Evening had come by the time the trio of riders had reached the end of the entry road, and Junjie looked up at the building they were approaching in curious apprehension.

It was far larger than he had expected. From what Perry and Lenny had said, he had assumed that the night's stopping point would be another empty slug wrangler shack, rather than the structure that stood out from the vegetation surrounding it as though it had been randomly slapped there.

It was a house. One made for a family to live in. That much was certain. And considering how it had three stories, a balcony on the top floor, the roof of the garage obviously made for accommodation (judging by the deck chairs and table) and the second building off to one side that was either an expensive shed or a second living space, the family it was built for was rather large.

"So this is where we'll be staying tonight?" he asked as a request for clarification.

"Aye, this is it," Perry confirmed. "Pretty impressive, eh?"

"I think it would be a good idea if Perry and I went in and explained the situation before you're introduced," Lenny suggested as she dismounted. "Don't worry about parking; I'll make sure our mechas are moved into the garage."

"Understood," Junjie said with a nod.

Perry dismounted, and she gave her male companion a sly smile before she and her friend entered the house. Junjie saw the window in the upper third of the door light up and heard Lenny calling for anyone there to respond.

Still curious, Junjie cautiously approached the door.

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A thrill of terror shot down his spine when he heard the shout, and he ran to look through the window with a cold sweat growing on his forehead.

"AH!" Perry shouted. "Crivens, Kenny, calm your tits!"

She was held aloft in the arms of... no, it wasn't a troll. His body structure was far too evenly proportioned for him to be a troll. He was just a very tall, very muscular human who just so happened to have a shock of vivid red hair and skin the same shade of blue as Lenny's. When he put Perry down, Junjie saw that he was grinning and wearing a bright red shirt with two white interlocked Bs printed on the chest.

"I knew you two would come back!" he said as he joyfully pulled Lenny into a gentler hug. "I kept saying to Mum, I said you'd both be fine!"

"Yes, yes, we're both fine!" Lenny pushed herself out of her grip.

Then, from elsewhere in the house, there was a second, far higher-pitched scream:

"LENNYPERRYLENNYPERRYLENNYPERRYLENNYPERRYYOU'REBACKYOU'REBACKYOU'REBACKYOU'REBACKYOU'REBACK!"

A bright blue blur shot down the stairs and almost bowled the two young women over, and once they had steadied themselves, Junjie saw that it was a teenager who stood at least half a foot shorter than Lenny. Her hair was the same shade of pale purple and pulled into a ponytail on the left side of her head, and Junjie noticed that while her skin was primarily the same shade of blue again - a deeper shade than the dress she wore - she was covered in blotches of a paler, far more human-looking tone.

"Henny, watch it!" Perry warned, though she was smiling all the same. "You almost went and knocked me over!"

"Are you glad to see us, Hen?" asked Lenny.

"Glad to see you?" said Kenny. "She's barely shut up since you left!"

"I was scared you might now come back!" Henny cried as she buried herself in Lenny's chest.

Now Junjie understood. This was Lenny's family. This was her home.

As he watched, a middle aged woman entered the hallway. Her hair was the same shade of purple as Lenny and Henny's if somewhat paler, though her skin was a dark shade of a far more human brown.

"It's nice to see you haven't got my daughter killed yet, Perry," she commented.

"Mum!" Lenny sighed.

"Mama Cathleen!" Perry added, and the two of them walked over to hug her.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" the woman responded, and she hugged them both in return. "And you're both just in time. We've finished dinner and I was about to dish up, so-"

"Do I hear the sounds of my favourite young ladies come home?"

Somehow the voice managed to be booming, yet calm and comforting, and Junjie had to blink several times to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him and the newcomer wasn't just a walking mass of hair. It was easily the tallest man he had ever seen - taller than a troll, even - and his blue face was barely visible under the flaming red beard that reached all the way down to his knees. He entered with a beaming smile and wide arms, and welcomed both of the young women into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you, Dad!" said Lenny.

"Hey, Papa Rhys!" Perry said, just as happy.

"And it's good to know you two can take time out of keeping us helpless citizens safe just to come home for a family supper," said Mrs Harper.

"Didn't you once kill a bloke with your thighs?" asked Perry.

Mrs Harper shrugged dismissively.

"And besides," Lenny interjected, still hugging her father around his sizable waist, "we were actually looking to stay the night-"

"EXCELLENT!" Mr Harper lifted his daughter up into the air in his hands as she yelped in shock. "It's been far too long since you both stopped with us!"

"Aye," Perry said weakly, seemingly intimidated by the massive man's equally massive strength. "And, uh-"

"Mum, there's some guy looking through the door!"

Far too late, Junjie noticed the youngest female - Henny, apparently - had walked over to the door at some point and was staring right at him.

"I was going to say," Perry said as Lenny was set down, and Kenny walked over to glare at Junjie's face, "we did manage to find a bloke who'd help us and-"

"Mum!" Henny spoke up again. "Mum, he's cute, what should I do?"

Junjie felt blood rush to his face in torrents.

"Well?" Mrs Harper said pointedly. "What should we do?"

Perry looked to Junjie with a smile.


"Alright, folks, dig in!"

At Mrs Harper's command, the family leaped into life. Ladles were snatched up with a surprisingly small amount of argument and bowls quickly began to fill, but all Junjie could think of to do was shift in his seat, ever so slightly.

"Better dig in before it's all gone, lad," Perry recommended from where she was seated next to him. "Mama Cathleen's cooking is the best in the whole cavern."

She picked up her own bowl and reached for a ladle.

Junjie found himself staring at the spread. The huge bowl in the centre of the table was brimming with rice, though quickly diminishing thanks to the hungry family, with peas and shreds of carrot poking up between the grains. The steam wafting up from the heap carried with it a delectable scent of cooked cereal and subtle herbs, though not nearly as delicious-smelling as the smaller bowls that surrounded it. One, which Perry was eagerly taking from, contained chunks of chicken in an orange sauce that smelled spicy and hot, and another was filled with chopped up chunks of sausage and bacon and thin slices of mushroom. A third was filled with chicken in a rich, steaming gravy, and a fourth was filled with beef in a richer though equally steaming gravy, while a fifth contained chopped up vegetables - carrots, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and the like - that gave off a smell of herbs nowhere near as subtle as the rice.

Not wanting to feel left out, he reached for a ladle in the main rice bowl once one was available and scooped himself a spoonful. Deciding to go for a simpler option, he chose the chicken in gravy to complete his meal, though a small voice in the back of his mind told him that he should sample a little from each at least once because this was a bigger meal than he'd seen in the entirety of his time in the 99 Caverns.

As he mixed his meal together, Mr Harper and Kenny became deeply engaged in boisterous conversation about some sport called slugby, while Lenny spoke with her mother about the adventures the trio had been through so far and Perry was sniggering at something. When Junjie looked, he saw that she was laughing at Henny, who was staring at him with stars in her eyes.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked.

"Can I please draw you?" the girl sighed dreamily.

"Best to agree to it," Perry informed him, "or else she won't stop bugging you."

"Um..." Junjie still felt uncomfortable. "...alright, I suppose-"

Henny dissolved into helpless squeals.

"Eat up, lad!" Perry spoke like a teenager hadn't just semi-died right next to her. "Don't want your nosh to get cold, do you?"

Hoping that he hadn't done something wrong, Junjie spooned a portion of his chicken-and-rice into his mouth.

He clapped a hand to his lips as the flavours washed over his tongue. The chicken was soft, tender, juicy and succulent, only enhanced by the herbs and spices of the gravy, while the rice was soft and seemed to melt in his mouth, blended with the hint of sweetness from the peas and shredded carrot. It was like there was a party in his mouth; the type with rich gowns and tuxedos and silver platters with glasses of wine and platefuls of cheese and salami on toothpicks being carried around by smart waiters, and a full orchestra providing music as graceful guests whiled away the evening with each other on the dance floor.

As he chewed, turning the ocean of herb, grain and meat over and over in his mouth, he noticed Perry watching him with anticipation.

"So?" she said when he'd finally swallowed.

"It's..." Somehow he felt as though smiling was appropriate. "It's incredible. I can't think of any other way to put it."

"Nice," Perry said. "Oi! Mama Cathleen!"

The eyes of Lenny and her mother turned to the enthusiastic slinger.

"Junjie says he loves your cooking!" she said happily.

"Well, of course he does," Mrs Harper said proudly. "If he didn't, I wouldn't think he was very sensible."

"So how long do you plan to hang onto this one, P?" asked Kenny.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Perry blatantly lied as she spooned up more of her dinner.

"Yes you bloody do!" Kenny retorted and prompted a useless warning of "Language!" from his mother. "I was wondering when you'd get your seventh. Is he going to be your last or will you dump him and move on to some other bloke? 'Coz if it's option A, you'd better marry him before you hit 25 or else I owe Benny ten quid!"

"Are you and Benny taking bets on when my best friend is going to get married?" Lenny demanded as Perry almost choked and Junjie once again failed to hide his blush.

"You'd better listen here, matey." Mr Harper pointed a thick, sausage-like finger at Junjie's face. "I've known Periwinkle long enough for her to become like a daughter to me, so you'd better treat her better than some of her other boyfriends or else-"

"We ain't dating!" Perry cried after swallowing her mouthful. "I brought him over from the West so's he could help me take down the scuggans-"

"Language!"

"-what're hurting our home caverns!"

"Could've fooled me," Kenny snarked. "You've been gazing at him half the evening!"

"I was waiting to see what he thought of Mama Cathleen's cooking, you numpty!" Perry replied.

"I think I should say that Perry and I are not dating," Junjie interjected, and raised his hand so that he would definitely be noticed. "Nor do either of us have any interest in initiating that sort of relationship. As of now, we are in an arrangement of professionalism and with any luck, it shall remain that way. And yes, Mrs Harper, your cooking is fantastic."

"You're very polite," Mrs Harper said proudly.

"Thank you," Junjie replied with a pleasant smile.

As the dinnertime returned to semi-normality, Junjie couldn't avoid noticing Henny eagerly exchanging whispers with her brother, and both of them occasionally glancing at him and sniggering. He tried not to pay to much attention: he was a stranger to these people after all. There were bound to be all sorts of questions about him.

"You still haven't told us where you're from, Junjie," said Mrs Harper. "I understand that Periwinkle found you in the West, but by the looks of you, I doubt that's where you're from."

"Please, Mum, don't be rude," Lenny sighed.

"No, it would be ruder to forcefully ignore it," Junjie said. "It's true. I am a native of the Eastern Caverns. The circumstances that brought be to the 99 Caverns are complex and somewhat unfortunate, and not the sort that could be detailed around a dinner table."

"You got slugby in the East?" Kenny said suddenly, and for the first time the slinger noticed something glinting in his mouth.

"Slugby?" Junjie was baffled. "I don't believe I've heard of the sport."

"'Course you haven't," said Mr Harper. "I'm betting all you have is that sissy slugball those bloody Western buggers are all so proud of."

"Dad, how many times?" Lenny sighed in exasperation. "People can get seriously hurt playing slugball!"

"If they have to wear all that padding, those buggers must get seriously hurt washing their faces in the morning," said Mr Harper, causing Henny to giggle.

"Slugby is so much better than slugball," Kenny said enthusiastically. "There's none of that annoying armour, so those traps do way more damage, and there's none of those silly boards or mechabeasts either. It's just you, your team, the ball and whatever slugs you can carry with you onto the field to beat down the other team."

"And they move around on special hoverboots rather than boards or vehicles," Lenny explained. "It's pretty dangerous. Kenny lost his arm the first time he played it."

"But I had it numbered so they stuck it right back on!" Kenny said, and he pulled up a sleeve to show off a scar that ran around his shoulder and armpit.

"Couldn't get your tooth back though, could they?" asked Perry.

"That's true," Kenny admitted. "Hey Junjie, want to know why they call me Kenny Bluetooth?"

"I must confess the thought never occurred to me," Junjie said.

Before he had a chance to respond, Kenny reached into his mouth and pulled out the glinting thing the slinger had noticed earlier. When he held it out, Junjie saw that it was a sapphire; one that had been carefully cut and intricately carved into the shape of a tooth.

"Kenny, I thought I told you not to pull your tooth out at the dinner table!" Mrs Harper scolded.

"Yes, Mum," Kenny sighed sadly, and he pressed the prosthetic back into his gums. Junjie considered that only here and in his strangest dreams would Mrs Harper's order ever make any sort of sense.

"Don't let him brainwash you, JJ," Perry warned. "All these sporties are numbskulls-"

"Thanks, Benny," Kenny said flatly.

"You got a full team already!" Perry objected. "You don't need to go roping this bloke in before you even know his last name!"

"I'm not sure if I have a last name to learn," Junjie said.

"Just don't worry about it, lad," said Perry. "You thirsty?"

"A little," said Junjie.

"Right," Perry said with a smile. "Oi Kenny, when you're done nattering about slugby, could you pass the juice?"


"Here you are!" Mrs Harper cheerfully said as she rested the bowl down. "And there's more than enough to go around, so make sure you share amongst yourselves. I'm looking at you, Fury."

The cinnabar Infurnus hissed at the woman while the rest of the slingers' armouries dug into the salad.

"I"m sorry we put you through so much trouble," Junjie said as he struggled to say comfortable.

"Don't worry about it, dear," Mrs Harper said calmly as she sat down on the couch. "Tonight was fairly average as family dinners go, so you needn't fear a thing."

"Keep still!" Henny insisted, and Junjie quickly looked back in her direction.

He was beginning to grow a little nervous. This girl had been sketching for almost a quarter of an hour and from what he could tell, she still wasn't anywhere near finished.

"Is it normal for you to take this long?" he asked.

"Yes," Henny snapped.

"She's always been weird," Kenny said as he sat down next to his mother, who frowned in his direction. "Always been obsessed with drawing. Be glad she's only after a sketch."

"At least the talent she's pursuing doesn't involve sweat and violence," Mrs Harper pointed out.

"Cathy!" Mr Harper shouted from the kitchen. "Where do we keep the scouring pads?"

"They're under the sink, Rhys!" Mrs Harper responded. "They've always been under the sink!"

"Last I checked, they were in the bottom drawer!"

"It was to keep them away from the ants!"

Junjie tried to ignore the discussion and focus on keeping still. He didn't want to meditate or use his Slug Fu to keep still, because if he entered a trance there was a good chance everybody in the room would be creeped out, and he didn't want to leave a bad impression on his new friend's family.

"Where did Perry and Lenny go?" he asked.

"They're in the garden," Mrs Harper told him. "Lenny wanted to study some of the slugs there, so Perry decided to tag along."

"I tell you," said Kenny, "if I'd known they were going to be glued to each other like that, I wouldn't have let them meet in the first place! Oh, and by the way, I moved your mechas into the garage so's nobody thinks they can nick them."

"...thank you," said Junjie.

"Done!" Henny said cheerfully, and she turned her sketchbook around. "What do you think?"

Junjie was impressed. From what he had seen of this girl so far, he had expected some abstract childish scribbling, but what he saw was an amazingly detailed sketch of his visage, right down to the glint in his eye from the lounge room's lights and the subtle shine on his hair. She'd even individually drawn every single hair in his eyebrows.

"Wow," he couldn't avoid saying.

"You like it?!" Henny asked happily.

"Of course," he replied. "I hadn't expected... you have a lot of talent."

She clutched the sketchbook to her chest and fell over backwards, lying flat on the floor, with a breathless giggle.

Junjie stared in confused concern.

"Don't worry about her," said Kenny. "She got like this when she met my teammates."

"She seemed to take a particular shine to Ruthless, didn't she?" asked Mrs Harper.

"Yeah, well, she's sensible!" said Kenny. "Even I think we wouldn't be half the team we were without Ruthless on our side."

Before Junjie had a chance to ask who this Ruthless person was and why they were so valuable, the door burst open and Perry came charging into the room.

"Come on, lad!" she exclaimed, and seized him around the wrist.

"What- hey!" Junjie was stunned as he was dragged to his feet.

He knew that he was more than strong enough to shake her off, and do so without any difficulty or risk to either of them, but his still-lingering curiosity prevented him from doing so and he let himself be pulled through the kitchen, past the still-cleaning Mr Harper who watched them pass with amusement, and out into the back garden. Once there, he decided enough was enough, and tugged his wrist out of her grip.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"Perry, hurry!" Lenny was sitting right at the end of the garden, just beyond the edge of the forest that surrounded the house. "Come quickly, they'll be starting any second!"

"You'll like this," Perry said, and Junjie followed her as she power-walked over to where Lenny sat, clutching a camera in her lap and eyeing the trees around them with anticipation written across her face.

It would have seemed rude just to demand an explanation, so Junjie waited for whatever was so fascinating to show itself.

Half a minute passed.

Nothing happened.

"What are we-" Junjie started, but was quickly shushed.

Still nothing happened.

Then, between the trees, he noticed a faint glow.

It grew stronger as he approached, wondering what it could be, and then another appeared in the corner of his eye. And another, on his other side.

He looked closer and saw that it was a little slug, curled into a ball. It was difficult to tell with how brightly it was glowing, but the top of its head and its feelers were blue, and along its body it faded to white, then yellow, then orange and finally red at the end of its tail. It hadn't noticed him. Perhaps it was too focused on its heat and glow, and there certainly was heat: he had to be careful not to get too close, else his nose would probably have burned.

When he finally took his eyes away, he saw that he and the trees that surrounded him were almost thick with the little slugs, breaking the darkness apart and bathing it in warmth and light that daytime alone could never hope to accomplish. Leaves and branches that hung too close to the hovering creatures were blackening and curling into embers, yet not erupting into flames as he feared they might. Perhaps it was the magic of the slugs preventing it? He didn't know and couldn't find it in himself to care. He hadn't seen anything as stunning as this since he had lost his homelands.

"What's..." He couldn't find the words to express what he was seeing or feeling.

"Me and Lenny call them Firefloaters," Perry said as she walked up beside him. "Pretty boring, I know, but she came up with it when she were wee and it just stuck. Don't know if there's any more proper names for them and to be honest I don't give a smeg."

Junjie had no idea what he was supposed to say. He hadn't expected such an amazing spectacle to stem from such a cold and seemingly hostile climate.

"They do this every three months or so," explained Perry, and she sat down on the forest floor. "Lenny says it's a mating thing. They make themselves as hot as possible to show off how great they are and they end up glowing and floating. Since these things are so hot they can fly unaided, don't go touching them."

"I wasn't going to," Junjie said numbly.

He sat down next to her, gazing up at the surrounding glows in an overwhelming sense of wonderment.

"I've heard tales of the Burning World," he said, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the Firefloaters more than was necessary. "How the cavern roof stretches high enough to the point that it isn't even visible with the most powerful telescope, and it's covered in distant glimmering lights that the natives of that world call stars."

He found himself unable to avoid smiling as he raised his hand to one of the slugs. Not to touch it. Just close enough to feel its warmth on his fingers.

"I've never wondered what it would be like to sit among those stars," he said, "but somehow I imagine it wouldn't be so different from this."

Perry smiled too.

"I know what you mean, lad," she said. "Whenever they come up and do this, it's like something out of a dream. Almost doesn't feel real. You just..."

When Junjie looked to her, he saw her eyes were sparkling in the light of the near-innumerable glows.

"...you feel like you could reach up and touch them," she sighed. "Or like if you concentrated long or hard enough, you could start glowing yourself, and then you could float up and join them. I mean, I know that's pretty dumb, but-"

"It's not dumb," said Junjie. "You're right. It's like a dream."

He looked back up at the trees.

"One where you don't ever want to wake up."

He still couldn't stop smiling. At a time and place like this, to not feel as if he was enjoying himself would just have been strange.

Time was passing. Seconds or minutes could be ticking by. For all they knew, they could be sitting there for the rest of their lives, but as long as the beauty of Slugterra continued in this manner, neither of the slingers could bring themselves to care how long they sat there as they drank in the forest and its illuminating splendor.

"It sucks how they only do this for about an hour," Perry commented. "You just want it to go on forever, don't you?"

Not wanting to ruin anything by speaking any more than he needed to, Junjie nodded in response.

It was true. He didn't want it to end. He knew it had to eventually - surely they couldn't hold themselves up forever - but part of his mind wanted them to stay there. To never lose their glow or drift back down to the ground.

Still curious, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and reached out with his mind to the silent Firefloaters.

They were... happy. Happy to be airborne and releasing their light and warmth. And they were determined. Each was determined to generate as much heat and light as they possibly could, knowing that doing so would guarantee them company and the likelihood of propagating their species. Junjie had never known slugs to agree on anything so unanimously before, but from what he could tell, these little creatures were enjoying their spectacle just as much as he and his companions were.

When he returned to his own mind and opened his eyes, he noticed an unfamiliar weight on his shoulder that hadn't been there before. Upon investigating,he found that Perry had rested her head on his shoulder.

And it...

...it wasn't uncomfortable.

Or unpleasant.

It was...

...nice.

He looked back to the scene around them, comforted by her presence, and watched as the Firefloaters flew ever higher and brighter in the trees.


"Okay," Lenny said. "Thanks, Ben. See you later."

She put the receiver down.

"So Benny's going to stop off at Perry's place on his way home," she explained. "'Coz if we are going up to Fogfall Island, much as I hate the idea, we're going to need some gear to protect us from the cold."

"Good," said Perry, and she rubbed her eyes. "In the meantime, we should get a bit of sleep, don't you think?"

"Is there a spare room?" asked Junjie.

"I checked Denny's old room, but that's been given over to storage," said Lenny. "You two will have to share Benny's room. It's on the top floor on the left from the stairs."

"We won't have to share a bed again, will we?" Junjie asked.

"No, I'll fetch a camp bed," Lenny said. "Give me some time to set it up, it won't take long."

Relieved, Junjie walked back into the lounge room, where through the window he could see some of the Firefloaters still drifting between the trees, unaware that the mating display was mostly over and done with (either that or they were still desperately holding out for a fellow straggler to notice them).

"I'm guessing you'd never seen Firefloaters before," said Perry.

"I don't think they dwelt in the East," Junjie explained. "If I've seen them in Eli's 99 Caverns, I seem to have forgotten them."

"Looks like you've got quite a bit still left to learn, eh?" Perry wandered over to where he stood. "Bet you haven't even seen a Chroma slug yet."

Junjie gave her a questioning look.

"I'll take that as a 'no I haven't'," Perry said with a smile.

"I understand that I'm older than you," Junjie said, "but that doesn't mean I've seen absolutely everything the world has to offer. And isn't it the knowledge that there will always be new knowledge that makes life worth living?"

"What're you, a gravestone?" Perry asked with a giggle.

Junjie gave her a glare.

"But aye, you're right," Perry said. "I'm always learning new stuff. Like how annoying it is when a floor is too slippery for you to properly slide on. Or how much it can hurt when you practically get your hand torn in half."

She looked down, wistful, at her right hand.

"Long story," she added, flexing her fingers.

Not wanting to continue that conversation, Junjie sat back down on the couch and tried to ignore how quiet this house was now that almost everybody had gone to bed.

"It's almost the same when you relearn something," he said. "I spent so long fighting alone, almost acting as a commander, that I forgot what it was to accept aid from others, or to give aid in return. I'm lucky that Eli and his friends were able to remind me what it was to act in a team."

"Eh, it's all new to me," Perry said as she flopped down beside him. "We McLindens have almost always been lone wolves. I have Lenny with me a lot of the time, but that's about it. All the rest is just me."

Junjie nodded.

He understood.

"Come on, lad," Perry said as she quickly got up again, leaving questions as to why she bothered sitting down in the first place. "Lenny should've set up by now, so we'd better turn in. Going to have to leave not long after Benny gets back, you ken?"

"I ken," Junjie said.

Perry looked proud as punch as she trotted towards the stairs, and Junjie allowed himself a satisfied smile before he got up to follow her.


The little wooden boat rocked unsteadily in the water, disturbed by the currents beneath the surface, and as d'Artagnan got in they worried that it would capsize.

"It's alright," Athos said. "Take my hand."

She offered her hand, and d'Artagnan fearfully took it. As they lowered themself down, the boat continued rocking, and it was only once both of them were seated that the teen began to relax.

"Now pass me the oars," Athos ordered. "It's a long way rowing to Fogfall Island and we'll have to take turns. I'll go first, but I'll expect you to be prepared to take over, alright?"

"Alright," d'Artagnan said weakly, and passed up the oars that were stashed in the bottom of the boat.

As their elder sister began to row, d'Artagnan looked back at the shore, knowing with a growing certainty that they might never get to see it again.