The man moaned.  So did Celes.  The man hadn't been any better off
time-traveling while unconscious, and Celes had been knocked unconscious
also.

Since her "father" was tied up, and she still had her sword, she figured
it was alright to talk.

"Wren said you were my father."

"I am.  Look, Celes, I know you don't believe me, but I am your father."

"Bullshit you are!  Or maybe you are.  My father left home when I was
four.  If you aren't my father, I don't want to have anything to do with
you.  And if you are my father, I want even less to do with you."

"I'm sorry, Celes."

Celes was genuinely concerned when the man apologized so quickly.

"What's your name... Dad?"

"Ben, Ben Chere."

"Why did you do... what you did?"

"If you meant why did I leave home, it's because I had to.  When the
Empire told me they had combined my genes with a female's to make a
daughter, I just went mad.  I had never even given a thought to settling
down and having a wife and children.  And suddenly I have both and..."
His voice trailed off.

"But I never even knew you.  I wished I would meet you somehow, that I
would be so happy, but now I've met you and I'm even more depressed.  How
could you leave like that?  And how come you went and did this?"

"Ironically, your statements answer your questions.  I thought that I
shouldn't have run away like I did.  But what was I supposed to do?  I
thought, 'If only I could turn back the clock.'  Then I found this cave,
and Wren.  We became good friends, both of us ignorant that the other knew
you.  When I learned about the use of this place, I tried to go back in
time."

"But why kidnap our ancestors?"

"That was an unfortunate mistake.  I didn't know that Daphne was related
to us.  See, I researched things that shaped this world, and one of them
was occuring the time you were just in.  That boy, along with a sprite
companion and Daphne, would come to save the world.  I thought that if I
saved the world instead, I could get the name 'Chere' very popular, and
that, in turn, would help us out during the course of time..."

"Alright, I guess if I try to throw you in jail they'd think I was crazy,
so I guess I have to let you go now and destroy this place, huh?" said
Celes, untying him.

"No!  Don't you understand?  This machine offers power, luxury,
everything!  We can do anything with it.  Let's go back, we can reshape
the world."

"No.  You will do no such thing.  Time is not something to be played with
like a child's toy.  Follow me, we're leaving."

*****

"The exit's just around this bend. Ben?"  Celes turned around.  Where was
he?  The machine!  She started running.

*****

The machine was all ready to go.  It seemed like she had gotten there just
in time.  "STOP!" she shouted at her father.

"I won't stop, Celes, because I know that you really want a better life
than the one you've been handed, and you wouldn't kill your own father for
something you'd almost do youself."

"You're wrong, Dad.  I would never do something like what you're trying to
do."

"You won't stop me."  He started running toward the platform.

There was nothing she could do now.  Her sword was too heavy to try and
throw, and there was no way she could reach him in time.  There was only
one hope.  Maybe some of her magic still lived in her from her recent
excursion to the past.

She raised both hands.  "ULTIMA!" she shouted.

Everything turned blue, and in the center of the room, a bubble started
growing, destroying everything it touched.

"Celes, what are you doing?!"

The blue bubble hit a support beam, destroying it.  The cave started
collapsing.  One of the smaller rocks landed on Ben, knocking him to the
floor.  There was no way she could get across the room now.  She tried her
magic again.  "Warp!"  No effect.

"I'm sorry, Dad."

Celes turned and ran.

*****

That night, a young girl wept bitterly in her room at the hotel.

And flowers had been laid on two graves in rememberance of two friends.

A new one, and one more than 1000 years old.

                                  R.I.P.
                             Wren Caligraven
       The man who has been a inspriation to us to save the world.

                                  R.I.P.
                                Ben Chere
      The man who offered all the time in the world to his daughter.