Okay, so I'm doing these in order of release date. Even though this was the Halloween Special, it was also the third episode in the season. This one was much closer to the episode than I had anticipated. Enjoy...
The Super Robot was in hot pursuit of the Skeleton King worm. They were getting very close. Inside, the Monkey Team sat in the control room. Chiro now had orange accents on his silver body, thanks to Otto. It did creep Nova out quite a bit. He recalled overhearing the conversation.
"Did you have to go with orange, Otto?" Nova had complained.
"What?" The green monkey had shrugged, "His color's supposed to be orange, isn't it?"
"That's not the point..." Nova had sighed, "Doesn't it remind you of... you know... Mandarin?"
"It's not like he's gonna go crazy with power or anything!" Otto had smiled, "He's still Chiro, right?"
"I guess..."
"The Skeleton King Worm is gaining speed," Gibson observed, bringing Chiro back to the present, "It's distance is two point seven Astro Units."
"Alright," Chiro nodded, "It's all or nothing, team. Otto, charge up the torso cannons."
"Already charged and ready, Chiro!" The green monkey gave him thumbs up.
Chiro smiled at the computer locked on, "Fire!"
The robot fired two large bursts of energy at the massive worm. On impact, they, exploded. The Skeleton King Worm let out a cry of pain.
"I think we just made it angry." Nova pointed out.
"Hold our position!" Antauri ordered quickly.
The worm turned around, facing them. It fired a beam at them, the rainbow-like energy surrounding them. The colorful energy soon swirled into a dark spiral. It appeared that ghosts flew by the Super Robot. The alarms sounded inside as the whole Robot shook.
"Gibson!" Chiro sounded over the noise, "What's happening?"
"The beam is transporting us across the Cosmos!" The blue monkey responded, looking over a chart.
The dark portal faded and the robot was soon surrounded by fog. The Monkey Team exited and looked around.
"Uh..." Nova looked left and right, "Where are we? I can't see a thing in this mist..."
"Wait," Antauri stopped the group, "I sense many life forms approaching."
Suddenly, they were surrounded by several pairs of glowing eyes. The Hyperforce took a defensive "O" formation.
One of the enemy creatures jumped towards them. It was a black demon-like creature with wings, horns, and yellow eyes.
"Chiro!" Otto pointed, "Look out!"
The creature tackled the silver monkey. Chiro struggled against it at it tried to get its face closer to him. It was trying to bite him. As he struggled to get free, several more creatures closed in on the Hyperforce.
They were all unique in a way, varying in height and girth, but they all seemed to be relatively short (from a grown human's perspective). They all had twisted smiles on their shadowed faces. The three closest to the team leaped to attack.
"Magna Tingler Blast!" Sprx fired large arcs of electricity at one of the demons, but it did nothing to stop it. The creature knocked the red monkey back to the team.
As Sprx landed between Nova and Gibson, the yellow monkey jumped forward, ready to punch the monster in the mouth. The demon just sucked her into its mouth and, after Nova put up enough resistance, spit her back out. As she landed, she noticed she was covered in green slime and cringed heavily.
Chiro had finally gotten the demon a good enough distance away from him, "Monkey Fu!" He blasted the little monster away and jumped to his feet. After the creature recovered in the air, it fired an energy burst from its tail. Chiro was knocked back and Antauri turned his attention to the small demon. He entered his own ghost mode and leaped towards the imp. It simply fired another energy burst and hit the black monkey.
Antauri landed on his knees, his ghost mode deactivating. Everyone readied their weapons as the creatures stepped forward.
"Our weapons are powerless against these fiends." Gibson pointed out as the demons got closer.
Then, the demons turned around to face the mist. There was a sound similar to a howl.
"More monsters?" Otto readied his saws.
A masked figure with glowing yellow eyes stepped out of the fog. The demons seemed to lock up in fear. The figure then shouted at the fiends, "Back, you creatures of the night!" The demons fled, running and flying away in terror.
The figure then noticed the Monkey Team. He approached them and they prepared themselves for a fight.
"You are safe now, strangers," He assured them, removing the mask, "It is only a mask." His face looked elderly. His hair was weathered and balding, his eyebrows thick, and upon his cheeks were mutton chops. His teeth were crooked, his eyes gray, yet he looked like a nice person all the same. He wore a dapper suit from a time long forgotten in this age of space travel.
The fog began to clear, possibly with the fleeing demons. As the Monkey Team glanced around, they found that they were on a hilltop in a land that appeared dead.
"Where in the Universe are we?" Chiro asked, confused as to how they could have ended up here.
"Right outside of Cryptovania, my friends," The elderly man smiled, gesturing towards a small village in the distance, "I am the Magistrate of this tiny town. Please, follow me." He began walking to the town, the Monkey Team following...
The town appeared empty and much larger than it had seemed in the distance. What had caught the Hyperforce's attention the most were the peculiar decorations around the town. There were bats, large, fat gourds with faces carved into them, a weather-vane in the shape of a witch on her broomstick. This town had customs that were unknown to the people of Shuggazoom, whether they were forgotten or had never existed on the planet.
The Monkey Team was lead by the Magistrate down the central avenue of Cryptovania, towards a rather large estate on a hilltop in the center of town. It was easy to assume that this was where the elder man lived.
They were stopped at a crossroads when a wagon with a large orange gourd, pulled by two black cats dashed by. Otto ran out into the road, looking after the strangest thing the monkeys had ever seen today.
"Cool..." He said with wide eyes. He excitedly looked around, "Look how spooktacular everything is!"
Sprx just shivered, "C-can we just leave now?"
"What's the matter?" Nova smiled deviously, "SCARED?"
The red monkey quickly hid his fear and took an annoyed pose, "No! I... just got this weird feeling..."
Gibson nodded, "I agree with Sprx... for once. This world and its customs are highly suspicious."
They then noticed that the townspeople were all along the main road, masks in hand. They had blank looks on their faces as the Hyperforce walked by.
"So Magistrate," Chiro picked up his pace to match the elder man's, "What's going on around here?"
"A great curse has befallen us," The man explained with a heavy heart, "Every night, demons from the Netherworld come and steal our little ones away."
"Demons, you say?" Gibson looked intrigued.
"The only thing that can ward them off," The Magistrate continued, pulling out his own mask, "Are masks more frightening than they."
They finally reached the manor, waking up the path to the front doors. As if out of nowhere, a red haired woman appeared in front of the doors and the sound of thunder was heard. Sprx screeched and cowered back, nearly backing into Otto, who was staring in awe at the lady.
She appeared to be younger than the Magistrate, if only slightly. Her hair was short and blood red, her skin pale -possibly from makeup- her eyes pitch black. She wore a black dress that showed signs of wealth, and possibly a corset underneath.
How she knew what they were saying before reaching the manor, none but the Magistrate and she knew, "We call this curse the Season of the Skull."
The Magistrate's good mood returned and her gestured towards the woman, "This is my wife, Sevirina. Welcome to our humble abode." The doors opened on their own and bats flew out of the house, followed by ghosts.
Sprx suddenly held up his hands, "Whoa whoa whoa! You think I'm going in there? With that old creepazoid? You're outta your box!" He crossed his arms and held his ground.
Gibson leaned in, "No need to fear these superstitious lifeforms Sprx. Curses, magic, it's all just a mass of mumbo-jumbo..."
"Don't be too hasty to condemn these people's beliefs, Gibson." Antauri followed behind him.
Sprx remained there for a couple more microns before he noticed he was alone. He looked up in terror at a sound to see a mangled ghost fly by. He quickly ran to catch up with the group, taking one last look to see if his eyes were working right.
As Sprx shut the doors quickly, panting heavily, the Magistrate started an oil lamp. As the main hall was filled with light, the Hyperforce found that this room had even stranger decorations than the town. Occult sculptures, voodoo wall paintings, the works. They looked at the elder man as he began to speak.
"There are only a handful of little ones left in the village..." He said solemnly, "We need your help."
"Here strangers," Sevirina gestured towards a cabinet, "Take these magic masks to protect yourselves from the demons." The cabinet opened to reveal six masks. There was a Frankenstein, a vampire, a devil, a ghost, a witch, and a jackalope.
Chiro approached the cabinet, Sprx close behind. The silver monkey turned around with the Frankenstein mask, making a roaring noise. If possible, Sprx would have jumped straight out of his skin. The look of terror on his face was astounding.
"How do I look?" Chiro asked the others, ignoring the cowering Sprx.
"Weird..." Otto awed, "I want one!" He dashed towards the cabinet.
Sprx had recovered and put on the devil mask. He looked at Chiro, "I feel like an idiot..."
Nova jumped in front of him with the witch mask on, making a similar noise to what Chiro had made earlier.
Sprx screeched again, nearly falling over before noticing who it was, "Hehe... Nova..."
She triumphantly made the cackling laugh of a witch, jumping in victory before slapping him in the back of the head.
Gibson was wearing the vampire mask with a cape, "I really hope that blood drinking isn't a part of this ritual..."
Antauri was wearing the ghost mask, "I suppose my new ghost mode would be appropriate now?" His body was then covered by the teal energy of what was now his favorite power, his inner constructs almost completely visible.
Chiro paused, noticing something that was very similar about the power that they both shared... Ah, he'd ask Antauri about it later!
Otto had put the Jackalope mask on and looked at the rest of the group, "How do ya like me now?" He bounced on all fours in front of the Monkey Team, tail curled up, "I'm a Jackalope!"
Out of the monkeys' field of vision, the Magistrate and his wife shot dark smiles at each other.
Gibson noticed a book. No, not a book, a grimoire. A book of spells. He walked up to it and read the title, "The Grimoire of Necrotis?" He read some of the ancient symbols written inside, "Hmm, maybe there is a rational explanation to this mystery in this somewhat diabolical looking tome..." He continued flipping until he landed on a page with a single symbol that resembled the faces of the demons from before
That was when they heard the commotion outside. Everyone in the house ran over to the window, seeing the townspeople running from the demons that were now swooping in.
"The demons have returned!" The Magistrate exclaimed hopelessly.
The Hyerforce dashed into the town, masks on their faces. Chiro landed a punch on a demon before the others were ready to fight. Even though he had his own weapons, he still preferred his fists above all. Antauri kicked a demon, making it fly back into a wall.
"Magna-ball Beam Splitter!" Sprx shot down three demons.
"Laser Criss Cross!" Gibson beamed down two demons.
"Scritch-Scratch Doom Thrower!" Otto launched energy fragments, taking down a demon and scaring the other two that were with it away. Otto paused, then shouted happily "Hey! These masks are boosting our powers!"
Two demons, going to run, were intercepted by Nova. She grabbed them, spun in a circle, and tossed them into a wall. She dusted off her hands and turned away, "That's that!"
The rest of the fiends fled en masse, flying as fast as possible. It just wasn't their day, was it? The Monkey Team removed their masks, watching the demons fly off. They then noticed that sad faces of the townspeople. They were crying.
"What's wrong with everyone?" Otto asked, "We just saved the town."
They heard Sevirina cry out, "Our little ones! They're gone! They're all gone!"
"How our we get them back?" Chiro asked, knowing that it wouldn't be easy.
"There is only one way..." The Magistrate said darkly, "You must find the Mystic Flame of Thanatos."
"It's fire is the only thing that can destroy the demons..." Sevirina explained.
"So where do we get this Mystic Flame?" Chiro asked.
"It forever burns in the Sacred Cemetery beyond the haunted forest," The Magistrate pointed to a dark hill, "But, I warn you: All that have ventured into there have never returned."
"No worries, Magistrate," Chiro smiled smugly, "How hard could it be to find a flame in a dark cemetery?"
"Follow the path my friends," Sevirina saw them off, "But I warn you not to stray from it. Lest evil come your way..." The fog overcame them and the Magistrate, Sevirina, and the entirety of the village seemed to disappear into thin air. Chiro blinked, hoping his robotic eyes weren't deceiving him.
They walked towards the haunted forest, though it wasn't that long of a walk. Once they were there, Sprx had completely lost his nerve. He heard a hooting noise and looked up. In a tree was an owl with a very angry looking face. He thought he heard voices in the mist that filled the forest. Girls chattering, children laughing, the occasional scream of bloody murder. He froze when he heard "Spaaarxxx..." The red monkey let out a whimper and ran to catch up with the group.
"Where are we?" Nova asked, "We've been walking forever."
Gibson looked up, beyond the trees, "Has anyone noticed? The moon hasn't moved since we arrived here."
"Gibson is right," Antauri agreed in a suspicious tone, "This world is not governed by normal time and space."
"Listen," Sprx said, moving up to Antauri, "Gab all you want. I say we take a shortcut."
"No way Sprx!" Chiro exclaimed, "Remember what Sevirina said about staying on the path? 'Lest evil come your way'?"
"Okay okay," Sprx surrendered, "Just... let me get a bird's eye view." He activated his rocket pack. Before he got more than ten feet off the ground, a tree branch smacked him back to earth. Sprx rubbed his head as he went to stand up, "Ugh... what hit me?"
As if on cue, a tree turned around and faced him. The animate plant had a demon mask on it, the eye holes burning. A branch came down and snatched Sprx off his feet.
"Wha-What the...?" He was violently pulled up.
"Sprx!" Chiro shouted. He and the rest of the Monkey Team ran for their red friend, Chiro going to attack first, "Drop him!" He fired a Monkey Fu at the tree, making the possessed plant screech in pain and drop its captive.
Sprx landed on the ground very ungracefully, Nova and Gibson running to help him up.
"Sprx," Nova shook him, "Are you okay?"
"Been better..." The monkey struggled up. A tree behind them woke up, smacking Gibson and Nova away from their friend. Antauri jumped out of nowhere, "Claw Slash Attack!" He cut straight through the dead wood, severing the branch.
Two more trees awoke and attacked. Otto ran at them, saws ready for anything... except getting grabbed from behind. The tree tossed him away.
"Shadow Cutter!" Chiro disappeared. The tree seemingly grabbed out to the thin air, but caught Chiro in mid-swing of his right handed beam blade. Several more branches grabbed on to him and began pulling. Chiro couldn't take it, "Monkey Fu!" He let out an non-concentrated blast of energy, incinerating the branches.
As he landed on the ground, the other monkeys regrouped. They were completely surrounded. How awkward an ending: the Super Robot Monkey Team defeated by trees.
"Back on the path, team!" Chiro ordered. They all ran for dear life. Otto fell behind and was grabbed by the branches just as the others made it to the path. The trees returned to normal, as if nothing ever happened.
"Aaagh!" Otto screamed, no longer being held by an evil tree, but holding himself up on the fork of a branch, "Help! I don't want to-" He stopped as he looked around.
On the path, everyone was panting, catching their breath.
"Sprx..." Nova panted in an angry tone, "I'm only gonna say this just one time... STAY ON THE PATH!"
They had continued on their path towards the cemetery. Gibson was looking at the grimoire he had taken from the manor. Antauri noticed this.
"What is that tome you're reading, Gibson?"
"A supposed book of magic," Gibson shrugged, "But I highly doubt this grimoire actually works."
Otto snatched the book from his hands, "Really? Let me try!" He flipped a couple pages, "Aguru kookoo ROOROO!"
There was a poof and Gibson's head became that of a chicken's, "Egad! I've become some sort of poultry!"
"Oh sweet!" Otto grinned ear to ear.
"Regrettably," Gibson shrugged, "I make a rather handsome chicken."
Otto looked up the reverse spell, "Malahi mukuru MUI!"
There was another poof and Gibson's head was back to normal.
"Well," Nova shrugged, "At least you know the book works."
"Nonsense!" Gibson took the book back from Otto before he could cause any more trouble, "It's simply the will manipulating reality at the quantum level." He glanced back at Otto, "I really don't believe in magic!"
They continued for a little while longer until Chiro stopped.
"Wait!" He stopped them, "The path is gone!"
Antauri pointed, "Chiro, up ahead."
They all looked at the gates of an old, rundown cemetery. Inside, they could see rows upon rows of grave markers. Sprx shivered again. Why did they have to drag him around this place?
"The Sacred Cemetery..." Nova muttered.
The team walked carefully through the hallowed grounds, not wanting to disturb anything they could possibly wake up. Chiro remembered Antauri's instructions on how to use the different gadgets in his body. He activated thermal goggles, looking for the Mystic Flame.
"Chiro?" The black monkey asked.
"Straight ahead," The silver answered, "I'd say somewhere around ten meters."
"We need to work on your estimations..." Gibson muttered in the back of the group.
They finally reached the Flame, being held by the statue of a demon.
"The Flame of Thanatos..." Chiro mumbled. Antauri floated his way up to the torch and lifted it from the statue's hand. An odd sound rang through the cemetery as gourds with faces lit up with an eery yellow light. They lifted off the ground as ghosts possessed them.
"Hyperforce Go!" Chiro ordered.
Nova instantly jumped to attack, but went straight through the ghostly body of her target. Otto tossed his saws at the body, but they went straight through, leaving him defenseless to the entity's headbutt. Sprx was being held down by two, another lifting its "head" off of its ghostly shoulders. The pumpkin was replaced by another as the monster tossed its former head at the red monkey. Sprx spent a while trying to get the gourd off of his face.
Chiro, fending the creatures off with the Flame, shouted to the intelligent monkey, "Gibson! Use that magic book!"
"But, I can't make it work!" Gibson complained, "It's illogical!"
"GIBSON!" Chiro glared, now with three of the creatures on top of him.
"O-okay..." Gibson looked at the book, "Very well. Klodtu Berata Nipto!" He didn't notice the flower poof onto his head, "Nothing happened!" He braced himself as one of the ghosts flew towards him. There was a quick movement and the gourd fell to pieces as Antauri dashed by. The fruit then exploded onto Gibson's face. The ghost dissipated.
"Aim for the gourds!" Antauri exclaimed.
Chiro finally freed himself of his attackers, activated his blades, and disappeared. All three gourds split in half in rapid succession as Chiro reappeared, smugly wiping his hands off. Gibson fired both beams at the gourd ghosts, popping two of the pumpkin heads. Nova went on her usual smashing spree, just aiming for the heads this time. Otto epically engaged a ghost, both practically flying towards each other. Otto won, the gourd splitting in half.
"We got it," Chiro smiled, picking up the Flame, "We got the Flame of Thanatos. Now let's get back to town."
The battle won and lost, the Monkey Team regrouped and headed back to Cryptovania...
The Magistrate and Sevirina sat on a bench swing, waiting for the Hyperforce to return. They looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. At the rear gates of their grounds, they saw the six robot monkeys from before.
"Magistrate!" Chiro called, "We're back!"
The couple exchanged cryptic glances as they stood up and approached the group approaching their home.
"Strange ones..." The elder man said, "You've done it! You've truly done it!"
"You've found the Mystic Flame!" Sevirina announced in an unbelieving tone.
Chiro handed the Flame over to the Magistrate, go gladly accepted it. He and his wife developed dark smiles as he raised the Flame up high. It seemed to pulse, and the demons from before appeared. The townspeople began to approach the manor as well. They were walking alongside the demons...
"What's going on here?" Nova asked suspiciously.
"Yeah," Sprx agreed, "What is this? Some kind of set up?"
"You fools!" The Magistrate said in a deep voice that could not have belonged to him, "We've been trying to get this Mystic Flame for years!" His face contorted, molding into the shape and form of a demonic face, "But demons are forbidden to enter the Sacred Cemetery!"
Everyone, even the townspeople morphed into green skinned demons. The Monkey Team glanced around.
"This... doesn't look so good." Otto stated.
Sevirina cackled, "Now you understand!" She gestured towards the dark demons, "These imps weren't stealing our children, they are our children!"
"Well what about this?" The Hyperforce put on their masks.
Now the Magistrate laughed, "Did you truly think those masks would protect you?" He snapped his fingers and the masks warped away from their faces, wrapping around their bodies in tight bonds, "You fell right into my trap, fools," He smiled as they struggled...
In Cryptovania, time stands still on an odd level. Though people can go on with their lives, the days never progress. The moon never moves. The sun never sets -if one were to travel to the opposite side of the world, they would find it in a state of eternal sunrise. To say that the Cryptovanians took the Hyperforce up an ominous hill at "sunset" would be inaccurate.
They took them up an ominous hillside regardless of the time, however. At the top of the hill, where the moon shown brightest and largest, was a large wooden statue. At first glance, it appeared to be a lanky man with antlers.
The demonic parade ended at the foot of the statue, as the Magistrate turned to see his fellow Cryptovanians.
"Demons of Cryptovania!" He addressed them, "Tonight, we are here to honor our great lord: The Skeleton King!" As he said the name, the Skeleton King Worm appeared overhead, screeching to make many aware of its great presence.
"To you," Sevirina began, "We offer these new victims!"
There was great cheering emanating from the crowd behind the Hyperforce. The Magistrate lifted the Flame once again.
"We now have the one thing that can bring life to the Wicca Skeleton!" He announced, "The Mystic Flame of Thanatos! Let the ritual begin!" He placed the Flame on the wooden statue. As it touched the dry tinder, the Flame quickly consumed the entirety of the Wicca Skeleton, animating it, if not bringing it completely to life.
As the wood darkened, the face on the Skeleton developed a dark smile. It took a victorious pose as it noticed its own existence.
"I..." Gibson struggled, "I can't activate my drills!"
"Antauri?" Chiro looked at the black monkey, "Could we ghost phase through the ropes?"
"I'm afraid that it's not possible Chiro," Antauri struggled himself, "These restraints are magical in nature."
"Wait!" Nova grunted, "I think I can get my tail free!" She began to wriggle and writhe within her bonds, "Come on... come on..."
The Wicca Skeleton began to step towards them. It towered over them at a level that may have even threatened the Super Robot.
"Got it!" Nova exclaimed in triumph. She activated the propeller in the tip of her tail, using the blades to cut the constraints. She broke free and cut everyone else free. They all dropped to the ground.
"No!" The Magistrate shouted when he saw them break free.
The Wicca Skeleton was right on them now. It seemed to recognize them as a threat and went to stomp them out.
"Look out!" Chiro shouted in warning as the massive foot dropped towards them.
The entire team dodged, but only for the Skeleton to begin swatting them away like insects.
"Chiro Spearo!" Chiro tossed the bolt of pure energy at the wooden Skeleton. It only made the flames rage even more, "Uh oh..."
"Destroy them!" Sevirina ordered the Skeleton, "Destroy them all!"
Chiro dodged a ground punch just in time, wincing in pain as his tail hadn't made it out in the best condition. That was the one appendage he was still getting used to...
Otto attacked the wooden behemoth from behind with his Scritch-Scratch Doom Thrower, launching pure energy at it. Once again, it only added to the flames and the monster's rage.
"Our energy attacks are useless!" Chiro concluded.
"Allow me to distract this creature..." Antauri activated his rocket pack and began flying around the Wicca Skeleton.
Chiro looked at the blue monkey, "Gibson! Try to find a spell we can use to take this monster down."
"But there's no way I could muster the belief to-" Gibson was interrupted by Antauri's cries of pain as he was caught in the monster's flame.
"Do it!" Chiro ordered with wide eyes and panic in his tone, "Do it now!"
"Nicnok... nicnok... FUFU!" He read from the book.
The team stared at the monster as it seemed to experience massive pain in it's head. It then turned towards them, it's flame and size growing.
"Nice going Gibson," Nova said sarcastically, "Why don't you just give him a couple more arms? Or maybe an army of the undead! It's not like he's tough now!"
They dodged a flame burst, Otto being knocked back.
"Gibson," Chiro looked at the most intelligent person he had ever met, "The only way this is going to work is if you actually believe what you're doing!"
"But it's not logical!" Gibson complained, nearly tossing the book in the air.
"Sometimes logic isn't the answer!" Chiro argued back.
Meanwhile, Sprx fired arcs of electricity at the monster, only to be hit by the toughest attack yet. He went flying -quite literally- out of the park.
"Sprx!" Chiro called before activating his Inner Primate and charging towards the Wicca Skeleton. He punched the flaming creature, only to notice his disadvantage by several feet. The Skeleton went to grab him, but they ended up grappling, Chiro being on the defensive, "Gibson! Use the book!" The silver monkey cried, trying to get the monster off of him.
As Gibson frantically flipped pages, the Wicca Skeleton used a new tactic. It breathed fire on Chiro, making the battle even the more unbearable for the poor monkey, "Gibson! Please!"
Gibson flipped a few more pages before stopping, "Oh yes, this will do!" He cleared his throat, "Agama Shagama Ragenda!"
Nothing happened, and Chiro's Inner Primate was flickering away, "Gi-hibson! For crying out loud!" His tone was becoming heavily pained.
"I'm not through!" Gibson pointed out, "Aze supa mumen shagons PUYAKASHA!"
Light began to emanate from the massive wooden behemoth and it let go of Chiro. After the silver monkey had time to back away, the burning creature exploded. It began to rain what appeared to be bits of light.
Gibson opened his eyes to see a large green hard-light gorilla kneeling in front of him, a silver monkey with orange accents suspended inside. Chiro gave him a thumbs up, "You did it."
Gibson just relied with a meek smile. The Flame of Thanatos, no longer bound to the horrific Wicca Skeleton, shot from the ground in retaliation against the Skeleton King Worm. Once again, the Dark One fled, but not before being forced out of the planet's atmosphere by the vengeful Flame.
The demons, without the Dark One's corruption, reverted to their human forms en masse, the dark energies leaving their bodies and dispersing into the world itself.
Sevirina looked around, "W-where am I?"
"What has happened?" The Magistrate looked around, "Who..." He spotted the six robot monkeys, "Who are you?"
"I think we've got a lot of explaining to do here, guys." Chiro said to the other monkeys.
"Gibson," Antauri looked at the blue monkey, "Do you believe that you can use the book to get us off of this strange world?"
"At this point," Gibson smiled, "I believe that anything is possible."
The Cryptovanian crowd cheered at the feet of the Super Robot as it prepared to take off. It lifted off and flew towards the edge of the atmosphere.
"Abramilian!" Gibson began reading, "Abraxus Xenoraff!" A portal opened up and the Super Robot exited the odd world of Cryptovania...
The Hyperforce stood in the control room. They all looked at the main screen, displaying charts and numbers that not many people would be able to understand. On an empty space of the control panel sat a carved pumpkin.
"We're back in pursuit of the Dark One Worm." Antauri stated.
"Yes..." Gibson shook his head, "But they've gained a substantial lead. It could be days before we catch up with them."
Sprx approached the group, but jumped in fear. Why was there a pumpkin in here? Was it going to turn into a ghost and attack?
"You... uh..." Sprx stuttered, "You actually brought one of those gourd things with you. Hehe..."
"Yeah Sprx," Chiro smiled, "I was thinking maybe we could celebrate a Spook Day back on Shuggazoom!"
"YEAH!" Otto said lowering a book, turning his chair to face the team, "That would be the best!"
"Uh..." Nova pointed, "Is that Gibson's spell book you're reading?"
"Yup!" Otto nodded, "It's got some really sweet things in here. Listen to this remedy for itchy fur! Azod Porosytosa Tevac!"
Everybody jumped aside as Sprx was hit by the spell. As the smoke cleared, there was a giant rat.
"What did it do?" He asked, "Did it do anything?"
"Eeewwww!" Nova backed away in disgust.
"What's wrong?" Sprx asked. Gibson fainted, "Wuz..." He looked at Nova, but saw something completely different.
To him, for some unknown reason, all he saw was a giant wheel of cheese.
"Sprx?" Nova asked cautiously, "Wh-what are you doing? Sprx? Sprx!"
Antauri was in his room, meditating, when he heard a beep from the door.
"Enter," He said his eyes remaining closed. He heard the door open and the monkey enter, "Hello Gibson. I'm sensing that something is troubling you?"
"Yes," Gibson said very concernedly, "You are."
Antauri's eyes snapped open and he turned to face the blue monkey, "What do you mean?"
"I've treated burns for both Sprx and Otto since our last mission ended," Gibson began, "Yet, you took the most damage, but you haven't even shown signs of physical pain or... anything. I fear that you may have suffered nerve damage. If you could just come with me to the clinic-"
"I am fine, Gibson." The black monkey assured him.
"Antauri," Gibson seemed to be pleading, "Nobody experiences 2000 degrees centigrade and is just 'fine'!"
The wiser monkey just placed a hand on the other's shoulder, "I am perfectly healthy, Gibson. That is final. Now, I would like to return to my meditation."
Gibson sighed in defeat and nodded, leaving the second in command's room. As he headed back down to his lab, he noticed that there was a flaw in Antauri's tone and speech. It almost seemed like he was... afraid to come to the clinic.
Gibson's thoughts were stored away as he entered his lab and saw Sprx sitting on the examination table. The red monkey was obviously in pain, his faceplate at his side, Nova on the other. She had a look of annoyance on her face.
"He took a buzz stick to the face in the training room," Nova sighed, "Aggravated the burns."
Gibson nodded. If anyone knew about burns, it was Nova. She had received as many as she had dished out. Sprx had only made minor contact with the Wicca Skeleton, yet he still had burns bordering the second and third degrees. How bad could Antauri have it?
That little part at the end was the beginning of a plot line I cooked up. So, yeah. I took like five SRMTHFG personality tests, and they all said that I was an Antauri! I always thought myself to be a cross between a Gibson and an Otto... Oh well, Antauri is my favorite canon monkey!