Chapter Text
Eli (ten years old)
When Burpy appeared that night carrying a box, Eli was at first worried.
As soon as he grabbed the box, Burpy left. It hurt that the slug left him but Eli was a Shane, so he didn’t cry.
He opened the box and found that there was a short letter inside.
Dear Eli
I am so sorry, but I won’t be able to make it for your birthday. I was injured in a battle against one of my enemies and am laying low until I am ready to resume my duties as a Shane. I probably won’t be able to visit the surface for a while. Stay strong and remember our deal. I promise to come get you when you turn fifteen.
Love as always,
Dad
The letter was short, vague, and it finally broke the damn. Tears dropped onto the paper and Eli set it aside as he curled up on his bed.
His dad was going to miss his birthday? His dad wouldn’t be coming back until he was fifteen? He wouldn’t get to see his dad for five whole years?
It hurt to think about and the next day at school, Eli felt like the world was ending.
No one else seemed to notice anything was wrong but it was like he was drowning and he couldn’t swim to the surface. He was sinking and no one was there to pull him up.
His mom found the letter while he was at school and the next day she was gone too.
She left a letter saying she loved him but she couldn’t handle the Shane stuff anymore. The house was paid for by a fortune gained over the years by Shanes in the past and Eli would get a stipend until his fifteenth birthday when he left for Slugterra.
For three years, Eli lived alone and did his best to keep up with school.
After he graduated from middle school, he decided he couldn’t take it anymore.
He bought supplies and whatnot with his savings and then he went to The Drop.
It was a fun ride down and he almost let go of his stuff but he held on anyways.
Slugterra was beautiful and he loved it the second he laid eyes on it.
He left the Drop chair where it landed and immediately set about exploring.
He found after a few minutes that the slugs he encountered thought he was really interesting.
They kept coming up to him and looking him over before scampering off. He didn’t know why the slugs kept doing that, but it was kinda cute.
Finally, he decided to ask one of them.
“What’s so interesting about me?” He asked an arachnet. The purple slug chirped at him and he suddenly felt a wave of something .
« Cute Human. Sweet Questions. Interesting Enhancer. » Somehow he understood the slug. He stumbled back a step and sat down. He’d never understood any of his dad’s slugs like that. And what the hell was an Enhancer.
“Do you have a name? And what’s an Enhancer?” He questioned.
« Names Not Pronounceable. Small Human. Not Knowing His Role. Enhancer Is Protector/Healer/Guardian. Enhancer Creates Balance » a hoverbug answered. The slug was flying around his head and he laughed softly.
“Oh. I don’t understand all of that, but it sounds cool. Can I give you names? And do you want to stay with me? I don’t have a blaster yet but I’ll probably need some cool slugs on my team to help me as an Enhancer.” After getting some affirmations, he nodded. “Alright. How about Bugsy for my hyper hoverbug and Spinner for my other new friend.”
The two chirped at him again and he lifted them up and set them on his shoulders.
“Any idea where to go from here? My dad doesn’t know I’m out yet and I want to be a Slinger but I don’t know how.”
« Normal Human Gets Job. Money Pays For Needs, » Spinner told him. He nodded. A job sounded like a wonderful idea.
He let his slugs direct him to a nearby town and then he asked around to get a job.
He ended up meeting a store owner who needed help with inventory and some other small stuff. The store owner, whose name was Clay, offered him a room and Eli took it happily.
The next few months were spent with Eli categorizing everything in the store, moving heavier objects, and saving up money.
He wanted to buy a blaster as soon as possible but he knew that he would need a good one that would last, so he didn’t give into the instinct to buy the first cheap blaster he saw.
Instead, he bought a slingshot and practiced with Spinner and Bugsy until he had a couple of cool moves.
He’d been in Slugterra for almost five months when a Slinger came to town asking for an apprentice to help catch some slugs.
Eli volunteered to go and got some time off from Clay before asking the Slinger about what kind of slugs he was looking for.
“I don’t know yet,” Spencer told him. “But I need some new slugs and I think it’d be good to have some help catching them. You up for it?”
Spencer ended up providing him with a mecha to use and then they were off.
They started by going to the Ice Cavern to look for some frostcrawlers.
“You have any ideas on how to catch them?” Spencer asked once they’d arrived.
“Can’t we just ask?”
“Ask who? The slugs? That’s never going to work, kid.” Nevertheless, Eli was given a chance to prove himself.
“Careful, if the frostcrawlers get scared, they’ll drop down, transform, and attack us,” Spencer warned.
“I got it, don’t worry,” Eli assured him.
When Eli approached the cliff, the few slugs that were awake immediately started gossiping about how they recognized him as an Enhancer.
“Yeah. Hi guys. I’m Eli. I’m trying to be a Slinger and I wanted to make sure I have a good team with me. Any of you up for some fun? There might be some danger, but I promise to treat you well. My friend is also looking for a new slug. He’s a bit brash but he treats his slugs well.”
After a few moments, three slugs came up from beneath the cliff. Two saying they wanted to be an Enhancer’s slugs and the other saying he was up for some adventure.
Eli grinned as they climbed into his hands and he walked back.
As he approached a gaping Spencer, he held out the third frostcrawler.
“I asked if they were up for some adventure and I think they agreed. Can you teach me some tips with slug slinging?”
Spencer took the frostcrawler from him and nodded.
“Sure, kid. Whatever you want. How’d you do that?”
“What do you mean? I just asked them.”
“You asked the slugs and three of them just decided to come with you?”
“Yeah.”
“You must be some sort of slug whisperer or something. Oh well. What do you want to learn?”
Eli perked up and as they traveled back towards the cavern Eli was staying in, Spencer told Eli pretty much everything he knew about trick shots, signature moves, and making sure he was able to beat his opponent.
When they returned to Eli’s “home” cavern, Spencer gave him a bag of coins and told him not to get himself into any trouble. And then he left.
Eli hadn’t known Spencer very well but he’d spent a couple of days with the guy and Spencer had been really cool. Spencer had taught him stuff about slinging, stuff he’d always wanted his dad to teach him. But there wasn’t even a real goodbye, Spencer just dropped him off and then left.
Chiller and Neige, Eli’s new frostcrawler slugs, made awesome additions to his team and they had ideas for cool tricks he could try too. However, it still hurt that Spencer had left like that.