AN - ONWARDS.

A loud anguished cry tore through the square, as Lightning held onto Fang's lifeless body, pulling her close to her chest. It can't have ended like this. They had plans. They survived the end of the world, Fal'cie and gods alike. This was all some nightmare, a fever dream, and Lightning was going to wake up to those endlessly beautiful viridian eyes looking her over, calling her an idiot for worrying so much.

Fang was so cold.

"C...Claire.." Serah's voice couldn't even begin to penetrate the overwhelming grief consuming Lightning's soul. "We... We have to..."

"No! No. You stay back! You keep away from her!" Lightning snapped, her voice raw from emotion. She wasn't ready. She'd never be ready. She wouldn't let her go. Ever. Damn the war. Damn every last one of these people who rejected everything that she had fought for to give them peace. Damn every single soul that wouldn't give her the happy life she so desperately sought out with Fang.

Lightning buried her head in the crook of Fang's neck and sobbed, clinging to her tightly. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. And it was her fault. She should have listened to Fang, back in her home. She shouldn't have gotten involved. Shouldn't have gotten them involved. But Lightning was stubborn and felt like she needed to get again take the world on her shoulders and yet again other people paid the price.

Opening her eyes, Lightning was suddenly acutely aware of how painfully quiet it was. Reluctantly, Lightning pulled away from Fang's body to find them on black sand, on an all too familiar beach. The silent waves lapped at the shore, the void making her head hurt. "How…" She whispered, her voice feeling strangely muted in the stillness. Lightning never thought she'd see this place again. And especially not under these circumstances.

"We meet again, warrior goddess."

Whirling around at the sudden voice cutting through the silence, Lightning held onto Fang, pulling her closer. She growled in warning at the reaper, the tall imposing form of Caius not even flinching at the aggression. He removed the massive jagged sword from his back and stuck the blade into the black sand, stepping away from it as a sign of his unwillingness to fight her. "Today is not our day for battles, Champion. We are merely here to do our duty."

"You can't take her." Lightning snapped, her grip on Fang's body iron clad. She wasn't ready. She'd never be ready. It wasn't right. After everything she had given, everything she had sacrificed. It wasn't fair. "You can't."

A dozen apparitions of Yeul appeared in various robes, dresses and saris, all with their heads bowed. One sole figure dressed in black robes and a hood contrasted from the white priestess garb, watched them from the back. "She is already gone." The Yeul standing by Caius' side said quietly, gesturing to the seas behind them. "As so many of you have gone before, as so many of you are yet to."

"You live. You die. You fracture...you live." Caius bellowed, his voice bouncing off a million memories surrounding them. Lightning's breath caught in her throat as she saw the same lifetimes she witnessed while in Valhalla as Etro's Champion. Lives loved and lost, battles fought and won, time and time again. The only constant was Fang. She glanced around at all the different iterations of Fang, pausing at one staring right at her alongside of her sister.

Lightning saw countless variations of her fighting. Fighting the world, fighting fate, sometimes even fighting Fang. But the two always wound up together despite it all. But just once. Just once she prayed to the goddess to grant her one life where she could just exist without the struggle, love without the endless loss.

"Haven't I given enough for the world? I have sacrificed everything twice over, and I can't even be granted a few peaceful years with the woman I love. If you want her soul, you'll have to go through me. I won't lose her, Caius. I just got her."

"There must always be balance. A soul must always be taken." Caius growled, sparing a glance at the nearest Yeul with a pained expression.

Though there was no wind to speak of in Valhalla, Lightning felt a chill go through her nonetheless. She glanced down at Fang and brushed the wild hair from her face, looking at her, committing her face to memory. "Then take mine instead. If a price must be paid, I will gladly pay it."

Caius scoffed at the notion. "Do you even know what you ask? I merely allow you to be here out of a… Professional courtesy, and as a favour for one of your own. Do not think you're in any sort of position to make demands."

"I do make demands. And I do know what I ask." Lightning bit back, struggling to keep her voice even. "Fang fought hard to save Cocoon. To earn a second chance at life."

Caius sneered, picking Lightning up by her shirt and pulling her violently away from Fang. "Did you not fight the same battles as she? What makes her soul any more valuable than your own?"

"Because I love her!" Lightning yelled, her voice flat on the echoless shores. She stared down Caius in open defiance. "I may not have a blade to cut you to pieces, Caius. But do not think beating the life from you with my fists is beneath me! I have nothing left to lose and will tear this city down brick by fucking brick if it means I can save her!"

Caius gave her a soft, yet still menacing smile. "At last, warrior goddess. At last you understand." He gently set her down and his hand was slapped from Lightning's shirt. "At last you see me. We are not so different, you and I."

"I am nothing like you." Lightning snarled, eyeing off the chaos blade impaled into the sand. Would she be able to get to it before he did? Would she even care if she failed? What was life without Fang? None of it mattered if Lightning didn't have her by her side.

One of the Yeul apparitions was conferring with a number of robed individuals at the back and stepped forward with her head bowed. "There must always be a fragment. What she is asking is possible. To grant her the years of peace she seeks. However. To do this upsets the balance, and would alter everything. To change the future, will too change the past."

"Fine. Do it."

Caius looked outraged, pulling the sword from the sand and brandishing the blade at Lightning's throat. "Would you really be so selfish as to damn every bit of your soul? Or do you not yet grasp how truly terrible that is? What you're choosing-"

"Is my choice!" Lightning snapped, knocking the flat of the blade with her hand and getting in the reaper's face. "She didn't get one. I am choosing to go in her place. So get on with it. I don't have all day."

The dark robed figure stepped forward with her head bowed. A feminine hand reached out and pressed against Lightning's sternum, a shadowed face with eyes that looked like galaxies searched Lightning's gaze for any hint of doubt. There was none. Lightning was never more sure of anything in her life. "You are certain for this? Your souls have always been destined to fragment. This isn't the first time you've damned your soul for her, and it very likely won't be the last." The apparition whispered quietly in a voice that was neither familiar nor unfamiliar.

"I accept that. I will pay the price no matter what." Lightning answered with a hard swallow. The other Yeuls began to fade, leaving only a handful of them remaining on the black beach. Caius folded his arms and nodded towards the other apparitions of memories within the mists, glaring at the former saviour.

"You may be willing, but will they?"

"I don't care. I love her."

Caius grabbed the figure's hand and pulled it away, pushing Lightning to the ground in a rage fuelled by his own projections. He swung his sword down and Lightning barely had time to roll out of the way, the black sand exploding by her head as the blade hit the ground. Caius struck out with his free hand, catching her in the face.

"You think this will end with you? It follows your soul. You will never meet the seas. You will suffer untold grief as a result of this decision. You and all other fragments of you. You will always watch her die. In this and every other life. You will be unable to sever your mortal tether while she draws breath."

"Go to hell, Caius." Lightning spat, wiping blood from her mouth. Her head spun violently and she slowly pushed herself up from the sand. Caius laughed bitterly and placed the sword on his back, giving her a sneer.

"I can't. I'm too busy taking your place." Caius drawled, his gaze turning out to the seas. "I once sacrificed everything for the woman I loved. And look where our fates collided, Champion. Desperately seeking to end time itself just for peace and to stop the endless cycle of watching her die."

Lightning crawled over to Fang's body, cradling it in her arms. "And that's where you and I differ, Caius. And always will. It doesn't matter if I have to go through a thousand lives. Fang is worth it. I would gladly pay any price. I don't need to offer up my soul. She already has it."

Caius looked thoughtful, contemplating the woman holding the lifeless body of her lover. It was a scene all too familiar to him, and despite his bitterness, despite his rage, he still felt sympathy for her position. He knew better than anyone after all, the price one pays for love. "I uttered similar sentiments, long ago. So be it, Saviour. I will be there to put you down when, you too, lose yourself in grief. Just as I did." He replied, stepping back and allowing Yeul to do her work. The seeress knelt down by Lightning and gave her a nod, the pinkette looking up at her with a fearful gaze.

"Will… Will it hurt?" Lightning asked quietly. The figure tilted her head up, her pale features a little more visible. It definitely wasn't one of the Yeul's but the face seemed oddly familiar. Was it Etro herself given form? She had met the apparition once before, a long time ago, but she couldn't quite pin down the memory of what the goddess looked like. The face disappeared into the mists of her mind like the fog that surrounded them. The woman gave the smallest of sympathetic smiles, and gently placed her hand against her sternum.

Caius sat down on the sands, cross-legged and placed his hands on his knees. "Oh, warrior goddess. It absolutely will."

There was a blinding flash of light and a piercing sound that took Lightning a few moments to realise it was a scream. Then a few more to realise it was coming from her. It was like every nerve ending was being set alight and slowly pulled from her body, a thousand knives carving her to pieces. She felt herself shatter over and over and over again, blackness seeping into her vision.

The Historia Crux appeared before her eyes, a terrifying vortex she had hoped to never see again. She was assaulted with apparitions from across the timelines, dozens upon hundreds upon thousands of lives. It ripped her apart and put her back together countless times, her screams being lost in the void.

The agonising pain suddenly vanished in an instant, and Lightning opened her eyes to see something that looked like a crystal shard floating in the figure's hand. It looked so small and insignificant, yet the true meaning of it abundant. She was whole, she certainly didn't feel any different, was.. Was that it? "Is… Is that my… Soul?" She asked, staring at it as it slowly turned, glittering of its own illumination.

"A fragment. Nothing more. Nothing less. Enough to pay the price, while maintaining what balance I could manage. It is done. You will live, Lightning Farron. So will she." The robed figure explained quietly. Lightning leant down and kissed Fang's head, shivering at how cold the skin felt.

"Thank you. And thank you, Caius."

The reaper glared at her and stood, turning his back on her and conjuring a portal of black mist to leave. "Don't thank me for letting this wretched fate befall you." He said as he paused at the threshold. "Gaze upon the seas, Saviour. It's the last time you'll ever see them before we come to claim you."

The last of the Yeuls gave Lightning a resigned smile and vanished, the crystal still floating in the air. She was alone on the beach, save the figure dressed in black, who waited silently with them. "What… What do I do now?" Lightning asked, the hooded woman giving a shrug.

"Make the most of your time."

Lightning glanced up at the voice but a panicked yell met her instead. Serah fell to her knees and grabbed her into a crushing hug, sobbing into her chest. She was startled by her sister's sudden appearance, along with the rest of the smoking city. Looking around in confusion, Lightning found no ancient buildings, no black beaches, just the war zone that had descended into an eerie state of silence. A blackened charred circle surrounded her and Fang, the ground scorched from the centre outwards.

Gunfire had ceased, and both sides had come out of their hiding places, standing in the midst of the ruined city to stare at them. Lightning frowned at the scene, as Serah held onto her and sobbed. "What… What happened here?"

Serah sniffed and looked up in disbelief. "You… You ran to Fang and… When you found her like… Like this… You… You were screaming, and then you both vanished. It was like the skies were opening up with chaos all over again. But then there was nothing. And you were back."

The Sanctum zealots began to whisper about the Saviour still having powers, and one by one they lowered their weapons in fear. The army moved into the tunnels, while those on the surface began to round up the fanatics, casting nervous glances in Lightning's direction.

Lightning glanced down and her breath hitched as she saw the bloodied mess of Fang's shirt where the bullets had struck her. She reluctantly placed her hand against the Pulsian's chest, to cover the wounds. But there was no hole, no wound, just the blood that still covered the Pulsian's skin. "...Wha...Fang?" When Lightning cupped her face, she was surprised to find the skin warm to the touch. "Please... please come back." She sobbed quietly, bringing the love of her life -every life- closer.

Fang gasped and arched her spine, clawing at the air. Lightning cried out as she clung to her soulmate, watching as those viridian irises she had fallen so deeply in love with as they opened and focused on her. She immediately began to cry, holding onto Fang so tight. The Pulsian smiled softly and brushed the grimy hair back behind Lightning's ear and took a few rasping breaths. The sound was laboured, but so beautiful to Lightning. Fang was alive. She was here. They'd made it.

"That's... twice you've saved me... from being torn up by bullets."

Pressing her forehead against Fang's, Lightning laughed quietly, not caring to stop the tears from streaming down her face. "Stop making a damn habit out of it." She rasped, breaking into sobs as Fang slowly pulled her into an embrace.

"I'm here, love. I'm here."

Fang stood in the makeshift quarters retrofitted from a station master's office, adjusting her arm in the sling. Leaning on the cane, she looked around the dusty, broken room to find it barren of anything that resembled a personality, any clue of who Lieutenant Zan was as a person. The quiet bustle of soldiers was on the other side of the door, the makeshift base far more lively with the greater foothold they had gained in the city.

The fact that an entire culture of Pulsians had existed under their noses for so long baffled her, and she wondered why they had stayed silent about it. Given her own experiences and need to disappear into the outback, their hesitance regarding a mutually sordid history between Pulsians and Cocoonians reborn would probably just stir up old wounds. Look at Neo Sanctum. Fang had certainly had enough of old wounds. Not when she had so many new ones to now focus on.

Limping over to sit on the cot, it squeaked as the metal feet adjusted against the cracked tile floor. Her heel hit something solid and she carefully bent down and grimaced as her ribs protested angrily at the movement. Fang frowned. There was an enormous scar on her chest that was definitely not there before, but nobody seemed to be able to tell her where it was from. It arced like lightning in fractals across her skin, culminating in the centre where the skin was raised and angry.

Sighing, Fang pulled the case from under the bed and giving a weary sigh. "You weren't joking about your stash, were you, Lieutenant?" She muttered to herself, opening it up and finding at least a dozen assorted bottles of whiskey. Fang took one for herself and left the others for the troops, reading over the label.

"I don't think the doctor ordered that, you know..." Lightning's voice drawled from the doorway, the pinkette leaning against the door frame. Fang didn't look up but gave a wry smile nonetheless, flipping the bottle in her hand.

"I got a new doctor. One that's more interested in taking care of my needs." Fang answered, arching and eyebrow as she looked up through her lashes. Lightning walked over, her gait carrying a slight limp as well but nothing severe. Sitting down beside her, Fang found her immediately holding her hand tightly and resting her head on her shoulder. "You ok?"

"I am now."

Fang swallowed thickly, reaching to touch the scar on her chest. "I… wasn't fast enough to save her. She was a Pulsian, you know? Said there was a whole bunch of them west of Gran Pulse, back in the day. I wanted to know her stories, know her people. But I wasn't fast enough."

Lightning curled up closer next to her, hugging her good arm. "It wasn't your fault, Fang. You survived where many wouldn't."

"That's the thing though, darlin'. I shouldn't have." Fang shuffled away from Lightning, tapping at the scar on her chest. "I… Heard a sniper's rifle. I thought it was yours. Came from a building on the west side. I know the thing hit me and by all rights I-"

"Stop." Lightning pressed her fingers against Fang's lips, silencing her. "I can't. I can't hear it. You're here now, that's all that matters."

"But how? Light, how am I here? This isn't a natural looking scar and I-" Fang paused, narrowing her eyes and looking Lightning over. The way the pinkette was continually avoiding her gaze was suspicious as anything. "Light? What did you do?"

A tense silence fell upon the room and Lightning looked cagey and anxious. "This… This is a mortal world F… Fang. I didn't do anything."

"Bullshit. Light. We've fought the end of the world several times over and I'm tired as hell. The army is spooked, nobody but your family has looked you in the eyes since we got back. I've seen the headlines on the news, the aerial shots of the scorch marks and the anchors banging on about the Saviour returning. You got something you want to tell me or will I just wait for the six o'clock bulletin?"

Lightning snatched the whiskey from Fang's hand and unscrewed the cap, letting the burn of the alcohol wash away her fears. Spluttering and choking a little, she took a few deep breaths before turning to Fang with a firm stare. "It was a one off. A favour owed. I'm not a magical death goddess or whatever, but if the Neo Sanctum bastards that tried to take you from me think that, good. Let it scare them into losing the war."

Fang gently took the bottle from her and cupped her face. "How close did I get?" She asked. The answer wasn't really something she wanted to know. But Lightning had been avoidant of the topic since they got back to base. And Fang hated unknowns.

"Close enough. You got close enough."

A slow sigh left Fang's mouth and she pulled Lightning in for an embrace. As best she could with her arm in a sling anyway. She kissed the top of her head, the scent of gun oil still on Lightning oddly soothing to her. "Cost you anything?"

"Nothing I couldn't live without." Lightning answered with a shrug. Fang searched her features, looking for a tell. There was none to speak of, and it didn't settle any of Fang's concerns. "I'm fine, Fang. Really. Given everything that's happened? I think we're owed our time." Lightning assured her, kissing her gently.

"Yeah yeah, alright." Fang sighed and relaxed into Lightning's shoulder. They passed the bottle between them, drinking to the Lieutenant's memory. "I wouldn't mind heading home after this, finding more like her. Hit them up for some stories. Would be nice to know that more of my people survived the war."

The whiskey soothed their frayed nerves, trading occasional kisses with each other before Fang tried to get to her feet and failed. Lightning helped her up and hugged her tight, Fang's chest aching in protest. But she opted to stay quiet, not wanting to ruin the moment. When Lightning broke away, Fang took one last look around the quarters with a sigh, placing the Lieutenant's tag on the desk next to her hat. "We aren't done yet, are we?" She asked quietly, placing her hand against the scar on her chest.

"As far as I'm concerned, we are."

That was the last response Fang expected to receive considering she had flown halfway around the world to drag her from the outback to save everything yet again. "… Light?"

"I am done. I nearly lost you, if not for… Intervention. For what? More insufferable people to reject everything we fought for and do it all over again? No. I'm done. I refuse to lose any more time to these useless wars." Lightning opened the door and waited for Fang to hobble out on the cane. "You're my only priority."

Fang kissed her gently, and gave her a sincere look. "And you're my everything, Claire. I promise you that. Except... we actually do need to finish this."

"What."

"We do. Because if you think for one moment that I'm letting Neo-Sanctum do this-" Fang taps on her chest for good measure, "and put you through all this hell with us just walking away? You're crazy. Not a chance."

Lightning glared at the scar, her own chest itching at the sight of it. "I won't risk-" Fang cut her off with a searing kiss, with a taste of whiskey on her lips. A few soldiers slowed up around them, before scattering when Fang broke away to glare at them. "Fang. I can't. I can't risk it. I won't risk losing you again."

Fang gave her a beaming smile and tapped her rear lightly with her cane. "And you don't give me enough credit, Light. If you think I'm stupid enough to go back out there into the firing line looking like this, then I'm legitimately disappointed. I always have a plan, sweetheart." She mused with a wink, and walked away down the hall.

"Fang? Fang you get back here right now and explain yourself. Fang!"