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

Broken Chains

The wind howled around her, its pace rapid due to their dizzying height as she tried not to think of the ground beneath her feet, held aloft by magic alone. Thankfully, she had distractions to occupy her in that regard, and it was certainly the only time she could ever be remotely grateful to hear Kefka's maniacal laughter. He stood before them, Emperor Gestahl at his side, and cackled at the helpless forms of her friends. With the help of the Warring Triad statues, Kefka had managed to paralyze all of them, and she was sure he'd only barely tapped the powers the Triad held. She prayed he was never allowed more.

How did she find herself in this situation?

Everything happened so quickly after the Empire's deception was revealed back in Thamasa. Kefka reappeared, slaughtered all of the Esper's gathered, and even managed to murder General Leo, right in front of their eyes. The amount of loss experienced that day was almost unbearable. In one fell swoop, the Empire had proven itself truly evil, Celes had lost the person she looked up to more than almost any other, and peaceful members of a magical race, Terra's heritage, were ripped away. Celes couldn't imagine how the other girl was coping, she herself only managed by forcing herself to keep moving forward.

And of course, though she wanted to be there for her friend, and all of them, there simply hadn't been time to discuss things. The group had accepted her back without comment, through some sort of unspoken agreement, yet that left her uncertain on where she stood with them. Did they still believe she'd betrayed them? She didn't know, and while she hoped they didn't, it wouldn't change anything if they did. They were her friends, and she would not let Kefka kill them the way he did Leo.

"General Celes!" Kefka's high voice screeched out over the mayhem. "Take this sword! Take care of them – immediately! Maybe then we'll forgive your treachery!"

She wanted to twist her nose in disgust, to throw his revolting offer right back at him. She wanted to stand up and shout her defiance, her unwillingness to ever do what he said, to die beside her friends if she had to.

But she didn't.

Instead, she rose slowly to her feet, face impassive, movements full of purpose, and made her way to his side. A wicked grin spread across his face as she took the sword from his offering hands, and he split into cackles as she turned with it, pulling it back in preparation to strike. He crowed to the skies above, assured of his victory and reveling in his dominance.

"Power only breeds war," she muttered to herself, unheard over the ambient noise.

Kefka didn't see Celes' balance shift, her feet turning or her shoulders rolling as she angled her momentum.

Others judge you by your actions, General Leo had told her, and that was the thought in her head as she spun on the mad clown and shoved her sword deep into his side. His insane laughter morphed into a screech of pain as he reeled back from her, wrenching the sword from her grip, and the surprise on his face twisted into hatred as she watched. She glared back at him in kind, not at all sympathetic as he pressed his hands to the wound.

"I wish you'd never been born," she growled as he fell to his knees.

Never again would others make decisions for her. She would do as she pleased, as she felt she should, and others could judge her as they wished. The world would see Celes for who she was, the only person she could be, and for the first time, that finally felt like it was enough.

She was free.

A/N:

That's the end of my little mini-series! This one ended up extremely shorter then the other two, but it's an abrupt, impactful scene, so there it is. That's my take on Celes' character and inner turmoil, and while I tried to remain true to the original game, it may feel different to others. I hope you enjoyed it regardless!

~ Zephyr