Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

"Come on, then- hand 'em all over!"

Two men loomed ominously over the owner of Rakeem's Sword and Scabbard, both brandishing dangerous-looking axes, while two more men loaded weapons from the store's stock onto a waiting landrover. Each man was dressed typically for a Palman native to Motavia, except for one odd detail- they all wore a long yellow scarf around their necks.

The owner of the store and his wife were tied up behind the counter, while their son was tied to a chair next to the door. He shouted out the door to the thieves loading the vehicle, "Damned scoundrels! If it weren't for people like you, we wouldn't need stores like these!"

"Oh, do shut up," one of the thieves replied, jabbing the young man in the stomach with his axe's handle. "And just consider these a credit purchase."

"A credit purchase?!" The man shook in his chair, trying to break free of his bonds. "You blew the door off with dynamite, rammed a landrover through our front window, tied my parents and I up, and now you're taking all of our merchandise! When are you- hey! Hey! Be very careful with that sword! That's a genuine ceramic blade-"

"Worth more than you are, runt," was the thief's reply as he carelessly tossed it into the back of the waiting landrover.

"I'll- I'll-"

"You'll what, sweetie?" a female voice cooed, coming from up the shop's stairs. The man grumbled, staring away from her as he heard her descend, approaching him. She grabbed his face, her green-painted nails digging slightly into his skin as he found himself face to face with the crux of his problems.

An attractive silver-haired Numan stared back at him with dazzling purple eyes. Like most other female Numans, she wore a skimpy leather suit that showed off her figure. Like the rest of the thieves, she wore a yellow scarf. "If it weren't for your... gracious invitation," she continued, smirking at the man with bright red lips, "We wouldn't have such fine weapons."

"You stole the key to the stockroom after we slept. Hardly a 'gracious invitation.'"

"Now, now," she said, twisting her wrists slightly. Twin sets of razor sharp claws popped out of her gauntlets, and she ran a tine down his cheek. Blood eked from the wound, and she licked it gently. "You sounded like you were enjoying yourself, Robert."

"Go to hell, Mitria."

Tossing her long silver locks behind her shoulders, Mitria turned to her men. "I've got all the Meseta from upstairs," she said. "We're done here."

"Right."

The men headed towards the landrover, as Mitria turned back to Robert. "Farewell, Robert. I'll remember your hospitality," she said as she blew him a kiss. She headed outside, smiling. "Well done, men. Master Z will be-"

Her praise was interrupted by a sharp, distant crack. One of the men shrieked in horror as his shoulder exploded in a spray of blood, watching helplessly as his entire right arm fell to the ground. Before anyone could react, there was another crack, then the man sank as his left leg from the knee down was shorn from his body.

"Who the hell was that?!" Another man shouted.

"Take cover!" "Find that guy!"

Mitria grumbled as the wounded man reached for her with his remaining arm. "Boss," he whined, "Help me. Pl-"

His plea was cut short with a third crack, blood suddenly bursting from the side of his neck. His arm fell limp, and he heaved one last sigh before dying in front of the Numan.

Blocks away

Aijo lowered his rifle, gritting his teeth in determination. "That's one," he said, pausing to load some Onion Shot into his rifle. "Think we should move on in?"

"Of course," Rose replied, drawing her daggers. "They're surprised, Aijo- one of their friends just got shot to death. They're worried- and worried men are careless men."

"Everything seems so strange. Its like none of this is real." Celeith said as the two walked through the snow covered field of Palma. "I know, look at the sky, its green. That cannot be normal." Trey said pointing out the strange sky. "Wait... Look at that!" Trey said, pointing to a large object falling from the sky in the distance. The object crashed, causing a large quake to come over the land. The two ran towards the direction of the object, after a long run finally arriving.

"What is it?" Celeith asked. The large object was something like they had never seen before. The object looked like a large spaceship, but it also did not as well. They had noticed the door had been thrown off when it crashed into the planet, leaving a large steaming piece of metal sinking into the ground. "You shouldn't go in there? It might be dangerous." Celeith said as Trey walked into the object, turning his head slightly. "Cmon Celeith, where's that sence of adventure you had when we were kids?" He asked. She puffed up her faced and followed behind him.

The two walked into the crash, noticing the inside full of machines. The two continued walking, looking around confused at what they were seeing. Finally they came to what appeared to be the master area of the ship, only to see a large object placed in the middle. "Trey.. lets go." Celeith said, grabbing ahold of Trey's arm wanting to leave. Trey walked to the object, glancing down he noticed a woman frozen in a eternal sleep. "Requiem?" Trey mumbled to himself, noticing the word printed on the top of the machine. The word requiem brought back a memory to him.

Trey grabbed his head, trying to remember. "Big sister.. listen, I learned how to play the Requiem of Lutz." A young Trey said to a blue-haired woman. Celeith ran to Trey's side, grabbing ahold of him. "Are you ok?" She asked. Trey stood to his feet, placing his hand in his pack. After rummaging through he finally pulled out a thin object. "Thats your flute Trey.. You still carried it around after all these years?" Celeith asked once again. He looked at her, and nodded his head. "It appears so.. At first I didn't even remember having one of these. Until now. I'm going to try playing the Requiem.. She seems like she wants to wake up." Trey said as he placed the flute up to his mouth.

Taking a deep breath he began playing a heavenly tone known to most as the Requiem of Lutz. A song only taught to the children who lived in Esper Mansion on Dezolis. The sound echoed through the ship, many of the machines began reacting to the song. Finally Trey finished playing the song, placing the flute back into his pack. The machine that housed the woman began to open slowly. Smoke exited out as the two saw a figure raise itself out of the machine. When the smoke cleared the two noticed the woman glancing at them.

"I'm awake? So I must have made it home." The woman said, continuing to watch the two stare at her shocked. "Whats the matter? Haven't you ever seen a woman wake up before? She said. Trey and Celeith both stuttered to answer, finally they introduced themselves. "Y y y yes, sorry.. My names Trey, and this is my friend Celeith. We saw your ship crash and we came to see what had happened." Trey said. The woman looked at him, and with a reply she said.. "So you came to help me? Such kindness. I've only experienced such kindness once before.. But where are my manners.. I should introduce myself." THe woman said as she stepped out of the machine.

Her long brown hair flowed as her armor glistened in the light coming through the roof of the ship. She looked at the two with a smile and said.. "My names is Alis.. Alis Landale. Thank you so much for waking me." The two looked at her with jaws hung.. "WHAT! YOUR ALIS LANDALE HERO OF ALGO?!" Celeith yelled rudely, they were standing in front of a living legend herself. But was this really the Alis Landale who saved Algo 2000 years ago?

Awaking the next day, Sane picked the boy up. He decided to take him to a safer place. But where? He couldn't think of anyone around this time who he trusted enough to care ffor, well himself. Then it hit him. He left Aiedo and went west of town. He saw a lodge sitting beside a tall oak and walked up to the door. He knocked.

The door opened ever so slightly. "Who is it?" The voice said. Sane gave a smile and said, "Hey old man, I need you to care for Sane. If you don't and he dies, there will be no future to look forward to." The door opened all the way and the old man looked at the older Sane. "J-Jack! That you! B-But you are supposed to be dead." Sane shook his head. "Allow me to explain. If I may." The oldman nodded now examining the sword Sane had.

Inside Sane lay his younger self on the couch. "So, who are you anyway?" The old man questioned. "First off, you may think I'm crazy or something but, I am Sane." "B-But that's impossible!" Sane looked at the old man and shook his head. "I once had a teacher who said to me, 'Impossible is a word for those who lack the ability to believe.' I never really understood what that meant, until I ran into myself. Then, I started to believe." The old man looked horrified. "Sensei, will you look after your student?" The old man blinked and looked at the younger Sane laying on the couch. "Yes, I will look after him, Sane."

On his way out, Sane thought he heard a faint voice in his head say, Is this what you truly want? Looking towards the sky, Sane replied softly with a yes.

Two more shots rang out across Nalya, sending another one of the thieves to the ground in a torrent of blood. Rose took this as her cue to leap into the fray. Turning back to Aijo, she said, "I'll need some covering fire, Aijo... Dervish!!"

Instinct immediately kicked in. Rose leapt onto Aijo's rifle, then used the momentum from that jump to leap towards the thieves, closing the distance between them. She drew her daggers as she landed, staring down the two axe-wielding thieves.

Wonderful, Rose groaned mentally. He shot the two who didn't have the axes.

"This is it?!" One of the thieves shouted. "She's the guy who shot the others?!"

"A woman like her? I don't see her gun anywhere!"

The red-haired Hunter shook her head. "I don't have a gun," she told them, smirking. "You didn't think someone like me would fight thieves like you alone, would you?"

The thieves sweatdropped. With an aggrivated sigh, Mitria raised a finger, pointing it at Rose. "We'll find her friend later," she said. "Get her!"

Then they roared like madmen, rushing Rose. She tumbled aside, narrowly missing one of the massive blades, but cried out as the other caught her side, scoring a bleeding cut through her armor. Standing up, Rose twirled her daggers.

"See?" The second thief advanced towards Rose. "We can take her- one piece at a time."

"Let's just-"

His friend never got to finish his sentence. Rose shrieked in anger and leapt towards him, not bothering to manifest a Technique or use a Skill. Instead, she buried both knives into his chest, then ripped them out. With a pathetic grunt, he dropped his axe, then took a step backwards before collapsing, twin ribbons of blood trailing his body as he fell.

"One down," Rose said, spinning to face the other axeman. "One to go."

"You... I'll avenge you, Reuben!"

The other axeman rushed to close the gap between himself and Rose, getting about ten feet before a bullet tore through his neck. A second passed before Rose swung at the axeman, scissoring his head clean off.

"Well done, girlie," Mitria said, extending her claws. "Nobody's ever taken down four of the Yellow Scarves like that before. You get bonus points for style, I'll give you that."

"Oh, thanks," Rose replied, sarcasm lacing her voice. She touched her axe wound and said, "Gi Res," sighing in relief as bright light rushed into the injury, soothing and healing it.

"A healing Technique... fighting skills and tactics, to boot," Mitria added. "You must be a Hunter. What backwater do they have you shipping out of? Paseo? Aiedo?"

"Camineet."

The Numan raised an eyebrow. "Camineet... wonder what a Hunter from Palma's doing way out here on Motavia!"

"That's none of your concern, ma'am. Your friends are dead, so I'll offer you this chance- surrender." Rose relaxed her stance a bit. "Hunters show mercy too."

"And that's your first mistake, girlie. Mitria of the Yellow Scarves accepts no mercy- nor does she offer it!"

Though he was unsure of who's voice it was inside his head, Sane was positive it was Sauna. He still had to contact Trey however. But how? For all he knew Trey could have looked different from before. Therefore making his communication skill useless. It was worth a shot anyway.

Sane concentrated hard on the image of Trey and thought, hopefully sending a message. Trey, you there? It's me Sane Terrace. I need you to concentrate and send a message back. I need to know if you still are alive. Sane stopped. He reached his limit for that communication. "Damn. Not as good as I used to be two years ago."

He stopped and looked at the sky. "Maybe I'll just retreat to my house in Nalya. I have nothing else to do, I'm not even sure if my communication went through.' Sane started his walk to Nalya.

Could this be true? Could this person standing in front of the two actually be Alis Landale? It seemed unreal, as Alis Landale never returned in their time. "Thats it!" She said, dragging Trey a distance away. "Don't you get it? Alis Landale never came back in our time because Palma had been destroyed 1000 years before?" She whispered. Remembering the two had come from a different plane it seemed only natural that she would return if being in a sleep for more than 2000 years. So Alis, now that you're back what are you going to do now?" Trey asked.

She placed her hand to her chin, thinking for a moment. "I don't know actually. If it has been over 2000 years then every I ever knew has already gone from this world." She said with a sad tone in her voice. Glancing one more time at Trey she thought she saw a familiar face. "You seem familiar. Its like I know you for some reason Trey." She said. Scratching his head he began to hear footsteps approaching. "Oh no, I can't let people know I'm here." Alis said. The two glanced back noticing a few strange people coming into the ship. "What can't you let them know your here?" Celeith asked.

Alis extended her hand, her hand began to flame as a powerful Foi spell shot out from her hand. "Lets make a run for it. I'll tell you on the way." She said as she jumped out the hole. Trey and Celeith following. The three began running through the snow covered field quickly to get away from the people who came to the ship. "I don't get it. Why are we running?" Trey said. Heading into the woods they made their way behind a few large trees. Glancing around they noticed they were not being followed.

"I can feel it.. He's back, and those people were his minions." She said. The two looked at her, confused. "Whos back? Trey asked. Continuing looking back she turned her gaze to Trey. "Lassic has returned, I can feel it. We have to stop him at all costs. She said. The two standing there in a stunned gaze.

Walking up to his house, he reached up and grabbed the key that lay there. He stuck the key in the lock and - BOOM. An explosion happened. "What the hell was that?!" Sane ran to the center of town where the explosion came from. When he arrived, he saw a fammilliar looking numan challenging another person. He looked closely and saw who it was. "Damn. This isn't good." He drew his sword and ran in front of Rose. The battle glare was in his eyes once again.

With a shriek, Mitria leapt towards Rose, her claws extended. Rose gritted her teeth and pivoted out of the way, catching one of the Numan's claws with one of her daggers.

"Nice one," Mitria said, her voice taunting. "Too bad it's more luck than skill, in your case, girlie. Now-"

Before she could finish her taunt, a familiar man landed in between Rose and Mitria, his sword drawn.

Huh. I remember him, Rose thought. He helped us with that sandworm...

"Well, well, well,," Mitria said, walking up to Sane. She ran a finger up his chin, then gave him a warm smile. "Long time no see, Sane Terrace."

"Huh? You know her?!" Rose asked, confused.

Sane gripped his sword tighter. He replied to Rose. "Yeah, let's just say I know her from my reality. I'm surprised she's even still alive." He gripped his sword even tighter to the point where his hands started to bleed. "I was almost positive we killed her."

"You did indeed my dear boy. But that was two years ago. Or ten ahead in this universe." Mitria gave Sane a wink. He looked away in disgust. "Get out of here. Unless you want to die. She won't hesitate to kill you." He looked at Rose. "The only person she has ever hesitated to kill was me. I do not know the reason why, but I think I have a clear picture." He looked back to where Mitria was standing. She was gone, but where could she be?

(Smack) (Slam) (Smash)

Noises could be heard by some coming from the spaceport. "Um.. Alis, you know we have passes don't you?" Trey sweatdropped. Two attendants were knocked unconcious by Alis, and the group were preparing to hijack the ship. With a simple crack of her knuckles the group closed the ships door, preparing for takeoff. "Its come to everyones attention that a strange castle is floating not very far from the planet. Thats where we're heading." Alis said. Pressing a series of controls the ships engines ignited, shooting quickly into orbit. A few hours passed and the group were approaching the strange castle. "What have we gotten ourselves into this time." Celeith whispered. Trey glanced over, noticing Celeith looking a bit uneasy. Turning his gaze back to the monitor a small object could be seen approaching the castle in the distance. "Is that.. another spaceship?" Trey thought to himself as the group approached the mysterious castle in space.