Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Early the next morning, Algo flickered to life over the eastern horizon, filtering through the windows into the inn room, showering Rose with its bright light.

Stirring gently, Rose opened her eyes, then looked over at Aijo, who was sleeping peacefully. Traces of her lipstick were left behind on Aijo's lips and chest, and their clothing was scattered randomly across the room, leaving it obvious to a casual observer what had happened during the night.

Mental note: Next time, check for soundproofing, she thought as she climbed from the bed. But still- oh, Aijo. Wonderful Aijo. ^^

She showered, dressed, and ate a quick breakfast, ready to leave the inn room just as Aijo was getting out of bed. "Oh! Good morning, Rose," he said, his voice happy and lively. "Did, uh... did you-"

"I did, thanks," Rose replied, smiling and crossing her arms. "Was I-"

"Just like your dance, Rose- elegant, graceful, and a wonder to experience. Off to go find your friends?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah- you said Ryn was in town last night, right? Your client was buying ninety kilos of sandworm hide, and you and your friends were commissioned to guard it?"

"Err... yeah," Aijo said, sweatdropping. "Slight change of plans, actually. Janet had to pull out of the contract- death in the family. Sarah can't stand the smell of sandworm hide after all, and as for Peter..." He sweatdropped again. "He ate the Locusta last night."

"I don't see what's wrong with that," Rose replied.

Just then, outside the room, a man shouted, "Oh, God! I don't know which end it's coming out first, but it's coming out! Move! Oh, God!" A door slammed, and the man could be heard retching.

"...That was Peter," Aijo explained. "He's... incapacitated."

"Oh, dear. So, you've only got yourself to guard sandworm hide?" Rose asked. "I think you could use a partner. I know just the girl- loves to dance, uses knives-"

"I'd be honored," Aijo replied, blushing. "Let me get ready."

He repeated Rose's preparations, then shouldered his rifle. "Let's go check on Ryn first- if that sandworm hide's not ready, we've got some more downtime."

They left the inn, hand in hand, still thinking about the night before, as they headed towards Ryn's house.

(OOC: To help the plot go on for my guy I need to bring in another character.)

"Mistress L. Theres some kind of monsterous thing outside the mansion." One of the servants yelled down the hall. Trey turned his gaze outside the room, many servants were seen carrying weapons down the hallway to the main door. "Trey wait, theres so much I need to tell you." Luna yelled as Trey ran down the hallway, with no weapons in his hand. Outside the mansion the so called monster was slowly approaching, its long silky dress dragged across the snow, its cut blood red hair blew in the wind, covering its face. Its long pointed ears twitched as it heard people approaching.

The servants surrounded the monster, getting close they noticed it had palman like features. "What is this?" One of the servants said. The woman gleered through her hair. "Please.. Help me.." She mumbled to herself. Trey ran out of the mansion, coming to a stop near the monster. His hair covering his own face. A woman? But its a monster?" He thought to himself. The servants closed in with their weapons, Trey extended his arm giving the jester of wanting them to halt.

He walked towards the woman. He could hear her quivering in fear. Snow was falling in the sky, leaving large amounts of snow on both of them. "You're scared aren't you?" Trey said as he placed his hand on the womans shoulder. He lifted her head a bit. "That voice.. But it.." She thought to herself. She looked up at the young mans face, a expression of joy and also sadness came over her. "TREY!" She yelled out as she lunged forward, tackling Trey to the ground.

"I'm so glad you're alive. I'm so so glad. I've missed you so much." The woman said, her face on Trey's chest. She was crying. "Wait.. Do you know me?" Trey asked. She brushed her blood red hair out of her face. Its me Trey. Its Celeith." She said. His eyes widened, not thinking he grabbed onto her and hugged her. "Celeith? Wait I remember now. Celeith what happened to you?" He said.

~Back at the Mansion~

"What do you mean you were thrown into a chamber?" Trey asked. Celeith walked out from behind the curtain, her long silky dress was replaced by some casual clothes. "It's like I told you. I was thrown into a chamber by her, then the next thing I remembered I was floating in darkness. I could feel it succumbing me and I yelled out for you. The next thing I know I'm walking through a blizzard, and now I look like this." She explained.

Even though her appearance had changed she was still Celeith to Trey. He had begun to remember things slowly, but the majority of his memories were his memories of the two growing up together. Luna walked into the room, her dress dragging across the floor. "You're both dead." She said. The two looked at her confused. "What? But look at us, we're alive aren't we?" Trey said.

Luna nodded her head. "You're alive, but in a sence you're not alive." She said. "Just calm down, and let me explain everything." Luna said. The three sat down in the room, and thus began the long story. "This may strike you as odd but this reality we're in is not real, or in other ways you're reality is not real to this one. When one person dies in one reality they are brought here and reborn in this one." Luna said. Trey and Celeith continued to listen.

"When Trey died his soul was lost in a void of darkness, left alone to float for eternity. By calling the sacred sword and not being chosen by it it thrust his soul into that void and he was brought into this one keeping his memories intact one could say. But upon waking up his memories were sealed by something, and they are returning to him slowly." She continued on.

"And from what you told us Celeith, you entered this universe in the same way. When you were thrown into this chamber (He) had expected your soul to become evil, thus returning you to the world as one of his minions. But the pendant you are wearing, that fragment that use to be in there was a piece of Trey's soul. With that when you called out to him that piece of his soul pulled you to this side, thus saving you. But your body was still transformed due to the chamber." She said.

Trey scratched his head, none of this was making sence to either of the two. "How do you know about all this Luna?" Celeith asked. It did strike the two as odd how Luna knew all of this information. "Well.. You see. Its like this.." Luna said. She took a deep breath and began her story once again. "I to am not suppose to exist." She said. The twos eyes widened as this new bit of information was shared.

"A long time ago I did something horrible, and it cost my life. I to crossed into the void, but was called back to this plain. Before my soul was returned I saw you there Trey. You were floating in that dark void all alone, I could see sadness on your face. I used what little power I had and put a fragment of my soul into the slasher you call Luna. After I returned here I was able to watch you in that void, in hopes to protect you and bring you to this plain." She said.

Luna stood to her feet, and walked towards the window to stare out at the landscape. "I may be partial to blame for you're situation Trey, and I apologize, but.. But you seemed so scared, so alone. I just couldn't leave you in that void. So I.." said as she was interrupted by a touch to her shoulder. She turned her head, noticing Trey had walked to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. A smile on his face. "Its alright, I'm thankful, but can you explain one thing to me. If you inhabited my slasher (Luna) then who was it who inhabited (Gaia)?" Trey asked.

The door of the room came crashing open, loud footsteps were heard as Kiki yelled down the hallway. "Please master, Mistress L and the guests have not finished their conversation." She said. The man, who was wearing large body armor, its glow glistened in the light walked through the room. "That would be me, the master of this mansion. Gaia Greyearth." The man spoke proudly.

Still hand-in-hand as they headed down Nalya's main street, Rose and Aijo came across a typical adobe and stone house, its tiles and carvings nondescript from those of its many neighbors. The couple stopped in front of it as Aijo announced, ".....Sixth one down the street. This is Ryn's house, all right."

"Yep," Rose said after a few seconds, smelling the air. "Smells like boiling wax. Your client really bought ninety kilograms of sandworm hide?"

"Yeah." He crossed his arms. "Said he could make a lot of stuff out of it all- boots, armor, helmets, circlets, shields..." Aijo then traced a line across Rose's forehead, brushing aside a few stray strands of her bright red hair. "Even crowns."

Rose smiled at Aijo, blushing slightly at the contact. "I know, silly. But still- do you know how many sandworms you'd have to kill to get that much hide?"

"Just a really big one, of course."

They laughed at the joke, attracting a few glances from passersby, busy even early in the morning. Once they had composed themselves, Rose knocked on the door. "Ryn?" she asked, giving the door another rap. "Hey, Ryn? It's Rose!"

"And it's Aijo!" Aijo added, knocking a few notes. "Can you let us in, please? It's cold, and there's sandworms! Of course, it's cold on Dezolis-"

"-and the sandworms are kilometers away, but we're still right, you know!"

Shina was upset, not a soul in any of the towns she had been to had ever heard of SEED or Rika. "Uncivilized morons." She muttered to herself. She hated her current position and had to vent her anger on something. A smile trickled across her face, baring her teeth the sleek black of night. She sniffed the air hoping to catch a wiff of her first victim. There, directly south of Zema, a herd of Locusta made their way through the desert seaching for food. A leap for a start and Shina was out of the small town. A horrible cry filled the night air as a terrible numan creature ripped open each locusta with a wider smile. And each one that tried to attack was paralysed by a strong blow to their heads and left to be eaten alive by its own bretheren at the mercy of her will. She let out an evil laugh that could be heard as far away as the burnt town of Molcum, while she tore apart an oncoming swarm of flying creatures. Her eyes blazed at the sight of a pack of sandworms. "AIEEEEEEAIEEAIEEAIEE!!!!!!" She used a burst of strength to summon the spell, Legion. The light shown itself again and obliterated her newest targets with swift vengence. As she lay down in the now soft dirt, blood ran through her fingers. She watched the rest of Algo as it twinkled above her. Shina uprighted herself. A soft tone was her next start but haunting, hoping that if anyone was hearing they would lay down and scream. "Rika," she wispered, "I will find you, and I...." She stopped. What will I do? She couldn't rip her apart. She needed some kind of answer from her. "WHO ARE YOU RIKA!!" It echoed back a couple of times showing her loneliness. Not even a biomonster stepped up to her screech. She let out a sigh, and Ryuka-ed herself to Nayla, for a good nights rest.

Later that day Sane sat the boy down against a wall. Sane looked at the boy then realized who it was. HE felt as if he was looking into the past. The boy in front of him was in fact himself.

Sane looked at the boys leg and didn't see any blood. He sighed in relief. Soon though he felt a burning pain in his leg. It seemed to stab at him viciously. He fell to the ground grabbing hold of his leg. When the pain subsides, Sane wiped away some tears and lifted his shorts and looked at where the pain was. His scar was gone.

(OOC: Theres gonna be a few people from the boards in this post lol)

"Luna, you know our guests are arriving soon, maybe we can explain the rest to Trey and Celeith in the morning." Gaia said. The wind outside could be heard howling louder and louder, it seemed the blizzard was picking up. "You're right, I'm sorry Trey but everything will be explained in the morning. But for now my husband and I must attend to the guests that will be arriving soon." She said, making a slight bow of the head as she walked towards the doorway with Gaia.

Trey and Celeith stood up from their chairs. "Is there anything we can do?" Trey asked. Gaia had already exited the room, Kiki still standing by the door awaiting for Luna to leave as well. "Well.. I know, since it is a party why don't you two join us." She said. Kiki nodded her head as Luna walked through the doorway, Trey and Celeith behind her. The small group walked down the long hallway, finally coming to a large room.

"Whats all this?" Celeith asked, looking at the large table placed in the middle of the room. There were many servants attending the room, placing up special banners and many other festive items. "Todays a special day." Gaia announced. It seemed odd to Trey that they would be doing something like this. Celeith pulled Trey to the side. "Whats so special?" Trey asked Celeith. She looked around at all the festive items, it had finally came to her.

"You don't remember Trey? Even with everything around the room?" She asked. Trey looked at her with a confused look on his face, shaking his head. She just smiled and tried to explain to him. "They're celebrating someones birthday. It must be the guest they mentioned earlier." She said. The servants continued to put up banners, balloons and many other items. Trey and Celeith watched on for a good hour. The wind outside was howling louder and louder.

"I hope they can find their way here. The blizzard seems to be picking up." Luna said. No one in their right mind would be outside in a storm this bad. "Mistress Luna, theres someone coming." Kiki said as the sound of a land rover could be heard outside. Trey, Celeith and many of the people in the room looked down the hallway waiting for the door to open. "This is it everyone." Gaia said with a gentle smile on his face. The servant attending the door at the far end of the hall opened the door, four unknown people walked into the mansion.

"Suprise!" Everyone yelled out as the four people walked into the large room. The tiny green haired woman looked shocked as everyone shouted out. Her comrades began laughing at her, she seemed happy, mad, and suprised all at once. "I thought we were just coming over for a visit Thoul!" The woman said angrily. The large man she called Thoul scratched his head as she tugged on his cloak.

"Haha, I'm sorry Lady Tsunami, but I asked Thoul to keep your 19th birthday party a secret." Luna said with her eyes closed, a smile on her face. Trey and Celeith watched as the group conversed with Luna and Gaia, all the time the woman known as Tsunami continued to glance over at Trey and Celeith from time to time. "Hey Thoul, Atolm, Hughes, can you guys excuse me for a minute. Theres someone I want to talk to." She said to her friends.

Music began playing as Tsunami walked towards the two. Trey noticed her comrades stayed and began conversing with some women at the dinner table. "What do you think she wants Trey?" Celeith whispered to him. He just shrugged his shoulders as she finally approached the two. "Hello my names Tsunami. I've never seen you before. Are you friends of Luna?" She asked. The two nodded their heads. "Kinda." Celeith said.

Tsunami looked over at Celeith, it looked like she had stars in her eyes. "Wow, you're so pretty, and those ears.. Just wow. You're lucky umm?" she said. Celeith blushed a bit, she didn't think she was pretty, she thought she was different since she had been transformed into a part demon. "Th.. thank you. Oh Im Celeith, and this is Trey." Celeith said introducing themselves. Before Tsunami could say another word she was taken away by her friend she called Thoul.

Trey and Celeith just smiled and waved as she was dragged away. "Hey whats the big idea?" She mumbled. Thoul just glanced down at her. "Your cake is here, its time for you to blow out the candles." Thoul said. A few minutes passed and everyone gathered around the large table. Tsunami in the middle as the large shortcake was brought out. "In honor of your special day, make a wish on this cake and it shall come true." Gaia announced as they lit the candles.

Tsunami stared at the cake for a moment, then she blew out the candles. Everyone began clapping. A few hours later the party would end. Trey escorted the group to the door. "I hope your wish comes true." He told her. She nodded her head and walked outside and into the landrover with her friends. She sat down in her seat. "So what did you wish for?" Hughes asked. She looked at him and shook her head. "If I told you it wouldn't come true now would it?" She said. The landrover began shaking as it drove away. A thought in her mind.

"I could tell that you're far away from home. Both of you. My wish was for you two to find your way home. I hope it comes true." She thought as she stared out the window at the two waving goodbye from the mansion.

Nice work on that one Kaloes!

"Hmmm." Rose crossed her arms as she and Aijo looked at Ryn's house. "Guess he's not home."

"It's still early yet. He might be asleep," Aijo replied. "Though with all the banging we did on his door, I'd be surprised."

"Well, you know Motavians- they're heavy sleepers." With a sigh, Rose looked at Aijo and said, "We'll go check on him later. For now, I think..." She smiled, a combination of mischievousness, insight, and teasing all at once. "I think, Aijo, I've got a special dance in store for you back at the inn."

"Really." Aijo raised an appreciative eyebrow, images of Rose dancing already forming in his mind. "You know I love a good dance or two."

"Might end the same way last night's did, not that I'm complaining." The red-haired woman winked. "It's still early yet, after all."

Once again, the two were hand-in-hand. Unfortunately for them, their mirth was rather short-lived as several townspeople ran past them minutes later.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Aijo asked, trying to stop someone.

"Hey! What's the rush!?"

More men and women ran past. Finally, out of desperation, Aijo stuck out his leg, catching a large man who tumbled to the ground. As he picked himself up, Rose asked, "What's going on?!"

"Some guys are robbing the weapon store!" he replied, out of breath. "They said something about yellow scarves, and bang! Dynamite everywhere! The guards can't do anything!"

"It's all right. Go! Go!" Rose pushed the man away, then said, "So much for dancing!"

"I know! The store's right down that way- we'd better hurry."

Oooh, hasn't been a comment since last year!

Shina woke with a jump. It was strange to her, having a peaceful sleep in a long time. She had always been bothered before by that dream of the bio-system with all the monsters waiting for an attack. She wasn't even dreaming about her old life, whatever it had been. A bedside note reminded her she was looking for Rika, but not only that, she still needed to find the downed vessel that would somehow lead her to something monumentally important. She walked to the shower, and took a long hot one, meaning to get rid of any splotches of bio-monster from her rage last night. She calmly stepped into her battle suit, and then her regular clothes. Shina paid the innkeeper, and took a deep breath of the Nayla air. Aeido was only a short walk away. She glanced around hoping to see some townsfolk she could chat with, but it almost seemed like they were all hiding from something. She brushed her sleeves and decided to walk to Aiedo, rather than just teleport.

"What do you mean I'm not on the list!? My name is Shina! S H I N A! Why can't you get it right?"
"Shouting isn't going to make things go any faster," monotonously replied the woman, "Now, according to my records, there are no hunters by the name of Shina, that is unless you have a last name to give m..." "I TOLD YOU I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A LAST NAME IS!!!" She pounded on the desk putting the papers in a frenzy. My last mission was accepted here, me and my partner Ryn Tenagrau!" The woman glanced down at the misshapen file. "Oh here we go, Ryn Tenagrau, partnered by Shina." "SEE! I told you I was there." The woman cocked her head to the side and gave a jeer. "You can't accept missions on your own, Shina. You have to have liable clearance by your trainer in order to be an official member of the guild." "Yeah, I'll show you liable clear...." She was cut off by a man who grabbed her arm before she could implode the womans face. "Let go of me! I'm trying to teach this sorry excuse of a secretary a lesson in messing with me!" The man hardly switched his pose and swung her arm behind her adjacent to the other one before cuffing them. He then gave her a good blow to the head and she fell limp in his arms.

~The Next Morning~

"I feel refreshed. That was a good night..." Trey said as he glanced over, noticing Celeith's back turned from him. He gazed at his friend, watching her sleep. "You've really changed alot Celeith. I don't remember everything but.." He thought to himself as he stepped out of the bed. He turned his head gazing at her once again. "I wish I could of been there to protect you." He continued to think. Trey walked over to the small sink that was on the other side of the room, turning the water on he began washing his face. "Yawn!! Huh? Oh good morning Trey." Celeith said happily, waking up thanks to the running water. She stepped out of the bed herself, stretching her arms out. Her blood red hair hung down in her face, her pointed ears twitched a bit as she could hear footsteps coming from the hallway. Trey finished washing his face, drying it with the towel nearby. A knock came to the door. "Trey, Celeith.. I'm coming in." A familiar voice said. The door opened, and Kiki walked into the room.

"I'm sorry you two had to share one bed. We usually don't have any overnight guests." She said, being interupted by Trey. "Its ok, we should be leaving soon anyways. Now, if you can just get me my slashers." Trey said. Kiki looked at Trey, she shook her head. I'm sorry, but mistress Luna took your slashers with her and master Gaia on their trip this morning. She did however leave both of you new weapons though." She said. Trey let out a sigh, Celeith had finally finished straightening her clothes and approached the two. "Ack, I hate sleeping in clothes I'm travelling in." She said. Kiki let out a slight giggle and stepped aside as two servants brought in the weapons Luna left them. "Knives huh. I guess they'll do, I always seem to be better at close range combat anyways." Trey said, flipping the knives then placing them in their sheathes. Celeith strapped her weapon onto her waist, placing her hand flat on it. "I've only heard stories about whips. I thought they stopped making them after the 1300s?" Celeith said. Kiki scratched her head, not knowing that Trey and Celeith came from another timelime in which many things were gone.

"Those knives were the mistresses, she must trust you highly to let you have them... But anyway I shouldn't keep you.. The last thing she told me to tell you was.." Kiki said, looking down sadly. She had never had another esper other than Luna and Gaia around, so it was nice that there was someone she could relate to. "About thirteen miles south theres a spaceport. Use these passes to take the ship back to Motavia." She said. She turned. Trey and Celeith walked out of the room, Trey walked ahead and Celeith stayed behind. "Oh.. And nothing happened. We're friends, we use to share a bed all the time when we were kids." Celeith said with a smile and ran towards Trey who was waiting at the end of the hallway. Kiki just stared on as the two left the mansion.

(OOC: Oh btw if your wondering Celeiths ears aren't like Nei/Rika/Shina's. They're more elvish/demon like since they're down where the ears are normally than where Numans are on the top of the head.)