4/4/2013 Update: I went back through this chapter and corrected things to the best of my ability. Some of my glaringly obvious mistakes have disappeared, but I can't promise it's perfect. That said, it still needs to be beta'd.

Anyway, since I cut out the original authors notes (they made this longer than I wanted it to be) let me just delve into a few quick notes (aka, warning) before we get started.

1. This fic is HopexLightning with a younger Hope.

2. That said, there won't be any mature content.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

It started with faces — The faces of people he knew. Fang, Snow, Lightning... all of them seemed to flash by in an instant. Hope didn't know what to think – didn't know how to react. He was in a dream-like state — somewhere between fantasy and reality. The visions before him appeared like washed out apparitions.

Then, as abruptly as the faces appeared, they faded and he saw himself. He was standing there, looking confident, almost cocky. There was something off about it. He wasn't sure exactly what. Something about his own image spooked him. It wasn't just the way he held himself; There was a look in his eyes, something that wasn't quite him. They held a hint of desire — a hint of something Hope couldn't quite fathom.

Before he could give it any more thought, the boy in front of him gave an abrupt shudder and fell to the floor. Then, much to Hopes bewilderment, he began to change. He could see it silhouetted against a wall — his frame hunched over, his entire body contorting as it changed shape, transforming into something large and monstrous.

This, though, was nothing compared to what happened next. A shrill, bestial cry rang through his ears. Before he knew what was going on, the monster before him was moving with rapid violent motion, dragging a pair of monstrous claws across a series of bulbous forms. Blood spattered across the wall and Hope felt his blood chill as he realized that the forms he was seeing were human.

More forms appeared: the shadows of men approaching the creature. Holding pistols, they open fired on it – on him.

He could hear the chaotic howl of the monster and the piercing shriek of bullets as they left the barrels of guns, showering the creature in a rain of fire. The beast turned on the soldiers. He watched with growing revulsion as the beast lashed out, snapping one man's neck like a twig. The others retaliated. One by one, their forms fell before the havoc the creature wreaked upon them.

Finally, Hope couldn't handle it anymore. He couldn't watch. He didn't want to watch. His entire body was telling him to run. Somehow, he had to get away.

He found, though, that he couldn't pull away. The bloodshed kept playing in front of him like some all-too-realistic horror show. His entire body shuddered like a engine, bile rising in his throat. He had to hold back the urge to wretch at the dismembered corpses that were starting to litter the ground.

Finally, his saving grace came. Unfortunately, it was in a rather unsavory form. Abruptly and out of nowhere, his own lungs were suddenly aching for oxygen. He had no idea what was going on. Where before he was having trouble settling his stomach, now he was desperately trying to suck in air, his entire body heaving as he attempted to force oxygen into his lung. It felt though like something was constricting his airway. Hope gasped for breath, unable to do anything but struggle helplessly against the state of asphyxiation that threatened to take hold of him.

The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a hand; Splayed across the floor, splattered in blood, it looked like it was groping — groping for something. But groping for what?

At first, Hope wasn't sure what had happened. It wasn't abrupt by all means. Even in crystal stasis, some stream of consciousness had remained — something to pull his mind out of the void. It was a something that had kept it working, thinking, and reminiscing; dwelling, for the most part, on the past: what he could have done right, what he could have done wrong, what he could have done in general if it hadn't been for the purge.

Still, it took him a moment to figure out why he was suddenly hunched over on his hands and knees, his breath heavy as he leaned over the ground, beads of sweat dripping like muggy rain drops down his face. Bringing one hand up, he touched his cheek. Somehow it felt strange feeling his own warm, damp flesh. He ran the hand across his cheek and to his forehead before bringing it in front of him, taking a moment to study his own hand. It was a quick revelation. The last thing he remembered was completed his focus and going into crystal stasis. Now he was sitting here, staring at his own flesh. There was only one logical conclusion; he had awoken from the eternal slumber of crystal stasis. But why?

Looking up, he took a moment to study his surroundings. He was atop of what he could only assume was a fountain. He was perched on a small platform, one just large enough to support his, and his crystal's, weight. This platform rose about a meter above a larger circular basin that had been built part-way into the wall.

This fountain itself was part of a larger room that seemed to stretch like a football stadium to either side. A ray of light was shining down from the ceiling. When Hope looked up, he realized it was coming from a place where the ceiling had caved in.

Below him, the fountain emptied into a water way that stretched all around the room. In total, there seemed to be 8 identical fountains, 4 on each side of the room. All of them were bone dry. It looked like they hadn't worked in ages.

The room itself was in disarray. The floor was covered in debris that had fallen from the structure that towered over it. Stone, metal, and shards of broken glass all lay scattered about amongst dirt, leaves, and other organic material coating the floor like a carpet. In several locations, there were even a few young looking trees growing out of places where the floor had crumbled away completely.

Hope wasn't sure what to make of this all. Where was he? It wasn't where he had entered crystal stasis. That much he was sure of.

He remembered going into crystal stasis well enough. He could recalled the purge, his own branding as a l'cie, and the physical and emotional struggle that followed. Particularly fresh in his mind was that final battle in Orphan's Cradle. He could still remember the surge of magic that pulsed through his body as he desperately fought to keep his companions alive.

His companions...where were they now? He could picture them quite clearly in his mind: Fang, with her sassy attitude and her protective streak towards Vanille; Vanille, with her playful demeanor and often all-too-random hugs; Sazh, with the fatherly advice his own father had never been around to give; Snow, who at first had been the target of his grief, but had turned out not to be such a bad guy; and, of course, Lightning, whose cold outer demeanor held a softer side, a side she had shown with her promise to protect him.

Most of all, though, he remembered his mother's death. It still pained him. Though he had been in crystal stasis, her death was still fresh on his mind. There was a heavy feeling in his heart as he sat there, thinking about her. She had been the only stability in his life. His entire ordeal had started with her being snatched out of his grasp. Without her, he had been left with nobody.

Of course, Lightning, Snow, and everyone else he had journeyed with had changed that. Where they were now though, was, again, something he couldn't answer.

Then, of course, there was that dream. The faces of his companions hadn't been that remarkable. He didn't know what to make, however, of what had come after. That transformation...and the beast...it reminded him of Ragnarok. Only problem was, he had clearly seen himself going through such a transformation.

Then it dawned on him — his brand!

Sitting up, he reached down to his left arm and hastily drew back the cloth that had been there. The sight before him caused his breath to catch in his throat. The brand had retreated some from when he had last looked at it, but it was still there; thick black lines crisscrossed across his arm to form the design he was all too familiar with. Hope gritted his teeth, trying to hold back the feeling of anguish that threatened to wash over him. Did this mean he had awoken from crystal stasis with another focus? But if that was the case, there was a very real possibility that that dream had been a vision related to his focus.

The sudden sound of something scrapping against the floor snapped him out of his musing. His heart skipped a beat and he was on his feet and reaching for his boomerang in an instant. It was still where he kept it; the smooth contour of the weapon was comfortingly familiar. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw movement. He twisted his head in that direction but all that met him was the absolute stillness of the room. A chill ran down his spine.

Still, he wasn't going ignore what had just happened. Jumping off the platform, he took a defensive stance as he scanned the room before him. Though he looked ready to try and defend against an attack, in reality, he was scared breathless. He didn't know where he was but if there were enemies of any type, he wasn't going to fare very well against them on his own.

Luckily, he was met with silence. If there had been anybody — or anything — here before, there wasn't any sign of it now. Still, Hope knew better than to call out. A primal instinct to survive had taken over.

Cautiously, he took a step to the side. Chances were, whatever had made that sound, it wasn't friendly. He was alert and vigilant as he picked his way through the rubble, hugging the wall as closely as he could. He tried to keep his eye on both sides of the room. Getting caught from behind was a very real possibility and Hope didn't want to take any chances.

Despite his caution, it took him by surprise when he suddenly found that the solid support of the wall behind him had vanished. He couldn't help but let out a small yelp of surprise as he went tumbling backwards, falling smack dab into the dirt. For a moment, all he could focus on was the rapid beating of his heart and the fact that he had only fallen. When his vision refocused, he found himself staring up at a cloudless blue sky. Bringing himself up into a sitting position, he was met with the sight of a hole in the wall. 'That would explain why I fell backwards,' he thought to himself, feeling rather sheepish.

When he turned around, the sight that greeted him left him breathless. He was in a city. Much like the inside of the building, however, the city that lay before him was in a state of ruin and decay. Skyscrapers towered above, looking like overgrown construction sites. Much of their original structure had been stripped away, leaving a rusty over-grown frame.

The smaller buildings mirrored their larger counter parts, but were far more disorderly. Vines climbed up the sides of walls, pushing through broken windows as they reached for the sun. In the streets, a large portion of the pavement had crumbled away, trees and smaller vegetation growing like wildfire in its wake.

It reminded him a lot of the ruins they had wandered across on pulse. This, though, looked far more recent, yet far more overgrown. There was also something about it that seemed less foreign than a pulse city. Even under the ruin, he could see somewhat of a stylistic difference, though something about it still screamed 'Pulse'.

Whatever this place was, Hope didn't have time to think about it as a sudden sharp pain shot through his leg. Looking down, his eyes widened. Something had cut right through his pant leg and it was now slowly being soaked a crimson red. Taking the bottom of his pant leg in hand and pulling it up, he winced. There was a gash down his leg and it didn't look good.

Hope wasn't sure what caused the wound. It must have happened when he had fallen. As he looked at it, a thought occurred to him. 'If i'm a l'cie, I should still be able to use magic... right?' It certainly wouldn't hurt to try. Wincing slightly as he put his hand against the bare bleeding skin of his leg, he reached into himself, searching for his own pool of magic. For some reason, though, he couldn't find it. This left him feeling confused. If he was a l'cie, he had to have magic. Why, then, was he unable to access it?

He continued searching within himself for the magic that would help him, but no matter how much he looked, there didn't appear to be anything remotely magical inside him. With no results, and a more urgent matter to address, he gave up his search and turned his focus to treating his wound.

Stripping himself of his jacket, he took off the bandana that hugged his neck. He hated to ruin it but he needed something to stem the flow of blood. Tenderly, he wrapped it around his leg, wincing at the pain that came with putting pressure on the wound. Once he had it around his leg, he tied it into a knot. It wasn't practical, by any means, but it would serve its purpose.

After putting his jacket back on, he brought himself to a standing position. He couldn't help but scowl at the pain that shot through his injured leg as he put weight on it. For now, though, he had to deal with it. 'It's what Lightning would do,' he told himself.

'Lightning...' Hope's thoughts wandering back to his friends. He couldn't help but wonder where they were. Were they still in crystal stasis? Or perhaps they had awoken the same time as him, but somewhere else. Maybe everyone's crystals had been separated. That would explain why he had woken up by himself in an unknown location.

Still, as he considered this, another possibility suddenly entered his mind. Maybe, for some reason, they had awoken from crystal stasis and he hadn't. The idea spooked him. It would also explain why he had woken up alone. At the same time, it meant the possibility that all the people he knew were back in crystal stasis. Or even worse – dead. A feeling of dread filled his chest with that last thought. It was an idea he didn't want to entertain. Not now.

Still, the uncertainty nagged at him. A feeling of apprehension filled his stomach. 'No! They can't be dead...'

His mind flashed back to his vision – all those dismembered bodies – and again, a feeling of bile rose in his throat. His vision swam and, before he knew it, he was on his knees, his entire body shaking. The realization hit him like a brick. He thought about his promise with Lightning – that promise to protect him – to look after him when no one else would. But what was a promise if she was dead? The world didn't care about promises. Reality wasn't going to bend to his will so she could keep it. One wrong move – one bad circumstance – and it wouldn't matter; the possibility of keeping such a promise could easily be torn away – rendered impossible by chance.

In the end though, it wasn't as much about keeping a promise as it was about being alone. As things were now, Hope was alone; not just alone in that he had nobody to watch his back either. He was a 14 year old boy with nobody that he could rely on for emotional support. The mother that had once filled such a role was gone. As a l'cie, his friends, Lightning in particular, had come to fill the empty spot in his heart his mother's death had left behind. Now, though, he was again by himself. He had no idea where his friends were. For now, and perhaps forever, he was completely on his own and it was the possibility that it was forever, more than anything else, that terrified him.

It was hard to say how long Hope sat there, fighting with his own fears. What finally pulled him out of it was a sudden grating screech followed by a loud crash.

Just like that, Hope pulled his attention to his surroundings, his eyes widened in alarm. Again, his primitive survival instincts took over, bringing him into a state of readiness for a fight-or-flight response. Gripping his boomerang, he surveyed his surroundings, looking for whatever it was that had made the noise. This time, he found a source; a large steel girder, under the weight of time and gravity, had come loose from its frame and fallen to the ground. It was sticking out of the roof of an automobile at an irregular angle.

It had only been noise. None-the-less, it snapped Hope out of his state of despair long enough to realize that he didn't have time to focus on the what-ifs. His instincts – his fears – were telling him that if he wanted to survive, he had to focus on the present.

Hope, though, wasn't exactly sure what what to do now. There were so many questions that needed answering: Where was he? Where were his friends? What was his focus? Why couldn't he use magic? Where was he even going to start? It was all rather overwhelming to think about.

The question of where to start, however was answered by a sudden rumbling in his bladder. 'Well...I guess I could start there,' he thought, feeling suddenly sheepish as he glanced down at his pelvis.

It wasn't like Hope wasn't used to answering the call of nature...well...in nature. It was something he had learned to do fast and efficiently while being a l'cie on the run. What unnerved him more than anything else was the fact that he was doing it in the middle of a city. Sure it was abandoned. But, to him, it was still a city. It somehow felt disrespectful to whoever had lived here before to just take a leak in the middle of what remained of the pavement.

Luckily, it hadn't taken him long to find a bathroom in which he could take care of it. Sure, the toilet bowls were bone dry, the doors were off their hinges, the mirror was shattered, and half the ceiling had caved in. Hope, however, hadn't let the state of the bathroom deter him.

He peeked into the stall before taking a step in and positioning himself in front of the toilet. Unbuttoning the first two buttons of his pants and pulling down his boxers, he exhaled and let his body do its work.

He tried to relax – tried not to think about his surroundings. The more he thought about where he was, the harder he found it to get his business done. There was a sense of paranoia about this place; a feeling that something wasn't quite right that made using the bathroom in this manner rather uncomfortable. Then again, he hadn't used the bathroom in who knows how long and his body seemed to understand this. It wasn't long before he felt the pressure on his bladder easing up.

Despite his paranoia, he didn't hear the trod of footsteps — didn't noticed the shadow behind him — until he felt an unpleasantly warm breeze on his backside. Turning around, though, he quickly found it wasn't a breeze; Rather, it was the breath of a reptilian quadruped with a row of spiny protrusions going down its back – a gorgonopsid, as Hope recalled – and it was blocking his only means of escape.

Without a moments hesitation, the gorgonopsid lunged towards him. Hope let out a yelp of surprise, his hand automatically reaching for his boomerang and bringing it up before him in a defensive stance. As the monster's jaws snapped together, the boomerang becoming wedged between its upper and lower jaw. The impact, however, still sent Hope sprawling against the wall, leaving him dazed.

The monster swung its head back and forth in distress, momentarily distracted by the boomerang wedged in its mouth. Though the beast had him pinned to the wall, a claw on either side of him, there was still a gap between Hope and the creature's body. With the distraction of the boomerang, Hope had a few precious moments to make an escape. He did just this. Though he still felt dazed, Hope managed to slide under the beast, crawl between its two left legs, and roll through the gap between the floor and the wall that separated his stall from the next.

Hope took a moment to pull up his pants. He could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He had narrowly avoided death. Still, he didn't have time to ponder this as a sudden knocking on the side of the stall reminded him that he was still in immediate danger. Pulling himself off the ground, he left the door-less stall and made a run for the exit.

Grabbing the handle of the door, he swung it open. The sight that met him caused his blood to run cold; standing there before him was a second gorgonopsid. He recalled vaguely that gorgonopsids were creatures that hunted in pack. He didn't, however, have time to ponder this as the beast lunged at him. He barely twisted out of the way as it snapped its fiendish jaws at him.

Hopes heart was hammering in his chest. He knew he was in grave danger. He had to get out of here! He backed away, glancing frantically around him, looking for some sort of escape. Then he heard a snarl. Whipping around, he found himself staring into the small beady eyes of his first assailant. The creature had managed to get the weapon out from between its jaws, and was now out of the stall and slinking towards him.

Taking a step back, Hope watched as the two beasts circled around him, sizing him up as they prepared to make a kill. Weaponless, and now completely defenseless, Hope could only watch with growing terror as they moved in, drawing closer and closer with each step.

Before the beasts could make a move, however, the roar of ammunition being discharged from the barrel of a gun shattered filled the air. Both gorgonopsids let out a snarl and turned to the source of the noise. In an instant, a woman was upon them, thrusting a blade into the shoulder of the first one.

As Hope looked up, his bright teal eyes met with a pair of pale blue ones. It didn't take him long to realize who she was. One glance at her light pink hair and her lithe yet sturdy figure told Hope all he needed to know; Lightning had come to his rescue.

The brief moment their eyes met, however, left an opening for the other beast. It launched itself towards her. Hope opened his mouth to let out a warning cry but Lightning seemed to already know what was coming her way.

Ducking under the creature, the former soldier drew back her weapon. As the beast sailed over her, she plunged the blade straight into its belly. The result was the sword slicing right down the middle of the monster's underside. It was over in a split second — the beast was dead before it hit the floor.

The second monster tossed its head in obvious pain. Lightning turned to face the beast as it, too, charged towards her, claws outstretched. The former soldier easily moved out of the way. As it skidded across the floor, attempting to turn itself around, Lightning launched herself towards the monster, lifting up her sword and bringing it down on top of the creature. With several straight clean slices from her blade, the beast let out a shudder before dropping to the ground.

With the two gorgonopsids defeated, Lightning wiped the blood off her blade before folding it up and sliding it back into its case. She was sweating lightly but there wasn't a scratch on her. As Hope stood there, looking at her in mild awe, she turned to him. Again, their eyes met. "Are you okay?" Lightning asked, her voice characteristically void of emotion. Only the slightest hint of worry in her eyes suggested that she was genuinely concerned.

Hope didn't notice any coldness. Just having her here — in person — made his heart leap. Instead of answering with words, he launched himself towards her, throwing his arms around her waist in a warm and welcoming embrace.

Well...don't have much to say about this chapter. Comments, critique, or reviews of any sort are welcome. It's always nice to know what you guys think about what i'm writing.