Sleeping Rose (A Secret Saturdays Story) 9

Recap: Weird World

“Okay,” Doc activated his Battle Glove, “Everyone on your toes. This place is dangerous.”

“You’ve said that fourteen times, Mr. Saturday.” Midi explained, “We’ve got it.”

Zeke and Zak pulled open the heavy oak door, leading into a shadowy room. They all crept in and Drew activated her firesword to see.

Drew froze, “Um, looks like Argost got some new monsters.” She was looking through the faint glow at the giant bat-like creature who was slumbering on the ceiling.

“Don’t make any sudden movements.” Doc found the next door, and slowly walked towards the door, not taking his eyes off of the creature.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Kurenai responded, holding Midi’s hand. The small girl was (let’s make her eight instead of twelve) surprisingly not having a spasm, but she was keeping her eyes closed and using Kurenai as a lifeline.

Zak and Zeke didn’t take their eyes off it, Zak had his Claw out just in case, and Zeke looked like he was ready to jump into his superform at any moment. Doc waited for each child and his wife to come through the door, and then quietly closed it.

“…Whew…that was close!” Zeke wiped some sweat from his forehead, saying that awfully loudly. There were a couple of screeches and everyone looks to the left and jumps.

“Midi!” Kurenai pulls the small girl out of the way of a giant tentacle. A huge pool was at the left, and out of it was a gigantic octopus.

“The Oklahoma Octopus!” Zeke calls out, “Move!” Right when he calls that out, the pool explodes, and the water is deeper than expected, and they’re all sucked in to their waists and higher.

“Kur-Kurenai!” Midi, too short, was going under fast, another tentacle going for her.

Zeke hopped out of the water and transformed into his angel and swoops down, grabbing Midi and putting her ontop of a bookshelf. He helped all the cryptids next. Zak tried to use his powers, but the eyes are underwater, not a good case scenario. One pulled him under; Doc used his glove to yank it off and gets pulled under more.

“Zeke!” Kurenai calls out and transforms, attacking a tentacle behind him, “Get the young ones out of here!”

“Kooen’ll kill me if I don’t bring you too!” Zeke pulls up both children and puts them on the shelf, too. Dodging the tentacles, he goes to get Drew, who’s trying to find her spouse.

“Go! Keep going! We’ll catch up!” Drew calls out, slashing a tentacle. Zeke nods and blows open an air vent and all four crawl in.

They eventually fall into a lit room, sortof Ballroom like. It seemed peaceful, so Midi sits sighs, and slumps backwards onto the floor. There’s a snarl from the opposite side of the room, and everyone turns, hopeful.

“Koo-“ Zak sees it isn’t her, “en?”

It’s a boy a bit older than Kurenai, and he is just crouched over, a strange, grey pelt draped over him. Midi jumps up, immediately in her fox form, and growls back. But when he doesn’t move, she stands up and runs over.

“Midi!” Zeke calls, “Careful! You don’t know-“

“Are you okay?” Midi asks, and the boy looks up at her, a toothy grin turning on his lips, and his canines grow….the pelt wrapping around him!

“SKINWALKER!!!” Kurenai cries out, “Not a cryptid…but worse!! MIDI!!” Midi runs out of the way and ricochets off a wall and claws at his face, and then falls back. Tooska takes place next to her, growling and fur on end. Myzic turned into a mouse and clambered into a pocket in Zeke’s belt. Alistair attacked.

Kurenai runs in and sidekicks him as he snarls, “Zeke, Zak! Go!!”

“But-“ Zak remembered how his dad said not to separate, but no choice and the boys ran up the stairs, and then fall down a shoot into a hallway like you’d find in an action movie.

“I suddenly feel like Indiana Jones…” Zak comments, and Zeke, crushed under Komodo and Fisk, Zon out of the mess, gets up and agrees.

“AIEEE!!!” A screech makes both boys and the cryptids jump.

“KOOEN!!” Zak and Zeke cry out at the same time, running in the direction of the cry, and the Cryptid ran in the way, and crashed into them. It chirped and growled and Myzic reappeared as a kitten again, and listened and turns into a cheetah and runs toward the noise. They all hide behind the nearest corner and peer around to see a smoking Kooen limp on the floor and Ven hovering over her.

Argost, a little ways off, cackles, “Girl, did you think you could run off, just like that? You’ve made your choice, and now it’s too late to turn back. Come, now by force.” He pulls out one of those Mongolian Death Worm Venom balls and throws it in her direction, and Zeke pulls Zak back into hiding as Kooen braces herself.

There’s a flash of red, and the ball isn’t exploding on Kooen, but in the hands of a girl on a table, she’s flicking it up and down in her hand, and looks like this:

(Except the dress part is shorter and she has black leggings underneath)

“Now, why go and try to kill my best friend?” The girl asks, cocking her head, and flicks the ball again, “That makes me mad….like fire burning mad…” She shoots the two older men with fireballs, them fleeing, and jumps over to Kooen’s side with a flip, “Ko, you okay??”

“Who’s this?!?” Zak asks, running in to Kooen’s side and Zeke runs in, smiling.

“Reno! Man, am I glad to see you!” The girl looks up and gives a big smile, her white teeth flashing.

“Hey, Zeke! But, it isn’t Reno anymore…it’s Kaeda…name change with the new look.”

“ ‘Little Dragon’ huh? Cool.”

“You’re still going to call me Reno, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Augh…” Kooen sits up and the cryptid and Myzic topple her over, “Ack! I’m gonna need stitches-RENO?!?”

“Kaeda.” Kaeda hugs her friend gently, “Like the power? I thought I didn’t have one!”

Kooen isn’t paying attention, she’s eyeing Zak, “I thought I told you not to do anything stupid!”

“This wasn’t stupid.” Zak hugs Kooen, “Living with us, you were a pain at first, but then something happened. You’ve become a Saturday, my big sister. Saturdays don’t leave Saturdays behind.”

Tears started to form in Kooen’s eyes and she rubs them away, “You’re getting soft on me, right?!”

Zak laughs and lets go, Zeke just looks at Kooen, and Kaeda looks at him, “What, no hug?”

Zeke blushes a bit and crouches down to hug Kooen, but the girl leaned in and gave him something better, “Dude.” When she pulls away, “You’re clueless.”

Zeke turns tomato red as Zak and Fisk laugh at him with Kaeda.

“Zeke and Kooen, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-AHHHH!” Zak screams as Zeke chases him around, an energy orb in his hands. “IT WAS A JOKE!!”

“AHH?” Kaeda ponders, and the two girls go, “There’s no AHHH in kissing!” They laugh and hug, and then Kooen slags a bit, blood staining her shirt, Kaeda helps her up, “Let’s get you to a doctor….But first….a little present.” She generates another fireball and lights the entire side of the room on fire, the side the two villains fled. Kooen clutches onto the Cryptids as they all run up and out of the tunnel, meet up with the other two girls and cryptids, the Skinwalker immobilized.

Next, Kaeda, still in dragon ninja form, evaporated all the water and they all run out. Zeke and Kaeda blow up the building from the outside, causing a bunch of fireworks.

“They most likely got out before.” Doc sighed, and Drew hugs him.

“Aww, but what would we do without an enemy?”

“Hello?” Midi waves, “Kooen needs stitches and needles!”

“Needles???” Kooen gulps, “Who said anything about needles?”

About an hour later, Kooen’s all patched up and an aura of sorrow is in the air. The children group on one side near the door of the airship, and the Saturdays on the other.

“So uh..this is it.” Doc seems saddened, he enjoyed having the intelligent girl on the team, and Kooen jumps and hugs him like a young girl.

“Bye, bye, Doc.” That made the man’s eyes grow soft, and he smiles warmly as she lets go.

She goes to Drew, and hugs her, “Thanks for being there, mom. I mean, Drew.” She smiles sheepishly and Drew holds her tight,

“Take care of yourself, kid.”

She says goodbye to Fisk, who whimpers and Zon nuzzles her. Komodo topples her over and licks her a bit. When Kooen gets back up and stares at Zak, her bottom lip trembling. She runs over and lifts him off of his feet and death hugs him.

“Take care of yourself, Zak.” She whispers in his ear, “I’ll come back every now and then to check up on my little bro.”

Zak wiped his nose and nodded. He smirks, “Don’t get into any more trouble.”

“No promises.” She lets go and ruffles his hair and goes to stand next to Kaeda, waiting to jump out, is it just Zak, or did her eyes shoot at the lab? She smirks and winks, making him realize she really did. Once they were out, and the airship lifted, he runs into the Lab.

The blue cryptid chirps and jumps into Zak’s arms, a black bell jingling from his tail. “Whoa! I thought you….”

His eyes were glued to a CD and a piece of paper now. He walks over and opens the paper, it’s a letter…

Zak,

Hey! I guess you thought that this was goodbye…but not forever! I’m going to miss seeing your face all the time….but I’ll come and see how you’re going to get taller than me…Well, I promise I’m going to find you everytime you’re going to need someone to talk to, a HUMAN! But, cryptids are cool too. Speaking of which, I left the cryptid with you, you’re going to need to learn more responsibility. I’m just joking, just take care of Ekoienya, or Ekoi for short. It means ‘family’ in Greek, something that you’re-I mean our family has given me again. Thanks. There’s a playlist of some of the greatest songs I know you’d love. Play it everytime you miss me, ok?

See You Around!

Kooen

Zak felt a smile on his face, he took the disc, popped it in the player and pressed ‘play’.

I woke up, on my roof, with my brothers.

There’s a whale, in the pool, with my mother.

And my dad, paints the house, different colors.

Where would we be,

If we couldn’t dream?

And I know, we get a little crazy.

And I know, we get a little loud!

And I know, we’re never gonna fake it.

We are wild, we are free.

We are more than you think,

So call us freaks,

But that’s just the way we roll!

You’ve got moves, I’ve got shoes, let’s go dancing.

Pop and lock, battle dance, against Hanson.

If we lose, all the girls, they’ll be laughing.

Where would we be,

If we couldn’t dream?

And I know, we get a little crazy.

And I know, we get a little loud!

And I know, we’re never gonna fake it.

We are wild, we are free,

We are more than you think.

So call us freaks, but that’s just the way we roll!

‘Cause we’re old enough to know, we’re never letting go,

‘Cause that’s just the way we roll.

And I know, we get a little crazy,

And I know, we get a little loud!

And I know, we’re never gonna fake it.

We are wild, we are free,

We are more than you think.

So call us freaks, but that’s just the way we roll.

That’s just the way we roll, oh.

That just the way we roll!