The events which had transpired over the last two days were more than the confused wanderer could fathom. He had no idea who or where he was. He could guess nothing from his attire, as he was clothed in a simple blue tunic, trousers, and cloak; standard fare for any traveller. Except, of course, for the color. Blue? He had found himself face down amidst a slide of rocks, with a nasty bruise on his head. He did not understand why we was on the mountain, why he had fallen, or how he had survived. He recovered a shattered wooden spear from the rocks below, but all but the point was useless now. Had this belonged to him? Had he been attacked? He pocketed the point and decided that he would have to descend from the mount if he ever hoped to survive.

Kain (for Kain is who he is) had had little trouble in descending the treacherous rocks above, and mercifully, he had discovered a clump of blackberry bushes the evening before. However, the sight of the flowing water and warmth of the bright morning sun on Kain's damp cloak inspired a new, terrible feeling of hunger and weakness.

Fingering the spear point in his pocket gave him a new hope: Surely the stream below would have fish! Kain bounded down towards the brook and soon realized that it was much larger and farther away than he had first guessed. So much the better! After a few minutes of scrambling, he reached his goal. A small river cut through the granite of the mountain, flowing along its edge and out into the grassland. As he plunged headlong into the water, he immediately regretted it. The water coming from the springs of the great mountain did not warm as rapidly as the surrounding air, and the shock of the cold water startled him into a stupor.

The river flowed smoothly however, and soon delivered him to the side of the next bend. As he travelled along its side, he monitored the clear, blue water carefully for signs of life. There! He waded back in. The long spear point and his surprisingly fast reflexes were all that was required to catch what was to Kain a glorious feast. He had no flint, however, and could see no dead grass or twigs about. Kain eyed the fish thoughfully, and decided that he wanted to live. Unlike a knife, the point of the spear did not have a blade, and cleaning the fish was hard work. Kain left the scales and ate the meat right off the skin. The cold slippery flesh of the fish did not have a pleasant taste, but it filled his stomach in a very satisfactory way.

The warmth of the sun reminded Kain that he had slept only fitfully the previous two nights, and he lay back against the rock, his eyes closing immediately.

Kain dreams of a room, made of wood rather than stone. Within is a bed, a dresser. a mirror, a desk, and many colorful tomes. But there are other shapes. Boxes with small doors on them. A strange, black rock, which has a shiny side, and magical forms flitting across it. A brown flower, with four petals, growing from the ceiling. And... there is a shape like a man, sitting at the desk. The man seems to be making music, playing some simple percussion instrument, white, with strange symbols on it, making a tap, tap, tap noise. But the man's attention seems to be focused, instead, upon a white rock, with a shiny side, remarkably similar to the black rock on the other side of the room. Walking closer, Kain sees that the man is tall, and of average build. He wears some kind of lens upon his face, which distorts the image of the white rock. 'What manner of magic is this?' Kain thinks. But the man seated in front of him seems to respond to his thoughts. He turns, and smiles pleasantly. Kain jumps. 'The face... He... I...'

Kain awoke with a start. The sun shone brilliantly from the zenith of the heavens. 'Th... that face... my own...'

As he came closer, he understood. The town was in ruins. Only the charred husks of buildings remained. 'Well,' he thought, 'there goes my only chance for a good night's rest and nourishment!' He quickened his pace.

He couldn't remember the place, but then what could he remember? 'This could be my home.' he thought. But then he saw movement. A small child approached, looked at him for a moment, then ran away screaming.

'It seems I am not well liked here.' He pondered the child's strange reaction. 'But then for all I know, I could be the one who destroyed this town'. For some reason, the thought that he could destroy so many innocent lives disturbed him greatly. He heard voices from one of the buildings. He started in the direction they seemed to be coming from.

It was a small house which seemed to have withstood the attack, and seemed to be in livable condition. There were signs of habitation outside, including a small garden. As he approached the house, a young man appeared at one of the windows.

"Excuse me," started Kain, but was promptly interrupted.

"Go away, we don't want any!" the man exclaimed. The accent was unfamiliar to Kain. "I don't know what you're selling, but we don't want any. So piss off!"

"I think you have misunderstood my intentions. I am merely -" Kain started, but was again rudely cut off.

"I said go away, you son of a silly person! Your mother was a Chocobo, and your father smelt of elderberries! Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!"

Kain was taken aback. He opened his mouth to speak again but was promptly bombarded with what seemed to be a... well, a farm animal of some sort. He took the not-so-subtle hint and turned away. "I thank you for your time!" he muttered under his breath. He decided to spend the night in one of the other, not-so-well-preserved houses.

* - * - *

He found shelter on the outskirts of the town. He took the time to try and think about what had happened to him. He still could not remember who he was, or where he was from. The strange dream of a few days ago still bothered him a little, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He hadn't had anything to eat since finding another clump of edible berries, and that had been a day ago. He decided to check around the house to see if there were any preserved foods around.

He was in luck. He found a tin of something marked 'Spam'. It didn't seem all that promising, but what could be worse than raw fish on a empty stomach? He opened he tin, and was just about to dig in to the first real food when he heard a baby's cry outside. He looked outside and saw a young woman approaching the house.

He stepped outside to meet her. She looked a bit annoyed but didn't notice him immediately. She glanced around uneasily, then turned her head in his direction.

"Hello?" she greeted him uneasily. "My name is Katarin. I apologize for my husband's behaviour this afternoon. Duane is a bit paranoid of strangers."

"I am sorry to have disturbed your household, but I am afraid I am lost," Kain replied and then added to himself 'to myself'. "I have been travelling for awhile and it seems I have been in an accident."

Kataryn peered at the strange man more closely. She noticed a large contusion on his forehead, as well as several other minor cuts and scrapes. They looked to be a few days old, and she was impressed that he had come so far without collapsing. He also showed signs of malnourishment. Her heart went out to the man.

"You're hurt!" she exclaimed. "Let me see your forehead!" She came closer and peered at the cut. It was beginning to become infected, and badly. Even in a village full of small children she had yet to see something so severe. "Let me take you back to our dwelling, and try to put something on that. I promise I won't let the children bother you, you need to rest!" Holding the baby in one arm, she gestured for him to follow her.

"I thank you for your hospitality, but I don't think I should stay very long." Kain, not being a great physician, had failed to realize how serious his cut had gotten. He put his hand to his forehead. He could tell something was wrong: it wasn't healing properly. Just to touch it made him feel dizzy. He followed the woman, truly grateful for a friendly face in this unfamiliar world.

* - * - *

He remained in Mobliz (he learned the name of the town from Duane, who had become less hostile) for some time. His condition steadily worsened, and he began to have strange hallucinations. Katarin and Duane decided it would be best to try and get more professional medical aid for the stranger. They sent out a carrier pigeon to Jidoor, not knowing of its destruction. Hopefully someone would cone before it was too late...

-flash of Golbez's masked face, then Cecil as a Paladin-

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT, it's not my fault... The Whale... Rosa was on the Whale... Rosa?"

-Kain sees all his old friends (the people from FF2) around his bed. They are all wearing white robes and pointing at him. They are all repeating the same thing-

'You betrayed us. You betrayed us. You betrayed us...'

-Vision of an old man handing an armoured Kain a package-

'But remember, Warrior of Light, if it fails, you could lose your soul...'

-different faces of people from FF2-

"Yhey never even saw my face..."

-Kain scratches at his face, as if to remove an invisible mask-

"I will not be used...TAKE IT OFF, take it off..."

-scratches at his face more-

-old man's voice again-

'You might lose your soul, or yourself.'

"I DID NOT, I DID NOT, I did not, nononono..."

-picture of Cecil and Rosa standing together-

(whispers) "I have ruined myself"

-Flash to prior dream sequence- Kain sees himself, and the two stones, one black and one white-

"I didn't fail, I DIDN't... fail?... THE MOON... it was on the moon..."

-flash of the moon, fades to Golbez's laughing, masked face, then to Cecil as a Dark Knight-

"you were my only friend..."

-Cut to Rosa as a captive. Kain sees himself laughing evilly and leering at her-

"I do not deserve to exist..."

-Flash to the end of FF2, Kain standing on a mountain top, wearing a blue coat-

"I am alone, I..."

"I have lost myself."

* - * - *

Katarin was getting very concerned. The man had been ranting like this for two days straight. Nothing he said made any sense. Fish in space, men in masks, women in white robes, stones and rituals...

They had had to move him the night before to another room, as his screams had been disturbing the children. Even during his periods of 'coherency' he didn't seem to know who he was or where. As his condition worsened, these periods of normalcy became less frequent. Often were the times she wished Terra was still there. Even Duane was becoming worried. If only someone would come before the strange man died...

"Celes! We're hit!"

There was no answer. Cecil ran to the fore, as he saw the other airship speeding away. He could make out Setzer's form, as well as the others. But they weren't looking his way.

"Damn, guess I go down with the ship."

Forgetting about the Chimera behind him, Cecil felt searing pain on his back as claws ripp through the weak spots in his armor. He fell to the deck with a loud thud.

"Argh, this isn't my day...Cure 2!" He held the Orb aloft as he spoke the words and his back was healed. Rolling to the side, he narrowly avoided another swipe of the creature's claws.

Cecil got to his feet and saw he was heading toward some sorta peninsula... He didn't have long...only seconds before the crash.

The creature slashed again, but this time Cecil was ready for it. With a mighty swing of his dark sword, he took off the Chimera's claw, and continued through it's breastbone, out the other side. The head fell to the deck trailing green ichor.

Cecil turned and could see the rooftops of some town clearly now. The airship was going to go right into the ocean, but at this speed, it would be nothing more than splinters after the crash.

Securing the orb and his few possessions, Cecil jumped over the roof of what seemed to be a barn. He cursed and wished he knew float or some other useful spell.

"Crashing through roofs is becoming all too common for me," Cecil thought as he braced himself for the impact.

He saw two figures conversing, one looked oddly familar...It was a face he knew well, but had never expected to see again. Crashing through the roof, he years of friendship with Kain passed through his mind.

"But I must go,.. I have to fight... and then..." Kain whispered, clutching spasmodically at the woman and his unmasked face. His eyes were glazed over, and he looked extremely feverish.

Just then she heard a loud splintering crash from the next room. 'Children!' she thought to herself. She was a bit distracted, as she was supporting most of Kain's weight herself, and having a hard time of it. She looked in Cecil's direction, expecting to see a screaming, injured child. "Oh!" she exclaimed, and nearly dropped Kain when he passed out. Cecil rushed forward to help the woman.

Once they had Kain back to his room, Katarin turned back to Cecil.

"You must be the doctor from Jidoor," she began. "We're so glad you could come, and so quickly! He's been getting worse ever since we sent out that letter, he doesn't even know who he is on a good day!"

"I am afraid you must be mistaken," Cecil corrected her. "I am not a doctor. But I _do_ know this man, and I have magic that might help him."

"Oh, anything could help, I'm sure, and if you know him, maybe he'll remember you!"

Cecil was confused as to how Kain had arrived here, in this time, but was too overjoyed to see him to ponder it much, besides, there were more important things to consider, such as what had happened to his old friend.

He took out the orb fragment, and cast Cure 2. Kain woke, but still seemed ill. He then cast Antidote, which cleared up all Kain's _physical_ ailments.

He gave Cecil the strangest look; it was something combining gratitude, confusion, recognition, and fear. He spoke.

"I thank you for your aid..." He put his hand to his forehead, still a bit dizzy, and looked at Cecil again. "It seems I have lost... my memory? I don't know who I am!... And yet... I don't understand! I know you..."

"Kain...?" Cecil began, a little wary. They hadn't parted on the best of terms; he hadn't seen his friend since they had killed Zeromus.

"Am I?" Kain interrupted. " You are... a friend...! I am sorry, my friend." He held his face in his hands, as if he had a headache. "I... can't.. rememb-"

"No Kain, I am sorry." Cecil knelt by the patient's bed. He had a strange feeling that for some reason, this was all his fault, his guilt stemming from the fact that he had never told Kain that he had eventually forgiven him. "It's Cecil... you were my friend, we killed Zeromus..." While Cecil began to try and explain what was going on, Katarin took the opportunity to get up and discreetly left the room.

"We saved the world, Kain, and now we have the chance to do it again. You see, this is not the period in time in which we belong. There are great and many evils which are..." He described the situation as he knew it, about Edgar's sacrificing himself to destroy Livouf Takar, the demon ruling in Figaro, and so on. He tried to tell Kain about his past, but there were so many things that were so hard to explain.

'How do I tell my best friend he tried to kill me twice...?' he thought to himself, and decided it was best not to try. Kain seemed confused enough as it was, and when he tried to regenerate memories of Golbez, he got a strange, glazed look, as if subconsciously, he didn't want to remember... Cecil finally gave up trying, but swore to his friend that he would do everything in his power to help him regain himself.

* * * * *

Kain was still confused. He felt extremely bad that he could not remember his friend, Cecil. But he did seem so familiar, more so than anything else in this strange world. And what was this abut not being in his own time? He had travelled into the future. He had woken after falling from a barren rock face, and could not remember anything before that... It made sense, in a way. He didn't know anything about himself or his past. He knew how to survive, and other such skills, but nothing about him... It bothered Kain; it bothered him a LOT. But there was nothing he could do but wait, and see what time would do for him.

Cecil had convinced him that he was needed here. If there was so much evil around, it needed to be stopped. He felt that he must have been a good person, but couldn't understand why Cecil was holding some things back. This Rosa person... he had only mentioned her once, and only in passing. For a yet unknown reason, he felt that she must be important... Perhaps he had done something wrong?

The two had decided to leave the next day, as Kain was completely healed. Cecil had told him about the airship, and he had suggested they look and see if they could trace where it had gone. It seemed a good a plan as any, and who could have missed seeing an airship flying around?

"Uh, excuse me, I'm looking for my uncle Jed in Tzen."

"That's not too far from here..." Cecil felt something funny; some strange aura emanated from the girl. He stared at her as he realized he should concentrate more fully to correctly use his quickly expanding Paladin ability to sense evil.

"Uh, I should be going," said Sascha as she quickly exited the house, she seemed to recognize Cecil.

Cecil himself didn't know the girl, but her aura was unmistakable. Evil emanated from her innocent-looking being.

"Kain, wait here..."

Cecil ran out the door not a minute after the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. He tried to scan once more, but nothing. She had seemingly disappeared, but Cecil knew better. There was more than one way to avoid detection by use of magic.

Returning inside, Cecil told Kain that it was time to leave.

"That girl had evil intentions... she had looked at you, Kain, when she walked in, almost as if she was gazing upon a prize to be taken. Then she saw me. I don't know how, but I think she knew I was a Paladin."

Kain looked at cecil somewhat confused, his mind somewhat cluttered due to his lack of memory.

"Why would she want me, Cecil?"

"The same reason that Go... that anyone would want a great warrior who had amnesia: she probably hoped to tell you lies and make you think you should help her. And having amnesia does give her strong chances to pull that off." Cecil stumbled over his words only once, and he hoped Kain hadn't caught it. How could he tell Kain that he, Cecil's best friend, had tried to kill him before while he had been under Golbez's spell? He would not guilt his friend more than he had unfortunately already done.

The lady sat by through the whole ordeal rather calmly, and Cecil now turned to her to avoid his friend's questioning eyes.

"Milady, thy hospitality has been more than welcome, and we thank you for everything you have done for us. But I'm afraid we must leave. Pray tell where the nearest city is that has a port." Cecil's manner was completely gentlemanly and sincere.

"Your thanks are accepted, as we were honored to help you and Kain. You may try Nikeah. It's near the ocean."

The lady proceeded to give the duo directions, and the two were off.

As they walked, Cecil explained his lack of convesation by telling Kain he had to concentrate on scanning for trouble from the girl, which wasn't wholly incorrect. But the real reason was that Cecil blamed himself for his friend disappearing after the battle with Zeromus, and it was probably his fault too that Kain couldn't remember anything. Why couldn't he have forgiven Kain before?