Cole stood motionless at the doorway, truly frozen, staring at the wild garden he recognized, even though all that remained were trees and high weeds. But suddenly,
"La...la...la,"
Cole heard the familiar melody being hummed. Weirdly, this time he didn't feel woozy or sick; instead, a sense of profound comfort washed over his heart. He immediately let go with one hand and pinched his cheek. "AW," the pain confirmed he wasn't tripping or dreaming. He stood still, closed his eyes, sharpened his ears, and listened carefully for the tune's exact origin. Once certain, Cole opened his eyes and looked toward the center of the garden.
"It's coming from the center... the spot where we used to gather... in the dream," Cole thought.
"TAP," Cole started to move. His heart, which was usually steady, was now slamming so hard he thought it might just pop out. Slowly, avoiding the high weeds, he tried to break through to the middle.
"Ugh,"
Celes, riding on Cole's back, began to wake up. Slowly, she opened her eyes, which instantly went wide. She looked all around, then up at the shattered dome, open to the sky with wild plants pouring in from outside. Only then did she realize Cole was carrying her.
"Co... Cole... t-this place?" Celes asked, her voice shaking.
"Yeah, can you hear it?" Cole asked, answering Celes.
Celes fell silent. She also heard the same melody coming from the center of the garden. "GYUUT," she immediately hugged Cole tight, her body trembling, and "HIK... HIK," tears soaked her face. Cole felt Celes's fast heartbeat against his back.
"I... I hear it, Cole," Celes whispered.
"Yeah... we're home," Cole replied.
"You're right... c-can you put me down?" Celes asked.
Cole paused, then gently put Celes down. After that, they walked together, holding hands, with Cole leading the way, cutting through the weeds. After a walk that felt endless, though the distance wasn't far, they finally reached the central circle. Both of them gasped, seeing a piano sitting perfectly in the center of a circular patch of flooring, totally free of rot. Cole unconsciously shed a tear at the sight of the piano, but quickly wiped it away with his arm.
They simply stood there, frozen, staring at the piano, their hands clasped tightly. The melody continued to swell, becoming clearer. Both of them felt a wave of nostalgia, as if they were children again, sitting and listening to the song in the circle around the piano, with no plants growing there. After a few moments, Cole broke the silence.
"Weird," Cole said.
"What's weird?" Celes asked.
"Look at that piano... why is it still perfect, exactly like it was in the dream... when the garden is a mess like this?" Cole asked, gesturing to their surroundings.
"Hmm... thinking about it, you're right. That piano really stands out... it looks totally out of place," Celes added.
Suddenly, Cole looked down at the floor. He saw a gap in the circle around the piano, showing what looked like steel underneath. He crouched down and felt it to check. Then he paused for a moment, listening to the tune. As soon as he realized the music was coming from below, he walked right up to the piano.
"Co... Cole?" Celes asked, confused.
Cole felt the piano. He carefully looked at the paint; the wood-like finish easily peeled off onto his hand. When he looked closer, he realized the piano was made of iron. He then turned and called Celes over. Celes immediately stepped forward.
"That tune is coming from under here... and this piano is in great shape because it's made of iron. Only the fake wood paint is peeling off, see?" Cole said, showing her his fingers smeared with piano paint.
"Oh... that makes sense. (She looked at the floor.) So, it's down here?" Celes asked.
"Right. Hold on," Cole answered.
Cole went to the front of the piano and opened the key cover. The keys were still intact and looked brand new. "TUNG," Cole pressed one key; the piano still made a clear sound without being plugged in. He finally sat down and folded his arms, staring thoughtfully at the rows of keys. Then he looked at the panel in front of the keys, reaching up to wipe off the dust. Under the dust, a sequence of musical notes was visible. Cole immediately looked at Celes.
"Celes, come here," Cole said.
Celes quickly joined Cole, who showed her the sequence of notes. Celes immediately sat down next to Cole.
"Want me to try playing it?" Celes asked.
"Try it. I can't play," Cole answered.
"Hmm... okay," Celes said.
Celes first tried pressing the keys one by one according to the sequence written from right to left, but nothing happened. Then she tried pressing them from left to right:
"G-D-E-F-A-B,"
"GLENG," a loud, distinct sound of something unlocking rang out. "GREEEEEEEK," Cole and Celes looked over as the floor surrounding the piano circle shifted. Then, "GLENG," the circular metal plate where the piano sat began to descend slowly.
"HUP,"
Cole and Celes, seated at the piano, stayed put, clutching each other. The sound of the melody grew clearer and their hearts pounded faster. Cole and Celes didn't speak; they just felt themselves descending with the piano, going down at a moderate speed. Five minutes later, "GLENG," the piano platform landed in a hangar. "BLAAR... BLAAR," lights flared on, illuminating a tunnel. The piano circle and its hangar began moving straight into a long, brightly lit, iron-plated tunnel, huge like a colossal spaceship corridor or a subway tunnel.
"Um... where are we going?" Celes asked.
"I don't know... but one thing's for sure... this facility is still operational," Cole answered.
They felt the tunnel sloping down gently, and the hangar's movement sped up. Cole and Celes just stared straight ahead, seeing something that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. After going down the tunnel for quite a while, the lift finally slowed and, "GLENG," stopped. "PSIIU," the hangar gate opened. Cole and Celes stepped out. They walked down a short, slightly damaged corridor that was still lit, and then stood in front of an iron door.
"PSIIUUU," the door slid open immediately. They stepped inside and their eyes widened. They were in a ruined lobby marked with a logo of a globe with wings and a shield. Beneath the symbol, the letters G.D.A.B. were written, an acronym for Global Defense Army Bureau.
"Huh... the notes you played... so this is it?" Cole asked, looking around.
"Yeah, this wasn't in the dream," Celes answered, looking around.
"La...la...la,"
The sound of the melody was now much clearer. They immediately walked toward an already-open door on the left, which was missing its door panel, and went in. Cole and Celes's faces suddenly went pale because they had stepped onto a landing, and when they looked down, they saw six rows of ten shattered, ruined columns of tubes in a vast, warehouse-like room.
"W-what is this?" Cole asked.
"I... I don't know... b-but for some reason I have a really bad feeling about this," Celes answered.
They both immediately climbed down and looked at the tubes. Cole saw the first row, which was labeled C-013-471. Then he saw a smaller inscription beneath the number. He wiped the dust off the writing, and his eyes instantly went wide as he read the inscription.
"Chimaera Project, code name Cole,"
"BLUGH," Cole collapsed onto the floor, his face white, unable to speak. He then tilted his head, looking behind the tube; ten more tubes were lined up behind it.
"W-what? So what... what am I?" Cole asked, trembling.
"KYYYYAAAAAA," Cole snapped his head up, hearing Celes scream. He immediately stood and ran toward her; she was right in the row of tubes next to him. Cole saw Celes drop to her knees, both hands clamped over her mouth, her face so white she looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"What is it, Celes?" Cole asked, crouching down, anxious.
Celes didn't answer. She was frozen, but her hand slowly moved to point at the tube directly in front of her. Cole turned to look at the dirty tube, which somehow still appeared functional. He stood up and slowly approached it. He rubbed the tube's surface to wipe away the grime and, "GLENG," Cole instantly fell back onto the floor, his jaw slack. Inside the tube was Celes, but in a nightmare form: her skin was blackish-gray, both her hands were like snakes, her legs up to the calf were like snakes, and her eyes were shut. Multiple wires were connected to her body, and she was submerged in a yellow fluid.