hey there! so this story is a prequel to Terminal State which is complete and going through editing. Unfortunately, this won't make sense unless you've already gone through it so I apologize in advance if you're confused. Otherwise, hope you enjoy!

as always, I only own my things and not anything remotely belonging to the final fantasy universe.

...

In the dead of night, only the sound of her breath could be heard in her ears. The dense forest was deep enough, enemies still lying in wake and following her every step. Branches scratched at anything they could reach while she whipped by them, clutching her most prized possession. She looked back, desperate to catch her breath. There was no time, she had to keep going. Legs pumped as fast as they possibly could, doing whatever possible to avoid any obstacles in her path. The sounds of her enemies closing in made her heart beat far faster than humanly acceptable. Cardiac arrest wasn't exactly a problem for her, however. Not by the regulated human standards at least. Pressing on was the only option, no time to stop and speculate anatomy.

The forest kept going but it did not provide any sort of safety. Creatures of the night spawned on the outside, daemons that roamed Eos freely when the light was not there to stop them. It was almost as if they were drawn to her and what she was carrying. That wasn't exactly something she planned for but it came as no surprise that this was happening right now. Echoes of the enemy forces reached her ears, telling her that she was going to lose this battle. Lungs burned at the rate she had been running, wishing desperately to have some sort of relief. Several days had passed since she began her journey and there was no rest, all the focus on capturing her. At least the others were safe. Stopping to try and catch her breath, she strained her ears in order to get an idea of what was around her.

This way.

The voice sounded like an echo, blowing in the wind. It was gentle and she bit her lip, looking at the enemies that would surely find her soon enough. There was no help for it, she was damned if she stayed in the same place. Following the guide as quietly as possible, the woman was a little shocked when a cooler breeze met her skin. It was the middle of the night, sure, but the sweltering heat of the night meant that this cold shouldn't even exist. Maybe it was the fact that she was nearly caught that made it seem to hot around here. That was the least of her worries, ears picking up the unmistakable sound of her enemies still hot on her trail. As she drew further down the trail the very air surrounding her only dropped in temperature. She gasped as snow started to touch her skin, beginning slowly at first but then blizzarding at an alarming rate. Something was definitely off, snow was not normal for this area of Eos. At least, that's what she had come to know back where she was from.

There was no choice but to keep going, knowing that the weather was at least slowing down her pursuers. Keeping her bundle close so as not to worry about losing it, she pressed on with the hopes that no one was going to freeze to death. The wind raging in her ears was the only sound she could hear, tears unable to leave her eyes in the bitter chill. It was getting harder to breathe and she fell to her knees. Frost began to form on her legs that were submerged in the snow while the wind ripped at her skin with its full force, nearly knocking her over in the process. To give up and let the cold claim her was extremely tempting and she slumped in defeat, ready to accept the frosty embrace. Eyes drooped, looking for a good place to lay herself to sleep. Nearly finding it, she was ready to fall until the thing in her arms moved. She opened her eyes wide once more despite how much her body protested.

It wasn't about her though.

Using whatever willpower she had left, she was on her feet again and plunging directly into the wind that only tried to push her away. Failure wasn't an option here, despite the fatigue that ebbed ever so slowly at her resolve. There was no concept of time but eventually, the winds began to die down. The frost that started to form all along her body slowly began to melt thanks to the warmth at her core. A large sigh of relief escaped her lips and she dropped to her knees again, exhaustion starting to settle in. All that she had been through caught up to her in this moment and it nearly knocked her out completely. The clouds seemed to disperse now that the brief winter storm was over and a bright light caught her eyes in the distance. The azure glow looked painfully familiar but she was sure that it was just a mirage. Except, the blueish light in the distance did not disperse, nor did the lights of a city just within her reach. She smiled, finally seeing a sign from the Six themselves, rising to her feet and practically sprinting toward the city that lay over the base of the meteor.

...

Heels clicked on crudely paved roads, drowned out by the sound of people and street music playing all along the city of Lestallum. They went on about their business as usual, ignoring the outsider that barely took notice of them in the first place. The path was clear and getting where she needed to be was most important. This was a long time coming but her perception of time was far different than the mortals she was living among. Stopping to open her eyes briefly, she continued on until she came to a squat building sandwiched in with other businesses that were closed down in this hour of the night. Lestallum wasn't really built by a master engineer but it was a charming town if not a little too warm for her tastes.

Entering the establishment was no problem, knowing that this was the exact place she needed to be. The woman looked around the bar despite her eyes remaining closed, smiling slightly as she began to locate the very person she was searching for. Sight wasn't an issue when the smell of the haggard man at the bar was easy to pinpoint. She was searching by aura anyway, ignoring the stares of those who turned in her direction questioningly. The ability to blend into a crowd was a talent that never needed learning, gliding along the patrons and straight to her destination. It came as no surprise that the man nor many others even noticed her, that was the way she wanted it. Cloaked in the barely lit tavern, she opened her eyes a final time and allowed another smile to spread across her lips.

Hear me, o guardian of fate. The time for your calling has come.

Light blue eyes seemed to come alert for a moment. A very drunk man nearly on the brink of unconsciousness rubbed his head, bringing it up to look around for the voice that he thought he had heard. There was nothing around him that didn't look normal so he let his head fall back into his folded arms after taking another shot. Once again letting fatigue wash over, darkness started to settle in and soft snores erupted from him. Other patrons continued to drink around him, largely ignoring his presence that became a constant over the last few months. In Lestallum he wasn't as well known as back home in the Crown City and that helped with moving around easily. He didn't even look the same as when he was forced to leave five years ago.

As the sounds of the surrounding area faded away, the inebriated man started to dream something that had started to creep up on him in the last year. The Rock of Ravatogh came into view as it always did, allowing him to fall straight into the lava and into the deepest pits of the Tempering Grounds. He was almost bored of seeing this every night, the humiliating defeat that ultimately led him to where he was now. This time, however, things did not go according to schedule. Instead of seeing Gilgamesh ready to kill there was a woman he did not recognize standing before him. A blizzard of ice and snow was surrounding her, the bitter chill seeping into his skin and making a home for itself. Grunting, he looked around for the usual suspects, having no idea what to do with what he was seeing right now.

You may serve another purpose after all. The will inside of you is like none other. Live and fulfill a purpose only you are fit for.

The voice of the Blademaster rang through the wind that started to pick up. The words often haunted the drunkard since the fateful day he heard them. Usually, they were delivered just before the killing blow never came and he would wake up in a cold sweat. Not this time. That unfamiliar cold gust picked up and instantly perked his consciousness in a way that hadn't seemed possible in the last half-decade. A fog still hung in his head but he was very aware that this wasn't exactly a dream like the pretense of his surroundings.

The price must be paid. Hasten to the origin of your calling and begin your task anew, o guardian of fate.

That was a woman's voice, the same one thought he heard before he passed out on the bar. Squinting at the shadow before him and trying to make out what exactly he was looking at was futile. The snow blurred his vision and the alcohol coursing through him made it extremely difficult to see straight anyway. The figure approached him slowly, the sounds of her words echoing all around him. Still, he was unable to see her, even as she reached out to him and touch the bare skin of his cheek. As soon as she made contact, a blur of images came lunging at him, ending with a roar of anguish and an unfamiliar stare that bore into his very soul.

Shooting up from his position, the drunkard rubbed his eyes in realization that he was still in the bar. The man behind the counter was shaking him, trying to rouse his patron and get him out the door. Muttering curses, the customer downed his last shot before stumbling to his feet and practically throwing himself out the door on his own. Lestallum's streets weren't nearly as full as usual during this time of night, or maybe that was because he wasn't really paying as much attention. Eyes were drooping, having trouble staying open on the path to the hotel where he had been staying the last few months since arriving in the city. It wasn't much farther, sober enough to know that a bed to sleep in was better than passing out in the garbage littered streets.

The so-called guardian walked into the hotel room of the Leville, a little shocked at what awaited him there. The lavish room was seemingly untouched, only one bed occupied by a woman whose face was obscured by a large hood on the brown cloak she wore. He was fairly certain that he never left her here but the last few years of his life were very much in a haze thanks to the massive amounts of alcohol consumption. Alert to the intruder he scowled, hoping that she would leave of her own accord. She didn't, however, looking at him despite that he couldn't exactly see her eyes.

"Is it really you?" said the woman, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Who are you?" asked the man suspiciously, trying to focus.

"Are you... Cor the Immortal?"

He growled, "Get out of here!"

"You are, aren't you?"

"I'm not going to tell you again."

"Cor the Immortal... The Guardian."

"What did you just say?"

"A woman told me that I was to seek the guardian of fate. He would come to me a broken man, known to the rest of Eos as Cor the Immortal," she explained calmly.

Looking at the stranger sharply, he frowned. She hadn't moved, only kept her scrutinizing gaze upon him. With the hood over her face it was hard to tell, but the man could easily feel the stare coming from beneath the shadow.

"Who are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"My name is Evangeline. I've come from the containment cells in the research facility of Gralea."

"A Niff?" his voice hardened at hearing that.

"No, an experiment."

"What kind of experiment?"

"The most important kind, the one that could ultimately be the undoing of all existence."

The woman's voice was grave as she spoke, her head lowering. It looked like a fist clenched at her side, the glove on her hand a little too big for her.

"You are him aren't you? Cor the Immortal?"

A groan escaped the man at the door, crossing his arms and gaze dropping to his feet. How he loathed such a title that he didn't even deserve.

"Just Cor," his gruff voice finally answered, "Who told you where you find me?"

"The messenger of the Six. She guided me here to Lestallum, to you."

"From Niflheim?"

"No. I escaped Gralea but I didn't do so very quietly. I've been chased all around Eos, trying desperately to find Insomnia."

Cor stiffened, looking at the woman with a glare that could burn holes in her soul if she even had one. The man hadn't seen the Crown City in about five years since he was cast out of there. It was still a sore spot, one that he was sure he was never going to get over, especially with the way that he had been handling things. A fist tightened at his side and he wished that he hadn't depleted his stash the night previous.

"Sorry, but I'm not headed to Insomnia anytime soon," he spoke, his voice dangerously low.

"I..." a choked sob escaped her, "Please you must go. I'm afraid I cannot make the rest of the journey. I don't have much time before they finally find me."

"They? The Niffs?"

Evangeline nodded, "Yes."

"Why are they after you?"

"When I escaped I wasn't completely alone."

The man at the door caught movement beside the woman on the bed, instincts still somewhat there despite falling into disuse over the years. The only reason they would bother to chase her down is if she had taken something of value to them. She said she was an experiment and that meant she probably stole something from their labs in order to try and slow them down. There was definitely no way he could allow her to go near Insomnia with a potential threat that they had no information on. For all he knew, this was a ploy to bring down the barrier and allow a full frontal assault.

"What did you take from them?"

"Not a what, a who," replied Evangeline.

Just as the words escaped her, the unmistakable cry of a baby echoed in the room. The woman gasped, grabbing an infant that was beside her and beneath the blankets for warms. Instantly a song joined the wails of the child and it soothed it back into a slumber. Evangeline rocked the baby in her arms, still humming a song that Cor had never heard before. Her voice made him feel at ease for the first time in years and he didn't dare make a move to stop it. Once the babe was fast asleep, the woman approached, the sound of her voice still bouncing off the walls of the hotel room.

"This is Lilium Aldercapt," introduced the woman, stopping in front of him and allowing him to see the child, "She is my daughter and the last remaining soul of Illume."

"Your daughter?" Cor raised a brow in disbelief.

Evangeline nodded, "Yes."

"If the rumours about the Emperor are true then you must be..."

Cor didn't finish the sentence. Tentatively he reached out toward the woman and she stiffened in fear. She didn't make a move, however, allowing his hand to grasp the hem of the hood obscuring her face and pull it back so that it rested on her shoulders. The larger man looked down critically at what he was seeing. Long dirty blond hair greeted him, with pink triangle ears poking out of the top of her head on either side of a red antenna. Fangs rested against a pouty bottom lip and red eyes thin as slits looked up at him in fear. Scrutinizing the woman was definitely making her uncomfortable but Cor didn't really care at this point. What he was seeing right now was beyond real and the state of mind he was left in made it difficult to process.

Evangeline held her daughter a little tighter, "They're true. I am not full blood and she is even less than I am. But it is exactly why I need your help."

"My help?"

The woman bit her lip, looking down at her child, "I had help escaping. In order to be free and protect Lilium I... I had to pay a price. The source of my magic is gone, I cannot protect her anymore. Please, you must get her to Insomnia. Only the magic walls can keep her safe now. You have to help me!"

This was completely unbelievable. There was no way that a hybrid was standing in front of him right now with the heir of Niflheim in her arms and telling him to take her straight to the very place he was banned from. Clearly he had fallen to the very bottom of the well and this was all just a stupid dream. Well, there was only one way to make it go away.

"There's nothing I can do for you," said Cor sternly, "I no longer serve the line of Lucis."

Evangeline gasped and the man pushed past her without looking back. Now that his bed was vacant he flopped onto it, kicking off his shoes and putting a hand under his head while keeping his gaze on the ceiling above him.

"But... Surely you know who she is?!" the woman looked at him desperately.

"Nope."

"The legends of Illume, the prophecy, they're all real! You must know this having served alongside the King!"

"I don't doubt that they are, but I can't help you."

"But-"

"I can't take you to Insomnia!" thundered Cor, cutting her off.

The baby began to wail again and he sighed heavily. Glancing over he could see the woman's crestfallen look at what she was hearing. It was as if all hope had died right there with his words that still seemed to reverberate off of the walls. Cor felt her pain as if were his own, deep down in the pits of his stomach and it made his heart heavy. Tearing his eyes away just as fast as he brought them over, he rolled violently to his side so that his back was turned on her. His gaze came to the full moon shining through his window, stars twinkling alongside it. Maybe that was the cause of all this insanity.

"I'm sorry. Good luck on your journey," he said, his voice much calmer now.

Evangeline didn't say anything but Cor heard the woman sob before exiting his room. He released his own sigh, closing his eyes tightly. Whether she was real or not, his feelings certainly were. Scowling before clenching his fists, he was finally alone long enough to let sleep claim him.

...

As the sun billowed in from the large window Cor groaned in displeasure. The light was burning his retinas it felt like, regretting that he had forgotten to close the blinds last night. His head was pounding like every morning and he pushed himself up slowly. Looking at the time, he was a little shocked that he had woken up so early. The Immortal sighed heavily, rubbing his head and going to close the curtains almost angrily. What a night he had. Been a while since he let himself go like that. Taking a critical look around the room, he was satisfied that there was no strange moogle woman claiming to have the heir to Niflheim around. It was all a dream and a strange one at that.

Showering quickly, he found a change of clothes that were far less offensive on the nose and left the room without a second thought. Avoiding anyone and anything, Cor made his way over to the usual greasy pit he started his day off with. The growl that erupted from his stomach told him he would need something to settle the poison he was drinking well into the night. This was the cycle he had gotten himself into, barely taking care of himself anymore. Bounty hunts kept him going all this time, only to piss away his earnings at whatever bar happened to be closest at the time. Five years into this mess and nothing had changed for him. It never would, this was the life he was meant for thanks to his humiliating failure. He was sent to gather himself but what wasn't common knowledge was the fact that there was nothing left to find. His life should have ended that half-decade ago, plain and simple.

Food was brought over to him and his mouth watered. Cor dug in, barely tasting anything just wanting the sustenance it provided. No one paid him any mind, going about their business as if he wasn't there. Being a regular tended to have that effect on the world and that suited him just fine. About halfway through his meal, however, something happened that didn't usually during his morning routine. A scream in the distance had all heads turned, panic starting to set through the citizens of Lestallum. Cor was up in an instant, knowing that if someone else recognized him then he was surely doomed. He scoffed at his last thought, remembering that the woman from last night was only a strange dream. It was hard to see what the source of all the commotion was, people flooding the streets and making it hard to see if there was any real threat to them. There was no way he could go on without making sure that he was at least safe from recognition. If anything, this was a sign that he had overstayed his welcome here in the city and it was time to move on. Cor craned his neck to look around but found nothing that indicated there was even a reason for a scream. The crowd had calmed down as well, maybe it was just all in his head.

Sighing, he turned his back and began to walk to the hotel. The time to move on was now and Cor didn't like to waste his time. Funny how all the makings of a soldier were still ingrained deeply into him despite having been forced away all those years ago. As he came to the main thoroughfare his defences instantly rose. The streets were packed like usual and he turned around to see if there was anyone watching him, frowning when his gaze came upon a small woman with a brown cloak. She had a hood that obscured her face and Cor felt his heart in his throat. The woman was headed right for him, looking frantically behind her for any hostility. Following her gaze, he noted that there were three Imperial troopers failing at chasing her down incognito. It was obvious that she was holding something very dear to her.

Evangeline came right up to him, taking one more desperate look behind her before letting tears fall from her red eyes. There was no time to react, the woman pushing something small into his arms. He was fixated on her stare, the look in her eye. It wasn't a dream after all, it was all real.

"Please protect her," she begged.

Her hand reached out and put something else in his hand. Cor had no time to look at it, the woman disappearing from his view in the blink of an eye. Snapping his head in the direction she went, he was unable to locate her. The troopers seemed to know where she was, however, because they pushed by him in hot pursuit. Growling, he was about to after them but something else caught his peripherals. There was a man standing in the distance of the crowd, smiling smugly at him it seemed. Evil amber eyes met the light blue of Cor's and the younger man blended into the citizens all on his own. Whatever Evangeline had gotten herself into was only going to get her killed. There was no way for him to find her now that she had disappeared but Cor had the very thing that they were looking for.

As he came into his hotel room, he slammed the door shut and locked it quickly. Growling at what just happened, his heart pounded in his chest. What was he supposed to do now? There was no way he could fight off Niffs, not like this. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember everything he was told last night about the situation that tumbled right onto his lap. The baby. Cor looked down at the child in his arms, pulling away the hood and having a look at her. She looked completely human, just as Evangeline said. It was amazing that she managed to sleep through all the commotion. Lilium's eyes opened up after that, looking directly at him. They bore into his soul, causing him to gasp as he woke up for the first time in years. His head was completely clear, snapping to reality.

A calm hazel stare was the only thing that he could see.

...

thanks guys! This story will go over the first 25 years of Athenacia's life and how hard it was for Cor to raise her. again, read Terminal State if you're confused (which I'm sure some of you might be). or even drop me a line, I'm always happy to answer any questions. I'm also reachable on Twitter: rain00205. thanks so much!