Disclaimer- Ciro Neili owns the Monkey Team and the entire show and characters. Man, for a second there I thought dreams could come true.

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Chapter Nine: Mockery

"Let me go, you ugly skeleton!" Chiro hissed and tested his bonds. His wrists ached greatly from his struggle. Mandarin only laughed with drawn out wheezes and hysterical cackles. Chiro's hair hung down in his eyes and his teeth were sinking into his chapped lips. On his left arm, was a circular device that fit painfully on his upper arm, placed to wear part of it was tucked away under his armpit snugly. It didn't appear to have any spectacular value, except that it made his muscles ache. He tried once again to reach the deformed simian that stood in front of him. This time, the wretched creature grabbed the boy's foot. His claws pierced through the material.

"Struggle is futile, my pathetic friend." The boy cringed at the word "friend." Mandarin was no friend of his. "Soon, I will force you into obedience." He twisted the teenager's leg to the right until it was pointing to the floor. Chiro braved the pain for a few seconds, before letting out a loud scream, which was nearly dwarfed by Mandarin's gleeful chuckling. Oh, how he enjoyed causing pain to those who rightfully deserved the torture. Only when he felt tender bones crunch and the marrow swerve did he let go. The young boy grimaced and let out a sharp gasp. He could've sworn that he heard a female voice shriek with glee. When Chiro's leg dangled helplessly at an odd angle, he expected Mandarin to continue his feverish laughter, but the primate had gone quiet and was analyzing the polished jewel that hung from his neck. His expression, was unreadable. The orange mutant had his left cheek lifted and part of his lip was curved in what appeared to be a smirk. The rest of his mouth was slack, and the mismatched eyes were unreadable.

Antauri? Can you hear me? Chiro tried vainly for the...he had lost count. Swallowing, he hid a grimace as the liquid travelled down his sore throat. The boy, of course, was defiant and angry, but his vile foe seemed only mildly amused by his efforts. Usually he would use some mocking baby voice and rub Chiro's thick mass of hair. He didn't like that. It brought back memories. He despised it when anyone touched his head and rubbed it like that. He just did. Chiro knew, if it wasn't for what his soul possessed, he would already be dead...but this treatment was one Mandarin enjoyed better.

Antauri? Not only did he have a raw throat, but his head felt swollen as well. Please...WHY can't you hear me? He was desperate, and slightly scared. Chiro had never truly been scared for his own life. As a leader and a hero, he usually was concerned what would happen in the end, and if he made the right choices. The boy, after thinking (the only thing he could do in such conditions) about everything, had felt both proud and melancholy when the memories flashed by. He shook his head, eager to try to contact his teammates again.

Nova, Gibson, Antauri? I repeat, can you hear me?

Otto...Sprx?

No answer. Chiro sighed. No, they couldn't be. They wouldn't. Not after all this.

A sharp force struck the boy across his cheek. After being reprimanded by an invisible sorceress's voice, Mandarin still never ceased his amused look as he cruelly mocked the hurt teenager.

"You cling to memories?"

"Mandarin!" A disembodied voice, audible only to the wretched demon primate, hissed. "Use the powers of the amulet to rend his soul powerless! There is so benefit in waiting!"

Mandarin placed a clenched fist on the side of his head and tilted it, as if bored. The (mainly) hairless creature looked like he was about to spit on his adversary's face. Humans were such an arrogant, unworthy species. "Oh yes, vile witch, there is."

The orange simian placed the sharp point of his claw underneath the boy's chin, and smiled savagely. "You are lucky, boy. You survived the dreadful fate that awaited my precious brethren." A flash of sadness overcame Chiro, and his eyes now gave a liquid reflection, as if he were about to cry, but the fire lit up them once more. Chiro still recalled what had happened, and how useless he felt as his team was thrown around like greatly abused dogs. But now was not the time, nor the place.

"They wouldn't give up so easily, you rat." Mandarin's expression seemed to turn slightly neutral.

"Really?" The ravaged primate's voice grew more savage and foreboding to Chiro. "Believe what you will, my hairless monkey, but my...assistant's task was to annihilate your friends, and I believe that it has done so."

"Figures you would make a monster almost as ugly as yourself." Chiro made a vain attempt to move close, continuing to strain his muscles. "What have you done with Sprx?"

"You still ask? You still wander with a strand of hope?" The demon's voice seemed to crack.

"I want to know! Tell me now!" Angered, the Chosen One swung his remaining foot at Mandarin. Instead of causing damage to the boy, the orange simian stepped out of range. All of the blood seemed to rush to Chiro's head. He didn't feel like mourning or being at the mercy of this creep. All he cared about now was bringing the hyperforce back together. Chiro wanted to mend the broken ties. He was the Chosen One, wasn't he? Surely the so-called prophecy wouldn't want him to save the world alone, would it? No matter how much he tried to harness his power, everything seemed to dully slip away every microsec.

"Why would I tell you?" Mandarin chuckled. "He may very well be dead." The teenager's hope plummeted, but he couldn't...Mandarin crossed his arms as Chiro wheezed.

"Oh, what is this? Is the human having difficulties with this new environment?" Mandarin curled his lips in the beginnings of a snarl. "You hairless beings always did have issues adapting to change. You can't accept change now, and you never will reach evolution from your meaningless ways. There is only one true being capable of demolishing your kind, and those who stand in our way."

Chiro bowed his head in recognition. "Skeleton King..." The raven-haired boy gazed upward at the ceiling, unable to look at Mandarin's ugly glare. "What do you plan to do? If I have what you need, why wait? Are you trying to torture us both?" The teenager's mind wandered over to Mandarin's last few words. He may very well be dead. Chiro didn't want to go through this grief again.

"It is something that your human, insignificant mind would not comprehend." He tapped the device enclosed around Chiro's upper arm once. "You will see soon, firsthand, my hairless pet." Chiro muttered through his gritted teeth.

"If you didn't win then, you won't win now. The Monkey Team will find you, and rescue Sprx." To himself, the boy added quietly, "They wouldn't let me down."

The orange foe turned around for a moment, as if contemplating what to say next. At first, he bared his fangs in a smile, then in a bitter frown. That hairless wretch, the one being that had cost Mandarin's short life many, many dark prices. Not only in his countenance, but with the harshest attacks on the mind. After many months of wandering around in that decrepit worm, the simian had circled through broken memories that had been implanted in his mind. He was skeptical on how the Original's thoughts were transmitted to form a base for his own, but it just seemed to work that way. He shared memories that might have even been buried and forgotten by the other, and he had superior strength and twice the intelligence and skill. The clone remembered the battle he had with that powerless Chosen One. Chosen One...Bah! What a fool to believe he was chosen to make this world better. What idiot would choose a boy? A naive, unknowing, self-conscious child? What was this world coming to? Only his master had true insight.

Then, after going truly mad and wandering the worm's repulsive innards, he saw it. Yes, his chance! Right there, in a daze, was the boy that had cost him so much in a short amount of time! It was he who had damaged his master!

"This place is making me sick!" The blue-eyed child covered his mouth and back away from green, mucus-like spheres that had plopped in front of him. Perhaps now was the chance...

And it was. Without his cybernetic companions to interfere, it was a golden opportunity. Mandarin remembered everything so well. He had been cast into the Dark One's digestive juices, and they ate away at his flesh, causing it to become raw and painful. His left eye had been permanently scarred. He had been made even more hideous than before. But he was fast. Oh...yes, he could outrun any of them. Maybe when they looked down, they saw ripples, and that was it. The boy and the golden one ran in the distance, but he had gotten out long before that. Mandarin was faster than any of them would ever realize. He had gotten out. But he had turned into a mockery at the glorious creature he once was...and it was because of them...When he had simply been doing what he was programmed to do! They would either laugh, or cringe. Even if they looked at him in agony, there was still a gleam in their eyes. It read, You had it coming. You got what you deserved.

One day they would see. "Tell me, my hairless monkey, what do you see when you gaze into my visage?" Mandarin turned his head to see Chiro barely holding his head up. One eye was closed. The lad's response was barely audible, but one side of his lips went up in a wry smirk.

"A freak." To this, Mandarin laughed raucously, causing the boy to jump and bang his hurt leg on the wall. The laugh was high-pitched, long, and mad. The pale teenager stared solemnly. "Breathe in, child. What do you smell?" Stiffly, the boy did what he was told, reluctantly.

"You, and the mold on the ground." Chiro sighed apathetically at the conversation. Not that I can tell the difference.

"Ahhh, and your breathing? It is labored?" The orange mutant sniggered as if he had told a silent joke. Chiro breathed through his nose. There seemed to be less air, but apparently there was a system of tubes that were connected that enabled small particles of air to come through, but it seemed so much less, and musty.

"What do you want? Where are you going with this?" He sounded tired.

"When you fed me to the Dark One..."

"Yeah? Good riddance."

Mandarin placed his weapon, resembling a lobster claw, on his chest. "...You ruined me. I could no longer feel. Everything in my sensors and nerves went numb." Despite the story, the demented simian seemed more pleasured than heartbroken. Abruptly, he turned and slid to the Chosen One. He pushed his muzzle to where it was only a few mere inches from Chiro's face. "You defamed my essence even more when you escaped my grasp. Have you realized that you never won a battle with me singlehandedly? Do you realize how weak and undeserving you are of the power you were given?" Mandarin leaned back, still eyeing the boy. "Yet, I am still superior." His hand motioned and swayed as if examining Chiro's body. "Yes...I can sense your fear...and do you feel the pressure of this area crushing your feeble lungs?"

Chiro listened, "You mocked me, humiliated and stripped me of my honor. But, I have no need to breathe, I have power cradled right in my very soul, and although I am numb, I can sense my adversary's changing tides of emotions and use it to my advantage. I may have become a mockery, a deformed mutant, but my desire for revenge has kept me alive. In the end, you cannot win."

The amulet in Mandarin's possession twinkled violently.

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Author's Note- Nuuuuu for long cliffhangers! Consider this a gift. This might have been boring, but the next few should speed up the pace.

Started: December 7th, 2006. 8:00 P.M.

Finished: Christmas Eve 5:06 P.M.

Man, I stink at updating. I have no discipline whatsoever. Oh well.