Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author notes: You know the deal! I take a month off to work on other projects, but you guys get a teaser in the month between! Well, I just finished storyboarding the entire next book, and it looks like it may very well be the longest out of all the Shattered Mind books! Oh yes, and with plenty of twists and those cliffhangers you all love so much! :D And some cliffhangers so dark and evil that I may have to go into witness protection to avoid your wrath! XD

But for now, just enjoy this planned scene from the middle of the book!

Shattered Mind: Clarity- Teaser

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She wandered the ruined streets of the once-great city. Why did this happen? Citizens ran all around her, brushing past her without a second glance. More than a few bumped into her, threatening to knock her to her knees. The gripping pain in her stomach nearly caused her to fall. Where was her king? Where were the city guards? More importantly, where were those all-important heroes everyone had said were defending the kingdom?

She held her stomach in both hands as the pooling blood stained her pale blue dress. She had lived in this town almost her entire life. She had lived through the Dragon King's assault on the city. She had seen destruction on never-before seen levels. She had finally seen peace for two quiet years after Kuja's death, but this crisis started, and now the entire world was in danger.

Torched buildings and flames lined the horizon in all directions. Even in the dark of night, the city glowed like a beacon. Fuel from the airship docks burned the brightest, scorching her eyes as she turned to face it. To her left, a bakery collapsed, spilling ash and flaming timber into the cobbled road. She could only raise a hand to cover her eyes, too exhausted to run out of the way. The only things to reach her were shingles, fortunately having never caught fire like the rest of the building. She stumbled down the street, trying not to think about the family with the two children who had not been able to run out of the way of the rubble. As much as she wanted to, there was nothing she could do to save them now.

She stopped in the middle of the street, looking at the ruination, lost in thought. Her mind raced for a solution. This was her problem. This was her city. These were her citizens, and she had to protect them, but couldn't fathom the slightest idea how.

"DAGGER!"

She turned as one of the remaining heroes ran to her side. "Dagger, we can't stay here!"

"Trevor?" she repeated with a slow, muted voice. Her dress was singed, ruined beyond repair. The bloodstain covered most of her stomach, already larger than a grapefruit. "They're dying… Where's my staff? I have to heal them!"

"You can't worry about that now! Alexandria is gone! We need to get to the Invincible!" He grabbed her arm, roughly dragging her along, but the young Queen howled in protest. She tried to pull away, but the battle-weary mercenary was short of time and patience.

He yanked her arm into a spin and grabbed her other arm, shouting at her directly in her face. "DAGGER! We don't have time for this! If we don't fall back now, the Spectral Knights will get us too! Kaiten said this was going to happen and now he says we need to pull back! He is the ONLY reason the rest of us are still alive! Now we need to pull back! I don't want to see any more of my friends die!"

"Trevor, I…" she began. "I don't know what to do anymore…"

"I know. I'm in the same boat, but we can't stay here. Come on, the Invincible isn't far!"

She went with him as he led her by the hand. All around, people screamed for fear of death, or in pain from their bloody wounds and missing limbs. Orphaned children tugged at their parents' still-warm bodies. Dagger swore that the Spectral Knights would pay for everything they had done and for everything they had taken from her.

The attack had come so quickly and suddenly. No amount of preparation would have readied them for this. Even with the entire Mist Continent working as one solidified army, the Spectral Knights were more of a threat than even Kuja. Now what was left of the World Heroes were fighting professional soldiers. Just a single squad of nine specialists.

And the whole of Gaia was losing.