Eli watched Burpy play amongst the cavern's wild native slugs with a smile.
The Shane looked down at his bandaged hands, carefully flexing his fingers to avoid any further pain. The thought of the thorny vines made him flinch. They'd truly made a mark on him that would quite literally leave scars.
A chirp caught his attention and he looked up, just in time to see Burpy fall into the Aquabeek pool he'd been playing next to.
A soft chuckle escaped Eli at the sight and he relaxed.
It was insane. Just a few hours ago, he'd been fighting off the caverns sentient flora.
It started because of Pronto's old mecha-beast. It'd gotten all tangled up in the roots and hanging vines that surrounded them.
In an attempt to get free, one of the gang had fired a Thresher, try to cut him free.
Admittedly, it was not a smart choice in the end. It only made it worse.
All around them, the vines burst to life in a fury.
They began to try and form a cage, a dome around them.
Their first instinct was, of course, to fire slugs at them. It was yet another bad idea. These vines simply grew stronger and more durable with each hit they took.
Not even a Vinedrill tamed these plants.
It was after one last Thresher that the vines sprouted thorns. They didn't realize it at first but those thorns would be a danger.
Eli tried to get the natural cage open , the thorns digging into his hands and arms as he tried to get free or at least create an opening.
It was not long after that struggle did they realize that these thorns were a danger. A hidden defense.
It started with their slugs. Those who'd gotten nicked by the vines began to look tired, pale.
Didn't take long to figure out that this too affected humans,trolls and molenoids
Kord was, surprisingly, the first to fall.
He'd taken most of the heavy damage,having been attempting to pry open the vine cage.
That worried them. It took a ton of tranquilizer to fell a cave troll, but these vines' venom did it in half the time.
And then one by one, the others fell too.
Eli continued to try and fight the plants, ridiculous as it sounded. They had to find a way out, get back home, get to a doctor-
Burpy's wild chirping interrupted his thoughts. The Infurnus gestured to Eli's blaster, signaling for him to fire him.
"Its no use, there's no openings left" his slinger replied, sounded almost defeated.
The Infurnus frowned and looked around, and squeaked, looking upwards.
Eli's eyes followed his slug's and he saw it too.
An opening. A small one, but it was still an opening ,just big enough to get a slug out.
Eli knew his strength was fading fast. It wouldn't be long before he fell unconscious next to the others.
With what little he had left, he loaded Burpy into the blaster. He aimed high, closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer. They needed help right now.
And he fired.
His legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed next to the others. He looked up just in time to see Burpy's familiar flames soar past.
It was hours before he returned.
Eli drifted in and out of consciousness, fighting to stay awake.
When Burpy finally returned, he wanted to stay awake.
His drowsy eyes managed to only see part of the vines retract.
A blurry figure and footsteps followed.
He couldn't hear their voice, try as he might.
He simply smiled weakly and fell back to sleep alongside the others.
When he next woke up, he was still on the ground, his team around him.
Only he wasnt exactly on the ground. Someone had placed him on a makeshift bed, just a blanket and a pillow to support his head.
He saw the same had been done to the others, and that someone had patched up the cuts they'd gained.
Looking down at his own arms, he saw the same went for him.
All the scrapes and deep cuts by the thorns were bandaged, and barely stung anymore.
He did have a splitting headache however, like he'd been hit by a giant truck.
The Shane eventually found a way to get up, although he did fall several times and knew Burpy would certainly laugh at the fact he fell on his face more than once.
The slugs that were around them suddenly seemed delighted to see him, some even hopping onto his shoulder to speak to him. Well, speak in their little squeaks and chirps that is.
But suddenly, they all seemed to go quiet and ran.
They heard something he didnt. Well, not at first anyway.
A soft hum, of a voice that wasn't too far off.
He followed the slugs, who also seemed to be guiding him towards this mystery voice.
It led him through more flora and fauna, and eventually, he got to the edge of a small pond.
And there, he saw a girl, collecting herbs and other plants.
Burpy was on her shoulder, chirping away and... She appeared to nod in response to what he would say.
"Burpy? " he called out, although his voice was much weaker now.
It was still enough however to get his loyal slug's attention .
The girl turned to look at him as well.
She blinked in surprise to see him there, but she wasn't scared.
"...Who are you?" the young Shane questioned.
She simply smiled.
"A friend who can help. My name is Elina"