The devastation in Torensten was terrible. Whatever that monster had been, it had wreaked utter chaos on everything within a three mile radius. No one knew exactly where the beast had come from. Some stated the nearby Crystalus Divider as the cause and whispered that maybe the gods were to return once more. Others said only that it had fallen from the skies. Under normal circumstances, Celes would have thought both ideas to be ridiculous, but now she couldn't say for sure. She'd seen gated off worlds of magical beings as much as she'd seen horrific devastation reaped from on high. There was no satisfying explanation, and Celes didn't go looking for one.

The aftermath spoke for itself.

The streets were blackened and cracked. Buildings stood in charred husks while others had caved in entirely. There were casualties to gather -- or pieces of them anyway. It seemed all too familiar, and yet, Celes watched it as though for the first time. Her world had grown used to this sort of thing -- but these people had not. She saw raw devastation on their faces. They mourned without restraint, barely able to contain their grief without falling. Some wandered from place to place, unsure of where to go. Cold-eyed rescuers emerged from the wreckage unrecognizable from the debris and ash. There were children too -- perhaps the same ones that Celes and her allies had saved -- watching them with wide, wavering eyes. These people had lost everything. Celes did her best to help recover the pieces.

She'd tried to search like the others. Celes was certainly strong enough to lift the fallen beams and sift through the heaviest of wreckage. She had tried to search for survivors, but the smell of it had overwhelmed her. She had stood among the destruction, hot ash sifting through her fingers when suddenly the scent had choked her. She saw that light, the searing heat, and then the same smell -- vaporized wood, crackling embers, the disintegration of human flesh. Celes stumbled back away from the ruins, heart pounding and breaths gasping. A nearby volunteer stopped what he was doing and asked if she was alright. Celes nodded mutely and left before the visions could come back again. Her hands were shaking.

Celes hadn't heard from Terra since their parting in the Headstone Forest. Celes tried to tell herself that maybe Terra hadn't made it to Torensten, but she knew it was a lie. She'd heard enough rumors to know that Terra had been here -- for better or for worse. The few survivors who'd seen the battle first-hand spoke of a purple creature flying through the air and spewing magic. If that didn't spell Terra, then Celes didn't know what would. But the battle had come and gone, and Celes still had not found her.

The city was a sprawling, expansive place. Celes wondered if she'd ever see Terra again.

There was a noise up ahead -- swords clashing. Celes frowned and placed a hand on her own. People fled from the noise, too scarred to bother with curiosity so soon after the disaster. Celes forged ahead. This city didn't need any more violence.

There were voices now, though she couldn't understand them. As she crept closer, the swords stopped and then there were footsteps. Celes blinked as they came closer and then froze as a man barreled past a perpendicular street. The man didn't seem to see her in his distress. He just ran -- far faster than any man should -- with long strides and heavy boots. With his speed and momentum, he seemed more an image than a man. Just a streak of spiked black hair, belts, and a five-foot sword.

"Zack...?" The name came to Celes easily, but the man was already gone. She stepped into the street and blinked after him. "Where was he...?" She remembered the clashing swords and suddenly frowned. She had only gotten a short glimpse of his face, but she could have sworn...

No. She wouldn't assume anything, at least not until she'd seen him for herself. Still, with his urgency and the look on his face, Celes couldn't help a growing feeling of dread. She had seen that desperation before. She'd lived it, actually, and she knew that it couldn't lead anywhere good.

"I shouldn't do this," Celes told herself, but it was useless. Despite her better judgement, she was already moving.

Why did she feel like she had to go after him? Celes wasn't entirely sure. It seemed irrational -- stupid, even -- to leave so soon after the disaster. She knew that she should stay to help. She knew even stronger that leaving without Terra was foolish, and what business did she have following this man she barely knew? None. None at all, and yet...

And yet, she knew that Zack had a kind and helpful heart. She knew that he was the kind to run headlong into a burning building with absolutely no regard for his own life. She knew that he was the kind to help people and she knew that he was in pain.

Celes wasn't the type to worry about something as stupid as feelings when there were lives on the line, but with Zack, she just couldn't help herself. He was too good a person to face that kind of pain alone.

Though even she had her limits. As Zack led her out of the city, Celes wondered what on earth could be so important as to flee so far. When other travelers directed her into the farmlands outside it, Celes was certain she should finally turn back. When she heard that a man with a ridiculously-sized sword had entered Provo, Celes cursed aloud and decided that she'd done all she could and she might as well leave with only a waste of her time to show for it. But after two nights of sleeping alone on the roadside, eating nothing but monster meat and water she'd traded with vagrant merchants, she thought she might as well check to see if he'd come out the other side. After skirting the outer limits of Provo, she found a family of farmers who worked along the road. They said they'd seen a man with a sword come barreling through, and that he must've been popular because she was the second one to have asked. Celes blinked in confusion, and would have asked more if she'd thought it had mattered. As it was, she still had a chance to catch the godforsaken man. She thanked them and went on her way.

As the path led he back to the Headstone Forest, Celes knew two things for certain: One -- that the man must have been absolutely broken to have traveled so far, and Two -- that Celes must have gone absolutely insane to have followed him.

The Headstone Forest was just as she remembered it. Green, quiet, and filled with the chirpings of birds and small animals. Celes would be lucky to find her way out again among those dense trees, but she'd recently spent nearly a month wandering through it, and she knew it well enough not to be afraid. If Zack had wandered off from the main path, then there was no helping him and she'd return without him. If he remained on the path, then she was sure to find him eventually. Celes' boots tapped loudly as she entered the forest. Soon, the outside sounds had muted behind her, and she was left with nothing but her own breaths.

The forest seemed cloudier than usual. It was only a fog, and yet Celes felt something more sinister behind it. If she strained her eyes, she thought she saw movement in the fog. People, maybe, or monsters. She kept her hand tightly on her sword and magic close to her lips. It was foolish to think of it as anything more than a tactical disadvantage. Yet, as familiar as she was with these woods, she thought she heard something else within them. Footsteps, maybe. Or voices. Celes crept forward like a cat. If something was there...

There was sudden movement, a crash of boots, and then Celes saw it -- a streak of black in the fog. Her eyes widened. "Zack..." She was so surprised to find him, that she only whispered it. He was running -- running from her? Celes couldn't be sure, but she followed anyway. She knew better than anyone what kind of monsters lurked in these woods, and after all of the trouble she'd been through, she wasn't about to let him run right into the jaws of some minotaur. Zack was faster than any human should have been, but Celes wasn't exactly human either. She followed without really thinking, going off the path even as he darted deeper into the forest. Her boots crashed through foliage. Her cape caught in brambles. For not the first time, she found herself tripping through tree roots. And then, just as Celes thought she surely must have lost him again, she stopped.

In front of her was a man. He was the same man that Celes had seen amidst the wreckage and screaming. He leaned against a tree trunk, eyes almost closed, turtle-neck still dusted with ash and debris. Celes frowned at his disheveled hair, at the thin scar tracing down one cheek, and then crept forward, peering to get a look at his face.

Tears streamed down his cheeks. His shoulders were shaking.

Celes could only stare. She opened her mouth to say something -- anything -- but then closed it. She raised a hand and took a slow step forward.

Her boot caught on a branch and loudly cracked.

Zack turned towards her, a gloved hand wiping at his eyes. "Hello?" His voice sounded stuffy and miserable. "Hey, is someone there?"

Celes stared from where she still stood behind a tree. With the fog and the forest, he hadn't seen her. Celes wondered then if she should just leave him to his thoughts. Clearly, she didn't belong here, and what was she even supposed to say? Hi, I followed you for three days because I thought you might be upset? It sounded ridiculous even in her own mind, and yet after all of this time, she couldn't just leave him. Though she knew this would be awkward, though she knew she probably wasn't even helping, Celes took a breath and stepped out from the cover of the trees.

"Hi," Celes said stiffly. She took a few steps towards him and then crossed her arms and tried not to stare at his still very visible tears. "I, um. I saw you come in here. I thought that maybe..."

But what had she thought, really? That he needed help? That he wanted to see her of all people?

'That he might do something drastic,' came the answer in her head. But even that was insulting. Just because he'd proven desperate didn't mean that he was the type to hurt himself.

He was not as weak as she'd once been.

"Anyway. I wanted to make sure you were okay." Celes wondered if she'd always been so stiff, or if it was just the situation that brought it out of her. Surely she could have found a way to uncross her arms, to relax her shoulders, or to even look at him while she spoke, couldn't she?

No. As it turned out, she could not. Awkward tension engulfed her like ice water.

"So. If you want to talk about what happened..." Then what? Did he even know who she was? "I'm Celes, if you don't remember." Her cheeks flushed with heat. "From Torensten."

Celes suddenly wished that she was back in the city of ash and ruin. Or maybe that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

ulla

[attr="class","dec1"]If it was
up
to me

[attr="class","dec2"]
guh

Zack wanted to turn and assure Celes that he knew it was a person in the forest with them. He knew that pattern of confused, heavy footfalls anywhere. Animals moved with purpose, every step costing precious energy that they would then need to replenish at some point. No, animals and monsters were much more calculated with their movements than humans were. People stepped in much stranger patterns, very confusing and loud, especially if they were lost. Properly identifying the sounds of footfalls had been an important part of SOLDIER training, especially as they were in the jungles of Wutai.

However, the thought never made it’s way from his mind to his lips. There was a quick movement, and though his eyes caught sight of a gloved fist, his body was too exhausted to properly dodge it. It collided with his face, pretty hard, right on the bridge of his nose. Zack grunted in pain, stumbling back a few paces, his bare hands flying up to the source of the blinding pain.

As his fingers touched his face, he hissed through his teeth, feeling the steady drip of blood falling from his nostril. The Soldier cursed under his breath, squinting at the scene that was now playing out before him. Celes had been quick to act, which was more than expected after he’d seen what she was capable of in Torensten. His eyes first found the dull, silvery light of her blade, his gaze traveling up the blade to find a man in sunglasses at the end.

Zack’s jaw dropped, ignoring the warm, coppery taste of blood that dripped down over his lip and onto his tongue.

“Wait, wait,” he quickly stepped forward, gingerly pressing a finger down on the dull side of Celes’ blade. He gave her a look, and though he seemed barely dazed and blood dripped like a leaky faucet from his nose, Zack seemed genuine, “I know him.”

Though, he doesn’t usually punch me in the face.

Zack turned his eyes back to Rude, though, he still kept close to Celes. As he formulated the words he wanted to say, his expression became strangely serious. His memories of Rude didn’t seem nearly as scrambled as his memories involving others … Not that they spent an overwhelming amount of time together in the past. The Soldier didn’t see hide or hair of the Turks unless they wanted him to. Even then, he wasn’t entirely comfortable around them, save for Cissnei. The last gut feeling the mention of Turks brought to him wasn’t pleasant.

Seeing Rude made him feel like he should run.

Shaking that feeling off, Zack lightened his expression. He was sure that was related to being on the run with Cloud, back before all of this. He slowly reached up, swiping a thumb over the blood still pouring from his nose. Just touching the area was painful enough, causing him to wince. Nothing he couldn’t handle, but tanking one of Rude’s weaker punches was still a shit experience.

“Funny, I thought you’d have enough experience with guys who are supposed to be dead showing back up again, you wouldn’t be surprised,” Zack gave a strained grin, clearly uncomfortable with mentioning anything relating to the fact that he was once a dead man. Of course, what he was more referring to was Genesis, the man they’d thought to be dead several times over the course of his rebellion. He'd had no idea of what transpired after his death, and just how true that statement really was. The Soldier rubbed his arm uncomfortably, suddenly that much more aware of all the scarring he still carried from his death.

Zack laughed, though it was smaller and shorter than his more genuine ones, “Still though, I never thought I’d run into someone like you out here. What luck, huh?”

The Soldier turned back to Celes, and gestured between the two.

“Celes, this is Rude. He’s an .. er.. Old acquaintance.” Friend was a strong word that not even Zack could use in this context. It was difficult to try and cut down the natural distrust and fear that was stirring in his gut at the sight of that suit, as he knew it was unfounded now. But as to how Rude managed to get in this forest as well was strange. It was clear he wasn’t just some forest illusion -- that fist was plenty real enough -- but how did he end up here? Did the trees just attract people? Surely he didn’t have two people madly chasing after him into the terrifying woods, right?

Zack crossed his arms over his chest, “How’d you end up here anyway, Rude?”

I'd rewrite history, and change my destiny. One last time.

"Wait, wait. I know him." Zack placed a hand on the dull side of her blade, pulling it gently from the offender's neck. Celes blinked in surprise and looked to Zack, eyebrows furrowing. Blood leaked from his nose in red rivulets, but he didn't seem pained. From his casual smile, Celes might not have guessed that anything was wrong at all.

Of course, she knew that was a lie. As blood dripped over and around his mouth, Celes was beginning to suspect his nose might have broken.

Then, of course, there was the matter of the mysterious attacker. Though Celes couldn't say much for his unfamiliar (and rather bizarre) clothing choice, she knew professionalism when she saw it, and this man surrounded himself in it. Though his eyes were veiled by darkened glasses, there was a stiffness to this man that set her on edge. He worked for someone or had worked for someone or maybe just held himself to a certain standard of efficiency that kept him in line. Regardless, Celes knew his type. She had once been his type, and the thought of someone like that attacking them in the forest was, well, unsettling to say the least.

Zack hadn't relaxed either, and his strangely guarded expression gave Celes absolutely no reason to lower her defenses. Still, as he relaxed and drew away some of the blood with the back of his hand, Celes lowered her sword. Her instincts told her that it was a stupid idea, but if Zack even partially trusted this man, then she wouldn't be the one to intimidate him with the threat of death. Still, she kept the sword ready at her side in case anything dangerous came of this. Celes refused to be caught unaware by someone so suspicious as this.

“Funny," Zack said, "I thought you’d have enough experience with guys who are supposed to be dead showing back up again, you wouldn’t be surprised." For once, his voice sounded strained. That natural charm came with more difficulty than Celes had noticed before, and that hesitance made the back of her neck prickle. Celes gave Zack a questioning look, but didn't ask what was on her mind.

'Supposed to be dead? What are they talking about?'

“Actually you never get used to it,” the mysterious maybe-assassin answered. "You just learn to cope with it. Since I know you were dead for years. This is just unbelievable.”

'Dead for years?' Celes felt her mouth open as she watched Zack in disbelief. Had he faked his own death then? But why, and how did he know this man? 'They must have come from the same world,' her mind supplied, but Celes didn't know for certain that Zack was foreign to this place at all. Still, something in the back of her mind suggested that he was. From his strength to his magic to his combat experience, Celes felt that this man was almost certainly as lost as she was.

No matter the case, Celes had the distinct feeling that Zack hadn't wanted to run into this man again. After all, no one faked their own death for nothing.

“Still though, I never thought I’d run into someone like you out here. What luck, huh?” Zack laughed a small, nervous laugh that might have been more for himself than anyone else. “Celes, this is Rude. He’s an .. er.. Old acquaintance.”

'Old acquaintance?' Celes glanced between them in silent alarm. Not a friend, not an ally -- an old acquaintance. Celes had once had many of those back home, and the title would have almost exclusively been used for the people of Vector. Soldiers, generals, even people like Leo who would have sought her life even without any ill-will between them. From this man -- Rude's -- professional aura, Celes could only conclude that their relationship was something of the same.

But then, that could have just been her own speculations. Celes knew almost nothing of Zack, and she wouldn't pretend to. No matter what her instincts told her.

"Rude, right." Despite her attempts at avoiding hostility, Celes couldn't keep the caution from her voice. She looked him up and down as though observing a tiger.

"How'd you end up here, Rude?" Zack continued, arms crossing casually over his chest. Celes glanced at him in almost disbelief. Would he really lower his guard in front of someone so obviously suspicious? Celes kept her grip tightly on her sword, and watched the man for any sudden movements.

“I heard people talk about someone that fit your description back in Provo. I had to check it out to make sure I was hearing things correctly.” Rude's voice came low with the tenors of a bass drum. “I know you don't want to trust me with what happened in the past but things have changed with how the Turks work. At least with how missions work."

And there Celes had it -- the story behind Zack. "You're a soldier." The realization cut through her insecurities like a knife. Celes wasn't the type to make hasty assumptions, but even she had her limits. She sent Zack an accusatory look. "You worked with this man and then defected." Likely through the faking of his own death, actually. "Please tell me why we're not fighting the man who tracked you down and attacked you in the middle of the forest?" Celes' eyes narrowed. "This could be a trap, you know. They lure you in with someone you're unwilling to harm and then surround you. I wouldn't lower my guard." Not like she had before. Not like in Vector.

She'd been weak then. A single friendly face had been enough to leave Celes completely speechless. She'd let them sway her. She'd believed they had changed.

"In fact, if anything, I think we should be leaving, Zack. Unless I'm completely wrong about this old acquaintance of yours."

ulla