When the gang returned from Bullseye, Alana sighed and rolled off the bean bag chair, laying on the floor.
"You look happy," Eli noted, unclipping his bandoleer and setting it on a hook next to the doorway.
"Ecstatic," Alana mumbled. "Did you fix Bullseye?"
"Yes, and it was amazing!" Trixie exclaimed, practically leaping for the couch, pulling out her camera. "I wish you could've seen it. The cavern was dull and purple and just... dead, and when it came back, all the colors and life rushed into the cavern. It was great."
"So how was your stay with the Shadow Clan?" Kord asked as he walked into the kitchen to make himself a snack.
"Great," Alana said sarcastically, climbing back on top of the bean bag chair. "Ash and the chief went back and forth, then three of the Shadow Clan escorted me out of the Dark Periphery. I don't know what their deal is, but they don't seem to like me," she said, praying that her lie was convincing enough.
"Sorry to hear that. I don't know why they would have done that," Eli said as he sat down on the coach next to Trixie, who was scrolling through her camera footage.
"What was keeping the slugs away from Bullseye, anyway?" Alana asked, looking at Eli upside-down from her sprawled-out position on the bean bag chair.
"Dark water," Eli said coolly. Alana frowned and flipped over, propping herself up on her elbows. "Blakk put it there to try and make a land grab for Bullseye."
"Wow," Alana said, shaking her head disbelievingly. "He was going to screw over an entire cavern just for the land?"
Before Eli could respond, Trixie gasped and dropped her camera on the couch, leaning forward and grabbing the letters Alana had tossed on the coffee table.
"Are these-? They are!" Trixie exclaimed, looking at the envelopes excitedly.
"I was pretty tired when I came in, I didn't even look at them. What are they?" Alana asked. Trixie tossed one to her, handed one to Eli, and waved Kord and Pronto over from the kitchen, handing them one.
Alana peered at the paper. The paper was a metallic silver, with a violet wax seal holding it shut.
Who uses wax seals anymore? she wondered as she flipped the envelope over and read the address. It was written in swirly cursive, the ink the same color violet as the seal on the front of the envelope.
To Alana of the Shane Gang, from the associates at Gray Enterprise.
"Why would Gray Enterprise be sending us mail?" Alana asked as she popped the wax seal off the envelope and pulled out a small white paper. The company was well-known for its motives to get as much money possible in as many ways possible, although it was to be noted that the company wasn't nearly as dirty or notorious as Blakk Industries.
There was a swirling purple trim around it, and- did it smell like lavender? The others opened their own letters. Pronto gagged at the perfume on the paper, but nobody else seemed to care that much.
Dear Alana,
We are pleased to inform you that Slugterra's new Shane and his associates are invited to this year's formal hosted by Gray Enterprise.
We are aware that the Shane Gang is comprised of mainly younger slingers, and therefore we have provided a debit account for you all to access in preparation for the event. It is understandable that you are very busy with deeds around the 99 Caverns, but would be elated if you were to attend on this upcoming Saturday evening.
Sincerely,
The Associates at Gray Enterprise
"They still do this thing?" Alana laughed. "Will took me when I was nine. I don't remember much, though."
"I can't believe it!" Trixie exclaimed. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"What exactly is this thing, anyway?" Eli asked. Pronto leapt up from his chair eagerly.
"Only the richest of the rich and the most refined of the refined are invited to this annual party!" he said. "It is an event of beauty, grace, and... complimentary cave fritters!"
Kord laughed and pumped his fist. "Then I'm in!"
"Sounds fun," Eli grinned. Then he peered back down at his invitation. "When is it?"
"Invitation says Saturday night," Trixie responded. Alana frowned and thought for a second.
"Saturday?" she asked. Trixie double-checked the paper and nodded.
"Yep."
"This Saturday?"
"That's what it says."
"It's Friday today, though."
"Yeah- oh... Floppers."
~~~~~~~~
The gang had never prepped up so quickly before.
Within minutes, the had leapt from their seats and gathered their belongings. They quickly got back on their Mechas and were tearing out of the garage bay door quicker than lightning.
Their hope was to beat the Friday rush at Convertamall, because once prime time came, the building would be swarming with teens and annoyed parents and their children.
Alana felt herself falling back behind the group as they talked about who they might meet at the party. She was suppressing her impulse to confide in the gang about what the Shadow Clan had said to her. She was excited beyond belief- she could do incredible things that no other human could! She could sense slugs and ghouls, and who knew what else those would lead to?
But she was also scared. Being around dark energy was horrible. The cold feeling would seep into her bones and she felt like she had been hit with a Frostcrawler. But dark energy was also an occupational hazard. Alana couldn't just stop fighting Blakk's ghouls. She would have to suck it up and keep battling. It was a lot to think about.
And it hurt, to have just gotten used to confiding in other people and living with the gang. Now she was back to feeling alone with her secret. She wasn't hurting any of her friends, but she felt like a traitor.
"So, Alana, what are you thinking?" Trixie said suddenly, letting her Mecha fall back to be even with Alana.
"I'm sorry, I was totally spacing out," Alana laughed. "Think about what?"
"Your dress," Trixie said patiently. "I mean, I'm assuming you'll wear a dress?"
"Oh, yeah," Alana said with a shrug. "I don't really know. The last time I got dressed up was when Will took me, and that was, like, six years ago."
"Well, we'll figure it out," Trixie said cheerfully. She was definitely pumped up to be going to the formal. "Once we get there, we're going to split up. Me and you are going to go dress shopping, while the guys get to go to however many stores they need to go to for molenoid, human, and cave troll suits."
Alana laughed and chided herself for spacing out.
She shouldn't let a secret ruin this for her.
The rest of the ride was spent talking about wardrobe and just how many cave fritters would be allowed per person. All the discussion helped take Alana's mind off the bursts of energy she felt every time her Mecha beast passed wild slugs.
Once Convertamall came into view, there was one heart-stopping moment where they couldn't remember who had taken the debit card that Gray Enterprise had provided. After a few moments of panic, Eli burst out laughing and pulled it out of his back pocket, which resulted in Kord lightly punching Eli in the shoulder, which resulted in Eli almost crashing to the ground.
"Unbelievable," Trixie muttered as they parked their Mechas and headed into the mall. Once they entered the automatic doors, Alana took a few steps forward and held her hands out, stopping the gang.
"Wait. Okay, guys, we are here to quickly grab outfits and then leave before it gets chaotic here. Not to spend hours in the arcade," she stressed, looking directly at Kord and Trixie.
"Fine," the two muttered simultaneously.
"Alright. Just wanted to make sure," Alana laughed, stepping out of the way. "Okay, let's get going. We'll let you guys know when we're done."
"You guys only have two dresses to find, we have three. What makes you think we'll finish first?" Eli asked. Alana and Trixie exchanged a glance.
"You have never been in the chaos of the women's dressing room," Trixie stated. Alana nodded.
"There's a system, guys. Doesn't matter what you're looking for exactly, but you always have to see who can try on the most expensive and most ridiculous dresses," Alana explained.
Kord laughed and shook his head. "You two have fun with that."
"We will," Alana said confidently. With that, the two girls headed off in one direction, while the three guys headed in another.
~~~~~~~~
"I underestimated this," Alana said, looking out upon the rows and rows of dresses in the store. "I don't even know where to start."
"Well, it's not a ballgown kind of thing, so we're gonna be looking at shorter length dresses," Trixie said, gesturing to a third of the store.
"Well, that narrows it down," Alana admitted, only being half sarcastic as she followed Trixie down the aisles.
The aisles were already getting crowded. Children ran through the racks of dresses, so it was difficult to walk around without tripping over kids playing tag or hide-and-seek. Moms dragging unhappy teens and teens dragging unhappy moms were common. Some seemed to be shopping just for the sake of shopping, but some people Alana and Trixie passed were discussing the formal.
Every once in a while, people would turn to look and their gazes would linger. Most of the people in the store were in casual clothes, but Alana and Trixie were still in their slinging gear, blasters and all.
"Well, you're obviously going to want to look for something blue," Trixie said, gesturing to Alana's hair. "And I'm thinking green. So why don't we split up and meet at the dressing rooms in ten?"
Alana nodded. "Okay. I'm still not sure what I'm looking for," she added as Trixie headed toward the green aisle.
"If you like it, try it!" Trixie responded.
Alana nodded and headed for the blue aisle. The colors all ranged from dark sapphire to so pale it could have been white. She tried to find a good medium, one that matched her hair.
Ten minutes seemed to speed by, and Alana had only pulled three dresses off the racks. Between trying to get through a group of obnoxious girls at the front of the dressing rooms and weaving between the people standing outside doors waiting for their friends to come out, Alana felt like she hadn't had to have such strategic movement since her last fight.
Once she broke through a majority of the crowd, she saw Trixie already standing in the hall of dressing rooms. She waved Alana over.
"I got us two rooms. This place is a mess," she said as she swung the door open.
"You're telling me. I'm this close to just firing a Tempesto," Alana remarked as she walked in her dressing room and shut the door. "That'd clear out the crowds real quick."
"That's one way to think," Trixie said, her voice slightly muffled behind the divider that separated the two. "How many did you find?"
Alana put her blaster and bandoleer on a hook bolted to the door and paused as she unclipped her backpack.
"How many did you find?" she asked Trixie.
"Twelve."
Alana stopped and rolled her eyes as she got out of her gear.
"Seriously? Twelve?"
"Yeah, what about you?"
"Three."
"You were out there for ten minutes!"
"I don't know what the green aisle was like, but blue was chaotic," Alana laughed as she pulled on her first dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and winced. "Jeez, this looked way longer on the hanger."
"Let me see," Trixie said. There was a small grunt, then Trixie's arms and head appeared as she pulled herself up on top of the divider.
"Oh, that's not that bad," Trixie laughed. Alana shook her head.
"Nope. Not doing it. I'm not gonna be uncomfortable all night," Alana decided. Trixie shrugged and dropped back down into her room.
The second dress was a tremendous failure (it attempted to show off nonexistent curves), but the third felt great the second Alana put it on. She looked at the mirror in the dressing room and smiled.
The top was light blue with even lighter blue lace. A ribbon ran under the lace, and the skirt spilled out from the ribbon. Best of all, it was plenty long enough. The sleeves were short, however, and you could see the burn that almost completely circled her arm just beneath her shoulder. Her gaze lingered there for a moment before she turned away from the mirror.
"I think I've got one, Trix," Alana remarked, swinging open the dressing room door. Trixie's door opened, and the redhead walked out in a dress of her own.
The top was white with lace, like Alana's, but it had scoop shoulders like Trixie's slinging gear. A black ribbon tied around the waist, and the green skirt was much more light and flowy than Alana's.
"I think I do, too," Trixie said, holding her arms out. "What do you think?"
"Yes," Alana said immediately. "I love that."
"Yours looks great, too," Trixie said. "You got the color perfect! I knew you knew what you were doing."
"Thanks," Alana said. The happy feeling of being in the dress was beginning to fade. "Well, I'm gonna change back into my normal clothes," she said, edging back into the dressing room. "Nothing fancy for shoes, I assume?"
"No way," Trixie laughed as she retreated back into her room. "We'll grab some flats real quick and then book it. I am not dealing with the crowd at the shoe store."
~~~~~~~~
The mad dash through the shoe store was impressive. Trixie and Alana ran in, weaving through the aisles expertly, and each grabbed a pair of flats (white for Alana, black for Trixie).
Bags in hand, the girls made their way back to the hotel lobby. Sure enough, the guys were already waiting for them at a table, munching at food court snacks.
"How long were you waiting?" Alana asked as the two reached the table.
"Not long," Kord said, sounding unamused. "Someone took his time trying on as many suits as possible."
Pronto rolled his eyes. "Pronto needs to look his best to show the guests how truly magnificent he is!"
Eli laughed and rolled his eyes. "Well, if everyone's finished, I think we should get going. The Friday night rush is kicking up and while I'm usually all out for mingling, I've had enough people come up and talk to me," he said. Alana snickered and rolled her eyes.
"Poor Shane just can't deal with his newfound fame," she said dramatically. Then she gestured towards the exit. "Let's roll out."
~~~~~~~~
"I want to go to the formal tomorrow."
"Excuse me?"
"Just to observe. Her energy is growing. I can feel it from here. She knows. If we're ever going to beat her, I need to be able to get closer without confrontation."
"She'll be able to sense you if you're in the same building."
"I'm much more skilled when it comes to suppression. I'll keep my distance. Just close enough to get what I need."
"Very well. The plans for tomorrow will still be put in motion. But you are not to be armed. Am I understood?"
"Yes."
"Then leave and prepare with the others."
~~~~~~~~
"How do you tie a tie?!"
"Seriously?" Alana groaned, stopping in her tracks.
She had just been heading upstairs to get dressed, like she had meant to an hour ago.
But then everyone wanted an early dinner because what if they didn't have time to eat between all of the inevitable talking at the party?
So she'd helped throw together grilled cheese and soup.
But then wait- weren't the Mechas a mess? Shouldn't they be hosed off before leaving to such a fancy event?
So she'd helped fire some Bubbaleones and Aquabeeks to clean up their rides. She'd planned to quickly escape upstairs, and was about to do so when she heard Eli's panicked yell.
Alana shook her head and descended the steps. She was still just in shorts (which she planned on wearing under her dress) and a button-up shirt, so she would be able to get into her dress without messing with her hair, which had been straightened by Trixie before the dinner-and-Mechas fiasco. It felt strange to be in casual clothes- it felt like she was always dressed for something (that "something" usually being slinging, but in rare cases like these, also formals).
Eli was standing at the bottom of the stairs in his dress pants and shirt, holding up the tie pleadingly.
"Don't they have ties up on the surface?" Alana muttered as she reached the ground floor.
"Yeah, but my mom or my uncle always did them for me," Eli admitted.
"Then why don't you ask Kord or Pronto? They got theirs on fine," Alana said, gesturing to the garage bay door, behind which Pronto and Kord were doing final Mecha checks.
"That'd be embarrassing! They'd never let me hear the end of it," Eli said matter-of-factly. "Please?"
"Fine," Alana said, grabbing the navy blue tie.
After only seconds, she was readjusting the tie and then backing away to admire her work.
"How did you do that?" Eli exclaimed, looking down at the perfect knot. "And so fast?"
"I always thought suits looked cool when I was younger," Alana laughed. "Last time I went to the formal, I wore a dress shirt, tie, and then a skirt. Luckily, I was young enough that people thought it was fun. I don't think I'd get away with it now."
"Wait," Eli said, stepping forward as Alana began climbing the stairs again. "You went to this thing with my dad, right?"
Alana stopped and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she opened them and turned back to face Ei, nodding.
"Can you kind of give me the run-down of what to expect?" he asked.
"You'll be asked a lot of questions about slugball. And how you think the stock is doing, and how you plan on dealing with Doctor Blakk. If you don't know an answer, make something up and roll with it. People won't notice the difference," she laughed. She turned back to go upstairs and stopped herself one more time. "And they'll ask you about Will, too. So be prepared for that."
And with that, she hurried upstairs and headed to her room, a frown tugging at her lips.
When she opened the door to her room, her slugs were lounging in various places, including her bed, desk, and her one Frostcrawler, Kelvin, was asleep dangling from the ceiling. (Better him than the Grenuke, Gav.)
Mage hopped up and down excitedly on Alana's bed, nodding toward her dress, which was laid out on the sheets.
"Yep, it's time to get dressed," Alana said, laughing at her slug's enthusiasm. She glanced over at her bedside table and saw Ash and her Hypnogrif, Cipher, talking. At the sight of Alana, Ash chirped happily and hopped up next to Mage, while Cipher squeaked a greeting to his slinger before hopping into a small bowl on Alana's dresser that he had deemed his bed.
Thanks to the button-up shirt Trixie had reminded her to wear, Alana was able to get into her dress without messing up her hair. She paused and looked up into the mirror that was nailed onto her closet door.
It was the first time in six years she had gotten dressed up.
Alana silently walked up to her closet and opened the door, grabbing one of the pictures that hung inside.
A nine-year-old Alana grinned giddily at the camera. Next to her stood a smiling Will Shane. His black hair was brushed back and he wore a suit almost identical to the one Eli was wearing now, down to the navy blue tie.
"You really miss him."
Alana smiled sadly and turned to face Trixie, who stood in the middle of her room, already dressed. She had kept her signature pigtails, but moved them down to the bottom of her head to create a formal look.
"I do," Alana said quietly. "So much. I see him in so many things. Formals, slinging. Eli."
She kept the picture in her hand as she shut the closet door and hung it back up on the outside so it was visible.
"And I almost don't even feel sad anymore," Alana noted. "Just... disappointed. Things could be so much different if he were here. But, if he was, maybe Eli never would have met you guys at the tournament. Things turned out pretty good, given the circumstances, didn't they?"
Trixie laughed and nodded.
"I like to think so," she said as she walked forward and tied the bow on the back of Alana's dress. "I am sorry they turned out like this, though."
"Nah, it's okay," Alana said, glancing back at the photo. "It's not huge for me anymore. Sometimes I just gotta wallow for a bit," she said humorously.
Trixie rolled her eyes as the two walked out of the room. "And there it is. The ever-positive attitude."
The two went downstairs to find the guys preparing to depart for the formal. Alana walked over to the coffee table and picked up two blue slug canisters. She pushed her hair away and revealed two small clips on the back of the dress. Trixie laughed as Alana hooked the canisters on the clips, and Ash and Mage jumped in.
"Seriously? It's a party," she said as Alana let her hair fall back into place, perfectly covering her ammo.
Alana shrugged as she grabbed her blaster and lifted her skirt enough to clip it into a holster on her shorts.
"I like to be prepared."
~~~~~~~~
It turns out that riding Mechas sidesaddle is extremely uncomfortable.
At least, that's what Alana was hearing. She rode normally with ease, thanks to her shorts. Trixie, on the other hand, was extremely relieved when the gang turned a corner and the hall came into view.
The Gray family knew how to throw a party. The party hall was enormous, with a glass ceiling that allowed light to escape and shine on the cavern ceiling.
The parking lot stretched all around the building, and even though the party had started fifteen minutes ago, the lot was nearly full.
"That's a lot of people," Kord noted as they parked on the outskirts of the lot. The second Trixie's Mecha came to a stop, she leapt out and stretched.
"Ah, thank goodness!" she gasped. "That felt awful."
"That's unfortunate," Alana snickered as she climbed off her Mecha and smoothed out her skirt. Trixie glared daggers her way, but was smirking.
"I cannot wait to show off my charming looks to all of the elite members of Slugterra!" Pronto said as the gang weaved through the other parked Mechas. "It will steal the spotlight for sure!"
"I'm sure it will," Eli laughed, shaking his head. "Man, aren't you guys nervous, though? There's so much people."
"Yeah, people who wanna see you," Kord said. "We're getting off easy."
"That's not true," Eli argued, even though Alana could tell he knew it was.
"Either way, it's just a party," Alana said as she walked ahead of the gang up to the set of glass doors at the front of the building. "It won't be that- bad..."
Her voice trailed off as she swung the door open and got a full view of the party hall.
The glass ceilings arched high above there heads. A large crystal chandelier hung from it, gems of all colors sparkling. People almost completely filled the area. On the sides there were tables to sit at and eat, and closer to the back, people danced to a live orchestra. The front half seemed completely dedicated to socializing.
The walls were polished marble, with paintings of all kinds hanging from then. The ground was a cream color, and Alana could almost see her reflection in it perfectly.
As the gang filed in, they saw dozens of pairs of eyes turn to them. Many conversations came to a halt as people took in the view of the new Shane and his fellow slingers. Then, three people broke away from the crowd.
Two led the way. They were both tall, with the man standing a few inches above the woman. He had black hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. He looked down at the gang curiously through a pair of glasses.
The woman had brown skin and darker brown hair pulled up in an elaborate bun. Her gray eyes seemed piercing, and Alana had the slightest feeling that the smile she wore was fake.
Behind them walked a girl with brown skin, brown hair, and dark eyes- she seemed very familiar, Alana realized. Then it clicked.
"Sam?" she asked tentatively. The young woman smiled and stepped out from behind her parents, nodding.
Her hair was up in a bun, with one curl spiraling down to her collarbone. Her dress was purple with lace sleeves extending down to her hands. Alana noticed the barely-healed mark on her leg from where she'd been trapped in the fire.
"You've already met my daughter, Samantha," the man said, extended his hand to Eli, who shook it hesitantly.
"Mr. Gray, I assume?" Eli asked. The man smiled and nodded.
"Correct," he said as he took turns shaking everyone's hand. "I'm so glad you all were able to make it. This is a magnificent opportunity for Slugterrans to meet their new defenders."
Mrs. Gray shook everyone's hand, then Sam, who seemed much more quiet than she'd seemed the first time Alana had seen her.
The next half hour was spent meeting a dozen or so of Mr. Gray's friends and business partners. Eli, of course, got asked the bulk of the questions, but the rest of the gang rarely felt left out. Kord's machinery skills, Pronto notoriety, and Trixie's filmmaking were commonly asked about. Every once in a while, Alana would get a comment about her hair and weren't you here years ago with Will Shane?
Yes, when my family couldn't care for me any longer, I lived with him. He was a family friend.
What a shame. He was such a great man. I'm sorry.
That particular conversation was Alana's least favorite, but it came up quite often.
Finally, the crowd died down a bit. A man came over and tapped on Mr. Gray's shoulder, and after a brief whispered conversation, Mr. Gray turned to the gang apologetically.
"Duty calls. All the people you just met were only a few compared to everyone else I still need to talk to tonight," he said. "I must take leave. Enjoy the party."
"Thanks," Eli said, sounding a little shell-shocked from the rapid-fire conversations.
Mr. and Mrs. Gray turned to leave. Sam hesitated, like she wanted to stay, but after a gesture from her mother, she left with a quick wave.
"She seems quieter than before," Trixie noted.
"I would be. Her parents seem nice, but intimidating," Eli said. "Well- oh, here we go again," he said as a few more people walked up to him tentatively.
As Eli got wrapped up in another conversation, Alana edged to the side and wove through the crowd to where the tables lined the edges of the ballroom with drinks. Trixie, Kord, and Pronto went to the opposite side, where the food was lined up.
Some people paused to say hello and You work with the Shane boy, right? Alana would nod and talk for a few moments before continuing to make her way to the tables. She was finding herself getting a little overwhelmed with so many people in one place.
Finally, one of the tables with pitchers of water and punch came into view-
And Alana froze as she saw the girl standing in front of one of the tables, talking to a boy next to her.
The girl had dark hair pulled up into an elaborate bun. Her dress was gray at the top, with a red skirt and black tule at the bottom. Her skin was deathly pale, almost white. She was talking to a blond boy next to her, and glanced up to see Alana. She had stone cold eyes.
Alana gasped quietly as a wave of cold spread through her. Then, a person passed in front of her. When they were gone, the boy and girl had disappeared.
Was that-
"Hey, Alana," a voice said behind her. Alana gasped and jumped, then put her hand over her heart as she realized it was just Sam.
"You scared the crap out of me," Alana laughed, shaking her head.
"Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost," Sam remarked.
I think I did?
"I'm fine, just a little overwhelmed with all the people," Alana explained, pushing her worry away. She noticed that Sam seemed far more comfortable and relaxed away from her parents.
"Yeah, I've been to this thing every single year, and I still get a little sick of all the people," she noted. "Sorry I was quiet earlier. Even though they're my parents, it's still a little intimidating to have the hosts around all night."
"You didn't tell me you were Sam Gray as in Gray Enterprise Gray," Alana said, remembering when she had dragged Sam out of the burning building. "So, Miss Heiress, what were you doing in the shop?"
Sam shrugged and brushed some of her hair from her face.
"I don't really go around advertising it. And I was there because it was one of our stores,"she explained. "I like to make the rounds, visit the employees, and see what they're up to."
"That's pretty cool. Are you planning on taking over the company, then?" Alana asked. Sam laughed nervously and scratched at the back of her head.
"Ideally, my parents would love me to. But I've actually been taking classes at Bonnie Springs for a while. I like the idea of being a doctor there. But my parents don't know about that," she added hastily. "They think I'm only takin business classes."
"Secret's safe with me," Alana smiled. Then she paused and thought for a moment. "Wait, so are you taking business classes?"
"Yes."
"So you're studying how to be a businesswoman and a doctor?"
"Yes."
"Wow," Alana laughed. "You're one smart girl."
Sam grinned. "Thanks."
Then she glanced over and saw her mother walking towards her. Alana noticed that Sam immediately straightened her shoulders and stood up a little taller.
Sam's mom held out her hand, and Alana shook it.
"Alana, I'm glad you're here. I wanted to thank you for saving my daughter's life," she said. "I heard all about how you got Samantha out of that burning store."
For thanking Alana, she seemed to sound pretty condescending. But Alana pretended not to notice, simply smiling and shrugging.
"It was no big deal. I'm glad I was able to help."
"Samantha, I'm sorry to have to pull you away," Mrs. Gray said, sounding not sorry at all, "but we still have some business partners to greet."
Sam nodded and waved to Alana. "See you later," she said as she walked away behind her mother.
"See ya," Alana said, waving. Then she sighed and began walking around, hoping she didn't look as awkward as she felt.
~~~~~~~~
"Just go talk to her."
"Why should I?"
"Because I can't get close to her. That was already a close call a few minutes ago."
"You only came so you could observe, didn't you? So just observe."
"Just for a few minutes. There's only so much I can get just from watching. You brought your slug, didn't you? Put on a disguise and go."
"Wouldn't she feel Loki? Isn't that how it works?"
"I've been suppressing my own energy all night. I can keep down your slug's, too."
"Nah. I'm good."
"I can always just ask him to make you do it."
"Fine, fine. I'll go in a bit."
~~~~~~~~~
The next hour flew by. Alana met up with the rest of the gang and sat with them at a table for a while, enjoying the prospect of free desserts. Then it was back into the fray. The gang followed Eli around, making the rounds as nearly every person in the ballroom lines up to meet him. At one point, Trixie had lined her and Eli up for a picture. Afterwards, Alana realized that Trixie had gotten them to pose identically to the picture of Alana and Will.
At one point, Alana was trying to weave throw the crowd again to find Trixie. She heard a small thud behind her and got a quick "Watch out!" before someone crashed into her back and sent her to the ground.
"Oh, man, I'm so sorry," a voice said behind her. She felt the person get up before pushing herself up from the ground.
"It's okay, it happens," she said breezily as she got up on her knees and straightened out her dress.
The boy who had run into her had pale skin and brown hair. He was smiling nervously as he held out a hand to help Alana up. She gratefully took it and got to her feet.
"Hey, I know you. Alana, from the Shane Gang, right?" he asked. Alana nodded and smiled.
"What gave it away?" she asked sarcastically, pointedly brushing some of her blue hair from her face.
"Well, the hair, and the fact that nobody outside the Shane Gang would sneak slugs and a blaster into a party," he noted slyly.
Heat rose to Alana's face- he must have felt them when he fell.
"Best to be prepared," she said with a shrug. "Especially in my line of work."
"I guess you're right. Speaking of, I gotta ask- how's the whole stick-it-to-Blakk thing going? I still can't believe you guys fight those ghouls," he said, shaking his head. "They freak me out."
"It's going pretty well. They freak me out too," Alana admitted. "But someone's gotta do it."
"Right you are." Then the boy paused and looked up at a spot over Alana's shoulder. "Ah. I'm being waved over. Well, it was nice to meet you."
"You, too," Alana said. She turned to see where he was going, but it didn't seem to be anywhere in particular. He just vanished into the crowd without a trace.
Weird.
She continued her walk through the crowd, looking around at the well-dressed aristocrats all around her. After a few moments, Alana glanced up and saw Sam Gray dozens of yards away, pushing through the crowd frantically. She was holding something, but Alana couldn't tell what it was.
Alana stood up on her toes and raised her hand, trying to catch her eye. Sam's gaze finally fell on Alana, who titled her head questioningly.
Sam's eyes were full of fear, and she seemed to begin to yell something, but before she could, the hall lights shut off.
Everything was pitch black, and for a moment, all was silent.
Then chaos broke lose- people pushing and yelling and screaming. Alana cried out as someone pushed her down to the ground and held her there.
"What are you-?" she began, but stopped when she felt a ring of metal pressed against her back. A shiver ran through Alana, and she realized it wasn't from the cool blaster metal - it was from the ammo.
"Stay quiet and don't move unless I tell you to," a man snapped. "Otherwise we start firing ghouls into the crowd."
Alana's eyes widened and she stopped struggling immediately.
"We know you're armed. Where are your slugs and blaster?" the man, who Alana assumed to be one of Blakk's workers, asked.
"I only have two," Alana said over the noise of the yelling guests. "On my back. And my blaster's in a holster," she said, slowly reaching through her skirts and tossing her blaster on the ground next to her (she could get that one on her own).
The worker swept aside her hair and Alana felt him quickly grab the two slug canisters. After a few minutes, Alana heard angry chirps and the sound of something hitting glass. He must have put Ash and Mage in the ghoul canisters that could be closed. She heard a small click as he grabbed her blaster.
"How can you see?" Alana asked as he grabbed her arms and yanked them behind her back. Something tightened around her wrists with a click. "Handcuffs, really?" she asked as she was yanked to her feet.
"Shut up," the worker said, annoyed. "Start walking. Now."
He pushed her forward, and Alana wove through the crowd of people at the worker's direction. Yells were still sounding.
"Please, calm down! We're trying to find the problem!"
"What happened?! I can't see a thing!"
Alana wanted to break away from the worker and run, but she didn't want to risk putting the guests in danger. He must have some sort of goggles to help him see, anyways, so he would just find her again.
Where was Eli and the rest of the gang?
"Let's go," the worker grunted, suddenly speeding up. They must be free from the crowd- were they reaching an exit?
Just as Alana began thinking of how she would get away from the worker before they left the hall, a single yell sounded out amongst the chaos.
"Alana! Duck!"
She did was she was told without hesitating. She crouched down almost to the ground, and smirked as she heard a smack and thud behind her, quickly followed by the sounds of the worker groaning.
Alana carefully lowered her arms and stepped through them, getting them in front of her body instead of behind. "Eli? That you?" she asked. She felt two slug canisters pressed into her hands.
"Yeah, it's me. Here," he said, tucking Alana's blaster beneath her elbow. "We need to go. Now."
"How can you see?" she asked, still looking around at the pitch black.
"Long story. We need- oh, Floppers," Eli said. Alana felt him push her to the side. "Two ghoulslingers. My 2 and your 11."
"Got it," Alana said, moving both slug canisters into her left hand, pressing the buttons on their sides to open the tops, and letting her blaster fall into her right. Slinging was a lot easier with both hands mobile. "Ash, get in," she said. There was a small chirp that hopefully meant he followed orders.
"Still on your 11. My 3 now," Eli reported.
"Let's shine some light on the situation," Alana said, raising her blaster to her left and firing.
Ash transformed, fire trailing after him and lighting up their corner of the hall. Alana took in as much as she could at the newfound light. There was a man pushing through the crowd, holding a blaster with a ghoul loaded in it. He gasped when he saw Ash transform in front of him.
"Just focus on giving us light!" Alana called, firing Mage at the worker, who fired a Harmashelt. Mage cured the ghoul in midair, the two slugs returning to protoform and chirping happily.
Alana glanced over at Eli, who pushed up a pair of glasses once the area was lit. He fired a Rammstone at the worker on his right just as he broke out of the crowd. The worker didn't have time to react before he was knocked to the ground.
The guests began gasping and screaming again, watching the slugfire in both awe and terror.
Ash finally lost momentum and returned to protoform. Eli flicked down his glasses again and Alana froze as the hall was plunged back into darkness.
"Follow me. Everyone else is at the entrance," Eli said, pausing and firing a slug. There was another thud, and the other ghoulsliger moaning in pain.
"What is going on?!" Alana asked as Eli grabbed her arm and drug her forward.
"I'll explain in a sec," Eli said. Then he lunged forward, and Alana heard a quiet "Whoa!" from Trixie.
"Everyone hold onto each other!" Eli directed. They ran forward a few more steps until Eli suddenly let go of them. There was the sound of a slug transforming, and then an empty doorframe materialized from the darkness, revealing the nighttime cavern outside, and just enough light that Alana could see where she was going.
"To our Mechs!" Eli shouted. The rest of the gang ran after him, sprinting through the rows of Mechas and leaving the shocked crowd behind.
Alana (who was having struggles staying balanced, still being handcuffed) glanced to her right. Trixie was running alongside her, and Alana noticed bruises forming on Trixie's knuckles.
"You should see the other guy," Trixie smirked when she saw Alana looking.
Kord and Pronto looked fine, although slightly annoyed. Eli looked upset as he led the way.
The gang got to their Mechas and tore off in seconds. Alana had to hunker down because she couldn't reach Midnight's handlebars. Once the hall was out of sight, Eli sighed and slowed down a bit so the Mecha beasts weren't going at a full sprint.
"I'm sorry that was such a mess, guys. A lot just happened," Eli said shaking his head.
Ash and Mage jumped from the two slug canisters Alana was still holding. She set them into canister slots on her Mecha and holstered her blaster, then Ash lit a flame on his head and began burning away the red cord on Alana's handcuffs.
"Well, we've got a while till we're home. Fill us in," Trixie said. "Because I'm still confused on most of it."
Eli nodded and took a deep breath.
"Well, I was talking to some people when all of a sudden Sam Gray came running up out of nowhere. She seemed pretty upset- she was almost crying. She gave me these," he said, holding up the glasses, "and told me to find you guys and leave as soon as possible. Then she said she was sorry and she didn't know, then she ran off to find Alana. I found Kord and Pronto pretty quick. I showed the glasses to Kord and he said they were for night vision. We got to Trixie just as the lights shut off, and fought off the worker that was going after her. I brought everyone to the entrance and went back into the crowd to find you," Eli continued, nodding towards Alana. "Then we all booked it. It was a trap. Blakk had workers there ready for us."
Alana sighed and shook her head. Ash finished burning away the cord. "Thanks, bud. We'll get the rest at home," Alana said, rubbing Ash's cheek. Then she glanced up at Eli. "Wait- how did Sam know what was going on?"
Eli looked grim as he tossed the glasses back to Alana.
Property of Gray Enterprise.
"The Grays made the glasses?" Alana asked quietly. Then the realization dawned on her. "The whole thing was a setup. The Grays are working with Blakk."
"Not all of them, apparently," Trixie noted. "But still, I can't wait to get this out!"
"No!" Alana said quickly. The rest of the gang looked at her questioningly. "We can't expose them," Alana said. "If we do, they'll wonder how we knew. They could track this all back to Sam. She stuck her neck out for us- she'll get in crazy trouble if anyone finds out."
"And not just with her parents. With Blakk," Eli said, nodding. "Then we keep it on the down-low. And if we need to, we help Sam out if she gets caught."
There was a moment of silence as the gang rode on. Alana stared forward, shocked by all the chaos. A half hour ago, she had been making her way through the ballroom crowd. A half hour ago, the Gray family as a whole were allies.
Pronto sighed and shook his head.
"That was not worth the cave fritters."
~~~~~~~~
so I originally had a drawing of the whole gang all dressed up (that Johnny and Ally saw) but I got busy and only got to Alana's part for the digital piece. So yeah, the full thing might be out at some point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hiatus might be in late October/early November! Haven't decided yet. But there will be one eventually.
Please vote and comment if you liked! :)
Cyan out!