Chapter 2: Ignition

Chiro poked his head inside the doorway before leaning out, looking around him again, feeling the wall next to the door.

Still invisible, still rippling every time he touched it.

His heart skipped a beat as he pondered what this might be, the grin permanently on his face as he bounced with excitement.

He took another step back, looking it over.

The doorway didn't disappear, it remained open, a set of lights turning on one by one, lighting a path inside.

Now THIS was what he was talking about when he said he wanted to find something worthwhile in the outskirts!

"This is so cool…!"

Already his mind was racing with the possibilities of what he might find inside.

An old hidden base from the days of old or some kind of strange secret lab.

He ran a hand through his hair, taking a steady breath.

"This is like something out of the Sun Riders or StarBlazers…!"

Chiro hummed in thought.

He checked his holophone, noting he still had a few hours left before he had to head back home.

Besides… what Mila didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.

With that thought in mind, he assured himself that he would be in and out. He might have to come back tomorrow with more supplies - but this was a chance he just could not pass up.

He hurried inside, a skip in his step.

"After all, destiny waits for no man!"

Inside the corridor was a stark white metal, with a floor that lit up in a pale green light under his feet.

He looked around, furrowing his brow. There wasn't much in this entrance way. The most he noted was a set of colorful warp tubes in six colors. He cautiously walked over to one - a blue one and peered upward.

He couldn't make out anything but judging from the construction, it was some type of elevator.

At least, that's what he thought.

He eyed the orange one, wandering in.

The tube was dusty, causing him to sneeze as he stood inside it.

Under him, the disk that made up the elevator shook… and before Chiro could react, the door outside slammed shut as the elevator rushed upwards.

His heart skipped a beat as he let out a yelp.

"UWAH! HEY! LEMME GO!"

It came to a screeching halt as he fell out, flying across the floor with a groan.

Chiro rolled onto his back, trying to catch his breath as his eyes adjusted to how dim this new room was. He craned his neck, noting it was huge, rivaling the greenhouse behind the shop.

There was a mechanical hum running through this room, reminding him of the fish tank he had when he was seven.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his neck with a wince.

Where had he even wound up? He got up, rifling through his backpack, producing his holophone, using its flashlight app to illuminate the room.

It reminded him faintly of the bridge of the Yamato from StarBlazers with seats and what appeared to be some kind of command center in front of him.

The floor hummed under him as a set of lights came to life behind him, illuminating the room in a hue of colors as he whirled around.

Chiro's eyes grew wide as he stumbled back.

The other elevators weren't elevators…

They were holding something…

He approached the tubes, narrowing his eyes.

Floating, suspended in some kind of liquid were five monkeys. They were a little smaller than he was. Maybe a foot or so shorter. What really caught his attention, however, was their appearance.

They all had metallic arms and parts of their tails replaced with metal as well. Their heads were covered in helmets and they appeared to have some kind of antennae on the sides of their heads instead of ears.

While their eyes were unfocused in stasis, he couldn't shake the feeling they were watching him as he walked down, looking at them all up close.

He noted three all had the same black eyes, one had pink eyes and then…

He stopped short in front of the purple tube.

The monkey within it was covered in black fur, with his chest and muzzle being the only dabs of white on his body. His eyes were an eerie green that seemed to glow in the darkness of the room.

A chill went through Chiro as his heart skipped a beat.

Something was very familiar about all of this. He couldn't put a finger on where he would've seen five cybernetic monkeys before though.

He snapped a picture with his holophone to show Mila later - to maybe jog her memory so she could help him remember.

Chiro nearly tripped, as he backed up into some kind of orb shaped chair in the middle of the room. He groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Are you guys trying to kill me?" He called over at the monkeys, chuckling. "Cause keeping this room this dark would do it.."

He had to find a light.

Finding a light first, worrying about his silent company could come later.

He looked around, maneuvering towards the large control panel in the room.

The first thing that caught his attention amongst the dozens of buttons and switches, was a large lever in the middle.

He grinned.

Weird cybernetic monkeys, some kind of secret base… and a handle bigger than every other switch.

Oh this is just like something out of StarBlazers!

Or a horror movie.

Mostly StarBlazers and the Sun Riders!

Chiro was practically bouncing with glee at the possibility.

Please… Let this be something good.

He grabbed the lever tightly.

With a small prayer for luck, he pulled it.

In an instant, electricity shot up around the handle as a bright green energy followed suit, flowing into him.

Chiro's eyes grew wide as a warmth spread through his body, the energy taking shape all around him, lifting him upwards.

The energy crackled around him as a loud roar echoed through his ears… Images dancing before his eyes…

A boy, in his late teens, walked through the jungle, a long cloak covering his shoulders. Beside him, was… the black monkey from the tube.

He was looking up at the boy with concern, touching his arm gently, saying something Chiro couldn't understand.

He chuckled.

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to worry about me.."

Chiro hesitated before calling out.

This was too weird. Where was he?

"Hey! Who are you?"

The boy craned his neck, his blue eyes warm and gentle.

He turned completely to face him.

Chiro recoiled, stunned.

He looked….

Like him. Older and wiser… Much taller… but he recognized his own face.

The boy chuckled, reaching a hand out, a green orb of energy forming in it.

"You'll understand soon. I promise."

The orb flew right at him, entering his chest. Chiro placed a hand over his heart, looking up stunned.

"Wh-What do you mean? I don't-"

"Take care of them, won't you?"

His head hurt as he cried out, bringing both hands to it. The room swam as the energy around him swirled as it lowered him gently to the floor before fading.

Chiro wasn't entirely sure what had just happened.

The static was still flicking off of him, his body warm. His fingertips tingled as he tried to get up.

His legs collapsed from under him.

Whatever had happened, had drained all of his energy.

There was a hissing sound nearby. He tried to lift his head to see what it was.

The first thing he could focus on was the black monkey as he wandered out from the tube, looking right at him.

His eyes went wide as they landed on Chiro.

That dream…

"Take care of them, won't you?"

There were voices now as he noted the other tubes had opened up as well.

The monkeys all wandered out as their chattering turned into words… words he could perfectly understand.

The yellow monkey nudged the black one with a fond smile before noticing he didn't react at all.

She followed his gaze, letting out a sharp gasp.

"What in the world!?" A… he couldn't tell if the monkey was red or a very deep shade of pink, looked down at Chiro with a mixture of shock and concern. "When did you get here?!"

"He's not moving…" A green monkey said, his tail curling in concern. "Is he…?"

"Alright, everyone, calm down."

Chiro looked up, his head still swimming… everything was blurring together.

Was this some kind of weird dream he couldn't wake from?

Did he electrocute himself?

Monkeys couldn't talk.

Everything was fading fast.

They were talking but he couldn't hear anything.

The boy's eyes slid closed as he let out a long sigh.

"Whoa! Is he okay?"

"He lost consciousness, move!"

"Easy with him…"

Everything blurred together as it all faded into nothing.

oooooo

When Antauri awoke, the last thing he expected to find was a child lying on the floor.

The boy's eyes were open, glowing a bright green… but no one was home, his gaze blank as he looked up at him.

He couldn't have been older than thirteen, maybe fourteen, his messy hair falling into his face.

Antauri could sense it however… the power that coursed through their very bodies, was near.

This child…

Nova hurried to him as soon as her tube had opened, squeezing his arm.

She would later admit, the first thing she was focusing on was running to her brother after years of not being near him.

Following his gaze, her heart sank as she noticed the boy, letting out a sharp gasp.

"What in the world!?" Sparx exclaimed, "When did you get here?"

"Um…" Otto spoke up. "He's not moving… He's not…?"

"Everyone, calm down!" Gibson exclaimed, making his way past Sparx and Otto.

Gibson hurried over to the boy, kneeling to his level.

"Can you hear me? With us?"

The green glow faded from his eyes as they slid shut.

Gibson cursed quietly under his breath.

Of course this was how it was going to begin.

"Whoa!" Nova gasped. "Is he okay?"

"He's lost consciousness." He frowned, looking him over.

There weren't any marks he could find immediately - he'd have to take a closer look but…

Something was familiar.

Where have I seen you before…?

He shook his head.

He could worry about that later.

Antauri moved closer, kneeling before the boy.

"Any answers you wanna give us, Antauri?" Sparx narrowed his eyes.

"Hey." Nova whispered.

Antauri closed his eyes, resting his hand on the boy's head.

There was a surge of static that enveloped his hand in a bright green.

Everything faded away around him.

His body was cold, struggling against the current.

He couldn't get his head above the water…

Something…

No…

Someone broke through the surface of the water, diving down for him.

"Take him! Just take him!"

That voice…

Antauri let out a gasp as his senses returned to him, recoiling.

No…

It couldn't be…

"Antauri…?" Nova asked, keeping her voice quiet.

"I… I'm fine." He took a deep breath.

Try again…

Brushing the boy's hair out of his face, Antauri focused once more.

The boy looked up at the stasis tubes, his eyes wide in wonder.

His blue eyes gleamed with newfound excitement before he looked around him.

The command center was dark…

He tripped up as he made his way to the console.

As soon as the child's eyes landed on the lever, a grin formed on his face.

The boy took a deep breath before reaching forward.

Power surged through the child as a loud roar echoed through the room.

Bright green energy formed around him, taking shape into that of a massive primate as it let out a powerful roar.

The energy lost shape, lifting him up, surrounding him as the boy's eyes faded from blue to bright green…

As the stasis tubes opened, he floated to the floor, struggling to stand before collapsing…

Antauri exhaled slowly as he came to.

He frowned, stroking the boy's hair.

"Well?" Sparx asked. "What'd you see?"

"There's no doubt… Just as I was told, someone who would lead us found his way here."

Otto frowned, rubbing his arm.

"So, he's the one?"

Antauri nodded, turning to face the others.

"Yes. This boy is The Chosen One." He narrowed his eyes.

"He's a KID!" Sparx exclaimed. "He can't… I… Antauri, we can't put a kid through this!"

"For once, I agree with Sparx." Gibson frowned. "He's just a boy."

"A boy who did what most humans couldn't." He pointed out. "I could see it… The Power Primate is within him."

Nova took a deep breath, making her way over, kneeling beside Antauri.

"Then it's our job to make sure he can handle this."

Antauri gave her a grateful look.

She nudged him.

"H-Hey."

"Nice drama."

Antauri sighed, shaking his head.

"We'll banter later. For now," he turned to Otto. "Can you go and prepare the sick bay?"

"Y-Yeah." Otto sighed shakily as he hurried off, looking back at the mess he was leaving behind.

I hope we're not doing something wrong here.

"Sparx, Nova, go and find our spare uniforms please." Antauri looked down at himself, grimacing. "I believe we could all use a change of attire."

"You got it." Nova got up before she doubled back, hugging him tightly.

"What did I do for that?"

"I haven't seen you in years, let me hug my brother."

Antauri brought his arms around her, sighing in relief.

"We'll make up for lost time later." He looked over at Sparx. "I trust you can keep her out of mischief."

Sparx smirked.

"Oh, so now you approve."

Antauri narrowed his eyes.

"Shush."

Sparx nodded, looking back at the child, his gaze turning concerned.

"Hey… he's… he's gonna be okay, right?"

"I have no doubts about it." Gibson scoffed. "At least with me around."

Nova grabbed Sparx's arm.

"C'mon, they got it under control."

"Ahuh, you just want some alone time."

She dragged him along as he let out a yelp.

"H-Hey! Easy on the arm!"

"Dork."

Antauri cringed as the elevator left.

"Well, that solves one issue…"

"Now the second one." Gibson got to his feet. "Come on, let's get him settled."

Antauri held out both hands as the boy was enveloped in a soft glow.

He was lifted up, cradled by the energy.

"I still don't know how to feel about this. When you mentioned a Chosen One years ago…" Gibson shook his head. "I assumed we'd be dealing with an adult."

"So did I… However, just as before, we'll handle it."

As they started to walk off, Gibson gave him a worried look.

Antauri's shoulders were tense, his tail curling around his waist.

Something wasn't right still.

"What's on your mind?"

"I'll… explain later."

"What else did you see?"

Antauri stopped short before he hurried on ahead.

"I expect a full answer, Antauri!" Gibson called after him. "You can't avoid it!"

"I said, I'll explain later."

"I expect you to."

Otto poked his head out of a room at the far end of the command center.

"Hey, I got the power in the Sick Bay back up!"

Antauri turned to Gibson.

"He's all yours."

"Right this way."

Still… He couldn't shake that familiarity when he looked at the boy.

There was something familiar and it wasn't the power he now held.

He took a deep breath.

Questions later, attending to his patient first.