-Author's Notes: I'm well aware that Cain "exploded" during the end of the game. But for the sake of this fanfic, I say he didn't. No more people complaining to me about it, okay? I mean, I know there was only one under the name "Fact" and his little insidious comment. But that's it. Nitpicky! Reow.-

Lilia dissolved into the water like a cube of sugar. She felt that if she were any better at being what she was - a semi-talented psychic girl - she 'could' vanish into the water, mingling with a trillion molecular pieces and bumping negatives and positives together. She imagined her fingers to extend farther into the water, separating into pathways. Breaking apart. She tried to forget that she wasn't melting, but it didn't work.

Rion...

Her body was clean. After a shower, she filled the tub because her body was sore and her head was aching, not to mention the uncomfortable agony dominating the majority of her lower abdomen. She didn't want to confuse Cain - her period wasn't something she liked to bring up with people, especially if they're not precisely human. Regardless if he was programmed with that kind of information, the young lady still thought it didn't... ring correctly to tell him she was suffering from an acute case of PMS.

There weren't many painkillers in the bathroom. It took some doing to dig up some Midela, and she waited in the soothing, steaming heat of the water and dim darkness of the bathroom to allow the medicine to work while she drifted.

She stared at her toes, wiggling them as they stuck up above the water. Her toes were pruned, small wrinkles extending around to her toenails. A list of the things she needed to do while Cain continued to sleep ran through her head, as well as how she got up that morning.

Pains in her head and stomach woke her. So she retreated to the bathroom and spent an uncomfortable hour trying to look for painkillers, feminine products, bent in agony, while also trying not to throw up and pass out on the floor.

A few minutes later, the shower was running and she had popped about four Midela. They were starting to work just then, when she sat up slowly and unplugged the porcelain tub. Another bout of cleansing, some fresh change of clothes from the bedroom, and she was ready to face the world with a bottle of over-the-counter medication in her shirt pocket.

Cain hadn't moved much since she felt him lay down that evening. He'd whispered something as she fell off to sleep, his amazingly gentle hands in her hair, massaging, soothing, injecting the good feeling into her mind, until he also fell asleep. Aside from his arms, which lay stretched out before him in a subservient manner, he still lay in that position, one leg bent forward and the other stretched out with the foot hanging over the edge of the queen-sized couch/bed.

She pulled his leg up with the other one, and tucked his arms in close, fetal position. "Silly boy" Lilia uttered, stretching out on her back a few inches away. The idea of cooking entered her mind a few heartbeats later, and she was up again, the dull ache in her body encouraging her to move around and do something.

Cain found himself floating in a realm of water. It soothed his aching nerves and stilled his savage thoughts, assuaging emotions of hatred and betrayal and most of all, loneliness. When he woke again, he was comfortable and warm; a salty smell, not unlike cooking meat, floated through the air and made his stomach complain. He rolled over and yawned at the ceiling, then stretched out his limbs. He missed the sensation of liquid around his body. Suddenly he sat up and held his head in agony.

Was there any indication of medicine in this house at all? For, unless his mind decieved him, was he not just now experiencing the preliminary pulsing of a short-out? He gave a low growl and let himself wander around the living room, hoping maybe to walk it off. His eyes began to water, and squinting didn't ease the torture behind his eyes. Oh, well.

"Cain" Lilia stopped with two plates in the doorway to the kitchen. She set them both down on the coffee table and walked over to him. "Come here" she said, brushing his fingers away from his head. "Sit." She sat him down. There was no bartering with her about anything she told him to do. Eventually she disappeared beyond his sight and returned. "I found these. Are they alright"

Cain managed to open his eyes wide enough to read the letters and see the color. He nodded and popped one into his mouth, shuddering as it slid painfully down his throat. Steadily the symptoms receded, leaving him tired and sore. "Thanks. Where the hell did you find those"

"In a box in the back room. I don't know why they're there..."

"Maybe people expect Galerians like me to take up residence in a place like this" Cain replied, grinning a little bit as he massaged his temples. Nothing felt worse than shorting out... not even Cain was insusceptible to that torment. He sighed and took one of the plates. He took a sniff and looked at her, arching a brow. "...Did you make all this"

"Sure. Those right there are potatoes, all mashed up. That's bacon. And this is salad with ranch dressing. Try a little of everything... and if you don't like it, I'll just make you a bowl of grain cereal."

Cain had no idea what she was talking about. But since everything looked and smelled good, he decided to experiment. The potatoes tasted... well, buttery. He knew what butter was - it was next to his most favorite thing in the world to eat. He could have used more on the potatoes, but it was alright. The bacon was crunchy, salty. It made his mouth explode with saliva, and his eyes water again. He chewed and swallowed the piece, which was followed closely by another bite of potatoes.

Lilia sat with her legs tucked together, chewing her lip and smiling occasionally. Then she quietly ate her own food. He noticed there was more bacon on her plate. "Hey... how come you get more than me"

"I need it more than you do" she answered simply. "Please, now just eat."

After breakfast, Cain sat back against his chair and watched the news on their small TV set. Its old-fashioned appearance gave him pause to wonder if it was there just for looks, or if it actually worked. But he discovered after a brief inside look with his mind that it contained high-tech Crystal Image, Inc. technology that recieved outside image information from satellites around the world.

There was still news about the investigation concerning the explosion at Dorothy's resting place. About the strange puddles of blood on the floor. He shuddered, closing his eyes as the footage showed once more Rion's body. Lilia stopped him from shutting off the reciever.

"Stop" she murmured. "I want to see his body one last time." The last part came in a gasping whisper. Soon enough she was sobbing again, and Cain scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her. "God..." she moaned, burying her face in his shoulder, knotting her fingers in his shirt and gasping, silent sobs wracking her body.

When she was finished, Cain was feeling useless. How could he stop her from feeling like this"What can I do" he sighed, watching as she dabbed her eyes with the ends of her sleeves.

"You can't" she replied, taking a long look at him. "I appreciate how kind you've been, though. It helps. It does... but nothing can make me stop feeling sad about Rion, do you understand"

"Will you keep crying like this forever" the green-eyed boy ventured, looking away as though ashamed of the very question.

"No...I don't think so" Lilia smiled.

The pair walked the streets of Seleria, with Lilia in the bold lead. She showed Cain everything she could - from the coffee shops, to the very ends of the earth near the galley, where the ocean stretched on and on into the horizon. Cain was impressed with that. She was pleased, and continued to the mall to show him the stores and entertainment. She had enough money left over to see a movie with him, so they did. It wasn't graphic, but it was exciting. Not many movies in Seleria were graphic because the government thought that such films would desensitize the public; in the past, movies became so savage that people didn't appear to have any remorse whatsoever.

They sat in the middle; the film was about a group of boys coming to terms with the fact that none of them would make it to "pros". It was an oldie about baseball in the 2000's. Cain was fascinated by one boy's gothic clothes and easy manner of speaking. He resolved that maybe he'd try to act a bit more like him, at least. Or maybe just emulate his attire.

But his fascination could not last long in the enclosed theatre. About an hour into the film, Cain immediately sensed a volatile presence. It was in the theatre. The room was small. Rising in his seat a little, he peered around carefully, trying not to use his power lest it gain him unwanted notice.

"What's wrong" Lilia whispered. The ever-changing light on the screen made her face look bizarre. "Cain"

"Shh. We have to get out of here" he said, bending his head so she could hear. Then, very carefully, they tried to work their way around other moviegoers quietly - without success. They ended up disturbing nearly everyone in the the row, before they made their swift progress down the aisle to reach the doors marked "Exit".

A figure stepped into their path. The ragged coat he wore fell below his knees and brushed the backs of his leather-covered calves; a pair of duo-toned eyes stared at them from underneath the jacket hood. His hands hid in his pockets, his face a mask of total disgust as he regarded Cain.

The boy kept Lilia behind him, furious that they should be followed. "Who are you" he whispered angrily. "Get out of the way"

Lilia blinked, peering over Cain's shoulder as he bent himself slightly, his body crackling softly and ineffectively without his PEC's.

"You'll find out" the man said.

His expression glazed with a honey-coated smile, slowly bending at the knees and turning his body; his hands withdrew from their pockets. A zippo lighter flicked open, with the man's free hand behind it. The ignited flame exploded toward them in a bright, all-encompassing torch. Cain screamed - Lilia fell back - and he fell back on top of her. The man laughed, and the seats immediately caught on fire - as well as the people seated in them. Cain managed to escape the blaze by deflecting it with a quickly constructed shield that barely had enough time to keep his hair from getting singed.

The sounds and smells that resulted would haunt the two young teenagers for the rest of their lives. The man rose from the ground, his coat ruffling and flapping. The lighter-blaze exploded again, far above their heads, catching the red tapestries surrounding them ablaze. The film was gone. Flames were eating away at the screen, causing it to flicker and short-out.

Cain and Lilia crawled as fast as they could away from the horror. A woman on fire ran by screaming, the contents of her purse flying all over the place until she crashed into the chairs, rolling and wailing"Oh god please help me help me"

Cain couldn't shake the sensation of rage that filled him. He couldn't stop the fire; he hadn't the power. Nor the means, even if he did. He ran blindly through the mall beside Lilia, their hands clutching together so tight it made his fingers hurt when he let go. They stood outside in the cool air. Seagulls were screaming at the herecy of the act in the theatre - or perhaps at Cain's cowardice.

"Cain, your eyes" Lilia whispered, standing next to him in the full blaze of the Selerian sun.

"Shut up! I can sense him" Cain closed his eyes, a vein bulging in his temple, his eyes narrowing.

"You take too long" the man said from their left. His hood had fallen back, his two-toned eyes resting comfortably on the pair with the ease of a snake, confident of capturing his prey. "I'm right here..."

"Who the fuck are you" Cain spun around, once more shoving Lilia behind him. She growled and punched him in the arm, which he looked at her in shock for. "What the HELL did you do that for"

"Let me see his face" she growled, staring at him. "Answer him, who are you"

"Keisuke" the man answered. He produced the lighter magically from one of his pockets, and Cain sucked in his breath. "Don't worry" Keisuke continued, lighting a cigarette which appeared in the other hand. "I'm not burning anything else" he inhaled, and exhaled. "Except my lungs."

"What do you want from us" Cain watched the hypnotic flow of smoke into his mouth and out through his nose. The smell of the smoke was... intoxicating.

"You know you shouldn't smoke" said a girl flatly, standing near the garbage receptacle. She wore a short black skirt, a black button-up shirt with long sleeves, and a pair of knee-high boots. Her skin was nearly paper-white, dark eyeliner drawing out her even darker, intense eyes.

"I know, Yui. But you aren't my mother, and to add to that, I say, fuck you." He flicked ashes in her direction. "Are you going to help me with this or not"

Cain stiffened, staring at Yui as she gazed at him. Her hands crossed over her lap, and her gaze evenly met his without remorse. Then, slowly, Cain felt his eyes drooping. Lilia collapsed onto the ground to her knees before she tilted and fell onto her side. The last thing he heard was Kei's soft remark"Sleep well, Cain."