AB: (Notices the ropes are loose.) Mmm! M mmm mmmm mmmmmmm! (Yes! I can save myself!)
Dr. Bara: (Sarcastically) What was that, AB? I can't understand you with the gag on. Could you take it off? (Dr. Bara laughs.)
AB: (AB shoots Dr. Bara an evil glare. Dr. Bara turns his back to AB, so AB starts squirming around and manages to slip the ropes off; then AB unties the gag and stands up.) Your plan to take over my story has failed, Secret Scientists.
Dr. Pachacutec: You cannot beat us, especially not Arthur!
AB: Oh, really?
Professor Mizuki: Besides, Arthur already has your outline! Once he destroys that, you will have nothing left to write.
AB: That's not true. The outline helps, but I have new ideas too. (Turns to readers.) Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and Cartoon Network. While I go save my outline and take care of some Secret Scientists, here's Chapter 12: In the Tomb
(3rd Person POV)
The Great Serpent's war still raged on, and it looked as if the Great Serpent would win. The gods feared what would happen if the Great Serpent won the war. They watched in terror as their people died at the hands of the Great Serpent's cryptids.
"We have to do something," several gods said. Everyone agreed on that, but no one could agree on what should be done. Many gods were saying they should fight back.
"Wait!" Nanshe, the goddess of prophecy, shouted at long last. "We will not cause the downfall of the Great Serpent Albroz. No, his destruction will come from one closest to him and through a gift."
"But how long, Nanshe?" Several of the gods demanded.
"I do not know."
"Then you can go reason with him, Nanshe, and then you may tell us we will not bring his destruction!" After the other gods yelled at her, Nanshe left for the Underworld.
Nanshe appeared in the Underworld and found her way to the Great Serpent's throne room. She humbled herself before him and bowed to the ground before him. The Great Serpent bowed back to her.
"Great Serpent Albroz, I apologize for the last encounter you had with one of us; it was by all means our fault." The Great Serpent nodded haughtily. Nanshe continued. "The other gods and I have reached a conclusion. We understand why you are doing this, for the humans no longer believe in us, but we need you to understand why we are trying to stop this war. Great Serpent Alborz, the other gods and I are making plans to surrender." Nanshe paused for a moment. "I will send my messenger Kash with the location." Nanshe turned to leave.
"But, Nanssshe, I insssissst you ressst before returning," the Great Serpent offered politely. Nanshe accepted, and the two talked some more.
Suddenly, the Great Serpent motioned to someone with his claw, and a scaly arm grabbed Nanshe and held her tightly. "Do you really think I'm going to give up that easssily? You sssaid one of your own would die at my handsss, a prophecccy you have not yet ssshared, and you are right. Asss we ssspeak a Naga isss lurking near the dwelling of Ningirama and hisss wife, waiting for the perfect moment to ssstrike." Nanshe gasped in horror. "Take her away!" the Great Serpent shouted to Rani, who was holding Nanshe.
"Great Serpent Alborz, this is not you! This is dark-"
"You are right, Nanssshe, I am not the Great Ssserpent Alborz any more. I AM KUR!"
(Iris's POV)
The doctor and the translator walk out of the room. I sigh as I watch them go. The doctor said that the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell's treatment was working, but the hospital wanted to keep them another day or two for observation; the doctor also said that because the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell had not been discharged, the hospital would keep Mister Zak's body for a little longer. When he had finished saying that, I asked about Ms. Grey, which was when he discovered I speak French.
"Iris?" Dr. Drew asks weakly.
"Oui, Madame? (Yes, Ma'am?)"
"As-tu été ici tout les temps? En chacun de nos côtés? (Have you been here the entire time? By each of our sides?)" Dr. Drew asks; I nod. "Merci. Merci beaucoup. (Thank you. Thank you so much.)"
"Je vous en pris. (You are welcome.)" Our short conversation ends after that. Dr. Drew goes back to sleep while I stay awake. Just watching Dr. Drew sleep reminds me that I will eventually have to tell her about Mister Zak. But the thought of breaking the news to her shatters my heart. To distract myself, I leave the room and check on the others.
The others are awake, and they appear to be doing a lot better. I have no doubt that the doctor will discharge them in a matter of days. I just hope that they will already know about Mister Zak by then. I do not want to be the one to tell them the news; I love them too much.
Mister Fiskerton calls me into his room and sits up in his bed. He motions for me to come to the bedside; I walk over. Mister Fiskerton looks me over, and I can feel his eyes scanning me. I remain as still as a statue. Finally, Mister Fiskerton closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
"You're Kur. I knew there was something to you the minute I laid eyes on you, and my Lemurian instincts say that you're Kur," Mister Fiskerton states clearly. I look at the floor, unsure of how to respond. "How did you become Kur? How did you get your powers? How long have you had them?" Mister Fiskerton fires multiple questions at me.
"Je suis Kur? (I am Kur?)" I ask. Then I realize I do not know who Kur is."Qui est Kur? (Who is Kur?)"
"Judging by the cadence of your voice, you were asking who Kur is. Kur was an ancient cryptid with power over other cryptids. But Kur was evil." I stifle a gasp.
"Et, je suis Kur? (And, I am Kur?)" I ask uncertainly.
"Zak was once Kur, before Argost stole his powers. Then Argost died." I bite my lip so hard it bleeds. My blood has a metallic taste.
"Maître est mort, (Master is dead,)" I declare. It feels good on my lips to say it, but my heart starts racing from fear. Non. Maître. Est. Mort. Maître est mort. (No. Master. Is. Dead. Master is dead.) I repeat the phrase over and over in my mind; my heart still races from the fear of what will happen now that I've betrayed Master, but my mind feels freer than it's ever been in years. "Maître est mort. (Master is dead.)"
"I don't understand you, Iris. I'm sorry, but I don't speak French," Mister Fiskerton explains. It feels weird for someone else to be taking the blame for something and apologizing to me. Est-ce la façon dont les gens interagissent avec sans l'autre? (Is this how free people interact with each other?)
Thoughts like these occupy my mind for the rest of the day. They refuse to leave me that night, so I force myself to sleep to make them shut up.
A slight cool breeze rustles through the tall trees. The air is humid; the breeze feels nice on the skin of everyone. The moon brightens up the entire jungle, making the journey much easier for the entire party.
A short, scrawny teenage girl stumbles as she trips over multiple roots. No one stops to help her, and she falls behind. At one point a branch smacks her in the face, causing her to fall backwards. Her nose is gushing blood; she is covered in dirt and mud.
For a moment, the girl is too shocked to notice the rest of her group leaving her. She cannot take her bicolored eyes off the large stone ruins. They remind her of something. Then she remembers what the ruins remind her of: an arena.
Eventually, one of the group members realizes the girl is not behind him. He alerts the other members of the group before running back to find her. It takes a while, but he finds her staring intently at the ruins. He growls at her and tells her to come along. She stands up, brushes herself off and wipes some of the blood off her face. Then she hurries to catch up with the group.
The group member and the girl soon rejoin the rest of the group. They are standing at the entrance to the ruins. The girl looks at her group and asks why they are at the ruins; one of the adults leading the group says that the girl will see in a few moments. Then the group makes its way into the ruins, and they go deep underground.
Once the group makes it to an ornate doorway, everyone turns to the girl. The girl asks what they need done, and she does it. Then she pokes her head into the next room and motions to the others that it is safe. The entire group enters the room. They continue like this until they get to a room with only one door and a box-like structure in the center. Another member of the group walks up to the box and opens the lid. Then he motions to a different group member to bring his load over; the load is the body of a person. The member lays the body in the box, which the girl recognizes is a coffin, and steps back. The group member who opened the coffin motions for the girl to come over. The girl walks over carefully and looks at the person. The entire groups encourages her and reminds her of her job, of her power. The girl sighs. She knows what she has to do. The girl too climbs in the coffin and grabs the body's hand.
I jolt awake and take several calming breaths. I have no idea what I just dreamed, but I do not want to find out. It was freaky as heck, and understanding it will only make freakier and scarier. I am starting to wonder what effect serving Master for six years, being Dr. Beeman's captive, and this whole ordeal are having on me. Si cela continue, je vais casser dans la folie permanente. Mais quand? (If this continues, I am going to snap into permanent insanity. But when?)
"Yo, Mini-maid, could you come here?" Mr. Blackwell calls. I hurry to his room and stand next to the door. "Mini-maid, I promise I'll find a better nickname for you, you know, once this is all over." I nod, but remain silent. No one says a word for a while.
"Iris, I know something happened to Zak. I also know that you're not telling us what happened. Now, I get the whole language issue, but you need to tell us." I bite my lip, accidentally removing the scab from yesterday in the process. Dois-je leur dire? Si je ne le fais pas, ils découvriront bientôt et en colère contre moi. D'autre part, en leur disant maintenant serait les écraser. (Should I tell them? If I do not, they will find out soon and get mad at me. On the other hand, telling them now would crush them.)
"Je ne peux pas. Je suis désolée. (I cannot. I am sorry.)" My voice cracks a little as I say those two simple sentences.
I go back to the waiting room and sit for a while. All of my thoughts start fighting for a place in my head, confusing me. It feels like there are two of me, and I do not know whom to believe.
"Tu devrais leur avez dit. Une servante n'est pas censé garder les secrets de ses parieurs se ils le demandent. Tu sais comment cela fonctionne. (You should have told them. A servant is not supposed to keep secrets from her betters if they ask. You know how this works.)"
"Non, tu as fait la bonne chose. Ne leur disant pas est la meilleure façon de gérer la situation jusqu'à ce que tu peux comprendre quelque chose. Ne t'en fais pas. (No, you did the right thing. Not telling them is the best way to handle the situation until you can figure something out. Do not worry about it.)" The mental fight continues for a long time, and it drives me crazy. I just want it to stop.
Sooner or later, I wander back into Dr. Drew's room. She is asleep, so I check on all the others. Most of them are awake but are oblivious to the world. I make my way back to Dr. Drew's room. By this point she is awake and trying to sit up in bed. She sees me, calls me over, and asks if I can help her get adjusted. I help situate her comfortably before moving to stand by the foot of the bed.
"Iris, j'ai pensé beaucoup, puisque c'est tout ce que je peux faire maintenant, et j'ai réalisé quelque chose. Quand l'avocat, M. Scheef, lire la volonté de ton père, il a dit que nous avons eu la garde de toi. Cela fait de toi, dans un sens, notre fille. (Iris, I've been thinking a lot, since that's all I can do right now, and I realized something. When the lawyer, Mr. Scheef, read your father's will, he said that we got custody of you. That makes you, in a sense, our daughter.)"
"Votre fille? (Your daughter?)"
"Oui. (Yes.)"
"Mais, que dois-je me adresser à vous que? (But, what should I address you as?)"
"Quoi que tu rend plus confortable. Mais il suffit de savoir qu'il pourrait changer plus tu restes avec nous. (Whatever makes you most comfortable. But just know that it may change the longer you stay with us.)"
"Thank you, Madame. ( . . . Ma'am.)" The English phrase rolls off my lips like a forgotten language has returned. I smile.
"Iris! Tu as parlé anglais! (Iris! You spoke English!)" Dr. Drew's entire face lights up. "Qui toi a appris la phrase? (Who taught you the phrase?)"
"Dr Grey, Madame. (Dr. Grey, Ma'am.)" I pause; Dr. Drew nods. "Aussi, Dr Grey vous a acheté tous une trêve de deux mois. (Also, Dr. Grey bought you all a two month truce.)"
"Entre nous et Dr Beeman? (Between us and Dr. Beeman?)"
"Oui. (Yes.)"
Dr. Drew leans back in her bed and sighs. "Thank you, Miranda," she mutters. Then Dr. Drew closes her eyes as she thinks. I sit down in one of the chairs and relax. It has been a long day for everyone, and some rest will do everybody good.
A slight cool breeze rustles through the tall trees. The air is humid; the breeze feels nice on the skin of everyone. The moon brightens up the entire jungle, making the journey much easier for the entire party.
A short, scrawny teenage girl stumbles as she trips over multiple roots. No one stops to help her, and she falls behind. At one point a branch smacks her in the face, causing her to fall backwards. Her nose is gushing blood; she is covered in dirt and mud.
For a moment, the girl is too shocked to notice the rest of her group leaving her. She cannot take her bicolored eyes off the large stone ruins. They remind her of something. Then she remembers what the ruins remind her of: an arena.
Eventually, one of the group members realizes the girl is not behind him. He alerts the other members of the group before running back to find her. It takes a while, but he finds her staring intently at the ruins. He growls at her and tells her to come along. She stands up, brushes herself off and wipes some of the blood off her face. Then she hurries to catch up with the group.
The group member and the girl soon rejoin the rest of the group. They are standing at the entrance to the ruins. The girl looks at her group and asks why they are at the ruins; one of the adults leading the group says that the girl will see in a few moments. Then the group makes its way into the ruins, and they go deep underground.
Once the group makes it to an ornate doorway, everyone turns to the girl. The girl asks what they need done, and she does it. Then she pokes her head into the next room and motions to the others that it is safe. The entire group enters the room. They continue like this until they get to a room with only one door and a box-like structure in the center. Another member of the group walks up to the box and opens the lid. Then he motions to a different group member to bring his load over; the load is the body of a person. The member lays the body in the box, which the girl recognizes is a coffin, and steps back. The group member who opened the coffin motions for the girl to come over. The girl walks over carefully and looks at the person. The entire groups encourages her and reminds her of her job, of her power. The girl sighs. She knows what she has to do. The girl too climbs in the coffin and grabs the body's hand.
The lid is placed back on top of the coffin as the girl mumbles a prayer, then an ancient spell, and then a final prayer. Nothing happens, and the girl is starting to get scared. She takes a few deep breaths and tries again. Again nothing happens. There is total silence as the tears start slipping down the girl's face. She begs and pleads to be let out, saying that it is not working, but no one lets her out. The girl tries one last time, fear for her life in each word, and this time something happens.
The girl experiences a sharp pain throughout her whole body, particularly in her chest. She gasps, but she does not scream. Then there is peace; her breathing slows little by little, until she takes very few breaths. The body next to her has new life now, but every life has a cost.
My eyes flutter open as I come to my senses. Something about that dream is bothering me, but I do not know what. Dreams do not normally return, so this is strange and frightening. But what scares me most is that the dream returned with a new part to it.
Dr. Drew is wide awake and sitting up in bed. She says that the doctor just left; she tells me that the doctor told her what was wrong with them and thanked me. I shook my head and explained that Dr. Grey is the one to thank. Then I took an extremely deep breath and exhaled slowly. S'il vous plaît, comprendre. S'il vous plaît ne vous fâchez pas. (Please understand. Please do not get angry.)
"Dr Saturday, votre fils est mort. Je suis vraiment désolée. (Dr. Saturday, your son is dead. I am truly sorry.)"
"Pardon? Mon fils est mort? (Pardon? My son is dead?)" Dr. Drew blinks several times, as if she is holding back tears. She bites on the corner of her bottom lip. The subtle shaking begins just before the doctor comes back. Dr. Drew pulls herself together once she sees the doctor coming.
"Well, Dr. Saturday, it appears you and your family are ready to be discharged. Just sign these papers, and here are your discharge instructions." The doctor hands Dr. Drew a clipboard, and she signs it before handing it back the the doctor. "I'll be just a moment while I give these to your husband and brother." Then he leaves the room, leaving me and Dr. Drew alone.
"Pourquoi tu me as pas dit plus tôt? (Why didn't you tell me earlier?)"
I stare down at my feet, ashamed of myself. "Je ne sais pas. Je ne sais pas. (I do not know. I do not know.)" Now my voice is breaking left and right as I fight the tears. Dr. Drew does not say another word, nor do I. We just sit in total silence.
The doctor eventually comes back, and after around ten minutes of instructions, the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell are officially discharged. When Dr. Drew asks about Mister Zak, the doctor sighs and says that he is the morgue. Dr. Drew asks if they can take Mister Zak back to their home city, explaining they have place on their "plane" to keep him. The doctor agrees, and more arrangements are made and more paperwork is filled out.
After a long while, everything is finalized, and we all board the airship, thanks to Dr. Solomon's remote control glove that brought it to us. Once we are all on, Mister Fiskerton goes back to airship's medical bay, where Mister Zak is being kept cold. Soon all the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell are in there. Guilt ridden, I too enter the medical bay. I am only in there a few minutes before Mister Fiskerton pulls me aside.
"You will bring Kur's return. I know it."
My dream from the past two nights pops into my head. I tilt my head towards Mister Zak. "Il doit être mis au tombeau de Kur. (He needs to be laid in the tomb of Kur.)"
Fiskerton: (Crying.) That was a horrible chapter! You killed Zak! How could you?!
AB: Well, he actually died a couple chapters back.
Fisk: Not helping.
Drew: (Sobbing.) My poor Zak! Why, AB, why? I know he annoyed in the first few chapters, but was it worth killing him?
AB: Please calm down. The story is not over! Things can still happen! Iris was onto something!
Iris: J'étais? (I was?)
AB: Yes. Now if you all will excuse me, I have no ideas left, as you could probably tell with how awful the chapter was, and need to take a couple weeks off to replenish my mind. Thank you all for sticking with my story so far, and sorry if the changes in Iris's mindset were too abrupt. Next chapter is the halfway point, so get excited. Don't forget to follow, favorite, or review; ask me or the characters any questions you may have and feel free to leave suggestions! Love you all, and I will see you when my mind is refreshed. (AB walks out of the room.)
Invisible and Inaudible Ghost Zak: So am I coming back or not?