Eli's pov
She doesn't remember.

The phrase kept replaying in my head like a broken recorder ever since I stepped out of her room.

How is this possible?

How can she not remember?

My train of thoughts was cut off when Doctor George exited her room and we immediately stood up from our seats. He walked up to us with a cardboard in his hands.

"Alessia is experiencing many side effects from a brain damage, mainly memory loss. This may be caused by previous head injuries that were not properly treated. I'm assuming that she experienced countless head injuries during her time as a slinger. She is one of the most outstanding slingers in Slugterra after all and is often needed to sling. Admittedly, we still do not have a full understanding about her condition, from how she could practically wake up from the dead, to losing her memories. This never happened before in Slugterrean history," he said.

"Regardless, the first thing I'll do tomorrow morning will be to arrange a meeting with every top doctors in Slugterra to discuss about her condition and treatment. We will certainly give her our best shot for what she has done for the people, but I'll tell you now, we're not confident that we'll be able to bring back her memories."

I wiped away my tears, forcing them to be held back as I nodded at him.

"Thank you, doctor. We know you'll do your best," I managed to say without stammering.

"Thank you," he continued as he looked down at his cardboard. "Son, I don't know if you can relate to this, but Alessia was able to recall the word 'Blue' when she saw you."

I inhaled a sharp breath at that, my body tensed up involuntarily. After three long years, she still remembers me. She remembers Blue.

There is still hope.

Doctor George turned his attention to the rest of the gang. "I need to head back for the night. It has been a tiring day. Alessia needs a good sleep for the rest of the night. I suggests that you could show her pictures of what you all have been through together, or any items that is significant to her, the next morning. I will write to the manager of this hospital to allow Alessia's slugs and mechabeast to enter the hospital tomorrow, to see if she can remember any of them."

"Doctor," I stopped him. "Can we please talk to her now?"

"She is exhausted from what she has experienced today, Eli. I know things are uncertain, but we need to handle this to our best abilities. For now, she needs plenty of rest and personal space to process what is happening to herself. Imagine waking up to a totally unfamiliar environment, with strangers claiming that they know you. I bet she has a lot to take in. Just let her rest for tonight. You may talk to her tomorrow morning."

"Doctor please," I insisted. "I need to talk to her."

He gave me a scan from head to toe. He gave it a thought, before he nodded approvingly.

"If she tells you to leave the room, leave. Only you may go in and talk to her. The others will talk to her tomorrow," he ordered.

Trixie placed a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look at her. She giving me a strong nod, as if telling me that they will be fine waiting out here for me while I go in.

"Doctor, can you please give us a second?" Mia suddenly asked. Doctor George nodded understandingly, before he walked away, leaving us alone.

"What is it, Mia?" Pronto asked hurriedly, and all eyes were on her. She took in a shaky breath, wiped away her tears, and what she said next made my heart dropped.

"All of you should know this. There is this condition known to the people on the Surface: Retrograde Amnesia. It's where a person forgets everything prior to trauma. In Alessia's case, the trauma would be her incident back in Blakk Citadel. Th-The thing that is breaking me apart is the fact that, up till this day, there is no cure or treatment for this disease."

My hands turned into tight fists, my knuckles turned stark white.

If there is no cure or treatment for this condition on the Surface, how in Slugterra are we gonna retrieve her memories back?

The heartbreaking news, the guilt and sadness seemed to consume every part of me. I could have done a trillion other things to avoid this incident from happening, and yet I didn't.

I didn't pay attention to her countless head injuries.

I didn't see through Loki's illusions.

How did I allow myself to lose her, again?

"We'll be waiting here for you," Kord said, and I snapped out of my thoughts. I looked up at him, at them, the Shane Gang. Their souls were broken but they still had hope in their eyes.

Their hope was on me.

I gave them a weak smile, before I walked towards her room and reentered it.

Alessia's pov

The door creaked open, bringing me out of my unbearable train of thoughts. I looked up and through the darkness, I saw a manly figure approaching me. I recognised him straight away. He was Eli.

"Hi," I smiled at him. Our gazes met once again, and like the previous time, they were locked. We stared deep into each other's eyes, searching.

There were answers in his eyes, but they were all locked away, behind a door.

I was missing a key. A key that could unlock all the secrets and memories that were locked away from me.

"H-Hey," he stammered, and sat at the side of my bed. He broke eye contact with me and looked down at my hand. A small, sad smile crept out of his face as he gently slid his hand into mine, interlocking them under the dark, sparkling stalactites that hung on the cavern's rocky ceiling.

It was at this moment I realised, this man was so goddamn gorgeous. His masculine figure and charming face features, especially his dreamy ocean blue eyes, added to my imagery washboard abs under the tight-fitting fabric... my cheeks were burning. I needed to fan myself. The way he looked down at me with care and love gave me butterflies in my stomach. I was blushing so madly. He would have definitely noticed it if the lights were still on. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a soft, gentle voice.

"I'm fine, not mentally though," I answered, softly squeezing his palm. I loved the way our hands perfectly fit into each other's, like it was meant to be held together for eternity.

"Oh, and sorry for pushing you away earlier. I didn't know who you were," I whispered sheepishly. "Well, I still don't know who you are, but... you know what I mean."

He let out a small laugh, before our gazes met once again.

"Let me hug you," he whispered with a change in expression. He was serious and concerned. At this point I could feel my heart jumping out of my chest. This man is making me go crazy! He will be the death of me, but I don't know why.

I sat up from my bed, my arms wrapped themselves around his neck as I pulled him close to me. His arms snaked up my back and pulled me close into a hug. He buried his neck in the crook of my neck and sighed in content. He held onto me so tightly that I don't think it was possible for it to be any tighter.

We stayed in this position, until I felt his hot tears against my cold skin. He was whimpering. I held his head close to mine, tears were starting to make an appearance in my eyes as well.

I don't know why but it felt like a heart-warming reunion, even though I've only known this person for less than an hour.

We stayed like that until he pulled back to look at me. He shot me a smile that could melt any girl's heart, before he wiped away my tears with his thumb and caressed my cheeks.

"It's weird. I'm talking to the person that I love so dearly, that I am willing to sacrifice my life for, yet at the same time, you're not her," he mumbled with his sad teary eyes.

"Yeah. It feels wrong. I can feel that you should be my world, my everything, yet the only thing I know about you is your name," I said, and shot him a sad smile. "And that you're super hot, if that wasn't obvious enough."

He laughed at that, which enlightened me.

"Are you my boyfriend? I would be so dang lucky if you are," I questioned him with big curious eyes.

He looked at me and smiled.

"It's complicated," he said.

"Tell me. I want to know about us," I said, almost begged. His hand found its way at the back of my head before he let out another soft sigh.

"No. I do not want to tell you what we have gone through together. I want you to remember them," he said.

"Eli," I called for him with a crooked voice. "What... what if my memories never come back?"

"They will," he replied sternly and almost instantly. "If the universe could bring us back together even when things seem impossible, there must be a way to retrieve back your memories, and I am willing to sacrifice anything and everything for that."

"But-" He shushed me with his index finger on my lips.

"I have never given up on you for three consecutive years, Ales, and if it takes three or more years to get your memories back, then so be it. I don't want anyone else. I want my Alessia. I want you back. I need you by my side. I can't live without you anymore," he confessed, before he paused and laughed softly at me. "I'm sorry. You probably have no idea what this idiot is rambling about."

He smiled down at me, before his arms found their way around my waist.

"But I just want you to know that, I love you so much. So, so much. I wouldn't trade you for the world. You have no idea how precious you are to me. The memories we shared at the Surface, the adventures we had in Slugterra. Even though I did not realised it was you all this long, you still made me catch feelings for you. I didn't know why at first, but now I do, because it was you. It was always you. From the beginning till the end, it was always you, Ales. I love you so much. I hate myself for falling into Twist's trap, for not paying more attention to your injuries. I almost lost you. If only I am smart enough to see through Loki's illusion and get you treated well, you wouldn't have to go through any of this bullshit. You wouldn't have lost your memories and almost died."

I could barely see his rosy cheeks in the dark, but I could see clearly the determination in his affectionate eyes. He bit his lower lip, before he shortened the distance between us, and kissed me on the lips.

Taken back by his action, I placed a hand on his chest, but I didn't push him away.

It felt surreal.

It felt longed.

It felt right.

It felt perfect.

I wanted to kiss him back but before I could, he pulled away hurriedly and gulped, his eyes filled with guilt.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" he stammered before he was tongue-tied, his eyes were looking everywhere besides me. I placed my hands on his cheeks, cupping them as I turned his head to face me.

"Hey, it's okay," I said with a genuine smile. "I could feel that she loves you very much too. I know that you will be, and you are, the key for her to retrieve her memories back."

His shoulders relaxed and he pulled me in for another bear hug. My arms wrapped around his neck again as I rested my head on his strong shoulder. His close, firm hug felt so fulfilling, and it made all my worries and uncertainties disappear. His hug was familiar, and I felt so protected.

The next few minutes were the best ever since I woke up from the coma, with his arms around me and mine around him. Unfortunately, he had to pull back and he stood on his feet.

"I almost forgot, the others are still out there waiting for me," he said, and ruffled his hair. "And you should get some rest. It must've been a tiring day for you."

I nodded and laid down on the bed. He gave my hand a little squeeze, before he tucked me in bed. He planted a small kiss on my forehead before exiting the room. I giggled when I heard a few catcalls and teasing happening at the other side of the door, with Eli telling them to stop.

After his visit, I felt like a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulder, and I was finally able to sleep peacefully.

...
"Please! I told you I have no idea who you people are-"

"What about this one?"

I rolled my eyes as Trixie and Mia showed me the 2000th picture of the Shane Gang on her camera.

"Do you remember this one? You and Mia saved us from Tad's goons and this is where you recruited your first batch of slugs!" Trixie exclaimed as she pointed at me in the picture, faking her excitement in her tone.

Let's be real, no one is happy ever since I woke up.

I took one glance at the screen. I was wearing the same weird outfit, my slinging gear as I learned from Trixie, with a blaster that I did not recognise, posing a peace sign, standing right beside Eli.

"Remember? You ended up roasting Pronto's bicep when we got back to the hideout!" Mia laughed as she pointed at the purple creature in the picture, where he was flexing his non-existent biceps.

"It has been almost four hours but I'm sorry, I still don't recall anything," I sighed, and their expressions changed drastically at that instance.

Silence, until a knock echoed through the room. Trixie and Mia turned around to look at the door.

"Come in," Trixie mumbled, and the door creaked open. I watched as Eli stepped foot into the room, his gaze immediately landed on me. His eyes were swollen and his lips were white. He managed to lift up one corner of his lips before a gigantic machine mounted him playfully and sent him slamming onto the ground.

The three of us in the room failed to hold back our laughter, before this white dragon-like machine walked into the room carefully, not wanting to knock anything down with its giant wings and long tail. Trixie and Mia got up from their chairs beside my bed as the robotic animal sat down beside my bed like a dog. It sniffed my hand, before it rested its huge head on my lap, looking up at me with its big blue eyes.

I have no idea what this thing is.

Regardless, I petted it's head, and it closed its eyes to lean its head into my hand.

"Do you remember her?" Mia asked. The machine's eyes opened and looked at me with a wide, confident smile. I looked up at Mia and smiled awkwardly.

"Her? It's a girl?" I said in a questionable tone, and the dragon frowned at me sadly.

"W-What about them?" Eli asked, suppressing the disappointment in everyone as he brought into my room a weird carrier, filled with slugs. He released them, and they immediately came up to me and nudged their tiny heads into my jaw and neck.

I laughed as it tickled, and gently petted them. They have such lively colours and wonderful personalities. I knew that I had a strong bond with these adorable creatures by the way they reacted when they saw me, but I still feel a whole lot of nothing. None of them are familiar to me.

An orange slug came up to me and kissed me on my cheek. It had white stripes all around its tiny body, with orange and yellow skin that greatly resembled fire. It smiled at me when an almost identical slug hopped off Eli's shoulder and joined her. In his arms was an even tinier slug, a baby slug.

"This is Burpy and Phoenix, and their child Aurora," Mia said. "Phoenix is one of your top slugs!"

I took another look at Phoenix and focused on her, hard. My morning had been nothing but disappointments after disappointments. I want to remember something. Anything. But even after one minute of tearing my brain apart, I gave up and shook my head in defeat.

Everyone, humans and slugs and machine, broke eye-contact with me at the same time and stared at the ground. There was a moment of silence before there was another knock at the door. Everyone turned to see a nurse at the door with my slinging gear in her hand.

"Good morning, Alessia. I have your slinging gear with me. We have cleansed it thoroughly, and fixed the tears," she said as she welcomed herself into the room. They made way for her and she placed my slinging gear on my lap before me.

"Thank you," I thanked her.

"This is the least we can do," she said and smiled sweetly at me. "You were wearing a necklace when you were unconscious. It's right here."

She lifted the folded slinging gear, and laid inside my clothes was a heart-shaped necklace. I reached out to grab it instinctively and examined it closely. My thumb caressed the cold metal in my palm, my gaze landed on the keyhole in the middle of the heart-shaped pendant.

It was like my world was spinning when a sharp pain struck my head. My eyes squinted at the sudden discomfort, and when I opened them, I saw the boy and the girl from my previous vision. It was the same memory. The bright light from the opening box faded, and inside it, it was a heart-shaped necklace, with a keyhole in the middle.

It was the exact same necklace as the one I was holding onto.

"ALESSIA!" Trixie screamed into my ears, pulling me out of my memory. I placed a hand at the back of my head and my eyes were teary, feeling the massive pain slowly leaving my brain.

"What was that?" I questioned, sinking my head into my pillow to rest.

"I'll get the doctor!" the nurse said as she sprinted out of the room. I looked at Trixie and Mia. They were cluelessly exchanging glances at each other.

Eli, on the other hand, looked like he just saw a ghost. He gave me one last look, before he raced out of the room without another word.

"Eli!" Mia called out for him, but he didn't return.

"What is with that guy?" Mia mumbled before Kord and Pronto entered the room with packages of food in their hands.

"Just saw Eli mounted his mecha and took off without saying anything. What happened?" Kord asked and they shrugged.

"He ran out when he saw Alessia reacting to the necklace she's holding onto," Mia said and they looked at the accessory in my hand.

"Wait. It's the necklace."

It was like a light bulb was turned on above Mia's head as she looked at me with a huge grin.

"What necklace?" Trixie asked her with a raised brow.

"The necklace that Blue gave her!" she exclaimed, and the faces of the rest of the gang lit up.

"There is still hope!" Trixie screamed and punched the air, before she high-fived Mia.

"It's just like Sleeping Beauty, your prince is coming to save you from your curse," Mia said in a seductive tone, smiling from ear to ear.

"No idea who Sleeping Beauty is, but I know exactly what you're trying to imply," Trixie said and they giggled in front of my incredibly confused face.

...
Eli's pov
"WHERE ARE MY FLOPPING KEYS!?"

I grabbed my hair frantically after searching through all of my pockets and my keys are no where to be found.

"Screw this," I mumbled under my breath and loaded up Joules, before pulling the trigger at the garage door. He megamorphed and sent an electric pulse through the system, opening the door for me. I slid through the door and headed straight into the hideout.

I slammed my bedroom door wide open and headed straight towards my desk. Under the piles of blueprints and loose papers, the wooden box was hidden well.

I gulped.

I once swore to never open this box unless it was my birthday, but things are different now.

I opened the box in a rush, messing the lock countless times. My veins were popping out of my arms, my breathing was escalating uncontrollably. I flipped the lid open, searched through the messy pile of papers, and there it was.

At the very bottom of the box, the