Episode Title: "Messages and Memories"

Disclaimer: I don't own SRMTHFG or any of its characters, just my character and this plot.

Note: This takes place shortly after "Secret of the Sixth Monkey" but before "Pit of Doom". Read, hopefully enjoy, and review.

Chapter One: Morning in Shuggazoom

Clear pastels of pink and yellow slowly crept over the eastern horizon. Not a cloud swept in the skies as the southern winds brought a reassuring warmth. Few people were seen on the streets, but that would change as the sun would soon welcome the hubbub of Shuggazoom City.

But inside the Super Robot, he shifted to and fro in his bed. Sweat poured from his head to his pillow, but that wasn't enough to wake him. His heavy breathing was like a storm of nervousness, but that wasn't enough to wake him.

If Chiro could have seen his reflection in that moment, he would have seen the sudden pleading and serious look etched on his face, the light of his heart glowing in his eyes as his energy of the Power Primate awakened within him.

With no control over his mouth or voice, he said with a soft echo, "Even in the deepest darkness, there's a light within you that never goes out. It will always guide you."

That was what had finally woken him up. He suddenly sat up, shaking the disorientation from his head, then looked around in confusion. He had felt the danger within a fragment of energy from the Power Primate, but it wasn't his fragment. And now that danger was gone, just as fleeting as the dream itself was. There was no threat in his bedroom.

"Huh?" he asked, confused. "What…what was that about?"

Silence was the only answer he received.

With a great sigh, he slowly came out of bed and dressed himself. He never got tired of the blue jeans, white shirt, green tie, and red jacket that he always wore. No matter how many days in a row he would wear them, they were always clean and ready for him the next morning. He still remembered the times when this was just an ordinary set of garments. But attached to the front of the left shoulder was the Power Primate Rod, the device given to him in order to change into the mighty leader of the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce. And he did just that.

Within minutes, Chiro stepped out of the orange elevator and into the Command Center. The main monitor was off, but several smaller monitors were left on, displaying citywide scans and checking for any evil disturbances. There were none, but Chiro wasn't satisfied with this. He began typing on the keyboard, turning on the main monitor.

"Activating long range scanners," the computer's feminine voice announced.

"You're up a little early this morning, Chiro," a familiar voice said.

Because he had thought he was alone, the greeting easily startled him. But he looked back with a small smile and saw someone floating toward him with legs crossed and eyes closed.

In many ways, Antauri was the Robot Monkey that Chiro understood the least. He always felt that he was at a disadvantage whenever he was with Antauri, for the Black Monkey could sense his thoughts and emotions, yet he couldn't do the same to him. Antauri seemed emotionless, rarely giving either a smile or a tear. He was the Monkey who was always a little reclusive and eccentric.

Still, being alone with Antauri had its finer points as well. Just as the Black Monkey was the one he understood the least, he was also the one he trusted the most.

"You know I don't like it when you do that," Chiro said wryly.

"I am sorry, Chiro."

The leader sighed and looked at the main monitor. There were still no disturbances to be seen, but he just couldn't shake off the words that he said in his dream. What did they mean? Were they a message to him? If so, from whom? And why?

"Antauri?" he asked, feeling sheepish and uncertain, wondering if his question was going to confuse the wiser monkey. "Did you…did you notice anything strange happening a few minutes ago?"

Once again, silence flooded Chiro's ears. It was very unnerving to the boy, and he was beginning to lose himself in the silence when Antauri finally answered, "Indeed, I did. I was in the midst of deep meditation when the Power Primate within me awoke for no apparent reason."

Surprised, Chiro turned to look at him. "You felt it, too? Then…I didn't just imagine it?"

All Antauri did was shake his head.

"Do you know what's going on, Antauri?"

"No, but the Power Primate is at work somewhere. I can sense it."

He then paused and opened his eyes at last, turning his head to look straight into Chiro's. "We should intensify our training."

Knowing what this could mean, Chiro nodded grimly.

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Amongst the stars and asteroids, comets made their beautiful dances across the cosmos. The first time she looked at them, they inspired her with awe and wonder. But there was no time for such comforts at the moment, not when her life was at stake.

How long had she been trapped in that endless torment of darkness, doubt, and despair? Days? Years? Centuries? There was no way for her to know. Not until she reached her destination.

With any luck, they still remembered her. How often she had dreamed that they were waiting for her, anxious to see her again. She already knew in her mind which one she would hug first.

Light-years behind her loomed the ominous spaceship of rock dreaded to be called the Citadel of Bone. It was following her, she knew, but she didn't look for fear of falling back into the grasp of its power. She had barely escaped from that grasp, and she dared not to start going back in. She only looked ahead, always ahead.

Her energies were running out.

In the distance, she could barely see a faint ball of red and white that she instinctively knew was a planet. She strained her eyes, focusing on the details. It had changed, but she recognized it.

"Finally…" she whispered.

The fact that Antauri's Power Primate energy unexpectedly awoke in him suggests that the other Robot Monkeys have been affected, too. But just who is this space traveler trying to escape Skeleton King? More to come in Chapter Two: Damsel in Distress.