Lavinia and Mune stayed with Komugi all the way back to Heine, Mune declaring openly that she didn't trust Kyosuke enough to leave him with the task of bringing her back. Komugi recovered from her shock a few hours after leaving the Garden of Eva, but could not muster up a smile again until the middle of the next day.

She sat gazing out of the window of the inn room Lavinia had secured for her, watching the happy couples stroll by. She felt as if she should be among them, on the arm of her boyfriend, but for some reason the feeling was superficial, and not what she truly desired. Everything that had comforted her as a child suddenly seemed very stupid and immature, and this upset her. She wanted to return to the carefree feelings she once felt, but that Komugi seemed very far away, in another world.

"What do you do when you find yourself liking two guys at the same time? I've never had this problem before…" Komugi murmured. Mune paused in the buffing of one of her sword blades and looked at Komugi with large eyes.

"Couldn't tell you, I've never liked anyone in a romantic sense my entire life." Mune said, returning to her buffing. Komugi turned in her seat to look at her with large eyes.

"No one at all? How can that be possible? Everyone's liked someone at least once!" she exclaimed in disbelief. Mune paused again and stared at her evenly, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well I haven't. I prefer learning swordplay over getting giddy over some boy." Mune stated curtly, inspecting the surface of her sword. "If a guy can best me in combat, then perhaps I'd consider having feelings for him, but until then I'm staying alone."

"You'd 'consider having feelings'? Mune, you can't control your feelings for someone." Komugi frowned, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms over her chest.

"That's only because no one has had as good of a grasp over their emotions as I have." Mune said with a sniff. There was an explosive burst of laughter from the door, and both girls turned towards it to find Lavinia hunched over, laughing as hard as she could. "What's so funny?" Mune asked, lowering her eyelids in annoyance.

"What you just said…that was the funniest joke I've heard all day!" Lavinia said between breaths.

"I was being serious, you know." Mune glared. Lavinia composed herself enough to stand upright and walk over to the bed.

"I know, that's what makes it so funny." Lavinia said, trying to swallow her continuing laughter. "Komugi, your boyfriend out there wanted to know if you were doing better, and if you knew where you wanted to go next. If you were just going to stay here, I think he was going to go find a ship to work on or something." Lavinia said with sudden seriousness, as if her laughter had been shut off with a switch.

"I think I'm going to go find Corsair Captain Kylon." Komugi decided, licking the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. The tiny voice of logic in her mind spoke up curiously, wondering why she was continuing to pursue Zaken's past even now. She was learning more about him through people associated with his past, and it intrigued her. It also helped distract her from her depression over Sharmin's disappearance, now that she no longer had to look for dimensional travel texts.

"Oh geez, not that guy. What could he possibly have that's interesting?" Mune groaned, rolling her eyes. Komugi blanked out while staring at her.

"You've seen him before?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, he tried to plunder Floran once, but a bunch of us weak people and the one guard on duty there managed to drive him out." Lavinia said, rolling her eyes. "He's just some failed Pirate zombie trying to make his way as a "Land Pirate". He and his small crew don't even have a ship; they hang out on that bridge that once led to Devil's Isle near the Bee Hive."

"Ok then, that's my destination." Komugi stated, pushing herself to her feet.

"We'll go with you." Mune said, also standing.

"We will?" Lavinia asked in surprise, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, I still don't trust that Kyosuke…something about him bothers me." Mune grumbled, biting on her thumbnail.

"He's perfectly normal." Komugi said flatly, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes but, you've not been the best judge of character in the past. I heard you traveled with a Dark Elf for half a year." Mune said pointedly, returning the narrowing of eyes.

"I had no control over that, thank you." Komugi sniffed, putting her nose in the air.

"Yeah right." Mune said, rolling her eyes. "In any case, we're still going with you."

"We are?" Lavinia repeated, her eyes dotting. "I have to be heading to Aden, Mune. I got a summons saying Magister Winonin needs a replacement while she goes on maternity leave, so I can't be traveling all over the countryside."

"You'll be fine; they usually take maternity leave three months in advance." Mune said dismissively, waving her hand. Lavinia sighed heavily and glared at her younger sister.

"I'm fine on my own; don't bother yourself with following me if you have other things to do." Komugi said to Lavinia, wanting to spend some time alone with Kyosuke and not with them.

"Nonsense, we're going with you and that's final." Mune said firmly, folding her arms over her chest. Komugi sighed in exasperation, and dragged her feet across the room to her travel bag to pack it.

Komugi was beginning to feel the strain of traveling so frequently by Gatekeeper by the time they reached Dion. She was weary, and wanted nothing more than to go lie down and sleep for days in the Inn due to jetlag. She pushed herself onward, and approached the Gatekeeper to request a spell to the Bee Hive.

Going to Dion from Heine to get to the Bee Hive seemed to be a roundabout way of doing things, but Dion's Gatekeeper was the only one that knew the displacement spell that would take them to the Hive, whereas walking from Giran Harbor would take them over a week.

The Hive was a large meadow that had once been used as a place to harvest honey from. The Bees within the meadow were warped by demon magic many years prior, and the place became a dangerous area to live near. A few families still dared to enter the Hive meadow to harvest the honey from the circular hornet's nests in the trees, but the only race brave enough to actually live inside the Bee Hive area were a few Delu Lizardmen displaced from the Gracia war.

Komugi stood near a signpost after materializing in the Bee Hive area, and sighed deeply. She gazed wistfully towards the tall supports of the broken bridge that she could see from where she stood. Devil's Isle was visible in the distance, and unease gnawed at her insides again. I just can't seem to get away from this place. She thought, frowning.

"Are you ok? Do you need to rest?" Kyosuke asked, touching her shoulder lightly to get her attention. Komugi smiled at him and sighed lightly again.

"Just a little tired. I plan on taking a really long break after this trip." She said with a grin.

"Is it really that important for you to continue on now? Are you on a life-changing quest?" he asked, concern etched on his face.

"Nah…not really." Komugi admitted, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger absent mindedly. "I just feel like I need to do this for some reason." She glanced over her shoulder as Lavinia and Mune materialized, arguing with each other over Lavinia's impending trip to Aden.

"Your reasons are your own." Kyosuke agreed, and then sighed in defeat. "Just don't overwork yourself and get sick, alright?" he said gently, putting an arm across her shoulders and giving her a half hug. Komugi smiled at him wearily, appreciative of his affection. It had been a long time since she'd gotten snuggly with a guy, maybe Zaken wasn't the right choice for her after all…

The trek to the bridge was an hour on foot, and it was nighttime by the time they arrived. There were large cargo boxes that had been abandoned on the bridge years before, and Komugi could make out the dim flickering of a campfire behind them. The boxes had been abandoned when the bridges reconstruction had failed years ago due to a skirmish between workers over their treatment and pay by the Lord of Giran. The bridge had been constructed, Komugi had heard, years ago in an attempt to make an easier way to infiltrate Devil's Isle from the mainland. It had almost been completed, but then the Gracian war broke out, and the bridge was destroyed.

"I need to do this alone." Komugi said, glancing at her friends with a smile.

"You're joking, right?" Mune asked flatly, raising an eyebrow as she lowered her eyelids. "We came all this way and you plan on talking to a violent zombie all by yourself?"

"I do have a root and undead destroying spells you know." Komugi retorted, narrowing her eyes. "I'm a big girl; I don't need people holding my hands every step of the way." She turned on heel and began marching towards the bridge. "Stop following me!" she snapped, spinning back around to find Mune and Lavinia walking several paces behind. "Don't make me root you!" She turned and began walking once more.

"I think she means business…" Kyosuke warned as Mune continued to follow. Komugi growled in exasperation and spun back around, casting her root spell on Mune's feet. The Swordsinger crashed to the ground ungracefully with a surprised yelp.

"If I need help, I'll call for it, geez!" Komugi said, and then stomped away.

"Get this spell off of me!" Mune shouted at her back. Komugi ignored her and continued onward, focusing on the boxes ahead of her. "YOU PINK HAIRED RAT!" Mune screamed. So much for great emotional control. Komugi thought to herself with a snicker.

"Shaddup or you'll get her killed!" Lavinia hissed, pressing a hand over Mune's mouth. "Honestly Mune, do you have to throw a tantrum every time you don't get your way?"

"She's going to get herself killed!" Mune protested angrily, jerking her face away from Lavinia's hand. Lavinia sighed and glanced up to Komugi's departing figure.

"She's a lot stronger than she looks; I think she'll be fine." Lavinia said, and then glanced down at her sister with a wry smile. "Much like someone else I know." She playfully ruffled Mune's hair, and then stood.

"I'm not weak looking." Mune grumbled, pouting.

Komugi slipped around the cargo boxes silently, and halted quickly as she found herself in the middle of the camping area of five zombified men. They all stared at her with large eyes, paused in whatever action they had been doing when she stepped within the ring of light their fire cast out.

All of the men were in various stages of decay, and wore pirate's bandannas around their heads like the Pirates wandering around Devil's Isle. One sat between them wearing the largest corsair hat Komugi had ever seen, one that could easily be bigger than Zaken's already large corsair hat. She found herself unable to contain herself at the sight of him and burst out laughing. The noise caused the pirates to squeal shrilly and dive behind their captain, who held out a rusting saber with a shaking arm.

"It's a Prophet!" one of them whimpered in a shrill voice.

"She's going to Disrupt us!" another sniveled.

"S-s-stay back!" the captain proclaimed, his bony knees knocking together in his tattered blue uniform. "I-I-I'm the g-great C-Corsair C-C-Captain Kylon! F-F-Fear me!" Komugi only laughed harder and stamped her foot on the ground, unable to breathe.

"What is that, penis envy?" she said in between breaths. "How can you seriously have a hat that big?" She fell back against the cargo boxes, and Kylon lowered his saber slightly, a look of childish hurt on his face.

"My hat is very distinguished, thank you. People from miles around flee at the sight of it!" he pouted.

"Of course they do, they're probably scared it's going to eat them!" Komugi continued to laugh, tears streaming from her eyes.

"C-Captain! D-don't let her talk to you like that! W-w-we, the bandito bandit pirates will stop her!" one of the pirates behind him stuttered as he attempted to jump bravely. At the announcement of their 'team name', Komugi began to laugh anew, and slid down the boxes to sit on her bottom with her knees slightly bent.

"Bandito bandits…oh please stop…" she said breathlessly, unable to draw in breath properly. "Oh my stomach…" she gasped, finally calming down in her laughter.

"Who…" Kylon began as she pushed herself to her feet. She held up a hand as she stood, silencing him.

"Let me talk first, I'm afraid anything that comes out of your mouth will send me back into a laughing fit." She panted, letting out light aftermath giggles. She stood up straight and took a breath, then cleared her throat. "I came to you to find out what you know of the Grand Pirate Zaken. I'm uh…researching him you see…" she began, but then stopped as Kylon doubled over and trembled, as if sick.

"I see! You're going to divulge a way to destroy him finally!" he exclaimed, popping back upright like a jack-in-the box. His yellowed eyes sparkled, and he clasped his hands under his chin as he stepped close to Komugi. Kylon was a very short man, nearly a foot shorter than Komugi's already short 5'2". His skin was graying, and sagged on his cheeks like an old person's would. He was bald underneath his oversized corsair hat, and his lower eyelids drooped. The flesh had rotted away at his joints on his arms and knees, and Komugi wondered how it was that he still moved. "It's about time someone came to me to ask about him, I know more about him than anyone else, after all I was on his ship before this curse happened!"

While Kylon trembled in excitement, Komugi quickly glanced at the four-man crew that still cowered on the other side of the fire, watching Komugi with frightened eyes. Unlike the pirates that were under Zaken's control, these men still held all signs of humanity despite the fact that they were rotting away. Their eyes were alive with intelligence; Zaken's crew was mindless undead waiting to be commanded. She wondered what the difference was.

"Yes, someone should've asked Captain earlier! Selfish living things, they don't know the greatness that is the Corsair Captain!" one of his crew spoke up. Kylon stood to his full height and puffed out his chest as his ego inflated, and hooked a hand around the tattered lapel of his coat.

"They probably took one look at the hat and figured you too retarded to be worth their time." Komugi muttered under her breath. Kylon opened his eyes slowly to stare at her in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he'd heard her correctly. "Anyway, I'm asking you now, can you give me your story?" she said brightly, finding a stack of sandbags and smoothing her skirt under her bottom as she sat.

"Well, it all started oh…maybe forty years ago now." Kylon began, puffing his chest out. He glanced over his shoulder at his crewmates, and frowned. "Has it been that long?" he asked.

"One-hundred forty, fifty years sir, yes." The pirate answered. His jaw became unhinged as he talked, and he crossed his eyes as he tried to look down at it.

"Wow, time flies." Kylon said thoughtfully, and then cleared his throat as he returned his attention on Komugi. "Anyway, I was a teen when I came to become a member of Zaken's crew. I was never happy under his rule; he always treated me like a nuisance because of my size." Kylon glared into the air in memory, and clenched his jaw. Behind him, his crewmate struggled to get his jaw re-hinged. "We were all the same height once…just because he got that growth spurt…" he grumbled.

"You were on Zaken's ship…?" Komugi prodded, not wanting him to go off on a tangent.

"Yes, and I was unhappy. That idiot Tillion tricked me into mutinying, saying that he was going to rally up the rest of the crew because none of us liked Zaken after he became captain. Bastard lied to me, I ended up being the only one who disliked Zaken and they made a public spectacle of me when I tried to start the mutiny. Do you know how embarrassing it is to draw your sword as your captain comes out onto the deck and shout 'Mutiny!' at the top of your lungs only to be the only one charging in for the kill?" Kylon trembled, his face clouded in darkness.

"I can imagine." Komugi said blandly.

"They tethered me up to a cargo pulley in Gludin Harbor and stripped me naked just as a bunch of women came down from the village to greet their husbands for lunch." Kylon fumed, and gripped the sides of his hat in frustration. Three of the four of his crew behind him had begun to weep in sympathy, the fourth still struggling with his jaw.

"It's too cruel, captain!" one sobbed.

"After they left me there, I decided right there and then that I would rule the southern seas before him, and I built up the most fearsome crew I ever could!" Kylon said, making a fist. "We had a glorious name for ourselves, until Zaken got jealous and expanded his territory to the southern seas as well. Nobody fears you when you've got a good looking, tall pirate as your nemesis. We were laughed right out of the water."

"We still love you captain!" another pirate cried.

"The night that the stupid curse of his was activated, my crew and I tried to infiltrate the Island and challenge him to a rightful battle of Pirate versus Pirate. Ran in on him just as he killed Tillion, and before any of us could shout 'ARR', he flew at us with his swords and cut us all down in cold blood. Woke up like how you see us now the next night." Kylon glowered.

"It hurt so bad!" another pirate interjected.

"So now I'm here, waiting for a strong party to go in and finally do away with that bastard so I can finally become the Grand Pirate." Kylon finished with sparkling eyes. "I never thought a tiny little prophet like you would be the person to finally search for a way to undo him."

"Um, you do realize that you've told me nothing of Zaken, right?" Komugi stated flatly, staring at him evenly. Kylon's look of determination faded into one of surprise, and his mouth dropped open in an 'o' shape. He put a hand to his chin thoughtfully for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Zaken never spoke much of himself to me; I was always the sidekick that got punted around. I don't even know what part of Gracia he came from or why he wanted to become a Pirate in the first place. Tillion was the only one he ever confided in while we were alive." Kylon said lightly, shrugging. A vein popped out on Komugi's forehead, and she clenched her fists.

"You made me sit through that idiotic drivel just to tell me that you didn't really know anything about Zaken?" she seethed. She stood up quickly, the four pirates yelping like girls and clinging to one another at her movement.

"Ah! The Ice Queen! She might know about him!" Kylon suddenly said, not noticing her anger. Komugi calmed in an instant and blinked at him.

"That's the second time someone's mentioned her to me, what is she, Zaken's sister or something?" Komugi asked, her eyebrows drawing together. Kylon blinked at her in surprise, and glanced at his crew in what appeared to be confusion.

"You didn't know? I thought everyone knew." Kylon said. "The Ice Queen is Zaken's lo—"

"That's quite enough, Kylon." Zaken's voice came from the darkness. The four pirates yelped girlishly and clung to one another again as Zaken emerged from the sky and landed heavily beside Komugi and Kylon. Komugi's heart suddenly began to pound at the sight of him again, and she took a step backwards, feeling afraid of the look on his face but not understanding why. Kylon let out strange strangled noises and stumbled away from Zaken, clutching his hat to his head as if he were afraid Zaken would take it. Zaken stared at him without expression for a moment before turning to look at Komugi. "Why are you doing this?" he asked her in a cold voice. Komugi frowned at it, the tone igniting her temper again.

"Doing what? I can live as I please, thank you." She said curtly, folding her arms over her chest.

"I thought I made it clear to you, during your time on Devil's Isle with me that my past was to be left alone, can you not respect that?" Zaken asked, his voice rising with his own temper. He took a few measured steps towards her, and Komugi backed up, keeping the same distance between them.

"Yeah well your past is the thing that's causing me the most trouble right now so I think I have a right to know what went on so I can avoid it." Komugi returned his tone of voice with equal iciness.

"And knowing what went on includes killing them as you go?" Zaken said in a low voice. Kylon and his pirates yelped at this, and huddled near each other. Komugi clamped her jaw shut, but did not break eye contact with him. "So killing Wimere wasn't enough for you, you had to kill Magus Kenishee as well?"

"What are you talking about, I didn't touch the Magus!" Komugi responded shrilly, not believing what she was hearing. "Yes, I spoke with her, but she was alive when I left, nobody touched her!"

"You LIE." Zaken suddenly shouted, punching at her. His fist went through the side of the crate that she was pressed against, near her ear, and she gasped, startled that he would do such a thing. "I saw her body, I heard what happened. Are you really that possessive you silly little human? Do you honestly think I can be cowed into being your little servant boy like the children in your past?" Komugi's voice was caught in her throat, and she found that all words of response had fled her. "Are you going to tell me that you left Wimere alive as well, when the party you were seen with, left her cave with her belongings?"

"Wimere tried to kill me first! She somehow sensed the bite scar you left on me and…"

"Stop LYING to me, Komugi!" Zaken snapped. She clamped her mouth shut, her heart feeling as if it were being stabbed with hundreds of pins. She coughed twice, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat so Zaken couldn't see how much she was being hurt. Zaken stared at her angrily for a few more moments, then turned away and began walking towards the end of the bridge. "Get out of my sight, human. You are nothing but cattle to me." Komugi gasped lightly and took a step towards him, instinctively reaching a hand out to draw him back. This is a misunderstanding, please listen to me! She shouted in her head. Tears welled in her eyes as her voice did not come. "If I ever see you near someone else tied to my past, or near Devil's Isle, I will kill you." His voice was low and his back faced her, but she could hear him clearly. "I revoke my protection on you; you are nothing to me now." With that he flew into the air and disappeared into the darkness. Komugi sunk to her knees, staring at the spot where he had stood with large eyes. Tears dripped out and hit the dusty cobblestone.

"Miss…?" Kylon attempted lightly, reaching a hand out to her.

"Don't touch me!" Komugi snapped, drawing down and covering her face with her hands. She rocked slightly and cried, her sniffles muffled by her hands. "When will I stop crying?" she asked no one mournfully. "When will things go back to how they were?"