Chapter 2: Heroix Unite Part Two
Previously on Heroix Crusaders Ethereal:
"Disappearance of Vuto Chiheart of the Chiheart family. Missing for over 3 months. Last seen in the Outland Reaches." "This is Heltora, Mistress of Darkness." "I'm just feeling a little homesick." "What was that?" "It was an earthquake." "Welcome to the Forbidden Cavern." "Where did that thing come from?!" "Sinkhole forming outside Handler's Corner! 200 miles out!" "It's a Burrowing Worm, another Omentaur!" "We got 2 distress calls from Bullseye Cavern and High Plains Cavern." "Where are we?" "I'm Eli Shane." "I'm Aerrow Mistheart." "Vert?! Olivia?!" "Eli?! Harley?!" "It's a distress call from Blade City. It's under attack by unknown assaults, causing destruction!" "We've been waiting for you, Shanes." "The darkness…is rising."
(Intro)
The Doom Slingers cackled as they raised their blasters to finish off the Shane Gang. "At long last. Goodbye, Shane Gang." Nacho said. Suddenly, the Doom Slingers were blown away by a powerful gust of wind, hitting the ground hard. "Ow! What was that?" Straggus groaned. Suddenly, as the Doom Slingers started to recover, 2 Armashelts were fired and hit the rooftop, causing it to collapse and entomb them. The Shane Gang looked over their shoulders to see the Storm Hawks and the Battle Force 10 coming to their aid. They rushed over to help their new friends up. "Are you guys alright?" Vert asked as he and Olivia helped Eli and Harley up. "Yeah, we're fine. Except for the fact that most of our old enemies have joined forces and are using a powerful kind of slugs we've never seen before." Eli said. "Yeah. We've never seen slugs so powerful before. They took out our slugs so easily." Harley said.
Just then, the Doom Slingers burst out of their tomb prison with their Omen Slugs. Nacho glared at the Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10. "You lot are in our way! We are about to destroy the Shane Gang!" He exclaimed angrily. "My team and I don't like it when our new allies are in danger." Aerrow said firmly. "Same goes for us. Eli and Harley have been our best friends from childhood and they've always been there to watch our backs when there was trouble." Vert said, glaring. "So, if you want the Shane Gang…you gotta go through both of our teams first." Aria said. The Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10 prepared to fight. Nacho growled, but then he smirked evilly. "There are a lot of you. We're gonna need a little back up." He said. Just then, he brought out a skull-like whistle and blew it, making a horrible shrill sound. The Shane Gang, Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10 covered their ears due to the horrible sound and how painful it was. Aerrow screamed in pain due to his advanced hearing as the horrible sound was messing with it. Even the slugs reacted to the sound just like their slingers, not liking it.
Suddenly, as Nacho stopped blowing the whistle, the ground began to shake. "Earthquake!" Spinner cried. "This isn't an earthquake! It's a stampede!" Skyla said. Hundreds of black creatures with skull masks appeared and surrounded the heroes. The teams were all in shock and horror to see them, realizing what they were. "Omentaurs!" Eli exclaimed. "Hundreds of them!" Aerrow exclaimed. "All various kinds!" Vert exclaimed. The Omentaurs growled at the heroes, ready to attack.
"How did you summon all these Omentaurs, Nacho?!" Harley asked. "I just used this little whistle. It's called an Omen Whistle, and it allows me to call forth these Omentaurs. And they're all under our command." Nacho explained with an evil smirk. Pronto farted out of fear. "We are going to die." He whimpered. "DESTROY THEM!" Nacho ordered. The Omentaurs all let out loud roars and howls as they charged towards the teams. "SCRAMBLE! NOW!" Vert shouted. Everyone took off into 6 different groups to escape. "Split up and each take a group of Omentaurs! Do whatever it takes, but destroy the Shane Gang and their friends!" Nacho ordered.
The first group, consisting of Eli, Harley, Trixie, Yu Jie, Will, Aerrow, Aria, Piper, Radarr, Mimi, Vert, Olivia and Ivan, ran through the city as they were being chased by Omentaurs. But then, a big elephant Omentaur blocked their path, trumpeting horrifically. Eli's group turned around as the other Omentaurs surrounded them. Just then, Nacho chuckled evilly as he, Dred, Blite and the Freakshows walked up to them. "You got nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide." He said with an evil smirk. "We never run from a fight, Nacho." Eli said. "And we never hide from lesser people like you and your buddies." Harley said. "Gentlemen, let's show them how lesser we are." Nacho said. He and his group took aim at Eli's group. "What do we do, E?" Trixie asked with worry. But then, as Nacho's group fired their Omen Slugs, Aerrow summoned a gust of wind and blew them back at the group, knocking them down. One of the Omentaurs leapt towards them, Aria blocked it with her mana shield. The other Omentaurs charged towards them, but Radarr clapped his paws, stopping them in time. Mimi fired a magma blast at them, and Piper followed with her crystal shots, knocking them down. Almost all of Eli's group was shocked to see this. Suddenly, the elephant Omentaur prepared to attack. "Look out!" Trixie cried. But then, Vert and Olivia turned around and blasted it with their Zodiac powers, knocking it onto its back. When they turned back to their friends, their Zodiac symbols were shown on their foreheads. Eli and Harley were surprised to see this before they disappeared. "I know. We'll explain later." Vert said. "Yeah. There's a lot we need to talk about." Olivia added.
The second group, consisting of Kord, Pronto, Vance, Mario, Finn, Junko, Agura, Sherman, Spinner, Talia and Horace, ran inside the Slugball arena. "Funny. Us going out like this. Killed in an arena of my favorite sport." Kord said as they panted. "Well, fortunately, it will take more than our oldest enemies combined and an army of dark creatures to kill Pronto the Magnificent." Pronto boasted. "Does he ever stop talking like that?" Spinner asked. "Seriously. He's sounds like me." Finn said. "Unfortunately, that's his ultimate weakness." Sedo's voice said. The group turned to see him, Locke and Lode, Munch, Sgt. Slug and a pack of bear Omentaurs, walking towards them. "Sedo! My life! Long! Nemesis!" Pronto exclaimed dramatically. Locke, Lode, Munch and Sgt. Slug chuckled sinisterly. "We'll give you lot one chance to surrender before someone gets hurt." Kord said. "Funny. We were gonna suggest the same thing. But since we know you, Shane Gang, we will just destroy you." Sedo said. Just then, Finn formed a light ball in his hand. "Cover your eyes!" He called as he threw it. As the group quickly covered their eyes, the light ball exploded in a flash, blinding the Doom Slingers and their Omentaurs. "ARGH! MUNCH CAN'T SEE!" Munch cried. The Omentaurs fled from the light, roaring like little cubs. Junko covered his fists in plasma and charged towards the Doom Slingers with a big shout. He started punching Munch hard and knocked him out in a matter of seconds. "Where are they?! I wanna shoot them!" Lode exclaimed. "Just try to use your ears, Lode!" Locke exclaimed. Suddenly, Agura motioned her hands, summoned roots out of the floor and grabbed Lode, pulling him out of the fight with a scream. "Lode?! Lode?!" Locke exclaimed, not being able to see his twin. Just then, more roots grabbed him and pulled him out too. "Come on! Where are you?! You can't beat me! I'm pumped and tough!" Sgt. Slug exclaimed. Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around to see blurry images of Sherman and Spinner. "You want tough?" Sherman asked. "Here's tough!" Spinner exclaimed, punching Sgt. Slug in the gut with his Zodiac strength, forcing him onto his knees. Then, Sherman punched him in the face, knocking him out. As the light finally died down, Sedo looked around and saw his cohorts were all knocked out. He merely chuckled. "You think you can beat us? You have no chance against me. I am Sedo, rightful king of all molenoids!" He exclaimed. But then, Talia raised her hand and fired an ice ball at him, sending him flying out of the arena. "Oh, shut up." She said.
The third group, consisting of Lash, Shimei, Watts, Dana, Judy, Lavender, Francine, Iguanarox and Cellica, made their way up to the rooftops and stopped at a rooftop swimming pool. "I think we lost them." Dana said, panting while catching her breath. Suddenly, Drake, Brutale, Fang, Squid and a school of shark Omentaurs appeared out of the pool. "Well, look-y here, boys. We got us a bunch of little kiddies. And of course, the traitor, Mr. Watts." Drake said. "Come to beg forgiveness for stealing Mimkey from us, traitor?" Brutale said mockingly, aiming his blaster at Watts. "I rescued him from the shark and gave him to Eli as a symbol of his offer. I joined him because I wanted a fresh start. And it's given me a new crew." Watts explained. "Yes, a crew that fights against people like us. That opposes people like us." Squid said. "Is that a problem?" Cellica asked. "Of course it is! It's heroes like you that make it hard for criminals like us! And if we keep getting put in jail by heroes like you, we get really, really angry!" Drake exclaimed. "Okay, I think that's enough out of you." Lavender said, using her psychic power to telekinetically lift the pirates and the Omentaur sharks out of the pool. "Hey! HEY! HEY! Put us down!" Drake exclaimed. "Okay." Lavender said. She motioned her hand and telekinetically threw them off the roof. But the pirates grabbed the edge and climbed back up. "Oh, you're dead now, lassie." Brutale said venomously. "Not today!" Cellica exclaimed as she and Iguanarox charged towards them. "Slug them!" Drake ordered. But as they raised their blasters, Cellica leapt at Squid and kicked him, knocking him off the roof. Iguanarox smacked Brutale with his tail, distracting him before punching him, knocking him off the roof too. Fang growled as he was about to fire his blaster. But then, Judy leapt at him with a shout, her right fist charged with energy, and punched him hard, knocking him off the roof. Drake looked in between the 3 glaring at him, aiming his blaster at each of them. "Alright! Who wants to go first?!" He exclaimed. "You can start with me if you want." Francine offered. As Drake aimed his blaster at her, she fired 3 coral balls from her hand one at a time. The first knocked the blaster out of his hand, the second hit his mouth, lodging itself inside, and the third hit him in the head, making him dizzy and walking himself over the edge of the roof. "Oh, how I love being a fish." Francine said with a smile.
The fourth group, consisting of Cilan, the Garcia Quadruplets, the Fuurin Quadruplets and the Stormheart Triplets, ran through the city streets. Suddenly, a fire cut them off. "Back! Back the other way!" Cilan exclaimed. But as they turned around, another fire blocked them. Just then, there was an evil chuckle in the air. John Bull and CC, along with a pack of jaguar Omentaurs, emerged from the front fire while Quintin and the Game Master, and a pack of wolf Omentaurs emerged from the back fire. "Well, well, well, looks like the game's up for you, Garcias. You and your little friends." The Game Master said. "Watch it. You have no idea who you're dealing with." Cilan warned. "No, we don't. And we don't care." John Bull said. "Is that right?" Itsuki asked. "Yes. It takes a keen mind to study up on your opponents. But unfortunately, we have our own ideas." Quintin said. Suddenly, before any of them to pull their triggers, the fire started moving on their own. "Uh, what's happening to the fire?" CC asked. "That would be me." Skyler said as he motioned his hands. The fire circled around the 2 groups. "How's this happening?!" Quintin exclaimed in both shock and confusion. "Like this." Skyla said, motioning her hands. Just then, pillars of earth emerged from the ground, surrounding the 2 groups and combining with the fire. "My turn." Sky said. As he motioned his hands, he fired jets of water, cooling down the burning pillars and sealing the 2 groups inside 2 domes. "What was that?!" Kala asked in surprise. "A little something called Stormheart teamwork." Skyler said.
The fifth group, consisting of Rune, Barry, Riggorix, Starling, Amy Lu, Twilight, Rayona, Grace and Zug, ducked inside a metal shop where the Blade City Brutes take their Mecha Beasts for maintenance. "What a peculiar place. Where we come from, we have no tools such as this for our rides." Starling said. "Yes, very fascinating." Riggorix said. Suddenly, the doors were blown open. Boss Ember and Mr. Saturday cackled as the entire Scrap Force and giant rat Omentaurs entered. "End of the line, Shane Gang. The game's up. Stop running." Mr. Saturday said. But then, Riggorix, Starling, Amy Lu and Twilight stepped up, shielding Rune and Barry. "I think you lot should start walking before you get hurt." Starling warned. The Doom Slingers just laughed at that. "Do you have any idea who we are?! We're the Scrap Force, the baddest gang of slingers in the 99 Caverns!" Mongo exclaimed. "Really?" Riggorix asked in amusement. He formed a throwing knife in his paw and threw it at Mongo's arm cast, making him scream in pain as he dropped his blaster. "You don't seem so bad to me." "GET THEM!" Boss Ember shouted. The rat Omentaurs prepared to attack, but Starling blasted them out with her starlight power. "What was that?!" Straggus exclaimed in shock. "Just a little trick." Starling said. "Check out my trick!" Twilight said, firing a shadow blast and blinding the Doom Slingers with the shadows. "Lights! Someone turn on the lights!" Boss Ember exclaimed. Riggorix motioned his hands, creating a giant metal piece and wrapping it around the Doom Slingers. "Something's got us!" Gretchen exclaimed. "Oh, you think?!" Straggus exclaimed. Amy Lu placed her hands on the floor, freezing it from under the Doom Slingers' feet. This caused them to slip and fall on their butts. As the shadows cleared, they saw that they were stuck together in a metal restraint and sitting on ice. "You can't possibly be doing this! We're the baddest slingers in the 99 Caverns!" Boss Ember exclaimed angrily. "You guys look thirsty." Rayona said. "Yeah. Have a drink." Grace said as she and Rayona motioned their hands and combined their powers, creating a big wave of muddy water and washing the Doom Slingers away.
The sixth group, consisting of Joshwa, Deagan, Junjie, Tad, Stork, Vuto, Odessa, Stanford, Zoom and Zen, made their way to the city square. Suddenly, Junjie heard something in the air. "Look out!" He exclaimed as the group ducked down to the ground as something nearly hit them. Spirex and the Hooligang cackled as they appeared and surrounded the group, joined by a pack of hyena Omentaurs. "Aw, look-y here. The 2 traitors to evil, trapped within our grasp." Billy said. "Oh, it's very exhilarating." Belinda said. The hyena Omentaurs laughed hysterically at that. Stork, Vuto, Odessa, Stanford and Zoom glared around at the hysterical laughers. "Kill them." Spirex said as he ordered. The hyena Omentaurs started to attack. But then, Vuto knocked several of them down with chi powered kicks and punches. Odessa blasted several aura blasts, taking down the hyenas. Zoom summoned his aura bow and fired multiple aura arrows, hitting several hyenas. "What the?! Shoot them!" Billy exclaimed. But then, as the Hooligang prepared to fire, Stork fired 3 bolts of lightning, electrocuting them and knocking them out. Spirex saw that he was now alone and held up his blaster shakenly. "Don't move! I warn you! I'll shoot!" He exclaimed out of fear. "Oh, do be quiet." Stanford said, using his psychic powers to levitate Spirex and throw him into a building.
Later, the 6 teams regrouped back at the square. "You guys alright?" Eli asked. "Yeah. But we've seen some pretty weird things." Aerona said. "Same with us." Tad said. Everyone in the Shane Gang started saying the same thing, having seen the Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10's powers. "Hey, hey, hey! One at a time! One at a time!" Harley exclaimed. Suddenly, everyone heard a low growl in the air. They all looked around and saw an entire army of Omentaurs, big and small, surrounding them. "Oh, there's so many of these things!" Pronto whimpered. "There's no way to get past them." Tad said. "We're trapped." Paulina said. But then, Eli and Harley looked at each other and nodded, thinking the same idea. Eli motioned his hand and created a crystal wall around the team for protection. "Hey!" Kala exclaimed, caught off guard. "Piper, what did you do?!" Finn exclaimed. "This wasn't me! Not this time at least!" Piper said. "Eli, Harley, what're you guys doing?" Trixie asked in worry. "What we do best." Eli said as he summoned his Aether sword. Harley cracked his neck as he transformed into his Darkbane form and summoned his Nether hammer. The Omentaurs roared and howled as they charged to attack. Eli slashed at every Omentaur that leapt at him, reducing them to ash. Harley swung his hammer and slammed at every Omentaur foolish enough to try and attack him. Just then, Burpy and Hestia leapt out of their barrels, switched from slug form to human form and then into Slug Up form. "Don't leave us out of this, Shanes!" Burpy exclaimed as he tackled a gorilla Omentaur and slashed it with Nova Claw. Hestia grabbed a hyena Omentaur and threw it with a blast of Flashfire.
The Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10 watched in awe as the Shane brothers and their Infurnuses fought off the Omentaurs. "Whoa! Look at them go!" Skyla exclaimed. "Vert, Liv, you didn't tell us your childhood friends had special powers too!" Zoom said. "We didn't know about it either." Olivia said. Suddenly, a tiger Omentaur was about to sneak up behind Eli and attack him. "Eli!" Trixie cried. But as the tiger was about to pounce Eli, a fire arrow struck it and killed it. Eli, Harley, Burpy and Hestia looked up as Aerrow, Aria, Vert and Olivia managed to climb over the crystal wall and join them in the fight, weapons ready. "How'd you guys get over the wall?" Eli asked. "Come on. You seriously thought you could keep us from helping you guys?" Vert asked. "Yeah, we're best friends. And we don't let our best friends fight alone." Olivia said. "And while we've only known you guys for a short while, we Storm Hawks always fight as a team." Aerrow said. "And we don't let anyone fight alone." Just then, more Omentaurs prepared to attack. "Alright. Then let's show these beasts what teamwork is about." Eli said. As the Omentaurs roared and howled, they attacked. Eli, Harley, Burpy, Hestia, Aerrow, Aria, Vert and Olivia fought back, slaughtering the Omentaurs and reducing them to ash. "There's still too many for just 8 of them!" Trixie cried. "But how do we get out of here?" Zoom asked. "Wait. This wall is made of crystal. And since my power can control crystal…" Piper said. She motioned her hand down the middle of the wall and the crystal made an opening for the team. "Come on! Let's show these beasts what our 3 gangs can do! GO!" Trixie exclaimed as the 3 teams shouted and charged into the fight.
[Avengers Unite from Age of Ultron]
The 3 teams fought the Omentaurs side-by-side, using their unique skills and powers to fight them off. One by one, every Omentaur was defeated and reduced to ash. The teams stood beside each other, glaring at what remained of their enemies. "No. No." Nacho said, having recovered and witnessed everything. The Doom Slingers gathered around after recovering and freeing themselves. "Not to sound like a coward, Nacho, but maybe it's best if we retreat for now." Straggus said. The Doom Slingers all began retreating, but Nacho and Dred remained there for a bit. "You know he's right, Nacho. We need to regather our strength, wait for Heltora to come up with a new plan." Dred said as he started following the others. "This isn't over." Nacho said with a glare before he followed Dred.
As the villains retreated, the heroes watched them leave and cheered in victory. But Eli looked around Blade City, seeing that it was badly damaged caused by the invasion of the Doom Slingers and the Omentaurs. "Oh, man. Blade City is gonna take a long time to repair." He said. "No problem. I can fix this city in no time." Aerrow said. "And how exactly are you gonna do that?" Pronto asked. Aerrow gave his answer by removing his scarf, unveiling the Atomic Crystal. He lifted it up as it started to glow, and then it released a powerful light, blinding everyone. In a few seconds, as the light died down, the Shane Gang and Battle Force 10 opened their eyes and saw, to their shock, all of Blade City was fully restored. As if the invasion never even happened. The Shane Gang and Battle Force 10 were flabbergasted at what they saw. "Aerrow, how did you do that?" Will asked. "I used the power of this, the Atomic Crystal, and restored Blade City to its former glory in seconds." Aerrow explained. Vert walked up to him and took a closer look at the Atomic Crystal. "I can sense a great power in this thing. Far beyond anything I could've ever imagined." He said. "Speaking of which, how did you and your team get your powers?" Aerrow asked. "There'll be plenty of time for explanations, but they'll have to wait until we get back to our hideout." Harley said. The others nodded in agreement.
Later, the people of Blade City returned to their homes, thankful to the heroes for saving their cavern. "Thank you so much for saving our cavern, Shane Gang. We're glad you came along when you did." The landlord said. "You're welcome. But we had a little help from some new friends." Eli said, gesturing to the Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10. After shaking hands with the landlord, Eli walked back to Lucky. "Alright, gang, we're heading home now." He said. The heroes hopped back in their rides and drove off, following Eli back to the Shane Hideout.
Meanwhile, as the Doom Slingers returned to the Forbidden Cavern, Heltora was not pleased to hear that they were defeated. "How could you have let those slug slingers defeat you?! You had Omen Slugs! You had Omentaurs! You were unbeatable!" She exclaimed in anger. "It wasn't our fault! It those newbies who helped them!" Drake exclaimed. "Yeah. We never seen people like them before. They had these…strange powers. Even I couldn't understand it." Quintin said. "Yes, I know. I've been watching the whole thing." Heltora said. The Doom Slingers were stunned by this. "But let's not worry about them for now. This is only the beginning. For I have already thought of a new plan, one where the Shane Gang will have no choice, but to surrender for the life of their tiny little innocent child. Xantara Shane." Heltora explained sinisterly.
Meanwhile, after the teams returned to the Shane Hideout in Wild Spores Cavern, the Shane Gang, Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10 all gathered in the living room. Eli, Harley and Will had informed Eliza about their new allies possessing incredible abilities. Eliza was surprised to hear this while Xana, being a baby, became curious with that innocent look on her face. "Pronto demands an explanation from you strangers and he demands it now!" Pronto demanded. But then, Harley smacked him behind the head. "Pronto, that was very rude of you to say that." He said, scoldingly. Pronto whimpered as he rubbed his head. "So, who wants to go first?" Eli asked. "We'll go first." Aerrow said. The Shane Gang and Battle Force 10 listened closely as Aerrow started to explain. "My friends and I, we're not from Slugterra. We're from Atmos, a world of a thousand mountaintop kingdoms known as Terras. We're a team of warriors known as a Sky Knight squadron. Each squadron protects a single terra from the forces of darkness. Beasts, rogues, and worse of all…Cyclonians." Aerrow explained. "They follow the command of Master Cyclonis, the most dangerous girl in the whole world. We fight to protect the peace within Atmos. And the Atomic Crystal. What you saw in Blade City was just a hint of its many powers. It's what also gave us our powers. And with these powers, it allows us to transform into legendary warriors known as the Skylight Guardians." The Shane Gang and Battle Force 10 were amazed by this. "The Atomic Crystal has been passed down from many factions of the Sky Knight squadron. Including my father, the greatest Sky Knight of them all." 'Lightning Strike.' Will said in his mind. "And now it's our turn to use its power and protect it from Cyclonis. If she gets her hands on it, she could use it to bring all of Atmos into darkness." Aerrow finished.
Everyone was stunned to hear this. It was going to take time for them to progress this new information they've just learned from their new friends. Except for Will since he already secretly knew about Atmos. He had been there before and faced off against the Cyclonians during his days with his old teammates. Harley turned his attention to Battle Force 10. "Vert, Liv, it's your turn to explain how you guys got your powers." He said. Vert, Olivia and their team looked at each other, knowing they needed to tell the truth about their origins. "First off, we have someone, 2 of them, who can explain everything." Vert said. "Now don't freak out or get too excited. We're about to introduce 2 very special friends to you. Special friends that you guys haven't met from the start." Olivia said. The Shane Gang and Storm Hawks watched as TRINA set down Sage and Destina's hibernation pods on the table. Just then, the pods started glowing as Sage and Destina rematerialized. "Greetings. I am Sage." Sage greeted. "And I am Destina." Destina greeted. The Shane Gang and Storm Hawks were stunned to see them. "What are you?" Eli asked. "Destina and I are a race of intelligent beings known as Sentients. We, TRINA, Iguanarox, Zug, Cellica, and our dear pets, are aliens from different worlds." Sage explained. "Our worlds exist in synch within a Multiverse filled with Battle Zones in which our people created. But everything we created has come under attack by our 3 brutal enemies. Vandals, Sark and Dwellers." Destina explained. "The Vandals are my kind. We're ruled under a tribal dictatorship, led by Captain Kalus." Iguanarox added. "Sark Zug's kind. We cold, calculated, deadly robots, led by Zemerik." Zug added. "And the Dwellers are my kin. We're various fantasy creatures, led by my brother, Sauron." Cellica added. "We have recruited Vert, Olivia and each of the first 10 because they each bring something unique to the table. And that's what led them to recruit our other friends." Sage explained. "But there is also a secret behind their powers. You see…they are reincarnations of our planets' greatest protectors. The Zodiac Guardians." The Shane Gang and Storm Hawks were shocked to hear that. "Yes. Liv and I are reincarnations of these Zodiac Guardians." Vert said. "Each one of the team is reincarnated from each of the 13 Zodiac symbols. Vert is Aries, Olivia is Ophiuchus, Agura is Virgo, Sherman and Spinner are the Gemini Twins, Stanford is Scorpio, Zoom is Sagittarius, Talia is Aquarius, Rayona is Cancer, Ivan is Capricorn, Horace is Leo, and Grace is Pisces. But we still have yet to find Taurus and Libra." Sage explained. "And I'm the only one who hasn't awakened my Zodiac power yet." Horace added. "Awakened?" Trixie asked. "Yes. When the Zodiac Guardians were reincarnated, their powers were asleep within them until their experiences in the Battle Zones reawakened them." Sage explained.
After everything was explained, both the Shane Gang and Storm Hawks were all stunned or mind blown after what they just learned today. Eli and Harley couldn't believe it that their childhood best friends were actually reincarnations of Zodiacs Aries and Ophiuchus. "Eeehhh…this is gonna be a long time to progress. And I feel like my brains are overloading because of it." Pronto said, breaking the silence.
Later, everyone spent their time for the entire day as night began to arrive. Eliza was in the kitchen cooking dinner with the Garcia sisters, the Fuurin brothers, Lavender and Rayona. "Hmm. I think this needs a little extra spice for something special." Eliza said. "May I suggest a pinch of this?" Lavender asked, holding up a bottle of seasoning. "What is that stuff?" Aerona asked. "It's a special Atmos seasoning called Zartacla chili pepper spice. Skyla picked this up on Terra Zartacla when she, her brothers, Aerrow, Aria, Radarr and Mimi were prisoners there. It adds a bit of a kick, but we've had no complaints yet." Lavender explained. "Alright. Let me add a pinch of that stuff." Eliza said. Lavender handed her the spice bottle and she added it to the dinner.
While waiting for dinner, the Shane, Mistheart and Wheeler siblings went outside to talk. "This is unbelievable. I mean, it's not every day you find out your childhood best friends are reincarnations of living Zodiac." Eli said. "Or that there's people from a whole other world out there, gifted with amazing abilities." Harley said. "Speak for yourselves. But I don't think reincarnation powers could compare with how you Storm Hawks got your powers." Olivia said. "Oh, trust me, it was a shock for us too. Especially when it gave Radarr and Mimi the abilities to talk and become Skylight Guardians too." Aria said. "But one thing about reincarnation, if we weren't reincarnated, I never would've reunited with my beloved." Vert said. "Beloved?" Eli asked in confusion. "Oh, yeah. Sage was the lover of my past life. When my powers reawakened, our love was reunited." Vert said. "It was a really beautiful thing." Olivia said. "Looks like we leaders have all got a special love in our lives." Aerrow said, thinking about Piper. "We sure do." Eli said, thinking about Trixie. "Though on the subject of powers, how'd you guys get your powers?" Vert asked. "And how did Burpy and that other Infurnus learn to become human?" Olivia asked. "Simple. Remember that old story about the Elementals Dad told us when we were kids? Turns out me and Harley have become the Aether and Nether Elementals." Eli explained. "And then there's that Burpy and Hestia becoming human thing. We've obtained the legendary Universal Slug." Harley said. "The Universal Slug? I thought that was just a myth." Vert said in surprise. "Oh no. He's very real. He's given some of our slugs the power to become human and give them an extra form called Slug Up." Harley explained. "Uh, but what about that demonic form you have?" Aria asked. "Oh. That. I was…infected." Harley said. "Infected?" Olivia asked with worry. "Yeah. We traveled to the Deep Caverns, home to the ancient enemies of Slugterra, the Darkbane." Eli said. "The one we faced, El Diablos Nacho, he infected me with a dart filled with Dark Water. The substance Dr. Blakk used to turn slugs into ghouls. As time passed, it took effect on me and transformed me into one of…them!" Harley explained, his eyes going crimson at the word them. But he took a deep breath and calmed down. "His slugs even gained the power to become ghouls during his transformation too." Eli said. "But with the help of Wizard, the Psychic Elemental, I managed to gain control of my transformation." Harley said. "Dinner!" Eliza called from inside. The Shane, Mistheart and Wheeler siblings hurried inside.
Later, everyone gathered around as Eliza, the Garcia sisters, Fuurin brothers, Stormheart Triplets, Lavender and Rayona served their dinner. As everyone ate, Olivia fed Xana her favorite peach-flavored baby food. Xana giggled as she happily eats her dinner as Olivia feeds her. "You are just so cute, Xana. Eli and Harley are so lucky to have you as a baby sister." Olivia said. Suddenly, at the window, a dark figure was watching them, eyeing the little baby Shane. Xana looked at the window and sees the dark figure, making her whimper in fear. "Xana, what's wrong?" Olivia asked before looking at the window. But the dark figure was gone. "There's nothing there." Olivia said. But little did she and everyone else know, danger was coming for little Xana.
Later, after dinner, everyone was relaxing after a big meal. "That was good. I never had a meal that good back in Atmos." Junko said, rubbing his belly. "Yeah. Rayona's pretty good with cooking." Sherman said. "I should've asked for worms on my dish." Pronto said. That caused the Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10 to become grossed out. "Is he always like this?" Zoom asked to Harley. "All Molenoids are like that. Plus, he's always so annoying and won't shut up about his exaggerated stories that never actually happened." Harley explained. "So, Pronto is somewhat of an idiot, judging by how he talks." Zen guessed. That caused Harley and Zoom to snicker. During this, the Garcia sisters, Yu Jie, Skyla, Sky, Ivan and Talia were busy washing the dishes. Sky was using his water powers to wash off the soapy bubbles from the dishes. "I gotta say, Sky, that water power is so awesome. Like Grace's." Talia said. "Thanks. It really comes in handy when it comes to cleaning up. I once cleaned an entire carrier for some friends." Sky said.
Just then, Vert looked over to see Will setting up the baby stroller and setting Xana in it. "Uh, Mr. Shane, where are you going?" He asked as he called over to Will. "Oh, I'm going on a night stroll with my baby daughter." Will said. "I see. It's nice to go on a nightly stroll, but you might need some company, just in case someone tries to harm you and little Xana." Vert said. "Zen and I can go. We're well-trained warriors. Even before I got my Zodiac powers back." Zoom said as he volunteered himself and his best friend. "Thanks. I appreciate the company." Will said. Then, as he, Zoom and Zen walked out the door with Xana in her stroller, Eliza walked over and stood in the doorway. "Be sure to be back before late tonight." She said. "We will. We'll be fine and we'll keep our guard up for any danger." Will said with understanding, giving his wife a kiss before walking off as he pushes the baby stroller with Zoom and Zen following. Unaware, the dark figure from the window was atop of a tree, revealing to be a male, watched them leave.
As they walked through the cavern, Zoom and Zen looked around, seeing the beauty of Slugterra at nightfall. "This place is very amazing. I've never seen such beauty before." Zen said. Will chuckled at that. "Slugterra is full of wonders, Zen, not just beauty." He said. "Vert and Olivia told us about this place. And when we first came here, it's even more beautiful than we first thought." Zoom said. "That's because it's all thanks to the slugs for keeping both our worlds in balance because of their energy. But if something were to happen to the slugs, like getting corrupted into ghouls by our enemies, Slugterra loses its life and beauty, and therefore, becoming a very dark version of it. I remember it nearly happened once before with our friends, the Elemental slugs, as they were the ancestors of all slugs. If one Elemental becomes corrupted, all slugs related and connected to it would turn into ghouls." Will explained. Zoom and Zen were shocked to hear that. "How did you guys manage to save Slugterra and the Elementals?" Zoom asked. "I'll tell you later when we get back to the hideout after the stroll." Will said.
Just then, Zen looked to the right and saw the dark figure peeking from behind a tree before he went back to hiding himself from sight. "Someone is stalking us." Zen said, becoming alert. "Who was it?" Will asked as he drew his blaster to protect Xana. "I just saw what appeared to be a man hiding behind that tree." Zen said, pointing at the stalker's hiding spot. Zoom looked at the tree, trying to pick up the stalker's aura. But as he finally got a lock on him, a can was tossed at them and released a gas. "What is that?" Zen asked, startled. Suddenly, as he inhaled the gas, he passed out and collapsed to the ground. "Zen!" Zoom cried. But as he was about to check on his best friend, he passed out from inhaling the gas as well. Will passed out too and Xana went limp in her stroller. As the 4 were completely knocked out, the dark figure walked out from behind the tree after the gas cleared, revealing to be Dred, chuckling sinisterly. He walked up to the unconscious Xana and picked her up. "Another job well done, Dred. Just like Heltora said about her plan." He said to himself. Before leaving, he dropped a circular device on the ground as he walked away with Xana, leaving Will, Zoom and Zen behind.
Back at the hideout, everyone was having their own conversations to each other about sharing the same commons with each other. Eliza looked up at the clock, seeing that it was almost 9:00 PM. "Will should've been back with Xana, Zoom and Zen by now. Why haven't they come back from their nightly stroll?" She asked with worry. "We'll go out to look for them, Mom." Eli said as he and Harley stood up. "We'll go with you, Shanes." Aerrow said as he and Aria stood up too. "And us too." Vert said as he and Olivia stood up too. Eli and Harley nodded, not minding the company. "Let's go." Eli said. The 6 headed outside to look for Will, Xana, Zoom and Zen.
As they searched for them, Aerrow and Aria looked around and felt awe to see Slugterra looked wonderful and beautiful at night. Vert and Olivia felt the same, having been in Slugterra before. "Hey, Wheelers, how did you guys meet the Shanes?" Aerrow asked. "We met them in a small town back when we were neighbors. We became close friends." Olivia said. "Then we met up with Maxwell McGrath, or Max as he's always called that, and his quintuplet cousins when they moved into our town." Vert added. "Max is a super smart kid. He built himself a small robot when he was 6-years-old to play with." Eli said. "This Max sounds like he's quite good with technology." Aria said. "Max is a prodigy. Yes, he was quite good with technology and other stuff that involved robotics." Harley said. Suddenly, Eli spotted Will, Zoom and Zen unconscious on the ground with a shocked gasp. Harley, Aerrow, Aria, Vert and Olivia saw them too and became shocked. "Dad!" Eli cried as they rushed over to check on them. Will, Zoom and Zen slowly woke up with groans as they regained consciousness. "What happened?" Vert asked. "We don't know." Zoom said. Just then, Aerrow saw a can, picked it up and examined it. "What is this?" He asked as he showed it to Olivia. She took it and looked closer at it. "This is knockout gas." She said. As Will recovered, he looked over to the stroller, only to find it empty. "Xana!" He gasped in shock. Everyone looked over at the stroller and saw that Xana was gone. "Dad, what happened?" Eli asked in a panic. "Where's our baby sister?" Harley asked, also panicked. "I don't know." Will said. "Neither do we." Zoom said. "We were knocked out by the gas." Will said. "I saw someone stalking us before we were knocked out." Zen said.
Just then, Aria spotted the circular device on the ground. "Guys, look at this." She said as she picked it up and showed it to her friends. "What is that?" Vert asked. Suddenly, the device activated itself and a hologram of Heltora appeared, shocking the group. "Greetings, Shane Gang, Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10. I know you're wondering about what has happened to your little Shane, Xana. I have sent Dred to capture her and use her as a hostage as part of my new plan. If you want your precious baby back…the Shane Gang must come to the Forbidden Cavern without your new allies. I have witnessed what your friends can do during the battle in Blade City. If you dare to bring them with you, little Xana's life will be doomed and you will never see her again." Heltora's message explained before the hologram disappeared, leaving Eli and the others to look at each other with worry.
To be continued…
Oh, man! This just got serious! After the Shane Gang, Storm Hawks and Battle Force 10 defeated the Doom Slingers and restored Blade City, Heltora has thought of a new plan. As the 3 teams revealed their secrets to each other, Will, Zoom and Zen took Xana out for a stroll. But then, they were attacked and knocked out while Xana was gone! Heltora kidnapped her and left a warning for the Shane Gang. That if they come to the Forbidden Cavern with their new friends, she will kill Xana! What are the Shane Gang going to do? Can they save poor little Xana? Leave a review if you want.