Chapter 2:Garland/Auron: A Worthy Opponent

Cycle 5

Long had Garland accepted his fate within this seemingly never-ending cycle of battle. Tied to the god of discord Chaos in ways unbelievable to most, Garland knew that no matter how far both sides of the war got, all their efforts would be in vain. Shinryu, the Divine Dragon, would descend upon the world and restart the cycle, continuing the way once anew. If anything changed, it was the number of combatants, being shortened every cycle when the opposing warriors didn't kill them, but were killed by fiends summoned by them.

In that regard, if Garland was trapped in an endless cycle of battle, he decided he might as well enjoy every second of it.

Garland often searched for Warriors of Cosmos that matched his personal criteria's: Was physically strong, did not rely too much on magic, and most importantly, did not have some form of pathetic trauma that made their blades go dull, and their skills weaken due to self doubts.

Suffice to say, Garland often had problems finding the right opponent.

It wasn't completely hopeless for the knight. There was always the his long time foe, the Warrior of Light, but Garland could see the doubt created from this war ever grow on his sullen expression. Once or twice he had managed to spar with the one known as Jecht, who proved to be both powerful and more than happy to oblige a battle. There had also been that Basch fellow who had been quite impressive, though he had only fought him once, and even then Garland could see the trauma behind the hard face of the disgraced knight.

And of course, he couldn't forget that Steiner fellow. Strong, determined, and seemingly too stupid to hold doubt. That brave man was truly one of a kind.

But, as Garland stood on top of one of the tall cliffs in the Lunar Subterrane, searching for any Warriors of Cosmos down below, Garland remembered a warrior he had met in the cycles many times before, and at that, one of the finest fighters he had ever seen in his life.

Cycle 1…

It was inside the rift that Garland first met him, pacing down the corner of the castle with a casual pace whilst Garland looked down from atop the castle. He wore a deep red haori with blue lining, kept closed with a thick, black and blue strap with two brown belts wrapped around it. He tucked his left arm into the front of his haori, making it look as though his arm was in a sling. In his right he carried a mighty sword, held beside his right shoulder, his never leaving its hilt, ready to strike at any moment.

Auron studied the lone mans face, and was impressed. The scar down his right eye proved he was a battle hardened man, but the stoic, calm face showed a man with cool composure and unrelenting experience behind his figure. Garland did notknow his name, but astrong urge to face this man in combat was all he needed to jump off the ledge of the castle and land fairly near the mysterious warrior.

"Warrior of Cosmos" Garland boomed at the man "you walk alone in Chaos territory? Pray tell, are you so confident in your skills as a warrior?"

The red haori dressed man stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around straight away to face Garland. Garland heard the man chuckle slightly, and saw him turn his scarred side head toward the knight "I'm merely taking a stroll across this world we call a battlefield. Do the gods disallow an old man the pleasure of an afternoon stroll?"

"An afternoon stroll?" Garland couldn't help but chuckle "do you take this war so lightly? Many of my allies could've come instead of me and skipped the pleasantries I'm making with you and would've attacked you by now."

"In that case, they'd be dead right now." The man stated firmly, turning right around to face him. Garland saw the smirk on his hard face "it seems like you've only delayed your own with your talk."

Garland felt his fingers trembled, not from anger, but with excitement. He raised his goliath of a sword and pointed it at the red haori dressed man "that is some arrogance you have, old man. Allow me the honour of smashing it to bits."

"The honour is yours…" the man suddenly pulled out his left arm from his cloak and held his sword with both hands "…if you can take it."

With a war cry, Garland sprang forward and sent his sword swinging with the momentum. Despite the overwhelming size, the man was able to block the sword with his own, not struggling much to keep the giant sword of Garland back. With a push, the man threw Garlands sword and arms into the air, and quickly retracted his blade to send flying straight into the chest of Garland.

Roaring, Garland threw his arms down, and the blade of his opponent hit the heaviest part of the sword, only denting the monstrous sword. Spinning it in his hands like it was weightless, Garland managed to get it over his head once more and swung it down with incredible force. The red haori dressed warrior jumped to the side, but Garland expected that, and reached for the hidden handle inside his sword. A small chunk of the huge sword came out with its own handle, and Garland swung it at the mans head.

Slightly surprised by the new blade, the man nevertheless reacted quickly despite his age and ducked under the small blade. With a circular motion, he swung his sword at Garland's unguarded chest, forcing the Warrior of Chaos to jump back and dodge. Without hesitation Garland jumped back into the fray.

Garland and the red haori dressed man clashed swords man than three dozen times, playing an almost tug of war like match, with each constantly pushing the other back. They matched each other for speed and power. With mighty swings, their swords clashed a final time with such impact it sent the two flying backward. The two quickly regained their balance and then stood still, panting to recover lost breath, both seemingly surprised by the others.

"Splendid Warrior of Cosmos!" Garland boomed with a laugh "truly excellent! You matched my strength flawlessly!"

"Hmph, and you're a lot faster than you look" the red dressed haori man grunted, his face a smile. Cracking his neck, he held his sword with both hands once more "so then, shall we continue?"

"Indeed we shall!" Garland roared, and the two charged at each other once more.

After his spar with that man, Garland was filled with an exhilaration that could only be found from the mightiest of battles. As soon as his wounds had healed, Garland had set out to find the man once more, and challenge him once again. Alas though, Shinryu descended down from the sky and restarted the war for the 1st of many times, and Garland was unable to get his much wanted rematch.

That was, until the 2nd cycle…

Cycle 2…

Garland met the man this time in the World of Darkness, this time with a bunch of companions by his side. A loud and obnoxious girl by the name of Selphie, a silent and smug looking Queen known as Ashe, and one of the many Cids participating during the cycle, this one with blonde hair, a cigarette in his mouth, and a spear in hand.

Garland was excited to see the fine warrior once more, but he was also disappointed that the man would not remember him. Unlike the Warriors of Chaos, the Warriors of Cosmos seemed to have all lost their memories of the previous cycle, and blindly assumed that this was their first time being summoned. The blind fools.

However, to Garlands pleasant surprise, the red haori man remembered Garland when he confronted the group, and after ordering the other three to leave (the fact this man could command these three-one being a Queen at that!- was more than enough proof of this mans authority), the two warriors battled once more.

With a mighty thrust by the Red haori dressed man, Garland was forced stumbling back by the strength of his attack. As soon as he regained his balance however, he span his sword in his arms and sent it slamming down to the ground. The old Warrior of Cosmos was forced to jump back and dodge the mighty blow.

"How honoured I am you remember me, Warrior of Cosmos!" Garland laughed, lifting his giant sword back up "pray tell, how is it you remember me whilst all your comrades have forgotten me?"

"Huh, only a fool would forget an opponent as strong as you!" the man said with a loud growl, charging down past the numerous pillars with his hands on the swords hilt.

"Well spoken Warrior of Cosmos!" Garland roared, suddenly making a swinging motion with his sword. Suddenly, a large part of the sword flew out along with a huge chain attaching the two parts. Despite its size, the chain sword flew over the heads of the two warriors within a matter of seconds, and smashed all of the nearby pillars, causing them to fall around the charging Warrior.

The red haori dressed man did not slow down for a second, but simply lifted his sword up and slashed every single piece of falling debris that was about to hit him. When he was finally free, the man jumped into the air, and sent his sword crashing down towards Garland. Garland had quickly brought his sword back together, and swung upwards at the man.

And the two battled gloriously once more.

Cycle 3…

Garland did not meet the man in this cycle. Garland remembered this cycle being relatively uneventful and honestly boring.

Cycle 4…

Garland met the man this time in a most perfect and fitting setting; in the midst of an invasion.

Garland had to give Cosmos and The Warrior of Light credit; it was a well-planned invasion of the Old Chaos Shrine, the base of the Warriors of Chaos. The Warriors of Cosmos had split up into much smaller groups, and attacked their base from several different angles. Had they come together, the Warriors of Chaos would've noticed them much sooner, but by splitting up they had caught them by surprise. Garland was impressed.

It was in the midst of this invasion that Garland found the man once more, standing at the bottom of the ramp whilst he was at the top. The two stared silently whilst several of Chaos's summoned fiends were killed, and Garland believed he saw the warriors known as Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly kill Ultimecia. Garland would see her in the next cycle.

"An impressive invasion, Warrior of Cosmos" Garland boomed down to the old man "it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm not surprised to see you participating in this fine battle."

"Well I can't let these kids show me up. An old man like me still has quite a bit of fight left in him" the haori man said, readying himself once more.

"Frankly sir, you're skills outmatch any other I've met in this endless war" Garland stated, readying himself as well "you are truly a one of a kind."

"Thanks for the compliment, but I didn't walk all this way for that" the man said "I came here to end this war once and for all."

"And end all the fun? I think not!" Garland roared, jumping high into the air, once again defying his size. Whilst in the air, his massive sword changed to an axe-like shape, and he held it over his head, sending it crashing down with him. Garland saw the old man draw his sword back, blood red energy pulsating around him, and he jumped up to the face Garland in the sky.

And the two battled their grandest fight yet.

"So, we meet again."

Garland turned around to see the red haori dressed man standing silently behind him once more. Garland faced him, a smile hidden behind his helmet.

"Ah we meet again old man" Garland said, not trying to hide his amusement "this'll be our fourth battle, will it not? I wonder, is it fate that bring us two together? Fate is truly kind sometimes." Garland laughed loudly.

"As battle hungry as ever I see. Well, I can respect that in a man" the man chuckled, stretching his neck "come to think of it, you and I have yet to actually beat the other. Perhaps this one may decide it once and for all."

"Oh, I hope not" Garland chuckled. As the man readied, Garland held up a hand "wait. Before we begin…may I ask for your name? I am quite embarrassed to say that after all this time, I still do not know it."

"Hmph, I guess you've earned that privilege" the man grinned "my name…is Auron."

"Auron. It has been a great pleasure meeting you Sir Auron. Now, let us battle once more, good friend!"

And so, the two Warriors charged at each other once more, and began their fourth battle, and they did not fight because of hatred for each other, or even to end the war.

They fought for the thrill of battle, and out of deep respect for each other.

Hope you all enjoyed! Sorry for the wait, horrid Writers block -_-. Stay tuned for hopefully much quicker updates!

TBOC: I'll definitely consider Lightning/Cecil. Thanks for the request!