Two for the price of one. Mostly done because they're too short to be on their own (which sadly I've noticed most of my chapters to be short, sorry), and they've both the number eight on them. And that ladies and gentlemen is the number of the day. The number eight. The letter for today is M, and we're just going to leave it at that shall we? Go on, go read the fic. I know that's why you came. :)

Chapter 8

Chiro remembered some one grabbing his arms and yanking him through the dungeons. He did not remember much of the trip save for the few stairs he managed to fall upon but he did remember being thrown into daylight, the sounds of a roaring crowd beating against his ears. And he remembered seeing Caesar in a large covered seating area amongst the crowds of mismatched aliens. He remembered the boars sneer and his awful guttural laugh that echoed throughout the arena before he pressed a button on his chair. There had been a great rumbling and then... Nothing.

When Chiro came too he was lying in a hallway that's walls were littered with small black devices which were round and slightly protruding. The ceiling was low enough that if he gave a jump he could touch it, but high enough that he had no worries of hitting his head against it if trying to dodge something on the ground. That at least was some comfort. As with the dungeon, the hall was lit with torchlight and he snorted.

"What, are we on a low budget or something?" He shook his head, then jumped when he heard a loud noise. It sounded like a speaker.

"Ah, good," came Caesar's disembodied voice. "You've woken up." Chiro forced himself not to cringe and he glared around, realizing that the orbs in the walls were not only speakers but cameras as well. "Welcome to the Labyrinth young Chiro! Here you will face friends turned foe and your only escape is at the center. Or..." There was a pause here and Chiro growled.

"Or what you big jerk?" Caesar reply to this was a sinister chuckle.

"Or your escape can be death," he growled, leaving Chiro feeling chilled. "Good luck; human." Apparently the conversation was over and Chiro was left wondering what else he was facing. He took a deep breath, rubbed his face as if to bring himself around, and began walking.

"Only way to get to the center is to get moving," he told himself. Silently he prayed that he would reach the center unhindered. He really should have known better.

He'd been walking for ten minutes, utterly lost, when he heard a strange chattering noise. He turned, unsure of where it came from when he heard a rustling noise. He jerked around but saw nothing. The annoying chill flared up again and he shivered, slowly continuing on. The chattering came again, closer this time, and he froze unable to think.

"H-hello?" A quiet chitter answered him and he paused, trying to place the now familiar sound. He took a deep breath to calm himself and focused inward. "Okay, it's gotta be one of the guys. Maybe they'll remember me?" A loud feral scream disrupted his thoughts and he cried out as Sprx-77 leapt out at him from around a corner ahead. "Maybe not!" Chiro fled, dodging, as Sprx threw blast after blast making holes in the floor and walls.

"Sprx! Stop! It's me! Chiro," the teen cried as he ran and dodged, Sprx hesitating for only a second before holding his magnets over his head and gathering power for a blast which he threw and hit Chiro in the back with. The boy cried out in pain and fell, sliding on the floor a distance before coming to a dusty halt. He grunted as he struggled to sit up only to gasp has Sprx came down at him, teeth bared.

"MONKEY FU!"

Sprx screamed as he was thrown back and away from Chiro, the green blast sending him a ways down the hall where he lay still. Chiro stood, his face pale, and he stared at his hand for only a moment before rushing as near as he dared to the red monkey.

"Sprx! Sprx are you okay?" There was a groan and then, weakly;

"...Kid?"

When sane, black eyes met blue, Chiro burst into tears of relief.

Chapter 8.5

A grunt, then a snort, and Caesar turned to glare at the bull robot that stood behind him. The robot was manning the different controls before him with a dirty look on his face.

"Morgan..." The robot turned at his masters tempered drawl. "What just happened to my little robot monkey?" The boar was clenching his teeth, his face burning rather red while his cheeks puffed out from holding his breath. Morgan frowned, glowing red eyes flashing as he held his head high.

"It seems that the program is failing my master," he claimed.

"What?" The question was slow, drawn out. "Why do you think that?" A very dry, explosive question.

"The red robot was able to break free after contact with its human, and the silver one..." the robot paused, then sighed. "Sir, why did you put them all together in the first place? Why not in the holding cells with the other prisoners, separated? We should have separated them the moment the red and silver monkeys..."

"DO NOT QUESTION MY ORDERS!" Caesar's shout made the bull jerk and quiet suddenly, before snorting and bowing at the waist.

"Master, please forgive me," he mumbled/growled. Caesar snorted, furious.

"What about the green one," he asked. Morgan visibly shuddered at this, turning back to his controls and pressing a button. The screens before them changed to show each of the monkey's in their own square. Sprx and Chiro were in the top left corner, Chiro walking continuously with Sprx on his back piggy back style as the red monkey had fainted soon after regaining his sanity. Nova, in the top right corner, was pacing back and forth inside a dead end as she slammed her fists together with each turn. Antauri was in the bottom right, screaming as he held his head in his hands and slammed himself against the walls repeatedly while Gibson sat and watched. From what they could tell, the blue monkey was perplexed at what was happening to the silver monkey and instead of trying to fight was merely watching the show with interest. In the bottom left corner however, Otto was stalking through the maze. There was a twisted look of glee on his face as he went, obviously in no kind of hurry.

"Your control over this one is absolute my master. The program has had no opposition what-so-ever," Morgan said calmly. Caesar smiled at this and nodded.

"Good! Good! Tell me, wasn't he the first to fall?"

"Yes Master. He succumbed very quickly. In fact, he was silent after the first run. The others never stopped fighting back I'm afraid, so we kept having to run the program several times. We're running it even now." Caesar nodded slowly at this, humming to himself before waving a hand at the bull robot lazily.

"Change it back to the human. Obviously the green one has taken to the program very well, and I'm sure if even the others break free he can take them down," he said. Morgan turned, changing the screen back to Chiro and Sprx-77 before pausing and turning back to the boar sitting before the screen with a tub of what looked like roasted bugs and worms being given to him by a small dog robot who fled soon after.

"Master, what if the green robot escapes," he asked slowly. Caesar just waved his hand as if the question wasn't worth his time.

"My will is absolute. The green one will give us no trouble and Chiro will die," he said uncaring before munching down on a handful of his bugs. "Now, bring me something to drink."

"Yes... Master..."

TBC