Slugterra: The New Shane

Chapter 17: Dark Periphery and an Old Friend

//The State Fair is officially over! My new fanfic will be out in the next couple of days, once I finish the cover.

Cyan is back!//

Alana's POV

I rode Midnight through the mushroom forests, on my way to the Dark Periphery. Night was falling, the cavern was growing dark. Ash lit himself up, giving me a little bit of light with a small flame. "Thanks, bud," I said.

After a bit more riding, I found the long winding tunnel that would take me to the Dark Periphery. It was completely silent; the only noises were the occasional gears of Midnight shifting. It was a little eerie- I hadn't been down to the Dark Periphery on my own since I had accidentally gone. The Shadow Clan had usually come to me, and shadow traveled me to their cavern.

Finally, the tunnel began to widen and get taller as I entered the territory of the Shadow Clan. Immediately, my shadow amulet began to glow. On cue, the Shadow Clan leader and three other Shadow Clan appeared in front of me. I glanced at the small digital clock on Midnight- good, only 10:00 p.m., I was doing fairly well for time.

"Why do you come here?" The leader asked.

I slid off Midnight, glancing at Ash and Isis, who nodded me on. It was in my human nature to be hesitant around the Shadow Clan, even though if they wanted to kill me, they could have ages ago.

"I wanted answers," I admitted. "Eli, Eli Shane? He's a friend of mine. And he said... He said the thing he put on, and that the other girl, Dana, she also put it on- Eli said he could talk to you with it?"

The Shadow Clan nodded. "Yes. The Son of Shane now possesses to shadow talker. It once belonged to his father, Will Shane."

My eyes widened. In the years I had lived with Will, I had never seen the circlet- this 'shadow talker'. "So, will he be like me, now?" I asked. "Like, will he be able to make himself have blurry Enigmo vision or what...?"

The Shadow Clan shook his head. "You will remain the only human with the ability to do this."

Huh. I'm just that special, am I? I wished that he would just tell me what was so stupid about the Enigmo vision. I had tested it out multiple times, and every attempt usually ended in me slamming into a wall or mushroom tree.

"One more question," I said. "Shadow traveling? Can I do it?"

Was it just me, or did the Shadow Clan leader looked amused?

"We do not know yet. You are the first human with such a strong bond to Slugterra's magic; we cannot tell where your limits will be. If you wished to try it tonight, Nycto will help you," he said, nodded towards one of the other Shadow Clan. Then he shadow traveled away, and as did the other two Shadow Clan. Nycto stayed, looking me over.

"Come, Alana. Let's see what you can do."

We walked to a large area that looked like a courtyard. Nycto and I stood on the edge of one side.

"Focus on the shadows here, and where you want to go," Nycto said, nodding to the other end of the area. "Think of how they are connected, and focus on making a path for yourself, from one shadow to the other."

I nodded, and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and focused. I felt the familiar chilling sensation come over me. For a second, it felt like the ground fell out from underneath me. Then it became solid again. Biting my lip, I opened my eyes, looking around. I had shadow traveled- but only a quarter of the distance I had been aiming for. "Floppers," I muttered, brushing some hair from my face. "That didn't work too well."