Slugterran Saviours

Chapter 30

Author's Note: hey ya'll this is the less shittier version of chapter 30. sorry it took so long, i had a fuckload of school work, family, friendship problems, and I just felt really bad that week, physically and mentally. i was sick until i nearly vomited after PE, and i fought with a toxic friend and broke off a long friendship. i have exams this week, so i don't think i can upload on monday, so chap 31 will be out the monday after next monday, in july. sorry guys. shoutout to CyanSparks for helping me make it through the weeks, its been hard

"So, let me get this straight." Lisa told them, standing in front of the bed as they all lay around the hotel room. The route they normally took to their house had been blocked by fallen trees and the other routes were long, winding through rocky and dangerous terrain. So they went to a nearby hotel, booking four rooms: one for Lisa and Nathan, one for Anthony and Questria, one for Shang and Raster, and one for Zuli. Anthony and Questria sat together on the office chair, Questria sitting on Anthony's lap, much to his delight. The Lumino Crystals had long since lost light, the Southern Caverns quiet and filled with peaceful serenity.

"The Shadow Clan bring the DA to the Northern Caverns, then you find out the Energy Elemental is sick and that Ataro has doomed the 99 Caverns." Lisa summarised, and Shang nodded from the floor, leaning on the couch in the hotel room, clad in a white shirt and sweatpants, his hair flowing downwards to his thighs. his eyes darted back at the cards he held up in his hand, a grin spreading across his face. He smirked victoriously as he slammed down five cards on the empty space between them.

"Get ready to pay up, bitches! Blackjack!" Shang exclaimed victoriously, and the rest looked over at the intense yet humorous game of Blackjack as Zuli and Raster leaned in towards him, looking at the five cards before they both groaned. once again finding themselves pushing the last of their coins towards his direction, joining the ever growing pile of coins and cash beside him.

"You rigged these cards, I know it!" Raster exclaimed furiously, and Shang scoffed as he placed the bills in his wallet, the coins in a small pouch.

"Hey, you shuffled them, buddy, and it's your cards." Shang reminded him with a winning smirk without looking at him, and Raster groaned, sitting back down glumly. Anthony and Questria scoffed: they knew better than to gamble with someone from the Eastern Caverns. In the Eastern Caverns, gambling was an unwritten tradition, family members playing games with money stacked up beside them.

"You're a real pussy, you know that?" Zuli grumbled, throwing her cards to the ground. Shang smirked at her as he coolly responded,

"Well, you are what you eat." Shang stated, and Anthony rolled his eyes at her team mates, Lisa letting out an irritated huff as Nathan facepalmed. Questria took in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly, trying to hold back from shouting at her team. Lately, she has been a bottle of emotions, her mind constsntly drifting back to her signature slug: a Boon Doc named Medi, a slug that's been with her longer than she could remember, that patched up her wounds, a slug that wiped away her tears when she cried, who followed her as she moved out of her parent's home and into the world. Medi was more than just a slug to her, she was everything to her. And the fact that she was sick and suffering, it killed her to see Medi like this.

"Well, when you're done, we got much more important matters on our hands." The three of them looked at each other guiltily, before they gathered the cards together. They quickly cleaned up the minuscule mess they made, the crumbs that littered the carpet, the strands of long, black hair on the floor. They settled in, Zuli sitting on the bed, Shang making himself comfortable on the couch, Raster's feet hanging off the table as he sat on it. Anthony and Questria waited for them to settle down, Questria casting an apologetic look to Lisa and Nathan as they stood in front of the bed. The three settled down, and Anthony continued,