Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Unidentified Pirate vessel, Mota class – Mission time: 20 minutes


Flynn called out over the racket of gunfire. “We have to get out of here! If we stay we’ll die! The hatch is right behind us.”

He looked to one of the soldiers on the other side of the corridor. “Smoke grenade! We need to cover our escape. Get one out there!”

The solider nodded in reply and removed one from a pouch on his belt. He pulled the pin and rolled it into the corridor. It contacted the foot of the foremost Cast when the fuse ran out and a massive cloud of smoke began to pour out. It would only buy them a few seconds however, before the Cast simply decided to advance on them. They wasted no time in moving for the maintenance shaft.

The radio came alive and Captain Ashley spoke again, sounding more urgent than the last time. “Sergeants, you need to get out of there now! Right now! One of our ships has taken heavy damage and is on a collision course with us. It’s headed straight for your section of the ship! Move it!”

Sergeant Merrick acknowledged him and cut the radio, motioning for the others to hurry. It was then that the Cast attackers opened fire on them, firing through the diminishing cloud as they continued their assault. One of the soldiers took a cannon shot to the chest and fell to the ground dead. Four more were riddled with weapons fire as they covered the escaping technicians. They were dragged aside but medical attention would have to wait.

The others returned fire and this only seemed to draw the attention of the Cast. Merrick was ushering Rika through the hatch when Flynn felt a dull impact against his leg followed by two more to his torso. He felt no pain but his body gave out on him and he dropped to the deck.

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Claire felt a terrible force on her link, worse than anything she had ever felt before. She cried out in pain, the shock taking her by such surprise that she was forced to hold herself up on her dresser or collapse. She could feel the link weakening, but focused on it and realised it wasn’t the link that was weakening.

Flynn was dying. It was his life force that was weakening. Fast.

“No! No no no no no no!”

No matter how hard she tried, he was too far away for her to reach out to him. He was beyond her help. She could do nothing but watch him die.
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The pain hit him as suddenly as the shots and he cried out in agony. Unable to look at himself he felt for the source of the pain, wincing as he did. One in the chest and the other in his gut, blood pouring from the wounds. His leg, like the rest of his body for that matter, refused to respond at all. His vision began to grow fuzzy and dull, his hearing reducing the sounds of gunfire to a dull thumping sound. His breathing laboured and slow. He tasted blood.
Trying to prop himself up with one arm and return fire with the other, he collapsed and fell back against the deck, a stray shot taking it out from under him. His strength was all but gone. He barely registered the hands under his arms as Sergeant Merrick and another soldier grabbed him, hauled him into the shaft and sealed the hatch behind them.

A wailing cry full of sadness and grief filled his head as he lay on the deck with his life bleeding out of his body, his pain now growing distant.

Somewhere in the Esper Mansion, it was Claire.

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“Flynn! No! Please! Don’t die! Don’t die!!!!”

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It was funny. Despite everything, it came through clearly. It was a woman but it didn’t sound like Rika at all.

“Rika. Is she safe?” He didn’t know if he was speaking or simply thinking, but it didn’t matter. It was growing hard for him either way.

Through his fading vision he could see she had removed her helmet and was searching frantically through her pouches for something which she gave to Merrick who put it to Flynn’s neck. The rest of his surroundings were now just a blur.
As his vision darkened he was barely aware of the deck rumbling underneath him as if an earthquake had struck. A sense of urgency seemed to fill the movements of the others as Merrick reached down and took hold of him.

Flynn finally let go and he slipped into unconsciousness.

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It was over.

She had felt his life slipping away like water through her fingers and now Claire could no longer feel any signs of life at all.

Flynn was dead.

Unable to contain herself anymore she slumped to the floor in a trembling wreck, her grief unrestrained, unable to even speak, any words she made came out as sobbing gasps. Sadness from years of separation added to the feeling of loss and she almost choked on her own crying.

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