Celes and Terra glared at each other, both trying to keep their emotions in check. They both knew that Locke was caught in the middle, and they didn’t want to hurt him. But they couldn’t help feeling jealous of each other.
“I don’t see what’s so great about her,” Celes muttered. “She’s just a half-breed.”
“At least I’m not a traitor!” Terra shot back. “I would never betray the people I care about.”
“You’re just a naïve little girl,” Celes sneered. “You have no idea what the world is really like.”
“And you’re just a cold-hearted bitch,” Terra retorted. “You’re too afraid to open your heart to anyone.”
They both stepped forward, ready to fight, but Locke appeared between them, holding up his hands. “That’s enough,” he said, his voice full of emotion. “I love you both, but I can’t choose between you. I’m sorry.”
He turned and walked away, leaving Celes and Terra to stare after him in shock.
Locke returned to the casino, leaving the fighting of the two women behind him. As he entered, shaking his head, Setzer caught up to him.
“What was that all about?” Setzer asked, genuinely curious.
“Celes and Terra were arguing about who would be a better match for me,” Locke explained.
“And who do you think would be a better match for you?” Setzer asked.
“Honestly? I have no idea,” Locke admitted. “They’re both amazing women, and I care for them both deeply. But I can’t choose between them.”
“Well, you’d better make a decision soon,” Setzer said. “They’re both ready to tear each other apart, and they’re not going to back down.”
“I know,” Locke said with a sigh. “I just wish I could make everyone happy.”
“That’s not possible, my friend,” Setzer said. “You just have to choose the woman you want to be with, and hope for the best.”
Back on deck, Celes and Terra had retreated to opposite sides of the deck. Neither noticed Gau watching them from high up on the airship’s enormous gasbag.
Gau was confused. He didn’t understand why the two women were fighting over Locke. From what he could see, they both liked him. Gau didn’t understand why humans had to be so complicated.
He dropped silently to the deck and snuck up to Celes. He didn’t want to disturb her, but thought he should do something, even if he wasn’t sure what. He stood there until Celes noticed him.
“What are you doing here, Gau?” she asked, her voice full of sadness.
“Celes sad,” Gau said simply. He didn’t know what else to say.
“I’m just upset,” Celes explained. “I care about Locke, but he’s in love with Terra. I don’t know what to do.”
“Celes love Locke?” Gau asked.
“Yes, I do,” Celes admitted. “But I don’t think he loves me back.”
“Gau sorry,” Gau said, sympathy in his voice.
“It’s not your fault, Gau,” Celes said, ruffling his hair. “Thank you for being here for me.”
At that moment, Terra walked over to them. She had been watching Gau and Celes from a distance, and she felt a sudden surge of jealousy. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t like seeing Gau comforting Celes.
“What are you two doing?” she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.
“Gau just wanted to make sure I was okay,” Celes explained.
“I see,” Terra said, her eyes narrowing. “You don’t need Gau. You have Locke.”
“And you have Sabin,” Celes retorted. “Or have you forgotten about him?” (As part of Terra’s background, I had Terra train daily with Sabin).
“I would never forget about Sabin,” Terra said, her voice trembling. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Locke loves me, not you.”
“We’ll see about that,” Celes said, stalking off. Gau watched her go, then turned to Terra.
“Celes sad,” he said.
“I know she is,” Terra said, her heart heavy. “But I can’t help feeling like I won the prize.”
The atmosphere in the Blackjack was sullen and tense during dinner. Setzer let it go on until he couldn’t take it any more.
“I know what we need,” said Setzer. “A hunt. Tomorrow, we hunt the Intangir.”
“What’s the Intangir?” Celes asked.
“It’s a fearsome creature that dwells on the Triangle Island,” Setzer explained. “If we can kill it, we’ll be richly rewarded.”
“I’m in,” Terra said immediately. She was eager for a chance to prove herself.
“I’ll join you as well,” Celes said. She wanted to get away from Locke for awhile, and a hunt sounded like just the thing.
“Excellent,” Setzer said. “Gather your things and meet me on the deck at sunrise.” Himself, Terra and Celes. He would need one more for the adventuring party, but who would be best? Locke, or Sabin? Or perhaps even Gau? He decided to leave it up to chance.
The next morning, Setzer, Terra, and Celes met on the deck of the Blackjack, ready to hunt the Intangir. Gau was there as well, much to Terra’s surprise. She wasn’t sure if he should be coming along on such a dangerous mission.
“Gau come too,” Gau said, as if reading her thoughts. “Gau help.”
“If you say so,” Terra said uncertainly.
“Let’s go,” Setzer said. “We don’t want to keep the Intangir waiting.”
They descended to the small island where the Intangir was said to dwell. They could see it lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.
“Be careful, everyone,” Setzer warned. “This thing is dangerous.”
They spread out, each taking up a position around the Intangir. When it attacked, they were ready. Gau transformed into a ferocious beast and Terra called upon her magic to weaken the creature. Celes used her sword to great effect, and Setzer fired arrows from afar. (Note: This is not how you kill the Intangir).
After a long and bloody battle, they finally emerged victorious. The Intangir was dead, and they were richer for it.
They returned to the Blackjack, tired but triumphant. As they relaxed in the aftermath of the battle, Gau came up to Terra.
“Gau happy,” he said. “Friendship strong.”
“Yes, Gau,” Terra said, smiling. “Our friendship is strong.”
She was glad that, despite their rivalry for Locke’s affections, she and Celes had been able to put aside their differences and work together. She knew that they would always be friends, no matter what happened with Locke.
Locke was a little surprised to see that the two women who were fighting for his affection were suddenly… friends? It was strange, but he couldn’t help but be happy for them. Maybe there was hope for him yet.
That night, he contrived to be alone with Terra in Blackjack’s engine room. “I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier,” he said. “I never meant to hurt either of you.”
“I know,” Terra said. “It’s just… difficult. I care for you deeply, but I don’t want to come between you and Celes.”
“I don’t want that either,” Locke said. “But I can’t help how I feel.”
He paused, gathering his thoughts. “I think… I think I love you, Terra,” he said finally.
“I love you too, Locke,” Terra said, her eyes shining with tears. They kissed, their hearts full of love and hope for the future. They didn’t know that Gau had been silently listening from outside the door.
The feral green-haired child quickly found Celes playing solitaire on one of the casino’s felt tables.
“Celes sad,” Gau said, his voice full of sympathy.
“Yes, Gau,” Celes said, her eyes filling with tears. “I’m sad.”
“Friendship strong,” Gau said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Celes nodded, her emotions too raw to speak. She knew that Gau was right. No matter what happened with Locke, she and Terra would always be friends. But she couldn’t help feeling wounded that Locke had not chosen her.
Looking at the others in the casino busy with their own amusements, she knew what she could do — what she WOULD do. That night, while Locke slept, Celes left a note for Setzer, the captain of the Blackjack. She couldn’t face Locke, not yet. She knew that she needed time to heal, and she hoped that Locke would understand.
Then she slipped away, joining Gau on the deck of the Blackjack.
“Gau come too,” Gau said.
“Yes, Gau,” Celes said. “You’re coming, too.”
She didn’t know what the future held, but she was ready to face it. Gau would protect her, and together they would find their way.
They leaped from the Blackjack onto the slopes of the high mountains and made their way eventually back to the Veldt, where they lived for years as the animals do, never again thinking about the worlds of humans and espers.
Setzer was furious. Celes had left him a note, explaining that she needed time to be alone. Setzer knew that Locke would be heartbroken. The gambler was not the same without his lost love, and now he had lost the woman he’d hoped to love, as well. Setzer was tempted to go after Celes, to drag her back by her hair if necessary. But in the end, he decided to let her go. He knew that she would come back to him when she was ready.
As for Locke, he was devastated. He wandered the halls of Figaro Castle like a ghost, refusing to speak to anyone. King Edgar did his best to cheer Locke up, but it was no use. Terra tried to reach out to him, but he pushed her away. He couldn’t bear to see her, not when she was the reason Celes had left.
Setzer found Locke one day, sitting on the edge of a cliff, staring out at the sea. Setzer sat down next to Locke and they sat in silence for a long time.
“It’s not your fault, you know,” Setzer said finally. “Celes made her own decision. You can’t blame yourself.”
“I know,” Locke said, his voice full of pain. “But I can’t help feeling responsible. If I had just chosen Celes, none of this would have happened.”
“You can’t think like that,” Setzer said. “It will only make you crazy.” “I know,” Locke said. “But I can’t help it. I just wish I could turn back time and change what happened.”
“We can’t change the past, Locke,” Setzer said. “We can only learn from it and move on.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Locke said, his voice full of despair.
“You have to,” Setzer said. “For Celes, if not for yourself. She wouldn’t want you to give up.”
Locke nodded, his throat constricting with emotion. Setzer was right. He had to be strong, for Celes’ sake. Slowly, he began to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and move on. He would devote himself to Terra, and try to forget the love he might have shared with Celes. He prayed he had made the right choice.
That’s better than most fan fiction I’ve read (Not that it’s a huge sample size.) It’s also coherent and makes sense at every point. If it was about characters I already know and like I’m pretty sure I’d be wanting more. Did it take a lot of tweaking or is it pretty much as it came from the prompt?
I added a bunch of backstory in the prompt to help it keep the characters straight. It confused some characters toward the end, so I corrected the names, and after it stopped each time, I wrote a few words to get it going again, but that is mostly how it went. I was surprised Celes went off with Gau, and I was also a little surprised that Locke confessed his love to Terra, but really seemed like he regretted it after Celes left.
In game, Celes was apologizing for going off with the Empire again, and upon rejoining, she tries to talk to Locke, but Locke refuses to even look at her. Meanwhile, in the game, Terra wonders if she could learn to love after being a slave to the Empire for her entire life. Shadow comforts her and tells her that she will find love, unless she is one of those people who have killed all their emotions. He’s referring to himself, of course. He’s having trouble remaining stoic because his daughter, Relm, is on board the Blackjack, and she must never find out that Shadow is her father.
The story is SO COMPLEX and wonderful. I found the full script for FF6 and that should allow me to really do a better job setting up further plot twists.