The group headed once again through the Lagnish Desert, but this time, the stakes were higher. The Yshrenians knew that their small group was after them, which meant luck was not as easily on their side. Even with a new member, the dangers that awaited them would try to strike them down. Eldore said, "Let's proceed to the north road," and Leonard said, "I hope we can pass through unseen." As the group proceeded up the north road, it seemed that they would have to fight their way through as there was a large blockade built across the desert road. "What's that," Yulie questioned. Caesar answered, "The Yshrenian army. They're blocking the road to the Nordia Tunnels." "We'll have to break through. There's no other way," Eldore said. "Works for me," said Leonard, gearing up with his Knight's Ark. "Okay everyone, Katelyn and Sapphire, I want you two to break down the enemy cannons. Yulie and Eldore, work on clearing out the crowds of soldiers. Me and Leonard will take out the watch tower. Any questions," Caesar asked after giving orders. Katelyn said, "Works for me. I'd rather not fight people if I don't have to. I can disable the cannon if I can get a look at its panels." "Then I'll keep it distracted," Sapphire said. The group ran through the middle of the blockade and started to pan out. Katelyn made her way to the back of the automatic cannon as Sapphire made her way to the front of it. Katelyn quickly ripped off the panel while using the end of her sword as leverage and started to pull at the wires on the inside. After two or three minutes of pulling out wires, it seemed that she finally found the one that could disable it. At this point, the Yshrenian soldiers had been defeated and the watch tower was leaning over from where it had been smashed. It seemed that all the group's tasks were accomplished.

Caesar and Leonard reverted to their human forms and the group rejoined for their small victory. Caesar wrapped his arm around Katelyn and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You seem to be pretty great at working with machinery," he said. "Oh, it's nothing. I just learned a lot at home about wires and how they make things work. Pulling them out is no big deal." "Hey, you aren't giving yourself enough credit. You took only minutes to do that while we would have taken much longer." "Thank you," Katelyn said, pulling up her face veil to lay a kiss on his lips. "Okay, enough PDA, newly married couple. Let's get moving," Yulie yelled from behind them. "Let's head into the Nordia Tunnels and go to the Greydall exit," Leonard said. "If they have many more of those weapons, we are in trouble," Eldore said. "I've got to get back to Cisna," Leonard said. "Are you going to keep blabbering on about his princess, or are we going to see some action today," Sapphire questioned with a sassy attitude. With that, Katelyn and Caesar both started to laugh as Leonard blushed. Yulie looked on with a slightly upset look. The group ran through the tunnels, quickly defeating the spider sprogs and basilisks they encountered along the way. They made it to the ending in no time. Looking out of the tunnels, Leonard asked, "Do you think they know we're here?" "I think so. Look how their soldiers are positioned," Caesar said. "And if they don't know now, they will soon enough," Eldore said. "Right. Let's assume the worst," Yulie spoke. "Well, Balandor's right around the corner," Leonard said. "Forget the south road. We'll save time by swinging around to the west," Eldore said. "Okay, sounds good," Caesar said. "Let's avoid those troops as long as possible," Katelyn said. "We definitely don't need an entire army to come after us," Sapphire said.

After many minutes and talk of getting closer to Balandor, a Yshrenian monoship flew overhead and none other than the Sun God flew overhead. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Caesar said. Grazel did not land, but Shapur jumped down from the ship and landed in front of them. War tanks and soldiers started to file in behind him. He laughed and asked, "How long has it been?" "Not long enough," Caesar said. "I must say, I expected you to suffer in the Lagnish a while still. But then I forgot, even little men like you have Knights. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to cause his Excellency any more headaches. It is time I destroyed you." "Oh, he did not just say that," Sapphire said. "His ass is mine," Katelyn said. "Oh, who are these two pretty ones you guys have got with you. I'm sure it will be a pleasure to fight against them." Katelyn pulled her sword and charged at him and said, "Enough talk. It's time for you to die." Sapphire followed her as Leonard and Caesar transformed into their knights and started after the war machines. Yulie and Eldore started with the soldiers on the ground. Katelyn swung her sword at Shapur, but he countered. They continued in this dance until Sapphire joined from behind. With the two working against him, Katelyn finally saw her opening and struck him. Her sword went into his back. He grunted in pain and asked, "Who are you?" Katelyn ripped off the scarf wrapped around her hair and untied the veil that was over her face. Shapur looked on in horror as Katelyn twisted the sword and said, "Kara, I thought you were dead." "I came back to atone for my sins. Seeing as you put a knife in my back, I assumed it's only fair that I do the same to you." Katelyn twisted the sword once more before pulling it out. Shapur collapsed on the ground and Katelyn put a foot on his back. "And this here is Sapphire. You had a hand in my little sister's death, and she wants to help me avenge her. So, I told her she could deliver the killing blow." With that, Katelyn lifted Shapur from the ground. Sapphire asked, "Any last words?" "I hope Grazel kills both of you," he spit out through the blood in his mouth. Sapphire said, "That definitely will not happen," as she slashed her sword across his throat. Katelyn made sure to take his weapons as he lay on the ground. Even though he looked dead, Katelyn had learned the lesson from Caesar to never take your eyes off of an armed enemy. She felt sick to her stomach seeing the blood on her hands and knowing that she helped kill him, but she also knew that he was nothing but pure evil. She then turned with Sapphire to look at the rest of the battle around them. It looked like most of the enemies had been vanquished, but Leonard looked like he couldn't keep up. He was beginning to shake, which worried Katelyn.

She ran towards him as his shaking turned to glowing and caught him just in time as he turned back to his human form and collapsed. "Woah. Are you okay," she asked Leonard. She heard Yulie yell out Leonard's name. Yulie and Eldore ran over towards them and helped Katelyn to support Leonard's limp form. Eldore yelled out Caesar's name to get his attention and said, "We need to get Leonard back to Balandor as soon as possible." Caesar transformed back and joined the group in carrying Leonard towards the city. They quickly rushed him through the city with the six people supporting him and made their way to the castle. Upon their arrival, the guards ushered them in and alerted Princess Cisna that Leonard was injured in some way during the battle. The doctor was brought in, and Yulie was allowed to stay, while the rest of the group was left in the parlor to wait for news on his condition. After what felt like hours of waiting, the doctor and Yulie finally came out of the room. "Thank you, doctor," Yulie said to the doctor before he walked away. "How's Leonard doing," Caesar asked when Yulie walked up to them. "Is he alright? What happened out there," Katelyn questioned. "He is in bed sleeping. He was in a lot of pain. What happened that caused this," she asked. "Perhaps he relied too much on the Knight's power," Eldore questioned. "Hey, this is Leonard we are talking about. Once he's had a nap, he'll be back on his feet. In the meanwhile, we've got to find a way to stop Yshrenia," Caesar said. "The royal army and Yshrenia's imperial army are facing off in the south of Greydall Plain," Eldore started. "A bloody battle is coming, and soon." Caesar looked over to Katelyn and said, "I've decided to fight on the front lines with Balandor. They'll need my help." "I'm going too," Yulie said. "No, I'd rather you stay here with Leonard. You know, keep him from doing anything crazy," Caesar said. Yulie looked torn between fighting for her people and staying behind, but said, "Okay." She turned and walked back into Leonard's room, shutting the door behind her. Caesar turned towards Katelyn and said, "I know that this is not the wedding day you imagined, but I probably need to get going to the front lines. Please keep an eye on Yulie for me, will you? I'm worried about her mental state at this moment." "Before you leave, we can we talk in private for a few minutes?" "Of course, let's go to one of the guest rooms for a few minutes." Katelyn leaned into Caesar as he took them to the guest room.

When they arrived, Caesar took her into his arms in front of the small fireplace in the room and said, "What's on your mind, my love?" "I'm just scared of losing you. I want you to know that I love you, and though we will be separated for a short while, I'll see you on the other side of all this craziness." She placed a kiss on his lips, which he responded to in earnest. "You know that I'll stay safe out there. I'm not letting you go anytime soon." She said to him, "Show me how much you love me before you leave. Please." "Of course, my dear wife." Hearing the words coming from his mouth, Katelyn swooned a little bit. "Please, my husband, make love to me," she whispered to him. Caesar picked up a large blanket and quickly laid it on the ground in front of the warm fireplace. He pulled Katelyn to him and the two quickly became entangled with each other. Katelyn melted into Caesar's touch as he removed her clothes with ease. She took of his shirt, pants, and underwear as he removed hers. Caesar picked Katelyn up and carefully laid her on the blanket. He touched her in every way that felt as if he were savoring the moment, almost as if he would never get the opportunity again. When they made love with each other, it felt as if they were both saying farewell to each other, but that they would be reunited soon. After it was over, neither of them wanted to leave as they lay there in front of the fire in each other's arms. Finally, after some time passed, Caesar said, "I'm sorry to say, I need to get to the front lines. Keep Yulie safe for me, please. She's like a little sister to me. And please, make sure Leonard doesn't do anything stupidly crazy like trying to throw himself in the line of fire." Katelyn nodded against his chest and watched him as he got up to leave. He put on his clothes and leaned down one more time to give her a kiss before he left. Katelyn waited until he left to let the tears fall, praying with all her being that he would be safe. She got up as the tears fell and put her clothes on. She threw the large blanket inside a dirty linens basket and made her way to the parlor. She wiped the tears from her eyes when she began to hear voices not far from her. She opened the door to find Eldore, Yulie, and Sapphire. They all looked up at her as she entered the room. Yulie said, "I guess Caesar left, huh?" Katelyn nodded and said, "Yes, and we've got work to do. How is Leonard?" "Not well. Princess Cisna has been keeping an eye on him," Yulie replied. Eldore said, "Also, that blue stone that the Don gave us may have some significance. Framboise is looking into it for me." "Why don't me and Yulie go check on Leonard," Katelyn said. Yulie looked hesitant for a moment but agreed with a nod. The two walked down the hall and Yulie said, "You miss him, don't you? You don't have to hide your tears from me." "I need to be strong for him. I have faith that he will be safe in his absence. My job now is to keep you and Leonard safe." "You don't have to keep a watch after me. I promise that I can keep myself out of danger. You can wait out here while I go check on him," Yulie said as they reached the room. Katelyn stood outside the door and waited for Yulie to return.

Inside, Yulie went in to ask Cisna how Leonard was. Cisna said, "The physician examined him again. But we couldn't determine what's ailing him. I feel awful, pushing him to the limit like this. If we hadn't... hadn't forced him to carry so much of the burden..." "Forced him? It's always been his choice. Right from the beginning. He saved his kingdom. Now he's trying to save the whole world... But me? I just... When have you ever heard him complain about this? You haven't forced him to do anything! You didn't have to! He fights because he wants to... because he wants you!" Yulie ran out of the room in tears and ran past Katelyn. Katelyn asked, "Yulie, what are you doing?" She then looked back into the room and saw Princess Cisna for the first time in person, and she appeared to be very upset. "I'll take care of her Princess. You can count on me," Katelyn said with a small bow. Katelyn went down the hall until she found Yulie sitting in a patch of moonlight. She sat down against the wall next to Yulie. Yulie said, "So much for coming to grips with it. This wouldn't happen... if I was stronger." Katelyn said, "You are strong, Yulie. You try to never let your weakness show, and it's hurting you." Yulie looked up at the moon in thought for a moment before she shouted, "MOON!" She then whispered to herself, "Maiden?" She got up and dashed towards the front door, grabbing her stuff along the way. Katelyn grabbed hers as well and went after her. As she started to walk down the front steps of the palace, Eldore stood behind them and said, "You two plan to do it alone?" "What," Yulie turned around and questioned. "Faria, I presume? I have the Shagna all ready. Let's go." "Thank you. All of you," Yulie said, looking at the group that had formed around her. Sapphire, Katelyn, Yulie, and Eldore made their way to the Shagna, which Katelyn found out was Balandor's monoship. They all piled in as a small bunny-looking man named Rocco made his way to the controls. He got the ship off the ground and into the sky. This was not only the start of a new journey for the small group far from home, but one to find Yulie's purpose in the battles ahead.