak reassuring, nudging his head toward the other doorway. "It's not my "main" bedroom, for one thing, and besides, there's nothing in there that I'm really embarrassed about." He directed the teens toward the exit, where they and the Cryptids followed after him. "So long as you guys don't rifle through my clothes or anything, we're good."

Ilia gave a shrug as they strolled along. "Fair enough. Not like we'd do that anyway."

It only took a few seconds for them to arrive at Zak's room, and when he opened the door, they were greeted by… a very normal bedroom. Sure, there were a few posters here and there, namely of superheroes like Batman and such, but other than that, there wasn't much that stood out upon first glance. "Huh… wow, this IS kind of plain." Jaune muttered, only to realize that he said it out loud. "U-Uh, not that there's anything WRONG with that, haha!"

"Nah, it's okay, Jaune." Zak said as he sat down on his bed. "Like I said, I don't keep a lot of my important stuff here. It's all safe at my house." He pointed over to his dresser, which had a large, plasma-screen TV standing on top of it, along with a Nintendo Switch. "But I DO keep my second Switch here, so there's that. Plus, I've got a computer and several streaming services, so I'm never NOT entertained."

"Ooh! Sweet!" Nora said as she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV, practically bouncing in place already. "Got any good games on there?"

"Heh, sure do! Here…" Zak got up and started turning everything on, grabbing the controllers from out of the drawers. "Lemme boot up Smash Bros and we can get some games in."

"Oh, sweet! I've been wanting to try that one!" Sun clapped his hands together, rubbing them eagerly. "Gwen's told us about it, but Kevin doesn't have a Switch and we never really get the chance whenever we're over at Gwen or Ben's houses."

Pyrrha wore a smile as she too went to sit on the floor. "Oh, I'm sure you'll enjoy it, Sun. Gwen showed us how to play not too long ago, and it's rather enjoyable."

Ren bowed his head to the monkey boy. "We'll show you the ropes, don't worry."

Neptune pumped a fist eagerly. "Sweet! Can't wait!"

As things were being set up, however, Ruby had found herself wandering over to one of Zak's bookshelves, taking note of his rather extensive collection. Sure, most of the books were about Cryptids, no doubt relating back to his family's research. But even still, she was fascinated by all of the titles she was seeing; "Wolfmen of England", "Thunderbirds over Mexico", "Bigfoot for Dummies", it was very a thorough catalogue. 'I really want to read most of these, honestly…'

As she moved along though, she started getting into a section where she had FAR more expertise in; comic books. Right off the bat, she felt giddy as she saw the titles flying by; Batman, Superman, Teen Titans, Spider-Man, X-Men, Avengers. Basically, if it was something from DC or Marvel, there was at least SOME representation on the shelf. But she also saw several non-superhero titles like Transformers, Godzilla, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even Sonic the Hedgehog, all from IDW. She felt like a kid in a candy store. "Ooh, I have to read at least ONE of these before we leave…"

"Ahem, enjoying the selection?"

"EEP!" Ruby's cheeks flushed red and she spun around, seeing Zak right beside her. "Z-Zak! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… wait, weren't you setting up the games?"

Zak jerked his thumb toward the television, where Ruby saw that Super Smash Bros was already set up and several of her teammates were either playing, or gathered around to watch. "Already done. Been that way for about five minutes now." He gave her a knowing smile. "Apparently you were so focused on my collection that you didn't notice."

Ruby rubbed her neck sheepishly, mentally kicking herself for losing focus. "Ah-haha… yeah, sorry, it's just that you've got a TON of great stuff over here and I thought I'd give it a look."

"No problem." Zak leaned down and started picking through his comic books. "You a comic fan?"

"Oh, you betcha!" Ruby's head bobbed up and down enthusiastically. "Of course, I don't know much about THIS universe's comic books outside of a few TV shows based off of them like Batman, but I do kind of want to get into them."

Zak felt his smile grow when she said that. Not even his other friends were interested in comics. "Hah, that's awesome to hear. Well, a good place to start would probably be this."

The Hooded Huntress suddenly found herself presented with a rather large omnibus, which she took with intrigue. "Hmm… "The New Teen Titans", huh?"

"Trust me, you'll LOVE it." Zak assured. "There's a show from back in the day that was actually based ON this run of the Teen Titans, and that's basically what got me INTO comics in the first place. Of course, the show is highly recommended, but if you wanna see how it all began…" He tapped the book's cover. "This is where you wanna go."

"Wow! That's really cool, Zak, thanks!" Ruby peered at the book again, realizing how thick it actually was. "Hm… I dunno if I could finish this by the end of the weekend, though."

But Zak raised a hand to her. "Well then feel free to borrow it if you'd like."

Ruby's jaw dropped at the suggestion. "O-Oh, no, I couldn't! I mean, an omnibus like this can't be cheap, so I don't wanna—"

"Don't worry, I've got another copy at home." Zak winked.

With an incredulous gaze, Ruby could only wonder one thing; "…ARE you rich?"

Zak gave a laugh at that. "Haha! Well, kinda. Being a scientist pays well, especially when it's something you get to live and breathe every day."

"Heh, I'll bet." Ruby glanced back over to the shelf, wondering if there was anything else that could catch her eye. And sure enough, there was… but it wasn't any sort of book. Instead, there was a single shelf that was kept barren of books, instead holding something that was far more… strange, yet interesting at the same time.

Upon that shelf were several padlocks, though they weren't made of metal at all and didn't have any sort of number combos on their front sides. No, instead, these locks were made of high-quality plastic, mostly painted in sterling silver with black shackles. The switches to open them were on their sides, and on their fronts, they all had molded images of… fruit. Well, mostly fruit. There were some nuts like an acorn, a walnut and a pinecone, but for the most part, Ruby saw a venerable fruit basket in lock form spread before her. An orange, bananas and grapes, a watermelon and even a durian. Some were a bit less recognizable, but she knew one thing for certain; they were colorful and they had her interest. There were about thirteen of them in total, all marked as such with "L.S. 01-13" printed on the fruits themselves.

"Yo, Ruby!" The Hooded Huntress snapped her head around to see Yang, Blake, Weiss and Ben all coming over, wondering what was going on. "You guys talkin' comics over here or what?" her sister asked.

Ruby gave her sister a nod. "Well, yeah, we were… but I think I just saw something else." She pointed up to the shelf with all the padlocks and asked; "Zak? What's with the fruit locks?"

All of a sudden, Zak felt his insides do a nervous flip. '…Oh god, I forgot about those!'

Noticing his change in demeanor, Yang smirked at him and leaned forward, placing her hands on her hips. "Huh, and here I thought you said you didn't have anything "embarrassing" in your room, Zak…"

"W-Well, they're not "embarrassing", really." Zak rubbed the back of his head. "Just a bit… hard to explain."

"Lemme see those." Ben reached up and grabbed the orange lock, inspecting it closer as Zak gave a gasp at the sudden action. The hero immediately noticed two things; one being a molded image that resembled a sad Pac Man with a slashed circle over it, a common warning on several Japanese toys. And the second was one that was a bit more subtle; "This silver paint… I've only seen this type of silver used on Bandai toys. I know for sure that there's no lock or fruit-based Super Sentai, so…" He put on a small grin as he glanced back to Zak. "Kamen Rider?"

"…Yeah, you got me." Zak lowered his head bashfully. "I-I'm into Tokusatsu. Have been ever since Weird World was cancelled. I wanted to get into SOMETHING new with nothing to watch and after scouring the internet, I ended up finding Kamen Rider." His hand went to his neck, realizing that this DID sound rather embarrassing. "I know it's nerdy, but—"

Ruby cut him off with a sudden chop to the shoulder, spooking him and causing his head to snap up to her. "Hey, don't get embarrassed NOW, Zak!"

Blake was quick to agree. "Yeah, no need to be ashamed or anything…" She and the other girls offered him a smile in support. "Especially since WE'VE recently found out about Kamen Rider ourselves."

That made Zak do a double take. "W-Wait, you guys KNOW about Kamen Rider?!"

"Yep, thanks to one of my friends and my older cousin." Ben explained, looking over the lock a little more. "They've showed us the first twelve or so episodes of Kamen Rider Build, and by god, we're hooked."

"Oh my god, you're kidding!" Zak laughed and brought both of his fists up victoriously. "Haha, YES! Thank GOD I'm not the only Kamen Rider fan I know anymore!" He leaned toward Ruby and the girls and said; "Side note; Build is an EXCELLENT series to get started on. Whoever your friends are, they've got good taste."

Weiss hummed as she took the pineapple fruit lock off the wall. "Hm, good to know. Now just what Rider series is THIS gimmick from?"

With the weight of awkwardness lifted from his shoulders, Zak put on a confident demeanor as he expounded on what the toys were. "Oh, well, they're actually called "Lockseeds", and they're from Kamen Rider Gaim. ALSO a fantastic series, by the way."

Blake took up the Strawberry Lockseed, her own interest growing. "Uh-huh, so does that mean you have copies of THESE at your house, too?"

"Well, technically yes." Zak shrugged. "These are the DX versions. Meanwhile at my house, I've got the Complete Selection Modification versions all on display. I keep these on the airship just for a little bit of fun. Here, I'll show you how they work." He reached his hand out to Ben, who handed him the Orange Lockseed. Zak then reached up and over the other Lockseeds on the shelf, pulling out a rather strange device.

The moment Team RWBY and Ben saw it, they knew it HAD to be the Rider Belt for the Lockseeds, though its design was MUCH different from the Build Driver. It was mainly black with a silver trim along the edges, somewhat rectangular in shape but with a bigger midsection to accommodate the gimmick. On the left side of the Driver was a lever mechanism that was designed to resemble a knife, while on the right was a faceplate with a printed design resembling a Kamen Rider helmet. In the very center of the Driver itself was an octagon-shaped indent where the Lockseed no doubt needed to be inserted, which was only reaffirmed by the presence of a silver locking hook directly above it.

"The Lockseeds go in this; the Sengoku Driver. Just gotta make sure it's on…" Zak flipped the switch on the back of the Driver, which made it announce its own name. "Now, the fruit molds that are on the front of the Lockseeds are actually panels that are made to fold down on hinges." He popped open the hinge on the Orange Lockseed just a bit to demonstrate. "See? But to use it correctly, you've gotta—"

"Oh! I know!" Ruby pointed to the knife on the belt. "It hooks onto the Driver and you chop it open with that knife-lever, right? That's so clever!"

"Hah, yeah, that's actually right! So, with that said…" Zak raised the Lockseed, pressing his thumb to the switch on the side. "Henshin!" He flipped the switch and the shackle opened, with the Lockseed itself announcing;

ORANGE!

Zak struck a brief pose before whirling the Lockseed around and placing it onto the Sengoku Driver, pushing the shackle back down through the lock ring. In doing so, the shackle actually pressed a button inside the ring, making the Driver shout; "Lock on!" before a rather catchy bit of standby music started playing. It had a bit of a techno beat, though it was mixed in with a traditional horn throughout. "And… CHOP!" Zak flicked the knife down and "sliced" through the orange, flipping the panel down to reveal two stickers on each side. The one on the main lock resembled a sliced open orange while the one that flipped down had a weapon on it, a sword that was styled like an orange slice.

SOIYA!

Orange Arms! Hanamichi on Stage!

Once the Sengoku Driver announced that, with orange lights coming from the Lockseed itself, Ruby couldn't help but be even more intrigued, especially by the image of the weapon. "Ooh, so is that weapon something you get when you transform?"

"Yep, that's Gaim's main weapon; the Daidaimaru." Zak explained further. "But that's not all you get, because these Lockseeds actually have corresponding Armor Parts that ALL look like giant metal fruits that unfold ONTO your body after they land on your head." He received several incredulous stares at that, so he raised his hand. "Okay, I know it sounds ridiculous, but in practice, it's actually really cool. Plus, they ALL have matching fruit-based weaponry."

"Huh, honestly, that DOES sound kinda cool." Yang admitted. "Man, battery-eating dinosaurs, bottles of Nebula Gas and now fruit-locks that give you special armor and weapons?" He turned her head to her boyfriend. "Green Boy, we NEED to go to Japan, the place sounds AWESOME."

"Hahaha!" Both Ben and Zak laughed at her statement, the former agreeing with her wholeheartedly. "Ah, Goldie Locks, I promise you that we WILL go to Japan someday. That's GOING to happen, without a doubt."

Ruby approached Zak, peering down at the Sengoku Driver. "Well, all this talk about Kamen Rider's actually gotten me in the mood to watch more…" She set her sights back up to the boy, tilting her head at him. "Think you can show us some episodes of Gaim while we're here, Zak? I'd love to see what these Lockseeds are ACTUALLY supposed to do."

Zak could feel excitement bubbling in his stomach at the thought. "Getting to rewatch Gaim AND show it to new fans? Heck yeah, I do!" He pointed back over to the television, though, with everyone else still in the middle of playing Super Smash Bros. "But uh, let's wait until after the matches are done over there, huh? Don't want a bunch of sounds overlapping, ya know."

"Ooh! Yeah, you're right…" Ruby smirked. "Which reminds me, we've been getting in some practice with Smash Bros on Ben's switch in my off time…" The rest of Team RWBY gathered up, all of them wearing resolute expressions. "Think you can take US on, boys?"

Ben and Zak shared a quick glance before the hero brought his hands together, wringing them out. "Oh, you KNOW we can. Rex! Sun! Save the next game for us, will ya?!"

…..

Meanwhile, in the Land of Darkness, Dr. Viktor was walking through the hallowed halls of Evernight Castle, having just received an important notice from Rojo and her team. A part of him couldn't believe it. To think that a piece of Corrodium had by chance just landed on Earth in the middle of nowhere. It almost seemed too good to be true, but nonetheless, he was determined to get that crystal and use it to help further his mistress' goals. This was one mission that he could not and WOULD not fail… though given who his options were for help, it made him a bit more apprehensive on that part. He finally reached his destination and opened the door, revealing the training hall where Thunderhog, Exo-Skull and Subdora were currently training. In an instant, the two mutants and Merlinisapien had their sights on him.

"Ah, hey there, Dr. V!" Exo-Skull greeted with a slight bow. "What can we do for ya?"

"Gentlemen, and lady, be ready to gird yourselves." Viktor informed with a serious tone. "We've just been given a new mission, and it's imperative that we succeed." He clenched a fist, with purple lightning dancing around his hands. "Be ready to move out within the hour. We're headed to Earth… to West Virginia."

There was a long period of silence after he said that, the trio perplexedly staring at him before Hog let out a sigh. "Man… I can already HEAR the banjos."

…..

A/N: Sheesh, can't go TWO days without the Ministry getting involved in something, huh? The team's definitely not gonna like what happens when they eventually catch wind of this breaking story themselves, that's for sure. But hey, at the very least, Emerald and Mercury are starting to patch things up between them, so that's good news. And of course, Cinder's attraction to Rojo just keeps growing, despite her own objections. Will she continue to resist or will she give into those temptations?

But yeah, like I said at the top, this chapter was mostly covering a lot of what happened in the Secret Saturdays proper to the rest of the team so they know exactly what Zak's deal is. What with being a reincarnation of Kur and all that, along with a bit of a cameo by V.V. Argost and Weird World. …Won't be the last time we'll be seeing Argost, though, that's for sure. That said, it seems that Zak's been able to get through to the Smoke Wolf, which is acting more obedient now thanks to him using his powers and a bit of Max's cooking.

Of course, though, this chapter also served to show us a bit more of what Zak is into, especially since he doesn't HAVE Weird World to obsess over anymore. Seems he's a pretty big fan of comic books, enjoys video games and is also a fan of Tokusatsu if those Lockseeds are anything to go by. Small world, isn't it? But hey… it certainly doesn't seem that Ruby's complaining, especially since he was kind enough to lend her a Teen Titans Omnibus. Hm… how very interesting…

Well, now that we've gotten to know Zak himself, it's time to get into the real meat and potatoes of this arc, as NEXT TIME, the Satudays themselves find out about this big news about Moth Man, and when Max hears about it, he and his grandchildren immediately recognize the effects of Corrodium at work. Without wasting any time, they head off to Point Pleasant, hoping to find more clues on what exactly happened. Will they like what they find there, though? Well, only one way to find out. Thanks for reading everybody, and I'll catch you all next time! And as always, stay safe out there!