I have had this chapter finished for almost a year now, I have no idea why I have never taken the time to upload it. Sorry everyone! Moving on now. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It introduces the badies of this story and it's a little dark, so beware. Well, enjoy! Disclaimer: Also, I unfortunately do not own SRMTHFG. If I did, there would have been another season and I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

Chapter 3

3 days later…

It had taken the better part of 3 days for the City Cleaners to clean up the mess caused by the frog battle. Damages were quickly repaired and injuries were mended. Normalcy returned to the city; the citizens, unfortunately, were used to such epic battles.

Night had descended over the city and the six occupants of the Super Robot were already fast asleep in their own separate rooms. The soft sound of snoring could be heard echoing around the metallic halls of the robot, originating from a certain green monkey's room. But that was a normal nighttime noise and did nothing to disturb the team in their slumber. No, it was the sound of whimpering that had the five multicolored monkeys twitching in their sleep, similar frowns, unconsciously, appearing on their faces.

In his room, Chiro was thrashing around on his bed. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and his blankets were tangled around his limbs. "No…please…" He whimpered in his sleep. He lashed out with arms as though he were attacking an invisible foe and rolled over onto his side, further wrapping the blankets around his body. He rolled over again onto his back, his mind completely lost in the throes of the nightmare.

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It was dark and everything was still. The only noise was the sound of running feet and panting breath. Chiro didn't know how he arrived at this place or why he was running, only that a deep fear had settled into his chest, compelling him to keep moving even though he felt like collapsing from exhaustion. Suddenly, his foot caught on, what felt like, an invisible root sticking out of the ground, sending the boy crashing to the ground. He laid there for a few minutes, panting heavily as he caught his breath.

Out of nowhere, the sound of laughter came from the bleak nothing that surrounded him. Chiro went rigid as chills ran up and down his spine. The laughter sounded joyful but at the same time all kinds of wrong. Feeling vulnerable, Chiro quickly climbed to his feet and looked around. The fear in his chest was quickly rising to panic but he refused to back down from whatever it was that the laughter was coming from.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" He yelled, pleased with himself that he was able to keep his voice from shaking.

The laughter turned into a slightly girlish giggle that sounded like it was coming from right behind him but when he turned around there was no one there. "Oh impatient are we?" A voice whispered in his ear, causing him to flinch. "Well don't worry. Once we are done with your monkey friends, you'll be next…"

Chiro's breathing hitched at the mention of his beloved team. "The monkey team?" he gasped. His eyes narrowed, the fear quickly being replaced with righteous anger "Listen, I don't know who you are or where you came from but if you hurt my friends you will regret it!" He growled as he glared out into the darkness.

Another deeper voice started laughing off to his right; joining in with the other. "How hilarious! The little boy is actually trying to be threatening!" It mocked, which Chiro replied with another angered growl. "Well your too little too late, little boy! Your team has already become ours and I must say, they were a rather satisfying meal. Wouldn't you agree, sister?"

"Indeed they were brother." Giggled the, now apparent, feminine voice.

"No! Where are they? What have you done to them?" Yelled Chiro, his eyes becoming wide with fear.

"What are you, blind?" Mocked the male voice again. "They're right behind you."

Chiro quickly turned around, his mouth dropping open in shock at the sight of five monkeys lying motionlessly on the ground.

'No this can't be happening!' repeated itself over and over again in Chiro's mind as he ran toward his fallen team. He fell to his knees next to the closest, which was Otto, and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him roughly. "Otto wake up! Wake up!" He yelled desperately. The green monkey's eyes were blank and his head lolled from side to side. Tears welled up in Chiro's eyes when he received no response so he crawled over to the others and tried to wake them up as well.

He went to each of them in turn but they were all just as lifeless as Otto. Antauri was the last and when he received no response from the silver monkey, Chiro collapsed and sobbed into his hands. "No…Please…"

A hand began stroking his cheek, almost comfortingly if it wasn't for the sharp nails digging slightly into his skin. "Shh don't cry. I would be happy to reunite you with your monkey friends if that is what you desire." Soothed the feminine voice, whispering seductively into his ear. Chiro did nothing to stop it as the hand traveled down, stopping at the center of his chest. Another, larger, hand was placed on the center of his back, opposite on his body to the first.

"Yes…just sit still." Said the masculine voice gleefully from behind him. "We promise to make this as painful as possible…"

The hands on him seemed to wake Chiro up from his shock induced stupor and made to remove them from his person but when the hands began to glow bright green and the feeling of his very soul being ripped out of him hit him, he couldn't do anything besides scream.

So Chiro screamed.

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The soft whimpering that had filled the night may not have roused the monkey team from their sleep but the blood curdling screams sure did. They all jumped awake at the distressing noise and it took them about two seconds before they were up and running to their leader's room. Antauri's room was the closest so he reached Chiro's room first. He was filled with dread when he opened the door and it only intensified when he caught sight of his leader. Chiro was thrashing around violently on his bed, which was not uncommon when the boy had a nightmare. It was the green glow of the power primate that surrounded his body that made Antauri pause.

His hesitation didn't last and he ran to Chiro's side just as the other four occupants of the Super Robot reached the doorway. They were also stopped in their tracks at the sight of their distressed leader, their mouths falling open in shock. "Whoa…" Said Sprx, eyes wide.

"Chiro, wake up! You are just having a nightmare." Said Antauri as he shook Chiro's shoulder lightly. All this did was cause Chiro to scream louder and take a swipe at him with his fist, so Antauri took a different approach. He crossed his legs and floated into the air as he closed his eyes in concentration. His body also began to glow green with the power primate as he reached out a hand and placed it gently on Chiro's forehead.

The two energies seemed to flow together, Antauri's calm energy mixing in with Chiro's erratic one. 'Chiro…relax…you're safe.' Thought Antauri, communicating telepathically with Chiro's mind.

It seemed to be working because Chiro stopped screaming and thrashing around. The flow of green energy around his body became more peaceful and began to fade away the more his body relaxed. When it was completely gone, Antauri removed his hand but remained floating at Chiro's side. The rest of the Monkey Team slowly approached the bed and surrounded their panting leader.

Chiro slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion at the worried faces looking down at him. "Monkey Team…?" He said in a breathless whisper. He blinked his eyes rapidly a few times, as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Are you alright Chi-" Began Antauri but was unable to finish his question because Chiro suddenly sat up, shot forward, and grabbed him into a tight hug. Stunned, Antauri could only rub Chiro's back soothingly as the boy began shaking, exchanging a worried look over the child's shoulder with the rest of the team.

"Hey its okay kid. There's nothing to be upset about. It was only a dream." Soothed Sprx.

Nova stepped forward and placed a hand on Chiro's shoulder. "Yeah, nothing to be scared of." She said, giving him an encouraging smile.

With a sniff, Chiro pulled away from Antauri and wiped his eyes with his pajama sleeve. "I'm sorry you guys. That dream…it just seemed so real…" He said, his voice quivering slightly. He looked up at them after clearing his eyes and gave them a small smile. "Sorry to worry you all. This seems to happen a lot, doesn't it?" He asked, looking down at his lap in embarrassment.

"That's alright Chiro!" Said Otto with his usual enthusiasm. "That's what family's for!"

The others nodded their heads in agreement and Chiro was eternally grateful to have them all here beside him. He didn't even want to imagine what his life would have been like if he had never met them. He was brought out of his thoughts when a cool metal hand touched his forehead.

"Are you feeling alright, Chiro?" Asked Gibson. "Your temperature is a little high. Maybe we should go to the med bay to run a few tests."

The thought of enduring any of Gibson's tests struck a different kind of fear in Chiro and he quickly shook his head no. "No, no that's alright, Gibson! I'm feeling just fine!" Said Chiro quickly, smiling sheepishly at the blue monkey.

Gibson crossed his arms and frowned at his young teammate. "Well, if you're sure. Cause it wouldn't take long."

"Ah give the kid a break Gibson! Can't you see he's just tired?" Said Sprx, elbowing the blue monkey, non-too gently, in the ribs. Gibson glared at Sprx as he rubbed the spot, grumbling angrily under his breath.

"Perhaps it would be best if we all went back to sleep. We will discuss this more in the morning." Said Antauri, giving Chiro a pointed look, who only nodded reluctantly in reply.

"Yeah 'cause I have some hard core training in store for us tomorrow." Said Nova, punching a fist into her open palm and smiling evilly. The males of the team (excluding Antauri) all groaned at the thought.

When the monkeys began walking toward the door, fear settled once again in Chiro's gut as the image of them all lying motionless on the ground flashed through his mind. So before he could stop himself he reached out his hand toward the monkeys and yelled, "Wait!"

When they turned to face him, curious expressions on their faces, he blushed a deep red and began fidgeting nervously. "Um…I was wondering…if it wasn't too much trouble…" He said, glancing up at them before looking back down at his lap, missing the looks of understanding that passed between them.

'Grow up Chiro!' He scolded to himself. 'You're too old to be afraid of a silly little nightmare! The monkeys probably want to just go back to their own beds and-' His thoughts were interrupted once again when he felt several bodies jump onto the bed next to him.

His head shot up and his mouth fell open at the sight of four of the monkeys making themselves comfortable on his bed. Antauri, instead, floated next to the bed in a meditative position and gave the surprised boy a small smile before closing his eyes.

"Say no more kid." Said Sprx, giving him a wink as he laid down on the bed to Chiro's right. Nova and Gibson settled themselves at his left while Otto curled up at the foot of the bed.

Chiro sighed in relief as he also laid himself down, a contented smile on his lips. No words were spoken. No words needed to be spoken. They were his team, no, his family, and they understood.

For the rest of the night he slept peacefully, no more nightmares plagued his dreams.

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About an hour before dawn…

Thirty-two year old Sue Parker yawned loudly as she got ready for another long day at work at the office. Dressed, she stumbled to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. 'Black. Just like my soul.' She thought grimly as she sipped the bitter tasting liquid. Ten minutes later and she was locking the front door behind her as she left her apartment. She walked down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with the early morning hour.

She looked off into the distance at the horizon where a very faint glow of the morning sun could be seen. Something in the sky caught her eye and she looked up to see a red streak making its way through the atmosphere. She stopped walking as she watched its progress through the sky. It became apparent that it was not just a regular meteorite when it started to take the form of a tiny spaceship as it got closer and closer to the city.

There was a slight 'boom' when it slammed into the ground, just outside of the city. A little bit of smoke could be seen in the distance, billowing up from where the ship crashed. Curious, Sue started heading toward the crash sight. 'I think I'm early enough that I could go explore a little.' She thought to herself as she increased her pace to a light jog. 'Besides, I was heading in that direction anyways.'

On the sandy shore where the land met water was where she finally came across the ship. It had dug a deep hole in the land from where it had slid along the ground, coming to a stop in a crater. Sue walked up to the edge of the hole to get a better look at the ship. It was about twenty feet high and 40 feet long. Its outer haul was black in color and very sleek and smooth, even through the not so gentle landing. Its shape was similar to a triangle: pointy in the front and wide in he back with three large thrusters and four wings sprouting off from the sides that made it look like a four pointed star if looked at the right angle.

Sue climbed down into the crater, tripping a little on the loose sand, and examined the ship curiously, not having ever seen one like it in Shuggazoom before. Suddenly, there was a loud hissing noise, like the sound of pressurized air being released, as thin cracks began to form on the side of the ship she was on, forming into the shape of a wide rectangular door. As the door began falling open, Sue let out a nervous little squeak before quickly hiding behind a large boulder that must have been knocked loose from the crash. She peaked around the boulder to get a look at the ship's passengers but was confused when she saw that no one had left the ship. She stood up from where she was crouched down and took a few tentative steps toward the dark doorway.

"H-Hello?" She called, squinting her eyes slightly as she tried to see into the dark interior of the ship. "Is anyone in there?" She called again, this time a little louder.

All she was met with was complete silence. She frowned in confusion, 'Huh. Well that's strange. Did this ship fly here all on its own?'

In the back of her head a little voice was telling her that something wasn't right, that she should run away from this place as fast as she could. But she foolishly ignored the foreboding feeling and walked right up to the opening. She whispered "Hello?", her voice slightly catching in her throat. The heavy silence that fell over the area got even heavier and she finally decided to listen to the warning bells going off in her head and get out of there but before she even turned around that choice was taken away from her.

In the blink of an eye a pale, clawed hand with unnaturally long and thin fingers shot out of the dark void and snatched her around the neck, effectively stopping any screams. She was frozen in shock for a moment before she struggled against the hand as hard as she could but the hand was like a vice and didn't budge no matter how much she pulled on it.

A high-pitched giggle came out of the darkness that chilled Sue to her very soul. It was not a happy giggle but sounded very demented, like it enjoyed watching her struggle. The voice that accompanied it sounded just as demented.

"Lookey, lookey what we have here…" Giggled the high-pitched voice. "A snack has willingly fallen right into our laps."

Sue's eyes widened. 'What does it mean by…snack?'

"How lucky. Now we don't have to search for one of the inhabitants to make our disguises." A second deeper voice said. Squelching and snapping noises came from the darkness, the sound of which would have made Sue want to gag if she wasn't currently distracted with the hold around her neck.

The nauseating noises stopped and out of the darkness stepped a tall, thin man with pale skin and short dark brown hair, similar in shade to Sue's own. He even wore a suit that was similar to hers, except made to fit his larger body. If she didn't know any better, she could swear she was looking at herself but as a man! But that was impossible, right?

He walked right past her; pointedly ignoring the pleading gaze she was giving him. He looked over himself, adjusting his clothing here and there. Sighing, "I suppose it will have to do for now." He turned and scowled at the other creature still hidden in the shadows. "Alright, you've had your fun. Finish up already so we can move on." He said, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground.

The other giggled again. "With pleasure…"

At those words the grip around her throat tightened as Sue was dragged forcefully into the shadows, her increased struggles doing nothing to stop it. There was a sound of struggling before a flash of light illuminated the interior of the ship, briefing revealing a large and grotesque hunched over figure. There was a pained scream that diminished to a gurgle before everything went silent and dark. A familiar sound of squelching and popping was heard before out of the shadows stepped Sue Parker, except her usually kind face was disfigured by the dark sneer.

The original Sue was being dragged behind her. Without any care, the look alike tossed the lifeless body away like a useless piece of garbage. Sue's body rolled to a stop, her head lolling to the side. Her pale face was frozen with the expression of pure terror; her blank, cloudy, eyes staring off into the distance.

The Sue look alike jumped the rest of the way off the ramp and breathed in the air deeply. "Ahh there's nothing like a nice snack after a long journey." She said happily.

The male 'humphed' and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, you could have saved me some…"

"Oops! I guess I just couldn't control myself. That girl's energy just felt so appetizing…" She said with a wide, malicious, grin. "Besides, once we find the source of the energy we felt before, our hunger will be satisfied enough to last for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years!"

"True." He replied simply before turning to face the ship. He closed his eyes and held up an arm, open palm out. In response, the ship began changing shape, shrinking in size. It twisted and molded until it formed into a miniature version of its original self. The man walked over and bent down to pick it up, looking it over for a second before pocketing it. "Alright, let's go before someone else comes."

The woman's eyes flashed red in excitement, her almost constant smile becoming more demented. The two climbed out of the crater and made their way into the still sleeping city of Shuggazoom.