New chapter today cuz it's my birthday! Do me a favour and enjoy reading!
...

"Hey! Eli!" I yelled at him on my thrusting mecha as the Shane Gang rode towards our next destination, with Kord and Pronto at the very end, Trixie and Mia behind me, and Eli a few feet in front of me. "How did you know Phoenix is a girl!?" I asked him.

After Mia discovered that her mecha can transform into a motorcycle, we decided to ride in vehicle mode. With his helmet on, I reckoned it was hard for him to hear what I was saying as he turned back to me and shot me a confused look.

"What!?" he called back and frowned his brows.

"How can you tell if a slug is a boy or a girl!?" I voiced out, still riding my mecha at a comfortable pace.

"Whatttttt!?" he called back again, now with a curved palm pressed against the back of his ear. I sighed, and turned the throttles of my mecha to speed up, and rode right beside him.

"I SAID-" I was practically screaming at him but I quickly silenced myself when he giggled and revved his engine, increasing the volume of the mechanic noise. Giggles were heard from the rest of the gang. Discharging a glare at him, I raised my blaster and aimed at him with Phoenix loaded up in it. His eyes widened and he gasped, before he swerved away from me to his left.

"I was just kidding! I heard you!" he yelled as the rest of the gang laughed at him. Satisfied with his answer, I spun my blaster and holstered it back. "You actually thought I'll slug you!?" I questioned, smirking at him. "Please, tell me already! I'm dying to know!"

"Just like how you can tell if a human is a guy or a girl!" he answered as he continued to keep a safe distance from me. I looked down at the group of slugs that were hovering above my mecha's control panel, having conversations in their own language. Hero and Cobra were the first ones to catch me staring at the group as they looked up at me and chirped.

"I don't see it!" I exclaimed, looking back at Eli. Every slug looked exactly the same.

"You seriously want me to point it out for you?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at me and smirked. I bit my lips and rolled my eyes playfully at him.

"It's good knowledge," I replied, and smiled sarcastically at him. He let out a small laugh and shook his head. Out of the blue, Burpy hopped out from his backpack and perched on his shoulder. He smiled at me before his eyes landed on Phoenix on the control panel and he waved at her.

"Go ahead Burpy!" Eli, after noticing his top slug, encouraged him. Eli shortened the distance between us by riding closer to me and Burpy leaped to my mecha beast, landing right next to Phoenix.

"Now that a male and a female slug of the same species are right next to each other, it should be easier to tell them apart," Eli informed as I speculated the pair. They looked up at me and tilted their heads adorably. I narrowed my eyes as I scanned their bodies.

Finally, I spotted the difference in their visual reproductive parts.

"I see it now," I said as I turned to look at Eli with a proud grin. He laughed at me.

"This is such a stupid yet informative conversation," Eli commented and I shrugged. "What's so embarrassing about this?" I questioned, my eyes focused back on the road ahead. "Did your science teacher not teach you about the baby-making organs of the human body?"

He facepalmed and chuckled, saying nothing in return as we continued our journey to meet the blastermaker. On our way I managed to differentiate the males and females in my arsenal of slugs.

Strange, Funnel, Top, Taser, Mago, and my three new slugs from Tad are all females. After knowing their genders, I named my new Dirt Urchin, my Frightheist and my Gazzer, Spikey, Annabelle and Harley.

"Speaking of names," I mumbled to myself and glanced at my fresh Mecha Dragon with a small smile. "I haven't gave you one yet."

I caressed the beast on her neck as my mind tried to formulate a name. "How about Dalinda," I said, and smiled at my own suggestion. "The noble serpent."

My slugs chirped in agreement, nodding their little heads randomly. Their sweet smiles and cute gestures never fail to melt my heart.

"You guys are seriously the most adorable creature in the whole animal kingdom," I commented with a wide grin. "Those dog- and cat-lovers are missing out on so much!"

My slugs chuckled even louder, each wearing a bewitching smile. I heard a zoom from an engine, and seconds later Eli showed up beside me again.

"What did I missed?" he asked, glancing at the little army of pumped up slugs on my mecha.

"I just named her Dalinda," I updated him while petting my mecha's wing.

"Love the name," he commented and gave me an enchanting smile. My heart couldn't help but slipped a beat, but before I can return it, I heard another engine revving up, and another rider joined us.

"Eli!" Mia called out for him in a slightly high-pitched and girly voice as she adjusted her mecha so that she was riding right next to him on his other side. Eli and I both shifted our attention to her.

"What's up, Mia?" Eli asked, giving her a smile. "I need a name for my mecha!" she exclaimed, shooting Eli her best puppy eyes. "Could you suggest some names for me, please? I've always loved the names you gave your slugs and mecha!"

Mia's gaze landed on me and she gave me a secret little wink. Getting the hint, I let out an awkward laugh, making Eli turned to look at me curiously. I forced out a smile.

"Uh, I'll go ride with Trix!"

And with that, I withdrew myself from them and rode alongside Trixie. Eli and Mia were riding in front of me now, and I turned to greet Trixie. She just gave me a smirk while eyeing the pair.

"This morning there's breakfast in bed, then she offered to clean Lucky for him, and now this? Gosh, Mia is upping her game by so much," Trixie commented.

I let out a soft sigh, my eyes reluctantly looked at them. Mia's purple totally matched with Eli's blue, and their mechas were both white in colour. The pair of motorcyclists chatted during their rides, with heart-warming smiles and harmonious chuckles escaping their lips. They rode shoulder-to-shoulder romantically, and looked like they came out from a romantic movie, like they were meant for each other.

Was I jealous?

Yes, I flopping was.

Jealous because Blue and I couldn't have lovely, passionate moments like this together.

"Hey Ales," Trixie whispered just loud enough for the both of us to hear, and I turned towards her with a curious look. "If you don't mind me asking, are you sure Eli is just a... representation to you?"

"What are you trying to say?" I questioned her, titling my head to demonstrate my confusion. She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.

"Don't act like you have no idea what I'm talking about. What I meant was, the way you look at Eli and Mia when they are flirting, the way you blush when Eli is around you, the smile you return to his... Are you sure you're showing all these signs just because he reminds you of your long lost love?" Trixie questioned. "Or are you deep down falling for him?"

I laughed at her interrogation and shook my head. "One thing about me that you should have figured out by now is that I am an extremely loyal person," I said, giving off a smile.

"I stay loyal to my friends, to my slugs, to the gang..." I started as my gaze trailed and landed on the pair riding ahead of us. "... and to Blue."

"Fair enough," Trixie replied, pleased with my answer. "But just so you know, it is obvious when someone is in love. I have three years of experience. I can tell when someone has feelings for Eli."

"Well, with all due respect, I think you should consider reading up more on your interest," I giggled. "'Cause he may be a close friend of mine, but he is surely just a portrayal of him."

"We'll see," Trixie said as she let out a laugh, and the journey to Quiet Lawn Cavern was filled with the laughters and giggles of Eli and Mia, and with Pronto's occasional piercing yelps whenever Kord made his mecha beast fart.

We rode across caverns after caverns as I continue to contemplate on Trixie's statement, not noticing the transition of bioluminescent forest to rocky landscape taking place around us. Eli soon came to a halt and we imitated him.

"And once again! Pronto the magnificent has led the Shane Gang to Quiet Lawn Cavern!" Pronto exclaimed in the middle of the milling crowds of citizens on the road.

"Hey you, it's me! Pronto! Your mighty saviour! Remember me?" Pronto questioned loudly as he pointed at a full-grown man who was minding his own business on his mecha, and Pronto was shushed by the residents. Eli turned his mecha around, leading us the way to Red Hook's. Walking down the muddy, occupied road that cut straight through the peaceful cavern, my eyes explored the outlandish town.

In the center of the numerous mountains of golden yellow granite rocks was the residential area. Rows of old habitation lined up beside the road in a rather orderly arrangement, with chain-link fences separating each house. Attenuated street lights were installed along the road, with messy electrical wires hanging from one to another. The plantations here were beautiful, almost miraculous; they were emitting light rays of cyan, yellow and pink. A unique structure stood in the middle of the town. It was a road that concaved downwards. A flock of Grenuke slugs roosted upside-down below the huge erection, sleeping soundlessly.

As we walked past the busy road, a little girl was at the backseat of a mecha, her little arms hugging her mother's waist as her mother rode. I glanced at her as her mother's mecha approached and I gave her a warm smile. Her big warm eyes stared at me, and shock crossed her face when her eyes landed on the Shane's star on my bandoleer.

"Alessia!?" she exclaimed, eyes widened as she covered her mouth. It was as if time had stopped, everyone froze on their mechas and stared at us, some with wide grins and some with genuine shock. A group of men started to cheer as they recognized us, just to be shushed by the others. Despite being quiet, they still smiled at us. The Shane Gang, now being the center of attention, bowed slightly at the residents, before everyone resumed to do whatever they were doing.

"Seems like we really got famous," Mia said and turned her head towards me. "Especially Ales."

"This is not what I signed up for," I commented, and smirked. "But I'm not complaining."

I wore a warm smile as we continued our journey. After a few more turns and a few molenoid's pit stops, we finally reached Red Hook's.

We parked our mechas in front of an apartment, with similar bubble-like structure and overgrown grass on the roof. Dismounted from Dalinda, I followed the gang towards the entrance of the building. Eli knocked on the pitch-black door, and a very angry voice sounded from inside.

"I told you kids a trillion times already, now get lost!" an old, grumpy voice sounded. "Wow," I mumbled, surprised by the unexpected reproach. "He seems friendly."

"You should be nicer to the kids around here, Red Hook," Eli replied with a smirk on his face. "It's Eli by the way. Eli Shane."

The door burst opened, revealing a bald old man with a navy blue eye patch and an army green outerwear and... a red hook.

"Nice to see you again, Red Hook," Eli said as he reached out a hand to him to initiate a handshake. "It's been quite awhile."

The old man smiled and shook Eli's hand with his actual human hand instead of his hook. "Indeed, it has been a long time, and I truly wonder what brought you back to this infuriating town," he said as his expression turned serious. "The Hooligang's back?"

"Nope," Eli answered with conviction. "We're hear to trade for some blasters."

Red Hook nodded softly, and turned his attention towards the new members of the Shane Gang. "Never knew you have not one, but two new girlfriends," the manufacturer joked as the gang laughed but quickly silenced themselves with a hand over their mouth while Eli went speechless.

"I-"

"Come in, but keep in mind you're interrupting my tea break," Red Hook cut off Eli as he widened the door, making more room for us to enter. I smiled politely at him and bowed slightly, before I made my way into the lab.

The room was filled with several machinery and blueprints of different types of blasters. Kord squinted his eyes as he examined the different tools on the racks while Red Hook walked over behind the counter.

"Tell me what you want," he instructed, glaring unreasonably at Mia and I.

"Well, here are our slugs," I said as Mia's and my slugs assembled on the counter for him to examine them. "We just need blasters to shoot them."

"What's wrong with your blasters?" he questioned and pointed at the holstered blaster on my waist.

"I stole it from Blakk Industries," I replied and laughed awkwardly. "I guess a new upgraded blaster with a Shane star on it would be much better than this."

He shifted his attention to our slugs, and inspected them thoroughly with a magnifying glass.

I felt a presence approached me from behind before someone was standing right behind me.

"Don't worry about his attitude," Eli whispered into my ear. "He is like that to everyone. Don't take it in an offensive way."

I giggled and nodded at him just before Red Hook finished checking out the slugs.

"You got some powerful slugs," he said as he looked at me straight in the eye. "That blaster could've kill you if you've used it for another day or two."

"You surely are very knowledgeable in your field of study, sir," I complimented, giving him a small smile. He, on the other hand, huffed and rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah whatever," he hissed, before he crouched down to grab two blasters from underneath his table.

"These are my top, handmade blasters," he introduced, presenting the blasters on the counter. "When I heard the Shane Gang had recruited two new members, I've been expecting your arrival."

My eyes widened as he pulled out a Guardian Pro-Fire XT model and a BoonX2 Master model. Those were super high-powered and uncommon blasters.

"Guardian Pro-Fire XT, specially built for the Shanes," he introduced and wore a sad smile. "Your old man had the exact same model, until Doctor Blakk destroyed it."

I looked over at Eli at the mention of his lost father. He let out a soft sigh, but said nothing else after.

"BoonX2 Master," Red Hook continued his introduction as he held out the staff blaster. "Only two of these were ever made. The Unbeatable Master had the other one, but this one is more extreme as it can withstand more power."

No one said a word after that. There was a moment of silence as Red Hook brought up the two well-respected heroes of Slugterra. I looked over at the rest of the gang. The three were saddened, completely contradicting to their lively moods just minutes ago. Eli looked dreadful; his regretful eyes told us what he was feeling.

Eli's miserable blue eyes were just too hard to watch. But before I could reach out for him, Mia walked towards his side, and their shoulders nudged against each other's. I watched as she slowly intertwined her fingers with his, and gave him a heart-warming smile.

Eli widened his eyes at the contact, but made no effort to pull back.

"So," Red Hook started, completely ignoring their grief. "Take it or leave."

"Aren't there any other options?" I asked as I stepped forward. He growled at me and shot me a displeased look.

"You said that I'm knowledgeable in my field, and you still question my discernment?" he questioned, pointing a finger at me.

"No sir! Not at all! I was just wondering-"

"I said," he growled, ramming a fist onto the table. "Take it or leave it. You're interrupting my tea break!"

And seconds later, we found ourselves outside his apartment as he slammed the door shut at our faces.

"Well that went well," I commented, looking down at my new staff blaster. "I don't even know how to use one of these!"

"It's okay Ales," Eli said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "If you can master Slugfu in a month, I'm positive that you'll get used to this blaster in no time."

"Thanks," I thanked him, turning around to give him a smile.

"Eli!" Mia called out from him, ran towards him and slung her right arm around his left arm, jolting him.

"I'm hungry! Can we have dinner at Ricochet Pizza? You know how much I love pizzas!" she asked and pouted at him cutely. "Please?"

I can't help but to grimace. She was trying too hard to win him over.

"Pronto agrees!" Pronto said, dashing out from nowhere. "Pronto's magnificent belly is ready for a tremendous royal feast!"

"Uh... sure!" Eli said, as he uncomfortably pulled his arm out of Mia's embrace with an awkward smile. "Let's go to Ricochet! I'm starving too!"