Chapter Ten: Not Today
Antauri looked to the others as they finally reached him. Like last time—and for the second time—they saw Antauri standing over Chiro's body. It was too much.
"A-Antauri…" Nova whispered.
"I'm sorry…" Antauri said, not looking at her. The look on her face would hurt him too much. "I did what he asked me to."
There was a long pause as the team tried to wrap their minds around what had happened. Antauri murdered Chiro.
"I believe it is safe to assume that this is the future Chiro tried to create?" Otto asked quietly.
Everyone looked at him. He sounded…intelligent. But what he said had more impact on them. Chiro had made them forget about him. But that wasn't the whole story. He was trying to tell them something.
Wasn't he?
"He always knew more than he showed," Gibson said. "He was clever. He hid his past and revealed his future in a way none of us had ever anticipated."
"And he tried to fight the evil consuming him," Sparx said. "But it was too much."
"The Power Primate was the only thing holding the Skeleton Prince back," Antauri said. "I managed to trick him into taking it back, which gave Chiro some control. Not enough."
"It was too late to save him from himself," Antauri concluded. He looked at Chiro's body. "I had to stop both of them." He paused. He then finally looked up at his team. They had sober looks on their faces, tears streaming down their faces. Jinmay had a look of disbelief on her face as she looked from the silver monkey to Chiro's body.
"I hope you won't hate me for this," Antauri whispered.
"We don't," Jinmay said, her voice cracking. "We could never hate you, or Chiro. You both did what had to be done. Nothing could change that." She knelt down to the silver simian's level, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I just hope, in the end, Chiro will remember us, wherever he is. And I hope that the universe will remember him as a hero."
"They will," Antauri said. The other approached them, and they all had a heartfelt group hug.
"He was a good leader…" Gibson said sadly.
"Not just a leader," Sparx corrected. "He was a friend."
"He's saved us many times, plus what he did for Antauri…" Nova said quietly. "But, I guess it was too late to return the favor…"
"I guess he considered us being friends enough for him to ask Antauri to kill him," Otto said, his voice portraying a bit of awe.
Antauri and all the others thought about what Otto just said, then they all nodded.
After they let go of each other, Sparx asked, "What about…" He paused, not wanting to say it. He motioned towards Chiro's body.
Antauri tried his hardest to smile. "I hate to say this, but…leave him. Everything you guys have done for him for the past few weeks is respect enough. He would want to be here." His voice cracked, but he continued. "This is the planet on which he was born. It would be what he would want."
The others nodded in respect. They said nothing, all lost in their own thoughts. They all revolved around the same, simple question.
Why?
The team, after a while of just sitting there, finally made their way back to the Super Robot (or what was left of it). A light shone behind them, and the looked to see a pillar of orange light engulf Chiro's body. He vanished is a sparkle of green. Nova began to cry, and so did Jinmay. Sparx and Otto began to comfort the two girls the rest of the way.
When they entered the Super Robot, they were met with an odd sight. The large screen of the Robot was one of the few things intact and working, and it was now playing one of Sparx's video games. Spaceships flew around the screen, blasting the alien ships out of space. As a giant ship was blown up, the screen flashed 'NEW HIGH SCORE!'. The team looked at it in confusion, and then they finally noticed a figure sitting cross-legged in Chiro's chair. He was holding the controller to the game, and he now set it gently down on the floor before standing up and facing the team.
"I got the new high score on your game, Sparx," the figure said.
The team still stared. The figure smiled, and brushed a few locks of black hair out of his face. He spoke in a warm voice.
"Did you really believe that, after everything I've done, that killing me would stop me?" Chiro asked. His smiled beamed. "I've still got a life to live, ya know. I'm not about to give it up that easily."
He looked the team once over. They were still just standing there, their mouths hanging open. "What's wrong? Aren't you glad to see me?"
The team still stared. Then, Nova and Jinmay broke the ice. They both let out an excited cry, flinging themselves into Chiro's arms. He held on tightly to both of them. They both cried, in joy and sadness. The rest of the team did the same, and Chiro held onto all of them as they all cried.
"Now, now, c'mon," Chiro said. "Why are you all crying? I'm back, and everything's gonna be okay." He looked Jinmay straight in the eye as she looked up at him. "Stop crying now, okay?"
"But…" she said, still sobbing. "How…?"
"I wasn't meant to die," Chiro said. He smiled.
He looked at Antauri. Letting go of the others, he solely hugged the silver monkey. "Thank you so much, Antauri. You freed me."
Antauri hugged him back. "You saved my life once," he said. "It is only fitting that I return the favor."
Chiro let him go and stood up, facing the others. "It's over," he announced with finality. "It's finally over. The Skeleton Prince spirit is gone, and now, I'm just me again."
"But, one thing, Chiro," Otto said. Chiro looked at him. "Don't forget. Even though this might be a pain to remember, forgetting won't help. Just, don't let it take over you, okay?"
The others looked at the little green mechanic. For the second time that day, he actually sounded smarter than Gibson and wiser than Antauri, with just a few sentences.
Chiro smiled again. "I won't. You can count on it."
The rest of the day was spent fixing the Super Robot. All of the members of the team pitched in to get the Robot fully functioning so they could get back to ShuggazoomCity. They left Hendran behind, returning to their home world after being away for a while.
Once they got back, Antauri secretly approached Chiro. "So, how did you…?" he began.
"I don't think I ever died," Chiro answered. "I saw a bright orange light, and, then, then next thing I knew, I was alive…again… or…somethin'."
"I guess it wasn't time," Antauri concluded.
Chiro nodded. "Not yet. I'm only fourteen. I shouldn't die yet."
Then, suddenly, Otto came bounding towards them and grabbed Chiro's arm. "C'mon!" the little green monkey said.
"What is it?" Antauri asked.
"SPRX-77 has challenged the Great Chiro to a video game smashdown!" Otto said in a dramatic voice. "You wanna?"
"Nah," Chiro said, waving his hand. Otto let out a whine, but Chiro continued. "I think Sparx could beat me. Tell him I'll do it when I get my strength back. I'm just gonna go to my room."
(It's like, "Uh, hello, I just DIED. And then came BACK TO LIFE. No, I don't wanna play video games! LOL)
Antauri and Otto then cast each other alarmed looks. "Don't worry," Chiro laughed. "Nothing mysterious. I'm just tired."
He walked off. So Antauri and Otto just went into the main room. Everyone was just sitting there, lost in their own thought, recalling the past two weeks' events.
About an hour later, Antauri was meditating. But he just couldn't concentrate, and after a while (just to be sure and ease his own mind) he went to Chiro's room. He opened the door, and…
…sure enough, there Chiro was, asleep on his bed. He had on his normal clothes and was just laying on his back on top of the covers. And the light was still on. Obviously, he had fallen asleep almost automatically.
There was a box on his bed, though.
Antauri walked over to the box and peered in it. It had all the journals of the past Skeleton Princes. Chiro's was on top, and Antauri, fearing the worst, opened it and looked inside.
He let out a sigh. The pages were empty. Yet another clue that the Skeleton Prince was truly gone and Chiro could recover from his ordeal.
Suddenly, a hand gripped Antauri's arm. He jerked, then looked up to see Chiro sitting up in bed, holding his arm.
"You still don't trust me?" Chiro asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.
"It's not that," Antauri said. "I just…wanted to be sure."
"Well, don't worry," Chiro said. "I've learned a lesson. If something does come up, then I'll be sure to let you know before anything happens."
Antauri shot the boy a look. "You expect something else to come up?"
"No. I'm just saying."
Chiro looked at the journal. "All the pages are blank in all of the books. That means the spirit of the Skeleton Prince is gone forever. I have nothing else in my past to hide."
Antauri smiled. "Well… Goodnight, Chiro."
"Night, Antauri," Chiro said. He then let himself lay on top of the covers again, falling asleep almost instantly.
Antauri picked up the box with the journals and shoved it under Chiro's bed. He left the room, turning off the main light before exiting. As he walked down the hallway, he smiled to himself.
Everything would be alright now.
Chiro was back, alive.
The Skeleton Prince was gone.
There was hope for a new day after all.
Far from ShuggazoomCity, the moon rose over the horizon, casting an eerie glow over the barren landscape. A form floated a few inches above the ground. Its eyes opened, revealing them to be blood red. Hate and malice reflected in them. An equally eerie smile crossed the face of the figure, and a raspy laugh echoed over the land.
"I am not finished with him yet."
It then laughed, a horrible sound, and it echoed far and wide, for all to hear. The ghost flew into the sky, spotting, so very far away, the small form of the Super Robot.
"This has only begun."
It then began to fly, in the light of the full moon, towards the city.
THE END…?
Thank you for reading! LOVE YOU ALL
-Ashley and Emarelda