InsaneJournal

Marcus was starting to worry. Which was weird in itself, because it was one of the rare times he wasn't worried about himself. No, this was all about Celes.

He hadn't heard from her in days. At first, he'd just assumed she was sleeping off a video game binge or maybe calling up her favorite humans in Japan to make sure they were okay. But after a couple of days of total radio silence, no amount of thinking 'She's probably fine' could convince Marcus.

The lights were off in Celes' house, not that it mattered much. Celes probably could've played video games if she went blind. He knocked on the door, knuckles rapping sharply against the wood.

"Celes!" he called out after a minute of no response. "Hey, Celes! It's Marcus, open up!"

Yep, she could most certainly continue her video game shenanigans if she did go blind. In fact, she had an uncanny way of being a part of them as well. But that was to be expected, considering who she was.

There was a vague sound of knocking and she dismissed it as a part of the game she was currently playing. Even though she had beaten five of the Final Fantasy's so far she was working on another.

Any normal person would assume she was just having a marathon.

Not the case. At all.

She heard her name, and Marcus' voice behind it. And yet she didn't move. A random image of the two of them together came to mind but she said nothing. He could get in if he really wanted to.

After another minute or so of knocking, Marcus grunted in frustration and stepped back. He knew she was in there, he could feel her with whatever spider sense that being gods gave them. He started poking around the house, looking for an unlocked window.

He hit paydirt at the back door, which was unlocked. He entered the house. He called out, "Hey, it's me, not a thief. Don't shoot me or whatever."

He made his way through the house, not trying to be quiet, and finally found Celes in front of one of the many game systems scattered through her house.

"Hey," he said, kneeling down next to her. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. "Hey, you okay?"

Celes could now hear evidence of another presence. Though no response came still. In her mind she told herself Marcus was there. Probably come to game or something. Well, he would soon be very disappointed.

If it had been anyone besides him or their 'family' she probably would have shot them.

Without looking from the screen she gave a little grunt that she could hear him and that, yes, she welcomed his presence. But other than that she said nothing. She made no movement to welcome him properly. Her eyes were bloodshot and she could have used a shower or twenty. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was in its place and except for her being 'missing' for several days everything seemed just fine. Except for her appearance of course.

"Celes," Marcus murmured. Something was obviously wrong. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead. "Come on, put the controller down and talk to me for a sec."

She flinched at the touch. Not because she was scared. It just startled her. It was strange. She knew he was there and yet it was almost as though she only just saw him. "Marcus. What are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to call you for a couple of days now," Marcus said. "And from the smell of you, babe, you haven't moved from this spot for pretty much all of those days, no offense. What's going on?"

Her phone did lay on the table in front of her, but it hadn't been moved from that spot. "My phone must have died," she said in an almost monotone voice. Where she would have usually joked back she simply turned to look at the screen again, though now she didn't make any more in-game. "I'm paying tribute to Japan while I think of what to do."

Marcus settled in next to her hesitantly, not sure what to do. He was a god of trolling and Internet drama, meaning he had little to no idea of what to do when confronted with something as huge and terrible as what was happening in Japan. He mostly felt awkward and made bad attempts at nervous humor.

But Celes needed him to be at least mildly helpful. So he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, "That's a good idea. You want to maybe take a break, though? I can microwave something for you."

As huge as the disaster had been and as much work that was going on Celes hadn't shed a tear. It stressed her out and made her feel miserable, but all the years she'd been on this earth she had learned that tears don't fix anything. Neither did gaming, but gaming was literally her life so try telling her that and you'd soon have broken games.

She wasn't in the mood for anything. Eating was nothing more than a luxury. She didn't actually need to eat and when she did it was because she simply had a craving or because she let human influence take over. So she shook her head, "I have no desire to eat." There was a short pause. "I'll stop when it's time." And yet she still made no move to start playing again.

"Yeah, well I want mac and cheese and it'd be rude to make some and not make you any," Marcus said. He moved his arm down to Celes waist and started carefully pulling her to her feet. "So come on, humor me. I'll tell you about Amber getting mixed in some crazy-ass drama with the Greeks."

Had she been herself she would have smirked at that. But considering the state she was in she simply let him help her up. She didn't need help but yet she couldn't bring herself to stop him. She didn't plan on eating anything and simply walked with him to the kitchen.

Marcus sat Celes down at the kitchen table and started rifling through her cabinets, trying to decide if there was any kind of magic food that would snap her out of this funk. She was obviously Not Well.

In the end, he grabbed two packages of Easy Mac and some water bottles. Noodles would help; they had electrolytes or some shit. He popped Celes' bowl of macaroni into the microwave and opened the bottle of water befort setting it down in front of her. He sat in the seat next to her.

"So, I think you need to get some sleep."

She watched him though gave no help in his search. How many times had he been there now? She figured he knew where to look for whatever it was he was looking for.

She stared at the microwave, watching the bowl rotate slowly. Still, she had no appetite. She didn't even seem to notice the water and when he sat next to her she just kept staring at the little bowl.

"There's a time for that."

"I think the time is now, though," Marcus said, laying his hand across hers. "I don't think...sitting in the house driving yourself nuts isn't going to help anyone."

Celes finally looked at him, her face devoid of expression. "You don't understand. Gaming is how I think these things through. This wasn't just a game marathon." She stared at him for a moment, still showing no sign of emotion. If she could ever look like Video Games now was that time. "I've decided I need to go to Japan. I'm going to help where I can, for as long as I can. It's a second home to me, Marcus."

Marcus nodded, not saying anything for a moment, and squeezed her hand. He was interrupted after a moment by the shrill beep of the microwave, and he got up to grab Celes' Easy Mac. He put it down in front of her, along with a fork.

"I could go with you. If you wanted, I mean."

She paid not attention to the little bowl save for a quick glance. She'd said she didn't want any, and she wouldn't eat it unless her mood changed a little.

"You could. I'm not stopping you. I'm leaving over the weekend."

A part of Marcus wanted to get pissy, irritated that all his fussing wasn't making Celes any better. This is why he didn't try to be nice to people, damn it. But he remembered some of Amber's advice (which had come unsolicited, the way all of Amber's advice did) that had actually been a little helpful.

"Whatever she's going through doesn't have anything to do with you. Which is totally rare, considering what an ass you are. Anyway, you just showing up isn't going to fix it, Marcus. You've just got to be there when she finds whatever will fix it."

So he just nodded again and said, "Looks like we're going to Japan then."

Helping out Video Games wasn't always easy. Not when it came to personal issues. Someone messing with games, trying to install their own glitches, whathaveyou. Those things just irritated her and in turn made her strike back. If she knew how this made him feel she would have at least assured him it was something on a personal level that only she could fix.

Nodding, this time she looked at he bowl. Just to appease him she took a bite, but she didn't really taste it. It was just tasteless mush right now. "Now it's time to sleep," she announced suddenly. She chose her path and anyone who wanted her to do something else would have to drag her kicking and screaming. "You can stay if you want. Make sure I don't sleep walk or anything like that." Hey, at least she was trying at this point. With her mind made up and a traveling companion her spirits had lifted, if only a little.