Shivering cold

Find the book

As Holly searched through the whole cabin again, she groaned in annoyance. "No hint, no book, nothing. Just a normal hideout..." She muttered. Ever since she returned to the north, she's been looking for the book Will had mentioned, but to no avail. She swore she checked everywhere it could've possibly been but never found it, but she knew it had to be somewhere. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she smiled. "SHE HID IT ON THE SURFACE I BET!" She exclaimed, joy at the realization. She quickly got Flare and explained before taking off, packing most of her gear in a duffel bag. As she rode her mechabeast to the drop site, she fired off Flare and quickly flew up to the surface.

"This is how we'll get Junjie home. Dad, can you stay behind and protect the caverns while we're gone?" Eli asked his dad. Will nodded before hugging Eli. "Stay safe son." He said. As Will watched everyone go through the portal, he sighed. He casted a glance at the king of sling and the Shadowclan leader before walking off.

As Holly emerged from a tunnel in the ground, she glanced up at the sky. She saw the moon and stars, smiling at the sight. Flare let out a chirp of joy before Holly realized the Infurnus would have to hide. "Sorry girl, but you need to hide." She whispered. Flare nodded and hopped in the duffel bag alongside Holly's other slugs and gear. As she walked the path back to her grandparents house, she paused. 'I have to tell them what happened to mom...' She thought sadly. As she walked up to a house, she knocked on the door and held her breath. As the door opened, she was greeted by her grandma. "Oh Holly! It's been awhile dear!" She said, a smile on her face. "What brings you back up here?" She asked. Holly paused, she'd have to tell her grandma everything that's happened in the past few months. "It's best if I talk about it with you and papa inside..." She murmured, lowering her head. Her grandma picked up on Holly's sadness easily and let her inside, a frown on her face. As Holly sat down, she saw her grandpa give her a concerned look. Her grandma sat down and Holly sighed, lettinging out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "So...about four months ago...mom died. She died protectin the north from some real bad people. They had corrupted slugs into these things called ghouls and one of them, a ghouled thresher, hit her right in the side..." Holly had to pause as tears started to flow from her eyes. Her grandma had a mortified look while her grandpa's eyes were wide in shock. "I had fled to the 99 caverns to get help, and their protector, Eli Shane, helped me defeat them. It took awhile, but we all did it." Holly had to take another second to pause and recollect herself. She purposely left out the part where she had snapped at the Shane gang and how her mom had died a second time, not wanting her grandparents to hear about it. "Since then I've been keepin in touch with them, and recently I went to try and help them open a portal to the eastern caverns, but it didn't work. Apparently there's a book saying how to open the portal despite the slug energy imbalance and I need it. I need to help." She finally finished. Holly's grandma closed her eyes for a moment, a sigh escaping her. "I always knew our daughter would die protecting the northern caverns...this book, it's hidden up here. I can tell you where the first clue is, but that's all I know...go to the nearby park, you'll eventually find the hint." She whispered. "That's all I need, thank you." Holly said as she got up.

As Holly checked everywhere, she groaned in annoyance. "Where is it!" She yelled. She heard a chirp from her bag and sighed. "...Fine, but stay as hidden as possible." She set the duffel bag down and opened it a bit, letting Flare hop out. As Flare hopped towards something, Holly glanced at it. "...What is it?" She asked. Flare pulled something out from beneath the wood chips and Holly read it. 'The place we visited often, check there.' Holly immediately knew where it meant and rushed off to a nearby abandoned school, a smile on her face. Flare had hopped back in the bag and Holly pet the Infurnus a bit as thanks. She came up to the school and stared at the fence. "They built this to keep people out. Never really worked..." She muttered as she carefully lifted her bag up. She managed to get it down on the other side without dropping it and harming her slugs. She then climbed the fence and landed on the other side, a small shock of pain going through her legs. "...Fuck, hate it when that happens." She hissed in pain. As she grabbed her bag, she walked through the yard and towards the side of the school. She found the broken window and carefully made her way in, making sure not to cut herself on any glass. Once she was in, she saw words spray painted on the wall. 'In the gym, gear on and slugs ready.' Holly tilted her head in confusion. "Why? Whatever I'm fightin must be from Slugterra..." She muttered as she grabbed her gear. She quickly slipped it on and hooked her blaster on her belt, her slugs making their way to their normal positions. Flare perched on her shoulder with a chirp and Holly took a deep breath in preparation. "Spirit, you're up first. We'll see if we can get a quick win." She said to her Frightgeist. She grabbed her blaster and loaded the slug, cautiously leaving the room. As she slowly made her way to the gym, she felt an odd aura building up. 'Whatever it is, it's fuckin with my powers...' She thought as she stepped up to the gym entrance.

She slowly opened the door and was immediately attacked. A Rammstone was shot at her and she rolled out the way, firing at where it came from. She saw a woman dodge the Frightgeist and load up another slug in her blaster. Holly did the same and fired her Hop Rock immediately. It collided with an Armashelt and lost, causing Holly to dodge again. "Who are you!? How do you have slugs and a blaster!?" She yelled the question at her opponent. "Win this duel and I'll tell you." The woman replied, quickly firing again. Holly fired her Narwhaddle and created cover for herself as a Tazerling slammed into the side of the icy wall. "Fine, don't be surprised when you're down in the next minute!" Holly yelled back. She attached her double barrel and loaded up Flare and Vi, ready to have her Infurnus boosted by the Fandango. As she peeked from her cover, she saw the woman and fired the shot at her. Flare was boosted by Vi and flew around, burning little bits of the woman but never severely hurting her. Holly then loaded up her Arachnet and fired, tying her up. As Holly walked up to her, she noticed she had an Infurnus as well. "What the fuck..?" She muttered. The woman let out a small giggle and broke free from the webs easily. "His name's Blaze." She said. "Okay, I won, now can you please explain what the fuck is goin on?" Holly asked. "Well, this is gonna take a bit, and it'll be a lot for you, but whatever." The woman said. "The name's Lily, I'm your older sister. Please don't like freak out, I'll explain!" She quickly said as she noticed Holly's shock. "I was 5 when you were born, and mom decided she only wanted one of us being the known protector for the northern caverns. I don't know why she chose you, but it's fine. I had to stay up on the surface for the most part, but I did go down to Slugterra so I could get my gear and slugs. I had to stay here to make sure this-" She paused and took a book from her bag, Holly immediately knowing what it was. "-Was safe and no one would steal it and find out about Slugterra." Lily finished her explanation. Holly was shocked, she had an older sister and she was the one with the book. "Lily, I need the book, I have to help my friends get to the eastern caverns but there's a slug imbalance and ghouls." Holly begged, she was so close to being able to help her friends. "Of course, but it'll take a lot of practice to open the portal different ways." Lily responded. Holly just smiled at that.

"I've learned to not give up."

(A/N)
WASSUP FUCKERS! I DID THIS SHIT FINALLY! I can't believe Holly has an older sister! I mean, I can bc I thought of the idea, but you know what I mean. I'm gonna immediately head off to work on the next chapter now, cya there!