Chapter 4, and now it's time for more battles. Warning: More dark elements are revealed.
Chapter 4: Bullying Factor
I was riding on my mecha-beast with the Shane Gang after accomplishing a mission. It was tough, but we managed to win the duel. Those ghoul slugs were difficult to beat.
"Hey Wen Jing, you said you never dueled with Dr. Blakk before until you saved us, but how come your slugs are skillful enough to deal with the ghoul slugs?", Eli asked.
"Well, my slugs always train themselves to be better. They are usually able to predict their opponents' moves and quick to counter their attacks.", I answered and looked down at Glace, Arthur, Cacodemon and Aloe, who were in their slug tubes on my bandolier that was strapped on my chest.
I had encountered ghouls before. Ever since then my slugs are more serious to deal with them, especially poor Aloe. I thought.
"It seems that your slugs really love to fight.", Eli remarked.
"I think so.", I replied and avoided his gaze.
We took a turn and then something unexpected happened: the Shane Gang encountered the HooliGang for the third time.
"Shane?", Billy, the leader of the HooliGang, hissed.
"Billy?", Eli asked in disbelief. He quickly took his blaster and aimed at him.
"We met for the third time, Shane.", Billy hissed as he aimed his blaster at the protector of the 99 Caverns. "Last time we were humiliated in the video on the Slugnet, and we want payback!", he added.
"Oh come on, Billy! At least you became a star for a while.", Trixie explained.
"Yeah right, more like making us look dumb!", he retorted.
I knew who the HooliGang were. They used to work for Dr. Blakk and wreck havoc in Quiet Lawn Cavern. The Shane Gang came in and Eli easily defeated Billy in their first duel in spite of Eli's severely damaged blaster. What angered me the most was when Billy tried to kill Doc, thinking he was useless. That part made Aloe growled angrily and she really wanted Billy to be covered in bruises for trying to harm her lover. Luckily Eli was there to save his life and let him joined the team. After Burpy managed to defeat the HooliGang, they retreated and returned with ghoul slugs given by Dr. Blakk. However, the Shane Gang managed to defeat them again with some teamwork and Doc's healing power. They were fired by Dr. Blakk and they dueled with the heroes again when they were in a theater. Trixie once showed me her video of the HooliGang in action. I found it very funny, especially at the end when she tricked them into getting close to a Slyren slug, which then proceeded to put them to sleep.
"Hey, I know you.", Billy said and I realized that he had noticed me. "You are the four eyes girl in the Slugnet! I have watched the video that you defeated the Shane with only one shot.", he added in a nasty tone. I resisted my temper.
"So you have seen it, blondie.", I replied with a lack of respect.
"Totally! And I think it is nothing more than a piece of junk! You were just faking and Eli Shane was only letting you win so you won't get humiliated on the net.", Billy said loudly.
"Oh she's not faking, alright! She even took me down with only one shot!", Kord protested.
"Pronto agrees. She even gave me a taste of my stinker slug too! And it was horrible!", Pronto added.
"Yeah, not even I could defeat her!", Trixie exclaimed.
"You don't want to mess with her, Billy. I warn you, she can really take you down at least one shot.", Eli tried to warn Billy but to no avail.
"Yeah right, you guys are just trying to scare us. I don't think she could even sling a slug against anyone. She is small and weak. And as a nerd, she can only study slugs for her own useless knowledge.", Billy insulted.
Those words were like knives that stabbed at my heart. I could not hold back my rage anymore.
"THAT'S IT!", I yelled angrily, startling everyone. "If that's how you think of me, I am SO NOT COOL WITH IT!", I raised my voice as I jumped down from my mecha-beast and approached the rude blonde boy. I activated my right hand blaster. The lid popped up and shiny blades that were attached to it came out. I used them to point directly at Billy's chin. "If you want to duel with me, then fine, I accept your challenge.", I lowered my voice into a threatening tone.
The Shane Gang looked at me in horror, while Billy smirked. "Well, someone's talking. I will like to see you pounded to the ground and cried like a baby.", he said nastily as he walked toward his friends, Shorty and Glasses.
"Whoa, whoa. You really wanted to duel with him?", Kord asked me concernedly.
"I have been bullied for the rest of my life. I want revenge.", I answered angrily.
"Don't worry, Wen Jing. We got your back. If anything goes wrong, we will help you.", Eli comforted.
"Thanks Eli.", I said and went to rearrange my slug tubes for the duel.
I took a closer look at the slug arsenal of the HooliGang. They owned many Hop Rocks, some Flaringos, Rammstones and Frostcrawlers, along with a few uncommon slugs.
I took the slug tube with Aloe out of my bandolier that was strapped on my chest. "I'm sorry, Aloe. I can't use you in this duel. They don't use ghouls. I hope you understand.", I said to her. Aloe pulled out a sad face first, but then nodded. She hopped out of her slug tube and was replaced with Shuizhu, my AquaBeek. Aloe entered another slug tube and I put her into my backpack. I turned to my bandolier that was strapped around my waist. I chose Diandian, Jinjin, Bingbing, Gongyang, Arachne, Tengteng, Juetu and Zuanshi to use in the duel. I checked my remaining 22 slugs in my backpack. "Ready, guys?", I asked them and they nodded.
Billy and I walked toward a clear space for the duel. Shorty and Glasses followed Billy, while the Shane Gang followed me. Billy and I stood in our positions, ready for the duel.
"Let's see how you can beat my Flaringo.", Billy said as he loaded his Flaringo into his blaster.
"Then let's see whether I can try.", I replied as I loaded Shuizhu into my right hand blaster. I also loaded Arachne into my left hand blaster.
"Ready? Duel!", he shouted and shot his Flaringo. It transformed into a bass covered with flames. I shot Shuizhu and she transformed into a dolphin with tentacles of an octopus. She used Aquajet and squirted a jet of water like a fire hose toward the Flaringo. The water immediately put out the fire of the Flaringo, defeating it. The water also pushed Billy backwards with great force.
Billy quickly stood up and fired his Rammstone toward me. It transformed into a red ram with giant blue horns and fists. I quickly shot Arachne and she transformed into a giant purple spider. She used Flashnet and spun a big net like web. She used it to wrap up the Rammstone and disable it. They fell to the ground.
Billy growled and he shot his Lavalynx. It transformed to look like an Armashelt in velocity but without the pincers. The Shane Gang looked at horror. Eli remembered that how dangerous could a Lavalynx be.
I quickly loaded Zuanshi and shot her to the ground. The cute yellow slug with a light green back that was covered in pastel green crystals, transformed into a larger, more vicious-looking version of herself. She used Domenator and created a nearly impervious crystal dome of protection around me. The crystal dome was fully created just in time before it collided with the Lavalynx. The lava caused no damage to the dome. Billy was confused.
"Come out, scary cat! I haven't finish you yet!", Billy shouted and shot a Hop Rock toward the dome. The explosion did not damage it. Billy became frustrated and shot another Hop Rock toward it. He tried to destroy the dome but to no avail.
While in the crystal dome, I loaded my Diggrix, Juetu into my right hand blaster. I shot him and he transformed into a yellow four hands creature with a blue armour covered with rocks. He used Trenchwar and dug along the surface. I ran along the tunnel that he created as I loaded Arthur into my right hand blaster.
The Shane Gang noticed the long trench forming across the ground. The HooliGang, however, did not notice it as they were too busy shooting slugs toward my crystal dome. Juetu dug up the ground and hopped out of the hole. He turned back into his protoform when he landed on the ground. I took a peak around the surroundings and came out when it was safe.
Billy turned around and saw me behind him and his friends in a distance. "Get her!", he ordered his friends. Shorty and Glasses shot their Hop Rocks toward me, while I shot Arthur to counter their attacks. He transformed into a western dragon wearing a shining armour, and his eyes were shielded with metal. Arthur detected the incoming Hop Rocks and he moved upwards, avoiding them before a collision could form. Then, using Backfiregrab, he used his sharp claws to grab the tails of the Hop Rocks, and threw them toward Shorty and Glasses. The Hop Rocks collided with their slingers, knocking them off the ground. Arthur continued to fly toward the HooliGang and used Bombardbay against them. The eyeball liked bombs at his belly fell off directly toward them. An explosion occurred and could be seen afar. When the smoke cleared out, the Shane Gang and I saw the dazed Shorty and Glasses who then collapsed to the ground. Billy was still standing.
"We are not finish, nerd girl!", he shouted. "I still have one more Hop Rock.", he added and pointed his blaster at me.
"Take your best shot, blondie!", I yelled back and loaded Glace into my right hand blaster.
He shot his last Hop Rock toward me and it transformed. I shot Glace and she transformed into a white and gray dolphin with an indestructible spiky ice armour. She used Chillwhack and used the spiky ball on the tip of her tail to whack the incoming Hop Rock. Then, she used Freezjet and squirted a jet of freezing water toward Billy. The freezing water pushed Billy backwards with great force, and sending him into a non-stop shiver.
Shorty and Glasses woke up and saw their leader, who was shivering non-stop. "Don't... just... stand there... pull... me... up!", he ordered in between shivers. They turned to look at me when they heard a slug fired. I fired Cacodemon and he transformed into an appearance of a hideous zombie. He activated Frightningrod and hit the HooliGang. The overwhelming, uncontrollable fright response was gaining effect on them. I approached them and growled at them. They screamed in horror. Shorty and Glasses pulled Billy away forcefully from me as they all tried to get away from me. I shot my Vinedrill, Tengteng and he collided with the ground. He used Tendrella and vines grew from where he had hit. The vines bound the HooliGang and tossed them afar. They shouted before bangs were heard from afar.
"They will be fine, just plenty of pain.", I said.
My slugs hopped back to me, happy of their victory. "Amazing work, guys!", I praised my slugs as I deactivated my blasters. I grabbed the empty slug tubes from my bandoliers one by one. My slugs hopped into the slug tubes and I placed them back to their original positions.
"You are amazing back there, Wen Jing! That shows some guts!", Eli praised.
"Yup, and I got it all in my camera.", Trixie said and she stopped the recording. "I can't wait to see how people think once I post this on the Slugnet.", she added excitedly.
"Uh, Wen Jing, when you said that you had been bullied for the rest of your life and wanted revenge, is that related to your past?", Eli asked.
"I was always been bullied ever since I was young. Back at the Surface, I was constantly been bullied by my classmates, and many people. Then, I switched to use anger instead of tears to protect myself, and that's why I became very hot-tempered.", I explained quietly.
"Sounds like you have a temper similar to a cave troll rage.", Kord commented.
"Yeah. I am trying to control my temper but it is not easy. I still get bullied even though I am living here now.", I said.
"I'm sorry.", Eli apologized.
"That's okay. Perhaps we do know how that feels like.", I replied sadly.
"So, with your slugslinging skills, you can duel with your bullies, right?", Trixie asked.
"Yes, and I really want to see them covered in black eyes, bleeding cuts and bruises for what they have done to me, no matter where they are, from the Surface or Slugterra!", I said angrily. The Shane Gang gave me awkward and horrified stares. "Um, sorry about my violent thinking. I just got too enraged with it.", I coughed and apologized.
It was better when I was living in my second home. Now everything is a mess. I thought.
Descriptions of my slugs introduced in this chapter.
Jinjin: A common female Armashelt. Her Chinese name is "金金", which means 'gold' or 'metal'. She is a gift from my uncle. Jinjin is competitive and always trains herself to be the best. She has a bold personality and a more boyish behavior. She and Arthur are like friendly rivals, and they spend most of their free time competing to see who is a better fighter.
Bingbing: A common female Frostcrawler. Her Chinese name is "冰冰", which means 'ice'. I found her when I was in a frozen Northern cavern. Bingbing looks cold on the outside, but she is actually very warm on the inside. When you get to know her more, you will find that she is very thoughtful and selfless.
Tengteng: An uncommon male Vinedrill. His Chinese name is "藤藤", which means 'veins'. I managed to capture him from the wild. Tengteng is mature and caring. He is a nature lover, and he takes great care on plants. He loves flowers very much and always takes note of their health.
Juetu: A common male Diggrix. His Chinese name is "掘土", which means 'dig earth'. I managed to capture him from the wild. Juetu is helpful in saving me from trapped places by digging an exit.
It is an irony that Aloe has a violent mind despite she is a healer slug. And about the bullying and the temper were true to me, but now I no longer get bullied and I am not hot-tempered anymore.
And again the thoughts, more clues are revealed.
