AN: Yes, this has Chiro/Mandarin in it, because I, and the one who requested this, Readasaur, are both horrible human beings. If that sounds unappealing, well, the back button is right there. Now without further ado.

Two years. Chiro could hardly believe it, but that was how long it had been since they had finally brought Skeleton King down for what seemed to be good this time. There was always the risk that he would come back, but as Chiro stared out the robot to the stars that flew past them, he figured that he and the team had been doing a pretty good job at making sure that didn't happen again. For example, right now they were currently headed towards the remains of one of his many dungeons, hopefully to clear out any remaining formless or if they were unlucky, a cult that had congregated there.

"Chiro!" The teen turned around to see Sprx standing behind him smiling, "We're almost there kid, maybe ten minutes, it's time to get ready."

Chiro was glad to see that Sprx was alright today, because of his part in accidently bringing back the Skeleton King last time, for a while the robot monkey would often appear down when the team dealt in matters regarding their old nemesis. Ever since he had returned to them, they had all told him it wasn't his fault, and that it would have happened to any of them had they grabbed the flames, but for the longest time he blamed himself, but it seemed that he was finally letting it go.

"Sure thing Sprx."

As the six got into position, the robot flew down towards the small planet; the dungeons seemed all but deserted now; a small complex that would hold perhaps a few thousand prisoners, depending on how tightly packed. The planet in question was remote and unnamed, it had a breathable atmosphere, but barely any life to speak of, Gibson saying that it was still in it's early stages of development, and it would likely be millions of years before life emerged from the oceans, to which Sprx responded by saying that no one cared.

As they scanned the area, Chiro cursed to himself when they detected signs of life, if Gibson was right that meant there was definitely something going on down there.

It was only a matter of minutes before the robot set down, and the team exited to go survey the prisons remains, Chiro taking lead "Now remember team, be on the lookout for any signs of movement. Anything at all, there's no life here yet, so anything you see is probably hostile."

They split into three teams of two; Sprx and Otto, Nova and Antauri, and him and Gibson. They would each cover a third of the ruins and then meet back at the center.

The first several minutes of their exploration went smoothly, with the eerie silence of the young planet only broken by the occasional sound of waves from the distant sea. But then Gibson began to slow down, "Chiro… do you smell that?"

"Smell?" Chiro took a whiff of the air, there was nothi- wait, as he took a second whiff, he caught a hint of something foul. "What is that?"

"Something's rotting." Gibson muttered, "The wind seems to be coming from the northwest, we should head that direction."

The two flew in that direction, making sure to slow down in order to keep quiet. As they flew the scent grew stronger, and fouler. In only a minute, Chiro saw the first hint of inhabitance.

"Gibson, look." He whispered.

Near the remains of one of the cells, lied a carcass of what looked like a fish, largely picked clean.

"There's definitely someone here," Gibson mumbled, "there's no way it got here this far on its own." He took another sniff, "And this isn't where the smell is coming from, not most of it at least."

Chiro nodded, "Quiet as possible from here on, that means no packs."

The two set down upon the rocky surface, in between two blocks of cells. From what they could smell, the source was around the corner of the left cell block.

They quietly made their way around the corner, finding themselves faced with a decision; the cell block had two levels, and the smell seemed to be emanating from down one of them. Chiro quickly signaled to Gibson; he would take the upper level, and the blue monkey would take the lower. Gibson nodded in approval and the two split, Chrio taking the stone stairs while Gibson continued straight.

Chiro carefully made his way past each cell, making sure they were empty before continuing, as he made his way down the line, the smell became stronger. At around the tenth cell the stench had started to become acrid in his nose, nearly making him gag.

That said, when he finally did come to the smell's source, located in the 12th cell down, he didn't gag, but rather gasped. "Mandarin?!"

Lying down in the cell, in a nearly unrecognizable state, was the former leader and traitor of the monkey team. The orange monkey didn't respond, he seemed to be asleep, although as Chiro scanned him over, he considered the possibility that he was dead. He certainly seemed to be in horrid shape; he was extremely emancipated and nearly all of his fur was gone, even less than when they last saw him. Well, when they last saw the original at least, Chiro mused; this could also be a clone, as was the one accompanying Skeleton King in his last rise. It also became apparent that this was where the smell he and Gibson had noticed was coming from.

At that moment, Mandarin's body shifted, and Chiro reflexively tensed up and summoned a bolt at the ready.

"Uhg…" The orange monkey muttered as he seemed to slowly awaken, rolling over so that his face was now facing Chiro's direction. His eyes slowly opened, greeted with the sight of Chiro staring down at him, green bolt in hand.

"Don't move."

"Wha…?" Mandarin slowly rose to a sitting position, he then rubbed his eyes and looked at Chiro again.

There were several moments of silence before Mandarin spoke again, "Hahaha" he chuckled weakly, "So are you real, boy? Or are you just the form Death has chosen to collect me with? If so, how appropriate." He broke out in a hacking cough for a moment, before slowly trying to rise to his feet.

"I said don't move."

Mandarin looked up at the boy, "Right." He sat back down and stared at the bolt, "So what are you waiting for?"

Chiro was silent.

Mandarin just stared, "Either kill me, or leave. I have nothing else to offer you."

It was at this moment that Gibson appeared, "Chiro! I heard you yell, what have you foun-" His eyes fell on the orange monkey, "Mandarin?"

"Hello Gibson." He smirked, "So you are real then; Death wouldn't appear to me as him."

"What?" Gibson asked.

Manarin ignored the question, "I'll tell you the same as the boy, kill me or leave. We're just wasting our time otherwise."

Chiro stared at Mandarin for a moment before speaking to Gibson, "We're taking him in."

Gibson looked over at him, "Are you sure?"

Mandarin glared, "That wasn't one of the choices." He stood up slowly, obviously in very weak condition.

Gibson glared at Mandarin, "Don't bother fighting us Mandarin, you're obviously in no position."

Mandarin suddenly dashed towards the blue monkey, but Chiro quickly leaped and tackled him to the ground. He struggled as hard as he could, but in his condition he wasn't escaping from the 17 year olds grip. "Let go of me, boy!" He shrieked.

Chiro looked up at Gibson, "Call the rest of the team, we'll be taking him back to the robot."

Mandarin continued to struggle fruitlessly, "No! I rather die than go back, release me!"

"Where is he?!"

Chrio looked over to see that the final pair, Nova and Antauri, had finally arrived back to the robot. He and Gibson had been first, prisoner in tow, with Sprx and Otto arriving soon after they placed Mandarin in the holding cell.

"He's in the cell Nova, but-"

The yellow monkey ignored Chiro, and pushed past him into the holding room.

"Nova!" Antauri exclaimed, both him and Chrio quickly following her.

Otto, Sprx, and Gibson were already in the room; Gibson was using a nearby console for something while Sprx and Otto both stared at their new prisoner; Sprx with a look of rage, while Otto looked more sad than anything.

"You."

Mandarin, sitting with his arms bound, looked over to Nova, a rage in her eyes that far outmatched Sprx's, but did not speak.

"How dare you show your face again? What, can't bear knowing the fact that we might be having happy lives with you gone?" said Nova.

Mandarin mumbled something weakly.

"What?" Chiro asked.

He turned to stare at Chiro, "I said that if you had just killed me, this wouldn't be a problem!"

Antauri stepped between Nova and the cell, "Stop this, both of you. Mandarin, what were you doing here?"

Mandarin smiled sardonically, "Well, our good friend the Skeleton King decided that a clone would be far more useful than the original. For some reason, instead of killing me, he decided to banish me to one of his abandoned dungeons."

Otto looked his former teammate over, "How long have you been here? You look… really bad."

Mandarin glared, "Why do any of you care? Why did you capture me instead of killing me? Is it so you can prolong my suffering?! Was betraying me, throwing me in prison, and replacing me with a human child not enough?!"

Sprx stared him down, "You betrayed us you trash, and Chiro's a million times the leader you'll ever be."

All was silent for a few moments, before Gibson spoke up, "The scan is done."

"Huh?" Chiro asked.

"The scanner installed into the cell walls," Gibson explained, "it has multiple applications, and I set it to do a medical scan of Mandarin." He looked over at Mandarin, and sighed, "He wasn't lying when he said he's been here a long time, he's showing signs of severe malnutrition, were he any worse I'd suggest hooking him up to an IV. It's a wonder you didn't snap him in half when you tackled him Chiro." He turned back to the screen, "There's… something else, too."

"What is it?" Antauri asked as he approached the screen.

"I don't know to be honest, it looks like there's some sort of mass inside of him." He pointed to a dark blob on the display, "But it's only partially showing up on the scanner, it's very strange."

Antauri stared for a moment, "Could it be…?" He stared back at Mandarin, currently sitting silently on the cell floor. "Chiro, follow me for a moment, if I am right, this is very important."

He made his way to the cell entrance, Chiro following.

"What the Shuggazoom are you doing Antauri?!" Sprx exclaimed.

"Sprx, relax. Mandarin is in no position to harm us; and if my assumption is correct, this will help all of us." He opened the cell door.

"What, do you finally plan on killing me?" Mandarin chuckled, "I never thought you had it in you Antauri."

Antauri sighed before turning to Chiro, "I need you to get on the opposite side of Mandarin and follow my lead Chiro."

"Um… you mind telling me what your plan is first?" Chiro asked.

Antauri smiled sadly, "I rather not, if I'm wrong I'll be getting everyone's hope up for nothing."

With that, Antauri stepped in front of the bound primate, Chiro behind, both pairs of hands aglow with power, "This will hurt slightly Mandarin, but I bear no ill will."

Mandarin stared at the robotic hands, "Liar."

With that, Antauri placed his hands upon Mandarin's chest, Chiro followed his lead and placed his on the back. "Now Chiro, I want you to pulse your power every two seconds, at the same time as mine, okay."

Chiro nodded.

Mandarin began to squirm, "Wha-what are you doing?"

After a few pulses his struggle intensified, "Stop this! Now!"

In a matter of seconds he began to yell in pain; Chiro began to back off, but the Antauri looked at him, "We cannot stop Chiro! Not now, this is almost done!"

Mandarin struggled as hard as his weak body was able, immense pain racking his entire body "STOP THIS!"

It was at this point that Chiro saw something horrifying, a dark ooze seemed to be bubbling out of Mandarin's pores. "What?!"

Antauri nodded, "I was right! Just a few more moments Chiro."

The pace at which the ooze came out increased, to the point where, for a few seconds, it was as if Mandarin was a spring of the ichor. It quickly began to subside after that, and in a minute, it had stopped completely, and it was all lying in a puddle on the floor.

Antauri and Chiro both stepped back from Mandarin, who collapsed to the ground.

"What the hell was that?!" Sprx exclaimed, he and the others still watching from outside the cell.

Chiro bent down and lifted Mandarin out of the puddle; the liquid wasn't like water, it didn't cling to him at all. "Antauri, what is this stuff?"

Antauri grimaced at the puddle, "I believe it is the corruption of the Dark Ones. With their influence in the universe weakened for now, it settled within Mandarin's body."

"Wait, what?!" Chiro quickly backed away from the ooze.

"So, Mandarin was corrupted by the Dark Ones?" Nova asked.

Antauri nodded, "It would appear so."

Otto stared at his former teammate's unconscious form, "For how long?"

Sprx shook his head, "Wait, if you're saying this excuses all the horrible things he did-"

"No one is saying that Sprx, but… it would explain why he changed."

Chiro looked down at the sleeping monkey in his arms, noting that his face seemed far less harsh then before, now just looking very tired.

"Now what?" Gibson asked.

Chiro placed Mandarin on the cell's cot, "Well, we have to head back to Shuggazoom. We'll just have to see what happens with Mandarin. Hopefully Antauri's right"

About six hours later, Chiro returned to the cell, alone this time, but carrying a bowl of soup and some water.

He was surprised to see that Mandarin was now awake, sitting upon the cot "Oh, um, hey there."

Mandarin looked at him sadly, "Hello."

Chiro smiled, "Brought you some food, you look like you need it after all." He slid the tray through a slot, into the cell. "Careful, it's still hot." He stepped back and waited for Mandarin to come have the food.

Instead he remained on the cot, staring; "Why are you being kind to me, boy?"

Chiro was confused, "What?"

"I've hurt you and the team… so much. Tried to kill you, for what? Defending your friends? I can barely understand you not killing me earlier, much less your kindness."

Mandarin looked so tired, Chiro mused, he looked completely different from all the times he had fought them, that hate in his eyes seemed to be gone. He shook his head, "But, that wasn't you, you were corrupted by the dark ones. I don't blame the Alchemist for what the Skeleton King has done."

Mandarin smiled sadly, "It's not the same though, the Alchemist, he had to be completely transformed to serve the Dark Ones whims, and even he realized what was happening, and tried to stop it. But I… I gave in, let these ugly desires take me over. I hurt my team so badly."

Chiro sat down in front of the cell, "But you regret all of it; and you seem so different from this afternoon. That has to mean something doesn't it?"

"Although I am thankful for what you and Antauri did earlier, that doesn't change that I committed those acts. I mean, I tried to crown myself as the ruler of Shuggazoom via a coup, because of my arrogance!"

"To be fair, the mayor of the city is kind of an idiot."

Mandarin smiled, "I don't deserve this kindness, especially from you."

Chiro smirked, "Well too bad, you're just gonna have to sit there and take it. Now eat your soup, before it starts to get cold."

Over the next few days, Chiro brought Mandarin each meal he could, and every time, they would have a conversation; often lasting for over an hour. It had gotten to the point where Chiro had suggested releasing Mandarin from the cell and give him limited roam of the ship, although this was refused.

Sprx, Nova, and Gibson voiced concern, saying that Chiro shouldn't spend time around the former leader, saying he could corrupt the 17 year old. Antauri dismissed the concerns, saying that the influence was likely the other way around.

It was now the sixth day, and Chiro was bringing Mandarin his lunch. Today they were stepping up to solid foods, Gibson saying that the orange monkey's body should be able to handle it now. Chiro had also brought something else along with him, as a surprise.

"So what is it today?"

Chiro smiled as he entered the cell, he no longer bothered with the slot, "It's pasta with tomato sauce."

Mandarin smiled, "It will be nice to eat a solid food that isn't fish."

Chiro sat the plate down and the two began to converse, Chiro tried to keep the conversation light, but after a few minutes Mandarin asked a serious question.

"So how's Nova doing?" He asked with a frown.

Chiro tried to avoid the question, "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb boy, you know that everyone has come to visit me at least once, except her." He poked at his plate, "Not that I don't understand why, mind you."

Chiro sighed, "Not this again."

"I nearly murdered her boy! Froze her half to death, to 'test her'." He buried his face in his hands, "I was such a coward."

"What do you mean coward?"

Mandarin smiled sadly, "Perhaps the team has told you, perhaps not, but… early on, before the corruption set in, Nova had a crush on me; at least it seemed that way."

"What does that have to do with it?" Chiro asked.

"I didn't return her feelings, and I think part of me wanted to get rid of such an awkward situation." He snorted, "Every day you come here to try and convince me I'm good, and every day I have something like this to reveal."

Chiro was silent for a moment, "Wait, just yesterday you said you had a crush on Nova."

"No I didn't. I said I that in the early days of the team, I had a crush on a team member, I never said it was Nova."

"Wait what?"

Mandarin smirked, "Otto. I had a crush on Otto, Chiro. I prefer men."

Chiro blushed, "Oh… um. Okay."

"How about you? You were dating that robot girl, right? I never bothered to learn her name, sorry."

"Oh…" Chiro looked aside, uncomfortable, "Jinmay and I broke up about a year ago, we spent so much time apart, what with me and the team, constantly out trying to fight the Dark Ones, it got to be too much."

"I see, I'm sorry to hear that, you deserve to be with someone who makes you happy."

"Thanks." Chiro blushed. "Oh! I just remembered." Chiro pulled something out from behind his back, Mandarin gasped when he saw it.

"My… helmet?" The orange headpiece was still as he had left it all those years ago.

Chiro smiled, "Yeah, I thought… ya know, since you're basically back to your old self, you should have it." He handed it to Mandarin.

Mandarin looked down at the helmet and smiled, "Heh, the last time I saw this it was on you." He looked back at Chiro, "Do you know what my first thought upon seeing you was Chiro?"

Chiro shrugged, "Um… to murder me? I mean I was kind of in your spot."

Mandarin shook his head, "No, it was, 'How adorable.'"

"What?!" Chiro spluttered.

He grinned, "It's true, I thought you looked cute wearing my things. Oh there was that part of me that was mad, sure, but I didn't start to hate you until after you turned down my offer to join me."

"Really?"

"Yes, honest. In fact, even after that I considered making you my pet after defeating the team." He looked down at the helmet sadly, "It was probably the closest I came to affection in that state."

Chiro was blushing very heavily now, "Um… Mandarin? Are you telling me that you… like me?"

Mandarin seemed to consider this for a moment, "Yes, yes I am. You possess many admirable qualities and… at the end of the day you saved me Chiro." He sighed, "I understand that you don't feel the same way, and I can-"

He was silenced when Chiro quickly pressed their lips together, for only a moment,

"Oh." said Mandarin.

Chiro smiled bashfully, "Um… yeah."

Mandarin smirked and kissed him back, harder this time, going as far as to run his tongue along Chiro's lips.

The two separated for a moment and looked at each other, "So um… this is weird."

"Why? You're of legal age on Shuggazoom Chiro, and it's not like this would be the strangest thing in your life."

Chiro pondered this, "No, but it would definitely be up there." He sighed, "You know practically no one's going to approve of this, right?"

Mandarin shrugged, "The team has been through worse. And the stupid humans of Shuggazoom will have to deal with it."

"Hey, I'm a 'stupid human'."

Mandarin hugged Chiro and nuzzled his neck, "Yes, and a very cute one at that."