Hi sorry I haven't updated in two days, work and school ya know? Anyway please enjoy!
--------
The team was surprised when they got into the base. The walls and floors were metallic and there were control panels a few feet away from each other.
"Man, Mandarin's been busy!" Otto whispered as he held up his saw a bit.
Chiro looked around, making sure there were no security cameras around.
"Gibson, if you see any cameras make sure you cover them." He whispered.
Gibson nodded and looked around. Antauri closed his eyes and tried to connect mentally with the girl.
"Miss, we're here. Can you tell us where exactly you are?" He asked.
The voice was silent for a while.
"Um let me peek out, the skeletal freak just left. Umm the halls are lined with other cells, but they're empty. I remember the door having a small window and it had a number padlock on it." The voice said.
Antauri nodded a bit.
"Alright, is there any way you can sense us?"
"Yes! Yes I can! Give me a sec." She said before going silent.
She then spoke again.
"I can sense you, you're not too far from here but please! Hurry! I don't know when he's coming back." The voice urged.
"Right, team follow me!" He said, leading the team down the hall.
They carefully looked from left to right, making sure that no one catches them. The silence was suspicious and uneasy to them. Gibson searched for any security cameras but only found one and covered it up with some sort of gunk. Antauri kept his eyes on the walls, looking at each passing door until one caught his eye. It had a small window and a number padlock on it. They went right up to the door
"No guards?" Chiro questioned.
"Mandarin must have them on stand by..." Otto muttered.
"Or he knows we're here and is setting up a trap." Sprx huffed.
That was a more likely situation, so the team would have to be prepared and stay on their toes. Gibson drilled the number padlock, causing the door to unlock and the team to step inside. The hall was filled with empty cells with bars made out of electricity.
"H-hey! Down here!" The voice called to them.
The team rushed down the hall until they came upon the source of the voice. In one of the cells sat a Woman a few years older than Chiro, probably in her twenties, with black red streaked hair and piercing red eyes. She wore a purple jacket with a black tank top underneath, and black and purple shorts. She also wore around her neck, black necklace with a red jewel in the middle. She had full red lips and an overall beautiful appearance. Antauri blinked a bit, surprised.
"A-are you the guy I was talking to?" She asked nervously.
Antauri was still dazed before realizing the woman asked him something.
"O-oh! Yes, yes I am." He said.
The woman frowned a bit.
"But you're a monk-" Her eyes then widened in realization.
"You're the Hyperforce! I heard all about you back home!" She exclaimed.
Sprx scratched his chin, were they really that well known throughout the galaxy? He also prayed that this girl wasn't just a edgier version of Krinkle. Chiro smiled a bit.
"Well don't worry, we're going to get you out of here. Sprx, deactivate the bars." Chiro ordered.
Sprx pulled out his magnets and pulled in the electricity of the bars.
"I'm on it!"
Soon the electricity bars were gone and the woman stood up. She smiled and sighed.
"Thank you so much. I tried to fight him off myself but...I was kinda outnumbered." She grumbled.
Nova snickered.
"Don't worry about it, we can take care of these creeps." She said.
The girl nodded as she stepped out of the cell and into the light.
"The name's Willow. Willow Clint." She introduced herself, holding out a hand to Antauri.
Antauri smiled a bit and shook her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Willow." He said.
Chiro looked towards the door.
"We should continue introductions for when we get back to the robot, let's hurry!" He said.
Before Willow knew it, she was darting down the hall to where the team drilled into. Willow kept running until she stopped by a door. The others looked back at her.
"Willow?" Jinmay questioned.
They then saw her form fire in her hands and melt the door knob before kicking it off and going inside. She then rushed out with a backpack and a few other bags.
"Had to get my things, let's go!" She said.
The team looked at each other and continued running. They stopped when they saw several Formless in front of the hole, with Mandarin at the front.
"Hello, hairless monkey." He sneered.
Chiro and the others glared at him. Mandarin looked over to Willow.
"I see you've met my most useful prisoner, Willow." He said with a smile.
Willow glared at him, holding onto her bags tightly. Jinmay got in front of her, protecting her.
"What do you want with her?" She growled.
Mandarin raised an eyebrow and stepped forward.
"You new friend has a lot of interesting powers, some that I plan to use to finally win this war!" He said cruelly.
Sprx rolled his eyes.
"You guys lost the war, remember?" He scoffed, causing Mandarin to glare at him.
"Not to me! Now I will not allow you to take my prized weapon!"
Willow stomped her foot and growled, her red eyes almost glowing.
"I am nobody's weapon pal! You better get used to that!" She snapped.
Mandarin gave her a creepy smile before snapping his bony fingers.
"We shall see!" He cackled.
The Formless ran towards the team, weapons outstretched. The team began to fight against the Formless, attempting to keep Willow safe. Antauri sliced down some formless, trying to make a pathway when he came face to face with his ex leader. The two went hand to hand before Mandarin kicked him. Chiro watched as he fell to the ground before going at Mandarin. Nova and Sprx fought against the other Formless, their combined strength and powers made them as if they were one. Nova smiled, that was one thing they learned in the war. They found that they work amazingly together when fighting.
Nova punched a Formless before Sprx got in front of her and electrocuted another one. Otto curled into a ball and began to spin.
"Psycho Chopping Doom spin!" He yelled.
He destroyed a lot of Formless before one sneaked up behind him and smacked him. Gibson turned to him and began to go after the Formless.
Willow watched the fight, trying to think of a plan to help get them out of here. She looked towards the huge group of Formless and then to Mandarin, who was distracted by Chiro and Antauri. If he was so distracted then maybe he wouldn't notice-!
Willow waited for a clear shot before burning a huge amount of Formless with her fire breath, giving them a clear view of the exit. She turned to the others.
"Guys! Hurry!" She exclaimed.
Mandarin's eyes widened as he tried to wriggle out of Chiro's grasp. Chiro threw him to the other side of the hallway before the others darted towards the exit, Formless right behind them.
Mandarin sat up and growled.
"Don't let them get away!" He shouted.
The team escaped out of the hole and darted towards the robot, avoiding all of the weapons thrown at them. The door to the robot opened as everyone poured in.
"Come on team! Let's get out of here!" Chiro commanded before the robot began to lift off.
Mandarin ran outside and watched as the robot escaped into space. He growled and turned to the base. Looks like he would have to find a way back to Shuggazoom. He will not let his weapon get away.
Not without a fight anyway.
The robot escaped Vixus's atmosphere. The team had to make sure Mandarin wasn't following them. Chiro sighed in relief and looked towards Gibson.
"Gibson, put us in hyperspeed and take us home." He ordered with a smile.
Gibson typed a few buttons before he stopped.
"Chiro there isn't enough fuel for hyperspeed, we're going to have to find a place for fuel." He explained.
Everyone, minus Antauri, groaned.
"Find the closest pit stop for us." He said, receiving a nod from Gibson.
The team then turned to Willow, who looked around a bit. There was an awkward silence amongst the group before Otto began speaking.
"So uh...welcome to the robot!" He chirped.
Willow smiled a bit.
"Thank you, uh I kinda already know your names. Everyone on my home planet talks a lot about you." She said.
"Are we really that famous?" Jinmay asked, laughing nervously.
"Of course you are! You took out the Dark one worm and Skeleton king! You guys saved the galaxy!" She exclaimed before blushing.
"Oh sorry, that was kinda weird." She muttered.
Antauri chuckled a bit.
"No it's alright, it is very flattering." He said, causing Willow to smile again.
"Oh that's good...thank you so much for saving me." She said.
"It's no problem, it's what we do." Nova said, smiling.
Chiro walked up to her.
"So how did Mandarin find you?" He asked.
Willow sighed sadly a bit.
"Me and my friends were exploring this one planet, trying to see if any bad guys were there. Then he just came out of nowhere with those goop skeletons. They separated me and my friends and well...you kinda know what happened next." She explained.
"He said that he's heard of my services to other planets, how I helped them and other things."
Jinmay tilted her head a bit.
"Other things?" She asked, causing Willow to flinch.
"Uhm.. yeah! Anyway I think my friends are still on that planet...seems they wanted me more than them...I can still go back right?" She asked.
The team looked at each other worriedly. Antauri floated next to her.
"Easier said than done, miss Willow. Mandarin could still come after you, so I think it's best if you came with us." He said.
"B-but my friends-!" Willow began to argue.
"We'll call them when we get to Shuggazoom, right now we need to get away from Vixus and find somewhere for fuel." Chiro said.
Willow glared at him but looked to the floor, he has a point. However, she should call them. She looked at her phone and sighed, of course it had no signal. Willow huffed before looking at the others.
"So, I guess I'll be staying here then. If that's alright with you."
"Of course, we could use an pyrokinetic chick around here." Sprx snickered before Nova turned to him.
"Hey what about me?" She huffed but smiled.
Sprx patted her shoulder.
"You too, dear."
Willow snickered at the two.
"So do you have any other powers?" Otto curiously asked.
Willow flinched and looked away.
"I...I don't feel comfortable talking about that yet." She muttered.
The team looked at each other.
"But Willow we have-"
"Not yet!" She snapped, causing everyone to freeze.
Willow closed her eyes sighed.
"Look just...just give me time okay? My past isn't something I'd prefer to really talk about." She said.
Antauri nodded a bit, deciding not to press her for answers for the time being. The others felt the same, though now a new problem arose from this.
"So...where is she gonna sleep?" Nova asked.
Otto raised a hand.
"I can build her a room! Just give me a few days and it'll be set!" He chirped.
Chiro nodded.
"Okay now the question is where is she going to sleep until then?"
Nova's face flushed as Sprx wrapped an arm around her.
"Uhh I need my privacy so uh..."
Jinmay rubbed her shoulder.
"I'm still trying to fix the hole in my room so it may-"
"I wouldn't mind." Antauri's voice piped up.
There was a bit of silence before it exploded.
"W-w-w-w-w-with you?!" Willow squeaked.
"Antauri please tell me you're joking!" Otto exclaimed, shaking Antauri by the shoulders.
Antauri felt dizzy before he placed a hand on Otto's arm.
"Otto, she's safer with me! She and I had a psychic link, so it would be best if she stays with me in case anything happens." He explained.
The commotion died down after he said that, Willow still blushing.
"I will give you the privacy you need, d-don't worry about that." Antauri assured her, blushing slightly.
Willow only nodded a bit, rubbing her arm slightly. Why did she feel so awkward around him? Was it because of him suggesting sleeping in his room? Or was it she actually found him kind of cool?
"Well then, now that we're back to reality I think it's time we start on dinner." Chiro said, calming himself.
Everyone laughed but agreed. Willow smiled to herself and touched her necklace.
"Don't worry Trent and Amanda...we'll see each other again soon." She thought.
The team got used to Willow's presence by the third day. She seemed pretty nice and polite, until she got angry. Sprx was thumped over the head over each stupid comment she heard, so it was safe to say she's a bit feisty. The team also quickly learned that she was a skilled fighter, training was almost a breeze to her. Her room was also nearly finished, all she really needed was some furniture.
Willow woke up one morning, the sounds of water running almost peaceful. She smiled as she looked around the room, this room was so nice and peaceful. Hopefully she could do something to achieve the same zen as this room has. Willow then realized, this was the first birthday she spent without her family. A twinge of sadness prickled her heart, knowing that she never will have this happen again. Antauri left his pod and hopped down. Sensing her sadness, he walked over to her.
"Good morning Willow." He greeted.
Willow turned her head.
"Oh! Uh Good morning." She said.
Antauri frowned a bit, concerned.
"What is it?" He asked.
Willow eyed off to the side.
"Nothing." She lied.
Antauri gave her a look and she sighed.
"Look it's no big deal I mean...it's my birthday and I never had it...I never had it without my..." Willow bit her lip.
Antauri's eyes widened, it was her birthday? He didn't know that!
"Oh Willow I...I didn't know..." Antauri muttered.
Willow waved her hand.
"Look it's fine, I know it won't be like this next I'm just gonna have to get over it." She sighed, getting up.
"But Willow-!"
However, she left the room and on her way to the kitchen. Antauri clenched his fists, there was no way he was going to let her birthday go like this. He just wasn't.
Willow yawned as she walked down the hallway, ready to go back into Antauri's room to read. Her vision suddenly turned black as a sack was placed over her head and she felt herself being dragged. She tried to fight them off but the next thing she knew, the sack was off and she saw the others in a purple room.
"Surprise!" everyone cheered.
Willow backed up a bit in surprise. The room was a deep purple with a large book shelf and a large bed next to it. The bed didn't really have any sheets or pillows yet, but still it was a bed. Willow looked around as Chiro held out a cake.
"I-I- what is this?" She asked, too shocked to move.
Sprx elbowed Antauri.
"Antauri told us it's your birthday and Otto got done with the room today, so we thought we'd like to surprise you." He said.
Willow's eyes widened.
"You guys didn't have to do this, I mean I've only been here for a few days-!" She began.
Nova held up a hand.
"Willow it's fine, we're friends aren't we? Besides it's the least we could do since we saved you and all." She said.
"Plus Otto and Sprx already made the cake, we aren't gonna waste it." Chiro wheezed, feeling the heaviness of the cake.
Willow looked at them, no one besides her family and Trent treated her this nicely before. Especially on her birthday. She dipped her head began to shake a bit, causing the others to look concerned.
"O-oh! We didn't mean to make you mad!" Jinmay said.
Sprx held up his hands. "Please don't beat us up over it either! We're only trying to be nice." He squeaked.
Willow suddenly sniffled and looked up, tears stinging her eyes.
"I know, thank you so much!" She sniffled, wiping her eyes.
The team smiled and looked at each other, glad their plan worked.
As the team ate cake and ice cream, Gibson was looking for fuel stops. He kept looking until one planet caught his eye. Gibson turned to Chiro, who took a bite of the black and red icing coated cake.
"Chiro! I found a place for us to get fuel!" He announced.
Everyone turned to him, now even more excited. Gibson tapped a few keys to show a dark blue and green planet with the name 'Elux'.
"Elux has enough minerals for us to make the trip home, though unfortunately not enough for us to activate hyperspeed." He said, sounding disappointed at the last part.
Chiro smiled and raised the thumbs up at him.
"That's fine Gibson, we can at least get some fuel to make it home." He said.
Everyone agreed, at least they'll be able to make it home. However, there was a sense of something about to happen on Elux. Almost as if something familiar was waiting for them.
Hmm I wonder what would be waiting for them? Hmmm? HMMMM? Anywho I hope you enjoyed!