Ohayo everyone! CJzilla here with the final update to "The Beast of Gévaudan". Sad? Don't be. You'll see more of my works floating around the Secret Saturdays archive. Now in this final chapter you'll see how everything wraps up and gives way to a sequal. Enjoy.

As I smash this city under my claws, alls CJzilla has to roar is this: R&R! Love... Hate... Review.

TheMarySueMurderer: Thanks for R&Ring. Here's one last update. BTW... love the pen name.

Sangheili Warrior Girl: Well, Geva's death was kinda needed. The Beast of Gévaudan is too much of an unpredictable powerhouse to be a family pet. As an author it is my duty to make the readers feel just what the character's feel but I am sorry you kinda cried.

slipnot321: Here's the next and last chapter. Enjoy.

crystalshake: Thanks for being such a loyal reviewer. Your comments were enlightening.

she-bang-fan: I was laughing my head off... writing about Doyle's Ornithocheirous flight.

Bookworm1994: Bummer. I like cookies. Especially the ones with chocolate chips, nuts, jelly beans, gummy worms and raisins... inside of another cookie. Thanks for R&Ring. You gave me lots of inspiration.

KaliAnn: Here's the last chapter. I hope it entertains you and wets your palate for the incoming sequal.

Dragonscall: I am honored by your reviews Dragonscall. Here is the final chapter and I hope I do not disappoint. Thanks for reviewing.

Chapter 10

Through The Fire

Zak felt like he'd been hit in the brain by a hammer; that explosion of light rattled his mind. The eleven-year-old boy found himself on his stomach, the side of his face resting on the cool ground. The intense blast of light from the Kur Stone and Gévaudan Beast's secret stone created spots that danced around his vision. Opening his eyes, Zak blinked hard trying to get his sight clear. Then he realized that the shining light was not going away. His cryptid powers glowed and shone in his eyes. Sitting up, his attention came to Kur and the secret stone of the Beast of Gévaudan. Both mystical rocks were spinning together, their friction making a bright orange glow that lit up the night. Zak felt a pull from the dancing magical cryptid stones reach into his body and connect with his heart and mind. Then once again he heard Géva's voice in his mind.

The guardian of the secret stone and the secret stone of the guardian.

Zak suddenly found himself on his feet as he heard garbled riddles and complex utterances being whispered to him. He heard Géva's soft voice before the din of a thousand voices closed over it. The noise grew so loud in the boy's mind he felt like the deafening clamor would explode out of his ears. Zak watched the two mystical stones spin and shine brightly until, with one last wave of concentrated light, their energy faded. As the stone fell to the ground, the eleven-year-old felt his head again. Dropping to his knees, Zak felt his head swimming and slightly numbed by the incoherent voices once bombarding his mind.

The darkness and stillness of the night fell over the building.

Zak sat there, feeling his head spin and stomach lurch when he heard Argost's angry voice.

"W-What?!" Zak lifted his head to see Argost standing over the smoking remains of Kur and the secret stone of the Beast of Gévaudan. Reaching down, the madman grasped the rock only to yelp and yank his hands away because of how hot it was. "N-No! Where's-… where is the translation?! There are now new symbols on Kur!"

Getting to his feet, Zak willed his stomach to stay calm and his to head clear. Argost was too busy fretting over the new symbols covering the single Kur Stone to acknowledge that the preteen was on his feet. Frowning at Argost, Zak stanced to charge at him.

"Zak!" He heard his father call his name. Spinning, he saw Doc yank off his Power Glove and throw it to him.

The eleven-year-old caught the glove and threw it on his right hand. Immediately the powerful weapon roared to life and closed around his smaller hand. Zak gave a wicked half-smile as he rushed toward Argost. The madman was still pouring over the Kur Stone and didn't notice Zak until it was too late.

The boy with the wild black and white hair formed a fist under the Power Glove. Extending his right arm, Zak cuffed Argost right across his pale face. Instantly the man was blown off of his feet, into the air and into unconsciousness.

"That's… for Géva." The eleven-year-old growled as he watched how far his super-punch launched Argost. The rag-doll villain flew high and over the side of the building.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zak saw Munya run after his master. Scrambling to catch Argost before he fell seven stories to the ground, Munya shot a string of web. The web caught the villain by his ankle. The velocity of Argost's fall as well as his weight nearly dragged Munya over the side with him. The big genetically-altered man strained to keep his footing.

Munya stood there, his face jerked over the side of the building as he held his unconscious master by a string of web out of his mouth. The dude was a sitting duck.

"HEY!" Zak barked. Munya couldn't lift his head to look. "Don't let the door hit you on the way OUT!"

POW! Zak buried his dad's Power Glove into Munya's back. The genetically-altered man was rocketed off of the edge. Now he and Argost were free falling and since Munya's mouth was all ready full of web, he could do nothing to stop his fall. Just then a roar of a jetpack was heard before Van Rook swooped out of the sky and grabbed Munya. The Russian mercenary then made a hasty retreat for the safety outside of the Saturday's fortress.

Zak watched the villains flee as he let the Power Glove power down and slip off of his relaxed hand. This battle was over. Snorting in anger at what Argost had done to Géva, the eleven-year-old turned on his heel to inspect the Kur Stone. Indeed, the rock was still smoldering and would be too hot to touch for a while but Zak saw the carving and symbols had changed from his last glance at the mystical stone. Géva's secret stone definitely had an impact on Kur's greater, more powerful secret.

Standing over the newly transformed Kur Stone, Zak couldn't help but feel his heart dragged back to Géva's death. The dog-like cryptid died protecting him and battling with Argost. The preteen now knew why Beast of Gévaudan acted aggressively toward him in the garden; it was near Kur and its secret was in danger.

Just then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up Zak saw Fisk, battle-worn and singed from fighting Van Rook. The seven-foot-tall gorilla-cat gave him a sympathetic yet triumphant smile.

"Gevalisurturm." Fisk voiced. Then the cryptid reached up to Zak's face and wiped his cheeks free of tears with his soft, furry hand.

The eleven-year-old boy managed a grin as more salty tears ran down his face and returned his eyes to the Kur Stone that had absorbed his friend.

Meanwhile, outside the Saturday perimeter, Van Rook dropped to the ground Munya before he too landed. The Russian mercenary's injuries throbbed and most of his ammunitions was spent. Groaning, Van Rook looked over at Munya, carefully holding unconscious Argost in his big arms.

"This was suicide, arachnid." The merc voiced holding his head. The big genetically-altered man said nothing, like usual, but gave Van Rook an agreeable nod.

Argost was out cold, his pale face now showing where the Saturday boy had struck him with that powerful glove. The villains had nothing to show for their break in but a bitter, fruitless defeat. Van Rook cut through the silence with a sigh.

"I'll be sure to add everything up and send Argost a bill." The Russian mercenary stated. "I charge extra for stupid errands."

The morning sun was a welcomed sight after such a sour night. Doc, Drew and Doyle were up early, like usual but feeling the fight in their bodies. Doyle was sporting several knots on his head from getting slammed into the ground by Munya, Doc still felt light-headed and fatigued from Argost's Devonian annelid and Drew's arms felt like pudding after swinging her sword over and over. But at least no one got hurt… well, save for the Beast of Gévaudan.

The three adults stood around a table holding the newly altered Kur Stone. Roughly three days of confusing occurrences and baffling riddles lie on the table and everything started to fall into place.

"I can make out these symbols; here and here." Drew pointed at two new symbols of the Kur map. ""Speak and listen" but both are in a mix of an early Roman and ancient Babylonian dialects. Heck, I can tell you that half of these new figures are of the earliest Egyptian I've ever seen."

"Any Summeric?" Doc questioned his wife. Drew took a moment to study the markings.

"Surprisingly… very little. It seems that a new puzzle has been opened to us." The white-haired woman stated. Doyle stood from sitting on a chair.

Groaning as he held his throbbing head, the red-head walked over to his sister and brother-in-law.

"I missed a lot while that Pteradon was flying me around. How did Kur get a new look?" Doyle questioned, looking at the old rock's new symbols and figures. Drew and Doc gave coy smiles.

"That part's kinda sketchy to us." Drew confessed. "I was glued to the ground by web while Doc was barely coming to after a Devonian annelid attack. We were going to ask Zak the same thing, since he had a front row seat to what happened."

The two parents exchanged sober looks.

"The Beast of Gévaudan perished last night and Zak's been taking its death pretty hard." Doc stated to his brother-in-law. "I doubt he slept any and so we don't want to wake him."

Just then the hydraulic doors hissed open and Zak, Zon, Fisk and Komodo walked into the room.

"Good morning." The eleven-year-old put on his best smile. But it was obvious; the boy hadn't slept at all last night.

"Morning… Zak." Doyle said pretty clumsily. Drew and Doc sighed as they walked up to their son.

"We're both really sorry for your loss, Zak. No one knew Argost could sink that low." Doc said to his boy. Then Drew hugged Zak.

"It will be all right, baby." The woman reassured. Zak gave a lopsided, depressed grin at his parents and uncle before the Kur Stone caught his eye.

Walking over to the stone, he put his hand on his and imagined he was stroking Géva's mane again.

"Argost told me that Géva and the secret stone were one and the same." The eleven-year-old stated. "So when Géva… died… it turned into this cool looking red stone. Then the stone was absorbed by Kur and gave us this new look!"

Then Zak laughed. Doc chuckled slightly at that.

"Well, we were not completely done with the original Kur. Thankfully, I was smart enough to upload photos and a 3D image of the Kur Stone before it got it new look. We need to scrutinize every inch of the Stone, past and present." Doc walked to the room's super computer and typed a few keys. A huge image of the original Kur Stone was indeed in the computer's data banks. "When you set together a puzzle, you first piece in the outline before you move on to the more complex images. We will find Kur, though we may be one step behind Argost."

Zak gave a wicked smirk, his old self gradually returning.

"Don't worry dad. Argost was completely surprised by the Stone's new look. HE'S a step behind US!" Then the eleven-year-old laughed. "You guys should have seen his face! He looked like he'd eaten the worst lemon in HISTORY! HA!"

Komodo walked up to the Kur Stone and growled at it. Fisk came up to the table and put his hand over the stone, Zon by his side.

"Gevamisun?" The gorilla-cat questioned pointing at the ancient rock. "Isumurbur?"

Then Fisk bared his teeth, growled and took a bite at Komodo, obviously mimicking the Beast of Gévaudan. Zak sighed.

"Argost told me that Géva would translate Kur but I guess he was wrong about that." He traced his finger tip along the new symbols decorating Kur. "Even though Géva is no longer an animal, I don't think Géva's truly gone. It's still alive, inside Kur. I promise I'll find and protect Kur… for Géva."

The room fell into a thoughtful silence before Doyle laughed.

"I wish I could have seen the look on that madman's pasty face." The red head voiced. "I'm just glad Zak kicked Argost's butt. That's a gene clearly seen on Drew's side of the family."

Doc shot his smirking brother-in-law a glare.

"That gene skipped your chromosomes, Doyle." The tall black man fire back. "Even as I was slightly unconscious, I did see and hear you scream like a baby. Van Rook and a little Pterosaur acrobatics too much for you?"

Doyle and Doc lunged at each other, making Drew jump between them.

"You should talk, Doc! YOU were taken out at the beginning of the battle!" The red-headed ex-mercenary barked back. "I'm seeing a pattern in your fighting style: NONEXISTENT!"

""Nonexistent"?! Weren't you the one to get your head plowed into the ground?! Congratulations Doyle; you just irritated Munya into grinding your overly cocky mug into the cement!" Doc returned.

"Okay… okay! Stop the macho-competition! Just agree that I was the best fighter out of all of you." Drew pushed both men apart. That shifted the argument toward her.

"No way!" Doyle threw his hands in the air at his sister as Doc put his hands on his hips.

Zak rolled his eyes at his parents and uncle before he gave Komodo a noggie. The genetically-altered komodo dragon turned his eyes up at the boy before giving a smug smile. Observing the bickering adults, Fisk cocked his head before glancing over at Zon. The teal Ornithocheirous held a spunky smirk on her bill as she hissed at the gorilla-cat. Fisk barely had time to blink when playful Zon jumped on him, his ear in her mouth. Fisk yelped in surprise. Once again the Fiskerton Phantom and female Ornithocheirous tumbled to the floor. Zak and the rest of his family jumped to stop the little scrap. Life in the Saturday household goes on.

Halfway across the world, it was lunchtime across France; madmen being no exception. At Argost's dark and dank mansion, Munya made his way through the hallways carrying a trey of food and an unmarked envelope. The steely manservant came to a pair of large doors and entered the room without a knock. When the doors opened he saw piles of books at random portions of the room; usually, Argost was obsessive with the tidiness of his library. Munya resisted rolling his eye as looked around the huge bookshelves for his boss. The PILES of books was a mess that he was going to have to clean up.

The genetically-altered man spotted Argost near the top of the right bookshelf. The madman was perched on the shelves, taking book after book from their carefully organized spot. He merely read the titles and grunted with frustration as he tossed the book over his shoulder, to the floor below. Jumping across the room to a new section of the bookcase, Argost leapt high above Munya's head and landed on the opposite bookshelf. Munya walked deeper into the room, toward the tall arm-chair and table before loudly setting down the tray of food. The snap of the metal on the table jolted Argost out of his feverish book search, making him jump.

"Munya!" The pale-faced madman barked down to his large manservant. "Haven't you ever heard of SILENCE in a library?!"

Munya looked up at his boss, his almost lifeless eyes observing Argost's mood. On his white face he saw where the eleven-year-old Saturday boy socked him last night; he had a deep bruise marring his face with swelling and black and blue colors. If Munya was capable of using his frozen facial muscles, he probably would have smiled at the irony.

Argost growled and went back to savaging another shelf.

"Your silent yet amused expression alerts me to the fact that you are entertained by my little defeat last night!" The madman spat, chucking another book over his shoulder. "That I, V.V. Argost, could be so catastrophically WRONG! Perish the thought!"

His master was sarcastic. Munya was laughing on the dark abysmal insides of himself.

"Well you can take your smug little grimace and put it on my sandwich!" Argost growled taking book after book out of its shelf. Then he froze as one caught his eyes. "Because I will never concede defeat. In fact, as the saying goes, fire refines."

With an evil cackle, Argost let go of the bookshelf and fell backwards. Munya watched his boss fall without flinching. The pale madman righted and fell to his feet like a cat, an old book in his clutches. Standing, Argost moved over to his reading chair and his manservant.

"Though the secret stone of la bête du Gévaudan did not translate the Kur Stone, as I had once thought, I did catch a glimpse of new symbols." The madman paged through the book. "My mind, as twisted and unconventional as it is, is also very photographic."

As the pages leafed by his eyes, Argost saw one of the characters he saw on the new Kur Stone. Looking at the page, he saw an ancient South American icon resembling a giant sloth with backwards feet. A smile curled onto his face.

"Through the fire, I emerge refined and more brilliant than before." Argost smiled, his dark eyes sharpening with pure evil. "The Saturdays may have given me wounds that I am now licking, but they have given me more pieces to the puzzle. Kur is becoming more and more clear with every time I meet with the troublesome family. When I have the power of Kur, I must remember to thank them… with the fat end of my boot."

With that small but very evil speech done, Argost took a seat in his reading chair. Munya gave a silent sigh as he took the silver top off of his master's lunch. That caught the man's attention.

"What is this?" Argost barked as he snatched the unmarked envelope from his lunch tray. Opening the letter, his eyes widened. "Why that surly, ridiculously over-priced haggler!"

Argost smashed the message in his fist. Munya smirked. He knew that was Van Rook's bill. Let's just say there were enough zeroes on the Russian mercenary's fee to circle the earth a couple of times.

Fin

Well, that's it kids. I hope this was as fun to read as it was to write. I left this story off in light of a sequal. That will happen but in the future. CJzilla parts with these final words: R&R! LONG LIVE ROCK AND ROLL!