Thanks to all who reviewed for the first chapter! I'm happy that you guys took the time to read and review. It really means a lot. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

"So, you guys didn't find anything?" Nova asked as she stood before Sprx and Gibson.

"Nope," the red monkey replied. "Nothing except more flowers…And this bug, but I'm not gonna get into that…"

"I was unfortunate to find nothing of particular interest either," the chief of science added, cutting the other off. "What about you, Nova?"

The golden monkey shook her head slightly. "I couldn't find anything either. Do you think the others found anything?"

"We'll just have to wait and see," Gibson said, looking towards the Super Robot. "They should be returning soon."

"They're all kinda late, aren't they?" Sprx said. "I guess I kinda expected that from Otto, and maybe the kid, but I thought Antauri would be the first back here."

"I'm sure they're all on their way over," Nova said. "Maybe we just got here earlier."

"Well, it's been exactly two hours as of now," the blue monkey said. "They should all be returning any second now."

As if on cue, a blurry rush of green passed between Nova and Sprx, tackling Gibson hard. Unprepared for the sudden force, the blue monkey hit the ground, though his fall was cushioned well by the rows of grass and flowers underneath him. With the wind knocked out of him, he glared up at the grinning face of the mechanic that sat on top of him.

"Otto, just what do you think you're doing?" he asked irritably.

"Playing…" the other answered innocently. Then he added excitedly as he jumped off of Gibson, "You're it!"

"Otto, this is no time for games!"

Sprx blinked, watching as the green monkey landed on all fours and walked away from them. "Why are you walking like that?" he asked.

Otto paused, turning towards them. "I dunno. I just kinda feel like it…Maybe it's something about this place…or something…Besides, it's kinda fun!" With another grin, he began running off.

"Otto!" Gibson called. But he sighed when the other didn't stop or answer him. "I suppose we can assume that he hasn't found anything either."

"Yeah…but maybe he lost his mind," the hot shot pilot retorted.

Nova said nothing and simply watched the mechanic as he ran on all fours after a butterfly trying to feed on a flower. Somehow, she thought she understood what may have been going through his mind.

She was distracted from the other, however, when she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes. Looking away from him, she turned to watch as Gibson lightly tapped Sprx on the shoulder. The red monkey blinked and looked at the other.

The chief of science simply smirked a little. Then in a low tone, he said, "I believe you're it now, Sprx." With a small laugh, he ran off in the direction Otto had gone in.

Sprx stood there for a moment, his mouth agape. But just when Nova was about to say something to him, the hot shot ran after the two, waving his fists in the air. "What the heck was that, Gibson!" he yelled as he headed for them. "I thought you said there was no time for games, you cheater…!"

The golden monkey sighed softly as she watched the three guys run off on all fours, chasing each other in the field they were waiting in. "We're supposed to be waiting for some news, not running and playing in the grass…" she muttered to herself. However, she knew that she couldn't really blame them. Just standing there in the soft grass, feeling the sun gently warming her body, inhaling the wonderful smell of the flowers…all of it just wanted to make her get on all fours and run around like there was nothing to worry about.

Just as Otto had said, there was really something about the place they had landed in that really affected her. Perhaps she couldn't speak for the others, but she knew that in her mind, she could feel something stirring deep within that was almost unfamiliar to her. Even though they were actual monkeys, they had always had a certain grasp over their primitive minds so that they acted just as civil and as smart as any person. But just being in this place, seeing, smelling, hearing…and feeling everything that this planet had to offer…she found that she just wanted to forget all of that. She wanted to release the civility and the intelligence that normal monkeys didn't possess…the obligations that normal monkeys didn't possess…and just act as free as she felt here.

She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. As far as she could recall, she had never acted that way before (except for once according to Chiro, when their computerized minds had been shut down), and she wasn't sure if she should be worried or not that she wanted to act just like an ordinary monkey. After all, the planet was beautiful – one of the most beautiful that she had ever seen in her life – but was that really enough for them to consciously want to choose to enter such a primitive state? Or was it just that they were so relaxed here that their intelligent minds were giving way for their more primal…simple… thoughts to let loose?

Nova really couldn't say. All she knew was that she wanted to enjoy herself and have some fun, chasing the others and playing around while they were on the planet. Still, she did retain most of her right mind, and she knew that she had to wait for the other two and see if they had found whatever they had been searching for.

Besides, someone had to wait since the other three had already succumbed to their need to fool around. With another sigh, she turned so that her back was facing the three, ignoring that they were running and jumping around, laughing and chasing each other. She feared that if she kept watching them, it wouldn't take too long before she was tempted to join them in their game.

But as she faced away from them, she came across the sight of Antauri standing by the bank of the river some distance away, his back towards her as he seemed to watch the passing water.

And she found herself wondering; what could it be like for the silver monkey at that very moment? She could possibly imagine what the others were thinking, what was possibly going on through their heads since their minds were more or less similar to her own. She knew that she could relate to them all in certain ways. But while they all (at least she assumed) were thinking of playing like normal monkeys would, she knew that Antauri wasn't like they were any longer. At least not in that way. He was no longer part monkey like the rest of them. While they were all somewhat giving their computerized brains a rest, his mechanized mind was all he had. So while they wanted to run around and relax, what was he thinking about?

Hesitating slightly, the golden monkey then slowly walked towards the other. When she stood a few feet behind him, she cleared her throat and asked softly, "Did you find anything Antauri?" She decided that easing into the subject would be a lot safer.

The second-in-command said nothing for a moment and simply stared at the open green space before him. Finally, Nova saw him shake his head as he said, "No. I was unable to find anything."

"Yeah…None of us found anything either, and Chiro still hasn't come back yet. Do you think maybe he found something?"

"Perhaps. If he did, though, we would have to wonder why he hasn't called us."

Nova nodded slightly, slowly stepping up to stand next to the other. Glancing towards him, she watched as he continued to stare out at the scene before them; the field of rich green grass mixed with the colorful assortment of wild flowers just before the tall trees took over the area. No matter how long she stared at it, she was always amazed.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.

The silver monkey nodded slightly, his royal blue eyes still focused on the area around them. "I never knew that such a place existed," he replied. His deep tone was so gentle that she almost didn't hear what he was saying. "But I had always longed to find some place like this. In my desire for universal peace, this planet would be the perfect example of how it should start."

She frowned a little, turning back to look at her brother. There was something in his voice that didn't sound right. "Then…why aren't you happier about being here?"

She watched as he folded his arms across his silver torso, a troubled expression appearing in his eyes. "On the surface, everythingappears still and tranquil. But not everything is ever as it seems."

"What do you mean?"

"Even now, as we see the peaceful calm that surrounds this planet, I feel a strange sense of distress that disturbs it. Something has happened here before….something that greatly affected everything."

"But everything is so nice here. Are you saying it wasn't always like this?"

"Unfortunately, I believe so. And perhaps whatever had happened before is the reason why we can find no people, or why someone has been contacting Chiro for help."

Nova frowned again, looking back over their environment. Everything just seemed so nice and serene here; it was hard for her to imagine that anything bad could have ever happened. Or maybe she just didn't want to imagine it. After all the time they had spent chasing evil, couldn't they find one place that had never seen the likes of it?

Before she had a chance to say anything about her thoughts, however, she was interrupted when Antauri suddenly groaned loudly and placed a hand to his chest. "What's wrong?" she asked instead.

She could see the grimace of pain that appeared on his features, and she felt the flutter of concern within her heart. She had seen this familiar expression on the other before, and it usually meant one thing.

"It's Chiro…" she barely heard the silver monkey say. "Something has happened to him…"

"What is it? Is he okay?"

She received no answer from him. Without warning, the second-in-command speed off, running toward the dense forest area.

Letting out a loud sigh, Nova turned around to look towards the hill where the three were still playing. "Hey guys!" she called loudly.

At first she saw nothing but the Robot. Then the heads of Otto, Gibson, and Sprx popped up just over the row of tall grass, all looking at her with curious black orbs.

"C'mon! We gotta go!" Watching them to make sure they'd follow, Nova then ran off after Antauri's retreating form.

Chiro groaned softly, shivering a little as he suddenly became aware of the cold surface that he lay on. His head was pounding painfully and his body felt weak enough to snap in half, but somehow he managed to push himself up. "Ugh…what happened…?" he muttered as he placed a hand to his throbbing head. His words slurred together in a voice that he hardly recognized as his own. He couldn't even remember blacking out. All he remembered was the orb, and the purple light…He groaned again.

"Oh gosh…" a soft voice suddenly echoed between his ears. "You don't look so good…"

Drowsily, the teen hero slowly lifted his head to look for where the voice was coming from. But his vision blurred, and all that he could see before him was a fuzzy black and purple entity. He watched wearily as it began to draw closer to him.

"Here," the unclear being said, "let me…"

The voice sounded vaguely familiar to him, but his mind was so tired from whatever happened that he didn't try to recognize it. Instead, he slowly tried to inch away from the thing that was approaching him, but his weakened body wouldn't allow him to move very quickly. He soon felt something gently grasp his shoulder.

"Please, don't move," the voice said again. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you…Okay?"

Whether he wanted to accept this individual's help or not, he was really in no condition to argue. Soon the object resting on his shoulder disappeared, and then he felt his hands kindly taken and held by what he assumed to be someone else's hands. And even with his blurred vision, Chiro could see the violet light that encased both his hands. He found that the longer that he watched that light, the more he felt his strength returning to him and his headache fade away into nothing. The longer he watched, the more his vision began to clear so he could see again.

And when the light faded and the teen felt as though he was back to normal, he found himself holding the hands of the human girl who sat before him.

"Um…thanks…" he said softly as the girl slowly got up and helped him to his feet. He couldn't help but notice that she was just about his height. The dark purple dress she wore only seemed to lighten her already pale skin, which somehow appeared to shine within the shadows of the cave, and its long skirt just reached her feet, which he noted were bare.

"You're welcome," she replied, smiling gently. "It's the least I could do after you helped me…"

It was then that Chiro recognized her pleasant voice. "Then…you were the one who was calling me…and asking me for help?"

She nodded slightly, tucking a loose strand of her long ebony hair behind her ear. "Yes, that was me. I've been waiting and calling out like thatfor a long time, hoping that someone would hear me, but no one ever did…Until you came along that is. And thanks to you, I'm finally free. I'm just sorry about what happened to you."

The boy frowned a little, placing a hand to his chest. "What did happen to me?" he asked, looking at her and finally noticing that her golden eyes also seemed to be glowing against the darkness that covered them. "I mean, I saw that purple orb thing, and when I touched it that light covered me…and then all of a sudden, I wake up on the floor."

The girl began twirling some strands of her hair with her index finger. "Well…y'see, I was locked away in the purple orb that you had grabbed."

Chiro frowned deeply. "Locked away?" he repeated.

"Yes. Only the right person could hear me while I was trapped, and only the energy of that person could free me. When you touched the orb, it took a large portion of your energy, because that was what I needed in order to be released. That's why you felt so weak when you woke up again. It's because your energy broke the seal that locked me up." Looking up at him, the girl smiled sweetly. "I owe you a lot."

"I…um…" The teen rubbed the back of his head, trying to say what he was thinking. There were so many questions that he had, so many things that he wanted to ask. But for now, he decided to ask the first question on his mind. "Well…um…you could start paying me back…by telling me your name."

The girl blinked a little, but then giggled softly. "My name's Kalli," she replied.

He decided then that he really enjoyed the sound of her voice. Extending his hand, he grinned a little and said, "I'm Chiro."

Slowly, Kalli reached up and accepted the hand that was offered to her in a quick handshake. As he released the girl's hand, the boy then asked, "So…why were you locked in that thing, anyway?"

But before she could answer, the teen watched with curiosity as she began to look around. He barely caught the frightened glimpse in her golden eyes. "Something's coming…" she said softly, her voice scarcely above a whisper as she took as step back, placing a pale hand to her chest.

Frowning a little, the boy turned away from her slightly to look towards the way he thought he had come through. After a few moments of standing silently, he soon thought he heard soft and distant sounds.

"Chiro!" a deep voice called, bouncing against the walls of the cave.

"Hey kid!" another voice rang out.

"Chiro?" came another voice.

"Chiro…!" a lighter voice called, the only female-sounding voice among them.

"Hello?" a last voice said curiously. "Anybody home?"

Smiling a little, Chiro then turned to look back at the girl. "It's okay," he said softly to her. "You don't have to worry about them."

"Are they friends of yours?" Kalli asked.

"Oh yeah. They're pretty nice when you get to know them."

"Chiro!" he heard Antauri call again.

Turning towards the path of entrance again, he called out to them, "I'm in here, guys!"

"What're you doing?" Kalli asked in a hushed voice, hiding behind him.

"I wanna introduce you to my friends," he replied, grinning a little as he looked over his shoulder at her. He did his best to hide back a chuckle when he felt her grip his shoulder slightly.

Soon he watched as the five robotic monkeys hovered up the stairs, the lights from their helmets blazing brightly. "Chiro!" Antauri said as they landed in front of him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" the teen replied, waving his hands dismissively.

The silver monkey frowned deeply. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Well, what happened?" Nova asked.

"It's…a long story. But, I think I found what we were looking for."

"Weren't you supposed to call us for that?" Sprx asked. "I mean, we were waiting for you, y'know."

"Some of us were waiting, anyway," the golden monkey retorted, glancing at Sprx, Gibson, and Otto who all avoided her gaze.

"Yeah, I know…but I didn't think I could wait for you guys."

"But wasn't it on your orders that we would call the others if we found anything?" the chief of science inquired.

The teen sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I was kind of in a hurry."

"With what?" the second-in-command asked, looking at the young leader intently.

"Well…" Chiro took a step to the side, revealing the girl that was standing behind him. "Why don't you ask her?"

The monkeys blinked slightly, staring at her as she stared back at them. Nothing was said for a long moment before all six eyes turned to look at the young boy.

Smiling a little, Chiro took a step towards his fellow human. "Guys, this is Kalli. Kalli, these are my friends: Antauri, Nova, Sprx, Gibson, and Otto." As he spoke their names, he pointed to the monkeys respectively.

Nervously, the girl looked at him before turning back to the monkeys. Putting on a small smile on her lips, she bowed slightly to them. "Nice to meet you all," she said softly.

"So, are you the one that was calling Chiro for help?" the only female asked.

Kalli nodded slightly. "Yes. That was me."

"But how come?" Otto asked. "And how come we couldn't hear anything?"

The girl began twirling some strands of hair with her pale index finger. "Well, it's a rather long story."

"And I'm sure we'd all love to hear it," Sprx said quickly. "But how about we get outta this cave first before we hear it, huh?"

Chiro turned to the girl. "That sounds like a good idea."

"Yes…" Kalli said softly. "It's been so long since I've seen the sun…"

With a soft smile, the teen hero offered his hand to her. "Then we better get going…"

Returning the smile, the girl nodded and took his hand, following him and the other monkeys as they headed down the stone steps.

The only one that remained behind was Antauri, who watched the others head down before turning to look at the altar where the violet orb still rested. Frowning deeply, he slowly approached the rock table, wanting to get a closer look at the object.

"Hey Antauri!" Chiro's voice echoed against the cave walls. "What's the hold up? You comin' or what?"

The silver monkey turned slightly to look back at the rest of the team who were waiting for him halfway down the steps. Glancing once more at the orb, he then turned around fully and hurried down the stairs to catch up with them.

TBC

So, what did you guys think? I hope it was all right. And as I'm sure you all figured out, Kalli is not what she appears to be. But I shall reveal more about her as the story unfolds. Anyway, please review! Later!