A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, monsuno power, and the guest for the reviews! I know it's been awhile since I've updated in general, but I've wanted to update this fic before any of the others. Which was easier said then done, since I was writing this back when writing Relapse, and that got finished awhile ago so...
Anyway, enjoy!
"Did any of you guys find something?"
"Nothin'. The place seems deserted. Not even any signs of Klipse or Tallis' goons."
"I'm afraid I haven't seen anything either. Not even any traces of monsuno... What about you Bren?"
"Huh? Oh! No. There's no one around. And Droog must've taken off already cause he's vanished."
'"... Hold on. Where's little suno?"
"..."
"..."
"...
"Uh oh. That can't be good."
'"We gotta find him! Knowing him he probably found Droog and is fighting as we speak!"
"He better not! I've been itching for a fight all day!"
"..."
"... Hm? Beyal? Is something wrong?"
"I ... I don't..."
"Beyal!"
"Catch him Bren!"
"Ack! I got him-"
"..."
"Beyal? Are you alright?"
"... I... There is a rift that is opening... A divulging pathway that can lead anew..."
"What's he going on about?"
"Not sure-AH!"
"W-What?! Why is the ground shaking?"
"Oh no! It's the universe out to get me!"
"Please, Bren. We don't need that now!"
"..."
"It stopped."
"... Well. Whatever that was we can deal with later. Right now we gotta find Chase."
"Over there! What's that?"
"Huh? It looks like-
HLP
It was silent in the cafe, excluding the jazz band that started to play. Jinja came walking back with a few mugs. Even as she passed them out, Chase continued to stare at Bren as his mind went horribly blank. Bren shifting in his seat uncomfortably.
"... What is it?" he asked, taking one of the mugs Jinja set down. Chase looked to each of them, a cold and empty feeling going through his body. Slowly he rose to his feet.
Another Chase.
How? How could he have let that question slip from his mind? Why didn't he bother to question where his own counterpart in this world was when there clearly was one? The feeling in his legs started to go numb. His eyes darted around the room, finding that it was suddenly getting too small and too hot all at once.
"Chase. What-"
He bolted out of the cafe, nearly shoving a waitress into a table as he rushed through the doors into the street. As soon as he felt the cool air against his face, Chase tried to take a breath. But for some reason, his lungs didn't seem to be working right.
Another Chase. Why was he that thick to forget? Such a simple detail that really should've been the first thing that he questioned.
Did that mean he was in Chase's world? With his monsuno? For a whole week?
His hands flew forward, grasping the nearby street post. He griped his chest, trying to calm himself down enough to take a breath before he passed out. But all he could think about was how his alternate was running around with some of the most dangerous monsuno in the world.
Chase gasped even more, realization making his vision spin. If he really was brought here by someone else, his monsuno- Locke might be in someone else's hands!
"No. No no no. How can- This whole thing is a mess!"
He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying not to think of all the possibilities of who could be using Locke at this very moment. Or even the thought of someone going after his father or his friends or, daresay, his mom.
Footsteps came behind him, a hand landing on his shoulder. He stiffened at the touch, quickly glancing up to see Bren staring at him. There was a somewhat worried look on his face, though he tried not to show it. Chase steadied himself against the steel pole
"I'm... Fine," he murmured, batting Bren's hand away, "I just... I just needed some air."
He shook his head quickly, forcing a smile as best he could, "Let's go back inside-"
Bren held a hand out, making Chase pause for a second. A serious expression was on Bren's face when he lowered it.
"... I get that you can't trust us," he said, tone shifting from its usual chipper voice, "I get that this is... Unorthodox. But you can't just act out like that."
Chase frowned, eyes falling to the ground in frustration. He bit his lip, trying hard not to scream out.
But at this point, he was completely fed up with everything.
"Why the krag shouldn't I?" Chase hissed through his teeth, "This whole thing. No one knows why it happened. I'm out here running after shadows and now someone is running around with my monsuno! A random person has Locke, and my friends are in trouble! My parents- Everyone I truly care about are in danger with some clueless alternate me is probably wandering aimlessly around-"
Bren took a single step forward before slapping him.
Chase's head snapped to the side, completely shocked. The sounds of the street around them seemed to deafen. The heavy beating in his heart suddenly started to subside as a warmth spread against his cheek..
"I don't care who you are." Bren said, "I don't care what these monsuno are. But you don't have the right to start making assumptions about my best friend. And you definitely don't have the right to talk bad about him!"
Chase slowly looked forward again, the sting to his face still throbbing. Bren, who had probably been glaring up to this point, suddenly found himself shifting on his feet uncomfortably.
"I... I mean. This whole time all you've done is run away from us... You didn't even bother telling us about this... Whatever it is for a whole week. What made you think that it was fair to keep it from Jinja or your parents? Do you know how worried she has been this whole time? Cause believe me it is not easy to reassure Jinja when she's fired up and bothered."
The raven-haired teen blinked a few times, realization dawning on him, "Wait. You knew?"
Bren let out a sigh, nodding.
"It was kinda obvious to be honest," he admitted, "Especially considering you never logged online for the game me and Chase play. Well. The other Chase I suppose... Plus it was hard to ignore when Jinja started wondering about why you weren't reacting to her anymore."
Chase's shoulder sank, guilt slowly replacing the panic in his chest. He slumped down to his knees, hardly caring about the looks he got from people passing the two of them. Bren watched him for a moment before clearing his throat.
"How long since you've had any sleep?"
"... What?"
"How long since you got sleep?" Bren repeated. Chase blinked a few times, not quite processing what Bren was asking.
"I... Not since I got here. I think," Chase muttered. He looked up at the sky, staring at some of the stars dotting the sky. He still felt his hands twitching from adrenaline, but that was quickly fading away, "I've been so worried about things that I've just been... Running around."
When he said it out loud, his last few days suddenly seemed really wasted. Especially if his rouse was so easy to see through. A part of him started wondering about his parents here and if they were just as observant (now he felt even more guilty for just leaving the whole night without saying a word to them). But based on what Bren said, that was probably not the case.
Bren held a hand out, this time for him to take. There was the slightest bit of hesitance in his eyes, but he forced it away, instead motioning for Chase to take it.
"... C'mon. We need to get you home."
HLP
When the two of them walked back into the cafe. The jazz band was now moving into a slower tune, the line at the counter now substantially shorter. Chase flexed his hands a few times when he and Bren trailed back to their table. The raven-haired teen was a little surprised to see Jinja and Beyal speaking to each other (or rather, Jinja speaking and Beyal on his phone). The pair looked up when they approached.
"... What was that about?" Jinja asked with a raised brow. Bren shrugged at her.
"Just needed some air is all. It's a little dank in here," he said, grabbing his mug and chugging most of it down. Chase bit the inside of his cheek, a bit in awe at how fast Bren was able to switch his own persona from serious to cheerful in a matter of seconds.
"So nothing too serious then?" Beyal asked, pausing briefly to look at the two. Chase's lips furrowed, and he held his face in his hands as he let out a sigh.
"No. Not compared to what the other Chase is probably feeling," he said, then let his face fall to the table to lay down on it, "I can't believe I let it slip from my mind. Sorry that I forgot..."
Jinja thought for a moment, swishing her mug a little"... I hope he's alright. I wonder how he's dealing with our alternates."
"I imagine better then this Chase," Beyal said, tapping at his phone as he sipped his drink. He grimaced at it, pushing it away.
"No," Chase muttered, slumping on the table a burying his face into his elbows, "This is so bad."
Beyal looked up from his phone with a somewhat annoyed look, "Why are you freaking out? From what you told me about your world he should be fine."
"What? You told him about yourself but not us?" Bren said, pointing at the white-haired teen, then slumped back in his seat with his arms folded. Chase's lip twitched. Seemed like this Bren was just as jealous as the other.
"Bren. You don't exactly have the ability to pop in and out of other worlds," Jinja said with a sly look, "Especially with that chess match of yours."
"Hey! I had that match! I was just a little distracted is all-"
Chase ignored them, running multiple situations through his head as he tried to think about what his counterpart could have possibly been doing for a week. But since he couldn't even remember how he got there in the first place, there was no telling what happened. Even the small conversations he had with Droog revealed nothing about what could've happened.
Were his friends with the other Chase? Did they know? Or was he wandering aimlessly through the world? Hopefully S.T.O.R.M. was able to find him. Then at least his team and his parents would be able to try and figure something out.
"..."
But if that were the case, then why hadn't they come for him? If there was someone out there that caused this, then perhaps they had gotten to the other Chase then.
And with the amount of enemies he had, Chase had a feeling that was most likely the case. He clenched his fists.
This revealed one thing: that he needed to get back. Now!
He leaned back up, trying to steel his nerves.
"This doesn't change anything," he said, more to himself. He looked to Beyal, "Where can we find monsuno essence? That's the best bet on how I'm going to get back home."
Beyal paused, eyes flickering over to the other teen. He leaned forward, lowering his phone somewhat.
"If it exists here. Somewhere. Are you sure that's how you'll be able to get home?" he asked, "Because, quite frankly, if we try to go looking for a nonexistent power and waste tons of time on false leads, what makes you think that we're going to go along with whatever plan you have?"
Chase raised a brow, "Huh?"
"Well. I'll follow along. It's better then staying with her," Beyal said, tapping his fingers against the table irritably, "But what about these two? And I doubt you can just go wandering around with your parents probably wondering where you are."
The two glanced over to Bren and Jinja, who had grown quiet. They both started to fidget in their seats at the stares. Chase never even thought of asking if the two of them really wanted to help him this way. They probably thought that this would only by a few hours at most (but it's not like he was able to guess what they were thinking in the first place, especially after what happened with Bren just minutes ago).
The others two teens had a silent exchange between them (Something that the real Jinja and Bren would probably never do).
"Well. If it means getting our Chase back. Then I'm all for it," Jinja said resolutely. Bren nodded with her, already feeling set on helping.
Beyal looked at the two, then to Chase. His gaze was unreadable, though it did hold honesty. He looked back down at his phone, typing quickly.
"Rumor was that there were stones mined in this area that had an unnatural green glow to them," Beyal explained, "That was the only reason I wanted to explore around here. Where they're mined is a good place where we could start looking."
He brought his phone up, showing a location to the other three. Bren adjusted his glasses.
"Oh! I know where that is!" he exclaimed, "That's near my family's mine. Well, at least where my family works. We can get in there no problem!"
Jinja leaned closer, narrowing her eyes at the screen, "You sure Bren? It's like 11 at night. Or it will be when we get there."
"I'll just text my grandpa. He'll give me the codes," Bren shrugged. The table suddenly jerked, making their cups rattle. Chase looked to his right, seeing Beyal disappear.
"Wha-" he stammered, then felt his leg bump against something. He ducked under, surprised to see Beyal now huddled under with a nervous expression.
There was chattering in the room. He felt Bren tug his sleeve. Chase looked up, and saw two rather familiar men in suits talking to the barista. He flinched and ducked under too.
"Chase what are-"
"Don't move you two!" Chase hissed, trying to stay out of view before turning to Beyal, "Why are they here? I thought you said you got the guards to leave Bren and Jinja alone?"
The white-haired teen fumbled with his phone, not bothering to look up, "I... May or may not have snuck out without telling Bekka."
Chase cringed, then glanced out from under the table, he jerked back when he saw the barista point in their direction.
"Your people skills are just as bad as they were before," Chase sighed, then shook his head. Both Bren and Jinja glanced under table.
"Well? What's the plan?" Jinja asked.
"Let's go through the back," Chase suggested, "We'll rush out when-"
The room suddenly started to shake. The plates and glasses rattled against the wood. Without warning, the ground below quaked horribly, knocking over unoccupied chairs and the few people standing. Bren let out a small squeak as he and Jinja gripped onto the table.
"What-Another earthquake!" he shouted. As the shaking started to subside, Chase glanced towards the entrance.
"There, now's our chance!" he said, charging for the door. He heard the two bodyguards from the concert shouting just as they got to the door, but he was quick to ignore it. The four of them stumbled along as the shaking subsided. By the time it had stopped, they were well down the street.
That didn't stop Chase from running.
It was only when his lungs were burning did he decide to slow. When he stopped, Chase turned to the other three, surprised to see that they kept up with him.
"Wow," he panted, "Good to know you guys can still book it when we need to."
Jinja shot him a look. Bren glanced at both of them before clearing his throat.
"Uh... Not really? You weren't going that fast really," he said, "Kinda slow to be honest."
Chase blinked a few times, his shoulders sinking. That couldn't be right. It felt like they had just run straight through the jungle being hunted by S.T.O.R.M. He felt completely exhausted. And yet...
"You sure you've done this before? 'Cause our Chase can run laps like nothing- Ow! Jinja!"
Jinja elbowed Bren, then turned to Chase, "Ignore him. The important thing is that we're out of there. Right?"
Chase nodded, trying to steady his breath as he wiped his brow. He looked at the two, then stared behind them as Beyal waved down a car. The sign on the top made Chase realize he was getting them a cab. He didn't even wait for them as he crawled inside. The cab honked its horn.
"Hurry up or I'll leave you!" Beyal called out from the window. Bren ran over immediately. Chase took a breath, slowly taking a step.
But for some reason, that one step seemed too slow.
Then everything started slowing.
Jinja turned to him, her mouth wording something at him. She walked towards Chase, yet seemed to be getting further away.
Spots flashed in his vision.
And as he heard Jinja and Bren shouting for him, he could've sworn he heard another voice calling out just as he blacked out.
A/N: This is short. But it's mostly because the next chapter got so long that I wanted to space it out somewhat. Review review review!
