Take Back the Light

Chapter 50

"Ha! You wish!" Trixie called back. "But it'll be fine, I promise. I am not ready for any more big fights."

"That makes two of us," Alana said, leaning back and buckling herself into her mecha's seat. "I've healed enough slugs today, I'm taking a nap. Someone link up their mecha to Midnight and don't drive me off a cliff."

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Luckily Alana was not driven off a cliff, and made it home in one piece to be gently shaken away by Eli. She did, however, trudge straight into the shower and into bed.

Her energy was depleted after such a long day that involved helping cure so many ghouls, but Alana still felt better than she had in months. There were still ghouls lurking around the caverns, but no more were being made. Every day she and the gang went out to hunt down more ghouls was a day closer to finally having the old 99 Caverns back.

Well, Alana thought vaguely as she turned in her bed and looked over at the back of her door, which was decorated with miscellaneous photos taped up, Maybe not exactly the old 99.

In the middle of the mass of pictures of her slugs, the gang, or a couple of her wanted posters from back when the gang first started fighting Blakk, were a few of her old pictures with Will.

She sighed and pulled her hands out from under her covers. Small cuts, almost completely healed, still littered her fingertips from where she'd been desperately pulling at the vines from Dana's Briardrill.

All it had taken was Dana taunting Alana with Will for power to surge through Alana's body. Rage had enabled her to break free of the Briardrill like it was nothing. She could talk to Eli about his own behaviors regarding Will, but she knew she needed work too. Especially when, for the first time in years, a spark of hope was igniting that perhaps he was still alive.

She had the essence of Slugterra's lifeforce at her fingertips. But she'd never felt out of control, even in her most vulnerable moments. Now that Blakk was gone, she had to start working to keep it that way. Alana would be able to devote time into perfecting her grasp on her abilities. Whatever came next, whether it was searching for answers about Will or facing whatever evil emerged in Slugterra, she felt she would need whatever advantages she could get.

Ash chirped loudly from her pillow, causing Alana to jump slightly. The Infurnus was curled up next to Mage, who was still sound asleep from the ghoul hunt. He pointedly flopped his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes, before opening at them and staring at Alana, as if to see if his slinger had gotten the message.

Alana laughed softly and settled back into bed, pulling her covers up and resting her head next to the two slugs.

"Yeah, yeah," she said quietly. "I know. I'm not very tired anymore though, I probably shouldn't have napped on the way home. And I'm too excited for whatever Trixie has planned for tomorrow."

Ash temporarily raised his head and chirped before laying back down. From a shelf over Alana's bed (which sported miscellaneous things for her slugs to sleep in, like socks and fabrics and for some reason a soda can that her Thresher loved), her Slyren popped up. He squeaked and pointed at himself excitedly.

"Aw, okay. Thanks, bud," Alana said, smiling and closing her eyes.

A soft Slyren song filled the room. The notes seemed to settle straight into Alana's heart, and their soothing melody seeped through her mind. Her limbs went limp and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

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One of the best parts of having a Slyren was the wonderfully peaceful sleep. Alana refused to sleep to Slyren's songs every night, because it wasn't fair to her or the slug. Nightly singing would surely exhaust him, and Alana feared becoming dependent on the songs to sleep. But on the rare occasions when Alana folded and let herself be lulled to sleep, it was always the best rest she'd had in a while.