Disclaimer: Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, and all characters and events related to it, are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Neili.

Something deep inside of him kept his systems functional, even though he had been in shutdown for a long time.

"Hey, wake up," a faint, light voice called to him, seeming very distant.

Something sparked within him, giving him a better grasp of reality.

"Hello?" the same voice pleaded. "Say something."

He groaned as his ocular orbs flickered on, and he looked at a figure not much taller than him. The figure was wearing a white robe that covered every part of the body except for the black hands. There was also a black mask with green markings for facial references. The voice within was young but clearly masculine.

"Oh, I was becoming worried that you wouldn't make it," the child sighed. "You've got scorch marks all over you. What happened?"

He moaned, rubbing his head slightly, before answering in his deep and profound voice, "I…I have no memory of recent events."

"Oh, you poor thing," the child replied, gently picking him up. "Let's get you and your friend out of here. I think my father may be able to help you."

"My…friend?"

But instead of answering, the child carried him out of the small cockpit, where both of them saw that the small ship was still smoking from an apparent crash in the open fields of emerald grass. Nearby was another ship, this one by far better resembling an army tank. One could easily identify that they were made by the same manufacturer, whoever that was, by the gray colors that dominated both. The small ship, however, had black sections of the front and had a large number 2 on each side; the tank had some areas just above the treads painted orange and had an emblem imprinted on each side.

Another figure sat outside the tank, barely conscious but very much alive. And the two immediately recognized each other.

"Mandarin!"

"Antauri!"

"Are you all right, Mandarin?"

"I believe so. No permanent damage. How about yourself, Antauri?"

"The same; no permanent damage."

"You two know each other?" the child asked.

"We should," the Orange Monkey replied. "We are brothers."

"You both look like you're in bad shape," the child replied as he held his hand towards Mandarin, who immediately felt psychic energy enveloping him and drawing him towards the white-robed figure. At first, he was afraid. But then he felt something familiar about this power and relaxed.

"I'll take you to my father's house," the child added as he carried them both.

- - - - - - - - -

Nightfall on Koraladol found every home peaceful and quiet with the exception of one. A distinguished Varonite man hovered from one side of the main room to the other, almost as if pacing. A woman about the same age as him sat at a table nearby. Two younger children were already tucked in for the night.

When the door opened, the two adults looked up, relief resting on both of them.

"Xan!" the man said, approaching the door as the child entered with the two monkeys. "Where have you been? Do you realize how worried your mother and I were?"

"I am sorry, Father," Xan replied. "But two spaceships crashed in the Emerald Fields, and these monkeys were inside. They're injured. Father, Mother, is there anything we can do to help them?"

"Outsiders…" the father said passively.

"Father, I can sense the Power Primate in them. Does that not make them our brothers? We must help them."

Power Primate? Mandarin asked in thought. Is that what feels so familiar to me?

But he had no time to ponder on that as the man approached. Just like the child Xan, both the mother and the father were dressed and masked in the same way as he was. But both Antauri and Mandarin could almost sense as the man held his hand over each of them that he was probing them to see if they were any threat.

"You are right, Xan," the man answered when he was done. "They do have the Power Primate. Very well, we shall nurse them back to health. My dear?"

The woman stood up and approached. She held up her hands and used her telekinesis to pick up Antauri and bring him to her tender but powerful arms. "Don't be afraid, my little friend. If you are lost, you could not be lost at a better place. This is the safest planet in the cosmos, and the Power Primate is stronger here than anywhere else in the universe. Welcome to Koraladol, Jewel World of the Varon Mystics."

As the man did the same for Mandarin, he looked down at him and added, "I am Master Xao, High Mystic of the Varonite Temple. The temple is where masters of the Power Primate are reared up. Xan is my firstborn and next in line. But since both of you have the Power Primate, there is no reason why you cannot be taught in our ways if you so choose.

"But for tonight, a meal and some sleep. In the morning, I shall take some of the other Mystics to retrieve your ships and bring them into the city. What you do afterwards is your own affair."

- - - - - - - - -

In the years that followed, every Mystic in the temple recognized the skill and strength that both Mandarin and Antauri had. Although both became accomplished fighters who mastered the basics of telekinesis and telepathy easily, it became obvious that Antauri preferred spending his time either in the library with a book on philosophy or in the meditation room figuring out a mind puzzle rather than practicing his battle skills in the arena with Mandarin.

Also during that time, as part of his training for being the High Mystic, Xan became their tutor in learning the ways of the Mystics, the ways of the Power Primate. It surprised him to see how easily they learned how to focus on their inner selves and unleash the animal within, since he had thought that both of them were more robot than monkey.

And it came to pass that while Xan was finishing his apprenticeship, Antauri looked up into the night sky and marveled at a rare and beautiful sight, while Mandarin was meditating nearby.

"Mandarin, look!"

"Yes, I see it…"

"A new star is born!"

"How brightly it shines…"

"What does this mean?"

"It means that what will come to pass must happen soon."

Antauri looked at his older brother, confused.

Mandarin opened his eyes. "I saw a planet in the solar system where that star is. I saw a city on that planet. And I saw us standing in the midst of the city…all six of us."

"Six?" Antauri echoed in surprise. "If there are six of us, why do we not remember the other four?"

"Think about it, my brother. When Xan first found us and you awoke to his voice, you didn't remember me until you actually saw me. There may have been some kind of defect in our programming when we apparently crashed here. Whatever the case, we must take action soon."

"Action?"

"We must leave here to find our brothers."

"Leave Koraladol?!"

"We must find them and go to that planet, that city. That is where we belong."

"But what about Xan?" Antauri asked tenderly. "His training is not yet complete."

The look in Mandarin's ocular orbs was sympathetic but stern. "Can you not feel it in your soul? We have a destiny. The time to fulfill it is soon coming."

Antauri paused for several minutes, then he conceded and slowly nodded.

- - - - - - - - -

The news hit all of the Mystics hard, but not as much as it did for the surrogate family. The mother even cried, although her tears were never seen. Xao didn't approve of their decision, but he supported them. Xan took the news the hardest.

One night, the last night before the departure, Xan screamed and quickly sat up in his bed, weeping bitterly. The door quickly opened, and Xao entered with Mandarin and Antauri close behind.

"My son, what is it?" Xao asked, sitting next to the bed.

"Father…I had a vision," Xan began, still sobbing. "I…I saw Brother Antauri injured and falling into a pit. At the bottom was the egg of a Dark One ready to hatch!"

Xao gently rubbed his firstborn's back. "Shh. Come now, Xan. The Dark Ones were imprisoned millennia ago, and Brother Antauri is safe and well right here. Now, go back to sleep, my son. You have a big day tomorrow. You do not wish to be drowsy as you bid Brother Mandarin and Brother Antauri farewell, do you?" But without waiting for an answer, he left the room.

Xan noticed that Mandarin and Antauri lingered behind. "Aren't you going to sleep as well?"

"Your nightmare troubles you deeply," Mandarin replied.

The adolescent nodded. "I fear it bodes ill. Will we ever see each other again?"

"What does your heart tell you?" Antauri asked.

After a pause, he replied, "It tells me…I think so…yes…I guess…"

With a small smile, the Black Monkey answered, "Then we shall see each other again."

But Xan was not satisfied with this. Knowing what the young Varon wanted, Mandarin groaned and rolled his eyes before leaving the room.

Antauri sighed in slight disappointment. "Mandarin never really was the sentimental type," he commented as he floated up and approached the bed.

Xan smiled and watched Antauri coming up to him. It made him slight jealous since this was a reminder that Antauri and Mandarin had mastered levitating before he did, but it also made him admire the two Monkeys whom he saw as his brothers even more.

Although his mask kept his tears very well hidden, Xan suddenly grabbed Antauri and hugged him close, beginning to snuggle with him like any child would their favorite stuffed animal. "I wish you didn't have to go…but I do hope you find your brothers."

Antauri hugged Xan back and whispered, "Thank you. But know that you will always be my brother as well. And I know that someday, you shall become the most powerful High Mystic that Koraladol has ever seen."