A/N: Guess who's back with a whole new chap?
Larissa: Why are you rapping?
'Cause rappin' is totally snappin'!
Larissa: Ooookayyy...
Why ya lookin' at me like that, ya ugly li'l rat?
Larissa: (insulted) Hey!!! (whips out her flaming hands)
Okay, okay, I'll stop. Sorry. (back to the reviewers) So, anyway, here's the whole new chapter! Hope you like it! XD It's bound to be interesting.
Larissa: Surely so.
Chapter Two: Meeting the Monkey Team
It was a smooth flight so far. After forty-five minutes of flying their rocket, they finally approached Shuggazoom City, in the middle of that city stood a giant, silver robot, gleaming in the sunlight. The Super Robot. "We're here," Dana sighed. She looked to her teammate. "Are we all set?" Larissa nodded in comfirmment. They had gone over their plan about five times since they had left. Dana was nervous about it at the least, but most of all because she hated deceiving people. They'd both heard about the Monkey Team, very bad things from Mandarin's perspective. But they both hated hurting people. Are we, Larissa sometimes pondered, really evil at heart?
It was nervewracking, to be certain. What would happen? Would everything go as planned? Would they end up regretting this later? This was the most important mission they'd been assigned to most definitely, especially since it would cost them their lives. Larissa shivered at the thought. Sometimes she found herself doubting her choice in life. But it hadn't been their choice at all, really. Mandarin created them, and this was their destiny. Nothing could change that. Though neither knew where Mandarin had come from. As far as they knew, Skeleton King had created Mandarin. But neither Larissa nor Dana knew the truth in Mandarin's past.
Not that they cared to. When someone had last asked him, Mandarin had gotten so aggressive and so brutal that Larissa and Dana had feared for their lives at that point. So they had left it at their own theories, learning to be content with what information they had. But they were afraid to even speak to Mandarin anymore. Ever since....
Suddenly the rocket plunged downward, pulling the robot monkeys out of their thoughts. The alarm system beeped and the controls were going into chaos. "Brace for impact!" Larissa yelled above the noise. She was terribly afraid on the inside, though she would never admit it. She had never purposely crashed their rocket before. She could only hope it would turn out well. Screams erupted from both of them as the rocket hit the ground. Then there was darkness.
* * *
"We need a new video game," Chiro grumbled as he lost again to a gloating Sparx. "I'd like to have that new Sun Riders game that just came out." Sparx laughed and looked at his reflection in his magnets. "Dream all you want, kid, but you and I both know I'd kick your butt at that game too." His comment gave him a hard smack in the back of the head from a certain yellow monkey. "Let up, Sparx," Nova said, rolling her pink eyes. "Honestly, you're no fun to play with anymore. You're such a sore winner."
Sparx glared at her. "No, you guys are just sore losers!" he shot back. Otto sighed as he once again got caught up in an argument and trotted to the kitchen, deciding to try some meatloaf and sloppy joe's mixed together. Gibson was inside the lab in his little pod chair, going over some calculations. Antauri was in his chambers, meditating. It was a normal, peaceful day for them. Or so it seemed.
Suddenly a loud beep came from the giant mainscreen in the middle of the room. Everyone paused in what they were doing to glance over. "What is it now?" Sparx groaned. "A cat stuck in a tree?"
Gibson headed over to the mainscreen and typed in a few letters on the keyboard. "On the contrary," he responded with a worried frown. "An unknown rocket has crashed unexpectedly in the middle of Shuggazoom City." Chiro arched an eyebrow and walked over. "Does anybody know whose it is? Or if there's anyone in it?" he inquired. Gibson shook his head. "I'm afraid negative," he replied. "It does look unusual, not like a rocket that we use around these primises."
Suddenly Jinmay appeared on the screen, her stunning green eyes flashing in concern. "Monkey Team, a robot monkey just came out of the rocket, and she said her friend's trapped in there." Before the stunned Hyperforce could answer, Jinmay hurried on. "As hard as I've tried, I can't get in there." Chiro nodded solemnly at her. "We're on our way, Jinmay." As the screen went black, Antauri floated in the room. "We need not the Super Robot," he spoke calmly. "We can use our jetpacks." Chiro nodded at him, then turned to leave. "Let's go, Hyperforce."
The Monkey Team flew on their jetpacks, following Gibson, who had his tracking device in hand, until at last they arrived to the middle of Shuggazoom City. There was a badly crashed rocket, and a crowd was gathered around, watching and waiting, tension in the air. Jinmay was talking to a slender, minty green robot monkey, her hand on the monkey's shoulder. Jinmay had a kind, reassuring smile on her face, and for that the cybernetic monkey seemed to be calming down.
When the Monkey Team landed, the crowd cheered and Jinmay smiled widely. "You're here!" she cried. The monkey spun around and saw them. Recognition and relief filled her pink eyes. "We are the Monkey Team," Antauri introduced. The newcomer stumbled over her words as she tried to hurriedly explain. "I'm Dana. My friend and I--we were flying in our rocket, a-and we crashed.." A sob caught in her throat. "A beam f-fell off the wall a-and landed on Larissa...She told me to go get help. She's trapped in there." Tears filled the monkey's eyes.
Chiro placed a comforting hand on Dana's shoulder, silencing her. "Listen, it's gonna be okay." He offered a smile. "We're gonna get your friend out. Just trust us." Dana took a deep breath and nodded. Suddenly Otto called from his post over near the rocket, a worried frown on his face. "Uh, guys...the rocket looks like it's about to blow!" he shouted.
The new monkey panicked. "Oh, no!" Dana wailed, her hands flying to her face. Tears coursed down her cheeks. "She's the only friend I have left.." she whispered so low nobody could hear her, squeezing her eyes shut. Immediately the Hyperforce went into action. Antauri went into his phase and walked through the walls of the rocket to search for Larissa. Otto cut a hole in the wall of the rocket, and Chiro and Sparx used it to follow the silver monkey. Nova and Jinmay helped calm down Dana, and Gibson and Otto were checking the rocket's stability. The others waited anxiously.
Once Antauri was inside, he returned to his normal form. Cautiously he made quick work and looked around for Larissa. He had to crawl through tight spaces and whatnot because the rocket was in bad shape. Sparx and Chiro did their best to keep up with him. Suddenly a painful moan sounded from a distance. Antauri cocked his head and listened. He followed the sound and soon approached a magenta-colored robot monkey on the floor, a beam pinning her down tightly on the floor. Antauri could tell at first glance that it was heavy, and he could tell that Larissa was in a great deal of pain.
Chiro and Sparx were not far behind. "We found her," Sparx said into his communicator. Gibson beeped back. "You three need to speed up the process. The rocket isn't going to hold much longer." Gibson sounded apprehensive. Chiro sounded back on the communicator. "Roger that, Gibson."
Larissa moaned weakly and gazed up at Antauri with a pleading look. "Please help me," she whimpered. Antauri bent down to meet her eyes. "Worry not," he said calmly, assurance showing in his dark blue eyes. "We're going to get you out." Larissa nodded. Sparx used his magnets to lift the beam off of her, throwing it to the side. "Can you stand?" Antauri asked. Larissa sighed in relief as the beam was lifted off of her. At Antauri's question she nodded and struggled to stand, nearly collapsing in the process.
"No, you can't," Sparx said impatiently, gazing around at the rocket. It's alarm system was beeping, and some places were even starting to catch on fire. "We need to get outta here." Chiro nodded in agreement and picked up Larissa to carry her, nodding at Sparx and Antauri. "Let's go."
Just as they turned and ran toward the opening to leave, the ceiling caved above them. Larissa gasped. "Look out!" she cried, but her scream was lost in the noise as the ceiling fell, blocking their exit. The foursome coughed as smoke filled the air and flames jumped at them. "We need to find another way!" Sparx yelled. Everyone frantically looked around, searching for a small opening, anything! "Where are you guys?!" Otto's panicked voice sounded on their communicator.
"Workin' on it!" Sparx clenched his teeth, coughing as he breathed in smoke. Chiro's eyes watered and burned as the fire grew stronger and hotter. "I've got an idea!" he shouted, choking as the smoky air engulfed his lungs. He placed Larissa in Antauri's arms and found a clear, weak spot in the wall of the rocket. "Thunder Punch!" Chiro screeched, pounding his fist through the wall. A large dent appeared in the wall, but otherwise it didn't move. "Let me try, kid," Sparx yelled. He aimed his magnets at the dented spot. "Magnabolt Blazer!" he screamed. A small hole appeared in the rocket.
Antauri was next and he used his ghost claws to rip out a bigger hole, one they could fit through. Chiro, carrying Larissa on his back, came out first. Antauri and Sparx followed. The bright sunlight blinded them and they breathed in the fresh air as they stepped outside. The crowd saw them and cheered. Relief spread across everybody's faces. Chiro ran over and laid a hacking Larissa on the ground. Dana came running over, grabbing Larissa's hands. "Oh, Larissa, I'm so sorry!" she rambled, tears dropping from her eyes. Larissa chuckled and smiled at Dana, squeezing her hand. "It's not your fault, Dana," she responded weakly between coughs.
"BACK UP, IT'S GONNA BLOW!!" Otto screamed and everyone's heads snapped up in alarm. Sure enough, the rocket let out a deafening roar, then exploded. Ashes and smoke filled the air, and so did everyone's coughs. Flames lit up the sky and the noise that followed was as loud as a volcano. When it was all over, everyone shielded their eyes and looked. All that was left of the rocket was a few broken pieces and a flame or two, which Gibson put out with his drills. (Remember, water can come out of his drills too.) It was silence until the crowd bursted into applause. "HOORAY FOR THE HYPERFORCE!!" they all screamed.
Chiro looked at the team. "We need to get back to the Super Robot," he commented. "Larissa's injured." The team nodded and started to take off, Antauri carrying Larissa in his arms. Jinmay and Dana were close behind. Larissa flinched in pain but managed to give Antauri a weak smile. "Thanks for saving my life," she whispered, gratefulness shining in her eyes. Her eyes darted to where Dana was talking to Jinmay. "My friend, Dana...if anything would've happened to me, well.." Her voice trailed off and Larissa's gaze dropped.
Understanding filled Antauri. He knew that feeling all too well, when one of his teammates was seriously injured. Antauri looked into her dazzling blue eyes, sensing a great power within her. He sensed that her heart was good, but he also sensed something dark was inside her. He knew she was hiding something. "I understand." Antauri smiled kindly at her.
Back at the Super Robot, in the Medical Bay, Larissa was resting on the operating table, now asleep. Everything that had occurred had taken its toll and made Larissa exhausted. Gibson had examined her and reported that she had multiple burns and bruises that weren't very serious, but the beam, when it had fallen, had hit Larissa's head quite hard. "Larissa may suffer loss of memory," he warned Dana as gently as he could. Dana had calmly nodded and bit her lip.
When Larissa awoke, she stepped down from the table and stood there, trying to make sense of what happened. Had she made the rocket hit the ground too hard? Or had it gone out of control? Larissa's head buzzed and throbbed in pain. She grimaced and gingerly touched the tender spot where the beam had hit her. She wasn't looking forward to deceiving the team that had in fact saved her life. In return she would be ruining theirs. What should I do? Larissa pondered, even though it was obvious. If she disobeyed Mandarin's orders, her life would be at stake. And she hardly knew the Monkey Team. Larissa shrugged off the guilt gnawing at her as Gibson and Dana came in.
"Oh, Larissa! You're awake!" Dana smiled widely and walked to her side, helping her stand. "How do you feel?" Horrible. Larissa plastered on a fake grin. "Much better, thanks. But my head still hurts." She cringed. Gibson nodded and watched them cautiously. "It's to be expected," he responded. "It seems as if the beam hit you very hard, indeed."
Larissa nodded. "Thanks, um..." She looked to Dana for help. Gibson suddenly realized and cleared his throat. "I beg your pardon for my rude manner. My name is Mr. Hal Gibson, but simply Gibson will do, please." Larissa chuckled and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Gibson," she replied. "I'm Larissa." Just then the rest of the team walked in. "Hi, Larissa," the girl with pink hair and sparkling green eyes said. "How do you feel?"
Larissa smiled at them and nodded. "Better, thank you." She gazed at all the new faces. "So I guess all of you know my name?"
They all nodded. A boy with coal-black hair and sky blue eyes stepped forward with a welcoming smile. "I'm Chiro, leader of the Hyperforce," he introduced, spreading his hands out. The silver monkey whom Larissa had talked to earlier gave her a warm smile, his deep-set blue eyes focused entirely on her. "My name is Antauri," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Antauri. That's a nice name. Larissa squirmed. She wasn't used to all of this attention. "It's nice to meet you, too."
The hyperactive green monkey jumped forward. "I'm Otto!!" he exclaimed. A yellow monkey with pink eyes smiled at her. "I'm Nova," she said. The cocky red monkey, one of the three who had saved her, rested his arm on Nova's shoulder. "I'm Sparx, Nova's awesome boyfriend," he said with a wink. Nova shot him a look that could kill and used her giant fists to knock him to the ground. Larissa and Dana giggled. The girl with pink hair smiled sweetly. "And I'm Jinmay," she introduced. "I'm not part of this team, but I'm an ally."
Larissa glanced around at everyone, her gaze lingering the longest on Antauri. There was something about the silver monkey that she liked. "It's nice to meet all of you," she said softly. "Thanks for rescuing us."
"No problem," Nova replied. "It's what we do." Sparx arched his eyebrows. "But we don't get paid, remember that," he teased. "But I wouldn't say no to a medal, or a-"
Gibson let out an exaggerated sigh. "Sparx, will you stop already?" he interrupted, shaking his head. "Honestly, it does become quite tiresome." Sparx shrugged. "I'm just saying," he retorted. Dana frowned at Sparx, but her gaze softened as she looked at the blue monkey. Larissa noticed this and smiled. Dana likes the smart guy. How typical. Chiro spoke up. "You two can stay here as long as you like," he told Larissa and Dana with a smile. "However long it takes to recover." They thanked him and suddenly Otto asked, "So, where are you guys from, anyway?"
Larissa blanked out for a moment and started to panic, when suddenly Dana blurted, "W-We really don't live anywhere. We travel around the galaxies." Larissa let out a sigh of relief. Nobody really seemed to notice their nervousness, although Antauri glanced at them suspiciously. "Do you have a creator?" Chiro pressed. Larissa gazed at the floor. "I don't remember," she whispered. She had overheard Gibson talking about memory loss and she thought it was the perfect thing to avoid answers.
"We do have a creator, but we don't know who he is," Dana lied. Larissa looked at Dana, then the team, putting on her most helpless look. "No, I really don't remember," she said, making her voice quiver. I didn't know how good of a liar I was. "What's happening to me?" Everyone looked alarmed, including Dana. She stared at Larissa, mouth dropped open in disbelief. Gibson typed a few words on his computer. "I knew this would probably happen," he said with a sigh. "Larissa, when the beam hit your head inside the rocket, it must've caused you to have amnesia." Gibson turned to look at Larissa, frowning. "What exactly do you remember?" he asked.
Larissa pretended to consider it thoughtfully. "Well...I remember Dana of course," she replied, and at this Dana got a smile of relief. "And I remember flying our rocket, then...nothing. It's all blank. I don't remember anything else before that." Larissa made her hands tremble. Gibson's frown grew. "Hmmm...well, all I have to say is that your memory will gradually regain, over time of course."
"And until you get it back, you can stay here," Chiro offered. Larissa's heart wrenched at their welcoming attitude. She hated deceiving them. "Oh, thank you!" Larissa pasted on her most relieved and grateful look she could muster. It was silence until Dana looked at the team. "Could we have some time alone for a minute?" she asked. Everyone nodded. "Of course," Antauri replied. "We shall be in the main room." Then they exitted. As soon as the door closed, Dana spun around, searching frantically through Larissa's eyes. "Please tell me you're just lying!"
Larissa lifted herself off the table and pulled Dana into an embrace. "Of course I am," she chuckled. "It's the perfect diversion." Dana let out a sigh of relief, then let out a nervous laugh. "Thank goodness!" she exclaimed, pulling away. "I was really scared." They both laughed then suddenly Dana's communicator beeped. She glanced at Larissa cautiously. Larissa closed her eyes and nodded with a sigh. Dana answered the communicator, obvious wariness in her tone. "Hello?"
Mandarin's voice crackled through. "Have you arrived at your destination..slaves?"
Larissa took the communicator and spoke. "Yes, master. It seems as if we have gained their trust."
Mandarin's satisfaction was apparent. "Good, very good...now remember, do as I say and do not fail me! Your lives are on the line." His evil, manical laughter sounded.
"Yes, Lord Mandarin," Larissa and Dana chorused, then turned off the communicator. They exchanged wary glances. Both were thinking the same thing. I don't want to do this. But they knew they had to. This was what they were created to do. It had never been their choice. As much as they didn't want to, they had to. Severe punishment was in store for them if they did not follow orders. Larissa broke the silence by sighing and headed toward the door. "C'mon, let's join the others."
A/N: How did you guys like it?
Larissa: I liked it a lot. :D
(sarcastic) Now I feel complete. Anyway, I hoped you reviewers out there liked this chapter. The next one's coming soon...and I have very good ideas in store. XD (evil laughter)
Larissa: O_O Uh-oh...
Uh-oh is right. So anyways, hope everyone likes the story so far! It's going to get better, I promise. Now, review!
Larissa: And we're out!