Last Child: Prologue

Author's Note: This story takes place in an alternate universe. Though the story takes place before Meteor, it will include characters from Advent Children.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix does. If I did, Sephiroth would be cruising the cosmos on a brand new planet with Tifa as his love slave. All other characters, places, etc. are of my own creation and, therefore, belong to me.

Italics used in dialogue and within sentences indicate emphasis; sentences entirely in italics indicate thought.

To my fellow Sephiroth devotee, my confidence booster, my inspiration, and my best friend - isflamma. This story is for you.

Prologue

"We must make haste. Where is Amma Shen?" The high priest hurriedly shoved papers and manuscripts into a worn, leather satchel. His cleric stood in front of his desk.

"She is on her way to the ship, your Grace."

The priest's shoulders slumped as he released a great sigh of relief. He even managed a weak smile at his underling, but the moment was short-lived. Outside his chamber the thunderous sound of rockets filled the air as escape vessels took to the sky. A grim reminder of why he was emptying his desk. His eyes glanced upward before returning their attention to his cleric.

"Have you removed the requested tomes and journals from the library and stowed them aboard the ship?"

"Yes your Grace."

"Has the compound been completely evacuated?"

"Yes your Grace."

"Then we may leave." He handed the satchel to the cleric and the two men exited the room. Upon leaving the temple that housed the high priest's office, both men halted. Black clouds roiled across the sky blocking all light from the sun, pitching the world into darkness. It was midday.

"This is her doing." The high priest's expression was grave, his voice tinged with anger. The cleric shook with fear, his eyes darting back and forth across the sky. Any composure he may have had died at the sight of the churning heavens. He turned to the priest to voice his distress, but hesitated. The high priest's eyes were shut.

"Your Grace?" The priest raised a hand to bid patience.

"But your Grace we must go!" There was no response. The cleric began to nervously shift about. Why does he choose now to speak with the planet! Time is running out. We must leave now! He continued to glance from the priest to the sky in nervous agitation.

Mere seconds had passed before the priest opened his eyes. His normally stoic façade had broken to reveal despair.

"Amma is silent." He watched the cleric's eyes widen. That's not possible! How can that be?! The priest continued.

"I do not know what this implies. Perhaps Amma Shen is still able to speak with her. If not" The priest's voice trailed off. He sighed and turned to face Amma's temple. So much of his life was spent here. Would he ever return? Would there be a temple to return to? He highly doubted it. Once the Fallen One realized Amma Shen was no longer here, it was likely she would raze it to the ground. Then she would release her fury on the planet.

The shuffling feet of the cleric drew the priest from his contemplation. He placed a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder and favored him with a faltering smile.

"Let us go."

The activity outside of the ship was of ordered chaos. Bodies ran in every direction, but with assigned purpose. Everyone had a task to complete, undeterred by the occasional roar of ships taking off. The high priest and cleric maneuvered their way through the bustling crowd to reach the ramp that led inside the ship. Before they could ascend, a temple handmaiden intercepted them. She was nervously wringing her hands.

"Thank Amma you are here, your Grace. It's Amma Shen. Please, we need your help."

"Come." He motioned with his hand for them to board the ship. "You can explain as we walk." They made their way through the crowded corridors to the priest's quarters where he instructed the cleric to remain. He then followed the handmaiden. During that time, the handmaiden explained that as Amma Shen approached the ship she became increasingly agitated, and even tried to run away. Her handmaidens managed to coax her aboard, but her distress has not lessened and she is hysterical. The priest would intermittently nod his head as she spoke, but otherwise remained silent. As they reached Amma Shen's quarters, a child's sobs could be heard through the door.

"Saidah, his Grace is here." Without waiting for a reply, the handmaiden opened the door, allowing the high priest to enter, before quietly shutting it behind him. The room had two occupants. A little girl, 8 years of age, sat on the bed with the handmaiden, Saidah, kneeling before her. The child had her head bowed, her curly locks hiding her face. Her body shuddered with every breath as she tried to cease her crying. The handmaiden gently pressed a handkerchief into the girl's hand and stood to face the priest.

"Would you prefer to be alone with her, your Grace?"

"No, Saidah. It would be best if you stayed." She nodded and backed away. The priest knelt before the child, taking both her hands in his. He lowered his head a bit to try to see past Amma Shen's hair.

"I know you're in there somewhere." She lifted her head slightly to see him smiling at her. With some persistent tugging, the priest freed the handkerchief from her clenched fist and began to dab at her red, swollen eyes. The little girl stared placidly at him.

"Amma Shen, why are you so upset?" He feared her answer.

"Amma is in pain. She tries to hide it from me, but I can tell." Her eyes welled with tears. "I can feel it," she whispered. The priest struggled to keep his features relaxed so as not to upset the girl further. He searched for the right words to comfort her, but for the first time in her young life, he had none. Instead he continued to busy himself with wiping away Amma Shen's tears. It gave him enough time to come up with a feeble response.

"It won't last much longer. We'll be leaving soon." Amma Shen's eyes widened and her breathing started to hitch in her chest. The priest lowered the handkerchief. His face remained composed.

"We can't leave! We can't leave Amma!" she shouted. She looked desperately to Saidah. The handmaiden simply lowered her eyes, triggering renewed sobs from Amma Shen. She surprised the priest by rising quickly from the bed, nearly knocking him backwards.

"How can we leave?! Amma needs us!" The priest clasped Amma Shen's hands again. He watched as her eyes searched his face for the answer to her question. She would not find it. How could he make her understand? It was too late for Amma, and if she remained it would mean her death.

"There is nothing we can do for Amma. She" A low rumbling making its way through the ship interrupted the priest. It gradually increased in intensity. Amma Shen's eyes darted about the room as she tried to make sense of what was happening. It did not take her long. She roughly pulled her hands away from the priest, and before he could react, she bolted from the room.

"Amma Shen!" Saidah was immediately in pursuit of the girl. The high priest pulled himself to his feet and moved to stand within the open door. All of the passengers were in their quarters for take-off. A crewmember completing his security check was making his way down the corridor. He noticed the priest standing in the doorway.

"Pardon me your Grace, but you should be in your quarters. The ship has begun its countdown."

"I'll be there momentarily, but first I need to find Amma Shen. Did you happen to see what direction she went in?"

"No, your Grace, but I did see a handmaiden running towards the observation deck." The priest gestured down the corridor.

"This way?"

"Yes, your Grace." The priest patted the man on the shoulder, and proceeded towards the lower levels of the ship.

She knew the exit was this way or she thought it was. All the corridors looked alike: same grated floor, same gray doors, same number of lights on the ceiling, same colored walls. With her handmaidens encircling her when she boarded the ship, her view of her surroundings had been limited.

She stopped at an intersection. She could hear rapidly approaching footsteps from behind her. Frantically looking in every direction, she chose the corridor with stairs leading downward. Pumping her legs furiously, she soon reached the bottom and exited into a large chamber. The ceiling was domed and an entire wall was a window. Stairs at the back of the room lead towards an upper deck. There was only one entrance. Amma Shen turned to leave and was startled by Saidah standing in the entryway. This time she had not heard her approach.

"Please, Saidah," she pleaded, "Please. We have to leave the ship." She struggled to maintain her self-control. I will not cry again. I have to be strong. Amma needs me to be strong. Saidah fought to withhold her tears. It pained her to see Amma Shen so distraught. She took a few steps towards the girl and was not surprised when Amma Shen retreated.

"Amma Shen, we cannot stay."

"Why not?"

"Because if we stay, we will die," answered the priest. Saidah turned to see the high priest walking towards her, his eyes focused solely on the little girl. He stopped at Saidah's side. He hadn't meant to be so blunt, but it became increasingly clear to him as he walked to the observation deck that he had no other recourse. Time had run out.

Amma Shen's face paled. She backed away from them shaking her head side to side. Saidah moved to comfort her, but was stilled by the priest's outstretched hand. He spoke to the handmaiden, his voice subdued to reach her ears only.

"Let her be. She must come to terms with this on her own."

"But your Grace, she's only a child."

"You and I both know, Saidah, she's not an ordinary child." Amma Shen continued to withdraw. Her previous resolve disintegrated and her body was yet again racked with her sobs. She jumped as her body finally made contact with the observation window, and again when the intercom came to life reminding passengers to remain in their cabins for take-off. The final minute of the countdown had begun.

The priest walked slowly towards Amma Shen, extending his hand.

"Let us go, Amma Shen. I will stay in your quarters with you during take-off if you'd like." His heart ached as he watched a final struggle play across her face before her posture slumped in defeat. Broken, the young girl crept towards the priest and took his hand. They turned and exited the room, Saidah falling in behind.

As they reached the top of the stairs, the ship began to shake violently from the force of its rockets firing. The priest pulled Amma Shen closer to him. Saidah had just enough time to clutch the banister.

"Hold on!" yelled the priest. Even surrounded by the ship's thick hull, the noise was deafening. The priest gripped the handrail that ran the length of the corridor, Amma Shen held tight to his body. Imperceptible at first, the ship began its ascent. The priest knew that once they cleared the atmosphere, the voyage would smooth out considerably.

Several minutes passed. The priest felt Amma Shen's grip loosen as the ship ceased it's quaking. She peered up from her hiding place amid his robes and carefully scanned the corridor. Saidah was still grasping the handrail with all her might, her eyes tightly closed. Her lips moved silently in what Amma Shen could only conclude was a prayer to Amma.

Amma. Mother.

She waited for the tears to come, the choking sobs that would shake her body, but they did not. She felt hollow, utterly devoid of feeling. Nothing mattered now. She is a limb that has been ripped from its body. Lifeless. Useless. She was nothing without Amma. She knew Saidah and the others would disagree; tell her she was her own separate entity, but their words of comfort would be lost on her. She would continue to breathe, see, hear, and touch. She would eat when hungry, sleep when tired, and continue to learn her lessons. She would exist. She would adapt to the future fated by the cosmos. She would be Eilis.

But would she ever be Amma Shen again?

Without warning, Amma Shen's thoughts were obliterated by an agonizing scream. Her hands flew to her ears in a vain attempt to shut it out, but it was a futile gesture. The scream was in her mind.

It was Amma.

She could see Saidah and the priest kneeling before her, their lips moving, their eyes full of concern, but Amma Shen couldn't hear them, could barely see them. All her senses were compromised by Amma's earsplitting wail. She dropped to her knees, her hands still pressed against her ears. The severity of Amma's pain overwhelmed Amma Shen. She began to hyperventilate, her skin broke out in a cold sweat, and her body jerked from spasms. So consumed was she, that she barely noticed the priest lift her in his arms. They were heading back to her quarters, Saidah running ahead to find help.

Despite her condition, Amma Shen struggled to break free of the priest's grasp. He did his best to maintain his grip, but the narrowness of the corridor, coupled with the movement of the ship, put him at a disadvantage. He lost his balance and fell to the floor. At first, Amma Shen could only crawl away from him, but her determination propelled her forward, and soon she was awkwardly moving towards the observation deck.

Amma's voice broke through her pain, calling to Amma Shen. Goodbye, my child. The finality of her words pushed Amma Shen onward. Her journey to the observation deck was arduous. She constantly lost her balance, falling against the walls or to the floor. She fell with enough force in some cases to sustain cuts and bruises. She had to reach the observation deck before the priest caught her. She had to see Amma one last time.

Amma Shen was vaguely aware of shouts and heavy footsteps behind her, but they were irrelevant; she had arrived at her destination. As she stumbled towards the window, Amma Shen's face became a mask of horror. Amma was in flames. Massive fissures had torn her surface, erupting molten fire. Her oceans were boiling. Her mountain ranges had been leveled.

Amma Shen fell hard against the observation window, her hands pressed against the glass, fingers splayed. Oblivious to all around her, she did not see or hear the high priest, Saidah, and several handmaidens move to stand on either side of her, their gazes locked on Amma.

Farewell, my children.

I love you, my daughter.

With her last words spoken, the small group watched helplessly as their home world was rent apart, and Amma was no more.

"MOTHER! NO!"

End Prologue