"The Slugs are never for the Emperor and his Underlords!" - Team Phoenix

Freedom for Slugs

It was morning in the Cavern of the Last East. Everyone in the cavern had woken up.

"So... what are we going to do today?" Zhong Fen asked her teammates.

"Well, I am analyzing the places where the Underlords have stored their stolen slugs," Kun Zhen said while holding her tablet.

"Oh, I see now," Suxiong Jian blurted out.

Master Wu was with Team Phoenix, along with the Shadow Clans. The Shadow Clans spoke to the Slug Fu Master.

"The Emperor's right hand man, The Dark Slinger, has conquered many caverns. The Underlords are signed to those caverns," Master Wu told them.

"If it is a residential cavern, they control the people," Kun Zhen said.

"Besides that, they steal the supplies," Yong Gang added.

"But the most important of all, are slugs," Rong Chun summarized the discussion.

"They will store the stolen slugs in their fortresses, before loading them to the Dragon Train during Delivery Day," Kun Zhen explained.

"And the slugs will be transported to Peach Blossom Spring Cavern, and they will be locked in the Imperial Palace," Rong Chun added.

"Hmm... it seems that the Emperor wants all of the slugs," Yu Juan stated.

"Yes, he does," Kun Zhen answered.

"But why? It can't be that he is playing 'The Pirate Game'," Hai Chang blurted out.

"Nobody knows why. He never says why, but everyone must obey him or face the consequences," Kun Zhen explained.

"That's ridiculous! The Slugs are never for the Emperor and his Underlords!" Zhong Fen shouted.

"Slugs are important for everyone because of their slug energy," Dong Song stated.

"Yes, and we need to save those slugs!" Wei Cheng suggested.

"But where should we start?" Suxiong Jian questioned.

"Well, which type of caverns should we start?" Kun Zhen asked for suggestions.

"Hmm... we should start somewhere that is much simpler for practice to sneak in and escape," Zhong Fen suggested.

"Okay. How about plains caverns?" she asked again.

"Yes, that will do," the Cave Troll replied.

"Well, in the North Region, Trava Steppe Cavern is a plains cavern," Dong Song told them.

"It is a grassland plains without trees," Wei Cheng explained.

"Pyeong-ya Cavern is a plains cavern in the East Region," Rong Chun stated.

"The fortresses will be easily seen, but so do we," Kun Zhen reminded them.

"We need to sneak into the fortresses, free the slugs, and escape," Zhong Fen told them.

"We just need to blend in with the surroundings," Rong Chun said.


In Trava Steppe Cavern, Team Phoenix were all lying on the ground. Their bodies were covered with patches of dry grass to cover themselves. They communicated with each other through earpieces.

"I know 'trava' means 'green' in Russian, but the grass here is no longer green. It is dry and wilting," Yu Juan complained.

"The missing slugs must have caused the cavern to be unhealthy," Zhong Fen guessed.

"Hey, guys. I found the fortress," Wei Cheng announced after spotting it through his binoculars. "It is at the north of our place."

The rest of the team turned their gazes to the north. They all spotted the fortress. Its shiny black wall stood out of the colours of yellow and brown in the cavern.

"Man, that colour of the fortress gives out the way!" Dong Song exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it seems unoccupied," Hai Chang said.

"That's what they want you to think," Rong Chun explained. "The fortress is where the Underlords of this cavern live, adding with Stone Warriors."

"If so, how do we sneak in?" Suxiong Jian asked.

"Let me try to distract them," Kun Zhen said.

Using her Thugglet slug, she was in her Underlord outfit now. She ran to the front door of the fortress. The rest of Team Phoenix crawled to the back door with the dry patches of grass as disguises.

Kun Zhen pressed a button beside the door. A ring was heard. "Who?" a male voice questioned.

"Underlord Kun Zhen. I need backup, now," she answered.

The door opened. A woman with two male goons appeared. "What's the problem, Underlord Kun Zhen?" the woman asked. Her voice sounded slightly annoyed.

"I need some backup," she told her.

"And why?" the woman questioned again.

"I have just encountered rebels," she answered.

"What?! Where?!" one of the woman's goons was fearful now.

"Hey, where are your Stone Warriors?" another goon asked her.

"Well... the rebels destroyed them," she replied.

"So... do you need my Stone Warriors... or my slugs?" the woman questioned her in an annoyed tone.

"Uh, no. Just three of you should work," she responded.


Meanwhile, the remaining members of Team Phoenix reached the back door.

"Okay, we are here," Zhong Fen murmured.

She tried to turn the knob, but it was locked. "It's locked," she said.

"I have an idea," Yu Juan pulled out a hairpin from her hair. She used it as a key to try to open the door. After a minute or two, the knob twitched and the door was unlocked.

"Good job, Yu Juan," the Cave Troll praised her.

As they sneaked in, they found Stone Warriors between the door! They almost shrieked but managed to hold back. They noticed that the eyes of the Stone Warriors were closed. They sighed in relief quietly.

"Okay, where is the room?" Wei Cheng asked softly.

Zhong Fen took out her Slicksilver and the magnet slug acted like a compass. The slug used its tiny arms to pinpoint the directions. "This way," she whispered to them when her Slicksilver got the directions.

"Wow, I didn't know that Slicksilvers can be compasses. Since I accidentally left my compass in my house," Wei Cheng laughed quietly with an embarrassed expression.

"My dad taught my brothers and I this technique," she explained proudly.

As they walked through the paths, they stopped abruptly when they saw two Stone Warriors were standing between a door.

"A guarded room, huh? Sounds promising," she whispered.

"But their eyes are open! We cannot pass them!" Yu Juan complained when she noticed their red eyes were visible.

"No, we still can. They won't respond unless their Underlord commands them to do so, or we aim our blasters at them in an attempt to attack them," Rong Chun explained.

"And how do you know this?" Yu Juan questioned her.

"Hey, I have encountered them before I met you guys," she answered.

"Okay, we just need to stay calm," Suxiong Jian said.

They walked to the door and opened it quietly. They were relieved that the Stone Warriors did not respond at all. Once they closed the door, they were shocked to find many Slug Barrels that were filled with slugs. There were many Diggrix, Dirt Urchin, Fandango, Flopper, Grenuke, Hop Rock, Phosphoro, Tazerling, Thugglet and Tormato slugs all mixed up in the barrels.

"Wow... so many slugs..." Hai Chang was shocked.

"Yes, these slugs are going to be sent to the Emperor," Yong Gang said.

"And with so many slugs taken away, this cavern will be in a worse condition," Zhong Fen added.

"We better save these slugs, fast!" Rong Chun told them.

Everyone nodded and began to take each barrel out. All of them carried two barrels, while Yu Juan and Rong Chun carried one barrel. They slowly took the Slug Barrels out of the fortress through the back door.

"Wait, where are our mechas?" Yong Gang asked.

"We... parked at the edge of the cavern..." Wei Cheng answered.

"...how are we supposed to reach our mechas with these many slugs?!" Yu Juan was furious now.

"I didn't know there will be so many slugs!" Rong Chun defended.

"Okay, calm down, everybody!" Zhong Fen tried to set things right, "everything will be fine as long as Kun Zhen can distract the Underlords long enough."


Meanwhile, the Underlords were at the front door, in position for any rebels to attack.

"Ugh! We have been waiting for half an hour now! Are you sure that they are coming?" the woman questioned Kun Zhen angrily.

"Yes! They are! They could be hiding around here!" Kun Zhen answered.

"Oh please, they won't be that dumb to come here," the woman said. She turned to her goons. "Return to your places."

The goons nodded and went back into the fortress. One of the goons saw Yu Juan carrying a Slug Barrel from the storage room for slugs. They were both shocked to see each other.

"Thief!" the goon yelled and fired a Dirt Urchin slug toward her. The slug reached velocity and fired its spikes at her direction. However, Yu Juan was flexible enough to escape the attack.

The goon pressed a red button on the wall. The alarms rang, alerting the other Underlords. "We have thieves stealing our slugs!" the goon's voice could be heard from the speakers.

The Underlords rushed to the store room. Hai Chang, Rong Chun, Suxiong Jian and Yong Gang were still handling the last few of the Slug Barrels.

"They notice us!" Hai Chang warned through his earpiece.

"Then get out of there right now!" Zhong Fen shouted.

As the four members tried to escape, they were attacked by the slugs fired by the Underlords. Suxiong Jian stood in front of his teammates. He aimed at the slugs and used his blaster staff to knock them off. He speedily fired his Tazerling and it shocked one of the goons. Rong Chun shot her Vinedrill and another goon was tangled up in the vines created by the Vinedrill.

"Stone Warriors! Destroy those slug thieves!" the woman commanded. The Stone Warriors came to life and marched into the scene.

Knowing that they needed to escape, Yong Gang slung his Firenzar and it flew around them, surrounding the Underlords with fiery rings. Hai Chang shot his Frostcrawler and it created an ice wall, blocking the way for the Underlords to attack them. The team ran off, carrying all of the remaining Slug Barrels.

Two Stone Warriors came to the villains' aid and they fired two Hop Jacks toward the ice wall. The ice wall easily crushed into pieces. The Underlords chased the thieves while the Stone Warriors marched slowly forward.

When the four members of Team Phoenix were running to the back door, they stopped on their tracks when they saw two Stone Warriors were outside the back door. Their cannons had raised, aiming at Dong Song, Wei Cheng, Yu Juan and Zhong Fen. Another two were coming from their top right. The Underlords and two more Stone Warriors arrived on their top left. They were surrounded!

"There's no way to run now, slug thieves," the woman announced as she and the other Underlords aimed their blasters at them.

Suddenly, a sinister voice was heard. "Did you hear that?" one of the goons asked their leader.

All of the sudden, the two Stone Warriors outside were smashed into pieces by Hop Rocks, Armashelts and Rammstones. A few black monkey-like creatures with green glowing patterns rushed into the fortress!

"Sha-Shadow Clans?!" the goons cried out in terror.

The Shadow Clans shrieked in anger. Two of them easily defeated the goons with their hand-to-hand combat. The woman and Kun Zhen ran around the room. Kun Zhen shot her Speedstinger and it hit a wall. It then bounced off and hit a Stone Warrior at the top right path, toppling it. It flew to a wall and ricocheted back at the Stone Warrior, knocking it off its feet. A Shadow Clan threw a Thresher slug toward the Stone Warriors at the top right path. The Thresher slug transformed and sliced them into half.

"Really?!" the woman yelled at Kun Zhen, realizing that she had lost four Stone Warriors.

"Sorry!" Kun Zhen apologized.

She then fired her Geoshard and it hit at the top left path. Crystals grew immediately upon impact and they blocked the path for the Stone Warriors.

"Can't you do things right, Kun?!" the woman scolded her.

"I am so sorry!" she replied.

A few more Shadow Clans appeared around Hai Chang, Rong Chun, Suxiong Jian and Yong Gang. They grabbed their hands and the Slug Barrels they had. A black orb surrounded them and a split second later, they had disappeared!

The Underlords, including Kun Zhen, noticed even more Shadow Clans outside the fortress. Some held the Slug Barrels. Some grabbed Dong Song, Wei Cheng, Yu Juan and Zhong Fen. They all vanished too!

One Shadow Clan suddenly appeared beside Kun Zhen and knocked her off with its fist. Now on the floor, weakened, two more Shadow Clans pinned her to the floor, growling at her.

"NNNOOO!" Kun Zhen screamed, pretending to be frightened. A green and black light flashed and they were gone. The woman and her recovered goons were shocked to see Underlord Kun Zhen being taken away by their most feared enemies.


The Shadow Clans and Team Phoenix were teleported back to the Cavern of the Last East.

"My gosh! That was a close call!" Dong Song exclaimed.

"Zhong Fen, I thought the plan was supposed to be good, but we almost died there!" Yu Juan yelled.

"I don't know Kun Zhen cannot distract them that long!" Zhong Fen defended.

"yes, it's my fault," Kun Zhen admitted as her disguise wore off, "we should be more careful next time."

"Yeah, but what happen to the slugs we saved?" Rong Chun questioned.

They saw some Shadow Clans held the Slug Barrels filled with slugs and disappeared with them.

"What are they doing?" Yu Juan asked.

The Shadow Clan Leader and Master Wu appeared. It told Master Wu something.

"Ah, the Shadow Clans are going to keep the slugs safe," Master Wu explained to the team.

"But don't you think freeing the slugs to their original habitats should be better? The cavern is pretty unhealthy," Hai Chang suggested.

The Shadow Clan Leader spoke to Master Wu again. "They say no. The slugs that are freed will still be captured by the Underlords again," Master Wu translated.

"Hmm... that's true," Zhong Fen blurted out.

"Wait! Where are our mechas?!" Wei Cheng began to freak out.

"Oh no! We left them at the corner of Trava Steppe Cavern!" Yong Gang shouted.

Master Wu turned to the Shadow Clan Leader. It nodded and vanished in a black flash, including the other Shadow Clans.

"Okay... what happened?" Suxiong Jian asked, baffled by their sudden disappearances.

Around 15 seconds later, the Shadow Clans returned, along with their vehicles.

"Oh, wow! Thank you for returning our vehicles to us!" Hai Chang thanked them.

Besides the vehicles, two Shadow Clans also held someone else and they tossed their captor to the ground. Their captor was a young female Cave Troll, wearing an Underlord outfit. She had light blue skin, purple hair and pale magenta eyes. Team Phoenix and Master Wu saw her.

"Elke Aquamarine?!" Zhong Fen and Kun Zhen were shocked to see her.


Trava means "green" in Russian. So I will be leaving a cliffhanger for this chapter. Guess what will happen in the next chapter.