A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.
Main Characters: Chris, Borus, Percival, Leo, Salome, Roland, Louis, Hugo and Lilly
Pairings Warning: None
Chapters Read: Up to Chapter 4
Explanation: The result of working late one night on a chapter of 'Star Pyre' focusing on the Saint Loa Knights while imbibing excessive amounts of soda.
~ * Show Me Your Pride as a Zexen Knight! * ~
"I still say this is the stupidest thing you humans have come up with yet."
"I will admit I can understand what you mean, Roland," Salome gave a long-suffering sigh before continuing, "But we must humor the boys now and then…"
"Hey, Roland's the same age as Percival and only a year older than Borus, plus I'm over a decade older than the lot of them, so how come he talks about us like we're a bunch of kids?" griped Leo.
"Physically, our bodies may be the same age," Roland shrugged indifferently. "But mentally…"
"Oh, loosen up," chided Percival. The spiky-haired knight stretched his arms out behind his head, looking over at the stern-faced elf. "You can't be serious all the time."
"Watch me."
"At least try to have fun with this," Percival sighed.
"When's Lady Chris coming back?" Borus whined, chin in his palm and looking bored. "She said she'd only take a few minutes to find them…"
"Patience, my dear Borus. I believe that is her and our guests now."
The quintet of Zexen Knights all turned around and watched their captain jog over to where they were standing. Louis, the Silver Maiden's trusty squire, was close behind her, leading two others over to where the esteemed warriors were waiting.
"Sorry we took so long," apologized Chris. "It took longer than I expected to find either of them, even with Louis's help."
"So what's this all about, anyway?" Hugo asked, looking around at the gathered ironheads questioningly.
It seemed rather unusual to the young Karayan warrior for all six Zexen Knights and their squire to be gathered somewhere other than their quarters on the ship/lakeside chambers of Budehuc Castle. Yet not only had they all gathered in this field on the outskirts of the castle grounds, but they'd called him over to join them. Hugo wondered if they wished to train with him – but, if that was the cause, why not say so directly? And why…
"Yes, do tell." Lilly rested her fists against her hips in her familiar 'I'm-upset-because-nobody-TELLS-me-these-things' posture.
"Well, a few days ago, Borus and Percival proposed something to the rest of the knights that they thought we should try," Chris explained, looking over at the two as she named them. "I'm not so sure about this, honestly, but they were insistent…"
"It's a good idea," Percival insisted with a charming smile. "Besides, it never hurts to try something new, right?"
"…So we've been practicing what they suggested, and I thought we should get some outside opinions before we started trying it out on a more regular basis." Chris looked seriously at their two guests. "Hugo, you're the new Flame Champion, and Lilly, you're a good friend, so I'll trust both of you to be brutally honest with us, okay?"
"Sure, fine," shrugged Hugo.
"This had better be good," Lilly warned. "I didn't even get the chance to tell Reed and Samus I was leaving Budehuc for a bit…"
"Trust me, this is pretty good," assured Louis, smiling. "I've been watching them practice, and Lady Chris has improved especially…"
"Kissass," Borus muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something, Borus?" wondered Chris, looking over at the Swordsman of Rage.
"Nothing!" came the quick reply.
"Just get on with it," ordered Lilly impatiently.
"All right then…"
Chris walked over to where the rest of the knights were standing, then turned to face Hugo, Lilly and Louis. The half-dozen soldiers stood at attention, shoulders squared, backs straight, eyes closed. Hugo and Lilly watched expectantly, and, in the latter's case at least, impatiently.
"Knights of Zexen!" Chris barked abruptly, making her two-person audience jump with surprise. "Assemble!"
"Hah!" Borus drew his sword, a fiery aura bursting to life around the blade as he executed a flurry of midair slashes. "The Swordsman of Rage, Boruuuuuuuuus--" his final slash seemed to distort the very air before him as he spun to a halt, blade poised to strike "—Redrum!"
"The Swordsman of Gale," Percival executed a perfect pirouette, an even more amazing feat considering he was clad in armor, and ended up with his back facing the onlookers, glancing over his shoulder, sword planted firmly in the ground, flashing a smile so bright his teeth actually gleamed, "Percival Fraulein!"
"HUWAAAAA!" The heavy axeman of the knights hoisted his weapon high over his head, letting out a battle cry that might even put Hallac to shame. "The Axeman of Stone--" the blade crashed down, nearly splitting the earth while he roared, "Leo Gallen!"
"The Archer of Hail," Roland intoned in a bored voice, sweeping his arms about in graceful, ballerina-esque motions while effortlessly easing an arrow out of his quiver and into his drawn bow, "Roland…" he almost sighed while leveling his bow's sights in front of him, "Lesaurus…"
"The Tactician of Shield," and Salome looked more embarrassed than anything, judging from the healthy pink blush the bridge of his nose sported as he drew his mace and pointed it toward the heavens, "Salome Harras…"
"The Silver Maiden, and Captain of the Zexen Knights…" Chris blushed even pinker than Salome as she spun awkwardly in place, thrusting first her back, then bust out before twirling to a halt, sword pointed outward, "Chris Lightfellow!"
"And her squire," Louis scurried over to stand back to back with his captain, arms stretched out in front of him, "Louis Keeferson!"
"Together we are…"
The seven stood closer together and adopted new poses, Louis standing behind Chris and mirroring her position despite the fact he didn't have a sword to point toward the sky, Borus and Percival standing on either side of their captain, Salome and Roland on the edge, and Leo behind them balancing on one leg.
"The Six Mighty Knights of Zexen!" they finished together.
"So, what do you think?" Chris asked in her normal voice, still in her finishing pose along with the rest of the knights.
For the longest time, Hugo and Lilly just stood stock still, staring at the six knights plus their squire. Somewhere in the distance, Fubar let out a faint screech. The Zexens maintained their poses, waiting patiently for their audience to offer their opinion.
It finally came.
"…Snerk… ggggffth… BWAAAA, HA HA HA HA HA HA…!"
Hugo and Lilly burst out into uncontrollable laughter, practically collapsing into each other for support as the dam finally broke. This didn't work too well, of course, so both Karayan and Tinto were soon sprawled on the grass, hugging each other and laughing their heads off.
Still in their respective poses, the Six Mighty Knights of Zexen and their loyal squire sweated.
"I'll… assume that means it isn't as impressive as we would have hoped…" Salome murmured, staring at the hopelessly laughing pair.
"That's funny," Borus blinked.
"They seem to think so, yes," Louis supplied helpfully
"Hmm… It seemed like a good idea at the time we thought it up," Percival mused.
"Why do I get the feeling massive quantities of alcoholic beverages were involved?" Roland muttered.
"Fellas? My leg's starting to cramp…" warned Leo.
"Um… Would it be better if we ended the speech with, 'In the name of the Flame Champion, we'll punish you?" Chris asked. When the laughter of her friends only increased in volume, she sweated and murmured, "Guess not…"
