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“You don’t have to do this.”
Celes Chere refused to look over her shoulder. She’d only seen the man standing behind her and his ghastly ship once, but she'd swore never again. He’d spouted words that (at the time) had seemed far too appropriate, and he’d led her down a road that had eventually seen her in shackles in a damp and dank cellar prison in South Figaro. Those promises had been stripped away with the first lashes — a white ridge of scar along her forearm proved it, and she still found new ones when the wind tugged her sleeve or looked at herself in a mirror. When Locke Cole had showed up, she’d sworn she’d never listen to this man’s lies again.
“Go away.”
She heard the shuffle of his feet quietly behind her. After a few moments, he spoke once again.
“Celes, I’m sorry.”
Unbidden, a tear slid down her face, but she forced herself not to acknowledge him. She hunched her shoulders, trying not to let the mountain cold reach her; instead she let it feed her sorrow and rage.
“Celes, you don’t have to do this. I can help you-”
She whipped around, stalking toward the tweed-wearing time traveler. “Like you helped me a year ago? You promised you’d help, that you’d come when I called. Where were you, Doctor, when I was tortured? Where were your flowery promises? Your terrifying, beautiful alternatives of a world without violence? Where were you when they starved me for weeks? Where was your blue box? Where were you, Doctor—when I called?"
He looked down at the ground, suitably ashamed. Whatever reasons he appeared to have had been torn from his mouth, seared from existence by the fiery frost of her quickly uttered accusations. After a few moments of silence, he pulled his gaze from the ground to her furious one.
"I tried — believe me, I tried. But time has teeth of its own."
He seemed to have no interest in expanding upon the thought. Silence passed between them for a few brief moments, before he finally spoke again.
“Do you still have it?”
Her gaze narrowed. “I am unsure of what you speak.”
His lips curved up a little bit. “Oh, you didn’t lose it, did you? I liked that one!”
She glowered. “Why do you ask?”
The Doctor shrugged, tentatively taking a few meandering steps towards Celes. “Unless you’re using that, can I snag it back from you?”
Her jaw dropped, “Of all the…” She jammed her hand into a pocket, grasping hold of the object the Doctor requested. A moment later, a long strand of dark purple fabric was tossed in his face. “The world has been destroyed, and all you care about is a damn bowtie. Take it; it should keep your body warm, but I suppose it will not begin to touch your frozen heart,” she stated, turning back and walking towards the cliff.
He sighed quietly, but began to attach the dark piece of fabric to his collar. Then, he moved to stand next to Celes, looking out over the purple-hazed horizon.
“So, what’s the plan?”
She didn’t look at him. “What does it look to you, that I plan to stand here for eternity? I’ll leap. There is nothing left in the world, much less for a failure such as me.”
The Doctor looked to the former Imperial officer, a sad smile on his face. “There’s so many people out there, looking for hope, looking for a source of light. You can give them that! If you’re convinced that you’ve done wrong to this world, then do something to change it! You have that power!”
For a moment, uncertainty passed through her eyes, before again clouding with anger. “I refuse. I tried to save the world once. You told me I was going to save the world with just one word, and look around us. I spoke one word and as a result, I allowed Kefka to take complete control of the world. Do you understand, Doctor? Do you understand what my one word did?”
He kept his eyes on her, the look in them completely unreadable.
“You told me to say one word. One word—and the world you stand in was born. One word—and my world died. Do you know how that feels, Doctor? You can’t blame Kefka for my sins. And while I made my choices, you told me it would get better.”
She swept her arm across the horizon.
“Tell me, Doctor, in what definition of better do you place this world?”
The Time Lord was finishing tying his bowtie around his collar. However, he looked over at her after he was sure he would be allowed to speak. “Do you know why I gave you my bowtie?” he asked quietly.
“I have no idea. A shining glimmer of hope destined to take it all away from me?”
The man across from her turned back towards the horizon, taking one measured step closer to the cliff edge. His silence gave Celes a moment to reflect. Why had the man given her his precious bowtie, of which he seemed so attached? Despite her anger, she didn’t fully believe him completely capable of the irrepressible external loathing of others that she so accused him of. No, there must have been a deeper reason; something that she couldn’t quite see yet.
Perhaps there was hope for her yet, she quietly mused as she kept her eyes on him.
“Because, bowties are cool.”
He grinned over his shoulder at her. An unamused look met his, and he visibly shrank away from her, before allowing his shoulders to drop down wearily. The facade was gone, she realized with a start, his hands dropping to his sides into fists. This was the man, a fearful storm that she suspected hid behind joviality, which kept her eyes locked onto his.
“There are bad men everywhere. Past, present, future — all the same. They twist good things, make you think you’re less than you are. They raised you, didn’t they? Tried to break you. Don’t let them. Not now - you're stronger than that."
He paused, allowing her to process what he had said. Then, he met her eyes evenly.
"Tell me, Celestia, do you regret your choices? Would you regret saying that one word if I told you that the future would have only been delayed?”
Celes stopped, unable to comprehend what the strangely dressed man was saying. No one used her full name; most people didn't know it existed.
“I only regret that it turned into what it did. What I said needed to be said,” she stated with finality.
His eyes narrowed on hers.
“Then, make him pay. I regret what has happened to your world, but I promise you he will regret it more. Go out into this world, be the shiniest example of not keeping quiet, not staying down. Don’t let what he has done to this world and to you pass. Make a stand.”
Her eyes widened. “Doctor, I…” she trailed off, unable to finish.
He held her gaze for a moment in silence, then straightened his bowtie. “This bowtie has seen many evils, and it has seen many escape unscathed. But, it’s seen just as many punished for their crimes. I gave you this bowtie because I trusted you to do what it took when the time came, no matter the consequences.”
He stepped towards her, reaching out a hand to her. “You’ve got such potential, Celes. Such a bright and amazing future. Let me take you to the mainland. Just take my hand.”
She closed her eyes, steeling her resolve. She didn’t want to trust him, but… he reminded her of her grandfather. He was filled with such faith and belief in a world that could exist. And he made her want to believe. She wanted to believe that it could still get better.
So, she nodded, with all the resolve of an iron-clad general, and grabbed his hand. The Doctor smiled, and for just a moment, it felt all was going to be all right.
“Okay.”