Take Back the Light

Chapter 24

buckle up kiddos it's a long one and I honestly don't know how it turned out so long

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Alana didn't know why, but in the days that followed since the Shane Gang had fought Dana and the slug hunters in Deaddrop, she'd been finding herself more and more negative, and she hated it. She hated it, but Dana instilled feelings of doubt in Alana that she never would have had on her own.

The idea of not being the only one who could manipulate energy, and with Dana's raw power that could lash out so much easier than Alana's light energy- she didn't feel powerful anymore. And it showed not in her slinging performance, but at night.

She tossed and turned, plagued by nightmares of dark figures lunging for her in the middle of the night, standing by watching as Will fell into the portal, dueling Dana time and time again.

That was why mornings were now her favorite part of the day.

She once again found the morning to be her savior, waking her just as Dana fired a Thrasher at Alana's throat.

The pale yellow Lumino light drifting in through her window woke Alana up. With a yawn, she sat up, scratching at her tangled hair, strands of caramel and cyan sticking up in every direction.

In mornings, everything was new and had the possibility of being better than the day before. She was up on energy and optimism, and she was not about to let thoughts of dark energy ruin the start to her day.

Alana glanced down at her slugs as she got to her feet. They were all still asleep, snoring quietly, so she silently tiptoed out of her room, deciding not to disturb them. She knew that they were growing used to the tossing and turning that accompanied her nightmares, but they still deserved as much uninterrupted sleep as possible.

She still tried to be quiet as she walked down the stairs. It was barely first glow, and she figured the rest of the gang would still be asleep. But halfway down the staircase, Alana was met not with silence and an empty living room, but with Trixie and Kord yelling at each other, huddled up on the couch and playing Super Slug Bros.

"I've got ya this time, pigtails," Kord said, leaning forward and pressing buttons on his controller as quickly as he could. "There's no way you get past this-"

"Finishing blow," Trixie said, cutting him off in a deadpan voice and pressing a single button on her controller. Unlike the cave troll, she was comfortably leaned back on the couch, completely at ease.

Alana snickered as Trixie's character leaned forward, swinging her fist at Kord's character and sending him sprawling to the ground. GAME OVER - TRIXIE WINS! flashed on the screen.

Kord groaned and shook his head.

"I don't get it! You were toast!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Trixie chuckled and shrugged.

"You guys got up at dawn just to play video games?" Alana asked incredulously as she headed for the kitchen. Trixie paused the game, and she and Kord turned to face Alana.

"Nah, we never went to bed," Kord said. Alana paused as she reached in the fridge, a carton of eggs in her hands.

"You stayed up all night?" she asked, shaking her head as she set the eggs on the counter and shutting the fridge. "You two never cease to amaze me."

"Sometimes you gotta just stay up all night playing video games, Alana," Trixie said with a laugh. She scooted up farther on the couch, looking at Alana while Kord began the process of resetting their game. "Nice choice of fashion."

Alana glanced down at her clothes. Her black short-sleeved shirt was paired with white sweatpants, and to tie it all together, a cyan pair of fuzzy socks.