Hey guys, we've reached chapter eleven. The craziness continues.
Chiro's eyes were slowly closing, his lids heavy and his body almost aching, begging for sleep. Although he had postponed it for as long as he could, too fretful about tomorrow's excursion to visit dreamland, sleep finally lulled him.
Inside his mind, he found himself in a laboratory of some kind, and out of darkness, a thin figure moved forward. He was shrouded in mystery and his two mismatched eyes held unrivaled wisdom within. It was the Alchemist.
"Chiro," he said wearily, tired beyond words.
"Alchemist!" Chiro shouted joyfully while he advanced towards him, and embraced him tightly.
"Child, I have not been, completely honest with you," the Alchemist muttered while hugging Chiro just as fervently.
"You're not real, are you? You're only a figment of my imagination?" Chiro asked disappointed and desperate, his arms still clutching the Alchemist's robes.
"No, Chiro. I am quite real. Or at least, my true self used to be."
"I don't understand. Your true self?" the boy asked, confused and tired of riddles. His voice echoed inside the shaded lab. Chiro found a convenient chair, then sat on it gingerly.
To lighten the atmosphere, Chiro said, "Is there a fake self out there as well? Like an evil twin? Because I kind of used that excuse to get out of punishments with Antauri, but it never quite worked out."
The Alchemist's lips twitched for a brief second before he answered, "Chiro, it was a long time ago. I, the Alchemist combined primates with magic with science to create the perfect robot warriors, strong enough to protect the galaxy from the most heinous of threats."
His face grimaced, and his hands shook, the Alchemist's despaired as he shouted, "Myself!"
Seeing as he began to sit on the floor and sob, Chiro rushed to his side, put his hands on his face, and said, "Believe me, Alchemist, I've seen monsters and evil zombie creatures regularly. You are nothing like them, you are good! And you created the hyper force, didn't you? Bad people do not create heroes or give families to abandoned children... "
Then he hugged him tightly.
"The monkey team is my family, so that makes you my grandfather of sorts," Chiro replied while pulling away and beaming.
"Oh, child. No one would want me as their family. And I worry that once I tell you the entire truth, you won't want to consider our bond further."
"Try me," Chiro answered confidently.
The Alchemist sighed, "Very well. I was working on a weapon that showed a glimpse of Netherland, home of the Dark Ones. He didn't mean to, t-there was a malfunction. Everything I stood for became twisted, corrupted. I became more animal than man, searching savagely for prey to devour. Obsessed with hearing their tortured screams! I was not even flesh, only bone..."
Chiro gaped while thinking 'Skeleton King!'
Chiro wanted to run, far away or to wake up promptly. He did not know if this was a trap set by Skeleton King himself or if it was really his true self, the Alchemist who had started their conversation so many days ago.
Yet, if this was Skeleton King, then why did he offer to help him? That is counterproductive to him.
The fourteen-year-old boy took one look at the crying Alchemist, and his mind was made up.
"That's all?" Chiro asked while approaching, making the Alchemist widen his eyes and gape as the boy began to latch onto him.
"My child, did you not hear?"
"Yeah, I heard. My eardrums are working just fine, gramps."
"What if I hurt you without wanting to? What if I too, become like him?" the Alchemist agonized, gripping Chiro by the shoulders, looking for assurance.
"The way I see it, you accidentally turned into Skeleton King. But even as evil incarnate, you still came here to warn me and care for me. The possibility of you hurting me as your true self is about the same one as Antauri not liking philosophy or Nova and Sparx not being madly in love with each other," Chiro said, smiling softly.
"Oh, Chiro."
"And I am going to help you. I won't stop searching until I figure out how to turn you back to normal, Alchemist," Chiro said, pumping his fist and jumping to his feet.
"If only there was a way..."
"When there's a will there's always a way, Alchemist," Chiro assured him, showing him the peace sign.
It was at that exact moment that Chiro woke up.
The reason for his impromptu waking was none other than the orange robot monkey, Mandarin. He sat on the bed, near Chiro and continued on shaking him.
"My hairless monkey, wake up! My hairless monkey..." Mandarin replied exasperated.
"Urgh, let me sleep," Chiro mumbled, hoping to be left alone so that he could dream of the Alchemist again.
"That is out of question, Chiro. We're going."
"Going where?" Chiro asked as he rose from the bed and rubbed his eyes gently.
"Our excursion," Mandarin told him while smirking.
Chiro took a look at the red clock on his nightstand, it read five a.m.
"Are you guys vampires or something? Why must we go now?" the boy complained. His frustration was practically palpable, and if it were anyone else than Mandarin they might have stuttered or been embarrassed by Chiro's words.
"Time is of the essence, nephew. Now, dress up," he ordered sharply, putting a black uniform on the foot of the bed and leaving Chiro's bedroom.
Seeing no way of avoiding what was to come, Chiro began putting on the uniform which was not to his tastes, and thinking about everything that has happened thus far. He could not believe a part of Skeleton King was family to him and wished to protect him. The Skeleton King he has fought so hard before, who was now his captor, was himself a victim of circumstance too. An accident, he said. Antauri had not told him much about the dark ones, but merely their names were enough to make one steer away from inviting them to coffee, among other things.
How does one reverse corruption from an evil, timeless being? Chiro had no idea yet, and this lack of knowledge rattled him. Not for his sake, but for the Alchemist's sake he was going to find a way to elucidate the mystery. As Chiro began to button the comfortable yet infinitely saddled with buttons uniform, he wondered if Skeleton King was so petty he derived pleasure from putting Mandarin to wake him up at five a.m. Or if maybe something else was at stake? 'Time is of the essence,' Mandarin had said. But what was the rush? It's not like one hour or two would make that much of a difference, would it?
After he had finally dressed up completely, he hurried towards the throne room, where Skeleton King waited for him. He was leaning back on his throne, a bored expression on his face, one hand holding his scepter while the other was sitting lazily on the armrest. He looked pleased with himself, not paying any mind to Chiro's sour look. He glanced at Mandarin for a few minutes and it was almost like the two communicated telepathically. Next thing Chiro knew, he was dragged directly towards Skeleton King by Mandarin, who was smiling encouragingly.
That did not bode well in Chiro's books.
"Alas, after an eternity of waiting, you are finally here, boy. Good. We're going to settle some ground rules."
Chiro glared before spitting out "Fine."
"During our little trip, you will behave accordingly. You are to call me 'sir' or 'master'. Any lack of respect will be dealt with swiftly by my servant," he said gesturing towards Mandarin, "Or by myself. And you shall not like the latter! You shall not talk to anybody except Mandarin and me, and you will always stay by our side. Understood, little thorn?"
"What happens if I say no?" Chiro asked daringly.
"Hmmm, there are many different life forms on this accursedly beautiful planet. How would you feel if I took children away from their families, and punished them in your stead?" Skeleton King asked while grasping Chiro's chin.
Having had personal experience in being taken away from his family by Skeleton King via trickery, Chiro had no doubt that the terrible lord was not making idle threats.
"Alright, I'll behave," Chiro muttered horrified, and the answer seemed to satisfy Skeleton King.
And away they went to a path which seemed dangerous and tenuous. Chiro could not believe he had actually been let out of the gloomy castle. 'Farewell prison of my youth,' the boy thought while already hoping to escape the clutches of his wicked captors/trip guides.
They passed by a breathtaking lake, the child looked joyfully at his reflection.
"I wouldn't touch that, boy. It absorbs whatever hapless traveler in dire need of water and lives off of their essence. On second thought, be my guest, the castle would be much quieter without you," Skeleton King half-joked maliciously.
Chiro steeped away from the water source and tried, successfully, to go around it.
"Is this about my violin playing? Are you angry that I robbed you of a nap?" Chiro wondered satisfied, trying to skip a stone in the lake, only for it to be absorbed. Well, at least now he knew he was telling the truth.
"Ah, so you were doing it intentionally. No, boy, this is not about your pitiful attempt of keeping me awake during my sleep schedule. A witless venture which failed, by the way, as I always charm my door to keep all sound off during that time interval. No, Chiro, I am talking about your irksome existence. Your pure soul lightens the castle, even your voice sounds like an insufferable twinkling of bells every time you laugh."
'Voice like bells?' Chiro thought confused.
"What do you want me to do, darken my soul?" Chiro asked affronted.
"That or stop breathing," Skeleton King muttered.
"Wow, so many options here," Chiro replied ignoring Mandarin's hysterical question "You tried to disturb our master during his sleep time?"
'Not my master,' Chiro thought.
It seemed like the orange robot monkey had just now processed Chiro's little acts of rebellion.
"Well, gee Mandarin, you said not to disturb him when he was awake," Chiro teased while Mandarin face-slapped and Skeleton King cackled.
"Unless there was an emergency, and I wasn't there to remedy it, my hairless monkey," Mandarin said, probably for the eighth time that week.
"Yeah, yeah," Chiro responded, tuning him out.
They started stepping inside a verdant forest. During this time, Chiro could not help but wonder what the aim of the mission/trip was, besides meeting "incompetent life forms.' Because this was Skeleton King, there was always a second reason and plans within backup plans.
"So, what are we really here for?" Chiro asked, intrigued.
Mandarin looked at Skeleton King, and again, they seemed to communicate telepathically. That was getting irksome.
"How about a story, boy?" Skeleton King asked mirthfully and continued even without Chiro's answer "Long ago, the pitiful mistake that is life, spat out men, who became warlocks, who dreamed of conquering the skies..."
"Inferior mages," said Mandarin who seemed to have already compared them to Skeleton King, and found them lacking.
"I have found their location years ago, they reside on this planet, in these very caves," Skeleton King continued storytelling.
"Why must we go looking for wizards in creepy caves? Can't we go to the beach, or do a normal activity around here?" Chiro complained.
"Now where would be the fun in that, my hairless monkey?" Mandarin asked and put one hand on his shoulder, guiding him towards the cave.
It was enormous, and torched light shined beautifully inside.
Before I forget, Merry Christmas, guys ;)