It took less than a minute for them to decide what to do.

"I'll call Jessica, you nab Emily," Andie said as they hurried down the stairs, phone in hand. "Hello, Jess? It's me, where are you right now?"

"Just leaving the dentist's, why? Is something wrong?"

"Can you get to Bane's as fast as you can?" Andie asked. "Isabelle and I might have something you need to know."

"Uh... Okay, I'll be there."

"Good, see you there," Andie said and hung up as Isabelle was doing the same with Emily, both of them clambering into the car at the same time.

With that, they headed to Bane's place. Soon enough, they were there. Bane's car was already there, as well as Jessica's. As they climbed out, Andie quickly texted her mother saying she would be home a little late but not to worry. She and Isabelle crossed the road as Bane opened the door. He'd probably seen them coming through the window of the house.

"Hey, guys. So, what's so urgent?" He asked.

"Let's get inside and I'll explain," Andie said.

He stepped aside without arguing. Emily and Jessica were already sitting on the couch in the living room. Zarias was in an armchair, Robert in the other. Bane followed Andie and Isabelle who tugged off their coats and hung them up.

"What's with the emergency meeting?" Emily wanted to know.

Andie turned to Zarias.

"Zarias. You claim your father is Zorak, don't you?"

He blinked.

"Because he is," he replied, frowning.

"Who was your mother?" Andie insisted.

If she'd seen him look surprised before now, it was nothing compared to the astounded look on his face now. But his surprise soon turned to suspicion.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked warily.

"Why don't you want to say?" Jessica asked. "Do you have something to hide?"

"No," Zarias shot back. "It would seem rather foolish, in my situation."

"Enough," Bane intervened before it could turn ugly. "What's this about?"

Andie glanced at Isabelle then the others.

"Does no one else think it's a little odd how different Zarias is from Zorak? Physically, not just in his personality."

There was a confused pause.

"Well... Now that you mention it..." Emily commented.

"How exactly is that important?" Zarias asked, his eyes narrowing slightly at Andie.

"That depends," Andie replied, holding his gaze, "on whether you know what we're talking about or not."

"Well, I don't," the Demon Lord's son replied.

He paused, lost in thought for a moment, then said:

"But I think I know how to find out."

"So, let me see if I have this right..." Jessica said slowly. "You're saying you want to check Zorak's stuff in the Demon Realm to see if there's anything about your mother or your birth?"

Zarias nodded. Even Andie couldn't deny the idea was nowhere near what she had in mind.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" she asked. "Guys?"

Everyone got up except for Zarias and Robert, and went into the kitchen.

"We're not actually thinking of doing this, are we?" Jessica asked.

"It could be important..." Isabelle put in.

"You're insane." Jessica said. "Or else, you're all blind. This is obviously a trap!"

"We know there's a chance of that," Andie replied patiently. "But Isabelle's right. It could be crucial information."

"Like what?!" Jessica demanded hotly. "We already know he's the son of our enemy!"

"Well, that's the thing, we're starting to wonder if he is."

Jessica fell silent.

"So, what are we thinking?" Emily asked.

"I have no idea, that's why I think we should go check it out," Andie said. "But since there is still a risk, we'll form a small group and the rest will stay here as back up."

"Uh, what back up? We can't cross over unless we're all together!"

"Yeah, and the staff of Hermes was taken away months ago," Emily reminded. "How are you going to work that out?"

"If Zarias can cross the worlds, he can most likely keep the gate open if he wants to," Bane said. "And we shouldn't need to call for help, anyway. The only question is, who's going?"

"... Well, I'm going nowhere with that guy," Jessica said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not in a hundred years."

"Fine," Andie said, not wanting to waste time fighting. "I'm in."

"If you're in, so am I," Bane said. "I think one more would be safer."

They glanced at Emily and Isabelle, who seemed hesitant.

"I'll do it," Isabelle finally told them. "I'll go with you."

"Okay." Andie said. "We all know the risks. But we need to know what makes Zarias different. It could be the key to determining his true intentions."

"But how would that help us?" Jessica asked stubbornly.

"Oh, use your head!" Isabelle retorted, rolling her eyes. "If he's really sided with us, we could use his insight, even if he hasn't got his powers anymore. And if he's tricking us... hopefully, we'll be able to tell."

"And if he really is? What do we do then?"

"Honestly, I'm more worried about what we'll do if it really is a trap..." Emily said. "If you get stuck there..."

"We'll find out own way out," Andie said, though she couldn't help thinking it would probably be a lot easier said than done.

Bane took a deep breath.

"So. Who's up for a trip to the Demon Realm?"

"Now we're all on the same page." Zarias said. "I have no way of telling what'll be waiting for us. I don't know if my father can sense us coming or not."

They were all back in the living room, discussing the finer points of their plan. If they actually had a plan, which Andie wasn't quite sure of at this point. There was a heavy tension in the air. Jessica's disapproval rolled off her like an avalanche, and given Zarias's occasional cold glances her way, he could sense it as well.

"If he could, wouldn't he have sent Umbras to us the last time?" Emily pointed out.

"He did," Andie reminded. "They probably just took a little time to get to us."

"Plus, that time, Zorak was expecting us to come," Bane added. "This time, he has no reason to think we're coming."

'Yes, bu-" Jessica began to argue.

"Are we here to talk or act?" Zarias demanded.

They all glanced at him uncertainly. He didn't flinch.

"Right, sorry. So, how do we do this?" Isabelle asked.

Zarias stepped into the center of the room, thinking.

"I opened the portal through my father's device, but I was always able to portal myself back," he explained. "Hopefully, I can again. I just never tried with passengers, before..."

Andie, Isabelle and Bane stood around him.

"You guys be careful out there," Robert said, standing next to Emily and a grumpy-but-nervous-looking Jessica.

"We will, uncle Rob."

"Form a circle around me," Zarias ordered. I'll open a portal and try to let it spread to you."

Without a word, Andie and the others took a step closer, watching as Zarias closed his eyes and raised his hands slightly. There was complete silence. Robert, Emily and Jessica stood to the side, Emily's arm tightly woven through Jessica's. Robert stood very still, his lips purse, his eyes scanning the room carefully. Andie glanced at Bane, her hand itching for his, but she wasn't sure how it would impact Zarias's portal, so she kept them to her side, focusing her attention on Zarias.

"It's probably not going to look quite like yours, so don't panic," Zarias warned them.

"We'll be fine," Bane said. "Let's do this."

"... Very well, then," Zarias said.

A dark, purple light glowed from his hands. Andie couldn't help shivering a little. It reminded her of the electricity Zorak had shot through her. Slowly, the purple light formed a perfect circle, which steadily grew wider until all four of them were inside it. Zarias, his eyes still closed, suddenly crossed his forearms before him. A powerful wind began blowing upwards around Andie and the others, whipping her hair and face. She willed herself to keep still, even when the light on the floor suddenly turned into a black whirlpool, steadily spinning below their feet. She gulped, but didn't move. She peered at Bane, when suddenly Robert's voice said:

"You come back to us, okay?"

Bane looked up at him.

"We will."

And then, all at once, they fell into the whirlpool and into blackness.