AB: I am back! I hope you all enjoyed last chapter! I have a surprise for you all this chapter; I hope you like it!
Zak: What's the surprise? Is is a good one?
AB: Hold your horses, Zak. You'll find out when we get there. Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and, I think, still Cartoon Network. Here's Chapter 16: Suspicions
(Iris's POV)
The cryptid slips into the bushes and disappears. I follow it while trying to figure out what species it is. The run is hard, and a stitch forms in my side, but I keep chasing it. I, unlike Zak, cannot use my Kur powers without eye contact, so that is out of the question. Then I look at what is around me: plants and soil. An idea forms in my head, and I stop running.
The shrieks of the cryptid pierce the air as the ground builds walls around it. It is now trapped, and I am able to catch up with it. I take one good look at it and recognize it as a Waheela. It panics when it sees me, but I calm it down quickly. I ask what is is doing in this area, and it says that was called here by something. I look at it more deeply, and a connection sparks.
"This calling has happened before, has it not?" I ask telepathically.
"Yes. Twice in the history of my kind, one of those in my lifetime." The Waheela's crisp voice is a stark contrast from its appearance. "How did you know?" Only then do the Waheela and I realize my hand is resting gently on its back and that the walls have dropped.
"It is a memory of yours. I can access them through touch," I explain. The Waheela bows its head.
"Elements, memories, cryptids. What else can you do?"
"Healing," I reply. The Waheela nods.
"Then I know who you are, what you will do, and what you will become. Should you ever need me, I am Atka Ublureak ." The Waheela lowers itself to a submissive position before quickly rising and running away.
The door opens, letting me inside the airship. My ears are ringing from the construction outside; the foundation for the house is going down today. Mom and Dr. Saturday are arguing in the other room, again. Zak, Fiskerton, Zon, Komodo, and Uncle Doyle greet me and lead me away from the door. We all go to the gym and train for a while. Zak is still adamant that I need a weapon, but now the others are backing him. Only Komodo takes my side. Uncle Doyle then decides that we can come back to this debate later. Zak and Fiskerton are determined to get me a weapon.
Fiskerton pulls me aside after we all recover from training and asks me what I learned this morning. I say that the Waheela told me that the calling has happened three times now over the history of his kind. Fiskerton looks at me more intently, and I start to get uncomfortable. Then I explain that it said it knew who I am and what I can do. Fiskerton nods and whispers that I can call him Fisk for short. He starts to walk away when he stops. He says that I am not to hurt Kur; he leaves before I can ask him to clarify.
Zak finds me still standing in the hallway several minutes after Fisk left. Zak asks if I am feeling well, and I tell him I am fine, just tired. He nods and flops down on the living room couch. I walk over and sit down the the recliner next to the couch. Zak asks how old I am, based on adoption days; I tell him I am thirteen but I am as tall as a ten-year-old. Zak looks at me, tilts his head a bit, and then shakes his head.
"No, Iris, you are definitely taller than a ten-year-old. Maybe a month ago you were that tall, but you look about average now."
"Really?" I ask in disbelief.
"Really."
"Hey, Zak?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you been wondering what happened to Dr. Grey and Ms. Grey?"
"What happened to them in the first place?"
"Ms. Grey suffered a stab wound to her abdomen, and Dr. Grey helped us escape before she left to stay be her sister's side. Ms. Grey was stabbed at Dr. Beeman's lab, and she got out of surgery while you all were in the ICU."
"Oh. Well, now that you bring up the topic, I kind of do."
I go to bed that night, and the faces of my past and present haunt me. I hardly sleep, and I end up crying silently from the frustration. That is when I realize how much I have missed Father since that day, and the worst part is that I can never see him again.
Mom shakes my shoulder to wake me up. I jolt upright, ready for anything, but Mom quickly calms me down. Now, I am really confused.
"Surprise." I blink a couple times and look around. The sunlight streams through the window; I snap my attention to the clock on the bedside table. It reads 10:27 am. I turn back to Mom, and she smiles at me. "Surprise, sweetie."
"What is going on, Mom?" I ask cautiously. If nothing else, I that learned surprises were never a good thing with Argost.
"Happy belated adoption day, Iris." Mom strokes my hair before saying that breakfast is ready. Then she leaves me to get dressed.
The pile of pale purple, blue, and white sitting in the chair catches my attention. I look at it both from the bed and up close before deciding it is best to unfold the pile. It is clothes! There is a pale purple t-shirt with a pale yellow star on the middle. There is a pair of jeans; finally, under the shirt and jeans, there is a pair of white sneakers with laces that match the color of the shirt. I change out of my pajamas and into the new clothes, which fit like a glove. I have forgotten how it feels to wear normal clothes and not a uniform. My life is starting to come together, I realize.
We eat breakfast as a family, and even Dr. Saturday seems happier than usual. Shortly after we start cleaning up after breakfast, there is a knock at the door. Mom sends Zak and me to go answer it. It is a young girl around our age and a young boy-fish. Zak welcomes the two, and I quickly lapse into old habits. Zak pulls me aside and explains that I do not have to do that anymore. Then he walks with me back into the living room and introduces me to everyone.
The girl, Wadi, says a quick hello before teasing Zak. But the boy-fish, King Ulraj, he does something that both flatters me and scares me. He bows to me, and I curtsey back.
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Miss Van Rook."
"And yours as well, Your Majesty." The king laughs a gentle laugh and explains that I do not need to calm him that. I start to relax a little; Ulraj offers me his arm and a walk. Surprised, I look around for some kind of hint, but no one provides one. Tentatively, I take his arm, and we start walking. At first there is silence between us, but a conversation soon starts.
By the time Mom says lunch is ready, Ulraj and I have become fast friends. He sits next to me at the table, and Wadi sits on the other side of me; Zak sits on the other side of her. Conversation spurs between the four of us, and Wadi and I hit it off quickly too.
After lunch, Wadi steals me away from Ulraj, so she and I can have some girl time. We start chatting, and I soon ask if she likes Zak. Wadi blushes and nods her head. I smile and say that they would make a good couple. She laughs and says that a relationship with Zak would be an adventure in and of itself.
Fisk and Zon come and get Wadi and me, and the four of us head back inside the airship. Mom has games and other activities set up in the living room, and everyone takes part in the fun. Well, almost everyone is; Dr. Saturday refuses to join in. Mom politely pulls him into the other room, and if I try hard enough, I can hear Mom chastening Dr. Saturday. I try not to pay attention to it.
At the end of the party, Zak and Wadi are inseparable, but Fisk is trying his hardest to be annoying. Ulraj comes up to me and bows; I curtsey in response.
"It has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance this fair day, Miss Van Rook," he says in a jokingly stiff manner.
"And an honor it has been to make yours, Your Majesty," I reply, in the same jokingly stiff manner.
"I hope to see you again some day."
"As do I."
"Visit my kingdom any time, for you and your family are always welcome." Ulraj and I exchange a formal farewell, and he leaves; Wadi has to go soon after. I think today was a success.
Dr. Saturday is in a horrible mood the next day, so I stay out of his way. Mom tells me not to mind him, but I cannot help but wonder if I did something to make him detest me. It would not be the first time I have done something like that.
The construction outside is not very loud today, so I step out of the airship to think for a while. I sit down on the grass and stare up at the partly cloudy, Alaskan sky. I, for the first time in forever, allow my mind to truly wander and do its own thing. It wanders from the weather to the party yesterday and to everything that has happened since I went to live with the Saturdays. I think of Father and how different my life would be right now if he had not done what he did, both six years ago and a month ago. I wonder if I will ever recover completely from what happened; something tells me I can never be the same girl I was, and I start wondering if Father even knew what was really happening behind the closed doors at WeirdWorld. I do not think that he knew.
Dr. Grey crosses my mind, a lot, to be honest. She seems so different than the other Secret Scientists, and I am curious why that is. She seems kinder, more loving, and more nurturing that the others. She is protective of herself and those around her. She is a lot like Mom. I wonder if perhaps, Dr. Grey is not-. No. I quickly dismiss that thought, deeming it impossible.
But she knows so much about everyone and everything. She knew who the person in my memories is, and she knew how to keep Dr. Beeman at bay by mentioning his sister. The strangest part is, she knows what happened to his sister even more than he does. How on Earth could she know all that? She has to have some kind of file or something about all of us. Then an idea strikes me: Could Dr. Grey be the ultimate enemy and not Dr. Beeman?
My thoughts keep me so distracted that I do not notice Komodo was he sits down next to me. He is silent, but he rests his head on my knee, awakening me from my thoughts. I look down and see him, so I pet him gently.
"Komodo, why does Dr. Saturday not like me?" I ask out loud, knowing that Komodo will probably not have the answer.
"It's not that he does not like you, Iris. It is that he is secretly afraid of being out of control, and having a new member of the family come in when least expected in definitely not in his control. And then Dr. Beeman's attack shook him enough to make him unsure of things. After finding out about Zak dying and magic bringing him back, he's coming to realize that he is not in control and it's scaring him."
"Really? I did not know."
"He doesn't say it. And with the pending divorce, the tension in high." Komodo turns his head on my knee. The moment between us is sweet, and I feel a connection between us, a connection similar to the one Zak and Fisk share.
"Komodo?"
"Yes?"
"Could Dr. Grey be the real villain in this all, instead of Dr. Beeman?" I ask before explaining my theory. Komodo listens intently the whole time, no matter how many times I stumble over the words and have to restate things.
"It's plausible. What makes you think that?" I explain how Dr. Grey knows all this information about us and how she has been acting too kind. "Like I said, it's plausible, but she would have to be planning some huge betrayal." Komodo pauses for a moment. "I'll talk with Drew, okay?" I nod.
"Why do you not call her 'Mom' like the rest of us?"
"Because I, unlike you and the others, am not their child; I am their pet. There is nothing more to it," Komodo replies sharply. He turns to go back inside.
"Wait. Why do you only talk when with me?"
"Because you understand." With that Komodo walks up the ramp but disappears before reaching the door. He must be invisible.
"Where do your powers come from?" I call.
"See Munya," invisible Komodo replies. The doors open and shut. I think I made Komodo angry. What does 'See Munya' mean?
Mom does not say a word about my theory the next morning, but I can tell something is on her mind. She seems really distracted, so I offer to help with anything. At first, she does not respond, but once she realizes I am talking to her, she smiles and says that would be extremely helpful. I spend the morning helping Mom out. We get a minute to talk once we finish up in the cockpit.
"Thank you for the party, Mom. I know I have said it a thousand times, but it means a lot to me." My English is slowly getting better.
"Of course, sweetie. I feel bad that we missed your actual adoption day, though." I tell Mom that it is fine. "Iris, how long were you at WeirdWorld?' The concern in clearly evident in her voice.
"Since I was seven, so about six years."
"Wow. Did Argost ever do anything for your adoption day?"
"No, but Munya did. It was never anything huge because Argost would have a fit if he found out, but Munya always made the day special for me." A smile settle on my lips as I think of the adoption day celebrations past. "Father used to take me to the beach every year until I arrived at WeirdWorld." Mom does not say much for a moment; then she asks how I ended up in Argost's hands, so I tell her the story.
"That is just shocking to me. Munya doesn't sound like the Munya we encountered far too often." That reminds me to ask about what Komodo meant yesterday. Mom says she has no idea what he meant and that she thought Komodo had always been able to turn invisible.
We finish with the entire airship, and Mom pulls me into the medical bay. She asks for a quick blood sample, so I let her prick my finger. Then she disappears into the lab. She comes out a few seconds later and sits down next to me.
'While the test runs, may I ask you about your theory, Iris?" Mom asks. I nod; she asks, and I explain everything. "I understand your concern, Iris, but you have to remember Dr. Grey is an old friend of mine, and she would never be planning something like that, no matter what she did in the past." I nod and apologize for accusing her friend. Mom says I do not need to apologize because she understands where I am coming from.
"Mom, are you and Dr. Saturday really getting a divorce?" I ask.
Mom looks as if she is unsure of how to react. "Well, I don't know. That is what the test is for. But either way may end in a divorce." Mom stares down at the ground.
"Sorry I asked," I whisper.
"It's okay, baby." Mom brushes my hair out of my face. "I like you with your hair down. It suits you better than the bun you wore with your uniform." Something goes off, and Mom excuses herself to go get it.
I spend the rest of the day meddling with my powers while in thought. I still think Dr. Grey is up to something, even if no one else believes me.
The phone rings at some point, and Zak calls for Mom to come to the phone. Nothing happens after that.
Well after midnight, I hear an argument going in the other room. Mom is telling Dr. Saturday that he has to believe her now. He shouts that he still won't believe it and that he still wants the divorce.
"Fine, but you're causing more harm to the children than to me!" Mom shouts. There is more yelling, and then silence fills the room. "One other thing, Dr. Saturday," Mom says coldly. "Mr. Scheef called earlier. There's another will. You may get your wish; Iris may go to someone else."
My heart pounds in my chest. There cannot be another will! I cannot go to someone else! These people are my family; I need them! I feel my tears start coming. I lie down, hide under the covers, pull a pillow over my head, curl up in the fetal position, and cry myself to sleep. But all I see in my dreams is shattered dreams and broken memories. I end up bawling in my dreams as well. I do not want to leave my family to live with a stranger, not again. It would kill me to leave the Saturdays.
AB: PLOT TWIST!
Iris: Seriously, AB? Why are you doing this to me?
AB: See first sentence.
Iris: AB!
Drew: So is Miranda really plotting against us? Is she really the villain we ought to be hiding from, not Arthur?
AB: I can't tell you that! It would ruin the suspense! But, whenever Iris has been onto something, how has it turned out?
Drew: No, AB, please no. Miranda's my friend!
AB: You'll have to wait and see. I'm going to end the chapter with that! Don't forget to review, follow, and favorite! I know you read this part, so please follow, favorite, and review!