SlugTerra: The Mystery Of The Missing Shane

Chapter 3: Clue In The Cavern

Pronto suddenly smelled something terribly bad; it was worse than his Flatulorhinkus, Stinky. Trixie and Kord picked up the scent. "Maybe this is a clue to Eli's whereabouts!" She exclaimed and started running in the direction of the stink. Kord stopped her there. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up there, girl. How do you know it's a potential clue to Eli's whereabouts? We don't even know where he is, let alone bring him back safely to the hideout." She shot back, "My aunt was an expert detective before she died. I wanted to grow up to be like her. It was a lifelong dream. I'll take it!" She sprinted away. "Oh, floppers," Kord said. "She wants it. No way!" Pronto shook his head. "Yes, I know, but we need to catch up with her before she disappears like Eli!" The duo ran after her.

Trixie ran down to the smell's trail. She ran and ran. She didn't care if she was losing her breath or getting colder. She didn't even care if there were any ghosts. She just ran, thinking no obstacles will come in her way. Nope, she was wrong. There was now a fork in the path. All four paths had the scents. She had problems choosing, but that was the least of her worries. Soon she heard thumping behind her. Trixie pulled her blaster. She was ready to pull the trigger when Kord and Pronto showed up. Phew, she thought, I would have slugged you two if you didn't show up! Kord asked, "Where were you, Trix?" Pronto sneered, "You would have disappeared like your boyfriend!" She gasped. "Pronto! Eli is NOT my boyfriend!" Kord raised an eyebrow. "*sigh* Okay, not a boyfriend, but a possible love interest." Then the ground rumbled. The trio ran their own paths. Kord ran into one. Pronto ran into another. Trixie ran into yet another. They were separated from one another.

Eli was still finding his way, cleverly using Chiller to ice the path. He (Chiller) willingly blew ice, but Burpy knew it would melt soon, so he told Eli to use spiderwebs instead. He retraced his path and used Spinner for Burpy's idea. However, after several minutes of walking, he encountered fresh spiderwebs. He realised that Deadweed Cavern was a maze to confuse him. He kept walking, until he heard the sound of a chirping slug coming from behind him. It was a Frightgeist slug! He knelt down near the slug and extended his open palm. It willingly jumped in. Good thing I still have my backpack strapped on, he thought. Banger, Joules, Doc and Chiller were inside. He looked at the Frightgeist in his palm and said, "Hmm, I think I'll call you...Spooker!" Spooker chirped in delight at his new name and his new slinger. He jumped in Eli's pack to meet the other slugs. Then, a whoosh was heard. "Speaking of spookers..." he started. He remembered the ghostly sounds Kord was making. I wish I'd known, ghosts do exist! Oh, I take back what I just said... The whooshing sounds grew closer and closer. Eli's spine started tingling. Shanes do have a sixth sense, they say. They were right. He inherited the nerves of steel from his father. Those nerves of steel told him to turn.
Then something came behind him!

The three realised that the fork in the road actually led to the same ending. And the stink trail was still there. "What now, Trix?" Kord asked. "Are we gonna keep looking for Eli?" She nodded. Pronto stammered, "B-but, every step towards finding Eli..."She finished the sentence. "...is one step away from the door. I know, Pronto, but Eli is vital to the fate of the 99 caverns! Without a Shane to keep the peace, SlugTerra will fall." She noted. "Besides, he's our leader, so it doesn't matter if we get stuck here." Groaning, they started walking.