Author note: Hey guys and gals. If you're reading this right now then you're one very short step from beginning reading my fanfiction, which is a really awesome thing to me. I would like to admit that the beginning is a little rocky, seeing as I had no real direction and had never attempted to write anything of this nature before. That being said, according to the increasing amounts of traffic and reviews I've been seeing the whole thing has been getting better. To quote one of my reviews: "Hey, this story started out a little rough, but you really hit your stride around chapter four and it's just been getting better and better since!" My main point is, please give my story a chance. I've finally gotten on a roll with it and can't wait to share all the ideas bouncing around in my head. Reviews are welcome and desired. Thanks again.

-Max

Prologue-

Ignis

This wasn't how it had been planned. This wasn't how she had planned it.

The thought of falling, of dying had never once crossed her mind. Sure, she had been trained to murder and to willingly sacrifice herself if necessary, but never had she actually thought she would perish because of another's actions. It was supposed to be her decision.

From the day she had discovered the concept of the end she had decided that if and when it happened it would be of her own accord, or simply due to the passage of time. After all, she was invincible. She had been created that way. She had been created to kill. To win. To live.

It had happened in a second. The mandibled monster that stood before her had done something she had not expected. Its four fingered hand had been holding something; that she had seen. However, she had made the foolish mistake of assuming that her foe had been completely incapacitated by the blunt, armored fist she had penetrated his stomach with. That was when its hand made contact with her chest.

There were blue wisps of energy snaking through her field of vision. It was odd, she thought, that the cause of her death was so warm against her heart.

"Now we perish. You will be damned. And I…" the creature coughed purple blood that splattered across her visor. "…will be saved. I will live forever."

"MARIE!" His voice came from the left. Her leader and her friend. No. He was so much more

Her left hand rose and lifted the helmet off of her head. Her hair was short out of necessity. There were strands of red, gold, copper, and blonde. They all combined and fused together to make a light and beautiful brown. She turned to face his voice, hoping to see him one more time.

He was there, sprinting towards her. There were only two others with him. Had the others really fallen too?

Tears began to stream from her brown eyes as her helmet hit the ground. Her hand reached towards her allies and him.

"Logan."

Blue fire enveloped her body.

Logan skidded to a halt and stood motionless, staring right where she had been. He was relieved his gold visor hid his face and that the acoustic silencers in his helmet masked his muffled crying from those around him. It was better when followers were oblivious to a leader's weakness.

The crying made it difficult to for him to control the menus in his Heads Up Display, which was navigated solely by eye movement. Finally, he was able to access him team's dossier. He scrolled down the short list until he reached S-004: Marie. There was a second he took to think before her status was altered.

S-004: Marie MIA