Andie wasn't sure how long she sat in Bane's living room, staring out the window hugging her knees. Hannah was gone. Zorak had taken her. What would he do to her? Why weren't they already forcing their way into the Demon Realm and looking for her? What was she supposed to tell her parents if they didn't get to her in time? No, she couldn't think like that. They would find her. They had to.

"We have to think this through carefully," Balon was saying. "If he's using the same tactic as the last time..."

Andie jumped to her feet.

"Don't you even think about suggesting we should leave her there!" she snarled.

Balon looked at her evenly.

"I wasn't going to." he said calmly. "I was merely saying we can't just rush in there like we did to get you. He will expect that, or else expect us not to do that, and we have no idea what he might be planning when we get there."

Andie looked at Balon. Then, realizing she had been unfair, she sighed.

"I know... I'm sorry..." she said, running a hand through her hair. "I just..."

"Hey," Bane said, turning her so she was facing him. "Look at me. We will get her back. I promise. Okay?"

Andie's vision blurred with tears.

"But in what condition?" she asked in a strangled voice. I spent one day there and it took me weeks to even start recovering! Hannah is ten, Bane, she won't survive what I went through!"

There was a silence. Bane had meant to say something like "if she's anything like you, she will be okay", but the truth was that Andie was right. She herself had very nearly died in the Demon Realm. Andie sensed Bane shudder. Andie took a deep breath. Balon was right. It was too risky to just run head first into the Demon Realm to get Hannah back safely.

"Okay... so what do we do? We can't waste time training," Andie said.

"No," Bane agreed. "But we need to work out a plan. First order of business, do we all go to the Demon Realm?"

"I think that's pretty much a given," Isabelle said thoughtfully, leaning against the wall. "We barely made it out the last time, we can't afford to not have all hands on deck."

Andie nodded. She racked her brains, and then, it hit her. She had an idea.

"It'll be tricky, and we'll need all the knowledge we can get on Zorak... but I think I have a plan."

Andie went home first, needing to explain Hannah's absence as well as her own before it got suspicious. As Isabelle had put it, the last thing they needed was the police pelting them with awkward questions. As she reached the door, she took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, I'm home," she called, trying to sound cheerful.

"Oh, hi, Andie," came Hank's voice.

"Hello, girls," Lauren said.

Andie slapped a smile on her face and peered into the kitchen where Hank and Lauren were bustling about getting dinner ready.

"Hmm, it smells great," Andie said, though she had never felt less hungry.

Lauren looked around, and then frowned slightly.

"Isn't Hannah with you?"

Andie struggled to think of an answer. She had tried to think of one on the way back, but had come up empty.

"Uh... no, she's..."

Of course, being the excellent lawyers they were, both Hank and Lauren sensed her discomfort.

"Andie?" Hank asked. "Where's your sister?"

"She's... at Louisa's," she said, trying to keep from making sound too much like she was just saying it off the top of her head. "Her mother and sister were at the Soda Fountain, and they invited Hannah over for the afternoon."

"Oh. Maybe I should call them, check everything's all right..." Lauren said.

"No!" Andie said, a little too loudly. "I mean... she's been to Louisa's before, she'll be fine. And Mrs Ramirez is with them."

Lauren eyed her carefully.

"Adrianna Galestone," she said slowly. "You would never lie to me about your sister's wellbeing, would you?"

"Lauren," Hank interjected. "You know our daughter better than that!"

"Of course not," Andie said, managing to sound shocked. "You know how much I love Hannah. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room."

And she turned round and disappeared up the stairs before her parents could stop her.

Once she was safe behind her bedroom door, she leaned against it and heaved a sigh.

"That was not fun..." she said.

"I know, but it was necessary," Adena answered.

"Yes, I know." Andie said, moving away from the door. "Now, I need to get ready."

She started by pulling out some more suitable clothes for running and fighting. She hid them under her covers to avoid arousing suspicions if her parents came in without her knowing. Then, she turned to her mirror and proceeded to braiding her hair. But her nerves were making her hands shake.

"Here, let me," she said.

Sure enough, soon Andie's hair was neatly tied up, the braid falling down her neck. Her eyes then fell on a picture of her and Hannah sitting on her dresser. It was Andie's first time holding her. She remembered how scared she'd been of dropping her. A sad smile touched her face as tears blurred her vision. She felt worse than after the accident. She had been the reason Hannah was now in danger. And the very thought of her going through even half of what Zorak had done to her... it was like a red hot knife to her stomach.

"We'll get her back," Adena said.

"I know..." Andie said. She refused any alternative. "I just hope we won't have lost a part of her along the way."

Adena woke Andie up at midnight, as planned. She got up quickly and pulled on her shoes just as a tapping sound came from the window. She looked round and smiled at Bane. She opened the window, and he hopped inside silently before pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

"Did you manage to get any sleep?" he asked.

Andie sighed, leaning into him.

"Not really." she admitted. "I keep seeing Hannah's face... when he took her. She was so scared... and I was supposed to protect her..."

"Andie, you know that just rushing after him would only have ended badly." Bane said, gently rubbing her shoulder. "We needed to prepare. Zorak is crazy, power hungry and all other kinds of evil, but he is also smart."

Andie nodded.

"You ready?" Bane asked.

"I've been ready for hours," Andie said.

Bane squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead.

"Window or back door?"

Andie thought about it. If they woke her parents, it would be worse than Hiroshima. But she'd never climbed down the window, and it would help no one if she broke her ankle Mainly because that would likely wake her parents too.

"It'll have to be the window, my parents went to bed late," Andie said. "We can't risk waking them."

"Window it is, then." Bane said, smiling.

He stepped carefully onto the ledge then held out his hand to Andie. Then, carefully, they made their way down the wall, Andie freezing at the slightest noise, waiting for a light to go on. But none did. Bane reached the ground first then raised his arms to help Andie down.

"Come on, let's go," he whispered and they ran down the street to Bane's car. Andie leaned into the window, lost in thought. The roads were quiet and pretty much empty at this hour, except for one or two cars here and there.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Bane asked as he turned a corner.

Andie suspected it was more an attempt to distract her than anything, but she appreciated the effort.

"... Hannah." she said.

Bane glanced at her.

"What am I supposed to tell her when we get her back?"

"Well..." Bane said. "I suppose we can't keep our secret from her much longer, now she's seen what she has. And besides, if it is proven she somehow inherited a portion of your powers... she'll need an explanation, she'll need training..."

"We are not having her fight with us," Andie said firmly.

"That's not what I meant," Bane replied patiently. "I meant that we will want to keep her safe, but Zorak won't be so considerate. What happened today proves it."

"But why Hannah?!" Andie asked. "She's not a threat!"

"No, but she's leverage..." Bane said cautiously. "My guess is Zorak thinks we'll do anything to protect Hannah."

Andie didn't answer. But as far she was concerned, there was indeed nothing that would stop her from protecting Hannah.