Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. I mean, c'mon! I said that in every chapter in Issues! I think that's pretty obvious by now, right?

Author's notes: Well, this isn't really the next book for Shattered Mind. As the title suggests, it's just a teaser. It's not big, but it's fun and well detailed. It's here to let you know that I am still working on the story, albeit slowly, and to give you a small insight as to what the next chapter of Shattered Mind will look like. It's a nice little intro that I hope won't have anyone waiting outside my house with torches and pitchforks.

I'll get with the rest of the chapter as soon as my schedule allows.

Chapter 1- Awaken to a Nightmare.

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…What…happened?

My consciousness came back to me in a brush of wind. It sounded like I came through a wind tunnel as my vision slowly refocused. The cold rain splashing on my face, mixed with the chill of the cold stone ground, made waking up only easier. My breath came with much labor. After a quick recall, I remembered that I had gotten like this after fighting Beatrix. She had decimated all four of us, Zidane, Freya, Vivi, and myself, without even breaking a sweat. I was lucky to be alive.

Looking around, I saw that there was no more sign of Beatrix, Queen Brahne, or any Alexandrian forces. We had simply been left to die.

Turning my head the other way, I saw that Freya and Zidane were crawling to me, apparently unable to use their legs very well. They must've gotten their legs damaged in the fight just now. I blinked weakly at them as they appeared blurred, my vision mixed with rain and exhaustion. I strained myself to lift my arm and reach out for them, through they were still a few feet away.

Guys… Are you alright?... Where's Vivi?... I wanted to ask, but the words became stuck in my throat. My mouth could barely even move. In fact, most of my body seemed numb. My only hope for recovery, it seemed, hinged on Zidane getting to my side and giving me a potion. I didn't know how hurt I was, but a potion would at least do something.

As Zidane and Freya neared, I could see their mouths moving rapidly. They seemed to be yelling something frantically, but I couldn't hear a single word. The only sound that I could hear was the constant rain falling from the clouds and smashing into the ground. I looked at them with my eyes open only as slits. I desperately tried to catch a phrase, a single word of what they were saying, but it was futile.

Kaiten… What happened? I tried to ask the Terran soul stuck in my head. Several seconds passed without any response. I could understand not being able to hear Zidane or Freya due to injury to my ears, but I couldn't fathom a single idea why I wouldn't be able to hear Kaiten.

Kaiten!

There was only more silence.

I didn't know why he wasn't saying anything. Normally, Kaiten wouldn't miss a chance to harass me about anything.

I looked back to Freya, who was now only a foot away from me. Her voice melted in with the sound of the rain until I could finally make out some of her words.

"…vor! Trevor! Hang on!" she shouted.

I widened my eyes as Zidane came up behind her and pulled out a vial I had never seen before. It wasn't the light blue vial that the potions always were. This one was a shining silver and seemed to give off a more healing glow. I didn't know of anything in our inventory that could have described it.

Wait… Didn't Zidane find an elixir back in the storage room in the last plaza?

I stretched my hand to reach out for the vial, dragging my hand limply over my chest. I could feel the armor under my shirt covered with dents and scratches. I knew that it might have been getting more damaged than I had realized over my trek through Gaia, but this was more damaged than it should have been. That's when my hand ran over the other half of my chest…

I didn't feel anything wrong at first, what with my body being numb, but before too long, I could understand why Zidane and Freya were so panicked as they rushed to my side.

…There was a gaping hole where my lung should have been.

My hand fell into the hole, fitting inside the warm, bloody opening in my chest. I could feel ribs and bits of organ inside where my lung should have been. My eyes widened as I realized the incredible severity of my situation. My lung was gone, my hand was stuck inside my chest, and I was probably a few seconds away from death.

It was too much. As the feeling came back to my body, I could feel my cold hand inside my chest, as well as the rain falling straight through to the ground, indicating to me that there was an enormous crater in my chest, going all the way through.

My back arched and legs kicked pitifully as the horror rushed onto me, prompting me to let out a gurgled scream, mixed with what I know knew was blood seeping from my mouth. Zidane and Freya leapt onto me, trying desperately to save me in the last remaining seconds of my life.

What the hell happened? What happened after I blacked out?