Morning. The dawn broke the darkened night and covered the earth with an almost violet light. From above, both moons could be seen setting just above the horizon. Edge was the first to awaken in the party of his reunited old friends. Cecil and Tucker lay slumbering alongside one another, snoring loudly. Rydia slept quietly alongside Edge's bedroll. Golbez chose to sleep alone. Edge stretched, and watched the dawn. "Y'know," Edge said to no one in particular, "I never really took the time in life to enjoy the beauties of nature. My life has always been crash-boom-bang and always on the go. Now, I realize what is at stake if Edgar gets his mitts on the rest of the Orb." Edge decided to find some breakfast for himself and the others. Creeping quietly away from the campsite, Edge padded down to a small pond. Much to his delight, there were fish swimming within. Withdrawing some line and hook, Edge made a makeshift fishing pole and began to fish. Half an hour passed, and Edge had yet to score a catch for the meal. From behind, someone approached him. Edge turned to face the intruder. Rydia's smiling face greeted Edge. She waved, then sat down beside him. "Edge," Rydia began, "I'm glad you decided to see things through before you acted on your anger." Edge shrugged. "I couldn't let you cry. Besides, like you and Tucker said, a man can change over time." Rydia smiled a sweet smile. "Catch anything?" Edge shook his head. "No, not even a little nibble. Maybe it's my bait." "What are you using?" "Nothing." Edge grinned. Rydia giggled. "That may explain your problem, Edge. Here..." From her pouch Rydia produced a handful of worms. "These tend to work better than a bare hook." Edge stammered, unsure of what to say. "Thanks," he managed. Edge applied the bait to his hook and cast his line into the brink once again. Rydia looked around, at a loss for words. "It sure is a beautiful morning, isn't it?" "Yeah," Edge nodded. "Pretty." An uncomfortable silence ensued for several minutes. Rydia was looking around, not focusing her attention on anything in particular, and Edge was watching his pool of fish. Edge broke the silence. "D'you think that we'll ever catch up with Cardia? Golbez seems hell-bent on finding him." "I don't know," Rydia answered, "but for Golbez's sake I hope that we do. I've never seen a man so consumed with a goal before. It's almost not natural." "Yeah, but you gotta admit, Golbez is far from your average Joe." Rydia nodded in acknowledgement. "That he is... he is special, no doubt about that." "We're all special in our own way, Rydia." Edge gazed into Rydia's shining eyes. "Don't ever forget it." Rydia flushed. "N-no, I won't forget, Edge." Rydia began to shiver. "What's the matter? Are you cold?" Edge asked Rydia. "A little." Rydia lied. Something more than the chills bothered her, deep down in her heart. She didn't know what to call it, but she had stronger feelings for Edge than she did for any other person she'd ever met. Rydia only wished that she knew for sure if Edge felt the same way towards her. Edge removed his cape from around his neck. "Here, wear this. It should keep you warm." Edge offered the cape to Rydia. Rydia held out her palm, disappointed. "No, Edge, you keep it. I'll be fine." Rydia sighed in frustration. Damn him! she thought. Why does he have to be so cold and impassive? Can't he tell me what he's feeling, just once? "In fact, I'll head back to camp and get a fire going. I should be fine once it gets burning." Without waiting for a response, Rydia turned away from Edge and stalked back to camp. Edge shuddered. /I couldn't possibly tell her how I feel,/ he thought. If only she knew... but I know that we could never be. Her world is too different from my own. She would be unhappy living my life. I'm probably better off without her... Edge slammed his palm into the slender tree on which he was leaning against. The wood splintered under the crushing blow. "If only things were different," Edge said aloud, and for the first time ever, Edge wept. ***** Edge returned to camp with a half-dozen fish, ready for cooking. On Edge's approach, Rydia turned away, averting her gaze. The others had awoken, and were hungry. The party ate, broke camp, and discussed what to do next. "Well, I see we have two options," Cecil offered. "We can either attempt to rescue the Orb from Edgar's stronghold, or we can search for more clues as to the disappearance of Cardia Lemieux and the Red Crystal. Neither course of action is favorable, and both will be exceptionally difficult." Edge nodded. "The only place we could begin looking for clues to Cardia's disappearance is up there," Edge pointed to the mid-morning sky, "on the Red Moon. And since we don't have a Big Whale to get us there, that doesn't leave many options." Tucker continued. "And that Orb that you're all lookin' for is in the hands of the baddest fella I've seen in a LONG time. He's bound to have guards, sentries, traps... heck, he's got a whole ARMY behind him, if he needs it. I see what you mean, Cecil." Golbez added, "My damaged airship is still on the Veldt. I have no means of repairing it, and even if I did have the means, I don't think I could fix it anyway. I'm no engineer. Mind you, I couldn't even begin to guess at the odds of anyone being able to fix the useless thing." Edge chimed in, "Well, think about it for a sec. If all of us who were on the Big Whale survived its crash into the Sun, then Cid should still be around somewhere. HE could do a real good job on it. And, I must admit, I managed to pick up a few pointers while we worked on the drills for our old airship." Rydia snapped her fingers. "I think I might know a way. Golbez, where did Cardia say he was headed for when he clashed arms with you?" Golbez pondered for a moment. "Why, I believe he said he was heading for Bahamut. Apparently he thought that Bahamut would have all the answers." Rydia grinned a huge grin. "Well, let's see if Cardia did indeed make it to Bahamut." Rydia stood, and began chanting. "From the Land of Summoned Monsters, I call Bahamut! Please, we are in need of vital information." From nowhere, the huge form of Bahamut appeared before the party. The gargantuan dragon looked down at familiar faces, minus one. "Ah, Rydia. I see you have found some old friends, and a new one as well." Rydia nodded. "Bahamut, we need to know if a Red Wizard by the name of Cardia Lemieux approached you concerning the Red Crystals." Bahamut seemed to ponder this for some time. Then, he breathed, "Yes. Cardia Lemieux did seek my aid. I did not give it to him. No mortal should be concerned with the affairs of Lunarians. Nor should one decide on ruling over others with the aid of Lunarian knowledge." "What did he ask, O great King of the Monsters?" Rydia asked. "The mortal wished to know the source of the Red Crystals, and how he could tap their power and make it his own. That is not the way of red magic. That is the way of evil sorcery, sorcery that we Lunarians could not allow to come about. Not in this day and age." "Bahamut, we believe that Cardia is partly responsible for Edgar's abrupt changes. It was Cardia that had knowledge of the Orbs, and sought Red wizardry to further his own cause, whatever that may be." Bahamut considered Rydia's words. "Rydia, I will do what I can. But remember that we Lunarians cannot interfere in the affairs of the Blue Planet. Not before it is time." Bahamut then vanished as abruptly as he appeared. "There you have it," Golbez growled, "Cardia is loose and wielding forbidden magic. Should he decide to join Edgar's cause, then all may well be lost." "But where to begin the search?" Cecil asked. "I suggest we split up," Edge offered, "and search each and every little nook and cranny of this planet until we find Cardia, or until we find others that may help us. So far, it seems to be the only chance we have." Edge continued. "I intend to search the southernmost continent. I feel something is amiss there, but I do not know what it could be. Rest assured that I'll be back in one piece. We can keep in touch via carrier pigeon, and we'll cover more ground." "But that's a lot of ground to cover, Edge, and none of us know our way around!" Tucker didn't like the idea of being alone on a strange planet, technology or no. "Then that's exactly why we should start immediately." Edge rolled up his belongings in his bedroll and hoisted it onto his back. "I don't know what you all intend to do, but please understand that I MUST reach the southernmost continent. It is important to me." Without a further word, Edge began his trek.