Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VI, its characters, or lore.

Never Alone

Walls crumbled around her, wooden support beams creaking as she moved through the house, trying to balance caution and speed. The house was literally falling to pieces around her and the life of a child was entirely in her hands. If she failed, they were both dead, buried beneath layers of wood and stone as the house caved in around them.

Yet Celes couldn't stop smiling.

She tried to control it, to remind herself of the potentially fatal dangers of the current life or death situation, but despite it all, she was still grinning like an idiot. Truth was, she wasn't alone anymore. After having spent weeks desperately trying to keep Cid alive on the island, only to end up on that raft alone, leaving behind what little she had in this new world, her mindset had been terribly depressed. She did believe in her friends, in their strength and their ability to come through danger alive, but she couldn't get rid of the fear inside her, that voice in the back of her head that whispered that they were all gone forever, and she was alone. It took all she had to just keep walking, one foot in front of the other, once she hit land. She wasn't sure she'd cared anymore, but Cid had worked hard to save her life, so she determined to make something of it.

Then, in the first town she ran across, Sabin appeared, and just like that, hope took up root in her heart. Just seeing one of her friends alive, knowing that she wasn't the only one, renewed her faith in all of their abilities. Something as small as the end of the world wouldn't stop them, any of them, and while they'd been forced apart, it just meant they were all out there somewhere, waiting to be found. Lovable Terra, incorrigible Edgar, even stuffy old Cyan.

Celes felt alive again, awake and alert, and she scythed through the monsters that'd invaded the house, and likely caused the collapse in the first place, like a force of nature. Even after finding the child huddled atop the fireplace mantle and limiting herself to only her sword arm as she carried him out in her other, she did not waver, did not pause, merely pushed past any obstacles in her way until the creatures no longer wanted anything to do with her.

As she sprinted out the door, Sabin leapt from his support position, releasing the groaning structure to its fate. Dust billowed outward as walls snapped and folded from the strain, the roof finally collapsing down on top of it all and slamming into the ground with a resounding echo that would have left the following silence startling in comparison if it weren't for the cheering townspeople and the crying of the mother as Celes handed the child off to her. Fatigue caught up with her as the adrenaline bled from Celes' body, leaving her panting and worn out as she sat upon the street, but still smiling at the man across from her, who returned the grin in kind from his equally tired position. After a few moments, he pushed himself up from the ground, walking over and offering her a hand up.

"It's good to see you, Celes." The relieved smile on his face and in his eyes said everything, and she knew he'd felt the same as her. They weren't alone, and it was time to move forward once again. Everything was going to be alright, they'd make sure of that.

Together.

A/N: And I just set a new record for shortest story I've ever written XD. At this length, they're likely pushing drabbles, but whatever I guess, it's just how they come out. I do really want to write more with Celes in them, but I've been finding it difficult to get anything positive to come out. The sheer amount of drama in Celes' character and experiences in the game is depressing! I'll work it out though!

Anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks to Shadow's Interceptor and Valkyrie Celes for the continued reviews and support ^_^. Glad you enjoy them!