Eli paced back and forth in front of the television, while Alana stood behind the couch, nervously cracking her knuckles. Trixie, Kord, and Pronto sat on the couch, while Red Hook could still be heard tinkering with the slingers' blaster cores in the garage.

It had only been a half hour since Blakk's message. Distress calls had immediately flooded in from Bonnie Springs and the caverns surrounding it, as if people thought there was any way the Shane Gang hadn't heard about what happened.

"This just got a whole lot more complicated," Eli said, shaking his head. His eyes were narrowed with frustration. "Even after seeing the drill, I was confident we could do this. We need to attack the citadel as soon as possible, because once the Dark Bane are here, I'm not sure we can stop them. But I was hoping to gather our allies for support."

"We can still get allies around," Trixie said. "We just won't have the healing support we'd like."

"We can gather as many people as we want, but the second we start to attack the citadel, he'll give the signal for his men to take Bonnie Springs," Alana explained. "He's got us backed into a corner. No matter what we do, we'll be split up."

"Could we not liberate Bonnie Springs first, and then attack Blakk?" Pronto asked.

"We could, but I don't think it's worth the risk," Kord said. "I'm not sayin' the people there are less important, but if we don't beat Blakk, it won't even matter. And we're the ones with the most experience fighting the Dark Bane, and Alana has to be ready to try to stop the portal."

Alana stayed silent, glancing down at the ground. The gang had to make their move fast to ensure the Dark Bane didn't breach the caverns, but it meant she had almost no time to prepare. She wouldn't have experience or training to fall back on when the time came for her to stop the portal- just instinct.

"So we hit both targets at the same time," Eli suggested. "If we just send other slingers to Bonnie Springs now, Blakk will be able to put a lot more effort into taking the cavern. But if we're also attacking the citadel, we'll be his focus."

"We'll be in the most danger," Trixie noted cautiously.

"Better us than the patients," Alana replied, and Trixie nodded.

"We're gonna need some information about what exactly's goin' on in Bonnie Springs," Kord said. "After we get that, we can meet up with some of our allies and pass it on to them tomorrow. Then the morning after, we all attack."

"It's probably not a good idea to message Sam," Trixie said. "She'll be busy, and we don't know if Blakk has access to the hospital's communications."

"Max, then," Alana said, heading over to the holodesk, trying to ignore the flashing red distress call tabs, all from panicking residents of Bonnie Springs. "I'll talk to her. After that, we should all get to sleep. We've got a big couple of days coming."

~~~~~~~~

Even before Blakk's announcement, Bonnie Springs Cavern didn't exactly have an intense night life. There were always cafes and clubs open after the Lumino light faded, but it was always safe to rely on calm and peaceful streets.

But now that slingers clad in Blakk Industries colors guarded every entrance and exit to the cavern, and new men and woman in pale gray and white uniforms patrolled the streets, not a soul stirred after dark-

Except for one wayward artist.

Max would have loved to be asleep at two in the morning. It had been maybe nine hours since Doctor Blakk's announcement, and Sam had quickly ushered her out of the hospital before things could grow chaotic. Sure enough, by nine that night, the new uniformed workers entered the cavern and instituted a strict curfew as soon as the Lumino darkened.

The idea, Max knew, was to keep doctors from sneaking out of the cavern, or prospective patients from sneaking in (Blakk's idea of 'select' patients being allowed into the cavern included only his own men). And while she wasn't exactly doing either of those things, she knew that being caught would end poorly.

She had two jobs: figure out who the new workers were, and then get to Sam. Admittedly, she would have done the latter even if Alana hadn't reached out to her. But now she was on Shane Gang business, not... personal.

Now she was only one block away from the hospital, clad in a black cardigan over a black t-shirt dress, dark gray leggings, and black boots. A pair of guards walked around the hospital, blasters in hand. Max crept down the street, glad for the periodic white mushroom tree to give her cover. She could go behind the guards and get to the hospital, but she had one thing to do first.

She grabbed her phone from her pocket, making sure it was on silent before she opened the camera. Carefully leaning out from behind her mushroom tree cover, Max zoomed in on the workers. The light gray and white felt like it should be familiar, but it wasn't until she zoomed in and could finally make out the symbol they wore on their sleeves that she realized whose workers they were.

"Oh, no," she breathed, her shoulders dropped as she lowered her phone and slid back behind the tree. She quickly sent a text to Alana, letting her know before she slid the phone in her pocket and crept forward.

The workers were about to round a corner and head up to the front of the hospital. Max took a few deep breaths, controlling her fear before the workers turned away from her.

Here goes nothing, she thought before sprinting out into the street. Her short black hair flew behind her as she ran across a street and vaulted the lines of bushes that bordered the hospital's property.

Max ran to a portion of the hospital that was cut off from the rest of the main building, at the very back of the hospital. She may have been new to Bonnie Springs, but she knew her way around.

More bushes lined the building itself. Max hurriedly crept into them, leaning against the smooth, cool wall of the hospital and slowing down her breathing.

"This sucks," she whispered to herself as she unclipped her blaster from her belt. It felt unfamiliar and bulky in her hand, especially with the new modification on the end. A silencer, so she would be able to fire her borrowed slug without attracting any attention. The Arachnet was already loaded and nodded when Max looked up at the windows that lined the hospital wall.

Her neighbor was a slug specialist, and luckily hadn't questioned anything when Max told him that she needed a silencer and an Arachnet. He was Max's age, and if there was perhaps one thing the younger generations in Slugterra had learned, it was that a fair degree of nonchalance was good to have.

"Which one is it?" she muttered to herself, scanning the windows worriedly. She didn't have time to guess and check. The next patrol could show up any minute.

With her other hand, Max pulled out her phone and texted Sam.

I need you to open your window.

The reply came almost immediately, which didn't surprise Max. The streets may be quiet, but not a lot of people were ready to sleep after Blakk's message.

What?? Why??

Max glanced up at her surroundings again, scanning the area for any more guards before she replied.

I'm below it somewhere but I don't know which one is yours.

A few moments passed before Max heard a sliding sound behind her. She looked up, and sure enough, one of the windows on the third floor had slid up. Max could just barely make out Sam's face through the screen.

"What are you doing out here?" Sam hissed.

"Take out the screen!" Max whispered up. "I need to come up there?"

"You're going to get caught!" Sam replied frantically.

"I know!" Max whisper-yelled, glancing over her shoulder to make sure there weren't guards nearby. "So take out the screen and get out of the way so I can come up!"

Sam sighed exasperatedly and fiddled with the window screen for a moment, popping it out before stepping back away from the window. Max glanced down at the Arachnet.

"I'm not a great shot, hang in there with me," she whispered, before taking aim and firing.

The Arachnet landed just above the window, spitting out a web that stuck to the end of Max's blaster. She tensed her arms as she was pulled upwards, swinging toward the open window.

Max tucked her knees up to her chest and tried to get a good footing on the window, but the edge of her boot slipped. For a second, her heart leapt in her throat as Max felt herself begin to fall back. But Sam sped forward from the darkness of the room, wrapping her arms around Max and pulling her inside, dressed in a white tank top and purple pajama pants with her curly brown hair in a wild mane.

Max felt her face flush, and hoped the darkness of the room would hide it well enough. She looked up at Sam and smiled faintly.

"Good evening," she laughed. Sam rolled her eyes and let go of Max, quickly clicking the screen back on and shutting the window.

"You could have gotten in trouble with Blakk's workers," Sam said disapprovingly. "And there's no Shane Gang coming to save us now."

"Well, the Shane Gang's why I'm here, actually," Max said, holstering her blaster. "I was supposed to check in with you. The gang doesn't want to send any messages into the hospital if they can avoid it. But... I was also supposed to scope out the security they've got patrolling the streets. Can you see them from up here?"

Sam shook her head. "Not in detail," she replied. "I can just see them walking around the streets. Why?"

Max sighed and shifted her weight back and forth.

"They're not from Blakk Industries," she said, her eyes meeting Sam's. "They're from Gray Enterprise."

~~~~~~~~

Alana lay on the edge of the mushroom tree's canopy. She was on her side, her legs pulled up to her chin. This was one of the highest points in Wild Spores, completely cut off- the top of the enormous tree that held up the Shane hideout.

Tears flowed down her cheeks, but there was no more noise from her throat- how long had it been since Will had disappeared? It felt like an eternity. Time had stopped working properly ever since Blakk had first fired that monstrous slug.

She hadn't been eating or drinking properly. Grendel had stopped by once or twice, but even though the caverns all seemed to be holding their breath, waiting to see if the Shane would return, he still had plenty of work to do at the forge.

Ash and Mage sat a few feet away from her, at a loss of what to do for their slinger, their poor little girl who had far too much misery for such a small body.

"What are you doing up here?" a voice snapped, breaking the dead silence.

Alana blinked slowly, processing who the voice belonged to. But she made no moves to acknowledge it.

"I know you can hear me," the irritated voice said, growing louder as the person walked closer. Ash and Mage perked up, chirping quietly, although they knew she wouldn't stop to say hello to them. She wasn't the kindest when in came to slugs, but even they knew that she had a shot to get through to Alana.

But Alana still didn't react.

"Come on. Get up," the voice repeated. "At least say something. Talk to me."

"What do you want from me?" Alana croaked, her voice raspy. The person sighed and grabbed Alana's shoulder, turning her around so she was facing upward.

Alana blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sight of Dana Edwards standing there, in a black and white hoodie and black pants, her brown hair illuminated by the Lumino crystals on the cavern ceiling.

"Not now, Dana," she said quietly. "I want to be alone."

"No," Dana said, dragging Alana forward so she was sitting upright before sitting down in front of her friend. "Now. I'm not letting you mope any longer. You look horrible, Alana. You're thinner and you have circles under your eyes."

"He's gone," Alana whispered, a tremor in her voice. "He's gone and I was there and I could have done something."

"No, you couldn't have. What's a ten-year-old gonna do? You can shoot straight, but that's about it," Dana countered. "You wouldn't have stopped it. You would've just gotten hurt, or worse."

"I'd take that over this," Alana mumbled. Dana shook her head.

"Don't say that. You need to get up, stop feeling sorry for yourself," Dana pressed, standing and holding out a hand. "You always told me that no matter how dark things get, there's light. Follow your own advice. Will Shane wouldn't want you to be miserable for the rest of your life, would he?"

Alana shook her head, wiping some more tears from her eyes before carefully taking Dana's hand and getting to her feet.

The memories of what would come next flashed through her mind. It would take multiple visits from Dana, pressing her to get up and carry on before Alana would go back to her normal self. It would be a long process, but Alana would eventually see that even if there didn't seem to be a light, she could make her own.

"See, we didn't always fight."

Alana blinked and she and Dana were older. Dana had scarlet streaks in her hair, and her eyes were red and filled with raging emotions.

"I know," Alana said, pulling her hand away from Dana's.

"I helped you. You had always helped me so I helped you," Dana noted. "You still remember that."

"Of course-"

"Then why won't you help me now? I need it, Alana," Dana said, her voice turning desperate. Her eyes turned green, and the red began to fade from her hair.

Alana wanted to step forward, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"I know. But so does all of Slugterra," Alana replied, her voice wavering. "I need to focus on the portal, not you. I'm so sorry."

Dana immediately changed again, her eyes and hair regaining their red tints.

"Fine," she said, loading a Thrasher and raising her blaster. "See you there."

She pulled the trigger,

and Alana woke up with a jolt. She quickly sat up, her eyes wide with panic as her hand went to her side, where the first Thrasher had cut into it months ago. Ash jumped onto her shoulder from her nightstand, nuzzling her cheek and chirping.

"Hey, bud," Alana said quietly, glancing at her window. The Lumino had already lit up Wild Spores. She could hear voices from downstairs, where the rest of the gang was already awake. She wanted to put in as much work as the rest of them, but she couldn't bring herself to argue against the extra rest to recharge her energy.

"Let's get going," she said after a few moments, getting to her feet and changing into her slinging gear. "We've got a lot to get done today."

~~~~~~~~

Eli decided that to start the day off, they'd do some multitasking. Red Hook had been up late that night working on the Shane Gang's blasters, modifying them with an accelerator that would allow them to fire megamorphs. It was a rushed science that didn't completely put the gang in the clear- there was a cooldown required after multiple megamorphs shots- but now they stood a fighting chance against the megamorphed ghouls.

So while the slingers eagerly tested their blasters on their slugs to find out who all could megamorph (which involved a small amount of destruction to some mushroom trees, but it was a good stress reliever).

"We're going to split up a bit today," Eli said. "But nobody goes near Bonnie Springs. I don't want anyone to think we're trying to get in."

Alana nodded as she fired her Jellyish, wincing as the extra speed completely threw Ali out of balance and sent the slug careening into a bush. She'd relayed Max's message to the rest of the gang, letting them know that while Blakk had ghoulslingers stationed at the cavern's entrances and exits, it was Gray Enterprise slingers that patrolled the streets.

"Kord and Pronto, you two will escort Red Hook to the King of Sling's mansion. King's already sheltering a lot of refugees, he said one more won't be a problem," Eli said, pausing to watch as his Tazerling, Joules, megamorphed and created an enormous bolt of lightning that crackled through the air and nearly caused a mushroom tree to explode. "Trixie will meet up with Dana Por to start traveling around to our allies throughout the caverns."

Trixie paused after a failed attempt from her Lariat to megamorph.

"What about you and Alana?" she asked. Eli sighed, his shoulders dropping.

"We've gotta take a trip to the Lightwell," he said, sounding less than amused.

"At least this time we aren't on the same time limit as before," Alana reminded. "And I won't be constantly on the verge of passing out."

"Consider yourself lucky, then. You get to deal with the worm this time," Eli said, holstering his blaster.

"No way. We're using the Crystalyd to just bust through the wall," Alana insisted quickly. "We are not coming out of there as smelly as last time. Because as soon as we're done..."

"We'll meet the rest of you guys at Ricochet Pizza with our other friends, and go over the game plan there," Eli finished. Trixie nodded, holstering her blaster.

"See you then," she said. "Hopefully, with a lot of backup."

~~~~~~~~

Shortly after the megamorph test, Alana and Eli took off for the Lightwell, now armed with over a dozen megamorphs between them. Alana's slugs had been the most prone to megamorphing, which Kord theorized was because of their constant exposure to slug energy making them more able to handle the extra power. The two stuck to the outskirts of caverns, not passing through any towns, but Alana still felt powerful with the upgraded arsenal.

"So we know a trip to the Lightwell will be good for recharging your powers, but what are those for?" Eli asked, pointing down to a dozen plastic spheres Alana had in an over-the-shoulder bag.

"Just riding through the caverns, I can feel Slugterra's energy weakening," Alana said, focusing on the energy for a short moment, meant with a chill. "Blakk's ghouling a lot of slugs for this portal. Like you said, going to the Lightwell will help block some of that out, but there'll still be over twelve hours until we go to the citadel where we don't have time for a trip all the way out here. I'm hoping I can actually capture some of the energy in these things to use in the citadel, to boost my powers. Because with all that dark energy, I'm gonna need it."

"Got it. You're sure those things will help enough with the energy, though?" Eli asked. "I'm not gonna lie, I feel kinda bad about our plan for the attack."

Alana sighed, leaning back in her seat and looking up at the cavern ceiling as she rode.

"It makes sense, though. I'm the only one who can take down Dana, and we need to do that before we try to neutralize the portal," she said. "Otherwise she can just corrupt all that energy again. It won't be fun," she admitted. But she smiled faintly, glancing at Ash determinedly. "But I got this."

"Yeah. This time next week, we'll all be... well, hopefully resting up," Eli laughed. "But knowing us, probably working nonstop to gather up all the ghouls left behind by Blakk. There'll be a lot to do."

Alana nodded as she and Eli rode into the dark chamber that held the entrance to the Lightwell. They dismounted, and Eli put on the shadow talker, waiting for the Shadow Clan to appear. But nobody came.

After a minute of silence, Alana laughed quietly and shook her head.

"How does it feel to be ignored by the Shadow Clan?" she asked, walking up to the black stone wall where she faintly remembered the Shadow Clan opening an entrance.

"Not great," Eli said dejectly, taking off the shadow talker and clipping it to his belt. "We haven't heard much from them lately. Where do you think they are?"

"Well, they really seemed to start taking the Dark Bane threat seriously after Blakk almost destroyed the Lightwell," Alana noted, running a gloved hand along the wall. "Maybe they're at the guardian gate?"

"If they are, that's another thing to add to the to-do list," Eli noted. "I was thinking about getting them to help us at the citadel if all our slinger allies will be at Bonnie Springs."

Alana opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she felt a faint spot of warmth on the stone wall.

"I think I can open it," she said, closing her eyes. She willed light energy to come forward, letting it pour out from her hand and into the stone. Lines of bright blue light shot up from her fingertips, in the shape of a doorway. When it was complete, the blue turned to pale green, and with a rumble the stone wall parted into an entrance.

"Ta-da," Alana said, stepping away from the wall. She swayed slightly, but quickly caught herself, shaking her head to clear the daze that came from exerting energy. It wouldn't have normally been difficult, but Blakk's rapid ghouling was definitely taking a toll on the strength of Slugterra's energy.

"Nice!" Eli exclaimed, stepping into the tunnel Alana had created. "And given that you can actually walk this time and we know what we're going to face, this should be a lot easier than last time. You ready?"

"To see the heart of Slugterra's energy without being on basically the brink of death? Yeah," Alana laughed, following after him.

Eli was right - without having to make periodic stops for Alana to find the energy to walk another step, the journey to the Lightwell was far less perilous. The room with the floating stones over the sickly green water was more of a game to see who could jump the farthest.

The metallic bat and the fish weren't exactly doing wrong- they were put there to allow slugs through and keep humans out. But whenever they came into sight, Alana would pause her parkour and summon some light energy forward, letting a ball of blue light swirl in her palm. At this, the creatures retreated.

Unfortunately, the cognitive abilities of the giant worm and the flying scorpions weren't as advanced. Eli did use the Crystalyd to drill through the wall next to the worm instead of crawling through it, but the creature still spotted them and tried to attack. It took a few minutes to get a proper shot lined up without worrying about being crushed, but Alana was finally able to use a Frostcrawler to freeze it solid just like Eli had done before. The winged scorpions were taken care of like before as well- a Slyren shot from Eli, boosted by Alana to give the two plenty of time in the Lightwell.

After the scorpion hive, Alana couldn't help but run ahead of Eli, down the final tunnel that eventually opened up into the Lightwell's chamber. She could feel its warmth spreading through the stone beneath her feet, filling the air with a pleasant warmth. The chamber itself was still slightly damaged- the steps leading up to the Lightwell were still cracked from Blakk's attack, and the arm of the Shadow Clan statue still layed on the ground. But Alana still felt a sense of belonging as she walked up to the well.

"How is it?" Eli asked, following behind her. He definitely wasn't as enthusiastic, but he still gazed at the Lightwell in wonder.

"Well, it's amazing, obviously," Alana said, walking up the steps to the Lightwell and kneeling in front of it. Her smile wavered as she held her hand above the pure light energy. "But it's definitely weaker than last time, I can tell. Blakk's ghouling is getting to it."

"Will you still be able to use it?" Eli asked worriedly. Alana nodded, lowering her hand so it was just above the nearly liquid light matter.

"Yeah, but it's a good thing this will all be over by the end of tomorrow," she said. "Otherwise in the next couple weeks, we'd start to see a lot of deterioration in the caverns."

With that, Alana took a deep breath and lowered her hand into the Lightwell.

It was a familiar feeling, all of the light energy being at her fingertips. But last time, she had been desperate and panicked, just conscious enough to take in whatever energy she could before stopping Blakk's attempt at destroying the well.

This time, though, Alana had a clear mind, and could feel... everything. She could feel the light energy beneath the ground, branching out from the Lightwell and fueling everything, every mushroom and Lumino crystal and person and slug, all of Slugterra, with life. She could feel its infinite warmth, and even though it was retreating in the presence of dark energy, she knew that the energy was still very much alive.

And she knew that there was a lot more that she could learn to do with her energy.

Especially for a younger slinger, the brief temptation to harness as much of the energy as possible flashed in Alana's mind. But even without training with her powers, she knew that trying to take more than she could handle would burn herself up.

So she slowly took in the energy, letting it spread throughout her entire body, warming every bone. She could feel it crackling like electricity, tinting her vision blue. She glanced over at Eli, who sat on the steps next to her, watching in awe.

Alana held out her hand, and Eli began to unscrew the lids on the plastic sphere and hand them to Alana. She held them down in the Lightwell, willing light energy to fill them before closing the lid and handing them back to Eli.

After Alana had filled all twelve spheres, she savored the ocean of energy the Lightwell emitted for another moment before rising and walking down the steps.

The blue in her hair was more vibrant, and even though the glow had faded from it and her eyes, it still looked like she was radiating light from her body.

"That was... wow," Eli said. Alana laughed as she set the spheres in her bag.

"Very articulate," she noted.Very articulate," she noted, closing the bag and walking down the path, away from the Lightwell.

"I don't know how else to explain it," Eli laughed, walking alongside her. "Your hair, and your eyes- you look... brighter. How do you feel?"

"Brighter," Alana replied, looking down at her hands and smiling. "And ready to take down Blakk. Let's get to Ricochet's."

~~~~~~~~

Normally, Ricochet Pizza would have been open on a late afternoon. But today, it was closed, an apologetic sign from Mario Bravado hanging on the door saying that the restaurant would be closed for an unknown amount of time, but would be back in business as soon as possible.

There were no mechas directly out front- instead, they were parked behind the restaurant, hidden under tarps to keep out of sight of any passing citizens. Eli and Alana left their wolf mechas by the rest of the machines, tossing the last tarp over them before sliding in the back door of the building.

Alana couldn't help but smile as the two entered the restaurant- the air was warm and smelled like pizza. She and Eli walked through the kitchen and out into the sitting area, where slingers sat in the booths and circular tables, happily eating away at pizza. Alana and Eli stopped at the front counter, looking around at the allies they'd gathered.

Trixie, Kord, and Pronto sat together, next to a table with Red Hook, Grendel, and a few of the other Beast Forge engineers. Dana Por sat in a booth with Brodie and Indra, looking mildly uncomfortable to be pulled into a conversation. The King of Sling stood in front of a table of younger slingers from Land's End Cavern, while Coop and Millard Milford sat at a booth, exchanging slinging stories.

The crowd fell silent when Eli and Alana walked in, staring at them for a moment before the air was suddenly filled with warm greetings. Mario Bravado himself walked up behind the two slingers, walking out from behind the counter holding a cheese pizza.

"And our final two guests arrive!" he exclaimed, setting the pizza down on the table the rest of the gang sat around. "Help yourselves."

"Thanks, Mario," Eli said, grabbing a slice of pizza while Alana sat down and got a plate. "And thanks for letting us using Ricochet as a base."

"No problem," Mario said, wiping his hands on his apron. "Happy to help. Stage is all yours, kid."

Eli nodded, quickly finishing off his pizza before walking to the front of the counter. Trixie leaned over to Alana as the group fell silent.

"You look brighter," she noted. "Trip to the Lightwell went fine?"

"Definitely. Way easier than the first time," Alana added. "We were in and out, and the portal tomorrow might still be a problem, but we aren't at risk of me passing out as soon as we hit the citadel."

"Good, because Pronto needs everybody conscious to witness his magnificence in the final battle!" Pronto exclaimed. Alana laughed and assured Pronto she would be conscious before looking up at Eli, who took a deep breath.

"Thanks for gathering on such short notice," he began. "By now, you all know that Bonnie Springs Cavern is cut off from the rest of Slugterra. There's ghoulslingers posted at all the cavern entrances, and we have a friend who confirmed that slingers hired by Gray Enterprise- who have a business deal with Blakk- patrol the streets. Sneaking into the place is impossible, and if we even try, Blakk will give the word for his men to attack the patients of the hospital."

Alana winced, remembering the text conversation she'd had with Max that morning. Sam had been furious when she found out her parents were still working so closely with Blakk. With frightened patients (and hospital staff- at the notion of an invasion by Blakk, Alex had a panic attack) to worry about, it had been one more horrible thing to add to the situation.

"But, as some of you know," Eli continued, glancing at Red Hook, "Blakk is making a move to reach the Deep Caverns. We've reached the endgame, and we plan on invading the Blakk Industries citadel tomorrow."

Murmurs spread throughout the group, but they faded when Eli continued.

"That's not where you guys come in, though. Once we start our attack, Blakk will give the word to invade Bonnie Springs. We need defenders stationed at the cavern entrances, so as soon as Blakk's men get that order, you can get into the cavern and drive his forces out. With Gray slingers in the mix, it won't all be ghouls, but it'll still be a lot," Eli warned. "I know not all of you are slingers by nature," he continued, nodding toward Grendel and the other cave trolls. "But we need brave people we can trust for this."

"If there are Gray slingers in the streets and we'll be outside the cavern when Blakk gives the signal, we'll never make it to the hospital before shots are fired," Indra said. "We can be fast, but not that fast."

"That's where Dana comes in," Eli said, glancing at Dana, who scowled at now being the center of attention.

"I can get a small group in," she said, holding up the shadow walker. "But if they've really got slingers stationed all over, we'll be spotted pretty fast. So we teleport in right before you guys start the attack on Blakk's base."

"Nice," Brodie said, crossing her arms. "Count me in on that one."

Eli laughed and raised his hands. "You guys can decide on team positions. Whatever it takes to get the job done. But one thing's for sure, we're, uh, probably gonna want Bonnie Springs open to the public by the time we're done at Blakk's," he admitted. "We're gonna win, but it's gonna be a tough one. So, who's in?"

There was barely any hesitation. Everyone in the room raised a hand (in Red Hook's case, a hook). Even Mario, who admittedly hesitated before receiving encouragement from his Speedstinger, Finn, nodded.

Alana's eyes widened as she looked around, a smile on her face. Even she hadn't been expecting everyone to accept the offer. She looked up at Eli, who looked just as surprised, and gave a thumbs-up.

"That's- wow," he laughed. "Thanks, everyone."

"You young'uns are up there sayin' you'll do the hard part," Grendel laughed. "Least we can do is clear out Bonnie Springs for ya."

"After everything the Shane Gang has done for the caverns, we're ready to help you in any way we can," Indra said.

Alana felt her heart swell. They may not end up riding into battle with their allies, but it still was comforting to know they had so many people on their side. Her joy brought up her energy, and it felt like her fingertips were buzzing with electricity.

We're gonna win.

~~~~~~~~

SLAM!

The echo of the door shutting rang out through the entire training room. Ragged breaths shook Dana's shoulders as she looked around for a brief moment, confirming she was alone before she walked to the center of the room.

Her head was spinning, like she had just walked off a rollercoaster. She'd just ghouled another two dozen slugs, some of the last ones needed to power the terraportal. She'd already ghouled dozens that day, and it felt like her energy was completely depleted. Slugterra's light magic may be fading, but it still fought back.

Dana gasped as a chill ran down her arms, tugging her jacket closer to herself and screwing her eyes shut. It felt like there was a duel going on in her mind, a whirl of raging cold-

And then it stopped, and she was warm.

Dana lowered her hands, her breath leveling. She took a few steps back, looking around with wide green eyes.

This had happened ever since Alana released the wave of light energy that destroyed the ghouling chamber. When Dana's dark energy was wearing thin after a lot of use. It would fade away, retreating to recharge for a few minutes and leaving its host be.

It was, in essence, a moment of clarity. A moment where Dana hadn't even realized she had been harboring a constant headache, but now it seemed obvious because it was finally gone.

And now she could think clearly, without dark water feeding her aggression and anger, and she felt tears fill her eyes.

She'd attacked Antimony Cavern with the intent of... what? What would she have done? She didn't know. She could remember breaking into her old house, filled with fury and pain that maybe hadn't been all that affected by her energy. She remembered knowing that Rosemary should have been there, and she remembered not caring.

Dana hissed through her teeth, fighting to hold back sobs. She didn't care about what she would have done to her parents- they deserved whatever she could have given them- but what had Rosemary ever done wrong?

Then there was Alana.

She was angry with Alana, jealous of how she seemed to radiate hope in even the worst situations. Hurt over how she hadn't been there for Dana when she needed her. Just... angry. Angry at everything.

But angry enough to do what? Kill her?

How much of her aggression was because of the dark energy? What was she really willing to do? All of this had started because she didn't want to feel powerless anymore.

No matter how long it had been since she and Alana were close, the thought of killing her made Dana's heart sink. All her memories of better days had been spent with Alana, and sure, life hadn't been great then, but Dana would do anything to change what had happened at the ghoul depot.

"What now?" Dana whispered, knowing it was fruitless to think about changing her path. In a few moments, the energy would recharge, and all she'd be able to focus on is the negatives.

"'What now' indeed."

Dana's heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she gasped and spun around, her eyes wide as she found herself looking down the barrel of a black blaster.

"I- um-" Dana stammered, looking up at Doctor Blakk. Normally, she had never been as terrified of him as the other workers were. But he had been much more temperamental as the final battle with the Shane Gang drew nearer, and now he was glaring at her with an anger that took her back to darker times.

He took one glance at her green eyes and pulled the trigger.

Dana didn't have time to react as the Vamparo transformed, growling as it grabbed at her shoulders. Dana cried out in pain as she felt a sharp pain in her neck, falling to the floor as ice shot through her veins.

Doctor Blakk holstered his blaster, looking down emotionlessly as Dana writhed on the ground, consumed by a red glow. He sighed and turned away, walking out of the room.

"I don't have time for any more bumps in the road," he said coolly.

Dana took a rattling breath as the Vamparo returned to protoform. The wound wasn't massive, but blood stained her neck and the collar of her gray jacket. She got to her feet unsteadily, malice in her scarlet eyes as she smiled.

"Of course not, Doctor Blakk."