Chapter Thirty-Six- Enigmatic Soul: Cyan Garamonde

Celes blinked and took a look around as the party descended from The Falcon. The bird had been seen diving into this area, but it was a town. Edgar raised his hand to his forehead.

"This is Maranda, isn't it?"

"Looks to be that way." Sabin agreed. "What do you think, Setzer?" Setzer raised his eyebrow and suddenly stopped a young woman who was running past them.

"What?!" She cried, but not in an angry way. She actually seemed very excited.

"Is this Maranda?" Setzer asked. "My friends are having trouble figuring out where the hell we are."

"Yes, yes." She smiled widely, and Edgar, looking up, grinned and slid on over to her, slick as an oil spill.

"Heyyyy..." He flashed another grin and slipped his arm around her. Celes rolled her eyes and Sabin hid his face. The girl looked over at Edgar, surprised.

""Heyyyy what?" She demanded.

"Has anyone ever told you that...your eyes are like sparkling emeralds?" Edgar sighed out as if in a dream, and the girl squealed, suddenly giving him a hard shove with one hand, making him stumble backwards.

"Dear Sir, the two things you were gazing at were NOT my eyes."

"Edgar!" Celes barked. "Back OFF!" Edgar, looking like a scolded puppy, slipped back over behind Sabin. Setzer chuckled, and Celes walked up to the girl.

"I'm sorry." She apologized for Edgar. "He's a dumbass."

"It's ok!" She smiled again happily. "But if you'll excuse me, I'm anxious to get home. A carrier pigeon just brought me another letter from my boyfriend!"

"Oh?" Celes questioned to herself. "I wonder if that is the bird we saw come here."

"My boyfriend lives in Mobliz." The girl explained, and then laughed gaily. "Oh my, look at me chattering away and not even introducing myself. I'm Lola." Sabin suddenly gasped and Celes looked over at him, raising her eyebrows.

"L-Lola?" Sabin stuttered. She looked at him quizzically, and he quickly smiled. "Er, well, it's a beautiful name."

"Oh brother, and you talk of me having no shame." Edgar muttered, and Sabin elbowed him. Hard.

"Hi Lola." Celes said slowly, getting the hint from Sabin. "Pray tell, after you have gotten your mail, would you mind giving us directions to uh...Mobliz? Since you know someone there and all...we're going on a little trip."

"Of course!" Lola smiled. "Please stop on by anytime you like, we'll have tea! My house is the one with the pigeon post in front." With that, she ran off, and Celes immediately spun around to Sabin.

"What!? Why did you look like that when she said her name!?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Setzer blinked. "I'm willing to bet you know something we don't!"

"I do know something." Sabin said worriedly. "That girl, Lola, said she had a boyfriend in Mobliz, right?"

"Right." Celes nodded. "What's wrong with that?"

"Well, here's the thing- I met her boyfriend, when Cyan and I washed up in Mobliz." Sabin explained. "He was a bed-ridden soldier that was injured in an Empire battle. He told us about this Lola girl, and since he couldn't even pick up a pen, Cyan wrote a letter for him in his name and sent it to her. She lived here at the time, too."

Celes gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oh, of course...and Mobliz is now destroyed...there was definitely no one like that there..."

"And this must be the same Lola." Edgar decided. "I mean, it's too much of a coincidence not to be, you know?"

"I think we should see what is going on." Sabin said. "Because it's very suspicious."

"We're not going to tell her that her boyfriend is dead, are we?" Celes asked worriedly. "That would be too cruel, coming from strangers like us..."

"No, we shouldn't say anything." Sabin said. "Let's just go to her house like she offered...we'll figure out what to do from there."

Celes sighed, looking ahead at the house, where the pigeon had indeed landed on its post, cooing and looking about with it's beady eyes. Why had Celes gotten a feeling about a mere messenger bird? Was there something more to this than just a cruel practical joke? Lola obviously had no idea what was going on.

At Lola's house, as she promised, the Returners were served tea, and while she questioned them about their upcoming "little trip" and gave them directions (Setzer was doing all the talking), Sabin was eyeballing a folded letter on the table, and Celes was not being able to help but gaze at all the beautiful silk flowers that were in the room, in bouquets hanging from the rafters, in vases on the counters and tables, everywhere. Lola noticed Celes staring, and stopped talking to Setzer for a moment.

"Don't you just love these flowers? My boyfriend sent all of these to me! They're all hand-made of silk...since you can't seem to buy real flowers in many places anymore..." She trailed off a moment but then smiled again. "And these are letters he has written me!" She suddenly pushed the letter Sabin was looking at towards him, and went to a jar on the counter, pulling out more and distributing them to Celes, Setzer, and Edgar. They all looked at each other and started pouring over the letters, which all had one very disturbing thing in common. Celes turned to the first letter in her pile again and read it slowly, carefully, investigating every letter.

"My beloved Lola,

We're still busy trying to rebuild this town... If all goes well I'll be able to come home to you soon..."

"There are very nice." Celes managed to say after a few moments of absolute silence. "So...romantic."

Everyone else agreed, and the not so shy Lola took all the letters back and began to fold them again properly.

"I've already written him a reply..." She sighed out happily and handed it to Sabin. "On your way out, would you please attach this to the carrier pigeon?"

**********

"That handwriting!" Celes burst as soon as Sabin had shut the door behind them, and Setzer nodded.

"It's Cyan's. I have no doubt about it. Nobody except him writes with those damn curly letters and such."

"But can we be sure?" Sabin asked, now working on tying the letter from Lola to the pigeon. "I mean, why would he be doing this? Cyan, of all people?"

"There must be a reason for it." Celes protested. "So I say we follow this bird-- and see where it takes us. Wherever it takes the letter, that's where Cyan will be."

"Will we be able to keep up the pace?" Edgar questioned, and Setzer let out a laugh.

"Are you kidding me? Our problem will be going faster than the bird! I told you, The Falcon is the fastest ship in the world!"

"Well, let's go." Celes said concernedly. "Let's get to the bottom of this." As she said that, Sabin released the bird, and it fluttered into the air, letting out a soft cooing noise and taking off. The Returners hurried onto the airship and proceeded to follow it, Setzer at the wheel. Celes, Sabin, and Edgar kept at the point of the ship, watching where the bird was going and shouting directions to Setzer. As they began to approach the mountainside, Celes swallowed back a lump in her throat.

"Uhh...this looks a little too familiar for my tastes..."

"This looks like Zozo..." Edgar trailed off, and they looked around more. The area that was Zozo was literally shrouded in a dark haze, and the only road that led to the city itself was the one the Returners had taken before, from the East. The tall, looming mountains that surrounded the city were darker than ever, giving everyone on The Falcon the warning that Zozo was still a foreboding place as ever. And, of course, the carrier pigeon started to soar downwards, disappearing within the mess of mist and tall, crumbling buildings.

"Setzer!" Celes called. "Let's go down!"

"Can do!" Setzer exclaimed, and with that, took The Falcon down. Once the team disembarked and made it into the city limits of Zozo, Celes took the point of the group and looked around, the high, cold winds whipping her hair back from her face. Glancing over her shoulder, she could have sworn she saw the white, misty image of a ghost, but shook her head. She must have been still spooked from Daryl's tomb.

"I think it's going to rain!" Edgar called over the high, shrieking winds. "Or storm, or something!!!!!"

"I swear, this place has weather that is totally irrelevant to the rest of the world." Sabin said depressedly. "Wasn't it raining the last time we were here?"

"Yeah..." Setzer trailed off, and took another look around, another gust of extreme wind nearly knocking the party off their feet. "But it was different last time...last time it was just a normal storm. There's something different in the air this time. I just can't put my finger on it."

"Mmmm, remember what I said about that ancient storm dragon that was supposedly sealed up here?" Edgar asked. "What if it became...unsealed?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Celes snapped. "There are no such things as dragons."

"Well, if Phunbaba came out of the Earth, than who the hell knows what else might of come to join us." Sabin sighed, and raised a hand to his forehead to look more.

"Brrr..." Celes shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, spitting out the hair flying into her mouth and nearly jumping a foot in the air when Sabin suddenly cried "Look, over there!"

Everyone turned, and saw the little white carrier pigeon, amazingly not being swept away by the winds, as it fought its way through the skies north, past the tallest building in town and into the mountains. Celes moaned and dropped her hands to her side.

"The mountainside? How the hell are we going to get there?"

"There is one way." An unfamiliar voice came from behind the team. With a gasp, Celes whirled around and immediately withdrew Atma from it's sheath, forcing the tip of the glowing blade right in front of the nose of a tall young man, dressed in faded blue and brown merchant's robes, his chin-length black hair whipping around his head violently as another sweep of wind blew. He didn't even flinch, which surprised Celes enough to cause her to drop Atma down to her side.

"Who are you?" Celes demanded.

"That's not really important." The man replied, which irritated her. "You want to go into the mountains? There is one way that is safe enough to consider."

"Hey, if you're planning on pulling something, you'd better get out of our way before trouble comes." Setzer remarked, and with that, Edgar suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Wait a minute! Do you remember when we visited Jidoor all that time ago, the man there said that the only person we could trust in Zozo was dressed as a merchant?!" He looked at the young man, who shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. Setzer had no idea what Edgar was talking about, but the others did, the memories flooding back to them as if it were just yesterday.

"What, did you talk to my friend at the chocobo stables or something?" The man asked.

"Er, yes." Celes said, turning a little red from her hatefulness.

"What on Earth provokes you to live here?" Sabin questioned. "I mean...it's dangerous, we nearly got killed our first night here."

"I'm just a merchant." He replied, and shrugged again. "Not everything has to have a reason, right? Or everyone, for that matter." Sabin nodded, being the only one in the group that would accept something like that as an answer.

"Well, what do you know that can help us?" Celes suddenly burst out, anxious to move on. It was too dangerous to stand in one spot for too long.

"See that building?" The merchant asked, pointing to the tall building the bird had flown behind. "At the top is a secret entrance that the people who once lived in this city ages ago had created to escape into the mountains."

"Why did they need to escape?" Edgar questioned.

"Well, Zozo wasn't always like this." The merchant replied a little bit of sadness in his voice. "It's a story that is not written in any history texts I have read or seen. I'm sure whatever records were kept in this town have long been destroyed. But, long, long ago, before the War of the Magi, Zozo was a peaceful little village, and the people here were skilled in the ways of machinery, much like you are, King Edgar."

"Hey, you recognized me!" Edgar squealed, but everyone ignored him, much to his chagrin.

"But, sadly, during the war, in the chaos, the village was taken over by a gang of thieves and all sorts of no-good types. No one defended the village, and they had no magic or Espers, so they had to surrender. The invaders made the village people slaves, basically, and forced them to teach them all they knew about mechanics and such so that they could prosper in whatever devious schemes they came up with. The natives of Zozo were slowly dying, and along with them the prosperity of the village. It took a while for it to become like this..." He spread his arms to indicate the wasteland they were now in. "But as you can see, there is absolutely no proof here of the world Zozo once was, thanks to those heathens." He took a step forward and looked up at the darkening sky.

"The village people here worshipped a creature known as the Storm Dragon, and prayed to it for help in eliminating the threat. It was in a legend, one long lost to us now, that this Storm Dragon lived deep within the mountains, and whenever danger came upon Zozo, it would beat its mighty wings and drive out the danger with terrible and frightening storms, purging the village and freeing its people, who supposedly had the innate to survive the storms thanks to the dragon's protection over them. But, the dragon did not answer their prayers, and some went to seek it out. A brilliant slave, who was kept in that building, discovered one day a path that delved into Mount Zozo and might lead to the home of the dragon. He erected a secret doorway that he and the other slaves slipped through, so that they could find the dragon and beg it to save them. However, the dragon was never found, and the people of Zozo never returned. The ones in the village all eventually died an agonizing and scornful death as starved and beaten slaves." The merchant stopped and took a deep breath. "Now, the doorway is rusted shut. No one can get through, unless you have this, of course." He reached down in his pocket and pulled out a small spray can, with no label.

"What is this?" Edgar asked, taking it.

"Rust-Rid." He answered. "It will open the door for the first time in...centuries." Celes looked over to the can and back to the merchant.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"I hope so." The merchant suddenly smiled oddly. "I've been working on this solution for a very long time. I want to join up with my friends again."

"...What?" Celes narrowed her eyes when suddenly, a huge bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, causing everyone to jump and scream. When Celes opened her eyes, she gasped. The merchant had disappeared, in his place a thin, misty fog that suddenly blew away in a gust of wind. She turned to the others, wondering if they had the same thoughts as her. She could tell by the look in everyone's eyes that perhaps they did.

A ghost...of the ancient Zozo village?

**********

After a painful run of stair climbing and lightning bolts, the team came to the top of the building where the mysterious door supposedly was. Celes felt around in the dark, muttering as her fingers brushed over things that she didn't even want to put a picture in her head with. Edgar, reaching down in his pocket, pulled out something small and silver, sort of like a magnifying glass on steroids, with blinking lights and a needle on the top.

"What's that, brother?" Sabin asked.

"It's called a Debilitator." Edgar replied. "A new invention of mine, actually. It finds the weak spots in monsters and displays them to the user."

"Ok...so are we going to use it to fight the evil door?" Setzer asked sarcastically.

"No, it has OTHER uses too." Edgar snapped, and started running the Debilitator up and down the walls. "It can find weaknesses in general. And, last time I checked, rust was a major sign of weakness in metals like the ones this wall is made of."

"Of course..." Celes smiled. "The door was rusted shut, after all. Good call, Edgar."

"Well, I'm not just here to be the looks in the party." Edgar laughed and waggled his finger. "In fact, I...oh, wait!" The Debilitator started going off, making loud beeping noises and blinking rapidly. Edgar than took the rust-rid, starting to spray in the area the device located. A few moments later, there was a spine-chilling creak, and a large chunk of the wall in front of them, flew backwards and landed on the inside floor of the building with a loud crash.

"And, that's your door." Edgar declared triumphantly, kissing his machine and tucking it away.

"Enough boasting, let's just get going already!" Setzer exclaimed. "Let's make like a Zozoian and find ourselves a dragon! Er, I mean, a Cyan!"

"Don't say that!" Celes protested. "If that story was anywhere near true, than this dragon is very very VERY pissed off and trying to make up for the hundreds of years it slacked on its protection duty."

"I thought you didn't believe in dragons?" Setzer grinned, and Celes rolled her eyes.

"Please, let's be adults about this!"

The path of Mount Zozo was surprisingly free of peril and hardly treacherous, well worn as if it had been walked upon very frequently as opposed to centuries ago. The howling wind could be heard from outside, which did make it seem very creepy though. Fat drops of rain dripped upon the Returners when they traveled through tunnels and caves with cracks. The air was, however, surprisingly warm, which made Celes curious. She was about to comment on it, when suddenly, a deep roar came from the chamber ahead of the tunnel they were in. The Returners looked at each other, pale. A gush of warm wind blew in through the tunnel, blowing them all over in a heap on each other. Something that sounded like a scream rang out, and Setzer stood up, pushing his hair out of his face.

"Cyan?" He called nervously, and with that, made his way into the chamber, being swallowed into the darkness. Celes gasped out and climbed to her feet, the others joining her.

"Setzer, get back here!" Celes cried, running in after him. She gasped as she looked up, not believing her eyes and nearly sliding on the rocks beneath her feet. Ahead of them- no, soaring right above them was a huge dragon, a dragon of gigantic proportions...flapping its wings and blowing hot wind in all their faces as it flew in circle after circle after circle. Its scaly, bat-like jet black wings were lined with sharp black claws and it's neck was long and swinging from side to side, allowing the shining yellow eyes on the beast's head to get a full view of the cavern. Every time the dragon turned, its spiked tail would slam into the side of the cavern, breaking off boulders of rock and causing them to tumble deep down into the ravines below. The only thing between the Returners and their next destination, a wide opening in the back of the cavern...

...Was a long and swaying rope bridge, several planks missing. The dragon let out another howl, and suddenly, bright bolts of lightning shot out of the sky like magic, striking the ground where the Returners stood. Everyone jumped and cried out; knowing one little shock would be their last.

"The Storm Dragon!" Sabin cried, his voice lost in the nearly deafening winds. "It's real!"

"We have to destroy it!" Edgar cried in reply. "It's the only way we'll get through alive!"

"But!!!" Celes blinked worriedly and turned to the group. "If we destroy it, we'll destroy Zozo's protector. Wasn't that apart of the legend?"

"The world is different now!" Setzer argued. "Something is wrong...this isn't the dragon that the Zozoians prayed for!" He took her shoulders and squeezed them gently. "Celes, we're in a battle for our past, just like the Zozoians were. If we lose here, we won't find our friends, and we won't be able to destroy Kefka! That's what you wanted, right? That's what you told me we were going to do! There are some parts of the past we have to let go-- whether we want to or not! That's the sacrifice we're going to have to make, and this is just one of many!"

Celes nodded sadly and gazed up at the dragon. Setzer was right-- he had to have been right. This wasn't the same dragon that had supposedly protected the village, or would bring back it's peace and prosperity. Something had happened in the War of the Magi, something she was sure had something to do with Atma and Phunbaba's existence as well, and it the powers of the Espers had sealed these creatures away, only to have them ravage the Earth once more. She couldn't let her heart be stirred with ghosts of the past. Not now, not anymore, ever. She had promised herself that before, but now was a test of just how elastic that promise was.

"We need a plan!" Celes suddenly barked, and the team looked at her. "We're going to fight fire with fire...or rather, thunder with thunder! We're going to give this guy everything we've got!"

"Oh, I like this plan!" Sabin grinned and suddenly took a leap into the air, a soft aura glowing about him as he cupped his hands and started mouthing the mantra of one of his famous blitzes. "Air Blade!!!!" Blue- ish glowing boomerangs of light suddenly shot out of his cupped hands, gaining intensity from the blowing winds and smashing into the dragon like razor blades. Cuts slashed open all over the beast where the blades struck, and deep green blood began to ooze out, falling in heavy drops as he flew around, like rain. Performing a graceful aerial back flip, Sabin crash landed onto the back of the dragon and followed through with a brutal Suplex attack, having for a few precious moments the power to slam the beast into the wall with his feet, pushing off from its back and landing safely besides Celes on the ground. The beast, shaking its long neck back and forth angrily and flapping its wings even faster, swung its tail out towards the Returners. Celes called upon a Thundaga spell, striking the tail down and paralyzing it stiff.

"Foiled!" She grinned.

As the dragon pulled itself away from the wall and started for a charge towards the Returners, Edgar and Setzer decided it was time to finish it off. Setzer raised his hand, summoning his deck of magical cards to fly into his fingers. Meanwhile, Edgar drew his sword. On the count of three, Edgar charged the dragon, driving the blade of his sword straight through between the dragon's eyes, causing it to scream so loudly that Edgar was nearly blown back. Setzer aimed and projected his cards; all 52 shooting at various parts of the dragon's crippled body, ten of the cards even slicing off an entire wing. With a cry of defeat, the dragon tumbled backwards, flapping its one wing helplessly as it plunged backwards, crashing through the rope bridge and flying into the ravine below, where a mighty, but distant crash could be heard. A few moments later, silence overtook the cavern, and the winds outside died.

"...Is everyone ok?" Celes finally asked, and Edgar dropped his dripping blade, letting out a loud sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I think we're fine." Sabin grinned. "Not bad, not bad at all."

"But our bridge is gone." Setzer sighed. "If we only had The Falcon, we could fly over that pathetic gap!"

"What about the Float spell?" Celes asked, a twinkle in her eye. "Will that work for now?" With that, she folded her hands together, chanting, and in a burst of light on each Returner's back, a small pair of translucent wings appeared, sparkling, and then faded. Setzer laughed as his feet lifted from the ground entirely on their own.

"Amazing, simply amazing!"

Celes nodded a little, a slight smile on her face. "Hmmm-mmm...Terra taught it to me..." Edgar saw her face, and smiled, floating over to her.

"Come on Celes, cheer up. Let's go see where that damned bird went, ok?"

The team effortlessly floated over the gap to the new entryway, and Celes cast Dispel once they were safely on land. They were surprised to see light pouring through the entryway, and cautiously, each stepped through.

The Returners found themselves outside, on a little cliff that was followed by a much safer-looking bridge. However, instead of the skies being ravaged by storms, they were clear and bright blue, dotted with the same white, puffy clouds they had seen on their way to Zozo. Beautiful green grass and blue flowers were in bloom all around. Celes let out a little gasp and spun around, shocked.

"It's like a different world!"

"Everything must of turned back to normal once the dragon died..." Sabin took a few steps forward and let out a small sigh. "But it won't stay this way for long, I'm sure...not with the environment we have now. Soon, everything will choke and die, just like before..."

"We won't let it die!" Edgar declared, raising his fist. "We'll go and destroy Kefka before he has a chance to destroy this. Take a look everyone- we've just won a small taste of what we're fighting for. Remember it!"

"Here here!" Setzer cheered, and Celes gazed up at the sky. She would never let herself forget what surrounded her just now. This would be what she pictured when she drove Atma through Kefka.

The Returners continued across the bridge, and came into another small cavern, one with cracks so wide that it let in small pools of golden sunlight. However, strangely enough, there was a small wooden desk in this cavern, with a few crates and dozens and dozens of silk flower bouquets. On the desk...was an unopened letter, addressed from Lola. A final entryway was across the cavern, with more sunlight lighting the way. Celes stepped ahead to the entryway, pausing at the edge and staring out silently.

Standing, at the edge of a green cliff, was Cyan. He looked so very much the same from two years ago, still had a stance filled with grace and strength, still wearing his dark blue battle armor from Doma. His hair was maybe a little longer, but still pulled back in that thin ponytail, gently flying in the summer breeze. He looked very pensive right then, taking in the sights before him and letting out a sad sigh, turning, his eyes locked on Celes', and he let out a cry of surprise.

"C....Cyan...." Celes bit down on her lip. She immediately wondered if he still thought of her as a traitor, to both the Empire and the Returners. Cyan, however, did not seem to harbor such thoughts, as he immediately ran over to her, grasping her shoulders in a tight grip.

"Hey, what are they doing?!" Edgar whispered from the shadows of the cavern, and Sabin elbowed him.

"Quiet!!! I think they're finally going to make amends, and we're not going to ruin it!"

"Check this out!" Setzer whispered excitedly, kneeling down. A treasure chest!"

Outside, the sound of a bird chirping could be heard, faintly.

"Hey..." Cyan smiled some. "You're alive." Celes nodded, and smiled back weakly.

"Heh...you said "hey"....guess our bad grammar must be rubbing off on you..."

"I think thou is right." Cyan laughed gently. "I...I am glad to see that you are safe. I worried about you."

"I...was worried too." Celes swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Listen, Cyan, I just wanted to say..."

"I'm sorry." He said, cutting her off. She blinked, and he lowered his hands.

"What? That's my line." Celes pushed her hair back, and Cyan shifted his weight on his other foot.

"Then we must share it." Cyan replied. "I will admit that I was wrong in judging thou...it was immature and dishonorable, and I shall be forevermore embarrassed for doing and saying the things I did." Celes smiled some.

"Well, then I'm sorry for provoking you when I knew it would piss you off." Cyan looked surprised at Celes' colorful word choice, but then again, she hadn't expected much to change with him, not even with two years. It made her smile wider, and finally, burst out laughing. Cyan laughed with her, and shook his head.

"I had just stepped outside to see a miraculous change in the weather here...and imagine my surprise when I saw you! For a moment, I thought you were a ghost!" Celes shivered a little and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Cyan, do not say a word of ghosts, as I have seen more than I care for lately." She looked up at him a little more somberly now. "I'm afraid our reunion may not be as blissful as this weather, once you hear what I have to ask you."

"I already know." Cyan interrupted. "And I am going to come with you."

"What!?" Celes cried, surprised.

"I shall go with you! I shan't leave the world as it is!" Cyan exclaimed. "Myself, I have been mustering up the courage and strength to face Kefka again, for the final time."

"Oh Cyan, this is wonderful!" Celes exclaimed, and Cyan scratched his head.

"But how did you find me?" Suddenly, Sabin, and Edgar stepped out, and in Sabin's hands were a pile of letters. Cyan widened his eyes, first at seeing two more of his comrades, and when his gaze settled upon the letters in Sabin's hands, he gasped and sputtered, turning scarlet red. "W... Wait! Tell me you didn't read my letters...!!"

"Hee hee, these are mushy!" Sabin grinned, and Cyan nearly swooned. He bolted into the cavern, where he met up with Setzer, carrying a bouquet of silk flowers. Celes, Edgar, and Sabin, laughing, followed him in. Cyan grabbed the flowers from Setzer and turned even redder.

"These... They're... um... Merely a diversion of mine..." He stuttered, running about frantically and throwing the bouquets into the crates to hide them.

"Cyan, these flowers are gorgeous!" Celes exclaimed, and Cyan stopped for a moment, glaring at her.

"Mm...m...!? This is an outrage...!" He panted out some from getting overexcited, and then looked at her again. "Seriously?" She laughed and nodded, taking a bouquet and hugging it close to her chest. Sabin held up the letters, and things started to turn serious. Cyan looked over at him, anticipating what was going to come next.

"Cyan, what is up with these letters?" Sabin asked. "We ran into Lola in Maranda, and she told us that her boyfriend had been writing them to her...her boyfriend that you and I both know is dead and long gone!" Cyan sighed and nodded, collapsing down on his desk and looking up to his friends.

"I do owe you all an explanation..." He sighed. "And I know it is not one that will sound worthy upon your ears, but perhaps if you know why I did what I did, you will understand, just a little." He leaned back on the desk some and looked up.

"I learned of that poor girl when I passed through Maranda. When I heard that she sent a letter each day, but never received any replies... Something inside me snapped...I realized she was the girl that the lame soldier wrote to back in Mobliz, and I knew that the young man must of been dead, for there was no other way a letter would not reach her fingers. People in town would write his letters for him, and I even volunteered to once as well...so I knew...I knew it was the end for them." He looked down now towards the ground and shuddered.

"As I wrote to that girl, I realized I was very much like her. I was looking behind... full of despair. We had both lost so much...and my eyes were closed to the potential the future held. And then something changed..." He looked into Sabin's eyes. "My eyes were opened, but despite myself needing to move on, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I did not want to abandon my letters to her...She always sounded so happy in her replies. Thus, I have not left this mountain in quite some time. It is a strange coincidence, however, that I was deciding perhaps today would be the day I wrote my final letter, and then the sun appeared and Lady Celes called my name..."

"Cyan..." Celes trailed off. "I understand what you felt when you wrote to her..." She looked down. "Believe me, I only understand too well."

"We all understand." Sabin offered, and gently patted him on the back. "Cyan, let's write the final letter today, and then go see Lola in Maranda. I think she would appreciate that."

"I believe you are right, Sir Sabin." Cyan hopped off his desk, pulling a piece of paper and a quill and ink out of a drawer. "And, then, I shall rejoin your fight to conquer Kefka!" He began scribbling furiously and passionately on the paper, speaking excitedly as he wrote. "I bumped into Sir Gau in Maranda. He said he had to become stronger if he was to face Kefka. He probably returned to the Veldt." Celes hopped up excitedly.

"The Veldt will be our next destination then!" She exclaimed. "And we already know Gau wants to fight!"

"It's about time we got an easy recruitment!" Sabin sighed. "Chasing around you guys has been getting exhausting!"

**********

Lola lifted her eyes from the page and looked up at Cyan. The house was dark, except for a few sparse candles lit so that she could read. Outside, just moments before, she had heard a low roar, and someone shouted that an airship had landed outside of Maranda. A few minutes later, this man had appeared, and handed a letter to her. After she read it, she didn't know what to think. A part of her was numb, and another was relieved. She hadn't even made it all the way through before she had to stop. She sighed and looked back down to the table.

"I knew that my boyfriend didn't send these flowers and letters. I just didn't want to admit it. I was lying to myself...But I'm all right now. As I read those letters...the pain I felt in my heart became bearable... I'm sure whoever wrote them suffered greatly... I wish I could meet him..."

Cyan looked up at her and sighed. "Actually...just look to the future...We have a lot of life left to live..."

Lola smiled some and folded the unfinished letter up. "I feel like I have a future now! I'll take your words to my heart... I'll be okay."

As Cyan got up to leave, Lola stood up with him and blinked.

"Sir, what's your name? So that I may remember if I ever want to ask for you?"

"Cyan Garamonde." Cyan replied, and with that, slipped out the door, gently shutting it behind him. Lola nodded to herself, saying the name out loud and then collapsing back in her chair. It had been a very trying day...but what she had said was so very true...she suddenly felt a lot better, knowing that she wasn't deceiving herself any longer. Looking at the letter, she found herself reaching for it and opening it back up, narrowing her eyes to still see, her candlelight dying. Leaning her cheek on her hand, she began to read to herself, softly.

"Dear Lola,

I am writing to beg for your forgiveness. I am guilty of perpetuating a terrible lie...I have only now realized the error of my ways. I hope I can correct a great wrong. Your boyfriend, who you thought was in Mobliz, passed away some time ago. I have been writing in his stead. We humans tend to allow the past to destroy our lives. I implore you not to let this happen. It is time to look forward, to rediscover love, and embrace the beauty of life. You have so much of life left to live...

Cyan Garamonde"