Chapter One

Eli merrily walked to his house after his last day of 8th grade, and he was excited too!

'Tomorrow. I get to see my brother with Uncle Jimmo! I can't wait!' Eli thought to himself as he kept on walking. His friend caught up with him, though, cutting Eli's train of thought off.

"Yo Elliot! You ready for the summer?" his friend asked him.

"Oh. Hey, Luke. I'm ready for summer. But I might be moving, though, remember? And my name is Eli. Not Elliot."

"Yeah yeah I know I know. You tell me that all the time. Anyway, if you DO move, promise to stay in touch, got it?"

"Uh huh. Got it." Eli said before he saw his house and started running to it.

To be honest (with himself as well), he wasn't feeling so good at school, and he just wanted to go home and sleep off the bug or whatever he had. Once inside, he noticed the atmosphere was off. He couldn't place it. He just knew it was off. But what he saw made him gag. There was his mother, but she wasn't exactly in perfect condition. Well, she was there, but she had a big slit in her throat, all red with blood.

'No, this cannot be happening,' Eli thought. It was too much for the 13-year-old's mind to process that his mother was dead. He ran to where he knew his Uncle Jimmo's office was. But he saw the same thing there had happened like what had happened to his mother. He was about to run away when he felt a hand cover his mouth. He immediately widened his eyes and stayed stiff.

"Good lad. Now… where is Eli Shane…?" the person hissed in his ear.

The man let his hand go from the boy's face but kept a firm grip on his body.

"I… I don't know…" Eli stuttered.

The man sneered.

"You better not know. Or I WILL hunt you down."

Eli gulped. As the man left, he breathed out the air he wasn't even aware he was holding. Once the man was gone, he saw a letter on the desk that said 'To: Eli Shane. From: Uncle Jimmo' on the front. He also noted that it was slightly ripped. Once he for sure knew the man left the house (he looked everywhere), he opened the note.

'Dear Eli,

If you are reading this, it means I've fallen protecting Slugterra, your brother, mother, or you and your secrets. It's one of the many risks of being a Shane. A risk you'll someday face yourself. If you decide to follow in my footsteps. A long line of Shane's has made the trip down to Slugterra. If you do choose to go, remember our deal.'

"Not until I'm 15," Eli whispered. As he read on, he also saw a line he would have skipped if he wasn't paying attention.

'If something has happened to your mother, myself, and your father, then leave immediately.'

Well… something did happen to his mother and uncle. It was murder. But his father? He didn't know. Or remember. Well, he got glimpses of it, but that was his powers' fault. What he remembered was his father protecting him from a blast that was supposed to kill him because of his powers, but his father sacrificed himself to keep Eli breathing. He was about 5 or so. He was 13 now, so about eight years ago. His brother lived in Slugterra with Uncle Jimmo, but Jimmo came up only on the weekends. Very rarely Will came with him.

Will was probably about 15 or so now. He also had about another five months left of school in Slugterra Academy. Will had started school in January while Eli had begun in August. His brother was in 9th grade so far. He would be a sophomore the following January. It was May now, and Will got off of school the end of October. But if he knew his brother, he wouldn't be able to take the next months off.

But first, Eli knew he would need some slugs. But he was aware that he could get away with going to what he thought was called Quiet Lawn Cavern when he got there. He had a slingshot in his back pocket for if he ever needed it before he got his blaster. He hopped down into the drainage sewers that were beneath his house. As he walked to the Shane Symbol on a button that opened to The Drop, if he remembered correctly, he read some more of the letter.

'I've told you all about my adventures in Slugterra, and you'll have plenty of your own. Getting down there is going to be the easy part. Getting back up, that will be a lot harder for you. If you choose to go, it will be a one-way trip until you learn the secret of how to get back home. I know we've always talked about making your first journey underground together with Will and me, but you'll have to do this one on your own. I've told you so much about Slugterra, but it only scratches the surface of what you'll see. You'll be traveling over 100 miles beneath the surface of the Earth, to a place only a handful of topsiders have ever seen. You'll be safe inside the carriage, just… hold on tight.'

Eli stopped there and climbed into the carriage. The carriage locked him in like it was a roller coaster. When he pushed the button to activate it, Eli understood why. He whooped and cheered the whole way down. But when he saw Slugterra, a parachute activated, throwing his head back. Eli hissed in pain as it gave him pain in his head and a wave of nausea.

'Huh. I guess seeing my mom and uncle's bodies all bloody is starting to get to me.' he thought.

He read some more of the letter to see what to do next.

'When you reach Slugterra, there will be a Shane hideout within a few hundred yards of The Drop. Inside, you'll find all the gear you're going to need to keep the peace. Your own Mechabeast will be waiting for you inside the Service Bay. Happy Birthday, Eli.'

'But if I go to the hideout, will my brother be there? Or will I be alone? Or…?'

His thoughts went haywire. He shook his head and went to Quiet Lawn Cavern instead. It took about a few hours, but eventually, he got there. He was also grateful he had some gold on him to get some food and drinks when he would need it. Then the rain poured down on him and the cavern. He ran to a grotto he had seen just outside of the cavern. As soon as he got in there, he saw three slugs.

One was light green with a pale green belly, face, and neck. Its eye color was green as well. The slug also had two antennae that were light green on top of its head. The second one was blue with a brown belly and brown coloring around its eyes. Both eyes were blue, and it had one tooth. The slug also had two blue antennae on top of its head. The third one was dark orange in color with yellow and tan color markings. It also had a small flame patterned belly which was colored tan, and it had two antennae at the top of its head with yellow tips on them. Another thing the slug had was a small, two tipped flame on top of its head, going down which was colored yellow. Its eye color was a red-orange. He also remembered part of the note his uncle left him.

'I usually keep a few blasters around. But you'll have to find your own slugs. That's going to be your most important task, Eli. The slugs are the key to everything down here. You're going to learn that they're much more than ammo.'

"Hey, guys! Do you want to spend the night here with me?" Eli asked the slugs.

They gave off chirps of happiness which made him laugh. The orange slug breathed fire onto the firewood Eli had out to keep them warm. The slug then burped loudly.

"I think I'll call you… Burpy. That okay with you?"

The orange slug, now dubbed Burpy, smiled and jumped around. The green slug saw the cut that was on Eli's arm and let a greenish aura from its body. The cut soon went away.

"Thanks, Doc! I can call you Doc, right?"

Doc gave a chirp that sounded like an 'uh huh'.

"Now to name you…" Eli said to the blue and brown slug that was asleep. He then remembered a slug that was legendary that Will showed a picture of to him a while ago. What was it? An… Enigmo…? Right?

"I think I'll call you… Mo."

He got no response due to Mo being asleep. Eli, feeling tired himself, lay himself down on the cool, rocky floor. As he pulled his body closer, he felt Burpy tuck himself next to his chest and Doc next to his achy stomach. Mo was near his feet. Doc let out the calming aura again, and Eli felt his belly feel a bit better. Burpy let some heat out from his body to help keep Eli warm. Before Eli was completely asleep, he asked one more question.

"Will you guys be my first three slugs I've ever had?"

Burpy and Doc let out coos of happiness. Mo cuddled closer.

"Thank you guys."

Eli then drifted off to dreamland.