WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Onyx Equinox "Mended and Broken," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Sticking to their promise to Zyanya, Izel and co. are en route to Danibaan, where they'll help rescue survivors of Mictlantecuhtli's rampage and close the third underworld gate. But, without Yaotl, Izel and the twins are bickering more than ever, culminating in an incident that seriously derails their journey. Salvation comes in the form of a mysterious healer, but with time running out for Danibaan's survivors, only the strength of Izel's loyalty will decide whether he waits up for her to work her magic.
The episode opens with mystery woman from prior episodes collecting flowers in the woods. Elsewhere in the forest, two monkeys get into a bloody fight as the rest of their group watches. The more aggressive of the two, who seems to be the group's leader, bites off the other's foot and flings them both out of the treetops. But before the wounded one can get back, the woman drags it away, concerned it'll "scare them off." "Them" likely being Izel's group, which is dealing with the queasy aftermath of eating the crab monsters for dinner last episode. Needing to regain their strength, they pass around the last of their food, which is promptly stolen from K'in by the same apes from earlier, though they back off after seeing Izel's green eyes.
Izel is upset that their food was stolen, but Zyanya argues each of them should prioritize their individual survival, rather than act as a group. When K'in suggests summoning Yaotl to help, Izel protests, sparking an argument. K'in thinks Izel is pathetic — Nelli probably sacrificed herself just to get away from him. This sets Izel off and Yun, though well-meaning, doesn't help by suggesting he let Nelli go. Outraged, Izel shoves Yun out of the tree they were in, breaking his leg so severely the bone sticks out. The group devolves into chaos after Zyanya suggests they leave Yun behind but, before things get out of hand, the mystery woman appears to help.
The woman leads the group to her cave, where they leave Yun. She sends them to a nearby pond to fetch an axolotl, presumably to help heal him, though none of them know what an axolotl is. Before they go, Yun pleads with K'in to stop fighting Izel, still managing to feel for him despite being injured. On the way to the pond, Zyanya urges Izel to leave the twins behind, believing it's wrong to choose Yun's wellbeing over that of Danibaan's survivors. Back at the cave, the healer brings Yun back from death's door, using a power that causes her eyes to glow gold. After dispelling his pain with a potion, she asks him about the "green-eyed boy."
At the pond, the group gathers salamanders, mistakenly thinking that by "axolotl" is the healer's arcane word for them. Despite this, an axolotl appears just out of eyeshot, watching them. Zyanya again asks Izel to ditch the twins, which he refuses to do. But, as he returns to shore, Zyanya takes him by force, hauling him over her shoulder. As she drags Izel away, K'in is surrounded by the monkeys from earlier. Izel struggles out of her grip to go help K'in, saying he'd do the same for her.
In the cave, Yun tells the healer about their mission and Izel. The healer notes that they have a connection and it's true: to Yun, Izel might've been his brother but, instead, he was left all alone after Nelli died — something Yun can't imagine since K'in's always at his side. It's clear to the healer that Izel needs Yun, but he also needs to know Yun can be trusted with his struggles. Yun has tried to be there for him, true, but doing it is totally different. Meanwhile, the group fends off the monkeys — one of which has stolen their basket of salamanders — but struggle with the sheer number of them. The axolotl, seemingly summoned by the healer, magically teleports away in the middle of this.
Izel, determined to get back to Yun, devises a plan to get rid of the monkeys. He directs K'in to kick his ball as hard as possible, but it's caught by the leader. This is part of the plan, though, as the monkey kills every ape that tries to come for the ball, thinning their numbers. Zyanya takes out the rest while Izel kills the leader. With their basket back in hand, the group return to the cave. Predictably, the healer didn't want their salamanders, but the axolotl wound up in their basket anyway (though she didn't actually need it to heal Yun). With her magic, the healer finally fixes Yun's leg, but tasks Izel with setting the bone, leaving the pair alone.
Izel and Yun have a heart-to-heart, where Izel reveals he's actually trying to move on from Nelli. Outside, Izel apologizes to K'in as well, who forgives him after seeing his refusal to abandon him and his brother. With that resolved, the healer gives Izel the axolotl and tells him to focus on Danibaan. But, Izel being Izel, he freaks out and trips. Recovering from the fall, the group finds that the animal's teleported them somewhere else: to a city of winged men.
