The next two days, the dragoons and Dart wandered about Donau, searching for any minor facet of information regarding their enemy. But this venture proved more difficult than they had anticipated thanks to the startling concentration of bandits within the city. Everywhere they turned, it seemed that there were two or three of them, eyeing them warily, waiting for them to ask the right questions to justify some long-awaited conflict. More than once, they found a willing helper who was silenced as soon as a bandit was in sight.

Even Donau's only bar had an uncharacteristically sparse crowd, given the size of the city. Twice they'd gone there, hoping to get as lucky as they had in Fletz, but to no avail. At least half the patrons were thieves and rogues, each dressed in the same ghastly uniform of tattered leather embroidered with a green capital G on the left shoulder.

At first, Dart thought that they had been stationed here as a sort of "military" taskforce, but the longer they stayed, the surer he was that they were little more than an intimidation tactic. Sadly, they excelled at this. Whenever a civilian came within fifteen feet of a bandit, the person would visibly stiffen and become aggressively courteous.

It was not long before Dart came to revile every remembrance of the Gehrich gang. Not only were they an unwholesome addition to Donau, but they were a constant reminder of his stolen dragoon spirit and his crippling humanity. It didn't help that every single night, he collapsed into bed exhausted while the others stayed up for another couple hours. Frustration began to rise within him at their fruitless struggle and his frightening fragility. A war began between his desire to find Lloyd and his need for his former strength, and the thought creeped in that perhaps they needed a different plan.

A feeling of despair began to settle over the party as the week wore on, only amplifying Dart's own negative emotions. As their search for Lloyd seemed to be unproductive, his mind turned to the members of the gang instead. Perhaps he could find one candid enough to tell him where his dragoon spirit might be.

His searches of the city shifted focus from the civilians to the gang members. All he needed was to find one by himself, and then he would be able to extract all the information he needed. And as confident as the gang members were, they lacked in intelligence; it was not long before he found one.

As he strolled down the street the next evening, with no armor but his sword as his side, Dart finally found a bandit who was alone. Better yet, he was short with a small frame, youth livening his features. He had to have been close to Shana's age. Dart approached from behind at a steady pace as the bandit held his head up and shoulders back, hand on the hilt of a short sword.

Stopping behind him, Dart said, "Excuse me."

The bandit snapped his head around, just in time to meet with Dart's fist. He cried out in surprise and pain and tumbled to the ground before scrambling to his feet.

Ignoring the pain in his fingers, Dart stood as menacingly as possible over the short bandit.

"How dare y—" began the bandit, but Dart interrupted him.

"Where do you and your kind come from?" he demanded.

"You're gonna regret this," growled the bandit. "You're on our list now, buddy."

Dart drew his sword. "Just tell me where your base camp is."

The bandit responded in kind, his short sword a dismal display next to Dart's broader blade. "I ain't tellin' you nothing."

"Now, now…" chided Dart. "If you do, we won't have to make this a messy conversation."

"You Serdian scum," replied the bandit. "To think you can best the Gehrich Gang. You must be crazy."

With that, the bandit lunged forward to attack, but Dart was prepared. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the short sword aside, and it clattered to the ground as he smacked the bandit's forehead with his sword hilt. Then he grabbed the bandit's throat with his left hand and pressed his blade on his neck with his right. Dart blinked at the pain that arose in his left arm from the force, but quickly refocused on the terrified bandit.

"I'll ask you one more time." Dart tried to speak slowly and calmly, although his throbbing arm made him feel a need to vomit. "Where… is your home base?"

He squeezed tighter as no response came, and the bandit started to gasp for breath. The memory of the attack in the barrens came back to him: the vile bandit with a hand on Dart's throat, the smirk, his attempt to make Dart suffer as he died. Dart's right hand twitched slightly on his sword hilt, just enough to draw blood.

"You took something from me," he said, his voice a deep gravelly resonance that he didn't recognize. "And I want it back."

Vaguely aware that the bandit could not speak, Dart kept pressing, as if squeezing the life out of this one fool would bring back his fiery power. He longed for it in this moment, and tears welled in his eyes.

"Dart," came a harsh, regal voice behind him.

"Not now, Albert," growled Dart. "I almost have the location."

The bandit's eyes bulged and his face reddened as he gasped for air. His eyes shot to Albert frantically, pleading for any kind of help.

"He cannot speak while you are doing that." Again, the voice was surprisingly unnerving to Dart, although he couldn't pinpoint why. Perhaps it was the calmness; perhaps it was the anger.

A hand fell on his shoulder. "Please, stop this. You are better than this."

All at once, Dart saw the situation for what it was: a bully antagonizing a defenseless boy. His eyes grew wide as he released the bandit and staggered backward, breathing heavy in his realization.

The bandit coughed and sputtered for a moment before snatching his sword off the ground and whispering, "You haven't seen the last of the Gehrich Gang." The words stuck painfully in his throat.

"We certainly hope so," said Albert sternly, giving such a fierce look that the bandit recoiled and turned to run, holding a hand to his throat.

In shock, Dart merely stood and watched the bandit flee. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Albert so angry, even after Lavitz's death, and it only served to push him farther into his guilt.

How could I have done this? he asked himself.

A moment later, Albert maneuvered into Dart's line of sight, and Dart dropped his gaze. Albert's wrath was uniquely terrifying. So calm, cool, and collected he always was, and now, his brow was furrowed and his mouth set in a distinct scowl. Dart shirked away from the king.

"I'm sorry," he said helplessly. "I would never…"

"Murder someone?" inserted Albert angrily. "Bandit or no, he could not have defended himself. And I daresay, he probably did not see you coming."

Dart dropped his gaze to Albert's boots, and he began studying the seams, laces, and soles. They were indeed high quality, but not the grandeur you would expect to see on a king's feet.

"I have no excuse," admitted Dart. "I was just… angry."

Albert's stance visibly softened, and he took a step forward to put a hand on Dart's shoulder.

"I do not doubt that." The wrath had dissipated from his tone in an instant. "You have had three things taken from you, each of immense value. Anyone who shared your experiences would be equally full of wroth. But these intense emotions are something that you must learn to control. You cannot let them get the better of you, as they did just now."

He waited for a moment for a response, but Dart gave none. His mind was swirling with a million thoughts, many of them leading back to the idea of Shana knowing what he'd almost done. But afresh among them arose a new fear – not one of disappointing Shana, but of disappointing himself. How could he defeat Lloyd if he was no better than a common bandit?

What would Lavitz say?

"Come," said Albert. "I believe Haschel is ordering us drinks."

As Dart allowed himself to be led away, he only vaguely processed their journey along the cobblestones. After a minute or two, he recognized the street that led to the bar that they'd been frequenting since their arrival. But something burned in him, and the need to speak it overcame him. Just as the building came into view, he stopped and tapped Albert's shoulder.

As Albert turned to him in curiosity, Dart said, "I'm sorry. I don't… know how to control myself yet. But I'm learning. I have to be better to…" His voice faltered as he gathered his thoughts, eyes shut to aid his focus.

He was going to say that he wanted to be worthy of Shana. But even as the words fought to escape him, he realized that this was only partially true. He wasn't sure that he could ever be someone she could love again, and he'd all but come to terms with that truth. But what struck him now was a realization that his true shame came not from the living, but from the dead. All at once, he knew that the only thing that could crush him more than Shana's disapproval was Lavitz's.

"Listen," he said as he started anew, his newfound self-knowledge fueling his words. "I think we can both agree that Lavitz was pretty much the best person to ever live, and whenever I talked to him, he always somehow inspired me to be better. I almost walked away from everything after the battle at Hoax because I was afraid of the responsibility that being a dragoon would carry, and he showed me what was most important. He always knew what was right and never doubted himself or me. He never wavered. Not once." A vision of Lavitz's weeping came to him. "Even when he was broken… All I ever wanted was to be like him. And after he died, I guess that I thought that I never could. But you were his friend, too. You know what he was like, probably more than I do. Will you help me?"

The king's expression shifted from sadness to pride to bewilderment throughout Dart's speech, and he paused in his response. After a moment, he nodded slowly and said, "I understand this feeling well. Having grown up with Lavitz by my side, I can say that much of who I am today was shaped by him. He was my inspiration, too, and I often looked to him for guidance, both in kingly matters and in those more personal. Recently, I have been struggling with this very emotion you carry. I wonder if he would have been approving of my decision to leave my post as king and scour the nations on an errand such as this. And I may never find the answer to that question. But the truth is that even now, his guidance has not left us completely. Everything he taught us still lives on within us, and all we have yet to do is heed it."

The similarities between the two men struck Dart once again. Part of him wished he had known the two of them together and been able to see them in their lively youths. How different would Albert be now had he never met Lavitz? Dart toyed with the idea for a moment. Perhaps some of that lasting impact had been made on him as well.

"But more importantly," continued Albert, "we have him as an example of who to be. During the height of the war, when Lavitz was frequently absent, I would often ask myself what he would do in a given situation, as I could not ask him directly. It was not an easy task, but I believe that it helped to prepare me for the eventuality of Hellena Prison – for not having him near."

"And what do you think he would say about our journey?" asked Dart.

A soft smile spread over Albert's features, and he looked past Dart as he said, "I believe he would find our intentions to be noble. He would say that our futures are much more grandiose than we believe them to be, and that we have a responsibility not only to his memory, but to the world as a whole. We know not what Lloyd's intentions are, but we can trust that they are hostile, and he would support our efforts to thwart them."

Dart returned the smile and said, "And I think he would approve of you leaving for that very reason. You made sure that everything was in place, and that they could make it without you."

"I deeply appreciate that, Dart," replied the king, his shoulders just a bit higher than they were. "He would be proud of you as well. You have struggled and overcome so much. Even speaking of this to a friend is a step in the right direction toward your goals. You undoubtedly have everything that it requires to become the person you are aspiring to be." He paused and put his hand on Dart's shoulder before adding, "Now come: let us go find our friends inside."

With a small smile, Dart turned toward the bar with Albert, soon entering the bustling hub and finding seats next to Haschel. He'd nestled himself in the back of the room, his eyes darting back and forth among the noisy rabble made up almost entirely of bandits. As Dart glanced around, he saw the familiar signs of the gang at almost every table, with only the proportionately few civilians clinging to the edges of the room. Most seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Dart couldn't help but see the nervous glances that darted to and fro. Even a night of enjoyment was foiled by anxiety for the people of Donau. Dart gritted his teeth.

"Welcome, gentlemen!" came Haschel's deceptively cheery voice. "Drinks are on their way, and apparently, we're also in for a show tonight!"

"What kind of show?" asked Dart, casting a glance to the dark, empty stage on the far side of the room. It was barely large enough to hold two performers.

"A dancer," winked Haschel.

"That explains why so many have decided to come here tonight," inserted Albert.

Indeed, the large crowd was atypical for this establishment, especially the number of civilians. Most avoided the bandit congregations at all costs, and only the bravest dared come so late in the day. This evening was different; civilians were sprinkled throughout the crowd, filling up nearly a third of the tables, though their eyes never stopped casting frightened glances about the room.

"You excited, Albert?" asked Haschel.

"No," said Albert, waving away the idea. "I care not for such things."

"Not at all?"

"No."

"Not even a little bit?" Haschel leaned in as if trying to study a particularly fascinating object.

Pursing his lips, Albert said, "My life has been dedicated to something grander than the fleeting fancies of lust. One can appreciate the beauty of the female body without giving up a part of himself to it or making it the sole object of his focus."

"So you do like dancers," concluded Haschel, leaning back in satisfaction.

"You mistake my meaning," replied Albert, shoulders pulling back as he prepared for a speech.

"Let's just…" interjected Dart, "not."

"Aw, come on!" protested Haschel. "I was finally digging into that oversized head of his."

Dart chuckled. "We came to relax though, right? Not debate chivalry, or… whatever it was that Albert was going to disagree with you on."

"Fine," grumbled the old man. "One day I'll figure out how he runs."

"I am not sure that I am anticipating that day," said Albert, now suspicious of Haschel.

The next hour or so was filled with a mixture of laughing and banter among the three. After his conversation with Albert, Dart felt more at peace now than he had the past week. Though he did not spend long without thoughts of Lloyd or his dragoon spirit running through his mind, he made a great effort to enjoy himself with his friends. It occurred to him during this time that neither of these two men had changed anything about how they treated him since he'd become fully human again, and that brought him a great comfort. It seemed like only five minutes had passed when a burly man – who Dart recognized as the owner of the bar – jumped onto the small stage and began trying to shout over the clamor.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" came his surprisingly booming voice, and the overwhelming chatter slowed until it became a low rumble. "This is the night we've been waiting for! For her weekly performance, please give a round of applause for our very own Azure Wave!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as the owner shuffled quickly off stage to make way for the show. Two men lit lamps on either side of the stage, lighting the dark wood and illuminating a curtain previously hidden in the shadows. A violin began to play from the side of the room, the chords slow and soulful, as the curtain was pulled aside to reveal a hidden doorway. Much more striking, however, was the girl who stood in the doorway. She wore a revealing blue dancer's outfit, decorated with gold lace and an oversized bow holding fast to the back of an intricately beaded belt. Her shorts were some of the shortest Dart had ever seen, but they appeared to be made of silk or some other similar material of a striking blue that reminded him of Fletz. Her youthful face shined a wide, almost mischievous smile to the cheering patrons. She appeared close to Shana's age, perhaps a year or two older, but something in her eyes screamed out a desire for attention that Dart had never seen in Shana. This girl thrived on a stage where Shana would shy away.

Most importantly, despite her youth, her hair was purely platinum – just like Lloyd's.

As soon as she was visible, Dart, Haschel, and Albert turned to each other with a shared look of concern mixed with confusion. Silently, they agreed to speak to this girl as soon as the show was over. Could it possibly be that Lloyd had relatives in this area? Or was there some other connection?

Dart's head spun with the possibilities. The possibility of Lloyd being either in or from this region had become significantly higher, which meant that he was likely close by. Without knowing Lloyd's intentions, they were hopelessly in the dark. But this girl, this dancer, might know something. Maybe she could make their presence here useful.

Mind bouncing endlessly from idea to idea, he only halfheartedly paid attention to the performance. What little he did notice was that, despite her outfit, the girl was surprisingly proper in her display. Although she did give the crowd pieces of what they really wanted, she was careful to maintain her dignity. It helped that her movements were so graceful. It was almost otherworldly to watch her dance, mesmerizing to see her fluid movements that seemed inhuman at times. And yet, she played the crowd spectacularly. She twisted and leapt about, swinging her long, flowing, silver hair, and nearly every minute, shouts of approval rang throughout the bar.

Many minutes later, the show ended with a dramatic flair as the girl twirled, ending in a graceful pose with her arm outstretched. Men shouted and cheered, several throwing coins onto the stage as they did so. She grinned widely and curtsied.

"Thank you so much!" she called. "See you next week!" And with a wave, she turned and left through the back curtain.

The owner scurried forward to collect the money before announcing that "Azure Wave" would return in seven days.

"How do we get back there?" asked Haschel immediately as the cheers continued.

"I don't know, but we need to," muttered Dart as he strained to find another door on that side of the tavern. "She has platinum-colored hair."

"Just like Lloyd," confirmed Albert.

"The rest is different," grinned Haschel shrewdly.

Closing his eyes, Dart shook his head. "She's like… a third your age."

Haschel shrugged. "Seemed like an adult to me."

"Maybe there is an exit at the back of the building," suggested Albert.

"It's at least worth a shot," agreed Dart.

About a third of the patrons made their way toward the door, nearly all of them civilians. No doubt the bandits wanted to continue in their revels a little longer, and the people wanted to keep their distance. They waited for a few minutes and then joined the throng of individuals leaving. But instead of following them down the street, they turned aside and followed the edge of the building until they came to a back alley with a tall house nestled only eight feet from the tavern walls.

"Hey!" came an affronted voice.

A shout echoed past them, and they quickened their pace. Several thumping noises followed, and then a crash, as they rounded the corner and beheld a curious scene.

The dancer was there, fists raised, still in costume, with two bandits lying on the ground nearby. One had been thrown into one of the many decorative pots to be found in Donau and shattered it, and the other was nursing a bloody nose. One more bandit, this one much more muscular, stood with his hand on a sword hilt, glaring at the girl.

"Now, now, little lady," he warned. "Don't want to go making enemies of the Gang."

"I'll make enemies of whoever dares touch my butt, you brainless thug!" she shouted.

Before Dart could react, the bandit drew his sword and slashed at the dancer's belly, but she smoothly stepped aside with her previous grace and agility before spinning and kicking the back of the bandit's knee. He crumpled to the ground, and she punched his jaw. Fairly certain he saw a tooth go flying, Dart stood in awe of the girl, who proceeded to kick the man squarely in the groin, and he curled into a ball, howling in pain.

She stood up straight, holding her hands behind her back, nose in the air, and said, "Now, I hope you take this as a learning experience. Next time you want to compliment a girl as sexy as me, do it the right way."

The bandit with the bloody nose stood slowly, his entire tunic coated in red now, and tried to help his friend out of the pottery.

"You crazy little…" he growled. "You think you can get away with something like this?"

"Let me see…" She pretended to think for a moment, then nodded with a grin. "I think I can."

The bandits snarled while the third hobbled to his feet, still hunched over in pain.

"You want a second round?" asked the girl, feigning an innocent voice.

Rather than answering, the clearly terrified bandits turned and ran off as quickly as they could. "You'll pay for this, mark my words!" cried one over his shoulder.

"I won't be paying you!" shouted the dancer before laughing at her victory. She bounced on her toes and turned back toward the door to the bar.

"Um," said Haschel, clearly at a loss for words.

The girl spun and faced the sound, immediately defensive.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

Dart held up his hands in surrender. "Not bandits, I can promise you that," he said.

"Are you gonna try to touch my butt, too?" Her eyes narrowed.

"We wouldn't dare," laughed Haschel.

"So… you're just some fans then?" She relaxed slightly.

"Well—" began Dart.

Suddenly, the girl took several bounding steps forward and pointed to Dart. "What's your name?" she demanded.

"D-Dart," he replied, slightly taken aback. "And this is Haschel, and Albert." He pointed to each in turn.

"I am most pleased to meet you," said the king with a bewildered smile.

She shrugged. "Most everyone is pleased to meet me. But… you don't look familiar, and I've been here long enough to know faces. Are you all new to town?"

"Yeah, and we're looking for someone," said Dart. "We were hoping you could help us."

"Me? Why me?"

"This might sound odd, but… you have the same color hair as him."

A tinge of surprise flashed across her features, but she quickly smoothed them with a coy smile. "Sounds like a handsome guy." She flipped a lock of hair behind her shoulder dramatically. "Does he have a name?"

"Lloyd," replied Haschel. "Tall guy, skinny. And of course, silver hair."

"Hm," she pondered. "Lloyd, Lloyd… Why does that sound familiar…?"

Dart cast a hopeful glance to the others as they waited.

"Oh!" she cried. "I remember now! There was this lady in town a couple weeks ago, supposedly some really important high-up from another country, and she got herself into a… sticky… situation – if you know what I mean – but she said that this guy named Lloyd saved her from the bandits, although she never gave any features like his hair, even though she was trying to find him after that because I honestly think she has a huge savior-complex-crush on the guy even though she just saw him for, like, five seconds before he ran away." She paused and then quickly added, "Maybe that's why she never gave any features, because I heard that it all happened after nightfall, which means she wouldn't have been able to see very much."

A bit bewildered, Dart simply said, "So he was here?"

"Maybe," she replied. "Probably." She shrugged. "Doesn't seem like a common name from this region anyway."

"You said, two weeks ago?" asked Albert.

"Yeah, almost exactly. I think it was on one of my performance nights."

"Why wouldn't anyone else have told us about this before?" asked Haschel. "We've been asking for days!"

"Not to mention the curious nature of having such a high-profile visitor to such a town as this," inserted Albert. "This seems to be a tale the people would love to share."

"Nobody's going to say anything with the bandits around," the dancer replied condescendingly. "They're all too scared."

"And you're clearly not," observed Dart.

She shook her head stalwartly. "I'm not scared of anything. As a matter of fact, I was kind of hoping to gather up some people and hit their hideout. But everyone else in this—" she leaned her head back to shout at the sky "—STUPID TOWN is too scared to do ANYTHING IMPORTANT!"

"Why not go by yourself?" chuckled Haschel. "I think you can take care of yourself." He gestured to the blood stain behind her.

"Three bandits is not the same as a whole hideout, dummy," she said curtly. "I may be pretty amazing at everything, but I'm not a god. You'd need at least a dozen full-fledged soldiers to raid it. Or at least twenty people with pitchforks."

"Wait," Dart interrupted. "You know where their hideout is?"

Nodding, she said, "Yeah, everyone knows they come out of the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. The king even put up a blockade to keep them in, but that obviously hasn't worked very well."

Just as Dart turned to say something to Albert, the dancer interrupted again.

"Hang on... Dart, is it? Are you planning to hit their hideout?"

"Actually, yes. Next to Lloyd, it's one of our motives for coming here. They took something… something important to me. And I want it back."

"You know what, Dart?" she replied, crossing her arms and eyeing him. "You're pretty cool. I think we'll get along great. So I'm just going to go with you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You need more than two guys and a grandpa to get past the Gehrichs," she smirked. "I can be the other seventeen people you need."

"Hang on a second," protested Haschel.

"Oh my gods, it will be so cool!" she said excitedly, bouncing up and down. "A real adventure! With my new best friend!"

Best friend? he thought.

A multitude of thoughts ran through Dart's head, most of them a lack of patience mixed with dread. This girl had talked so much in the past three minutes that he thought he'd go crazy if she actually traveled with them. Not to mention, their group was a group of dragoons, one of which this girl was not. She had no place with them.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said. "It's dangerous."

"I think she can handle dangerous," said Haschel, highly amused, though affronted, at the unfolding of events.

"The old man is right," she said, pointing to him with an approving look. "And besides, do you even know how to navigate the Valley of Corrupted Gravity? There's only one way into the valley, and it's blockaded, like I said, and you have to get written permission from the king of Tiberoa to get past it. And on top of that, one of my friends, aka the mayor's son, went missing a month ago, and they're all saying the bandits took him. So I want to be there to get him back!"

Sighing in irritation, Dart tried to come up with a way to be firm but kind, and all methods escaped him.

"Please?" said the dancer. "Please? Pretty please? Please, please, please…"

As she went on a string of endless pleases, Dart closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He was fairly certain that he had no choice in the matter, and that this girl would go on to haunt his nightmares.

"Fine!" he said at last, putting silence to her incessant begging.

She gasped. "Yay! Where are you staying? I can get my stuff together and meet you there tomorrow morning."

He gave the name of the inn, and Albert stepped forward.

"I do not mean to be rude," he began, "but you know all our names, and yet we do not know yours. Would you enlighten us?"

"Oh! Yeah! My name is Meru! I'll see you all tomorrow!"

She grinned and waved as she backed away toward the back door to the tavern. At last, she went inside, and Dart took a long, deep breath.

"What have I done?" he muttered.

"I think she's great," said Haschel. "Though I will have to teach her some respect at some point."

"She is… something different," included Albert.

"Rose is going to hate her," said Dart flatly. "So, so much."