A/N: Another day, another chapter/interlacing one-shot thing! Or something like that.

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It seemed like everyone had lost themselves.

Jean knew the feeling—she'd suffered from it herself at first when shed escaped the Shadow Dragon Cult and the masked Lunn.

This time. However, she didn't ache because of her past. She ached because even with her past, she couldn't seem to help her friends.

Lemina had become introspective, often retreating to Vane's gardens or the cave of trials as she tried to resummon her magic. Leo continued to beat himself up for aiding the Chosen and the false Althena just as Ronfar himself had.

Even Ruby looked glum.

And Hiro... It was obvious he was suffering the most, and without his strength, everyone else seemed to fall further apart.

Jean knew Hiro was hurting. She'd spent the past few weeks with him, knowing that if his heart wasn't already captured by Lucia that Jean herself would have attempted to woo him. Now, however, she knew the pain the separation from Lucia was causing Hiro.

But she couldn't think of much to say to him now, not when he looked so defeated. Her initial attempt had gone so poorly that he'd gone from hurt to silent, so she hadn't bothered to try again. She'd already done enough to damage Hiro's battered heart.

He was stunned, shaken, and who could blame him?

Her mind was too shocked to absorb most of the information as well.

Althena was dead and Lucia had been kidnapped by Zophar. It seemed almost like all of their hope was lost already, and they hadn't even really fought Zophar yet.

It was disheartening, but Jean refused to give up just yet. After all, they'd done so much already, come so far, that she couldn't allow herself to lose hope now. Hiro had been their hope for so long that perhaps it was time for them to be that for him.

His heart had suffered the most damage of all of them.

"How is he?"

Jean was surprised to see that Leo had also taken refuge on the roof of Vane.

"You haven't spoken to him yet?" she asked, still surprised at the new, quieter Leo when the loud, brash Lord Leo and his men had been antagonizing the caravan for the past few years.

"I . . . still don't know if this is the right decision," he replied after a moment, and she realized he must still feel unworthy after what he'd done—and the fact that he thought he was doing what was right seemed only to wound him more.

"Have you ever had a good glass ale?" she asked, realizing that Leo needed something else to think about. "You and Ronfar have been friends for years, right? Sometimes, there's nothing better than a good mug of ale."

"White Knights do not partake of ale."

And there was the crux of the problem, she supposed. He wasn't a White Knight any longer, but he still carried himself like one.

Would he ever be able to break free of that mold or would he continue to be the broken man before her?

Broken, as she used to be broken before she'd found new life and purpose at the carnival caravan.

He'd always had a purpose before, but now he was left floundering. Perhaps that's what Leo needed too . . . a sense of purpose and life. Something for him to look forward to, to revitalize himself.

"Well, I don't know if you could drink more than Ronfar, but maybe when all of this is over, you won't mind then if I dragged you off to some bar and keep you there drinking until we're both too inebriated to find the door!" She laughed lightly, hoping he would accept—and wondering why it mattered so much if he didn't.

Leo took so long to answer that she was afraid he never would.

"Maybe some day," he said, and his response was so quiet and unsure that she almost didn't hear it.

She rested backwards against the wall, in a pose that might have been seductive if she was wearing her dancing garb instead of her new martial arts garb.

"You should talk with Hiro, Leo," she finally said, deciding that Leo needed to deal first with his own issues before anything else. "I think he needs you more than you realize."

Jean smiled at him before heading down the stairs back to the run-down manor, knowing that Leo was watching every step she took for hesitation. Each step she took was deliberate, showing him she had no regrets and that she'd meant what she said.

Somehow, it seemed that though she failed at cheering up Leo as much as she had at cheering up Hiro, she managed to give herself courage and purpose when she'd been floundering earlier.

Their goddess was dead and Lucia was gone, but Althena had been right, Jean realized, watching both Hiro and Leo struggle with their own demons.

They were all far stronger than they knew themselves to be now, and she just knew that if they supported each other like they had been all along, they could easily bring down Zophar and any of his minions.

She smiled at Miria and briefly told Lemina's mother what happened on the roof before she headed out of the manor, and she was even more convinced of her beliefs when she saw Lemina heading out behind her with all of Lemina's staves bundled up in her arms.

Lemina had the same idea that Jean herself had: to become even stronger than she'd been before. They would need every last bit of strength to defeat Zophar—but, most of all, they would need to rely on each other.

It seemed it was time for Jean to train with Lunn, who had traveled to Vane along with Mauri to help out as much as they could. Jean barely hid a smile as Lunn saw her and immediately fell into position, knowing what she needed without saying a word. Jean needed to be at the top of her game if they had any hope of defeating Zophar.

But most of all, she needed to be strong enough to protect her friends and the rest of the world.