route_1065 | Dissidia Reunion, Plus 1 Nobody

Entry tags:

Dissidia Reunion, Plus 1 Nobody

Who:

transient_lion
Where: Route 29
When: A few hours after this. Afternoon of Aug 31, near sunset.
Summary: Squall goes off to meet Cecil, encounters Marluxia and tries to fight off bad memories from his homeworld in the process. Oh and Cecil's catatonic.
Rating: PG? >_>;;;
Log:

A few hours had passed since his last conversation (if it could be called that) with Cecil. Backtracking through Route 29, Squall forced his attention on the task at hand. Ever since he first saw Cecil on his pokegear just a day or so before, memories of what happened before Time Compression had been nagging at him. Just before he went to fight the Conflict, after being "rescued" from that island, it had only been days, maybe even weeks since the Lunar Cry happened and just before that, there was--

Stop thinking about that. She's awake. She's fine. More than fine. She's waiting for me. Back there. In that place. Where we promised. Squall tightened his jaw. And he's nothing like how she was. Back then.

Cecil was awake. He was talking, sort of. He wasn't unconscious or sick. As far as he could tell from what few responses he had with the (much older) Paladin. The brunet didn't know anything about what happened to Cecil but it had to be something. The Cecil he remembered, the one he fought with, was nothing like the older man he was about to meet.

"Could be a trick," he muttered lowly to himself, still unsure and suspicious about this world but he didn't honestly think that was the case. His hesitation in believing that the Warrior, Firion and Zidane weren't who they said they were was fading with the more time he spent in this place. Conversations with Ventus and Suzuki helped convinced him that this place was real, that his allies might be who they were.

If Cecil had appeared the day Squall arrived in this world, then the SeeD would have questioned him, would have second-guessed the other man's identity. But right now, Squall didn't care.

An ally was in trouble and that was all Squall needed to know.

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Cecil had been walking with Marluxia for a good while now, but he wasn't feeling tired. This brand new world was full of strange monsters and people, and he wanted to see as much of it as possible. It reminded him slightly of his first visit to the red moon. Besides, they were supposed to meet up with Squall soon.

Squall, who looked just like he had all those years ago, during the conflict that had opposed the forces of Cosmos and Chaos. As a matter of fact, Warrior of Light, Firion and Zidane had also looked just as they had back then. Why was he the only one who had aged? His own son was probably as old as they were by now!

And how would he explain the state he was in? The fresh air and the interaction had greatly helped him gather his thoughts, but he knew very well that might not last. He also knew that he couldn't tell anyone what had happened back home. Not yet. Not when all his memories were so fuzzy, as if she was still in his head. Not when he couldn't quite admit what he had done, even to himself.

Marluxia couldn't help but feel rather lost. First, the Keyblade Master had forgotten him (or perhaps, as he was coming to suspect, never met in the first place), despite having killed him only hours before. Second was seeing that Larxene too, had somehow survived the Castle, only to wind up in a city somewhere far away. Then, there was her Majesty, the Queen, only she looked almost nothing like the Queen anymore.
And now this. The Keyblade Master's ally, but as a youth, probably ten years younger than he was familiar with. Could it have been possible Cecil was from their world, as well?

"Greetings."

He decided to play it cool. Bringing up Heartless and Radiant Garden might only cause strife here.

Squall's head lifted when he first caught sight of the familiar white hair of his ally. He quickened his pace, unconcerned if his starter would be able to catch up or not. Right now, most of his attention was on Cecil.

Up close, it was evident that the white haired male was much older than Squall remembered. A frown tugged at the SeeD's lips. He didn't like what he saw one bit but didn't Suzuki mention that time flowed different in this place and in other worlds? Or was it Ventus? The brunet couldn't remember. I'll worry about that later. But overall... He does look good. Better than what I was expecting. Not that I didn't already knew that...

He inclined his head absently toward the voice before looking at the speaker. "...You are?" A tinge of caution colored Squall's voice.

And there Squall was, looking young and healthy and just as he had seventeen years ago. Even under these circumstances, Cecil was quite glad to see him. He had been under the impression, when they had all been separated, that they would not see each other again unless a new war started. He was happy to be proven wrong.

He waved at Squall and tried his best to smile. His face felt numb and unresponsive, but he hoped that some of his happiness had shown. At least he could feel Cleffa doing the same; she could probably express his feelings if needed.

At Squall's words, he turned slightly toward Marluxia, but said nothing. The other man would certainly do a better job introducing himself than he could at the moment.

"I am called Marluxia."

Marluxia bowed his head slightly, his sharp blue eyes watching Squall through his fringe of pink bangs like a large predator cat.

His Oddish, on the other hand, was also peeking through the fringe of hair, her leaves tangled in Marluxia's hair while it watched from the loft his hood provided.

He knew that look. The one on Marluxia's face was familiar. Almost exactly like the one Seifer has... Have to be careful around this guy. Just because he was travelling with Cecil didn't mean that this Marluxia was someone Squall could consider an ally. Not yet, not until he proved himself to the brunet.

Squall's frown deepened slightly before he turned toward Cecil. He nodded once more in greeting at the familiar face, "Good to see you in one piece, Cecil." Even if it's under these circumstances.

Well, that meeting had gone rather well, relatively speaking. Cecil remembered Squall as one of the least trusting Cosmos warriors, and as a rather isolated person in general. Bartz and Zidane were the only ones who would see him on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, he was surprised by Zidane's absence. Had Squall managed to escape the young thief's attention?

"Like...wise..."

In one piece? He supposed so. The local monsters weren't nearly as fearsome as the ones found within the Subterrane. He would have prefered to keep his sword, but at least Cleffa was strong enough to deal with them.

Thinking of monsters, where were Squall's? He started looking around for them. That strange little flaming monster was over there, but where was the fish?

"How long have you been in this world?"

It was clear that he was here at least long enough to be familiar with this route. Linden squirmed, eventually jumping off of his back and wandering away a few paces to plant her feet into the soil.

"A week, more or less." He shrugged, glancing at the weird plant thing in Marluxia's hair before paying it (and the male) no mind. "Enough to know something about this place." But not all. In the distance, the SeeD could hear the familiar squeals of his starter running toward where they were.

Squall sighed softly, glancing at the sky for a moment in slight exasperation. Not that it showed on his face. "The Warrior and Firion are going to meet us in Cherrygrove. Haven't heard anything from Zidane." The thief was probably off with his 'girl' or something. Obviously, his former traveling ally was off doing something.

As long as he hasn't gotten himself kidnapped or anything... He scoffed lightly, minutely shaking his head.

Cecil wasn't too worried about Zidane. The boy had sounded quite healthy and lively when he'd spoken to him on the Pokégear, except for the lack of his tail. But talking about their comrades brought back an important question at the front of Cecil's mind.

"How...long...?"

He mimed a sword fight as best as he could. When did the Conflict happen for him? At least a week ago, or perhaps only a week ago. Had they all been caught in this world, unable to go home? Was he the only one who had gone back to live his life? He hoped not.

{Doing this while the others discuss the past.}

[The conversation seemed to have moved back to the past, a topic Marluxia was not particularly interested in, in comparison to the present or the future. He kept quiet, staying on the outside of the conversation for the time being, keeping a watchful eye on Linden, who swayed slightly, trying to get positioned to catch the moon's rays.]

"A week," Squall supplied with a frown, "I never went back." The moment he disappeared in that field of flowers after Chaos was defeated, he woke up in a bed that wasn't is. "Not sure about the others." He didn't ask them about how much time had passed for them. Frankly, he was too concerned about the fact that he wasn't home--that he was forced to do something he didn't want to do. Again.

His eyes drifted toward the side as his jaw tightened, remembering something. Cecil might have always been more of Firion's ally than his, but he was also Cloud's ally in the Conflict as well. And Cloud was in this world, too.

Should he tell the paladin? Cloud didn't remember anything, probably never even fought in the Conflict.

"...Who else did you talk to?" If he already spoke to Cloud, then there wasn't a point to tell Cecil about the blond's situation. If he didn't, then Squall (by default, it wasn't like the Warrior or Firion would just randomly pop up out of nowhere to do Squall's job for him) needed to inform him. He owed Cecil that much, for just being an ally in the Conflict.

Cecil didn't know anything yet about this place, or what happened to the rest of them. Squall still didn't know anything about his allies when they arrived in this place.

Guilt started to fill Cecil. Was he truly the only one who had reached his home? Why him? Why not any of the others, who had just as many people waiting for them?

"Seven...teen..."

Seventeen years. A single week. How could time have gone so differantly for the two of them?

"Light. Firion. Zidane. ...People."

No one else he knew. But that didn't mean the others weren't there. They might simply be further down the road, somewhere beyond the range of the strange mechanical whisperweed. Even the Chaos warriors could be there, for all he knew.

Except for one. Golbez was back on the moon with the others, probably worried sick about him. Probably trying to save their world, even now.

Squall nodded slowly. So it's been that long since you... Since you fought with us. Damn, no wonder. "Time flows... Different. Here and there. Won't be surprised if that's how it is everywhere else."

He glanced quickly for a second toward Marluxia, looking for any change in the man's expression. This was a conversation to be made in private, in Squall's opinion but if Cecil didn't mind speaking in front of this man, then who was Squall to say otherwise?

Cecil might have looked better than before but he still looked tired. But is it just physical fatigue or something else? The SeeD shrugged before taking a deep breath. He had to tell him. About Cloud. Something about Cecil's facial expression nagged at him and instinctively he knew, this subject wasn't going to be the easiest to talk about to Cecil.

"Then you probably don't know." He paused, wondering how he should say it. "Cloud's here, too."

"Cloud...?"

Cloud was here? That was good news. It felt... reassuring, knowing that he had so many friends in this place. Having over half their team around would be useful if someone like Kefka or the Emperor ended up here too. And if she arrived, then perhaps...

But there was something strange in Squall's expression. Some strange feeling rose in Cecil's mind. Dread.

He might as well just say it. No point in building suspense or anything. Hyne, he was not the right person for this. It was pulling off a bandaid. Easier to just pull it off quick than do it slow. "He doesn't remember. Anything. About us or the Conflict."

Squall glanced to the side, his Cyndaquil finally reaching his side. For once the rodent actually just stayed in its place, not bothering to hop onto Squall or touch him in anyway. If he was alone, Squall probably would have dwelt on it but he wasn't.

Instead, his focus was on Cecil and the paladin's reaction to what he just said. All Squall knew was that Cecil and Cloud traveled together. He didn't know how close they were to each other but if it was anything like his and Zidane and Bartz's companionship with one another. Cloud was probably still regarded highly by the older man, regardless of how much time it's been since the paladin fought in the Conflict.

Edited 2010-09-01 18:09 (UTC)

"...What...?"

Nothing. Cloud remembered nothing. Was it because his memory was tampered with? Had he simply forgotten?

But if seventeen years had happened for Cecil and only a week for Squall, then maybe...

"...Before? ...Age?"

If time truly flowed differently...

"He looks the same." Maybe a little older but not as old as Cecil. There was hardly any change in the blond swordsman's appearance. His clothes weren't the same ones he worn during the Conflict, either. "Not younger than before. I know that much.

Squall turned slightly away from Cecil, head bowed in thought. There was another possibility, but it was one that Squall didn't like at all because of what it also implied. But first he might as well tell Cecil the other theory he had about their ally. The idea that he was more accepting of besides Cloud just simply forgetting about the Conflict. "He might not have even fought the Conflict."

Even to his ears, it felt like a weak excuse. Not fighting in the Conflict and looking slightly older than he did during the Conflict, it was weak. Utterly weak, in Squall's opinion, still it was better than the theory he just thought of since talking to Aerith that second time. The Aerith who mistakened him for someone else.

"...Oh..."

This was getting a bit too confusing and upsetting for Cecil's tastes. He grabbed Cleffa and hugged the confused monster against his chest. At least he could count on her to keep things simple.

But he had one more question to ask, even if he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"...Chaos...?"

Please no Exdeath. Please no Exdeath.

Inwardly, Squall winced. That wasn't a reaction he wanted to see from the older man. Even if he did, to an extent, expected something like this. He sighed softly, shaking his head. He probably should leave the explanations to the Warrior and Firion. They had to know more about it.

They did arrive long before Squall did in this world.

"Dead. Gone. Destroyed. Take your pick," Squall answered honestly. As far as he knew, Chaos was no more. The Conflict was over for him and that was that. There wasn't any point in dwelling on the past. "He's not here. None of our enemies seem to be either." Would've heard from at least one of them by now if they were.

Well, at least they wouldn't have to worry about madmen out to kill them. Cecil didn't think he'd be able to fight them in his condition, and asking Cleffa to do so wouldn't work very well.

This conversation was getting too depressing. He needed to change the subject.

"...New...friends?..."

Squall shrugged.

"New acquaintances," he corrected as he thought of Aerith and Suzuki. It would take some time before he considered them friends. They only met through the network. Although, he and Suzuki did say they would try to meet in Violet City if she was still there when Squall arrived.

Hyne, he still didn't quite consider anyone here his friend, not even his allies. They were just people he fought with during the Conflict. Although, if Squall had to chose someone he was close enough to consider a 'friend', it would have been Zidane.

And of course, the Orphanage gang, but they weren't here. Neither was-- I'll see her when I get home. Just have to keep remembering that.

Good enough. Most friendships needed more than a week to build up anyway.

Cecil looked back at the road, trying to see the city Squall had arrived from. But he could not; it was probably too far away. Of course, Squall was alone, he was perfectly healthy, and he had already travelled through the path once. They might not have reached the halfway point yet.

"How far?"

The Cyndaquil squeaked once, the only warning Squall had before it started to climb up his leg. Sighing, Squall shook his head absently as he grabbed the fire pokemon by the neck and setting it back down on the ground. "Stay," he muttered to it before turning his attention back to Cecil.

"A little over a day's worth of walking. Maybe a bit more." He wasn't going to mention that he hardly took a break while on his way toward New Bark. His body was conditioned for this type of travel so he wasn't exhausted yet. The only times he had to take a break was when his starter needed it. The damn mouse-thing didn't seem to understand it was supposed to stay in its ball.

Edited 2010-09-02 08:05 (UTC)

A little over a day? That wasn't too bad. The terrain was mostly flat, and the monsters weren't too bad once you got used to there presence. Besides, he had managed to scavenge some plants during their travel, and he still had some of that boxed lunch. He could deal with the lack of other supplies.

He stretched a bit, and he felt Cleffa doing the same on his shoulder. She had enjoyed fighting those rats and birds, hadn't she? She might want to fight some more on the way. He'd need to make sure he could take care of possible wounds.

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Dissidia Reunion, Plus 1 Nobody

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(I'm gonna just have my turn skipped for a little while while you guys talk. Just assume he's....

Will do! Just jump in when you feel like it. :)

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Break that smile, Squall. I dare you.

...This would be so much 'better' if Squall met Tidus before Tidus left...

Oh god. That would have killed him.

Tidus wasn't Dissidia'd, either! It would've do more than just kill him.

Raise/Life him back? Oh wait no powers.

But this is an FMV. Even if we had them, it wouldn't work! /jk

It's fine, nobody except Tellah dies in FFIV! ...Wait, they do in TAY. Damn.

At least one person's gotta die in a FF. It's like... the golden rule.

Should they all start walking back toward Cherrygrove now?

Works for me~

Marluxiaaaaaa! Come baaaaaaack! We miss youuuuuuu!