The Lights
by NarratorwayView |
|||
Terra and Gau: The Learning Lights |
|||
Further Series |
|||
Terra and Gau: The Learning Lights
Chapter 1 - Crystals
She was hunched over at the starboard end of the ship. Celes and Edgar were crouched down right next to her. The past few minutes were hazy at best, which is why she fell off the airship. She was standing at the edge of the ship ready to lead everyone to safety...but that wasn't right, she had already done that. All her memories were wrong, or were they, maybe they were just mixed, yeah...mixed, not wrong. Still trying to collect herself she suddenly felt a small breeze and someone yelling, and it all seemed very far away. Then, all of a sudden, she was free. There was no ground, no sky, and winds were violently pushing and pulling her in all directions all at the same time. Her body was being beaten by the elements but she was smiling. She was in chaos, yes, chaos. That meant she wouldn't have to worry anymore. Never again would she feel lost in emotions, in the past, in loves...and losses. In time she could deny who she was and be blanketed in anonymity. She would've begun to cry, tears swirling around her like protective crystals, if she hadn't hit the deck of the airship. The blow brought her right back to her senses, in every respect but her thoughts.
The deck was shaking, the engine whining loudly, barely audible over the screaming wind, and everyone was tightly gripping the rails except Setzer, who was straining against the wheel for all he was worth. She could see to the back end of the ship and the sky beyond it. It was tilting up. A shudder made her fall back and roll into the railing, and she almost fell off again. Her head was facing forward and she saw the ground racing towards them. She gasped as the horizon above her head began to slowly come down to eye level. There was a shudder that was felt from deep within the ship and then the world tilted for Terra Brandford and faded away.
Terra woke up, as Edgar and Celes crowded around her.
"Terra, are you all right?" Celes asked urgently.
"Yeah, I think so" she replied and looked around. Everyone was getting up, dazed and confused. She looked at Setzer and noticed he was sweating and his face was red. He did not look happy. She looked past him and saw Gau. He was still clinging to the railing, his hands gripping it so tight that they were white. He was crying and shaking. Suddenly Terra was overwhelmed with guilt. She almost killed everyone and she didn't even realize it until just then.
But that was always how it was, wasn't it. She had always been the one who was the cause of other people's pain. Everyone she knew had suffered because of her. It was her that killed fifty soldiers in a blaze so powerful, it drain her of almost all her power. She had killed fifty soldiers, ended fifty lives. Because of a Slave Crown, she couldn't control herself, but that didn't matter. Despite what people had heard, the crown took your will, but not your awareness. She could remember watching them, expendable rookies no older than twenty, watching as they screamed, as their flesh burned and their armor melted to their skin. And mixed in with the screams was laughter from a voice that barely sounded human. She lowered her head and began to cry.
Edgar put his arm around her shoulder. "Terra, it's all right. You're okay."
"You don't understand." The tears were hurting her eye. "It's all my fault, all of it." She was losing herself in despair. Then she heard a child's voice.
"Terra, Gau sorry. Gau didn't mean to make you cry." She looked up and the wild boy was stooped in front of her. He smiled and jumped upright and began to pound his chest. "See? Gau feel fine!"
Terra needed that more than she would ever know. She jumped up and hugged Gau and cried harder. Gau tried to get away.
"Gau made Terra worse." Which is what he really thought, but he had also spent almost all of his life in the wild of the veldt and he wasn't used to this kind of contact.
"No Gau," Terra said through her tears, "you've made me better. Much better." Gau stopped struggling as a feeling he had never felt before came over him. He hugged Terra back and began to cry himself.
Everyone on the ship watched in awe, and some were a little bit apprehensive towards Gau being so close to Terra. Since their lights had returned to them, such things as feelings of suspicion, envy, and other emotions that would have undermined their quest had also returned. Of course they didn't despise each other, nor would such emotions ever come to fruition between them, but it would still linger in the back of their sub-conscious, like it does for all human beings. And so it was for many of the people aboard the airship that they weren't all that sure about whether Gau was always safe to be around. He came from the wild after all.
Except for Sabin and Cyan. They saw his potential. The fact that he was able to hold his own against Sabin and not break a sweat really impressed him though he'd never admit it. Cyan saw him in a little different light, considering him a kind of lost soul in need of direction and guidance.
But none of this mattered to Terra or Gau as they hugged each other.
Caves of Narshe: Final Fantasy VI
Version 6
©1997–2024 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.
Version 6
©1997–2024 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.