"Rosa!"

Warrior knew the name. Cecil had said it hundreds, if not thousands of times over the course of his tenure in the war, but in his shock it sounded clumsy and unpracticed, even awkward off his tongue. Warrior quickly analyzed the woman who would be Rosa. Just as beautiful as Cecil described. Just as womanly as he made her out to be. Elegance floated about every one of her lines, and her beautiful features were so stunningly eye-catching, Warrior nearly abandoned decency and stared. With effort he tugged his gaze from her, roving his eyes back and forth between her and Cecil so he didn't feel so inclined to stare.

Cecil stood, frozen and dazed. His wide, but glazed over eyes stared at her in disbelief, his forehead and eyebrows creased, and his lips parted. And, Warrior noted, looking closer, his bottom lip quivered gently.

He looked horrified. He looked absolutely stricken.

"Cecil?" Warrior asked, edging closer to him. "Are you-"

"Rosa," he breathed. At the mention of her name Rosa's eyes narrowed. She gave Cecil a once-over, scrutinizing him from the beads in his white hair to the gold plates on his greaves. Warrior knew she did not recognize him in the slightest. Too shocked to notice, Cecil's eyes never left her face. His fingers stretched out towards her. "I- I ne-" He shook his head. "I never, u-umm . . . " he uncharacteristically stuttered. One of Rosa's eyebrows lifted. "I never thought I'd see you again," finally crawled from his throat. Relief colored his flushed face. His shoulders relaxed, his face softened, and he smiled at her. "I'm so glad to see you!" He started towards her.

Alarm flashed in Rosa's eyes. Warrior stepped forward and intercepted him, half-placing himself between them. "Cecil," he warned, halting him with a hand to his chestplate.

She forced a small laugh. "Yes, I am Rosa," she said quickly. "Who are you?" Warrior turned away from him to watch her. Her eyes flicked towards Cosmos over and over, pleading for help. Cosmos missed it. She was looking at Cecil with an odd mix of interest and something else - something deep-rooted in her frown that Warrior couldn't place. On her own, Rosa faced Cecil, crossing her arms.

Cecil paused, his smile faltering. "What?" he asked. "You know me."

"I can say with certainty that I do not."

He stepped forward again. "Rosa . . . " Warrior reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Cecil," he pressed evenly. He stared hard down at him, placing the warning in his eyes. Cecil's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't understand. He shook Warrior's hand off of his arm, and strolled confidently towards Rosa. She backpedaled away from him furiously.

"That's close enough, sir!" she yelled. She grabbed her knife and slid the blade a few inches free of the scabbard on her belt. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

"Rosa!" Cosmos started. "Stay your hand!"

"You are among friends," Warrior said, careful to keep his voice as calm and level as possible despite the rising tension. "I would prefer we discuss this civilly. Without weapons." He nodded to the knife. Rosa acknowledged him with a sidelong glance, but made no move to sheath the knife.

"Friends or not," Rosa huffed, "I just do not recognize any of you."

"You don't recognize me?" he whispered, dropping his gaze to the water. "D-do you jest? Rosa-!" Without realizing what he did, Cecil took another few steps towards her.

Rosa's eyes flared in anger, and the knife snicked the rest of the way free. "I do not! Please understand that I do not know you," she insisted, practically snarling the word. At the sight of the knife, Warrior stepped in between them again.

"That is enough!" he said, hoping the authority in his tone would be enough to shock her out of her rage. Rather than back down, Rosa leveled her glare and squared her shoulders. He put his hand up, palm out to her. "That's enough," he said again, calmly. Warrior swiveled his head back and forth between them, and could see the realization sinking in to Cecil. He could see it dawning in his eyes, could practically hear Cecil's heart shatter in his chest. He drew himself to full height but his shoulders slumped, and he raked a hand slowly through his hair.

"What is this?" he asked suddenly, turning to Cosmos. She only smiled, with a deep sadness that Warrior could feel in his own heart. "Cosmos!" he yelled at her. "What is this?" Her sad smile faltered. A pained look crossed her face, and she gathered the shawl around her.

" . . . I'm sorry," Cosmos said, shaking her head.

Cecil's normally pale complexion reddened with anger. His hands clenched at his sides. "But why?" he screamed at Cosmos bitterly. "Why her?!" Of all the worlds she had to choose from, Cosmos had chosen his. Of all the heroes scattered across their many realms, she chose Rosa. She chose the woman he cared for more than anyone in the worlds to fight in the cycles.

"I never meant to hurt you-" Cosmos tried.

Suddenly, Cecil called his spear. Rosa brandished her knife, but Cecil disregarded her completely, instead making his way straight for Cosmos. Panic flared in Warrior's heart, and his sword and shield were in his hands before he could register what Cecil was doing. "Lower your weapon!" he yelled.

Cecil's anger drove him forward, and he took a swing at Cosmos.