Protector's Bond (Two-Shot)

Chapter 39: The Long Journey Home (Athena)

Me and Eli were said to have been joined at the hip by my mom. She was right. When he died, I felt like 75% of me was lost. Now I was left to divide the remaining 25% between slugslinging and motherhood. I was scared of how it would go. But it turned out I can do part-time slugslinging and attend to my daughter. After all, the Shane Gang can handle bandits out there.

Violet Judy (Judy is Zootopia inspired) Mitchell-Shane, or Millie, as I love to call her, was named by her father. She has her dad's eyes and my wavy, silky-brown hair and fiery personality. She's two years old. I don't want to rush things a little, but I really can't wait for her to turn 15. I hated rushing things, and Eli does too. He's a very patient man, which is why he waited for quite some time to find a strategy to defeat Blakk and the DarkBane. When he told me how he allowed himself to be ghouled to save the Dark Slinger, I was relieved to know he still came back with a heart of light and not darkness. If he was not saved by Burpy and Doc, it's totally game over for the 99 Caverns.

Speaking of Burpy, he's been here from time to time. I see he's seeking comfort, and for a good reason. His deceased owner's presence has been felt strongly around here. Probably it's for Millie and me. I have yet to meet the Shane Gang, but when I do, what will they say when they find out their lost leader has a secret lovelife and a secret daughter? They're going to tear me to bits. And that mole Pronto? He'd better not mess with me or he's dead.

Giggling from Millie's bed? I have to check that one out. Oh, it's Burpy, with twins Fireball and DragonBlaze, my own Infurnuses, with another Infurnus in the house? Does Burpy know him?

"Joo-Joo! Where are you!"

Uh-oh...is that someone from the Shane Gang? I'm dead if he finds his slug in my house! But then I have to help him. I take "Joo-Joo" and whisk him outside. Oh shoot! It's 'Kord', one of Eli's friends! How will I react? Keep cool, Athena, keep cool, you're not dying...you're not dying...

"Oh, it's you!" I remembered him. He helped saved my and Brody's asses when our slugs were being drained of energy. The ShadowClan helped me figure it all out, but before I could react, Eli had it all under control. And here he was. "Oh, by the way, I didn't get your name," he said. I introduced myself and actually even mentioned me wanting a position in the Shane Gang! Oh, shoot, I screwed it! I'm...dead?

Luckily, he offered me to come home right away. I decided first I'd start packing. I told my friend Bella about the whole situation. She was thrilled for me. "My sister Trixie is in there too and I looked for a spot so hat I could be close to my sister. We're gonna be so close to each other!" We were literally screaming loud enough to wake Millie. I yelled at Bella to shut up before we ever dared to wake up Millie. We were a meter away from trouble but I got it under control.

The next day, all my belongings packed and my daughter ready-to-go, I got a part in the Shane Gang. I moved in between Bella's room and Twist and Junjie's room. Apparently Joo-Joo was Junjie's and not Kord's at all. I got to know Trixie more, Pronto turned out to be the best tracker to make up for the worst cookings.

And Will Shane was there too...Eli's dad, who remembered me and Millie right away. I felt that my secret relationship with Eli was safe. I was wrong.

Some few days after I joined the gang, Twist saw a picture of me and Eli and Burpy and Fireball. I saw him eyeing it. Shoot! I'm naturally good at cussing, but I can't cuss in front of the most respectable heroes in all of SlugTerra. I wanted to run, I wanted to hide so badly but my feet were motionless. Pretty soon I had to spill to the whole Gang about my journey with Eli. I wanted to cry, but they promised my secret was safe with me. Although I had more to that.

Eli and I had known each other since freshman year on the Surface. When he shared to me the secrets of SlugTerra, I so badly wanted to see it in person. My mother, Mira, was a scientist who journeyed down to SlugTerra often. I want to see it so badly since my mom told me that's where I was born. When she too wanted to see it in person, she ran into Will, Eli's dad, and asked for his help to get to the Drop. After I was born, she brought me back to the Surface but was in and out with Will. After he disappeared, she went back with a full notebook on all of SlugTerra. I read it once. Not a single page was blank.

Then, on my first day of freshman year, my mom was run over by a drunk driver and died in the hospital. I was 13 years old. Then when Eli told me about it, I told him I wanted to see it for myself so he took me down to the Drop. He found an abandoned house close to the Shane hideout. I moved in there so that we can still be close to each other. I became his secret girlfriend after he professed his love for me. Then we had a family.

That was literally all I told the Gang. They were glad to hear Millie was Eli's only daughter, although I do wish she had like a sibling to replace her if she dies before 15. So now I have to be a little overprotective of her, I hope I can explain without screwing it.

Burpy, Joo-Joo, Fireball, DragonBlaze and Phoenix, the twins' mom, are the last Infurnuses in existence, I realized. I have to keep them alive and well to make sure there are still some left. There has never been a species of slugs that have been blotted out into extinction. I don't want the Infurnus to be the first one.