Memories

The two champions of Cosmos sat side by side near a river as they took a break from a long, tiring day of patrolling. They relax as they enjoyed each other's company in silence. Amongst all the warriors at this point, they are the only ones who understood each other very well anyway.

"I wonder what will happen if this war finally ends." Squall spoke after an hour of silence.

The ex soldier glanced at him before returning her gaze on the river in front of them. "We'll get to go back home I guess?" She simply replied.

"And will everyone remember?" He asked while in deep thought.

Lightning sighed before replying. "I don't know how it works. But I doubt it."

"Will you prefer to forget then?" He asked again.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you getting all emotional on me right now?" She teased him.

He shook his head in denial. "I'm just wondering." That's the only thing he said before he returned to his quiet self.

But she can clearly see his brain still running on those thoughts even in his silence. "Fine. I don't. No matter how much I hated this place."

"Let's just promise we won't forget." He said with obvious hesitation on his words, clearly not comfortable of being this open. He looked at her with expectation but she already had her eyes closed as she leaned on a rock. Was she sleeping? She remained still.

"Lightning." He called on her.

She opened her eyes and glared at him. "What?"

He returned her stare as if urging her to answer. He doesn't want to go through the uncomfortable feeling of repeating what he already said.

She inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh while closing her eyes once again. "Alright." She replied in an almost whisper-like manner, just enough for his ears to catch. "Will you?" She asked him after a moment.

"I won't." Those were the only words he spoke but it was filled with assurance and certainty.

Present...

The two soldiers walk in silence. Squall leading the way towards their training spot and Claire just following his trail. They walked for a good while before the brunet stopped in front of a huge cave.

"Fire Cavern?" She asked while looking at the enormous entrance of the cave.

He turned to her. "Getting scared?" He can't help but wonder why he consistently wants to taunt her with her skills. And strangely enough his expected reply from her absolutely matched what she was about to say.

"Tch." She shot him daggers with her stare. "Are you planning to stand here all day?" She said in an irritated tone as she walked past him and invited herself inside.

Squall on the other hand can only watch and observe her with confusion. His taunting successfully ticked her and he thought of a valid reason why he wasn't really offended or surprised. What's going on? He thought to himself while following her. As they walked in even further, the heat is becoming worse. Both sides of their path were overflowing with hot lava.

"Here." The brunet said as he lead the way up north and stopped near Ifrit's previous den. "This place hasn't been checked on for years now. I'm sure a lot of monsters had already began inhabiting this place again." He explained.

She looked around the area, squinting her eyes because of the tremendous heat. She doesn't know if she'll be appreciative of the fact that she's wearing her tight sleeveless shirt and compression shorts because her bare skin feels like they're burning. They're both perspiring a lot, not to mention their difficulty in breathing because of the hot air entering their lungs.

"I brought you here because this training might become handy for you in the future." He explained while wiping some sweat from his forehead. "Being able to fight in different conditions will serve as a great advantage towards your enemies."

"I bet that's what these monsters are thinking about us right now." She alarmingly commented as she saw hoardes of monsters coming from different directions. Fire bombs, buel, imps, fire type iron giants and coeurls in large numbers approached them. She unsheathed her gunblade in just a split second and positioned herself on her signature fighting stance, Squall on the other hand raised his gunblade with both hands with their backs on each other. Though she spent most of her time fighting monsters during her training, she had never dealt with such number all at the same time. "We're completely surrounded." She stated the obvious as they both looked around.

Squall inhaled deeply. "I guess both our skills will definitely get tested today."

"This is getting more interesting." Claire commented while she glared at a couple of monsters crossing their safe zone. They are already preparing to attack.

"Let's go!" He shouted as he leaped to his front and sliced every monster who approach him as fast as he could. The cadet on the other hand was busy with her own share of beasts. It was a barrage of kicking, punching, slicing and shooting on her part. She was in a state of bliss and exhilaration as she used her Blazefire Saber towards the charging monsters. They fought with their might in what seemed like forever and after they both cut the remaining monsters into pieces, they dropped on the ground breathing heavily. The heat is starting to become unbearable. They feel their energy depleting at a fast pace that it is almost hard to move.

Squall had just turned around to check on Claire and to his horror, a ruby dragon suddenly approached from nowhere and is about to breath fire on her. A sudden bright light flashed on his eyes and nest thing he knew, he was standing behind a severely wounded pink haired woman kneeling and struggling on the lifeless ground, unaware of a manikin who jumped and was about to stab her. He blinked once and his vision returned to the present.

"Lightning, move!" He shouted as he raised his gunblade with outstretched arms above his head and created a long blade of energy. The cadet was aware of the approaching monster but she was caught in surprise by what he just called her. She can only manage to dodge on her right side just seconds before the brunet's attack landed on where she was kneeling earlier. She looked at the monster and its body fell on the hot lava.

He dropped his weapon and sprawled on the ground on his back, breathing heavily with his eyes tightly shut. He was clearly getting out of shape. Claire on the other hand approached him quickly and straddled him while balling a fist on his shirt and tugged on it which startled the man.

"What did you call me?" She asked in a firm tone while heaving. "Answer me!"

Squall was in shock for only a moment before his eyes refocused on her. "Lightning." He muttered in his deep voice.

Claire's eyes widened. "How did you-" Her fist slowly loosened from its grip. You can see a mixture of uncertainty, confusion and fear on her face. She lifted herself from him and sat on the ground, lost in thought.

"I remember now." He started. "Now I know why you look really familiar. And why you kept reappearing on my dreams." He continued while helping himself to sit up.

She can only manage to look at him at this point, not exactly knowing what to say.

"What happened? Why are you here?" He calmly asked while looking intently at her.

He sighed before asking again. "Why didn't you tell me in the first place? We're partners right?" He calmly asked.

Of all the things she was expecting him to ask her, this was definitely the last on the list. What does he expect her to say? That she lost her own home? And what was she expecting him to do? Arrest her? Kill her? She doesn't even have any idea.

"You forgot." Was the only thing she can say to him. A lump was forming on her throat. She was about to cry and she doesn't even know why. It wasn't even hard like this when Laguna found her.

He gently looked at her for a moment before standing up. He walked towards her and offered her a hand with a faint smile. She instantly remembered that moment when he was the one who was on the ground and she was the one offering a hand to help him.

It took her a moment before she accepted his extended hand. She was caught off guard when Squall pulled her up and into his arms. "I'm sorry. But I'm here now."

Those were the only words that came from him, but the assurance and certainty that goes along with it was the last straw as the courage she was holding on tightly for as long as she can remember finally left her. The tears she tried so hard to control starts falling down her cheeks. She buried her face on his chest by the sudden surge of relief and comfort knowing that he finally remembered and that everything will remain the same. Just for once, she wanted to let go of her fears. She wanted to drop the mask she's wearing for a long time that hid her weakness. If she was crying out loud right now, she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to be vulnerable. Even for once.

He gently rubbed her back as her shoulders rock, holding her tight and quietly assuring her that she will always have him by her side.

Outside the cavern, the sun is already setting on the horizon when they started their path towards the Garden. Claire filled him in with the events that happened on their own home from the very beginning until they arrived in this world while Squall only listened in silence. While he knew how unfortunate things had turned out for her, he's relieved that she and her people are now safe.

"And Claire? Was that a name you used when you get here?" He finally asked as they walk.

She stopped him from walking and gestured him to face her as she looked at him seriously. "Claire is my real name. It's Claire Farron."

Squall nodded in understanding. "Claire it is."

"And Laguna already knew about this?" He asked after a moment of silent walking.

The pinkette nodded. "He was the one who found me anyway."

"He knew all along and yet he didn't have the guts to tell me?" He muttered under his breath.

"We decided not to. It will only confuse you because you obviously can't remember anything." She said on the president's defense.

He sighed. "Alright. But I'm happy you're now here. Seriously." He expressed. "Don't worry. I'll keep you and your people safe." He promised.

"Thanks. It really means a lot." She responded. Her chest feels very light, now that she finally shared the burden of their secret with her most trusted ally.

Squall chuckled. "I thought you were gonna say you don't need my help."

She glared at him and was about to answer when the sky immediately changed. The deep blue sky was instantly covered with dark clouds and heavy rain started to pour.

"What now?" She cursed as violent lightning scattered across the sky and deafening thunder roared. In just a matter of seconds, thick fog surrounded the wild field where they were standing. Just perfect. Without anything to take cover on, they're like sitting ducks for whatever danger is about to come.

"This can't be." The brunet mouthed. "I thought it's already gone."

"What is it?" Claire demanded him. Before he can respond, they heard something coming within the fog which sounded like a...horse.

They immediately caught sight of a shadow coming from their right and they automatically both drew their weapons in defense. As seconds pass by, the figure became clearer and clearer despite the heavy rain and the thick fog. An enormous warrior holding a huge blade sword is approaching them. It is wearing a black armor with gold linings matched with a similar colored cape and with long black horns on its helm. The said warrior is riding on an enormous white horse with golden hair and six legs.

Her eyes widened as soon as she recognized the beings which halted just in front of her. "Odin..." She slowly started her steps closer to them.

"Claire, be careful!" Squall warned her as he perfectly knew Odin wasn't really appreciative towards human. He really thought the Guardian Force was already eliminated by Seifer.

But something tells her that they really came here just for her. She stopped at a decent spot and slowly raised a hand, attempting to touch the horse on its forehead. Sleipnir bowed as if allowing her to touch him. Her gaze switched between Odin and the white horse. As soon as her hand came in contact with the horse, a white, blinding light flashes that turned into tiny particles and disappeared in just a second. It's like a connection that has been anticipated for so long has finally happened.

"I've been waiting for you..." Odin finally spoke with his deep, booming voice while bowing his head.

The woman marveled at their beauty. "You look different. And now you're talking." She smiled while ruffling the horse's golden locks. "I promised we'll see each other again right?"

The GF bowed once again before suddenly being wrapped in a glow of light and it transformed into a palm-sized crystal shaped like a lightning bolt. The sky cleared up as soon as Odin disappeared.

"Well that was something." Squall finally spoke as he approached her. He stared down at the item in her palm. "That GF isn't really fond of human."

Claire wrapped her fingers around the crystal. "He really doesn't have to. He have me now."

"Congrats on your first Guardian Force then." The brunet said while crossing his arms on his chest.

"Thanks." She replied and looked up at the sky. "We should probably go before it gets totally dark."

The commander agreed and they both headed towards the enormous mobile school.