A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.
Main Characters: Sergeant Jordi, Fubar, Mua, Hallec, Landis, Fred, Rico, Nash, Ace, Queen, Joker, Jacques, and Aila
Pairings Warning: None
Chapters Read: All three chapters completed for Hugo, Chris and Geddoe, and Chapter 4 begun
Explanation: Come on, don't tell me nobody else wondered about this niggling little detail about the Flame Champion Hideout. (For those curious, Landis filled the open slot in Hugo's party because, well, it's fun writing him.)
~ * The Waiting Game * ~
(Note to self: messing with mysterious sigils carved into the floor of caves thought to be the secret base of legendary heroes is a bad idea. Bad idea…)
So thought Sergeant Jordi as he studied his new environs with more than a little frustration and trepidation. The Duck Clan warrior was beginning to seriously reevaluate his opinion on the existence of such things as spirits.
It wasn't like he'd been the first to fool with the strange symbol. Hugo (that reckless fool) had stood on the damned thing first and gotten swallowed up by that light. Jordi and the rest of his teammates had only been trying to figure out where the boy had gone when the light flared up again – only this time much brighter.
Teammates. The distinction was crucial. There was only one of his companions Jordi knew well enough to consider a friend; the other three were just…
"Where the blazes are we now?"
"Yuh huh huh… Welcome to hell…"
"UWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"KUUUUUUEEEEEEEEE!!"
…Well. They were freaks. Strong freaks, true, and freaks who tagged along for their own reasons and were nice enough to have around in battle, but…
Looking around at their surroundings -- or lack thereof -- Jordi had to wonder if the Winghorder Landis was, in fact, correct. The five appeared to have transported into some sort of black, featureless void. There wasn't even a floor beneath their feet: instead they floated suspended in midair, though he couldn't feel anything supporting them.
Hopefully gravity wasn't going to kick in shortly and drag them to the bottom of… wherever this was. If this place even had a bottom to speak of…
"Let me guess… You stepped onto the sigil too?"
The sergeant whirled around, or tried to, but spun so violently he nearly lost his balance and fell sideways. Now floating decidedly crookedly -- at least he wasn't faring as badly as Mua, who was completely upside down -- the mallard spotted a somewhat familiar-looking blond man floating a short distance away. He waved, a slight smirk on his face, and Jordi grimaced.
"You're… that man Lady Chris was with at Chisha," he stated.
"That would be me. And for the record, my name's Nash." One corner of the blonde's mouth twitched, giving an ironic little crook to his smile as he added, "I take it the boy you were with just vanished into thin air, and when you tried to find him…"
"How do you know that?" Jordi gripped his weapon tightly, both to keep the halberd from floating away into the void and just in case.
"Well, the same thing happened with Lady Chris," explained Nash, "and I can't see the boy anywhere, so I assumed…"
"…For the record, his name is Hugo," Jordi intentionally echoed the man's earlier comment. "I am Sergeant Jordi, and the griffon is Fubar."
"Kueee," interjected Fubar, paddling around behind the mallard.
"My name would be Mua, Sir Nash," the gaudily clad knight spoke up next, gesturing to his respective companions as he continued, "This is Hallec, and the Winghorder goes by the name of Landis."
"The Grim Reaper is pleased with so many guests," snickered Landis. He seemed to be adjusting the best to their predicament, considering he was currently doing the backstroke somewhere overhead.
"Well, if we're exchanging names, then allow me to introduce you to my other companions." Nash half-turned, being very cautious not to move quickly and flip himself over, and pointed over to where another pair of travelers were floating. "The fellow in the dashing black armor is Fred, and the girl beside him is Rico."
"That's a girl?" blurted Mua. The soldier then flushed with embarrassment and amended, "Oh, sorry, it's just that…"
"It's difficult to tell at first glance, especially at this distance," Nash soothed. Raising his voice, he called, "Hey, you two, why not come over and say hello to our latest arrivals?"
One of the duo, the smaller one with a backpack nearly twice her size strapped to her back, turned and waved back, smiling.
"Oh, hello!" she called. Turning back around, Rico addressed her companion: "Master Fred, don't you want to say hello to our new guests?"
"Not! Now! Rico!" Fred responded, swinging his sword in huge, sweeping arcs at the black expanse before them. "I must destroy this evil trap we've been snared in first! It is my duty as the leader of the Maximillian Knights!"
Rico sighed, shaking her head and saying softly, "But there's nothing here to destroy, evil or otherwise…"
Abruptly an upside-down face was thrust into hers, laughing insanely, and claws closed over her shoulders.
"EVIL HAS YOU!"
"Kyaaaaaa--!" Rico shrilled, backpedaling quickly and yanking her shoulders free from the Winghorder's taloned feet.
"Unhand her, you fiend!" roared a furious Fred, lunging for Landis.
At least, he tried to lunge. Actually, though, what he ended up doing was better described as taking one step forward, promptly flipping over and spinning in place, kicking his legs and swinging his sword blindly in the direction he guessed Landis might be. Said Winger chortled in delight, dog-paddling over to get a better look at the hapless knight's peril.
"Yuh huh huh… Dead-head Fred… Yuh huh--"
Rico's hammer bounced off the back of his head and floated upward. It didn't seem to faze Landis at all, and he resumed laughing where he'd been cut off. Rico sweated as she watched her weapon spiral farther and farther away.
"Oh, dear…" she moaned.
"You should be more careful with this, you know."
Rico double-blinked at the female voice, then looked up to see a smiling woman in a turquoise jacket swimming down toward her, holding her hammer in one hand. Accepting the mallet back with a shy smile, Rico then awkwardly shook the newcomer's hand.
"Thanks… My name is Rico, and that would be Master Fred… Who might you be?"
"Call me Queen, Rico," and Queen smiled. "Good to see I'm not the only halfway sane person stuck here…"
"Hey! I resent that remark!"
The shout was loud enough to draw everyone's eyes upwards to where a ruffian in patchwork leathers floated, glaring down at Queen. Queen rolled her eyes, as did the older man in purple vestments beside him.
"Notice that she only called herself half-sane, Ace," he pointed out, "because hanging out with you for any amount of time would drive anybody out of their mind."
"Oh, you're one to talk, Joker!"
Ace growled and took a swing at his comrade, a move that fared about as well as Fred's charge attempt did. Joker snorted and propelled himself safely out of arm's reach as Ace spun helplessly, smirking at his partner's curses. Sergeant Jordi ignored their antics, however, as he spotted something he found infinitely more interesting.
"Aila! You're here too?" he exclaimed.
"Sergeant Joe!" the archer sounded equally surprised and delighted, twisting around so that she had a better view of the Duck Clan member and the rest of his group. "And Fubar, too? Oh, great! After Karaya burned, I thought…" Shaking her head suddenly, she looked around, asking, "Where are Hugo? And Lulu? Are they safe too?"
"…We have much to talk about," Jordi observed, a shadow falling briefly over his face at the mention of the latter name. (Of course… she'd have no way of knowing…)
"Perhaps we should hold off on the exchange of pleasantries until we figure a way out of this place," Mua observed, trying valiantly to right himself.
"It could be worse," Nash commented cheerfully. "One of these lovely young ladies could have been wearing a skirt."
"That would be a bad thing?" snickered Ace, trying to picture Queen wearing anything other than her jacket ensemble.
"Pervert," snorted Queen.
"………" Jacques, the last member of his group, chose not to comment and instead floated serenely in place, normal neutral expression on his face.
"Never fear! I, Fred Maximillian, will find the way out of this wretched den of evil!"
"Won't that be difficult to do while turned around like that?" queried Mua. "I know I'm having a troublesome time with it…"
"There is only one way out of hell," snickered Landis, holding up his scythe meaningfully.
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"Quiet, Hallec! I'm trying to think!" Jordi snapped.
Before the sergeant could come up with a sensible solution for their dilemma, however, the warm light appeared again and rapidly engulfed everyone in the void. He squeezed his eyes shut against the burning brightness, the world spinning around him before his webbed feet brushed against cool stone.
"Okay, where the hell am I now?" he muttered, opening his eyes.
To his amazement, the mallard found himself standing behind a kneeling Hugo, flanked by Fubar, Mua, Hallec and Landis. As he blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what was going on, his vision cleared enough for him to behold the masked man from the labyrinth standing with his minions before them. The bishop glanced back at his own entourage and nodded, then all four seemed to melt into the floor, leaving an even more confused sergeant staring at the space where they had been.
"Hey, what's going on? Where the hell are we?" he repeated, certain of only one thing: he was glad to be out of that void. Not that their current situation seemed any better or much clearer…
