Author's note: this is a collaboration between Asirainis and Ceara Ivory for Final Fantasy VII. We do not acknowledge the existence of any prequels or sequels within this game. Neither of us own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters except for our own OC.

Those Chosen By The Planet

Prologue: Fallen Star

Maeve and Arnold Marchand were on their way home, delighted with the results of the research on hydropower for Junon's main source of power. The vice president of Shinra Inc, Rufus, a man with strawberry blond hair had approached them with the request for their help a month earlier. Maeve brushed a strand of her light auburn hair out of her face as her eyes searched for their simple silver house.

Arnold felt a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach as they approached a smoking ruined structure. "Oh no… Airlia!" He ran there – ignoring the pain in his heart that she was in there…

Maeve struggled to push aside smoldering ruined pieces of lumber out of her way as she called out for her daughter, "Airlia?! Where are you Airlia!"

Her blue-grey eyes filled with water tears as she screamed, "Arnold! Come quick!" The willowy woman continued to scream as her husband came to her side and gasped at the human remains of a body that had been burnt to nothing…

"No…" The broken word escaped his lips as tears flooded his pale blue eyes. Dropping to his knees, he reached out to the deformed figure's head, touching the cheek as he began to scream.

Rufus had been discussing the project for hydropower for Junon with his father when the doors were thrown open. Turning, he saw a very distraught pair of faces. "Maeve… Arnold… What happened?!"

Maeve tried to speak, but found the words wouldn't come out, only broken sobs and a floodgate of tears. Arnold looked down at his wife and felt the words vanish from his own throat but forced them anyways. "Our house was destroyed… burned down to the ground… our daughter… our…" He found himself unable to finish the sentence as he broke down into more broken sobs.

President Shinra studied them as he pushed himself away from his desk to stand up. Sharing a look with his son, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the end of the story. Going over to them, he put a comforting hand on Arnold's shoulder. "Take a deep breath Arnold, try to tell us what happened to your daughter…"

Maeve let out a loud wail, bringing forth a member of the Turk, Tseng. He hadn't been sure what happened because of the cry. Looking around, the man frowned. Neither Shinra had been in peril, and Rude was busy being the shadow of the last Shinra who was in college. He turned to the president in concern. "Sir?"

Rufus nodded, "Tseng, take Reeve and go to their home in Sector Five. Something very bad happened and they're at a loss of being able to tell us what it was. Go."

The man bowed slightly before leaving to find the aforementioned man. Satisfied, Rufus turned to Arnold. "What happened? We had made such good progress today. The small scale prototype display worked perfectly…"

Gulping back his sobs, Arnold finished. "Our daughter… was burned to death… She was only fifteen years old! Damn that Avalanche! It had to be them!" His anger was starting to overtake his rational thought process as Rufus left to get something for the pair to drink to calm them.

President Shinra sighed heavily. He had known of Avalanche, but they only went after reactors, never individuals. This changed everything. He had to deal with those rodents like the pests they were. Placing a hand on both of their shoulders. "For now, you'll stay in Sector Three where there is a heavy military presence. I'm giving you as much time as you need to grieve away from work. However, when you're ready to resume, I want you to see Dr. Hojo and get evaluated. I promise, I will find them and make them pay for what they've done."

Airlia awoke as a kick met her stomach brutally. Groaning, she looked up to see a man sneering at her. He was tall and thin, but somehow she knew it belied his muscled form. He glared at her as he demanded, "Stand up bitch! You're in Avalanche now and it's time to 'condition' you…"

Glaring she tried to punch him, "No, I'm going home!"

He caught the punch and sneered at her. "Oh no, you are home." Grabbing her, he felt his urges rise as he felt her small build trapped against him.

However, it had to be put aside as a tall, dark skinned man with a gun arm returned with two others. Looking at the girl, he nodded. "Another success. And her family?"

The man snickered, "They think she's dead. And if she runs, I'll simply kill them and her."

Nodding, the man spoke, "Excellent work Wedge. Biggs is still 'recruiting' members as we speak. Before long, we will be strong in numbers again!"

'Wedge' took Airlia below to begin the breaking in process… starting first with her 'punishment' for trying to harm him and attempting to escape.

So what does Wedge have in mind for little Airlia? You'll just have to stay tuned to the next chapter to find out!

And for the other side of the story, take a look at Ceara Ivory's half of the compilation for Those Chosen By The Planet.