Chapter 27: The Hard Part

Today, the Shane Gang were visiting Red Hook with hopes that he could help make the blasters Eli and Harley need to make fusion shots. "Please Red Hook. Can't you at least take a look at Kord's schematic? I know me and Harley can do it. We just need the blasters." Eli pleaded. "I said it's impossible! The fusion is only a legend! It's just a wishful fantasy. Like the Universal Slug or odorless plumbing." Red Hook said. "It's not a fantasy! We've seen it!" Eli said. "Odorless plumbing?" Pronto asked hopefully. "No, pinhead! The fusion!" Harley said, smacking Pronto in the head.

"It's true. The Unbeatable Master had skill and the blaster to fire 2 perfectly timed synchronized slugs that merged into one even more powerful force." Eli said, recalling the move Shanai used with Ping and Yang on Twist. "Then this 'Master' can perform it again and convince me." Red Hook said. "She can't because of Blakk. He's developed a powerful new weapon of his own. Now she's gone." Eli said sadly. Burpy lowered his head in sadness. "And by 'gone', I'm assuming not just out of town." Red Hook guessed. Lash put his arm around Shimei as she let a tear drop down her face. "Oh. I'm so sorry." Red Hook said. Shimei sadly nodded her head.

"The fusion maybe the only thing that can match Blakk's gattler." Kord said. "And Harley and I have to learn it before Blakk repairs his weapon." Eli finished. "But even if it is possible, what in Slugterra makes you think you 2 can achieve it?" Red Hook asked as Pronto examined a gassy content in a bucket. "You 2 aren't the Unbeatable Master. You 2 are barely Shanes." "And I'm not a master slinger smith like you, but I've tried to come up with a design for a specialized blaster that makes the fusion move possible for Eli and Harley." Kord said, showing Red Hook his blueprint. Red Hook examined it, while Harley took the bucket from Pronto and shoved it onto his head. "Well, this does show an amateur's fumbling, but thoughtful attempted resolving a complicated technical issue." Red Hook said. "I'm thinking a zigpolish pneumo trigger with glupolymer wiring up it's better replication properties." Kord explained. "Please, make them stop." Trixie complained while getting a headache from this. Vance pinched between his eyes. Watts started to wobble upon getting tired. Even Burpy started to fall asleep. "You do realize, of course, you'll need to crossmatch the curvesafe contouring on the firing distance." Red Hook explained, but then shook it off. "Still impossible! A blaster like this would need a Vitalis crystal to control the sychronization." He said, showing the gang a picture of a Vitalis crystal. "And they're hard to find?" Eli asked. "They're non-existent. The Vitalis was a power source back in the old days, but they were mined to extinction." Red Hook explained, flipping the picture. "Last thing that used them was the air remodulator, but…" Red Hook started to chuckle. "…good luck finding one of those." Suddenly, Kord had an idea. "I know where we can find one. A cavern stacked full of spare parts and surplus gear that's totally gonna blow your minds." Kord said. Eli, Trixie, Harley and Dana were intrigued.

[Scene Switch]

"Mind not blown." Trixie said, changing her intrigued face when they saw where they were. "A junkyard?" Eli asked. "Not just any junkyard. The Scrapheap!" Kord said as the gang mounted back on their mechas. "Of course, finding that part in here may take a little time." "How little are we talking here, Kord?" Harley asked. "Like maybe a couple years." Kord said. Harley went wide-eyed and fell off Delta as he fainted.


(Intro)


As the Shane Gang entered the Scrapheap, Eli took a good look at the piles of scrap that were stashed here. "Kord, please tell us that there's an easy way to find things in this junkpile." He said. "Yeah. I don't think I'd want to search everything for a couple years." Harley said. "Check it out." Kord said, pointing at a machine. As the gang walked up to it, a little camera activated. Kord typed in the item they were seeking. "Air-Re-Mod-U-La-Tor." The machine beeped. A little door opened and revealed a small piece of paper. Eli took it and read it. "2 in stock. Located in Deep Storage. Excellent. So, how do we get there?" He asked. "I've…never been in that far before." Kord said. "You what?!" Harley asked. Suddenly, the machine beeped again and opened its door, revealing a rolled-up parchment. Trixie took it and unrolled it. "What you got there, Trix?" Dana asked. "It's a map to Deep Storage." Trixie said. Everyone looked at the map. "Which is, according to this scale, a 2-day trip." Trixie revealed. "Excuse me. I am not packed for a 2-day trip!" Pronto protested. "You're barely packed for any trip." Harley said. "He has a point." Eliza said. "Got that right." Lash added. "You said it." Mario said. Pronto just grumbled.

Trixie looked back at the map. "And that's with mechas. This says they aren't allowed in Deep Storage." She said. "That's not fair!" Vance said. "It'll take forever on foot!" Kord said. Just then, the machine beeped again and pulled up a pointer sign. The gang looked to where it pointed. A rusty railcar rolled on the track into view. Burpy was confused from the look of this thing. "An old railcar?" Dana asked. "If this is our alternative, I think I can get there faster on foot." Trixie said. "That is because you do not understand this type of machine." Pronto said. "Now let Pronto's smooth piloting technique remove your concerns." He spun the door handle, causing the door to fall off. "That was smooth." Harley chuckled. Burpy also laughed at the molenoid's misfortune.

The gang all got into the cart, fixed the door and started up the railcar. They rode the tracks deep into the Scrapheap. Burpy, Chiller, Suds and Doc hopped down onto the railcar as the tracks started to rise and fall like rollercoaster. "So, what exactly is an air remodulator?" Eli asked. "Well, it's a device that scrubs and reoxygenates a foul interior atmosphere." Kord said. "You mean it's an air freshener?" Trixie asked. "If you want to get all technical." Kord said, feeling insulted. Suddenly, the car went down a big drop. Then, as it went into a big rotation, Lash accidently bump into the door, causing it to fall off again and him to nearly fall out. Luckily, Watts pulled him back in. "Pronto, have you ever driven one of these before?!" Kord asked. "No. But it is much like the tricycle I had as a child." Pronto said. "A tricycle? Seriously?" Harley asked in a mutter. "Tricycles don't have joysticks!" Trixie said. "Yes. But mine had very cool handlebars." Pronto said. "Is he being for real right now?" Dana asked. Mario and Watts shrugged.

"The brake! The BRAKE!" Eli called, pointing ahead. They were heading for a big pile of scrap. Pronto pulled as hard as he could on the joystick to activate the break, but it broke off! "Uh-oh. This poses a small problem." He said as the railcar drew closer. "And what part of this problem would be described as 'small' to you?" Harley asked. "Don't worry. We got this." Dana said as she and Trixie fired Webby and Spider at a tower. The 2 Arachnets slung their webs at the railcar, pulling at it hard enough to make it stop. The gang recovered from being jolted from the whiplash. "There's gotta be a better way to Deep Storage." Kord said. "One that doesn't involve 'smooth piloting' from a molenoid." Harley added. "You wanted faster than feet. Pronto got you here faster than feet." Pronto said. Just then, the tower that Spider and Webby were on started to tip and fall over. The gang braced for impact, but the big bulb on the tower hit the scrap pile before it could crush the gang. Pronto chuckled nervously.

As a punishment, Pronto was reduced to sniffing out their way to Deep Storage. Trixie read the map as Eli had Burpy light up the place as it got a little darker. Pronto stopped as he hit his head on a container. "This is Deep Storage?" Kord asked. "Most definitely. I have a nose for these things." Pronto bragged. "Oh brother." Harley groaned. "We're at totally new level of dust and stink." Kord said. "No kidding. It really reeks around here." Lash said. Eli obviously agreed as he held his nose. "All in favor of finding those parts fast and scramming out of here, raise your hand." He said, raising his hand. Everyone, including Burpy, immediately raised their hands before continuing.

As they continued deeper into Deep Storage, Eli stopped them in their tracks as he heard something moving. He then gave out hand signals to the gang, understanding what he had in mind. Pronto, however, mistook the hand movements. "Okay. 2 words. Sounds like…crazy troll!" He said. "It's not charades!" Eli whispered, making Pronto sad.

A man wearing some ragged clothes, plus a neck cast and arm cast, and a green female amphibanoid with an eyepatch on her left eye, dressed as equally ragged walked into view. He looked around as if he was looking for something or someone. The gang appeared on top of a scrap pile, aiming their blasters at the 2. "You've been following us. Why?" Eli asked, making their appearance known. "Perhaps they want my autograph." Pronto guessed. "Doubtfully." Harley said. "What do you want?" Eli asked. Just then, there was a clinking noise. Everyone turned to see a reptilian creature dressed in ragged clothes with a big helmet with lightbulbs clinking 3 slug barrels with his fingers. "We already got what we want." The reptile said. The gang was confused. "We got you!" The reptile said as 4 more men and 2 twin women appeared. All 9 of them laughed manically. Burpy growled, not liking these people. "Hey guys, we're just customers. We're looking for some parts and we're a little lost." Eli said. "This area's off limits without Boss Ember's permission." The reptile said. "Then show us where we can find him, and we'll get his okay to be here." Eli said. "It's too late to ask him now. What's the penalty boys?" The reptile asked his buddies. "Hand over all your slugs and blasters, and leave Deep Storage the way you came in." The first man said. "Nuh uh. Not gonna happen." Eli said. "Then we'll take them anyway." The reptile said. With the snap of his fingers, he, the 5 men, 2 girls and amphibanoid drew some scrap-made blasters and aimed at the gang.

The 4 men fired Hop Rocks while the reptile fired a Flaringo. Kord fired Bludgeon, deflecting the 5 slugs with his horns. Trixie fired her own Lavalynx, Scorcher, while the other guy slung an Armashelt. Scorcher knocked the Armashelt down. The amphibanoid girl slung a Jellyish, but Vance countered by slinging Blow, blowing the slug back with Galestorm, right into the girl's face, covering it with slime. The 2 girls fired a couple of Rammstones. Shimei split her blaster and fired her 2 new slugs, Leng the Polero and Kaz the Grenuke. Leng wrapped around one Rammstone, and Kaz blasted down the other. Pronto took cover in an old oil barrel to avoid the crossfire. Trixie peeked out as the reptile loaded and fired a Bubbaleone. Trixie retaliated by slinging Slicer, popping the Bubbaleone back into its protoform. Eli slung Burpy, blasting a Frostcrawler with Flashfire. Kord slung Flytrap, catching a Hop Rock in his web. Mario slung Echo, dousing a Sand Angler with AquaJet. Eliza slung her new Hop Rock, Jimbo, knocking down a Speedstinger. Dana slung her own Frostcrawler, Willy, freezing another Flaringo.

The reptile looked on with shock. The guy with the cast and the amphibanoid girl ran for cover as more slugs were slung all over the place. Pronto peeked out of the barrel, but ducked back in as more slugs were slung towards him. Eli slung Joules at the one guy named Lil Stevie, shocking him upon contact. His partner Welder Walter chuckled at this, but gasped as Burpy was slung past him. He flipped up his mask, not noticing that Burpy set it on fire. Harley slung Lucky at the 2 girls, known as the Scrapette sisters, hitting them with HyJinx. The Scrapettes chuckled, thinking that the attack was a dud, but then the scrap pile behind them toppled on top of them. One of the other guys, named Dirty Bill, slung a Thresher past Eliza's head. Eliza slung her new Frightgeist, Jason, hitting Bill with Frightningrod. Bill looked at his partner Big Joey, screamed under the influence of Jason's effects and ran off. Big Joey seemed confused, until Eliza slung her new Tazerling, Fitz, shocking the big man with Tazerbolt.

The reptile, named Straggus, the guy with the cast, named Mongo, and the amphibanoid girl, named Gretchen, peeked out from behind their cover. "These guys are good! I bet the boss would love to sling it out with them." Mongo said. "He just might, Mongo darling." Gretchen said. "Whoa! Whoa! Cease fire already, would ya?!" Straggus called. The gang stopped at once. "Who are you?!" Straggus asked. "The Shane Gang. Maybe you've heard of us." Kord said. Gretchen started to think on that. She had heard the name Shane before. "Yeah? Well, maybe you've heard of us! We're…the Tough Guys." Straggus introduced. "Pfft! The what?" Harley chuckled. "Put a whole lot of thought into that name, didn't you?" Trixie asked. "See? I told you it sounds lame." Mongo said. Straggus growled. He knew Mongo was right. "Why not call yourselves the Junkyard Dogs? Or the Scrap Force?" Trixie suggested. "Yeah. Scrap Force is pretty good, Straggus. Scrap Force!" Mongo said, liking the name. "Leave it to Trixie to give unwanted advice to an enemy." Harley said. Trixie smiled sheepishly. "How 'bout you guys back off and let us find those parts and get out of here!" Eli said. "Parts here maybe free, but the price to get them isn't. Hand over your blasters and slugs, and you can have all the junk you want!" Straggus said. "No deal!" Eli said clearly. "Fine by me! Prepare yourselves for a beatdown by the Tough Guys!" Straggus said. "Scrap Force!" Mongo argued. "We'll ask the boss about that later." Gretchen said.

Straggus held up a slug barrel containing a slug. "An Xmitter slug!" Trixie called, recognizing the slug. "Get clear of the blast!" Eli called as Straggus loaded the slug and took aim. The gang ran to get out of range, not noticing that Trixie dropped the map in the process. Straggus fired the slug. As the slug transformed, it gave off an energy wave that spread across the area. The gang took cover as the wave passed over them. "Eli, what does an Xmitter actually do?" Eliza asked. "It'll temporarily knock out anything electronic." Eli said as the tower lights went dead. "Including our blasters." Kord said. "And theirs too." Trixie said. Suddenly, there was a clunk. The gang peeked and saw Pronto knocked down in the oil barrel.

"We didn't lose, but we didn't get nothing either. The boss ain't gonna be happy." Mongo said. "When is he ever happy whenever something like this happens?" Gretchen asked. But then, Straggus saw the map, picked it up and looked at it. "Maybe this will put a smile on his face." He said with hope.

Eli examined his blaster as he and the others continued deeper into Deep Storage. "The Xmitter's effects are gonna wear off soon. We've gotta find those air modulator thingies and get out of this junkpile." He said. Trixie felt around for the map, but noticed that she lost it. "I lost the map! We have to go back!" She said. "How'd you lose it?" Dana asked. "I must've dropped it during the fight with those scrap guys." Trixie said. "Not to fear. Pronto has a copy. Here, in his steely brains." Pronto said. "Oh, don't tell me." Harley groaned. "Lead the way, Mr. Memory." Eli said, not sounding too thrilled. "I thought so." Harley muttered, knowing that Pronto would get them lost somehow.


As the 'Tough Guys' returned to their hideout, their Boss Ember, an octoad, wasn't happy. "You couldn't rob a little group of lost customers?!" He asked in a rage of disappointment as his servants cringed. "Well, those customers knew their slug slinging." Straggus said. The octoad looked up from a clipboard as his human wife rubbed his neck. "More than me?" He asked, glaring at the incompetent reptile. "No! No sir, Boss Ember. No one's as big and bad as you." Mongo said, trying to stay on his boss' good side. (If he even had one.) "And don't you forget it." The wife, named Petra, said. "They call themselves the Shane Gang." Straggus revealed. Ember spat out the coffee he was drinking at Straggus upon hearing the name Shane. "Shane. I know that name. A worthy opponent." Ember said. "Of course! The 2 boys who were leading the other slingers. They're the sons of the legendary Will Shane." Gretchen said, remembering the name now. "Oh, while we're talking about gang names, could we change ours to something cooler? I was thinking like, uh, the Scrap Force." Mongo said. "Would you-" Straggus said, not wanting to get to that yet. Gretchen just patted Mongo's shoulder. "They seemed pretty hot to get ahold of some gadgets. Right here." Straggus said, showing Ember the map and where the Shane Gang was heading. Ember started to think. "If the Shane Gang is after them, they must be valuable." He said, before handing the map back to Straggus. "Take this. Bring me the gadgets and bring me them." He ordered. "But boss, those slug slingers-" Straggus started to say. "Are a challenge. You can either take your cut when I sell the parts. Or you can be cut into parts for sale." Ember warned. "Now GET OUT before you make me puke!" He barked. The group turned to leave. "Oh! One more thing." Ember said, stopping them. "Go with Scrap Force. So much better than the Tough Guys." He said, changing their gang name. "Yes! I knew it." Mongo said as they turned to leave. "Huh. Better than nothing, I guess." Straggus said, shrugging it off.


As Pronto continued to lead the gang, he gasped at the sight of a roadblock. "I knew it." Harley said as he and the others stared at Pronto. "Pronto is not accounting for a water stain on the map." He said. "This way for sure." He took off behind a scrap pile. Trixie just shrugged as she and Eli watched. Pronto continued to jog around the pile. "Come on! Keep up. Keep-" He started to say, until he bumped into Kord's back, revealing that he just ran in a circle. "You sure that water stain isn't water on the brain?" Trixie asked. "Figures you'd lead us into another pickle like this." Mario said. Pronto started to feel ashamed for himself. "You can find it, Pronto. Focus your steely brains." Eli said. "If possible." Harley said. "Pronto cannot be wrong. His memory and tracking skills are exceptional. Only exceeded, of course, by his reputation as Molenoid of the Dance." Pronto bragged. Harley face-palmed himself.

Suddenly, a drop of water fell on Pronto's nose. He looked up and saw a pipe leaking water drops from a stack of cabinets. "That's it! It's there." He said. "The air modu-whassits are in one of those cabinets?" Trixie asked in confusion. "How can you be so sure?" Eliza asked. "It was not a water stain on the map. It was a drawing of a water leak." Pronto said as he climbed up to the cabinets. "This must be the one!" He opened the drawer and looked inside. But it was empty. "Not here?! But then where?" He asked himself as he looked into another. Suddenly, he felt something grab his butt. He looked and saw an Arachnet's web as it pulled him down to the ground, where the others were wrapped in web too. "Were you looking for these?" Straggus asked, holding up- "The air remodulators!" Kord said in surprise. "Come on, guys. They're not worth anything to you." Eli said. "We'll let Boss Ember decide what they're worth, and what you're worth. Try anything funny and we'll trash your machines!" Straggus warned.

The Scrap Force brought the gang back to their hideout. "Ah. Not bad, not bad." Ember said as Mongo and Gretchen dropped the gang's blasters on his desk. "It's not often that blasters of this quality pass through here. You puke-inducing leeches managed to do something good for once." He said with impression. "Yeah! We're much better now that we're known as the Scrap Force." Mongo said. "See? I told you a cooler name would help." Trixie said. "Well, it didn't help us!" Harley whispered. "Yeah. Having a good gang name is paramount." Ember said, examining Eli's blaster. "Speaking of names, you 2 are Eli and Harley Shane, aren't you?" He asked. "Who's asking?" Eli asked. "You must've heard of me. I'm Boss Ember." Ember introduced. "Nope." "No." "Never." "Not a clue." "Boss what?" "Don't think so." "Name doesn't ring a bell." "Nothing." "Nada." "Zilch." "Nay." "I got nothing." The gang all answered. "Then let me explain! I am the gatekeeper of Deep Storage. No object or customer leaves without going through me first." Ember explained. "Self-appointed right? You're just shaking people down because no one ever patrols this part of the Scrapheap." Eli guessed. "It's the only reasonable explanation." Harley said. Ember chuckled. "Clever kids. And knowing who you 2 are, these whole gadgets must have some high value I'm not aware of." He said, examining the air remodulators. "They're air fresheners. We live with a cave troll." Trixie said. Kord felt insulted. "And a few pets. A crystal worm, an ice ogre, few lava bats, and a couple of Dino rats." Lash said. "Even so, I think I'll keep them and put them on the open market." Ember decided. "Maybe Dr. Blakk would be interested in bidding on them." Eli and Harley glared. They couldn't let the parts get into Blakk's hands. "How much do you want?" Eli asked. "In this case, a reputation is more important than money." Ember said, taking a slug barrel, tossing it into the air and loading it into his own blaster. "I fancy myself quite the slug slinger, and I hear your abilities make you 2 an interesting challenge." The gang grinned at their 2 leaders. "So, here's the deal, Shanes. You 2 and me and my wife. 2-on-2. We lose, you get the gadgets. We win, we get your blasters, slugs, and a reputation." Ember bargained. "Piece of cake. That little gasbag can barely hold a blaster." Kord said. "Okay Ember. You're on!" Eli said. Ember tossed Eli and Harley their blasters. "Oh. I may have neglected a small detail about our 2-on-2." Ember said. He raised his extra tentacles and opened his desk from down the middle. The gang received quite the shock as Ember emerged in front of them. "I'm actually more of a 1+." Ember said. "This is gonna be fun." Petra said.


Ember cackled with confidence as everyone exited the hideout. As Eli and Harley took their positions, the rest of the Scrap Force held the rest of the gang at blaster point with their own blasters. "Finally, a duel with someone who doesn't make me wanna puke!" Ember said as he drew his 4 blasters and Petra drew her own twin blasters. "Yeah? Well, we'll see about that!" Eli said, until he caught what Ember really said. "Wait-" Ember fired all 4 of his loaded slugs at once. A Tormato, a Forgesmeltor, a Speedstinger, and a Sand Angler. Eli and Harley dodged the incoming slugs. Eli slung Beeker and Harley slung Webs as Ember slung another Tormato, Sand Angler, Speedstinger, along with a Neotox. Petra slung both an Armashelt and a Lariat. Webs zoomed ahead and caught both of Petra's slugs in her web. Beeker fired his AquaJet, knocking down Ember's first 3 slugs, leaving only the Neotox. Eli loaded and slung Burpy to intercept the incoming slug into a collision. "See? I told you they were good." Straggus said. Ember groaned. "You toads are easily impressed! Now, watch the masters at work!" He said, reloading his blasters with the barrels on his armor. "Love the way you think, baby." Petra said, loading her blasters with the barrels on her belt. Ember fired another Sand Angler, along with a Hop Rock, a Frostcrawler and a Rammstone. Eli slung Spinner and caught all 4 slugs in her web. Seeing an opening, Petra fired a Lavalynx and a Frightgeist. Harley jumped in and fired Frostbite, freezing the 2 slugs with Deepfreeze. Eli slung Glimmer into the air, blinding Ember and Petra with Flashbang. Eli then slung Joules, shocking Ember with Tazerbolt, and causing him to fall on top of Straggus. "Puddin!" Petra cried. Harley slung Polo, wrapping around her legs and tripping her. Eli and Harley twirled their blasters with pride.

"Don't just stand there! Help us take them down!" Ember barked. "That's cheating!" Trixie said as Lil Stevie hustled over and helped his boss up. "So, I'm not a role model." Ember said. Straggus groaned in pain. Kord snatched his blaster and punched Mongo into a wall. Trixie kicked Walter, grabbing her blaster and sending Pronto his. Watts punched Joey in the face, grabbing his blaster and tossing Vance and Mario theirs. Eliza tackled Gretchen, taking her blaster. Dana bashed the Scrapettes' heads together, taking her blasters from the one and tossing Lash his. Shimei flipped Bill onto his back and kicking up her staff into her hands. "We got your backs, boys!" Kord said as everyone prepared to duel. The Scrap Force all started firing their slugs. The Shane Gang fired back. Trixie flipped over and fired Bluster, catching Lil Stevie in a Slyphoon. Mongo retaliated, firing a Hop Rock near Kord and Pronto, sending them flying forward. Shimei deflected a few slugs with her staff and fired her Flaringo, Hindo, blasting Walter's helmet with Blastburst. Gretchen slung an Armashelt, bashing into Shimei. Lash caught her, pushing him onto his back.

"We're being out slugged!" Trixie called as everyone else took cover. Eli looked at the Scrap Force, getting an idea. "We can win as long as they don't use that Xmitter slug." He called. Trixie winked, knowing what her fiancé was thinking. Straggus peaked out. "They'd never try that again. They're not that smart." Trixie said. Straggus looked at his Xmitter's barrel. Then he loaded it. "Ha! You lose!" He said, firing the slug into the air. "NO! YOU IDIOT!" Ember shouted. Too late. The slug transformed and performed its Jambler attack, shutting down every electric device in the surrounding facility. The Scrap Force members groaned, glared and complained. "I'm fired right?" Straggus asked with fear.

"Bring down the house!" Eli called, tossing Burpy, Joules and Banger past Ember's head. "You can't even hit a target as big as me?" Ember asked, thinking Eli missed. "I wasn't aiming at you." Eli said with a smile. Burpy, Joules and Banger landed on a piece of pipe, shaking it loose and causing a scrap avalanche. Everyone ran to get away, but Ember got buried under the scrap. Eli and Harley walked up to the air remodulators and picked them up. "Well, our slugs beat you, so we win. Fair and square." Eli said. Burpy, Joules and Banger rolled over in a metal wheel. Banger hopped back, while Joules was a little dizzy from the ride. Burpy hopped to the Xmitter and chittered an invitation to join them. The Xmitter chirped happily.

Suddenly, Ember's tentacles burst out of the pile. "Let's go!" Eli called. The gang quickly took off as Ember burst out of the pile. Ember looked at the others. "Why didn't you STOP THEM?!" He asked. "Oh, were we supposed to stop them?" Gretchen asked, scratching her head. "Well, they won fair and square, didn't they?" Mongo asked. "I'll take them down myself! You're all FIRED!" Ember shouted, taking off after the Shane Gang. "But Puddin!" Petra called. "Great! Just great! Now what're we gonna do?" Straggus asked. "You guys think maybe Top Floor Storage needs a gang?" Mongo asked. Straggus just glared with his eye twitching.

The gang continued to run, trailing the railway. "That railway is our only sure way out of here." Eli said. Trixie and Harley stopped, noticing that Pronto had stopped to sniff the tracks. "Pronto detects the faint smell of axel grease of metal wheels upon metal track coming from-" Pronto said, tracking the smell. "Pronto!" Trixie called. "-over here!" Pronto turned, finding the railcar, which Trixie was pointing to. "Aha! Found it." "Oh brother." Harley groaned. Kord and Watts flipped the car onto the tracks and Pronto hopped in. "Make it happen, Pronto." Eli said. "Just give me a push." Pronto said. Just as the gang got into the car as Kord was pushing it, Ember burst through another scrap pile, surprising the gang, and started chasing them. "Faster Pronto! He's gaining on us!" Kord said. Pronto jiggled the joystick. "I can't! The motor's still out because of that Xmitter slug!" He said. "And so are our blasters!" Eli reminded. "Then what do we do?" Eliza asked. "I don't know." Eli said. Kord grabbed an iron rod from one of the scrap piles and pushed along the track to try and pick up speed. Pronto swerved the car along the track, trying to avoid Ember. As the car went down a drop, Ember grabbed one of the boards and swung towards the gang, only to smack into a scrap pile, causing it to tip over and collapse onto the track, nearly crushing the gang. It seemed like they were in the clear, until they looked at what was waiting for them at the bottom of another drop. Boss Ember. "Tell me there's something we can do. You can lie to me." Pronto said with worry. "I'm up for any ideas." Lash said. "We can't just throw slugs at him." Trixie said. "We got the speed." Kord said. "We just need something to sling them with." Harley finished. Kord and Harley opened the cover for the car's motor. Kord pulled out a few rubber bands. "Perfect." Harley said. "Get him in that hole!" Pronto called, pointing to a big hole at the bottom. Eli, Trixie and Kord prepared their slugs in the rubber bands like slingshots. "Slugs away!" Eli shouted, slinging Chiller and creating an ice path. Ember just chuckled at their attempt. Then, Kord slung Sploder, knocking Ember off the track and onto the path. Finally, Trixie slung Bluster, blowing Ember towards the hole with Galestorm. Ember screamed as he fell.

"Where does that hole lead to?" Eli asked. "Deepest Storage. Remember? Pronto still has the map. In here." Pronto said, boasting about his memory of the map. "Well, that's one more thing I'll never doubt Pronto for ever again." Harley said with sarcasm. "And look what we got here." Trixie said as the Xmitter came out of hiding. "The Xmitter slug." "Hey stowaway. Welcome aboard." Eli said, welcoming their newest teammate. The Xmitter happily hopped up to Eli's knee. "How about we call you Jammer?" Eli asked. The slug chittered happily. Kord sighed in heavy relief. "From now on, I get all my parts by mail order." He said, holding up the air remodulators. "Amen to that." Harley said.


Back at Red Hook's, Red Hook took the crystals and examined them. "Not only 2 Vitalis crystals, but 2 from unused air remodulators." He said, scanning the 2 crystals. "Therefore, they're still at full strength. Very promising." The gang felt proud of themselves. "But a couple of crystals and a blueprint made out of jest work ain't gonna get you to the fusion anytime soon if ever." Red Hook said, snatching a piece of tech Pronto was fooling with. "Then let's hope Dr. Blakk has a long way to go to fix his gattler. Cause if he gets it working soon, we won't have anything to stop him." Eli said.

At Blakk's citadel, Blakk oversaw the testing of a new gattler. One of his rouge slingers was firing ghoul after ghoul from the gattler to make sure it was working. Afterwards, the slinger turned it off and gave Blakk a thumbs up, indicating that it was working. Blakk smiled and walked away. As to what the slinger was shooting at, all that was left was a big, flaming scrap pile of a mammoth mecha beast.

WOW! How about that? The Shane Gang journey to the Scrap Heap to find a couple of air remodulators for parts to combatant against Dr. Blakk's gattler, and have a little run in with the local bad guys known as the Scrap Force, led by the infamous Boss Ember. What other adventures and surprises await our Shane Gang? Leave a review if you want.

Now I've received a lot of reviews asking for a human/Dark Bane hybrid for Harley. I actually gave some thought on that, and I think I can come up with something for future chapters.

I'm gonna pause on this story for now. I got some other fictions I wanna post and/or work on. But don't worry. The story of Slugterra will continue.

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 (Crystalyd), Spinner (Arachnet), Mucky (Dirt Urchin), Tangles (Vinedrill), Spooker (Frightgeist), Charger (Fandango), Stunts (Speedstinger), Glimmer (Phosphoro), Mo (Enigmo), Dazer (Hypnogriff), Urchin (Sand Angler), Dozer (Slyren), Jinxer (Hexlet), Torch (Forgesmeltor), Yang (Negashade), Beeker (AquaBeek), Mimkey (Mimikreas), Jaws (MakoBreaker), Gasser (Flatulorhinkus), Crystal (Geoshard), Foggy (Neotox), Jammer (Xmitter)

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), Splatz (Lariat), Twister (Tormato), Lucky (Hexlet), Sizzle (Grenuke), Quill (Dirt Urchin), Ping (White Boon Doc), Bubbles (Bubbaleone), Polo (Polero)

Trixie Sting: Bluster (Tormato), Blizzard (Frostcrawler), Spider (Arachnet), Twirl (Polero), Balloon (Bubbaleone), Haunter (Frightgeist), Pounder (Rammstone), Slicer (Thresher), Rocks (Hop Rock), Jelly (Jellyish), Blossom (Vinedrill), Spotty (Flopper), Dunes (Sand Angler), Zaps (Tazerling), Roller (Armashelt), Scorcher (Lavalynx)

Kord Zane: Bludgeon (Rammstone), Sploder (Hop Rock), Jolt (Tazerling), Trip (Polero), Flycatcher (Arachnet), Floatie (Bubbaleone), Iceberg (Frostcrawler), Scorch (Flaringo), Jetstream (AquaBeek), Spitz (Lariat), Chuckles (Gazzer), Floppy (Flopper), Pincer (Armashelt), Glint (Phosphoro), Throttle (Thresher)

Pronto Geronimo: Stinky (Flatulorhinkus), Slimey (Jellyish), Soapy (Bubbaleone), Bruiser (Rammstone), Flame (Flaringo), Loogie (Lariat), Windy (Tormato), Squeaky (Flopper), Blocky (Hop Rock), Freezie (Frostcrawler), Doozey (Slyren)

Vance Volt: Blast (Hop Rock), Bloom (Vinedrill), Crust (Lavalynx), Legs (Arachnet), Swimy (AqauBeek), Hardcase (Armashelt), Squish (Jellyish), Blow (Tormato), Cheep (Flopper), Punch (Rammstone)

Mario Bravado: Ricochet (Speedstinger), Slide (Frostcrawler), Crawler (Arachnet), Echo (AquaBeek), Mess (Jellyish), Breeze (Tormato), Kate (Flopper), Porky (Dirt Urchin), Dunk (Rammstone), Crush (Armashelt)

Lash: Zing (Tazerling), Speedy (Speedstinger), Hopper (Hop Rock), Bubba (Bubbaleone), Stinx (Flatulorhinkus), String (Polero), Goat (Rammstone), Sleepy (Slyren), Webber (Arachnet), Ice (Frostcrawler), Spark (Flaringo), Winger (Tormato), Witch (Hexlet), Phlegm (Lariat), Peep (Flopper), Melt (Lavalynx), Clash (Armashelt)

Shimei: Mong (Hop Rock), Jin (Rammstone), Zeng (Vinedrill), Leng (Polero), Kaz (Grenuke), Hindo (Flaringo)

Eliza Shane: Ellie (Flaringo), Min (Jellyish), Tink (Phosphoro), Pimpy (Bubbaleone), Jimbo (Hop Rock), Jason (Frightgeist), Fitz (Tazerling)

Watts: Scourge (MakoBreaker), Polly (Hoverbug)

Dana Por: Webby (Arachnet), Willy (Frostcrawler)