"Who would have guessed the on-off switch is at the tip of its face?" Kord squealed, looking at the once despairing Mecha Dragon. "Ten years. How could you and your team not figure that out?"
Grendel went speechless. His mind still processing what just happened. After a few seconds of staring at the Mecha Dragon, he diverted his gaze and stared at me in disbelief.
"How did you do that?" he finally spoke, confused. "How did you know it'll work?"
"I... I didn't know," I answered as my eyes gazed back on the benign Mecha Dragon. "It was purely my instinct. I wasn't even expecting it to move a joint after I did that. Well, I'm glad it did."
I rested a hand on the mecha's face, slowly caressing the beast. A smile found its way on my lips as Phoenix and the other slugs on my bandoleer chirped contentedly.
"So, do we have a deal?" Grendel questioned. I turned back to Grendel, and then to Eli. I gave him a small smile, displaying my decision.
"Yes, we do," Eli answered Grendel before returning my smile. After we signed the paperwork, some workers from the factory brought our new mechas to the entrance of the building, where the rest of the Shane Gang's mechas were parked.
After a little reasoning with Grendel, we finally backed down and accepted Grendel's generosity and got my Mecha Dragon free of charge. Mia's new mecha, however, costs us a fortune, but it was money well spent.
Ultimately, she picked out a stunning Mecha Peacock, after Trixie and I had successfully convinced her that it will be extremely awkward and cringe if she was to match her mecha beast with Eli.
The Mecha Peacock was albino, with thick display feathers that looked exceedingly light in spite of the fact that it was made of steel. The rounded eye markings on its fairylike trailing tail gleam with cyan phosphorescence at a push of a button. Underneath the beauty were deadly claws; both leg had four trenchant blades. A light grey cushioned seat was installed on the bird's back, right below where the control panel was. To put it simply, it was the rarest, most phenomenal mecha in the entire showroom.
"Not gonna lie, I'm flopping envious," Trixie commented, crossing her arms and smirking at Mia.
"Don't be! You're BOOM-R model saber-tooth tiger is great too!" Mia replied with a shy smile. "Yeah Trix, learn to be grateful. Some people don't even have a mecha," Kord teased as he mounted his mecha.
"You should thank Pronto the magnificent for not spending all the money on sumptuous vacations in order for you to purchase that wondrous mecha beast!" Pronto claimed with a hand on his chest, earning death glares from the three original members of the Shane Gang. "Thank you!" the three yelled sarcastically in unison. And with that, the rest of the gang mounted their respective mechas outside Beast Forge.
Holding onto the inverted handles located at the sides of the dragon's neck, I mounted onto my first ever mecha beast. I got myself comfortable on the white leather upholstery seat and glanced at the control buttons in front of me.
Another reason why Grendel gave me the Mecha Dragon for free is because no one had any idea what these prehistoric buttons and controllers do since no one managed to start it up. Even after a thousand years since her manufactured date and potentially more than ten years of complete neglection in terms of maintenance, it still looked good as new. I just hope that these buttons were still functioning.
With the rest of the gang still checking out and adoring Mia's brand new Mecha Peacock, Eli rode up next to me, his eyes trailing my mecha beast from her head to tail. Lucky came to a halt beside me and I looked up at Eli with a smile.
"Know how to operate one of these?" Eli questioned with a raised brow as he glanced at the foreign controllers before me.
"Guess we'll find out," I replied, studying the set of buttons cluelessly.
"How did you do it?" Eli suddenly asked.
"What?" I questioned him.
"How did you start her up?" he rephrased his question. "I refuse to believe that Grendel and his team never touched her nose before for ten consecutive years."
I paused as my mind attempted to come out with an answer. "I'm not too sure," I replied. "But I got a feeling that it has something to do with Slugfu."
"Slugfu?" he asked, clearly surprised. "What do you mean 'Slugfu'?"
"I felt the same wave of energy flowing through my body when I started her up," I replied, and Eli seems to understand what I was saying as he nodded with his jaw slightly dropped. "That's strange," he commented.
"I know," I replied as a thought came through my mind. "Is it possible that she's from the Eastern Caverns?"
"They seldom manufacture mecha beasts there but that is a possibility," Eli replied and shrugged. "We'll have to ask Junjie the next time we visit him."
I nodded. I haven't had the chance to meet Junjie, but the gang had told me and Mia a ton about him, including his dark history of being the Dark slinger, Peach Blossom Spring Cavern and the fallen Emperor.
"So, Eli," Kord called out as he rode up next to Eli with a proud smirk. "Ready to show our latest members what our mechas can actually do?"
I raised an eyebrow as Mia rode up next to me. Trixie and Pronto soon joined us, forming a horizontal line across the road.
"Sounds good!" Eli said with confidence and turned to Mia and I. "I apologise for keeping this a secret from you guys, but the truth is, our mechas can do more than just running around the caverns."
"We have special modes!" Kord added, and the gang each pulled out a helmet and wore them. Mia and I exchanged a glance as Kord loaded up a Phosphoro into his blaster and pointed a finger at a flagpole of the Beast Forge at the other side of the river.
"Last one to reach that flagpole is paying for dinner!"
He fired his Phosphoro and it let out some fireworks, before they drove off. Mia was handling her mecha quite well, but she was, once again, leaving me behind.
"Wait! I don't even know how to walk my mecha!" I screamed in defence, but they were long gone. After they speeded for a few seconds, the gang, except for Mia, pressed on a green button on their mechas. My eyes widened as I witnessed their mechas transformed into vehicle mode.
The front and rear legs of Eli's mecha retracted, and was replaced by two wheels, one at the front and the other at the back, where the mecha's limbs once were. His mecha's face shrunk into a narrower fit, creating a more streamlined figure. The boys' mechas transmuted into sick motorcycles while Boomer altered into a four-wheeled cart.
With newfound speed, the four raced down the road for the flagpole, creating a lengthening gap between Mia and them. Eli did a wheelie with his newly formed motorcycle and screamed with excitement, which made him looked super badass and striking.
"Gosh that's hot," I mumbled while biting my lower lip, and immediately shook off the thought to focus on my own mecha. Hero and the other slugs hopped onto the control panel of the mecha, disregarding how unsafe it was. Phoenix looked at me and chirped, pointed her limb at a switch that was situated at the upper left corner of the group of assembled buttons.
Putting my trust fully on her, I smirked at her and flipped the switch, before holding onto the mecha handles for dear life for whatever that is going to happen next.
Nothing.
I blinked as the Mecha Dragon lowered herself to alter her stance. Her rear legs contracted, and in matters of second, she sprung into midair with great momentum, before landing on the ground and started to literally gallop forward. Her wings were spread out, and positioned in a way where it reduced drag force, creating an aerodynamic shape. Her head was lowered and her tail wiggled to maintain her overall balance. She ran like a cheetah, and her speed was no doubt faster than a normal mecha both in beast form and vehicle form, with her precise coordination and powerful limbs, but it'll be difficult to catch up when the gap between my mecha and the four is large.
I waved goodbye at Mia as I passed by her and her Mecha Peacock with a sly grin, before I turned around and concentrated on my real competitors. The distance between us were closing in in a slow yet steady rate, but we were getting nearer to the river, which meant that it will be a dead end for me sooner or later if I don't think of a way to get across the waters.
"Any ideas guys?" I asked and glanced down at my arsenal of slugs, especially Phoenix. "Those wings should be able to bring me across the river, right?"
Phoenix chirped and nodded, before she carefully made her way through the control panel on the unstable, shaky vehicle. She arrived at another button on the other side of the panel, and pointed at it with a smirk. Allowing my eyes to leave the road for only a millisecond, I glanced down at the button. It was red in colour, contrasting to the others which were light grey, with a skull of a dragon printed on it.
"You better be right Phoenix," I said and she chirped confidently.
"You two are paying for dinner, losers!" Pronto called out, obviously referring to Mia and I, as the four reached the river levee.
"The yellow button!" Kord reminded as they pressed onto their buttons. Their mechas leaped towards the river, their wheels withdrew back into the mecha's body and a set of sharped-edged skii board expanded right before they landed on the surface of the river. They cheered for a split second before they continue to rev up their engine and headed straight for the flag.
"Awesome!" I praised on their untypical mode, before I eventually reached the side of the river. With only a few meters away from the waters, I pressed onto the red button hurriedly. My mecha came to a halt, pulled back like she did before, and leaped into the air, this time with much greater force. My slugs thrilled and chirped from the leap, but what came next was astonishing.
Her wings expanded fully sideways, ascending into the atmosphere as the river was now below us. She flapped her powerful wings twice, before she spread out her wings like an eagle and steadily glide through the air with a wingspan of around six meters. Irresistibly, I let out a hysterical scream across the sky and rotated the handles, spinning one hundred eighty degree in midair. The four leading racers looked up disbelievingly below me as I sped pass them with a sly wave.
After passing the gang, I looked back at Mia with sympathetic eyes, but to my surprise, her Mecha Peacock was gliding above the river too with its now enlarged tail, and were slowly passing the skiers beneath us. She was closing in quick. I turned back and saw the approaching target; we were almost there.
Phoenix chirped loudly through the rushing wind and pointed at a switch at the bottom of the red button. I flipped the switch upwards in haste and sizzling blue flame burst out from the Mecha Dragon's exhaust pipes, generating more power that added to the acceleration. My hair flew backwards harshly as I lowered my body, almost hugging my mecha to reduce air resistance and prevent myself from flying off.
A smile crept onto my face as we arrived at the pole. I flicked back the switch, commanding the flame to subside. We gracefully circled the flagpole in victory, before landing beside it and watched the others compete for the position of runners up.
Mia's Mecha Peacock, like any other peacocks, was able to soar for only a short distance. She landed barely on shore at the same time when the others reached the other side of the river. They transformed back to beast mode and sprinted the last lap while I contemplated the race contently. Eli came in first, then Mia and Trixie.
Kord ended up firing an Arachnet at Pronto, which made him the last one to finish the race.
"This isn't fair! Kord used his Arachnet on me and Ales and Mia can flopping fly!" Pronto argued and huffed as we giggled at his defeat.
"It's okay Pronto, you'll win next time," Eli said, before his gaze turned to Mia and I. "And for the love of slugs what did I just witnessed."
"I thought we owned you, but not until I saw that mecha soar!" Kord exclaimed, scrutinizing my Mecha Dragon with a huge grin and twinkling stars in his eyes. "I can't believe my eyes! Never in my life have I ever encountered such a mode! With that skilful beast, you may even be able to beat Vance Volt in a Slugrun tournament!"
"Absolutely!" Trixie added with a sweet smile.
"Show off," Pronto huffed as he rolled his eyes at me.
"What a match," Mia commented, stretching her back with a smirk directed to Pronto. "I'm just glad that I'm not last."
Pronto shrieked, and laughed awkwardly. "Uh... Yes! You should be exceptionally honoured to have the ability to beat Pronto the Almighty in an unavailing mecha race!" he claimed as the rest of the gang laughed at his exceeding arrogance.
After our laughter subsided, Kord spoke up. "We should keep going. Never know when the old man will close," Kord suggested and Eli responded with a nod. "Where are we going?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Keeping another secret?"
"Well not really," Eli replied and smiled. "We're paying a visit to the one and only well-known blastersmith, Red Hook, to get some new blasters. I figured it may be quite unpromising to be carrying around a blaster from Blakk Industries in Slugterra."
I looked down at my stolen blaster, my eyes landed on the 'V' logo installed on it.
"And since you've already mastered Slugfu, the next step will be mastering double barrel, a fusion shot. I highly doubt that blasters from Blakk are good enough to handle the high energy level released during the process," Eli further explained, and I nodded in agreement.
"So what are we waiting for?" I questioned with excitement sparkling in my eyes. I exchanged a glance with everyone with a smile.
"Let's roll!" Eli called, and we followed his lead to Quiet Lawn Cavern.
...
Hii guys! As you can tell this chapter and the previous one is about introducing Alessia's mechabeast. In the next chapter, we will be moving on to her finally getting her own blaster!
Which blaster do you want to see our lovely Alessia own?
Author's note: can't wait to publish more :D