Hello, everyone! I know that this has been done before, but I wanted to try my hand at a slightly AU Sprx POV during the whole Fire of Hate fiasco. Thank you for reading, and I truly hope you enjoy it. :)
Spoilers for the Season Four Finale. You have been warned.
Thank you to beautybelle300256 for pointing out my mistake. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own SRMTHFG. If I did, there'd be a fifth season.
Everything was blurred—His mind was full of nothing but a driving sense of purpose. He had to get The Master's skull back from those filthy animals. How dare they even consider touching that which was most sacred?
Sprx, if he could be called such anymore, dove to one side with practiced ease. He grinned wildly, feeling adrenaline rush through his systems. The golden female was his partner… only, she didn't appear to be enjoying the battle nearly as much as he was. Her face was pinched, bubblegum-colored eyes worried.
"Stop fighting us, Sprx!" She cried as they circled each other, a veritable dance in midair. "I don't want to do this!"
Ha. An opening. The golden female's words only caused a slight ripple as they passed through his mind. Instead, Sprx focused on the awkward positioning of her body, and the free shot she was practically giving him.
"I want to do this!" He cried, bringing his magnets together, feeling the familiar thrill of magnetism flood his circuits. The red ball of energy grew as his target let out a low moan. She crossed her arms in front of her face and curled into a ball, decreasing the target area in an attempt to protect herself, waiting for the inevitable attack.
Suddenly, she was gone, and, looking about wildly, he spotted her a ways away, still curved in upon herself, wrapped protectively in the arms of the team's silver leader.
For some reason, the sight evoked within him a rush of hatred, agony, and despair. The rage roared through him, filling his ears with so much noise, he could barely hear the words that ripped from his lips. "Cowards! Come fight me!"
The two separated, facing him down. Sprx's eyes flicked from the pained look on the face of the golden female to the cold glare of his former leader.
Around them, raged the other members of the battle. The hairless monkey kid was locked in combat with Valeena the witch, completely enveloped in a monkey made of blinding green energy. Sprx could feel the force of the kid's Power Primate picking away at his soul—he brushed it away.
"Monkey Mind Scream!" Green light poured from the kid's mouth, throwing Valeena against the wall. The precious skull tumbled from her grasp into the tail of the blue-furred monkey. Manderin, Sprx noticed, was no where to be seen.
"Give up, Sprx." The voice belonged to the silver one. "It's over. All of your allies have fallen."
Curse Valeena, that worthless witch! Sprx ground his teeth impatiently. He was surrounded, his enemies poised for battle, weapons at hand. Well, all except for her. The golden female… perhaps this battle could still be won after all.
"I'll never give up!" He proclaimed, keeping one eye trained on her. Any moment… There. She moved towards him.
"Sprx…" Her hand was outstretched, reaching out to him. A pleading gesture of innocence. An opportunity. He pounced. She let out a pained cry as the magnetized energy surrounded her and pulled her into the air.
"Stop!" The hairless monkey kid stumbled forward, reaching for her.
Sprx was dizzy with the power of his newfound hold over the Monkey Team. Of course. As the only female on the team, it would make sense for her to hold a special place in each of the hearts of the other team members. He could have smacked himself for not seeing it before. The struggling golden female he held above him was his ticket to the skull… and the Master's revival.
"Don't move!" He commanded the Monkey Team. "Or I'll pull out her metal circuitry piece by piece." As a demonstration, he gave a little twist of his hands, and the energy increased.
"If you hurt her, I swear I'll…!" The green one's voice was choked. His hands transformed into spinning green saws… Saws Sprx knew could cut through steel as easily as butter.
"You'll do nothing!" He shouted. And they wouldn't. Not when her life hung in the balance. "Either you hand me that skull… or Nova's finished!"
Her name flew from his lips before he even had a chance to process his own words. He didn't realize he knew her name. Nova. Something, some little insistent voice, began prodding at the back of his mind. He shook his head slightly, but the buzzing sensation only grew stronger.
Now she was speaking. Nova. "Sprx!" Her voice was weak, desperate—the magnets were draining her power. "Why are you doing this? How could you forget who you are?" The alien voice in his mind clamored louder, begging to be heard. With an effort, he pushed it away.
"I know who I am!" He cried, as much to himself as to her. "And I know what I'm here to do."
Ah, there it was. The solution. It was Skeleton King's skull. Once The Master had been reborn, the voice would go away and Sprx would feel normal again. This had to end, before this feeling in his mind got any heavier. He twisted his magnets apart, just barely, and grinned at the agonized scream of his prisoner. Her head jerked back and her arms stretched to their limits, their metal segments breaking apart.
There. The blue monkey was coming forward. Sprx's eyes were drawn to the silver skull and he grinned, baring his teeth.
"Here." The monkey's accented voice held the delicious note of defeat. "Take it. Just let her go."
"No, Sprx!" Argh, curse that incessant female! Everytime she spoke, the nudging sensation in his mind got more uncomfortable, more difficult to ignore. He could barely stand it anymore. "Remember the good you did for the universe! We were supposed to stop Skeleton King from being reborn."
Sprx stared up at her. Stop Skeleton King? Good for the universe? What was she blathering on abo—Pictures started to flood his mind. Random, disjointed images with no seeming pattern: the swimming hole just outside of Shuggazoom City. The barren surface of Ranger 7. Shuggazoom City itself, covered with a thick layer of snow. The stars as they looked in Deep Space. And thousands and thousands of faces, each with looks of fear or relief gracing their features.
Sprx squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head as if he could shake the images and her words out of his mind. "No! No! I-I… I'm supposed to…"
The voice behind his eyes was screaming now, thrashing about in his soul, trying desperately to make itself heard. His eyes flew open and he stared at the Monkey Team—Each wore matching mixed expressions of grief and defiance. Their names flew through his mind—Antauri, Gibson, Otto, Chiro, Jinmay—and he felt his soul spasm with each passing memory.
Then she spoke again. "Fight it, Sprx! I love you too much to lose you!" Plink! A single tear fell, as if in slow motion, through the air and landed on his nose. It was the final straw. Everything the Fire of Hate had been repressing smashed together and thrust itself to the forefront of his mind and soul, allowing all that Sprx-77 had been before the Soul of Evil to control his body for this moment.
Horror filled him—horror at his actions towards the Team, horror at what he'd been about to do in order to raise the very thing he'd spent much of his life fighting against. But worst of all, horror that he'd done the one thing he'd sworn to himself that no matter what, he'd never ever do—He had caused Nova, his Nova, to cry.
The energy vanished and his arms dropped. Nova fell, as if in slow motion, landing heavily on the ground in front of him. Her broken circuitry made wince-worthy noises as all the air left her lungs in a single, pained gasp.
Dimly, Sprx heard Antauri's voice. "It's time, Monkey Team." Around him, each monkey crossed his arms and shone with the green fire. The Power Primate slammed into him with all its force and everything was driven from Sprx's mind but the blinding pain. He felt his own Power Primate—the source of the incessant, nagging voice—react to the others', and a scream tore from his throat. Grey tendrils of smoke whirled around his body, racing upwards and spiraling in the air before vanishing completely.
Sprx blinked, looking around him. The Monkeys were watching him warily. All his memories were blurred, and out of order. He vaguely remembered Skeleton King, and fighting… an intense feeling of guilt… and Nova.
"Wh-What happened?" He asked.
Chiro looked incredibly relieved. "Sprx! It's you!"
"I…I think so." His voice was hoarse. His memories were becoming sharper. The Soul of Evil…
"You're back!" Sprx looked down. Nova. His heart constricted as he took in her battered body, her cracked skull cap, her destroyed circuits. Pain filled his heart. Did… did he do this to her?
Sprx dropped to his knees, reaching helplessly for her. Nova's arm came up and she touched his face, caressing it.
Sprx drank in her touch—she was never going to speak to him after this. He knew that with the same certainty as he knew it was he who had so broken her. She had to hate him. And he didn't know if he could handle a world where Nova hated him. Suddenly, he realized she was speaking again.
"I knew you'd make it!" She was babbling now. "I've never been so happy!" She was smiling at him. Sprx wrapped his arms around her and helped her sit up. All he wanted to do at this moment was hold her close to him, and hear her tell him it was all going to be ok. All he wanted before she never spoke to him again.
As soon as she got close enough, however, Nova did something that would be the center of his dreams and fantasies for several nights to come—she pressed her lips to his cheek and kissed him hard. Warmth exploded in his soul, sweeping through his entire body. He was positive that, were he a character in a cartoon, at that moment his eyes would be heart-shaped.
Maybe it was possible that she didn't hate him. Maybe, just maybe, he hadn't completely destroyed his image in the eyes of the one person who mattered the most to him.
A sneering voice broke into his thoughts. "Oh, how pathetically sentimental." There, standing proudly with the skull in her hand, stood Valeena. Sprx's grip on Nova tightened. He didn't plan on being separated from her anytime soon.
Next to him, Chiro gasped. "Valeena!" It appeared that the kid, like him, had completely forgotten about the Skull Sorceress.
"Oh, yes, Chiro." She sneered. "The resurrection of the Skeleton King has begun!"
Everything began to happen at once—the Alchemist's Robe flew up around the skull while inside it, organs and sinews began to sprout. Any other time, Sprx would have cracked a joke about how disgusting this was. Now, however, he could only watch dully as the same thought pounded his skull over and over. This is all my fault.
"It's too late!" cried Otto, stumbling back towards Sprx and Nova. Sprx shook his head.
"This is all my fault." He muttered. He lowered Nova gently to the ground. "And I have to stop it!" His hands made the smooth transition into the shiny red magnets and he leaped forwards, ignoring Valeena's delighted shouts.
He landed on the lip of the coffin. He had raised his magnets, ready to destroy the creature writhing in the stone box, when a ghastly white hand suddenly grabbed him around the throat. Its grip was stronger than death, and it felt like ice on his fur. He was thrown backwards, hitting the ground hard.
The creature grabbed the lip of the coffin and pulled itself up, standing tall.
"No!" cried Chrio. "No! It-It can't be!"
There before them stood Skeleton King, wrapped in a black robe and clutching his staff. He surveyed the room with the hollows of his skull.
"I…live…again!" He shouted. Skeleton King raised his hand and, with a single flick of his fingers, enveloped Chiro, Jinmay, Antauri, Gibson, and Otto with pale pink light. The five let out varying screams of anguish and collapsed. Jinmay fell backwards, eyes dim, batteries completely drained of life.
Sprx pushed himself up as Valeena prostrated herself on the ground in front of her Master.
"Master…" She gasped. "It was I who resurrected you!" Her eyes shone. "It was I who saved you from the Void!"
"Indeed you did, Skull Sorceress." Skeleton King rasped. Disgust dripped from his words. "And now, I shall bestow my thanks." He reached slowly towards his eager servant. Sprx bit his lip and turned away. He could see what Valeena could not and knew with sure certainty what kind of a "reward" she would get. Sure enough, the familiar sound of crackling energy and terrified screams filled the chamber, echoing off of the walls.
When he turned back, all that remained of the Skull Sorceress was a black stain on the floor. Skeleton King stood over it, hand still outstretched. "I have returned to make this world my tomb." He declared. "Let my new dominion… rise!" Skeleton King raised his arms and splayed his fingers. The earth shook, and behind them, a gigantic and foreboding black castle rose steadily from the cracked rocks.
Sprx snatched the opportunity and darted as fast as he could back to where Nova lay. Rocks cracked and fell from the outer walls, tumbling headlong into his path. Sprx flung himself from side to side, and dropped to his knees next to her.
"Sprx…" whispered Nova.
"Shh." Sprx slid one arm carefully beneath her body and hoisted her up. Nova let out a small whimper, and Sprx felt his heart clench. "I've got you." He whispered, feeling his self-hatred grow. "I won't let you go."
Nova smiled slightly. "I know." She murmured. Her eyes were fluttering. He had to get her out of here. Now.
Sprx started his rocket pack and, with his arms around Nova's waist, began flying for the Super Robot. Behind him, he could dimly hear Gibson calling frantically to Chiro. He spun around, carefully trying not to jostle his precious cargo and watched as Antauri pulled Chiro and Jinmay from the crevice.
The team made their way into the Robot and flew out, just in time to see the Black Palace take its new and final place on the surface of the planet. Skeleton King had risen again.
Hours later, Sprx stood at the big screen console with Chiro and Antauri on his right and a newly-repaired Nova on his left. He hadn't left her side since they'd returned to the robot. He also hadn't been able to look her in the eye. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to again.
The four gazed solemnly at the image of the palace on the screen. "Skeleton King's reborn." Sprx muttered grimly. "And it's all my fault." Disgust with himself welled up inside him, worming its way towards his heart. Dizzying questions spun around his brain. Why had he let that stupid Fire control him? Was he really that weak? If he was that weak, then what good was he to the rest of his team? And, the most important question… could Nova ever forgive him for what he'd done to her?
It took the red monkey a moment to realize the Kid was talking to him. "Don't blame yourself, Sprx." Chiro said firmly. "We all failed to stop Skeleton King. But now we have to make up for it." He clenched his fists. "The real battle's about to begin. Nova…"
Sprx felt his heart leap at her name. He took a deep breath, and, for the first time since they'd returned to the Robot, he chanced a glance at her. She was standing at the computer keys, listening for Chiro's instructions. But it wasn't Chiro she was watching. As Sprx met her eyes, a wide smile grew on the golden monkey's face. Sprx felt a jolt of surprise. She… smiled at him? Sprx? The one who'd threatened to destroy her? He felt a heat rush through his body.
"I'm already sending out a signal." Nova said. Sprx frowned, confused, then realized she wasn't talking to him. However… as she typed, he noticed the smile lingering on her face. Behind him, Otto bounced in, chattering about anti-undead weapons, and Gibson announced Jinmay's return to good health.
"What's going on, Chiro?" Jinmay's voice was worried. "You look like you're preparing for war!"
Chiro's voice was grim. "The biggest war Shuggazoom has ever seen."
"Look!" Antauri pointed a slim silver finger at the screen. "Skeleton King's army is amassing."
As he watched the hundreds and hundreds of undead soldiers march in formation across the console screen, Sprx felt himself stand a little straighter. Yes, this was largely his fault. However, he wasn't evil. He was on the side of good. He would assist his team in their efforts to right his mistake, or die trying. Suddenly, Sprx could feel a cool and strange combination of fur and metal circuitry wrap itself around his tail. He glanced to his right to find Nova had moved beside him and wrapped her tail around his. She smiled reassuringly and he gave a small smile back.
The five monkeys, boy, and robot girl faced the screen and watched the undead army gather. This was it. It was time to mobilize.
Mm, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that ending. If you wouldn't mind terribly, please leave me a review. Thank you! :)
xoxo
Allie