A/N: hey everyone! Sorry that corruption was updated a day late! Everything has been super busy lately.

I also realized how unfair it would be to just leave everything the way that I did in Relapse (if only because I didn't want to work on it anymore)So here's the start of the final part of the Obsession series! It won't be as long, not even half as long. But let's get on with it!

Enjoy!

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this in person, but it would be too hard to do so. After all that's happened, it's obvious that things are different, and I don't just mean with monsuno.

Because of everything that's happened, I've... Changed. I don't know how else to say it. And this isn't something that I can simply solve with a fight or with a vision. This is something that needs to be done on my own.

Don't worry, I'm not committing treason nor am I deserting S.T.O.R.M.. I just need some time to get over this... Challenge. If anything, I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone! But just in case there are problems, I'm leaving all my monsuno here for you to look after. Take care of them, and take care of Locke.

Your son,

Chase

P.S. Tell Jinja and Bren that, I'm sorry. We can't do this together.

Not this time.

...

...

...

Darkness.

Darkness all around.

Suffocating.

Nowhere to move. Nowhere to go.

Where was this...?

"Are you still trying to deny it? Are you so thick as to think that you can do it?"

Breathe. Just need to breathe.

Struggling against the invisible binds.

Locke. Where was Locke.

"Ha! This isn't like any of your battles with S.T.O.R.M. or that fool Emmanuel. You can't just fight and walk away like nothing is wrong."

The shadows all around. Twisting and tearing from the inside out. Unable to fight against the pain. Screams from everyone before. Unable to fight for them.

A figure that was somehow darker then the nothingness surrounding. Leering green eyes.

"These scars will always be with you! As long as you hold fear, it will haunt you until you're nothing!"

Chase gasped, a cold sweat going down his face. He took a few breaths, eyes darting all around at the darkness surrounding him as he threw his arms out at the invisible enemy.

After a few moments, he realized that it was just the sky, stars dotting it in a cacophony of lights. Crickets were chirping through the air, followed by the faint chirps of birds. Chase sighed, falling back on his pillow. He looked to his side, still seeing Beyal fast asleep.

"Just a nightmare," he breathed, but continued to stare up at the sky. His heart still throbbing from exhilaration and panic. He clutched his chest, knowing that he would stay awake until the sun eventually rose up. He drew a hand up to wipe away his cold sweat.

"Just a nightmare..."

HLP

The sun shone high above, the birds that soared squawked away. The wind would occasionally rise enough to rustle the trees, carrying the crisp mountain air with it. A large lake stretched far towards the opposite mountains. In some ways, this place was reminiscent of where Bren grew up. The only difference was that this place was untouched by people.

Chase let out a sigh, and looked up at the clouds overhead. It would probably rain soon, but for him it was hard to tell. He probably should've built their fire more in the shade, but given how he had been reduced to sitting around to recover more then half the time, he couldn't exactly pick where to build. The least they could do is try and find shelter before sundown...

It had only been a few weeks since they left S.T.O.R.M., maybe a month tops. Even longer since the battle that had resulted in him leaving it all behind. Whenever he was left alone, he would think about everything that led up to the fight, wondering if he could've done something different to avoid it.

But the more he thought about the Hand of Destiny and their experiments, the more he realized how inevitable it was.

"... I just wish I could've done something more..."

Splashing got his attention, and the raven-haired teen looked over from his spot to see Beyal coming out of the water carrying a few trout stuck on a wooden spear. He let out a breathy sigh as he dropped their lunch down at Chase's feet.

"How's the water?" Chase asked, shifting against the tree he was leaning against. Beyal did his best to wring out the water in his shirt before plopping down. He still had yet to replace his cloak, but Chase didn't ask why.

"Cold. But we're pretty high up in the mountains," he responded, then started to shift the fish to cook over the fire, "How's the air?"

Chase nodded, then tried to shift into a more comfortable position. He winced when his shoulders hit a knot in the tree.

"Is your scar still bothering you?" Beyal asked, looking up.

"A little... I think it's just- actually it's fine," Chase said, sliding closer as the breeze picked up again and sent a chill through him. The scar from the shard actually didn't bother him, it was the occasional jolt of pain that hurt. The monk watched him with that knowing look before turning back to the fish.

It was silent after that, Chase watching the embers crackle as he was left to wait. He wasn't one to complain about the rugged lifestyle of camping, but with everything hurting all the time he couldn't exactly enjoy it. Besides, he figured that they'd both be back home by this point. He thought that visiting the different sites of the Five Tribes would help him find his monsuno sight again...

But the nightmares kept coming.

The ghost pains that went through his body left him cold.

His monsuno sight had yet to come back.

And he had left everyone behind, even Locke.

... Was this the right decision? Was there even a point in trying? That voice from before continued to echo in his mind, making him question even more.

The smell of trout stirred Chase from his thoughts. He looked up from the fire to see Beyal holding a fish out for him. He took it, though he wasn't eager to eat. His appetite hadn't exactly been normal since their battle with the Hand of Destiny.

"Where should we go next?" Beyal asked, poking at the fire, "If we stay here for much longer S.T.O.R.M. is going to show up. One of the rumors from the last town said that they're looking for you. In which case it might be best to avoid any sites of ruins."

"..."

Chase didn't respond, picking at the trout. Beyal let out a sigh.

"... I know that it's been hard," he said, "But we need to think about our next move. We can't just keep wandering around the way that we are."

"I know that. But. This isn't easy," Chase muttered, "This isn't like the time that I had to find my dad, or when I had to find my mom. It's not even close."

He paused for a moment, reminiscing about the past year and the adventures he had with his friends. Despite everything that happened, there were things that helped get him through it all. His friends, his monsuno. Even the fact that he had somewhat of a plan was helpful when facing against all their enemies.

But this time. He couldn't even come up with a plan. He didn't even know where to start!

He looked up and watched his white-haired companion munch away at their lunch. He had been surprisingly patient with Chase, even more so then imagined.

When Chase first started looking for his father, Jinja and Bren had been more then a little upset that he was leading them blindly into danger. But in the end, they knew that as long as they were together things would be fine in the end.

Chase let out a sigh.

However, since he had no clue of where to go, Beyal had been taking the lead for the most part. The few places that they had gone to offered little as far as insight, but he was still trying his best. And that's all Chase could ask for right now.

He wasn't exactly useful at the moment since he left his monsuno behind. But that just left him anxious for the future.

"Well... Maybe you should try to think of this as something other then another monsuno thing," Beyal suddenly said.

"What do you mean? How can this not be another monsuno thing?"

Beyal hesitated, "Well... I mean that it has more to do with yourself, and perhaps finding something else. Something-"

Thunder rolled overhead. They both looked up to the clouds that had suddenly built all around. Chase flinched when a droplet hit his face. Before either of them could say anything, the rain immediately picked up into a downpour. The fire went out in a puff of smoke.

The two of them sat there for a few seconds, listening to the piddle-paddle against the surface of the lake. Chase's thoughts lingered on what Beyal had said.

If it wasn't something that had to do with monsuno, then what was it? His monsuno sight was what had been affected by that meteor shard, that was clear enough. He just needed to figure out how to get it back. Somewhere that would initiate a vision no matter what...

His thoughts immediately went to the underground cavern that he received his first vision.

Slowly, Chase took a deep breath and steadied himself back to his feet.

"I think I know where we need to go," he said resolutely, "We need to find a place like the Valley of the Five Tribes. A place that has an abundance of untouched monsuno energy. Do you know a place like that?"

Beyal raised a brow, and thought for a moment.

"It has to be somewhere that's not like the temple or the cave of convergence, or anywhere that a person can get to," Chase said, rubbing the back of his neck briefly, "Especially if S.T.O.R.M. is trying to find us. We need somewhere that is completely off the radar."

The wind shook the trees, raining down more water at them. Chase shivered, wishing he had bought a coat in the last town they were in.

"There's a place we can go to that is somewhat like the Valley of the Five Tribes... But there's a problem," Beyal said, "I have no clue where it is. The location has been lost for decades..."

The monk trailed off, then looked off to the side. He stared at the empty spot nearby, a habit that he had gotten recently. There were times where Chase had seen the monk talking to the air, and couldn't help but wonder if he was talking to Master Ey. Or worse, Chase's mom.

"... But I think I know someone who does," he said, still watching intensely.

Before either of them could say something, lightning flashed, followed by a loud roar of thunder. The rain started to come down even harder. Chase held a hand up in a lame attempt to keep dry.

"... C'mon. Let's go find somewhere to camp," he said. Beyal nodded, and stood up. He kicked the place where the fire was, making sure that it left as little evidence that they had been there. If the rest of Team Core Tech was looking for them, they needed to be extra cautious since Dax would know their patterns.

And Chase didn't want to take any chances now that S.T.O.R.M. was looking for them again. He knew that they probably meant for the best, given how it was just Jon Ace versus Charlemagne. But he refused to go back until he figured out how to reconnect to his monsuno.

Slowly, they started to make their way towards rockier terrain. Chase shuffled along slowly, Beyal just a few steps behind in case he fell. The raven-haired teen kept his eyes to the ground, just trying to focus on moving himself.

He was focusing so intensely, that he only looked up when he heard Beyal gasp and come to a stop. Looking up, Chase also let out a gasp at the sight of the group in front of him.

"Why hello there, Chase Suno! What brings you here?"

A/N: Review Review review!