A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, monsuno power, and 36-children-of-the-mind for the reviews! I'm thinking of just uploading the whole fic at once since I want this to be finished and move onto the other two fics I'm working on. So look forward to a couple chapters getting posted at once next time there's an update.
Enjoy!
"And you're sure there's nothing wrong with him?"
Jeredy shook his head, staring into the room. Chase was inside, pacing around for what must've been hours, a table and two chairs sitting inside with him. For almost three days he had been forced to look over his son and try to figure out what happened after their mission. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could come up with that made sense.
"Physically there's nothing wrong with him, other then some slight weight loss," the scientist said, turning to Bren and Jinja, "I really don't know what else to say other then to wait."
The two teens looked at each other before sighing deeply. Sitting around and doing nothing certainly was hard, but what else could they do? Chase hadn't exactly been helpful in figuring out what was wrong.
If anything, all he did was add to the mystery.
Chase came up to the window, tapping it with his hand. Jeredy glanced over to the two, "Looks like he wants to talk to you again."
Jinja huffed, crossing her arms tightly, "Like I want to talk to him after he got 'friendly'!"
Bren scratched his cheek, then went ahead into the room. Chase immediately went up to him, appearing to be shouting.
"What do you think happened between him and Droog?" Jinja asked, watching them interact. Chase threw his arms up and slumped into one of the seats by the table.
"Who knows. That last spike in monsuno energy was something I've never seen before," Jeredy said, then bit his thumb in thought, "All we can hope for is some clues to show up, given how we can't find Droog."
Jinja nodded, turning back to look inside. Even with all the technology at S.T.O.R.M., they had no clue of where Droog could possibly be.
That man was certainly a mystery. Jeredy wasn't sure why he had even been trying to look for monsuno essence, given how most concerns with monsuno had died down ever since the Hand of Destiny had fallen. Was this a sign of things to come?...
But what bothered him the most was how much Chase kept insisting things that weren't true, at least with monsuno. He knew his parents, Jinja, and Bren, but Beyal and Dax were complete strangers to him, along with the rest of S.T.O.R.M.. It was certainly not normal, given how he was able to remember things like Sophia's favorite food, or even what cartoon that he and Jeredy used to watch when he was younger.
But that wasn't all.
Chase had no recollection what monsuno were at all. And clearly, Locke felt the same.
Jeredy looked to the blue core in hand. He had warned Chase about spinning the monsuno before their mission, but there was no way to know if he had even used it. The fact that he had forgotten all about monsuno was one of the few reasons why they needed to look for answers.
Moreover, Locke refused to even be held by Chase, turning red hot every time the teen tried to take it. That in itself was more than enough to try and figure out what was wrong.
The metal doors at the end of the hall opened. Jeredy and Jinja turned to see Dax and Beyal return. Jinja took a step towards the two.
"Well? Did you find anything?"
"Nope. Nothing. Just dirt and rocks as usual," Dax sighed, "C'mon doc. Surely you can get to the bottom of why little Suno's been acting so weird."
"I wish I could, but this is beyond my expertise," Jeredy said, shaking his head. By this point, Bren had sat down on the opposite side of the table, obviously trying to cheer up the other teen.
"What do you all think?" he asked, turning to the rest of them.
"He doesn't seem to believe us about monsuno, so him getting a vision is probably unlikely," Beyal said simply.
"And he refuses to go to the training bay to even see monsuno," Dax added, shrugging his shoulders, "I guess that scare he had when we were on the mission was a bit much."
Jinja sighed deeply, looking the other way, "Not even Alpha and the others can get a positive reaction from him..."
The doors to the hallway opened again, this time Commandant Marshall Jon Ace walking through.
"Ah. Jeredy. I knew I'd find you here," he said, "Still trying to find out what's wrong with Chase?"
Jeredy nodded, "It's all I can do for the moment. I'm working on upgrading Locke's core, but that's been put on hold until we can find out how to help my son."
"Of course doctor. Do what you need to," Jon Ace said, "In the mean time, I've received word from the lowlands that Dr. Klipse is on the move again. Or rather, his associates."
Jon turned to Team Core Tech.
"Even though I know you're all worried, I need you all to do some surveillance and find out if Klipse is back at his old base. They've been rather quiet, but intel says that Eklipse members have been spotted in the lowlands again. Now that they're on the move, I think its about time we finally take them down."
Team Core Tech nodded to each other. Jinja made the motion to tap on the glass before Jeredy stopped her.
"Hold on," he said, "Let Bren stay and keep Chase company. I'm sure a simple surveillance mission will go fine without him."
Jon raised a brow, but didn't protest. Dax snorted.
"Sure. Now we're allowed to leave behind the deadweight," he said.
"For once, I gotta agree with you on that one," Jinja laughed as they trailed out to the exit, "Let's stop on the way there, since Bren won't be burning through my wallet-"
The doors shut behind them. Jeredy grinned briefly before looking back into the room. He frowned, unsure as he watched Bren try to play a game with Chase on the core tablet. For the first time in a long time, Chase actually started to visibly calm down.
Jon stood to his right, looking on as well.
"I'm guessing that none of you have been able to get him to remember anything," Jon said. Jeredy nodded.
"I just don't know Jon," the scientist mused, "I know it's him, but I can't shake this weird feeling that it... Isn't. Is that weird?"
Jon stared at Chase for a moment before turning to the other man, "Of course not. I trust your instinct more then anyone else's here. Besides. Who would know better that something was wrong then a child's parent?"
Jeredy sighed. He knew Jon would say that. But he was right in many ways. Perhaps Jeredy just needed to look at things from a different angle...
Jon turned and started to walk back to the door, "If you would excuse me. I have to oversee a new project."
The doors opened and closed once more. Jeredy stared at the window again, more so at his reflection. He could see dark circles formed under his eyes from late nights all week. But it hardly mattered.
Because he knew that Chase was more important then a few hours of sleep.
HLP
"I'm so glad we stopped on the way for lunch. Who knew we'd find a little stand on the way," Jinja said, leaning back in her seat as she steered the ship along back on course. Bags of trash were sitting on the floor next to her from their quick go through of the local town.
"I can't believe Beyal actually ate all those tortas," Dax said a bit exasperated, then glanced behind to the back seat. Beyal had promptly fallen asleep as soon as they were back on the cloud hopper, snoring away.
"Better him then Bren. He's always burning holes through my wallet whenever we go out to eat," Jinja said, lips drawn up in a scowl. Dax shook his head before staring ahead at the open skies before them. The ship quickly fell silent as it glided along.
"... So?" Dax asked after a while.
"'So' what?"
"What do you think about little Suno? What's wrong with him."
Jinja frowned, an annoyed look on her face, "I've got nothing to say about him! He probably just fell a little too hard or something..."
"You sure about that? Cause it doesn't sound like you're sure."
There was silence again. Jinja stared out the window, watching some of the trees and plains starting to turn into rougher terrain as they entered the lowlands.
"Look. We're all worried about him. Just admit it," Dax said, "We all really ought to be trying to figure this out together."
"Really? Teamwork? That's rich coming from you mister lone wolf," Jinja huffed, "Besides. If Chase's dad can't figure this out, what chance do we have?"
Dax scratched his cheek, "You got me there..."
That was the real root of the problem. None of them had any clue of what to do. Chase's mind seemed to be completely jumbled up by fake memories, and forgot everything about monsuno from the past year. Of all memories he would forget, that was the last thing he would.
"... I'm sure that we'll figure this out."
Jinja and Dax both turned around, seeing Beyal staring at the ceiling.
"Things tend to fall into place. All according to destiny," he said, "This is just another challenge that we must face. Together."
Jinja scoffed, "Except we can do that without the necessary groping."
"We were all there princess. And all he was trying to do was get a kiss, I wouldn't call that groping," Dax shrugged. Jinja frowned at him, hunching over a little as she gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"You didn't seem happy at the time Dax," Beyal blurted out, "In fact. Weren't you wanting to show Chase a thing or two outside with your fists-"
Dax jerked in his seat, caught on his seatbelt as he tried to stand, "Hey! I told you to be quiet about that!"
Jinja stifled a laugh, listening to the two bicker for a moment. There was certainly something ironic about the situation, considering how much closer their little group seemed to be getting without Chase there. Even Bren, who was trying so hard to get a good reaction from their leader, was left to cling even more to the rest of them.
The red-haired girl loosened her grip, letting her shoulders sink in thought. As soon as the other two quieted, she took a deep breath.
"Let's... Just get through this mission and try to get back to Chase."
HLP
The rest of the ride was quiet. Although it wasn't very long. As soon as they passed into the lowlands, the outskirts of sanctuary city was in view. Jinja purposely parked the cloud hopper in the cliffside area to make sure they weren't spotted.
"Looks like we're here," she said.
The three of them piled out, making sure that the ship was well hidden before making the trek to the entrance of Klipse's base. Hopefully he would be there, otherwise this would be a waste of a trip.
However, when they got to where the trap door was, there was no real sign of where it could be. There wasn't even a sign if this base was still being used by Klipse (but it was a good place as any to start looking).
"I think Chase dropped down somewhere over here," Jinja said, crouching down to look at the ground. She brushed her hands against it, hoping that maybe she could feel metal.
"Nah. It was this way. I remember when I went there," Dax pointed towards the west, then paused to scratch his head, "I'm pretty sure it was... Or maybe it was the other way."
He started to walk off as Beyal and Jinja continued to search the small area.
"Well. We can't exactly walk blindly in the desert for very long. He's probably aware that we're already here," Jinja said aloud, examining the ground. There was a flash of metal in the corner of her eye. She glanced towards a set of boulders, seeing a tripwire amongst them. Cautiously, she crept over. Taking a hold of the steel cord, she gave it a slight tug.
The ground suddenly shook.
"Ahh!"
Jinja gaped, quickly turning around. Dax was standing far off in the distance, now running over. But no Beyal.
The red-haired girl looked down and saw a small, rectangular hole in the ground. She let go of the wire and ran over. She and Dax glanced into it, seeing nothing but darkness.
"Well. Looks like you found it," Dax said, "Hey! Monkfish-"
"Shh! Someone will hear you!" Jinja hissed. Dax shot her a look.
"And Beyal screaming won't? I'm pretty sure we already gave up the element of surprise."
She frowned, crouched down, and hopped inside. Dax went right after her.
Whatever entrance it was must've been a back door of some sort, since it was just a straight slide down a metal chute. All too fast they came to the bottom. Jinja flopped over with a small yelp, rolling out of the way as Dax crashed next to her.
There were lights along the walls, dimly illuminating the large room. Jinja glanced behind, seeing that they dropped down from a ventilation shaft.
"You alright princess?" Dax asked, rubbing his head.
"Yeah. Sure," she said, then looked around, "Looks like this place is still being used. At least we know the rumors were true... Beyal? Where'd you go?"
The two stood up, looking ahead at the empty hallway. They exchanged looks before slowly making their way through. The monk probably went this way, but there wasn't a real sign to be sure other then it being one way. They would just have to find him as fast as they could and get out (though going up that air duct wouldn't exactly be easy).
They ran fast, stopping only when they rounded the corners. Eventually they came to a split. Dax made a motion with his hand and they started going towards the right.
There was the sound of metal dropping and they promptly came to a halt. They started walking back immediately.
As soon as they turned the corner, Jinja bumped straight into someone. She gasped, seeing spiked up black hair.
"Wha-What are you little mouseys doing here?!" Dom Pyro shouted, hands flying to his belt. Jinja quickly stepped back before sweeping his legs from the floor. Dax shoved him back with a half-body slam. Neither of them bothered to finish the fight, running down the other hall.
"See ya crazy!" Dax said. Jinja spotted a doorway ahead of them, sliding through before slamming the button on the side after Dax. A metal door shut securely within seconds.
Dom Pyro pounded his fists on the metal, his shouts muffled. The two let out sighs of relief, turning around when they heard a noise.
"Oi! There you are!" Dax said. Beyal noticed the two, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh. Sorry," he apologized, "When I fell in I heard something and wanted to look around."
Jinja stared at the computer monitors in the room, raising a brow at all the data and graphs throughout.
"And what could you have possibly heard that was so interesting?" Dax asked, walking over. Beyal pointed at one of the screens. Dax let out a gasp.
"What? What is it?" Jinja said as she walked over next to the two. Her eyes widened, seeing data on Chase displayed, "What is..."
Looking closer, the data was all the basic information that most people had about Chase. Only there seemed to be additions of things that weren't accurate at all. Jinja thought for a moment, remembering what Chase had told her at one point in the interrogation room about how she, him, and Bren all went to a school run by Core Tech.
"What do you suppose this is?" Dax asked, tapping some of the keys.
"Who knows. But I do know we shouldn't touch it," Jinja hissed. He waved her away. A few more screens later and a map popped up. They all leaned closer, thinking that it was just a map of the planet with Eklipse plans, but it was the opposite. In fact, it wasn't even a map of their planet.
"How did-"
"What are you three doing in here!"
The group snapped up. On the other side of the room Hargrave was standing there, tray in hand balancing a single mug and some biscotti on it. He whipped out his core launcher, quickly setting the tray down.
The other door suddenly exploded into smoke and flames. The remains crumbled to the floor as Dom Pyro stepped through with a smirk.
"Heh! Didn't think the little mouseys were so clever!" he said.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Hargrave shouted, "The last thing I need is to be fixing your mistakes!"
Dom Pyro let out a cackle as he flipped his core in the air a few times, "My mistakes? I'm not the one who let the mouseys in! That was your job!"
Jinja looked around, spotting a few loose bars of metal on the floor. Carefully, she reached down and picked one up. As soon as she felt the weight in her hands, she turned around and took aim for he computer.
"Hey! Losers!" she exclaimed, "We're here to see Klipse! Let us through or your data is toast!"
Hargrave immediately flinched, while Dom Pyro laughed.
"What? You think a few numbers and shinys will keep me from feeding you all to my pretty pretty?" he said, then wound his arm back to launch, "Klipse won't care about that!"
"Except he would!" Hargrave spat, "And you're supposed to listen to me while Klipse is-"
The butler quickly silenced himself, fists clenched. Jinja raised the bar higher in the air in a silent challenge.
"You best let us speak to Klipse before she goes off on it," Dax said, "Cause once she does we're spinning out, then we're gone."
Hargrave grit his teeth, eventually placing his core back on its holster. He looked to the assassin.
"Guard the exit," he ordered, then started to walk back into the hall he had came from. The three teens paused briefly, then turned to each other.
"Well? What do you think? Should we trust him?" Jinja asked, already suspicious with how easy they reasoned with the lackeys. They all glanced over to Dom Pyro as he sneered at them, flashing his core.
"I think so. Spinning our monsuno out here is also unwise, given how little space there is," Beyal said.
"I think I'd rather take a chance with the butler then the freak on a leash," Dax grumbled, cramming his hands into his pockets as he side-eyed Dom Pyro. He didn't stop until they were out of the room.
It was a short, but awkward, walk through the hall into the next room. Jinja tried not to think about how they could be walking into a trap, but with no sign of Klipse (or even Six for that matter), there was no telling what awaited them.
When they reached the next room, nothing could've prepared them for what they saw.
Equipment and machines were half disassembled. Empty glass containers for monsuno essence laid on the ground. On one of the tables were a set of cores, though they were clearly not used either. Sparks were flashing from a welder in the middle of room by a set of desks. The one working there looked up when they all entered.
They flipped up the blast shield, earning gasps and shocked expressions from the group of teens.
"Ah! Hargrave you're back!" Klipse said, standing up. They all flinched when they saw him wearing simple work clothes (a drastic change compared to his regular black and red outfit).
The man set down the tools in hand, walking over to meet them. It was only then did they realize how different he really looked.
If the plain white shirt and jeans weren't the first clue, then the shape of his facial hair certainly was. It was less sharp and threatening and more friendly. Not to mention how he lacked the dark and crazed look in his eyes. Did what ever affect Chase also get to Klipse?
(Maybe everyone was just slowly losing their minds)
"Oh! Another cup of coffee? You spoil me!" Klipse said, taking the mug in hand, "Thank you Hargrave. I enjoy the way you brew it. As fine as any coffee house on this side of the continent."
Hargrave's lips quirked into an awkward, but genuine, smile before he cleared his throat.
"Um. Sir. You have a few guests," he said, then motioned towards the three teens. Klipse glanced over, a confused look on his face.
"Oh? Children. Very well," he said, picking up the biscotti on the tray and stirring it in the cup, "What is it that you all need? Although I'm not sure how much help an inventor like me will be."
'I suppose that explains why Hargrave was so willing to let us speak to Klipse. He's not actually very sane right now. Or maybe he's just more sane,' Jinja thought. She took a step forward, "Then... What is it that you want?"
Klipse raised a brow, crunching on the chocolatey treat, "Me? I just want to create things. Make things for others to use and improve the lives of everyone. Especially those who are... Less fortunate."
Jinja nearly fell over in disbelief.
"Yeah right! Like we can believe a psycho like you!" Dax accused, "You're probably just planning on a new invention for monsuno essence, or your monsuno army!"
Klipse blinked a few times, then drank from the mug, "Monsuno? Monsuno army? What even is that?"
The man set everything back down on the tray and walked over to the tables he was working at. He picked up a small device and went back to the group of teens. He held it out for them all to see.
"What I'm working on right now is a water filter," he said, "I couldn't help but notice how the next town over isn't as populated or busy as it could be, probably because of the climate. With this any source of water can become potable and useable, especially considering how strained some of the sources are here."
Jinja stared for a brief moment, exchanging a look with an equally confused Beyal as the two of them watched Dax pick up the metal. He was suspicious of it, but didn't say anything.
"I suppose you're all not here to talk about any of that though," he said, "You're probably wondering why I'm acting this way."
The group gave him blank stares. He let out a sigh.
"I guess I'll start from the beginning, since a wordy explanation is probably what you're all looking for," he said, "Well. My name is Emmanuel Klipse. Inventor and CEO of Eklipse Enterprises. I live in central city, and work alongside my dear friends Jon Ace and Jeredy Suno."
He paused when none of them said anything, "Well. Whether you believe me or not it doesn't matter. I'll let you all decide then continue from there."
Klipse walked back over to the desk and started to go back to work. Hargrave shifted uncomfortably for a moment.
"Um Sir," he stammered, "Should I escort them out?"
"No. I think they probably have questions to ask," Klipse responded, "I did take me awhile to convince you and Mr. Pyro."
Hargrave tapped his hands at his side in a nervous manner, eventually deciding to leave the room. As soon as he was gone, the group of teens huddled together.
"This is getting too weird," Dax sighed, "First Chase. Now Klipse? What's the world coming too?!"
"What bothers me is what he said," Beyal muttered, staring at the floor in thought, "There's no central city around here. And Chase isn't from there."
"And neither is Core Tech," Jinja said, remembering all the separate locations that Core Tech had, "But... He seems to be telling what he thinks is the truth."
Dax raised a brow, "What do you mean 'what he thinks'?"
"Remember how Chase has been saying things over and over, insisting things that aren't true but passing lie detectors and tests without any flaws? It makes perfect sense that whatever is affecting him is also affecting Klipse," Jinja said, I guess we'll just have to ask and hope he tells the truth-"
She looked up, then saw Dax staring off towards where Klipse was. She quickly looked over, seeing Beyal now poking and prodding at the different machines. The two sighed deeply, quickly making their way over.
"-and what about that map in the other room?" Beyal asked Klipse, "I don't remember seeing a central city anywhere."
"It's the capital of this region. It's extremely large, having to be sectioned off into multiple districts," Klipse said without skipping a beat, still working away at the small device in front of him, "Though I'm surprised that Bekka never told you, seeing how many times she's toured the area."
Beyal paused, now staring at the man.
"Bekka? What does she have to do with this?"
Klipse stopped, lifting the blast shield from his face again, "Fascinating. So it wasn't just Hargrave who's life is different... I probably should've known by now after being in this world for three days."
There was a silence that echoed through the room. None of them said anything for a minute.
"... What do you mean 'this world'?" Jinja asked. The man sighed deeply, setting down the tools for the second time.
"Just as I suspected," Klipse said under his breath, then turned to the group, "I'm probably not the Klipse that you remember, though I hoped that you did since you were all silent. No. I believe that I'm from a different version of this world."
He paused, glancing at Beyal for a moment, "At least I think it's a different version, seeing how there are many similar faces."
"Hold it! Hold it!" Dax said, "Do you really expect us to believe that you come from some other world? How do we know you're not faking it?"
Klipse shrugged, "You can't. Not really. But I'm a very honest man. If you would like, I can give you the data that I compiled from my world."
The group exchanged glances, each unsure and questionable.
"What would compel you to just hand over such vital information?" Jinja asked, a hand on her hip, still unsure about any of it.
"It's not very vital information at all. Just basics on everyday things. Besides, surely there's some reason as to why you would even consider my offer," Klipse said, grabbing his tools again. He stared straight into her eyes, Jinja shuddering at the knowing look.
"Take it back to Jeredy Suno. I heard he's a great scientist in this world," Klipse said as he went back to work, "I'm sure he'll be able to help you. His son is quite the genius himself."
A/N: Review Review Review!