dizzyspells | (no subject)

Current Location: Vector Palace, balcony

(no subject)

The force of the teleport spell slams Kefka into the floor. He sits up, but his vision is blurry andh it feels like the room is spinning under him. Ow ow ow, how had Celes pulled that off? It's cold, dammit, the chill of the wind on this miserable day and he's outside? Yes, seems like it, they're on the balcony where Gestahl gives speeches. He can see city lights glinting off the Guardian above him.

He struggles to his feet, holding his aching head, and looks around for Celes. The two soldiers with him - didn't matter. Chaff. Celes is the important one now, and he's not having her ruin his plans again!

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Celes wasn't too far away from where Kefka landed, in a heap on the floor. The spell had taken a lot out of her, but it was worth it, to buy Locke and the others some time.

With a heavy breath, she tried to push herself up, but her limbs felt heavy. There wasn't going to be any magical spells getting her out of this situation.

Kefka hops and limps over to Celes. When he gets there, he promptly kicks her in the stomach with as much force as he can muster - not much, but he hopes enough to hurt.

"What's the big idea?!"

It was enough to make her hiss in pain, but she's had much worse while under her past captivity. Before she could push herself up to glare at him, the two soldiers took their cue and rushed over to apprehend the former general- one kneeling on her back and pinning her to the ground. Not that they needed much force, but at least she knew they weren't taking her lightly.

"What's wrong, Kefka?" Her voice sounded more confident than she felt, purposely to stir up Kefka's ire so he would be delayed in sending out patrols to find her friends. She could only hope they would do the smart thing and get out of Vector while they had the chance, instead of coming back to find their lost comrade. Would it even cross their minds...? With the way Locke looked at her in the research facility...

No, now was not the time to think about it. She wrenched her head to the side so she could at least look up at him, "Things not going as planned?"

"Why, you -- "!

Kefka kicks her a couple more times until the hotcold rage that numbs his brain starts to wear off. People. People in Vector. Returners in Vector, now with Cid, danger danger danger, Returners with Espers and magicite and bad bad bad and Celes is here (traitor, traitor) and. And his fingers dig into his palms deep enough to draw blood, deep deep deep, and he.

He knows what he needs to do before he deals with her. He points at the soldiers pinning her.

"You two. Keep her here, make sure she doesn't ruin anything, but don't harm her. That's my job! I have to go - stop - those nasty little meddling rats and then I will be back!"

And Kefka makes a break for the control tower. It takes a few minutes for the Guardian to warm up, but he can send some others after them in the meantime. Max - no, no, he's 128 now - is in the tunnels, he can keep those clear, and he can get those cranes to watch the sky in case they sprout wings...!

This time one of the kicks manages to knock the wind out of her and with the knee pressed firmly into her back, it's hard to catch her breath. She's hardly aware when Kefka runs off, coughing and gasping as the soldiers secured her arms behind her back. She watched in a haze as the airship took off into the sky, after evading the cranes.

It was hard to explain the sinking feeling she was feeling combined with her relief. Her friends got away, but... had they abandoned her? Did they think she was truly a traitor. It was funny how little traitor meant before, when she was being locked up by the Empire, and what it meant now.

Some time later, Kefka returns, saying things that are definitely not appropriate for an E audience. He's practically in tears, his face is scrunched up and he's shaking like a leaf; the soldiers shudder when they see him, a straw away from breaking the camel's berserker rage.

"Celes!" he snaps, jabbing his finger at the nearest door to the main part of the palace. "Jail. Now!"

Well, it's not like she has a choice, with more soldiers arriving to help with the prisoner. Ever the prideful soldier, she didn't put up a fight as they hauled her to her feet, walking with her head held up to her own prison.

It was definitely a step up from her "accommodations" in South Figaro. There were no chains holding her to a wall, and she had free reign of her small cell. Her hands had to be bound, of course, to keep her from using magic, and there were thick bars and the rest of the Emperor's palace between her and freedom. It wasn't likely that there was going to be anyone sneaking in to rescue her this time.

It's almost a day before Kefka comes to the cell to visit Celes. His eyes are red, though the make up almost hides it; his clothing is immaculate, though, and his nails are freshly painted. He's putting on a show of how powerful, how flawless he is to anyone he meets. For most of the foot soldiers - they run from him, whisper about Kefka's new achievements, don't mention the failures of yesterday until they think he's out of earshot. They think he doesn't know, but he knows. He can't trust anyone here.

...well, there's a few people he can trust not to trust.

And so Kefka comes to see Celes, peering through the bars with something that's almost tenderness. "Celes. Celes. Celes..."

She's sitting on her cot when Kefka comes to see her, her bound hands in her lap. At his voice, she glanced up, her expression cool, but troubled. It was hard not to dwell on the other day, but Kefka didn't need to know that.

"What do you want?"

"How are you enjoying your accommodations? Nothing's exploded yet, has it?"

Kefka's of two minds about this, and thus the inflection of his questions speaks twofold: one, genuine worry for Celes; two, rage about...well, the betrayal, 128's death, 24's death, the cranes blowing up, the loss of the espers, the betrayal...The former is more prominent right now.

She shrugged, as if there weren't jail bars between them.

"I've had worse."

Her responses were purposely short, probably not doing much for his mood.

Kefka frowns, leaning against the bars.

"Yeah, that cesspit in South Figaro...but you showed us about putting you in shoddy rooming, ha ha ha..."

He's still smiling, but some of the annoyance is starting to rise. No reaction? No reaction to him?! No no no no no...

She didn't laugh, just looked away from him, towards the black wall next to her.

"Don't you have something better to do?"

"Nope."

Cid had checked him for any signs of trauma, any signs of his mental health deteriorating. Told him to stay in the palace and get some rest for the next few days and stay away from magic sources. Well. Celes wasn't a magic source, she was a nice lovely horrible awful nasty bad traitor and he would be just fine at this distance!

"So talk. Come on. Why did you stab me in the back?"

That question seemed to at least catch her attention, and she glared up at him from where she was sitting.

"You didn't honestly believe that I was coming back to work with you, did you?" It was honestly hard to tell with Kefka sometimes, if he was just trying to get the others to turn on her, or if he actually believed it himself.

"It was a far off chance still worth trying for."

He was, again, of two minds about it. Part of him insisted that she was back for real this time, she would defect and come back to him, she was here and his and no more troubles or worries. And part of him hissed that she had come to destroy them all, destroy her first, put her through the pain he felt, turn her friends on her and then drag her back.

(Not multiple personalities but dueling emotions, emotions so hotcold they flung his body about like a puppet, his whole self submerged in them. Usually, he could navigate a safe middle path through the storm of his feelings - he had done so before, playing at Celes returning and hoping for a good response - and he was doing so now, balancing his rage at the events of the last few days and his sorrow at his losses and his desperate want for a return, come back come back come back - )

"And my little ploy worked, didn't it?"

Her expression darkened, obviously bothered by the events back in the research facility. Still, she kept her voice controlled, and she tipped her head up, almost haughtily. As if she was the one on the outside of the cell.

"It doesn't matter. They got away, and all of that magicite is gone."

Kefka slams himself against the bars, shaking his finger at Celes.

"And whose fault is that?!"

His, his, his. Failure, worthless, why didn't he do better? And, and, and.

And.

He pulls back, brushing his hair back as if he wasn't two seconds away from homicidal a moment ago. Calm. As. Ice. "And it won't matter. I'll get it back, plus more besides."

She started when he slammed the bars, not expecting the outburst. Being away from the Empire for so long had the benefit of getting unused to Kefka's antics, but she just regarded him coolly. More magicite? That caught her attention.

"How are you going to get more? The rest of the Espers are in their realm."

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