A/N: I'm working on a radioplay for this, so I went through and corrected some mistakes. Hope this version is better.

Edited verson. Thanks for reading!

"I am the one destined to destroy this world. My name is Kuja."

The smile did not disappear from his features. After a moment, I regained my self-confidence to confront him. "Why did you put this mark on me?"

He looked up, away from my eyes and said, "That mark signifies that you will die."

"So it will take my life then?" I said sadly. He released me from his grasp and took a few steps away.

"Are you afraid, Terra?" he asked not turning around.

I smiled. "Why should I be? I don't fear death. If anything, I'll see my parents again."

He turned quickly. "If you don't fear death, then why do you fear me?"

I did not respond. "That's…a difficult question to answer," I said looking down.

"You should fear death like every normal being, but instead you opt to accept it willingly. Is it that hard to live?" he teased.

"Do you think that I want to die? That is untrue. I wouldn't mind dying because I have to die someday. I'll accept it when it comes, but that doesn't mean I want to. If I wanted to die, I would be dead. I can control my own fate. Nothing will change that," I confirmed.

I heard a low chuckle. "Your world will soon be destroyed and here you preach about how safe death is."

"Why do you want me to die?" I pressed. I would not let him change the subject. He swiftly turned back to face me. His footsteps echoed relentlessly upon the ground. I could feel my pulse increase with every inch he came closer.

"Your existence could pose a threat to me," he said. I could feel his cold blue eyes boring into mine. "Your name is an abomination in itself."

I raised an eyebrow. "How could I pose a threat to you? I think you may have this idea backwards. You're the angel of death. I'll change my name if it is an abomination," I agreed.

"A name is solid in stone; signifying who you really are. Altering it would change nothing."

"Why did you summon me here?" I asked.

"I'm taking you with me," he said calmly. My eyes widened. "If you stay here, you will undoubtedly run away then HE would find you and I would not have a chance," Kuja said.

The words made no sense. Who was 'HE'? What was Kuja talking about? The more I tried to figure it all out, the more my head began to hurt. I placed my forehead in my hand and rested it there. I thought about what he had just said. Why did I need to come along with him? What was going on? Was there truly any purpose in leaving if I was going to die? I suddenly felt like a chess piece; under the control of whoever made the move. One side had control and the other wanted to destroy that control. I didn't know what piece I was though. If I was a pawn, it wouldn't matter where I stood or which side I was on. I had always been a pawn; a dull, boring, ordinary pawn with no role in life but to move forward on a path that I was presented with.

I stood up from the fountain and walked over to him. "Why does it matter where I go? Either way, I'm going to die because of you!"

He did not respond. All he did was glare at me. The moonlight glinted off of his eyes. For a moment, I thought he would shed tears, but instead, a wicked smile formed across his lips. He then started to chuckle. His laughed echoed low and rich off of the surrounding buildings and ricocheted back to my sensitive ears.

"W-What's so funny?" I managed to ask. My voice was shaky again. Perhaps it was because of the strange powerful aura that came from Kuja.

He stopped laughing to give me a smile. "You're full of contradictions, Terra," he said softly with a smile.

I shivered. It was unknown to me whether I was cold or he gave me chills. It was pretty cold outside, but my long navy blue jacket reached down past my ankles slightly, so I shouldn't have been too cold. Who was this man? He seemed awfully powerful, but he was wasting his time on me. Why…? I couldn't understand. "I think you're mistaken, Mr. Kuja. Isn't Terra a common name anyway? Someone else might have it and this could all be a coincidence," I said vaguely. I was struggling inside; wanting to be near him, but afraid to abandon my family and the town I lived in. I had no real friends besides my elder brothers, but we lived peacefully as long as peace would allow.

I averted my gaze, waiting for an answer. "Terra," he said. The word came smoothly as if he were singing it, causing me to shudder again. I bent my head lower, trying to not look up into his superior gaze. "There IS no one else. You are the only one. Ever," he said.

"Y-you're mistaken…" I breathed. "There is nothing special about me…" I said hesitantly. "I would never harm you. If I never met you, I would just continued my life as if nothing ever happened."

"I've been on your mind all day, Terra," he said stepping closer. I froze in placed as his body was inches from my own. "You can't deny that now, can you?" he said in my ear.

I took a quick step backward from the proximity. It was uncomfortable. His aura and his scent almost engulfed me. It was somewhat soothing, but I didn't want to relax in front of this creature. I wanted to be as far away as gaia would allow, but part of me wanted to be needed, as oxygen to blood.

"Do I really scare you this much? You humans are quite amusing."

"Why…? Why won't you tell me why you want me to die?" I asked. I still hadn't gained the courage to look into his eyes. The fear would instantly overpower my will and I would be frozen; unable to flee if I had to.

"No one…has ever had the will to stand against me. It is ironic how things named Terra have no problem in doing that," he said.

I looked up at him in surprise. "Things named Terra? How did you even find out my name in the first place?" I was barely able to complete the last sentence.

"People speak and I don't always go out to spy on things. Sometimes the elements do that job for me. Like the water for instance; it is vast, great at hearing and can transmit sound waves. When people travel across the water, I can hear everything and so, I was able to hear your name. So I investigated. There is no one else in Gaia named Terra. So, as the angel of death, I must destroy everything that holds the name Terra. You were given that name, and so you are branded with the mark of death, never to stand against me again."

My head was pounding by now. His words only added to my dizziness. "So…it's just the name…isn't it?" I fell to my knees. "Why did you choose to postpone my demise with some incantation? Why don't you just kill me here and now? It would save you a lot of trouble," I couldn't believe the words spewing from my mouth. I was giving him consent to kill me. Was I giving up? Maybe I was. Things at home weren't that great anyway now that I looked at it. What was I saying!?

I opted to believe it was the dizziness engulfing my thought process. When I was sick, I didn't care what happened to me as long as the pain went away. If only that crate hadn't landed on top of me last night. It was too late for regrets now. I was going to die no matter what.

I gazed down at the uneven path, remembering all the times I had fallen and embarrassed myself in front of everyone. Even one of the noble's son whom I had a crush on and he laughed at me. I thought back to all the times that I had cried after that and Julian was the only one to dry my tears. Even now, I would have liked to go back to that moment, just to stand up as if nothing had happened and keep smiling. Maybe if I had done that, the boy would have looked at me different and I could be married and happy at sixteen.

Why did I always land myself in awkward predicaments? All the embarrassing moments seemed like nothing now. Since I was destined to die, nothing else mattered but to live. I wanted to live, but I had been deprived of that from the mysterious man who was deadly attractive; the man before me. "Do you…hate me then?" I managed to ask as I looked up at him from the cold ground.

He looked down at me for a moment. He then sighed and said, "Stand up." I accommodated. "That's a difficult question to answer," he said recalling my answer from a while ago.

"So," I said, feeling insulted as I looked down. "You choose to mock me then. How very childish," I mumbled loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm not going to kill you now. I'd rather see you suffer, just as I have suffered," he said crossing his arms and leaning against a wall.

"So it all comes down to 'an eye for an eye', doesn't it?" I assumed.

"You could say that," he responded.

"That's selfish," I said looking up slightly.

I heard him shifting from the wall. "How so?"

"I haven't done anything to harm you, yet you want revenge. That's completely selfish. You think you benefit yourself when you actually throw salt on your wounds," I stated.

He scoffed. "How could someone like you cause me to hurt myself?" He looked over at me expectantly. I would not give in to his silly mind games.

"It's because…you may regret it someday," I said. "Hurting others always brings regret. Regret turns into hatred to destroy that which cannot be corrected; in that case, it would be the memory thereof," I sighed. "Even the mouse can teach the lion."

"Contradictory," he stated in annoyance.

"I know that! I have always been contradictory, but nonetheless rational," I said, trying to calm.

A red hue streaked through the iron gated exit creating a stream of dim light that passed right over my eyes, causing me to blink repeatedly to adjust to the sudden light. I cupped my hand over my eyes to block it.

I heard Kuja approaching and narrowed my eyes to see where he was. Before I was able to realize, he was blocking the light from the rising sun. I could feel the warmth radiating off of his skin he was so close. I felt his breath rustle my hair. I stepped back on instinct, but he grabbed my arm, blocking my exit. "I'll give you two days to sort everything out. Then I'll come back for you," he breathed in my ear. "I have some business to attend, so you'll have to excuse me for a while. Don't try and run because I will find you. I see everything where there is water."

I heard the delicate movements of his clothing as he walked away. His boots echoed off of the ground. He opened the gate slightly and walked out as a silver dragon approached. I watched him mount the beast gracefully. As he left, he smirked down at me, disappearing into the sky toward the north.

"Two days…" I breathed aloud. I was so confused. I wanted to live, but I wasn't afraid to die. However, with this newly branded fate, I wanted it to be over with. I mentally battled out the odds in each situation, but came to no end. The sky turned orange and I broke out of my daze and began walking home slowly, my navy blue jacket trailed after me. My own footsteps echoed off of the looming buildings. The boots I wore were black and laced up to my knees. I remember the day Ember bought them for me. He decided I needed a new pair of shoes and Julian picked them out. He persuaded Ember to buy them. It wasn't hard considering my brown boots were ripped from all the times I had fallen. These were far more comfortable anyway due to the fact that the old ones were a little snug.

I made my way past the market. I still walked slowly. The cold air made its presence known only after I wasn't in a trance following Kuja. I didn't notice until now. When I reached the door of my house, I carefully traced the detailing on the handle before slowly turning the knob. To my surprise and utter shock, the door was locked!

I heard laughing above me which caused me to jump in alarm. "Good morning, sunshine!" I heard Deryo say as he slid off the roof and landed on his feet to my left. I saw Ferris follow and he landed on my right. Both of them had wide grins on their faces.

"You snuck out again," Ferris teased grabbing my ear.

"W-What do you want this time?" I stammered. "Oww!"

Deryo tugged my hair slightly. "You forgot to invite us to the fun! That's not fair, Terra!"

I smiled nervously. The words 'two days' kept flashing in my head. "I just went out for a late walk," I lied hoping they wouldn't see through it.

"At midnight…?" Deryo accused tugging on my hair further.

I looked innocently up at him and smiled, "That's right." I then suddenly embraced him. He withdrew slightly, taken off guard. "You really do care," I sighed. He returned the embrace apprehensively. "Thanks," I said.

I could feel them giving me questioning looks. "Are you alright, Terra?" I heard Ferris ask.

I turned toward him and embraced him as well. "I'm perfectly fine, Ferris," I answered. I wanted to hold onto my brothers for as long as I could. Two days…it wasn't enough time. A week ago, I expected to live with them until I was twenty or so. I never expected my life to change so abruptly. I wanted to make up for any damage I had caused just so that they would remember me even after I was dead.

I pulled away from Ferris and they both looked at me with concern. "Hey, what's gotten into you, Terra? You're acting strange," they said in unison. I swear they rehearse this stuff just to prepare for the right moment to say it, only to catch me off guard and give them a confused face.

"No, there's nothing wrong, but I think we should go back inside before the city awakens," I stated nervously.

They exchanged glances before shrugging. Ferris pulled the house key from the pocket of his brown pants and jammed it into the lock. After a moment, the door swung open as gracefully as it had before. We all tiptoed inside and Deryo closed the door lightly behind us, locking it back into place.

Ember was the same as he was before I left; the book clutched lightly under his slender hand; his light breathing the only sign that he was among the living. The three of us made our way to the long hallway ahead. I made sure that the floor didn't creak under my weight. We all managed to pass Julian's room with ease. Just up ahead was my room. I longed for the soft sheets of my bed to lull me back to sleep and take the dizziness from my head. As I neared the door, I felt Ferris and Deryo push on my back lightly, causing me to trip into my room. I landed with my nose to the wooden floor and heard them laughing quietly as the door was lightly shut and locked from the outside.

"I'll get you two for this," I hissed before standing up and wobbling over to the bed that looked so inviting. I quickly removed my jacket and dropped it to the floor, as I flopped down on the light, cushy surface. I curled up in a ball and untied the laces of my black boots, slipping them off and throwing them down to accompany my jacket.

I turned on my back and stared at the ceiling, light falling upon my eyes, blinding me slightly as I closed them and drifted into the sought out dream world where I could let go of my fears and find rest in a place that did not seek to destroy me.

I smelled a sweet fragrance that forced me from the sleep that captivated my mind with ease. I sat up and enjoyed the smell more as it hung heavily in the air. My door was unlocked and open. I saw Julian approach my room carrying a plate of food and a warm drink. The drink is what filled the air. It was the same recipe our mother made for us when we were young. It was a delicious treat.

"Good afternoon, Terra," he said beaming. He walked into my room and placed the tray of sandwiches on my bedside table. I nodded a thank you and scrunched my legs toward my chest to allow him room to sit on my bed.

He took the offered place and looked ahead; out toward the hallway. "Ember wants to talk to you today," he said avoiding my gaze. I felt my stomach rumble and snatched one of the sandwiches, stuffing it into my mouth. "He told me to tell you to meet him by the docks. You're going for a boat ride," he said looking over with a big grin.

I stopped in the middle of taking another bite of the cream-filled sandwich and raised an eyebrow to him. "Ember wants to go for a boat ride?"

Julian nodded. "Yes. He's waiting right now. He said as soon as you wake up, you should go. He left two hours ago."

"And he's been waiting this whole time!?" I sat up quickly, swinging my feet over the bed and grabbing for my boots.

"Terra," Julian said calmly. I shoved my right foot into its respective boot and started lacing it closed. I grabbed for the left boot and shoved my foot into it. "Terra," Julian said again. I was on my feet now, boots tied. I ran over to my dresser and combed through my messy hair. I had no time for a shower and I had taken one yesterday morning so it wasn't that big of a deal. "Terra," Julian said. I heard him walking up behind me as I combed through the long black strands that seemed to evade the teeth of the comb.

His pale hand caught mine before I could pull the comb through again. "Hey, Julian, I really need to get ready," I said impatiently. I tried to free my hand from his grasp, but he only clutched it tighter.

"You're not listening to me," he half sang. He moved closer beside me. I felt my heart increase at his closeness and willed the forbidden feeling away. He's my brother for crying out loud!

"What is it, Julian?" I managed to ask. He grabbed the comb from my hands and placed it back on my dresser. He then picked up the matching brush beside it.

He took a lock of my hair and began brushing gently though it. His touch was so gentle. I envied him for being gentle. I was always rough and clumsy. He continued to brush my hair. "A lady should use a brush and treat her hair as if it is her most precious gift," he said softly causing me to blush slightly. "Ember wants you to take your time, Ter. Don't rush things. You want to look presentable, don't you? It's been a while since you both had a serious talk."

I nodded, looking down as he continued to go through my hair. "He's been busy lately," I mumbled. "What would you do if I left for a while?" I asked uncertain of what he might say.

"I don't know. What are the circumstances?"

I hesitated on what I should say. I came up with an answer close enough to fit the situation without giving it away. "What if someone took me away from this place with my consent?"

He paused while brushing my hair. "Hmm... Does this person respect you?"

I didn't know how to answer. Did Kuja respect me? He had marked me with death and I didn't know how to respond to that. I felt my throat tighten and tears well up in my eyes. I wanted the person who separated me from my family to love and cherish me; to possibly marry me and appreciate me for who I was. Instead I was cursed with death and scorned for my very name. "Yes," I replied hiding the uncertainty from my voice. I could easily come up with lies to protect my brothers from any sadness. It was simple. I just had to believe what wasn't true myself.

"I see," Julian answered. "Well then, I would be very upset," he said with his famous smile.

"Huh…!?" I exclaimed turning to him in surprise.

"No one takes my little sister away from me without my approval first. I would chase anyone who did just to make sure they wouldn't hurt you," he resolved.

I stared at him in shock. I thought he wouldn't mind as long as I said he was respectful! "Why would it matter?" I asked.

"It matters because you are my only sister and I am obligated to protect you, without the obligation of course," he answered moving a strand of hair from my face with his hand. He placed the brush down on the dresser behind me and walked away, leaving me in my thoughts.

I moved toward my bed, sitting down upon it and gazing at my jacket on the floor. It was wrinkled; uneven, just like my life. I wished for something exciting or rare to happen to me. Now that my wish had come true, I now wanted to wish it away. Wishes were troublesome things. My wish was selfish, just like Kuja's intentions. No matter how much I wanted to escape my normal, embarrassing life, I would end up hurting others and I HAD ultimately ended up hurting myself. I realized then that I was a hypocrite when I told Kuja that he would hurt himself and he was selfish. I was just like him, in a different way, but still received the same result.

I reached down and clutched the jacket in my hand. The material was soft, like the time my father had first handed it down to me. It wasn't made of coarse material like any typical jacket. Instead, it was made from a strong form of silk that never weathered and remained insulated.

I stood up and swung the jacket over my shoulders, pulling it over my arms. I then began to finish a few more sandwiches. After I was satisfied, I took the warm drink into my hands. I held the silver cup in my hands, remembering the name my mom called it. She told us it was cider and it would always help us to feel better. After hard work or being teased into tears, she always made the warm liquid.

When I was younger, I had been picked on by several of my classmates. I walked home with Deryo and Ferris trying to cheer me up with jokes. They eventually gave up and each held one of my hands as we walked home. I saw the sadness in their eyes after being unable to accomplish cheering me up. I was five then and they were both seven. When we got home, they rushed to mom and begged her to make me a cup of cider. She smiled at them, her warm hazel eyes glinting. Deryo had walked me to my room and sat next to me on my bed. Ferris stayed with mom and helped her in preparing the drink. Both of them brought it into my room. My eyes were puffy and red from crying. She sat next to me and smiled, handing the same silver cup to me. I held it in both hands, careful not to drop it. As I took small sips, she placed her warm hand on my back, rubbing it back and forth to calm my tears. I ended up finishing the cup and fell asleep in her lap.

It was a long time ago and I was surprised that I could still remember it. I drank the cider slowly as I thought about the past. Once I had finished it, I left it beside my bed and left out of my bedroom door. I walked until I reached the wall that led to the kitchen. I peeked beyond the wall to see Julian peeling potatoes for dinner. I breathed before stepping into sight and embraced him from behind. "Thank you, Juli," I said softly.

He stopped for a moment and turned to me with a smile before nodding. "I would hug you back, but I don't want to get your jacket dirty," he said nervously. "I guess I owe you a real hug later, Terra."

"That's alright. Don't forget," I said as I left the kitchen and headed for the door. The weather had greatly warmed up from the sun's rays which were partially hidden by a few clouds. I ran toward the docks to see Ember slouched against the dark wall next to a boat. As he saw me approaching, he pulled away from the wall. I felt his crimson eyes glaring at me as I approached. My pace slowed as I came to a stop a few feet away from him.

"There's something we need to discuss," he sighed. I only stared at him. Something was quite troubling and I couldn't second guess what that was. I merely stared. That's all I could manage to do. "Come here," he mumbled extending his hand toward me. I stared down at it. It had a few calluses and scars, but such was the life of a blacksmith. I took his hand and he led me to the boat.

"You're awfully kind today," I noted.

"Our parents would want you to be treated as a lady," he remarked stepping down into the boat. He lightly pulled me down to sit across from him. "You're such a tomboy though," he responded.

I looked away, into the water's silky surface. To my horror and surprise, I remembered what Kuja said about the element of water. My throat tightened as I saw a unique glint in the smooth surface. He was there; watching and listening. I looked toward Ember who began to pull the boat out into the lake with the oars. "C-Can't we talk on shore?" I stuttered.

"What's wrong with this? No one else can hear us. This is a private talk," he said.

If only he knew! I couldn't tell him because he'd lock me in the house for sure! "B-But…I hate deep water!" I lied. I was used to these boat rides. Dad took us out on one all the time when we were little.

"You love the water," he countered.

"I feel sick today," I argued trying to think of a good excuse.

He put his hand to my forehead. "You don't have a fever. Are you afraid of being alone with me? I assure you that I'm not always the mean ogre you picture me as, Terra."

I shook my head violently. "It's not that!"

He stopped rowing suddenly. "What are you afraid of?"

I looked away, averting my gaze back to the water. I could have sworn I heard a light chuckle in the air; HIS voice. Ember didn't hear it because he continued to stare at me. "I just…" I began reaching for the bandage on my neck, pretending I had an itch to cover up my anxiety. Sighing in defeat, I asked, "What did you need to talk about?"

He gazed at me for another moment before continuing the journey into the lake. "I'm suspending your punishment. I know that Ferris and Deryo forced you into that situation."

I stared at him in confusion. "So why did you punish me in the first place?"

"I wanted to see if you would stand up for yourself," he scolded. "You should or people will take advantage of you!"

I gasped at his behavior. Ember never raised his voice; never! He always kept a respectful tone and disposition. It was rather unnerving to hear him yell. "People don't take advantage of me," I said looking down. Did they? I didn't know. If they did, I couldn't see it. I was always just normal; content with my life.

"You've been used by people since you were four. I thought that would have ended by now, but unfortunately, you are still too apprehensive to defend yourself," he said with a glare. I realized that Ember was twice as scary when he was seriously upset. His eyes pierced into my own and I shuddered.

"I-I can defend myself if I need to," I said trying to keep my voice steady from shaking. I glared back at him, but my brown colored eyes had an inferior effect to his superior red ones. I had to blink from his captivating gaze to the water. I felt so powerless. It was as if I was playing into the hands of two very superior creatures; the first was my brother, the second was Kuja. I could feel their power emanating from both in front of me and below me; in the water. Both were silenced, waiting for me to continue. "Mother taught me how to defend myself…" I concluded.

"Defense and willpower are two completely different things, Terra. You're weak if you don't even have the power to stand up for yourself," he said.

I was confused yet again. Ember saw me as weak; a child unable to defend myself and stand on my own. Kuja viewed me as a person whom held a great threat against him for reasons still unclear to me. He told me that I was the only person who truly dared to stand up to him unflinchingly, at least to my knowledge. Kuja and Ember were two very strong people. I didn't know who to believe though. Should I listen to Ember or Kuja? Why did it seem that they were both contradictory. They both said I was. "I am not weak," I said. "I just accept things as they come. I don't want others to get hurt, so I opt to take the punishments."

"Deryo and Ferris don't care whether or not you get in trouble," Ember stated. The memory of their comfort came back to me which supported the fact that they DID in fact care.

"You're wrong," I said trying not to show my anxiety. "Deryo and Ferris DO care. Remember the time I came home from being picked on? They were there for me, even up to the point where I fell asleep in mom's lap. They care, but they show that they care in different ways than you and Julian do," I said surprised at the words that escaped my mouth.

Ember grunted. "They were young then. Children are born with compassion towards people who are hurt," he said.

"What about those kids who picked on me? They held no compassion of how I felt. Or what about that noble who laughed when I tripped? He didn't care either. Not everyone holds compassion. Children care, don't get me wrong, but they also ridicule the things they don't understand. Deryo and Ferris care. If they didn't care, they would avoid me. How I see it is that as long as they still talk to me, they still care," I said with a smile of triumph.

Ember gazed at me for a long time. We both sat in the middle of the lake. His gaze began to make me feel uncomfortable. I shifted slightly so that he would snap out of his gaze. He narrowed his eyes. "Now you're starting to sound like Julian," he stated as he picked up the paddles. One of them slipped from the boat and drifted with the current away from Alexandria. Ember cursed under his breath and moved to retrieve it, causing the boat to flip.

I lost my breath as my body came in contact with the cold, icy depths. I gasped for air, but instead breathed in water. I felt my lungs contract and I coughed up more oxygen in trying to expel the water, causing me to suck in more of it. My nose and mouth burned and I felt my torso squeeze tighter as my heart pumped faster. I reached my hand toward the surface as I drifted toward the bottom. My jacket billowed around me. I struggled to swim toward the surface, but the water was pulling me down. My eyes began to droop shut as my heart rate slowed. My temperature began to drop dramatically. I could feel my hands numbing as I struggled to keep my eyes open and swim to the surface. My black hair flowed upward as my body sank deeper.

My vision hazed in and out as I saw a figure dressed in black approach me. Ember…? I wanted to say his name, but I couldn't move my mouth to create the words. My body ached and burned as if I was eating acid. Was this how I am going to die; at the icy depths of the lake? I felt tears mix with the water around my eyes as a warm hand wrapped around my wrist. I felt an arm wrap around my waist as I was pulled upward. I shut my eyes as we neared the surface. The water pulsed rapidly through my body, stinging my veins and slowing my heart. The stinging subdued to numbness and my eyes drooped completely, sealing tight as I felt air hit my face.