Clashes between the two sides were always common in the battle between Cosmos and Chaos, but even more so before the manikins were unleashed. After a fierce conflict with Kefka, Lightning chased the harlequin, for she was the only warrior in her group that did not sustain any injuries. She could still fight, and allowing an enemy to escape could be dangerous.

The chase led her to the upper level of the Old Chaos Shrine, where a man clad in armor stood between Lightning and Kefka. The woman stopped, grasping her blade tighter as she prepared for the battle that would soon begin.

"Garland, is that it?"

"Precisely, woman, and you are about to enter the domain of the warriors of Chaos. I cannot allow you to barge in."

"Whatever, I already lost the one I was after. But I guess it's still worth the trouble if I take you down."

Lightning couldn't care less about the fact she was on Chaos's doorstep. She would fight as many of his minions as necessary, and was confident she'd be victorious. Or, at least, that she'd be able to get away if things got too rough.

"Then let us start."

Garland attacked with much more speed than one would expect such an enormous man to have, trying to stab Lightning with the tip of his sword. However, the woman dodged and retaliated by swing her own blade at the enemy.

The battle dragged on as neither side was letting up. However, at some point Lightning realized Garland wasn't as offensive as before. Instead, he was mostly evading her strikes, even though he did not appear to be hurt or tired.

"What is this whole act for, are you trying to make me let my guard down?"

There was no answer and Garland remained with a defensive stance. Lightning was gaining ground fast, but this concerned her, there had to be a reason the stalwart wasn't so combative. It didn't take much longer for the gunblade wielder to realize what was happening, Garland was leading her somewhere.

Lightning decided her next strike would be the last. She feigned an attack, prompting Garland to evade it to the side, and then unleashed slashes in quick succession, ready to finish the combo with her Flourish of Steel. However, it was already too late. A crest lighted on the ground and jolts of lightning coursed through Lightning's body, immobilizing her.

"It is a pity I must comply to these petty schemes, but enough time was wasted on this battle. It is time to end it."

Red flames appeared on Garland's sword, enveloping it with a crimson light. The man swung it against Lightning, striking her with all might he had, a formidable attack indeed.

"Unleash the fury… crumble!"

Lightning flew against a wall and coughed blood, falling to the ground the very next moment. Garland remained where he was, laughing at the woman's misfortune.

"It was all a ruse, a façade to lead Cosmos's minions straight into the land of discord. And you fell for it just as intended."

Kefka's actions were indeed bold, challenging a bunch of enemies head-on. But then again, the harlequin was well known for his taste for destruction and performed quite well his act. Still, and although annoyed by her own lack of care, Lightning was glad she was the only one to follow the enemy.

"Now, I will reduce you… TO ASH!"

Before Garland could shower Lightning with flame, a strong blast hit the back of his neck. The attack caught him completely off guard and the stalwart was violently sent to the ground. As he raised his head, he saw Squall Leonhart aiming a gunblade at his face.

"You are not the only ones that know dirty tricks."

"Are you going to fight me in her stead?"

"Not quite, I am merely keeping your attention on myself."

"What?"

Garland did not realize a spinning blade was crossing the air, ready to hit his back. Not only did the blow shred his cape and severely damage his armor, but also tossed the stalwart himself against a wall right after Squall stepped aside.

Feeling the blood pouring from his wound, Garland knew he stood little chance against the combined forces of both Squall and Lightning. It was time to retreat, and such was his action. Merely uttering "Hmpf", the man got up and got away.

"Are we not going to chase him?"

Squall raised an eyebrow when he realized his ally made no move in order to stop Garland from escaping. But she had enough for a day and was quite sure going any deeper into enemy territory would be very unwise.

"I'd rather not jump into another trap. Instead, I believe I want to get out of this place as soon as possible."

"Can you walk?"

"What? Do I look like some sort of frail princess?"

Lightning was indeed grateful that Squall lent her a hand, but did not appreciate that much concern. She could hold her own and it'd take much more than a few flaming sword strikes to keep her down. Luckily for him, the lion understood the message and simply turned his back, walking away. Lightning followed.

Now in a relatively safe place, the duo stopped their silent walk by a river. Squall watched as Lightning washed her face and tried to remember her name. No such luck, though. However, after receiving such a blunt answer half an hour before, he wasn't very willing to make any questions.

But conversation couldn't be avoided forever, and Lightning was the one to break the silence as she stood up.

"What's your name again?"

"Squall."

"I see. The loner, right?"

Squall didn't exactly like being called "the loner", but there was no helping it. By keeping his distance and acting alone the lion earned himself that nickname from both his friends and foes.

"My name is Lightning. And thanks for backing me up, I guess you actually saved my neck."

"You had him from the very beginning. I just stepped in because he started playing dirty tricks."

In fact, Squall watched the whole battle from the very beginning and was indeed sure Lightning did not need any help. And although many thought he didn't care about his comrades at all, the lion would never allow an ally to be defeated right in front of him. Their war was still his war, even though they went different ways about it.

"Right. But I'm quite sure it is no coincidence you were there, surely you are looking for something… or someone."

"I seek to confront and defeat Ultimecia, the witch from my own world."

"I see."

Lightning wouldn't question Squall's reasons, surely enough Ultimecia must've done horrible things to him, or so the flash thought. But it was of no consequence on that moment, she was worried about the fact that it was getting dark. Lightning would never make it back to Order's Sanctuary in time.

"I guess we should cooperate a while longer, Lightning."

"What do you mean?"

"We're too close to enemy territory and could be attacked at any time, but moving during the night isn't exactly safe either. What do you say we spend the night here and while one of us sleeps, the other stands guard."

"Sounds fair."

Although she didn't show it, Lightning was quite relieved. She was worried Squall was the kind of guy that would simply help out a bit and then run off, but he was turning out to be quite the reliable ally. Of course the woman wasn't afraid of being left alone, but she'd rather have someone to watch her back.

"Since you were hurt during the battle you should rest first, Lightning."

"I'm not even feeling it anymore, will you stop treating me like that?"

With a raised voice, Lightning lashed at her companion. However, Squall remained calm, for he was expecting that sort of reaction.

"I can see you're tough, but everybody has limits and pushing them isn't gonna do us any good. Also, if I didn't know you are quite capable of crushing any enemy that could show up, I'd volunteer to stand guard all night long."

Lightning couldn't help but feel a bit flattered, but, as usual, she avoided unnecessary displays of her feelings. Instead, she merely smiled, accepting Squall's request.

"Okay, I'm counting on you."

Hours passed and Squall stayed true to his mission. He would occasionally look at Lightning, just to check if she was okay, while trying to drive away thoughts that popped in his head about how cute she was while sleeping. Such thoughts and the ideas that came with them wouldn't help him fulfill his duty. However, every now and then he would catch himself staring at his comrade.

He soon realized her body was trembling slightly. The night was cold and Lightning did not wear all that many clothes, so it wasn't really surprising to see her tremble. She was still human, after all. Unfortunately, the most obvious way to help her, gathering some wood and starting a fire, would surely reveal their position to any enemy around.

Squall didn't know why, but he felt like he should take out him jacket and put it over Lightning. Not only did the lion like that jacket, there was also a great risk Lightning would misinterpret his action, something that would most likely be followed by some sort of argument or fighting. But even so, he couldn't control the urge to do it and, before he could realize or stop, it was already done.

"What are you doing?"

Caught on the spot, there was little Squall could say. He wasn't very good on talking his way out of a mess, but he had to do his best right now.

"I realized you were cold, I thought you'd need this."

By that time Lightning had already opened her eyes and sat. She was looking straight at Squall's face, and did not look very happy. "Great", Squall thought, "now I earned myself another stupid nickname".

"I am cold, but if you give your jacket to me, then you're the one who's going to be cold."

Of all the things the lion was expecting to hear, that was surely one of the last ones. But even more surprising was the fact that Lightning actually spoke a little softer than usual, showing some real concern about Squall.

"I insist."

That argument was going nowhere, as neither one would accept wearing the jacket. A different solution was needed, and the one to come up with one was Lightning. However, it was a very delicate solution.

"There is one way to keep both you and me warm, but…"

-

The sun was shining brightly when Squall got up. He was very hungry and decided to go look for something edible for both he and Lightning.

"I'll be right back. Can you get some wood and start a fire?"

"Sure."

Squall started walking away, but stopped when his companion, still rubbing her eyes and yawning, called his name.

"Squall."

"Yeah?"

"Don't you dare talk about last night to the others."

"Chill, I won't."

He really didn't have any intention of talking about that subject with anyone, but now Squall really felt complied to remain quiet. Allowing people to threaten him wasn't really the lion's style, but he would let this one go. After all, he was feeling very good.