The dark water gas was sinking down towards Alana, sending chills up her spine. She wasn't in control of herself- she was breathing in the foul substance even though every part of her wanted to stop. Her lungs were ice cold, and she felt it changing her, and she was sad and scared and angry and ready to destroy-
And then the scene changed, but the cold didn't. Now she was in a burning forest, still feeling aggressive for no reason, still with a chill. She looked down and there was a blaster in her hands, but inside it was not a slug, but a ghoul. The Thrasher growled up at her, but she felt no fear. She was content. There was a chill in her heart that she recognized as dark energy.
A stick cracked and she looked up as a figure emerged from the green flames that were eating away at the mushroom trees. The muscular figure wore armor and furs, with deathly pale skin and scarlet eyes.
"Look," the Dark Slinger said, sounding almost impressed. "Now you're just like me."
"No," Alana said, her voice wavering as she took a step back. "No, this isn't right."
She blinked, and there was her father, laying lifeless at the Dark Slinger's side.
"D-dad," she breathed, her hands shaking. She blinked again, and here was Evanlyn, kneeling in front of her with a growing red stain on her torso.
"Mom?" Alana whimpered. She wanted to rush forward and help her, but before she could move, there was a bright blue light behind her, and an invisible force began to drag her into it. "No, no, I don't want to go-"
"I'm so sorry for leaving you, little spark," Evanlyn gasped before collapsing to the ground. The blue light surrounded Alana-
"Alana, sorry, I know you're asleep, but you need to get up and moving, now."
Alana's eyes flew open and she looked up at a figure standing front of her hospital bed. Sam stood over her, dark brown eyes wide with concern. Her curly hair hung around her in a messy mane, like she had just gotten up from bed.
"I'm sorry for waking you up," she said, taking a step back as Alana sat up and looked around her dim hospital room. Outside her window she could see Bonnie Springs still coated in darkness.
"Don't be, it's probably a good thing," Alana mumbled as she looked down at her hands. Both of them had a slight tremor. She curled her fingers into fists and looked up at Sam. "What's going on?"
"I have good news and bad news," Sam said. "The good news is that the rest of the Shane Gang called me. They're okay, Alana."
Alana's eyes widened, and immediately she felt a spark of hope in the void that had been growing inside her since learning about the West.
They're alive. They're okay. Maybe things will be okay.
"But what's the bad news?" Alana asked, looking into Sam's worried eyes.
"The bad news is you need to leave now. We just got a transmission in, and Doctor Blakk is on his way here," Sam said, wringing her hands. Alana quickly got to her feet, swaying for a moment with a head rush, but keeping her balance.
"Why? Does he know I'm here? Or you?" she asked, dread immediately filling her. "Sam, I'm not sure how useful I'd be in a fight right now-"
"There won't be a fight, we don't do that here," Sam assured. "And I don't think he knows about either of us. He said he's coming to talk to Eberly, I don't know why. But when he gets here, I need to be laying low in the basement and you need to be on your way to Wild Spores. The gang is waiting for you there."
"I'm okay to leave?" Alana asked, and Sam hesitated before nodding.
"As okay as you're going to get. Take it easy the rest of today, and... see if there's anything the gang can do for you. But physically, you're fit to leave," Sam said confidently. "Midnight and the rest of your slugs are ready in the lot, and Rhydian's on his way there with your gear. It's been disinfected a lot, so there shouldn't be any traces of dark energy left."
Ash had been allowed to stay with Alana for both emotional support and the fact that any doctor who had tried to keep him away was met with a growl and a white-hot flame. The rest of her slugs had been kept in a slug area where slingers' ammo stayed during hospital stays, to avoid both slugs getting in the way of the Bonnie Springs staff and the possibility of duels.
"Then let's go," Alana said, slipping on a pair of white slippers and following Sam out of her hospital room. Her hair streamed out behind her, down and frayed, but there wasn't enough time to worry about looking presentable. A glance at the clock told her that it was two in the morning.
Of course. Why not.
"I'm sorry you can't get a break," Sam said as she led Alana through the halls of the hospital, where healers were rushing around attending to duties or prepping the hospital for Doctor Blakk's arrival. "But it'll be good for you to see your gang again. They all sounded really worried about you."
Alana's heart sank with guilt- maybe if she hadn't gone to chase answers, the last few days could have gone a little differently.
"Are you guys going to be okay here?" Alana asked as she and Sam entered an elevator and began to descend. "Everyone looks a little panicked."
"We're just stressed. The most feared man in Slugterra is visiting the most vulnerable place in Slugterra. What could go wrong?" Sam said, staring at the elevator doors, then looking down at Alana apologetically. "Sorry. I'm a little panicked, too. We can't afford to make any moves against Blakk to keep the patients safe, so he can do whatever he wants. Because of my, ah, history with Blakk Industries, my records are pretty well hidden. But if he would find them..."
Sam's voice trailed off, and she narrowed her eyes.
"If he would figure out I'm here and ask for me, I would have to go with him and face the consequences for betraying him and my parents," she finished. Alana frowned and stared at the ground.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "That's a horrible thing to have to think about."
Sam shrugged as the elevator doors opened, revealing Rhydian standing in front of doors that led to the Mecha lot behind the hospital.
"Hey, after that heist, I'm not eager to get on a train anytime soon, so there's my motivation to make sure it doesn't happen," she said. Her gaze softened. "Besides, when he comes here, he usually just talks with Eberly. I don't think he cares about the rest of us. Don't worry."
Easier said than done, Alana thought, but she had a feeling Sam was right. Blakk probably wouldn't come all the way to Bonnie Springs in person just to apprehend Sam.
"This is as far as I can go. I need to go help round up some of the records we keep hidden from Blakk, then go down to storage and wait out his visit," Sam said. She leaned down and hugged Alana. For a moment, Alana hesitated, but she hugged Sam back. "Stay safe. Get to the hideout as soon as possible."
"I will. Thank you," Alana said, although she felt like she should be apologizing. She wasn't exactly a stellar patient, and she had a feeling Sam was so ready to send her back to the gang because she felt like she couldn't do anything else for Alana. "Tell Max I said hi."
"Will do," Sam promised, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Rhydian, you got her from here?"
Rhydian nodded.
"You bet. See you later, Sam," he said as Alana stepped out of the elevator. Sam smiled and gave Alana a mock salute before the doors shut.
"Okay, I've got your gear here, and the folder you st- uh, borrowed- from Blakk Industries," Rhydian said, handing Alana a paper bag with her slinging gear and Dana's file in it. "I personally made sure that stuff got disinfected a few times each, so there's no more dark water residue."
Alana took the bag and followed as Rhydian led her out of the two doors and into the Mecha lot, which was lit only by street lights without the Lumino glow.
"I don't remember a lot from the cart, but I remember you kinda freaking out about the dark water thing," Alana noted, glancing at Rhydian. He laughed nervously.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I haven't had great experiences with dark water. My dad..." Rhydian's smile wavered a bit, but he kept talking. "He's a miner in Deadweed."
"Oh," Alana said, wincing as she remembered the miners that had been transformed into ghosts.
"Yeah. I'd been begging him to let me come to work with him to help him out," Rhydian said as the two walked down the rows of Mechas, most of them painted green and white. "He finally said yes, and barely an hour into the work day, I'm in the same shaft as him and I hear him scream. I turn around, and he's a ghost with these awful red eyes. Me and a couple other miners made it out, but Blakk made it clear to the families that we couldn't say anything."
"I'm so sorry," Alana said, shaking her head. Rhydian smiled and shrugged.
"Hey, don't be. You guys saved him. You should've seen my mom's face when he walked into our house. You guys do some pretty incredible things," he said. Alana gave him a small smile. No matter how bad she felt at the moment, it was still nice to know that the Shane Gang was making a difference.
"Well, I'm glad the story had a happy ending," Alana said, smiling when she saw Midnight in the nearest row of Mechas. Her slugs were scattered around the seat, head, and limbs of the Mecha, all chirping happily and waving as their slinger approached.
"Me too," Rhydian said, stopping in front of Midnight with his hands in his pockets. "And hey, yours will, too. Keep fighting the good fight, yeah?"
Alana climbed up on Midnight and the wolf came to life, wagging her tail and straightening up.
"You bet," Alana promised. "Stay safe here. Thank you for everything."
"No problem. Stick to the back roads and you'll miss Blakk and his crew," he said, pausing as his pager began to beep. "I need to go."
Finishing with a wave, Rhydian jogged back up to the hospital. Alana glanced at Ash, who was perched excitedly on her shoulder. She forced a small smile. At least now she'd be able to reunite with the rest of the gang, and Mage.
"Let's go home."
~~~~~~~~
The ride was peaceful. Nobody was awake except for the slugs in the caverns. Alana could feel the slug energy around her as she rode Midnight, and tried to enjoy the wind on her face and the feeling of her hair flying out behind her. Every once in a while, her heart would speed up as thoughts of the West or Dana's attempted ghouling would come to mind, but she would quickly remind herself that at least she was riding toward her friends at the hideout.
It was impossible to feel completely hopeless once the hideout came into view, resting in the branches of a massive mushroom tree. Wild Spores was coated in dark blues and purples, almost completely silent except for a few slug chirps. All the lights in the hideout were off- it looked like the place had been completely abandoned.
But Alana could feel the energy in the rooms, and she knew they were there. A smile formed on her lips, and it wasn't quite as forced as it had been earlier.
She slowed Midnight down as she approached the garage door. It swung open and Alana quickly rode inside. The second she was was safely in the garage, the door slammed shut behind her. The gang seemed pretty adamant about keeping a low profile.
The garage lights were off, but Ash lit a flame to guide Alana to the door that led into the hideout living room. Her hand hovered over the door handle for a moment before she swung it open and stepped inside.
Immediately, she was almost tackled to the ground by receiving four hugs at once.
Eli was at her right, Trixie at her left. Pronto wasn't quite tall enough for a full hug, but he still hugged the front of her legs the best he could, and Kord was behind her, his large blue arms encompassing the whole group.
"Gee, Ash, you think they missed us any?" Alana gasped. Ash, who had nearly been knocked off her right shoulder, shrugged.
"We're so sorry, Alana," Eli said. "We had no idea the distress call would end up the way it did, we could've gotten you out sooner-"
"We had to way to know if you were okay," Trixie said. "We finally got back to the hideout and it was empty-"
"And you missed some of Pronto's most magnificent heroics!" Pronto finished. Kord snorted and rolled his eyes, lowering his arms and releasing the rest of the gang from the group hug.
"Well, nice to know your priorities are in order, Pronto," the cave troll said with a smirk.
"Are you okay?" Eli asked, looking Alana over. "Sam said you were for the most part, but..."
His eyes moved up toward the streak of red in Alana's bangs. She subconsciously reached up and brushed the hair behind her ear.
"I'm fine. A little shaken up still, but fine," Alana said, and she hoped the gang couldn't tell she was lying through her teeth. "But what about you guys? I saw the video of you falling into the Great Abyss, but what happened after that?"
She looked around for a moment, looking for her Boon Doc.
"And where's Mage?"
Trixie's smile disappeared. She and Eli exchanged a glance, and Alana felt her breath quicken.
"What happened?" she asked, dread flooding through her. She and Mage were almost as close as she and Ash were. They'd been working together for years.
"She's fine," Eli assured quickly. "She's just... a little occupied, and a little far away. I guess we'll tell our story first."
Alana followed the rest of the gang to the couches, sitting in her bean bag chair and pulling her legs up to her chest. Ash was on her shoulder, a small flame flicking on his head. His eyes were narrowed and worried- he and Mage were best friends.
"Blakk backed us into a corner. We could stay and fight, and probably lose, or escape into the Great Abyss. So we chose the latter," Eli said as he sat down on the couch next to Trixie. "And it's a good thing. At the bottom of the pit is the Guardian Gate. It was a portal, guarded by a Shadow Clan, and powered by the guardian slugs."
For a moment, Alana's worry for Mage dissolved. The guardian slugs? For a moment, she wished she had been able to come along with the rest of the gang. The energies of the guardian slugs must feel incredible. But then another thought crossed her mind.
"Wait, a portal to where?" she asked. She remembered the multiple symbols on the portal her mother had activated. The world was definitely a lot bigger than it seemed.
At this question, the Shane Gang's eyes seemed to darken. Even Pronto's ever-enthusiastic demeanor dimmed a bit, and the four were silent until Kord finally spoke up.
"The Deep Caverns."
Because of the dark water, Alana knew what it felt like to have your blood feel like ice, and the feeling she got at that moment was extremely close. Her eyes widened.
"As in... the Deep Caverns?" she finally managed.
"Yeah. Dark water everywhere, creatures straight out of your nightmares," Eli confirmed, and Alana found herself glad she hadn't come along. "Including the Dark Bane. And they were trying to break through the barrier."
"The guardian slugs were falling and the barrier between the worlds was growing weak, so we shadow traveled into the Deep Caverns to stop the Dark Bane," Trixie said, continuing the story. "But when we got there, we found out that because of all the dark energy there, our slugs couldn't transform. I hate to think about what would've happened if you'd gone in there, Alana."
"Nothing good," she responded grimly. There were several possibilities- being weakened, being ghouled, dying. None of them were desirable.
"Without our slugs, the Dark Bane captured us. We got away and regrouped a little bit away from their fortress," Kord continued. "And we figured out a way to use our slugs down there. We, ah..."
The room fell silent again.
"We ghouled them," Pronto finished bluntly.
Alana's eyes widened. She had just escaped an attempted ghouling. She remembered the cold feeling of the dark water descending upon her and filling her lungs, and the pain of having her energy slowly corrupted.
"You're kidding," she said. But she was met with serious faces. "How could you do that to them?"
"We didn't have a choice. We kept Doc and Mage to make sure they could cure them when we finished," Eli said, and at that moment, Alana realized that she hadn't seen Doc around, either. "With the ghouls, we were able to actually fight the Dark Bane. We took down the behemoth the Dark Bane were using to siege the barrier, and Doc and Mage were able to cure the guardian slugs. We made it back through and they sealed the barrier."
Alana sighed and ran her hands through her hair, appalled.
"Let me guess. They stayed?" she asked. Trixie nodded.
"Doc took up the spot of the energy guardian, and Mage stayed behind to keep providing energy to reinforce the barrier. Even with the strong guardians, the portal would have still been weak for a while before it was back to full strength."
"We have no way to cure dark energy now," Alana said quietly, rubbing her eyes. They were stinging with tears, and it was taking all her effort not to let them fall. Eli sighed.
"We're sorry. We know you and Mage are close. But it was her choice," he said. "And now she's able to prevent another attack through that barrier. The Dark Bane won't be getting in through the Guardian Gate."
Alana nodded, but she didn't feel much comfort.
It was a silly thing to tip her over the edge. Her slug was helping keep the entire realm safe. But being separated from Mage felt like the last straw. She got up from the bean bag chair with a sigh, straightening out her cotton shirt from Bonnie Springs.
"I'm sorry, you guys need to give me a minute," she managed, avoiding any eye contact with the gang as she hurried up the stairs. Tears were threatening to glow down her cheeks.
"Alana?" Eli called, but she didn't turn around. She quickly slipped into her room, finding no comfort in the familiarity of the glowing Lumino stickers or the bioluminescent water lilies. She opened the panel on the ceiling and climbed up to the roof of the hideout, rapidly breathing in the cool night air.
She sank down, staring out over the dark forests of Wild Spores. Ash chirped quietly, but Alana didn't respond. She pulled her knees to her chin with one hand and covered her mouth with the other in attempt to stifle herself as she began to cry.
And once she started, the tears flowed out, and she felt every pent up feeling she's been suppressing escape as their container shattered. She cried for her parents and home realm, she cried because she'd almost been ghouled, and she cried because she was separated from Mage. Her shoulders shook as she cried, and she only let out small bits of air as she kept her hand over her mouth.
"Alana?" a quiet voice asked from behind her. Alana bit her lip, catching her breath before she lowered her hand from her mouth.
"I'm good, Eli, you-you just need to give me a sec," she said, but her voice cracked and wavered, giving herself away. Eli walked forward and sat down on her right, but Alana couldn't bring herself to look up at him.
"No, you're not," he said. "You can't keep bottling things up, Alana."
"I-I..." Alana's voice trailed off. She folded her hands over her knees and rested her forehead on them, and began to weep. "Th-there's just so much. I got my answers and they were horrible. I-I saw them die, I saw my parents die. They're dead, Eli. And-and I saw my dad get shot by a ghouled Geoshard, and my mom got hurt but she hid it so she could get me to safety but it-it was too bad and by the time I got away, she couldn't keep going."
Ash chirped sadly from her shoulder.
"That's why-why Will took me in," she continued. "He knew my mom and he took me in for her. And now he's gone and I'll never be able to thank him or ask him about my mom. And then after I relieve the worst memories of my life, I get caught by Dana and taken to the citadel, and she showed me the video of-of you guys falling into the Great Abyss, and I thought you were dead. And then, she- she tried to ghoul me, Eli, it was dark water gas, like they use to ghoul slugs, and it was so cold and it hurt so much. I-I thought I would die. I just barely got away, but I can still remember what it felt like to have the dark water in my lungs, and I remember how scared I was when I watched my dad die..."
Alana trailed off again, her stories told.
"I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I miss them and I'm sad about Dana and it just seems like so much and it's so hard to handle everything and I want to be happy all the time but I just can't! I hate feeling like this!"
She just sat there, her eyes screwed shut, and wept. Eli said nothing, staying silent and letting her get her tears out.
She missed her mom and dad. She missed the Paladins who sacrificed their lives. She felt hopeless when she thought of Dana, who was ready to ghoul her without any hesitation, while Alana just wanted to help her old friend.
Alana thought about the long road she'd already traveled, and felt nothing but dread when she realized that she still had such a long road ahead of her.
How am I supposed to do this?
Finally, she must have sounded like she hit rock bottom, because Eli sighed, and tapped Alana's arm. Sniffling, she looked up, and he was holding his arms out.
She only hesitated for a split second before sighing and hugging him, crying into his shoulder. Alana found herself wishing- not for the first time, either- that things with the Shanes could have been different. She wished that the two of them could have Will there to help.
After a few minutes of sobbing into Eli's shoulder, Alana heard more footsteps behind her. Before she knew it, Trixie was at her left, leaning her head on Alana's shoulder and resting a hand on her back. Kord sat next to her, and Pronto next to Eli, all silent, but ready to be there to comfort their teammate. Maybe they had been there the whole time. Maybe they had just arrived. It didn't matter.
Alana realized that moments like these were what she was missing out on the most. She'd lived without anyone around for five years. When she had grieved for Will, she had her slugs, but the little creatures weren't proper replacements for interactions with people. Whenever she'd cried, she'd have a pillow or couch cushion to cry into, and then she'd get up and force herself to move forward.
Her cries eventually slowed down. Her body had no more tears to shed. She felt completely drained and exhausted, but Alana also felt like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
Wiping tears off her cheeks, Alana finally pulled away from Eli, sitting up and looking around her.
She didn't have her parents, or the Paladins. She didn't have Dana. But she had them.
And as pale yellow Lumino light began to spread across Wild Spores, Alana realized that maybe the road ahead didn't look so bleak after all.
~~~~~~~~
Dana sat in the silent conference room, her narrowed eyes watching Doctor Blakk as he furiously paced across the table from her.
"You mean to tell me that after all the effort to get her here, after she was injured and nearly ghouled, she escaped?" the man snapped.
"She released a wave of light energy that I didn't think would be possible," Dana said, fighting to not sound as irritated as she felt. Why did he feel the need to raise his voice? She was already furious enough as it was that Alana had escaped the citadel. "You saw the ghouling chamber. I don't know if it was just triggered by the dark energy, or if this happens when she's on the brink of death..."
"Or if you were wrong and she can't be ghouled," Doctor Blakk sneered.
Anger flared up in Dana, and before she knew it, she was on her feet, her hands on the table, glaring at Doctor Blakk.
"She can be ghouled. I can feel it in her energy, she isn't invulnerable," she insisted. Doctor Blakk sighed and continued his pacing.
"The Guardian Gate is too heavily enforced. Brimmstone had too much confidence in his ability to get past the guardian slugs. We've officially switched over to the original plan. And I would prefer to not have an embodiment of light energy there when that happens!" he snapped, his voice continuing to raise. Dana winced. "So, if we can't ghoul her, then we put her on the same level as the Shane boy, and take her out if we can."
Dana's vision turned red as she scowled in anger. Her eyes flickered with a scarlet glow for a split second.
"I'm telling you, she can be ghouled, we don't need to kill her-" she began, but Doctor Blakk cut her off.
"Is this your intellect speaking, or your feelings?" he asked icily. Dana's eyes widened.
"I-intellect, why wouldn't it be-?" she stammered, temporarily thrown off guard. She sighed and shook her head. "I just think it's a waste to destroy a potentially great weapon."
"Well, these are the sacrifices that must be made," Doctor Blakk said coldly, not sounding completely convinced. "You do want to be able to hold your power over those who have wronged you, don't you?"
That struck a chord. Dana straightened her back and felt a rush of dark energy course through her. She wanted to ghoul Alana, to finally have an ally, someone who understood. But getting back at them, the people who made her feel worthless and powerless?
Nothing would be better than that.
"Yes," she said, taking a step back. "I want that."
"Then be prepared to do whatever you must," Doctor Blakk said. L
Dana nodded and left the conference room, digging her nails into her palms as she left Doctor Blakk.
The man stood in the room alone for a few moments before a door behind him swung open. A tan blond boy walked into the conference room, standing at Blakk's right.
"Eberly was right. She just needs some frustration and a reminder of what she really wants," Doctor Blakk noted. Twist nodded, his face emotionless.
"She still isn't as stable as I'd like. She thinks she keeps her experiments with dark water hidden from me," Doctor Blakk continued. "But keep encouraging them. She needs to be remorseless. She thinks her determination to ghoul Alana is for the good of our mission, but it's also driven by personal need. There's no place for that here, Twist."
"Yes, sir," Twist said, still not reacting.
Doctor Blakk left the conference room, leaving Twist alone. Once the coast was clear, he sighed and let his shoulders droop. There was a flash of black and red sparks, and Twist's face changed to one of confusion and fear. He was constantly feeling conflicted ever since the death of the Unbeatable Master, but if Blakk found out, it would be the ending of him.
He had to keep pressing forward, though. If Blakk even doubted Dana, Twist couldn't give any reasons to think he was expendable.
~~~~~~~~~
Alana slept until two in the afternoon.
She woke up to find herself curled up under her blankets, almost completely surrounding by her slugs. Ash was next to her head. Mage wasn't.
She missed her Boon Doc already, but the thought of her helping guard Slugterra against the forces of darkness made Alana feel a little more at ease.
She quietly got up from her bed, moving slowly to avoid disturbing her slugs. She glanced down at the bag that sat on her nightstand and carefully pulled out her gear. There wasn't really a reason to suit up, but she wanted something familiar.
She changed into her light blue and black shirt, dark gray pants, and black and blue boots, and was immediately happy to be out of the hospital clothes. She felt normal for the first time in days.
Alana glanced back in the bag, and hesitated when she saw the manila folder in it. After thinking for a moment, she grabbed it and left.
As she walked down the stairs to the first floor of the hideout, Alana realized that she hadn't had a single dream when she'd been sleeping.
"Hey," Trixie said cautiously from the couch when Alana walked by, making a beeline for the kitchen. "How are you feeling?"
Alana glanced up at Trixie as she tucked the folder under her arm and grabbed the jug of apple juice from the fridge, a small but genuine smile on her face.
"Better. Still kinda like crap, but better," she said honestly. "I just needed to... let some things out."
"You think?" Eli asked sarcastically from next to Trixie, pausing the two's video game (they were playing Slug Kart, and of course, Trixie was entire lap ahead of Eli and the rest of the computer players). Trixie elbowed him, narrowing her eyes, but Alana laughed and headed for her bean bag chair.
"Don't worry, I kinda deserve that one. I should've known bottling things up wouldn't last forever," she said as she got settled. "I still don't feel perfect- especially with the stuff about my parents- but, I don't know, it was good to just let it all out."
"Well, your friends can't help you if we don't know you're feeling sad," Trixie pointed out. "It kinda sucks, but there's still something to take away from your breakdown. You can't do it all alone."
Alana smiled and shrugged.
"Like always, you are right," she said, taking a drink of her apple juice. "Speaking of, what do we do know that the gang's back together?"
Eli leaned forward, a glint of excitement in his eyes.
"Well, as far as the rest of the 99 Caverns are concerned, we're missing in action. Blakk thinks we're dead at the bottom of the Great Abyss, and we've heard that he has plans for a new model of the Slugterran Express that he takes out for a spin in two days," he explained. "So we're thinking that we make our comeback by interrupting his test run."
"Sounds fun," Alana noted as she set the manila folder on her lap, looking down at it. Trixie looked up curiously, even though Eli had already restarted the game (she was still in first by an entire lap).
"What's that?" she asked. Alana held it up to show her.
"A file Blakk had on Dana. I already took a quick look at it in Bonnie Springs," she said, flipping the folder open. "It doesn't have a lot, but it has some information on how Dana changed after getting her powers. Assuming our energies work the same, I'm hoping that by reading how Dana does some things, I can figure out how to use my energy to help in fights, since I won't be getting any formal training."
"Nice!" Trixie exclaimed, glancing up just in time to see her player cross the finish line. Eli groaned and scowled as his driver finally reached the finish line in seventh place.
"This thing's rigged," he murmured, but he didn't object when Trixie started another round of races.
Alana listened to the two bicker as she scanned through the papers in the folder. A lot of the notes were of Dana's reaction to stimuli that Alana wouldn't want to attempt- mentions of Dana's old family, of dark energy, and even of Alana. It was a lot of using negative things to get an energy reaction out of her.
But it looked like she had started to control her powers using more peaceful (and acceptable) methods. Sitting still and connecting with the energy deep inside her and relating it to everything around her, slowly learning out to consistently tap into it for strength.
Alana wished she could have a mentor. She wished that she could have grown up with her mother teaching her. But if this was how things had to be, then she was determined to reach her full potential and become skilled with her energy.
If the Dark Bane were trying to bust out of the Deep Caverns, she had a feeling she'd need it.