As promised, here's the actual plot stuff! Or, as I like to think of it- "Where shit gets real." Sort of. Look, alright, you'll see :P


the cycle starts again

Lady Cravenheart


5.


Charlie's chest constricts around her heart and lungs as Koraladol comes into sight on the Super Robot's viewsecreen. Her hand strays to her pocket; wrapping around the shape of the datachip. "Keep the comms open," she says. To her surprise, her voice doesn't tremble. For all that Shuggazoom holds her heart, Koraladol has been, and always will be, home. "They'll want to verify identity before we land."

"You'll need to receive it," Gibson says. "It will be easier that way. If you pull up your holopad, you'll see the comm unit."

Charlie pulls up the holo. Her mouth twitches at the sight of the Sun Rider's background; Aurora Six, Super Quasar, and Johnny Sunspot posing dramatically against the setting sun. Shuggazoom, that show was so cheesy. The comm channel is easy to find, and she opens it.

Not too long after, a frequency Charlie recognizes as a resistance standard begins to hail the Super Robot. She opens it.

"Halt. You're trespassing in resistance space. State your business."

"My name is Charlie Nieli, Starman Apprentice, previously awarded the six-pointed star for services rendered on Planet Xatromia of the Galthean Five system." Charlie sat at attention. "Currently aboard the Super Robot with the recently reawakened Hyper Force of Planet Shuggazoom, located in Starlon Six. Requesting permission to land. Will stand-by if necessary."

Silence for a few beats. The comm is open, if the static is anything to go by.

Finally…

"Charlie? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" She knows that voice—Private Malakye. He's a year older than her, and has no taste for battle, so when he signed up they assigned him to telecommunications.

Charlie smirks, and leans back in her seat, crossing her knees. "School-schmool. I wanted to be where the cool people are."

"Seven months ago, you told me I was the most uncool person you'd ever met," he says dryly.

"Yeah, that was before I went back to school and was reminded of exactly how uncool people could be." Charlie wrinkles her nose.

Malakye snorts. "Still, you shouldn't—" He stops. Silence. No static; no breathing; no words.

Charlie's breath catches. "Malakye?" Her eyebrows knit together; her brow pinching.

"Starfleet Admiral Mobius Quint wants to open vid-comm," he says, finally, and Charlie exhales with relief.

"Patch him through."

Charlie transfers the call to the vid screen. The screen went white-static for a moment, then the video came into view.

Mobius Quint is a stern looking man—brown skin and dark eyes; a scar going through one side of his face. A more recent one pulls at his mouth. His graying hair is pulled back by a fraying red-and-white headband. As the Hyper Force come into view, his eyes widen.

"It's true."

Sprx lifts his hand and wiggles his fingers. "Hey, Quint. Long time no see."

Quint grunts. "Docking request granted. Find the blue lights. The Council will be waiting." The screen turns to static again, as Quint terminates the call.

"Good ol' Quint," Charlie says dryly. She spins her chair to face the monkey team. "Don't expect a warm welcome. A lot of people are pi—angry that you guys disappeared, and never came back. Some people might see your return as a kind of providence, but most people are just going to be mad it took you so long."

Sprx grimaces. "You couldn't have mentioned that before?"

Charlie shrugs. "There were other, more important, things to talk about first."

Sprx sighs. He brings the robot in for a landing; the blue lights a clear target, despite the darkness permeating this side of the planet. Once they're secured, they all stand, and head for their tubes. They exit the Robot from the left foot.

Blue bay is the return bay, and it's as busy as ever. Cargo is loaded onto carts and taken to the storage bay for sorting; reunions take place in corners; there are copious amounts of bragging; and medics on standby. As Charlie leads the team towards the doors, though, the noise and chatter quiets. They all turn to watch them walk by. Charlie holds her head up and puts her shoulders back. She strides towards the doors. She wants to leave before—

"Is that the hyper force?"

"No way. Those guys are on the opposite end of the cosmos, asleep somewhere."

"I heard they'd found a new planet to protect, somewhere else."

"I heard they jumped galaxies!"

"They look just like the stories."

"How do we know that's them?"

"Wow. The Super Robot is even cooler in person!"

"Pfft. It's a cheap knock-off!"

—the rumors start up.

Charlie walks a bit faster. She has to turn and grab Sprx to keep him from addressing the fighters held in thrall, yanking him through the door just as it slides closed behind them.

Sprx twists out of her grip. "What was that for?" He scowls at her.

Charlie crosses her arms. "You were going to talk to them."

"And why shouldn't I? They were talking about us."

"I know," Charlie says. "But we don't need to address those rumors. Best to let the resistance heads do that."

"Why?"

"They might want to keep your return quiet."

"The fact that there are rumors will be enough to turn enemy attention our way—if that's what you're worried about," Gibson says.

Charlie shakes her head. "The enemy quit investigating rumors about the hyper force a while ago."

"Why?"

Charlie lets out a gust of air that causes her bangs to flutter. "You think you guys are the only robotic monkeys out there?"

"…well. Yes," Otto says.

"You're not. Some of them were created after you guys, because scientists heard of your exploits, then your disappearance, and had a collective epiphany. Some were created before. They had a lot of altercations with the amphiboid races—you'll recall meeting a group of them while chasing down the Skeleton King Worm, if memory serves."

"Yes… Suupa mentioned that he had encountered 'our kind' before. I didn't give it any thought, however. I thought perhaps he'd run into prototypes, like the Super Robot," Gibson says.

"Are any of them resistance members?" Nova asks.

"We have a few teams," Charlie says. "I think… we have about 30 members in total?"

"That's five teams of six, yes?" Gibson asks.

Charlie grins. "Almost right. Three teams of six, and then one team of seven, and a team of five."

"I have a question for ya. How does a seventeen year old win a 'six pointed star'?"

"Xatromia is an industrial planet. It's rich in metals and minerals, and is also known for having very fertile soil. Best part is, it's only a hyper warp away from Koralodol. It supplies a lot of our food, and we have several weapon manufacturers there. Dad was supposed to take me to get a new weapon, but was called away on resistance duties. So I went by myself—with his permission, of course. And, of course, while I was picking up said weapon, the planet was attacked." Charlie rolls her eyes.

"Typical. I was supposed to go hide in the bunker with the rest of the soldiers' families, but I couldn't just sit by and do nothing. Especially not since they were down so many fighters. I helped hold off the invasion and while I was severely reprimanded for not seeking safety, my actions helped ensure that the planet survived. So. Six pointed star. If I had been a fully-fledged member of the resistance, I probably would have gotten a four-pointed star, but…" Charlie shrugs.

"And you were how old?"

"Sixteen. Though I was two months away from seventeen."

They stare at her; their gaze feeling like pricks against her skin.

Charlie scowls. "Oi! Don't look at me like that. Chiro was fourteen—fourteen!—when he found you guys and started fighting Skeleton King. Sixteen might not be much better, but at least that's old enough to get your pilot's license."

They come to a stop in front of another door. "Let's table this discussion, shall we? The leaders await." Charlie presses her palm against the scanner. A blue light slides across her skin and then the door whooshes open, accepting her palm print.

The council waits.

Mobius Quint, admiral of the first naval division. A small, elite group whose missions were often the most dangerous.

Super Quasar, admiral of the second naval division. A larger division whose missions often took them far from home. His holo flickers in his usual chair, comm-ing in from another one of the resistance's headquarters.

Shifter Sirthana commed in as well, leg crossed over the other. She commanded the largest naval division, which made up the bulk of the navy.

Her sister, Shifter Corlean, commanded division one of the ground army, and was physically present, as division one protected the home base.

Oliana commed in. She was the general of division two of the ground army. They protected the civilian base, which was located on Oliana and her people's new homeworld. The Arcadians had been among the most gracious of the galaxy's peoples.

Aurora Six commed in, located on the same world as her fellow Sun Rider. She commanded the third ground division, and together, they protected the industrial world Charlie had earned her star on.

Johnny Sunspot led the weapons division, comm-ing in alongside his teammates. He was responsible for a great many of the weapons the resistance used against the formless.

He often communed with Suupa, who led the xenobiology division. Suupa spent his spare time studying the formless, and his work time helping to patch up the fighters who came home injured.

Communications were led by Jinmay. She crosses her legs, physically present.

The last member of the council, Xala, is one of the few remaining Varans, and among those who opposed Master Xan's evil. It was Xala and her group who had helped to revive a spark of it as the monkey team fought against the Skeleton King.

Charlie's smile fades as she studies the council. She takes in each of their faces. Haggard, grave. Not out of the ordinary. This fight has taken its toll on them all, and many of them—all of them—have lived through two wars with the Dark Ones now.

But the absence of the Warlord has her stomach dropping to her feet.

"Where's Chiro?"

Otto's innocent question causes Jinmay, easiest to read of them all, to flinch back. It's minute; such a small movement that its almost unnoticeable. If Charlie had not known to watch her, she never would have caught it.

But she did.

"Where's my dad?"

The council is silent. They do not look at each other, but Charlie can feel them weighing it. A silent communication she once admired now makes her stomach twist. She wants to know. They—

Jinmay speaks. "There was an incident. The Warlord… Chiro… he… went to check it out. He took with him The Silver Banshees; Zelene Mult; and M'zyn For'suth. That was three weeks ago. We were going to send a search party yesterday… when we received a transmission." Jinmay taps something on her keypad.

A projector slides from the ceiling, and a holovid appears in the air.

Charlie recognizes her immediately. She hardly ever reaches out to contact them directly, but there is no mistaking the woman. She is the dark one's chosen.

She is Queen Nakama the Undying. While Skeleton King's visage had been that of an undead being, hers was the picture of youth. She had a sweet round face, framed with pale white curls. Her eyes were a soft shade of blue—near the same as Charlie's own. Her skin was pale, but with a healthy flush. And when she spoke, her voice was a melody.

"Greetings, resistance. It seems so long since last I offered you the chance to stand down from your futile pursuit. Three years, if memory serves." She smiles, a petite, delicate thing. "Once again, I make the offer." She waves her hand, the long sleeve of her kimono fluttering. Static distorts the screen, and then it flashes to a cell. "This is live footage from the ship of my dearest admiral Zhang."

"Dad." Charlie breathes.

"Chiro," echoes the monkey team.

He is strung from the ceiling, against a wall; stripped to the waist, clad only in a pair of ratty pants. Six cybernetic monkeys, all a different shade of the monochrome spectrum, and all female; are strung up to his left. To his right is a female with purple-red skin and three eyes on her face, with another two protruding from stalks. In a hanging birdcage is a tentacled creature with green spotted skin and one large eye.

"Your allies put up an excellent fight, but it was not good enough to face against my lich." The screen goes static again, and flickers back to her. "All I wish is for you to surrender your most powerful Power Primate users. For every one you give me, I shall release unto you one of your allies. However, for every week that passes where you do not give me one of them, I shall capture another group of your allies. For every month that passes that you have not given me a Power Primate user, I shall send Koizumi to one of your strongholds.

"And because I am such a benevolent being, I shall give you a free week to think about it."

The screen goes black.

Charlie's fist clench.

"We have not revealed this video to the rest of the resistance yet," Jinmay says. "And we shall continue to keep it to ourselves until we have reached a decision."

"You can't possibly be considering this!" Sprx bursts. "That's— You're just going to offer people up for slaughter?"

Jinmay steeples her fingers. "This isn't something we want to do, Sprx. But Chiro… he is a necessity. No one else out there is capable of bringing the galaxy together. Not like he can. And he will be the last that they give back."

"You're talking about sacrificing eight people," Charlie says. She's never felt so disgusted. "Eight of our most powerful Power Primate users. That… that includes you, Mistress Xala. How can you even—?"

Xala smiles; a thin-lipped thing. Colors swirl in obsidian skin, and the musical tone hums faintly through the room. "For the good of the universe, I am willing to make this sacrifice. Chiro must be brought home."

Charlie shakes her head. "I want my dad back as much as any of you, but this isn't the way of doing it."

"And do you have a better solution?" There's no mistaking the frost coating Sirthana's tone. She and her sister were wild youths—everyone says so—and, as they've told her about a thousand times, they see themselves in Charlie. Every time she opens her mouth, they assume the worst. That she's reckless. Troubled. Looking for an escape, or cheap thrills, or a chance to shine.

Charlie reaches into her pocket and pulls out a chip. "On Shuggazoom, I dreamed of a ship—an important ship—landing out in the Zone of Wasted Years. I felt called to it. So when I woke up, I ate breakfast—and I left. I made it to the ship's computer systems and downloaded a good chunk of their files before I left. Unfortunately, on the way back, I ran into a group of rogue zombie formless. They chased me into the Savage Lands, where I found the Alchemist's Hut; a nice gun; and the Super Robot. After taking out the formless, I woke the monkey team and headed here.

"The stuff on this chip… It could help us out. We won't have to give up any of our people. We can rescue my dad, and maybe even end this war for good."

One by one, the council's faces changed. But instead of seeing the hope she wanted to inspire, Charlie sees pity. The sort of expression one gives a child. "How little you know," it says.

"I'm sure the information will come in handy," Aurora says tactfully. "But if, each week, they will be capturing more of our people, I do not think that it will help enough."

Charlie growls. She stomps over to the computer system and plugs the chip into it. A holo keyboard pops up, along with a matching mouse. She opens the datachip and its files. Specifically… three sets of blueprints.

"Zhang's Citadel. Nakama's warship. And the Black Fortress," Charlie says. Then she pulls up documents. "Weaknesses for Zhang, Koizumi, and Nakama. The ship I found wasn't any ordinary bone cruiser. It was Antoine's personal warship, docked at Shuggazoom near the remains of the Skeleton King's fortress. I didn't stay long enough to find out why he was there. This chip is full of data. Not just on us—but on them. If we go through what they know, we can change our routes and our patterns. We can avoid traps they set for us—and by using Antoine's mistrust of his allies, we can find out how to take them down." Charlie takes a breath. "My father wouldn't want you to sacrifice people for him."

"Charlie…" Jinmay says, eyes shining. Once again, her look lacks the happiness or hope that Charlie hoped for. "Sweetheart. Your father… He knows the sacrifices that come from war. He's made more than a few of them himself—and not always sacrifices limited to himself. He wouldn't want us to… but he would give the order in a heartbeat."

Charlie shakes her head.

"You're wrong." It's Sprx that speaks, head held high. "The Kid wouldn't do that."

"Yeah," Otto says. "Chiro'd never sacrifice innocent lives."

"There is always another way," Antauri finishes. "And he knows that. As should all of you."

Jinmay frowns; forehead creasing. "And how would any of you know that? You left. Twenty-one years is a lot of time—and a lot can change. A lot has changed. This war has demanded a lot from everyone. And while I would love to share your idealism… the time for that is done. Even in his crystal form, Skeleton King could not get rid of the spark of humanity that remained from his days as the Alchemist. Nakama holds no such ties."

"That we know of," Charlie counters. "No one has ever seen her in person."

"That… is not entirely true." Xala pauses a moment. "She did not always have an army, Charlie. Once… She was far less powerful. Just a girl. We did not know she had been touched by the Dark Ones. And her powers—"

"Enough," Quint says. "The point is, Charlie, your dad is the only person with a hope of winning this war."

"Mobius, that might not be—"

He silences Xala with a look. "Chiro is part of the reason that Nakama never leaves the Black Fortress. But those restraints nullify his power. She won't be afraid to come near him, and I don't want to know what she's going to do to him. We need to get him back."

"If she'll do it to him, she'll do it to any of them!" Charlie argues. "We've got—"

"Enough." It's Jinmay this time who silences them. She looks stern—more stern than Charlie has ever seen her. "This is not your decision, Charlie."

"What about them?" She gestures to the hyper force. "They're back. Does that mean nothing? If you won't listen to me, listen to them. They were your allies. You know what they're capable of."

"They abandoned us!" Quint roars. "If they had been here, they could have headed this off before it came!"

None of the others, not even Jinmay, disagree.

Charlie scowls. "Fine," she spits. "You do things your way. But I'm not going to stick around and watch."

Charlie storms out of the room; angry tears pricking the corner of her eyes. If they won't do what's best for the galaxy, then she'll just have to do it herself.