AN -Another one in the bag! Thank you for sticking with me throughout this (at times) turbulent journey writing this particular fic. Onwards to the next one! Merry festive stuff and happy Get Rid 2018.

"No! Let me go! Let me go you can't keep me here! She needs me!" Fang struggled against Vanille and Serah barely holding her back. The electric explosion she had seen in the forest was massive in scope, temporarily blinding everyone in the group from its sheer brightness. Ignoring the injury to her shoulder, she wrenched herself free and began to lope towards the epicentre of the blast.

"Come on Light… Please be ok…" She whispered as she approached, clutching at the slowly healing wound on her shoulder. The forest around her had been levelled, fallen trees charred with fractal lines along the trunks, burnt grass and blackened dirt. There was an impact crater that was still smoking as she frantically searched for the elemental. Fang shifted back to her human form slowly and carefully, being cautious with her injury.

Hope appeared in a swath of black mist that drifted slowly like ash to the charred dirt at his feet. Fang whirled around and gave him a panicked look, reaching out and grabbing him by the shoulder. "Help me make sure it's clear. Please."

"On it." He answered with a nod, vanishing again. Fang could hear him teleporting around the clearing, rapidly covering ground as she made her way to the centre. The rain was slowly dissipating, which meant that Lightning was no longer drawing the storm to their area. She cried out as she saw the still form of the pinkette in the centre, skidding to her knees before her.

"Light!"

The elemental was unconscious and singed, her uniform in tatters. Burn marks ran along her exposed skin beneath the black in scorches along her body, making intricate patterns like lightning across the sky. Clumps of her hair had been burnt, and Fang choked back a sob while she searched for any signs of life.

"Hope! Get over here!" Fang yelled out, clutching at Lightning's face. "Come on baby, hold on. I'm here. Don't you go bowing out now. Please, Light. Stay with me."

The teleporter appeared and knelt beside them, placing his fingers against the elemental's throat. "There's a pulse, Fang. She's alive. That sheer amount energy would have taken a lot out of her."

"No fucking kidding," Fang snapped, before bowing her head in regret. "Sorry. Sorry, I know you're just trying to help. Sorry. We… We need to get her out of here."

"Not yet. We have to make sure she's stable, first. I'll get the others." Hope answered, already forgiving the biting response and vanishing into the air itself.

Fang stared at the space he was kneeling for a moment before drawing her gaze back to the woman in her arms. She gently stroked the pinkette's cheek to wipe some of the soot and dirt away, wincing at the light burns across her face. "You promised you'd stick around, so you better."

"I… Know…" Came a rasping response, barely audible as Lightning whispered with the faintest of smiles. Fang's breath caught in her throat as the elemental's eyes weakly fluttered open and slowly looked up at her. "Love… You…"

Fang heaved a sigh of relief and her shoulders slumped from sheer exhaustion. "I love you too, Light. Thank the gods you're ok… Had me worried for a minute there, sweetheart."

"We… Win?" Lightning asked, her consciousness ebbing as Fang cupped her face and kissed the top of her head.

"We did, sweetheart. Real power move you got there. I'm beyond impressed. Just stay with me, we'll get you home to a nice bath and a bed." Fang answered, tearing up at the sight of the pinkette's injuries.

"Only… If you… Join.. me…" Lightning whispered her eyes slowly closing as she lost consciousness again. Fang traced her fingertips across the elemental's face as she took a ragged breath, fighting back tears.

Teleporting in with the others in tow, Serah and Vanille raced over with a med kit and began immediately attending to Lightning. The redhead gently pried Fang away and pulled her from the scene. "Let us work, Fang. She's alive. Go check the perimeter with Hope and make sure we're safe. If she survived, chances are Caius is just as stubborn."

Fang swallowed hard and gave a pained look back towards Lightning. She reluctantly nodded and sniffed at the air, struggling to discern anything that didn't smell like burning wood or charred flesh. Pacing in a slow outward circle, Fang eventually picked up on a familiar scent. With a low, guttural growl she took off into the forest, following the trail while still keeping the others in her peripherals.

The sight she came upon was a gruesome one. Caius' blackened, burnt body was leant up against a tree, drag marks in the dirt from where he had crawled. He was mortally wounded, bleeding out from deep lacerations in his chest, missing a leg below the left knee and his right arm burnt off at the shoulder. Caius drew a wheezing breath, drawing his bloodshot gaze to Fang as she approached.

"So… This is.. The world you… Wanted… Beast?"

Fang spat at the ground, tears in her eyes. "Fuck you, Caius. I trusted you. You were meant to be my family. You took me in and gave me a home."

"Gave you… Purpose…"

A growl left Fang's throat as she looked away, gritting her teeth. "That was all I ever was to you, wasn't it? Just a weapon to be aimed and fired."

"You were… My warrior… Goddess.." Caius rasped, his voice broken and strained as he coughed weakly. Blood spilled from his lips and he leant his head back against the tree. "They will… Hate you… Fear you… Kill you… Was only… Trying to protect… Our kind."

Fang knelt down and bowed her head, tears hitting the dirt beside his body. "What you brought upon us, won't protect us, Caius. This war will still occur without you, and it will have been for nothing. We can only try to make right the damage done. Tell me where Yeul is, so someone can at least look after her."

Caius laughed, a rattling sound in his chest. "Stupid… Beast… Yeul is… Gone. We lost her… To the seas… Years ago."

Paling at the admission, Fang seethed and gripped his throat, her fingers stretching out into claws. "You mean to tell me all this time you've been hanging a ghost over our heads? That Lebreau was forced to do all those terrible things because you threatened her with a telepath that had long since left the world?" Caius said nothing, only smiled as more blood dribbled from his lips. "You son of a bitch. You've no idea the damage you've done, the danger you've put all of us in. So much for protecting your kind."

"In the end… I will be right…"

Fang snarled and gripped tighter, cutting off his airway. His expression remained calm in the face of death, not breaking eye contact with her until he closed his eyes in resignation. She roared and tore out his throat, her mentor slumping over and bleeding out in the charred earth.

"But you won't be around to gloat about it, you fucking bastard."

She lowered her hand with a mournful cry, looking up to the skies as the threat of Caius' reign was finally over. Fang hung her head and sobbed, burying her face in her hands. Years of lies, manipulation and deceit had led to this moment, and it felt so much like a hollow victory. What had they really achieved throughout this? Raines was right. The war was likely still coming despite stopping Caius and his mad schemes.

"Fang?"

Vanille's voice came from behind her, quiet and cautious as the redhead approached. Fang turned her head slightly to regard her, tears causing clean lines through the dirt on her face.

"It's done. It's over."

Her sister placed a gentle hand on her shoulder before leaning down to wrap a few more arms around her. "You did good, Fang. Let's leave the clean up to the Sanctum squad on approach and go home."

Fang nodded slowly, allowing Vanille to help her up. She spared one final look at Caius before clenching her fist, cutting into the palm of her hand with her claws. She raised her arm and let the blood drip at his feet with a growl, closing her eyes in a brief, silent prayer. "May this be the last of the blood I spill in your name, Caius. Go peacefully into the seas."

Vanille's jaw tightened as she tugged on Fang's arm, leading her away from the trees and from the last chapter of her haunting past.

By this point, Lightning was no stranger to waking up in the med bay. But this was certainly the first time she had woken up with a warm weight draped across her. She glanced down groggily to find Fang fast asleep, burrowed into her shoulder with an arm hugging her tight around her waist.

Careful not to wake her, Lightning trailed her fingertips along Fang's face. She smiled softly at the way Fang murmured happily and burrowed deeper into her shoulder. It was these moments she had dreamt about over the years. Just like when they were teens falling asleep together under a tree at the park. Her heart longed for Fang then just as much as it did now. No. That wasn't quite right. She loved her more as the woman she had become, not the memory that was.

Taking a moment to stare at the ceiling, Lightning felt electricity behind her eyes, remnants of the storm that had almost managed to consume her. Closing her eyes, she let off a small shunt of electrical discharge, making the lights in the room flicker and the monitors beep in alarm. Fang snapped to attention, eyes darting wildly about the room before settling on the elemental in her arms.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself." Fang answered, gently brushing a strand of hair from her face. Lightning blushed and nuzzled into the brunette's neck, sighing loudly.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Just had to… Get rid of the excess." While true enough, Lightning felt it lingering still, as if she was hard lined into the storm. A live wire into her element. "There might be… A lot of excess."

Fang cupped her face and brought her gaze over to her. Checking Lightning's eyes and seeing the brief currents of electricity made her frown in concern. "We'll get you healed up and take you out into the fields for a bit of work. It'll be ok."

Lightning noted the way Fang's eyes kept drifting across her face and down her neck. She slowly pressed the hand against her cheek with one of her own. "How bad is it?" Lightning asked, not missing how the shifter's gaze immediately looked away.

"Nothing that won't heal with time, sweetheart." Fang croaked, looking back with a sad smile. Lightning hummed thoughtfully before running her fingers through her hair. It was badly damaged and missing in spots, and she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"At least it's getting into winter and I can wear beanies until it grows back…" Lightning mumbled, watching as Fang winced.

"That isn't… Uh… That's not exactly what I was talking about, I'm afraid."

Lightning frowned and held up her hand, looking at the tiny healing fractal burns that ran up her hand and along her arm. Some of them definitely looked like they were going to scar. "Oh. Wow. That's… Different." She observed, unsure of what else to say. It seemed that her body did have limits with her element after all, and whether that meant she had broken herself or become something else entirely was anyone's guess at this point. Time, and healing would answer that for her.

"I was… Real scared, Light." Fang said quietly, idly tracing patterns on her stomach as she settled back down against the pinkette's shoulder. "There was this brilliant flash of light that just… Damn near burnt my retinas out. The explosion was intense, and I… I thought I'd lost you."

At first, Lightning didn't say anything, her mind cast back to the incredible power she had taken within herself from the storm. The adrenaline from riding the currents in the clouds, the overwhelming feeling of elation.. But Fang was her anchor, the port in the storm to bring her home. The thoughts of Fang was what stopped her on the very edge of burning out every nerve in her body. Of letting the intoxicating element just consume her. "You wouldn't lose me. I had to come home for you, after all."

"How close did you get?" Fang asked. The question was asked quietly, but the tone no less firm. She looked up from her spot in the crook of Lightning's neck and sat up. "I've seen elementals go too far before back at Valhalla, Light. How close did you get?"

Lighting knew exactly what the shifter was asking. They'd had enough late night philosophical discussions about the nature of elemental L'cie and their risks. "Close enough. I got… Close enough. But you brought me back."

The answer wasn't really required in the end, the small fractal patterns that marred her skin were testament enough to how finely she skirted that edge. Lightning followed the trails on her hand with her eyes before looking back over at Fang. "How long was I out for this time?" She asked, still feeling the slight strain on her ribs and abdomen that Fang had taken care to avoid with her arm.

"Only a couple of days. You're healing quickly all things considered."

"Not quickly enough. I'm sick of being in bed." Lightning complained with a murmur, pulling Fang back down and wincing as the shifter got comfortable. "So it's done?"

"Cid is attempting to do damage control with Noel and Lebreau in custody- even Gadot turned himself in as well," Fang paused, her voice wobbling on the mention of her friends. No matter what Lebreau had done, Fang still cared about her, and worried about what was going to happen to her and Noel despite their complicity. "A number of groups are coming together under Sazh's banner to promote cooperation and community initiatives to show that we're not all crazed killers. I'll probably have to bow out of the public eye for the foreseeable future seeing as my face was plastered all over the news with that bullshit Caius had me running."

Lightning's head tilted back against the pillow as she closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry." She whispered, her heart aching at the situation Fang was now in. Forced house arrest as punishment under the guise of protection. If only she hadn't let Fang leave the house that day, if only she had have leapt to her defence instead of so quickly fearing the worst.

"Don't be." Fang replied, breaking Lightning from her thoughts. The shifter pressed her lips against the elemental's hairline and inhaled. "I've spent my whole life running, Light. It'll be nice to not have to run about and relax for a while. I have a lot of terrible television to catch up on."

Lightning laughed at Fang's antics, but the sound seemed forced. The guilt was still present, even as she lay wounded in the med bay bed. "I shouldn't have let you go that day. I should have fought for you. I seem to have broken all my promises to you, haven't I?"

Fang moved slightly, sitting up a little and resting her weight on her arm. "What about that other promise, Claire? I haven't turned into a chocobo just yet but… Do you still love me?"

Even after everything that had happened, knowing what Fang had come from, the times they'd fought before they knew each other and the times they'd fought after... It was one promise Lightning knew she would always keep. She leant forward and took Fang by the jaw, bringing her into a slow kiss. Lightning felt the sharp inhale of breath before Fang responded, threading her fingers through the pink hair.

"Does that answer your question?" Lightning answered breathlessly, Fang not hiding the brilliant smile that appeared.

"I dunno Light, you might need to explain it to me in a little more depth..."

"Hah, very funny."

Some months had passed since the showdown. As expected, there was much turbulence and unrest in the cities, fear of L'cie was at an all time high. Thankfully there had been movements within Sanctum thanks to Cid that helped stave off the worst of it. Keep those baying for L'cie blood away from the Haven, showing fluff pieces on campus that showed the good work Sazh was doing to help integrate the L'cie into the wider society, and work with Sanctum for those that were… Less than cooperative.

Fang sighed and kept her hoodie up and large dark aviators on as she was led into a Sanctum facility via an underground entrance. She walked alongside Rygdea as he guided her through the maze of hallways in the new headquarters. "Listen, Ryg. I uh… I still can't apologise enough about what went down with… With everything."

"Psht. Don't fret your pretty little head off girly. We all know it wasn't you but the snake in the cell. Uh. Sorry. No offense. I know she's your friend and all but…"

Giving a low growl, Fang looked away as they came to a stop. "She's no friend of mine. Not anymore. I don't even know why I agreed to come to these ongoing sessions. Any of Caius' programming was made redundant the second I tore his throat out."

"Eeesh. Always with the detail, Fang. Jeez. And while yes, I know Caius is gone, I think we'd all rather be safe than sorry. Don't worry. We've got eyes on you the whole time and knockout gas ready to go as always. She even makes you cluck like a chicken and we're pumping the room."

Fang rolled her eyes as she waited impatiently for the cell to open up. "Thanks. That's such a relieving thought." She drawled, hearing the beep and watching the door slide open. Lebreau sat reclined on her bed in a white cotton prison-issued uniform, a metal muzzle over her mouth to prevent her from speaking. The door clicked shut behind Fang and when they were sealed in, a small beep came from the device over Lebreau's face. The muzzle slowly retracted from her face, and the basilisk breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gods, that is so much better. The air gets so stale through that mask." Lebreau complained, earning herself no sympathy from Fang. The shifter took a seat at the table as Lebreau got up and stretched, sauntering over to the chair opposite. "Hi Fang. It's nice to see you again. I don't get visitors much, these days. For obvious reasons."

There was no response from Fang, who folded her hands on the table and sat as comfortably as she could on the steel chair. Lebreau sighed and rubbed her face with her hands while she had the ability to, looking up at the security cameras with a glare. "Alright then, down to business I suppose. We'll see how the de-programming is going. Winter is coming, Fang."

Fang shivered hard at the words, feeling a darkness creeping in on her mind. But she took a few deep breaths and forced it back. She stared hard at the basilisk in outward defiance of the words and the programming. Lebreau nodded thoughtfully, her golden eyes shining and immediately capturing the shifter's attention.

"Very good. You've come a long way. The words are meaningless, Fang. They hold no power over you anymore, Anything Caius taught you was false. Anything he said to you was a lie. Keep these words as truth, and if you ever find yourself slipping, remember that Lightning is your anchor. She is your heart and your truth. Anytime your programming is triggered, you will remember her and come back to yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lebreau." Fang droned dully, easily falling under the grip of Lebreau's abilities. The rage and anger that still lingered from the basilisk's betrayal slowly melted away under the spell of her voice, and left an easy calm that drew a soft smile on her face.

"That's it. Good, Fang. You're doing very well to listen to me. Because it's easy to listen to me, isn't it? When you listen to me it allows me into your mind to stop the claws of Caius' terrible programming into your mind. When you listen to me it allows you to just drift in peaceful calm."

Fang said nothing, sitting there in silence as she remained enthralled. Lebreau sighed and rest her chin on her hand, watching her old friend. "I wish I could be out of this cell. But I know the instant I leave Yeul will strike me down and fry my brain before I could even hail a taxi."

"Yeul is gone." Fang answered quietly, her mind open to Lebreau who sat up at her words.

"What do you mean she is gone, Fang? Tell me."

Compelled by the words, Fang sighed and slumped forward in the chair. "Caius told me with his last breaths. Yeul died a long time ago. He has just been using her like a weapon to get people to do his bidding."

Lebreau leant back in her set and ran her fingers through her dark hair. "Is that so…" She hummed, glancing around the room. She moved her chair around to speak quietly in her ear, as Fang drifted lazily in a semi-conscious state.

"Fang? Fang! Hey! Snap out of it!"

Startled by the violent shaking of her shoulders, Fang yelped and grabbed Rygdea by the arms. "Ryg mate, what the hell?" She exclaimed, feeling disorientated and woozy. Rygdea pulled her to her feet and dragged her out the door and down the hallway.

"We've gotta get you outta here. I won't have you complicit in that snake's shit again." He yelled, rushing amidst the personnel who were racing with armed guards down the hallway. Fang's eyes widened and she ripped her arm out of his grip.

"The hell are you talking about?" She demanded, trying to weasel away from Rygdea attempting to grab her again. He sighed and pushed her into a side room and shut the door behind them.

"Lebreau was whispering shit to you so the guards watching the room turned the mics on to hear her. But the words weren't for you, they were to lure them into listening. Turns out her abilities work over fucking radio waves. She had them escort her out of the cell and down to the others to release Noel and Gadot. They're gone, Fang. And you were left sitting there to potentially take the fall for them. I ain't gonna let that happen. Light will kill me. So we gotta go."

Fang just stared incredulously at the Sanctum officer, her jaw hung open. "It… She couldn't just…" At that point her phone rang and interrupted her. At Rygdea's prompting, Fang hesitantly answered it, putting it on speaker.

"Hello, darling. Sorry about the sudden exit. But if I don't have the proverbial sword swinging at my neck in the form of that damn telepath, well… Not much point in me sticking around anymore is there? Those jumpsuits are definitely not my style."

Rygdea bared his teeth at the phone, as if his aggression would melt her ear off at the other end. "Lebreau, we had a deal."

"A deal that was only hinged on my protection from the telepath. That's no longer a requirement. We're going to vanish and live out our lives in peace from this madness, so you'll have nothing to worry yourselves over. Don't try to find us, pets. You leave us be, and we'll go quietly. You'll never hear from us again."

"Lebreau…" Fang called out sadly, devastated at once again being betrayed. There was a soft sigh on the other end of the line before the basilisk sighed.

"I'm sorry, darling. I don't mean to be a constant source of disappointment for you these days but… Can't be helped I'm afraid. Remember what I said, sweetheart. Lightning is your anchor to your humanity. Don't let anything Caius taught you burn your life to the ground. That man has done enough damage to us all. Goodbye."

The click of the phone hanging up was resolute and final. Fang held the phone in her hand before looking up at Rygdea in disbelief that their entire day had so rapidly fallen to hell.

"Fuck."