A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and monsuno power for the reviews. So sorry that this hasn't been updated in a long time! I was so focused on finishing Relapse that this was put on the back burner.
Enjoy!
To say that he was surprised by the entirety of the whole day was an understatement.
First, one of his best friends confessed feelings towards him, which gave him a rude awakening of how different this world was. Then he had a heartfelt conversation with One-Eyed Jack. And now he was face to face with the top suspect of how he got there.
"Droog!" Chase exclaimed, turning to the man. Droog looked just the same as always, but there was also something wrong with him. Something different in the way that he stood.
"Um... Who?" Bren asked looking back and forth between the two, obviously still confused.
"Chase Suno," Droog said, "Why is it that you're always where I need to be?"
Chase shrugged, still staring down the other, "Coincidence I suppose. What are you here for? Anything having to do with monsuno has your name written all over it."
If Droog was here, that meant Chase was on the right track of getting home. Both Bren and Jinja were looking between the two, not sure what to think. Droog, on the other hand, was looking around the room with slow moving eyes.
"So? Where is he?" He finally asked.
"Who?"
Suddenly, Droog was in front of the teen. Bren and Jinja jumped at how fast the tall man was able to surge forward.
"The only one who knows about the monsuno here," Droog said monotonously, "You said it yourself. The only other person in this world who knows about monsuno. The monk, Beyal..."
He turned around, eyeing the other two teens when Bren let out a small squeak. Both he and Jinja squirmed under the tall man's gaze.
"Although I suppose that's probably not the same here," he said, then turned back to Chase, "Now. Tell me where he is so we can leave already."
"L-leave? What do you mean?" Chase gasped.
"I should think it obvious Chase Suno," Droog continued, leaning down, "We need to leave this world. We don't belong here."
Before Chase could react, Droog grabbed a hold of his jacket and suddenly the whole world around them started spinning. He heard Jinja and Bren shouting which almost immediately faded away. Everything in his vision blurred green, and for a brief second, he couldn't help but recognize the feeling for some reason.
As everything came back into view, Droog let go and Chase fell to his knees with a gasp.
"Wh-What was that?" He panted, trying to look around. He saw the night sky, as well as the city all around. Somehow, Droog got them on the roof of one of the city skyscrapers, the cars and people below making echoes into the night.
Chase slowly got to his feet, ready to make a run for it. He glanced around, and saw where the stairwell was. He just hoped that it wasn't locked.
"Don't bother trying to run, the door over there is shut tight," Droog said, as if he already knew what Chase was thinking. He turned to the teen with a serious look, "Are you so anxious to get back to your fake friends that you're willing to run away from what I have to offer?"
Chase hesitated. On one hand, Droog was one of the last people he wanted to be near right now. But at the same time, Droog was the only person he could trust on getting him home, even if it was only a little amount.
He turned back around to face the strange man, "Alright. You got ten minutes to explain everything. And don't try to confuse me with wordplay. I want answers."
Droog watched the teen, then turned towards the view. He crossed his arms behind himself in thought.
"... you would have to agree that this world is beautiful," he said, not bothering to turn around, "So reminiscent of the real world. Though I suppose that's just because we came from it. It's almost like a dream..."
Chase walked up to the man, staying a step behind, "You didn't answer me. Where is this place? What is it?"
"A world without discord," Droog said, looking more up towards the sky, "A world without the need for monsuno. There are still traces of it, but it no longer holds the same power that it did. We are safe, for the most part."
There was a helicopter in the distance that was flying towards them. It flew high overhead, and faded towards the horizon. It reminded Chase of the S.T.O.R.M. cloud hoppers, but he tossed that thought aside.
"So then... What does monsuno mean here?" Chase asked, if it doesn't have the same power that it did, what is it?"
"Here, monsuno essence is more at its primal stage," Droog explained, "It isn't at its destructive stage that threatens to tear apart the planet. At least, not yet."
He gazed down at his hand.
"The monsuno essence that could destroy everything. That has destroyed everything... We can figure out how to stop it here and now."
He turned to Chase.
"And that is why we are here. We need to save this world from the monsuno essence."
"Why can't you just take us back? You seem to be able to teleport anywhere, so why can't we go that way?" Chase asked, still suspicious.
"Because where we are now and where we were are on two separate planes of existence," the tall man replied, "Even if I could manage to get us out of here, there's no guarantee we'll get back there."
Droog walked closer to the edge of the building, eyes trained on the horizon, "That's why our only option right now is to use the monsuno essence to get back. But to do that we need to contain it all. We need to find a way to extract it before it can do damage."
Chase thought for a moment. It was only after a few seconds that he realized what Droog was implying.
"So you need me," Chase said, lips quirking, "You need to know how my dad created the fail safe. And to figure out how to make the containment grid."
Of course, it would help if Chase actually knew how to do that. But he wasn't about to tell Droog that. Still, that was an extreme that he would rather not take, alternate world or not. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, "Well. I'm not about to help you, considering everything that you've done in the past-"
Droog was in front of Chase again. He gasped, stumbling back as the tall man loomed over with a dark expression.
"You mistook what I said," Droog hissed, "You may be valuable, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're needed in one piece. Haven't you even noticed where we are?"
To enunciate his point, Droog waved his hand out towards the horizon. Chase looked around, not sure what he meant. He shook his head.
"If you're trying to say that you wanna throw me off the building, I'm pretty sure that would kill me," he said, taking a step back for good measure. Droog let out of huff.
"Figures you would be that dull. But I was showing you that this place that we're at currently isn't the same city that we were in," he said, "In fact, we're not even on the same continent."
Chase looked around, realizing for the first time that he could read the signs. An empty feeling in his chest made him go numb. Moreso because of the change in composure Droog had.
"I can destroy you at any moment," Droog stated, "I can make sure you disappear from the face of this planet without so much as a snap of my fingers. And the only reason you're going to be able to walk away from this little meeting is because you're a lot more useful to me with everything intact. Especially since you will probably be able to find out where the monsuno essence is faster than I can."
He took a step backwards, not breaking eye contact with Chase as he did.
"I'll be in touch."
Before Chase could respond, the whole world was spinning again until he was shoved back onto his feet in the middle of a street. He quickly looked around. Droog was gone.
HLP
It was night, the street lights and bustling crowds being the things keeping him company. Chase was disoriented, unsure of where Droog had put him. Was this the same city? Or the one he had first been in? Didn't that mean he would have to get back home on his own, or was he supposed to start looking for a sign of monsuno?
Luckily, he didn't have to contemplate it for long.
"Chase!"
He jerked, and turned around to see Bren and Jinja running towards him from the crowd.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Jinja asked.
"Yeah. Where did that weird guy go?" Bren panted out, then bent over as he tried to catch his breath. Jinja rolled her eyes.
"I'm not sure. But I'm okay," Chase said. Now that he was face to face with the two, his thoughts lingered on Droog's words. The man was somewhat right about them being fake, but stil... Simply dismissing them as such was a bit harsh. Jinja saw his expression, but didn't say anything.
Bren, breath finally caught, looked up at Chase with a raised brow, "Are you sure? Cause you just vanished in the middle of the room. You have to admit that wasn't normal."
"Seriously Chase. Who was that guy?" Jinja asked.
"Well. Honestly I'm not sure who he really is, but his name is Droog and he comes from the same place where I'm from," Chase said, scratching the back of his neck. Both Jinja and Bren's expressions turned bitter, most likely remembering what Chase had revealed to them just moments ago. He scratched his neck again awkwardly.
"So what did he want?" Bren asked, fidgeting a bit.
"He wants to get back too. He said that there is monsuno essence somewhere in this world, and that if we find it then the two of us can get back," Chase explained.
"Hold it!" Jinja protested, "What makes you think that he will do that? He doesn't exactly seem trustworthy considering he whisked you away in a weird green flash."
"I know. But he's the only one who knows what's going on," Chase said, "I can't remember how I even got here. And he's the only one who I can trust-"
He stopped, seeing the hurt looks on both of their faces. Why does he keep doing that? He cringed and looked away.
None of them said anything after that. The crowds of people around them continued to walk by, chattering. But even then, Chase felt the silence between the three of them become overwhelming.
Eventually, Bren was the first to speak.
"Well. You can trust us to find that guy you were looking for in the concert," he said. Chase let out a gasp.
"What did you say?"
"That kid. Um. The one with white hair?" Jinja said, brows furrowing in thought, "We ran into him after we got kicked out of the backstage area. Really good idea you had there."
Chase felt his heart lifting immediately. Looks like he was about to start figuring out how to get home.
"Take me to him."
HLP
Following Jinja and Bren, Chase walked with both excitement and anxiety. So much had just happened within the half hour that he was left with doubts and guilt.
He kept looking at the two, knowing that he should've been more mindful of what he said. Droog already mentioned how they weren't exactly real, but even with that and what went on the past week, Chase couldn't just dismiss them entirely.
And yet, he needed to get back. For all he knew, something terrible happened to his team, or was happening to them right now. And while he wasn't too willing to do Droog's dirty work, what choice did he have? All he managed to do this week was go to school, see how his would-be team was coping, and mess with Charlemagne. Not exactly productive.
Bren cleared his throat. Chase looked up, seeing that he was led to a small cafe. There was quite the amount of people inside who were lined up. Bren and Jinja walked right inside. Chase hesitated, but followed.
He looked around, the smell of coffee thick in the air. They must've been there during the rush, as the barista shouted orders out and shoved drinks and food over the counter in an instant. Chase heard a microphone squeak, and saw a small jazz band preparing to play.
"Over here," Bren said. Chase followed, and let out a small gasp when he saw Beyal sitting at one of the tables in the corner. He was tapping away at his phone, and only looked up when they were a foot away.
"Huh. You found him," Beyal said. Chase ran forward, taking the others shoulders. He felt the urge to just embrace the other from sheer relief, but Beyal quickly removed his hands with a look of revulsion.
"I-I am. So happy to see you," Chase said, holding his hands up a little. He quickly remembered Jinja and Bren, who had just as baffled looks as before when they first saw Droog. Chase cleared his throat awkwardly, taking a seat.
"Uh. So," he started, fiddling his thumbs together, "We have a lot to talk about..."
When he trailed off he realized that none of them were paying complete attention to him. Bren was fidgeting just as much in his seat as Chase was, though he was staring at the band that started to play. Jinja was quick to excuse herself, muttering under her breath about getting drinks. And Beyal continued to type away on his phone. Despite having most of their group back together, it was anything but. He let out a sigh.
"I'm listening," Beyal said, still not looking up, "You need a way back home right? And it has to do with monsuno."
"Y-Yeah. The guy who's also from my world said that we need to find it to get back, but he didn't really explain how," Chase said, "Uh... Are you feeling okay? After what happened back in the concert? And how did Bren and Jinja of all people find you?"
Beyal looked up. He had an annoyed look, and let out a sigh.
"Its not really hard to get away from Bekka's security," he said, "There was a back entrance that I had already scoped out. After the commotion you started, it was pretty easy to sneak by. Of course, I ended up bumping into your friends after they were thrown out and kept shouting your name like a bunch of lunatics."
"Yeah. You never explained that," Bren said, turning to the raven haired teen "How was that guy able to teleport you away? Is this more about how you're from a different planet?"
"World Bren, a different world," Chase sighed, then turned back to Beyal, "Okay. Well. Are you alright to talk about monsuno? I don't want to make a scene here. We can leave-"
"I'll be fine," the white haired teen quickly dismissed. He looked towards the exit, then to where Jinja was standing in line. Chase stared back as well, hoping that she could hurry so they could continue with the conversation. With how much they would be explaining what monsuno was, he didn't want to have to repeat things over (he was really getting tired of that)
"Oh oh! Can I ask a question?" Bren joined in.
"That... Was a question, but go ahead," Beyal said.
"Not from you though. From Chase," Bren corrected. Chase raised a brow.
"Uh. Okay."
"Well. Jinja said that you're a different Chase. And you said you were a different Chase too," Bren started, and Chase immediately flinched.
"Y-yeah. Kinda learned that the hard way," he groaned, remembering her attempted kiss. Bren raised a brow.
"Okay. Um. Not sure what you two were up to today," He said, looking over towards Jinja's direction then turning back, "Well… Then if you're here, where's our Chase?"
A/N: Review Review Review!