I love this and make a humble HC request:
Trixie would think about punching Will Shane, but decide instead to, when he lives with them, not tell him anything as payback. "Oh, the WiFi password? It's written down somewhere. What did Pronto make to eat? Have a taste to find out. What is it like in the Eastern Caverns? Alas, you must wait to visit them yourself...tragic"
"Kid, this is really not necessary and not efficient."
"...bummer."
- part 1 -
Hero worship be damned, Kord will punch Will Shane
There are multiple stashes of snacks in the Hideout. Some are booby traped
There was a moment in time when Eli was so sleep deprived, he wore his clothes backwards and inside out, and no one said a thing
The Hideout, being rather old and not having been in proper use for a handful of years, needed quite a bit of repairs and upgrades. Yet, no one has bothering to fix the gutters.
There is a rat that lives in the Shane Hideout, it's name is Randy, and no one acknowledges him outside of saying 'hi' when the rodent is spotted.
Fun fact, there was a mouse in my house like three years ago, i also named him Randy. Unfortunately, Randy is now dead :(
The Slugs of the Shane Colony have had trials,
like actual 'court' trials.
Burpy by default is the judge unless he is to take the stand as a defendant, prosecutor, or witness, and in those cases, Doc or Stinky become the new judge.
Trixie has tried (and failed) to film Eli singing
Eli hated mushrooms pre Drop, now they just remind him of chicken when cooked right
Hero worship be damned, Pronto will punch Will Shane
Kord likes romance movies
Eli likes action comedy movies
Trixie likes horror and just well shot movies in general
Pronto also like romance movies, but well done rom coms are also good.
Eli brought his mp3 player from the Surface, it's filled with a bunch of his favorite songs,
If he's having trouble falling asleep, Eli will pop in his ear buds and listen to music form his mp3 player
Don't worry, the Slugs make sure to take the buds out when their Slinger falls asleep
Pronto insists on cooking with bugs, he says it's for extra protein.
He's, unfortunately, right.
Trixie has filmed and posted a bunch of videos to the SlugNet. It wasn't until she joined the Shane Gang that her channel gained more traction
Trixie has a prank compilation on her channel that is just a compilation of all the pranks the team pull on each other that she is able to catch on Camara
The most popular Prank video is just the rest of the Gang referring to Eli as anything but his name for a whole day. And the Shane is slowly losing his mind.
Once, while undercover, Eli got mistaken for a kid skipping school and was forced into a classroom at the local school
Eli, being Eli, didn't say anything until the rest of the team had to come pick him up.
This actually led to the discovery of an underground ghouling ring.
Apparently, one of the upper class men found a berral of Dark Water, and after some trial and error, found out how to ghoul slugs and started selling their ghouling services for illegal dules
When Junjie joined the team, it was extremely awkward
For a week, Junjie was on bed rest before feeling comfortable going out on missions with them.
Junjie has so far been the only one to eat Prontos cooking with no complaints about there being bugs in it.
Junjie gets hooked on Kisses From a Hoverbug, but dose not admit it
Everyone has tried to prank Junjie, key word try, no one has succeeded.
Lack of information be damned Junjie will deck Will Shane
Two weeks after Junjie joining the gang, they have to go to Caverna Mall to get cloths and other things for him.
It goes as well as you would expect
This is also where Junjies slugs get their first real tase of not only junk food, but absolute chaos as well.
Joo-Joo becomes the fourth judge of Shane Colony court
Joo-Joo becomes a tyrant judge
Its a collective agreement to put the Infurnus in time out(in a shell) till hes cooled off.
All of the Slugs of the Shane Colony are protective of Doc
They just knew Doc was important long before their Slingers did
Rookie pranks Junjies slugs with his exploding ball things. It's funny damn it.
There is now a new tally next to Eli and Burpys. It's for Junjie and Joo-Joo, and how many fires they start
It's currently in the dubbed digits
NO ONE TALKS ABOUT "THE GAME MASTER"
"The Jigsaw wannabe" as Eli would say.
YALL WE'RE FINALLY GETTING RECOGNIZED
also u forgot anti-species supremacist but i more than forgive you, thank you please join the slugterra tumblr discourse you have my endorsement. please, i need your opinion on will shane op!
I was a fan of this show called Slugterra, and rewatched it recently. And it was to my great pleasure to find this Canadian TV show in 2012 about shooting elemental slugs was basically a heavily enviromentalist anarcho-communist propaganda piece that took a stance against AI, the legal system, animal cruelty, imperialism, and the sports/car/oil industry.
Hey there just read your story and I loved it đ„° canât wait for the next chapterđ.
Now for my question: When Dr. Blakk was defeated where did all the other villains go? Not once did I see twist, C.C, John Bull or Blakks other goons after that. What exactly do you think happened?
P.s I keep hearing that we might get slugterra back, but no confirmation yet if it true or not.
Let me know what you think.
aww, thank you so much!!! I'm so glad, it's got me obsessed w writing again :)
I think, in the final battle of s2, Blakk didn't care for them anymore, since dark bane are super powerful - they'd be more useful as cavern enforcers, probably, and we're off-screen being evil that way. after the battle -depends. Cc comes from a rich family and was known as a sport slugslinger - he might've gone back to that, he might be laying low to go back to that in a few years. This is probably true for most of the jock lackeys actually - shooting sports has always been a sport for either the really desperate trying to protect ppl, OR the super wealthy who like wearing thousands of dollars of gear to show off. Twist is...well, I explore it in ch2 (already deep into it), but essentially, it comes down to if he's redeemed, and when. Maybe he wasn't at the citadel but super loyal. Maybe he planned to rh. After master shanais murder. Or maybe he went back to underground foolery, as he did pre-the new kid, I associated w Blakk but still in organized crime. What is certain is that, after s2, twist had been publically for Blakk, like Maurice - both of them would need ALOT of help branching out of the underground due to their reputations. So they'd stay there... unless some fanfic writer used their unclear future as a way to breach the plot hole of how the goon got into the deep caverns..............stay tuned for ch2
And Imma be so real - I'm not holding hope for them coming back. Nerd corps is gone, and I couldn't watch ascension - not because of the animation, because it did something slugterras never done - go with the boring plot line. Like really, no kord or pronto, delving into slug biology instead of EVERYTHING ELSE, and bringing back blakk for a NOT good reason? It strips the heart of the original show. It would take a lot of money and good intentions to continue the show decently, and god help me, this shows been so LUCKY with not having any contradictory lore - get the wrong writers, and it'll break like a cheap pencil. So it could come back...but I'll be building up my ao3 regardless. I'll take the Slugterra canon into my own hands, and keep it alive through my fun obsession with it, side by side w all my homies online who wanna do the same :)
shanes get hurt's next chapter keeps feeling overwhelming, so im writing a long one-shot next to it. and i genuinely think this one will be done before shanes get hurt.
on the bright side, i finally get to do something ive never truly done in any of my stories:
explore twist's character.
strap in, folks. im writing a past-twist/eli, current eli/junjie fic, and since i don't feel the perfectionist urge w it nearly as much as SGH, its gonna be out...soon...
ahhhhh, this is gonna be awesome to read!!!! Thank you, happy holidays bestie!!!!!!
This is part of a Slugterra gift exchange I hosted!! This is for @mrros-e, who gave a prompt with Twist and Maurice! Minor warnings for discussions of injuries, death of an unnamed side OC, and gang activities. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, happy 12/25 to those who don't!
Let it be known that Maurice was not good with kids.
He didnât know what to do with them. Thankfully, in his line of work, dealing with children wasnât a common occurrence. People of all ages typically cleared out wherever Doctor Blakk went, and for the most part, where Blakk went, Maurice went.
There were a few exceptions, when business partners would bring their well-behaved children along to meetings, as if it would earn them any sympathy or extra care from the head of Blakk Industries. There were kids- preteens and young teens, which to Maurice might as well be toddlers- that were âcontractedâ with the company. They were information couriers, or mecha drivers, or just eyes and ears on the streets, paid enough for a couple warm meals. Maurice rarely interacted with them, but when he did, he often felt awkward and was certainly judged by the kids who were down on their luck. And being in Blakkâs inner circle, he didnât often have to mingle with the grunts.
Then there was Twist.
For better or worse, Maurice had been the one to find the kid. Heâd been in a rundown cavern on the bad side of town with a few grunts, checking in on stores they had deals with for slugs or money or equipment. As time went on and Dr. Blakk became more respected- feared? Was there a difference, really?- in the 99 Caverns, these cavern visits became easier. Nobody wanted to bring a slug to a ghoul fight. Maurice was having to draw his blaster less and less, and he wasnât one to complain about less work.
Checking in with the local shopkeepers had devolved into some street slingers approaching Maurice and his slingers, inquiring about any work they could pick up. Maurice was tired and ready to go back to the citadel, so heâd stayed back while his ghoulslingers âtestedâ the street slingers, which really just meant dueling it out. If any of the prospective workers could take down Mauriceâs men, heâd consider them, but they all failed and left to patch their wounds.
Except for one blond teenager, sporting a beater blaster and a single Thugglet. Maurice hadnât thought much of him. Thugglets were neat, sure, but they worked best with surprise attacks, not when you walked straight up to your opponents. Heâd been ready to turn the kid down and let him off the hook, noting his thin frame with a twinge of sympathy, when the blond launched into battle.
It was over almost as soon as it started. With a series of flashes, the kid was everywhere and nowhere, flipping ghoulslingers over his shoulder and slamming them to the ground with ease. He moved like water, dodging the few shots the ghoulslingers were able to fire off, getting up close and disarming each one of them.
The kid had looked up, tired teal eyes meeting Mauriceâs warily. Maurice regarded him carefully, and for a moment, he saw not a stranger, but a younger version of himself, tired and ready to do what he had to if it meant guaranteeing his own safety. With a Shane or without, the streets were tough, and Maurice knew firsthand they could create unbreakable resolve.
Maurice glanced over at his fallen lackeys, then back at the newcomer. He shrugged and gestured to the Blakk Industries mechas parked nearby.
âYou made your point, kid. Come with us.â
The rest was history. Maurice learned the kid went by Twist. Heâd established himself at Blakk Industries quickly, and his attitude and talent put him face to face with Dr. Blakk. One meeting later, and the plan for Twist to infiltrate the Shane Gang was born. The infiltration ultimately hadnât gone to plan, but Maurice knew the kid was safe for now. Dr. Blakk had taken a liking to him, probably seeing the same familiar attitude Maurice had noticed.
Blakk spent more and more time training Twist, but Mauriceâs day-to-day life didn't change much. He still manned the companyâs lackeys and reported to his boss. He rarely interacted with Twist directly, but often sat next to him in meetings. Twistâs frame had filled out more since joining the company (although the tenseness in his muscles never really ceased), but if Maurice nudged his leftovers over to the kid during mealtime meetings, then that was nobodyâs business.
It was hard to forget what the gnawing hunger of his youth felt like.
Whatever. It was to keep Twist battle-ready. There was no point slinging on an empty stomach, and he was getting sent on more and more missions by Blakk as the weeks went on. And if he underperformed, Blakk would be in a bad mood, and Maurice would have to deal with it, so it was all purely for his personal preservation.
So when Maurice saw the kid dragged into the citadel, blood spattered down his torso and hanging limply between two masked lackeys, he was a little concerned. Heâd started to feel invested in the young slingerâs progress, and Twist had been settling into his role at Blakk Industries well.
Maurice stayed back while Twist was rushed off, past Blakkâs office, where he was supposed to be debriefed by Twist and Dr. Blakk about the mission against the Unbeatable Master and toward the infirmary. The remaining lackeys that werenât carrying Twist had some scuffs on their uniforms, but otherwise looked unharmed, and even pleased with themselves. The mission must have gone well, or as well as it could have gotten with Twist looking like heâd been hit by a mecha.
Worry knitted the redheaded manâs brow, but he stayed put until Dr. Blakk approached him, a satisfied smirk on his face despite his usually spotless uniform being torn and singed. He didnât seem particularly concerned that his apprentice was being half carried to the infirmary, and Maurice knew Dr. Blakk didnât really care for most of his employees, so why did this feel different?
âIt looks like you were successful, boss?â Maurice said stoically, his hands tucked behind his back while he followed Dr. Blakk into his spotless office, shutting the door behind him.
âIndeed. The Unbeatable Master didnât live up to her name,â Blakk said, laughing to himself and shaking his head as he brushed some soot off his sleeve. âA minor hiccup at the end, but we won the day.â
Maurice raised an eyebrow, curious as to what sort of hiccup could cause his boss to look like heâd touched a live wire, but he recognized that Dr. Blakkâs good mood was a rarity that shouldnât be tampered with. Besides, Blakk wasnât the biggest concern he had at the moment.
âAnd what happened to Twist?â Maurice asked, careful to keep his voice neutral. Dr. Blakk waved a hand dismissively.
âHeâll be fine. He took an attack from the Unbeatable Master head-on,â he said, as if he was talking about something as simple as slugball scores, and not his apprentice fighting the most talented slinger in Slugterra.
âI didnât know she had it in her, to go so hard against a kid,â Maurice grumbled. Heâd heard tales of the Masterâs capabilities, of course, but with how strict she was in selecting trainees, and having trained every Shane in recorded history, Maurice had always assumed she had the sort of moral code that would lead to her holding back against young opponents.
Dr. Blakk scoffed.
âI doubt she would. No, he was disguised as me. He fought her off long enough for me to line up the final shot,â he said, a smirk on his face as he recounted the battle. âOnce Twist took the hit, the illusion dropped. She looked almost remorseful for a moment. But she didnât live for longer than another minute afterwards. Twist seemed surprised. He still has a lot to learn.â
Hm.
Maurice didnât particularly care for the Masterâs death. She was an obstacle and his boss removed her from the equation, it was as simple as that. Try as Eli Shane might to change things, this world was tough and you needed to be powerful to survive. Dr. Blakk had challenged her power, and she failed.
But Twist wasnât an obstacle, or an opponent. He was Dr. Blakkâs apprentice, his protege. Maurice knew Dr. Blakk had been through hell as a kid, just like him. That was how they met, after all. Heâd assumed- hoped?- that would grant Twist a little bit of grace, being a fellow person who suffered because of how this world worked.
Apparently not.
But why did that matter? Why was Mauriceâs stomach tightening at the knowledge that Twist had taken a hit meant for Dr. Blakk, and had been notably injured, and Blakk hadnât even escorted the kid to the infirmary? He didnât even seem to care.
Maurice didnât usually care. Caring was dangerous in this line of work. And yetâŠ
âWell, congratulations on the victory, boss,â Maurice said, clearing his throat and turning toward the door. âIâll do a gear check on the slingers who returned. See what needs to be repaired.â
Dr. Blakk only hummed in approval, either not noticing the internal conflict in Maurice or choosing not to acknowledge it. The redheaded man nodded and walked out of the office, shutting the door silently behind him.
He took a deep breath, fully intending to go to the storage bay like he said, but his eyes caught a glimpse of something on the floor. He frowned and peered down at what looked like a simple scuff, but what he instead realized was a small smear of blood. He frowned and looked down the gray hallway, and there were a few more drops, creating a faint trail in the direction of the infirmary.
The image of Twist held up between two uniformed workers resurfaced in Mauriceâs mind, and he sighed, groaning at his apparent inability to not care. Why couldnât he be like the doctor? Why couldnât this kid just be another face in a sea of revolving slingers who were down on their luck and needed a home or income? Why couldnât Twist just be another cog in the twisted machine that was Blakk Industries?
âDonât get involved,â he muttered to himself, adjusting his vest and turning the other way, towards the storage bay. âKidâs not your problem.â
But he only made it about four steps before his legs couldnât seem to move.
That wasnât true, was it? In a way, Twist was his problem. Maurice had been the one to invite him to Blakk Industries. Heâd seen the potential in this street-hardened kid, and maybe Twist would have gotten into trouble against the Shane anyway with his long standing grudge. But Maurice had brought him here.
It had been going well. Twist was proving himself at every turn. Maurice knew all too well the reflex to strive for power, for perfection, for some semblance of safety.
He groaned and ran a hand through his hair before turning on his heel and walking the other way down the hall, his fists clenched as he followed the occasional drop of blood to the infirmary.
Maurice rarely ended up in the infirmary, both due to a lack of injuries in the field and the stubbornness to patch himself up alone when he did sustain injuries. He stopped in front of the plain gray door, adorned with the companyâs V logo, and straightened his shoulders. This was purely professional. It wouldnât be good if Blakkâs apprentice was down for the count, so it was practical to check on him. Right.
He swiped his key card through the scanner and the door slid open, closing behind him once he stepped inside.
The infirmary was one of the brightest rooms in the building. It didnât necessarily match Dr. Blakkâs aesthetic, but the white and silver of the floor and walls helped potential contaminants stand out, making the place easier to clean.
There were only two people in the room. One was one of the handful of doctors employed here, Dr. Stevens. Some of the doctors were more coerced than employed, willing to stay only because their passion for healing people was stronger than the moral question of if Blakkâs ghoulslingers deserved healing.
Dr. Stevens was not one of those people. She didnât care about Blakkâs mission or the morality of helping ghoulslingers. Maurice had come to learn she saw people as puzzles, and it wasnât as much about helping them than it was feeling the success of figuring them out.
She stood next to one of the dozen infirmary cots, wearing a white jacket, with her dirty blond hair tied up in a tight bun. She was tucking a roll of bandages on a shelf next to the cot. She pulled a pen from her bun to scribble something down on a clipboard. Watching her warily was Twist.
âRight, well, you wonât die,â she said cheerfully. She stood between Maurice and Twist, blocking his vision of the kid. âMy medical advice is to give it a couple days before getting back in action. Iâm even more limited on Boon Doc usage now that Blakk found out a ghouled one can be a one-shot kill. How neat! Makes more work for me, though.â
She tucked her clipboard beneath her arm and stuck her pen back in her bun.
âAt least stay the night here instead of going to your bunk, and take those painkillers once every six hours. Thereâs disinfectant wipes if you want to clean yourself off, but donât shower until tomorrow night. I donât feel like dealing with you passing out and hitting your head. Otherwise, Iâm not your mother. I donât care what you do.â
With that phenomenal example of bedside manners, Dr. Stevens turned on her heels and headed for the exit. Her eyes widened when she saw Maurice standing close to the door and gave a surprised hum, but she didnât stop or say anything on her way out. Maurice could appreciate that, at least. He didnât particularly enjoy talking to the eccentric doctor. She had the unnerving habit of blurting out your medical problems halfway through a conversation.
Now that Dr. Stevens was gone, Maurice had a better look at Twist. He was laid down on the cot, lifted slightly by a couple white pillows. His tan skin was still a little pale, and his blond hair hung in his eyes. His shirt, vest, and blaster sat on his bedside table, stained with dirt and blood. His stomach was wrapped, with a few smaller, separate bandages higher on his ribs, and one concerningly close to his heart. His lips were downturned, and he stared forward blankly, not acknowledging Mauriceâs presence.
Before he could hesitate again and bail, Maurice forced himself to approach Twist, letting his footsteps fall heavily to alert the kid to his presence. Sure enough, Twist tensed, quickly turning his head and looking up at Maurice, his expression guarded.
âDid Dr. Blakk send for me?â he asked, gritting his teeth and starting to sit up. Maurice shook his head.
âRelax, kid. No, he didnât send for you.â
Twist didnât relax, but he did fully lay back down, reaching down and yanking a pale gray hospital blanket over himself. Maurice frowned at the familiar motion.
He laid on a battered futon, his chest heaving. Heâd taken a Rammstone earlier and cracked two ribs. Heâd won the duel and sent the trespassing slingers running with their tails between their legs, but damn if his whole torso didnât hurt. He didnât have any painkillers, so heâd resorted to tying an ice pack to his chest with his bandoleer.
The door to his ratty apartment slammed open, revealing Viggo Dare, flanked by a young Thaddius Blakk. Thaddius raised an eyebrow at the sight of Maurice laying there injured, but didnât say anything. Viggo scoffed, and Maurice quickly yanked a thin blanket over himself, as if hiding injuries could protect him from Viggoâs scorn.
Maurice gritted his teeth and grabbed a chair from next to another cot, dragging it to the foot of Twistâs cot and sitting slowly.
âHow you holding up? You looked rough coming in here.â
Twist still looked rough, in all honesty. He still had dried blood on his skin, and his eyes looked colder than usual. Maurice knew he was probably frustrated getting injured, but considering Dr. Blakk being in a good mood because of the missionâs success, he thought Twist would have been taking this a little better.
âFine,â Twist said curtly. âJust some weird⊠energy blast, I guess. Worked like a burn on my skin, and I got blasted through a stone pillar, so the landing was rough.â
Mauriceâs eyes widened. The Unbeatable Master had really been trying to take Dr. Blakk down, by the sound of it.
And instead of taking the hit himself, Blakk had let this kid stand in his place. He had to have known Twist wouldnât be able to hold his own against the Master. It was just a fact. She hadnât earned her reputation by being gentle.
âStill, itâs impressive you managed to stand your ground long enough for her to prepare a hit like that,â Maurice said, leaning back and hoping to come across as casual. âDonât take it too hard. Sounds like you did exactly what the boss needed you to do.â
Twist hummed halfheartedly in agreement, shifting his weight and pulling his gaze away from Maurice.
âSure.â
The two sat there in silence, Maurice frantically trying to think of what he could possibly say to make Twist feel better. He still didnât understand why Twist seemed so closed off, why he seemed to be taking this all poorly. Injuries were unfortunate, sure, but this wasnât the first time Twist had gotten hurt, although it might have been the most severe (since joining Blakk Industries, at least). Nobody was mad at him - Dr. Blakk was actually pleased. So why-?
Maurice remembered Dr. Stevensâ words.
âIâm even more limited on Boon Doc usage now that Blakk found out a ghouled one can be a one-shot kill.â
Right. The Unbeatable Master hadnât just been defeated. That wasnât how duels worked with Blakk, not when he had any say about it. His mission had been successful because he killed her. Again, not something Maurice particularly cared about, no matter how âwrongâ it was. He wouldnât grieve for a stranger. But Twist had been there, and Maurice knew what it was like to watch people die before becoming apathetic to it.
Viggo Dare stepped away with a scoff as the woman fell to the ground with a thud. Sheâd gone after him in a fury after heâd sent some thugs to beat up her brother, a shopkeeper who refused to pay Viggo for âprotection.â Now a Dirt Urchin spike ran through her chest. She was dead before she hit the ground.
Maurice had joined up with Viggo only two days ago. Well, âjoinedâ wasnât quite it. More like threatened and surrendered.
Heâd been in plenty of fights before. Heâd been living on the streets for years. But heâd never been right there, only feet away, with a front row seat to a personâs death.
Viggo hummed and reached down, grabbing the womanâs blaster. It was still loaded with an Armashelt, who growled angrily but made no moves to leave. After a moment, Viggo turned toward Maurice, who instinctively flinched. The mobster laughed at that, rolling his eyes before handing Maurice the blaster.
âThisâll do you better than the piece of junk youâve got now,â he said casually, like heâd just picked something up from Caverna Mall instead of off a corpse. Maurice took it with shaking hands.
âYou, uhâŠâ
Maurice rubbed the back of his neck, wishing there was some manual for talking to kids. What was he supposed to ask? If Twist was okay watching someone die right in front of him, as part of a plan heâd participated in? Thatâd heâd been key in? Clearly he wasnât.
And judging from Dr. Blakkâs comment earlier about Twist being surprised, it sounded like he hadnât known Blakk planned to kill the Master, not just win the duel. That had to have come as a shock.
âYou good, kid?â
Nice one, Maurice. Nailed it.
Twist looked up at him, his face a carefully constructed mask of no emotion. Met with no response, Maurice felt compelled to continue.
âJust wanted to check - sounds like things got a little intense. You took a heavy hit, and sounds like you were caught by surprise when the boss took down the Master.â
Silence.
âNo shame in that. If youâre not expecting it, something like thatâll naturally come as a shock.â
More silence. Twist was glaring down at the ground, looking anywhere but Mauriceâs direction.
I should just let him be, Maurice thought. Twist clearly didnât want to talk.
But he couldnât help but wonder what wouldâve happened if someone had stopped to talk to Maurice when he was younger. At any point- when his family life fell apart, when he was alone on the streets, when he was roped into Viggo Dareâs violence.
He liked who he was today. He was strong. Capable. And yetâŠ
âSame thing happened to me, once.â
Twistâs eyebrows raised. After a moment, he lifted his eyes. They were still guarded, but he was clearly listening more actively now. The action made Maurice feel relieved.
âYeah. I was a year or two younger than you. Iâd seen plenty of stuff at that point, but not that. Was running with a different group - led by Viggo Dare.â
Twist tensed. Maurice understood - not everyone knew about Viggo, but it wasnât uncommon for people on the street to know about him, as either a role model or a horror story.
âI was with him when some lady came after him. Heâd attacked her brother, she wanted to get even. Fight barely even began when he fired off a Dirt Urchin, ran her right through. Dare didnât even flinch. Even gave me her blaster,â Maurice said solemnly, nodding down to the blaster hooked to his belt. âSame one I use today. I kept my cool until I got back to my apartment, then I threw up.â
Maurice leaned back in his seat.
âSo, if you need to, you know, react, I wonât tell the boss.â
Twist watched him warily before finally speaking.
âYeah?â
âYeah.â
And with that, tears began to well up in the kidâs eyes. Twist gritted his teeth and raised a hand to wipe at his eyes.
âDamn it,â Twist choked, his shoulders shaking slightly. âWhy am I reacting like that? I just- she- I donât know, she believed in me. At least, enough for me to make it that far into the Winnowing. Even if Eli won, she might not have picked him. It wasnât about winning, it was about who we were.â
Maurice only nodded, processing Twistâs words. He hadnât been there in Dojang Grotto, but from the sound of it, the Unbeatable Master hadnât been interested in Twist only because of his slinging abilities, but also who he was as a person.
Sheâd seen him, and not in the same way as Dr. Blakk had seen him. Maurice knew Twist wasnât naive. The kid understood that no matter how much of Blakkâs favor he earned, he was still a mean to an end.
âI didnât think heâd kill her,â Twist admitted, rubbing his face. âI knew heâd use the gattler, but I thought he just wanted to show her up.â
âHe shoulda told you. Let you prepare. He probably just didnât want you to have too much on your mind,â Maurice said. âIt had to have been hard enough already, tricking someone as powerful as that.â
Maurice didnât say a quieter thought of his, that Blakk maybe hadnât told Twist because he still questioned the kidâs loyalty. To be fair, Maurice wasnât sure Dr. Blakk truly trusted anyone. Maurice might be the closest one, if there was anyone.
Blakk- and Maurice- knew enough about Twist to know he wouldnât plan on betraying Blakk Industries, but a spur of the moment decision? Maybe something like that wasnât so easy to dismiss as something Twist would never do.
âStill, I shouldnât be reacting like this!â Twist exclaimed, sitting up with a wince. Maurice wanted to stop him, but he also wanted to let Twist do whatever he felt like he needed. âBlakk canât see me like this. I canât ever break down like this. Itâs stupid. Iâve seen someone die before, Maurice, why does this matter?â
Right. His father.
The whole reason Twist had sought all this out in the first place- to get revenge on Eli Shane for Will Shaneâs killing of Twistâs father. Maurice didnât know all the details, just that Twistâs father was a thief and Will Shaneâs attempted apprehension had taken a deadly turn.
âSlingingâs rough, kid, but you canât roll with all the punches,â Maurice assured. âIâll be frank. Someone died in front of you. You helped make it happen. Iâd be a little concerned if you were doing perfectly fine.â
âYeah? Howâs that?â Twist fired back, pushing his hair out of his face and wiping at his nose. âYouâre glad Iâm crying like some kid? Thatâs real great. Thanks for coming here to tell me that.â
Maurice sighed and shook his head, running his hand down his face.
âNo, kid, Iâm not- I donât like that youâre upset. Iâm saying Iâve been right where you are. Itâs rough. Acknowledge that. Process it. And then youâll be able to move on.â
Twist sighed, taking a long, steady breath, letting his shoulder sag when he released it.
âRight. Yeah. Um- thanks. I guess,â he finally said. He wasnât smiling, but his eyes at least looked a little less hopeless, and Maurice would have to consider that a win.
He stood, and his arm inched forward for a moment, tempted to rest a hand on Twistâs shoulder. But a brief pang of guilt held him back.
I shouldnât feel guilty for bringing him into this. He wanted this. He wanted revenge, to be on the winning side.
Maurice let his hand fall back to his side.
âCall me if you need anything. Ever,â he said gruffly, rubbing at the back of his neck. âWonât tell the boss anything you donât want me to.â
Twistâs eyes widened, and he watched in shock when Maurice nodded to him and turned to leave the room. His hands curled around the edges of his blanket.
âI- thank you,â he choked out, the words tumbling from his mouth rushed and jumbled. âMaurice.â
Maurice turned and nodded again, gifting Twist with one of his rare, genuine smiles- not one full of pride or malice, but of content.
âNo problem, kid. Rest up.â
Twist nodded, and Maurice left the infirmary, closing the door silently behind him. His smile slowly faded. He⊠didnât know what to feel. So he just let himself be content with the bossâs victory, and Twistâs impending recovery.
And if, when the day finally came and the Dark Bane emerged from Doctor Blakkâs terraportal to wreak havoc on Slugterra, Maurice turned a blind eye to the sight of a young blond slinger retreating from the chaos?
Well, it was a hectic day. No one would ever know any better.
Pronto absolutely sleeps with incense burning. This is important for Pick Your Table Chapter 2. What scents would be his favorite?
Currently, I think he likes Lavendar candles. Would he also like earthly-toned smells? Or maybe he'd like high-class-sounding smell names? any answers yall give ill probably name drop in the fic, thx yall :)
I agree! We are scholaring so hard rn
I only have 2 additiona considerations. One: all the shane's are secretive, but I think will shane was SUPER secretive and concerned for the future. I don't think previous shanes would have a) not told their only son anything, b) left a bunch of holograms in case they died c) left out crucial information (like dana's perspective of Tom Por), and ANYTHING about doctor blakk...the list goes on. I think this isn't just a shane thing; something MADE Will this paranoid and fearful.
I have a few theories. Will could have carelessly lost his uncle's journal, and someone bad cracked the code about the surface/shadow clan secrets/other stuff (blakk? someone we dont know?) and thats why he's so terrified of another mistake. Another is that will LET someone read the journal w the code (blakk?!?) and they betrayed him, so he becomes a guy who trusts no one, and cares deeply for a very few - and perhaps, if he had the chance to see him older, eli would have helped him regain trust in humanity and stuff.
BUT, here's one harrowing detail that i've seen no one bring up but its haunted me (how it alluded me in the will shane post i have no idea):
Slugterra, episode 2. Blakk and Eli meet. Blakk's first words to Eli were:
"What your friends say is true. Will Shane was a true hero. I owe my life to him, in fact."
...
.........
BITCH WHAT.
okay, lets ignore that blakk KNEW from going to the deep caverns will was alive and was trying to keep eli from knowing his dad was alive. SURE. because somehow that emotional bullshit is secondary to how HOW DID WILL SHANE GIVE YOU YOUR LIFE, THADDEUS?!?
Like we all know they were rivals, but what the actual fuck happened?!? What a fascinating first sentence for your main villain. There's LORE here. Maybe they actually helped each other sometimes, back when they were around Eli's age. Maybe blakk had nothing to do with the journal. maybe he and their situationship had EVERYTHING to do with that journal, and will's shane legacy.
There's so much here. So much and yet we have no answers. All we have are theories, and u bet ur ass im writing out every single one I have. Thank you for joining me on my crusade :)
the character I am drawn to in this particularly anxiety inducing month of my life.
literately NOTHING is normal about him. Eli's mom? Had to leave somehow. Bestie? He and Tom Por had a massive fall out. Blakk? From what we gather from the master, they used to not hate each other apparently. Jimmo? Straightforward enough, but that leaves the question of what happened to wills parents! like he's a decent dude but also shady af and paranoid as hell and, WHY is he like that? Idk and it's fascinating?!? he's the definition of just being human, and I love him. He's got a complicated history and PLENTY of unsolved beef, because everyone associated w him's got a VERY different take on the guy and they all have changed their opinion of him massively at some point or other. Like yall I WILL write everything but I will especially write TomxWill and ThadxWill I need to explore his CHAOS
also never, NEVER forget, because I never will; Will KNEW about Blakk knowing about the surface right?!? Surely?!? He would find out, either w his son or with the alliance w dark bane?!? WHAT IS THE STORY HERE?!?
give me your headcanons, they lower my heart rate and stop my panic attacks from my executive dysfunction problems.
they only pop off when facing elimination so we might have a chance I NEED A SUBWAY WS IM MY LIFETIME
ITS ALL ON YOU METS BRING IT HOME! GIVE THE PEOPLE THE SUBWAY SERIES WE DESERVE!