The ceiling of the rock-strewn cavern was covered with bumpy stalactites. Statues of degraded rocks conquered the land, with a minimum number of grass vegetation and glimmering mushrooms. I took in a deep breath, relaxed my mind as the mild gentle wind kissed my cheeks. I brought Lucky to a halt at the side of one of the many pillars of rocks, dismounted from him and grinned at the breathtaking landscape.

"Splinterback Cavern," I mumbled to myself. "What do you guys think of this place?"

Hero, Cobra and Phoenix chirped from their canisters on my bandoleer and Hero hopped onto my shoulder. I chuckled softly in response, and reached out for Cobra's canister.

"You had a tough morning, Cobra. Ready to have some fun!?"

She chirped as I loaded her up and fired. She megamorphed almost instantly and encircled a pillar of rubble, before emitting rings of hefty soundwaves that knocked down the pillar with ease.

"Nice job! Next!"

All of my slugs got out of my backpack, chirping excitingly as they watched their peers velocimorphed or megamorphed, and generally having a great time.

I repeated the process for each of my slug, granting them the opportunity to unleash their inner strength and destroying rock statues. All slugs had a chance, except Hero. Eli had issued strict instructions that I was not to fire Hero until I had mastered Slugfu, because Hero's potential was simply too great. I wouldn't be able to handle him if he megamorphed, which may result in serious damage and fatal injuries.

A canister sprang out of my backpack and I caught it in the nick of time. I smiled as Maggi waved at me from his blue tube.

"Let's go Maggi!" I chuckled, inserted the canister into my blaster and fired Maggi at a statue. Unfortunately, like always, it didn't transformed but crashed straight into the rock.

"Maggi! Are you okay?" I yelled worriedly. It chirped in response, and hopped back towards the group of slugs on the ground with droopy antennae. Nile and Rox each rested a hand on Maggi's shoulders and chirped, reassuring it.

"It's okay Maggi! I'm sure you'll get it the next time," I said and it let out a small smile. Yawning slightly, I stretched my shoulders out after every single slug had a turn.

"Alright guys, time for some Slugfu!" I announced, spinning my blaster in my hand as they chirped. Phoenix was the first one who hopped up to me. She allowed herself to get into the blaster where an empty canister was inserted and waited for her slinger to fire.

"You think you got this?" I asked, and she nodded positively, positioning herself in the canister with a smirk on her face. Aiming my blaster at another pillar of rock, I rested my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Believe," I whispered as my eyelids ascended. Determined, I pulled the trigger, and Phoenix megamorphed. I holstered my blaster and closed my eyes, focused on connecting with the slug energy released by Phoenix as she soared. A warmth feeling flooded my mind as I felt her stripes glowed. I furrowed my brows, placing all my attention and effort into bonding with her.

And I felt it. I finally did. I took in another deep breath as I felt the energy travelled within my body, from my feet to my mind. I raised my arms steadily, floating them in air before drifting them smoothly towards the right.

Did I do it?

My left eye peeked involuntarily. Phoenix was still travelling in a straight line.

Well, let's try that again.

I repositioned my hands in the middle, and drifted them to the right.

Nothing happened.

Phoenix roared as she crashed into the pillar of rock, sending them tumbling down before she made a U-turn and flew back to me. She returned to photoform and landed on my shoulder, looking up at her slinger with a pout.

"That didn't work," I commented, slightly disappointed in myself. "I almost got it."

Eli was right, Slugfu is hard. Believing in something that is almost impossible to perform was not as easy as I thought.

I sighed as Cobra hopped onto my shoulder, and I gave her a warm smile. "You're up next, then we'll return to the hideout," I smiled at my slugs. "It's almost time for lunch."

"You're not going anywhere, young lady."

Phoenix jumped into a canister on my bandoleer and I loaded her up swiftly, pointing it at the direction of the voice. The other slugs that were racing around on the ground sensed the approaching danger and immediately retrieved back into my backpack, getting themselves ready for a potential duel.

"Who's there?" I yelled, my eyes hunted warily for the source of the voice. At first, there was pin-drop silence, but then came out a rider from behind a pile of stones.

Riding a ghouled, yellow and silver Mecha Horse was a lean, athletic, broad-shouldered redhead man, with beautiful green eyes and a sharp jawline. He wore a black singlet, with a blue and white jacket and the classic brown pants and black boots. A blaster rested in his holster, and a greyish 'Y' shaped metal necklace hung around his neck.

"It's been awhile since I last visited this cavern," the man spoke and dismounted from his Mecha Horse. Cobra, who was perching on my shoulder, growled at the man with fierce eyes.

"Who are you?" I asked, demanding for an answer, still aiming my blaster at him. He let out a laugh, before his green eyes shifted from me to Cobra.

"You can ask her."

I took a quick glance at Cobra, and my mind clicked as it obtained the new information.

"Tad."

He smirked and crossed his arms. "So you do know me."

"Of course I do, you betrayer."

He hissed at me angrily, but I maintained my cool.

"What do you want?" I growled. His anger faded, an evil grin surfaced on his face.

"To start us off, I want my slug back," he commanded, his eyes landed on Cobra. "Pieper."

"It's Cobra," I corrected and furrowed my brows. "And to my understanding, she belongs to me."

His gaze fell onto the ground as he rubbed the back of his neck casually. "To be honest, I didn't want it to go this way," he said as he pulled out his blaster. "Guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

I tightened my grasp on my blaster as I powered it up.

He wasn't intimidated by it. He spun his blaster and inserted a ghouled Arachnet. "I'm challenging you in a duel," he announced, an evil smirk pasted on his face. "And if I win, both you and Pieper are coming with me."

"And why should I accept your challenge?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I don't think you have much of a choice either, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that," I growled as I fired Phoenix. He, too, fired his Attacknet.

Both slugs transformed as they reached velocity. Phoenix breathed a wave of fire towards the ghoul before it can fire its net, burning it and sending it crashing down onto the floor. I let out a victorious chuckle, but it quickly vanished when I realised an Aquafreak was following right behind the Attacknet. It splashed a puddle of water at Phoenix, forcing her to return to photoform. My eyes widened and I rolled out of the way as the Aquafreak missed me by an inch. I loaded up Rox, my Hop Rock, and fired him at Tad and ran for cover.

Covered behind a statue, I panted heavily, collecting my thoughts. He was an outstanding slinger, almost as good as Eli.

"Face it Ales, you're no match against me," Tad said as a gunfire sounded, causing the structure behind me to shake. I clenched my fist, loaded Geo into my blaster and turned to fire it at him. With no luck, Geo was beaten by a feisty Pyringo.

My mind was starting to panic, but I forced myself to stay calm.

"There must be a way to beat him," I whispered, and Cobra chirped on my shoulder. I looked at her and she gave me a nod, before hopping into an empty canister.

"You sure 'bout this, bud?" I questioned and she chirped confidently. "Alright Cobra, show him what you got!" I smirked and loaded her up. I got onto my feet and ran out of cover. My eyes met his as I charged towards him.

"You want Cobra? Come get her!" I yelled as I aimed my blaster at him and pulled the trigger. Cobra megamorphed and roared, soaring towards her ex-slinger.

But Tad reacted, fast.

In a split second, he loaded up a Grimmstone and fired it at Cobra. The ghoul soared and knocked her out of the way before she can emit her powerful soundwaves, and charged straight at me. I gasped and came to a halt, but the ghoul was sturdy and fast. It delivered a powerful punch on my shoulder, sending me flying back and crashed on the ground with a muddy trail. I bit my lips and groaned at the painful impact. The pain on my head and neck was so great that I thought my collarbone was fractured for a second.

There were footsteps, before I heard a blaster powered up in front of me.

I groaned as I opened my eyes to see Tad aiming his blaster down at me with a Tempesto, his finger hovering just above the trigger.

"You seriously thought you can beat me with my own slug? Come on! I know her strategy way better than you do, and it would never work on me!" he laughed, lowering his blaster towards my throat.

I glared at him. He was so close that I could easily send him a painful kick, but my body was extremely sore from the Grimmstone's attack to even budge. I forced every energy left in me to sit myself up, but I managed to get up for only an inch before my body betrayed me and I landed back on the ground.

"Stop struggling, you and your pitiful slugs are coming with me," Tad said, smirking down at me. "Forget about the Shane Gang, I have so much more to offer. Join me as we conquer Slugterra together! And after your slugs are ghouled, we will be unstoppable."

"Never!" I hissed, glaring at him. "I stay loyal to my gang, unlike you and Twist."

At the corner of my eye, I saw Phoenix hopped back into my blaster that I was still holding onto and she gave me a smirk. I kept a straight face in front of Tad, my mind strategizing.

Tad was too close to me, which meant even if I managed to fire Phoenix at him, she won't have enough distance to reach velocity. My gaze shifted and landed on the pointy stalactites hanging on the ceiling right above us. Firing Phoenix at them can potentially kill Tad, but I won't have enough time to fire Top, my Bubbaleone, to save myself.

Floppers. I'm running out of time.

I let out a soft sigh.

Slugfu.

"So are you going to get up yourself or am I supposed to drag you with me?" Tad asked with his stupid smirk. "Can't wait to have some fun with you."

My grasp on my blaster firmed as I raised it, aiming it at his chest. His eyes widened as Phoenix growled at him from my blaster. I pulled the trigger, but Tad dodged it easily, sending Phoenix soaring passed him and megamorphed behind him.

He let out an evil grin, glaring daggers at me.

"You missed," he said with his threatening voice and powered up his blaster.

"Did I?" I asked and clenched my fist.

Come on Phoenix, you can do this.

Once again, I felt the energy travelled through my body. A smirk crossed my face as I felt our energy connected. Phoenix took a sharp turn, her flames turned blue as she charged towards Tad. Tad looked up from me and gasped at the incoming Infurnus, but before he can escape, Phoenix crashed into him and carried him in midair. Despite my aching body, I forced myself to stand and loaded up Strange.

Without any gesture, I teleported a command for Phoenix to drop Tad and she obeyed. I raised my blaster and fired Strange at the plummeting body. Tad landed on the ground with a loud thud, just to be shoved away by a White Boon Doc. He had a painful expression when the impact crashed him into a tree. The slugs on his bandoleer transformed back to normal and hopped out of their red tubes, heading towards Strange. I walked up to him, loaded Rox, my Hop Rock, and pointed my blaster at him while keeping a safe distance.

"You lost," I said, glancing at his slugs that were once ghouled. His eyes opened gradually, and he glared at me when he realised what was done to his slugs. An exasperated groan escaped from his dry lips, but he was too painful to move a muscle.

"You see, you don't have to challenge me to a duel to win back your slug," I said, looking at Cobra, who was perching on my right shoulder. "You can just ask her to go back to you, and if she agrees, I won't stop her."

"Do I look like a beggar to you?" Tad questioned, raising his voice at me. I tilted my head and sighed.

"This is not begging. It's about respecting your slug," I said, ignoring his dreadful glare. I held up a hand for Cobra and she jumped onto my palm. "This will be your last chance."

I held out Cobra towards him. She stared down at Tad and he stared back at her, but he said nothing. I could feel the warmth they share even without them saying a word. A couple seconds passed and Cobra eventually let out a soft sigh before she hopped back to my shoulder, demonstrating her decision.

Tad groaned as he punched the ground with a fist, and forced himself to stand up. With my blaster still aiming at him, he whistled for his Mecha Horse. He mounted it once it came to a halt beside him, and turned to face Cobra and I.

"This isn't over, Ales. You have no idea what is coming!" he raged at me before he took off and disappeared into the wilderness. I lowered my blaster with a soft smile. Phoenix got onto my other shoulder and chirped happily at our victory.

"Good job Phoenix! We did it!" I exclaimed with a huge grin. "We mastered Slugfu!"

Phoenix chirped and leaped into the air. Pleased with our accomplishment, I looked down at Strange as it gestured the healed slugs to join me. I smiled and ended up recruited them. There was a Dirt Urchin, a Frightgeist and a Gazzer.

"Welcome to the team," I said, smiling at my new recruits.

My grin instantly faded when I heard a small stone rolled down the sloppy ground. With my eyes narrowed, I turned around and fired Rox, just to hear a very familiar high-pitched scream. My eyes widened, and immediately raised my fist. Rox followed his orders and flew vertically upwards, before swerving towards its slinger and returned to photoform.

A smile resurfaced on my face. "Seriously? I almost slugged you guys!" I crossed my arms as the five emerged from a pillar of rock. "Sorry," Trixie apologised. "We sent Pronto out to search for you since you have been away for hours, and he came running back, saying that you got into trouble. Sorry we couldn't get here any earlier."

I laughed. "It's fine, I beat Tad!"

"And you mastered Slugfu!" Eli added, smiling approvingly. "You never fail to impress me."

I smiled bashfully at his compliment and stared down at my new slugs on my bandoleer to distract myself. And before I knew it, a hand slammed into my back, jolting me forward.

"Of course! Of course. Without Pronto's magnificent training sessions, Ales will never be able to perfect Slugfu!" Pronto proclaimed, smiling proudly as the group of slingers laughed at his exceptional pride.

"Certainly, without spending my precious time on your magnificent trainings, I would have mastered Slugfu earlier!"

"Of cour- Wait what!? What do you mean?"

"Alright Pronto, that's enough. Let's head back. I left the stove on," Trixie said, and pointed at the group of mechas with her index.

"Yeah, but before that," Eli said and glanced over my shoulder. He smiled as he held out a hand for Cobra, which she gladly accepted. "I think this little guy- I mean girl, had proved herself righteous," Eli said and Cobra chirped contently as her warm yellow eyes looked at Eli. She hopped onto his shoulder and nudged her head into his cheek playfully. My heart melted and a warm smile surfaced on my face.

Eli and Cobra are so adorable together!

"Yeah uh about that, I'm so sorry Cobra," Kord mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I shouldn't have judged you without actually knowing you first. I should've known better."

Cobra chirped, and bowed slightly to the rest of the gang.

"I owe you guys an apology too," I said as my regretful eyes landed on the ground. "I should've been more understanding. I've never been in your shoes and I had no idea how it feels like to be betrayed. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you without first comprehending your emotions. I'm so sorry."

I gathered all the courage I have and looked up at the gang. "Do you think you can forgive me?" I asked with my best puppy eyes.

Everyone wore a heart-warming smile, including the slugs. Eli smiled and glanced at his gang, wanting them to give an answer. Kord smiled and relaxed his shoulders.

"Come here," Kord said, raising up both his arms and we all went in for a small, reunion group hug.

...
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Can't wait to upload more :D