It was peaceful there. Time had no meaning, and things were so much clearer in the spiritual realm. It wasn't specific memories that came to me, so much as a general feeling about certain things. I knew I had been the Empire's lab rat and that I had been forced to do some terrible things. I also knew that Celes and I had met years before and that she was at least one person who didn't treat me like I was an animal. What I didn't know was why I was different or why I changed. I didn't understand why my mutated body was laying on an altar in a strange place with my consciousness floating nearby. I saw Edgar, Sabin, Locke, and Celes enter the room. Overjoyed, I opened my disembodied mouth to greet them when I felt a gentle hand land on my shoulder. I looked up into Ramuh's kind face. They cannot hear you nor see you, the sage reminded me. My face fell. I know. Celes was the first to approach the altar, ever confident, but with her brow furrowed in concern. Unconcerned with the heat, she touched an icy hand to my face. The contact of the two elements sizzled and steamed, and the pink blaze of flame and fur died away, leaving my unconscious form human and naked. I guess whatever clothes I had been wearing were devoured by the fires of my transformation. Without a word, she unclasped the cloak from her shoulders and draped it over my nude body. She exuded such tenderness, I nearly cried that I couldn't wake up to ease her worry. The others watched with unreadable expressions. I guess Celes was still pretty cold to them. They didn't know that a simple gesture like that was just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Not sure how I knew that, but that's not the point. Ramuh said goodbye to me then and appeared to the Returners, as I could not. Lazily, I circled them as they spoke. More than once during their conversation, I passed by Celes. Each time she lifted her gaze from the Esper and looked around as if sensing something, while the guys didn't seem to notice me. I wondered if perhaps it was part of her military training, to have her instincts honed to pick up the tiniest fluctuations in the environment around her. Or maybe it was a magic thing. Back in Narshe, she had said she felt the Esper's mind, so maybe she felt mine. Ramuh disappeared in a brilliant flash of light, leaving only a glowing stone in his wake. The guys said their goodbyes to the body on the altar, and I smiled when Celes turned more in my general direction. "We'll be back," she whispered. I reached a hand out to brush her cheek, but of course it passed right through her. Nevertheless, I saw her eyes register the touch, and the corner of her mouth quirked upwards for the briefest of moments. She turned on her heel and followed the others out, and I was alone. The smile turned a bit more sad, but it never left my face.
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