The following morning, Maria and Xander were first up; by the time Rob and Danny joined them, Xander had restored the furniture to its normal arrangement and hung a new door, and Maria had prepared a basic breakfast. It's clear that Rob had had a restless night; nevertheless, he had gotten enough sleep to allow him to remain relatively calm and patient while Danny and Maria help him analyse the note while Xander repairs the ATV.

"This is…" Danny begins, reading the note carefully.

"Well, we have to figure it out somehow," Rob snaps. "It's our only lead!"

"And we will," Danny assures. "One way or another, we will. And it'll be easier if you stay calm."

Rob sighs. "Sorry, I just… let's figure this out."

Danny reads the note out loud.

Defenders will fall
Union of elements
Ryu ascending

"Any thoughts?" Danny asks.

"It's… pretty?" Maria ventures. Rob shoots her an unamused and disapproving look; she returns a look of innocence.

"Let's break it down, line by line," Danny suggests. "The first line: Defenders will fall."

"Defenders of what?" Rob asks.

"Could be anything," Danny answers.

"Could be the Crystals," Maria suggests.

"Can't be," Danny dismisses. "The amount of protection they have, we can be sure they're safe."

"What about the Jade Alliance?" Rob asks. "We know they're after them."

"Without Serpentine to keep them united, they'll be too busy fighting each other," Danny reminds. "The Magister sent us to neutralise that threat, and we did."

"But that's the point!" Rob counters. "They have a reason to-"

"Kidnap someone they'd never met before?" Danny snipes back. "Why not just kill? And why just Hanna? Why not all five of us? And let's not forget, they don't know where we live; they don't even know for sure we're from the Origin Kingdoms."

"Point taken," Rob relents. "Not that it helps us, but point taken."

"Good. Any other thoughts?" Danny waits for the others to reply; they remain silent. "OK, we'll come back to that one. What about line two, 'Union of elements'? And remember we've already ruled out the Jades."

"We all learned we have elemental affinity when we went on our Crystal quest," Maria reminds.

"And we wouldn't kidnap one of our own," Rob snaps. "Any ideas that aren't stupid?"

Maria reaches for her tanto, growling menacingly; Danny puts his hand out to stop her going any further. "Both of you, stop it!" he demands. "Especially you, Rob!"

"But-" Rob begins.

"Unless you have something constructive to say, shut it!" Danny commands; Rob bows his head in deference. "OK," Danny continues, his tone calm again, "looks like we can't figure out the second line. And, quite frankly, I don't think we'll get the third either."

"I've never known anyone called 'Ryu'," Maria reveals.

"Me neither," Danny adds. "Rob?" Rob shakes his head.

"Figured it out yet?" Xander asks, entering the den from outside; he can tell immediately from the others' expressions that they haven't. "Can I have a look?"

"Don't see why not," Danny agrees, holding the note out for Xander. "Don't think you'll find anything though."

Xander takes the note and reads it carefully several times; after a few moments thought, he admits "You're right, I got nothing."

A glum silence descends.

"Why don't we look around their house for more clues?" Xander suggests a few moments later.

"Because we didn't think of that," Danny admits. "Is Rob's ATV repaired?"

"Aye," Xander confirms.

"Then let's not waste any more time," Danny commands.