Junjie had never been so lonely in his life. Not when he was doing his training, not when Kerien was sick and locked up when she was 12, not when the Shane Gang and him first separated, not during his 20-year rein as the Dark Slinger.
Okay, that last one was due to a 20 year blackout but still. This was the loneliest he had ever been. And he had no clue why.
And no, it was not because he missed Kerien. He had lived months thinking she was dead perfectly fine. No, he was not jealous that she had chosen to leave the caverns. No, he did not realize how much of his emotional state relies on her until she was back and he lost her all over again.
Because he hadn't lost her! She was on the adventure she had always dreamed of. As she deserved.
Yes, he missed his best friend. Yes, he missed the Shane Gang. But he had friends here. Lian, Hamengku...give him a minute. Slick! And Drew! And...Symothy. And the Piriter. Actually, he preferred Trixie. But still.
And he had his slugs! So there. He was simply lonely for no reason, no reason at all.
Lian laughed as he tried to reason all this to her.
"Its okay to miss Kerien and the Shane Gang. You've made a special bond with all of them." Lian said with a knowing smile. "And it is okay to feel a tiny bit jealous."
"Jealous?" Junjie sputtered. "Who, me? Jealous? That is an emotion beneath that of an Eastern Champion."
Lian sighed as she shook her head "like I told Kerien, just like a jedi."
Junjie's brows furrowed as Joo-Joo laughed on his shoulder. Jedi? "I am not jealous. What would I have to be jealous about?"
"You have always gotten upset when your friends--admittingly a small number as it is--hang out with someone else or somewhere else." Lian explained.
Junjie scoffed. "Forgive me, my teacher, but you are wrong."
"Hm," Lian said. "When you were ten Kerien had to work on a school project with a bunch of kids, leaving you alone. You proceeded to cry and pout for the rest of the day until she came the very next day and clung to her for a full hour."
"I was ten!" Junjie defended, remembering that event embarrassingly.
And how did Lian even remember that? She was hundreds of years old!
"The point is, despite your loner tendencies, you thrive on those close to you. And you can get upset when they chose to separate from you for a time."
Junjie's mouth fell open. That was...not true. Not at all.
He did miss the Shane Gang. And Kerien. But he wasn't upset about it.
Was he?
Joo-Joo gave him a look that said you totally are.
The Eastern Champion sighed but his little bit of self discovery was interrupted when a large blast of swirling red and black energy smashed into the roof of a building, causing it to disintegrate into dust.
It was odd, but Junjie's immediate reaction was to hope it was Kerien. But of course it wasn't.
Turning, him and Lian found themselves facing an army of slingers--mostly humans but a few trolls were in their ranks--and before them stood a menacing goblin, stopped by his large torso and small spikes that bow protruded from his skin.
It was amazing, really. Kerien, the Emperor, and Dr. Blakk had all swam in the dark waters, but all had fastly different appearances.
Where they all had pale faces, Kerien's still showed her natural dark skin and both her and the Emperor were covered in grey shadows across their skin. Both Blakk and The Emperor had something sticking out of their skin, the Emperor's crown and Blakk's spikes.
Even their eyes were different.
Blakk glared at them now with yellow-rimmed eyes, haunted despite the image Blakk tried to push of himself to the world.
"That the Dr. Blakk you're always telling me about?" Lian asked as civilians ran for cover, away from the battle that was about to begin.
"Yep."
"Thought he'd be taller."
Blakk ground his teeth, which were sharp as knives but not as sharp as Kerien's. "Watch it. I once killed an elfin master who rivaled your skills."
"Well" Lian readied her staff. "I never met her. And you've never fought me. So how can you tell?"
"We're about to find out."
---
--
-
"So, you know how the portals work?" Kerien asked the shadow clan leader as they headed for the prison to find the Shane gang and Chik.
Slanen sighed. They had been circling this for a while.
"Again, no. They were not created by the shadow clan."
"So who made them?"
Trixie looked on in interest. The gang had never had time to ask the shadow clan these very questions--you know, with all the Blakk and Emperor butt kicking they had to do.
Slanen shrugged. "I am not sure. Someone from Uhuru caverns."
Trixie and Kerien shared a look. Another set of caverns?
"Isn't Uhuru Swahili for--"
"Freedom." Yunin finished. "The caverns are located under the land mass you call Africa."
Kerien began to glow--literally, when she felt emotion strongly the red in her body and eyes begin to glow.
Its not that there hadn't been anyone in the Eastern or 99 caverns who looked like--the caverns were filled with all kinds of people and their cultures--but she knew from her time on the surface that things weren't always so...just? Fair? Diverse?
To know there was a cavern under the country where her people had originated felt...nice.
For a moment, Kerien's mind wandered to what this Uhuru Caverns must be like.
"What are they like?" She asked.
"I am afraid I cannot answer that." Slanen explained. "I was born here, long after the portals ceased functioning. But from our history, a resident of Uhuru caverns made the portals systems with her slug, a rare portal slug."
"Rare as in..." Trixie said, used to the one of a kind slug trope.
"The only of its kind."
"There it is." Trixie sighed. "And despite all this awesome information we have to save the 99 caverns for like...the 1000 time."
"Far more than these caverns are worth, yes?" A deep voice echoed from the forest.
The small group froze, but Trixie and Kerien recognized that voice.
"No," Kerien said, shaking her head slightly, memories of her best friend not being himself filling her head, pain, torture--
"Ah, Kerien." A human form stepped from the shadows.
It was not Eli's dad, but instead a hulking darkbane. The goon doc stood unhidden on his shoulder.
"I remember you. I once thought I would take your body when the Eastern failure's body finally failed. After all, you, like the emperor, are immortal."
With a fanged snarl, Kerien raised her Slug Fu launcher, Trixie doing the same with her shooter. Red glowed up and down Kerien's body, blackness like a storm clouding over her face.
The Goon laughed as an army of humans came out from the woods behind him.
"Oh this will be fun."
---
--
-
Junjie ducked as another wave of gooned slugs went flying through the air. He looked around frantically, through crowds of escaping villager and evil slingers, clouds of ash and destroyed homes.
He'd lost sight of Lian, Hamengku, and Dr. Blakk in the melee. And he was losing the ability to see. But he could still hear.
Turning around, he used his launcher to deflect a hard punch from Blakk.
"Few in Slugterra prefer hand to hand combat." The eastern champion noted as he pushed Blakk away.
"I don't. But I can fight both way."
Both shoot slugs at the same time, Joo-Joo bearing the goon Blakk sent. Searching Blakk's bandolaire, Junjie saw no more slugs to reload. He gave a triumphant grin.
"Looks like you're out of slugs doctor...are you a real doctor?"
Blakk seemed surprised by the question but then gave a grin of his own, one twisted by hate and evil.
"Oh, I have one other slug. Just not here."
Junjie raised an eyebrow. He could easily knock out Blakk here, but he could easily escape in the battle. Right now, he could get answers. But he kept his launcher trained on the man.
"Then where is it?"
Blakk laughed. "The 99 caverns. He's visiting an old friend of his. I believe she's a friend of yours too."
"No." Junjie gasped.
"She will be so much more powerful than you as my dark slinger." Blakk continued to taunt, noticing the tremor in Junjie's hands.
Joo-Joo, a few feet away, started hopping over to his partner.
Unconsciously, Junjie felt himself load a geoshard into his launcher. He aimed, right for Blakk's unused heart.
"I will never let you hurt her."
Blakk laughed again, a sound like he was running out of air. "I don't need to hurt her. You've already done that for me. I was used by the Goon Doc too once, briefly, and I saw its memories of what you did."
Junjie couldn't even remember what he did. And Kerien wouldn't tell him.
He was frozen, wanting to stop him, wanting information, and wanting to hurt Blakk, more than he'd ever wanted to hurt anyone before but--
What if he was rig--
Suddenly, Blakk was rammed into by Hamengku similar to how the troll's bull beast would have done it.
After launching the villain away, Hamenhku straightened. "Kid has been through enough. Don't need you screwing with his head any more than it already it." He turned to Junjie, who shook.
He'd never seen the Champion like this before. But then Junjie's eyes focused on him. "We need to get to the 99 caverns."
But the troll shook his head, reloading as Blakk pulled himself up. Chaos and destruction rained around them. "We're needed here. Kerien isn't alone. She can take care of herself."
And Junjie knew he was right, on all accounts, but that didn't make him feel better.