The gang spent the next half hour rounding up all of the ghouled Mecha beasts. Doc and Mage took turns curing them, and by the time they were finished, the two healers immediately hopped in slug canisters and took a nap. It had been a long day for every member of the Shane Gang.
"Well, if that's the last o' them, you folks best be heading off," Grendel said as he led the gang back to the lobby. "It's set to be dark soon, an' after the day you lot have had, I think some rest is in order."
Eli nodded. "We'll work on gearing up and heading out. Thank you for your help today."
Grendel laughed and shook his head, waving his blue hand in the air. "No need for thanks on our part, lad. It was you an' your gang that cured the Mechas and set us free."
"Yeah, we did do pretty great, didn't we?" Alana asked with a smirk. Grendel rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"You're still a little firecracker, aren't you? Now you get home and get some ice on tha' bruise you got there," he said as the gang reached their Mechas and began saddling up.
"I will," Alana assured. Eli watched her carefully as she got settled on Midnight. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing," Eli dismissed, turning to Grendel one final time as he started up Lucky. "Really, thank you for everything." Then he turned to the gang. "You guys ready?"
"Definitely! Pronto is exhausted and needs his beauty rest!" Pronto exclaimed. Eli laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Let's head out!" he said, speeding forward on Lucky. The rest of the gang followed after him, riding down the lobby and out the open doors of the Forge, relishing the fresh evening air.
"It feels so good to have these guys back," Trixie said, patting her Mecha's neck affectionately. Then she sped up so she was even with Alana. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Alana sighed and tilted her head back, staring up at the cavern ceiling.
"I'm totally fine," she insisted. "I mean it. Why are you guys so worried?"
"Well, it's not every day you take a beating like that," Kord explained from behind Alana.
"And, like, half of your face is turning black and blue," Trixie said.
"Mage took down the swelling for me, I'll ice it tonight and it'll be fine," Alana said breezily. "I guess I'll just have to go a day without my stunningly good looks."
"You're startin' to sound like Pronto," Kord laughed. Pronto scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Nobody could ever imitate Pronto the Magnificent! I am simply too magnificent!" he said dramatically.
The rest of the trip was, unfortunately, spent listening to Pronto's top twenty most heroic deeds.
~~~~~~~~
The brunette was standing alone in a lab, with cork boards of schematics and blueprints covering the walls. Vials of dark water littered the tables around her, along with other chemicals and scrap metals. A small lead box was even sitting next to her, labeled radioactive. Despite the chemicals around her, she wore no gloves and had only a sleeveless shirt on, her jacket laying on the desk chair at another table. The only safety gear she had on were a pair of goggles.
The door swung open and a teenage boy walked in, looking at the setup in awe.
"Goggles, unless you want to risk going blind," the brunette said emotionlessly, bending down and dropping bits of dark water from a pipette onto a sheet of silver metal. The boy nodded and grabbed a pair of goggles from a stand by the door, then walked over to stand behind the brunette and watched her.
"Touch nothing," she said absently.
The boy rolled his eyes. Why would he?
The red liquid bubbled for a moment on the metal, before hissing and melting the metal away, dropping through onto a panel of plexiglass beneath the metal. The girl sighed and moved on to another station, now set up with a black metal.
"The Beast Forge was taken back," the boy reported. The brunette paused for a moment before bending down to drop dark water on the metal.
"Unfortunate. I was so excited when I learned we could ghoul Mechas."
The boy watched as the girl dropped three drops of dark water on the metal, watching the experiment apprehensively. The dark water simply sat there, not melting through the metal like the previous round.
The girl turned around and walked over to another table, the dark water pipette still in her hand. The boy reared back.
"Hey, watch it. I don't want that stuff any closer to me than it needs to be."
The brunette didn't respond. She grabbed a small device with her free hand and brought it back to the black metal and dark water. It looked almost like a cell phone, with several numbers and graphs flashing on it.
She set the dark water down absently on the table and pressed a few buttons on the device's screen. The boy couldn't see all of what she was typing, but he caught the number 1600 multiple times.
"Did you get the measurements?" the boy asked. The girl nodded as she held the device up to the dark water and metal and waited.
"Yes. The attempt to take the Forge wasn't a complete failure, it seems."
All was silent. The device screen made no changes, but at this the girl smiled wickedly and turned to the boy, showing him the blank screen.
"Do you know what this means?" she asked excitedly.
"Not really," the boy admitted. "It's a blank screen."
"Exactly," the girl said, turning back to the metal and wiping away the three drops of dark water. The boy winced as the red liquid was quickly absorbed into the girl's pale skin. "Okay, let's see, it was iron, some uranium, bits of obsidian..."
"Why is a blank screen good?" he asked as the girl grabbed a notepad and began writing.
"That device measures energy readings," she explained. "If there was no reading, then it means the radioactivity in the metal is enough to mask the dark water's energy."
"Which means...?"
"Which means, Twist, she hasn't developed her powers enough to be able to sense dark energy with so much radioactivity in her way. If it's contained in this, we could have a single ghoul next to her for a long time, and by the time the fuzziness of the radioactivity wears away..."
"It'll be too late," the boy finished, crossing his arms. "But wouldn't that only work once? The next time around, she'll know what's up."
"Yes, that's an unfortunate downside. But this means your operation just became a whole lot easier."
~~~~~~~~
By the time the gang got home, it was nearly dark. It was Alana's turn to shower first, although she had a feeling that even if it hadn't been, the others would have let her anyway. When she walked into the bathroom, she couldn't help but wince as she stared at the mirror.
"Yikes," she mumbled.
Almost her entire right cheek was spotted black and blue from the worker's hit. Alana couldn't imagine how bad it would have looked if Mage hadn't taken down the swelling right away.
After her shower, Alana headed straight for her room, shaking her hair with her towel to dry it.
Her bandoleer and backpack lay on her bed, abandoned by her slugs, who had dispersed throughout the room and the hideout. Mage was fast asleep on Alana's pillow, with Ash standing by.
"I'm thinking we go to the Dark Periphery tonight," Alana said suddenly, turning to her Infurnus. "I want to ask how Blakk knows. I think the Shadow Clan knows more than what they let on. And I also need to ask them about the Enigmo giving me the double vision."
Ash chirped worriedly, pointing down at the floor. Alana could faintly here Pronto humming downstairs as he made a before-bed snack.
"I can go out if I want to," Alana said, rolling her eyes. "They aren't Will. They can't give me a curfew."
Ash shrugged and chirped. He paused, as if taking time to think. Then he nodded. Alana smiled and held out her hand, the Infurnus hopping onto it excitedly. Then, he turned back to Mage, still fast asleep on Alana's pillow. Alana looked at her and smiled fondly.
"Let her stay," she said quietly, setting Ash down on her desk while she pulled on her slinging gear and put her damp hair in a ponytail. "She's done enough for today, yeah?"
She stretched her sore arms out once she got her gloves on, then grabbed her bandoleer and clipped it on.
"Alright. Let's get going."
She walked over to the window over her bed and pressed a button beneath the sill. The circular glass swung open, and Alana hopped up on her bed (careful not to disturb Mage) and climbed out the window, hopping down to the mushroom trees below.
~~~~~~~~
The brunette sat alone in her lab. Gallons of dark water sat around her on the floor. A small vial sat in front of her, and she stared at it intently.
She let her energy stretch out, wrapping around the thick red liquid. She felt every pulse of dark energy coming out of the small vial. She let it swell through her, fueling her veins, clearing her head-
A footstep.
She snapped herself out of her state, swinging around in her desk chair and pressing a button beneath the table in front of her. The jugs of dark water sunk into the floor, which closed up as they were lowered down. The brunette swiftly grabbed her blaster from her holster and quickly set it up on the table, grabbing a screwdriver and pretending to tighten the screws holding down the blaster handle.
The door swung open and a tall, pale man walked in. He looked down at the brunette suspiciously as he walked down the small lab's center aisle, eyeing the table she sat at.
"It's late," he said, stopping when he got next to her.
"I'm aware," she said, 'finishing' her work and putting the screwdriver in a drawer. "I was just fixing the grip on my blaster."
Doctor Blakk frowned and looked down at the weapon on the table.
"Why was there an issue with your blaster in the first place?" he asked suspiciously.
The brunette didn't miss a beat.
"Relax, I haven't been out in the field. Just training," she said breezily, holstering her blaster and standing. She looked up at Doctor Blakk, who raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. The brunette sighed and rolled her eyes. "I can't tell where my limits are if I don't push past them, which means things like these happen sometimes."
Doctor Blakk sighed, then nodded, turning away and walking back to the lab's exit.
"Very well. Shut down for the night. I have to run out tonight, then we meet with Twist tomorrow morning to discuss plans. After the loss of the Beast Forge, I want to make sure this next operation goes perfectly."
~~~~~~~~
Getting Midnight out of the garage silently was a difficult process, but Alana was successful. By the sounds behind the door leading into the hideout's living room, Pronto was the only one still awake- who else would be sniffling at Kisses From a Hoverbug?
Alana crept down the winding mushroom-tree trunk that held up the Shane hideout until she was far enough away that Midnight's engine couldn't be heard by the rest of the gang. Once she was at a safe distance, Midnight barked and sped forward, sprinting excitedly through the forest. Alana laughed and patting her Mecha's neck.
"It's good to have you back to normal," she said with a smile. Midnight responded with a nod.
Alana sighed and stretched out her back, thinking about the chaos from the last few days. Discovering she had powers. The Enigmo slug, and Alana's ability to pick up its blurry double vision. Blakk's attempt to seize the Western Beast Forge and endanger countless lives with his self-destructing Mechas.
Blakk was growing more and more cunning with his schemes, and it was starting to become obvious that his idea of being careful not to make the true nature of Blakk Industries was quickly deteriorating. He wanted to get his way, and he no longer cared what the public thought.
~~~~~~~~
Sam Gray felt sick. She sat at the desk in her room, reading over her medical textbook. Whenever she felt stressed, she always found herself going back to her passion, and especially with recent events, the prospect of becoming a doctor at Bonnie Springs kept her going.
Her room, the one place she had total control over, was a bit of a mess. Papers lay on tables and even on her bed. A large calendar, nearly four feet long, was taped on one wall, each day full of deadlines or meetings or lessons. Written in invisible ink, only able to be seen when a Phosphoro's line was directed at it, were her lesson plans and schedules for her medical education.
She heard a knock at her door and instantly closed her textbook, sliding it down beneath her desk with one hand and grabbing one of her business spreadsheets with another. She tossed the spreadsheet on the desk before rushing up to the door, straightening her business jacket and dress shirt before opening the door.
Her mother stood in the doorway in a black suit. She looked at Sam over her glasses, observing her daughter's outfit.
"I thought I told you that skirt looked unflattering," Mrs. Gray said.
Heat rushed up to Sam's face as she looked down at her gray pencil skirt. Her mother's comments about her barely-larger-than-average weight were never expected, but never very surprising.
"I think it looks nice," Sam said, stepping out of her room and shutting the door behind her, clicking the lock.
Her mother simply shrugged and led the way down the gray and white hallway. The Gray's residence was large and winding, full of conference rooms and offices. The top floor was reserved for the family's housing, nearly brushing the top of Futuria cavern's ceiling.
"Why is he coming so late at night?" Sam asked with a yawn. "Why the sneaking around, if everyone involved in this is so confident what we're doing is right?"
"Why does it matter?" Mrs. Gray asked as she and Sam stepped into an elevator. The mother pressed the button to the third floor, and the pair began their descent.
"I'm just worried about image," Sam lied, tying her long brown hair into a bun. "It'll look bad if the meetings we have with our business partners are only when the Lumino light is low."
"Doctor Blakk is a very busy man, Samantha," Mrs. Gray said as the elevator doors opened and the two resumed their walk. "He isn't drowning in free time."
Sam simply nodded, fighting to keep from rolling her eyes.
I'm sure he's busy playing mad scientist and trying to kill Slugterra.
"Here we are," Mrs. Gray said, holding up a hand to stop her daughter. She opened a conference room door and led the way in. Sam followed behind her mother, certain that the Aquabeeks in the deepest parts of Undertow Cavern could her heart beating.
The white room was empty except for two men. One was Mr. Gray, who was pointing to a Mecha blueprint drawn on the whiteboard that stretched across one wall.
The other stood next to Mr. Gray, tall and pale. His cold green eyes followed the businessman's gestures, his hands folded behind his back. The prominent red V on his bandoleer made Sam feel even more sick than before. He turned and gave Mrs. Gray and his daughter a cold smile.
"Good evening," Doctor Blakk said.
Sam painted a fake smile on her face as she shut the door behind her.
Let's do this.
~~~~~~~~
The Dark Periphery was already an eerie place in the middle of the day. At night, it was a whole different story.
Most of the pale yellow and blue Lumino crystals dulled at night, leaving only a faint green glow throughout the cavern. The jungle around Alana seemed to morph into one singular black mass. It was difficult to see where Midnight was going- Alana trusted that her Mecha could see well enough not to walk into a tree or off a ledge. Midnight's small control panel bathed her rider's face with light blue light, in stark contrast to the black and green.
Ash hopped into Alana's hand and lit a flame on top of his head, but the up-close light only made seeing into the jungle more difficult, so he snuffed it out.
"I wonder how long it'll take for them to know we're here," Alana said quietly, peering around at the dark mushroom-trees around her. Any shape could be a Shadow Clan lurking in the darkness.
Ash shrugged, then turned so that he was facing the path ahead. He began chirping, his call echoing throughout the cavern. Just as Alana began to question whether or not his summons would be successful, she heard something behind her.
A hiss that was quiet, then quickly loud, and just as quickly as it had come, the hiss died down again.
Alana gasped and spun around, holding Ash out with her right hand and reaching for her blaster with her left. The Infurnus lit the top of his head, illuminating the Shadow Clan standing behind Midnight with an orange glow. He wasn't the leader, but he still seemed tall for a Shadow Clan, and one of his eyes was gray and scarred.
The Shadow Clan looked down at Ash, then to Alana's blaster, wary. Then, he saw the streaks of blue in her hair and must have recognized her, because he relaxed and took a step back. Alana laughed nervously and holstered her weapon.
"Sorry. I'm a little on edge," Alana said, stepping off Midnight. "I'm sorry for coming into your territory, especially so late. But I wanted to talk to your leader, and I couldn't get away- or, well- I didn't have time to until now."
The Shadow Clan paused for a moment, and Alana worried that maybe he hadn't understood her. But he nodded and outstretched his arm.
Ash hopped onto Alana's shoulder, then Alana grabbed the Shadow Clan's arm with her right hand. His skin was smooth and hard, like what Alana imagined a bug to feel like. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Alana heard a quiet hissing rising up before black engulfed her vision.
Alana gasped and tensed up, but still kept her grip on the Shadow Clan's arm. For a moment, she was weightless. She felt her ponytail rise, and her feet were on nothing but air. Green sparks danced across Alana's vision, and then the Dark Periphery melted back into view. Cool stone solidified beneath Alana's feet, and she blinked rapidly when the Shadow Clan let go of her arm.
"Whoa," she breathed, laughing and looking up at the Shadow Clan. He gave her a small, amused smile before holding up his hand. "Wait?" Alana asked.
The Shadow Clan nodded, then with a hiss and small flash of green and black, disappeared.
"Cool," Alana noted. Then she turned and looked around her surroundings.
She stood at the edge of a large clearing, much more well-lit than the jungle. The ground was dark gray stone, and Alana could feel the coolness of it through her boots. Green glyphs circled around the clearing, spiraling toward the center. Small green balls of light floated lazily in the air. Alana smiled and reached up at one, then froze.
The movement felt familiar. Suddenly, she was looking around the clearing like she was seeing it in a new light. Had she been here before?
Yes, she had, she realized. She felt it deep inside her. This scene felt terribly familiar. The clearing, the green glyphs, reaching for the sparks of light-
She took a hesitant step back, her throat closing up. Alana felt like she was on the verge of remembering something big- but what?
~~~~~~~~
Sam's mother stepped forward, shaking Blakk's hand.
Guardian slugs help me, Sam thought as she followed suit, ignoring Blakk's cold touch.
"I apologize for having to meet so late," Blakk said, taking a seat at the conference table. Mr. Gray sat down to his left, and Mrs. Gray and Sam sat across from the two men. "My work leaves me with a unique schedule."
I'm sure it does, Sam thought bitterly as she tucked some of her brown hair behind her ear.
"It's no problem," Mrs. Gray said, waving her hand. Sam knew if it were any other client, she wouldn't be as forgiving. "We completely understand."
"For starters, have we had any luck with finding out what went wrong at the formal?" Doctor Blakk asked, looking over at Sam.
She had been put in charge of investigating the issue- because she had been the most social that night or because Blakk was on to her, Sam had no idea. The incident had allowed her to spend hours locked away in her room, claiming to be investigating security footage and looking at lists of workers who had been in attendance during the formal, while in reality she had been working at her med school work.
"No. I've looked over every single tape," Sam said, pulling a holoscreen out of her jacket pocket and opening it, angling it toward Blakk. The screen showed sixteen different camera angles. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, then the lights shut off. Sam sped forward until just before the light turned back on. When they did, people were panicking and rushing around, and the Shane Gang was nowhere to be found.
She knew the layout of the hall inside and out. Sam had only been given minutes of warning before the lights had turned off, but she knew where the security blind spots were, and when she had hurriedly given Eli the glasses, she hadn't been caught on camera.
But she also hadn't been on camera, next to her parents, where she would be expected to be. Sam prayed Blakk didn't notice as she closed the screen and tucked it away.
"I've looked over the workers who were at the party, and I haven't found a thing," she continued, folding her hands in her lap. "At this point, I think the best thing to do would be to let the investigation go."
Blakk narrowed his eyes. "And let the perpetrator go free?" he asked coldly. Sam didn't flinch, shaking her head.
"The opposite. Clearly whoever turned traitor knew what they were doing," she explained. "Every move deeper we make into this, the further they'll dig deeper into hiding. If we slow down, it increases the chances of them slipping up."
That someone being me, she thought miserably. She would be as prone to messing this up as anyone else. Keeping a secret from her nosy parents and the most feared man in Slugterra seemed impossible.
Blakk didn't notice the turmoil going on in Sam. He smirked and nodded.
"Clever. Very well. For now, we drop the investigation," he said. Mr. Gray's eyes widened, and he looked incredulously at Sam, who couldn't help but give a small, prideful smile.
How bad was it that she wanted praise so badly, she would gladly take it from Thaddius Blakk?
~~~~~~~~
Alana walked hesitantly toward the center of the clearing, her head feeling fuzzy. Ash squeaked worriedly, jumping into Alana's hand and shaking his head.
"But I feel like I've been here before. Why do I feel like I've been here before?" Alana asked, looking around the clearing. Small details were slowly coming back to her.
"I was younger... and... I was waiting?" she whispered. She remembered feeling grief and panic here- "I was scared of something-" but something had made it all fade away- "and then I was okay for a while, how was I okay?"
Ash began squeaking loudly, and a slug hopped out of Alana's backpack and into her hand. "Cipher?"
The Hypnogrif chirped at Ash angrily, gesturing around at the clearing, and then stared up at Alana. She felt her head grow fuzzy. Pink crawled at the edge of her vision. Her knees hit the cold stone ground, a distant ringing in her ears- then it all faded away, and a content silence filled Alana's head. Her worries faded away, and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Everything was silent. She wasn't sure how long. She didn't really care- the quiet was nice. Peaceful. Thoughts of past memories faded down to the depths of her mind, until Alana finally couldn't care enough to hold on to them and let them go.
"What are you doing?"
The hiss broke Alana from her daze. She hazily opened her eyes and looked up. The leader of the Shadow Clan stood next to her, his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm... not sure?" Alana said, looking around. She sat in the middle of one of the jungle paths. The area around her was lit by Ash. "I shadow traveled with another Shadow Clan, then... I don't know."
"You may have reacted poorly to the shadow travel. It is a strange experience for a human," the leader said. Then he looked down at Alana's face as she got to her feet, Ash jumping on her shoulder to keep providing light. "You are injured."
"Just a bruise," Alana said. "It's been a long day. A lot happened, so I thought I should come here and... I dunno, get some answers?"
Her head still felt fuzzy. From the shadow travel.
"What is it you want to know?" the leader asked.
"For starters, an Enigmo slug was found a few days ago," Alana said. The Shadow Clan leader bristled.
"Who is in possession of the slug?"
"The boy you met a while back when we were cutting through your territory to get to Bullseye Cavern," Alana said. "Don't worry- the Enigmo's in good hands."
The Shadow Clan leader nodded, but still didn't looked entirely convinced.
"Something weird happened with the Enigmo. When you get hit with the slug, you get this weird green double-vision," Alana explained, "but when I just picked it up with my bare skin, the same thing happened. I could see what someone hit with the Enigmo saw. How did that happen?"
"It seems your powers are progressing rapidly," the leader said. "You were able to connect with the Enigmo slug's energy. Although, I am confident that this would not happen with any other slug, at least for now. The Enigmo slug is known to be more dazed in it's actions. No other slug would allow such a connection to be made."
"But if they did?" Alana prompted.
"I am unsure. The slugs have their abilities because of the energy coursing through them. If you were able to connect with a slug's energy in the same way you did with the Enigmo, and if the slug were to allow it, it may be possible to make connections with the abilities of other slugs."
Alana smiled excitedly. "So, like, I could punch stuff as hard as a Rammstone?"
The Shadow Clan gave a small smile of amusement. "Perhaps. Nothing can be said for sure... you are quite a mystery."
Alana's smile fell slightly, and she shook her head. "Apparently not to everyone. Doctor Blakk knows about my powers. He's the one who tried to corrupt Bullseye."
The Shadow Clan frowned as she continued.
"That's how I got this," Alana said, pointing to the bruise on her face. "Blakk was using dark water to corrupt the hearts of Mecha beasts, and I felt the dark energy. He knows."
"I do not know how any other human would know of your abilities," the Shadow Clan said. "But I advise you to ensure that no one else knows. It is impossible to tell what the repercussions could be."
How messed up is it that Blakk knows, but I shouldn't tell Eli? Alana thought numbly. She nodded.
"I guess you're right," she said, looking down at the ground.
~~~~~~~~
The rest of the meeting went by in a blur. Blakk talked to Mr. and Mrs. Gray about supplies to be transported to Blakk Industries in the future, should things take a turn and leave Blakk needing an edge. Sam had enjoyed her moment in the spotlight, but remained silent as much as she could. It felt like any word she said could drop a hint that she was the one who gave Eli the night vision glasses.
She was the one who messed up Doctor Blakk's plan.
She was the reason the Shane Gang was still up and kicking right now.
Once the meeting was done, Blakk left immediately. Probably off to ghoul more slugs.
Sam sat alone in the conference room, her head propped up on her hand, staring at the table blankly. She was still fighting to press down the worry that was eating away at her.
"Samantha?" a voice shook her from her daze. Sam blinked rapidly and looked up at her mother.
"Sorry," she said, standing up and pushing the chair in. "I'm just a little tired."
Mrs. Gray nodded, then gestured for her daughter to follow her. "You've definitely been very busy lately," the woman said sympathetically.
Hope fluttered in Sam's chest- she had been praised by Thaddius Blakk. Could that have been enough to prompt some from her mother?
"Yeah, business school and the investigation is a lot," Sam said casually, following her mother down the hallway to the elevator.
Maybe they aren't so bad, she couldn't hell but think. That's how it went in movies, wasn't it? The parents were cold and made bad decisions, but it was all with the benefit of their child in mind? Maybe they-
"I suppose," her mother said airily, brushing her daughter's comment aside. "But I want you to start taking up more work in the business."
What?
Sam's heart fell. Her mother continued as the two entered the elevator and ascended.
"Your father and I are getting more and more busy working with Doctor Blakk," Mrs. Gray explained. The elevator stopped and Sam stepped out- her mother stayed, likely going back down to the lower levels with Sam's father. "And now that the investigation is being put on hold, I think it makes more sense for you to take up more of the financial work."
You know I don't like financial work. I've specifically told you I hate it. You know I didn't want to pick up more work while I'm still in school.
Sam painted yet another smile on her face and nodded.
"Sure. I think it'll be good experience. I'll take a look at things tomorrow, okay?" she said sweetly. Mrs. Gray simply nodded. The elevator doors closed, and Sam relaxed as she turned to walk down the hallway, fueled with a new passion.
Give me access to our finances. Make me take part in your stupid company. Have me talk to Doctor Blakk. Do what you wish.
Sam had made up her mind.
I can't do anything big. Not yet. But I'll take this ship down from the inside, and by the time you realize it...
I'll be long gone.
~~~~~~~~~
The Shadow Clan leader shadow traveled Alana back to Midnight, and offered to travel her back to the hideout, but Alana declined. She could only take so much of the cold teleportation in one night.
She sped through the caverns, her tiredness finally beginning to catch up with her. Her eyelids were drooping, and enough time had passed since Alana had last been healed by Mage that her face was beginning to ache again.
"Well, that didn't answer much," Alana said over the cool night air hitting her face as Midnight sprinted through the jungle. "But it wasn't totally unuseful I guess."
Ash chirped from her shoulder distractedly. He was staring down, deep in thought. He got like that sometimes, and Alana had figured out years ago that it was best to let him be until he came back to reality.
The Mecha ride went fast- Alana couldn't tell if it was because of Midnight's speed or Alana being too tired to process much. Once the hideout came into view, Alana rubbed her eyes and stretched.
"It has been a long day," she mumbled, yawning, then wincing when the movement caused her face to sting. "I am ready to get to bed." She drove midnight around the circular hideout and through the launch bay door.
Once she got her Mecha parked, Alana tiptoed into the living room, shutting the door to the garage behind her. She expected the room to be empty, but when she turned around, she saw that the television was on. And instead of a sleeping Pronto, an annoyed slinger sat on the couch, arms crossed.
"What are you still doing up?" Alana whispered.
Eli got to his feet and raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're asking me? Where have you been, Alana?"
Alana's eyes widened, appalled at the tone of his voice.
"I just went out on Midnight," she said.
Eli walked forward until he was only a few feet away from Alana. "Seriously? Just out on a ride? C'mon, Alana, you can do better than that."
"What's wrong? I know it's late, I just thought some night air-"
Eli cut her off.
"What's going on with you?" he asked. When Alana remained silent, he continued. "You're acting different. I mean, yeah, we're all just getting over the formal, but you're acting way more quiet and it's like you have to think about what you're going to say before you say it. You got beat up today and won't tell me why- why did Blakk's guards get you alone, and what tipped you off that the Mechas were being ghouled? Alana, it's not fair for you to keep secrets like this too."
Alana winced and looked down at the floor.
Eli didn't like secrets. Having Will Shane as a father meant a lot was kept from him- and a lot still was. And without a Shane to mentor him, Eli didn't know much about his family, or anything that came before him. It wasn't fair for Alana to keep him in the dark any more than she had to.
"I'm sorry," Alana whispered, wringing her hands. "I... um..."
She took a deep breath, then everything came tumbling out.
"I'm not a normal human like you or Trixie, I have special energy. See, everything in Slugterra is connected to light energy, especially the slugs, but I have a super strong connection to that energy. It lets me do things like sense slugs and ghouls and I found out that by touching the Enigmo, I can get that weird double vision you got. It's why I have blue in my hair. And I can also sense dark energy, so ghouls and stuff kind of give me headaches, and that's why I got caught at the Beast Forge. I felt all the dark energy there. And I got caught because Blakk's people know I can do that because Blakk knows I can do that, but I don't know how he knows. And the Shadow Clan knows too, because they're the ones who told me, back when they kept me from going to Bullseye. That's where I was tonight, because I had to go talk to them. And," Alana paused, taking a deep breath, "and..."
And if there's too much dark energy, something terrible will happen to me.
"And... yeah," Alana finished, looking back up at Eli.
He was stunned. His teal eyes were wide, and he blinked rapidly before scratching his head with a laugh.
"That's not what I was expecting," he said, his gaze meeting Alana's. "I- oh. I get it. You guys are trying to prank me now."
Alana shook her head. "No. This is real."
She held out her hand and concentrated. She pulled at the energy inside her, coaxing a bit of it out. A small ball of cyan light formed in the palm of her hand. It flickered for a moment, then disappeared.
Eli grabbed Alana arm and inspected it, looking for wiring or a Phosphoro or anything that could have made the light. But he found nothing.
"How-?" he began, but Alana stopped him.
"I don't know," she said. "I don't know anything about where these powers came from, or what else I can do, or if I'm the only one. The more I think about it... I mean, I don't remember anything until when I was five when Will found me, so he was probably the only one who knew anything more."
Eli scoffed and nodded. "Of course." He stopped and rubbed his eyes. "I... can't even think right now. Oh man. I... wow. So if dark energy bugs you, what happens if there's too much? I know it sounds awful, and it will not happen, but what if Blakk wins?"
Alana gave him a small smile and shrugged. "I don't know. Guess we just won't let it get that far, yeah?"
Eli laughed and nodded. "I guess so. I can't even process what just happened. Let's just... go to bed."
Alana nodded and followed him upstairs. Before she turned to go to her room, Eli faced her.
"Next time something this big happens, just tell me, okay?" he whispered. Alana smiled and nodded.
"I will. Promise."
~~~~~~~~
lmaooo that was kind of all over the place, but there were multiple storylines that you guys needed reminded of ;)
Okay, so November is a CRAZY month. I'm going on a weeklong vacation (bless) but I'm also doing NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month- an online writing event where authors write 50,000 words- the length of a novel. You can do fanfics, but traditionally it's original work, so that's what I'll be doing. Which means that on top of vacation, starting today (Nov. 1) I will be writing a novel in thirty days.
Soooooooooooo
Yeah.
Be prepared for some scheduling changes this month! If there's something that happens to fall on a Wednesday (like a birthday) and you want to see if a chapter will be out that Wednesday, PLEASE do not hesitate to ask. I'll be working on TBTL throughout the month, but I'm also taking some me time and putting NaNo at the top of my priority list. I'll keep you guys updated on my word count!
Cyan out!