After leaving the Tarosian village, Jaejoong and Yabu headed toward the country of Ukraine. Jaejoong needed a place where he could make his stand without endangering any Siesmyre or human lives, and Yabu had suggested the Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.

The zone was a two thousand six hundred square kilometer radius surrounding the Chernobyl power plant. Public access and inhabitation became restricted in the zone after the explosion of the nuclear plant released large quantities of radioactive particles in the atmosphere in 1986.

Only scientists and journalists conducting research were allowed access in the zone, though guided tours for tourists had become popular in recent years.

But all humans had now fled the zone after Jaejoong created an illusion that made them believe that the radiation level was quickly rising, making it too dangerous for humans to remain in the place and rendering their radiation suits ineffective.

Radiation was still high in the zone, but looking at the overgrowth of vegetation, Jaejoong realized that plants and trees had already adapted to the situation. The only sound he could hear now was the wind and the noises from insects who had also adapted. Every living thing inside the zone contained radiation inside their bodies. Some of the animals he saw even showed signs of mutations. Jaejoong wasn't concerned about this because, like everyone from Midnight and Lightside, he was also immune from such radiation.

"This is perfect, Yabu!" said Jaejoong. No one would think he would hide here. And if he had to fight, there wouldn't be any casualties. But whether he would have to fight here or not still depended on Dara's plan to drag Tiffany in front of the Dark Council and make her tell the truth. If Dara succeeded in cancelling the death warrant, he would have no need to fight. But if she failed, he was ready. He would wait and fight Prince Teddy and the others in this isolated place. Whatever destruction their battle would cause would pose no harm to humans. He had never thought of himself as a hero but as much as possible, he didn't want his problems to be the cause of human deaths. He had nothing against humans despite some of their shortcomings. He in fact liked living among them and observing their day-to-day lives.

Though sometimes he couldn't understand why humans continued to cheer and idolize movie superheroes that would battle their enemies in large cities with total disregard to the collateral damages in the form of innocent lives lost and properties destroyed and then simply fly away and leave the populace to rebuild their cities on their own.

"We, Finders always find anything, whether it's a thing, a place, a person or information!" Yabu said, his chest puffing out proudly. The Finder was still in his pigeon form and was currently perched on Jaejoong's right shoulder.

"You can leave me now, Yabu."

"I can't do that!" the Finder firmly retorted. "Dara told me that I need to stay with you. That I should guard you. And no matter what happens, I must never leave you on your own!"

"The moment Prince Teddy and the others find me, you would be in danger. You might even die," he warned.

"If they find you," he chuckled. "But as long as I am with you, those three would have a hard time locating or sensing where you are. I am using my power of invisibility to hide you from their senses, Jaejoong."

"Do all Siesmyres have such power?"

"No. Only some of us have this power. The possession of such power is among the requirements in order to become part of the Finder Unit. Once we use this, no one would be able to detect us, even the other Siesmyres. And we could make anything we choose become invisible too. Ever since we left the Tarosian village, I have been using my powers to hide your presence from everyone, Jaejoong."

"If you have this ability, then you don't need to use your pigeon form to fly around. No one would be able to see you and mistake you for a UFO like some of your friends."

"Using my powers of invisibility requires constant use of energy," explained Yabu. "It’s hard to remain invisible while flying or doing other things. Maintaining this bird form and flying doesn't require much energy so I could do the two at the same time. But it would be impossible for me to fly and remain invisible. The reason why I could maintain our invisibility right now is because I don't need to move. And as long as I remain perched on your shoulder, and you are the one doing the flying and moving, I would be able to concentrate in keeping both our presence undetected."

Jaejoong suddenly remembered the time when he carried Dara when they went to the Baville's waterfall.

"Does Dara have powers of invisibility like yours?" he inquired.

"Yes. But much stronger. She could make a whole village become invisible!"

Jaejoong found himself smiling when he realized that Dara tricked him. She was simply making up an excuse to be able to take off her clothes in front of him. But was she really planning to seduce him at the start?

"I believe that the Andaryad would be able to get that death warrant lifted," Yabu continued. "You are the most important person to her, Jaejoong."

"Of course, I am important to her." He couldn't help but sound sarcastic. "I make her immune from the pollution. And I could give immunity to newborn Siesmyres." Dara's interest in him had everything to do with her goal in saving the Siesmyres from extinction.

"Your ability to do that is quite useful. But she pays you for those services. That's a business arrangement. But when she allowed you to come to her bed, that is a totally different thing. She need not do that to make you obey her."

"What are you trying to say, Yabu?"

"She went to bed with you because she wanted to. The Andaryad is no demoness who uses her uality and body to get what she wants."

"Are you saying that-" he dared not hope, yet he couldn't help himself.

"You are important to her. But as to what she feels for you, I cannot guess what it is. You have to ask her yourself about that."

"She is very manipulative," he reminded the Finder.

"Yes, but she has never lied to you, Jaejoong. She might evade questions or change the topic but if you would ask her directly, she would tell you the truth," Yabu pointed out.

That information gave Jaejoong pause and a goal.