One day in the year of the fox,
came a time remembered well.
When a strong young man of the rising sun,
heard the tolling of the great black bell.
One day in the year of the fox,
when the bell began to ring, meant the time had come,
for the one young man to go to the temple of the king.
There in the middle of circle he stands searching, seeking.
With just one touch of his trembling hand,
the answer will be found.
Daylight waits, while the old man sings, 'Heaven, help me.'
And then like a rush of a thousand wings,
it shines upon the one.
And the day had just begun—
"The Temple of the King"—Rainbow
Mother Terra
Chapter I
Nearly two years had passed since the re-conquest of Alexandria, and life in the kingdom was quiet. But that is exactly how Zidane liked it.
Late at night, after Prince Hunter had been put to bed, Zidane would tell Garnet, "We've been through too much over the last four years. First, we had Kuja to deal with, and then we had Haldan. We don't need any more serious problems to deal with."
"The same would be true for Hunter," added Garnet. "I hope he doesn't have to go through the drama we've had in our lives."
"If he does, I'll make sure he's ready for it."
The following afternoon was a typical day for Garnet. She received information from her ministers and representatives of Parliament. And while this was important for a queen, she really wanted to be with Zidane and Hunter. Garnet and Zidane did their best to manage their royal duties and spend time with their son.
"Your Majesty," a pregnant Beatrix began, as she entered the royal conference room with a salute.
"Yes, Beatrix?"
"Mikoto's here. She'd like to see you. Or well, to be more exact, she'd like to see Zidane."
"Zidane? What for?"
"She said this is a personal matter that is to be discussed with Zidane."
Garnet nodded. "Send her in."
Beatrix returned the nod, and escorted Mikoto into the chamber. Once she completed her task, she saluted her queen again and left the room.
"Mikoto!" she exclaimed, while she embraced her sister-in-law. "It's good to see you again. How are you?"
Mikoto smiled, and returned the hug without any hesitation. In the four years that she had lived on Gaia, she had learned what its people call 'emotion.' "I'm doing well, Dagger, considering."
"Considering? Considering what?"
"I really need to talk to Zidane about that. Is he here?"
"Well, yes, he's here. He's busy playing with Hunter. But can I ask you a question?"
"What's that?"
"What's so important that you need to see Zidane?"
"It's a personal matter."
"Can you tell me about it?"
Mikoto shook her head. "Forgive me, Dagger, but I'd prefer to speak to Zidane about this—even though I'm sure you'll be hearing about it from him anyway."
"Then what's the harm in me hearing it with him?"
Mikoto sighed. "Please don't argue with me on this, Dagger. Please?"
Garnet bit her tongue. "This is ridiculous! If she says I'm going to hear about this anyway then why doesn't she just tell me!"
But she nodded. "Very well, I'll take you to him."
In the royal chamber, Zidane reclined on the floor and bench-pressed his son. The toddler laughed, and tried to place his hands on his father's face.
From the entrance, Garnet giggled.
And Garnet's giggle made Zidane stop. He picked himself up from the floor and held Hunter, while the two-year-old pulled on Zidane's hair.
"Mommy!" the toddler called.
"Hey, Dagger," Zidane replied, while he pulled his hair free.
Garnet smiled. "Zidane, someone's here to see you."
"Oh? Who's that?"
Mikoto entered. "Hello, Zidane."
"Mikoto! Hunter, you remember your aunt, Mikoto, right?"
Hunter did not answer. Instead, he stared at Mikoto with his brown eyes—trying to figure out who she is to him.
Mikoto giggled, and stepped closer to Zidane and Hunter. "I don't think he remembers me."
Mikoto tickled her nephew's belly, and the toddler squealed. "I don't even remember when I last saw him. How old is he now?"
"He just turned two."
Garnet took Hunter from his father. "Zidane, Mikoto came here, because she has something personal to discuss with you. So I'm going to take Hunter for a walk around the Castle."
Zidane nodded. "Okay, Dagger, I'll see you later then."
After Garnet left, Zidane reclined in a chair that faced opposite to Mikoto. "So, what's going on, Mikoto? How's everyone in the Black Mage Village?"
"They're fine."
"And Vivi?"
"He's fine as well, but I'm not here to talk about the Black Mage Village, Zidane."
"That's right. You said you had something personal you wanted to discuss with me. So, what is it?"
"We had some visitors recently."
"Visitors?"
"In the Black Mage Village…they were visitors from Terra."
Zidane gasped. "What!"
Mikoto smiled. "That's exactly how I felt when I first met them."
Zidane leaned forward. "What are they?"
"Genomes."
"Genomes?"
"Yes."
"But where did they come from?"
"Terra, I just said…"
"I know what you said, but I also know that Kuja destroyed Terra; and that we rescued all the genomes."
"Not according to what they told me."
Zidane leaned further. "Oh? And what did they tell you?"
"That not all of Terra was destroyed."
"That's impossible!"
"Not really…not when you think about it."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, none of us saw Kuja destroy Terra, did we?"
"What're you talking about! We were on the ship…"
"And leaving Terra to enter Gaia."
Zidane said nothing.
"The fact is, Zidane, is that not all of Terra may've been destroyed."
Zidane sighed. "Okay, I admit that's possible. But how did they get here? And where're they now?"
"They got here the same way Kuja did—through breaks in the fabric between both planets. As for where they are now, they're in the Black Mage Village."
"How many're there?"
"I haven't counted them, but I'd say at least thirty…That's not all, you know?"
"What else?"
"They have souls."
Zidane nearly fell out of his chair. "What!"
Mikoto nodded. "Yes."
"…So Garland must've given them souls too?"
"That's correct."
"…So why're they here?"
"They came to see you."
"Me? For what?"
"They want you to help them restore Terra."
"Forget it! My home's Gaia, not Terra…And I hope that the other genomes feel the same way."
Again Mikoto nodded. "We do—or at least I think most of us do, but I think it'd be easier if you told that to Nuri."
"Nuri? Who's Nuri?"
"He's their spokesman."
"You mean their leader?"
"He told me that they don't have a leader. That they're all equal."
"If he's speaking for them I'm going to call him their leader."
"Fine, call him whatever you wish."
Zidane smiled. "Thank you. One more question for you, Mikoto?"
"What's that?"
"What makes them think they can restore Terra? There's no Lifa Tree anymore."
"I'm not exactly sure of it myself, but it has to do with something along the lines of even though the Tree's no longer there the flow of souls can still take place."
Zidane shook his head. "That doesn't make much sense to me…But I guess I'll be finding more about that tomorrow."
"So you're going to confront them!"
Zidane nodded. "Yeah…Why don't you stay here tonight? And tomorrow we'll both go to the Black Mage Village."
