Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

A feminine figure sneaks into the store unnoticed. “These fools think they can humiliate me and go unpunished, they will see!” She spots the alarm, climbs over a steel pipe, takes her dagger and cuts two of the wires of the alarm. “Haha, look, they leave the alarm wires exposed, they are such a fools, I can't believe it! It will be a piece of cake.”

With the alarm disabled, she gains free access to the store rooms. She turns her pocket flashlight on to shed some light in the dark room, but it is almost not needed. She had been through these corridors many times and she knew exactly what she wanted. “Let me guess... I'm sure the alarm on the counter is as badly designed as the door alarm was...” She quickly moves to the main counter where many expensive shining jewels lighted the room, reflecting the faint light of her small flashlight. Arriving there, she searches for the alarm in the counter. It was badly designed as well, with its circuits exposed outside the counter. She takes her dagger again and cuts two exposed wires with her dagger.

Then she notices a fragile lock preventing the counter drawer being opened. “Haha, that is the most stupid security measure I've ever seen. How can a sane person think this lock can stop a thief? Well, it could only be the idea of that moron.” She inserts the sharp point of her dagger into the lock and it snaps quickly. “Finally! That stupid man didn't let me put my hands in his jewels and made a scandal inside his store to make me few ashamed. Now let's see how that jerk will feel when he discovers all his jewels are gone!”

She, then, opens the counter drawer and takes all the valuable jewels she could carry, putting them into her pouch. In the process, she leaves some of the jewels fall on the floor, but she doesn't care, she is not taking the jewels for money. “Do they think they can humiliate Shir of the Winds? Let's see who will be smiling and who will be crying tomorrow”. She ensures herself she didn't forget anything before turning to leave. She then turns off the flashlight, as it is not need anymore. She is radiant and starts whistling very lightly a tune while she takes the way out of the store. “That was so easy that it wasn't even so exciting. But I can't wait to come here tomorrow and see that fat old jerk´s face when he discovers what happened to his beloved jewels.” As she passes near a steel pipe, she hears a faint click.

She doesn't care, but then she feels a pull in her left wrist. Thinking her watch must have got stuck, she tries to pull her arm, but she feels a pain on the wrist. She then notices that there is something grabbing her wrist. She becomes irritated and draws her dagger just in the moment a strong flashlight pointed to her eyes blinds her.

“Drop off your dagger. The game is over for you, girl.”
“What! What is that? Stop this joke!”

As the flashlight was aimed to another spot other than her eyes, she could see a blonde girl, dressed as a guardian, who looked younger than her, but had a serious and somber expression in her face. She could see as well that her left wrist was handcuffed to a steel pipe, so she couldn't escape.

“Didn't you understand? You are under arrest. Drop your dagger and you will not end hurt.”
“Hey, you must be joking! Under arrest? Why?”
“Don't play the smarty! Where are you going with all those jewels stolen? Will you say they are yours? Come on, stop wasting my time and I'll not make the things more difficult to you.”
“Stolen jewels? Jewels? What jewels?”
“Those falling from your pouch.”
“I'm not stealing them.”
“Really? What were you doing? Taking them to clean in your home and bringing them back tomorrow? Drop the knife now!”

Shir, scared as she has never been in her life let the knife fall from her right hand. Then, paralyzed with fear, she started trying to come out with another excuse. “If I am arrested, I'm doomed. Imagine the shame...”

“Hey, I was taking these jewels, but I'm not a thief!”
“Really?”
“Yes, I'm not. I can pay for all these jewels, look!” Shir takes a roll of meseta bills from her pouch and throws into the floor. “I'm rich. My dad is able to buy this whole store with the change in his pocket.”
Surprised to see so much money in front of her, the guardian realizes she is not dealing with a common thief.
“Whew! I've never seen so much money together in my entire life! Why didn't you wait till morning for your dad to buy the whole store for you?”
“Baby, you can't understand. I don't know how could you be more agile than me, but you surely is not the least smart. Do you think me, in all my elegance, will want to buy these tacky jewels?”
The guardian, growing irritated with the green-haired girl's impertinence, replied in a severe tone. “What were you doing here, so? Who are you?”
“Don't you know me? Oh, were do you come from? I have already noticed you were not classy, but I didn't know you were such an ignorant. I'm Shir Gold, baby. G-O-L-D! Will you say you don't know who the Golds are?”
“I don't and I don't care, but now the Gold surname will be known in the prison as well. I will call the guys to take you to your new home. Guys there will know how to treat Gold's daughter better than me.”

Shir was trembling with fear of being arrested. She always had enjoyed the thrills of stealing, just for the sake of stealing. But she never thought of being really arrested. “Oh my, where did this girl come from? How can she be faster than me, to have me caught? How is it possible that I go to jail? Is there any humiliation greater than that?”

“Why did you do that? I just can't understand.”
“Please, help me. I regret doing what I have done. Let me return the jewels, so we can forget about that.”
“Not so easy, smarty. I don't know why did you steal these jewels, but it is not my job to understand the motives of the bandits, I just arrest them.”
“Look, you may have never faced a situation like that, but I was humiliated by the store owner yesterday. He made a scandal because I touched the jewels without his permission. He is a jerk and I was really feeling bad. You don't have a reputation, but I do have, so I considered playing this prank on him to avenge the humiliation I've suffered.”
“And do you think it right to steal?”
“I enjoy stealing for the thrills of stealing, my regular life is so boring.”
“Good, then you will love the thrills of being in jail.”
“Please, don't do it, agent... what is your name?”
“It doesn't matter to you!”
“Right, but you know it is not fair. I'm not a bad person. Can't you see that? Aren't you a smart agent?”

The guardian was tired of the arrogance and pretentiousness of the green-haired girl, but she could see despair in her blue eyes. She considers for some time the situation. “My duty is to arrest her. But I've already released other innocent people when needed, even when law said I shouldn't.”

“Well, I shouldn't, but I'll give you another chance. Take all the jewels back from where you've got them and leave this place immediately. If I ever catch you again, I'll show no mercy.”
“Oh, I'm deeply thankful. Take away this handcuff, it hurts.”

The guardian picks a key in her belt and unlocks the handcuffs. While doing that, she pushes Shir to the floor, to prevent her from trying to attack.

“Hey!”
“Shut up your mouth and hurry before I lose my patience and change my mind.”
“All right, but stop doing that. My dad will sue you and you will lose your job.”

The guardian decided to ignore Shir. The green-haired girl, still in shock, moves to the counter. She puts her hand into her pouch, take some of the jewels out, opens the drawer counter and throws the contents of her hand in rage. She inserts her hand again in the pouch and throws more jewels in the counter drawer. Some of them fall on the floor, but she doesn't care. Then she returns to where the guardian is, in order to take her dagger and her flashlight.

“Hey, not so fast. Are you sure you have emptied your pouch?”
“Damn!” Shir screams and then takes her pouch, turns it with the opening down and some more jewels fall on the floor. “Damn you! I hate you! It is empty now! May I leave this hellish place now?”
“As you please, Miss Gold .”

So Shir takes her belongings from the floor and leaves the store from the same window she has got in before. The guardian exits the store through the same window, shuts it and stays in front of the store, waiting for the thief to go away.

“Now I'll call the officers, so you better run away if you don't want to enjoy the thrills of the jail.”
“Stop picking on me! My father will sue you! Luckily I'll never see your face again!”

Shir starts walking slowly down the alley. The guardian turns her back to Shir to rearrange her belongings. Shir was mad. “I can't let this humiliation go unpunished! This humiliation was much greater than the one in the store in the morning! How I hate this girl! Shir of the Winds beaten by a mere girl. I can't believe it!”

Shir then turns her head to look at the guardian and notices she is with her back facing her. Without thinking, she takes her dagger and thrust at the guardian. As the dagger blade was almost touching the guardian's neck, Shir screams “You w....” But the guardian, to Shir's surprise, dodges in a fast movement, parries the blow with her left arm, swings her body round Shir's and throws her with force on the ground. With her weight and her left arm, the guardian immobilizes Shir on the floor and, with her right hand, she draws her own dagger and presses its point over Shir's jugular, with force enough to cause a great deal of pain and just slightly less force than it would be needed to sever the vein. Shir didn't have the time to understand what was going on, so fast the guardian did her whole movement.

“What do you expect me to do now? Do you wanna die? Is it, do you wanna die?”

Shir is so frightened that she can't answer. “Oh, I'm dead!” Tears start flowing from Shir's blue eyes and the guardian can see all the pain, sorrow, regret and fear into her eyes. In a burst of rage, the guardian barks at Shir.

“Do you expect me to show mercy? Listen that, I take no prisoners, do you understand? No prisoners! It is the end for you, your spoiled ...”

Tears kept flowing from Shir's eyes. She was unable to react. She only thinks “I'm dead, dead.” Then she feels the pressure in her neck soften. In a second the guardian stands up, releasing Shir. Shir stays on the floor, she can't react and she can't believe she is still alive.

“Stand up, girl, and run away from here, without looking back. And never, ever mess with me again. Next time I will show you no mercy, I swear.”

Shir, still in shock from the deep emotions from the last minutes, slowly gets up, picks her dagger, puts it on her pouch and slowly walks away. She turns her head back and stares for a moment the guardian. She wanted to ask her why she didn't kill her, but she didn't have the courage. Besides, it was not needed. She could see, hidden in the angry and somber look of the guardian, a touch of heavenly compassion into her blue eyes, coming from the depths of her soul.