And here I am again, writing another story for Super Robot Monkey Team. I can't help it, really. The monkeys are just really cute. Okay, I'll stop now.

Anyway, as you've noticed this is my first chapter story for this category (at least the first that I've posted). This is one of two really interesting ideas that I had after watching "I, Chiro", "The Savage Lands", and "A Ghost in the Machinder". I can only really do the first idea that I had, because the second idea just couldn't fit into what I'm planning to do. However, if everything goes well with this story, perhaps I'll be able to do the sequel to this and incorporate my second idea. But we will have to see.

Also, please note, it's rather difficult for me to write a scene where the entire team is together (it's really hard, actually), and therefore, I think I didn't do so well in those scenes. But whatever.

I don't own Super Robot Monkey Team, but I hope I do all right with this story anyway.

Rattle the Chains

Is…there someone…anyone…that can hear me?

Please…please…help me…please…!

It's so dark…and lonely…I feel so cold.

I'm trapped…wherever I am…

I don't…I don't want to be here.

Please…help me…And hurry.

Please…

Chiro gasped as his eyes suddenly snapped open.

All heads turned as the whir of the transport tubes sounded, and the monkey watched as their young leader stepped out and towards them, trying to stifle back a yawn.

"Well, look who finally decided to get up today," Sprx said with a small grin.

"Hey guys," Chiro replied, once again trying to stifle back another yawn. "What's up?"

"Well, other than you sleeping in late once again," Gibson replied, glancing at the teen briefly before looking back at the giant screen before them, "we're continuing our steady course back to Shuggazoom."

"At this rate, we should be home in a couple of days!" Otto exclaimed happily.

"I can't wait!" Nova said excitedly. "It'll be nice to finally get back."

Antauri stood silently, watching Chiro intently as the teen simply stared at the screen in front of them. "Is everything all right?" he finally asked softly.

Blinking out of his trance, the boy turned to look at his second-in-command. "Yeah, everything's fine," he answered. "Why?"

"I've sensed that there is something troubling you. And it has not been only today. For the past few nights, something has been constantly waking you from your sleep."

The boy frowned a little as he looked at the other. He had done his best to act as normal as he could these past few days despite his lack of sleep. But of course the other knew something was going on. He always knew. Unfortunately, Chiro wasn't sure exactly how to explain what was bothering him. The dreams that plagued him while he slept were always the same, and he never saw anything. Every night when he went to bed, all that passed over his eyes was darkness.

It was the words that he heard in his mind that he always remembered. The voice that softly called to him, pleading for his help…The voice that echoed against the dark walls of his visionless dream, bringing with it the pain and fear of being trapped and alone in a world of darkness. The voice that constantly repeated those same troubled words over and over, rattled the depths of his soul every night, and then left him shivering within that same lonely pain when he awoke in the morning while the words rang in his ears for a few minutes until he finally got out of bed.

The voice…that sounded like it needed him.

But trying to put it into words to tell the other was something he couldn't do at the moment. It was still all so confusing to him, and he just wanted to try and understand what it all meant first. So instead, Chiro simply put on a small grin. "It's nothing, Antauri."

"Are you sure, Chiro?"

Before he could answer again, the teen was distracted by something on the screen. Turning away from the silver monkey, he found himself looking at a deep emerald sphere, twinkling brightly amongst the black space and slowly growing as they continued to approach it.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the object on screen.

Turning to look as well, the Monkey Team blinked as their eyes came upon what they were being shown. Walking up to the consol, the chief of science typed a few commands. "Hmm…curious," he said. "It appears the planet we're approaching houses mostly vegetation…several different kinds, in fact, as well as certain types of primitive life like insects, birds, and fish…"

Can…anyone hear me?

Chiro's eyes widened slightly.

Please…please…help me…

'That voice…' he thought. 'It…can't be…'

Please…

'The voice…from my dream…?'

It's so dark…and lonely…

The boy placed a hand to his ear. 'It…it's so much closer than before…'

I feel so cold.

"Hey Chiro?" Nova said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "What's wrong?"

He glanced at the golden monkey before looking back at the growing planet. "Nothing," he replied softly.

I don't…I don't want to be here.

"Hey Otto? Do you think you can take us down there?"

They all turned to look at the boy. "Down there?" the green monkey asked, pointing to the planet.

"Yeah."

"What for?"

"I…I-I can't really explain it. It's like…I feel like there's someone…calling me…"

"Calling you?" Antauri asked.

"Yeah. It's really weird. This voice keeps asking me for help, in my dreams. But this is the first time I've heard it while I'm awake. I think it's coming from that planet."

"That's quite impossible," Gibson stated. "The readings show that there is no life possible of such a communication inhabiting that planet."

Chiro frowned deeply, continuing to stare at the approaching world.

Please…help me…

"There's someone down there asking for help," he insisted softly.

"Are ya sure kid?" Sprx asked.

And hurry…

"Yeah." The leader turned to the others. "We could at least check it out, right?"

The simians looked at each other. "It couldn't really hurt," Nova offered.

The second-in-command turned to the teen. "You are quite certain that the one asking for your help is on that planet?"

Please…

"Yeah. The voice that's calling me is definitely coming from there, I can feel it."

"Okay," Otto replied. "We better prepare for landing."

Can anyone hear me?

'Yeah,' Chiro thought. 'I hear ya. I just hope you're really there, because we're coming to find ya.'

Then…please hurry. I don't want to be here anymore.

As the Hyperforce stepped outside on the Robot's foot, their eyes all widened as they gazed at their surroundings of the strange world they had landed on.

The large hill that they had settled on was covered in rich emerald grass, the long strands swaying as a gentle wind blew overhead. The leaves extended down the hill into a nearby field, sharing the area with a colorful variety of different flowers that mingled and danced with each other under the warmth of the sun, their combined aroma lazily drifting into the air for them all to draw in. The field stretched on in the distance and was only stopped by the large crystal river that sparkled under the sun as the water flowed to its unknown destination. Across the stream was the rest of the flower-filled meadow before it faded into a dense domain of trees.

"Whoa…" Chiro breathed softly.

"This…" Nova whispered, trying to find the right words, "this is…"

"Incredible," Gibson finished.

"Yeah…" Sprx agreed. Then clearing his throat, he quickly added, "I mean, it's okay if you're into this kinda stuff."

"I've never seen any place like it," Otto marveled, his ebony orbs looking around excitedly.

Antauri looked on silently, gazing over the tranquil beauty that surrounded them under the cloudless sapphire sky. But even as he watched the wind sweep through the flora and stir the sun's reflection on the water, as he heard the stillness and felt the soothing calm, there was something that seemed to flow underneath it all. He was afraid that even a place such as this had its share of painful memories. He sensed that even this planet had deep scars that may or may not have healed yet.

He didn't have time to mention any of this to the others, however. At that moment, the green monkey jumped off the Robot's foot and landed in the middle of the hill, laughing loudly as he rolled all the way down to the bottom.

"Otto!" Nova called as she and the others jumped off as well. They, though, landed on their feet and half-ran, half-slid down the hill instead.

At the bottom, the mechanic stood up and looked at the grass that stood at half his height. "It's so soft!" he said, his hands running through the blades. "And tall…" Looking up, he noticed some movement by the side of the hill where the Robot stood. Leaning to his side, he tried to peek to the other side of the grassy mound and saw a prairie-type area. The grass on the other side was shorter than that which he stood in, and the range was absent of the sweet flowers that tickled his senses, but feeding in that part of land was a large flock of small ivory birds.

"Otto, what are you looking at?" Gibson asked as they reached his side.

Not answering, the green monkey grinned a little as he continued to watch the flock. His tail twitched slightly, and before he could stop himself (not that he really wanted to), he sped off on all fours, heading straight for the birds.

As he approached, however, the birds already seemed to know what he was up to. Before he was even close to one, the entire flock took to the air in complete unison. But when they did so, the light of the sun caught their wings, and as they turned to fly away, rainbow reflections bounced off their feathers and scattered colorful lights everywhere.

"Wow!" Chiro said, watching as the birds flew overhead.

And they watched as the flock flew, disappearing behind the tall trees of the forest across the river. But looking down, Gibson blinked and slowly picked up a stray feather that had fallen from the birds and landed in the grass. Examining it, he tilted it experimentally so that light would shine on it at an angle, producing the many array of colors.

"Fascinating!" the chief of science exclaimed. "The feathers of those creatures act just as an optic prism, bending white light to display the entire spectrum of colors!"

"This place is amazing!" the golden monkey said, looking up at the sky.

"I like it here!" Otto agreed, rejoining the others.

"Yeah, but there doesn't seem to be anyone living here," Sprx commented. "Isn't that why we landed here to begin with?"

The teen shook his head slightly. "There has to be someone here," he said softly. "I really…feel that there is."

Frowning slightly, the silver monkey closed his eyes to concentrate. "I do not sense anyone living here," he said. "However…"

"However?" Gibson repeated as they all watched him.

The second-in-command was silent for a moment. When his eyes opened again, he continued, "However, I sense a strange force hidden away somewhere."

"A strange force?" the hot shot pilot asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself, and the location is hard to determine as well. I do feel that it is close by, though."

"Do you think we should try to find it?" Otto asked.

"Maybe if we find whatever it is, we can find whoever Chiro is looking for," Nova said.

"Hmm…an interesting idea," Gibson said thoughtfully. "If we track down this strange source of power and we do find anyone, perhaps we'll be able to ascertain how and why they were hidden."

"Yeah, but how do we find them if we don't even know where to begin?" Sprx asked.

"We will simply have to look anywhere we can," Antauri answered.

Chiro nodded as he looked at the silver monkey. "Right. We'll cover more ground if we split up. But if anyone finds anything, be sure to call for the others. We'll meet back here in two hours."

The robotic simians all nodded.

"Okay. Let's go Monkey Team!"

Chiro sighed deeply as he slowly made his way through the thick forest, gazing up as some rays of light broke through the dense collection of leaves blocking the ground from seeing the sky. Even this woodsy area felt so calm and peaceful, just like the meadow where they had landed. The cool air that floated around him, the sturdy trees that promised to protect the nests of the many birds that sought their refuge, the crisp sound of the leaves that crunched under his feet. Everything just seemed so natural, like everything was just the way it was supposed to be. Even the shadows, broken in various places by patches of sunlight, seemed to be where they belonged.

Maybe it was just all the time he had spent trying to hunt down and defeat evil from destroying his home and the universe in general. But he just felt so relaxed in this place, even if he hadn't been there for very long. A place with no evil, no responsibilities or duties…if only there were some people around, it would be a perfect place.

But even without anyone nearby, it was a nice planet. It definitely seemed like a good place for a short rest after everything they had gone through. Then they'd be all refreshed and ready to protect Shuggazoom and its citizens from the forces of whatever could threaten it.

Yes, that was definitely something the teen was looking forward to going back to.

"Guess I better enjoy myself here while I can," he muttered to himself. "I wonder how long we can stay before we have to leave…I guess…it depends on whether we find anyone or not…"

It felt rather strange to him. Ever since they landed on this planet, the voice in his head had stopped trying to contact him. Yet the farther he walked in his current direction, the more he was sure that there was someone around that needed his help. He knew he was getting close. It was what he was getting close to that he didn't know.

And he had been walking for a long time. It was almost time to head back and check with the others. Had he really been walking that long?

But he was so close…He knew he was. Still, he had to walk quite a distance in order to get back, and two hours had almost passed already. He was going to be late getting back to the others.

Although…it wasn't like they were going to go anywhere without him, right?

The teen continued his mental debate as he continued his trek through the woods, trying to decide whether to start returning to the Super Robot or keep following his sense that he was so close to…something. But just as he finally came to the decision to go back to the Robot, the boy looked up and noticed a clearing ahead of him. The trees of the dense forest just stopped short of another grassy field that seemed to extend up the side of a mountain. Yet as Chiro looked on through the light shadows, passed the trees and through the sun, he saw that the green of the grass on the mountain's face was a large black disturbance.

"That kind of looks like…a hole," he muttered to himself. Blinking a little, he slowly jogged towards it, out from under the protective cover of the trees and into the grassy field that rested at the mount's base. Then he stopped to stand in front of the opening which he could see now was a cave.

And as he looked in the dark opening, the feeling that had been nagging him for so long grew within him, touching every piece of his mind. Whatever he had been looking for was in this cave.

He began to reach for his communicator. If this was where that 'strange force' was coming from, then he needed to let the others know where he was.

Please…help me…

Chiro's eyes widened. 'The voice again!' he thought.

Hurry…please. I don't want to be here anymore.

His hand thathovered over his communicator froze, trembling as he listened to the voice calling him. If he called the Monkey Team, they might make him wait before entering the cave. But the voice…it sounded so desperate and sad. Could he afford to waste that time?

Gritting his teeth, he let his hand drop to his side before inhaling deeply and slowly heading in the cavern.

"Hello?" he called as he carefully stepped into the dark dwellings. "Is anyone here?" A shiver ran through his spine. It felt so much different being inside the cave than outside among the plant life. Even though it was just as silent as it had been before, the quiet had a much heavier feel to it than the peacefulness outside, almost as if it was ready to fall and suffocate him like the rocky ceiling above. There was no calming sense here, only a cold emptiness. The shadows within the cave held none of the comforting warmth that the forest had, and every step he took carried him farther and farther away from the sunlit opening.

But the further he walked into the cave, the stronger the feeling called out to him, telling him that he was getting that much closer to finding whatever he was searching for.

The thick darkness poured everywhere around him, and Chiro blinked rapidly to adjust his eyes to the lack of light. Feeling around carefully, he placed his hand against the rough surface of the wall to guide him to wherever he needed to go.

"Hello?" he called again. "Anybody? Is anyone around?"

Please…hurry…

Chiro frowned slightly when he heard the voice. 'Where are you?' he asked the one in his mind.

You're almost there. Just please hurry.

'What is going on here? Why are you calling me? What do you want, and why are you in such a hurry?'

…You will get your answers soon. Just please…

The teen sighed. 'Yeah, I know, you want me to hurry.' He gasped softly as he nearly stumbled on an unseen stone. 'I don't even know who or what I'm looking for…!'

You will know when you finally come across it.

And quite suddenly, the presence was gone. Chiro froze in his tracks. The voice, no matter how many times he called, no longer answered, and the presence he once felt guiding him through the cavern was no longer there. Whatever – whoever – it was, he could no longer feel it within.

But that wasn't the reason he had stopped. The real reason for his sudden halt was because he could see that he was no longer in the narrow cave tunnel, but instead he was standing in a large black chamber that seemed to take up the entire interior of the mountain. Before him were wide grey stone steps that led up to an even larger stone altar.

He saw all this because, resting on the top of the altar was a small round object that was emitting a dull violet light.

"Was…this what I was supposed to find?" he wondered softly. But he received no answer.

Chiro hesitated, swallowing thickly before slowly making his way up the stairs. Part of him said to call the team and wait for them before doing anything rash, to consult with them about the situation. But he kept recalling the desperate tone in the voice that had urged him to hurry. The voice that pleaded for help…his help. He had no time to wait.

But just what was he supposed to do? That thought finally crossed his mind as he reached the top of the steps and slowly approached the altar. How was he supposed to help?

He finally stopped and stood in front of the stone table, staring at the strange orb that continued to pulse the perse glow. With every beat of the flashing light, he could hear the voice between his ears begging for his help.

"But what am I supposed to do?" he asked the orb. "How am I supposed to help? What do you want from me?"

An image suddenly passed through his mind. For a brief moment, he saw the day he had first discovered the Super Robot and ventured inside. When he had first pulled that lever that activated the Robot, awakened the monkeys, and filled him with the Power Primate.

He frowned when the memory faded. Then, hesitantly, he raised his hand up, slowly reaching for the sphere. He assumed that it was what the memory was supposed to mean, that he was supposed to touch this thing. And while the feeling in the back of his mind said no, he carefully grasped the orb under the palm of his hand.

The violet light from the orb flared brightly, and Chiro winced at the sudden brightness. Then he watched as the light spread up his arm and engulfed his whole body. For a fleeting moment, he remembered that day again when he was consumed by the Power Primate.

But wasn't light supposed to be warm? Then why did he feel so cold?

He gasped when the light around his body suddenly seemed to turn into flames. But the burn he felt wasn't from the heat of a normal fire. The purple flames seemed to freeze his entire soul with something…something that tore at everything within him.

The mountain cave resonated with Chiro's screams.

TBC

So there's chapter one for you. No, I didn't kill Chiro (but as the story continues, perhaps people will think it'd be better if I did). Anyway, I hope it was okay to you guys. Let me know in a review, and please don't flame if you can help it. Anyway, later then.