Even though I'm posting seven chapters in a row, I'm still going to write author's notes on each of them because, dammit, I feel like it. First of all, the title of this chapter is taken from a piece from Final Fantasy VIII. (Honestly, if you listen to it, the beginning sounds like the chorus of Suteki Da Ne from Final Fantasy X!) This chapter also takes place pretty much immediately after chapter 17...and FINALLY the weaving begins. Heh, it only took 19 chapters to have some of your questions answered...but not all of them. Only some of them though! I can't spoil everything all at once now, can I? hee hee... Anyway, I wrote this chapter quite a long time ago... but I'm very happy with the way it turned out. squee... yay!

19. Fragments of Memories

"Unhh…" Locke muttered as he felt a bright light against his eyelids. He fluttered his eyes open to find himself in a bed in unknown surroundings. As soon as he jerked his head to get a better look, he instantly closed his eyes as a sharp pain jolted through his brain. He slowly rolled over so he wouldn't feel the intense pain again and saw someone with a yellow glow around their head. After blinking a few more times, he was able to focus his eyes and make out that it was just Celes standing over him.

"You're awake?" She asked as he sat up in the bed. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she put her hand over her heart. "Oh Locke, I was so worried, you have no idea. You were lying so still…I wasn't sure if you were going to wake up."

"Celes, I've been knocked out so many times in my life that it's starting to become a personal hobby of mine," he muttered, putting his hand over his eyes, ignoring her concern. "I guess I just have pretty good luck or something knowing I have woken up every time."

"That's not very funny," she snapped as he slightly chuckled. "Just wait until karma kicks you in the ass for saying that and you don't wake up. Who'll be the one laughing then?"

"Hopefully no one. I don't know about you, but I really wouldn't appreciate people laughing at my funeral." Celes smacked him on his arm for the statement and he groaned as he sat up straight in the bed he was lying in.

"I really don't want to talk about your death," she said with a sigh. "There are definitely more important things that are happening in reality that we should be talking about, like, say 'reality.'"

"Yeah, I know." He rubbed his eyes and he frantically looked around. His eyes were still slightly unfocused, so he wasn't sure if he really didn't know where he was or if he just couldn't see his surroundings clearly. "Wait a minute here. Where am I?"

"Don't you remember? You're in Narshe," she informed him as he grimaced and he stood up. With a shaky breath, he made sure that he wasn't going to fall over, then slowly shook his head. "To be more specific, we're in the bedroom of Arvis' house. Arvis isn't here though; he's at the Elder's place. He figured that we would be able to do all of our own planning to what we're going to do next and then get back to him with our final decision."

"What the hell happened?" He put his hand to his forehead to relieve the headache that continued to grow. Although he was speaking at a normal tone of voice, it still felt too loud. "I feel like something crushed my skull. I haven't felt this way since the last time I was incredibly hung over. Now that I think about it, that didn't even feel this bad."

"You were knocked unconscious. Something to do with the light that was emitted from that frozen Esper…" Her voice was very hushed and she looked away from Locke as she spoke, not wanting to continue. Locke thought that he saw her eyes tear up, but he figured it was just his imagination. However, reevaluating everything that she said, he started to remember what had happened.

"Frozen Esper…" he muttered under his breath, pressing the palm of his hand against his head. Another thought emerged in his memory as he started to piece together what happened the previous day and he wondered why only Celes was by him. "Hold on a second. Where's Terra?"

"She changed into a…something, and…took off." Locke narrowed her eyes at her and noticed that she wouldn't make eye contact with him. She sighed and let the information sink into Locke's brain.

"What do you mean, a 'something?'" The memory was lost in his mind and again, Celes wouldn't look at him. I was probably unconscious at this time… "Also, what do you mean, 'she took off?' Where'd she go?"

"She looked like…" She trailed off and bowed her head. There was a moment of silence between the two of them, then she decided if she said it sooner rather than later, Locke would accept the news better. "She looked like…an Esper…"

"What?" Locke's face was deadpanned as he blinked several times in shock. He walked closer to her and she hesitantly looked back up to him. "An…Esper?"

"Yeah, there was some kind of a reaction with the Esper and Terra and she just took off," Celes reiterated as Locke exhaled the breath he was holding. As she continued, her voice started to become so quiet, Locke barely heard her. "Almost like a glowing light. I'll never forget the sound she made. She sounded like…she was in pain…"

"Do you know where she went?" He asked her as she shook her head. "Dammit. Well, I guess that means that we'll just have to start looking."

"Where do you suppose we start?" She lifted her hands slightly in question as Locke started to walk out into the main room, unable to figure out why he was reacting solely on impulse. "I'm worried about her as well, but it's not like we have any clue to what happened or where she's at."

"Celes, I'm not thinking clearly right now, I'm aware of that fact, but I can't just sit here and wait for her to show up." He didn't mean to snap at her, but he knew that he didn't want to fail another girl that he swore to protect. He opened the door for her and she silently walked out of the bedroom. Edgar, Sabin, Gau, and Cyan were waiting around the fire, discussing their next plan.

Edgar rushed toward Locke when he saw him, the look of relief on his face. "Locke! You're awake!"

"Yeah," Locke replied quietly with a nod.

"You okay?" By the look on Locke's face, Edgar clearly knew the answer to his own question, but he asked it anyway. "Sorry, that was a really stupid thing to ask. You kind of look like death slapped you in the face. Well, okay, maybe you look like death itself."

"Thanks for the compliment, Edgar," Locke replied sarcastically to cut Edgar off from saying anything else. "However, I have a bitch of a headache, but that's not really important at the moment." Edgar nodded in understanding.

"Something happened to Terra…" Edgar began to explain. His voice resembled Celes' when she started to explain the situation to him; soft, gentle, and trying to be as subtle as possible. Almost as if they know that I'm not going to take the news lightly…Locke thought as he looked at the expression on his friend's face.

"Yeah, I know. Celes was trying to fill me in with the details," Locke said as Celes gave a nod. "What exactly happened? Do we know?

"No, I'm afraid that we don't," Edgar admitted. Locke sighed and looked up at the ceiling in frustration. "There seems to be some connection between Espers and her…"

"What do you mean, 'connection?'" Locke asked as everyone looked at each other for an answer. "Ah, another question that none of us know the answer to."

"Sorry, man," Sabin apologized as Locke shrugged.

"It's no one's fault," Edgar began as Locke fixed his bandana. "Anyway, we need to find her. I'm worried about her."

"Gau worried too." Everyone looked at Gau and smiled with his concern. When the young boy realized that he had everyone's attention, he instantly blushed, turned away, then started to crawl along the floor.

"We have to find her before the Empire does," Locke informed them all as they all nodded in agreement. "Who knows what'll happen if they get their hands on her before we do. We know that magic is what the Empire is looking for, and between Celes, Terra and…"

Celes whipped her head up toward him and felt her jaw slightly drop. "And who, Locke? Finish that sentence."

"We'll talk about it later," he snapped as he looked at the ground. He wasn't ready to explain to Celes how he knew her from before, and how he also knew who Xane Riley was. With a sigh, he looked back up and continued. "Anyway, like I was saying, the Empire is looking for magic, so they'll want to find Terra the second that they find out she's missing."

"Actually," Celes piped up matter of factly. "They're already looking for her. You all have just kept her very well hidden for quite some time."

"Well, I just meant that when they find out that she's no longer with us, they'll know she's not being protected, and then they'll hike up their search," he clarified as he looked around at everyone. "Do we have any kind of lead whatsoever? Or is this going to be a walk in the dark?"

"Sabin and I walked around Narshe to see what we could find, and some witnesses saw her screaming across the sky to the west," Edgar informed everyone as Locke thought about it.

"Okay, so that means we should go to the western continent," he began, his voice slowing down as he spoke. "So, Jidoor and Zozo are the places we should check. Where should we go first?"

Celes furrowed her forehead and added, "Um, Kohlingen is there too, isn't it?" Locke was silent as she studied him. "I thought you said that was your home town. How could you forget that?"

"And Kohlingen is there too," he stated to please her. An awkward feeling rose in the air as everyone noticed that Locke was feeling quite uncomfortable. I haven't been there since…He thought, remembering that day. With an attempt at a smile, he looked up and winked. "Well, we're wasting time just standing around doing nothing. Let's go!"

Edgar folded his arms across his chest as he spoke. "You sure?"

"Of course," Locke replied confidently. His confidence wavered slightly as he looked down again. "I promised her I'd…"

"Locke…" Celes whispered quietly as she started to walk closer to him. He felt his heart start to sink in his chest and tried focusing on a few tiles on the floor so he wouldn't have to look up. "You don't have to do this."

"Yeah, man," Sabin said cheerfully to try to raise Locke's spirits. "I mean, Celes, Edgar, Cyan and I could go or something like that. If this is going to be too hard for you…"

"Nah, I'll be fine," Locke lied as he started to entwine the situation with Terra with what happened with her. I promised them both I would protect them…I failed one…

"Think, people!" Edgar started, rather harshly to get everyone's attention. Locke was still preoccupied with his own thoughts, so he didn't budge or even bother to look up. I can't fail the other…He continued to think as Edgar spoke. "The Empire still wants that Esper."

"And if the Esper and the girl are connected in some way, that means that we have to protect both," Cyan added with a nod.

"Banon needs our help, too…" Sabin said in Locke's direction. The guilt started to eat away at Locke, causing him to turn away from everyone else and bow his head. Although he knew that they would all understand if he stayed behind, he knew that he swore to protect Terra, and he was going to do everything he could to stay true to that promise.

Locke faced everyone again as he slowly inhaled. After holding his breath for a second, he let out the air in tiny puffs. "Okay, let's go."

"Heh, this is a situation that I thought I would never find myself in," Cyan muttered under his breath with a slight chuckle. "I never thought I would go out of my way for an Imperial soldier…but we've no choice. We must help her!"

"It's settled then," Edgar exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. "Let's split up. Those who aren't searching for Terra will stay here and guard Narshe. Figaro Castle can shuttle us to the western province."

"Oh, we're headed for Figaro?" Sabin chimed in, excitement in his voice. "Aw man, I haven't been there in ages! I'm in that group!"

"Okay, Sabin is in that group," Edgar continued, giving his Brother a playful glare for interrupting his directions. "Figaro will take us under the mountains, yadda yadda yadda. Locke, you know the drill."

"Yeah, I do," he confirmed as he looked at everyone else. "It, um, stops in the desert by Kohlingen, right?"

"Yes, it does," Edgar nodded as he put his hand on Locke's shoulder. "After it surfaces, make for Kohlingen or Jidoor. Locke, I'm going to ask this again; are you sure you're ready to go back there?"

"I'll never be ready," Locke confessed as he bowed his head again. He saw Celes give him a concerned look out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't look up at her. "I have to face it sooner or later, don't I?"

Sabin patted Locke on the back and then himself on the chest. "You'll be fine! I'll be there! I think we better take Celes along too. It never hurts to have a girl with us!" He put his arm around Celes and brought her close to him.

"The fact that I'm a former Imperial general and I might have some insight on where the army is hiding wouldn't have anything else to do with it either, would it?" She asked, shoving Sabin away from her as he nervously chuckled. "That wasn't at all obvious."

"Well, that only makes three of us," Locke noted as he looked at Edgar, Gau, and Cyan. "I think there should be four us. That way we have strength in numbers, but we're not sticking out like a bunch of sore thumbs."

"I personally would rather stay here and keep an eye on Banon," Edgar started to explain as he shook his head. "I know this place pretty well anyway. Not to mention, I know that if I go back to Figaro, something will undoubtedly come up and I'll have to stay there. I'd rather not risk that. So yeah, I want to stay here."

"Gau stay here too," Gau added as he moved closer to Edgar.

"That means I'm going with you three, then," Cyan said when he noticed that he was the only one left.

"Oh goody," Celes grumbled under her breath.

Cyan looked at her and asked, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Not at all," she replied with a smug smile.

"Anyway," Edgar said loudly to interrupt them. With an annoyed sigh, he turned to and put his hand on his shoulder. "Make your way to Figaro. Tell the head engineer what's going on and he'll submerge the castle. Be careful, you hear?"

"We will be," Locke replied as he started to lead Celes, Sabin, and Cyan out of the house. "You take care of yourselves too."

"Don't worry! Things'll be fine!" Edgar stated as Locke opened up the door. "Don't forget to tell the Chancellor that I'm here."

Although Edgar was speaking to Locke, Sabin waved with his hand and said, "I'll relay the message for ya!"

"Good luck, Locke!" Locke heard the young king say as Celes shut the door behind her, cutting off Edgar's sentence.

"Whoops," she giggled and covered her mouth in embarrassment. "I think he was still talking to us."

"He'll get over it," Sabin shrugged as he feigned stretching then playfully put his arm around Celes. "So, Celes…"

"Watch it."

"My bad," Sabin said instantly as he removed his arm away from the ex-General and placed it back at his side. Locke tried to smile, but he couldn't find a reason to. "So Locke, it looks like we're both going back to our hometowns! How long has it been since you've been in Kohlingen?"

"A while," he replied simply, his voice low and reserved. He knew that the last time he went back was a few weeks before Banon sent him to Narshe to meet Terra, but he tried not to think about that day. "I'm…not looking forward to going back either."

"Why's that?" Celes asked as Locke shrugged. "Ahh, you're gonna be all cryptic now, aren't you? That's fine. Hide your secrets from us, we won't ask."

Locke shook his head as Sabin chuckled. "Very funny, Celes. We both know that you're dying to know. However, let Locke be. He might spill one of these days."

"Nice try," Locke retorted, clearly not amused as he dug his hands deeply into his pockets. He looked at the horizon to see the sun hanging low in the sky; it would be night soon. "We'll stay the night in Figaro and then head to Kohlingen in the morning."

"Aye aye," Sabin quipped with a salute. Celes playfully harrumphed and let out a breathy laugh. "What is it?"

"It's obvious that you were never in the Imperial army," she told him, as she mocked the way he saluted. "That was the worst attempt at a salute that I have ever seen in all the years I was a general, and believe me when I say I have seen some people botch it up pretty badly."

"Of course I would never be in the Imperial army," Sabin said with an insulted scoff. "No offence because you used to work for them and everything, but I prefer to have my own opinion of things and not be ordered around by an insane little man that looks like a clown."

"Gestahl gives out more of the orders than Kefka does," Celes clarified, causing both Cyan and Sabin to scoff.

"But you are aware that Kefka poisoned my people without the consent from Gestahl, no?" Cyan asked as Celes blushed slightly. "My point exactly."

"I think that Kefka just needs a great big group hug," Sabin said as he thought about it for a second. "Or maybe just something with a lot of chocolate. There's no problem that can't be solved by chocolate."

"What about obesity?" Cyan asked as Celes rolled her eyes and Sabin put his hand to his chin.

"Okay, I guess you're right, but that's the only downfall that I can think of." He chuckled about it for a second, then put his hand on his stomach. "Man, that makes me want chocolate. I'm hungry. Is anyone else as hungry as I am?"

"You are by far the most random person I have ever met," Celes informed him as she crossed her arms.

Sabin furrowed his forehead as he studied Celes to find the meaning in her statement. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Neither really," Celes clarified with a slight shrug. "However, back on the Kefka topic, he's the one controlling the Emperor. The Emperor is actually a very good man. He's just basically playing as Kefka's puppet."

"Oh, so now you're defending the Empire?" Cyan asked as Celes scoffed. "It was just an observation of the context of your statement. Young lady, there is no reason in the world why you should defend that group of immoralists."

"I'm not defending them at all," she threw back, and put her hands on her hips. "You just don't trust me."

"And how am I suppose to trust someone who states that the Emperor is really a 'good man' when the Emperor is the one who gave you the orders to start that attack on Maranda, pray tell?" Locke saw Celes' face flare up at Cyan's statement, but decided to stay out of it.

"Excuse me?" She scoffed at the memory and clenched her fists. "That is beside the point. I was following orders."

Cyan pointed his nose in the air as he listened to her speak. "Meaning you're just as bad as the rest of them."

"Hey, you should just give the poor girl a chance," Sabin said, stepping between the two of them before they started exchanging blows. "She is part of the Returners now!"

After a minute of listening to them argue, Locke turned around and blew up at them. "All right, that's enough! If I knew that I was taking you three along to bicker, I would've just gone by myself! This isn't an easy thing for me to do right now, so I would appreciate it if you would shut the hell up and let me think!"

"Don't you mean 'brood?'" Sabin questioned as he flashed Locke a large grin. By the harsh look on Locke's face, Sabin knew he said the wrong thing and wiped the smile from his face. "Sorry, we'll be good."

"Thank you," Locke snapped as he shook his head and looked toward the horizon again. The sooner this path down memory lane is over…the more relieved I will be…