Chapter 7: Prelude
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VI!
A/N: I kind of lost my motivation for writing for a while; could I say it was because of the lack of reviews? In any case, I won't be able to finish the story any time soon because I'm going on a ski trip for a week. In any case, this should be the second last chapter!
"Maria! Maria, are you there?" a loud voice shouted from outside the door, and Locke groaned. The gambler had finally decided to visit. Celes, in the meanwhile, was hurriedly combing her hair.
"Why do you care about your appearance?" the thief scowled. "Are you really bent on seeing that man?"
"I have to play the part of Maria, and so I mustn't let my guard down," the general replied.
"What if Maria has really messy hair?"
"Celes isn't seen with messy hair. And what woman allows her lover to see her in a bad state?" the general returned, unruffled. "If you want to blame someone, blame Edgar. He's the one who made me do all this in the first place." The king spread his palms out, laughing.
"Stop being so sour. Because of you we're going to get a ride on an airship! In fact, you should be thanking me for my genius!"
Locke opened his mouth to reply but Setzer's loud voice interrupted. "Maria, are you there?"
"Coming!" Celes shouted. She opened the door to see the gambler with a bunch of roses.
"These are for you, my dear," Setzer smiled, handing the roses over. The general took them with a small murmur of thanks.
"Is your airship ready? My companions and I are somewhat rushed."
"Of course it is! Why would I come to you now if I weren't even ready to do what I promised?"
"Because you never did?" Locke muttered nastily under his breath, and Edgar shot him a warning look. Setzer, however, was oblivious to the thief's snide remark. Gathering Celes in his arms, the gambler beckoned to the others. "Come with me."
The travellers were led through the empty streets (as it was still early in the morning) to a large, formidable-looking building. They mounted several flights of grey, gloomy stairs. Feigning fatigue, Celes leant on Setzer. Locke raised his eyebrows, irritated.
"How far is it to the top?"
"Not very far, my heart. I can carry you the rest of the way-"
"Oh no, I mustn't burden you. I'm fine." Behind him Sabin could hear Locke breathe a sigh of relief.
After a few more minutes of walking light suddenly began to shine on the steps. "We're almost there, aren't we?" Edgar panted.
"No, we are here," Setzer corrected. He suddenly stepped aside, allowing the four travellers to gaze at a grand machine. It was a fine mahogany brown in colour and the engines hummed smoothly. Even Edgar, who was a champion of technology, was amazed by what he saw.
"Do you like it?" Setzer glanced at Celes.
"It's-wonderful," the general breathed, although inside she was not so impressed. With just one word she could blast the machine to bits.
"Hop aboard the Blackjack," the gambler beamed with pride. "This baby has been built from scratch. I spent five years building this beauty!"
"Allow me to examine the engines. They are very quiet-almost as quiet as my drill!" Edgar exclaimed. An awkward silence ensued.
"Um…ignore my friend. He is very keen on technology," Celes said hurriedly, giving the gambler a brief smile. "Now, may I have a closer look at your fine masterpiece?"
"Oh, yes, of course," Setzer replied. He helped the general into his airship and then turned to Locke, Edgar and Sabin. "I'm sure you'll have no difficulty in making yourselves comfortable in my airship. Please come to me if you need anything." With a mock bow he followed Celes. Locke growled after the gambler.
"That good for nothing show-off!"
"Locke, keep your opinions to yourself. Save them for when we're aboard the Blackjack and when it's too late for our host to turn back," Edgar pleaded. It was obvious that he really wanted to examine the Blackjack's engine structures. Sabin sighed.
"In any case Cele-Maria's already inside. If we stay here, we'll never be able to reach Vec-I mean, the opera house-in time!" Without further ado the three men joined the general and their host. Setzer watched them climb aboard.
"Goodbye, land!" Setzer cried out, and with a graceful spin of his hand sent the wheel turning. Slowly but surely the airship lifted off, the low humming of the engines turning into a loud roar. Sabin grinned at his twin.
"So much for examining the engines-they're just as loud as Magitek machines on the roll."
"Silly fool! The noise is relatively quiet for an airship as big as this!" Edgar reprimanded his twin, who held his hands up in surrender.
"Sorry we're not technology geniuses like you!"
In the meantime Celes approached the gambler once again, feeling the jealous glare of a certain thief burning a hole into her back. "How are we getting to the opera house? Are there any countries we can stop at?"
The gambler turned to face Celes, not taking his hands off the wheel. "Do you find the view up here unpleasant?" he enquired worriedly.
"No, it's very beautiful and peaceful up here! I'm just curious…"
"We going to take a detour and avoid Vector. It's too dangerous to pass over that city-"
"Setzer, I want you to go to Vector," Celes interrupted. She had to come clean now. The gambler looked at her quizzically.
"Why, Maria? I do not want to risk being captured by the hateful Empire…" Celes touched his hand gently.
"I cannot keep this charade up any longer. Setzer, I'm not Maria."
"What? No, you must be joking," Setzer looked at Celes in the eye. She stared back firmly at him. Locke, all too eager to come clean, leaped up from his seat.
"It's true, Setzer. This lady isn't Maria-she's Celes Chère of the Returners."
The gambler's face turned pale white as he understood that he'd been tricked. He opened his mouth as if to shout something but closed it again. Finally, he spoke. His voice was calm but his fingers trembled with anger. "If you're not Maria, then we have nothing to talk about. I will land in Albrook and then you will all have the chance to get off my airship before I do something nasty to you."
"Setzer, hear us out, please," Celes begged. "You said yourself that you hated the Empire-we hate it, too. What's more, we're on our way to try and kill Kefka and Gestahl. If you could just take us to Vector…we'd be so grateful…"
The gambler paused and thought for a moment, not taking his eyes off the blue sky. Finally, he turned to the four travellers. "I will take you to Vector on one condition."
"Name it," Edgar ordered rather dismissively, but inside his heart was beating hard. He had read so much that he knew in these cases the person would name something almost impossible to give.
"Celes, you must become my bride in place of Maria. I have concluded that you are even cuter than she," the gambler said, and Locke ran to the general's side.
"You can't do that! You're taking Celes-"
"Locke, calm down!" Celes ordered. She turned to the gambler. "I will become your bride, but I insist that we toss a coin. I'll be heads, you be tails. If I lose, I'll be your bride, but if you lose then you have to help us in our quest to kill Kefka and Gestahl."
"Alright," the gambler agreed. He reached into his black coat but Celes stopped him.
"There's no need to go to such pains for a coin; I'll get one," Celes smiled sweetly. Setzer was immediately on the guard, but he did nothing to stop the general. Perhaps Lady Luck was still on his side. Pleased that things were going her way, Celes approached Edgar.
"Give me the coin," she whispered into his ear. The king raised his eyebrows, confused.
"Eh?"
"You know, that coin…"
"Oh, right," the king fished in his cloak, humming to himself all the while. Setzer tapped his foot impatiently. Finally Edgar found the coin. Cleaning it quickly with his shirt he handed it to the general.
"We'll both toss the same coin, so there's a possibility that you help us and I become your bride," Celes frowned, and then added, "No going back on your word."
"I may be a gambler, but I'm not a cheater or a liar," Setzer replied coolly. Behind the two Locke watched, biting his fingernails nervously. He knew that Celes didn't want to marry Setzer, either, but what would happen if the coin landed on tails?
Celes threw the coin, and everyone watched, their breaths baited, as the shiny object spinned in the air before landing on the ground. Everyone peered eagerly at it, and Celes bit her lip to stop herself from cheering.
"You have to help us to Vector," she said. Locke clenched his cold fists. Setzer's toss could still render Celes his bride. The gambler, however, was frowning. He bent over to pick up the coin, examined it and laughed.
"How neat…I've heard of them, but I've never seen a double-headed coin before…" Sabin gasped and looked at his twin, who shrugged.
"You gave Celes that coin…?" Edgar ignored his twin.
"No going back on your word, Setzer. You agreed to play by my rules," Celes reminded the gambler.
"Saving the world with nothing to lose but my life…how exciting!" Setzer laughed as he threw the double-headed coin. It landed without surprising results. "My life's a chip in your pile. Let's go to Vector, then!" And with a smart flick of his wrist the gambler changed the airship's direction. Breathing normally once more, Locke joined Celes.
"You scared me! For a moment I thought you were really going to become Setzer's bride!" Locke exclaimed. Celes regarded the thief coolly, but inside her hearted melt. If only slightly.
"I wouldn't bet when there was a possibility of my losing."
"You're risking your life to save Terra now," Locke pointed out. Celes sighed.
"When your friend's silly enough to get herself caught, you don't really have a choice," she said. Although her words were harsh the thief knew that she was really saving Terra out of kindness.
About six hours later Sabin approached the gambler, who was busying himself with steering the wheel. "How long will it take to get to Vector? A friend of ours is held prisoner there, so we're hoping to get there as soon as possible," he said.
"We'll be there very soon, just five minutes-"
"Every minute counts! Can't we get there faster?" Edgar asked anxiously. The gambler shook his head.
"No. I know how you feel, but all you can do for now is sit tight and hope that we can get there in five minutes," Setzer replied. Locke grinned at the king who was thoroughly frustrated.
"If you must know why Edgar's so agitated, it's because he's in-"
"Cut that out, will you?" Edgar roared, playfully punching Locke in the shoulder. A mini fight ensued, and for a while the king forgot his troubles.
"Finally," the warrior panted. He had finally reached his destination: Vector. In spite of the cuts and bruises on his arms and legs the all he could see was the evil city and above all the ugly face of Kefka leering at him. But look! He had to get past the guards standing at the entrance to the city. Without thinking the warrior rushed forward, his katana raised, ignorant of his protesting muscles. Alarmed, the guards raised their axes in defence. They had never seen such a wild man before.
Sword clashed with axe. The warrior and his adversaries fought with god-like speed in a fatal yet beautiful dance of death. Although the warrior was more skilled in swordplay, he was at a huge disadvantage: in his berserk state he had not rested for two days running. Now, however, his body was beginning to take its toll. His blows were sluggish and weak, and slowly he began to reach his limit. The guards, realising that they had the advantage, began to rain blows unmercifully on their victim. Blood spurted from the warrior's shoulder. One of the guards raised his axe, grinning maliciously. The warrior closed his eyes, resigned. This was the end.
The warrior waited for the coup de grace, but it never came. Instead he heard the familiar clash of metal on metal. His eyes flew open and he saw a young man fighting off his attackers. His vision blurred and he finally became unconscious, uncaring of the world around him.
"How's our guest?" Sabin asked.
"His wounds are serious, and it appears that he hasn't allowed himself to rest for two days in a row," Celes reported, wincing slightly as the blue light surrounding the injured warrior wavered. "My magic is beginning to wane. I might not be able to heal him-he may die." She added, her face passive. Sabin frowned, worried.
"Should I step in for you? I've recently devised a blitz that can heal. It's not as efficient, but-"
"Shh! He's coming to!" Celes interrupted. As reported, the warrior's eyelids flickered and opened. He stared weakly at his saviours.
"Where am I? Who are you?" he asked weakly. "Am I…dead?"
"No, you're very much alive," Edgar replied. "But you came very close to being killed."
"Lucky Sabin got to you in time," Locke added. The warrior looked over at the monk who stood a little distance away.
"I-I thank thee for saving my life," the warrior stuttered. "My name is Cyan Garamonde, retainer to King Alexander of Doma. The late King Alexander," the warrior added bitterly. Celes stared at Cyan.
"Doma? Wasn't that the country Kefka was after? Then you must be the lone survivor!"
"How dost thou know?" Cyan stared back at Celes, who blushed with embarrassment.
"A soldier of the Empire…told me…"
"Surely such valuable information would not be trusted to a Returner such as yourself?"
"I was a Magitek knight…"
"What? Get away from me, knave!" Cyan shouted, struggling to move, but his wounds were not fully healed, and so he sat pathetically, glaring as hard as he could at the general. "You vermin were the cause of the fall of my kingdom, my lord, my family!" The retainer made a move as if to attack the general, but Locke moved in between them.
"Celes is on our side now! Please, she has seen how wrong the Empire is, and now she's willing to help us kill Gestahl!" Locke shouted.
"Locke…" Celes murmured, bowing her head. There was an awkward pause, but Cyan finally spoke.
"Alright, I'll help you. Because you have saved my life, I owe you my service. But as for the lady general-" Cyan pointed an accusing finger at Celes. "-Don't think that I trust you."
"Well, just watch me and let me prove to you how loyal I am," Celes returned coldly. Cyan's reasons for hating her were invalid; Leo had never intended on poisoning the whole of Doma in the first place. It had been Kefka's idea, and no one had been around to prevent him from carrying it out. There was, in reality, no reason for him to distrust her.
"In any case, what are we waiting for?" Cyan sat up slowly. "Kefka is only a step away. Let's go!"
"Excuse me? Us?" Locke laughed nervously. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're still badly injured! Perhaps you should stay in the airship-Kefka's not an easy opponent!"
"My wounds are nothing-also, what better opportunity do I have of returning your favour?" the warrior rebuked. "Thou hast no problem with my coming, no?"
"Will you stop with the thous?" Sabin asked, slightly annoyed. "Otherwise thou shalt-oh gods…" the monk sighed. "Look what you've done!" Cyan ignored Sabin.
"Let us proceed in our quest to kill Gestahl and his evil Empire!"
One by one, the heroes filed in through the door. Edgar stood outside, waiting for a moment. "Let us proceed in our quest to kill Gestahl and save Terra," he corrected softly before following Locke into the castle.
Gestahl's castle was large and eerie, emanating a cold, hostile aura. The six heroes walked quietly yet quickly down the halls, wincing with each step they took. As Celes later observed, they were like large elephants on a stampede. In spite of the seemingly loud noises, however, no one approached.
After what seemed like eternity the rebels entered a room. Celes sighed as old memories began to haunt her.
"This was my bedroom. It seems that Kefka wanted to erase all evidence of my being here."
Sure enough, the room was in tatters. Old treasure chests were opened, their jaws gaping emptily. The walls were grey and dirty and the bed had been stripped of its sheets. The room seemed more like a prison cell without the skeletons and blood. On the other side of the room were two doors.
"If we go through the door to the left that will lead us down to the prison cells," Celes pointed. "There will be several flights of steps and the way down is very narrow, so be careful. If we are ambushed from both sides we will be doomed."
"Is there another way? If there isn't then we may as well risk being ambushed," Edgar replied impatiently. Terra might be about to lose her head! What were his friends waiting for? Didn't they understand the gravity of the situation?
"Pray tell, why are we going down to the prison cells instead of Gestahl's throne room?" Cyan asked. "Are you looking to be arrested?"
"A friend of ours was taken hostage here recently," Sabin explained. "She was also a-"
"-she helped me through a lot of hard times," Edgar smiled, clamping a strong, firm hand over his brother's mouth. Cyan stared at them suspiciously before moving away again. Sabin took the opportunity to hit his brother who dodged in the nick of time.
"What was that for?" the monk hissed.
"If you'd said that Terra was a former Magitek soldier, we'd be one companion less!" Edgar hissed back. "Think before you speak, won't you?"
"Shut up back there! Someone's coming!" Celes whispered hurriedly. "Everyone, prepare for an ambush!" In a flash everyone was hiding behind the treasure chests and under the bed. True to Celes' word, two Magitek satellites floated into the room, their engines whirring softly.
Without a warning Celes shot a bolt of ice, shattering one of the satellites to pieces. Its partner whirled around quickly, letting loose a huge shockwave at Celes. The general dived out of her hiding place and Edgar let loose a shower of arrows at the satellite. The machine shot a burst of fire at the king, burning all his arrows and blasting him in the chest in the process. Sabin hurried to his brother's aid.
"Edgar!"
"I'm fine, kill the satellite!" the king panted. He wasn't as fit as he used to be ten years ago. At that moment the satellite let loose another burst of fire. Picking Edgar up, Sabin narrowly escaped the fire as it landed on the stone floor and was promptly extinguished.
"Let me try my luck!" Setzer shouted, throwing a pair of sharp-edged cards at the satellite. They grazed the machine's surface, leaving a mere scratch. Cyan laughed heartily.
"Your little scraps of paper are useless! Behold, flurry!" With one fluid motion the samurai quickly dealt four blows to the whirring satellite. The metal was slightly dented, but the creature was still alive. It released an ice beam, grazing the samurai's shoulder plate.
"Fools! This creature is most susceptible to magic!" Celes shouted, releasing another ice beam. Locke managed to steal a potion and a reflect ring from the creature before the ice beam made contact. The satellite finally exploded, fragments of sharp metal flying in the air. Sabin shook Edgar, who was coughing slightly.
"Edgar! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine-that fire blast sure knocked me off my feet, though," the king smiled weakly and Celes looked at him.
"I would heal you if I could, but I'm afraid I've just used up my magic. I'm sorry," she said softly.
"I can heal him with my blitz," Sabin offered. "It's a new technique so chances are I'll use up most of my energy."
"Don't bother, then. Compared to your punches, that fire blast was a mere scratch. Ha, ha!" Edgar joked lamely. Setzer raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps my Mysidian rabbit will do the trick." It was too late, however. Performing a chant, Sabin raised his arms and green lights danced around the king's body, stitching up the invisible wounds inside.
"Thanks; your blitz does perform miracles," the king said, examining his body. "But you really shouldn't have…you needed all that energy for saving Terra…" Sabin opened his mouth to reply but a loud shout interrupted the rebels.
"Hey, who's there? Show yourselves!"
"Oh no, the Imperial guards are here!" Celes exclaimed. There was no use hiding their presence; the guards were headed for them. "Quick! To the prison cells!"
Without further ado the heroes hurried down the stone steps, ignorant of the sharp decrease in temperature. Above them came the sounds of several guards running down after them.
"There are about ten of them," Setzer panted. "They're really overestimating us!"
"Have faith, Setzer. Shouldn't you be saying, 'underestimating'?" Locke joked weakly. "In any case, their numbers don't count until we're forced to stand our ground and fight!"
"At this rate we should just surrender ourselves," Cyan observed. "Fighting to the death is honourable, but sometimes it's better to run away and live to fight for another day!"
"Glad to see that you don't have the typical samurai glory rules," Edgar muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
The rebels finally reached the flat ground. The prisons were dimly lit, cold, and dusty. A rat scuttled past Locke's feet and the thief jumped back in disgust. "I hate rats," he explained rather lamely. Nobody heard him; they were all too cooped up in the moment.
"Quick, we've got look for Terra!" Edgar yelled, and the Returners immediately scattered (all but Setzer and Cyan, as they still had no idea who Terra was and so stood guard at the entrance to the prison) and searched each cell desperately for their friend. The persistent marching of the Imperial soldiers' boots on cold stone floor grew louder.
"We can't carry this on for much longer," Sabin shouted. "Sooner or later the soldiers will come, and then we'll have to hide!"
"Over here!" a weak voice whispered hoarsely from a corner in the prison. Edgar was the first to hear it and without hesitation darted quickly over. He saw Terra lying curled up, naked, her fragile, thin body shivering with cold. He gasped.
"Someone unlock this door!" The king growled. Locke immediately joined his friend's side.
"Edgar…the soldiers…"
"I don't care! Get this cursed door out of the way!" the king ordered. All he could see was the frail form of the girl and the door that barred his way. Without waiting for Locke's reply he extracted his chainsaw from his tools pack and sawed at the door's hinges. After what seemed like eternity the door creaked and gave way. The king dropped his chainsaw and hurriedly rushed to the girl's side.
"Terra! Are you okay? Open your eyes! Speak to me!" the king pleaded.
"King…Edgar?" the green-haired girl trembled. Her lips were purple. She opened her eyes. They stared vacantly into space. "I'm cold…"
"Take my cloak," Edgar draped his cloak around the girl and hugged her close to him, wishing that all his body warmth would somehow be transferred to her. "I'll keep you warm, you're safe now," he whispered tenderly.
"She's already safe. With us," an all too familiar voice cackled, and the king felt cold metal through his shirt. He stood up slowly without turning, Terra still in his arms.
"Edgar, let go of Terra! Your life's at stake!" Setzer cried. Everybody but the king was held by soldiers, hands behind their backs. "If you don't let go of her, you'll be ki-"
"Silence, fool!" Kefka snarled, slapping the gambler. "I'm the one who's going to give orders around here." He turned back to the king, grinning evilly. "But what that filth says is right. Drop the girl, and your life will be spared. I'll give you three seconds to let go of her. One-"
"Let go of me," Terra mumbled into Edgar's shirt.
"Never; you're cold, and I plan to change that," the king smiled in spite of his situation.
"Two-"
"You'll be killed. Let go of me!" the girl's voice was wild.
"Please, let me keep you warm just a little longer-"
"Thr-"
Terra suddenly released an ear-piercing shriek as she writhed out of the king's arms. Surprised, the king dropped Terra and she fell to the ground. The girl looked at the king. His eyes portrayed confusion and betrayal. Terra felt her stomach twist but she had to play her part.
"Stay away from me," Terra spat. Oh, his body had been so comforting and warm…tears trickled down her cheeks and she wiped them furiously away with her dirty arm. "Stay away."
"Listen to the filthy half-esper, Edgar Roni Figaro," Kefka sneered. "Guards, take this man and his evil followers away!" The king felt two guards approach him and seize his arms from behind. He did not resist. Kefka turned, his eyes glinting maniacally with triumph and cruelty.
"You're all lucky that the emperor is feeling rather tired today. Emperor Gestahl shall deal with you tomorrow. Of course, if I were the emperor, I would have done differently…" the minister disappeared into thin air but his laughter echoed in the prison walls.
The Returners were thrown unceremoniously into individual cells. Locke, Sabin, Cyan and Setzer all beat wildly at their doors, eager to find a way out. Celes, however, sat calmly. She knew that there was no point in trying to escape for now. She knew that the Empire was famous for its torturous, frigid prison cells.
Edgar stared sadly at Terra, who was in the cell next to his. The girl stared straight back at him. "Why…?" he mouthed sadly.
Terra did not reply. She stared at him a little longer before turning over on her side and curling up to sleep.
Omake:
He suddenly stepped aside, allowing the four travellers to gaze at a grand machine. It was a fine mahogany brown in colour and the engines hummed smoothly. Even Edgar, who was a champion of technology, was amazed by what he saw.
"Do you like it?" Setzer glanced at Celes
"It's-wonderful," the general breathed, although inside she was not so impressed. With just one word she could blast the machine to bits. Of course, one should always question theories and ideas until they were proven.
"Ice beam!"
A bolt of ice flew from the general's fingertips. The airship suddenly exploded and people were thrown to the ground, screaming. Setzer stared at Celes
"What was that for?"
Celes shrugged sheepishly. "Just satisfying my occasional craving for destruction?"
A/N: As I said above you'll have to wait until Feb. 10th to get the last chapter, so please, no flames! In any case this chapter is the second last one and so you should try and motivate me into writing more…no?
Thanks for reading! Please review!