[Crossover: Final Fantasy IV/Final Fantasy VI] The Way Home, Part 1
Characters/Pairings: Celes Chere, Edge Geraldine, Rydia Drake (Edge/Rydia, Celes/Locke)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers
Notes: Written for the January 2009 round of IJ no_true_pair
Summary: This was not exactly what Edge expected to find on the hunting trip--but it's more interesting than what he expected, so it's not all bad.
Wordcount: 2300
Beta: celeloriel and first_seventhe
Of all the things Edge expected to find on this hunting trip-a bad case of bug bites and an excruciating sense of boredom had topped the mental list he'd made before leaving the castle-an extremely hot (and also efficient) warrior raining down copious amounts of ice upon the flame dogs that roamed Eblan's plains was definitely not one of them.
He kept far back from the scene of the battle, figuring she didn't need his help and if she was anything like Rydia-which the black magic she was using suggested-she'd probably fry his ass for getting in the way, and he'd already had that experience with Rydia twice this week, and the blisters still itched.
When the flame dogs were soggy steaming corpses as opposed to burning animals, he judged it safe to announce his presence. "Hey," he called out, ready to duck (which would definitely not be a retreat, it would just be prudent, because you never know with powerful unknown mages just what they're going to do when you surprise them).
She turned very fast, her sword held in a guard position that he recognized from Cecil's stances when they fought together, and it was probably not helping the situation that all he noticed about her face was even when she looks like she might kill me ten seconds from now, she's really hot. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, hands held up. "I just haven't seen you before, and so I'm a little curious."
Her eyes flicked over him with little interest, and though her face eased from a scowl to a neutral look, she didn't relax her guard in the slightest. "Where is this?" she asked, and it took him a moment to sort out what she was saying-her accent was very clipped and her words rushed, and it didn't sound like anywhere he'd ever visited. Also it was really weird that she was asking where she was, there weren't that many places around Eblan you could set out from and get lost, but whatever.
"You're in Eblan," he said quickly, and gave her his best reassuring smile-not that she could probably see it what with the ninja veil, but he hoped she heard it in his voice. "I'm Edge Geraldine. What's your name?"
Confusion flickered across her face. "My name is-" She paused, and pressed the fingers of her left hand to her temple. "-Celes?"
She said it more like a question than a statement, and Edge was starting to think that there was probably something really messed up going on here. He hoped she didn't actually have amnesia. It would make it a lot harder to get her back home. Not that he'd mind if she stuck around a while, she was pretty hot. Except he'd better not think about that too hard or Rydia was going to get really mad. "Okay, Celes, nice to meet you. You been traveling long?"
She frowned. "I-I don't know. Eblan, you said? I don't know a country by that name."
"What countries do you know?" Maybe they could work backwards?
"Figaro, the Empire, Jidoor, Narshe, Kohlingen-" She paused and rubbed at her forehead as though the name disturbed her. A moment later, she continued. "Thamasa, Doma, Tzen, Albrook, Mobliz, and Maranda." Again that motion of her fingers across her forehead, hard enough to leave white indentations in already pale skin.
Edge would willingly admit he didn't know the geography of the world by heart, but she seemed to think these were countries, and he definitely knew the names of all the major nations. Had she hit her head, maybe? He tried to check, discreetly, but no blood matted the long blond hair and her face was perfect-really, really perfect-okay, that line of thought definitely had to stop.
"You are staring at me as though I have grown a second head," she said crisply.
Again, it took him a moment to sort out the meaning of her words. "Well, it's just, I've never heard of any of those places you mentioned," he said. "Did you hit your head, or anything? I mean, what else do you remember?"
She opened her mouth, but didn't say anything for a long moment. "I...don't remember anything," she said slowly. "I know my name. I can fight. But I don't know where I am or how I got here."
"Okay, so what's the first thing you remember?"
"Being awakened by one of those fire-dogs trying to take a chunk out of my shoulder," she said.
"You're injured? Crap, I think I have some potions here," Edge said, scrambling in his pouch.
"I healed it already," she said.
Edge gaped. "You can use black and white magic?" he asked.
She looked puzzled. "Magicite doesn't distinguish between types of spells," she said. "Cure was the first spell to be transferred when I received my Magitek infusion."
This was worse than trying to listen to Cid explain the difference between types of airship engines. Edge gave up on hunting through his pack. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said honestly. "Um, were you travelling with anyone? Should I be looking for any other wandering people?"
"There was someone--" She frowned, and her left hand pressed against her temple again. In a distant corner of his mind, Edge was impressed: her sword had stayed in guard position without wavering once for this entire conversation. "I think there was someone, but I can't remember who."
"Alright, well, I'll send some of my people out to look." Edge offered his hand. "If you want to come with me, I know someone who'd love to talk to you about your magic, and maybe she can help us figure out where you need to go."
"Thank you," Celes said. She sheathed her sword, and now that she wasn't braced against the weight of a weapon, Edge could see that her posture put even Kain's to shame. Just who was this girl?
One thing was for sure, though: it ought to be interesting to find out. He was really, really hoping that "interesting" didn't end up meaning "life-threatening."
~*~
Celes followed the strange young man out of the forest. His garments were naggingly familiar, as though she had known someone who dressed similarly in the past, but she could not identify the source of her half-recognition. His mannerisms, too, reminded her of someone in a way that brought a certain warmth to her chest. She dismissed the extraneous and unproductive curiosity about these others she did not quite remember, and instead focused her attention on the land around her. The first thing a soldier did in unfamiliar territory was reconnaissance.
...Was she a soldier? She didn't know. Yet the thought of reconnaissance had come so easily.
Debating such things within her own head was a waste of time and effort. She examined the land around her instead. Largely flat and marshy, it was utterly unsuitable for a pitched battle. Perhaps that explained Edge's lack of steel armour. He carried narrow twin swords crossed on his back, not entirely unlike the sword that--someone--the name was lost to her mind, but she could almost see someone when she thought of the sword. Her mind pictured a swordsman, in peak condition, with graying black hair and lines carved deeply into his face.
Celes was growing profoundly irritated at the inefficiency that plagued her mind, and her own lack of memory.
They traveled for a good portion of the afternoon, and the sun was just touching the horizon when Edge said, "Here we are."
He led her up the side of a small plateau, which seemed mainly formed of clay and was therefore more stable than the marshlands they had been travelling through. Upon reaching the top, she found a bustling camp. It was efficiently laid out, but did not appear to be an army camp, judging by the number of noncombatants she saw. Regardless, it was well-placed for defense, given the high ground and the relative firmness of the clay.
"Rydia!" Edge called, and a slight girl in green rose from her place at one of the campfires. She turned to face them, and Celes's thoughts stuttered to a halt.
Green hair. There had been a girl she knew with green hair, but that one wore red, and fire was everywhere, searing her skin, she remembered screaming and the fire was everywhere and a whooping cackle echoed all around. The words "Test subject" rang in her ears like massive bells.
"Hey! Hey, are you okay?" Someone was gripping her arm and she fought free of the half-vision to find herself on her knees. Edge crouched next to her, his expression concerned under the absurd little veil that covered half his face, and it was his hand on her arm. The girl in green was standing four meters away, studying her intently.
"My apologies," she said stiffly, and forced herself to her feet. "I do not know what came over me."
"You look like you saw a ghost," the girl said. She extended a hand, slowly enough to make it clear that she intended no threat. "I am Rydia, of Mist."
"Celes." She clasped the other woman's hand as she would any warrior. Rydia had the indefinable air of someone skilled in battle, but she bore no sword-calluses. Nor did her arm have the musculature Celes might have expected. Yet her skin thrummed with energy, a bright flickering sense of something that went deeper than muscle or bone. It felt like magicite--
--sparks thrumming off gray stone incised with runes the colour of old blood, cold or hot or sparking to the touch and almost singing with energy--
"Did he remember to offer you anything to eat? I doubt it. Here, come sit down," Rydia said, and gestured to the campfire.
"How long have I been in camp?" Edge asked, sounding aggrieved. "You could maybe give me a chance to do things before you scold me for not doing them!"
Celes followed Rydia to the campfire, letting their quick, sharp banter flow past her without involving herself in it. It was apparent that they were quite fond of each other, despite the insults and arguments being thrown about.
Rydia pointed Celes to a seat and in short order had a plate of bread, cheese, and dried meat assembled, along with a cup of some kind of alcohol. "Beware the wine," Rydia said, with a sideways look at Edge. "It's rather strong."
Celes nodded her thanks. She was not particularly hungry, but she would need the food if she must fight later, so she ate what was put before her. It was more than adequate; she'd certainly eaten worse on their journey.
Whose journey?
She had some flash of memory--the horrible whooping laugh and a massive conflagration--but could put no more definition to it than that.
The other inhabitants of the camp were chattering, and a phrase caught her ear. "--bad enough that Edge is always panting after the summoner girl, but now he wants to bring in some other slut. He needs to rule the kingdom, not spend his days chasing skirts."
Before she quite realized what she was doing, Celes had put down her plate and gotten to her feet. The chattering--soldiers? She supposed they must be--fell silent, and one made a poor attempt at hiding behind his compatriots, his expression guilty. Celes pinned him with her best glare. "I'm a general, not some licentious harlot bent on seduction," she snapped.
"If you can't keep a civil tongue in your head, Kazushi, you'll find yourself dismissed from my service," Edge said. "Go gather firewood. We'll need more for the night."
"Your Majesty--" Kazushi began to protest.
"Get out of my sight," Edge said, and Kazushi fled.
Celes reclaimed her seat, and Edge plopped down next to her. "Sorry," he said. "I'm not skirt-chasing. I mean, you're really pretty, but that's not why I asked you to come back with me."
"I did not think it was." She toyed with the bread disinterestedly.
"Nor did I, which is really the more pertinent issue," Rydia added. "But you said you were a general. Where?"
Fire. Civilians struggled as her soldiers dragged them from their homes and set the buildings to the torch. A man lay bloody and broken on the ground for striking her. A red-and-black banner snapped in the fire-driven wind, proclaiming their supremacy.
"I commanded for the Empire," she said hollowly. "They called me the Butcher of Maranda."
Rydia and Edge exchanged quick looks that she did not miss. "We have no towns or battlefields called Maranda," Rydia said carefully.
"And I have never heard of Eblan," Celes answered, "though I have seen nearly all the world."
"Look, let's not worry about this tonight," Edge said. "You need some rest, and then tomorrow maybe we can head back to where we met, and see if there's something around there that would give a clue."
Celes nodded. She had an impulse to go right that moment and investigate, but the wiser course of action would be to rest before beginning a new mission.
"Hey." Edge put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "We'll help you, alright? Don't worry."
It was easier to smile than she would have thought. "Thank you," she said.
"I mean, it might take twice as long since Edge likes to screw things up," Rydia said, "but we'll get there."
Celes stared.
"I love you too, dearest," Edge said, and put his arm around Rydia.
Did all people here behave in such a bizarre fashion?
"Ignore him," Rydia advised. "Rest well, Celes. We'll get you back to where you came from."
Celes murmured her thanks and watched them walk away, arm-in-arm. She could almost remember someone doing the same with her once, but try though she might, she could not picture a face--only a dark blue bandanna.
She went to the bedroll Edge had indicated and lay down. She would need her rest if they were to be travelling and possibly fighting tomorrow.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers
Notes: Written for the January 2009 round of IJ no_true_pair
Summary: This was not exactly what Edge expected to find on the hunting trip--but it's more interesting than what he expected, so it's not all bad.
Wordcount: 2300
Beta: celeloriel and first_seventhe
Of all the things Edge expected to find on this hunting trip-a bad case of bug bites and an excruciating sense of boredom had topped the mental list he'd made before leaving the castle-an extremely hot (and also efficient) warrior raining down copious amounts of ice upon the flame dogs that roamed Eblan's plains was definitely not one of them.
He kept far back from the scene of the battle, figuring she didn't need his help and if she was anything like Rydia-which the black magic she was using suggested-she'd probably fry his ass for getting in the way, and he'd already had that experience with Rydia twice this week, and the blisters still itched.
When the flame dogs were soggy steaming corpses as opposed to burning animals, he judged it safe to announce his presence. "Hey," he called out, ready to duck (which would definitely not be a retreat, it would just be prudent, because you never know with powerful unknown mages just what they're going to do when you surprise them).
She turned very fast, her sword held in a guard position that he recognized from Cecil's stances when they fought together, and it was probably not helping the situation that all he noticed about her face was even when she looks like she might kill me ten seconds from now, she's really hot. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, hands held up. "I just haven't seen you before, and so I'm a little curious."
Her eyes flicked over him with little interest, and though her face eased from a scowl to a neutral look, she didn't relax her guard in the slightest. "Where is this?" she asked, and it took him a moment to sort out what she was saying-her accent was very clipped and her words rushed, and it didn't sound like anywhere he'd ever visited. Also it was really weird that she was asking where she was, there weren't that many places around Eblan you could set out from and get lost, but whatever.
"You're in Eblan," he said quickly, and gave her his best reassuring smile-not that she could probably see it what with the ninja veil, but he hoped she heard it in his voice. "I'm Edge Geraldine. What's your name?"
Confusion flickered across her face. "My name is-" She paused, and pressed the fingers of her left hand to her temple. "-Celes?"
She said it more like a question than a statement, and Edge was starting to think that there was probably something really messed up going on here. He hoped she didn't actually have amnesia. It would make it a lot harder to get her back home. Not that he'd mind if she stuck around a while, she was pretty hot. Except he'd better not think about that too hard or Rydia was going to get really mad. "Okay, Celes, nice to meet you. You been traveling long?"
She frowned. "I-I don't know. Eblan, you said? I don't know a country by that name."
"What countries do you know?" Maybe they could work backwards?
"Figaro, the Empire, Jidoor, Narshe, Kohlingen-" She paused and rubbed at her forehead as though the name disturbed her. A moment later, she continued. "Thamasa, Doma, Tzen, Albrook, Mobliz, and Maranda." Again that motion of her fingers across her forehead, hard enough to leave white indentations in already pale skin.
Edge would willingly admit he didn't know the geography of the world by heart, but she seemed to think these were countries, and he definitely knew the names of all the major nations. Had she hit her head, maybe? He tried to check, discreetly, but no blood matted the long blond hair and her face was perfect-really, really perfect-okay, that line of thought definitely had to stop.
"You are staring at me as though I have grown a second head," she said crisply.
Again, it took him a moment to sort out the meaning of her words. "Well, it's just, I've never heard of any of those places you mentioned," he said. "Did you hit your head, or anything? I mean, what else do you remember?"
She opened her mouth, but didn't say anything for a long moment. "I...don't remember anything," she said slowly. "I know my name. I can fight. But I don't know where I am or how I got here."
"Okay, so what's the first thing you remember?"
"Being awakened by one of those fire-dogs trying to take a chunk out of my shoulder," she said.
"You're injured? Crap, I think I have some potions here," Edge said, scrambling in his pouch.
"I healed it already," she said.
Edge gaped. "You can use black and white magic?" he asked.
She looked puzzled. "Magicite doesn't distinguish between types of spells," she said. "Cure was the first spell to be transferred when I received my Magitek infusion."
This was worse than trying to listen to Cid explain the difference between types of airship engines. Edge gave up on hunting through his pack. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said honestly. "Um, were you travelling with anyone? Should I be looking for any other wandering people?"
"There was someone--" She frowned, and her left hand pressed against her temple again. In a distant corner of his mind, Edge was impressed: her sword had stayed in guard position without wavering once for this entire conversation. "I think there was someone, but I can't remember who."
"Alright, well, I'll send some of my people out to look." Edge offered his hand. "If you want to come with me, I know someone who'd love to talk to you about your magic, and maybe she can help us figure out where you need to go."
"Thank you," Celes said. She sheathed her sword, and now that she wasn't braced against the weight of a weapon, Edge could see that her posture put even Kain's to shame. Just who was this girl?
One thing was for sure, though: it ought to be interesting to find out. He was really, really hoping that "interesting" didn't end up meaning "life-threatening."
~*~
Celes followed the strange young man out of the forest. His garments were naggingly familiar, as though she had known someone who dressed similarly in the past, but she could not identify the source of her half-recognition. His mannerisms, too, reminded her of someone in a way that brought a certain warmth to her chest. She dismissed the extraneous and unproductive curiosity about these others she did not quite remember, and instead focused her attention on the land around her. The first thing a soldier did in unfamiliar territory was reconnaissance.
...Was she a soldier? She didn't know. Yet the thought of reconnaissance had come so easily.
Debating such things within her own head was a waste of time and effort. She examined the land around her instead. Largely flat and marshy, it was utterly unsuitable for a pitched battle. Perhaps that explained Edge's lack of steel armour. He carried narrow twin swords crossed on his back, not entirely unlike the sword that--someone--the name was lost to her mind, but she could almost see someone when she thought of the sword. Her mind pictured a swordsman, in peak condition, with graying black hair and lines carved deeply into his face.
Celes was growing profoundly irritated at the inefficiency that plagued her mind, and her own lack of memory.
They traveled for a good portion of the afternoon, and the sun was just touching the horizon when Edge said, "Here we are."
He led her up the side of a small plateau, which seemed mainly formed of clay and was therefore more stable than the marshlands they had been travelling through. Upon reaching the top, she found a bustling camp. It was efficiently laid out, but did not appear to be an army camp, judging by the number of noncombatants she saw. Regardless, it was well-placed for defense, given the high ground and the relative firmness of the clay.
"Rydia!" Edge called, and a slight girl in green rose from her place at one of the campfires. She turned to face them, and Celes's thoughts stuttered to a halt.
Green hair. There had been a girl she knew with green hair, but that one wore red, and fire was everywhere, searing her skin, she remembered screaming and the fire was everywhere and a whooping cackle echoed all around. The words "Test subject" rang in her ears like massive bells.
"Hey! Hey, are you okay?" Someone was gripping her arm and she fought free of the half-vision to find herself on her knees. Edge crouched next to her, his expression concerned under the absurd little veil that covered half his face, and it was his hand on her arm. The girl in green was standing four meters away, studying her intently.
"My apologies," she said stiffly, and forced herself to her feet. "I do not know what came over me."
"You look like you saw a ghost," the girl said. She extended a hand, slowly enough to make it clear that she intended no threat. "I am Rydia, of Mist."
"Celes." She clasped the other woman's hand as she would any warrior. Rydia had the indefinable air of someone skilled in battle, but she bore no sword-calluses. Nor did her arm have the musculature Celes might have expected. Yet her skin thrummed with energy, a bright flickering sense of something that went deeper than muscle or bone. It felt like magicite--
--sparks thrumming off gray stone incised with runes the colour of old blood, cold or hot or sparking to the touch and almost singing with energy--
"Did he remember to offer you anything to eat? I doubt it. Here, come sit down," Rydia said, and gestured to the campfire.
"How long have I been in camp?" Edge asked, sounding aggrieved. "You could maybe give me a chance to do things before you scold me for not doing them!"
Celes followed Rydia to the campfire, letting their quick, sharp banter flow past her without involving herself in it. It was apparent that they were quite fond of each other, despite the insults and arguments being thrown about.
Rydia pointed Celes to a seat and in short order had a plate of bread, cheese, and dried meat assembled, along with a cup of some kind of alcohol. "Beware the wine," Rydia said, with a sideways look at Edge. "It's rather strong."
Celes nodded her thanks. She was not particularly hungry, but she would need the food if she must fight later, so she ate what was put before her. It was more than adequate; she'd certainly eaten worse on their journey.
Whose journey?
She had some flash of memory--the horrible whooping laugh and a massive conflagration--but could put no more definition to it than that.
The other inhabitants of the camp were chattering, and a phrase caught her ear. "--bad enough that Edge is always panting after the summoner girl, but now he wants to bring in some other slut. He needs to rule the kingdom, not spend his days chasing skirts."
Before she quite realized what she was doing, Celes had put down her plate and gotten to her feet. The chattering--soldiers? She supposed they must be--fell silent, and one made a poor attempt at hiding behind his compatriots, his expression guilty. Celes pinned him with her best glare. "I'm a general, not some licentious harlot bent on seduction," she snapped.
"If you can't keep a civil tongue in your head, Kazushi, you'll find yourself dismissed from my service," Edge said. "Go gather firewood. We'll need more for the night."
"Your Majesty--" Kazushi began to protest.
"Get out of my sight," Edge said, and Kazushi fled.
Celes reclaimed her seat, and Edge plopped down next to her. "Sorry," he said. "I'm not skirt-chasing. I mean, you're really pretty, but that's not why I asked you to come back with me."
"I did not think it was." She toyed with the bread disinterestedly.
"Nor did I, which is really the more pertinent issue," Rydia added. "But you said you were a general. Where?"
Fire. Civilians struggled as her soldiers dragged them from their homes and set the buildings to the torch. A man lay bloody and broken on the ground for striking her. A red-and-black banner snapped in the fire-driven wind, proclaiming their supremacy.
"I commanded for the Empire," she said hollowly. "They called me the Butcher of Maranda."
Rydia and Edge exchanged quick looks that she did not miss. "We have no towns or battlefields called Maranda," Rydia said carefully.
"And I have never heard of Eblan," Celes answered, "though I have seen nearly all the world."
"Look, let's not worry about this tonight," Edge said. "You need some rest, and then tomorrow maybe we can head back to where we met, and see if there's something around there that would give a clue."
Celes nodded. She had an impulse to go right that moment and investigate, but the wiser course of action would be to rest before beginning a new mission.
"Hey." Edge put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "We'll help you, alright? Don't worry."
It was easier to smile than she would have thought. "Thank you," she said.
"I mean, it might take twice as long since Edge likes to screw things up," Rydia said, "but we'll get there."
Celes stared.
"I love you too, dearest," Edge said, and put his arm around Rydia.
Did all people here behave in such a bizarre fashion?
"Ignore him," Rydia advised. "Rest well, Celes. We'll get you back to where you came from."
Celes murmured her thanks and watched them walk away, arm-in-arm. She could almost remember someone doing the same with her once, but try though she might, she could not picture a face--only a dark blue bandanna.
She went to the bedroll Edge had indicated and lay down. She would need her rest if they were to be travelling and possibly fighting tomorrow.