Key To My Heart || Slugterra

53| Aftermath

Mia and Trixie walked towards us and gave gentle pats on Junjie's back. Out of all of us, all the soldiers and creatures, he suffered the greatest lost of losing his loving master to the war. She was his only guardian that has been there for him ever since he was a child.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his ear, bawling my eyes out. I could feel him shook his head gently before he pulled away from the hug.

"It's not your fault," he said, looking down at me with tears streaming down his pale face. I reached out to his face and wiped his tears away with my thumb. He gently grabbed my hand, gently squeezing it as he held it on his cheek.

"She knew we won the war. I managed to tell her before she passed. She was happy. She's in peace," he managed to say without stammering. "She was so proud of all of us, especially you."

I looked over at Mia and Trixie, and we shared a look.

There were three heavy, hurried footsteps coming towards us, and the next second, there stood the three male members of the Shane Gang behind Mia and Trixie, all in utter shock to see the death of a mighty, well-respected warrior.

I looked over at Eli. He was shirtless with a huge bandage covering most of his upper body, outlining and exposing his beautifully toned figure. His breathing was quick, and it was obvious from the rate his chest rise and fall. He stared dreadfully at the bed, before he looked over at me.

His eyebrows twitched, and I realised that Junjie was still holding onto my hand against his cheek. Junjie seemed to notice it too and he immediately let go of my hand. I retrieved it awkwardly.

Junjie's gaze fell on Eli, and they made eye contact. It was tense, filled with a strong brotherly love. Eli walked up to him and they shared a hug, with Eli patting strongly on his back. We hung our heads, our hearts numbed from the master's death, the air around us filled with melancholy.

There were soft chirps, before Master Lian's Negashade and White Boon Doc climbed onto her bed and onto her body. We watched as they gleamed, levitating their master's body, before they disappeared into thin air.

Junjie pulled away from the hug to let out a throaty chuckle and forced out a smile.

"Come on, we should be celebrating! All the hardwork we had put in for the past three weeks had paid off. We won! We saved Slugterra, and two Shanes!"

"Junjie..." Eli called out for him, but he shook his head.

"Would you please give me a moment? I would really appreciate that," Junjie said with a tear rolling down his cheek.

None of us wanted to leave him, not when he was in that state, but if this was what he wanted, then we should respect it. Trixie nodded her head, before she pulled Mia away with her, tears streaming down their faces. Pronto and Kord followed them.

I walked up to Eli and gently grabbed his forearm. He looked down at me with tears in his eyes.

"Come on," I whispered to him and gently pulled him away, to show him something else. He unwillingly followed me. Eli still didn't know that we saved his father. Junjie might have mentioned it, but he seemed as though he didn't quite catch it. I was pulling him towards his father's ward when I felt him pulling me to a halt.

I gasped as he pulled me in for a hug, and gently swayed our bodies like we were dancing.

A smile crept up my face as I wrapped my arms around his neck, buried my head on his chest. It was like the voices in my head was silenced, he brought me peace. His heartbeat was what I have been yearning for over the past three weeks, and I was beyond happy to be able to hear it steadily beating again.