It was funny the places you went when nothing really mattered.

Nothing had mattered to Celes for some time. Not since Provo, she supposed. Not since the disasters and the plagues and the floods. Zack. It was a name that still haunted her even now, just like Terra. Just like Locke. She didn't know what she'd been hoping for. That they'd stay together forever? Of course not. That was ridiculous. Impractical. Half the time she'd longed for space away from him regardless -- too on edge from his blatant and easy-going cheerfulness to ever stay for long. Had she ever told him what he meant to her? Had she ever told him that she cared at all? She couldn't remember now, but his loss was like a jack-knife wrenched hard between her ribs. And now she was adrift once again -- like feathers in the sea, like a raft adrift an endless ocean.

There was only one truth left in the world. That Celes -- no matter how she tried -- would always end up alone.

Today, her drifting brought her to a peculiar kind of place. An ancient set of ruins, apparently, linked to a legendary magic though she certainly didn't feel anything. She hadn't come with a goal in mind. Nothing but idle curiosity, she supposed, and the natural turn of the road. With the World Sight behind her, there was nowhere else to go but North. So north she went until she came across the fabled archways and monuments of the Crystallus Divider.

Somehow, she found herself a tad underwhelmed.

"And that was when the old gods left through that very gate. It was a terrible time. You see, when humanity lost its faith in them, we drove them away with our imperfections and-"

"Hm."

"That's why the devout continue to pray here at this holy ground. Some say that the arches have shown their power when someone special shows their faith. Have you come today to-...Miss?"

Celes didn't bother to cut the unwilling conversation short. She just walked away, eyes raking the crowds of travelers and tourists for something she didn't recognize. All she found were the usual types. The blandly dressed natives of this world without swords or capes or even a single scarf. There was a band of refugees lingering here after fleeing the conditions of Provo. There was a tour group going past, listening to the ramblings of a priest in rapt attention. Then there were others milling about not unlike her -- some bored and some in intense study, touching at the archways and muttering quiet somethings.

"Miss, is something wrong? I haven't even told you of the gods' promised return!"

Celes bit her tongue. She turned towards the priest again, eyes sharp and ready to fix him with a scathing look, when she caught it again. A flash of blue in the corner of her eye. Familiar blue. Regal blue.

She nearly tripped over herself in a violent double-take. Where was it? That blue? Near the archway? Behind that horrible tourist group? The priest behind her was talking again, but she ignored him, taking several steps forward instead and searching feverishly. She could have sworn she'd seen...But it couldn't be-!

The crowds shifted and passed. The space between them cleared. And there he was -- a man dressed in blue and violet with a silk cape and his hair tied back in ribbons. A moment passed and the man looked up to meet her.

Edgar.

Celes couldn't move. Couldn't speak. There he was -- without a shadow of a doubt. There was that same strong jaw-line, the same pretty cheeks, and vibrant blue eyes. They widened in surprise before he straightened and hopped from his stone perch, approaching her with his usual swagger. "Celes, my dear!" It was his voice -- Edgar's voice -- for sure! "Fancy finding such a beautiful woman when I've come just to investigate this old hunk of stone! I'm pleased to see you're alive and well!" Something churned in her brain telling her she should find that offensive. She should have berated him for his terms of endearment and the attention to her so-called beauty. But her tongue wouldn't move. Neither would her feet as her mind reeled at what was before her.

Edgar. It was really Edgar. Someone she knew. Someone from reality!

He bowed in his usual way. Always proper. Always charming. She'd almost forgotten how flirtatious he could be. He went on about the place itself. She'd come here to study the ruins, hadn't she? It was such a normal assumption. Such a natural one for him that something cracked in her throat. Something surged under the pressure of those expectant blue eyes. She didn't know whether she wanted to laugh at his suggestion or maybe slap him for how casual he seemed. Didn't he know she'd been missing? Didn't he know how serious this all was? Didn't he know what she'd been through?

Edgar paused, eyes flicking over her cautiously. "Say, are you alright? What's that look for?"

Celes felt her lips twitch halfway between a smile and a scowl. Her throat closed again and she swallowed against it, shaking her head before managing a single word. "Really." It came out strained -- half laughing. "You're so-!" Her voice trembled with the weight of it, so she stopped and simply looked at him, but her eyes burned at the edges. Blurred. For once, she let it happen. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she let out a weak laugh. "You're so thoughtless."

Part of her wanted to throw herself at him. Wrap him in her arms. Make sure he was real. But the other part would die if she showed such displays of emotion -- and leave it to Edgar to get the wrong idea about it all. So instead, she just stood there, bearing the silent shame of her tears as she wiped at her cheeks, trying to stifle the flow with her own bitten lip. "After all this time, that's what you have to say to me? Really?" But her words didn't have her usual bite to them. She was smiling a little past all the tears. "I'm amazed you haven't grayed up your hair and started using ridiculous anagrams! At least you're talking to me this time."

Celes took a long breath before looking at him fully again. There he was. The same man who'd once led her into rebellion. The same man she'd played cards with on the deck of the Blackjack and who'd still thrown himself into the service of his people even when all was lost. She smiled at him weakly, the last of her tears shining at the edge of her cheek. "You're really here."

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Edgar was the same gentleman always. One part wits and one part charm. He offered her an embroidered handkerchief which she took without a second thought, using it to wipe at her eyes (thankfully dry now -- what had come over her?) before crumpling it in her hand. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and though she stiffened at the touch, he removed it just as quickly as though reading her mind. He returned her quips with a nobleman’s grace and a soft, lopsided grin, and all the while, Celes could have almost laughed in relief.

She’d had forgotten how much she’d longed to see someone -- anyone -- who knew her as well as Edgar.

After a moment, some of the jest left his eyes and he guided her along beside him with a hand on her back -- one which sharpened her gaze but didn’t otherwise elicit a complaint. It was then that she noticed the eyes on them. Several of them. Dozens from all the tour groups, priests, and refugees alike. Surrounded by all of Zephon’s natives, the two of them stood out like chocobos in a moogle’s den with all their bright colors, armor, and scarves. Celes felt heat rise to her cheeks under the weight of those stares. Some of them were hard and disapproving while others came with half-knowing smiles. ”Oh, it looks like they’ve found each other!” someone whispered, and Celes recoiled at the sound.

What had they seen? What did they think was between them? Had she actually cried? In front of Edgar?

Edgar stopped and so did she. Somehow in the last minute or so, he’d led her somewhere private -- away from the arches and the tourists and a little way down the road though she couldn’t remember how they’d gotten here. Her cheeks were too hot -- her mind too fuzzy with implications. He looked at her, and for the first time she noticed something else in his eyes -- concern.

Her cheeks blazed with shame.

”Yes, I'm here, at your disposal as always Miss Chere,” he said with a smile that did nothing to lessen the urgency from his eyes. ”I'm glad to see you, but this isn't like you, what's happened? Breaking into tears at the sight of me, why, I'd not expect that from you.” Celes froze, quickly looking away as her lips contorted into something she didn’t recognize. He’d noticed. Of course he’d noticed! How could he not when she’d acted so...weak? So unlike herself? Celes could almost hear the softness to his eyes as he peered at her more closely. ”How long have you been here? Are you alright? Truly?"

Celes opened her mouth and then closed it. How could she answer that question? Of course, the short answer was no, but how would he take that? And how would she even begin on the questions after that one? Thankfully, her throat refused to cooperate and spared her the trouble. She answered instead by staring intently at a nearby rock.

Edgar must have noticed her unease because his tone shifted once again -- soothing this time. Damn him. "There, now,” he started softly. “Away from prying ears. I hope that's saved you a bit of embarrassment, at least. But do know that I think no less of you for it."

’I think no less of you for it.’ What did that mean? Did he think she’d think that? Didn’t that mean she should? Her cheeks flared again, but this time she swallowed back the shame, straightened her back, and looked straight at him with an indignant glint to her eyes. ”Oh, stop that!” she said, thrusting her her hand against her hip. ”I’m not some fragile dolt!” Then she let a breath out through her nose and wiped furiously at the last remnant of weakness still staining her eyes. The anger cleared her head, and as her lips pursed she felt like she could finally think again.

Edgar was here. The real Edgar, and almost certainly not a fake. The thought still left her reeling, but she couldn’t let that distract her. If Edgar was here, then so could anyone else, and that meant that she had to find them. Not just Terra -- lost forever to this impossible and unfamiliar world -- but the others too. If Edgar was here, then that meant…

Locke. She hadn’t let herself think that name in a long time. Celes closed her eyes and started again.

”I’m fine,” she said a little too sharply. ”I just wasn’t expecting…” Her eyes trailed to him again, and she fought not to lose herself at the sight of someone so familiar. No. No. She’d had her moment. It was done now.

”Have you found anyone else?” That’s what was important now. If he had a lead -- any at all -- then she had to follow it. She’d gather them all together again and then-...

...And then what? She had no idea. There wasn’t a world to take back or a mad god to kill. Nothing at all except...to be together.

Maybe that was all she needed. At least for now.

”If you’re here then the others have to be. It’s been...I don’t know. A year? Maybe two? I haven’t seen anyone and none of this makes sense!” She looked at him directly as though she might find something in his eyes that was missing from his words. As though the truth was hiding in softened blue. ”Do you know anything about this at all?”

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"As a matter of fact, I have, miss Branford in a little beach town where I washed up.” Celes straightened, looking at him. - Terra. Then she hadn’t imagined it? Or at the very least this was all a part of the same delusion. He didn’t give her long to contemplate it. Not when he had his own thoughts to contemplate, but Celes bit her tongue from that information. She didn’t know what to think of Terra -- something between guilt and hope, she thought. But then, what was really new?

”As much as I'd love to see everyone again, I don't see any reason to assume the others are here as well,” Edgar continued. ”Surely you'd have heard if Setzer was about if he were anywhere near here, and I'm certain Locke would be scouring the country looking for you if he were here.”

”Maybe.” It was all Celes could add. Maybe they were here. Maybe they weren’t. Maybe none of this was even real but she found that harder to believe by the day. Maybe Setzer would have been dramatic, but then -- he hadn’t been when she’d found him last, had he? Just miserable and drinking himself to death in a musty bar. And Locke…

Well. He certainly hadn’t been concerned with finding her before. Her lips pursed at the thought of him -- Locke -- the one she cared most about off on some quest or another without even giving her a thought. Of course, there wasn’t really a reason he shouldn’t. It wasn’t as though they were a couple or something. And she certainly wasn’t Rachel.

Edgar was less concerned with the “who” than the “why,” it seemed. Not so much with who they could find than with what they could discover. As he went on about the ruins and magic and his own theories, it was all so very Edgar that Celes couldn’t help look at him at least a little fondly. She’d always suspected his mind was made more of machine cogs than flesh, at least when he got like this. So caught up in some problem or another. Invigorated by the very act of solving it.

”Hah, but I suppose it can't be any more difficult than what we've faced already!” Edgar went on with a surge of renewed optimism. ”Between the war and the jester I'd say we should be more than equipped to handle whatever this world has in store for us!” Celes glanced at him, frowning at first. That was an odd way to phrase it, what with how everything turned out, but she guessed she couldn’t really argue. They’d both managed to survive a lot worse than this, after all.

”I believe time must move differently here than it does in our world; by my reckoning it's only been a few months since I last saw you and Terra both, yet to you it's been years..."

”Months?!” Celes mouth fell open, gaping at him. ”Really?” Then they weren’t all here, dragged at the same time. It had Celes and Terra alone and now...Edgar. She stared at him without comprehension, the horror of it all slowly dawning on her. What had changed then? Why her? And why Edgar now? No wonder he was the same as she remembered! Hardly any time had passed! But still her gut churned with the question she always come back to -- the one that mattered most.

How was this even possible?

Maybe Edgar had noticed her alarm or maybe he just couldn’t drag his mind away from their initial meeting, but when he turned to her, his eyes were filled with the same concern from before. Celes gave him a sharp look before he could even start. ” "... and, aside from all of that, I'm still not convinced you're as fine as you say. I won't press you, Celes, you're as stubborn as I am, but if you have need of it you can talk to me. I won't even tell Locke if you ask nicely,” he said and then winked at her. It was that wink that most threw her off guard. It was the kind of thing that she didn’t know how to interpret it, and with all of the impulses fighting within her, she didn’t couldn’t decide whether to yell at him, ask him what he’d meant, or pretend nothing had happened.

Instead, she just groaned. ”Do you have to be like that?” Always so flippant. So charming, at least when he wasn’t going on about some invention or another. Still, he’d made an effort, hadn’t he? ’If you have need of it, you can talk to me.’ It was...nice, she supposed. Something friends did. The thought warmed her just a little, and she glanced at Edgar again before shaking her head.

”Somewhere else, maybe. Not now.” Celes crossed her arms and looked away. It wasn’t that this was the wrong place, exactly, but the wrong time. She needed to process this. To gather her thoughts. And she certainly didn’t plan to leave him now that they’d found each other again.

And after all that she’d seen, where would she even start?

”No one here’s heard of Kefka.” Celes frowned as soon as the words had left her mouth. It came so suddenly and unprompted that it had surprised even her, but maybe this was she needed. Yes, if she had to confide about anything, it would be this. The very thing haunting her mind since the start, and the one thing no one else here could ever understand. ”They’ve never had to live like that. No one here understands, and this place!” She gestured at the grass around them, at the trees and the people and the soft twittering of birds not so far away, and she laughed. A dry, humorless laugh that she’d grown quite accustomed to in the past three years. ”How is this even possible? You know what happened to the world. There shouldn’t be places like this. But there are. And cities -- real cities -- full of people and food and it’s just like-...!” Celes’ throat closed on the words, and her eyes darted towards the ground, unable to look at him. ”Like before.”

Of course, it wasn’t the same -- not really. She didn’t know these places. There wasn’t a Vector or a Figaro or a Narshe, but it was close enough in all the ways that mattered. In the fertile plants and the hopeful people. In the general sense of calm and the ease of everything. It didn’t make sense. None of it did.

”Do you think it’s real?” The words came quiet. Not weak, just quiet. She couldn’t manage them any louder, not this secret question burning in her for so long. ”It couldn’t be, could it? And in the forest...I could have sworn, I saw…” But no, that was too much. Celes touched at her lip, eyebrows furrowed at the thought of it. Of what she’d seen there. Of the world she’d left behind and that chilling laugh.

She shook her head. No, she wouldn’t let this be like her meeting with Terra all over again. She wouldn’t let it break her. ”It’s been a long time,” she said as though that would explain it. She shoved a handful of loose hair behind her ear. ”A lot of time to think.”

ulla

For everything that Celes said, for all of the fears that had engulfed her, for all of the anxieties that had kept her awake every night since the first, for every crisis and question Celes had struggled with for nearly two years, Edgar merely shook his head. It was enough to throw her before he’d said a thing, and of course the words that followed only cut her deeper.

”I'm glad to be rid of the talk of him if I'm honest,” he said almost casually. ”It's nice to be freed of the ruin he brought to our world.” And for not the first time, Celes swallowed back the urge to yell at him. Of course it was all nice, but that wasn’t exactly the point was it? Of course she preferred a reality without ruin. Of course she’d do anything to bring their own world to a state of such peace. Of course she wasn’t complaining about this impossible reprieve, except-!

Except, she sort of was, wasn’t she? It hit her like a brick -- that realization. How many times had she refused to be happy simply because the world around her wasn’t miserable? And how often had she found herself wasting time brooding over forces she couldn’t know or control? Of course she wasn’t happy here -- how could it be when none of it had any connection to her? -- but wasn’t it a miracle in its own right? Something to celebrate rather than reject? Wasn’t a world without Kefka…better?

She was so struck by her own revelation that she hardly noticed Edgar’s thoughtful eyes or the weight of the silence between them. Just moments ago, Celes had worried that he’d parrot back the same words as Terra -- that maybe this was all just a mental prison, the worst possible scenario. But his words surprised her in a very different way than hers ever had.

They made sense.

”I don't believe this place an illusion, no, and more to that there's hardly any difference if it is.” It was such a simple statement without extremes or hypotheticals. It was straightforward. To the point. And for the first time since she’d first woken, Celes felt as though something had firmly cut through the fog of her own despair. One way or the other, there was nothing before them but action. If it was real, they needed to work to solve it. If it wasn’t, then they needed to work even harder. It was all so obvious, and yet something she hadn’t even considered in years. How much time had she wasted so caught up on trivial speculation? What could she have accomplished if she’d looked forward instead?

”One day we'll return our world to that same condition,” Edgar told her with a daring smile. ”The only remnant of him will be the legend of how the brave king and the daring general and all their friends put an end to it and brought hope back to the world.”

The thought was so inspiring that Celes couldn’t help but laugh despite herself. “The brave king and the daring general.” It was all so grandiose, but maybe she’d needed a little of that in her life. She’d needed someone to set her straight, and finally, she’d found him.

”You’re right.” Her voice was louder now. Bolder, almost like it used to be. ”How couldn’t I see that? Sometimes I think I must be half-blind to miss something so obvious.” She let out a breath through her nose and shook her head, smirking. ”It’s good to see you again.”

Edgar stopped to ask her about the one detail she’d let slip about her time in this place. The forest. Celes stiffened at the mention of it, but just shook her head. She wouldn’t let those thoughts get the best of her. Not now. Not after she’d finally found herself again.

”So magic has a stink now? Well, I guess it’s not exactly the most tasteful practice, is it?” Celes crossed her arms and tossed a handful of hair over her shoulder. ’No offense,’ he’d said. As though that changed a thing.

”It was a long time ago. The people said it was haunted if you can believe something so ridiculous. I must have been seeing things. Or maybe it was a dream.”

’Or a glimpse of reality.’ She refused to say it. To give it that legitimacy. Nothing would break her again.

”Other than that, I’ve mostly gotten by on mercenary work. Killing monsters and the like. I’ve met a few interesting people, lost them all, and run into more burning buildings than I think anyone has a right to.” It was strange, wasn’t it? The danger she’d thrown herself into here, in a world without war or mad gods? It was almost ironic. ”Did you plan to stay here long? We’ll need to stick together if we’re getting anywhere, so I’ll follow along if you don’t have anything to say against it.” Hadn’t they had this conversation before? Though more in the opposite direction. Celes had long wondered how her friends could have lost their will to fight only a year after Kefka took power. Now she had answer, she supposed.

”After that, we’ll need to find Terra. And then…” she trailed off, suddenly uncertain of herself. And then what? What even was there. Celes straightened and looked up to meet Edgar’s eyes. ”And then we find a way out of this mess.”

For the first time in a long time, her voice brimmed with resolve.

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