It had been a few days since I recovered from my sudden sickness due to my first Slug Fu training. Everyone was glad and relieved that I had recovered, especially Junjie who blamed himself for it. However, I forgave him. Currently, Khai saw an amazing advertisement that was filled with explosions and loud announcements on the Slugnet shown by Trixie.
"What is that?" Khai asked.
"That is an advertisement for the Slug Run. It is going to be held this Sunday," Trixie answered.
"And I can't wait to watch it!" Kord exclaimed joyfully.
"I have heard it before. How about I join?" Khai suggested.
Kord's jolly face immediately turned fearful. "No, no, no, no, no! The answer is no! It's too dangerous!" he said.
"Why not?" she questioned.
"You have to travel through dangerous caverns, and if you get injured, nobody is going to help you, which occurs quite often," I explained.
"Oh, I see... But I'll be careful," Khai tried to assure us.
"Even if you be careful, you won't stand a chance," Kord said.
"I... know. But I can do it and win the race," Khai told us confidently.
"Eli did survive, but he came in second place," Trixie blurted out.
"But there is no prize for second place. I was lucky because the winner gave me the Crystalyd slug, which was the prize," Eli added.
"Oh, I see. So... where were you guys be? While I race?" Khai asked.
"In the crowd, cheering for you!" Eli replied.
"That's great," Khai said.
On Sunday, the day of the Slug Race, we followed Khai to the registration place. Her pet Fairy and Junjie's pet Ying also came along. Ha-Chan, who was in her very tiny baby form, was lying on top of Eli's head. After she registered, she noticed two adult twins.
"Hey, who are they?" Khai asked as she pointed at the twins.
"Locke and Lode. They used to work for Dr. Blakk," Trixie answered in disgust.
"Really? I never heard about Blakk before but I do know that you guys beat him from the rumors in these caverns," Khai said.
"Of course, they are quite dumb," I commented.
"You've... encounter them before?" Khai questioned me.
"Yes, the Shane Gang dealt with them before and defeated them. They also once tried to conquer my cavern, but I defeated them," I told her.
"Oh. That's amazing," she complimented.
"Well, lookie who's here? It's the Shane Gang and the nerd girl!" Locke said as he and his brother walked toward us.
"Yeah, remember that I defeated you two TWICE?" I yelled.
"Yeah. And who's this girl?" Lode asked when he spotted Khai.
"This is Khai," I introduced.
"Khai? What a lame name!" Locke commented.
"Hey, watch it! She is Princess Khai of Marinatopia!" Pronto defended.
"Princess? No way! You should be staying in a castle, wearing nice dresses and a tiara," Locke taunted her.
"Yeah! You shouldn't go out slinging. You will get hurt and cry like a baby!" Lode added.
"That's extremely rude," Junjie blurted out.
"You two are so... irritating..." Khai muttered in a cold tone.
"I agree," Junjie said.
"Are you gonna enter this Slug Run?" Lode questioned.
"Yes," Khai answered.
"Ah! You're just a little girl! You'll get easily injured and cry like a baby!" Locke taunted her.
"You better shut your mouth!" Trixie tried to defend Khai. Fairy was about to bite them but Ying stopped her using her telepathy. She told her "Stop! Do not do this, Fairy." using her mind.
Flare, Khai's Infurnus hopped onto her shoulder and her head was on fire.
"Wait, is that...?" Lode was shocked.
"Another Infurnus?!" Locke was as shocked as his twin brother.
"She must be a powerful slinger like Eli Shane!" Lode said fearfully.
"I am. And I'm the protector of Marinatopia," Khai answered.
"Marinatopia? What is that lame place?" Locke asked.
"It's a magical and mythical cavern," she explained.
"Magical and mythical? Are you childish and crazy?" Locke insulted her.
"No. But my cavern is the only cavern with real life magic," Khai defended.
"Magic? Pheh! Grow up kid!" Lode shouted nastily.
"Hey, the race is about to start," Eli reminded us.
"See you in the hospital, loser!" Locke yelled out.
"Yeah, loser!" Lode agreed.
"Ugh... they remind me of one of my enemies back at my cavern," Khai sighed after the twins left.
"Well, mine back in the Surface," I added.
Khai walked toward Shun, her mecha-beast. It was an AC-S model and it resembled an African cheetah because it was yellow with black spots.
"No, Khai! Don't go! The Slug Run is extremely dangerous!" Kord tried to convince her.
"Come on, Kord. It won't be that bad!" Eli tried to calm him down.
"Yeah, you barely survived and came in second," Trixie said sarcastically.
"But just so you know, Pronto the Magnificent saved the day and crushed Sedo!" Pronto shouted in pride.
"I am still confused with this... Slug Run competition," Junjie blurted out.
"I will explain to you later," I told Junjie and turned to Khai, "good luck, Khai. You need it a lot. And you can use your slugs to help you, but never against other racers, or you will be disqualified."
"Thanks. But... this is my first Slug Run," Khai confessed.
"Then you shouldn't join!" Kord shouted in fear.
"I'll be fine. I think... But I will try to win," Khai said.
"Sure you will stand a chance against Vance Bolt?" Eli questioned her.
"Who's Vance Bolt?" the protector of Marinatopia asked.
"You won't see him here. He comes in till the last minute," Trixie replied.
"Oh. Uh... Eli, what happened back then?" Khai asked the Shane.
"Well, I thought he was working for Blakk because he bought upgrades for his mecha-beast. So I tried to win to prevent the prize slug, which was a Crystalyd, to fall under Blakk's hands," Eli explained.
"Oh. And... what happened in the end?"
"Well, I came in second, unfortunately. But Vance Bolt gave me the slug because he thought that Blakk was up to no good since I was desperate to win."
"I see. You think this Vance Bolt person will appear in Slug Run?"
"He always will. He is a racer, not a slinger," I answered.
"Oh, actually Sedo was the mole and was after the Crystalyd Slug and Pronto crushed him!" Pronto exclaimed proudly.
"I... don't know who's Sedo," Khai admitted.
"Sedo is Pronto's life long nemesis. He is working as a proxy for King Pronto now," I explained before Pronto could.
"King Pronto? Wait, he is the king of Moleinods?" she was utterly surprised.
"Well, of course!" Pronto exclaimed, "and you are Princess Khai of Marinatopia! We are both royalty!"
"Wow. It's just wow. I've encounter a lot of kingdoms and their rulers in different caverns from my home," she said.
"Yeah, have you ever seen a ruler for Molenoids?" I asked Khai.
"No," she answered.
"I see," I replied.
"All I know is the ruler of Cave Trolls," she said.
"Who is it?" Kord asked.
"Queen Olive, the ruler of Cave Trolls," she answered.
"I never knew there is a ruler for my tribe," Kord blurted out.
"Well, there is. I better go. The race is about to begin," she said.
Fairy barked at her in concern. "Don't worry, Fairy. I will be fine. Trixie will take care of you."
"Okay, all the best and good luck! Try your best, but remember: survive," I told Khai.
"O-Okay," Khai replied as she rode on Shun to the starting line.
"Okay, we should get the best seats," Trixie reminded us and we followed her.
As Khai was at the starting line, she saw a few racer between her and she felt nervous. Flare looked at her from her slug tube.
"Uh... this is getting interesting. Yet... I feel nervous, Flare," Khai whispered to her Infurnus, hoping that nobody would notice it and thought she was weird.
Flare chirped and Khai seemed to understand. She could understand because of the magic of her pendant.
"You're right. This is my first Slug Run. Kord did say it's dangerous. I wonder if something bad happen to me and the other racers?"
Flare chirped again and Khai nodded. "Okay. I'll try to survive and win the race!" she said to herself quietly.
"Racers, start your engines!" the announcer of the Slug Run called out.
Khai started up her mecha's engine, so did the other racers. In the crowd, the Shane Gang and I watched the racers.
"On your mark... get set..."
Khai took a deep breath before she looked at the crowds to see the Shane Gang and I cheering for her.
"Hold your racers, please," a man with blonde hair and blue eyes came in riding his horse mecha to the starting line gracefully. Khai was startled to see him.
"I know I am late, but the race won't start without me," he said.
"Uh... you must be... Vance Bolt, right?" Khai questioned him, remembering her conversation with us.
"You must have heard of me, right?" Vance asked her back proudly.
"Uh... yes. From the Shane Gang."
"Oh, Eli Shane. He is a good boy."
"Uh, yes. And I am his ally."
"Oh, then good luck."
"Th-Thanks..."
"So, should we begin, now?" Vance Bolt questioned the announcer casually. Khai nodded and started up Shun again.
"Of course, Mr. Bolt," the announcer answered. "Go!" he shouted and he shot his Flaringo out of his Aquablast blaster.
Khai rode off ahead first in full speed thanks to the high speed modification made on her vehicle. The other racers also left the starting line fast.
"Go, Khai! Go!" Eli cheered.
"Be careful, Khai!" Kord shouted worriedly.
"Hope she survive," Trixie whispered.
"She will. She is a great rider," I answered.
Despite Khai left the line first, Vance Bolt managed to catch up and now he was faster than her. Khai started to feel nervous. All of the sudden, someone crashed her vehicle on the left. She turned to her left and saw Locke. Her right side of her mecha-beast was crashed by someone else. She turned to her right and spotted Lode. It looked like they were trying to crash her vehicle to stop her from moving forward. Khai got an idea. Before they were about to crash onto her mecha together, she stopped Shun suddenly. This made both of the twins' mecha-beasts slipped from Shun and crashed onto each other. Khai laughed and sped up. She gave them a raspberry before she and the other racers entered the Jungle Cavern.
In the Jungle Cavern, Vance was able to jump gracefully onto the mushrooms to avoid stepping onto the mud. Heavy mecha-beasts were unable to do it and they fell into the mud with their riders. Racers also tried to keep their pace as they jumped over giant roots and avoided crashing onto trees and large fungi. Khai was able to pass all obstacles with ease.
The second cavern was the High Cliff Cavern and Vance decided to take a shortcut by hopping onto the hanging cliffs around the cavern. When Khai reached the cavern, she hesitated whether she should follow Vance or took the rocky bridge – which was the long way as other racers took.
"No, that is too long. I just gonna jump," Khai murmured to herself. She took a leap onto the first hanging cliff. Her mecha shook and she was scared. She looked down of the cliff and it was very dark. What she did not know was that there were Shadow Clans down there, watching her. She tried again and she was able to hop onto each cliff. However, Shun slipped halfway and Khai almost fell along her mecha. Luckily, the claws of her vehicle were strong enough to hold her and its own weight. Khai speedily regained balance and continued the dangerous journey until she reached the other side. She sighed in relief and continued to drive. She was currently quite far away from other racers.
When she sped up and reached other racers, they had reached the Frozen Northern Cavern. The thick snow on the ground caused some mecha-beasts to sink and made them difficult to move. The ice, on the other hand, added more problems as it made the vehicles to slide out of control. Khai lost control at first but she successfully took full control before she could slip down to the deep, dark chasm. She was horrified to see it. She saw Vance took a giant leap and managed to cross the chasm. Thinking she could not make it, she shot Snowy, her Mega Morphed Frostcrawler, and she created an ice bridge for her to cross safely.
The last cavern was the Crystal Caverns. Khai spotted solid blue arches of crystal and she wondered what were those. While she was driving, Locke and Lode were crashing some racers down. One of the victims collided with an arch and it glowed with bands of red colour. The arch slid into the ground and erupted out of the ground, revealing to be a Crystal Worm! The aggressive creature started to chase other racers as they were in its territory. This brought panic among them. The Crystal Worm attacked them by trying to eat them. During the attack, more arches were knocked and they all revealed themselves as Crystal Worms!
The giant worms flared out their mandibles, catching the red light of their eyes, making them appear bigger and more threatening in a show of aggression. Since they were high adept diggers, they 'swam' through the ground like water in a very fast pace and popped out suddenly to make their attacks.
Vance Bolt's horse mecha had the speed and agility to avoid the attacks easily. Khai resorted to use her slugs to defend herself. Along the way, she was safe, but she felt guilty for not helping other riders who were injured by the Crystal Worms. She had to shake it off of her mind as she needed to finish the race.
She heard a scream and she turned her head back. The scream belonged to Lode as he was about to get eaten by a Crystal Worm. Locke looked really afraid. Khai fired Rom, her Mega Morphed Rammstone toward it. Rom punched the mouth of the Crystal Worm hard and it went off balance. The twins wondered who fired the slug. Khai quickly rode off, not wanting to be figured out by them.
Meanwhile, there was a huge crowd at the finish line, and the Shane Gang and I were there.
"Where's Khai?" Eli questioned.
"Oh, where are you, Khai?" Kord whispered in fear.
"I hope she is okay," I said.
From the tunnel, Vance Bolt came out and he was driving to the finish line. A second or two later, came Khai out of the tunnel. Seeing Vance was ahead of her, she accelerated Shun and she immediately surpassed Vance and his horse mecha. She crossed the finish line first.
"Khai! First place!" the announcer shouted. The Shane Gang and I cheered joyfully.
Khai set her vehicle into a halt and panted. She sighed in relief that she had survived and she was grinning for her victory.
"Here's the prize for the winner!" the announcer handed her the prize – a White Boon Doc. The new slug of Khai grinned.
"How about I call you 'Kenta'? It means 'healthy' since you are a healer slug too," she asked the slug. He smiled in respond to his new name. Reiki, Khai's Boon Doc, which was aqua green, hopped onto Khai's palm and welcomed the newcomer warmly. They both looked so happy together.
The reporters and photographers roamed toward her and she was surrounded by questions and camera flashes from them. She felt very uncomfortable.
"Move aside, please," a male voice called out. It was Vance Bolt. "Congratulations for winning the race, Khai," he congratulated her and he and Khai shook hands.
"Thank you," she replied.
"Khai!" the Shane Gang and I called out.
"I am so glad that you are okay, sis!" Kord was so relieved that he gave her a big tight hug. Khai struggled to handle Kord's strength. She was glad that he let her go fast.
Congratulations for winning your first Slug Run, Princess Khai of Marinatopia. Ying sent her thought into Khai's head.
Ha-Chan, who was now awake, felt happy that Khai won and she said "Ha! Ha!" as usual.
Fairy congratulated her owner by performing Moonblast. She spread her feelers wide open, and an image of the Moon appeared behind it. It then forms an orb of pink energy in front of her mouth, and fired it to the sky, releasing a pink coloured fireworks. Everyone was awed by it.
"Uh... Khai?" another male voice caught our attention. The voice belonged to Locke.
"Congratulations for winning the Slug Run, Khai... and thanks... for saving my brother's life," Locke told Khai. His sentence shocked us and her.
"Well, I see that you have a care towards your twin brother and he is the only family you have," Khai replied.
"How did you figure out?" Locke was quite surprised.
"I just figured out by myself," she answered.
"Hmph! You two don't even have a heart! You two bullied her! And have done bad things!" I yelled with anger.
"Hey, it's okay, Wen-Wen. I forgive them because I understand their hearts," Khai calmed me down.
"Well... we don't have parents," Locke said.
"They abandoned us..." Lode added.
"Serves you right!" I yelled back, ignoring their sadness that were drawn onto their faces.
"You are abandoned by your parents too, aren't you, Wen-Wen?" Khai asked me back. Her question left me in silence. I bit my lip and rolled my eyes to avoid her gaze.
"It's alright. You two can start a new life and forget all about the work you did for Dr. Blakk," Khai told the twins. "Let go of your horrible past. And begin your new lives with kindness and care. Kindness will change your way."
"Thank you for the advice, Khai. We will try our best to start a new life," Locke replied to her. Lode just nodded in agreement.
After the twins left, I asked Khai, "Where did you get that?"
"It is from the Element of Kindness," she answered.
"I still don't trust them," Trixie blurted out.
"Me too," I agreed with her.
"I know that, but it will take time to change your mind," Khai explained.