Updates: Chapter 6 finished and out there. Sorry about the time jump there, but I was honestly wasn't sure where to begin with this one. Figured that instead of boring y'all with the details, I'd just reminisce at certain points and have the meat of things actually written out. Still looking for some ideas as far as where I'm going to take the storyline after the initial launch of the SRF ships and if I should just skip 10 years and call it SD 10; take the story from there.
Timeline: The years before 1 SD (2087); later to go into SD 10 (where the main story of The Last Hope comes in).
Preface/Author's Note/Thoughts: My First submission. I've balanced the idea of writing an original piece for SO4 for some time after making a successful play-through, so here it is. Instead of using only the main canon from the series I instead use my own brand to introduce a concept of: "from the outside; looking in". Hopefully this concept isn't forbade on a site so seemingly dedicated to using only main characters in a series, but if it's an unwanted piece then let me know and I'll try it again. I appreciate any support I can get and I like to know where I stand, so please, if you feel there's something that needs be said, let me know about it. Criticism properly stated can make this better.
For now, we follow a man by the name of Eric Halberd (original character): a survivor of World War III. It's essentially a hellish place in the underground and this craftsman is forced to carve a living out of what he has. It's the same-old-same-old for some time until a certain red-haired beauty makes an appearance; thus changing his life forever.
As a disclaimer: I do not own the storyline, history or characters of Star Ocean: The Last Hope, nor do I intend to use the license to profit from them. All credit goes to tri-ACE/Square-Enix.
Without further interruption I present to you: Star Ocean: Truth of the Fallen!
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Hopes and dreams are the two elements that make up humanity. With our desire to venture forth and discover new things in a number of fields, we never seem satisfied with what's before us and proceed forever forward with reckless abandon. Any intention of stopping just means quitting what it means to be human and any efforts barring our intents are met with severe—final—punishment. This is at least how I witnessed things before and even after this war—World War III.
It's the year…aw hell! Who even cares anymore? Too many things have changed too recently for me to keep track of luxuries like time. I've been cramped in this hellhole we used to call a planet; under the surface thanks to the brass that thought it was a brilliant plan to unleash our tactical nukes on whoever launched theirs at us. Hell, I might've been killed when they finally fell, but I would've at least liked to know a part of the planet still held some form of life. Instead, it's all in ruins and those without at least some formal military experience have been shoved into little holes in the ground to escape radiation. Some were lucky—or unlucky—enough to have some kind of surface life through Biodomes, though I doubt what it looks like up there is any prettier than what we've got to look at down here.
That's right! Earth's gone and we aren't! Figure that one out. Can't complain too much for being alive after the entire surface had been irradiated though, so I suppose I'll just take what I can get for now. May have been better in death since I've lost too many dear to me, but this is probably one of those signs that I'd be better off alive. It's been a sad life since then, being completely alone in these dark, cramped spaces with hundreds of other people; numbers growing daily even still. Yeah, more of us made it out than I had thought, but none of them are worth mentioning. I had one group of friends that I had grown up with and each of them, whether immediately or right after the "incident," had perished. Steve, Ricardo, Keichii, Jeff, Viola, Francois;—Maria: my dearest blow.
We weren't many, but these were my dearest friends and Maria; I didn't even get to tell her that I loved her. Before my very eyes she went away from me; those words still unsaid. I was the only one by her deathbed; the other five of them already perished. Irradiation took long and sure to remove her from life. Her sheer cries of terror, of pain; of death… hath life no mercy!? I bore through it all for her sake, grabbing hold of what medicines, aids, ointments and any sort of medical help I could get but the cancer…it was far too quick to be stopped. I hadn't the money to afford a treatment at the time since every center had been moved into tunnels and insurance was out of the question. The agony of it all…and she still found strength to forgive—no—thank me.
The last time we spoke, I tried to tell her with every ounce of my existence that I had wanted to share a part of my life with her; that I wanted to be there for her always and live with her through the best and worst times. The only phrase I can recollect telling her is "I'm…" before she placed her index finger over my lips. She couldn't talk, but I, more than anyone else in the world, understood her. I was the only one who could.
"Be happy," she mouthed, eyes slowly sinking into tears. There was still a fire alight in them, but I noticed even that slowly fade away. She knew it was her time, and despite my frantic actions to place a breathing apparatus on her precious mouth, she stopped my hand with her own with any strength she had left and gingerly shook her head. There was a light tug on my hand as I dropped the device. I think I finally and completely understood. With the most care and kindness I could muster, I placed my shoulder upon her chest, head next to hers and arms around her failing body. For the last time, I felt her hand perform a gentle brush across the back of my head as the rest of her clung to me for the last moments they had left. Her warmth began to wane and I felt her muscles finally begin to relax. It was the saddest, yet most comforting moment in my entire life and, though I've lost friends and family before, prepared me to live what future I had left as well.
"Be happy," she gave the order. Though she wanted this for me, all I ever wanted was for her to be happy. If her final wish was for me to be happy, then I that's what I'd do; more for her sake than my own. Her sprit would haunt the heck out of me if she knew just how miserable it was here, though again I knew I should be thankful to be alive. It would just be up to me now to find this new beginning since the Earth had already spent its remaining bastions and has succumbed to the overpowering radiation. I'm the only one left of us seven, and I plan on making that future I know we had all wanted. I won't be able to have those that I've grown up with, but I'll be damned if I don't do something soon.