Surhand as the main villain would definitely be cool.
May be she could join forces with Puyo Puyo Tetris villains too, but for villainy leadership, Surhan is likely more interesting to explore.
Fan story I have in mind is set in the
Classical-era of the
Mediterranean sea. The main character a daughter of a phoenician merchant named Amethyst who was taught the game of Column from her father, who claims that the game of Columns is a game played by merchants for both entertainment and business decisions.
One day their ship was arrested and her father was brought to
Queen Elissar for stealing the Crown Jewels and was imprisoned. Amethyst found out that it was actually Surhand who stole the crown jewels and divided the jewels up amongst her henchmen who are now in capitals across the Phoenician Empire. Along the way she meets new friends, peculiar characters and Surhands lackies.
Characters in mind:Amethyst = Phoenician daughter, has a sort of Scrooge McDuck complex given she wants to be a wealthy merchant someday.
Rubi = An arabian genie who grants a single wish to those who beat her at a Columns match. However her wishes are not always what the wisher desires.
Garnet = African girl
Topaz = An egyptian priestess who tends the pyramids. While she may seem rather broody she is actually a good-hearted person who will help others she deems worthy.
Esmerelda = A gypsie girl who has traveled around Europe.
Sapphira = A greek girl, either from Corinth or the Cyclades.
Might change the names around but you get the idea. Amethyst' circle of friends are all named after gemstones that are coloured after the Column gems.
Other characters in mind in Herald, an angel/greek god of the game itself.
Puyo Puyo connection:Puyo Puyo 7 introduces a brand new "world" of the Puyo Puyo universe. This world being more based on our own world than the fantasy worlds that Arle Nadja and Amitie come from. The game stars Ringo Ando who attends a school at Suzuran district in Japan and her story starts with one day puyo falling from the skies. Given she was unfamiliar to them meaning her world never had puyo before.
The same game had her go on a world journey to places like Easter Island, Area 51, Stonehenge, and Egypt (all conventiantly with railway accessable from Japan) which means Ringo's world is more like ours than Arle and Amitie's worlds.
If I were to do a "Puyo Puyo × Columns" story it would be one day Ringo took her friends to a local history museum in Tokyo and there they find a tablet written in phoenician and some mysterious gemstones. Arle could feel the magic from these gemstones is the same from puyo. Then a magic time portal opens up and they are cast into the past where Ringo meets Amethyst. Because Amethyst can only speak phoenician they could not understand each other and when they challenge one another to a game they find how different their games are. Afterwards the magic of the jewels and of the puyo allow Ringo and Amethyst to share a language.
While puyo were not present in Ringo's world prior to
Puyo Puyo 7, after Arle's first Puyo Puyo × Columns match she realise that the magic from the gems that break is the same as the magic from the puyo that pop. (That is if the
Owanimo spell is still canon.) That is to say that while there was no puyo on Ringo's world in the past the same magic exist in the form of the gems used in Columns.
As for where orange gems fit in with Puyo Puyo × Columns matches I dunno, given there is no orange puyo equivilent. Maybe orange gems simply don't show up in PP×C matches, or maybe orange puyo are introduce.
That's all I thought of so far. I might make this game myself given I doubt Sega will ever be interested in a Puyo Puyo crossover other than Tetris... but I'm working on another Puyo Puyo fan game at the moment, and I won't post pictures on it until it takes more shape.