Author's Note: hey ya'll this is the less shittier version of chapter 30. sorry it took so long, i had a fuckload of school work, family, friendship problems, and I just felt really bad that week, physically and mentally. i was sick until i nearly vomited after PE, and i fought with a toxic friend and broke off a long friendship. i have exams this week, so i don't think i can upload on monday, so chap 31 will be out the monday after next monday, in july. sorry guys. shoutout to CyanSparks for helping me make it through the weeks, its been hard
"So, let me get this straight." Lisa told them, standing in front of the bed as they all lay around the hotel room. The route they normally took to their house had been blocked by fallen trees and the other routes were long, winding through rocky and dangerous terrain. So they went to a nearby hotel, booking four rooms: one for Lisa and Nathan, one for Anthony and Questria, one for Shang and Raster, and one for Zuli. Anthony and Questria sat together on the office chair, Questria sitting on Anthony's lap, much to his delight. The Lumino Crystals had long since lost light, the Southern Caverns quiet and filled with peaceful serenity.
"The Shadow Clan bring the DA to the Northern Caverns, then you find out the Energy Elemental is sick and that Ataro has doomed the 99 Caverns." Lisa summarised, and Shang nodded from the floor, leaning on the couch in the hotel room, clad in a white shirt and sweatpants, his hair flowing downwards to his thighs. his eyes darted back at the cards he held up in his hand, a grin spreading across his face. He smirked victoriously as he slammed down five cards on the empty space between them.
"Get ready to pay up, bitches! Blackjack!" Shang exclaimed victoriously, and the rest looked over at the intense yet humorous game of Blackjack as Zuli and Raster leaned in towards him, looking at the five cards before they both groaned. once again finding themselves pushing the last of their coins towards his direction, joining the ever growing pile of coins and cash beside him.
"You rigged these cards, I know it!" Raster exclaimed furiously, and Shang scoffed as he placed the bills in his wallet, the coins in a small pouch.
"Hey, you shuffled them, buddy, and it's your cards." Shang reminded him with a winning smirk without looking at him, and Raster groaned, sitting back down glumly. Anthony and Questria scoffed: they knew better than to gamble with someone from the Eastern Caverns. In the Eastern Caverns, gambling was an unwritten tradition, family members playing games with money stacked up beside them.
"You're a real pussy, you know that?" Zuli grumbled, throwing her cards to the ground. Shang smirked at her as he coolly responded,
"Well, you are what you eat." Shang stated, and Anthony rolled his eyes at her team mates, Lisa letting out an irritated huff as Nathan facepalmed. Questria took in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly, trying to hold back from shouting at her team. Lately, she has been a bottle of emotions, her mind constsntly drifting back to her signature slug: a Boon Doc named Medi, a slug that's been with her longer than she could remember, that patched up her wounds, a slug that wiped away her tears when she cried, who followed her as she moved out of her parent's home and into the world. Medi was more than just a slug to her, she was everything to her. And the fact that she was sick and suffering, it killed her to see Medi like this.
"Well, when you're done, we got much more important matters on our hands." The three of them looked at each other guiltily, before they gathered the cards together. They quickly cleaned up the minuscule mess they made, the crumbs that littered the carpet, the strands of long, black hair on the floor. They settled in, Zuli sitting on the bed, Shang making himself comfortable on the couch, Raster's feet hanging off the table as he sat on it. Anthony and Questria waited for them to settle down, Questria casting an apologetic look to Lisa and Nathan as they stood in front of the bed. The three settled down, and Anthony continued,
"And the ingredients for the cure is supposedly scattered around the five sets of caverns, from North, South, East, West, and it must be made in the 99. We already got the Northern ingredient." Shang's mouth dropped open in protest as he stood up, prodding his finger at him as he exclaimed,
"We? I had to seduce a random security guard, you didn't do shit!"
"To be fair, you seduce a lot of people, you dirty hoe." Zuli chided as she sat on the couch next to Nathan, munching on a cave apple.
"It's not my fault all genders want me." Shang cockily replied with a smirk, and Questria groaned and Anthony facepalmed, Nathan rolling his eyes at Shang as Raster let out an exasperated sigh at his statement.
"Okay, we all support your bisexuality, Shang, and we're proud of you coming out of the closet. But can we get back to the topic? There are bigger issues at hand, no offence." Lisa asked, her tone implying her discomfort at the topic, and Shang immediately shut up, giving her an embarrassed look.
"None taken, Lisa. Sorry." He apologised, leaning back onto the couch. Nathan turned back to all of the Northern Protectors, asking,
"So, the next ingredient is here?" Nathan asked curiously, and Anthony adjusted himself, clearing his throat shyly, his cheeks flushing crimson red as Questria gave him a knowing, smirk, readjusting herself as well. He gave her a pleading look, and she rolled her eyes, traces of mischief in her eyes as she sat on the bed, Anthony suddenly self conscious on how he sat on the office chair.
"Yeah. Blood of the five heads for the five caverns, slithering through the South. Can any of you find a connection?" As soon as that sentence fell from her lips, chills ran down Nathan and Lisa's backs, their eyes widening as they immediately recognised the monster, and the temperature dropped in the room as Lisa and Nathan shivered at the haunting reminder. They quickly looked at each other fearfully, their eyes wide with shock. And once they looked at each other, they knew who they were thinking of, and what monster they spoke of. They both remembered the one time they tried to fight it, when it terrorised Salian Cavern. They remembered the time they heard their problem, two reckless teenagers, trying to be heroes. They remembered how they charged positively and optimistically into battle, how they bravely rode towards the beast. They remembered their foolish joy, as they led the charge.
And they remembered how they all died.
How they were snatched up in the hydra's vicious jaws, it's deadly sharp fangs glinting in the glow of the Lumino Crystals as they impaled through ever soldier, crushing their bones, their agonised screams echoing through the cavern. They remembered the soldiers' legs buckled underneath them as the monster's toxic breath entered their lungs, corroding it from within as they coughed up blood, their strangled cries of help still haunting their dreams. They remembered the corrosive, acidic, toxic blood that dripped from every wound before a new head grew, each drop enough to kill ten men.
They were the only survivors from that tragic battle, the effects of that trauma still haunting them to this day. From each memorial for their bravery, from the dreams that haunted them still, from the scars covered by countless others over the five years they have been slinging. They weren't going to let the Northern Protectors go through that, they could never let anyone go through that.
"No. We can't find one, sorry." Nathan lied between his teeth, avoiding eye contact as he fidgeted with his hands. Shang peered at him, his eyes darting from Nathan's fidgeting hands to his eyes, that stared at the floor, purposely avoiding eye contact. He leaned back, and exclaiming,
"You're a shit liar, Nathan. Come on, we know you got something, just admit it." The rest looked at them expectingly, wanting an answer, wanting the truth. Quetria leaned forward even more, her eyes desperate for answers, her body facing the both of them, ready to take in whatever they said. Nathan took in a shaky breath, looking upwards, trying to hold back his tears, and Shang instantly regretted opening his mouth, leaning back into the couch with guilt.
"It's too dangerous. You'll get killed." Lisa told them, and Questria shrugged nonchalantly, reminding the two as she looked at everyone else,
"Well, we are Defenders. Every situation we're in has a 90% certainty of death at this point." They all nodded, agreeing with her, and Nathan felt the anger building up in her, his blood boiling, bubbling, the anger building up within him as he looked at them, all smiling and daring to joke, daring to laugh when this monster killed people, when it took lives.
"Going after this thing is a dead end. You'll only get yourself killed." Lisa continued for her brother, but he barely registered it as it all came rushing back to him: Salian Cavern in shambles, buildings crushed under it's feet. People hacking and coughing as they inhaled it's toxic breath, it's heads making the atmosphere toxic and hazardous. People who leaned against the walls of crumbling buildings, the foolish hope still burning in their eyes as their veins turned purple, the poison from their venomous fangs turning their bodily fluids to acid, their blood solidifying in seconds.
"Lisa, Nathan, we need you to at least tell us what this is. All we need is a vial of it's blood. Slugterra depends on it, the Energy Elemental depends on it and I honestly don't see a reason why you won't at least tell us what this thing is." Questria insisted, standing up from the bed and storming towards the Windgate Siblings, anger building up in her body, her unfiltered rage barely checked in her intense gaze. Anthony quickly stood up, walking over to Questria worriedly.
"Questria, baby, I think you should-"
"Questria, this thing is even more dangerous than anything you've ever faced, we're not leading you guys to your deaths!" Nathan protested, interrupting Lisa before she spoke as he stepped forward, standing in front of her, looking down at her.
"You'll be leading everyone in Slugterra to their deaths if you don't tell us, Nathan!" She yelled back furiously, swatting a worried Anthony away from her.
"I'm not getting myself mixed up in that again, and I'm not getting you lot mixed up in it either!" He pointed at everyone in the room, his tone filled with anger and rage, filled with misery from all the pent up feelings he kept inside as he finally let the barriers shatter.
"Nathan-" Lisa started, but Questria interrupted,
"You seriously want to risk killing all of Slugterra because this thing is dangerous? News flash, we already knew it was going to be! We already knew our damn lives were gonna be dangerous once we signed up for this!" Questria reminded him coldly.
"IF YOU DON'T FUCKING SUCK IT UP AND TELL US WHAT THIS THING IS, SLUGTERRA COULD DIE!!" Questria scolded.
"I SAW THIS THING MASSACRE AN ENTIRE CAVERN, YOU ALL DON'T STAND A FUCKING CHANCE!" Lisa screamed, and the room fell silent as her words rang in the tense air. The two of them glared at each other, both of their eyes filled with tears. Anthony quickly pulled Questria away from Nathan, holding her close to him protectively as Lisa pulled Nathan closer to her, but the damage was already done. Their words rang in the air, barriers built with their words. And Anthony sensed it, looking at everyone in the room. He took in a deep breath, before exhaling from his lips, telling the rest,
"It's pretty late. We all should get some sleep, we've had a long day. Shang, Zuli, Raster, we'll see you here by 11 in the morning to discuss our next move." Anthony swiftly told Shang, Zuli and Raster, his arms wrapped protectively around Questria, who tried to hide the tears from streaming down her cheeks. He turned to Nathan and Lisa, adding,
"Lisa, Nathan, feel free to come. But we understand if you don't." Anthony turned to everyone as they stood up from their seats, walking to the door.
"Good night, everyone." Anthony greeted, and was met with faint murmurs of 'good night' before the door closed quietly behind the last person. Anthony worriedly looked at Questria, who avoided his gaze, wiping away her rapidly falling tears with her shaky hands. His heart ached to see her so distraught, to see her red, puffy eyes, to hear her stifled sobs at night, to have to wipe away the tears that fell from her eyes. His eyes
Anthony said nothing, all the words were already in the air, everything they needed to say already said by her body shaking with her sobs, her sniffles and cries. Anthony pulled Questria closer to him, letting her cry in his chest, holding her broken pieces together as she cried out all the emotions she had been feeling for the past few weeks. He let her cry until she had no more tears left to cry, he held her close, stroking her back gently, whispering promises he intended to fulfil, whispering words of comfort until her sobs died down, until all she did was stay in his embrace.
And as they went to sleep that night, his heart shattered as his mind flashed back to the tears that fell down Questria's cheeks. He wanted to help her, to ease her pain, anything to make her feel at least a bit better. But he knew it wouldn't last, that all she wanted was to see her best friend, Medi, alright and okay again. And all he ever wanted was to make her happy.
No matter what it did to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, this is where this thing lives." Shang stated as the Lumino Crystals started to regain their glow from the night before. They had been riding all night, sleeping in shifts on autopilot as they rode towards the cave, referring to the map and the GPS system installed in their mecha beasts. Lisa and Nathan didn't come the day before, so they just assumed they weren't coming, shrugging it off and doing their own research. They had found out that the monster they were talking about was a hydra, the most dangerous monster in the Southern Caverns, with five original heads. No one has ever fought against it and lived, except the Windgate Siblings, who barely escaped with their lives. He saw why they never wanted to fight the beast again, but he would have appreciated a proper reason from the both of them. As the Northern Protectors arrived at the entrance of a cave, Anthony frowned as they stopped in front of it, Anthony dismounting his mecha beasts.
"Questria, Shang, wait at the right. Zuli, Raster, wait at the left. I trust you all know the signal." He told them, and they nodded, quickly riding towards their designated spots. As they did, Anthony looked into the dark, intimidating cave, it's entrance towering above him, the glimmer of the moist stalagmites decorating the ceiling. He took a step forward, but he stopped once he heard a distinct crack underneath his foot. He looked downwards, yelping in surprise as he jumped away frighteningly, his eyes fixated on what looked like the broken spine of a human who died a long time ago. Anthony shuddered at the thought, suddenly glad for his chest piece.
"Fuck, are those human skeletons?" Raster asked frighteningly through the earpiece, interrupting Anthony's thoughts. Anthony grimaced as he looked around, a shiver running up his arms when he saw all the skeletons scattered around the whole cave.
"Skeletons of sea sapiens, humans, cave trolls. Many tried killing this thing. None came out alive." Questria informed him truthfully, having done more research on the monster than any one of them, as always.
"That's encouraging." Shang mumbled fesrfully as he loaded his slugs into his blasters, a Thresher named Chainsaw and a Lavalynx named Volcano.
"Are we all in position?" Anthony asked, as he held up his gauntlet blaster, letting his signature slug, Bonfire, jump inside. Bonfire seemed scared as he hopped into his gauntlet, and Anthony could see why. Once he took a better look into the cave, he saw necks twisted into one another, overlapping like a huge mess, rising and falling slowly. One head faced the entrance of the cave, and Anthony shuddered as he saw it's gleaming fangs, dripping in poisonous mucus.
"Yeah." Shang responded firmly.
"I wish we weren't." Zuli stated fearfully, and Anthony secretly agreed, aiming Bonfire at the cave, ready to fire.
"Well, we only need to get the blood and don't die. We all know the plan, so good luck." Anthony told the rest, trying to be a source of reassurance. He peered inside the cave, shivers going down his spine as he saw the hideous beast in it's cave, it's necks tangled up in each other. He gulped, wringing out his hands when he realized they were shaking. Bonfire chirped to him for reassurance, and he let out a few deep breaths.
And he shot Bonfire into the air.
He'll forever remain in awe of Bonfire's majestic velocimorph form, a perfect blend of the grace of a sophisticated phoenix and the fury of a mighty dragon as he let out a blast of flames through the air. Sunset oranges and fiery red trails of fire coated his spread out wings, trailing behind him. His sublime form descended to the ground, before he flew inside, lining a path of fire from Anthony to the cave. The tongues of fire stretched towards the cavern ceiling, dancing with the ever so slight breeze. He flew inside the dark cave without hesitation, forming rings of fire around the monster, fireballs shot at the monster.
The beast's mighty roar sent chills down his spine, the roar shaking the entire cavern. He could feel the tremors in the ground as it awoke, the hand spurring to life in the distance. Bonfire quickly flew out, landing on Anthony's shoulder.
And what followed was the most terrifying thing they had ever seen.
It had much more than five heads, it's ash grey scales stained with the blood of it's every victim, small arrows and swords sticking out of it. Pure white fangs glimmered in the light menancingly, their eyes lifeless, filled with unfiltered rage. Each claw was stained blood red, the remains of soldiers crushed under it's feet. It easily towered over the firewalls, it's many heads all looking around furiously for the thing that interrupted it's sleep.
"What the heck is that?!" Shang asked, and Anthony grimaced, his skin going pale as all of the eyes focused on him.
"That, my friend..." Questria started, and Anthony finished.
"Is a hydra." It screeched ferociously at it charged towards Anthony. He quickly ran towards his mecha beast, the monster snapping at his heels. He mounted his mecha beast, riding away to the open space as it chased after him.
"NOW!" Anthony yelled, and the four at the sides quickly fired Threshers and their Lavalynx slugs, cauterizing three of the seemingly infinite heads, two more heads growing before the fourth wound was cauterized. Anthony swore under his breath as he looked at the seemingly insignificant damage they made.
"Shit, we can't keep in doing this, we'll run out of slugs!" Anthony exclaimed, his hand to the speaker as he turned around. But before he could tell them anything else, he heard a battle cry. He groaned as he saw Raster flying towards the monster, chopping off the heads and burning them one by one, Shang following behind, weaving through the heads and necks. Anthiny growled angrily, riding back towards them.
"You idiots, what the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Anthony scolded as the three of them rode towards the hydra. It let out another roat as another head fell to the ground, the wound quickly cauterized.
"What else do you have in mind?!" Raster asked in reply as another head fell to the ground, dead.
"Ugh, just don't kill it, we need it's blood!" Questria exclaimed as she quickly assessed the situation, trying to make a plan, bowing her head slightly as her fingers tapped on her chin. Anthony saw an Armashelt being knocked off course, and he quickly entered the Shadow Realm, time slowing as he rode towards Questria, getting out of the Shadow Realm before he took the Armashelt for Questria, absorbing the kinetic energy.
"Guys, there's too many heads to take down, I estimate like, at least a hundred and sixty heads here!" Shang exclaimed from his earpiece, but was met with no reply as Questria's head snapped upwards, her eyes lighting up as something came to her mind.
"Guys, I have an idea." She told them as she rode further away, Anthony folowing closely.
"Shang, Raster, get outta there. I got a plan, and if you're not out of there you'll be burnt alive." Questria quickly told them before turning to Anthony. But the monster let out another mighty roar as a Lavalynx melted it's scales, Anthony feeling a familiar surge of energy as a Tazerling and a Dirt Urchin fused together perfectly, spikes stabbing into the body. Questria shot a Slicksilver, who snatched Shang away by attracting his armour, an Arachnet whisking Raster away as the monster screamed in agony, being electricuted.
"Sorry we're late to the party." Lisa apologized, her voice crackling through the speakers. Anthony smiled, glad to have the extra help, but Zuli scowled.
"Well, look who decided to suck it up and actually help us." Zuli sarcastically snapped, loading her blaster.
"Hey, at least we came!" Nathan protested.
"Enough banter. Lisa, Nathan, come over to the side. Anthony, follow me." Questria ordered, and everyone obeyed her, Anthony grabbing her hand and bringing her into the Shadow Realm, swiftly riding towards the front of the monster, Lisa and Nathan riding to the side of it. Anthony brought them out, and they started to ride away.
"What do you have planned, Questria?" Shang asked her as they rode after the beast, trying to slow it down. Questria replied,
"We need to flip it onto it's back. Shang, use a Forgesmelter to cut off half of it's heads. I'll use a fusion to bring it upwards. Anthony will punch it onto it's back, and you guys pin it down while I get the blood. And then we get the hell out of here." She told everyone, and they agreed. Questria turned to Anthony, bringing out a Rammstone named Bullseye.
"Can I borrow Bonfire?" She asked, and Bonfire willing hopped onto her shoulder, giving her an eager smile.
"Go get some kinetic energy, you'll need it." Questria commanded, and Anthony nodded, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Stay safe, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."
"I'll be fine, love, I promise." Questria reassured, before she quickly leaned towards him, giving him a peck on the lips that caught him by surprise. He blushed furiously as she grinned mischeviously as she pickpocketed his Rammstone from his bandoleer, loading him in her blaster.
"Now go!" She told him, shooting his Rammstone at him. He let himself get hit, the kinetic energy building up. He braced himself as he saw a few more Rammstones coming at him, his skin starting to go red as his body ached from all the punches, but he never felt more powerful. Questria looked backwards at everyone, Lisa and Nathan chopping off the heads one by one, Zuli trying to slow it down as Raster stabbed through it. Anytime now, she thought to herself, as the monster neared her. She stopped in her tracks, waiting patiently as she loaded her Rammstone and Bonfire in her twin blasters. Anthony kept on riding, knowing exactly what to do. It approached closer and closer, and she grinned as she saw everything falling into place.
"SHANG, NOW!" She screamed, and grinned as a blade of lava sliced through most of the heads, cauterizing the wounds. She cringed as the monster let out a scream, but she quickly rode under it, firing Bullseye and Bonfire at it's belly, the added firepower causing Bullseye to launch the monster up in the air. Questria watched as Anthony soared through the sky, his mechanical wings spread out, causing him to fly towards the monster. He punched the monster, the kinetic energy rippling through the monster, sending it crashing to the ground. The rest quickly fired Geoshards and Arachnets, Frostcrawlers to keep it pinned to the ground, from Jellyish slugs to Sand Anglers, the monster thrashed as it tried to get up. Questria arrived at the side of the hydra, quickly slicing through the hydra's side, flinching as it roared in agony. She held her breath, quickly putting protective gloves over her hands, her hands shaking as she let the blood drip into a vial.
"Questria, hurry, it's gonna break free!" Nathan urgently rushed as it struggled and shook nearly knocking Questria down. She stumbled to the side, before she caught her balance and pressed into the wound more. She filled the vial before she quickly screwed it shut, sighing in relief as she held it tightly in her hands.
"I got it, let's go!!" Questria yelled, and the rest quickly abandoned the beast, leaping off it's body and towards the ground as they ran away from it.
But it only bought them a few seconds.
The monster roared as it rolled to it's side, going back on it's feet, charging towards us. Anthony disappeared and rematerialized all over the place, teleporting everyone to their mecha beasts as they ran. Questria's heart pounded in her chest as the monster's few heads snapped at her heels, it's biting at air as she ran faster and faster. She felt it's breath at the back of her tiring legs, her thighs burning from exhaustion as she kept on running, her mecha beast only a few feet away. She heard shouting in front of her, an Arachnet pulling her towards Zuli as the hydra let out one final screech, collapsing as it's final, immortal head lay on the ground, flopping around. Raster landed back on the ground, his blades stained with blood as Bonfire landed on his head. Anthony's wings folded back into his chest piece as he landed, and he ran towards Questria, enveloping her into a tight hug.
"Are you okay, are you hurt? God, that thing nearly got you!" Anthony exclaimed as he quickly looked around her body, looking for any injuries.
"No, I'm fine, just the regular bruises and cuts." Questria reassured with a smile, and the wave of a hand.
"Thank god." He sighed in relief, but before he could say anymore, all of our earpieces crackled, and a familiar voice rang through the earpiece.
"Anthony, dude, we need your help, like, now!" A scared voice pleaded through the speaker, and Anthony asked concernedly,
"Hey, calm down, breathe. What's wrong, Cyan?" They heard Cyan take in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Her voice was more steady, slightly more calm as she told him,
"It's Leo, apparently he isn't dead and he has Shadow Clan powers and he's unconscious and not waking up, and we don't know what to do." Everyone gasped, looking at each other in shock as they processed the information. Nevertheless, Anthony swiftly replied,
"We're on our way, hang in there, kid." Anthony reassured as he mounted his mecha beast, the rest doing the same quickly. They rode closer towards him, ready to enter the Shadow Realm. Anthony looked back at the Windgate Siblings, his eyebrow raised in question.
"Lisa, Nathan, you coming?" Anthony asked, and they both looked at each other, giving each other a nod for confirmation, before turning to the Northern Protectors.
"Yeah, let's go!" They exclaimed, quickly riding towards them, expecting them to move. But instead, Shang grabbed Lisa's arm as Zuli reached for Nathan's hand, holding it as they were swiftly engulfed in shadows. Their visions went pitch black before they opened their eyes to their surroundings tinted neon green, time not seeming to move.
"Defenders, get ready, we're moving soon!" Anthony ordered, and the rest started up their mecha beasts, Anthony dismounting his mecha beast, taking off his right gauntlet and glove. He closed his eyes as he placed his hand on the floor, trying to find the Southern Portal to the 99 Caverns.
"Where are we?" Nathan asked, and Zuli replied, summarizing it all up,
"Shadow Realm, it's how the Shadow Clan teleport. We're still in the Southern Caverns, just that we're also in this realm and time is much slower and everything is green." Anthony scowled, getting up as he placed his glove and his gauntlet back on. He turned to the rest, admitting,
"There's too little energy in the caverns, I can't find the portal. Lisa, do you know where the portal location is?" Lisa looked upwards, recalling where it was, before it came to her.
"Closeby, this is considered the end of the Southern Caverns." She told him, and he nodded.
"Good. Lead the way." He told her, and she nodded, riding towards the direction of the portal location, riding through the plain desert that the hydra dwelled in, the Defenders following closely behind her. It didn't take long for her to arrive at the portal location, for it wasn't far, and even though Zuli said nothing had changed, Lisa felt as if the paths were shorter and easier to ride on, as if the paths were made to her convenience. They arrived at the wall, and Zuli held out her hand to Lisa, who took it as she held Nathan's hand, being engulfed in chilling, dark shadows before their eyes snapped open. The world was back to normal when they opened their eyes, the neon green tint gone, time moving normally once again. Anthony stepped in front of the wall, taking in a deep breath as he took off his chest piece and gauntlets, ready to do the ritual. Zuli and Raster's signature slugs, a Slicksilver named Ferro and an Armashelt named Buster hopping onto Anthony's hands. Anthony turned around to face them, as the Northern Protectors took a step back. Anthony looked around, noticing the tense stares he got from the Defenders, before he cracked a smile.
"Well, let's just pray I don't die."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Fuck." Maie swore quietly under her breath as a few sparks shot out from her hand. Various metal parts lay scattered around the table and the floor, the lower half of her steel arm on the table. The panels and metal plates were wide open, the wires and the circuits along with the machinery for her gauntlet blaster all hidden under metal plates. The arm was linked to a microchip embedded in her brain and DNA, causing her to be the only one with full control over it, and for the chip to be inactive if it was ever removed from her brain. But she had held up a five tonne part of the ceiling with her metal arm as she tried to save a family of four, but she couldn't activate her blaster for the rest of the fight. She sat in a quiet bedroom, Leo lying unconscious in the bed, under a thick blanket, his blaster and bandoleer on a nearby chair. A round table stood at the side of the room, where Maie worked.
"We don't even have prosthetics like that in the Northern Caverns, you're really quite the inventor." Shang complimented nervously, sitting opposite her, fumbling with a small screw, his heart pounding in his chest, a knot forming in his chest as he looked at her work. Shang wore his heart on his sleeve, falling in and out of love constantly, but whenever he thought of Maie, the corners of his lips would curl upwards, his mind filled with her. The boys and girls he slept with, they left his mind after a month, their names and faces fading from his memory. But Maie's didn't. And he knew it wasn't because of her prosthetic arm, he almost forgot she has a prosthetic in the first place.
"Thanks, Shang. Means a lot, really." Maie muttered absentmindedly, her main concentration on fixing her lower arm. Shang took a seat down opposite her, but she didn't acknowledge his existence, carrying on with fixing the lower half of her metal arm.
"I mean, our prosthetics suck compared to yours. They only can do the everyday stuff, like eating, holding stuff, writing, typing, all that jazz." Shang tried to make conversation, his normally charismatic and confident attitude vanishing in her presence, from the fierce determination in her eyes that set his heart aflame, to the passion and love she put into making her machines. For three years, she would constantly pop up in his mind, and he never knew why.
"Mhmm, okay. Pass me the yellow bundle of wires on the floor there, would you?" Maie asked him, and Shang nearly fell down from his chair, quickly grabbing the bundle of wires, and handing them to her. She took them and placed them beside her soundlessly, her concentration solely on fixing her arm. She took out another small screwdriver from the scrambled mess, unscrewing another screw before she placed it down, reconnecting the wires. She grinned as she reconnected the wires, closing the panel and fixing it back together before attaching and locking the lower half of her arm to the rest of her arm by the joint. She moved her arm, flexing her fingers, before an admiral blue shell built itself in front of the bottom, a blaster mechanism building on the underside of her arm, the whole thing glowing arctic blue underneath the admiral blue shell.
"Wow, that's amazing." Shang gasped in awe of the machine, and Maie looked at it, beaming with pride.
"Yup, it's a real beauty. Still my best invention to date." She told him, her gauntlet blaster folding back into the arm as she held it up, admiring it. She smiled wistfully as she remembered the tears of joy she wept when she found out that her prosthetic arm and the chip she made with it were both approved to be surgerically put onto her. She remembered the blood, sweat and tears that went into this arm, she remembered the memories made and the milestones reached.
"Though, I didn't make it completely by myself." She told him, a smiled coming to her face as she looked at the small Shadow Clan symbol on her thumb, marking her contribution. She remembered the two of them sitting in her room, running on coffee and sheer will as parts and blueprints were spread out all over the floor. She remembered the two of them laughing at Kord and Grendel's reactions when they saw the arm come to life, when the two of them first activated the gauntlet. She remembered laughing with someone she considered to be her best friend.
"Who made it with you?" Shang asked curiously, and the smile faded from her face as she remembered the duel, as she remembered receiving the news. She remembered hugging a crying Junjie after the fight, trying to comfort him as tears streamed down her own face. She remembered visiting Grendel after the funeral, finding him sitting in her old room, looking at something she made for him: a holographic photobook of their best memories. Her fascinated expression as she observed the making of the mecha beasts, innocence and amusement radiating from her as she helped Grendel balance on ice skates, their laughter still ringing in her mind like it was yesterday.
"Alana, where's Alana, where is..." Maie's head snapped upward, and she quickly turned towards the bed, seeing Leo swaying on his feet, his eyes half open. Maie jumped over the metal parts on the floor, catching Leo before he fell forward, his limbs aching.
"Leo, you need to rest, okay?" Maie kindly told him, guiding his exhausted body back towards the bed, noticing how he forced his eyes open, how his legs wobbled and shook with every step.
"She got stabbed, she needs to be okay, Alana, Alana needs to be okay-" He mumbled frantically as he tried to fight against her. Maie easily resisted, not even feeling his weak punches.
"If we call her in, will you rest? She'll stay with you." Maie asked as she sat him down,
"Let me see her, let me see Alana...why isn't she here..." Leo asked, looking around for the woman he loved, his slow and sluggish mind not being able to process things correctly.
"Yeah, yeah, she's here, don't worry." Maie reassured once again, smiling. She turned to Shang.
"Shang, go get Alana." She ordered, and he nodded, already heading towards the door.
"On it." He told her before he opened the door, closing it behind him. He looked out at the living room, grimacing to see, Trixie, Tiffy and Lisa gathered around a hologram, carefully studying the plans for Ataro's base. Nathan, Johnny and Blue talked about the Southern Caverns together, waiting anxiously for Leo and Anthony to be up and about. Cyan and Zuli tried to find potiental locations for Ataro's base. Kord and Raster discussed mechanics, specifically their mecha beasts. Brodie lay asleep in the hammock, her exhausted self worn out from evacuating the citizens and defending the gang as they took Leo after he let out that energy blast, the energy saving Alana's life, filling her with energy and enough power to heal half of the ghouled humans effortlessly with a snap of her fingers, causing a distraction as the rest headed back to the Defensores Antris' house, or so he had been told.
He knocked on Cyan's room's door, opening it quietly, quickly closing it behind him. Alana sat at Anthony's bedside, a soothing, arctic blue light appearing from underneath her hand which was spread out on Anthony's chest, two slugs perched on her shoulders: Ash, the Infurnus of the Western Caverns, and Orbis, Leo's signature slug. Questria held his hand, her face filled with worry, and for good reason. Opening portals drained Anthony of his energy a lot, endangering his life. He sighed in relief to see some colour back into his expression as he lay on her bed, unconscious, weakened greatly. Under Questria's thin fingers, he saw the Shadow Clan symbol on his hand glowing ever so faintly. Alana, on the other hand, looked better than ever, perfectly healthy, powerful as she healed Anthony.
"How is he?" Shang asked concernedly as he approached the three of them. Anthony had fainted after he closed the portal, his energy completely drained after he closed the portal. They had quickly taken them to the Defensores Antris's house, tracking Cyan's earpiece, hoping it brought them there, and it did.
"He's gonna be okay, but I've never seen anyone this drained. He barely had a pulse." Alana worriedly told him, but Shang nodded grimly, responding,
"That's what opening portals does to you, I guess. Thank god he's alive though, he owes me some chicken strips." Shang joked.
"Fuck your chicken strips." Anthony muttered tiredly, and Shang shook his head, chuckling as he ruffled Anthony's disarray hair, pleasantly surprised that he was actually conscious. Alana must have done a really good job, he thought to himself, if Anthony was already half awake.
"I'm glad you're alive, you dipshit." Shang chuckled, before he turned to Alana, telling her,
"Alana, Leo's up. He's looking for you."
"He is?!" Alana exclaimed, the light dimming underneath her palm as she lost concentration. Orbis and Ash looked up, Orbis jumping up and down excitedly. She realised she had stopped and quickly resumed healing Anthony, but he shifted slightly, turning his head towards her.
"Go see him, Alana." Anthony croaked, his voice dry.
"Are you sure?" Alana asked concernedly, and Anthony reassured,
"Yeah, totally. I'm just a bit drained, don't worry about it." He gave her a smile.
"A bit? Dude, you couldn't even move." Alana reminded, and he reassured,
"Just go, you've done more than enough. I'll just take a nap."
"Thanks, guys." Alana finally thanked, the glow from her hand fading entirely as she took it off Anthony's chest.
"No problem. Go see him." Questria told Alana kindly, and she gave her an nod before she walked out, closing the door behind her, her hope growing in her chest as she ran excitedly to the guest room, swinging it open. A weight was lifted off her chest as she saw Leo tiredly bickering with Maie as she picked up her tools and gear from the floor, before his eyes lay on Alana, widening.
"Alana!!" He exclaimed, leaping up from the bed, stumbling towards her.
"Leo, oh my god." Alana breathed, tears of joy springing to her eyes as they collided, wrapping each other in a loving, tight hug, tears of joy springing to his eyes.
"I thought you were dead!" Alana cried, nearly collapsing from relief, a week filled with chaos and grief
"I thought you were dead!" Leo responded back, returning her hug, feeling safe in her arms as they both let out a small chuckle. orbis chirped excitedly onto Leo's shoulder, and Leo held his slug close to his chest, a smile spreading along his lips.
"Hey, Orbis, I missed you too." He smiled as Orbis gave him a hug. Ash chirped naggingly at Orbis, and Prbis looked back up at Leo, chirping a sheepish apology as Ash and Orbis left Alana and Leo alone. Alana and Leo chuckled as the slugs hopped out, and Alana looked over at Leo, her smile fading almost immediately.
"Leo, oh my god, you look terrible, you need to rest." Alana gasped, looking at her boyfriend. He was ghastly pale, dark bags under his azure blue eyes, his eyes looked tired and glassy, like he wasn't focusing on anything. But nevertheless, Leo still kept his cheery demeanour.
"I did just come back from the dead, Alana, I think I look good for someone who was a corpse." Leo joked, but she felt my heart sink to her stomach as the joke rang in the air, the memories plaguing her mind. She tried to focus on the present, desperately grabbing at the present as her mind sank deeper and deeper into the hollowing sadness and numbing agony she felt when she thought he was dead. She once again felt the same misery she felt everyday ever since his heart stopped, a rage that ripped her apart, a sadness that took every single broken piece of her and shattered them to millions of pieces. She once again felt the despair that left her empty inside. Leo gasped as he realized what was wrong with his joke, quickly apologizing,
"Oh god, I didn't even think about how fucked up that joke was, I'm so sorry-" Alana interrupted him with a finger to his lips, sitting down on his bed. Leo sat beside her, leaning forward, ready to listen to her every single word.
"It's...don't do it ever again, okay? We all thought you were actually dead, for good this time." Alana told him, trying to hold back her tears. It
"I won't joke about it anymore, promise, baby." Leo promised, the guilt weighing down on his shoulders as
"Thank you." Alana sniffed, and Leo wrapped an arm around her, worried for her, pushing away the seemingly endless amount of questions that popped up in his mind as he sat down beside her.
"But seriously, I thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead. You were seizuring, you were foaming at the mouth, your heart stopped. We had a funeral and everything, with speeches and flowers and a coffin and this grief that ate at me from the inside, it felt so-" She stopped herself before her voice broke.
"It felt...horrible." She let out, wiping a tear from her eyes. Leo's heart ached as he sawnthe swift movement, her nose reddening slightly.
"I'm so sorry, baby, I'm so so sorry, I'll never leave you again, I swear to you." Leo promised, bringing her closer for a hug, but instead, he was met with her lips, and he gladly kissed her back. Their eyes fell shut, their lips moved perfectly against each other as the world around them melted, vanishing until it was just the two of them. They parted,
"Sorry, I just-" Alana started, but Leo interrupted her with his lips, sparks erupting between the two lovers as they fit perfectly into each other, like fate had destined them to lose and find each other again and again, and it did. No matter how much they lost each other, no matter what came in between these two lovers, they always found their way back to each other, no barrier able to hold back a love as strong as theirs.
"Find my co-ordinates, we have Junjie, we have Martin. Save Our Souls." A distorted voice boomed through the speakers, interrupting the two of them. They parted, their eyes now wide with fear as they got up, Leo grabbing his blaster as they appeared outside. Ash and Orbis hopped onto their owner's shoulders, just as confused as they were. Everyone had halted what they were doing as the broadcast played, carefully listening to the message from the unknown person.
"Dolls Anger Nearby Ground Enough Road Out Under Sector, Heal Enough Lucky Poll." He nearly yelled frantically, his voice terrified despite the distirter shielding his identity. Trixie and Cyan were scrambling for recorders, Maie scribbling down notes as she heard carefully. Dangerous, help, the message read.
"Anger Train Anger Road Out Ball Anger Sector Enough." He swiftly finished off, his voice cracking, Leo immediately deciphering the message. A shudder crept down his spine when he realized what it said: Ataro Base. This message could lead them to Ataro's base, all they needed to do is track the radio signal.
"Help us. Please." He begged, the distorter breaking for a second. And as it did, Leo thought he recognized a voice, but before he could listen to more, a chilling beep echoed through the house. Leo snapped out of it and ran downstairs, Alana following closely behind as the Defenders burst to life, writing down what they heard, deciphering the message, frantically typing away at the computer, tracking the signal.
"That was Twist!" Leo exclaimed to the rest as he ran over towards Trixie, who had tracked the symbol.
"Isn't Twist the blond fuck with a lot of issues? Isn't he in the Deep Caverns?" Shang asked as he stepped out of the room, his arm wrapped around Anthony as he supported Anthony, ready to catch him if his legs gave way. Lisa ignored him, asking Leo,
"Leo, are you sure it's him?" He nodded knowingly, his mouth dry as his voice was grim.
"I'm sure. I fought Twist the day the Masked Damsel slit my throat, he's definitely still around." He told the rest, and Kord's eyes widened, before he asked Leo,
"I thought he was killed after what he helped get us out of the Deep Caverns!" Raster quickly stepped in the middle of Leo and Kord, waving his arms around as he looked upwards at Kord and Leo.
"Hold on, what? Your throat got slit? You went to the Deep Caverns?!" He exclaimed, and Leo looked at every Defender from the 99 Caverns, slightly confused.
"Guys, you didn't update them?" He asked the other Defenders most accusingly, but he was interrupted by Trixie leaning backwards on the laptop, fistpumping in victory.
"Found the location, base is at Slag Rock Cavern." Trixie gladly told the rest, and Maie bent down to look at the screen.
"That cavern's huge, can you narrow it down?" Maie asked, and Trixie leaned forward again, stretching her fingers.
"Just a second, it has some firewalls I need to hack through." She told her, quickly typing away, before she found the location, but when she found it, her smile disappeared, vanishing from her face as she came to a realization.
"It leads me to the exact center of the cavern." Trixie told everyone, her voice filled with dread.
"And the building in the center is the main headquarters for-"
"Blakk Industries." Leo muttered in realization, his eyes wide, before his face contorted to one of rage.
"Taddius Blakk worked for him the whole time." Leo growled. And little did they know that a figure was watching them that night. That a familiar face watched the Defenders argue and bicker, a smile on his facr as he saw the Defenders falling apart. Ataro the Almighty would be happy to hear this, happy to see the Defenders straying from their purpose, another obstacle cleared for them. His emerald green eyes glinted with excitement as he left the window of the house, mounting his mecha beast, sneaking off into the night.
"Dark Heart, what's their status?" Ataro asked him, and Taddius smiled wickedly as he approached the base.
"Torn apart, Ataro Almighty." He reassured evilly, almost excitedly as he relished in his thoughts, what he would do to the Defenders, what he would do to hear their screams of fear, their hopeless cries. He grinned malevolently, his crazed mind enjoying the thoughts of their blood on his hands.
"Very good. With the information you have gathered, do you think we shall proceed with Phase Three?" Ataro asked, and Taddius paused. He stopped his mecha beast, looking back one last time at the house. He smiled as he told Ataro,
"I see cracks in the clay that holds them together, I see the glass seconds from shattering. All they need to break, my lord..." Taddius Blakk trailed off, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"Is a little push over the edge."