AB: Hi, everyone! It feels so good to be back and filled with ideas. I'm sorry I had to take a break not even halfway into the story, but I was completely drained. (Looks at all the Saturdays.) Okay, apparently, the Saturdays are giving me the cold shoulder. I deserve it, though. Also, someone pointed out in the last chapter that Iris likes Zak, but she's legally Doc and Drew's daughter. I'm not promoting anything wrong, I just happen to be addicted to plot twists. And for those who are wondering, yes, I have researched Kur, Sumerian mythology, and The Epic of Gilgamesh, and yes, I did completely and utterly disregard the facts; in my defense, so did the show. Well, since everybody is mad at me, I'll just go ahead and start the chapter. Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and, I think, Cartoon Network, but I'm not sure now they've cancelled the Boomeraction block. Here's Chapter 13: The Sound
(3rd Person POV)
Nanshe had not returned for many weeks, nor had she sent any news, and the gods were worried. They had not meant to chase her away, but they were all tired of her vague and useless prophecies. Now that she was no longer among them, did they realize how valuable she really was to their council.
Another one of gods pointed out the Nirgirama was nowhere to be found either. The gods really started to worry at that point. Nanshe and Nirgirama were two of the most reliable of them all, so having them both disappear was a bad omen. And with the raging war, the situation was looking grim for the gods.
Kash, Nanshe's most trusted messenger, offered to deliver an immediate message of surrender to the Great Serpent, who was now Kur. At first the gods point blank refused, but when Kash explained her plan, they agreed. They told her the location and sent her off. All they could do was prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Meanwhile, Rani Nagi was off on her own mission, in India. She went to the headmaster of the Legion of Garuda and handed him the Flute of Gilgamesh. She discussed her plan with him and requested his assistance. The headmaster thought it over for several days before making his decision. He called Rani Nagi into his presence and formally accepted her offer. The two performed magic and charmed the flute. Then Rani Nagi left, vowing to return with her husband Kur.
When Rani Nagi returned to the Underworld entrance, she found Kash nervously practicing her message while pacing. Rani Nagi asked the messenger what was troubling her, and Kash explained her mission and her fear concerning Nanshe. Rani Nagi assured her Nanshe was safe and welcomed Kash into the Underworld. Kash was surprised by how different yet similar the Underworld was to her home, but she remained calm and collected, focused on the task at hand. Rani Nagi led her to Kur's throne room.
Kash bowed to the ground in humility to Kur, and she kept her eyes lowered as she spoke. Kash explained that the gods had chosen to surrender to Kur and had decided on a place to hold the official surrender. Kur asked where that was, and Kash replied that it would be in a temple in India with the headmaster of the Legion of Garuda as a witness. Rani Nagi smiled to herself, knowing her plan was finally falling together. Then Kash made the mistake of asking about Nanshe and Nirgirama. Kur, furious that she dare accuse him of harming the god and goddess, threw Kash in prison, where he hoped she would stay for eternity.
Kur approached the temple with his wife clinging to his arm devotedly several weeks later. The gods bowed in respect to Kur, and Kur bowed back. This was to be a tension free surrender, and both sides knew it. After the gods and Kur reached an agreement, and the gods officially surrendered, the Legion's headmaster appeared. He offered a song of peace in honor of the surrender. Just before the headmaster began to play, Rani asked that the gods leave, so they did.
The headmaster began to play the Flute of Gilgamesh, but the sounds paralyzed Kur. As Kur desperately cried out to his wife in pain, Rani Nagi was laughing. She explained that she never loved him, only the power he had. With a final cry of a broken heart, Kur's spirit was released. Rani Nagi failed to capture Kur's spirit because she was staring intently into the glassy eyes of Kur. Once she noticed his spirit was floating away, she used magic to call it back; it was too late to take on the spirit of Kur herself, so Rani Nagi stored his spirit in the Kur Stone. Then she thanked the headmaster, collected the flute, the Kur Stone, and Kur's body, and she left.
Rani Nagi laid Kur to rest in his tomb, but something did not feel right. His eyes were not right for an evil deity; these glassy eyes showed pain and misunderstanding. Rani Nagi quickly found a sharp object, and with one swift motion, beheaded the corpse. Kur's scales once again changed colors to yellow, green, and red. Rani Nagi enchanted the head and made it into a Kur Detector, should someone ever find the Kur Stone. Then she departed for the Underworld. Rani Nagi collected her queenly belongings and buried the Kur Stone near the entrance to the Underworld before returning to Thailand to reestablish the Naga kingdom.
The god who had once been the Great Serpent's friend, searched for Kash, and he finally found her. He freed her, told of Nanshe, Nirgirama, and Kur's fates, and the two left to find Kur's tomb. Once they got there, the god looked over Kur's headless body and found traces of dark magic. Kash asked what kind of dark magic, and the god replied Naga magic. He wept bitterly over the loss of his friend both to darkness and to death. Kash suggested that they build a casket around Kur's body, and the two built one of stone and encarved a message of well wishes in the sides. Then the god and Kash sealed the tomb and set obstacles in place to prevent Rani Nagi from ever trying to resurrect Kur. Then the god and Kash walked back to Sumer in silence.
(Iris's POV)
I cannot seem to shake the nightmare from my mind. It kept me up all last night, and I have no doubt that it will keep me up all tonight too. I just wish I knew where it is coming from and why.
"Mini-maid? Earth to Mini-maid?" I snap my attention away from my thoughts. Mr. Blackwell is waving a hand in front of my eyes. "Oh, good, she's still here."
"Doyle, now is not a time for jokes. What Iris brought up yesterday is serious. We can't waste anymore time, or Zak's cryogenic deep freeze will thaw before we ever find out if Iris was right." Dr. Drew chokes out. She has taken Mister Zak's death the hardest of everyone.
"Drew, do you honestly think magic can bring back our son? He's been pronounced dead, as in no electrical activity in his brain. Magic can't bring him back, just like it couldn't save Van Rook. And would you like to know why? Because magic isn't real," Dr. Solomon snaps at Dr. Drew. He has not taken Mister Zak's death well either.
"How do you know? What do you think made Zak the reincarnation of Kur? What drove the spirit of Kur from him? It certainly wasn't science!" Dr. Drew's voice breaks as she fights against tears.
The argument continues for a long while; Mr. Blackwell, Mister Fiskerton, Mister Komodo, and Miss Zon all watch in silence. Finally, Dr. Drew calls it quits and washes her hands of the matter. Then she leaves the room, with the others trailing behind her. Only Dr. Solomon remains in the room with me.
"This is all your fault! Ever since you arrived, everything's gone all wrong! You're lucky Drew likes you, or you'd be back at Dr. Beeman's lab right now!" Dr. Solomon storms from the room, going in the opposite direction as the others. I bite the inside of my mouth until the skin tears and I can taste blood. I burst into hot, dry, invisible tears on the spot. Deep down, I know Dr. Solomon is right, and I hate to cause them any more harm. I hate myself for all that I am.
Late that night, as I am lying on the floor of the guest bedroom, I listen as Dr. Drew and Dr. Solomon have another heated argument. Their voices are muffled a little, but I can still make out what they are saying. Something hits the floor and shatters, and there is more yelling.
"What do you want from me, Drew?" Dr. Solomon yells.
"How about support? How about love? Compassion?" she yells back. Dr. Solomon swears at Dr. Drew, and she yells back at him. "Ever since that one night!"
"Last I checked, you-"
"Don't go there!" Dr. Drew is practically screaming now. "All I know is that our son came to be, and then we left for Iraq. We found that cursed stone, and Argost stole it. We went in to retrieve it, and our organization lost 43 lives. Innocent lives, Doc. Lives like Derek, Kate, Julia, and John. You were callous then, and you're callous now."
"Zak is dead, Drew, and he's not coming back!"
"I know that, Doc."
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"It's not what I want you to do. It's what I want done." I hear a door open and slam shut. Approaching footsteps cause me to sit up and act like I was not listening. The guest bedroom door opens, and Dr. Drew steps in. I scramble to my feet, but Dr. Drew motions that I can sit down. Then she plops down next to me.
"Je suppose que tu as tout entendu. (I suppose you heard everything.)" I nod, and Dr. Drew sighs. "Tu sembles comprendre l'anglais très bien. Dis-moi, Iris, est l'anglais ta langue maternelle? (You seem to understand English very well. Tell me, Iris, is English your first language?)"
"Oui, Madame. (Yes, Ma'am.)"
"Veux-tu parler à nouveau? (Would you like to speak it again?) I nod; Dr. Drew starts teaching me few words and reviewing the few I remember. It helps, but I stumble so often that I end up frustrated and agitated. Dr. Drew says that it is normal to be frustrated, and she does not push me.
"Pourquoi vous m'aimez? C'est ma faute de votre fils est mort et votre mariage est un échec, mais vous m'appelez votre fille. Vous m'aimez, mais je n'ai rien fait pour le mériter. (Why do you love me? It is my fault your son died and your marriage is failing, yet you call me your daughter. You love me, but I have done nothing to deserve it.)" I ask.
Dr. Drew holds both my hands and looks me in the eye. "Because that is what it means to be a mother. That is what it means to be human. Love is not earned the way trust is. Love is meant to be shared with all, regardless of who they are or where they come from." Dr. Drew's words settle in my heart. So many memories flood my mind. "I know how you feel; I lost my parents when I was twelve." Then Dr. Drew gives me a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead before wishing me good night and leaving the room.
I lie down and press my back against the wall. Shortly after, I fall asleep; the nightmare strikes again.
The sound sends chills down my spine. I force myself to stand up and walk out of the room. My ears are ringing as the accursed sound echos in my mind. I have to figure out what is going on. I have to figure out where it is coming from. I have to stop the sound.
The sound, the accursed sound. It is nails on a chalkboard. It is a soft pillow. It is dark. It is light. The sound, the wretched sound. It is all evil. It is the goodness of the world. It is unknown. It is familiar. The sound, the infernal sound. It is permanent. It is temporary. The sound, the confounded sound. It is misery. It is bliss. The sound, oh, the accursed sound.
My senses are all thrown off by the sound. I try my hardest to locate the source, but nothing is as it ought to be. The sound is messing with the world. Now, I know I must silence the sound, if only I could locate its source.
I wander around the airship like a total idiot. I wonder if anyone else can hear the sound. Suddenly I realize that I have no earthly idea where the others are. Non, ce n'est pas le cas. Deux mois n'ont pas passé. Il n'existe aucun moyen de la trêve est en place. (No, this is not happening. Two months have not passed. There is no way the truce is up.) Out of the blue, the sound amplifies itself, and I can barely move from the headache it gives me. I am now more determined than ever to find and silence the source of the sound.
The hours tick by slowly. The sound still fills the airship and swallows the sky. I keep searching high and low for the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell as well as the sound's source. Finding nothing, I start to get frustrated. I eventually return to the guest bedroom and the slam the door. I curl up into a ball, the only defense I have against the outside world. The sound grows louder and closer. It invades my mind and multiplies in size. It pounds against my skull, demanding more space to overrun. The sound forces itself down my throat and neck before spreading out to every fiber in my body. I try to fight the sound, but it is destroying me from the inside. I am losing this battle.
The tears fill my eyes, and the sound fills my tears. I cover my ears with my hands, but the sound is screaming. Its screams outcry my own, and I drown in its depth. I cannot save myself or anyone else. The sound is filling my lungs, so I can barely breath. It sits on my chest, restricting my restricted breathing. My head starts spinning, but only the sound stays the same.
The sound starts spinning around me, faster and faster, until I fear I may fall, though I am sitting. Still, it spins faster and faster. The faster it spins, the clearer it becomes. The sound is calling my name, chanting it as if it is casting some ancient spell. I bury my head and hope that it stops.
"Why, hello, Miss Van Rook. How are you today?" The sound speaks a sentence. I look up, and I see the source. "Or is it 'Miss Saturday' now?" The sound is scornful.
"Laisse-moi tranquille. Où sont les autres? (Just leave me alone. Where are the others?)" I demand. The sound quiets down for a moment.
"I'm sorry, but I don't speak French. You'll have to speak in English." I shake my head. "But why not? I know that you understand the language, so you ought to be able to speak it."
I bite my tongue, literally and figuratively. The sound asks again, and again. This pattern continues for several more minutes. Finally, I have had enough. "Go away, Mr. Scheef. We had a truce." My English is broken, and it takes a while to recall the words.
"Much better. Now, you'll have to excuse me, Miss Van Rook, or I shall be late for my appointment."
"Tell your master, we had a deal." Mr. Scheef leaves as I say it, so I doubt he heard me. I know I have no substantial evidence to prove my theory, but I just know this ties back to Dr. Beeman.
Six heads all loom over me when I wake up; I am in the medical bay. Then Dr. Drew checks a few monitors before turning back to me. She dismisses all the others, saying that she needs space to work. Everyone else leaves. Then she goes back to her charts and monitors, muttering something I cannot understand. This lasts for twenty minutes.
"Dr Saturday, vous s'il vous plaît me dire ce qui se passe? (Dr. Saturday, would you please tell me what is going on?)" I ask.
"You really don't know, do you?" I shake my head. "Iris, your heart rate dropped dangerously low. If Komodo hadn't found you . . ." She pauses. "Iris, do you have any idea how long you were in that state?" I shake my head. She sighs and says, "You're okay now."
She sets the chart in her hand down and hugs me. "I'm not going to lose you," Dr. Drew whispers. She adds something at the end, but I cannot make out what is is. But it sounded like she was saying, "not again." And for the first time since I left Father when I was seven, I hug back.
AB: Yay! We are officially halfway through! (Jumps up and down and starts dancing horribly.) Fine, be bumps on a log, for all I care! (Looking at the Saturdays.)
Iris: Il en était de ma rencontre réelle, ou était-ce un rêve? (So was my encounter real, or was it a dream?)
AB: C'est à tu de décider. (That is for you to decide.) I leave you with that to determine. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review! I love you all, and I hope to see you all next week with Chapter 14! (Dances out of room.)