"Zarias! Zarias, where are you?"
Zorak waited impatiently in his throne room, pacing as he listened for his son.
"Zarias! Must I send a search party after you?"
He began pacing irritably around the room, as he did so often. Why did he always take so long to arrive? It was almost as if he did it on purpose in order to infuriate him. Fortunately, the door creaked open seconds later.
"Father, what is it?" Zarias asked.
Zorak's black eyes turned to his son. But for the first time in Zarias's memory, the darkness in them was almost bright. It was as if he was... happy. In all his existence, he had never, ever seen Zorak happy. Amused, certainly, satisfied, occasionally, but actually happy... it was unheard of. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or the worst could ever occur in the Demon Realm.
"Good news?" he asked his father.
"Excellent," Zorak replied, turning to look out the window.
He clasped his hands behind his back and stared out at the dark sky before them.
"I am happy to hear it." Zarias answered, though he didn't seem to quite follow. "What news might that be?"
Zorak still didn't look at him as he spoke.
"You remember, I trust, the last time we attempted to get the five incarnations in one place so we could capture them and acquire their powers?"
"Yes, father." Zarias said. "It was a very ingenious plan."
"Yes, it rather was, wasn't it?" Zorak replied. "And you will also remember how it dismally failed?"
"... Yes, father... but if you'll just..."
"But," Zorak interrupted. "I believe there is a way we can fix this."
Zarias watched the Demon Lord carefully. He seemed calm enough, just uncommonly happy. Had he come up with some brilliant, foolproof plan to obtain what he had been coveting for so long?
"Really? What way is that?" Zarias asked.
Zorak turned away, starting his pacing again.
"Well, I have been thinking about how best to approach this situation." he said. "On the one hand, the humans will expect us to try again eventually. What they won't expect is a similar tactic."
"But father, that plan failed..."
"That plan worked perfectly until you sent it crumbling to the ground!" Zorak snapped, rounding on Zarias. "It can work again. We will just have to make use of a slightly different tactic... that is all. And I know just what to do."
"You want to what?!" Andie asked.
They were sitting at the Soda Fountain that Saturday afternoon.
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!" Jessica said enthusiastically.
"Karaoke?" Emily asked dubiously.
"Why not? It'll be a change from training, for once."
Andie had already thought the paintball plan was crazy. This was probably equally so
"Well, I think it is a good idea," Isabelle said. "I think we could all use the break."
Andie and Bane looked at each other. Things were... all right, between them, Andie guessed. When they were alone, things weren't so bad, though they both tried not to mention Eric. But they both thought about him once in a while, which caused discomfort between the two of them. Andie hadn't spoken to Eric since their last argument. The Valentine's dance was approaching, and it was the first time she'd be going with Bane. She hoped Eric wouldn't do anything stupid...
"Yeah, I guess it can't hurt," Andie said.
"More seriously, though, what should we make of the fact that we haven't seen hide nor hair of the Demonic Duo?" Jessica asked.
"Well, in my opinion it can't be anything good..." Bane answered, taking a sip from his milkshake.
"How's Hannah doing?" Isabelle asked.
"Well, she's not sick anymore... the doctor said it was nothing serious, so my parents won't look too much into it..."
"But how would she have gotten your powers?" Emily asked. "It sounds impossible!"
"It is," Andie answered, more sharply than she'd intended. "It has to be..."
She pressed her head against her hand, sighing. Bane took her hand and drew it to him.
"Hey," he said, looking at her. "We'll work through this. Okay?"
Andie nodded and leaned into his shoulder. Jessica took a long gulp of her smoothie and said:
"I don't know, I actually kind of like the idea."
Andie slowly raised her head and stared at her.
"You did not just say that." she said.
"What? It would be more power for the team."
"She still goes to elementary school, Jessica!" Andie exclaimed in disbelief. "Elementary! She can't be thrown into this! I can't believe you're even considering that, what if it was Jackson?"
Jackson was the youngest of Jessica's three brothers. He was twelve, then came Josh at sixteen and Jessica's twin Mike, who was eighteen too. This seemed to cool Jessica's enthusiasm. She shuffled in her seat.
"I hadn't looked at it like that..." she admitted. "I'm sorry, you're right. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's okay... I know you don't want Hannah to get hurt, and we do need all the help we can get..."
As planned by Jessica, they all met up that evening. Andie decided not to think about anything that night and just enjoy herself. Be a normal girl, just for one night. The bar wasn't too full yet, but Andie had a feeling it would soon enough. They found a table in the middle of the room where they could see the stage while not being too close to the speakers. Jessica and Emily went to get drinks while Andie, Bane and Isabelle sat down. They came back as the bartender was announcing that submissions for the karaoke were now open. Several people immediately rose and went to hand in their submissions. After a while, the first performance was announced.
"Let's hear it for Vicky," the bartender called.
"Oh, no..." Jessica groaned. "Not..."
But it was indeed Vicky Chase. She suddenly caught sight of Andie and her friends, and smiled. Andie held her gaze coolly as her song began. Andie knew she was good. And Vicky was clearly intent on showing everyone else. In a way, it wasn't a bad thing, because it would be positive advertising to those who went to her school. When the song ended, Vicky looked at Andie, and tilted her head slightly, her face saying "think you can beat that?", her eyes gleaming maliciously. Again, Andie held her gaze, and then rose to her feet.
"What are you doing?" Bane asked.
"She thinks she's better than me. Well, we'll just see what I can do."
Bane smiled at her.
"Go get her," he said and ran his thumb over her lower lip.
She smiled back, brushed his hair with her fingers, and moved away. And as if fate wanted nothing better than to help her, the bar tender called her name next.
"And let's make some noise for Andie!"
Andie had to admit she liked how it felt to be on the stage. It was nice to be the source of attention for a good reason for once. The music began, and it was almost without thinking about it that Andie cast everything else aside and let the music fill her. She no longer cared about Zorak, or Eric and Bane fighting over her... All she could think of was the words, the notes and the beat as it echoed within her. And it felt immensely good to just let go of everything for a few minutes. She looked around at the crowd as the last notes faded. There was an enthusiastic cheer as she walked off the stage, flashing a wide smile at a very grumpy-looking Vicky. She sat down grinning.
"You certainly showed her," he grinned.
She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. Just then, another name was announced.
"And now, let's give a warm welcome to... Eric!"
********
Uh oh... this sounds like it could get ugly! Let's find out what happens in the next chapter!