Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy or its characters, nor Mass Effect or its characters. I'm just a fan.

Description: A Mass Effect/FFXIII crossover. The Reapers invade Gran Pulse, and Lightning and the former L'cie put up a good fight. Will Commander John Sheppard be able to assist them and push the enemy out?

An A/N, Brought to you by the Elkoss Combine: Hello again Mass Effect and FF13 Fans. We sincerely hope that you are enjoying the quality of our production. If not, please feel free to leave us a comment expressing your concerns. We will attempt to address these issues in 1 to 136209876 (372930.281181 years) business days. Thank you for reading and remember, shop Elkoss!

…

Lightning's POV

A Few Hours Later…

Lightning surveyed the damage from the battle. Surprisingly, they'd taken very few losses, while the sea and land surrounding New Bodhum was littered with the scorched remains of the alien threat. Lightning again searched the sky, looking for any more of the streaks that the creatures made as the dropped from orbit. Instead she saw a ship painted blue, black, and white descend. It leveled off with the Lindblum. Lightning could see the word Normandy painted on its side.

"Commander, the other ship appears to making attempts to communicate, but our computers can't understand its programming language. Wait….. Something just rewrote their codes to work with ours." Stark read from the technical council, her red hair a mess after shots aimed at the Lindblum.

Sound crackled to life over the speakers. "Good job EDI. This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Can I speak to your commanding officer?"

Lightning switched her headset to the channel the other ship was using. "This is Commander Lightning. State your intent or you'll be blasted out of the sky like those other things."

"Pleasure to meet you Commander. I'm here to assist you in your operations against the Reapers, though I see you don't really need us." Shepard sounded disappointed.

"Reapers? Is that what those things are called? Well, you're right about one thing, Commander. We don't need your help. Still, you know more about these things than we do, so would you mind setting your ship down?" Lightning smiled to her three subordinates at their stroke of luck.

"We'll land a shuttle near the dock. The Normandy won't be able to land on the planet. Say in ten minutes?" Shepard sounded immediately hopeful.

"Ten minutes is fine. I'll see you then. Lightning out."

…

Shepard's POV

Shepard hadn't had time to register the shock of meeting a new species as the Normandy dropped into the atmosphere. Now he felt like a kid in a candy store at the thought of meeting these people. He rushed down to the shuttle bay where Charlotte and Javik were waiting for him.

Javik turned to him. "Commander, I advise that we treat these people cautiously. They can easily kill a Reaper. Who knows what they will do to us."

Charlotte turned to the Prothean. "You're right. I'm sure as soon as we land we'll be taken to labs to be studied. As if. These people want information on the Reapers. We want information about them. We're going to a tactical session, not a Mexican standoff."

Shepard looked at the arguing pair. "Stow it, both of you. I'm sure with our biotics we'll be able to handle whatever they can throw at us. Now, in the Kodiak."

The two squad mates grumbled briefly and climbed aboard. Cortez piloted the shuttle unto the beach, where four people were waiting. Shepard was amazed, not because of the crystal pillar he now saw, but because of how human the four figures looked. Cortez set the shuttle down and the door opened. Shepard removed his helmet.

A woman with long pink hair approached him. She extended an arm. "Commander Lightning, Guardian Corps. Glad to meet you Commander Shepard."

Shepard gripped her hand with his own. "Likewise. Looks like you've had a bit of fun in the past few hours."

"You could say that. I lost more good men, but we seem to have halted the invasion. We've sent out ships to make sure they haven't landed in the unoccupied areas, but they haven't reported back yet." Lightning dropped Shepard's hand.

"Just glad to know you can hold your own. The galaxy I come from is under assault from the Reapers. We're not fairing too well." Shepard glanced at his squad mates.

"I'm sorry to hear about that, Commander, but right now I need to know everything you know about these 'Reapers'."

…

Lightning's POV

A Few MORE Hours Later…

Shepard had been nice enough to bring detailed information on the Reapers, including their ground soldiers. Of what he had shown Lightning, she most feared the Banshees. Their teleportation made her uneasy, as though they could show up at any moment.

In return, Shepard and his squad had wanted to know about them, their society. So Lightning introduced him to Rygdea, Amodar, and Stark, and together they told the story of mankind and the fal'Cie's creation by the 'Maker'. They went on to explain the rivalry between Pulse and Lindzei, and how Lindzei made Cocoon and lured men away from Gran Pulse.

They spoke of the War of Transgression, and the scarring of Cocoon. They talked of the departure of the Maker, Pulse, and Lindzei from this world. Finally, they went on to more recent events. The Pulse fal'Cie in the Bodhum Vestige. The Purge. When they got to mentioning the six l'Cie, Lightning apprehensively moved her hand over where her mark had been.

After they finished the talk, Shepard requested if he and his team could spend the night in New Bodhum. Lighting granted his request, and his shuttle took off to bring his team here. After everyone was unloaded, people got to mingling. Lightning spotted Shepard on the outskirts of the crowd and went to stand by him. He gave a small wave at her approach, but said nothing.

Lightning leaned on the pole he stood next to. "I understand the feeling. The Commander's not allowed to get personal, or if they do then their duty should come first. I thought that way before I commanded the military."

Shepard grunted before responding. "What do you think now?"

Lightning looked at him. "I think that that's no way to live. When I was branded, I only thought about seeing my sister again. When she was turned to crystal, all I wanted to do was fight the Sanctum. And then I saw what it was doing to my friends. I led them in my blind fight against the Sanctum, and I probably almost got each and every one of them killed on multiple occasions."

Shepard looked back at her. "What's your point in all this?"

Lightning looked into the man's eyes, seeing the regret and pain that lay therein. "My point, Commander, is to live your life. You only get one."

…

Shepard's POV

Later that night…

Shepard tossed and turned in the bed that had been given to him. He continued to see images of that boy. He woke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He threw on a shirt and some shorts and walked outside. As he walked along the beach, he saw someone sitting at the edge of the pier. He approached cautiously. When he was about halfway down the pier, he realized that it was Lightning. She was looking at the crystal pillar that held her old home aloft.

"You don't have to sneak up on me. I can hear you breathing."

Shepard stopped in his tracks, and then resumed walking at a normal pace. He sat down beside her. "Sorry. I didn't realize it was you. Sorry if I offended you."

She closed her eyes, and then looked at him. "You didn't offend me, Commander. I was just saying that you're safe here. Nothings getting through the new defenses."

"Sorry, I just have a hard time relaxing. And call me Shepard. Commander is really just something for the superiors to call me."

"I know the feeling. When I was on the run, it was survive first. Every moment was another where a beast could pounce on you from behind, or a PSICOM soldier was lazing you from a balcony. There wasn't any time to relax. We acted on raw instinct."

"Must've been hard. I couldn't imagine my own government doing something that despicable."

"Most people couldn't, but when the Purge came we were condemned for having a Pulse fal'Cie near our town. The rest of Cocoon turned their backs on us, so we turned our backs on them."

"Lightning, you beat impossible odds. You saved your entire world. Two worlds."

"Not without a cost, Shepard. Two of my closest friends are in that pillar right now. Vanille and…..Fang."

Shepard looked at the beautiful crystal structure. "I'm sure one day you'll find a way to get them out of there. Then you and your friends can be reunited."

"That's a beautiful thought, Shepard, but right now I've got more important things to worry about."

…

Another A/N, this time brought to you by Up in Arms: So, chapter four. Longest chapter so far, if that's any consolation. I'm not sure if it's the best. I'll let you, the readers, decide that. Also, I've got big plans for chapter Five, that some people will hate, and other people will love. Well, that's all folks, and remember, if it ain't dead yet, you aren't using an Up in Arms weapon!