by Jeremy Gordon (gordon8_26@yahoo.com)
Note: Right-o. Viktor was introduced in chapter 8, and Flik will come in this chapter. My characterizations may be a little off on account of how I haven't played S1 or S2, but I'll do the best I can. The romantic pairings will be announced by next chapter, or at least some of them. This is shaping to be a 30 chapter story, but I might do a sequel to tie up any loose ends. Usual disclaimers apply. Read and review!
As Viktor chatted with Tir and Riou while drinking a beer, Hugo couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive of the swordsman's reputation. He had gotten the impression from Riou that Viktor was a might warrior, and as he looked at the scruffy man with shaggy hair and dirty clothes, he was starting to doubt Riou's description. Tir seemed to notice Hugo giving Viktor weird glances, and shuffled over a seat to talk to him.
"So, wary of Viktor?" Tir smirked, snapping Hugo out of his glance. "It's natural. I thought he was a poofter at first, but he's an amazing fighter. He just looks like that all the time."
"What!?" Viktor shouted, after overhearing the younger man talking about him. "I'm never like this all the time! Stop talking trash about me McDohl!" Tir chuckled, waving the older man off with an airy hand.
"Right-o then." Turning back to Hugo, Tir began to talk again. "We should get going soon. Where the hell are Chris and Pesmerga? Not to mention...Viktor! Where's Flik?" Tir shouted, drawing the older man's attention.
"Flik? He's in Vinay del Zexay, if I remember correctly...he had some business to take care of there. If we're going to meet him, we should probably head out soon." Viktor answered, as he rested his mug on the counter. "By the way, why do you need me and ol' Flik? Sure, it's nice to see old friends, but why now of all times?"
"Neclord's back." Riou revealed, drawing an unenthusiastic sigh from Viktor. "We need to kill him. We've got your old sword back, and we need you to go kill him. Up for it?"
"Argh...that stupid bastard never dies. Well, I s'pose. Don't have anything else to do." Viktor said, shaking his weary head to clear the cobwebs from his eyes.
"Right then. We should find Chris, and then leave. Pesmerga can catch us on the way." Tir said, as he stood up from his seat. "C'mon old man. Got any skill left?" Drawing the ire of Viktor, Tir quickly walked away before Viktor would exercise said "skill" on Tir's head. Chuckling, Hugo stood up and followed Tir, as Riou and Viktor went in suit.
"So...you're doing well?"
"Yeah...I am."
"How's the family?"
"They're doing okay."
"How's Leon?"
"He's good. He hasn't seen you in a while."
"Heh. No one's seen me in a while."
"Point taken."
"I never found out...how did Leon take the death?"
"Badly. He didn't show it, but it hurt him, seeing family being killed off."
"It's really too bad about that thing with Luca."
"I know."
"...it's really been too long."
"I agree."
"Tell Leon I'm sorry about Odessa, okay?"
"I'll do that...it's good to see you, Flik."
"You too, William."
"Will you be staying in Vinay del Zexay?"
"For a while. Viktor is meeting me."
"I'll finally meet the famous swordsman...excellent."
"You might be disappointed."
"We've been on this road for three days now. Are we close?" Chris pouted, her lip curving downward in what appeared to be a girlish frown.
"We're close. Stop whining." Riou said frustratingly, rolling his eyes. "Aren't you a Zexen Knight? What's with the tiredness?"
"We ride on horses. We don't want miles and miles on foot." Chris replied exasperatingly, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead. "It's damn hot out. Where are we anyways?" Tir and Riou both looked to Hugo, who sighed and answered.
"Judging by the rock formations...we're at the edge of the Plain Amur. Are we passing through Brass Castle? It'll save two days of travel." Hugo asked, as everyone turned to Chris.
"Why not? It's probably deserted...we took all of the knights before the battle with Luc, and now that all of the Six Knights are MIA save me, there probably aren't too many people at Brass Castle...they probably all migrated to Vinay del Zexay." Chris said, getting a little sadder. "Sad...the mighty knights of Zexen abolished."
"You'll manage." Pesmerga grumbled, towering over Chris. "People die, and people live. It's an endless cycle. You're foolish to think you can change it." Chris only stared at Pesmerga, blinking.
"Right. Tell me when we get to Vinay del Zexay, okay?"
As the group of six stepped into the streets of Vinay del Zexay, Hugo looked around. It was more bustling than ever, with thousands of people on the streets, commuting. Hugo shivered as he stared at the tall buildings, a bit of animosity creeping into his thoughts. "Let's get moving, okay?"
"We can stay at my house, okay?" Chris said, as the others gratefully nodded.
"Right then." Viktor said, brushing the others away with a hand. "I'll meet you there. I have to go see Flik, okay?" Staring at Viktor with a puzzled look, Riou shrugged and walked away with the other four, as Chris began pointing things out. As Viktor made his way to the inn, he could only think if Flik had found the man he had wanted to find. Viktor was still unsure of who the man was, but he knew that he was important to Flik.
Viktor stepped into the inn, and made his way up the stairs, disregarding the complaining innkeeper. Walking to the end of the hallway, Viktor opened the door and saw his best friend sitting next to a brown-haired man. Viktor narrowed his eyes, staring at the man. He seems familiar...but who is he? Flik seemed to notice the tension, as he greeted Viktor.
"Vik! How're you doing?" Flik asked, hoping to explain the presence of the man next to him.
"I'm good. Tir, Riou, and Pesmerga are with me, with two others. Who's he?" Viktor said, not noticing the shocked look on Flik's face.
"Tir? Riou? Uh...well, this is William." Flik said, introducing Viktor to William, who seemed to watch Viktor with a knowing air.
"Okay. Why did you need to talk to him?" Viktor said gruffly, not liking the way William was staring at him.
"You see...William is the third Silverberg brother. To Odessa and Mathiu, that is." Viktor's eyes re-widened, as he gaped at William, who was standing there sheepishly, while holding his hands.
"Well, shit."
Okay then. There is a third Silverberg sibling to Odessa and Mathiu, as confirmed by Suikosource. As you might have guessed, William will be the Silverberg in this story. Why William? Well, the Silverbergs have always had the normal names...Leon, Caesar, and Albert. I thought William sounded British and poncy, and the Silverbergs would be British if they could be. : )
FEEL-THE-MYSTIC: Well, thanks. :^)
Galthos: Duly noted. =P
Omega Weapon: Yep. Plot twist galore.
Crimson Rouge: It's not Nash or Borus. Nash is with Sierra as mentioned in Chapter 5, and Borus is creepy. Don't worry, you'll find out in due time.
Holy Swordsman: Indeed he does, indeed he does.
DEL: Where do I start...First off, I always thought there was glaring evidence that Eike could be someone else. He's obviously a zombie/monster of some sort (never explained how he got to the lower levels without elevator, always has creepy glare), so that's sign one. Sign two, Ace mentions that he gets no aura from Eike, IIRC. That could either be interpreted as no aura meaning plain evil, or no aura meaning it's sort of forced upon him, his body. Do you watch Buffy? In an episode, a character notes that if one's persona is forced upon the, their aura is splintered, fractured. I interpreted that for the Eike thing, sort of. Third off, death. No one is as dead as they seem. I've planned to re-introduce several "dead" characters, with an ulterior plot motive that will make sense (not just "OMG! EDGE IS ALIVE! WOW, THAT'S SO AWESOME! HOW'D YOU DO IT!?" "WELL, I DRINK MILK AND HAVE VERY STRONG BONES...NO VAMPIRE COULD KILL ME!") On another note, everyone besides Thomas is creeped out by Eike. I just thought that Eike was a severely underused character with TREMENDOUS potential, and wasn't used at all in Suikoden III. We'll see what happens to him in Suikoden IV, maybe he'll be better utilized. Once again, I'm sorry if you dislike the Eikelord plot twist, but that's the way things go. Plus, if Eike DOES turn out to be Neclord in Suiko IV or V, I will laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh at you for the rest of eternity...in a good-natured way, of course. =P
And a very special thanks to Crimson Rouge for putting this story on her favorite list. You rock, Crimson Rouge. Monkey see monkey do...get my drift, other readers? =P Come back next time. All feedback is appreciated.