Chapter 51: Dark as Night

"We always thought that Slugterra would stay the same forever. Beautiful, peaceful. A world full of magic and hope. But that all changed. Dr. Blakk changed it for us." "He made his plans in secret. Drilling into a forbidden world to bring evil into ours." "And when a well ran dry, he found another." "It was all he needed to make himself an army." "Yes. An army of ghouls." "And he didn't stop there. Dr. Blakk invented technology most of us only see in nightmares." "And he's using it against anyone who gets in his way." "There isn't a jail in Slugterra that can hold him because now he has Darkbane working for him, right here, right now. The Darkbane are not a legend. These things will do anything to find a way up to Slugterra. Even if it means an allegiance with Dr. Blakk."

Eli put away the recording he and the gang were showing to a group of people. "That is what we're up against. That is why we need your help. Not just here, but in all the caverns that Dr. Blakk has taken over." He said. Just then, there was an explosion out behind them. Nacho and his Darkbane brothers were driving the people out of the city with their ghouls. Eli, Harley, Burpy and Hestia glared as this happened. "We're all singers and dancers. Those Darkbane, we're no match for them. Sorry, but you're on your own." One guy said as he and his friends ran away. "Well, so much for the rousing speech." Eli said. "Well, I thought it was good." Aerona said. "Thanks. Let's do this." Eli said, loading his blaster.


(Intro)


Blakk's guards were loading canisters with billions of slugs onto a Titan. "Gather all the slugs you can. That's why you're here." Nacho said.

The gang all watched from the rooftops. "Trix, check it out." Kord said. Trixie looked over and saw a dozen of Blakk's guards. The 2 ducked down out of sight. "That's a lot of guards." Kord said. "Perfect." Trixie said as they loaded their blasters. Kord slung Iceberg, surrounding the guards with Glaciator. Trixie then slung Balloon, inflating herself and pressing the guards against the walls. Rather tightly. Trixie and Kord laughed at this. But then they noticed that the guards couldn't breathe. "Uh, do you think we-" Kord started to ask. "Yeah. You wanna do it?" Trixie asked. "Well, Balloon is your slug." Kord pointed out with a wink. "Fine." Trixie said, loading her blaster and slinging her Dirt Urchin, Piney. As Piney popped Balloon, the air blew in Trixie and Kord's faces. As the guards dropped unconscious, Balloon and Piney gave each other a high-five.

Vance, Eliza and Lash sat by on another rooftop, eyeing about 7 more guards. Lash gave the signal to the other rooftop where Mario, Watts and Dana were. The 3 slung Mess, Splatter and Dana's new Jellyish, Glue, trapping the guards' feet with Loogi. "Alright, boys. Let's put 'em to sleep." Eliza said. Lash slung Sleepy and Vance and Eliza slung their new Slyrens, Snooze and Sloan. All 3 howled with Sleepytime, putting the guards asleep and making them fall face-first into the slime. All 6 of them laughed at the sight of the actions of their teamwork.

"You got your drop zones, Rookie?" Eli asked. Rookie saluted and got ready for slinging. Eli loaded and slung him. Rookie tossed 3 of his bombs on the Titan as he flew back to Eli. "Now!" Eli called. Rookie set off his bombs, causing the Titan to blow up and fall on its back. "Oh-ho-ho! Nice one, bro!" Harley said. "Pronto, you're up!" Eli called. "Yes, I am. And the view is pretty sweet!" Pronto said as he slung Zappy. "What?!" Nacho asked in shock as Zappy transformed. Nacho fired a Harmashelt, sending Zappy back to Pronto. "Uh-oh." Pronto said, getting shocked as he caught Zappy. Kord slung his Grenuke, Big Boom, sending 2 guards flying backwards. Mario slung his Hop Rock, Stone, knocking down another guard.

Nacho held up a ghoul barrel containing a weird looking Grimmstone. Eli and Harley looked through their binoculars. They saw Nacho load the ghoul and that his blaster had some kind of upgrade. "Dude, you seeing what I'm seeing?" Harley asked. "Yeah. I have a feeling we're in for a bad surprise." Eli said. As Nacho prepared to fire, the upgrade spun like a super-fast fidget spinner. Then Nacho fired the ghoul. But when the Grimmstone transformed, its horns were bigger and its back and fists were covered in stone-like spikes. Rammer, Chiller and Rocky gasped in shock from their barrels. The Grimmstone flew up towards the building the brothers were on and burst right through it, causing it to shatter and the brothers to fall to the ground. The gang looked on with shock at what happened. The other 3 Darkbane slung another Grimmstone, along with a Hop Jack and a Harmashelt. The Hop Jack had bigger spikes on its shell, rock armor on its arms and a second tail, and the Harmashelt also had spikes on its shell and bigger pincers. Trixie, Kord and Pronto slung Twirl, Bludgeon and Shelly. But the Grimmstone punched Bludgeon and Shelly aside and the Hop Jack and Harmashelt bashed through Twirl. All 3 slugs landed on the ground really hurt and dizzy.

Nacho blasted through the debris, and Blakk's guards and the Darkbane grunts charged for the Shane brothers. Eli managed to knock down Blakk's guards. While under a veil of smoke from the explosion, Harley changed to his Darkbane form, grabbed the Darkbane grunts and slammed their heads into the ground. "I hate Darkbane." Harley said as he quickly changed back. "Fall back! Stay on the rooftops!" Eli called. He and Harley ran and climbed up a building. Kord helped them up onto the roof and gave them both a fist-bump. The gang all started to run as the Darkbane kept firing their new and improved ghouls at them. Pronto screamed as a Tempesto nearly grazed his head.

"What's up with these ghouls?! They have way more power!" Kord said. "And speed!" Trixie added. "And sharp little teeth!" Pronto added. "And scarier appearances!" Lash added. "The Darkbane have blaster mods. Some kind of accelerator that's making them Megamorphs." Eli said. "Eli's right. Those ghouls are doing the same thing Burpy and Hestia did on our way to Stalagmite 17." Harley said. "Then that means bad news for us." Eliza said. "If they're using Megamorphs, there's no way we can compete." Trixie said before a ghoul explosion sent them sliding down a wrecked building wall. "Until we get some upgrades of our own!" Kord said. "Well, in the meantime, we've got this!" Eli said, loading his double-barrel. Harley loaded his too.

Just then, Nacho and the Darkbane showed up. The gang took aim as Eli and Harley stepped forth. Nacho grinned while the Shane Brothers glared at him. Nacho slung a Megamorph Aquafreak. "Fusion move!" Eli yelled, slinging Rammer and Rocky. The 2 slugs spun around together until Rammer was covered in Rocky's rock armor. This fusion move is called RockArmor. The 2 collided, causing a massive energy wave that pushed both sides back. Rammer and Rocky landed on the ground dizzy and beaten. The Aquafreak landed okay, barking like a mad dog.

"I'm gonna have to wait for a recharge to try that again!" Eli said. "Then it's my turn!" Harley called. Nacho reloaded his blaster and slung another Grimmstone. "Fusion move!" Harley shouted, slinging Webs and Frights. Both slugs spun around together until Webs fired a web with a spooky ghostly aura coating it. This fusion move is called Arachnoshroud. But the Grimmstone bashed through the web and knocked Webs and Frights down. "Well, so much for that idea!" Harley said, taking cover.

The Darkbane slung 3 more Hop Jacks. But then, Shimei flipped over the gang. Lash watched as his love interest spun around as she flipped over them. She then used her staff to block and swat away the ghouls. "Sorry if we're late for the party." She said. "On the contrary. You're right on time." Nacho said. Just then, a Flaringo, an AquaBeek, a Rammstone and a Tormato were slung towards them. The gang turned to see the Garcias using their martial arts to control their slugs. The Darkbane fired their Megamorph ghouls. Through the sisters' martial arts, Hiccup, Aquarius, Aries and Capricorn did their best against the newly powerful ghouls, but sadly, they were blasted down by a pair of Harmashelts.

"Well, that was worth a shot!" Aerona said. "We're running out of options, guys!" Trixie said. "Let us not forget the age-old tactic of retreat!" Pronto panicked. "We may not have a choice!" Eli said. The gang ran out of the alley to their mechas. But then, they saw several people getting chased out by Blakk's guards and the Darkbane. "I thought everyone had evacuated! We need to get these people to safety!" Eli said. "How? As long as they have these amped up Megamorph ghouls, we can't touch them!" Kord exclaimed. "Well, it's a good thing we got a couple Megamorphs too." Eli said, mounting Lucky. "Oh, I see what you're thinking, bro." Harley said, mounting Delta. "Dudes, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, it's a no-go." Kord said. "Kord's right. These streets are too short for you guys to get up to that kind of speed." Dana said. "Then we'll just have to go up." Eli said. He and Harley took an elevator lift up to the rooftops.

Unfortunately, Nacho caught sight of them. "There." The Darkbane started firing at the brothers. Eli and Harley ducked to dodge the ghouls. They sighed in relief as they reached the top and put on their helmets. Burpy and Hestia hopped into their barrels before the brothers leapt their mechas out of the elevator. "Glider mode!" Eli called, activating Lucky's gliders. Harley followed with Delta's gliders. Nacho and the Darkbane fired more of their ghouls. "Eli! Harley!" Eliza cried. "I cannot bear to watch!" Pronto exclaimed, covering his eyes. The brothers glided around the incoming ghouls to dodge them as their speed reached up past 60. "You're up, Chiller." Eli said as he loaded and slung Chiller, creating a track with Deepfreeze. Eli and Harley revved their engines, their speeds reaching 80, and Burpy and Hestia starting to glow. "Bike mode!" Eli called, transforming Lucky into his motorcycle mode. And Harley transformed Delta into his Ryker bike. They dropped onto the track and revved up their speed to 100. They then loaded Burpy and Hestia and slung them. The 2 Infurnuses transformed, flew along the street and created a large firewall between the Darkbane and the people, giving the people their chance to escape.

The gang cheered as Burpy and Hestia flew back to their slingers. "Good one, Burpy. You too, Hestia. Let's get out of here." Eli said, leading the gang out of the city. "Let them go! We'll take what slugs we've captured back to Dr. Blakk. MOVE OUT!" Nacho barked. From the rooftops, 2 robed figures watched as Nacho and the Darkbane left.

Meanwhile, the gang headed back by following railroad tracks through a canyon. "Man. That was not our best day." Mario said. "They captured a lot of slugs. But at least the people got out safely." Kord said. "But we got our tails handed to us. Until we're evenly matched, we don't stand a chance." Eli said. "Somehow, we got to get the rest of our slugs to do what you and Hestia can do, buddy." Burpy nodded. "Without jumping off buildings." Trixie said. "And creating ice tracks." Eliza added. "Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Eli asked sheepishly. "Really?" Trixie asked as everyone else groaned.


Back at the hideout, Kord went through the schematics for slugs to become Megamorphs. "As near as I can tell, the key is speed. Get a slug or ghoul going fast enough, and they'll have even more power when they transform." He calculated. "But they weren't just using any ghouls. You saw those things. I wouldn't be surprised if they were Blakk's top ghouls." Eli said. "He's got that right. Those ghouls must have had plenty of experience when taking over Slugterra." Harley said. "That might explain why Burpy and Hestia can do it. You can't find any other slug with much experience as them." Trixie said as Burpy flexed, making Hestia watch him dreamily. "Well, I can only help you with the first part. The speed. And maybe not even." Kord said, pulling up Eli's old blaster with a handmade upgrade. "I boosted this blaster's power core. Which wasn't much of a challenge for a skilled troll like yours truly." He activated the handmade accelerator. "However…" The accelerator blew apart, causing the pieces to fly everywhere. "…blasters aren't built to withstand that kind of energy." "I should say not." Harley said, pulling a fork out of his sandwich. "Can't you tweak the blasters to make them stronger?" Eli asked. "I wish. That's way out of my league, bro. And you know what that means." Kord said. "We're paying another visit to Red Hook." Eli completed. "And almost all the paths to reach him take us through caverns now controlled by Dr. Blakk." Trixie said, showing them the map of Slugterra. "It's gonna take a miracle to find a new path on the map." Dana said. Just then, Pronto swiped the map. "Forget your maps! You have Pronto!" He said, tossing the map away. "Hey!" Trixie shouted, chasing the map. "I shall lead us there in safety and style." Pronto boasted. The gang all shook their heads at each other, then turned to see that Pronto threw the map at the TV, making Trixie sad. "You're paying for that!" Harley said, poking Pronto's nose.

The Shane Gang arrived at Quiet Lawn Cavern in record time. "You see? Safe passage as promised." Pronto said. "Hmm. Does Quiet Lawn Cavern seem quieter than usual?" Kord asked, noticing that the cavern was practically empty as a tumbleweed rolled along the path. "And I don't see any of the Grenuke slugs anywhere up top." Harley said, looking at the now empty nesting spot. "Where is everyone?" Trixie asked. "Come on. Hopefully Red Hook knows." Eli said. "If the old grouch is even here." Trixie said. "That'd be a miracle in our case." Dana said as they rode towards Red Hook's place.

They arrived at Red Hook's house, seeing Red Hook sitting on his lawn chair, drinking a glass of lemonade. "Oh great. There he is." Kord said. "Well, if it isn't the Shane Gang. So great to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Red Hook asked nicely for some strange reason. "Owe the pleasure?" Trixie repeated confusedly. Fareeda looked at 'Red Hook' with distrust and insecurity. Then she and Kala started whispering to each other. "I'd hate to admit it, but I need some more of your master slingersmithing." Kord said, walking up to him. "I was trying to amp up our blaster power cores. But right-" But then, Fareeda and Kala stepped in front of Kord, interrupting him and drew their blasters, making the gang gasp. "Where is everyone, 'Red Hook'?" Kala asked. "What do you mean?" 'Red Hook' asked. "She means it seems like this town is empty." Fareeda said. "Oh, that. Why don't you guys come in for a spot of lemonade, and I'll tell you all about it." 'Red Hook' offered. "That sounds fantastic! Pronto is quite parched. But I hope your lemonade is not too sweet. Pronto likes it to have some pucker." Pronto said.

But then, Fareeda and Kala glared at Pronto. "Are we not having lemonade?" Pronto asked. "No, we're not." Kala said, slinging her new Hop Rock, Landmine, hitting 'Red Hook' and knocking him down. That shocked the gang, except Fareeda. "Kala! What the heck are you doing?!" Aerona asked. "From what Eli told us, hospitality was never a Red Hook thing." Kala said. "Why don't you show your face…Dred?" 'Red Hook' just smirked as he stood up. "Perhaps I should've done a bit more research into my character." He said, dropping his illusion to reveal the assassin slinger himself. "Dred?!" Kord exclaimed in shock. "How did you know?" Eliza asked. "We don't know." Fareeda said. "It's like a sixth sense that we have." Kala said. "Okay. So, maybe you avoided our little trap. But good luck avoiding them." Dred said, gesturing to a group of Blakk's guards coming towards them and firing 3 Hop Jacks. Pronto screamed as the ghouls transformed. Kord, Fareeda and Kala jumped out of the way before the ghouls hit the spot they were standing on. The 3 mounted back onto their mechas and rode off with Blakk's guards chasing after them. Dred drank his lemonade with a deep satisfied sigh.

As Blakk's guards chased the gang and fired more ghouls at them through the town, Nacho and the Darkbane appeared and joined in the chase. "No wonder we got here so easily. This was all a setup! Sorry, Pronto." Trixie said. "Well, I refuse to accept your highly probable scenario. I prefer sub delusional, thank you very much." Pronto said.

The guards and the Darkbane continued to fire ghouls at the gang, chasing them into a canyon. "Well, that explains where the Darkbane got those accelerators for their blasters." Eli said as Nacho loaded another ghoul. "Dr. Blakk must have Red Hook at his citadel." "Does that mean you're going to want Pronto to take there next?" Pronto asked. The guards fired 3 more Hop Jacks. Trixie moved Boomer to dodge each one. "Our only chance at defeating these guys is to get Red Hook back. That has to be our mission, babe. No matter what." She said. "She's right. Red Hook's the only one who can help us turn the tide on Blakk." Watts said. "We gotta get out of here first!" Eli said.

Nacho fired his loaded Briardrill. Eli fired Chiller to intercept. But then, the 2 other Darkbane with Nacho fired 2 more Briardrills. All 3 hit Chiller with Firepants, blinding him before Nacho's bashed him out of the way. All 3 ghouls then dug into the ground and sprouted Briarsnipe, trying to grab the gang. "Rev up and head for the exit!" Eli called. The gang transformed their mechas into their vehicle modes and rode ahead to avoid getting ensnared by the thorny vines. Nacho and the Darkbane climbed up to the top of the canyon wall and saw where they were going. Nacho fired an Attacknet and fired a web at the exit, blocking the gang's escape. The Darkbane continued firing ghouls at the gang. "What's our next move?" Trixie asked. "Don't get blown up!" Kord shouted. "Pronto is running out of that move!" Pronto exclaimed. "Which way do we go now?" Dana asked. "There!" Eli called, pointing to a cave entrance. "Hit that and don't look back!"

"CHARGE!" Pronto screamed as they revved towards the cave. The Darkbane saw where they were going. "TAKE THEM OUT!" Nacho barked as he and the Darkbane slung 4 Hop Jacks, including a Megamorph one. Eli loaded Burpy and slung him, taking the 4 ghouls out with multiple Flashfires. But the Megamorph one hit the top over the entrance, causing an avalanche. The gang all managed to get inside the cave. But Eli and Harley ramped off a rock and hopped off Lucky and Delta. The 2 mechas transformed back and landed inside the cave before the entrance got caved in.

Trixie turned on Boomer's headlights and the gang all cheered in success. But then, Trixie noticed that Lucky and Delta were riderless. "Wait. Where're Eli and Harley?" She asked. "And where are the Garcias?" Dana asked, noticing that the sisters weren't with them too.

Eli and Harley looked at the cave-in and nodded to each other. "Now's your chance guys! You gotta run!" Eli called to his slugs. "You guys too! You need to go now!" Harley called to his slugs. Every slug in both their arsenals, including Infinity, hopped out of both packs and started to scatter, only to stop a second to look back at their slingers. "Go! Get out of here!" Eli shouted. "Go! You gotta go now!" Harley shouted. The slugs started to cry. "Don't worry about us. Go." Eli said with a wink. The slugs understood and hopped away. But the only unlucky slug was Infinity. The elite Darkbane trapped him under his foot and picked him up. Then Nacho and the others turned up, aiming their blasters at the brothers. Eli and Harley raised their hands and dropped their blasters. "Looks like you got us." Eli said. "Yeah. Bravo for you, ugly." Harley said. "You're both either heroes or fools." Nacho said. "There's probably some truth to both." Eli said. "I'm sure little Twist and Deagan could vouch for that if they were still around." Dred said, joining the party. "What's your game, Shanes?" "Just helping our friends. But none of you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Eli asked. "Of course, they wouldn't. Bad guys never have any friends." Harley said. Dred just chuckled. "It was nice knowing you while it lasted, boys." He said, walking away. "Let's go!" Nacho barked, shoving the brothers to move. As Dred and the Darkbane led them away, Nacho picked up their blasters. Eli and Harley then smiled secretly at each other and looked over at a big rock. A familiar feminine face peeked out. Harley winked and the face brought out a thumbs up. While on top of the canyon wall, the 2 robed figures from earlier watched as Eli and Harley were being led away. The 2 then looked at each other and nodded.


At Blakk's Citadel, Nacho shoved Eli and Harley into a cell. "Dr. Blakk will be here shortly to decide what to do with you 2." Nacho said. "Tell him not to take too long." Eli said. "Yeah. If we get bored, we might leave." Harley said. Nacho then aimed their own blasters at them. "I know you think you're both tough slingers, Shanes. But all you 2 are right now are prisoners without your slugs and blasters." He said, inspecting the blasters. "A couple nice ones. They will be useful to 2 of my Darkbane brothers. After some modification." He chuckled as he left. Eli and Harley smirked and nodded to each other. "We're in." Harley said in his comm. Just then, the door opened, revealing 4 female guards. One pulled her helmet off, revealing Aerona. "As are we." She said as her sisters revealed themselves too.

[Flashback]

The Garcias followed Eli, Harley, Nacho, Dred and the Darkbane back to Blakk's Citadel. Once they got inside, they knocked out 4 guards and put on their uniforms to avoid getting caught.

[Flashback End]

Fareeda walked over to the control panel and opened the cell. "And we're out." Eli said, fist-bumping Harley and the sisters. Burpy, Hestia and the Midas slugs hopped on the fists to join in. "Now let's find Red Hook and get out of here." Harley said. "Wait!" A voice called. The 6 turned to see a girl in another cell. "Take me with you, please!" The girl pleaded. "Who are you?" Eli asked. "My name is Laura. My grandfather is the one you're looking for." Laura said. "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You're Red Hook's granddaughter?" Harley asked in shock and confusion. "Yes. When Dr. Blakk captured us, he threatened to hurt me if my grandpa didn't make those modifications for the Darkbane." Laura explained. Fareeda stared at her, getting a face of trust. "She's telling the truth." She said. Kala hit the button on the panel, opening Laura's cell. "Well, we're getting you and your grandfather out of here. I promise." Eli said. Laura lunged at Eli and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." She whispered. Eli patted her back as he hugged back.

The 7 snuck around the citadel as they looked for where Red Hook might be. As they peeked around a corner, they saw a couple guards. Eli and Harley nodded to Burpy and Hestia. Both slugs hopped down and over to the guards, getting their attention. Both slugs blew raspberries and shook their tails at them. "Oh, you slugs!" The guards chased them all the way to Eli and Harley. "Hey." Eli greeted. "How's it going?" Harley asked. Then the brothers knocked the guards out and put on their uniforms.

They then continued on. "Okay. Which way should we-" Eli started to ask. But then Burpy chirped from a barrel, sensing something. "What is it, buddy?" Eli asked. Burpy hopped out of the barrel and hopped down the hall. Hestia and the 4 Midas slugs hopped out of their barrels to join him. Burpy then chittered to them. "Okay. Shh! We'll go check it out." Eli said.

The group followed the slugs over to a door. They opened the door, entered the room and took off their helmets to see out of a viewing window. But what they found was not pretty. There were guards loading dozens of slug-filled canisters into dozens of ghouling machines. "Oh. No wonder you guys' sense bad slug energy here." Eli said. One of the guards activated one of the machines, turning every slug in the canister into ghouls. The group gasped at the horror. "We knew Blakk was making tons of ghouls, but this is insane!" Eli said. "Oh, I think this is beyond insane, Eli." Harley said. "But what use could Blakk possibly need for all this ghoul power?" Paulina asked. The slugs chittered and led the group out.

They entered another room and saw out the viewing window that Blakk had created some kind of machine with tubes loaded with ghouls. Just then, Blakk had just entered the room. The group ducked down to avoid being seen. Blakk walked up to the machine and started typing on a pad. "What is he doing with those ghouls?" Eli asked. "I don't know. But there's something familiar about this machine." Harley said.

Just then, Nacho and Dred joined Blakk. "We have the Shanes." Nacho said. "Good. They will suffer soon enough. Right now, we need more ghouls. See to it!" Blakk said. Nacho and Dred walked out as the group watched with glares. As they turned to leave, they saw 2 guards standing in front of them. Eli punched one in the nose, knocking him to the ground. Harley was about to go for the other one. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop!" The guard said with a familiar voice. "It's me, Deagan! It's Deagan!" He pulled his helmet off, revealing himself to be Deagan. Blake even revealed herself too. "Deagan?!" Eli, Harley and the Garcias asked in surprise. "Yes. And that's Josh." Deagan said, gesturing to the guard groaning on the ground as he removed his helmet to reveal Joshwa. "Sorry about that." Eli apologized, helping his friend up. "Actually, with everything I did in the past, I kinda deserved that." Joshwa said. Loki chittered as he popped out too. "What're you guys doing here?" Kala asked. "We're here to help." Joshwa said. "We've been watching everything since Blakk started taking all of Slugterra at once with the help of those Darkbane." Deagan explained. "Then we saw you guys get captured and followed you here. Though we should've known that this was another one of your plans, Eli." Joshwa said. "Thanks. And we could use the help with finding Red Hook." Eli said. "Oh, and I thought you'd want this back." Deagan said, holding out Infinity. "Infinity! How'd you guys find him?" Eli asked. "Believe me. It's way more horrible than what they're doing to the slugs." Deagan said.

[Flashback]

Deagan snuck into a room and hid on a wall in the shadows. Then he saw Blakk enter with Infinity and hooked him onto a machine. "From what I could see, he was planning to experiment with Infinity's powers." Blakk then looked over to a platform where a Harmashelt and a Grimmstone were placed. He then activated a control panel. The machine then began to inflict Infinity with a lot of pain. Then a tube began to flow with a liquid energy of some kind. The energy flowed to the platform and created a cloud, covering the 2 ghouls. "I couldn't believe my eyes from what happened next." Deagan was shocked at what he saw when the cloud cleared. The 2 ghouls had become humans, but more ghoulish looking. "Dr. Blakk had used Infinity's powers to turn the 2 ghouls into humans!" Blakk stepped away from the panel to inspect his newly humanified ghouls. "Luckily, while he was distracted, I used the old moves Dana and I used when we were thieves to swipe Infinity and scrammed out of there faster than a speeding Speedstinger." Deagan crawled along the wall, flipped down in front of the machine, snatched Infinity and ran out of the room fast.

[Flashback End]

"This just got even worse." Eli said. "Not only is Blakk making hundreds of ghouls, but he also found out the secret to turn them human." Harley said. "We have to find my grandpa fast!" Laura said. "Wait. I'm sorry. Who are you again?" Joshwa asked. "Long story short. This is Laura, she's Red Hook's granddaughter and insurance to him making the Darkbane's accelerator mods." Eli said.

The group continued on looking for Red Hook. "I wanna know what that machine does, but we need to find Red Hook and get him to safety first." Eli said. "Right. Red Hook is priority number one." Harley said. The group peeked around a corner, seeing a couple guards standing in front of a door. "A room under guard. This looks promising." Eli said. "Yeah. That must be where Red Hook is." Harley said. "So, now what?" Aerona asked. Eli and Harley held up Burpy and Hestia. Burpy and Hestia hid in a box, sneaking over to the guards. But due to not seeing where they were going, they bumped into the wall. The guards saw the box, but shrugged it off.

The group entered, just as Red Hook was upgrading Eli and Harley's blasters. "Look, you filthy ghoul monger! I'll finish this a lot quicker if you-" Red Hook grumbled until Eli cleared his throat. Red Hook turned, seeing Burpy so close up with his magnifying scope, surprising him. "You're both alive!" He said in surprise. "Uh, why wouldn't we be?" Eli asked. "Figured when that big oaf brought me these, you were toast." Red Hook said, handing the brothers back their blasters. "You already put the upgrades on?" Eli asked. "Well, this is gonna be easier than we thought." Harley said. "All we need to do is fire Burpy and Hestia at the wall and-" Eli started to say until Red Hook smacked him and Harley on their heads. "Are you nuts?! I still have to fine-tune the core capacity! No telling what will happen if you fire those things now!" Red Hook said. "Grandpa!" Laura called. "Oh, my little Laura! You're safe!" Red Hook cried, hugging his granddaughter. "And you can thank us for that, Mr. Red Hook sir." Paulina said. Red Hook looked up and saw the Garcia sisters. "Who are you? You 4 seem familiar." He said. "Oh, sorry. We're the Garcia Quadruplets. I'm Aerona and these are my sisters Fareeda, Kala and Paulina." Aerona introduced. "Garcia? I knew your father, girls. He was a good man. And quite the looker for the ladies. Though I never knew he had kids too." Red Hook said. "Sounds familiar." Harley said. "And I remember you 2." Red Hook said, pointing his hook at Joshwa and Deagan, who gulped. He walked up to them threateningly. "You 2 were Blakk's apprentices. You've both done great harm to Slugterra under his command." He said. Joshwa and Deagan lowered their heads in shame. "But then I heard from a certain someone about that Dred monster and what he nearly did to you 2." Red Hook said, surprising the 2 boys. "Good to see that you 2 are on the right side now." "Thank you, Mr. Red Hook." Joshwa said. "We owe it all to Eli, Harley and their friends." Deagan said. "Especially the Garcias." Joshwa said. "Well, 2 of them at least." Deagan said. Kala and Paulina giggled as they blushed.

Just then, a guard entered. Seeing Eli, Harley and the others, he drew his blaster and slung a Dark Urchin, shooting at them with Sandspur. Everyone took cover as the spines hit everything but them. Eli and Harley looked at the floor and saw 10 more accelerators. One for each of the gang. Except for the Garcia sisters, Rune and Barry. The brothers picked them up and peeked out from behind the workbench. The guard hit a button, sounding the alarm. The group was about to attack, but then Red Hook shouted and ran towards the guard, pointing his hook at him. The guard braced himself, but nothing happened. Just a clicking sound came from the hook. Red Hook grumbled, gave it a punch and the hook fired at the guard, punching him into the wall as more guards converged. The hook retracted itself on a wire back to Red Hook's arm. "Been a while since I've done that." Red Hook said.

Everyone ran for the door, but Eli pushed everyone back as a Grimmstone nearly grazed him. They saw that they were surrounded. As a guard fired a Harmashelt, Eli pushed everyone back into the room. The guards moved to the door. As 2 of them peeked in and got ready to fire, Red Hook swatted away one of their blasters. The other fired a Briardrill at Eli. But Red Hook managed to catch the ghoul by its tendrils and tossed it right back at the guard, snaring him with Briarsnipe. "Seriously! Who knew?!" Eli asked with surprise and impression. "There's a lot about my grandpa that would really surprise you guys." Laura said. The other 2 guards came in and prepared to fire. But Red Hook grabbed their blasters with his hook. "Eli! Harley! Catch!" He tossed the blasters to Eli and Harley. When they caught them, Eli slung a Grimmstone, bashing one of the guards into the wall. And Harley slung a Frostfang, sealing the door with Flizzard.

It looked like everything was okay now. But then, the ice was blown open. Dr. Blakk had just entered with a gattler as his guards backed him up, along with Nacho and Dred. "I see we have something in common, you 2 and I. Breaking out of prison cells." He said. Then he noticed Joshwa and Deagan with them. "Well, well, well. My old apprentices, Twist and Deagan Por. Back from the dead, I see." "Twist is not my name anymore. And I'm no longer your apprentice, Blakk." Joshwa said with an angry tone. "Yeah. We know you had Dred hired to kill us when we failed and become your new apprentice." Deagan said, glaring at his former boss. "Yes. It would've been almost a tragedy. Which is why I'm about to rectify his failure by finishing what he started." Blakk growled. "You do realize that we got you outnumbered and out skilled, Blakk." Aerona said. "Maybe. But it's a perfect opportunity to test my newest associates in battle." Blakk said. Just then, to the group's shock, the 2 humanified ghouls had just walked in. And both ghouls were in their Slug-Up mode. Or Ghoul-Up mode now. The Harmashelt's body was armored with his shell and his big pincers were on his arms. The Grimmstone had his horns on his head and his big stone fists pounding against each other. Both human ghouls hissed at the gang, ready for a fight. "Your move." Blakk dared.

"When you said our blasters weren't ready, how unready are we talking about?" Eli asked. Red Hook shrugged. "Huh. We can't live forever, kids. FIRE IT UP!" He shouted. Eli and Harley loaded Burpy and Hestia into their blasters, activated their accelerators and slung the 2 Infurnuses. Blakk gasped as the 2 slugs transformed and fired a double Novaclaw at him and his human ghouls, sending them into the wall. Burpy and Hestia then shot through the roof, giving the group their exit. "I guess they work." Eli said. "I want one of those!" Laura whined. Just then, Dred pounced onto Paulina. "Paulina!" Aerona, Fareeda, Kala and Deagan cried. Dred pulled out his blaster and aimed at them before they could try anything. "Well, it looks like this little kitten is about to lose more than just her mittens." He gloated, pulling out his knife and preparing to kill Paulina. But then, Paulina took a deep breath. "Uh-oh. Cover your ears!" Aerona called. The group covered their ears as Paulina let out a loud scream, sending Dred flying into Nacho. Paulina panted from that loud scream as she got up. "What was that?" Harley asked in shock. "You know that 6th sense thing we told you about earlier? That was hers." Fareeda said.

But then, they saw Blakk and his human ghouls recovering. "We really should go." Eli said. "Agreed." Aerona said. Red Hook fired his hook through the hole, snagging the roof. Blakk entered and got his gattler ready to fire. "Might wanna hold on a little tighter this time." Red Hook said. Eli and Laura grabbed onto Red Hook and the others each grabbed an arm. Blakk started firing his ghouls. Red Hook started reeling his hook's wire in, pulling him and the group towards the hole. Blakk continued to fire at them. Red Hook chuckled, surprisingly having a lot of fun from this. Burpy and Hestia got out of the way after a Grimmstone nearly hit them. And the group successfully flew out onto the roof. But Blakk kept on firing, blowing the group off the roof.

But then, a familiar ally slung Floatie underneath the group. The group bounced off Floatie and landed safely back on the ground. Well, except Red Hook. He nearly landed on his head. "Are you okay, Grandpa?" Laura asked. "I'm too old for this." Red Hook groaned. Floatie then hopped up behind Red Hook. "Shoo! Get on with you, balloon!" Red Hook grumbled, making Floatie pop back to his Protoform and hop back to where the rest of the gang were waiting. "Hey, babe. What took you guys so long?" Trixie asked as Lucky, Delta, Luna, Runner, Wisp and Laughter walked up to their riders. "Did a little sightseeing, ran into some old friends and made a new one. Let's go." Eli said.

As the gang rode off, Blakk watched from the roof of his citadel when Nacho and Dred leapt from the hole and joined him. "We have the Shanes. How precisely do we 'have them'?" Blakk asked. "We'll go after them." Nacho said. "No. You needn't bother. With one more shipment of slugs, we'll have enough ghoul power to tear Slugterra apart." Blakk said. "Get to work." Nacho and Dred headed back inside as Blakk smirked after the escaping Shane Gang.

"Thanks for coming. But how'd you know we'd be here?" Eli asked. "Eli and Harley Shane always follow their hero instincts." Pronto said. "Usually, to do something heroically foolish." Kord said. "Or crazy." Dana said. "Is that what everybody thinks of us?!" Eli asked. "Uh huh." "That's you." "Pretty much, yeah." "Undoubtedly." "Yep." "Totally." "Sorry, boys." "From what I heard." Everyone answered or nodded. "Gee, thanks a lot. You guys are a real breath of fresh air." Harley said, feeling insulted. "Never mind, Harley. All that matters is that Red Hook's safe and we got his accelerators. Although, we may need a few more for the new guys." Eli said, gesturing to the Garcias, Rune and Barry. "And us too. Deagan and I are joining back up with you guys." Joshwa said. "Very well then. Consider it a thank you gift for rescuing me and Laura. And I'll even make more for any other members that might join you in the future." Red Hook said. "Great. Now we just need to figure out the slug part." Eli said as Banger, Chiller and Spinner chittered from their barrels. "We'll head back to HQ and regroup. We'll be back in action in no time." Kord said. "Good. Because as soon as we can match slugs against the Darkbane, we're coming right back here." Eli said. "Dr. Blakk has something planned. Something big. And I have the feeling we're the only ones who can stop it."

"Oh, Mr. Shanes?" Laura said. "I have something for you." She held out her hand, and showing 2 little purple slugs. "Whoa. What kind of slugs are those?" Eli asked. "I've never seen a slug like those before." Trixie said. "These are called Pidras. They have the power to emit hypnotic soundwaves like a siren's song." Laura said as the Pidra slugs hopped over to their new slingers. Eli held out his hand as his Pidra hopped in his hand. "Nice to meet you, little girl. How about I call you Shriek?" He asked. Shriek chittered happily. "And how about I call you Bibble?" Harley asked his Pidra. Bibble chittered in agreement. "I figured you guys would want one. I already have one of my own. Right Pitch?" Laura asked as her own Pidra, Pitch, hopped onto her shoulder. "Where did you even hide those slugs to keep them from being ghouled?" Pronto asked. "Uh, I'd rather not say." Laura said in embarrassment. "Well, thanks for the new slugs, Laura. We'll need all the help we can get for what's coming." Eli said.

Alright! The Shane Gang discover that Blakk's army has upgraded their blasters to change ghouls into Megamorphs by kidnapping Red Hook and his granddaughter, Laura. Eli, Harley and the Garcias reunite with Joshwa and Deagan as Eli and Harley get 'captured' and rescue Red Hook and Laura. And now Eli and Harley have got a very familiar slug you all know so well. But Blakk's further stepping up his game by using Infinity's powers to change his ghouls into humans. And what's that machine Blakk was setting up in his citadel? And how does it fit in with his plans to tear Slugterra apart? Leave a review if you'd like.

Special thanks to FoxyKhai0209 for Laura.

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), 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 (Hypnogrif), Urchin (Sand Angler), Dozer (Slyren), Jinxer (Hexlet), Torch (Forgesmelter), Yang (Negashade), Beeker (AquaBeek), Mimkey (Mimikreas), Jaws (MakoBreaker), Gasser (Flatulorhinkus), Crystal (Geoshard), Foggy (Neotox), Jammer (Xmitter), Bugsy (Hoverbug), Nero (Glowbyss), Rookie (Blastipede), Shriek (Pidra)

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), Skitter (Speedstinger), Flasher (Phosphoro), Gem (Geoshard), Hestia (Infurnus), Drill (Crystalyd), Ashe (Glowbyss), Molt (Forgesmelter), Bibble (Pidra)

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), Nighty (Slyren), Starling (Phosphoro), Roxy (Crystalyd), Quinn (Gazzer), Charm (Hexlet), Flitter (Hoverbug), Tricky (Speedstinger), Gooey (Lariat), Piney (Dirt Urchin)

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), Quicksand (Sand Angler), Silv (Slicksilver), Pollen (Vinedrill), Flats (Flatulorhinkus), Cliff (Crystalyd), Tox (Neotox), Cactus (Dirt Urchin), Big Boom (Grenuke)

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), Zappy (Tazerling), Stripey (Polero), Planty (Vinedrill), Shelly (Armashelt), Sharky (MakoBreaker), Bitey (Thresher), Zippy (Speedstinger), Molty (Firenzar), Spitty (Arachnet), Fissure (Crystalyd)

Vance Volt: Blast (Hop Rock), Bloom (Vinedrill), Crust (Lavalynx), Legs (Arachnet), Swimy (AquaBeek), Hardcase (Armashelt), Squish (Jellyish), Blow (Tormato), Cheep (Flopper), Punch (Rammstone), Chill (Frostcrawler), Swallow (Bubbaleone), Storm (Tazerling), Tim (Crystalyd), Snooze (Slyren)

Mario Bravado: Ricochet (Speedstinger), Slide (Frostcrawler), Crawler (Arachnet), Echo (AquaBeek), Mess (Jellyish), Breeze (Tormato), Kate (Flopper), Porky (Dirt Urchin), Dunk (Rammstone), Crush (Armashelt), Razz (Thresher), Pinkie (Bubbaleone), Chasm (Crystalyd), Stone (Hop Rock)

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), Shroud (Frightgeist), Oxide (Gazzer), Sprout (Vinedrill), Darcy (Crystalyd)

Shimei: Mong (Hop Rock), Jin (Rammstone), Zeng (Vinedrill), Leng (Polero), Kaz (Grenuke), Hindo (Flaringo), Huong (Phosphoro), Hei-Hei (Hoverbug), Yung (Armashelt), Mai (Arachnet), Fong (Bubbaleone), Wang (Tormato), Feng (Dirt Urchin), Ravine (Crystalyd)

Eliza Shane: Ellie (Flaringo), Min (Jellyish), Tink (Phosphoro), Pimpy (Bubbaleone), Jimbo (Hop Rock), Jason (Frightgeist), Fitz (Tazerling), Flick (Grenuke), Griff (Hypnogrif), Midnight (Slyren), Wilton (Neotox), Oya (Tormato), Canyon (Crystalyd), Sloan (Slyren)

Watts: Scourge (MakoBreaker), Polly (Hoverbug), Rush (Rammstone), Sinker (Hop Rock), Maelstrom (Tormato), Tidal Wave (AquaBeek), Preserver (Bubbaleone), Splatter (Jellyish), Gorge (Crystalyd)

Dana Por: Webby (Arachnet), Willy (Frostcrawler), Tailwind (Tormato), Rosie (Vinedrill), Jinx (Hexlet), Nemo (AquaBeek), Poppy (Bubbaleone), Richter (Rammstone), Silvia (Slicksilver), Crevice (Crystalyd), Sprite (Flaringo), Frags (Grenuke), Dupe (Polero), Diggie (Diggrix), Glue (Jellyish)

Aerona Garcia: Goldie (Midas), Hiccup (Flaringo), Cancer (Armashelt), Icestorm (Frostcrawler), Bomb (Hop Rock), Goopy (Lariat), Slabs (Rammstone), Taurus (Crystalyd), Current (AquaBeek), Starry (Glowbyss), Nelly (Arachnet), Kaboom (Grenuke), Pisces (Tenasher)

Fareeda Garcia: Shiny (Midas), Thunderstorm (Tazerling), X (Xmitter), Aquarius (AquaBeek), Eve (Negashade), Maggie (Slicksilver), Sagittarius (Hoverbug), Jack Hammer (Crystalyd), Little Star (Phosphoro), Lantern (Glowbyss), Leo (Speedstinger), Firefly (Flaringo)

Kala Garcia: Aurum (Midas), Lila (Thugglet), Scorpio (Hexlet), Aries (Rammstone), Gemini (Polero), Sparkly (Phosphoro), Prick (Dirt Urchin), Bulldozer (Crystalyd), Annabelle (Frightgeist), Angelo (Glowbyss), Tara (Arachnet), Aurora (Frostcrawler), Landmine (Hop Rock)

Paulina Garica: Chrysos (Midas), Cepheus (Firenzar), Snowstorm (Narwhaddle), Cassiopeia (Sand Angler), Chainsaw (Thresher), Virgo (Vinedrill), Capricorn (Tormato), Hardstone (Armashelt), Abyss (Crystalyd), Neon (Glowbyss), Libra (Diggrix), Wildpunch (Rammstone)

Rune: Fehu (Spikeshade), Uruz (Negashade), Thurisaz (AquaBeek), Ansuz (Thresher), Raidho (Armashelt), Kaunaz (Rammstone), Gebo (Sand Angler), Milja (Grenuke), Dikruz (Dirt Urchin)

Prince Barry: Vega (Boon Doc), Sapphire (Tazerling), Pudding (Flopper), Bob (Armashelt), Wade (Narwhaddle), Cloak (Thugglet)

Joshwa Jones: Loki (Thugglet)

Deagan Por: Blake (Jade Infurnus)

Infinity the Universal Slug

Pets: Bella (Zesherian), Wormy (Crystal Worm), Rath (Ice Ogre), Kobi, Cole and Amra (Lava Bats), Kibble and Nipper (Dino Rats), Reolin and Dew (Cavern Sharks), Marble (Gargoyle), Hydrus (Fish Monster), Crater (Cavern Worm), Buzzy and Musca (Scorpion Bees), Boötes (Slug Hound puppy)