"So Lloyd, if you want to get better, I would suggest learning from people who are better than you at certain things."

I nodded in agreement, actually hearing logic in what she said. If one wishes to learn or get better at something, it is usually wise to learn from a master of said subject.

"So, I say we start with the basics. Since you're so proud of your speed, that's what we'll start with."

I nodded again, but was curious as to how she planned on doing this. I silently followed Meru to where her hammer and some other sparring things were, taking notice of her clothing yet again. All she wore was a golden brassiere with a blue design, gold and blue wristbands, a short loincloth, and a giant bow on the back of said loincloth. Oh, and that's forgetting the leg guards of the same gold and blue, her blue bow in her hair, and the odd shoes that I dare say are sandals.

How could she ever fight like that? If an attack so much as hits her she'll be stripped of what little she wears. And sandals? How could someone be as fast as she is in sandals?

And another matter entirely, had she no shame? Isn't she the least bit embarrassed by her clothing?

I sighed as I took a look around my surroundings. Where we currently were was near a small forest looking section in the area, a little bit away from the buildings and far from the shed that was used as a marking point before. Although we were near many trees, none were in this particular spot and it seemed like a reasonably good place for a sparring match.

Back to the lewdly dressed Wingly, tt least she was consistent, for she was wearing the same outfit she did all those years ago. Although that also meant she was likely dense, for she didn't even think to change apparel when we were in Gloriano, one of the coldest places of Endiness if not the coldest. Whatever the case, could living with humans really have led her to believing that this was normal? I heard that she was a dancer before she joined the group, but for Soa's sake, why did she still wear so little? All of the human women I had run into over the years were conservative in their apparel, although I must admit I mostly had dealt with nobles…wait, how did I know that?

How is thinking about her appalling clothing getting my memories back? Bah, she aggravated me back then and she aggravates me now. Still, she is being awfully kind…

"Okay, what kind of sword do you fancy? Broadsword? Longsword? Rapier? A pointy stick?"

I thought for a moment before pointing to a longsword made of wood. It wouldn't be a good idea for me to use an actual blade, for it may end up severely injuring either her or myself. Meru nodded before picking it up and tossing it to me, "Catch. Well, let's get started. You were pretty good at dodging attacks before, so I bet you'll be pretty good at it now."

I caught the sword effortlessly and was about to respond when I felt a hammer smash into my gut. I stumbled back and only saw a blur of gold before I felt Meru's hammer crash into the right side of my ribcage. I leapt backwards to put space inbetween us, wiping some blood I coughed up out of my mouth.

"What the hell? I didn't know we were start-"

The hammer swing was faster than I could see, but I felt the pain in my left arm soon enough. I felt Meru spin behind me and land another hit on my back, "If you don't learn under pressure, Lloyd, you won't be learning much at all!"

Again the small Wingly had a point. If I couldn't react instantaneously to a battle situation, I wouldn't be fit for any true fight. Still doesn't change the fact that her hammer just slammed into my right shin, the same one her pet smashed before.

I began to fall because my right leg had been taken out from under me, but instead I twisted my body so that I instead turned around and was again on two feet. Meru pressed her attack, her hammer and body just a blur to me. I tried predicting where she was going to appear next, but the result was a hammer to the back of the head.

I stumbled forward and received a blow to the throat with her elbow, followed by a attack on my lower back with her hammer.

"I can keep this up all day Lloyd. Until you dodge an attack or land a hit on me I'm going to keep beating you up, or at least until I have to spend another couple weeks mending you."

I remained calm despite her taunt, acknowledging her skill. And to think that not five minutes ago I was thinking about how not-functional her clothing was.

If I were to lose my cool, I would what little I had going for me at the moment. If I wasn't rational I would end up needing more healing, and that was painful the first time. Better to think clearly and end this as soon as possible.

Meru jumped back to put space between us again, before quickly speeding right back at me and swinging her hammer into the left side of my body and spinning around to land a hit in the same spot. I reacted by retreating again, trying to put space between us. Before I could do so though I felt another smack across my chest and another, causing me to cough up some more blood just before I saw the hammer smash down on my ribs again, this time from above. I noticed Meru seemed a little wobbly, but when I got hit again in the stomach I winced.

She fell onto the ground, her last attack having thrown her off balance and causing her to fall right on her arse. Seeing my opportunity to end the beating, I swung my practice sword at her but only hit the ground. How had she recovered so quickly?

I looked around to see where she was but couldn't find her, only to get smacked across the face with her brutal hammer. I followed the hammer and spun around, sweeping my sword as I did so. My blade did not hit anything, and instead I felt her hammer smash my left knee as she went under my blade. How nimble could she possibly be?

I bent to one knee, unable to stand and quickly swung my sword in an arc behind me. Easily spinning around my sword, Meru came around in a flash to bash me with her hammer again, only to be caught off guard when I head butted her leg. Not expecting to actually be hit, Meru tripped backwards as I rubbed my head. I may have caught her off guard, but I'm sure I killed a few brain cells with that attack. My head felt like it was broken…

Not about to let the minor setback get in my way, I swung my sword forward as she attempted to get out of the way. I didn't get a full blown hit, but it scraped against her bare stomach and I grinned.

"Game over."

Meru steadied herself and brushed some dirt off of her clothing, if it can be called that, before holding a hand out to me and laughing, "Well that was fun! I wasn't actually expecting you to hit me. Dart and the others could barely keep up with me when we were Dragoons, so the fact you could even touch me is amazing!"

I nodded to her and took her hand. Unluckily for her, she had bruised me so badly that I could not pull myself up and she had to do so all by herself, "You haven't even eaten since you've gotten back, how are you so heavy?" Once I was upright she put an arm around me and laughed, "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that! You must be pretty hungry right?"

I rose an eyebrow, but nodded all the same. I did not feel hungry, but now that she mentioned it, I did have a feeling that eating would be a nice way to wind down after this…humiliation.

Meru Fact Number One: Do not let her cook. Ever. If need be, starve. If at all possible, offer to cook in her place especially if no one else does so.

Tari and Finde were busy cooking for the kids, so Meru had offered to cook me a dinner as a reward for completing today's lesson (and, I might add, a consolation for getting my ass kicked in both a race and a fight by her). I graciously accepted, for I believed that since she had been taking care of me for some time, maybe she had some proficiency in the art.

I was wrong.

Let me rephrase that, I was really wrong. I was a total fool. I did not understand why Dart looked at me funnily when I mentioned Meru was cooking dinner. I did not understand why Kongol had hugged me tightly (which hurt because of his massive strength, on top of my already bruised body) and wept. I did not understand why Dart's girlfriend Shana giggled when she saw Meru in the kitchen.

While the three of them were eating outside under the stars, I was inside the dining hall in dire agony.

Meru had spent some time healing me when she had the chance during her cooking and my body felt better. That feeling of good health was now shattered.

The food was supposed to be a form of chicken soup. Meru thought it would be good for me since I was still recovering. I did not remember chicken's tasting…what was the word I was looking for…oh yes, so vile!

I understand that some people may not have the skills of cooking down pat, for I know that to some it is like some kind of arcane magic, but her side dish? How do you mess up bread? How? It wasn't like she prepared or baked it, for which I am grateful, but how do you mess it up so badly?

I later learned she forgot that food went bad after awhile.

Soa, help me. This is the person who was in charge of my well being?

The worst part was that she was trying to do me a favor, and that out of kindness I had to accept. Meru had good intentions, but so did I when I tried creating a utopia. And people died through those good intentions.

Waiting for her to turn away, I looked below the dining room table to see that Regolas had entered the room looking for scraps. From his lips I could see hanging some good looking meat that he must have procured from Dart and the others. In a gulp he swallowed it and I lowered my bread below the table. Seeing food, the Dragon whelp crawled over and sniffed it. Wolfing it down in a single chomp (nearly taking my hand as well, the little devil) Regolas quickly sprinted out of the room, whimpering as he did so.

My suspicions about the food confirmed, I gulped as I lowered my spoon to the soup. Luckily Regolas' quick departure was not unnoticed by Meru, who ran after him to see what was wrong with her dear pet.

I used this time to clean out my bowl into a sink in the kitchen before going after my hostess to see what was next on our agenda list.

After chasing down the azure dragon, Meru decided to comfort him from whatever was wrong alongside Shana who the dragon apparently listened to. That left Kongol, Dart and I by our lonesome by a campfire. There were other groups of Winglies outside, but none seemed interested in bothering us, for most seemed fine with looking at the beautiful stars.

"So Lloyd, I hear you got beat in a race today by Meru. Please tell me that isn't true?"

I turned my head away from Dart before curtly replying, "She finished the race before I was even a quarter done. Happy?"

Dart laughed at me and patted me on the back, "Well then that makes the story of her beating you down in a fight all the more likely! Is that true as well?"

I continued to avert my gaze, "I refuse to answer that."

Kongol shrugged his shoulders, "It okay if Lloyd lose. Lloyd still recovering from dying."

Dart guffawed at that, "Oh yeah, I guess that makes a little sense. But seriously-"

I looked at him with a piercing glare, "Dart, drop it. I plan on getting my strength back alright, but it may take some time."

Dart let go of me and pointed a finger at himself, like Meru did earlier, "Well, if you need any help you can always rely on me!"

Kongol gave a smile, "Kongol going to help Lloyd too. Haschel teach Kongol much during training."

I wasn't exactly sure how to respond. These two were once my enemies…and now they were openly offering to help me become powerful again. Shouldn't they worry that I would use it for my own personal gain?

Seeing my expression, Dart patted me on the back again, "Believe me, if we thought you were going to try something Lloyd we wouldn't have stuck up for you when the Bardel brother tried evicting you."

I looked into my rival's eye and could see that he was telling the truth. They truly did trust me, "Thank you," moving my gaze on to Kongol, I continued, "thank you both. You all have shown me great kindness since I first awoke and I am indebted to you for it."

Dart smirked and leant back, "Ah, it's nothing. Meru is the one who has really been taking care of you. Kongol, Albert, Haschel, Shana and I were only all stopping by just at the right time," he looked at Kongol with a confused expression, "Hey, where is the old man Kongol?"

Kongol pointed towards one of the buildings I had not been in, "Haschel with pretty Wingly. Says he's training. Me think he just trying to get girlfriend."

Dart shook his head in disgust, "He has no shame…half the girls here are as old as Meru!" Looking back at me, he shrugged his shoulders, "Well, Haschel is probably not going to get to hang out with us anytime soon if his wooing persists…something about Dragoons makes us popular with the opposite sex."

I rose a brow, "Well, being world renowned heroes might just have a little to do with it I believe."

Dart rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I guess that must be it. Luckily I get to relax from having fan-girls because Shana and I are together. I wonder what it's going to be like for you."

I pointed to myself, "Me? I was never a Dragoon. What makes you think anyone would-"

Dart cut me off, "In the eyes of the world, you are like an unofficial eighth member to our team. Some people have even asked me why you never joined us…point is, I would suggest you refrain from large crowds for awhile. From what I've seen people really like you," pointing to Kongol and then back at himself, "or they hate your guts and aren't happy you're alive again."

The Wingly by the name of Bardel came to mind. Hating me did seem like a logical thing to do…liking me was what didn't feel right. Images of what I had done in my life flashed through my mind, filling in some gaps that were previously left unfilled.

"Dart…I was there at the burning of your village…I killed your close friend Lavitz…I almost let a madman destroy all of Endiness. May I please ask how it is you are okay with me being here?"

Dart looked away for a second, some signs of grief and sorrow flashing across his face before it all calmed and he turned back to me, "As I told you before, killing you wouldn't change what you did, and hating you won't change anything either. It would only create more conflict if I were to take issue with what you did…what's in the past is in the past," a small frown came upon his face, "And I have to admit, I feel bad for you. You rebelled against the world in trying to make it a better place, then you were betrayed by the person you believed in and you died before you could accomplish anything. You gave your life to a cause that turned out to be a lie. I will pity you before I ever scorn you."

This was…relieving I must say. I had no reason to feud with Dart and I felt a certain amount of solace with his declaration, "I-I am again indebted to you. Please, if there is anything you wish for me to do, I will."

Dart rubbed his chin, "Well, once you're all recovered and," he laughed, "able to put up a fight, I say we take a hike to Lohan if you're up to it. In a few months they are holding the Hero Competition, something I will be taking a part in."

Hero Competition…why did that ring a bell? I sounded very familiar.

Dart noticed my look of confusion and clarified, "Ah come on Lloyd, it's a tournament where people fight for the title of strongest in all the lands. The last time I entered it is when I met you. You crushed me in our fight, so how about we try going at it again?"

So that's where I fought Dart originally…

"So let me guess, you want for me to take a part in this Hero Competition so you can try to claim the title this time around, as well as beat me this time around?"

Dart shrugged and laughed, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. Haschel is going to be in it as well, so we can all go there together."

I turned to face Kongol who had been pretty quiet (although it seemed as if he was always like that), "Will you be entering the tournament as well?"

Kongol shook his head and frowned, "Giganto not welcome in tournament. Master Haschel will be going, so Kongol going too but not entering tournament."

"I see, that's to bad. There shouldn't be restrictions on applicants like that. Gigantos are strong warriors and their strength should be recognized. I would think a tournament to decide who is the strongest fighter would welcome such applicants. It would take the tournament to an entire new level."

Kongol nodded, most likely pleased by what I had said, and Dart patted me on the back again, "That's the Lloyd that I can like! See, you're not all that bad of a guy."

Deciding to change the topic, I thought about what else we could talk about. More info about where we were, info on that Bardel man, info on Dart and his friends, and finally information about myself all came to mind. Deciding to get off of talking about me, I chose to ask about Dart and his Dragoon companions.

"Well, what is there to really say? I was the previous Fire Dragoon and the current Divine Dragoon. I live in Seles, which I have helped rebuild, with Shana, and my life has become to finally become stable after our adventure of being Dragoons," pointing at Kongol, Dart continued, "Kongol here is the last of the Gigantos, as far as we know, and has been living with Haschel and has become his disciple."

I nodded, intending for him to continue. Dart, understanding that this was all basically new information for me to digest, continued on after a second, "Albert has married with one of the princesses of Tiberoa, and has begun to open up human and Wingly negotiations with Meru's help," looking around, Dart kept talking, "Speaking of the devil, where is she? Shouldn't Regolas be alright by now? I wonder where she and Shana have gone."

Not having an answer to his question, I spoke, "I have no idea where she has gone, nor Shana. Regolas' food poisoning was pretty severe though."

Dart and Kongol laughed heartily, "Sorry for not giving you a heads up on that. She is a wretched cook. When we were traveling we learned that the hard way…usually we just had Albert cook, who actually can make some pretty good dishes. I can even cook a little better than Meru."

I nodded firmly, having seen firsthand what Meru's cooking was like, "It is a wonder you all survived with her domestic skills. I dislike speaking bad about someone extending their aid to me, but I dare say I will be offering to cook my own meals from now on…and cooking is something I haven't even remembered how to do yet, if I even ever knew it."

"Yeah, just be careful about how you break it to her…she can still be a bit childish."

I sighed and shook my head, "That does ring a bell. I will think of a way to get around the subject of her dubious cooking skills, most likely saying that I am teaching myself how to."

Dart shook his head, "No, no, don't do that. She'll insist on helping you, and she'll learn you didn't like her cooking. Luckily for you it seems she didn't see you feed Regolas your dinner, or else she would be here chewing your ear off about being ungrateful. She hasn't really become calm and mature like most Winglies are known to be…"

I decided it would be a good chance to ask about Meru's more…eccentric character traits, "Is there a particular reason she's so, for lack of a better term, peppy?"

Dart looked at Kongol and both shrugged, "I don't have a definite idea, but I think it's because of how strict her parents were. From what I've seen, they think of her as a disgrace for leaving the forest in the first place…if they treat their own daughter as an outcast, I can only imagine what they were like to her when she was younger. I bet she became so cheerful as a sort of way of coping with being thrown out by your own race."

Wow…a psych profile on miss Meru. Wasn't fully expecting that. This information, although nice to know, displeased me, "They would treat their Daughter with such hostility? That hardly seems right over such a trivial matter," shaking my head, I went on, "Does she seem to mind at all? I don't remember my own family, so I cannot relate, but…it just seems, it just seems wrong. When I think of family, I think of people who will support each other and their goals…"

Dart let out a small sigh, "With Meru you never know…she always appears happy and delightful. I would ask her, but it's a kind of personal topic. She never brings it up, so I don't think it would be a good thing to just mention it. She has to have her reasons not to talk about it, and I respect that."

"I guess that is true. I will not intrude upon her personal information if she does not wish anyone to do so. May I ask another question though?"

Dart rose an eyebrow, "And that would be?"

"Why does she dress so…differently, than other people?" I tried saying it as deadpan as I could, but it was hard to keep any form of humor out of my voice. I believed this was what was called poking fun at someone…having never had anyone to truly talk to in my previous life (as far as I could remember) made such things an unknown territory for me.

Dart rubbed his chin, "Well, I think it stems from the fact she used to be a dancer, and dancers draw more attention if, well…anyways, she complains when she wears more clothes, thinking that it gets in the way. Bottom line, Meru is Meru. There's no others like her."

I nodded, still trying to keep a straight face while thinking about my near naked host, "I guess so…It is odd, but everyone has their eccentricities."

"Hey, it isn't gentlemanly to talk about a girl behind their back!"

Oh hell, that voice…we're busted. Meru was standing right behind me along with Shana. When had they shown up?

Meru pouted and crossed her arms, "I would expect this from Dart, but you too Lloyd? And what about you Kongol."

I held my arms up guiltily, "If I may say, Kongol wasn-"

Meru leaned closer to me and poked my head, "Show you how much respect I get. First Regolas throws up the bread I gave you, and now you're insulting me in front of all the guys!"

Shana giggled, apparently finding Meru's tantrum to be funny, "Now Meru, don't you think it would be best if you let them off the hook?"

Meru shook her head and looked away from us, eyes closed in defiance, "Not until they apologize!"

Dart decided to go right ahead and apologize, leaving me on the spot to do the same thing. Seeing that it would greatly behoove me to do the same, I gave my own sincere apology.

"I apologize if what I have said upset you and I deeply regret giving your food to Regolas. I hope that you can find it within you to forgive me."

Meru looked back at me, scanning my face to see if I was actually sorry. After reading my countenance and liking what she saw, Meru's scowl transformed into a smile, "Apologies accepted! Now, who wants dessert?"