A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinja for the review (didn't realize reviews aren't possible since technically the chapters have already been published). I'll hurry up with the next chapter since I am curious about what everyone thinks so far.
Enjoy!
The small group walked in silence, trailing a few steps behind the white-haired teen that was wandering through the halls. The air was tense, and none of them dared to speak out.
Early, as soon as Beyal noticed that none of the guards were conscious, he simply walked out of the room without another word. Not wanting to get separated, Jinja and Bren followed along (to the dismay of the Desert Wolves, who were also a few steps behind as well). Bren thought about asking questions to the monk, but noticed there was a change in his presence, much like before in the desert and the cave when they met Dom Pyro. It was surprising to see Beyal taking out most of the S.T.O.R.M. soldiers, especially since he was the soft-spoken one of the group, but that was the least of their worries at the moment.
"Where's he going?" Jinja whispered to Bren. The hall lights would occasionally flicker on and off for a few seconds, making the group jump every so often.
"How am I supposed to know? Maybe to find the monsuno here?" Bren hissed, glancing down at the core tablet. He had managed to get the location of where the picture was taken before the soldiers destroyed the computers, but now they had to find Chase, the monsuno in the base, and possibly help Dax with Charlemange.
Beyal abruptly stopped, as did the rest of them. The group watched as he looked back and forth between two halls, before turning to look at them. When the lights continued to flicker off, his eyes glistened the strange green hue as he stared back at them. He slowly looked at each of them (and Bren felt a chill at the cold stare), until he finally locked eyes with Jinja.
"You with monsuno sight," he said, his voice seeming to echo. They all stepped back a bit, "Where is Chase Suno?"
The group was silent, in both confusion and awe all at once. Both Bren and Jinja exchanged looks, not knowing what to do. Beyal had his eyes fixed in a cold gaze at Jinja, unfazed.
"Umm..." Jinja gaped, and cleared her throat, "He's... Somewhere in the base…?"
Beyal's expression softened a bit, then he closed his eyes. The air seemed to hum with energy, and after a moment, he turned to leave. No one made the move to stop him, though they all still hesitated to follow.
"W-wait," Jinja finally said. He stopped, turning back to her a little, "... Who are you? You're not Beyal."
There was an odd expression on Beyal's face, then he looked around at the rest of them. His eyes finally locked onto Bekka, who shifted uncomfortably from his gaze.
"She was right when she said that the Hand was looking for an ancient monsuno," he said, then looked back at Jinja, "You have to stop them before it's too late."
"Hold on," Jinja said, "Who are you and what have you done to Beyal?"
The teen gave her a thoughtful look before closing his eyes.
"You know of the prophecy of the five tribes, yes?" he asked. Bren and Jinja exchanged looks again. The prophecy of the five tribes stated that five controllers of monsuno would save the world from destruction. They had all assumed it was their group, especially from the way Master Ey spoke about it.
"… What about it?" Bren asked.
"You do know the purpose of them?" Beyal asked, only to receive blank stares.
"To save the world…?" Bren asked hesitantly. Beyal gave Bren a slightly annoyed look, and let out a sigh.
"I suppose I'll start from the beginning to make it easier," He started, "Long ago, monsuno energy came from a meteor, pouring out from the world in abundance. However, it was also extremely unstable. That is where the Five Tribes came into place. For you see, the Five Tribes created seals across the world in order to keep the energy at bay. Otherwise, the five would be called back to save the world from destruction."
"… But," Beyal continued, "In order to create the seals, the Five Tribes created the purest monsuno in order to combat the pure energy. From there on, we vowed to watch over said seals."
"We?"
"...Yes," Beyal said, his green eyes now going to the ground, "the Original monsuno of the Five Tribes. And that's what the Hand of Destiny is after. Not only releasing the large amounts of monsuno essence, but also to capture the original monsuno."
Bren crossed his arms. He bought that there was untapped monsuno energy that the Hand was probably after (especially considering how they stumbled upon the well of monsuno essence in the mountains and the plant monster in the jungle). But why now? And what did that have to do with the rogue monsuno? They were certainly powerful, and had no controllers...
"So… Is that what you are?" Jinja asked hesitantly. Bren's eyes widened at the comment, and Beyal only stared blankly for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Yesterday, when the hand attempted to release one of the seals" he said, "I was released as well."
Both Bren and Jinja were silent for a moment. Judging from the levels of monsuno essence, it certainly added up. He did remember the burst of energy, then how it got extremely bright. And then...
"So... That beam of light that hit Beyal," Jinja started, "That was you."
"Unfortunately," Beyal said, closing his eyes, "I wanted to possess Chase Suno. While the monk is more in tune with monsuno essence, Chase has power that is raw and untouched. Something that even he doesn't know. At the time, however-" Beyal opened his eyes, narrowing them a bit in disgust, "those people... They did something to him-"
Alarms suddenly went off, and red lights started to flash throughout the hall. A voice intercom also went off in a deafening call.
"ATTENTION! EVACUATE THE BASE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ATTENTION-"
"Jinja, I think we ought to get out of here," Bren said, his eyes a bit weary when he looked to Beyal. He wasn't entirely buying the idea of Beyal being… possessed by a monsuno, and there was also what this had to do with Chase, the Hand, and the monsuno that have been running around. Jinja shot him a look, then turned back to Beyal.
"So what's wrong with Chase? And how do we stop the Hand?"
"Luckily, the Hand has only captured three of the monsuno," he replied, "Besides me, the last had been awakened because of the release of energy. I suspect it will be heading for the seal on its own after seeking out more users of monsuno sight. If you can all get to the Cave of Coalescence on the map, there is a way to recreate the seals so that the energy can become balanced again. Otherwise, the world will be thrown into chaos."
"uh... Cave?" Bren asked. Beyal tilted his head before going to Bren. The teen took a few steps as Beyal took the Core Tablet from his hands. He pushed a button before holding it out again.
"The stone with the markings. That is where it is. You must leave here as soon as possible, before the Hand finds out where it's at."
Bren looked down at the tablet, his hands gripping it a bit tighter. They had come to the base to find Jinja and Chase, but there was also the monsuno that was in the base...
"So… Is there a monsuno in the base?" Bren asked. He wasn't actually sure if Beyal would know, but it didn't hurt to ask. Beyal's eyes seemed to soften when he saw Bren's expression.
"I'm afraid the monsuno you are looking for has long passed," he said, more directly to Bren then anyone else. For a moment, Bren was going to ask what he meant, but then remembered the description of the monsuno that Dr. Tallis sent. His eyes widened a bit, and his gaze dropped when he realized what Beyal was implying.
"I… I know that," Bren said in a hushed tone, "But… Is there one here?"
Beyal shook his head, and didn't say anything else.
"Wait. There isn't a monsuno here?" Jinja asked, "Does that mean Dr. Tallis tricked us?"
"Actually," the teens' attention went to Bekka, who suddenly decided to join in the conversation, "If it helps, Master Ey did speak of something important to be found here at the base. Though I'm sure it had to do with the location of the uh… Cave."
Beyal suddenly had a violent coughing fit, and dropped to his knees. Jinja dropped down to his side, while the others seemed to be in a stunned silence.
"What's wrong?" she asked. He looked up with half-lidded eyes, smudges of red on the corners of his mouth.
"I can't possess the monk for much longer," he said, "You have to hurry to the Cave. Once you all stop the Hand, I can be freed and recreate the remaining seals."
Before anyone could interject, Beyal's rolled back and he fell backwards. Jinja managed to catch him before he hit the floor, and exchanged a worrying look to Bren.
HLP
He stood there, watching the different groups of people running up and down the halls. S.T.O.R.M. soldiers were all fleeing as soon as the alarm went off. He couldn't help but scoff at that.
"Well... Since the monsuno wasn't really here, might as well take off as well," he said. But stopped when something caught his eye. The four from before that follow Dr. Tallis were there, skulking about in the halls.
"I guess that explains the wild core bomb and why the alarms went off," he said, then laughed to himself, "It's a good thing me and Chase didn't meet up with them. Would've been confusing to see two Punk Monk leaders running around."
He looked up at one of the blank screens, looking at his current appearance as the leader of the Punk Monks, and smirked. He could've easily posed as a guard, but that would've made it much harder to gain Suno's trust. Even if they fail, there was always the option of capturing the teen and bringing him to the Hand instead. And what better way then to be someone he already knew.
"Might as well meet up with the other three," he sighed. Since he was the only one who gained a different appearance from the encounter with the Punk Monks, it was only fair that he was the one to go into the base. He just hoped that the other three managed to locate the last seal. Then they would only need to regain the monsuno they had lost yesterday...
He paused when he saw the rest of Chase's group wandering in one of the halls. His eyes narrowed further when he noticed that they were all taking to a white-haired boy. Except his eyes were glowing a green color. A few seconds later, the boy fell to his knees and collapsed.
A grin twisted on his lips. Found it.
"Well well. I guess this trip wasn't entirely fruitless," he said darkly, and turned to go find them. His own eyes also shining green.
HLP
"Bren," Jinja said, arms encircled around Beyal, "Go meet up with Dax and get out of here."
"… What?"
"I know which way Chase went," she said, "take Beyal, find Dax, and meet us back out in the desert."
Bren stood dumbly before letting out an outburst, "Wait. So we're going to listen to it?! I don't think you've realized it, but we're smack dab in the middle of S.T.O.R.M. headquarters. It's not like we'll just be able to walk right out the door. Plus Dax is fighting Charlemange right now!"
Jinja bit her lip. She hadn't forgotten that they left Dax to fight alone, and who knows if he was even fairing well against the Commandant.
"Look Bren," Jinja said, "Chase has been acting really weird lately. You may not have seen it, but I have. And one thing's for sure, it involves the damned Hand of Destiny!"
She couldn't help but shout the last part, making Bren flinch a bit. Chase really was acting out, even to the point of locking her in another part of the base without her monsuno. She let out a sigh, knowing that she shouldn't have taken it out on Bren (even if he did deserve to be yelled at sometimes). Bekka was suddenly at Jinja's side, giving a reassuring smile.
"We'll look after these two," she said, leaning Beyal against her so that Jinja could stand, "Don't worry. It's why Master Ey sent us after all."
Jinja looked down at the mute woman, and couldn't help but trust her. She didn't put it against Master Ey to send them help, and Bekka was Beyal's sister, so the chances of the Desert Wolves pulling a fast one was very unlikely.
"Alright," Jinja said, and Bekka nodded. Jinja looked back to Bren, "If it comes down to it, just get out of here as soon as possible."
Before he could interject again, she took off down one of the halls. She bolted down every turn and twist, if only to try and get enough distance between her and the group. She knew Bren wouldn't believe her about Chase and how he's been acting up, and traveling in a group would only slow things down.
She stopped after running for a few minutes, realizing the halls became somewhat familiar. It took her a minute to realize why, and inwardly groaned.
"I'm heading back to the holding cells," she sighed. The door had probably unlocked since she left, but there was no chance of Chase walking through-
She ran straight into someone, and immediately leapt backwards. She tensed a bit, then relaxed somewhat when she saw who it was.
"Drezz? Where's Chase," she said. He looked at her passively, as if examining her. He was still wearing the S.T.O.R.M. unform, most likely to get around the base more easily, "…well?"
"Chase is… in the base," he said, eyes not leaving her. She started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze, and when she looked up at his eyes, she glared, "Where is the rest of your group?"
Jinja frowned at him, and didn't answer. How did Drezz know that they were in the base? Or was he just guessing?
"How about you just tell me where Chase is at," she said. He started to chuckle darkly, mouth twisting into a smirk. His eyes seemed to gleam a bit in the red light that still shone in the halls.
"I'll tell you," he said darkly. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall. She gasped, and started to grip at his hand. He forced her to look forward, eyes now glowing menacingly, "As soon as we go and see your little friends!"
"D-Dr-Drezz…!" She croaked. He slid her up the wall till her legs were left dangling in the air a bit. She felt lightheaded, and tried desperately to fight off the urge to faint. She tried looking away from his eyes, but the glow was almost hypnotic. Her vision got dark, and she didn't even realize that Drezz's face had started to contort. Features getting small and slimmer. Lips getting a bit fuller, hair growing out and changing color.
"Not anymore," he said, voice starting to get higher in pitch.
The last thing she heard before everything went dark was the hall filling up with a shrill laughter.
Her own laughter.
A/N: This chapter was pretty plot heavy, next chapter more action.
Review in the next chapter!
