I was always interested in what happened in between our heroines' death at the Imperial Palace and her awakening at the monastery at Dirge – not to her, for what she faced we do know, but to her companions. All we get to know is that all of them ended up together near Tiens Landing where Dawn Star began to have visions about our heroine. What happened to the companions is all the more interesting because I always asked myself how they managed to escape - as the last thing we know is that all of them were unconscious and in no state to fight for their lives (naturally, I'm particularly interested in Sky, having romanced him… ). So, here's my fill in to the gap between the Imperial Palace and the appearance at the Dirge. After taking the first few steps I realised I would have to split tue Story in chapters. I have played as Radiant Jen-Zi (OP), but named her Junyi the Dark. Tell me how you like it! (Please don't be too tough on me concerning the language – English is not my native language.)

And please note that I don't own Jade Empire or any of the characters featured within this fic (with the exception of the Prince of Horse Demons, an invention I made - based upon the Balrog at The Lord of the Rings), they belong to Bioware.

More chapters to come!

Slowly, he regained his senses. His whole body seemed to be on fire with pain, but most of all, his head felt like it had exploded. Nevertheless, he forced himself to open his eyes, as, all of a sudden, reality snapped into focus again: Junyi! Sky tensed and made a valiant effort to get his body to move, in which he succeeded, bringing himself to a kneeling position. He looked around him. Silk Fox and Dawn Star were still unconscious, but apart from that seemed to be ok. Junyi – the thought made him sick. Where was she? Coming groggily up to his feet, he could make out distant noises, a voice. The rogue dragged himself towards the voice, and Junyi came into his sight, standing before the throne of the Empire, and an old man – obviously her master Li – talked to her. "Very well, my student. I'm happy to see how you've developed – and that you didn't abandon the basics I taught you. Even - the mistakes." Following these words, Sky saw him throw something shiny into the air. By instinct, Junyi looked up, and with a flowing movement, much too quick to see, Li advanced her and hit her hard right into the life-ensuring spots of her body. Sky's mouth opened for a silent cry as he saw the slender form of Junyi give way and crumple before her old master.

It cannot be. She can't be dead.

'Stand up, Junyi, I beg you, please, stand up…' he murmured, although his heart knew what his mind would not allow: Junyi the Dark was dead. As dead as his beloved daughter, Pinmei. Twice in his life, he had failed in protecting those he loved – it was almost too much to bear… Time seemed to slow down, each breath he was taking a torture.

A gentle hand touched him, and Sky looked up to see Dawn Star standing right behind him, with a shocked look upon her face. He saw her mouth form words 'We have to get out, she would have wanted us to escape from here', but they seemed to have lost all meaning to him. All he could think of was that he had wasted the only chance to tell Junyi, this amazing woman, about his true feelings, that he had come to love her when he thought he could never love again in his entire life. And now she was dead, and she would never know… Silk Fox appeared and punched him in the side: "Get moving, Sky, or we'll all be dead because of you!" This worked, and he caught himself running from the large hall, with a last glance to what had been his love. Junyi, I love you, he thought. Forgive me for being the fool that I am. Behind them, more lotus assassins moved in for the kill.

The way out of the palace was hell. They met The Black Whirlwind, Henpecked Hou and Wildflower on the way, and Sky found himself caught in a nightmare of black hands, swords, fire and blood. He moved mechanically, his instincts and years of training and fighting ensuring that he stayed alive instead of his enemies. The others fought by his side, similarly desperate, but nevertheless as deadly as ever. Dawn Stars' sword seemed to become a life of his own, Silk Foxes kicks and thrusts were lighter and more focussed than ever, and he swayed and cleaved men in two without thinking or feeling anything. They almost made it to the entrance where Kang waited for them. Almost.

They had just cleared a stairway of lotus assassins and advanced the door at the top, when they heard a crashing and splintering noise behind them. Chai Ka was the first to see what made its way through the bottom of the hall up to them – its prey. Wildflowers eyes flashed as the Guardian bellowed: "Keep running! It's a Prince of the Horse Demons, a Giant and master of the flame! We don't stand a chance against him! RUN!!!" Sky, however, turned his head as in a daze to see what Chai Ka meant – and his heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw the thing slowly emerge from the ground. It was around 10 times the size of a normal Horse Demon, with fiery eyes that showed no emotion beyond utter hatred. He remembered that Junyi did know how to turn into a Horse Demon as a fighting style, but had refused to ever use it. "I won't change into something that incorporates hatred and pain. I fight against this, and I will not use it, not even against my enemies." Zu would have stated that this way of thinking and acting is not very effective, as she won't get a similar treatment from her foes, but Sky had known what she meant. She won't desecrate her goal by using all means, she needed to stay true to herself and to her principles, otherwise she'll fall, and, in the end, fail. She had looked so beautiful at this moment, so convinced and emanating from an inner glow that seemed to hover around her like a butterfly on the first flower in spring. Her face, framed by some strays of her black hair, had been serene and her jaw set straight, and a little blow of wind had rustled through her hair and made her clothes flutter around her. In fact, she had reminded the rogue strongly of an angel, sent from the Heavens to set things right… And with that, the thought of her death returned with full force and nearly drove him to his knees. This time, it was Chai Ka that caught him by the arm and dragged him forward. "What are you doing? Run!" But it was too late. Sky saw the others ahead of them – Dawn Star and Henpecked Hou running side by side, Silk Fox and The Black Whirlwind were already through the door and on their way to the next one behind which Kang was waiting with their plane… But then, a searing pain to his back made him cry out and collapse. Chai Ka turned and saw that the Prince had wounded Sky with a flaming whip. These whips were powerful and unholy weapons, and the wounds they inflicted must be treated almost immediately, otherwise their prey will suffer a slow and painful death. Summoning some of his heavenly powers, the Guardian picked the unconscious rogue off the ground and sent him flying through the door, where The Black Whirlwind caught him. To ensure this, Chai Ka had to waste another bit of his energy. Then he let the door slam shut and turned to face the Prince of the Horse Demons. Unfair odds.

The remaining companions sped on and made it to the hall where Kang was waiting with their last means to escape. "Come on –why did that take so long? We have to get out of here, there were already some lotus assassins trying to damage my beautiful work, but my explosives have stopped them – and where is Junyi?" Kang stopped in midsentence and scanned the bruised and battled group standing before the Dragonfly. "She is not… She cannot…" Once in his life, Kang the mad scientist was at a loss for words, but Silk Fox cut him off. "Kang, we do have to escape from here – NOW!" – and with that, she pushed forward, but Dawn Star stopped her. "Sun Lian, wait a moment. What about Wildflower? We can't abandon her!" – Sun Lian turned her head and replied sharply: "From what I saw the Guardian can't beat this Prince of the Horse Demons. So I guess he sacrificed himself in order to give us the time to escape, and even though I don't understand this way of action I won't let his sacrifice be in vain by wasting time here. We HAVE to move on, Dawn Star." Dawn Star looked hurt, but said nothing, climbing into the Dragonfly like the others. Sky was dragged inside by The Black Whirlwind, still unconscious. It was then that the door exploded, and Wildflowers body was hurled with incredible force towards the Dragonfly. Without hesitation, Dawn Star jumped out and cradled her in her arms, handing her over to Henpecked Hou and jumping back into the plane. "Kang, get us out of here", Sun Lian cried whereas the Horse Demon Prince, looking a bit battered, came forward. Kang hit a button and a cloud of black smoke clouded the room, and when it faded, the Dragonfly was gone.

Somehow, they made it to the Forest Shadow's wood, though how, nobody of them could tell afterwards. Dawn Star tended to Wildflower and Sky as well as she could during the flight, but it soon became clear that the rogue was beyond her help. The wound that the whip had inflicted upon his body seemed to be poisoned, and he remained unconscious, his breath ragging in his throat. Wildflower, on the other side, had taken some injured ribs, but luckily enough, nothing serious. Chai Ka was weak, but with the assistance of Dawn Star, could be helped enough to heal himself and Wildflower with time. After a while, he was able to tell them that he had kept the Prince busy and at a distance by summoning the power of the Ice Shard, one of the few that was at least a little bit useful against his foe, which had the fire at his disposal.

At their arrival, they met one of the hunters of Prince Yun, who provided them with everything they needed. The Black Whirlwind lifted Sky out of the Dragonfly and gently laid him down on the soft grass by the riverside. Slowly, Wildflower approached him, and her eyes flashed blue, as the Guardian began inspecting the body of their companion. "It is how I feared. The wound is beyond our reach to tend to. It was a powerful and unholy weapon that inflicted it, and now all that could save this man is his own will. We cannot help him stand through this trial which he'll have to win with his soul, but we can tend to his body. Let's hope that he is strong enough." But as Chai Ka turned around to face them, all of them knew that the odds for Sky weren't the best ones. Indeed, the Guardian knew of only 2 persons who had fought and won through the last 1000 years (one of them had been a spirit monk), but he didn't tell his comrades. The situation was bad enough as it was…