Chapter 1- Awake from the Darkness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any other property I decided to use in this fic. For all I care I could add a Pikachu again. Though I have no clue how. Though then again I had a random Pikachu show up in my Halo fanfic. What was talking about again? Oh disclaimer… I make no money off of this and if you paid to read this find your nearest Pikachu and ask for shock therapy.

Pain…

Darkness…

Sniff… Sniff… Hotdogs?

"Sir!? Sir! Are you ok?!" I heard someone ask.

I blearily opened my eyes… everything was spinning… everything hurt… I was helped up as I woke up to the world around me. "Ow… What? Where… Where am I?" I asked.

"We have a late bloomer here!" I heard someone yell.

"Oh poor soul… He must be so confused." I heard a woman say softly.

What do I last remember… Train. Purge. Bodham. Falling. Pain. "LIGHTNING!" I gasped as I finally shook off the dizziness and shot up onto my feet.

"Woah there son. You are having a Soul Flash. You need to take it easy." I heard someone say to my left holding on to my arm. I turn to see an elderly man.

I look around I am confused. The building looks so different. And is that the sky? "This isn't Cocoon… Where am I?"

"Oh my. You are in New York City. Son what do you last remember?"

I searched my fuzzy memories… "I was fighting off the purge soldiers… I got pushed off and fell to the bottom of the Cocoon. My sword…" I muttered before something flashed into existence at my feet and my trusty sword stuck itself into the ground. A large two handed broadsword that I could separate into two.

Everyone jumped back in fear as my sword flashed into existence. I grabbed it and felt the familiar weight. "He still has magic! He was a L'Cie!" I heard someone exclaim.

"L'Cie? No… that doesn't… sound right." I muttered as darkness invaded my memories again. What the hell happened? Why do I feel like I am remembering so little?

"Son, Have you lost all you memories past that?" I heard the old man ask.

I placed my sword on to my magnetic hilt and tried to see if I could remember anything else. "Nothing… all I remember is that I need to find Lightning… I need to find her."

"Who is this Lightning to you?"

"My girlfriend."

New Bodham, New Mexico

"Hagh…" Lightning sighed as she was sitting at café. She and the others had promised to meet here ten minutes ago and everyone was late except her. Snow and Serah got stuck in a huge traffic jam coming back from Alburquerque. Hope got caught up in an unexpected board meeting at the tech company he had founded. Sazh's son got a cold and they had to cancel. Fang and Vanille were always late regardless. They lived up in the mountains and took their time getting into town.

After some time the gang had managed to get back together again and all moved to this town, that so happened to have the name New Bodham. They made a promise to meet up at least once a week. Though they all lived right next to each other except Vanille and Fang obviously. It was a way to connect with each other and heal after all that they have been through.

Now that Lightning was by herself she couldn't help but think about everything had happened. Cocoon seemed so far away. So… gone. However, she was happy where she was now with friends and loving family. Yet she couldn't help but feel like something was missing.

RING RING! RING RING!

Lightning's phone started ringing. She picked up hoping it was someone about to come to the café. Instead she found an unfamiliar number from New York. "What? New York? Who would call me from there?" Normally she would just ignore calls from numbers she didn't recognize. But…

"Hello?"

"Excuse me. Is this Lightning Farron?" a man's voice asked through the phone.

"Yes? May I ask who is calling?"

"I apologize I am from Gran Pulse Medical. We have a patient who suffered a nasty Soul Flash and he says he knows you."

"What? What is his name?" she asked into the phone. "Soul Flashes this late are exceedingly rare. Poor bastard" she thought.

"I apologize but he says the only way you will remember is if he talks to you. Do you mind?"

"Of course not. Let me speak to him."

"Okay. Could you wait a few moments while I give him the phone?"

"Sure."

A few shuffling noises and a man's voice came through the line. "Hello?"

"Hello there this is Lightning. I am told you know me?"

"Ha. Now there is voice I didn't think I would hear again. Hey Sparks you remember me?" a familiar voice replied through the phone.

"ASH!?" she yelled out in surprise as memories rushed into her head.

Several Hundreds of Years Ago

"Bodham… Huh." A handsome young man with white hair said as he came into the city's entrance. His name? Ash. "Well I guess this is the beginning of a new life." He said with a smile as he adjusted the harness with his large broadsword on his back.

"You there with the sword!" a woman with Cherry blonde hair in a military uniform walked up to him. Her name? Lightning.

"Huh?" asked Ash, as he turned around to see who had call him. He was then stunned by the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "Uh…" he said as his brain tried to restart.

Lighting came up to him with an intimidating glare that would castrate lesser men. To Ash? It was extremely sexy. "Do you have a permit for carrying that sword on your back?"

"Huh? What? Oh! My sword? What about it?" he asked dumbly as he finally restarted his brain.

"Your sword. Are you deaf? I asked if you have a permit for carrying that weapon." She growled now with her patience running low.

"Oh? I need a permit to carry it around? I apologize. In my old town it was common to carry your weapon around."

"What? Where in Cocoon did you live?"

"Oh I lived in the slums basically and I managed to save up enough money to move here to Bodham."

"I see. Well you still need a permit to carry a weapon around here."

"Uh… Where can I get one of those? I am too used to carrying this sword around so…" he asked timidly.

"Hagh… Let me report to my superiors and I can show you where to go."

"I will follow you anywhere beautiful…" he said softly.

"What was that?" she growled.

"Nothing!" He exclaimed in fear. He may find her bad-assery extremely attractive but he did not wish for death.

Lightning showed him to the proper offices and even helped him with the paperwork. "Thank you so much." Ash smiled brightly and even Lightning blushed.

"Well if you are going to be a citizen I figured it would make my job a lot easier down the road. Now if you run into any trouble just show that permit and everything should be fine." She replied before she turned to leave.

"Wait! I gotta thank you. How about I take you to dinner as thanks."

"Yeah, no. I won't fall for that. Have a nice day and welcome to Bodham." She smirked before leaving.

"Well I tried…" Ash sighed before going to the beach he saw earlier. He made it finally and just plopped himself on the sand enjoying the sights of the artificial sky dome and the lake.

"Enjoying the sights?" a blonde man wearing a bandanna and a white trench coat came up behind Ash.

"Yes I am actually. There was nothing like this in Lower Cocoon." He replied with a smile. "Let me guess… you are worried about the huge sword on my back?"

"How'd you guess? I am part of a neighborhood watch called NORA. Name's Snow Villiers."

"Ah. My name is Ash. Don't worry I got a permit for this thing. I am so used to wearing it on my back I feel naked without it." Ash explained.

"I see. Hmph. Well welcome to Bodham. I hope you enjoy it here." He replied before walking away.

"Hmph. Me too." I sighed as I looked up at the artificial sky. "I wonder if anything else is going to bug me about my sword tonight." He joked before he heard something large land behind him

He heard grinding gars and various other mechanical sounds. He slowly turned his head to see a patrol walker robot staring me down. "Citizen you are under arrest for illegal possession of a weapon."

"WOAH WOAH WOAH! I have a permit for this thing!" he yelled frantically as he pulled out his permit. Which was promptly laser shot out of his hand. He slowly turned his head toward the burnt scraps of paper and gulped.

"THREAT DETECTED. NOW ACTIVATING COMBAT PROTOCOL." The large mechanical thing grated out before popping out saw blade hands and started swiping at Ash.

"Oi you stupid robot! Stop! Or you will regret it!" Ash said through graceful dodges. He then growled at the thing before drawing his sword. "I warned you, you stupid tin can! Prepare to die!"

Present

"I found him again as he was fighting a malfunctioning Security bot. He fought well and I helped him with Snow here to take it down. It was really impressive when he was smacked into the air by the bot and he came back down and drove his sword right into the bot's head, destroying it. " Lightning said to the group who finally made it. Well except Sahz.

"I remember him. Ash right? He was a hoot to hang out with. But I though you hated him sis? Let alone be your friend." Snow replied.

"I remember him. He hung out at the bar sometimes. He was a nice guy." Serah added. "But yeah Claire I thought you hated Ash?"

"Well…" Lightning blushed and the whole table dropped their jaws in shock.

"LIGHTNING BLUSHING!?" Fang exclaimed

"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!" Hope added horrified.

"Ohhh? Did he score with you then?" Vanille added cheekily.

"Oh c'mon Vanille. Sis would never…" Snow said before he noticed the blush get deeper. And all the jaws fell even deeper.

"What?!" they all exclaimed.

"Let me finish you idiots!" Lighting yelled with her trademark glare that shut everyone up. "After the fight he tricked me with his puppy dog look and guilt tripped me into a dinner. One thing led to another and we started dating a little. This lasted for a few months before… Purge happened."

Back to the Past

"No!" Lightning yelled to Ash.

"I don't care Sparks! I am coming with you if you guys are leaving so am I!" Ash yelled back to which Lighting responded with a punch to his face that he took on. He stared at her with her fist on his bruised cheek.

"I have to do this alone… It's all my fault that Sarah is being purged. Please let me do this." She replied sadly.

He sighed deeply and grabbed her hand kissing it. "Fine. But I am following after your train and giving back up in case got it?" He replied with no room for a no.

"Fine." She sighed.

Back to the Future

"That was the last time I saw Ash on Gran Pulse. After the Cocoon crisis I found out he had his right arm cut off and was pushed off the side with a security bot defending the other passengers. He was dead…" She replied sadly.

"So that's why you were so crabby after the first batch of survivors came to live us in New Bodham." Hope remarked.

"Claire how come you never told me about him?" Serah asked with slight betrayal in her eyes.

"Because I never thought it would get as serious as it did with him. I took on the name Lightning for a reason Serah. I know how such a thing would be so important to you I didn't want to disappoint you. But with him… I felt cared for and treated like a woman again. He even made a nickname for me to show it. Sparks. I was going to tell you but then everything happened." She sighed.

"He sounds like a wonderful man. Especially if he tamed our spitfire Lightning." Fang replied with a laugh.

"Yes I can't wait to meet him." Vanille added.

"Wait a minute… Light? Ash? As the guy who-" Hope eyes widened as he remembered something before Lightning interrupted him.

"Yes Hope."

"What? What is it?" Snow asked.

"I saw him again. On Nova Chrysallis." Lightning replied.

"What? But how? If he died how did he show up on Nova Chysallis? There is no way he would have been able to reincarnate that quickly." Vanille exclaimed.

"That's because he didn't. It is a very long story." Lightning sighed.

Nova Chyrsallis: Day 1. 12 more til the end…

I woke to pain of a thousand bullets ricocheting in my head "Ow…" that fall hurt… Wait a minute… "I'm alive?" I asked no one as I found myself in a giant field. I rubbed my head to ease the pain only to realize and important fact. "My hand?!" I exclaimed as I found myself with a right arm again. Though not really…

It looked really menacing and was made of several highly advanced mechanical parts. I could move like my old arm and I could even feel the grass running across it. "What the hell?" I asked as I started looking around when I noticed another important fact. "Where the hell am I?" I looked to find myself in a massive grassy plains that went as far as the eye could see. There is no way in hell I am in Cocoon.

"What the fuck is going on here!?" I exclaimed to the clear blue sky. To which I got a chocobo poking my head in response. I turned to glare at the black feathered menace. "I can end you, you know?" Poke.

"Wark!" It looked at me dumbly.

I half considered Chocobo stew that day I really did. "Hagh… screw it." I sighed as I instead pet the big guy. He lowered his head and purred at my touch. "Huh. I didn't know Chocobos purred." I wondered aloud as I looked around and saw smoke miles from my position. "Any chance you can take me for a ride?" I asked the chocobo.

"Wark!" it replied and lowered itself.

"Why thank you." I placed myself on the chocobo and I grabbed lightly on its neck. "To the smoke please." I asked as we then took off. Really fast… "AHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I hung in for my life. In seconds we made it to the small village and I was launched as it stopped quickly.

I then found myself with my head planted into the ground. "Oh you cheeky bastard…" I growled as I pulled myself out of the ground.

"Are you ok?!" I heard a man behind me. He was an elderly man with glasses. He came up and helped me off the ground.

"Thank you. Ugh…" I then saw the large dent I left in the earth in the village. "Uh… Sorry about the ruckus.

"It is no issue. My name is Dr. Gysahl. I am the local Chocobo expert. That chocobo you were riding was one of two famous chocobos in these parts. He is known as the Devil of Valhalla. Though I am amazed you were able to ride him at all. He may be easier to approach but he is a beast to ride. Many have tried and failed."

"I see… I mean absolutely no offence doctor but I don't care. Where the hell am I? Last thing I remember is falling off of Cocoon after a purge."

"Cocoon? My friend, I apologize but you have been out of the loop for a long time. Cocoon hasn't existed for centuries now. Not ever since Valhalla and Gran Pulse became one." The man explained.

"I'm sorry did you just say a mythical place of the god's fused with the planet? What the hell?" I asked in pure confusion.

I spent the next hour learning about everything that happened in my time, asleep? Or something. I have missed apparently the last 400+ years. Cocoon and Orphan's betrayal. The death of the Goddess Etro and the outbreak of chaos. The slow death of the world and the possible savior of Bhunivelze.

"Well shit." I said as was petting that black chocobo who came up to us during the story and just sat next to me.

"Are you ok?" he asked in concern.

"Yes. Though I guess I only have one thing I need to do. I need to find Lightning. It is all I have left in this world." I replied with sincerity.

"I see. Well good luck with that. Though it is easier nowadays there are only 4 places left where people live. Yusanan the pleasure capital, The Wildlands here, The Dead Dunes, and Luxerion the religious capital. I will keep an eye for you here I suggest you check out the other areas first. What does she look like?"

"Pink blonde hair, most likely wearing a military like outfit, also most likely highly armed, has a perma-frown on her face, and you will probably meet her when she was trying kill something."

"Uh…" he looked at me weirdly.

"What? She has her sweet side, but it harder to drag out her than it is to ride this bastard. But I managed both." I smiled.

He laughed at that. "Very well I will keep an eye out. Here take this. I will call you on it when I find her." He handed me a phone and a charger.

"Thank you. I will head for Yusanaan first. It is the least likely place I will probably find her so why not check there first?"

"Ah. Well good luck then."

I then turned to the black chocobo. "Think you can help me? I will need a good companion on this trip." I held up some reins for him.

"WARK!" it nodded happily and lowered itself. I tied him up with the reins and made sure everything was secure.

I climbed on epically and pointed to where I was told the train station was. "TO LIGHTNIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as held on for dear life again as the bastard took off at super speeds.

"The train station!" I yelled as I saw us near it only for him to pass it completely and he started running on the rails and sped up even more. "AHHHHHHH!" Thankfully he ride was short lived as we quickly made it to Yusanaan.

He stopped more slowly this time and didn't launch me. I was extremely dizzy and fell off the saddle and proceeded to throw up. "Uggggh… Screw… You… Bastard…" I moaned as I slowly got up and a guard started yelling at me.

"Could you hold a minute? I just rode this chocobo all the way from the wild lands at faster than I could comprehend." I begged.

He just continued yelling at me so I did what I thought most appropriate at the time. I knocked him out with the flat end of my sword. I then quickly fled the scene of the crime. "Yeesh. Now then Lightning. Where are you?" I asked as I started at the giant castle.

Present Time

"So wait wait wait…. He just finds himself in the Wildlands conveniently with an advanced prosthetic arm and a super chocobo that helps him on his journey?" asked Fang.

"Yup." She replied in deadpan before she looked at her watch.

"Ah crap sorry guys I would love to continue talking but they are sending him here tomorrow. So I need to pick him up early at the airport in Alburquerque." She replied as she sipped the rest of her coffee quickly.

"Oh what time do you need to go? Snow and I will take you." Serah offered.

"Thanks Serah but…"

"That wasn't a suggestion I think I have every right to see this man don't you think?" Serah threatened.

"Fine…" Lightning sighed.

"Fang and I don't have anything to do can we come?" Vanille asked to which Fang bonked her head.

"You have kids to teach tomorrow. I will go and tell you everything later." Fang replied.

"Oh poo." Vanille pouted.

"I wish I could go but my company needs me. Fill me in to later." Hope replied.

The details were set and they would leave early the next morning. Lighting made it back to her apartment and closed the door slowly. She tossed the keys into the bowl she had and walked to her balcony.

For the first time in years she let tears freely fall down her face. She then began sobbing as she looked at the full moon rise into the sky. "Ash… I can't believe you are alive…" with those last words she went back inside and went to bed. She dreamt of the happy times she had with her love long thought dead.

AN: So this is an idea I had for an OC insert in FF 13 Lightning Returns. The idea is that a unknown character from just before FF13 would show up and help Lightning in Lightning Returns. I have had this one floating around in my head for a while after I played Lightning Returns and FF13. I really kind of like the set up for the universe and I loved the characters. It just sucks that the game wasn't as up to par. On that note yes it is a Lightning x OC pairing. However despite all that. I couldn't really think up of a proper story I could write out for it. SO… I instead condensed it and made the idea a two-shot. If you honestly feel like trying to write this story out feel free to ask me. I won't stop you. Part two will come out soon. On that note please feel free to Review, Favorite, etc…