The Locke Cole Remix: Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, and Abandoned Side Story 2
Table of Contents
Chapter Nineteen:
The Winds of Chance
1) Locke's Coming Out
Chapter Twenty:
Fallen Kingdoms, Broken Pasts
1) Celes' Obsevations on Locke
2) Terra and Celes Kiss Under a Waterfall
3) What happened to Tina Branford?
4) "Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things."
5) "Ah, but who is to say that your kingdom does not live on in modern day Figaro?"
Chapter Twenty-One:
Light Up the Night
1) "Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things." (Take 2)
2) "Save me from my torment."
Chapter Twenty-Two:
Burn You Like a Phoenix
1) Opening - First Attempt:
_ _A) "I'm gonna bury my kneecap in their balls!"
_ _B) "Did you clowns really think you could bring down a Hell House?"
2) Opening - Second Attempt:
_ _A) Terra falls off a twenty-foot drop.
_ _B) Opening (Rough Version) and Battle (Script Version)
3) Locke Comes Out:
_ _A) "I'm a treasure hunter, dammit!"
_ _B) Alternate Version
4) Vyse has a dream. (Cut)
Abandoned Sidestory Featuring Locke:
1) Forever Rachel
Chapter Nineteen:
The Winds of Chance
Locke's Coming Out
Notes: Originally, Locke was going to come clean about his true identity immediately after securing Setzer's help. However, I couldn't get it to mesh well with the rest of the chapter's content. So, it was held back until circumstances called for it to be addressed.
All it took was a knocking sound to send Celes crashing out of a peaceful sleep and into battle ready mode. Except, there was an issue. Actually, more like several issues that needed to be addressed before any fighting could take place. One: a naked Terra, oblivious to the world around her, was snoring quite happily between her breasts. Two: Terra's position was pinning her down to the bed. Three: She was nude as well. Celes wasn't quite prepared to take down attackers while 'free-balling', as they say, but since she had almost been forced to marry a man not a few hours earlier, there was a first time for everything.
Another knock from the door shot her up to her elbows, which elicited a groan of protest from Terra. A glance at the nearby time piece told her that it was two-god-damn-early o'clock. Who the bloody hell was wanting a chat at this hour? Celes rubbed the sleep from one of her eyes and grumbled, "Piss off."
"Celes? You awake?" It was Locke.
"I wasn't until you came along."
"Can we talk? It's…important."
This was surprising. Locke wasn't one to talk needlessly despite his level of friendliness. Locke also wasn't one to wake people up in the middle of the night without reason. Of course, this meant there was something bothering him. It was either about the hypothetical events that had nearly transpired with Setzer, which Locke blamed himself for, or it was about Ultros' gender-swap curse that Terra had been insofar unable to reverse. Neither were good topics to discuss at this hour. Celes sighed and held her aching head in a hand. Being hungover didn't help her mood or care factor either.
"Can it wait until morning?" she said with ice.
There was a pause on the other side of the door. "It could, but then I won't get any sleep because of it. Also, I'll just keep knocking until you come out."
"You're savage, Cole." She sighed. "Alright. Give me a minute."
"Just meet me in the galley when you're ready."
Celes had been unable to tell if Locke had walked away or not. Bloody thief had footsteps that made as much noise as a feather on a chicken's ass. Whatever. She grumbled a growl and reluctantly pried herself out of Terra's death grasp. Bloody thief making her get out of bed. Bloody girl making cute unconscious groans of protest. Bloody thief possibly making her miss another possible random middle-of-the-night encounter of exploration in the Cave of Branford. Bloody girl tossing their clothes everywhere.
In the darkness, all she had been able to find had been a pair of underwear, whose she hadn't been sure, and her blouse. She briefly considered searching harder, but to hell with it. Her desire to get this talk over with and get back to the bed calling to her was greater than a need for clothing. Besides, it was still dark out. The important bits were covered. That was good enough.
Inside the galley, she found Locke sitting at a table and giving his paper cup of coffee an unsure glare. She knew the reason of his expression; the smell of cheap coffee was overpowering. She had managed to find the place from the smell alone. The fact that it had been the only room with lights on had made it even easier.
"You're not going to drink it if you keep staring at it, mate," she said. Locke nearly jumped out of his seat and moved the focus of his puzzled stare to her. "The only way to get that sludge down is to chug it in one go. The key is to avoid tasting it."
LOCKE:
I'm flattered that you feel comfortable enough around me to show up half-naked.
CELES:
Don't kid yourself. I couldn't find my trousers. What did you want?
LOCKE:
I wanted to discuss…me.
CELES:
*sighs* Look, mate. I sympathize, but there's nothing I can do. I don't know healing magic and Terra's already tried to reverse the spell. You're just going to have to either wait for it to dispel on its own or learn to live with a pair of tits.
Silence.
LOCKE:
You don't… Huh. Never mind, then.
CELES:
What. You dragged me out of bed at this time of night to tell me that?
LOCKE:
Don't worry about it, Celes. Go back to sleep.
CELES:
Oh, no. You're not off the hook that easily, Cole. If there's something you want to talk about, you better start chatting away, hey. What's this all about?
LOCKE:
*sighs* I thought you thought something about me, but I was mistaken. I'm sorry.
CELES:
You're not making any bloody sense. I think Ultros screwed up more than just your looks.
LOCKE:
*mutters* Ultros didn't screw up anything.
Silence. CELES leans forward and pokes LOCKE in the chest.
CELES:
Really? Then explain these.
Silence.
LOCKE:
I just talked myself into a hole, didn't I?
CELES:
All by yourself, hey.
LOCKE:
God dammit.
CELES:
So, what's the deal?
LOCKE:
*sighs* I'm not a man nor is Locke Cole my real name.
CELES:
Why the change?
LOCKE:
I… I should start at the beginning. Ten years ago, I had been in a relationship. I had also been his protégé in treasure hunting.
CELES:
You mean thievery.
LOCKE:
If you want to call it that, yes, but both he and his father had honor. They never stole from the poor, only the arrogantly rich and the Empire. I adored him. I wanted to be like him. I wanted be with him. And if learning his trade got me there… It had been a perfect arrangement as far as I had been concerned, but my parents disagreed. *sighs* They got what they wanted when I got injured. A bridge in our favorite get-away collapsed. I fell, hit my head, and developed amnesia. I remember everything now, but then… He tried so hard, but... I listened to my parents and pushed him away. He might still be alive if I hadn't.
Silence.
LOCKE:
A year passed. Life in Kohlingen had gone on like nothing happened, until the Empire tried taking the town by force. I remember that day like it was yesterday. A day like that day is not one that can ever be forgotten nor is it a memory that can be healed easily. My family and I had been returning home from the general store when the first MagiTek laser hit the building, setting it on fire. Chaos hit immediately after that. Next thing I knew; I was shoved into a bush. Behind me, lay the smoking remains of my parents. Between them was… He…
LOCKE wipes away a few tears.
LOCKE:
My memory returned after he had taken his last breath. After the battle, I couldn't remain in Kohlingen. I no longer felt comfortable in my hometown. There were too many bad memories. Too much heartbreak. I traveled to Figaro and joined the Returners, landing a gig as a double agent in the Durmoch house. I did my best to honor him in this way, but I wasn't satisfied. He had always talked about joining the Returners and bringing down the Empire. He deserved to be remembered for more than just petty thievery, so I cut my hair, changed my clothing style, and rejoined the Returners…in his name.
CELES:
So, you're pretending to be your dead boyfriend? That's…morbid.
LOCKE:
I know, but…
CELES:
I'm not judging. We all handle grief differently. Some of us take on our loved one's life, while others take out our frustrations on the people surrounding us. So tell me, if Locke was your boyfriend, then…does that make you Rachel?
Silence.
LOCKE:
How do you know my name?
CELES:
Crazy old guy in Kohlingen approached us when you wandered off. Difficult to understand. Talked a mile a minute. He made sure we knew Locke's backstory, hey. Although, his story was that Locke's father was a farmer and that you, Rachel, had died in the Empire attack.
LOCKE:
*sighs* God dammit, Grandpa.
CELES raises an eyebrow.
LOCKE:
That had been the mayor of Kohlingen believe it or not. Everybody's always called him Grandpa because of his really bad memory. Bastard can never remember anything correctly.
CELES:
*nods* So…Rachel, why tell me all of this? You could have just readjusted yourself overnight and no one been the wiser.
LOCKE:
I panicked because I thought that seeing me in between the genders, you would have…recognized me. I thought if I caught you before you said anything, it'd save me the embarrassment in front of everyone else.
CELES:
Maybe it's because I'm tired, but I'm not following.
LOCKE:
*sighs* You…don't remember? Durmoch's mansion? I… I was the maid that you…coerced into sleeping with you.
CELES:
That was you?! *stares* Sorry, mate. To be fair, I was pretty drunk that night, hey. And outside of the maid's uniform and with your hair short, you look like a totally different person.
LOCKE:
*facepalms* I should have kept my mouth shut.
CELES:
Look, if it makes you feel better, we can forget this ever happened.
Chapter Twenty:
Fallen Kingdoms, Broken Pasts
Celes's Obsevations of Locke
Speaking of amazing, she was amazed by how sudden Ultros' gender-swap curse on Locke had dispelled itself, especially considering Terra had tried several times to lift it. It was hard not seeing Locke in an entirely different light and marveling at just how feminine-looking he was under normal conditions. In fact, ever since she had started scrutinizing him more and more, she started noticing things, like a complete lack of facial hair. Sabin had been showing a five o'clock shadow before taking care of it in Jidoor. Locke did not. Sabin had no issue parading around in just his underwear if necessary, i.e. during the clean up after a battle with monsters. Locke did no such thing; for a man as fit as he was, it was an odd quirk. Even then, she couldn't help feeling that she had met him somewhere once before, long before she had renounced the Empire and joined the Returners. Where kept slipping through her metaphorical fingers. It was possible that she might have seen him in Figaro, South Figaro, or even in battle somewhere. Anything was possible, though nothing was concrete.
Terra and Celes Kiss Under a Waterfall
Terra startled awake with a hand clutched to her heart and the other seeking out the comforting warmth of Celes. Except where Celes should have been there was only an empty half of their bedroll. She took several deep breaths to enhance her calm and listened to the night's song. But she knew damn well that what had scared her had come from inside her own head, not outside it.
A nightmare; a dream unremembered of something horrible and one that had left her with a feeling of dread. But she'd be lying if she said that traveling to Vector didn't fill her with the same emotion. She'd also be lying if she had said that she wasn't afraid of what they'd discover there. The whole idea had seemed like this romantic thing at first; freeing the espers, defeating the Empire, bringing everlasting peace. But the closer they got to the city itself, the more panic she tried to hide and keep in check.
Terra let loose the deep sigh that had collected in her lungs and continued listening. Crickets chirped. An owl hooted somewhere nearby. The waterfall continued pouring water into the spring. Other than the void of Celes' physical presence, nothing seemed out of place. That bright magical presence, on the other hand, could be felt nearby, shining like a beacon.
Rubbing the dried sleep from her eyes, she crawled out of the tent and took in her surrounds. Starlight filtered through the canopy of trees, offering very little in the way of light. Sabin and Locke were nowhere to be found; sleeping in their tents, she assumed. All that remained of their campfire was a few glowing embers smoldering within its own ash, its warmth not enough to keep the chill in the air at bay. Of course, neglecting to put on any clothes at all aided the transformation of bare skin to gooseflesh.
Unlike her quickened heart, the night was still. There seemed to be absolutely nothing worth seeing or hearing, until a faint splash from the spring caught her attention. What had that been? Celes?
As if on instinct, Terra stalked through the forest oasis quickly and quietly. She darted from shadow to shadow, from behind tree to tree, stopping when she reached the edge of the star illuminated spring. Only finding rippling reflections, she scanned the area, and wondered if perhaps she had been hearing things. And then it happened, causing her breath to catch in her throat. Like a mermaid from a fairytale, Celes broke the surface of the spring with a gasp for air, the move accenting her curves visible above the waterline. The starlight shining down caused her to glow as brightly as the magic she commanded.
Terra could only stare in amazement. This wasn't the first time she had seen her partner sans clothing. But this was certainly the first time seeing her relaxed without the aid of alcohol and certainly the first time seeing her beauty enhanced so much by their surroundings. She had once joked that Celes was queen of a kingdom in the sea, but right now, in this moment of treading water, she was breathtakingly looking the part.
Like a boat out on the ocean in a stormy night, this blew Terra away. She quickly decided that she wanted to take part in this momentous moment. But how? Just dive in and startle Celes? Or maybe quietly approach her in the water and take her from behind with soft touches and gentle kisses? She liked the second one so much that she momentarily got lost in imaginary hands and nibbles.
Wait. That had been her own hand. She shook her head clear and upped her determination to focus. Celes had moved to the opposite end of the spring, where it appeared shallow, and teased her by washing herself under the waterfall.
Terra made haste across the bank, around large boulders, and avoided anything that would signal her presence. She took care to avoid making splashes as the surprisingly warm water rose to her waist. The waterfall was now a roaring Behemoth in her ear with a drooling problem. Everything else in the world faded away with every step closer she took towards the glistening golden goddess before her. Was she wrong for wanting to disturb this beautiful scene? She reached out and gently took ahold of Celes' waist, pulling herself into a hug so close that she buried her face into waterlogged hair. If wanting a hug (among other things) was wrong, she certainly didn't want to be right.
The startle that she had expected didn't happen. Instead, hands rested on her own, sending a shiver down her legs. Aside from the water constantly falling on them, the world seemed to stop, granting them this moment. It made her head swim despite being above water level.
"I was wondering when you'd show up, hey," Celes said softly with a chuckle.
"I had a nightmare and you weren't there," Terra said. She slid a hand up Celes' stomach, relishing in every muscular contour, and began kissing her shoulder blade. "Hold me?" She couldn't help smiling when Celes turned in her arms and brushed away the waterlogged hair that had fallen into her eyes. She threw herself into the embrace that followed and nuzzled the first soft spot she could.
"That bad?"
"I don't know. I just…don't want to be alone."
Celes touched her forehead to Terra's. "I'll always be nearby," she said. "So don't panic, alright?"
Terra stood on her tiptoes to steal a kiss, except she couldn't just stop with one. She took many, along with the several that had been offered to her.
What happened to Tina Branford?
Terra Branford now remembered most of what had made her who she was, including why her name had changed. She had been created, a copied personality, as a means for Tina to cope with her hellish environment. While Tina had befriended Celes, it had been Terra who had discovered love. It had been Terra who had endured as an experiment. It had been Terra who had endured Kefka and his mad ways. Tina had lacked the strength to survive, ironically perishing from the torture and experimentation she had sought to avoid and left behind only shreds of her former self for Terra to find.
"Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things."
It was no secret to the residents of Figaro that the underground caves beneath the Nibelheim Sea were creepy as hell. The flowing of water could be heard in the distance and around several bends, the reverberation making it hard to tell just how far away it was and sounding almost like a static white noise; there but not. When Sabin, Celes, Terra, and Locke had passed through these passages, they had reported that there had been nothing in the caves other than an abandoned ruined castle, a statue of a long-forgotten queen, and the stoned remains of an esper. If that was true, then Edgar questioned why he felt ill at ease. He wasn't the only one. Ramuh seemed on edge as did Royal Guard Captain Crono Torrigga. It was hard to tell with Crono though, being a self-imposed mute and all. The spiky red hair hiding his face and thus his facial expressions didn't help either.
Crono slammed his back to the stone wall, katana at the ready, and motioned for the others to do the same. Edgar nearly defecated himself from the deathly moaning that filled their ears. "Interesting," he whispered purely as a response mechanism. It was as if the caverns around the bend were filled with hundreds of people who were suffering from stomach aches all at the same time. Hopefully, that was the case and not the undead alternative. Both certainly explained the god-awful, unforgettable stench of human decay. At this point, he was glad he had the foresight to bring Crono along; the boy had a power level of over nine thousand. In other words, he was built like a brick shit-house and could kick ass like an enraged bull.
From behind Ramuh said softly, "Are you certain that your team ran into nothing nasty down here?"
Edgar patted his crossbow to make doubly sure that it was still on his back. He also checked for his blade at his hip. Still present. "I am positive that someone would have mentioned zombies, Ramuh. Especially Locke. He tends to be a bit excitable about certain things."
Crono turned in their direction and held a finger to his lips. A call for silence. When he was convinced that his warning was being observed, he poked his head around the corner. Edgar held his breath and waited what seemed an eternity for the okay to move forward. It never came. Instead, the roaring of the moaning increased in loudness and shrillness followed by a choked gasp of shock and disbelief. In an instant, he was gone with a bellowed war cry.
Edgar sighed and pulled his crossbow free. "Prepare your magic, my friend," he said.
"Ah, but who is to say that your kingdom does not live on in modern day Figaro?"
Edgar made his way through the twisting hallways of Figaro Castle. The whirring of the submersion drives aided his thoughts in a way that would take any non-mechanically inclined person to the realm of madness. Seeing the old abandoned castle for oneself was certainly better than the second-hand information he had received from Locke and Sabin. Most of everything still intact had been transferred back to Figaro Castle for study, especially the literature. Granted it all seemed to be in an ancient language, but it was an ancient language that Ramuh knew and was more than happy to help Figarian scholars decode; Esperian, the forgotten tongue.
In the basement had been the greatest treasure of them all, the stone visage of the forgotten queen, she who had ruled the desert lands before Figaro had even been a dream, Frigg Asgard. At first, Edgar had been convinced that it merely had been a well-made statue placed in an out of the way location for a long-lost reason. But Ramuh's reaction upon its discovery had said otherwise. That statue had been the actual queen turned to stone by magic, her own according to his reasoning, to keep the opposing faction from gaining her power. She was a power, Ramuh argued, that would be beneficial in their fight against the Empire's oppression, a power he had the means to tap.
Watching the old man cast magic was always a treat and, at the least, memorable. What was even more impressive was bearing witness to something of sediment and minerals transforming into an organic being, especially into the beautiful visage that was Queen Frigg. He would never forget the silence that transformed into wailing cries and tears. He would never forget Ramuh taking the Queen, a woman talked up to have been the strongest in the world in her time, and consoling her like an upset child. Even the strong had moments of helplessness, something of which he was all too aware.
Upon reaching library, he found her, nose buried in a map of the known world. If he hadn't known who she was, he could have easily mistaken her for Celes. Long golden hair, skin as pale as sand in the sun, features of an angelic hourglass, deep throaty tones of a woman mature, and a demanding presence all commanded attention. The only telling difference had been the bright green eyes. "I had a feeling that I would find you here, my Queen," he said with a bow. "I trust you are finding your way around the castle easily?"
Frigg looked up from her studies and gave him a wry smile. "I am, King Edgar. Danke," she said. "But please, I am queen to no one. My kingdom has long perished from zis world because of mein failure to protect it, ja? A fact I'm having trouble coming to terms wiz." Actually, there was a secondary difference – her accent, a far cry from anything he had ever heard before though not unpleasant. In fact, quite the opposite.
"Ah, but who is to say that your kingdom does not live on in modern day Figaro?" Edgar waggled a finger in her direction and flashed her a playful grin. "And just Edgar will do, thank you. For all we know and understand, the remnants of your kingdom may have banded together and created a new civilization from the ashes. Ramuh and archival evidence that we have in this library support this thought."
She gracefully folded her hands on the map in front of her before hanging her head in what could have been construed as shame. "Zat may be true, but it still does not change anyzing. Asgard may be gone from zis map, but only I remain as do mein regrets. Even mein husband no longer walks among the living, slain by the hands of traitors svorn to Nidavell. All zat remains of him is his magicite."
Chapter Twenty-One:
Light Up the Night
"Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things." (Take 2)
Edgar made it no secret that the underground caves beneath the Nibelheim Sea were creepy as hell. The reverberation of flowing water made it hard to tell just how far away it was and filled his ears with an annoying static white noise. When Sabin, Celes, Terra, and Locke had last passed through here, they had reported that there had been nothing of interest in these caves other than an abandoned ruined castle, a statue of a long-forgotten queen, and the stoned remains of an esper; one item of which they had brought back to the surface with them. If that was true, then Edgar questioned why he felt ill at ease. He wasn't the only one. Ramuh seemed on edge. And if an esper was on edge, then there was a problem.
Edgar was glad that he had listened to his foresight and enlisted help for this adventure. That help had been his cousin on his mother's side, Duchess of Figaro Marledia Guardia, and her peasant consort, Crono Torigah. Normally, Marle was a rather upbeat energetic girl who spent more time jumping with excitement over mundane things than anything else. In these caves, it was if she were a different person, quiet, stiff, crossbow eternally at the ready. She was as nervous as the rest of them, if not more so. Crono, on the other hand, was a tad more difficult to read what with being a man of very few words and all. The spiky ginger hair hiding his face and expressions didn't help either.
Crono, at the front of the group, suddenly came to a halt and slammed his back to the stone wall, katana at the ready. He motioned for everyone to follow suit before peeking quickly around the corner of the bend. Edgar swallowed hard. He had very few regrets in life, but agreeing to bring Ramuh down here was quickly becoming one.
"What'd'ya see, Crono?" Marle asked in a hushed tone. "Imperials?"
Crono brought himself back from around the corner and flattened stiff against the wall, his face white as a guestroom bedsheet. He gave a bewildered look and shook his head.
"Mystics?"
Again, the answer was no.
Edgar nearly defecated himself when a deathly moan echoed throughout the corridor. "Interesting," he whispered purely as a response mechanism. It sounded as if the caverns around the bend were filled with hundreds of people who were suffering from stomach aches all at the same time. Hopefully, that was the case and not what he was expecting.
"Oh, god. It's zombies, isn't it?" Marle said with an exasperated whine.
Crono nodded and tightened the grip on his sword.
Edgar sighed in disappointment. Well, that certainly explained the god-awful, unforgettable stench of human decay. Again, he reiterated to himself how glad he was that he had brought Crono and Marle along. The boy had a power level of over nine thousand. In other words, he was built like a brick shit-house and could kick ass like an enraged bull on a
speed tab. And Marle, she was a whiz-bang archer, with bows and manual loading crossbows, and not afraid to use a blade if need be.
From behind Ramuh said softly, "Are you certain that your team ran into nothing nasty down here?"
Edgar patted his autocrossbow to make doubly sure that it was still on his back. He also checked for his blade at his hip. Still present. "I am positive that someone would have mentioned zombies, Ramuh. Especially Locke. He tends to be a bit excitable about certain things. And if they had fought zombies, I am sure that Terra would have droned on and on about how great in battle Celes had been."
Crono turned in their direction and held a finger to his lips. A call for silence. When he was convinced that his warning was being observed, he poked his head around the corner once more. Edgar held his breath and waited what seemed an eternity for the okay to move forward. It never came. Instead, the roaring of the moaning increased in loudness and shrillness, which sent Marle fearfully into Crono's shoulder. A choked gasp of shock and disbelief followed suit before, in a near instant, Crono was gone with a bellowed war cry.
Following the lead, Edgar pulled his sword free and rounded the corner. There he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a large, brightly lit, open cavern. On the opposite end was a dilapidated castle. Between them was an army of the undead in decaying militaristic uniforms. "Prepare your magic, my Esperian friend," he said as Ramuh bumped into him. "A decisive battle is upon us!"
"Save me from my torment."
When Celes sat up with a yawn, it became apparent that she had dreamed that campfire conversation. Several hours had passed since they had stopped for camp leaving the sky star-struck with the sun's absence. The nearby campfire was a smoldering ruin. Locke and Sabin were curled up in their sleeping bags while Terra's presence could be felt from outside the cave. If that maid had actually been here, she was long gone.
While Celes regretted the decision she had made those months past, it was something that she hadn't completely discussed with Terra nor had a desire to do so. Still, a strange thing to dream about: someone she had slept with in the past consoling her partner of the present. She was no dream expert, but perhaps it stemmed from her inability to give comfort to Terra when it was needed. Maybe Exposition was trying to tell her something. Maybe it had been just a dream and she was looking for meaning where there was none.
After stretching her stiff joints, she quietly ventured outside the cave and into the starlit night. She stole a quick moment to regard the inky black void on the southern horizon. Vector—home to slavers, enablers, users, abusers, and self-centered assholes on power trips. Anger bubbled up, forcing her to fight back the frustrated desire to punch the rocky wall. With a scoff and a shake of her head, she continued on her way. A broken hand was not something she could afford at present. Neither was a broken Terra. But still, one way or another she was going to make the responsible pay for their actions.
She found her partner sitting lonely at the top of the hill that covered their camp. She closed the gap and made her presence known with a comforting stroke of the hair. The tearful, puffy eyes that then turned up at her, pleaded, "Save me from my torment." At least, she assumed anyway. Terra made no vocal attempt at communication.
Celes sat down beside her on the hill's crest and welcomed the tightly gripped hug with a tight smile. "Can't sleep, huh?"
Terra nodded, but remained silent. She maintained the hug for a moment before hiding between her shoulders and behind her knees.
Celes mirrored the pose and waited for an answer, despite it becoming clear that none would come. She said softly, "You wanna talk about it, sweetheart?"
Again, Terra nodded, but offered no further information.
Celes sighed before placing a hand on an exposed thigh with a gentle caress. "I can't listen if you don't…" She trailed off when Terra took her hand in both of hers and turned it palm-side up. She looked into tired, worn eyes before she felt a strange tickling sensation. It took a moment of confusion to realize that Terra was spelling something out; the letter 'I' to be precise.
'-M-B-R-O-K-E-N
"You're broken?" Celes looked to their hands before meeting Terra's eyes once more. "What do you mean?"
I-N-N-O-C-E-N-C-E-L-O-S-T
Celes sighed once again. This was getting them nowhere slowly. "Terra, I appreciate that you're upset and it's difficult for you to talk about, but you can't keep spelling words into my hand."
I-R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R
"What do you remember?"
Terra's features contorted from her agony before her tears spilled and her voice choked from a stifled wail. She violently shook her head and diligently continued spelling.
E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G
She broke away to bury her face into her trembling palms, leaving Celes to stare blankly at the horizon ahead of them. Everything… Terra remembered everything. But what did that entail? Did that include everything she had been forced to do while under Kefka's influence? "What about everything has you upset?"
Some time of silence passed patiently waiting for Terra to compose herself. She took a deep, hitched breath, took Celes' hand once again in her own, and continued this unorthodox method of communication.
K-E-F-K-A
Chapter Twenty-Two:
Burn You Like a Phoenix
"I'm gonna bury my kneecap in their balls!"
The hill had exploded in a shower of sediment, melted slag, and bits of what had at one time been a bush. That had been the last Terra remembered before waking up in this situation, tied up against their will, and weapons and protective clothing removed. Celes was slumped against her, all the while swearing up a storm and trying to escape her bindings. On the other side of her, Sabin sat calmly as if he were patiently waiting for an opening. Locke, on Terra's other hand, was red in the face. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't say, but she imagined it had something to do wi
th his exposed under clothing; a white tank top and frilly black feminine knickers that exposed what he had been hiding. Ultros' gender swap was still alive and kicking it seemed.
"Bloody fucking Imperial knuckle-fuckers!" Celes muttered as she struggled to free an arm. "I'm gonna bury my kneecap in their balls!" It was pointless though, they had outfitted her with an anti-magic neck-collar. She couldn't ice her way out of it.
This outburst prompted Sabin to laugh, but Terra didn't find it funny. This was a very serious problem. They had been discovered and now any element of surprise they had up their sleeve was now dust in the wind. They could hope that this group hadn't sent word out to headquarters. One good thing in their favor was that they hadn't realized that she was the dreaded "Fire Witch" and had failed to outfit her like Celes. Now if only her fire would stop playing hard to get. She imagined their bindings engulfed in flame and all that happened was a small wisp of smoke.
Dammit.
Locke scoffed. "This is not how I wanted to come out," he said, his voice now less gruff.
"Come out about what, Cole?" Celes spat. "About how Ultros plumped up your tits and magicked away your Captain Winky? Not really important right now!"
Locke shot her a dirty look while freeing his hands from his binds. He quickly went to work on his ankles with a growl. "I had everything under control until that stupid octopus. And I even managed to salvage it until this."
What the hell was he talking about? Apparently, Terra wasn't the only one with that thought as both Celes and Sabin immediately asked the same thing.
Locke freed his legs, and soon Terra felt him ducked down behind her working on undoing the knot she couldn't burn.
"Did you clowns really think you could bring down a Hell House?"
"Did you clowns really think you could bring down a Hell House?" one of their Imperial captors said with a laugh. "Dickheads."
Celes threw herself to her knees. "In a fair fight?" she growled. "Watch me, knuckle-fucker. I know the Guardian's weaknesses!"
The Imperial laughed once again. "One of the first things Lord Kefka did after your betrayal was to modify the Guardian design.
Terra falls off a twenty-foot drop.
Terra hit the ground hard and cried out in agony as she rolled. Falling off a twenty-foot drop was something she never wanted to ever do again. Celes, however… Celes was crazy. She had actually jumped off to attack head on.
They had been discovered by a random group of Imperial soldiers on patrol. Worse yet was the fact that these soldiers controlled what Celes had called Guardians with them. Terra, though, knew them by a different name—Hell Houses. Kefka had called them this during the many times he had pitted her against them for his sick amusement. They were so named due to the fact that they looked like houses until approached and then—Bam!—eight spindly legs appeared along with a head out the door and arms through the windows. Whoever had designed it was royally effed in head.
By the time Terra begrudgingly rose to her feet, Sabin and Locke had joined Celes in beating back soldiers and dodging MagiTek lasers and exploding rockets. She had to do a double take on Locke. Unsurprisingly, he was clad in only a tank top and his underwear. Surprisingly, he was wearing underwear that typically only women wore. And she hadn't been the only one to notice.
"Why the hell're you wearing frilly knickers, Cole?!" Celes said as she buried her magically created ice blade into a stomach.
Terra didn't get a chance to think much further on the situation as a familiar, nightmare inducing ticking came from behind. She turned to investigate and any courage she had drained out of her through her bladder. Hell House. Directly behind her. Towering over her. Targeting. MagiTek laser. Head grinning. Kefka's laughter. Move. Move! Move!
At the last moment, she dove between its legs, narrowly missing becoming disintergrated.
Opening (Rough Version) and Battle (Script Version)
Terra coughed and waved dust from her face. What the hell had happened? One minute, she and Celes had been staring up at the stars, and then something had exploded practically on top of them. A quick look around garnered the information that she wasn't in the same spot they had been last she checked. That spot was now a smoking crater and Celes… Celes was crouched behind her, looking fabulously pissed.
"Locke! Sabin!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs. "We've got Guardians!"
Guardians? Wait. Big house-like structures with MagiTek laser-firing heads that can disappear behind its door, rocket launcher and sub-machine gun arms that hang out its windows, and several octopus-like legs to propel it along the ground with ease? The ones that Kefka had referred to as Hell Houses? Those Guardians?! One interaction with them could wipe out an entire town. She had fought one while under Kefka's influence and barely survived. If there were more than one attacking here, she and Celes must have been spotted in the moonlight by a group of patrolling Imperials. This meant one thing: They were boned.
Before standing, Celes said in a low tone, "Terra, stay hidden. Let us handle this." And then, like a badass, she took a running leap off the hill turned cliff with a war cry and an ice blade crystalizing in her hands.
Stay hidden? She wasn't useless, well, entirely. She could still help!
TERRA slides down the hill, all the while trying and failing to cast fire. SABIN and LOCKE emerge from the cave in their sleeping clothes, with LOCKE's being a tank top and women's underwear.
SABIN:
You got some kind of fetish for kicking ass in women's underwear?
TERRA: (noticing LOCKE's apparel)
…
LOCKE:
This really isn't the time, Sabin!
SABIN:
I'm guessing that's a yes.
They bound into the fray to deal with a squad of Imperials. CELES, meanwhile, runs through another group toward the two Guardians in the rear.
CELES:
Take care of the little wankers! The big wankers are mine!
A MagiTek laser materializes from one of the Guardians, narrowly missing CELES. It hits the hill, causing one side of its opening to explode and the remainder to collapse. TERRA takes cover to avoid large rocks. Several Imperial soldiers go flying through the air, courtesy of SABIN. LOCKE takes to disappearing into the chaotic darkness and reappearing long enough to stab a few in the back. TERRA again tries to fill the battlefield with fire and fails. She turns her head to watch a MagiTek laser beam passed her. Another MagiTek laser hits the ground in front of her, sending her flying away unscathed courtesy of a well-timed LOCKE. When they land, she's laying on top of him, dumbfounded as to what happened.
LOCKE:
Baldur's Gate! Between you and Celes… The two of you are gonna get me killed!
TERRA gives him a smile and rolls off. She stares at his very feminine underwear for a moment before raising an eyebrow at him.
LOCKE:
*flustered* We'll discuss it later!
Another MagiTek beam flies over their heads forcing them to cower down. This is then followed by the sounds of several explosions. TERRA gives him a look of disbelief.
LOCKE:
I promise.
SABIN:
I could use a hand over here!
CELES:
Cole! Sabin's pinned down!
LOCKE:
Oh, for…! Stay hidden! We'll handle this!
TERRA returns to her feet and again tries fire magic. Again, nothing happens. In the distance, CELES, now standing on top of a Guardian, looks right at TERRA with horror.
CELES:
Terra! Behind you!
With a squeal, TERRA manages to step aside just as an Imperial blade swipes the air where she had been standing. The Imperial stares at her for a moment, slackjawed.
IMPERIAL SOLDIER:
They didn't tell us that you Returner sheilas were so cute.
TERRA: (Internal Monologue)
He thinks I'm cute…?
IMPERIAL SOLDIER:
I'm sorry cute lady, but I have my orders.
By the time he had gotten around to raising his sword once again, TERRA had punched him in the stomach and kicked him to the ground. At this point, LOCKE and SABIN have taken care of the soldiers. The two of them are squaring off against one Hell House. CELES is on top on the other and trying to swipe at the head every time it peeks out its door.
LOCKE:
The hell you doing?!
CELES:
The head is the weakness!
LOCKE:
Yeah, okay. Hitting it's easier said than done, lady!
One launches a series of rockets into the battlefield, forcing LOCKE and SABIN to scramble. The explosions knock CELES off her adversary, which obscures her fate from TERRA's view.
TERRA:
Celes!
Enraged, TERRA uses gravity magic to grab ahold of any nearby objects, set them on fire, and fling them in the Guardians' direction. Large stones, the Imperial she had kicked, another that has snuck up on her, uprooted bushes, swords, nothing is safe. This all does very little damage, but does catch the Guardians' attention. They ignore LOCKE and SABIN and race toward TERRA, surrounding her.
TERRA: (Internal Monologue)
I wish you'd just disappear!
Her hands glow, making her desires so. The Guardians disappear from sight. Doing so reveals CELES smacking into solid air and falling to the ground with a bloody nose.
CELES:
What the bloody hell just happened?
The sparkling lights of charging MagiTek beams, reveal that the Guardians are still present but invisible. TERRA's face falls as she looks up at the sparkling light.
TERRA: (Internal Monologue)
I wish you'd just go away and never come back!
A rift in the space-time continuum rips open to show off its dark and starry goodness. A voice echoes out from the depths.
VOICE:
That you, Bartz?! I challenge you to another- What the hell? Who designs machines to look like humanoid houses?
The rift closes but not before an explosion is heard.
VOICE:
Oh, fuck me!
TERRA stares at the empty space for a moment before looking at CELES. CELES, looking as dumbfounded as her, continues looking at the empty space.
CELES:
Was that…? Was that warp magic?
TERRA reaches out, expecting to feel something solid, but finds nothing. She shrugs before rushing to CELES' side to administer healing magic. CELES pokes at her now healed nose giving TERRA a disapproving look.
CELES:
You don't listen very well, do ya?
TERRA shakes her head all the while grinning like a happy lunatic.
LOCKE:
We should probably salvage what we can of our gear and get a move on. When these guys fail to report in, this place'll be swarming with Imperials.
CELES:
That's exactly what'll happen.
CELES scrutinizes LOCKE with a frown and focuses on his choice of underwear.
LOCKE:
What?
CELES:
And I thought I had frilly knickers. Something we need to discuss, Miss Cole?
LOCKE:
*sighs* Guess I don't have a choice now.
SABIN slaps him on the back with a laugh.
SABIN:
Not with that lacey number! Be thankful my brother's not here!
CELES:
*scoffs* There's a disaster waiting to happen.
TERRA giggles.
LOCKE:
*groans* Believe me, I'm well aware of that.
"I'm a treasure hunter, dammit!"
CELES:
Ultros magicked you into a sheila. You lied about changing back into a bloke. Why?
LOCKE:
Be…cause we have more important things to—
CELES:
Choco shit. You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me to go back to sleep.
LOCKE:
I wanted to make sure that you weren't going to flirt—
CELES:
You have girlier underwear than Terra!
LOCKE:
*shouting*
I'm a treasure hunter, dammit!
CELES:
*laughs*
Now you're changing the subject.
Alternate Version
Celes snorted but had no witty retort, not when it was true. "So, tell me, Miss Lockhart, was this what you had wanted to talk to me about on the airship?"
"I panicked because I thought you would have recognized me. I thought that by catching you before you said anything to anyone it'd save me some embarrassment." He paused. "In retrospect, I should have just come out with it then. This has been way more embarrassing."
"Recognized you? Uh, sorry, mate. Not following."
Another long, awkward silence fell between them. Not that the conversation was any less awkward. Locke sighed once again and said, "We first met in Durmoch's mansion. I…" He paused and gave her a look that clearly stated that he did not want to share this information. "I was the maid that you drunkenly coerced into sleeping with you."
Celes jumped to her feet and shrieked, "That was you?!" Realizing that she could have just alerted the Empire to their location, she crouched down amongst the tall grass and hovered just in front of Locke's face. There was no possible way that he was the girl she had regretfully slept with. They didn't even look anything remotely alike…until she imagined long curly hair on him. Hair! That was why she could never put her finger on his familiarity! She hissed quietly, "How? Why?"
"It was Edgar's idea to get information and to sway you to the Returners," he said. "I didn't take the mission by choice. No offense, Celes, but sleeping with women and asshole men because it's my job isn't really my thing."
Celes buried her fist into the dirt by way of a punch to the ground. "Bloody Edgar!" she spat. "Next time I see him I'm freezing his balls to his arse!"
Locke buried his face behind a palm. "I should have kept my mouth shut."
"If it makes you feel better, we can forget that ever happened between us, hey. I don't exactly want Terra to know about it, you know? I mean unless you want her to do to you out of jealousy what she did to those Guardians this morning."
"I think I'll pass on that. Thanks." Locke grinned warmly and extended a hand which Celes took firmly with a handshake. "But at least I can say that it was because of you I changed who I was and what I do for the Returners."
"But Edgar mentioned you in passing like you were still manning that post in Durmoch's mansion."
"What can I say? I'm good at what I do. Got Lady Luck and mad skills on my side."
"Right..." Celes said with a raised and questioning eyebrow. "So, what about Maria? Weren't you trying to get into her dress?"
"She was my next-door neighbor growing up in Kohlingen. She, uh, recognized me and played along with the charade."
"I see. Well, we met an old man in Kohlingen. Claimed to know a lot about 'Locke'…"
"Probably my grandfather. Has dementia. Thinks I'm actually Locke."
"I see. So, now that your secret's out what do you prefer to be called?"
"You forgot my name, didn't you?"
"…No?" Actually, yes. Celes had. But her excuse was that she had been drunk. For once, scrutinizing eyes fell on her, and it made her fidget with uncomfortableness. "Well, maybe. I did say that we were going to forget that ever happened."
Locke laughed. "Fair enough." He, no, she turned her gaze towards the confused Terra and Sabin, who Celes just then realized had been watching. She raised a hand in mock greeting and shyly said, "Hi, guys! Name's Rachel Lockhart, treasure hunter, saboteur, and spy for the Returners, but my friends call me Locke. It's great to meet you!"
Vyse has a dream. (Cut)
Vyse awoke with quite a start, a cry of alarm and a bolt upright to be precise. As he tried to catch his breath, he caught sight of Aika making breakfast over their open campfire. At least, she had been until she screamed in surprise. This prompted Vyse to yell out once again.
Setzer sat nearby, smoking his pipe and eyeing the both of them with a bemused, smug look. He pulled his pipe from his mouth and said, "You two keep making noises like that, and we'll have all the beasties in the Marble Garden Zone jumping down our throats."
Aika turned red with embarrassment and went back to cooking her pot of beans. Vyse, on the other hand, laughed nervously. "Sorry, boss," he said. "I guess my dream was a little bit too real."
"A dream?" Setzer mused. "Sounded more like a nightmare to me. What was it about?"
"I don't really remember other than the feeling that people might have forgotten about us."
Aika raised her spoon in an attempt to be dramatic. Sadly, the only exciting point about it had been the flight of the beans that had stuck to said utensil. "But how can anyone forget us?" she said. "We're lovable scamps!"
Setzer calmly laughed. "If only people would forget about us air pirates. It'd make our jobs that much easier."
Vyse shared a grin and nodded his agreement. If there was one thing the boss was, it was right.
Abandoned Sidestory Featuring Locke
Forever Rachel
Notes: Originally, I was going to reveal Locke's true identity in a side story showcasing his whereabouts while the group was in Kohlingen. A couple of hundred words in, I came to the conclusion that such a plotpoint should be addressed by the main narrative and decided that sidestories would be regulated to past events (An Angel of Snow) and alternate universe-type stuff (Point Me to the Sky Above / Who Gives Healing to the Healers?).
Kohlingen, in all honesty, was the last place that Locke had wanted to set foot in. It was a place that held too many bad memories, too many heartaches. He had only just gotten the old smell of manure out of his nose and here it was, back again. Some things just didn't change. Sometimes, he felt that the only thing that changed was him. A quick look around the farming community had told him that this was so. Well, actually, that had been a lie. The house he had grown up in was no longer empty. The roof had caved in allowing weeds of all kinds and even a tree to take root in the dirt floor. Thank goodness he had left Terra, Celes, and Sabin at the entrance to the town. They hadn't needed to see this.
That Celes, though. For a woman who looked the part of the angry blonde bimbo to a tee, she didn't play the bimbo part very well at all. "Where are you off to?" she had asked with the raised eyebrows of a woman suspicious. Just listening to her speak was enough to convince him why she earned the nickname of "Ice Queen". And it had very little to do with her magic.
Locke had merely smiled and offered very little in way of a response, a non-answer. He wanted to be alone. He didn't want the others to know where he was going or who he was visiting. Only Edgar knew the story of why he had fled Kohlingen in the first place, but even he didn't have the full story. In a way, that was how Locke wanted it. It was too painful to speak of, to think of, but his inner voice had no issues consistently reminding him of it.
In a way, he had Terra to blame for the reemergence of these thoughts. Her situation brought back memories, or a lack thereof, that were best forgotten, but couldn't be no matter how hard he tried. A broken bridge, a conked head, shattered memories; those had been reality for some time. And they had not been fun, not in the slightest.
Whereas Terra had a caring and surprisingly patient Celes to lean on for support, Locke had been run out of town by Rachel's parents leaving her with no support at all. If her amnesia had been the injury, her parents had been the nail in the coffin. If only he had pushed to remain at her side. If only he had fought back. Instead, he reluctantly did as he had been asked. He had been weak willed. He should have fought to be by her side. The sad part was that if Rachel had known better, she would have done the same.
A year later, Locke had returned to find that she and her family were gone. Well, that hadn't been entirely true. Her family may have gone, but Rachel was still there. Having seen her lying on that bed as if she were merely sleeping haunted him like nothing else he had ever encountered. Not even Kefka injecting him with poison ranked that high. He didn't encounter nightmares of poison on a regular basis. Although, he could certainly think of worse things.
"Holy mutha!" came a voice from behind him. "Locke! Izzat you?!"
Popping out of his head, Locke was quick with a grin and twinkle in his eye.[1] "Hello, Mr. Popondopolous," he said in his best charismatic voice. He turned and extended a hand to the greying gentleman standing before him. "I see you're still looking well! How is Mrs. Popondopolous?"
"Oh, she's still a right vixen, that one!" laughed the old man. Inwardly, Locke sighed. He had been hoping to avoid people altogether. Clearly, luck was not in his favor today. "I see that yer still tryin' to hide yer accent, boy?"
Locke feigned a laugh and mentally tied a noose around his neck. "Well, I travel the world now, sir," he said. "It's either be understood by the rest of the world or only be understood by Kohlingers."
"Takin' after yer pappy, no doubt! The world's greatest treasure hunter!"
"I don't know what you mean, sir," Locke interjected. "My father was a corn specialist. He died growing what he loved the most."
Truth of the matter was that Locke's father died at the hands of an assassin after managing to swipe stolen plans from the Empire. The lies had come about to protect him and his mother from any fallout that would no doubt occur from that particular lifestyle. It no longer mattered at this point, his mother died later of a broken heart. Now, it was purely the principle of the thing. It was almost as if keeping the lie going kept him close to his parents.
The same could also be said about Rachel.
It had been awhile before Locke finally shook off the former neighbor. He hated being rude, especially to older folk, but good gods did they like to ramble on and on about inane malarkey that pertained to no one. It didn't even pertain to them and still they rambled! He'd say that he couldn't wait to get old so that he could spend his time worrying about useless things, but considering his life-style, the chances were high that he wouldn't reach fifty.
Eventually, after some wandering in deliberate circles to confuse any unwanted followers, Locke arrived at his destination. This cemetery outside of town was rundown and had most certainly seen better days, but Rachel's parents, as well as Locke's, were buried here. There was one other very special person buried here, someone that was being paid respects. Until wild laughing shot in from behind. For a moment, fear had been high that Kefka had returned to finish the job, but it had ended up being someone very different.
[1] Truth be told, that twinkle was actually a tear of sadness, but no one needed to know this.