Alana couldn't breathe.

She held her head and tried to make sense of the terrible things she just saw, but she just... couldn't.

Finally, when air escaped her throat, it was in the form of sobs and cries. She stared at the cold black and green ground in front of her as if maybe it held answers. She felt tears falling down her cheeks, but she felt like she was spiraling away from her body, threatening to just leave, because her head hurt so bad and what did she just see?

Finally, there were splashes of color against the black and green as Ash and Cipher jumped in front of Alana, both looking up at their slinger somberly. Cipher looked hesitant and awkward, like he didn't know if he was allowed to comfort her, and Ash's antennae were drooping and his warm red eyes were staring at the ground. Seeing her beloved Infurnus brought her back to her senses, and she felt like she had been anchored back to reality.

"Y-you knew? This whole- whole time?" Alana gasped through her tears. Ash winced and nodded, chirping quietly. "And you t-too?"

When her gaze turned to Cipher, the Hypnogrif's eyes widened and he shrunk down a bit before quickly nodding. He looked almost scared of Alana, and through her tears, she realized that Ash did, too.

Do they think I'm mad at them?

With another sob, she picked up both of the slugs and held them close to her chest, the closest she could get to an embrace with the small creatures.

"You-you've had to live with all this for, for ten years! I'm so so-sorry!" she said between cries.

In a moment of crisis, there she was, comforting others first. Her world had been turned upside-down, and Alana- Alana Caelum, now- couldn't help but think about how painful it must have been for her slugs to keep such a horrible secret.

"Alana Caelum."

Alana started at the sound of her full name. It sounded so foreign but so familiar at the same time. She looked up, blinking more tears from her eyes, at the chief of the Shadow Clan. He was looked down at her sadly and sighed.

"Now you understand why this was kept secret," he said. "The fall of the West was a tragedy, and we spent months waiting for any sign that Evanlyn Caelum, or anyone from the West survived and would return to retrieve you. But nobody came."

Alana wiped tears from her eyes, sobs still shaking her shoulders. She shook her head and got to her feet.

"I- I can't talk about this right now," she gasped, almost falling over. "I can't think about this, I can't- I just-"

The two Paladins staring lifelessly at the cavern ceiling, killed because they were buying the Caelums time.

"It's so much, I-"

Nathanael's eyes going dull as the Geoshard crystal formed... almost a crown over his temples.

"I don't know what to do, I-"

The wound in Evanlyn's stomach, red flowing down her torso, her skin deathly pale as she did everything she could to secure the future of her realm.

The Shadow Clan leader reached out for her, but for a moment, all Alana could see was the hand of the Dark Slinger reaching out of the darkness, trying to steal her away from her home. She took rapid steps backwards, holding a trembling hand up and whistling for Midnight.

"I need to go, I can't be here anymore, I just... I'm so-so sorry, I never should have-have- I need to go!" she stammered, taking heaving breaths. It felt like she was drowning, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to get a good breath of air.

Midnight sprinted into the clearing, the black and cyan wolf coming to a screeching halt in front of her rider. The Shadow Clan leader stepped forward.

"You're not in any shape to be riding through Slugterra-"

Alana shook her head, still sobbing and shaking as she climbed up on Midnight, her mind immediately thinking back to her mother riding away with her on Ranger.

"I can't be-be around anyone right now, I-I'm sorry!"

She didn't even know why she was apologizing, but she couldn't make herself stop. She didn't know what to do.

With that, Alana sped forward on Midnight, tearing out of the Dark Periphery, away from the Shadow Clan and away from where she had just arrived what seemed like lifetimes earlier to learn more about herself.

Now she wished she hadn't.

She continued to cry as Midnight sprinted through the black and green forests of the Dark Periphery, her shoulders shaking and head hurting. She was completely overloaded, and every time she blinked, there was a new horrific image seared in her mind.

The Dark Slinger standing at the top of the mushroom tree, clutching the collars of the two brave Paladins.

The way Nathanael writhed for a moment before becoming still as the ghouled Geoshard crystallized his brain.

Evanlyn not relaxing until Alana was in the portal, shoulders dropping with relief before she collapsed on the forest floor.

Chills ran down Alana's spin, and she wiped away her tears only for more to take their place. Her hands were tightly gripping Midnight's handlebars, so hard she could barely feel her fingertips, but she couldn't relax.

She felt like she knew too much, like she had cheated in a game and now knew how the story ended. But now she knew how her story began.

Who was the Dark Slinger? Why had he wanted her and Evanlyn? And what could have gone so wrong to make him so cruel and evil?

The look of pure rage he'd had when he pounded desperately against the shield of energy, and then the blank expression as he walked past Nathanael's corpse without even a hint of remorse. The thought of him terrified Alana, and as the black and green trees of the Dark Periphery faded away into more brightly colored mushroom trees, she realized that she didn't want to go back to Wild Spores.

Alana didn't want to go back to the hideout, to face Eli, Trixie, Kord, and Pronto. She didn't want to have to explain herself, and she knew Eli would mean well, but he would pry and if she had to talk about what she just saw, she felt like whatever had cracked deep down inside her would completely shatter. She didn't want to have a breakdown right in front of everyone.

She just had to do what she did when she lost Will. Get over it on her own.

Yeah. Yeah, I've done this before. I can do it now.

But losing Will in a portal wasn't the same as seeing the Dark Slinger drop the dead Paladins at his feet, or seeing the fear in Nathanael's eyes as his wife was forced to choose his fate.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dana rode at the front of the group, leading the half dozen uniformed Blakk Industries workers (and Twist, who still refused to wear the uniform. He claimed it was uncomfortable, but Dana had a feeling that wasn't the case).

Doctor Blakk was hesitant to leave Dana to her own devices on this mission. She could understand why- she was itching to just take Alana down. But Blakk wanted her to see if they could essentially make another Dana.

And if that was the compromise, ghouling her instead of killing her? Dana still considered that a win.

"Where is she heading?" Twist asked from her left, riding slightly behind her.

Dana glanced down at her Mecha's screen, where a flashing blue dot was speeding through the Jungle Cavern.

"Not back to Wild Spores," she noted. "There must be trouble in paradise if she doesn't even want to talk to Eli."

Twist was silent for a moment. Then, he asked,

"I thought you just had a grudge against Alana. What's your deal with Eli?" he asked.

Dana's hands tightened around her stallion Mecha's handlebars, and she kept her scarlet eyes staring at the path in front of her.

"After Will Shane died, I thought I could still get her on my side. Maybe without being some closely connected to the Shanes, I could get her out of it somehow. But she always stuck by the Shane name and insisted that when Will's heir took the job over, she would stand beside him," she explained. Then she scowled.

"Besides, it's naive of them to think that a single person can really change people's lives. What have the Shanes ever done for me?"

~~~~~~~~

Alana had never felt like this before.

She kept her arms wrapped around herself, her tears long gone. Her body didn't have strength- or fluids- to keep crying. She just kept taking shallow, shaky breaths as Midnight wandered aimlessly around the Jungle Cavern.

She remembered the dull pain of grief she'd felt when she lost Will. But this was grief and sadness and confusion and anger- and pain. Her head hurt so much, images of the violent fall of the West flashing in her mind.

She just couldn't get the image of her father's blank eyes out of her head.

Mage chirped quietly from her shoulder, looking up at Alana with a wide blue eye. She nuzzled up against her slinger's neck. Alana raised a hand, rubbing her healer's cheek for a moment, but she felt no comfort.

She didn't know how long she road, shoulders trembling and eyes droopy from crying. Nothing caught her eye- the dark jungle was passing by in a dark blue and purple flash. The sounds of birds and slugs meshed together to form white noise.

And then, a flash of pink, and a startled voice ringing out.

"Alana?"

Alana's instincts kicked in and she slammed on the brakes, Midnight digging her claws into the dirt. She grabbed her blaster, her heart pounding as she looked around her wildly for the source of the voice.

A figure stepped out onto the forest path, in a pale pink dress. She had a paint-stained apron and short black hair held back by a bandana. She took a few hesitant steps toward Alana, looking down at the blaster in the slinger's hands.

"I must not have sounded that threatening," Max said with a small laugh. Alana followed Max's gaze down to her hand. It was trembling slightly, but she realized that Max hadn't noticed that. The artist had seen that Alana had failed to actually load the blaster.

Alana forced out a nervous, trying to smile.

"Guess not. I-I've had a bit of a day," she said, hoping her voice sounded steady. Max frowned as she continued to approach Alana.

"I can see that. Are you okay?" she asked. Alana realized that she looked about as horrible as she felt. Her hair was frizzy and falling from her ponytail, her eyes were puffy from crying, and her breathing was still shallow.

"I- um- yeah," Alana said breezily, but as she spoke, she felt more tears springing into her eyes.

Come on, not right now-

"Are you sure? You kinda look like you've been crying," Max noted, resting a hand on Midnight's side.

"No I haven't," Alana said immediately.

As a tear fell down her cheek. Max raised an eyebrow and smiled sadly.

"Alana," she said softly. "Are you okay?"

Alana's shoulder sagged as more tears fell down her face. She shook her head as she wiped them away.

"No," she gasped. "No, I'm not."

She ran her hands through her bangs, trying desperately to block away the emotions that were rising up inside her. The fear she'd felt when the Dark Slinger held the blades of his blaster to her throat-

"I'm sorry, I've just had a bad day," she said, waving a hand. "I'm on my way back to the hideout right now, I'll sleep it off-"

"No you're not," Max said, crossing her arms. Alana bit her lip.

"Yeah, I am-" she began again, but Max interrupted her.

"No, you're not, cause you live in Wild Spores. Which is that way," she said, pointing to the right of the path. "Now, I know you're a kid and all, but you don't strike me as the kind of kid who wouldn't know where she lives."

Alana sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, okay, you're right. I'm just kinda riding around right now. I don't know where to go," she admitted. "I'm not in a position where I want to go back to the gang right now."

Max shifted her weight back and forth, thinking for a minute.

"Well, I've got camp set up a couple dozen yards into the forest," she said. "If you're in no position to go back to your friends, you probably shouldn't be speeding around Slugterra."

"No," Alana said immediately. "You've already gotten into trouble because of the Shane Gang before, I don't want it to happen again."

"I didn't really get into trouble, just... an inconvenience," Max said. "That Dana girl can be a real piece of work."

Alana laughed, but this one was a little more genuine.

"Yeah, you're definitely right there," she said, subconsciously running a hand along her forearm where Dana had taken a slice with her dagger the day she'd been ghouled. "But I don't want to intrude."

"It's just me and two slugs, you aren't intruding," Max assured. When Alana still seemed hesitant, the artist sighed. "Look, I don't know what happened to you, and I won't ask. But right now, the Shane Gang is fighting the good fight, and it's one that I don't think I could ever really be a part of. Please let me help out in whatever way I can."

Alana glanced down at Ash, who nodded encouragingly, one of his first movements since Alana had left the Dark Periphery.

"Okay," Alana said, nodding. "Th-thanks, Max."

"You're welcome. Come on," Max said with a smile, beckoning for Alana to follow after her on Midnight. The artist led Alana a little ways into the mushroom trees, where a tent and campfire were set up. Max's Vinedrill and Frostcrawler were sitting near the flames, appearing to amuse themselves by the Frostcrawler trying to make ice sculptures fasted than the fire could melt them.

"Why exactly are you out camping again? More landscapes?" Alana asked curiously, already finding herself feeling better in someone else's presence. She got down off Midnight and watched as Max's face turned pink.

"Not exactly. I'm moving," Max explained. "I used to live in Blade City, but..."

"Blakk just bought land there for a new train depot," Alana finished. Max nodded.

"I could've stayed, but I couldn't stand the thought of living so close to somewhere with so many Blakk Industries workers," she said as she held out her hand. Her Vinedrill and Frostcrawler hopped into it, looking up at Alana curiously. "I've got my works and valuables in storage for now, until I can find a new studio somewhere else."

Alana couldn't help but feel guilty about Max's situation. The Shane Gang was doing its best to fight Doctor Blakk, but they couldn't stop everything.

"I'm sorry to hear about that," she said. Max shook her head.

"Don't be. A change will be good for us, anyway, so it's all working out," she said, walking up to her tent and opening the flap, grabbing a blanket from inside. "Now, you need to get some rest. You can take the sleeping bag. I'll chill out here with a blanket for a bit."

Alana blinked in surprise.

"I can take the blanket," she said. "It's your sleeping bag. And your tent."

"Nah, I'm a night owl anyways," Max said breezily, picking up a holodesk from inside the tent. "I'm gonna keep house hunting for a bit, anyways. You just focus on getting some rest, okay?"

Alana wanted to protest. But she was absolutely exhausted, and after how the last few hours had gone, she couldn't bring herself to keep caring about being a bother. If the offer was there, then she'd take it.

"Thank you," the slinger said, walking into the tent.

"No problem. I'll be out here if you need anything," Max said. "I hope things feel a little better in the morning."

Alana nodded and ducked down into the tent. It was small, but had enough room for a sleeping bag and some space on either side of it. She unclipped her backpack and bandoleer, setting them and her blaster on the ground next to the sleeping bag before crawling into it.

She didn't know why, but being covered up comforted her. It was like she was a child huddling up under a blanket.

Like I was when the Dark Slinger showed up in my room.

Alana winced and pushed the thought away, curling up into a ball as more tears formed in her eyes.

She knew what was coming.

She wanted to use her Slyren for a dreamless sleep, but Max couldn't defend herself if she needed to. Alana had to be ready to wake up and be aware enough to help the artist if she needed to.

Maybe if she hadn't had such a terribly exhausting day, she would have resisted sleep. But she couldn't- every muscle in her body just wanted to shut down. So, bracing herself for the nightmares ahead of her, she closed her eyes.

She opened them, and she was sitting at a dinner table.

She immediately recognized the room she sat in. The living room of her house in the West. Branches from the tree holding the room up occasionally came up through the floor and through the ceiling. Periwinkle flowers bloomed on some of the branches.

Alana looked to her left and right, and her heart fluttered as she saw her parents.

Evanlyn was to her right, her brown and cyan hair no longer frizzy and matted with blood. Her face was free from cuts and bruises, the only imperfections a scar on her eyebrow and the one that stretched down from her neck to beneath her shirt. Ash sat on her shoulder.

Nathanael was to Alana's left, looking lively and cheerful. His sniper blaster looked clean and new, and his clothes were no longer ragged. Alana stared at him and Evanlyn, noting the similarities she shared with her parents. Evanlyn's eyes and face, Nathanael's hair and build.

Then Nathanael turned to her, concerned.

"What's wrong, Alana?" he asked, and the sound of his voice struck a chord in Alana's heart. "Why aren't you eating?"

Alana blinked and looked down in front of her. She could have sworn there hadn't been something there originally, but now there was a plate of spaghetti in front of her.

"Nothing, it's fine, Dad," she said, and the word 'Dad' felt foreign on her tongue, but she couldn't think of why. In fact, everything here seemed off, like it shouldn't be happening, but the reason was just out of Alana's grasp...

"Wish you could've come with us today, spark," Evanlyn said, and it clicked with Alana that this was her parents' nickname for her. "That pyromaniac who was causing trouble in Ontaria Cavern? We finally drove her out to the Cay Cavern. She didn't know what to do surrounded by nothing but beaches and saltwater. You would've loved the look on her face."

Alana smiled, and immediately her mind was filled with images of the small, warm cavern that had nothing but shallow reefs and sand.

"I bet I would've," she said. Evanlyn nodded, but the smile on her face was fading. When Alana looked over at Nathanael, his cheerful demeanor was falling as well.

"Now if only we could've handled the Dark Slinger's fires that well," he said, and Evanlyn nodded grimly in agreement. Alana frowned.

The Dark Slinger...

The name resonated with something inside her, and she felt a small wave of fear. But she couldn't remember anything about him.

"Yes, what happened with him was a shame," Evanlyn said, and Ash chirped sadly from her shoulder.

"Happened with who?" Alana asked, growing more and more distressed. "Who's the Dark Slinger?"

Evanlyn looked at her confusedly.

"Don't you remember, spark?" Nathanael said, and when Alana turned to him, she gasped and jumped to her feet, her chair clattering to the ground.

He had changed. His clothes were singed and torn, his face was bruised, and there was a crown of sickly green crystal at his temples.

"D-Dad!" she gasped, backing away. Her heartbeat sped up- she was remembering. "I-I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, sweetie, there's nothing you could've done," Evanlyn said, but now she was tattered too, and there was a red stain at her stomach. "You were only a child. It was him, the Dark Slinger. And it's okay that you forgot us for so long. You had to."

"I'm sorry that..." Alana said, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry that we couldn't have this."

She gestured to the room around her, but flames were starting to appear on the floor and walls. Alana gasped as she felt a rush of cold energy approaching.

"Don't you feel that?" Evanlyn asked, looking around as the coldness approached. Alana gasped as a flicker of blue formed behind her. A circle of light- the portal. "Something's coming."

"I want to stay this time, maybe I can help!" Alana said, resisting the pulls of gravity that began to yank her into the portal. Nathanael sighed, and he and Evanlyn got to their feet.

"No, you need to leave. You need to wake up," he said sympathetically. Alana frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Evanlyn held out her hands, and they began to glow bright blue. The gravity of the portal increased, and so did the feeling of cold.

"You need to leave, Alana," Evanlyn said, her voice urgent. "You need to wake up!"

Alana bolted upright, immediately grabbing her bandoleer and blaster, the feeling of urgency from her dream carrying over into reality. She flung the tent open, gasping for breath as she rapidly looked around.

It was still dark out. The campfire had died down to a few glowing embers, barely lighting where Max had set up camp. But Alana could feel the prickling iciness of dark energy around her.

She looked down at the ground next to the tent, where Max was curled up in her fluffy purple blanket, now awake and looking up at Alana with concern. The artist opened her mouth to speak, but Alana held up a hand, silencing her.

Still groggy with sleep, Alana couldn't pinpoint the dark energy. But she felt it growing nearer, and then-

"Get down!" Alana called, tackling Max to the ground as a Grimmstone soared through the air. Instead of hitting the girls, it slammed into Max's Mecha, crippling the vixen's back legs.

Alana looked up wildly, loading her blaster while Max got to her feet, brushing grass off her dress.

"What's going on?" she asked. Alana scowled as she squinted at the dark mushroom trees around them, trying to make out where the enemy was. Her head was still fuzzy from sleep and she was still trying to push away thoughts of her dream.

"We're under attack. You need to leave, now," Alana said.

But then, there was the click of a blaster. And another. And another, and several more after that, and uniformed Blakk Industries workers emerged from the jungle, all with loaded blasters pointed at Alana and Max.

And then came Dana Edwards, with Twist following behind her.

"Nobody's going anywhere," Dana said coldly. Alana scowled and raised her blaster so it was pointing at the ghoulslinger.

"I wouldn't do that," Dana said calmly, unfazed by Alana's action. "You're outnumbered and outmatched. You can't beat all of us while also protecting your pathetic friend here."

She nodded towards Max, whose face turned red. Alana sighed and lowered her blaster, eyeing the workers around her. There were six uniformed goons, then Twist and Dana. Bad odds even on a day where she'd had a full night's rest and no traumatizing memories revealed.

"What do you want, Dana?" Alana asked, trying to keep her hands from shaking.

"I want you to come with me. No fight, no struggle, and I won't take the artist either," Dana said, her scarlet eyes briefly flicking to Max before settling back on Alana.

And as Alana looked at Dana, she thought back to the memories she relieved. When Evanlyn had to choose between giving herself up to the Dark Slinger or letting Nathanael die.

Only this time, there was no grand trick to keep hope alive.

Alana glanced behind her at Max, who looked terrified, but shook her head. There were tears forming in her dark, slanted eyes.

"Don't do this," she whispered, and Alana's shoulders drooped.

"She's not kidding," Alana said quietly, dread filling her body. "She will kill you, Max."

She turned back to face Dana, feeling sick as she holstered her blaster.

"She and my slugs get to leave. No duel. I'll go with you," Alana said. Surprisingly, her voice didn't crack.

Something felt wrong. She felt like she should be devastated over agreeing to go with Dana. But...

She didn't care.

Dana nodded.

"I couldn't care less about your slugs. Pretty soon, they won't matter," she said.

Alana unclipped her bandoleer and backpack. Her hands were trembling, but overall, her fear had subsided. She was just feeling numb.

After the night she'd already had, she just didn't know what else to do.

"Stay with Max, you guys," she said blankly, looking down at her slugs' devastated faces. Ash and Mage chirped angrily from her shoulders, but she gently picked up the Infurnus and the Boon Doc and set them on Max's shoulders. Tears were forming in Mage's eye. "I'm not gonna win this fight, and I can't let Dana ghoul all of you."

"Alana," Max said, tears spilling onto her cheeks. "Why are you doing this, you can still try to fight her-"

"Max, I've had the worst night of my life. I'm an optimistic person, but I'm not taking down eight ghoulslingers," Alana said quietly. "Right now, I just need you to leave here and go get help."

She turned back to Dana, and after a moment of hesitation, she tossed her black and cyan blaster to her old friend. Dana caught it and handed it to Twist, looking suspicious.

"I was expecting you to start a fight," she said coldly as Alana walked towards her. "This isn't like you."

Alana sighed, and when she looked up at Dana, her blue eyes were dull.

"You still side with Blakk after he killed Master Shanai," she said. "That shows that you're losing respect for people's lives. I'm not letting an innocent person get hurt because of a monster I helped make."

Dana didn't even have a negative reaction toward being called a monster. Instead, her lips turned upward in a victorious smirk, and she nodded forward. Two of the ghoulslingers approached Alana, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her forward. Alana tried to ignore Max's stifled cries.

She just... couldn't bear the thought of seeing someone else die. Seeing another blank face.

Dana watched as Alana was pulled in front of her, still holding her blaster. A wicked smile grew on her face.

"You know, I've just realized that if we let the artist go, she'll just go tattle to your gang, and then we'll have them to worry about," she said. Alana's eyes widened as Dana raised her blaster and pointed at Max. "I said I wouldn't take her, but I didn't say she could leave in one piece."

Alana cried out as Dana pulled the trigger, but to her surprise, Twist lunged forward, pushing Dana's arm as she fired and throwing the Hop Jack off target. Alana whipped around, fighting against the two uniformed workers, and watched as the Hop Jack didn't hit Max square on, but still detonated at her side. She was blown to the side, landing on the ground and groaning

Tears welled up in Alana's eyes when she saw the artist in a crumpled heap, her dress now singed and stains of red growing. But Max still slowly got up, picking up Alana's bandoleer and backpack with a trembling hand and stumbling backwards, facing Dana with fear.

Alana gritted her teeth and whipped back around to face Dana, fury rising up inside her.

And then, everything was blue as Alana summoned her light energy. Her body faintly glowed blue as strength coursed through it. She ripped away from the ghoulslingers, kicking one in the stomach and punching the other on the left side of his face.

"Max! Take Midnight and go!" Alana yelled as Dana lunged forward. At the sound of her name, Midnight bounded forward from where she'd been standing with Max's now-crippled Mecha. The wolf came to a halt next to Max, and when the artist hesitated, Midnight leaned forward and gently nudged Max back onto her saddle. Max's skin was growing paler and the wound from the Hop Jack was growing, so she relented, climbing up on the Mecha, wincing as she did.

Relieved, Alana focused on the impossible fight she had just started. Dana and Twist both sped forward, and suddenly the look of Dana's scarlet eyes lunging toward Alana reminded her of the Dark Slinger, and she lost her concentration. The blue around her dissipated, and she felt her strength go back to normal.

Oh no.

Twist dropped down to the ground, spinning his legs and knocking Alana's feet out from under her. She rolled away just as Dana's boot came slamming on the ground where Alana's face had been seconds before. Alana scrambled to her feet, dodging as Twist tried to land a punch on her shoulder and then she turned to face Dana-

And found herself looking down the barrel of a black and scarlet blaster.

"Nice try," Dana said, firing the Amperling.

It transformed and the second it hit Alana, she was trying desperately to punch or pull the ghoul off. But its grip was too strong, and with a growl, it released wave after wave of electricity. Alana cried out and dropped to her knees as it felt like her entire body was prickling and burning on the inside. Her vision blurred and the flashes from the red and white lightning from the ghoul gave her a headache.

And then it was over, and the ghoul returned to protoform. Alana's entire body felt like she had been hit with a Mecha. Blackness crawled into the corners of her vision, and she felt more hands on her shoulders, dragging her forward into the jungle. And before the blackness consumed her vision, she thought something that she had never let herself think before.

I can't do this anymore.

~~~~~~~~

Max was gasping for breath, her hands shaking. Everything had happened so fast. She was in pain, and then there was Alana yelling at her to leave, and it had taken every ounce of strength to climb up on the wolf Mecha and leave. Now it was speeding through the jungle, and everything was passing by in blurs of color.

She was on the Mecha backwards, laying with her head up next to the wolf's screen between the handlebars. One glance at her right side told her that she wasn't one for blood. Part of her skirt and apron were burnt away, revealing a bloody and singed wound that stretched down from her ribcage to the start of her leg.

Alana's white Boon Doc hopped on her side and began to glow faintly. Max took a shuddering breath as the pain in her side faded away. She knew the healer wouldn't be able to do much in protoform, but she had no idea where her blaster had ended up in the fray of the fight. It certainly wasn't in its holster anymore.

The white Boon Doc's glow faded, and the healer gave an encouraging smile to Max before an Infurnus chirped from on top of the Mecha's screen.

The Infurnus's head had been aflame ever since they'd left Alana behind. He looked furious, and Max was a little scared of him, but she looked up at him anyway, looking at the map he had pulled up.

He pointed to the Boon Doc, then to a spot on the map labeled with the Shane star. Then he pointed to himself, and then to Max, then to a cavern marked with a + sign.

"Bonnie... Springs?" Max managed, wincing as pain shot up her side. The Infurnus nodded, then looked back at the Boon Doc. She seemed worried, but nodded anyway. With a final glance at Max, she jumped off the speeding Mecha and disappeared into the jungle.

Max looked back up at the Infurnus, who was staring at the map with narrowed red eyes, the flame on his head still burning brightly.

"Thank... you," Max coughed, brushing black hair from her face. The Infurnus looked at her and his gaze softened ever so slightly. He nodded, then hopped up to the wolf's head, where more of Alana's slugs were gathered. He began to chirp, and Max assumed he was explaining the plan to them.

She shifted back so she was facing the cavern ceiling, taking advantage of the Boon Doc's work. The pain would return eventually, and when it did...

She glanced at her side again and winced.

Hopefully they made it to Bonnie Springs in time.

And the second they did, she'd be sending healers out for Alana. Max had confidence in the young woman- it took a strong person to defend the caverns- but she had a feeling Alana would need them.

~~~~~~~~

I've got a final essay, a chemistry test, and prom to deal with in the next week, so I think I'm gonna call it right now and say no chapter next week

Cyan out!