Disclaimer: I do NOT own SRMTHFG!
Sorry about the wait. I've just been extremely busy lately and starting to get a bad case of writers block. *nervous laugh* But thanks for staying updated. :)
Chapter 14: Mandarin
Now that the monkey team was beginning to get used to Azalea more than before, they all decided that she should start getting her martial arts and fighting skills up to par. If she ended up joining them one day then she would need to be at her best so that she can help them fight off their enemies. Ivan was watching them spar in the training room, while Azalea and Chiro were practicing their moves on one another. Since they knew that Azalea didn't have her Powers of Darkness anymore Chiro thought that it was better if he didn't use the Power Primate on her. They both fought hand to hand combat; they were at a very close tie and the team thought that it would never end, until Chiro took her off guard and swept her to the ground. She landed on the floor backwards with a big thump and the boy was considered to be the winner of this match.
"You did good Azalea," Chiro complemented. He put out her hand to her as an offer to help her up. She didn't take his hand and jumped to her feet on her own.
"I think that she's starting to get the hang of this," said Sparx. "And I thought she was good before."
"No! I'm not that good. I've lost to you a dozen times already. I'm not going to stop until I beat you Chiro! Let's do that again!"
"I think we're done for today," said Antauri. "We'll train some more tomorrow Azalea. The most important thing about training is not only working your body, but your mind as well." She was going to object to it, but then re-thought it over and decided that it could wait for another time. She nodded her head and their training session was dismissed.
As Azalea was wandering around in the Super Robot she thought to herself why she wasn't a match for Chiro. She knew that it couldn't be because she didn't have her Powers of Darkness because boy didn't use any of his powers either. She knew that it had to be something more than power. Maybe Antauri was right, maybe she just needed to work her body and mind as one. How she can do that? Azalea's still trying to figure that out.
Before she knew it her pacing about the robot brought her to a room that she's never been in before. She asked Otto about the room once, but he only said that she isn't allowed in it. Whenever you can't get into a certain room in the movies and TV shows, it's always a bad sign that something's up. In another words Otto was saying that she should go into the room. Azalea took the door's handle and turned it and realized that it was open. She thought that it must've been Chiro. He always forgot to lock the door once he goes into a room. She gawked around herself one more time to make sure nobody was looking before she went into the room and closed the door.
When she went in Azalea saw that it was the room in the cartoon that she's caught a glimpse of once when she passed through the living room when she was on Earth. It was the area that the team kept the dangerous relics of the bad guys that they've defeated in the past. The items were lying on some shelves and she gazed at them. One of the articles that caught her eye was a right handed brown glove that looked terribly old. She picked it up and put it on her right hand and punched in the air with it. She thought that it was a pretty good glove and everything, but wondered what it was used for. Azalea put it back in the exact place as it was before and decided to leave the room before anybody noticed.
At the Citadel of Bone Mandarin just broke free from his prison that he was kept in for so long. He was awakened from when Azalea put on the glove and now that he was free he could work for the Skeleton King again. Mandarin was in the throne room and they were currently explaining what the old leader of the Hyper Force Team should do in order to help him take over Shuggazoom. The Skeleton King thought that it was about time for him to strike down the Hyper Force Team once and for all.
"Now that you're released from your slumber, there is something important that I want you to do."
"Anything my lord."
"I want you to go down to Shuggazoom so you to capture the monkeys and the girl that they have with him, Azalea."
"Is she allied with the monkey team?" Mandarin asked.
"Yes, but once you capture the monkeys I'll control Azalea with the brain chip that I have implanted in her and she will work for me again. When this happens I don't want you to harm her. Even if she still doesn't want to work for me, I can still release her other side so that she has no choice."
"What about the chosen one my lord?"
"As for Chiro once I release Azalea's other side I'll have her destroy him once and for all. Your job is to capture the monkeys so that they can work for me as well."
"I understood Skeleton King."
Inside the Super Robot the team was relaxing for most of the day and doing the usual. They weren't really too busy at the time and the team all just went out for a city patrol and finished their training so they had the rest of the day to do whatever they pleased. Azalea and Ivan was sitting one of the pod chairs with Chiro watching the Sun Riders show. She didn't like it all that much and thought that the Hyper Force Team was one hundred times better than any of those geeky rip off bastards. Their robot wasn't even that cool. It was just a robotic ball with legs. She noticed that Ivan and Chiro were really getting into the show, especially when Aurora Six came on.
A few minutes later the alarms in the robot went off and everybody stopped what they were doing. Gibson and Antauri went to the main controls system of the robot to see what the matter was. Everybody else gathered around the giant TV screen to see on it that a giant dark purple robot that was three times bigger than the Super Robot was coming in after them and fast. Azalea had to admit that enemy robot was pretty cool looking. Ivan surprisingly wasn't alarmed by the sudden intrusion. In fact, he was more fascinated by it then anything and something clicked in his head.
"Ah! I see, so it's that episode, but wasn't Jinmay's robotic head supposed to crash land first and the Hyper Force Team going into space?"
"Ivan, now's not the time and I have no idea what you're talking about," said Azalea. "What do we do now guys?"
"No, it can't be," said Antauri. "I've sensed this presence before. It's Mandarin!"
"Mandarin?!" the team exclaimed.
"How can this be?" Gibson questioned. "He's supposed to be locked up in an off world prison…unless…"
"Unless somebody put on the glove that was in that room," Nova finished. Antauri inspected each member of the team, especially Azalea and Ivan. He crossed his arms.
"Alright, who was the one that put on the glove?" She remembered going in that room just recently and putting on the glove just for fun. She had no idea that it was re-awaken some kind of sworn enemy of the team. Her mom always told her not to go around touching someone else's stuff. Maybe this was what she meant. Azalea swayed back and forth uncomfortably and couldn't hide the guilty grin on her face. "Azalea?"
"Alright fine! I went into the room and thought I could try it on! But Chiro forgot to lock the door again and I couldn't help not to touch everything in that room!"
"We can talk about that later," said Chiro. "Let's go and fight him!"
"No Chiro," said Antauri. "Not this time. It's too dangerous for you to fight Mandarin. He's most likely come for you since you are the chosen one. You need to hide somewhere."
"What?!" he protested. "I don't wanna hide like a coward. And I still don't believe that I'm this 'chosen one' you keep on talking about." Azalea didn't blame him. She wanted to get in on some of the action as well. They haven't allowed her to fight with them in a long while.
"Like it or not Chiro," said Antauri. "It needs to be done." He stopped complaining about it and decided to go along with it for now.
"We've got just the place," said Otto.
They all hurried to the hideout that they were talking about. It was located directly next to a giant Eiffel Tower-like structure made out of red metal and with electricity flowing through it. Gibson punched in the code on a fake replica of a human, before the floor nearby turned into some kind of sweet elevator. The team, including Azalea and Ivan went on it before they went below the ground and the door above them closing.
The eight of them continued to stand on the elevator floor until they arrived in a big wide spaced room. It was pretty barren and there was a controls system in it as well as a giant TV screen like the one in the robot so that they can see what's going on outside. Gibson and Otto rambled on about how cozy it was in there and how it would be the perfect place for Chiro, Ivan and Azalea to hide in while the monkeys fight off Mandarin. They were also saying how Otto built all of the defense mechanisms in it. Azalea, Ivan and Chiro found this place impressing for just a bunch of monkeys that built it. However none of them noticed that Azalea refused to go inside of the room. While the monkeys were talking she went back onto the elevator and pressed some of the buttons that were on the floor elevator, locking them all in with three doors closing in on them, in the process, while she went back up onto the surface to prepare herself to face the enemy.
Azalea went into the Super Robot and went into one of the rooms that she went in before when she put on the glove that she wasn't supposed to touch. That was where her Sword of Destruction was being locked up at. She went in there and saw that it was locked inside some kind of force field-like contain. Azalea screwed what they said to her before about how she's not supposed to wield it again. That sword was like her partner in crime. She needed it to fight her enemies and people who would try to attack her and her loved ones. She examined the device surrounding her sword and tried to figure out how to get her sword out of there. Azalea pressed all of the buttons that were on the device until the force field around the sword dissipated. She grabbed her Sword of Destruction and made her way to the main room of the Super Robot.
When she arrived in front of the controls systems she saw that on the screen were the five robot monkeys, Chiro and Ivan that she purposely locked in the room. She smirked and snickered when she saw the displeased and pissed looks on their faces, especially Chiro's since he absolutely went against the idea in the first place.
"Real funny Azalea," Antauri said seriously. "Now let us out."
"Sorry guys, but you see I can't let any of you guys get hurt, especially Ivan and you Chiro. I haven't told you this before, but ever since the brain chip that the Skeleton King implanted in my head, he can bring forth the other side of me that wants to work for him and kill you guys, especially Chiro. So please understand that I don't want any of you getting hurt. If my other side does try killing any of you don't hesitate to take my life instead of yours. I won't be angry at any of you if you do."
"Azalea, don't do this!" Ivan exclaimed. "Let the team fight with you. We can all work something out." She slowly shook her head.
"I just told you all, I don't want to have blood on my hands if my other side tries exterminating any of you. And I'm not letting you out either!"
"Azalea!" everyone exclaimed. She ignored them and went outside to face the giant awesome looking dark purple robot.
She walked out into the open with the Super Robot behind her and drew her sword when the purple robot landed on the ground in front of her. That was when she realized how huge it was compared to the monkey team's robot. She felt like an ant when standing right in front of it.
Azalea was waiting for it to make another move when it threw a pink haired girl on the ground, out of its robotic hands. She laid there unconscious and was about the same height as her. Azalea immediately recognized her and thought back to the time where she first came to Shuggazoom. She saw her and Chiro through a pink heart shaped window sharing a snow cone together. She must've been Jinmay, the girl that Ivan was talking about before. She was badly injured and was covered in dirt and dust. She probably went through some fight with the "Supreme Destructor".
Her eyes widened when she saw who came out of the purple robot. It was a huge ass guy with muscles and arms the size of an elephant and had some kind of purple space mask over his face. Azalea was overwhelmed by the size of the enemy. She never imagined Mandarin, who was supposedly a monkey having that big of pecks.
"Holy shit!" Azalea yelled. "How many muscle malts do you drink a day man?!" He had no idea what she was talking about because she didn't say anything, but the minute he took off his mask he introduced himself. At least his head looked like a monkey's.
"Hello Azalea. I'm guessing that you're the girl that has the brain chip implanted by the Skeleton King?" She narrowed her eyes and continued to clutch onto her sword in her left hand.
"How did you know?"
"He told me. I didn't come here to fight you, I came here so that you can help me destroy Chiro and capture the monkeys, but all I see is you here. Where did the chosen one and the monkeys go? Don't tell me that they ran away." She felt her own ego starting to get to her.
"Yes," she said with a smirk. "In fact, they did run away, because of me!"
"So you're going to tell me where they've gone off to?"
"To hell I will!" she shouted. "And I absolutely refuse to work for you and the Skeleton King! You're going to pay for what you've done to Chiro's girlfriend!" Azalea raised up her sword and started to rush in towards him, but Mandarin didn't even need to raise a finger in order for her to feel a surge of pain coming at her. She stopped in her tracks and felt a terrible ache pounding through her head. To her it felt like a migraine, except worse. Azalea dropped her sword and clutched her head. She knew this feeling before. It only happened when her other side tried taking over her. The pain in her head hurts so badly that she usually screams and that was exactly what she did and it wasn't long before was lying on the ground, wincing in agony.
"Stop struggling Azalea," Mandarin said. "Just accept the fact that you're going to be working for the Skeleton King as long as you have that brain chip in you." Azalea continued to feel the pain throbbing in her growing worse, until she didn't feel or remember anything at all. When that happened she smirked and came back up to her feet, grabbing her sword in the process.
"Ugh," she said. "Stupid Azalea. If you haven't have locked up the team in the first place I would've slaughtered them all on the spot. You got in the way last time at the Death Arena. Chiro should've been dead by now." Mandarin knew that the Skeleton King succeeded in bringing forth her other side. All they needed to do now was to find out where the Hyper Force Team was and they would be able to do their jobs successfully. Azalea had an idea of where they were though, but thought that it would be best if they wait for them to reveal themselves.
It wasn't long before Chiro first came out of their hiding place that Azalea locked them all up in the first place. He observed the situation and saw that nearby Jinmay was on the ground unconscious and wounded. He saw Mandarin and Azalea there, but something seemed off. If Mandarin was there why wasn't the girl attacking him? Unless…
"Azalea!" Chiro exclaimed. "What are you doing?!" She smirked at him and replied,
"Hey monkey boy. Long time no see. It's about time you've come to join the party. We've been waiting for you."
"What? But, Azalea…" He thought back to what she told them all after she locked them all inside of the hideout. She said something about her other side coming out from the brain chip that was in her and how it wanted to work for the Skeleton King and destroy them all. It came to him that this wasn't the Azalea that he knew. If that was the case then the first thing that came to mind was that she and Mandarin injured Jinmay. Chiro grew serious and could feel anger boiling up inside of him upon realization.
"Azalea! You're going to pay for this!"
"That's right," she said. "Come at me!" The boy charged in at her with his fist glowing green with the Power Primate. He was going to throw his fist at her face, but Azalea dodged out of the way and had her left hand resonate black as dark as midnight, soon following up with a hard punch to his chest. He backed away from her for a second to regain himself. He heaved over from the impact of her fist to his abdomen. Azalea used this chance to forcefully kick him down on the ground and was going to finish him off with her sword, but then…
All of the monkey team, except for Gibson came out of the hideout and they stopped Azalea from finishing off Chiro by attacking her themselves. Outnumbered and overwhelmed at them coming at her all at once she retreated away from the boy and deflected most of their attacks. One of Otto's hand saws managed to deeply cut into her cheek, blood trickling down her face.
"Are you alright kid?" Sparx asked. He rubbed the back of his head and got up onto his feet.
"Yeah, thanks guys, but it appears that Azalea's not on our side anymore."
"We've noticed," said Nova. "But we've got Mandarin that we have to worry about."
While they were talking Mandarin greeted them and began saying how nice it was to have a family reunion again. He got out a box of some kind of mechanical devices, one each specially colored for a specific monkey and they latched onto the monkeys. They tried to get it off of them, but it was no use. They wouldn't come off. Mandarin noticed that Gibson wasn't here so he shrugged it off and said that maybe next time he would capture him.
"Guys!" Chiro exclaimed.
"Not so fast," Azalea said slyly. "I haven't forgotten about you Chiro." She blasted him with a beam of dark energy that came from the palms of her hands that once again got him. He was pushed a few feet from the spot he was standing and hit his back against the Super Robot. Because of the great impact the Super Robot soon fell right on top of Chiro and that's when Azalea and Mandarin thought that he was finished off for sure this time. There was no hole either in the Super Robot's chest for him to miss getting hit, so they were satisfied that he was squashed flat like a bug.
"Chiro!" the monkey's exclaimed. She snickered at his demise.
"There we go Mandarin. All went according to plan this time."
"I don't care if you are Azalea's 'other side'!" Nova exclaimed. "You're going to pay for this!" She ignored the yellow monkey's insult.
"Excellent. Now that we have the monkeys in our grasp shall we go to the Citadel of Bone and have the team work for us now?"
"Of course, but what shall we do with the girl?" They looked over to where Jinmay was still unconscious on the ground.
"Forget about her. In her weak condition she can't do anything anyway." With that being said they took the monkeys with them inside of Mandarin's giant purple robot and they flew off to the Citadel of Bone.
After Azalea and Mandarin flew off with the captured robot monkeys it was quiet around the area for a while. Jinmay was beginning to stir awake and still terribly sore she slowly arose from the ground and surveyed the area. She noticed that nobody was around and that the Super Robot was toppled over face first on the ground. She wondered where Chiro and the monkeys were and thought back on everything that had happened.
Jinmay did remember something about Azalea saying before that her boyfriend was finally destroyed or exterminated. She focused her gaze on the fallen robot and wouldn't believe that Chiro would be killed that easily, but if that was the case then…then…
Oh no!
She rushed over to the Super Robot and with all of her strength lifted up the Super Robot and flipped it over to see that Chiro was lying underneath there, motionless. He was probably squished from the robot's weight so badly that he probably…no! She would not believe it. Jinmay propped up his head with her arms and leaned into his chest to make sure he was still alive. She tried to listen to his heartbeat and breathing closely, but…
He wasn't breathing.
