.:.:: Chapter 26
.:.:: Choices

Eyes fluttering open to natural light, Lightning woke to the sound of running water against her heels and calves. The morning was surprisingly chilly despite the area's usual warmth in addition to the small blanket that was covering most of her upper body. There was however, a radiating heat that wrapped itself around her torso—underneath the blanket—and majority of her lower body. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she looked down so see a head of hair. More specifically, hair belonging to Fang. Even more specifically, a very naked Fang. And on an additional note: A very naked Fang under the blanket atop her equally naked self.

Drowsiness quickly leaving her, Lightning's first thought was to scramble to her feet. At the tensing of her body however, the woman on on top of her seemed to sense the intent and only wrapped herself around the pinkette tighter. The body heat brought back memories of the night prior—vivid memories. And soon the chill of the morning was no longer an issue. The issue now was to find a way to somehow pry herself from the Oerban—the naked Oerban—and become un-naked herself; all without waking the other party.

Before she could put any plan into action there was a loud sigh as Fang's head shifted to where the pinkette had a clear view of her face where she watched the Oerban's eyes slowly open. Lightning swallowed and stopped breathing as the deep green began to focus on her. After a moment of blinking and staring, Fang was actually the one to speak first.

"G'morninmmpph." Before even finishing the greeting, she buried her head back against the pinkette. Temporarily stunned at the bewildering exchange in the bizarre current situation, Lightning slowly cleared the fog from her mind—despite the reluctance. After a few long minutes she concluded it would be much easier to focus if she were clothed—if they were both clothed.

"Fang." She found her voice, barely. No response, "Fang, we need to... get up."

"F...ve mrrrrminussss." The mumbling into the crook of her neck tickled but it was far from Lightning's main concern. The warm breath lit her nerves on fire, once again flooding her mind with images of their... activities of the night before.

"Fang!" A decisive tug away from the Oerban accompanied the protest at remaining still.

"I don't want to get up." The clear, fully-awake voice halted the pinkette's movements. She met emerald eyes again, "You can't tell me you really want to either." Lightning swallowed thickly. She didn't have to answer aloud, both she and Fang knew it. But there was also no doubt that the reason for this was because they were entangled in one another—again, completely naked.

"We should... talk..." Lightning began.

"We're talking right now."

"No, I'm trying to talk, you're mumbling about having 'five more minutes' and we're both extremely lacking in clothing-stop that!" The pinkette grabbed the wandering hand that was trailing it's way down her side, reaching her thigh and sliding inward, "...Fang..." Lips on her neck this time. Lips and tongue- "Fang!" She managed to pull herself away and at least sit up.

"You still need to loosen up more, Sunshine." Fang said through a chuckle, remaining on the ground, shifting onto her back and placing her arms behind her head. Lightning averted her eyes before getting caught up in the view. With some of the heat finally leaving her body and sense making it's way back into her brain, she found her jaw tighten. This was really happening? The night before really happened? She'd been so caught up in her emotions she'd given up on thinking and had just let go completely.

"-Hey...?" Lightning felt Fang's fingers against her skin again, though this time just on her hand. She looked down at it, "You okay?" The pinkette didn't answer immediately, she continued to stare at their hands, "You aren't thinking this ain't really happening are ya?" The Oerban leaned up, bringing their faces dangerously close together, "Because I can prove that it is..." Lightning found herself smiling, even as she pulled away.

"Or... we could talk about it." She took the opportunity to look around for her clothes. She had less luck that she'd have liked.

"This what you lookin' for?" She turned back to Fang who was holding up one of the smaller items of clothing. Rolling her eyes, Lightning snatched them out of her hand, realizing that the majority of their clothing was under them—mostly. Grabbing what she could, she made a point to throw the blanket atop Fang to cover as much as possible before hurriedly throwing on what clothes she'd managed to liberate from under the Oerban.

As she fastened the belt around her waist, leaving just her shoes, arm-sleeves and scarf on the ground, Lightning noted that Fang had sat up and stretched, still mostly unperturbed at her lack of attire. The pinkette sat herself down against a wall, leaving the rest of her clothing for now. After a moment or two, it became clear to her that Fang had no intention of getting dressed.

"Could you... put something on, please?" She motioned to the Oerban who'd just pulling the blanket up around her shoulders.

"I have something on."

"You're wrapped in a blanket."

"That counts as something." Fang shrugged. Lightning sighed.

"Well now I know this is real because there's no way anything fake could be so... incorrigible." The pinkette folded her arms across her chest—pouting almost.

"Did you just use 'incorrigible'...?" Lightning ignored the Oerban's raised eyebrow and amused, smug expression, "Really? Words like that ain't got no place being spoken first thing in the morning-"

"Oh shut up... you're... distracting." The pinkette huffed as Fang finally pulled herself to her feet—though making no attempt at her clothes. The dark-haired woman padded over, "This whole... situation is too..." Lightning forced her gaze to remain away from the Oerban, "Too..."

"Good? Amazing?" Fang suggested, leaning over and gently kissing the pinkette's cheek, "Perfect?" Lightning couldn't help flinching at the contact, her body still expecting everything to suddenly shatter and crumble to pieces. She hated the feeling—it kept her from being able to fully enjoy the moment, "I keep telling you to let me show this is for real..." The warm breath tickling her ear certainly did not help calm the pinkette and the accompanying arms that had snaked their way around her waist made it all the more difficult to distance herself from it.

"Well, as entertaining as that may be-" The sudden voice that belonged to neither of them forcible parted them—or rather, sent Lightning more or less jumping up and away from Fang, barely remaining on her feet, "-it might need to be put on hold, at least for now." The pinkette looked to see Aquinas looking out from the small passage leading to the little niche in the wall. She looked rejuvenated but there were still dark circles under her eyes.

"Aquinas!" Fang sighed exasperatedly, "Damnit, I could smack you right now." The Oerban glared at the Sulyyan, who mere laughed and motioned back at her.

"You may want to at least get dressed first." She then grinned widely, "Or not." She turned to Lightning, "H-Hey, I was just kidding, no need for the glare." Lightning felt her face softened, she hadn't noticed her face forming a scowl, "In all seriousness though, you two might wanna make yourselves decent—Vanille's awake." The statement returned clarity to both Fang and Lightning.

"How is she?" Fang asked, immediately moving to her clothes still strewn across the ground.

"She's fine, she just wanted to see the both of you." Aquinas explained, "I told her you were fine when I checked on you earlier this morning-"

"E-Earlier." Lightning all but squeaked.

"Yeah—which, by the way," Aquinas motioned toward the both of them again, "I'm as happy as the next person that the both of you are... working your stuff out..." The phrase incited a groan from the pinkette and a scoff from Fang, "But really... at least try not to fall asleep stark naked out in the open where half of Sulyya could probably see you."

"Y-You..." Heat flushed Lightning's cheeks as she struggled to remain calm.

"Hey, you think that blanket covered you both, itself?" The Sulyyan grinned, only proving to hasten the rush of blood to Lightning's cheeks, "Not that the view wasn't something in itse-"

"Oy." Fang jumped in, now dressed sans her boots. The Sulyyan raised her hands in defeat, "How 'bout we see about Vanille, eh?" She'd brushed past Lightning with a wink before grasping Aquinas' arm.

"Alright! Alright, we're going! We're going!" The Sulyyan said through a laugh, "Jeez, getting those memories made you even more bossy!" Both Fang and Lightning halted, staring at the girl. Aquinas realized it may not have been the perfect choice of words for a moment but just sighed, "Yeah, I know about the memories. It's part of the reason I came to get you." She rubbed her arm almost nervously as Fang released it, "Vanille said she remembers too..."

The chill returned to all three of them as they started making their way to the healing pool where Vanille was waiting. The short walk was made in silence. Lightning's mind began racing at how it were possible for Vanille to have recovered memories of their previous world. She was unable to form a clear enough theory before they'd arrived at their destination. Vanille was sitting on an edge on a small set of steps, her legs outstretched, submerged in the shallow water.

Despite the seriousness surrounding the three new arrivals, her face lit up into a smile that even Lightning couldn't help but relax a little to. Aquinas moved and sat next to the smaller Oerban, immediately directing her attention to her leg. Lightning noted the skin was fully healed, though slightly red nearer her ankle.

"Good morning." The all-knowing smile on Vanille's face cued the resurfacing of the uneasiness Lightning had awoken with.

"Hey," Fang, unlike the pinkette, didn't skip a beat, "How's the leg?" She immediately moved to the opposite side of her fellow Oerban, eyes on Aquinas' hands around the lower limb.

"Great. Despite it being an incredibly risky, dangerous and all-around stupid idea in general-" Vanille threw a look at Aquinas who made it a point to ignore it, "-Aquinas' burst-healing session made it easier for it to heal overnight. It's just a little stiff with the occasional soreness when I tense the muscle."

"Well stupid paid off." Fang mumbled, relief clear in her expression.

"Stupid never pays off." Lightning let slip before she could stop herself, "Stupid is the entire reason she's in this position." She immediately regret the words as they left her mouth. She'd mumbled them but had no doubt all three of the others had heard her.

"Still has strict as ever huh?" Vanille spoke up after an awkward silence, "Guess that's the Commander Farron slipping out?" The pinkette swallowed hard.

"Aquinas mentioned you remembered things..." Fang started after a shared glance with Lightning.

"Bits and pieces." Vanille explained, "It's more like I'm remembering a really, really intense dream." She shifted her position slightly as Aquinas continued to massage her leg, "Some things are much clearer than others." She looked at Fang, "You remember too." She stated more than asked.

"I do." The taller Oerban stated, "I think it might have been..." She trailed off, turning her attention back to Lightning for a moment, "...back at the Barrens when I..." She trailed off, as though not quite sure how to explain, "When I was somehow... channeling..."

"Ragnarok." Lightning finished, more blunt than she intended.

"I don't... remember everything about Ragnarok," Vanille spoke up again, "But why does that seem like that shouldn't have been possible?"

"Because it shouldn't be." The pinkette responded almost immediately, "I don't know exactly how much you two remember but neither of you were... conscious when Titan sent me from the previous world to this one. Not to mention he'd clearly said only I'd be able to be... moved."

"Then why...?" Vanille motioned between herself and Fang.

"Back on Cocoon, just before we were thrown into the teleporter to Gran Pulse, I did an extra scan for more readings that could lead to other artifacts-"

"Well, while we're on the topic of stupid..." Aquinas muttered but quickly cleared her throat after receiving three equally quirked eyebrows, "Right. Carry on."

"The last scan I did, I got a massive reading—similar to the one taken from Sulyya. Only this one seemed to be right under the Palamecia—right under the teleporter pad." Fang recalled the moment. She'd been urging the pinkette to drop the scans so they could make the jump back to the world below. She remembered the look of disbelief on Lightning's face before she'd been forced to abandon the station when gunfire had been unleashed upon them. She'd mentioned that there was something in the Palamecia...

"It wasn't under it. It was on it." The words caused very strong pang of unease in Fang's gut. Thinking about it, she remembered she'd felt a similar sensation at the time as well, "Fang, the scan was reading you." The Oerban blinked a few times, slowly processing the statement, "More specifically, something inside you."

"Wait, hold on-" Vanille managed to find her voice before Fang, "You're saying Fang is an artifact? A key?"

"No, the key is something within her, I'm guessing a fragment of Titan's crystals from the world before that somehow made the jump when I did." Lightning continued to explain, waving a hand toward Fang, "I'm guessing it's possible that it's what served as a container for her memories and her ability to channel Ragnarok."

"Titan's... crystals..." Fang mumbled.

"Yes, from when he..." Lightning began explaining but immediately trailed off.

"That's really too bad... I was really starting to like you."

"FANG! NOOOOOOOO!"

The others may not have remembered quite as vividly but they realized what the moment the pinkette had been speaking of.

"Okay so... that explains Fang's memories, but what about Vanille's?" Aquinas spoke up for the first time since they'd started on the topic.

"Well, Vanille's always shared a bond with Fang through their focus to become Ragnarok." Lightning continued to theorize aloud, "Something like that goes beyond friendship and family. It's a link of your souls made by a god and though he technically doesn't exist in this world, I don't find it that difficult to believe it could transcend time and space." The notion sounded fantastically over-dramatic but it was what Lightning believed.

"So the memories I have are kind of like... overflow from Fang?" Vanille attempted to understand.

"Something like that." Lightning couldn't be sure but it was the best she could come up with at the moment.

"I don't know," Fang made a look of vague apology and doubt at Lightning, "It still all seems really..."

"It makes sense." Aquinas spoke up again. The three of them turned to the Sulyyan. If anything, with confused expressions. All three of them recalled that Aquinas hadn't been present in the previous world.

"The key that's in Sulyya's heart—is your gunblade, Blazefire Saber isn't it?" She looked towards Lightning, "It's how you got your memories back—when you touched it during our visit there." The three continued to listen as Aquinas stood from her position next to Vanille, "And even before that; the Paddrasean artifact—maybe it isn't a key but it's almost equally powerful and... well, anything Paddrasean is likely more closely linked than anything else to whatever higher power that may or may not be out there."

After a moment's pause, Aquinas motioned between the three of them, "You each say you've been experiencing 'hallucinations'; Fang of the past, Vanille of the future and Lightning of..." She paused, "Of..." She scratched her head, "Well of things like that weird girl you saw on Palamecia or the golden-eyed Sulyyan that, in actuality, was your friend from the world before."

After all that'd happened—having her memories returned to her—Lightning had realized the 'golden-eyed Sulyyan' had, in fact, been Alva and the flower she'd given her was a hint to lead her back to Blazefire Saber. But then again, the Alva they'd met on the way to the Deadzone was in her guardian form and completely hostile. Plus, the pain from the minor injuries she'd sustained at the time had felt incredibly real. She couldn't figure out whether these 'hallucinations' were blessings or omens. Perhaps both. Either way, they were out of her control.

"Wait a minute, how do you even know about Alva?" Vanille cut in, directing the question at Aquinas. The other two had been more intensely caught up in the conversation they hadn't picked up on the detail. Thinking about it, the Sulyyan seemed unusual unfazed at the entire situation—including the development of the two Oerban's she'd grown up with receiving memories of a life they'd apparently had before this one had even started.

"I understand what you two are going through." Aquinas explained, pointing at the Oerbans, "Or... I'm in the same boat—so to speak." She looked over at Lightning, "Technically, humans aren't the only things that have memories."

"Blazefire Saber." Lightning mumbled, putting two and two together—even though it still made four and a half.

"Yup." Aquinas nodded, "Blazefire Saber played an integral part in Titan's plans—however... painful they were." She paused, a darkened look flashing across her features, "Though it was a powerful weapon long before that and it was yours Lightning."

"So you have Lightning's memories?" Fang threw in a wild guess.

"Not really, no." Aquinas shook her head, "More like I'm remembering them through the gunblade—and I use 'remembering' very loosely. The 'memories' are probably more jumbled than Vanille's but I have the... general picture." There was another long silence as Aquinas' admission sunk in with the others.

"I can't imagine what it must be like for you." Vanille suddenly confessed out of nowhere, confusing all three of the others. She noticed and shrugged, "Well I mean, yes, Fang and I might have the memories but you're the only one that was physically taken from that world and put into this one." She cleared her throat, "You're the same Lightning from the previous world—mind body and soul. Fang and I just happened to get the memories of our counterparts from that world."

Lightning felt a tightening around her chest as she absorbed the Oerban's words. Fang, from her position still sitting next to Vanille, immediately looked towards the pinkette. She was denied eye-contact as Lightning turned away. The dark-haired Oerban tensed at what she was fairly certain was going through the other woman's mind. Vanille had stated what she'd figured out a little while after she'd woken up at Sulyya the night before. She'd wanted to explain to Lightning but seeing her in the state she was in was painful.

"Light-"

"Regardless, this just means whatever is happening with the prophecy is still on track." The pinkette cut Fang off quickly, "So far there's a high possibility that we have two of the three keys pretty much in our hands." She motioned vaguely in Fang's direction, "The crystal shard in Fang-" She then looked towards Aquinas, "-and Blazefire Saber in Sulyya's heart."

"Two out of three is definitely a start." Vanille said with a shrug.

"Question." Aquinas raised a hand, "Once we find the third, what exactly are we planning to do with them?"

"Well for one, keep them out of Taejins hands." Lightning stated, beginning to pace a little, "Whatever they're working with Sanctum on, whatever they're building, could be whatever weapon the keys unlock."

"Well as far as we know, nothing's been hinted that they know what or where the keys are, right?" Vanille spoke in a slightly lighter tone, "As long as it stays that way the weapon or whatever should, be useless." She looked between the other three, "I mean, Sulyya's the one place Taejin tend to stay away from and I doubt Fang plans on making any visits to the tower anytime soon." She looked over at the Oerban with a smile but only saw the taller woman staring intently at Lightning, a mix of frustration behind her gaze, "Fang?"

"No." The Oerban quickly snapped her eyes toward Vanille, offering a forced smile, "No trips to the tower for me."

"What about the poison? That isn't the weapon?" Aquinas piped up.

"The poison may be linked to this but... I don't think it's what the keys are for." Lightning shook her head, "I think it's safe to say the weapon is on Gran Pulse—being built in Taejins Tower." She paused a moment, "And it seems the poison is actually being manufactured on Cocoon, underneath Sanctum HQ. It doesn't make sense to keep something so dangerous so far from the method of delivery."

"Certainly didn't stop them from delivering..." Fang muttered.

"No, it didn't." Lightning concurred, "Which is what bothers me. If it's not directly linked to the weapon or prophecy, what is Raynes doing manufacturing something like that." The pinkette shuddered at the memory of the poison's effects, "And what is he doing unleashing it on his own soldiers—using Palamecian technology at that." Lightning's hands tightened into fists. She'd always had a bad feeling about the general—it didn't help that he bore striking similarities to another Raines in another world.

"I have to know..." Lightning muttered before she could stop herself.

"Hmm?" Vanille looked toward her, head tilted questioningly.

"I have to go back."

"Go back? To Cocoon?" Fang spoke up, "Why the hell would you want to do that?!" She didn't receive an answer. She knew part of it was that the pinkette was in deep thought, but she couldn't help but think another small part was that Lightning merely didn't want to speak to her at the moment.

"I have to find out why he's developing the poison."

"You just said the poison has nothing to do with the weapon!"

"If he's fine with using it on his soldiers..."

"Lightning-!"

"I will not let him unleash that on the people of Cocoon!" Lightning almost yelled, finally turning to stare Fang down. The Oerban was forced to back off, surprised at the sharpness of her tone. The pinkette blinked once before realizing she'd lost it and broke eye contact again, "He may be on Cocoon but I have little doubt Raynes is the one pulling the strings." Lightning sighed heavily, "I may have had a life before this but there's still the life I've had in this world. I don't want to see Cocoon destroyed—be it by some prophetic weapon or some sick and twisted creation of a madman." She turned to look at each Gran Pulsian, "You can't say you wouldn't do the same if it were your tribe."

"So, you wanna go back to Cocoon. Fine—crazy—but fine." Aquinas spoke, "But what are we going to do about the keys?"

"Yes, the one... inside Fang-" Vanille obviously sounded a little uncomfortable with the idea, "-is easy to... move around—so to speak—should we need to but there's the one in embedded into the heart of Sulyya. And it isn't exactly the most mobile object."

"Well the heart isn't actually part of the key." Lightning reminded, "It's just the gunblade—Blazefire Saber—which is significantly easier to move and keep close." The pinkette shared at look at Aquinas, something that didn't go unnoticed by Vanille.

"It needs to be moved? I thought no one but us knew about it." Vanille's voice shook slightly, "Why would it need to be moved?"

"A moving target is better than one sitting still—regardless of how well it's hidden." Aquinas offered an unusually roundabout response to the question; something that confirmed the Oerban's fear.

"You're suggesting we remove the artifact from Sulyya..." Vanille looked between the two, eyes widened in disbelief. The pinkette and the Sulyyan glanced at one another, neither answering right away.

"If it were moved, there'd be less chance the Taejin's would find it. Even less if say, it were on Cocoon." Lightning continued, eyes not leaving Aquinas'.

"But... you can't." Vanille stated, looking towards Aquinas, whose eyes were on the ground in front of her, "It's tied to Sulyya—it's tied to Aquinas!"

"Vanille-"

"You can't-" Vanille then turned to her fellow Oerban, "Fang!"

Fang merely stood, an expression of obfuscation on her face. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She merely shifted her gaze between the three in front of her until Lightning spoke again.

"We're talking about an entire world-"

"She'll die!" The smaller Oerban refused to back down, her voice raised enough to silence the pinkette.

"Whoa, hey..." Aquinas cut in, "Nobody said anything about dying..." The others turned to her. Despite her relatively calm demeanor, there was a subtle darkness about her, "Probably."

"You can't remove it." Vanille turned to Lightning, the look in her eyes beyond adamant. Lightning opened her mouth to speak but couldn't think of what to say, "It's not your decision to make." Vanille drove her point home.

"I'm not saying-"

"Vanille's right." Aquinas spoke up again, grabbing all the others' attention, "It's not your decision."

"Exactly." Vanille let out a short sigh of relief.

"It's mine."

"Right-" Vanille began but stopped short as she turned to look at the Sulyyan. Her smile only lasted for a moment before she saw the look on Aquinas' face. It was sad—apologetic even. With a glance at Fang and Lightning, she turned to fully face the Sulyyan, "Aquinas you can't be thinking..." She walked over and grabbed Aquinas by the shoulders, "No you can't be serious-!"

"This is bigger than just me-" Aquinas began.

"No-"

"-Bigger than just Sulyya-"

"No!"

"Vanille-!" Aquinas grasped the Oerban's hands, trying to calm her down. It didn't work.

"I am not losing you again!" As tears ran down her face, Vanille made no attempt to wipe them away, "I watched you die once already!" While her hold on Vanille's hands remained, Aquinas remained silent, "In front of me, your life was forcibly extinguished—do you have ANY idea what that's like?! Watching something like that happen to someone y-" The Oerban choked up, the sob cutting her sentence off. Aquinas' hands remained wrapped around Vanille's. She gave them a small squeeze, throwing a brief look towards the other two women. Their faces mirrored the pained expression she probably had on hers.

"You should know about that, shouldn't you?" All three of the other women knew exactly what Vanille was talking about and who it was directed to, "You know what that feels like, don't you Lightning-"

"Hey-" Fang started but Lightning held up a hand to stop her.

"It's alright." The pinkette shook her head, "She's not wrong." Fang sighed heavily but remained quiet. Aquinas still said nothing as she pulled the panicked Oerban into her arms.

"I can't Aqui... I just can't..."

Still holding Vanille, Aquinas looked over at Fang and Lightning. She didn't have to speak to get her message across. They nodded and moved to leave the two of them alone. They took the nod the Sulyyan gave them as a silent thanks before she returned her attention to Vanille.

Fang and Lightning left the healing pool and made their way down toward the lake in silence.

"Light." Fang called for the pinkette's attention as they reached the edge. Lightning found a rock formation to sit on, facing out toward the water, "Lightning." Fang sighed at the cold response—or rather, lack thereof, "Oh , really now? The silent treatment?" Fang moved to stand directly in front of the other woman who eventually raised her gaze to meet her eyes, a defiant look behind her own The Oerban reached up to brush aside a strand of hair falling across Lightning's face. Her fingers were quickly avoided as the pinkette turned her head away, "Oh come on-! This morning all you were thinking about was talking."

"That was before I knew..." Lightning finally spoke—half yelled to be more accurate. She quickly restrained her emotions, take a breath before returning her gaze to Fang's, "You are real." Fang had to admit, it wasn't the statement she expected, "And the memories you have are real." Lightning slowly began shaking her head, "But they aren't yours." Fang frowned.

"...'Course they are-"

"No, they belong to the Fang in the world that ended before this one." Lightning's voice grew quiet but heavy, "The Fang who doesn't... exist anymore."

"And what am I? An adamantoise?"

"You're not-" Lightning almost scowled in frustration, "You're... different."

"Ouch, harsh-"

"No, I'll tell you what it is, it isn't fair." Lightning cut the Oerban off, "I... let my emotions take over last night. I should never have... with you..."

"Don't exactly remember complaining, Sunshine..." Fang piped up with a raised eyebrow.

"Could you PLEASE be serious for two damn seconds!" Lightning all but dropped to her knees begging, "Last night was-"

"I swear on every perfect, pink hair on your head Light, if you say the word 'mistake' I will smack you." Fang's voice grew dark, actually throwing the pinkette for a moment, "What are you saying?! That you feel bad because you think I feel like I'm a replacement for... myself?" Fang gave a small scoff, "Come on Light, sure you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

"Having memories and feelings shoved into your mind..." Fang almost did reach over and smack Lightning when she saw a look of almost-pity flash across the pinkette's face, "I'm just saying it's not fair to you-"

"I'm saying it doesn't really matter-"

"Like hell it doesn't matter!" Lightning snapped, continuing to pace, "You can't know what it feels like to live an entirely new life after one that ended in despair and suddenly regaining all the memories and-"

"Actually yeah-"

"Not just the memories." Lightning continued quickly, stopping once more to look Fang in the eye, "The scars. They're more than just disjointed images in the back of my mind—I was there, you weren't."

"Light, that's not how it works-"

"It's exactly how it works." Lightning cut the Oerban off again, "I loved the Fang from my previous life—I killed for her, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But I made a stupid choice and let go of her in order to—yet again—save the damn world." The pinkette still held the other woman's gaze, fiercely, "She's gone."

"I'm right here." Fang stated after a moment of silence.

"You may have her memories-" Lightning shook her head, "-but you're not the same." She sighed, the frustration in her voice subsiding, "And I know it's not your fault."

"But I lo-"

"Don't." Lightning stopped her with barely a whisper this time, "Whatever it is you think you feel... it was probably transferred over when you received the other Fang's memories."

"So what if it was?!" Fang's voice hiked in volume, "Maybe 'the other Fang' loved you and maybe I did receive her memories but even before we touched that damned crystal back in Paddra, there was something I felt for you." The Oerban placed a hand over her stomach, "I... longed for you. I yearned for you." She dropped her hand, "And it wasn't because of Titan's crystal... or some set of jumbled memories 'the other Fang'. it was something deeper." Fang slowly took a step toward Lightning, as if to not scare her off again, "I felt it in my soul, Lightning." The Oerban took one of the pinkette's hands in hers. Feeling the ever-so-slight tremble, she held it against her chest.

"And if there's one thing that remains constant, regardless of worlds and dimension, time and space, it's the soul—even I believe that." Fang was met with no resistance as she pulled the other woman toward her, "And mine belongs to you Lightning." She stared directly into cerulean orbs, "Along with my heart and body—my everything—is yours." She gently brushed aside the tears that welled up behind Lightning's eyes, "Whether in this world, or the next, or the one after that."

Lightning gave up. Even if she could form a cohesive thought, the mess in her mind would have prevented it from being voiced accurately. Instead she let out a long sigh and let her head drop forward, resting her forehead on Fang's. They remained like that for a good few moments, motionless sans the few featherlight caresses of fingers brushing against skin.

"See? I can do the talking." Lightning's head whipped up and eyes snapped back to catch the proud smirk on the other woman's face.

"Seriously? Fang, really?" The pinkette raised an eyebrow but could not stop the smile that graced her expression, "Here we are having this moment and you just gotta..." The pinkette half-heartedly struggled against the Oerban's attempts to distract her from finishing her sentence—distraction being a finger at her lips.

"Shhh, shhhh." Fang said with a shake of her head, "You really do talk too much, Light-"

"Me!?" The pinkette actually laughed, "You're the one that just went off-mmph." Lightning anticipated it, she saw it coming yet made no attempt to stop Fang from cutting her off with a kiss. Logic and reason once again leaving her, she immediately responded in kind, her hands that had been clutching the Oerban's side moved to wrap themselves around her shoulders.

Just as Lightning felt the kiss begin to deepen, there was an odd noise from behind her that pulled her—reluctantly—from her pocket of genuine contentment.

"You two do remember my advice from this morning, right?"

The two women pulled away from one another, breathless—Lightning with a soft sigh, Fang with a loud groan. They turned and saw Aquinas hanging on a vine she'd used to get down from a higher tier. With their close proximity, Lightning heard and felt the low almost-growl Fang directed at the Sulyyan.

"Hey, it's not like I plan to interrupt your little...snuggle-fests." Aquinas seemed to ignore Fang's displeasure at her interruption as she dropped down onto the grown near them, "For one, there'd be no interrupting-"

"You little-!" Fang moved to step towards Aquinas but Lightning tightened the arms she had around the Oerban slightly, keeping her at bay. The Sulyyan raised her hands defensively.

"I was just kidding!" She caught Lightning's gaze as the pinkette raised an eyebrow, "...mostly."

"Y'know what, I'm just gonna-!"

"Alright, okay-" Lightning had to actually pull on the Oerban to keep her from jumping at Aquinas, "-Aquinas?" While the pinkette could tell the smaller woman was amused at the situation, there was a tension to her body and a hint of sadness remained in her smile. And as Aquinas cleared her throat, the smile faded completely.

"Actually, I came to get you." Her gaze focused on Lightning, "If we're going to remove the artifact, better sooner rather than later." The three grew silent and Fang and Lightning separated from each other—though remaining side by side. Aquinas, eyes still on Lightning, she motioned toward the lake and revealed another vine, presumably to keep them connected during the journey.

The pinkette had been slightly surprised at how Aquinas had agreed to the removal of the gunblade from Sulyya's heart but to actually do so, so soon, threw her off completely. She didn't argue however, as she moved toward the edge of the water.

Fang made no attempt to follow. She'd realized it was something the pinkette had to do; and had to do herself. That's not to say it was easy. She'd been as against the entire idea as her fellow Oerban. She may not have seen it but she was there when Aquinas had died the first time and she wasn't looking to make a habit of that. But she trusted Aquinas. She always had. She trusted her with her life—with Vanille's life. And she had no qualms trusting her with the future of both her world and Lightning's.

As Lightning was tying the vine around her waist, Fang caught the Sulyyan's eye. She didn't need to ask the question aloud; Aquinas had anticipated it already.

"She's fine." She stated with faint smile, "She will be." She rephrased, "...Eventually." It wasn't the perfect answer but it was one Fang decided she'd have to live with, "You understand this has to happen, right?"

"Not really. But like you said, it's your decision." The Oerban replied almost immediately, "But you do realize as soon as you get back I'm gonna beat the hell outta you." The comment took the Sulyyan off guard, evident by the raised eyebrow, "I made a promise to punish anyone that made Vanille cry." Aquinas let out a small laugh.

"Hah, didn't think the Oerban Elders would've included that as a duty as her personal guard."

"I made the promise to you." Fang elaborated, the tone in her voice hard and serious. Aquinas stopped laughing but kept the smile.

"You did, didn't you." A nostalgic look crossed her face as she remembered the day when the Oerbans had been children. One day they'd visited, Aquinas had scolded a group of the Sulyyan boys for picking on Vanille while Fang had been distracted. After that, she'd scolded Fang for leaving Vanille by herself. They'd all been so young and the memory was fuzzy but the promise remained clear. There was another long, quiet moment as the both of them relived the exchange.

"I'm ready." Lightning's voice hesitantly broke the silence.

"Right." Aquinas said with a nod and a clap of her hands. She gave one last smile to Fang before turning towards the lake. As Lightning lowered herself to slip into the water after the Sulyyan dived in, she pretended to ignore both of them whisper the word 'goodbye'. Submerging herself to her neck, she looked over at Fang, still sitting against the rock. They're eyes met but Fang's were clouded over with a definite sadness that the pinkette hadn't ever seen—in this world or the one before. No other words were exchanged before she turned and began following Aquinas into the middle of the lake and onward to the heart.

The journey was much quicker than the first time. Whether it was because of group number being cut in half or because it'd been made before, Lightning didn't know. When they finally reached the opening to the passageway leading to the heart, Aquinas let out a loud, excessive sigh.

"Why did you agree?" Lightning broke the silence the both of them had been in since they started the journey.

"To what?" Aquinas pulled herself up out of the water and remained sitting on the edge as Lightning did the same, "To help you prevent the end of two worlds?"

"You could die." No point in sugar-coating it. Lightning felt she could be completely honest and straight-forward around Aquinas. The Sulyyan had been the same with her, after all. The pinkette supposed her link to Blazefire Saber could be a factor. Also there was the fact Lightning was also living her second life; living longer than she she should have. "You aren't afraid?"

"Of course I'm afraid." Lightning couldn't help but be surprised at the answer, "I may be a glorified battery but that doesn't mean I don't fear things." There it was; the brutal honesty. The both of them sat for a moment, legs still in the water.

"Self-sacrifice never brings anyone anything but pain." The pinkette mumbled.

"Yeah... but 'sacrifice' and 'pain' are synonymous in general, anyway." Aquinas countered, "And 'self-sacrifice' just means one has a choice."

"I really thought I could do this without any more sacrifices—'self' or not."

"You forget, I've lived longer than I should have." The Sulyyan kicked up some water, leaning back on her hands, "I should have died a long time ago." She turned to Lightning, "I guess if it weren't for you I'd still be dead."

"I can't tell if you're thankful or spiteful." The pinkette replied cautiously. The laugh Aquinas gave relaxed her though.

"A little of both? Maybe?" The Sulyyan's gaze returned to the water, "I realize that life is a gift. And that ultimately I have the incredible power of sustaining it. But..." She trailed of for a long moment, "...sometimes I wonder if I should have stayed dead." Lightning may have disagreed, but didn't interrupt, "Sulyya's waters have always been naturally special but me... Like I said, the only reason I'm alive is because of your gunblade—which is not of this world." There was a soft sigh, "It doesn't belong here, which I guess makes me feel I don't either."

Lightning noticed there was no regret or hints of depression in the the Sulyyan's tone. She was merely stating how she felt. She wasn't asking for pity or an apology. It reminded the pinkette that while she still looked fifteen, Aquinas was much, much wiser than most of the people Lightning had met—again, in both this world and the last.

"Anyway." Aquinas suddenly shot up, getting to her feet, "Let's not get too distracted with this, you got a sword to pull from the stone." She let out a giggle before moving towards the last passage leading to their destination. Lightning pulled herself to her feet as well, following after.

The cavern that held the heart seemed slightly warmer than the last time they'd visited. The subtle pulsing glow seemed slightly faster. Lightning could help but feel a slight unease upon nearing it. Aquinas seemed unfazed as she skirted the center pool, examining the crystal formation. As she made a complete round she nodded and turned to Lightning.

"Well then." The Sulyyan made an unnecessarily exaggerated motion towards the crystal, "Take it away, Lightning."

The pinkette couldn't even muster a retort as she slowly advanced on the heart. As she neared, she felt a strange pull at the back of her limbs. She couldn't turn back or change her mind even if she wanted to now. Stepping to where the edge of the pool was nearest the crystal, with a glance at Aquinas, she knelt down and soaked her arms in water. Unlike the rest of her surroundings, it was ice cold, sending shivers through her entire body.

Reaching up for the gunblade, Lightning was careful to only make contact with the heart with her hands that had been soaked in the pool surrounding it. The crack that had been created the last time she was there was still visible and actually made it easier for her to lean in towards Blazefire Saber.

As soon as her fingers brushed it, she prepared herself for anything—for a vision or a physical shock. But neither came. As she wrapped the rest of her hand around the handle there was little more than a small jolt of electricity that passed through the weapon into her arm. For a split second it looked as though the text that had snaked its way around her limb back in Paddra, had reappeared under her skin but was gone before she could confirm it truly had or not. Wasting no more time, the pinkette managed to remove the gunblade with relative ease.

As she stepped back onto flat ground, away from the heart, she felt an odd sensation course through her. It was a strange and strong sense of nostalgia. As though finally holding Blazefire Saber in her hands sealed the fact that everything she was going through, really was happening. The memories of her previous life were no longer just acknowledged, but fully realized and seared into her being. It gave her an odd kind of clarity but also increased the weight that had accumulated on her shoulders.

A noticeable dimming of the light emanating from the heart brought Lightning's attention back to the present. She looked toward Aquinas. The Sulyyan remained standing at the edge of the pool, just as she was before Lightning had retrieved the gunblade. Aquinas looked as bewildered as she did. She looked down, examining herself almost.

"Well..." Returning her gaze to meet the pinkette's she grinned, "Guess that wasn't as bad as we thou-UUHNNNNGGGHHH-!" Aquinas let out a pained groan as she doubled over, clutching her stomach.

"Aquinas!" Lightning called, already jumping from the heart, landing half on the edge of the pool, half in the water. The Sulyyan had stumbled to the side, eventually fallen to the ground and was currently on her side, still groaning in pain, "Aquinas!"

.:A/N

Well, that escalated quickly...
Sorry, but I'm unable to write anything remotely sexy so I'll leave Light and Fang's evening activities that may have occurred at the end of the previous chapter to your imaginations.

Sorry about the general OOC-ness. I think I may have lost touch with the characters in my time away from the FFXIII fandom...
Hell, even writing Aquinas seemed slightly... off =[
Most of this was written months ago and only the past few weeks have I been filling the gaps. It's probably the reason the writing seems a little... all over the place. Particularly that argument between Light and Fang. Ugh, i don't even know DX
But it was either this or I scratch everything and start over and goodness know how long it'd be until I finished THAT version...

Anyhow, it was always gonna be a shorter, somewhat filler chapter anyway.

Also, I changed the pen name. Sorry, but twas necessary.

ALSO ALSO, fanart for this chapter can be found with epicsauce 'crystalsys' on deviantART.
GO ADMIRE IT IN ALL IT'S GLORY!