So it's Sprx day!

July 7th duh!

Today is they day when we all pay tribute and admire our favorite red monkey!

So get out all things red and pilot-based, it's time to fangirl!

-grungekitty

Sprx turned smoother than a hot knife could cut butter.

He was out "patrolling". Which, of course, meant he was out for a joyride.

He loved flying. He had the freedom to move in any direction he wanted and not even gravity could stop him. Nothing chained him anywhere. He could fly where he pleased. He didn't answer to anyone while in the sky.

Flying was basically the only thing Sprx did that he had full control over. The power primate pulled him around like a puppet on steel strings most of his life. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break its hold on him.

So Sprx ducked and dove around the buildings of Shuggazoom. He flew well passed the city boundaries. Technically he was supposed to stay within the city, but Sprx needed some open air. So he kept flying until the city became a speck on the horizon. He knew a nagging call was going to come through any second now, demanding he come back to the robot for a full lecture on why he needed to stay in Shuggazoom while on patrol. Sprx flipped his communications off before it could happen.

Sprx flew up to the edge of Shuggazoom's atmosphere. He turned his ship towards the planet's surface and started freefalling. He waited and waited for the very last second.

With barely a foot to spare, Sprx curve back up and narrowly dodged the ground. He twisted his ship in spirals through the air, letting out an accomplished shout as he did.

Then another ship cut Sprx off. Sprx quickly looped around the other ship's course. If he was any less of an experienced pilot, he would have surely crashed.

"LUNITIC!" Sprx yelled, shaking his fist.

The ship flew back into Sprx's vision. Sprx could now see more details of this strange ship.

It was a Proton TX-12, a model Sprx had been coveting for years. It was black with sleek white trim. Sprx's jaw dropped as he watched its wings silhouette against the sky. The ship was beautiful and in top condition. Then Sprx noticed the customs. Glimming silver knife tips sharply reflected light. They were probably to help the ship cut through dense atmospheres easier. Sprx felt a little drool as the ship tumbled through the air seamlessly. Cutting through the air like a well sharpened sword, an extension of its user.

This pilot had to be professional. Clearly he wasn't from Shuggazoom, not with a ship like that!

Sprx let a determined smirk cross his face as he decided to try and impress this strange new pilot.

He zoomed past the sleek black ship and sharply turned into a wild corkscrew. Sprx hollered as he felt the wings of his ship catch on the air, lifting him back up.

The other pilot swung his ship around Sprx's. He had the precision of a jeweler.

Sprx smiled wide. He had just found someone on his level to play with. Gibson was good and all, but not really competition.

The two ships danced around each other like they were synchronized swimmers. They performed an improvised duet in the sky. They spun off each other. They twisted around the terrain. They dodged death as they came within inches of crashes.

Dirt kicked up at the wind of their wings. Sprx felt more alive than he had in forever. He grinned as realized he was really having fun. The kind of pure fun he hadn't had since….he couldn't even remember when. There had to be a time like this when the stress of saving the universe wasn't suffocating him, but Sprx couldn't be bothered to think about that now. He was in the moment.

It had been a good 2 hours and Sprx knew he had to go back. Reluctantly, he turned towards Shuggazoom, ready to get his brain lectured out.

Sprx saw the other ship go shooting up. Sprx paid little mind though, figuring it was probably another trick. Then the flash of silver tipped wings caught his attention. The ship was coming straight at him.

Sprx didn't have time to react before he knew what the silver knife customs were really for. His wing had been sliced clean off by the other pilot's dive through it. Now he was spinning to the ground like a winged seed.

Sprx's mind snapped into gear and a million things went through. What was this pilot doing? Why did he do that? Sprx needed to call the team. His communications was switched off. Oh yeah, he was going to crash!

Sprx grunted and braced himself for impacted.

Sprx groaned as he peeled his eyes open.

"Monkeydoodle." Sprx swore in pain.

His leg was throbbing and it felt like his nerves were each being individually stabbed whenever he tried to move it. His tail was in pain, but Sprx couldn't get the thing to move. When he tried to sit up, Sprx screamed. He didn't know what was broken, but it hurt like no monkey's business.

Sprx laid back down and assessed the situation. He couldn't reach the switch to turn his communications back on, so he was a sitting duck until he was found. All he could do was hope he wasn't eaten by birds.

Then a form blocked the light. For a brief moment Sprx thought it was one of the monkey team. It was the right size for it.

Sadly he quickly realized that he was in some deep trouble when this masked stranger shocked Sprx back unconscious.

Sprx woke up to the worst smell imaginable.

"Good, you're awake." a voice of pure evil spoke.

Sprx's eyes shot open, recognizing the voice.

Sure enough Skeleton King was staring him right in the face, his retched breath teasing Sprx's gag reflex.

"You were better than I remembered." Another familiar voice said.

Sprx looked around, not able to place the voice. He laid eyes on the voice's owner.

"Trev?" Sprx asked, not sure his eyes were working.

"Yeah." Trev said with a slight smile.

Sprx was very confused. Trev was an old friend of his from flight academy. They weren't super close or anything, but it still didn't make sense for Trev to of teamed up with the likes of Skeleton King.

"What are you doing!?" Sprx spat with venom, finally forming a coherent sentence.

"Well This guy," Trev pointed to Skeleton King "got me that sweet Proton TX-12. All I had to do for it was get you to crash and bring you back here."

Sprx blinked his eyes in disbelief. No way Trev did all this for a stupid ship!

Trev sensed that Sprx saw through his excuse and sighed.

"And he said he'd let my sister go." He quietly added.

It made sense now. Trev had always hidden anything he wasn't in charge of. The only thing he hated more than being forced to do something, was people knowing he was being forced to do it. It was a bit of a fault of his and it always got him into trouble.

Sprx turned his hatred filled stare back to the Bone Head. Skeleton King grinned in return.

"I have a feeling you'll feel more cooperative after a few days of torment." Skeleton King hissed gleefully.

"I'm sorry." Trev said regretfully.

"Do what you have to the save your sis, I'll suffer through a bit of Skull-Face's wrath." Sprx confidently assured.

"You say that now…" Skeleton King knowingly laughed as Sprx was sucked into the wall, off to whatever Skeleton King had waiting.

Now that Sprx was out of sight, he'd admit that he was scared.

Sprx spit. He was going to regret that big time, but it was worth it to see Skeleton King's face.

It had been two days of non-stop torture. Sprx was running out of one-liners, and courage for that matter. He wondered what could be keeping the team. He knew it was stupid to turn his communications off. Sprx's broken leg throbbed. He had found out from Sakko that his leg, tail, and two ribs were broken in the crash. Crashed, captured, being tortured with broken bones, it was an absolute blast.

"I will break you." Skeleton King promised.

"Go ahead and try Bone-Bag!" Sprx yelled in pain.

Then the pain stopped suddenly. An evil smile grew on Skeleton King's face.

"Perhaps I'm going about this all wrong." Skeleton King said coyly.

"Forget it! I'm not going to sellout the team over a few cuts and bruises!" Sprx snapped.

"That is my point exactly." Skeleton King said ominously.

"Hey! What are you- No! NO! GET AWAY!" Sprx screamed in horror.

Sprx blinked his eyes and looked around.

He was in a ship. A really nice ship.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"You're hearts deepest desire." A voice said.

Sprx could see Shuggazoom well behind his ship.

"My what?" Sprx asked

"We both know you hate the responsibility of being a hero."

"I….um…." Sprx stuttered nervously.

Sprx had never admitted this, out loud or in his own mind, but he knew it was true. Sprx knew he wanted to run away from everything. Deep down, there was nothing he wanted more than to forget this whole "protector" thing and leave.

"You could leave." The voice coxed. "I could give you the means and you could run as far as you wish."

Sprx felt the adrenaline as his ship rocketed forward.

"Don't you want this? I could give this to you! I could give you your freedom!"

The word "freedom" rang through his head. He'd always felt caged and leashed. This power was offering to release him. Let him leave. Let him be his own maker.

This was all Sprx ever wanted. For a moment he felt so happy and free. This was his deepest desire after all. He could go anywhere, in any direction! Nothing chained him anywhere! Sprx could just floor it and fly. He could fly where he pleased. He didn't have to answer to anyone or anything. He felt like he could finally break his puppet strings and be his own monkey. This felt so right.

But at the same time, it felt so wrong.

As much as he hated his life, he had to stay. He had to protect innocents. It was his part in a grander destiny. If he ditched, then evil would win. He was a monkey team member, and that came first. It was his duty, and duty means doing the things your heart may well regret.

"No." Sprx said as his eyes shot open.

Sprx saw that he was back in Skeleton King's castle. Chained to the wall, Sprx felt what Skeleton King had used to make the illusion on his head.

Skeleton King was shocked. He was sure that was going to work. For a moment, it did, but Sprx broke his hold somehow.

"You could have been free, fool!" Skeleton King snapped.

"I'll be free when you're gone!" Sprx yelled.

It was true, he could never truly be free until he put an end to the Skeleton King. Sprx was now more determined than ever to do his part in the fight against evil.

Skeleton King screamed in frustration. Some mystic force took that as its cue to send the Hyper Force in.

"You're friend Trev stopped by and told us where to find you." Otto commented from the other side of a destroyed wall.

Gibson jumped over to Sprx and cut his bounds with his laser drills.

"I think we should discuss the importance of leaving your communications on again." He jokingly chastised.

"It worked out didn't it?" Sprx defended.

THERE!

I was having a very hard time coming up with the second half.

But I did!

Brownie points if you can name the line I got from a song, and the song I got it from, and the movie the song is from.

I was listening to that a bit ago. It worked well here.

Have a happy Sprx Day!

I'm gonna go eat watermelon in a red shirt and play the dogfight level on Sly 3.

-grungekitty