AN- surprisingly, not dead yet. Here's a chapter.

Over the following days it felt good to get back into familiar routines, but there was this nagging at the back of Fang's mind that she was missing something. Maybe it was in the way that Noel and Gadot avoided her like she was a ghost, or that the dynamics within the group seem to have shifted. Whatever it was, it was clear to Fang that something had changed while she had been captured, but nobody would speak on it with her.

Caius watched her closely, her every interaction scrutinised. And then there were the gaps in memory, where she kept zoning out when he was talking to her. Fang was worried that her lapses in concentration was why he was being harder on her than usual. It wasn't her fault she'd been captured in the first place... Was it? Was that why everyone was avoiding her? Were they mad at her failure?

Sitting bolt upright on the couch, she snapped her fingers suddenly. The sound startled Lebreau, who had been idly perusing the television channels, trying to find something to watch. "The little one!" Fang exclaimed, looking over to Lebreau. "Serah, the girl I rescued, what happened to her?"

Lebreau had a flash of fear cross her features that was caught by the observant gaze of the shifter, before she relaxed into a disarming posture. "Oh darling, I keep forgetting you've been out of the loop. Her sister is with the Haven. She... Left when she found out and joined them. A shame really. The kid had a lot of potential."

Fang's shoulders sagged as she leant back into the couch. Figures that the young pinkette would have vanished. She had hoped she had found a friend that reminded her of Vanille. Yet... "Guess it just wasn't meant to be." She murmured, smiling sadly as Lebreau ran her fingers through her hair and gave her scalp a gentle scratch.

"You've still got us, darling." Lebreau cooed as she felt Fang lean into her, the shifter's quiet contented sounds sending piercing stabs of hurt through her heart. She hated that they were being forced to do this, and she needed to find a way to help her friend... And help themselves in the process. Noel had mentioned that she knew Serah's sister... Maybe there was an angle there... She leant down and gave Fang a kiss on the ear, pulling her closer as she began to gently rub the back of the shifter's neck. "I wouldn't worry about her, sweetie. After all, it's isn't like you two were close."

"But..." Fang pouted, the hollow feeling in her chest growing a little bigger. She closed her eyes as Lebreau kissed the top of her ear again, her thoughts slowing down until she drifted off from the basilisk's whispering.

"Remember everything, when they call you by your true name."

"Lebreau."

The raven-haired woman jumped with a start when Caius appeared behind them. She put on a smile and kept massaging Fang's neck. "What can I do for you, master?" she drawled, giving the slightest bit of attitude out of spite.

"Send Fang out on a field test. I need to know that she is ready." Caius growled, a malicious smile crossing his face that was all teeth. He leant forward, placing a clawed hand firmly on Lebreau's shoulder and gripped hard. "Make her hate them."

Lebreau swallowed hard and took Fang by the hand, drawing the shifter's gaze. "I'm sorry darling..." She whispered sadly, wincing as Caius dug his claws into her shoulder, just barely avoiding breaking skin. "Caius has a task for you. You will listen to him and you will carry out what is necessary."

Fang's mind went blank and her head hung forward, her expression relaxing and eyes closing as the L'cie's powers took hold. It was so nice to listen to Lebreau's voice and float, letting the euphoria flow through her.

"If you run into anyone from the Haven, don't listen to anything they say. They're only pretending to be your friend. They wanted to turn you in. To be taken by Sanctum. Do you understand? Avoid conflict unless absolutely necessary. Don't kill them. Sleep until I tell you to wake."

"Lebreau..." Caius warned, and the basilisk turned, slapping the claws away from her shoulder. Watching Fang's lips part and her jaw hang open, Lebreau beared her teeth in a snarl and she hissed at her leader.

"Don't be stupid, Caius. If you just send her on a murder spree like the mindless beast you always accuse her of being, they'll know something is up and try to incapacitate her, and you'll have lost everything. Far better for them, and us, to think that she went willingly."

She held her breath as Caius studied her, before nodding approvingly. "Good. Good thinking. I can't have them interfering. Fang," he turned, snapping his fingers to get her attention. The shifter slowly tilted her head up, her eyes glazed while still under the influence of Lebreau's abilities. "Time to send a message, but Lebreau is right. The Haven only want to drag you away in chains but... They are still our brother and sister L'cie. Engage only if they have to."

"Yes, Caius." Fang droned, slowly getting to her feet. Lebreau whispered in her ear to wake her and she gave a few confused blinks before looking embarrassed.

"If I'm boring you, feel free to tell me, beast." Caius drawled, Fang hanging her head with a soft whine.

"S-sorry Caius, I... tell me what I need to do."

The larger shifter looked down at Fang with a growl, before turning to leave the room. He expected her to follow, and was pleased when there was an unconscious compulsion to obey him. Siren had done her job well. Caius pulled Fang into a room and slammed the door behind him, taking the young shifter away for whatever diabolical plans he had in store.

Lebreau watched them leave with a saddened expression, feeling like she was losing her friend all over again. Cursing the position they all found themselves in, held at a telepathic knifepoint to do Caius' bidding... this was a far cry from the original purpose he had set out to build. Not someone willing to use his family as tools to start a war.

Taking a deep breath, she waited until they were clear before looking around for anyone else. She wasn't going to accept this as their fate. "Noel? If you're hiding, I need a favour..."

Serah stormed after her sister who was making preparations to leave with the others. "Now just you wait one second, Claire! Just because you're faster than me doesn't mean you get to just run away!" she yelled, kicking open the door to the locker room. Vanille averted her gaze instantly, the hurt and strained emotions obvious. "I don't believe that news report for a second, and you shouldn't either."

Lightning slammed the locker shut with a growl, resting her head against the closed door. "Tch... She's made her choice." She spat bitterly. There had been too many news reports over the last few weeks that featured an escalation of violence from the Valhalla terrorists, and several instances of footage had Fang at the helm of it. Her need to defend her old friend had quickly evaporated in the wake of every news story of the shifter's violence, no longer able to find her voice in the midst of so much death.

It hurt so much to witness it, to truly see just how quickly Fang ran back to Caius and his genocidal ways. Was anything real, that they'd spoken about? Lightning hissed at herself through her teeth, for being stupid enough to care. She couldn't afford to be so nostalgic or sentimental. Whatever this shifter L'cie was, her old best friend wasn't on that list.

Serah frowned and walked over, placing a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder and ignoring the static zap she received from the contact. None of it made any sense. It didn't sound like Fang at all. Even at Valhalla, Fang shied away from using violence. She knew full well that escalation was only going to lead to all-out war, and she didn't want that for anyone, especially her own family.

"Claire, something isn't right. We've both known Fang for long enough to know that this isn't her. Keeping her fellow L'cie safe is one thing, but this? This is something else entirely. She wouldn't kill at random like what's being portrayed on those reports."

Lightning snarled, zipping around her sister to leave the locker room. As she reached for the handle a small flare burst in front of her, forcing her back. She turned to find the younger pinkette lowering her hands, having just finished conjuring an energy burst to stop her from leaving.

"Serah!" Vanille cried out, launching to her feet and getting in between them before the locker room was subject to an escalation of its own. She placed a hand against the smaller Farron's shoulder and shook her head. "Enough. I get it. You used to travel with these guys, but they're not worth defending. If Fang is well and truly making that choice and taking that side, then…"

"This is Sazh, I need all students to the briefing room, immediately."

Their mentor's grim tone over the communicator halted their current argument, Lightning glaring at her sister all the while. They trudged from the locker rooms and headed quickly down the halls, not wanting to keep anyone waiting. The three women entered the room to find Sazh pacing about, the other students taking their seats.

"Thank you. We have an update in relation to the current… L'cie focus… That is occurring due to the increased acts of violence and terrorism by the rogue group known as Valhalla. Raines is conferenced in." Sazh clipped, his voice professional but lined with frustration. The image of Director Raines appeared on the screen before them, the man looking weary and concerned.

"I apologise for not being there in person but you can understand unauthorised or unscheduled visits are prohibited for security purposes in the wake of Yaag Rosch's death." Cid explained, his eyes casting a gaze around the room and landing on Lightning with a resigned expression. "We have been ordered to apprehend the terrorists, by any means necessary. If they won't come quietly, lethal force has been authorised."

Lightning sat up a little straighter in her seat. She was still hurt by Fang's choice, but this was still a shock. "Why are you telling us this?" She asked, trying to keep her cool so she wouldn't fry the equipment in the room. Cid stared her down and pursed his lips.

"Because I know that some of you are currently or have been associates of some of these individuals. And I'm asking you to stay out of it. For your sakes. Operations have been preparing a strike against Valhalla and-"

There was a snarl that curled Lightning's lip and she leant forward to protest, when the screen suddenly went black. Sazh sighed and moved over to the keyboard, muttering to himself as he punched figures in. Instead of the director's face reappearing on the screen, the cruel image of Caius appeared, a malicious grin splitting his face. Sazh stepped back with a start, and the others stood from their seats. Lightning swallowed hard as she saw Fang standing behind him, eyes front and stony expression unwavering.

"Pitiful how you align yourself with these weak humans." Caius sneered, showing his sharp canines on purpose. Sazh folded his arms and glared.

"And pathetic to see you still singing the same tired tune after all these years. Still desperate to march to the beat of a war drum? All these lives you've taken… What has it really gained you in the end? You're risking the lives of everyone under your roof for god's sake, Caius." Sazh snapped, while the shifter on the screen simply smiled and gestured to those behind him.

"Do any of these gods amongst cattle look like they are here against their will?"

"What do you want, Caius."

"To give you fair warning to stay put. Hide in your indulgent and blind luxury. Step out with the humans, and your blood will be spilt as much as theirs."

Lightning shot forward with a growl, ignoring the venom spat between two old allies. Her eyes focused only on Fang. "Why are you doing this, Fang? I thought you were better than this!" Lightning pleaded, watching as the shifter's gaze slowly track to her own. Seeing the disgusted look on Fang's face made her heart fill with hurt.

Did she cause this? Did her words cause Fang to think she didn't trust her? Lightning fretted, worried that her friend's violent shift in behaviour was her fault, that maybe the shifter thought she had turned her back, so returned to the only thing she knew. The doubt gnawed at her thoughts as her old friend snarled at her and shifted, her dangerous feral form filling the screen.

"Better than what? Being a god? These humans are beneath us and if you work with them you are no better than they." She snapped, spittle flying from her lips in her anger. Vanille stepped forward with tears in her eyes, running a hand along her sister's face on the screen.

"Please, Fang. Come home."

"So your Sanctum friends can line me up against a wall and put a bullet in my skull? I think not, kiddo. Now stay out of our way, Haven scum. This is your only warning."

Serah frowned at the screen, watching Fang's face closely. She was no stranger to Fang's more violent, angry demeanour from her own time in Valhalla. But there was something about this that seemed off. She couldn't place it. The screen went blank and left the room in silence.

Sazh silently redialled the connection to Raines, the director's face filled with concern as it reappeared on the screen. "Raines… Valhalla knows you're coming for them. Please be careful."

"And you too, Sazh." Raines replied solemnly, terminating the video call. The room was left in silence before Lightning slammed her hands down on the table, startling everyone in the room.

"You can't be fucking serious."

"Lightning…" Sazh warned, standing taller and flaring his wings in the small room. "You heard what Raines said."

Whirling around with her fists balled, Lightning snarled and got in his face, Snow stepping in to hold her back. "And you heard what Caius said. I'm not willing to sit back and let those maniacs hurt anyone else. They're going to start a war with the humans and it will kill us all!"

Sazh looked away, unable to form a response. "I can't ask you to fight, nor do I want you to. It's not yours to fight. Dammit, you're still only kids." He sighed, staring out at the window.

"I refuse to sit on the sidelines. They're making this my fight. I'll do what needs to be done. Even if it means that I have to go through old friends to do it." The elemental suddenly stormed out, tears lining her eyes.

There was a heavy tension over the Haven over the following days. Everybody was quiet and withdrawn while they waited for the news reports to come in. Lightning especially so. The pinkette spent more time alone than ever before, hiding away from everyone and once again keeping her distance from her sister.

Sitting on the cliff by the waterfall, Lightning watched the sun setting across the forest that bordered their home and sighed. She replayed the conversation over and over in her mind, agonising on every word both said and unsaid. Cycling constantly between anger and despair, Lightning would either blame herself for being quick to judge or blame Fang for acting so defensively. She thought back to that night, at the compound, remembering how lost and confused Fang looked as they raced to the pier. Like she didn't even remember how she had gotten there.

Lightning huffed with a shake of her head. There was every chance that Fang very well could have killed him, even if not remembering it. Where would that leave them if she did it without realising? Hell, where would it leave them if she did know?

There was a flap of wings behind her as Sazh landed, slowly walking over to sit next to her on the cliffs. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to find me." She sighed, still staring out over the forests. Sazh gave a shrug and rest his elbows on his knees.

"I always knew you were here, Lightning. I was just giving you the space you needed." He answered with a sad look back at the mansion in the distance. "You know, when Caius and I started this place, we were both scared idealists, hoping to just provide a safe haven to other L'cie like us. But Caius became bitter while I became fearful. I wanted to hide away from the world, while he wanted to fight against it. Neither of our philosophies worked at the end of the day, and look where it's got us."

Lightning's jaw tightened, a bitter sweet acknowledgement of her theory she's held for years. "Sazh, do you... Think that Fang killed Rosch?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"I think that it's hard for a killer to stop being a killer, Claire." Sazh sighed, wringing his hands together anxiously. "Who knows the true details behind it? She could have murdered in cold blood, she could have killed him by accident or self-defence. We will likely never know, as there was no footage from the compound escape when we took out the network. And it isn't like Fang is going to be open to telling us her side of events."

Lightning looked away, trying to blink the tears from her eyes. "We've failed her."

"We did. And now we have to deal with the consequences of that." He said firmly, standing up from the edge. "I've been working with Yuj in relation to making something for you all, for better protection in the field."

"Sazh?" Lightning stood, looking at him with uncertainty. The eternal pacifist actually wanting to fight? It was both concerning and hopeful at the same time.

"I don't want us to go in this direction. But some of what Caius had said is true. We have to be the ones to step up and defend those who can't. To turn a blind eye makes us no better than those who seek to harm our fellow L'Cie."

The Haven mentor stretched his wings and gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "I'm definitely getting too old for this." He complained, turning back towards the mansion. "I'll see you back there, Light." Sazh took flight and moved quickly through the air to get back to the mansion, giving a groan as Lightning had already beaten him there, holding the door open for him as he landed.

"Age before beauty, huh?" He sighed, rolling his eyes at the slightest smirk from the pinkette. They headed inside and down to the workshop where Yuj was busy working. Sazh cleared his throat to get the elemental's attention.

"OH, excellent I was hoping you would swing by. Here go put this on." Yuj replied, throwing clothing at Lightning. "Kevlar, reinforced knee and elbow patches, sleeves are lined with copper to be more conductive with your abilities. I... was working on it with Fang before she... Yeah."

Lightning clutched it close to her chest and sighed, her heart aching at having something ask recently held by the Pulsian. "Yeah, I'll see how it fits."

"Fang told me she was a pretty good judge of measurements, see if she's right I guess." Yuj said with a small smile, Lightning scoffing and zapping from the workshop. When she was alone, she took a moment to pull it to her face and inhaled, the new material and leather strong in their notes while she tried to find any trace of Fang's scent. She knew that the Pulsian had been working on a "gift" for her, but didn't realise it was something like this.

Lightning took a shuddering breath and quickly changed out of her clothes, slipping on the light fabric and testing out the movement. Her movement was still fluid without it feeling like she was covered in a mattress, prodding along the flexible plating around her abdomen.

She sparked electricity along her arm and felt her senses light up, the conductive metal allowing her an ease to her element she had yet to experience. Taking a breath, she sat down on the bed and buried her head in her hands, trying to maintain composure. "You really thought of everything, didn't you, Yun?" Lightning whispered, her voice strained and raw. She didn't know when she had started crying.

A news report on her television drew her attention, wiping her eyes and focusing on the ticket that scrawled along the screen.

"Breaking news coming in, there has been an explosion at the Sanctum headquarters, we have no reports of casualties at this time but we have received word of gunfire on the premises. The Guardian Corps have advised to avoid the area and if you are caught in the central business district to remain indoors until instructed to evacuate by crisis response."

Lightning switched the television off, having seen enough. She didn't need to watch the rest to know who was responsible. Reaching over to the dresser and pulling the Polaroid over, she ran her thumb along the edge of the photo. Lightning had to let her go. If she faltered, if she let her feelings get in the way, she was going to die. There was shuffle of feet at the door, and Lightning immediately got to her feet. She knew that when she looked up her sister would be there. Serah approached and looked at the photo she held in her trembling hands.

"Claire…"

"Don't."

Lightning moved to get past and found herself shoved back by her angry sibling. "For gods' sake Claire, she's your best friend!" Serah snapped, prodding her sister in the sternum angrily, the elder Farron smacking her hand away.

"Was. Whoever that is, isn't Yun. It's not Fang."

"Serah… Please. Don't make this any harder for any of us than it already is." Vanille's voice called sadly from the doorway.

Serah sighed in frustration, her hands heating up from growing anger. "But... She's your sister, Vanille. And..." She stared at the redhead, pieces suddenly clicking. She gripped one of Vanille's many arms as the redhead approached. "Wait. When she spoke to you before.." She thought back to the words the Pulsian had said and paled. "She called you kiddo."

"I'd rather not be reminded of it, thanks." Vanille replied coldly, shrugging Serah's hand from her. The young pinkette shook her head and turned to Lightning, pleading.

"No you don't understand. Neither of you do. Any time she spoke of you, Vanille, it was always 'Nille, or her 'little songbird'. Never kiddo. Claire's right. It's not Fang. Please Claire you have to liste-" Serah was interrupted by her sister pushing past her.

Lightning ached. The pain in her chest from Fang's betrayal hurting more than the sharp prodding from her sister. But she had to move past it. She was going to do the right thing, regardless of the risk. Regardless of if it meant she had to end Fang to do it. "Drop it, Serah. We've got bigger problems now." She vanished from the room in a flurry of electricity, leaving Vanille and Serah alone in her room.

"Vanille... We have to help her. I don't think your sister is all there."

The redhead turned away, shaking her head. "You're only going to end up looking like me or worse, if you try to get in her way. Fang has... Made her choice." Vanille left Serah alone in her resolve, the pinkette balling her fists. She glanced at Lightning's dresser where the crumpled Polaroid lay and snatched it up.

"I'm not giving up on you, Fang."