"Andie! Someone from the Washington Center on the phone for you!"

 "Coming, Mom!"

Andie came down to take the call, wondering what it was about.

"Hello, Andie Galestone speaking,"

"Hello, Andie. Bethany Hunt, I work at the Washington Center. I just wanted to tell you that rehearsal for the concert in two weeks is starting right after Thanksgiving."

Andie gaped. She'd completely forgotten about the concert! It was the weekend, and next week was Thanksgiving Break. She'd have to rehearse before that, because she hadn't sung a note in weeks.

"Oh... yeah, thanks for letting me know. Is it at the Washington Center?"

"That's it." Bethany answered. "I believe your classes finish at one?"

"Yes," Andie answered.

"Is three too early for you?"

"Um, no that's fine." Andie said. "Will the rehearsals be everyday?"

"I think so, yes."

"Okay. I'll be there."

"Great. Just go to the front desk, we'll get you sorted."

"Alright. Thanks."

Andie hung up and sighed. She didn't want to let Devil Riot down, especially after they'd picked her over dozens of other girls. But she couldn't say she felt much like singing.

"What was it, honey?" Lauren asked.

"It was about Devil Riot's concert."

"Oh, yes, you're the opening act. When's the concert again?"

"Uh... On December third," Andie said.

Lauren peered shrewdly at her.

"You don't seem too happy about it."

"Oh, no, I am... I'm just a little tired."

And she went to her room before Lauren could question her any more.

Zorak sat in his throne, his breath short. He'd been training for hours to push the limits of his power. His physical abilities were unchanged. But his power, if still remarkable, wasn't quite to its former glory. It'd been slowly coming back ever since the shackles placed by the five original masters had fallen. He'd sacrificed a large portion of it between his last trip to the human world and transferring some to Zarias, but he'd come to notice that each time, his power returned stronger and faster than the last. Now, he was ever closer to the strength he'd had when he'd faced Ardente and the others. Zorak leaned back thoughtfully in his throne. The thought of Ardente and her radiant beauty had once made him feel love. Now, it only aroused bitterness and anger. He would've been far better for her. He would've offered her everything she'd ever wanted and deserved. But she'd chosen to give her heart to the Guardian of Light, the idiot Balon. He'd never understood what Ardente saw in him. But it was of no importance. His infatuation for Ardente had long since left him. But he would'nt waver from his objective. Recreating Earth and taking it as his. If any humans survived, he'd make them his slaves. If they managed to stand the Demon Realm, that was. The only human he'd ever seen here was Zarias. Any contact he'd had with the boy's mother had been in the human world. He got to his feet and looked out the wide window at his realm. The deep red sky, gray and black clouds, ash-colored buildings and ground... it was beautiful. But he wanted a larger kingdom. He was a Demon Lord. He... what was that human idiom? Want it all. That was it. He wanted it all. And Zorak always got what he wanted.

Thanksgiving promised to be both long and short. Long because Andie had to pretend to be happy and grateful, when she didn't really feel either at the moment. She kept thinking of Bane, wishing he was there. She also felt sad for Robert. He was probably sitting alone in his small house, which would feel much emptier without Bane. And even if his neighbors asked him to join them, he probably wouldn't feel like celebrating. She didn't...

"Andie, if you cut that onion any smaller, it'll be dust."

Hank's voice pulled her out of her reverie. He and Andie were on kitchen duty while Hannah and Lauren decorated and tidied the house.

"What?" she gasped, looking up. "Oh... sorry, Dad."

She scooped it up and dropped it into the pan with the other ingredients.

"You okay, sweetheart? You seem a little distracted."

"Yeah, fine. Just being thorough," she smiled forcefully. "How's the sweet potato coming?" she asked.

"Perfect. Here, try it." he said.

He took a spoonful and gave it to her.

"Mmm, it's amazing," she smiled. "How d'you do it? Seriously, I can't think of any other sweet potato that tastes this good."

Andie didn't know how he did it, but her father always managed to chase away her bad feelings. When she had been little, she'd sometimes imagined he was secretly a superhero with the power to chase all bad feelings and nightmares. The thought made her smile, now. She put the chopping board away and pulled out the ingredients for the chocolate pecan pie. Every year, her father let her help with it, and when she had been younger, that could get a little messy, but was always fun. She set to work while Hank tended to the turkey.

"Hey, Dad, Andie! Look at my super Pocahontas costume!"

Hannah came hurrying in, dressed as the Indian princess, her long auburn hair braided down her back.

"Wow, you look awesome, Hannah," Hank smiled.

"I'm not Hannah, I'm queen Pocahontas!" Hannah grinned.

"She was a princess," Andie said. "Which is even cooler. You know why?"

"Because she could enjoy the privileges of royalty without the boring responsibilities," Hank grinned, winking at Andie.

"Oh, so I can stop cleaning?"

They all laughed outright. Even Andie felt better. Lauren toed Hannah back to the living room to finish getting it ready while Andie finished preparing the pie. Soon after, she'd put it in the oven.

"Why don't you take a break, honey, I can finish here."

"You sure?" Andie asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Go."

Andie smiled, kissed her father's cheek and went to her room.

Once she was alone, she sat on her bed and pulled out her phone. Bane had given her his home number in case someone needed to call his uncle. She stared at the number a moment, hesitating. Should she call Robert? Wouldn't he find that rude? If he did, he would probably tell her... and it wouldn't hurt, right? She took a deep breath and pressed the call button. It rang a few times, then she heard Robert's voice.

"Robert Davis."

"... Hello, Mr Davis.. it's Andie Galestone."

"Andie? Is something wrong with Bane?"

"No, no... if there was, you'd probably know before I did," she said, though with Ardente and the others, that wasn't quite true.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. So what can I do for you?"

Andie paused a second, then said:

"...I was actually wondering what I could do for you... I figured you'd be a little... lonely, today."

This time, he paused.

"That's very considerate of you." he said, sounding slightly surprised. "But I'll be alright, thank you."

She would have liked to invite him over, but it would have been strange.

"Are you sure? I'd hate for you to spend today alone of all days..."

"I won't, my neighbors invited me. But I appreciate the thought."

"... Okay... Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Davis."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Andie."

Andie put her phone away and sighed. He sounded like he was doing okay... but men were a lot more secretive when it came to feelings. She looked up at Ardente.

"Could you check on him? So he's not all alone? I don't know what I'd do if I were alone today."

"Of course." Ardente said. "Just call if you need me."

"I know." Andie nodded.

Ardente faded away.

I had better change... the guests will be here soon... Andie told herself.

So she did and went downstairs, realizing that if she couldn't be grateful that Bane was awake, she could be grateful for the fact that he was alive.

Andie reached school after dropping Hannah to her own school that Monday. She parked her car and climbed out. She picked up her bag and was sliding it onto her shoulder, when she heard her name.

"Andie!" A familiar voice called.

She looked around and scanned the crowd to find who was calling her. Isabelle was just stepping out of her bus and waved at her. Andie smiled.

"Hey, Isabelle. How are you?" Andie smiled. "Good Thanksgiving?"

She was as pretty as ever with her long wavy hair and big blue eyes. It was incredible to Andie that she'd be so shy.

 "Just great. You?" Isabelle asked.

"Fine," Andie said. "How was yours?"

"Mine was fine, too." Isabelle said carefully.

She eyed Andie a few seconds.

"Are you really okay, Andie?" she asked. "You know, you don't have to hide from me."

Andie knew she wasn't fooled. She smiled and squeezed her hand.

"I know. But yes." she said. "I'm fine. I can't change what happened or didn't. I just have to accept it."

Isabelle sighed sympathetically.

"I'm sure he'll wake up soon." she said encouragingly.

Andie hoped she was right, but didn't think she could find the strength to feel as confident just yet.

 "Me too." she said, and took Isabelle's arm. "Come on, let's go to class."

Spanish class went on normally. What was less ordinary was break. Andie and Isabelle were talking by her locker as she took her books for her next class when a sharp clicking sound made them look up.

"Oh, joy..." Andie muttered, closing her locker.

Cool and composed with perfectly curled hair and shiny manicure, Vicki Chase marched towards them with a determined expression on her face.

"What did you do to her, she looks mad," Isabelle whispered.

"Nothing!" Andie whispered back, stung. "Not that I know of, anyway."

Vicki stopped in front of them.

"You never answered me, last time." She said coolly.

Andie had a feeling she knew what she was talking about, but didn't want to give Vicki the impression that she cared.

"I'm sorry, what last time?"

'"Don't play dumb," Vicki snapped. "I asked if you knew where Bane was."

Andie pretended to think.

"Did you? Oh! Yes, you did. But I thought Jessica had answered."

"No, she told me it wasn't my business. But I think I have a right to know."

Andie snorted.

"Excuse me? What right? You're not related, you never talk to him."

"He's is my History class," she retorted haughtily. "We're friends. And what right do you have? You're just some girl in his Spanish class, you're not related, either. You're exactly at the same level as me."

"Oh? Somehow, I don't think so. He's never mentioned you."

Isabelle stared at Andie in amazement. She'd never been so... confident. Andie herself was surprised at how easily she was standing up to Vicki, who'd never been shy in the slightest.

"Oh, wait, actually, that's not true. He did mention you once. When was it, again? Oh, yes! To say you'd asked him to homecoming, but that he'd politely declined. Because he wanted to ask me."

The bystanders who'd stopped to watch laughed. Vicki turned red and stormed off. Andie and Isabelle laughed as they got the rest of their things.

"That was amazing," Isabelle smiled as they walked to class.

"I know, I don't know what came over me..." Andie said.

Isabelle thought about it a moment.

"I think you're just getting stronger and more confident," she said.

"Maybe." Andie admitted.

She had been trying to be stronger. It was nice to see it might be working.

Snow was falling steadily by the next day. Some buses were delayed so a fair few students came in late. Some didn't even come at all, though probably more to skip class than because of the snow, in Andie's opinion. Driving to school was tricky, and Lauren was hard to convince, as it was her first year as a licensed driver and she hadn't yet had experience with snow, but Hank had convinced her. Andie only just remembered in time that the she had a rehearsal with the drama club the following Thursday. She groaned as she thought about it. She didn't feel like singing and dancing... A part of her wanted to just drop out, but they were all counting on her. Not to mention that after her last encounter with Vicki, she wanted to show her she wasn't afraid of her. She'd fought a demon prince, for crying out loud, she could take a high school queen bee. So, she practiced the songs she'd been given. Or tried, anyway. She was finding it hard not to let her mind drift to Bane. The more she thought about it, the less sense it made. So she tried not to think about it, because it just made her upset. Soon, Thursday afternoon came and she made her way to the auditorium.

"Ah, there she is!" Judy smiled as she came in. "Hey, Andie!"

"Hi," Andie said, trying to smile naturally. "I hope I'm not too late..."

"No, you're just in time. Ready to start rehearsing?" Ellie asked.

"Sure." she said, setting her bag down and tying up her hair.

And so, they did a few warming exercises and got started. Andie tried to put her head into it, but it wasn't easy. After a while, Judy, who was directing, looked at Andie.

"Okay, stop!" she called.

They all did. Judy's eyes were still on Andie.

"Take a break, everyone. Andie, can I speak to you a minute?"

Andie didn't think she'd missed too many steps, and she'd not forgotten any lyrics, so what did Judy want to talk to her about that the others couldn't hear? Andie ignored Vicki's smirk and walked down the steps to where Judy stood waiting while the others went about drinking some water or wolfing down a granola bar, or else studying their lines again. Judy led Andie to the far end of the room.

"Is something wrong?" Andie asked.

"... I wanted to ask you that," Judy answered cautiously. "Your singing is fine, it just... sounds like your heart's not quite in it."

Andie bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"I'm sorry..." she eventually said. "I... I've just kind of got a lot on my plate at the moment..."

"Anything I can help with?" Judy offered.

Andie shook her head.

"No, thank you. It's nice of you to ask."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Andie said. "I'll focus, don't worry."

She had to if she wanted to avoid more uncomfortable conversations like this one. And to her own surprise, she did actually quite like doing this.

"Glad to hear it." Judy said. "Shall we?"

Andie nodded.

"Let's."

After class, Andie was tired from all the rehearsing and didn't feel much like doing her homework just yet, so she decided to lie down for a while. The rehearsal had gone normally after her talk with Judy. But now that Andie had nothing else to take her mind off things, she felt a little empty. As much as she meant what she'd told her friends about Bane not wanting them to wallow, she was finding it hard to abide by. Just because she was trying to keep going didn't mean she didn't miss Bane or feel his absence was unfair. She thought about playing the song she'd played the day before, but decided it was not a good idea. It would just make her feel miserable again. She just lay in silence. If this rehearsal had been hard, the ones for the Devil Riot concert would be even worse, she was sure of it. She have to think of happy things, or try, anyway. Because she wasn't sure they'd be as lenient as Judy. Stella hopped up onto her bed and curled up next to her.

"Ha..." Andie sighed. "I guess we'll just have to live and hope, eh, Stella?"

Stella didn't answer, of course. She simply purred and rubbed her head against Andie's leg. She sighed and lay back on her bed. Eventually, her phone went off, making Stella jump and hop off the bed in panic. Andie sat up and chuckled as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Sorry, Stella," she smiled. It's probably one of the girls."

She saw it was a text from Isabelle.

Can you meet me at the park as soon as possible?

Andie frowned and tried to call her, but the phone went straight to voice mail. Heaving a sigh, she hopped off her bed, pulled on her scarf and jacket before heading down the stairs.

"Andie?"

Andie skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs.

 "Uh... yes, Mom?"

She turned to look at Lauren who was looking at her from the living room.

"Are you going out?" she asked.

"Uh... yeah, Isabelle wanted me to meet her."

"Alright, then. Just don't be home too late, understood?"

Andie tried not to feel like she was being babied for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, Mom. I'll be home soon. I love you!" she said, heading out.

"Love you too, honey."

Zorak was too impatient to sit still anymore. Even pacing had lost its soothing effect. And anyone who'd known Zorak long enough knew things were dire indeed if even pacing was no longer enough. And Zorak had been doing his pacing. He'd walked from one end of his throne room to the other for two entire days, each step more tense and louder than the last. He was immortal, so he felt no hunger, no weariness, so pacing was one of the many things he could have done for years and never get tired. At least not physically, because we all agree it would quickly become boring. The umbras were even surprised he'd done it for so long without flying into a rage. Why hadn't Zarias come back with the five new incarnations of the elements? It had been over a week! He needed their power, if he was to recreate the worlds. In his anger, he shattered a vase by firing black flames at it. He stared darkly at the shattered object. But his powers had felt close to when he was all powerful. He raised his hand and examined it curiously. He'd succeeded in crossing the realm once... suddenly, he froze. What was that he sensed? It couldn't be... but it was different than the rest. There was no other explanation. He shot out of his throne room, his panther on his heels and into his chambers. There, they found the map infused with demonic energy that enabled him to see the traces of elemental energy in the human world. He unrolled it carefully, and spread it out on his desk. He was looking at a map of the human city of Olympia, in the American continent. Five spots of light, though the map wasn't precise enough to pin point them exactly. And there were five spots, as there should have been... but that was not possible, for he clearly sensed six auras... Six masters of the elements? How was that possible, only one could be the vessel for each other five powers! He had to investigate. Personally. His cloak whipped the air as he swept out of the room and into the antechamber, where his portal between the realms stood in the guise of a golden scepter with a blood red ruby on top of it. He raised his hands on either side of the gem which lit up as a complicated circular design appeared under his feet. This was going to cost him a lot of power, but he had to know. If there was a sixth vessel, he had to acquire it. At once. With a flash of red light, he crossed the barrier of the realm.

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

We're in trouble now, folks! The realm was the one obstacle between Zorak and our world! What d'you think his first move will be? Tell us in the comments! Will the girls manage to fight the demons off? Will their families, their world be safe? Let's find out in the next chapter!