"You feeling better?" I whispered, my eyes barely able to look into Phoenix's room. She was still in her bed, with her daughter in her arms. Burpy never left her side, and the other slugs decided to squeeze another bed into the room for him, but I never saw him use it to rest.

Phoenix looked up at me and chirped, and shot me an assuring smile.

"We have some new friends today," I said as I held up the five new slugs on my palm. They hopped off and went towards the door to greet Burpy and Phoenix.

"This is Nade the Grenuke, Ash the Lavalynx, Twin the Polero, Bondi the Sand Angler, and Ivy the Vinedrill," I introduced the new slugs and softly poked their heads when I mentioned their names.

"This is Burpy and Phoenix," I said as I looked at Phoenix with a smile. "And their beautiful baby girl, Aurora."

Burpy and Phoenix greeted them and they welcomed the new slugs into the room. They spent some time with the newborn baby and got to know their leaders. After that, the five newbies wandered off and hangout with the rest of the slugs of the other slingers living in the Shane hideout.

I reached out to Phoenix with a finger through the tiny door and caressed her cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, Phoenix," I smiled at her. "You too Burpy. Thank you so much for taking good care of her."

He smiled at me and chuckled adorably. I gave him a pet on the head, before I retrieved my finger. It was time to give them their space and time, so I headed back to my room. I opened the door and walked in. Eli was already asleep on the bed.

I got in bed beside him and tried to go to sleep. The words he said earlier when we were heading back to the hideout replayed in my head. I sighed as I clenched onto my necklace under my shirt.

Maybe it's time to find out how to go back home. I wonder how life would be if I'm still back on Earth, and maybe, just maybe, I have found Blue.

Little did I know, the boy laying next to me was still wide awake. He too, with his hand clenching on his necklace, was thinking about his significant other, dreaming about a life where they could live happily ever after.

...
"ALESSIA!"

Someone yelled into my ear and shook my shoulders violently.

"Mia stop! I need more sleep-"

"Phoenix is missing!"

"WHAT!?"

I sprung up into a sitting position and grabbed Mia's shoulders, terror written all over our faces.

"What did you just say to me?" I asked in a low voice, feeling myself hyperventilating as I stared straight into her teary eyes.

"Burpy, Phoenix and Aurora are gone! Eli and Pronto are already out there searching for them! Come on! Get up! I still need to wake up Trixie and Kord!"

I rolled out of bed and raced to the bathroom. Didn't have time to properly clean myself up. I quickly changed into my slinging attire, sprinted out of my room and jumped down the flight of stairs.

"Get ready!" I ordered as my slugs came running to me and squeezed their way into my backpack. I grabbed my blaster and loaded up Slime and Funnel as I made my way towards the garage.

I slammed my hand on the button that ascends the garage door and hopped on Dalinda. Mia, Trixie and Kord came in and quickly mounted their mechas, and we headed out of the hideout without bothering to close the garage door.

Dalinda immediately leaped into the air and spread her wings, soaring high to search for the missing slugs.

"Mia?" I spoke through my earpiece. "What's our plan?"

"We have to find them. They can't be far away."

"That's it? Just to search for them? Are you kidding me? That's not a plan! Please! I can't afford to lose them!" I screamed as tears were starting to form at the corners of my eyes.

"We were in a rush! We didn't have time to plan for anything! Eli and Pronto even left the house without their earpieces!" Mia yelled.

I furrowed my brows as I pulled on Dalinda's handles, driving Dalinda to an even higher altitude. My eyes scanned the cavern from above, trying to search for anything that's near to orange, or anything suspicious.

"Don't worry, Ales! Everything will be fine!" Trixie comforted.

"We will find them!" Kord said as I heard their mechas running at an incredible speed in the background.

"How is this even possible? Our hideout is guarded with so many slugs at night!" Trixie exclaimed.

"Exactly! And they wouldn't just... left without saying a word!" Mia added as she sighed.

"Wait! I saw something! Over there!" Mia said at the same time I spotted a row of trees shook at the corner of my eye.

Without a second thought, Dalinda dived down towards it, full speed. Soaring through the branches and landed on the muddy road, Dalinda sprinted forward towards a dashing shadow. We were chasing down a rider, but we were still very far behind.

"Come on Dalinda! Just a little more!" I said and she groaned with her body lowered and her wings curved. We took a sharp turn, and I spotted a hooded man with a mask on, riding a Mecha Wolf.

"I'm right at his tail!" I yelled as the trio soon came to sight behind me. I pulled out my blaster and fired Slime, but the rider dodged with ease.

"I'll chase him down from another path!" Mia said and I heard her mecha swerved away behind me. The chase went on for more than an hour, with the three of us firing countless slugs at the rider, but he dodged all of them skilfully.

"Who is that guy? How is he so good?" Kord questioned as he fired his Aquabeek, but the slug was knocked down by the rider's Rammstone.

"Whoever he is, he's not going anywhere with our slugs," I growled.

"Trix, Kord, I need him to stay on this road," I said as I released my grip on Dalinda to spin my blaster. "I'm gonna take him down with a fusion shot."

"Got it!" Trixie replied, before I heard two gunfire and two Lavalynx flew past me. They megamorphed and travelled on both sides of the road, pouring down lava to force the rider to stay on the road.

Funnel and Taser hopped into the vacant canisters inserted in the blaster and I spun it into a higher speed, allowing it to accelerate around my body before I detached them, aimed at the rider, and fired.

They megamorphed and fused into one megamorphed slug. With their powers, they knitted a spiderweb with electricity running through each string, and shot it at the rider.

He turned around and saw the incoming giant net. The electricity travelling along the web gave his face a pale yellow glow. He was wearing a plain black mask, with red lines around where his eyes were meant to be.

He climbed onto his mecha's seat and jumped full force, doing a backflip, before he landed with a hand on the ground and his blaster in his other hand. The web captured the Mecha Wolf and brought it down, temporarily disabling it.

Funnel and Taser returned to photoform and perched on my shoulders, looking curiously at the rider in front of us. The three of us came to a halt a few feet in front of him, with our blasters pointing at him.

The rider slowly stood up from the ground, dropped his blaster and raised his hands in defeat.

"Who are you! Why did you take our slugs!" I yelled furiously at him, powering up my blaster with Jack loaded in it. Kord and Trixie did the same, and Dalinda growled fiercely.

Instead of giving us answers, he snapped his fingers. Something snapped around us, and out of nowhere, a gigantic fishnet emerged from underneath us. The ends of the net met right above us, forcing the three of us to pile up in the middle of the net with our mechas. The net then ascended towards a tree by a magnetic force, trapping us in midair.

"We're trapped!" Kord exclaimed in fear. "Thanks for telling the obvious," Trixie said as she rolled her eyes.

"Finally, this mask sucks."

We looked below us as the rider removed his mask and ran a hand through his hair. His raven blue hair. My eyes widened and my heart jumped out of my chest.

"ELI!?"

The three of us screamed in shock. Mia and Pronto soon emerged from the nearby bushes, and the three of them crossed their arms and smirked at us.

"Welcome to prank wars," Eli announced with his signature smirk.

"Where's Phoenix? And Burpy? And Aurora?" I asked urgently.

"They never left their room," Mia said as she shrugged. "You didn't even bother to check on them before sprinting out of the hideout!"

The three then burst into laughter as Trixie, Kord and I just looked at each other in disbelief.

"How did we not see the net on the ground?" Kord questioned and scratched his helmet. At that instance, Mago, my Thugglet, hopped onto Eli's shoulder and waved playfully at us.

I facepalmed.

I can't even trust my slugs now?

"This! This is too far! You know how much I care for my slugs!" I yelled at them, but they ignored me and continued laughing.

"Come on guys, you all are just overreacting! The hideout is possibly the safest place in Slugterra with all our slugs guarding it! There's no way any of our slugs will be captured!" Mia laughed at us.

"Plus, Eli will never go on a mission without first, wearing his earpiece, and second, call his team to join him!" Pronto continued.

"And thirdly, there is no one that can dodge a Shane Gang's attack for an hour straight other than the leader of the Shane Gang himself," Eli said as he picked up his blaster. He was using his old blaster.

"Alright! Alright! We get it! We just got pranked! Now could you please let us down? It's a bit squishy in here," Trixie said as she struggled to break free from the net.

"Nope," Mia sang with an evil smirk. "You'll have to figure it out yourself. You should have held onto your blasters because now you're doomed."

We looked directly below us and there laid our three blasters. We must have let go of them when we were scooped up by the net.

"We kidnapped all of your Threshers too, just so you know," Eli added as two Threshers hopped onto his shoulders from his backpack and waved at us. Trixie and Kord sighed, admitting defeat, but I was nowhere near giving up.

"There's got to be a way," I whispered, and Dalinda howled in response. One of the button on her control panel lit up. It looked exactly like the other buttons, with an image of a blaster printed on it.

Knowing I was going to find out what other modes Dalinda has, I pressed onto the button and waited for something to happen.

Her long tail that was hanging outside of the net clicked. Her tail fins folded and descended into her tail, just to be replaced by a blaster.

I repeat, a flopping blaster.

"Dalinda! I have never seen another mecha having a tail like that of a Shadow Clan!" Kord exclaimed as he adored her tail.

Prime and Nade came out of my backpack and cheered. Prime hopped onto Dalinda's blaster and she immediately fired him, followed shortly by Nade. Both slugs megamorphed. I smirked as I lifted my arms, slowly guiding them to turn towards the net, and they did.

Prime froze the top part of the net and Nade exploded the now weakened net connector with ease. The three of us started to fall, and Dalinda immediately spread her wings and flew away from Kord and Trixie.

Funnel was shot out in a canister from my backpack. Dalinda loaded her up in midair and fired her at the falling slingers, successfully saving them from the fall by forming a giant net below them.

Dalinda's tail then returned to its original form as she landed on the ground. Eli, Mia and Pronto speechlessly froze at their spots in shock from the unexpected escape.

"You never fail to impress me," I said and petted Dalinda.

"I love Dalinda," Kord said as he ran towards us and hugged Dalinda, which she gladly returned it by laying her head on his shoulder.

"That's so cool!" Trixie praised as she ran towards us to pet her.

"Incredible," Eli mumbled after he finally processed what just happened.

"That's indeed incredible! Not even Pronto's magnificent Mecha Mule can do that!" Pronto screamed as he pointed at Dalinda like she was an alien.

"We need a better plan next time," Mia joked and Eli and Pronto laughed while the three of us glared at them.

At that instant, Trixie's hologram beeped urgently. Our smiles immediately switched to our game faces as Trixie pulled out her hologram to check it out.

"What is it, Trix?" Eli asked as our mechas sprinted towards their slingers and we mounted them. I facepalmed myself when I saw Lucky. How did I not realised that? Eli was riding Lucky during the entire chase!

"Tad's goons are kidnapping the local's slugs at Blade City," Trixie said as she closed her hologram.

"We'll think of a better prank later. For now let's head off!" Eli said as the rest of the Shane Gang's mechas transformed into Vehicle Mode and we took off.

"They have evacuated the city. The citizens should be hidden safely in the underground hideout. We are allowed to go into their houses to make sure no one is left behind and no goons escape," Trixie further clarified.

"Wait, hold on. Underground hideout?" I asked as Dalinda flew over Trixie. "Since when is that a thing?"

"Oh that. Forgot to tell you," Trixie smiled sheepishly. "I'll tell you and Mia all about it after the mission. For now, we need a plan of attack."

"Stop the goons from taking in more slugs, and Cobra can save the slugs that are already captured. How does that sound?" Eli proposed.

"Sounds like a plan," I spoke through my earpiece, before I raised an eyebrow when I saw the device in Eli's ear. "Wait, you're telling me that you had your earpiece on all this while? During the chase?"

Eli let out a laugh.

"Yeah. I heard you said you want to demolish me with a fusion shot. How else would I have survived that if it wasn't for the earpiece?"

"Right," I mumbled under my breath.

As we rode closer to the city, enormous clouds of smoke could be seen rising from the housing area. The cries of the people were now audible.

Although we had been through countless missions, I could still feel my heart jumping out of my chest as we approached the city. We swerved our mechas into one of the main gates with our blasters in hand, ready to sling.

"Kord, Trix, you guys take the first row of houses. Mia and Pronto will take the second. I'll take the third and Alessia will take the fourth. The goons' leader, whoever that is, will order them to retreat once they know we are here, so when that happens, Kord and Trix takes the west entrance, Mia and Pronto takes the east entrance. I'll take the north and Alessia will take the south. When the opportunity comes, Alessia, you'll fire Cobra at them and the rest of us will continue to fight. No one is stepping foot out of this city before all the slugs and people are safe!"

"Got it!" the rest of the gang said in unison before we went our separate ways, and sneaked into our positions.

"Dalinda, head to the south entrance and wait for me there," I ordered my mechabeast. She was too large to be sneaking up on goons in the houses. She nodded before I dismounted her, gave me one head bump in the stomach before she took off and left me alone.

With my back against the wall of the first house of the entire row, I peeked out to the streets. No signs of any citizens or goons. I loaded up Ari and Nerf into my blaster before I made my way towards the front door.

Leaning my ear onto the door, I listened carefully for any sounds. At first there was complete silence, but seconds later, I heard footsteps.

"There shouldn't be anyone in there," I reminded myself. With my unoccupied hand, I reached out for the door handle and tried to open it, but it was locked.

My gaze lifted from the door handle when I heard a glass shattered from the inside. I leaned my back against the door and crouched down, slowly peeking through the window that was beside the door.

Two full grown men were wondering in the house, each carrying a slug carrier. They were wearing identical uniforms with the logo of Blakk Industries printed on it.

"Are there any left?" one of them asked the other in a manly voice.

"I think I saw an Arachnet somewhere," the other replied and they continue searching the place.

I stood up and stepped away from the door, and kicked it down. I raised my blaster at the goons as the door fell with a loud crash and fired Nerf.

Nerf megamorphed before they could react and hit one of the goons. He ricochet and hit the other, knocking them out. Nerf returned to photoform and smiled at her work.

"Good job Nerf!" I whispered to her before she hopped back into my backpack to get ready for another shot.

The slugs in the carriers chirped loudly as I approached them. I smiled at them and told them to stay silent while I check out the house.

I took one of the canister on my bandoleer and smiled confidently at the slug in it. Top, my Bubbaleone. I loaded her up and scouted the house. I walked through a hallway with pictures hung up on either sides of the walls. They were pictures of a lovely family. A father, a mother, and a beautiful little girl.

I smiled sadly at the picture, not realising that jealousy was creeping up inside me, but when I did realised it, I let the feeling go and focused on my mission.

Not a single sound was heard until I came across a door located in the kitchen. I froze in tracks when I heard muffled sounds, followed by a few shushes from behind the door.

"Did you lock the door?" I heard a muffled female voice asked.

"Floppers," a man replied.

I reached out for the door handle, still holding my blaster firmly in case they were goons. I could feel a drop of sweat slid down the side of my face as I turned the doorknob. I took in a deep breath, before I swung the door open and pointed my blaster at the people in the room.

"Please! Don't hurt us!"

A man, a woman, and a little girl were hiding in the toilet. They were hugging together, with the man facing his back at me, protecting his family. They were not wearing Tad's uniform, and I recognised them from the family pictures around the house.

I lowered my blasters as they realised who I was. The girl was silently crying in her mother's arms, but she gasped when she saw me. She ran over to me and hugged my legs since she was too short.

"Alessia! I couldn't believe it! It's you! You're my hero! I was so scared, Alessia. Thank you for saving my family!" she said. weeping into my legs. I put on a small smile as I crouched down to her. I placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked.

"Lily," the girl replied shyly.

"Lily, I've taken care of the bad guys that were in your house, but you're still not entirely save. I need you and your parents to get down to the underground hideout and stay there until it's safe. I need you to protect daddy and mommy. Can you promise me that you'll do that?" I smiled at the girl. She wiped away her tears and gave me a confident nod.

"You are a brave girl. I believe in you."

I gave her one last smile, before I stood up and nodded at her parents.

"Is there anyone else in this house?" I asked and they shook their heads. I picked up the two slug carriers from before and led them out of the house.

At the side of the street was a hidden circular door on the ground underneath a big tree. We ran towards it and I opened it to reveal a hidden ladder.

I passed the slug carriers to the family and