PROLOGUE

She had been walking forever it seemed like. Thankfully, she was in a place that she recognized …barely… It was so long ago that she was here…and she was so young, she couldn't possibly remember this…but she did somehow.

"Mama…Daddy…"

The poor thing was tired, and hungry, and distraught beyond belief. She felt so lost, she didn't know what to do. She wasn't able to control all the bad things that have happened; all the damage that was done… all she could do was run away from all the bad things that she couldn't control…

…that she couldn't understand…

In the forest further on, there was a certain village… the villagers were walking about their ordinary business with sad looks on their faces.

The Elders, whom have so long protected their village…had all passed away…

…soon, the new elders to be the head of the village, and be sure to protect it from any outside forces…

…one of them, being in line, was the Captain of their Guard; Ray Condit.

He looked at the will of the elders with two others that were chosen to replace them; A male, muscular buck Mobian with large, proud antlers like Ray's large goat horns, and a female raccoon Mobian, still grieving over the later elders.

"…We all knew it was going to happen sooner or later," the buck assured the raccoon, patting her back.

Ray only ignored the two of them, reading the will. To be honest…he was still bothered by it too, but for different reasons. The three Elders had died so inexplicably, and all at the same time…

…not only that, but one of the elders; the all-seeing owl Elder…had passed a message to him only moments before the accident had occurred and taken their lives. It was only legends that spoke of times when the owl Elder could see visions of the future, and nobody in the village really believed it…

…all except Ray, who had seen these visions of his, realized with his own eyes more than once…

…and this vision he had told Ray foretold of some bad things…

"…Greetings Elders," Ray greeted…and then he looked up to see only one seat occupied out of the three. "…em…where are the other Elders?"

"They are off on errands," the owl Elder spoke. "…it was I that called you to me, Ray."

Ray stood up from where he knelt. "Why is that?"

The owl Elder looked at him solemnly… and even… in sympathy. "…I've had another vision…and…I am saddened to say that it is the last vision I will ever have…"

Ray blinked, and then his eyes widened. "…really...? …are your powers leaving you, Elder?"

"Perhaps," the owl replied gruffly. "…I am a very old man after all…it would be time for them to depart."

Ray frowned a bit, but grew curious; "…but…if you had a vision, then why not gather the people to tell them about it?"

"…because this vision only concerns the ones in your bloodline, Ray…"

Ray's eyes widened. "…are you talking about my daughter?"

"…no…I am referring to your granddaughter…" the owl coughed a moment, and then he continued. "…and I sense very much hardship for your little granddaughter to come in the near future."

"…Joy… goes through hardship?" Ray felt very worried now… Jill going through her kind of hardship was unbearable to even think about… and now… Joy? "…Elder…what hardship…?"

The owl Elder grew more sympathetic for Ray. The old man remembered the day when he and the other two Elders had banished Ray's only daughter, Jillian, into the outside world. When she had come back years later, everyone was stunned… all of the villagers, including the Elders, were told a troubling tale by Ray, about his daughter and what she went through. The villagers, at first, were in disbelief… then appalled…

…the Elders had no idea that a child like her carried so much promise for the outside world like that.

To know what Ray's daughter went through, only made it hard for the owl Elder to speak up.

Ray may have started to become out of line by doing this, but he was very worried. He walked up to the Elder and took his shoulders. "Elder…what hardship?" he uttered.

"…Your granddaughter…will be confronted by an evil that not even her mother could help her fight…" the owl muttered. "…and that evil will set off a chain reaction of events that will cause very much hardship not just for her, but for the many that surround her and care for her…"

"What EVIL?" Ray screamed, clutching the shoulders of the Elder to his frail pain. "What could POSSIBLY be more evil than Deity Novagod?"

"…my vision does not have many details Ray…" the owl muttered. "…so many things were blurry…I'm too old to be able to interpret my visions clearly anymore…now let me go; you're hurting me!"

Ray released the Elder, but he kicked the empty throne beside him.

"Getting angry will not solve anything, Ray," the owl told him calmly.

"DON'T TALK TO ME!" screamed Ray, glaring murderously at the Elder while tears came out of his eyes. "…my daughter went through enough…and my granddaughter doesn't deserve to go through the same things as my daughter did!"

"…you still feel hurt for us banishing your daughter…don't you?" the owl supposed with a sigh.

"…what do you think?" Ray uttered bitterly, spinning around to leave.

And that was the last Ray ever saw him before that accident happened all those months ago…a large tree in the woods fell, and all three Elders had been crushed underneath it. All through the ceremony to give them away to the afterlife… all he could think of was how conflicted he felt. No matter what they had done to him, for taking his daughter away from him…he served them…

…and now…it was all going to happen all over again…

"Elders!"

Ray jumped a bit, simply because the villagers had decided to refer to him, the buck and the raccoon as "Elders" …and he just couldn't get used to it. "…what is it?" Ray asked, turning to see the new Captain of the Guard that he had designated; a gorilla Mobian.

"Elder…" the gorilla looked over at Ray with wide, frantic eyes. "…Ray…it's…"

Ray tossed away the will and walked up to him. "Spit it out soldier."

"Sir, it's your granddaughter, Sir!" the gorilla uttered. "She's o-outside the g-gates…by herself!"

Rays eyes widened too…and a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach arose…

"…no…that can't be…"

When Ray rushed out, the look on his granddaughter, Joy's face, almost made him freeze. The poor child was weary, dirty, hungry…upset… she looked a bit older than when he last saw her, and instead of a little dress, she was wearing a pair of pink overalls, torn at the bottoms with missing shoes. She had walked for miles…and her pair feet had blisters.

"JOY!" Ray knelt to her and picked her up in his arms worriedly, hugging her close. She felt so weak, and fragile.

"Grandpa…" Joy uttered, clutching to Ray with a shudder, and more tears rolled down her face. "Grandpa…I couldn't stop it…"

"Shhh…" Ray hushed her, trying to comfort her. "Honey, don't talk…you need to rest…" thought he was still scared out of his mind to find his granddaughter here missing without her mother, he still had to try and remain calm. He shot up to his feet and he carried Joy through the village. The villagers grew alarmed at the commotion, since some of the Guard followed to escort Ray and Joy to his home…

They finally got there after much pushing and shoving people aside, and Ray entered inside his home alone with Joy in his arms. He set her gently on the couch, and then he rushed around to get her a warm blanket and some of the stew from his cauldron over the fire.

Joy shook, wrapping the blanket around her to try and warm up, and she winced at the pain she felt from her blistered feet. All the more, she was more focused on her tears, trying to hold them back.

"Joy, honey, everything's going to be okay…" Ray uttered, setting the stew on a nearby end table to cool down, while he sat down and held Joy in his arms. "…your Grandpa's here…and you're safe…"

"…I-I couldn't stop it…Grandpa…" Joy uttered, sniffling and still trying to hold back her crying. "…bad things started happening…I couldn't stop the bad things Grandpa…"

"Shhh…shhh…" Ray picked her up, blanket and all, and started rocking Joy back and forth to help her calm down. "…it's okay Joy…your Grandpa's here…"

Then Joy couldn't hold it back anymore, and she fell apart in her grandfather's arms. "I had to run away so Mama wouldn't get hurt!" she wept, and sobbed in his shoulder, holding to Ray.

Ray clenched his teeth, and he held Joy closely so she could let it all out…

…but all he could think of was…somehow…a curse must have been put over his family…his wife, Goddess, had been cursed…Jillian was cursed…

…and now…it all has to happen to Joy too. She has to take on the family curse that seems to follow them around…sparing Ray to only watch it happen…

He felt like he could cry too, but even if a few tears rolled down his face, he still tried to hold it back for Joy's sake. "It's okay Joy…" he uttered shakily. "…it's all going to be okay…"

The grief was only worse for Jillian and Tasha…

Tasha sat in Jill's cold, empty home, trembling and holding a blanket around herself to keep warm. Tears kept rolling down her face… and Jill was sitting next to her with a hand on her shoulder.

There was nothing the two of them could do about it. King and his troupe had all abandoned Safe Haven, now that they had become fugitives again… GUN had taken over the island, and even Jill's home was patrolled by GUN soldiers… she wouldn't be able to go anywhere without them knowing it…

…that…and she had another life to take care of…

Jill looked down at Tasha's stomach, which slightly protruded out. Inside her was another life growing… a life she couldn't afford to endanger by being reckless… Because of that life…she couldn't go look for Metal, or even for her own daughter, Joy, who was still nowhere to be found….she couldn't look for anyone she knew and cared about, because all of them were out there…

She couldn't do anything…

"…Tasha, would you like something to eat?" Jill offered.

Tasha just shook her head silently; ears dropped down.

"…Tasha, you have to stay nourished…" Jill said. "…you sure you're not hungry?"

Tasha nodded her head.

Jill frowned a bit, but she stood up and walked around the living room for a bit…

"…Jill…" Tasha spoke up, sounding worried. "…do you think…Twilight will be alright?"

"…I'm sure he's okay, Tasha," Jill assured her. "…he's a tough guy…"

Tasha touched her stomach insecurely. "…will… he be back in time…?"

Jill looked back at her.

"…when…I go into labor…?" Tasha asked. "…I…I'm afraid and…I don't want to have to go through it alone…"

"…even if he doesn't make it in time, you won't be alone, Tasha," Jill said in assurance again, coming over to set a hand on her shoulder. "…I know how to birth a child, so I can help you when it's time…"

"…I know…but…" Tasha looked away sorrowfully. "…it would…mean so much more if he was here…"

Jill sat back down, and to be honest, she really had no idea what to say… All she could do was sit there and try to think of what happened the past few months…what could have possibly lead up to all of this?

So, what do you guys think? Feel like reading another Future Generations installment or what? It's got a lot more going on, and you'll see many characters coming back for this one, as well as some more new ones!