Disclaimer: I don't own SRMTHFG or any of its characters, just my characters, the main OC's vehicle, and this plot.
Chapter Six: The Priceless Treasure
"Slash…" Hayley whispered as the two siblings faced each other: one with two whips ready, the other with but one sword; one with a mischievous grin, the other with a pleading frown. "How could you do this?"
Slash's grin vanished as he stared at her. "I told you before: when I fled from the Formless that day, they nearly drained the life out of me. When Skeleton King found me, he rebuilt my body and gave me new life."
But Hayley snarled and threw her whips at him, wrapping his sword and attempting to yank it from his grasp. "You never said it was Skeleton King! You've lied to me!"
Growling in reply, Slash struggled to pull Hayley closer to him. "I said that my master saved my life! That was not a lie!"
"You misled me! That makes it a lie!"
"I had to do it!
Skeleton King merely sat in his throne, watching the scene in silent pleasure as both struggled for the advantage.
"I was alone for years, Spot. Even after he gave me life, it wasn't worth living. But when he informed me that you were alive, I vowed for us to be family again."
"I thought I was alone, too, Slash. I missed you and our brothers and sister. I'm glad knowing that you're alive, and I do want us to be family again…but you're on the wrong side."
"He gave me my life, I gave him my loyalty!"
"Yes," Skeleton King hissed, drawing Hayley's attention away from Slash. "He knows better than anyone that mortal humans are not worth serving."
"You're full of it!" Hayley scowled to both of them. "We don't serve humans any more than we should serve them. And when he's done with you, Slash, he'll destroy you, too. He'll turn you into something even worse than a Formless!"
By this time, Slash was able to fix his position and pull Hayley over his head, sending her screaming to the other side of the room. She released her whips and flipped, landing on her feet.
"Spot, I'm sorry to say that if you won't join me, if you won't join the Master…then I shall have to destroy you."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Wouldn't it?" He leapt forward and literally took a stab at Hayley. She gasped in surprise when she realized how serious he was; she was so convinced that her own brother by blood wouldn't actually attack her that she had remained still until the last few possible moments. He nearly shaved off some of the fur on her arm as she leaned and rolled to one side.
She quickly reacted by lashing her whips at his ankles, easily tripping him into falling onto the floor. And yet, even though she had just barely escaped a tremendous blow to her body, she couldn't quite bring herself into fighting him.
She couldn't help but wonder if this was how the Monkeys had felt when Mandarin had betrayed them.
However, she wasn't granted the luxury of time for guessing; Slash was back on his feet and waving his sword violently in front of her, a deep scowl on his face.
Hayley wrapped her whips against his wrists and the hilt of the sword and leaned toward him, forcing him to stop shoving her forward and to keep him at bay.
"I don't want to fight you," she pleaded with him, trying to reach the goodness that she felt was still in his heart.
"Did you really think that I wanted it to come to this?" he asked in reply, almost as softly as she. "I spent years in training, preparing to rescue you from whomever could've been holding you prisoner. I never imagined that I would be using this training against you."
Hayley would have wanted to tell him that she hadn't been reunited with the Hyperforce very long and that she could have very well been right under his nose for all of the training. But she could see past Slash and noticed the Skeleton King sitting calmly on his throne and even losing interest in the fight itself as he regarded the unconscious Chiro.
She scowled, knowing that Skeleton King would never be so relaxed in the middle of a life battle unless he knew for certain that victory was going to be his.
Feeling a slight pain in her chest, Hayley grunted as she began to lose hope. She had been worn out by her battling with the Formless, and now she was using what little fighting strength she had left just to delay Slash's attacks. Her hope began to drain from her heart almost as fast as her strength was from her body.
"At last, you realize that avoiding me has gained you nothing," Skeleton King finally said after several minutes of remaining quiet. "You should have saved yourself the trouble of blocking me and simply embraced my gift of power as easily as your brothers have."
Hayley didn't need to ask why her great enemy had used the plural form; she knew that he was talking about both Slash and Mandarin.
"The dark forces can give power beyond your imagination, Hayley," the evil overlord continued. "Turn your face away from the blinding force of light and give in to the darkness. Let your mind forget the blissful innocence of ignorance and embrace your native nature."
She grunted in effort as her vision began to cloud with what seemed like a dark mist. She panted, her arms quivering under Slash's strength.
The Citadel suddenly shook, snapping her from her despair. She didn't hear very well when a familiar voice had called out "Energy Saw Strike!" But when she found a pair of familiar green weapons striking Slash in the side, she somehow found the strength to lean over to one side and send Slash to the floor.
"Hayley!" the same voice cried out to her.
She, Slash, and the Skeleton King all looked up in surprise as the Monkey Team flew through the emergency exit in the Fist Rocket Three. Chuckling evilly, the master of the undead turned in Chiro's direction and held his staff high, the end of it glowing brightly in evil energy.
"No!" Hayley squealed before struggling out Slash's grasp.
He was ready to follow her and stop her from reaching him when another voice echoed with "Lady Tomahawk!"
"Nova?" Slash asked in surprise just after he recovered, although not easily, the blow to his head. "I thought you liked me."
"I do…" she frowned before pointing a thumb behind her. "But HE doesn't."
"Gyro Roll!"
Before Slash had realized it, something red was rolling in his direction, magnetic fields giving his whole body a tingling and numbing feeling as they electrocuted him. Soon, Sprx was standing before the badly injured Slash, smirking, "I knew you couldn't be trusted."
Antauri and Gibson had run past the others and were catching up with Hayley in the attempt to save Chiro.
"Monkey Mind Scream!" Antauri screeched, sending his sonic attack directly for the Skeleton King's head! Caught off guard, he dropped his staff and grabbed his head. He yelled in pain, frustration, and anger as he turned on Antauri and used his telekinetic power to send the Black Monkey back!
While he was distracted, Hayley and Gibson moved on to Chiro's side, Gibson's drills working furiously to free their injured leader. Chiro's limp body fell into Hayley's arms, and she began to carry him towards the open hatch in the Super Robot.
"NO!!" Skeleton King screamed, pointing his staff at them both. But Gibson had her back covered. Several of the Spin Shocker attacks were not enough to injure him, but it was enough to change the angle of the staff, causing him to become distracted once again.
Hayley and Chiro were the first to reach the hatch. Nova was not too far behind them, helping Antauri along the way. Sprx and Gibson actually cooperated in unleashing their attacks against Skeleton King at the same time, injuring him and forcing him into the seat of his throne.
Lingering behind, Otto looked down at the injured Slash.
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In the Command Center, most of the Monkeys were taking their respective circular chairs. Hayley was still carrying Chiro, trying to get him into Sick Bay.
"Monkey Team, prepare for emergency take-off," Antauri ordered.
"Wait!" Hayley screeched. "We can't leave Slash like this! It'd be wrong!"
Gibson frowned at her. "Logically speaking, because he has betrayed you and tricked you into betraying us, he is likely to cause the same trouble again."
"Wait a minute," Nova realized. "Where's Otto?"
Just as she asked the question, Otto came into the Command Center, confusion written all over his face.
"Otto, did you get Slash?" Hayley asked hopefully.
But the Green Monkey just shook his head.
And only Sprx noticed the truly pained expression on her face.
"We gotta get outta here now!" Otto told the others. "He's already got more Formless coming this way!"
"What about my ship?" Hayley asked. "It's at the other side of the fortress."
"Already taken care of," Sprx told her. "We got it back just before we crashed in on the party."
By this time, Otto joined the others in strapping into the chairs while Hayley took Chiro to Sick Bay. In moments, they guided the Fist Rocket Three into breaking free of the regenerated shell. The Super Robot had to maneuver through asteroid belts and stardust clouds before they were able to shake off the Citadel.
Within minutes, the Fist Rocket Three removed itself from the regenerated section of the Citadel, allowing the Super Robot to take off. It had to maneuver through asteroid fields and stardust clouds before they were finally able to shake off their pursuer.
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Several hours later…
"Antauri?"
The slightly deep voice of Otto brought the Black Monkey out of calm meditation in his quarters as he turned to regard his friend. "Yes, Otto?"
"Can I…talk to you about something for a minute?"
"Of course."
"It's about…what happened in the Citadel."
Antauri gestured next to him, inviting Otto to sit down by him. Feeling a little sheepish, the Green Monkey's step was a little slower than normal as he approached and sat beside him.
"What's on your mind?" Antauri asked.
"Uh…" Otto began, starting to scratch his head. This drew a slightly exasperated look from Antauri as Otto realized that he didn't ask the question literally. "Well, back when we were ready to leave…"
Otto looked down at the injured Slash and felt sorry for him. After taking a brief moment to assure himself that Skeleton wasn't going to pick himself up any time soon, he ran to Slash's side and gently took his arm.
"Leave me," Slash snarled, beginning to pull his arm away. "I am ashamed, defeated, and close to death."
"We can help you," Otto told him, not letting him go. "I can fix those metal parts in no time, and Hayley's a wonder with medicine. Besides, she would want you to come back."
Slash breathed a sad sigh. "No, she wouldn't." He then gave him the saddest eyes the Green Monkey had ever seen in his life. "You are the one called Otto?"
Otto nodded.
"Then please, do me one favor." As Slash spoke, his voice was trailing off into a faint whisper. "We both know…that Hayley is a treasure far more valuable…than anything in the universe. So, please, please promise that you would take care of her…in my place. She speaks very highly of you. In fact, if I hadn't known any better…" And at this point, he could barely be heard. "I would say that she—"
But Slash never had the chance to finish that sentence as he fell limp onto the floor, never to rise again./i
Antauri listened to Otto's explanation without interrupting even once, acknowledging the details only a few times with an understanding nod. When Otto was finished, the pair sat still in thought.
"I wonder what he meant," Otto finally said after several moments of silence.
"Slash was fortunate," Antauri replied. "His heart was not as badly corrupted as Mandarin's was, even though he did spend a considerable amount of time under the influence of the Skeleton King's dark powers. He had not lost sight of what he considered to be important: reuniting with Hayley…at any cost."
Otto shrugged. "So…everything he did, it was with good intentions?"
"The best of intentions, Otto. The problem is, some of the worst deeds imaginable can be done with the best of intentions. Slash was so intent on retrieving Hayley that he didn't realize that the result wouldn't have justified his methods. If he had had his way, he would have had Hayley back…but it would not have been the reunion he had wanted. He realized that he could no longer make her happy; that was why he requested that of you."
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A slight groan was the first sound she heard in a long while, so she quickly turned her attention to the only medical bed that was occupied. Her patient's eyes slowly opened and looked at the only soul in the room.
"Hayley?" he asked softly when he recognized her turquoise fur.
"Shh," she whispered soothingly. "Try not to talk, Chiro. You've suffered some broken ribs. It'll take time for them to heal. You also have some fractures in both arms, but Gibson and I had already set them in splints so they'll heal straight. What's the last thing you remember?"
"I…couldn't sleep," Chiro began. "Something about what Slash had said bothered me. I had decided to go for a walk. But as I did, I felt something hit me on the head. Next thing, I'm in here."
Hayley sighed, realizing that he had been unconscious from the beginning and didn't even know that Slash was the one who had brought him to Skeleton King. She felt that now wasn't the best time to tell him the whole truth, so she simply stated, "Well, you don't have to worry about Slash anymore."
Chiro sighed happily as he slowly turned his head to regard the newest member of his team. But as he did, he noticed something sitting behind her shoulder. "What's that box?"
Looking back, she noticed the box that she and Slash had found in Mandarin's quarters in the Citadel. "Oh…just something I picked up along the way," she said as she opened the box. She smiled at him as she removed the orange dragon from inside of it. After all, it wasn't technically a lie…
She was a little surprised by Chiro's smiling reaction. "Hayley…how did you know that dragons were my favorite besides monkeys?"
"I didn't," she admitted. "I just took one look at it and thought of you. That's all." So saying, she placed it next to Chiro's head.
Already feeling better, Chiro quickly fell back to sleep.
Hayley didn't need to turn around to know that someone was quietly entering the Sick Bay, but she did anyway.
"Sprx?" she asked in surprise at the only one who had come in.
"Hey, listen, Hayley," the Red Monkey humbly began, slowly stepping in. "On…on behalf of the whole team, I…well, I just want to say I'm sorry for the loss of your brother."
For several seconds – even though they felt like minutes, perhaps even hours – the pair remained silent. Then, much to Sprx's surprise, Hayley smiled.
"Why, whatever do you mean, Sprx?" she asked, looking at Chiro, who was still sleeping peacefully. "I hadn't lost my brother; I found my brother."
"But…but Slash—"
"Slash will be missed," Hayley quietly interrupted, her voice as serious and grave as he had ever heard her. "When I was an ordinary monkey, rough-playing in the jungle, I had five brothers and a sister. When I found you guys, I still had five brothers and a sister. And right now, I still have five brothers and a sister. Nothing has changed in all these years.
"But what Slash did was unforgivable. I can forgive him for the mistake of misjudging you guys. I can forgive him for the mistake of kidnapping Chiro. I can forgive him for misleading me and drawing me to Skeleton King. What I can't forgive him for is the fact that he fell into darkness so easily. He felt that Skeleton King had given him life when in reality…he gave him a living death. … I had lost my brother…long before I laid eyes on him again."
Sprx sighed and, as slowly and gently as possible, placed a hand on Hayley's shoulder.
In response to Chapter Five's reviews…
Crystal Persian: Ack! Once again, I've let you guys down with an update delay. Well, at least this chapter ends the story.
Dark Fox Tailz: Was it really that obvious? Hmm, I may have to be a bit more subtle next time…
love-writer: LOL; good thing my brother's too much older than me for me to get away with kicking him, even if he deserved it.
38SouthernAngel89: I didn't mean to get so caught up in everything. I hope this was worth your extreme patience.