Stasis
It is here
that the story stops, nearly.
"Celes
Chere, former Imperial General." Lenore wrote on her clipboard, onto the
record, which would be kept for the illness that this woman now possessed. "The
patient shows signs of a ice poisoning. A slowing of the heartbeat. She now
rests in a coma-like state." A coma-like state. Lenore put the clipboard down
and looked out the window at the silky pale sky. The woman, Celes, is perhaps
the first to experience the true wrath of the Snow, she sighed. What else would
they be forced to endure?
Celes
hadn't moved for days. She was shut tightly to the world, lying pale on her
bed. Locke hadn't left her side or otherwise spoken to anybody in days. He held
her icy hand and looked on in a sort of glazed vigil. His lips sometimes moved,
but no audible words came out.
Setzer
walked into the room one morning, unusually silent to accommodate Locke, and
placed a gramophone next to them on a dresser table. Arvis had suggested that a
little music in the room may keep them both from slipping away, and the silence
from otherwise stripping the paint from the walls. Setzer was always in favour
of lifting a downcast mood, and since nobody knew quite what to say just yet…
The first
few notes slipped out in a croak, then once adjusted, the soft music filled the
room. Locke moved, shuddered once, and his eyes glanced toward Setzer. Setzer
looked away quickly, and left the room. Locke pressed his face back unto Celes'
neck, and quietly began to hum along to the song.
Celes,
inside, could hear it, he knew. Indeed, she could hear him. She was in there
somewhere.
The soft
crooning of a man's voice and fragments of piano spun from the needle of the
gramophone:
" you're
the magic that holds the sky up from the ground
you're the
breath that blows these cool winds 'round
trading
places with an angel now
saw you
last night
stars in
your eyes
smiled in
my room"
Locke took Celes' hand once more,
still frighteningly cold. He held it, and began to cry all over again. The wave
of sorrow on a spring tide.
Celes stood in the middle of a room, with icy walls and clear glass
tiles. The music spun around her and she was wearing a pure white dress. She
reached out her hand and Locke's clasped it. They danced, spun 'round the room,
engulfed in the sweetly sad music.
If anyone were looking, which they
weren't, they would not have recognized Locke at that moment. The sight would
have nearly broken their hearts.
Welcome
"Terra,
I'm so happy to see you have come back to us safely!"
"Momma!"
"Terra…"
"Tewa!"
"Yes,
Katarin. Children. It's good to be home."
"And I see
that you have brought someone with you…"
"Yes, this
is Relm. She once helped us to defeat Kefka. She's… She was in Albrook and she
helped me to find a place to stay there."
"She's been
badly wounded… Was that the storm?"
"No."
"Then… "
"My leg was
broken in a fight. You don't want to see what happened to the other guy."
"…"
"Oh, Relm.
We'll explain later, okay, Katarin. Where is Sebastian?"
"He's
inside with Duane and the other children. Let's get you two inside and warmed,
shall we? You must be frozen solid by now."
"Yes."
Shadows
Aillen
spoke to Alexis, and to anyone who just happened to be listening, the manner of
his voice was a familiar one, though he they never let on to any such
recognition in public. He sat on a stool in her tiny room, his legs casually
slung on the edge of her bed. He fingered the bruise on his lips, absently. The
wound was still tingling, and slightly cold to the touch.
"You
wouldn't have believe the sight of it, right. It was incredible. Incredibly
disturbing. And that's saying a lot, right… "
"Coming
from you. Yes, I know Aillen."
"I've never
seen anyone quite so terrified."
"No, I
don't suppose you would have… "
"She froze,
like, Alex! I could see it coming right over her like a wave. Like a bloody
curse."
Alexis
paced and ran her head across her brow. She had words to say, but none came out
right.
"The worst
was the last thing she said. When I caught her, there. She… She thought I was
that Cole fellow. She thought I was Locke. And so she… gods, it was too much."
"I wouldn't
blame her with the snows as they were, and then… "
Aillen
sighs, looks up at her.
"You look…
"
"Yes, I
know."
Alex
fretted some more, then sat next to Aillen and put her thumb to his lips, ran
it across the purple spot. "This bruise is incredible. Did that happen on the
mountain, when she mistook you for him?"
"Yes."
"Your kiss
was not the one she wanted, then."
"No, not
hardly, but it wasn't that. She was cold. Freezing, like. I felt that she
nearly pulled my warmth from me."
"And now he
sits downstairs, cradling her, shivering."
"Yes, he
would be. That Cole… well, he… oh, never mind. They have truly found each
other, as people do sometimes."
"Oh, stop
trying to be so wise, you ass. You're not all that, Aillen!"
He grinned,
"And you are, what, the leader of the Returners, now? That's a good one!" He
jabbed her in the ribs, playfully. "Stepped right into the old coot's shoes,
you did. Size 25 and a half, was it?"
"Oh, eat
me."
"With pleasure,
my dear."
Searching
Nobody
was surprised when Setzer left. More surprised that he had hung around there
for the week as it was, pacing, trying to pretend that the scene in Celes'
chamber was not happening. They weren't surprised that he went to find help,
either. That went without saying. Most at the academy were skeptical of
Setzer's approach to problem solving, however. Academics never did understand
the mind of a jet-setting free spirit.
If it was
possible to buy a cure, he would. If not, then he would find it.
Setzer, as
previously stated, was never left to want for anything he craved. As
self-indulgent as he was, he was never an uncharitable man. And desires were
one thing, friends another entirely. One of the surprising facts among the many
things that could be said for Setzer was that he was loyal. Deep down, he was
extremely loyal.
Celes. He
thought of her much now. His thoughts being quite different from the views of
the stuffy academics, which viewed her with scientific marvel. They were
different than those of Arvis and the others, he knew, as one could not truly
feel for someone they had never really known. Not that Setzer had truly known
her, he sighed. No, that burden was now for Locke to bear. He was the one that
Setzer now felt the most for; despite the shaky path his feelings towards the
man had traveled since he'd first met him. Locke. Ever the bright-eyed,
wise-faced thief. Setzer had learned to like him, despite himself, to even
respect him in certain ways. And now…
Setzer
could no longer stand to watch Locke wither away.
He was
going to find help. Find a cure, an answer of some sort. He was going to
Mobliz. He was going to get Terra.
Miracles
I still cannot
believe that Relm is alive! I had thought that… I thought that all of Thamasa
was lost. It's a miracle. And she… she has changed so. Well, maybe not
essentially. She's grown… a young woman now. I didn't recognize her at first.
And she's… quieter? No, she as mouthy as ever, but something has softened… Yes,
I guess it would have to have hit her hard. That sort of thing. It either
hardens you forever or breaks you down slowly. Or else just carries itself
softy in the deepest cracks of your features. It shows in the creases of her
eyes.
That
stupid Sebastian character. All holy, high-and-mighty, preaching on his
soapbox. What a sod. Oh, listen to me! He was nice enough, I suppose. It's his
faith, so who am I to… Girl, you have to lose that aggression. Remember when
Grandpa used to say that? Strago… The only thing that makes it okay is the fact
that he smiled at me. He smiled, even then. I never could understand that old
man. Maybe that's what I can't get through in Sebastian: The Strago complex.
Ugh. His Esper theory is dead wrong in one part though. Why would they kill the
Mages? To "bring them to the heavens," like he said? Well, makes sense in just
one way… They didn't take me.
Truly a
miracle that this mage-girl has been spared. Certainly, the Espers have seen in
her some great purpose, for which she is here to fulfill. Terra went out into
the heart of the storm and this girl showed her to safety… along with the
protective help of the Seraphim. And she brought the girl, Relm, back. It must
be the will of the Espers. Their will be ours.
Terra
Terra
agreed to go with Setzer without hesitation. Relm and Sebastian decided that
they would also accompany her, for their own reasons. Within the hour, the four
of them soared into Narshe valley in the Falcon.
Terra
greeted cheerfully by Arvis, the first showing of sincere happiness from him
since Banon had died. Alexis and Aillen greeted the newcomers, and in turn Relm
and Sebastian introduced themselves. It was, all in all, a formal affair.
Nobody in Narshe quite knew what Setzer intended these people to do, but Arvis
seemed to take Terra's arrival as a good sign, and so the others did too.
Terra
wanted to see Locke, so they pointed her in the right direction. Arvis offered
a weak warning, but trusted that seeing Terra would do him good. The others
were offered a place to relax in Arvis' house, and would worry about seeing
poor Celes later. Setzer hoped that Terra would be able to shake Locke from his
gloom, and tried to put it from his mind for the time being.
Speech
Elsewhere,
at this time, Edgar addressed the people of South Figaro.
"Citizens
of Figaro. It seems that, of late, there have been rumors of desertion among
the people of my kingdom. I am here to inform you that I am very aware of this,
and have acquired the identity of the majority of the people responsible."
There are mutterings among the
crowd, nervous whispers. Edgar smiles, "How am I aware of this, you ask? Well, someone
was nice enough to deliver this to my door…" Edgar glanced at Anthony, who
reaches into his pack at holds up the mangled piece of the coat that Edgar's
assailant had been wearing. The crowd roared in shock.
"Yes, it is
obviously a garment of the Owzer family colours. One Damon Owzer, to be exact.
Deceased, unfortunately. I am not a cruel man, and I will therefore spare you
the details, but let this go as a warning to any others who may have had a part
in this. I will not sit quietly while attempts are made to overthrow my
kingdom. The other suspects, fear not, will be now dealt with accordingly."
The crowd
is abuzz, but for the first time in ages, they seem to be responding to Edgar
with encouraging approval.
"I know
that this Snow Storm has been causing much hysteria here in Figaro, as it is
elsewhere. I am here today to reassure you that you will all be secure under my
reign. My kingdom is as safe as anywhere else on this planet at the moment, and
perhaps better than most. But I will need your cooperation to elevate our
kingdom to a higher level of peace and security. If you listen to what I now
say, I know we will pull through this Ice Age mostly unscathed."
And so
Edgar begins his reclaiming of his family's kingdom. The crowd is silent now,
and drinks in his every word.
Comfort
"Locke?"
Terra stood in the doorway. Locke had, by this time, briefly left Celes' side
and was picking through his meager belongings in a smaller room. He looked up
to see Terra, and it anticipation of a smile, he grimaced and the tears leapt
down his face.
"Oh,
Locke." Terra went to his side and held him by the shoulders. He let his head
rest on her shoulder for a while, soaking it with tears. Terra did not know
what to say anymore. She had come to him with a comfort speech in mind, but
this seemed ridiculous now there with Locke sobbing on her shoulder.
Locke. What
could she possibly say? He had helped her so much when they first met. So
selfless, so...
So they
said nothing.
Eventually,
Locke pulled himself up off her shoulder. Terra could see from his eyes that
his hurt was wearing away at him. A quickly fraying piece of rope. He looked at
her, noticed her worry, and smiled a moment, brushed her cheek. Then offered
the ridiculous phrase: "I need some air…Going to the pub…"
Terra
frowned and watched him leave.
Strength
Relm had
left Arvis' place in search of Locke. She hobbled into Narshe's best pub,
without any care toward the eyes that glanced at her suspiciously. She settled into
the seat across from Locke. After they had silently acknowledged each other a
while, she spoke to him frankly.
"Locke.
You are the one I have wanted to see all this time. If anyone can tell me how
to keep going, it is you."
"How you
suppose that?" He offered weakly.
"Oh, you're
kidding me! You don't give yourself enough credit, but that's part of your
charm, I suppose. You keep going, Locke. You lose everything. Everything but
your own life, and yet you keep going. How do you do it? Where do you find your
strength?"
"Well… What
else would I do?"
Relm said,
"Die," but the words only echoed through her mind. Locke never heard them. He
shuffled weakly around in his chair, and drank deep gulps from his glass of
cider. He observed her with increasingly bleary eyes. She was an unusual girl,
he knew. She seemed to understand things that he only acted on.
Relm picked
up her glass, nearly peaking, and downed it. Locke could not help but awe at
this, and began to worry for the young woman. She had came to him for advice
and he felt that he had nothing to offer. Why did he continue, as she said,
once he had lost so much?
Hope.
Love.
Love, it was love.
Yes, Love. But Locke could not bring himself to say this,
for it seemed as though some heavy glue had welded his mouth shut. Relm saw his
eyes go frosty and din. So, Love then, Locke? She chuckled, downed another
glass of cider in three deep gulps. That could not help her. How could it? Now,
with all the mages gone.
Still, Relm
felt a butterfly of excitement dance across her chest as she gazed at Locke. It
was in him. Even now, as he was barely functioning, trudging aimlessly ahead.
It was in him. She would learn it from him.
Yes, what
else was there?
Change
"It is
time for a change," Terra said. "Are we just going to simply roll over, accept
defeat? Are we going to cower here beneath the mountains?"
"It is time
for a change. And I am going to begin…"
