A/N: Yay, back to SRMTHFG fanfiction! WHICH IS REALLY GOOD, BECAUSE SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPER FORCE GO! IS BACK ON AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION!!!!! I watched my first episode in nearly two years, it was Pit of Doom! The catch is (yeah, there's a catch) SRMTHFG is only on the new 7 HD channel, which I am lucky enough to have available on the TV tuner. Man, I am SO glad we bought that new big screen high definition TV last year.

Little thing that's been bugging me for a while, probably induced by the Mandarin craze I've been going through as of late. Then it just had to spawn a series of fic-lings to follow... Mandarin has a few OOC thoughts, but hey, he's going evil, isn't he?

Disclaimer: Sadly, no. I don't own SRMTHFG. That applies for this whole story. Quit bringing that up, will ya? Stupid keyboard I'm compelled to type a disclaimer into...

Blurred Vision

It was late in the afternoon. People began to contemplate what they were going to have for dinner and perhaps, if time allowed, what movie to rent from the shop for the night. It was perfectly normal. The sky was changing colour with the oncoming sunset, and as was a regular sight, the six robot monkeys were making their patrols.

Mandarin was on a shift with Antauri, which always was a small pleasure. The flight, the view, the talk and discussion, sometimes even jokes. It was all good. It was a grand thing to sweep your eyes slowly across the cityscape for anything that looked odd, and yet at the same time take in every blissful picture and be able to enjoy it. While Otto and Sprx, sometimes even Nova, wished it would be over quickly, Mandarin took pleasure in his patrol.

The crime rate in Shuggazoom City had kept at a steady rate for the past few years. It always had been exceptionally low for a city with that high a population. So it was an odd surprise for Mandarin's senses, enhanced by robotics and the Power Primate, to pick up the small sound of tinkling glass or metal and something heavy dragging along concrete.

Antauri saw it before Mandarin could locate the sound. Without a word or signal between them, they dropped their altitude and landed lightly amidst the city buildings. What they saw was pretty simple, not at all exceedingly unusual. Across the street the two monkeys had landed on, two young men lifted a small television set out of a shop display window. Easy pickings.

Perhaps it is now that you should learn that though amazingly smaller than early televisions, the latest set on Shuggazoom was a good deal heavier. The modern family loves extra gadgets in whatever they buy, but that makes it a bit pricey. It required both of the men to carry it. Mandarin could understand why people would be tempted.

I must get one... At least someday. For a day off maybe... Mandarin mused. He looked on as the thieves took careful measures to eliminate traces of their identity, which included stealing the security camera footage in the shop but not at all damaging it. Go boys!

Of course, the black monkey didn't hesitate to catch them in their moment of vulnerability while both of the young men were occupied carrying the television set. Mandarin was about to follow Antauri's charge, but something in his occular orbs must have been malfunctioning, because the sharpness of Mandarin's vision suddenly and simply disappeared.

The orange monkey tripped in this unexpected loss of sight, groping around for a minute. He was puzzled and disoriented when his clear sight did not return when he rubbed his eyes. Colours had given way to an endless amount of grey, black and white dotting his scope of vision in random spaces. Mandarin looked up, but only vague shapes signified objects and people.

What was all this? The orange money clutched his head. Something was there in his mind, and he felt something in his chest, in his heart. What was going on?

Mandarin must have stayed on his knees for longer than a minute, because his friend walked to him and helped the orange monkey up, the latter wildly grabbing at air for support. "What are you doing, Mandarin? The thieves have been detained, the police are here. I think we can go home now, our shift is over. Just as well too. You should be getting back to the Super Robot, you look so very pale and sickly, Mandarin."

"Wha- What?" Mandarin blinked, then a few times more. "What happened?"

Antauri frowned and grabbed his friend's arm. "Are you feeling all right, Mandarin?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Mandarin said calmly. "Are you sure our shift is over? What time is it?" He turned his head upward to try and see the city clock. He could see a bit of colour again, perhaps it was just a lapse in his sight functions. But one thing he noticed, he could no longer distinguish between the sunlight and shadow...

"Are you certain you're okay?"

"Antauri, I feel perfectly fine." Mandarin insisted.

But he had to wonder, why could he not see?