Warning: this is NOT an update; this is the end.
This story was my brain child for a long, long time and holds a special place in my heart. Sometimes life gets in the way and I eventually lost all motivation towards completing it. Instead, this last "update" will be the entire summary I concocted back then. Even if no one sees this or cares, it's cathartic to post.
Enjoy.
The Sky Above
Set in Yona's universe during the Fire Tribe's coupe.
During the Silver Millennium, Serenity has taken off in order to see Endymion. Little did she know, Beryl would begin to attack the Moon Kingdom. Endy is slain, but before Serenity can end herself, Venus' chain pulls the sword from her grasp. Mars and Mercury appear behind Venus. In full leader mode, Venus orders Mars to take Serenity and run while she and Mercury go to aid on the battlefield. Mars wants to protest, but Venus' word is final. They share a sad, knowing smile before Mars forces Serenity to run. Stopping to let Serenity catch her breath, the princess has a full on melt down. It was all her fault that Endy is dead and how badly her heart hurts. Mars is confused as to how this could be her fault... Mars has to cut down multiple enemies as the palace turns to rubble around them.
Mars feels the lives of the inners fade, but refuses to let Serenity give up.
Pluto appears before them, leading them to the Space-Time door in the rubble of the castle. She informs them that Metalia has killed the queen and the silver crystal has been lost. In order to prevent Metalia from taking everything over, Saturn is being awakened. However, Setsuna knows that without the crystal's power in the hands of the queen, there will be no rebirth; Serenity just doesn't have that kind of power right now. Therefore, Setsuna decides to open the Time Gates and break the taboo so that they may escape rather than perish, giving their universe one last hope. Serenity is begging and pleading, but Setsuna puts a Time-Space key around Serenity's neck and gives Rei the last instructions to protect the princess at all costs. Clasping the younger girl's shoulders, Setsuna tells her that not all hope is lost and pushes her through the door.
Finding themselves in some sort of space vacuum, Mars struggles to breathe, her vision becoming spotty as she grasps a crying Serenity's hand, but just before she passes out she hears a man's voice. Something about wishing for the power to become human to end pain? What they hear is Hiryuu, as a dragon, making a wish to become human to end the strife of his people. The key breaks free from its chain around Serenity's neck in the time rift between dimensions, but Rei can't reach it.
Rei wakes up, gasping desperately for breath in a new, strange world. Serenity is next to her, cold hands clasping hers, but appears to be in a lifeless coma as her eyes are opened, but vacant. She continues to breathe, but that is the only part of her that appears to be living. Unable to wake her, Rei closes her unnerving eyes and piggybacks her. Stranded with her princess in such a condition, Rei tries to seek shelter in a nearly abandoned village, but instead finds herself confronted by patrolling Fire Tribe soldiers. Alerted by their strange clothing the soldiers become weary and pursue them when Rei refuses to answer their questioning. Unknowingly fleeing across the border, she ends up being confronted by a larger band of Kai's Sen Providences' soldiers. Sandwiched between two groups, Rei panics. Beat up and so, so tired she uses her powers, trying to scare them. Rei knows that, as mortals and not deliberately evil, she cannot harm them with her own powers. But unfortunately the Sen party she runs into is headed by Sen Providence's ruler, Li Hazara, who was on his way to Saika. Seeing her powers, he orders her detained. A much needed ace has fallen into his lap! Soo-Won will surely fall! Then Kai will be next! Rei ends up passing out from the stress and the strain of protecting Serenity.
They bring her to Saika. Presented to the Fire Tribe's general, dirty and bloody, Rei is suddenly faced with Serenity not being within arm's reach. Li easily realized that Serenity is the key to Rei's subservience by the way she so fiercely defended her. Serenity's apparent coma made it even easier as she could be kept quiet with no resistance. Li uses Serenity's wellbeing against Rei with threats of harm if she does not behave. Ever defiant, Rei only reluctantly displays her control over fire after realizing Serenity was in real danger; after years of training she can control it without transforming, but transformed she is much stronger.
Kan Soo-Jin is amazed and immediately he compares her to Hiryuu as it was thought that the red dragon was a fire dragon; even if she doesn't have the flaming red hair. Li does not understand Kan's sudden devotion to the girl, but persuades him that she is their key to making the Fire Tribe great again. She should not be set on a pedestal just yet! They need to use her and upstage Soo-Won now! Hesitant, but agreeing Soo-Jin realizes that she is the ticket to the Fire Tribe rising to take the thrown once more, but also that he is not Hiryuu which somewhat weakens his resolve.
Rei is taken to a lavish room, where she is cleaned and dressed in beautiful new clothes, but shackled. It is then that the coupe leaders divulge their plan to her. They will take her with them on their takeover march on the kingdom and if needed, she will fight. If she dares not to cooperate they will have her friend killed. They have taken and hidden Serenity. They assure she is alive, that much Rei believes, but they promise her if she does not cooperate Serenity will die. Rei begins to see that Soo-Jin has bought so much into this delusion she begins to understand just how serious the situation is. With no other choice, Rei agrees.
Rei is forced to ride in the march with an unknown soldier, stationed behind Li and Soo-Jin, keeping well enough protected, but front enough to be called upon if needed. As they march she observes the Fire Tribe's cold and barren land which reminds her much of the Martian kingdom and it gives her some strange comfort.
Unexpectedly, they are stopped by the Sky Tribe's army. Though the Fire Tribe has numbers on the Sky Tribe, the Sky Tribe has unforeseen tricks that help to overcome that weakness such as tiger skins and the fake pit. Soon the Fire Tribe is enclosed in on by the Earth Tribe's army and they face loosing this battle. Hysterical by the sudden turn of events as the troops try to retreat, Soo-Jin forces his army to mercilessly press on in what can only be a suicide mission.
Rei, who had to abandon her horse as her accompanying solider was killed, is about to turn and sneak off, but seeing Soo-Jin's crazed eyes she can no longer able to stay silent on the pointless massacre of the Fire Tribe. Even people on this planet are violent and foolish… On foot she manages to make it to Soo-Jin with lashing words of anger and disgust. Upon seeing her, as if remembering she existed, he has her shoved her into the opening between the armies. Then he reveals, "the Fire Tribe's living legacy and right to the throne, Hiryuu."
Soo-Won is surprised as the young woman is shuffled up front, dressed in beautiful red, flowing clothing, heavy head dress and golden, clinking jewelry, which is just not tactical at all. The soldiers on both sides are also all puzzled. Yona's team, now approaching off to the sidelines, are especially confused after hearing Soo-Jin's proclamation. Soo-Won is unsure how to deal with this new event. Soo-Jin has really lost his mind and is sticking innocents on the line in such a desperate attempt? For a moment, this section of the battle stops, but the flanking Earth +soldiers unable to see this turn of events release a volley of arrows.
Rei, angrily picking herself up, turns to find the arrows coming for her and the front line that stands behind her. Everyone holds their breath; the dragons (even Jae Ha) are too far away and the Fire Tribe is too slow to do anything to prevent her death. With no choice, Rei releases a monstrous Fire Soul. The arrows are destroyed. Everyone is stunned and Soo-Jin begins laughing riotously. No one could stop him with her on his side! But Rei turns on him, fire in her eyes, as she proclaims that she would not be fighting for such a cowardly leader who would force his troops into certain death.
This upsets the Fire Tribe leader further as she berates him in front of his men and enemy. Hiryuu or not, no one would have her if the Fire Tribe could not. He moves to behead her, but is stopped by a blade in the chest. A soldier, astonished and touched by Rei's words of selflessness, has stabbed him through! He shakily removes his sword, exclaiming something about, "How dare he raise a sword against Hiryuu". Soo-Jin falls and Rei kneels over him, desperately asking about her friend, but all he does is speak names she does not recognized and fade away.
Splattered in Soo-Jin's blood, Rei looks for Li, but finds that he has already fled while his soldiers attempt to pillage a village. The other side cheers, waking Rei from her tunnel vision. Panicked, Rei turns towards the opposing army, catching the colds eyes of Soo-Won. However, the Fire Tribe soldiers of the front line stand in front of her, instructing her to flee to safety. The Fire Tribe would protect her; she saved them after all. Touched, Rei grabs Soo-Jin's horse and is shielded by the Fire Tribe's new vigor in standing their ground. She can't feel Serenity, but the path to Saika seemed easy enough.
However, when Rei far enough away from the armies Rei ditches the horse but, as she's losing some layers of clothes, Jae ha and Kija fall from the sky in front of her. Startled and sensing their strong presence, Rei has nowhere to go. Pissed off and confused, Kija and Jae ha went ahead, despite Yona's protests. They're angry someone is impersonating their king and using tricks.
They ask her who she is and why she's posing as Hiryuu. Rei adamantly denies being Hiryuu and this seems to confuse them.
Appearing on horseback, the others circle them, scolding the two reckless dragons. Rei, however, feels something faintly familiar about Yona when they catch eyes. Was it her look, so caring and warm like Serenity's? Yona asks what Rei is after. Why was she working with Soo-Jin? Rei admits that she is from a faraway land and when they arrived in the Fire Tribe, Soo-Jin and Li took her ill friend and the only way to gain her back was to pose as Hiryuu for them.
Touched by Rei's story, Yona volunteers to escort her back into Sen territory to help her look for her friend; the dragons also want to keep an eye on her, unsettled by her presence. Compelled by the kindness in Yona's eyes, Rei agrees. Besides, she realizes she has no idea where to go…
They continue to trail her before she somehow becomes one with their party and she finds herself relaxing in their friendly presence. As the sun sets Yona bluntly asks how she ended up in that situation. Rei reluctantly tells them a part of the truth and they fill her in on the legend of Hiryuu. She finds herself lulled by their friendliness and Yona's familiarity.
Meanwhile, Soo-Won has been given word that Li has been branded a traitor and is now an outlaw to the country of Kai. He is given permission to take Li into custody as long as Kouka agrees to let Sen Providence keep its independence. Soo-Won agrees and they set forth by horseback to travel into Kai to capture Li.
The next few days the group travels by day and settles by nightfall as they make their way into Kai territory.
Rei wearily asks about Kija's arm and they explain that they are the four dragon warriors, blessed with dragon's blood. This means little to Rei.
Later that night Hak confronts Yona about Rei's closed lip policy, but Yona strongly believes Rei's business is her own business. Why would they help her then? She had helped to save the Fire Tribe from imminent death. Besides, doesn't her story seem familiar? Where would they be if it were not for the help of strangers? Hak is a little put off by this, but doesn't argue. They can't really argue with Yona; she's the best out of them all when it comes to judging people's characters anyways.
Unfortunately, Li's place is a three day journey back into Sen territory and it will take them some time to get there by foot. Without them as a guide Rei is very lost…
Rei and the gang travel into Sen Providence, this time avoiding villages all together. Rei is very reserved and ridged as Yona asks her a bunch of questions. Rei does her best to stay vague as she's not the best or most imaginative of liars. She tells them that they were run out of their kingdom and she's not sure what has become of her friends…but the look on her face tells Yona a sadder story. Yona relates very much to Rei's struggles as it reminds her greatly of her own and can imagine what she would do if Hak were taken from her...
Meanwhile, Soo-Won is notified of Li's banishment from Kai territory and how he is now considered rouge for his place in the upsurge. Northern Kai will take no claim over him. So Soo-Won orders men to accompany him into Sen Providence territory to capture Li for his crimes. Only a day ahead of Rei and the gang, they find a comatose Serenity in Li's residence. Unsure why, Li compels them to take the girl with them. She is sick and needs constant care otherwise she will surely die. Mostly, Li has been "seduced" by her sleeping beauty. For some reason Soo-Won is overcome by a strange, heart aching feeling as he looks at her and he agrees.
Rei finds herself becoming annoyed with the part of the group who are either overly protective of Yona (aka Kija and Hak (Hak is more wary, but he's eyeballing her nonetheless)) or are too curious about her (Zeno and Shin Ah (who creeps Rei out with his staring)). Yoon is indifferent, but still somewhat rude, but there is little interaction between them so she doesn't mind him much; plus, he's a good cook. Though, at first, she is put off by Jae Ha's bold and then flirty nature, she quickly finds his presence calming and more mature than the others. Mostly, she sticks close to Yona who radiates a pure aura and is tolerable.
She gets to know the gang a little better as they camp together for the next few days, helping a few different villages on their way. She finds their family dynamic to be comparable to the Senshi. However, Rei begins having reoccurring, violent nightmares of her last day on the moon. Yona, worried, wakes Rei up and Rei apologizes for keeping her up. Frazzled, Rei leaves their tent despite Yona's worried looks and goes to rekindle the dying fire. She has not been able to read the fire yet, but, even if it's not the scared fire from home, should provide some comfort for her. But the fire has little to offer except the brief image of a beautiful, dying white flower whose petals turn black before shriveling and falling one by one. A hand on her shoulder breaks her contact with the fire and Hak hovers over her looking somewhat worried. Hak tells her it's almost dawn and she should probably try to sleep. It's the day they will be coming upon Li's. Agreeing, Rei curls up restlessly for a few hours.
However, when they arrive at Li's home they are met with grim news. Li has been taken prisoner by Kouka's Sky Tribe for his crimes. Fortunately, Northern Kai has granted Li in exchange for Kouka's forgiveness, preventing a possible war; Li acted without the family's consent and is now a criminal in both countries.
Rei desperately asks the staff, who are all packing and leaving the residence, if they saw a woman with silver hair in buns. An older woman hears her plight and tells her that she one of the people in charge of "Chang'e"; the name they gave the sleeping woman. She was doing well, but she would not wake up, seemingly under a curse. Due to her silver hair and odd hairstyle, they named her after the moon and many became fond of her. When Kouka's army came for Li, Li had asked that Chang'e be taken with them due to her delicate state. Yona and the others are disheartened by this news; they cannot go to the capital as it is too dangerous for them.
Rei takes the rest of the evening to mull things over. She apologizes for wasting their time and she decides to part with them when they reach the Sky Tribe territory in three days to venture to the capital alone in search of Serenity. That night, without asking, Yona vaguely explains that she is familiar with Soo-Won and truthfully tells her that, while she is sure her friend is safe, Rei would most likely be captured as well due to her part with the Fire Tribe. Rei understand this, but it's something she has to do.
Rei finally asks Yona what it is they are trying to do running around by themselves and Yona tells her about trying to lessen the suffering of her people, but there are many things that plague this country. But with the plant they have received from Kai, she is hoping that this small token can be used to better the lives of hundreds. She also wishes to help investigate and solve the other problems like the Water Tribe's drug addiction. Moved by her touching words, Rei decides that if they ever met under different circumstances she would dedicate herself to helping Yona and her causes at all costs. She already failed her own world, she would do what she could for this one.
Meanwhile, Serenity, being tended to in Kuuto's palace, begins to awaken. When she awakens, she is alone and very confused. She can't remember anything about herself and doesn't recognize anything in her surroundings. She leaves her room to sneak around and she runs into Soo-Won before she can enter the prayer room. Surprised she is awake, he asks her how she is feeling. Shyly, Serenity asks if she knows him. Soo-Won tells her no, but that they found her in poor health with Li. Li? This surprises Soo-Won, having thought she may have been a Kai citizen in the least. Inviting her to brunch and tea, Soo-Won asks her who she is, etc. She tells him that she can't remember anything from before she woke up. This stuns Soo-Won. After some small talk and pleasurable silence, he has to excuse himself from brunch as he must head out for business, but calls for the doctor to take a look at her. In the meantime, he continues to call her by Chang'e, which he assumes is her real name. Though she is supposed to be a prisoner, Soo-Won refused to have her in the prisons when she did nothing wrong nor is she in any kind of condition. For now, she is their guest though she has limited room to roam freely.
The next few days they spend with Rei travels with the group to the Sky Tribe border. They take some time to drop off the seeds with villagers on their way, showing how to plant, care and cook the harvest.
A few of the more well-off villages, where Taejun is currently stationed, shows their appreciation for their group, and holds a celebration of sorts on Rei's last night. Yona's group helps to entertain as Yona dances, Yoon cooks, Jae Ha plays instruments, Hak and Kija are eye candy, Zeno juggles, and Shin Ah has is mask (and Ao). Rei is approached by a group of villagers who fawn over her, asking her what her role is? Yoon is quick to say she is new, but needing money Rei pulls out her charming side and tells them: she reads the future in palms. No one has ever heard of this before which leaves Rei as the center of more unwanted attention. She begins doing her readings which the villagers are just enchanted by, especially the small children. To celebrate the new food source, the village brings out really the only thing they have left: their prized alcohol and they celebrate.
When Yona kindly declines Jae Ha's invitation to drink in order to seek out Hak, Jae Ha mopes about. Clearly seeing the conflict between the three, Rei sits near him and tells him he doesn't stand a chance. Jae Ha sadly understands this, but someone has to give Hak a hard time/competition, right? ("You really are a masochist…") Very tired and little drunk, she laughs for the first time. Jae Ha sees her laughing in the moonlit and doesn't stand a chance. Jae Ha does love beautiful things after all. The smile he gives her causes her to blush, but blames it on the booze and not because he's handsome... Wait, what? (After this revelation, Rei goes out of her way to avoid Jae Ha and being alone with him. Jae Ha, on the other hand, finds this newest game extra fun while everyone else pieces things together.) Rei asks about his playing and Jae Ha ends up playing her a very beautiful tune on the flute. When relaxing to his music, Rei finds herself a little sadden by the fact that she will be leaving them, but cannot abandon Serenity. She spends most of the late night talking with Jae Ha about random, light hearted things. Jae Ha asks her about what they will do when she is reunited with her friend and Rei tells him she is unsure. They want to go back home, but that's not really an option anymore. He tells her about the Port of Awa in the Earth Tribe territory and suggests that the town is a little rough around the edges, but is safe and growing. Rei appreciates the concern and takes his suggestion to heart. She leaves for bed while he keeps drinking.
Drinking by himself, Jae Ha snorts over the fun idea of Captain Gi-Gan meeting Rei. He's not sure the little town could handle two strong personalities…
Early in the morning, as everyone is still asleep, Rei leaves, finding goodbyes to new friends to be too hard.
When Rei arrives at the castle, nine days after she last saw Serenity, she demands to see her friend, but is initially treated with hostility and suspicion since Serenity is thought to be from Kai. However, after being insistent and pleading her case (Serenity was a prisoner of Li!) for hours, she is brought to see "Chang'e". Her escort is a boy with a limp. A very lively looking Serenity can't remember Rei or her name or anything from before she woke up. Rei desperately tries to get Serenity to remember, but the girl appears to really have repressed everything. The doctors advise they give Serenity some rest and in time her memory will come back to her, but for now, she is the guest of the king and will be staying in the castle. Serenity, getting a severe headache from Rei being around, asks that Rei leave and Rei is escorted from the castle by the same boy. As a passing comment, the doctors, who feel for Rei, suggest collecting the root of a rare water lily that grows in the Water Tribe territory's capital that is said to have strong healing properties for the mind. Because of Nadai drug use increase, the Water Tribe has secretly restricted its trade to prevent Nadai manufacture and so the palace no longer has any. Deciding to help her friend rather than doing nothing, Rei departs for the Water Tribe's capital.
On her second day of rough journey to the Water Tribe capital, she is traveling through the port of Shisen when she sees what appears to be a battle going on; more importantly she sees Jae Ha and Kija jumping ships. Explosions on the ships happen shortly after that. Worried about them all, Rei gets off the cart taking her to Suiko and runs as fast as she can into town. Feeling an overwhelming, sickening feeling of bloodlust that causes shivers to run down her spine, Rei uses that to hone in one the culprit. Zipping around town she finally sees Zeno guarding Yona and then the man who is running at them with a dagger. Not slowing down, Rei steps in front of them, taking the dagger point in her left shoulder. Hiyou, crazed, becomes even angrier and tells Rei to not interfere and that he will kill Yona. She senses a dark evil manifesting in him, but before she can react Hak promptly punches his lights out.
Hak turns his attention on a hovering Soo-Won and the fight in the manga ensues until Hak is calmed by Yona. Rei is amazed at Yona's abilities to sooth people before she realizes how much blood she is really loosing. Zeno runs to a collapsing Rei, while Lili hovers worriedly; even though Lili has no idea who she is, but she saved Yona so she is a friend in her books. Yona and Kija tend to Hak while the others rush to Rei's aid. Jae Ha helps to support her in Zeno's place as Yoon rushes to stop the bleeding.
Making camp, Yoon quickly stitches up Rei's wounds. Yoon asks what Rei is doing in the Water Tribe territory and Rei tells him of the roots of the lily she needs. Yoon, being the herbalist he is, has heard of them, but also advises that they are very rare and hard to come by as they have become one of the main ingredients for the potent drug Nadai. Rei, disheartened to hear this, thanks Yoon, but she has to try. Yoon, though never very fond of Rei at first, finds himself respecting her more now that he sees her true purpose and self shining through her mask. Jae Ha inconspicuously hovers outside the tent, much to Yoon's amusement.
Lili comes to visit them and thank them for all they have done and fought for. Yona asks only one favor of Lili and that is to see if she is able to obtain the lily root. Yona explains Rei's situation to Lili and so Lili runs around until she finds some. For saving Yona, Lili gifts Rei with the roots. Rei, seeing of some of her younger self in Lili, thanks her for taking care of Yona and the crew. Lili, plays it cool, but is glad to have made another ally. Still hurt from Serenity's distance, Rei feels she is unable to approach her at this time so she has the herbs delivered to the palace through Lili's name.
Much like the blood lust she felt coming from Hiyou, Rei feels a dark and foreboding presence coming from the Western horizon. Yona asks what she will do now and Rei mentions she feels like she needs to head in the Western direction. Surprised, Yona also mentions that they will be heading to the Earth Tribe's territory to check on the people there. Therefore, Yona and the crew invite her along, some seeing her fully as worthy of being a part of their group. However, Kija and Yoon are still a little skeptical and voice this to Hak. Isn't it a little convenient she happened to be there at the right time? Hak agrees, but can't really argue against Yona especially when Rei saved the princess so willingly.
Meanwhile, Soo-Won returns to the Sky Tribe. Though the tense atmosphere of what has happened has his mood dampened, he finds himself faced with the lovely, albeit confused, Serenity. Dressed simply in a soft pink and blue getup Yona once wore, she wanders the castle freely as a guest despite his general's warnings. Soo-Won speaks to the doctors who inform him of "a friend's visit" and the apparent severity of Serenity's memory loss. Upon greeting him, she is instantly able to cheer him up as she falls over the hems of her own dress. She reminds him a lot of Yona before their unfortunate parting; though, she is more into food than vanity. Soo-Won calls together the five generals and decides that it's time to go to take back the small amounts of land that had been taken from them. They need the land from the Earth Tribe back and now is the point to strike. Upon hearing this Serenity is worried, but Soo-Won reassures her everything will be fine. He finds her bright smile gives him courage.
Rei the gang arrive in Earth Tribe territory where they meet the little thief Kalgan who they need to escort back to his home in the Kai countryside. Rei is wary, feeling the bloodshed of war closer than she would like. When the dragons fall ill, Rei decides to go scouting. She feels something quite evil on the horizon, coming from deep within the Kai territory that she just can't ignore.
Kalgan goes to fetch the dragon's medicine, but the town is attacked. Hearing the noise, Yona crests a hill to see a terrible site: soldiers! Though it was thought Kouka had won the war, these soldiers are addicted to Nadai and therefore gifted with an incredible amount of strength, but their minds are also extremely warped from the drug. One chases Kalgan, but Yona is able to distract the soldier enough for Kalgan to escape, only for more to follow. Hak jumps in saving Yona before he accepts the challenge and begins to take them on alone. Rei, appearing at Yona's side, takes her bow in order to help Hak out and give Yona some cover. Yona protests, knowing Rei is hurt, but Rei chooses not to acknowledge it. She has a very terrible feeling about these soldiers, but she can't tell what it is about them. They almost don't seem human anymore. Zeno meets Yona who is nearly at the brink of a complete melt down as she tells him that they need to escape, only to find that the dragons are gone. Zeno begins evacuating the village and Yona and Yoon head back to the battlefield. Yona returns to Rei's side only to find a bleak scene: so many soldiers and Hak and the dragons are wearing down and Rei's wound is bleeding through her clothes.
However, another band of soldiers appear from their flank and attack Rei, Yona and Yoon. Rei, unable to use her powers on humans, stands in front of Yona and Yoon, ready to defend them if needed, but Zeno steps in, finally showing off his immortality. Everyone, including Rei, is absolutely shocked by Zeno's powers. When Zeno scares off the attackers, everyone embraces Zeno, crying and exhausted. Rei, also exhausted from the ordeal, watches fondly, faintly reminded of her comrades. She thinks about leaving, about finding Serenity and hiding somewhere for the rest of their lives, but Jae Ha places a hand on her good shoulder, stopping her from doing so. His words are light, but something heavy reflects in his eyes and it compels her to stay. He passes out on her from his fever, leaving her to support him.
After seeing Rei's sacrifices for them, no one voices their questions against her loyalty anymore.
Back at camp in Kouka kingdom, once everyone has recovered a little and eaten, Zeno tells his story about his immortality and origin. Afterwards, when they were discussing the soldiers, Rei admits she can feel something very ominous about the Kai kingdom and Yona admits she too felt something like that right before the battle. Surprised to hear this, Rei wonders if maybe there is more to the incarnation of Hiryuu than just human. Rei doesn't announce it yet, unsure of herself and how they might react, but based on what she felt she believes Kouka may be in extreme danger.
While this is happening, Soo-Won and the generals have resolved their meeting and are fooling around a bit. Earth Tribe general is very happy about the outcome of regaining land, but the conversation quickly turns on Soo-Won as Serenity stumbles across them. She bows sloppily and excuses herself in a hurry, humoring the men. Taken back after never hearing anything about Soo-Won's love life, they are surprised to see him with such a beautiful young lady. Soo-Won tries to explain himself, but the generals won't have any of his excuses; though, the Water Tribe's general is comically saddened to hear this since he wanted Lili to be queen. Soo-Won can't argue much and just lets the subject drop. Seeing everyone off, he joins Serenity for lunch. He laments over how in the past he would never have let such distractions get in his way and cloud his vision, but the sweet, clumsy and surprising courageous woman distracts him from overworking himself just the right amount. She also keeps him smiling.
After recovering and relaxing, the gang finds themselves the market place of Ryusui where Yona buys Hak a necklace. Jae Ha sees their sweet interaction and surprisingly doesn't feel as deep a twinge of jealousy as he may have in the past. Instead, he unconsciously searches out Rei who has found a gypsy's cart. Hovering over her shoulder he fondly watches as the old woman and Rei talk certain things and loudly argue others. Rei finally settles on a pack of tarot cards which Jae Ha ever so kindly pays for. Though meant to be endearing, in her bad mood, Rei finds it somewhat arrogant and brushes him off. Jae Ha spots the blush on her cheeks though and, amused, follows after her, asking her what she plans on doing with the cards. Rei explains that, along with reading palms, these cards can also be a part of her fortune telling bit for money. He asks her if she really believes in the cards telling fortunes (as someone who prefers to be free and unhinged by destiny he doesn't like the idea at all) to which Rei stops and tells him that it's not the cards that tell the future, but it's what the people take from the readings and apply to their own lives that is important. Jae Ha is thoroughly impressed, but still teases her for "preying on weak minded people". Huffing, she mumbles her thanks for paying for her cards before running into the newly clothed Zeno, the gang, as well Tetora and Ayura now.
The two older ladies share their alcohol and tell them about Lili's plan to go to Sei. Though Rei feels they should be more concerned about Kai right now, she vaguely suspects something about this Nadai drug might be involved with something bigger brewing. They travel back to Lili's safe house. They are fed and stay the night. Rei feels as though Lili and Yona need time alone so she opts to try to find a place to herself, preferably some kind of fire pit, but as she goes outside she is sad to see the full moon obscured by the treetops. A little reminiscent, she sits on the porch, when she is surprised by Jae-Ha who joins her, asking if she'd like to drink with him. To his surprise, she agrees. He can see the sadness under her mask, so he impulsively grabs her by the waist and hops onto the roof. Rei is about to scold him when he points out the moon. She is overwhelmed by the site of the full moon, so large and bright in the sky. She genuinely thanks him. A few sips into his sake she begins reminiscing about her friends. Jae-Ha sits with her in silence, before covering her face with his sleeve, telling her it's okay to mourn them. She lets silent tears fall as he pulls her close into his shoulder.
They find themselves in Tousui the next evening, among the large celebration of their water god. They meet up with the old lady Tsubaru who runs their inn and she lies to them about her missing child. Rei has an ominous feeling about the festival, but her senses are overwhelmed by the crowd and lively energy, and suggests they begin looking for clues about the missing people. Rei melts into the crowd without giving the others a chance, following her sixth sense, but just before she can make a break Lili cries out. Someone has cut Lili's arm and Yona thinks it's intentional. So Rei, Yona, Lili and Tetora go back to their inn while the others fight and help to manage the chaos. When presented tea, Rei feels the terrible feeling again and Yona catches onto the tea. However, Rei has already sipped it. The old drug dealer lady only captures Rei and Yona, as Yona is able to create an opening for Lili to escape by throwing her tea cup. Lili has enough time to escape, ducking under the waiting man's arms, but Yona has a cloth held to her mouth while Rei falls unconscious.
Pissed that Lili, who they were originally after, has managed to escape, Tsubaru sends her men after the girl. However, Yona and Rei know too much now, and with the possibility of Lili not being caught, Tsubaru decides to move into the underground tunnels which leads out of town. From there she has Yona sent to the slave camp, but Rei is nabbed for her overwhelming beauty and sent directly to Hushibi as a gift. Tsubaru hopes to make amends for the troubles Lili has caused and Rei is just his "taste" with her frail features and whatnot.
Lili, distraught, but knowing the time to hide was not now, runs into the throng of the riots to find Hak and the others. She ends up getting knocked to the ground with a bleeding nose, but makes it to them to tell them what has happened. Suddenly, a large flow of people separates them from Lili and she vanishes into the crowd, now also kidnapped. The dragons rush back to the inn, only there are so many strong, monstrous goons and drug addicts they can't make it to the house in time on foot. Jae Ha bounds around the city, but with so many people it's almost impossible to know where they could have gone. Shin Ah isn't much help either. In reality, there are tunnels under the city that these slave drivers have been using to smuggle people out. Gaining the information of where the girls have been taken and what these forts are for forcefully from the shop keeper and other hired kidnappers they split into two groups: Hak, Kija, Shin Ah and Yoon will go to one fort. Ayura goes with Jae Ha and Zeno to the other while Tetora stays behind due to her recovering injuries
While the dragons travel, the Water Tribe general makes a surprise appearance as he was investigating the rumors around Tousei. Tetora regretfully tells him what has happened to Lili. Even more to her surprise, Joon-Gi is accompanied by the king and Joo-Doh. Apparently, the king has also heard rumors of these forts and had come to collect more information. Soo-Won presses the matter as urgent considering that Lili might be forced to drink nadia. Joh-Doo argues against this, advising the king try not to start a war, but Soo-Won has a plan. Follows much of the manga plot.
Rei, feeling a terribly dark presence hanging over the area, allows herself to be taken as gift to Hushibi for all of the trouble caused, but Rei refuses to be completely obedient. For this, she is smacked and kicked a few times. She is taken to the man's chambers for later so he can "play with her". Feeling her chances are better than in a prison cell, Rei allows herself to be herded to his room. That evening, after waiting until the guards change (where for a few minutes only one guard is stationed), Rei stuns him with her last ofuda and sneaks out, looking for the source of her uneasy feeling. Her senses bring her to a separate building: the prisons. What she finds in the dungeons are soldiers who are being force fed Nadai and turning into horrid monsters.
While this is happening, Soo-Won and Hak's group are at the wrong fort in the border town as they await the other Tribe generals to show. The Hak and Soo-Won scene happens in which they decidedly attack and destroy the fort as a joint force in order to save the girls.
Meanwhile, after taking a whip for another prisoner and no water, Yona escapes the camp with Lili. Knowing Rei has to be somewhere Yona tells Lili to hide at the edge of the camp and not to come out for anything. She needed to find Rei! Backtracking, Yona decides to start by sneaking into where she thinks Rei has been taken: the prisons. But the guards are hot on her trail. Yona stumbles upon Rei as she is leaving the dungeons and tries to convince her to go with her, but Rei is obviously very injured. Hearing the guards, Rei demands that Yona leave and find the dragons; someone has to know about this disgusting place. She'll distract them. She'll be fine. Take Lili and run! Yona reluctantly and tearfully leaves Rei who is chased by a majority of the guards.
Rei runs, but is soon cornered by numerous guards. She is beat and brought to Kushibi who tells her about the incredible powers of the drug he will use to overpower his brother and "the brat" (his nephew) to become the true emperor and drinks some himself in front of her. He becomes strongly out of breath, veins popping and disgustingly sweaty, but hysterical with power. He decides he should kill her for the trouble she has caused him, but not before breaking her strong spirit. To do this, he has her tossed in prison, surrounded by all of the Nadai addicted soldiers. Upon her arrival in jail, they leave her with a single cup of Nadai that the monsters seem to leer over. Angry at her situation, Rei throws the Nadai at the retreating soldiers, hitting a nearby wall, causing the drippings to rain over a torch that ignites like gasoline. Nadai is highly flammable. There, hunkered in her cell, bleeding and cold, she stays the night surrounded by madness.
At dawn, Hak and Soo-Won's crew attack and help to destroy the wrong fort before heading to the other.
That same morning Jae Ha, Zeno, and Ayura run into Lili who was lingering around the edge of the camp, having missed Yona's escape, only for her to be scolded harshly by Ayura. Lili refuses to leave when she sees the suffering happening and a missing Yona and Rei. Besides, they can't do much with her since she's already in the middle of everything. Ayura and Lili decide they will stick around, keep an eye out if Yona returns, and wait for Hak's group while Jae Ha and Zeno go actively looking for Yona and Rei.
Yona hides out in the forest for the rest of the night, injuring herself further as the guards search for her only to be found by Jae Ha at the last moment. Zeno had dropped off, looking to get rid of the remaining soldiers hunting around. Jae Ha asks where Rei is and Yona becomes frantic as she tells him and about what they found and how Rei had distracted the guards so she could escape. She's still there! He becomes instantly worried and they dash back to the impending battlefield.
Meanwhile, Ayura is concerned as she sees people being marched to the gallows, but she has to try to focus on keeping Lili from doing anything too rash that may endanger them further. Soo-Won and the gang arrive at the same time Hak, Kija and the others do only to find Rei facing death and no Yona. Soo-Won instantly recognizes her from their encounters and is shocked to see her in such a situation and state: bloodied, dirtied and looking so hollow.
Jae Ha and Yona shortly arrive on scene as well. Jae Ha can't do anything but watch as he protects a hurt Yona and Yoon who has come to their side, but the apparent wounds both girls have received leaves him showing no mercy.
As the battle turns against Sei, Lili, who is still injured but patched up well enough, helps to escort as many of the slaves away from the battlefield as she can, including those awaiting their fate on the gallows. But she can't reach Rei as she is guarded heavily by soldiers so she eyes Rei with worry from a distance, noticing the raven haired beauty is abnormally unresponsive. Rei snaps out of her funk when she hears Lili begin to yell at her to wake up before they killed her! What will her dear friend have left if she dies? Burning her binds Rei removes her noose only to see the monsters arriving on the battlefield. Out of desperation and madness, Kushibi has released his drug-made monsters onto the unsuspecting group of warriors. Already tired and broken, her allies struggle to take down the newer, stronger enemies.
Grabbing a discarded bow and arrows, Rei joins the fight along with both groups, easily taking out the monsters before Kushibi makes his real presence known. His furious anger begins to turn him into a monster as well, his new, larger and more muscular form ripping through his human skin. Everyone is horrified but Rei steps forward, challenging him. He is conscious enough to speak and has a better control over himself more than the weaker soldiers. He is also more powerful, as those who embrace the darkness are rewarded.
Rei asks that the others over her shoulder, mainly Hak, to focus on eliminating the soldiers and she will take on Kushibi. Before anyone can protest, she rushes in to challenge the monster head on. She calls upon her powers without transforming, sending powerful blasts of fire at the monster to everyone's amazement. Nearly everyone has stopped to watch her take on the beast that is almost three times her own size and Soo-Won notices how even Yona's crew watches with shocked awe. Kushibi is difficult, but some Fire Souls and a well-aimed Flame Sniper finishes him off. Everyone (not with the dragons) who sees Rei standing among the swaying flames wonders if she truly is Hiryuu.
Exhausted from using her powers outside her Senshi form, along with all of her injuries, Rei accepts Shin Ah's help as they reunite with the group. After their initial greetings Yona and Hak take a moment to themselves while Jae Ha pulls Rei into a hug she can't resist. In fact, she falls asleep/passes out in Jae Ha's arms. Hak helps Yona walk while Jae Ha carries a sleeping Rei piggyback. Zeno bumps into Soo-Won who he advises that dark times are approaching and should the country's people be in danger they will be the ones fighting against it. Should Soo-Won choose to fight with or against them is completely up to him. The two groups part ways tensely as Zeno finally catches up with them.
Sky Tribe's General and Soo-Won argue about why he couldn't cut them down like he had promised the last time he had seen them.
Lili is berated by her father, but many of the citizens crowd her, hailing her as a hero by those she helped to remove from the battlefield. Soo-Won also notes that if it were not for her demanding the king's help many people would still be imprisoned or dead.
The gang sets up camp, letting everyone rest. Kija is crying comically over all the wounds they received even as Yona tries to reassure them all that they are fine now. Though the mood is light, they are all wondering what will come of this new revelation about Rei's powers. Will the kingdom pursue them? What were these monsters? Yona voices that they need to give Rei some time to heal before they bombard her with questions; even if she is dying to know herself.
Jae Ha hovers over a sleeping Rei, his hands clenched angrily as he fully observes her wounds. Yona sees this and realizes Jae Ha's feelings for Rei are actually more serious than she first believed. Though happy, her heart aches for him. What pain will they have to endure?
Rei, who awakens for the first time, finds that it is the middle of the night and a sleeping Yona is clutching her hand. Yona morphs into a sleeping Serenity for a moment and something heavy weighs in her heart. Clutching Yona's hand back Rei returns to sleeping, though this time more peacefully.
In the morning it is obvious that people are walking on eggshells around her, trying not to bug her, but this annoys her more than if they would just come out with it. She gets some relief when everyone takes upon some chores for the group, leaving her with some time to mull things over. Not being able to stand it anymore, Rei decides to tell them her story over dinner.
She tells them that she's never really lied to them, just never told them everything. Truly she is from far, far away... Without letting them interrupt her, Rei explains that, much like them now, where she is from there were also guardians who protect a precious person; her princess. She is a soldier who controls the element of fire, granted life for the single purpose: to protect. It was her sole purpose for existing. However, her home was attacked by a great evil and completely destroyed. Her comrade sent them here, believing they would be safe, but she was taken captive by the Fire Tribe and her princess stripped from her.
After a long silence, they ask her where her princess is now and she stays chillingly calm as she tells them that due to the amount of trauma received her princess doesn't remember her but is in good care; Yona knows she's in Soo-Won's care but dares not say anything after Hak's display in the Water Tribe. However, due to her condition, her presence just causes her princess distress. The dragons and Hak all seem to sympathize with Rei, knowing if it were Yona they would also be doing whatever they could to restore her to health.
So why hasn't she used her powers before? This is what a somewhat peeved Kija asks, remembering the past fights and all the injuries they suffered. Though Yona protests, Rei also takes this in stride. Rei explains that long ago she took an oath on her powers to never use them against anything human. Their purpose for living was to protect against evil, and though these men may appear evil in the moment, all they are is soldiers who are following orders, doing what they can to survive and keep their own families alive. However, she was gifted in other ways thanks to her extensive training. To herself she thinks that she can't protect them as Mars, but she could protect them as Rei; something she's never had to do before. Though Kija wants to push the subject, Hak tells him to drop it. Hak knows something about keeping oaths, even long after your master has passed. He comments that they had better get her a bow and he expected her to teach Yona a thing or two.
They ask her what those monsters were. She hesitates, saying she's not sure. They're different from what she has faced before. One thing she knows is that these things are definitely not human anymore. She saw this for herself in the dungeon of that fort; something to which everyone winces at knowing the torture it must have been. Soldiers who were forced to drink Nadai where slowing being turned into these beasts for his army, but it didn't seem like it was being made at the fort. It distinctly reminded her the bad feeling she got from their time Kai, just not as strong. Whatever it was, she felt like it originated in Kai and she's sure this is not the end.
Yoon: "You mean there are more of those things?!"
Rei nods regretfully.
They go to bed quiet and uneasy.
Around breakfast the next morning Rei tells them of her plan to travel into Kai to investigate her hunch and no one is surprised. Nor are they surprised when Yona tells Rei that she will be going as well. Rei protests, saying that staying in Kouka is safer and they have no business being in Kai on a hunch when there are issues they could be attending to in their own country. Yona is a little hurt by this, but she doesn't back down. She had all last night to think long and hard about how she would ultimately be putting her friends in danger, but can't ignore the fact that this evil is threatening to spill into their land. Though she doesn't have any powers she would not be ignoring the suffering of people. She would go to investigate the source of the Nadai and the others agree that wherever Yona goes they will also go. Their resolve is admirable and Rei sighs, defeated for now.
Serenity, finding Soo-Won's distance suspicious, decides to follow him into town when he's incognito. There she has a fun time looking around at things in the market. However, she loses sight of Soo-Won. In the market she is wrongly accused of stealing something when mysterious strangers come to her aid. A navy haired girl and two other women save her! The ruckus catches Soo-Won's attention and he is flabbergasted to see the four women in the middle of it! He secretly waves them over and they visit Ogi after promising to not out him as king. Serenity is happy to see this new side of him.
Ogi tells 'Won' the bad news: They have no new information on Kai. Every time they send a spy, they never return. No letters, no messengers. Nothing. Everyone is afraid to go. The only thing they were able to retrieve was a single book from Sei, but it's in some kind of strange language that no one can seem to read. Code? Soo-Won wonders. Ogi gives them a coy peek and Serenity starts to feel faint. She knows that language. But how? Where? Won and Lili both notice this, but no one pushes it. Soo-Won buys the book in order to study it. Once back at the castle Lili decides that she was going to make Serenity remember as it could somehow help save Kouka.
Surprising to everyone within the next few days, Rei's expedited healing has pretty much patched her up. With the news from the previous days, the team makes some time to heal and relax at a bathhouse for a night. Everyone is excited, especially Yona who has had such luxuries in a long time. Split between the sexes, Rei and Yona spend some time bonding and laughing over the bickering men. When they towel off and dress, Yona shyly asks Rei if she will let her play with her hair. A little surprised by this request, she allows Yona to begin braiding her hair. Yona tells Rei she has been somewhat envious of her hair as it is perfect in her eyes: long, straight, and a beautiful color of black. Rei says she thinks Yona's hair is beautiful and reminds her of one of her friend's hair: curly and little unruly, but full and a beautiful color. Yona is intrigued by this bit of personal information, but doesn't push it. Rei takes her time to enjoy the feeling of her hair being played with, something she didn't realize she missed so much. It reminds her of the times the Inners spent just sitting up all night chatting with Serenity. Braving off a bout of sad nostalgia, Rei is disappointed when Yona finishes, but is thoroughly impressed with her braiding skills. Yona tells Rei that when she was smaller, and really hated her hair, she had demanded the maids let her do their hair to learn so she could impress Soo-Won. Funny how you just don't forget some things, even years later.
On the subject, Rei says she would like to return the favor but relinquishes a bit of her pride and admits she doesn't really know much about hair. In fact, she realizes she only knows two styles: buns and Mina's iconic half-up look. Yona's hair is too short for buns so she quickly pulls it together with a pink ribbon. As she is doing this Yona boldly asks Rei if she has ever been in love. A little surprised by this, Rei tells her no, finishing the hairstyle. Yona is surprised now. Ever? Never. All the men she knew were pompous assholes or more trouble than they were worth. Curious, Yona asks Rei what she thinks of Jae Ha. Jae Ha? What did this have to do with Jae Ha? Turning the tables without answering, Rei asks if this has anything to do with Hak. It's Yona's turn to be embarrassed, but it only confirms Rei's thoughts. Yona admits she is confused because Hak has been one of her best friends since childhood, but suddenly she can't help but notice him differently. Despite Rei's lack of love expertise, she pulls out one of Minako's favorite lines: don't try so hard, don't overthink things. Love is the most beautiful when natural. Rei adds her own little bit of, "Just wait for when the moment feels right". Rei tries straightening the bow and smiles fondly as Yona cheers up, feeling a sense of sisterly bonding with her. As they join the men, Jae Ha, Hak and Kija are all acting weird. As they flail around in the background, Rei wonders why would Yona be asking her about Jae Ha? She catches herself smiling at their antics and becomes frustrated. Did Yona think she liked the flirt? As Jae Ha works to "protect" Kija from "the spider" Rei thinks it over a little more. He's extremely handsome, sure, more mature seeming then most men, okay, but so what? Wait, what did she just admit?! No, he was an infuriating masochistic flirt who enjoyed teasing her too much and just so happened to be very charming and reasonable… Embarrassed, Rei also realizes that she really did trust him. Scowling, she departs to sleep early, leaving everyone in her angry wake, wondering what was up.
The next day, they set out on track to the Earth Tribe where Rei had originally felt the strong, evil presence. Though she can't pinpoint it quite yet, Rei is able to feel the evil presence though it is faint from their current location. With her help she will guide them through Kai to investigate. Though some of the team hold reserves about following Rei, they still feel she has essentially become one of them and put their full trust in her.
On their way through the mountains that border the Earth and Water Tribe, it begins to grow noticeably colder. The sky has become grey and it begins to snow heavy, fat flakes. The group barely acknowledge the snow, but Rei has stopped, her hand out and expression of that in wonder. She has never seen snow fall before! She is genuinely happy and her happiness catches on throughout the group as they play a little in the snow, many of them trying to catch snowflakes in their mouths (not Rei, but Zeno and Yona, Ao and maybe Shin Ah). It's fun, but Hak becomes worried about being caught in the storm and they quickly make their way down the mountains. They find themselves in the desert on the other side, now in Kai. It's pretty barren, but the nights are almost just as cold as the mountains. Needing to stop for the night they start a fire, but only pitch the large tent after coming to the conclusion that the best thing to keep everyone warm would be to rely on body heat. Jae Ha teases Rei that there is plenty of room next to him, causing Rei to turn her nose up at him.
While the dragons have no problem with this, Rei is reluctant in being so close. Instead, she decides to focus her energy on reading the small fire. None of the times before have proved much luck, the fire has barely been above a whisper, but as she delves into this fire she is swept into an intense vision. There is darkness, death, the silhouettes of her friends and an enemy she can't define overlooking an army of beasts. She is jolted back into consciousness with the image of the destruction of the world still in her mind and for a minute has to hold back from vomiting up the contents of her stomach. As she reorients herself she is glad to see that everyone is still sound asleep, but has a new burden on her shoulders: an enemy that is more powerful than she ever thought...Possibly more powerful that she can handle. As she looks over their sleeping forms she is conflicted: should she really get them involved? Though she has come to see them as something like comrades they are not the Senshi; they won't be able to handle this threat. She decides with a heavy heart that the next night she will leave them. They won't have any idea where to head in Kai's vast country without her guiding them. They will hopefully be safer without her.
Drained, Rei quietly positions herself away from the group, allowing the cold to seep into her bones as the image death runs through her mind. However, in the morning she awakens from a dreamless sleep to warmth. As she focuses her vision she sees the coals of the fire barely alive and registers the warm weight of Jae Ha's blanket. Though he looks quite nonchalant, even while sleeping, Rei notices him curled up a little, obviously cold. Maybe it was because she still thick with sleep, or maybe it was the cruel images that plagued her, but Rei moves to share her blanket with Jae Ha, still remaining far enough away not to touch him. He cracks an eye open, amused by her reluctance before they both fall back asleep.
Waking up again, this time to the dawn, Rei finds herself in a pile of bodies. Jae Ha's arm has snaked around her, pulling her close into his side while Zeno has his back pressed into hers. She can hear the clear and steady beat of his heart. Jae Ha has his head resting on Kija who is snuggled into the fur of Shin Ah's mask. Yoon has cocooned himself in blankets and completes the circle. Yona has become the center, spooned by Hak. While she is warm and her body is begging her to go back to sleep, she is in a very disreputable position. As Rei tries to rise, Jae Ha pulls her back in. Turning red, Rei tries to move again but is caught by Jae Ha once more. Jae Ha smirks, his eyes cracked open only barely to see Rei leaning over him, her hair creating a dark curtain. Her cheeks are flushed, her mouth set in a scowl, but she is so, so close. Jae-Ha brushes some hair behind her ear. Just as Rei is about to give him a piece of her mind Zeno shots up into a sitting position, scaring them half to death. He mumbles something about food before literally falling back asleep, but this has already awoken most of the gang. Rei is released, but not without a burning face and mumbled insults.
The rest of the day is spent traveling. Rei is abnormally quiet and even Kija notices her listlessness, but they do not confront her directly. Zeno, however, has his suspicions. They then see a whole bunch of rag-tag looking militia headed south. They didn't seem like soldiers based on their mismatching armor and supplies, but they were fully stocked with weapons. It peeks their interest, but they know they don't have a lot of time in Kai so they push on.
Lili has spent many days getting to know Serenity at this point and has become really attached to the girl. Naive, clumsy and loud she was no Yona but, Serenity was indeed a pure hearted, warm person. Seeing no signs of deceptions in the girl, Lili has decided that Rei really was just trying to protect a precious person. Something about the girl makes everyone light up around her. Not really knowing anything about Serenity, Lili tries to dig a little into what the girl may remember over tea and cookies. Sheepishly, Serenity tells her that it's not much really, just some names (Luna, who she recalls being strict), what she thinks are her mother's eyes (silver and loving and all knowing) and the image of the Earth hanging in the sky (but she doesn't tell Lili this). Oh! And Serenity describes a red rose to which Lili identifies and drags Serenity to the royal gardens where they search for a rose. Deep in the courtyard, Lili finds the single rose bush which is in full bloom. For some reason the smell of the roses brings Serenity to tears as she cups the fragile flower, ignoring the way the thorns dig into her skin. Castle attendants panic and flee to fetch the doctor, passing Soo-Won who quickly approaches the distressed girls. Lili apologizes, saying she was just trying to help, but the pain she sees in Serenity's face makes her regret being so pushy with the woman. Soo-Won delicately tends to Serenity's hands, using his own sleeves to help the bleeding and Lili seems to notice the bond between the two. In private, Soo-Won gently asks Lili to not be so forceful about her prying. Based on how long it has taken for her to remember the little she has, Serenity's state is most likely due to extremely traumatic events. Lili finally understands why it pains Rei to be around. It would be too painful to see a person you hold so dear be in so much pain over the slightest of memories…
That night, after setting up camp in some covered area,Yona is practicing her bow and sword when a sound startles her. Sneaking to the other side of the clearing, she sees a hooded figure making their way in the opposite direction. Confused, Yona watches as Zeno appears, calling to the hooded person. Rei, who had been trying to sneak off in the middle of the night, is confronted by Zeno who had a feeling that she'd be trying to leave. Not his normal cheery self, but a more serious side of Zeno is shown. He asks her what she is intending on doing by leaving and Rei tells him that it was her mistake, this isn't something they should be caught up in. She feels like she's dragging them into something they can't handle and that's not fair. Zeno asks if she's then going to face this enemy all by herself? Rei is silent, stubborn. Zeno tells her that, even if she leaves, Yona won't back down. Angered, she argues that what she sees is death over and over. Can they really help to fight against that? They should be taking her somewhere far, protecting and shielding her! Zeno is surprised, but now fully understands the burden she has been carrying on her shoulders. He explains that even without Rei's help, Yona has the dragons, and she will fight for her people. No matter what. It is Yona's destiny. Rei is sad to hear this, knowing that they share the same fate.
Besides, Zeno continues, should they share this similar fate, why should they be divided? If she leaves now, she will be ruining all of the trust they had built thus far. Divided they will fall and only strengthen the enemy. Rei can't argue with this and instead remains silent, her fists clenched and shoulders tight. Could she live with putting them in danger? Was leaving really the right thing to do? After a moment, Zeno turns to leave, letting her have some time to think. Before he does, he turns and tells her playfully, if she does leave, she'll be breaking more than just some people's trust. He winks. Not really sure what he's getting at, Rei scowls. She glances at the moon as it hangs full and bright in the sky. Sighing, she follows Zeno back into camp, but not without Zeno catching eyes with a hiding Yona. Yona, hidden in the scrub, covers her mouth, blushing in embarrassment from being caught snooping. She leans back on her palms, suddenly feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. What has she gotten them into?
After her confiding in Zeno, Rei feels much less responsible knowing that even her leaving wouldn't dissuaded Yona from this new mission. Though she very much misses her sisters in arms, the only family she had, Rei is glad she can count on such strong, resilient people in this world who hold similar goals. Rei finally acknowledges them as her allies in arms and stops trying to treat them so delicately, though she knows the road ahead will be tougher than they ever imagined.
Rei has to rely on her senses to direct them where to head. They follow some of the many roads that have been an essential part of the Kai empire trade route, hoping to stumble upon some suspicious activity. Unfortunately for the crew, they are reminded that Nadai is not illegal in Kai. Asking a local merchant about how he obtains his Nadai supply, however, does lead to some clues. He tells them that the lilies needed to produce Nadai will only grow in certain kinds of stagnant water, but such water resources are pretty scares in Kai as a majority of their fresh water supplies come through from the rivers and wells. Most of his supply, he tells them, comes from up north, by the large Jinzui Lake. He's not exactly sure where, but he knows there must be some kind of farming operation they have going on now because his new supplier has really decreased the price of Nadai lately. This worries the gang, but the farmer's information checks out with Rei's feeling: something not right was happening up in the northern borders of Southern Kai and Northern Kai. Now having information they needed, the gang decides it's better to lay low which meant avoiding the small towns along the way to the lake. Besides, with Nadai trade being legal here, it would be tough to determine which one of them was the bad guys. The closer they get the lake though, the easier it will be find more leads.
That night, as they sleep, a gang of men come to ambush the crew. The Nadai merchant has turned them in; he's clearly afraid that if they find what it is they want, it will shut everything down. Money was too good right now. He grabs some other town merchants and folk (around 15 of them) and they track down where the dragons are staying. Fortunately enough for them, Shin Ah had been keeping an eye on their own trail and had spotted the men as they traveled well behind them, believing they were tracking them without being seen. The crew pretends to throw in the towel for the night and retreat to bed by putting the fire out, but they are actually waiting for the group to attack. The men are a bunch of thugs and decide that they should also capture the women after they kill the men so a majority of them purposefully target the men's tent while a few others surround Rei and Yona's.
Just as the men are about to bring their weapons down on the dragon's tent, Hak's glaive and Kija's claw come ripping through the material. The thugs are surprised to see Hak, Kija, Shin Ah and Jae Ha all armed and ready to attack. The other thugs panic, bringing a sword down on Yona's tent and are smug when they see blood seep through the fabric, but they only find Zeno, who had stopped the blade with his arm. A few of the men retreat after seeing the monstrous arm of Kija and Zeno's healing ability, but the others hold their ground. Yona, Yoon and Rei, who had snuck out the back when everyone was readying for bed, overlook the camp from a rock formation at the top of a dune. Despite Hak instructing them to lay low and not get in the way, Yona sees Shin Ah surrounded and lets an arrow fly, placing it at their feet, giving Shin Ah enough time to disarm them. Angry, wounded and desperate, a few of the men grab their horses while the others distracted the dragons and head for where the arrow had come from. Seeing this, Rei instructs Yona to hit the men, but the moving target in the moonlight is almost too much for the princess. Rei tells her to breathe out and Yona is able to hit the leader in the shoulder, knocking him off his horse. Rei gathers some ofudas in her hand, but the other two men are suddenly fall from their horses and Jae Ha lands on the overlooking rocks. They watch as the rest of the remaining men retreat. Rei lets her shoulders relax, commending Yona for her superior shot.
Hak pins down the injured leader fellow and he asks them why they had attacked their group. They pressure him for a source as to where the Nadai comes from, but he swears he doesn't know. The only thing he does know is that it comes from the north. But beware, the merchants are not the only ones who will be angry about their snooping, they also need to watch out for the soldiers. Soldiers? He says yes, Kai soldiers. Since the South-North split, the families ruling over Northern Kai have had trouble controlling different portions of the military. Instead, a lot of the young, single men have found they stand unopposed in the lawless country and have banded together to create their own rouge military-like force. They do whatever they want, whenever they want and are the Nadai merchant's greatest source of income.
The crew is horrified. An entire lawless army doped up with Nadai?! Yes, and because of the increase of drug supply even Kai, which had once respected Nadai as a sacred and rare medical treatment, was falling to its ill effects; if not addicted then as one of the enablers. And he is no exception. He apologizes to them, his eyes downcast as he awaits his fate.
Yona finds the older man's story saddening and instructs Yoon to patch him, much to the old man's surprise. Yona tells him that they are all victims on this Nadai epidemic and were doing what they could to survive. But she had a mission to stop this plague, not just from hurting those of Kouka, but also for the ones of Kai as well. The man is touched and weeps into his hands. As Jae Ha stands next to Rei he comments on how it never ceases to amaze him how large Yona's heart is. As Rei overlooks their torn apart campsite she realizes that not one of those men had died, instead they only suffered minor injuries. Seeing this Rei comments that she thinks they all are pretty amazing and walks away, leaving Jae Ha's curious eyes to follow.
The next day the crew finds themselves on the border between Southern Kai and Northern Kai, in a small town below Jinzui Lake. After having their supplies trashed, Yoon forces the gang to make a pit stop with hopes of replenishing their supplies before nightfall. As they traverse the crowded market square, Hak observes something interesting: a large supply of vases being moved into an alleyway. This may not have been as interesting except for the fact that the grand and large decorations were being thoroughly inspected by soldiers as they came in. Casually, he bumps into one of the men holding a vase and conveniently catches the vase. Before handing it back he can smell the distinctly strong, sweet stench that makes his stomach wretch. Handing it back to the very angry man, he walks away. Out of earshot, Hak lets the others know what he has found. Divided between who is more of interest, the drug smugglers or what and where the soldiers will be doing with such large amounts of Nadai, they decide to follow both, hoping to find the end and beginning. Rei, Shin Ah and Jae Ha (much to Rei's aggravation) are sent to follow the smugglers. Hak and Kija would follow the soldiers; the other three (much to Yona's aggravation now) were to stay put while Yoon resupplied and not draw attention the dragon's powers were much weaker here. They couldn't risk Zeno being seriously injured. That goes for them all! Be careful! Trail them, don't start anything.
Hak and Kija follow the soldiers west towards the capital before they see a small town come into view. Keeping themselves low, they peer over the hill only to finding something that makes their stomach drop: a huge supply of Nadai being loaded onto carts. They overhear about how this stuff is going to the coast, being put onto boats for shipment. There is also a large amount of soldiers guarding the supplies and no matter how much Kija wants to try to go and destroy the shipment, Hak convinces him they need to retreat. Hak knows they wouldn't be able to win (especially if Kija was to get hurt) and would only tip off the whole operation. But where was all this going? It was enough Nadai to produce an entire army of drugged up monsters… Then Hak remembers the battles along the border. Were they trying to distract Kouka along the Earth Tribe border while they were really flanking Kouka with an entire army and attack… the Wind or Water Tribe? A new sense of panic floods their veins as they race to return to Yona as the sun sets.
Following the Nadai smugglers as far as they can, the other crew eventually lose them in the rocky mountain side. Jae Ha wants to turn back, but Rei can feel the weight of something very evil crushing down on top of her. She argues they need to go just a little further along the lake, where they find a cave. Jae Ha doesn't question her senses and instead observes her change of demeanor, trusting her to lead them in the right direction. When Rei, Jae Ha and Shin Ah enter the cave, its pitch black. Not wanting to alert anyone or anything inside, they elect to avoid using torches and instead allow the blue dragon to guide them. Jae Ha holds onto the fur from his mask and grabs Rei's hand with his free one. This flustered Rei a little, but they'd have to hold onto each other either way as both holding onto ShinAh was not efficient. The two hold onto each other as Shin Ah guides them around a few traps.
Deep into the cave, they find a huge cavern full of lilies growing in stagnant water. Were it not for the circumstance, Jae Ha would have found it romantic to see Rei wading into the moonlight, surrounded by the flowers. But these flowers are the same kind of lilies that make Nadai. Jae Ha thought the lilies could only grow in the Water Tribe's unique climate, but the sweet scent in the air was the same. It makes his stomach cramp, remembering the time he had drank the poison and grabs Rei's elbow, tugging her back to him despite her questioning look. Also wading into the dark water, Shin Ah notices something: a fresh corpse floating in another pool of mature, blooming lilies whose petals have been stained with black spots. In fact, there, they find numerous corpses and the water is completely tainted red.
Ge-Gen is introduced, having snuck up on them without being noticed, glad they are admiring his hard work so closely and Rei's sense are once again flooded with darkness. She asks him what evil is this? These lilies are not normal flowers any longer. He says she has a good eye and explains that these special lilies of his, when fed human blood and flesh, absorb the tortured and hateful nature of man and become something evil. Then, when they are ready, they can be made into an incredibly potent Nadai that fill the person's with hate and turns them into something incredible; something beyond human. And thanks to the wars and famine in Kai, it isn't hard to find fresh corpses to feed the numerous farms hidden among the caves of Jinzui. Soon they would have an entire army under their control. However, now that they know his secret, he can't let them leave alive.
Ge-Gen summons a monster from the depth of the lily pond and makes his exit, sealing them in. Fortunately, they have Jae Ha who can jump through the skylight. However, they all agree they can't just let these lilies grow to be made into more Nadai. Spotting large barrels of Nadai hunkered in the corner, Rei remembers her night in the dungeon. Nadai is flammable! Telling this to Jae Ha and Shin Ah, Jae Ha suggests they keep the monster distracted for him. He has a plan. Jae Ha is able to move the barrels around, kicking them so they spray open into the different ponds. Catching onto his idea, they keep the monster occupied, but its numerous tentacles are hard to stop as they try to deter the green dragon. Shin Ah decides to use his power, successfully paralyzing it for a few moments before he collapses into the bloody water. Jae Ha is ready and hauls the paralyzed Shin Ah through the skylight while Rei lights the ponds on fire one by one. The monster, also set on fire, blindly flails itself around, spraying flames everywhere. Hardly affected by the heat, Rei dances around the smashing tentacles before Jae Ha grabs her and carries her to safety.
From their horses Ge-Gen angrily sees the smoke rising into the air. This puts a huge dent in his plan, but nonetheless they have enough lily ponds in and around the Jinzui Lake. Heading off, Ge-Gen and some cloaked men head back to the encampment where their army awaits. However, they pass through the small town Yona and the others are staying at. As they reach the western border, Ge-Gen and company pass by the group who have just reunited with Hak and Kija. Yona makes eye contact with him and gets an extremely cold feeling running down her spine. Ge-Gen holds curious eyes contact as they pass before they disappear from sight. Yona and the others then see the smoke rising from the mountains, so they wait on the edge of town apprehensively scanning the horizon.
Unfortunately for Rei, she had inhaled enough of the Nadai fumes that after an hour or so of walking, she can no longer take it. Collapsing, Jae-Ha comes to her aid, giving her water. The night is cold so a revived Shin-Ah and Jae-Ha quickly find brush and other materials to start a fire. Shin-Ah volunteers to keep watch as Jae-Ha tends to her. She throws up black vile. Jae-Ha is very affectionate while nursing her and after Rei throws up she rests her forehead against his shoulder. She realizes that she trusts Jae-Ha very much and was glad he was the here with her. After another hour or so, she feels much better and they are able to make it back to town before sunrise.
As they regroup the green dragon tells them what they found: the lilies, the monster, the bad guy, and their plan. Then Hak breaks the bad news about the shipment of Nadai they found. Which could only mean one thing: they were running against the clock. A war would be breaking out soon. But what could they do? Did the royal families of Northern Kai know about this? Did it matter? Kouka was clearly the target and in grave danger. Undoubtedly Kai wouldn't care and they may have already been involved. Rei suspects that there is someone, or something, more behind this plan… something darker then Ge-Gen.
The gang decides to make a hasty retreat back to Kouka, despite Yona's drowning guilt regarding all the people of Kai who they have left behind. Without much surprise, they find Soo-Won has already begun mobilizing the Earth Tribe troops to reinforce the new territory they had claimed. While stopping to resupply they hear news of the young princess of Xing stirring up some trouble in the south. Xing has bared their teeth at the Wind Tribe borders and tensions have escalated. This leads Hak to confirm his theory of a flank. If a battle were to break out, it would be the perfect place for these creatures to do it. This means the Wind Tribe is the main target. A young, inexperienced leader and smaller forces than other tribes made them the perfect underbelly. She would be blind to look anywhere else other than Kouka.
Meanwhile, Soo-Won has been spreading his feelers on his own, using his spies and other trusted sources to gain information. What he has been told is that forces were gathering on the Kai border, boldly attacking patrols and displaying their brazen recklessness. Based on the information gathered, he doesn't think that any of the Kai families are involved, but he is unable to place where they would be getting their commands from. Who could gain from this? For now he would put out the fires as best as he could along the Earth Tribe border, something he would see to personally.
Despite their past with Soo-Won, they know they can't take an army of the monsters on themselves and when it came down to politics he was the best of the best. They decide they need to try to inform him of what they know so they fly as fast as they can to the capital. Hak brings them to Ogi, who is surprised/happy to see them alive. They request he gain audience with the king, which Ogi tries to downplay. Needing payment upfront, Yona gives Ogi her treasured hair piece and Ogi agrees, amazed by its quality. However, Soo-Won does not appear. Min-Soo does. He informs them that the king does not wish to speak with them and that was that. Yona is glad to see Min-Soo is alive and the boy cannot bring his eyes to meet her, he feels so guilty. Therefore, despite the orders not to, he asks if there were any messages they wanted relayed to the king directly. Yona tells Min-Soo, wanting him to relay the message to Soo-Won, but it was clear that the king did not trust them. Without an audience with the king, they decide to ride to the Wind Tribe and inform them themselves of the danger.
Min-Soo goes to leave, but is confronted by Rei outside, away from the others. Min-Soo, who is already touched by Yona's forgiving words, recognizes Rei as Serenity's friend from visiting the castle before. And Rei also recognizes him. Rei asks him to not let her leave the castle under any circumstances as the world around them was going to become very dangerous soon enough. A little weary, but understanding, Min-Soo agrees.
Kye-Sook, who becomes suspicious of Min-Soo's coming and going, confronts the young man and demands to know what is going on. He refuses to let the boy pass without telling him. Min-Soo delivers the message regarding the possible forces that would be aligning with Xing and attacking the Wind Tribe. Kye-Sook, convinced that Yona and the others are not working in the king's best interest, declares them to be traitors and to disregard this message. Min-Soo wants to argue, but the advisor dismisses him, telling him to not speak of this to anyone or else their whole plan to defend against Kai could be ruined. He could also be seen as a traitor. When Min-Soo is dismissed, the advisor rounds up some guards and tells them to put a bounty out for their heads. They would most likely be headed into Wind Tribe territory. This Hiryuu rumor needed to end.
Serenity, who had heard the whole thing from behind a nearby corner, hides in the shadows with her back pressed to the wall, her hands over her mouth. That woman, the one from before… she was working against Soo-Won? She couldn't believe it. And Kye-Sook wanted her dead? She didn't want this girl to die. Not like the… others? But, Soo-Won… Her head begins to hurt so she crouches, tears running down her cheeks. This thought triggers her to remember everything.
Far away, an old wizened old hand holds a glowing key.
Vold is also around and catches them as they leave Ogi's and happens to see Yona's hair and Kija's smash something in anger with his dragon hand. Very interested, Vold and some of his men trail the group as they make their way towards the Wind Tribe. Towards Xing. Surrounding them, Vold asks them if they are the dragons and that he believes that it would be worth listening to what his master has to say if they want to save the Wind Tribe. Realizing this is the perfect chance to try to meet with Xing authorities, they agree to see Tao.
Back in Kouka, after recovering overnight, Serenity goes to find Soo-Won to tell him everything. That she remembered and that Rei would never lie, but as she looks around she realizes that the castle was very lively. Lili joins her as she tries to catch Soo-Won in the courtyard. He is quickly distracted by a rush of attendants and has to part with them quickly. Serenity tries to catch up, but as she does Soo-Won can only say goodbye. He apologizes to Serenity, but their conversation would have to wait. He promises her he will return to her. This tears her apart because she wants to wait for him, but she can't let her friend be in any more danger. Running up to the ramparts she yells that she remembers everything! Soo-Won can only stare and feels an array of mixed emotions as he realizes that this may really be goodbye.
Within a day Vold brings the group to rest at Tao's place where they meet the younger princess and Algira. He quickly tells them they are the four beasts from the stories they had heard from Sei. There Tao is able to provide them more detail of the sudden tension at the border. Hearing about the sister's rift, and Kouren's absolute hatred for Soo-Won, the gang wonders if Kouren may have, or would still be willingly, to accept this Nadai army. Disclosing their business with Tao, Yona tells her everything: how Sei was a clear testing ground, how they discovered how and where they are making and the shipments being sent into the southern seas. How it rips apart a person's humanity. This horrifies them all. They had heard the stories from Sei, but never thought it would happen again, but it was all starting to make sense. There had been abnormally high reports for people going missing in southern Xing lately; this impending army would only make sense.
Yona asks Tao's opinion of her sister. Does she think Kouren would be siding with these people in order to win and take her revenge? Tao takes a moment to think, but defends her sister. Her sister loves her people and the people love her sister. Her sister is hot headed and hard to forgive, but never would she stoop so low. Yona and the crew believe her. Therefore, it's the work of some third entity trying to spur trouble as the Nadai monsters thrived on chaos and pain.
Late in the night Serenity takes a horse, intending to sneak out the southern entrance before the gates close, but Lili catches her leaving. They share a moment as Lili says she wishes she could come with her, but Serenity tells her this is something she has to do alone. Besides, someone had to keep Kuuto in order. They share a hug and Lili watches as Serenity departs for Xing.
That same night, under Kouren's orders to spy, Mizari raids Tao's hideaway, but Yona has switched places with Tao. Mizari attacks her, injuring her arm, but she manages to get away when she reveals she isn't Tao. Rei had sensed something wrong in the middle of the night so they promptly switched the two girls without much time to spare. Algira, who had hid Tao, appears to beat down Mizari and his muscle. However, Yona smells oil and Mizari reveals that they're setting the place on fire. Algira holds them off as Rei and Yona escape, but Zeno goes to find Tao while the other dragons fight off the rest of the intruders. Much like the manga, Zeno holds the pillar up, giving Tao and party enough time to escape the crumbling building while being trapped. He heals and they retreat to a nearby cave to recover. Mizari sees Zeno's miraculous healing and begins to obsess over it, telling the other two Stars what he had witnessed.
The next day they retrieve Zeno some clothing in a nearby town.
Hiding in secret, Hak has a chat with Yona about going to the Wind Tribe to inform them of what was going on. Clearly, he wants to go with Yona to protect her, but someone needs to go to the Wind Tribe still. Yona completely understands; it's his family. Having to separate, Yona and Hak say their tender goodbyes for now and Hak, along with Vold for a guide, leave for the Wind Tribe.
While Rei, Yona, Tao, and Algira stay out of sight, the dragons and Yoon mingle around town. They quickly realize the town has welcomed a large number of soldiers, but don't know quite yet that the Stars and Kouren are there. Yoon ventures a little way off to look at some of Xing's medical herbs while the dragons float around some booths looking for supplies.
Unknown to them, they are being watched. The enemy knows who the dragons are and what they are trying to do in Xing. He sends a few Nadai addicted monsters after the dragons, hoping to draw the others out and show their hand in front of Kouren.
However, as these things run amuck, the dragons get ready to fight only to shortly be "saved" by the Yokata and Mizari who battle the monsters. Yoon, who was at the edge of the crowd, tries to get closer but is pushed back. Recognizing them from Tao's, Mizari allows the monster to have a go at some citizens so Kija quickly chops the beast down with his hand. Yokata is stunned and quickly works to overpower the dragons, but they refuse to fight back, which angers Ge-Gen from the shadows. He had been hoping they would fight each other, cause a huge commotion, and be struck down before ever seeing Kouren, but their non-retaliation method proves this wrong. The dragons and Yoon are captured.
Their escort, who had slipped around back, inform the others. Knowing that she needs to take action, Tao decides she now needs to face Kouren, especially if she wishes to spare her sister what was coming. If they cannot, war would be certain. All three girls confront the Five Stars and they too are arrested and taken to San-San.
Serenity, who is a little lost in the woods trying to find the Wind Tribe capital, finds herself being cornered by a bunch of hooded figures. She tries to escape, but is bucked off her horse when it is spooked. They capture her.
Meanwhile, Hak has made it to the Wind Tribe territory. All of the tribe is ecstatic to know Hak is still alive. He tells them, while it may mean treason, they needed to avoid fighting the Xing soldiers at all costs. The Wind Tribe tells them that their forces are already stretched thin as it is, a lot of them have been called off to the Earth Tribe; including old Mundok. Hak is upset to hear this, not thinking the old man would involve himself so early, but the tribe members tell him that battle on the Kai front has already begun. Hak is horrified to hear that battle has escalated so quickly it already involved the Wind Tribe. Hak gives them their orders, telling the young Wind Tribe leader to keep his cool, but realizes that he (Hak) is no longer the tribe leader anymore and the young buck needed to start making his own decisions. Tae-Jun decides to send Hundai (sp?) to relay Hak's message to Soo-Won as fast as he can.
Allowing themselves to be captured, the dragons, badly injured, are taken to San-San, where Kouren has been staying. Kouren visits with them as they are led through the courtyard towards the prisons. Kouren confronts them directly, asking them if they are Soo-Won's spies. Jae Ha, who does all the talking, tells Kouren that no, they are not spies, but they do bring news from Kouka. It is what their mission had been up front, up until her men burned down Tao's hideaway, nearly killing them. Kouren is visibly upset by the accusation, but does not voice that it had never been her intention. Still very dismissive, Kouren orders them to be taken away without a further glance, but Tao and the others storm in after being "captured", demanding to be heard, much to Kouren's annoyance.
Yona quickly continues with the details about the Northern Kai country, the monsters, and how they believe this army of monsters would be marching through Xing. Kouren does not believe, trust, or care about what they have to say. She believes that Kouka is trying to pull a fast one on them, why else wouldn't they send an official representative? Do they wish to insult Xing? Did Soo-Won plan the whole thing to make his story look viable?! How could thousands of monsters be gathering in her country without her knowing? Impossible! But Yona explains how Nadai works and that with her forces growing in numbers along the border with hostility they don't need to bring troops. They'll just use hers!
Seeing Kouren's torn expression, Yona reveals who she is and the fact that they would have no reason to try to trick Xing. They are not there for the sake of Kouka's king, but for the sake of Kouka and Xing's people. Just like they were there, that day in Sei. Kouren stills herself, knowing exactly what day they are talking about; she had heard the stories that circulated from her people were set free on that day. Those people had spoken highly of men with monstrous abilities and a woman who had wielded fire. Kouren's eyes skim the four men before landing on Rei, putting the pieces together. Knowing Yona's story and Rei's abilities, she asks them why they wouldn't just join her instead and get their revenge on Soo-Won? Yona admits that at one point she had thought about it, about taking revenge, but as she learned the hardships her people had been put through thanks to her father and so her goal was redemption, not revenge. Kouren is stuck by the honesty and spunk in Yona's burning eyes.
Kouren turns her eyes on Rei, who she asks the same question, but Rei stays silent; Rei is stunned by just how much Kouren reminds her of Haruka. Interested in Rei's lack of words, Kouren decides to keep the dragons in her possession a while longer. She orders Tao to be confined to her room and Rei and Yona escorted to a room for the night. She would think over what they have told her and give them a proper answer about the conflict in the morning, but her offer still stood.
Hak and Vold decide it was time to catch up with Yona and the gang and tell them the news, but as they go to leave Gobi's anti-war faction appears. Hak finds himself getting a very bad feeling from this man and the people surrounding him and notices his guide appears uneasy as well, even though they were self-described Tao supporters. Gobi offhandedly mention the news of their capture and Hak races off to San-San with the news from the Wind Tribe.
Escorted closely by the creepy Mizari, Yona is allowed to see the dragons and brings them food. She is so sad to see them in so much pain, but they try to remain cheerful for her.
In the middle of the night, Rei is awoken by someone entering their room they were being kept in. Rei finds herself in a fog-like state, not able to move much or say anything. Yona, who is right next to her, remains sleeping. Rei is approached by hooded figure who offers Rei a "proposition": don't fight against the darkness and their plans or else her friend will die. That is her only option. In his hand he holds one of Serenity's earrings. Though she can't register his face, she can't help but thinking that his smile is wicked and his eyes stone cold. Rei tries to fight it but is too subdued, growing heavier and more tired by the minute. Not being able to withstand herself any longer, Rei falls back unconscious. When she awakens to the sunlight, she finds the earring tucked in her hand. She panics knowing that something terrible had happened to Serenity and decides her best bet was to stay in Xing, away from the dragons, but close enough to the action. She would still help, even if it was from the other side.
Hak and Vold appear, this time marching back into Kouren's safe hold and demanding to see Yona. It is nearing dawn, but Kouren amuses them by gracing them with her presence and allows Rei and Yona out. Hak tells them how a war on the front of Northern Kai has even portions of the Wind Tribe called off to war. Kouka is no longer a threat to Xing and forces were only being left at the border for precaution. He even brings a signed and sealed document from the Wind Tribe leader. Kouren finds this news comforting, but makes no plans to lessen her pressure on Kouka or help. In fact, it would be a good time to strike, if nothing else. Vold becomes frustrated; she was so willing to start war with Kouka to keep their country sovereign, but refuses to protect it from actual threats?! Stubborn, Kouren doesn't say anything.
Tao chimes in saying that knowing all this, she finally realizes they have been played. Kouren demands she explains. The timing of their father's illness, Kouren's mounting anger toward Kouka, and the war with Kai. Was that all just coincidence? Tao sure didn't think so and if she did she was truly a pawn. Kouren is stunned, gripping her sword hilt with rage. Suddenly she sees the reflection of her own hate filled rage in the blade of her sword and realizes they are right. Anger and vengeance had consumed her heart.
Tao continues, softer now, explaining that if this enemy was this deeply rooted in their country, Xing's army would need all of the help they could get. It was their plan to stir up her anger and make her blind to everything else happening. Didn't she see why so many of their citizens had gone missing lately? Why Sei was so quiet? This army clearly thinks that Xing is the weak link and that they can walk all over her!
Taking a moment, Kouren registers this information. Her head has felt so foggy with anger after her father became sick… Her people were hurting and missing and here she was trying to start a war. She had been so stupid.
Right then and there she decides that she will relent until she can meet with Soo-Won. This shocks everyone, but she explains: that if it were true, her people would only suffer and Xing was no pushover. She would not fall into the hands of whoever was the puppet master of this. She asks for the release of the dragons and Yoon before disappearing into the halls. They all have a touching reunion in the courtyard until Kouren appears again. Xing would still not ask Kouka for any help and if they left immediately, she would not chase after them. Tao tells Vold to be their guide back out of the country which he reluctantly agrees to; Kouren does not stop him.
Yona is distressed and disappointed, but realizes she cannot convince Kouren to accept their help; she was proud person and her pride had already been wounded. Yona gathers her people only to notice that Rei is now positioned next to Kouren, her head down and hands clenched. Rei says she has made the choice to stay at Kouren's side. Everyone, including Kouren, is shocked. More curiously, before anyone could argue it, Rei hugs Yona tightly and turns and leaves back into the mansion. Yona tries to go after her, but Yokata and Neguro block her.
Looking distressed, Yona allows Hak to guide her out of the mansion, thoroughly confused by Rei's actions. Far enough away from the mansion, Yona peaks into her hand, finding a beautiful golden earring cupped there. She doesn't understand Rei's intentions, but the dragons are badly injured and need attention so getting them that was number one priority. They head for the border, looking to get Jae Ha and Kija some help.
Meanwhile, Kouren, not fully convinced of Rei's loyalty, plays over the confusion that ran across the group's faces, suspecting something to be up with Rei's behavior. That night, unable to contain her curiosity, Kouren finds Rei in her room, asking her why her sudden change of heart. Rei diverts the conversation, telling Kouren about how she very much reminds her of a dear friend and comrade she had long ago; so much so it almost scares her. Not only looks, but they were both ambitious, fierce, stubborn. A little head strong and stuck in their own convictions, but a great leader nonetheless. Trying times will be coming and she needs to make sure to keep her own personal vendettas in check because power over people can easily lead down the path of evil.
Kouren is struck by Rei's words, but not insulted. She realizes that Rei may have some loyalty to the dragons, but there is something else there. Something sad. She asks Rei if Rei was the one that killed the beast and freed her people in Sei. Was she the fire wielding maiden? Rei confirms. Kouren asks her to show her the power, Rei is hesitant, but forms a small ball of fire. Kouren is amazed and suddenly very glad Rei is on their side; reluctant or not. How do they beat this threat coming? What was it exactly?
Feeling a little bit more trust for the woman who reminded her so much of her comrade, Rei tries to answer her with the most honesty she could give: she didn't know. The monsters were strong, but could be taken down with enough force. However, Xing's armies may not be enough if they had been infiltrated as much as they suspected. This puts Kouren on edge. Maybe she had done the wrong thing by rejecting aid. Knowing she is not going to get many more words out of the icy woman, Kouren retreats for the night, but tells Rei that she hopes she will fight for the people of Xing. Rei does not reply.
Through the evening, after walking for hours, the gang finally makes it back to the Wind Tribe where they camp for a few days, having to patch up Jae-Ha and Kija. Yona notices how quiet and contemplative Jae Ha has become. Clearly she was not the only one trying to figure out what Rei was doing. Staring at the earring longer Yona realizes she has never quite seen such fine detailing in any of the jewelry from Kouka before… And Yona realizes this must be a token from outside of Kouka, but she had never seen Rei wear it... Was it just a parting gift or? Kouren looked surprised by Rei's decision as well which means she wasn't the one pulling the strings. But who then? Who would want her to stay in Xing for Kouren? Or maybe…
Mid-week, Soo-Won's war party is intercepted by the messenger from the Wind Tribe, Han-Dai, telling the king of the impending battle and reports of monsters gathering in Xing. Soo-Won is startled by this news. So Kai really was a ruse like Yona had tried to warn him about and they had been complete fools for marching west. Soo-Won orders a smaller number of soldiers to continue for Kai, but takes a majority of the party hard for the Wind Tribe.
For the following day, Rei is getting anxious. Rei tries her best to avoid everyone and everything. She knows she is being a coward, but she must find her princess. She must keep her safe above all else. She has joined Kouren's side, but has seen no sign of Serenity or who her kidnappers could be. She knows it's not Kouren though. From what she can figure out, Kouren and her people are just puppets. She couldn't do much snooping due to being watched all the time, but this thing, whatever it was, fed off fear and hatred. Kouren, though a stubborn mule, was willing to stop the war. This was the opposite of what it wanted. Rei figures that whatever it is will be revealing itself very soon.
Yona dwells on Rei's betrayal for days as the dragons recover. One night she looks out to the growing Xing camp not far across the border, but something isn't sitting right with her. Deciding she needed to have a look around, Yona grabs a cloak and waits until everyone else is asleep to sneak over to the other camp. Not as sneaky as she would like, Jae-Ha intercepts her, but instead of giving her up, he joins her. They walk around the eerily quiet camp only to find a stash of barrels full of Nadai; just as they thought. Further into the camp they hear a woman call out to them. Surprised, they see a woman trapped in a barred up palanquin. Yona notices the glint of an earring and realizes this woman is Rei's friend! They approach her, asking if she indeed knows Rei. Serenity, hesitant to give up her friend, is unsure of how to answer them. Yona then pulls out the earring and hands it back to her. Still seeing a little resistance, Jae-Ha tells her the story about how she had to cut her hair because of that candy. Serenity lights up and realizes they are Rei's friends! She also quickly tells them that Gobi has taken his forces to face Kouren! With this news they break her out and rush back over the border! The Wind Tribe lends them horses and they rush off to San-San!
Rei feels like she is getting closer to her answer as she makes a breakthrough in the fire, but something noisy happens outside. Peering out she sees Neguro and Yokata trying to dispel the anti-war faction who have come knocking, bringing news of the king's worsening condition. Rei also feels the nauseating miasma of darkness over this group. It was them, she's sure of it.
Kouren appears, sending the anti-war faction off, before deciding to release Tao after hearing the news regarding their father. As she does, an arrow comes flying in, piercing Neguro instead. Algira is right behind, grabbing and shielding Tao. Kouren tells Tao to run, that these people were not after her, but Tao protests, telling her she'd never leave her. Kouren, touched but unable to risk her little sister's safety, tells Algira to grab her and run when they see an opening. Algira agrees and takes a protesting Tao into the surrounding forest.
Seeing this from her room, Rei tries to leave, but is stopped by an array of men who will not let her pass. She is told to back off or else her friend would get it! With this said she has no choice but to back into her room and close the door.
Yona and the crew return (minus Zeno who has stayed with Serenity), coming to warn Kouren of the anti-war factions malicious intent, but find they are a few minutes too slow. The guards on watch have all been quietly slaughtered. Enemies have surrounded the mansion. Yona tells the dragons to spread out before her, Hak and Vold run into the mansion. There they find Neguro's body, but as they try to step closer, arrows are shot at them, catching Hak in the arms. They are held in checkmate.
Meanwhile, the dragons have come under heavy attack by numerous men who transform into hideous beasts as they down bottles of Nadai. Still recovering from their wounds, the dragons are slow and not as spry, but manage. Kija tells Jae-Ha to find Rei. The older man hesitates, but agrees. Yokata, who at first was stunned by the dragon's powers and then the monsters, is stabbed in the back by one of the soldiers who he had been aiding as it turns out the man was really a hidden spy. Coming to his aid, Kija does his best to fight off the offending monsters, surprising Yokata who had thought Kija would just let him die. He was the enemy after all.
Yona, Hak and Vold are able to get to Kouren, but Hak's arm is pretty bad. They are able to make their way towards where they left Yoon. He tends to Kouren, but they don't have much time before reinforcements would arrive. Hak asks Kouren where Rei is, knowing battling these things would be a lot easier with her around. Kouren admits she is not sure and the group is left cornered.
Jae Ha finds that Rei's room is guarded by men dressed in black. Clearly this enemy was keeping a close eye on her, locked in her room. They're keeping her pinned, unable to do anything. Using his throwing knives and dragon leg he disposes of the men, but not without a few sword slashes.
A fairly beat-up Jae Ha jumps into Rei's room, using her open window as perch. Rei, who is sitting on the edge of her bed waiting for a sign, stands, surprised to see him there. It's been over a week since they last saw each other and honestly she was sure they'd never see each other again. She is happy to see him, she realizes, but her mood is soured by the outside noises. She asks him what he was doing there and he makes a smart ass quip. Rei is concerned about his wounds, but tells him she can't leave. That's when he tells her that Serenity was safe. Her eyes widen, but she can't say anything. Stepping into the room, he tells her they rescued the girl with "hair like silver". Thanks to her clue she gave to Yona, they were able to figure it out. They had her in a pretty tight bind this whole time, huh?
Rei becomes stiff suddenly, her hands clenching. Much to Jae Ha's surprise, Rei coldly says no, it was meant as a warning. To stay away. She could no longer be on their side. Jae Ha's expression stays serious. Rei, her face twisted with shame, tells Jae Ha that the dragons and herself are not so different. They are bound to a duty to protect their one special person. And they will always protect that person no matter what; even if it means betraying other people they have come to love... She says she abandoned them and is no longer expecting to be their ally.
Jae Ha approaches slowly as the candle lights dance, casting numerous shadows. His gaze is hard as he admits had it been Yona, or even herself, he would not have hesitated to do the same thing. He stops in front of her, so close but so far. His look softens and the flames go wild. But he was not alone in these feelings and neither was she so there was no need to do things on their own. As kindred spirits they value her and understand her position. As dear friends they would also protect Serenity with everything they could. The candlelight dances wildly and, unable to look away, she asks where Serenity is. Thinking like she looks like she could break any moment, Jae Ha tells her that Zeno and Serenity are hiding in the forest, away from everything and that she's safe.
Rei is overcome by too many emotions at once and, without thinking, grabs Jae Ha's collar and pulls him into a kiss. Jae Ha is surprised, but not unhappy about this turn of events and wraps his arms around her. Unfortunately, with the fight going on he breaks it off more quickly than he would like. Rei turns red, but brushes off what has just happened easily. Jae Ha, ever amused by her composure, scoops her up and they jump to join the fight.
Kija, Shin Ah and Yokata are all pretty beat up with Kija and Yokata suffering the most. Backup arrives as Rei blasts the remaining creatures to hell. Everyone is relieved to have some time to catch their breaths and regroup. However, Rei cuts it short as she asks where Yona and the others are. They are unsure, but instantly become on guard. Breathing for a moment, Rei tries to focus in on Hak's strong energy only to find that it's waning. More worried than before Rei takes off as they all follow, Kija desperately trying to support a weakening Yokata who asks how Kija keeps his skin so nice.
Trying to fight off the monsters, Yona, Kouren, Yoon, Vold, some attendants and a heavily injured Hak are cornered. However, the monsters corral them without attacking. That's when they part, allowing Ge-Gen to stroll before them. Yona recognizes him, immediately getting the same bout of chills. Ge-Gen says it's a shame he has to now kill Kouren. She had been a very important part of their plan this whole time. He reveals that Kouren's rise to power, her swirling emotions, and hatred towards Kouka would have made her great general in their army. What?! Kouren is disgusted by this thought, but Ge-Gen tells them that the rising anger and hatred she felt was no mistake. She had been being fed small amounts of Nadai to keep her focused on war. Kouren is shocked, suddenly unable to breathe remembering Rei's words. Yona supports her leaning figure, but is angrier than she has been in a long time.
Desperately trying to give Yoon more time to patch Hak up, Yona questions Ge-Gen about his motive for taking over Kouka and the reason for war. He reveals that in his "first life" he was very much into studying herbs and was a renowned expert on poison in all countries. However, his work became more sinister when he learned of the increased physical strength those on the drug Nadai received. But the drug was rare and hard to manufacture on a large scale. Journeying to the Water Tribe he became an herbalist at the capital where he had nearly unlimited access to the lilies so he began to secretly experiment with the lilies to try to create super humans. With this drug he'd be able to sell it to numerous armies and factions and become unbelievably rich! Just as he was on the brink of a breakthrough he was found out and turned in. Finding his practice immoral the tribe leader had his work burned and Ge-Gen was banished from the Water Tribe forever. Word got around of his human experimentations and soon he became ostracized from the medical community; even in Kai. Because of this he lost work and his notoriety. He became bitter and obsessive with revenge against the Water Tribe. Then one day, when picking herbs on a mountain side, he slipped, fell and tumbled down the mountain. As he laid there dying all he could think about was his consuming hatred for the Water Tribe. That's when he was approached by a dark figure, who asked him if he wanted revenge for the humiliation they caused him. He said he did and awoke again, this time with a great power and knowledge. He was granted a second life. From there, he began to cultivate mass amounts of Nadai with hopes of poisoning the Water Tribe for retribution against their previous slights. Soon, with the help of his master, they perfected the Nadai recipe to turn people into their minions. Everyone is horrified. But why?! Ge-Gen laughs, asking what else would it be for? Power, of course. The more people they could turn the closer they were to taking over the world. Hak grips his glaive, stepping towards the man with a severe look.
Ge-Gen smiles wickedly, readying to strike them down but before he can Jae Ha jumps in between him and the group. He distracts Ge-Gen with a few well-placed kicks before Ge-Gen is nearly swallowed by a rush of fire, but one of his goons steps in the way; Jae Ha jumping back closer to where Yona and Hak are. Turning Ge-Gen finds himself face to face with Rei and the rest of the group. Using the rest of their strength the dragons focus on distracting the surrounding monsters, leaving Ge-Gen to Rei. He is angered to see that she is fighting, knowing that Serenity escaping was a big failure on his part. However, he won't let his master down! Laughing, Ge-Gen's muscle begin to bulge and his skin rips away, revealing a huge monster; even larger than the one she had faced in Sei. Feeling the sudden wave of energy, Rei realizes she will have really focus her power if she wished to have enough to fight this mean bastard.
Rei barely dodges his ground breaking fists, sending a few waves of fire at him, but he brushes them off easily. Seeing her friends collecting themselves, beat up, tired and worried, Rei decides she needs to end this sooner rather than later. While she is distracted Ge-Gen sees his opening and swipes her with a heavy hand into a wall causing her to crash through it. For a moment she struggles to stand and his deep laughs resonant through the court yard.
Seeing her in trouble, Kouren and Yona both collect bows, shooting at and effectively distracting Ge-Gen. Many of the arrows pierce the monster in venerable places and Kouren compliments Yona on her shooting. However, Ge-Gen is not so easily defeated. He swings his large arms around, destroying a lot of the buildings and sending rubble flying. Kija and Jae Ha are able to stave off a lot of the flying debris even with as weak as they have become. Zeno appears, tackling them to the ground, saving the two from a chunk of building. Zeno tells Kouren and Yona to keep shooting providing cover for Vold and Yoon to escort the remaining people to safety.
In the midst of the battle, Hak is able to use his other arm to wield his glaive and slash at the monster's back, causing the beast to let out a howl of pain. In Ge-Gen's moment of weakness, a flaming arrow hits him directly in the heart, piercing it. He screams, burning alive, giving the rest of the group the chance to hobble away into the darkness.
In the wooded area around, they meet up with Algira, Tao and Serenity. Rei and Jae Ha work to support each other while Yona and Vold desperately support a weak Hak. Kouren and Kija support Yokata while Zeno carries Shin Ah. Tao is horrified by all of their injuries, but happy to be reunited with everyone as she embraces Vold. Jae Ha can almost feel Rei's annoyance and anger directed towards the silver haired girl so he pulls her closer to him, supporting her more; their closeness does not go unnoticed by most of the party.
Hurt by Rei's obvious avoidance, Serenity apologizes for all the trouble she may have caused them, but she had to warn them of Kye-Sook. Because of him, Soo-Won did not know the threat happening in Xing and she wanted them to know; she wanted to help. But she had been captured by the men wearing robes not long after leaving the castle. The anti-war faction knew she had ties with both Soo-Won and Rei, and after a pause continues to say that while she was captured, she overheard terrible news: they were expecting thousands more monsters to be "born" in Sei in the next few days. A thousand?! They were going to overwhelm Kouka with numbers and Xing as well, if Xing did not willing join their forces. Kouren thinks about their plan to turn her into one of those monsters and her blood boils…
Hak becomes instantly agitated at the thought of Tae-Woo and the others left at the border being directly in the line of danger. They decide they need to head back to the border where the Wind Tribe and Xing soldiers are currently held up. Jae Ha takes up helping Hak as Rei has mostly recovered enough to walk on her own. Yona is thankful, but hovers close to Hak with worried eyes. As they walk Serenity tries to say something to Rei, but holds her tongue, unsure of where to start. Yona, seeing the frail girl's inner turmoil, wordlessly tucks her lost earring into her palm. They share a small smile and Serenity's heart calms itself knowing that Rei really was just worried about her.
Before long Zeno, Rei and Yona all start to feel on edge, reminiscent of the sensation they had before the attack from those soldiers in Kai. A lot of people's nervousness and hatred is pooling up in a dark swirl of emotion. They appear at the edge of the Xing camp near the border.
As Soo-Won and men near the Wind Tribe border they are intercepted with some intelligence. Apparently there are reports of inhuman like creatures fight against Xing in San-San. Sighting of a girl with red hair, another who could wield fire, and men with beastly strength are fighting back. Soo-Won realizes that Yona has somehow got herself involved. The messenger also reports of a girl with strange, silver hair in their party. Soo-Won's blood runs cold. Could it be? He asks if the girl's hair was in any particular style? Buns, he says. With even more urgency, Soo-Won presses towards the impending battlefield.
The gang they stumble upon a heart stopping scene: the anti-war faction providing the waiting Xing soldiers with a large barrel of what they know is most likely Nadai. An overwhelming darkness swells, catching Rei's breath. A small, hunched man appears from the darkness of a large tent, looking directly at them. Rei lets that know that this is the man. This is the heart of the evil. Shocked, Kouren, Tao and the other Xing party recognizes him as the head priest of the anti-war faction, Gobi!
Gobi, so ever pleased with himself, tells them that he is so glad the princesses and their barbarians could join them. He scans the group, instantly recognizing the four dragons' powers, but finds himself locking onto the silver haired beauty. A dark haired girl steps in his line of vision and his amusement is instantly gone.
Gobi rallies the troops, telling them that there is their fearless leader who would send them to their deaths for petty revenge. The person who was looking to send them to slaughter against Kouka's troops. Kouren tries to speak against him, but she is silenced by his loud, booming voice. She captured Tao and used her Stars to coerce citizens into violence! And now she had Kouka's four dragon beasts on her side, looking to use them for herself! Tao tries to protest, telling them that Gobi also was using violence, but he turns it against her. He was doing it to protect Tao! As the crowd of troops and people grows more rowdy, the entire group can almost feel the electricity of unrest and unease coming off them in waves.
Rei can see that Gobi is literally feeding off this new surge of negative energy from the gathered crowd behind him. He was doing it on purpose, to feed himself.
Distracted, Gobi's assassins lasso each of the dragons, dragging their injured bodies to the ground by the throats. Kouren pulls a sword, but Yona stops her as the crowd shifts. Yona, trying to settle any impending fight tells her group to back down, but Gobi's assassins let a bunch of arrows go from a close range. This prompts the four dragon-essence shield power to activate, shielding Yona from the arrows before the others can react. Everyone is startled by this new power, setting off a chain reaction from the startled crowd. Feeding on this new flow of power, Gobi becomes more and more cocky. But before he can continue to rile the crowd into a frenzy, Rei steps in, shoving Yona behind her, into Hak's arms. Rei pleads with everyone: Do not listen to him! Gobi is NOT human. He is feeding on all of the hatred and anger he is provoking with his lies!
But it's too late! A wave of transformations begin to cause a chain reaction throughout the crowd. Gobi laughs manically as they all begin to distort in pain and turn into monsters, all having been poisoned by the Nadai-laced water.
Kouren, catching eyes with Vold and Algira, telling them to take Yokata and Tao and get the hell out of there. What about her?! It was an order! Without hesitation they nod, carrying a protesting and crying Tao and supporting the nearly unconscious, bleeding Yokata. Yoon, who is torn, gets a nod from Yona and immediately heads off with them to care for Yokata. Gobi's assassins move to prevent the few from leaving, but Rei sends a few blasts of fire at them, causing them to release the dragons as they all jump out of the way. Rei orders Serenity to go with them! But the girl stands wide eyed, unsure and amazed by Rei's powers at the same time.
Those left all stand as well as they can, facing the now hundreds of monsters who writher impatiently behind their master.
Gobi, whose eyes narrow in on Rei, doesn't lose his grin. Ah, so this was the infamous fire wielder he had heard so much about. His eyes travel over to Serenity and his grin only gets wider, his eyes crazier, as the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together. Well how about that, the child of the Moon. At this, Rei freezes. No one should know this piece of information. No one. Rei returns with the fiercest glare she can muster as her heart pounds uncertainly. He was radiating so much power. Who is he? Who is he really? What was this about?!
Oh, how fearless the soldier of Mars is! Laughing loudly, black mist begins to seep from underneath his robe causing the man to rise high above them in the air and everyone in Rei's group to take a step backwards. But from your comrades faces it doesn't seem like you have told them the whole truth have you, my dear? It should be me who is asking you why you are here in a world that is not your own! He sends a sudden bolt of black energy directly at the girl, but she is narrowly able to avoid it. As it passes she can feel the pulse of a strong, but faintly familiar energy. He isn't like the other monsters and Rei realizes her only hope to fighting him is to work together. If she could distract him long enough maybe the others could take care of his minions.
Clearly unamused with this game, Gobi flicks his wrist.
Suddenly, the monsters rush forward towards the gang, but a barrage of arrows comes hurling over their heads, taking down a lot of the first wave of monsters. The Wind Tribe has come to aid! Headed by Tae-Woo, Soo-Won and Vold, the band of Wind Tribe warriors and Sky Tribe soldiers, and even armed citizens, appear to help. Gobi snarls at this new development as Kouren reignites with a new passion, bringing up her sword to join them in the fight. The dragons, who also have perked up as much as they could with their injuries, join in on the fight.
Rei smites a few of these monsters, impressing Tae-Woo and the Wind Tribe crew.
Frustrated about losing the amount of men he was to Kouka, Gobi realizes he needs to deal with Rei and the dragons on his own turf. Reaching for something around his neck, he pulls out a small chain with a jeweled key that Rei instantly recognizes: the Space-Time key?! How?! It had been lost!
While they were distracted fighting the black mist has spread all around their feet. Seeing this, Yona pushes Kouren out of the way as a sudden wall of darkness envelopes the dragon crew, Rei, Soo-Won and Serenity.
As the gang slowly begins to awaken in a dark abyss, they find they have been restrained by this seemingly malleable blackness. What the hell? Even worse, Hak's wounds in his abdomen have been reopened and are bleeding pretty heavily.
Gobi appears with the key hanging almost weightlessly from his neck; the orange, green and blue jewels glowing is something Rei notices. He is once again grinning, asking them how they like his alternate dimension? It's a place he was able to create thanks to the powerful key, a place where time and space are malleable. He shifts, his body transforming into numerous people, including Neguro. This imposter Neguro laughs, glad to see their slack jaws. It tells them, in Neguro's voice, how hundreds of years ago this wonderful power had nearly fallen into his lap, as it fell to earth from the sky. And so, for hundreds of years, he had waited for the right amount of energy and unrest, gaining strength little by little, but it was not quick enough. There was no great war that had ever come to truly awaken his powers. So he took matters into his own hands after the gentle King Il was preventing this even more. By taking the body of the dying priest Gobi, he had started a chain of events that would set off a new war: he had recruited Soo-Won's father to the dark side, tortured the Xing people, had Yona's mother killed to weaken the king's resolve before he finally had the king kill Soo-Won's father, he used his spies to influence Soo-Won—
Soo-Won is stunned to hear all his life was molded by this one person.
Stop! Serenity, unable to take all of the torture he had put her dear Soo-Won through, interrupts the madness. Ah. The Moon Princess can't handle the truth? The darkness begins to torment Serenity with whispers from all around her, mocking her about the fact that she does indeed remember who she really is and has for a while, but she is a coward to face her past. Soo-Won tries to comfort her, wrapping her up protectively. Rei is shocked, asking Serenity if that were true. Serenity doesn't answer and Rei looks even more betrayed than before. The darkness answers: because it was Serenity's fault that everyone had died. It was her fault this new world suffered. Without a response, the darkness takes the form of Endy and the events of that that faithful night play through.
The darkness shifts, and under their feet materializes the beautiful fields of the moon, the palace in the background. The crew look on in awe as Earth hovers in the background, but other two are paralyzed with emotions. The darkness shows how Serenity took the protective crystal and used its power to visit Endy, showing the lovers embracing in the moonlight, surrounded by roses. But what the darkness reveals is that this bout of selfishness also prompted Venus to leave her position guarding the palace in order to come and round up the princess. This moment lapse of selfishness created the perfect opening for Beryl's forces to attack the moon. They all appear back on the moon where Beryl's armies have attacked, already destroying a majority of the palace. As they are making their way through the castle to find her mother, Endy is impaled as he tries to protect his princess and is killed. However, Serenity is unable to commit suicide to join him as Venus stops her. Everyone is stunned and horrified by the scene.
Taking the form of Pluto, the darkness embraces a kneeling Rei from behind, this time playing through the gruesome deaths of their comrades, all the while blaming Serenity, the one person they had dedicated their lives to. Yona's crew is horrified by Rei's real truth, not knowing what to make of the bloody images as they flash by.
They watch as Mercury is cut down from behind trying to help a soldier. Jupiter is overwhelmed by enemies and uses her last bit of strength to take them with her. Venus battles valiantly until she is run through by a smiling Kunzite; the one man she loved. Next, the darkness shows the ending of the world as the Outers awaken Sailor Saturn who drops her glaive, causing the world around them to crumble back into blackness.
Unable to process the scene in front of her, her bangs shadow her eyes as silent, glittering tears fall to the floor. That's when the crew realizes that not only were her friends gone, but her whole world was gone. Billions of people… Many of them shed their own tears for her.
Still in the form of Pluto the evil smiles cruelly, beckoning Rei to join him in his conquer of this world. Together, they would stand unopposed as gods. She could be his queen and this thought makes Jae Ha visible twitch in anger.
"No matter what… I will never turn my back on Serenity. I exist for the sole purpose to protect her!"
For her? The one that caused the end of her world? What about her precious friends? The victims? She could join them… The key around the evil Pluto's neck begins to float, the jewels lighting up. Around him the forms of Mercury and Jupiter materialize; their eyes lifeless and vacant. They all are taken aback as Serenity cries out for them.
But Rei knows. These were not her friends! Her friends were DEAD!
Overwhelmed with hatred and anger towards this enemy, the crest of Mars glows a brilliant red on her forehead. She knew they would be a handful if they were truly at full strength. She would need to be Mars now if she wanted to protect those precious people.
For the first time since being sent to this new world, Rei calls upon her true planetary powers. Those around her shield their eyes as a column of fire surrounds the dark haired girl. The faux Pluto, however, frowns with the revelation of this new power surge. With new amazement they all watch as the fire dies away, revealing Rei in a red and white outfit that, well, is extremely scandalous for their world. They are also surprised to see Rei's red hair.
Her outlook is bleak, but she tries to stay strong for Serenity and Yona's sake. Her expression is nearly heartbreaking as she asks Soo-Won, Yoon, and Zeno to take care of them all; Kija, Hak, Jae-Ha are too injured. Hak becomes extremely weak and Yona cradles him, watching in horror as Rei runs off to fight her friends.
The fake Pluto, formally known as Gobi, states that she has finally revealed her true power and, if she won't join him, he will take it for himself!
Mars then realizes something as her head cools off: she nor Serenity ever saw the Senshi's deaths. So where were these images coming from? How did it know? It was not from their world. How could it know these things?! Something catches her eye. The key. The gems on the key… Suddenly, Rei realizes what they actually are and how the darkness was able to know these things.
As she fights, Mercury creates a fog, disrupting Mars' view, but not her senses. As Jupiter pummels her, she realizes Mercury is going after her friends. Shin-Ah, who sees this coming with his dragon eyes, blocks her blow with his sword which knocks her backwards and Mars hits her with a Fire Snake, burning her to a crisp. The blue Star Seed appears back in Gobi's hand.
Appearing from the mist, battered and bloody, Mars quickly checks up on her friends. Yoon is struggling with his limited supplies to help Hak. They needed to get back and soon. Soo-Won tries to encourage Serenity to stand up, but all Serenity can do is fall to her knees, holding her head in anguish.
Finding herself with her hands full with an approaching Jupiter, Rei tries to tell Serenity what she has found out, but the evil Pluto disappears. She battles Jupiter who definitely overpowers her with her head-on strength. Fortunately, Mars is more nimble and knows all of Jupiter's tactics. Creating an opening, she smites Jupiter with a Flame Sniper.
Before she can relax, Venus materializes behind her, unlike the others, has her bright blue eyes and is wearing her princess gown. She calls to Rei, who hesitates, but a wicked smile crossed her pretty face. Mars, surprised, has no time as the likeliness of Venus runs a distracted Rei through with her sword—the voice of Gobi shakes the form of Venus with laughter, calling her pathetic. But Rei doesn't let go of the sword that was sunk into her gut. Instead, she looks sadly up at the face of her best friend and let's lose a massive Fire Soul, letting the last of all her power swell into one huge attack. The sword dissolves which promptly releases her bleeding form to fall to her knees and the Sailor Crystal blooms from her chest.
Jae Ha is the first to respond, ignoring his wounds to cradle Rei's body, unable to comprehend all of the blood pooling. The darkness, watching Serenity as it regenerates, allows her to run to a dying Mars as the Sailor Crystal floats into its hand. Serenity's tears fall hotly as she holds her dear friend's hands in her own. She apologizes profusely, "So please don't die on me! Not you too! Don't leave me all alone! I'm not strong! I can't do it without you!"
Rei reveals that Pluto had used her Time Stop ability and fused their Crystals to the key to try to save them; give them a second chance with Serenity.
With the last ounce of her energy she cups Serenity's cheek fondly, leaving bloody streaks across her face before it falls. Rei's body fades away into glimmers of lights despite Serenity's pleading. Jae Ha is left blankly looking at his empty arms.
At this point, everyone is comforting each other while Yona is sobbing, still holding an unconscious Hak.
The darkness laughs, finally accomplishing its goal by reuniting Mars' Sailor Crystal with the other three. The world around them begins to shake as the bubble-like universe begins to shred, dumping them back into the real world. Gobi becomes a giant mass of darkness, its' eyes glowing a hollow red as it now it has enough power to use the key. He slices of hole in the universe, revealing a pocket of space and its plan to get to the Space-Time Door in order to enter any universe it wanted! It would rule over all things and no one would stop it! The battle below them grinds to a halts as everyone looks upon the darkness in horror.
Soo-Won is horrified to see his men being overrun by a losing battle of human against creatures. He has to pull out his sword and strike beasts down as they run at the crew.
A tense moment of sadness and silence falls over the Moon princess as she looks around as the dragons and Yona fight. She sees Soo-Won and Kouren fighting back to back and she finds Rei's words to be strong ringing in her ears. She can no longer run from her enemy. It has come knocking and taken the last of her guardians, but no more will lose their lives for her. Understanding her dear friend's last words, her eyes fill with determination.
All of her friends, new and old, were depending on her. No more crying! She was the Princess of the Moon! She had to do something! Feeling the pulse of her heart Serenity begins to glow a soft, pure light and the darkness retreats a ways with an angered hiss.
Standing, Serenity holds her hands in a prayer close to her heart, asking anyone listening to help! She begins to glow a now blindly warm light, the crest of the moon burning bright on her forehead. Her clothes transform into her gown and a new, courageous look has entered her eyes. She watched in awe as the silver crystal is born. The darkness, at first blinded by the purity of the light, actually appears to be eerily happy about the appearance of the crystal. A new, more powerful power then even the Time Key has appeared?!
It attacks, this time large spikes reigning down on them. The moon princess produces a barrier of light that she holds steady, but finds herself weakening against the onslaught.
Yona's gang begin fending off approaching creatures that are trying to get to Serenity, but seeing Serenity faltering Yona begins to cheer on the moon princess. She reminds her of how Rei believed in her, how they all believed in her! Down below the army and remaining Xing soldiers all begin cheering. In response to the flood of encouragement, Serenity's light is able to destroy the creatures of the surrounding area, leaving them to watch as Serenity pushes with all her might against the descending darkness.
The fond memories she had made with old and new friends flood her thoughts-her mother, Endy, Soo-Won, each Senshi, Lili—when she feels it, her eyes shooting open.
The darkness panics as the gems within the key begin to disappear one by one, weakening the creature exponentially.
Yona watches in amazement as four crystals appear behind Serenity before figures of four women form from each of the lights. They gasp as they recognize Rei, herself now in a flowing red dress while the three other women they recognize as Rei's departed companions from earlier looking very much at peace. They approach Serenity from behind. The princess is stunned to find the hands of her Senshi on her shoulders, who all smile. Tears escape Serenity's eyes as she calls out her Moon Healing Escalation, which prompts giant white, wings to unfold from her back and overpowers the darkness. As it dies, her wings burst into beautiful glimmers of lights that ultimately heals the destruction of the land and the lives of all the soldiers lost as well as the Nadai addicted monsters. Hak has healed and is now waking. Soo-Won finds the cut on his cheek has also healed.
As the healing light fades, Serenity and the Inner Senshi turn to face the dragons, the dawn beginning to peak out behind them. Everyone is smiling so brightly, even though their bodies are so, so tired. Kouren, along with a few Wind Tribe soldiers, appear, watching the now melancholy scene.
Serenity thanks them for their help, they couldn't have done it without their support.
Slowly they begin to turn into floating lights, fading into the sunrise. Yona asks them what is going on?! The evil was defeated! Serenity tells them they have used too much of their energy and it is time they pass on, there is no more evil here for them to fight. But they can't go! That's not fair! The Senshi, one by one, all fade into bright glowing lights that dissolve into the new dawn's rays. Rei smiles sadly before she too is gone.
Serenity turns to Soo-Won, glad to see his face one last time before she departs. Smiling sadly, she holds the crystal close to her heart, and tells them all she is sure they will meet again while maintaining eye contact with him.
They are left by themselves as the dawn rises.
Yona wakes up in a cold sweat, seemingly after having a bad dream, only to find Hak hovering over her. Surprised that Hak is in her room, she yells at him to get out!
Later, once dressed and eating breakfast, she asks Hak if he has ever had dreams that seem so real… like something from another life. Surprised, Hak denies it, but keeps a concerned eye on Yona.
Changing the subject to try to cheer her up, he asks her what she wants to do for the rest of the day. Perking up, Yona says she wants to go view the cherry blossoms!
He teases her that's something couples do, not bodyguard and master do, but Yona doesn't seem to hear him, already texting her friends to join! Hak is comically put-off by this.
Elsewhere, Rei and Usagi are idly chatting at the shrine, watching as sightseers come and go. As they're chatting, Rei feels something. Usagi, pausing from licking her ice cream, asks Rei if something is wrong. Listening, they hear some noisy people coming up the stairs. They see an interesting bundle of short, red hair huffing, refusing help from the tall, dark haired Hak. Following them closely is a complaining Kija, laughing Zeno and silent Shin Ah.
Usagi instantly recognizes them, telling Rei that the red head is the late emperor's daughter, Yona, and the cranky looking guy is her bodyguard, Hak. Yona's cousin, Soo-Won, is the new emperor! She doesn't know who the white, blond or blue haired guys are, but she is so jealous of Yona, being surrounded by so many cute, older guys! Boy would Mina be sorry she skipped out on coming with her today!
Rei holds her breath as a few more voices shout from the stairs. Appearing from below is a tall guy with long, green hair carrying a pretty, but grumbling boy on his back. With a great amount of concern, Yona asks if Yoon hurt his foot on the stairs?
Usagi waves her hand in front of Rei's face, asking if she was okay. Blinking, Rei swallows the lump in her throat. Getting up, she fearlessly decides to offer the new comers some help.
The End.
Relationships:
Yona: Rei finds herself gravitating to Yona as Yona's energy is clean and pure. Yona reminds her of Serenity if, "she got her act together". Rei looks at Yona like a little sister. Yona very much has moments that remind her of Venus and herself as well. The bond between them, as Rei discovers, is because they are both children of fire. In that sense, they are bound together in a faintly sisterly like way.
Hak: Rei and Hak have a mutual understanding. They respect each other and see each other as a worthy allies; especially after Rei dedicates herself to protecting Yona on their journey. Rei does not appreciate Hak's teasing, especially once he catches on about Jae Ha, but their squabbles are never very serious or long lasting. However, both being headstrong can cause issues in regards to the next plan of action, but Rei reluctantly takes the backseat, allowing Hak to take charge as this is his world. Rei also knows that Hak is incredibly strong and incredibly in love with Yona. Though they appear very oblivious to each other's feelings, Rei comes to understand that not all men are untrustworthy and wonders if Serenity and Endymion would have ended up much like them.
Jae Ha: Initially one of the two who were the most outwardly pissed off by someone using Hiryuu's name, Jae Ha's mood quickly turns when the truth it revealed. He appreciates how beautiful Rei is and is easily captured by her nonplus attitude towards his flirting; he is, after all, a masochist. However, when they are faced with their first fight, Jae Ha proves himself to be quite strong. He is also pleasantly surprised by Rei's willingness to protect Yona. He only becomes more attracted to her strong will and inner fire. Much like his captain, he knows Rei has many layers, but means the best, even if she's a little too blunt some times. Hak is very much on Jae Ha's side, though he doesn't acknowledge it outright, as he pairs them up time and time again. Yona, always a little slower, eventually catches on and is extremely happy to see Jae Ha interested in someone. Jae Ha, though protecting Yona firstly, finds himself extremely distraught when he learns that Rei is in danger. Rei finds Jae Ha's overall loyalty, maturity and honesty refreshing and it ends up being what eventually attracts her to him. The other men in the group are a little overwhelming emotionally (or just, uh, Shin Ah) and Jae Ha just proves to be a rock for her to rely on.
Kija: He is initially weary of Rei, who had falsely posed as Hiryuu and therefore committed a sin in Kija's eyes. He takes the longest to establish a trusting comradery with as he is fairly stubborn in his ways. He thinks it suspicious that she keeps appearing where they are but does not openly voice his annoyance around Rei or Yona. Later on, he finds irritation over Jae Ha's obvious distraction with Rei. He feels like the green dragon's loyalty should not waver from Yona, no matter how pretty Rei may be. However, his trust is won over in time with Rei's numerous displays of putting her own wellbeing on the line for Yona. He comes to respect her power as she shows she is a worthy ally. Rei tries her hardest to ignore Kija's little barbs here and there, thinking herself better than to stoop to "his level" but certain times she finds it hard to ignore. However, she does understand his reluctance to let strangers into their little "club" and close to Yona, but she can only change his mind with her actions, not her words.
Zeno: Zeno knows early on the hurt that lies deep in Rei's heart. He can feel that she has lost more than she lets on and that she tries to act tough, but she's holding onto threads. He shares his wisdom with her in times when they are alone and she comes to appreciate him. At first, she thinks his antics are childish, but the more she observes him she realizes he has an old air about him. He likes to break the tension and keep things light.
And that's where it stands folks. See ya.