NOTE: Prologue has been deleted. It just wasn't a strong start to this story. I may try to incorporate it as a chapter later on when revising.

Dedication:

Recently an icon of mine passed away. Monty Oum was his name. He was an animator for Rooster Teeth, he was a person who always worked and always created, he was somebody who steamrolled over all opposition. He was immensely creative and when he wanted something done he would get it done. I've always been the exact opposite. This story right here has been in the making since I was twelve (I'm nearly sixteen now). I have refused to finish it. But Monty's death made me realize we have to create while we can. We have to put ourselves out there while we can, even if it isn't a masterpiece yet. My only regret is that it took his death to make me realize this. Because of the death of a great creator it only seems fitting I give life to this story. I want to dedicate this fanfiction, weird as that might sound, to Monty Oum. It hasn't anything to do with what he was personally creating himself, but he's been a part in what I'm creating as an inspiration and motivator. Rest in peace, Monty. I'll do my best to remember you.

Title image from connectcompute

Chapter 1 - Origins

Year: 2000

The sunset looked gorgeous, the blue sky and the pink of the coming night melted together to tint the line of clouds separating them a shade of purple. Amy swung on her swingset in her large backyard. Her long, dark brown hair chasing her as she swung forward and pressing flat against her back as she swung back. The eight-year-old with the boxy nose and shimmering dark eyes grinned with glee as she swung higher and higher on the wooden swing.

"Ten more minutes, Amy, then you need to come inside," Her glowing mother had called as she left her garden, swerving around the swimming pool, entering through the sliding glass door. Amy furrowed her brows and pouted at the announcement, but her beaming grin returned as she swung higher and prepared to jump off at the climax of her height.

A low whistling noise reached her ears. Amy looked around curiously. There was nothing around to make such a noise. She shrugged and continued to swing.

The whistling grew in volume and shrillness. Amy looked up and searched the clouds for its source, and there it was. An object the size of a hefty pebble tore through the sky, whistling along the way. Amy's eyes tracked it, the swing slowing, and watched as it whipped right into her swimming pool.

The ground quaked and there was a loud CRACK that told Amy a crater had been crunched into the concrete of her swimming pool. Amy tumbled off of her swing, hitting the grass hard, but the pain from her fall went unnoticed. She pushed herself up and trampled the cracked ground beneath her as she ran to the pool. She got on all fours and peered over the edge, seeing a glowing purple orb at the bottom of the water. Curiosity got the best of her, and she figured that she had always been a good swimmer anyways. As she jumped into the pool her mother burst through the sliding glass door.

"Amy, no!" She screamed. Amy's submerged ears hadn't heard.

Amy swam to the bottom of the pool, reaching for the bottom of the crater. Her mother was leaning over the water's edge and screaming herself hoarse. Her father arrived seconds later. Their voices were lost on her. She reached out a hand to the crystal-like rock below her.

A sharp pain stabbed into her hand. Amy let out a muted cry, clutching the hand in pain and staring in disbelief. A needle had punctured her palm. It was paler than the purple glow of the glass-like crystal, but it was definitely from it. The crystal exploded with vines and tied itself to Amy's small hand, preventing escape. The burning came immediately. Her blood was boiling within her as the needle of the crystal pumped its venom into her. She screamed in pain, but was muted. Tears that poured from her eyes were drowned by the chlorine water around her.

Every cell in her body, from bone to flesh to skin, felt like it was being seared. She breathed deeply as the pain hammered her and her lungs forced her to find air. Water gushed into her lungs and choked her viciously. She retched until a numbness crawled from the tips of her fingers up her arms, through her chest, along her spine, dipping down to her legs, even sinking deep into her bone. The wet world around her ebbed into a blur and quicker than a lightning strike it melted into blackness. The last thing Amy felt was an arm wrapping itself around her middle.

Benjamin Mercad heaved his daughter over the side of the swimming pool. He pulled himself up next, dripping with water. He started up a CPR routine with desperate fervor.

The world around him was completely nonchalant and the air hung with the same Saturday evening melancholy it always had. The urgency of saving his daughter right now was lost in the celestial void. It was like the universe had already given up on her life. Ben kept hammering away with the chest compressions. Catherine sobbed with worry. Her chest heaved, green eyes in an endless stream, breathing ragged. She was giving anxious yanks to her blonde locks of hair as she waited for her husband to revive their daughter.

Through the veil, Amy could feel the hands forcing her heart to pump blood. In the pitch black she could feel the air being shoved down her throat and into her lungs - which held sloshing water in them. Then her heart was pumping on its own. Her lungs attempted to suck in air. The water choked her once more, but now it was not drowning her. It provided a rude awakening. Amy's eyes snapped open and she sputtered, falling to the side to hack out the wetness in her lungs. She pulled a clean, sharp breath as her eyes were filling with tears. Her lip quivered and she let out a terrified sob. Her father scooped her into his arms, soothing her with his deep voice and warm Louisianan drawl.

"It's okay, baby. It's okay, Amy. I got you. It's okay," he purred as he rocked her in his arms.

The pain from the crystal hadn't left her. Amy sobbed harder into her father's shirt, wishing she could find the breath to say what was wrong. It caused a whole new awful pain to ricochet through her arm, but Amy lifted up her hand for him to see. See the now pale white crystal wrapped around her hand. See how it was still trying to kill her.

Amy's world ebbed back into darkness, slower this time. She was able to catch her mother's solid voice.

"We need to get her to the hospital," she said in her set tone. Amy knew that tone well. She heard it every time she was in trouble, and she guessed she really was this time.

Benjamin lifted Amy's hand closer to his eyes so he could analyze, but when he received a yelp of pain from Amy he set it back down. His face held an expression Amy had never seen. One that was cold as stone. One that was fiercely determined. She found it soothing. He's going to do something... Amy knew as her eyes fluttered. She was absent as to what.

"No, I know who we need to take her to," he said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Call the first of the speed dial contacts. It'll be labeled 'Phil'," he said as he handed the phone to Catherine. He then went back to investigating what he could of the crystal.

Amy's world was fading away. It was back to the black, back to the sleep. Sinking back into it left a bitter taste in the back of Amy's throat and a burning in her nostrils. She tried to hang on. She tried desperately not to succumb.

"Hello?" Her mother questioned the phone, never letting her voice sink below the line into fearful or nervous. "I'm Catherine Mercad, Benjamin's Mercad's wife," her tone picked up an edge of importance. She spoke faster as she watched her daughter struggle with consciousness. "He told me to call you. Look, something happened. Something to my daughter and he thinks you'll know how to help."

Amy's eyes closed and the sound of her mother's firm voice slowly faded from her ears.

"What do you mean 'sounds like a Level Five situation'?" She asked after explaining fully what she knew of what happened. "How the Hell am I not authorized? What can't you tell me that concerns my own child?"

"Oh, Cat, I'll take it from here."

He spoke rapidly on the phone, talking about many things Amy didn't understand. Then the world was nothing but muted blackness, and her father's words were forgotten.

A/N: Okay so there's the official start to our story. Yay! See you in like a week.