Take Back the Light

Chapter 39

It was three in the morning, but Dana was still awake.

She paced around her room, staring at a large holographic map of Slugterra that nearly covered an entire wall.

Where is he?

Doctor Blakk vanished after attempting to destroy the Lightwell, and nobody had heard from him ever since. He had disappeared without a single trace, and without any instructions to his employees. Nobody wanted to listen to people like C.C. or Locke and Lode, so Dana had been temporarily put in charge. She was handling personnel while Diablos Nacho was still leasing the now very subtle hunt for dark water.

Dana had scattered Blakk's men far and wide, emphasizing stealth above all else. Let the Shane Gang fall into a false sense of security with lowered activity from Blakk Industries, and they would catch word of where Blakk was soon enough.

Although, I doubt they feel very secure, Dana thought as she glanced at High Plains Cavern on the map. Nacho had told her that a few days ago, one of the monsters from the Deep Caverns had been defeated by the Shane Gang after crossing the barrier between worlds. Dana could feel the magic of Slugterra weakening, its shields against the Dark Bane starting to crack. It was only a matter of time before the invasion.

Or at least it would be, if Doctor Blakk was there.

She sighed and rubbed at her scarlet eyes, shaking her head and heading for her bed. She wouldn't make any changes in where she'd placed workers. Blakk's men were spread thin, but they were covering nearly all of Slugterra. Dana had eyes and ears everywhere, especially on the Shane Gang, and the second word got out, they would make their move. She hadn't spent two weeks dealing with that insufferable scientist if she wasn't willing to go all out.

Dana couldn't help but look up at the map as she laid down on her bed. It was giving off the only light in the room, pale blue marked with red dots for personnel locations. One cavern in particular caught her eye.

Her eyes narrowed on instinct as she looked at the outline of Antimony Cavern. Perhaps if she found Doctor Blakk, he'd reward her by letting her take it. They were going to start making land grabs anyway, right? It would be good for business and good for keeping Dana on track. She didn't want to wait until after the Dark Bane arrived and risk them stealing away what she wanted most.

She couldn't help but briefly think back to a time when what she wanted most was to just live under the radar and be friends with Alana. It was difficult to remember those emotions. Now, whenever Dana thought of Alana, she got angry. Deep down, she knew that was partly the dark energy's fault, twisting her emotions and amplifying the worst. But it wasn't enough to make her want to get rid of the darkness.

Without it, who was she?

~~~~~~~~

Alana was still asleep when the morning glow had long since settled in. Light drifted into her room from her window, but she kept curled up under her blankets, sound asleep. It wasn't until there were knocks at her door did her eyes finally open.

"Alana, are you feeling okay?"

Alana yawned and slowly sat up, blinking sleep from her bright blue eyes. She'd woken up once in the middle of the night, left breathless after a nightmare where she was back in High Plains, sprinting away from the monster from the Deep Caverns. But when she'd finally gotten back to sleep, it was a dreamless rest.

"Alana? Hello? Are you in there?"

Alana had forgotten there was even someone at her door. "Yeah, sorry!" she called. "I'm here. What's up, Trix?"

"Got a call in. Not an emergency, but we need to start getting around," Trixie explained through the door. "Are you sure you're okay? You're always up as soon as it's light out."