Ohayho everyone! CJzilla with another update! In this chapter Zak tells his family what he heard the beast "say". Doc is determined to put a stop to the creature's rampage, but little do the Saturday crew know that the rampage is going to come to their front door. Enjoy.

As I blow this city all to heck, alls CJzilla has to roar is this: R&R... Love... Hate... Review.

crystalshake: Thanks crystalshake. Here's another update.

Super Poof: I had to pick up on the Gévaudan Beast's ferocity and its indiscriminant attack style. Van Rook was the first to get attacked because he had his back to the creature. You gotta love Fisk. That seven-foot-tall, googly-eyed freak of nature!

Robin: Thank you Robin; you're too kind. Here's another update that I hope will keep your face glued to your computer screen.

Pirates VS Ninjas: First off, thank you for being polite about asking for a quick update. I have some other people on another archive DEMANDING I update. Kinda takes the fun out of everything. Now, to your guess whether Zak will go find the Beast of Gévaudan or the Beast of Gévaudan kidnapping Zak... Eh... It's a little of both. But you'll find out for sure in the next chapter.

Amaris Solbes de la Vega: One phrase: Muchas gracias!

she-bang-fan: (CJzilla gasps and hugs her Van Rook plushie) Van Rook?! Dying?! No way! Even though he's got a creepy interest in Drew and nearly forced Russain accent, he doesn't deserve death! (CJzilla squeezes her Van Rook plushie until its head pops off)

ArtimisHowl: (CJzilla wipes brow) Good. I thought at least ONE other person should have had Doyle in their fic.

AN: And just a little tidbit from the last chapter: there actually existed a man named Antoine Saverelle who fought with a wolf similar to the ferocity of the Beast of Gévaudan. Crosscheck him or the "Wolf of Soissons" on wikipedia.


Chapter 4

Widowmaker

"It's mouth was big enough to smash two watermelons!" Zak carried on, his dark eyes wide as he told his uncle, parents and cryptids about the Beast of Gévaudan. The entire Saturday family was in their airship's control room, keeping an eye on the wide-eyed eleven-year-old. "Van Rook's head would have easily been squished if it wasn't for his mask! And you guys should have seen how the beast shook him like a rag!"

Drew's face paled, thinking of her baby boy having to go through something like that. Doyle shivered.

"I don't like Van Rook… but as evil as he is, he didn't deserve that." The red-head stated, his face falling serious. Doc hummed in acknowledgement.

"The Beast of Gévaudan is even more aggressive than I thought. It attacked a man just because his back was turned." The super-genius voiced, looking over his family. "I don't want to even think about what would have happened if Zak wasn't such a quick witted thinker."

The eleven-year-old with wild white and black hair let out a flattered giggle as he kicked his feet.

"Aw! Thanks dad!" Zak beamed.

"He gets it from Drew's side." Doyle quipped at his brother-in-law. Though he got a tiny sneer from Doc, he had to agree.

"I bet he does. You must have missed that gene, huh Doyle?" The older black man with a white streak running through his raven hair smirked. Now it was Doyle's turned to sneer.

"Its increasing aggressiveness is just one more reason to destroy the Beast of Gévaudan!" Drew spoke up. "Cryptid or not, nothing this dangerous has a good reason to still exist. Zak and Van Rook were incredibly lucky. The next encounter we have with this monster, may be even more dangerous."

Then Zak stood from his seat.

"Wait a sec!" The eleven-year-old stood next to Fisk. He caught his parents' attention. "Just after I got it off of Van Rook, I got a chance to use my powers on it."

The room was silent as Zak recalled the Beast of Gévaudan's hazy and riddle-like words.

"It told me this: "the guardian of the secret stone and the secret stone of the guardian"." The boy stated, face as straight as a pin. Everyone was stunned.

"Wait, wait…" Drew waved her hands before looking her son in the eye. "You mean to tell us that the Beast of Gévaudan has the ability to talk?!"

Zak shrugged.

"Well, kinda. It was not really speaking… I heard stuff that was more like whispers." The preteen answered. "But I heard it! "The guardian of the secret stone and the secret stone of the guardian"; that's what I heard."

Doc was sitting on the fence of belief and skepticism.

"Zak… Are you sure you weren't just hearing things? Maybe it was Van Rook or your panicked mind." The super-genius cryptozoologist questioned. "In all the accounts I've read on the Beast of Gévaudan, not once do they say that this monster can talk. It would sooner tear out YOUR voice box than speak."

That got Doc a scoff from both Doyle and Drew.

"Doc! Your son has cryptid speaking abilities! He knows what's going on in each creature's mind." Drew returned, her dark eyes sharpening at her husband. Doc nodded.

"I'm not discrediting Zak's abilities, Drew. But the Beast of Gévaudan doesn't seem like a cryptid that can produce coherent thought. From its history and what it's shown today… it's a monster." The super-genius replied. "There's nothing more to it than fangs, aggressiveness and an indiscriminate killer with a taste for human flesh."

The eleven-year-old's eyes fell to the floor.

"I know you don't believe it." Then Zak looked up at his family. "And yet I heard something else there… and it wasn't human."

"Not human?" Doyle asked, eyebrows high in the air.

"You know what I mean." Zak returned before his eyes glazed over with a weird, otherworldly look. "There is something… some diabolic… Something which is not… not at rest. I felt it, you know; in the beast's mind. There was a great feeling of defensiveness and an intense hatred for people… that couldn't be… slated."

His family was in a surprised and slightly creeped-out silence.

"Fisomursur." Fisk punched his unusually serious best friend in the shoulder. But when Zak's serious expression remained, the gorilla-cat's eyes went wide again.

"Drew, I want you sweep the entire valley with the airship's scanners then crosscheck every cryptid archive. Find out all you can about "the guardian of the secret stone and the secret stone of the guardian"." Doc was the first to speak after a long pause. Then he turned to Doyle. "Doyle… you and I are going on a beast hunt."

Drew, Zak and Fisk gasped as Doyle nodded.

"Doc! You can't! The Beast of Gévaudan will rip you two to shreds!" The white-haired woman pleaded. The man sighed, looking at his wife through stony eyes.

"What choice do we have, Drew? We were called here to stop it and that's exactly what I intend to do." Then Doc turned to his family. "No one leaves the airship. Doyle and I will contact you when we need to be let back inside."

With that the two men turned to leave the room, but not before they got kisses from Drew and hugs from Zak and Fisk.

"Be careful." Drew hugged her husband before kissing him. Doc gave her a cocky smirk.

"Like always." Doc returned before Drew released him.

"I have to gas up my jetpack and restock my ammo before we head out, Doc." Even Doyle was kinda serious. The leader of the Saturday crew nodded.

"I have to get my Power Glove anyway." Doc returned. "I'll meet you outside."

Nodding, the family dissipated.

As the door shut, Drew clapped her hand over her mouth as her eyes drifted to the bay window. She looked over the French countryside and finally into the forest which was unusually dark and foreboding even in noonday sunlight. Then she felt a hand on her arm. Looking down she saw Zak.

"It'll be all right mom." The eleven-year-old beamed. "Uncle Doyle will take good care of dad."

Something told Drew that no one was safe but she put on a confident smile for her baby boy and cryptids.

"Of course he will." She ran her fingers through Zak's wild hair. "And your father isn't going to like it one bit."

Less than five minuets later, Doc was standing just a few paces away from the ramp of the airship. The tall black man had his eyes on the forest in front of him and the quarter of a mile of pasture between them. The trees were huge and knitted tightly together, casting shadows that made even a portion of the forest impossible to see through. Anything could be lurking in there. Doc's fist tightened inside his Power Glove. Even with his powerful weapon, he felt strangely vulnerable. Maybe because his family was in just the same amount of danger as he was.

Then he heard the breeze blow through the tall grass and up the ramp and into the airship. Looking back into the zeppelin, Doc was mentally scolding Doyle for taking his sweet time gassing up and getting armed. Sighing, the man frowned.

Turning his eyes back toward the forest Doc found himself in a terrifying situation. He was looking into the red and yellow eyes of the Beast of Gévaudan.

The monster dog-like cryptid bared its dagger-like teeth at him, its tail swaying in a slow, hypnotizing rhythm. Doc had only looked away for half a second! How could an animal of this size move as fast as lightning without being heard?!

The man was too scared to cry out for help as his legs refused to move. The Beast of Gévaudan neared. It was instantly within striking range. Doc was motionless, his super-genius brain unable to think and his body unable to move. Then the beast lifted its lips and gave a snarl. Pink gums with snow white teeth glistened in the noonday sun's glow. But the noise from the Beast of Gévaudan's maw snapped Doc out of its trance.

Doc's hand shot to his Power Glove and his weapon roared to life. In that second the Beast of Gévaudan pounced. Its huge front paws lined with talon-like claws slammed on Doc's shoulders. The man was on the ground faster than he thought possible. The beast growled, globs of viscous saliva dripping from its open mouth and wetting his neck. Obviously, Doc had wet the animal's palate. He knew he had only one chance and one fraction of a second to pull it off before this beast left his family fatherless.

Doc cranked back his arm and busted his Power Glove into the beast's side. With a yelp, the Beast of Gévaudan was rocketed off of him and launched several yards away. The man scrambled to his feet and up the ramp as he saw the stunned beast paw the air. He caught a glimpse of it rolling to its feet just before he ducked into the airship. Slamming a hand over the button near the door, the ramp began to lift from the ground. Doc held his breath.

The huge metal ramp was half-way off of the ground and rapidly coming to a full seal. The hallway to the exit gradually darkened as the ramp withdrew from the outside world; only a four foot sliver of sunlight remained as it was just about completely closed. And just as Doc let out the breath he was holding, the Beast of Gévaudan jumped and dove through the small opening. The creature's large head and shoulders made it through but it came in on its side. Doc's mouth was on the floor.

The Beast of Gévaudan rushed to right itself before the door closed on its midsection. As the beast scrambled through, its back paw hit Doc in the side of the face and slammed his head into the metal wall, the ramp nearly shutting on its tail. The monster cryptid cuffed Doc so hard that he instantly knocked the man unconscious. Without a sound, the man's rag doll body fell to the floor.

The Beast of Gévaudan shook its fur as the door sealed shut behind it. Silence once again came to its ears as its red and yellow eyes combed the artificial darkness of the manmade contraption. It felt cold, smooth metal under its paws as several foreign scents filled its nose. Then it caught whiff of the boy.

Without giving the unconscious man at its feet a second look, the Beast of Gévaudan moved quietly through the metal hallways, bent on finding the child.

Meanwhile Zak and Fisk were busy playing a came of cards on the control room floor while Zon watched and Komodo was still sunning himself in the windows. Drew was reading over the archives of Doc's super computer and so far the woman had no luck finding anything to do with "the guardian of the secret stone and the secret stone of the guardian". Drew looked to her son who was playing cards with the Fiskerton Phantom.

"Mimur?" Fisk questioned. Zak shook his head.

"Nope. Go fish." Growling in frustration, the seven-foot-tall gorilla cat drew another card with his foot and set it in his hand.

Did Zak hear what he thought he heard or was Doc right about him hearing Van Rook mumble something? Her husband's reasonings were starting to sink in. Being born into a family of gypsies before raised by Tibetan monks, Drew automatically believed everything she heard, no matter how nutty it may sound to someone else. But she kinda had to agree with Doc on this one. The Beast of Gévaudan was too animalistic to have legitimate thought. Everyone knew that killing was the only thing on this monster's mind.

Then a communication crackled onto the audio speakers.

"Hey Drew?" It was Doyle. Drew picked up the message.

"Yes, Doyle?" There was a pause and her readings indicated that both Doyle and Doc were still inside the airship.

"Didn't your killjoy husband say that he was going to wait for me outside?" The red-head asked. Drew stifled a chuckle.

"Yes, yes he did. But the radar says he's at the end of the hall… right in front of you. Don't you see him?" She returned rolling her eyes at her brother's stupidity. Doyle silenced for a second.

"No… No I don't-. Wait." His tone suddenly went serious as a dead quiet filled his earpiece. Drew watched her readings and saw Doyle's signal speed toward Doc's. "Drew! Drew, get to the bay doors quick! Doc's unconscious! And he's covered in… some nasty smelling funk!"

At hearing that, Zak and Fisk were on their feet, cards going in every direction.

"I'm on my way!" Drew ran to the door but not before looking back at Zak. "Stay here and watch the radar!"

Without room for objection, she ran out the door, accidentally leaving it open. Zak, Fisk, Zon and Komodo watched her run. They were worried but did as they were told. Moving over to the nearest consul, the Fiskerton Phantom and eleven-year-old boy had their eyes on the radar.

When Drew got to Doyle and Doc she saw her brother crouching over her husband. It looked like Doc had just collapsed but as she neared she saw that his Power Glove was activated and that his face, neck and part of his shirt was covered in a smelly fluid.

"What happened Doyle?!" Drew barked. The red head shrugged.

"I dunno! This is how I found him!" Doyle returned as his sister crouched at her unconscious husband's side.

"Doc? Doc, baby? Can you hear me?" Drew patted her husband's cheek. Doc's face twisted as he came back to consciousness. "Doc! Thank goodness! What-?"

"It's inside!" Doc garbled, sitting up so fast he nearly hit heads with his wife and brother-in-law. "It's INSIDE the airship!"

Drew put her hands on her husband's shoulders as Doyle got to his feet.

"What? What's inside the airship?" Drew questioned. Her eyes widened when Doc's face went white as a sheet.

"The Beast of Gévaudan!" Doc staggered to his feet, reeling before both Drew and Doyle caught him. "It ambushed me from outside and when I got away, I shut the door! But it got in!"

Doyle and Drew were speechless before reality roared back to life.

"Zak!" They gasped. Doc slammed his hand over the button to drop the ramp.

As the ramp eased to the ground, the adults flew down the corridors to get to Zak before the Beast of Gévaudan did.

Fisk and Zak hadn't taken their eyes off of the radar. The eleven-year-old was getting pretty concerned about his father but he was also very confused. His dad NEVER collapsed and in a weird place too. At the bay doors? And what did Uncle Doyle say about some nasty smelling funk?

"You think Uncle D was exaggerating?" Zak asked Fisk. "I mean… what if dad was just tying his shoe and he thought dad was unconscious?"

"Urnur." Fisk shrugged. Zak sighed.

"I'll be happy when this nutty mission is over… or when I get to talk to the Beast of Gévaudan agai-… Fisk? What's wrong?" The eleven-year-old saw his best friend frantically sniffing the air, red eyes wide and ears twitching in every direction. "What? What?!"

And then Komodo started growling as Zon let out a scream. All three cryptids craned around to the open door. Zak looked with his friends before an eerie but strange sound reached his ears. He heard tapping, like Komodo's claws on the metal floor. But… Komodo was right here. What was that?

Then they saw a long snout before red and yellow eyes peek around the doorway. It was the Beast of Gévaudan!

"Holy Shiitake Mushrooms!" Zak squeaked. "How'd you get in HERE?! You're not even on the radar!"

The monster dog-like cryptid moved to the doorway and got about halfway inside before Fisk jumped defensively in front of Zak. With its eye contact broken with the boy, the beast's aggressiveness returned. The creature bared its teeth at the gorilla-cat and sprinted forward. The Beast of Gévaudan raced at full gallop before slamming its head into Fisk's chest. The gorilla-cat gave a wet cough before he was launched across the control room.

"Fisk!" Zak gasped. Then Komodo rushed the beast.

The genetically altered komodo dragon took a bite at the Beast of Gévaudan left paw. But the beast lifted its leg before Komodo's jaws snapped over it. Then the monster cryptid latched onto the back of Komodo's neck with its big jaws. Picked up by his tough, impenetrable hide, Komodo was shook by the beast before he was flung to the far right of the control room.

Zon dove off of the hand-railing she was perched on and jumped on the Gévaudan Beast's back. Driving her needle-like teeth into the creature's ear, Zon made the beast roar with pain and anger. The Beast of Gévaudan bucked, trying to get the female Ornithocheirous off of its back. When bucking and rearing didn't work, the beast fell to the floor and rolled over Zon. With the extra four-hundred pounds on her, Zon released the monster cryptid. Getting to its feet, the Beast of Gévaudan picked Zon up by the foot and flung her on Fisk.

Then it set its eyes on Zak Saturday.

Zak's dark eyes were now glowing with yellow energy. Again, he reached out to the beast's mind.

"Stop! I mean it! Stop!" The eleven-year-old commanded, holding out his hand. The Beast of Gévaudan's eyes shone with Zak's cryptid powers.

But instead of stopping, the beast walked toward the boy, fangs dripping with slime. Zak's eyes widened but he didn't stop reaching to the cryptid with his powers.

"That's enough! Don't come any closer!" The boy commanded again. Nothing; the beast kept advancing.

The guardian of the secret stone and the secret stone of the guardian.

The Beast of Gévaudan was whispering to him again, but Zak couldn't concentrate on it. The only thing in Zak's mind was the monster in front of him, baring its long teeth. Desperately, the eleven-year-old brought his hand the beast's head and gave its nose a swat. Jolted and surprised, the Beast of Gévaudan shook its fur before going into a sneezing fit. Zak saw his chance to get around it. As the beast sneezed and sneezed, he snaked along the wall to the right of the creature. The dog-like creature saw that the boy was trying to get away and as it sneezed, it took a swipe at Zak with its paw. Though it missed by a mile, the message was clear in Zak's mind.

Zak obeyed his instincts… He ran. The Beast of Gévaudan sneezed but followed the boy out the door and into the web of hallways.

He could hear the dog-wolf-like creature's breathing and could almost feel its moist breath on his neck as he bolted down corridors. Zak was freaking now. His cryptid powers hadn't effected the Beast of Gévaudan! Now he had no choice but to run. Too bad fear blocked his mind. Sprinting away like a frightened rabbit, Zak was doing just what the beast wanted him to; he was heading for the bay doors, the open ramp and outside.

By the time Zak turned the last corner and hung a right, he realized that he was racing toward an open ramp. Skidding to a stop, the eleven-year-old knew that if he ran outside, he would be totally open and the beast could easily take him. Turning, Zak started running back up the hallway, hoping that the Beast of Gévaudan hadn't caught up with him yet. But he nearly ran into the creature as it walked out of the hallway he'd just come from. He gasped as the beast growled and slowly advanced toward him. Again, Zak was forced to do the monster dog-like cryptid's bidding; he backed up toward the open ramp.

The Gévaudan Beast pushed Zak nearer and nearer to the ramp and outside. The eleven-year-old felt the heels of his sneakers teeter where the floor gave into a slope. He froze, knowing if he went down the ramp he'd be dead. But the beast growled, baring its dagger-like teeth, threatening death if he didn't do what it wanted. Zak saw no way out.

"Zak!" He suddenly heard his mother's voice from up the hallway. Both Zak and the Beast of Gévaudan craned to Drew Saturday.

The boy saw his mom holding her Tibetan Fire Sword at the beast with Doc and Doyle right behind her.

"DUCK Zak!" Drew yelled as her Fire Sword began to glow. In that same second, the specialty fire weapon discharged a fireball the width of the hallway.

Zak took a step backwards only to find a sloped floor behind him. He fell backwards and tumbled down the ramp as Drew's fireball hit the Beast of Gévaudan. The monster cryptid was shot out of the airship by the massive burst of fire. It flew nearly the full quarter of a mile to the forest before gravity pulled and it tumbled to a smoldering stop in the grass.

Zak clapped his hands around his head as he too lie in the grass at the foot of the ramp. When he heard the fireball hit the Beast of Gévaudan and the cryptid whistle through the air, he opened his eyes. He saw the beast land far away. Getting to his feet, the boy scrambled up the ramp, nearly smacking into his uncle, father and mother.

"Zak!" Doc grabbed his son and yanked him into the zeppelin. In the distance, the Beast of Gévaudan got to its feet, its reddish fur smoldering with the fire blast.

Drew zipped down the ramp and fired two more fireballs at the creature. As fire rained from the sky, the beast's primeval fear of flames took over. Without a noise, the monster dog-like cryptid shot back into the woods. And just like that… the Beast of Gévaudan was gone.

"Quick! Drew, back into the airship!" Doc called to his wife, hitting the button to shut the ramp. Drew ran up the ramp as it began to close.

The Saturdays watched the forest and any sign of the beast before finally, the ramp shut snuggly over them. They were safe and the adults turned their attention to Zak,

"Are you all right, kid?" Doyle questioned, kneeling to look his nephew in the eye. Zak nodded but looked up to his father.

"Are you okay, dad?" The eleven-year-old questioned. The man looked down to his son and managed a quick grin.

"Yep. The worst it did to me was knock me out and drool on me." Doc returned, putting a hand on Zak's head. The preteen laughed as Drew sheathed her Fire Sword.

"Talk about fiery pest control, huh sis?" Doyle quipped. But he was promptly shut up when he saw the tears rolling down Drew's face.

Dropping to her knees, the woman pulled her only son into a huge hug, crying into his shirt. She nearly lost her husband, her beloved only son and cryptid pets. Zak held his mom and sighed. That was scary. No doubt about it.

Inside the forest, the Beast of Gévaudan shook its still smoking fur. So close and yet so far. The beast now knew what it was up against. In order to get to the boy, it had to get past his two powerful and caring parents, not saying anything about the cryptid pets. They all went to great lengths to care for their little cub but now they posed a problem. The Beast of Gévaudan was going to have to make the boy come to it, lest it get another one of those very powerful fireballs in the face and a Power Glove in the side.


R&R! LONG LIVE ROCK!