The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2

Chapter 2: "Re-Entry"

Luso, who had suddenly appeared in the skies above the forest, scrambled away at gigantic lizard's unconscious body. Unknowingly, he found himself at the feet of the gigantic bird.

"Mr. R-Randell?" He gasped fearfully, "W-whats going on?!"

Almost as if the Crushatrice was responding to his question, it let out a loud squawk. Shocked, the boy nearly did a somersault as he tried to clumsily scramble away. He fell backwards on his back, staring at the gigantic chicken.

"N–NOT MR. RANDELL!"

The Crushatrice's beak swooped down and planned to pick him up like if he was a particularly delectable worm. Luso held up his hands and curled up in a fetal position, fearing the worst.

Instead of the sound he expected, he had heard something different. He opened one eye, and in his vision he saw a large man wielding a sharp sword. The man had knocked aside the giant bird's beak with one strike, he could see the bird trying to keep it's balance on one leg. Even in Luso's confused mind, he could tell that the man who just saved him was inordinately strong.

"Boy, are you alright?" He asked in a gentle voice. Almost unbefitting of his action before.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Luso stammered to reply, "But who are you? You're not even human!"

Upon further inspection, Luso had noticed that his savior had an unnatural red tint to his skin, incredibly sharp ears, and most strangely, two small horns protruding out of his forehead.

"Hyuuu–man?" The man said in a confused voice, "You mean a Hume? You are incorrect, I am a Revgaji."

Luso could only give a confused expression in response. Too many things are happening suddenly, and too many things are rushing through his mind. At the moment, he felt like he could probably faint from all incredible happenings around him.

"Boy, I do not know where you come from, or what your story is." The Revgaji faced the now – recovering bird behind Luso, "But I do want to know one thing. Can you fight?"

"F-fight?! You mean like swinging around a sword or something?!"

"If you cannot fight, you'll just be a hindrance." He said bluntly, "If you can fight, then pick up Lynd's sword and defend yourself."

Luso looked over at the fallen lizard creature. A silvery sword was sticking out of the ground next to him.

"Make your choice, and fast. That beast wont stay dazed for long."

This is unbelievable... Luso thought, I was just reading a book about this in the library, and now I'm a part of it?

"Hurry boy..."

Aaaargh! I can't understand a thing! Why am I here? What happened to the library? Who's this guy?! Why is there a gigantic chicken trying to attack us?!

The Crushatrice straightened it's head once again, and let out a loud squawk of anger.

You know what?! I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE!

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!" Luso let loose a loud yell of frustration. He took his hands and messed up his hair wildly. Jumping up onto his feet, he took one step backward and grasped the hilt of the sword. He then yanked it out with a strength even he didn't know he had.

Cid looked back in surprise, the eyes of the boy was no longer filled with fear. Instead, a different emotion was beginning to fill up in his blue eyes. He could recognize that feeling, it was an emotion that he was most familiar with. It was the emotion of courage.

"I see you've made your decision, boy!" Cid couldn't help but admire his enthusiasm.

"My name isn't 'boy!'" Irritated by how he kept calling him, Luso retorted, "It's Luso! Luso Clemens!"

"Ah, my mistake then. I am Cid, good to meet you Luso!"

Cid took grip of his sword and raced off towards the Crushatrice as soon as he finished saying Luso's name. He dodged a pecking attack and slid underneath the bird. He slid all the way behind the gigantic Crushatrice, and in that position he took his sword and struck the bird on the rump with the flat of his blade. Causing it to jolt and freeze momentarily.

"Luso, now!" He called back, "Give it a good strike!"

Luso felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. Mimicking Cid's rush, he ran towards the bird with the sword, which felt oddly light in his hands. Feeling braver by the minute, he gripped the sword tightly and stared straight ahead. The only target in his sight was the Crushatrice.

This is unbelievable!

He halted in front of the Crushatrice. Strength flowing into his arms, he raised the sword with two hands and brought it down diagonally. A thin red gash formed on the bird's charred black chest.

"I-I did it! Cid, I did i––!"

His cheer was cut short by a sudden blow to his stomach. A large taloned foot had slammed into him as he was celebrating. Luso was launched backwards and landed on his back. The flesh on it's chest was too thick, Luso's attack only did as much damage as punching it with a fist.

"Luso!" Cid could see him get attacked, "Dammit, don't be too injured now!"

He reached up and took hold of the Crushatrice's back feathers. Carrying his sword within his mouth, he began to climb the large beast. The Crushatrice felt the disturbance on it's body and began to shake vigorously, trying to get the invader off.

"Nice try, but you wont be able to get me off that easily!"

Reaching the top of the Crushatrice, Cid spat out his sword onto his hand.

"HA!"

One plunge! He drove his blade straight into the flesh of the Crushatrice. Almost instantly, the bird began to squawk and thrash wildly from the pain. Retrieving his now red blade, Cid leapt off the bird and landed next to Luso. Behind him, he could hear the Crushatrice fall with a loud thump, signifying it's defeat. He felt the sense of danger inside him evaporate and sheathed his blade. He crouched down to ascertain the damage from the blow Luso took.

Not too bad, just a simple bruise. He's more tough than I would've imagined. Cid glanced at Luso's hand, which was almost white as snow from holding onto Lynd's sword. Amazing. He's still clutching that sword, even when he's unconscious.

"Bo–...Luso, still alive?" He prodded the boy with his finger. Suddenly, Luso instantly sat up, almost knocking Cid backwards.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Luso answered suddenly, "I'm not sleeping Mr. Blair! I'm still awake! A-gha!" He clutched his bruised belly. Cid shook his head in exasperation.

"You're a strange one, Luso." He said, with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Mind you telling me about this Mr. Blair once we're done?"

Feeling rather stupid, Luso picked himself up as fast as he could. He gritted his teeth as he felt the pain from his bruise, but he put on a brave face to mask it.

"It's nothing, I'm fine! See?"

Cid chuckled to himself. He's a tough one, indeed.

"Cid!" A new voice joined their midst, "Cid, are you alright?"

Looking back, Edyal was running towards them. She was out of breath and panting, she was using her staff as a crutch. Nu Mous weren't very well known for their physical strength.

Edyal didn't even take a single glance at Lynd and moved past him as if he was simply an uninteresting rock. She stopped in front of the two still–standing members of her team and began to pant heavily.

"Gha...you two...are too fast..." She gasped out, "There's no way...I can catch up...gha...gha..."

Cid put one of his hands behind his head and scratched sheepishly, "My apologies, Edyal."

"No...matter..." Edyal took one great breath of air and composed herself. She raised her head and took one cursory glance at the gigantic bird behind the two. "I see you've completed the task?"

"Naturally."

"I see." Her roaming eyes landed on the boy standing next to him, "I see you've made a friend. Who's this?"

"Oh, him?" Cid placed his large hand on the boy's rumpled brown hair. "This is..."

"Luso." Luso finished his sentence for him, "Luso Clemens. Nice to meet you."

"My, you're definitely from a different stock than that rude Lynd." Edyal commented, "My name is Edyal, and as you can probably determine from my dress, I am a Black Mage."

"Black...mage?" An expression of confusion appeared on Luso's face again, "What is that?"

"Come to speak of it, you were also calling Lynd a giant lizard before." Cid recounted, "I was thinking of asking you the reason behind that. It is...a very grave mistake to make anywhere, to call a Bangaa a lizard."

"You called Lynd a giant lizard?" Edyal clapped her hands together, "I must say! You must be either very brave, or very foolish."

Luso was quiet. His adrenaline from being caught up in the moment had evaporated, and his thoughts on where he was now came back in full force.

"Where am I?" He blurted out his thoughts suddenly.

"Where are you?" Repeated Cid, "You're in Ivalice, or to be precise, the continent of Jylland."

"Ivalice? Jylland?" Said Luso in a hollow voice. "I've never heard of any of these places before!"

Luso took his hand and ruffled his hair again. Cid shrugged and faced Edyal.

"It's probably a long story. You two head back to the village first."

"You will take care of the mark?" Cid nodded. Edyal motioned for Luso to follow her. "Come then, I'll lead you out of the forest."

"O–oh, thanks." Luso began to follow, but stopped. He had caught sight of the fallen Bangaa on the ground. "What about the liz...um...the Bangaa?"

"Oh, just leave him there to rot. Mayhaps he might rejuvenate some of the torn grass in the soil." She said coldly and walked off. Luso shivered involuntarily.

Maybe they had some sort of bad experience before? Luso thought, I sure am taking this pretty calmly...aren't I? I mean, I did just get kicked by a gigantic bird and now I'm talking to a large dog-like thing... I probably shouldn't say that in front of her face though...

Luso felt the hilt of the sword he was carrying in his hand. A few minutes earlier, we was holding a pen and writing in a notebook. Now, he's holding a sword and was just fighting a beast.

This is unbelievable. He thought for the third time, It's like I'm in some sort of great video game or a fantasy novel.

"Luso, are you going to follow me, or are you going to stay there and eat the grass?"

"N–no! Sorry! I'm coming right now!"

"So...allow me to get this straight."

Edyal took a long draught from her mug. Setting it down with a loud clunk, she focused her attention back on the boy that was sitting across him.

"You found a book in a library, and it asked for your name?"

Luso held up a portion of his meal. A dark chunk of meat, or what he presumes is meat. Hesitating for a second, he took a bite and began to chew. The taste must've agreed with him, because he began to cut up more on his plate. Edyal coughed impatiently.

"Oh! Um..." Luso put down his knife and fork. "Yeah, you're right. It asked me something like 'Do you know the name of whoever wrote this book' or something. I don't really remember what it said."

"And...without thinking. You just wrote your name?" Said Edyal, "That is quite a reckless act. For all we know, that book of yours could've been a contract with a demonic creature or something worse."

Feeling sheepish, Luso hid his embarrassment by taking his mug and drinking deep. It was a sweet tasting liquid, he had half a mind to ask the barman what it was.

"Now, now." Cid cut in on the conversation, "What is the point of dredging up what could've or could've not happened? He's safe, and that's all that should matter."

"Hrgh..." Edyal grudgingly fell silent.

Cid turned his head back to look at Luso, who was busy struggling with a particularly tough piece of meat. Although his attire was drastically different from the norm, he could've passed for a normal Hume boy.

Hm? Something had caught Cid's eye. There was something thick bulging out of the boy's clothing.

"Luso." Cid said, intent on finding out what it is.

"Mmmrrgghh?" Luso replied with a mouthful of meat. Cid scratched his head, feeling exasperated once again. Luso swallowed his food and washed it down with another gulp of the sweet water. "What is it Cid?"

"Your clothing, is there something inside it?" He said.

"My uniform?" Luso glanced down at his sweater top. It was a school issue uniform, since the school was located in a city that has a very cold climate. Although it was torn from the talons of the Crushatrice, the large pocket that is used to house one's hands if they ever became cold was still intact.

He reached inside, and felt around.

"Yeeeouch!" He yelled. Luckily, the tavern was noisy with many other patrons, so he did not attract attention to himself. Pulling out his hand, he found that his finger was bleeding. "What the heck?"

He reached in once inside, this time determined to find out what was inside. He felt something smooth, and he grabbed it.

"Hey, what's this?" He pulled out a small, metal hunting knife. It was dripping a little blood. "This isn't mine."

"Hm?" Cid reached over and took the blade from Luso's hands. "This is the hunting knife I threw." The scene of the entire glade exploding in bright light was still vivid in Cid's memory.

"Luso, didn't you say that you were transported here by a powerful wind and a bright light?"

"Well, to be honest. I don't really remember much of what happened." Luso rubbed his head, thinking. "It all happened so fast, everything was a blur."

Cid wiped the blood off his knife with a napkin and replaced it on his belt. He contemplated the sequence of events.

"Do you think this is connected?" Cid asked Edyal, "My knife suddenly creating that sunburst and Luso's book?"

"Anything's possible." Edyal replied, "Though, I do want to see this book of yours."

"Um..." Luso rummaged inside his pockets inside again. His fingers brushed against a hard surface. He took it out, it was his notebook.

"Is that the book?"

"Um..no, it's not." Luso flipped it open. There was his 'reflections' that he was writing for Mr. Blair before, and the torn edges from the page he ripped out.

A pretty waitress walked over to their table. Cid took out a small pouch and handed her a few coins. She bowed and returned to serve the other patrons. Cid rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he replaced his pouch.

"Luso, do you have any plans for the future?" He asked suddenly. Luso looked up in the middle of putting his notebook back.

"Plans?" Luso mirrored back, "What do you mean?"

"Our clan–That is, me, Edyal, and Lynd–are planning on leaving this village as soon as possible to find better paying jobs." Cid said with a serious expression on his face, "At most, we might be leaving tomorrow."

Luso was quiet. He didn't know what Cid meant, and resolved to sit and listen.

"It will be a dangerous road, and I won't guarantee safety." He continued, "We might even meet monsters that are more vicious than the Crushatrice we defeated earlier."

"Then...?"

"I am giving you a choice, will prefer to stay here in the safety Wood Village or will you be willing to join our clan and travel along with us?"

Cid was offering him a choice between living in a place of safety, or going along with them in a road of danger? Luso looked down at his hand, he could still feel the energy, the rush of battle. The feeling of swinging a sword.

"Rest assured, even if you wish to stay here, I will attempt to uncover any information on your mysterious book. Mayhaps even a way to return you back to wherever you have been transported from."

"You don't have to say anything anymore Cid." Luso said, his voice full of confidence. "I already know what I want to do."

"Oh?"

"It's obvious isn't it? I want to join your clan!"

Cid smiled. Although he wouldn't say it, he was hoping the boy would say yes. He stood up and walked over to Luso's seat. The Revgaji put his large hand on the boy's perpetually messy head.

"No sense of danger, no sense of fear. You're a brave one, Luso!" He announced, "Alright then! Welcome to our clan!"

Cid threw his head back and laughed jovially. Luso, feeling that he was finally accepted, started to laugh along with him.

At the same time, Lynd finally awoke....

...In the middle of the woods.

"Ugh...where am I?" He pulled himself up from his uncomfortable position on the ground. "It's nighttime?"

Lynd scanned his surroundings. It was the scene of battle where he was fighting in earlier. His sword's gone, as well as his clanmates.

What happened? He thought to himself, I must've been unconscious for a long time.

He looked over at the large mound in the distance. The Crushatrice had appeared to have fought a very exhausting battle, as it was sleeping soundly. It's talons had been removed, presumably by Cid.

He must've finished the job while I was sleeping. A feeling of irritation washed over Lynd, So why was I left here in the middle of the woods? He envisioned Edyal's sneering face as he thought about it. His face began to darken as his hands began to ball into fists. He raised his head to the night sky and yelled:

"EDYAAAAAAAAAAAL!"

A/N: Following along with the game's plot. Following along~ I do promise that there will be several divergences though, a few large, a few small. Oh right, some clarifications. Cid's clan isn't called Gully, that's just Lynd.