I didn't have time to finish the new chapter of Book 1 this week but I didn't want to just not update, so instead you guys get a new chapter of Book 0. Can anyone guess how long this chapter has been on my computer? If you guessed over 2 years, you would be correct! Can't really say why I never got around to finishing this thing, just never felt like it was done I guess. I do like how it turned out though, but I need to go through and re-edit all the old chapters of this book like I did for Book 1, its quality is not up to par with the rest of the series now.
Chiro sighed as he leaned against the rail of the dock. Usually on nights like this, the water's edge would be swarming with romantic couples walking hand-in-hand and enjoying the warm, spring breeze coming off the water. But not tonight, tonight it was only Chiro and Jennet who dared to venture out. Most the city was still upset by the attack a few weeks ago and they wouldn't go anywhere outside the center of the city.
The gentle wind blew Chiro's hair into his eyes and he swatted it out-of-the-way as he looked across the water and out to the burnt lands. Jennet stood silently behind him, arms crossed, waiting for an answer. The wind playfully pulled at her pony tail, and if she hadn't been so upset with him, she would have used the opportunity to flirt with Chiro, but she was far too annoyed to really care about something as silly as that at the moment. Finally after a few minutes of silence, she walked up beside him and leaned against the rail with her back to the water.
"So do you have something to tell me, or not?" She asked annoyed as she placed her elbows on the cool rail behind her. Chiro hung his head down silently as he stared at the waves lapping against the stone wall underneath them. Jennet started to worry, if it had been some trivial matter that had kept him from their date, he would have told her by now, something was definitely up.
She dropped her sulking act and scooted closer to Chiro. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked curiously while gently nudging him with her shoulder. "There is something you're not telling me, I can feel it." Chiro remained silent while he slowly lifted his head and looked across the water.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Jennet, Chiro sighed and began to speak. "You know how everyone has been freaking out about the Hyper Force coming back?" He suddenly asked her, catching her off guard. This was not where she had expected the conversation to go.
"Yeah," She answered slowly, more than a bit confused, "It even has my dad freaking out. Why?"
"Have you given it much thought as to why they might be back?" Chiro questioned as he continued to refuse to look meet her gaze. She shook her head and waited a reply, making Chiro sighed heavily and finally turning to face her. "What if I told you I knew-" A loud musical tone cut Chiro off mid-sentence. They blinked at each other a few moments before Jennet reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.
"What?" She snapped at the caller angrily, then her face went pale as her voice softened. "Oh h-hi Daddy…No I'm safe-….Well I'm just out with some of my friends…." Jennet answered quickly before getting quiet as she listened to the voice on the other line. She knitted her brows together, confused as she suddenly grunted aggravated. "Do you need me home at this moment?" she asked annoyed as a muffled reply came loud enough for even Chiro to hear: "Yes."
She wiped the side of her face with her hand and sighed, "Yeah okay I'll be home in a few minutes." She said frustrated as there was angrier mumbling and grunting on the other line. "No I do not need you to send the car to get me!" She snapped, "I can walk back home myself by the time the car reaches me… Yes I'll be home in a little while….love you too." She snapped the phone shut and glared at Chiro a moment with her hands on her hips.
"What was that about?" Chiro asked as Jennet continued to glare at him.
"Daddy wants me home now, he says that there is something big going on and he doesn't like me running around at night. Basically telling me to get my butt home." She answered with a huff. "Don't think this lets you off the hook, though." She warned as she waved a finger in front of Chiro's face. "You are telling me everything tomorrow, mister."
She glanced down at her wrist watch and sighed. "I have to run now, don't go slinking off to wherever you've been the past few weeks. We are having a serious talk about this tomorrow afternoon." She reminded him as she twirled on her heels and dashed back towards the heart of the city. "Don't forget this time, okay?" She called back to Chiro as she disappeared around a corner.
Chiro stood there struck in awe a moment before he broke into a grin and shakily laughed. "That was a close one." He remarked to himself as he shoved his hands into his pockets just as his own phone started to vibrate. He held it to his ear as his mother's voice screamed into it:
"Chiro Cipes! Where on Shugazoom have you been?!" Annizett Cipes asked angrily. "Get home this instant young man!" She ordered as she nervously pulled at her hair and Chiro gulped while beginning to head back home.
"Okay, okay Mom." He sighed as he rubbed his aching ear, "Calm down, what's the problem?" He asked even though he already had a growing suspicion as to what it was.
"Have you not heard?" She asked amazed as she looked towards the T.V. "The whole city buzzing with it! There was a human seen fighting with the Hyper Force today; every news station on the planet is trying to get the story."
"Really?" Chiro asked, trying to sound more shocked than he was.
"Yes," His mother insisted, "A bunch of citizens saw him with them. Now hurry up and get back here immediately! I feel like something big is about to happen and I want you home, not out running around doing who knows what. Okay?" her voice unexpectedly changed to a soft and concerned tone.
"Yes, ma'am." Chiro said obediently while nodding his head even though she could not see it. "I'll be home in a few minutes, promise."
"Okay good, be careful and remember that I love you." She said as she twisted the phone cord in her fingers.
"Love you too, Mom." Chiro ended the call and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking towards the sky. Conflicting emotions flew around inside of him; on one hand he was nervous, everyone knew that the Team had a human on their side now. But at the same time he was excited at the prospect that he could be hailed as a hero, eventually that is. He ran home with a grin on his face and his heart thumping in his ears.
.::~::.
Jennet leaned against the wall of the elevator and cursed silently. She had completely ignored the possibility of simply having Chiro explain to her what was going on while they ran home, as opposed to waiting till tomorrow to get the story from him. She crossed her arms and sighed angrily, the elevator quiet except for the soft music that floated through the speakers and the ding as it passed floors with the occasional shuffle as the Bellhop moved in the awkward silence. Jennet continued to sulk on the back wall until, finally, the digital floor marker showed the number "23" and the doors slid open to reveal the penthouse suite that was Jennet's home. She walked out while handing the elevator operator a small bill and he happily went back down to the lower levels of the building.
The apartment took up the space of the entire 23rd floor and had been lavishly furnished by her father's many secretaries over the years, so all of the rooms clashed. But no one except her Father's closest friends ever came up here-Chiro had only been in the suite on a few occasions- so there was hardly anyone to complain about the lack of style.
Jennet knew the moment she stepped foot off the elevator where her father would be so, grabbing a banana off the counter as she walked by, she let herself into his office and quickly slipped into the room, unnoticed by the men standing around and grumbling quietly to each other. Though there were about 10 men of assorted shapes, sizes, and in many obnoxious colors crowding around the large mahogany desk, it was the man behind it that drew called one's attention.
He was a broad-shouldered man in a finely tailored green pinstriped business suit. His dark blue hair was speckled with gray spots that did nothing to ruin his naturally good looks, if anything they enhanced them. His dark gray eyes were piercing and calculated and the way his large hands sat calmly on the desk told you this man meant business, and Mr. Lamech Windle almost always did.
"Hi Daddy." Jennet said loudly over the rabble as she leaned against a side table and began to peel her banana. "What's all the commotion about?" she asked calmly as the men finally took notice of the young girl, but none moved to scold her for interrupting the conversation. If it had been anyone else, they would have ordered them out immediately, but Jennet was no normal 14-year-old girl. She had inherited the ability to make people do what she wanted from her father, and no one ever went against her. If she wanted to listen in on the discussion, she could and not one person in that meeting would lift a finger to stop her.
"How have you not heard yet?" A slender but greasy man asked in astonishment. "It's all over the news! There is a human helping the Hyper Force!"
Jennet froze mid-bite and uttered a perplexed, "Really?" The question was directed at her father, but a portly man to his left answered for her.
"Yes of course really! Why he's probably a Shugazoomian himself, which means we're all in real trouble boss…" The man trailed off and rubbed his hands nervously as he turned to Mr. Windle who was sitting there with his eyes closed a moment, composing himself before answering.
"We don't know if it's a Shugazoomian for sure, yet." He finally said calmly as Jennet slowly chewed on her banana and listened intently to her father's 'business'. "It could be an alien and he could have no knowledge of our different 'business transactions'." The way he inflicted the words made you know he was not talking about the realty company he ran as a front.
The greasy man ran his hands feverously through his hair, "Yes sir we know, but there is still a chance that they do know about our 'transactions' and if they are cleaning up the city, I seriously doubt they will let us continue them for very long."
"I know that!" Mr. Windle suddenly snapped while slamming his hands down loudly on the table, causing everyone including Jennet to jump in fright. He took another moment to compose himself before continuing. "But there is a chance that he has not told them yet, or maybe they won't even stay on Shugazoom and we have nothing to worry about." He continued calmly as he brought his fingers together and placed them under his nose. "And we must use this to our advantage."
He turned his chair to face a bookcase as a large T.V. screen was revealed behind a set of shelves and began to play a clip of the fight from earlier, showing a grainy video of the battle. It seemed to have been taken with a cell phone so it was hard to tell details, but the men watched attentively. "I want that person found and brought here so we can make a…deal." he finished velvety. "We need to make sure that we can continue on with business as usual while they focus on the real enemies out there."
He pressed a button and the video froze at a blurry frame of the boy jumping. You could hardly make out his white outfit from the wall behind him and his hair was a dark mess, but his piercing blue eyes caught your attention immediately. Jennet persisted in slowly chewing on her banana and studying the picture intently as the men continued to argue over what to do next.
.::~::.
As Chiro entered his apartment, he saw his mother sitting on the couch nervously watching T.V. and biting her nails, a habit he had noticed she only seemed to pick up when she was particularly worried about something. As the door clicked behind him, she looked up at him and sighed in relief before snapping. "Finally! I was worried sick, young man!"
"Sorry Mom, I was just hanging out with Jennet and lost track of the time." Chiro sort of lied as he walked towards the couch and sat down. The screen showed several old, stuffy looking men arguing at a circular table about the Hyper Force. "Promise it won't happen again." he finished absent-mindedly as he watched the screen change to the footage of the actually fight. He huffed as he saw that the video quality was too poor to even bother watching and slumped on the couch as his mother turned to him confused.
"Why were you hanging out with Jennet this late? Were B.T. and Glenny there too?" Annizett Cipes asked her son who continued to watch the show even though he was uninterested.
"Nope, it was just us walking around the city." He answered casually while his mother bit her lip. She turned to the Television a moment before picking up the remote and turning the volume on low. Chiro sat up and looked at his mother as she sighed and met his blue eyes with her own.
"Honey, we need to talk." She said as she pulled nervously at her skirt hem. She hadn't had time to get into something more comfortable after work, so she slowly took the bobby pins out of her hair as she talked. "I don't know if Jennet is… the best girl to hang out with."
Chiro's jaw dropped and he managed to blink a few times before getting out a stuttered "What?" He settled back into the couch, not really wanting to see where this went. "What are you talking about?"
Annizett sighed as she looked at her son. "I'm just saying that she isn't really the … safest girl to be close to. I mean her family is not exactly that honest or trustworthy."
"There is nothing wrong with her though!" Chiro snapped, suddenly on the defense. "You can't judge her based on what her dad does!"
"Yes I know dear, but I'm not." She persisted while placing a gentle hand on Chiro's knee. "You know just as well as I that before you were friends with her she was a bully, just as Glenny and B.T. were, and you know how much I like them. They are good boys deep down, just easily manipulated." Chiro glared at her hand and pulled his legs out of her reach.
"So what you are saying is that I'm being manipulated by her?" Chiro asked angrily while crossing his arms.
"No I am not, but I think you could be without even realizing it." She countered calmly while nervously pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Honey I know that it looks like I'm attacking her without reason but-"
"But nothing, mom!" Chiro yelled, "You are judging her based on her family and on her past. You always taught me that people sometimes make mistakes, Who's to say she hasn't but has changed since we were kids?"
"I just have a bad feeling about her!" Annizett confessed suddenly while reaching out for her son's hand, but was denied the comfort. "I don't know why honey, but I just do. There is something off about that girl, something darker behind everything she does and I just get chills from her. I'm just trying to tell you to be careful and that maybe you shouldn't get too close to her, dear." She bit her lip as a realization slowly dawned on Chiro.
"So this is all because you don't want us to date?" He asked in shock as his mother adverted his gaze, confirming his suspicions. "I can't believe this!" He shouted while throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"That is not the only reason behind it though!" she countered as Chiro stood up and started stalking to his room. "I just don't want you to get hurt! I worry about you, honey!"
"And you think telling me you hate one of my best friends is the best way to do that?" He turned back. "I can't believe you! Dad would have never done something like this!" He yelled as he slammed his door shut. Annizett gasped and briefly considered rushing over and demanding he open the door that instant, but instead she sunk to the couch and rested her head gently in her hands, tried and defeated.
The next morning Chiro was up, dressed, and gone before his mother ever woke up. He quickly hurried towards the Super Robot with his hands stuck deep in the pockets of his khaki shorts, hardly even trying to hide that he was heading towards the outskirts. He was wearing a simple white and orange baseball tee with black sneakers and in a matter of minutes, he was gliding up the elevator tube of the Super Robot and into the control room.
As always, Otto's green legs were sticking out of the control panel as Chiro walked in and, upon hearing the pneumatic tube bring the new leader up, the mechanic slid out from underneath it and hopped happily over to Chiro.
"Hey there Big C!" Otto yelled happily as he approached Chiro with a wide grin on his face and oil darkening his fur, but seeing how distraught the young boy was, he slowed down to a walk and tilted his head to the side while asking, "Something the matter, Chiro?"
The leader shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. "Don't worry about it Otto, it's nothing." Chiro glanced at the green primate and was surprised to see Otto's usual carefree expression gone and him looking hard at the boy. Otto took Chiro's hand in his own and pulled the leader out of the Control Center and into the Kitchen. Forcing him to sit down at the table, Otto then rummaged through the cupboards before finding what he was looking for, a bar of chocolate. Chiro remembered picking out the candy specifically with Otto in mind when he had gotten groceries for the Hyper Force the previous week. The mechanic walked over to the table and handed the chocolate to Chiro.
"Here you go." He simply stated while looking to Chiro. "I don't know what's wrong or why, but I hope it gets better." Otto smiled widely before patting Chiro on the shoulder and walking out of the room once more. Chiro looked from the candy bar to where Otto had just left and then back to the chocolate, confused. Suddenly, his vision began to blur as tears grew in the corners of his eyes and with a smile, he blinked them away while biting into the candy and shaking his head.
.::~::.
Chiro spent most of the day wandering from place to place in the robot, doing this and that to distract himself from the problems at home. He trained a bit with Nova, practiced piloting with Sparx, and mediated briefly with Antauri. That was when his mentor explained the urgency of the Skeleton King returning and his preparations to wreak havoc on Shugazoom City. They briefly discussed several different battle plans and scenarios while enjoying a light lunch with the rest of the team before he continued a few history lessons with Gibson and learned a bit more on how the robot worked with Otto.
"Ya know," the green monkey stated as they stood outside the robot and examined the different components of the feet. "There used to be a big platform in the middle of the city where the Super Robot could dock." He explained while patting the metal siding. "I wonder what ever happened to it."
"Where was it in city?" Chiro asked as Otto pondered momentarily.
"Well, near the Radio Tower the last time we were awake." Otto explained, "But considering how much of the city has changed since then, I bet that the tower isn't even standing anymore." Otto shook his head as Chiro snickered quietly.
"Actually, it does! They still use the old thing if you believe that, and it's still the best radio tower on Shugazoom." Chiro explained Otto's eyes lit up brightly.
"Oh I wish I could see it! I want to know if the dock still works and everything!" Otto chatted happily. "I bet we could even reactivate it for when we make our big appearance to the city!" Chiro nodded while looking over the robot.
"Well I'm sure you'll get your chance soon, from how Antauri is acting, It seems like the Skeleton King could show up any day now. Who knows when we'll be called to action?"
Otto's smile dropped quickly as he slowly nodded, "Yeah I guess that would be a pretty good reason to make our big comeback, though not a very happy one." Chiro laughed at Otto's sudden change in demeanor.
"Aw come on Otto, why the sad face? What better way to make an entrance than beating up the bad guy for everyone to see." Chiro preformed a series of quick kicks and punches on an imaginary enemy to demonstrate. "Just think of how cool we would all look kicking tail and saving girls." As if in the moment then, Chiro dramatically flipped his hair back like he imagined a girl would and gave himself a fake falsetto voice. " "Oh thank you kind sir for saving me.' " He batted his eyelashes before jumping to Otto's opposing side and puffing out his chest. "No problem Ma'am, just doing my job protecting the fine ladies of Shugazoom, such as yourself." He gave Otto a wink and laughed, but stopped when he realized that the primate was not joining him in the fun.
"If we have to fight off Skeleton King's forces that means people might be hurt in the cross-fire, Chiro." Otto explained seriously. He looked up at his young human friend with an expression that he had yet to display in front of Chiro. "Saving people means that they have to actually be in danger first and we can't always make sure we're there to help them in time." He looked down at the ground and sighed. "And trust me when I say that our greatest enemy has no problem with taking casualties; I remember a good number of families that have been destroyed by his long and dark reach." Chiro stood in silence, stunned and shocked by this sudden display of regret from Otto. After a few moments he coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.
"You're right Otto. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to bring up bad memories, I was just trying to get you pumped to save people again."
Otto suddenly looked up and him with a brilliant smile, "Oh I know you didn't mean anything by it, and trust me I am excited to kick some Formless butt." He made his own series of jumps and kicks now, but stopped and stood erect again while facing Chiro. "I just want you to understand that it really isn't all fun and butt-kicking. People do get hurt; it's just what happens in war."
Chiro slowly nodded, "I understand, I'll try to take this 'hero' thing a bit more seriously from now on, okay?" Otto nodded and smiled before turning and walking back inside the robot.
"Okay great, now let's see what's for dinner!" He cheered happily with Chiro following close behind.
They both reentered the control center just as the alarm started blaring and ran to the main computer. Otto began furiously typing on it as the rest of the team rushed in from different parts of the robot.
"Otto, report." Antauri ordered shortly as he, Sparx, Nova, and Gibson quickly crowded around the computer terminal.
"It seems that a group of Formless just started attacking the city," Otto explained as he brought video surveillance footage of the city up on-screen. The static cleared to show a grainy shot of people running in terror through the streets as an army of Formless chased after them. "And it looks like a lot of 'em."
"Holy Cow." Sparx sighed while rubbing the back of his head absent-mindedly. "I don't think we've dealt with this many Formless in years."
"Then I think this is the perfect time to see how well we can fight in the Super Robot." Chiro pointed out while Antauri nodded in agreement.
"I agree with Chiro. Monkeys, mobilize!" The black monkey yelled as the team rushed to their pneumatic tubes and into action.
And thus we finally start to see Jennet's dad, a man that I have only referenced in the past. Funfact time! Chiro's mom was originally called "Marianna" in the old draft of this, but apparently I have named her something else in the Alphabet one-shots I'm writing? I know that I was going back and forth on what to name her years ago, but apparently I settled on Annizett and had forgotten by the time I got back around to writing this. I had to re-read so much stuff to make sure I got her name right here.
Okay well while I'm not sure when the next time I'll return to writing Book 0 is, I know it will be soon so stay tuned here and on Book 1 for an update every week!