#stocker

"Capital is dead labor, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labor"

ooo

Admittedly I haven't given much thought on what I would do for a Stocker episode

But I previously have mentioned Stocker reevaluating his own code in regards to how he deals with stuff in the aftermath of 'It Comes by Night'.

However the idea of Eli and Stocker running into each other again is fun given how things ended the last time they interacted.

I would imagen Eli isn't totally convicted Stockers changed all that much despite helping with the Leach, they aren't friends after all despite my own previous ramblings, and still kind a doing things for the reward only to realize the Bounty Hunter has changed. Like Stocker being on a bounty that doesn't benefit him at all or something but is doing so anyway.

You could also have like, something similar to what happened in 'Keys to the Kingdom' where Eli and Stocker are both gunning for the same McGuffin item, like the location of a Shane Stash or something.

Or, if you wanna get crazy and crack-fic with it, bring back a number of the other Mercenaries and Bounty Hunters in a Game Master trap where GM is trying to see who's truly the better Slinger among the assembled and Eli and Stocker team up to put a stop to it.

This part will focus on Eli’s recovery and the revelation of the one secret his father told him never to share. And introduce some familiar bounty hunters that may or may not help Eli out. There will also be two parts because it's going to be big.

Recovery:

It had now been a month since Will's death/disappearance, and things were not going well within the Zane family home. 

Eli had barely left his room (which used to be the guest bedroom, but since Eli kept visiting the Zane family from time to time, it had been turned into a bedroom for Eli, which he loved)

Eli would mostly just take showers or come out to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After that, it was him going straight back to his room, pulling the covers over his head, and crying softly till he passed out.

Meanwhile, everyone else was trying to figure out what to do

Koa tried to coax Eli out of his room to help him with some mecha repairs, but Eli just said in a quiet voice, “Maybe next time.” 

Kalila and Kord also tried asking Eli to help them with running errands, but all they got was “Maybe next time.”

Koa was starting to worry!

Oh, what the heck, everyone was worried!

No one knew what to do, and it was frustrating because they wanted to help Eli, but it was so hard.

It was late one night, around 10:00 pm, and Koa was having a hard time going to sleep, so he decided to get up and go take a walk outside to try and get some fresh air.

As Koa walked, he couldn't help but think about Will and what he would do in situations like these, but all that was left was an ache in his heart.

Will was gone 

He wasn't coming back

 Koa was scared 

And Eli, by the ancestors, that boy needed help, but what could he do?

After walking some more, Koa realized that he was getting near the Ancestral Praying Stone.

Which was located in the center of the Cavern 

The stone, roughly the size of a book, contained ancient writing that is said to be the history of the first colony of cave trolls that made this Cavern its home for everyone.   

Most of the time, it was used to celebrate the new year, with people coming to pray for a good harvest. 

But Koa needed a different kind of prayer.

He walked right up to the stone and placed a hand on it. Koa then looked up towards the ceiling of his home cavern and began his prayer.

“Great ancestors, please hear my plea, send us a sign to help me and my family through this awful situation we are in, also, please help Eli out, the poor boy needs it now or never. Thank you for listening to my words.”

Koa then walked away from the stone, not noticing the runes were glowing a light blue color.

As he was making his way home, Koa noticed his house lights were on, which was odd.

As he got closer, he noticed his wife and son were running towards him, looking frantic.

 “Dad!” “ Koa! Please tell me Eli is with you!” 

“No, he’s not. Why? What Happen? Where’s Eli?!” 

Both his wife and his son had a look of both shock and worry.

Then Kalia said the following few words that shocked Koa: “Eli’s missing!”

 Koa looked up to the ceiling of the caverns, thinking, ‘This is not what I meant by giving me a sign?!’

Eli decides to run away.

About 30 minutes ago (around 9:30 pm) in Eli’s bedroom:

Eli couldn’t get to sleep, no matter what he did. All he could think about now was that his father was gone, and he had no idea where his mother was. Now, of all the things he had to do, he had to take on the Shane mantle with Burpy. 

Just him and Burpy

‘Oh My God, I have to protect all of the 99 caverns by myself,’ Eli realized this.

Also, during all of this whirlwind of emotions, he had to keep the Shane secret a secret from not only the Zane family, but everyone else as well.

 And who knows what could happen.    

Would the Zane family find out and kick him out? 

Would some crazy villain find out and try to take over both worlds?

Or would he die alone? And no one would realize it until it was too late?

Eli didn't realize the whole time he was talking out loud instead of thinking about it.

Burpy then woke up instantly to Eli talking to himself.

Burpy *concerned chirping*

“ Oh, sorry, Burpy didn’t mean to wake you up. I just don’t know what to do, and it’s driving me crazy.”

Burpy again looked concerned for Eli. He then hopped over from his little sleeping spot and snuggled up against Eli’s neck. As if he were saying, ‘It’s going to be okay. I’m here.’

Eli smiled a little at the gesture, but then it dropped back down to a sad one. He then thought about all the things that went through his head and decided on the best course of action. 

“ Burpy, I hate to say this, but we need to leave the Zane family.”

Instantly, Burpy made a chirping sound that almost sounded like “What?!”

“ I know, I’m sorry, Burpy, but I don’t want anyone, including the Zane family, to get hurt. As Shane, it means we have to do this on our own. And we have to keep the secret about the you know what from anyone knowing about it.”

Burpy, hearing this, gave Eli a sad look and then nodded in agreement.

 “Then it’s settled, pack up your things, Burpy, we're leaving tonight.”

And so Eli got all of his clothes in a small bag, just enough to carry until they could find shelter. Or try to get back to the hideout, if Eli could remember precisely where it was. However, there was the problem of leaving without anyone noticing/hearing him. So Eli could only think of one solution: go out the bedroom window.

 Eli then walked over to the window and gently opened it up, just enough for him to get through. But he had forgotten one tiny thing about the house: the windows.

Even if you are careful, they squeak very loudly. As soon as Eli opened the window, a loud squeak could be heard instantly throughout the house, waking both Kalia and Kord up. 

Eli instantly had no choice but to jump and thankfully landed safely on the ground. (Also, it was good that the house was all on one floor and not two.)

Then Eli ran as fast as he could, not hearing the calling of his name or the sound of panicking throughout the whole house. After what seemed like hours ( it was actually minutes that had gone by), Eli and Burpy made it to the entrance of the cavern and looked around to see if any guards were patrolling. Thankfully, there were none. Eli sighs with relief. But before he moved any further, Eli looked back at the cavern that he called home. He honestly didn’t want to leave, but he was a Shane, and a Shane had to protect Slugterra at all costs. “ I’m sorry, everyone, I’ll be back one day, I promise.”  He then turned back around and didn’t look back. 

Meanwhile, in an unknown cavern far, far away, in a small pub. Two figures were sitting across from each other, looking very annoyed.

“I can’t believe I’m working with you. What part of ‘I work alone’ do these people not understand?”

“ Oh, believe me, I feel the same way as well, but our contractor told us he needed us both for this job. Whatever it is exactly?”

“Doesn’t matter as long as I get my payment and away from you. I don’t care what it is.”

‘Sigh.’ “ Hopefully, this will be fast. I have other clients to get to.”

Just then, a tall figure ( a man, no doubt) headed their way. Judging by his stance, this guy was the one who called them. 

“Stocker, Gentleman, thank you both for coming. My boss will be glad to hear you accepted the offer.” 

"And that boss is who exactly?” Stocker is getting a little irritated by this.

“In due time, for now, let’s get down to business, shall we?”

                                  To be continued…

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(On wiki, it says slughounds are very vicious but quite loyla). So are Slughounds only really affectionate to their owner/s?

And how long does it take to train a slughound?

Stocker, the Game Master and Ivor 'the White Bear' Lewis all have cameras put to their faces.

Stocker snarls and pushes at the camera. "Get that thing out of my face. My slug hounds are none of your business. They're loyal to me and trained from puppies. That's all you're getting."

The Game Master is taking this in a more relaxed state. He's laying back on his chair whilst a slughound in a pink harness lays her head on his lap. "If you're really wanting to know more about slug hounds, then yes, they are only loyal to their owners and those they like. Isn't that right, Speckles? You wanna eat those Shane Gang cheaters?"

The slug hound on his lap barks with glee.