"Thanks." Mac muttered. His head throbbed, but the ice pack Akira got for him helped, at least a bit. "Back still hurts but at least my head's getting better."
Akira nodded, sitting down on an old couch. It had been a rough night, but after some poor sleep, the group were able to scrounge together a makeshift living room. A few couches, a table in the middle, a few other things here and there. It wasn't much, but it would do for now.
The four sat around, no one really wanting to talk. It was a lot to take in, and now that the chaos of yesterday was behind them, the others were starting to feel the effects. Lucina stared at the table, barely moving. She had dark bags under her eyes. Little Mac was just kinda sitting around. Joker had explained most of what he knew, and that left the boxer in a state of confusion and astoundment. Sonic was tapping the armrest of his office chair, his legs unmoving. It seemed they just weren't working anymore.
"Alright, so now what?" Sonic groaned, his tapping speeding up. Lucina looked at him, her face full of grief and guilt. Mac shrugged, he was in over his head in this whole thing. "We can't just sit around, we gotta do something about all this."
"I agree, but you gotta let the others take it all in first. This is pretty intense for them." Akira chimed in, sipping a water bottle. "We don't know what's out there or what knows about us."
"Well, it would be best to plan things out while we are sitting here, I guess." Lucina suggested in a mutter. She looked distant, her hair was messy, her tone was faint and broken. The adrenaline of yesterday had all but worn off. She felt sluggish and tired and overwhelmed and tired and it was just all so much-. She blinked, shaking off the fatigue. Now wasn't the time. "We could, umm, map out the surrounding area." She suggested. The other gave her a concerned look, easily telling how hard it was for her to hold it together.
"Good idea, Lucy!" Sonic chirped, going to stand up, before remembering he couldn't walk. Crap. "Let's see.. Yo, Mac! Could you grab that paper and pen over there?" He asked, pointing to a nearby table where some of the upstairs office equipment had been moved to. Mac nodded, walking over and bringing some paper to the table. "Okay so let's say we're here." Sonic drew a box in the middle of the paper. "We ran through about these many streets on the way here…" He doodled a few more boxes and lines.
"I came through around here." Joker said, adding a semi-circle to the south of the paper. "From the hill it looked to be around this big." He drew a few light lines surrounding the paper. "Didn't see much but I guess I missed main street."
"I ran through the market a few times." Lucina chimed in, grabbing a pen. "It was around here, and there was a large hospital to the north I think." She added to the sketch, placing down a few boxes and filling in two rectangles that represented the market. "The church was here."
After a bit of back and forth, the map was filled to the best of their knowledge. Little Mac watched them work in wonder.
"So we're on the western side of town. With markers for three different entrances, a dojo slightly south, and the marketplace here." Joker put down some pen caps and erasers to symbolize key landmarks. "We don't got much of the town mapped, but it's a start."
"We should work on filling out the town map." Lucina said. "Maybe we can go scout nearby buildings later today. We'll need food if we're gonna stay here."
"Right. Lucina and I will set out in two hours." Akira proclaimed.
"What?! Whatta' bout me?" Sonic protested. He wasn't gonna miss out on the action!
"Sorry, Sonic, but with your legs the way they are, we can't bring you." Joker stated. He turned to Mac, who was quietly listening, tapping his feet together. "Mac, are you alright looking after Sonic while we're away?" Mac nodded, still not too caught up with what's going on. "Alright, good. Lucina, take this time to get ready. I'll look around for some supplies."
"Hey, don't just leave me hanging here!" Sonic barked, trying to move his legs but failing. "I can still help! With my fast perception, I can jot down everything we pass in an instant." He was almost begging at this point. Lucina frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry Sonic, but Akira is right. I don't want you getting hurt out there when you aren't at your peak." She said, trying to calm the Hedgehog. "We'll be quick, just the few buildings around us today. Don't worry, it'll be okay." She tried a warm smile, but it felt kinda forced. Still, Sonic sighed, resting back in his chair. Lucina's smile turned sad and small and insecure and still so forced.
"Alright, I'll stay here for you, Lucy." Sonic muttered in defeat. He wanted to argue so badly, to prove that he would be useful, that it wouldn't be a repeat of last time and he could save his friends and save the day like he always did. But his drive to argue faded faster than the feelings in his legs after seeing Lucina so beat up.
"Thank you, Sonic." This time the smile was warm. Still cracked, but relief was washing away some of the sorrow. "I'll go get ready, Akira." The boy nodded.
A half hour passed and it was just Mac and Joker in the main room, moving boxes and small bits of furniture. Sonic went to go lay down, Lucina having to kart him over to a spare room. After that, the bluenette went to practice with Freya.
"So I take it you're some hero like everyone else?" Little Mac piped up. Joker blinked at him. "You know, like those guys that fight evil, save the day and stuff. Seems so many others from the tournament are."
"I guess you could say that, but it's a little more complicated." Akira said, setting down a chair. "I'm a bit more 'outside' the law, if you get me."
"You mean a vigilante? Like Batman?" Mac chuckled.
"You have Batman in your world too? Nice. And yeah I'd say it's kinda like that. I had to work outside the law to take down criminals that wanted nothing but selfish gain." Akira explained. Mac nodded, a smile on his face.
"That's pretty cool, dude. So many of the other people here were your larger than life heroes, running around their worlds to stop the bad guys. Still over my head though." He said, helping Akira pick up a couch. "We have some weirdos in my world, but everything's pretty tame in comparison."
"I take it you're not a 'hero'?" Joker asked. "Uhm no offense."
"Nah don't worry about it dude." Mac reassured, huffing as they turned to get the couch in a good spot. "I'm just some kid from the Bronx, and I'm happy to keep it that way. Don't think I'm cut out for the hero business."
"I respect that. I was just some kid from Inaba before the whole hero thing." Joker said.
"Inaba? That's… Japan, right?" Mac guessed.
"Bingo." Joker went to snap but almost dropped the couch in the process. "Oops. But yeah, nowadays I'm back to being just some guy. Well until this all happened."
"It's crazy man. I thought there being a bunch of other worlds was mind blowing enough, but now this makes that all look tame." Little Mac helped Joker lower the couch, huffing as he stepped away. "Still though, you guys got this. With all the bizarre stuff I know the others have dealt with, this shouldn't be the worst."
"Yeah, here's hoping." Joker smiled, stepping back and framing the layout with his fingers. "Yep, looks good. Ignoring the vast amount of nothing around us, I'd say this feels just like home." The two boys shared a laugh, and Joker found himself feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. It was good to know that even in such a dire circumstance, some people still had hope. It even made his head feel a little foggy. Wait…
"I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow,
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity
With the birth of the Chariot Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…"
Yeah that checked out. Joker tucked that message away with pride. You can really make friends anywhere.
The trek around the gym had been uneventful. Outside of dealing with some Shadows, nothing was really happening. The group and their Personas all leveled up a bit, with Joker grabbing an "Angel" Persona after a bit of fusing with random ones he got.
When they got back, they found Sonic and Little Mac in the middle of an intense game… of Monopoly.
"Crap, that's the last railroad. I didn't get any." Sonic hummed, rolling the dice. "Come on baby, don't fail me now! Hedgehog needs a new chair!" Joker and Lucina watched from afar, unnoticed by the two. "Oh yeah, Boardwalk. Buying it."
"Nice." Little Mac said, rolling his dice. "And Chance time… uh where did we put those cards?"
"Uh oh, I thought you knew." Sonic gasped in over exaggeration.
"His sprites seem to have lifted." Joker commented, crossing his arms, a small smile on his lips.
"I would appear so." Lucina smiled. "But what are they playing?"
"You mean monopoly? You've never played?" Akira questioned, looking at the duo frantically searching for the cards.
"I can't say I've even heard of it. Sonic tried showing me, Pit, and Shulk a few board games but this wasn't one of them." Lucina said.
"Well we better change that." Akira said, walking closer to the other boys. "Hey guys, we're back." The two looked at him, Mac holding a stack of cards in his hand.
"Welcome back, guy and gal." Sonic waved. "I hope you're both alright."
"Barely a scratch, thankfully." Lucina said, taking a seat next to Sonic. "I was told this is 'Monopoly' correct?" Sonic nodded.
"Yeah, wanna play? Mac basically has me beat this round, so I can throw in the towel to get you guys in the next game." He offered. Joker took a seat on an empty couch, grabbing the cards and shuffling the decks.
"I'm in. I call the dog piece." Joker said, grabbing the metal dog. "Yoink."
"He yoinked the best piece! You're on, Bed-head. Let's roll." Sonic laughed, going for the thumbtack before pausing. "Which piece do you want, Lucy?"
"Oh, umm." She hummed, looking at the pieces. "I'll take the Wheelbarrow. A symbol of hard work. It shall carry me to victory."
"Heh, you really are a card, Lucy." Sonic chuckled, causing Lucina to blush in embarrassment. "I'll take the thumbtack."
"And I'll take the iron." Little Mac, taking his piece and placing it in the starting square. Joker dealt out the money, while Sonic and Mac set the card piles. "So Lucina, how this works is…"
After almost forty minutes, the boys sat gobsmacked.
"We-we got smoked." Sonic muttered. Joker and Little Mac slowly nodded in agreement, looking at their moneyless hands.
"I've never seen someone get that many spaces that easily." Little Mac said in disbelief.
"Even Akechi never plotted his way that hard." Akira sat back.
"That was very enjoyable, everyone." Lucina said, holding almost three thousand monopoly dollars in her hands. "Should we play again?"
"No!" Came the cries of three broke, both monetary and spiritually, teens.
That's how most of the next few days went by, Joker and Lucina would go out searching the surroundings, with Sonic and Little Mac preparing games and food for the group to unwind. They shared stories from back home, telling about some friends of theirs. The group had a laugh when Sonic told them about Amy's romantic advances, his gagging made it all the better. Joker shared stories of running around with Ryuji getting up to trouble to get some money for new weapons. Mac shared his times talking to Glass Joe after the championship match. Sounded like a swell dude. Lucina shared some stories of her mother and father, how, in Sonic's words, Dad mode Chrom went after finding out she was his daughter.
Despite Sonic's initial protests, things seemed to have mellowed out. Spirits were high. Today, Joker said he had something special for game night. The hype for it from the Hedgehog died the second he saw dice and paper.
"Dungeons and Dragons? That's a nerd game!" He groaned from his wheelchair. They were able to find one in the back of the gym. "Tails tried to get me into this before. It's so boring~!"
"Nonsense, Akira surely knows how to make this engaging." Lucina said.
"I take it Tails was more of a rules lawyer than most of the other DMs I've had." Mac said, already preparing his character sheet. "It'll be fine."
After some convincing, though more like just Lucina asking him nicely, Sonic joined the party. Thirty minutes later, everyone had a sheet ready.
"Alright, let us begin." Joker started, looking to the others from over his book. "You find yourselves in a tavern…"
Our three heroes made their way into the sewer. Lloyd, the steel hearted human knight. Sam, the swift Tabaxi Bard / Monk. Marthus, the wise Halfling Wizard. They trekked through the murky waters, on the watch for trouble.
"The thieves hast be here somewhere." Lloyd muttered, holding a torch to light the way. "Sam, what does thou nose inform you of?"
"It informs me that this place stinks." Sam scoffed, before taking an elbow from the wizard. "Oh I meanest, the foul order blocks my nose from the even fouler men!"
"Then let us treketh onward, friends. For we share retrieve the gold those bandits stole!" Lloyd boasted. Sam looked to Marthus, who just told him to go with it.
"As you leave town, the cheers of adoration booming behind you all, you make pace for the city of Konson. The murmurs of the Lich's return cannot be left hoping it's but a rumor." Joker exclaimed, closing the book. "And that's where we'll leave it for today."
"What, it's over already?" Sonic cried. "I was super into it though!"
"It was almost four hours, dude." Little Mac grinned, putting his sheet on the table. "I thought you said this was a nerd game?"
"Well, I guess I'm a huge nerd now." Sonic said, pushing up his imaginary glasses.
"We can continue this another time I imagine." Lucina said. Joker nodded. "Great, I had so much fun!"
"We'll play it some time soon, gotta think more stuff up. For now though, I say we go to bed." Joker said, getting up and stretching. "I wanna go a bit farther into the city tomorrow. Maybe see if we can get to that hospital. We're running low on healing items."
"Fine~" Sonic joke-groaned. He turned his wheelchair, ready to go to bed. "For real though, that was rad, Akira."
"I agree, that was very 'rad'." Lucina joined, getting a chuckle from the Hedgehog.
"Thanks guys. I did my best." Akira thanked them sincerely. Morgana told him he could tell a good story. Looks like the cat wasn't lying.
"Well keep it up. I'm looking forward to more." Mac said, patting him on the back.
"Will do." Joker nodded. His head started to feel cloudy for a moment.
"I am thou,
Thou art we…
The bond thou hast gained a true connection.
With the strengthening of the Fool Arcana…
Thou shalt stand against even the mightiest of foes…"
That was a different one. More… personal would be the word. Strange. Oh well, it seemed like a sign of good things to come…
"They aren't back yet." Sonic grimaced. His finger tapping picked up speed, and Little Mac thought the Hedgehog was gonna start a fire if he kept that up. "Something's wrong."
"I'm sure they're fine. It's only been ten minutes since they were supposed to get back." He tried to reassure. It fell on deaf ears.
"No, this ain't right. I can feel it. Something's up. I'll go check." He turned his wheelchair to face the front door. Mac stood up from the couch.
"Hold on, Sonic. You are in no condition to go out there. Neither of us are." Sonic didn't react to his words, pushing himself to the door. "Hey, dude wait!" Before he could say another word, Sonic spun his wheels and was gone in a flash. Mac ran to the open door, watching a blue blur speed down the street. "Oh no…"
Sorry about the wait, been super busy. I'm working on Desert Boy next, so look forward to that... Hopefully~
As always, Stay Golden!
For quick references;
Current Ranks;
Lucina - Strength Rank 1
Little Mac - Chariot Rank 1
They gang as a whole - Fool Rank 1
The D&D Names;
Lucina - Lloyd
Sonic - Sam
Mac - Marthus