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A tale of amnesia, and how it effects those nearest and dearest. Set after the world of Balance became the world of Ruin. It should explain itself ok after that… I hope anyway. Please enjoy, and please review.

Gerad watched Sabin move about their shared room, the Martial artist… Prince? King? Well, whatever he was, refused to leave him alone for more than a few minutes. He had almost gotten used to having the other man follow him even if he was just stepping out to relieve himself. It had been like this since Sabin, and the woman, Celes had grabbed him in the engine room of Figaro castle, and immobilised him until his gang of thieves had left, thinking he had been killed by the tentacle monster.

Then had come the wild accusations that he was actually King of Figaro. Him? Gerad Thistle, master thief extraordinaire, a King? It was a riot. But Sabin truly believed he was this Edgar, his twin brother. It had been weeks, and Gerad had simply given up protesting that he wasn't who Sabin thought he was, and thankfully he had managed to get them to call him Gerad. Sabin was the only one who wasn't inclined to use it though.

Gerad hurt for him, he did, after all, he had lost a sister in the past year. He supposed he could understand, if he had found a girl who looked almost exactly like his sister he would probably be loath to admit it wasn't really her.

But if there was one thing Gerad knew for sure, it was that he was no king. Granted his memory from before the world went to ruin was hazy and best left alone thanks to the blow to the head he had taken during the change, Headaches still spread with fiery intensity across the spider web of scars that decorated the left side of his temple, thankfully not really noticeable under his side fringe.

Somehow, he really couldn't begin to imagine how, he had ended up travelling with them, facing monsters, and fighting for something, Sabin continued to tell him he believed in. The only problem there was that Gerad didn't really care about defeating some crazy man. But despite this he found himself still with them.

A flash of silver caught his attention, and always one to be attracted by pretty shiny things, he turned his head to see Sabin, who had seated himself on his bed during Gerad's contemplations, flipping a coin.

"What's that?" he asked.

Sabin caught the coin, and looked at it hard before answering. "It was a coin father had made for Edgar and me. It was one of the two things I managed to keep hold of when he fell."

Gerad blinked in surprise, this was the first time Sabin had not directly referred to him as Edgar. "Fell?" He knew very little of what this group had done before he had ended up as one of them, they never mentioned the day the world changed.

Sabin heaved a long and lonely sigh that tugged at Gerad's heart. "When we were escaping, the floating island, the Airship began to break apart, the side you… he was on went down first. I dived over, I was hoping I could catch him, hoping that we would land together. I caught his hand. He was holding this…" he flipped the coin again. "He always messed with it when he was scared, or worried about me… and then I wasn't holding his hand anymore, and I couldn't see him."

"What else did you keep hold of?" Gerad found himself asking.

Sabin held out his left hand, palm upwards, revealing a jewelled ring on his little finger. Gerad had always just assumed it was a normal gold band. "I keep the jewel on the inside, I don't want to break it when we fight…" he started at it, for a long time, lips twitching into a small smile. "It was our mothers wedding ring. Edgar always had such an obsession with rings, if he saw one he simply had to have it. He kept taking it off mothers hand and wearing it, Father was always so angry about it. When she died he took it off her after they prepared her body. Father never had the heart to say anything to him about it."

Gerad self consciously curled his fingers, looking down at the multitude of rings that adored his own fingers, dozens, all shapes and sizes. How strange it was that he and Sabin's brother shared a fascination of rings. He could understand a little more why Sabin had not wanted to let go of the idea that he was his lost brother.

"Is that why you think I'm him?" he asked, surprising himself, tearing his eyes fro his hands to meet with Sabin's.

"One of the reasons." he shrugged.

Gerad knew was walking on a fine line, but he was curious about what else, aside from his looks, made Sabin believe he was Edgar. "What are the others?"

"You have exactly the same fashion sense, showy, but practical, the colours might be different, but the cape just screams 'Edgar'. The way your hands twitch when your nervous, before you find something to do with them. If I gave you this coin I know you would fidget with it just like Edgar always did. The rings of course, because there's so little chance in you having the same fashion sense and the same fascination with rings, and it's only rings, I've only seen two other accessories, and from what I can gather one belonged to the girl you call your sister, and the other to someone else you felt close to in the past year, whose died."

That was surprisingly accurate, the pendant he wore had belonged to his sister, and the silver hairpin hidden in his hair belonged to a nice girl he had grown friendly with, who had unfortunately died in a rockslide, he thought he might have loved her, maybe even married her if she had lived.

Sabin continued. "The way you speak as well. I can bet that your 'sister' didn't talk the same way. You sound like you've had a proper education, complete with elocution lessons for that little lisp you slip up with when your tired. And lastly, I know you're my brother. Even if there was nothing else, that feeling alone would keep me believing. You're Edgar, I just have to find a way to get you to remember."

Gerad was startled by the pure conviction there. "But what about my sister, and my past with her?" he asked.

Sabin shook his head, "I'm not saying she didn't have a brother, but it wasn't you. Did she ever show you any pictures? Do you remember anything of a life in a small village?"

"You know I can't." Gerad turned his head, just enough so that his left temple was hidden completely from view. "But a bashed in skull will do that to a person." It was true his sister had not shown him pictures, but they weren't rich. "Not everyone can afford portraits painted."

Sabin flinched a bit, his eyes fastened on Gerad's forehead, even though he couldn't see the scars, Gerad felt self conscious over them anyway. None of them had seen them in their entirety, something which Gerad was glad for, it had taken months for the hair on that side to grow back long enough to pull into a tail, held up now by a tattered blue piece of cloth and the hairpin., when his hair was loose you could still see the scars that covered the whole left side of his head.

"I know somewhere inside you believe me." Sabin said, and with a sudden determined look he stood, twisting the ring off his finger and making his way over to stand in front of him. Gerad looked up at him fully, confused when Sabin's hand settled in front of his face, the ring glittering at eye level.

"What are you--?"

"Take it." Sabin said simply.

"But… Why?"

Sabin shrugged easily. "Because it's yours. And I'll end up breaking it if I keep it, and when you finally remember you'll kill me for it."

"Sabin…" Gerad said, voice a whisper. "I'm not your brother."

Sabin's shoulders sank a little, but he smiled still. "Your in there somewhere Edgar," he said softly. "And even if he's not… if by some twist of fate I'm wrong, then I trust you to keep it until he come's back. I'm not joking about the killing part."

Gerad felt his lips lift in a slight smile. "How do you know I won't just sell it, or make off with it. It's pretty expensive after all." he wasn't really sure if he was joking or not.

Sabin actually laughed then, a real laugh, and Gerad felt something tug in his subconscious, but the slight pain that came with it made him close it off. He wondered if this was how his sister had laughed in happier times, she certainly seemed the type.

"The only time that ring will come off your finger is if the 'real' Edgar waltz's back in, or when you exchange it for someone else's… probably Terra's." his blue eyes glittered teasingly. "After all, you have a serious thing for her."

Gerad felt his cheeks heat slightly. He reached out, expecting Sabin to change his mind and pull his hand back. After all, he was giving away something that belonged not only to his brother, but to his mother as well. That was a lot of memories to part with. But his fingers closed round the metal, still warm from Sabin's hand, sliding it easily onto his left ring finger, which had laid empty, it just hadn't felt right to put a ring there. Looking at his adorned fingers he was surprised how comforting it was, like he had a complete set now.

Sabin stepped back, smiling. "Now all we have to do is get you in blue and you could rule Figaro easy."

Gerad snorted and rolled his eyes, flopping back on his own bed. "Yes, I'm sure I would make a wonderful King…" he trailed off, nose scrunching thoughtfully, not noticing Sabin's brief look of sadness at an expression he had seen many times on his brothers face. "Although it would have it's advantages. I'd have all the money I wanted at any rate."

"There you go." Sabin said, agreeing.

Gerad held his left hand up, looking at the ring now resting on his ring finger, the light blue gemstone lightly pulsing in the flickering light of the evening. He cast a quick glance to Sabin, and his heart constricted a little at the absolute sadness there. There had been times over the last few weeks that Gerad had nearly wished he was Sabin's brother. Not because he was a king, or for riches or anything, but because he knew how it felt to have someone torn from you that you loved. And because it wasn't fair that anyone else should suffer it.

Eh…… Well…… there is no way to adequately describe this, so I'm not going to try. Suffice to say that even I'm not sure if this is Edgar. But, draw your own conclusions anyway.

Please review, I would really appreciate it.