Chapter 8: Crashed

His eyes and his mind were open in a way they had never been.

He wasn't entirely sure what was happening if he had to be honest. The warmth, the electricity… all of it was familiar now to what he experienced just two weeks prior, upon pulling the switch that fateful day.

But the flashes in his mind were new.

"LADY TOMAHAWK!"

Nova's fists were coming at him at a rapid pace, the yellow and pink weapons emitting a warmth he hadn't noticed before.

He barely dodged the barrage, letting out a sigh of relief as he dove to the side.

He lunged upward, performing a spinning kick.

His heart was racing, as was his mind as these flashes came and went as fast as they appeared.

He was completely surrounded now.

"Chiro! Can you hear us!?"

"Kid, snap out of it!"

Their voices were so far away from him even as he looked right at them.

Nova growled, slamming both fists into the ground as the floor began to shake.

He wobbled, stumbling as he tried to outrun the incoming quake…

Only for Otto to appear in front of his face.

"Sorry, Chiro…" He said genuinely, his gaze worried as his tail wrapped around the boy's waist, throwing him right towards Gibson and Sparx's direction.

The boy went flying, flailing for a moment…

Rolling into it as he wound up upright again.

"Hey!"

Sparx cursed under his breath.

Chiro didn't even seem to notice something was wrong as the energy swirls around him grew in size.

"So, we gave a thirteen year old a bunch of combat training, that hasn't stuck at all but somehow he's kicking our butts." He remarked. "How did we get from point A to point B? Anyone wanna explain that?!"

Antauri narrowed his eyes.

"His powers have awoken but… he shouldn't know any of this. He's predicting every attack and meeting it."

"Then we should try something new." Gibson replied, his eyes narrowing.

Chiro rushed by them, Nova and Otto doing their best to wear him down, staying on either side of him so he couldn't fully outrun them.

"I don't think magnets and electricity are gonna make a good combo." Sparx, growled. "You know, I really should blame you, Antauri."

"Why is this my fault?"

"You didn't tell him-HIT THE DECK!"

Nova managed to grab the boy, throwing him right towards them.

"AUGH!"

Antauri thrusted his hand forward, using a forcefield to catch Chiro.

The boy was struggling in his grasp as he was brought closer to eye level.

"Hey! I taught you better than that!" Chiro cried out. "That was low!"

Taught us better…?

"He's completely drunk off the power primate. Great going." Sparx sighed. "And I thought we'd see him wipe the floor with just you."

Gibson frowned.

"Chiro… We're right here. Please calm down…"

"Put me down!"

Antauri brought him closer, reverting his claws back into his hands. He reached up, placing two fingers on Chiro's forehead.

He closed his eyes, focusing entirely on the energy coming off of the boy in waves.

"Hear us… You're okay…"

Chiro's eyes grew heavy as his body began to relax, the crackling electricity disappearing with it.

He blinked, the green fading into blue.

Chiro was baffled when he looked around. The training room was a mess, everyone was looking at him with a mix of exhaustion and concern.

"Antauri…?" He whispered. "What happened?"

Antauri chuckled, shaking his head.

"You beat us."

Chiro's eyes widened.

"I did what!?"

Antauri shook his head.

"We'll talk about this later… for now…" He focused once more as energy went from his own fingertips into Chiro. "Rest."

His eyes slid closed as the exhaustion coursed through his body as if to remind him of what had happened.

"Mgh…"

My head hurts…

oooooo

There they all were once again hurrying into the Medical Bay with Antauri levitating Chiro like he was the most delicate thing in the galaxy.

"Easy… Steady now, right here." Gibson was hurrying ahead, already getting his scanners ready, his mind still reeling from what happened.

One minute, Chiro was his normal self, laughing, smiling… and the next…

"Come on and FIGHT ME!"

He shook his head, shivering a bit.

Antauri's heart was heavy as he lowered Chiro carefully onto one of the beds.

"I taught you better!"

What did he mean…?

No… I should've anticipated this. I was too focused on him being able to defend himself. I completely neglected coaxing out his power gently… not…

The boy's head fell to the side, his breathing heavy. His body was still letting off some faint green static that coursed around him every few seconds or so.

This… Oh, Chiro…

The rest of the team were in the doorway, trying to stay out of the way… not quite ready to lose sight of their boy just yet.

"Gibson, is there anything we can do?" Otto asked, rubbing his arm.

This hurt to watch.

"Take him! Just take him!"

Their leader's voice was lost over the wind but they couldn't mistake what he was holding onto in one arm, trying to scramble for the pavement with the other.

Just like the last time.

Gibson sighed, pointing at Antauri.

"The only one I actually will require help from is him. I would suggest the three of you figure out who gets the "pleasure" of telling Mila what happened."

Sparx grimaced.

"Is there any world where we can just skip that part?"

Nova sighed, her hands on her hips.

"Nope. If it was the reverse, we'd want her to tell us."

"Nova, your compassion is great,but she's nuts."

Gibson looked over, narrowing his eyes.

"Everyone without a medical license can leave."

Everyone looked over at Antauri with glares that just read "DOOM" across their faces.

"Oh no. I'm not done with this one. You savages can have him after I'm done with him." Gibson scoffed. "Get in line."

"Oh, I see how it is. Alright, we'll go alert the crazy." Sparx chuckled. "Good luck, Antauri! Maybe you'll survive to see tomorrow!"

Otto sighed.

"I have a license but I'll keep Sparx and Nova outta trouble."

"HEY-!"

Antauri growled under his breath.

"Like I meant for this to happen-!"

It was already too late as the door slammed shut.

Now it was just the three of them.

Gibson sighed as he looked over at Chiro.

Even getting closer to him,was causing his fur to stand on end from the static.

Antauri frowned, making his way to Chiro's side, looking him over.

The static was getting worse, the boy's face twisting up into one of discomfort as it shuddered around him once more like a net.

"He's going to wake up positively drunk, as Sparx put it, on the Power Primate, hence why I decided it's your turn to step up." Gibson explained, pointing from Antauri to Chiro. "You will channel Chiro's excess energy into yourself. I can't touch him at all like this or I'm going to get electrocuted."

Antauri grimaced.

He knew that tone.

Gibson was absolutely, positively livid with him.

He sighed, floating up to the boy's side, settling beside him.

"This is all my fault. I should've done better."

"Yes, yes, it is actually. Because quite honestly, I think we should've told him what being the leader truly means… but you wanted to keep it a secret."

"He's not ready." He denied. "It's too much pressure… He's so young…"

"He's too young for this but the fact is we're clearly meant to play a bigger role." Gibson turned back to him, his gaze stern. "We were never informed the Chosen One was going to be a child but we knew he was going to be here. We knew he might not know how to use his gifts… YOUR job was to do that. Yet, I think part of you is afraid of that." Gibson narrowed his eyes, a low growl building at the back of his throat.

"I know…" Antauri turned away from Chiro, his tail hanging low at the ground, his gaze downcast.

"You're afraid of what his destiny means… aren't you?"

Antauri lowered his head, sighing heavily.

He couldn't deny it.

Gibson was entirely right in that regard. During this entire time, he had been focusing on getting Chiro caught up with combat, mostly out of sheer fear he wouldn't know what to do with himself, even if he had his powers. He thought he had more time.

That he was doing the right thing… but today taught him otherwise.

Chiro was unpredictable in every way shape and form and it seemed the powers that be wanted to remind him he wasn't simply "The Chosen One" if the way he behaved was any indicator…

"I taught you better!"

"What do you think he meant?" Antauri asked. "That he taught us better…"

Gibson sighed.

"I'm not sure, Antauri. As Mila oh so helpfully put it, "Cryptic bull-crap" is your territory, not mine." He smirked. "Now, get on with it."

Antauri grimaced.

Part of him wondered if this was actually a procedure or if Gibson was making things up just for the sake of petty revenge.

He decided, even if it just meant he'd be blasted into a wall from a surge of power, at least it was taking some of the burden off of the boy.

Chiro whimpered as the electricity sparked into full blown energy, rushing around him.

Antauri's eyes widened, reaching for his hand.

"Chiro!"

Chiro gripped his hand tightly as Antauri cried out from the shock of it all.

Steady… He's been dealing with this building up for weeks…

Take responsibility. I could've prevented this but I messed up.

I can't do that again.

Now…

Calm…

He closed his eyes, focusing on what he was experiencing. After the initial surge wore off, he didn't experience pain… just warmth and a sense of static surrounding him….

But there was something else here.

"Hello!? Is anyone here!?"

Chiro's voice echoed through his mind.

Chiro!?

"Please… is anyone even… here?"

He growled before allowing his mind to go still.

Hang on… I'm coming…

Antauri fell forward beside Chiro.

"Antauri!?"

Gibson cursed, shaking him.

The static wasn't an issue anymore… but it was with great displeasure he realized.

"Well great, now I have two patients…"

oooooo

Chiro was lost… He was lost all over again.

The jungle was a strange and unfamiliar place to him. He had never wandered outside of the city's limits until two weeks ago… and he certainly had never been near the Zone of Wasted Years as the historians called it.

The trees were massive, towering overhead like skyscrapers, creating a darkened canopy. The vines hung low, creating a confusing territory.

He was pretty sure he passed a giant spider web but he would really rather not think about that.

"Hello!? Is anyone here!?" He called out.

He had just been in the training room hadn't he? Where was he now?

Was this part of it? No…

No, they would've told him, he told himself.

A tree limb snapped as he whirled around.

And another…

Before him, the branches were falling, creating a path in the dirt… leading him somewhere.

He swallowed hard.

He really hoped he wouldn't regret this.

Chiro took a shaky breath, before starting to follow it.