Two hours later, Danny is alone in the Shang Tu Royal Library; Maria and Xander have taken Rob back to their Jade Creek home to get some rest. However, Danny's research isn't progressing well; starting to tire, he leaves the Library and makes his way to the Palace dining hall in search of refreshments. Sat at a quiet table nursing a cup of coffee, Danny doesn't notice a familiar engineer approaching.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you here at this time of night!" Sally chirps.

"Huh?" Danny asks, turning to face the new voice. "Oh, hi Sally."

"You look down; want to talk?" Sally asks, sitting beside the forlorn badger.

"Well…"

"You know you can trust me; after all, the Magister trusts me with you-know-what."

"OK," Danny relents. "Hanna was kidnapped yesterday, and we're trying to find out who took her and where."

Sally stares back, stunned into silence; a moment later, she looks around, clearly scared. "If they can capture a Scarf…" she whispers.

"We don't know it's them," Danny assures. "Also, Hanna was tranquilised and kidnapped when she was alone on her balcony; you're housed inside a guarded, fortified palace."

"I guess you're right." Sally relaxes a little, but she's still on edge.

"It's a long shot, but have you seen this writing system before?" Danny asks, showing the transcription to Sally; as soon as she sees the writing, she freezes in fear. "I take it by your reaction that you have."

"Y-Y-Yes, I h-h-have," Sally stammers. "Once. When I w-was h-held by th-the J-Jade Alliance."

Now Danny freezes. "Defenders will fall… Union of elements… It's all starting to make sense now… We have to get to the Library!" he declares.

"W-Why?"

"Now I know what the writing system is, the final clue might just be falling into place."

"Then let's go!"

Fifteen minutes later, Danny and Sally are hunched over a book in the Library.

"This is definitely the correct writing system," Danny confirms.

"What was the clue that might now fall into place?" Sally asks.

"Ryu ascending."

"That's an odd clue," Sally remarks, idly flicking through the book. "Hmm… this is an interesting word…"

"What word?"

"'Mamushi'."

"What?" Danny snatches the book.

"You could have simply asked."

"Sorry. It's just I've heard that word before."

"Where?"

"One of the Grand Masters referred to Serpentine by that name…"

Danny spends several minutes rifling through the book; when he finds the entry for 'Ryu', he freezes in shock and horror. "It… can't be…"

Sally reads the entry for the word Danny found. "'Ryu'. Means 'dragon'."

Danny swears violently.

"Danny!" Sally admonishes. "This is a library! Show some respect!"

"Sorry, but I have to go," Danny replies.

"Why?"

But it's too late: Danny is already gone.