dualislogs | Three Final Fantasy characters walk into a bar

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Three Final Fantasy characters walk into a bar

WHO: Squall, Seifer, Cloud, ??
WHAT: Trying out weapons
WHERE: Workshop outside the city
WHEN: Sep 3
WARNINGS: Fight! Potentially blood and injury

Holding a gunblade in his hand again, even if it's just blade without the gun, is exhilarating. Doesn't matter what else Squall doubts about his own future, he won't give this up anytime soon. Plus, it's great stress relief from the hellish invasion of memories just weeks ago.

There's a lot of things making this fun. One, he's never fought alongside Seifer before. Two, Cloud is... remarkably powerful, way beyond what his stature and figure would indicate. Three, the prototype gunblade is a great teaser to what Seifer is going to eventually make.

He falls back to stay out of range of Cloud's buster sword (how is he even wielding that so easily?), eyes flicking over to Seifer to see what he's doing. It's strange having to flip his thoughts from how to counter Seifer's attacks to how to complement it, but all those years of fighting each other is working in their favor now.

He runs in to swipe at an opening from the other side. He's precision and skill even without the trigger component. It's clear he's treating the sparring session like a real battle. Seifer's taught him that much.

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Perhaps the only reason he hasn't taken the leap himself has been because he watched it happen with Nida. That doesn't take it entirely off the table.

It wasn't just the war. It had been building for years. The war finally just added on that last little bit of hammering home his failures where he's been forced to face the truth: He's useless, a failure, and worthless. That is all he'll ever amount to. It's pathetic. At no time is it more apparent than now, when he can't even manage to work a kettle on his own.

That earns a raised eyebrow. Unfortunately Seifer has very few memories to back this up. Certainly not enough to justify Squall's attachment. "Black sheep, maybe." At best.

"A bully," Squall corrects. "You were like that in the orphanage too. You picked on Zell back then."

"Tch," It's true though. Always has been. "He makes it easy." That's it, that's his defense. He'd rather talk about Zell being a loser than his own problems. Perfect.

"He was always yelling and crying." Then again, so was he. He just cried a lot more. He sinks back into the cushion. "Do you remember anything from back then? We never talked about it growing up, so we figured you forgot too, like the rest of us. We only remembered because Irvine did."

Always. What a funny term to use... yet it didn't ring untrue. "Didn't change much." Seifer rumbled. He still didn't really remember, but it felt familiar. Something about it incredibly familiar.

"...Crybaby Zell." Before he was Chicken-Wuss, he was crybaby. He shook his head slowly. "Not really. So you're really sayin' we grew up together?" Because it seems crazy. Too convenient, yet he'd heard it from Rinoa and Nida too. But to hear it from Squall made it so much more certain.

He nods. "That's what you called him back then." So Seifer really doesn't remember.

"I was sent there... after my mom died giving birth to me. Sis took care of me until she left one day. I remember a few moments from when I was 4. You were all there by then. You— we set off fireworks at the beach and got in trouble." Well, they did. Squall is pretty sure he only watched from the sidelines and got off scot-free.

"I was... weak. Always crying and looking for her, but I never left the orphanage until we were both sent to Garden."

Hyne, this is so surreal talking to Seifer about this.

There are fragments from when he was with Ultimecia. Just enough to keep him more hooked in. Protecting Matron from the swarm of enemies. It was an effective tool. But the details are lost, and honestly the memories he might have are suspect. How much was conjured up to make him more malleable?

He nods slowly, soaking it in. So they were all there. Little Squall crying, it seemed like it fit, sorry to say Leonhart. The fireworks... that sparks something. "..." His brows furrow deeply as he concentrates. Something... "Chicken-Wuss tattled." He glanced at Squall for confirmation. Was that right, was that what happened?

More frowning, as if he could frown any deeper. "We never were adopted." Never good enough.

Why did that keep happening?

They could figure it out together. Seifer brought up matron during their G-Garden fight, but whatever he was told is probably suspect. And hey, he's not a crybaby anymore, dammit.

The question gets Squall's attention. His own eyes lighting up.

"He did." Maybe there's hope for Seifer to remember the same way they did. They lose their memories to the GF but if there's someone to remind them, or a diary...

"No one... wanted someone like us." Different as they were. He sighs. "The Dinchtes adopted Zell. Quistis didn't fit in with her foster family so she came to Garden years later. Selphie ended up in Trabia and Irvine in Galbadia." A pause. "It was just us."

It's very suspect. Faint, foggy memories wrapped up in the violet haze of the Sorceress' influence. Garden beat the crybaby out of everyone. Didn't beat the chicken out of Chicken-Wuss, though.

He looked equal parts thoughtful and confused at the realization. It was like he knew but didn't. Almost as if the implication of memories came from someone else entirely, not himself. Surely these weren't his memories?

That earned a gradual nod, coupled with a dark scowl. Of course no one wanted them. Too damaged, too much effort, to be worth anyone's time. Never good enough. Strange to imagine that Golden Boy Leonhart wasn't good enough, though. "Just us," He echoed. "The whole time. Funny how that works." In a way their rivalry made even more sense. They would have been most familiar with each other.

Zell wasn't so bad. He ran his mouth and could be a little naive but he came through at times. And Seifer seemed to forget Squall was just as much of a problem child as Seifer was.

He nodded, looking slightly troubled.

"Do you remember anything from the first few years in Garden?"

They must have stuck near each other at the time, right? His memories only seemed to start from when their rivalry was already underway. Even then it was just... training, being alone, struggling to become stronger. Bits and pieces.

Seifer's opinion on Zell was decidedly less charitable. Perhaps fueled by unremembered resentment over his tattling days. Zell was boring to him, loud, unable to keep up in a fight, and far too easy to rile up. Even if pissing him off was worth a few chuckles. He didn't forget Squall was a "problem child", he just also remembered that despite his similar labeling Squall was still favored. Still the Golden Boy.

He looks thoughtful for a time, frowning.

"Not really."

It's all kind of a blur. Years melting into an indistinct fog. "Do you?"

Squall is a big softie at heart. Zell grew on him. If either of them ever figured out their circumstances more objectively, they might realize it's because Squall is more passive. He skirted the rules but he couldn't be bothered to properly break them most of the time.

Another shake of the head.

"No." He sags against Seifer a little more, practically resting his head on his shoulder now. He doesn't realize he's doing it. He's too busy thinking. "Maybe it's true that the GFs sit alongside our memories. They make us forget."

Seifer's more inclined to hold grudges, and Zell was a tattle-tale. It soured his opinion of the guy pretty thoroughly. Didn't help that it was so easy to get under his skin that it made him impossible to respect in any way. Zell was, at best, annoying, in Seifer's view. Not that any of that was important here. Odds of ever encountering Chicken-Wuss again were slim to none.

Heh, wasn't Seifer the one who was having a hard time holding himself up here? Ah well, it wasn't like he really noticed or minded. He was already half collapsed against the other, nursing his tea quietly. "Probably," Wasn't like anything else made sense. They've lost so much of their past already. "What other explanation is there?"

It's Seifer's fault for having nice muscular shoulders to lean on. Not that Squall has done anything like that until he arrived here. Maybe during the war when he accidentally dozed off on Irvine but that was the one and only time since the cowboy wouldn't shut up about it.

"We can get it back if one of us remembers something. That's how we remembered the orphanage. Irvine didn't forget."

He looks over at Seifer. "Is the tea helping?"

Shoulders are sometimes a really nice pillow. It's still funny that Squall's the one falling over when Seifer's the one half dead this morning. It's alright, makes him feel less like he's completely pathetic and useless.

"How do we make sure someone remembers?"

Because that's the kicker. If they all forget, if no one remembers anything, how will they get any of it back?

The question earns a slow nod, very careful not to jostle himself too much. "Yeah. It helps." His stomach is calming down and his vision clearing. He might be able to get to sleep again soon.

Squall is unconsciously trying to cuddle. THere's a difference.

"Maybe something can jolt the memory back." Don't ask him how though. "For the present and future, journals would help." Something to look back on has got to jar memories, right? But Seifer's right to question it. Both he and Seifer have memories only the both of them would know. How would they get that back?

He lets out a breath at confirmation that Seifer is feeling better. He moves his head from his rival's shoulder to lean against the couch.

"Good."

Who would have guessed Squall was secretly so cuddly? Certainly not Seifer.

"How did you first start remembering? Do you even really remember?" Or was he just accepting what the others were claiming as true? Seifer thought it was a valid question, especially with how often they've found themselves the brunt of various machinations and manipulations.

With his tea almost gone Seifer thinks it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to go back to bed. Or he could drag his sorry ass out to the forge for a while. Whichever happened first. Who needs sleep anyway?

Squall wouldn't have guessed either. He doesn't even realize it half the time. It's not like it manifests around most people.

"Irvine brought it up. He only started using GFs when he joined us, so he remembered the most. Once he brought up the orphanage, we all started to remember."

A pause.

"It felt right. I could remember being there."

Another pause.

"I think you will too."

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Three Final Fantasy characters walk into a bar

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