buckle up kiddos it's a long one and I honestly don't know how it turned out so long

~~~~~~~~

Alana didn't know why, but in the days that followed since the Shane Gang had fought Dana and the slug hunters in Deaddrop, she'd been finding herself more and more negative, and she hated it. She hated it, but Dana instilled feelings of doubt in Alana that she never would have had on her own.

The idea of not being the only one who could manipulate energy, and with Dana's raw power that could lash out so much easier than Alana's light energy- she didn't feel powerful anymore. And it showed not in her slinging performance, but at night.

She tossed and turned, plagued by nightmares of dark figures lunging for her in the middle of the night, standing by watching as Will fell into the portal, dueling Dana time and time again.

That was why mornings were now her favorite part of the day.

She once again found the morning to be her savior, waking her just as Dana fired a Thrasher at Alana's throat.

The pale yellow Lumino light drifting in through her window woke Alana up. With a yawn, she sat up, scratching at her tangled hair, strands of caramel and cyan sticking up in every direction.

In mornings, everything was new and had the possibility of being better than the day before. She was up on energy and optimism, and she was not about to let thoughts of dark energy ruin the start to her day.

Alana glanced down at her slugs as she got to her feet. They were all still asleep, snoring quietly, so she silently tiptoed out of her room, deciding not to disturb them. She knew that they were growing used to the tossing and turning that accompanied her nightmares, but they still deserved as much uninterrupted sleep as possible.

She still tried to be quiet as she walked down the stairs. It was barely first glow, and she figured the rest of the gang would still be asleep. But halfway down the staircase, Alana was met not with silence and an empty living room, but with Trixie and Kord yelling at each other, huddled up on the couch and playing Super Slug Bros.

"I've got ya this time, pigtails," Kord said, leaning forward and pressing buttons on his controller as quickly as he could. "There's no way you get past this-"

"Finishing blow," Trixie said, cutting him off in a deadpan voice and pressing a single button on her controller. Unlike the cave troll, she was comfortably leaned back on the couch, completely at ease.

Alana snickered as Trixie's character leaned forward, swinging her fist at Kord's character and sending him sprawling to the ground. GAME OVER - TRIXIE WINS! flashed on the screen.

Kord groaned and shook his head.

"I don't get it! You were toast!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Trixie chuckled and shrugged.

"You guys got up at dawn just to play video games?" Alana asked incredulously as she headed for the kitchen. Trixie paused the game, and she and Kord turned to face Alana.

"Nah, we never went to bed," Kord said. Alana paused as she reached in the fridge, a carton of eggs in her hands.

"You stayed up all night?" she asked, shaking her head as she set the eggs on the counter and shutting the fridge. "You two never cease to amaze me."

"Sometimes you gotta just stay up all night playing video games, Alana," Trixie said with a laugh. She scooted up farther on the couch, looking at Alana while Kord began the process of resetting their game. "Nice choice of fashion."

Alana glanced down at her clothes. Her black short-sleeved shirt was paired with white sweatpants, and to tie it all together, a cyan pair of fuzzy socks.

"Comfort is key, Trix," Alana said with a smile as she turned the stove on and cracked a couple eggs on a pan.

"If you say so, fashion star," Trixie said with a smirk before turning back to the television. Alana smiled and shrugged, turning back toward the stovetop.

"At least I haven't been sitting in my slinging gear all night," she noted.

"Good point. It was worth it, though," Trixie called back. "Finishing blow!"

Alana grinned and rolled her eyes as Kord yelled out in frustration, and she was glad she had woken up when she did, otherwise the cave troll's cries would have gotten her up.

Plate of eggs in one hand and a glass of apple juice in the other, Alana walked behind the couch and sat down in her bean bag chair, sitting criss-crossed.

"I'm surprised you didn't go out with Eli," Kord noted as Trixie restarted the game. Alana frowned and glanced at the door.

"Didn't know he went out," she said.

"We didn't either until we noticed his Mecha was missing. Musta slipped out while we were in the middle of a fight over whether we should call it quits," Kord said. Trixie laughed and nodded.

"Surprisingly, it's Kord that wants to keep playing. He's convinced he can win," she said. Alana shook her head, looking at Kord sympathetically.

"Big mistake, dude," she said. Kord laughed sourly.

"Shoulda told me that five hours ago."

Alana shrugged and watched as Trixie and Kord continued their game marathon. Trixie got up and walked over to the kitchen, grabbing an apple from a bowl on the counter and pressing buttons on her controller without even looking at what was happening on the screen.

"How does she do this?!" Kord groaned as he rapidly pressed buttons, trying to keep up with Trixie's character.

"It's one of life's great mysteries," Alana responded. A moment of silence passed as Kord concentrated on the game. Then, from the kitchen-

"Morning, Eli."

Alana sat up in her chair, and sure enough, there was Eli, looking like he was about to go upstairs. Trixie stood next to him, taking a bite of her apple.

"When did he walk in?" Alana asked quietly. Kord shrugged. Finished with her eggs and eager to hear Eli's excuse, Alana got to her feet and walked to the kitchen.

"Hey, I didn't think you guys would be up," Eli said. Alana frowned at the hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Never went to bed," Trixie explained, glancing at the television.

"Your reign of terror is almost over, Trixie," Kord said with a smirk. Trixie rolled her eyes and pressed a single button on her controller.

"Finishing blow," she said with a laugh. Alana fought to stifle a grin as Trixie's character knocked out Kord's. The cave groaned and threw his controller at the screen.

"Ugh, I hate this game!" he yelled. Then he sighed and picked the controller back up. "Another round?"

"You're on," Trixie said. Alana raised an eyebrow as Eli tried to scoot away, but froze when Trixie turned back to him. "And where were you on this fine morning, E?"

"Me? I just, uh, had an errand to run," Eli said quickly, his teal eyes avoiding Trixie. Alana stopped in front of the sink, still holding her plate, watching Eli warily.

What was he actually doing?

"An errand, huh?" Trixie asked, obviously suspicious. She set her apple down and suddenly reached forward, plucking a folded flier out of Eli's pocket. Eli jumped and reached out for it.

"C'mon, Trix, give it back-" he started, but Trixie ignored him, reading the flier out loud as she walked back to the couch, with Eli trailing nervously behind her.

"'New world wow - Gar Revelle promises fame and fortune with Burning World expedition,'" she read.

Alana's eyes widened. With a quiet gasp, the plate slid out of her hands. She instinctively stuck out her foot, catching the plate just before it shattered on the ground. She quickly picked it up and set it in the sink, hurrying over to stand by the couch, her arms crossed.

"This isn't where you're going, is it?" Trixie asked. Eli shrugged.

"Maybe," he responded, and worry began to gnaw at Alana. "Who cares?"

"You should, for one," Trixie responded. "The Burning World is just a myth, a dumb kid's story..."

Trixie's rant faded away in Alana's mind. She didn't want to hear anymore about it. Instead, a worry was eating away at her, and she didn't even understand why she was scared, just that she was. She silently slipped away from the scene in the living room, hurrying upstairs and into her room.

The second her door shut behind her, Alana took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. They were shaking. And now that she was alone, she realized what her worry was.

He didn't want to go back, did he?

Alana thought about it, and Eli never really talked about the surface with her. The occasional note about how he missed sunsets, or seeing stars in the sky, sure. But did he miss it enough to buy into Revelle's expedition, to leave the gang?

She wouldn't have pegged Eli to be the kind of person who would do something like that, just leave Slugterra even when there was still so much left to fight for.

But there was once a time when Alana was convinced that she and Dana Edwards would be lifelong friends and teammates.

She'd misread close friends before, so why wouldn't that be the case now?

"Stop it," Alana groaned to herself, running her hands through her hair. "Stop thinking like this!"

But the thoughts and doubts, as uncharacteristic as they were, were there now. And she couldn't get rid of them. Eli was her best friend, and Slugterra needed a Shane. The thought of him leaving was absolutely terrifying.

With a deep, shaky breath, Alana hurried to her closet, changing into her gear. She knew Eli would try to go to Revelle's meeting alone, and she knew Trixie well enough to know that wouldn't be the case. So Alana would just have to talk to him before the gang left.

~~~~~~~~

When Alana came back down the stairs, Trixie and Kord were still going at it on the video games. Pronto was making himself a sandwich, and Alana quickly averted her eyes when she was pretty sure she saw whatever was between the slices of bread twitch. Ash and Mage both gagged from either of her shoulders.

Eli was laying on the hammock that hung back by the kitchen and the door to the garage. One arm was behind his head, propping it up a bit, and the other was on his stomach as he pet Burpy. The Infurnus looked up at Alana and chirped happily at her when she stopped beside the hammock.

Arms crossed, Alana peered down at Eli. He was frowning and looked deep in thought, but when he saw Alana, he smiled and sat up a little bit.

"Hey, where'd you go? I saw you when I walked in, then you took off," he said. "Did you hear about the expedition?"

Alana nodded, toying with the top of one of her black and light blue gloves nervously.

"Yeah, and..." she took a deep breath, lowering her arms, curling her hands into fists, and trying to sound assertive. "And we need to talk about it. Can you come upstairs real quick?"

Eli glanced at Burpy curiously, but nodded, getting out of the hammock and following Alana upstairs.

Alana silently swung open her bedroom door and reached up, tugging at a string that hung from the ceiling. A ceiling panel swung down and a ladder fell with it, leading up to the roof of the hideout.

"What are we doing?" Eli asked as he followed Alana up the ladder.

"I wanna show you something," Alana said. She got to her feet on the roof, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. Eli did the same, standing next to her. Trixie and Kord's yells faded away, and all the two could hear was birds and slug chirps in the distance.

"So, what's up?" Eli asked, crossing his arms. Alana took a step forward, looking out at the mushroom forest that spread out below the tree that held the hideout. Alana just held out her hand, gesturing to the world around them.

The cavern glowed pale yellow. Orange and blue mushrooms spread out beneath them like a blanket, each with swirling colors that glowed faintly with traces of Lumino in them. Where you could see patches of grass, it was rich emerald.

"Look at this place," she said. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Eli looked out at the forest and nodded.

"I mean, yeah, but what does that have to do with anything right now?" he asked. Alana sighed and turned to face him, wishing more than anything that she didn't feel like she had to have this conversation.

"Don't you like it down here?" she asked. Eli blinked, startled.

"Why would you ask that?" he asked. Alana sighed and looked down at her feet.

"You've got views like this, and friends who all love you, and I know the fight against Blakk seems towering and difficult and stressful, but you're interested in Revelle's expedition, and- you don't seem like the kind of person who would run away from this, but I don't know anymore-" she rambled.

Eli turned to face Alana, holding up a hand to stop her.

"You think I'm interested in Revelle's expedition because I want to go back to the surface?" he asked, and the shock in his voice was enough to dispel any worried Alana had. She looked up, meeting his gaze, and shrugged.

"I did, kinda," she admitted. Eli shook his head.

"Alana, I might miss the surface- I miss the sun and the stars and feeling rain- but I would never just up and leave. I've got too much to do down here as a Shane, and I'd never ditch you guys," he said. Alana's shoulders sagged with relief, but she tensed as he continued. "But I'm a little upset that you'd even think I would leave. It's not like you. What's going on?"

Alana sighed and crossed her arms, pressing her fingers against the metal plates she had between her shoulders and elbows.

"I don't know, just with everything going on, I'm questioning myself more and more," she said. "I'm indecisive, I'm too scared to go with my gut, because if I'm wrong, I could have another screw-up that leads to something like Dana-"

"Dana's not your screw-up to begin with," Eli argued. "You both might have done things you regret that day, but in the end, she made the choices that led up to what happened. Not you."

Alana sighed and nodded.

"Deep down, I think I know that," she said. "I'm just having trouble convincing myself. I just feel so bad about it."

"Well, maybe a non-Blakk mission like this is exactly what you need to get your mind off things," Eli said. "Revelle's meeting is at the Monarch Inn out east, and Kord said something about chocolate root beer floats? I think I know a certain blue-haired slinger who enjoys sugary stuff."

Alana laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, they do have good floats," she said.

"Then maybe we can have some fun today," Eli said. "And I swear I'm just looking into what Revelle is saying to make sure he isn't too close to finding out that he's actually right."

"Okay. I'm sorry for every thinking you'd leave," she said. Eli shrugged.

"It's okay. You've had a lot going on lately. I'm just happy you talked to me instead of bottling it all up. If you keep doing that, you'll crack."

If only you knew, Alana thought bitterly. For a moment, she thought of the nightmares of the dark figure, of Will falling into the portal and Alana standing and watching helplessly, of her old friend being turned into a monster.

"You're right, for once," she said teasingly, pressing down the thoughts. Eli scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, c'mon, I'm not always just a reckless teenager."

Alana shrugged.

"I don't know about that," she said.

"Funny," he said. "So, since you're the only one besides me who knows that the surface actually is real, I'm gonna want you to stick around with me."

"Is everyone else not?" Alana asked. Eli shook his head.

"I can't let the rest of the gang get too involved," he explained. "I don't want to, but at some point, I'll have to ditch them."

Alana nodded.

"Then we ditch the gang, find out how Revelle knows what he knows, and handle it from there," she said. "Piece of cake."

~~~~~~~~

The last thing Alana had heard about Gar Revelle was over five years ago, when she was still living with Will. She remembered thinking that Will would be stressed and upset because a Slugterran was making such a big deal about the surface, but instead, he'd found Revelle's attempts to be amusing. He'd assured her that he wasn't even close to uncovering the truth, and he was no threat to the Shanes' secret.

And now that she saw him, she could see why Will wouldn't consider him a threat.

Revelle was pale, with thin, mousy brown hair, and definitely didn't look like a fighter. He had a thin face and noticeable circles under his eyes, and compared to the men who had joined his expedition so far, like André Geyser, he looked like a Flopper amongst Rammstones.

The Monarch Inn was crawling with unsavory slingers, lured by the promise of fame and fortune, but Alana was able to look past the poor company once she got ahold of one of the chocolate root beer floats. While Trixie, Kord, and Pronto were concerned about why Eli cared about the expedition, Alana was able to be at ease after talking to him. She was still worried that she'd even thought him leaving was a possibility, but at least she knew that her friend wouldn't be leaving the gang any time soon.

Alana set down her drink as Revelle walked up to a podium at the front of the room, with a large leather journal in one hand and a drink in the other. He set the drink down on the podium, tapping a spoon against it to get everyone's attention. The chatter in the room died down, and everyone turned their gaze toward the man who was promising fame and fortune.

"Thank you for coming," Revelle began, his voice ringing across the room. "As many of you know, the Burning World has been my obsession since I was a boy. And I recognize that many of my previous expeditions were seen as disappointments to those involves. But this, however," Revelle said, holding up the journal, "will be different!"

Alana and Eli exchanged glances. Revelle had been awfully attached to that book. Whatever was making him think this expedition would be different from the rest was probably in it.

"The world above offers much more than fame and fortune," Revelle continued. "Take their 'moon,' for example. A planetary body of vast proportions, orbiting literally millions of miles above their heads!"

Murmurs of excitement swept across the room, infecting every table but the Shane Gang's. Trixie sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on," she said. "People can't be taking this... seriously..."

Her voice trailed off as the room fell silent. Dozens of hopeful expeditioners glared at her from all directions. André Geyser, a tall, orange-haired adventurer, slammed his fist down on his table before angrily walking over to the gang.

"You got a problem, girly?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and looking down at Trixie. Eli quickly interjected, trying to stop the fight before it started.

"Nope, no problem here!" he said, his voice drilling with false cheerfulness. "Isn't that right, Trix?"

She's not gonna back down, Alana predicted, a faint smile forming on her lips. Sure enough, Trixie scowled and got to her feet.

"My only problem is that you're all buying this! He's taking advantage of you," she said, walking forward and standing in front of André. Even though she was easily a foot shorter than him, she still looked ready to tear him to pieces.

"Easy, guys, there's no need for trouble here," Eli said hastily, getting to his feet. But the wheels were already set in motion.

"Only an idiot would be part of a bogus expedition," André said. "Are you calling me an idiot?"

"No!" Eli said quickly, putting himself between the two and pushing Trixie back. But Trixie just crossed her arms and smirked.

"Sounds like you're calling yourself an idiot," she responded.

Alana had to cover her face with both hands to hide her grin, and bite her lip to keep from laughing. Laughs echoed throughout the rest of the room, and André looked like he was positively boiling with anger.

Eli groaned and turned to face Trixie, putting both hands on her shoulders.

"Trix, stop helping," he begged. Trixie opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, a cry echoed through the room, and the next thing Alana knew, André Geyser was soaked with root beer, bits of chocolate ice cream sticking to him. Alana leaned to the side to see past the adventurer and shook her head when she saw Pronto on the ground, a now empty tray in his hands.

"That's it!" André shouted, pulling his blaster and firing a Rammstone without hesitation. Pronto shrieked and dove to the side, and the Rammstone sailed into another table, knocking the mercenary slingers Fire and Ice to the ground.

Eli groaned as, sure enough, Fire and Ice both raised their own blasters and fired. Within seconds, a duel erupted throughout the entire room. Slugs flew left and right.

Alana, Trixie, and Eli stood back-to-back-to-back, not firing to further invoke the fight but ready to defend themselves.

"You just had to say something," Eli sighed, glancing at Trixie.

"I thought we were here on official business. I just wanted to help these people," Trixie retorted, and Alana couldn't help but feel bad for her. She hadn't known she was doing anything wrong.

"Heads up!" Alana suddenly shouted, diving to one side as a slinger came flying toward them. The man slammed into Eli, knocking the Shane to the ground. Burpy flew off Eli's shoulders and into the fray.

"Burpy!" Eli yelled, shoving the slinger off of him and trying to make his way over to his Infurnus. But he could hardly take two steps forward before he was drawn into another fight.

"I've got him!" Alana responded, firing her Arachnet at the ceiling. The purple slug spat out a line of web that Alana wrapped around her left arm, allowing herself to be pulled up into the air. She scanned the ground, quickly spotting the dazed Infurnus.

"Up here, Burpy!" she called, firing her Lariat. The slug sent a line of green goo onto the ground in front of Burpy. The Infurnus quickly grabbed onto it, and Alana's Lariat yanked on the line, pulling Burpy away just as a slinger fell to the ground where the slug had been seconds before.

Alana holstered her blaster, catching Burpy and letting go of the Arachnet web, landing on a second-story platform that ran along the walls of the inn.

"Eli, I got him!" she called out to the crowd below her. Eli, who'd taken cover behind a table, sighed with relief and held out his hand. Alana tossed Burpy down to his slinger.

"Duo shot?" Eli called up to her as he loaded his Infurnus. Alana nodded, losing Ash.

"On three!" she yelled over the noise of slugfire. Both slingers aimed up at the ceiling. "One, two, three!"

They fired their Infurnus slugs in unison. The two transformed and flew in circles over the heads of the slingers, drawing attention away from the fighting. Alana watched in wonder as orange and yellow sparks drifted down to the floor. She jumped over the railing of the platform, landing next to Eli on the first floor. The two watched in wonder as their top slugs wove through the air, lighting everything up yellow and orange with their flames.

"Wow," Alana said with a small laugh when the slugs reverted back to protoform, landing on their slingers' shoulders. The fighting had come to an end, but before anyone could do anything else, Eli was suddenly yanked to the side by Revelle.

"Everyone! Don't you know who this is?!" Revelle exclaimed, and Alana smirked as Eli's face went red.

"Uh, hi. I'm Eli-" he began, but Revelle excitedly cut him off.

"Shane! Of course you are, of course you are!" he said, shaking Eli's hand before turning to Alana. "And you! Alana, the child taken in by Will Shane! I've been hearing things lately about you," Revelle said, glancing at Alana's hair. Now it was Alana's to turn red, her hand subconsciously going to her bangs.

"Oh this is excellent, just excellent!" Revelle continued. "With names like these on board, this expedition cannot fail!"

"Uh, news flash, Eli and Alana aren't joining your expedition," Trixie said, walking over to the three with her arms crossed, Kord and Pronto following behind. Alana glanced worriedly at Eli.

"Listen, guys, about that..." Eli began, his voice trailing off.

"C'mon, you can't be serious," Kord groaned. "These are the guys shootin' at us!"

"It's not that simple-" Eli began, but Trixie cut him off.

"Actually, it is. Either you're with reason and common sense, or you're with this guy," Trixie said, gesturing at Revelle.

Eli glanced at Alana, and she suspecting he was waiting to give her a chance to back out before he responded. But when Alana gave him a small nod, he sighed and turned back to face Trixie, Kord, and Pronto.

"Then, I'm with Gar," he said. "I'm joining the expedition."

"And so am I," Alana said, trying to ignore the looks of hurt and confusion on her friends' faces. Kord stepped forward.

"I don't think I heard you dudes right," he said.

"We said we're staying," Eli said. "You guys head back to base. We'll be home soon."

Pronto shot forward, arms crossed, and peered up at Eli and Alana.

"Ahh, I see what you are doing! Try to get rid of us so you get a larger share of the riches," the molenoid accused. "Well, Pronto won't be falling for that trick! I'm in!"

"I'm sorry, Pronto, but you're leaving, too. I have to insist," Eli said, sounding like he had to force every word. Pronto whimpered, taking a step back toward Trixie.

"I know you guys probably think we're crazy, but we have our reasons for this," Eli said. Alana nodded.

"You guys just have to trust us," she said. Kord shrugged, turning away.

"We do trust you guys. We just wish you'd trust us," he said. He and Pronto turned away, heading for the door. Trixie lingered for a moment, looking at Alana, then Eli. Then, with a sigh, she shook her head and followed after Kord and Pronto.

Burpy whimpered from Eli's shoulder, and Alana sighed, tugging at her bangs.

"Sorry, guys, but it had to be done," Eli said quietly as he watched the rest of the gang leave. "They can't figure out about the surface, and we've gotta figure out how Gar knows what he knows. They'll understand, right?"

Alana nodded, forcing a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, they will, I'm sure," she said. "Right now they're just a little confused, but they'll get it."

The two fell silent as Revelle approached them, gesturing for them to follow.

"You two made the right choice, the very right choice! The Shane brand is just what this expedition needs to bring it some legitimacy," Revelle said, leading Eli and Alana down the room. Murmurs of the slingers who still remained followed them.

Before they could reach the stairway, André stepped in front of Gar, glaring down at Eli and Alana.

"I need to speak with you, Revelle. In private," André said. Revelle nodded, glancing back at the two slingers.

"Of course. Excuse me for a moment, won't you?"

André and Revelle walked over to the inn's counter, looking like they were having a heated discussion. Eli took advantage of the moment alone and turned toward Alana.

"I wanna get my hands on that book. Once we figure out what Gar knows and how, we either destroy it, or take it and bolt," he said quietly. "We're gonna try to be non-confrontational..."

"But that never works out," Alana said with a wry smile. "I'll have my blaster ready. You focus on talking to him. I think he's way more excited to be around you than me."

"Whaaat?" Eli laughed nervously. "Nah."

"Always the humble one," Alana said with a smile as Revelle walked back up to the two.

"Come, let's have a chat," Revelle said, putting his arm around Eli and guiding him up the stairs. Alana laughed quietly, following after the two as they headed into one of the doors that lined the second story platform.

Inside, there were dozens of piles of books, ranging from geography to mythology. Almost none of the wall was bare. Tack boards and maps covered it, with drawings and X's and pins attached by strings. At the center was a desk, covered in books, papers, and a holodesk. The room was lit by a fireplace behind the desk. Revelle shut the door behind Eli and Alana.

"Now," Revelle began, leaning against the desk. "I'm no fool. I know what others think of me. Right now, if my name appeared in the history books, it would be as a failure. This is my last chance. It can't fail! And with slingers like you on board, I'm certain it won't!"

"What makes you think this time will be different?" Alana asked.

"You see, even with all my research, I'm still a piece or two away from uncovering the secret on how to reach the above world," Revelle said, turning to face one of his maps. "But with the Shane name on the expedition, I can secure the funding I need to get that final piece!"

Burpy scowled at Gar from Eli's shoulder.

"Easy, we just need to keep him talking," Eli breathed.

"Did you say something, Eli?" Revelle asked, turning back to the slingers.

"Oh, I said- um- how did you learn about the above world?" Eli responded quickly.

Nice save, Alana thought, exchanging a glance with Eli.

"I've been obsessed for years. And I'm not alone. The legend of the Burning World is believed by many. And even with those who don't, most of us wonder what else might be out there. Clues are all over if you know where to look," Revelle noted, standing in front of the fireplace.

"For instance?" Eli asked.

"Stories, passed down from one generation to the next. All too many include a mention of the Burning World. And then, there is this. My greatest clue," Revelle said, picking up the leather journal he'd had earlier from his desk and handing it to Eli. "You won't be able to read it, I'm sure. It's written in code."

Eli unlatched a strap on the cover of the journal, which sported a picture of the sun. He and Alana turned away from Gar, looking at the contents of the book.

Inside were entries and drawings. The illustrations depicted crowd of people, creatures that resembled the Shadow Clan, different slug species. And the writing looks like a mass of jumbled letters to Alana, but the pattern somehow looked familiar. As Eli flipped through the pages of the journal, it clicked-

That was the Shane cipher.

She'd never learned it, but after living with Will for five years, she could recognize it. And if it was a Shane journal, then whatever information that was in it was real. Revelle really was close to finding out the truth.

Alana looked at Eli. Concern was all over his face as he flipped through the pages. His grip on the journal was so tight, his knuckles were white. Just as Alana was about to quietly ask him what they should do, Eli flipped to a page with a large symbol on it.

"Uncle Jimmo!" Eli exclaimed- out loud. Alana's eyes widened and she hurriedly turned back to face Revelle.

"Jimmo? The Shane before your father?" Revelle asked, hurrying forward and pulling the journal out of Eli's grasp. "But, that means- of course it's a Shane journal!"

Eli's face paled as Revelle sat down at his desk, opening the holodesk and typing away at what looked like a decoder system. His dark eyes lit up as the screen changed, showing an arrangement of letters.

"The word 'Shane' is a cipher! A keystone to the whole book!" Revelle exclaimed, excitedly typing away at the holodesk. "Eli, this is amazing, it changes everything! I've cracked the code! I can find the way up!"

Alana heart sank. Seeing Revelle this excited over something Eli could never let happen was almost sad.

"Gar, no," Eli said, leaning forward and turning off the holodesk display. "What's in that book is secret for a reason!"

"Then, then it's true!" Revelle exclaimed, glancing over at Alana. "And that look on your face- you know, too, don't you?" he asked her. "Of course, you lived with Will Shane for years! The Shanes have been keeping this secret!"

"What's true is that you need to give Eli that journal," Alana said, watching as Revelle paced around the room, stopping in front of a bookshelf, shaking his head.

"I will not be a failure!" he exclaimed, swiping a bottle from off the bookshelf and hurling it at Eli and Alana.

The two split up, dodging to either side as the glass bottle shattered in front of them, releasing sparks and a cloud of green smoke. Eli and Alana both raised their blasters, but Revelle edged behind a stack of books, calling out.

"Help! I need help in here!"

In seconds, the door burst open. André, Fire, and Ice hurried into the room. Eli and Alana fired their blasters, Eli shooting his Tazerling and Alana firing her Armashelt.

The three slingers split up to avoid the bolts of electricity from Joules. Alana's Armashelt slammed into Ice, knocking the blue-haired slinger up against a bookshelf, but in such a small space, she couldn't even take a step to look around for Fire and André before a pair of arms wrapped around her.

She growled as Fire wrapped his right arm around her own, pinning her slinging arm to her side, and held his blaster up to Alana's throat with his left. She reached up with her left arm, trying and failing to pull him off of her. Next to Alana, André had his arms around Eli, who was glaring daggers at Revelle.

"Gar, listen to me, don't do this!" Eli exclaimed.

"I owe you a debt," Revelle said, looking down at the journal in his hands. "Every instruction, every precise method to reaching the above world is all in this book- along with all the glory I deserve!"

Eli glanced at Alana and nodded. Alana let go of Fire's arm, raising her left hand and concentrating.

She felt the energy within her and willed it to come forward, swelling up from her chest and through her arms, all the way out to her fingertips. A bright blue glow emitted from her hand, blinding Fire. She pulled away from his grasp, and Eli pulled away from André, who stared at the light Alana emitted with awe.

Eli raised his blaster, firing his Phosphoro. He and Alana shut their eyes while the green and blue slug created a flash of light. Once it faded, Alana swung open the door. Eli grabbed the journal from Revelle's desk and followed Alana down the stairs, leaving Gar and his slingers crying out and rubbing their eyes from the Phosphoro's flash.

"You know, that nod meant to kick him or something, but that worked, too!" Eli said as he and Alana sprinted out of the inn, jumping onto their parked Mechas and speeding away from the building. Slugs sped past them from Revelle's recovered mem, but Eli and Alana didn't slow down to retaliate.

"Well, it worked," Alana said with a shrug. "So what's the plan? You know they'll come after us."

"We hurry back to the hideout and stock up for a fight," Eli said. "Lead them away from the rest of the gang, and figure it out from there."

Alana nodded, and the two rode in silence for a few minutes. Then she sighed and glanced over at Eli.

"We could always tell them. They'd want to help," she said. Eli's grip on Lucky's handlebars tightened.

"My dad always stressed to me that nobody could know about the surface, Alana," he said, shaking his head. "Some things just need to stay secret."

Alana frowned.

"Eli, I saw secrets tear Will and Tom Por apart. If there's anyone in Slugterra we can trust, it's the gang," she said. "Now if you don't want to tell them, that's fine. I won't- it's not my secret. But just think about it."

The rest of the drive was spent in silence.

The second their Mechas stopped, Eli and Alana sprinted into the hideout. Eli rushed for the supply cabinets, grabbing all the extra bandoleers and slug canisters he could carry. Alana began gathering up any of the community slugs they had - slugs that didn't really belong to a specific person, but just to the gang in general.

"What's going on?" Trixie asked from the couch, pausing a video game and turning to face Eli and Alana.

"Nothing, go back to your game," Eli said distractedly as he clipped slug canisters onto the extra bandoleers. Then he paused and glanced up for a moment. "Wait, you guys are still playing that?"

"I refuse to let her best me!" Kord exclaimed from a chair in front of the TV. "And that's a heck of an arsenal for 'nothing,' bro."

"It's okay, we'll handle it," Alana said, Rammstones and Armashelts in her hand. Eli nodded, picking up the extra gear.

"I don't want you guys involved. Shane business," he said, looking at the ground. Trixie got to her feet and walked up to Eli.

"Yeah, and we're the Shane Gang," she said.

"I wanna leave you out of it, alright? Just stay here, there's still time for us to ride out and lead them away," Eli said.

"Uh, I am not certain what you are talking about exactly," Pronto said from the second floor, peering out a window, "but perhaps it is too late to leave us out of it."

Alana let her senses spread out, and sure enough, she felt a swell of skug energy approaching the hideout. She groaned and looked at Eli.

"They found us. And there's a lot of slingers out there," she said.

"I think there's even more than before!" Pronto exclaimed. Eli thought for a moment, then sighed.

"Burpy, man the auto-blasters," he said. Burpy chirped and hopped over to where part of the tree that held up the hideout cut through the building.

A panel swung up, revealing two tubes that ran up through the branch and to the auto-blasters on the roof of the hideout. Alana set the Rammstones and Armashelts down, and they, along with any of the slugs that had been sitting around, began to file into the tubes to be fired at the intruders.

"We need to get you out of here," Eli said quickly, looking around the hideout. "My dad once told me about an escape tunnel that goes into town. If you hurry, you can get through before they reach us-"

"Eli," Trixie interrupted, standing up and looking up at the Shane. "We're not leaving."

"But you don't even know what you're fighting for!" Eli said. Kord and Pronto walked up behind Trixie, who sighed and shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. We're a team. We don't need to know," she said.

Eli glanced over at Alana, who thought for a moment, then nodded.

"If you want to," she said quietly. Eli turned toward the rest of the gang.

"Yeah," he said. "You do."

He took a deep breath.

"This isn't gonna be easy to hear. You're gonna have questions, but unfortunately, now's not the time to answer them," Eli said, wringing his hands and glancing up as explosions were heard outside. "So I'll just be quick. Remember all that stuff Gar was saying about a world above Slugterra?"

"You mean all that made-up yarn he was spinning?" Kord asked skeptically.

"Yeah, well, it's not made up. The world above is real, and it's my number one job as a Shane to keep it a secret," Eli said.

"No way," Trixie said immediately.

"You're joking, bro," Kord said, crossing his arms. Alana stepped forward.

"He's not. I know about it, too," she said. "Will told me. I've been where you guys are, and I know it sounds crazy, but you have to have faith in us."

"I don't buy it. When I was a little girl, my mom used to tell me about the Burning World. Every night before she tucked me in," Trixie said, stepping forward. "You have to grow up, you can't keep believing in fairytales."

"In this case, the fairytale is real," Eli said, resting a hand on Trixie's shoulder. "This isn't just about Slugterra. If Gar reaches the surface, both worlds will pay the price!"

"Say you're right," Kord said. "How does Gar know all this?"

"From this," Eli said, handing Trixie the Shane journal. "Based on the tiny look I got, every question I've ever had, ever puzzle about my father and what came before me, the answer could be in here. Including how to get topside. If Gar got his hands back on it..."

Eli's voice trailed off as an explosion shook the hideout. Slugs began to topple back out of the tubes leading up to the roof.

"The auto-blasters are out," Alana said, looking at Eli. "What are we gonna do?"

Before Eli could respond, Gar's voice could be heard from in front of the hideout.

"Take your time, Eli! We can do this all day!"

Eli looked down at the Shane journal.

"I've got a plan," he said, grabbing the journal and heading for the front door. "You guys go out the back door and get positions in the mushroom canopy. I'm gonna go out distract them. On my signal, open fire."

~~~~~~~~

Kord, Pronto, and Trixie looked like they were ready to burst with questions, but Alana insisted that they focus on the plan and worry about the details of the Burning World later.

Alana and Trixie waited together on top of one mushroom, Kord and Pronto on the other. Beneath them, Eli walked out of the hideout and toward Revelle and his crowd of followers, the journal in hand. Revelle immediately called a ceasefire, his eyes never leaving the journal.

"Why take the journal when you can have me?" Eli asked, coming to a stop just in front of the mushrooms that hid his teammates.

"Hm, interesting proposition. I think I'll take both," Revelle said, raising his blaster.

"Fine," Eli said. "But under one condition. Leave my friends out of it. They aren't involved."

"Now you're being sensible," Revelle said, slightly lowering his red blaster. "You don't need friends. At the end of the day, you're all alone."

Alana smirked, taking aim for Fire and Ice.

That's what you think.

"No," Eli said, taking a step back and smiling. The gang took their cue, opening fire. "Then again, they never seem to listen to me."

Revelle cried out as Kord's Rammstone missed him by an inch. Alana's Tazerling hit the ground just in front of Fire and Ice, electrocuting them both. Eli fell back under the fire of his friends, shooting at the other expeditioners.

Alana jumped down from her mushroom tree, firing a Jellyish as she went, trapping a woman under a pile of green slime. Alana fired a Bubbaleone at the ground, breaking her fall and going back-to-back with Trixie, firing slug after slug at the oncoming slingers.

"The circumstances stink, but this is kinda fun," Alana noted as she fired Ash, who belched out a ball of fire that knocked a few of the slingers back.

"You think every fight is fun," Trixie laughed as the two ducked down to avoid a Thresher.

"Most of them, yeah," Alana admitted. She began to continue, but something caught her eye. With a gasp she lowered her blaster, grabbing Trixie's shoulder and gestring over to Eli.

In front of him stood Kord, held at blasterpoint by Revelle, who looked around smugly.

"Ceasefire!" he called out to his men. The fighting halted immediately. "It's over!"

Kord growled and met Eli's gaze.

"Get out of here, bro. I can handle myself," he said.

Eli shook his head. "With a Lavalynx at point blank range? I don't think so. Let him go, Gar. You can have the book."

"No!" Kord protested. Trixie began to step forward, but Alana held out her arm, stopping her.

"We don't want to make this worse," she said quietly.

"Give it to me!" Revelle exclaimed, staring at the journal in Eli's hands.

Alana could see Eli's hands shake from where she stood. He scowled and tossed the journal up in the air. Revelle gasped and shoved Kord out of the way, reaching up to catch the journal-

And Eli sighed, loaded Burpy, and fired. He couldn't bring himself to watch, staring at the ground. But Alana never took her gaze off the journal as Burpy caught it in mid air, releasing a burst of flames that tore the journal to pieces.

Revelle fell to his knees, crying out as ash and sparks fell around him, the remnants of his greatest clue. Alana and Trixie silently walked over to Eli, each resting a hand on either of his shoulders as he watched the singed answers to every question about the Shanes float away in the breeze.

~~~~~~~~~

Dana stood in front of Blakk's desk.

He sat in a regal-looking leather chair, reading over the blueprints she had just handed him.

"You said it yourself, we're going to start making more power plays once you take out the slinger you've been waiting for," Dana said. "This new weapon, your plans for a new train, those are great, but I think this would really put us over the edge."

Doctor Blakk looked up at her, a malicious smirk on his face.

"I couldn't agree more. Do what you must."

~~~~~~~~

uhh yeah vote comment whatever I'm not doing the whole deal I'm just glad to be back! No guarantees that I'm on a solid schedule again, because April is my busiest month, but it's also Camp Nanowrimo, which will be awesome!

Cyan out!