After getting into a fight with Adriana, Kazuo decides to leave the House without telling anyone.  Angered over the disappearance of her new suitor, Mia confronts Adriana about it.  Adriana refuses to send a search party for him.  Mia storms out of the office and tries to go over Adriana's head, to no avail.  After being refused by Aden, Philip, and Valero to go search for Kazuo, Mia steals Sito’s sword and goes off by herself, Cecilia secretly following behind.

In the mean time, Kazuo, back at the Stronghold, realizes that Mia and Cecilia are looking for him.  He sends Cirrus out to capture Mia and kill Cecilia.  Cirrus goes, but when he arrives, he injures Mia and knocks her out, then orders Cecilia to take Mia back to the House after stabbing him.  The confused Cecilia reluctantly agrees and returns to the House with Mia, but not before Cirrus tells her that Kazuo was last seen heading towards Teepring.

Cecilia is visited by Cirrus the next night on the roof.  He confesses to her that he doesn’t know what he wants to do with the Ebene anymore, whether he wants to leave or not.  After realizing that he left the ear piece in his ear turned on, he quickly returns to the stronghold, hoping that Kazuo hasn't heard.  Kazuo did hear, however, and threatens Cirrus:  If he leaves the Ebene, Kazuo will kill Cecilia.  Enraged, Cirrus blindly attacks him, then races back to the House to thwart off a band of shapeshifters.  Meanwhile, Ariadne goes into heat and inadverantly transfers more of her powers to Philip.

Angered by Cirrus’ betrayal, Kazuo orders Klein and Zetzica to capture him.  They succeed, barely escaping the inferno caused by Maze lighting the newly decorated courtyard on fire.  Around the same time, Kazuo visits the House, seeing Adriana and Aden together.  He breaks into the bedroom and smashes Aden’s head against the wall, sending him into a coma, and kidnaps Adriana.  At the stronghold, he reveals his true identity to her.

After the loss of the House's two leaders, Ariadne flies to Sybok and returns with Kit who takes command of the House.  She sends a rescue team of Sito and Cecilia out to find Adriana.  They manage to get into the stronghold and discover that Adriana is waiting for them.  It seems, however, that she's lost a lot of her memories of her imprisonment.  She can no longer remember that Kazuo is Zelazny.  Along with Cirrus, they return to the House where they discover that Tranns, to get her mind off of her brother's coma, has fixed up the courtyard.  Despite the pain and loss, the Phoenix Fighters come together to celebrate the long awaited marriage of Jesse and Sic.