NEW VERSION: [Final Fantasy VI] Fic: The Sleeping Beauty (Part 9 of 13)

[flonnebonne]

Title: The Sleeping Beauty
Fandom: FF6
Characters: Celes, Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Relm
Genre: Drama, AU
Wordcount: 11,975
Summary: What if, after one year asleep, Celes still does not wake?

Important Note: This is a revised version of the story I posted on April 2.
The main changes are:
1) New material at the beginning and end of the story, with significant changes to the plot;
2) Removal of unnecessary lines to promote clarity and better flow, hopefully, throughout the story;
3) Splitting up the story into thirteen sections instead of two, because I realize this is a damn long story;
4) Chapter titles.

Hopefully the story is better now! I am leaving the old version up for posterity's sake, if you'd like to compare. Comments and criticism are welcome, always.

Part 9: Troops March On

(The familiar rumblings of a war council.)

Edgar, we have to attack soon. Relm isn't the only one getting antsy. Everyone took it pretty hard when we found out about Strago. If we don't rescue him soon -

Not yet. If we go in right now we'll lose. We still don't have enough firepower. We can't even deal with the Light of Judgement. You don't want to lose another airship, do you?

There's nothing we could possibly find to help us against the Light of Judgement. We'll just have to take our chances that Kefka won't use it against us. He hasn't yet, and he's had plenty of chances.

You might like to make wild bets, Setzer, and you can do what you like with your money and even this ship, but not with the lives of our friends. We've seen how powerful he is. We have a lot of powerful magic on our side right now, but even with all of us together I don't think it's close to enough.

What's enough? How can we know unless we try?

(Dissent, endlessly repeating.)

We can't just go in blindly trusting our luck. The only person here with any real experience with magic is Relm, and she's eleven. If we don't have Strago, we need Terra, at least.

Terra already said no.

We should try again. By now Sabin will have healed up completely, so she'll be more apt to listen. And...we need Celes. She's not only good with magic. She knows Kefka better than anyone.

(She knows war.)

Fine, we can go to Mobliz. But I'm not holding out for Celes. We've tried every Esper we've found, we've all sat in this room and talked to her for hours on end - hell, we're doing that right now - and it hasn't done a thing. It would be better to let Celes die than to have her frozen like this forever.

(She could break these cycles.)

You really think that? You'd really give up on her? I didn't know you were that cold.

(If only she could be warm again.)

I'm being realistic. I do know how to do that.

It's funny, how you and Locke are so similar, yet so different.

Don't compare me to him.

Why not? You've both got ghosts in your closet - don't deny it. You haven't told me who used to own this ship but I just have to look around this room to know it was a woman. And you both care for Celes a great deal.

We're nothing alike.

Yeah. Maybe he can wake her.

(If she had fire, maybe the cold would melt away.)

...What makes you think he would be able to do anything when none of us, not even Terra and Relm, have been able to make her flutter so much as an eyelash?

Because he's the one who saved her in the first place. And she cares for him more than any of us.

(Or, would the fire burn her?)

(The way ice does, at its coldest.)

You're so full of it, Edgar. She's sick because of some kind of magical ailment. You think her prince is going to wake her? If that were true, Rachel wouldn't still be in that basement. And you don't even know if he's alive! Where would we even look for him?

...We have one last lead. You remember that letter Relm nicked from Owzer's mansion? I've studied it closely, and I'm sure the notes scrawled on the side are in Locke's handwriting.

You really drive me up the wall sometimes, you know that, Edgar? When you were going on about needing to talk to Terra, you could have just come out and said you wanted to see your brother. And if you want go on a wild goose chase after your best friend instead of doing what's best for the world, just say so. No need to pretend to be a saint.

Fine. I want to go check on my brother. I want to find Locke. I want to go back to my kingdom and take care of my people. I want Celes not to die, but I want Kefka gone from this world.

I want everything. I can't have everything. I just have to hope that at least some of my goals are not mutually exclusive. If I can find my best friend and also wake up our sleeping mage-warrior at the same time, that would be wonderful. Maybe we can also find the emperor's treasure. Maybe it's a magical weapon of some sort.

We can't defeat Kefka as we are. But that's no reason to rush in and say "let's all die and get it over with." I want all of us to be alive and whole when this is done.

I notice you're not including Strago in "all of us."

But I am. We won't be able to save him if we go in unprepared.

Relm won't forgive you if her grandfather dies, or goes mad, or whatever else Kefka might do to him.

Then I'll accept her hate, if it comes to that.

...All right. We'll do it your way. Mobliz first, and then -

The star-shaped mountain, north of Tzen on the Southern Continent, not too far from Kefka's tower.

Yes.

(Where fire might be found, if she cares to find it.)

---

(A man, whose left side weighs heavier than his right.)

So you guys gave her the biggest, nicest cabin on the ship, huh?

What can I say? Setzer's ship, Setzer's rules.

(A brother, no longer twin to his other half.)

He's really hung up on her, huh?

To say the least.

(Desert winds, desert sands.)

I've seen the way he looks at her.

Yes, it's hard to miss. It's rather like the way you look at Terra.

(A pause, as wind hesitates.)

(A schism, where sand falls deep.)

...Well, it's not as if she looks at me the same way.

I don't think she knows how, not yet. Eventually, though, she will.

I hope so. Was...that advice?

You can take it that way. I do have a great deal more experience with wooing women than you do, little brother.

Ha, you can go on thinking that.

(But not so deep as to divide.)

(For desert sands care not for chasms.)

Listen, Edgar, I have something to ask you. I've been thinking about Terra, and the kids, and what we're going to do, after all this...

You want to stay here, right? I understand. They need you. Goodness knows this town needs someone. I've been drawing up plans for an aid program for Mobliz, although it'll take some time to start it up since Figaro isn't quite back on its feet yet.

Huh? Edgar, have you seen Mobliz? It's practically a ghost town. The soil is thin and dry, the monsters are getting more and more aggressive, and it's full of bad memories. I wanted to ask if we could relocate everyone to South Figaro.

(And desert winds care not for distances.)

(They only care to cross them.)

...Oh. Yes, I think that would be a good idea. And you would go with them, of course?

Yes. I lived in that area before, when I was training with Duncan. I could help build homes for the kids. And...I don't think I could live in the castle again, and I'm not good with governance, you know that, but I wouldn't mind, um, helping you out once in a while, if you wanted me to.

(No matter how the wind blows.)

(No matter where it goes.)

Sabin - I would be absolutely, unreservedly thrilled to have you helping me from South Figaro, or anywhere.

So...can we bring the kids on board?

Now?

Yeah. It has to be now. Who'll be left to protect the kids if Terra and me come with you? Phunbaba attacked again, you know. Terra and I beat him off, but it was a close thing. She means it, you know, when she says she can't fight the way she used to. She just doesn't have the heart for it anymore...anyway, Phunbaba could come back any time, so we can't leave them there without protection.

(For the desert is always there to return to.)

Will all of them fit on the Falcon?

There are twenty-seven of us, including Terra and me. We'll make do with whatever space you can give us.

Setzer will kill me, you know.

Tell him to get mad at me instead.

You and Terra and a village full of helpless orphans. That will shut him up.

Yeah.

We'll have to move Celes from here. We can't have her taking up this whole room and the best bed anymore.

Setzer won't be happy about that.

We'll let him do the moving. Let him cop a feel, that'll make him happy.

Oh, and speaking of lover-boy, that reminds me...did any of you ever try kissing Celes awake?

...You have gotten cheeky, little brother.

(Though desert sand still does not know.)

(All the places wind might go.)