A/N: From here on out, there may be some discrepancies between how I write things related to the Goon Doc vs. the canon Goon. This isn't me not knowing canon, it's me taking some diversions from it ;)
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The townspeople in the King of Sling's living room stared at Trixie, Alana, and Junjie as they silently walked out of the mansion. Luckily, none of them directly said anything to the trio, but Alana could faintly hear them murmuring to themselves. This definitely wasn't over, but it looked like they would leave the Shane Gang alone for the time being, too thrown off by the appearance of Junjie.
Trixie led Alana, still holding onto her hand. Alana was grateful, because she honestly didn't know if she would be able to make it back to Siobhan's on her own. The town wasn't exactly a booming metropolis, but to her, it might as well have been the Cavern of Time. The sight of Junjie freely walking alongside Trixie (on Trixie's other side, not next to Alana) was so disconcerting she felt like she'd short circuited.
It had been easy to suggest taking in the Eastern Champion when he was unconscious. But now, seeing him up and walking around, Alana instinctively wanted to hide, even though she was trying to convince her brain that everything was fine. Even if something happened and Junjie attacked, he was severely outnumbered, and no longer had ghoul firepower.
Junjie looked around the town in wonder, staring for a few extra moments every time he saw a building that had been damaged from the explosions. His eyes were calculating, taking in every detail and drawing unknown conclusions. After a few blocks, he finally seemed to work up the courage to speak.
"I must know. Did... did I do this?"
His voice was drenched in sorrow and guilt without even knowing whether or not he was responsible for the destruction. Alana brought herself to glance up at his face. He looked at the rubble around him sadly, even though it was clearly somewhere he had never been before- or at least nowhere he seemed to remember.
How would he feel if he saw Palida Cavern, nothing but ash and destruction?
Trixie, who'd held a stone-cold expression through the walk up until then, softened her gaze slightly.
"No, this wasn't you," she assured quietly. "But it was the Goon Doc."
Junjie thought for a moment, then quickly stopped in his tracks and turned to face Trixie and Alana, panic in his eyes.
"Has he taken another host?" he asked urgently. "If so, he must be stopped immediately, we have to find him-"
"Don't worry, we're way ahead of you," Trixie said, tightening her grip on Alana's hand. "He took our caverns' protector, but we got him back. The Goon got away though."
"He got away?" Junjie asked, taken aback. He instinctively went to move his arms, likely to activate his blaster, but huffed in frustration when he remembered he still wasn't armed. "If he took your protector then you know the threat he poses to these caverns. We must find him immediately!"
His voice raised in volume, not in anger, but instead in urgency. That didn't stop Alana from taking a small step away from him, though, instinctively on high alert at his frustration. She immediately stepped back forward, embarrassed at her reaction. Junjie's gaze flicked over to her, but he pointedly faced Trixie instead.
"We know how dangerous he is, but he could be anywhere by now," Trixie explained tiredly. "There are wind-powered tunnels that slugs can use to get nearly anywhere in the 99 Caverns."
She kept walking, continuing the journey to Siobhan's, forcing Junjie to sigh and follow her and Alana.
"Then you must alert your entire realm," Junjie insisted, taking a moment to cause and rub at his head. He clearly wasn't completely recovered. "They must be on high alert, and I should leave immediately to hunt after the Goon."
Alana raised an eyebrow at his insistence to act even though he looked like he was about to collapse in the middle of the street at any second. If there was any doubt that he was once the Eastern equivalent of the Shane, it was immediately diminished. Alana could easily imagine Eli acting the same way.
"You're probably not able to stay awake for more than a couple hours," Trixie deadpanned. "You're not tracking anything down for a while. We're all exhausted. We need to slow down and recover before we figure things out. And we can't do anything until we talk about this whole Eastern Caverns thing."
"Eastern Caverns... 'thing?'" Junjie asked. He conveniently didn't comment on Trixie's statement regarding him being unable to embark on any journeys anytime soon. "What do you mean?"
After sparing a quick glance around the street to ensure there were no citizens nearby, Trixie sighed and glanced at Alana. Alana simply shrugged. Junjie obviously already knew there were multiple realms, so there wasn't anything to keep secret from him, at least other than the fact that he was walking with who should have been the Western champion.
"Before this whole thing, did you know there were other realms? Other caverns besides the East?" Trixie asked. Junjie looked surprised by the question, but nodded.
"I did, but that knowledge is not shared by everyone. Myself and my teacher were aware, but other than that, I doubt anyone else in the East knew," he said. "I certainly didn't know that travel between the caverns was possible save for one person, but she was not from my home, and I doubt she was responsible for my journey here."
Alana tensed, her heart racing. Surely he meant her mother? Who else would be not from the Eastern Caverns and also able to travel between realms?
Trixie noticed Alana's reaction, but didn't respond save for a quick squeeze of her friend's hand.
"Well, it's the same thing here. We... well, most of our team didn't know," she admitted, glancing over at Alana. "We haven't talked about it yet, but we need to think about how we handle things. We don't know how the 99 Caverns will react to learning about a whole other set of caverns, and that might raise some... other difficult questions."
Alana glanced upward, certain she was thinking the same thing as Trixie. If the people of Slugterra learned the world was a lot bigger than they thought, would they start to look upward as well? Having known about the surface for so long, she wasn't sure if knowing about new caverns would be enough to reignite interest in the surface's possible existence.
Junjie still looked uncertain, but Trixie continued before he could start up again.
"Look, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt with all this even though we don't know you because I just saw my best friend attack the people and caverns he loves," she said. She glanced at Alana quickly. "And we're... sympathetic to your situation. I know you know plenty about the Goon, but we know these caverns, and you have to take our word on it when we say that right now, we need to regroup."
Junjie nodded curtly, completing the rest of the walk in silence. Siobhan was waiting for the three outside her building, sitting on a rickety rocking chair. Her hands were folded over her lap, and she looked half asleep, unbothered when she saw the two Shane Gang slingers approaching with a stranger that looked dead on his feet.
"Hi, Siobhan," Trixie said, pausing next to the elderly cave troll. "Mind if we take up one more bed?"
Siobhan gave a half wave of her hand in response.
"Fine by me, all the beds are already made," she said nonchalantly. "Long as you slingers don't keep me up, I don't care what you get up to. I know you're good kids."
Alana smiled softly at that, encouraged by the support of the old woman. She followed Trixie and Junjie into the bed and breakfast, glancing around. Old framed blueprints and photographs lined the walls, and everything was spotless and neatly placed. There wasn't a speck of dust to be seen.
Trixie guided Alana and Junjie up carpeted stairs to a short hallway with a handful of doors. The redhead paused in front of one, glancing up at Alana and Junjie.
"I don't know if E's asleep," she said. "If he is, we'll come back later."
Alana nodded, and Junjie looked mildly confused, but he at least didn't ask who "E" was, and instead silently watched Trixie peak her head into the door. She laughed quietly and swung it open further.
"So much for getting your sleep," she deadpanned. She walked into the room, tugging Alana along and beckoning for Junjie to follow.
Eli was at least in bed under a thick quilt, but he was sitting up. His slugs were all over, some on his lap, Burpy on his shoulder, and some asleep further down by his legs. He was holding up a hand, to which a small line of spider web was attached. The other end held what appeared to be a marble, and a handful of slugs were playing tetherball with it.
Other than looking tired, Eli seemed fine. He glanced up from where he was watching his slugs, and his eyes lit up at the sight of Trixie and Alana. Alana found herself relaxing immediately upon seeing that he was okay. Her hand finally slipped from Trixie's, and it felt like everything came into a bit more focus.
"You're supposed to be asleep," Trixie said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. She looked around the room, noting the empty couch next to the bed. "And Kord and Pronto were supposed to be keeping an eye on you."
"They're both tired, they're asleep next door," Eli said, waving his (non-tetherball) hand nonchalantly. "Besides, I'm feeling okay. I got a quick nap in. These guys wanted to play."
"And I want to be home playing video games," Trixie lamented, sitting down on the bed next to Eli. She gestured up to Junjie. "But here we are."
Eli looked up, and for the first time noticed the Eastern slinger, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. Alana stepped to the side, sitting down on an armchair next to the couch and carefully watching Eli survey the newcomer.
His teal eyes lit up with recognition, then pity, then a careful relief. He slowly lowered his hand, putting an end to his slugs' game, but his living ammo seemed just as interested in Junjie as their slinger was.
"Junjie, right?" he asked carefully. Junjie looked surprised, but nodded.
"Yes. And you are the leader of this group?" Junjie asked. "And... the Goon...?"
"Eli Shane, and, yeah. That's how I recognize you. The Goon... he showed me the East," Eli explained. He quickly glanced over at Alana, then turned away. "And some other stuff, too. I'm so sorry."
Junjie shook his head. He was smiling, but it was clearly laced with grief.
"Don't be. You all have done more than I could ever repay by freeing me from the Goon Doc's control," he said. "I am the one who should be sorry. I never thought this problem would transcend the borders between realms."
"We have a knack for attracting trouble," Eli laughed. "Luckily it wasn't our first time dealing with ghouls. He got away, but we know what we're up against now. And... maybe some ideas about what he'll do next?"
Eli asked the last question strangely, holding Junjie's gaze, and Alana had a feeling he was trying to convey more than just what he said. Sure enough, Junjie nodded, just barely perceptible, but Alana knew what she saw.
"This certainly is not how I would have wanted allyship between the East and 99 to form," Junjie admitted, clearly trying to carry the conversation on. "But I will gladly help you track down the Goon. I feel we have plenty to talk about, especially about these corrupted ghouls. I am concerned he may try to escape this realm, however."
"Back to the East?" Trixie asked.
But Junjie shook his head. Alana tensed, glancing at Ash.
"No, I doubt he would want to return to his forces in the East empty handed," Junjie said. "I am concerned that he may seek a way to add to his energy. What do you know of the W-"
"Let's talk about this later!" Alana exclaimed, getting to her feet, trying to ignore how she could already feel her heartbeat speeding up. "Kord and Pronto are resting, Eli should be doing that too, and I won't try to tell Trix what to do, but I'm exhausted. And you need your rest too, Junjie, you look like you're ready to fall over."
Alana pointedly wasn't looking Junjie in the eye, keeping her gaze fixed on a point on the wall behind him. She wasn't exactly lying, either - the Eastern Champion was now leaning on the doorway for support. He needed to lay down before he fell, because she was not carrying him to a bed, and she didn't want to be the one to wake up Kord.
He seemed to debate with himself for a moment, but Junjie finally sighed and nodded.
"You're right. We can continue this conversation another time, when we are more of sound mind," Junjie agreed. He pushed himself off the doorway. "The room across the hall is much smaller with just a bed. If it is alright with you all, I can rest there."
"Go for it. Let us know if you need anything," Eli added.
Junjie nodded, bowing his head before leaving for his own room, silently closing the door behind him. Alana sighed and collapsed back down onto the armchair, running her hands down her face. Mage patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"This is a lot," Eli noted, laying back into the several pillows on his bed. "Like, a lot. That's literally someone from another set of caverns."
"How crazy," Alana laughed. Eli snorted and Trixie rolled her eyes.
"We still need to talk about that eventually," she noted, giving Alana a knowing look. "But not now. The important thing is we're all safe, for now. We'll talk about all this crazy realm stuff later. Right now we all need to get some rest before the Bonnie Springs people get here."
She got up from Eli's bed and flopped face-down on the couch, unholstering her blaster and tossing it on the ground.
"It's bedtime. Anyone who wakes me up before the doctors get here gets slugged," the redhead said, a sense of dangerous finality to her voice. Alana and Eli nodded quickly, even though she couldn't see them with how she was laying down.
Eli rolled his eyes and shook his head, but laid down, huddling under the patchwork quilt he'd been given. His slugs adjusted accordingly, some of them hunkering down to take a nap as well or hopping off the bed to give the sleeping slinger and slugs some peace.
The armchair Alana sat on was straight across the room from the bed, letting Eli turn to face Alana. He didn't dare speak out loud and risk waking Trixie, so he settled for pulling an arm out from under his blanket. He gave a thumbs up and tilted his head questioningly.
Are you okay?
Alana pulled her legs up onto the chair, turning sideways and laying down with her head on one of the cushiony armrests. She pulled her blaster off its holster so it wasn't digging into her side and, like Trixie, set it on the ground, still within arm's reach. After a moment, she shrugged and gave a halfhearted thumbs up in return.
Eli just raised an eyebrow. Alana sighed and smiled, shrugging again before mimicking an exaggerated (but silent) snore.
Go to sleep.
Message received, Eli nodded, stuck his tongue out, and rolled over, burrowing under the quilt. Alana turned so she was facing the back of the armchair, her knees pulled up to her torso. A few of her slugs hopped off the chair to mingle with Eli's, but Mage and Ash stayed, laying down on her side.
Usually she was more keyed up after a fight, having to fight off the effects of adrenaline to get herself to rest. But the physical and emotional turmoil of the last day and a half were enough to make her eyelids heavy. Comforted by the knowledge that she would soon see Sam, she let herself drift to sleep.
Alana got to her feet. She'd been laying on black stone, which didn't make any sense, but her head felt fuzzy. There were pink sparks in the corners of her vision.
The leader of the Shadow Clan stood a few dozen feet away with his back to Alana, speaking to someone she couldn't see. She looked around the Dark Periphery. A few other Shadow Clan lurked nearby, watching her curiously but never approaching.
She took a few steps toward the leader, picking up on his conversation.
"We do not know what became of the West, nor do we know if the threat can follow her here. If there is a way to communicate through such a distance, we do not know it."
"As far as I'm aware, there isn't. The only link I had to the West was whenever I got a visit from Ev- oh, hello, how are you feeling?"
The Shadow Clan leader stepped aside to reveal Will Shane. His expression changed instantly when he saw Alana, but she still saw a flash of concern before it was masked with calmness. Alana tried to say that she mostly felt confused, but her voice didn't seem to work. The words caught in her throat.
Before she could figure out what to do, the ground suddenly rumbled. Alana reached for her blaster, but it wasn't there. Panicking, she looked down, but she didn't even have her bandoleer. Neither Ash nor Mage were with her.
A line of blue light appeared in midair, stretching into a circle that filled in with bright cyan flashes with the occasional streak of green. A figure stepped out of the light, and once both his feet were on the ground of the Dark Periphery, the portal behind him dissolved.
It was the Dark Slinger, in armor and clothes all too familiar to Alana, but he looked different. The Goon Doc still sat on his shoulder, but the slinger himself looked more human, without monstrous red eyes and dark veins. Yes, the Goon was there, but this wasn't the Dark Slinger, it was Junjie, and even though he looked different, his gaze still held the same malice Alana had seen over a decade ago.
The need to run was overwhelming, but Alana's feet were rooted to the ground. She looked around wildly, hoping the Shadow Clan would attack, but they were all gone. It was just her and Will.
Will had the sense to draw his blaster, loaded with Burpy, and fire the Infurnus. But Junjie dodged it with lightning speed. Memories of the West's fall played in Alana's head. She'd seen the Dark Slinger kill plenty of experienced fighters, he was going to kill Will-
"-lana? Hey-"
Ghouls and slugs clashed in midair as Will and Junjie dueled, Alana stuck standing on the sidelines uselessly, doomed once more to watch the destruction unfold before her. She remembered seeing Will fight when he knew he would win. He'd have a smile on his face, because he knew exactly what was going to happen and he knew it would be in his favor. That look had always reassured Alana that he'd be fine.
That look was nowhere to be seen. Will's demeanor was all business, tense and angry as he fought the Dark Slinger with everything he had.
"-okay, this happens sometim-"
All it took was one misstep, one left that should have been a right, and Will was sent careening through the dark clearing by a Hop Jack. Alana's lips parted in a silent cry. What she wouldn't give to just have her blaster, she could help, or do something. Anything.
Junjie approached Will, who laid in a smoking heap, whose blaster had landed several feet away from him. He raised one of his arms. The Goon Doc was loaded in the barrel of his wrist blaster. Alana remembered how quickly Shanai had died when Blakk hit her with one.
She screwed her eyes shut when the Dark Slinger fired. She couldn't watch. She heard the Goon transform, felt the rush of the ghoul, and then there was silence. Her breathing shallowed. Finally, almost against her will, morbid curiosity forced her eyes open.
Junjie stood right in front of her. She could see Will's unmoving body several yards away. This time, a scream did leave her mouth.
"-really shouldn't be here-"
The Dark Slinger raised his arm, blades of his blaster extended, and slashed forward, right for Alana's neck-
Alana sprang to her feet, heart racing. Her eyes flew open, and there were other people next to her, but the first face she processed was Junjie, and her panic manifested physically, lines of blue energy weaving through her fingertips as she started forward, ready to blindly attack.
But hands grabbed at her shoulders and held her back. She struggled furiously for a moment, wanting to tell whoever was holding her back that she had to protect her caverns from him. She saw her blaster in the corner of her eye and tried to duck down to grab it, but one of the people holding her back kicked it away.
Junjie was shepherded from the room by- Kord? And that was Pronto, waiting until Kord was back into the room before slamming the door shut behind the cave troll. Realization struck her like a Rammstone, and Alana stopped struggling, lowering her head in embarrassment.
After a few moments, Eli and Trixie let go of her, and the blue energy around her hands dissipated.
"Back with us?" Trixie asked tentatively.
Alana nodded, her face heating up with shame - she'd been the one to suggest looking after Junjie, and now here she was waking up in a blind panic and trying to attack him.
"Sorry," she said, looking up at the gang and hating the concern in their eyes. She wasn't some little kid, they shouldn't have to worry about her. "I just- I was dreaming about- and then he was right there when I woke up..."
Her voice trailed off. It sounded like a pretty pathetic excuse to her, but her teammates just nodded in understanding.
"Sorry, the door wasn't locked, and, well, you were kinda loud, so he came running in with Kord and Pronto," Trixie explained. "He just wanted to check on you, I think, but he doesn't know why that's not a good idea."
Alana sighed and scratched at the back of her head, now feeling guilty. Junjie didn't know what he was to her, she'd barely said a word to him since he woke up, and now she'd just almost hurt him.
"I'll talk to him," she decided out loud. "Not right now, I need some time to cool down. But I should tell him, I don't want him to think I just hate him for no reason."
"I'm sure he doesn't think that," Eli argued. Alana wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but he looked nearly good as new. He picked up her blaster from where he'd kicked it away and handed it back to her. "And don't feel like you owe it to him to just tell him everything if you're not ready."
"Yeah, you just told us the other day about the West, and now you're ready to just spill it all to someone we met today?" Kord asked. Alana was pretty sure there was a faint hint of annoyance in his voice, but she understood.
"I kept it from you guys because I didn't want to think about it at all," she explained. "I felt better pretending like it never even happened. And now you guys are giving me this look like you're sorry for me, and I appreciate you guys caring, but I know we all have stuff we haven't told each other for whatever reason."
The others all glanced away, suddenly finding interest in the floor or ceiling, even Eli. Alana knew that for all their adventures together, the rest of the gang still had things they kept close to the chest. The most she knew about Trixie, Kord, and Pronto's early lives were that Trixie had always loved filming, Kord's community was responsible for a lot of the roads and paths in Slugterra, and Pronto was the king of Molemound.
"That doesn't mean we trust each other any less, and me wanting to tell Junjie definitely doesn't mean I trust him more," Alana admitted. "But like it or not, we're all involved in it now. Might as well be on the same page."
Pronto was the first to respond.
"Well, there are no doubts you trust this Junjie anymore than you trust Pronto," he said with a shrug. "It is your story. If it makes you feel better, then Pronto says tell him!"
Alana laughed, smiling when the rest of the gang nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, Pronto," she said. "I just don't want him thinking it was something he did- well, something he purposefully did."
"I get it," Kord replied. "You're too nice, ya know that?"
"It's a gift," Alana sighed, shrugging. "You can't all be me."
"Humble, too," Eli noted.
"You're listening to Pronto too much," Trixie laughed, nudging Alana. "But we still love you."
"Thanks-"
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?! Surely listening to Pronto is an excellent idea-"
The door to the room swung open, and Alana tensed, expecting a confused Junjie. But instead, a woman walked through, with brown skin and curly dark hair pulled into a thick braid. Her white coat was pristine, save for some tan dust from the Mecha ride to Gateway. Sam didn't hesitate, rushing forward and enveloping Alana in a tight hug.
"You dumb slingers are going to give me gray hairs," she gasped, pulling back from Alana and looking her over. "You're all the banes of my existence. Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Alana assured, uncontrollably smiling at Sam's arrival. "We're tired and I don't know about everyone else, but I'm super hungry. Other than that, everything's fine."
Sam sighed, but she couldn't even pretend to be annoyed with the warm grin on her face and the relief in her brown eyes.
"Well, I'll be the judge of that. But I'm glad to hear it. Luckily for you, Siobhan is making dinner downstairs. Unlucky for you, you guys get to tell me what mess you got into this time."