Small World (Slugterra Fanfiction)

Chapter 20: From Wedding to Turmoil

Only a few days later was the day, their wedding day. As Eli stood in waiting for Dexas to walk down the aisle, he wished his dad could be there. He wished he could see him smiling and giving him a thumbs up in his seat. With a heavy sigh Eli slightly smiled, and returned his eyes to the leafy canopy Dexas would walk through any minute.

"The eyepatch just ruins the whole look, doesn't it?" Dexas-Taryn asked, clearly feeling anxious.
"Trust me, you look amazing! Now smile!" Trixie happily pointed her camera at the bride, snapping a quick photo. "I can't believe you're marrying a Shane! This is such a big deal!" She smiled excitedly. Dexas laughed a bit, feeling nervous as she turned to look at herself in the mirror one last time. Noticing her necklace, she smiled as her childhood played-back in her head. Trixie looked at the time, instantly gasping.
"We'd better get you out there!" The bride's friend went behind and lifted up the rest of her dress. Dexas saw fit to take a deep breath first, glancing up at the night sky for a moment. Soon she started walking towards the leafy canopy, where the one she loved was standing just on the other side. Beautiful music began to play when two members of the Shadow Clan parted the canopy for her. Memories instantly flew back into her mind when the meadow was revealed, causing Dexas-Taryn to smile underneath her veil. Their first kiss, her eighteenth birthday party, it was all still here to her. There to escort her down the aisle was the leader of the Shadow Clan, allowing her arm to comfortably wrap with his. As Dexas neared closer, she looked off to her left to see Pronto silently crying tears of joy. He cringed his face tightly, resisting hard not to lose it in front of everyone. She quietly laughed to herself, and then realized she now stood inches away from Eli. When Eli's mouth opened to say his vows, her heart fluttered. Dexas felt lost in his words, blushing a fierce red while smiling.
"Dexas-Taryn, no matter your name, no matter what you are, I will always love you. I will always cradle you, care for you, hug you and kiss you. I've lost count of how many times you've made me smile, and how many times you've made my heart skip a beat. Whatever life throws at us, I'm grateful to face it with you by my side. I love you, Dexas." As she too silently cried tears of joy, she sniffled softly through her words.
"Eli Shane, you have been my best friend since day one and always will be. Ever since I found you again my life hasn't been the same, and there's nothing about it I would change. I wouldn't care if you were the most famous man in the world or the poorest, I'll love you always. You've grown into a wonderful person I know your dad would be so proud of. Thank you for being a light in my darkness, and a part of my heart. I love you, Eli." Their words seemed to torture poor Pronto as he continued to keep it together. But at long last they were given the famous cue after saying their I dos,
"You may now kiss the bride." Eli lifted the delicate vail covering Dexas' face, smiling with such softness in his eyes. She felt her heart pounding in her head, but became at ease when the two met to kiss. Pronto bursted into a waterfall of tears and wailed,
"This is so beautiful!" He turned and sobbed into Junjie's leg as flower petals rained down on the couple. The guests all rose to their feet while watching the newly weds start walking down the aisle. Dexas glanced to Eli, smiling warmly as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I'm so glad to be yours." She thought aloud while they journeyed to the eating tables. He continued to smile to himself,
"Mrs. Eli Shane, I wouldn't have it any other way." Eli softly chuckled, "Wow, that's a new feeling, isn't it?"
"You'd better get used to it, Eli. You're stuck with me." Dexas slowly slipped out of their arm lock following a gentle kiss to his cheek. She noticed the scar on his face after kissing him, "I'm so sorry.." She ran her fingers softly down the scar.
"It's ok, Dexas. I can live with it, but it's you I can't live without. Besides, I don't think about it all that much, and you shouldn't either." He smiled with his left hand cupping her cheek. She smiled softly in return,
"I love you so much, Eli."
"I love you too." Suddenly Dexas gasps,
"Get down!" She plunges her body to the ground, taking Eli with her. Had she been a second later, a dark slug would've hit him from behind. Within seconds Dexas-Taryn became the partly fur-covered mecha beast wolf she's known for.
"How dare my own beast make me miss my shot."
"If anything, how dare you sir attack us on their wedding day!" Pronto declared with a huff.
"Oh is that what all this is? I couldn't tell with all the white flowers and dresses." Blakk responded with sarcastic irritation in his tone.
"What do you want, Dr. Blakk?" Eli demanded.
"I simply want back what is mine. I have had enough of my own work of art being against me at every turn! Fortunately, I recently found an old associate of mine. I believe you two know each other quite well." The villain glanced behind him as someone approached, grinning widely. With the gang distracted, it was then the heaviest of chains was thrown onto Dexas' body.
"Guys, help me get these off!" Eli panicked, pulling with all his might to free Dexas.
"All your efforts are futile, Eli Shane. Even from the very first moment her beast side chose to rise and shine." The person emerged from the night's shadows as she struggled this way and that to be rid of the added weight. That voice, it sounded familiar. When Eli's gaze changed from Dexas to the one who'd spoken, his heart dropped.
"Dad...?"
"We meet again, it seems." A deep and gravely tone replied from the body of Will Shane.
Dexas gradually froze in place and stopped struggling. She stared at Eli, not believing what she had just heard him say. She remembered the story of Will becoming controlled by an evil slug always on his shoulder, yet that was so long ago. The mecha beast attempted to frighten off the Shane like a frightgeist would, but he simply chuckled at the sight.
"Don't you think we would come prepared?" He pointed towards his protective goggles with a grin. When she saw that mind-controlling slug be loaded into Will's blaster and aimed directly at her, Eli never thought it'd come to this. Rising panic began to fill everyone's hearts. There was no way for anyone to make a move without endangering Dexas even further. Especially when a group of Darkbane now heavily surrounded them.
"Oh no! He's going to ghoul Dexas!! We're doomed!" Pronto squealed, flailing his arms in the air.
"Indeed you are, you pathetic creature." Dr. Blakk responded, grinning as Dexas' emerald eye was shrouded with worry and fear. Pronto huffed and folded his arms,
"Well that was rude."
"With this vicious beast in my army, SlugTerra will certainly fall. There is no doubt she knows where you keep the elementals, and she will deliver them to me personally." Said the ghouled slug through Will Shane.
"You can't do this!" Eli frantically tried prying the chains off of the metal beast. She suddenly snapped, making him jump away from her. Dexas-Taryn looked at him with a gentle expression, glancing to Will and back to him. It was then they knew what she was trying to say.
"She's willing to sacrifice herself so you may have your father again..." Junjie spoke up softly.
"Oh yeah, since there's only one of that slug both your dad and Dexas can't be controlled at the same time." Kord added.
"But either way I lose." Eli hung his head low, a single tear slowly running down his cheek. Dexas nuzzled his cheek the best she could, given the fact the chains weighed her down.
"This is what happens when I don't get what I want, Eli Shane." Without warning the slug was fired, and immediately the beast began to howl. The second that slug left its previous host, Will Shane fell to the ground. Dexas' mind told her to resist it, but her heart was saying otherwise. Eli couldn't bare to see her in such pain, but yet he couldn't seem to pry his eyes away either. Before they knew it she too collapsed to the ground. Her breathing slowed down dramatically, and she'd become unconscious. It was all too much. All this happening at once was tearing Eli's heart apart.
"No...no no no what have you done!?" He shouted. Rushing to her side with knees on the ground, he glanced at his dad then back at her.
"It's taking over her mind and body. And there is absolutely NOTHING you can do about it." Dr. Blakk replied.
"Don't you see what you're doing? Instead of gaining control you're killing her from the inside!" The young Shane released traces of silent tears occasionally streaming down his cheeks. His body hunched over the quiet beast, crying gently into her side. Dr. Blakk just rolled his eyes,
"Just when I thought you couldn't get more weak." His words pushed Kord over the edge, and he raised his blaster to fire.
"No Kord, don't..." Their leader's voice faintly ordered. After he'd spoken, Dexas gradually began to rise to her feet. Eli leaned back at the feeling of her moving, and watched as she now just stood there like a statue. Dr. Blakk grinned once again,
"Now there's the loyal servant I've been looking for. Quiet and ready to take orders. And what kind of master would I be if I didn't give orders?" He glanced around at the Shane Gang, "My glorious creation, destroy what stands in your way!" The villain pointed directly to his enemies. Her head turns creepily towards them with an equally frightening glare in her eye.
"Uh, dudes..."
"Do not worry, Kord. We'll figure something out..." Junjie tried to encourage the others, including himself.
"Don't worry? Don't worry?! How could Pronto NOT worry in a time like this!"
"Pronto's right..." Trixie watched Dexas uneasily. At first, all she did was just stand there and stare. But much to their confusion, she suddenly snapped at Dr. Blakk before pouncing and taking him down.
"What do you think you're doing, you beast!" He yelled with anger.
"You said it yourself. Destroy what stands in my way." Dexas' own voice escaped her throat, rather than that of the ghoul's.
"She didn't...she couldn't of...did she?"
"Indeed Trixie, that slug has given her the ability to speak as a beast." Junjie concluded. Eli rose to his feet with a few soft sniffles, not knowing exactly what to think. Dr. Blakk wiggled around underneath the pressure of her metal paws,
"How is this possible?! You should be under my control! That slug should've corrupted you!"
"Should have, is the key. Rather than corrupting me, that slug has only made me stronger. He is now a part of me, only this time, I'm the one in control. Your Goon Doc ally is no more." Dexas replied, growling inches away from Blakk's face.
"Whatever was in that serum Dr. Blakk injected her with seems to have given her a resistance to dark energy. She has become immune to it's affects." Said Junjie, smiling towards the end of his sentence.
"And instead of being mind controlled, she's absorbed that twisted evil slug's energy!" Kord added.
"What are you waiting for?! Take this creature down!" Blakk shouted. Immediately the Darkbane began to fire their slugs relentlessly. With help from members of the Shadow Clan, the friends were able to give Dexas-Taryn cover fire. Though they took many hits, Dexas was able to flee from being the center of attention. She disappears into nearby shrubs, virtually into thin air. Dr. Blakk becomes further enraged and aims to fire upon Eli,
"I've already had one failure tonight. Letting you get away won't be the next." Just when he shoots, Dexas-Taryn leaps out from behind Eli. She takes the hit of the slug, instantly absorbing its power into her system. The ghouled megamorph Frostcrawler slug drops to the ground and lays nearly lifeless in the dirt, changing back to its original state.
"What..." Dr. Blakk whispers. Kord couldn't help but chuckle with a smirk,
"You're so going down, bro." Fear flooded the villain's eyes just as the beast breathed a blizzard of ice upon all her foes.