Slugterran Saviours

Chapter 13

Author's Note: so Tadpole is here now, thats fun! and please correct my typos, i an tired. I NOW ONTO THE CHAPTER

Alana's POV

The ride to Quartermain Cavern was filled with silence between the four of us.

As Leo led the way to Quartermain to meet up with the rest and finalize things, tension flew in the air. Thanks to the connected networks, all of us heard Junjie and Leo's banter, how Junjie was hanging out with Tad, how he was getting himself buzzed on the night of a mission. Personally, I agreed with Leo's decision to cut him from the mission, Junjie's known to make stupid choices that tends to get himself hurt. From battling three of Ataro's guards, then Ataro alongside me, he never seemed to learn.

But I know Leo's upset because of other reasons, too, not just Junjie's irresponsibility.

The month of September brought along a rollercoaster of emotions that crashed onto Leo like a tidal wave, from a dark shadow of numbing sorrow, coating him in the icy feeling to a beam of light, radiating happiness and laughter. To undeniable fear that caused him to curl up into a ball at the corner of the room, sobbing his heart out as he relived the most horrifying parts of his life before I could pull him out of his vivid flashbacks. It was the only month where his anti-depressants didn't help as much, when the pills didn'y do anything to stop him from trembling in my embrace after a flashback, sobbing on my shoulder.

I quicked up Midnight slightly so I rode beside Leo, his azure blue eyes looking forward, but seeming to barely register the path ahead, deep in thought. His mecha was on auto pilot as he stared off into space, his eyes glazed over, his back hunched over with fatigue from the late nights we all had planning this mission, saving the caverns from Ataro's henchmen. And ever since our anniversary, his physical health deteriorated, as his state of mind was at its worst.

The carbon monoxide poisoning didn't do good on his health, he got dizzy and disoriented more often, and sometimes I found myself patting and rubbing his back at two in the morning while he heaved over the toilet bowl, puking, gasping, shaking. How everyone kept an eye out for Leo ever since he collapsed of exhaustion yesterday during a distress call to Blade City Cavern. How he shivered at night as we lay down to sleep, despite his body burning up, even when he wasn't having a bad dream. Some nights, I woke up to an empty bed, because Leo was outside, doing target practice, physically drained but his mind plagued with nightmares of havoc wrecking in blank space, Ally standing in the middle of it all, telling him to betray the Shane Gang.

"You feeling okay?" I asked him worriedly as I rode beside him, frowning when I noticed the dark circles under his glassy, tired eyes, his expression slightly paler than it should be. Goosebumps lined his arms, drops of sweat trickling down his brow gradually, his normally decently tame hair disarray, sticking up in all directions, dampened with sweat.

"Yeah, just a little frustrated, I'll be okay. Don't worry, okay?" He reassured with a weak smile, his eyes meeting mine for a moment before they faced forward. We made a sharp turn, taking the hidden, concealed pathway we found after a thick forest of mushroom trees put a halt to the main path we used. Mushroom trees concealed our mechabeasts perfectly, the dry rock making no tracks for anyone to follow. As our mecha beasts trudged through the path expertly, I turned to Leo, who stole a quick glance at the time on the control board of his mecha. 11:25, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

"A penny for your thoughts?" I asked him with a mix of curiousity and concern, trying to distract him from the thought of being late, trying to clear his head so he could concentrate on the mission. He sighed, his shoulders falling as he vented,

"Junjie's too nice for his own good. I mean, like, Tad was Blakk's apprentice and son, Alana. He's corrupted slugs, he nearly killed us, he nearly destroyed the 99 Caverns, even Twist wasn't so bad compared to him. I get that he's trying to be a good person now, but scars don't fade easily. And I'm not forgiving someone who tried to kill you and nearly did, no matter how good they say they are." He growled, his knuckles growing white as his grip on the handlebars of his mecha tightened.