Trials and Traitors
ZOMG. A non-humorous piece of fiction from me? What is the world coming to?
After the Magitek facility incident, Celes found herself on the run from the imperial army. But is everyone in Vector against her?
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VI, its characters or locations.
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"STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Kefka bellowed, it was supposed to be his crowning achievement. He would take out the traitor, the heirs of Figaro and that piece of Returner scum in one fell swoop. He had come so close, but Celes decided to defy the empire, all that she used to stand for, once more.
"TELEJA!" She cast, the two magitek armour prototypes, formally used on Terra's unit were whisked away in a flash of light, the imperial court mage could feel himself being sucked up by some portal in the sky, he scrapped the floor for something to hold on to, to anchor him down but it was no use. His life flashed before his eyes, Celes was standing there, a magical aura surrounding her, not unlike the espers had before containment and draining.
It was if she was letting the powers she contained just run rampant through her body. The way she rose up towards the ceiling, her blonde hair giving a s fan effect, her normally cold blue eyes filled with rage she just wanted to remove Kefka from existence, and she nearly achieved that.
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Kefka found himself sprawled out in the Iron Palace. He wasn't quite sure what had just transpired but he knew who to blame.
"Celes…" he growled, looking to see if she had been warped here with him. The two people in the magitek armour unit were there with him, out cold, the armour units themselves were in a heap near by but no general Celes. "Bloody witch!" He shouted, hopping up and down on the spot, like how a child would throw a tantrum.
He then realised that 3 people in the research facility were not effected by her spell. The Returners. He had to act quickly, if he was two slow they might be able to flee if they gained hold of the mine carts. He ordered a unit to follow him back to the facility in hopes at heading them off at the pass but he was too slow, they had already left. They seemed to have used professor Cid as a hostage to aid their escape but left him near the exit so that the old coot wouldn't slow them down. "Son of a… Sub…Sand… Whatever."
He headed back towards the throne room, they had to leave Vector somehow, the Southern continent wasn't the easiest to escape from unless they had an airship, and the only non-imperial person who had one was Setzer. And he wouldn't help a bunch of rebels would he?
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Emperor Gestahl was quickly facing a new scenario, one that he had not foreseen. While it was true that the attack on Narshe was surprisingly unsuccessful he would not have anticipated a Returner counter-strike on Empire soil. An attempt to liberate South-Figaro would have been more likely but there was one silver lining to all of this.
"So you are telling me professor that, although the Esper draining process allows us to infuse our own Elite with magic that there is a more efficient way to go about, one that produces even more power?" He asked the nervous man in the yellow lab coat.
"Yes sir. It appears when an Esper dies that their true power is condensed to crystals. These crystals are termed as 'Magicite'." He said, he wished he didn't have to do this anymore, what happened to Kefka made him stay on, he was determined to make the infusion process safer and he even started to think as Celes, the youngest and the only female to receive the new and refined treatment as his granddaughter. Her mind didn't deteriorate like Kefka's and here Runic knight abilities seemed to stop any magical backlash in her career as a soldier. But now that she had deserted the empire, and raided the labs she was brought up in. It made him start to question just whether he should be doing this. Hurting other species for human's own personal gain.
"So, Magicite, do we still have enough espers to test this theorem?" the emperor pondered.
"No, Lord Gestahl."
"Very well, dismissed. And tell Kefka and Leo that I am ready to see them now." Cid quickly left the throne room, not turning his back to Gestahl in the fear that he may set fire to it. Kefka and Leo entered the room. The one remaining General and now effective commander of the entire army, Leo, had been brought up on nobility and honour. Kefka was completely insane and had an unquenchable blood-lust. It was a clear case of two opposite sides of the spectrum.
Neither of them spoke, it was a decidedly bad day for both of them. Kefka's plans to take out some of the key players in the Returners had failed miserably and Leo's security forces had been compromised and all Espers had been lost as Magicite to the resistance group. Leo simply hung his head in shame while Kefka cursed under his breath.
"So it appears the tables have turned slightly against us." Gestahl said in a low voice.
"My apologies your Excellency." Leo said.
"It was that accursed girl! Where is she now?" Kefka asked both of them.
"Kefka… it appears that the former general Celes Chere has escaped from Vector. Most likely by the same spell that sent you and your men into the palace from the facility." Gestahl replied, Kefka remained un-phased and eager to kill.
"Let me have her! I'll make sure the wench will wish she was never born! Uwe-he-he!"
"No."
"But…"
"No. That sudden surge of power at the research facility was driven by rage towards you. Next time, she may decide to kill you in another fury. Added to the fact that your magic is useless against her one-on-one and we arrive in a situation where you cannot be sent on this mission." Gestahl explained, Kefka sunk back silently, arms folded.
"Your Excellency. I can have security drastically improved. If that is your wish." Leo said respectfully, another contrast to Kefka.
"No, the damage has been done to that facility. The only thin that needs to be restored is the magitek armour production lines. I have a different mission for you Leo."
"Yes your Excellency?"
"You are to find Celes Chere. And…"
"Cut off her head!" Kefka interrupted with a maniac grin on his face.
"No Kefka. There is much untapped potential in her, Leo. I want you to find Celes, bring her back to Vector. And place the slave crown on her."
"What?" Leo almost shouted.
"She is too powerful to waste, and too treacherous to let her have her own free will."
"But remember what happened to Major Terra? After you gave her to Kefka because she started questioning orders, he ordered her to wipe out 50 of our magitek knights in three minutes? Why would you let there be the chance of our own blood to be shed again?"
"I will not be giving control of her to Kefka, nor will I be controlling her personally. You will, general."
"What?"
"WHAT?!" Kefka shouted, Gestahl sighed, sometimes that man was more of a nuisance than bloodthirsty.
"I made myself clear. Leo, you will track her down, apprehend her and administer the slave crown. She will then be under your direct command. You are dismissed General, but not you Kefka." The emperor concluded signalling for Leo to leave which he did so, his head spinning. He saw what happened to Terra Branford, devoid of all will, it was damn near terrifying the way she obeyed every order without question, without even recognition that she had received the order. She just carried them out like a human puppet. How could he do the same to a woman that had worked side by side with him on numerous occasions?
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In the shadows of the slums a blonde haired woman hid from an oncoming patrol. It was strange, her initial thoughts were that she'd prefer to return to the heart of the empire, if only on her own terms. But now the iron palace and polluted streets held nothing but despair for her. The returners had escaped with Setzer's help so she did not have any reason to remain here. Sensing her opportunity she slipped out of the town un-noticed and headed for Tzen port. The Southern continent was a dangerous place for her now.
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There, my first exclusivley FFVI multi-chapter fic is underway, to celebrate me actually getting the game a few mere days ago. Oh, by the way, reviews are appreciated.