This is set in my own headcanon universe of SRMTHFG and there are a few things that I should explain to you.

The first one is that my headcanon universe has an OC as Chiro's younger twin and the second one is that Antauri never became the sliver monkey, I'm doing what an author by the name of AnOddFan did to his version of Antauri and you should really read 'Swapped Fates'. It hasn't been updated in five years but what is there is amazing to read, Antauri still has his silver monkey powers though.

The third one is that I swapped Antauri's fate with my OC's so she's the silver monkey instead and that the Power Primate is alive and that it can see into different timelines and that this switch of Fates stabilized the timelines to the point where they wouldn't destroy each other and that earned a reward, a special reward so she is part-organic but not as much as the other monkeys, they're half organic, Antauri is a quarter and she's an eight, but you didn't come here to read me ramble, I should get on with the story.

I wrote the letter in a way that would allow it to fit into canon (hopefully) and my headcanons and I hope that you like it.

I do not own SRMTHFG, I do not own the characters, I only own Kai, my ideas and headcanons and this story.

Chiro blinked at the folded piece of paper that he had found when he was clearing out some of the hidden cupboards that he had found in his room. The war was over, they had won and they were alive.

"What did you find Chi?" He feel a presence near him and he turned to stare at the large blue orbs that belonged to the sliver monkey that was helping him clear out his room.

"A piece of paper and there's something written on it."

"Chiro." The sliver monkey frowned at him. "You do remember who used to own this room, don't you and what happened the last time that you found something like this?"

"It's just a piece of paper Kai. It can't hurt anyone."

Kai sighed and she sat down, floating in mid-air. "Alright, you can see what it is but the moment that something goes wrong, I'm killing it with fire."

Chiro chuckled. He remembered that Kai's weapons did involve fire and a lot of it. "That's fine with me." He unfolded the paper and he stared at what it was. "It's a letter, from Mandarin, to the others."

"Do you want me to kill it with fire now or do you want to read it first?"

"Let's see what it says first..."

"To my brothers and my sister,

I'm sorry.

I know that by the time you read this, that you won't believe that I'm sorry and that you'll hate me but if you still believe in what we once had, if you still treasure those happy times then please, let me explain what happened and why I'm writing this letter.

I remember, the day our father built that portal. I knew that something was wrong with it and the day it was finished, I knew that it would destroy everything so I wanted to destroy it.

And that was a mistake. I should have left it alone, I shouldn't have touched it...

And even now, I feel that cold touch on my soul..."

"He was just like the Alchemist..." Chiro muttered.

"Taken over by the Dark Ones and used as a puppet." Kai frowned. "But his was a slow transformation, why? Why did it take so long for it to happen?"

"Properly to make sure that nobody found out about it because if somebody found out about it, they would have stopped it or alerted the Mystics that the Dark Ones were trying to break free from the Netherworld."

"But would they have stopped what happened to the Alchemist, could they have freed Mandarin from their control and would we have met the monkey team if that happened?"

"I don't know, I don't know..."

"What else does it say? I want to know Chiro and I know that you do as well."

"And ever since then, I've had blackouts and when I wake up, you're scared of me. I hear voices in my head and they laugh, rubbing it into my face that your fear of me is my fault.

And it is my fault.

These blackouts are happening a lot these days but it really hit me after what happened with Nova, I never wanted to hurt her! It's okay to be scared, isn't it but I'm not scared for me, I'm scared for my family. I don't know what I've become but I know what it wants.

Shuggazoom, the universe, my family.

And I'm running out of time, because one day, there will be a blackout that I won't wake up from, a fight that I will lose, a battle that will change everything, forever.

A war is coming and I already know which side I'll be on.

I can't change this, I've tried but it wasn't enough...

This is my goodbye, the last time that I'll be me, the Mandarin who loved and cared for everything and everyone, the hero, the leader, their big brother...

Otto, thank you, for always being by my side and believing in me. You stood by side, even when I hurt you, you came back to me and you never gave up hope. Keep believing like that little brother and everything will be okay in the end, I promise. Thank you for being a loyal friend, a loyal little brother and the best playmate that I ever had, I will miss the time that we spent together fixing the robot.

Sprx, where do I begin with you? You challenged me at every turn, even during my blackouts. You refused to let what I had become hurt those that you loved, especially Nova and Gibson and I deserved it, so the next time that a blackout happens, do me a favor and punch that thing in the face for me. I will miss the snark matches that we had and the playful arguments that happened after a stupid decision.

Nova, I'm sorry, it seems that you and Gibson where the ones that I hurt the most. I'm sorry, my little warrior. Be brave, learn how to control that tempter of yours and confess to Sprx! Because I am tired of the freaking sexual attraction that you share and that you're not doing anything about it! I will miss our spars Nova and I'm sorry, that incident in the training room, that was my fault so don't blame yourself for that. Be happy sister and live a long life, for me.

Gibson, like Nova, I'm sorry but I know that it won't be enough to repay you for what I did to you. You and your lab saved us so many times and I never thanked you for what you did and this is it. Thank you, Dr. Hal Gibson, for everything that you have done, for me and the Hyperforce. I will miss your lectures, they can be interesting and Gibson, keep an eye out for Sprx, you know how much trouble he can get himself, and Nova, into.

Antauri, brother. I owe you a lot, my life, my soul, the fur on my tail and that is a funny story, one that we swore to keep a secret, didn't we? You can tell that story now but brother, I owe you a teapot. You'll find my favourite one in our stash, it's yours now, take good care of it. I will miss everything that we did together, our training and the times that we spent with the Mystics.

Antauri, I want you to make me a promise.

I want you to be the next leader, until, you find the right one, the Chosen One.

I know about that prophecy and I know that you will find the Chosen One, so take good care of our brothers and our sister.

Antauri, I hope that one day, you will become a father. I know that you'll be a great one and the child, or children, if you want more than one, will be the luckiest child or children in the universe, to have you as their Dad and I just wish that, even for one hour, I can hear you brag about him or her or them, to see the pride in your eyes, the love that you have for them. I would never get tired of hearing about them, to hear about the niece or nephew or both of them, that would have been a part of my family.

That would have been mine to protect, to love, to care for..."

"Fur on his tail?" Kai asked Chiro. "Why do I have a feeling that I want to hear that story..."

"Me too." Chiro laughed. "I wonder, what was Mandarin like when he was in control, when the blackouts were over, when he was a member of the Hyperforce?"

"I don't know Chi and those memories are painful for them now but maybe, now that the war's over, do you think that we'll find out the answers to those questions?"

"I hope that we will Kai and he was right. Antauri is the best father that anyone could have."

"Yeah, we're lucky that he's our Dad and I can't help but feel sorry for Mandarin, he'll never get that wish, he'll..." Kai swallowed the lump in her throat. "He won't be able to see Nova confess to Sprx, to have snark matches with Sprx, to fix the robot with Otto, to listen to Gibson's lectures, to train with Dad again. He..."

"Won't know us." Chiro finished for her. "He'll never get to know us and we'll never get to know him as the leader, the elder brother he once was, our uncle..."

Chiro looked at the letter again. "Hey, it looks like there's some more to read..."

"And to the one who will take my place on the Hyperforce, take good care of them, be the leader that I never was, protect them and never let anyone, even me, take them from you. They are yours to protect, to love, to lead, they're your family now, not mine, they'll never be my family again and to them, I'll be a villain, a monster under the bed, a secret to be locked away and forgotten about.

And to the citzens of Shuggazoom, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you.

I'm sorry for all of the pain that I've caused you.

I'm sorry for everything that I destroyed.

I'm sorry for those that I hurt and those that I killed.

I should've been stronger.

I should've realized this sooner.

I should've done something to stop this.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but I can't turn back the clock and undo all of my mistakes.

Please, remember me, not as a villain but you can if it helps you to remember me but as a hero, a hero that fell in the line of duty, a hero that made mistakes, a hero who never gave up, a hero who never lost his hope.

I will keep fighting.

I will fight this, until the day it ends or the day that I die.

But if that day never comes, promise me, that you won't forget me!

Farewell,

Mandarin.

P.S. I leave everything of mine that has not been destroyed or corrupted to my brothers and my sister, this also includes the money in the bank that I deposited under the name of Vincent Ichirou."

Chiro was sobbing and Kai had to pry the letter out of his hands to protect it from his tears. She was crying tears of oil and she sniffed a few times before she spoke up.

"He loved them so much, even when he was forced to leave them."

Chiro wiped away his tears. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Kai nodded her head. "Are we gonna tell the others about this letter? You know that Dad would be upset with us for hiding this and so would everyone else..."

"Not right now." Chiro said. "The war's only been over for a month now, everyone's still pulling themselves together after what happened during the war. Let's wait for now. We'll tell them when the time is right."

Chiro stared at the small grave that had been taken over by weeds, he reached out and grabbed one, biting his lip when he felt the thorns of the weed slice into his bare hands, a set of sliver hands grabbed the weed too and they pulled, tearing the weed from the stone.

The duo continued like this for the rest of the day, clearing the stone and the surrounding earth of weeds, revealing a simple stone marker with their symbol and a name on it.

Mandarin.

Death is the final chapter of one story and the beginning of another.

Chiro picked up the flowers that they had brought earlier, Pink carnations, White tulips, Gladioli, Daffodils and he gave them to Kai who arranged them in the shape of their symbol before they placed the wreath on the small grave, together.

"Mandarin." Chiro said. "I will take good care of them, I'll be their leader, I'll protect them and I'll never let anyone take them from me. They are mine to protect, to love, to lead but they're your family, they still love you. They didn't forget you, they remember you, you may be a villain, a monster under the bed but they still love you and I promise, I'll never let anything hurt them.

"They still love you and even though the good memories still hurt them, they treasure them so, thank you Mandarin, it's because of you that I've the family that I have now and I won't change that, not even for everlasting peace in the universe."

"Because that's impossible." Kai said, speaking up. "Peace can not last forever but love can, a family can and in the end, the greatest heroes are those in the dark, those who are not known, those who are forgotten."

"But you won't be forgotten. You taught them so much, even when you fell and switched sides, you still loved them and no one will forget that."

Chiro's communicator and Kai's comm receptors went off, the twins looked at each other before they answered their teammates.

"Antauri!? What's going on?"

"Sprx!? Nova!? Are you guys okay?!"

"We have Formless in Sectors 10, 6 and 4!"

"And Sprx is down! We're in Sector 7!"

"We're on our way!"

They ended their calls before they looked at the grave.

"Well, we have to go now, the others need us!"

Chiro nodded his head before he went into his Hyper Form. "Goodbye Mandarin, we'll be back with fresh flowers next week."

"So, just another day in our lives, right big brother?"

"Yeah, are you ready to do this?"

Kai smiled. "Well, there is something that you have to say first Chiro."

He chuckled.

"HYPERFORCE GO!"

The twins took to the air, splitting up to head off to different sectors and watching them from the gravestone was an orange monkey with gentle ruby eyes who smiled before he disappeared.