Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Revisions all around. The basics will remain the same, but the total will be better!

Chapter 1

Raining...

It was always raining. The tiny raindrops hit the glass, running down the pane in rivulets. There was not as much rain as in Burmecia, but the sight was still depressing nonetheless.

A face showed in the gray glass, reflecting a pale disk with two dark spots where the eyes

should be. A young woman stood in front of the blurred landscape, the scene's colors mixing together like an Impressionist painting. She stared out as if trying to discern something in the distance.

"Mikoto, can you help me lace up my dress?" a sweetly feminine voice asked.

The young woman, Mikoto, narrowed her eyes, there is nothing out there, she told herself, and quickly turned away from the bleak outdoors. She tried to suppress her bad feeling, but the ominous presence would not be dismissed as it squirmed up her spine. Now is not the time for my danger sense to act up.

She took a deep breath and faced her queen, "Of course, Your Highness."

Her slippered feet making no sound on the thick rugs underneath, Mikoto walked across the

grand room. Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th, now queen, had not changed in the ten years of her rule. The petite young woman had become a vivacious beauty. The downside of two pregnancies lost on her. A compassionate, yet determined leader, Garnet commanded the unanimous respect of the great country of Alexandria. However, no matter how wonderful a leader, she still needed help getting into the old fashioned gown she was wearing.

Mikoto, sister to both the savior and would-be destroyer of the world, on the other hand was

cursed with the adolescent body of a genome. Slightly taller than Garnet, Mikoto had only hints of curves for all of her twenty five years of age. In an attempt to appear more feminine, she had let her blonde hair grow out, but she felt the effort was wasted.

When the last string was tightened, Garnet exhaled in relief, "Ah...Thank you, Mikoto. Now I

feel confident enough to face the ambassadors this evening." she chuckled.

Mikoto smiled weakly, "It is amazing how looking one's best can boost one's confidence, but

are you sure it is safe to invite all of those people here?"

Garnet's pleasant face turned into a frown, "Why? Have you felt something?"

"Yes," she paused, her small smile turning into a grin, "but it is most likely just Zidane spiking the punch."

The queen laughed, and straightened out her many layered gown, "It is such a shame I can not

dress you up tonight," Garnet replied, "but we do need you to look after Terra and Leo."

Mikoto visibly paled at the mention of dressing up and going to a social event, "I understand."

"Formal wear is not unbearable, however uncomfortable it may be." The queen remarked.

The genome looked down at her own drab dress, feeling somewhat underdressed standing next to the queen of Alexandria, "No matter how I am dressed, I am still me," she paused, "But I would rather watch over Terra and Leo than go to some ball."

The queen's expression turned serious once more, "You do feel something, a warning

perhaps?"

Mikoto's brows furrowed, "I can not tell."

"I will post extra guards just in case though, I respect your abilities far too much to disregard

them."

The blonde nodded, "Thank you." She just wished she wasn't right so often. It would be

easier if everyone did not depend on her constantly. She didn't think her powers were so great, but they did help protect Terra and Leo, and that was all that mattered.

Mikoto waited while Garnet gave herself another glance over. The queen adjusted her necklace as a soft knock was heard over the steady rain. A woman's face, showing only one eye, appeared in the doorway, "Your Majesty, we are ready for your entrance. If you would."

The young queen smiled in response, "I am coming Beatrix." She then took a deep breath as

Mikoto felt all of the anxiety and nervousness drain away from her. She glided, as all ladies seemed to do, through the door, disappearing as the trumpets started with the Alexandrian national anthem.

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Mikoto closed the door silently, and walked back through the room to the nursery.

It was a big room, the walls painted in bright primaries added a cheerfulness to the grand castle decor found elsewhere. A huge picture window took up an entire wall, the curtains halfway drawn to muffle out and sound of lightening possible from the storm.

She found the two children sleeping peacefully, totally oblivious to the increasing rate of deluge that poured from the heavens. Protecting these two was her duty, her purpose for being in Alexandria. Her brother, Zidane, wanted her here, but until the children were born she had been bored out of her mind. Even living in the Black Mage Village had been more exciting than Alexandria when she first came here with Zidane.

Quietly approaching the nearby crib, she found little Leo making soft baby noises. The younger of the two siblings, Leo was only eighteen months old. His face was still chubby with pinch-able cheeks and topped with a tuft of blonde hair. He may be cute now, but he'll grow up to be a heart breaker, she thought. Mikoto brushed her finger against his cheek and pulled his blanket up around his shoulders, tucking him in.

She then turned her attention to the toddler Terra. The girl had just had her third birthday and

clutched one of the many stuffed animals given as gifts to her chest. Her wavy brown hair escaped it's braid, and was curled around her face. She was haphazardly lying halfway off the bed, maybe having a bad dream. But Mikoto could feel nothing besides a vague sense of disorientation coming from the princess. Confused, the genome grasped her charge and pulled her into a safer position on top of the covers.

Satisfied with her work, Mikoto went to her chair by the nursery window. Sitting, she prepared for another long night. She hesitated, then pulled the curtain away and peeked through to watch the falling rain.

(Mikoto raised her hand, shielding her eyes from the light that bombarded her senses every time Kuja destroyed a piece of Terra.

Huge, angry explosions filled her vision and the deafening roar ringed in her head.

And above her small form was her brother, Kuja, floating in the air high over Bran Bral. The

normally silver genome had fulfilled his destiny, becoming a crimson angel of death. His blood red body mirroring the red explosions all around.

The ground underneath Mikoto shook as pieces of Terra came crashing down, their crystalline

forms shattering on impact with the ground.

She watched Kuja escape the destruction on his silver dragon. Their shimmering forms fading

into the distance as more explosions followed in their wake, bringing Mikoto's gaze back to her

surroundings.

The pieces of Terra came down next to her. The debris rushing past her in a flurry of crystal

shards. Then it slowed, pieces of her former home fell and exploded-almost in slow motion. Mikoto could see each individual piece meet it's demise.

It was like being an ant in a rainstorm. The huge crystals fell and splattered like the raindrops

that poured outside.

The rain she found so depressing.

Mikoto watched the final moments of Terra. She watched her home be destroyed.

She closed her eyes......but a tear escaped and fell along with it's crystalline brothers.

They hung suspended in the air, the light from the other's destruction only serving to make their descent a sparkling array of reflections. Creating a finite beauty.

The tear ended it's journey-shattering along with it's fallen brethren. It's destruction signaled by a brilliant flash of light...)

Mikoto was jolted awake by a blinding flash of lightening from outside. The soft rain from

earlier had turned into the torrential downpour of a thunderstorm.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Mikoto quickly checked the children. They were

still asleep, blissfully unaware of the state their caretaker was in.

She pondered her dream. It was frightenly real-nearly surreal, more a memory rather than a dream. However, she had not been on the ground at the time of Terra's destruction, she had been

aboard the Invincible. She had no memories of the destruction. But, she thought with a sickening feeling, her viewpoint had almost been the surface of Terra, almost like the viewpoint of the planet itself.

The sickening feeling grew worse, deep abyss in her heart, the viewpoint of Terra? Was that even possible? Could the planet see it's destruction at the hands of it's own child?

Could Terra weep?

"Auntie Mikoto?"

Mikoto turned from the window to find the small form of the crown princess of Alexandria at

her side. The girl was scared looking, with big, puffy red eyes. Waves of fear were coming from her, driving her to the safety of her 'aunt's' arms, "What is it?"

"Thunder scares me." The child whispered pitifully.

"Come here and I'll brush your hair and sing you a song to help you sleep." the genome

soothed.

Terra happily climbed into her lap, a stuffed moogle held tightly. Mikoto reached behind herself for the brush, and started humming while she separated and combed the girl's thick, dark, curly hair. The sounds and motions comforted the child, but that was not the only thing.

Mikoto had always been able to feel things, and sometimes project the feelings onto others.

That was what caused Garland to make her the back-up angel of death. It was what made her different from the other genomes. It was what made her different.

But being different wasn't a gift, it was a curse, she thought. Her power put up a wall between herself and others. Even those who were considered friends, treated her with a reserved politeness. Few completely trusted her once they knew of her ability to influence others. Zidane didn't help at all, he called her his personal psychic.

She was needed to watch over the princess and prince of Alexandria, and the feeling helped

when she felt ostracized, but didn't completely dispel the barrier that separated her from others. Rather, it drew attention to the power that plagued her being.

It was her particular powers that put her in her position at the castle. Her skills could locate

others, influence basic emotion, and she had a highly attuned danger sense. Queen Garnet was

particularly happy with the last skill as she was an over protective mother.

Mikoto continued her own magic as Terra's breathing became slow and regular. Soon enough

the girl was asleep once again. She shifted Terra's weight to her arms and carried her back to bed.

There the girl rested peacefully as the storm continued to rage outside.

The genome straightened herself out , passing an ever critical eye over her appearance, she

frowned, dismissing it quickly. She turned to check on Leo in his crib, her back facing the window.

She paused mid-step...

Feeling a tingling running down her spine, like ghostly fingers massaging her, Mikoto's danger sense flared. Not making any sudden movements, she slowly turned towards the low rumble. That was not thunder.

Mikoto could make out a blurred figure outside the window, waiting...

It came closer.

She stepped back cautiously, ready to signal for the guards. If it was some kind of animal the worst thing to do would be to start shouting. That would only startle the beast, and it would become a bigger problem as it sought safety. Hopefully it would just go away.

Mikoto watched as the form retreated, breathing a sigh of relief.

Only to have the figure rush towards the window-shattering the glass panels. Lightening erupted outside, stark white lines against the limitless sky illuminating the silver dragon as it made it's way inside.

The crash woke the children, whom Mikoto gathered into her arms as the dragon spotted them

across the room. The beast locked eyes with Mikoto as it advanced. It's claws crushing furniture, and it's wings and tail tearing pieces of the wall apart. It raised it's mighty head and let out a blood chilling wail that echoed throughout the castle.

Then the dragon rushed forward it's massive form crushing anything that lay in it's path. Mikoto could see the whites of the beast's eyes, it was upon them. "PROTECT!!!"

The dragon's attack failed as a shield appeared around it's targets. It's claws and teeth glanced

off of the barrier, the residual energy tracing lines up the beast's nerves. Mikoto watched as the dragon recoiled in pain, it's cries even higher pitched in agony. She watched as the door behind her flew off it's hinges as guards stormed in around her. She watched the dragon fall from multiple attacks. It's death throes twitching it's body around the small room.

The dragon's wails screamed an inhuman pain, then silence.