idk I'm not sure about this one, I had a Vision™ and it just,,,didn't go excellent. kind of a filler before the fun stuff
~~~~~~~~
Alana woke up not to a distress signal or the light of day shining in through her window, but to a hand gently shaking her shoulder.
"Alana, come on, wake up," Trixie repeated for the third time.
Finally, through the haze of her sleep, Alana made sense of the words and slowly opened her eyes. Her room was light, but apparently she'd been tired enough for it not to wake her up. Trixie straightened up, hands on her hips.
"About time," she said. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay...?" Alana mumbled, blinking a few times and focusing her vision. She sat up, her blanket sliding down, and glanced down in confusion. She was still in her slinging outfit. Her gloves; boots, and upper arm armor were sitting in a pile next to her bed. "Why am I still in my gear?"
"You didn't get the chance to change last night. Remember what happened?" Trixie asked. Alana thought for a moment, rubbing at her head before groaning as the memories came back to her.
"We freed Wind Farm," Alana recalled. "But it was in really bad shape, so I... I remember holding up a slug carrier to cure its ghouls, then nothing. Did I go overboard with healing?"
Trixie shook her head. "Actually, no. Nobody was worried yet. Even Eli was just letting you be. But you just passed out after a few carriers, so we had to call it quits. We were gonna take you to Bonnie Springs, but your slugs weren't having it, so we took you home instead. It's 10:30 in the morning, you've been out for nearly fifteen hours."
"Oh boy," Alana sighed, getting to her feet and stretching. "We've just been going at it so much, I didn't realize how exhausted I was. I feel a lot better now, though. Where are we headed today?"
Trixie laughed and raised an eyebrow. "There's no 'we' today. I was just waking you up before we left. The rest of us are patrolling the northern region today. No distress calls have come in yet."
"What? Why can't I come? You said it yourself, I just got a bunch of sleep," Alana argued, walking out of her room. Trixie followed behind her.
"Yeah, after passing out. You've been doing so much with your energy, Alana," Trixie said. "But we still don't know exactly what Blakk's endgame is. You can't keep burning yourself out."
Alana sighed and stopped, resting her elbows on the rail of the second floor walkway. She ran her hands through her bangs and glanced at Trixie.
"If there's another cavern with a major ghoul problem, promise you'll call me in," she said. Trixie nodded.
"We will," the redhead promised. "Take it easy today. Get more sleep, if you can."
Alana nodded as Trixie walked down the stairs. Just before Trixie reached the garage door, Alana called out to her.
"I'll stay out of trouble, but I don't think I'll be able to just sit around the hideout all day," she called.
"We figured," Trixie responded, opening the door and smirking up at Alana. "Adult supervision will be here in about twenty minutes."
Alana's eyes widened. "I lived here alone for five years, I don't need a babysitter!" she exclaimed.
"I know, but if you go out, you shouldn't go alone. The last thing we need is Blakk ambushing you," Trixie explained. "So, when you inevitably want to leave, ride her Mecha and grab a hoodie so your hair doesn't catch any attention."
"You're kidding," Alana deadpanned. But Trixie just laughed and shrugged before shutting the door behind her. There was the roar of four Mechas starting and riding out, then the launch bay door slammed shut.
Alana sighed and rocked back and forth on her heels for a few moments. Then she walked down the stairs, already noticing the silence in the hideout. She started to make an egg when Ash chirped, hopping up on the counter next to the stovetop.
"Hey, bud," Alana said, smiling and rubbing Ash's cheek. "Looks like it's just us for a bit."
Just like old times, she thought, her smile wavering.
She finished making the egg while Ash blew some small flames on some bread to make toast, the two falling back into the old routine they had while they were living between Shanes. Alana slid the egg off the pan and grabbed a small jar of strawberry jelly from the refrigerator. She unscrewed the lid and reached at the counter for a knife-
A knife that wasn't there. Mage had always gotten it and the fork. Alana's hand hovered over the counter for a second, her shoulders dropping before she cleared her throat and grabbed a knife and fork from the silverware drawer. Ash chirped sadly, his antennae drooping. Alana scooped some jelly on the toast and held the flat end of the knife up for Ash to lick.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Mage is doing fine keeping the guardian slugs healthy," Alana said. "And once we defeat Blakk and fix the energy struggle going on right now, we'll be able to get her back."
Ash nodded, licking the jelly off the knife before Alana tossed it in the sink. Alana poured a glass of apple juice and paused to let Ash jump up on her shoulder before grabbing her plate and walking over to her bean bag chair.
She cut out a small bit of egg and gave it to Ash (the white of the egg, not the yolk. He'd tried the yolk once and burped flames for three days) before eating any herself. As Alana ate, she couldn't help but keep looking around the hideout warily.
Ever since Eli had arrived in Slugterra, the hideout had been bustling and exciting. But now, with just Alana and Ash (and the rest of her slugs still asleep), Alana couldn't help but remember what it was like to be ten again, walking into the hideout and, for the first time, not expecting to sit down with Will for dinner, or ask him about his day protecting the caverns.
It felt like a pit had grown in her stomach. Alana hurriedly leaned forward and set her plate on the coffee table, half finished. She reached for the remote to turn on the television, desperate for any noise to fill the dead silence of the hideout. But before she could turn on the TV, the holoscreen flickered ro life across the living room, beeping. A video appeared, of the mushroom forest outside the hideout. Two Mechas were riding down the winding tree trunk the hideout sat on.
Alana laughed quietly and got to her feet, watching the screen as the doe and the vixen neared. She walked into the garage, hitting a button on the wall. The door slid in, revealing Sam Gray and Max Altori. The two rode into the garage and Alana shut the door behind them before leaning in the doorway to the hideout, arms crossed.
"They roped both of you into coming?" she asked. Sam hopped down off her Mecha, in a purple tee-shirt and black pants, her dark, curly hair down and wild.
"Well, it's my day off, so they asked me," Sam explained, hugging Alana in greeting. "And Max has been working at painting hallways in the hospital nonstop, so I figured some time off would help her, too."
"That and I really do love the hospital kids, but every time they try to 'help' me, I end up with way more paint in my hair than usual," Max added as she hopped down from her Mecha. She wore her usual pink dress, complete with her paint-stained apron across her waist and a handkerchief acting as a headband. "So I thought a break would be nice."
Alana laughed and shrugged, leading the two into the hideout. She was already glad to have someone else there- suddenly it felt less like she was in a void and more like she was in a home.
"Well, I'm sure I'll want to go out later, but for now, I'm going back to sleep," she said. "Sam, are you good to show Max around? I think at this point you've been here enough to know where stuff is."
Sam nodded, taking a running start and jumping on the couch, collapsing down into the cushions. "You bet. I'm about to show Max how to play Slug Kart!"
"Oh boy. Nice knowing you, Max," Alana laughed. "Well, there shouldn't be any problems, but if there are, just come wake me up."
"Will do!" Sam called, already starting up the TV. Alana smiled and shook her head, walking up the stairs. She glanced at her right shoulder, where Ash was smirking.
"Sam totally just wanted to spend time with Max," Alana whispered, and Ash nodded. "Classic."
~~~~~~~~~~
Sam looked up as Max carefully walked to the couch and sat down, folding her legs beneath her.
"Don't worry about being neat," Sam said breezily as she grabbed a controller from the coffee table and handed it to Max. "Four kids and a molenoid live here. It isn't exactly a five star hotel."
"Good point," Max said, observing the controller while Sam grabbed her own and started Slug Kart. "I have never played this."
"What? Don't you have siblings?" Sam asked. "You guys never played video games?"
Max shook her head, reading through the controller instructions on the screen. "We were the kind of kids who would go actually try to make karts and race them down our street."
"Oh, boy. How did that work out?" Sam laughed. Max smirked mischievously.
"Fine for me. I was always the judge. My older brothers would be the ones to actually drive the things," she explained. "And inevitably crash them, of course."
"You don't sound too upset about being left out," Sam laughed as she started one of the races. "But in all honesty, I'd never touched a video game until Gwen got me into them at Bonnie Springs."
"Really, Gwen's a gamer?" Max asked, her kart immediately burning out when the race started. "I would have thought that would be Rhydian. Or Alex."
"Those two are competitive, but they like card and board games. Gwen comes from money, so she could always get the latest stuff," Sam explained, smiling as she pulled into first place.
"Ah. But you couldn't?" Max asked curiously. Sam's smile faltered, and Max's face immediately turned pink. "S-sorry. You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to. That was insensitive."
"No, it's okay," Sam said, narrowing her eyes in concentration as her player hit a ramp and spun in midair. "Just threw me off guard. Nobody on the team really talks- or signs, in Alex's case- about where we came from. Gwen's family has money like mine, but they're good people. Donate all the time, especially to the hospital. They also put a lot of money into a fund to support the Beast Forge workers after Blakk trashed the place. They've got good morals, and Gwen had a great childhood."
"But yours..." Max started, her voice trailing off. She frowned as an Aquabeek flew up to the screen (in the game) and doused it with ink, making it nearly impossible to see where she was going.
"Not so much," Sam said. "They thought anything that didn't have physical or academic benefits was a waste of time. They were overbearing and controlling. They scrutinized everything I did, and made me feel like I had to live up to their expectations of what was 'perfect.'"
Sam sighed and shrugged, a faint smile on her face as she crossed the finish line, winning the race an entire lap ahead of Max, who was only in sixth.
"I got away from them, with some of their money, too. That makes me feel a little better," she admitted. "But it doesn't change years of having that confined mindset. Every time I do something that I want, I have to remind myself that they don't control me anymore, and I deserve to be able to have some freedom."
Sam fell silent as Max finished the race in eighth, mentally cursing herself.
I probably sound so mopey. Poor me, I was rich but had mean parents, she thought, heat prickling at her cheeks. But she started when Max inches closer, the two girls' shoulders just barely touching.
"That sounds awful. I'm sorry. I'm glad that even though you didn't have great parents, you still turned out to be such a good person," Max said. Sam's heart fluttered. She smiled and relaxed, finding comfort in being so close to Max.
"Thanks. That means a lot," she said. "I really didn't want to be a prissy rich girl."
"Well, instead you're a confident, fun medical student. I think you nailed it," Max laughed, reaching over and pressing A on Sam's controller to start the next race. "And one that happens to be very good at video games. But watch out, I know how the controls work now!"
Sam laughed and shook her head. "No way you beat me. But game on."
The two spent the rest of the morning playing match after match in Slug Kart, with Sam always coming out victorious and Max never managing to break top five. They talked to fill the space- Max told Sam about growing up with two twin brothers who would constantly try to pull switches, but would always fail due to Max's perception. Sam told Max about all the times she'd encountered the Shane Gang, and how she thought Alana to be like a little sister.
At some point, Max's head ended up resting on Sam's shoulder. Sam wasn't quite sure how it happened. One moment, nothing, and the next, the two were even closer, and it all felt right and natural. Sam became hyper-aware of everything- how Max's hair faintly smelled of paint, how she could feel heartbeat shaking her whole body when Max was so near, and-
And how there was a voice coming from upstairs.
Sam frowned and paused the game, muting it and sitting forward. Max pulled away, frowning and watching as Sam glanced up the staircase.
"What's wrong?" Max asked quietly.
"I thought I heard something," Sam murmured. The two went silent, both listening for a sound.
There it was again. Muffled by walls and distance, but definitely there.
Sam held her breath and got up, carefully walking toward the stairs, the blissful comfort she felt while sitting next to Max completely gone. Max followed behind her, biting her lip. Sam's eyes widened when she heard the voice again, now louder and more distressed.
"Where... where is she?! What did you do?"
It registered as Alana's voice immediately. Sam bolted up the stairs, Max holding her skirt up and to the side so she could follow.
"Alana? Alana, are you okay?" Sam yelled, running up to Alana's door and shoving it open. She and Max rushed into the room to find Alana in her bed, tangled up in her blankets and shivering like she was cold. Her eyes were screwed shut, and she kept talking in her sleep. Ash was sitting on Alana's bedside table, chirping, but failing to wake his slinger.
Sam hurried forward, grabbing Alana's shoulders and shaking her gently while Max hung back, her hand over her mouth in fear.
"Alana? Alana, it's okay, you're okay, you need to wake up! Wake up!"
~~~~~~~~
Alana sat on the edge of the stream in High Plains Cavern, now years younger. Dana sat next to her, also young and now unghouled. She had a stick in her hand and was poking it in the water, shifting rocks around so small violet tadpoles would swim out. Alana would smile and set her hand in the water, and the tadpoles would swim around her fingers.
"They're so cute!" Alana laughed. Dana smiled faintly.
"They're just tadpoles," she said, but she continued to shift the rocks so more would swim out.
"But they're so small," Alana laughed, wiggling her fingers as the tadpoles wove through them. Dana shrugged.
"To each their own."
The two were silent for a moment. Then Dana stopped and set her stick on the bank of stream and stood up. Her green eyes narrowed.
"It isn't like this anymore," she scowled. "I'm not like this anymore."
And then she changed, growing taller and paler. Red streaks appeared in her hair and her eyes turned scarlet.
Alana stood up as well, growing as she did, her clothes morphing into her slinging gear. Her fingers curled into fists as she took a step away from Dana.
"No, you're not. You're not and I don't know what to do," Alana said, her shoulders dropping. "I don't know what you want anymore."
Dana raised a hand, and it began to glow scarlet. "I want to raze everything and everyone that ever made me feel powerless."
"Hurting them won't make you feel any better," Alana stressed. "Your parents, your brother, Rosemary... hurting them won't change it."
Dana laughed, shaking her head. "It's too late for that."
Alana frowned, reaching for her blaster, but it wasn't there. "What do you mean? Did-? Did you... where are they? What did you do to them?"
Dana cackled and jumped forward, pushing Alana to the ground. Alana grabbed Dana's arms, keeping her hands back as they pulsed with a red glow, sending chills down Alana's spine.
"This isn't you," Alana said, forcing down her fear. "This is the dark energy. Let me help you, please-"
"Alana, come on!"
Alana's eyes flew open. She felt hands on her shoulders and instinctively raised her hands, which were faintly glowing blue. But then her vision focused, and she saw that it wasn't Dana in front of her, but Sam.
Immediately, Alana relaxed, pulling her hands away and sitting up. Sam sighed with relief and backed away, standing next to Max, who was watching Alana warily.
"Sorry," Alana breathed, unwrapping the blankets from her arms. "I probably freaked you guys out."
"Don't worry about us," Max said, her slanted eyes wide.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked, looking over Alana worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just... dream a lot," Alana said, thinking for a moment before glancing up at Sam. "How do you two feel about a run to Antimony?"
~~~~~~~~
Alana sat behind Sam on her purple doe Mecha, peering at the streets of Antimony from beneath her hood.
She'd briefly explained to Sam and Max that, especially after her most recent nightmare, she was concerned for the remaining members of the Edwards family. Alana had sent the message along to Dana's parents that they shouldn't stay in Antimony, but if they were anything like their daughter, they wouldn't like being told what to do.
Alana had thrown on a white jacket and kept the hood up to hide her blue-streaked hair. Ash stayed hidden behind her hood as well, burrowed behind Alana's ponytail.
"Left up here," Alana told Sam as they approached an intersection. "And it'll be... fifth house on the left? Yeah, there it is."
Sam and Max parked across the street from the Edwards house, looking up at the building with anticipation.
"It looks homier than I expected," Max noted.
"Not like the kind of house that would make someone like Dana," Sam agreed. Alana sighed and jumped down from Sam's Mecha.
"Looks can be deceiving," she said simply, turning to face Sam and Max. "Hopefully nobody's home. But if they are, this shouldn't take too long."
"Sounds good. We'll be right here if you need us," Sam said. "Stay safe, okay? If these guys treated Dana bad enough to help make her the way she is-"
"Don't worry," Alana said, nodding down to her blaster. "Believe me, if these guys give me even the smallest reason to slug them, I'd be glad to."
With that, Alana turned toward the house and took a deep breath before glancing both ways and crossing the street. When she got to the other side, her heart sank.
They were still here.
A little girl sat halfway down the sidewalk leading up to the house, humming to herself as she tended to some of the many flowers lining the concrete. The one she was focused on was an orchid, with leaves that faded from sapphire blue to dark purple. She inspected the leaves and petals before writing down something in a small notebook and scooting over to the next flower.
She was tiny- she couldn't have been older than five, but she also just looked small. Her short hair, brown with an orange tint to it, was held back by a wide headband. She wore a white dress with a layered skirt that pooled around her, and her hands were covered with pale yellow gardening gloves.
Alana cleared her throat as she approached, standing at the edge of the sidewalk, next to a worn mailbox.
"You're Rosemary, right?" she asked.
Rosemary looked up, and her brown eyes went wide. She shoved her notebook into one of her dress pockets and sprang to her feet, eyeing Alana warily. Alana knew this had to look strange- a mysterious person with her hood up, knowing Rosemary's name.
"Who are you?" Rosemary asked, edging toward the house.
"I know your parents. Are they home?" Alana asked. "I need to talk with them. It's really important."
Rosemary still looked worried. Alana held up her hands.
"I promise I'll stay here. But I really need you to get them," she said. Rosemary nodded, taking a few steps backwards before turning and running up to the house. She swung the door open and called inside, and a moment later, two adults appeared in the doorway. Rosemary sat on the front step while the two walked down the sidewalk warily.
Mara and Damien Edwards were two intimidating people. Both were tall, dark-haired, and the second they saw Alana, they seemed to have their guards up. Alana watched Rosemary carefully, but she didn't seem fearful of the two at all. Her only concern appeared to be the stranger who knew her name.
Mara was the first to speak when the two reached Alana. She had her hair pulled back in a messy bun, and faint circles beneath her eyes.
"Who are you?" she demanded. Alana pulled back her hood slightly, just enough for the cavern's Lumino light to catch her hair and reveal the streaks of blue. Alana could tell from the way Mara and Damien's eyes widened that they recognized her.
"I need to talk to you. Inside," Alana said, even though the last place she wanted to be in was the house. "And Rosemary can't be listening."
"You may run around with that Shane kid, but what makes you think you can order us around?" Damien snapped. Alana's eyes glared up at him, and she saw his demeanor falter under her gaze.
"Because I'm here to talk about your other daughter," she said icily. Damien and Mara exchanged and glance before Mara sighed and nodded toward the house.
"Come on in, then."
~~~~~~~
Alana stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, determined not to touch anything. Damien and Mara stood across from her, leaning against the kitchen counter. Rosemary was in the backyard, where there were even more flowers.
"She's her own person," Mara said coldly. "We aren't responsible for anything she does. You can't arrest us or anything."
Normally, Alana tried to be kind. And polite, and patient, and compassionate. But standing in front of Dana's parents, knowing what they'd done to contribute to the path their daughter had taken, she was only furious.
"Believe me, if I wanted you arrested, you'd already be in Stalagmite 17," Alana scowled. "I don't like to throw the Shane name around, but if you didn't have a little daughter who doesn't need to go through having her parents arrested, I could get you both in there without anyone batting an eye."
Damien scowled and tensed, but didn't interrupt as Alana continued.
"That's not why I'm here. I'm here to find out why you stayed in Antimony after Dana attacked. I sent a message along telling you that you should lay low until we stop Blakk," Alana said.
Mara rolled her eyes. "We don't need a kid telling us what to do. We live where we want to live. Imagine trying to tell Rosemary we need to leave because 'surprise, you've got a maniac sister,'" she said. Alana frowned, looking back and forth between Mara and Damien.
"Rosemary doesn't know about Dana?" she asked.
"She knows she had a sister who's gone now," Damien said. "We couldn't just erase her out if existence. But those who knew her don't usually talk about it."
Alana shook her head. "I don't care what you tell her, then, but if I have to use force to get you out of this cavern, I will," she threatened.
"Who do you think you are?" Damien snapped. Alana scowled and blinked blue spots from her vision.
"I was her friend, and I'm the only one who still has hope for Dana anymore!" she yelled. "But I'm also the one who has to prepare for the worst, and right now, that includes her attacking your four-year-old daughter!"
She pointed out the kitchen window, where Rosemary could be seen counting petals on a daisy.
"So, if you care about her safety, you will get out of this flopping cavern by tonight. Because the Shane Gang is busy trying to save Slugterra, and I can't afford having to spend time coming back here because you're too stubborn to admit you are no match for Dana!"
Mara and Damien went silent. Then Mara sighed, staring at the ground.
"Fine. We're out by tonight. We'll stay with Dana's brother," she said. Alana rolled her eyes.
"Thank you," she sighed. Mara looked up at her with narrowed eyes.
"You don't need to talk to us like we're scum, you know," she said. Alana blinked slowly, taking a moment to process what she said.
She thinks she has the right to call me out for talking down to them?
"You are scum," Alana said. "I know I had a part in what happened to Dana. But at the end of the day, this is happening because of you two. I'm not giving respect to people like you."
"You may have lost a friend in her, but we lost a daughter!" Damien exclaimed.
Alana was caught off guard. She laughed quietly, running a hand through her bangs. She could feel her energy swelling up with her anger, and it was taking nearly everything she had not to lash out.
"You aren't the victims here. Don't even think it for a second," she said. "And if you actually are upset, then you're getting what you deserve."
She turned away and walked down the hallway, not bothering to let them show her the way out.
"Don't forget, I didn't need to warn you about Dana in the first place," she called, swinging the front door open. "But I did. And don't get it wrong- I'm doing this for Rosemary."
Alana slammed the door shut and put her hood up before walking down the sidewalk, taking deep breaths. Sam and Max looked up at Alana warily as she approached.
"How did it go?" Sam asked carefully. Alana climbed up on the doe behind her.
"Flopping fantastic," she said with a sigh, resting her forehead on Sam's back. "Well, if they listen to me or not, I've done all I can without taking physical custody of Dana's sister. Let's head back home."
~~~~~~~~
Dana stood at the center of the room in the Blakk Industries citadel that had, up until recently, been a complete construction zone. Workers had been in and out nonstop for days straight, putting the finishing touches on the drill.
Now it was completely constructed, and it was magnificent.
The room's tall ceiling made way for the several enormous tubes of dark water, built in a circle. The spot where Dana was standing would soon be nothing but air in the massive terraportal the machine would create, leading straight to the Deep Caverns.
"Well?" Blakk asked from the edge of the room.
Dana closed her scarlet eyes, taking in the dark energy held by the dark water. It was like looking at a rabid animal through a set of bars. The energy was desperate to escape, to be used for something.
But it wouldn't be enough, even once the ghouls were added.
"It won't require me to control it, but no," she said, opening her eyes and turning to face Blakk. "The ghouls won't be enough on their own. Whatever they got their Infurnus slugs to do, we need the ghouls to do it, too. They'll need the extra power if you want the portal to sustain itself."
"We can't let the first time they megamorph be when we start the portal," Blakk said. "The ghouls will need to be tested. We don't have time to get Mecha riders to that velocity, and besides, I don't want the Shane Gang to be able to use the megamorphs, either. Twist."
Twist, who'd been silently standing at Blakk's right side, stepped forward. Blakk gazed up at the terraportal, malice in his eyes.
"Prepare a team to take Quiet Lawn Cavern. Cut off all outgoing communication. And prepare a lab, so our guest has space to work."
~~~~~~~~~
Alana led the way back into the hideout, Sam and Max following behind. The ride home from Antimony had been mostly silent- even Alana just couldn't think of anything to say.
Max cleared her throat and headed to the cupboards, opening them carefully.
"Well, I don't know about you two, but dinner sounds good. And the rest of the gang will be back soon. I'm no master, but I'm a decent cook. How about I throw something together?" she offered.
Alana nodded, giving a half hearted smile. "That sounds good, Max. Thanks," she said. She took off her white hoodie and set it on a peg by the door to the garage. She wandered past the kitchen, running through her conversation with Dana's parents in her head. They hadn't even been able to say Dana's name.
She halted in front of the picture of Will, staring at it as if she hadn't already memorized what he smile had looked like. She didn't move when Sam walked up and stood beside her, following her gaze over to the portrait.
"Hey," Sam said softly. "I, uh- I'm not trying to talk you out of it, or bash you for it, but I've got to know. Why are you so determined to save Dana? You're doing an awful lot to make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble with her parents, and you still seem pretty sure that in the end you'll get through to her. But she's done so much."
Alana stayed silent for a moment. Then she sighed, her shoulders drooping.
"You know, when I lost Will, I didn't eat for days," she said. "I didn't want to do anything. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. I wanted to disappear. I was miserable, and I just wallowed for ages. I mean, I was only ten. I didn't know how to take care of grief. I guess I still don't? Bad things happen, and I just... try not to think about it."
Her mind flashed back to the fall of the West as she briefly thought about the Paladins and protectors who had lost their lives.
"But after a while, Dana came and told me to get back on my feet and keep moving forward. It wasn't actually nurturing," Alana said, a small smile forming on her face. "It got me on my feet, though. She wasn't always a bad person. We used to have each other's backs."
Sam nodded, and Alana looked up at her, smiling.
"And even though I have to fight her, I've still got hers."
At that, Sam shook her head.
"You're so forgiving. In the best way," she quickly added. "I can't imagine being like you. My parents made me ticked, so I took a bunch of their money and ran away!"
"Well, your parents were always mean," Alana laughed. Sam grinned and wrapped and arm around Alana's shoulders, hugging her.
"You're right, they were," Sam agreed. She looked down at Alana and felt a surge of pride- if she'd ever had a little sister, she'd want her to be like Alana.
"You guys are gonna win," Sam said confidently, both of them gazing up at the picture of Will. Alana smiled and glanced up at Sam.
"'Course we are. It won't even be close," she said teasingly. "Then we can dial back to stopping stuff like petty theft. Maybe some destruction of property. That would be nice."
"Destruction of property would be nice?"
"Compared to fighting the forces of darkness at fifteen? Yeah."