Happy New Years everybody! Here's chapter 14! Here's where we meet Twist. Plus 1 little OC surprise. Enjoy!

Chapter 14: The New Kids Pt 1

In Quisingly Cavern, the Shane Gang were pursuing one of Dr. Blakk's soldiers. They dropped down from a building as they pursued him. "Trixie, Vance, Mario, go right." Eli said. Trixie, Vance and Mario headed right. "Pronto, Harley, Kord, you're with me." Eli, Kord, Harley and Pronto continued after the goon, chasing him through the streets. "Wait for Pronto!" Pronto called, panting and slowly trailing behind. Seeing that he was being chased, the goon turned a corner, only to find a dead end.

Eli, Harley and Kord caught up. "There's no way out. Hand it over." Eli said, drawing his blaster. The goon took off for the alley. "Grab him!" Eli called. The goon bounced off the walls up to the ledge. Kord fired Bludgeon at the goon, but he got stuck between the walls due to his big figure. Eli and Harley hopped off Kord to the ledge, climbing up after the goon. Pronto finally caught up. "You have ruined my timing and trajectory!" He growled.

Eli and Harley continued to chase the goon on the rooftops. The goon slid down one building to another and hopped to a crane. Eli and Harley stopped at the edge of the building. "Time to cut him off." Eli said. He fired Spinner at the crane and swung from her web to the front, making the goon stop in his tracks. Eli pointed his blaster at him as Harley hopped down behind him. The goon raised his hands, gave a farewell sign and dropped down to a street light. "Wow, this guy is slippery." Harley stated as he and Eli followed him down. They continued to chase the goon down the street, not knowing they were being watched by 2 unknown guys on a roof.

The gang rendezvoused as the goon entered a restaurant. "Pronto, what do you know about the place?" Eli asked. "Oh, you will never find a more foul and wretched establishment. Filled with the worst of the worst in Slugterra. But the soup is good. And so, it is a dead end." Pronto said. "That's what I needed to hear." Eli said with a smirk. "So, what's the plan?" Vance asked. "Everyone, wait here. Harley and I'll go in and flush him out." Eli said. "And maybe I'll try some of that soup." Harley added. Eli and Harley walked inside. A few seconds went by. Nothing. The gang started to worry. Pronto started whistling, making everyone look at him. "Uh, perhaps they're trying the soup?" He guessed. "Go, go, GO!" Eli yelled, running out. Harley followed, holding a bowl of soup. The gang ran off as several more goons came out and chased after them. A cave troll in Blakk Industries attire also walked out and roared before joining his troops.

"Options Eli?" Trixie asked as they kept running. "Working on it!" Eli said. They turned to a corner, but stopped to see a dead end covered with a metal panel and some pipes. They looked back to see the troll and the goons blocking the entrance. Suddenly, the metal panel was moved out of the way by a boy around Eli's age and another boy about 3 years younger. "Follow us if you want to live." The first boy said. Eli looked back at the goons and back to the boys. 'Who are these guys?' He thought.


(Intro)


The troll and goons charged at the gang. "This way!" The boy said, slipping between the pipes, followed by the other, then Eli, Harley, Trixie, Mario and Vance. When Pronto tried to do so, he got stuck. He struggled and grunted to get free, but to no avail. "These pipes have ruined my timing and trajectory!" He muttered. Kord kicked him to get him loose. As Kord made his way through, Pronto drew his blaster and slung Bruiser, shattering the pipes and blocking the goons. "Insolent pipes! That is what you get for impeding the process of Pronto!" He said, walking away. One goon managed to get through and fired a Grimmstone ghoul at Eli. The first boy shoved Eli out of the way and fired a Polero, wrapping around the goon's legs. "Thanks. Who are you guys?" Eli asked. "Name's Twist. And this is my brother Lash." The boy answered. "Sup?" The other boy said. "Eli Shane. And my brother Harley." Eli said. Suddenly, 2 more guards to aim from atop a pipe. "Up on your left, Eli!" Twist called. Eli saw them, leaned back and slung Burpy. Burpy swirled around the pipe, overheating it and burning the guards' boots, making them fall to the ground. "Oh, 2 for 1? Nice." Twist said impressed. "You said it. And we know who you guys are." Lash said. Trixie fired Bluster at 3 more incoming guards, blowing them away with Galestorm. "3 for 1." She boasted. "Who's counting?" Twist said with a laugh. "Down here." Lash said taking off. The others followed. Trixie just shook her head before following.

The goons followed, but couldn't find them. "Where'd they go?" One goon asked. The gang hung from a pipe as the goons passed them. "One chance. Drop them Harley!" Eli whispered. "On it." Harley said, slinging Webs as Twist slung a Bubbaleone. Webs latched a web tripwire as the Bubbaleone inflated herself, scaring the goons and making them trip on Webs' web.

Suddenly, there was a roar. "What is that?" Eli asked as the troll stomped from around the corner. "That's Krusher. Blakk's main enforcer in this cavern. Seriously bad dude." Twist said. "Yeah. I think we should probably run." Lash suggested. Krusher saw them as they dropped down from the pipe. "Not a bad idea." Eli said. "Agreed!" Harley agreed. Krusher tore off a pipe and tossed it at the gang, but they dodged and ran down another alley with Krusher following close behind. The gang then came to a bridge. "Careful. This thing has no bottom." Twist warned. Pronto screamed as Krusher appeared and threw another piece of pipe at the archway on the bridge, destroying it. "Uh oh." Harley said as Krusher moved closer. "That was our only way out." Twist said. "Any ideas?" Eli asked. "Yup. Dazzle them Loki." Twist said, loading a new slug into his blaster and firing it. The slug transformed and glowed, making Krusher cover his eyes. When he looked, they were gone! "Hey!" Eli called. They were on another bridge. Twist was waving and Pronto blowing a raspberry. Krusher grinned and walked towards them, only to fall over the edge. The bridge disappeared, revealing to be only an illusion. The gang looked on as Krusher fell, cringing as he hit the bottom. "I'm okay." He groaned. "Huh. Guess it does have a bottom." Twist said as his slug hopped back up to him. "Is that a Thugglet slug?" Eli asked, recognizing the slug. "I've heard of them. Never seen one before." "Me neither." Harley added. "Yeah. He's my number 1. Aren't ya Loki?" Twist asked. Loki chittered. "I like that you name your slugs." Eli said. "Well, 'Hey You' seems kinda casual for guys who save our bacon on a regular basis. I mean, this isn't our first run-in with Blakk's goon squad." Twist explained. "What about you Lash? You have any slugs of your own?" Harley asked. "No. Not really a slinger yet. Not sure I'm even ready to be one." Lash said with a saddened face.

Sirens suddenly started blaring in the distance. "They're regrouping! We've got a place nearby where we can chill until things cool down." Twist said. "Isn't that redundant?" Trixie asked. Twist laughed. "That's funny. Come on. Let's go." He said. Trixie rolled her eyes in amusement as she and the others followed Twist and Lash.


Twist and Lash brought the gang to their home. "Sorry about the mess. We're just staying here until our mansion is painted." Twist exaggerated. "That's my brother. Always exaggerating with the mansion thing." Lash said. Pronto sniffed some laundry and shivered from the smell. "This place is great!" Eli said. "He's right. Panoramic view. High ground advantage." Harley said. "I trust you've got the place rigged with booby traps and a secret bolt hole in case things get bad." Eli guessed. "Wouldn't you?" Twist asked. Everyone then heard a slurping sound. They turned to see Harley sipping out of the soup bowl he swiped. "Sorry. But Pronto was right about the soup." He said, continuing to slurp.

"So that dude you guys were chasing earlier. What's up with that?" Lash asked. Eli and Harley looked at each other, sighed and nodded. "He's one of Blakk's couriers." Eli said. "He's the last piece of intel we need for a major operation." Harley added. "Eli, Harley uh, we just met these guys." Kord interjected. "Yeah. While they were busy saving our lives and putting their own on the line while doing that." Eli reminded. "For which we're very grateful." Trixie said. "But if Blakk gets wind of what we're doing-" "I know you've got no reason to, but you can trust us." Twist assured. Lash nodded in agreement. Eli opened up a map. "It's a layout of a ghoul depot. Blakk has them all over Slugterra." Eli explained. "Yeah, we've heard of them." Twist said. "We figured if we can liberate all the ghouls inside, my Boon Doc slug, Doc, can cure them. Which would mean a lot fewer Blakk minions armed with ghouls." Eli continued. "Only problem is we can't find any of them. We've got the layout, but no locations." Trixie said. "Yeah. Thought we'd get one from the courier until that plan went sideways." Kord said, recalling the incident. "Good thing you met us then." Twist said. "Cause we exactly know where to find one." Lash finished.

Eli and Harley watched through their binoculars as a Blakk guard pulled up to a ghoul depot with a carriage. "Oh yeah. That is definitely one of them." Eli confirmed. "It appears to be lightly guarded too." Harley said. "We'll be in and out of this place in time for breakfast." Eli said. "When you say 'we'-" Twist started to say. "I mean all of us." Eli said standing up. "What do you say? Up for being a pain in Dr. Blakk's butt?" He asked. "Sounds like fun." Twist said. "How about you Lash?" "Count us in." Lash accepted. "Good. We regroup and make our move tomorrow." Eli suggested. "Oh boy. Blakk won't know what hit him." Harley said with confidence. The others chuckled with agreement as they walked back to their mechas. Twist and Lash looked on at the depot and then to each other. Twist smiled and nodded to his brother as he walked back to the others. Lash gave one last unsure look at the depot and walked back.


At the hideout, Eli gave Twist and Lash a tour of the base. "I gotta say: your place is a lot more comfortable than ours." Twist admitted. "Yeah, our dad left this hideout pretty well stocked." Eli said, until he caught a whiff of dinner. "Speaking of which-" Pronto was cooking something on the stove. Twist placed Loki with Burpy and Doc on their little play pen. Pronto placed a serving dish on the table. "Dinner is served." He said lifting up the dome, revealing a cooked insect. "It's my dear Grandmole's recipe. May she rest in peace. DIBS ON THE CLAW!" He was about to grab a piece when Trixie slapped his hand away. "Manners Pronto. Guests eat first." She said. "Pronto has the right idea Trixie." Twist said. "Out on the street, it's every man, troll and molenoid for himself. Am I right?" "Oh, so true. Forget about eating first. You're lucky if you eat at all." Pronto said, taking a claw. "Please. I insist." He placed the claw on Twist's plate. "Wow! I don't think we've eaten this good in our lives!" Twist said in amazement. "No, never! You do this every night?" Lash asked. "Our dad always said the Shane Gang had a big family meal before an important operation." Eli explained. "I figured it's time we revisited that tradition. Though it's certainly a first for me." He said, looking disgusted at the bug. He then heard crunching. He turned to see Harley munching like an animal on the back of the bug. "What? It tastes better than it looks." Harley said.

Twist got up and gave his plate to the slugs. Pronto was about to eat when he noticed this. "Hey! What is this?! You waste a delicious Cavern Crawler claw on- on, on- on your slugs?!" He asked in disbelief. "A happy slug is a healthy slug." Twist said. "And a healthy slug wins duels." Eli added. "True that." Lash agreed. "You said it." Harley said. Burpy, Loki and Doc eyed Pronto. They nodded and slunk to the plate. Burpy placed the spoon on Doc's back and loaded a pea in it. Loki then hopped on the spoon and fired the pea, hitting Pronto in the face. "I am hit!" He cried, growling at the slugs. Burpy and Loki high-fived. "Loki." Twist called before Doc could get one. Loki gestured Burpy to Eli and Twist and they hopped to their owner's shoulders.

"I can see you and Harley love these guys as much as me and Lash do." Twist said. "Yeah. We hate it when Blakk twists them into those monstrous ghouls." Lash added. "We're gonna change that." Eli assured. "Promise." Harley said. "Speaking of twist, how'd you get that name? If you don't mind me asking." Kord asked. "I'll show you. You're a pretty big guy. But there is no way you can keep a hold of me." Twist said. Kord chuckled and stood up. "Obviously you've never heard of a cave troll channel lock." He said. "Oh yeah. Once a troll has you in the channel lock, there's no escape." Mario assured. "Try me." Twist dared as Loki hopped off his shoulder. Kord walked over. Trixie began recording. Kord and Twist got into a stance and Kord lunged in to grab him. But when Kord looked, Twist was gone. "What?! How?!" He asked in disbelief. Twist flicked Kord's helmet from behind. Kord swung around as Twist hid behind his back. Kord noticed and tried to grab him, but Twist slunk under him, making him trip and fall. "Cool moves Twist." Eli said. "Totally awesome." Harley said in awe. "Impressive to you, perhaps. But molenoids are well known for their evasive maneuvers." Pronto boasted. "You wanna go next?" Kord asked pounding his fist into his hand. "Another time perhaps." Pronto cowardly said, zipping away, making Kord grin.

"You and Lash have any family other than each other Twist?" Trixie asked. "It's a long story and at the end of it, we don't know what happened to them." Twist said as Loki hopped back onto his shoulder. "Loki and the other slugs are our family now." "We've all lost someone Twist. That's what makes us family. You and Lash are welcome to our table anytime." Eli said. "And speaking of time, it's 0 hour." Kord said. "It's time to hit the depot." Vance added. Eli and Twist loaded their blasters and prepared for the operation.


At the depot, the gang waited as Eli watched through his binoculars. "Patrol is right on time. This should be a piece of cake." Eli said. "So, what's the plan for getting in?" Mario asked. "Allow me. Showtime Loki." Twist said. Loki hopped to his hand and created an illusion of himself as a ghoul, making the gang look on in awe, shock and disgust. "Man, that's convincing." Trixie said impressed. "There's a lot Loki can do." Lash said. Twist loaded Loki and slung him towards the depot.

One of the 2 guards at the gate saw Loki hopping towards them. "Whoa, whoa! Ghoul!" He said. "One must've got loose. Grab him!" The other guard said. "You think we need backup?" Guard 1 asked. Guard 2 walked up and took the control pole from Guard 1. "Don't be such a baby. How'd you even get this job?" He asked, making his stance. He latched the pole onto Loki, who started to struggle. "That thing's going nuts! Don't let go!" Guard 1 said, opening the door with his keycard. Guard 2 slipped and fell to the ground, dropping the pole. Guard 1 stepped back in fear, letting Loki inside. "I told you not to let go!" He said. "Sorry! I panicked!" Guard 2 admitted. Loki made his way to the security grid and planted a device near the power cords.

The gang received the security footage on their laptop as the guards found Loki. "Video hacker's planted. Loki's almost as sneaky as me." Twist said. "Now their eyes are our eyes. Nice." Trixie said. "Nice of Blakk to use the same layout for all of his depots. Makes our job even easier." Eli added. Trixie focused the camera on Loki as the guards took him away. Loki winked at the camera. Kord and Harley were focused on Loki. "Hmm. Something's wrong with this." Kord said. "Wrong how?" Trixie asked. "I'm not sure. I can't put my finger on it, but something." Kord explained. "Yeah, I'm getting a weird vibe on this too. Something's off." Harley added. "I don't see anything wrong." Twist said. "Me neither." Lash added. "How about you Eli?" Eli looked through the footage of the guards bringing Loki to a cart full of canisters. "Everything looks green to me. But keep thing looks green to me. But keep your eyes open people. I trust Kord and Harley's instincts." Eli said. "Yeah. It's uh- it's probably nothing." Kord said. "Yeah maybe nothing." Harley agreed. They watched as the guards placed Loki with the others. "Loki's in place." Twist said. "Let's move." Eli ordered.

Eli and Twist watched as a guard moved from his position. "Slug runner to Bunhead. We're in position." Eli said to Trixie's comm in code. "Bunhead? I'm supposed to be Eagle eyes." Trixie complained. "Oh, right. Sorry babe." Eli apologized. Trixie just playfully scoffed. "Perimeter's clear, but there's 4 guards inside the first door. Go!" She said. Eli, Twist, Harley, Kord, Lash, Vance, Mario and Pronto all charged towards the door.

Inside, Eli spied the 4 guards inside a control room. As one of the guards exited, Kord grabbed him a pulled him aside. "Did you catch that Slugball game last night?" One the guards asked. Kord pulled the 2 up and sounds of pounding and zipping were heard before the gang dropped down to the ground. Eli, Kord and Pronto were dressed in guard suits. The fourth guard turned around and gasped as Kord knocked him out. Twist felt around until he found the guard's keycard. "I've got the keycard. We're in!" He said into his comm. "Sweet. I'll get the mechas ready." Trixie said.

The others headed further into the depot, all dressed in guard suits. "I still don't know how you managed to fit into that suit." Eli said to Kord, regarding his muscular size. "You don't want to know." Kord answered. They reached the door at the end of the hall. Twist swiped the keycard against the lock and opened the door. "This is it. Right where the blueprint said." Eli said as they entered. The room was full of canisters loaded with ghouls. Twist ran over to the canisters by the cart and tried to pick out Loki. "Careful. Watch that one on the right." Kord warned. Twist found Loki's barrel. "Nice work Loki." Twist said as Loki jumped into his hand. "You can lose the illusion now." Loki nodded and switched back to a normal Thugglet slug. "I still don't like this." Kord said, still getting the feeling something was wrong. "I don't either." Harley agreed. Kord picked up a canister. "Let's get out of here." They loaded the canisters onto the cart.

They brought the cart outside to wait for Trixie. "We're almost clear. Get ready to saddle up." Eli said, taking off his mask. "Finally!" Pronto said in relief. "This cursed costume is so itchy. And it stinks as bad as a cave troll's-" "Uh Pronto." Kord said, reminding the mole that he was right beside him. "Oh. Hello you." Pronto said sheepishly. "Are they always like this?" Lash asked. "Most of the time. You'll get used to it." Mario said.

Eli heard an engine roaring. "And That must be Trixie with the mechas. Right on time." He said. He and Harley slunk up to the gate and peaked through the crack. "Uh oh." Eli said. "What is it?" Twist asked. "Not Trixie with the mechas. It's El Diablos Nacho." Eli said. Pronto fearfully jumped into Kord's arms as they saw Nacho just outside the gate with some goons. "Nacho? I thought you said he'd be miles from here." Kord said. "That's what my intel told me." Twist said. "Guess your intel fed you some false information." Vance said. "So much for the perfect plan." Eli said.


"We're not getting out of here without a fight, are we?" Twist asked. "Not unless someone as a better alternative." Harley said. "Perhaps I can find another exit." Pronto suggested. "You saw the blueprint. There is no other exit." Eli reminded. "Fight it is then." Twist said. "I like Twist's style." Harley said. "So, what's the plan?" Lash asked. "Wait for my move. Then run out slinging hard. Stay alive. And get these ghouls home safe." Eli said.

Nacho started to get the feeling something was about to happen behind him. "Okay, Trixie. Showtime." Eli said into his comm. He signaled for Pronto to open the gate. Nacho looked behind as Eli slung Glimmer, blinding Nacho with Flashbang as Trixie and the other mechas leapt over him towards the gang. "Blast them, you fools!" Nacho ordered. The goons charged in, firing their ghouls as the gang mounted their mechas. "This way." Trixie said, trying to leave but stopping from getting hit by a ghoul. As the goons fired more ghouls, Kord rode through the smoke and fired back.

"Wait! Cover me!" Pronto called as he hooked the cart onto Fernando, almost getting blasted. "Sorry Pronto! Kinda preoccupied at the moment!" Vance said, firing his new Lavalynx, Crust. Another goon fired a Grimmstone towards Pronto, but Kord jumped Wyatt in the way and knocked the ghoul into the air. Pronto then hopped on Fernando and jiggled the handles, trying to start him. "Okay. Go! What are you waiting for?" He said as he got his mecha going, riding off with Trixie, Kord, Vance and Mario. Several goons on jackal mechas chased after them.

3 more goons continued to blast at Eli, Harley, Twist and Lash. One of them fired a Jollyfist. Twist dodged 2 incoming ghouls and fired a Tazerling, hitting one of the goons with Tazerbolt. Another fired a Grimmstone towards Twist, but Eli blocked it with Lucky. The ghoul bounced off Lucky to the ground, making it dizzy. Eli then slung Buzzsaw, who latched his teeth onto the goon's blaster and spun, shredding the front part. The goon looked at his blaster and ran off screaming. Eli helped Twist onto Lucky. "Lash!" Twist called. Lash was backed into a corner, held at blaster point by the third goon. Suddenly, an Armashelt came out of nowhere and bashed into the goon, knocking him down. The slug hopped onto the unconscious goon and chittered with a smile. Lash looked at the slug then turned to see Harley riding up to him. "Nice work, Claws." He said, picking up his slug. He then looked to a shocked Lash. "You alright?" He asked. "You- You saved me." Lash said. "Of course. No one gets left behind." Harley said, helping him on his mecha, now named Delta.

As the pair of brothers started to ride off, Nacho started to come around from being blinded. Eli fired Rammer, bashing into Nacho, while Twist slung a Frostcrawer, freezing Nacho's bottom half into place. They hopped over him and rode off. "Nice shot, Twist." Eli said. "Likewise." Twist said.

The gang were still being chased by the goons on jackals. Kord fired his AquaBeek, Jetstream, at them, knocking one of them off his mecha with Aquajet.

Nacho broke the ice with the butt of his blaster, freeing his legs. He snarled and looked towards the 4 brothers. He took careful aim, then slung a Grimmstone at Eli and Twist, knocking them off Lucky. "Eli!" Harley called, stopping Delta. "Twist, you okay?" Lash called. "We're okay! Go on and help the others! We'll handle Nacho." Eli called. "Okay. Be careful." Harley called as he and Lash rode off the help the others.

Kord looked back, counting their pursuers. "Does it seem like there's a lot more of these guys then our intel suggested?" He asked as one of the goons fired a Frostfang. Vance ducked his head as the ghoul passed. "Now that you mention it, there does." He said. Trixie looked back and fired Twirl, wrapping around the goon's mecha's legs and bringing it down while tripping another. "2 for 1. But who's counting?" Trixie said, making a joke about Twist's earlier comment.

Nacho walked over to where he blasted Eli and Twist, but found only a scorch mark. He growled and looked around, trying to find them. "Where are you?" He asked. Suddenly, a blaster was fired. Nacho turned to see Buzzsaw spinning towards him. He dodged the incoming Thresher and fired an Amperling towards the tall mushroom where Eli and Twist were hiding. Burpy growled as Eli and Twist fired 2 more slugs. Nacho flipped out of the way and fired a Grimmstone. It bashed into Eli, knocking him off the mushroom. "Eli!" Twist called. Eli tried to grab a branch, but it slipped out of his grip and hooked Eli's belt. Burpy screeched in fear as Eli continued to fall. Twist swung in on an Arachnet web and grabbed Eli's arm. "Hold on!" He said as they swung towards Nacho. Nacho gasped as Eli kicked him, sending him backwards. As Eli and Twist landed, Eli tried to grab a slug barrel, but just noticed his belt was gone. "My belt! Up to you, Banger." He said to his last slug. Banger nodded from inside the blaster. Nacho fired a Dark Urchin towards them. Twist shoved Eli out of the way as the ghoul passed. Nacho got ready to fire again. Burpy, Doc, Spinner and Rammer looked on in worry from their branch.

The gang were still being chased. 2 more goons waited near the pass they were approaching. One of the chasing goons fired a Hop Jack, nearly hitting the cart making Pronto flinch. Pronto saw one of the goons near the pass readying his blaster. "Eat my stink!" Pronto yelled, pulling out his blaster and slinging Stinky into the goon's face. The goon coughed and gagged as he inhaled Stinky's gas cloud. "Oh mother! It REEKS!" He cried, falling on top of the other goon. Pronto chuckled at his success. Trixie and Kord skidded to a stop and fired both Rocks and Sploder towards the remaining goons, causing an explosive pileup. "3 for 1? Nice one, guys." Harley called as he and Lash rode up on Delta. "Where are Eli and Twist?" Kord asked. "Here's a hint: Nacho." Harley said. "We've got to help them." Trixie said, riding off with the others following.

Eli fired Banger towards Nacho. Nacho fired another Grimmstone, slamming Banger to the ground. "Your empty." Nacho taunted. "Hand-to-hand work for you, Twist?" Eli asked. "Yeah. Let's throw this clown a beatdown he'll never forget." Twist said, preparing to fight. Nacho just chuckled. "Funny kids. You'll die laughing." He said, preparing to fire a Tempesto. Suddenly, Burpy flew out of nowhere, transformed and trapped Nacho in a Flamespire. Eli and Twist looked up. Eli's slugs were using vines to sling themselves at Nacho. Joules was slung next, shocking Nacho with her Tazerbolt. Rammer came next, punching Nacho in the chin. Gust came in last, blowing Nacho down with Galestorm.

Eli and Twist ran in as the gang pulled up. "Go Eli!" Trixie called. Twist hoisted Eli up the tree to get his belt, along with his last 2 slugs, Spinner and his new Sand Angler, Urchin. Nacho growled as Eli put his back on, loaded Urchin and slung him at Nacho's feet, creating Sandcrete. Nacho's legs sunk into the quicksand patch as Eli and Twist walked past, picking up Urchin. Eli and Twist slid down the slope towards Lucky.

Nacho continued to struggle in the quicksand as he noticed the gang leaving. Nacho fired a Hop Jack and hit the cart. "Transport's hit!" Trixie announced. The whole thing started to come apart. "That thing's not gonna stay in one piece for long!" Kord said in worry. More ghouls hit the cart from afar. "We can't afford a firefight." Eli said. "He's right. If one stray slug hits that pen, we're gonna have a really nasty mess of loose ghouls." Harley said. "I know a hidden path. That is what I do you see: point the way when all seems lost." Pronto explained to Twist. "Don't get used to it. He always jinxes it in the end." Harley muttered. Twist and Lash put on some amused smiles.


Pronto led the gang to a quite little forest. "You see? We are safe and the ghouls are-" Pronto started to say until the cart tumbled off an edge, spilling the canisters and freeing the ghouls. "-FREE?!" The ghouls started to scatter. Kord rode up to a little group. 3 of them hopped at him, but he fired Flycatcher and caught them in a web net. 2 more ghouls nearly got him from behind, but Trixie caught them with a web net from Spider. "You can thank me later." Trixie said.

The gang fired their Arachnets to try and catch the ghouls, but there were too many. "There's no way we can web up all these ghouls." Eli said. "So, what do we do?" Harley asked. "I've got this, guys." Twist said. He held up Loki's barrel. "Loki, give me an Oroboros special." He fired Loki towards the ghouls and created an illusion of a Shadow Clan. The illusion roared at the ghouls, backing them into a corner. "Oh wow!" Trixie said, impressed. "Oh, that is cool." Mario said. "Awesome, Loki." Eli said. He held up Doc's barrel. "Okay Doc, time to do your stuff." He said, loading the barrel into his blaster. "This could take a while." He fired Doc into the middle of the ghoul pack and unleashed his Healswarm, curing the ghouls. Doc hopped back to Eli as Loki dropped his Shadow Clan illusion. Eli picked up Doc. "Well done, Doc. Get some sleep. You've earned it." He said. Doc fell to sleep in Eli's hand.

Back at the hideout, Burpy, Loki, Twist and Lash watched Doc as he slept. "Twist, you, Lash and Loki were amazing today." Eli said. "Slugs needed help. We helped. No big deal." Twist assured. "Very big deal." Trixie corrected. Some of the slugs chittered in agreement on the table. "You 2 should be 2 of us. You both proved that today. You're Shane Gang. You're family." Eli said. "If it means more dinners like last night, count us in." Twist said. "Seriously though, thanks." "Yeah. It's been a long time since we've felt like part of a family." Lash said as Loki hopped onto Twist's shoulder. "Well, other than our slugs of course." Twist added. "We're lucky to have you guys." Eli said, shaking hands with Twist and Lash. "Also, because the Shane Gang's gonna need all the help it can get." "Ooh. What do you have planned this time?" Kord asked. "Another depo raid?" Vance asked. "Not exactly, Vance. I've realized that hitting ghoul depos isn't gonna have any lasting effect on Blakk. We need something that can put him out of the ghoul business for good. We need to get at the very thing Blakk is using to make them in the first place." Eli explained. "Dark Water." Harley said in realization. Eli turned to Twist and Lash. "What do you guys know about Dark Water?" He asked. "We've heard a few things." Twist said. "If that's what you're going after, then we know exactly how to do it." Lash said. "But we're gonna have to talk to an old friend." Twist added. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Let's go." Eli said. "Wish you could come Eli, but he doesn't trust strangers. Me and Lash have gotta do this solo." Twist said in regret. Harley, Trixie and Kord seemed suspicious but understanding. "I get it. See you soon then. Be safe. Both of you." Eli said. Twist nodded while Lash looked worried.


At Blakk's citadel, Blakk was not happy with what happened at the depot. "I should blast you where you stand. I lost a lot of precious ghouls today." He said. "So did I!" Nacho growled. "And now you come to me with a request? What makes you think this will work?" Blakk asked. "Because they trust us." Twist said as he and Lash walked up to their true boss. "Yes. But the question is: Should I?" He asked. Twist was unphased by Blakk's intimidation. Lash looked worried. 'What am I doing?' He thought.

There you have it, folks. How do you like my extra little surprise? Twist has a little brother who also has doubts on working with Blakk. What will happen next? Find out next chapter. And about the name I gave to Harley's mecha: I like to think it as a tribute to Delta from Jurassic World. Leave a review if you'd like.

Slug Arsenal:

Eli Shane: Burpy (Infurnus), Joules (Tazerling), Noodle (Flopper), Banger (Armashelt), Bolo (Polero), Rammer (Rammstone), Rocky (Hop Rock), Chiller (Frostcrawler), Burner (Lavalynx), Suds (Bubbaleone), Goober (Jellyish), Sparky (Grenuke), Doc (Boon Doc), Larry (Lariat), Gust (Tormato), Buzzsaw (Thresher), Digger (Crystalid), Spinner (Arachnet), Mucky (Dirt Urchin), Tangles (Vinedrill), Spooker (Frightgeist), Charger (Fandango), Stunts (Speedstinger), Glimmer (Phosphoro), Mo (Enigmo), Dazer (Hypnogriff), Urchin (Sand Angler)

Harley Shane: Matchstick (Flaringo), Squirm (Flopper), Frostbite (Frostcrawler), Webs (Arachnet), Gels (Jellyish), Zipper (Hoverbug), Ivy (Vinedrill), Masher (Rammstone), Frights (Frightgeist), Shredder (Thresher), Smelly (Flatulorhinkus), Claws (Armashelt)

Trixie Sting: Bluster (Tormato), Blizzard (Frostcrawler), Spider (Arachnet), Twirl (Polero), Balloon (Bubbaleone), Haunter (Frightgeist), Pounder (Rammstone), Slicer (Thresher), Rocks (Hop Rock)

Kord Zane: Bludgeon (Rammstone), Sploder (Hop Rock), Jolt (Tazerling), Trip (Polero), Flycatcher (Arachnet), Floatie (Bubbaleone), Iceberg (Frostcrawler), Scorch (Flaringo), Jetstream (AquaBeek)

Pronto Geronimo: Stinky (Flatulorhinkus), Slimey (Jellyish), Soapy (Bubbaleone), Flame (Flaringo)

Vance Volt: Blast (Hop Rock), Bloom (Vinedrill), Crust (Lavalynx), Legs (Arachnet)

Mario Bravado: Ricochet (Speedstinger), Slide (Frostcralwer), Crawler (Arachnet)