A/N: This is just a story idea I had the other night, it's nothing special. I've actually been wanting to write a TOP fanfic for a very long time, so here it is, my first TOP oneshot! I also had to take some liberties with the script, because I'm not perfect and can't remember the game word for word.

Also, I used the character's original names from the anime. Cress is Cless, and Claus is Klarth.

Spoiler Warning: The fanfic takes place AFTER the game, so obviously there will be some spoilers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Phantasia.

Only A Memory

Mint brushed her long blonde hair from her eyes and sat in the shade of a large tree, enjoying the refreshing breeze. She had worked hard all day helping her friends rebuild their small village. So far, they had not had a lot of time to work, but the village was coming along well.

"Cless!" Chester yelled, the wind ruffling his long silver ponytail. "I think we can take a break for a while."

Cless lowered himself from the roof of the inn he was helping to build. He brushed back his strands of dark blonde hair, smiling. "All right, I'll be there in a moment." He said as he lifted a heavy piece of lumber.

Mint laughed. "We're finally finished with our time-traveling journey and he still won't take a break."

"Once he starts something, he seldom stops until he's finished," Chester added with a grin. "During the times he trained with Miguel in the dojo, he wouldn't stop training until the sun set and every student left."

Mint sighed, suddenly frowning. "It could hurt him one day if he's not careful," she said.

"Nah, I'm sure he'll be fine." Chester turned to Mint. "Trust Cless."

Mint nodded, forcing a smile. "I know. I will."

Cless, meanwhile, was setting the piece of wood on a pile of neatly stacked lumber. He wiped beads of sweat from his brow, admiring the work he had completed so far. Now, for a well deserved break. Hopefully Mint had some cool drinks provided to ward off the heat.

Cless turned, making his way towards the tree where Chester and Mint were seated. He froze when he heard the ominous sound of wood falling behind him.

"Cless, look out!" Mint screamed, a look of horror on her face. Cless felt exploding pain in the back of his head before staggering to the ground with a grunt.

"He's coming to," a familiar voice said.

Cless groaned, his mind fuzzy and his skull throbbing painfully. He winced as he slowly opened his eyes. Things were blurry for a moment and he blinked, struggling to make sense of things.

"Oh, thank Martel!" Mint breathed. "He's okay."

Chester approached the bed from behind Mint, looking at Cless with concern. "I'm glad he's all right," he said, although he still looked worried.

"Argh…" Cless groaned again, pushing himself up. "Where am I?"

"We're still in Toltus," Mint explained. "You see, after the wood fell on your head, Chester went to Euclid and summoned a doctor. He said you'd be fine."

Cless briefly touched his head and felt thick bandages covering the part of his skull that hurt so badly. He winced at the touch and put his hand back at his side. Cless looked around briefly, trying to recognize his surroundings. Nothing seemed familiar to him.

"Um, Toltus?" he repeated, thinking back on Mint's words.

Mint was confused. "Yes, Toltus. We've been helping to rebuild it since we defeated Dhaos."

"Dhaos…" Cless repeated again. The name did not sound familiar to his ears. He looked at Mint and Chester again, his mind still fuzzy and full of static. "And you are…?"

Mint held her breath. "Cless?…"

Chester stepped forward. "The doctor was right; Cless has a case of amnesia."

"Amnesia?" she asked, alarmed.

Chester nodded solemnly. "The doctor said that Cless's hit to the head was so bad, he was afraid Cless might be afflicted with the disease. But it would only be short term if we treat it correctly."

Mint gazed at Cless, who was still looking confused and slightly nervous as the two unfamiliar people talked to him. "What can we do? Is there any way we could get his memory back?"

"We can try to help him by showing him familiar things, taking him to familiar places… You know, stuff like that," Chester explained.

Mint looked down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. "I'll do it. I'll take him all around Aselia; I'll help Cless regain his lost memories."

"I'm going too. I've known Cless since we were kids. I know him better than anybody," Chester chimed in.

Mint looked taken aback for a moment, but realized that Chester's words were true. She badly wanted to be closest to Cless, but she knew that Chester was right. He knew Cless best; it would be good if he came along.

"Well, where should we start?" she asked.

Chester smirked. "I know just the place."

Mint held Cless's hand as they walked into the dimly lit room. He looked around, squinting his eyes as they adjusted to the light, or lack thereof. The place reminded him of a sophisticated bar, since there was a small bar in the back of the room. There were also many small wooden tables situated around the space, hosting an array of different people, though most appeared to be mercenaries, vagrants, and even knights from the nearby Alvanista Castle.

"The Panicky Adventurer," Chester stated, making a sweeping motion with his hand, "one of the best hangouts for all serious swordsmen and women. We came here once or twice during our journey, Cless."

Cless looked around, smiling faintly. Mint looked at him hopefully, but knew he was only pretending to remember. She could see the foggy, confused look haunting his usually bright eyes.

"I'll go talk to Sakuraba. He plays excellent piano," Chester suggested. "I'm sure you'll remember once you hear him play."

Chester left Mint and Cless alone. Mint silently led Cless to an empty table, still holding his hand protectively like a mother guiding a lost child. Cless sat down near Mint, his eyes still wandering. He looked down at Mint, who looked worried and perhaps a little weary. Sadness and guilt filled his heart, nearly choking him. He tried very hard to remember her, but could find nothing. He sensed that she had been very important to him before, and therefore felt guilty that he could barely remember her name.

Chester soon returned to the table, still smirking. "Sakuraba's gonna play the song he played when we came here." He announced. "Just listen, Cless. I know you'll remember."

Cless nodded, still lost in his own thoughts. He felt Mint's fingers tighten around his own as they heard the sounds of piano notes above the din of people's voices.

Once Sakuraba started playing, everyone in the room fell silent. His fingers seemed to glide skillfully over the keys, striking each note in perfect succession. No one had ever outdone Sakuraba, and it seemed highly unlikely that anyone ever would.

Cless listened to the song, tapping his fingers lightly to the tune. He realized with a jolt of surprise that he not only recognized the song, but he remembered the tune. It was a light and airy melody, and brought back memories of days in the forest…

The sun shone through the thick canopy of trees in shafts of pale light. Cless stepped lightly through the brush, taking care not to make too much noise. Beside him was another young man who had long silver hair combed back in a neat ponytail. Cless held his sword in one hand, his eyes scanning the undergrowth.

"There!" The man next to him whispered in a hiss, quickly throwing an arrow into his bow as he aimed. "In the bushes!"

Cless quickly spotted the small boar. It was sniffing the ground hesitantly as if it knew they were there, but could not find them. Cless readied his sword, his eyes unblinking.

The man next to him released his arrow. The baby boar perked up, its ears turned slightly in their direction. It snorted loudly before bounding out of the way, narrowly missing the well-aimed arrow.

The man clenched his fists angrily as the boar raced off. "After him!" he cried, jumping out of the bushes. Cless followed, smiling widely. He always enjoyed the hunts with his friend, running through the empty forest, listening to the gentle sounds of the birds singing quietly, and reminiscing on old times.

Later that day, when they returned to their village after a day of fruitless hunting, their homes and families were gone, engulfed by fire and the tyranny of Dhaos's minions.

"Chester!" Cless said suddenly. Chester looked up, alarmed.

"Cless?" he asked uncertainly.

"I remember… I remember when Toltus was destroyed. We were out hunting when it happened, that's why we lived," Cless said quickly. "But… Your sister, Ami…and my parents. They were killed."

Chester nodded. "That's right. You remember that day?"

Cless continued, "After that, you decided to stay and give the others a proper burial. I went to Euclid to stay with my aunt and uncle…but they betrayed me. That's how I was captured. After that…" Cless shook his head. "I just can't remember."

Mint lowered her head sadly. "You don't remember when you met me in the dungeons after you were imprisoned?"

Cless hung his head solemnly. "I'm sorry, Mint."

"It's all right. We still have plenty of time," Chester insisted. "And a few more places to visit. Let's get going."

A gentle sea breeze swept through Cless's hair and blew a salty mist on his lips. Mint and Chester easily jumped off their Techbirds and motioned for Cless to do the same. He was beginning to tire of their behavior towards him, treating him like an inept.

'Just because I lost my memory doesn't mean I lost my senses!' Cless thought angrily as Mint laid out a checkered blanket on the ground. Chester held a small basket of food that he set out on the blanket.

"These are the Limestone Caves," Mint said. "We came here once so Klarth could gain the right to summon Undine. We also came a few times after and had several picnics."

As Cless struggled to remember the previous events, Chester frowned. "I remember, all right," he said. "Arche made the worst food I've ever tasted in my life."

Mint scowled at Chester. "She tried her best, Chester! She really tried to make some good food…even if it did backfire," she added sheepishly.

Chester rolled his eyes. "If that's what you choose to call it."

Cless shook his head. "I'm sorry…I don't remember at all."

Mint smiled and handed Cless a plate of food. "Here, have some. This might help."

Chester eagerly took some as well. "I love your food, Mint. It's much better than what Arche tried to make."

Mint smiled mischievously as both Chester and Cless took a few bites of their food. Chester suddenly stood up, gasping for air as if he was choking.

"M-Mint! What is this?" He held his rice ball as if it was a detonating bomb. "What did you do!?"

Cless also had a disgusted look on his face, but failed to make any comment. He just held his rice ball in his hand before tossing it over his shoulder and into the ocean while Mint was not looking.

Mint smirked. "I thought Cless would remember our picnics if I made food similar to Arche's," she said.

Chester glared angrily. "You could have killed us!" He protested as Mint laughed.

Cless sat in thought for a moment, eyeing the abandoned rice balls and trying to ignore the burning aftertaste in his mouth. He slowly felt memories returning to him as if the ill-cooked rice balls had opened some sort of door in his mind…

A large blanket of food was laid out on the ground. A young girl with her pink hair in a thick ponytail kneeled in front of the blanket, smiling widely.

"I made it all myself!" she announced. "Dig in!"

The group seated themselves around the blanket, eyeing the food cautiously. They remembered the last time she had cooked. Chester had hated the food so much, he had complained about it endlessly for days. He was still complaining about it as they each took a rice ball.

"I hope you didn't poison it this time," he said, frowning at the rice ball. Although it looked normal, he knew looks could be deceiving.

"Mint helped out this time," another man added.

Cless was the first to take a bite. After chewing slowly, he began to smile. "Ah! This is delicious, Mint!"

The other man took a few tentative bites before smiling as well. "He's right! This is wonderful!"

Chester finally joined in as well, confident after his friend's approval. "They're right. You've outdone yourself, Mint."

Mint looked slightly embarrassed. "Don't thank me. Arche did most of the work. You should be thanking her." She shot a meaningful look at Cless.

"Good work, Arche. It's delicious," he said, smiling at the pink-haired girl.

The other man adjusted his wide-brim hat. "It's very good, Arche. Well done."

Everyone turned and looked expectantly at Chester, who refused to speak. He took another mouthful of rice ball before talking.

"It's very good, Arche," he finally admitted, his face slightly flushed.

Arche smiled happily. "Thank you, everyone!" She turned to Mint. "Thank you for helping me cook, Mint."

Mint smiled. "No problem, Arche."

"Oh yes… Arche. I remember Arche," Cless announced over the sounds of Chester and Mint's arguing. "You helped her cook the food, didn't you, Mint?"

Mint turned, grinning. "Yes, I did!"

"Just that…" Cless said. He looked up to the clear blue sky, still thinking. "That other man, though. He had a huge hat on, and he was holding a book in one hand. He had weird symbols painted on his arms." He closed his eyes, apparently deep in thought.

"You mean Klarth?" Chester cut in. "He's a summoner."

Cless nodded. "Yeah. He was obsessed with using magic, but couldn't because he's human, and only those with elven blood can use magic, right?"

Chester smirked. "Yep. You remember all that?"

Cless nodded again. "Yeah… Yeah, I do."

It was Mint's turn to smile. "You do remember all of us, don't you? And all we went through?"

Cless sat silently for a moment. He did recall their adventure and journeying with the others, but there was a critical gap in his memory.

He still could not remember Mint.

They had returned to Toltus later that day after their visit to the Limestone Caves. Chester and Mint had tried taking Cless to several other places, where he began to gain more of his memory, but failed to remember anything about Mint, including how they met, where they met, and what they went through together. It hurt Mint, and she felt taken aback. How could Cless remember everyone but her? She thought she had a different connection to Cless, one that was far more special to him than that of Chester, Arche, Klarth, and even the ninja girl Suzu who had traveled with them for a very short amount of time.

Now, the sun was setting off in the horizon, casting rays of red and gold light in the forest. The air was crisp and cool. The aroma of autumn hung heavy in the air like a perfume.

Cless had wandered into the Forest of Spirits by himself, trying desperately to bring up memories of Mint. When he saw her, she reminded him of something, and he knew that she had been very important to him before he lost his memory. He felt ashamed and angry with himself for forgetting her so easily.

Before long, Cless found himself at the base of the great Yggdrasill Tree, the source of life and mana in the world of Aselia. He touched the base of the Tree. Beneath the rough outer shell of bark, he could almost feel power pulsating deep within its veins.

He had a brief memory of visiting the Tree long ago. He remembered that he and Klarth were standing in front of the it, although at the time it was decaying and dead. Mint stepped forward, holding up her hands.

"First Aid!" she said. White healing power seemed to radiate from within her, offering life to the dead tree. But nothing happened…

"Mint!" Cless turned around suddenly, abandoning the memory. Behind him was Mint, almost looking embarrassed for being caught so quickly.

"I'm sorry, Cless…" she murmured. "I saw you come to the forest by yourself, and I thought…"

"It's all right," Cless said. He turned back to the Yggdrasill Tree. Even though it had been dead in his memory, it was alive and flourishing in the present. "I was just thinking of how we came here with Klarth in the past, and you tried to revive the Tree."

Mint looked happy, and Cless realized that he had finally remembered a little bit about her, if only a little.

Mint stepped up to the Tree, gently placing her gloved hand on its base. "I can remember coming here, too, but it was when we revived the Tree completely. I remember talking to the goddess Martel. Sometimes she still comes to me, in my dreams…" She suddenly looked sheepish and flushed. "But that sounds silly, doesn't it?"

"No, not at all," Cless said, shaking his head. 'At least you can still reminisce about the past. I could barely remember your name after the incident earlier today.'

Cless walked up beside her, placing his hand over hers. He stared at their hands, falling into a sort of trance. Their embraced hands reminded him of something from long ago…

The entire room was damp and humid. Mold grew along the walls, staining the gray stone with their vibrant greens and whites. Cless leaned against the walls, sighing heavily. All in one day, his village had been destroyed, his parentshad been killed, and he was betrayed by his own aunt and uncle. Thinking only of themselves, they had reported to the Order of Black Armor, who had threatened to destroy their hometown of Euclid unless they gave up their orphaned nephew.

Cless rested his chin on his knees, thinking. He could not easily escape from the cell; the guards saw to that. There seemed to be no way out…except…

He saw a small hole, big enough to fit his hand through. Cless pushed himself off the floor to examine the hole more closely.

"Hello?" A soft, kind voice asked from the other side of the wall, beyond the small hole. "Is anyone there?"

"Who is that?" Cless asked back.

"Please put your hand through the hole," the voice insisted. It sounded like a woman.

Cless hesitantly put his hand through the hole, half expecting it to be stabbed or bitten. Instead, a warm, gentle hand touched his and placed something inside it. Cless pulled his hand out and saw a small earring in it.

"What is this for?" He asked.

"Hold it up to the wall." The woman instructed.

Cless shrugged, holding up the earring. Light glinted from its glossy surface. Suddenly, the wall before him disappeared, fading away as if it had never been there. Cless stepped through, looking for the woman who handed him the earring.

Instead, he saw the blooded corpse of a woman, impaled by an iron sword. He flinched inwardly.

"But the hand that touched mine had been so warm…" he said aloud, gently touching the hilt of the sword. He realized he might need the weapon to escape and pulled it out of the corpse, feeling slightly guilty for disturbing the body.

Cless left the cell, easily picking the lock with his new sword. He wandered the dungeon, looking for others who were trapped. In one cell he saw a young woman with long, brown-blonde hair and blue eyes. She eyed him uncertainly as he picked open the lock.

"Are you okay?" Cless asked as he entered the woman's cell.

"I'm fine," she said. "Thank you for saving me."

Cless nodded. "I'm Cless," he replied. "And you are…?"

"My name is Mint. My mother and I were imprisoned here. She's in the next cell." The woman motioned towards the cell Cless had seen the corpse in. "Can we go get her before we go? It's thanks to her that I'm still alive. She kept reassuring me that everything would be all right, that we'd get out soon."

Cless swallowed uncomfortably. He did not want to tell Mint that her mother was already dead. "Um… I didn't see anyone in that cell," he said.

Mint looked sad for a moment, but quickly forced a strained smile. "Maybe she already escaped."

Cless nodded faintly. "Yeah… Let's get going," he insisted.

"I remember…" he said, at first in a whisper. Mint looked over to Cless, curiosity shining in her eyes.

"What?"

"I remember how we met," Cless said quickly. "We were in the prison cells… Your mother helped me escape. And we went through those horrible catacombs to get out of the dungeon."

Mint smiled again, this time much happier. She embraced Cless, relieved that he finally remembered her.

"I'm sorry I forgot for so long," Cless said. "I'm sorry, Mint."

"No… Everything's all right now," Mint assured him. "You remember all of us. That's what's important."

A ghost of a smile crossed Cless's face. Mint was more than just a memory; she was far too important. She was part of his past, present, and future, as were his friends.

They were more than only a memory.