"Alana, do you have visual on the enemy yet?"

Alana readjusted herself from her cover on top of one of the giant mushrooms in Deaddrop Cavern. The cavern was made up of dense forests that suddenly cleared away to reveal steep cliff sides, so as much as the Shane Gang wanted to charge the hunting party and get the mission over with, it wouldn't help if one of them fell to their death while doing it. They had to take things carefully.

"Almost," Alana breathed into her earpiece, responding to Eli. She could feel Dana approaching with her crew. The cold dark energy was sending constant chills down her spine.

A few more moments passed. Then Alana heard footsteps approaching in the forest below her. She bit her lip- hopefully, Eli's plan worked.

They'd been training hard since the fight on the train, but nobody was eager to get into another head-on confrontation with Dana, especially if she was backed by a group of ghoulslingers. They couldn't handle this enemy like the others- they had to think outside the box. It was like when the gang had first started encountering ghouls. They had seemed invincible at first, but after time, their slugs became accustomed to the stronger enemies.

Alana carefully scooted forward, peeking over the edge of the mushroom top. Below, she could see Dana come into view, and she winced as she felt the darkness inside her.

Dana was followed by two other ghoulslingers. The three Blakk Industries employees were looking around intently, searching for slugs to take back to the citadel or a ghoul depot. Ash growled quietly from his slinger's shoulder, following Dana with anger in his eyes. Mage stayed silent, her blue eye never leaving Dana. Alana had noticed that her healer slug was considerably more frightened of Dana than the rest of her arsenal (understandably so).

Alana pressed her earpiece.

"I've got visual. Get ready," she whispered.

"Will do. Don't worry, we're backing you up," Eli responded. Alana smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Who says I'm worried?" she responded. Trixie snickered from the other line.

"Always the confident one," Trixie said teasingly.

"Of course," Alana said, taking a deep breath and getting ready.

She remembered the plan the gang had made on the way to Deaddrop. It was Eli's idea- he had the mindset of well, Alana's got the powers and leverage, let's use them. Alana vaguely wondered whether or not he'd been planning for whenever she came clean to the rest of the gang ever since he had found out. He definitely wasted no time adjusting.

Alana watched as Dana walked around the forest floor. Her pale skin and scarlet attire stuck out from the dark blues, greens, and purples of Deaddrop in the middle of the night.

Dana stopped at the center of the clearing, scanning the area. She no longer wore her red glasses- her secret was revealed. She put a hand on her hip as she took a few steps around, searching for any slugs that had managed to escape her grasp.

"We've already cleared the area out," Dana finally said, turning towards the other two workers, her back to Alana. "I don't feel much slug energy."

Then Dana paused, and Alana heard a quiet laugh. The corrupted slinger sighed and shrugged.

"That is, if you don't count the slinger hiding on top of the mushroom tree behind me."

Alana's heart nearly stopped as Dana raised her blaster and fired without even turning to aim. Her Thrasher let out a roar as sped toward Alana. It sawed the top half of the mushroom tree off from its trunk, sending Alana falling.

She pressed her earpiece as she fell, hissing a quick "Contact!" before grabbing onto a vine hanging from the mushroom next to her and halting her fall before she could hit the ground.

"Whew, that was close," she gasped, tightening her grip on the vine as Dana's ghoulslingers raised their blasters.

"Really, Alana, what made you think I wouldn't sense you?" Dana asked, sounding bored and almost annoyed as she finally turned and looked up at Alana. The blue-haired slinger shrugged and swung down from the vine onto the top of a shorter mushroom, brushing dust from her shirt.

"In retrospect, sending me ahead for recon probably wasn't the best idea, was it?" she said. She sat down atop the mushroom, her legs criss-crossed, and looked at the forest around her. "Well, I'm new at the whole powers thing. Guess the best way to learn is from your mistakes."

Alana revelled in the look of confusion Dana gave her as she sat down like a child and talked like the two hadn't been fighting almost exactly a week ago.

"So, nice night, huh? Or should I say morning? Why did you guys have to be out here at this hour, huh? I just fixed my sleeping schedule."

Dana scowled and, without hesitation, raised her blaster and fired a Grimmstone. Alana sighed and rolled off the mushroom top in one fluid motion, landing on the ground and standing behind the trunk. The ghoul crashed into a bush behind her, returning to protoform and hissing at Alana before hopping away.

"I figured that brat's distress signal went through, but I didn't think a late hour was all it took for the Shane Gang to start making such rookie mistakes," Dana said coolly. Alana rolled her eyes and exchanged a knowing glance with Ash and Mage.

She really wants to think siding with Blakk places her above everyone else, Alana thought bitterly.

"Look, Dana," Alana called out, not daring to step out from behind the mushroom. "Get used to hearing this, because I'll say it every time we fight if I have to. I don't want to fight you. Do the right thing. Stop this."

This wasn't necessarily part of the plan. Alana wasn't acting, or just stalling for time. She wanted with all her heart to change Dana's mind. She didn't want to see her old friend turn into a monster because of the dark energy. The thought made Alana sick.

So while she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid fighting Dana forever, she knew she had to at least give Dana the chance to put an end to their conflict.

"Maybe you should get used to hearing this," Dana snapped. Alana felt her dark energy grow nearer. "I never have and never will accept your help. I don't see anything wrong with the way I am now. I'd never give this up."

Alana sighed, and she pressed down her disappointment. It was worth a shot.

"Get ready," she whispered into her earpiece. Then she raised her voice. "I know, Dana. But you know what else I also know?" she asked.

"Ready on your cue," Kord said from Alana's earpiece.

"What's that?" Dana drawled.

Alana grinned.

"I know you get tunnel vision."

On that cue, four shots rang out through the forest. Alana looked around the mushroom trunk and watched as Dana was attacked from all sides by the rest of the Shane Gang, who were hiding out in the trees. Dana ducked as a Rammstone flew by and instead rammed its horns into one of the Blakk Industries workers, sending him sprawling into a bush.

Dana moved with incredible speed, avoiding an Aquabeek and a Polero-

But wasn't fast enough to dodge Joules.

The Tazerling's bolt of electricity only struck her at her shoulder, but the lightning spread across Dana's whole body. She cried out and fell to her knees, electricity sparking all around her. Alana watched as her hands curled into fists, tears grass from the ground as she gasped in pain.

Then the electricity stopped. With an irritated sigh, Dana got back up, rolling out her shoulder a few times as she got to her feet. Her jacket was charred where the bolt had hit it, and her breathing was shaky, but otherwise, Dana looked fine.

"Floppers," Alana breathed.

"Can you do that?" Pronto asked in her earpiece.

"I dunno," Alana responded. "I'm not eager to test it out, though."

"Alana, go free the slugs and find whoever sent us the signal. We'll hold off Dana and these guys," Eli said over the earpiece as the gang began to open fire on the workers who were with Dana. Alana faltered, watching as Dana and her remaining men circled up, watching the trees to try and find their assailants.

"Are you sure?" Alana asked. "I'm as useful as anyone against her-"

"And you're also the only one who can find the slugs," Eli reminded. "And hopefully whoever sent the transmission is close by. I couldn't tell from the video if they were okay or not."

"I feel like this is just an excuse to keep me from fighting Dana," Alana accused. Eli sighed.

"A little, yeah. Last time you guys went at it didn't end great for you. And as much as I'm a fan of learning-by-doing, maybe we don't push our luck in a dark jungle with cliffs at random intervals?"

"Fine. I'll let you know what I find," Alana said, forcing herself to turn away from the fight and run into the woods. She had mixed emotions when it came to Dana- she really didn't want to fight an old friend. But Alana was also angry that her problem was now the Shane Gang's problem, and she wanted to take care of it herself.

"Focus, focus, focus," she breathed as she slowed down, the sounds of slugfire fading away in the distance. She took a deep breath and relaxed her senses, letting her mind spread out around her.

There were the little sparks of energy she felt from the few slugs that had managed to escape the hunters' grasps, and below her, the energy flowing through the ground, the plants-

She suddenly skidded to a halt. For a moment, the ground disappeared from her beneath feet. Alana gasped and grabbed at an overhanging mushroom branch, her heart pounding as she was almost sent toppling off a cliffside, jagged stalagmites rising from the bottom of the pit.

"Guardian slugs, that was close," she breathed, pulling herself back up the branch to solid ground. Ash and Mage were both staring at her with wide eyes.

"Relax," she said breezily as she loaded her Arachnet, aiming at a mushroom across the chasm. "It's good, I was paying attention."

Ash giggled and smiled, but Mage didn't look convinced, hunkering down as Alana fired the Arachnet and was pulled across the chasm by a spider web.

"This is why we don't go to Deaddrop," Alana said as she began running again, letting her senses spread out to find where the captured slugs were.

Gotcha.

Just west of her, although she could feel ghouls there, too. The remnants of the hunting party must have stayed behind to guard their spoils. Hopefully whoever had sent the transmission was nearby and still in one piece.

"Okay, let's see what we've got here," Alana breathed, slowing down and catching her breath before creeping forward. With its slugs either captured or in hiding, the cavern was almost completely silent, and she could easily hear voices coming from in front of her.

"Any idea why we're out here at three in the morning?"

Alana perked up with interest, silently creeping forward.

"Blakk wants as many slugs as possible," another voice said. "He's got something planned."

"Yeah, yeah, something about someone he used to know starting to make appearances. But who's important enough for this many ghouls? I mean, I know he's working on some new weapon, but-"

"Wait, shut it!"

Alana's breath caught in her throat as she pushed aside a bush branch and caught sight of the ghoulslingers. They stood in a clearing, a cliffside to their right, the forest continuing to their left and behind them. Between them sat a ram Mecha with a cart of slug carriers attached to it. Alana could feel the light energy of the slugs pulsing in front of her. She couldn't tell how many there were, but she knew it was a lot. Her eyes narrowed in anger.

"I'm getting a transmission from the other group," said the ghoulslinger who'd interrupted the other one. "The Shane Gang is here!"

"At three in the morning?!" exclaimed the other. Alana smirked and stepped out from behind the bush.

"Believe me, I'm not thrilled about it either," she said, loading her blaster with Ash as she casually walked forward. "So how about we make this as quick as possible?"

The ghoulslingers scowled and raised their blasters, firing Grimmstones in unison.

Alana jumped to the left, then the right, avoiding the Grimmstones by a hair. She could see the ghouls transform, but otherwise, it was difficult to make out high-speed projectiles in the middle of the night.

"Let's light it up, Ash," she said, firing her Infurnus to her right. Ash transformed, a beacon of yellow and orange light as he flew around the clearing, careful not to let any of his flames touch the cavern's vegetation. The two ghoulslingers gasped and moved closer together, watching the flaming Infurnus warily.

Alana acted quickly with the newfound light, firing a Rammstone at one worker and a Tazerling at the other. One was knocked back by the Rammstone, but the other fired an Aquafreak that sprayed a jet of water and knocked the Tazerling out of midair. Alana rolled to the side as the worker fired a Thrasher, then a Hop Jack.

The Thrasher missed, spinning into a mushroom tree and slicing through it with ease. Alana quickly fired Mage at the Hop Jack as Ash began to lose velocity and slow down, taking the light of the flames with him. Mage cured the ghoul, releasing a flash of pale green light. While the ghoulslinger tried to cover his eyes, Alana fired her Grenuke.

The green slug exploded in midair, knocking the ghoulslinger back and into the other worker, who had just started to get up.

"Nice work," Alana praised Gav as the Grenuke stuck his tongue out at the groaning workers. "Now..."

She walked towards Blakk's workers, her blaster loaded with an Arachnet. Mage hopped up next to Alana as she crouched down to be eye-level with one of the ghoulslingers. The healer slug waved goodbye to the Hop Rock she'd cured, then hopped back up on Alana's shoulder.

"So, I heard you guys talking about a new weapon Blakk is making. Got anything to say about that?" Alana asked. One of the workers growled and shook his head.

"Not to you, brat," he sneered. Alana rolled her eyes.

"Figured. Then how about you tell me what you did with whoever sent out that distress signal?" Alana asked. Once again, the worker shook his head. Alana groaned and stood up, shaking her head. "Really, I'm tired, guys. This is fun, but I just want to help out whoever sent that signal and go home."

She fired the Arachnet. The purple slug wrapped a web around the ghoulslingers and flew over a mushroom branch, pulling the workers up so they were dangling in mid air before returning to protoform. The workers both cried out, twisting and writhing, but failing to break free from the webs.

"Take two. Where's the person who sent the signal?" Alana asked, three feet below the struggling workers.

"Fine, fine! She's a few dozen yards to the south of here!" one of the workers called.

"Gee, was that so hard?" Alana muttered as she turned away and approached the cart with the slugs.

They'd originally been silent, quivering in fear, but when Alana approached, they began cheering and squeaking happily. There were all sorts- Fandangos, Vinedrills, Flaringos, Armashelts.

What would Blakk need all these guys for? she wondered as she pressed the caps of the ten carriers loaded on the cart. The slug canisters shot out from the core of the carrier and the slugs quickly escaped, chirping their thanks before rushing back into the forest to hide.

"Wonder why Blakk needs all you guys," Alana said quietly as she released the last set. "Either way, you guys should be careful now. Looks like he doesn't care if he needs to go to deadly caverns to get his slugs."

The slugs she released chirped and waved before hurrying off into the night. Alana smiled and yawned, stretching out her arms before pressing her earpiece.

"I got the slugs out, how are you guys holding up out there?" she asked, waving good-bye to the last retreating slugs as the fled into the darkness.

She was met by a quick burst of static, followed by sounds of slugfire.

"Well, we're definitely getting a workout," Trixie responded. "Blakk definitely wanted these slugs bad. These two ghoulslingers are pretty good, and Dana just keeps getting up no matter how many times we knock her down!"

"She's persistent, I'll give her that," Alana said, starting to run to the south. "I got directions to whoever sent the call. I'll help her out and then get back to you guys."

"Got it. We'll let you know if things escalate here," Trixie said. Alana heard Pronto let out a battle cry ("EAT MY STANK!") before the transmission ended.

"That sounds fun," she said, only half joking. "Let's hurry and find our informant so we can go join the party."

Ash chirped excitedly from her shoulder. Both he and Mage looked around as Alana ran through the forest, keeping an eye out for any more sudden drops. Even with the bioluminescent plants lighting her way, it was still the middle of the night in a dense forest, and it was getting harder and harder to see what was in front of her.

She got lucky. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to find a single person in the dark, but Alana skidded to a halt when she heard a voice call out.

"Hello? Is anyone out there? I need help!"

Alana turned in the direction of the voice, panting and wiping sweat from her face. She ducked under a low-hanging vine and pressed through a bush to find a twenty-foot chasm stretching out in front of her. Across it, she could make out a figure within the mushroom trees, in a heap on the ground.

"Over here!" the person called out.

Alana loaded her Frostcrawler, Kelvin, taking aim at the chasm.

"Help me get across, bud," she breathed, firing the slug.

Kelvin transformed, his white and navy velocimorph flying over the chasm. He opened his mouth and unleashed a flurry of ice, forming a bridge that spanned across to the other side of the forest. Alana grinned and holstered her blaster, taking a few steps back.

"Nice job, Kelvin!" she called across to her slug as he reverted back to protoform on the other side of the bridge. Alana glanced over at Ash, then at Mage. "Hold on, you two."

She took a running start and jumped onto the ice, skating across it on her toes. She couldn't help but let out a laugh as the wind hit her face and her hair flew out from behind her.

Alana bent her knees as she reached where the bridge met the forest floor, digging her heels into the ice to slow her momentum. She kept moving, sliding off the bridge and immediately breaking into a run on the forest floor.

She fell to her knees as she approached the figure, sliding forward and stopping just in front of her.

The girl's back was to Alana, her face obscured by her hair and the grass around her. Attacknet webs wrapped around the girl, showing only her head and bits of her arms, skirt, and legs. Ash hopped down towards the girl's feet and started to burn away the webs.

"Are you okay?" Alana asked, tugging the remnants of the webs away as Ash burnt them.

"Yeah," the girl said, although her voice sounded strained. "It's tough to breathe in this, took all I could to yell out when I heard you, but yeah. I'm just glad I didn't call that red-eyed girl over again."

Alana winced.

"She's unpleasant," she said, pulling away the last of the web. "But I'm with the Shane Gang, so don't worry, we've got everything under control."

The girl sat up, shaking grass from her hair before tucking it behind her ears and facing Alana.

For a moment, Alana's heart stopped.

It was dark, but she could make out streaks and splatters on her arms, and even some on her face.

"Mage," Alana said, hands practically shaking as she rapidly grabbed her blaster and held it up for her healer, her eyes never leaving what she believed to be blood. "Y-you need to lay back down-"

The girl frowned and followed Alana's gaze. Her slanted eyes widened when she saw what the slinger was looking at, and she quickly shook her head and held up her hands.

"No, no, I'm fine! It isn't blood!" she insisted. She rubbed at one of the streaks, and it flaked off. "It's paint! I was painting, that's why I was out here!"

Alana sighed in relief. Mage hopped back up on her shoulder.

"Thank goodness," she said, holstering her blaster. She got to her feet, holding out a hand. The girl took it, standing up and brushing grass and dirt from her dress. It was pink, and over it she had a paint-splattered apron that was probably once white. She looked like she was about Sam's age- at least Dana hadn't caught an unsuspecting child.

Alana pressed her earpiece. "I found our helper. How are things going?"

"Not great! I thought you liberated the slugs!" Eli exclaimed.

Alana frowned, glancing worriedly at Ash.

"I did, they got out. What's going on?" she asked.

"Three ghoulslingers just charged in here with a cart full of slugs! They picked up Dana and the others and took off!"

Alana scowled.

"They must've had another group out hunting while we were distracted with Dana. Where did they head?" she asked.

"I think your way," Eli responded. "We're hustling to our Mechas, but we might not be able to get there in time. See if the person has a Mecha, you might be able to catch them!"

Alana turned toward the girl.

"Do you have a Mecha?" she asked urgently.

"Yeah, I have a camp just through the trees," the girl responded, gesturing behind her.

"Then let's go," Alana said, and the girl nodded, leading the way through the trees. Alana pressed her earpiece again. "I've got a ride, E. I'll give you an update if I find them."

"Here," the girl said, leading Alana into a small clearing. A doused campfire was in the middle, with a tent next to it. And standing next to the tent was probably the most unique Mecha Alana had ever seen.

It was a vixen, and the base color was black, but there were splatters of bright paint all over it the colors nearly glowed in the dark. Alana's eyes widened as she looked the NE-ON model over.

"Can you drive this thing well?" Alana asked as the girl turned it on.

"Yeah, although I figured you would just take it-" she started, but Alana cut her off.

"I need someone to drive while I focus on finding the slugs. Can you do that?" she asked. The girl nodded, climbing up on her Mecha and holding a hand out to Alana.

Alana took it, sitting behind the girl and closing her eyes.

"Just start driving. I'll give you directions in a second," Alana said, stretching her senses out.

"How will you know where to go?" the girl asked. Alana gave a faint smile.

"Don't worry about it. Just start driving."

The girl complied, firing up the Mecha and riding out into the forest. Alana took a deep breath and felt around the cavern, looking for the familiar beacon of light energy that came from so many slugs grouped together.

Ah. There it was, the ball of light energy, pulsing as it sped through the forest.

"Go right a bit, then straight ahead," Alana said, snapping her eyes open. "This might turn into a slugout, just so you know."

"Not how I expected my night to go, but I'm willing to help nonetheless," the girl said with a laugh.

"That's the spirit. Who are you, anyway?" Alana asked curiously as she grabbed her blaster and thought about which slug she wanted to start with.

"Max Altori, nice to meet you. I assume you're Alana, then, from the Shane Gang?" Max asked. Alana nodded.

"The one and only. Max Altori, huh? That sounds familiar," Alana commented. Max shrugged.

"I'm online a lot, you might've seen me there. Are we getting close?" she asked as she suddenly swerved the vixen Mecha to avoid a cliff on their left.

"We're almost there," Alana said, reaching out with her senses again. There it was- the slugs were moving, but Alana and Max were getting closer and closer. "Once they come into view, I'm gonna try to get on one of their Mechas. Stay close, but don't get seen. I don't need you getting into the fight."

Max laughed and shrugged.

"I got no problems with that. I've got a blaster for show and a couple of slugs who just make me flowers and ice sculptures," she said, gesturing at her belt. Two slug canisters were clipped onto it- a Vinedrill and a Frostcrawler.

"I can respect that," Alana said with a smile. She sat up and loaded her Lariat. "Okay, we're gonna find them in three, two-"

Through the trees, the hunters' small caravan came into sight. Four Mechas, each driven by a Blakk Industries worker. One had a cart attached to it. Inside sat stacks of slugg carriers, another Blakk Industries worker, and-

"Dana," Alana groaned. "Change of plans, I'm not going over there. It won't end well."

Dana looked tired from the fight, but she still snapped to attention when she saw Alana riding toward the group.

"Heads up!" she called, getting to her feet. But her warning came too late. Alana fired her Lariat, who spat out a line of goo in Alana's hands and sped forward, latching himself to two of the slug carriers. Alana yanked on the goo and pulled the carriers out of the cart.

"Incoming!" she called out to Max, who took her hands off the Mecha to grab one carrier while Alana grabbed the other. The two quickly twisted and pulled the latches on top of the carriers, releasing the slugs.

"Do we just throw these away?" Max asked, holding up the empty carrier. Alana shrugged.

"Sure, why not? They're Blakk's."

The two tossed their carriers to either side of the Mecha, and Alana reloaded her blaster to fire her Lariat again, but froze before she could pull the trigger.

Dana didn't look like she was at full strength- not even close- but the look of malice in her eyes was as strong as ever.

She was now riding on one of the Mechas, her blaster pointed at the cart carrying the slugs. A Greneater ghoul was loaded inside it.

"You know how much I hate these flopping slugs, Alana," Dana called out. "But to spite you, anything. These slugs are either coming with us or dying. Your choice. But if you want them to live, I'd have your friend stop that Mecha right now."

Alana's finger hovered over the trigger. She could try to take a shot at Dana, but the second she fired, Dana would fire at the cart, and she was much closer to it than Alana was.

If the slugs were ghouled, there was still a chance to save them. A chance that didn't exist if they were all dead.

Alana's eyes narrowed in anger and, with a dejected sigh, she lowered her weapon.

"Stop the Mecha, Max," she said quietly. Max silently halted the Mecha. The two girls watched as Dana and the group disappeared into the night.

Alana holstered her blaster. She rubbed her forehead with one hand and pressed her earpiece with the other.

"They got away, guys. No need to rush," she said.

"Got away? How?" Kord responded.

"Let's just say Dana wasn't playing any games," Alana said bitterly. "There's a camp set up nearby, I'll have our new friend send you guys the coordinates."

Max nodded, turning on her Mecha's screen and starting to type.

"Okay. We'll meet you there," Trixie said.

"Ah, yes! You can hear of Pronto's heroic battle against Dana!"

"Can't wait," Alana said with a faint smile.

~~~~~~~~

Max worked on taking down her campsite while Alana leaned against a mushroom tree, arms crossed and eyes closed. She'd originally insisted on helping Max pack up, but the artist had declined. She was definitely independent.

Alana was letting herself wallow until Eli and the gang showed up. She was angry that so many slugs had been captured by Blakk's workers, and angry that Dana had been the source of it.

Alana's problem was becoming Slugterra's.

She perked up when she heard Mechas in the distance. She opened her eyes to see the rest of the gang ride into the clearing, accompanied by Midnight.

"Sounds like you've had a fun time," Trixie said. Alana pushed off the mushroom tree, forcing a smile on her face.

"Absolutely. Super fun," she said wryly. "I'm sorry I let them get away. But I didn't have much of a choice."

Eli and the others got off their Mechas, and Alana walked over to greet them.

"Yeah, what happened?" Eli asked.

"Dana threatened to just kill the slugs if I kept trying to free more," Alana said. She kept her arms crossed, and her gloved fingers dug into her skin. "If they're ghouled, we still have a chance to save them. So I decided we should just head back here."

"We?" Kord asked. Then he glanced over at Max, who was awkwardly folding up her tent, unsure if she should be saying anything. "Oh."

Once the excitement had died down, Alana realized that she really should've noticed that Max was an artist right away. Paint streaks were on her arms and apron, which had a pocket with a few paintbrushes in it. The white bandana she wore as a headband also had neon splatters on it. There were even a few small spots of purple paint next to her dark, slanted eyes, almost blending in with her freckles.

Max gave a nervous little wave, setting her tent on her Mecha before walking over next to Alana.

"Hi, I'm Max. Max-"

"Altori, right?" Trixie interrupted, stepping forward excitedly. "The artist?"

Max blinked a few times, her face turning pink. She nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, that's me."

Trixie looked around at the other members of the Shane Gang, who all had blank expressions.

"You know, Max Altori? She has crazy popular videos on the SlugNet," Trixie said. Alana shrugged sheepishly.

"Sorry, I only ever watch your stuff and the news," she admitted. Trixie laughed and rolled her eyes, and Max laughed.

"It's fine. I'm no Max Jackson," she said. "But I am really glad I decided to try painting some landscapes here. I'm happy I helped you guys save some of the slugs, even if it wasn't all of them."

"Well, I'm sorry you were put in danger, but I'm glad you were able to help, too," Eli said, holding out a hand. Max shook it with a nod.

"Any time."

~~~~~~~~

Dana stumbled into the citadel's small medical ward.

Blakk had decided that, although it was easy and borderline amusing to bully the pathetic doctors in Bonnie Springs into helping his workers, avoiding it whenever possible was the best route. The citadel certainly didn't have a stash of Boon Docs- the dark energy drove them away more than a hoard of slug hounds would- it was still enough to get by.

There were only two doctors that had actually been roped into working willingly at the citadel. An older man who probably shouldn't be a doctor, given how often he smelled of the non-medical kind of alcohol, with reflective glasses and a gold tooth, and a young, blonde woman Dana suspected had been his apprentice. Young and naive and easy to pull into a job like this.

They were sitting at a desk at the front of the corridor, playing some video game on the television next to the door. They both snapped to attention when Dana entered, pausing the game and springing to their feet.

"Miss Edwards," the young woman, Doctor Stevens, said. "What happened?"

"Got into a duel with a majority of the Shane Gang, that's what happened," Dana said bitterly, her right hand clinging to her sore left shoulder. She didn't wait for an invitation- she walked right up to the closest hospital bed and laid down on it.

The medical wing was comprised of a dozen hospital beds, two supply closets, and one makeshift operating room for procedures that didn't require Bonnie Springs technology. There was the desk up front, and the television next to the door. There were precisely 167 ceiling tiles in the main wing, and the clock by the storage closet was seven seconds off from the one above the door.

Dana had spent a lot of time there.

"Alright, you know the drill, give us a run-down on everything that happened," the man, Doctor Bradley, said, sliding into a wheeled chair next to Dana's bed. She scrunched up her nose.

He smelled of alcohol. She hated that smell.

"Tazerling to the shoulder," she said, gritting her teeth as Doctor Stevens helped her out of her jacket. "Some of that stinging Jellyish goo on my neck, a Rammstone clipped my left side. A Hop Rock hit about four feet in front of me, I had a nasty knock-back... a Frostcrawler froze my foot to the ground, so I just used the hilt of my blaster to break it, that's probably just a bruise, though."

Dana couldn't rapidly heal herself. Not with dark energy raging inside her. But she could let the strength that energy gave her take hold. It was like an adrenaline rush that she had full control over. She could stand up after a nasty shot and keep fighting. But she also lost sense of whether or not she was seriously injured, and it meant breaking down like this after a fight.

"You said it was against the Shane Gang?" Doctor Bradley asked, shining a light into Dana's scarlet eyes. She silently nodded. "Then I'd say you're lucky. Your abilities make treating you a nuisance, but without them, I doubt you would've made it the whole fight."

"Looks like your shoulder's fine, but did you know your right elbow is dislocated?" Doctor Stevens asked incredulously, holding Dana's right arm in her hands.

"No, it's not my slinging arm," Dana said. She tentatively tried to straight her right arm out, and was met with a sting of pain. Doctor Bradley laughed, rough and low and gravely, while Doctor Stevens rolled her eyes.

"How do you not notice your elbow is dislocated?" she asked. Dana shrugged.

"Used to happen all the time when I was a kid," Dana said. For a moment, she let herself think about it.

Sitting in her front yard, tears streaming down her face, a young boy next to her hurriedly telling her to stop crying and put her sleeve in her mouth so she could bite down when he popped it back into place, because guardian slugs knew what would happen if they found out-

She shut the memory away, leaning down and grabbing the strap of her tank top in her mouth.

"Just fix it," she said through the fabric, screwing her eyes shut.

"Okay. Three... two..."

Dana took a deep breath.

"One."

~~~~~~~~

Alana sat in the Shane hideout's living room.

Everyone else had gone back to bed the second they got home. Trixie had said that the best thing to do to avoid completely destroying their sleep schedule was get a few more hours of sleep, tough it out for the rest of the day, then go to sleep early.

But she couldn't sleep. So Alana sat in the dark living room, in her black tee shirt and cyan shorts, drinking a glass of apple juice. Her blaster sat next to her, her Rammstone loaded in it (although she suspected that Sarge was asleep).

She felt turmoil in her, but she didn't know why. Seeing Dana again, and the thought of Blakk needing so many slugs, it was all looming in front of her. It felt like a part of her had a hairline crack running down it, threatening to shatter.

"Alana? What're you doing?"

Alana jumped a bit, reaching for her blaster instinctively, but stopped when she recognized the voice. She turned around, resting her head on the back of the couch.

"Hanging out. Drinking some apple juice," she said casually as Eli walked up to the couch and leaned against it, in his orange and gray hoodie and shorts.

"Instead of sleeping?" he asked. Alana narrowed her eyes accusingly.

"Hey, you're not asleep either," she said, the hint of a smile on her face.

"I just had to go to the bathroom, not drink apple juice," he said. He hesitated for a moment, then tilted his head. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that ever since Dana's been making appearances, you've seemed... I dunno, less happy," he said. "It's just weird to see you more quiet than usual is all."

Alana shrugged. "It's an adjustment. Fighting someone who used to be your best friend..."

Her voice trailed off. For a moment, a memory surfaced. Her and Dana watching a slugslinging tournament, cheering on whichever slinger had the coolest gear. They'd made a promise to enter one when they were older and win the duo bracket. They were dead set on being a team.

"It's hard."

Eli nodded, then gestured upwards.

"Finish your apple juice, but after that, you should get to sleep. It'll do you some good," he said.

Alana nodded vacantly, turning away from him. Once her face was out of her sight, a frown tugged at her lips.

Something hopped on her shoulder. She looked to her right and smiled at Ash. The Infurnus chirped quietly and gestured toward the second floor of the hideout.

"Yeah, you're right," Alana said, getting up. "I've just gotta sleep it off."

~~~~~~~~

Guys remember that random innkeeper side character Max from The New Shane? I think he got the biggest glow up

I love Max 2.0. Here's my ref page feat. a depressed Cyan because Max is the artist I wish I was

(a close-up of the suffering mini Cyan for those interested. And yes that's SeCyan's design from SS because she looks way cooler than me)

So, as optimistic as I've tried to be about the whole hiatus thing, I'm gonna go ahead and say I wouldn't get your hopes up for much more activity from me in March. On top of normal schoolwork, I've got the ACT coming up, which is basically a test that's HUGE for college applications. Like one of the biggest factors. So. Yeah. Lots of stuff about to go down.

Cyan out!