Tauria: Umm... I had some troubles with the flashback in this one, so I might go back and fix it later.
Chiro: -shakes head-
Tauria: ^.^
Chiro: Tauria does not own SRMT.
QUICK NOTE: I TOTALLY forgot to mention this, and I feel bad now! But I had this idea for a long time, but then after reading Thanks for the Memories by the Emerald Shapeshifter, I was finally able to write it down. Go read it, it's great! However, I mean no harm, and I do not mean to follow her plotline at all. There. Now that that is mentioned... Onto the story!
Divided We Fall
Tauria
Flashback
Chiro sat down on the floor, legs crossed and his eyes closed. He focused on calming his energies, and on the Power Primate. Allowing the calming force to soothe him, he searched for any clues for the next part of the journey. He was nervous about facing the team again, and he was nervous about what Skeleton King would do.
Yes, Skeleton King was still around. The Monkey Team had failed what they had set out to do.
All because of that thing.
To this day, Chiro did not know what it was. He had done everything he could to find out what it was, and yet no source he had checked yielded any information.
The worst thing about that day was what it had done to the team and he. Any bonds he shared with them had been cut. They had been erased. Chiro felt so... empty. So alone. He had never felt like this in all of his seventeen years. It was a horrible, horrible feeling, and the teenage boy despised it with all of his might.
However, reconnecting with Jinmay was one of the best decisions he had made so far. He felt less alone and more like he finally had someone he could talk to. The only thing was... How could he tell her that all the ties had been cut? How could he tell her that their Power Primate bond had been destroyed? How could he tell her it was possible they would never regain it? How could he tell her that Skeleton King still lived?
How could he tell her that he had failed the one thing he had promised he would do?
How could he tell her - how could he disappoint her - by telling her that Skeleton King was still around, and it was possible the team would not be together to face him? That it was possible they would not be able to protect the Universe as they had once did?
He had dreaded this moment since he had begun to head back towards Shuggazoom. He had dreaded this moment more then anything ever before.
Unfortunately, he had no time to dwell on these thoughts of uncertainty... these thoughts of doubt... these thoughts of failure. He needed to be in tip-top shape; physically, mentally, and emotionally. He needed to be ready to face the Skeleton King. He needed to be ready to face the Monkey Team.
He needed to be ready for everything that was going to come his way, because he didn't think that Skeleton King was the only villain anymore.
In fact, he knew that Skeleton King wasn't the only villain. During his travels strange beings had noticed him. Strange people in cloaked figures had spoken with him. It had been so weird, and yet... he had payed it no mind. He was busy training, in case they ever faced that beast again. He was busy taking advice from the Power Primate.
And now it was time to take advice from the Power Primate once more.
Looking deep within himself, the seventeen year old boy looked for the answer to his question.
Is it time yet? he asked in his mind, over and over again. Every time he had asked that in the past (well, since he got on Shuggazoom) he had received the answer, Not yet. Be patient.
But today, the Power Primate seemed unyielding. It seemed like it did not know the answer itself yet.
Finally, after what felt like hours, he was given a response.
Within the next few days, you will be given a sign. Heed it, Chiro. For it will tell you which monkey you must seek out... and where to find him or her.
Alright.
The boy stood, exiting meditation. He opened the door, only to come face to face with Jinmay, holding some tea in her hands. She blushed.
"I thought you might want something to drink," she smiled a bit.
He grinned. "Thanks. We need to talk." he gently took the tea from her hands.
She nodded. "I agree... I hope we're going to be talking about the same thing," she said cryptically.
Chiro took that to mean there was something she needed to speak with him about. He had sensed she needed to speak with him over the last few days, but he had waited for her to make the move herself, particularly since he sensed she felt nervous about speaking with him about it.
He had come to better understand why Antauri did not outright speak to him about things when he knew Chiro wanted to talk with him. He understood better a lot of things about how Antauri had been when they had all been a team.
They sat across from one another at the table in the kitchen. Jinmay drummed her fingers nervously against the side of her cup, as she took a relaxing gulp of the warm tea.
Chiro took a deep breath. "Okay... I did some prodding within the Power Primate to see if it was time to connect with the team or not. It isn't. I was told this: 'Within the next few days, you will be given a sign. Heed it, Chiro. For it will tell you which monkey you must seek out... and where to find him or her.' I don't really know what this means, but we should be on lookout for the next few days."
Jinmay nodded. "There are some things I'd like to talk to you about," the girl said nervously.
The Chosen One nodded, trying for all the world to look as inviting as possible. He didn't want her to be nervous. He knew that she needed to know whatever it was she was going to ask - and he had a sneaking feeling he knew what it was going to be.
"What exactly happened that day?" she asked the boy, green eyes locking with his blue ones.
Chiro swallowed. 'Damn...'
"I'll tell you," he assured her. "Just let me think of where to begin."
o.o.o
Flashback
"Come on Team. Just one more sector, and we'll have him!" the boy said, with much more enthusiasm and confidence then he felt.
Sprx grit his teeth. "Kid, I don't know if the Robot can handle this kind of speed for too long!"
"It's engines weren't designed too... I haven't upgraded that part yet!" Otto added, trying to be helpful.
"I don't care right now... We have to stop the Skeleton King... So please, please Super Robot. Hold up a little longer."
They were speeding through a Hyper Space tunnel, and had been doing so at a much, much faster pace then normal. It was bone jarring. They were all holding on for dear life, and it was only thanks to Otto and Gibson's skills that the Robot hadn't fallen apart already.
They were almost caught up with the Citadel. They were almost caught up with the Skeleton King.
It was almost time for them to defeat Skeleton King.
OoO
They had caught up with Skeleton King, the Robot miraculously still intact. The team was a little worse for wear thanks to the ride, but they were alright. It was time for the final show down. It was time to fight against Skeleton King the way they were born too.
And then, the inner alarms went off.
"What's going on?" Nova cried, before her screen went black.
"Nova?!" Sprx called worriedly, onyx eyes waiting for her screen to light back up. It didn't. Sprx's fell black to.
"Guys?" Otto called. His fell black after.
"Something's wrong!" Gibson shouted obviously, until his screen went black to.
"Antauri? What's going on?" Chiro was worried, and he was scared. This had not happened in a while. Antauri did not respond.
His screen had gone dark as well.
Chiro was angered to find himself trembling. Looking around, he stayed tense for battle.
However, then, it stood before him.
It was dripping with black ooze, and made of bone. It's eyes glowed red, and it's teeth were longer and sharper then anything he had ever seen before.
It opened it's mighty jaws, and inhaled.
OoO
"Chiro?!"
the boy woke to the sound of his voice. He looked around, and there was the team. The Robot was in a state of disarray. The team looked as if they had suffered a beating. There were claw marks in almost everything, and black ooze covered the floor.
"Guys?" he said softly, throat laced with pain.
They breathed sighs of relief.
"Are you alright?" Gibson asked the teen.
He nodded.
Then, that ooze-thing was back. It growled, fighting them.
What happened next was all a blur for them all, but each of them was angry, all of them were hurt. They took their ships, and they abandoned the Robot.
Chiro had never felt worse, because he knew that whatever had happened was his fault. He knew that, because it was as obvious as daylight, yet the memory of what he had done was suppressed He didn't know, and part of him knew that he probably didn't want to.
Skeleton King had gotten away, again. The creature had disappeared. If he didn't leave soon, he would suffocate in the Robot with it's waning life support.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered, hoping the Robot could hear him, and forgive him.
And he left as well, leaving the Robot hanging limply in space, tears in his sapphire eyes. He had just lost so many things he cared about.
His home.
His family.
And something else was... different.
It wasn't gone, but it had changed.
And he didn't know what it was.
End Flashback
OoO
Jinmay reached out and grabbed his hand. "It's okay, Chiro. We'll get them back."
He offered the pink haired girl a small smile. "I wish I was as confident as you... I'm nervous, Jinmay. Very nervous."
"You'd be crazy not to be," she said softly. "But we'll get through this together."
He smiled at her.
She grinned. "Now, why don't you help me make lunch?"
"Gladly... And then we're sparring, right?"
"Right."
Mandarin stood above the city, looking out at where he knew the boy had returned. He knew as soon as the boy had entered the atmosphere that he was back.
What surprised him was the lack of monkeys. It was just Chiro, all alone. Antauri, Nova, Otto, Sprx, Gibson... not a single one of them was with him. It was slightly off putting.
But what bothered the orange monkey the most was not the lack of monkeys. It was not the fact that the teen seemed much more powerful then before. It was not the fact that the girl was having hard times trusting some of the things the boy said. It was not the boy's uncertainty. It was not any of that.
It was the fact that for some reason, he could not sense Chiro's Power Primate.
It was gone.
It wasn't there.
He had strained and strained, even ventured closer to the city. He had looked and looked and looked, and it just wasn't there.
It.
Was.
Gone.
This made no sense to the skeleton monkey. He had never been so confused in his life when it came to the Power Primate - and the Power Primate confused him all the time!
The boy had the most powerful energies he'd ever encountered when it came to the mystical force.
So why the hell could he not sense his powers?
What in the Universe could be keeping it from him?
There was no way the boy could hide them - surely he was not that experienced.
And surely he could not have lost them.
He's definitely not dead!
...so what could be going on?
Tauria: Well... sorry it seems a bit rushed. I wanted to get through this chapter so I could get to the next one ^.^ (MONKEYZ!)
Chiro: WHOA WHOA WHOA! Where is the Power Primate?!
Tauria: ...I was hoping you wouldn't catch that.
Chiro: -glares-
Tauria: heh, heh... You'll see?
Chiro: ...please leave a review.