The black sky rolled above, the great dark clouds flashing briefly as the blue white lightening wove between the veils of cascading water. The dead city was washed clean after the previous fires ravished the buildings and raped the earth. The gutted skyscrapers crashed in upon themselves, littering the deserted streets with debris.
Upturned trucks were smashed and wrangled; flickering lightposts twisted and gnarled like the branches of a dying tree. Storefront windows shattered, leaving gaping holes staring into the night. The once green trees burned, ashes covering the grass like some mockery of pristine snow.
Peals of thunder echoed between the remaining buildings, through the sewers, and subways, making the pavement above crack and the ground to shake. Pit-holes opened and swallowed entire blocks, leaving only open sores in the cityscape.
Nothing moved, nothing made a sound save for the tiny shuddering breath that escaped into the cold night air. The breath frosted, hanging in the space above her for just a moment before disappearing. She clutched a battered glow light tightly, the faint green light illuminating her young scared face, "What's going on out there?" she asked, wiping a grubby hand across her nose before sniffling, "Where is everyone?"
An older voice, not by much, "I don't know..." Concern and fear leaked out.
She peeked out of the one dirty window of their hidey-hole, trying to see beyond the heavy rain. Nothing, except for the eerie flashes lighting the ruins of the city she lived in. The park, the grocery store, nothing now. Where was everyone? I'm cold...
"Don't cry." soothing, but not entirely sure of itself.
Biting her chapped lips was the only way to prevent tears from spilling down her grimy face, but it didn't work. The more she tried to be strong, the more scared she was, and by the time she finished her big brown eyes were red and puffy and she was reduced to dry sobs.
The floor was cold and hard and uncomfortable when she sat down, not having the strength of body or mind to rely on herself for support. Short arms wrapped around short legs and she buried her head in her knees, her tangled auburn hair hanging around her face. The sobs still seemed to come up from the center of her body, that place which was twisted and withered in an innocent child. Her body shook, her hungry stomach sore and her limbs useless. Despair welled up inside, overflowing, and her juvenile mind could not cope.
An arm wrapped around her, the fleeting warmth quickly dissipating, "Don't cry...I'm still here, aren't I?" A forced laugh, more like strangled sob followed.
She smiled in spite herself, and reached up to wipe the shameful tears away when the ground heaved, throwing her painfully into the wall. There was a moment, or an eternity, of blackness before she opened her eyes. She slowly sat up, a burning washing over her from her forehead. Shaky fingers reached up, and quickly snapped back at the feel of warmth and stickiness spreading across her face. Her mouth worked itself silently, unable to express exclamation or indignation.
She had no time however, as a second tremor shook the hidey-hole and cracks splintered up the thick cement walls. A breath, two, before a hand picked up the fallen light, the green glow seeming to hover in mid air all by itself, "It's not safe here anymore- we have to leave."
What! She looked up dumbfounded, child eyes filled with disbelief,"W-we can't! We promised to stay here! We have to stay or they might not find us!" We might be left behind! her mind screamed, not able to grasp the reality of the situation.
A clammy hand grabbed hers, strong but nervous, "I'm sure everyone is waiting for us, don't you want to see them?"
"We promised to stay here! We'll get in trouble!"
"I'll tell them it was all my idea, I'll keep you safe," urgent now, "but we have to go!"
She nodded as she was pulled harshly to her feet and led out into the rain. Her feet slid on the broken glass and the shallow puddles, but she was held upright. She struggled to keep up as they passed the debris searching for somewhere safe to hide.
Stay here and be safe...
The rain stung her face and the thick air choked her as she gasped.
We'll come back for you...don't worry...
They dashed under a miraculously standing doorway, the arch lonesome amid the rubble, and hunched over trying to breathe properly. A third tremor shook, sending the other building crashing to the ground, the vacated hole buried under tons of cement and steel.
"It'll be alright." a whisper.
A raindrop traveled down her nose, hanging on the end until she stubbornly wiped it away. Eyes wide and not understanding, she could only think, how will they find us now? Frightened she turned, wanting an answer but afraid of the response, "W-where...where will we go now?
"..." there was no answer.
She sniffed angrily, frustrated and cold, and not able to do anything about it. They would never be found now, they would be all by themselves and miserable. There was nothing left.
A hum, faraway but growing closer. She looked up, blinking against the stinging rain as the hum grew to a shriek and then a wailing siren, falling from somewhere above. She slid forward, peering and trying to get a glimpse of the mystery sound.
"What is-"
A gasp of understanding beside her, "-Jenna, look out!"
She was violently shoved further into the limited shelter of the doorway as a falling metal monstrosity landed heavily in front of them. She struggled to turn around, pushing at the body holding her.
It was some gleaming giant.
Kneeling, it rose gracefully, towering over her. Huge and intimidating armor made it look like some titan from ancient myths, ready to hold the vault of the sky by it's sheer strength alone.
It turned to her.
"Jenna, run!"
She was frozen in place by those unnatural coal red eyes smoldering within the deepset face. It seemed to look right through her, it's gaze petrifying her into some stone statue. But it was magnificent!
Her child mind was entranced, while that tiny voice of reason told her to be frightened and disgusted. She couldn't though... having never seen with her own eyes the utter brilliance and blatant audacity of the Prox, Those who Destroy.
She continued to stare mindlessly at the red eyes, child mind enthralled at the sight. Voices screamed at her, far from her, faint echoes across a fathomless abyss. There was nothing in her sight now but RED.
"Jenna, run away!"
RED.
The eyes burned fire. The eyes burned her, an unexplainable fire reaching her, surrounding her, springing forth from inside of her...
"Jenna!"
"JENNA!"
RED.
"...found her knocked out..."
"...poor little girl..."
"...what now?..."
"...nothing..."
Bright fluorescent lights burned her retinas, eyelids quickly blinking against the blinding shine. She felt sleepy, heavy, as if she had just awoken from some dream. She groaned at the harsh light, feeling nauseated and aching.
"So, you are awake."
Alert, Jenna suddenly sat up, then clutched her head as her vision swam and her stomach protested. She stayed still, breathing deeply and trying to quell her upset middle.
"Are you feeling sick? Concentrate on breathing normally for now." A strong, delicate hand rubbed her back, "You are under medication for the injuries and stress."
Jenna felt like complaining, trying to keep her mind from the glaring edge of pain that seemed to travel through her body. She wanted to complain, wanted to scream, but the thought of opening her mouth made the contents of her stomach rise up and threaten to spill out.
The voice that belonged to the comforting hand spoke again, "What is your name, little one?"
She looked up when she finally could safely open her mouth to answer. The voice belonged to a woman, one with a kind, soft face. The sort of face that made people automatically trust. A whisper of thought glided at the back of her mind, too faint to hear but loud enough to understand the intention. Trust me. She swallowed thickly, making her dry mouth articulate words, "...Jenna..."
A smile crossed her lips, "I am Hama," she sat on the edge of the hospital bed, the crisp linens crunching slightly at her weight. A concerned frown graced her classical features, "How old are you, Jenna?"
"Eight."
She nodded, not surprised, "What was the last thing you remember before waking up here?"
Jenna thought, her small face scrunched up as she started to remember...
... "Jenna!"
She was frozen, immobile, incapable of thought or action. Only feeling remained, only mesmerization. There was nothing else.
The giant moved, raising it's fist-one that glowed with the tell-tale red and orange of fire.
"JENNA!"
The fire came towards her, then came from her, yellow and orange and red-always red. The flames sprang forth, close then rushing outwards, her vision filled with fire.
It was right there, close enough to feel the burning heat on her tear filled face. Close enough to feel the raging flame in her chest exploding outwards. So close!
The pure ecstasy of it, so foreign to her innocence, washed through her. Enveloped her, folded her up in its warmth. She couldn't stop as the awakened fire flowed through her, finally freeing itself from its long dormancy, becoming something of itself, something alive.
She opened her eyes, a strange smile on her face that quickly turned into a silent scream as she witnessed what no child should. There, burning was the brother she loved. His form disappearing into the sea of flame and smoke and ash.
Jenna screamed, an ear piercing wail that rose above crackle around her. She screamed, the dry hot air ripping in and then out of her lungs. The image violently burned into her mind, a horrible ugly memory...
She stared, the fiery pictures playing back in her mind like some grotesque movie, utterly terrible but secretly moving. Even the disgust could not completely hide the joy as she felt her fire around her. It was hers, and she was one with it.
That traitorous joy quickly dissolved as her child mind started to finally comprehend that she had lost her sibling. He was gone, and she was alone now.
"He's...gone..." she whispered, amazed that the simple vocalization of the fact had such an affect on her. Her chest tightened, and her eyes started to water.
"Who is gone, Jenna?" the purple haired woman asked soothingly, the worry for the young girl evident on her kind features, "What is it that you remember?"
"I'm all alone now." the girl said, uncharacteristic melancholy in her child face. That was it, she was all that was left. It was strange to be with someone else, but still feel completely cut off from them, to know you had no ties left in this world.
"Was there someone else with you?"
"...m-my big brother, Felix..."
Hama frowned, worry lines creasing her face, making her seem far too old. There had been no other living person found in that sector, it was amazing she survived through the firestorm that had razed through like some tale from the apocalypse. It was unprecedented, that fire. To have survived, she is so young, but full of potential-
-"Where is he!" Jenna shouted, slamming her small fists into the sheets, her face flushing, "Tell me now!"
The older woman didn't answer right away, her natural inherent empathy rising. To lose...
When she finally did answer the girl, her voice was quiet yet powerful, and full of shared sympathy, "You were the only one we found, Jenna," she paused, "Everything else was burned away."
Jenna shook her head, "I'm not gonna cry anymore," her voice hard but scared, all traces of a happy childhood stripped away from her visage as tears streamed recklessly down her cheeks.
Weyard was wrapped in shadow...
War had raged for over 500 years against the Prox- an alien race
with unknown intentions, but always hostile.
However, Weyard birthed a powerful weapon, the Adepts, those few born with the blessings of the gods, those few who wielded the elements themselves.
Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire.
The ancient art of Alchemy, willful control of the four forces of nature, was not enough against the giant mechanical warriors of Prox. So Weyard harnessed Psynergy, the very life energy,
and this allowed the Adepts to fight back against the Prox.
As the battle rages, a new age is about to dawn...
Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun 12, nor am I making a single penny off of this!
Sometimes I wonder why I do this at all... Anywhoo, This is the first chapter to an AU golden sun fanfic, I haven't seen them drive around in giant mechs yet, so I thought I'd do it! This will be very serious, and very violent, with just about every plotline imaginable. Although it most likely won't be super long, expect to see everyone in it, and I mean everyone.
Thank you for reading, and I do hope you enjoy.