Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They are the sole property of Squaresoft. I am merely borrowing them for the purpose of storytelling, stepping briefly into their world to influence their actions.
"Absolute Zero"
Part One: The Snow falls
Snow Storm
It was about four moments past the hour of noon, the scholars say, that the first flake fell. To all the commoners it was the first moment of the beginning of the end. The end of balance forever. Or, as Locke would have put it, "For-eva and eva". The scattered particles soon became a white oblivion. Throughout the remnants of the world of balance the cries of terror echoed loudly.
Apocalypse!
But no, it was not to be. Not completely.
What the scholars failed to see, what they couldn't possibly have seen, remained secluded from then for years to come. It was in the air, the wind, the very breath of the few people who would never allow balance to return to ruin so suddenly. The scholars themselves were too preoccupied by the observation of weather patterns, the scribing of long-winded scrolls, and the recording of the greatly increasing body count.
They could not see the whiteness for the snow.
They were as taken up in the occurrence as the rest. The beginning of a harsh new ice age.
Snow Storm.
Ice Queen
"You say that," he laughed, "but you wouldn't dare! I'm telling you, you're cold, cold, my dear! Princess of the ice. The Ice Queen!!"
"Shut up!"
"No. I won't do."
"You had better!"
"And what are you going to do, my dear?"
"You'd like to know."
"Ha, Right! You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
"Face it. You haven't got the guts anymore. Imperial general, indeed!"
"You're such a crook!"
"Okay, now that's a low blow! Now it's getting personal."
"Typical of you. You dish it out but can't take it!"
"Ice, my dear. The queen of ice...."
Treasure Hunting
It had been three years since Locke had asked Celes to come travel with him. Three years of aimless seeking. What were they seeking, you ask? Well, it was a search based on happiness, answers, the Balance, freedom, and a hope for the future.
Or as Locke would say, "We're lookin' for the goods, my dear, the goods." Treasure hunting, while a quite valid occupation in these difficult times, was basically the search of a "thrill du jour". The constant awaiting of some great adventure, some new locale.
Celes, in her decision to travel with Locke, had left behind her fears and self doubt in hope that she would find a deeper meaning to the ruined world around her. Her ambitions were nothing great. She was just seeking a personal closure. Maybe to discover her true self, buried beneath all the magitek and genetic testing. Locke, on the other hand, had no greater reason for the journey than that it was what he did. Perhaps running was what he did best, but he rarely spoke of those matters as the past was best left to the past. Either way, they both wanted to find a new hope lying among the ruins. Together, they travelled, as they both agreed it should always have been. Soul mates? Maybe. Best friends? Yes, definitely. They weren't the type to fuss about it, but they were totally reliant on each other now. As if they had always been that way.
So, that's how the story goes. Or begins, I should say. The quiet search of two treasure hunters.
White Dust
"Come here, Celes." Locke mumbled as he peered over the cliff onto the Veldt below. She slowly meandered up the steep slope until she stood beside him.
"Yeah....."
"Do you see that?" Silently they both stared out over the grassy wilderness.
"What am I looking at?" she asked, "I don't see anything."
"There" he made a motion towards the sky. "Do you see that?" Celes followed the delicate particles across the sky. Soft, cold and white.
"That isn't...."
"Uhhuh."
"Snow?
"Snow"
Permafrost
"But it never snows on the Veldt." Celes fretted, "I hardly ever snows anywhere"
"Exactly what I was getting at, my dear." Locke frowned and brought himself to sit beside Celes. "What you suppose is happening?"
"It's unexplainable. I don't like the look of this, Locke." she peered at him with hard, worried eyes. Furrowed her brow. "What could be the cause of it?"
"I wish I knew." he reached for her and pulled her near. The wind was beginning to cut with it's icy hands. "You're cold." He rubbed his hands up and down her shoulders in an effort to warm her.
"Everything is cold." She glanced around with an icy stare as the sky became increasingly white and shards of ice hit off her face. As pale and pure as her fair skin and white-blond hair. Though somehow it didn't comfort her to have been once injected with the essence of this element. It scared her, really.
"Don't worry, coz we'll get it all straightened out. Someone will know what's happening here. Perhaps if we can get to Narshe?" He wrapped himself around her and felt her shiver. Or was that him?
"I hope so."
Narshe, the aftermath
Narshe had been a ghost town for four years after the ruin. Until recently, the once proud town had been home to only wild dogs, rats, and lots of nasty, icy weather. Nobody could ever explain why Narshe had always been in perpetual winter, but most of the obvious explanations included it's location in the Northern Continent. Of course, the scholars had explored the fact that the mines in Narshe still bear traces of magic. Or the aftermath of magic, I would seem. Esper and all.
Since the ruin, the world had been slowly crumbling. Everyone wanted to believe that the flowers and shrubs that were sprouting up had actually taken root. Spring is coming, they said. Spring is coming.
Then the snow came.
Anyway, scholars had returned to the school in Narshe to resume studies in recent years due to the forecast of this ice age. Fearing the worst and not wanting to believe the rumors and fortune tellers, they searched for answers among Narshe's ruins. Hoping that something of use actually remained.
But there wasn't anything left, not even a moogle.
Moving on
"Well, there's no sense in holding on here much longer anyway." Locke proclaimed, "What with the snow, it just confirms it." He was quietly shoving his belongings into a pack. The dim light made this work tedious. Celes sat on the make-shift bed, her face lit with light from the candle nearby.
"Yes, I suppose so," she sighed. "Nothing to stay here for. Just like everywhere else."
"We will find something somewhere. Don't worry"
"Yes, Locke." she turned to sleep, "But what will it be? Is anything at all worth finding?"
"Don't be so pessimistic, dear," he flung a sock at her, rousing her from rest. "There's always something interesting waiting to be found."
"You just go on believing that, Locke. Your innocence amuses me sometimes."
"Yeah.......sure it does." He sat next to her on the bed. He gave her a jab in the ribs. "So where are we heading tomorrow?"
"Thought you knew....." she lulled, "I dunno.... Narshe, you said...."
"That will take days. We need to plan for a few stops along the way."
"Yeah...."
"Any suggestions?" Celes sat up, aggravated at being disturbed from her rest.
"We'll just find some low-life scum and hang out with them as we always do, I suppose."
"Funny. Why don't you become a comedian, Celes? You so amuse me."
"Thanks. Always a pleasure...." Celes was cut off by Locke's attack on her, tickling her and eventually toppling her off the bed. This was quickly retaliated by the tough ex-general as she pulled him down and flipped him over her shoulder unto the floor. She laughed and returned to her place on the bed.
"Well, I didn't much want to sleep there anyway.." Locke tried to feign hurt.
"It was your turn to have the couch."
Locke shot her his fiercest