1000 years ago
The caverns were covered in snow, cold wind blew through the quiet cave, a glimmering light shone from the cave as troops marched towards the cave. A fine woman, with long grey hair, wearing long blue robes walked down the huge Mecha Beast, stepping into the thick snow. She looked fairly young, with a faint blue in her eyes and a sharp chin. She walked forward and the people before her immediately kneel before her.
"Your majesty!" they quickly said, bowing.
The woman nodded coldly. "So… the news is true," she said as she slowly walked towards what used to be a gateway, now the bottom half just remained, shining faintly.
"Indeed, your Majesty," the man beside her said.
"Who is the person that is supposed to be in charge of protecting this last gateway!?" the woman shouted in anger, with rage that made the people around her tremble.
"My queen, it is I," another man came forward. He was scared.
"Do you have any idea what you did General?" asked the woman, a stern cold look on her face.
"I- I am sorry…" the man stuttered as he knelt before the woman.
"This was the last gateway to the other caverns… I have entrusted you to keep it safe, out of the hands of the rebels! And now! We are stuck here, unable to expand the mighty Northern Empire… Cut off from the rest of the caverns!" the woman bellowed, making the man twitch as he looked at the floor.
"Please… my queen… I will find those rebels… and kill them for you…please… I have a family…" the man pleaded.
The lady just looked at the man coldly, grabbing him by his throat as her hand began to glow. "An example must be set… to what happens to those… who don't deliver more than once… multiple failures… are not acceptable…" The woman growled as her eyes glowed blue.
"No… please… I-" The skin of the man began to wrinkle as if life was being sucked away from him. Then, there was a soft thud as the woman let go of him, letting the corpse fall to the ground.
The Ice Queen scoffed as she looked at the body was her body glowed blue. "Weak." She looked around, knowing that the rebels couldn't have gotten far. "Now… Find them!" the Ice Queen shouted and the soldiers around her quickly got to work.
Unknown to them, someone was watching from the darkness of a small hole in the walls of the caverns, spying on them, a man, who quickly crawled back into the darkness.
"Lena," the man said as he ran through the forests, towards a group of people.
"What is it?" asked the woman as she turned and looked at the man.
"We… succeeded," the man said pantingly.
Lena paused, looking at her daughter in her hand. "Perhaps… for the best," the woman sighed. "Let's continue, towards the Hidden Cavern."
Present Day
THE NORTHERN CAVERNS
The blinding flash of light finally died down, as Eli rode out of the light. In front of him was a group of people, with a man standing right in front, their leader presumably.
"Are we here?" asked Trixie as she rode out of the portal with Mei and Junjie behind her.
"W- we are," Junjie said as he looked around.
"Uhm…" Eli said unsurely as he looked around in front of him. The people in front of them were looking at them, glaring at them. "Why uhmm… Hello there!" Eli waved. "We are visitors fr-"
"Hands up and drop your weapons," the man leading the troops said, prompting the others to raise their blasters at Eli and the others.
"Oh, Floppers…" Eli groaned as he raised his hands slowly.
Junjie looked around, there were like a dozen slingers in the small cave. The slug fu master looked at Joo-Joo, on his shoulder. The Infurnus chirped softly and pointed down. Junjie then looked down, he saw the Fire Elemental in his slug barrel, nodding. The orange-yellow slug nodded, jumping out of the barrel and into his wrist blaster.
"Quickly! Drop it!" the man shouted now.
"Get down!" Junjie shouted as he shot the Fire Elemental right at the man in front of him. Flying over Eli's head. He quickly pressed his palm together before pushing his hands forward as he directed the slug, throwing a huge fireball forward, blasting the men in front of them, leaving them covered in soot.
"Junjie, we want to be subtle!" Eli groaned as he turned back to look at him.
"Does it makes a difference at this point?" asked Junjie grunting as he directed the Fire Elemental back to him.
"Reinforcements are coming, we have to run!" Trixie said looking out of the cave, a pale white forest.
"We will lose them in the forest," Mei suggested.
Eli nodded. "Let's go!"
THE 99 CAVERNS
"You think they succeeded?" asked Drucilla unsure as she watched the footage from the screen.
"I know Eli, even if he gets captured… he will find a way… Right now… we need to figure out things ourselves," Kord said firmly as he looked at the footage.
"It is not going to be easy, going up against them," a feminine voice said, Dana Por.
"More like… a suicide mission," Pronto said dramatically as he walked forward.
"What other choice we have?" asked the blonde man, King of Sling. "Eli trusted us to keep the caverns safe."
"With those beasts," Pronto whispered. "How is that going to work?" asked the molanoid worried.
"I agree with Pronto here… the last time we trusted the Shadow Clan… well you know what happened," the blonde man said. "What if they turn on us this time?" The group turned to look at the Shadow Clans, still standing outside, who had just teleported back from the Gateway.
"Wait… can we actually communicate with them?" asked Dana confused. "We should have thought about this before they left… urgh."
"Well… I am pretty sure they can understand us," Pronto shrugged.
"We will have to make this work, somehow," Kord sighed as he looked at the screen. "So Dana, you planted the drones?" asked the cave troll.
"Yes, some of them has probably malfunctioned from the intense cold, but there are some left," said Dana as she took the tab and pressed the screen, the window on the big screen changed, showing the empty town of Gateway Cavern with Ice Golems walking down the streets.
"Seems like they haven't made any moves yet," Drucilla observed. "But… what are they waiting for?" asked the cave troll curiously. "It is not like they have anything stopping them… yet."
"Ahh, maybe they have heard of the famous Pronto and stopped out of fear!" Pronto deduced so dramatically that it was hard to tell whether he was joking or not, to which Dana just facepalmed while the others groaned.
"Right…" Drucilla frowned. "Anyway, we need to push them back, or stop them from advancing somehow."
"Perhaps we should gather a team… or an army," the blonde man suggested.
"Not so sure about an army," Dana shrugged.
"I know a few people," Kord said as he looked up.
"Who?" asked the King of Sling curiously.
"Let's see here… Mario Bravado…" Kord counted off his fingers.
"That trickshot slinger? Are you serious?" Dana shook her head in disbelief.
"Millard… The Mall Cops perhaps," Kord continued. "Coop, old friend's of Eli dad… Some friends… if they are willing to help… Red Hook, probably needs him to whip up something…. Brodie perhaps…"
"Okay, so are we rounding up everyone you know?" asked Drucilla frowning.
"They fought beside us before. They will be willing to help," Kord said assuringly as he typed on the keyboard and the names appeared on the screen, along with their photos.
"Guess we need to do some recruiting," said the King of Sling confidently as the group looks at the screen.
"So… they got through?" asked Nelsen frowning as he looked at the holographic form of Elena, who was rubbing her temples.
"Yes!" Elena groaned in frustration.
"Come on, what you are even worrying about? You are one of the bests, you have hardly failed. These people are protectors of their caverns, you bound to lose to them," Nelsen assured.
"Ok… how are you making me feel better?" Elena chuckled dryly. "That is another way of saying I am weak," Elena groaned.
"Oops, yeah sorry, shouldn't have said that," Nelsen chuckled. "Look, you will be fine… she values you a lot you know? Plus there are just 4 people, they would have captured them by now."
"You know how strict her Majesty is-"
"Come on Elena, it is not like your reputation is bad," Nelsen comforted. "Everything will be fine, trust me."
"Y- Yeah, I guess so," the young woman sighed. "How is it going on your side?"
"We successfully captured a group of protectors, with a cave troll as their leader, still searching for the Shadow Clan and an old lady," Nelsen revealed.
"So, the famous General Nelsen can't capture an old lady, that got to be embarrassing," Elena quipped as she chuckled.
"Wow, I feel so much better," Nelsen rolled his eyes scoffing. "Well... She is really good, plus with the Shadow Clan by her side, they can simply vanish anywhere."
"I suppose that is right," Elena agreed as she looked at Nelsen quietly.
"Look… Elena… don't worry too much, just focus on pushing forward, okay?" asked Nelsen looking at the young woman smiling encouragingly.
Elena nodded silently. "I will."
THE NORTHERN CAVERNS
Eli was shivering as they slowly move through the trees, the grounds were thick with snow as a cold wind blew through the forest. Trixie was on foot with her Mecha Beast behind her, trying to find a way out while Junjie and Mei were close, suffering from the cold as well.
"Urgh… maybe we should have checked before coming here… we have no idea where we are going… Brrr!" Trixie groaned as she rubbed her arms furiously in hopes of garnering warmth.
The Fire Elemental was in Trixie's hands, lighting up, giving the redhead a bit of warmth as she was the most underdressed one out of the three, with her usual crop top. Meanwhile, Burpy's head was burning like a small torch as well, giving Eli a bit of warmth as the group rode deeper into the forest.
"You think we were followed?" asked Mei as she looked back, shivering as well with Joo-Joo in her hands, giving her warmth.
"I have not heard any slugs firing, so I assume so," Junjie panted, the cold was getting intense as they rode deeper into the woods.
Trixie got up onto her Mecha Beast, sneezing into her hands. "How… do people even survive here," she groaned.
"They must have adapted… somehow…" Mei deduced.
"Well, that would explain why they look so different from us," Eli sighed as he looked up. "Wait… hold up, where are we going with this? We have no idea where the prisoners are being kept, no one to guide us… and… we are lost," Eli mumbled as he felt his vision going blurry.
"Is it just me? What is this? Why is snow… coming down the sky?" Trixie trembled from the cold, the small warmth of the Fire Elemental wasn't enough anymore.
Eli was even more confused now. "This is not possible… snowing underground… that is just… brr…" Eli shivered as he closed his eyes as a gush of cold wind blew over him, then he heard a thud behind him.
"Trixie!" Junjie quickly got down his mech and rushed towards her as Mei did the same.
Eli turned around and was shocked to see the redhead lying on the ground, falling from the mech, laying in the snow. It was snowing, even more, heavier now.
"How is this even possible," Eli looked up. "Weather in Slugterra, that is the first…" Eli thought to himself as he ran towards her.
"Trixie can you hear me?" asked Eli frantically. "Wake up!"
"C- Cold… need… " Trixie mumbled, she was losing consciousness. "Please…"
The Fire Elemental was burning strong despite the cold but the warmth wasn't enough for Trixie. The two Infurnus began to shiver as well, trembling in Eli's and Mei's hands.
"This was a mistake," Eli groaned as he rubbed his temples. "Trixie! Wake up!" Eli shook the redhead worried. "Doc!" Eli quickly ushered the healer to jump out of his slug barrel. The healer began to chirp and glow, Doc managed to wake Trixie up, but barely.
Mei was leaning against Junjie now as the man was stroking her hair softly. She was too shivering from the overwhelming cold.
"Eli… we need to get her to somewhere warm…" Junjie said.
"Well, does it looks like I know where to go?" Eli groaned in frustration as he looked around.
"Is that someone?" asked Junjie as he pointed in front of him.
Eli turned around, he could see someone standing there, a figure, the snow was too strong to see through. "Help!" Eli shouted before Mei grabbed his arm tight.
"Are you crazy? He might be an enemy1" Mei hushed.
"Either that or we lose Trixie," Eli answered firmly as he waved his hand at the figure.
The figure began to move closer towards them, closer till the group could see. It was a man, but not dressed so formally like the troops they encountered when they came out of the portal. This man was wearing a thick coat with long pants and boots, a mask with goggles covering his eyes that it was impossible to see what he looked like.
Eli looked up at the man. "Please… she needs help…" Eli said weakly. Then he noticed something, a faded star on the should of the man. A star that resembled the Shane Gang symbol. Eli blinked for a moment, wondering if he was imagining things but he knew that wasn't what he should focus on.
"Come," Eli could hear the man say as the hooded man bent down to pick Trixie up in his hand.
Eli then walked back to his mecha beast only to realize something. He was unable to start it. "Uhmm guys?"
"It would seem that the cold has caused our mecha beasts to malfunction," Junjie sighed as he walked forward with Mei's arms around his shoulders, limping as she breathed heavily.
"Leave them," the hooded man said before turning around, walking further into the forest.
"Wait… can we trust him?" asked Mei unsurely as her breaths grew heavy.
"Not like we have any other choice," Eli sighed putting Burpy into a slug barrel. "Let's follow him."
After a while of walking, the group came towards a tall wall, seemingly, the very edge of the caverns, the end. "Sir.. please… where are we going?" asked Eli, unsure what to make of this stranger. "We have been walking can you tell us where we are going?" asked Eli groaning.
The man just looked at him quietly before continuing forward, soon there was a cave insight, not huge but just a small one. The three followed the man inside. Once inside the cave, they felt a bit warmer but still cold. But it led to a dead end.
"Great… a dead end," Mei groaned, she was weak now, the cold has gotten to her, with her long hair white with snow."
"Stay strong Mei," Junjie encouraged as he helped her.
Eli was getting impatient now. They have walked for so long, only to walk into a cave with a dead end. He walked forward, standing in front of the hooded man angrily. "Look, where are we going? Or is this it?"
Suddenly, there was a loud creaking sound and the rocky wall in front of them began to open, revealing a small hallway, and from inside, a young woman walked out. She has pale blue skin as well, with her white hair tied into a braid, wearing roughly the same attire as the man except her face was uncovered. She has a sharp chin with pointy ears with a rather sharp nose as well. Eli couldn't help but notice that same faded star mark on the shoulder of the woman. She looked fierce as she advanced.
"The darkness has descended upon the North," the woman said as she raised her blaster, aiming at the man's face.
"The light from the South shall ascend," the man answered firmly. Upon hearing this, the woman lowered her blaster. The young woman then turned towards the outsiders, staring at Eli for a while before turning towards the redhead in the man's hands. "Take her in," she quickly said, gesturing for the man to go inside. "Rest of you, follow me."
Eli, Junjie, and Mei looked at each other unsurely before following them into the small cave, as the rocky wall behind them closed.
Notes:
Up Next: Chapter 8: The Rebellion
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