Brothers
by Mariye

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here. None of them. Oh,
wait, I own Mirya and Nella! Yay!

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"Mamma? Why do we have to go in the basement?" Jakob pulled on his
mother's apron. His mute older sister Nella pushed him faster.

"Because a sorceress is going to cast a spell on our town. Plus her
knight is coming." Mirya shifted the small boy on her shoulder.
"Now come on." She took his hand as they moved down. As Jakob ran
ahead into the cellar, Nella pulled the heavy door shut tight
behind him. Mirya placed the sleeping 1 and a half year old on one of
the small cots.

"Little Zell. Able to sleep through anything." She bent over and
kissed his forehead. Nella handed her mother a phone.

"Elias, they're coming. We're all safe. Alright, I'll wait by the
door for you."

"Is the sorcewess's knight cool? It sounds so womantic. Mamma? Can I
be a knight when I gwow up?" Jakob grabbed a stick from the floor and
started swinging it around. Nella picked up another and staged a
fake fight, which she let Jakob win.

"No Jakob. You can be a soldier if you want, but being a knight for
a sorceress is wrong. They are only puppets." Jakob huffed a sigh of
disappointment. "Now come here."

"Why?"

"I want to test you."

He crossed his arms and stuck out his bottom lip. "Mama..."

"I have to though. That way if you get lost, it tells what town you
live in and what your name is."

"I know my name and town." Jakob sighed and rolled his blue eyes.
Mirya smiled.

"Well then, tell me."

"Jakob Simblen from Centra Dukedom town of Waterhill."

"Very good." Mirya said. She picked up Zell's little hand and touched
the id bracelet she had kept on him. He was always a handful and
running around. This let everyone know his name. Luckily, Nella
always was arround him to protect him.

"I will. Can I wake bebe bwothew up? Please?"

"No, let him sleep."

"Okay..."

{Blam blam blam}

"That must be your father. Still... Jakob, go hide in the corner."
Mirya picked up Zell and gently placed him behind some crates with
Jakob. She placed a blanket over the two of them. She went to the
door. "Nella, stand in front of them." Nella picked a gun up off
the floor and held it as she moved in front of the hidden children.

"Hello? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Two men walked in. They pulled out
guns and shot Mirya quickly. Nella raised her shotgun.

BLAM BLAM BLAM!!!

One of the men went down. The other ran at Nella.

"MAMA! NELLA! I'LL HELP YOU!" Jakob ran out. The Esthar soldier tried
to shoot him, but Nella pushed him away.

"Nella? Nella?" Jakob shook her shoulder. The soldier hit him on the
head with the butt of his gun, Jakob stirred and looked up.

"Hitting children? You animal!" A group of Balamb and Trabian
soldiers ran in, shooting down the offender. Zell started crying in
the corner.

"Don't worry. You two are safe now."

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Jakob and Zell sat in a refugee camp room with many other children.
Adults, mainly women and nuns, sifted around. The two sat alone though,
none of the orphanage owners and prospective parents wanted a child who
couldn't remember his own name or a boy who was always running around
or yelling. A woman in black with 9 children shadowing her approached
them. Jakob sat staring blankly at the woman, while Zell sat sniffling
and holding a stuffed duck.

"Hello little Zell. Extremely vocal bundle of energy." She smiled.
"The soldiers told me about you. And you are?" She looked at Jakob.

"I... I don't wemembew." His lip trembled. Then he he caught himself
and stopped. He folded his hands over his chest.

She pointed to Zell. "Is he your brother?"

"I dunno." She thought for a second. She moved forward and picked up
Zell, the long black skirt billowing as she moved. She looked at
Jakob again.

"Do you remember anything?"

"A little. I wemembew twucks, and playing, and evewy thing else. And
I wemembew knights!"

The woman smiled. "A little one like you already liking knights?"
Jakob's eyes went wide and he smiled. She laughed. "All right little
one. You will be Seifer It means fearless. Is that alright?" He
nodded and gave a slight smile. "My little knight. Would you and Zell
like to live with me while you wait for a family to adopt you?"

Zell smiled faintly and nodded. He still clung to the duck though.
Seifer nodded and stood up.

"Yeah, just don't make me hang around him all the time like the people
here do. He's such a cwybaby chicken." Seifer made a face. "I don't
like him." The woman smiled.

"All right. You can call me Matron."

"Okay." Seifer joined her flock. The group walked towards a blond man
with glasses who stood near the door.

"Alright Cid, I've decided on the children I will take to our
orphanage."

"Fine Edea. Sign them out here." As she stood signing, a doctor came
up.

"So you will be taking in our little Johnny Doe." She turned around.

"Yes, and his name is now Seifer. Is there any chance he will regain
the memories he lost?"

The doctor shook his head. "It seems unlikely. And even if he did,
he might unconciously block it out in order to protect himself from
feeling the pain and hurt of losing his family." Edea nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll have to help him make new memories then."

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[The End]

Yup. I always thought Seifer and Zell looked a little alike, aside
from the tattoo o^-^o