"Wow. This passageway is dark," Ezra commented, straining to see her surroundings.

It was useless. Their group was surrounded by impenetrable inky black shadows; only Shinah was having no problems with his eyesight.

"Gah!" Kija screamed suddenly. Ezra flinched in surprise. "Spider! Spider! Spider!"

"Quit yapping, White Snake," Hak drawled.

"They're everywhere," Kija whimpered.

"Door is ahead," Shinah said quietly.

"So where, exactly, are we going to be let out?" Jaeha wondered.

"Don't know!" Zeno chirped.

Ezra heard a slight thunk followed by Kija's grunt of effort as he strained to open the door with his dragon claw. It creaked and groaned.

As soon as the door was opened, Kija, Ezra, Shinah, Hak, Zeno, and Jaeha leaped out of the passageway and into the light. Ezra blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the brightness after the passageway's impenetrable darkness. Next to her, Kija danced around frantically, swatting wildly at his clothes.

"Someone get all these spiders off of me!" he screamed.

"You'll recall that that didn't go so well the last time we were in this situation, White Snake," Ezra drawled.

"Would you stop already?" Hak snapped at the Hakuryu, not an ounce of pity or understanding in his voice.

"Ohh, what happened last time?" Jaeha wanted to know.

"Kija was attacked by a spider in his sleep," Hak said with a roll of his eyes. "He danced around like a little girl until Shinah saved him."

"Wow! Shinah's so cool!" Jaeha exclaimed. "He saved a damsel in distress!"

Shinah just stared at him, dumbfounded.

Ezra's eyes finally adjusted to the brightness outside the passageway. "Uh... guys?" she ventured, glancing around them. "I hate to interrupt, but... I think we found our troops."

"Huh?" Everyone glanced up.

And found dozens of Sen Province soldiers staring back at them, bewilderment on their faces. The passageway had dropped them directly in the middle of the enemy army's camp.

"Who... who are you?" one of the soldiers asked.

Ezra opened her mouth to respond, but her attention was caught by Shinah. "Shinah!" she exclaimed, forgetting about the soldier entirely. "You're covered in spiders!"

"Gah!" Kija yelped, stepping away from the Seiryu.

Ezra ignored him as she set to work, brushing the dozens of tiny spiders off of Shinah's clothes.

"Who are you guys?" the soldier repeated, looking hopelessly confused and a little afraid.

"I apologize for my rude companions," Jaeha said amiably, spreading his hands in a peace-making gesture. "I would like to extend our greetings, on behalf of my comrades here, as well as deliver a message." Jaeha glanced up, violet eyes flashing beneath his green bangs. "The camp you've set up here is causing trouble for the people of Saika. Would you consider withdrawing, if at all possible?" The soldiers blinked at him. "If you retreat without a fuss, we won't hurt you."

"Bastards!" another soldier hissed, stepping forward threateningly. "Who the hell are you?"

Ezra stepped back from Shinah and brushed her hands together, trying to shake off the spiders. "Who are we?" she wondered, tilting her head as if in thought.

"We're monsters," Jaeha announced with a chilling smile.

"Ao!" Zeno called out suddenly, creating a bizarre break in the tense atmosphere. "Spiders aren't food! Don't eat them!"

"Oh, you silly, hungry squirrel," Ezra muttered, stepping towards Shinah to take the spider out of the squirrel's mouth. "You could get sick from eating spiders!"

"Quit being so noisy!" Hak snapped at them. "You're ruining our moment!"

"Sorry!" Ezra apologized.

The soldiers were mystified.

As soon as Ao had stopped trying to eat the spiders still crawling around Shinah's clothes, Ezra stepped back. She cast glinting lavender eyes around the gathered soldiers. "Well?" she asked impatiently, stretching her arms above her head. "I haven't had a proper fight in ages. Are you going to oblige me, or are you going to retreat?"

"Uh... attack, I guess?" one of the soldiers commanded without confidence.

It was good enough for Ezra.

"Yes!" she hissed with a savage grin.

She drew her swords and charged towards the nearest soldiers, who had to shake off their confusion to spring into action. Hak raised his glaive and swung it around, taking out four soldiers in one swipe. Kija's dragon claw enlarged as he ran forward with a shout, and Jaeha took to the air and knocked out several soldiers as he landed. Shinah fought with such an effortless grace that Ezra found it difficult to concentrate on the fight in front of her. She barely managed to dodge a blade aimed at her shoulder, and she shook her head to refocus herself. Zeno ran around shouting encouragements at his companions and smacking soldiers with a wooden plank he'd found.

Beside Ezra, a tent went up in flames as a fire arrow tore through the canvas. The warrior turned and saluted in the direction where she knew Yona stood at a safe distance, helping them out in the only way Hak would allow her to.

Minutes passed as Ezra ducked, whirled, and swung, and they were some of the most glorious minutes of her life.

"It's about time to retreat, isn't it?" Kija called to his companions, swiping several enemies off their feet.

"Nope! We've still got time for fun!" Ezra answered, unwilling to end their fight so early. She whirled gracefully out of the way as a soldier swung his sword at her side and kicked him solidly in the chest. He fell with a grunt of pain.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed that Shinah had stopped moving. He turned towards the west and raised his blindfold off of his eyes. "The army..."

Ezra also noticed soldiers turning towards the motionless dragon, detecting his preoccupation.

"Are they coming?" Ezra asked, sprinting to his side. She slammed the hilt of one of her swords into the temple of one soldier while simultaneously slamming her shin into another's ribs. They wouldn't be getting to her dragon, not while she still stood with her weapons in hand.

"We should withdraw now," Jaeha announced.

Ezra cast a worried glance at Shinah. He stood stock-still, staring off into the distance with his blindfold held off his eyes. "Shinah?" she called, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"They're not coming here," Shinah answered.

"What?!" Kija asked.

"The Fire Tribe and the Sen Province army are... heading southwest," he murmured.

"What does that mean?" Kija growled, swinging his dragon claw.

"We'll think on it later!" Ezra shouted, struggling to keep attacking soldiers away from Shinah's unmoving body. "We need to leave!"

"Got it!" Jaeha panted, springing over to where Ezra stood closest to him. Before entering the battle, they'd agreed that Jaeha would extract his companions one at a time, in the most logical order for the situation.

"No!" Ezra screamed at him as he reached out to grab her. "Take the others first! I need to help Shinah!"

The Seiryu was in the middle of observing the armies, and he needed to gather all the information he could before they went back to Yona and Yun. Someone needed to watch his back while he did it.

Jaeha glanced between Ezra and Shinah before he nodded, coiling himself to leap over to Zeno. The Ouryuu was currently riding on a soldier's shoulders like a monkey, laughing maniacally as the man tried desperately to fling him off.

"Come on, crazy kid," Jaeha muttered, swiping Zeno off of the soldier's back. Then he took off into the air.

Ezra grit her teeth as she fought against the gathering crowd around her. She was trying to buy Shinah as much time as she could, but soon she would be overwhelmed. "Shinah!" she called. "Help me out!"

He didn't appear to have heard her, still so focused on watching the armies head in the wrong direction.

Ezra redoubled her grips on her weapons with a growl, throwing herself into the fray with renewed determination. She whirled through the crowd like a demon, avoiding strikes, kicking their legs out from beneath them, and slashing out with her blades. She could more than handle her own, but she had a weakness where her opponents did not; she was trying to protect someone.

One of the soldiers leapt past her, his sword out and poised to spear directly through Shinah's heart.

"No!" Ezra screamed. Abandoning the soldiers in front of her, she turned and jumped towards the man, parrying his strike with one of her blades while she cut him down with the other. The man dropped his sword and staggered to one knee, and Ezra breathed an internal sigh of relief that Shinah was safe for the moment. Unfortunately, her reckless lunge had left her bare side unprotected.

A soldier's booted foot struck her ribs, slamming into her body so hard that her breath was knocked from her lungs and she was lifted off her feet. Ezra yelled in pain as she hit the ground by Shinah's feet, her swords jarred out of her hands.

Her cry of pain finally tore Shinah's attention away from the armies in the distance, and he turned back towards the fight. His mouth set in a furious snarl when he saw the crowd that had amassed around them and Ezra's prone figured sprawled on the ground by his feet. He bared his teeth and charged to intercept the soldiers that had started towards his fallen friend.

Ezra sat up, pressing a hand to her side as she attempted to catch her breath. The kick had been solid, but she didn't think she'd severely injured anything.

"Take her." Shinah's quietly furious voice made her glance up.

"Come now, Ezra dear." Jaeha's voice was uncharacteristically soft as he reached out to lift her gently off the ground. "Let's get you out of here."

"Thanks," Ezra gasped as he sprung into the air, watching Shinah grow smaller beneath them. "Shinah..."

"He'll be fine," Jaeha assured her as he landed where Yona, Yun, Kija, and Zeno were waiting for them. He set her down by Yun. "She needs help."

He took off again.

"What happened?" Yun asked, stepping towards her.

"Got kicked in the ribs," Ezra told him, gesturing towards her throbbing side. "But I'm fine."

Yun lifted her shirt. "You're already bruising." He ran his hands up her ribs, pressing gently. "Does that hurt?"

"It aches a bit, but it's not horrible."

Yun took a step back. "I don't think you've broken anything. The bruise should heal in a few days."

"Good." Ezra glanced up as Jaeha descended from the sky bearing Hak on his back. The Ryokuryu left Hak with the group before returning for Shinah.

Hak looked her over. "Great job out there. Did you get injured? It looked like you took a nasty hit."

Ezra shook her head. "I'm fine."

"We should've helped you," Kija said, stepping forward. He bowed to her. "I apologize for not assisting you in protecting Shinah."

Ezra waved him off. "It's fine. You had other things to focus on."

Jaeha dropped from the sky with Shinah on his back. In one hand, the Seiryu held the swords that Ezra had dropped on the battlefield; he'd retrieved them before Jaeha had returned for him.

Shinah leaped off of Jaeha's back and immediately strode over to Ezra.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, though his voice was coated with a thick layer of alarm and concern. He reached out as if to touch her, but stopped. He didn't want to cause her more pain if she was injured.

She grinned at him. "I'm fine, Shinah. I was kicked in the side; it'll leave a bruise, but that's all."

He grit his teeth, unhappy that she'd been hurt while protecting his back. He held out her swords, offering her weapons to her.

"Thank you so much, Shinah," she breathed as she accepted them with trembling hands. She didn't know what she would do if she lost her beloved swords; they felt like family to her, the last shred of home she had left.

"So what happened out there?" Yun asked. "Where are the other armies?"

Shinah frowned. He appeared as if he wasn't yet ready to drop the conversation about Ezra's injuries. "The armies aren't coming here. They're heading southwest," he announced quietly.

"What?" Yun snapped. "If Soo-Jin is retreating and asking for reinforcements, shouldn't he come here first?"

"Is he afraid that he'll get surrounded, so he's trying to avoid it?" Yona wondered.

"Southwest..." Ezra murmured to herself, deep in thought. In her head, a map appeared. "Isn't Hiryuu Castle in the southwest?"

A moment of silence passed as everyone stared at her in shock.

"He's asking for reinforcements from the king," Kija breathed.

Hak's expression was stormy. "Maybe not. This isn't something I want to think about, but..."

Kija turned towards the former general. "But what?"

""I didn't want to believe that Kan Soo-Jin would go this far, but... there's something that's been bothering me this whole time." Hak's eyes were dark and deadly serious. "Kan Soo-Jin took too large an army to suppress the Sen Province troops. Before even assessing the situation, he led a force larger than his son's army out of Saika."

Ezra's eyes widened as she realized what was wrong with that situation. "By common logic, wouldn't it make more sense to leave the larger force to defend the Fire Tribe's capital?"

"Yes," Hak agreed. "If you think about it, the first fort, Rokka, fell far too easily. And Shinah said that the troops are heading southwest." Hak turned towards Shinah. "Shinah. How were the Fire Tribe troops? Were they injured?"

Shinah's lips parted in surprise. He hadn't considered their injuries, or lack thereof, before. "I didn't see many injured. It didn't seem like they fought much. But... both armies are rushing towards the southwest."

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"No," Yun whispered. "No. That's... that's just too..."

"Umm..." Zeno scratched his head in confusion. "What's happening?"

Jaeha scowled. "Basically, Kan Soo-Jin, the head of the Fire Tribe, has joined forces with Li Hazara."

"And right now... they're heading southwest to take Hiryuu Castle," Hak finished.

Ezra fell silent, turning over this new information in her mind. If Li Hazara and Kan Soo-Jin's combined goal was to take over Hiryuu Castle... they might possibly kill Su-won, the current king and the murderer of Yona's father.

Ezra turned to look at Yona. The princess was staring at nothing, her eyes a black hole of emptiness. Ezra couldn't begin to imagine the confusion that must be swirling around in Yona's chest at this new information.

"This is despicable!" Kija exploded. "To invite an enemy's army into our country and join up with them to take Hiryuu Castle on top of that... that's playing most foul!"

"The ones I feel most sorry for are those who offered up their lives to defend Saika, unaware that their leader has joined forces with the enemy they were fighting," Jaeha murmured.

"So what should we do?" Ezra asked, already itching for more action. "Scramble more soldiers?"

Shinah frowned at her.

"Quit thinking like a warrior beast!" Yun snapped at her. "We obviously can't do that. Soo-Jin and Li Hazara's troops are twenty thousand strong in total!"

"But..." Ezra trailed off, unsure how that sentence was supposed to end. But what?

Su-won was Yona's enemy, her father's murderer and the thief who stole her throne. Why would she suddenly rush to the castle that she was chased out of, just to save the man who took everything from her?

"Yona..." Yun said quietly. "Let's just step back and watch the situation for now. We couldn't win if we tried."

Yona ignored him, her eyes on the ground. Suddenly her head snapped up, and she met Hak's gaze. "Hak," she said. "Can you prepare some horses?"

"What?!" Yun yelped.

"We're going after General Soo-Jin and Li Hazara," she announced calmly.

Ezra's lips curved into a wicked grin. This was turning into the best day ever.

"Yona! That's absurd!" Yun cried. "They have twenty thousand soldiers!" He turned towards Ezra. "And Ezra, quit smiling!"

"Soo-Jin's actions will plunge this country into chaos. I cannot ignore that," Yona told him. Her eyes were hard, unyielding. The princess was determined.

So just like that, it was decided.