Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything has fallen. 

The Eastern Champion has failed one more time, and darkness blankets the realms he once vowed to protect with his life. 

The Emperor wins once again, despite the best efforts of the Shane Gang and their allies. Yet hope prevails somehow, allowing them to find a way to sabotage the Emperor’s plan of totally controlling the people of the caverns. 

How? 

Well, despite his state of weakness, Eli manages to shoot Burpy at the Emperor while his back is turned, barely missing the Dai-Fu and her shots. The slug circled the pillars, blasting the dark energy orb with a fireball to dissipate it slowly while freeing the slugs before they get drained of their energy.

But how? you might be thinking. Wouldn’t that mean the Emperor lost?  

Not entirely. 

Half the slug population in those pillars died, their energy being sapped out completely to fuel this dark orb enough for it to implode and scatter dark matter across the Eastern Cavern skies. The Elementals escaping to the side with the Emperor roaring in rage before them were the very last thing Eli saw before everything faded to black.

All is not lost, but what few slugs they were able to save is now at a great risk of being taken away once again. 

The Shane Gang immediately fled Peach Blossom Spring Cavern, all minus their champion, evacuating whomever they could find that was willing to follow them to the safer edges of land. Underlords hunt them like hawks, under command to eliminate every last living one of them, to erase any last illusion of safety the people of the eastern caverns had. 

“A dire situation” barely described the level of shit they were in. 

Eli wanted to kill himself. 

More importantly, he wanted to kill the Emperor. And maybe a bunch of Underlords too. 

Everyone who was responsible for hurting Junjie that day. 

He wanted to kill all of them. 

Why himself, though? 

It was his fault. well, partly his fault. But still his fault in a way. He was with Junjie, they battled the Emperor together. He was supposed to protect him, to help him win. 

The harsh, blood red-tinged cavern ceiling above them held that over his head. Literally. The Emperor’s magic was still alive and burning with power, seeping into the essence of the Eastern Caverns, replacing the absence of vital slug energy with its’ acidic counterpart. 

Eli wanted to sob aggressively the more he breathed. Looking around, all he saw was red surroundings, dying flora and the people in need of help way more than when they landed here. 

Closing his eyes didn’t do him much help either. 

He saw the brutal way Junjie took that ghouled Rammstone directly to his chest, the sickening crack of his ribs upon impact followed by the way he landed limply against the palace pillar like a doll. He could hear him screaming for the unconscious slinger to wake up, his throat hoarse from dehydration. 

But Junjie never woke up again.

Frustrated, Eli tugged off a chunk of his night-blue hair. Waking up alone in the darkness was a nightmare, made worse by the fact that Junjie was gone. His heart clenched every waking hour. He was so used to Junjie’s presence, his calm and relaxed demeanor washing over the young and anxious Shane Gang like a river. He wanted nothing more than to get up and see Junjie sitting somewhere near them, his mere existence a reminder that this can’t possibly be as fucked up as it can get. 

Junjie. 

That was all he could think about, and how he had failed his good friend so badly.

Think about it. Eli saved him from his darkest years. He gave him the home he lost 20 years ago. For that, he followed him and the Gang around like a puppy, even if they rejected him during the first weeks of his stay. For taking up the parasite that chained him down, Junjie owed Eli his fucking life.

And Eli threw that away by failing to save him on that day.

For that, he will never forgive himself.

Chapter Text

“Eli, she left.”

Eli rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the darkness of his tent after barely an hour’s sleep. Shadows lined up beneath his eyes, which were drier and stinging a lot more than a Sand Angler’s home space. He rubbed his eyes to ease it, but there it was again. 

Junjie’s limp, possibly lifeless body, his breaths ragged, uneven and painful. Blood pooling on the floor around him, darker than the toxic atmosphere around him…

Gah.  

Eli gritted his teeth, finally looking up to face the Shane Gang, who were all staring at him silently. Their individual faces were all varying degrees of absolute concern and horror simultaneously.

“Bro, you look terrible.” Kord stated bluntly, resting a concerned hand over Eli’s shoulder. 

“I know.” Eli shrugged. “I’m as tired as you guys, you know.” 

He stretched. “Were you saying something?”

Trixie looked solemn as she faced their leader, handing him a folded piece of paper and a bandoleer holding the Shane emblem on it, reminiscent of its former holder. 

“Infurnus just left.”

Eli tilted his head curiously, taking the bandoleer and reading the letter silently. It was short but a simple resignation from the Gang, as well as a half-hearted “good luck” to them from their former teammate. At the very bottom of her note, Little Infurnus had torn part of a map of the Eastern Caverns, highlighting a cluster of island caverns bordering the Southeastern area, presumably where she had gone to now. “If you still need extra hands around, you’ll know where to find me.”  

The Shane scoffed as he folded the letter back up, giving it back to Trixie. “Can’t blame her,” he sighed wearily. “We should’ve gone home at least after…” (He gestures to the surroundings around him.) “After all this.

“We can’t. These caverns still need our help. The Emperor is still in power… We at least owe this to Junjie. ”

“And I know fully damn well we do, Kord.“ Eli shoots a glare to the cave troll standing by his right. Something in him stings every time Junjie is mentioned, and he doesn’t hesitate to show it, even to the Gang. “Which is why we need a proper plan for defeating the Emperor.”

The four of them fell silent. Even Pronto’s humorous vibe was repressed in their current situation.

They know what happened, and they’re as powerless as Eli is. Junjie himself couldn’t win against the Emperor. Eli did, but just so barely in the cruel twist of fate and life itself. They just made him lucky, like just enough to throw this shitstorm of disasters off course but not enough to save the man that really mattered. You know, the man that would be really essential to helping them get out of this mess.

I guess we all know Junjie didn’t get that same level of luck.

The loss of their good and faithful friend was all the Shane Gang were able to dwell on these last few days since everything happened. Pain and grief clouded their mind, paralyzing all effort to restore the Eastern Caverns to her former state of tranquility, beauty and stability. Everyone deals with loss in their own ways, sure, but this was a pretty heavy hit.

Makes sense that their Terrablood ally left them when she did. She got really quiet when they returned to Serenity Cavern missing the Champion, barely speaking to anyone before her departure.

Eli, however, already mentally prepared some choice words for if he got his hands on her again. The absolute audacity of her to leave at such a time? When everyone needed all the hands they could get? When absolutely nothing was in their control anymore? When time was running out before the Emperor could gather enough resources to re-attempt whatever the hell he did, but better and stronger and no doubt more successful than the initial process ?

He nearly punched the nearest mushroom thinking about it, but oh well, she’s already gone. Before he could ponder more about it, though, Trixie came back to bother him a little, already loaded and saddled on her indigo sabertooth-tiger Mechabeast.

“We just got multiple distress calls from areas surrounding Peach Blossom Spring Cavern.”

Slug theft, no doubt. He guessed the Emperor had doubled down on raiding the caverns for more slugs since his previous failures, making the Underlords and the Dai Fu more ruthless in their scourge. “Ride ahead to the coordinates, I’ll follow.”

“And be safe,” Eli couldn’t help but add. “It’s likely they’re out for all of us, all of you guys.”

“Whoa whoa whoa! You wouldn’t ride along with us?!” Pronto exclaims.

“Why not? You just said they’re out for all of us, bro.”

Eli hated watching the Gang be just oh-so-worried for him. “I’m sorry. My thought process is a little foggy this morning. I’ll give you guys five minutes head-start. That’s all, really…”

“If you say so.” The disappointment was palpable in Kord’s voice as they took off, hesitantly at first but picking up speed as they reached the distance. He watched them become little dots into the horizon, took a deep breath and walked to his wolf Mechabeast as slowly as he can, dragging his feet into the cavern grass along the way.

Burpy — who he hadn’t realized was in his bandoleer the entire morning — climbed up to his shoulder, tapping the side of his neck in the little sluglike way he’d try to comfort him. He looked into the Infurnus’ face, nodding slowly.

“I still try every day, Burpy.” He sighs, choking back sobs as he mounts his Mecha. “We can’t walk out just yet. These caverns, these people need a lot of help.”

He revved up and hit the dirt path, almost instantly kicking the speedometer up to 60kph as he trekked the path the Shane Gang departed on earlier.

“It’s all up to us now.”

The young elf woman who greeted them as soon as they entered the cavern looked anything but happy. Not hostile, terrified or apprehensive. Just mildly pissed.

She was...how to put it lightly?...remarkably short for a native of Slugterra, barely taller than Pronto by a few inches. The ends of her dark hair were tipped iris purple, and her eyes were a sharp silver. She stood, arms crossed, watching as the ruby-haired bunhead of the group dismounted.

“Who are you guys supposed to be?” She asked them bluntly, her own Aquabeek eyeing them unamusedly.

“We’re the ones who got distress calls about this cavern.” The cave troll spoke as the trio of slingers walked up to her. “Are you the one who called?”

“No, but I was able to hold them off long enough to let the people escape with their slugs.” She shrugged. “Bunch of guys who thought they’re tough with their stone warriors and all.”

“Where are they now?” The girl asked them. “They might still be an active threat to these caverns.”

The elf clicked her tongue. “You guessed right, sister. I assumed they only retreated to get some…” She sarcastically gestured with her hands, mocking their quick departure while winking at her Aquabeek. “...reinforcements. Apparently even Stone Warriors are weak against a water jet.” 

“We’ll go after them.” A fourth slinger, likely one of their team, pulled up in a sleek silver-white wolf Mechabeast. She tried to maintain her facial composure when she saw him, but she felt what can only be a cross between disgust and pity. The dude looked like he just walked through all nine gates of hell itself without blinking. Yet here he was, ready for all the action despite his legs 100% guaranteed to cave on him at the worst moment. “We’ll stop them before they even think about setting foot in these caverns again.”

“ Tch. I can only say good luck to you, in that case. The Emperor’s men become more ruthless with every day.”

“Oh, we noticed.”

“From what I’ve heard, they got a BOLO set for you guys. Dead or alive.”

“ Erm… ” the Molenoid squeaked behind the cave troll.. “What is a BOLO?”

“Be On the Look-Out.” Her face was slightly more serious now than it was when she first saw them. “I figured since they already eliminated the Champion, they’re going after the rest of you one after the other.”

“Come on, we know how to play around with danger,” Their young leader joked half-heartedly, his usual sarcasm evident in every word and move. “Where did they go?”

She pointed west, to a dimly-lit clearing framed by dying trees and a pale, cracked stone road worn with age. “Went around the way they came. If you find them, try not to die fighting.”

“We don’t plan to.” Eli re-mounted his Mechabeast, as did the rest of his Gang. “Thanks a lot. We’ll take care of it.”

She shot him a two-fingered salute. “Figured you guys needed the help. Good luck out there. Go nail the bastards.”

Eli nods, Burpy politely waving her a little goodbye as they sped on in the direction she pointed them. This time, however, Trixie was the last to leave the cavern, not even riding her Mecha yet as the Gang drove on.

“You know, we could really use a lot of help right now. I mean, we don’t know a lot of people who can take down the Stone Warriors as good as you possibly can. Plus, we’re currently down two members, and we’re dealing with a lot of attachment issues…” 

“You want me to join your little crew and risk taking down the Emperor?” The elf chuckled, pulling back some hair from her face. “I don’t know about you, sister, but it sounds like a big opportunity. I guess I could help you guys a little more along the way.”

“Well, let us know if you’ll consider.” Trixie reached out, and they shook hands.

“I’ll see if I can reach out in time. In the meantime, have fun dealing with the guys.”

“As always. I’ll see you around!” Trixie called out, waving goodbye before revving up and tracking the Shane Gang’s steps into the dark path where the Underlords had escaped to.

Juvienne could only shake her head. As she walked to her Cerdocyon Mechabeast, she pondered over her interactions with this interesting little band of slingers, running back and forth around the Eastern Caverns in their little attempts to heal the gaping scar caused by the aftermath of the Emperor’s little “experiment”. With the Eastern Champion’s absence being a major setback in their missions, she couldn’t help but feel bad for them. Especially as she saw how worn-out their leader was.

Her little partner chirped over at her, as if thinking the same thing. She grinned. “Should I actually run with these guys?” The slug shrugged, but her little smile suggested a yes.

Juvienne looked back at the dark trail that she had pointed them to earlier.

“Guess it could be worth a shot.”

The very last thing anybody ever deserves to feel upon awakening is just godawful amounts of pain coursing through your senses, igniting every last nerve and muscle. It’s like booting up a seriously old computer to find it full of breaks and errors. (You’ll get it.) 

Junjie tried to take a deep breath, but something in the lower right part of his chest bruised when he did so. Fractured ribs, no doubt. That Grimmstone did some heavy damage for sure.

Hit with a gust of cold wind from an overhead window, he painstakingly rolled over to his left side, curled up in the fetal position. Despite his furs, he felt like he was in a walk-in cooler.

Then an unfamiliar stench hits him, something definitely worse than everything he had handled from being around the Shane Gang for months. It was just horrendous, he felt his stomach acids rising to his throat.

“ And just where the fuck am I right now? ”

Slowly but surely, he forced himself to sit up, his sight adjusting to the dim room holding him. When it did, he could only hold back an agonized gasp of shock and terror.

The deceased of various ages and races were strewn around him, bodies laying around scattered in the cell. Everywhere he looked, every corpse was in varying stages of decomposition. Some had only bits of flesh hanging on to their bones. Others had just begun to rot away, rigor mortis having already set into extremities.

All of them, without a doubt, being innocent casualties to a war they didn’t deserve to live in.

Junjie looked up and around himself. He was in a holding cell, possibly in the Emperor’s palace hidden somewhere…

Wait.

He was alive .

The only survivor amongst a bunch of dead bodies.

He brought his hands to his cold face, a grateful smile forming onto his face. It felt nice to know that his enemies assumed he was dead and are potentially gloating over the miserable defeat of the Eastern Champion. A small victory, against all the odds.

Junjie gets snapped out of his thoughts by the unmistakable sound of footsteps echoing from corridors away, approaching the cell he was in. As a metal door some distance away swung open, heavily slamming against stone and blowing dust around, he swiftly lay back down on the concrete, shut his eyes and remained as still as possible, holding down a deep breath as the cell door swung open, followed by the sounds of the other bodies being collected out of the cell for some reason.

He waited till they shut that door again, left the area, swinging back the heavy metal door behind them. It slammed so heavily, he could feel the force of it reverberating from the concrete where he lay down.

After a moment’s worth of silence, he lifted his head once again. Some of the skeletons were kept around him. They took the fresher corpses away, either for disposal, or gods forbid for whatever twisted ideas the Emperor had set into motion this time.

Whatever it was, the Eastern Champion decided on one thing, no matter how difficult it was he swore to himself that he had to do it. He will do it, regardless of the cost.

He had to get the ever-loving fuck out of here, find Eli and the Shane Gang, and fight like mad hell to take back the Eastern Caverns, once and for all.

Chapter Text

“Can’t sleep?”

Eli was very much taken aback at the voice before him. 

He was back in the 99 Caverns. In the Shane Hideout, specifically, in the wee hours of early morning, right before first glow. Everything was dark, except for the kitchen where Junjie sat alone in the silence, possibly before Eli came around. He wore a casual shirt and pants, clothes Eli let him borrow during his stay.

It took a while to process what he was witnessing. 

“Oh, yeah. I couldn’t.” He answered sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “Couldn’t get a good sleeping position.” 

The much older Champion raised a brow, unconvinced. “I’m not too sure about that, unless you weren’t the one crying profusely minutes ago?” 

Eli looked down shamefully, approaching the table like a kid who came home with a bad report card. 

“I miss my dad, Jun.” His tone dropped as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “Ever since fighting Blakk and getting the Elementals, things have really been different.” 

He clenched his fist, trying not to break down in a crying mess in front of Junjie, but stopped when he felt a comforting hand over his own. 

“Loss is one of the greatest trials we endure, yet we take it almost every day.” Junjie spoke, his face solemn as he recounted his very life, and the events and tragedy that took him to where he was now. “I sense you regret not saving your dad in that moment,—“

“Hey,” Eli growled, cutting him off. “I didn’t jump down there only because you stopped me.” 

“I know, Eli.” Junjie blinks, unfazed in the slightest by Eli’s burst of anger towards him. Possibly something he was already used to at that point. “I am afraid it was only for the best. We needed to focus on saving Slugterra first, and more importantly, you are far too young to even consider sacrificing yourself for the sake of something else. What good would it be to have your father back, if he can’t save you from taking his place in the Deep Caverns?” 

Eli gritted his teeth, unable to look Junjie in the eye as tears fell around his cheeks.

The truth hurts, and denial is nothing more than slapping a bandage over the bullet holes left in its’ wake.

Junjie pulled his chair closer to Eli’s and offered an embrace of comfort to the younger Shane, to which Eli leans in willingly as the sadness hits him full force.

“You may think I will never understand how you feel, but I do.” Eli begins shaking intensely, stress taking over as Junjie lightly pats his back. “I myself had chosen the people of the caverns over my own wellbeing, and…” 

He sighed heavily. 

Eli looked up at him. 

“And what?” 

Junjie swallowed hard.

You sure you’re ready to tell him that story? 

“And…the rest is history, as they say.” 

He forced a smile, looking back down at the Shane who’s half-asleep in his arms. “Loss is expected in life, brother. How you deal with grief is normal in every way, but know this; you will always have hope ahead of you, no matter what. Even if you don’t,” The champion stifles a chuckle. “Hindsight will always tell you that you did. You’ll get there in time.” 

And then Eli opened his eyes one more time, glaring at the red skies above him.

The hunt for the Underlords was uneventful, to say the least.

Blasters were raised, threats made, it was more or less your typical slugslinger confrontation. No high-stake duels, nothing. They didn’t even have to shoot a single slug to take them down; the Underlords’ utter stupidity did the job for them like it always did.

Underlord Holt was a whole fucking nutcase. He still is, but mostly so in his confrontation with the Shane Gang. 

The Gang cut them off in a tight spot in the road. They fired on sight, effectively reducing the Stone Warriors running to them to cracked rock. Eli dismounted Lucky with a heavy sigh of frustration and disapproval, with Burpy loaded and ready to smoke the goddamn earth.

“I don’t have time to play games;” He shouted, loud and clear for all to hear. “Release the slugs, and I’ll consider letting you walk away alive.”

Everyone immediately released the handlebars of their Mechas in surrender.

Everyone except this little bitch.

He immediately used their defeat at Peach Blossom Spring as leverage to mock them, because obviously his stupid masculine pride would rather die than grovel and beg for mercy at the feet of some cretons. Clearly, destroying his Stone Warrior bodyguards (you know, the ones that walked around him like trained hounds while he held his head high and put the people down?) didn’t stop him from running his mouth.

“ Ha! You imbeciles couldn’t even defeat the Emperor! Without your ‘precious’ little Dark Slinger around, I doubt you can even—” 

Holt was suddenly kicked to the face, effectively knocking him off the carriage and into the mud below him. Looking up, he saw the end of a blaster and an angry Infurnus who was more than prepared to incinerate his bones and muscles in front of everyone around him. 

For a second, it was so silent you could hear the roots squeaking under them. 

“Another word about him, and I will not hesitate to make you suffer more than anything he ever lived through in his life.”

“I fucking mean that.”

Eli kicked Underlord Holt to his feet as the Shane Gang seized the carriage, taking multiple loaded racks worth of weak and potentially injured slugs. Releasing them wasn’t an option; they would only be subjected to the same routine of playing hide-and-seek with raiders.

The Underlords were sent on their way without further struggle, with Holt leaving with loud grumbles and mumbles about “we’ll get you cretons back for this.” Sure, they’d cry back to the Emperor and the Dai Fu like their little bitches.

“Didn’t the little elf lady a while back tell us that the Emperor was looking for us?” Kord asked, raising an eyebrow as the Underlords’ Mecha-Beasts disappeared out of sight. “If the Emperor gets wind that we’re going around caverns sabotaging slug collection operations-”

“So fucking what?” Eli hissed. “If he wants to hunt us down to the last man, he sure as hell can do it. We’re ready for the second fight, anyways.” He gestured to his lava-colored backpack where the Elementals were hiding under strict surveillance. “If you guys don’t think you’re up to that fight, that’s fine. I can handle that man one-on-one for Junjie’s sake.”

Eli’s sarcasm was sharper than Dirt Urchins mixed in with Geoshards this particular day, it seems. The trio looked at each other, shrugged and didn’t say another word about it. 

They examined the racks one by one, only releasing the slugs to give them a little meal to energize them on the road back to Serenity Cavern. Seeing their poor state only saddened them more, gods knows what the Emperor had in mind this time for the unfortunate creatures if Juvienne didn’t apprehend them in the cavern when she did. 

Eli held out his hand, crouching down around them as they munched. Then, Trixie’s excited call from somewhere behind him alerted him: “Hey, it’s Joo-Joo!”

Nearly kicking the dirt and some of the slugs, he whipped around toward her as did the rest of the Shane Gang. Indeed, there was the pale orange Infurnus of the Champion, weak due to hunger but a survivor of the battle nonetheless. The slug looked more than grateful to see his former slinger’s good friends. “You, my friend, are a sight for sore eyes!” Pronto scooped him up, lifting him high like a trophy won. “We were hoping we’d see you again sometime around.” Even Burpy was so happy, he hopped over and tackled his good friend in a happy slug hug. The presence of the second Infurnus made everyone’s day a little more. 

Yet as the Shane smiled, something in his heart squeezed out tears from his eyes. Having Joo-Joo was great, and I know beggars shouldn’t be choosers, but he didn’t want it. He wanted Junjie back. He wanted all of this to never have happened. Sure, he wouldn’t exchange Joo-Joo for actually having Junjie back alive and well, but it didn’t feel right. It would never feel like it was enough. If Junjie wasn’t back, he wasn’t satisfied.

Oh well. These were the cards the universe dealt him. He might as well just suck it up; Joo-Joo was a perfect advantage for him in any future battles. 

Except to establish his dominance as a temporary Eastern Champion. 

That’s out the window now that everyone knows Junjie is dead. Flashing Joo-Joo around for that particular reason would just be a pathetic reminder of what used to be, and would be a magnet to more mockery from Underlord Holt. Normally he could stand it, but to hear Junjie’s name dragged through the dirt and silt—that shit was aggravating in a whole unexplainable way. The last thing he wants now is some loser asshole making a clownery of the fallen Champion’s memory to every person who actually loved him. 

“Eli?”

Everyone else had saddled up and was ready to go, except him. He was so lost in the fog of overthinking that he didn’t notice. 

“Yeah, I’m coming.” 

He saddled Lucky silently, revved up and led the way home.

Staring up at the same old blood-red sky, it felt less like an omen of their loss and more like an everyday occurrence as the time passes. If you looked into it more, though, you could probably see it disappearing. Not as obviously, though, but there was a shift in the glaring tint as more and more slugs were rescued over the days. 

Eli could only stare up at it or close his eyes, comprehending his vision of that memory in the kitchen with Junjie in the early morning hours. His words, his voice echoed in his head.

“You will always have hope ahead of you. And even if you don’t,...” 

That damn chuckle. Junjie was rarely known to crack a laugh, even in casual situations or small talk. Let alone during a tough topic such as losing someone you care about. 

“Even if you think you don’t, hindsight will always tell you that you had hope all along.

You’ll get there, in time.”

In time. 

Junjie loved to use those words. Training and meditation. “In time.” Talk about coming home and taking the caverns back, “In time.” 

His patience just had no fucking limits. That or he believed that everything would come on their own accord, whether predicted or simply happening willy-nilly by fate’s own schedule. 

Eli seriously wished he had this kind of mindset. He never really understood much of what Junjie would say to him during their trainings back in the 99 Caverns. (Can’t blame him much, dude speaks like a sage on most occasions. However I like to think he lost that a little bit more eventually.) 

Going back to what Junjie said…sure. Joo-Joo’s reappearance could be considered some form of hope. Wielding two Infurni established Eli’s rank more, and could show the Emperor that he was still willing to put up a fight.

In the middle of thinking about getting his revenge and laying into the Emperor for everything he had ever inflicted on the Eastern Caverns, Eli felt a little flick in his gut that maybe it was wrong. Was it worth putting the people—including his very own Shane Gang—in danger for taking it all back? 

For fucks’ sake, he had already lost Junjie. Would it be worth losing all of them next? 

Moreover, he felt less confident taking down the tyrant alone. He felt more comfortable with Junjie around to be his backup. He couldn’t imagine how fighting such a great battle alone would be. Hell, it would probably make the showdown with Dr. Blakk look like child’s play. 

As he was thinking about it, he sensed someone around him. He sat up only to find Trixie behind him, unsure how to approach him without accidentally pissing him off. 

“Need something?” He asked her numbly.

“Yeah, I just wanted to talk.” 

He shrugged. “Go on.”

She sat next to him as words came out of her mouth. “Look, we all know you’re grieving Junjie, and we get how you feel. But you know, we’re as tired as you are.” She pulled hair out of her face, trying not to look awkward or hesitant. “We understand how you feel, and we’re willing to help you and whatever you have in mind as long as we’re around, but I don’t like that you’re taking out your anger on us. It’s frustrating. We know you’re frustrated, but you don’t really have to take us down too, you know?” 

Eli took a deep breath, his conscience hitting him where it hurt the most. “I’m really sorry, Trixie. I’ll do my best not to.” 

She patted his shoulder lightly. “If you need to talk or a shoulder to cry on, you know who to call.” 

Tears surged the corners of his eyes again as he nodded. “It just doesn’t feel the same, you know? I mean, it’s just real fun having more of us around here, and we’ve only known Junjie for- what, less than a year?” 

The words caught in his throat. To think that someone you’ve known and grown so close to for less than a year can be ripped away like that, the attachments burning like a severed limb—it’s really insane.  

Trixie let him lean into her arms, her own expression downcast with his very own. “Junjie was a really good, trustworthy and faithful guy. Even if we didn’t like him in the beginning, he proved himself to us when he didn’t even need to, really.” 

Eli wiped the sweat and salt from his face, his breaths shaky as Joo-Joo hopped onto Trixie’s shoulder pad. “He means so much to us as a gang. He’s the kind of friend and protector everyone deserves to have in their lives.” 

“That’s true,” Trixie tried to sound a little more enthusiastic, reliving the months before setting foot in the Eastern Caverns. 

“Whatever happens next, if the Emperor is preparing to take us down, we’re ready for it.” Eli declares matter-of-factly, clenching his fists. “We’ll take him down, for Junjie and for all these people.” 

Trixie placed her hand over his, her grip as firm. “You know we’ll be right behind you.” Joo-Joo hopped on her hand, his expression just as enthusiastic. He was still a little weak but willing to get back on the battlefield when time came.

Eli smiled, but not the forced “coping” front he’d normally have. He smiled a warm, relieved smile, knowing that he’ll always have his Gang behind him in every fight. It may not be complete, and people will come and go. 

It’s life; not everyone is meant to stay. 

But fuck that.

Whatever comes next…Eli knows for damn sure that he will never fight his battles alone.

Chapter Text

Lian watched from the kitchen as the young man trudged into the house at dusk, his expression—how would she describe it?—anything except absolute relief at being home. 

Slightly drenched from the rain, exhausted from multiple distress calls in a row, the new Champion was barely pulling through the first weeks of his duties. Lian noticed many changes in his behavior ever since his ‘coronation’ day, and her worries for him grew more and more with time. She watched Junjie’s father self-implode in the same destructive manner, which eventually affected his marriage, home life and even his behavior as a father to Junjie. 

From a young age, she could do nothing but soften the blow a little with every Slug-Fu session, with every meditation. For goodness sake, he was a child. He was someone who was born with the shackles of responsibility, and she as his teacher could do nothing to save him. 

Not even 19 now and he was slowly, unintentionally killing himself.

He would come home like this at dusk, always some level of angry, tired, frustrated, and the once-in-a-blue-moon “fuck all and die” wrath. 

Today brought…nothing. He wasn’t too happy to come home, but more grateful being around here than out there dealing with the people’s nonsense. 

She could only force a smile as she stirred the soup she had been cooking. “How was your day?” 

Junjie solemnly bowed to greet his teacher, not even taking off his bandoleer. “It was alright,” he lies, not daring to look her in the face. “Not as bad as I would expect.” 

“Really?” Lian had already served dinner. “What happened? Come, eat and tell me more.” 

Junjie, already at the base of the stairs, shrugged. “Thank you…but I’m not really that hungry.” He then ran up to his room, hastily closing the door behind him as if to hide. 

Lian’s heart sank. She had never known Junjie to miss a meal, let alone three in a single day. 

Joo-Joo shared her sentiment. In all his years, in all of his experience, the Infurnus watched in silence as Champion after Champion broke and crumbled after taking the mantle, a haunting curse that followed every generation being born, an invisible weight heavy enough to bring down a man and his whole family with it. In short, he knows this shit all too damn well .

This was not the last time it happened. Lian would find Junjie coming home more and more upset, angry, or flat out solemn. Sometimes he picked at his food, forcing it to his mouth and chewing it as if it were a tasteless piece of gum. He locked himself in his bedroom regularly. Every hour he was home was spent in his room in silence. 

Days turned into months. 

One bright and sunny morning, Lian woke to find multiple incoming distress calls from multiple caverns…and Joo-Joo and the rest of Junjie’s slugs perched on the coffee table, where his wristblasters and armor pieces were scattered. 

She feared the worst, nearly breaking his bedroom door as she threw it open. Junjie was home alright, curled up on his bed, eyes half-open as she rushed to his side. “Junjie, dear, is everything alright?”

“I promise I’m okay,” The Eastern Champion turned numbly to see her, his eyes duller than his words. “I just…I don’t feel very well today.” 

Lian brought the back of her palm to Junjie’s cheek as he closed his eyes. “You do have a slight fever. Do you feel anything else?” 

“Just a headache, and some other body pains here.” 

“Nothing else?”

“No, Mom.” Junjie groaned groggily, his mind hovering in the subconscious.

Pleasant surprise, Junjie rarely verbally referred to Lian as his mother. Most times, he would apologize and correct it to “Teacher”. It made her smile for a moment, allowing her to get up and manage everything else for his sake, calling up Hamengku and other slingers to back him up while nursing him back to health little by little.

Days came and went, with nothing interesting happening in between waking hours, from first glow to nightfall. Junjie’s symptoms worsened for almost the full week, remaining bedridden even if he swears he can walk without crashing into the furniture or tumbling down the steps. Lian was surely a strict teacher, but apparently she was extra strict when it came to his wellbeing.

The flu aside, nothing significant happened within their peaceful home.

For a while, at least.  

Sometime during the evening, Junjie found himself blankly staring at the ceiling above him, knowing what kind of life awaited him the moment he was out of his sickness. The mere idea of having to go back to being the Eastern Caverns peoples’ little bitch made him want to throw up. 

It had been—what—less than a year? Less than a year and there had been just so fucking much.

He hated it, but what can he do? 

His father dealt with it. 

His forefathers dealt with it. 

Yang dealt with it. Hell man that dude volunteered to do it, and that’s how they got here in the first place.  

They all sucked it up and died as just another name in history. 

Lord, get me out of here.  

I am NOT going back out of there. 

Please, I can’t do this. 

I’ll give anything. 

Anything. 

Don’t put me back there. 

I would rather die a painless death than live carrying life as we know it on my shoulders. 

He didn’t hear the door open, or Lian’s footsteps, or the first half of her sentence. “Oh, my son,” she cries out fearfully, touching the tears on his face. “What happened? Are you in pain? Are you—tell me, what bothers you? Tell me now.”

Junjie’s lips trembled as he struggled to take his next breath, followed by more tears falling from his younger face. 

“I can’t do this anymore.” 

The damage had been done. 

Not the very first break to his psyche, but definitely one of the worst. 

Lian let him cry for all of 10 minutes. Might as well have been three hours. He was young and deserved none of this. Then again, it wasn’t his choice to make either. They both know he’ll have to go back out there, because it’s his fucking job.  

Again…she can’t help him. She can only let him go, and make sure that home will always be waiting for him with open arms.

Lian embraced him, pulling him into her arms and letting him lay there motionlessly for a while, the only thing she could think of that would help him even if just barely. She had to turn a blind eye for years as he suppressed any amount of empathy or emotion, his father’s wicked mindset carved into his memories since the moment he could sling a slug. 

Yes, the Caverns will always be a priority. 

But he deserves to put himself first every once in a while. 

As Junjie mustered the strength to drag himself out of bed and ease back into being a properly functioning person, Lian watched him like a hawk. Not bothering him too much, but letting him know just enough that she would be right behind him when he needed her. 

Then he saw the next distress call, gingerly reaching for his armor again, clicking his bandoleer on, calling back his slugs to ride out as he shuffled to the door. 

“Junjie, you don’t have to take this one yet.” 

The young man smiled back, reassuring and protective all the same. “I’ll be okay, Mom.” He waves, bidding her goodbye. “I’ll be back soon.” 

As the Mecha roared off into the distance, Lian sighed and pulled up her chair. The fears have not yet subsided completely, and every thought and idea goes to the nightmare of his next burnout, falling into a phase where he can’t find it in him to… be him . 

After all, the Champion’s greatest battle is always with the mind and soul, is it not? 

Because behind the curtains, before the pedestal, by the shadow of the spotlight is the reality the people never get to see. 

Without the armor, without the honor, without the praise and the mantle that comes with the name, 

Junjie will only ever be just a man.