Jaejoong stood frozen in the airship's bow for several moments after he had lost sight of Dara.  He couldn't believe he had lost her again! This was never part of the plan. Anger, frustration and a deep sense of loss began to overwhelm his mind.

The storm began to close-in on the airship. But unlike normal thunderstorms, this one had no wind. Only water, clouds and powerful lightning.

 A small cloud pulled itself away from the storm clouds. It went straight toward him.

"I've lost her, Jaejoong! I couldn't find her," came Cloud's voice.

Jaejoong shouted in frustration. He called out Dara's name like a madman. And then, with an immense effort, he gritted his teeth and pulled himself together. The fog that threatened to drive him out of control lifted. His mind was once again clear, and his emotions properly checked.

He faced his stricken comrades.

"Yoochun, steer this airship back to Lady Hye-Kyo's mansion."

"But Dara," interjected Bom, "we must go after her!"

"This was well planned, Bom. If we go after her, the Cult of SooHyuk would be prepared. They would once again try to capture me."

"They could kill Dara!" the mage's voice was panicked.

"No, they won't! They need her alive. They would use her to get me. They know how important she is to me. They know who I am and what I am capable of doing. They know that if they hurt her, I would come after all of them, and I will never stop until I have buried everyone of them under the ground!" He clenched his fist and took a deep breath, steadying himself. "They took her to make me vulnerable. She will be their leverage to control me."

"I'm sorry, Jaejoong. I should have tried harder," Cloud said. Jaejoong shook his head. "No. This is my fault. I should have anticipated this. And I shouldn't have relied on you too much. Even you can't find her amidst this darkness, Cloud. This storm hides everything, and if we remain here, we could all be in danger. We must retreat, go to a safer place first."

Yoochun steered the airship back to Lady Hye-Kyo's mansion. Jaejoong used his power of the wind to push the airship away from the raging thunderstorm. In spite of this, the airship was not left unscathed. A lightning bolt managed to hit the propeller of the airship, thus destroying it. Another one punctured the balloon itself. Jaejoong had to concentrate his power under the carriage to continually give it a lift and prevent them from crashing down to the ground.

After some time, drenched and shivering with cold, they crash-landed in front of the mansion. The airship plowed and destroyed several well-plotted flowers before it came to a full stop.

Some of the servants had seen their approach and ran toward them to help.

Several minutes later, wrapped in warm blankets and sitting beside the warm fireplace, Lady Hye-Kyo finally graced them with her presence.

She was still wearing her nightclothes and had only put on a robe to make herself decent. She had not bothered with her hair and allowed it to fall down to her shoulders. It was clear, she was roused from her sleep by the servants.

"Jaejoong..." she started before stopping herself.

Jaejoong rose from his seat. He didn't bother with the courtesy bow.

"The cult had taken Dara. And they will use her to control me."

"Then don't let them control you! She is just one woman. You can have dozens of other women."

"There is no other woman like her!" His voice rose. "I didn't come here to hear those words from you, Lady Hye-Kyo. I came back here to ask your help to get her back."

"My help?"

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