My name is Shawney Greystone. I should have never found Slugterra… hehe, but I did…
_Line Break_
I ran away from the store I'd been robbing and took to the sewers. They sent one guy down after me while the others waited at the exits. Each man knew I was cornered, hell, even I knew I was cornered.
I'd eventually lost the guard in the maze of tunnels and found a symbol that I recognized. My neighbors, the Shanes, their dad had worn this symbol a lot. He worked some sort of security job for a diplomat. He would be gone for days, then home for several more just to be gone again. His kid, Eli, was a year younger than me, and he hated it. It was how we'd become close enough to consider each other siblings.
I pressed on the symbol, Eli told me one time that symbols like this could get me out of a jam, and a door slid open. Upon hearing footsteps coming towards the intersection I was near, I stepped inside and pressed the symbol again, letting the door slam shut. Inside the room, there was a weird contraption that seemed to have been run recently, there was a lever sitting by the drop zone. I pulled it.
Suddenly, a panel opened up and a chair came out of it, stopping just above the hole.
The tunnel ran deep, deeper than any mine, probably, much deeper.
On that cheery note, I looked around and found another of the Shane symbols, I pressed on it and the panel slid away revealing maps, files, journals, and a gun type mechanism. It was labeled as a backup blaster.
Seeing that in any boat, I'd probably need the blaster and the information in the journals, I grabbed them, stuffed them into my duffel bag on top of the jewels and strapped myself into the chair.
"Here goes nothing." I muttered to myself and I pressed the button, releasing the brake and sending myself plummeting for miles.
The ride lasted nearly two minutes, at a speed that probably should have been considered way too dangerous at something close to one-hundred miles per hour.
Beneath the seat, I saw light beginning to illuminate the dark tunnel and soon, the chair popped out into a large and beautiful cavern. The parachute popped and I landed right next to another chair. The brakes on the other chair were still very hot from slowing down, so I looked around.
In the distance, there was a huge clubhouse building, and someone was walking into it, and if I knew that blue hair anywhere, it was Eli.
I ran to the house and stepped up to the door to see Eli changing, quickly I turned around, and after a few minutes, I stepped inside.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Eli asked, but the question wasn't voiced at me, I turned and looked at the person Eli was talking to.
It wasn't a person; it was a weird mole/human thing.
"Who am I? Who are you?"
"I asked first." That's Eli, always the logical one.
"I am Pronto, molenoid extraordinaire, and who might you be?"
"Pronto, funny, dad never mentioned a Pronto." Eli mused to himself.
"Dad… then you must be Will Shane's son, a Shane! Oh this is wonderful!" Pronto shouted, then he saw me.
"So, what is your name, and do please introduce me to your lovely friend here," Pronto said looking at me with a particularly unnerving look.
"Friend," Eli spun and looked at me.
"Hey, Eli, um... fancy meeting you here."
"Pronto, this is Shawney, could you give her and I a moment?"
"Oh, right of course." Pronto said, laughing cheekily.
I rolled my eyes at the "molenoid" and the man left, leaving Eli glaring at me.
"What? You said that when I was in trouble to follow the symbols, and I kind of got into a lot of trouble."
"Doing what?"
"Not important, look, what is this place? I knew you and your dad had secrets, but this is insane."
Eli sighed and went over to a chest where he found some clothes for me.
"I'll explain later when we have some time away from the people who actually live here. Put these on, you look like you came from the surface."
"I did genius." I said as he turned around. I changed quickly, thanking god that the clothes were clean and comfortable.
When I was dressed, Eli turned back around to me, "number one rule, do not mention the surface, ever, to anyone. Got it? Nobody down here can know about this place."
"Got it, any other rules?"
"Follow my lead," Eli said, inviting Pronto back into the room. I looked around while the two exchanged a few words.
"Hey, Shawney how's a slug-slinging competition sound?"
"Do I get to compete or watch you have all the fun?"
"Up to you," Eli said, I smiled and holstered the blaster that I'd taken from the store house and locked my bag in a chest in the room.
"What's our ride?" I asked Eli as I stood by him. He looked at a large doglike machine, I grinned.
"Oh my god, that's beautiful!" I shrieked. Eli smirked and hopped on; I climbed on behind him and put my arms around his waist.
"How do you start one of these things?" He asked out loud. I smacked the back of his head and pulled a little lever then revved the engine.
"Just like my motorcycle."
"Since when… actually I'm not gonna ask."
"What can I say? I like nice things." I said with a shrug as Eli took off. Riding the thing was more amazing than it looked and when we arrived at the tournament, we dismounted.
"Since Eli has only one slug and you don't have any, Shawney, I will happily lone you one of my slugs of your choice, from there, you must earn your own, then I need my slug back."
I nodded and looked at Eli, he nodded too, and I took a blue and yellow slug.
"A taserling, good choice my dear," the mole commented.
I smiled and he hopped onto my shoulder, "he gotta name?" I asked.
"Of course not," Pronto scoffed, "now I will go find you two some real sparring partners."
Eli and I sighed, "well little guy, I'll call you Watts, sound good?"
Watts nodded and jumped up and down in his capsule.
"Alright, while we're alone, explain this, quickly."
"You load the slug into the blaster like this, pull the trigger, when it reaches velocity at 100 miles per hour, it transform into its mega morph form with cool powers. Don't get hit by one during the duel, but try to hit the other guy."
I nodded, "sounds like something I'm used to." I said with a shrug."
I shot Watts at a target while Eli shot Burpee, his infernos slug at another. Both shattered instantly as Watts shot electricity at it and Burpee shot fire.
"So, that's what you were talking about, alright." I said as Watts hopped dup onto my shoulder. Eli nodded and Pronto soon returned with a very mean looking blue humanoid and a girl dressed in green with red pigtails holding a camera.
"These are your knew sparring partners," Pronto said happily.
"Oh, I'm not sparring, just checking out your weaknesses." The girl said, "I'm Trixie."
"And this is Kord," Pronto added, gesturing to the blue guy.
"You're a cave troll." Eli said crossing his arms.
"Let me guess, you don't wanna spar either."
"Nope, we can spar, I'm Eli, and this is Shawney. You know, my dad talked highly of cave trolls, said that 'you'll never meet anyone more loyal than a cave troll'." Eli said with a smirk.
"And who's your dad?"
"Will Shane," Eli deadpanned. I smirked.
"So, Eli, if you're just gonna sit here and chat, then I'm gonna go ahead and spar, thank you very much." I said.
"What do you say Kord?" Eli said.
Kord smiled and the two sparred, Eli got his but handed to him.
"Don't stand so square. Dude, you're making yourself a target." I said from my position sitting on a rock.
"Oh yeah, like you'd be any better than me," Eli taunted.
"Let's see how I do." I said with a shrug.
I stood, facing Kord, only my stance was more ready, and stood sideways. After dodging several slugs called rammestones, I shot Watts and electrocuted Kord gently.
"Lucky shot." Eli muttered.
"Dude, this is the benefit of being a criminal, I have experience with this sort of thing, come on dude, you and me." I said, taunting him.
"Wait you're a Shane and she's a criminal?" Trixie asked.
"Meh, he needs me and he knows it." I said.
Eli rolled his eyes, "yeah sis, and I totally asked you to follow me out of our home cavern and here to the competition."
"Whatever," I said as I shot Watts at him, Eli dodged and fired Burpee, lighting my shoe on fire. I stamped it out, but was knocked backward on my butt.
"He's a natural." Kord said. I huffed, and we signed up for the tournament, maybe things would go right for us two orphans, maybe they wouldn't.