Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

[Xander]

Location Unknown


“Flynn. Flynn, wake up.” A strange voice whispered to him.

He opened his eyes, or thought he did. It was hard to tell. All he could see was darkness all around him. He remembered the last few moments before he passed out. Being shot by the Cast attackers, the blood, the pain, being dragged to safety by the others.

“Am I dead? Where am I?”

“Neither alive nor dead Flynn. You are between both plains of existence. Your friends were able to save you in time and heal your wounds. You’re comatose but whether you’re alive or not is up to you.”

“What are you talking about? Who are you?”

As if in reply, out of the dark came a faint sound almost like some sort of chiming. Flynn was aware of light and saw what looked like a ball of light lazily drifting into his view, stopping to loom over him while bobbing in the air. The sound seemed to be coming from it.

“I’m here to remind you of your mission Flynn.”

“My mission? From what I understand my part in the mission is over. I carried out my task. It was going fine until I got shot.” He almost sneered.

“You surely must remember Flynn. It’s the mission that got you here in the first place. The one you swore your life to when you were fifteen.”

A gate seemed to open in his mind and a flood of memories came back to him. Flynn was at a loss for words. He now knew exactly what this voice spoke about and damned himself for his ignorance. How had he allowed himself to forget after all these years? Or was that the answer? Had he simply been putting it off until later? Did his promise mean that little to him now? The one that had kept him going until now.

“How do you know all this? And what do you mean by ‘neither alive nor dead?’” His frustration was mounting.

In response the light seemed to briefly flare in front of him and Flynn could hear the sound of someone crying. A woman. “Could it be…? How is this possible?” He felt a tear run down his cheek.

“Listen Flynn. This is the sound of your failure. Even now there are those who mourn your death. You’ve been ignoring this for far too long now. There are people who depend on you to fight for them. To protect them. With you gone, all hope they have is lost. But it doesn’t have to end this way, not today.”

“Well what am I supposed to do? Didn’t you say I’m dead?”

“No. Your life is in your hands right now. You can either choose to live and fulfil your promise…”

“Or…?”

“Or you can choose to let it all go and pass away.”

There was a long silence and Flynn felt himself hesitating, the sound of crying still haunting him. “I can’t just leave her to suffer alone. But here…” He touched his stomach. “…There’s no pain. Would it really be so bad if I chose to die, eternal rest and all? But if I do then all I’ve done will have been for nothing.” He addressed the voice again, speaking plainly.
“I want to live.”

There was a moment’s pause before the reply came. As before there was no trace of emotion as it spoke.
“Then it’s time for you to awaken Flynn. You have much to do.”

Bright light seemed to engulf him as his vision faded. He wondered what would be waiting for him when he woke up.


Unidentified Pirate vessel, Mota class – Mission time: 1 hour 57 minutes


A feeling of elation and joy filled his mind, slipping away as Flynn opened his eyes and strained against the bright lights of the ship. “What was that voice just now?”

Looking around painfully, he realised he was lying on the deck somewhere.

“He’s waking up.”

“Good. Let’s bring him up to speed on things.”

He sat up on the floor, his head pounding from a headache he’d sustained during the fighting. “Where am I?” Two familiar faces, those of Captain Ashley and Sergeant Merrick, looked down at him. Captain Ashley spoke to him first.

“You’re on the bridge of the pirate vessel. You were brought here after your run-in with those Cast earlier. You’ve been out for almost two hours. We managed to fully heal your wounds but began to worry when you didn’t wake up.”

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Esper Mansion

Claire had stopped crying, her eyes having eventually run dry now staring blankly at the floor. They almost burned from it. Now she just sat on the floor, propped up by her dresser.

At first she thought it was simply her finally accepting what had happened but she knew she was a long way from accepting his death. Her mind felt almost…clear.

She focused what she could and checked her psychic link. Thinking she felt something, she concentrated harder, hope threatening to overwhelm her. She was aware of something there. It was faint but getting stronger with each second.

“Could it really be? Is he alive?”

She sat up straighter then hauled herself to standing, her mind intent on the link now. It was true. The longer she looked the greater his strength became. Had it been that close? Had some miracle been given to them by the Great Light itself?
She didn’t know what to think, her mind was overwhelmed with emotions, her receding grief and her mounting joy. It made her feel…numb. She sat down on her bed and smiled. Finally her happiness broke through and it was all she could do to stop herself from laughing.

“He’s alive!”

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