Small World (Slugterra Fanfiction)

Chapter 21: Forever Family

Every last enemy that was in Dexas' way now stood frozen in time. She glanced back at her friends, looking rather enraged.
"Hey there..." Eli spoke softly with a nervous smile and wave. She growled a little to herself before walking over to a previous host of evil. Will was breathing, but laid there unresponsive. His skin was sickly pale in color, with rather rugged facial features. As she watched over the infamous Shane, the others watched her with confusion.
"Dexas?" Trixie voiced cautiously. The beast swiftly responded,
"He'll live, but needs time to rest and regain his strength."
"But how do you feel, Dexas-Taryn?" Junjie asked.
"I'm fine, really. But right now we need to get Will back home."
"What about them?" Kord gestured to the frozen villains.
"Shadow Clan, would mind lending us a hand?" The leader nodded,
"Indeed, Eli Shane. It would be more than a pleasure to take them away where no life can be harmed by them again. Especially the slugs."

As the Shane Gang traveled home, the Shadow Clan took the villains deep into their territory. A place so isolated and secluded, no one else knows it exists. Not only that, but its temperature was so frigid that no life dared attempting to thrive there. Will Shane returned to a place in Slugterra he hadn't been for a long time. Eli and Kord gently laid him in Eli's bed, a dreary look on the young Shane's face. Dexas had stayed in her beast form ever since the incident, why no one really knows. But she saw fit to lay down at the foot of the bed without saying a word. It was hours later when Will finally woke up with a soft groan,
"Eli?" Was the first person he saw while sitting up in bed. Pronto immediately squealed with excitement,
"Eeeek! The infamous Will Shane awakens!"
"Hi, dad." He partially smiled. Will weakly reached a hand up to his son's face,
"You've certainly grown." He too smiled somewhat. Eli gently grabbed his dad's hand, just smiling to him for a moment. No one around minded the quiet. It was the first time in a long time Eli had a dad, and even in silence their faces said a thousand words.
"I thought I'd never see you again. But it would seem you saved Slugterra using the elementals." Will commented to break the quiet atmosphere.
"Yeah, but I couldn't help feeling we'd still failed that day."
"Bro, we saved our home." Kord encouraged. Eli's head lowered with closed eyes,
"But that was the day I'd lost my own dad a second time." He felt the familiar touch of his father's hand on his,
"And I had lost my own son a second time."
"But now you can be a family again. All three of you." Junjie smiled. Will raised an eyebrow,
"Three?" Eli placed a hand behind his head, grinning with a slight blush,
"Do you remember Dexas?"
"Dexas...," he thought, "Isn't that the girl you'd always call Texas?" The source of a soft growl was hidden by the bed. Eli cringed a bit out of worry,
"Yeah. She and I got married today." His cringe turned into a smile. Will's smile faded, however,
"My son...my son had his wedding," His eyes closed out of sadness, feeling his heart slowly break inside. "And I wasn't there for one of the biggest days of your life..." Trixie decided to speak up,
"Please don't feel bad, it wasn't your fault. It was all Dr. Blakk's and that evil slug!"
"Good thing we don't have to worry about him anymore." Kord added.
"Yes, for Pronto prefers a frozen villain over a moving one any day!" Declared their short friend. Will Shane opened his eyes with confusion on his face,
"Frozen? How?" Kord gained an uneasy expression,
"It's kind of a long story." It was then that Eli asked for Dexas-Taryn to show herself. Will Shane rubbed his eyes at first sight of the mechabeast with a touch of red fur,
"In all my days of being in Slugterra, I've never seen anything quite like this."
"Yeah, you're telling me." Trixie commented. Junjie nodded,
"But we can assure you she has learned to control and master her other side."
"How did this happen to her?"
"Dr. Blakk happened. When he found out Dexas was really on our side rather than his, he wanted revenge on The Masked Soldier." Eli answered.
"Man did that backfire on him, bro! Twice!" Kord exclaimed while holding up two fingers.
"Why yes, but with the help of Pronto the Magnificent of course!" Trixie just rolled her eyes as Dexas growled softly at Pronto. He just stood there nervously chuckling.
"Well, I would most certainly like to see how much The Masked Soldier has grown since I last saw her." Will Shane added. Dexas glanced up at Eli while backing up to give herself some space. He gave a smile of encouragement as she returned to her human self. Her bright sunflower-colored hair went down the back of her neck and over either shoulder as usual. The sight of her Shadow Clan-like outfit did catch Will's attention, but that however didn't distract him from the left eyepatch.
"Dexas, what happened to your eye?" His tone calm and sincere.
"It had been severely burned, and wound up going blind." She replied softly, halfheartedly making eye contact. Eli's father smiled sympathetically, putting aside the sound of her unique voice,
"I'm proud of you for not letting it get in the way of your life. Look how far you've come."
"Yeah, I mean you made your own mechabeast, bro. I have trouble making gadgets with two eyes!" Kord complained a bit. Dexas lightly giggled,
"And I'm not afraid of slugs like Burpy anymore," She smiled a little at the slug that hopped up on her shoulder with a big smile, "But enough about me, I'm just glad to see you again Mr. Shane."
"Call me dad, Dexas-Taryn. After all, it's the least I could do after what you did for us." Dexas felt tears start swelling up at the edge of her eyes, and she suddenly hugged Will around his neck. With a soft chuckle, he hugged her in return,
"Good to see you again, too." Eli saw fit to embrace both his dad and wife, leaning over from the opposite side of the bed. Once again, Pronto couldn't resist crying tears of his own,
"Oh, come here!" He wailed and quickly jumped up on the bed to include himself.
"Alright, bring it in everyone." Will laughed a bit, watching all Eli's friends gather in a big group hug. The father especially held his son and daughter-in-law extra close. At long last, he had his family again. And Eli couldn't help but think the exact same thing. Eventually each one of them let go, all with smiles etched on their faces.
"Hey, dad? I was thinking, how about Dexas and I get married again? So you can be there this time." She was genuinely surprised he didn't say that nickname again.
"I would love that."
"Texas?" Eli looked to her with a sly expression on his face. Dexas-Taryn playfully rolled her eyes with a smirk, elbowing him in the side.
"Oh I'll marry you again, alright. You're never getting rid of me." Her new husband huffed,
"Good, because you're not getting rid of me either." He playfully rubbed noses with her.
"Ah yes, The Masked Soldier is to wed the son of Will Shane once again!" Pronto exaggerated his whispering.
"Do you wish to have the event in the meadow again?" Junjie asked. Eli smiled off to the side,
"I was thinking of something else..."

After taking some time to decorate, everything needed was ready. By that time the sun had risen, and the outside of the gang's home looked as if they'd stepped into a fairytale. Even the small arrangement of chairs was shaped as a flower. Will Shane had gotten cleaned up and felt like his old self again, having done things such as shave and put on fresh clothes. Dexas stood behind Lucky and Prisma in her dress in wait for her cue. The two mechabeasts crossed themselves in front of the bride as if guarding her, waiting before parting ways at the sound of music. Once again the Shadow Clan leader was there to walk her towards their homemade alter. Will never stopped smiling amongst the rest of the Shane Gang who sat in the decorative chairs. At the alter, the sound of the couple's voices reiterating their vows filled the air. It wasn't until the wedding party began that Will could speak with his son and new daughter-in-law again.
"Welcome back, dad." Eli smiled with his arm locked with Dexas'. Will Shane put a hand on his shoulder,
"It feels good to have a family again. You've grown into the great young man I knew you would become. I'm very proud of you, and I can't wait to hear about all your adventures."
"Wait a minute, since Will Shane has now returned, who will be THE Shane?" Pronto asked.
"I've had my time, and Eli has made it this far. The title will remain his. And now we officially have another carrying on that name." Eli's dad walked over and side hugged Dexas. She smiled humbly at the ground until Pronto shouted,
"Oh! You should show Will Shane your impressive tricks!" His tone of voice turned to a spooky whisper, "Like how scarily in sync you are with Prisma..." Eli couldn't help but chuckle,
"Pronto, she's only just begun synchronizing with her mechabeast."
"That is true, but I sense a deep connection! Summon her, I will show you!" Insisted the molenoid. Kord and Trixie shrugged to each other as Dexas shrugged to Pronto,
"Well, ok." She female slinger whistled the certain pitch to call Prisma. Immediately the sound of her mechanical paws was heard until she appeared directly next to the bride.
"Now, Prisma must change into motorcycle form for my example to work." Pronto requested. Again Dexas-Taryn whistled a specific way with a hand gesture to ask that of her mechabeast.
"Yes yes, and now you change into your mechabeast form!" Dexas grumbled a bit,
"Pronto..." He waved a finger at her,
"My point will be proven momentarily." She released a sigh before doing just that. Whenever she did change into the beast, she'd do a backflip. It was then that Prisma changed back into a normal mechabeast completely in unison with Dexas, landing on the ground together. Pronto proudly folded his arms and smirked,
"I believe that is my point proven." Those like Kord and Trixie couldn't believe it,
"You mean Pronto...was actually right about something?"
"Trippy." Kord spoke while the two mechabeasts glanced at each other.
"Well, I must admit that is rather impressive. That's the kind of unison any slug slinger dreams of having with their slugs."
"And this is only the beginning! Why, just think of how much more progress you two could achieve together!" Junjie added. Dexas giggled following having returned to being a human again,
"Ok guys, I get it." She playfully rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Dexas? I know you said you're fine and all, but how does it feel absorbing a slug's energy like that?" Asked Kord. At the thought of his question, she lifted her arms while gazing at them,
"It's so different. I can feel it coursing through my veins..." She looked over her hands that were in front of her face.
"I wonder as to if the ability taken from the slug is permanent." Junjie pondered aloud.
"Well regardless, she can handle it." Trixie smiled with a playful pat on her back.
"She sure can. Dexas can take a hit like the best of 'em." Eli lovingly rubbed the top of her head.
"Guys..stop." Dexas-Taryn showed a flattered smile as she blushed a crimson red. Will chuckled softly and teased,
"Looks like you've found yourself a blushing bride, Eli." That comment made her bury her face in Eli's chest out of embarrassment. He simply laughed a bit before pulling her back,
"Come on, we've all got a lot of catching up to do." Eli smiled to his dad, receiving a smiling nod in return. The Shane Gang went on to walk inside their home, leaving behind Dexas and Eli sharing a gentle kiss.