24 Hours Earlier

"Here's what we know," Eli said, placing a model train down on a map that was spread out across the table in the living room.

The Shane Gang, including its newest member, was spread out around the table, watching apprehensively. Twist's intel had left them all buzzing, and they had finally formed a solid enough plan to start running through it.

"Tomorrow, Doctor Blakk is moving a huge shipment of dark water to a secure facility. This isn't your average mark. Blakk's not taking chances- we're talking armed guards, private train, the works," Eli said.

"We hit Blakk less than two days ago," Trixie said, glancing up at Eli. "Shouldn't he be regrouping?"

"Twist?" Eli asked, glancing at Twist.

"The opposite," the blond said. "If anything, Blakk's stepping up his game. You guys cut off his supply when you took out the Deadweed mine, but he's still got plenty."

Alana rested her forehead on her hand, a spike of coldness running up her spine. She couldn't help but think there was something nearby, but she couldn't place where or what exactly, and it was making her more and more frustrated.

"Twist's intel suggests that dark water is being moved from Blakk's fortress to a depot in the outer caverns," Eli said. Loki hopped across the map, moving another model car over from the area marked with a red V (the Blakk Industries citadel) to the edge of the map.

Twist laughed and motioned for his slug to come back. Loki chirped and complied, hopping back in his slinger's bandoleer. Alana sighed and rubbed her head, directing all of her focus to the map. The coldness drew away.

"I don't blame him," Trixie said, shaking her head. "I wouldn't wanna live on top of that stuff."

"This is it, guys," Eli said. "We pull this off, and we can put Doctor Blakk out of the ghoul business for good."

Alana smiled, pushing away fears of dark energy. She fist-bumped Trixie, and Eli and Twist did the same. Pronto grinned and said something about this being one of his most heroic deeds to date, but Kord remained silent. He had his head rested on his hand, and he was staring at the map absently.

"Kord? Kord!" Eli said, waving his hand. Kord jolted out of his daze, looking around the table confusedly.

"Huh?" he asked, shaking his head as he came back to reality.

"Are you listening?" Eli asked patiently.

"Sorry, what?" Kord said, scratching the back of his head.

"The mission briefing?" Eli prompted.

"Sorry," Kord said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm still thinking about the ghoul depot. It doesn't make any sense. I shut down the security grid, then Twist went in, and Diablos appeared behind us. But how did he even know we were there?"

Alana sighed, smiling at Kord sadly. When he wanted to know the answer to a problem, it consumed him. Usually, it was a mechanical issue that he could solve if he put his mind to it. But something like this wasn't a Mecha fix. Sometimes things just go wrong.

"Let it go, Kord," Twist said, putting his hands on his hips. "Eli needs you in the game."

"Try thinking like Alana," Trixie said teasingly. Alana laughed and shrugged.

"It works," she said. "Look at the bright side- we made it out of the depot and cured the ghouls. Even if it was hard, we still had great results."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. Whatever you guys need," Kord said with a smile, sitting up straight and pushing one of the model cars forward.

~~~~~~~~

Present Time

"Hold down the fort for another minute until Twist and I reach the front car," Eli told Alana. "We'll signal you when the coast is clear and you can head up to us before we disconnect the passenger and kitchen cars."

"Sounds good," Alana said, grabbing a pan of breadsticks from the countertop next to her failed drink. "See you in a few."

She took the tray and walked out into the passenger train car while Eli and Twist hurriedly unpacked duffel bags next to the bar and rapidly changed into Blakk Industries uniforms.

Alana painted a smile on her face, holding the tray in one hand and keeping the other behind her back as she walked around, offering snacks to the snooty passengers of the train. She kept the act up as she walked the entire length of the car, until the last row of seats.

It was a group of three. An older couple sat with their backs to Alana. A mother, a father.

And their daughter.

Alana almost fell flat on her face when she locked eyes with Sam Gray.

She sat with her legs crossed, boredly scrolling through a holotablet. Her curly brown hair was pulled back into a tight, neat bun, and she wore a purple dress shirt and black skirt. Sam could have passed for the most professional businesswoman in the caverns if not for the look of disdain on her face.

The wig Alana wore was still the same caramel color as her real hair, just minus the streaks of cyan. It also hid her bangs and was more wavy, framing her face much differently. But Sam looked into her bright blue eyes and fumbled with the holotablet she held, almost sending it clattering to the floor.

"Breadsticks for any of you?" Alana asked sweetly, avoiding Sam's gaze. Mr. and Mrs. Gray both shook their heads, not looking up from their holotablets. Before Sam could respond in any way, Alana nodded and turned away, hurrying back down the train car.

She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but relaxed when she spun around and found herself not looking down the barrel of a blaster, but at Sam Gray's dark eyes.

"Could you point me in the direction of the restroom?" Sam asked, her voice dripping with sweetness.

"Of course. Right this way, ma'am," Alana said as she lowered the tray into both hands, hoping the passengers around her didn't notice how her hand tightened around the edges of the tray until her knuckles turned white.

Alana led Sam into the kitchenette car, and the moment the door swung shut, Sam grabbed Alana's shoulders and turned her so they were facing each other.

"What are you doing here?" Sam hissed. "This is a civilian passenger train!"

"It won't be for long. We're-"

"No, wait, stop," Sam said, cutting Alana off and shaking her head as she lowered her arms. "Don't tell me. Plausible deniability."

Alana frowned. "What? Has Blakk talked to you?"

"Yeah," Sam said, and as she wrung her hands, Alana peered at her. She could see faint bags under Sam's dark eyes, barely poking through a layer of makeup. She looked tired and stressed, pushed to her limits.

"Is everything okay?" Alana asked.

"Not really," Sam admitted with a nervous laugh. "It's hard to balance out business school, working finances, secret med school, and trying to throw Blakk off my trail."

"Alana?" Eli cut in through Alana's earpiece. "We've secured the engine, get to the front of the train and we'll lose the passenger and kitchen cars."

"I need to go," Alana said, turning away. But Sam lunged forward and grabbed her wrist.

"Wait. Alana, Blakk is planning something," she said. "I don't know what, but he's after you."

"He's always after us," Alana laughed. But Sam remained dead serious.

"No, not the Shane Gang. You."

Alana's smile faded as Sam let go of her arm.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Alana, we've gotta get moving," Twist said over the earpiece.

"Yeah, one sec," Alana responded before turning back to Sam. "What do you mean after me?"

"I don't know, I'm not allowed in all the meetings," Sam said miserably. "All I know is that he's got something, or someone, to affect you specifically."

"Alana, we need to go!" Eli said forcefully.

"I need to leave," Alana said, backing away. "I'll keep my eye out. There's gonna be some bumps ahead," she added as she hurried to the other side of the train car, pulling open the door. Wind spilled into the room, causing Alana's hair to rise and swirl around her. "I'd hang on."

Before Sam could respond, Alana stepped out onto the small ledge outside the train car and shut the door. She pressed on her earpiece.

"Okay, I'm out of the kitchen car. Can someone give me a lift to the front?" she asked.

"I've gotcha," Twist replied. "Jump to your right in three, two, one-"

Alana crouched down and leapt to her right, momentarily caught by the wind rushing by the train. She turned in mid air, but heard the transformation of a slug behind her before an Arachnet wrapped itself around her back, pulling her to a stop.

Fighting the wind, Alana turned around and grabbed the Arachnet web. Twist stood on a small platform on the front car, pulling the Arachnet's web forward. Eli stood behind him, helping as they dragged Alana through the air. Both of them wore Blakk Industries uniforms.

"That was fun," Alana gasped when she got close enough for the two to pull her down onto the platform. She smiled as the Arachnet turned back to protoform, hopping into Twist's bandoleer.

"Twist, lose the extra baggage," Eli said. Twist nodded and fired a Speedstinger. The slug sped forward, hitting the cap that tied the engine car to the kitchen and passenger ones and breaking it free. The two cars shuddered and slowed as the engine pulled away.

"What took you so long?" Eli asked. Alana sighed as she remembered what Sam had said. Blakk knew about her energy- was it something to do with that?

"Just talking to an old friend," she said as the three headed inside the engine car. "Nothing important. Not for now, at least."

~~~~~~~~

23 Hours Earlier

"It sounds risky, Eli, even for us," Trixie said doubtfully. Eli turned to Twist, who stood next to him in front of the map.

"You brought us the intel, Twist. What do you think?" he asked.

"If it were me, I'd never try anything this crazy. But if Eli thinks we can do it and it means sticking it to Doctor Blakk? I'm with him, one hundred percent," Twist said.

Eli nodded, and Alana handed him a dark red train model.

"Then this is our target," Eli said, setting it on the map. "Three miles from the shipment. An express train carrying some of the richest business people in Slugterra."

"Just a passenger train? How does stealing one train help us steal another?" Trixie asked.

"Same as any magic trick worth its salt," Twist said, unclipping one of the canisters from his bandoleer and loading Loki in his blaster. He raised his purple blaster and pointed it at Pronto, who shrieked and jumped. Alana and the others tensed as Twist fired. Loki emitted a shower of sparks, and Alana winced as she felt a small spark of coldness. Was she really to the point where any slugfire put her so far on edge?

"Misdirection," Twist said, holding out his closed hand and opening it. Loki sat in his palm, chirping and bowing.

"Haha, yes," Pronto said, his eyes still wide with fear. "We will certainly fool them!"

"Nice, Twist," Alana said as Loki hopped back into Twist's bandoleer. "Now, back to the plan..."

~~~~~~~~~

Present Day

Alana waved to Kord as she walked into the engine car.

"How's it going?" she asked as the cave troll kicked a box out from beneath the control panel he sat at.

"Smooth so far," he said. Alana opened the box, where her slugs and gear were packed. Ash and Mage squeaked happily, jumping up onto her shoulders.

"Hey, you two," she said with a smile, grabbing her clothes from the box.

"There's a supply closet if you go out this room, first door on the left," Eli said before walking up to Kord, watching as the cavern around them sped by through the front window of the train.

Alana nodded and left the control room, slipping into the supply closet. She was definitely glad to be changing out of the fancy waitress clothes and into something more comfortable and familiar.

"This is Trixie. I bought you guys ten minutes. Heading your way now," Trixie radioed as Alana left the the closet and headed back into the control room.

"We're about to pull into the station, so I'd get down if I were you. Last thing we need is someone seeing one of us out of uniform," Kord said from the operator's chair.

"Will do," Alana said as she clipped on her bandoleer and sat down on the ground next to Eli and Twist, who stood ready at one of the doors.

The train pulled into the loading station, and Alana almost fell on her face as the ground beneath the train car rotated so the end would line up with the front of the dark water car. She winced and pressed her hands to her forehead as Twist called out an apology for being late.

"Are you okay?" Eli asked, stepping away from the window and looking down worriedly.

Alana nodded, but didn't look up. She waited until the initial shock of the dark energy wore off to a dull ache, screwing her eyes shut. By the time she opened them, the train had begun moving again, tearing down the tracks to put distance between them and the station.

"What's wrong?" Twist asked as he stepped back into the car.

"Nothing, I just get headaches sometimes," Alana said, blinking spots from her vision and getting to her feet.

"Migraines?" Twist guessed.

"Something like that," Alana breathed. Twist looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but was cut off when the door to the control car swung open. Two Blakk Industries guards- they must have been watching over the dark water- walked in.

"Better get a move on-" one of them began, but halted in his tracks when he saw Alana standing at the control panel in her Shane Gang gear.

"Hey," she said with a smirk. Eli and Kord lunged forward, tackling the workers to the ground. Alana opened the side door of the car, wind rushing in as Eli and Kord pushed their guards off the train. As Kord tossed his guard to the ground, Trixie appeared, jumping over the railing, already changed back into her slinging gear.

"No ticket," Kord said with a shrug as Trixie watched the guard roll to the ground, quickly disappearing from view.

"Good to have you back with us, Trixie," Eli said as everyone gathered at the control panel.

"Thanks. But they'll have figured out we switched the trains by now," Trixie said. "We need to get moving."

Eli nodded. "Full throttle, Kord," he said. Kord grinned excitedly and pushed a lever on the control panel forward, and the train's speed became to climb.

"It's all up to Pronto now," he remarked with a laugh.

~~~~~~~~

22 Hours Earlier

"First of all, I would to say that I am honored to receive the role that is most integral to this plan's very success," Pronto exclaimed.

"Great. Then let's go over it again, buddy," Eli said, the patience in his voice straining.

"Just so long as I am still key mole in this plan."

"You're pushing now," Eli said.

"Pushing to the front of the pack!" Pronto said. Eli groaned and rolled his eyes, knowing he wouldn't be getting anywhere with Pronto for the time being. Then he locked eyes with Alana, who had retired to the bean bag chair the gang had next to their billboard of slug information.

"Alana, just the slinger I wanted to talk to," Eli said, gesturing Alana over to the table with the map as Pronto hurried away to "find his most handsome scarf."

"Of course," she said with a laugh, folding up the paper the gang had been sent earlier that day. Scientists weren't eager to be going against Blakk, but a few were sending the Shane Gang any findings on dark water and ghouls they could get. Unfortunately, it wasn't much.

She got up and walked over to Eli. The two stood alone at the table, Trixie having gone to get an old outfit around for her disguise and Kord studying up on train mechanics. Twist was off leaning against the wall- it looked like he was talking to Loki.

"What's up?" Alana asked as she got to the table, toying with one of the model trains.

"Do you want to be on the train with us, or do you want to meet us in the clearing we're taking the dark water?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I wanna be on the train, of course," Alana said.

"Are you sure you'll be fine with so much dark water around?"

"Yes. Probably?" she said. Eli raised an eyebrow, and Alana sighed, picking up the model train and toying with the wheels. "I don't know. But there's only one way to find out. Besides, if there's a slugout, then I want to be a part of it."

"Okay. I believe you," Eli said, uncrossing his arms. Alana's eyes widened at his willingness to drop the subject so easily. "I trust you," he said. "If you say you're fine, you're fine. You're not a kid, you can make your own decisions."

Alana smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

~~~~~~~~

Present Day

"Here they come," Eli said, sticking his head out the train window. Alana did the same. The original train that Trixie had held up was getting closer to them. The transport was definitely designed to move faster than a passenger express. The boys had since discarded their Blakk Industries uniforms- they knew about the heist. No point in hiding now.

"Just stick to the plan and we'll be fine," Eli said, leaning back into the train. The gang braced themselves as ghoulfire shook the train car.

"They're gaining on us, Eli!" Kord called from the control panel.

"Keep flooring it! We just need some room to breathe," Eli said.

"Almost there," Kord breathed, and Alana stumbled forward to the control panel, bracing herself on the back of Twist's chair. The train turned a corner, momentarily disappearing from the view of the train pursuing them.

"Almost there... now!" Kord called. Eli stepped forward, looking out the window, and sure enough, there was Pronto waiting at a fork in the tracks.

"Now, Pronto!" Eli yelled. Pronto nodded and pulled a lever next to the tracks. The rails in front of the train clicked to the left, guiding the train with the gang to the left. Then he fired a Rammstone that flew in front of the train for a moment before swerving upward. It knocked into a small dam the gang had set up at the top of a stone arch that opened up into the clearing where they would leave the dark water. The slug knocked down the wall, sending water cascading down after the gang, covering the opening.

Now, assuming all went according to plan, Pronto would flick the lever again and send the pursuing train barreling to the right, still chasing after an engine they would never catch.

"Key Mole to Team Pronto! Operation Key Mole is a success!" Pronto exclaimed over the earpieces. The gang in the train cheered. Alana fist bumped with Eli, who then turned to Twist.

"We couldn't have done this without you, Twist," Eli said, resting a had on Twist's shoulder.

"Me? It was your plan," Twist said hesitantly. Alana and Trixie exchanged a glance and laughed. Now he was suddenly shying away from the spotlight?

"My plan was just a piece of it," Eli said. "Everybody chipped in. That's what family does."

"Stop," Kord said suddenly, still seated at the control panel.

"What?" Eli shrugged. "I mean, sure, it's a little sappy, but it's true."

"No, stop," Kord said, beginning to rapidly push buttons. "We're gonna crash!"

The celebrating gang turned to look out the front windshield, where the far wall of the clearing was quickly approaching.

"The emergency brake!" Alana exclaimed. Trixie shot forward, hitting a red button on the panel- but nothing happened.

"It's not working!" Trixie cried out.

"What?" Twist breathed. He seemed a little more concerned with those brakes specifically not working than the stone wall that was about to stop the gang in their tracks (literally).

"I thought you said we were going to have enough room to stop this thing!" Eli said, gripping the back of Kord's chair.

"Yeah, well, we didn't plan on going this fast," Kord said, pulling back on every steering lever he could in attempt to slow the train down. They were losing speed, but definitely not quickly enough.

"Eli, let's try our Frostcrawlers!" Alana said, rushing to the train door. She and Eli stepped out onto the small balcony outside the exit, firing their Frostcrawlers simultaneously. The white and navy slugs flew out in front of the train, spitting out a flurry of ice at the train wheels. But the wheels only slowed for a split second, lagging before shattering the ice and plowing onward.

"Trixie?" Eli called. Trixie stood on the balcony on the opposite side of the train and fired a Bubbaleone just in front of the wall the train was about to collide with.

"Get ready!" Alana said, ducking into the cabin of the car and gripping the control panel tightly, Eli doing the same. The gang braced themselves as the train car sped forward, crashing into the Bubbaleone. Alana jolted forward, and Eli almost hurtled into the windshield, but otherwise they ran out of the creaking train without a scratch.

"Yes!" Trixie shouted, high-fiving Alana as the gang walked down to the dark water car. Alana let her excitement flow through her instead of focusing on the dark energy, but it was hard to block it all out. Besides, as she was getting closer to the car, something felt off about it. She couldn't place her finger on it.

Eli turned to look at Kord, who was staring at the dark water car silently as the rest of the Shane Gang celebrated.

"Kord, we should be celebrating," he said. Kord sighed and turned away.

"I know, I know. It's just back at the depot."

Alana frowned and turned to Kord. He was still upset about the depot? She thought that had been cleared up yesterday.

"How did Diablos know where we were? One second, nothing, then he's right there. It's weird, right?" he said.

Alana thought for a moment. Yes, it was weird, but really, when were Shane Gang operations ever not weird? One of Blakk's workers happening to show up at one of Blakk's depots wasn't that weird, was it?

"Kord, buddy, we just pulled off a once-in-a-lifetime heist," Eli said, gesturing to the dark water car. "You've gotta learn not to sweat the small stuff."

"I'm an engineer, bro," Kord said, shaking his head. "I'm all about the small stuff."

"Well, there's nothing small about this," Eli said, turning to the train.

"I can't believe it," Trixie said, shaking her head. "Blakk's whole supply!"

"Oh, to see the look on Doctor Blakk's face! He will soon and forever rue the name Pronto!" Pronto said. He paused as the rest of the gang looked at him amusedly. "Oh, and, uh, yours as well," he added hurriedly. "But mostly... Pronto!"

Eli laughed and rolled his eyes. "These should be safe here for a couple days," he said, gesturing to the two train cars. "In the meantime, I suggest we bail and find somewhere to lay low."

"You mean, we're not staying?" Twist asked. Eli shook his head.

"I want us gone in five. We'll come back when we know it's..."

Eli was cut off as the dark water car suddenly creaked. Alana spun around and gasped as the side panels of the car swung open on their own, revealing not tanks of dark water, but dozens of Blakk Industries guards armed with ghouls. At the head of them stood Diablos Nacho.

"Safe," Eli breathed, taking a step back.

Alana narrowed her eyes. That's why the car had felt different- it wasn't carrying pure dark water, just a lot of corrupted slugs.

"Doctor Blakk sends his regards," Nacho growled, raising his blaster. At his signal, the guards opened fire.

Ghouls began whizzing by the members of the gang as they spun around and sprinted for cover behind stone columns that were scattered around the clearing. Alana tried to keep her breath steady as she felt the ice cold of the ghoulfire.

Eli spun around and fired Burpy at a Tempesto. The Infurnus slammed into the ghoul, which locked its wings around Burpy and began spinning. The mix of fire and air created a flaming tornado in the middle of the clearing. Dust flew up in clouds, giving the gang temporary cover.

"This was a setup!" Trixie yelled angrily as she, Kord, and Pronto ducked behind a rock jutting out of the ground. "And we fell for it!"

"Focus on blaming later!" Alana called back. She and Twist took cover behind a stone pillar, with Eli sliding behind another pillar on their right. She and Twist winced as a Hop Jack crashed into the ground just in front of their pillar, causing a few pebbles to shake loose.

"Come out, children," Alana heard Nacho growl. "I promise a quick oblivion."

"Pronto does not want a quick oblivion!" Pronto cried out. "Pronto prefers his oblivion slow and gradual."

The molenoid shrieked and ducked back behind the rock as Nacho fired a Grimmstone that missed its mark by mere inches.

"This isn't gonna work," Alana said as the ghoulfire started up again. She paused to fire her Slyren, Sonic, at a Greneater. The blasting soundwaves stopped the ghoul in midair, and when it exploded, it was close enough to knock a few ghoulslingers back. "Eli, I think me and Twist can try to get behind them to split up their fire."

"Good idea," Eli called from his spot behind a pillar. "We'll cover you two!"

Alana nodded, and she ran out from her pillar, heading for a small opening in the wall that the stolen train had almost barreled into only a few minutes before. Twist followed her, ducking and dodging ghoulfire.

"Heads up!" Alana heard Eli yell, just in time. A Grimmstone and Hop Jack were speeding toward them. Alana fired her Geoshard. The slug buried itself in the ground in front of her and Twist, and neon green crystals shot up, stopping the ghouls.

The two sprinted into the cave. Alana's head was spinning from the ghoulfire. She saw a desk and some papers lined up against the wall of the cave, but she didn't care enough to really look at it. She just kept running, Twist at her side. The sounds of ghoulfire faded away, but for some reason, Alana still felt like there was a ghoul right there with her.

Then a thought came to her mind.

Hadn't she been feeling that before, too? The presence of a ghoul when there didn't seem to be any around?

And who always happened to be around when the feeling came?

Alana's eyes widened, and her heart sank. Her steps faltered for a moment, and she tried to think of what to do. How can I tell Eli without letting Twist know that I know?

She never got the chance to radio Eli, though. Maybe Twist saw the way her eyes widened, or how she faltered for a moment, or maybe he was just sick of keeping up the act. But no matter the reasoning, the blond decided that he didn't need to pretend anymore.

Twist jumped forward, slamming Alana to the ground.

"What are you doing?!" she cried as Twist pinned her arms against the cool stone ground.

"Saving my skin," he scowled, his teal eyes narrowed with anger. Alana smirked as Ash jumped forward, spitting a small column of flames at Twist's face. He yelled out in alarm and reared back, releasing Alana, who jumped to her feet and hurriedly backed away from Twist to get some distance between them.

"It's Loki," she gasped, trying to keep her breath under control as anxiety and realization crept upon her. "Loki's a ghoul, isn't he?"

Twist smirked. "I thought Kord would be the first to guess. Figured if you didn't get it by now, you never would."

The slugs in Twist's bandoleer chirped angrily and hopped out of the slug canisters as Twist loaded Loki.

"Great," he scowled as the slugs hurried to one of the cave walls, hiding behind a mushroom. "Now I'll have to have Loki make more slug illusions. Thanks a lot."

He fired Loki, but this time, when the slug transformed, he turned into a dark monster with furious red eyes. The ghoul let out a blinding white flash, and Alana raised her arms to shield her eyes. When she opened them, Twist was gone.

Her heart thumping, Alana loaded her Grenuke, Gav. There was a small explosion of sparks behind her, and Alana spun around just in time for Twist to kick her in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"Why, Twist?" she asked as she sat up, her grip tightening on her blaster. "Why did you do all this?"

"To survive," he said, lunging forward. But Alana quickly scrambled to her feet, running to the opposite end of the stone tunnel. She had seen Twist in action before, and she was not going to let this turn into a hand-to-hand fight. "Blakk's got the upper hand, Alana, you of all people should realize that. His ghouls have an energy that no slug can compete with."

"You know?" Alana asked.

"Know that you're some sort of freak with inhuman energy signatures? Yeah, I know," Twist scowled. He raised his blaster, but stopped as an explosion from the clearing shook the cave, sending dust and pebbles to the ground. "And I also know this is taking too long. I have a Shane to separate from the rest of your group."

Alana narrowed her eyes in anger, raising her blaster. "I can't believe you," she breathed. "We trusted you. We took you in. We gave you a family when you had nothing, and you turn around and try to kill us."

"I did what I had to do!" Twist exclaimed. "I don't have a choice, Alana!"

"You always have a choice," Alana said, her voice softening. "Let us help you, Twist. We can get you away from Blakk. You don't need to be scared of him."

Twist scowled, then his eyes widened, and his scowl turned into a smile. "You know," he said icily, "I think Dana was right. You can be pretty annoying."

It felt like Alana's heart stopped. She lowered her blaster, and her eyes widened. "Did you say-"

Twist took his opportunity, leaping at Alana. She hurriedly pulled the trigger on her blaster, but Twist grabbed her arm and forced it upward. Gav shot up and latched onto the wall.

"Don't do this to Eli," Alana said, looking at Twist wildly, searching for any sign of remorse. "Twist, you're like family to him."

In that moment, Twist's scowl faltered, and Alana's heart swelled with hope. But then Twist looked up at Gav, whose tail was sparking. Only a few more seconds and he would ignite.

Twist sighed and tightened his grip on Alana's arms. "Then I guess that's his loss."

Gav exploded, and Twist shoved Alana away from him. She fell to the ground as the ceiling around her fell, and she began to crawl out of the way, but was too slow. Her right arm and leg were pinned beneath a massive pile of fallen rocks.

She cried out in pain, tears forming in her eyes. The pressure felt like it was flattening her right side, and the edge of one of the rocks was dangerously close to the scar she'd gotten from her first time running into a ghoul, the Thrasher from when she had rescued Mage.

"Twist, please don't!" she said, looking up at Twist. He hesitated for a moment, then turned away, heading back down the tunnel.

"Wait," Alana coughed, cringing. Every breath she took felt like she was trying to breath through Jellyish slime, with her right rib cage almost unable to move. "Dana. Twist... what you said about Dana. She... still works for Blakk?"

"Don't pretend to be worried about her. She told me everything," Twist said, although Alana could tell from the lack of confidence in his voice that maybe he hadn't believed everything he heard.

"I... tried... to save her," Alana gasped. "I tried... to fix what I did. You... you can still try too."

Twist turned away, heading back down the tunnel and never looking back. Alana sighed and let her head rest against the cool stone floor of the cave, trying to keep her crying to a minimum, because every breath hurt almost as much as Twist's betrayal.

~~~~~~~~

Alana wasn't sure how long she waited. She wanted to cry out for help, but she couldn't bring herself to take a deep breath. Between the rocks above her and her bandoleer digging into her chest from the front, every movement of her torso hurt. So instead, she just laid amongst the rubble, trying not to think about the utter betrayal she had just experienced.

She heard slugfire in the distance at one point, but by then she was phasing in and out of consciousness too much to focus. Black spread across her vision, and she let it, barely aware of her surroundings.

Then, after what felt like hours, Alana heard the voices of not Blakk Industries workers coming to finish her off, but her friends.

"This way! I found her!"

Kord.

"Bah! I would have found her first, if not for Stinky playing the jokes on Pronto!"

Pronto.

"Guys, quit argu- oh my gosh. Alana?!"

Trixie.

"Get her out of there!"

Eli.

Alana opened her eyes, blinking away black spots and forcing herself to focus past the dull pain. Eli and Trixie both fired Tormato slugs that unleashed miniature whirlwinds, blowing the rocks away down the tunnel. Alana gasped as the weight was lifted from her side, and rolled over so she was on her back, taking deep breaths.

Her right side was definitely torn up, but it was nothing unfixable. A few cuts ran down her arm, but everything else had just been under tremendous pressure.

Mage, who had for once been in her bandoleer, jumped out now that she wasn't pinned down. The small white slug immediately hopped onto Alana's right side and began to glow a faint white. Alana sighed with relief as she immediately felt the pain subside.

"What happened?" Eli asked, crouching down next to Alana.

"I figured it out," she said with a sigh. "I figured it out, and we fought, and-"

And then he mentioned Dana, and I lost it.

"And he got the upper hand," she finished. The gang went silent. "I can't believe he betrayed us."

Eli sighed and lowered his head. "I can't, either."

Alana stayed on the ground for a few more minutes as Mage relaxed her muscles and worked on filling in the cuts on her arms. Finally, Alana got to the point where she could stand without feeling like she was going to pass out. Eli and Trixie got on either side of her, supporting her as the gang walked down the cave.

"So what ended up happening?" Alana asked.

"Twist and I fought," Eli said tensely. "Kord, Trixie, and Pronto took care of the guys up front and warned me about him, but it was too late. He got away."

Alana nodded, wanting to ask more questions, but stopping herself. She could tell by the way Eli stared blankly ahead that he didn't want to talk about it.

"So," Pronto said, breaking the silence. "What do you guys want to do for dinner?"

~~~~~~~~~

the Twist apocalypse never ends but has now come to a momentary break

Cyan out!