Opening File: V.V. Argost

Almost absolutely nothing is known about V.V. Argost beyond the fact that he is the host of the international hit series V.V. Argost's Weird World, a television program dedicated to showing the existence of previously thought to be mythical animals known as Cryptids. It is unknown where he had gained such knowledge but rumors suggest that he gained the funding he needed by going to see Baron Finster, an arms dealer with connections to every major criminal in the world. Argost usually hosts the show in his home with his man servant Munya serving as the only other member of staff. Argost doesn't allow many visitors into his home and he does not hire any staff to work for him.

If not for the insane ratings his show brings in the company that airs Weird World would perhaps have a lot more questions for him. His fame has allowed Argost to become one of the richest celebrities in the entire world with nearly unlimited wealth and connections in every country. There are rumors that Argost is a dangerous criminal and has committed murder but proof has yet to have been brought forward.

Close File

Xxx

"Fame and fortune, the two things that people want most in the entire world. People like attention, they like it when they hear everyone talking about how great they and they like being rich. So they make up ways to get it all and in this day and age it's through posting anything they can think of online, trying to make the whole world their audience. I mean, look at me." TOM gestured to himself as he closed the file. "I'm a robot and I probably got billions of fans by just sitting in my chair as I host a programming block with all sorts of actions, while throwing in a few words of wisdom here and there. Anyone can get famous these days, you just have to be quick to milk your fifteen minutes of fame because you never know how long it might last."

Xxx

"So you finally found the last piece of the Kur Stone. Excellent work, Argost. His Excellency is pleased."

"Yes, yes. I do aim to please." Argost drawled, more interesting in having his fancy dinner rather than speaking with his current caller.

"Be careful with that attitude, Argost. You may be a big celebrity but we still can reach you."

Argost was not one for being bullied and he made it clear with his 'clients'. It's not as if he even wanted to do business with them in the beginning but when one has connections all over the world it was bound to happen. He had a small connection in every little black market and criminal organization involving cryptids and these ones were no different.

"I was under the impression that the Satyra had other plans than harassing one of their helping hands." Argost said smoothly. "I have kept my end of the bargain. Once Kur is in our hands the entire world will feel your wrath and mankind…will fall in line."

"Indeed they will. Just remember, when you began your hunt for Kur His Excellency provided you with all the information he had which exceeded even yours."

That was right.

It seemed the leader of the Satyra was even more of an expert on the legendary cryptid called Kur than Argost himself. One example would be Kur's ancient history aside from being a legendary monster that rampaged across the ancient world is that Kur was also said to be a type of creature that appeared from another dimension every time was weakened, allowing these creatures to visit Earth. Upon arriving they assumed many forms and an entire civilization was born, at least until the first Cataclysm that came in the form of the meteor crashing into the planet that would later give rise to the Grimm.

Only the truly powerful such as Kur were able to survive that era.

"The Anunnaki were the first to arrive on this planet, giving sentience to the animals of the time and perhaps were the ones who created the cryptids and possibly played a hand in creating the ancestors of the Mobians and the Faunus. Kur was among the most dangerous of them at the time, taking the form of a dragon. Some were good, helping to advance mankind while others sought to take this world for their own." Argost mused. "Kur's reign came to an end when the Warrior-King Gilgamesh challenged and defeated him but Kur would one day return and finding the Kur Stone is the only way to find Kur. The Satyra have been looking for Kur for almost as long as I have and the only reason they have not made me an enemy is because they see worth in my resources and my knowledge of cryptids and because they believe I can bring Kur to them."

Argost narrowed his eyes. "Oh, I will bring Kur to them all right."

Munya let out a grumbling sound and Argost looked up, seeing what agitating his servant so much. "Ah, some afternoon violence. Always the perfect pick me up."

Munya immediately fired on the airship of the Saturdays, engaging them in an aerial dogfight.

And causing Argost's lunch to fly all over the cabin, annoying the television host. "Munya, could you possibly dog-fight with a little more self-control? We're not savages!"

Munya fired the forward missiles, chasing the airship for a few more minutes before finally scoring a direct hit on the ship, causing it to crash down into the forest below.

"Now that we're done having fun, we have a treasure to find." Argost said, wiping his face with a napkin. "And clean up this mess. I won't have my moment while my ship looks filthy."

Munya turned the airship around, moving above the forest where the last piece of the Kur Stone was said to be hidden. Argost could feel the last piece of the stone was practically in the palms of his hands and he could not wait to have it all.

Xxx

"Can we take a break?"

Gwen Tennyson shook her head, watching as her cousin was panting and looked ready to fall over. "In case it split your mind, Ben we've got four, possibly five dangerous hunters chasing us!"

"Well, we know that Tetrax guy is at least a good guy." Ben pointed out; looking at the Omnitrix and saw it was fully charged. "All right, ready to go Hero again at a moment's notice."

"We should be hoping to avoid a confrontation here, Ben. The first two were bad enough on their own, that woman with them is in a league of her own." Max pointed out as they came out of the forest. "She's skilled enough to be an elite Huntress."

"Just her?"

The Tennysons turned forward, spotting the other woman of the group staring at them with an arrogant smile. "And I thought we could be good friends."

Max glared as he stepped in front of his grandchildren. "Okay miss, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Oh?" The woman was grinning now as she raised her arm, activating her wrist blaster. "Well, first off the name is Rojo and here's my counter proposal!"

She fired and Max quickly pulled his grandchildren out of the way of the incoming blast. Ben quickly slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix, taking the form of Heatblast.

"All right! Time to heat things up!" Heatblast shouted, firing back at Rojo.

The woman smirked as her suit produced a helmet that covered her head and she raised her other arm, firing plasma blasts that cancelled out Heatblast's fireballs. Rojo blasted off into the air, thanks to her suit's rocket boots and fired down on Heatblast who followed by using his fire powers to lift the earth beneath up into the air and shoot off directly towards Rojo.

"Now things are getting interesting." Rojo said, grinning behind her mask.

The two then began an aerial fight, firing and dodging attacks while moving at high speed. Unfortunately Rojo would soon get help as Six-Six showed up, aiding the armored woman while Krab emerged from the ground.

"Finally, let's get this over with." Krab muttered, aiming his blaster at Heatblast.

Suddenly a blast shot out, hitting Krab in the back and he fell over with a painful scream. Max lowered his weapon, checking the settings. "Cortex Disruptor. It renders a target completely unconscious by temporarily disrupting all nerve functions, paralyzing the target as well. A Plumber's first choice when it comes to capturing intergalactic criminals."

Krab wasn't able to answer back as he was knocked out, exactly as Max said for what happens when hit by his choice of weapon. Max made a note to send him to the Null Void but in the meantime he had to help his grandson. Heatblast was still in the middle of his aerial dance Six-Six and Rojo and unfortunately he was on the losing side.

What he needed now was a miracle.

A green and black blur shot through the sky, coming out of nowhere and rammed into the two, sending them flying straight down into the ground. Tetrax landed in front of them, hopping off his hoverboard.

Six-Six muttered something which Rojo seemed to agree with. "What he said."

"Sorry to disappoint you, darling. You can tell Vilgax I resigned." Tetrax said just as Max fired his disruptor, stunning both mercenaries. "That's three down."

"What happened to the woman?" Max asked.

"I held her off but she's not likely to be happy next time she sees me." Tetrax answered. "That's why I better get these three to prison. Vilgax won't have them to call on for help anymore."

Xxx

Deep underground where the base of the Flame Keeper's Circle resided, Vilgax watched in disgust of how Tetrax betrayed him, capturing three of the bounty hunters he had hired. His recovery was going will with his limbs now fully regenerated but he was still weak and needed time to regain his strength.

"Betrayed." Vilgax growled behind his mask.

"Princess Mira has yet to return, my lord." Edwards was quick to report.

"No doubt licking her wounds." Pysphon said dismissively.

The sound of the communicator ended the conversation as Edwards answered, projecting the caller's image on the wall screen.

"Princess Mira, we were just talking about you." Vilgax greeted sarcastically. "And your failure to secure the Omnitrix."

"This was no fault of mine, Vilgax. You should have anticipated that Petrosapien was going to betray you. No matter how much you hate failure, it can't be avoided if you can't predict when one of your own has plans of their own." Mira retorted.

"I would choose my worlds carefully, Princess." Pysphon retorted. "Lord Vilgax placed his trust in you to carry out the mission."

"And those other fools."

"And yet you are the one with nothing to show for it."

"ENOUGH!" Vilgax bellowed, ending the argument. "Mira, do you know what I do to those who fail me?"

"I can still retrieve the Omnitrix…But I will have to rescue those other fools. Alone I cannot capture the boy if he has allies no matter where he goes."

"They would be better off in the Null Void after I am done with them." Vilgax growled.

"Perhaps she can make them into the team we need to deal with the boy's allies. Our Lord is still recovering and until he is ready we can make use of Mira and the others if and when she rescues them." Edwards suggested, activating another wall screen and typed down the name of the hunters except for the traitor. "Mira, Six-Six, Krab and Rojo…Team MSKR. If Mira can make them into the ideal team she claims to take on the boy and his allies, it is only fitting that it should follow our tradition in team names. Even if she has failed now you can still punish her and the others if they fail again."

Vilgax narrowed his eyes but considered Edwards' proposal. "Hm…The name does sound fitting. Fine then, bring those three back and make sure they are turned into something useful. But remember this, dear Princess, any failure this team suffers you will suffer…tenfold!"

Mira nodded, knowing better than argue with Vilgax and her own plans for revenge on Tetrax already in the works.

No one humiliated her and lived without retribution.

Xxx

Far away, deep in a dark green forest a pair of vertical green eyes opened. "I feel it again."

She stood up, stopping to stretch her limbs for a moment and let out a deep sigh. "I remember feeling this before, several years ago."

She remembered that day all too well.

"It's his Hand and the place where the disturbance is…The resting place of the stone." She closed her eyes, letting out another sigh. "He gave his Hand to that boy because of the boy's father and yet…There's something about him."

She did not understand his reasoning that day.

The debt had been settled in the battle.

So why leave the Hand with the boy?

"In all the centuries I have known him he has never given anything to humans, except…" The woman closed her eyes. "Is there something you see in the boy, like you saw in her?"

She had not spoken of her in a long time now.

Of course she still loved her and thought of her from time to time.

But she had not been in the company of family since her departure.

She had set out into the world, leaving behind the forest she had been raised in to see the world and to see what her role was. She had become something of a protector when called for but answered to no one but her own personal honor and ideals.

"Do I become involved because the boy has his Hand? Should I see what is it that makes him so special?" The woman wondered, taking a deep breath. "So much is happening in the world now. The darkness is spreading, the return of evil on the horizon and I sense…fear. The evil threatens the free will of the wild…I must go."

She decided it was time to see firsthand for herself the path the world might be on.

Destruction or salvation.

With that in mind she gathered a few supplies and then called on the great power she was connected to. With a hand on a tree there was a flash of light…

And she was gone.

Xxx

'Sweet dreams, little Saturday.'

Zak Saturday supposed things could have gone better.

He was eager to show his parents he was ready to fight bad guys like they did, even against bad guys like Argost. Well, that was easier said than done when Argost got the drop on them just as they recovered the last piece of the Kur Stone. Next thing he knew he was tied to a tree along with his parents, Fisk and Komodo with Argost planning on watching as they get eaten by the very cryptids his parents had counted on to guard their stone piece.

That was when Zak decided to show everyone he was ready.

Tapping into the mysterious power he had that allowed him to connect with and mentally influence cryptids he connected with all of the surrounding Tarpire-Laura, making them call of their would be feeding frenzy.

"Now, now, my pets, no playing with your food, attack them now!" Argost shouted from the safe spot he had chosen.

As the beast moved to attack again a pair of eyes watched from the shadows, as the young Saturday tricked them into freeing him and Argost immediately ordered Munya to attack. The eyes narrowed as Munya tore off his top as he transformed in a purple skinned muscular humanoid with four spider legs sprouting from his back, clawed hands and feet, a red right eye where his monocle had been and spider like mandibles on his mouth.

"Did…anyone know he could do that?" Zak asked out loud.

The eyes narrowed at Munya's transformation. 'This creature, I sense his connection to nature…to the Red. It's unnatural.'

She watched as the boy used trickery and cunning to outwit his opponent, even managing to knock the stone piece out of Argost's hands. He then turned the Tarpire-Laura on the spider hybrid and freed his furry friend with the use of his own enemy's weapons, allowing it to better defend his parents.

'This boy…' She wondered. 'He's turned the tables all on his own. He has not even used the Hand to aid him.'

Is this what he saw all those years ago?

Did he see this boy's potential?

Argost was about to finish the boy off when winged cryptid flew in and slammed him into a tree. Upon recovering he pulled out one of his acid pellets and moved to make the creature swallow it.

"It wounds me to melt the insides of such a magnificent beast." Argost admitted as he forced its mouth open. "But I'm a very petty man."

The eyes narrowed at the man's horrifying intent that distracted the boy long enough for the spider hybrid to snatch back the stone piece.

"Take…your….medicine!" Argost growled as he prepared to shove it down the creature's throat.

The eyes flashed green and suddenly an arrow shot out and hit Argost in the shoulder, forcing him to fall to the ground with pained cry. The winged creature broke free and flew back into the air with a relieved shriek.

"What?" Zak had been ready to help but looked back to where the arrow had come from.

There, in the trees he could see someone watching them from the shadows. The eyes regarded him before vanishing, leaving him to wonder who they were. In the meantime Munya had returned to the airship and opened the hatch as Argost recovered.

"Alas, the hour is adieu." Argost announced as the air ship hovered over the Saturdays, sending gusts over the surrounding area. "Many unhappy pestilences to you all!"

He jumped up into the airship that immediately took off, leaving with the final piece of the Kur Stone in Argost's hands.

"They got the last piece of the stone." Zak fell to his knees, saddened at his failure to stop them. "Sorry dad."

"I saw what you did, Zak." Doc said as he and the rest of the family came up to the boy, kneeling down to place a hand on his son's shoulder. "You were about to make an impossible choice in an impossible situation. And as far as I am concerned, you would have made the right one. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but you are definitely my hero."

Zak smiled at that. "So…the arrow?"

Doc looked around. "I know, someone was here and I have a feeling they still are."

Drew retrieved her sword and picked up the arrow. "It's nothing special. Hand-made."

Xxx

Later on, the Saturdays returned home with a new cryptid they had adopted like they Fisk and Komodo, naming her Zon and giving her a brand new nest.

As Zak rushed off to see how his parents were doing with their image of the Kur Stone piece they managed to get Zon was left to feed on her fish. The new cryptid heard a noise turned around, watching as pair of eyes regarded her from the shadow of a nearby tree.

Zon probably should have reacted with hostility but why do that to the person who saved her life?

"He gave you a new nest." The woman said, remaining respectful of Zon's new home. "This boy, bonding with Lemurian, a Komodo dragon and now you. He doesn't even use his special powers at all. No other human, not even the boy's parents have done something like this."

She had never considered it possible for a human to bond with hidden species of the world this boy had done.

Zon cawed, offering the woman a fish which she accepted. "Raw fish, your favorite. He knows how to prepare good food as well."

Was it because this boy had grown up around cryptids instead of humans?

The scent he had around him was that of an ordinary human but he was…different.

But how?

Why was he so different?

Where did his power come from?

Zon cawed at her again and she quickly ate her offering, not wanting to offend the new member of the Saturday family. "Your friend is a gifted one. I've seen him go up against enemies that would have hard to defeat for any other child and he would have saved your life over taking back the stone if I had no intervened. He must be special in him for you to accept his wish to join his family."

Zon cawed affectionately and the woman nodded. "Yes, there is something about him and I see he will have a role to play in the coming days."

The Kur Stone had been found.

She knew of Kur.

She knew the dangers that would come.

"I am tuned with the nature of this planet, through the wild life and the plants that exists alongside the humans. The Faunus and the Mobians are more of my kin than humans but I have not forgotten I was born from humanity as well." The woman looked at the Saturday complex. "Something has drawn me here, for a very long time now when my father left his Hand here. Now I feel I must be here, to watch or protect, I do not know yet. I will be near if there is danger."

With that said the woman vanished back into the tree, leaving no trace she had ever been around to begin with.