Zak: Hey, everybody! We're back!
AB: (Hangs head in hands)
Zak: What?
AB: Nothing. Obviously, the Saturdays are back for this chapter. Yes, I've talked with everyone, and they've agreed to not interrupt me. (Glares at Zak) Also, Doc and Drew aren't talking to each other, and Doc is giving me the cold shoulder. You won't be hearing much from them.
Zak: And don't forget how mad Fisk and Zon got at you earlier.
AB: They don't like me either.
Zak: Then they ran off. Doyle and Komodo are out chasing them.
AB: (Partially whining) Zak, you agreed. (Normal voice) Besides, Iris is here with us too.
Zak: WHAT?! (Starts fuming at AB. Gets ready to pounce.)
AB: (Quickly and fearfully) Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and Cartoon Network. Here's Chapter 4: Surprise!
(3rd Person POV)
Shortly after the Great Serpent conquered the Barmanou, he had to leave. He knew there were other cryptids out there to win over. He waved farewell to the Barmanou, reminding them that he was never too far away. They cheered.
His search led him to India, where the Pogeyan were terrorizing villages. The Great Serpent came in the dead of the night, because he had learned how humans reacted to huge, white serpents with red eyes, and these reactions were more often than not, bad.
"Look at that repulsive creature. I wonder why it's here," some of Pogeyan whispered to each other.
"I wonder if the Elected One brought it here," others would reply. The Great Serpent tried not to care.
It only took a few days near the Pogeyan establishment for the Great Serpent to figure what kind of government they had. All they talked about were the upcoming elections and candidates; the Pogeyan had a democracy.
The Great Serpent was not welcome in the establishment, and he was forced to remain outside, only entering under careful supervision. Although this treatment bothered him, but the Great Serpent tried not to let the Pogeyan know. This mistreatment only got worse during the elections.
A new leader was finally elected, after several ties. The new leader was more open to the Great Serpent, and she invited him to stay in the establishment. The Great Serpent, gratefully accepted and spent three weeks with the Pogeyan.
"So," the new leader addressed the Great Serpent one afternoon, "what brings you to our establishment?" The leader scooted over on the bench she sat on to make room for the Great Serpent. The Great Serpent sat down, leaving space between himself and the leader.
"I'm on a mission." The Great Serpent sighed. "The gods of Sumer have sent me around the world to convince all the cryptids to leave humans alone and join together under a single power." The Great Serpent's soft eyes looked past the Pogeyan leader. "I'm not sure I can do it." The Pogeyan slid closer to the Great Serpent and wrapped her paw around him.
"Of course you can, my dear. In fact, I'll even give you my new powers if they'll help you." The Pogeyan snuggled against the Great Serpent, purring.
"Thank you, Ms. Elected One," the Great Serpent smiled.
"Please call me, Agrata."
"Okay, Agrata. Call me Alborz." There was a pause in their conversation for a few moments. It was a sweet silence.
"I love you," Agrata finally purred to the Great Serpent. He looked in shock at Agrata. He had grown fond of her, yes, but he could never love her.
The next day, Agrata informally handed over her powers to control the Pogeyan to the Great Serpent. Agrata smiled flirtingly at the Great Serpent, but he smiled back sadly. He did not want to hurt her.
After the transfer, the Great Serpent began to make leave, hoping Agrata would not see him go. He had his back turned to the other end of the hallway as he tried to leave.
"My love, do you not want to stay with me? After all I have given you?" Agrata asked painfully when she saw the Great Serpent leaving.
"Agrata, I must leave. I have to finish my mission. I am eternally grateful to you for what you've given me, and I hope to pay you back some day. But I have to go. I'll come back though." The Great Serpent tried many times to console Agrata.
"You do not love me, do you, Alborz? You only wanted my powers."
"Agrata, you know that is not true."
"Yes, it is. You used me!" Agrata cried. She took a deep breath and finished calmly, "I think it's best if you left now, before you can cause anymore damage."
"Agreed." With that the Great Serpent left.
Though he had never loved Agrata, he had cared about her. It hurt the Great Serpent to see her so heartbroken. He continued on his journey in order to forget her.
(Iris's POV)
I wake up later that morning, the morning of Dr. Solomon's birthday. The clock in the bedroom says it's about six in the morning. Zut! Je suis en retard! (Dang! I'm late!) I hurry to get dressed and ready and start breakfast before anyone realizes my error.
Knowing, from all the information Master had on the Saturday family, that Dr. Solomon's favorite food is beignets, I start right away. After those are done, I scramble eggs, make bacon, brew coffee, and wash some fruit. By the time all of that is finished, it's close to eight. I clean up, set the table, keep the food warm.
No one wakes up until almost ten. They all smile when they smell breakfast. Dr. Solomon emerges from another guest bedroom. He seems pretty grumpy, but he has every right to be after what happened last night and early this morning. He walks over to the kitchen.
"Dad, look at what's for breakfast!" Mister Fiskerton shouts.
"I see," Dr. Solomon replies coldly.
"Happy birthday, Dad," Mister Zak says cheerfully.
"Thank you, Zak." No one says anything for a few moments. Dr. Solomon gets a serving of breakfast without a word. The tension in the atmosphere is extremely flamboyant.
Dr. Drew and Mr. Blackwell soon wake up. Things really start to heat up after that. I try to stay out of everyone's way, and it seems to be doing some good. Everything seems to be okay; no one has yelled at anyone yet.
Breakfast is soon over, and everyone goes to separate places in the airship. Well, almost everyone; Dr. Drew stays behind as I clean up. She watches me, as if she's unsure of what to think.
"Le petit déjeuner a était bon. Merci, Iris. (Breakfast was good. Thank you, Iris.)" Dr. Drew walks over closer to me. "Comment sais-tu nourriture préférée de Doc est beignets? (How did you know Doc's favorite food is beignets?)" Dr. Drew asks softly. I look down. She nods understandingly. "Tu ne devois pas nous parler, Iris, mais je aimeriez entendre ta voix un jour. (You don't have to talk to us, Iris, but I'd like to hear your voice one day.)" I nod, trying to know for myself when that day will be. Dr. Drew gets up to leave, but she stops just in front of the doorframe. "Je tu souhaite de vivre avec nous, même s'il est pas de sitôt. Je prie pour que tu réalises ton rôle ici est différent de celui précédemment. Tu ne devois pas être une servante plus longtemps. (I hope you enjoy living with us, even if it's not anytime soon. I pray you realize your role here is different than previously. You don't have to be a servant any longer.)" Dr. Drew walks out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Cela ne peut pas être juste. Pourquoi ne puis-je faire quelque chose de mal, et être retourné à Maître? Pourquoi veulent-ils me garder? (This cannot be right. Why can't I just do something wrong, and be returned to Master? Why do they want to keep me?)
(Doc's POV)
My birthday passes without much happening. No strange cryptid sightings, no weird scientific discoveries we need to record, nothing. It doesn't seem right. Even Zak and Fiskerton behave themselves, which is a first. Doyle doesn't make any smart remarks either.
"All right, Drew. What's going on? What are you all planning?" I ask.
"Nothing, Doc. You said you wanted a day to just relax for your birthday, so we're giving it to you." I look around. It is relaxing. "But we can do anything you want."
"Okay. I'll let you know if anything comes to mind. Thanks, Drew." I start to take a step away, but I stop myself. "Honey?"
"Yes, Doc?"
"I'm sorry about the way I've been acting lately. I love you."
"I'm sorry too, Doc." Drew hugs me. "Love you too, Big Guy. Happy birthday."
We spend the rest of the morning just relaxing and enjoying not having to worry. Drew takes a couple pictures of us as a family. Iris chooses to stay out of them, so we don't push her. This has to be the most awkward day for her. I don't even like her, and I'm empathizing with her! What's gotten into me?
The afternoon is pretty quiet, and no one is complaining. Iris makes a few appearances here and there to clean up or serve lunch, but she never says a word, not that I'm complaining or anything. After lunch, I pull Drew aside and ask her if we can do something for my birthday later today.
"Drew, could we go back to Seward? To the house?"
"Doc, are you sure you want to do that? You remember the last time we were there." I give Drew a pleading look. "What time do you want to be there?"
"Before it gets dark, please."
"Doc, it's May. Even if it does get dark before we arrive, it won't be for very long."
"In a few hours then."
"I'll change our course." Drew walks away, leaving me alone. Why do I want to go back? What am I hoping to find there? Why do I want to see reminders of the past?
A few hours later, we land at the house. Fisk fidgets once he sees where we are. Zak calms him down, but even Zak seems a little uneasy. I can't say that I blame them, though. It's hard to forget the past with a reminder this big.
"Why is this what you wanted, Doc?" Komodo asks.
"I want to rebuild our lives, Komodo. I know we can never forget what has happened to us, but it's time we moved on from last year," I explain. Komodo growls his approval before walking away. The others and I begin looking over the grounds and the ruins.
That night, back in the airship, Drew and I are awake, talking to each other. We discuss floor plans for the new house, the price of building the new house, who will room where, et cetera.
"What about Iris?" Drew finally asks the unspoken question.
"She's staying with us, right? Therefore, she needs a room," I conclude.
"But I thought you didn't like her."
"I don't, but that doesn't mean I've a right to be cruel to her." I pause. "Why don't we design the new house to look like the old one?"
"What about the costs? How will we afford those?"
"Drew, with three working adults, I'm sure we'll be able to pay for it."
"That's just it, Doc. With Zak's powers gone, and all the cryptids having returned to their natural habitats, will the world need us? Will the Secret Scientists need us anymore? What will we be keeping secret now that the world knows about cryptids?" Drew grasps my hand. "I don't think Doyle will be able to go back to work for a while, either." She squeezes my hand, a sign of fear.
"I know, Drew, I know. But let's take it as it comes, and let God handle the rest. Goodnight, Love."
"Goodnight to you, Love." Drew snuggles against me as she falls asleep. I stay awake for a while before falling asleep myself.
(Komodo's POV)
I wake up earlier than usual the next morning, but I don't know why. No one else, besides Iris, who is completely silent, is awake, so it's impossible that anyone else woke me up. I leave Zak's bedroom, where I sleep, and wander aimlessly around the airship.
I find Iris cleaning up in the kitchen; she's made breakfast for everyone again. I can't help but look at the breakfast she's made and then look at her. She's so skinny, it's scary, yet she makes breakfast for four people, and sometimes more than that, without temptation.
"Iris, may I ask you a question?" Iris turns around, looks at me, bobs a quick curtsy, turns back around to turn off the water in the sink, and turns back to face me. "Did you eat back where you came from?" I ask, trying not to sound nosy. She nods cautiously. "What if someone told you that you're underweight?" Iris looks blankly at me. She doesn't understand. I try to break it down for her, saying, "What would you do or say if someone told you that you too skinny?" Iris shifts her weight from one foot to the other, as if she doesn't know how to answer my question. I can't say that I blame her, considering the question. "I'll see you later, Iris," I say, ending the one way conversation.
Then I walk into the living room. I have a clear view of the ruins. How much time have we got of this quiet? How much time do we have to heal? How long will it take to recover? How long will Iris last, even if she stays with us? My thoughts ask questions I know no one can answer. I try to push those questions away, but they keep coming back. Finally, I conclude that it takes too much energy to push those those thoughts away, and I let them come, reminding myself that they are only thoughts.
Soon everyone is awake and has eaten breakfast. I try to steer away from Iris for the time being. Why did I have to be so stupid and ask her those questions? It won't change anything, except now she's probably terrified of me. Doc and Drew gather us in the living room, claiming they have an announcement to make.
"Today, Doc and I are going to the city and applying for a permit to rebuild the house," Drew explains excitedly. I'm happy to know we'll have a home again, but no one else seems to share the joy. "Killjoys," Drew mumbles kind of loudly.
"We heard that," Doyle says.
"You were supposed to," she replies. Ah, the sibling war continues. Good to know some things never change.
Doc and Drew leave shortly after the announcement. Doyle departs to his room, so Zak, Fisk, Zon, Iris and I are the only ones left. Fisk declares round seven of his favorite board game against us, but Zak would rather play the video games. My guess is he wants to keep his mind focussed in the moment of something other than being at the ruins of the house.
A few hours later, Doc and Drew come back to the airship, smiling. They seems super excited about something. I guess they have good news.
"Guys, guess what," Drew calls. Everyone comes running into the living room. "We're first to be reviewed; our permit could come any time between tomorrow and two weeks."
"Wow, Drew. That's great," I say. She beams joyfully.
Drew looks at the clock in the living room; it's two. "Have you guys eaten yet?" She asks. I shake my head. "I'll make grilled cheese." Drew looks around the room. "Where's Iris?"
"I'm not sure. Try the guest bedroom. If she's not there, the kitchen is a good place to look." Drew hurries off to find Iris. I hope I didn't scare her earlier. She has to be terrified with all of this happening around her without any clue as to what's going on. I pause my thoughts for a moment. Why do I find myself so strangely drawn to her? What is it about her that makes me worry so much? What about her makes me want to get to know her, to see her get better, to see her change into who she has the potential to become? My attention turns to a sound behind me. I turn and look. "Oh, it's only you."
(Iris's POV)
Dr. Drew finds me in the kitchen preparing to make lunch for everyone. She smiles at me, but I look back down at what I'm doing after a quick curtsy. Stupide. Tu appartenes à elle maintenant; ta révérence devrait être plus profonde, et tu dois lui montrer plus de respect. Tu doives être en l'appelant «Maîtresse» trop. (Stupid. You belong to her now; your curtsy should be deeper, and you ought to show her more respect. You ought to be calling her "Mistress" too.)
"Ça tu dérange si j'aider? (Do you mind if I help?)" I shake my head, and she stands next to me. "Qu'est-ce que tu fais? (What are you making?)" I shrug slightly. "Que dirais-tu du fromage grillé? (How about grilled cheese?)" I look wide-eyed at Dr. Drew. Qu'est-ce qu'un fromage grillé? (What is a grilled cheese?) Dr. Drew sees my confusion. "Regarde. (Watch.)"
Dr. Drew teaches me to make grilled cheese, and I finally understand how to do it after countless failed attempts. I make only two, but Dr. Drew makes seven. She calls everyone to lunch, and they all eat the grilled cheeses. All except one grilled cheese. After everyone has eaten and left the table, Dr. Drew, who is still sitting at the table, motions for me to sit down next to her. I hesitate, but comply anyways because it's an order.
"Pour toi. (For you.)" Dr. Drew smiles as she pushes the plate over to me. I don't touch it; I look blankly at Dr. Drew instead. "Iris, s'il tu plaît mange. (Iris, please eat.)" Dr. Drew looks me in the eyes, but I try not to avoid the eye contact with her. "Tu vas mourir si tu ne mange pas, Iris. (You're going to die if you don't eat, Iris.)" After much convincing, I finally pinch a tiny bite off the grilled cheese. I try to eat it, but the texture is so foreign and rough, it's near impossible for me to swallow. Dr. Drew sees this, and gets a glass of water. I bow my head to say thanks, swallow, and take a sip of water. "Bien, Iris, bien. (Good, Iris, good.)"
Little by little, I eat the grilled cheese until it's all gone. Dr. Drew smiles at me lovingly. "Tu récupéres un jour, Iris. (You will recover one day, Iris.)" With that Dr. Drew stands up, clears my plate and glass, and leaves the room.
I feel sick, so I race to the guest bathroom. I get there in time, and purge the food. I hate to waste it, but it's not right for me to eat their food. I look at the throw up in the toilet and feel the burn in my throat. Qui ce que je préfère, purge ou de refuser? (Which do I prefer, purging or refusing?) Then I flush the toilet and brush my teeth. Ils ne peuvent jamais savoir. (They can never know.)
The rest of the day passes quietly. No one bothers anyone, and dinner is completely silent. However, after dinner, Dr. Drew sits down with me, and this afternoon repeats itself. After I brush my teeth, I can't help but look at myself in the mirror, something Master forbade for my own good. I take a moment and do nothing but gaze into the reflective glass of the mirror. I watch my eyes as I blink. My once overly vibrant blue eye is a perfect shallow and dull; my too lively green eye is a thing of the past, as years of Master's care deadened the color.
I run my fingers over my boney face, arms, and legs. I feel over seemingly permanent bruises, deep and shallow cuts and scrapes, and scars to match. I'm forever indebted to Master for giving these gifts to me.
Then I take a closer look at my face. My cheeks are beautifully sunken in, and my face as a whole is wonderfully lifeless. I adore it. Master sure knows how to treat a person. I don't understand how people despise Master or what he's done. I stop looking at myself, but I quickly begin looking at my reflection once again.
Is this really me? I used to be young, vibrant, pretty, and worthless. Then, at the age of seven, it all ended. I became Master's prized possession. The worse part is, they want to undo Master's work, but I want to look like this for the rest of my life.
I stay up in the living room long after all the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell go to bed. Nothing happens for a long time, but then I recall I didn't see Mister Komodo. I try not to give it much thought because these people are the enemy. I cannot let them get to me.
I have uneasy feeling, but I tell myself that it's from earlier with Dr. Drew. I force myself to go the guest bedroom and sleep on the floor. My sleep is restless, and my mind somehow stays fully conscious throughout my sleep.
"Iris, Iris," Master calls.
"Maître! Maître, où êtes-vous? (Master! Master, where are you?)"
"Je suis ici, Iris. Mais je suis ici aussi, (I am here, Iris. But I am also here,)" Master replies from two separate places. "Je suis tout autour de toi. (I am all around you.)"
"Maître, Maître, s'il vous plaît venez me sauver! (Master, Master, please save me!)"
"Pourquoi devrais-je? Tu as me trahi! (Why should I? You betrayed me!)" Master demands. I shrink back.
"Non, Maître, non. Je n'ai pas tu trahi. (No, Master, no. I did not betray you.)"
There's silence for a long while. I hope Master has not left. He surely needs his servants back. The gray fog around me denses up. I call for Master again and again, but I get no reply. Finally, Master answers. "Où est Munya? (Where is Munya?)"
"Maître, je ne sais pas. (Master, I do not know.)"
"Stupide fille. Bonne chance avec les Saturdays, (Stupid girl. Good luck with the Saturdays,)" Master replies scornfully. Master's voice leaves the gray fog. My heart races. I pinch-
-myself. It was a dream. I sit up from the floor and take a look around the room. There's no gray fog, which relieves some of my worries, but at the same time, it only makes them worse. Est-ce que Maître me donner à Saturdays? Suis-je vraiment le leur pour toujours maintenant? Que vont-ils faire pour moi? (Did Master give me to the Saturdays? Am I really theirs forever now? What will they do to me?)
The airship is too quiet, even if it is the middle of the seven-hour night here. I sit still for a good fifteen minutes, just silently listening. I do not hear Dr. Solomon's snores, or Mister Fiskerton's purrs. Something is definitely wrong, but there's nothing I can do about it.
I stay up for a while longer. desperate to hear the sounds of life to which I've begun to adjust. There's nothing. Finally, I decide my best option is to try to sleep until it's time to get up. I'll check then.
I sleep for a few more hours; it's broad daylight when I wake up, but I assume that's normal for this place, considering the clocks in every room read five in the morning. The first thing I do is check on everyone. Well, at least I try to check on everyone, but the keypads require handprints, and mine is obviously not in the system yet. Then I go and get ready for the day, but no one else is about, even after I'm done. Something is definitely amiss.
I ponder what could have happened to the Saturdays. I was awake the longest, and I was up first, so that means whatever happened happened while I was asleep. Grand. Premier jour, et je l'ai déjà perdu mes supérieurs. (Great. First day, and I've already lost my betters.)
My mind flashes back to when I noticed Mister Komodo was gone. Cryptids! Bien sûr! (Cryptids! Of course!) I try to communicate without words (a trick Master taught me should I ever be captured by the Saturdays and need to escape) with any nearby cryptids, but I fail. I try again, only this time I broaden my horizons using a technique Master taught me. I get several responses after a few minutes. Two are very helpful. The first one came from some Alaskan cryptids I forget the name of; they say they saw a team of five people, four of them men, and one woman. The cryptids say the five people were traveling in a UFO style aircraft heading south. I thank the cryptids without using any words.
The next response I get is from a group of cryptids in Peru. Those cryptids tell me that a UFO-looking ship landed in the mountains near their territory. They say five people got out, with four extra people and three cryptids. My mind goes into total shock. Une attaque?! (An attack?!) Once again, without words, I thanks the cryptids. Pérou? Sérieusement? (Peru? Seriously?) I consider using my element powers to try an stall the captors, but common sense wins that round.
Grateful to Master that he had instructions on how to hijack any airships that belong to his archfoes, the Secret Scientists, I start up the Saturdays' airship and set the autopilot (Master had instructions on how to do that too) to the coordinates of the lab I found in the mountains after searching the keywords the Peruvian cryptids used, into the computer. I get the coordinates of the the one lab that best fits the description. The airship takes off.
The airship arrives at the lab a while later. I land the airship obscured from view and climb out. I need to work on my landing skills. I see the lab, and I start trekking that way. It doesn't take me very long to get there, nor does it take very long to sneak inside. Once inside, I find my way, somehow, to where the Saturdays are being kept.
"No, Iris! It's not safe! It's a-" Mister Fisk cries.
"IRIS!" Dr. Drew exclaims as I feel a sharp stabbing sensation. I feel myself crumple as the world turns black.
Zak: You really hate us, don't you, AB?
AB: No. I just had to make it interesting.
Zak: Then why do you have this outline from over a year ago with the shorter version of this chapter and different OC name? Why are the words "I hate The Secret Saturdays!" scribbled along the edges?
AB: Give that back, Zak! That's important to me! And as for the sentence on the edge, go ask some of my family members!
Zak: I won't give it back until you tell me why.
AB: (leaps at Zak, grabs outline, and clutches it to chest) No. Now, please don't touch this again. It's important to me.
Zak: Why is that old thing important to you?
AB: I created the outline, the OC, all of it,during a difficult time in my life when writing was all I had to release my emotions. Understood? (Zak nods.) Good. Sorry about that, everyone. That was chapter 4. Sorry it was so long. Also, plan from now until the end of the story to see about three days pass per chapter. There is a reason for this, but you'll find out-
Zak: Why three days? Why not two or four?
AB: Because I spent an entire weekend doing the math for this fanfiction, and my calculation resulted in three days per chapter. As I was saying, you'll find out-
Zak: What happened to Iris, AB?
AB: (Slightly annoyed)You'll find out her fate, next chapter. Continuing from where I left off, you will find out-
Zak: Does Iris die?
AB: (Officially fuming) ZAK! You promised not to interrupt me! If you keep at it, you will not live to the end of the story, let alone this chapter!
Zak: Okay, sorry, AB. But you know this is the end of the chapter.
AB: ARGH! Sorry, everyone. You'll find out what my little secret is at the end of the story. In the meantime, I'm going to go kill Zak. Please review, favorite, follow, or all three! Love you all! (Zak bolts, and AB races to catch him).