Disclaimer: I do not own any of Orson Scott Card's works; Ender's Game is one of his works, not mine. I do, however, own the OCs that I introduce into the Ender universe.

I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

Prologue

"Papa! Mama! Where are you? Come back" The little girl cried as she ran around the barren trees towards her vanishing parents. The faster she pumped her chubby little legs, the farther away they grew, forever out of her reach, forever away from her grasp.

Mama fading, as distant as the look on her face, as though she were unsure of the right way to live. Papa, flickering, like a flame weakened by the wind.

She tripped in a hole, and fell, and felt a lightning-bolt of pain shoot up her leg and into her heart. She cried silently, but it was not in reaction to the sickening snap she heard as she fell; she cried because she let down her parents, because she couldn't reach them in time.

Mama and Papa, I failed them, I let them down, like I always do here.

She tried to stand, but her leg was too weak, because she was broken. She curled around her leg, rocking and sobbing. "Papa. Mama. Aaron. Rosa," she whispered, tears running down her face, distorting her vision.

Aaron, all that remains are his footsteps, his stride too large for me to hope to match. Rosa, I let down Rosa, and I can only see the breath that she left behind.

Darkness was looming around her, hands threatening to pull her farther down into the abyss that was her pain and sorrow, the horrors and monsters that lurked in the dark corners of her mind.

No. No. Not again, not this, not the mental break. I can fix this, I need to save them.

Right then, she felt a wisp of air blow past her, smelling of home. She looked up and saw her family, the tears vanishing from her eyes, chased away by hope.

She ran towards them and embraced them, the pain in her leg forgotten for the moment.

But they weren't her family. They had their faces, they had their bodies, they had their clothes, they had their smiles, but it wasn't her family. For the eyes were blank and devoid of emotion, just like the last two times.

Why.

She backed away, then heard her name. It was from behind her, being called in fear, of what she didn't know.

She turned around, desperate to find them, desperate to end the nightmare.

Her parents' faces were filled with fear, of what she didn't know. Then she realized what it was: it was of her.

She looked down and saw blood dripping from her clawed hands, the corpses of her older siblings in front of her. She turned around and saw the fake family running towards her.

She jumped, wishing for it all to end, but the fake family ran past and merged with the people in front of her.

The people turned into a large bluebird, which started to fly away. She tried to catch it, running faster and longer than she ever did before. But she failed. The bird flew away, leaving her alone with the bodies and her own thoughts.

"Chirp."

She turned around, her eyes wide with heartache, hoping for the best, looking for the family that left her for the monster that she was. The bird was there, its back to her. She reached out to touch it, to say sorry.

Mama, Papa, please come back. And Aaron, Rosa, I am-"

The bird turned around and viciously attacked her, leaving her bleeding and broken on the hard, frozen ground. The damage was such that bone and veins were cut, guaranteeing her a messy and painful death.

Unable to do anything else, the little girl curled up into a ball, waiting for death to take her.