Small World (Slugterra Fanfiction)

Chapter 12: The Past

  "Eli, if this doesn't work I want you to know that I'll always remember what you all did for me." Dexas spoke amongst her friends, including the Shadow Clan. Sitting in her palms, Doc looked up at her happily.
"This will work, it has to." Eli smiled to her while putting on the device. Once the Shadow Clan leader prepared a flat surface for the projection,
"We are ready, Eli Shane." Eli gave him a thumbs up as Dexas placed Doc upon her head. Eli closed his eyes again, concentrating deeply on his memories of their childhood. Dexas-Taryn found herself in awe by what she saw, so many wonderful times she'd spent with him as a little girl. With Doc putting healing energy inside her mind, the flashbacks from Eli's own mind were gradually restoring her memories. The moment when he was gifting her with the emerald locket, her brain tossed her into a sudden sleep causing her to faint right then and there. She'd gasped before initially fainting, alerting Eli in time to catch her before anyone else. Naturally the projection stopped, the device being thrown off his head before he returned to holding her with both hands. Eli soon lowered her gently to the ground to rest.
"If the procedure is a success, Dexas-Taryn will awaken momentarily with her memories fully restored." Informed the Shadow Clan leader. Eli nodded a little, glancing to Doc with a small smile. The little guy smiled with a small squeak, hopping over to Eli's side.
"So, what do we do now?" Kord asked with a quick look around.
"All we can do right now. Wait." Eli Shane answered and sat down upon the ground near the sleeping girl's head. During the wait, the Shadow Clan told stories of life with Dexas-Taryn living amongst them. They spoke of how curious she was, how eager she was to learn and how skilled she'd become overtime. Time seemed to go by easier that way, taking their minds off what they were waiting for. Can't say the same for Eli Shane, however. His mind was half in the present, half in the past.
"We were her home, when no where else was." The Shadow Clan leader explained. Eli glanced to the slumbering Masked Soldier, thinking to himself. He watched as her chest rose and fell from breathing, eyes traveling to the patch which covered her left eye.
"What are you thinking about, bro?" Kord asked with a small smile.
"Just all that's happened, Kord. That's all." Eli replied and changed his gaze to his friends.
"I..hope it's not too much for the great Eli Shane.." groaned a female voice, revealing Dexas slowly sitting herself up. She immediately caught their attention as Eli scooted himself a bit closer,
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Ok..I guess. What happened?" Dexas looked around at all the ones gathered around her.
"Dr. Blakk fired a slug at you, causing you to fall off Prisma and severely hit your head. That in turn caused memory loss." Said Junjie with a little dread in his voice. While looking down, Dexas nodded somewhat before having a confused expression on her face. She used a hand to pull her hair closer into her line of sight,
"Pronto? Did you braid my hair?"
"As right as you are assuming I could produce such an exquisite braid, it was Eli this time!" Her proud friend explained. Dexas raised her eyebrow with a smile to Eli,
"And I assume you picked the flowers, too?" She'd noticed one placed at the top and bottom of the braid. He began to blush while grinning,
"Yeah. You like it?"
"Course I do. But I just have one question."
"What?"
"When did you learn how to braid hair?" She laughed to herself.
"It's a long story." Eli responded with a nervous smile.
"I've got time." She mused with a smile of her own.
"Meaning you don't need to know." He chuckled softly, and she laughed while shaking her head,
"You Shanes and your secrets. Well whether or not I ever know, it's very pretty," Dexas leaned over and kissed Eli's cheek, "And thank you all for taking care of me."
"Hey it's no problem at all. You're part of our team, we've got your back." Kord gave her a thumbs up and a smile. She smiled back before acknowledging the Shadow Clan's presence. Dexas bowed her head to their leader to show her gratitude for their help, to which she received the same gesture from him in return.