Unfortunately, the press conference came sooner than any of the Shane Gang would have liked.
The slingers were given one day of rest after traveling home from Bonnie Springs. That day was spent either sleeping or eating. Pronto enforced the "no distress calls" policy, although Eli did his best to try to sneak around the molenoid a couple times. Naps were taken either in the slinger's room or, as was the case in the afternoon, a heap on the couch.
That's where Alana was around dinnertime. Kord was the unofficial pillow, everyone heaped around him in sweatpants and comfy shirts, content to sleep the evening away. Instead, whatever 'do not disturb' function Pronto had enabled apparently wore off, because pings from the holodesk began to break the silence.
"I am going to slug whoever is sending those," Pronto growled.
"I'm not acknowledging that statement," Eli yawned.
The pings continued for a few moments before Alana sighed and rolled off the couch, stumbling to her feet. She readjusted her arm sling before meandering over to the holodesk and collapsing in the desk chair.
"I'll read these only if you guys promise not to tell Sam that I'm looking at screens while concussed," she called.
"Deal," Kord grumbled.
"Okay- oh. It's not distress calls, it's just messages," Alana said, leaning forward and squinting. "It's news sites. And channels. Pestering us for a press conference. Word's getting around about Blakk, but apparently Slugterra wants to hear it from us."
Eli sighed and finally stood up from the couch, rubbing his eyes. He was in his designated comfy outfit, which was actually just gym shorts and his hoodie from the surface. He pulled his hood down, revealing a truly horrendous mess of black hair sticking up in every direction.
"Okay, fine. I guess that's fair. We're going to have to do it sooner or later, so let's get it over with. Go ahead and post, say we're doing a conference tomorrow at 6," he decided.
A collective groan sounded from the remaining slingers on the couch.
"Got it," Alana said, typing out the message and sending it through. "Sam will probably want to open. I think she wants to start the whole 'transparency' era with Gray Enterprise as soon as possible, so she'll update people on what's been going on there. Then we can wrap it up with the news about Blakk and hopefully leave as soon as possible."
It wasn't that the gang didn't like talking to the public. In fact, they all sort of enjoyed the attention sometimes. But it could get tiring, and they were sure they would be met with questions they didn't have answers to yet, particularly involving the future of Slugterra. They knew what their next moves were regarding the remaining ghouls, but that was about it. The rest would be discovered with time.
After confirming the conference with Sam Gray and eating a dinner that consisted of mostly breakfast foods, the gang dispersed to their rooms to sleep the night and morning away.
~~~~~~~~
Red lightning flashed. First, Alana was in Wild Spores. Then the Blakk Industries citadel. A scarlet and black portal swirled in the middle of the room. Alana struggled to keep herself on her feet. In front of her were two figures, on the ground, scrambling for a grip on the smooth floor.
Will and Eli.
The half of the portal on the right, where Eli was, turned bright blue. Will's half stayed red. But it was still the same portal.
Alana still couldn't know for sure if Will's portal had led to the Deep Caverns. She'd only ever seen three ghoul-induced portals before. They'd all looked the same. Two of them had connected to the Deep Caverns. Was it because of the ghouls, or the location?
A small, perhaps pessimistic, voice in her head told her she knew the answer. Of course Will would be dragged away to the worst part of Slugterra, the one place where even the most talented slinger would have the slimmest chance of survival.
"No, you won't make it down there!" Alana cried out, trying to inch forward to reach them, but unable to battle the room's swirling winds. She finally dove forward just as the two Shanes slipped further downward, grabbing Eli's hands and just barely missing Will's.
Will slipped further downward, feet away from falling into the portal.
Alana wasn't going to be able to save him this time, either.
"Will, it's the Deep Caverns!" she cried out, pulling Eli up and away from the portal with her. She desperately tried to think of any warnings that would help him this time around. "You can't use slugs, there's dark water everywhere, and the Dark Bane!
"I'm sorry!"
But no apologies could stop him from finally being pulled into the portal, away from his home, into the Deep Caverns.
The portal sputtered to a stop. The wind in the room died down. Alana and Eli sat on the floor, staring at the singed ground, unmoving.
~~~~~~~~
Alana woke up around lunchtime. She didn't feel particularly well rested, but couldn't particularly remember any of her dreams. She instinctively went to grab her slinging gear, but remembered that, at least for the day, she and the gang had the freedom to not worry about keeping the peace. Not when the 99 Caverns seemed to be taking a collective sigh of relief after Blakk's fall.
Unfortunately, that freedom led to her pounding at Kord's door five minutes before the gang was supposed to leave for the conference.
"Kord come on, you have to go with us!" Alana called. She shrugged helplessly at Eli, who shrugged back while he clipped on his bandoleer. One good thing about press releases was the gang had decided on wearing their slinging gear. No dressing up required.
"I don't want to, it's embarrassing! Just go!" Kord replied. "I don't wanna go in crutches, I look ridiculous. Nobody else has anything. You only needed to wear your sling for a day. I'm not going'."
Alana threw her hands up in exasperation, something she was able to do because Kord was right. Her arm was relocated, but Sam had wanted to be cautious and put her in a sling for a day anyway.
"That's what this is about?! Oh my - Kord, nobody is gonna care about your crutches!" Alana exclaimed. "We fought Dark Bane, nobody expects us to look perfect."
Silence.
Alana sighed and kicked at the door.
"What if I wear my sling?" she suggested. "So you're not the only one. I'll have to go without my slinging arm, which I think looks more lame than crutches. Deal?"
A moment passed, then Kord's door slowly opened. The cave troll peered down at Alana.
"You'd do that?" he asked.
Alana laughed and nodded.
"Yes, because first of all, I really do think no one will care. But also, you deserve to be able to go up to the stage and get some recognition for helping save Slugterra," she explained. "I'll go grab my sling, okay? We have to head out, like, now."
Kord nodded and rustled around in his room before emerging, donned in his slinging gear accompanied by a pair of crutches. He smiled sheepishly at Alana.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem," Alana laughed, walking downstairs and grabbing her sling, which she'd haphazardly tossed on the counter in celebration earlier when she'd hit the one-day mark. She slid it on, supporting her right arm. "Tada! We're buddies!"
"Wow. Deceiving the public," Trixie laughed, finishing tying up her hair. "You should be ashamed of yourselves. Are we done with the drama? Can we get going now?"
"Yeah, yeah, we're good," Kord said, carefully making his way to the garage. Pronto was already on his mecha. The molenoid was easily the most excited out of everyone to be holding a press conference. He thrived under the flashes of cameras.
"Then let's go!" Pronto exclaimed. "The public needs its daily dose of Pronto!"
"Don't worry, it's not like they can start without us," Eli said, hopping up on Lucky. "But yeah, we should probably hurry. Sam will probably freak out on us."
"Yes she will, because she's already texting me," Alana confirmed, glancing down at the screen on Midnight's control panel. "I'll let her know we're leaving."
"Thanks. Let's head out, then," Eli said, leading the way down to the winding forest paths of Wild Spores.
The ride was relatively easy, especially considering Alana was able to actually use two hands despite the sling hanging from her shoulder. She glanced over to Eli and rode up to him, looking him over. He was definitely riding stiffly.
Blakk had done a bit of a number on the Shane. He'd shown the gang the bold bruises reaching up the side of his torso. He would be fine, but Doc and Mage could only do so much at a time, so he would definitely be sore for a while.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "Even you've been sleeping a lot, which is rare."
"Yeah, apparently saving the world is what it takes to wear me out," he laughed. Then he sighed and shrugged. "Actually, I-"
"Hey, Eli! Can you come look at some of the footage I got from the fight?" Trixie called from behind Eli and Alana. She was looking down at her camera excitedly. "Obviously I couldn't hold my camera and sling, but I had it rolling clipped to my belt. If it's okay to be released we can mention it at the conference. Some of these shots look great!"
"I will finish that thought later," Eli said with a smile, pulling back Lucky to ride alongside Trixie.
"Hey, don't show any footage of me almost passing out!" Alana called, laughing as Trixie shrugged.
"Oh I don't know, content is content," the redhead joked, holding up her camera for Eli to see. "But fine. Just some shots of the Dark Bane and the portal. And the Shadow Clan helping us. I think we can really start changing how people see them."
"Good. We definitely couldn't have done it without them," Eli said. "I want to get the rest of Slugterra to see that."
Alana nodded, then frowned suddenly as she realized that, for a moment, it had seemed strange that Slugterrans wouldn't respect the Shadow Clan. In an instant, she realized why it had felt off - it wasn't like that everywhere.
It wasn't the first time a memory of the west had bubbled up. They would come often when she wasn't expecting it, as many memories do, triggered by certain phrases or sights or sounds. And now she was vaguely remembering visiting Shadow Clan as a child, not in the Dark Periphery, but elsewhere. She knew it couldn't be a memory from the 99 Caverns, because Evanlyn Caelum had been there.
Alana remembered being carried down a dark street, similar to the Dark Periphery in its black and green surroundings, but different in the fact that there seemed to be both people and Shadow Clan milling about together. They chatted casually, and Alana distinctly remembered waving to a Shadow Clan who tilted their head before smiling and waving back with their tail.
So there were places where the relationship between people and Shadow Clan weren't so estranged, at least in the west. Maybe that's why she'd never been quite so scared of them, despite the stories passed around the 99 Caverns.
Alana tried to think of anything else she remembered about the western Shadow Clan, but nothing else surfaced.
She wasn't sure how long she spent trying to think of anything new about the west, but it had to have been long enough to finish the ride to the conference hall, because the next time Alana looked up, the gang was arriving in the mecha parking area for the large building.
The event hall was the same place that held the yearly formal. It felt like lifetimes since that night, when Alana and the gang had attended the event hosted by Gray Enterprise, only to be chased out by Blakk's ghoulslingers. That had been the first night Sam had shown that her loyalties didn't lay with her parents.
This press release certainly wouldn't be as big as the formal, but it was a large space that had been ready with short notice, so it was good for the job.
Parking was easy, because five spots in the front row had been sectioned off for the Shane Gang. Unfortunately, everyone knew who would be parking there, so reporters were crowding the gang the moment they stepped off their mechas.
Alana winced and kept her left hand over her eyes, trying her best to avoid the flashes of cameras. Her headache had ceased, but bright flashing lights were still not mixing well with even a minor concussion. True to her promise to Kord, her right arm stayed in its sling.
Questions merged together in a blend of nearly indiscernible chatter, but Alana could pick out a few as the gang pushed through the crowd and into the event center.
"Where is Doctor Blakk now?"
"What led to the shootout in Bonnie Springs Cavern?"
"What is your plan for removing remaining ghouls?"
"Will the Slugterran Express remain in operation?"
"Okay, everyone, we'll answer your questions when we get inside," Eli called, holding up his hands. He kept a smile on his face throughout the whole struggle to get inside the building. Alana was always impressed by his ability to stay charismatic even when people were clearly annoying him.
Not every reporter stopped their pestering, but most did and allowed the Shane Gang to enter the hall in one piece. Inside was a moderate sized crowd, a mix of press and public, all watching in excitement as the Shane Gang walked down a roped-off center aisle leasing to a small panel stage at the front of the room.
Alana glanced around the hall, avoiding camera flashes by looking up at the large glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which remained unchanged from the last formal.
Once they reached the stage, though, she directed her gaze to the long table sat on the raised platform. There were six seats, each with a microphone in front of it. This was easily the most organized press conference the gang had ever attended. Usually it was a simple podium at whatever mall or building would accommodate them. It seemed that Blakk's fall was catching the attention of everyone in Slugterra, even those who had previously been ignoring the problems he'd been causing.
Sam Gray was already sitting at one side of the table. She was chatting with someone that must have been event staff, because they were taking notes and speaking into a headset. Upon seeing the gang arrive, they quickly waved before rushing off the stage.
"Welcome to the chaos," Sam laughed, popping up out of her seat and hugging Alana. She ushered the rest of the slingers to their seats, with Alana next to her, then Eli, Trixie, Kord, and Pronto.
"Thanks," Eli sighed, collapsing down into his seat and stretching. "I should have expected this, but somehow I'm still surprised how many people are here."
"The world wants to hear from you guys," Sam noted, glancing out at the crowd that was beginning to settle into their seats. "Hey Alana, why are you still wearing your sling? Is your arm okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine, I'm just wearing it to make Kord feel better about his crutches," Alana whispered with a small laugh. "It's a little stiff to straighten out, but otherwise I'm good."
Sam noticeably relaxed and nodded. She leaned forward to address the rest of the gang.
"Are you guys okay to start? I'll give some opening statements on Gray Enterprise and Bonnie Springs, then the floor will be yours," she explained.
"Pronto is very much ready to begin! The people must know of my heroism!" Pronto exclaimed.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sam laughed. She leaned forward and flipped her microphone on, clearing her throat. "Okay, everyone, we're ready to get started. Please find your seats and quiet down. We are also requesting that there is no more flash photography," she added, glancing at Alana. "We won't have a problem escorting anyone out if they can't follow that."
Sure enough, the hall quieted down, and the press (mostly at the front) and members of the public settled down. It was a big sign of how interested people were, Alana realized, if they were listening so readily.
"Thank you," Sam said. She took a deep breath, glanced down at a few papers in front of her, then began. "As I'm sure you all know, two days ago, large battles took place at Bonnie Springs Hospital and the Blakk Industries citadel. Doctor Blakk had previously occupied Bonnie Springs Cavern. He locked it down and threatened to attack the hospital if the Shane Gang fought against him. To help keep control of Bonnie Springs, he worked with Gray Enterprise to hire mercenary slingers.
"The Shane Gang worked to gather allies and stage a simultaneous attack against Blakk's forces in Bonnie Springs and in the Blakk Industries citadel. Doctor Blakk created a terraportal drill to break through to the Deep Caverns, and succeeded. Dark Bane did enter the 99 Caverns, but the Shane Gang defeated them with the help of the Shadow Clan.
"In regards to Gray Enterprise, I am now the majority shareholder, and am developing a new board of directors to change the company's direction. We will be helping distribute some Blakk Industries assets, such as the Slugterran Express, and will be evaluating our technological investments and moving towards more transparent work with technological investments and transport."
Sam took a deep breath, looking out upon the audience.
"When the floor is opened for questions, we expect the public and press alike to be patient and thoughtful of those around you. Again, we will not hesitate to remove people from the property."
Alana exchanged glances with Eli. The slingers braced themselves.
"The floor is now open for questions."
For a moment, silence. As if nobody was quite sure if they should be the first one. Then, all at once, everyone seemed to get over their uncertainty.
Alana couldn't make out every voice that began calling up questions, but a few lucky people's voices were able to carry a little better.
"Where is Doctor Blakk now?"
Eli leaned forward and flipped on his microphone.
"During the fight, Doctor Blakk was pulled into the terraportal. He, and the Dark Bane that broke through, are now in the Deep Caverns," he replied evenly. He fiddled with his gloves as he spoke.
Alana knew that, especially after Blakk escaped Stalagmite 17, Eli had been worried about what they would do with Blakk. This had solved that problem, but it probably wasn't how the Shane would have liked to end things.
"How does it feel having avenged Will Shane?"
Alana's eyes widened and she turned to Eli, who visibly tensed. She and Trixie met concerned gazes. Eli hesitated, clearly thinking his answer over, before replying.
"We didn't do this to avenge my father. We did this to protect Slugterra, and that's what we will continue to do," he said. "Doctor Blakk was going to release Dark Bane into the 99 Caverns and destroy Slugterra, so we stopped him. We'll continue to do whatever is necessary to protect the caverns, whether it has a connection to my dad or not."
Sam checked to ensure her and Alana's microphones were off before she muttered, "He handled that pretty well. What's he actually think?"
Alana shrugged.
"I... don't know," she admitted. "We haven't really talked a lot since everything. We've just been resting and recovering."
Before Sam could respond, another shouted question broke through the murmurs of the crowd.
"How did the Shadow Clan help? Shouldn't the Shane Gang be working against them, given their past interactions with people? Many say they're worse than Doctor Blakk!"
Alana's hand shot forward, flipping her microphone on.
"That's ridiculous. The Shadow Clan were the only reason we won," she stated. "They helped fight ghoulslingers outside the citadel, and fought off Dark Bane inside. There's been misunderstandings and miscommunications over the years that need to be sorted out. The Shadow Clan fought to protect Slugterra, and we all need to respect that."
"Nice," Eli whispered, fist bumping Alana (who almost blew her cover by moving her 'immobile' arm).
"Sorry, stole that one. Got a little fired up," she whispered back.
"Nah, you said it better than I would have," Eli replied quietly. The next question was directed at Trixie, asking about footage from the fight. "Besides, you're right. We need to improve relations with the Shadow Clan. Being so estranged isn't going to help anyone."
"Shane Gang, you mentioned allies assisting in Bonnie Springs Cavern. For those who weren't present in the hospital, who were these slingers?"
"We had a handful of talented slugslingers," Trixie answered, leaning forward. "That included Indra from Undertow Cavern, Brodie from High Plains, and Mario Bravado. They were incredible, and we are so grateful for their help."
Dana Por had requested to stay in the shadows a bit more. Eventually, Alana knew that footage from the hospital fight would be leaked, and her presence would be made known. But she had wanted time to prepare to step back into the public eye after her thieving ordeal with Doctor Blakk.
"What are your plans moving forward? Blakk is gone, now what?"
"Next we will be managing the ghouls that are running rampant in our caverns!" Pronto said. "Pronto will be leading the charge to cure every remaining ghoul! From there, we will continue keeping the peace throughout the caverns!"
Alana smiled at Pronto's enthusiasm, absently petting Ash and Mage, who hopped down to sit on the table in front of her.
"What will happen to the Slugterran Express? Will Blakk Industries be dissolving?"
Kord leaned forward to take the question.
"Blakk Industries will probably disband," he said. "But we're hopin' to work with people like Gray Enterprise to keep some of Blakk's better works, like the Express, up and running. If we focus the energy Blakk put into using the railroads to transport ghouls and dark water on fast, accessible travel across the caverns, it can be a good way for people to get around if they aren't able to handle days-long mecha rides."
Alana leaned back in her chair, continuing to listen as question after question got fired at the gang and Sam, asking about the fates of Blakk Industries workers, the stock effects of the change in Gray Enterprise ownership, and everything in between.
For the first time in a while, the darkness of corrupted energy wasn't hanging over Alana's shoulder. But she still felt exhausted, not like she had the morning she'd fallen ill and had to be taken to the Lightwell, but like she had just finished a marathon. She had crossed the finish line, and now was the awkward calm before some other storm inevitably brewed.
But there was no use in worrying about what would come next. For now, in a brief, wonderful moment, Alana Caelum's only concern was surviving this press conference so the gang could slip away to Ricochet's.
~~~~~~~~
It ended up being nearly two hours of questions before Sam finally pulled the plug and declared that the conference was over. The gang was asked about all sorts of things, from their exact plans on rounding up ghouls (simple: find a ghoul, catch it, cure it, release the slug) to whether or not Pronto would be returning to Molemound to resume his fully kingly duties (absolutely not). Luckily, by the end of things, even the press was starting to settle down, so there weren't too many disappointed faces in the crowd.
"You guys did great," Sam praised as she and the gang slipped into one of the hall's back rooms away from the still chatting crowd. "Thanks for putting up with so many questions. The press should be off your tail, at least for a little bit."
"No problem. Thanks for setting things up," Eli said. "Mario sent us a message, he's back home, so we're heading to Ricochet's. Do you wanna come?"
"I would love to, but unfortunately I have a meeting with Dr. Eberly to get to, so that's going to be my afternoon," she said grimly. "The students are working on adjusting our records so we can easily access the stuff we were hiding from Blakk. It's nice to not have to stow things like any of your guys' information away, but it's annoying to figure out how to arrange things."
"Wow, that sounds so fun," Kord said flatly.
"You bet," Sam sighed. "But you guys have fun at Ricochet's, okay? Take your time relaxing for a little bit before starting to hunt down ghouls and stuff. I'll keep in touch, okay?"
"Thanks for helping us so much," Eli said, gesturing to the gang. "Knowing we had you to come back to after the fight was great. You and everyone at Bonnie Springs have been amazing."
"It's the least we could do," Sam assured, giving Alana a quick hug. "You'll always have us backing you up."
Her pager, which was clipped to her belt, began to beep.
"And that's my cue to head out," she said. "I'll see you guys around!"
The Shane Gang waved the doctor-in-training off before heading out the side exit to where their mechas had been pulled around. It would take a little longer to ride down the back paths instead of main town roads, but it was much easier than trying to avoid getting stopped by people.
The ride to Ricochet's took nearly two hours. The Lumino light faded from the caverns, bathing everything in a soft darkness. When the gang did finally have to turn onto streets, they were mostly empty; Mario had chosen the town he did for a reason. It was almost always quiet.
And now, Alana was enjoying the fact that there was a little less urgency to glance down alleyways as they passed, looking for stray ghoulslingers. Or taking a look at community boards, because every once in a while, Blakk would still try to put wanted posters up for the gang for various 'crimes' such as destruction of property (Pronto collected them like trading cards).
"Man, I am gonna eat so. Much. Pizza," Kord said with joy the second Ricochet's came into view.
"Pronto cannot wait to try his new cave crawler deluxe," Pronto sighed. "And without that nasty pineapple! Blah!"
"You're ridiculous, how do you not like pineapple on pizza?" Alana asked. The gang slowed their mechas to a halt outside the pizzeria.
"It is the rest of Slugterra that is ridiculous!" Pronto exclaimed, jumping off his mecha. "It feels like Pronto is the only one who understands how disgusting pineapple pizza is!"
"You know, up top, it's the people who like pineapple pizza who are the weird ones," Eli noted, leading the way into Ricochet's. "Of course it would be switched down here."
"You topsiders would," Trixie teased quietly. Eli raised an eyebrow, looking amused.
"Oh? And what is that supposed to-"
"Hey, Shane Gang!" Mario interrupted, appearing from a room behind the restaurant's kitchenette. "Welcome in! I watched your press conference on the TV, you guys did great."
"Thanks. The thought of pizza got us through it," Alana laughed. "Thanks for the invite."
"No prob. I'm feeling a lot better now," Mario said, waving a hand nonchalantly. "I just had to cool down from the fight. It was a little much to jump right back into."
"Well, you did great," Eli said. "And that's an understatement. Dana Por sent us a video of you scaling the hospital walls?"
Mario's face flushed.
"I got a little carried away. Caught up in the moment and all that."
"Well, it was impressive," Kord noted, hobbling over on his crutches to a table and collapsing on a chair. "Man, these things suck. Oh, Alana, you can ditch the sling now. Thanks."
"Oh, I forgot I had it," Alana noted, sliding her right arm out and taking the sling off. She laughed at Mario's appalled expression. "My arm's fine, I was just in solidarity with Kord."
"Right," Mario said, shaking his head. "You guys confuse me sometimes. Anyway, you guys want your usual? I assume you want the cave crawler, Pronto. Molenoids have been loving it."
"Of course! And with no pineapple!" Pronto emphasized. Mario rolled his eyes, tying on his white apron.
"You would be the one who doesn't like pineapple," the sharpshooter lamented. "Alright, you guys sit tight, I'll get them made up for ya."
"Do you want any help?" Eli offered, hesitating between the seating area and the kitchen.
"Absolutely not," Mario said. His Speedstinger hopped up onto his shoulder. "You guys have done enough work for a while. Sit back and relax."
He paused, grabbing a remote and turning on a television mounted to the wall closest to the gang. It flashed to life and tuned into a slugball match.
"If you're trying to distract us with slugball... it worked," Eli admitted in defeat, sitting down with the rest of the gang and watching the TV intently. With everything that had been going on, watching slugball hadn't really been anyone's priority.
"So that's what it takes to take down the Shane Gang," Mario laughed from the kitchen. "Turn on some slugball. Wow."
"I want to prove you wrong but I don't even know when the last time I watched TV was," Alana said, staring up intently at the screen. She'd forgotten how nice some mind-numbing sports were.
"Too long," Trixie replied. "Way, way too long."
Mario snickered, but held back any further comments while he cooked and the gang watched. Alana was always appalled at how quickly Mario cooked, and tonight was no exception. Before the slugball match had even reached the end of the first quarter, Mario was setting out pizzas in front of the slingers, sitting down next to Eli.
"Dinner is served," Mario said proudly. "Eat up, kids."
"You're not that much older than us," Trixie noted. "But you're feeding us. So, whatever."
The next half hour was spent in near silence, the Shane Gang and the trickshooter relaxing and eating, and occasionally cheering for their respective slugball teams (it was Quisingly Cavern versus Gateway Cavern). By the end of the meal, Alana retreated to one of the booth seats to lay down. Ash and Mage laid next to her, both already asleep after stealing pepperoni and pineapple off her pizza.
Pronto, Kord, Trixie, and Mario continued to get rowdier and rowdier as the slugball match continued. Eli eventually made his way over next to Alana, collapsing down on the booth next to her.
"I regret eating all that," he sighed. "But also... I have no regrets at all."
"Makes sense," Alana smiled. "Mario has a talent for doing that."
"Mhm," Eli sighed.
For a few minutes, they sat in silence. Then, with a small wince and a hand to his ribs, Eli sat up.
"Hey, I do have a serious question though. I've been thinking of something."
Alana opened her eyes and sat up carefully, anxiety gnawing in her chest. Ash and Mage stirred, watching their slinger curiously. Alana looked up and saw Eli's face tight with a mix of concern and apprehension.
"Okay, go for it," Alana said, trying to keep her voice steady. Did he look mad? Was he going to tell her off for reversing the portal and nearly getting him killed?
She'd apologized profusely yesterday, but he'd waved her off then, saying that she did exactly what he needed her to do: get rid of the Dark Bane. Everything that had happened afterwards had been Doctor Blakk's fault for knocking him into the portal, not Alana's. But maybe he'd changed his mind.
"I've been thinking about the terraportal," Eli began. Alana winced and cut him off before he could continue.
"I know, I'm still so sorry, E," she said. "I didn't realize how dangerous reversing the portal could be, and we almost lost you."
Eli stopped, looking confused, and Alana's face heated up as she realized that must not have been what he was going to talk about.
"Alana, I'm not mad at you for the portal," he promised. "I told you yesterday, what you did was perfect. We wouldn't have known what to do with those Dark Bane if they got stuck with us. Blakk got the jump on me, that's why I fell. Not because of anything you did. But... well, this is still kind of about you."
Any relief that had been growing on Alana's face disappeared.
"O-okay," she said, unsure how to respond. Eli sighed and leaned back in the booth, fidgeting with his hands.
"Last night I kind of heard you dreaming," he confessed. "I wasn't able to sleep well since we kind of slept all day. I was just doing stuff around the hideout, tidying up, you know? And I heard you in your room."
Alana sighed and rested her face in her hands. She didn't even remember dreaming last night.
"What did I say?" she mumbled.
"It sounded like it was about the portal," Eli said carefully. "But... my dad was there. And you were talking to him. Warning him. You said he was going to the Deep Caverns. Alana, is that where he is?"
Alana winced, remembering the short amount of time that Doctor Blakk had spent in Stalagmite 17. When the Dark Bane had emerged in the cell, their terraportal had looked exactly like the one Will had fallen into. But Alana couldn't be sure, and she already wouldn't want to get Eli's hopes up, but after seeing his extreme reaction to Blakk dangling information about Will right in front of him?
She'd decided it would have to wait until after they defeated Blakk. She didn't need Eli doing anything reckless, like trying to take advantage of the breach between realms to search for his dad. They had to focus on the 99 Caverns, and to do that, everyone in the gang needed a clear head.
"I don't know," she said truthfully. "I was going to talk to you about it soon, once all this stuff with Blakk was done. I've seen three portals. They all looked the same. Two of them led to the Deep Caverns. Then there was Will's. I don't know if that's where he is, but it's possible. And I'm sorry for not telling you as soon as the thought crossed my mind. I thought it should wait until after the fight. I was worried about you."
Eli didn't answer, and after a few seconds, Alana forced herself to look up. She was prepared for him to look angry, or betrayed that she hadn't confided in him, but she wasn't prepared for a relieved smile on his face.
He leaned forward and gently hugged her, minding his injured side.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
Confused, but certainly not unhappy with the turn of events, Alana carefully hugged him back before he pulled away.
"Uh, what?" she said dumbly. "You're not mad?"
"What? No, I'm not mad," he promised. "I'm glad I've got people like you looking out for me."
He turned to watch the rest of the gang and Mario jump out of their seats as some sort of close play happened in the slugball match.
"I probably would've done something stupid," he admitted. "Stayed in the portal. Gone to the Deep Caverns on purpose, even if there's only a slim chance he's down there. I want him back so much. Sometimes I think it's gonna get the best of me one day."
Alana blinked in surprise, relaxing now that she knew she wasn't going to get caught in an argument with her friend.
"Well, hey," she said lightheartedly, gesturing over to her cheering teammates across the pizzeria. "You're right. We're looking out for you. It'll take some time, but we'll figure things out. I know it."
~~~~~~~~
We're almost at the end of this installment. One more chapter to go :)
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cyan out!