I was inspired to write this after I read Crystal Persian's "Pure of Heart!", and after having an e-mail conversation with Crystal Persian herself. This is my first Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go fanfic, so I hope I didn't do too bad a job on it.

'Why...? Why is this happening...?' Antauri thought frantically as the purple glow engulfed him. His mind was racing, sensing that this strange purple glow is the source of the evil that had awakened the team's fears. And if he was correct...then that would only mean that he... 'No! No! I must fight! I must not give in!' Antauri screamed in his mind as his teeth clenched in pain as he was being ripped away from the wall. He felt himself being lifted high into the air. His eyes were squeezed shut in pain. He had heard only part of Mandarin's threat to Chiro, but that was enough for the silver monkey to know what the orange traitor had in mind. The team's mentor struggled to move, but the powerful magic was keeping him frozen in place. His arms and his legs..even his own tail..failed to respond to his own commands. Without even opening up his eyes to look at Mandarin, he hissed, "Mandarin! Release me!"

But instead of complying, the skeletal monkey just sneered, and held the jewel, the source of the purple energy, right where it was. Mandarin's face frowned evilly as he spoke, "Your greatest fear is realized, Antauri..."

'No! It can't be!' Antauri felt panic coursing through his circuitry, realizing that Chiro was right behind him. He could sense the boy did not have the Power Primate anymore, and this only made Antauri even more worried. He knew, with what little will power he had left..he had to warn Chiro...

"Your will..." Mandarin announced, "..is no longer your own!"

'I've got to fight it...' Antauri was now struggling to keep his body still long enough for Chiro and the others to get away from him. But now he felt himself battling against his own arms. They were starting to rise in an attack position, and Antauri fought with all his might to keep them down. But his efforts were in vain as he felt his fingers flex, and arch like a cat's would when it was about to attack. He could feel his now tired arms slowly begin to transform into Ghost Claws. 'No...No...' Antauri continued to fight with his own body as his will was being replaced with another: Mandarin's will. The silver monkey was finally exhausted, and relaxed for a split second...and that's all it took. His body suddenly swerved around, his arms now completely transformed, the claws bent into attack position.

"RUN CHIRO!" Antauri screamed at the now helpless child. Antauri's arms crossed over one another, and glowing sickles formed inside his palms... "GET AWAY FROM ME!" The silver monkey screamed before Chiro finally got up off the ground. He stood there, looking at Antauri for a few seconds with a frightened look, before he turned around to run away. But the boy's gaze never left Antauri's face. The silver monkey's body had taken a step forward to get a better aim at the helpless human. "Arrrrrr..." Antauri growled as he used what little strength he had left to try and stop his Ghost Claw from attacking Chiro. But the new will was overpowering, and before the mentor realized it, the Ghost Claw released the attack, and it was heading straight for Chiro.

"AAAHH!" Chiro ducked down, and covered his head as Otto's saw made contact with Antauri's sickle, and caused it to explode.

'CHIRO!' Antauri's fear for Chiro's life renewed his strength, and was able to pull his claws away. He could have sworn he heard the door open, but he had no time to pay much attention. He heard Chiro's footsteps as he ran away. He could hear Otto say that he'll keep him at bay. He heard Gibson's foolish line. But right now his thoughts were on trying to keep his body from losing control again. He could feel his body shaking as his physical energy was being spent. He didn't know how much longer he was going to last. His eyes were shut tightly and his teeth bared as the strain was starting to get to him. He was supposed to be a strong fighter, but no amount of strength seemed to be helping him escape the evil magic's grip...

He did not see Mandarin's face, but he knew the orange monkey was laughing inside. He knew he was laughing at his futile attempts to stop the inevitable, laughing at how Chiro's death, his blood, will be on HIS paws, not Mandarin's. "Hunt them down.." He heard Mandarin's voice say. "And DESTROY them, my mindless slave."

"Uhh...guhh..." Antauri's voice managed to say before his strength finally gave out. His body stiffened up, and the eyes widened. Then in a second, the white pupils faded completely, leaving behind solid blue orbs. Antauri's mind had not completely blacked out, and he could still see what was going on. But now he had no will power left. He was completely helpless as his robotic body took on a life of its own. With a glare on its face, the body stalked to where Chiro, Otto, and Gibson had run off to. The Ghost Claws were still activated, ready to rip apart their hapless victims.

The robot stopped in front of a wall. Antauri sighed in relief. Maybe his friends will stay out of view. Maybe the robot will not be able to find them... Then the robot's scopes activated, killing Antauri's mood. The scopes magnified, and quickly noticed the trio trying to climb up out of harm's way. But now it was too late. The silver monkey had spotted them. Now the hunt was on...

Antauri could feel his metallic spider-like legs protrude from his back and clung to the solid wall. This was definitely a time when Antauri was not proud of having that feature. That only meant he could reach the team faster. Antauri felt panic as he heard Chiro's little voice say, "Hurry! Here he comes!"

'I've got to regain control over myself...' But he was no longer in command. The only chance he has at preventing harm to his friends was a deactivation. But that would be impossible now. His friends would not be able to get close enough to him without his Ghost Claws ripping them apart. The robot landed on top of the path, its eyes set on the fleeing monkeys and human child. It did not deactivate the legs. Instead, it found that it could use them to catch its prey even quicker. If it had a mind, it would have laughed as it heard Otto cried out, "Can't out run him! C-Can't out run him!" It took this cue to start attacking with its sickles again. They hit their mark, but did little damage as Otto used his saw to shield himself.

Otto's saws bounced one of the sickles back at him. Antauri felt panic well up inside of him as the sickle struck against the skull plate of the silver monkey. "Gaarr!" The robot growled in anger as it started to move even faster. The mentor watched as Chiro and Gibson ran off ahead and stopped in front of a shaft.

"Gibson! Get the cover off!" He heard Chiro say.

"Now let's see if we..uh..." Gibson said nervously as his drills activated. "Yes..now what was I doing again?" Chiro didn't answer, and grabbed Gibson and pushed his drill into the shaft's cover.

Antauri was extremely thankful that Otto had decided to stay behind to hold him off. He could only hope the green monkey knew what he was doing. He may have been a powerful fighter, but he could see, just from the expression on his face, that he was not going to be able to hold him off for long. He continued to hold up his saws, and the sickles bounced away harmlessly. But each blow took more and more out of the mechanic, and he could feel his reflexes slowing down. 'No...don't give up, Otto!' Antauri tried to scream, but the words only remained in his head.

"Inside Gibson!" He heard Chiro say before the small boy kicked the blue monkey into the shaft. Otto quickly turned around made a run for it. He turned around to block one more attack from the silver robot before he jumped inside.

'They made it..!' Antauri thought happily. Even when the robot jumped inside, he knew it would not be able to track the trio so easily now. The silver robot floated slowly downward, the purple claws arched up as if ready to attack. Antauri felt his relief fade away when he heard another set of voices. 'No.. Sprx! Nova!' The silver robot's claws dug into the sides of the wide pipe, and it halted its falling. It pushed its ear against the side, and listened very closely to the voices.

"Come on, Nova! I heard Chiro down this way!" Sprx said urgently.

"No..I want to find a place to hide." Nova's fearful voice answered. "I don't like it in here..."

The silver monkey had changed targets. It lost interest in Chiro, Otto, and Gibson, and now set its sights on a closer, much easier prey: a cowardly Nova and a blind Sprx. It faced through the wall, and entered a new tunnel. 'I must warn them...Come on...' Antauri began to struggle with himself once more. If he tried hard enough, maybe..just maybe..he would be able to warn Sprx and Nova of the danger before it was too late. He saw Nova holding Sprx's hand as she was leading him down the tunnel. When she locked eyes onto him, her mouth pulled up into a relief smile. "Antauri..?" She asked hopefully.

'Why doesn't she run? Can't she tell something is wrong?' Antauri thought as he frantically tried to regain some control over his body, anything at all. Anything would do, even a single word. "Where is he?" Antauri heard Sprx say as he felt his arms cross each other again, just like he had when he almost hurt Chiro. Now full of terror, Antauri gave it one last try to say something, and as if by a miracle, he could feel his pupils light up again. Part of his will power had been restored, but only for a brief moment.

"Nova! Sprx! Run! I don't want to hurt you!" Antauri felt his voice say before the pupiles faded back again. 'I hope the message got through...'

This was answered when Nova's expression changed from being happy to being worried. She cringed away as she saw the robot's hands flexing to attack. Many questions and confusion plagued her mind for those few precious seconds. "..Antauri...?"

"What's going on?!" The red pilot demanded right before Antauri's will power faded away completely again, and the silver body thrust a sickle-shaped blade at them. Nova quickly pushed Sprx down as she dove out of the way. 'Good reflexes Nova.' Antauri thought to himself. 'I hope you can keep this up...' Nova looked up at him in fear. That look..he'd never forget that look on her face. The female screamed as she quickly grabbed Sprx and made a dash for it. The silver robot was not detered and simply began to slowly stalk the pair. It knew that it would catch up to them sooner or later. It need only to follow the sounds of metal clanking as they ran, and the screeching Sprx was producing as Nova was literally dragging him with her.

'This is not good...' Antauri thought. 'If those two just keep on running..they'll eventually reach a...'

"No!" Nova screeched. "We're trapped!"

'...dead end.' Antauri could see Nova and Sprx backed up in a corner. They had no where to run. The silver monkey was horror stricken as the evil magic controlling him prepared to attack again. And this time, there would be no escaping. The purple Ghost Claws raised above his head, the sizzling energy beginning to crackle around his weapons.

'Magno-Field Shield!" Sprx brought out his magnet in front of him and a large field of energy surrounded the pair. The static electricity would provide a safe haven from the silver's wrath, but not for very long. Already the claws began to strike at the shield, causing it to lose energy with each blow. It was only a matter of time before the shield would break down, and the next thing the claws would strike would be either Sprx or Nova. "It's not gonna hold him!" Sprx realized with a tinge of fear. Nova was hiding like a coward behind him, and watched as the brave red monkey tried to hold off Antauri. "You gotta deactivate his battery!" He said to Nova.

Nova rapidly shook her head. "No! I can't do it!"

Sprx looked in the direction of her voice. "You have to Nova!" Sprx said with a stern voice. If his face were visible, they would have a scolding glare on them. This was not the Nova he knew. The Nova he knew would not hesitate, and she would not let fear so easily stop her. He knew she still had the spirit inside of her, and if she only believed in herself, she could conquer her fear and stop Antauri. "I need you to be my eyes!" Nova looked up at him. "First, you gotta stun him!"

The silver monkey was now extremely frustrated, and had started to slam his claws against the shield with a stronger amount of force. It wanted to tear apart the two monkeys inside so badly. It couldn't wait to get its claws into them. "Gaaarrr!!" As its purple claws slammed into the shield, a large amount of energy dispersed, and the shield lost its power.

As the field faded away, Sprx shouted, "Now!" Then the field completely disappeared.

Mustering up what little courage she had left, the yellow female quickly lunged into the air. On cue, the silver monkey felt the excitement of the hunt reach a new level and it leaped into the air. It brought out its claws forward and reached out to slash at the female. "Sting Ring!" Nova slammed her fists together, creating a sonic boom. The silver monkey fought its way to try and get her, but it was quickly blown back, doing a back flip as it crashed into the hard metal floor of the tunnel. But it wasn't about to give up. It quickly jumped up, and ran back for more. Its teeth were bared and its purple claws were ready to grab the female that dare to attack it.

Nova, panicking, jumped back to Sprx's side. She grabbed his right arm, and quickly pulled it to face Antauri. "Magno-Ball Blazer!"

"AAAAHHH!" Antauri feld pain coursing through his circuitry as Sprx's electrical attack ravished his system. The magno-ball held the silver monkey in the air for several seconds as it ran its course. When it finally released the monkey, the silver robot monkey had short-circuited, and it fell almost lifelessly on the ground. Antauri could still feel the presence of the evil magic inside of him, but Sprx's Magno-Ball Blazer had not only weakened his body, it had also weakened the evil magic for a short time. 'Maybe they can do it... They have their chance.' The mentor thought hopefully as smoke rose from the nearly burnt out robot.

"There's not much time." Sprx said, gesturing to Nova. "Deactivate him. NOW!"

Screeching, Nova rushed to Antauri's side. She knelt down slowly and very hesitately placed her hands underneath the silver body, and flipped him onto his stomach. She winced a bit, expecting him to lash out soon, and cringed. She attempted to shake it off, and opened up Antauri's back to expose the large battery inside of him. Her fingers lingered above it, trembling. 'That's it Nova..Almost...' Antauri encouraged her in his mind. The fingers enclosed around his battery. 'That's it..' But Nova continued to hesitate. Sweat dribbled down her face as she tried to be brave enough to pull the job off.

Suddenly the magic started to regain some energy. The purple Ghost Claws lifted straight up, and tried to slash at Nova's face. "AAAAHHH!" The yellow monkey screeched as she backed away from Antauri, terror-stricken by the sudden sneak attack. 'OH NO YOU DON'T!' Antauri declared as he fought again with the evil magic. This time his will was stronger, and he was able to force his claw to fall limply on the ground. Nova didn't move from her spot as her face was drenched with sweat.

"You can do it Nova!" Sprx coached her. "You have to!"

Nova seemed to calm down a little from the shock, and came back over to him. But now she was even more cautious as her fingers now only lingered above the battery. She whimpered as she pushed herself closer and closer to the potentially dangerous robot. Her hands drew closer and closer..until finally her hands slammed against the battery, and deactivated it. Antauri smiled inwardly as his world faded to black. 'Thanks, Nova...'

Large blue eyes opened up, and Antauri found himself back inside his sleeping quarters. He drew in deep breaths, and realized he had only been dreaming again. He pushed the door to his tube open and stepped out. This was not the first time that he was forced to relive the nightmare of watching himself attack his close friends and not being able to stop himself. And sometimes the dreams were even exaggerated. He had not told his teammates, but in one dream, he had gotten much closer to Chiro, and was about to drive his claws into him before he jolted back up, and was back in reality.

Antauri decided that he needed a breather, and walked out of his room. He didn't need a clock to realize that it was still late at night and the others were still sleeping. Or at least he thought they were.. He began to hear voices coming from Chiro's room. "No..no..get away from me..."

Feeling worried about the boy, he stepped in front of the door, and politely knocked. "Chiro? Chiro is everything all right?"

"Go away!" Chiro cried.

"Chiro! What's wrong?!" Antauri opened up the door, and found Chiro tossing and turning in his bed. The boy's eyes were shut tightly, face covered in sweat. His body kept curling up into a ball, shivering with fright. Whimpers escaped his lips as he continued to talk in his sleep. "Chiro?" Antauri stood next to the bed, and looked down at the boy's contorted face. "Chiro. Wake up!" Antauri placed his hand on Chiro's shoulders and gently shook him. "Wake up, Chiro!"

Slowly, the Chosen One's blue eyes opened up. Vision was too blurry for him to see at first. But in seconds his vision came back into focus. The first thing he saw was Antauri's worried face. "Uhh..wha...?"

"You were having a nightmare." Antauri addressed, reaching his hand out to Chiro. "Are you all right?"

"NO! KEEP YOUR PAWS AWAY FROM ME!" Chiro screamed as he leaped backwards to avoid Antauri's touch. He tripped over his blanked, and fell straight off the bed. The blankets were wrapped tightly around him. He struggled to get himself free. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME!"

The silver monkey cautiously walked over to the boy. He looked at his paws, and gave a sigh, a pang of guilt clenching at him. The boy must have had some nightmare for him to have this kind of adversion towards him. He knew it was only temporary. The boy did just wake up, and his mind was not fully awake just yet. He knelt next to the boy and gently pulled the covers away from him. "It's all right Chiro.. It's me..." He said soothingly to the boy. "It was only a bad dream." He said to the panicky child, who stared at him with wide fearful eyes, mouth wide open as he drew in several breaths.

"A-Antauri...?" Chiro whispered.

"I'm here Chiro." Antauri said as his hand returned to the boy's shoulder. "It's me."

"Oh Antauri!" The boy cried, suddenly wrapping his arms around the silver monkey. Antauri was completely taken off guard by Chiro's behavior, and stared almost blankly as Chiro pulled him close, and began to cry into his shoulder. "It was terrible! Mand-Mandarin came back..and he took control over you..and you stood over me..and you...you..." His words faded into cries of fear, tears finally coming forth, something the boy almost never did.

"Chiro..." The team's mentor said in a soft voice as he wrapped his arms around the crying child. "It's okay...You're safe now..." He hugged the child tightly as the boy continued to sob. "Shhh..it's all right now...It's okay." Chiro pulled away from the hug and looked at his mentor, and saw fear in his eyes. The silver monkey was extremely worried about the boy, and his unusual behavior only intensified his concerns. Chiro lowered his head, feeling a bit ashamed.

"I'm..sorry." He said as he climbed back into bed.

"For what?" Antauri asked.

"...for worrying you." was Chiro's response as he laid back in bed and cuddled underneath the blankets. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

Antauri sat down on Chiro's bed. "Chiro, you aren't the only one who had nightmares. I woke up not from your screaming, but from my own reliving the nightmare I had to endure the day when Mandarin..well..." Antauri sighed. "I've had these dreams ever since the incident.."

This shocked Chiro. Antauri had told them not to keep secrets from the team. But here he was, confussing something that had been going on for days, weeks even. Why hadn't he said something earlier? "You-you do?" The silver monkey nodded. "Why hadn't you said anything before?"

Antauri closed his eyes. "We had more important things to worry about Chiro. The last thing I had wanted was put even more pressure on my team." Before Chiro could think up of an answer, Antauri slinked his arm around the boy and pulled him close. "So..are you feeling all right now, Chiro?"

"A-A little..." Chiro whispered. "I'm a bit afraid to go back to sleep though."

"Hmm." Antauri thought about this. Then his muzzle pulled back into a devious smile as an idea struck him. Chiro looked at him nervously and backed away a little. "I think I know what will cheer you up..." He grinned playfully, something that was rare for the silver monkey. His ghost claws activated, and flexed a little. He hunched himself to prepare to lunge at the boy.

"Antauri..what are you...?" Chiro asked as he backed up against the wall. "What are you doing..?"

He suddenly found himself pushed against the pillow of his bed, with Antauri right on top of him. The tips of the claws touched his skin, and moved ever so gently, just enough to create a tickling sensation. Chiro burst into laughter, and tried to push Antauri off of him. This only caused Antauri to slightly intensify his 'assault'. He was using one paw to hold Chiro in place and the other to tickle him. He hoped this would lighten up Chiro's mood. After all, laughter is considerd to be the best medicine. Chiro's laughter intensified as the boy found it harder and harder to breath. His face was turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

Realizing that he was going too far, Antauri quickly released the boy. Chiro's laughter slowly calmed down as he took in deep breaths. As he relaxed, Antauri placed a hand on his shoulder. "So..you feeling better now, Chiro?"

"Yes, Antauri. Thanks." Chiro replied as he and Antauri smiled at each other.

"You're welcome, Chiro." Antauri said as he walked towards the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Chiro said as he laid back down, and Antauri returned to his room to go to sleep.

Yeah, the tickling scene was inspired by Crystal Persian's "Happy Father's Day, Antauri" and "Pure of Heart!" stories. And I apologize for the sloppy ending. I wish it turned out better.