A/N: This is going to be a two chapter story to fill prompt 119!

I want to keep it short because I'm still working on 'Going Crazy' and I'm working on another story that could potentially be very long.

I hope you'll like it, thanks for reading and letting me know what you think! :-)

Chapter 1

Fang fell back on her feet with grace and shot a quick peek at Lightning who was still trying to slash the King Behemoth's legs without much success. They had been taken by surprise and without their l'Cie magic, the fight was bound to be long and difficult. Lightning started to feel the premise of exhaustion awaking in her sore muscles, after more than an hour of hand-to-hand fighting. It was almost impossible to create a breach in the monster's defense as it kept twirling its huge weapon around, menacing to tear their heads off at each instant. Fang was more resistant and still had her sentinel abilities to face the heavy attacks of the beast without enduring too much damage.

The huntress could see Lightning wouldn't be able to fight much longer – the way she winced every time she split the air with her Lionheart, the drops of sweat rolling on her forehead, her shallow breathing. Fang could recognize these signs in a glance, and she knew she needed to put an end to this fight as soon as possible. They couldn't run away, the beast would catch up with them within a second. They couldn't stop their assault to share their strategies. That left her with only one option. She tried to think of a plan for a second, and decided to aim at its throat. It was dangerous, but it was the fastest way to kill it. There was no time for hesitation or second thoughts.

Her fingers clenched around her spear, she took a deep breath, evaluating the distance between her and the monstrous being, and raced toward it. She dodged the heavy punch that could well have knocked her out, bent to escape the deadly spikes of its weapon, and readied her Kain to carry out her plan. She jumped as high as she could, ignoring the warnings Lightning kept shouting behind her, and with a swift move, slit the Behemoth's jugular. Blood sprayed over her face as the beast dropped to its knees with a loud growl, making the earth tremble under its weight. She landed on her feet, watching attentively as the beast brought its huge paws to its throat. She kept her eyes on it for some minutes, knowing it was still dangerous, and could charge towards them or strike a last blow before dying.

Lightning put her blade back in its sheathe and put her hands on her knees with a loud sigh. She was glad the fight was finally over, but at the same time she was angry at the huntress for taking so many risks.

'That was inconsiderate!' she cried out once her breathing got back to normal, pointing an accusing finger at the huntress.

'I know, you'll thank me later sweetheart,' Fang grinned, wiping the sharp edge of her spear on the grass. 'We'd still have been here tomorrow if I…'

She stopped in the middle of her sentence, and let out a soft moan that left Lightning a bit perplexed. The soldier didn't see it happen, as she was too busy taking off her gloves, and she turned on her feet to face Fang, wondering why the huntress had become silent all of the sudden.

'If wha…' Lightning started, choking on the rest of the words when she saw it.

Fang was right in front of her, a bewildered look on her face. She took a hesitant step, unsteady on her feet, and dropped her lance before falling to her knees and collapsing on the fresh grass. Lightning stared wide-eyed at her for a moment, quite unable to believe what was happening before her. The Behemoth was still lying on the ground, but it must have had enough strength left to throw its weapon aimlessly before dying. Fang must have been in the way. She hadn't waited long enough. She hadn't been careful enough.

Lightning felt tears gathering in her eyes long before her brain was able to process what had happened. When she finally understood that Fang was hurt – yes, just hurt, because she simply refused to believe she was dead, that was purely impossible – she rushed to her with a sob, kneeling beside her.

'Oh no,' she whispered through her cries, her fingers hovering hesitantly over the small of her back. 'No, no, no.'

The blue sari had turned a deep red with all the blood, and the soft material was torn apart - just like the flesh. She had never seen this much blood in her life. It looked awful. She carefully picked up the pieces of the sari that still covered the wound to get a better look, and shivered deeply when she saw it. It was huge. It almost spread from one hip to the other, and Lightning was sure she could almost have seen her bones if it wasn't bleeding this much. The spine was hit, and probably crushed into thousands of tiny pieces. She tried not to think about what that could mean and shook her head furiously, unable to face that terrible truth.

'That hurts a bit,' Fang breathed out, her fingers digging in the earth. 'Is it bad?'

Lightning couldn't believe Fang was still conscious with an injury like this. She guessed she wasn't aware of the seriousness of the wound because of the adrenaline that probably was still running in her veins, and she dreaded the moment when the huntress' senses would go back to normal.

'No, it's fine,' Lightning lied, trying to take off her sari with trembling hands, in order to press it against the gaping wound in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. 'You're gonna be fine sweetie. I'm going to take you to Amodar, okay? It's gonna be fine.'

Lightning reached for the phone in her pocket and called her boss, knowing the GC camp was Fang's only hope. They had good doctors and it was the nearest safest place she could think of at the moment. She did her best to keep breathing despite her constricted throat and the regular urges to vomit – the sight of the wound truly was unbearable – and caught her hand, perfectly knowing there was nothing she could do to help her. She kept caressing her hair and cradling the base of her skull, unable to utter a single word. She knew that if she opened her mouth, only sobs would come out, and that was the last thing Fang needed.

Lightning tried to convince herself that the huntress was going to be fine, but when she took a look at the injury and realized there was a small pool of blood forming there, she understood her life was hanging by a thread. Don't die on me, she kept thinking, like a mantra. Please sweetheart, don't do this to me. She was losing way too much blood, way too fast.

'Light, Light, Light,' Fang suddenly started to cry out loudly, her whole body stiffening. 'Now it hurts, like, a lot, shit Light, that motherfucking hurts! Do something! Please Light, help me!'

Her screams turned to heavy cries, and she started to crawl on the grass, trying to turn on her back, trying to find a position that would be less painful. In spite of the terror and sadness creeping into her like venom, Lightning was quick to grab her forcefully by the wrists and pinned her against the earth. She used every ounce of strength left in her muscle to control Fang's body struggling against her, staring in horror as more and more blood seeped from the wound.

'I know it hurts, sweetheart,' Lightning breathed, cringing when Fang's nails dug into the skin of her arm. 'Just hold on for a bit, they'll be here soon, okay? Please Fang, stay still, you're gonna make it worse!'

But it was too much to take for the huntress, and she kept trying to free herself from Lightning's grip, unable to bear with the pain. Lightning had never seen the usually strong and tough Pulsian like this. A Fang crying in pain and asking for help with so much distress in her voice was a disturbing sight. Lightning didn't even dare wonder in how much pain her lover was to start begging for assistance and crying real tears. She had seen Fang faking cries more than once, she had seen her sad – often pretending to be – but she had never seen real tears roll on those dark cheeks. And she'd have rather not seen them at all.

After some time, Fang started relaxing in her arms, and the cries faded away slowly, until she lay completely still on the ground. And that wasn't to reassure Lightning in the least. The soldier released her hold on her wrists and felt her heart miss a beat when she bent to make sure she had just gotten used to the pain. She expected her – or more, she wanted her – to grind her teeth, keep crying softly, frown, or do anything that proved she was still alive. But nothing. On the contrary, Fang's face had turned marble pale and was as expressionless as a porcelain doll. She's just passed out, Lightning thought, more as a prayer than as an affirmation. It's okay, she's just passed out.

'Fang?' she called , shaking her shoulder lightly, too shocked to even think about checking for a breath. 'Sweetheart, it's not nice to scare me like this, you know? Fang!'

She shook her a bit more roughly, trying to get a reaction – a move, a word, anything – but it didn't work. Fang wouldn't budge. No matter how many times Lightning said – and after a while, cried out, and ended up screaming – her name, no matter how hard she kept trying to wake her up, the huntress remained unmoving. Blinded by tears and deafened by the sound of her heart rushing in her ears, the soldier didn't even see the large medical vehicle of the GC stopping a few feet away from them. Before she could protest, she was taken away by two pairs of strong arms, her eyes never leaving the small and fragile body of Fang around which gathered three medics.

She was locked up inside the truck, alone, and once she found herself surrounded by nothing but silence, she realized she'd been shouting at the top of her lungs. Her screams were still ringing in her ears and her throat was sore. That's why they had to drag her there and lock the door. She hadn't been aware of her behavior, but she knew what she had done. Struggling and shouting, let me go, I want to stay with her. Desperate and begging, you need to save her, please save her.

All of this felt unreal. It happened too fast, Fang's hunting skills were too good for this to even happen. That was a beginner's mistake. A stupid mistake that could cost her her life. That was so unlike the huntress, and yet… Lightning looked down at her hands resting on her lap and with a harsh pang in her stomach, saw all the blood staining them. And she understood it really happened. Fang was out there, dying, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had never felt this helpless in her whole life. And that was only the beginning of a nightmare that was bound to never end.