Chapter 13

According to well known and practically ancient superstitions the number thirteen is the unluckiest of all numbers. Friday the thirteenth is a day most feared and it is said that some builders will often refuse to even build a thirteenth floor, thus leaving people to ponder why there is only a twelfth and then fourteenth floor in some buildings. The reasoning for all of this is that the number thirteen is perceived as a bearer of bad luck and that in it's presence horrible things happen. All are warned to beware the number thirteen.

Fortunately for Chiro, he was unaware of this chapters numbering and was therefore unworried as he rushed through collapsing hallways and over tattered bridges. Where lava once flowed only cooling black rock remained, and where prisons once lay, only rubble now stood. As far as Chiro was concerned only one thing mattered, and that was the life of his beloved friend and teammate Otto.

So for those of you who fear the number thirteen, take a note from our hero and care not for the numbering of this chapter. For superstition is a silly thing, and when the call is given to choose between a loved one and your fear, which will you choose? For Chiro, there is no choice. Fear has no place in this moment of his. All that matters now, is Otto.

He'd have been lying if he said it had been complicated to find where Caesar had been hiding. Disturbingly enough, all he'd had to do was follow the trail of robot bodies and he was brought straight to the darkened control room that belonged to that hated boar. The only light coming from this room was off of a large, strange, sword that crackled eerily with some kind of power and emitted a soft blue glow. This glow came in waves as the power crackled and popped, and it gave Chiro a cold feeling. Where was Caesar? For that matter, where was Otto? The bodies Chiro had come across had, had the green robots mark so he had to be here.

From where the teen stood he could make out the cracked glass of a screen and the torn back of a great chair but nothing more. This unnerved him and he clenched his right hand into a fist before slamming it into the wall beside him. The door had been destroyed long before he'd arrived.

"What took you so long Chiro?" Chiro froze at the sound of the calm voice, his blood running cold. From the beneath the broken screen there came a low, pain filled moan and he could see a hand reaching out. Something silver flashed and there was a loud 'crack'. The hand was limp but the moan turned into a scream while the other, and more familiar, voice laughed maliciously.

"... Otto?" The laughing stopped and Chiro stared as the small green monkey stood up out of the great chair. Otto bent down and grabbed whatever had screamed before dragging it out to face the teen, a manic grin on his face.

"Hello Chiro," the little robot said, holding up the hand that gripped what Chiro now recognized as Caesar. The boar was badly wounded, slash marks and bruises littering his face and body. The teen could tell that several bones were broken on the boars snout, left arm, and legs. Obviously Otto had gotten bored waiting for him. "I got you a present Chiro." Chiro clenched his teeth, glaring at his teammate who frowned at this reaction. "You don't like it?"

"Otto... this isn't like you! How could you..."

"You mean you didn't want to do this same thing? Or are you just mad that I got here first?" There was silence before that awful grin returned to Otto's face and the monkey merely tossed the oversized boar to the pale teen. "Don't be jealous Chiro. I did leave something for you." Caesar moaned in pain as Chiro took several steps back and away. Tearing his eyes away from the pained boar, he stared at Otto.

"Otto," he gasped. "It's that programming. It changed you!" Otto cocked his head to one side, the grin gone again as a deep frown replaced it. There was silence for a moment as the little green robot stared him down and Chiro shuddered involuntarily at the look.

"Yesss..." Otto hissed, his voice suddenly mingling with a computerized sound. "It has made me better." He stalked forward, Chiro forcing himself to stay where he was. His whimper made him freeze and when something grabbed his pants leg he looked down to see Caesar clinging to him in terror.

"Save me," the boar whispered. "Save me!" Chiro stared for only a moment, and that moment was too long. Before he could blink, Otto had changed his hands to saws and ended the boars life. The next second Otto was in the air, screaming a loud monkey scream as he lashed out at Chiro's head. The teen cried out and fell over backwards, grabbing one arm with a hand and leaning his head away to dodge the other. The saw blade passed over his forehead, leaving behind a strange hot burning sensation before leaking warm blood past his right eye. Startled by this, Chiro threw Otto away from him before lifting himself off and over Caesar only to realize what he'd just done. There were no other exits out of this room that he could see, Otto was out in the hall and making his way back in, and he was trapped like a rat.

It was not an analogy he enjoyed using as Otto's saws started whirling behind him.

Sprx-77 was coughing as he lay on one of Gibson's medical beds, Nova standing next to him with a hand on his forehead and Antauri close by with a guilty expression on his face. Gibson was 'tut-ting' away at them as he moved about the infirmary gathering supplies.

"He's going to be fine you two. Stop worrying," the blue monkey was saying casually as he returned to Sprx's side. The red monkey glared at him for a moment before breaking out into another coughing fit. "I'm really not sure what you did Antauri but the damage is minimal. Two broken ribs, some internal scratches which have already stopped bleeding and a slight concussion but otherwise he's fine," Gibson explained. "I can take care of all of this easily, and since Sprx has been waking up on his own we don't have to worry too much about him slipping into a coma." Another cough, and then;

"Hey brain drain..." Sprx glared, his voice hoarse. "You're not being exactly comforting." Gibson glared in return.

"He'll live, and without any side effects." A grunt from Sprx was the only answer he received before he turned to face a screen with the red robots bio-stats lit up on it. A sniffle sounded behind him and he closed his eyes with a sigh, rubbing his forehead. Nova.

"I'm sorry Sprx," the little yellow robot sniffed, causing Antauri to look at her.

"You're sorry," he whispered. "If it were not for me..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "I should have been able to fight this better," he said quietly, bitterly. Sprx sighed, which caused him to break out into another coughing fit.

"Your lungs are still healing Sprx," Gibson said suddenly, changing the subject quickly. At the red monkey's look he blushed. "Sorry. But... they did gather some liquid. Just take it easy will you?" Sprx grunted.

"I will... if they will..." he claimed. Gibson nodded, looking at the two guilt ridden monkeys with a frown.

"I have to stay with Sprx... to bandage his ribs. Do you two think you can get the robot ready for lift off on your own," he asked. Weary eyes fell upon him before the two nodded and stood, leaving quietly and causing Gibson to sigh.

"You're... awful calm... 'nana breath..."

"I'm trying not to think about it." Sprx merely grunted in conformation and then winced as Gibson began to bandage his mid-section.

'Come back Chiro. Soon...'

Chiro was running out of ideas. 'Chiro Spearo' was easily dodged, 'Monkey Fu' wasn't given enough time to even power up, and unless he wanted to lose a leg there was no way he was going to risk a 'Lightning kick'. Unfortunately, and much to the teens terror, insanity made Otto a great fighter. Hesitating was a bad thing, and he'd learned this lesson several times over the course of this fight, his chest and arms bearing proof of how great a mistake it was. Otto meanwhile, had nary a scratch on him and was laughing gleefully as he chased Chiro around the room. When Chiro would make a break for the door, the little green monkey would leap over the teen and slash at him with the saw blades to drive him back. Otto was playing with him.

"Otto! Stop this! PLEASE!"

"Why," was the reply. "I'm having so much fun! Aren't you having fun Chiro?" Chiro gasped as the saw blade missed his face by an inch and dug into and through the metal floor.

"No I'm not! This is insane Otto," Chiro cried, flinging himself backwards as Otto strained to remove his hand from the floor. A series of colorful words escaped the little robots mouth, startling the teen as he slammed into something warm behind him. Chiro shook his head to clear it, then looked over his shoulder. As his ear came close he could hear the quiet humming and as his eyes traveled up he was presented with colorful blinking lights and a complicated keyboard. His face lit up as Otto pulled himself free and fell over with a yelp. He'd found Caesar's blasted computer! Maybe this would help him!

He stood up, eyes quickly scanning all the keys in the hopes of finding something that looked familiar. He didn't get to look long, as a searing pain traveled from his right shoulder to his left hip and he screamed. Collapsing to one knee, he looked over to see Otto smiling maliciously at him with one saw dripping red. The green monkey looked almost ecstatic as a low ominous chuckle brushed past his lips.

"Bye, bye Chiro." And then he leapt high, the whirling saws above his head as he came down with a loud battle cry. Chiro leapt out of the way and fortunately (or not so fortunately) Otto could not change his course so easily. He came down upon the terminal with a scream of metal, electricity and pain. He was halfway through the computer before he managed to pull himself, and several wires, free. These wires somehow managed to clog the saws as Otto fell to the floor, unable to make them turn and unable to change them back into hands. Chiro could only stare before asking;

"Otto? Otto are you alright?" Panic was seeping into his voice now and he rushed to the little robots side, only to cry out as Otto lashed out at him. His eyes were black once more but confused, and he was unable to speak as he brought himself to his feet and struck out with unmoving saws. Chiro could only watch in horror at the jerky movements and mindless display as Otto fought air and gave a loud foaming snarl. A massive and terrifying shudder through the ship forced the two to the floor and had steam screaming out of pipes that apparently ran through the ceiling.

"Otto we have to go!" Chiro found himself screaming as he threw himself upon the monkey. Otto fought against him, writhing and snarling, screaming and lashing out as best he could till Chiro held him down by his arms. "OTTO!"

"LEAVE," Otto managed to ground out, fighting all the more as Chiro grappled with him. "Leave me!"

"No! I won't," Chiro cried, tears forming in his eyes. "Otto I'm not going anywhere without you! I WON'T!" The ship lurched and Chiro very nearly fell on top of Otto, the green monkey twisting desperately to free himself. One arm came free as the teen's head fell on his shoulder, and he raised it up for a final blow.

Green filled his vision as Chiro suddenly gave a heart wrenching wail.

"OTTO!"

And then, finally, there was darkness.

TBC