Andie's anxiety increased by the hour the next day. The prospect of what they were going to do that night was rather scary. Even when she tried not to think about it to not appear nervous, it still gnawed at the back of her mind. And judging by her friends' expressions, they were having a hard time not thinking about it, too. Which was not so surprising. Fighting demons was one thing. It was a no brainer. You knew there were people around you or even strangers that would be in danger if you didn't do anything. But stealing a valuable object, even for just a short while and to help someone, was something else altogether. Andie had wondered if this wasn't incredibly selfish. After all, if she had been in a coma, she wasn't sure she'd have wanted her friends to take that kind of risks... but Isabelle had pointed out that it was also necessary because without Bane, the four of them were not at their full power, and thus vulnerable. And if they were vulnerable, the entire world was in jeopardy. Maybe even the universe. Andie wasn't sure how powerful Zorak really was, but she didn't feel like waiting to find out. The upside, if it was one, was that the anxiety pushed the tiredness away. For the moment, at least.

"We can do this..." Andie said during break. "All we have to do is..."

"Steal a historical artifact and not get caught..." Isabelle said.

Andie nodded.

"Well, that'll be easy," Jessica said.

No one answered because they all knew it wouldn't be.

"Are your parents okay with us sleeping over?"

"Sure, I just told them we wanted to study together, and they were fine with it."

"We'll meet up after school at your place and review the plan one more time, then we'll... get going."

They agreed not to talk about the plan anymore in case they were overheard. They had all been given permission to sleep over at Isabelle's, so they would discuss more then. The rest of the day went on normally, despite their increasing nerves. Eventually, the final bell rang and they all drove up to Isabelle's house.

"Hey, Mom, we're home!" Isabelle called, her sisters and friends in tow.

"In the kitchen honey! I put out some snacks for you guys."

"Great, thanks, Mom!" Isabelle said.

"Thanks for having us, Mrs Woodland," Andie said. "I hope we're not a bother."

"Oh, not at all, dear, it's a pleasure," Mrs Woodland said with a smile.

"Mom, we'll be in my room, okay?"

She picked up the tray and led the way to her room. Andie hadn't been in it yet, having only rarely been inside Isabelle's home.

"Your room is so cute," Emily said, looking around.

It was certainly welcoming. It bore touches of pale blue and white, and had several things related to the sea, such as a line of seashells on her bookshelf,, a picture of a beach above her bed, a tapestry of a harbor on the wall opposite, and a white chest of drawers with starfish on the sides.

"Thanks. I always loved the sea."

They sat down on the floor in a circle, using cushions.

"So let's go over the plan again," Isabelle said.

"Again...? We've been over it ten times!"

"Fifteen, and clearly, that wasn't enough, because you can't remember it all yet!"

"Jeez, I didn't know we were shooting Ocean's fifteen..." Jessica grumbled.

Emily giggled.

"Isabelle's right," Andie intervened. "We have to work it out perfectly so we don't get caught."

"I don't suppose there's any chance we can try and get them to lend us the Caduceus rather than take it?" Emily asked.

"Not really," Andie said. "The pieces of the exhibit are ancient, they wouldn't trust a bunch of teenagers with one, even just for an hour. What if there was an accident or if it was stolen?"

"She's right," Isabelle sighed. "We have no choice. Unless you've changed your mind about me healing him?" she asked, turning to Andie.

"No, I haven't. If the demons attack again, we can't afford to be one man down any more. I've got a bad feeling they're getting stronger."

 So for the next hour, Isabelle made them recite the plan word for word until they could all recite it perfectly.

"Okay... of course, whatever we do, there'll be a part of unknown, but we can't help that..." she sighed.

Andie looked at them all, thinking of how many risks they were taking for her.

"What time do we set out?"

"We can say we're going for a pizza and set out now." Emily said. "If we're to let ourselves be locked in..."

"Yes, I think that's what we'll have to do." Isabelle said. "Did you guys all bring what we'd discussed?"

They nodded. Isabelle insisted on checking everything, so they all sorted through it.

"Okay..."

"Isabelle?"

The girls exchanged wild looks. They heard footsteps as Mrs Woodland made her way up the stairs.

"Hide everything!"

"Where?!" Jessica asked in a panicky voice.

"Uh... closet, go!" Isabelle said, pointing.

Quick as a flash, the girls picked everything up and pushed it into the closet but it was already very full and wouldn't close. Emily stood against it, holding it closed just as Mrs Woodland peered into the door.

"Isabelle?"

"Hey, Mom!" Isabelle said, sounding probably a little too cheerful to be natural.

"I was wondering if you were going to eat out tonight?"

"Uh, I think we will. Relax from the studying, you know?"

"I see. Just let me know when you leave, alright?"

"Yes, Mom."

Mrs Woodland smiled and closed the door. Just then, the door, under too much pressure, knocked Emily to the floor, with half its contents coming out on top of her. There was a stunned silence.

"Emily, are you okay?" Jessica asked.

"Sorry... I'm not that good at clearing my closet..." Isabelle said as she and Andie helped her out of the mess.

"Yeah..."

They looked at each other, and burst out laughing. A large part of it was nervous, but it felt good.

At five o'clock, they made their way downstairs with their bags which were officially carrying books and unofficially holding the makings for "borrowing" a priceless artifact. As they came into the Woodlands' view, Andie and the girls worked to keep their faces natural.

"Hey, Mom, we're going to the library for a while and we'll probably get a pizza or something, okay?"

"Okay. Keep your phone on so I can reach you."

"Yes, Mom."

And so they walked out. They had decided to use one car and put everything at their feet.

"Okay... let's go." Isabelle said and brought the engine to life.

It was a quiet, tense drive. They had all talked about stealing the Caduceus, but actually setting out to do it was an entirely different story. They parked it behind the museum. This had a downside, of course. If they were caught, it would be harder to get to. But hopefully, they would be able to avoid that. They knew what to look for. And the diversion they had planned should be enough. The museum was relatively busy, and thankfully, there were plenty of teenagers as well. Andie wondered if there were some school groups visiting. That was good. They wouldn't stand out as much. They went around, keeping a cautious eye out for the cameras and guards, though Andie already had done that. They went about the exhibits trying to admire the art and history around them. Some of it was genuinely incredible. Eventually, the museum announced it was closing and everyone made their way to the entrance. Except Andie and her friends. They slid quietly into the toilet and climbed on top of the cubicle to not be seen if the guard looked inside. After what felt like an eternity, the noise died down, the lights went out, and the museum closed. Slipping their hats over their hair and masks over their faces, they quietly slipped out of the toilet and gathered in front of the mirror. They checked one another. Unrecognizable unless you really knew them.

"Okay... let's get stealing," Jessica smiled.

It was quiet in the museum. The girls were thankful for the carpet floor, which made their steps soundless. Quietly, nervously, they reached the entrance of the Greek exhibit. A cough sounded nearby. Andie silently gestured the girls to hide behind the curtains. Isabelle and she hid behind one while Emily and Jessica vanished behind the other. They waited, barely daring to breathe, as the guard walked around the room, flashing his light. Just then, they heard the sound of his walkie talkie.

"Hey, Boris, I think I saw someone in the Victorian exhibit, I need you over here."

"The Victorian exhibit? Okay, I'll be right there."

The Victorian exhibit was the furthest from the Greek section. Which of course, was why they'd chosen it. They waited for the guard to leave and Andie carefully peered round the curtain to make sure no one was there.

"Come on," she whispered to her friends.

They slid out of their hiding place and looked around.

"Now what?" Emily asked in a low voice.

"The Caduceus is this way," Andie whispered back and led them on.

They left the first room and came to the main attraction of the exhibit : the "Olympus on Earth" room. It had a representation of every god on Olympus. At the far end was a marble statue of a man with a tall staff.

"That's it..." Andie whispered.

Isabelle had pointed out that there would definitely be alarms around the artifacts. So they had called on the former masters. Andie and her friends waited a moment for the signal. But nothing happened.

... Ardente? Did you touch anything? Andie asked.

Yes, and nothing happened, that's what worries me.

No. I don't see any guards here, either, Ardente answered with an almost audible frown. I don't like this. Be careful, girls.

Let's get the staff and get out, Andie said, glancing at the others.

They nodded. Andie took a deep breath and reached for the staff. After a slight hesitation, she clasped the staff. And sure enough, no alarm went off. She bit her lip and pulled upwards. As she'd hoped, the Caduceus slid easily out of its socket, as if it had been waiting for someone to pull it out.

"Nice staff. Can I see it?" whispered a voice behind them.

Whipping round, Andie froze.

"Hello, Andie. Miss me?"

"Zarias..." Andie said coldly.

He was exactly the same as the last time she'd seen him. She remembered his face perfectly of course, having dreamed of him several times.

"I'm flattered you remember me," he grinned. "Well, well... who would have thought the guardians of the elements would be stealing?"

"What's it to you?" Jessica demanded.

"Oh, nothing," he shrugged. "I was just curious."

"Ever heard of curiosity killed the cat?" Jessica asked, poising for attack.

Andie, not wanting to see her get hurt, held out an arm to stop her.

Zarias crossed the space between them so fast that Andie was the only one who didn't step back.

"What do you want Hermes's staff for?" He asked in a low, delicate voice.

"None of your business!" Andie retorted.

She yanked the staff out of Zarias's reach, then swung her leg sharply upwards and into his stomach, knocking him aside. But she knew it would take more than that to get rid of him. It had taken all her power to get him to leave the first time, and she hadn't been able to use her powers for two days after that. But she couldn't do that this time, or she could damage the artifacts. Zarias pinned her to the floor. Andie managed to keep hold of the Caduceus, but she was not in a position to get him off her. And he easily knocked the girls whenever they tried to help.

"What do you want with that staff?" he demanded again.

"I told you it's none of your business!"

She meant to kick him where it hurt men most, but she didn't have time to. There was a bright light beside her. Glancing around, she saw that it was the Caduceus that was glowing. Isabelle seized the opportunity to knock Zarias off her. They all looked at the staff rose. Ardente, River, Aera and Terra were also standing next to them, watching in confusion.

"What's happening...?" Emily asked.

"I don't know..." Jessica said.

"Oh, no... I forgot that!" Aera said, her eyes wide.

"What?" Andie asked.

"When it senses a threat, the Caduceus splits into three parts and each piece takes one another appearance..."

Andie's eyes bulged in horror.

"What?! No!" she gasped. "We'll never find it if that happens!"

Zarias laughed and vanished. Andie hurried forwards and jumped up to grab hold of the the staff, but it was already separating into three pieces. Her fingers brushed them as they vanished. Andie stumbled and she fell to the floor. Looking up in panic, she got to her feet, panting.

"No...! No, no! Come back! Where did they go, did you see?"

"Sorry... we didn't..." Emily said.

"No! We have to find it!"

 Isabelle looked at her with infinite sadness.

"I'm sorry, Andie... it's gone..."

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

Oh, no, now what are they going to do?!

What d'you think they should do? Tell us in the comments!

What will happen now? Is Bane going to stay in a coma forever? Let's find out in the next chapter!