AB: Hey, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed last chapter as much as I did. Sorry if it was a little choppy; I'm working on that. Anyways, Zak is back, and Iris is making an effort to speak in English now! Oh, so much has happened over the course of fifteen chapters!
Doyle: So does Mini-man know yet?
Zak: Know what?
AB: No, he doesn't, Mr. Blackwell. Well, he didn't, at least.
Zak: What do I not know, or know, or whatever?
AB: Nothing, Zak. You'll find out at the right time.
Zak: So, you're not going to tell me?
AB: Maybe. Meanwhile, I'll start the chapter! Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and, I believe, Cartoon Network. Here's Chapter 15: Revealed
(Iris's POV)
The nightmares still haunt my dreams, making sleep impossible. They are there every time I close my eyes, even when I blink. I cannot escape them. I just wish I knew what they mean. Then, maybe, I could get some sleep.
Zak, my brother, came back to life yesterday, and now the household is split. One side is overjoyed that Zak is alive, another side wants a scientific explanation ASAP, and the last side is too confused to have an opinion. Ten guesses who is on which sides. Here is the answer: Dr. Drew, or Mom I guess I should start calling her, and Fiskerton are both on the overjoyed team. Dr. Solomon, or I guess Dad, is on Team Scientific Explanation. The others and I are too confused to have an opinion on the matter.
In addition to Zak coming back to life, I am confused about a secret of mine. Starting last night, immediately after Zak and I were out of the coffin, I started having a strange feeling. It is a feeling of great loss, yet total relief. I feel as if a major part of me is now gone, but at the same time, I feel free and at ease. My theory is that Zak coming back to life eased my conscience and made me feel better about living with the Saturday family, my family.
"Hey, Iris, can you fight?" Someone taps me on the shoulder; I spin around and face the person. It is Zak.
"Can I fight? Of course I can!" Though my English is slow, the message still gets across. He races off, and I take off after him.
He keeps running until he stops at the door of a room I have never been in before. Zak opens to door and leads me in. The doors slam together. Zak faces me. "Welcome to the gym." I look around at the open room; there is no exercise equipment, but I know what he means. This is the room where everyone has combat practice.
We do a little hand to hand combat. It is fun, but Zak underestimates me. He seems to forget that I lived and worked in WeirdWorld; everyday was combat practice there. Zak and I practice for several rounds. I win some, and he wins some; others end in a draw. The hours pass really quickly.
All of a sudden, Zak pulls out his weapon. If I remember correctly from his file at WeirdWorld, the Claw is his weapon's name and is his weapon of choice. Zak has the advantage with his weapon, so naturally he wins every round. He calls mercy rule, and we take a break. I am exhausted, red in the face, sweaty, and sore. And to think I thought I was relatively in shape.
"Good job, Iris. You put up a real good fight, until I got the Claw out."
"Thank you," I reply between pants.
'Do you know what you need?" Zak asks after a moment. I shake my head. "You need a signature weapon. Mine is the Claw, Mom's is her firesword, and Dad has his battle glove." I hold back a laugh. "What? I'm serious!" Zak cannot help but laugh with me.
"Just try to imagine me using a weapon." The words flow a little more naturally, but I am still pausing a lot. Zak thinks of the image for a minute then bursts out laughing.
"You know, Iris. I like how you've embraced the Saturday life and jumped right in."
I feel myself blushing. I change the subject. "That is the Hand of Tsul 'Kalu, right?" I ask, tripping over the words.
"Yeah, why?" Zak seems a bit worried.
"May I try giving my powers a try?" I stutter as I ask. My cheeks grow red and hot with embarrassment.
"Powers?" I nod; Zak hands me the Claw. My powers feel fainter now, but I can still use them. Zak takes the Claw back. he gives his powers a try; they look stronger. "Not again. Please, not again."
The nightmare comes back, and I find myself waking in tears. I am scared to go back to sleep. As I start to leave the guest bedroom, Zak opens the door; he looks as if he has been crying too. He asks if I had a nightmare, and I nod. We describe our nightmares to each other. They are the same. Zak asks about the serpent thing in it.
"Zak, I think it is Kur."
Morning comes, and Zak and I keep our nightmares to ourselves. In fact we keep to ourselves, barely glancing at each other. Dr. Drew, I mean Mom, takes notice and asks what is wrong. Zak and I look at each other; neither of us says a word. Mom keeps pressing us, but we still refuse to give in. After a long time of failed attempts, Mom recognizes our refusal to tell. She stops asking and goes back to piloting and leaves us alone.
At first I feel bad about treating Mom like that, but then Zak grabs my hand and leads me into another room. My heart races when he grabs my hand, but I hide that very well. Or, at least, I think I do.
Once the doors close behind us, Zak lets go of my hand. I stare down at the ground awkwardly. Then Zak starts to talk about our nightmares. He does most of the talking in the beginning, but I soon add comments. Zak asks what the nightmares are supposed to mean, desperate for answers; it is clear he has not slept these past two nights. All I can suggest is perhaps Kur's story is coming to life, but I quickly dismiss the idea. There is a long moment of defeated and frustrated silence between us.
"Zak, there is something I want to tell you." I wish my English were better because this is going to go horribly wrong. "You know that I have been with you all for just over a month now." Zak nods. "And over the course of that time, I have realized something." Zak nods unsurely. "I think that I am starting to like you, but I cannot tell if it is a like because we are now family or if it is that kind of like."
"I see. I have been feeling the same way, and I've decided that it is a like that comes from being siblings. Does that make sense?"
"Yes. Thank you, Zak." Much to my surprise, the sentence rolls off a little less awkwardly.
"Hey, Iris, when is your birthday?" Shoot! My birthday! I hoped this question would never come!
"To be honest, I have no clue. I was adopted as a baby, but Father was never told that one piece of information. But I do know my adoption day." The sentence, like the last, comes out with a tad more fluidity.
"When is it?"
"It just passed. June 7th."
"Oh my gosh! We missed it!"
"It is okay, Zak. There was nothing you could have done; we were all captive at Dr. Beeman's lab."
Zak apologizes for missing it, and I shrug it off again. Then he suggests we start researching Kur to see if that will ease our nightmares. As Zak and I search endlessly through the database in the airship, we start chatting. He asks questions about my past, so I reply and ask him questions. This continues for a good couple of hours. However, we eventually search through the entire database with no luck. I ask if there are any other places in the airship where there might be some information. Zak says that the database is the only place he knows of, but Mom, who has been in the room for a while, says that there is one other place on the airship.
The door the the library closes behind the three of us. Mom shows us where the mythology books are and leaves quietly. Zak and I immediately begin speed reading through every Sumerian mythology book, but we find nothing. I am on the verge of giving up when Zak exclaims that the Kur Stone might have answers. I feel stupid for not thinking to look there first, but we do not have any time to waste, so we race the the computer room.
Zak pulls up the hologram image of the Kur Stone, and I start staring at it. Zak brought the book with translations, and we refer to it often. The hours whiz by.
"Zak, do you have a hologram of the back of the Kur Stone?" I ask.
"The front and the back aren't the same?"
"No. Look how the front and the back on the middle piece do not match up. There was a map on the front, and something on the back," I explain. "We have to find the actual Kur Stone."
"A trip to WeirdWorld?" Zak asks disheartedly.
"Yes, a trip to WeirdWorld," I reply.
The turbulence throws me off my feet and onto Zon. She squawks, and I apologize. I get the evil eye from her, but she, unlike most creatures who have given me the evil eye, holds the glare for as long as possible. A month ago, this would not have bothered me, but the circumstances make Zon's glare far more frightening. I back away slowly and do not make eye contact. I stay on the other side of the cockpit for the rest of the flight.
The airship lands, and Mr. Blackwell- I mean Uncle Doyle- is the first one off. He checks the area for any signs of life and comes back with the all clear. I walk to the edge of the ramp and look around at the manor. A deep-rooted cold fills my body; I swallow. I will be okay. Argost is gone, and he cannot come back. I jump when I realize there is something wrapped around my leg. I look down, only to find it is Komodo. I sigh, relieved.
Komodo asks if I am all right. I look out at the manor, look back at Komodo, and nod. He offers to stay beside me, but I decline. I have to be strong. I have to be brave. I step off of the ramp and approach the manor. It casts an ominous shadow that corresponds with the perpetual night. The fear wells up in my throat, and it takes every ounce of my strength just to keep moving. This is a place I never wanted to return to.
Dad decides that we should split into teams. Uncle Doyle, Mom, Zak, and Zon all form one team, while Dad, Fiskerton, Komodo, and I make up the second. Mom tells Dad that he better not repeat Derek, but I am not sure what that means. Dad sticks out his tongue and rejoins our group. We head towards the dungeons while the others head towards the office. What I would give to be in the other group.
The dungeons are much scarier than I remember them, but that might be because there is no one else here anymore. Dad suggests we split up into sub-teams to cover more of the dungeons. Fiskerton and Komodo agree, but I disagree.
"That is not a great idea. I am the only one out of all of you who knows these dungeons, and our best bet is to stay together." Dad, I can tell, does not trust me. He splits us up into teams: Fiskerton and Komodo, and Dad and me. Our groups go separate ways.
Dad and I start walking down the endless dungeon hallway. The atmosphere is tense; I keep my distance.
"Are you trying to show me up?" Dad asks suddenly and rather angrily.
"No. Why would you think that, Dad?" I still stumble on the words, despite my progress.
"Never call me that again. I am not your father; I am Dr. Saturday to you. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." I stop talking, my question still unanswered.
We come to a fork in the hallway, and Dr. Saturday, as he wants me to call him, decides that we will split up. I keep my mouth shut for fear of upsetting him again. I take the path to the left and start walking.
After a while, I start hearing noises. I keep glancing over my shoulder, hoping that nothing is following me. I try to act confident, but I am scared out of my mind. I start running as fast as I can. I trip and hit the ground. The noise gets closer. I thought all the cryptids were freed! Then there is a sound behind me.
In a moment of panic, I forget my English and yelp, "Qui est là? (Where is there?)" There is no response, but the two noises close in on me. "AIDEZ-MOI! (HELP!)" I close my eyes and await my fate. A familiar pair of hands lifts me and carries me away from the hallway. I open my eyes once I am back on the ground. "Munya," I cry. "You are alive."
"And you are speaking English again." We catch up, and I explain my mission; I also recount what I learned yesterday. Munya leads me through the house and into a secret room. Inside, is the Kur Stone. Munya wraps the stone and hands it to me; we hug, and he leaves in silence. I make my way outside the manor.
We enter the airship and leave the accursed manor. Zak and I study the history carved on the Kur Stone.
Zak and I wake up in the living room. We are covered with blankets. I slide mine off and get up from the recliner; Zak throws his off and jumps up from the couch. We look at each other and nod. We have just confirmed the nightmares.
Fiskerton walks in on us as Zak and I frantically scour the Kur Stone for symbols that are also in the book of translations. Fiskerton walks up, points to several characters and says something that I cannot understand. Then I look up the characters and at the book. My eyes widen; they mean Naga curse. Zak and I immediately recruit Fiskerton in our search, and we soon have an idea of the story the Kur Stone tells.
It tells the story of a serpent god called Alborz who was sent on a mission to gain control over the world's cryptids before going to reign over the Underworld. Alborz was furious that he was being banished from his home, but he left anyway. He conquered all the cryptids and even fell in love. But his love did not love him back; a Naga called Gulama gave Alborz a love potion and married him. She became Rani Nagi, and Alborz became Kur. War broke out, and Kur was defeated. Rani laid Kur to rest, but not before creating a Kur detector, storing his breath in a pendant, and trapping his essence in the Kur Stone.
The history is rich and helpful. Zak and I decide on the spot that we have to go visit the Nagas. Fiskerton runs to tell Mom, leaving Zak and me alone. Zak asks how long I have known I am Kur. I tell him I have known since I was seven; Zak says he found out when he was twelve.
"But how are you Kur if I'm Kur?" He asks.
I shrug. "Spirits can be reincarnated into multiple hosts?" I suggest. "That does not matter right now. We have to prepare something that will convince Rani Nagi to lift the curse."
The airship lands on the shore of the Chao Phraya River, and we all step off. Zak grabs my hands; we look at each other, then at the others, and back at each other. Then we jump into the river. The water is cold and dark. I realize I am not holding Zak's hand, so I start to panic. Something grabs me, but it is not Zak. I try to use my Kur powers to make the creature release me, but it does not respond. Desperate, I use my elemental powers to push the water back so I can breathe. The creature releases me as the water recedes. My adrenaline rush calms down; I begin to relax. But then the same creature grabs me and tries to drown me. The world goes dark.
I wake up in a cell, soaking wet and alone. I call out, and a Naga slithers up the barred door and hisses at me. I ask where Zak is, but the Naga turns away. I tell him that I am Kur, and the Naga comes back and hisses some more.
"My queen is in council with Kur." With that he leaves. I call down the hallway until my voice is gone, but no one comes. I sit down on the floor in bitter defeat. I start messing around with my element, healing, and memory powers. I make the plants in the room grow, then I scrape my arm on the thorns, and then I try to heal myself. As for my memory powers, I try, and fail, to recall my past using magic. Suddenly, an idea strikes me. I immediately put it into action.
The plants grow out of control, and I call for help; the same Naga from earlier slithers over, expecting it to be a ruse. When he sees the danger, he starts to back away. I plead with him to release me, and use the plants to bring him closer. I lay a hand on him, and I can tell his worst memory is coming to mind. I am then able to convince him to free me. Once I am out, the plants return to normal. The Naga looks at me, scared and confused. I smile and take off running.
I eventually make my way to the throne room, where I find Zak and Rani Nagi. I curtsey quickly, but I lose my balance in the process; Zak rushes to catch me and misses completely. I hit the stone ground with a dull thud, and I shoot Zak an evil glare before standing up. Rani Nagi looks at me, completely unsure of what just happened.
"This is Kur as well?" She asks. Zak nods. "No wonder you could never take over the world. Look at yourselves." I start to feel lightheaded, and the world starts fading. I put my hand to my head and try healing it. Surprisingly, it works.
"So, what do you want before you'll lift the curse?" Zak asks.
"Lifting it? Who said anything about lifting it?" Zak and I groan in unison.
I approach the throne, and look Rani Nagi in the eye. I maintain the stare, even as I speak. "The Great Serpent Alborz was around long before Kur, and Alborz never let your kind push him around. Zak and I are the reincarnation of Kur, thus making us Alborz as well. This is Alborz speaking to his servant Gulama, lift the curse or else." I have no idea what made me so assertive, but it proves helpful. The comment takes Rani Nagi aback. At first she refuses to lift the curse, but Zak soon chimes in. Rani Nagi is forced to agree, and she tells us how to break the curse. We need the powers of Ningirama, Mashdaria, and their child.
Zak, and I swim back to the surface, hand in hand. We break the waves and swim to the shore, getting out just before a fireball rises up from the water. Then we all renter the airship and take off to go back to Seward.
AB: I know this chapter is kind of long, but there was so much I wanted to say.
Iris: So Munya is alive?
AB: Yes, he is. And that is important later on.
Zak: Who are Ningirama, Mashdaria, and their child?
AB: You'll see. That's all for today-
Zak: Wait! You never told me what you were talking about at the beginning.
AB: I said you would find out at the right time. That's all for today. Don't forget to review, follow, and favorite! Love you all!