The Shifters

Summery: When Zak witnesses an innocent cryptid get murdered by Argost for another clue to Kur, it invokes a new power within him. This is the story of his discovery of his newest powers and his adventures involving them.

I do not own The Secret Saturdays. All I own is the general plot of this story.

Chapter 1: Naïve No More

Zak's P.o.V.

It all started out as a normal family outing. Komodo harassing Fisk, Drew piloting the super blimp, Doc trying to unraveling another clue to finding Kur, and Zon occasionally joining in on Fisk's and Komodo's antics. I sat in a chair in the command-bridge flipping through a comic book and drinking a glass of Coca-Cola.

Dad had found another location where there was yet another clue that Argost was after. Again. It involved the capture of a reptilian cryptid, and that's all I really know.

Our destination is a small town south of Berlin, Germany. (No offence to anyone from that area.) Nothing exceedingly special; except for the clue that could cause unimaginable destruction if it fell into the wrong hands; namely the white, skeletal hands of a certain megalomaniac.

Since mom is a crazy pilot, we landed only a few hours after we set out from our home. We asked a couple of questions to the locals, looked around a bit, all while keeping a sharp eye out for Argost.

Apparently, word on the street was that there was this creature loose in the little town that would steal food from the windows of vendors in the cover of night. Several attempts to capture it or even identify it have been mustered, but all of them had come up empty.

At the end of the day dad decided that we would have better luck locating the creature if we searched during the night. We split up. Doc searching the northern part of town, Drew searching the southern portion, and Fisk and me patrolling the western edge.

We crept along, keeping quiet so we could, hopefully, get the drop on the cryptid. An hour into our search something in the shadows spooked the gorilla-cat at my side. He screeched in fright and hid his eyes behind his hands.

"Shhhh! Fisk, if you keep that up we'll never find this cryptid." I hissed at him.

"Yrros."

His wide eyes wandered from me to something behind me. Without saying a word my 'brother' spun me around by my shoulders. I felt my own eyes widen in surprise. Slinking before us in the middle of that narrow street was this deep navy blue reptile-thing that was no larger than 3 feet in length from nose to tail. It looked more like a fairy-tale style dragon rather than a lizard, wings and all. On it's chest was a shimmering gem no bigger than my fist and it was the same color as the rest of the creature.

It looked up at me with curious eyes, its nose wiggling as it sniffed me and Fisk. Remembering what I was here to do I reached out with my cryptid powers. I touched her mind and she seemed to enjoy the connection. While I had contact with her, I discovered that she was only a baby... well whatever it was.

"Come here girl, I won't hurt you." I coo comfortingly to it, and I hold out my hand for her to sniff.

It plods right up to me, throwing caution to the wind and rubs her scaly head against my hand. She turns her attention to Fisk and rubs up against his leg like a cat.

"Awww..." the big furry guy I call my brother smiled and scratched her behind her nub-like horns. She growled softly in happiness and arches into his hand as he scratches the ridge of spines on her neck. Fiskerton picks the little dragon thing up into his arms.

"You know what? You need a name." She looks back to me from Fisk's arms.

I study her for a minute, "I'll guess I'll call you... Lin."

Lin pulled back her lips into what I believe was a smile and nods her head eagerly.

"Great! Come on Lin, you have to meet my mom and dad. They'll love you!"

"Yay!" Fisk garbles out an excited yell.

As we walk back towards the ship Lin, being careful not to scratch me or Fisk, clambered from Fisk's arms to my shoulder. She was unsurprisingly light, I assume because she probably could in fact fly.

"Hey Fisk, can you go get mom and dad so they can see Lin?"

He nods enthusiastically and runs off to find Doc and Drew, leaving me with Lin. I walk slowly back to the airship so that Fisk would have a chance to go get them. So I start to describe my parents to Lin and amazingly she seemed to understand every word I said; she was intelligent. Not that Fisk and Komodo and Zon weren't, not by a long shot. It's just that something seems different about her.

As we were getting closer to the ship we both shudder as we hear a skin-crawlingly-creepy voice echoed through the small square that we were pasting through, "Greetings young Saturday. Thank you for finding the clue for me, it would have been a dreary process getting it myself."

The power-hungry madman slid from the shadows, hunched over and looking even creepier (if that was possible) in the pale moonlight.

"You're not taking Lin!" I growl at him, pulling the trembling dragonling closer to my chest.

"Oh you can keep the little salamander young Saturday. I just want the soulgem on its chest," he cackles.

V.V. Argost launched himself at me from across the plaza, his cloak flying out around him and giving him the appearance of a large vulture.

Lin jumps down from my arms and scrambles to my side, growling only semi-menacingly at our attacker. I tear out the Claw from its resting place on my belt and brought it up to fend off a blow from Argost. We continued to fight back and forth, him almost constantly with the upper hand.

Lin helped where she could, but I told her to keep a distance from Argost as he and I battled it out. I know I couldn't win, for I could feel my strength fading, but I also knew that all I had to do was hold him off for a little longer until my folks got here.

Suddenly Argost seems to decide that he is done "playing" with me and brutally batters me aside. I feel his clawed fingers as they sliced a shallow, four-pronged pattern across my chest through my shirt. I slam into the outer wall of the fountain in the middle of the plaza, and my vision blurs for a moment and I feel too sore to even move.

Lin is next to me in an instant, her muzzle rubbing the side of my face, encouraging me to stand. Then she gets torn away by the bony hands of Argost. He held her by the nape of her neck, and as Lin squirms he whispers sardonically, "Now I'll take this soulgem." The madman flips out a knife, my body was too weak to do anything, "It's truly a shame that to acquire it... I must kill its holder."

My heart stops and tears begin to pour from my eyes.

"No. Lin... No!" I cry as the heartless man held my helpless friend in the air.

I couldn't look away from Lin's terrified eyes; Argost lifted the knife higher into the air. He plunged the blade deep into her breast, into her heart.

She didn't jerk or cry out, but I felt my heart break as the light left her eyes. Lin sags limp in Argost's hand, never more to move or run or feel the loving scratches from me and my family that I was so sure she'd receive.

I didn't see how Argost took the soul- whatever off of her chest, but I do know is that it now glowed softly in his icy clutches. He dropped her unceremoniously next to me. I scramble over and lift Lin's limp body into my arms, misery washing over me. But when my hand brushed over the fatal wound, misery flushed away, rage taking its place and filling my mind full of dark, pure hatred for Argost.

Sadly enough, not thirty seconds after Argost had killed Lin, did my parents come sprinting into the plaza with Fisk. Argost didn't see the fireball my mom sent towards him until it struck him in the chest, and it sent him sprawling backwards. The soulgem arched high into the air, and then, with my free arm, I snagged it with the claw.

I didn't know how long their fight was, and I didn't care because at this point it did not matter that Fisk, Doc, and Drew have fought off Argost; Lin is dead.

"Zak! Zak are you okay?" my mother dropped to her knees by my side and places a hand on my shoulder. She looks down to see Lin's limp form in my arm, "Oh Zak, I'm so sorry."

I didn't look at her but up at Fisk. His eyes were glazed over with tears, and releasing a low, heart rending moan of sorrow as he brushed his fingers across Lin's blood slicked scales.

Dad takes Lin up into his arms, and mom pulls me into a hug, where I promptly break down.

"Why did it have to be Lin? Why did he have to kill her?" I cried into her shoulder.

"Because...," she started hesitantly, "because Argost won't rest until he has Kur, and he's willing to do ANYTHING to get it. Even destroy an innocent cryptid."

I stay kneeled there for a few more moments, and then, after I composed myself a bit, I grab the Claw and stand. After the jello effect left my legs and I steady myself I turn to walk back to the airship. As we walk solemnly back, I feel energy building within me like in the piercement domes, and it rapidly begins to magnify. Somehow I know this wasn't over.

That chapter was kind of awkward, but once I get past the beginning I usually write better. Anywho, please review.

Your Humble Authoress, Sangheili Warrior Girl