Disclaimer: (sneezes and accidentally hits Sprx) Oops! Dorry Dbrx...

Thanks to:

Twister91: Ichigo: (hugging Antauri whilst Gibson fixes his tail) It's OK, Antauri, I won't let the mean maniac near you.

WF: If you're so good at everything (floats up to be eye level with Onyx) Wanna play a game of blackjack? (Shuffles cards) hmm?

4Evermonkeyfan: Sprx: Dude! Why does he get all the girls! I'm the hot one; I should have dozens of 'em! (Starts crying) It isn't fair!

WF: (whacks Sprx on the head) Oh be quiet! Yeah, I don't mind the relationship with Antauri thing, and the homework monster is officially tackled for now!

Beastfire: Chiro: No way would I do anything that you would do!

Otto: But you did...

Chiro: Lies!

Everyone: (sighs and sweat drops)

WF: (admiring the Ivy picture, which is soon snatched by Sprx) Hey!

Sprx: (running away like crazy) I wanna see if I can use this as a voodoo doll!

WF: (chases him) Come back here!

A Fan of Romance: Chiro: (chanting along with you)

WF: (covers ears) Nova! Please tell them to stop!

Nova: (whacks both unconscious)

WF: Umm... (Sweat drops) I guess that works too.

A/N: I currently have a cold or flu or some other similar disease, which is why I have time to write this instead of being at school (does peace sign), so if it seems slightly... warped, it's due to the fact that my head is currently stuffed up and I get some strange ideas when I'm ill!

A Change of Pace

"Hey, Otto! Wait up!" called Nova, climbing up the tree with Sprx following to where Otto was on the bridge, hanging his legs over the side. He smiled at the pair as they sat down beside him,

"Got anything to eat with ya?" he asked, his stomach growling in agreement,

"Sure do" replied Sprx before handing him a hotdog with everything on it. Otto nearly took off Sprx's hand as he began to devour the hotdog ravenously, Nova and Sprx sweat dropped,

"Gee, Otto, you make it seem like we don't feed you!" remarked Nova, backing away from said monkey as specks of food flew at her. They all laughed and sat together, looking out at the vast fields and cages containing all sorts of exotic and farmyard animals, Nova smiled at the serenity of it,

"y'know" she started, leaning against the bars on the side of the bridge, "sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be just an ordinary monkey. No worries, no trying to save people, no Skeleton King to worry about, just... peace" she drifted off and the others looked thoughtful too,

"Yeah..." said Sprx quietly, "and getting it on with all the female monkeys I can during mating season! Hoo cha!" he cried, drooling slightly, before getting smacked up the head by Nova. He looked up at her, grinning a lopsided smile at her,

"How about it, Nova?" he asked, shuffling closer to her, "wanna 'expand the team'?" he grinned his famous perverted grin and Nova pushed him off of her; but she couldn't help smiling slightly. He grinned again and rested his head against the bar,

"Uh... guys? Hate to interrupt your 'family plans', but we've got company!" cried Otto, looking behind them in fear. Nova and Sprx turned, thinking it was Formless again; but, instead, were confronted by a mass of little children.

"Monkeys!" cried the kids in unison, before glomping the trio and tugging and petting and pulling at them,

"Great" muttered Nova, trying to pull away from the tiny tyrants, but was soon piled on by more, "so now what?" she asked from under the pile. Sprx leapt out of reach and quickly pulled Otto and Nova out of the mass too,

"Run!" he cried as they sped off as fast as they could, the children in hot pursuit.

Elsewhere, Gibson seemed to be having similar trouble, although it wasn't kids that were the problem.

"Down!" he shouted, trying to sound stern and in control, the wallabies hopped closer, forming a ring around the blue monkey, Gibson sweat dropped, "please? Umm... go away now, thank you! I... must be leaving!" he tried to run, but found himself trapped. Then, one of the wallabies decided to be 'friendly' with Gibson,

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he cried, running blindly in fear of his innocence being robbed from him, with the mob of overenthusiastic marsupials close behind.

Chiro, who for some reason hadn't noticed anything, sighed boredly as he watched the other kids having fun,

'Man' he thought, 'why did I agree to watch the table for the team? This sucks' but wasn't bored for much longer, when he realised that there was a crowd of little kids coming towards him. He squinted to get a better look and realised that they were chasing something, or rather some things, he sweat dropped as the huge gang of children and three monkeys flew into him, flattening him against the ground.

When the wave of feet had subsided, Chiro sat up, looking dazed,

"Chiro! Move!" someone shouted and Chiro saw Gibson come running up and leap over him, followed by another crowd, only this time it was wallabies that pummelled him.

As he cautiously sat up this time, he held his head in agony,

"Ow..." he said weakly, before fainting.

As the monkeys ran, the two crowds joined and formed one large sea of monkey obsessed beings, and Gibson noticed a small alley

"Quick! Go in there!" he cried, as he and the other monkeys dived for it. As the crowd thundered past, the monkeys breathed a sigh of relief,

"Pretty smart move, Gibson" panted Nova in praise,

"Thank... thank you... Nova" he gasped, lying flat on his back and trying to catch his breath.

Once they'd all recovered, they decided to go back and see if Chiro was alright.

"C'mon, team!" called Otto, the ever happy one, but froze in his tracks when he stepped out of the alley. The others looked around him and saw that the crowd was there and there seemed to be something rather sinister about them,

"Uh guys? Any ideas?" Otto asked, as they were backed up further into the alley by the crowd advancing on them swiftly,

"Looks like we'll have to attack" said Nova, activating her weapons and readying herself to fight her way out. Everyone stared at her in shock,

"Are you mad!" cried Gibson, gesturing to the crowd, "They're little children and animals! Sure, they've been annoying but they're still-"a long, multicoloured fist struck out and punched Gibson into the wall, "defenceless" he finished before fainting.

The rest turned around to see that the once huge group of little children and wallabies had oozed together and formed a single entity,

"Say what!" cried Sprx, staring in disbelief at the creature. It let out a shriek and tendrils shot out from it and snared the monkeys, including the unconscious Gibson. The others struggled against their bonds and were suddenly shocked in return, knocking them all out. And, as the monster admired its handiwork, a very familiar sinister voice came from it,

"Four down, two to go" it said, before creeping away, chuckling evilly.

"Uh!" grunted Ichigo as the Formless blasted her backwards,

"Ichigo!" cried Antauri, running over and grabbing her before she hit the floor. He helped her up and shielded her as more Formless ran at them, weapons out to attack. He looked at Ichigo from the corner of his eye

"Stay here" he whispered, before flying into a frenzy of a battle, taking on the millions of Formless alone. Ichigo watched as more and more Formless seemed to appear and, soon, it was clear that it was too many for Antauri to handle.

She felt tears form in her eyes as she watched helplessly,

'I wish I could help!' she thought desperately as her tears fell. Then she heard Antauri scream in pain as the Formless blasted and scratched at him,

"No..." she whispered, more tears appearing, "No" she said again only slightly louder and now she looked more determined than scared. "No!" she cried, running forwards and leaping in front of the Formless, preventing them giving the final blow to Antauri. Antauri looked up, blearily, and was amazed to see Ichigo standing over him, holding back the Formless' attack.

"Ichigo..." he said weakly, trying to sit up, "Go. I'll take care of them" he croaked. But Ichigo didn't seem to hear him; he looked at her face and saw the concentration as she tried to desperately block their attacks. He fell silent and could feel his heart swell with joy,

'She can't fight... Has never been able to defend herself... yet, she's protecting me!' Antauri was falling in love all over again and this seemed to give him the strength to continue fighting.

But, as he got up, Ichigo finally gave in and the Formless' attacks broke through her defences and caused her to fly back into Antauri.

As they fell down in a crumpled heap, Antauri looked and saw the Formless advance on Ichigo first,

"No..." he whispered hoarsely, desperately trying to move, but his body ached and wouldn't comply. All he could do was watch in horror as the Formless aimed at Ichigo's terrified face; and, as he braced himself, he saw something spark in Ichigo's heart gem on her forehead. He watched her float up and energy seemed to course into her hands, forming a blue ball in one hand and a pink ball in the other. Her eyes glowed too with an eerie white light and she seemed to become totally calm, she raised her arms and took a deep breath,

"Harpy Arrows!" she cried, flinging out powerful spears of energy at the Formless, squashing most, but more came in their places and Ichigo was quickly outnumbered again,

"It's no good" muttered Antauri as he lay on the ground "more just keep on coming"

He watched as Ichigo seemed to change her tactics and flew up high to where the Formless' ship was, energy seemed to swirl around her wings. As she came level with the ship, she arched back slightly

"Siren Sonic Boom!" she cried, pulling forwards and dragging her wings in front of her, causing a massive wave of energy to blast forwards and destroy the ship and take out the remaining Formless too.

As the wave subsided, Ichigo floated down again and landed next to Antauri, she panted slightly as she looked down at him,

"Hey" she whispered, pulling his aching body into her arms and hugging him close.

"That was amazing" he said in awe at what had just occurred, she blushed deeply and looked away from him,

"I did it for you, Antauri. I couldn't bear to see you get hurt anymore" she replied shyly, blushing even more. Antauri's eyes widened

"You... did that... for me?" he repeated, looking shocked, but, when she nodded, his face seemed to soften completely and his eyes even became slightly watery. Before Ichigo could ask, Antauri's lips locked with hers and they kissed deeply, exploring each other's mouths.

When they parted, Antauri gazed into her eyes with uncompromised love and ran a finger over her cheek.

But, it was a short- lived victory as they heard a rustling behind them and, when they turned to see, a blast shot out and hit them both.

"No..." choked Ichigo, watching Antauri faint next to her before the darkness took her as well.

A short time later, Ichigo awoke in a dark dungeon that smelt damp and felt cold with evil. She looked around and saw that there were others there too and, as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she felt her blood turn cold,

"Holy monkey-doodle!" she cried in shock.

Wheeeeeee! (Coughs and nearly dies) A cliffy, finally!

WF's mum: Get back to bed!

WF: AAAH! (Runs like a mad girl back to her room)

Ichigo: R n R please!