"That was some story you told back there, Junjie."
The Slug Fu master nodded, agreeing with the young Shane and admitting that it had been an interesting and wild story, especially since it was from his own experience. He did his best to not think much about it when talking about his personal experiences with the Goon Doc, at least, before it took full control over him. Once it did, everything else was blank. But ever since his arrival, or rather return, he doubted he would want to know more about the terrible things he did as the Dark Slinger.
The gang were heading back to their campsite to get as much rest they need before facing their next challenge that is yet to come. It had been an exhausting few days ever since they set foot in the Eastern Caverns, but they'd do whatever they must in order to stop the caverns' threats; they won't stop until the caverns are at peace once more.
So they got off their mechas, settled on the ground and took a breather whilst letting their slugs have fun amongst themselves.
"Phewh, after what we went through, from defeating the Emperor to dealing with a bunch of stone warriors and underlords--not to mention the Dai Fu--we really deserve this break." Kord laid back on the large stone behind him, throwing his hands behind his head and using it as a brace for it.
"Yeah, even if it may only be for a few hours," Trixie sighed, crossing her legs and allowing herself to relax.
"Hah! Pronto thinks that the challenges were mere child's play!" Pronto huffed. "If they want to defeat the Magnificent Pronto--and the Shane Gang, of course, didn't forget--they must try harder!"
"Bro, please no," Kord desperately said, followed by a groan from Trixie and a light chuckle from Eli.
"Yeah, how about we don't encourage them to try harder," Eli suggested. "It'll make our job easier to finish."
Pronto grunted, but silently agreed.
Eli brought a knee up to his chest and rested his chin on it, too many thoughts rushing through his mind per second. He looked around and saw Kord tinkering with his upgraded blaster, Trixie doing nothing but relaxing her once tense shoulders, Pronto playing with his slugs and Junjie adjusting his wrist blaster.
After looking at the young (Young? Was he even young anymore? Or had the Goon Doc affected his aging?) Slug Fu master, one of his thoughts stood out from the rest.
Right, Junjie's story.
The way Junjie told the story was engaging and managed to grab the audience's attention, much like how his dad used to tell stories of his adventures in Slugterra whenever he could, usually before Eli went to bed. Eli had been invested to know more about the slinger's past and was engaged from the start, but what really sold his attention was the simple mention of China.
It had come off as a surprise at first, but the more Eli thought about it, the more it made sense. The Eastern Caverns' culture does look heavily influenced by China's and probably many other Asian cultures, considering that it's called the Eastern Caverns. Heck, Junjie, whose name and overall appearance are already evidence on its own, even knows how to speak Cantonese. Then again, the 99 Caverns must be influenced by Western countries, just probably not as much as the Eastern Caverns.
That made him wonder, had Yang ever taught his family about the Surface? Or had he partially lied about it, making Junjie mention China as a 'land above' and not specifying that there was an entire world above them? Do the people in the Eastern Caverns even know about the Surface? Well, one thing that he was certain about was the fact that he was slowly developing a headache.
He sighed. Luckily, no one seemed to notice his confused state, other than Burpy and his slugs, of course.
Burpy nudged his foot, grabbing his owner's attention. Eli returned the gesture by lightly rubbing his finger on the side of Burpy's head and letting him jump into his hand, bringing him up to his face, close enough for no one else to hear.
"Don't worry, Burpy, I'm fine," Eli assured, earning a confused look from the Infurnus. "It's just that… you heard Junjie mention China earlier, right?"
Burpy nodded and pointed towards the slinger in question, seeming to 'talk' with his own Infurnus slug as well. "You think I should ask about it?"
Burpy nodded once more.
"Alright, if you say so." As he said that, Burpy jumped to the ground and approached Joo-Joo, the two slugs greeting each other and Burpy seemingly mentioning what Eli was about to do to the other Infurnus slug.
"Hey… Junjie," Eli nervously started, catching the attention of the man in question.
Junjie turned to him with a calm face but a questioning look. "What seems to be the matter, Eli?"
"Nothing, it's just…" He quickly glanced around, catching a glimpse of all his friends before returning to the question. "Do you know about the Surface?" he quickly said in one breath.
Junjie blinked at him and raised an eyebrow, but the rest of the Shane Gang seemed to catch what he said and stopped in whatever they were doing to stare at him with fearful eyes.
"What?" Junjie asked.
Before Eli could answer, Pronto spoke up first. "He said, 'Do you know about the Surface?'" He earned facepalms from Trixie and Kord.
Junjie looked back at Eli, waiting for his explanation.
"Okay, what I meant was..." Eli began. "During your story earlier, you mentioned a… 'land above', a.k.a. China, where your ancestor, Yang, was from."
"I did."
"So, you know about the Surface...?"
A couple seconds went by, and eventually each second felt like a minute. Eli was on edge, waiting for an answer, whilst his friends were looking at the two worriedly--especially Eli. All they could think of was, Eli, are you mad?
"Well, sure, if that's what you call it," Junjie simply answered, earning a surprised look from the entire Shane Gang. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, where we're from, the Surface is considered a complete myth by the people," Eli answered, no longer too tense. "The Shane Gang are the few, if not the only ones, who truly know it exists."
"Interesting," Junjie said. "Here, it is somewhat similar, since the stories of the… Surface are largely told in my family. But, since the people in your caverns believe it is a complete myth, how come you all believe, or rather know, it exists?"
"Uh, funny story about that…" Eli said, scratching his head. "I'm… from there." And the cat was out of the bag.
Now, it was Junjie's turn to be surprised. "You're from above? Are you from… China? Or are you from another land?"
Trixie, Kord and Pronto were looking at the two with confused faces, being the only ones having no knowledge of the Surface other than its weird sky and… did Eli say gravity or were they mistaken?
Eli chuckled and shook his head. "No, no, I'm from another country… er, land. The lands are called countries."
"That makes… sense," Junjie said. "Yang only shared his experiences from his home land, of course, as he is from there, so I have very limited knowledge of the other lands and their cultures, and I assume that your friends do too."
The rest of the Shane Gang nodded, Kord speaking up. "You got that right. Eli never talks about the Surface, like, ever."
"For good reasons," Eli defended. "For one, everything is very different up there, so it'll be way too much to explain, and I never even got the chance to graduate high school!" Eli laughed, then his laughter faltered as he remembered another reason why he didn't talk about his life on the Surface as much. "And… it never really was entirely great up there."
The others were enjoying Eli's rambles, up until that point. Pure interest turned into utter worry. All of them had a fair share of a rough past (Okay, probably not Junjie, his past was brutal), but they never had Eli mention his own past up on the Surface. Judging by his brief explanation about the Surface, it shouldn't be as bad as what they would think if he had lived in Slugterra. Then again, they knew so little about the Surface and although the dangers up there could be different, it doesn't erase the fact that it was dangerous. They were still worried.
"When I was ten, my mom had to leave and I went to live with my uncle," Eli said carefully, anxious about finally sharing his life. But, why should he be anxious about it? It's not like his experiences were as bad as what his friends had and could've experienced in Slugterra, right? If anything, he should be grateful. "I… never heard, seen or spoke to her since. She just… disappeared. I… guess it's because my dad was so busy protecting the 99 caverns and eventually she… had enough."
The others didn't dare to speak, not even Pronto dared to interrupt his friend. Eli had shared a lot of 'Shane Secrets' with the Shane Gang (The existence of the Surface was definitely the most surprising and hard to swallow), but those were family secrets, not an Eli secret.
Their silence was a clear sign for him to continue; they were listening to him and only him.
"Since then, the urge to visit Slugterra for the first time grew, and I knew that there was a large chance that I would be permanently staying here with my dad." He ever so slightly chuckled at the last part, not knowing how to feel when only half of his wish came true. "So, ever since I was small, I tried not to make too many friends on the Surface and save it for making some down here. I did have a few, but after my mom left, I began distancing myself from them. I don't want anyone to miss me too much when I leave--my uncle is an exception."
The gang looked at each other; was Eli really that alone on the Surface? They didn't like the fact that he barely had anyone his own age to talk to, and when he did, it wouldn't last long.
"Don't worry, I still interacted with people at school and with my family; I'm social," Eli assured, already detecting his friends' worried looks. "I was just never close to them, besides my uncle, of course."
The only person who dared to speak was Trixie--thank gosh for Trixie. "Eli, I… I'm so sorry."
"Hey, it's fine, I got better ever since I got here!" Eli said, but even his slugs were skeptical with his answer. Heck, Burpy was with him through thick and thin up on the Surface and down in Slugterra. He knew him better than anyone.
"Continuously getting attacked by Dr. Blakk's little friends and ghouls, going through multiple dangerous obstacles while not entirely knowing about Slugterra, having to experience betrayal more than once and trying to be the new Shane at this age and only for some months is what you consider healing?" Trixie deadpanned. "I mean, we know it makes you happy, we're happy too, but I don't think we've ever sat down and truly… talked."
Eli was thrown heavily off-guard, not knowing what to say. Was Trixie right? Sure, he was excited to finally be in SlugTerra and to take his dad's place as the new Shane; protector of the 99 caverns, but he never really considered that he was growing up too fast.
"Okay, maybe you're right, but many others probably experienced the same thing I did--besides the 'living in an underground world' part--and that's for the Surface. The struggles I go through on the Surface don't match the struggles others had to go through down here. Just look at the Eastern Caverns and the time we had to fight Blakk!"
"You are correct, Eli, they do not match," Junjie said calmly. "However, comparing your struggles with others' does not mean that your struggles are any less of a challenge and/or problem. We all face and handle our struggles differently, so comparing them would not lead to accurate or satisfying results. What matters is that you handle your struggles with a healthy method that will not damage you further, whether it would be physically or mentally." Maybe Junjie should take his own advice for once, it sounded tempting.
"What Junjie said, bro," Kord said, getting up and placing a hand on the young slinger's shoulder. "Take it easy, you're still young after all."
"Pronto agrees!" the molenoid exclaimed. "Whenever Eli feels disheartened, just talk to Pronto and Pronto guarantees that you will feel much better!"
Eli would've teared up then and there if he didn't have as much pride as he did. Maybe when they return home to the hideout, then he may open up more. But now is not the time, he should stay strong to help return peace to the Eastern Caverns.
Burpy hopped onto his shoulder and nudged him, trying to give him comfort.
"Thanks for the advice, guys," Eli said. He really did appreciate it and was grateful to be able to find friends who would fight by his side until the end. He knew that the advice he received wasn't made on the spot, considering that the people he was surrounded with went through so much before he arrived. Maybe when everything is at peace, then he'll get to live life as just Eli; a normal person.
"Hey, you still like and probably miss the Surface, right, Eli?" Trixie asked.
Eli considered it. "Well, yeah, of course."
"Then can you tell us some things about the Surface? It can be anything you want so that we can learn more about the world you were from."
They all looked at him with eager eyes, even Junjie seemed to be excited to learn more about the world above after hearing stories of China.
"Well, let me tell you about Christmas…"
And he did--well, excluding all the religious stuff that could lead to way too many theories and conspiracies running through their minds. He talked about his own culture and holidays, like Easter and Halloween. He even told them about the holidays of other cultures, or at least what he knows. He told them about his generation's culture, too (because mind you, he wasn't living under a rock).
His friends were very confused but otherwise intrigued by the world above them. They asked simple questions here and there, but they mostly let Eli do all the talking. It was nice to see the young Shane being so ecstatic to tell stories of his former home to his friends, he seemed happy doing it.
And he was; he was enjoying it more than he thought he would. Maybe it was what his dad felt like when telling him about his adventures in Slugterra.
He'll find his dad and save him. He'll get to live in Slugterra with his dad and friends. They'll be one big happy family.
He just needed to keep hoping and working until everything was finally at peace in Slugterra.
