Sacrifice

"This can't be happening." Lightning mumbled under her breath as she took in Ragnarok's form, "Fang?" She uttered even quieter. She found it difficult to swallow the lump in her throat as she got no response other than a bellowing roar.

"Perfect."

"Perfect?" Lightning turned to glare at the incomplete fal'Cie who stared at the two with almost an expression of awe and wonder.

"The beast of that nuisance Orphan and my own creation; a chance to see which of the two is stronger."

"What is this, a damn competition to you?" Lightning jumped at Eve again, only to be evaded and caught by the arm, "Alva and Fang aren't pets you can pit against each other in some sick game!" In an attempt to struggle out of the hold, Lightning was roughly thrown to the side. She used the momentum to roll to her feet, glancing between the two other beings clawing at each other, and Eve who had still not moved much from her spot.

"Arguably not," The incomplete fal'Cie motioned to the two in question, "But they are no longer who you claim them to be. This is a fight between Alvara and Ragnarok."

"You're wrong."

"Alvara was never truly human to begin with," Eve continued, "and Fang clearly sacrificed what humanity she had to summon the beast within her."

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Lightning repeated, yelling this time. She launched herself at Eve, this time with her gunblade drawn. The feeble attempt at a slash was easily blocked. She clenched her jaw as she whirled around, Blazefire Saber still raised, "They're both still human."

"Humans' observational skills—or lack thereof—are even more intriguing than their susceptibility to denial." Eve held out a crystal limb, motioning toward Alva who was currently wrestling with Ragnarok who'd managed to jump onto her back, "Tell me, just how much human do you see in Alvara now? In her true form?" Lightning couldn't help the glance over at Alvara and Ragnarok, "Or Fang, as Ragnarok?"

"It's not about form." The Commander's voice was quiet now, almost shaky as she lashed out again with Blazefire Saber, only to be met with another failure to connect. Another growl of pain as Alva struck Ragnarok with her shield, "Fang is in control."

The commander watched as Ragnarok relentless threw itself at the guardian, forcing Alva into the defensive position. Defense seemed to be Alva's strong point though, for each and every attack by Ragnarok was parried or deflected. However, the unsuccessful attempts to land a hit only seemed to fuel Ragnarok's rage as the beast only increased the frequency and intensity of its assault on the guardian.

"Yes, control... control that is slowly fading."

"She won't lose control!" Lightning yelled, thrusting the gunblade at Eve again. The incomplete fal'Cie caught it between jagged crystals along her arm before twisting it away, causing the commander to shift her focus on not losing her footing.

"Let's test that theory then, shall we?" Lightning moved on reflex to block what appeared to be an attack from Eve but instead felt her reach past her to grasp Fang's lance, from its position leaning against a crystallized plant behind her. Before the pinkette could stop her, Eve launched the lance towards the two beasts.

"Fang!" Lightning's warning was enough to grab both beasts' attention. The smaller of the two flipped out of the way, barely evading the lance as it sunk into a large crystal tree. With Ragnarok temporarily dazed at the interruption, Alva took the opportunity to take a few steps away from her opponent. Lightning watched as Ragnarok grabbed the lance, eyes now on Eve. Though the pinkette refused to let go of her belief in Fang's ability to control her Ragnarok form, she could not deny that it seemed the beast within was getting stronger.

"FANG! WAIT!" Lightning screamed as Ragnarok let out a howl, charging at Eve and Lightning, lance extended. Before the weapon struck its target—Eve or Lightning, the pinkette couldn't really tell—it was jerked aside. There was another roar of pain as Ragnarok was tackled to the side by Alva. Lightning noticed a quick flash of light pass between the two as they collided. Alva grunted as she hurled Ragnarok to the side, ripping the lance from her grasp as she skid to a halt a few feet away.

Lightning stood confused. Alva could have easily delivered a more deadly blow—even without Zantetsuken. Yet she chose to shove her target aside and disarm her instead? Why? Lightning didn't have time to consider the reasons. Before anyone could make a move, the ground beneath Alva began to crumble.

"Alv-!" Lightning started but the guardian had already begun to fall. Though it happened within a matter of seconds, that wasn't what stopped Lightning from making the futile attempt at saving Alva. What stopped the pinkette was the small semblance of a smile on the guardian's face as she disappeared from view. As Lightning slowly approached the edge, she swore she heard a stifled scream from Eve. However, upon turning to the incomplete fal'Cie, though she was staring intently at where Alva had fallen, her face remained as inexpressive as before.

"L-Light..." A weak voice drew Lightning's attention.

"Fang!" Lightning almost cried as she ran over to a curled-up Ragnarok. As the commander reached the creature, a bright orange glow pulsed from the body. As it subsided, allowing Lightning's vision to clear, the pinkette was met with a coughing Fang—in her human form—laying on her side, "Fang!" Lightning repeated, helping the warrior sit up. As she did so, she could feel how much using Ragnarok's form had drained the Oerban. Though weak, as far as the commander could tell, none of the wounds on Fang's body posed any immediate threat to her life.

"Remind me... not to... do that again."

"You're damn right you won't-"

"As touching as your little... moment is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt." Eve's voice cut in, somehow sounding even more sinister and inhuman than before, "I'm already behind schedule as it is. It seems I underestimated you humans once again—although it didn't help that my guardian was a failure-"

"You can't be... serious..." Fang cut in, wincing as she pulled herself up with Lightning's help, "Alva... Alva died protecting you."

"You are mistaken if you believe keeping Evangeline alive was Alvara's purpose."

"I'm not talking about purpose... or your twisted idea of Alva being nothing but a tool..." Fang continued, voice low, threatening in a way Lightning had never heard before, "I'm not even talking about the guardian. I'm talking about Eve's little sister."

"Fang, wai-"

"Titan and his legacy can burn in hell!" Fang screamed before snatching Blazefire Saber from Lightning's grasp and throwing herself forward, burying the gunblade deep into Eve's gut. There was a crack of crystal as she did so the incomplete fal'Cie hunched over at the force behind Fang's attack. A silence hung in the air for the longest time before Lightning finally heard it. The sound that broke the silence, a low, raspy... laughing?

"What-?" Lightning watched as Fang stepped a couple of feet backwards before falling backward in shock as Eve straightened up. Lightning watched as she reached down and pulled the gunblade from her chest, the wound immediately sealing as the blade left her body.

"While I applaud your willingness to act, the killing blow is not yours to deliver." Eve looked from the gunblade, to Fang, then to Lightning, "Your chance was lost when Alvara's was."

"Wh-What're you...?"

"You can't kill her." Lightning mumbled, but was heard by both the incomplete fal'Cie and the Oerban on the ground near her feet. The pieces began to fall in place in the pinkette's head as Eve seemed to hold out the Blazefire Saber to her, "She can only be killed by a weapon of Gran Pulse... and only then by the weapon's owner." Lightning's gaze drifted to the spot where Alva had fallen—and taken Fang's weapon with her, "It's why she's provoked us but not engaged. It must be some kind of sick set of... condition to Titan's resurrection. Bottom line is Eve has to die for Titan to fully revive."

Thoughts raced through Lightning's mind as she attempted to sort them out verbally. Unfortunately, while pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, some were missing. She still couldn't quite connect all the dots.

"Oooh, clever girl." Eve's voice interrupted the chaos in her head, "You understand now? Evangeline must die in order for me to regain control of Gran Pulse. In order for you and all those you love, to at least... have a chance of surviving." Eve smirked, "Now come, finish what Alvara started."

"No." Lightning said, almost grinning at the flicker of surprised that crossed Eve's face.

"No?" The incomplete fal'Cie let out a loud scoff of what could almost have been disbelief, "So you would let the world die? For one mere shell of a human?"

"I won't let the world end." Lightning stated, her voice unfaltering, "But I refuse to sacrifice anyone else. Especially if it means letting our lives become slave to another fal'Cie."

"You refuse?" Eve repeated, frowning as she lowered the gunblade.

"I will not sacrifice Eve." Lightning remained firm. Honestly, as much as she wanted to save Eve, it was bigger than the Lance Corporal. She'd vowed never to let what had happened ten years ago repeat itself; having Fang and Vanille bear the burden of self-sacrifice by themselves. All because of the stupid sctions of 'gods' they were better off without? Never again. There was another way. There had to be.

"Mmmm... That's really too bad." Eve sighed, her gaze turning from Lightning to Fang, who had finally gotten back onto her feet. Within a fraction of a second, Eve was standing aside the Oerban, looking her in the eye, "I was really starting to like you." Lightning's eyes widened.

"N-!"

"Ugh-!" It happened so fast Fang wasn't entirely sure what happened before she looked down to see the hilt of Blazefire Saber protruding from her gut. A moment later she felt it twist, along with the blade jutting out of her back, and her mouth finally let out a terrifying cry. It almost drowned out the scream from behind her.

"FANG! NOOOOOO!"

A/N:

*gasp*
That awkward moment... when you try and write something after a month of absence and it's worse than crap...
Ehehhehehehehehehehehe... yeah, I've totally lost it.
Brb, off to New York.