Esper Blood

AU/evil Terra parody excerpt

The young woman leant over the frozen mass of blue light. Bathed by the cold blue glow, her pale face turned a greenish, eerie hue. It was a beautiful face, although its passive white countenance acquired an almost supernatural aspect in the strange light, and became an expressionless mask lacking in life. Her long green hair, waving in natural curls across her thin shoulders, contrasted strongly with the blood-red velvet that constituted her clothes. Inside the chill, lifeless cavern she was a thin, almost transparent little figure. whose wraithlike aspect was only salvaged by the energetic glow, the intense hues of her red clothes and green hair.

She suddenly jerked her body upwards with a swift, powerful motion that seemed to belie her apparent fragility. She turned her back to the frozen blue mass and peered into the thick darkness of the mines. She seemed to have caught an echo of something, an imperceptive movement, a shadow stealing across the depth of the cavern. A moment later, a form emerged from the shadows; a slender, agile figure that strode quickly towards her. It stepped into the blue light.

It was a young man. He was slim and wore dark clothes, a pair of ragged-looking breeches, a shirt and a jacket. His light brown hair fell over his brow, partially concealing his eyes. He brushed it aside, striding up to the young woman and extending his hand. She stood frozen, staring at him. His expression was compassionate and his eyes contained an honest, eager light.

"I came to help you," he said, his voice an urgent whisper. "Listen; if the Narshe guard catch you here, they will kill you. I was sent here to aid you out of the mines." His outstretched hand touched the young woman's arm. She had been staring at him, her face expressionless, as if stunned or simply failing to comprehend his words.

The young man's hand now touched the velvet on the girl's slim arm. "Listen," he said, speaking very gently. "I know that you are in shock; but you must trust me." His eyes wandered to the frozen form of blue light, and he gazed at it as if arrested. He kept his reassuring, gentle grip on the young woman's arm with his left hand, but now he wandered closer to the icicle, the fingers of his right hand drifting towards its bright, frozen, reflective surface. Through the mass of ice he could see a huge, darkly-colored, monstrous form crouching in a twisted position. It was vaguely human, yet it was more a monster. The young man's blue eyes, locked upon the odd creature, widened with wonder. His fingers now pressed on the ice.

"The Esper," his lips whispered.

Then, a cold voice spoke besides him.

"Do not touch the Esper."

With a startled motion, he turned. For a moment he thought that someone else had wandered into the vicinity of the mines; but no. The only person besides him was the young woman. Her countenance was still pale, the small mouth very red inside the white visage. Her eyes were dark, and no emotions could be gleaned from their expression. But he now fancied to see a bright flicker of movement inside the blackness, a passing light—

"Did you speak?" he asked, baffled by her passive visage. "Terra...?"

The red lips of the young woman curved upwards. She raised her velvet-clad arm, her thin fingers pointing at the young man. Then, she stepped backwards, jerking her other arm free from his light grip.

"Of course it was me," she answered. Her eyes fixed upon the young man's face, and her red smile remained. "Your friend had done me a service back then. I had to fool him with a mask of confusion and distress. But I was in need of help, to escape those damned Narshe guards, looking for the Imperial witch. All these fools that I had to kill! The two Imperials included; they knew too much by that point."

The young man backed slowly at her words. Something flashed across his countenance; a dismayed understanding.
A red-hot light flashed. The young woman's pale fingers were engulfed in an eerie crimson aura. The aura gathered itself and sped towards the young man. But he had been prepared. Rushing to the side, he rolled and disappeared into the shadows. The magical fire collided with the wall abruptly, leaving the dark stone chipped, and glowing red with the heat.

Terra narrowed her eyes. With feline agility she leapt forwards, rushing into the shadows into which he had vanished. She immediately spied his slim form as he attempted to vanish into a narrow underground tunnel. She gained on him within one moment, and had him by the arm.

He struggled for release, and drew his knife. She uttered a brief, quiet laugh. The young man found his arm crushed with a superhuman power, and he cried weakly, the knife dropping from his hand. He could see the woman's white visage, her dark eyes glittering strangely as she clutched his shoulder with her fingers. He cried at their white-hot touch and crumpled forwards, fainted from the terrible pain.

Terra stood over her fallen adversary for a moment, contemplating his face. Then she stooped down and heaved his body over her shoulder. "He might be a useful prisoner, who knows," she muttered. "I shall take him to Vector for questioning. That old man mentioned something about the 'Returners', and he must be one of them. I shall have to look into that."

She placed the young man's body on the floor of the cavern, and returned to take a last look at the frozen Esper. Her white fingers slid across the ice, and her eyes contemplated the monstrous form.

"Soon," she whispered, "you shall be under my power. Oh, it will be lovely, utterly lovely... how I shall fool them all!"

Boots echoed across the Imperial Palace of Vector, the march of a cavalry of soldiers. At their head strode a young woman with a beautiful, chiseled countenance. Her blond hair, sometimes tightly bound under her soldier's helmet, had been loosened and swayed over her shoulders and back. No emotions showed in the stern lines of her face, or in her calm gray eyes. She led the soldiers through the main corridor, then paused before the guards at the entrance.

"I wish for an audience with Kefka," she said, her voice echoing between the steel walls. She had a good voice, melodious and feminine; but its malleable tones were undercut by the harshness with which she uttered her words.

The guard saluted her, standing to attention at once. "Yes, madam," he said. "He is waiting for you in the hall." He then gestured to his companion, and the two guards proceeded to open the doors.

The young woman paused for a moment before she entered the hall. "Will she be there?" she asked curtly.
The guard made a small gesture of bafflement. "She—?"

The young woman's countenance remained passive, and her eyes looked into the shadows of the hall; but her voice became sharper. "You know who I mean! Don't play games with me."

"She— will be there," the guard stammered. He cowered a little as the knight passed him into the hall, but she did not give him a second glance.

The hall was vast and mostly bare, save for a long table in the middle, clad in a rich red covering, and crimson hangings at every window. A small table with four chairs stood near one of the windows, all of them ornately decorated and richly gilded; obviously works from a previous century. The Emperor liked to indulge himself, and he gathered to his palace as many antiques as he could find. Two of these seats were now occupied.

One, leaning back with artful grace, clad in a scarlet gown of velvet, with her long hair cascading down her shoulders, was Terra. She donned a golden tiara that bound her voluminous hair at the temples, with a winy ruby fixed at the center; a golden sash wound about her waist, and her slippers were of white satin. The other was a gaudily dressed man, although beneath that odd array of clothes he wore an armor. His face was powdered in white, and his eyes appeared very dark in it.

Approaching those two, the knight narrowed her eyes, and a flicker of something that could be almost called hatred flashed across her severe face; but then it was gone and she halted before the table with a dutiful step. "Kefka," she said. "I came, as asked."
The man looked up. "Very good," he said, smiling at the young woman. His smile exposed his sharp, white teeth, and gave his countenance an appearance more unpleasant than genial. He gestured with his hand, indicating to her to be seated, but she gave a small, sharp shake with her head to signify a refusal. "What did you want from me, Sir?"

"We have a new prisoner," Kefka said. He leant back in the chair and picked up a golden cup, twirling it between his fingers. "We want him examined."

"Where is he held?" the knight asked.

"In Sector A, cell two hundred and five. Terra caught him at Narshe, and she thinks that he might have some useful information." He leant forwards a little, his eyes examining the young woman.

"What is wrong, my dear Celes?" he asked. "Why do you stand this way? Here is some wine." He pushed the golden cup towards her, and filled it with ruby nectar from a dark green bottle. "Please be seated and enjoy yourself."

But the knight stood above them, her pose rigid, almost stiff. "No thank you, Sir," she replied.

Meanwhile, Terra's eyes were fixed upon Celes's countenance. She seemed to be contemplating her, but Celes's eyes were resolutely averted from her face. At the refusal a slight smile tinged Terra's lips. She then spoke quietly:

"I fancy that she thinks herself above our company." She gave a soft little laugh.

"I do not think myself above your company," Celes said curtly, still looking above the table at some indefinite point.
"Then why do you stand?" Terra inquired, very gently.

But Celes ignored her. "Sir, is that all that is required of me?" she asked. "If so, I shall go and examine the prisoner at once."

"You may go, then," Kefka said. Celes bowed her head for a moment; then, she turned around and strode out. Terra's eyes remained fixed upon her receding back. She then leant back languidly.

"Haughty little bitch," she said, taking her cup and sipping some wine. "I will teach her to respect me some day."

Kefka grinned at these words, and placed his fingers upon Terra's white hand, which rested upon the crimson covering of the table. "We shall teach them ALL to respect us, my little one," he murmured, raising her hand to his lips.

Terra watched him from beneath half-closed eyes, her crimson mouth bent in her secretive smile. "So we shall," she answered. She then rose to her feet, casting a glance over her shoulder. Kefka rose at once likewise, following her as she glided quickly and softly across the floor. He caught up with her, placing his hand on her hair. "I shall see you tonight," he murmured into her ear.

"You can see me later today," she said, with not a change to her gentle little voice. "But first I have some matters to attend to."
"What kind of matters, my sweet?" he asked, twirling a long curl between his fingers.

Terra looked upwards at the great doors. "Matters which will benefit us greatly," she answered. "And some personal matters as well. Taking care of a bothersome individual. In my own way." The silky softness with which she uttered her last words overlay a clear echo of a deep-laying menace.

Kefka, recognizing it, released her and bowed. "Whatever you will do," he said, with another one of his unpleasant smiles, "I am sure that it will be most... delightful."

"It will be," she answered.

© Written by Hadas Rose
Final Fantasy VI is © Square, 1996.

Note

I've seen at least four other versions done of Terra as an evil character. I had fun with this story in taking on these works, and mixing them to create an all-powerful, evil, sexy, ultimately distorted Terra. This was all done just to write Terra as evil, anyway (she's been my favorite character for many years, and I had tons of fun writing her that way).

I actually thought of continuing this story with Celes rescuing Locke from the Imperial dungeons but I had little wish to write beyond that, so I'm not sure where the story was supposed to be going. I can't even remember who was the bothersome individual that Terra was going to 'take care' of.