Shifters ch 9: Wolfie's Uncle

Since I really haven’t been updating as often as I should, this chapter is an apology for my readers. Thanks for not losing patience with me!

As much as I wish that I did, I don't own the Secret Saturdays, but I do own Tara and Daemon.

Chapter 9: Wolfie’s Uncle

In the forest south of Ashford, Zak, who is in his waheela form, leads the group to the Saturday airship. Tara follows above in griffin form while Daemon keeps up with Zak's quick pace in his bladerith form. (the giant lizard in chapter six) Mary rides on Daemon's back since the others were moving too fast to keep up on foot, and Zak and Tara's forms were not large enough yet to carry a full grown human on their backs. Fisk follows through the trees.

Just as the light of dawn slowly began to peek above the horizon, Zak, Daemon, Fisk, and Mary all seem to materialize from the shadows and they enter the clearing where the airship was landed. Daemon helps Bovin off of his back and changes back. Zak follows suit.

Suddenly Daemon is tackled to the ground by an invisible force with an enraged hiss. From above came Zon's call and Tara's answering piercing screech. Zak looks up to see Zon and Tara collide in midair and tumble ground-ward, both of them fighting for leverage. Zak yanks the Claw from its place on his belt and activating his cryptid powers he shouts, "Zon, Komodo stop! It’s me, Zak, and these guys are with me!" A couple of meters from the ground Tara and Zon had forced themselves apart and now they stood facing off hissing at each other. Komodo scrambles off of Daemon, and flings himself at Zak.

Zak goes down with an 'omph!', and Komodo gurggles in a distressed manner as he looks down at at Zak. Zak wheezes as the 250 pound dragon sits on his chest, "It's good to see you too buddy..."

Komodo gives a satisfied huff and crawls off of Zak.

Tara lays down her guard and shifts back, and Zon walks over to Zak and with a lonely creen she rubs her head against his arm. Zak puts the Claw away, and Fisk and Komodo join Zon at Zak's side, just being happy about his return. With a smile Zak says to Mary, Daemon, and Tara, "These two are Zon," he points to the winged cryptid, "and Komodo. They're a part of my family."

Daemon and Mary just give sheepish waves. Komodo hisses in response. Zon and Tara stood staring each other in the eye, their stances challenging.

Zak takes in a sharp breath when he realizes that they could attack each other again. His fingers barely brush the shaft of his weapon when Tara's determined voice echoes strongly in his head, "Don't. Just let us do as we must."Zak hesitates for half a second but decides to have faith in Tara's actions. He waves to the others to go to the airship. Mary and Daemon leave, but Fisk and Komodo stay, curious as to how Zon will react to this strange human female.

Unexpectedly, Zon takes a step forward and another and another, until the cryptid and human where practically beak to nose. They stay like this for a few moments, and then Zon nudges Tara's hand in a sign of primal respect, 'I help the young one (Zon's reference to Zak), you are now my charge as well.' Zon looks over to Zak, creens approvingly, and flies toward the airship.

Tara continues to stare after Zon's form when Zak comes to her side and says, dumbfounded, "Zon's never done that before with anyone, not even my own parents."

Zak's overall concept of how Zon sees people apart from him flows to Tara, and she asks, "Any idea why she'd consider accepting me as an equal?"

Zak shrugs as they walk to the airship, "Well cryptids are sensitive to certain energies, so maybe she sensed our bond and decided to test you to see if you deserved her respect. Anyway she respects you like she does me, and as I said before, she has never acted this way before."

The two walk up the ramp into the command bridge where they find the rest of the group waiting in the half lit room.

"So you said you have a pla-" Daemon starts off but suddenly his stomach roars indignantly, saying, 'Hey! Don't forget about me down here! You haven't feed me anything good in two weeks!' On que, everyone's stomach rumbles in the same manner except for Zon and Komodo's, whose bellies were well feed with wild fish and rodents.

Zak chuckles, "I do have an idea, but I think it can wait until our stomachs aren't growling every five seconds and interrupting us." Zak gestures to Fisk and Komodo, "Come on guys, we'll go raid the kitchen." His brothers fall in behind him and they disappear down the hall.

"He seems a lot happier than a few hours ago." Daemon comments.

"Well you will be too when you see your family again." Tara comments bitterly, glaring at the floor.

Daemon shoots a helpless look to Mary, and all she can do is hang her head and sigh. The atmosphere in the room becomes too awkward for conversation, so Daemon goes about checking the blaster he swiped from Van Rook's abandoned armory for tracking devices and what not. Tara sets her SS-M12AAR (Secret Scientist-Mark 12 Adaptive Assault Rifle) on the holotable before her, takes out her new KA-BAR combat knife that Mary gave her to replace her old knife, and proceeds to twirl it about her fingers in a bored manner, whilst Mary leisurely checks the amount of laser ammo in her own M12AAR.

Suddenly the noise of a jetpack flying in and landing outside shatters the silence. Tara quietly swaps the knife with her M12AAR and aims it towards the door, joining Daemon and Mary to form a three man fire squad aiming to take out the obvious threat. A muscular form comes up the ramp and stops in the shadows.

Tara calls to Zak via bond, "We have company on the bridge. Get here ASAP!"

The shadowy form, which has a decidedly male voice, says as it cranks its arm back to throw something, "What hell are you doing here?!"

"Funny, we were about to ask you the same thing..." Daemon retorts as his weapon clicks readiness.

Both side were about to open up on each other when Zak comes sprinting into the bridge with Fisk and Komodo. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa , whoa! Everyone stop and lay down your weapons." All sides warily place their guns on the floor, each one watching for the other side to pull a fast one.

Tara fixes Zak with a hard look, "I'm under the assumption you know this person, huh Wolfie?"

"Well he should." the figure says as he steps forward into the light, "I am his uncle after all." And lo and behold, there stood Doyle. (*fan girl squeal* in all his infinite cartoony hotness.)

Zak comes forward, "What are you doing here Doyle? Last we heard of you, you were in South America."

"I was, but I got a distress signal from the airship. Sorry it took me so long to get here, but before I could get a lock on the signal, it stopped and I couldn't find you directly." Doyle looks at everyone curiously, "Ummm... The signal I got came from Doc's tech gauntlet a week ago and if he's calling me for help, you know it's bad. Care to explain what's going on?"

"Sure, I'll get you filled in while we eat." Zak disappears down to the kitchen again mumbling, "A whole week..."

Zak returns minutes later with the freeze dried food piled high in his arms, "Hope you don't mind freeze dried, everything else in the refridgerator is bad by now."

"Dude after two weeks of eating that slop that Van Rook was giving me, this is like a five star feast." Daemon says happily as Zak tosses him a water bottle and a meal package.

"Van Rook?" Doyle asks.

"And he's part of the explaination," Tara says, tearing into her meal.

Zak launches into his story starting from discovering the soulgem's becon, running away, meeting Tara, training with Mary, infiltrating Van Rook's base to rescue Daemon, and Van Rook taking his parents, all with out mentioning their shifting abilities.

"To travel that far that fast with out a vehicle of your own, you must've been one effective hitch hiker." Doyle comments idly.

Zak, Tara, and Daemon share an uneasy look and Zak says, "Uncle Doyle we have something you have to see to believe."

The three shifters hop to their feet and walk out of the airship, leaving Doyle to decide if he wanted to know or not. Mary speaks, "You may wish to know what they have to show you Doyle. It is an important linchpin in the story you have just heard." She goes back to eating her meal.

Doyle follows his nephew out to the clearing and waits for the show to begin. Zak says, "This is why I had to run away, why Van Rook captured Daemon, and attempted to capture Tara. You see, we are shifters."

And with that Zak, Daemon, and Tara shift as one, and Doyle stands there stupified. Zak gauges his expression, his tail waving back and forth slowly. He trots up to Doyle and places a paw on his knee to assure him that he was truly there. Zak sits on his haunches next to him and waits for his uncle to speak.

"Well I've seen a lot of weird things ever since I started working for Van Rook and even more after I joined the family, but this takes the cake. Do your folks know about this?"

Zak backs up a bit and shifts back, "I'm pretty sure when they found my note in the kitchen, the checked the security cams to see what was going on. Van Rook has my parents, and I need your help."

Doyle grins cockily, "You didn't even need to ask mini man. I find it rather entertaining to mess with Rook, count me in."

Zak and Tara give an enthusiastic whoop when she turns back.

Doyle adds, "Think I know where he's taking them, and I have the coordinates. But we're not going in guns blazing and improvising the entire way, so we're going to need a plan." He crosses his arms across his chest, "You think you can stick to that mini man?"

Zak nods sullenly, "Just because I did it once doesn't mean I'll do it again."

Daemon snickers roughly in his bladerith form and Tara tries hard to surpress a smirk. He looks over at them, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up scaly."



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