Hey there! I'm back from vacation, and I had an awesome time!

I won't bore you with the details, though. Instead, I'm here to present the next chapter to my story! Yay!

I think I'm going to end up borrowing some ideas from another story of mine, "Void." It just makes things easier for me, I think. But I don't think you'll need to read the story to understand the things I end up using here, because I'll probably explain them sometimes. However, it could help you, the readers, understand the ideas better if you did read "Void," just because that story goes into slightly more detail about them.

Still, if you don't want to read "Void," you don't have to. I don't think it's absolutely necessary.

Anyway, on with the story!

"So…what is that thing?" Sprx asked as he looked at the black object that rested on Otto's head.

"It's a baby bird," the mechanic replied. "I found it while Gibson and I were looking around, and it wouldn't stop following me."

"That's because it has imprinted you in its mind," the scientist replied. "You were there at the time of its hatching, and therefore it believes you to be its caretaker because your face was the very first image it saw and came to recognize."

The green monkey blinked slightly as he stared at the other.

Nova sighed softly. "I think he means the bird thinks you're its mother, Otto."

"Oh…"

"So what are you gonna call it?" Chiro asked as he waved his finger in front of the chick. It chirped happily and playfully tried to catch the moving object.

"I dunno. I don't really know anything about this bird."

"It's a black mong bird," Kalli said softly from her spot behind Chiro. "The birds' feathers are usually black, but when they sing, their feathers change colors depending on their mood."

The leader of the Hyperforce turned to the girl. "Really?"

She nodded. "Uh huh. When they're angry or challenging another bird in their territory, for example, they sing warning songs and turn bright red. When they've lost a mate or if an egg doesn't hatch, they sing and become a deep blue. And when they're happy, they sing and turn white."

"Wow…!"

Smiling a little, the girl then walked closer to inspect the bird more carefully. "And judging by the small silver streak across its beak, this little mong is a female. Male mong birds have gold streaks."

"So it's a girl, huh?" Otto asked, scooping the bird off his helmet and gently holding it in his hands. "Then…maybe I'll call her Ring."

"Ring?" the hot shot pilot asked.

"Well, Kalli said they change colors based on their moods. And it kinda made me think of mood rings, so…"

The red and blue monkeys rolled their eyes slightly, but shrank back when Nova glared at them. Turning back to the mechanic, she said, "Well, I think it's a cute name, Otto."

"Me too," the boy agreed. Looking back at the bird, he smiled a little. "So how 'bout it Ring? Wanna sing a song for us?"

The chick stared at the teen for a moment before chirping softly.

"Mongs can't sing right away, Chiro," the girl informed him. "It takes a few weeks before they're able to sing."

"Oh yeah? That's too bad." Sighing a little, he then looked up at the sky. "How long until the sun starts to set, Kalli?"

"About an hour, I think."

"Hmm…" The boy frowned slightly as he folded his arms behind his head. "So then I called Antauri about an hour ago. I wonder where he could be…"

As if on cue, the sound of jets roared overhead as the Brain Scrambler appeared up in the sky. As they stood at the base of the hill, the six of them watched the ship as it flew towards the rest of the robot at its place on the hill, nearly whole and waiting for its last piece. The craft hovered over the incomplete machinder as it quickly transformed back into the robot's head before slowly lowering and connecting to the body.

Things were quiet between the rest of them for a moment. Finally, after looking around at his friends, Otto said, "Antauri's here!"

Sprx glanced at him, annoyed. "Thanks for the news, Otto," he muttered sarcastically.

Soon, the door at the base of the robot's foot opened and closed quickly, and the silver monkey then landed amongst the group. Chiro and the monkeys remained unfazed by his action, but Kalli jumped a little in surprise at his sudden appearance.

This of course didn't go unnoticed by the leader of the Hyperforce. Frowning a little, he then turned to Antauri. "You shouldn't do things like that," he chastised. "Kalli's still not used to us and everything yet."

Looking at the teen, the silver monkey blinked slightly. He hadn't expected the other to make such a comment, and he certainly didn't expect the displeased tone he was spoken to with or the disappointed look in the boy's eyes.

"It's okay, Chiro," the girl suddenly said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm sure he didn't mean to scare me."

Turning to look at her, the young leader's gaze softened a little as he smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

Gazing at Kalli as well, Antauri frowned deeply as she smiled pleasantly. No matter how warm she appeared to be, he could see the true coldness in her eyes. But quickly glancing at his leader, he then focused his eyes on the ground. Why couldn't Chiro, or even any of the others, see through her façade?

"So where were you, Antauri?" Nova asked, drawing the second-in-command from his thoughts.

"Yeah," Sprx added, "the kid called you an hour ago. Were you that far away?"

"Oh…no," the silver monkey replied softly. "Actually, I became…preoccupied with some other things."

"Some other things?" Gibson repeated curiously.

"Were you able to find anything important, Antauri?" Chiro questioned.

The robotic simian hesitated slightly, feeling six pairs of eyes focused directly on him. Glimpsing at the sorceress briefly, he then turned his attention back to the boy. "No…" he finally replied softly. "I was unable to find anything."

Sighing softly, Chiro kicked the ground a little. "Darn it…And I really thought we'd be able to find something," he mumbled.

"That's all right…" Kalli said. "It's only been one day. And you're trying at least…That means a lot to me."

Blushing a little, the young leader rubbed the back of his head and shifted his gaze, chuckling in slight embarrassment. "So, um…what should we do now?"

"The sun will set soon," the chief of science said, "so it would be best if we take shelter in the Super Robot before it gets dark. There's no telling what kind of creatures lurk around here at night."

"You don't have to worry about the night animals, Gibson," the girl replied as she played with strands of her ebony hair. "They're small and won't really bother us. And to tell you the truth, it won't really be too dark out here. We can see the moon and the stars…and the lightning bugs and twinkle birds will come out soon. Those usually give us enough light for us to see at night."

The five monkeys looked at each other, each appearing a little unsure.

"Besides," the girl continued, "I'm getting kind of hungry now…and there are plenty of fish in the stream."

"Fish?" Sprx asked, sticking his tongue out slightly at the thought. "You wanna eat fish?"

"Sure! I mean, we could also gather some fruit from the trees in the forest…" She turned to Chiro. "But to be honest, fish is my favorite food. Especially the moon fish that can be caught at night…"

Blinking a little, the boy then smiled. "Well hey…How about I catch some fish for you then?"

Kalli smiled happily. "Really? That would great!"

"Uh, Chiro?" Otto asked as he tugged on the boy's white coat. "Have you ever even tried fishing before?"

"Um…well…no. But there's a first time for everything, right? Besides, how hard could it be?" He grinned a little and turned to the rest of the team. "Anyway, while I'm getting the fish, how about you guys head into the forest and pick some fruit?"

"There are also some bushes that should be blooming fruit at this time of year," Kalli offered, pointing in the direction beyond the hill. "Those are pretty good, too."

"As long as they're not bananas…" the red monkey said.

Before the boy could react to the hot shot's comment, the sorceress took his hand and quickly led him to the river. "C'mon, Chiro!" she said excitedly, laughing as they jogged towards the water.

"Hmm…" the mechanic said, looking at the little bird in his hands. "Do you like fish? Or fruit better?"

Ring blinked a little before chirping softly.

"Just try feeding it both," Gibson replied. "I'm sure it'll let you know." Turning, he then followed Sprx towards the forest area.

"I guess I could do that," Otto said to himself. With a small grin, he added, "I wanna try tasting everything anyway!"

Ring chirped happily and flapped her wings. With a short laugh, the green monkey then placed the bird back on his head before heading back towards the hill.

Just as she was about to head after the other, Nova paused when she noticed that Antauri had yet to move. He simply stood in one spot, staring intently up at the sky with a troubled look deep in his eyes. She frowned a little as she continued to watch him before clearing her throat loudly. "Hey Antauri?" she said.

He said nothing at first and simply continued to watch as colors began to streak the cloudless sky. Then, his cobalt eyes turned in her direction, silently answering her.

"You wanna come with me and Otto to get some food? I mean, I guess you don't have to…since you don't eat and all, but, um…if you wanna…"

"Actually," he responded, turning his eyes away from her again, "I think I would like to take some time to myself for the moment."

"Yeah…" she replied, nodding a little. "Okay…we'll be back later then."

She saw the silver monkey return the nod before heading off in a different direction. She remained there for a minute, watching him walk away before turning to proceed in the direction Otto had gone. She knew that the second-in-command had something on his mind, and he probably wanted to clear his head a little. Hopefully, she thought, he'd feel better when he returned.

It didn't take long after the sun had set completely for the bright full moon and the shimmering stars to appear against the black night sky. As they shed their light in the firmament above, they called the special creatures out to play and light the surface below. The trees were filled with the birds that rested there, gently singing their evening songs. As they chanted their special melody, their cream-colored feathers shone brightly through the leaves and branches. Their songs grew louder and more restless, and they began to flap their wings rapidly, seeming to cause the glow from their bodies to pulse and twinkle.

As the twinkle birds decorated the trees with their blinking lights, smaller sprinkles of light appeared on the buds of the sleeping flowers. Awakening from their own slumber, the small lightning bugs then ascended into the sky. The mass of glowing insects drifted through the air like stars that were close enough to catch. Even with the dark night pressing upon them, the light glimmering brightly around them was enough to be able to see.

But even though he was able to notice these things, Chiro was unable to observe the strange spectacle around him. He was still too occupied with trying to catch the pallid fish that swam right under him.

Kalli had showed him the way her people used to catch fish, and it was simple enough to do. After breaking off a thick branch from a tree and sharpening one end to a point, he would use his wooden spear to impale a fish. Then, sharpening the end again, he would repeat that process until he acquired the number of fish they needed in order to satisfy themselves.

And because he wanted to impress the sorceress, the young leader was willing to try catching the fish in the manner that she had showed him. But even after an hour of trying, he still had yet to yield results from his efforts.

Carefully watching the water as it flowed passed his legs, he focused his sights on a certain white fish that was curiously inspecting his foot. Aiming the tip of his spear, he quickly tried to jab at the animal. He missed, however, and it quickly swam away.

Kalli sat on the bank of the river, watching him as he tried again. As he thrust the wooden stick into the water this time, he misplaced his footing and fell into the river with a small splash. She blinked a little and got to her feet as she waited for him to resurface.

When he came out of the river, the girl tried her best to hide back a laugh. Water ran from his hair down to his face and dripped from his clothes. Covering her mouth with her hand, she giggled faintly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" the boy muttered, wringing the excess water from his orange scarf. "I've never fished before, okay? Gimme a break already…"

Calming herself down a little, Kalli then tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she carefully stepped into the water. "You're trying too hard," she said softly. "You need to relax a little more…then you'll be able to anticipate the fish's movements and strike at it before it gets there."

He turned to look at her, frowning in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Smiling a little, she gently took the spear from him and held it in her hands. "Like this…" she said softly. Then she closed her eyes and stood there for a moment as the water continued to flow, pushing against her and vainly trying to dislodge her footing.

Chiro watched as a moon fish soon swam towards her feet, its body moving deftly through the current. Suddenly there was a splash as the wooden spear thrust through the water. Before he knew it, the girl held up the spear as the moon fish wriggled on the tip.

"Wow…!" he said, staring at the girl with wide sapphire eyes. The sight of the fish actually impaled on the stick made him a little less hungry, but he still wanted to try catching one himself.

Carefully removing the fish from the branch, the sorceress stepped out of the water and placed it on a large broad leaf they had removed from the tree where they had gotten their spear. Turning back to the boy, she then gracefully tossed the branch to him. "Now you try," she said.

Holding the spear lightly in his hands, Chiro watched the river course around his feet. Then he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, feeling the vibrations in the water. Suddenly he felt himself move, almost without even realizing it. As he pulled back the spear, he thought that it seemed heavier than before. He opened his eyes, and on the end of the branch was a fish that was trying to squirm itself free.

"Hey! I did it!" he exclaimed proudly, holding up the skewered fish up for the girl to see.

Kalli clapped happily. "Great job, Chiro!" she praised. Walking back into the water, she cautiously removed the animal from the branch and placed it with the other. "Now we just need to catch a few more before we're done."

The boy nodded slightly. "How many do you think we should catch?"

"Well…Sprx didn't seem too fond of the idea of eating fish…But I think we should catch seven moon fish anyway…One for each of us."

About to nod again, the young leader stopped and turned to look at her. "Oh…actually, I guess we'll just need to catch six fish…"

"What? How come?"

"Well…Antauri doesn't need to eat. And even if he did, he's a vegetarian, so I doubt he'd eat fish anyway, but still…."

"Wait…" Kalli turned to look at Chiro, surprise in her golden orbs. "Antauri doesn't eat?"

"No…see, it's because he's a robot…so he doesn't really need to."

"Oh…I see…" Playing with strands of her ebony hair again, she said softly, "Y'know…Antauri doesn't really like me too much."

His attention had once again been focused on the river. But as the words reached his ears, he looked at the girl once again. "What?"

"Antauri…he doesn't really like me."

Chiro frowned slightly. "Antauri? No way…"

"It's true. He said that he didn't really trust me, and so I asked him if he didn't like me."

"What did he say? Did he say he didn't?"

"No…but he never said he did either."

The teen boy thought for a moment, sticking the spear into the river ground and leaning on it for the time being. "That doesn't sound like, Antauri."

The girl shrugged a little. "I don't know. There's just…something about Antauri that…doesn't really feel right to me."

He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again as he watched the girl carefully. In normal circumstances, he would be quick to defend his mentor from any poor talk about him or anything that brought down his character, if it wasn't meant in a joking way. So why couldn't he bring himself to do the same with this girl?

But before he could provide himself with an answer, he was drawn out of his thoughts when he saw the sorceress turn slightly, stepping back into the water and slowly walking up to him. "But anyway, I'm sorry if I said anything that offended you," she said softly. "I mean, I know he's your teacher and all, and that you respect him."

"Um…it's okay…" he found himself saying. Even as he said it, though, he wondered if he really should think it was okay.

Smiling a little, Kalli gently took one of Chiro's hands into her own. "You know, Chiro…I never did get a chance to thank you properly for everything you've done for me."

He shrugged slightly, a careless grin appearing on his features. "Don't worry about it," he replied. "It's nothing really."

"Maybe to you," she said, placing her free hand to his chest. "But to me it means everything. I mean, you freed me from an imprisoning orb, you allowed me to stay with you, you offered to help me find my people, and you're even letting me go back to your planet with you if no one's here…so I won't be all alone. You've done so much for me, Chiro…and I wish there was something I could do for you."

The teen leader blushed slightly at their closeness while he looked at her. Her eyes met his own as she gazed at him intently, and he felt that her golden depths were staring right through to his soul. The glow from the lightning bugs danced around them, catching on her face so he could see the kind and deep expression on her features. The moon's light reflected off the surface of the crystal water, and it seemed that the girl before him was lit with a pale radiance. He opened his mouth to say something, but found himself speechless once again.

Then, his eyes widened slightly when Kalli suddenly leaned forward, tenderly capturing his lips with her own.

TBC

Oooooh! Evil!

That's all for now, folks! Well, actually, I had originally made this chapter much longer. But I felt it was too long, and so I cut it in half. So now you guys will just have to wait until I post up the next chapter!

So please review, no flames if you can help it. And see you guys next time!