Silent Tears
A/N: Me, abandon this fic? How could you even consider the idea?
Alright, I admit it. I wasn't really planning to update this story for a looooong time. As in, it was waist-deep in 'hiatus'. I had pretty much forgotten the main storyline gist I had had lodged in my brain for so long while being distracted by other fics for which inspiration struck, I wasn't that interested in Final Fantasy VI fanfiction overall at that point in time, and the ideas just wouldn't come.
But something's changed, obviously, right? What made me decide to start this fic up again and breathe some life into it? For starters, it's nearly summer. This thing was updated back in November – right in the thick of the whole holiday lunacy and schoolwork burying me. This will free up a lot in my time schedule, although I confess that I will still be busy – I'm trying to find a tutor now that my mum's seen my horrible Math grades, the worst ever; I'll be training for soccer tryouts in fall; I'll be working on songs and my lacking guitar skills now that I've put together a band (for those who are interested, our name is The CONDOOM); I'll be trying to self-teach myself anger management skills to keep back from strangling my most hated evil cousin, who will be staying with us over the summer with my aunt; I am trying to cram in a year's worth of articulate French in preparation of the semester I'm spending abroad as an exchange student; and I impulsively signed up for summer kickboxing classes last month. On the bright side, I'm motivated for all these things, so I'm certainly motivated to do some fanfic updating.
Anyways, back to the fic: I'm really not kidding when I said I lost sight of the original plotline. I had this whole juicy soap opera-esque thing in plan… and now it's all just jumbled bits and pieces that I can't fit together. If anything, this chapter is like a boost to get my motor going, but I still tried to make it interesting for y'all. There is no reviewer response this time around, because I wouldn't know what to say to all of you besides a shameful, heartfelt I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SOOO SO SORRY for making you wait so long. You guys rock. No hyper sugar-high right now. No lame-arse bad jokes in between random rambling. This is from the bottom of my heart when I say this: Loveloveloverock…love.
Chapter 9: Calamity
"EDGAR!"
The king of Figaro quickly looked up, startled by the scream of his name. Behind the handsome thick wood of the oaken door, there was some cluttering and banging noises while guards yelled with indignation at being collided into, some stomping noises, and the door flew open with a slightly testy-looking treasure hunter standing there in its place, breathing hard through his nostrils.
"Yes, Locke?" Edgar asked demurely.
"Don't you 'Yes Locke' me," Locke hissed, traipsing in with a moody look. "This is important. Look!" And he thrusted a satin red ribbon under Edgar's nose. The king resisted the urge to coil back from the musty scent of burnt ashy cloth and smoke that encountered his nose immediately upon reaching it. He stared coolly back at Locke's angry face.
"Your point?"
"Terra's gone, Edgar." Locke roared, throwing the ribbon down onto the desk. "All of her stuff is gone, except for that ribbon! She left, because you were a swotty little asswipe to her instead of a supportive friend."
"There's no need for crude language," Edgar said curtly. "She left because her responsibilities in Mobliz were calling to her. She had said she would stay for 2 days, and kept true to her word."
"She left because you ignored her. She thinks you hate her. You treated her like the filth on the bottom of Sabin's boots. Couldn't you see how much she hurt from that?"
"There was no reason for her to think like that." Edgar replied. "I was upset at her actions, but only because she has greatly increased the possibility of harm towards herself. I'm afraid Terra blew things out of proportion, as she has been doing quite consistently as of late."
For a moment, Locke could do nothing but gape at her. "You…" He shook his head, and tried again. "If I'm not mistaken, I think she's not the only one who's blowing things out of proportion. God, why are you two doing this to each other?" Locke, frustrated, kicked at the trash bin that was settled next to Edgar's desk. Paper flew astray over the polished veneer of the finished floor, to Edgar's dismay.
"Doing what, exactly, Locke?" Edgar asked with a suggestion of agitation that had finally broke through and crept into his voice, no longer able to conceal.
Locke turned away from him, his shoulders hunched over slightly. Edgar saw his fists at his side, gripped and shaking with anger.
"You don't deserve her. You don't deserve her love." Locke whispered. Edgar stared at him.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh, for… you know exactly what I'm talking about!" Locke shouted. "Can't you see that? Why else would she act like this?"
"Because it's Terra. She gets hurt easily over these things. It's hard for her to conceal emotions."
"No, it's because she loves you. And I thought you loved her." Locke retorted.
"She doesn't love me. Terra's just emotional. Last time I checked, not every woman was like Celes." Edgar spoke in a steely voice. Locke froze and stiffened, the words hitting him like a ton of bricks. Mentally, Edgar instantly regretted them, but the resentment that had risen from Locke's accusations overcame any remorse.
"She doesn't love me." Edgar repeated bitterly. "For fuck's sake, I thought you knew that by now. Everyone else does. She loves you, you fool. Goddess knows that I hate that fact; that I wish I could change it. But she just always secretly lusted after you while you chased after Celes' skirt."
"But…but Terra…" Locke stuttered.
Edgar observed his long-time friend with something akin to pity. Or was it empathy? "If you're worried about the Kefkanians, don't be. I just got a telegraph from Narshe with news that Setzer left for Figaro. I have no doubt Terra is within his security now, flying off to Mobliz to her darling orphans." He stood up and shuffled some thick folders onto the desk to straighten the papers contained inside. "Now, if you excuse me, the Chancellor and I have matters to discuss concerning the Kefkanians' next move. You're welcome to join us. We'll be in the next room." He proceeded to make his way towards the side door and left Locke to himself. The thief looked around in a lost, childlike manner, and lumbered out, a mere shadow of his earlier, angrier self.
-----
Sabin stepped off the ship and inhaled the fresh air deeply, sighing with a content smile. The mountains north of South Figaro were nice enough, but they lacked the meditative purity and tranquility that few places other than Thamasa could offer. Here, there was open air, grassy plains, cliffs, mountain ranges, and caves. There was pretty much every geographic setting that existed in this one tiny point. It was a perfect place to train.
"Man, I missed this place." He said to himself, while behind him, Gau struggled with the pieces of luggage he was juggling in his stringy arms. Without looking back, Sabin clapped Gau hard on the back friendly-like, making Gau stumble and the luggage spill all over the dock.
"I guess you were right, Gau! This was a good idea. Come on, lets get going." Sabin lifted the one luggage that had managed to remain in Gau's arms and hefted it above his head with ease. He paraded onwards, while the younger man groaned and began collecting the suitcases together again.
Thamasa was the same that it had always been. The sun shined down brilliantly upon the quaint little town, making everything seem warm and bright and lovely. The innocence was seemingly unbroken by the loss and rise of the rest of the world, as if Thamasa was a separate world of its own. Its peace and serenity would seem completely uncorrupted by the taint of blood and death, if it weren't for the one single grave located north on the very outskirts of the cozy town.
"There's the inn!" Sabin shouted back towards where Gau still clamored for one more trunk, and purposefully strode towards the sturdy building. He reached for the brass doorknob and found it…
"Locked?" Sabin said with surprise. He knocked on the door. "Excuse me? Hello?"
There was the sound of a various range of locks being unhooked, and the door tremulously crept open, revealing a single, bulgy, fearful eye.
"Yes?" The disembodied eye stared up at the strapping blonde man with suspicion.
"Er… this is the inn, right?" Sabin asked hesitantly.
"That is correct."
"Great!" Sabin smiled. "If you don't mind…"
"We are not accepting service from foreigners any more. Sorry." The door abruptly shut. Sabin blinked, dumbfounded at the strangeness of it all. Then, annoyance took over. He began pounding on the door.
"Hey! What kind of inn is this if they refuse fair and equal service to all customers, eh?! This is an outrage! Come ON!"
"What going on?" Gau staggered towards his master.
"It's 'What is going on', Gau. And the damn innkeeper won't let us stay! At his inn! Which is what they're meant for, in case anyone forgot?" Sabin yelled the last part out directly to the door. It went ignored.
Gau scratched his pale hair cluelessly, and grinned. "Let go -"
"Let's go -"
"Let's go see Relm and ask her!" Gau proposed excitedly.
"Yeah, yeah, fine. Just try to review that list of contractions Lana gave you last week. Yeesh." Sabin followed Gau, who now scrambled towards the Arrowny mansion with a reinvigorated speed that had been completely absent earlier.
Gau raced up the steps where the handsome, large house was, and lifted a gangly arm to use the silver knocker, but suddenly hesitated and stilled himself. He turned away and sheepishly faced Sabin, who arched an eyebrow questioningly.
"Euh… how does Gau look?" Gau asked, with a twinge of hopefulness in his voice. His green-tinged white blonde hair was mussed up and flattened in some areas from the damp air of the ship. His tunic was spectacularly wrinkled and crinkly. And he couldn't smell any better than Sabin was.
"Great." Sabin said feebly. Gau beamed and quickly turned around again to knock at the door, but found his arm in midair when the door flew open to reveal the teenaged Relm Arrowny.
"Gau!" Relm exclaimed, trying hard to keep the pleasure out of her voice. After all, it would do no good for him to think she had feelings for him. Relm was not one to lead a boy on. It was Edgar she wanted. "What are you doing here? Oh, and Sabin! Is Edgar here?"
Sabin shook his head. "No, no, he's still trapped in the castle, poor guy. We're here to hone our skills for a bit. You know, practicing and training and all."
"Oh." Relm said, disappointment clearly displayed on her face. Gau cleared his throat.
"Something wrong at inn." He said to change the subject.
"Oh yeah, that." Relm said disgustedly. "Ugh, these stupid people. How paranoid can they get?"
"What do you mean?" Sabin said curiously.
"Well, come on in and sit down." She stood back to allow Sabin and Gau inside, and closed the door while they seated themselves at the table. Gau surveyed the house. It was in a complete disarray; much more disorganized than when Strago had been around. Random canvases were strewn about on the floor and the couch while even more numerous pieces of paper were crumpled and lying on the ground, which was almost completely covered by newspapers and splotches of paint and paint containers.
"Here, have some tea." Relm thrusted two cups at Sabin and Gau. Sabin cautiously peered at the contents of the mug.
"Er, Relm… this is paint turpentine."
"Oh! Heheh, whoops." Relm said. Gau had already chugged down about half of the liquid. Both Relm and Sabin stared at him.
"Isn't that stuff… um… not healthy… for humans?"
Relm scratched her head. "Well, yeah. So I wouldn't worry too much about him. Anyways," She settled down into a seat of her own with the two men. "Some Kefkanians came here one or two nights ago. A tiny lot of them – nothing really to worry about." She rolled her eyes.
"Kefkanians?" Sabin said, surprised. "That's…"
"Weird. I know." Relm interjected. "Anyways, they rallied up at the inn with some torches, and everybody was freaking out, even though there were hardly enough to instigate a riot." She reached up to pull the pencil out of her hair, which was wrapped around it in a complicated bun. The blonde curls tumbled out from her crown. She seized some of them and rubbed at her skull in an attempt to massage it, looking weary.
"There was nothing violent. I think most of them were drunk. All they did was trash the inn quite a bit and run around screaming about Kefka and rebirth." Relm blew some stray strands from her eyes. "Hardly anything to worry about. But then, this is Thamasa."
Sabin thoughtfully stroked his chin. "Still, though, Relm. Those Kefkanians never make a scene unless there's a purpose. I think you should report this to Edgar or somebody. It might be important."
"I guess." Relm stared out at empty space, while Gau idly sipped at his turpentine. Sabin watched as Relm's long, artist fingers flex and curl.
"Something else happened, didn't it?" Sabin asked quietly.
"They tried to take a baby hostage." Relm blurted out not even a second later. Sabin and Gau stared at her in shock.
"I had to beat the stupid freak away with a broom. He dropped her to the floor. So that made me kind of pissed off. Then he sort of…came at me… and I took someone's sword and…"
"You killed him?" Sabin said.
Relm swallowed a lump in her throat. "It went right through his chest."
Gau watched Relm's face carefully. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't cry. At least, she wouldn't allow herself to, especially in front of other people. "Relm…"
"I'll go talk some sense into that innkeeper." Sabin got up and rested his hand on Relm's shoulder for a moment before leaving.
"Relm -"
"I never killed someone. Not like that. I don't have the stomach for that kind of stuff. Goddess… I wish I had my magic back. My art was different. I was able to never have to touch a weapon." Relm stared guiltily down at her hands.
Gau reached forward and took her artist hands into his. They sat there like that until Sabin returned. But not before Relm sniffed and recoiled in disgust. "Ugh, what IS that smell?"
-----
Setzer glanced at the barometer and grimaced. The levels were far too high for his comfort. He sighed and raked his thick, silvery hair with a thin, pale hand.
"It's times like these when I wish I had a crew who was as talented as me at piloting so I'd be able to trust them to handle my love." Setzer mumbled to himself, shuffling off and around the steering wheel to maneuver the leverages.
"Is the beau being difficult again, Setzer?" Celes said deviously, appearing from the stairs and leaning against the metal railings. Setzer rolled his eyes at her juvenile teasing and scoffed.
"The beau is being fine, General Celes. Although I do wish, what with all the work I put into her, that she'd put out one of these days."
"Goodness, are you saying that the routines she's been performing haven't been considered worthy?"
"No, no. I'm saying that those performances are not quite top-notch and up to maintenance, I'm afraid."
"You horrible man," Celes thwacked him on the back of his head. "You've better be joking!"
Setzer winced and delicately massaged the tender spot where Celes had hit him.
"Goddess, that hurt! Is this what men get for being infatuated with you? Getting smacked upside the head? No wonder Locke's so scatterbrained these days!"
"Shut up!" Celes laughed, ignoring the sly Locke comment that Setzer snuck in there. She raised her arm to smack him again, but he was too fast for her. He seized her uplifted arm and trailed his mouth up, decorating it with sweet kisses while Celes giggled girlishly, eventually reaching her neck and then up to her cheek. Celes melted into his frame and leaned forward, her breath hushed as she eagerly pounced on him to taste his mouth, when Setzer stood back and glanced at the navigator.
"Oof! We're here!" He dashed towards the steering wheel and madly scrambled for his leather piloting gloves. Celes sighed in disappointment and walked towards the front of the ship, where the impressive Figaro castle loomed into view below the clouds. She gathered the coat around her shoulders closer and shivered. The air had suddenly turned cold, as if predicting the outcomes of what lay ahead in that castle.
"I wish I didn't have to do this." Celes murmered.
"To wish so would mean to wish that you had never fallen into my arms that day in Narshe, quite literally." Setzer called out from his position behind the wheel. Celes ducked her head and discreetly smiled to herself, her cheeks hurting from grinning like crazy. She just couldn't take the smile off her face. She had never felt so happy in her life, being with Setzer.
I never wanted to hurt Locke… I just… But her thoughts slipped away from her when she felt Setzer's arms wrap around her waist, and they attached themselves to each other as The Falcon slowly and smoothly glided down to a stop upon the desert soil of Figaro.
-----
"Setzer! Celes! So good to see you both again." Edgar warmly greeted his two companions at the front of the stone castle as the two tall figures walked down the ramp leading from the airship. Locke stood back at the doors uncomfortably, trying to smile nonchalantly and failing.
He's acting as if he hasn't seen them for years, thought Locke sulkily. But as always, the treasure hunter was malleable about these things – if the king of Figaro was going to ignore that anything had gone wrong in the past week, then so be it.
Celes, however, did not seem as guilt-free as and much more conscientious than the king. She stood uneasily below Locke, who leaned against the wall, wringing her hands nervously in a very Terra-like fashion. She chanced a glance back at Setzer, who merely nodded and gave her an encouraging smile. This seemed to ease Celes well enough, who straightened her already pin-straight back and turned around with the typical determined ex-general look that graced her features. This made Locke's blood boil, but he hid it very well and assumed a 'poker face', as Setzer would've called it.
Celes and Locke stared at eachother. Surprisingly, Locke broke the silence.
"Hello, Celes." Locke smiled cheerily at the shocked woman. "Had a nice honeymoon?"
Celes winced. Snide, poison-covered comments, she had anticipated. The cheery, absolutely unruffled demeanor that Locke was displaying, however, was a bit more unexpected. There hadn't been even an ounce of sarcasm, mockery, or contempt in those words.
"Er… fine, Locke." She said unsurely. "You?"
"Exquisite." He smiled warmly then at Setzer, who did a sort of mini double-take at being spoken to. "How about you? What's this talk I hear of a new airship, eh?"
"Oh." Setzer thought for a moment, and realized that the sentence had no trace of accusation or scorn, and contained the word 'airship'. He visibly brightened like a light bulb and shot off.
"Brilliant! The ship designers are absolute buffoons though; they have no grasp on my ingenious plans, so I have to constantly supervise the dolts; completely incompetent, I tell you… the other day I had specifically ordered them to get the 3F-type oil for the rig at the northwest corner of the engine room – remember Cyan always gawking at the thing? Yes, well, the bungling supplies director had ordered 3C instead, and sent it down to the third chute for the velocity emission tank, which doesn't handle type-oil very well at all! So now I have an absolute mess inside the engine room, and I'm having issues with the designers concerning the mandatory casino within the lower deck – because, come on, you MUST have a casino in the airship, it's asinine to even think otherwise -"
Locke interjected tiny little comments here and there while Celes stood faithfully by Setzer's side. Edgar stared dumbfoundedly, and shook his head a bit to himself. Brilliant bastard. He's completely hiding any signals of hurt or jealousy. Goddess, if Celes and Setzer knew what he was like two nights ago. Completely broken like an old toy with Terra mothering him…
"Er, Setzer?" Edgar interrupted. Locke looked curiously at him; Celes looked relieved at the disruption; and the actual man that had been addressed was completely deaf and rambled on, rapidly turning blue from lack of oxygen. Celes nudged him sharply with her elbow, and Setzer gasped in pain.
"W-what?" Setzer wheezed out.
"Where's Terra?"
Setzer stared at him. "What do you mean? Isn't she still staying with you?"
Edgar's hands immediately felt sweaty in zero seconds flat. Locke stared wide-eyed at him while Edgar attempted to speak in coherent sentences.
"I…I mean… surely you encountered her upon a chocobo in the desert? You couldn't have missed her. Or have you already dropped her off at Mobliz?"
"No, as you said, we wouldn't have missed her if she had been roaming around here." Celes stared at him as well. "Why? Is something wrong, Edgar? I'm sure she's quite capable of handling herself alone."
"Do you think I should go search for her?" Setzer proposed, looking concerned. He paused, and collected himself. "Wait! I just remembered – I don't care what you think! I better get searching, then."
Celes frowned. "Are you sure she just didn't go to South Figaro? Perhaps she went off to the northwest forest region."
"But for what? There'd be no reason for her to!" Edgar exclaimed. Celes ran off to follow Setzer.
"Wait! Setzer! I'm going with you!"
Locke stepped forward. "Me too."
Celes stopped abruptly, and uncharacteristically bit her lip. "Locke? But...um… it'd just be you, me, and Setzer… I think you should stay with Edgar, he'd be all alone…"
"No, it's fine, I'll go with you all as well." Edgar stepped forward with a somber face. "I can't help feeling I am partly responsible for this whole mess."
Locke roughly cuffed him in a friendly manner. "Shut up, Edgar. Don't feel guilty."
Edgar shook his head. "You yourself said this morning…"
"Gah, you never listen to me. Don't start now." Locke, with his hand on Edgar's shoulder, began steering the both of them towards the airship. Celes stared after the two men curiously, and shrugged, deciding that she would get it out of them later, following them.
Edgar grimly grinned, glanced back at Celes, and hurriedly lowered his voice. "Locke, about what I said… about Terra… you see -"
"Don't worry. I completely understand." Locke said. "Terra loves me. I've always known she loved me, Edgar. She has that wonderful mothering nature about her, you know. Don't give up hope. It's not too late for you. I can tell. I get it."
"No, no, I don't think you do…" Edgar started, but was cut off by the Chancellor, who had burst through the doors just in time to see The Falcon take flight. His debonair hat was swept off by the harsh wind. "King Edgar!! WAIT! Where are you going?!"
"To find Lady Terra! Don't worry! We'll come back soon with her, safe and sound!" Edgar yelled down. The Chancellor waved his arms hysterically, but Edgar took it wrong and merely waved a friendly goodbye as the airship sped off to the distance.
The Chancellor stared down worriedly after the zeppelin, which was quickly decreasing in size to become a miniscule dot upon the horizon.
"Oh dear… now what should I do?"
-----
A/N: FINALLY! Some action! I might have to change the genre soon, as from here on out to the end of the fic, this is going to get a deal bit more action-y. But still romance-y! And you must be kidding if you think I'm going to lighten up on the angst. NO. I love my angst. The last bit of the chapter was a bit rushed, as you can probably tell, but it was just to get out the next one. The new B-story: Sabin and Gau over at Thamasa with Relm. Anything I write that is about them is just as important as the rest of the stuff, because they are now vital to my plot. Yes, this is a new development. I told ya I forgot the plotline. So I might as well make up a new one, right? g