Author's Notes: And now for something a little different.
Hydaelyn's Wing
Interlude Primum
Celes always marveled at the beauty of Garlemald, especially as seen from above. Dark spires intertwined with a network of bridges spanning throughout the city, which as a whole looked like it was perched on a rocky plateau. Against the barren Nozarria Wastes, which covered most of Ilsabard, and the ink black night sky, it could have been difficult to see Garlemald with the naked eye. To combat that, the city was always lit up, even at night. It shone brighter than the stars, leading many citizens to call it Starlight City.
As much as she admired Garlemald for its Magiteknological innovation and beauty, Terra loved it even more. She stared out of the window of their airship, completely transfixed as they approached. There was hunger in her eyes, and Celes knew that as soon as they landed she would be headed straight to the Shinra Laboratory.
There were two main laboratories in Garlemald – Shinra and Draklor. The Shinra labs were devoted to researching energy and resources such as ceruleum, but Terra carried out her pet project Para-Magic creation there. Draklor Laboratory focused more on Magitek development. Midas nan Garlond, the father of Cid, was once head of Draklor until his death, upon which it went to Cid, who later defected. After that, the position went to Nero tol Scaeva. But with both of them gone, Terra had control of both laboratories. Celes thought she deserved it, and it was a long time coming – in her opinion, Terra had the brightest mind in all of the Empire.
The airship landed atop one of the spires in the Academia section of the city, in Shinra Lab's docking bay. After Celes and Terra walked off the airship, flanked by soldiers and engineers and with Generals Beatrix and Leo following silently behind them, Terra staggered once they were in Shinra's comparatively more private halls together. Celes caught her before she fell, slinging the other woman's arm around her shoulder to support her.
"I told you it was a rubbish idea to activate your Para-Magic," Celes said, her brow creased in worry. "We are still only in the testing phases."
"I let my pride get the better of me," Terra admitted, giving her a weak smile. "Though that is nothing new."
"At least magic has not warped your sense of humor."
Terra chuckled. "I simply need to recharge in the lab. Once we perfect this, I will be able to pull aether from my surroundings without any drawbacks."
Celes frowned. "I think you need to rest first." She glanced back to Beatrix and Leo. Terra had thought it would be amusing to use them as her sort of personal guard for the time being. "Beatrix. Leo. Have the prisoners been secured?"
"Yes," said Beatrix. Celes wished they could program the Slave Crowns to make them slightly more eloquent. She'd have to look into that later. As it was, their blank faces somewhat unnerved her. Like Para-Magic, the idea for the Slave Crown was originally Terra's, inspired by an eikon's tempering, but Celes was the one who created it.
"Then leave us," Celes commanded. "Go to Lab IX and find the researchers. They will give you your next instructions."
When they were alone, Terra squeezed Celes' shoulder. "I do not need rest, my love. Have the crystal shipments from Ala Mhigo been transported to Lab VI yet?"
Celes nodded. "Will you siphon their energy to recharge the materia?"
"Yes," said Terra. "That is my first option. If we are unable to do that yet, then I will just junction new materia to my body."
Celes frowned again. Judging by last time, junctioning was a painful process. If only the Eorzeans knew what their materia, normally used to augment weapons, could really do in the hands of a true genius.
Growing up, Celes and Terra had always been close. But even from a young age, Terra had thrown herself into her studies, taking advantage of all the privileges that Garlean nobility afforded them. It was never just Magitek development and military strategies and history, as was expected of her – Terra dived right into arcane studies and ancient legends, superstitions of savages in foreign lands. She had been most fascinated by Eorzean gods and eikons, beings that existed as long as the planet did.
It was only in recent months that her research led her to the Ascians. After the death of Gaius in Eorzea, the Ascians Emmerololth and Deudalaphon came to her. Their plan entailed using the Lunatic Pandora to spread Eorzea's vast quantities of aether to Ilsabard and the rest of the world. Terra's plan was to develop Para-Magic so the Garleans could utilize it.
Celes knew not to trust the beings, which she suspected existed in the rift between worlds. The details of their dealings with Gaius were unknown, but they allowed him to fall to Eorzea's so-called Warriors of Light, even with the ancient Allagan superweapon Ultima under their control. Celes would not allow Terra to be manipulated by them, though she did not think Terra truly needed her protection.
"Is the Lunatic Pandora still in the hands of Deudalaphon?" Celes asked, stopping. "I am not sure if I like that."
Terra pressed her hand against the door panel they stopped in front of, which slid open with a gentle hiss. It was quiet here – all of the scientists of Lab VI had gone for the day. "Worry not. For now, the Ascians need us as much as we need them. They will not run off with the Lunatic Pandora."
"For now," Celes repeated. Her eyes passed over the round materia stones arranged on the shelf, next to a crate of crystals. The light within them did not shine as brightly as they did in Eorzea. "I am concerned with what will happen after."
Terra brushed her fingers against Celes' face. "It is not fully known by anyone except the Warriors of Light what happened between Gaius and Lahabrea within Castrum Meridianum. Regardless, I do not intend to let them play me. It is my hope that in the coming weeks, the Ascians will be too preoccupied with the Warriors of Light to betray us."
"The Warriors of Light? They are being hunted down in their own lands." Celes grasped Terra's hands, enjoying the warmth. "They cannot do anything. They will bother neither the Empire nor the Ascians any longer."
Terra turned away from her, dancing her fingers across the materia. "Perhaps not the Empire, but Emmerololth let slip to me of a plot within Ishgard. It seems that even among the Ascians, they all have their own missions and desires. They have already learned that the Warriors of Light seek sanctuary behind the gates of the Holy See."
Celes' brow rose. "Ishgard? So it will have little to do with us. Emperor Varis does not intend to set his sights there until the rest of Eorzea has fallen." Celes knew for a fact that he did not want to get involved in the war between Ishgard and the Dravanians – at least, not yet.
"Yes," said Terra, glancing back at her. "This time, when they inevitably clash, the Warriors of Light will fight in our favor. And with the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness continuing their war, we will be free to do as we please."
Celes straightened. "The Warriors of Darkness? Is that what the Ascians truly are?" All through their childhood, Terra had read legends of the ongoing war through the eras between the Warriors of Light and Darkness, appearing whenever the world was thrown out of balance. If that time had come again…
"I believe so."
Though most of Garlemald doesn't even believe in the Warriors of Light, much less Darkness, she thought. I only do because Terra does.
Celes stepped next to Terra, picking up a piece of materia and rolling it in her palm. "I want to junction materia to myself," she said, staring into Terra's eyes. "I do not want you to bear this burden alone."
Terra cupped Celes' chin in her hand, smiling tenderly. "My love," she said. "Para-Magic is no burden. It is the greatest feeling in the world."
Author's Notes: Short chapter this time. I did not plan for it, but as I was writing this Terra and Celes started becoming magical science lesbians.
Please review!