Hey, Butterflies! I'm back with Chapter 9! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Anyways, here's Chapter 9: Pieces

Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and Cartoon Network.

Trigger Warning: Hints of stalking mentioned at end.

I keep the letter folded in my pocket. There is no way I am opening it now. If I am correct, Anonymous gives me two days for every task starting from the time I read the letter, so I all I have to do is wait until we get home to read it. By now, everyone is already awake, and Doc is trying to convince Doyle to return with us. But Doyle keeps refusing, saying that he needs time and space before he can return to the place where his sister died. I want so badly to tell Doyle that Drew isn't dead and that he is part of the key to finding her, but I know better than to do that.

Doc and Doyle continue their discussion for a long time, so Zak, Zon, Fisk, Komodo, and I entertain ourselves. Somehow, we end up playing manhunt; Fisk is hiding, and I dare say he is really good at hiding. We search high and low for him, but with no luck. He's not in any of the surrounding trees, nor in the bushes, nor even in the campsite. After the four of us are unable to find him, we call it quits and wait for Fisk to reveal himself. Only, he doesn't. He keeps hiding. Now we're starting to get concerned. It's not unlike Fisk to keep hiding after a game has ended, but normally he gives up after this long. Zak glances over to me, and I shrug. Then he stands up and disappears into the foliage around us; I stand up and follow in pursuit. I chase after him, careful not to stray too far from the campsite. At one point, I trip on a root and tumble. I stand up and spit the dirt from my mouth. Then I check to see where I'm injured. I'm bleeding a lot on my left hand, elbow, and knee. I heal those and continue with my pursuit of Zak. Eventually, I realize that I am lost. A few choice words in French escape my lips. I hear some snickering, and I look around, hoping to catch the person who dared laugh instead of helping me out. I catch a glimpse of a yellow pant leg, and I smirk to myself. Before he knows it, Zak is suspended upside down in the air by a tree branch. That'll teach him to laugh at me.

When Zak finally stops yelling, I use my powers to make the tree branch release him. Then, as he hits the ground, I go up to him, help him up, and whisper "payback" in his ear. He rolls his eyes, and we start heading back to Doyle's campsite. Fisk will turn up soon. On our way back to the campsite, we hear a low growling, so Zak and I immediately jump to the other's defense. Still, we cannot find the source of the noise, so we keep walking, our senses on high alert. Then we hear it again. Zak and I start to worry; we grab the other's hand and give it a comforting squeeze. Then something jumps out at us. My brother and I both scream a little, and then we realize it is only Fisk. The moment we realize this, the three of us are in stitches. I'm a little ticked with Fisk for scaring us, but it was funny nonetheless.

The three of us return to the campsite, where the others are waiting for us; Doc has a concerned expression. The minute he sees us, he runs over to us, hugs us, and then scolds us for disappearing. Zak and Fisk try to explain over each other, and it does nothing to help the situation. The two end up getting annoyed with the other for talking over them, which then starts an argument. Not wanting to get involved, I let Doc handle the situation; he sends them to separate parts of the campsite, so they can't annoy each other. Then Doc pulls me aside. He explains that he got Doyle to at least think about coming back with us and that Doyle is currently thinking it over. I nod, trying to mask the excitement and worry. Stars, I hope Doyle decides to return with us. How else are we supposed to find Drew?

Some time later, Doyle reappears from his tent, with red eyes from appears to be crying. He looks at all of us, and clearing his throat, announces that he will be returning with us. The others smile, and I am tempted to do so myself, but looking into Doyle's eyes change that. He is obviously still grieving, and I feel awful for forcing him to return with us. Silently, I approach Doyle and throw my arms around his waist in a hug. He's shocked at first, but soon he returns the hug. I whisper that I'm sorry for doing this to him, and I feel the vibrations in his body as he says that it's okay. No, it's not okay.

Zon flies back up now that is brighter outside, and she is able to direct us back to the airship. When we finally find our way back, the sun has already begun to set behind the mountains. All seven of us board the airship, and we start the trip back to Seward. I don't see much of Doyle for the duration of the trip; I imagine that he is spending the time by himself in order to prepare himself emotionally for our arrival.

We finally arrive in Seward, and we all disembark. I wait for Doyle and walk out with him. It's evident he's been crying. No, crying isn't the right word. He's been weeping. I take his hand and guide him out of the airship and to the elevator to take him to his room. He stays silent the entire time, clearly trying to cope with the pain of being back here. When we get to his room, he thanks me before disappearing inside. I walk away and return to my room to read the letter from Anonymous. However, another thought strikes me: I should probably check to see if Munya has written anything.

I race outside as I shove my arm into my coat. Then I throw open the mailbox and peer inside. There is a letter, and it is from Munya. I grab it and hurry back inside before I freeze my tail off.

Inside my room, I open the letters, first the one from Munya, then the one from Anonymous. Munya's letter is short, saying that unfortunately all Argost's files are gone. But his letter also says that he strongly believes that he is Dr. Derek Grey; all he has to do is find some way to confirm it. I am so happy for Munya, and my heart leaps when I read his letter. But then I realize something. Learning if Munya really is my uncle means finding either my aunt or Mom. I haven't seen either in months. Zut! This is going to much harder for Munya than I think either of us anticipated. What happens if Munya isn't Derek? What happens if he is? Will his sisters accept him? More questions like these swirl and fill my head, so I set the letter aside, unable to handle all the thoughts and emotions. Then I pick up Anonymous's letter and read it.

Dear Miss Saturday, December 11

Congratulations on finding your dear uncle, Doyle Blackwell. I must admit, I am quite surprised you were able to discover the answer and then find him. I honestly thought you would not be able to do it. Of course, this was never my intention, but considering the amount of time it took for you to solve the riddles regarding a date and the goddess Iris, I never expected you to make it this far. I send my salutations to Mr. Blackwell.

You may have noticed that I altered the salutation; this is because you no longer seem to identify with your former self, Iris Nicole Van Rook. It is a pity, for you had a much nicer name as a Van Rook, but it is your decision to go by Lilianna "Lily" Rose Saturday.

I suppose by now you are wondering what the next clue is. Since I have digressed enough, here it is. You have two days. Good luck, Miss Saturday.

You have seen me before, and we will meet again. You have injured yourself many times in my sight. You escaped many times, but never again. My sweltering wrath will bear down on you.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

The letter truly shocks me. How in the name of stars could Anonymous know all that about me? I find extremely alarming. At first I was pretty okay with Anonymous knowing so much because I suspected xe is somehow familiar with the Secret Scientists, Mom or Dad, or WeirdWorld. But this, this is just too much. Coupled with the fact that Anonymous knew to leave the letter near Doyle's campsite in Burma, Anonymous is looking less and less like an ally and more and more like a enemy. Also, what in the world is the clue supposed to mean? Ugh. I can't believe I thought it would get easier after finding Doyle.

So that's the end of Chapter 9! I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll have Chapter 10 posted as soon as I can, but that won't be for another couple of weeks, for I am going abroad. Thank you all so much for reading! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! I love you all so much!