Dissidia Final Fantasy: Unus Mundus

Chapter Three ~ The Misguided Mage (Onion Knight)

Something's wrong. Is it the Crystals? I don't know what it is, but I feel like they're all gone...

"Luneth? You okay?"

The familiar voice snapped Luneth out of his worried daze. He was riding a Chocobo across a boundless field of tall grass, alongside his three friends—Arc, Ingus, and Refia.  Arc, his childhood friend, looked at him with worry.

"Something seems wrong," said Arc. "Should we stop and rest?" Luneth chuckled and shook his head, waving his hand a bit.

"I'm fine, Arc," he replied. "Don't look so worried."

"Look who's talking," Ingus scoffed. "You look like you've just seen a ghost, Luneth. Though, I suppose after everything we've been through, even that wouldn't scare you..." Refia looked from Ingus to Luneth and she stopped her Chocobo, signalling for the three boys to do the same.

"I think we should rest," she said. "Luneth, you don't exactly look like the picture of perfect health right now. And besides, it's not like we're making any actual progress or anything."

"Hey!" Arc scolded Refia as he got off his Chocobo as well. "I carefully calculated the exact coordinates of our destination before we left after eating that Gnomish Bread! I didn't see you looking at the map, but I know that the destination is 114.35990° Northeast and—" Ingus promptly slapped him across the back of the head. Arc scoffed angrily and rubbed the back of his head, murmuring under his breath.

"Just face the facts, genius," Ingus sighed as he looked up at the darkening sky with his arms crossed. "We're completely lost." 

"I can relate."

The sound of an unfamiliar male voice startled the four and they all turned around, guard high, as they watched a man approach them. His black hair was shoulder length and he wore clothing unlike anything the four kids had ever seen before—a blue overshirt with the sleeved rolled up to his elbows, a white undershirt, thick, red pants, and black boots. 

"Damn, the guys are gonna kill me for this," the man sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Well, at least they aren't the ones who're lost."

"Who are you?" asked Luneth, brandishing a sword as he took the lead before stumbling a little bit. Arc and Refia stood by his side to catch him before he fell.

"You're in no condition to fight," said Refia. "Please rest, Luneth." The man chuckled nervously and backed away with his hands up.

"Hey, I-I don't mean any harm, okay?" he said. "Especially not t-to kids..." The man saw Ingus staring daggers at him. 

"Ingus..." Luneth sighed, getting lowered to the floor by his friends. "Put your weapon down. This man doesn't mean us any harm." It took a moment, but Ingus finally backed off and sheathed his sword, bowing his head to the man. The man sighed with absolute relief and finally lowered his guard.

"Thank you," he said. "What are you kids doing out here anyways? I don't see anyone else around here." The man put his hands on his hips and he surveyed the area. "Hell, I haven't seen anyone for miles." 

"We've been trying to get home," Ingus began, "but someone went and got us lost." He stared at Arc, who simply scoffed once more. 

"I don't see you trying to navigate!" he retorted. The man laughed a little and crossed his arms, looking at Arc.

"You sound an awful lot like me, kiddo," he sighed as he sat cross-legged in the grass. "I don't even know how I got here, but I did somehow. Guess we're all lost, huh?"