Slugterra: The New Shane

Chapter 32: A Reunion

Dana Blakk's POV

For a few minutes after the explosion, I found myself unable to move. My limbs were all too heavy to move. That wasn't supposed to happen- such large amounts of dark energy should have put a dampener on Alana's powers. Why, she wasn't even supposed to know that she could summon light energy like that, let alone know how to do it without practice- purely on instinct alone, she shouldn't have survived.

Yet, here I was.

My legs felt like rubber. My arms were lead. My head felt like someone had hit me with a brick. There were spots dancing in the corners of my vision. I knew that if I got up immediately, there would be a chance to catch Alana. The Citadel was too scarce of workers. There would be nobody to stop her from escaping. She had to be weak from the explosion, the burst of energy she had summoned hadn't just taken a toll on me. I could still win this battle.

But as soon as the thought struck me, I discarded it.

Let her go, I thought. And the second I thought that, I narrowed my eyes and forced myself to my feet. Something was terribly wrong. Never in my life would I have let her go, lost an opportunity like this. It was like something else had put the thought in my head.

As I got to my feet, I looked myself over. Broken glass had cut up my legs and arms. My face felt hot- reached up, I winced as I touched a cut on my cheek. My back and head hurt from being slammed into the wall by the energy surge. My hair had fallen free of its ponytail and was hanging in my face. I hadn't felt so run down since the dark water explosion that had given me my powers. I started over to the control panel to check on the two workers who'd been with me- I'd be grounded if they died- when I stopped in my tracks.

The hair dangling in my face?

It was cyan.

Hands shaking, I reached down and picked up one of the shards of glass. In my faint and slightly distorted reflection, I saw multiple streaks of blue running throughout my hair, and a devastating lack of red.

~~~~~~~~

Alana's POV

What happened next, I can't really remember. I know I gasped, and was probably too full of newfound adrenaline to talk. A wave of pure excitement surged through me. Eli and the gang were back- they hadn't perished in the Great Abyss. They were all okay, and they were waiting for me at the hideout.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed the gang until now. It seemed like it had been weeks since I'd left for the Dark Periphery, months since we had gone to the mall and had gotten attacked by Dana. Already, after several months, I had grown accustomed to living with others. I realized that I couldn't imagine living alone in the hideout anymore. It would be too empty, too dull, the silence would be unbearable.

All thoughts I had for the first few weeks Will had been gone, I thought. But I quickly discarded thought, standing up shakily from the cafeteria table.

Sam quickly got to her feet as I almost lost my balance, but I steadied myself and waved her away.

"I'm fine," I said, sure she could hear my heart thumping. "But I need to go, now. Come on," I said, motioning to my slugs. A few jumped on my shoulders, and the rest hopped on the floor, ready to follow me.

Sam shook her head, narrowing her eyes. "Whoa, absolutely not. You can't leave yet," she insisted. "You need to stay here."

I frowned. "Sam, I know you've gotten it drilled into your head that I'm seriously injured or something, but I'm not. I-I know there are still traces of dark water," I added, subconsciously raising a hand to the red streak in my hair. "But it's only a little. There's not enough to make me have to stay here longer. When I get back to the hideout, Isis can give me a quick once-over and I'll be fine."