The following morning, Theo was barely up as he was still worried about that crack. After checking with his mirror, he noticed the seal was still holding, but what he saw last night only made him uneasy.

"I should get Gale to get a work crew to get that spot properly fixed before that seal breaks.", he reminded himself.

As the mirror went back to normal, a light came past his door and as tired as he was, he had a feeling he knew who it was. As he got up and stretched while yawning, he got to the door, but the light had gone and the sound of Ember's scooter came faintly to his ears.

"Ember?", he wondered.

He hurried downstairs and was out the door, but by now the sound of Ember's scooter had vanished and was nowhere to be seen. Theo started to get anxious. Ember had to know about the seal, but where was she? As if it read his thoughts, the mirror in his sweatshirt vibrated and he took it out to see Ember on her scooter heading towards the Water District.

"Is she going to see Wade?", he wondered.

The mirror went back to normal and Theo by now had gotten enough of his strength back to bolt after Ember. He had just caught up to her as she was about to enter Wade's building. The doorman was near the door as it was closing, but Theo wasn't able to get close enough to go through himself.

"Dang it.", he muttered, "I guess I'll have to get up to Wade's joint the old-fashioned way."

He focused his electromagnetic field and lifted himself alongside the building until he got to what he believed to be Wade's apartment building and rapped the glass. It opened and Brook was there which surprised Theo just as Brook was surprised to see Theo hovering outside her window.

"Theo, how unexpected.", Brook said cheerfully, "What brings you here on this beautiful day?"

"I'm actually here to see if Ember-", Theo started.

Then a knock came at the door which cut Theo off.

"Wade, could you get that please?", Brook asked over her shoulder before returning to Theo, "Now, you were saying?"

Theo regained enough of himself to speak calmly now, but was cut off as he heard Wade from across the room.

"Ember! So, what did your mom say? About our reading?"

Theo thought fast.

"Um Mrs. Ripple, would it be too much to ask if I come in?" he asked.

"Oh, of course.", Brook answered smiling, "Wade is lucky that you're a good friend for him."

Brook steeped back allowing Theo to hover in through the open window and start hovering toward the front door.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ripple.", he said politely as he gave Brook a smile and nod while passing.

"You're welcome.", Brook answered before she went back to the dishes she was doing.

And you came all the way here to give it to me?"

Theo was almost at the door, but hovered higher to see that Wade had the glass Vivisteria flower sculpture Ember made in his hands. Yet Ember looked sad as Wade noticed.

"Wait, why are you giving me gifts?"

Theo felt a pang of tension as he guessed Ember was here to break it off and Wade must have guessed the same thing.

"Oh no.", he said sadly looking at the glass sculpture in his hands and then brightening, "Hold on! I think I have something to show you. I need to call Gale! And you're going to need a pair of boots!"

Theo felt himself give out and his field faltered from his fatigue making him drop fast just as Wade was turning around and almost face smacked him. Luckily, he paused before he did as this took him by surprise.

"Theo?!", Ember asked equally surprised as Wade, "How did you get in there?"

"Never mind that.", Theo answered, "I couldn't help but overhear and was wondering if I'd come along as well."

Wade's smile broadened.

"Sure."

/

Not long after, Wade was leading Ember and Theo to the abandoned Garden Central Station. As they approached, they passed a sign advertising the Vivisteria faded with age and a banner across it telling that the place was closed. Theo recalled the memory of Ember, Bernie and himself coming here though he said nothing.

"Wade, what are we doing here?", Ember asked.

"Just wait.", Wade told her.

As they came to a chain-link fence, he removed his shirt and tossed it over it while going through it and coming out just in time for his shirt to fall back into place. Ember walked through the fence too though she melted the metal while doing so and Theo just hovered over it and descended to be by the couple.

"Why do they even have these?", Wade asked as the group headed toward the station.

"Eh, who knows?", Ember answered.

As they got near the station, Theo noticed the familiar "No Fire or Sparks" sign still standing as if to remind him and Ember of their bad experience. Wade just casually knocked the sign down and Theo felt like the sign deserved it. The station certainly looked like it was closed a very long time. A few ornate tiles remained on the walls, the ceilings dripped water, and the entrance stairs leading down into the darkness was flooded. Hovering near the stairs, was Gale who waved as the trio approached.

"Hey!", she called while waving, "It's my favorite fireball!"

Puzzled, Ember waved back.

"Hey Gale.", she said before turning to Wade, "What's going on?"

"I know you think you have to end this", he began, "but that flooded tunnel? It leads to the main terminal."

"Okay?", Ember said not quite catching on.

"Do either of you still want to see a Vivisteria?", Wade asked as he was mentioning Theo as well.

Theo looked a bit confused before Wade gave Gale a nod and the Air lady puffed up as she took in a deep breath of air. Then Gale blew into the water making a large air bubble appear before she closed it. Ember was stunned.

"Wait, I'm supposed to get in there?", she asked.

"The air should last . . .", Wade started.

". . . about twenty minutes.", Gale added.

Ember hesitated.

"They said you couldn't go in there . . . ", Wade told her looking her way casually, "Why does anybody get to tell you what you can do in your life?"

Ember's brow furrowed as she stepped to the water's edge after she looked Wade's way. Theo smiled as an idea came to mind. Ember jumped in as Gale finished blowing in and then Gale sealed the bubble to prevent water from dripping in. Theo looked complimented as he stepped toward the water forming a bubble of his own through electromagnetism. Once he was under the water, Wade looked down and gave them two thumbs-up before diving in himself. Carefully, Wade grabbed Ember's bubble as he started taking her down the stairs. Theo looked back at Gale who was waving good-bye so he waved back before using one hand to hold the bubble in place and the other to move it so it caught up with Ember and Wade. When they were close, wade gave Theo an awestruck look.

"You're amazing."

Theo blushed.

/

Surrounded by water, Ember felt more than a bit scared, but since Wade and Theo were near her, she calmed down. Once they reached the end of the tunnel they came to the old train station where Ember's light illuminated the walls. Theo was in awe at the gorgeous place. Somehow everything had been preserved from the tile floor to the vaulted ceiling overhead, crisscrossed with green trellises. While exploring an old subway car, a school of fish was startled and swam out and around Ember's bubble though Ember laughed like she enjoyed it. They followed the fish up another flight of stairs into a submerged grand ballroom where in the center, growing in a double-helix, was the Vivisteria plant. It looked dull before Wade brought Ember closer and her light made a dormant bud open and bloom.

"A Vivisteria.", Ember whispered.

The flowers looked more beautiful than Theo had imagined and as Ember lit up with pure joy and more dormant flowers on the vine bloomed as the trio ascended upward. Another school of fish came out and spun Ember's bubble, but Theo could see Ember was having too much fun to notice as her prismatic light continued to shine. Theo and Wade both were in awe as they too enjoyed the magical moment. But then Wade noticed Ember's bubble was getting smaller as her flames licked the top making her flinch in pain.

"Ouch!"

"You're running out of air!", Wade gasped as he looked around fast and saw an exit and noticed one nearby, "That way!"

Wade hurried Ember's bubble to the stairs and Theo set himself on the floor, he'd move faster if he didn't float.

"I'll meet you both up there!", he called after them.

Theo put his legs into motion though to be careful to not get his bubble popped as he went after Wade and Ember. He could barely make out Wade's voice, but knew he was on the right track and picked up the pace the moment he got to the stairs.

"Almost there.", he heard Wade say, "Try to breathe slow and steady."

Theo put in more effort as he noticed Wade was putting in what he could. Ember's bubble was almost to her as she crouched down, but then all three burst out of an old subway entrance just in time, landing on a sidewalk near Mineral Lake and finally collapsing from exhaustion. Theo's field had dispersed once he was fully out of the water, but he was just thankful Ember had made it. As they laid there, Wade's eyes suddenly got wide with regret.

"I'm so sorry", he said, "I never should have-"

"Are you kidding?", Ember asked jumping to her feet excitedly, "That was amazing. I finally saw a Vivisteria!"

"Me too.", Theo said just as happily.

/

Wade was feeling better already as the trio got too their feet.

It was inspiring.", he agreed not taking his eyes off Ember, "You and Theo are inspiring."

He then held out his hand, his gaze steady. Ember turned away.

"No, Wade, we can't touch."

"Maybe we can.", Wade said calmly.

Ember stared out at the lake.

"No.", she said again.

"Couldn't we just prove it?", Wade pleaded.

Ember looked his way.

"Prove what?"

"Let's see what happens", Wade stated, "and if it's a disaster, then we'll know this would never work."

"But it actually could be a disaster.", Ember reminded him with her voice rising, "I could vaporize you. You could extinguish me. And then-"

"Ember!", Theo snapped causing her to pause before talking in a calmer tone, "We don't know unless we try."

Wade held out his hand again.

"Let's start small."

Ember hesitated, but when she looked Theo's way, she was comforted. If anything bad happened, he would be there to fix it if it came to that. Then, she tentatively reached toward it, hovering her hand over his. The moment Wade's hand started to bubble, she yanked hers back. Then she tried again and this time, they did touch by pressing their palms together. Water boiled and steam hissed, but Theo didn't see any signs of pain in Ember or Wade's faces. Ember gasped as she pulled her hand away and examined it as Wade examined his at the same time. The results were spellbinding.

"Ember, you and Wade are still okay.", Theo said clearly in awe as them.

Wade and Ember then pressed their palms together again, more firmly this time. Wade's water pushed back to match the strength of Ember's heat. Theo continued watching as the two interlocked fingers before he thought of something: Ember and Wade had reached an equilibrium. They changed each other's chemistry! In that magical moment, in each other's arms, they began to dance.

"I'm so lucky.", Wade whispered as he leaned into Ember with closed eyes.

The words sparked a memory in Theo just as it did in Ember. Someone else had said those exact same words-Ember's father.

"I'm so lucky to have you.", Bernie had said that night in the shop.

They could both picture him standing beside the Blue Flame with her with a proud smile on his face. Then they remembered how exhausted he was knowing he couldn't go on like this much longer. Then the thought of the sign "Ember's Fireplace" flashed on and off in their minds and while Theo was willing to disregard it, Ember wasn't as she zipped up her fire, covering her beautiful, vulnerable light while pulling away from Wade.

"I have to go.", she said.

/

"Wait, what?", Wade asked confused, "Where are you going?"

"Back to my life at the shop.", Ember said as she hurried up the Wetro stairs, "Where I belong. I take over tomorrow."

Theo was appalled, but Wade beat him as they both followed Ember.

Whoa, whoa, hold up. You don't want that.", he said to her, "You said so yourself!"

"It doesn't matter what I want.", Ember replied weakly.

"Of course it does!", Wade cried.

She darted around him as she continued up the Wetro stairs, but Wade and Theo still followed.

"Listen!", Wade called after her, "Listen! You've got an opportunity to do something you want with your life!"

She whirled around on the station platform.

"Want?", she repeated, "Yeah, that may work in your rich-kid, follow-ypur-heart family. But getting to "do what you want" is a luxury. And not for people like me."

Theo frowned.

"That's hurtful.", he thought, but he let Ember ventilate further.

"Why not?", Wade asked, "Just tell your father how you feel. This is too important. Maybe he'll agree."

"Oh, ha. Right.", Ember answered rolling her eyes showing she wouldn't do that.

"Funny.", Wade said as he set his jaw, "And this whole time I thought you were so strong, but it turns out . . . you're just afraid."

"Don't you dare judge me!", Ember flared as his words ignited her, "You don't know what it's like to have parents who gave up everything for you."

Wade just looked sad.

"I'm Fire, Wade.", Ember continued, "I can't be anything more than that. It's what I am, and what my family is. It's our way of life. I cannot throw all of that away just for you."

"I don't understand.", Wade said as it seemed to be the only thing he could say.

"And that alone is a reason this could never work.", Ember glowered as the train had pulled up and opened up, "It's over Wade."

She boarded it leaving Wade and Theo on the platform alone. Theo tried looking Wade's way sympathetically as he laid his hand on Wade's shoulder. Wade could feel the tingle of Theo's electricity flowing over it, but he felt more at ease since he had at least this friend still.