Archive of Our Own ^beta

”Dad, just wave like a normal person.”

Will Shane laughed. “I’m not normal! I gotta protect people. And you, fellow Shane,” he gave his son another hug, lifting him in the air and spinning him as fast as he could, “are my little soldier in arms. I love you, so I salute you.”

The nine year old giggled. “Sure. Whatever you say. You sure I can’t have a Blaster?”

Burpy shook his head, chirping away on his dad’s shoulder. “Not yet! Soon though, soon. Love you.”

He saluted again. This time, Eli Shane rolled his bright blue eyes and tried saluting back. The thumb was sticking out. Will was gonna have to tell Jimmo to teach him to salute properly, when he came back.

*

“Save yourself, Burpy!”

He was falling down. He couldn't keep his balance up there, with the whirlpool of air and heat sucking everyone at the Citadel to their doom.

He fell down the portal. Dropping stories and stories underneath Slugterra. A part of him wondered if this was the end. Was he going to die?

Probably.

Suddenly, Burpy came back and picked him up. The adrenaline was the only thing stopping his anxious tears. He would hate to be a teenage martyr. His Dad wouldn't have wanted that.

Flying down came Blakk, who dislodged him from Burpy and pushed him into a chokehold. Which he shoved himself out of, earning back his free-fall.

Till Blakk held onto his backpack. “We’re going down together. Say goodbye to Slugterra!”

Eli knew what to do - trust his slugs. “And say hello to the deep caverns!”

He heard their taunts from behind his ears. Blakk let go to clear his face of an arachnid web, and Burpy caught up, letting him drive up again. The Shane cheered. It was alright, they were heading up and it was all okay.

A ghoul hit him from behind. Eli lost his grip, Burpy slimmed down to protoform, and they both fell once again.

Burpy jumped into his blaster, and Eli fired again, ignoring the pain in his spine. Ouch, that was going to hurt when-

Blue lines died out, and suddenly the ceiling was dark rock. Eli turned just in time to see Dark Water, a whole sea of it, and Burpy catching him before Eli’s swim could start.

Rocky Mountains. A palace, off in the distance. Dark Bane, fallen into the landscape, some swimming in the red below, many out for blood.

The deep caverns. Eli Shane was in the deep caverns.

He grew quiet, victory forgotten. “...Burpy? What do we…”

Brimstone saw him, yelled a big muscled bark and pointed towards the human in the sky.

And of course, Burpy couldn't stay in this form so close to so much dark energy. He popped, and Eli squealed as he ran out of flying options.

Fireballs hurled right for the two. Fortunately, Burpy deformed on top of land. Eli, well-trained on running away atop city towers, landed in a way that didn't kill him. Just…still hurt all over.

Dark Bane surrounded them. No time to make ghouls. No time to fight - he didn't stand a chance against the bigger men with weird fireball power.

He put his hands up. Tried to look proud and confident. After all, his friends would get him out.

Eventually.

*

“Nooooo!”

The Shadow Clan successfully closed the portal. No blue light, no Dark Bane, not even Dr. Blakk was left.

And no Shane made a hero landing. No Eli to ease the atmosphere through jokes and blind confidence. No hug for Trixie, and Kord, and Pronto, for finally banishing the villain they had been hunting for half a year.

Eli was gone.

The Shadow Clan appeared before them. Kord felt tears, but he let the anger out first and foremost.

“Why. Why did you close it.” Kord, not caring about the consequences, pushed the Shadow Clan with his fists. Oh how he wanted to choke the creature. “You wanna explain yourselves?!?”

Apologetic whispers no one could understand came out.

Trixie smacked her fist against her palm and rushed forward. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Eli’s down there!”

Whispers, now with gestures. For the Shane Gang to follow them.

The girl nearly sobbed. “You let our leader, YOUR ALLY, fall into dark water, and you expect us to follow you?!?”

Clanners hovered in place. There was a crowd of them now, all talking amongst themselves.

The Chieftain bowed low, and the rest matched them.

The Gang was speechless. Their anger started to wane - of course they couldn't let their enemies crawl back up. Eil wouldn't want that.

They hated this. Fury like this wasn’t going to be resolved anytime soon, even if they found Eli and everything was set right. But they knew through the haze to not start another war.

Kord sighed heavily. “Where do we go to get him back.”

The Chieftin, still on the ground, reached for a glowing sphere. A shadow walker.

Pronto sprinted to add his hand, and the rest followed.

Off they were to save Eli Shane.

*

“Eli Shane.”

Hands were pushed into cuffs. Spears at his throat. And his blaster and backpack were taken away.

He grinned. That's one thing he was proud of - they learned their mistake in underestimating him.

But it didn't leave him many choices.

He matched Brimstone’s glare as they gloated. “Perhaps our victory was long-term, today. Me and my brothers get the honor of ending the Shane line once and for all.”

El Diablos Nacho was beside the king. “Shall we end this now, sir?”

He laughed like an old goat. “No, give him an hour in the cell. I need to make up my mind on how he’ll die.”

The Dark Bane leader strutted across the gravel, and stooped over the much smaller prisoner. Brimstone let out a breath onto Eli’s neck, and it tingled hot. Sometimes, Eli really hated how short the Shane’s were.

But he always hated those glowing red eyes, the ones that would jump at the chance to do really awful things to him for fun, and wanted their victim to know it. “Shall I stab you, or set you on fire?”

Eli’s eyes narrowed. “Nice to know you're so happy down here, because that's where you're all staying, thanks to my Gang and the Shadow Clan-.”

Heated hands sprang to squeeze his stomach from both sides. Eli tried to block it, but his wrists met metal instead.

He couldn't help the scream, stumbling from the unexpected injury. The two handlers behind him chuckled and kept him upright as he panted, his body raising the alarm that something is now really, really wrong. What did they do?!?

“The burn will eat you alive in forty-eight hours.”

He hated the gasp that left him. This is fine. Just a little tricky. He’ll be fine. Especially since Burpy had tucked himself into his boot, undetected by the evil monsters. Fire-proof enemies weren't too convenient for the good old fire-in-hands escape plan, but he would find another way.

Without another word, he was marched into the castle, in front of the gates he had once seen before. Only, he didn't have the body mass to fight these guys in hand-to-hand. And Burpy was staying hidden - he couldn't see a way out, either. Better to keep the ace card than waste it.

They threw him into the cell. He yelped as he met the floor, dirty with grime and soot and other things he didn't want to think about. It flared the sides of his upper body, which were burning, faintly; though he was sure they'd get worse and worse.

Jeering fainted away, and finally, silence.

Ten minutes ago, he was up in Slugterra. Twenty minutes ago, he found Blakk, found the portal. This morning, he had pancakes. Last night, they had a full meal, fit for a Shane mission. The biggest Shane mission Eli’s ever led. All of a sudden, he’s in the deep caverns. He's going to die a painful and gruesome and lonely death after saving the 99 caverns. He will die much like his father did - alone, probably dreaming of his loved ones.

He heard breathing, and metallic scraping from the wide dark cell.

Gritting teeth, he stood. Handcuffs made fighting hard, but he wasn't going to sit here and die helplessly. He won today. He wasn't going to forget that. His friends were okay. Burpy…he would make it out of here eventually. When his friends came to retrieve him, and give him a proper Slugterran funeral. Life would go on. Maybe, in whatever afterlife there was, he could see the sun again. And his dad.

Eli almost stunned himself with those thoughts. When did he become so gloomy? He’s Eli Shane. He didn’t let himself lose spirit. He’s never been allowed to.

There wasn’t much light; only the red glow from the outside, spreading to the cell only a few feet. Whatever was in here could see him, but he couldn't see it back.

Eli unleashed his voice - loud and powerful and definitely not scared to die. “Who are you?”

“...Eli?”

Did…is he hallucinating? Is this an effect of the burning?

“Eli.”

No, it was another way to mess with him. Nacho could transform, maybe another Dark Bane could mimic voices or something. He needed to stay focused, and bust out of here. He couldn’t let his dreams cloud him to reality.

“Is…is it you, Eli? Your hair - you see, it just reminds me of my-”

The grown man stepped into the light. Long hair, hasn't shaved in years. But his eyes. They were bright blue. Just like his son's, staring back at him, tears falling like the rain they both left behind.

“Dad.”

The father, despite it all, laughed. Will Shane launched himself, arms wide, and Eli let his dad envelope him completely.

“You went down to Slugterra. Gosh, your fifteen. Eli, Eli I'm sorry-”

He couldn’t feel anything at the moment. It was overwhelming. Is this a dream?

But it clicked into place. Blakk’s first ghoul made a small, temporary portal. It didn’t kill his opponent. It brought Will Shane here. Where he’s been, trapped, all this time. Why am I not talking? Dad’s here, holy shit my dad is here!

“Dad!” His cry stopped the man short. His kid spoke fast, not even caring for the words that ended up flowing out. He was speaking to his dad. And he had to tell him everything, right fucking now. “Dad I love you. I thought you were dead. Uncle Jimmo’s dead. Mom had to leave. I'm-im gonna die down here. But Shadow Clan and my friends are on the way and-”

Will leaned back and, with his hardened, pale hands, angled his son's face toward his own. “Eli. Whatever is going on, we can fix this. You are not gonna die.” Hands on small shoulders. No - Eli got bigger since the surface. He was of age, just barely, to take the Drop. No growth spurt yet, though. “I swear in my life, Eli, I'm not letting you die.”

The New Shane couldn't stop crying. It was starting to really hurt where Brimstone did the weird fire thing to him. He couldn't help but wince as it fried his insides a little more, his abdomen shaking and forcing Eli to shift weight constantly.

Will Shane noticed. “...Fire death. They gave you fire death.”

Eli tried to smile. “I'm likely a goner. But I do have a healer, and friends and the shadow clan are coming…hopefully. Plus,” he shifted his boot to the darkness, where Burpy then huddled out. A small flame was all Will needed to recognize his dearest team member.

Wil petted the little guy immediately, bringing them to his inner shoulder. Gosh that felt right. He felt a little more like himself for the first time in five years. “We got some fire death of our own.”

Eli smiled. He looked hopeless. “Normally I'd share the optimism, but-”

Another smash of a hug. “You-you're not dying. You can't die.”

“You couldn't die either. But you did, and. Life went on. I'll-”

Will slapped his son’s hand. He was worried but couldn’t show it. “Eli. I'm a Shane. Stop being a performative sacrificial hero and show me that stubbornness you had all those years ago. You're not a martyr. We are real, and alive. And you will not die. Now you say it.”

Eli blinked. How could his life change this much in less than an hour? “I'm not dying. Not sure if you’re real. But it makes me happy to think you are, so sure, you’re real. And you’re definitely not dying. I love you dad. ”

Will let on a real smile. Eli still couldn't form coherent sentences, just like his father before him. “Very good, son. That's the Eli I love.”

*

Sitting down, they couldn't stop talking. Mostly about Eli's Slugterra adventures - no point in spending precious moments on information not relevant. Instead, Eli filled his dad in on Blakk’s operations.

And his Dad responded. It was a wish that came true. Even if it was a dying wish, Shane's survival instincts be damned.

Eli got to hear what Will had been doing trapped down here - snuggled in his Dads arms for the first time in too long, almost able to imagine they were home at bedtime telling adventures back and forth. When the pain wasn't increasing every second he breathed. It was starting to breach his upper chest, and oh, it hurt. Bad.

“I lived on the mountains, I spied on what was going on. Blakk came here a few times for dark water. The last time I saw him, they caught me. They tried to kill me, but Thad wanted me alive.”

Eli remembered something. “Me and my friends, we came down here once because the Dark Bane had breached the portal and we had to drive them back. We….” his eyes widened. “We were led to this cell. But Kord knocked out our guards and we ran, and saved the day and stuff.”

Will smiled. “Kord must be a big one, then.”

His son laughed. “He's a cave troll! I met a cave troll, Dad. He's so cool. I can't wait for you to meet him. And Trixie. She was fighting Blakk and bad guys even before I took the drop! And even Pronto! He's a moll. He's actually the King of the moles. Slugterra is weird, Dad.”

That earned a belly laugh. He hasn't laughed like that in ages. “Well, I'm glad I didn't have to meet them here.”

Eli's grin fell. “I could've got you out of here, back then.”

Will shook his head and hugged him tighter. “And jeopardize Slugterra? I survived. Don't sweat it.”

Eli was sweating, though. They were trying so hard to not discuss the hard things, staying positive, but Eli’s forehead started beating sweat.

Even though he felt like a furnace, he wasn't leaving his fathers arms. Never again.

He noticed his son’s eyes get cloudy again. “Hey. You have a healer. You've seen them heal a human before, right?”

Eli shook his head. “Just ghouls. We tried to-”

Oh no.

“Eli? You okay?”

Eli coughed. “Dad. Uh. Your teacher. I've only ever seen Doc try to heal her.”

There was a lot Eli was telling him that he was ignoring for later, but…”They failed?”

Eli nodded. “The unbeatable master. Dr. Blakk killed her.”

The master who's been around for 2000 years. The teacher he trained with for ten years. Shanai and her cooking and insults and wisdom. Just…gone.

And Will did nothing. Didn't even know about it.

Then, another question. “Did she choose you?”

Eli started shaking. “...No. She died during the Willowing. “

“You…” He hadn't fully stomached Eli's first words. Jimmo’s dead. His wife is gone, somehow. So Eli had Burpy, his friends, and…

Slower than the other times, he brought his only son into his chest. “...I left you alone.”

“No, you didn't! It wasn't your fault, you didn't choose for Blakk to-”

“You've been alone.” His voice shook louder, more emotional. “That's been your teens? Nursing Jimmo. Blakk rising. His allies terrorizing caverns. The Shane secrets you've been figuring out for yourself. Fuck, Eli, I knew you'd have it hard, I didn't realize my hideouts were all you were going to have on your side!”

He'd never heard his dad curse before, but it didn't matter. Eli's tears were burning. It had been hours. He was exhausted. They both were.

“Not true. You've been on my side, Dad. In my heart. You never left me. Today, I even found you again.”

Eli's breathing was getting shallow. They needed to find a way out, and now.

Will spoke comfort words to Eli, who was crying and tired and somehow both happy and scared because he was coming to terms with morality at way too young an age. But even through the Fire Death, his son believed in him.

Now he had to believe in his sons allies to save them both. Oh, he wished he had his blaster.

*

The Shadow Clan walked them far - really far, almost too far. The Clan were fine, but the Shane Gang was stumbling, dizzy and sick.

But they stood tall in the shadow clan territoy anyway. They had to rescue Eli.

They were at the Guardian Gate - the ones the Clan had just left to go help them.

Trixie paused. “But, the shadow walker won't work in there to get us back, right?”

The Chief bowed their heads in agreement. They whispered, and they spread their hands to her camera.

She picked it up from her belt and turned it on, confused but willing to roll with it. Then, they pointed to the right corner of the footage - the time stamp. “Time. It's currently…5pm?”

They drew a circle in the air clockwise, and with their other hand, held up three fingers.

Pronto always figured things out, out loud. “A clock? Three of them?”

“Are you…timing the opening and closing of the portals?” The cave troll glanced away, a little embarrassed. “Sorry, that's just something Eli would do. I know you wouldn't open-”

But they were nodding, seeming pleased at the cave troll understanding them.

Trixie put away the device. Good thing it was still fully charged. “So you'll open the portal, and open it for a second every three hours. And it'll close pretty quickly, so…we gotta be quick.”

“And the enemy will surely notice the pattern after a while!” The moll was right. The Shadow Clan whispered worriedly.

“Stealth and speed. Okay.” Kord gripped his blaster. The chief held out the walker again. At least it wasn't too long of a trip this time.

The ball flew high, and the Gang was off to save The Shane.

*

It was fast-moving, but wouldn't actually be lethal for over a day more.

But that wasn’t reassuring. Will Shane doubted he wasn’t holding a furnace. Eli’s skin was blistering, or would be if he hadn't grown a resistance to some fire from his own time down here.

Eli had no such luxury. His teeth were locked, trying not to make sound. He couldn't tell his dad jokes or stories about pranks or the people he met anymore. And while desperate to hear his Dad over and over again, it was hard to pay attention. It was consuming his mind, the slow-growing flame. It was going to melt his heart to ashes.

And Will could do nothing, just like he's done for the past five long, poisoned years.

Eli had said they gave an hour. It's been far longer than that - he thinks. His internal standard of time has sort-of vanished, thanks to the Deep Caverns. But it's been over an hour.

His touch was soft, trying not to cause more pain to his adolescent son. Fondly remembering their bedtime ritual, he lightly kissed the very top of his forehead - now it was covered with bangs, Eli hasn't had a hair cut in a while - and tried to be impartial when Eli hissed at the cold floor as he let go.

“D-dad-”

“I'm not waiting anymore, Eli. Let me try something.” He gestured for Burpy - who has been far away for a while, not wanting to warm the young Shane and not willing to get in the way of the full-body hugs the old Shane was giving (to make up for Eli’s lack of functional arms). He stowed away in his worn-out footwear.

He strides to the bars and punched them as hard as he could, shaking the narrow columns and wishing the large clangs of metallic rock would echo louder.

“Cowards! Do you not want to see us? Are the all-righteous brothers of the Dark Bane too scared of two prisoners?”

Guards from behind a long-away pillar came into view. “Free hands are a privilege, Will. We don't appreciate our kindness mocked by our distinguished guests.”

“Then where’s the host? Chain me up, then.”

Growling, they started advancing.

But then, the Dark Bane elite - complete with Nacho and Brimstone - were coming.

And - god, was that Thaddeus?!? His son wasn't kidding. He really was ghouling everything, himself included. But…he wasn't Dark Bane, not yet.

The big monster-version of his old rival appeared as high as a kite. “Enjoying the family reunion?”

“Thad.” His eyes narrowed. “You kept me alive, just so Eli could find me down here? Really?”

“Oh don't be so dramatic and accusatory, that's your son’s job now. Or…” his eyes tried to wander to the shivering, fever-ridden boy behind him. Will blocked his sight. “It was.”

“Well, why stop with one Shane? Come get me, too.”

Eli pushed through the ache of moving, and his head struggled up to the bars. “Wha-”

“You really scared to beat me in a duel, down here, with no slugs, while you have ghouls? I always knew Vig Dare was letting you win so he could leave that sick buisness -”

Thad took hold of Will’s arm that had been hovering near the opening. “Don't you disrespect that man. He was the best of his time. Just like I am to mine. You or Jimmo couldn't beat me.”

Nacho scowled. “Blakk-”

Will Shane let himself do the talking. “But Eli did. A few times, actually. You let yourself be driven to Stalagmite-17, in Coop’s old vacation trailer? And I did, I'm the Shane who you had to spend years doing mad scientist bull to beat, and just barely.” His eyes showed pure malice. “I wonder what Tad would-”

Blakk ripped the cage open, blaster locked and loaded, before Will could divulge the doctors knowledge of the Surface to the surface-obsessed Dark Bane. He pulled the trigger.

Burpy knocked into the blaster, sending the shot freightgeist into all the guards behind them. They ran away through the long corridor, feet pattering in fear. Will wasn't going to lie; the sound was satisfying to hear.

Then Burpy landed a flame into Thad’s big bloated face, giving Will the chance to punch him right where he knew it'd hurt the most. Blakk was out like a light. Sparring with someone for your whole life meant they knew each others weaknesses, though Thad never did quite understand the importance of slugs in Slugterra, nor how to use them to any real advantage in a fight.

Will let himself feel a little glad he had to do that - his son did not have the strength to punch an adult Blakk quite yet, and I'm sure Eli would look back on his cheeks finally getting knocked in fondly. When they were both alive and out of here.

He ran back to Eli. “Sorry, son.” He quickly picked him up, and Eli's pained cry from so much movement revived his stubbornness to get the fuck out of the red caverns.

He picked up Blakk’s blaster. It felt right to have a weight on his tool belt again. He knew, from recon missions, where his blaster and Bandoleer were kept in the castle. His slugs have gone a while without food - damn, he needed to feed them as soon as he could. He missed his team. Hopefully Eli’s blaster and backpack he left him - hopefully he landed here with them - were in better condition for fighting.

*

They landed in the Deep Caverns, and knowing what happened last time, scurried to the high heaps of stones faster than lightning, blasters already drawn in case they weren't quick enough.

Quick enough they were, and soon, the Gang was hidden. Good.

Peering down on the castle, Trixie using the camera to zoom in. Seeing all she needed, she turned it off - don't waste battery life. “Looks the same as last time.”

“Are we sure Eli fell around here? He could be…anywhere.” Kord held his own arms tight. “Oh no, what if this place is massive? What if he fell into the freaky seas surrounding this place?”

Pronto looked really worried, too, at it all. Walking in blind was their only shot, and it was a long one.

Trixie saw Kord blink back tears, and she raised her arms. The Moll and cave troll made a group hug, giving them a moment to just…think. About everything that day.

“We’ll rescue him,” Trixie stated. “He doesn’t go down easy!”

Shouting erupted in the distance, and past the roofed section of the royal structure, there was a large man, with some type of bronze armor fortifying his shoulders and chest, running towards them, with something in his arms -

Eli.

*

Blakk's blaster was left behind. He was running so fast, with a human and two new blasters and equipment jumbled in his arms, that he hadn't even said hi to either his or his son’s slugs yet. They understood, staying in their bags till further notice.

Outside, they were noticed. But that was fine. His slugs were ghouled since he fell down here, and while it wasn't the same…he could shoot them, in times like these.

He gave up one arm to hold a blaster, using a pillar riddled with sun markings to hold up Eli while he fired. He shot a tazerling, then a hop rock, while stunned then for just long enough to run. There was fire at his heels, and rocks were the only way forward in the shallow section of the dark water sea. Rocks that made great targets to stop the Shane’s pursuit up one of the few land-connected mountains -

Shots, from above. They transformed into more ghouls. It drove the monsters back.

He reached the top, and while he stayed silent, Eli didn’t. “Gu-”

The three slingers ran to the sick Eli in what they obviously thought to be a strangers arms. The girl, uncaring about the new guy, tried taking Eli, and then-

"Ah!" She skipped back, instantly checking her skin. That was like putting a finger over a stove!

But the stranger was holding him with no (sighted, at least) issues. He was cradling an Eli that resembled the Eli during nightmares, only he was very awake. And displaying more of his pain than he's ever had on a bad night.

Pronto and Kord were behind her, speechless at the whole thing. Fear flashed in her eyes. “Eli, fill us in. What-”

He coughed right in their faces. “Dad. He. Tell you.”

He was laid on the ground as the three processed the short words. Dad.

Trixie gasped, looking wildly at the disheveled man. “Will Shane?”

The man did a spin trick with his blaster, though at his son burning to death, the smile didn't reach his eyes. “Yes. Pleasure to meet you all. Where’s the healer slug, and how are we getting out of here?”

The Cave Troll - Kord, the kid had told him excitedly - was very unreadable. He was glued to Eli underneath them all, struggling and suffering, but also glancing constantly at the man - his father, the one who he's undoubtedly heard plenty of stories about, from and not from Eli Shane. “Had to rejoin the Guardian Gate - he’s ours, but he also became a Guardian a month or so back. Shadow Clan are going to let it down for a second to get us back. Trix, time?”

She opened up a camera. “5:35pm. They’ll open the guardian gate at…8pm.”

Eli, despite himself, grunted in pain. The shaking was constant. His hair was turning moist and he wanted to get every layer of clothing off of him. Will kneeled at his side. “Eli. You're gonna make it. Just a little longer. We have a plan.”

The moll glared at the Shane - though there wasn't much menace behind it. “And what is wrong with him?”

“Fire death.” The old Shane hated this introduction to his sons' friends, but he never really had a choice in how his life worked anyway. “It's when Dark Bane touch you and the fire burns into you, slowly killing you. It takes 48 hours to kill fully. And by hour three…this happens.”

Kord looked terrified. “But - my bro has been like this for only three hours - what's another 2 gonna do to him?!?”

Will Shane moved past that part. “Keep reclaiming your slugs - keep firing, keep them away. At 7:55 we head down there - the Guardian gate opens just in that clearing below.”

He took his thumb and wiped wet hair off Eli’s forehead. “You're gonna be okay, kiddo. Your friends are here.”

He coughed again, trying to talk. “Missed…Yall. Love you.”

The girl - Trixie, he recalled - tried lifting him for a hug.

She hissed. He shrieked. She put him down. “Eli? Eli, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-”

“Nothing to be ashamed of, miss. I did it too.” He leaned over to ask her something. “And does he usually just accept death like he's been doing the past while down here with me?”

Her face fell even further, “No…no, that's the last thing I could see from Eli. He's the most positive person I know. It makes me worried he's actually faking it sometimes.”

“Huh.” The Dark Bane were catching up - he and Kord slugged them quick. “...I've seen fire death, but have never known the victim too well. It might…it might also be giving him some type of depression?”

“That would make sense…oh Eli.”

Yes, he shared her worry tenfold. He didn't want to share that the one Dark Bane he's seen succumb to fire death - one who tried to usurp Brimstone’s leadership, a few years back - was unconscious in pain for the last forty hours of his life.

And from hour five, they were begging El Diablos Nacho to spear them to death instead.

Well, Eli was a Shane. He could last six, he had to.

And he himself was Will Shane. He just got his son back. He was going to be the father he deserved. Apparently, he lost a wife, a teacher, and an Uncle. Eli was all he had left, and he was going to keep him around, or die trying.

*

The uphill assault was slow, but the Dark Bane was creeping closer. Their slugs were getting tired.

Suddenly, Burpy, recruiting a ghouled Tazerling and Armasheldt (probably his friends), dragged a strange device from Eli’s bag. It looked similar to -

“Double-Barrel!” Trixie looked relieved. “We can use that to really drive them back.”

Kord was dubious. “Shouldn’t we keep that for an emergency?”

“It can recharge in time for that!”

“We’ve never even shot a ghoul fusion before! There’s no telling what it could do!”

Will Shane sighed. Of course shooting tech advanced this far while he was gone. “I could also drive them away, you know. Slug that thing far enough away, so if it’s catastrophic, we don't get blown back too badly. And then circle back. I know my way around this place.”

Eli has been grunting for the past thirty minutes, the ghouled frostcrawler on his head not doing much to lessen his body temperature.

But when Will got out of a crouch, Eli’s blaster and double barrel in his grip, and Eli's ghouled slugs climbing into his gear, he frantically got up on his feet and stumbled fast into his Dad.

“Don’t leave,” he forced out of his mouth. “Don't leave again!”

Kord met Will’s sad eyes. Without a word, the cave troll took on the mission instead, leaving the blood relatives with a pat on the head for Eli. And the cave troll gasped. "Hey, you don't burn me buddy!"

Eli didn't respond, eyes shut tight from effort, and crumpling to the ground. Will responded instead.

"Kord, is it?" Will Shane twisted a corner of his mouth upwards. "Bigger muscle mass, plus, cave trolls are more resilient to dark water properties."

Surprisingly, Will reached up and offered a high five. Kord obviously took it. “Glad my son found you, kid.”

Despite the circumstance, Kord turned and smiled with a tiny bit of joy. Will Shane just said THAT, to HIM. Incredible. They all better live through this, because he wanted to forget everything except that moment.

*

Double-barrel ghouls worked - about five hundred feet away, Kord shot two ghouls (a combination of slugs that he saw Eli use constantly, he was not about to chance the risky maneuver any further), and…wow. Crystals and rock together created a whole new mountain range; that was taller, and closer to the portal than their original position.

Kord regrouped at their current pinnacle - and was hugged by a relieved Pronto. Then, the Shane Gang gathered their gear and stood.

The Shane's themselves were…

It was 6:30. Eli had been sobbing for fifteen minutes, holding onto his dads arm so hard it bruised. Will didn't mind the burn scar. It helped him rationalize that he wasn't just sitting helplessly while his son was going through a Slugterra type of medieval torture magic.

He was used to holding back tears. Today it was harder than normal. “Eli, it'll be over soon, okay? I'm gonna pick you up. We're going to get closer to the portal.”

He was so small, sick on the infected summit like that. He tried to speak, but coughs shook his burning bones instead.

There was a point where no distraction worked, and they were close to reaching it.

Will picked him up.

He panicked, breathing loudly. “Stop. Leave me here.” He sounded so scared. “Just save yourselves!”

“You told me not to leave, and I won't.”

They started running, everyone dueling except the father. “Just-” he bounced over another rock, “it's like being Burpy, when he transforms. He's really powerful, but he gets really hot. But then he runs out of energy, and he goes back to his cheerful little self.” Burpy chirped enthusiastically for the kid while on Will’s shoulder. “You're burning like the best slug, like the Shane star, even. And you'll cool down soon. You'll cool down soon.”

“...through death?”

“No, through rest. Just gotta win the battle, then you can de-transform, right?”

"...S-so your my slinger?"

That was his son alright. "...Sure Eli. Stay alive for me, E."

They made it to the newly constructed mountain, shiny and more fortified. The Dark Bane didn't seem to be all that powerful, attacking the small force as they migrated. Maybe they were weakened from the Slugterra battle. Maybe they were taking their time, playing the long game. Planning something else.

It was 6:45pm. Eli's voice was raspy. It hurt to keep listening to. They worried this would permanently scar his vocal cords.

Next hour was…long. Eli was getting really, really desperate. Will was worried Eli would hurt himself, turning around so often on the prickly new base, sobbing uncontrollably. The madness Eli was beginning to develop was downright disturbing.

He found the ghouled frostcrawler. He explained his idea to the group, and no one objected.

His son wouldn't be properly recieving the warning, but he had to try. “Eli. This isn't going to be permanent, okay? You get to breathe again after. Trust your dad, I'm not leaving you, never again.”

He shot the frostcrawler. Eli was covered in darkened frost, but almost immediately it melted.

But Eli finally breathed deeply. “Don't let it get bad again. Please don't let-it-”

Words cut short as the searing returned full-force. Oh, the numbness from the snow slug really highlighted how bad this was.

“I can't do this, guys.”

7:01pm. “One hour, Eli. Yes you can.”

*

He shot him, briefly relieving him of the fire death curse, every five-ish minutes. The Gang was holding out, using double-barrel when things grew dicey. Around 7:40pm, they were finally allowing themselves to hope.

But then, in the distance, a new sight; Blakk and the Dark Bane elite were on their feet. Will knocked them out, but that was hours ago.

Thaddeus was climbing up the walls at fast speed, avoiding all their slugs with agility that shouldn't be possible for a human. Though…he was huge now. Maybe he wasn't human anymore after all.

Eli Shane was hallucinating. There were ghouls everywhere, vision coated red. The ground was burning coal, and walls of fire were encircling them all. Were his friends dying in the flames? Was his dad dead all along, just a fiery dream he was seeing turn to ash before him over and over again as he slowly burned away with him?

The human girl reloaded. “We can’t handle Blakk and Dark Bane at the same time.”

Will Shane didn’t want to split up. His feet felt glued to the mountaintop, where Eli was. Where Eli wanted him.

But Eli needed that healer. Kord would be able to carry Eli over to the Portal. And if Blakk reached the top, one gun pointed to Eli would be enough to force their surrender.

“Burpy.” The Infernus nodded, and popped over to Kord.

“...Really, Burpy?”

They smiled. Will needed him, now. More fire wasn’t going to help Eli at the moment.

“...Okay, buddy. Hop in.”

Burpy, with a shot from Kord, turned black and ghouled. Will Shane took him back, now in his bandoleer, keeping him safe even in his monstrous form.

Then Will snapped his fingers to Eli.

With the struggling kids' attention, Will Shane saluted him.

He avoided Eli’s eyes, now clouded with even more panic. He shot him a frostcrawler, and with that done, he handed the chilly little ghouled guy over to Trixie. “I’m going to have to have a word with Thaddius.”

Burpy by his side, he jumped off the mountain-top. Blakk was super human, but he was a slightly-less-than-before human WIll Shane.

Unlike last time, he was going to find Eli himself when he won the duel.

*

Trixie locked her jaw sadly. “It IS a family trait. Floppers.”

“Trix, how we doing this?”

She saw the worry in Kord. Oh, the goofy ball of anxiety she called one of her best friends wasn't masking it very well. She tried a smile. “Surely we have something that could change the game up…what did we bring in here?”

Kord looked around. “Blasters, Slugs, ourselves…the Shadow Walker?” His eyes lit up. “Yo, maybe the Walker works like a mech heart? The energy might be a bit different, but it should still have an amount of energy in it that could be mechanized? Surely the shadow energy doesn’t just take them from place to place. Or it doesn’t have to.”

That’s the Kord she knew. She tossed him the ball. “You think, if this thing exploded or something, the Dark Bane wouldn’t like it?”

Kord smirked. “Well, the cousins don’t seem to like each other too much. Perhaps these dudes should learn the Sun ain’t all that hot down here. If we felt sick in too much shadow, how long will it knock them out?”

She pumped up a fist, and he met it. “Long enough!”

*

Blakk was jumping, nearing their little camp. While in mid-air, WIll appeared, and took the chance to kick Blakk back down and to the side. Every meter away from Eli made Will freak out a bit less.

He regained footing quickly on the tilted rock. “Hello, Will.”

The Shane didn’t deny the hate in his eyes. “You didn’t stop this, Thad. I gave you every chance. You refused to walk away.”

He snickered. “And why would I, when the world was for the taking? Not everyone had all the worlds at their command, Shane. Why should I leave all the glory for you?”

They fired slugs back and forth. “You could’ve lived with your son. You chose Slugterra!”

“I chose glory! I chose to change the world for our benefit. He would understand.”

Will was angry, his soul boiling under the rage. “And how would you know? You named him then left your pregnant wife to fend for herself. You wouldn’t know he was alive if it wasn’t for me!”

Dr. Blakk, ever since he was young, had a knack for fast-firing slugs. It made his slug choices predictable. And even better, It meant Will knew when Blakk would leap away to another boulder to reload.

And that’s what happened. He fired while the bigger man was in mid-air. The rammstone was enough to keep him from finding ground again, and a tormato slug flung him further, away from the structure. Suddenly, he was at the edge of the grand sea, the one they both knew the pain of plunging in. Thaddius Blakk was dangling, only his own hands to keep from falling.

Will Shane looked down. Eli didn’t know this man was one of the first friends he had made in Slugterra, back when Will was his age. He didn’t know the long talks, the encouragement and networking to find paid work. Will’s determination to convince Jimmo to take down the slave mines and help kids like Thad transition into normal life, where they could finally use the free will that shouldn’t have been stolen from them. But Thad mistranslated freedom for power, and Will tried to give him space to figure his life out. He wasn’t the first to hate the Shane’s for their mysterious ability to not get caught up in the Slugterran underground, and Thad hated them even more when he learned they lived very peacefully on the surface, and chose to fire guns in the underground generation by generation.

Will failed. He didn’t save Blakk from his demons, and instead, the kid, enslaved and left for dead time and time again, became the Viggo Dars for a brand new generation.

His eyes teared up. “I’m still sorry, Thad. But before I even knew you, I was a Shane. I’ll always be a Shane.”

He blasted Burpy, and Burpy knocked his former slinger into the red sea below.

Good. No letters, this time. It was nearing eight o’clock, and he already felt like he lost everything. He must bring Eli to Slugterra, like he should have half a year ago.

*

Trixie helped out Eli with Chiller, and when she came back, Kord was finishing up his work. The ball seemed unaffected, but a small patch of the dark green siding had been tweaked a little.

She stooped to him. “What’s the plan?”

He seemed hesitant. “This thing has barely any tech to it, but when I tried pulling off the sides, it got colder to the touch. Probably destabilized it. With some luck, it’ll have some type of reaction to Dark Bane and their flamethrower arms.”

“...Well, if it doesn’t work, it’s at least some type of distraction…It’s 7:45. Where is Eli’s dad?”

Pronto has been mostly silent; it’s not easy to crack jokes when your leader is trying his best not to scream. He was sure those sounds would haunt them for a while. But he pointed to their right, further away from the Guardian portal. “Over there! Seems intense.”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “...he wouldn’t want us to let Eli die. We have to trust him to meet us there.”

Kord hurried to Eli. “Time for home, buddy.”

Eli cried out loudly. “Dad! Dad, dad-”

“Shhh, he’s joining us there. We got a plan.”

Eli wasn’t listening. He picked him up, and Trixie and Kord hopped out.

*

They ran, a formal assault on the Dark Bane, blasters ringing with rapid-fire recoil at 7:52pm.

A fire bomb hit Trixie on the arm. She fell face-fist into the murky dirt, and the fall must’ve twisted her ankle; she hobbled up, still trying to sprint forward.

“Trixie!” Kord lifted her up on his shoulder, Eli still in his arms. He had to be careful more than ever now.

Brimstone heckled, raising another fist of fire. “So weak, forced to use what little strength you got to attack us while carrying your fallen.”

Where was Will? Come on Shane, don’t let Eli down…

Kord grunted. “Glad you got home okay, you should redecorate! You’re not getting out of here anytime soon, and there are several big architectural problems with this castle. For one-”

They threw fire at him. Now’s the time.

Kord found the tinkered Shadow Walker from his back and chucked it. Fire and cold shadow connected, and a huge blast shook the cavern. Rocks falling from the ceiling and waves churning the dark water, the Dark Bane were parodying Eli, screaming in pain and falling to their knees.

Enough time for Pronto (who had stealthed over there in the chaos) to get his own shot at the Double Barrel, shooting from the guardian portal. The pistol felt small and unfamiliar, but the Thrasher and Frostcrawler combination did a good job, cutting through the ground while also freezing the Dark Bane elite in their path.

Trixie, despite the injury, cheered. “Woooo! Go, Kord, go!”

The Shane Gang joined Pronto near the portal. Any minute now, and it would all be over.

Where was Will Shane?

“There!” Pronto pointed, finding the man. Riding a ghouled Burpy, straight for them, at full speed.

The portal opened. The four hurried across the platform, and right before it closed, Will and Burpy rode across, back into the 99 caverns.

He jumped off. All Will saw were shadow clan and his burning son.

The other three were glancing at each other. Somehow, they were giggling. Eli was going to be okay, They saved Slugterra.

And, miraculously, Will Shane was home.

*

Will Shane’s return was shocking to the Shadow Clan; so unexpected that they leapt to the far walls in a defensive position as soon as they helped the Guardians back onto the pedestals.

Will sighed. He had taken Eli’s Shadow Talker from earlier, knowing he’d need it now. Ugh he hated this thing, it hurt like a bitch.

He placed it on his head and seized up at the pain in his skull. “Where’s the healer slug?”

“...Hello, Shane. We apologize for your son finding the deep caverns. But we are very happy you have-”

“He has Fire Death, Chieftain! Where is his healer?” He could talk with them and scheme about Slugterra later. His son was still sobbing in the cave trolls care.

Whispers abounded, and then the Chief whispered for a little green slug to retire off their honorable platform.

“Doc!” Pronto shouted.

Quickly, he hopped into Will Shane’s blaster. Of course the little one recognized him from that trip, now nearly two decades ago, where he and Jimmo relocated the Elementals to update their maps.

And of course Eli accidentally found an Elemental. That’s such a Shane thing to do.

Kord set him down, and Will shot the Energy Elemental to the boy. After a second, Eli fell silent; caught in a healing green air cloud, glowing up his skin, specifically the sides of his stomach. He floated for a second, till Doc was done, and he fell down to solid earth in the sacred Shadow Clan Mines.

Eli blinked awake. “...Dad?”

“Eli.” He crouched down and kissed his forehead. “We came back, kid. We’re back.”

The dam broke for the older Shane. He cried, a bittersweet mixture of relief and horror at how the world had changed in his absence.

At those tears, Eli remembered, through his suffering haze, before it all blacked out; the motion his Dad made back there, as he went to save his world again. And the reason why, explanation short and simple, dating way back to when the solutions often always were: ”I love you, so I salute you.”

“We did it.”

Eli saluted his dad, and for the first time, he did it right.

Crushed in a hug, the two last Shanes didn’t care about the audience, about being leaders or heroes or anything else the people thought the Shane’s were. They found each other again.

*

Will was introduced to the Hideout, now turned Clubhouse by the weird kids he let inherit the place. Will shaved and let Eli give him a haircut, and a new set of Shane-branded clothes.

Except for the darkened eyes, pale skin, and grimmer cheekbones, his dad appeared almost normal.

They were inseparable. For the next few days, when Eli wasn’t randomly hugging Kord and Trix and Pronto, he was with his dad, catching up about anything and everything. They slept in the same room upstairs, similar to what they did back on the surface before it all went wrong. Eli told stories, every Pirate adventure, every update on Blite and the Por’s and Twist and High Plains Cavern.

Everything was right again. He had his dad back!

One of these afternoons, the whole Gang had ordered Pizza. Will was chugging food down like a madman, so they ordered five pies. “No real food like this in a while,” he explained. “I missed Shane meals.”

Will coughed on pepperoni and turned to face Eli. “Let’s walk around, eh?”

Eli would never get tired of hearing his dad speak. “Sure!”

With a few fistbumps, they made it outside. They strolled, in comfortable silence. Will was leading the way, till above them, there was…

“...Oh. Yeah, this.”

Will grinned. “Forgot this thing already? You’ve had a long first trip down here.” He sat down on the grass, and pointed to the spot in front of him. “Let’s talk Shane business, kiddo.”

Eli nervously entered criss-cross-apple-sauce, heart skipping a little. “Okay.”

And Will sighed. “You’re fifteen.”

Eli raised an eyebrow. “And a half.”

“You are my child, you inherited looking younger than you actually are. You’re fifteen.”

Eli deflated. “...But I’m the Shane. We’re the Shane’s?”

Will laughed. “True. Normally, we bring the kid Shane’s down here for month-long trips till they’re twenty, to train. But…you sped past that. And worse, I’ve been…inactive. We’re not working on precedent. Which means, we get to choose what we want to do!”

Will stared his son down. “I can’t go back up to the surface. But you can. You’re probably considered missing right now, aren’t you?”

Eli was tearing grass from the earth, not wanting to face him. “...Yeah. A few weeks before my birthday, Jimmo entered Hospice Care, and I stayed at my cousin’s house.”

Will tilted his head. “Which one?”

Eli giggled. “I didn’t remember her name before CPS took me there either. Wasn’t bad, but I left the night of my birthday. Didn’t waste anymore time.”

Will wanted to ask about his wife. But…no, if she did what he’s thinking she did, based on how Eli’s strongly pretending she didn’t exist…she could wait.

“So you'd have to make a cover-story to get up there again?”

Eli stared at the hole in the ceiling. “...Yeah, or get a new identity or something. If I ever go up there again.”

That made Will stare a bit. “You really don’t want to go back to the Surface?”

Eli kept looking up. “...I don’t know about the future. And the sun is pretty cool.”

“The sun is cool?”

Eli gulp-laughed, then shook himself out of it. “But right now? I got you, and my friends, and Sluterra to keep safe. I like having a purpose. I like helping. And it’s what I dreamed of doing ever since I was little.”

The older Shane thought out loud. “I suppose it would be hard to make an excuse to your friends, too…”

The kid was startled. “Oh! About that…”

The seasoned veteran inhaled very slowly. “...Eli.”

“Listen, it wasn’t out of nowhere. People were trying to get Uncle Jimmo’s Journal, and I needed help defending it, and they deserved to know what they were risking their lives for-”

“Eli.”

“-plus they’re awesome, you’ve seen them, they’de never betray me, besides I’m the one with Burpy it’s not like they can go up there themselves-”

He laid a hand on the panicking Shane. “Don’t sweat it. What’s done is done, and you needed help. Just don’t go telling every ally you got about it, okay?”

Eli nodded. “...Yeah. Yeah I can do that. And I…Dad I want to stay in Slugterra. It’s my home, now.” He finally met his dad’s eyes.

Eli had grown into his own Shane alright. This was a boy with conviction, a blaster, and plenty of fuck-the-rules energy to make things right.

He was the Shane. There were two Shanes. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.

“...Staying it is, then.”

The young Shane’s hands bounced up. “But wait! Why do we even live half-and-half in both worlds? Isn’t it really dangerous to keep the Surface open to anyone who can fly up there? Maybe we should destroy it or something.”

His father snorted. “Well, we got two Shane’s to protect it, and a hideout right here. Plus…” Will realized something. “Wait, you don’t know? I thought I left Jimmo’s journal down here for you!”

Eli’s arm scratched his own back, face turning red. “...We had to destroy it. Someone found out the cipher for the Shane code and was about to read it.”

He sighed, for the millionth time that week. Part of him got happier every time he did; every Shane problem reminded him the deep caverns were buried, gone to the past, hopefully forever. He had been given freedom once more. And he was going to do good, with the power he had. “God, you’re more accident-prone than me. Well, come on then. I need to tell you some things.”

He pulled his son up, and the two were walking back. “...Can I tell my friends what I learn?”

Will rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s not like they don’t know world-shattering information already. Might as well give them more reasons to not gossip about it in the future. Though, some things…we’ll talk.”

Waving hi to the rest of the Gang, Will and Eli walked to the back of the hideout, a boring little storage space. Will, ever the performer, waves his hands around. “Behold! The room that leads to the hidden tunnels!”

His dad held out a hand. “I’m going to tell you everything, Son of Shane. You ready?”

Through fire - abandonment, war, pain, worry, doubt - he had walked, before and after the Drop. The only map he had was his fathers footsteps, shortly penned, and faded footprints; jaded by the other travelers throughout the Midland.

But, through magic only Slugterra could provide, he found it - his dad, his friends, his duty, and soon, all the secrets he’s been needing to keep the peace for a long time to come.

He shook his Dad’s hand. In a way, they were now equals. “Lead the way, Shane.”

Then he stepped back and saluted. Will opened the entryway, father and son laughing through the entrance.

It was time to spread the fire’s ashes, and light a new flame.