Chapter 4's up! Big advantage coming for the Shane Gang! Enjoy!
Chapter 4: The Slugout
The Shane Gang were tiptoeing near a land bridge, but Kord made a big tiptoe that shook the ground. "Careful, Kord!" Eli whispered. "We're right on top of them." "Uh, right. Sorry." Kord said. They got to the end of the land bridge and looked around. "There's nothing but empty around here." Kord presumed. "Maybe we just need to take a closer look." Eli said, leaning over the edge. On a stone spike under the bridge was a bunch of- "Frostcrawler slugs." Trixie said, holding out her camera. "Remember Eli: they can be fierce." She focused the lens on the slugs. "Course they look a lot fiercer when they hit 100 miles an hour." She corrected herself with a blush. "Not to interrupt, but please let me know when it is a good time to point out that it was I, Pronto, who led us here." Pronto said. "Here we go." Harley muttered. "How 'bout after we catch one?" Kord asked, holding up a fishing pole. "I'll get the snares." Trixie offered, running to help. "I have the gloves." Pronto said, pulling out a pair of safety gloves. "How 'bout we just try talking to one of them?" Eli suggested. The others looked at him confused. "Trust him, you guys. It's a better way to get slugs than…whatever this is." Harley said.
Eli leaned back over. "Hey there." He called to the slugs. One of them peeked over. "I'm looking for some powerful slugs to join my team. Like you." The Frostcrawler slid up the bridge towards Eli, who held his hand out. The slug looked at the hand and smiled at Eli. Kord and Trixie looked on surprised. 'Wow, Eli is good.' Trixie thought with a smile. "HAHA! Pronto has him now!" Pronto said, pulling a little device. The slug looked at him confused. Before Pronto could activate it, Harley snatched it from him. "Give me that! Before you mess this up! AGAIN!" He scolded the molenoid. As Pronto slumped away, Harley, being curious, examined the device. "What does this thing do anyway?" He asked twisting it, accidently activating it. The device gave off a motion wave, effecting the slugs. Harley quickly turned it off. "Oh! So, that's what it does." He said in shock.
Then came a sound like something unsticking. The slugs peeled of the stone spike and fell into the ravine. "Uh oh!" Eli and Trixie said together. Harley glared at Pronto, who obviously knew what the device would do. "Uh, I'm sure they'll be fine." Pronto said. "All those slugs transforming at once could cause a chain reaction." Trixie said, focusing her camera on the Frostcrawlers as they transformed. The whole cavern turned to ice and ice pillars started to form at the bottom. "Guys, it's getting kinda frosty in here." Kord said, noting a big chill building up. The ice pillars started getting bigger, piercing through the bridge. "RUN FOR IT!" Eli yelled. The gang started to run as more ice pillars pierced the bridge.
(Intro)
The Shane Gang continued running as the ice pillars tore the bridge apart. "We're not going to make it!" Pronto said, fearing for his life. Eli looked ahead and saw their mecha beasts, ready to go. "Yes, we are!" Eli said, hopping on Lucky with Harley behind him. Trixie and Kord hopped on their mechas, Boomer and Wyatt, and followed the Shane brothers out. Pronto was having issues with his mecha, Fernando. "Move you stubborn, no good, rusted out-" Pronto started before his mech honked at him. Pronto quivered at the look he got. "Oh, I mean so very clean and much loved and respected-" Pronto said as Fernando rode off after the others. The gang rode fast as the ice pillars grew faster. Eli noticed pillars growing in front of their way out. "We only get one shot. Make it count, Burpy." He said to his slug. He loaded Burpy and fired, his blaster starting to spark. Burpy flew towards the pillars, transformed and blasted Flashfire at the pillars. "Burn, Burpy. Burn!" Burpy gave it a bit more heat and broke through. The Shane Gang escaped into the tunnel with Pronto cutting it close, with one pillar striking his bottom.
As the gang made it out, Eli took note of what they did. "That was awesome." He said. "Yeah. Chilly, but awesome." Harley added. "I beg to differ." Pronto said, rubbing his frozen bottom. "Oh, come on. That was amazing!" Trixie said, agreeing with Eli. "Just too bad about the slug though." Suddenly, a chitter came from Lucky's tail. Eli lifted it up to see the Frostcrawler. It hopped from the tail to Eli's hand. "Check it out. He came back. How about I call you Chiller?" Eli asked. Chiller smiled and chittered. "Well, I guess things always work out for the best." Eli said until his blaster sparked again. He lifted it up to see that it was busted. "Oh man. Your blaster." Harley said looking at it.
"Bro, I've been telling you, your slugs have gotten to powerful for a blaster like that." Kord said. "It was just a matter of time before 'imitates little explosion then person in pain before going into death." The others clapped in amusement. "Very realistic." Pronto said. "Thanks. Yeah. I'm here all week." Kord joked getting up. "How long will it take you to fix it?" Eli asked, giving Kord his blaster. "I'd say about…forever." Kord said. "Oh." Eli looked disappointed. "I'm pretty good about amping things up but this needs an expert." Kord explained. "Only one blaster smith I know of could fix that." "Red Hook!" Trixie said in realization. "That name sounds familiar." Eli said, knowing the name. "It should. All the best slingers used to use him. Including your dad." Trixie explained. "Yeah. I remember now, Eli. Dad told us about him." Harley said. "His skill is legendary, yes. As is his foul temper." Pronto said, falling off his mecha. "I'm not looking for a new best friend." Eli said amused. "I just want my blaster fixed. Lead the way, Pronto." "Follow me." Pronto said, trying to look good as they rode out of the iced cavern.
They soon reached Quiet Lawn Cavern. "Welcome to Quiet Lawn, home of Red Hook." Trixie said. Eli took a look around. The houses were covered in graffiti. "I thought you said this place was nice." He said. "Well, it used to be." Trixie corrected, looking around. The people hid themselves all around. "I guess the people here are kinda shy." Kord thought. "Pronto knows what to do." Pronto said, clearing his throat. "HELLO! YOO-HOO! THIS IS PRONTO!" He yelled until the people shushed him out loud. "Well, that was somewhat rude." Harley said. "Guess they like their quiet too." Trixie thought. "You'd be quiet too, if you lived under them." A local man hiding in a trash bin whispered, pointing up. The gang looked up to a cave roof covered in slugs. "Are those-" Harley started. "Grenuke slugs." Trixie finished. "Knock those things down and it's ka-BOOM time." Kord explained. "It must be stressful, living underneath those things." Eli thought. "We can live just fine with the slugs. It's the Hooligang that's causing all the trouble." The man explained. "Uh, Hooli-what?" Kord asked confused.
At that moment, 3 people rode in on jackal themed mechas. "Hooligang." The man ducked back into the bin. Eli and Harley took a look at the Hooligang. 2 of them fired Hop Rocks at the mailboxes. The brothers glared at the blonde boy in the middle, who they assumed was the leader, as he fired a Rammstone at the guy in the bin. "Come on guys." Eli said.
The girl was spray painting an H on a wall when Eli called out. "Hey!" The Hooligang turned to see the Shane Gang. "What are you looking at?" The leader asked very rudely. "Your artwork!" Eli answered. "Ooh. Is that a kitty? It's cute." Harley joked. The kid with the goggles was about to pull out his blaster but his leader stopped him. "You 2 might wanna work on your manners. Especially when your talking to the guys running this no-good town." He said. "We'll keep that in mind for when they show up." Eli joked, not backing down. "Do you really want to get into a fight with a broken blaster?" Kord asked, reminding Eli about his blaster.
The leader took a good look at the brothers. "I know you 2. You're the Shane kids!" He said. "I saw you guys at the tournament disqualifying Jon Bull. Well you 2 better get lost. We're the Hooligang! I'm Billy!" He introduced himself. "That's Shorty!" He pointed to the girl. "And this is Goggles!" He pointed at the other guy. "Official employees of Blakk Industries. Which means: you got a problem with us, then you're gonna have a big problem with Dr. Blakk." "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, punk." Harley said. "Yep. Cause we already got a problem with him." Eli finished. "Heh! Without your team, I'll bet you 2 alone are not so tough." Billy back talked. "Then you should have no problem beating me in a little trick shot contest." Eli said glaring. "I'm challenging you." Billy thought this was a joke. "Ha! You got more guts then brains. I'm running a town for Blakk! I don't have time for games." He said, turning his back. "You win, you get my slugs." Eli betted. Billy turned his head, intrigued. "All of them." Burpy's eyes widened. The others looked at each other. Billy smiled at the thought. "Your whole arsenal?" He asked looking at Eli's barrels, loaded with Joules, Rammer and Chiller. "You lose, you leave town." Eli said. "Yeah, whatever kid! You just lost all your slugs." Billy said walking off to prep up.
"Bro, what if he beats you?" Kord asked in concern. "You're really gonna risk Burpy and all your slugs?" "The possibility did cross your mind when you challenged him, right?" Trixie asked. "Uh, yeah. But it's cool. I have a plan." Eli assured his friends. "Excellent! He has a plan. What is it?" Pronto asked, being curious. "Um, win." Eli said. Harley facepalmed himself.
Eli and Billy prepared themselves in the town square. Eli's team cheered for him. Billy prepped his blaster, scaring a civilian with a look. Eli prepped his blaster, which sparked and started to fall apart. The gang now looked worried. Billy smiled and turned to his gang. "Shorty! Give him your blaster!" He called. Shorty pulled out her blaster. "Nice knowing you, Shane." She said tossing her blaster to Eli. "Now you can't ask for a do over on account of a busted blaster." Billy ranted. "Thanks. Though half a blaster is more than I need to kick your butt, punk." Eli backtalked.
Billy growled and shoved Eli out of the way, firing a Rammstone at some mailboxes. The slug transformed and destroyed 3 of them. Shorty and Goggles chuckled at Billy's shot, while Eli's gang looked worried. "Beat that." Billy dared. "Not bad." Eli admitted, loading a slug into Shorty's blaster. "Let's see if I can do any better." He fired his slug, making Billy jump out of the way. This slug was a Lavalynx. Eli calls him Burner. He transformed and hit 5 mailboxes, making them leak molten lava. Trixie cheered. "YES! IN YOUR FACE! IN! YOUR! FACE!" Kord yelled, getting in Billy's face. "Yeah. Come here you little goof." He said, pulling Eli into a noogie. "1-0 Eli." Trixie called as Pronto gave a thumbs up. Billy glared as Burner hopped back to Eli. "Nice work, Burner." Eli said to his slug. "Trick shots! Best 2 out of 3!" Billy called, picking a barrel from his belt. The green slug in the barrel smiled, thinking Billy was gonna sling him. "No! Not you!" Billy said rudely. He put the slug back and picked another. "But none of your slugs are a match for my Flaringo." Billy said with confidence. "Let's see how Chiller flies." Eli said, picking Chiller from his belt. They loaded their slugs into their blasters. "First to hit the flagpole." Billy said pointing at a flagpole on a building. "GO!" They fired their slugs. As they transformed, the Flaringo attempted to speed up using its fire abilities but Chiller froze it in an ice block. Chiller hit the flagpole in result, freezing the roof. "2-0" Trixie called. "AGAIN!" Billy called getting mad.
They fired their slugs left and right. Rammer bashed an Arachnet, Burpy blasted a Hop Rock, and Eli's Bubbaleone, Suds, swallowed a Frostcrawler. "Those don't count!" Billy said, calling out that last shot. "This is it. Winner take all!" Eli was getting annoyed at Billy. "Dude, I won like 6 shots ago." He said. "This cavern is filled with those Grenuke slugs. Whoever knocks the most down wins." Billy said, not caring about the people. "NO!" The man yelled, getting shushed. "No!" He repeated in a whisper. "Those slugs aren't bothering anybody up there." Eli protested. "Who cares? Their just slugs." Billy mistakenly said, firing a Rammstone. Eli reloaded Rammer and fired him to deflect Billy's shot, then he slung his Jellyish, Goober, at Billy, covering him in slime. Shorty and Goggles looked in shock that their leader lost. Billy looked at himself, covered in slime. "You can show yourselves out." Eli said in victory, tossing Shorty back her blaster. "Whoa, that Shane kid is good. Don't you think, Shorty?" Goggles said, nudging Shorty. "I guess." She hesitantly replied.
Billy glared and took his last barrel. The green slug smiled. "You're all I have left?!" Billy asked in anger. He dumped the slug onto the ground. "You're useless! You don't explode! You don't freeze things! You don't do anything but take up space!" Eli turned to see what was happening. Billy raised his foot to step on the slug. Shorty and Goggles gasped at what Billy was doing. Eli glared and rammed Billy to the ground. "Careful there. You almost stepped on that slug." Eli joked. Billy glared and looked around, picking up a Hop Rock. "That's it! I've had it with you!" Billy said, fed up with Eli's heroics. He drew his blaster. "Let's duel." Eli knew he had no choice he held up his blaster, which sparked and fell apart. "I guess you won't be giving me back that loaner?" Eli asked in embarrassment. "This. Means. War!" Billy said, firing the Hop Rock at Eli.
Eli ducked out of the Hop Rock's path. Shorty and Goggles joined in the fight. The Shane Gang took cover as Trixie and Kord fired back. The people kept shushing them as the vibrations are disturbing the Grenukes. Eli tried to sling Rammer, but with his blaster busted, Rammer couldn't reach velocity. Billy smiled at this and fired another Hop Rock. Eli ducked behind a building. Eli looked at the hole the Hop Rock made as a man who was eating shushed him. Eli gave a nervous smile. "Man, none of my slugs are reaching velocity." He said, thinking of a plan. "Kord! I need a boost!" He called. "You got it, buddy!" Kord said, readying his blaster. Eli ran in and tossed Burpy. Kord fired Bludgeon to give Burpy a boost, flying over the Hooligang. Billy gave a smile at the slug missing him. But Burpy bounced back from a phone wire. Billy turned to see Burpy transforming and exploding on contact.
The Shane Gang looked on at the damage Burpy caused. Even Shorty and Goggles were impressed by their teamwork. Burpy emerged from the smoke, giving a loud burp. Eli looked up at the Grenukes. "Guess it takes a lot to knock those things down." He said as Burpy hopped back into his barrel. He then looked to the green slug. "If you're interested, I've got room for one more." He offered. The slug smiled and hopped over to Eli. "Actually, a lot more." He said, loading the slug in a barrel.
The people, plus the Shane Gang, applauded at Eli's victory but then, remembering the slugs above them, started shushing again. "Dr. Blakk is gonna hear about this! Every one of you just made a HUGE mistake!" Billy yelled as the Hooligang rode away. "They're probably coming back." Trixie predicted. "And they'll find us waiting." Eli said. "Now can we go to Red Hook's?" Kord asked. Eli looked at his damaged blaster, sparking again. Harley kept looking at the Hooligang as the retreated, thinking about Shorty and Goggles.
They arrived at Red Hook's house, just outside the town. "Mr. Red Hook?" Eli called as he knocked on the door. "Grrr. I told you kids a dozen times to get lost!" A very angry voice called from the other side of the door. "He seems nice." Kord said. "That is one foul temper." Harley noted. "Uh, we never met. I'm just looking to get a blaster fixed." Eli explained. The door opened slightly. An old man's bald head with a mustache and an eyepatch on his right eye popped out. This was Red Hook. "You're not with those Hooligang clowns?" Red Hook asked. "Nope. We're the ones who got rid of them. For now." Eli said, making himself and his team known to Red Hook as he opened the door. Pronto noticed a red hook on his left arm. "Ah. A red hook." Pronto guessed based on the name "Question: did you call yourself Red Hook before you got the hook or after? And was the hook red when you got it or-" Kord dropped his hand Pronto's head and gave a nervous smile, not wanting to upset Red Hook. "Please sir. I need your help." Eli begged. "Alright. Come in! But you're interrupting my lunch!" Red Hook said rudely. "Ah excellent. I'm famished." Pronto said with joy.
The 5 walked into his home, Kord got a good look at the entire place. "I didn't think they made tools like this anymore." He said looking at a hammer. "They don't!" Red Hook snapped, taking the hammer. Pronto sniffed his lunch and Red Hook snatched it away with a growl, making Pronto whimper. "Tell me what you want and get out of here!" Red Hook said. "I got the slugs. I just need a blaster to shoot 'em." Eli said, showing Red Hook all his slugs: Burpy, Joules, Suds, Banger, Bolo, Goober, Noodle, Burner, Chiller, Rocky, Rammer and the new slug. "That's all the slugs you got? You better run, kids." Red Hook advised, not impressed. "We're not running." Eli said. "Yeah. Someone needs to protect this town." Harley followed. Red Hook pulled up a magnifying glass. "Something familiar about you 2. You sure we haven't met?" He asked, getting the curious feeling of déjà vu. Eli just leaned his head back feeling uncomfortable. "Let me see your blaster." He demanded. "Can you fix it?" Eli asked as Pronto made another attempt on Red Hook's lunch. Red Hook snatched it back. "It's been real lucky for me." Eli said, showing his blaster. "Heh! Lucky it didn't kill ya! That thing was a piece of junk when it was new! I don't fix junk." Red Hook explained, earning a glare from Trixie. "Eh, eh-he-he-he. One moment please." Pronto interrupted. "This man obviously requires a delicate touch. But, do not fear. Pronto knows just what to say." He assured them. Eli and Trixie tried to protest. Red Hook looked down, as Pronto cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.
The whole place started to shake as crashing noises and Red Hook's angry voice was heard. Eli, Trixie, Kord and Harley ran out of the house. "I've never been so insulted in ALL MY LIFE!" Red Hook yelled, throwing Pronto out of the house. "AND DON'T COME BACK!" He slammed the door shut. Pronto turned to his teammates, who were giving him hard stares. "Perhaps he was a tougher partner then I expected." He said, trying to get out the mess, but Harley grabbed him and held him against his mecha. "You make this right or I will grind you into paste!" Harley threatened. Pronto nervously chuckled and fell on his butt as Harley released him.
On the Slugterran Express, Maurice dropped Billy, still covered in Jellyish slime, to Dr. Blakk's desk. "Maurice, who exactly is this?" Blakk asked. "New recruit. Name's Billy. We sent him down to Quiet Lawn Cavern to convince Red Hook to work for us." Maurice explained. "Did you now? And let me guess: this cave is fighting back?" Blakk asked, squeezing a Rammstone. "It's not them! It was the Shane kids. Came into town like they owned the place." Billy explained. That made Blakk raise an eyebrow. "And they did that to you?" He asked, referring to Billy's slime coat. "Well, Eli Shane at least. The other Shane kid just watched." Billy corrected. Blakk grinned. "You need my help." He said getting up. "That's what I was hoping you'd say. I-" Billy said until Blakk raised his hand. Thinking Blakk was gonna attack him, Billy braced himself like a coward. "It's Billy, am I right?" Blakk asked, actually taking a slug barrel from Billy's belt. "An example must be made of the Shane boys." He placed the barrel in a machine, trapping the Hop Rock that was in the barrel inside the machine. "I'm going to give you and your friends a little more fire power. Ghoul slugs. Ever seen one up close?" Blakk asked. "No sir." Billy answered. "Ah, but you've heard of them." Blakk noted. "Yessir." Billy said.
Blakk pushed a button on the machine and a dark cloud surrounded the slug. "Imagine all the power within a slug. Twisted to serve only you. Unpredictable." The ghouling process finished and Blakk took a ghoul barrel from the machine. "But they up for it in pure savage fury!" He explained. The freshly ghouled Hop Jack gave a savage squeal. Billy's eyes widened at what Blakk did. Blakk tossed the barrel to Billy. "Not even a Shane can stand up to my ghouls." He explained. Billy gave an evil grin at knowing the Shane brothers can't stand up against ghouls. Blakk then turned to the other Hop Rocks in Billy's arsenal. "Now. Which one of you pathetic lumps is next?!" He asked in rage. The Hop Rocks shook in fear.
Outside the room, Shorty and Goggles watched in fear as Blakk ghouled Billy's slugs. Shorty turned to Goggles. "This is getting out of hand! Now Blakk is supplying us with ghouls!" She said, not liking the situation. "We should not have agreed to this." Goggles said, now regretting their decision to join Dr. Blakk. Shorty gently took his hand in hers and gave him a smile, letting him know they were gonna be fine. Goggles smiled back and squeezed her hand back. Billy then came from the door, making them jolt their hands back. "Get your slugs ready for ghouling! It's time to show the Shane Gang some real power." Billy said mentally. Shorty and Goggles gulped in fear.
Meanwhile, the people of Quiet Lawn were cleaning up their town. Scrubbing off the graffiti, throwing out the waste and sweeping the road. Eli and Trixie set a mailbox back up. "Seems like the town's getting back to normal." Trixie said with a smile. "Well, as normal as you can get living under a pile of exploding slugs." Eli said looking up at the Grenukes. Trixie then had a thought on the Hooligang. "Eli, I'm actually getting a little worried." She admitted. Eli looked to her. "Worried about what?" He asked. "The Hooligang." Eli raised his eyebrow. "I'm worried that if they do come back, we may not be able to beat them again." Trixie explained. Eli walked up to her. "Trix, if they do come back, then we will beat them again." He assured her. "Know why? Cause you and me, along with Kord, Harley and Pronto, are a team." He gently took her hand and smiled. Trixie smiled back. They quickly pulled their hands back upon hearing Kord's mecha approaching.
Kord and Harley rode up on Wyatt. "Where's Pronto?" Eli asked. "At Red Hook's. Still groveling. Kinda sad and pathetic if you think about it." Harley said. "Yeah. But no time for that." Kord said. "The Hooligang are on their way!" The people got scared and ran back into their homes. "Come back! This is your town!" Trixie called, only to be shushed. "Why won't they fight?" She asked. "It's Quiet Lawn Cavern, remember?" Eli reminded her. Trixie blushed at forgetting that. "But we're gonna help these people stand up for their town!" Eli said with confidence. "Not unless you get your blaster fixed." Kord reminded Eli. "And at the amount of time Pronto's been up there groveling, probably won't be anytime soon." Harley added. "Well, let's just hope Pronto did soften Red Hook up enough to help out." Eli hoped.
Up at Red Hook's house, Pronto was still groveling. "So, on behalf of my father and uh, his father's father, I am very, very, very, very, very sorry." He groveled. Red Hook was now really annoyed. "How many times do I have to tell you?! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" He yelled. Pronto sighed. "Then also I apologize. My apologies apologize." He said, with Eli and Harley coming in. "Groveling time is over, Pronto! The Hooligang's coming and we need you with us." Harley said. "Red Hook, are you gonna fix my blaster, or not?" Eli asked. "No." Red Hook said straight. "Fine! Then I'll face them without it! Come on guys!" Eli said. "Don't worry, Eli. I'll lend you my slingshot if you want." Harley offered. "Thanks, bro." Eli said.
Red Hook opened a drawer. "You 2 are Shanes, aren't you?" He asked, now recognizing them. "That's right. How'd you guess?" Eli asked curious. "Because you both are acting like Shanes." Red Hook said, handing Eli and Harley a picture of him and their dad. "I once saw Will Shane take out the entire McDougall Gang with only a Dustpuff slug and a slingshot. Never knew he had kids." Red Hook said. "Dad wanted us out of the spotlight." Harley explained. "And now you 2 have stepped right into the center of it! You 2 plan on going after Blakk?" Red Hook asked. "Harley and I plan on fighting the bad guys wherever we find them." Eli explained. "Well then you're gonna need these." Red Hook said, placing a container with the Shane mark in front of the brothers. Eli opened it, revealing 2 blasters of the same model, but with a different color Shane mark. One with a blue mark for Eli and the other with a teal mark for Harley. "Only made 3 of these. Your old man had the other one." Red Hook explained as the brothers examined their new blasters. "I don't know what to say." Eli said. "Me neither." Harley added. "Say you both will be the man your father was." Red Hook said. Eli and Harley nodded.
Pronto popped up. "You both are off to fight these Hooligangers. Pronto grants you the honor of assisting us in this historic battle." He said, with a bit of exaggeration. Red Hook groaned. "I can make 'em. Never was one to shoot 'em." He explained. "You've done enough. All we need is a fighting chance. Come on guys!" Eli said leaving, with Harley right behind him. "Thank you! Thank you again!" Pronto said before following the brothers. "Go get 'em, kids." Red Hook said, closing the container.
The Shane Gang and Hooligang prepared for battle on their mechas. "Is everyone ready?" Eli asked his teammates. "Always bro." Harley said. "Pronto was born ready." Pronto exaggerated a bit. "Let's get rid of these clowns once and for all." Kord said. "With these new blasters, it shouldn't be a problem." Eli said, feeling sure. "Uh, problem: they got ghouls!" Trixie said, focusing her camera on Billy's arsenal. Pronto and Kord flinched. "Guess Blakk supplied them." Harley guessed. Billy held up his blaster. "I'll make this quick and painful!" He called. "Go ahead and try!" Eli called back. The Hooligang charged and the Shane Gang followed. "BLAST THEM!" Billy barked. Shorty and Goggles did as he said. They fired 3 Hop Jack ghouls. They completely wrecked the streets and even blew up a stone mountain. Eli saw another Hop Jack coming at him. He fired Burpy and he blasted the ghoul down with Flashfire. Billy was shocked. "Now this is nice." Eli said about his new blaster.
The Hooligang fired 3 more Hop Jacks, blasting the gang off their mechas. Billy charged in, firing another ghoul. Eli took cover. "Try to get them to burn off some slugs!" he called. Kord tried to bait them but got attacked from above by Shorty. Kord ran off as she hesitantly fired another ghoul. Pronto saw her coming and fired his blaster. Backwards. The blaster hit her mechas legs and she flew off and hit the ground hard. Goggles saw this and ran over to her. "Shorty! You ok?" He asked. Shorty groaned as she woke up. "Yeah, I'm ok." She said. Goggles hugged her tight, happy that she was alright. Suddenly, Eli and Harley walked up and readied their blasters. Goggles and Shorty saw them and lowered their heads in surrender. But the brothers lowered the blasters. Eli held out a hand to them. "Not too late to make a fresh start." He said. The 2 smiled. Goggles took Eli's hand, still holding Shorty, and stood up.
Eli turned back to Billy. Eli loaded Joules. "You're up Joules." He said. Billy fired another Hop Jack and Eli fired Joules. Joules gave the ghoul quite a shock with her Tazerbolt. But Eli noticed another ghoul coming at him. Suddenly, Spider came out of nowhere and used her web to bounce the ghoul back. Eli looked up to see Trixie. "Great shot, Trixie!" He called. "My thoughts exactly." Trixie said with a wink.
Billy, now really mad, kept charging, firing more ghouls. Eli and Trixie escaped through the smoke. Billy stopped in the middle. "Time to level the place!" He called firing more ghouls in all directions. The gang took cover in the debris. "We can't fight ghouls with what we got!" Trixie pointed out. Billy kept firing. "Down to my last 2 slugs!" Eli called. "I've only got Gazzers left!" Trixie said. "I'm out!" Kord added. "And I have no idea where mine went!" Pronto said embarrassed. Harley, Goggles and Shorty rallied with them. They were out too. Goggles had an idea. "Hey, Shane! You got to get the residents of this cave to help!" He called. "We tried. But these people said no." Trixie said. "He's not talking about the people." Eli said, looking up to the Grenukes. "Pronto. You still have that sonic snare?" Pronto pulled it out. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking." Trixie said, knowing Eli. "Yep." Eli said.
Billy hopped off his mecha. "Now I got 'em!" He muttered to himself and advance on the gang. Eli took Burpy's barrel from his belt. "Ok Burpy. Let's rally the troops!" He told his partner. Burpy nodded. Billy fired a few more ghouls. "Now!" Eli called. Pronto tossed the snare to Kord and he threw it up. Eli then shot Burpy. Billy looked on as Burpy grabbed the snare and set it off, effecting the Grenukes. 5 of them popped off the rock and fell towards Billy. The slugs exploded on impact. Eli looked on in shock. Billy was still standing and glaring. "We're not finished, Shane!" Billy said, now really mad. "Yes, you are, Billy." Goggles said as he and Shorty stepped forth. Billy's eyes widened, seeing his gang side with Eli. "What are you 2 doing?!" Billy asked. "Working with Blakk was a mistake, Billy." Shorty said. "His ghouls could destroy Slugterra." "She's right, Billy. It's never too late to make a fresh start." Goggles added. Billy would not listen. "Oh, it is far too late for me! Especially since I still have one more ghoul. To use on you, traitors!" He yelled, aiming his blaster at his former gang. Shorty and Goggles held each other in fear.
Eli knew it was time to try his new slug. "Okay, little guy. You're all I have left." He said. The slug smiled as he was being loaded. "Make us proud." Billy just laughed. "That worthless slug?" He asked. "This. Is. Over!" Eli and Billy readied their blasters. Trixie, Kord, Pronto, Harley, Shorty and Goggles watched in worry. Eli and Billy fired their slugs and they transformed. As the slugs collided, they created a huge cloud of energy. After going at it, a huge light gave off and the 2 slugs landed at Eli's feet. Trixie took a closer look with her camera. The green slug was okay and the Hop Rock was unghouled. "What did you do to my ghoul?!" Billy asked in shock. "That ghoul slug is no longer a ghoul slug." Trixie said surprised. Eli picked up the slug. "So, that's what you do. You're a healer." He said. "It's called a Boon Doc slug." Shorty said, giving Pronto his blaster. "And Boon Docs are not just any healers, they cure ghouls." Goggles added. "A Boon Doc?! I had a Boon Doc in my arsenal?! And I let it go?! No way!" Billy ranted. The gang loaded Grenukes into their blasters and aimed at Billy. Billy, knowing he was beaten, took off for his mecha.
"Bad guys defeated, new blasters for Eli and Harley. Not a bad day's work." Kord said, feeling proud about today. "And we got some cool new slugs in the process. And one of them can cure ghouls." Eli said as his new Boon Doc hopped to his hand. "You do know that Boon Docs are like the rarest slugs in Slugterra, right?" Trixie asked. "Really?" Eli asked, not knowing this. The people gathered and started to applaud at what they witnessed. Pronto, as usual, stepped forth to be praised. "Yes, yes! Pronto the Magnificent deserves much praise." He exaggerated. Shorty and Goggles looked at Pronto with confusion. "Don't ask. Just go with it." Harley muttered to them. "Take a bow, Doc." Eli said. The now named Doc took his bow to the people, sharing the praise with his new team.
After that, Shorty and Goggles were getting ready to leave. "You guys are leaving?" Harley asked. "Yeah. We're gonna head out to fully rehabilitate ourselves from working with Dr. Blakk." Goggles said. "And it'll give us time to make up for lost time on our relationship." "Well, then of course, Pronto will wish the both of you the best of lu-" Pronto stopped himself on hearing the last part. "I'm sorry. Did you say 'relationship?" Shorty and Goggles took each other's hands. "Yeah. Goggles and I are a couple." Shorty explained. "We never got to show it when we were with Billy." Goggles added. Trixie felt sorry for them. She hoped if Eli asked her out, he wouldn't let his duty as a Shane block her out. "Well, you guys are welcome to join the team if you want." Eli offered. "Thanks Eli, but I think we're better off as our own gang. For now, at least." Shorty said. "But, if you need us, just call." Goggles said. "Back at you." Harley said. Shorty and Goggles hopped on their mechas and rode off. The Shane Gang looked on, knowing that they'll see them again.
To be continued…
Well that's done! How about that, huh? Shorty and Goggles leaving the Hooligang and are in a relationship? Never read something like that before, have you? And I'll have more surprises on the way! Leave a review if anybody wants.
Slug Arsenal:
Eli Shane: Burpy (Infurnus), Joules (Tazerling), Noodle (Flopper), Banger (Armashelt), Bolo (Polero), Rammer (Rammstone), Rocky (Hop Rock), Chiller (Frostcrawler), Suds (Bubbaleone), Burner (Lavalynx), Goober (Jellyish), Sparky (Grenuke), Doc (Boon Doc)
Harley Shane: Matchstick (Flaringo), Squrim (Flopper), Frostbite (Frostcrawler)
Trixie Sting: Bluster (Tormato), Blizzard (Frostcrawler), Spider (Arachnet)
Kord Zane: Bludgeon (Rammstone) Sploder (Hop Rock)
Pronto Geronimo: Stinky (Flatulorhinkus), Slimey (Jellyish)
