Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Flynn opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the lack of wind. He was warm, even comfortable. As his vision cleared he could see he was in a room somewhere. His mind came back to the people he had seen before passing out. As if reading his mind, someone spoke.

“Ah. You’re finally awake.”

Flynn sat up; now realising he was lying on a bed in a small room. He tried to speak but a massive yawn forced its way out first. In a doorway on the other side of the room he could see a woman standing there. Late twenties, early thirties, he wasn’t sure. The fog in his eyes made seeing difficult in the low light, but what he could see reassured him slightly. Shoulder length black hair was tied back by a simple binding. A face bearing the appearance of one accustomed to the harsh conditions on Dezo looked at him with hardened eyes. More importantly, her clothing was civilian in appearance.

“I was beginning to wonder when you'd wake up. You’ve been out for the better part of two days, you know?”

Flynn simply continued to stare; suddenly aware he was still wearing scavenged military clothing from the prison. Or what was left of it anyway.

“Where am I?”

“Somewhere safe, away from the elements and Bio-Monsters. We brought you here as soon as we found you.” She paused, looking at him, almost scrutinizing. She leaned back into the hallway behind her and called out to whoever was beyond. “Darwi, could you bring some food through? Our guest’s awake.” She returned to looking at Flynn now, a little less analytical this time. “How long were you out there?”

He was a few moments recalling how long it had been, his mind still weary. “I’m so tired.” He rubbed his temples before telling her. “Nine days.”

His host’s eyes widened briefly before she continued. “What were the Mota military doing in such a remote part of the planet? Something to do with the mass of Bio-Monsters converging up there?”

Flynn was a moment trying to respond to her question, thankful he had removed all traces of name and rank from the uniform. “I…I’m not with the military. Not anymore.”

“Ah I see. You’re a hunter are you?”

“No…I…”

“Then what in Algo were you doing away out there? Even without so many Bio-Monsters, going out that far on your own is just asking for trouble.”

Before Flynn could answer her, another person entered, carrying a tray with a bowl on it. A young woman, younger than his host anyway, with short brown hair, placed it on a table beside the bed. She looked briefly at him and it was then that something about her caught his attention. “Her eyes, the hair…could she…no. That’s wishful thinking.” She smiled at him then took a few moments to examine the dressing on his wounded arm. Satisfied, she turned and left the room, nodding at his host on the way out.

His host spoke again. “You were saying?”

“Huh? Oh...right. I’m looking for someone.”

“Really? All way out there?”

“Well, I got a…little sidetracked.”

“I see…” It was clear she was having a hard time understanding him being so far out in the wastes, but he couldn’t risk revealing the truth. “I’d ask if you’ve had any luck, but that question answers itself. How long have you been looking for this person?”

Flynn scoffed at the question, deciding it would be better to leave out exactly how long for the time being. “A long time. Years, in fact”

His host's face took on a more sympathetic expression. “Someone...important to you?”

He only managed a nod in reply.

“Well I’m afraid there’s not much we can do for you. We don't have a lot of human contact out here.”

“It's ok, really. But why were you out there if it’s so dangerous?”

The woman folder her arms across her chest. “Because it’s our job. Unlike you, we are Hunters.” She smiled knowingly at him before continuing.
“A bunch of military types stopped by maybe ten days ago. I overheard one of them saying something about a mass of Bio-Monsters gathering near to where we found you. They must have been heading there as well.” She paused. Flynn felt his gut tighten slightly.
“So naturally, we went out there to see what was going on and maybe ‘ply our trade’ while we were at it. We were heading there when we picked you up on our life-signs scanner. It’s a good thing we did too, considering what we ran into. Luckily for all of us we had some large calibre explosives to hand so we could kill that damn thing, whatever it was. Then we brought you here.”

Flynn felt a little guilty to learn he’d disrupted their work plans. Hunting wasn’t exactly an easy trade, even on Dezo, no thanks to the harsh climate.

“Ah…sorry about that. I didn’t…”

She cut him off. “Nonsense! There’ll be other chances for us to go hunting. Besides, we couldn’t just leave you out there to die.”

“Well…thanks anyway.” He idly rubbed the back of his head.

“Don’t mention it. By the way, the name’s Vlanna. And you are…?”

“Flynn.”

“Well then, Flynn, it’s just the three of us here. You met Darwi just now. Irale you’ll meet later.” She stood up straighter. “But enough talk for now, eat your soup…” She gestured to the bowl sitting besides the bed. “…then there’re some clothes here that should fit you. Your shotgun’s here too, all cleaned up. When you’re done feel free to come on through and join us.”

Vlanna turned to leave but stopped. “Ah, I almost forgot. We found this in your hand when we picked you up.” She retrieved something from her pocket and held it up, Flynn immediately recognising Claire’s crystal. She looked at it for a moment.

“It’s quite nice. Here.” She tossed it over to him and he caught it almost as if afraid to let it drop to the floor. Without another word she turned and strode away, leaving Flynn by himself.

Though it had been days since he had eaten, the soup was about all his body could stomach at the moment; it clearly wasn't readjusted for a healthy appetite yet. He took some time to adjust his new clothing, a pair of dark grey combat trousers and a belt along with a black t-shirt, which fit him perfectly, much to his surprise. There was a blue shirt too, with tan leather shoulder padding that extended around the back of the shoulders, which he threw on top before rolling up the sleeves. Finding boots for a stranger without knowing their size was hard, so he was glad his own boots were still in good condition as none had been left for him. Seeing someone had left his black fingerless gloves in one of them, he pulled them out and put them on before fastening his boots onto his feet.

“Better... Alright, might as well go and say ‘hi’ to the others.”