Author Notes: I'm back! And I've decided to do away with the disclaimer from now on seeing as after the first chapter it doesn't serve a point really, same with the rating. I'll still keep warnings for individual chapters though. R&R!

Warnings: Mild violence, language

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Chapter 12
Dar o Troco

TIME: 13 Days Later, 5:00 UTC-3
LOCATION: Approx. 2 Miles out from Santos, Brazil

"Look I don't care how hard it is to sneak aboard a plane. We are not going by boat again!"

Chiro swiped at a low hanging branch as he trudged through the undergrowth as the three climbed overhead. "Okay, okay, okay Sprx. For the millionth time we're sorry! Alright?!"

Otto leapt down from a tree limb down besides Chiro. "Yeah! How were we supposed to know you would get seasick?"

Sprx and Antauri climbed down from branches slightly higher up.

"Weren't you were afraid of the water anyway, kid?" Sprx questioned

"I got over it." Chiro grunted as he nearly tripped over a root. "Hey, Antauri, do you think we can use our jetpacks yet?"

Antauri shook his head. "Not yet Chiro, we are too close to the city. I can still hear the occasional car."

Chiro groaned. "This place is practically the Zone version 2.0! All it needs is some Formless and it'd be a perfect recreation."

"Hehe."

Sprx looked over at Otto. "It wasn't that funny."

"That wasn't me." Otto said in surprise. "I thought it was you."

Antauri was now on edge. "Then who -"

In response, a figure came streaking down through the branches.

Chiro was barely able to get out of the way of being struck, leaping away from now snickering figure. "Well, boy, I don't know about Formless, but I think I make a more than adequate substitution. Don't you?"

Their eyes widened in shock, "Mandarin!"

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

TIME: 17:00 UTC+9
LOCATION: Seoul, South Korea

"Ughhhhhhhhh…" Hyun Jae moaned in absolute boredom as she fell back onto the bed. "It's been two damn weeks!"

"I know!" Jin Sang responded bitterly from a computer desk littered with wrappers and energy drink cans. Hyun Jae had stopped cleaning about five days ago, figuring it would be better to just do it all in one at the very end.

"Are you sure you have nothing?"

"For the millionth time, yes!" he shouted. "And stop asking! I only expanded to an international search eight days ago."

Hyun Jae sat up. "How does this one work exactly?"

Jin Sang shock his head. "Didn't I tell you already?"

"I forgot. Humour me."

Jin Sang sighed. "I've created what's basically a customized search engine that searches for certain key terms and the like within a database. I've made it so that it only quickly skims a database so that it doesn't set off any defense programs or anything. If it finds a sufficient match, it flags that site for me so I can make a more in-depth and delicate hacking that this program would be incapable of."

"And you still haven't found anything?"

Jin Sang practically snarled at her question. Does she have any idea how much effort and skill went into to making this in the first place! He quickly collected himself. "I found one match so far, but unless your boyfriend is actually a fictional character in Boston, you're out of luck."

Hyun Jae would have exploded if she had the energy, so she settled for a growl as she flopped back onto the bed. "He is not my boyfriend."

"Yeah, yeah whatever Miss. Chasti…"

Hyun Jae sat up. "What is it?"

"I think I found something."

Hyun Jae dashed over to the computer. "Where?"

"The program flagged a site from New Zealand," he laughed. "Oh, no way!"

"What?!"

"It's a police file, this might actually be something. Go get me a drink?"

Hyun Jae nodded, now wasn't the time to argue about being his maid.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Back in Brazil…

The monkeyesque creature that stood in front of the team had a twisted grin on his face. "Well, well, well. I knew it was only a matter of time that we would encounter each other again team. I never assumed that you would come to me however."

His grin turned into a scowl.

"Not that I blame you, I would do anything to get away from those humans. This planet is infested with them."

"What do you want, Mandarin?!" Sprx yelled as he readied his weapons along with the rest of the team.

"Oh, Sprx, there's no need to act so hostile. We can work things out."

Chiro sneered. "Work things-?! Like what? Which limb you plan on tearing off first?"

Mandarin snickered. "Why of course not." With almost no warning Mandarin suddenly lunged for Chiro's neck. The teen barely rolled out of the way of the clone's massive pincer. "Why settle with limbs when I can have the head!"

Antauri responded by quickly getting behind Mandarin and swinging his Ghost Claws at the skeletal primate. Mandarin jumped out of the way, but soon found himself in another situation.

"Magna Tingler Blast!" Mandarin yelled as he was thrown back by Sprx's attack and into some nearby bushes.

Otto and Chiro quickly burst through the bushes in pursuit, but found nothing. Sprx and Antauri followed soon after.

"Chiro, Otto, do you have any idea where he went?"

The response to Antauri's question came in the form of a distant shout. "THIS ISN'T OVER! I'LL BE BACK FOR YOUR HEAD BOY!"

"What're we waiting for?! Let's go after him!"

Before Sprx could go anywhere, a silver hand grabbed his shoulder.

"No Sprx!" Antauri had a grim look on his face as he looked over the red monkey's shoulder at the dense foliage that Mandarin had retreated into. "He undoubtedly knows this territory better than us; trying to follow him is risky at best and suicide at worst."

"Bu-bu..." Sprx trailed off and sighed. "Fine, what do you think we should do then?"

Antauri paused and considered the question for a second before coming with an answer. "I think we should continue our mission of locating Gibson and Nova, and ignore Mandarin for now."

"WHAT!?" Sprx exclaimed.

Otto was alarmed as well. "But what if he-!"

"Please!" Antauri interjected. "Allow me to explain. We all know Mandarin's hatred of humans is nearly all consuming, correct?"

All three nodded, Chiro especially so. "What's you're point?" The teen asked.

"Sooner or later, Mandarin will deduce that the only way you could have gotten here is by the Super Robot."

Sprx groaned. "Could you just spit it out already, you're starting to sound like Gibson."

Antauri smiled. "I suppose his absence has affected me, but never mind that; what I am saying is that the only way Mandarin has off Earth is the Super Robot, otherwise he would have left already."

Otto tilted his head. "So what you're saying is...we should let him follow us?"

"Yes, that way when we confront him again we will be on equal territory, and hopefully with Nova and Gibson."

"That sounds like a good idea, but what if he doesn't follow us?" pointed out Chiro. "Wouldn't we be leaving the people around here in danger?"

Antauri shook his head. "I doubt that he would stay, Chiro. And even if he does, I think Sprx and Otto will both agree with me when I say that the residents of this planet would easily be able to handle a threat such as an unarmed Mandarin."

Both of his fellow monkeys nodded.

"Trust me kid, this planet is probably better equipped to fight then any we've been to so far," added Sprx.

"If you say so." Chiro looked around and sighed. "So I guess we better find where to go next, huh?" Chiro rummaged around in his pack and pulled out the map, which by now had begun to fade and fray at the edges due to repeated use over the last month.

"Thank you Chiro." Antauri sat down next to the laid out map and concentrated. The glowing dot appeared a few seconds later.

"Well, what does it say?" Sprx asked.

Antauri opened his eyes and examined the map. "Well team, it seems our next destination is Denver."

Chiro quirked an eyebrow. "Denver?"

"Yes, it is a city in the United States."

"United States?"

Sprx scoffed. "Kid, honestly, haven't you learned anything about this planet? I mean I understood how you never heard of my piss-poor country, but seriously."

"The United States is probably the most influential country on Earth, although I do recall that China is gaining influence..." said Antauri.

As Antauri trailed off, Chiro looked over at Otto in confusion. The green monkey just smiled and shrugged. "I never paid any attention to politics."

Chiro sighed in defeat. "So how are we going to get to this Denver place?"

"We will have to get there by airplane Chiro," Antauri answered.

"What!? But-bu…Are you sure?" he asked, exasperated.

Antauri nodded. "Denver is very far inland, making a sea route impposible."

"Not to mention the fact that I'm never going on a boat ever again!" Sprx exclaimed.

Antauri smirked for a moment before continuing. "And a land based route would take far too long and would require multiple transfers undoubtedly." (1)

Chiro tried to think of a possible counterpoint, but he failed to come up with a reasonable one. "Fine, so how do we find an airplane?"

"Well that's easy kid, we just hitchhike to the closest airport," said Sprx.

"Umm...Won't someone freak out when you try and hop in the car?"

"Just get a truck. We'll hop in the back where no one will see us."

Chiro mulled this over. "Okay, I guess. But um..." the dark haired boy looked around the rainforest. "Where's the nearest road?"

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Meanwhile…

"So you're positive?"

Jin Sang sat back in his chair with fresh drink in hand. "Yep, here check this picture, they caught it on a surveillance camera in the hospital this Otto kid disappeared from."

Hyun Jae gasped. "That's it, that's him!" The boy on the screen was definitely 'Chiro'.

"That's not all I found; the kid that disappeared? His case is almost identical to Antauri's: global amnesia, check; strange behavior, check; no known relatives or friends, check. I'm starting to think we're looking at a conspiracy or something."

"Conspiracy or not, I know what I'm doing next."

"What?"

"Off to New Zealand!" the young woman exclaimed, dramatically.

"Really!? Oh man that's awesome, I'll pack my bags!"

Hyun Jae laughed. "You?! Oh no, you have to stay behind and tell me if anything else develops."

Jin Sang shook his head in disbelief. "Wait, you mean you get to go on an international trip searching for your boyfriend, while I stay here and work as your personal desk jockey?"

Hyun Jae jabbed her finger at his chest. "First of all, he's not my boyfriend." She withdrew her finger and smirked. "Secondly, yes, I need you to tell me if there are any developments." She gathered her bag and made her way to the door. "Now I'm off to get tickets and pack my bags, call my cell phone if you find anything. Take care!" She slammed the door behind her.

Jin Sang stared silently at the door for a few seconds. "Bitch."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

End Chapter 12

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Dar o Troco- Port. Idiom, lit 'to give back the change'; to have a quick revenge, as in both Hyun Jae's on Jin Sang, and Mandarin's failed attempt at this

1. For all you smart asses out there, yes, I am aware of the Darien Gap (for those of you who aren't it's a 31mi/50km wide stretch of forest and marshland that prevents any major attempts at building a road connecting North and South America) but it's not exactly common knowledge, and something that someone who has only inhabited our planet for a few months wouldn't be aware of.