Jessica called Isabelle and Emily and asked them to meet up at the Soda Fountain as soon as possible. They were both a little surprised, because she'd told them both not to tell Andie about it. Andie not wanting to come was one thing, but willingly leaving her out...? Emily didn't remember them ever doing that before Isabelle and Bane came into their lives... but then, things had been very different then... but like Isabelle had said, they wouldn't know until they saw Jessica.

"Hey, over here!" called a voice as they came in.

Jessica waved to them, sitting in front of a kiwi-banana milkshake. Emily ordered a vanilla smoothie, and Isabelle a strawberry milkshake. As Siobhan took their order, she noticed Andie wasn't there, or Bane.

"You're less crowded than normal, ain't yeh, darlin's?" she asked.

"Uh... Andie is a little under the weather," Jessica said. "And Bane's out of town."

 "Oh, I see. Give 'em my best, won't yeh?"

 "Sure thing," Isabelle said.

 And Siobhan's heels clicked as she walked away.

 "So what was so urgent and so secret Andie couldn't be told?" Emily asked.

 "It's urgent and secret because it's about Andie," Jessica said, frowning.

 Isabelle and Emily glanced at each other.

 "Did something happen to her, is she okay?" Emily asked.

 "No, she's fine. Well, aside from Bane being in a coma, of course... but I think we all agree she's not coping too well..."

 "It's only been a couple of days and they almost died, Jessica, so of course she's not coping yet!" Isabelle said. "Give her time!"

 "No, that's not what I mean..." Jessica argued, surprisingly serious, for once. "I mean, we all know I can get pretty crazy ideas..."

 "Oh, you mean like that time you decided to repaint your room green instead of orange?" Emily smiled.

 "I was ten!" Jessica retorted impatiently. "And that's not the point! The point is that Andie's idea is even crazier than I thought... I mean, she's talking about breaking into a museum!"

 Isabelle and Emily looked at each other again.

 "I didn't want to say anything because she's going through a lot, right now..." Isabelle said. "But I'm a little worried about her, myself..."

 "Yeah... I mean, I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to help Bane... but I don't exactly want to go to jail..."

 "None of us do..." Jessica said. "But if I know Andie, she won't change her mind until he's back to normal..."

 "It's easy to figure out why..." Isabelle said anxiously. "She feels guilt-ridden to do everything to help him. Not only because he got hurt while protecting her, but because of how he felt about her."

 "You don't think it's because her feelings have changed too?" Emily asked.

 "... It's probably a part of it," Jessica agreed. "In any case, she's clearly too upset to think straight..."

 "Well, maybe, but if we're honest, we don't have any other options..." Emily sighed.

 "We do, but she won't hear of it..." Jessica reminded her.

 "Well... why do we have to have her approval?" Isabelle said slowly.

 "What do you mean?" Emily asked, sipping her smoothie.

 "Well... she won't disapprove of me trying if she doesn't know, right?"

 Emily and Jessica turned doubtful.

 "I don't know, Isabelle..." Jessica said. "I mean, Andie does have a point, we have no idea what it could do to you..."

 "And we'll never find out unless we try," Isabelle retorted. "And I don't know about you, but I can't stand letting Andie go through that mess when I know I might be able to solve everything."

Andie hadn't left her room all day, working on how to get into the museum. It was not a pleasant task. She had never been that keen on history, but she respected its beauty, its importance. And she was planning on going against everything she believed in. That stealing was wrong, especially for personal gain. Of course, this wasn't really for personal gain... or was it? She was trying to heal Bane because it was her fault he was in a coma, not because he had asked her to or anything like that.

 But then again, surely he doesn't want to stay comatose forever... she told herself, leaning over her notes, no, no one would want that... and anyway, we're a team, we need to be together if we want to stop Zarias or Zorak...

 The very thought of encountering either of them terrified her, but she would have been a fool to think they never would again. Zorak was clearly obsessed with getting the power of the elements. He had battled with the former masters for a long time, and had relentlessly come after her and her friends... And the thought of Hannah, her parents or any of their families getting caught up in it was too awful to even think about. After a while, she leaned back, heaved a sigh, then moved back forwards and went through her notes again. The museum's opening hours, the names of the staff, the size, the year it had opened, the list of its exhibits and a map of the inside... but even if she planned as carefully as she could, she knew it would be far from easy to sneak into the museum, get the Caduceus without being seen or setting of an alarm, and finding a way out while not being caught by the guards there would undoubtedly be. She bit her thumb, deep in thought.

 "Andie... please, there must be another way."

 Ardente had been watching her for a while, silently. But Andie had always sensed her there. She sighed and turned around to look at her. Ardente had been trying to talk her out of this plan all day. It was getting rather tiring.

 "No, there isn't." she said wearily. "Not one I'm comfortable with. And I don't like it either, but I'm not going to sit around and leave Bane like that."

 "Andie, you're letting your guilt take over you, but it wasn't your fault-"

 "It's not about whose fault it is! I still feel it's mine, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that my friend needs help, and that we're more in danger without him."

 Ardente blinked.

 "... So it's not just about saving Bane?"

 "Of course not, Ardente! I may be partly acting selfishly. I know that. But I am also trying to protect my family, and something else... oh, what is it again, the world! Because whatever Zorak's planning on doing with our power, it's not going to be good for our world, and if I have to push the boundaries of what's right to protect the ones I love... then so be it..."

She paused, her fists clenching as her eyes stung.

 "Because I can't lose anyone else..." she said finally, a single tear gleaming down her cheek. "I just can't."

After a while, Andie felt she needed some air. So she pulled on her coat and went out, with no real destination in mind. She couldn't get his limp body out of her head, the agony of calling to him without getting an answer. She shook her head to cast those dark thoughts aside. They would get her nowhere. She had to focus on her goal. That was the only thing that would keep her from crumbling entirely. She had thought about opening up to the girls about how she felt, but had thought it best not to. They would be compassionate, of course, sympathetic and supportive... but as much as they tried, they would never truly understand what it was like. The fear of dying, and yet wanting to live... her encounter with Zarias had been completely different from the one she'd had with his father. The first time, she'd been ready to die. Not because she didn't like living, but because she wanted to protect her sister. But Bane had made her realize that the only way she could protect her sister or anyone was by living. And that was why she couldn't just give up. She owed him too much. After a while, she found an empty street and parked next to a wall. She hadn't really looked where she was going, she'd just wanted to get out of her house and try to clear her head. So far, it wasn't as efficient as she'd hoped. She sighed and was about to turn the radio on to drown her thought out for a moment when she paused. She recognized this neighborhood. She'd been here once before, some time ago... but she couldn't quite picture it. The houses were familiar... but not enough for her to clearly remember when or why she'd been up this end of town. Then, her eyes fell on a smaller house with a wide back garden. And she felt her blood run cold.

 Oh, great... what in the world am I doing parked next to Bane's house?

 Andie's hands fumbled with the steering wheel as she pondered what to do. She could just drive away. Bane's uncle had never seen her, he'd never know it was her... if he was even back in town that was... and then, she figured it would be rude to not at least see how he was doing. Bane was his nephew after all... he had to feel lonely... making up her mind, she climbed out of the car and took a deep breath before walking across the street to the Davis household. It hadn't changed since the last time she'd been there. Though, Andie thought, it was silly to have thought that it would. She hesitated at the gate, and was just thinking she had better leave, a voice called:

 "Hello. Can I help you?"

 Andie looked up. A middle aged man stood in the garden. She recognized him from a picture Bane had showed her. She wondered if he knew who she was too.

 "Oh... Uh... I'm sorry for the intrusion... I'm Andie Galestone... a friend of Bane's..."

 He looked her over a moment.

 "I see." he said finally.

 She wasn't sure what he was thinking, and it was a little unsettling. Did he feel she was responsible for Bane's coma? Or that he had no business with her?

 "I think it was about time we formally met." he said, stepping forwards and holding out a hand. "I'm Robert Davis." he said.

 "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bane's told me a lot about you."

 "Likewise," he smiled.

 Andie found herself flushing slightly. What could Bane have told him about her? But Robert seemed friendly enough.

 "I'm sorry we have to meet in these circumstances..." Andie said.

 "So am I." Robert answered. "So what brings you here, Andie?"

 "I... I just wanted to..."

 Apologize? Try and make up for Bane not being here? She wasn't sure.

 "... Bane told me you lived alone together, and I figured his being in a coma has to be hard on you..."

 That was true, even if Andie still wasn't sure whether that her only reason or not.

 Robert looked at her a moment.

 "Why don't you come in? I think we have some things to talk about."

 Only when she stepped inside did Andie realize she'd never actually been in. The last time, she'd run off before he'd even offered.

 "Please, make yourself comfortable," Robert said. "Would you like a drink?"

 "Uh... sure, thank you." Andie answered.

He vanished into the kitchen. Andie glanced around before she could stop herself. She tried to picture a younger Bane living here. Her eyes fell on a row of pictures on the wall. Robert was standing next to a ten year old Bane with a bike, both of them grinning. They had probably asked a passerby to take that picture. Or so she thought until she saw another picture.

"... Balon...?"

Sure enough, on one picture, Bane and Balon were training together. Bane looked older than in the first picture, but younger than he did now. Robert had probably taken that one. Neither seemed to be aware of his presence, but Andie was surprised Balon allowed it in the house. She supposed Bane had convinced him that he could be written off as a cousin or something like that. And Andie got the feeling they didn't have that many visitors...

"I always felt Bane was being forced to grow up too fast."

".... Forgive my boldness... he never mentioned his parents... what were they like?"

Robert didn't answer at once. He placed the glasses on the coffee table in front of the sofa and invited her to sit down.

"My sister was very much like him." he said. "Driven, kindhearted, in love with the idea of love..."

Andie felt herself smile slightly.

"What about his father... I don't remember him mentioning him..."

"His father left when he was younger," Robert said. "Before he was born, I believe. She never told me who it was."

Andie didn't know what to say. All she could think was that the idea was terribly sad. She wanted to ask how she had died, but didn't think it was the right time. Then, she glanced at the picture of Bane and Balon sparring.

"... Did you always know what Bane could do?" she asked.

"From the day I took him in, yes," he said. "When he was ten, Balon knew Bane needed a real human to watch over him, but he didn't think it was wise for me not to know he was the Guardian of Light. So he told me what Bane would be able to do, why I needed to keep him safe... which I would have done regardless, of course."

"He seems to have been happy with you."

"Well, I hope so. Losing your parents so young is far from easy."

"No, of course... I mean, I couldn't really tell, to be honest, but... I'm sure he must have suffered."

There was a silence.

"So, what brings you here?" Robert asked.

Andie bit her lip, hesitating, her hands wrapped around her cup of tea.

"I'm... I'm not really sure..." she admitted after a moment. "I guess it's because I thought you should know..."

"... Know what?" Robert asked, sounding confused.

She steeled herself but didn't look up at him.

"That it's my fault Bane is in a coma."

 There was a silence as Andie waited for the yells, the shock, the repulsion... but his tone was perfectly calm when he spoke again.

"What do you mean? What happened, exactly?" he inquired.

"... I... I suppose you've heard of Zorak?" Andie asked, still tentative.

"The demon who wants the powers of the elements," Robert answered with a nod. "Is he the one who attacked you?"

"... Not exactly." Andie answered. "We were training alone, because the girls were all busy with a test coming up... And... then, Zorak's son, Zarias, whom I don't think anyone knew about... came after us. We fought him off... but... after a while, he attacked... Bane knocked me out of the way... and... he got hit in the chest. I can still see him flying through the air... and then... I don't know how... I just... fended him off with my power..."

She paused fighting not to break down at the memory of that day.

"... I got Bane to the hospital... I said he'd been in an accident of some sort, that I'd just found him..."

There was a pause.

"... I know the right thing to do would have been to wait for you... but... I... I couldn't stay there any longer after the doctor told me he was in a coma."

There was a pause.

"So, you've spent the last three days since his accident thinking it was your fault?" He asked her.

"... Well... yes, because it is..."

"No, Andie, it's not. If Zorak is anything like Balon described, it would take a lot to defeat him again. And Zarias being his son, it stands to reason that he'd be at least half as strong. And Bane knew the risks."

"... That's the thing... I don't think that he did." Andie said slowly. "... You see, he had feelings for me. And... we all know that can make us act rashly..."

"Maybe, but Bane would have reacted that way with anyone else around him." Robert said. "He wouldn't hesitate to do something like that for someone he cares about."

Andie wasn't sure what to make of that statement. So, she didn't reply.

"And I know something else he wouldn't want." Bane's uncle said.

"... What's that?" Andie inquired.

"For you to feel guilty." Robert replied. "He always said he hated it when you looked sad, and felt happy when you did."

Andie squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears in and bit her lip.

"Now, we can only wait..." Robert said quietly.

Andie realized that Robert had to cope with Bane's condition as well. And Bane was even closer to him, he was a blood relative... she almost told him what she was planning to do. But decided against it. She didn't want to raise his hopes up. She had no idea if it would work, or if they could even pull it off.

*************************************************

We finally meet Bane's uncle and hear a bit more about Bane's past! What do you think?

Any thoughts on Bane's father? Let us know in the comments!

What will they do now? What about Zorak and Zarias? Let's find out in the next chapter!