A/N: The 'orphanage' reference is part of my 'Chiro's past-Skeleton King's son' theory, which will be expounded upon in my upcoming fic, "Reasons Why."

Notations:

Italics: Communicators

And it was at this moment that the Super Robot lurched. The monkeys were thrown from their seats, and a distinctive yelp could be heard from the infirmary.

Getting to their feet, Gibson and Otto raced to the screen while Antauri and Nova ran to check on Chiro.

"Monkey doodle!" Sprx screeched as the screen flickered to life. "What in Shuggazoom is that?"

Otto's mouth dropped open, eyes wide. "Whoa…!"

Towering above the Super Robot was a colossal Formless, of a kind the Hyperforce had only once before seen. And even then, there was something all the more threatening about this one...

Gibson's heart filled with dread. "Dear Isaac Newton…! The Advanced Formless have joined together to utilize a sort of Mega form!" He turned to his green and red brothers, voice weighted. "I fear this battle may leave us worse for wear…"

Meanwhile, Antauri and Nova entered the sick bay to discover Chiro, who like them had been thrown, trying to crawl back into his bed. Rushing over to help him, they asked, "Are you all right?"

Nodding in both answer and thanks, Chiro's face was grave. "What's happening? Are we under attack?"

Suddenly, Antauri shifted his ear-gears, allowing Gibson's voice to feed through. "Antauri, it seems Skeleton King has developed a new toy…"

Even at this small phrase, Chiro paled, and the monkeys' brows furrowed. Antauri, voice urgent, questioned, "What is it?"

"A Mega Formless has been born of millions of Advanced Formless." In the split second between sentences, anxiety successfully seeped in. "We're in for quite a fight, my friends."

Antauri was silent for a few select moments before he responded. "Understood. Antauri, out."

Closing his eyes tightly, the silver simian breathed calmly before his eyes flitted to his golden companion. "Come, Nova. We are needed."

"Wait!" Chiro sat up and began to throw off his blankets, but Antauri forced him back down with his telepathy. "Hey! Antauri!"

"Forgive me, Chiro," and truly, the silver monkey did sound sorry, "but we can't risk it. This is just what Skeleton King wants."

"Or maybe he just wants to destroy me by taking you guys out. Maybe he wants me to be alone…" his voice went quiet, dark, as the memories of the orphanage surfaced, "…again…" His eyes welled with tears. I'm coming with you, Antauri," he grinned with a manner of finality, "and you can't stop me."

Antauri sighed, but knew they didn't have time for further argument. "All right, Chiro. Do as you will." What went unsaid was clearly expressed elsewhere: but know you will always be protected.

Chiro nodded determinedly and put his communicator to good use. "Monkeys, mobilize!"

Rushing for the transport tubes, each Team member was deposited into his seat in the Super Robot.

Nova.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Six, go!"

Otto.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Five, go!"

Gibson.

"Fist Rocket Four, go!"

Sprx.

"Fist Rocket Three, go!"

Antauri.

"Brain Scrambler Pilot Two, go!"

And Chiro.

"Torso Tank Driver One, go!"

Sprx, Otto, and Gibson did a double-take in surprise.

"What's Chiro doin' here?" Otto asked, bewildered.

"You'd better have a good reason for lettin' the kid come with us, Antauri!" Sprx threatened, though the spiritual advisor knew it was out of worry for their young friend's safety.

"Indeed, Antauri!" Gibson cried, thrown. "He should be resting in the infirmary! We can handle this menace!" The next part he whispered under his breath. "I hope..."

"Hey, it's not Antauri's fault, and it's not Nova's either!" Chiro shushed. "I gave them no choice!" He could sense the questions arising. "We'll discuss this later! Right now, we have a Mega Formless to squash!"

"He's right!" Nova concurred. "Let's take out the trash!"

Two hours later, they'd destroyed seven of each arm, twelve of each leg, five heads, and six torsos. But each time the Mega Formless regenerated.

"Okay, Team, we're running out of options," Chiro admitted. "Any ideas?"

Gibson sighed. "We've utilized and reutilized every defense the Super Robot has. I don't know what else we can do."

"Perhaps the solution is closer than we think," Antauri advised, and the entire Team went deep in thought.

"I got it!" Chiro exclaimed after several minutes, unbuckling his seat belts and entering his transport tube. "Monkey Team, hall breach!"

The monkeys joined him in the control room a second later. Antauri, stepping forward, asked anxiously, "What is your plan, Chiro?"

Chiro smirked. "Just one: I'm goin' in!"

The monkeys screeched. "What?"

"You can't be serious, kid!" Sprx shouted. "You'll get yourself killed!"

"I know that, Sprx," Chiro returned, "but this could be our only shot."

"But Chiro…" Nova began, "…what if something does happen?"

"Yeah, Chiro," Otto agreed. "We don't wanna lose you."

Chiro smiled lovingly and knelt down on one knee, resting one hand on Nova's shoulder and the other on Otto's head.

"Hey, has anything ever stopped me before? Besides, I have you guys to back me up." He looked up to pan his eyes over the rest, stopping on the especially anxious Antauri. "I'll be fine."

Gibson, still doubtful, turned desperately to his eldest brother. "Antauri, please, talk some sense into the boy! He's ill! He's more likely to spike his fever again than win a battle in his condition! Say something!"

The silver monkey, however, merely gave a serenely troubled hum. "We must trust him, Gibson. He's been with us long enough to know how to handle himself." His eyes flickered to their young charge's, and both sets of orbs lit intensely. "He's never led us astray before, and I have faith he never will."

"Then it's decided." Standing, Chiro pressed his palms together and bowed to his Hyperforce. "I'm honored to have your trust, Monkey Team. I'll make you proud."

The monkeys smiled back warmly. "You always do."

Chiro nodded. "Then let's do this!" They turn back to the transport tubes. "Hyperforce, go!"

A/N: So sorry for the long wait! I couldn't decide how I wanted this to go, and then I was bombarded with schoolwork... But now it's Thanksgiving break (I have Wednesday-Sunday off school), so I have quite a bit of writing time (minus my A.P. U.S. History and A.P. Physics homework...ew...)! I'll get another chapter up tonight, but this seemed like a good place to end it for now.

I made up the Mega Formless.

Thanks for reading, as always!