Chapter 8 - Answers

"Hello, Shanes," one of them hissed. "We, too, sensed the change in you, Leo. It is time for you to take your role as a member of the Gifted," he said quietly.

"W-What?" we stuttered in sync. "I thought there were only five of us!" I told him.

"Come, we need to speak at a safer place," they told us, so we followed them deep into Shadow Clan territory, where only a Shane or a Gifted could go.

"Alright, we're here, now explain," I told him.

"During the first war, the five Gifted realized that their power was not enough," they began. "They sought out even more power, and found it in three places. The first, as you can see in young Leo, is the power of the Shadow Clan and light. Our source of energy is the Lightwell, and when they encountered it while scouting, they realized it was the power they needed, but it clashed with the power of the Gift within them. You cannot have two kinds of energy within you without dying, so they found the greatest warrior outside their group, and gave him the power of the Lightwell, or the power of the Shadow Clan. As such, that man became known as the Warrior of the Shadows, the man who wields the power of the Shadow Clan. The second and third both wield the same power, an immense one, but came from different lands."

"How did I get that power, though?" Leo asked him.

"The Warrior of the Shadows receives his power when he is exposed to the full power of the Lightwell under great stress, such as when it cured you of your sickness as a child, and reveals itself when the time is right. Like with the rest of the Gifted, you have a place in the world. The crate of weaponry and letter from your first incarnation has been kept safe until the next Darkbane invasion. If you wish, we will bring it to you.

He just nodded in awe, so several Shadow Clan members teleported in front of us, setting down a large box, on top of which was a letter with his name.

"Are you going to read that now?" I asked him.

He picked up, then shook his head and set it down. "No," he replied. "I'm going to wait until you guys read yours. I have a feeling that's what they would have wanted," he told me.

I chuckled. "Aww, my little cuz actually got a bit of wisdom since I left," I joked.

He just replied with a glare before the Shadow Clan vanished.

"Let's go back home," I told him. "It's getting kinda creepy here."

He nodded, so I carried the large crate onto the back of his Mecha before we left, arriving back fairly quickly, despite the immense weight on the back of his Mecha.

"Here, I'm going to search for my own weapon," Leo told me when we arrived, handing me back his collapsible spear as he sorted through the crate. "Could explain things to them?" he added.

I sighed. "Sure," I replied, walking into the Hideout.

"Where did you go?" my mom demanded the moment I walked through the door, everyone else following with an endless stream of questions.

"Who, whoa, give me a minute!" I exclaimed, getting them to pause. "Let me explain…"

"So, what you're basically saying is that Leo is now a Gifted?" Luke asked when I finished with the full story.

I sighed. "Yeah, basically," I replied. "He also had a letter and a chest of weaponry given to him by the Shadow Clan, so I suggest that us Gifted take a little trip to the cave," I told them, causing their eyes to widen slightly as Mom looked at us in a confused manner, having never been told about it.

"What is this 'cave' you are talking about?" Mom demanded.

"We'll explained later," I told her. "Also, I need you guys to do your best to get Elina and Quora to help us with this. I have a feeling that we can only win this with them."

She nodded, and began talking with Kord and the others as us Gifted walked out.

"Where are you guys headed?" Leo asked us as he tested a weapon with two blades, smiled, and worked on digging up a sheath for it, which he found a minute later, prompting him to jump onto his Mecha as he followed us.

"We're going back to the cave to grab our weapons, as well as maybe a few weapons for the rest of the Shane Gang," we replied.

"Okay, that settles it," he said quietly as Vinyl tried to get comfortable on her brand-new cheetah-Mecha. "I'm coming along, too."

"Sure thing, just try not to fall behind, we're going full-speed to save time," I told him before we transformed into our vehicle modes, Vinyl's being a buggy with plenty of tech as mine changed into sports bike mode. "Let's go!" I called out before we took off, me leading the group and Luke following from behind for safety. Vinyl wasn't very used to using a Mecha, but seemed to catch up well enough as we moved over, under, and around giant mushrooms and trees that blocked our path.

"Do you guys feel that?" I asked the others as I felt a chill go up my spine. There were very few slugs out and about, and all the wildlife in general seemed to be hiding.

"Feels like they're preparing for war," Luke growled cautiously. "Something's going to happen soon, and we need to all band together when we get there," he added.

"Well-said, Luke, but for now, we need to focus on other things," I replied before I saw the bright blue forcefield in front of us. "We're coming up on the forcefield, get ready to head for the pond!" I told them. Vinyl was the only one that had yet to be there, though, so she was just following our lead as we made our way through the trees to the pond.

"I'm surprised Shinai or Red Hook haven't found us yet," I commented as we all pulled out Bubbaleones or stayed near someone who has one. "Anyway, Bubbaleones away," I said calmly, prompting us to launch them at SuperMorph into the water, prompting numerous large bubbles to appear that we managed to climb into.

"Use Phosphoros, not Burpy," I told Leo as we pulled out our Phosphoros to light the way as we went through the tunnels in the water, everyone following as we made our way through.

We made it to the other end of the tunnel fairly quickly, surfacing at the other end and, much to our surprise, discovering a certain elderly duo waiting with a Bubbaleone nearby.

We all bowed out of respect. "Hello, Shinai, Red Hook," we said.

Shinai smiled, looking at Leo. "I see you have found another key to victory," she told us. "Our generation never had a Warrior of the Shadows, it's nice to see you again Leo Shane," she added. "I know why you're here, too. You came for your letters, didn't you?"

We nodded. "It is time for us to read them," Emma told her, so she nodded, gesturing for us to follow her as she opened the first door, placing her hand on the representation of the Gift.

"Wait, how are you able to open that, too?" Luke demanded.

Red Hook grunted. "I've been asking her that ever since we first got in here, but she's never answered," he grumbled. "Anyway, let's go."

We nodded, then followed them as the torches lit up. "Jake, please open this door," she told me when we reached the inner door. "I am no longer to open both doors as all six of you have now come into your powers," she explained, but I shook my head.

"We will all open this one," I told her, so we all placed our hands on the respective stones (excluding Leo, who's powers may not have been around when the doors were made), and the door slid open.

"Whoa, what happened here?" we all gasped as we looked around.

"Now that the Darkbane have re-invaded Slugterra, the control center is needed, so it responded," Shinai said wisely. "Ancient magics are still in place in this room," she added. "This board will show the locations of every Darkbane in Slugterra," she explained as we saw a large congregation of dots in one area.

"That's the cavern they managed to take over," Mark commented, recognizing the location.

"They must have found a way to drill through over the years," I added, seeing how there was no activity near the portal.

"Jake, over here!" Emma called out, pointing to a large blob of dots that was moving.

"From their direction of movement and current location, factoring in speed and terrain…it'll be roughly three hours before they arrive at the Hideout," Mark stated.

"We need to move!" I yelled, scooping up all the letters. "They won't last long without us!"

"Be careful, and whatever you do, do not let them defeat you. If the group you've gathered loses even the slightest amount of courage, they will scatter once they see another Darkbane," Shinai called out.

"Thank you. Could you stay here to keep an eye on their movement and let us know when something happens?" I asked as we were about to leave.

"Of course, now go!" Shinai yelled before we took off running, our Bubbaleones almost flying through the water on their way to the pond.

"Full speed, the entire way!" I called out as I leaped onto Stryder, stuffing the letters in a storage compartment that quickly slid closed as he transformed into sports bike mode, allowing me to lead the pack as we went as fast as we could to get there.

"We have about fifteen minutes before they get here," Mark told us as Emma explained everything to everyone and tried to get their spirits up, and Vinyl activated the defenses with a flash of red light.

"Elina told us that she can't fight the Darkbane, she isn't strong enough by herself, and Quora wants to stay out of this," Mom told me as we got into position around the entrances, which we already had barriers put up around, but had no idea what would happen once they got there. Fortunately, there was only one group, heading for a single entrance, but Shinai was linked into our communication frequency, allowing us to communicate with her as she fed us locations.

"Contact in three…two…one…shield contact," Vinyl told us as we saw the Darkbane on the other side of the shield, violently pounding on it as we watched it flicker occasionally. "Shield integrity: 75 percent…aw, crap, they brought Behemoths and Eels!"

We watched as an intangible form flickered into shape on the other side of the shield. It touched the shields, and they flickered, went down, then immediately reappeared.

"Shield integrity is at 30 percent! We can't take another hit from that thing!" Vinyl shouted, so a few of us fired Fandangos at the shield to provide more energy, although it wasn't enough to delay the next attack, which brought the wall down.

"Luke, Leo, take down the Behemoths!" I called out. "I'll draw the Eels, in, take him down once he reveals himself!" I commanded, releasing my power so that it was like a flashlight in the dark for the Eels, which swarmed toward me, all five of them. "So many…oh crap…" I groaned as a few people worked on firing Fandangos at me to keep me going and to bring the Eels into visibility, when I locked up my powers, fired a Fandango at myself, and leaped into the fray, releasing my power right before each punch to save energy as I knock out Darkbane after Darkbane.

"We can't use the explosive, either, it's not ready!" Mark stated when someone asked him about it.

"Well, this couldn't be at a worse time," Leo commented as he punched down a Behemoth. "Then again, these powers are pretty nifty."

"Yeah, well, make sure to use them sparingly," I told him. "Even we have our limits."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, launching Save to take down multiple Darkbane.

"How many more are there, Shinai?" I asked Shinai on her channel.

"The map is telling me that there is least another squadron coming in, but that may be it," she told me.

I sighed in relief before I smacked a Darkbane away, loading Speedy and firing him, watching as he bounced among friendly and enemy heads alike, knocking out Darkbane and leaving our allies intact as the rest of the remaining Darkbane dropped like flies.

"I am really liking this advantage now," I commented before we found the reinforcements. They were larger than we thought, but somehow managed to defeat them all, setting up more shields that were much more powerful.

"Okay, we need to do something about this," I commented afterwards, during the strategy meeting.

"Which part?" Luke's dad asked. He had arrived a day earlier to help out.

"The part about our poor defense," Mark stated. "We have two entrances. While that is good in case of emergencies and we need to escape, it also allows them to invade from either direction, cutting us off. What we need is a cavern that only has one entrance, but has places to hide or escape to in times of distress. Despite this, though, we also need a place that is close to their portal, but they can't easily access. However, there is no such cavern in the 99 Caverns."

"Have you checked all 99?" Luke's father asked. "While I worked with Blakk, he had some pretty secret places for bases and emergency bunkers. If there's a nook or cranny that was overlooked, the Blakks know about them. Speaking of which, what happened to the young Blakk?"

"He died," I said simply. "Because of that, his knowledge can't be detected, and the Darkbane will already have found out where he holds everything because of how closely tied they are to his family. You had a good point about all 99, though. There is a single cavern that only has one cavern, is uncomfortably close to the portal, yet can't be reached by the Darkbane, has a place to escape through, and is perfect for raising an army."

Mark's eyes widened as I grabbed the marker and did a rough outline of a cavern, only three caverns away from the portal. "I hope Shinai won't mind guests," I stated as I grinned cleverly.

"Absolutely," she told us when we asked. "You're right. The Shanes never were the smartest strategy-wise when building 'Hideouts'. Make sure it is discreet in your moving here, though, and destroy all evidence that they could use against you, no matter the cost. I'll teach Mark and Vinyl the ins and outs for the defense system, and as long as you ask politely, I'm sure you will be able to use the slugs here."

"Wait, defense system?" we all asked.

"Of course!" she stated. "There have been countless generations of tech-Gifted, of course we have a good way to defend ourselves!"

"Don't question her," Mom told me gently, so I sighed and ended the conversation.

"Alright, now for the important question," I told them. "Who's telling everyone?"

…

"I can't believe you made me do that, you know I hate public speaking," I growled as I returned inside.

"Oh, cheer up," Luke told me cheerfully. "At least it's over!"

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered before I went up to my room, packing away the things I needed, such as my blaster-tech tools, pictures, a few spare slug tubes, and anything else I needed. The largest things would be taken near the end, including most of my machinery for blaster-tech.

"We're going to have to send one of us with each group to get past the Shadow Clan," I told myself as I thought about when everyone would be ready by. "That, and we'll need many of us there to keep everyone calm and organized, we'll have to set up sleeping arrangements for about a hundred people, and I'm sure they don't want to sleep in tents anymore."

I was about to continue talking to myself when I felt a light pressure surround me.

"Are you overthinking everything again?" Emma asked calmly, her voice and presence enough to calm me as my muscles relaxed.

"No, I'm just thinking about everything that needs to be done," I replied. "So, are you already packed?" I asked her.

"Yep. I don't really have much here, just clothes and very few personal stuff. I didn't spend most of my life here, after all," she explained.

"Hey, don't bash this place," I commented. "Do you know how much stuff I'm leaving behind that I might end up leaving? I've got so many different attachments that they could be worth it, or just slow me down."

"Oh, wow," she said softly. "So, are you able to think through all that now?"

I blinked, surprised, and went through the mental plan. Sure enough, I had a rough plan, so I typed it down quickly and sent it to Mark, who would make it better.

The final plan came out an hour later. The first group, approximately thirty people, would leave immediately with Mom, Kord, and Pronto. Every four hours afterward, ten people would leave with Mom accompanying them along with one of us. For the last two runs, though, they would only be two hours apart, and only contain five people each. Mark, Vinyl, Leo, Mom, and I would be with the last one, and Luke, Emma, Kord, Luke's dad, and Kord would be with the one before that, the best of us protecting them. However, beforehand, we would have to communicate with the Shadow Clan to see if they could help us by securing our passage somehow.

"Alright, the first squad is leaving as we speak. They should arrive in approximately an hour and thirty minutes. Mrs. Shane will then return using a Shadow Walker, and escort the next group. When she arrives, Jake will prepare to leave with the next group so that Mrs. Shane can get rest. They will alternate this way until we reach the last two shipments, when the best of us will accompany the last shipments, destroying everything we won't be bringing with us afterwards. Are there any questions?" Mark asked those of us in the Hideout after he finished explaining the plan.

We all shook our heads, so we went to work assigning people to different groups, sending some of the worst with some of the best of them so that they were equally protected.

Mom got back later that night, so we started readying the next group for leaving.

"How did it go?" I asked Mom when she walked in.

"They were pretty creeped out by the Shadow Clan, but they left us alone as we went. For now, they're just using Arachnet netting for hammocks in the trees. The slugs are pretty nice, allowing them to do that without burning them down," she replied. "By the way, have you read those letters you got?"

I jumped slightly, shocked, but shook my head. "No, we haven't read them yet," I told her. "They're all currently inside Stryder's storage compartment."

"Well, I suggest you read them soon, before we are attacked again," she told me, so I nodded and went to the garage, grabbing the letters before I had all the other Gifted gather together.

"What's this about?" Emma asked before she noticed the letters clenched in my hand. "Oh."

I nodded. "Yeah. Mom thought it would be best if we read them now," I replied.

"Okay, then," she told me, accepting her letter as I went to Mark and Vinyl, who were copying all of our information onto external hard drives.

"Guys, it's time we read our letters," I told them.

They nodded, so I handed them their letters before I took off in search of Luke. As it turned out, he was working with Kaiya on some personal modifications for his Mecha, so it was a difficult matter for me to get him out of the garage and to the main room at the Hideout. Emily had taken the initiative and dragged Leo over as well.

"Guys, it's about time that we read these, before we lose our chance to," I told them. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"Yep."

"Uh-huh."

"Let's do this, then," I whispered, ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter enclosed…

A/N: Hello, everyone! To commemorate the news of Season Three of Slugterra (yay!), I have worked to finish this chapter. Unfortunately, I have no clue when I will be updating again. I return to college tomorrow, and will be very busy most of the time. That, and I've no clue as to what the letters will contain. I have a few ideas, but they aren't enough. Once again, I am turning to you, the readers. I will welcome any ideas, by review or PM, and for those whose ideas I will use, you will be recognized for your work.

As I said, I have no clue when this will be updated again. I will be updating one of my other stories, 'The Tale of Takumi Shimizu', because I have a lot of chapters built up in reserve. For those of you Bleach fans, I suggest you give it a spin.

Till next time, I bid you adieu

~dicarten_ice