The penthouse was thick with the cloying smoke of sandalwood, while outside a storm lashed the jagged remains of the shattered windows. Terra lay on an ornate brass bed; her skin still tinged pink from the transformation that had sent her screaming across the skies to Zozo. Edgar stood before the bed, his hands gripping the foot-board with white knuckles the only outside sign of stress. The old man who had been watching over her was still speaking, he was saying something about Espers and Magicite, but Edgar's attention was on her. He was certain he had seen her move; the tiniest flutter of her eyes and the movement of a finger had caused the breath to catch in his throat.

A sudden flash of light and the sound of glass shattering glass pulled Edgar's attention to where the old man had been standing. Four flat, green gems lay on the floor, each glowing with an inner light, but no sign of the man who had introduced himself as Ramuh remained. Edgar shook his head and cursed quietly as Locke gave a low whistle and muttered to himself. Celes and Sabin were talking to each other in hushed tones while they collected the stones, but Edgar's attention was squarely on the sleeping form in the bed. Yes, she was sleeping, he was certain of it now. She was alive and sleeping right there in front of him. The revelation almost too much for him to bear, and had the cultured tones of Cyan's voice not called for him from the stairwell, Edgar was certain he would have found himself at her bedside when she awoke. As it was, there was a meeting to attend to and business that couldn't be avoided, not even for her. He reached into a pocket, pulled out a small silver coin and walked to the head of the bed. Kneeling beside her pillow, Edgar was about to place the coin beneath it when the Doman knight called again from the stairwell.

"Lord Edgar, what art thou doing? We've important matters to discuss, My Lord."

Edgar looked over his shoulder at the aged warrior. "I'll be right there, Cyan. I'm just-" The impatient look on the knight's face made Edgar flinch slightly. "Alright, I'm coming." Standing, he let his fingers brush her shoulder and thought that he had seen her eyelid open slightly. Shaking his head, he made his way to the stairwell, the coin still in his hand.

As he approached, Cyan sighed.

"Lord Edgar, I do not know what it is that thou art thinking, but there is no time to waste. She cannot be awake, nor doth know what is occurring around her. What were thou doing?"

Edgar paused and looked back to the sleeping form on the bed and shook his head before going down the stairs. "Nothing important, Cyan. Just... making sure she was in running order, you know?"

On the bed, Terra stirred, a single tear rolling down her face.

It had been nearly a month since Edgar, Sabin, Locke and Celes had made their way south from Zozo to the Opera House. So much had happened in that time; they had met Setzer, convinced him to take them to the Imperial Continent - to Vector itself - and made a narrow escape from the Magitek factory.

Nearly a month since he had last seen her and now there she was, standing on the deck of the Blackjack, and he could do nothing. Since they had returned to Zozo, she refused to let him speak to her; Not a word, not a smile, nothing. Try as he might, Edgar could not get a chance to speak to her. The feral boy Sabin had found on the Veldt - Gau, he called himself - would pace around her whenever she left the stateroom Setzer had donated to her, hissing and snapping at him like some sort of guard animal whenever he approached. After a near miss from one of Gau's swipes, Edgar had quickly decided to confine himself to the engine room, far enough away from her that he wouldn't be tempted to risk another of Gau's attacks.

He was inspecting one of the alcohol-engines, watching the flickering blue flame as it heated the water tank above and nodding to himself as he admired the precision of the device, when the door to the compartment opened slightly. Without turning to see who it was, he continued to check on the machinery.

"You know, Edgar," the intruder began, the lilting of his Kohlingen accent barely audible above the sound of the engines, "She's really upset with you. I haven't been able to figure out why, yet, but whatever you did or said back in Zozo must have gotten her pretty riled up."

Edgar looked up and saw Locke leaning against the door frame and shaking his head. Since they had gotten back from the Imperial Continent, he had been the only one Gau allowed to talk to her, save for Sabin.

Edgar stared at the treasure-hunter for a moment, confused. Zozo? He hadn't been able to speak to her at all in the city; she had been asleep, and only Cyan and Gau had stayed to guard her while the others went to find an airship. And once they had returned with it... This. Shaking his head, Edgar smiled ruefully.

"I didn't say a thing to her, Locke... Not a single thing."

"You know, that could be why she's so upset, Edgar."

Edgar looked up at Locke and sighed. "Right, I should talk to her. The only problem I can see is a five-foot nothing feral child that will more likely rip my throat out than let me by."

"He's not that bad, really. Besides, your brother seems to get along with him just fine. If you offer him some meat, I'm sure he'll let you talk to her. Or at the very least," Locke added with a laugh, "He'll give you a head start."

Edgar cursed and lobbed a spanner at Locke, who was by that time retreating behind the compartment door. Before the young Kohlinger disappeared, he gave Edgar one last thing to think on. "Don't let her get away from you, Highness. She's special."

Edgar cursed again and turned back to the Blackjack's engines. Sighing, he turned and made his way out of the Engine compartment. Seeing Gau squatting in front of the thick oaken door of Setzer's stateroom, he sighed. He heard Sabin's voice calling from the sunken gaming floor. "Ed! Come on down, Setzer's showing Cyan how to play roulette!"

Leaning over the railing, Edgar smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, brother, I have some official business to take care of. Matters of State and all that. You know how it is."

Sabin looked at his brother and shrugged. "I see. Difficult negotiations ahead, eh?"

With Gau staring at him, Edgar shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Shouldn't be too hard. I'll let you know how things go later."

Sabin nodded and returned his attention to the game, smiling as Cyan raked a small pile of coins toward his side of the table.