"Am I dead yet?" She asked no one as she opened her eyes to the bird that stared her down like something to eat. "Have you been watching me this whole time, little bird?" She asked it, sitting up. Startled at her sudden movement, the bird hopped backwards, and only then did she see the bandana wrapped around the torso of the creature. "Where's the man who gave you this, little friend? Can you take me to him?" She asked, feeling stupid. But the fact that she had thrown herself off of a cliff and survived told her that she had some bigger part to play in this world, and she was going to have to deal with it.
The bird cackled, shaking hard before it flew off. Celes looked up and shaded her eyes with her left hand as she watched the bird, eyes widening as the bandana flew off. With a shout, she splashed into the water, closing her hand over it as she fell, choking on sea water. "He's alive. Locke is alive..." She said, clutching the cloth to her heart as she walked back onto the beach. "Now, about that raft..."
!!
Cyan jumped at the arrival of the carrier pigeon. It had been weeks since his correspondent, Lola, had written him, so he opened the letter quickly, wondering what her excuse for not writing for so long. His eyes widened at the words scrawled onto the paper.
Dear friend,
I'm sorry I have to be the bearer of bad news, but the recent attack on Maranda has cost Lola her life. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but as one of the few survivors, I'm afraid I've been trying to live. I'm sorry for your loss. Remember, lad, that she's in a better place than this tormented world, and that we all must die at some point in time. I want you to know, too, that Lola was happy that you wrote her, even though she knew that you weren't her beloved. She told me once that it was nice to know that someone cared enough to waste their life writing to her. I'm afraid her love never said thou. Should you ever come to what remains of Maranda, please, ask for me. Lola requested that if you ever came, to give you a gift in her name. Thank you for making her happy, and thank you for caring.
Sebeka
Tears filled his eyes, and he cursed Kefka again. Writing to Lola had been his reason for existing, for living. Now he had nothing. Kefka had taken his family, his comrades, his friends, everything. Now there was nothing in his life but his sword, his village, and the hunger. With a sigh, he picked up his sword and went to go do something about his hunger.
!!
Celes closed her eyes against the blaring sun. Three days on the raft, falling off twice, no food, and a sunburn did not make a happy ex-general. And there was yet to be any land in view. She laid back, ignoring the rocking waves. She opened her eyes, staring at the lonely cloud that was her landmark.
Her staring was interrupted by a something huge passing underneath her, a massive shadow passing above as she looked down. The giant bat thing clawed at the water not a hundred feet away, shrieking in pain as something with tentacles latched onto it's leg. A massive cry of pain made her cover her ears, ducking as blood spurted from the leg. A giant splash made a wave begin, carrying her raft away from the battling creatures as she covered her head still, wondering how things that huge had suddenly appeared.
'Not suddenly', she reminded herself. It had been two years since the cataclysm when Cid had died, and she had no way of telling when that had been in relation to now. She fell unconscious as the wave carried her to something that looked very familiar... a port city, she could tell, but which one? Coming closer as she faded away, she saw Albrook, or what was left of it, for the first time since the end of the world, and there wasn't much to see.