FicWad

"So this is it? I thought they were supposed to be beasts. This one looks so human." A young girl of fourteen pressed her nose against the glass, whispering to herself in amazement. The slim girl, clad in her white nightgown, looked ridiculously small compared to the size of the Esper capsule in front of her. She stared through the murky fluid in the capsule at an Esper, who did not have much of an age difference from herself. "It's pretty amazing how much she looks like a real human girl! This one is so different from the others." It had vibrant green hair entangled around its entire body, covering its humanlike form.

She didn't really understand this fascination with Espers that prevailed in Vector, even after living there for over four years. She had never been a studious girl before she moved into her dreary room above the lab and was forced to study and train by the scientists of the Facility. Instead, she had always chosen to play outside in the mud with the boys and even go on the occasional treasure hunt in her hometown on the Northern Continent. These Southerners were so strange in comparison to what she was used to. All she knew was that magic must have been quite important to them, since Espers were the reasons she had been imported to Vector in the first place. Life in Vector had forced her to adapt.

Sprinting down the long corridor towards her right, she made a mental note of the assortment of creatures she could spot in this small area of the Magitek Research Facility. They looked more like lifeless animals than the powerful creatures people around her made them out to be. She didn't have a long time left to savour this forbidden area. She held a brass key ring in her hand, spinning it on her fingers as she wandered around - she would have to return the keys before Cid woke up and discovered her. It was 2AM, and all seemed to be quiet.

She couldn't help but return to gaze at the green haired creature. She leaned it to read a small, metal plaque attached to the base of the capsule. "'B. Terra. Morpheus Half Esper of Mystic Gate.' So you were taken away from your home too, huh? I bet you miss your family." She lightly pressed her hands against the glass, closing her eyes for a moment. The glass was warm.

A loud knocking sound against the side of the glass broke her concentration with a jolt. "This isn't a place for a child." Her eyes flew open to see the Esper inside open her dark green eyes abruptly, shaken by the sudden noise; sapphire met emerald. The banging continued, and the Esper flinched back against the farthest pane of glass. The blonde girl turned to face the perpetrator.

"Kefka, it's you!" Coming from him, his words were an insult. "Child? You're only two years older than me; you're as much of a child as I am, if not more with your attitude."

"Look at her cower, Celes!" The seventeen year old boy laughed, suddenly making a grotesque face at it. The Esper closed her eyes and faced away from them.

"What are you doing here?" She ignored his remark, placing her hands on her hips indignantly.

"I could say the same thing." He grinned, mimicking her pose. In a shrill voice he cried out, "What are you doing here? ...And what in Ifrit's name are you wearing?"

His words echoed through the hallway, and Celes' hands quickly jumped from her hips to his mouth to stifle his sounds. "Shh. He'll hear you." He looked at her strangely, then bit her hand. She gave out a short shriek and pulled away with a low cry, "Kefka!" The keys fell to the floor.

"You can't silence me." Kefka whispered and laughed noiselessly, complying with her demand for quiet. "The door was slightly ajar and unlocked, so I let myself inside. I assume that your little grandfather hasn't given you permission to be inside?"

"He surely hasn't given you permission either," she responded cooly. She looked down to her wrist where a mark remained from where she had the final injection for her final magic infusion. The power of ice flowed freely through her veins. "All I wanted to know is what the power I have gained comes from, and the source is the only place to start out. I had to see these creatures for myself, whether I had permission or not."

"So we both agree that we are here against the policy of our superiors. I simply want to know why such a young and defenceless girl would be out wondering around in a man's world at night. Such idiotic behaviour."

"Young I may be, but defenceless I am not." Celes smiled slyly. "Besides, you are not so old yourself and could be mistaken for an intruder, especially with your ridiculous clothing choices." She couldn't help making a jab at his bright green coloured cape which flowed to the ground covering most of his red, patterned pajamas. "You look like you have come from some other world to steal the secrets of the Empire for your own endangered species of lunatics."

"Gee golly," Kefka growled sarcastically. "Your insults pierce me like the jaws of a Vector pup. Whether or not I am here or not, the fact remains that you were the one breaking and entering. For all you know, I'm here to stop what could very well be the terrorist activity of a young girl against her Emperor. Perhaps I am just a hero!"

"Perhaps you are just a jester's fool," Celes countered.

Kefka took a few steps in a circle around her, then stopped to face her and leaned close. "Do you who you are talking to, Celes? As of today?"

"No, I don't know who you are, Kefka." Celes' misanthropic nature returned as she began to walk back down the hallway, growing tired of his games.

He caught her wrist before she could get too far and twisted it in his hand, pulling her back to face him. "I'm no longer equal to you in status in the program, Celes. I am now your superior as the most successful test subject of the magic-infusions. How about that?"

"So what?" Celes answered, inhaling breath sharply at the mad look in his eyes. She quickly looked away, closing her eyes as she faced her left. Her free hand was poised behind her back, almost as if she were preparing herself.

"I now work under General Leo for the magic division, training of all the participants of the Magitek program including the training of that little Esper girl you seem to be so interested in. One day I'll be in control of the physical combat division too, if he dies and no one reaches his rank. I could achieve this honour even more quickly if I were to dispose of him secretly." He tightened his grip on her wrist and lifted his other hand to her chin, forcing her to face him. She blinked her eyes open.

"You plan on killing General Leo?" She whispered, "He was one of your schoolmates; you're friends! You looked up to him in training and wanted to be as strong as him with the sword, especially since he's only a year older than you with the skills of a sword master." Though she didn't show it through her body language, she was panicking. 'He's crazy. He's crazy! I need to get out of here!'

"You're very much like that Esper girl." He laughed. "You have a lot of power, why else would you be shipped into the country from an enemy region illegally? Your parents will be really proud of the mayhem their little girl will cause." Celes' hand behind her back had worked a small object out of a concealed pocket in the interfacing of her nightgown, designed for such an occasion. She carefully pushed on a small latch, struggling while he spoke. "You, from the north, and she, from some sort of mystical gate to another world. But, like that Esper girl against her confinement, you haven't found the strength to fight back against us, your enemies."

He nearly rested his head on her shoulder, placing his lips close to her ear as he whispered, "It really is sad, but I must admit, it is quite lovely to see the fear in your eyes. Your skin is so cold, Celes." His breath tickled.

Click. The sound of metal springing out from its handle resounded throughout the hallway. Kefka, recognising the sound immediately let go of her and jumped back as an enraged young girl stood before him wielding a small pocketknife. She had swung at him clumsily, obviously not trained in the arts of hunting, but narrowly cut her target on the hand which had seconds ago held her face. A few droplets of blood splattered her pure white nightgown.

Now, with both hands free, she clasped them together with an incantation, dropping her knife in haste. Kefka, with his hand slowly dribbling blood down his arm, countered by beginning his own incantation. As she had started earlier with a lower level spell, her magic rushed out of her body first, freezing his fingers in their motion, stopping his building of power in its tracks.

"Is this what you call a man's world?" Celes stated idly as she walked away, proud of her actions. "I may just be a girl as you said, but you are not a man; you are a mere boy who stands in my way."

The feel of flames licking her back surprised her greatly, and she found herself starting to run on instinct. 'How could he, with his hands immobile?' Her body became cool to fend off the heat, and she became colder and colder as the heat around her became warmer. Her legs felt so cold she wondered if they were still attached to her body.

And still she ran until the feeling of flames disappeared.

"That's your problem, Cel." Kefka laughed as he began to chase her, his pointed shoes clicking against the floor and his little nickname for her sounding particularly wrong. "You're too hasty, too proud, and think too highly of yourself."

The sound of his shoes clunking against the floor had shorter intervals of time between them than the pounding of Celes' slippers against the metal panelling on the floor. She was being outrun fairly quickly, so she tried to increase her speed.

Soft-bottomed slippers were in no way appropriate for running, as she soon found out as one of her slippers flew off. She tripped on it, sprawling onto her back.

"In your mind, you're always the winner, aren't you?" She did not reply. Kefka slid to a stop beside her gracefully on the shiny metal floor. "You tired, Celes?"

"Shut up!" Celes yelled in a hush whisper. She was scared but still kept her wits about her, thinking that it was better to not call attention to herself by the Imperial guards. If she was found in here, she had no idea what could happen to her. 'Please, just go away, Kefka. I don't need this.'

"You stopped the bleeding when you froze my hands." He grinned. "And, unlike you, I don't need my hands to be in working order to do magic. Like I said, we're different strengths now, you and me. My mind is far superior to yours. You'll need to work on this if you want to get anywhere in this country."

Her hands searched the floor frantically.

"Looking for this?" He held a knife between his fingers, twirling it in spite. "My, my, Celes, you certainly are not prepared mentally for this kind of expedition." He hurled the small weapon across the corridor, hitting but not smashing the glass of one of the sleeping Espers.

She pulled herself up by her willpower, but froze when she looked down. Coming out from the bottom of her nightgown were two red legs, her feet covered in boils. It was shocking to see such a sight when she was used to seeing the smooth, pristine legs.

"Ah, you finally noticed? It's a little disappointing; I've always wanted to touch them, but now I've gone and spoiled it all. Oh well, there is far more available for me to have." He laughed in his sinister way.

Her face flushed in anger and one of her hands instantly slapped him across the face with a cold and brutal hand. He recoiled and gave a stunning reprisal, forcing her to fall back against the hard, metal floor. It stung her far more than it had him, and she lifted a hand to her cheek and felt blood.

"You - you're -"

He grabbed her hands and leaned over her body. "I'm calling the shots now, Cel."

"How can you do such a -" He silenced her with his lips, pressing hard into her to muffle her voice. His repulsive taste entered her mouth. He shifted her wrists into the grasp of only one of his hands so he could feel the shape of her small frame beneath his fingers.

She writhed and twisted under his touch. Finally his mouth grew tired of hers and pulled away. However he used it as a third hand, ripping the front buttons of her nightgown with his teeth. His hand found one of her breasts and her angry spit found his face at lightning speed. "Don't touch me!" she cried, louder than a whisper. She was becoming less and less concerned about her illegal entrance into the Facility and became more worried about her personal safety.

"You'll pay for your disrespect soon, Celes." He let go of her body to wipe the saliva from his face. He cruelly rubbed the remains of it into her neck before he gave it a quick nip. Celes tried to focus on her magical energy, but she still couldn't do it with her hands out of commission. She wanted to scream out in pain as she felt teeth sinking into her chest.

He seemed to read her mind. "Scream if you want to, incriminate yourself in order to incriminate me. I dare you! Do it!"

She began to feel heat again, the flames of his spirit begging her to give in or die. She could feel tears coming into her eyes under his hateful gaze, but she held them back. She didn't want to be seen as weak, for she knew that he would punish her for that too. They had been friends - sort of, in their unique argumentative way - for years in the Magitek Program, and this was how it was going to end? She had dreamed of being a General one day to lead the country she resided in to glory, whether she had to betray her homeland or not. She had wanted to fall in love.

The heat was becoming unbearable.

"Celes, I want to hear you scream!"

She couldn't scream, her vocal cords were unwilling to give into Kefka's sick game. In her head, however, she was yelling her brains out, but knew that no one would ever hear her pleas. She concentrated on her magic again, even though she knew it was futile. She suddenly cried out an icicle attack spell.

Nothing happened related to her magic spell.

In front of her eyes Kefka had been pulled back from her, losing his grip on her wrists as he flailed his arms. He escaped the arms of the rescuer, but rushed to cover his face when the sound of magic executing erupted behind him. His hair frizzled as he became surrounded by electric bolts. Celes scrambled back the moment she realized she was free from him, pressing her back against the nearest Esper containment tube.

"Leo." Kefka growled out as he attempted to stand, tripping on his charred cape.

"Kefka." Leo stood wearing a night cloak over top of his own brand of regal-styled pajamas. "What is the meaning of this?"

"There is no meaning," Kefka informed him simply with a short laugh.

"Get out of here now," he demanded.

"Yes, sir." Kefka placed the emphasis on the word mockingly as he walked out of the room, his heels clicking against the floor.

Leo looked towards the dishevelled teenaged girl who looked scared out of her wits. She held the scraps of fabric from her nightgown over herself to decrease her skin exposure. She hid her face in shame.