AN - My first story on my new account. This is inspired by Fallout and to a lesser extent Resident Evil but is not a crossover and is an AU for Final Fantasy VII. Please R&R and let me know whether I should continue this.
Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII. Nor do I own Fallout or Resident Evil.
Summary - Holy and Meteor collided. The world has changed and is now a post apocalypse wasteland. The combination of Holy and Meteor hit the tainted Lifestream releasing an unusual strain of virus. In some people the virus can be mutated, changed and adapted to improve the individual. In others it has a fatal effect. Survivors align themselves with warring factions under the illusion of safety. There are few independent settlements.
Virus HML
Prologue
We all thought Holy was going to save us from Meteor. Aeris' sacrifice should have saved us all. But something went wrong. Holy and Meteor collided and the sky turned purple. The combined Holy and Meteor hybrid collided with the Planet and hit the tainted Lifestream. The shockwave resulting from the collision destroyed buildings and killed millions. Plants disintegrated and the water was infected. We all thought that was bad enough. Then the first group of people got sick. An unusual strain of virus, nicknamed HML spread throughout the lands. Many died. The rate of infection differs in each individual. Some people died within a week of contracting the disease. This is known as the Third Gen. The Second Gen infected did not die, but their skin sloughed off slowly, painfully. A horrid sickly pulsating purple tendril wrapped around the Second Gen infected forearms. This was a mark of the Second Gen infection.
The First Gen infected were the luckiest of the infected. Their DNA changed the virus, mutating it and adding it to their double helix. This caused mutations in the individuals. Not all First Gen mutations were the same. Some said it was the Planet fighting back against the virus. Some First Gen infected are able to use elemental based attacks and defences. Others obtained animal characteristics, others plant characteristics.
Some people somehow escaped infection, developing immunity to the virus. This however did not render them safe. ShinRa was no more, AVALANCHE was no more. Renegade Factions appeared all over Gaia. The Factions fought amongst themselves to claim more land. There is no law anymore. Scavenging is the only way to survive. The Planet will no longer produce plants. There are more monsters than ever before. Life is dangerous, more dangerous than ever.
I have seen friends and strangers die from Third Gen infection, I have also known many Second Gen infected, some also friends. I personally know what it feels like to be a First Gen. I have watched the world burn, I was involved in AVALANCHE when we were trying to save the world. I wander alone now, having been separated from those I know and love, either through death or through Faction Loyalty. There is no unity or peace between Factions. Once you join, you are part of that territory. Once in a Faction, the only way out is death. Anyone not in your Faction is considered an enemy. I have seen family members kill each other due to being in opposing Factions. Age means nothing, children are not spared. Although, the number of children has dwindled to almost none in the 2 years since that day, there are few births. Some people believe that this is the Goddess giving up on her people, wanting to end the human race. Others believe that this is punishment from Jenova.
To me, it doesn't matter either way. You need to live day to day, scavenging and surviving. Whether it is the Goddess or Jenova or even ourselves. You need to fight to survive.