Scream

First, there was a scream. Shrill, high, screeching, and frantic. It cut through the steel corridor with ringing echoes.

The sound lurched Celes awake. Something inside of herself told her to close her eyes, go back to sleep; wrap the pillow around her head so that she could not hear any more of the sound. But the urge to go see what was going on was too powerful, so she slipped out of her bed and tiptoed to her door.

Once in the hallway, the sound was louder, continuing without a hint of stopping any time soon. Celes knew the voice that the scream came from, but kept hoping that it was somebody else as she crept down the corridor to the source of the screams, instinctually closing her hands around her ears as she got closer.

The reason behind the almost animalistic sounds could have been anything, Kefka trying something perverted, accidentally being hurt by his lightning, anything.

What Celes found on the other side of the door was much more gruesome.

Kefka had his hands wringing into Terra's shoulders, and he was looking desperate, trying to yell over her cries. There was a jeweled crown on Terra's brow, making Celes remember glimpsing Doctor Cid's sketches for a new invention.

And there was Terra, standing still in her nightgown, eyes wide, tears gushing down her cheeks, her mouth open and shrieking still.

Celes stood motionless in the doorway, unsure of what to make of the scene, stuck between wanting to run to them and try helping somehow or running off to get General Leo.

Kefka saw Celes finally and shouted something at her that she could barely make out.

"Go get Doctor Cid!"

She nodded, running off in her bare feet as fast as she could to the Research Facility to find the Doctor. She was hoping that somebody else would hear the screams coming from their corner of the palace, but knew that it was unlikely.

She ran past the cafeteria, storage rooms, out into the corridor that lead to the Emperor's chambers, through many more long hallways with the tall windows that showed the moon rising ever higher into the sky, and stars that blinked in and out of the clouds. The candles and chandeliers were snuffed out for the night, and the various other types of lamps were long burnt out as well, but Celes knew her way around the palace even in the dark by the pale light of the moon.

"What was that thing on her head?" Celes wondered as she sped into the double doors that led to the main research facility where Doctor Cid spent almost every waking hour and several sleep filled hours.

Celes slowed when she reached the back of the labs, where the enormous cylindrical glass tubes were stored, each glowing slightly with the eerie green fluid inside. The Doctor's study was tucked away behind his favorite glass tube: Shiva.

Inside, Celes found the Doctor pouring over a large text, taking notes with a pencil on a pad by the light of a few burning candles.

"D-Doctor Cid!" she gasped, panting from her run across the Palace, holding on to the doorframe for support.

The mustached man jumped in his seat, snapping his head around in confusion.

"Celes? What on earth? Why are you out of breath?" he asked worriedly, rising from his chair to go to her.

"It's…Terra," the blonde tried explaining, still breathing hard. Cid's face grew serious then, his eyebrows furrowing together as he grabbed a key and left the room.

"Doctor?" Celes asked, following behind him, confused by his expression.

She heard him muttering to himself quietly as he stalked past the tubes, the green light giving the Doctor an intimidating air, "…I told him not to do it so soon…that fool…it was not ready yet!"

"Doctor?" Celes demanded with her voice louder this time, wanting to know what was going on with Terra badly. She was not used to being kept in the dark.

"Get back to bed, Celes! Now!" Cid shouted, causing the girl to stagger back. He had never yelled at her before.

Celes grimaced back any retort she had, and went back to her wing of the palace quietly, not bothering to run anymore. As she walked back the way she came, she saw that the Doctor was waking up a few nurses to help him.

Back in Celes's room, she could still hear Terra screaming, and the sound did not cease until Doctor Cid and his nurses strapped the mint haired girl to a gurney and wheeled her away.

That night was the first of many that would be sleepless for Celes, Kefka, Doctor Cid, and the nurses.

A/N: Hello my readers! I know that it has been ages since I've updated, and I apologize. I do update my profile to explain why I've been taking so long with updates. Please, let me know of your thoughts on this piece, and yes, it will continue. This first chapter was indeed short, but I felt that this first chapter would feel more natural being short.

Thank you very much for reading!

-Moogle