Author's Notes: Hey guys! Long time, no see! Been busy a lot lately and I wanted to get done with my other stories. For now, I want you guys to enjoy this new story! I'll do my best to get work done for you guys! For the sake of the romance, Mike is 20 and Serah is 18. Thank you and peace out for now!

Chapter I-Journey

This pathetic man woke up once more only to realize he couldn't sleep from a reoccurring nightmare. Every night, he would run through dark, metal halls with somewhat strange sculpture around them. His legs were quite tire, but still, he never stopped, in fear that something behind him would be a horrific creature ready to tear him apart piece by piece. As he ran, he heard a familiar voice. "Mike!" It called out, sounding more like his high school girlfriend, Rita, as it shouted his name more and more. As he glanced up, he saw her head just hanging above, pleading, "Help me, Mike!" He gave a horrified, shocked look on his face as he saw this happening and it seemed like he was running even faster to get away from this nightmare. But at last, he couldn't. He ran straight into a dead-end. Looking behind him, he realized he was finished, for the beast was there and he was trapped in this dark realm. He screamed in vicious terror and when pain was about to strike, he woke. Sweaty, scared, hopeless: he was already dead even though he seemed alive by his features. He needed his old life back, he needed Rita. It was still the middle of the night, and here he was, thinking about how his life went downhill. He lost everything, his house, his job, his friends. Everything. Now he was living in his mother's home, in his old bedroom. He was a grown man, one with facial hair, but a skinny body. He put his hands over his face, recounting his encounter with the Dark World, saving the human race, and then, in reward, lost his life and sanity. "It couldn't get any worst." he thought as he felt his facial features twitched beneath his hands. He had a mustache and thin lips, he had average size eyes that were a dark cinnamon brown. His bangs were parted and swept to the sides and his hair was back behind his ears, the length just below his ears. The color of the strands were like a chocolate brown. His facial shape, overall, was a bit rounded, but his jawline was sharp. The cowardly man was named Mike Dawson.

His eyes grew heavy as his fears began to dull a little and he threw himself back on the bed, trying to force himself to sleep. It became a bit easier to sleep than he had excepted, even though he knew the same nightmare was waiting for him. And it will repeat forever or so he thought. This time he was ready for the dream, but instead of the nightmare, he felt a light over him. "Morning already?" he groaned. As he open his eyes to see what was upon him, he noticed it was a completely different world. Blue crystal lit up everywhere, in various structures. It seem to take a water formation, a sea frozen in time. Parts of odd buildings and futuristic ship-like pieces were engulfed by the crystal. In the middle of it all was a almost cross-shaped tower with unfamiliar, yet beautiful designs on it. He felt the air around him touch his skin. The dream felt real and he was in it. He could even feel the cold crystal beneath him. "Quite a dream," Mike whispered to himself, "Shall this be a new idea for me? A new sci-fi novel I supposed." He was a science-fiction author and this would be the perfect idea for him. He was deep in thought about the idea for his new novel when something caught his eyes. The light sea blue orbs of a girl. She was thin with a fragile frame, a bit small too. He began to examine the girl even more. Her face was thin but only a little rounded. She a small nose and petite, full lips. Her eyes were large and almost almond-shaped. Her bangs gathered in the middle a bit then parted to the sides to hug the sides of her face. The rest of her hair was pulled to the left side in a ponytail (it was very long). Something was very odd about her though, and that was her cotton candy pink hair. She was gorgeous to Mike as he began to lower his eyes to see what was she wearing. A white, sleeveless dress shirt, he pointed out, with a red, plaid skirt underneath. The skirt was a little short and had black lace lining under it. He could also see she had a bandage on her left bicep and leather band on the other. Thigh-high, black stockings with silver bands around them covered her legs and she had light tan ankle boots. Mike never thought of anyone like this before, but he can admit she was his dream girl. "A good dream for once." he said to himself as he stared at the girl looking back at him. He would love any attention he could get from her. She took a step towards the man and after a few seconds began to walk towards him. He was sitting up-right like he just woken from a nap...on the ground.

"Umm...are you ok? You're saying that this is a dream. Were you a L'Cle too and you just woken from your sleep like I did?" the girl asked him with the sweet, gentle voice she had and he just melted at the sound of it.

He shook his head and then responded with a flushed look on his face, "No. I was thinking this was just a realistic dream. I just fell asleep in my bedroom and look where I'm at?"

She cocked her head to side. She was confused at his answer. "What's your name?" Mike then questioned, changing the subject.

She tilted her head upright and answered, "Serah Farron."

"Well, Serah," he cooed, "Mike Dawson at your service." She held out a hand and he grabbed on to it. She helped the man up. When they made contact, he immediately forgot about Rita and began a small obsession over the girl. He believed he was in love with her and wanted her to be his. They walked together, not knowing where they were going.

Mike broke the silence and asked, "A L'Cle? So, does that mean you're a goddess of some sort?" She looked kind of surprised at the question. "A goddess," she thought before answering, "Is that what he thinks I am? That's weird. I've never heard anyone say that before. Not even Snow." As she was thinking, he noticed her silver pendent around her neck. A ring was on top of the hollowed-out globe with a spiral running down in.

"And tell me about this pendent, please? I've never seen this anywhere else." he asked in amusement.

Serah turned in shocked that he pointed it out, then responded to the questions, "Well, a L'Cle is a servant of the false gods, the Fal'Cle. And if we don't complete our focus, we turned into monsters. And if we do, we go into an enteral sleep warped in crystal. And about this pendent...well...a friend gave it to me..."She hesitated on the last part.

"Oh," he said in response, "As for the pendent, I know that was a lie. Just say it." He knew it was going to break his heart when he heard the girl say it.

"Umm," she began, "My fiancé gave it to me and when I meet him along with my big sister, we're going to get married." It was a lot to take in for him, but somehow he manage to walk on with the girl.

"Hey," Serah said, "I know we just met, but will you help me find my sister, Lightning?" "Well, I can't go home, so, yeah. Shall we?" Mike answered. She nodded and they came to a temple-like area.

The stones were broken and fire was captured by crystal. They walked on and he observed his surroundings, falling behind a bit. When she glanced behind and noticed this. "Come on, you slow poke!" she called out playfully and he immediately focus on her and made a little smile. He charged towards her yelling, "Coming my dear!" As he reached her, he wrapped his arms around and brought her in. While snuggling each other, they giggled at their childish game. Serah blushed, knowing that she was developing feelings for a man she just met. It brought her to a flashback when she first met Snow. So playful, delightful, lovable-everything she wanted in a man. But she wanted to forget Snow and live in the moment. She still loved him even though Mike was something she wanted even more. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help the feelings she felt. As she pondered on thoughts about Snow and Mike, three carriers pass overhead in a roaring ruckus that shook the ground. Their moment and thoughts were broken up. "We need to run!" Serah panicked and Mike agreed. He grasped her hand and started dashing through the temple. She almost tripped a few times, but kept up with the man. They ran out to the crystal sea once more. Mike halted when he reached a cliff and a carrier with soldiers surrounding it was below. He crotch and Serah follow him.

"So, you think we can take them?" he inquired. "But what do we do?" she said returning the question.

"Well," he stated, "Could you please tell me what powers, if any, L'Cle have?" Her eyes brighten as she knew her powers could help the two.

"Let me try!" Serah voiced. Her Pulse brand began to glow and she blast ice magic, freezing the soldiers. It left him amazed at her powers. She really wasn't human. They climbed down and reached the bottom of a cliff. They trudged on toward the ship with cation. As they reached it, the opened the hatch carefully. Once they knew it was empty, they ascended inside. The inside was quite fashionable with the interior having modern look. Much less gadgets than a plane might of had. It looked simple, yet so complex. The two exchanged looks as they approached the cockpit. Mike shrugged and sat down in the pilot's seat. He was unfamiliar with the technology, but he still proceed in starting up the ship. Serah sat down in another seat a little behind the pilot's.

She heard the rumble of the ship and then joked, "How's it going, Captian?"

He chuckled at the comment and responded, "Good, I guess." The ship came alive and it was ready to lift off. He did his best, turning off and on signals on the screen. And the ship began to fly. "You did it!" she cheered at Mike's achievement. Suddenly, an attack started in the sky from another ship. Their flight was short-lived and they crash to another area not far off from the last.