Part II:

Mandarin doesn't know how a stroll in the city ended up with him standing outside a bar, but at this point he is not sure if he cares.

He walks into into the bustling place, let the door slam behind him and shuffled quietly to the end bar stool. He sat down, unstrapped his brown armor and pulled a twenty-dollar bill which he slapped on the table. The bartender looked at him in surprise, but picked up the twenty and went to the register.

"I guess even heroes need a break, eh?"

Mandarin replies with a tired nod and a casual wave of his hand. Without another word the bartender brought him a boilermaker; a glass of beer and a shot of whiskey.

Mandarin looked at the bartender hesitantly. "Maybe I shouldn't," he pushed the crystalline glasses away, nose wrinkling in slight disgust at the bitter smell, "I don't think it's very right to drink..."

The man in front of him smirked. "Why not?" He leaned against the table and pushed the shot of whiskey closer to Mandarin, "a little alcohol won't do you any harm. Besides, you look terrible."

The orange leader gingerly traced the dark circles under his eyes. He sighed. "How can I benefit from this beverage?"

A pause, then a shrug. "It'll make all your problems go away, I guess."

Mandarin perked up slightly, the possibility sounding like music to his ears. "All?"

"All."

The orange leader eyed the crystalline glass in front of him skeptically before picking it up slowly. He lifted it to his lips and took a tiny sip, experimenting the taste in his mouth. A distinct mix of wheat bread, carbonation and a trace of cough syrup soothed his taste buds. Black orbs widened as he licked the sweetness off his lips and thirstily gulped down a bigger mouthful.

"...Mm. Better than I expected it to be."

The man grinned at the praise. "Not to brag or anything, but I do make the best alcoholic drinks in town." He locked his eyes with Mandarin's in a challenging stare. "Care for a round of 'drink until you drop'? My shift is going to be over soon, anyway. I'll keep you company while you're here."

If it was anything that Mandarin despised, it was backing down from a confrontation. He felt his lips twitch upwards in response. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the man back with an equally challenging look, and levitated himself up until they were meeting eye to eye. He forgets when was the last time he had felt this adventurous, but he misses this feeling too much to let go.

"You're on."

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The orange leader had gone out in the evening, excused himself by saying that he was going to take a stroll in the city. When Antauri went to make sure that all his brothers were asleep after Chiro himself had fallen deep into slumber, Mandarin had still not returned. Worried, but confident that his leader had merely lost track of time on his stroll, Antauri went to bed, finally retiring after a long day.

The next morning, Mandarin had woken up later than usual and complained about a massive headache. Gibson diagnosed him in the lab and found nothing wrong with his electrical circuit components, but gave Mandarin a bottle of painkillers anyway. 'It must be the stress.' The blue monkey justified with utmost certainty, though he was unsure of what stress his leader could possibly be facing when Mandarin had finally managed to successfully fall asleep after a long time. Otto came up and offered Mandarin a comforting hug, saying that he is going to be fine, that everything will eventually go back to normal. Mandarin lets out a painful grunt and shoves his brother roughly off him, causing the green monkey to back away in slight intimidation. No matter how bad of a mood Mandarin seemed to be, he never responded negatively to Otto's affectionate actions. Instead, he would always welcome them with open arms.

That was when Antauri had his first suspicions that something was wrong.

The days went by and to the team's relief, Mandarin had managed to find a way to steal a few hours of sleep every night. However, his mood, in stark contrast, took a turn for the worst, throwing everyone into a state of confusion. While it seemed like Mandarin was getting the rest he rightfully deserved, he would frequently groan about how his throat felt as dry as sandpaper, or how his head's throbbing never seemed to ease, leading to slower commands and groggier reactions, inadvertently affecting the team during whatever missions they had. When the Hyperforce members did not perform up to his expectations during these missions, he would often blame it on their incompetence as protectors of the city. Pathetic teammates, he remembered cursing to himself when the rest were out of earshot, all my training for them. Gone to waste on these useless beings.

Mandarin's alcohol intake had increased drastically in the past week, but he finds himself in too deep to give it up. Not when the drink offered sweet escapes from his guilt and provided nightmare-free nights. The feelings of nauseousness in the morning were only a small price which he did not mind paying. The whispers came to haunt him less frequently every night. It was as if his life was almost back to normal.

"Otto," Mandarin would rasp after he wakes up every morning as he stumbles slowly into the command centre, rubbing his temples, "bring me a glass of water, would you?"

Fulfilling Mandarin's command with his usual cheer, Otto would grab a glass of water from the kitchen and run back in a second obediently. Without a word of thanks, the orange monkey snatched the glass away and drank it in one gulp, letting out a sigh of relief as the uneasiness in his stomach eased.

But not all Hyperforce members were as cooperative as Otto. When Sprx had tried to persistently ask him as to why he had heard vomiting noises from his leader's room on certain mornings, Mandarin would find himself getting irritated at the Sprx's questions and snapped at him to mind his own business. The orange monkey had neither the mood nor patience to tolerate his teammates trying to pry into his personal life.

Not only had his behavior changed toward Sprx, but Mandarin no longer found himself enjoying Nova's company on their sparring sessions together, and had stopped engaging with science experiments he used to perform with Gibson. He would absent himself from Antauri's dinners, and preferred going out into the city instead, even when the rest had pleaded him to stay. Most of all, he stopped spending time with Chiro altogether, and would often shout at Chiro when he got too noisy in begging Mandarin to play with him.

Day by day, the monkey team saw Mandarin gradually metamorphose into a different person entirely. And day by day, Antauri's suspicions only grew.

One night, when Mandarin had headed out in the evening, Antauri could no longer shake off his sense of forebode. While the rest of his teammates were asleep, he was about to exit his room and wait for Mandarin to return before he felt a soft tug on his tail.

"Antauri?" Chiro's sleepy voice penetrated throughout the silence, "where are you going?"

"I am going to stay up later tonight." Antauri turned around and gently adjusted the covers on Chiro. "Go back to sleep."

"Is Mandarin back yet?" A whimper. "I miss him."

"He should be, soon."

Perking up, Chiro shot up from the bed excitedly. "Then I wanna stay up with you! After Mandarin returns we can play with him and help him cheer up~"

Unable to bring himself to dampen Chiro's mood, the black monkey silently nodded his head. The two headed to the command centre together, with Chiro skipping excitedly along the way, humming a small tune. Once they reached their destination, Chiro hopped up in a dome shaped chair and waited, while Antauri levitated near him. The black monkey closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, to try to sense the power primate within. All went well as he felt his soul become one with his power primate, as he fell deeper into meditation. An hour or two must have slipped by while he disconnected himself from his physical body, until something strange knocked him out of his peaceful trance.

A small ebb.

Antauri looked around to find the source of the disturbance, until his eyes landed on something he did not dare to believe in. Around Chiro was a very, very faint green aura, but as he blinked the aura was gone in an instant. Antauri rubbed his eyes and thought that they must have been playing tricks on him.

Or maybe they weren't. Maybe Chiro did have the ability to wield the power primate one day.

But he didn't ponder on that thought further, for he heard the sound of the door at the foot of the robot opening. Mandarin must have returned. Antauri glanced at the clock.

3am.

He frowned.

Mandarin stumbled lightheadedly into the robot, his footsteps loud and uneven as he took last swig from the bottle in his hand. He was seeing doubles in front of him, his head dizzy from the adrenaline rush and antidepressants from the alcohol. Licking his lips to savor the last of the sweet taste, Mandarin placed his hands on the wall near him and used it for support as he walked groggily into the command centre.

The presence of his second-in-command made him freeze.

It took Antauri a while to register fully what he was seeing in front of him. The bottle of Ballantine's Scotch whiskey in Mandarin's hand completely threw him off guard; a thousand thoughts flooded through his mind at once, and there was so much he wanted to ask- how did all of this happen?- but when he opened his mouth to speak, no sound escaped.

"What're you doin' up so late?"

Mandarin's voice snapped him back to reality. Antauri levitated down and walked toward his leader, crossing his arms. Chiro ran innocently to his side.

"I was waiting for you," Antauri explained, and raised an eyebrow at the bottle in Mandarin's hand, "care to explain what you are doing with that?"

Realizing that the alcohol was still in plain view, Mandarin groaned with frustration. How typical of Antauri to dampen his mood after he'd been enjoying himself outside. "Just a small treat to myself, that's all."

Not fully convinced, Antauri probed further. "And this small treat is probably why you have been coming back so late every night? Why you get hangover symptoms every morning?"

Softening his voice, the black monkey placed a hand on Mandarin's shoulder when he saw that his brother was unable to look at him in the eye. "You shouldn't be doing this. There are much healthier ways to deal with stress. As a leader of the Hyperforce, this is not how you should behave."

As a Leader.The three words echoed continuously in his head. He knows that he is being oversensitive to the topic of his leadership being brought up, but he cannot help it. He doesn't like talking about it after Alamie's death, and Antauri—of all people- should know better than that. Mandarin shoots his second-in-command a glare that could burn as he felt anger rise up in him.

"What do you know about being a leader? Huh?" His tone is bitter, indignant. "All you ever do is just give orders after my footsteps! I've never even seen you take the initiative to lead before!" He sticks a finger into Antauri's chest, leaning in closer until Antauri could smell the alcohol in his breath. "I never meant to take a life away but other people seem to think I did! How do you think they will view me as a hero now? What am I supposed to do with this shame if I don't find a way to lighten it myself?"

Antauri remains calm, upright. "But everyone is worried about you, even Chiro. We all try to help but you reject all of it."

Mandarin growls, raising his voice. "So it's my fault now, huh. How can people like you, who've never experienced such immense guilt before, possibly try to help when you don't even know how I feel? What I found," he raised up the bottle of alcohol, "is a solution to my problems, and you have no right to take that away from me."

Before Antauri could respond, Chiro jumps beside Antauri, raising his hand. "I know how you feel! I've seen mom been through the same thing," he lowers his head a little when Mandarin sharpens his glare, "I want to help..."

Without thinking twice, the orange monkey's annoyance only rose when he saw the sight of the child. He raised a hand up and delivered a harsh, stinging slap across Chiro's cheek. The child backed away in a reflex response, cupping his swollen cheek painfully.

As if his body moved on its own, Antauri jumped in front of Chiro like a protective parent, ushering Chiro behind his back. Chiro hid behind the black monkey, whimpering softly, trying to swallow his sobs.

"Don't touch Chiro," Antauri warned in a stern tone, "he has nothing to do with this."

Mandarin growled menacingly and narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to challenge me?"

The black monkey did not respond, but he kept his gaze straight at his leader, unwavering.

To Mandarin, silence had always meant consent.

The tension between both of them grew so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Mandarin was the first to lash out, activating his blue sword and lunged straight toward Antauri's chest. He snarled when the second-in-command dodged aside skillfully, jumping backwards as he put more distance between them. Mandarin's hostility only grew at his brother's retreat. Unrelenting, he sprinted forward, and locked Antauri's position into his sights.

"Monkey mind scream!"

The black monkey that knew it was only a matter of time before Mandarin's attack knocked him out. Focusing all his concentration into his mind, Antauri barely managed to activate a pale green energy shield in time before the attack penetrated through. He heaved out a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.

"That new move is still weak," the orange monkey smirked as he appeared behind Antauri seemingly at the speed of light, catching his brother off guard. How could he have moved so quickly?

I don't want to fight you, Antauri wanted to say, but he didn't even have the time to open his mouth when-

Mandarin stabbed at the shield with all the strength he had and managed to break through after a few seconds. He grabbed Antauri roughly by both arms and locked them behind the black monkey's back, making his brother defenseless.

Mandarin squeezed sadistically at both of his brother's arms until he heard a crushing sound. A sick sort of pleasure welled up in him as he heard Antauri scream out in pain, struggling to get out of Mandarin's grip, but to no avail. Mandarin had him trapped tight. Like an insect stuck on a spider's cobweb, ready to be eaten.

He grinned. The madness returned to his eyes.

"I'll make sure you beg for mercy, Antauri."

Under the influence of alcohol and unable to think straight, Mandarin tried again, empowered by the adrenaline pumping in his blood, this time using his claws to dig deep into his brother's arms until black liquid flowed out. He felt the warm liquid stain his hands, but he doesn't care. It feels so undeniably good to see someone else in pain, so he could forget about his own.

He is so deep into this newfound ecstasy, enjoying every moment of it, that he doesn't hear his siblings come down to the command centre.

"What are you doing!"

Nova's voice broke him out of his thoughts as Mandarin spun around to come face to face with the shocked expressions of his teammates. They surrounded him, instinctively forming a semicircle to block out his escape routes, just like how they cornered criminals on their missions.

"Tsk."

The orange monkey clicked his tongue and released his grip on Antauri, who fell to the ground in agony. Knowing that he was outnumbered, Mandarin walked away, wiping his hands on his sides. Otto and Gibson rushed toward their fallen brother, helping him stand up. Otto quickly assessed the damage, his eyes widening in horror at what Mandarin had done.

"...How could you!"

The green monkey's voice came out hesitant and shaky. He had never, in his life, raised an objection against Mandarin's actions before, but this... this was going too far.

"It was a lesson Antauri had to learn." Mandarin shrugged in response, stepping into his orange tube. "He tried to challenge me. Questioned my leadership. I hope all of you will take something away from this. Do what Antauri did, and you face the same fate."

As Mandarin disappeared up the tube, nobody spoke for a good ten minutes as they tried to register what had happened in their minds. All of them knew that their leader had been acting different lately, but nobody expected him to become violent. Sprx felt his mouth turn dry as he recalled Mandarin's strange behavior in the past few weeks. He swallowed with apprehension.

Recovering from his initial shock, Chiro's light footsteps pattered across the room as he ran up to Gibson with the empty bottle of alcohol in his hand he had picked up after the fight.

"Here." The child said softly as Gibson took the bottle, who ruffled his hair in appreciation.

"Thank you, Chiro."

The blue monkey examined the label carefully and his eyes widened with realization. Gibson inhaled deeply and his expression turned serious, causing the rest to feel even more distress at the scientist's reaction.

"So...? What does it say?"

Sprx's gentle probing did not go unanswered.

"Mandarin has been taking in alcohol into his system," Gibson explained slowly a few moments later, trying not to let shock get the best of him, "very strong alcohol, in fact. That explains his behavior as of late. Anti-depressants in drinks like that does lead to occasional mood swings."

More silence prevailed. This time, it was more uncomfortable.

"We should stop him."

Nobody dared to speak up in response to the suggestion. Not after what they had seen Mandarin do to Antauri. They all knew they were no match for Mandarin's strength. The thought of going against their leader chilled them to the bone.

"We'll fix you up, as good as new," Otto broke the uncomfortable silence awkwardly as he said to his second-in-command, changing the subject as quickly as he could, "then you can go back and rest."

Antauri nodded weakly in response as Gibson and Otto carried him by the arms and guided him towards the medical bay. The remaining members walked back slowly to their rooms, and Nova held Chiro's trembling hand in comfort as they made their way up the robot.

"Will Antauri be okay?" The child asked innocently, his eyes glistening with tears of fear. "I don't like how Mandarin acts anymore."

Nova squeezed Chiro's hand tighter. "None of us do." A pause. "But if things get out of hand, we will make sure to protect you. Just forget about everything tonight, okay?"

Chiro nodded as he tried his best not to cry. Nova's eyes softened and bent down, offering a comforting hug, then opened the door to Antauri's room. She turned on the lights and left it on for the child, who climbed onto the bed and laid down gingerly.

"Goodnight Chiro," Nova spoke softly and put on the strongest smile she had, "everything is going to be alright."

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That night, the orange monkey had the best sleep he had ever experienced in the longest time he could remember. He was more refreshed than ever. There was no heavy lead resting on his heart when he woke up; nor the terrible feeling of fearing for his heroic image being stained; and best of all, there was no guilt of taking a life away.

In fact, if harming others made him feel uplifted, he doesn't mind doing it again if it meant escaping from the hell he had been put through.

As days pass he feels himself growing stronger as he takes out criminals on whatever missions they had singlehandedly, the urge to hurt compelling him forward. Death had visited him more than once, but each time he rises up again: stronger and uncrushed. Each defeat of their enemy makes him realize the extent of his power, how much he is actually in charge of.

If he had so much strength in him, if he could easily cause harm with his powers, why not just use force to ensure that nobody would doubt his leadership ever again? Why not just demand obedience from people around him? In fact, why did he even fear so much for his leadership in the first place?

He smiles as these ideas take root. And this time, his smile actually meets his eyes.

Mandarin perfected life, and closes red eyes to dream hungry dreams.

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Mandarin gathers each member in the training room on one evening. He doesn't leave the robot tonight, but stands with a commanding presence in the training room as his siblings show up one by one. Gibson is the last to appear. As the blue monkey steps into the room, Mandarin uses his telekinesis to shut the door behind him with one loud 'bang'.

The orange monkey which knew himself to be leader ignored his inferiors looking at him with blank expressions. And ever watchful, he plays a waiting game with them.

Tension grows thick as nobody utters a word. Mandarin waits until his inferiors are growing restless, then clears his throat and shoots a glare at Gibson.

"Why were you late?"

The blue monkey, startled at the sudden noise, swallows only loud enough for himself to hear. "Um... I, I had to-"

Stuttering. He despises it. "I repeat, Hal Gibson, why were you late?"

"I had extra lessons with Chiro." Gibson replies quickly in one breath, unable to meet Mandarin's condescending gaze. He plays with his fingers nervously as he feels his leader's stare burn through his fur.

"That is not a valid reason." Mandarin's voice comes out low, threatening. "Tutoring the child is not part of your duties as Chief of Science, correct?"

Gibson lowers his head even further and nods submissively.

"Hence, because of your tardiness, you deserve a punishment. You'll be the first to test out our new level ten training system."

Mandarin watches as he sees Gibson's face turn pale, and cannot help but grin to himself as the blue monkey steps out obediently, but reluctantly, into the training area. Nova looks like she is ready to explode, but Otto puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes tight. No, his desperate ebony eyes meets her rose pink ones in a silent plea, don't provoke him. Not now.

As Mandarin presses the button on the controls, five tall white pillars shoot up from the ground, and all sorts of weapons popped out from the pillars, aiming directly at Gibson. The freeze rays are the first to attack, as two beams of deep blue targeted Gibson's head. The scientist is barely quick enough to jump out of the way before being assaulted by five more saws on his right. Gibson activates his power drills and shoots for the saws, but misses one and gets hit by something above him, but he reacts fast enough to move out of the way before being stabbed by a knife coming straight for his tail.

The level ten training system. Bigger, faster, stronger than what Gibson has ever experienced. He attacks with all his strength, tries not to get hit, but he knows this is one machine that is nearly impossible to outsmart.

After fifteen minutes of continuous combat the blue monkey starts to get out of breath. Mandarin rubs his hands together in a wicked manner and increases the attack intensity on the controls.

"Too weak, Gibson, too weak!"

The other monkeys behind him stand up straighter in alarm.

As the blue monkey stops for a second to catch his breath, he spots a red laser beam coming at him from the corner of his eye. Gibson tries to muster his remaining strength to run, but his legs have turned too soft to follow his brain's commands. He closes his eyes and braces for impact. A scorching heat slices through part of his fur and burns the skin below, causing him to nearly let tears of pain escape from his eyes. Ever yearning for more screams, Mandarin listened carefully and savored the music to his ears, took strength and vitality from it- realizing his potential with every new injury, every new stab of pain Gibson felt.

He smiles. This is the life. The extent of his power over others.

"I can't take this anymore!"

Sprx activates his magnets and uses them to shut down the controls before rushing to his leader, staring at him straight in the eye, and jabs an accusing finger on Mandarin's chest. Otto runs forward to help Gibson back up onto his feet and supports the blue monkey with his own weight.

"Why?"

Sprx's voice comes out loud, confused, and betrayed that the once kind orange monkey would intentionally injure one of his teammates. He wants to sob, scream, and shake Mandarin's shoulders so damn hard until his leader would get some sense back into that brain of his.

That sick, power hungry brain of his.

Sprx snarls in disgust and anger, but Mandarin only chuckles in response.

"Why?" The orange monkey repeats, grinning. "Because, seventy-seven, this is what happens if all of you don't obey me! Don't follow my orders perfectly! And this is what will happen to the rest of the disobedient citizens of Shuggazoom city once I take control... of everyone. Once that happens, I will be the most powerful person in the city, and nobody will even dare to oppose my rule."

The rest of the monkeys stare up at Mandarin as if he is crazy. Insane. And at this point, maybe he actually is.

Antauri shakes his head in disbelief as he tries to find the words to speak, but the transformation of his leader had thrown his entire being into a state of shock. He cannot move, not even a muscle, as his brain tries to think back to when everything had gone so wrong.

"...No."

Otto's throat is parched and he licks his lips to control his voice. It is soft, but firm, and Mandarin looks at him with surprise. "It is not our duty as protectors to rule over Shuggazoom."

"You, out of everyone here, is opposing me, Otto?" The orange monkey raises an eyebrow and takes one step closer to the mechanic, chest held high with confidence. "Don't make me laugh. You are far too fragile to offer any worthy resistance to me."

Otto settles Gibson gently down onto the floor and leans the scientist's back against the wall, afraid to worsen the injury further. He gulps and readies himself hesitantly into a battle stance, activating his energy green saws. The green monkey looks like he is about to cry, but he narrows his eyes in determination.

"Not to the old Mandarin," he whispers under his breath, "but you're not the Mandarin I know anymore. You've changed."

You've changed so, so much.

With a deep inhale of air Otto charges forward, his saws ready to slice through whatever attack Mandarin offered. At Otto's advancement the remaining monkeys looked at each other and nodded with resolve, each activating their own transformers and lunging at their leader. Sprx attacked in the air, aiming for the orange monkey from above as he gracefully dodged each red electromagnetic beam, while Nova engaged with close quarter combat, trying to get a good target on her brother, but his reflexes were far too quick for the gold warrior to properly land a hit. Mandarin grabbed hold on Otto's incoming saw and threw the saw, as if it were made out of air, at Nova, to which both of them came crashing into each other and landed in a heap at the corner of the room. Then, Mandarin detached part of his energy tail and used it as a rope to aim for Sprx in the air, effectively binding his brother's arms together before he smashed the red monkey roughly onto the ground. The red monkey tried to get up, but Mandarin sends a voltage of electricity through the rope, knocking Sprx unconscious.

"A waste of time," the orange monkey sighed and smirked at Antauri challengingly, the last one standing, "I'll see you soon, after I exploit your biggest weakness."

A burst of green energy engulfed Mandarin's body as he disappeared without a trace from the room. Antauri quickly deactivated his transformers and started to reactivate the rest of his brothers, while Gibson shakily stood up and rubbed his sore side, wincing.

"Your greatest weakness," Gibson whispered as he thought quietly, his brain running quickly through all the possibilities, before he felt his body become stiff as a harsh realization struck him, "could he be talking about Chiro? ...Antauri," he turned quickly toward his brother, "you need to check on Chiro. Now. I will reactivate the rest."

The second-in-command nodded in understanding and sprinted as fast as his legs could take him to his room, while he prayed feverishly that Chiro would be alright. If anything were to happen to Chiro... Antauri couldn't bear to think of the horrible possibilities as he berated himself silently for getting the child involved in all of this mess that the Hyperforce was in. His metallic feet screeched to a stop as he hurriedly used telekinesis to open the door to his room, heart rate spiking as each minute passed, cold sweat running down his fur as he feared for Chiro's safety.

As the door swung open, Antauri almost stopped breathing at the sight in front of him.

Mandarin had wrapped a metallic arm around Chiro's waist, holding the boy close to his body as he stood behind Chiro. His sword was aimed towards Chiro's neck, and the proximity of the weapon was so close until a trickle of blood ran down the child's skin. Antauri could see Chiro's forehead drenched in sweat under the light, and how his eyes were wide with fear. The black monkey readied his ghost claws and took one step forward before Mandarin dug his sword deeper into Chiro's skin, causing the boy to cry out loud.

"Antauri!" Chiro's pleading voice rang out throughout the room as tears startled to form in his eyes. "It's burning me! It hurts so much!"

The black monkey felt his heart break as he stopped dead in his tracks. "Let go of Chiro." A pause, then he deactivated his weapons, his voice softening. "...please."

Mandarin howled with laughter as he hugged Chiro closer to him, making the sobs grow louder. "Look at you, pathetic fool! Softened by affection and love. Disgusting."

The orange monkey smirked and narrowed his eyes until both were locked with Antauri's greenish-yellow ones in a dead stare. "Let's make a deal. A duel to death. If you win, you can do whatever you want to me, lock me up, I don't care." His smirk grew wider until his fangs showed and a sinister sort of madness flooded his eyes. "But if you lose, I kill the child, who has the potential to wield the power primate, and take over Shuggazoom, with every citizen under my control. How does that sound?"

Looking at Chiro, Antauri felt his throat turn dry as he contemplated about a decision. Even if he had to die in place of the child... he would exchange his life for the child's in a heartbeat. Chiro was everything to him. He firmed his resolve.

He had to protect Chiro, no matter what.

Antauri nodded to Mandarin's words and the orange monkey let Chiro go. The child quickly pushed himself away from Mandarin and went to wrap his arms around Antauri's waist, burying his face into the black monkey's fur until it was sticky and wet with tears. Antauri bent down and hugged Chiro close, a huge wave of relief flooding through him as he whispered into the trembling child's ear.

"Shh," Antauri soothed quietly, rubbing his back, "don't worry. You will be safe."

Chiro stared up at the black monkey and more tears welled up as he choked. "I... I don't want you to die..."

Bringing a finger to Chiro's lips, Antauri offered a genuine smile. "I won't."

Before Chiro could protest, he pushed the boy out of the room, closed the door firmly and faced Mandarin with the full intent to attack for the first time. Antauri activated his ghost claws and bared his fangs at Mandarin in a battle stance.

This was a fight that both of them could not afford to lose.

For an instant, they, who were once brothers, stood locked face to face. With a bloodcurdling scream, Mandarin ran forward with vicious, gleeful mad red eyes. He came fast at Antauri with a looping swing over his head. When he swung, he expected his opponent to dodge, but Antauri leaped inside the swing instead. The black monkey hooked his left arm over Mandarin's right, grabbed his tail with his free hand and sent Mandarin flying back to the opposite end of the room hard enough to crack the concrete wall, creating a small waft of dust.

Mandarin did not waste even a second. He charged back at Antauri at the speed of sound, readying both his sword and shield. Antauri's battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs as he gracefully dodges all of Mandarin's thrusts at him with a sword. The black monkey then crosses over his arms and throw a backhand at Mandarin, hiding his other hand and activates it into a phased, see-through claw. Mandarin blocks the first blow with an arm, as expected. Antauri tries to stab over his other arm, but his opponent effortlessly switches to grabbing that wrist. The black monkey's mind tingles, and he pulls back. Mandarin brings his shield close to Antauri's body, close enough for him to feel the heat emanating from it, and swings up at his caught arm. Antauri jerks it up high, out of Mandarin's grip and range. Lunging, the black monkey targets a blind spot on Mandarin's chest and pushes hard enough to bend him back over.

Stepping up, Antauri sits on his middle, trapping Mandarin on his back. He stabs downwards, but again the orange monkey captures him, his wrist wedged between Mandarin's two. Antauri's momentum is stopped, and Mandarin takes this opportunity to push his opponent off him. Antauri is thrown back as he topples onto the hard floor. He lands partially on an elbow, and pain shoots up his shoulder.

As he pushes himself up with his arms, Mandarin seizes the opportunity and uses his foot to kick Antauri's body back down. The black monkey grunts as he feels the whole weight of Mandarin on his back. All his attempts to get up are futile as he struggles uselessly against his opponent's control.

Mandarin smiles at the turning of tables as he uses his sword to slash across Antauri's back mercilessly. The cut is deep, but not fatal, and it stains his sword in a deep crimson red. He watches Antauri bite his lip to hold back screams and bends down beside him, whispering into the black monkey's ear.

"Staying strong for Chiro, huh?"

Up. Antauri willed himself to get up. He uses the last of his strength to push Mandarin off and got back onto his feet, trying to see through a black haze which clouded his vision. He staggers through confusion and anger, fog and pain. Antauri tries to land a hit onto his opponent, but Mandarin easily dodges and sends a flying kick at Antauri's torso, causing the black monkey to lean back against a wall for support.

He feels his warm blood seeping down his back, and the loss is making him dizzy.

Mandarin stands close to Antauri until they are both in very close proximity. He grins in pure sadism and brings his sword close to his brother's neck.

He is so close to claiming his prize, that he could practically taste his victory.

Before Mandarin can make his next move, the door behind him is knocked down loudly, much to his dismay, revealing Chiro and four other monkeys.

"Antauri!"

Chiro is the first to rush forward and wedges himself in the space between Mandarin and Antauri, kicking the orange monkey away with unexpected strength. He holds Antauri's hand and turns his back towards Mandarin. Chiro heaves out a sigh of relief when he sees that the black monkey is still breathing. Antauri smiles and grips Chiro's hand in response, staggering to the door, leading the child to the safety of his siblings when-

"You damn child, I am going to kill you if that is the last thing I do!"

Mandarin's enraged scream fills the room as he pries Chiro forcefully away from Antauri, tackling him down. Rage blinding his vision, Mandarin stabs at whichever part of Chiro's body his sword can land on. The child lets out a high pitched scream when Mandarin feels his sword penetrate through sweet, soft flesh. Before he can make the next stab, Antauri uses his phased claw and grabs a hold of Mandarin's battery in his back's compartment before ripping it out.

The sword is inches from Chiro's face before the orange monkey falls to the ground with a soft thump, fully deactivated.

Antauri steps into a puddle of blood as he picks the unconscious child up into his arms. He doesn't want to believe what he is seeing, but as Chiro's warm blood seeps through his fingers, reality slaps in harshly in the face. He is barely breathing, and Antauri has never felt so much fear grip his heart before.

"Gibson! Get Chiro to the medical bay, now!"

His voice is loud, desperate, urgent as he passes the child carefully to the blue monkey. Gibson nearly screams at the sight of Chiro's injury but nods firmly and runs out of the room. Otto follows close behind him. Antauri does everything in his power to keep his calm and collected demeanor, and though successful in his attempt, all he wants is to cry on someone's shoulder and be told that Chiro would be okay. That the boy would live. That he wouldn't be on the cold operating table, fighting for his life.

Sprx places a hand on his brother's arm gently, but he himself trying to stay strong for the sake of the rest. "...What do we do with Mandarin now?"

Nova squares her shoulders and stands up straighter, but her spirit is clearly diminished through her exhausted pink eyes. "We have to stop him from carrying out his schemes. Send him somewhere far away from here."

Sprx's voice wavers noticeably. He had loved Mandarin as a brother in the past, and he still isn't willing to do this. He feels a part of him die on the inside, tasting betrayal for the first time, and he fights back burning tears. "You mean..." He doesn't dare to say it, but he forces himself to choke it out. "...Exile?"

Antauri nods glumly. Sprx doesn't think that he has seen those greenish-yellow orbs filled with so much unexplained sorrow before. Chiro's injury and Mandarin's exile happening all in a matter of hours... it takes a spirit of steel to still be able to handle all these things at once.

But then again, the day's events have affected them all in different ways. Sprx doesn't know how long it will take for them to recover from the loss of a leader and possibly the loss of a child as well, but at this point, he is too afraid to ask.

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Few hours later:

The monkeys gather together in the command centre after Gibson had informed them that Chiro was now in stable condition, sleeping in the medical bay. None of them speak as they take their places in egg-shaped chairs, all mentally drained from what had happened, their eyes dark and dull. Knowing that as a second-in-command, Antauri pushes himself to be a pillar of support for his team especially at a crucial time like this. He uses his strongest voice to gather everyone's attention.

"We cannot function without a leader," he begins as he sees each of them lift up their heads slightly, "we need to figure out what to do next... before we go into stasis and wait for the next leader of the Hyperforce, who is destined to lead us."

He cannot bring himself to look at Otto in the eye as he continues. "I have decided that it is best for us to exile Mandarin to a place where he will be contained safely. The H.O.O.P prison has already been contacted, and we will send him there as soon as possible."

Otto looks like he is about to burst out crying, but he bites back a sob threatening to rise out from his throat and looks down at the floor.

"We also need to decide what to do with Chiro."

At the mention at the child, Nova shoots up from her seat and beckons Antauri to sit down, knowing that the topic of Chiro could send their second-in-command into a complete meltdown. She bites her lip, trying not to let her voice waver as she faced her brother with a brave face.

"Sprx and I discussed about it, while you were preparing the ship for exile," she clears her throat, choosing her words carefully, "we also informed Gibson and Otto about our decision, and we have their approval. Chiro will be sent to Shuggazoom's best orphanage, under an anonymous name. Thus nobody will know that he was under the Hyperforce's care, since the unexpected... turn of events. And if we're going into stasis soon... it would be best for Chiro to..." She pauses to steady her voice, "forget about us. Who knows when we might even wake up again..."

Antauri sits up straighter to compose himself, but he feels another jolt of pain stab through his heart. "You mean... memory erasing?"

The golden warrior looks down guiltily. "...Yes. And we are planning to erase Mandarin's memories of Chiro as well, so in case he breaks out of prison and comes back to Shuggazoom, he won't be targeting Chiro anymore. Please know..." Her voice trails off into a soft whisper, weak and vulnerable for the strongest warrior on the team, "...everything we are doing is for Chiro's sake now."

Antauri takes a minute or two to let the words sink in. Every nerve in his brain is rejecting the idea of sending Chiro off, abandoning him, leaving him alone. He wants to beg and cry and scream for the child to stay with them, that maybe they don't need to go into stasis after all and the prophecies he'd read at the Veran Mystics were wrong, and they can go on raising Chiro as their own, living happily ever after, but...

He knows that he has to let Chiro go. As heroes, sacrifices have to be made, no matter how painful.

Without meeting Nova in the eye, he gives her a slight nod.

He feels his heart shatter even more as his limbs grew numb. And then an anger and sadness surge through him with so much power, he knows not what to do, but he accepts his fate and decides to let go.

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Antauri carries a sleeping child gently into the lab and watches Gibson turn on the computer. He smiles at the weight in his arms, telling himself that he will never forget Chiro, the one person who has brought so much joy into his life before laying him down. When the others are not looking, he quickly presses a small kiss on Chiro's forehead, ruffling his hair with affection.

"As we erase Chiro's memories, all his time spent with us... will be gone," Gibson chokes on his words but recovers quickly, melancholy flooding his tone, "and his brain will naturally fill in the gap with other false recollections. As for Mandarin, since he has already gone on to H.O.O.P, he does not need to be here physically for us to erase his memories. The data of Chiro, stored inside the computer chip in his brain, will automatically be wiped out with the signals from this machine."

The rest nod in understanding as they turn their backs to the computer, unable to bring themselves to look. Sprx's shoulders start to tremble as a mechanical sound starts up, filling the room. As Otto helps Gibson with the process, he is shaking non-stop, closing his eyes shut tightly.

Antauri takes in a deep breath, and braces himself for the outcome. He covers his ears to block out all sound.

Memory erasing process, complete. All data, 100% gone.

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The rain comes down in buckets, the night skies of Shuggazoom mourning for the loss of a hero. The Hyperforce carried Chiro, who is wrapped snugly in a blanket, protected from the rain and cold, to the entrance of the orphanage. Sprx is the only one who gathers up enough courage to press the doorbell, but his actions were heavier than usual.

"Coming!"

A lady's voice. Sprx shoots a half hearted thumbs up at his teammates as they take to the skies with their rocket packs. The rain beats down harshly on them, drenching their bodies to the bone, and Nova looks over at her brothers.

She was not sure if the water streaming down their faces were tears or not. She lets out a small, inaudible sob as thunder rumbled in the sky, knowing that there was no shame in crying when everybody else looked like they were doing the same thing.

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As they returned to the Super Robot, nobody was in the mood to talk. All of them made their way to Gibson's lab, who helped clean up their wounds from the battle with Mandarin. Silence prevailed as only the sound of cutting bandages could be heard as the blue monkey got to work.

When Gibson typed in a few words in his computer, the water from his fur dripped onto the keyboard, leading to an electrical spark. He gasped. An alarm activated a few moments later, flooding the lab in flashing red light. The monkeys turned their heads in surprise to the sound, confused at what was happening.

Warning. Memory erasing process, continued. All assigned data in available occupants will be erased and terminated.

Sprx stared at Gibson with wide, panicked eyes. "What in the world...? What assigned data is it talking about?"

Otto ran over to the computer and tried to pull a few controls on the keyboard, but quickly withdrew his hand away when a small explosion could be heard from the internal engine due to overheating. "The process is not reversing! The data we previously locked onto Mandarin's brain regarding Chiro can't be undone, now it's locked onto the rest of the computer chips in our brain as well. We're...!" He gulped, his hands falling limply to his sides in resignation. His shoulders sagged as he gave himself up to his fate.

"...It is only a matter of minutes before all our memories of Chiro gets erased." Gibson says softly, continuing from where Otto left off. He wanted to be the last person on Shuggazoom to break the news to his brothers, and damage them even more, but he knew that as long as the computer chips were embedded in their brains, it was one truth none of them could escape from. "I'm... sorry. This is a malfunction. There's nothing I can do to stop it."

Antauri felt something inside of him snap. Everything turned silent for a moment, like the world had just collapsed. If not for his hand on the medical table, he would have fallen to the floor.

An overwhelming wave of pure sadness overtook his entire being. He cannot control the tears falling out continuously of his eyes, nor the trembling of his shoulders as he tried to steady himself in Gibson's reassuring hug when the blue monkey wrapped his arms around him. Almost all of his weight is leaning against Gibson's body; there is barely any strength left inside of his legs. He feels his breathing get sharper by the second as his heart is crushed into a million, irreparable pieces once more.

He thought of his teammates, who were barely pulling themselves together. He thought of Mandarin's exile, the one person in the team whom he thought had a heart of gold, and he thought Chiro, their first human friend whom'd they'd known for five weeks, who came into his life and showed him love he'd never experienced before just by being alive.

"I d-don't want to forget him," he managed to choke out softly beside Gibson's ear, all of his pent up feelings finally let loose. All of his locked up rage and his hidden fears; everything. All emotions are displayed on his face, and Gibson could read him like an open book, the first time he has been able to.

"Please... make it stop. Make it stop... Chiro..." The blue monkey uses all of his strength to support his desperate brother, "Chiro is dear to me. He means everything. We already left him at the orphanage, erased his memory of us," Antauri looks up at the blue monkey like a child begging for forgiveness, "you can't take my memory of him away from me. That's the last thing I have left of him. It will be like... he never even existed!"

Gibson offered the most comforting hug he could as the alarm continued flashing throughout the room. He decided to use the last few moments to say what he could, his voice greatly softened by the alarm. In the world now, was only him and Antauri, and no one else as he blocked out all the other noises in the room. For once, Antauri is the one is his arms, not not vice versa. He squeezed his brother's hands tightly, and gave the best smile he possibly could.

"Antauri, pull yourself together," he said in a firm tone, "even if we forget him, somewhere in us, is where Chiro will remain. As you said before," he swallowed, "fate has strange ways of operating. Perhaps one day, our paths will cross again. He won't be forgotten," he spoke out his last words before beginning to fall unconscious when he felt the signal doing its work on his brain, "and neither will us."

Barely being able to register Gibson's words in time, the black monkey could only nod in response and raised a hand up to wiped the tears off his face. He musters a small smile with the last of his strength, trying to recall all the moments he and Chiro had shared together before they were gone.

Thank you, he remembered thinking before darkness engulfed him, but to whom he was saying it to, he was not entirely sure.

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"Fate has a special way of making people meet, and things happen."

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A few years later:

Chiro woke up the the sight of blinding white light as his vision gradually became clearer. His back was lying against a cold floor and he raised a hand up to rub the back of his head groggily. Five colorful monkeys looked back down on him, causing his eyes to widen.

"AHHHH!"

He scrambled back as fast as he could, a hand raised up protectively in front of himself.

"Who are you?...What are you?"

Sprx crossed his arm and raised an eyebrow. "This kid is supposed to be our new leader? Are you kidding me?"

Antauri placed a hand on Sprx's shoulder, frowning at his brother's behaviour. "Don't be too quick to judge, Sprx. He is the one who woke us up from our stasis."

Otto walked up to the teenager and held out his hand, a friendly smile on his face. "What's your name?"

Chiro hesitantly took the green monkey's hand and shook it in a flimsy handshake. "Oh, me? My name's-"

"Chiro."

Two voices spoke out at once. Everyone stared at Antauri in confusion and shock.

"How did you know?" The teenager asked in awe.

Antauri placed a hand on a tugging feeling on his chest. He thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"I... I'm not sure."

Familiar baby blue eyes met his own greenish-yellow ones, and Antauri couldn't get rid of this faint feeling of nostalgia that he had seen those eyes somewhere before.

He tried his best to recall, but he just can't.

Dismissing off the sensation as maybe a memory of someone he saw when he was passing by the streets, Antauri floated up until Chiro's eye level. After years of waiting for a new leader, he couldn't be happier with the outcome. If the prophecies were correct, then this child is indeed the Chosen One, and he would do everything in his power to train Chiro until he was ready to take on whatever evil that appeared.

Antauri smiled.

"Welcome to the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce."

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A/N: IT IS DONE. I swear this took forever, and thank you for you guys who read till the end of a 36 page one-shot. There are two sub-plots in this story, and they are two rather heavy ones, (Mandarin's character change + Antauri and Chiro's relationship) but nonetheless I hope you guys enjoyed it. I tried to make some parts at the beginning funny in the first chapter, just for the laughs. Hope y'all liked it :) Also, food for thought, I made Alamie sound similar to 'Alchemist' on purpose ;)

I am also setting it as an AU because I honestly think it's quite unlikely to be canon for Mandarin to turn to alcohol. That's kinda a stretch, heheh, but alcohol only acted as a trigger to Mandarin's violent self. Three parts in his character development here: Guilt, Alcoholism, Dictatorship. To me, Mandarin has always been a very deep character. If he really is the wisest, smartest, strongest of the monkeys, I feel like there has always been something more to him than meets the eye.

Anyways, that's all for now, thank you for reading!