Take Back the Light

Chapter 41

not gonna lie this one's not great, guys, had a rough week

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Dana stood at the center of a swirling mass of red and black. Lightning flashed, and grotesque figures began to appear in the midst of the storm. Dark Bane. Dana grinned wickedly, looking at peace even at the middle of all the chaos. Alana stood at the edges of the portal, her feet frozen to the ground.

"Dana, stop!" Alana pleaded. "They'll destroy Slugterra!"

"Good!" Dana called. Alana scowled and knelt down, resting her hands on the ground. She had to stop the portal.

But when she called on the energy, it wouldn't come.

Alana pulled her hands away, looking down at them in dismay. Dana waded through the black and red, the Dark Bane snarling behind her. She bent down, peering at Alana.

"Such a shame. First, Stalagmite 17. Now this. They really can't count on you," she said sympathetically. In a flash, the ground beneath Alana disappeared, replaced by glass- a mirror.

Alana looked down at her reflection, her heart sinking. She said a trembling hand to her hair, now completely devoid of its blue, just solid caramel. And her eyes were no longer vibrant light blue- they were gray. All the color had been sapped from them.

"That's a shame. But there's something we can do to fix it," Dana said. She held out her hand, and a ball of pulsing red light formed over her palm, a sphere of pure dark energy.

Her hand shot toward Alana-

Alarms sounded. Red lights flashed.

Alana bolted upright in her bed, gasping for breath with one hand over her heart. Ash jumped on her knee, chirping quietly and lighting a small, warm yellow flame on his head. Alana got control of her breathing, holding a hand close to Ash to soak up the flame's warmth. After a few seconds, the panic from the nightmare faded.

"Thanks, bud," Alana said, her fear quickly being replaced by urgency as she got up and went into autopilot, changing into her slinging gear as the red lights continued to flash. She glanced at the clock- nearly one in the morning. Her slugs filed into her black backpack sitting on her nightstand. Once they were all present, Alana grabbed it and clipped it on, rushing out of her bedroom door with her two pieces of metallic arm armor in her hands.

"What've we got, Trix?" Eli called down to the first floor, rushing by Alana's door. Alana followed after him, strapping her armor on just beneath her shoulders as she went.

Trixie was already at the holodesk, looking at a shaky video. It showed dozens of Blakk Industries workers, some on Mechas, some on foot, all marching in the same direction.

"Blakk's got workers on the move, heading towards Antimony Cavern," Trixie reported. "All armed. This isn't business. They're going to take the cavern."

Alana stopped in her tracks as Eli, Kord, and Pronto rushed around her to get ready. The red lights were still pulsing, and the warning alarm still blaring, but it faded into the background.

Antimony?

The cavern was known for its residential areas. A couple cities, a few towns. Lots of people lived there, and lots of slugs, too. Plenty of stores to ransack, plenty of people to displace. But there were a few people in particular that were at risk.

"Does any of the footage show Dana?" Alana asked, walking up behind Trixie and looking at the desk.

Trixie pulled up videos relating to Antimony on the SlugNet, where videos of the workers heading toward the cavern were popping up.