Sunrise, Sunset

I will find you…

Even if I have to search the world over…

Sometime, somewhere…

I'm sure…

The sun rose upon Opassa beach as it had every day. Its golden glow reflected off the azure waters, dispelling the gloom of night, just as it had every day. But this day, something was different. The sun saw something it had not seen for years, 3 years to be exact. The ground shimmered and changed color, and a young blond woman just appeared out of nowhere.

The young woman took a deep, steadying breath, and stretched her tense muscles.

"You'd think I'd be used to that by now." she thought to herself.

She gazed around and noticed the glorious sunrise that painted the waters a mixture of reds and pinks. Smiling, despite the task of searching another world for her quarry that she knew lay in front of her, she turned her back on the golden waters and left the beach.

The same sun that graced the sands of Opassa beach slowly crawled its way into Arni. Fishermen smiled as the sun warmed them while they waited for their elusive quarry, as they had been for several hours. As the sun rose higher and higher, the village slowly came to life, and began its day. Children ran in the streets, mothers went out to market, and men went to their jobs.

The sun also shone upon a certain house, sneaking its shining rays through the window. It seemed to smile upon a certain young man, teasing him into consciousness. Slowly, but surely, the young man woke up. Serge stretched and yawned, then went to open the blinds, finally relenting to the golden orb's request to enter. As he did every morning, he observed the life in his tiny village and smiled.

He dressed quickly and left his humble room.

"Mom will probably make me do some more chores today," he thought with a grimace.

Sure enough, as soon as he came downstairs, his mother cornered him.

"Serge! I need you to get some groceries from Termina today." his mother said, while shoving a long list into his hands.

"Ok, ok…"

He barely had time to ask for breakfast before his mother booted him out the door. Smiling nonetheless, he made his way through the village.

"Morning Serge!"

"Hiyas Serge!"

"How's it going Serge?"

Ever the silent one, he merely acknowledged the greetings with a smile and a nod. Along the way, he bumped into a certain girl and a strange, talking dog.

"Serge, where are you going?" Leena asked.

"Just out to Termina to pick up some things, I'll be back before dark."

"Oh, ok, don't forget you're having dinner at my house tonight!"

"Bye, Sergepoo!"

They waved (or barked in Poshul's case), and were off. Frowning a little, Serge continued out of the village. He had forgotten all about the dinner tonight. It must've been another of his mother's schemes to get him closer to Leena. Of course, there were some feelings there, but whenever he was with Leena, he couldn't stop thinking about her. What would she think if… no, when she finally came back? Settling down with Leena was like confirming that she wouldn't return. He couldn't even bear to believe that he would never see her again. She had promised…

Shaking his head, he tried his best to get her out of his mind. But like the sun's rays, they inevitably came sneaking through his thoughts. He remembered the sweet melody as the elements sang their song. He remembered, seeing through his tears, her face as she swore that she would find him, no matter where they ended up. He kept replaying her words and her face as he continued along his way.

Kid sighed in relief. Traveling through time and space sure tired you out. She staggered her way to the inn, only to find that she was in some old lady's house.

"Oh ya, guess the inn's located somewhere else in this dimension," she thought wryly.

She apologized for intruding to the astounded woman and left. Finding the rightful place of the inn (all the way on the other side of town), she paid the clerk and gratefully collapsed onto the silken sheets. She was too tired to care about wrinkling her dress. She laughed as she gazed down at her garments. She would not have been caught dead wearing the nice dress several years ago. But since then, her constant travels had softened her up, and besides, her old clothes were all messed up anyways.

As she rested her exhausted legs, she thought about him again. She had searched through countless dimensions, but finding nothing each time. But she will find him. She made a promise, and she was gonna keep it damn it! Unconsciously, she clutched her amulet tighter.

"Termina's beds were always the softest," she murmured to herself before finally falling asleep. As the maid that cleaned the room walked past her open door, she could've sworn that she mumbled something that sounded like "Serge", as she smiled dreamily, lost in another world.

Termina was busy as always on a market day. People bustled by Serge in the streets without noticing him. After picking up the groceries on his mother's extensive list, he found that he still had some time to spare before having to head back. He immediately headed for the inn, where he had made friends with the clerk there.

The shade of the inn was relaxing after the blearing hot afternoon sun outside. The clerk, Fritz, smiled at Serge as he stepped in.

"Doing more chores for your mother again, eh Serge?" Fritz said, grinning.

Serge smiled back. "Yep, and without giving me breakfast either," he said.

"You wanna get something? It's a pretty slow day, only one customer."

Serge quickly agreed, as he was starving. He waited while Fritz went to grab his wallet. As he waited, he caught a glimpse of a young woman in a nice dress step out of her room. Something about her seemed familiar. The more he looked at her, the more he seemed to know her. Smack! With watering eyes, Serge turned to the smiling face of Fritz.

"Don't go staring at my customers, you'll scare them away," he laughed.

Both chortling, they stepped back out into the blaring sun, both hoping that there was still some Squid Guts Pasta left at the bar.

Kid yawned and stretched as she finished washing up. The nap did her a world of good. She looked out the window. Sunset, her favorite time of day. Yawning again, she got dressed and prepared to go to Opassa beach, where she watched the sunset every night, to remind herself of the events of 3 years ago. She smiled ruefully. She was getting sentimental.

As she stepped out, she noticed that the clerk was gone. She had heard him talking to a young man earlier about going out. She remembered the feel of the young man's eyes on her back. It was unsettling, yet somehow familiar. It made her think of him again. Oh stop it, almost everything makes you think of him these days. Try as she might, she couldn't get rid of the feeling. Preoccupied, she didn't even notice that she left her amulet on the bed as she left.

Serge and Fritz laughed as they walked back to the inn.

"Mom's going to kill me. I'm too full to eat anything at the dinner now."

Fritz shook his head. "Well, she just wants you to get close to Leena right? Man, I don't get way you don't want her. She's a pretty one." he said, somewhat wistfully.

The sun was painting the road with orange and red as they entered the inn. The duo was glad for a chance to rest their legs as they sat on some sofas in the lobby. They spent several more minutes talking before Serge noticed how dark it was getting.

"I should probably head back Fritz, my mom will go ballistic." Serge said, sighing.

"Yeah, I'll take you to the gates. Hold on, just let me get my ja…" he stopped as the maid came up to him.

"Hey Fritz, that young woman left something in her room." the maid held out an ornate amulet.

As Fritz reached for it, Serge suddenly snatched it out of the girl's hand. Fritz watched as Serge paled and watched as his friend hurtled out the door, almost knocking some startled guests over as they were coming through the door. Fritz shrugged, as he had guests to worry about. He assumed that his strange friend had a logical reason. Sighing, he returned to his spot behind the desk.

She's here. She's back. I know it!

Serge ran like a wild man. He knew where she would be. He didn't how he knew, he just did. It drove him on. He made it past Lizard Rock at record time. Wildly, he flailed his head about, probing searching. He ran to the spot, the Angelus Erratus. And lo and behold, there she was. In the same dress he had seen her in that morning. Her white dress… Kid in a dress! Her white dress was tinted pink in the dying light of the sun. She was there, calm, tranquil, beautiful… staring out at the crimson waves. He was too stunned to speak. All he could do was make guttural noises. She heard him, and she turned around…

Smiling, she said, "I found ya mate."

He grinned and swept her into his arms.

"You found me…"

As the sun slowly dropped behind the horizon, it seemed to smile upon the two young adults on the beach, illuminating them in crimson light, as they embraced, glad to be together again.

Disclaimer: All characters, dimensions and locations belong to Squaresoft (Square Enix now)