From looking through her book at night, Andie took to going to the museum, usually wearing different disguises to not look suspicious, and not too often. She soon knew it well enough that she could navigate without looking at the signs, and she found a map of the museum in the brochure. It wasn't very detailed, but it would have to do. But there was no denying that this would be tricky. They would never get out if they were caught... and even her parents wouldn't be able to keep her or her friends from prison... they wouldn't be allowed to get involved, because she was their daughter... not to mention they would never forgive her for doing something like that.

"Andie, you do realize what you're planning on doing?" Ardente said for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Of course I do." Andie said without looking at her. "But it's either that or waiting for Bane to wake up, and that could take years..."

She paused to look up at her.

"He deserves to live a normal life, not one with a gaping hole in it." she said.

"He deserves it or you can't stand waiting that long?" Ardente asked.

Andie was so shocked she didn't answer at once.

"Are you actually asking me that?" she eventually asked, outraged.

"I'm just trying to make sure you're doing this for the right reasons..."

Andie got to her feet slowly.

"My only reason is Bane. I don't care what happens to me, I just want him to live."

"Andie..." Ardente began.

"I have to try, Ardente." Andie replied coldly. "Okay? It's my fault he's in a coma, so I will try all I can to save him."

She closed her book, shut down her laptop and went to bed.

In the Demon, Realm, Zorak was not happy. Not happy at all. In fact, he was downright infuriated. And even that was the understatement of the millennium, Zarias was sure. His eyes were blacker than the darkest night. His face was paler than the ash on the ground. And those were never good signs. Zarias had returned and given him his report. A report which was far from satisfactory. He had failed to bring back the powers of fire and light. He could hardly believe his ears.

"How could that have failed? They were at your mercy!" he said, annoyed. "My power should have been more than sufficient to subdue them!"

"I know that, father..." Zarias said, his head bowed. "And I subdued the light guardian, and severely wound him, I believe, for he is still being tended to... But the fire guardian suddenly tapped into her power in a way I didn't expect, and I thought it more prudent to retreat and plan a better way to get her power..."

"Hm. You acted as a coward, you mean." Zorak said ruthlessly.

 Zarias tried hard not to flinch.

"But no matter." Zorak said patiently. "The light guardian is down for the count, rendering them all more vulnerable."

"You wish for me to take his power while he cannot stop me?" Zarias asked.

"No. It is much more rewarding when they can fight back. But keep an eye on the four other guardians. They will doubtless look for some way of healing their friend."

"Yes, father. I'll get on it immediately." Zarias said an hurried off.

"No need. My Umbras have been working on it already." Zorak said.

As if they had heard him, a couple of black shadows slithered in.

"What do they say?" Zorak demanded of Zarias.

The young man listened.

"They speak of an object... the fire guardian would have found something to revive the light guardian."

"Really?" Zorak said, slightly intrigued. "What might that be?"

"... They do not know, but they think they understood something about an object they were looking for."

Zorak was thoughtful.

"Then, follow them. And this time, make sure your do not come back empty handed."

For the next couple of weeks before the beginning of fall break, the girls trained harder than ever. Isabelle had pointed out that if they were to travel, it would be unwise not to be prepared for anything.

"Yes, Jessica, that's it, more precise." one would say.

 "Nice move, Andie, I almost didn't see that one coming!" another would praise.

 The girls didn't speak as they trained. It was difficult to see who was progressing fastest. And Andie did not know about the others, but she didn't think she'd ever felt this determined, this strong. She sometimes thought back at who she had been before finding out about her powers, how different she had been, how different they'd all been. They all realized they would probably be attacked and didn't want to be caught by surprise. As Balon was unavailable, Ardente and the others took over. And Andie found it was better than when Balon was in charge. They were more supportive, and thus learned far more quickly.

 "Well done, Jessica, you're doing very well!" Ardente told her as they sparred.

"Thanks." Jessica said, panting slightly.

 "You've all progressed so much." River said.

"I just hope it's enough to stand against Zorak and his men..." Andie said.

"We'll be four, this time. We'll be okay." Jessica said, wrapping her arm around her.

Andie tried to believe that.

"Well, I think we should call it a day," she said.

"Yes, you've done enough today, you need your rest." Aera agreed.

So they made their way home.

It was almost the end of the fall break when the girls had finished planning their infiltration into the museum. It was a big place and the exhibit was sure to be under tight security. They all knew it was far from foolproof, not to mention dangerous and crazy, but they didn't have anything else so far. The exhibit was starting tight after the holidays ended an until Christmas. And they didn't want to wait too long so as to give the Caduceus back quickly. Andie told herself they would have to work on that, too.

"Okay, so let's say we go ahead with this crazy plan, how do you expect to get in or out? There'll be alarms, guards and all kinds of security cameras..."

"I know..." Andie said. "So, again, you can back out. I don't want you to do anything illegal if you don't want to."

"Are you joking? You'd never make it out on your own!"

"Bu-"

Isabelle raised her hand to interrupt her.

"Look, we want to help Bane, too. We're in."

"I still say it would be safer to just let Isabelle heal him..." Emily said.

"Yes, I know, Emily! I would too! But we've been through this. I don't want to risk Isabelle being the one to fall into a coma, or something else! We've only ever seen her do it on small, superficial flesh wounds. We don't have a single clue what could happen with something of this magnitude. I want Isabelle to be our last resort."

"Andes, I really appreciate your concern, but isn't that my decision?"

"I'm not going to be responsible for more people getting hurt." Andie said firmly.

There was a silence.

"It wasn't your fault..." Emily began.

"Let's go over the plan one more time." Andie said, in a friendly but definitive tone.

And so they worked on their plan. Entering the museum would be easy enough. It would be more tricky to get out without being seen or caught.

It was a cool cloudy day. It was impossible to tell if it was morning or afternoon. There was a light wind that blew through the trees, making the leaves rustle. It would probably rain, later, though. Andie stood among a group of people dressed in black. She could hear a faint male voice drone something, but she couldn't make out the words. She wasn't that interested, anyway. Andie glanced around. They were in the local cemetery, she thought. There were other tombstones all over the place, some with other people standing in front of them, mourning the people they had lost. Next to her, also wearing black, were her friends, Isabelle, who gave a sad half smile when their eyes met, Emily and Jessica, who were looking ahead sadly. On her other side were their parents, but someone was missing... she glanced around again, but she couldn't see them. Were they at a funeral? Whose? How could she not remember who had died? And then, suddenly, a horrible feeling came over her. What if... she slowly looked ahead and down to the stone ahead of her.

Here lies Bane Lucas Davis.

A son. A friend.

Andie's heart skipped a dozen beats. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. It couldn't be true. He was in a coma, he wasn't... he was alive, he couldn't be... but then... why was his name on that stone? How was this possible? The doctors had said he was stable... Gasping for breath, her eyes stinging and blurring, she dropped to her knees in front of the tombstone, with everyone else standing still like they hadn't noticed her...

"Andie! Andie, wake up!"

Andie gasped as her eyes snapped open.

 "...Ardente...?" she asked, her voice surprisingly croaky.

"Are you alright? You were crying in your sleep..."

"I... what?"

Andie reached up to her cheek and felt that it was indeed wet.

"I... It's nothing... just a bad dream..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm okay... sorry I worried you, I didn't wake anyone, did I?"

"I don't think so." Ardente said. "You know you can talk to me... don't you? I'd hate for you to think you can't trust or confide in me."

"No... I don't think that, don't worry." Andie said, sitting up.

 "... is it the plan that's scaring you?"

 "... No... although, I won't lie, that does terrify me a little..." Andie said.

"It was about Bane... wasn't it?" Ardente asked. "I can't think of anyone else making you cry like that."

"Yeah... it was about him... but I don't really feel like talking about it..."

"I understand. Try and go back to sleep."

"Yeah... night, Ardente."

"Good night, Andie."

The next day, Andie found the courage to go to the hospital to see Bane. It was worse than she had imagined. He looked peaceful, even though he was not sleeping, which made it all the more painful... and the fact that she could say anything she wanted, she couldn't tell if he would hear her... and he couldn't respond. But maybe he would appreciate the company...

"Hey, Bane..." she said, feeling a little silly, but better at the same time.

She sat down beside him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously as she sat down.

"I... I don't really know what it to say, except... I'm sorry... You got hurt because you were trying to protect me..."

She reached out and took his limp hand in hers. The lack of reaction was like being stabbed in the stomach. She bit her lip and forced herself to not break down. She had to learn to be strong.

"I don't know if you can hear me... but we're looking for a way to bring you back..." Andie said. "We've got a pretty good lead. We don't know if it'll work yet, and it's a crazy plan... it's even more insane than all of Jessica's plans put together, and it wasn't even hers! Can you believe it?"

She managed a fleeting half smile. But her eyes soon stung with the tears she was holding back.

"I never got to finish what I wanted to say in the park." she said quietly. "So... maybe I can find another way to tell you, even if I...I don't know if you can hear it."

So she began to sing. She didn't even know why she felt the need to, or why that song. But it felt right. So she kept going, even if her eyes were watering, and her voice cracked in places. She kept Bane's hand in hers. As her song ended, she heard a faint clapping that made her jump.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the nurse said, a kind looking middle aged woman. "I didn't meant to frighten you."

"No, it... it's okay. Sorry... was I too loud?"

"No, people liked listening. Your voice is beautiful."

"... Thank you."

"Is he your boyfriend?" she asked.

"... No..." Andie answered, looking at Bane again. "... it's complicated."

The nurse smiled.

"I only came here to check on him." she said and crossed the room.

"Oh... that's okay... I'll wait outside... but please, call me if anything happens."

"I will." the nurse promised.

Andie smiled gratefully and walked out.

Shortly after, the nurse had finished and Andie thanked her again as she walked back into the room.

"The visiting hours end at six," the nurse told her.

"I'll keep it in mind, thank you." Andie said.

She glanced at her watch and saw it was only four. She had time. She didn't think she would be staying much longer, anyway. The pain and sadness around her was getting overwhelming. She turned to close the door and heaved a quiet sigh, hoping harder than ever that their plan worked. Running a hand through her hair (and wiping her eyes with the same gesture), she turned around... and froze. Three Umbras had sneaked in somehow and were roaming around Bane hungrily.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Andie whispered fiercely.

She raised her hand to throw flames at them but stopped herself just in time. How would she ever explain what had happened? But she had to think of something... Before she could think of what that was, however, one of the beasts slithered towards her and leaped into the air, aiming for her face. With a gasp, Andie dropped to the ground and raised her hands in a protective motion. There was a flash of flaming light and a hissing sound as the shadow vanished. Andie looked up, gasping and saw it had vanished entirely. The other two shadows seemed to understand that she could destroy them, because they slithered out the window and vanished. Andie pelted to the window and leaned out to see where they had gone. But she couldn't see anything through the trees. Biting her lip, she turned round and looked at Bane. He looked the same. But Andie wasn't sure how they took powers, so she thought she'd try and make sure Bane was okay. She had always sensed like a connection between them since they had begun using their powers. So Andie took his hand and closed her eyes. The same feeling she had felt when they had combined their powers was there. Sighing with relief, Andie leaned backwards in her seat. Then, she got to her feet, looked at the door to check no one was coming in, and drew a fire circle around him. She wasn't sure it would work, but it would keep the beasts away for a while... wouldn't it? Once she was done, she leaned forwards and pressed her lips to his forehead, her eyes closed to keep tears from rising.

"Don't you die." she whispered.

Andie didn't sleep much, that night. Painful dreams about Bane in which she and her friends were unable to save him or themselves and her anxiety about what she was going to do made it difficult. So she had barely had any rest even though she had been exhausted after the events at the hospital.

"You can't keep up like this, Andie..." Emily said worriedly. "You'll get sick at this rate..."

They were sitting in the cafeteria at lunchtime, using the general noise and agitation to cover their own conversation.

"I didn't chose to have a short night's sleep, Em," Andie answered.

"No, I suppose not... but you really don't look too well..."

"I'll be okay. Once we get the staff, heal Bane and this is all over with." Andie said, rubbing her eyes.

"So we're all set?"

"Yep. We just need to set a date." Jessica said.

"I know I've asked this before," Emily said. "But am I the only one who things this is really insane?"

"No," Andie said. "We all know that... but we don't have the time to wait."

"Why not?"

"Because three demons tried to attack Bane just yesterday!" Andie replied. "And it was a miracle no one noticed me using my fire power!"

"I still think you should have called us."

"And what would that have done? Draw attention. The demons were gone. Besides, I drew a fire circle and asked Ardente to keep an eye on him. But I do think we can't wait much longer."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Jessica asked.

"... we go tomorrow night. We'll say we have a big test and we want to study together."

"We can meet up at my house, it's the biggest," Isabelle offered. "I'm sure my parents won't mind."

"Great. You all know what to bring, what to do?" Andie asked.

"Yes," they all said.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, we're spending a night in the museum."

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

Am I the only one who smells serious trouble here? Please vote if you agree!

How far would you go to save someone you care about? Tell us all in the comments!

Will the museum plan work, or will it end in disaster? What will happen if it doesn't end well? Let's find out in the next chapter!