DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VI and its characters are wholly the properties of Square Enix. This story is written purely for entertainment and not profit.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Two characters remain. Considering that this entire story has been about their wedding, it's about time I got to their resolutions, isn't it? Please enjoy!

Resolutions

Written by daBOSSz

Chapter 8: Locke

Ever since he was young, Locke Cole would envision himself in the roles of many aspiring titles: elite scout, super spy, grand adventurer, and—of course—world class treasure hunter. Now at thirty-one years old, he could honestly say that he had fulfilled these self-anointed grandiose titles quite nicely. He had done his spying and scouting in his years with the Returners while simultaneously adventuring around the world seeking to discover the next worthwhile fortune.

Traveling while working behind the scenes was an addictive thrill for Locke, and he felt blessed that those closest to him fully understood this to be an inseparable part of his personality. While he had agreed to settle down with Celes in South Figaro after Kefka's downfall, the craving for adventure was always flowing through his bloodstream, and it was only a matter of time before he had to scratch this itch again. Thankfully, Celes embraced his adventurous side, urging him to continue exploring with the promise that he would share whatever treasures he brought home.

Outwardly, Locke still only branded himself as the world's greatest treasure hunter. Inwardly though, he had agreed to continue using his scouting skills for the Kingdom of Figaro. In fact, it was Locke who approached Edgar with the idea of working as his scout; the young king originally did not want his friend to feel obligated to serve any larger entity now that the world's greatest threat had been removed, but Locke informed Edgar that, as much as the kingdom wanted to avoid it, intelligence gathering would be a critical aspect of Figaro's security.

While both king and treasure hunter tried to keep the latter's role secretive, Locke did not doubt that many in the kingdom and in other parts of the planet likely knew that he was more than just another adventurer. After all, considering his reputation prior to the cataclysm, much of the world already recognized him, and a good amount of his work was done out in the open anyway. If anyone found out about his covert operations, he remained unbothered; Locke was simply too quick, too evasive, and too agile that even the most paranoid individuals almost always failed to throw him off their tracks.

All of these factors added together was why he found the man he was staring at in the mirror looking a bit off. As someone who actively explored and uncovered across the world's wildest expanses, Locke simply did not feel right wearing such formal attire, never mind the white wedding shirt and navy-blue doublet he currently had on that was suited for royalty. He had so seldom put on any kind of proper garbs that he could not even recall the last time he did so; such clothes simply felt too suffocating and restrictive for his tastes and practices.

Needless to say, he was more than willing to make an exception for today; more accurately, he was actually making an exception for them, but most specifically for her. He and Celes had conquered hurdle after hurdle to finally arrive at this day, and considering how enormous some of those hurdles had been, putting up with some uncomfortable clothing for a few hours would not be important enough for Locke to complain about.

Locke forced a small smile when he started thinking about his past five years with Celes. On the surface, their relationship had always been admired by anyone who remotely knew them. Questions about when they were planning to marry and why they had yet to do so were constantly thrown their way, and both of them would simply answer with the same rehearsed responses. For many in the public and even within their inner circle, five years was too long of a wait for a relationship that seemed so strong and stable.

Few had knowledge about the turmoil that had brewed behind the scenes, turmoil that he and Celes had to painstakingly fight through. While Locke had come to terms with his past after finally helping to put Rachel's spirit to rest, Celes never had the opportunity to settle with her own past. Initially, all seemed to be well between them: she was the one who suggested purchasing a home in South Figaro not too long after Kefka's defeat, and the two of them started off finding work around the area by aiding their neighbors in their own recoveries.

However, despite giving him her approval to continue treasure hunting, their first argument actually occurred when she had suddenly become angry with him over his travels. He was so surprised and appalled by her outburst that he almost stormed out on her for sending him such unreasonable mixed messages, but during their argument, he heard a few choice words she had used—about him being too carefree, too unbothered, and too happy with himself in resuming his adventuring while the world had yet to heal—that hinted at a deeper conflict she was struggling with. Bewildered, he tried to approach her after a reasonable amount of time had passed with the hopes of pinpointing the source of her seething anger, but she refused to open up to him.

Their situation only exacerbated after Edgar offered to have Celes become a general of Figaro's forces. To Locke's surprise, she accepted the position almost immediately and began throwing herself into her work, frequently overexerting her energy to the point where she would return home without any desire to speak with him at all. He tried to stay patient, offering to lend an ear almost every evening and even cutting back on his own travels just to make sure she was well, but she continued declining all of his efforts.

As time passed and no progress seemed to be made, the familiar feeling of guilt began gnawing deeper into Locke's own psyche, and he was not mentally strong enough to prevent his worries from gradually consuming him. Desperate to not allow himself to fail Celes the way he failed Rachel, he grew increasingly determined to get to the bottom of Celes' aloofness, throwing his patience aside and pressing her more often to speak with him. Unfortunately, this only made their situation worse, and slightly over one year after Kefka's downfall, he and Celes hit rock bottom.

Tired of his constant questioning one evening after another intense day of training the troops, Celes snapped, lashing out at him in a fit of rage that he never thought he would ever see in her. She insulted him on everything: his lighthearted personality, his penchant for exploration over staying home, his nonstop insistence on others calling him "treasure hunter" despite being a thief, and any other flaws she could find in him. She accused him of never treating her as anything but Rachel's replacement, always allocating her to being second best. Locke desperately wanted to get angry with her, but his own failure to remove the giant wedge that had been hammered between them completely ate him up that night, and he found himself unable to do anything except take in every one of her vicious remarks, which only provided her with more ammunition to call him a coward for not standing up for himself.

The following days wound up passing without any communication at all between the two of them. Locke was sincerely at a loss on what he could do to help Celes fight her demons. He could not get through to her, but he refused to seek help from anyone—including their inner circle—since he considered these matters of their relationship to be private. If he was honest, he did sporadically contemplate whether or not leaving Celes would have been for the best. After all, shame and inadequacy were consuming his soul, stripping him of the happy-go-lucky attitude that he was well-known for, and being deprived of his own positivity meant that he increasingly doubted in his ability to provide for Celes the way he most desired.

However, help wound up coming from an unlikely source. While Locke was on a scouting mission to Mobliz, Terra pulled him aside and informed him that Celes had confided quite a bit of her own feelings. Terra let Locke know that, while Celes did not provide her with too many specific details, the former did divulge enough that the latter sensed the gravity of the situation and urged Locke to continue being the patient support beacon that Celes desperately needed.

"It's her own guilt," Terra revealed to Locke. "I share it with her, since we both served the Empire. You had a chance to find your peace, but Celes hasn't. We each do it differently. She's just having a more difficult time."

Speaking with Terra made Locke realize that his entire approach to the conflict required a complete overhaul. He had been either too passive or too aggressive, waiting for Celes to open up to him or trying to force her to speak rather than actively working to ease her into much-needed conversations. When she predictably sealed herself further off from him, he had spent too long drowning in fear of repeating his own past failure that he never refocused his attention onto meeting her actual needs. Her cries for help had become increasingly louder, and yet Locke's responses were just as ineffective as plugging his ears throughout her entire ordeal.

Locke acted on a new plan, personally requesting Edgar to grant Celes leave to temporarily relieve her of her duties as general. By then, he had suspected that Celes had originally accepted Edgar's offer quickly due to being trapped within her own insecurities, and his suspicions were proven correct when her confession slipped up during their conversation on her first night off-duty. When Celes found out that he had been the one to ask Edgar for her leave, she angrily accused him of wanting to remove her from her position, but to her surprise, Locke actually urged her to continue serving once her leave was over. He complimented her on her achievements thus far, having already shown signs of molding the Figaro army into the disciplined fighting force that Edgar was envisioning, and gave her some encouraging words to shape them into their very best.

It took a few more days of hopeful conversations before Celes finally openly admitted that her guilt had been the driving force behind her horrible treatment of him. When the tears finally started falling, they flowed out rapidly as she clutched him and repeatedly apologized, unable to find the words to convey just how awful she had felt about lashing all of her anger at him. Locke simply held her and allowed her to pour her heart out, promising her over and over that he would be by her side to help her navigate through her trying times.

The walls that Celes had put up were gradually torn down piece by piece afterward. She was still not fully recovered when she returned to her job, but she was at peace with herself enough to no longer exhaust all of her energy into her work the way she had done previously. The soldiers also mentioned that she had begun treating them with more sympathy instead of drilling them as if they were machines, and when the increasingly positive feedback reached Locke's and Edgar's ears, they could not help but smile, recognizing that the true Celes they were familiar with was finally returning.

Locke knew that Celes was strong enough to eventually conquer her demons, but even he could not have imagined the extent of Celes' strength. Once she fully realized that she was no longer bound by the shackles of her past, Celes completely rebuilt her own reputation through her guidance of Figaro's army, turning from one of Gestahl's most feared commanders into a universally respected leader who was admired across the planet. Celes herself was too humble to acknowledge it, but Edgar made it no secret that she was the reason Figaro's troops were always warmly greeted wherever they went, and in his scouting missions, Locke would repeatedly hear young children mention how they wanted to be as strong and compassionate as Celes when they grew up.

Of course, for Locke, Celes was far more than a general and friend. Once Celes had rediscovered her own strength, Locke leaned on her time after time to guide him through any dark clouds he also happened to encounter. Celes was the reason Locke no longer felt the crushing burdens of his own guilt, including the guilt he drowned under when their relationship was threatening to implode. Celes was the reason he continued to scout and explore with enthusiasm, knowing she would be waiting for him in a place he could genuinely call home every time he returned. It may have taken some time before he would fully admit it, but Celes Chere had truly stolen his heart, and he had become a far better person as a result. He was so certain of his commitment to her that it almost felt anticlimactic when he finally proposed.

"Hey, you okay there?" came a voice from behind him, and Locke turned around to see Terra's head poking in through the door.

"Yeah, I am," he answered her.

"Good to know," she responded. "Everyone is here. Whenever you're ready, come on out."

Locke gave Terra a sincere smile of appreciation in return as she disappeared back into the hallway. Deep down, he felt that he could never thank her enough for her role in saving his relationship with Celes. Without Terra's guidance, Locke knew that this day would never have come to fruition.

He took one final look at himself in the mirror, straightening out his attire before exiting his dressing room. He made his way down the halls before pulling the door open to the throne room.

Locke did not even have a chance to admire the decorations, because the moment he entered the room where the wedding was set to take place, he was greeted by a loud roar of onlookers. One by one, they met him as he made his way up to the aisle, each greeting him in their own unique way: Sabin and he bumped forearms, Cyan gave him a slight bow, Setzer patted his shoulder, Gau slapped a high-five with him, Relm hugged him tightly, Mog danced joyously, Gogo mirrored a perfect handshake, and Umaro briefly hoisted him into the air. Locke spent a few minutes chatting with everyone, accepting their congratulations and blushing uncontrollably as they sung his praises.

The warmth of having the family together again was so euphoric that Locke did not even notice Edgar standing in the front between the two thrones with another figure. When he finally took a glance in the king's direction, his eyes widened in shock, and only one thought crossed his mind.

"Celes is going to faint from excitement when she comes out here."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Considering it's his wedding and that I had not mentioned him too many times throughout the story until now, I believe that Locke deserves a longer chapter compared with the others so that no detail about him is left unsaid. I hope you enjoyed reading about his journey to his big day; I really wanted to make it feel as though he has earned and fully deserves it.

All right, one character to go, and we all know who it is. See you next chapter!