A/N: Wow, talk about late to the bandwagon. Heck, is there even a bandwagon in existence anymore? Didn't somebody blow the bandwagon up? Anyways...

This is my version of The Great Shuggazoom War, or whatever you want to call it. It's nothing like how I think the war would actually go, but it's a concept I am incredibly excited to finally write. I feel like I could say a lot more about it after thinking about it so long, but I don't want to cheapen it; best to let the story speak for itself.

Please review! I'm not going to leave a "I won't update until I get _ reviews" or any junk like that, but reviews honestly do motivate me to get the next chapter done more quickly in the sea of things I want to spend my time on. Even simple reviews, like mentioning one thing you liked or how the chapter made you feel, are a HUGE help to me and I read every single one of them.

Thank you, and enjoy the fic! :D

Crumble

Part 1: The War is Lost

Prologue

SP1 didn't thank the driver.

Yes, she had allowed SP1 to board the trailer, but there had been extra space to begin with. Yes, she'd taken SP1 all the way from the other side of the galaxy to reach his destination, but the driver had been coming to this moon anyway. Yes, she'd stopped at traveler's stations providing food and various amenities, but she needed to break periodically for her own sustenance and refueling her vessel. (If anything, she delayed him with her need for entertainment. SP1 was still wondering where those "lugs" they'd seen originated from...)

Fate was the only thing to thank for SP1's arrival, and the driver was simply a neutral cog in SP1's future that needed to turn.

"Thank you."

SP1's black eyes looked up at the driver's side window. The driver lowered the shaded glass to reveal her wrinkled smile. "Excuse me?"

"Thanks for the company! I haven't had a traveling companion since my kid left home. It's been fun!" The driver raised her hand as a casual goodbye before driving off to unload the rest of her cargo. SP1 copied the gesture and the sound that he'd just started to tolerate, the sound of a space truck's horn in his ears, kept the exchange between them active half a second longer.

For company? Thanking somebody who didn't feed you, clothe you, or otherwise protect your endgame in the name of fleeting company?

"Humans are weird."

He pushed musing aside; right now, he had to focus on getting down to the planet from its moon. To the planet so many leads had pointed him towards. To the planet he wanted to be the right one, he needed to be the right one or he was going to start screaming something about a wild goose chase.

To the planet that, even from Ranger 7, looked downright nasty from the scars of a war that continued to rage.

To Shuggazoom.

For one last time, they were all together in the Super Robot, sitting in their circle of egg chairs with a chaotic Shuggazoom playing backdrop on the monitor. The once pastel pink view had been marred with the remains of destroyed formless minions, and the smell of their carnage had long since seeped through the Robot's armor.

"Alright," Chiro said, "does everybody know their jobs?"

Gibson nodded. "Affirmative. But Chiro, are you sure you want to move so close to Skeleton King's castle without the Super Robot?"

Chiro shrugged. "I'll have Antauri with me, and we're just going to see how bad it is. If things get too crazy, we'll just turn back."

"You? Turn back?" Sprx smirked at Chiro. "Right, kid. Keep an eye on him, Antauri."

Antauri nodded, and Otto laughed as Chiro tried to defend himself.

"Just... be careful. Alright?"

Chiro blinked at Nova's worried plea, but soon after gave her a thumbs up and his trademark grin. "Of course!"

The young man stood before his team, surveying each one of them. The memories of fighting, traveling, and living along side them superseded his earlier lonely days as a latchkey kid a thousand times over. They'd always believed in him. Always pushed him. Always let him make the final decision, and they would have followed him even if it had meant their downfall.

" Now..."

And finally, he could raise his hand to them with some confidence in his authority.

"Monkeys, mobilize!"