Chapter 4: Awake

Jake's POV...

When I woke up, I was in the hot spring I fell asleep in, but I could hear people talking outside, so I dried myself off and pulled on some pants and shoes.

"His father would be proud," I heard Junjie say before my stomach started to growl.

"Hey, do you guys have any food?" I asked, causing them to turn around. "I'm hungry."

I saw Mom's eyes widen before she ran at me, tackling me in a hug. "Jake, you're okay!" she yelled happily before she realized something. She released me, stepped back, and smacked me across the face.

"Um...ow?" I muttered as the pain registered. "What was that for?" I demanded.

She glared at me. "Where were you this entire time?" she shouted. "You've had us so worried, we thought you might be dead!" she added, tears flowing.

I lowered my gaze until I was looking at the ground. "The explosion knocked me away from you guys, so some slugs found me and took care of me. The injuries I sustained caused amnesia, so I've spent the last year training to regain my powers and trying to get my memories back, but I came here to get the rest of them back, and it worked," I explained before they noticed the tattoo on my chest and arm. "Oh, that's a side effect of all the energy pumped into me to unlock my memories," I added, grabbing a shirt to pull on. It was a bit smaller than normal, though, so all it did was to emphasize my muscular figure. "So, what've you guys been up to for the last year?" I asked them.

Leo stepped forward. "We've been looking for you, of course," he told me. "Ever since the University was destroyed, we've been looking for you and doing our best to take care of SlugTerra. The Dark Bane haven't made any moves yet, though, but we're keeping an eye out for them in case they do. Now that you're back in, though, they'll probably start moving."

I chuckled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Since when did you get so mature?" I asked him sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes and punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Ah, shut up," he replied with just as much sarcasm.

I chuckled and smiled. "I missed you too, Leo," I told him.

He smiled and nodded before Luke and Mark walked up to me. "So, you decided to get some training, huh?" Luke asked me.

I nodded, noticing that he was much more muscular as well. "Same to you," I replied. "We should spar sometime."

He nodded before Mom's voice rang out. "What are you going to do now, Jake?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "I'll probably help you guys. What did you tell everyone when they asked where I am?" I asked them.

Luke chuckled. "We said that you were away to train intensively," he replied. "Looks like we weren't exactly wrong."

I smiled. "Well then, looks like we'll have to tell everyone of my return," I stated before Quora placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Jacob, you need to take it easy," she told me. "After regaining your memories, your body needs to heal from the stress it went through. You used up most of your energy during the process."

I smiled as my eyes lit up. "I've got plenty of energy left, don't worry about it," I told her before my stomach growled again, causing my face to heat up in embarrassment.

Quora laughed as Junjie smiled. "I've got some food cooking, let's eat," she told us, gesturing to a house not far from our location.

We nodded and followed her, Junjie, and their children to the house.

"So, Qai," I began as I walked next to Qai. "Sorry about beating you and everything."

He nodded. "The past is the past," he stated simply.

I nodded. "So, did you and Junjie beat my friends?" I asked them.

He nodded. "We almost had them on the ropes, but they were very good," he replied.

"Yeah, they're pretty good," I replied. "Leo's a Shane, it's in his blood, Luke's one of the best slinger's I've known, and Mark's got a very analytical mind, so he could figure out the perfect strategy," I explained.

"Their eyes glowed like yours," he added. "Why is this?"

I sighed. "Emma, Luke, Mark, and I are four out of five people with great gifts," I explained. "Mark's got the gift of intelligence, Luke and I have strength, and Emma has speed."

He paused for a second, then continued. "Who's the fifth?" he asked me.

"Vinyl Rose," I replied. "She has the ability to control technology," I explained. "We don't really hang out very much, though."

"Actually, Vinyl was one of the people that helped us most in trying to find you," Luke told me. "She accessed every picture and video she could and searched them for you, but you didn't appear in any of them."

I nodded. "That's because I stayed in the same cavern the entire year," I replied. "There were no electronics there except what I had on me. Even then, the cavern was blocked from electric signals, so they couldn't be traced if they wanted."

He nodded in understanding before holding out my blaster. "You should probably have this back," he stated.

I nodded and accepted it, holstering the blaster on my waist before we arrived at the house. We all flooded inside and gathered around a large table with eleven spots set out.

"How did you know that all of us would be here?" I asked Quora as we sat down.

She smiled and looked at Elina. "I have my sources," she stated simply.

I looked at Elina, shocked. "Wait, you knew I was coming here?" I asked her.

She nodded. "The slugs trust me more than anyone else, maybe Quora," she explained. "They told me about you and asked that I keep it a secret. When I was told about you leaving the cavern, I called Quora and let her know that all of us were most likely going to be there so that she could be ready."

I nodded as Mom almost freaked out on her. "Wait, you knew where Jake was, and you DIDN'T TELL US?" she almost screamed at her.

Elina nodded. "Yes. The slugs told me not to tell anybody, as it could cause even more damage to Jake's mind if he were to meet people he had no memory of," she whispered. "It hurt me to keep the truth from you, but I did what was best."

Mom looked like she was ready to jump across the table at her, but Luke and I, who were sitting on either side of her, placed a hand on her shoulders, holding her down. "Don't worry about it, she's telling the truth," I told her. "When I learned about what was happening in SlugTerra I wanted to race out here, but the slugs told me the same thing, so I didn't."

She sighed and relaxed slightly, leading us to release her as she sat back in her chair. "I understand," she stated quietly.

Elina smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Karina, but it was for the best," she replied.

Mom just nodded and began eating the soup that Quora and Jazira began pouring into our bowls.

"Wow, this stuff is amazing, thanks!" Leo told her as he had some.

Quora smiled. "Thank you, it was my grandmother's recipe," she replied.

I nodded as I ate some. "Well, your grandmother must have been an amazing cook," I said.

She smiled again and nodded sadly. "Yes, she was," she replied before Qai let out a large belch, causing her to smack him lightly. "Qai, you know better than that!" she snapped at him.

He smiled guiltily as Leo grinned evilly. "Don't even think about it, Leo," I told him, throwing an Arachnet to stick his mouth shut. He just tore it away, though, and let out an even larger belch, causing Luke to smack him.

"Idiot," Luke growled, causing us to burst out laughing.

The rest of the meal went by without incident, and afterwards, Luke told me about everything that happened after I disappeared. The cavern Blakk's headquarters is located in became shrouded in darkness. Anybody who enters never leaves.

"Well, now we know where they are," I stated. In their spare time, they trained at every spare moment. Also, the secret was spilt to Mom about our weapons.

"Um...sorry for keeping a secret?" I said to her.

She sighed. "I was pissed when I heard, but realized it was for the best," she explained. "I did recommend, though, that they not reveal the weapons to anybody else."

I nodded. "Understandable," I replied. "So, what's our next move?" I asked her.

"We need to return to the Hideout and plan our next step there," Mom told me before turning to Quora and Junjie. "Quora, Junjie, I know you came to this cavern to stay out of SlugTerra's problems, but could you consider coming out of retirement to help us one more time?" she asked them.

Quora and Junjie sighed. "I'm sorry, Karina, but we made ourselves a promise to stay out of SlugTerra's problems. Plus, we have two kids to take care of, and we don't want them getting hurt," Quora stated.

"I'm sure Qai could survive," I stated, fist-bumping Qai. "He's a good slinger, even with his limited arsenal."

Junjie smiled. "He always wanted to grow up to be a hero," he replied before a frown formed. "We still don't want to take any chances, though, I'm sorry."

Mom nodded. "I understand, Eli, Trixie and I all didn't want him to get involved in case he got hurt. I wish you luck in the future, then," she added, standing up and turning to the rest of us. "Let's get going."

We nodded and stood up, grabbing our gear.

"Good luck in your adventures, wherever they may take you," Quora replied before we left the cavern, climbing onto our Mechas and riding away.

"I'll let Vinyl know we found you!" Mark called out to us as he dialed a number on his Holo-Glasses.

We arrived at the Hideout five hours later, Mom leading the group with Luke on my right, Emma at me left, and Mark in the back so that people wouldn't see me.

When we got back, Kord, Pronto, and Kaiya were waiting.

"Why am I here?" Kaiya growled when she saw us, stopping in surprise when she saw me. "So, you're alive?" she asked me.

I shrugged and touched my chest. "Well, it seems so," I replied sarcastically, so she gave me a withering look as we stopped and Kord lifted me off of Stryder's back in a bone-crushing hug.

"Jake, bro, where've you been?" he asked me when he set me down.

"Training," I replied, which was the truth. He looked at me doubtfully but Mom nodded, so he grinned.

"Well, it's good to have you back," he replied as we walked in.

"I'll be going, now," Kaiya began when Mom fired Saphira right in front of her face.

"I asked you here so that you could be included in what we're going to talk about," she snapped at Kaiya. "I'm sure you never want something like Healer Caverns to happen again, right?"

Kaiya froze, giving Mom a glare that would've made a Darkbane run for the hills. "We all agreed never to talk of Healer Caverns," she hissed, her face full of rage.

Mom crossed her arms. "Well, would you want somebody else to have to deal with that?" she asked.

Kaiya's glare continued for a minute before she sighed, lowering her head as she climbed off Black Skies' back.

"Did that have to do with Healer Caverns getting destroyed before I was born?" I asked Kord quietly, having heard of Healer Caverns once before.

"You don't want to know," he replied as we sat down in the main area.

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Pronto asked Mom.

"Now that Jake is back, the full team is back," Mom began. "The Darkbane will soon hear of this and make a move. Whether they do or not, we need to come up with a plan. Kaiya and Kord, I need you two to talk to your contacts at all of the forges, see if they can help us and upgrade our Mechas for the future. Luke, you'll help them with that."

"Okay," Luke and Kord replied as Kaiya muttered, "Sure."

"Pronto, I need you to gather the Molenoids; see if they'll fight with us. If so, go to the Warehouse and arm them," she told Pronto.

"Pronto will not let you down!" he declared.

"Wait, warehouse?" I asked Mom.

She nodded. "Ever since the first Blakk was sent to the Deep Caverns, Eli and I have kept a secret warehouse loaded with blasters, Mechas, and enough gear to launch a war in case we needed it," she explained to me before turning to Mark. "Mark, I need you and Vinyl to work on gathering intelligence about what the Darkbane are doing," she told him. "Hack cameras, use cameras, do whatever you can while staying out of sight."

He nodded. "Can-do, Ms. Shane," he told her before she turned to Emma, Leo and I.

"What're we going to do?" I asked her.

She smiled. "We need to bring up the morale of SlugTerrans," she explained. "Being without their idol has been bad."

"I-I'm their...idol?" I whispered.

Mom nodded. "You saved the University once, the people gave you the credit for Leon Blakk's death. To them, you are the new Shane. To bring their morale up, we are going to wait for the next distress call, which you are going to lead Leo, Emma, and I for. This will show them that their hero has returned, and may increase the amount of people that will rally to our cause. After that, Leo, Emma, and I will work on recruiting people to help us, and I need you to focus on upgrading our blasters to be like Leo's," she explained.

I sighed. "I don't know if I can create another blaster like that," I explained to her. "When I did, it was very hard, and even then, I had the University's advanced technology. That place also had the largest repository for concentrated slug energy."

"Second largest," Mark corrected me. "Futura Cavern is both more advanced and better suited. I can get my dad to let you use his lab."

"How big's his lab?" I asked him.

He chuckled. "I forgot I never told you guys who my dad is," he commented. "My father is the head of Futura Cavern's Division of Blaster Research, Matthew Smith."

"Whoa, dude!" Luke exclaimed. "You should've told us you were so well-connected with other geniuses!"

Mark shrugged humbly. "He first wanted me to study Blaster Tech, but was fine with me changing my decision. I'll show you to his lab and talk things over with him later," he told me before Mom's communicator went off, informing her of the Hooligang robbing the mall.

"They've gotten bolder lately," I commented as we all left to do what we had to do.

Mom nodded. "Most groups have when they learned you were gone, but now we can put them back in line," she stated as we left and took off for the mall.

"Wow, it's been a while since we've hung out here," I commented when we arrived.

"Yeah, like, a year," Emma stated, making me roll my eyes as we jumped off our Mechas and walked into the Mall, where a bunch of people were herded together with the Hooligang holding them at blaster-point.

"It's the Shane Gang!" Billy shouted when he saw the others, then froze when he saw me. Before he could say anything, though, I loaded Speedy and fired him. He quickly reached velocimorph and bounced off of Billy's head, as well as those of the rest of the Hooligang, knocking them all out at once.

"Show-off," Emma muttered as we untied the hostages.

"Wait, are you...?" one of them gasped when she saw me.

I nodded and smiled heroically as I stood up. "I, Jacob Shane, have returned to help the citizens of SlugTerra!" I exclaimed.

"Will his head fit through the door after this?" Leo whispered to Mom. "It's getting pretty big, along with his ego."

I rolled my eyes at him as the hostages were untied and swarmed us, thanking us for helping them. It took us a few hours for things to settle down at the mall, so when we left, we were exhausted.

"I never knew being a hero could be so demanding," I commented as I cradled my hand, which was sore from shaking hands the entire time.

"But you were 'helping the citizens of SlugTerra'!" Leo joked.

I chuckled. "Yeah, yeah," I replied as we left the cavern.

We arrived back at the Headquarters a few hours later, where Mark and Vinyl had set up shop, computers and equipment everywhere.

"So, you really are back," Vinyl muttered when she saw me before turning back to her computer screen. "Mark, are you picking up any readings on the scanner?" she asked Mark.

Mark shook his head. "No. I'm adjusting it to pick up anti-slug energy, but it's only picking up the giant blob that is the darkness."

"What're you two doing?" I asked them.

Mark looked up at me. "Vinyl put together a rover with a bunch of sensors and scanners on it to send to the cavern, but we can't even breach the entrance. It seems that they've constructed a forcefield of some kind over the entrance. It can't get past it, so we're trying to scan it from outside, but that's not working, either," he explained. "We're planning on collecting energy samples of the forcefield next."

"Cool," I said, sitting down on an empty seat.

"Mark, once you're able to, can you take Jake to your father's lab?" Mom asked him.

Mark nodded and typed a few more things before standing up. "This is the only time I can leave, so let's go now," he told me.

"Whose blaster are you going to work on first?" Mom asked me before we left.

"Mine," I replied. "I want to reach UltraMorph using less energy. I also plan on upgrading my fusion blaster as well. After that, I'll just call one of you at random," I added before we walked out, jumped on our Mechas, and took off for Futura Cavern.

A/N: Hello, everybody! Here's the next chapter! I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but life's been busy lately. I plan to update more regularly, though, so yay!

Disclaimer: I do not own SlugTerra, only my characters and this story.

Elina, Quora, and Quora's kids belong to JackieWinters. Thanks, Jackie!

Leo belongs to Create-Gunner1209. Thanks, dude!

Kaiya belongs to Hills-to-Sky. Thanks!

Karina belongs to Aist EliXie Fan Shane. Thanks!

Lastly, thanks to all you readers for sticking with me for this entire series!