"You were naive, boy." A pair of dark eyes stared coldly at the motionless figure. Chiro was held up by his wrists, which were pinned against the wall. His hair was dripping with perspiration, and it clung to his skin. Skeleton King lifted the boy's chin, forcing Chiro's eyes to meet his own. A slight resistance made him firm his hold as he spoke, "A chosen one such as yourself should have never found the Silver Monkey."
"You think that by managing to resurrect Antauri, everything will be the same again, and you can go back leading the same pitiful life you have led until now." Skeleton king's eyes narrowed, his voice growing more menacing with each word. "Your actions these past few days will come back to bite you. Hard. I can assure you that. It is all a big mistake, boy. By making the silver monkey alive is just adding another pawn to my undead allies."
Chiro gritted his teeth, putting up a futile struggle. He pushed hard against the invisible force tightening around his hands, but to no avail. Each breath became more painful the harder he struggled. "The hyperforce will stop you, and the dark one worm! Antauri's sacrifice won't be in vain, and he will never join your side!"
The skeletal figure released his grip on Chiro's wrists. A smirk worked its way across his face as he signaled for dark energy to engulf his body. In front of Chiro now stood a monstrous beast that had just risen from the depths of hell. "Things won't ever be the way they were. Your fate, your team, and even Antauri."
Those were Skeleton King's last words before he vanished without a trace. Even without being physically present, the dark lord's evil still lingered, sending a chill down Chiro's spine. Even though there was not a sound except his own rigid breathing, Chiro could hear Skeleton King's mocking voice echoing continuously inside his head. The repetitions won't stop. He is not sure if they ever will.
Things won't ever be the same again.
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-Ch-i-ro! ...Chiro! Wake up!
The boy shot up from his bed. Images flashed through his head all at once, still fresh from his nightmarish encounter with Skeleton King. Chiro's tired eyes fought to focus and he lets out a shaky breath he doesn't know he has been holding. A dream. It was all just a dream.
"Are you alright?"
A sudden voice speaks out, and it rings a bell in his head as he tries to figure out who it is. Chiro groans and glances around his room before coming eye to eye with a levitating silver figure. The next thing he notices is the sunlight filtering into his room from a thin crack through the curtains.
Dawn. Dawn has come. Antauri has always been an early riser.
"G'morning Antauri." Chiro yawns, trying to keep his voice stable while attempting to recover from the trauma of the nightmare. "Is breakfast ready?"
The sterling monkey smiles softly and ruffles Chiro's hair in a comforting manner. Ever since being resurrected into a different body, their bond has grown stronger, and there is much more friendly, physical contact between the two. Perhaps his close encounter with death had changed them both in ways they could never imagine.
"Yes, everyone is waiting for you," Antauri replies, but the action falls short as his blue orbs are suddenly flooded with concern before a slight frown crosses his features. "Are you alright? I sense a deep distress coming from within you."
Same old Antauri, Chiro thinks to himself fondly, but just shinier now. "Yea, I'm good, just had a bad dream, that's all. There's no need to worry."
Unconvinced, but willing to give his pupil some space, Antauri slowly levitates away while Chiro gets off his bed to change into a fresh, new set of clothes. After the Savage Lands incident, Chiro had received a few scars on his arm, which have not yet fully healed. The medals of a hero, as he calls it. The boy has grown so rapidly in ways which Antauri could never have fathomed. The weak, submissive Chiro during the earlier years is no more. In his place is someone who takes pride in not only being a protector of Shuggazoom, but the universe as well. Antauri smiles for a moment at that thought.
The sterling monkey lingers for a while, his back facing the shirtless teen, unable to get rid off the nagging feeling that there is more to Chiro's discomfort than meets the eye. "If you need to talk, I'll be in my chambers."
"Huh?" Chiro quickly pulls a red vest over his head and looks towards the silver monkey's silhouette. "You're not joining us for breakfast? But you always join us for breakfast!"
He hears Antauri's light chuckle at the innocent question. "Although I would love to have breakfast with the team, I still need a little time to get used to this body. Please pardon my absence, Chiro."
It's already been the third time this week since he isolates himself from the rest of us.
"Alright." the boy reluctantly replies, walking past Antauri with a broad grin. "I'll come and look for you later then! See ya!"
Antauri watches as Chiro's fading figure disappears down the hallway. A brief flicker of sorrow crosses the monkey's mind as he levitates back to his room, coming face to face with a mirror. Chiro is feeling around for cracks—the child has always been sharper than he looks- and Antauri is no longer so confident that he won't find any. He puts himself together everyday, pieces coming to assemble themselves as he stares into the mirror: giving advice whenever needed, caring for his teammates, and putting on an air of reliable leadership expected from a second in command. But the pieces don't fit so perfectly anymore. Ever since his soul has been transferred into this new body, he feels so mechanical, so foreign, so different from the rest of his teammates. Although he still has his five senses and is still able to ingest foods and experience emotions, there is no more body heat. There is no warmth.
It is as if he can never escape from death's watch.
It also takes a great amount of effort to control the silver monkey's body. If Antauri isn't careful, he is deathly afraid that this vessel will become nothing more than a tool of destruction. The ultimate fighting machine, as the Alchemist had called it.
Trying to clear all doubts still remaining in his mind, Antauri takes in a deep breath and exhales slowly, levitating into a lotus position. He closes his eyes and feels the thump, thump, thump of his mechanical heart slowing down as he falls deeper into a trance. The thoughts in his mind are dissolving until they are forgotten. His tense limbs are slowly loosening up as each breath gets deeper , slower, by the second. There is no more trickling of the streams in his room; nor the sound of his own breathing. It is only before a matter of time before the inner primate intertwines with his soul and takes over completely.
Silence.
He makes sure to do this everyday in order to merge his soul as one with the body, to make the silver monkey easier to control. These sessions can range from fifteen minutes to a whole day, but most of the time the seconds slip away into hours and before he knows it, the sun has already dyed Shuggazoom's baby blue sky into an intense orange hue.
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On Sundays like this when the city is peaceful and there are no threats roaming around, the hyperforce likes to spend half of their time in the command centre when they aren't busy taking turns patrolling the city. It has been almost two days since they have gotten back on Shuggazoom, and it was an unanimous agreement that they spend one week on the city training Jinmay and taking a short break before pursuing the Dark One worm.
After all, the trauma of Antauri's temporary death and the wild chase for Chiro through the Savange Lands had tired everybody out. Not even Otto could conjure his usual spunk to lighten the atmosphere when they had returned back on Shuggazoom on the first day.
Sundays, however, seem to have a calming effect on the Hyperforce. Sprx and Nova are lying casually on the floor while playing video games at full volume as Otto hums a tune to himself, toying with a little trinket he had built fifteen minutes ago. Gibson is curled up against his seat, sipping a cup of thick black coffee and absorbed in a book. Chiro tries to get himself into Sprx and Nova's excitement, but he finds himself unable to concentrate as he watches Nova's avatar score another point.
I'm worried for Antauri.
He doesn't realize that he has spoken out loud before four other pair of eyes were locked onto him.
Gibson frowns a little."We all are, Chiro." Nobody speaks for a few moments. "I believe that we've all noticed his strange behavior ever since..."
The sentence is left unfinished, but everybody knows what Gibson meant. The catchy tune of the video game blasts in the background, long forgotten. Tension is thick in the air. Otto, unable to stand the awkwardness anymore, is the first to break the uncomfortable silence.
"You know," he suggests quietly, "maybe we need a day out or something? I mean, it's been a while since we've had fun!"
Sprx is the first to agree with the idea. The red primate jumps up from his position beside Nova and grins enthusiastically. "What he said, kid! We all need a break from the old bonebag and all the evil stuff, right? Why not spend a day at Shuggazoom mall, or the amusement park?
Chiro doesn't say anything. He is smiling, sitting up straight and tall and gazing at the command centre's screen thoughtfully as he let the suggestions sink in.
"Yea..." he rubs his chin while furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. "we could."
"Or," Nova pipes in, now standing up and turning towards the boy with an gentle expression on her features, "we could hold a surprise party at night or something, after the day is over. I mean, we all know Antauri hasn't been himself lately, with his new body and all."
Gibson closes his book and takes a sip of his coffee, beaming. "I think that is a splendid idea! After all, psychology studies indicate that a joyful event will no doubt aid Antauri in feeling back to normal again."
Chiro feels four pairs of expectant eyes staring at him filled with hope and anticipation. For Antauri, he thinks, and beckons everyone to come together in a circle.
"Alright Monkey Team, we need a plan."
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A golden glow spread across the sky as the sun chased the stars away. The whole landscape was bathed in the warmth of an emerging sun. Mondays on Shuggazoom city were always wonderful. Chiro stands on the neck of the robot, gazing eagerly outwards, trying to calm his nerves. Today is the day, he says to himself, please please please don't let anything go wrong.
Taking in a final, deep breath of fresh morning air, the boy sprints towards Antauri's room with a determined expression on his face.
Once he reaches his destination, he clears his throat, raises his hand and prepares to knock his mentor's door. Before he could, however, the metallic door swings open to reveal a shiny, silver figure several feet shorter than he is.
"Chiro?" Antauri raises an eyebrow, slightly amused. "It's rare to see you up so early in the morning."
The teen lets out a nervous laugh. "Well, the team and I were planning on a day out for today, so everyone's already up. C'mon, let's go to the kitchen!"
Before Antauri can reply, he feels himself being pulled towards where the kitchen is, completely clueless about what was going on. There is a faint whiff of lightly buttered pancakes and cinnamon roles in the air but what came after that was an even bigger surprise.
The morning meal is much richer than what Antauri usually makes for breakfast as they arrive at the kitchen. The table is covered in an array of dishes and and the smells are mouth watering. One end contains a piping hot bowl of pasta, tagliatelle smothered in white wine and cream, penned with spiced chicken and tomatoes among others. Near to these were plates of pancakes dripping with fresh maple syrup which had Strawberries and whipped cream splayed delicately on top. Antauri could see carefully sliced salads, golden roast potatoes and tall jugs of orange juice with small cinnamon roles placed beside them.
The silver monkey is at a loss for words as the plates of steaming hot food greet him. "...Impressive work, Gibson," he finally manages to utter out to the blue primate standing in front of the stove, "how long did it take for you to make this?"
The scientist smirks and unties a red apron from his waist. "Not too long, with the help of Nova and Otto, of course."
"Hey!" Sprx protests, shooting up from his seat at the table, "I helped too!"
"You sure did," Nova says, lightly punching him playfully on the shoulder, "You were a big help in helping us eat the food."
The red primate raises his hands in a defensive pose. "Taste testing! It's called taste testing! You never know what kind of lab chemicals brainstrain might accidentally pour in there!"
"Hehe," Otto laughs lightly, his eyes widened with curiousity, "that'd be cool! Let's try it next time, Gibson!"
Gibson crosses his arms and huffs. "Absolutely not. Ingestion of chemicals might prove to be fatal. And I'll have you know how hard it is to prepare these chemicals. Mixing some of these chemicals with sodium chloride in table salt might even cause a massive explosion, and not to mention -"
"Can we just eat already?!" Sprx groans, lying limply on the table. "My stomach is about to digest itself!"
As the Hyperforce settle themselves down onto the table, tucking into the food, Chiro catches a quick glance at Antauri. His mentor is having a casual conversation with Gibson while sipping a cup of cold juice. A plate of Caesar salad lightly decorated with bread crumbs is in front of Antauri, but the sterling monkey has yet to touch his food.
Diverting his attention to the table, Chiro stares in awe at the meal in front of him. There are several different kind of vegetables, but he doesn't pay attention to those and still other dishes contained shellfish and stew. In the end he couldn't make up his mind and opted to eat three platefuls together with Otto, one for pancake, one for pasta, and another for chicken.
It was a memorable meal and sometime later, pretty much full to bursting, Otto and Sprx started drifting to the sink to wash the plates. They were on cleaning duty today, but they started washing quickly, excited for what lies ahead for the rest of the day.
"Kid!" Sprx calls out after ten minutes as he places the last of the dishes in its rightful place above the sink, "the amusement park opens at 10am! Let's hurry up and leave!"
It takes a while for Antauri to digest this piece of information. He tilts his head slightly at Sprx's comment before turning to Chiro with a confused look. "Amusement park?"
The teen grins and holds up six golden tickets, brandishing a proud look. "Mmm hmm. Thanks to the box office down at Shuggazoom Central, we received six complementary VIP tickets to the newly opened Fantasy Kingdom theme park yesterday," he looks over to the green primate who is lying flat on the floor groaning about a stomachache from eating too much , "sometimes Otto would go to help out with the construction of the theme park earlier this year, so now that it's finally completed, the staff wanted to thank us for Otto's contributions and protecting the city. Today's opening, however, is meant for VIP holders only."
Antauri nods slowly in understanding at his pupil's explanation. "Alright..." he turns towards the blue monkey, "Gibson, can you check if the rides are safe? I would like you to run a test on each-"
"C'mon Antauri!" Nova sighs exasperatedly, albeit in a lighthearted manner, placing a metallic hand on her brother's silver shoulder, "Today is all about fun! There's no need to worry so much! After all, it is built mostly with Otto's help. You need to relax!"
At the touch of Nova's grip, Antauri visibly loosens up. He closes his eyes, contemplating for a moment, and then nods. Otto takes the action as an agreement with Nova's sentence and is the first to rush out of the kitchen.
"Woohoo! Let's go guys! And let's take Gibson's fist rocket!" The green monkey yells with excitement before disappearing up the blue tube despite Gibson's protests. "It's gonna be the best day ever!"
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Chiro struggles to contain his excitement after all these minutes of waiting in the fist rocket as Gibson skillfully maneuvers the ship towards Fantasy Kingdom . As the protector of Shuggazoom, he has gone through so much hardship that would make grown men cower in fear, but on the inside Chiro really is just like any other normal fourteen year old boy.
Not to mention, he has never been to a theme park before.
Gibson's fist rocket lands onto the parking space specially allocated for the Hyperforce by the park's staff. Sprx, Otto and Chiro are the first ones to jump out to look at the stunning view in front of them.
Fantasy Kingdom is even better than what Chiro had imagined it to be. Looking up at the looming monstrosities that are spinning and twisting the life out of its daring occupants, he was in awe. It was enormous, colorful, and even to some extent, intimidating, but these rides remind him of how much he had missed just having... fun. He looks around- there aren't many people inside the park except for the mascots and some families. Chiro grins in delight.
As he is mentally deciding which ride to go on first, a tall man approaches him, with the nametag of "Stewart" pinned on his red uniform.
"Greetings, Chiro, leader of the hyperforce." Stewart says, smiling, "The preparations are all ready, just as you asked for."
Chiro gives Stewart a thumbs up. "Thanks, Mr Stewart! We'll be there by 7 tonight."
The man nods and walks away, leaving the hyperforce who are all mesmerized by the design of the park. Even Antauri's eyes seemed to be wider that usual.
"Chiro!" Otto cries and points towards a dark, impending castle decorated with eerily realistic decors of ghouls and zombies. "I wanna go to the haunted house first! Pleaaaaase!"
The green primate's enthusiasm somehow seemed contagious and Chiro soon feels the same compelling urge to enter the ominous house in front of him.
"C'mon team!" He beckons to the rest of the monkeys who are still looking around, "let's go!"
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I:Haunted House:
Inside the entrance of the haunted house is a room brilliantly lit by hundreds of candles, their glow a shock to the nervous heroes as they entered. The walls were hung with long velvet curtains in a deep red and a man, dressed in a butler costume, stands in front of the door.
"Ah, if it isn't the hyperforce," he says in a low voice, expressionless. "You are only allowed to enter by pairs only, unfortunately. There are three different types rooms for you to choose from: The circus, the dollhouse, and the walkway of mirrors. Now which ones of you will go in first?"
Otto raises his hand and grabs Gibson by the arm, stepping forward. "We will! We will! Let's go into the circus one, Gibson!"
The blue scientist sighs at Otto's over enthusiasm but cannot hide the small smile that crosses his features ."Very well, Otto, if you insist."
The butler opens the rightmost door and ushers Gibson and Otto in. "We'll see you at the exit!" The mechanic calls out before the door is shut behind them.
"Well then, I suppose the two of you are next?" The man turns and points towards Antauri and Chiro. The silver monkey has been awfully quiet, but Chiro can't blame him. This haunted house is... really well made, to say the least.
"I guess...?" The teen replies, rubbing the back of his head nervously. His hands are starting to shake a little from the sinister atmosphere.
"Hmm," the butler says, assessing them carefully, "I suppose the mirror walkway will suit you best, yes?"
He opens the middle door in one smooth action. "In you go, hyperforce leaders. Just remember to follow the yellow brick path."
Chiro hesitantly walks in with Antauri following close behind. When the door closes with a loud bang, the pair realize that they are surrounded by an endless hall of mirrors. There are long lanes of rainbow colored tiles decorating the floor, each of the seven colors leading to different corners of the room. It feels like a maze made of mirrors, Chiro muses, as he starts to take a step forward down the yellow path. The teen finds himself staring into ten other reflections with each step he takes. These reflections are everywhere that meets the eye- up, left, right- and sometimes, with the many faces staring back at him, he temporarily forgets that he is real.
Chiro speaks to break the silence as they walk further into the maze. "Guess we picked the wrong room, huh, Antauri? It's gonna take forever to get out of here!"
The teen smiles and looks toward his silver companion, but his smile quickly turns into a small frown when he sees Antauri tugging at the hem of his shirt so lightly that he barely notices the force from the tugging. The powerful, wise monkey is gone and Chiro doesn't think he has seen Antauri look so small before. His mentor has his eyes screwed shut, refusing to look into the mirrors that were facing them, and Chiro sees expressions that has never, ever, shown itself on Antauri's face in the time that they had known each other.
Fear. Vulnerability.
A wave of concern crashes over him. "Antauri?" he asks with a gentle tone, bending down so he is at eye level with the other, "are you alright?"
Antauri lets go of Chiro's shirt and takes a moment to compose himself, inhaling deeply. "I'm... I'm alright," he breathes, but is unable to stop his voice from shaking, "I'm fine."
His voice is softer, and slightly higher, like a child in need of protection. Chiro brings the trembling silver primate into his arms, hoping to ease Antauri's fear, even by a little bit.
"I'm sorry," the teen whispers guiltily, "I didn't know you were scared of mirrors. We could go back, if you want to."
Antauri looks up at his leader and shakes his head. He swallows the small lump in his throat and tries to speak. His hands are still shivering, which makes Chiro tighten his hug.
"It's not the mirrors," his voice is just slightly above a whimper, "it is my...reflections."
Upon hearing the sentence, Chiro is completely taken by surprise. He stares at Antauri, confused. "The silver monkey? Why are you afraid of that?"
"It's... complicated," Antauri tries to explain, slowly, "sometimes I don't feel like I am here-this new body that I'm in- I mean. Every time I look at myself, I get reminded of something we're all afraid of... death. Chiro, although part of my power primate was within you during the period of time that I was...away..." His voice breaks. " I saw things which I wasn't supposed to see. The anguished and agonized souls of the deceased roaming around the void between the living and the afterlife... and I realized that I was one of them. It was horribly cold, all my limbs were numb, and I had never felt so... alone, to the point where I thought I couldn't go back to the team anymore... " At this point the silver primate pauses to catch his breath. His eyes are clouded with so much terror of the unseen that Chiro can't help but want to hug his mentor until he stops shaking. "I didn't know what would happen to you and the team... they were looking for you and for the first time I harbored doubts that power primate wouldn't be strong enough to guide you through the Savage Lands. After all, if something were to happen to you, I don't know how I would be able to live with myself. I was so... so scared. "
Chiro feels his heart break at the sight before him as he rubs small, comforting circles around the frightened monkey's back, whose eyes are flooded with sorrow and fear. This is the first time the silver primate has ever openly confessed to something that was troubling him. Usually Antauri would be the one giving out advice over a cup of hot tea or in the peace and quiet of his chambers. Chiro clears his throat and summons the strongest voice that he can muster.
"Look, Antauri," the teen speaks, giving Antauri a reassuring smile, "it all turned out fine in the end. You're back, I'm safe, and the monkey team is still complete. We all care for each other, and that's what I think makes our bonds so strong that they will continue to last even if we're far apart from one another. We all love you, Antauri, and that's what makes the team forever inseparable, right?"
The silver monkey looks up and sniffles quietly. "But Chiro, there were so many possibilities that could have put you and the team in danger, and I... I couldn't be there to protect you... "
His eyes leak tears. He dissolves in them.
Chiro can tell that all of Antauri's guards are down, and the silver monkey is pouring out tightly bottled up emotions from over the past few days. He puts a hand to his lips and cuts him off, still smiling. "Antauri, love is not about putting on a brave front in the face of adversity, and not letting the team know that you're struggling." Then he points towards the silver monkey's mechanical heart. "Love changes when you think that you're about to lose it. Even the whole time you were...gone... everyone was so worried for you, Antauri. Love still remains even though you're not physically present, and it will not disappear when the bad times come." He tightens his embrace, voice becoming softer. "So you don't have to feel alone or different anymore, okay?"
At this point Chiro realizes that Antauri's shaking has eased a bit, although not completely gone. The silver primate does not speak up, but the atmosphere is much, much lighter now. Chiro is continues rubbing small circles on Antauri's back as he tries to calm himself in the safe circle of Chiro's arms.
Comfortable Silence engulfs the two.
It takes a while for Antauri to pull himself together. "I'm sorry," he finally says, clearly embarrassed at his meltdown, not used to the open display of emotion, "thank you... for being here."
"That's what I ought to say to you, after all we've been through," Chiro replies, flashing Antauri a comforting smile, "you can hold my hand if you're still scared, though; it's gonna be a while before we get out of here."
The silver monkey chuckles lightly at the offer. "It's fine, but I think I can manage."
The pair walks through the maze together, twisting and turning to the point where they sometimes end up walking in circles, not knowing which direction to go. Other times, the yellow brick road would seem to disappear, and they would have to retrace their steps until they found the right color again. Chiro is about to scream in frustration for the uptenth time but he sees a green blinking "EXIT" sign in front of him. Cheering out loud, the teenager eagerly pushes the door open and runs out, inhaling a deep breath of fresh air with Antauri levitating behind.
The Four other monkeys who are already at the exit watched their leader curiously, but only Otto and Nova look fine. Gibson's fur is just about as green as Otto's as he clutches his stomach and struggles to stand. Sprx looks as white as a sheet. If his fur wasn't red, one could see that all the blood has already drained from his face.
"I... I think..." Sprx manages to utter out weakly, "that I've had enough scares for a lifetime."
Nova grins and laughs, raising her hands to imitate a ghoul. "Didn't know you were so afraid of dolls, Sprx, you were clinging on to me the whole time."
This piques Otto's interest. The green primate starts dancing and jumping around his siblings, singing, "Sprx was flirting with Nova~! Sprx was flirting wth Nova~"
Upon hearing this both Nova and Sprx blushed a crimson red. Sprx tries to protest weakly, but no sound escapes, still traumatized by his trip inside the dollhouse. A small vein pops up in Nova's head as she tries to quieten Otto, who was oblivious to the gold monkey's embarrassment-(turned-to-anger).
"Otto!" she scolds lightly and covers the green primate's mouth, "that's enough!"
Chiro raises an amused eyebrow at the bickering monkeys and grins, trying to settle everyone down. "Which ride should we go onto next?"
This captures Sprx's attention and the pilot recovers instantly, perking up. "Oh! The Formula Rossa, kid! That ride's awesome! There are at least three inverted loops and a drop of at least 49 floors high!"
Gibson turns even greener at the thought. "Great Caesar's ghost..." he mutters, "are all the attractions here aimed to make you vomit out the contents of your stomach?"
"Well, do you have a better idea, brainstrain?" Sprx shoots back. "Where do you wanna go, the planetarium?"
Gibson stands up straighter and smirks. "Why of course, but obviously someone like you who has no appreciation for astronomy cannot comprehend the beauty of the cosmos."
"Hey!" The red monkey rebuts, "I am a pilot! I used to see stars everyday back then during my training days!"
Tension increases between the two arguing simians as both glare daggers at each other, daring the other to make a move. Antauri sighs and steps between them.
"Sprx, Gibson," he speaks gently, "perhaps we should let Chiro decide where to go next."
Chiro smiles gratefully at the offer and contemplates for a moment. "I think we should just look around and see what's interesting," he rubs his chin thoughtfully, "then we'll end the day with a trip to the Ferris Wheel."
Otto leaps up and rushes to the teen's side. "Yea! I agree!" he grins, then runs toward the rest of the park, "what're you waiting for? Let's go guys!"
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It was a memorable day indeed. The second ride they went to was in Jurrassic World, a boat ride, which brings you through a jungle, back to the ancient Jurrassic Times in Shuggazoom. with realistic figures of moving plastic models of dinosaurs and birds. Nova gushes at the well made baby dinosaurs to Sprx while Gibson marvels at how historically accurate the ride is, striking a conversation with Antauri as both monkeys discuss about the disappearance of these fascinating creatures- with the silver monkey providing a more philosophical viewpoint, of course. Chiro is busy helping Otto put on an oversized human raincoat before their boat plunges down a manmade waterfall, drenching everyone except the green primate, who giggles in childish delight at the sight of his soaking wet teammates.
After that, the Hyperforce journeys around the park, going on thrilling roller coasters, flight stimulations (much to Sprx's delight) and 4D movies that has everyone laughing in their seats. Even Gibson is immensely impressed by Shuggazoom's state of the art technology (and Otto's craftsmanship, but he will never admit that in a million years). As they exit the 4D theatre, Chiro realizes that the sky is growing darker, and decides that it is time for the day's finale.
"Hey, guys," he says, beckoning to the colorful monkeys walking in front of him, "it's already seven. Let's go to the Ferris wheel."
"Ooooh, right," Sprx puts his hand up to his mouth and coughs a few times, "that."
Nova steps forward, grabbing her silver brother by the arm. "I'll bring Antauri to the Ferris Wheel while you guys go on ahead."
As the team separates with the rest of the crew walking towards the opposite direction, Antauri gives Nova a confused look, raising an eyebrow. "And what is this all about, if I may ask?"
The golden warrior laughs, albeit a bit nervously. She absolutely detests lying to her brothers, especially Antauri, but for the surprise to work out, it has to be done.
"Oh, Chiro and the rest are just going to pick some stuff up at the store," she explains as casually as she can, "we're just taking a shortcut to the wheel, that's all."
Antauri is not fully convinced, but lets the matter drop anyway. "I see."
The two walk together in silence, each enjoying the companionship of the other, for about fifteen minutes. Nova can hear the theme park getting quieter as groups of families file out, all dizzy from the constant adrenaline rushes during the day. The screams of excited children are getting more distant as the music from loudspeakers throughout the park turns off. She takes that as her cue and fastens her pace, dragging Antauri behind.
When they reach the front of the Ferris wheel, Nova puts her hands around Antauri's eyes. "No peeking," she says sternly, "and no using the Power Primate to look, either, okay?"
Antauri nods and follows his sister's instructions despite being confused, but offers no protests. He feels Nova guiding him onto the moving capsule. The capsule is air conditioned, he wonders, so the whole wheel must be rather huge. The wheel is moving too, although at a very slow speed- an hour per revolution-, he speculates.
"Okay," Nova takes in a deep breath and removes her hands slowly, "you can look now."
His eyes are flooded by soft yellow light as he opens them. The first thing he sees is a long table covered by a deep red velvet cloth with golden lace at the side. Under his feet is a white carpet, wide enough to cover the floor of the capsule, and on top of the table stands a huge chocolate fountain, flowing with brown, sweet, melted liquid. In front of each seat is a different colored containerized cotton candy- yellow, red, white, green, orange, blue- and plates of dark, leafy greens and white mushrooms are arranged neatly on the table, along with steamed fish and lightly fried potatoes dipped in gravy, and golden pineapple rice. But Antauri doesn't pay attention to the food. Rather, he finds himself unable to take his eyes off the white banner that is hanging on top of the capsule. On the banner are words written in cursive, neat, rainbow colored letters:
Welcome home
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II: Ferris Wheel: The Shuggazoom Flyer
It starts with cake.
The cake- a spectacle of bright pink and white- is effortlessly the most majestic (and largest) object in the room when Sprx wheels in a cart from the back of the capsule. It is dotted with several berries, chocolate sprinkles and blanketed with fresh cream, making it the biggest and fanciest dessert that Antauri has ever laid his eyes upon.
"And it's eggless too," the pilot proudly declares, "we ordered it last night."
For the second time of the day, Antauri finds himself at a loss for words. He tries to speak, but no sound comes out.
"Chiro, I think-," is all he can muster after finding his breath, but is quickly cut off by his leader.
"We came up with this idea yesterday," the teenager explains, taking note of the silver primate's surprised expression, "it is somehow to celebrate the reunion of the hyperforce, and of course... your coming back, Antauri."
"We all missed you," Nova pipes in next, softly,"and we all know that you're going through a hard time, especially after all you did for us, so it's a way of us showing our appreciation."
"And," Gibson adds genuinely, "our gratitude for having you back with us, Antauri."
In front of Antauri are five smiling faces, and a warmth flutters in the pit of his stomach.
He thinks that he wouldn't trade this moment for the world.
It is very calming, here with his teammates standing in front of him, their bonds strengthened and closer than ever. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been so... so...
Happy. Not happy at someone's expense, not happy because he had defeated villains, proving the silver monkey's strength; this is just a simple joy, radiating from the companionship that he will forever be grateful for.
Antauri isn't keeping track of time, but it seemed far too soon when Otto breaks the silence and points towards Shuggazoom's dark, distant, skyline.
"Look guys!" The green monkey cries, "the stars are out!"
Since most of the rides in the park have already shut down, the ground is almost pitch black, leaving little traces of light pollution, enough to see the stars. Moonlight is a strange thing. The pale grey light washed over Shuggazoom, but it did brighten up the small fog hanging around the ground whenever the weather got too humid. The vast, seemingly empty space, is filled with small diamond-like stars. Antauri has never noticed how lovely the night sky is when they're meters away from the city, away from all the noise, away from the fast paced society. The capsule is now at its peak- making the view even more fascinating.
The Hyperforce are all gazing upwards, mesmerized, and nobody speaks for a good fifteen minutes. Antauri chuckles and walks away from the window, smiling.
"Perhaps we should now eat, in case the food gets cold?"
This snaps Chiro back into his senses. "Yea, I'm starving," he groans, clutching his growling stomach, "I call dips on the potatoes!"
"Hey kid!" Sprx shouts and turns away from the window. "No fair, save some for me!"
As the two run towards the dining table, the rest of the team move towards their respective seats and settle themselves down. Otto tucks in hungrily to the green cotton candy first and finishes the whole thing under five minutes.
"Now I know why you like them so much, Antauri!" The green monkey shoots a thumbs up to his silver brother. "They're good!"
"Why, yes, Otto," the other replies, tearing off a small portion of his own, white colored piece, smiling, "you can have some of mine, if you like."
"It's okay, I'll pass, thanks for the offer though!" Otto skips happily towards the chocolate fountain. "Time for more dessert!"
"Otto, you're supposed to eat the main course first, lest you get a stomachache again." Gibson lightly reprimands in a less serious tone, but Antauri sees that the blue primate is smiling and just being the responsible older brother he is.
While the others are busy dining, Chiro approaches Antauri and brings him to a corner of the capsule. The teenager has his hands behind his back and glances around nervously to make sure that nobody is watching.
"Here," Chiro says, taking out a small silver photo frame, handing it to the silver monkey. The frame is simple; decorated with glitter glue and small clumsily cut out shapes. "I got the photo laminated and it's the least I can do for you, after what we've been through."
Antauri accepts the gift politely and sees that it is a picture of the monkey team celebrating Chiro's first ninth birthday on the robot. Gibson was helping Otto to clean up the cream stuck on the green primate's body, while Nova was arranging the contents on the table so the gifts doesn't clutter, with Sprx at her side. Everyone looks amazingly happy, and even Chiro himself is grinning broadly at the camera.
Antauri smiles at the memory.
"I assume this is hand made?" The silver monkey laughs lightly when he sees the blush on Chiro's face.
"I- I know I'm not very good at Arts and Crafts," he tries to defend himself weakly, "but nonetheless, its the best I can do."
Antauri levitates up to Chiro's eye level and ruffles his hair for a moment. "I will make sure to treasure it," his eyes soften, "thank you."
At this point Antauri realizes that there is something written on the back of the photo. Carefully, he slips the photo out and reads the words written neatly in black permanent marker, before placing the gift back to its original position and returning to the dining table.
The light fluffy feeling at his heart stays for the whole night.
17.8.2060
Today is the third month I've spent with the team now, and they celebrated my birthday today. I'm starting to see the monkeys not as comrades, but family, and that makes me really happy.
I hope we can continue to be like this forever!
Chiro, 9, 17.8.2060.
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A/N: This fic is finally done! I'm in the middle of studying for my O levels which is next week so pardon if it's rather poorly written, I write during my study breaks so...yea! Also, is anyone willing to explain to me how exactly the robot monkeys are made? From Ghost In the Machinder and during the time Otto was fixing Antauri's arm during the sun rider's return ep, they are clearly half metal, but in the I chiro episode Antauri had his fully organic body with him when he sacrificed himself, and its as if the robot monkeys are wearing armors or layers of metal (for their arms etc) over their organic parts, so I'm really confused, haha.
I tried to include as much dialogue for the other monkeys as I can because I didn't want to neglect the other characters too much, they have so much potential for development! Personally I ship GibOtto (they're so adorable!) and Ottova, but Spova is really sweet too after watching the last few episodes. Also although there might be not-so-obvious hints of GibOtto in the story, I just wanted to say that it's not meant to be romantic, more of bromance I guess?
I love the bond between Antauri and Chiro too because Antauri seems like the wise know-it-all (in a good way) monkey and Chiro doesn't have any parents, which is... really sad, so naturally Antauri will be the one to fill up the parental gap in his life, right? , i based the idea of the Ferris Wheel off Singapore Flyer. It's a tourist attraction here that allows families to use the capsules for wedding dinners etc as the Wheel rotates. You can get a full view of the city, really, it's that large.
I also wanted to portray some of the trouble Antauri faces after getting the new body. Even with the fancy silver monkey upgrades and all, its like waking up each morning and seeing a completely different person, somewhat like how a head transplant works? Hope it isn't too OOC! If it is, I'm really sorry.
Also, after this fic, I'll probably be rewriting my older stories so stay tuned!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Thanks for reading!