I told myself I'd start reading these thoroughly, but I lied. x.x I hope it's up to par with the prior parts of the story. Enjoy!

Just as Dart had said, Meru wandered back to camp late that night with Shana in tow. She prompted Shana to go over to Dart and curl up next to him while she found her own place up against a crippled tree. She was out like a light once she laid her head back, dreams taking her to a place she hadn't been in years.

What seemed to her to be just as quickly and she was up again. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and she was already bouncing around. "Dart!" She chirped, diving to shake his shoulders and wake him. "Dart!"

Dart groaned, swatting at where her hands laid on his shoulder. "No mom, I don't want to play with her." He mumbled, body untensing and hand sinking back to his side as his words faded away.

Meru slapped a hand over her mouth as she cracked up. "He's dreaming." Her eyes jumped over to Shana who shifted according to Dart as he moved slightly. She supposed she could let them sleep a little longer. They looked happy together.

As she continued to stare at the couple the snapping of a twig caught her attention. She jumped quickly to her feet, eyes wide and muscles tensed as she anticipated the arrival of some sort of creature.

From around the corner came Rose and Albert, side by side. Their expressions were neutral yet holding a hint of serenity all the while. "What's the matter Meru?" Albert chuckled. "Afraid we were the boogieman?"

Meru didn't lose her tenseness, she remained as alert as ever. Out of all of them these two were the ones she trusted the least. Although she almost would say her opinion of Albert had suffered simply because he had gone after Rose for no good reason.

"I think she did." Rose played along because she both liked the way Meru looked in this moment and she had no qualms with being half civilized to the brat. That little time away talking to Albert had somehow mellowed her.

Meru ducked her head some in uncharacteristic nerves and shame. After Rose's sudden spurred leaving she had been dreading her return. She had sensed the cruelness in every aspect of Rose – her body language, her speech, and even her micro reactions. So she fully expected to get it.

Albert snickered at her sudden shift in attitude. At least she had the common sense to fear Rose. "What? We're not going to eat you."

Rose rolled her eyes. Of course he would say that.

Meru finally untensed, but that didn't stop her from keeping a wary eye on them both. "So where'd you two run off to last night then?" She timidly ventured. Who knew what would set Rose off. "You certainly didn't come back."

"Does it really matter?" Rose said with a little more of an edge. It didn't matter who asked them, she loathed questions.

Meru frowned deeply. She lifted her gaze to the sky, allowing her mind to find the answer. "No." She murmured flatly.

"Didn't think so." She let her eyes wander over to Dart. A stir of bitterness rose in her eyes. There he was, doing just as she knew he'd be. Not that it surprised her. She knew Shana loved him and that somewhere deep down he loved her the same way. And she wanted them to be happy. Still…it stung.

"I'm shocked Dart isn't up." Albert moved away from the unstable ground they trod on with their current awkward exchanges. "He's usually the first."

Meru couldn't help but laugh out loud. "HA! He's totally sleeping like a baby. I swear, you should have seen it! I tried to get him up and he started talking in his sleep." She was grinning from ear to ear with that same sparkle back in her red eyes as had been there when they'd met her.

Sleep talking? Rose wondered what it had been about – a nightmare of the Black Monster or just a simple dream. "Regardless, he needs to get up." So she started to go do it herself.

Meru's eyes grew wide. "No! You can't disturb them!"

Rose paused. She turned her head slightly and raised a brow at Meru. "And why not?" Her voice still held that edge. It was like it was integrated into it.

Meru withdrew again. She stepped back some to lengthen the distance between then. She could never be too careful. "Look how happy they are." She sighed in content, staring at them with a longing for a love like the one they seemed to share. "It's too sweet to ruin."

Rose snorted at the very thought of it being 'sweet.' Love made her want to hurl. "Not for me." She shook her head, trotting the rest of the way over to the pair.

Meru deflated. "Aw, Rose."

Albert smiled faintly after her. He then looked over at Meru who now slumped over with her hands almost touching the ground. "If you're going to go with us for any amount of time you're going to have to learn to expect such an attitude from Rose. She doesn't exactly care when there is something more important ahead." He himself had finally gotten used to it.

Meru picked herself up. She crossed her arms over her chest. "But why? Why is she like that? Doesn't she have a heart?" Meru honestly wondered.

Albert shot her a disapproving look. "Of course she does." He glanced over at Rose who was now bent over and shaking Dart by his shoulder. "She just doesn't show it much."

"That's stupid." Meru scoffed. "What's the point of having a heart if you don't show it to the people who matter to you!?"

Albert let his eyes fall back on Meru. "I don't really know her true reasons. All I know is she values her reputation more than anything and being tough and appearing to have no feelings for others is a part of it." His mind flashed back to last night when he had accidentally rolled over on her and she'd slapped him senseless. That was a good example. "She's…different."

Meru snorted rather loudly. "No dib. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out. Although different isn't exactly the word I'd use. More like psychopath."

"Meru." Albert growled coolly, eyes flashing with irritation. "Don't judge her so quickly." He let a soft sigh escape. "Despite everything you might think you know, she is not a heartless person. She would do anything to protect her friends. Anything."

Meru found this hard to believe. Rose was so harsh, so unforgiving, so quick to snap. How could she really care enough to risk her life for anyone in any situation? "Really?" She mumbled incredulously. "Cause right now she looks like she's about to kill Dart."

Albert jerked his head around, eyes widening slightly. "Rose!" He snapped. "What are you doing?"

Rose's eyes darted to him and she instantly withdrew her hands from Dart. "He won't wake up." She growled. A fire danced in her coal eyes. "And he's pissing me off."

Albert shook his head. "Relax. Just go find a pool of water or something."

Rose made a face of utter disbelief. "Are you freaking kidding me!? Find water in a desert!? Have you lost your mind!?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Just do something that doesn't involve violence. Please."

Rose almost didn't abide by his words. She only changed her position as she heard both Zieg and Dart's voices echoing the same words. "Fine." She grumbled. Maybe she'd get lucky or something and find water.

Meru giggled as she watched Rose stomp off. "See? She has such a temper!"

Albert shrugged. "So do you." He countered absently. He was more interested in seeing which direction Rose was headed.

Meru whined loudly. "That's not true!" She insisted. She shook her head fervently. "I am perfectly calm! See? See me!? I'm being calm!"

Albert chuckled faintly. "Yeah, you look calm."

Meru thrust her nose into the air. She crossed her arms with even more firmness. "Whatever." She grumbled, pretending not to look at him.

Albert sighed heavily. It was like having two Rose's as far as short fuses go. But that's where the similarities ended. Rose was dark and brooding whereas Meru was bouncy and always spoke her mind, Rose knew what not to say but didn't care when she was mad to cross the line, Meru didn't understand the concept of a forbidden zone without being told but once told would never dare cross it. It was amazing how polar opposite they were.

"Hey, Al." Meru's voice was softer all of a sudden and she'd lost her stuck up body language. Her eyes even held an uncertain gleam with traces of sadness.

"Hmm?" He gazed fully at her. His brows were raised to match his questioning hum.

Meru latched her fingers together, avoiding eye contact at all costs. "I was wondering…" She mumbled, running a foot along the ground to further her appearance of nervousness. "…why did you go after her last night?"

Albert started slightly. There she went again, being blunt as ever. "What do you mean? She's my friend. What more of a reason do I need?"

Meru shrugged. "Nobody else did though." An image of Dart's hand closing around Rose's came to mind. "And I sort of thought Dart was the closest to her. It didn't make sense is all."

Despite her age and crazy attitude she was actually quite clever and observant. To see that quickly the bond they shared was impressive. "Dart didn't go because he trusted me." Albert chose to say, carefully picking his words. "If I hadn't jumped up, he would have definitely gone."

Meru frowned. "Really? He seemed kind of glued to the spot there with Shana." Meru wondered if perhaps he loved them both dearly and was torn, forced to choose in different instances between them.

Albert grimaced. "Trust me. I know what I'm talking about." At least he thought he did. Now he wasn't so sure. Could Dart really be duping Rose for Shana?

Meru shrugged. "Ok." She started to go over to Dart and try again by different means. Halfway there she paused to ask one more thing. "But…you looked mad at me as you went after her." She recalled, glancing back. "Did you think she would leave and not come back?"

Albert sucked in a breath at the notion. No! Of course not! "She wouldn't leave us." He said with the utmost certainty and firmness. His eyes revealed his anger. "Like I said, she does care." His irritation died quickly, him soon feeling regret. "I just don't like to see her that way. That's all."

Meru nodded faintly. "Ok, I understand." She turned back to Dart and trotted over not to him, but to Shana. She gently untangled her from him and watched her plan work.

Without his support beam he toppled over, smacking the ground. "What the…?" He dizzily sat back up and rubbed his head tenderly. "Is…is it morning already?"

Meru leaned in inches from Dart's face, grinning broadly. "You sillyhead! It's been morning for a while! You just wouldn't get up!"

At this revelation Dart jerked up straight and hopped just as fast to his feet. "Then let's go!" He cried. "Everyone! Get up!"

Meru lost it at his hyperactive behavior. She fell backwards due to the extreme extent of her cackling. "Ow! It hurts!" She managed through her laughs. The act of holding her sides didn't help in the least.

Shana fell back on the ground like Dart had as Meru released her due to her fits of laughter. She hit just as hard, jolting awake with a soft yelp. "Oh…" she breathed, slowly sitting up. "I'm here." She gazed around to see what everyone else was up to. Her eyes stopped as they fell on Dart. "Hi, Dart."

Dart started at the sound of her yelp and then at her voice. "Oh, hey Shana." He smiled faintly at her. He barely remembered vague images of her next to him. The fact they had been cuddled up with each other was mostly lost to him. But in his mind it had seemed nice enough.

Shana smiled warmly back. She barely recalled how she'd fallen asleep last night. She'd been so tired that it had almost not mattered that she was so close to him. Only now did it impact her, making her feel warm inside. "Are we going then?" She questioned sweetly, helping herself to her feet.

Dart nodded. "Uh-huh. Apparently I overslept." He admitted sheepishly. A slight blush filled his cheeks.

Shana giggled as he grew embarrassed enough to blush. "It's ok." She hadn't seen him do that since before he left her in pursuit of the Black Monster. Maybe it was against some sort of man ethics. She really didn't know. But it was certainly sweet. "It happens."

Just as quickly as he had noticed her, he had moved on to bigger things. "Where's Rose?" He directed at Albert in particular as Dart continued to search with his eyes. After all, Albert had been with her last night.

Albert chuckled as he was reminded of her. "I'm sure she'll be here any minute. You see, I sent her off to find something to wake you up with." His faint smile spread across his face and his eyes lit up. "But she'll probably give up soon."

"That's it!" They heard from not so far away. "No more! I'm going to wake him up however I feel like!" As she came around the corner her words died on her lips and she fell utterly silent.

Dart waved a hand at her. "Hey, Rose." He smiled with amusement that he tried hard to hide. "What's up?"

Rose seethed for a fraction of a second, her clenched fists shaking with amazing intensity and eyes burning with unbound fury. But just as soon as it came, it was gone again. It was replaced by a strange calmness. "Well, at least you're awake."

Dart wandered over to her. "Yeah, sorry about that." He chuckled. He rubbed his neck out of habit. "I should have been up already."

Rose shook her head and waved her hand at him dismissively. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is getting back to Fletz and waking Mr. Lazy over there up." She frowned deeply as her eyes landed on Haschel. "Which, by the way, is your job."

Dart rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know." He laughed, heading over to Haschel to kneel down by him. "Haschel." He murmured, gently shaking him. "Haschel, get up."

Haschel groaned loudly, his body automatically stretching out as far as it could to get the stiffness of sleep out of it. "Really?" He grumbled, eyes opening to a blurry mixture of reds and black. "I was ready for another hour of sleep." He joked, yawning as he sat up.

Dart half laughed at him, gratifying his rather lame joke with a positive response. "Sorry, but we've got to get moving. My Dragoon Spirit depends on this."

"And Lynn!" Meru interjected, throwing an enthusiastic hand into the air.

Dart chuckled. "Yeah, Lynn too."

Haschel steadily rose to his feet, his old bones and muscles nearly giving on him. "I'm alright." He said more to himself than any of them. "Ok…we can go." He nodded. "Yes."

Dart frowned faintly as Haschel spoke to himself repeatedly, but he didn't call him out on it. Instead he went along with him. "That's good." He turned to face the others who were lined up nicely. "Alright! On to Fletz!" He clenched a fist before his face in anticipation.

"And we'll actually get there today." Rose added as her way of a joke.

Only Dart understood, an amused smile cracking on his lips. "Hopefully."

It took around an hour or so for them to get back to Fletz and once they did none could deny their happiness. Even after just a few days absence they had started to miss the bustling serenity that this place managed to have. And it wasn't half bad to look at either, much different from even Bale.

It was also as they stepped foot in the city that one of them broke the silence that had consumed them on their trip. "So, we need the permission of the Tiberoan king to enter the Valley of Corrupted Gravity." Albert sighed thoughtfully, gazing upward.

Dart perked, turning his eyes on Albert. "Have you met him?" He didn't deny it, this would help them greatly. The only problem was he feared Albert would prefer not to go that route.

Albert brought his gaze back to them. "I think I met him several times when I was little." He murmured, still slightly caught up in zoning in on memories older than time.

A smile lit up Dart's face. "Great! If the king remembers you, it'll be quick."

Albert completely snapped out of his revere, sending Dart a stern look of disapproval.

Meru didn't notice his reaction a bit. "That's our king!" She cheered, throwing a hand into the air. "Dignity, huh?"

Albert sighed heavily, hanging his head some. "I am not going to reveal my identity." He said blatantly. "I am not traveling as the King of Serdio. I am traveling as your companion, and Lavitz's friend." He forced a smile onto his lips despite the mention of Lavitz. He knew he couldn't be burdened so greatly by him forever.

Rose nodded approvingly. It would be wrong of him to put himself above them for even a moment and to reveal he was the king would be doing just that. "He's right. It's better this way."

Meru gave a childish pout, crossing her arms firmly over her chest as her eyes filled with false anger. "Of course you would say that!" She accused. "Always making things difficult!"

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath at her rash act of calling Rose out on such a thing. It didn't help either that it was an obvious reference to Rose's spurred exit from their 'game'.

Rose laid her dark coal eyes on Meru, mouth twitching at the corners in a frown.

Meru cowered noticeably like before at the campsite that morning.

All were shocked beyond belief when Rose simply ignored Meru and spoke to everyone else. "If we aren't going to get in using the king card, then we need to get started with finding another way." She said coolly, fully prepared to leave them as she moved ahead.

They hadn't realized it, but they'd all been holding their breath as they watched her stare Meru down. Only when they fully believed she had no intention of lashing out did they let out a heavy sigh.

Shana had also tightened her grip on Dart's arm, now loosening it again. "What?" She breathed in confusion. "Why didn't she kill her?" She whispered to Dart, staring with a furrowed brow.

Dart shrugged, giving her a look of equal confusion. "I was for sure she was going to snap." What exactly had happened last night with her and Albert? What was he missing?

Albert was easily the least surprised by her strange behavior. That morning as they walked back together he had made her promise to try harder and show a little more patience with Meru at the very least.

"The others won't want you treating Meru like you have been for very long you know" Albert said smoothly, even offering her a faint smile.

Rose frowned deeply, refusing to look at him. "I bet not. Nobody likes the brat."

Albert sighed heavily. "Alright, and that definitely has to stop. You can't give people nicknames like that."

Rose smirked deviously. "You mean like she gave to you, Al."

Albert visibly cringed as a shudder flew up his spine at the mention of the name Meru had shamelessly given him. "At least it's a variation of my name." He forced himself to say although with little conviction. A hard swallow of disgust followed shortly after.

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's no different." She tossed her head to throw her hair back behind her. "And besides," She stared directly into his eyes. "An annoying girl deserves a demeaning title."

"Rose." He wasn't mad at her or her butt headed nature. He just knew at least a couple of the others would grow irritated after a short time. "Just promise you won't be half as nasty to her as you were to me."

Rose sighed heavily. "Only if you stop talking about that."

Albert smiled painfully. "No problem. I'd love to forget it ever happened."

Rose inwardly smiled. Forgetting how she'd treated him was one of the things she most wanted right now. "Then I guess I can at least try."

"Albert!" Rose's harsh voice cut through the air, bringing him back to reality.

"Huh?" He perked, seeing now how everyone else was already far ahead and looking expectantly back at him. "Oh! Coming!" He hurried toward them, taking his place at the rear.

As they went on, Dart between Shana and Rose, Meru in the middle, and Haschel by Albert at the back, they had no real plan. They simply were headed for the castle where they'd last seen Princess Emille.

Unfortunately the same guard who had stood there then was standing firmly there now. He was stiff as a statue and held no emotion in his face. One might wonder if he was capable of feeling.

Naturally, Meru was the first to spaz over the obstacle set before them. "Hey!" She snapped, waving her hands animatedly as she ran up to the guard and leaned in uncomfortably close. "Can you get out of our way!?"

The giant gatekeeper shook his head mechanically. "No way." His voice boomed, a hint of emotion in the form of irritation flashing over his face. "No strangers can get through here."

"Ah!" Meru gave him a stupefied look. "Never!?" She planted her hands on her hips to take on the appearance of a person awaiting and fully expecting a better answer.

He shook his head again, enormous sword shifting slightly at his side. "Never."

Meru huffed, cheeks puffed out as she turned on her heel to report the obvious to the others. "That big man is blocking our way!" She pointed a quivering hand back at him.

"It figures as much." Haschel shrugged. "This is the castle. The king and princess are very important, I'm sure."

Meru made a noise similar to a laugh crossed with a snort. "I'm gonna take care of this!" She announced, hitting her fist to her chest before she spun around and charged full speed at the guard.

"Meru!" Dart called after her, reaching uselessly after her.

Meru hit the guard as hard as possible, bouncing off of his belly to fall on her butt. "Ouch…" She moaned, rubbing her back near her butt. The concrete was harder than she expected just like the man's stomach was flabbier than she thought possible.

The guard started slightly, eyes widening a tiny bit. "I-I didn't do anything." He bent his head to inspect her. "You bumped into me by yourself!"

Meru scowled darkly up at the guard. First he knocked her down and now he was barely moving to help her or make sure she was ok. "Humph!"

Regardless of how he felt he had to remain adamant about the rules set down. "You can't enter the castle by doing that." His voice reached far, reverberating like crazy.

Meru hopped up quickly, wiping herself off before she straightened to face the guard once more. "Hey big belly! Why can't you let us in!?" She demanded.

The guard didn't want to mingle with Meru any longer. She had much to short a fuse for his liking and he could practically sense that giving reasons to her would only make her act even rasher.

His silence had much the same effect as speaking would have. She moaned in irritation, stomping a foot as she turned around to face her group. "Hey Al!" She cried sharply. "You're a king! Can't you do something about it!?"

Albert's mouth fell open and eyes grew wide. " Meru!" He snapped in a hushed tone. "Hush! That's supposed to be a secret!"

Meru whined rather loudly. "Aw! Come on!" She immediately jerked her body around to face their leader. "Dart! Do something!" She was begging for some solution.

Dart sighed heavily, stepping forward to try and solve this like a mature adult. "Are you sure there's no way you can let us in?"

The gatekeeper frowned faintly and shrugged as a means of apologizing. "There are lots of bandits walking around." He explained. "I was told to never let anybody in."

Shana, who had mostly been hiding behind everyone else, stepped into the limelight. "Can we at least send a message to the king?" She murmured timidly, hands clasped at her waist and eyes shining with unsurpassable innocence.

The gatekeeper's eyes widened with interest. "You are…" He breathed, stepping forward from his post a little so he was closer to her. "…pretty…"

Shana hunkered down and moved away to Dart as the gatekeeper approached her with lustful eyes. ""Wh-What did you say?"

Dart moved swiftly over to her in order to insure she remained safe from this man. He even placed a protective arm around her waist and pulled her up against him, his eyes flashing with a hint of jealousy mixed with fury.

The gatekeeper snapped back to attention. "Oops!" He chuckled nervously, jumping back into place in front of the entrance. "I'm on duty! I cannot let you in!" He shook his head fervently, trying to convince himself more than them. "I cannot let strangers in."

Dart and Shana sighed in their heads as they turned back to face the others.

Meru knew by their faces the outcome of their attempts. "What are we gonna do now?" She half whined, shrugging her shoulders as a bitter sigh slipped past her lips.

Dart instantly knew the only sensible option. "Let's not linger here. Hanging around is just a waste of time and effort."

Haschel nodded. "It's a sober judgment." And he would know, being as old and experienced as he was.

As they started to trot off the gatekeeper perked. "Oh! Are you finally leaving?" The first traces of a smile graced his lips. "Come back if you can find someone to vouch for you!"

As they walked to nowhere in particular, Albert was the first to try and brainstorm an idea for a voucher. "What about Kaffi?" He shrugged with little enthusiasm or belief in himself. "Do you think he knows somebody in the royal family?"

Haschel started to agree, but the disapproving looks that were shot at him and Albert from everyone else made him shut his mouth quickly and choose better words. "No." He shook his head. "No, he's too far down on the scale of work for that."

Rose tried her hardest to remember a face that she'd seen in their time here, but she was sadly coming up empty handed. The only ones she'd really taken in were Kaffi, which was an automatic no, and the innkeeper, also a no. So she kept her silence.

"Come on guys!" Meru cheered. "You can do it!" She knew she would be useless in this feat, so cheering was the best she could do.

Shana let go of Dart in order to move over next to her. "You should probably be quiet." She whispered timidly, not liking having to bring people down.

Meru sent her a questioning look etched with dejectedness.

Shana dropped her eyes so she didn't have to look a t Meru. "Everyone is frustrated with this complication…so…" she twisted her fingers together at her waist due to nerves. "Well, unless you know the answer…just don't talk."

Meru was further deflated by Shana's words, her whole body slumping. Was she telling her that no one wanted to hear her, even when she was trying her best to encourage them and raise their spirits? Was she that much of a drag? "O-Ok…" she murmured.

Dart almost felt bad for her as he watched her deflate like a balloon. Still, he couldn't deny it would be nice not hearing the buzzing that was her mouth as they went along. He was actually pretty happy at Shana's bold move. Maybe he'd tell her later.

They wandered around town for the better part of the day in complete silence, the sun slowly sinking back below the horizon. This immense passage of time did nothing to help their moods either. Their legs ached, their stomachs growled angrily and they would have liked to snap at each other the first word that slipped from their lips.

So when Albert coughed suddenly it had them all jumping on him. They each jerked their heads, even Meru's, toward him. They all sent daggers into him, causing him to cower and making them not see the person coming up quick.

Dart hit hard against the man clad in a purple robe and would have fallen back on the ground had it not been for Rose. She fluidly caught him in her arms.

"What the-" The man nearly snapped at them, stopping only as he realized who it was. "Oh! Dart!" His expression instantly transformed, a smile spreading across his face and eyes lighting up.

It took Dart a minute longer than the man to see who it was he was speaking to, but when he did he had much the same reaction. "Fester!" He laughed. "Long time no see."

Fester laughed back. "So, how you been? Found anything out about the Moon or the Black Monster?" It was an innocent question on his part, but to Dart it wasn't so much.

Dart cringed faintly at the mention of the creature. Despite eighteen years he still squirmed. "No, but I haven't really been looking." He admitted.

Fester cocked his head to the side, scrutinizing Dart carefully. "Oh, you look troubled." He said with interest that quickly faded. "And I would like to say I can help you, but I am a little busy now." He squeezed past them, gazing back over his shoulder to add. "But I'll be done soon!"

Dart nodded. "It's ok. It's not that big a deal anyway." Dart lied through his teeth, smiling falsely.

Fester bought the lie. "That's good!" A pause. "Well, I have to go now! See you!" Then he scurried off into a shop.

"You totally lied to him." Meru scolded, forgetting the rule placed on her about talking.

"What?" Dart said innocently enough.

Rose wondered if Meru saw the deceit because she knew he needed to get into the castle or if she saw deeper into it and knew Dart needed this, more precisely, wanted it, because of the Dragoon Spirit. They had told her he'd lost it after all.

Meru planted her hands on her hips. "That guy! He looked kind of important. So why didn't you ask him for help?" Her gaze intensified.

"He was busy." Dart shrugged his arms. "I didn't want to disturb him for something he probably couldn't help us with."

"Lame!" Meru instantly rebutted.

Rose nodded. "For once she's right. You should go after him."

Meru jumped in the air. "Yes! I'm right!" She cheered, doing a fist pump. "So yeah! Go get him!"

Shana nudged Meru in the arm, giving her a look that she hoped would remind her to remain calmer and not talk too much. It was for her own good after all.

Meru sighed heavily and let her mouth fall shut. She had nearly forgotten and nearly bounced back into her usual cheerful mood. Now she had been knocked down all over again.

Dart did a turnabout, working his way to the rear of their group and turning it into the front. "Alright you two. I'll talk to him about it. Although I doubt it'll do much good."

Albert wagged a finger at him. "You never know. He could be the key to the castle."

Rose and Shana worked their way up to stand on either side of Dart, Rose pausing on her way to give Albert a 'are you kidding me' look. "Never say anything like that again." She even spelled it out for him before she walked the remainder of the way up. It really was an awful pun.

Dart was quick to enter the building, eyes landing on Fester within a second. "Fester!" He called, waving to him as he approached.

Fester glanced over his shoulder, smiling brightly as he once again recognized Dart. "Oh, hello again." He chuckled. "What are you doing here? Stalking me?"

Dart chortled, swiftly moving on to the task at hand. "No, I actually came here to ask you something important." He sorely admitted, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Is it about that problem of yours which you denied having?" He laughed warmly.

Dart's face went blank for a moment. It took a minute for him to recover too. "Hehe…yeah." He nervously laughed. "I just didn't want to bother you was all. But…I guess you are the only person we can ask, Fester." He shrugged.

"Hmm…" Fester shifted some of the items he was lugging around. "I see. Fine." He moved to the counter and laid down his armful of items. "I just have to pay and I'll have finished my errand."

They all nodded in acknowledgement.

Fester handed the woman at the counter the amount of money he'd already calculated in his head to be the right amount. "You can come to my house and talk."

Dart's face lit up. This was perfect. "Alright!" He eagerly nodded. "Let's go guys." He said over his shoulder.

Fester picked up all his items in his arms, wobbling to the front of them. "Follow me." He nodded his head forward to indicate the entrance of the shop.

The group remained at Fester's feels up until the entered his house. Once in the tiny room which he called home they spread out around him with Dart facing him.

"So." Fester set back against one of the support beams at the center of the room and prepared himself for what he expected to be a long speech. "What is it?"

Dart relived the time leading up to the loss of his Dragoon Spirit up to the moment when it had been stolen from him. He felt it was necessary that Fester understood how important the item he was seeking was to him. Otherwise Fester might not be as inclined to help if he could.

Fester tapped his chin thoughtfully as Dart reached the end of his tale. "Gehrich Gang…I see." He looked deep into Dart's eyes, finding all the seriousness in the world in their depths. This was no lie. "They must have taken one of your most important possessions if you are thinking of venturing directly into their hideout."

Dart nodded firmly, eyes gleaming with urgency and hints of fury. "It's not just a memento." He made this perfectly clear. "It means more than that to me." He unconsciously placed his hand over his heart, thinking of both his father and the power that he could feel calling out to him.

Meru's body was quivering from head to toe in intolerance. The Dragoon Spirit wasn't the only thing that they were after here! "We're gonna rescue Lynn, too!" She spit out, unable to hold it in another second. She didn't care if they shot her a look of annoyance or not. Lynn was important too!

Fester acknowledged Meru with a momentary glance, speaking to Dart. "I understand." He nodded. So shall we go to the castle?"

Haschel started. "Right now?"

Fester chuckled at his reaction. "Yes, I can take care of it. You see, I have a side business in addition to being an astronomer that lets me freely enter the castle." His grin was almost wicked as he informed them of this.

Meru cocked her head to the side, once again breaking her new rule of silence. "What do you do Fester?" She stared in genuine interest.

For some reason in that instant it hit Dart. "He is a governor." He said quickly in an almost laughing manner. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten over the short time he'd been away from Fester. He felt like an idiot! A complete and utter idiot!

Fester chortled lightly. "Yes, yes I am." He beamed, pleased that he remembered. "You can enter the castle by mentioning my name."

Meru frowned deeply and crossed her arms firmly over her chest in another one of her pouting fits. "Oh can't you answer some other way than that? That's boring!"

Dart smiled faintly, rubbing his head in a combination of nerves and embarrassment. "You-you think so?" He chuckled.

Just then the sound of the town bell rang throughout the town and his house. It came loud and clear, showing perfectly the peace the town had fallen into.

Fester perked, so in tune with the chiming of the bell that it was almost scary. "Well what do you know, it's time to go." He moved past them, nearly forgetting in his haste that they needed to tag along. "So come on, let's head to the Twin Castle." He waved them forward.

They followed after him, for once in a single file line. And it actually wasn't as annoying as they thought it would be. Only Rose grumbled to herself as they slowly made their way back to the castle.

Dart noted that it was completely dark now. But this dark was different than last night's. This dark was littered with bright lights set up periodically on the outside of homes. In fact, he could barely see the twinkling stars as he scrunched up his eyes to stare with all his might.

Fester exchanged a few words with the gatekeeper and had the gatekeeper out of the way in an instant. He made it seem so unrealistically easy that it wasn't funny. It actually made Dart and everyone mad.

"See?" Fester beamed. "Now we can go on in."

They all nodded. Oh well. At least they were as good as in at this point. Who really cared if they had been useless in doing so? This still made them one step closer to getting both the Dragoon Spirit and Lynn back.

"Good." Dart smiled.

"Yes." Rose breathed. They needed to save the Red-Eyed Dragoon Spirit. Her mind could not rest until then. It was too important.

I think I remember some weird parts in this one, so please tell me if you agree. And I sure know how to stretch segments of the game. XD Please review!