AN - You don't have to lie... I know you are all angry at me :( I can only say that I'm really sorry about how long you've had to wait for this chapter. Not only was it difficult for me to write, but I had a really lousy couple of weeks back there and on top of that there were those six days I spent without power thanks to Hurricane Sandy. Bleh.
Anyways, things are better now.
"Celes Ascending" by Imrryr
Chapter 11: "Opportunity Makes the Thief"
...
"My master tells everyone he's sensitive but it's only himself he loves.
At least he manages to live in peace and good health.
He loves piling up debts but not so much paying them. He's drawn to women.
In short, he's one of many you find in society."
- Martino, from Rossini's 'L'occasione fa il ladro'
...
7:25 p.m. at the Royal Opera House.
...
As quietly as she could, the half-esper climbed the ladder to the rafters above. There were easier ways of getting to the roof - particularly for someone commanding the power of flight - but she was trying to avoid attracting attention to herself and that was already hard enough to do when your entire body was pink. She couldn't let anyone from the cast to see her ducking out the side door, or even worse, flying. Tonight's performance needed to go off without a hitch, but she really wanted to see the opera's opening from the point of view of the audience instead of merely from the wings.
Terra had no idea if she'd ever get the chance to see one again.
Gently, she pushed open the aging wooden hatch and climbed out onto the roof. Celes had told her that Setzer was likely to make his entrance from all the way up here, and normally that would demand the posting of guards, or so the impresario confided in them, but since they wanted Celes to be captured... well, they just needed to let Setzer have his way with as little interruption as possible.
It was a warm evening, as it usually was in Jidoor no matter what the season. The sun hung low over the city and bathed both the clouds and the many tiled roofs in a beautiful golden light.
Terra quickly found what she was looking for: another disused hatch that led down into an abandoned storage room. The room itself would've been unremarkable except that it featured a long row of ancient windows that commanded an excellent, if very high and distant, view of the stage. Forgotten, dusty light stands spoke to the room's original purpose. Dusting the cobwebs off herself, Terra stepped up to a window that was missing its pane of glass and peered out on the enormous auditorium below.
She had arrived just in time. Giant red velour curtains still covered the stage as the lights were beginning to dim. For the first time, Terra saw the seats in the horseshoe shaped auditorium filled with people; ladies with elaborate dresses and even more elaborate hairstyles, men with long hair and fancy but uncomfortable looking suits. The vast majority of those tiny heads had grey hair.
She had never seen so many people gathered in one place before.
But, no, that wasn't true, was it? There were those Imperial rallies she'd been forced to attend. The slave crown had been on her head almost every time she stepped outside of her cell in those days, but she could still hear the speeches and see the endless sea of people in her mind.
Those rallies were nothing like this.
Thank the creators they were nothing like this.
The conversations of some two-thousand people were hushed by a sound that was now very familiar to Terra's pointed ears; the tender, yet penetrating sound of the oboe playing an A note. The musicians were tuning up their instruments.
Terra didn't know exactly why, but that noise spoke to her. There was something primal about it all; the airy sounds of the violins being joined the deep thrum of the cellos. She thought of Celes and Locke, Banon and Edgar and the rest of her Returner friends; each so very different, but each one adding their distinct voices and talents to the whole. In their own way, each and every one of them were striving to create a better world.
And surely, the musicians in their own way were doing that too.
With that wonderful sound came a tension that seemed to fill the air. Maybe the audience felt it too because when the tuning came to the end not a whisper could be heard in the auditorium. Several dozen talented men and women were preparing to create something very beautiful. Something that words could do no justice to. Terra's small hands gripped the window-sill. Those hands commanded perhaps the most powerful magic any living being had ever seen, but did they have the power to create something as magnificent as what she was about to hear?
Finally, when the lights had dimmed completely, the conductor appeared to the great applause of the crowd. He was naturally ebullient old man with fiery red hair and a beard to match. Smiling broadly, he turned and waved to the audience before ascending the podium and raising his baton.
With the first note of the martial sounding overture, the curtains opened to reveal a rocky plain in front of a painted backdrop of mountains and the clouds beyond. Over the music that followed, one man walked slowly onto the stage. Terra immediately recognized him as Draco by his highly reflective armor that practically glowed under the stage lights. As the music played on, soldiers on chocobos charged past him from stage right. He fell to the ground from a blow from the final rider just as the overture reached its climax.
Staggering to his feet and clutching his wounded chest, Draco began to sing,
"Oh, Maria
Oh, Maria
Though I call you from afar
Will this message reach your heart?
Oh, how I long to be with you..."
Celes once told her that every opera was about love in one way or another. Terra wondered if she could learn anything from this one.
As Draco's few remaining officers gathered around him on stage, Terra became aware of a familiar sensation coming the pouch attached to her drawstring belt. Instinctively, she placed a hand over it. 'Siren?'
The magicite stone shone through the leather material, but she didn't pull it out. Terra knew from experience that she could spend hours simply staring at this particular stone if she wasn't careful. There was something about Siren that lured people to her, and whatever it was, it seemed that despite being an esper, Terra wasn't immune to it.
She felt more than heard the creature's reply. Without warning, her thoughts were filled with images of a familiar looking blonde general. "Celes?" she asked aloud and again Terra felt more than heard Siren's agreement. "What about her?"
The esper doesn't respond in her usual way. Instead, the outside world faded and Terra saw herself running towards the woman's changing room.
"You want me to go to her? Why?"
Those images faded and this time she saw the ghostly image of Siren herself standing before her in the dusty old room.
Much like Ramuh, Siren was nearly indistinguishable from an ordinary human. Her upper body was partly covered by a tight-fitting blue blouse but below that she was very much naked. Terra blinked. Espers really didn't seem to care about nudity one way or the other. However, unlike Ramuh, Siren was physically the perfect human; a flawless manifestation of the ideal human form: with her golden mane of hair, entrancing blue eyes, powerful muscles...
Perfect.
And it didn't entirely escape her notice that Siren looked a lot like someone else she knew...
The esper was smiling brightly at her. She might look like Celes, but Terra could still tell the difference between the two. For one thing, Celes rarely smiled. And when she did, it was never quite so affectionately.
Siren cocked her head, as if waiting for Terra to say something.
"I, uh..." If Celes were standing here, naked from the waist down, Terra suspected she would have similar difficulties forming even the simplest of sentences.
Siren's smile morphed into a grin. Finally, her lips moved, "Celes," the esper said, her voice like silk. "She needs my help."
Terra shivered. She was secretly glad Siren seldom spoke. Her voice made Terra want to wrap her arms around the esper and never let go.
Siren giggled and Terra blinked rapidly. The illusion was instantly broken. Celes never giggled.
She shook her head and looked away. "Okay," she said quickly. "I'll bring you to her... just no more speaking, all right?"
The esper nodded but looked ever so slightly hurt by the request as she faded from view.
Terra went running for the still open hatch, just as a march began to play signaling the beginning of Draco's second aria. In twenty minutes she would need to be on that stage. She had to hurry.
...
Celes was intently observing a very strange reflection in the mirror. An unfamiliar visage was staring right back at her; the woman's face was heavily made-up, her hair was tied with ribbons and she wore a white, low-cut dress with gold embroidery. It was a completely alien sight.
She stuck out her tongue. The mirror image did the same. It was hard to believe it was true. Celes sighed and pushed back from the counter-top. "Yep, still me," she muttered.
There was still a half hour or so before she would have to take her place at the left side of the stage. Plenty of time to obsess over how she was really not ready to stand out there in front of several thousand people and imitate the world's most famous operatic soprano.
What, was she crazy?
Turning back to the mirror, Celes found herself admiring the dress. If nothing else, she had to admit she at least looked good in it, but the act of putting it on was even more complicated than donning a set of Imperial parade armor. This dress required two women to help her into. It was just so impractical.
it was like she was a cruiser in dry dock with scaffolding erected around her or something.
Still, she did look good in it.
A stack of papers containing the music for act one sat unread on the counter. She knew it by heart now. The margins were covered with all sorts of notes, mostly stage directions, but if she didn't know them by heart by now it was definitely much too late.
There came a knock at the door and again she checked the clock. 'Thirty minutes to go.' She called for the person to enter.
Surprisingly, it was Locke. He hadn't exactly dressed up for the occasion, but his boots were freshly shined and his coat and trousers showed little of the wear they must have been put through over the past months. Upon shutting the door, the man took one look at Celes and his face flushed pinker than Terra's skin. "Aye yai yai! Is that you?!"
Celes crossed her arms and let out a sigh. She wasn't looking forward to similar reactions from everyone who knew her. An awkward silence followed. Through the walls, she could hear just barely hear Draco singing upon his arrival in the enchanted forest.
Seemingly embarrassed for himself, Locke quickly dug something out of his pants pocket. "Sabin wanted me to give this to you."
Her eyebrow arched and she deftly caught the gold sovereign that Locke tossed her way.
"He says it brings good luck."
She turned the coin over in her hand. On one side was a portrait of a decidedly youthful Edgar Figaro and on the reverse, his younger brother Sabin. The date indicated it was minted ten years ago. "Good luck?" she repeated.
"Trust me," the thief said with a wink.
There came another knock. With a feeling of dread, Celes bid whoever-it-was to enter, but it wasn't the call for her to take her place, it was Terra, still in her fairy costume. "Sorry," the girl said quickly, "I didn't mean to interrupt -"
"You aren't," Celes replied. "Come in."
Terra did so, conscious of the way the long nails on her toes tapped the tiled floor as she moved. Her throat went dry when Celes approached her.
"So," the blonde woman said, dropping her hands to her sides, "What do you think?"
Celes had a strange look in her eyes at that moment. It was as though she was really interested in Terra's opinion but was pretending not to be. The esper found herself nervously scratching her head, "Y - you look really... nice." When the words finished stumbling out of her mouth Terra was left feeling like the biggest idiot the world had ever seen, but Celes only smiled back at her.
"Yeah," Locke added. "That ribbon suits you."
Celes tilted her head and admired herself in the mirror. The blue ribbon tying up her hair perfectly matched her eyes. And yes, it did suit her at that.
And the dress wasn't really all that bad either, though she couldn't imagine ever wearing it in public. For one thing, every man within gawking distance would be staring at her breasts. The stares she got back home were bad enough when she was fully clad in armor and had a sword by her side.
And that was the second flaw of this dress: there was no way to carry a weapon while wearing it. She looked over her shoulder. 'Perhaps if I strapped it to my back.'
As Celes inexplicably looked behind herself, Terra failed to suppress the urge to stare at the woman more openly. Thankfully, Locke was doing the same so he couldn't rat on her.
Oblivious, Celes closed her eyes and sighed. "This... this really isn't going to work, you know?"
Locke blinked. "What do you mean?"
"It's one thing to sing and impress a few friends, it's quite another to sing in front of a thousand people and pass myself off as the greatest opera diva in all the world."
"But -" Terra began, "the impresario told me you were doing really well."
Celes shook her head. "He's very charitable. But even with a decade of training, I still wouldn't sound like Maria and he damn well knows it."
As if on cue, the esper in Terra's pouch glowed. She pulled it out and Celes curiously turned on her heels when she saw its light shining on the walls. "She wanted me to bring her to you," Terra explained.
The soldier took the shining stone in her hand. Instantly, Siren stood before her, just as Artemis had done in Zozo's tower many days ago. Everything else faded from view, including the very room she stood in. Celes found herself on the ramparts of the tower she had seen in her dream last night; Maria's home, the great fortress of the West.
However, that wasn't really what had her eye at the moment. Siren was standing before her... but was this really what she looked like? Green hair, pale skin, a thin body that held immense power inside it... she looked so very much Terra.
Siren spoke. Her voice too was very familiar; soft, gentle, soothing, "You are worried."
Celes blinked. Was she worried? She wracked her dazed mind for an answer. She couldn't seem to remember ever being worried. As far as she knew she had born on this castle wall, forever staring into endless and hypnotic blue eyes.
The woman smiled softly and this time her mouth didn't open when she spoke. It was just like 'talking' to Artemis, 'I will lend you my power tonight.'
Finally, the blonde woman understood. Siren, the singing esper, was going to help her through tonight's performance. 'Isn't this technically cheating?'
'Is it cheating when my friends grant you the powers they once had?'
'I see your point.'
The two women just stood there for a while longer. Celes couldn't take her eyes of this esper and she couldn't resist asking, "Are you and Terra related somehow?"
With laughter that reminded of tinkling bells, Siren shook her head. Celes watched enraptured as that green hair whipped around and settled again on her bare shoulders. Again, the esper's words entered her mind without her opening her mouth, 'When humans see me, they see what they most desire.'
Celes gulped.
Unbeknownst to the former general, the conversation she was having wasn't exactly private. Through Siren's power, Locke and Terra both found themselves on the battlements of that same castle, looking on as Celes and the esper spoke.
Locke gasped, "Wow... can you see that?"
Terra nodded. "That's Siren."
"The esper?"
Another nod. "She once told me that when she was alive she used to lure humans to their deaths with the sound of her voice and -" she blushed at the thought, "-the sight of her body."
"I bet," Locke murmured. "She looks like someone I know... and yet..."
Terra waited for the thief to finish but he never did. His eyes were distinctly glassy. 'Oh, dear.' Siren had that effect on people. She must've been one of the more powerful espers while she still lived.
Thankfully, the scene finally faded and all three of them found themselves back in Celes' dressing room like they had never left, and technically they hadn't. Locke blinked and shook his head. Terra was glad she wouldn't have to try prying his eyes away from whomever he saw in the esper's form. He was on thin ice with Celes as it was.
Celes had her eyes firmly shut as she tried to master herself. Would it kill the espers to put on some clothes once in a while?
Her pink-haired friend was the first to speak. "What did she say?"
"Siren's going to help me tonight."
Locke's face was still decidedly pink in hue. "Help you?"
"With the singing."
"Oh. Right."
"Places!" someone called out from the hallway. "Scene five places, please!"
Terra realized she wasn't sure which scene was the one she was supposed to be in. Cautiously, she poked her head out the door. "You!" a young woman shouted, looking accusingly in Terra's direction, "come with me."
...
Terra felt a great sense of relief when her scene was finally over.
When recounting his recent adventures with Cyan and Gau in the east, Sabin had described a place called the Phantom Forest: an enchanted, almost maze-like place filled with magical creatures and home to streams and lakes with healing properties.
The world of the fairies in 'Maria and Draco' was said to be much like that, and the crew of the opera worked hard to produce a set that could do that description justice.
She wondered if the esper world was anything like that world she had just danced in. Did her kinfolk sleep outside under the stars? Were there any stars to see? Did they have a king and queen... or did they live alone?
As a half-breed, would she even be welcome there?
Terra frowned. Being trapped in this body and surrounded by people made-up to look just like her was starting to wear on her mind. She concentrated on the sounds of the orchestra which could still be heard here in the hallway. The Fairy Queen was singing of her new-found love for Draco. Soon a melancholy duet would begin and Draco would make it clear that he still wished to return home.
Love was a strange concept; in operas at least, people could fall in love at the drop of a hat.
And it wasn't always mutual.
Unconsciously, she stretched her toes as she walked. It had been fun to lose herself in the act of dancing. Nothing else had mattered as she twirled across the stage with her brother and sister fairies, even if it was all just a few minutes of fantasy.
As quickly as she could, she made her way to Celes' dressing room and was thankful to find her there alone.
"Do you feel any better?" Terra asked after finally being invited in.
Celes' eyes shut briefly and nodded. Siren had helped warm up her voice. It sounded better than ever before. "Yeah," she said as she rubbed the stone in her hand with her thumb. "I think I can do this now..."
Terra scratched the back of her head. She liked it when it was just her and Celes alone together, but frequently she could think of nothing to say. And this time there was a nagging worry that she'd somehow undo all of Siren's hard work in building Celes' confidence by saying the wrong thing.
"Oh," Celes said suddenly. She walked over to the wall and picked up the familiar runic sword that was propped up against it. "Can you hold on to this?
Terra swallowed, "I - uh..."
Her nervousness was met with a soft chuckle. "I swear it won't hurt you. As long it's secured in its scabbard, the blade's runic abilities are neutralized."
"Oh." That was a relief. The pain from the last time she had touched it was something Terra would likely never forget. "Okay then."
Someone knocked on the door. "Places, please. Places!"
"Well," Celes said, trying to maintain her confidence, "it's time."
Terra smiled. She imagined that Celes could think of a thousand things she'd rather be doing than singing for several thousand people while wearing a big, frilly white dress. "I can wait to see it." It was the truest thing she had ever said.
The woman blushed before shaking her head and turning away. "You'd better enjoy it. It will probably be a once in a lifetime experience." Without another word, Celes disappeared out a second door that Terra hadn't even noticed until now.
Left alone, Terra cautiously approached the discarded sword, hesitated for a moment and then gently tapped the exposed hilt of the blade with her fingernail. Nothing happened.
With a quiet sigh of relief, she scooped it up and fastened the weapon to her belt.
Then the door opened. "Celes?" a male voice asked. It was Locke.
"She just left."
"Oh," he said, looking a bit disappointed. "You know, I was just thinking... maybe if you station yourself up on the catwalk you might have the best vantage point to see exactly how Setzer gets in and out. The impresario says he's likely to appear from the roof."
She frowned. She had planned on watching the upcoming aria from her special room, but you couldn't see the catwalk from there. All she would be able to see from the catwalk itself was the top of Celes' head.
"Terra?"
Wordlessly, Terra nodded and exited the room, leaving a confused Locke Cole behind her, but she stopped once she was out in the hallway. There was a note on the floor. Unable to resist, she snatched it up and read it,
"I owe you guys one, so I'm gonna jam up your opera!"
- Your friend, Ultros.
Ultros? The octopus, Ultros? Terra couldn't believe it; she thought he was dead, killed on the Lyte River by her own fire magic.
"Uh oh," Locke said over her shoulder. "We'd better tell the impresario." Without looking back, the thief was off like a shot.
Terra's shoulders fell and she sighed loudly. Now she was going to miss Celes' entire performance. The note crumpled in her hand.
...
Her first appearance in front of the crowd went well enough. Maria's introduction involved her being present for the arrival of King Ralse. Here, the victorious conqueror delivered his entrance aria while Celes only had to sing a few lines of recitative beforehand and then look on towards the horizon, her thoughts clearly on her missing husband while Ralse gloated over his triumph.
But now was the time for her big scene; Maria's aria. It was an aria that could bring down the house if sung well enough. Celes would be perfectly happy if the house remained as it was, as long as she didn't get assorted fruits and vegetables thrown at her.
Finally, her music cue came and the nearby stage-hand gently pressed Celes' back to get her moving. She wondered if she would have this strong a sense of foreboding before going out in front of a firing squad.
Almost certainly not, she decided.
As she stepped out onto the stage, Celes shut her eyes one last time and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she expected to see the waiting audience and the familiar painted wooden imitation of a castle's walls and battlements.
What actually happened was she stepped out onto a real stone tower. Instead of stage lights, stars filled the sky and a crescent moon hung low on the horizon. A cool breeze blew against her skin.
It took her a split second to realize the trick. Warmth traveled up from her hips and suffused her chest. The magicite stone containing the esper Siren sat in a little pouch Celes had specially sewn into her skirts. Originally, that hiding place was intended to conceal a small knife, but an esper would make a much more powerful weapon should Setzer prove uncooperative.
And Siren was already proving her use. This was no mere stage she was walking out onto... this was a real castle.
If she hadn't known it was an esper's work, she would've been completely unable to tell this world from the real one.
All she could hear was the music of the orchestra. Immediately, she understood what Siren was trying to do; that warmth grew to envelope her entire body, and particularly her throat. When she opened her mouth to sing, what came out sounded warm, luscious, perfect.
She looked out over the battlements and there was still no audience. There was nothing to be seen but the forest, the mountains and the moon beyond.
"Oh my hero, my beloved,
Shall we still be made to part?
Your promises of perennial love
Yet sing here in my heart"
Celes lost herself in her role as she continued.
"I'm the darkness, you're the starlight
Shining brightly from afar
Through hours of despair, I offer this prayer
To you, my evening star
Must my final vows exchanged
Be with him and not with you?
Were you only here to quiet my fear
Oh, speak, guide me anew..."
She climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the castle walls just as she had practiced a dozen times before, except that these stone steps didn't shake or creak as if made of wood. Draco stood on the top of the tower waiting for her in his armor, shiny as it would've been on the day he left for battle. Only... no, it wasn't Draco's face under that helmet.
It was Terra's, in all her green-haired glory.
Another surprise from Siren no doubt. Celes really hoped it was only her that could see the woman's face; otherwise the audience was bound to be incredibly confused right now.
Still, it was appropriate to see Draco as Terra. Perhaps it was hard to picture the young woman as some kind of hero, but she was. Banon had been right; Terra had the power to end this war. But Celes didn't think it would be the woman's magic, or her half-esper nature that would do it.
There was much more to her power than that.
How ironic was it that the girl who questioned her own humanity seemed to Celes to be more worthy to be called human than anyone she had ever met.
Finally, Terra spoke, and even the voice was right. "Come, Maria!" she said. "Follow my lead..."
So she danced with her. And as they slowly twirled around on the top of that moonlit tower, Celes could feel Siren guiding her feet to their proper positions, but it was hardly necessary.
It was wonderful, but sadly it was over all too quickly.
"Ha, ha, ha!"
In a flash of light, Terra was gone, leaving behind a bouquet of red roses on the floor. 'Wow,' Celes thought. 'That went much better than it did in rehearsal.'
As scripted, she picked up the bouquet but couldn't resist smelling them too. She had always loved roses.
Now was time for the last bit. She slowly stepped up the battlement -
"I'm thankful, my beloved,
For your tenderness and grace.
I see in your eyes,
So gentle and wise,
All doubts and fears erased!
Though the hours take no notice
Of what fate might have in store,
Our love, come what may,
Will never age a day.
I'll wait forevermore!"
Doing her best to look appropriately wistful, Celes tossed the flowers over the side of the tower.
When the accompanying music came to an end, Celes was left standing alone on the tower. The night sky faded from view, and her feet were again planted on a wooden platform painted and dressed up to look like a stone fortification. Her singing was done with. The hard part was over. She was supposed to wait here for about fifteen seconds before the chancellor arrived, but with the audience's wildly enthusiastic reaction it was clearly going to take a bit longer than that.
She's never been applauded before. Not like this anyway.
Sure, there had been her triumphs after Maranda, and Anacreon, and all the military parades she had been forced to participate in... but this was different.
Those parades were for battles that occurred thousands of miles away from the people on the street.
The people of Vector cheered for her because she was the victor and crowds love the victor. They hadn't seen what she had done to secure her victories.
They cheered because they hadn't seen what had to be done to secure that victory.
But these cheers tonight... they really were for her.
And Siren too.
Celes shut her eyes as she thought of the esper she had hidden in her dress. 'Thanks, Siren.'
Again, the esper laughed in a way that made Celes' breath hitch. 'I only provided the light-show. I didn't really do anything. Not to your voice at least. That was all you.'
Celes stood there, dumbfounded.
Eventually, the chancellor finally arrived looking surprisingly out of sorts. "Prince Ralse is looking for dance partner. Please leave the past behind! Our kingdom is part of the East now..."
Still in a daze, she wordlessly followed him offstage as the magical scenery faded completely. She began to wonder if the everyone had seen what she had. That would certainly explain the wide-eyed stares she was getting from the cast members waiting in the wings.
The moment she stepped over the threshold, Giovanni, the giant man playing the part of Ralse, wrapped her up in a hug. "Oh, you were wonderful! Wonderful!"
All the attention was really too much and Celes' cheeks burned hotly with embarrassment. Diego was there too, being handed the sword he would need for the following scene. "Well done, Celes," he said with a smile that was actually unforced for a change. "It was a pleasure to dance with you."
She grunted her thanks. Well, at least no one was saying anything about Draco looking like Terra, so she supposed Siren hadn't messed that part up. She leaned against the wall in relief for a moment before the frustrated looking stage manager grabbed her and practically shoved her back out onto the stage. It was time for the waltz scene.
...
Terra led the way to the catwalk above. The impresario probably would've had a hard time believing their story about a giant octopus showing up to disrupt his opera in order to get revenge on the people who had nearly killed him on a river several thousand miles away, so they left that part out when they finally caught up to him. Besides, his heart might not have been able to take it.
With all the people milling about behind the stage, it seemed that, creature of the sea or not, Ultros would most likely make his way in from the ceiling.
They really needed to get rid of him, and fast before Setzer showed up.
Even with Locke, Sabin and Cyan by her side, it took ages for them to fight their way through the giant mutated rats that clogged the way up here. Terra had been to the roof and the catwalks several times in the past few days and couldn't remember seeing anything like these creatures before.
And there he was, Ultros himself, somehow balancing his huge body on the creaking metal beams and trying to push what looked to be an enormous weight of some kind over the edge and onto the stage below.
If the situation hadn't been so serious, Terra would've laughed.
The octopus hadn't noticed their approach, but with the way the metal catwalks were arranged it was going to take quite a leap to get over to him without attracting his attention. Locke took out his boomerang.
With an exasperated sigh, Terra slapped him on the back just lightly enough to keep him from losing his balance.
"What?" he mouthed.
Terra gestured toward the stage below where Celes was busy dancing with Ralse, not to mention the ten or twelve other dancing couples. If that weapon had fallen down there -
The thief swallowed and smiled sheepishly back at her.
The next thing Terra saw was Sabin leaping the gap to Ultros in a single bound. That got the giant octopus' attention.
He bellowed loud enough to drown out the orchestra, "Oh, rats!"
As the giant octopus fell, he reached out with his tentacles, grabbed Sabin, Locke and Cyan and took them with him to the stage below.
...
Even when compared to her singing experience - which had been very limited - Celes had no idea whatsoever about how to dance or act on stage when she began practicing for this role. Still, she picked up on the basics fairly quickly. Ballroom dancing wasn't anywhere near as difficult as piloting a magitek tank, or coordinating an assault on an enemy fortress.
As for the acting? Well, all that was required in this scene for instance was for her to look stony and disinterested in Ralse's company. If there was one look she could pull off -
So, again she danced. It was much trickier with Giovanni than it had been with Terra/Draco. Prince Ralse was about a foot taller than she was, for starters.
Well, at least his hands weren't sweaty. Plus, he was happily married and never once hit on her the entire week.
Before long, the war trumpets sounded. A guard ran on stage shouting, "Soldiers from the West attack!"
'I can do this,' Celes kept telling herself as the male and female dancers fled the stage and well-choreographed fights broke out amongst Ralse's guards and the attacking soldiers.
Finally, the hero himself appeared and cried out, "Maria!"
"Oh, Draco!" Celes sang, the words coming out wonderfully warm and strong, "I knew you would come for me, my love!"
Ralse's face was splotched red with rage. "Insolent rogue! Knave of the Western horde! You would address my queen to be, Maria?"
"Never shall you have Maria's hand! I would die before that day comes!"
"Then we duel!"
This was the part of the opera Celes had been dreading since the aria ended; not because it was the act one finale and she could expect to be kidnapped by Setzer at any moment, but rather because she had to stand there at the back of the stage and pretend to look horrified as Draco and Ralse fought each other for her hand.
Out of all the bits of acting she was required to do, this was the part that she and the director had the most trouble with: Celes couldn't act afraid to save her life.
"All right, all right..." the director said, waving his hands and halting the music for what was probably the twentieth time in the last half-hour. "You need inspiration, I think. If this scene is going to work, we need to come up with something you're actually afraid of."
Celes slumped against the wall. Practicing for an opera was more exhausting than basic-training. "Public speaking?" she suggested weakly.
"Very funny. But if you were afraid of that, you wouldn't even be here."
"True."
The poor, middle-aged man sighed deeply. Celes wasn't exactly being cooperative. "All right. Imagine someone you care about in the place of Draco."
She tried, really, but there were only two people left in the world that she really cared for: Cid and Terra. Cid kept a one-of-a-kind magitek pistol on him at all times. She never brought the subject up, but Celes knew that he was always prepared with an escape plan. As the chief genetic engineer of the Empire, Cid was a prime target for assassination, not to mention people were known to disappear if they failed to please the emperor.
No, Cid would outsmart Ralse.
As for Terra? Well, she could simply stare up at the King of the East with those big, blue eyes of hers and a pout on her lips, and she'd likely get anything she wanted out of him.
Alternatively, Ralse had better hope his robes were flame resistant.
"All of my friends would wipe the floor with Ralse," Celes said confidently.
The director sighed even more loudly. "Fine. Fine. They don't pay me enough for this." Without another word, he swept a scabbarded sword off the table and tossed it to her. "Take this and find Giovanni and Diego. They need help with the fighting scenes. Besides, I don't trust myself with a sword lying about. At this rate, I might impale myself on it."
The memory brought a smile to her face which she quickly stamped down.
Ralse and Draco were dueling over the music and the way they handled their weapons was certainly very convincing. Celes was proud of the personal hand she had in that. It took a great deal of time to teach both men the ropes, but if there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was shoddy swordsmanship.
Yes, everything was going well. If she had been in the seats for this performance, Celes would've felt that she had gotten her money's worth so far.
As she stood far to the back of the stage, she unexpectedly heard someone cry out from above, "Oh, rats!"
Celes glanced up and couldn't believe what she saw up there. 'Well, shit.'
...
When Celes came to, she found herself face to face with an enormous purple octopus that would've dwarfed any living person. Instinctively, she staggered backwards on her hands and feet, just missing being hit by one of its flailing tentacles. "What the hell is that thing?!"
"Oh, that's Ultros," Locke said, half-whispering for some reason. "We've met before."
Celes got to her feet - what the hell was Locke even doing out here, on stage in the middle of the opera? - but the thief raised a hand to stop her from getting any closer.
"Just stay in character," he ordered, his voice still hushed. "We'll take care of this."
"I am in character," Celes hissed. "Give me my sword!"
The thief shrugged. "Sorry, I think Terra still has it." He didn't look the least bit sorry.
She gave him a withering glare, or at least, it would've been withering if he hadn't dashed off with a sword of his own in hand. "Never fear!" Locke shouted, in what Celes hoped wasn't truly his most commanding voice, "I, Locke, the world's premier adventurer, will save her!"
Whistles and hoots came from the crowd and the poor impresario, now out on the stage himself, held his face in his hands, "Oh, what awful acting."
"Silence!" came another, much more powerful voice.
In shock, Celes realized it was the octopus who had spoken. 'The bloody thing talks too?!'
"Ha! Peons!" the creature shouted as it reared itself up on its eight tentacles. "You are in the presence of octopus royalty! A lowborn thug like you could never defeat me!"
Locke seemed genuinely insulted. Cyan already had his katana out and Sabin was smacking his fists together, looking particularly eager to take on the creature. Meanwhile, Celes wondered if she had hit her head too hard...
The maestro took in the mess that had been made of his opera and sighed, "Oh well, might as well make the most of this... Music!"
What followed was something that the battle-hardened woman had certainly never expected to see in her life. Enormous purple tentacles flailed in every direction as her three Returner allies hacked at them with their swords, all to the fast-paced music of the orchestra.
The octopus let loose a torrent of insults as he tried in vain to snap up one of the three men, but Locke and Sabin were too nimble for him, and Cyan with his sword was much too dangerous to approach.
Resigned to sitting this one out, Celes helped drag the still unconscious Ralse and Diego further out of harm's way. She didn't get too far when a tentacle wrapped itself around her leg and jerked her to the floor.
"Eeek!"
"That's the spirit, Celes," Locke called out. "Stay in character!"
She stabbed the tentacle with the heel of her shoe, eliciting a yelp from the giant purple octopus. 'I'm going to strangle that man when I get out of here...'
At least the audience appeared to be entertained.
Then there was a loud crack of thunder. Lightning flew out of Sabin's hands and he looked just as shocked about it as everyone else. He slapped the pocket where he kept his own magicite stone and it was glowing brightly now. 'Ramuh was right,' Celes realized. The espers truly were granting them their powers.
With an almost manic smile, Sabin summoned his new-found magic again. In his excitement, the bolts missed everything but one of the trombone players in the orchestra pit who promptly fell to the floor with a mighty crash. Still, the band played on.
"Don't overdo it, sir!" Cyan shouted.
Celes stepped further back, uselessly grinding her teeth, forgetting all pretense of acting. Thankfully, the chances that anyone in the audience had their eyes on her instead of the giant octopus, the nimble thief, the lightning wielding body-builder and the mustachioed Doman knight were pretty much zero.
And as if to add to the bizarre scene, fire began raining down from above. Celes looked up only to find herself dazzled by the stage lights. It had to be Terra up there, lending a hand without giving herself away to the audience, and to Setzer, but holy hell, since when had she learned to command such powerful magic? She'd burn down the house at this rate.
"YEEEEEEOOOWWWCH!" Ultros' blood curdling yell was echoed by screams of fear from the audience, and quickly - amazingly quickly given his size - he tore off down the right wing of the stage, his burning tentacles flailing in all directions. The Returners looked on in disbelief as he disappeared from view, leaving a mess of broken scenery and terrified looking stage-hands behind him. "Out of my way!" the octopus shouted, "Hot stuff coming through!"
"Well," Celes muttered. "That was different."
However, there was no time to gather themselves.
With the aid of a cable, a white-haired man in a long, black jacket dropped gracefully to the stage. "Hold it right there!" he shouted. "My compliments on a most impressive performance!"
The impresario gasped. "Setzer!"
"I'm a man of my word, maestro. I'm taking Maria!"
Before Celes could react, she was blinded by a flash of light. Then everything went black.
...
In all the commotion, Terra almost missed the sight of Setzer riding one of the ropes to the roof with an unconscious Celes slung over his shoulder.
Unbelievably, the impresario actually went with it. "Unforeseen twists at every turn!" he cried out to the now cheering audience. "Just as we think Maria is to become Locke's new bride, she's dragged off by Setzer instead! What fate lies in store for her now? Be sure to come back and see Part Two!"
She shook her head but waited until Setzer disappeared through the open hatch before flying up after him. A chorus of disbelieving gasps came from the stage. 'Well,' she thought, 'my secret is out now...' or, at least, it sort of was.
Once on the roof she finally saw it: Setzer's airship. She'd seen them before of course, even ridden on one once or twice, but never did one look like this. It must be the size of a small town! Setzer was riding a cable up to the gondola suspended beneath the huge cigar-shaped envelope that held the gasses keeping the ship airborne about a thousand feet above the city. Terra leapt after him, but the engines were already roaring and she was buffeted backwards into the the trees by the exhaust.
By the time she freed herself of the leaves and branches, the craft was already almost out of sight. And such was the speed of that machine that, even flying as fast as she could, it took ages before Terra finally began to catch it. With the strain, she could feel the power draining from her body. It was inevitable; eventually she would have to return to her human form, but why did it have to be now?
Determined, she closed quickly on the giant machine, the windows circling the gondola growing larger and larger.
With the last ounce of her strength, she pitched upwards just as the skin on her outstretched hands returned to its normal pale coloration.
Shielding her eyes with her forearm, she braced herself.
...
Celes allowed herself to be dragged into an unfamiliar room. The grogginess was fading but still there. Fortunately, her strength and magical abilities returned with every step Setzer took. She could freeze him alive right now, but it would be better to wait to see if Terra could find her first. The thrumming of motors indicated she was on-board Setzer's airship. If she froze him, she'd have a hell of a time landing this contraption by herself. She had no useful experience when it came to piloting flying machines.
"Don't worry," she heard him say as he dropped her unceremoniously to the floor in what looked like a bedroom. "I'll give you plenty of attention later." Then the door slammed shut and locked behind him.
Celes grumbled as she pushed herself up, her hair and dress in disarray. Even in her tired state, if he were stupid enough to try something he'd find his private parts in a block of ice before he knew what hit him. That'd kill the mood real fast.
She was growing to like this plan less and less. How was she supposed to secure the aid of the kind of man who kidnaps women? Violence immediately seemed like the best answer, but no, she made a promise to at least try to negotiate with her kidnapper before freezing him into a block of ice and using him as an anchor.
The room she found herself in was large and nicely furnished. No airship she had ever been on had staterooms this large, not even the Imperial flagship.
She wondered how many women found themselves here before her.
Unconsciously, she milled about, looking for anything interesting or useful. There was an open hatch leading down into an engine compartment of some kind. That would certainly explain the noise.
Beyond the hatch were a great many windows. In the distance, the lights of a city could be seen. Celes ran a finger along the glass. She could break this, but that wouldn't do her much good if she couldn't fly.
She let out a long sigh. Her current position was most irritating. If things went poorly, she would have little problem dealing with Setzer even if he had a wall-ring, but the situation would be different if he had a wall-ring and a gun.
There was a dark spot blocking out the distant city lights. Celes leaned further forward and blinked. "What the hell is -"
An instant later, the window exploded into a thousand shards of glass.
When Celes finally awoke, she found herself sprawled out on the floor with an unconscious Terra lying on top of her, the girl's face buried in her bosom and her arms and legs covered in shallow cuts and broken glass.
She allowed herself a moment to just lie there on the floor. Not a sound could be heard except a faint howl of wind. Soft breaths tickled her skin as her friend lightly breathed in and out.
It had been a very, very long day...
Tiredly, she placed her hands on Terra's back and magically healed her friend's superficial wounds. The act was so draining she nearly fainted again.
With a thump, her head dropped to the hard, tiled floor. Terra remained on top of her, like a human shield. She always seemed to be putting herself in harm's way for Celes' sake. It was an endearing quirk of her's.
"Oh, my hero," she said aloud, before chuckling softly to herself.
When she finally remembered where she was, Celes found the energy to lift herself up. Slivers of freed glass fell to the floor as she gently carried Terra over to the overstuffed sofa in the middle of the room. "We keep meeting like this," she said with a trace of humor as she laid her friend down carefully. Despite the unfortunate gashes in her dress, Terra looked perfectly at peace.
Without thinking about it, she brushed strands of silky green hair out of the girl's eyes. Celes recalled Siren's appearance and just how closely she resembled Terra in her current human form.
Siren the esper was dangerous, and maybe Terra was too, but it was certainly hard to picture that danger now. It struck her just how attracted she still was to the woman even though Terra must be even more exhausted and drained than Celes was at that moment. There was no magical lure there like she had originally suspected. No... magically charged or not, Celes was attracted to Terra.
Terra made her feel things that were best kept to herself. How could there be time for romance when the world was falling apart around them?
How could Terra love someone who didn't do a damn thing to save her from Kefka's twisted experiments?
She sighed. She needed to get a grip on herself.
An almost imperceptible magical pulse brought Celes out of her thoughts. Siren was still there in the pouch she had sewn into her dress but the esper was too weak to be heard now. She smiled. She hadn't forgotten the unexpected display the esper had put on during the opera, or the way the creature had not very subtly replaced Draco with Terra. She'd had enough of espers getting involved in her non-existent love life. "You and I are going to have a talk later."
Blue eyes fluttered open. "Celes?"
Relieved, the general moved to sit on the arm of the couch by Terra's feet. "How are you feeling?"
Terra sat up too quickly and immediately regretted it. She put her head in her hands in her struggle to get the world to stop spinning.
"Whoa, there... Take it easy. You just flew through a glass window, you know?"
Terra looked up at the sound of her friend's voice. Her eyes slowly focused to reveal red splotches marring Celes' beautiful, white dress. "You're bleeding!"
Celes frowned and glanced down at her ruined costume. This fantasy of being someone else for a night was most definitely over. "That's your blood, actually," she said quietly.
"Oh."
The door opened and Setzer strode confidently in. In this light he looked a little bit like Locke, with his white hair and pale skin, but Setzer's hair was substantially longer and he wore an expensive looking dark coat that was not unlike something an Imperial air marshal might wear.
He was smiling and strutting as he entered the room, but stopped short when he saw Terra struggling to her feet from behind the couch. The tatters that remained of her dress did little to cover her now.
The man stammered, his eyes wide, "I – uh... Well -"
Celes snorted. Men were all the same. "Terra, meet Setzer. Setzer, this is Terra." The half-naked girl waved bashfully as she struggled to cover herself more completely with her free hand.
Setzer coughed. "Er... Nice to meet you," he said as he briefly turned away for modesty's sake. When he glanced at Celes again it was probably the first time he had gotten a good look at her. His face went red with rage. "W- Wait a minute," he stammered, "you're not Maria! Who the hell are you people?!"
Celes put on her most non-threatening voice, but she didn't get it quite right, "Setzer, we need your help. We have to get to the Empire and this ship is the only-"
Setzer silenced her with a raised hand. "If you're not Maria, then we have nothing to talk about."
"Please," Terra said. "Listen to her."
The man shook his head and paced for a moment before he stopped and rubbed his temple like he was fighting off a migraine. "So, who are you two, really?"
"My name is Celes Chère. I was a-"
A light of recognition touched Setzer's eyes. "General of the Empire," he finished for her, a touch of awe in his voice. Intrigued, he took a few steps closer. "That statue in Anacreon hardly does you justice, you know? You're the spitting image of Maria."
A touch of pink tinged Celes' cheeks as Setzer looked her over for a long moment. Then he turned his attention to his other unexpected guest, "And you are?"
"Terra."
"And what exactly happened to Maria?"
"Change of plans," Celes answered for her.
Setzer grunted. "Come with me," he said, drawing her over to the shattered window which now overlooked some high mountain range that Celes didn't recognize. The howling of the wind was still the only sound to be heard. They were adrift, several thousand feet above the ground.
"Then you'll -"
"Don't misunderstand me," he interrupted. "I haven't said I'll help you."
She knew they had only been talking for a minute, but Celes was already growing frustrated. "Then you're just going to just let the Empire take whatever they want?"
"The Empire's done me no wrong."
"It doesn't matter! They'll end up owning you eventually. When they take the rest of the world, do you really think Gestahl will just let you keep this ship of yours?"
Setzer frowned. She wondered if he had perhaps considered that possibility before. It seemed likely that this flying ship was his most prized possession. No one else in the world could boast to having one of the very own. "Say I agree to help you... what exactly do you expect to accomplish?"
Silently, Terra listened as her friend explained their rather vague plan. Trusting Setzer Gabbiani was a risk, but then they were planning on breaking into the Empire's magitek research facility located in the very center of Imperial power. How much more difficult could things get if this gambler person learned about it?
Setzer's voice was growing in volume, "Wait. Fly to Vector? I may be a gambler, but I'm not suicidal."
Celes' own irritation was beginning to chill the room quite literally. Anger seemed to grant her a second wind. "I'm not asking you to land on top of the Senate building. You'll land someplace out of the way and wait for us to return."
Setzer threw up his hands. "Oh, brilliant. It's not like an enormous black and gold airship is going to stick out or anything."
"Who paints an airship black anyway? Are you trying to get shot out of the sky?!"
'Hmm,' Terra thought. 'Things are not going well.' Celes and Setzer were just standing there, glaring at each other. Maybe they should've dressed up Locke as Maria. He was a much better negotiator.
The gambler eventually broke the silence but he was grinning suspiciously now and what came out of his mouth next was completely unexpected, "You know, I think you may be even more stunning than Maria."
Terra watched as several different emotions quickly played across her friend's face: embarrassment, shock, and finally rage. 'Uh, oh.' Locke would really want her to say something before Celes blew her top.
"All right," Setzer continued. "I'll agree to help if Celes agrees to be my wife."
Terra tensed but the reaction she expected never came.
Celes only had her arms crossed, her expression stony. "Do you really wish to be married to someone who's strong enough to throw you out a window?"
"I don't know," he said, looking her over more closely, eyes moving from Celes' toned arms, to her piercing blue eyes before finally lingering far too long on her cleavage. "It might be worth it."
Celes' eyes were like slits. Her first impulse was to actually agree for the time being - well, her first impulse was to shove him out this open window - but her next impulse was to go along with the charade until they got to Imperial lands, then throw him out the window.
Fortunately, an idea struck her. To Setzer's shock, and Terra's horror, she lifted up the hem of her dress to access the small pocket she'd had sewn near her waist. She felt Siren's magicite stone and then found what she was looking for.
"Tell you what, Mr. Gambler," she said as she held up Sabin's gold sovereign. "I'll flip this coin. If it's heads, you help us. If it's tails, I'm yours."
Setzer's eyes lit up. Celes had clearly hit her mark. "Ha! I love it! I accept."
Terra couldn't contain herself this time. "What?!" she blurted out, attracting everyone's attention. They were supposed to go to Vector together! And how could Celes just marry some guy she had never met? This wasn't like her at all.
The woman silenced her with a surreptitious wink.
Celes paused for a moment, pretending for Setzer's benefit that she was already regretting her decision. Then she flipped the coin high in the air and it landed at Setzer's feet. He looked nonplussed at the sight of the head of a young Edgar Figaro smiling back at him.
"Heads," the general chirped. "I win. Now it's time for you to uphold your end of the bargain."
Setzer scooped up the coin. "A valuable trinket indeed," he said as he held it up to the light. "I've never seen a double-headed coin before."
Celes barely held back a laugh at Terra's surprised expression. "You've been hustled, Mr. Gambler."
He laughed out loud. "How low can you get? I love it! All right, I'll help you."
Terra was stunned, "Y-you'll help us?"
"Certainly! I haven't felt so excited in years! My life is a chip in your pile. Ante up!"
The green-haired girl's brow furrowed in confusion; she had no idea what 'ante up' was supposed to mean, but at least Setzer seemed like a completely different person now. He and Celes spoke briefly about their plan. The first step was to head back to Jidoor to pick up their friends.
"So, Celes. What was the deal with the giant octopus anyway? I don't remember that from the opera."
Briefly, Celes considered explaining it, but she still hardly understood it herself. "Oh you know how these modern productions are."
"Hmmph. Maybe I should kidnap the impresario next time. Do the opera world a favor?"
Celes smirked. "That's not a bad idea. He looks like he could use a vacation."
Terra marveled at how Celes went from being completely ill at ease, to sharing a joke with the man who had just an hour ago tried to kidnap her and marry her against her will.
"What about you?" Celes asked. "Did you really expect Maria to agree to marry you?"
The gambler shrugged. "I was hoping to dazzle her with my enormous wealth, impeccable sense of style, and, of course -" he tapped the wooden wall, "- my own personal airship. Come on. Be honest, you're both impressed, right?"
Celes stood there with her arms crossed while Terra's head was tilted as if she didn't quite understand the question.
Setzer stalked off, muttering something under his breath. "Come on, I'll show you the bridge."
"Not without some new clothes for my friend first," Celes insisted.
"Ah, quite right. Take whatever you want from the closet," he said to Terra. "However, everything I have would more likely fit her, I'm afraid."
The knight grunted as Setzer continued, "When you're done, just follow the hallway along and take the second door to the left, climb the stairs and you'll find me. Take your time though. One of the engines just blew... it'll probably take a few hours to get back to Jidoor at this rate. Last time I trust a company based in Zozo," he muttered as the door shut behind them.
Left with just each other again, Celes searched the closet while Terra wandered curiously around the room. Unfortunately, the closet turned out to be filled mostly with elaborate dresses like the one Celes was already wearing. There was nothing here that suited her.
With a look of disgust she pulled out a green leotard. What was this doing in here?
Eventually, she was resigned to waiting until they landed to change out of her costume. She couldn't wait to be back in something marginally more comfortable.
It took some time, but Terra eventually settled for a simple red dress, not too unlike the one she wore back in Narshe. Celes made a mental note to find her some half-decent shoes someplace. All the ones in the closet were much too big for Terra's feet.
"Thanks," Celes said into the gathering silence.
Terra was observing herself in the mirror, adjusting her dress and trying to get used to looking human again. "Huh?"
"For rescuing me."
"Oh, uh... you're welcome?" Terra replied softly.
"I mean it."
She found herself at a loss for words. Of course she would chase after Celes, why wouldn't she? It seemed like a good time to change the subject slightly, "Would you really have married him?"
"Who, Setzer?" Celes let out a sharp laugh. "Wait, you thought I was serious?"
Terra shook her head. Yes, she had thought Celes had been serious, but she wasn't going to admit that now. "Do you trust him?"
"Only as far as I can throw him."
'That would be pretty far, actually,' Terra thought, but she kept her mouth firmly shut.
Celes' blue eyes sparkled. "I know what you're thinking," she said, motioning for Terra to follow her to the door, "I promise I won't throw him off the ship before we reach Vector."
Terra smiled back.
"Unless," she added, "I catch him staring at my breasts again."
"Oh." It seemed that Setzer was unlikely to make it to Vector then.
Next Chapter: Vector and the Magitek Factory.
AN – For those few of you who are reading this and aren't familiar with the plot of Final Fantasy VI, Ultros is an actual boss character from the game and not some bizarre figment of the author's imagination. Terra, Sabin, Edgar and Banon first encounter him on the Lyte River just before Locke rescues Celes in South Figaro, or in the timeline of my story, just before the start of the first chapter.
To be honest, I had originally planned to kill him off here, but then I read 'How Ultros Got His Groove Back' by stealth-noodle and it showed me that Ultros and Mr. Chupon are destined for each other. So, now I feel obligated to keep him around so that he can have his chance at happiness.
One last thing: Locke isn't quite as close to Celes in my story as he is in canon, primarily because he never rescued her (Terra did that... remember, like over a year ago when I started writing this?). He's still falling for her though. Remember how Siren's appearance depends on what the viewer sees as the ideal human? Well, back in the dressing room, when Locke saw Siren he pictured a woman that reminded him both of Celes and Rachel.