Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

This second chapter was not planned at first, but after some time I decided to take a shot in the next logical step after the first chapter: how it would be when Shir and Anna met again.

The style of this chapter is different from the previous one, as it is almost a new fanfic. I just published it as a second chapter to keep it organized.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The newcomer caused quite a stir on Paseo streets. Having just left the Teleport Station, the green-haired beauty was dressed to cause quite an impression. And she really did. Her tight tube dress was just two inches longer than nakedness. The dress had been carefully chosen. As she walked, the movement made it become just one inch from nakedness. And her walking, over her high-heels, was full of movement. Her short green hair and her hips danced to the left and to the right, in synchrony, as she walked. She wore a red lipstick, making her mouth scream kiss me. She also wore golden bracelets and earrings. She was looking so good that no man could resist staring at her, even if it was for just some seconds. As most of men in Paseo were just lazing around, the newcomer was the main attraction of the day.

Her careless attitude dazzled the audience. She acted as if she was unaware of the hordes of old men with jaw-dropped expressions. She smiled inside herself, though, as she walked down the streets of the Motavian capital, carrying an expensive and fashionable handbag. She was used to wear plain clothes that enabled her to mix with the crowd after doing one of her favorite misdemeanors: stealing for fun. But she knew how to dress when she wanted to cause an impression. That day, she wanted to cause an impression. Not on the lazy people who lived without working. Not on the old men who couldn't hide their amusement. She had a clear goal on her mind.

She was tired of committing her pleasure-robberies. She wanted something more exciting. She wanted to enjoy the thrills of something really dangerous. Stealing was not thrilling anymore as she had mastered all the skills required for shoplifting. She already had something in her mind. She would say the sunny and cool climate was a perfect indication that her new plan would work if most of the days were not artificially made to be sunny and cool. Deep inside her cool air, she was anxious. Despite her overconfidence, something inside her was warning her of a serious threat to her plans.

As she caught a glimpse of the steel facade of the house, with the numbers 2 and 7 hanging on the wall, she smiled. "Now I'll start a new and exciting thing! Wow, can't wait to be journeying through the planet to solve the most thrilling mysteries! And if this Rolf is half good-looking as he was on that picture, I'll not mind mixing pleasure and business!"

There was a knock on the door. In the living room, two tall men where excitedly watching a soccer match on the large 3D-holographic TV. One of the guys jump from the couch.

"Damn! Hav' ye see dat? Rudo, if dat wazznota' a-foul, we hav' tunid on da wrung channel! It was a-like a kung-fu kicka!"
"Yeah, that referee is very bad. He thinks that just because the match had just started, he doesn't have to signal fouls."
"If tha' moron a-kip do-in tha', de guyz will-a beat hinnup!"

A man came from the kitchen, holding a handheld computer in his hands.

"Rudo! Kain! Did you hear a knock on the door?"
"Sorry, Rolf. I was not paying attention."
"Why dont'cha a-join us, Rolf? The Kueri Ranjaars will trash Zema's FC"
"Sorry, Kain, I've no time for that today. I must plan our visit to Uzo island." Rolf scratched his head. "Are you sure you didn't hear anything?"
"Nope."
"Alright". Rolf turned his back in order to return to the kitchen, but he had not started moving when he heard a more vigorous knock on the door.
"Heya, Rolf..."
"I've heard it, Kain."

Rudo and Kain turned their attention back to the soccer game, while Rolf went straight to the door. The intercom screen showed the image of an unknown woman standing by the door, with her arms crossed on her chest and an expression of irritation stamped on her face. "Who can it be? I've never seen this woman." Rolf judged it was not dangerous to ask her personally, so he pressed the button to unlock the door.

The studded-steel door released its usual wind sound as the pneumatic valves emptied, raising the steel door. Rolf's eyes met a pretty girl in a pin-up pose, laying by the door jamb with her right arm up, her head tilted to the left and her left index finger touching her crimson lower lip.

"Rolf Landale?" The girl asked with a sweet inquisitive voice and a careless tone.
"It is me."
"Wow! He is really a hottie!" The girl changed her pose and took a dominant attitude. "Hello, Rolf!" She took a good look at him, from the face to his legs and then back to his face. "You are just as handsome as they say."

Her devil-may-care attitude didn't betray any embarrassment. Rolf, on the other hand, blushed at her remark. "I'm Shir Gold. Of course you know me, don't you?" Shir pushed Rolf's shoulder in a friendly manner. Her attitude made Rolf feel uncomfortable.
"What do you want... Shir?"
"Well, I am a thief. I care little for peace and justice. I steal for fun and frankly, I think your little outing will be packed with thrills for me. Stealing has become boring with all those lousy shopkeepers. Even an 800-pound gorilla dressed as Carmen Miranda could get out of these stores unnoticed. That is why I'm here, I think I'd like to go with you."
Rolf was shocked by the naturallity of the girl confessing to a stranger she was a thief. "That must be a joke, one of those candid camera things..."
"So?" Shir assumed another pin-up expression, with an inquisitive face.
"So what?" Rolf was clearly confused.
"What about me... and you... together." Shir said so as she pointed to herself and to Rolf in a suggestive way.
"Well..." Rolf scratches his head, his face betrays discomfort. "Shir, isn't it? What we are doing here is very serious..."
Shir put the palm of her right hand over Rolf's chest, closed her eyes and turned her face from him. "Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't waste my time with your sermon. I'll not be listening."
"Well... Shir..." Rolf avoided eye contact with the girl by looking down. "Well... I think you misunderstood our business. I cannot admit you in the group..."
Shir was less than pleased with the answer, by she didn't panic, as she knew it wasn't all lost. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, if you didn't want any help, you should have told me from the start. I don't care, anyway, your mission must be the greatest bore in the last fifty years." She turned her back to Rolf and started walking away, with heavy steps, holding her handbag tightly.
"No, wait! I didn't mean that..."
"Oh, great!" Shir turned back to Rolf, kissed his cheek, making sure she properly squeezed her chest on his arm and then gently pushed Rolf from her way. "So where is my room?"
Rolf rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "It is no use, I'll have to admit this crazy girl..." "Are you sure you want to come? It will be dangerous..."
"Ah, don't worry!" Shir turned to Rolf and lifted the skirt of her dress, revealing a small dagger by her hips, tucked inside her lace panties. She also revealed more skin than Rolf was comfortable with. "I know how to take care of myself. I'm deadly with these."
Rolf closed his eyes and nodded silently, thinking in the ambiguity of her last sentence. "Well, Shir. I'll let you come with us, under one condition: each member of the group has to accept you."
"Oh, no problems, I'm sure they will." Shir left Rolf behind, with an overconfident expression and acted as if the house was hers. Soon she met Rudo and Kain, who were watching TV.

"Dawg! Can' beliuve it! Even ma granma wud scor' dat a-goal!" Kain jumped from the couch, with an irritated expression. His eyes met the green-haired girl entering the house in a hurry. "Whoa!"
"Hello, I'm Shir!" She went straight to the couch and kiseed Kain's cheek. "Pleased to meet you." "I'm really pleased, all these guys are hot." Then, turning her attention to Rudo, who had just noticed her, she kissed his cheek as well. "I'm your new companion. Is it OK for you?"
"Well, yeah..." Rudo was very confused with the sudden appearance of the girl and her go-getter approach.
"So see you around." Shir turned to Rolf and winked at him. "That will be easier than I thought. And all these handsome guys... if I knew, I'd have come long before...".

Shir then crossed the door that separated the living room from the kitchen. Rolf tried to say something, but was unable. She acted so fast that he didn't know what to say or do to counteract her bold moves. "Man! What am I doing?". On the couch, Rolf and Kain were still trying to digest what has happened.

"Gosh! Shisss damn gorgious, Rudy!" Kain had his mouth open.
"Well, yeah." Rudo was still seated, with a confused look on his face.
"Did ya see dat dresshs? Dat ligs?"
"Definitely, she is something!" Rudo was excited, though his cool expression didn't show it.

Rolf followed Shir out of the room, leaving the two alone.

"Well, yeah, I a-feel as ifa wass siin' dat 'ips shakin' in frontof ma ey' s."Kain looked mesmerized.
"So you are not thinking on Nei anymore?" Rudo releases a brief laughter.
"Ssshhhhh! Ar' ye mad? Rolf waz 'ere righ' now!" Kain was mad at Rudo
"Sorry, chap!"
"If Rolf dizco' ers I'm in a-luv with Nei, he will shuv his swurd... down ma throat!"
"Yeah."
"Ye know, I a-am 'ere for Nei, but I wudn´ rul´out thi new on'. Ye musta a-hav alwiss a B plan."
"B plan... that is good..."
"Shucks! Zema´s scorid une an me didn´t sii it! De guy mustav bin offside..."

As the two guys resumed watching TV, Shir made a loud entrance in the kitchen. "Hello, people!". On the aluminium table, there were many electronic and scientific devices. One man was looking something at an electronic microscope screen while a woman helped him preparing experiments. At Shir´s loud entrance, the man was startled.

"What the..."
"Hello, cute boy, I´m Shir. Nice to meet you!" Shir walked to the man and hugged him from behind, giving him a kiss on his cheek. The man was irritated and now confused as well. He turned his head to look at the girl and was startled again by the sight of her outfit. "Wow!" Shir turned to the other girl and kissed her cheeks.

"Hello! I am Shir!"
"Hi... I´m Amy" The other woman answered shyly, feeling uncomfortable by Shir´s outgoing manners.
"I´m your new companion!"
"Nice." Amy was less than excited. "Well, you interrupted us. We were studying biomonster tissues."
"So you are scientists..." Shir had an expression of disgust. At the same moment, Rolf entered the kitchen.
"Looks like you have already met Shir."
"Hell, yeah, she almost made me break the microscope." Hugh was irritated and crossed his arms.
"What does she do, anyway?" Amy asked Rolf, with a displeased expression on her face..
"I am a thief! I love to steal things!" Shir answered as if being a thief was a common job.
"A what? Thief? Rolf!" Amy is indignant. She stood up, with her arms crossed and a less than pleased expression on her face.
"Yes, a thief. Let´s see what I´ve got here..." Shir opened a wallet and took a card from inside it. "Let's see... Hugh Thompson... a cute name! Biologist? Meh!"
Hugh started searching his pockets desperately. Then, he stood up violently, his face was red, as he barked to Shir. "Hey, it is my wallet!"
"Oh, oh, cool off, big guy." Shir was very calm. "Here, take it, I´ll not steal anything from you..." Shir leaned on Hugh and returned the wallet to his pocket, making sure she squeezed her chest on his body. "... except for you heart, honey." Shir whispered in his ear in a way only Hugh could listen.
Hugh was surprised by Shir. He lost all his anger at once. He was not used to be treated by girls that way, as he had a very introspective persona. It was as if he had been put under a spell when he heard Shir sweetly whisper 'honey' in his ear. His heart started racing and he sweated. "Wow! This girl is amazing."
"I´ve made it, I have him on my hands now. Well, he is cute, I have a crush for his intellectual style. I just hope my friends in Piata never discover that. Now it is time to deal with the girl, but it will be easy." Shir grinned. She turned to Amy. "I loved your dress. You look really sweet on it."
"Seriously?" Amy was disarmed by Shir´s flattery and lost her suspicious gaze.
"Yes, you look very good on it." Shir looked like the most innocent girl in the world, but her thoughts didn´t reflect her actions. "Meh, she is so old-fashioned that not even my great-grandmother would wear something like that.". "You must be a lovely woman. What do you work at?"
"I´m a doctor." Amy blushed at Shir´s flattery and looked down to avoid eye contact.
"Really? That is lovely! My father has many friends who are doctors. Do you know Dr. Lanzies? He was always dining with us." Shir countenance showed deep interest in the subject, though she loathed it.
"Dr. Mark Lanzies? The Motavia Secretary of State for Health? I can´t believe it!" Amy stared at Shir with her eyes shining.
"Oh, I can present you to him one of these days." Shir acted as if that was a trivial affair for her, with a careless wave of hands.
"Oh, nice!" Amy clasped her hands together. She had a big grin on her face and seemed to be under a spell.
"Well, girls..." Rolf felt a bit lost. "Sorry to interrupt your interesting conversation, but I came here to ask you Amy, and you Hugh, if you oppose the idea of Shir joining us."
"Of course not!" Amy and Hugh answered in a chorus, immediately. Then they felt embarrassed for that.
"Well, great. Let´s get going, Shir, they are doing some important research here." Rolf motioned Shir to follow him.
"Excuse-me, I interrupted you. Well, see you around." Shir turned her back on them waving her hands, in a very natural manner, as if they were old acquaintances and followed Rolf out of the kitchen.
Amy turned to Hugh, still puzzled. "What do you think about this Shir?"
"She..." Hugh was caught in surprise. Amy could see infatuation in his eyes. "She looks nice..."
"Well, she is a bit strange... Do you think she is really a thief?"
"I don't know... she had taken my wallet, but that seemed just a playful trick to me." Hugh's countenance betrayed confusion.
"Well, if Rolf trusts her, who are us to say anything?" Amy shrugged. Then they returned to their seats and resumed working with the biomonster tissue samples.

In the main aisle, Rolf was leading Shir through the house. Shir put her arms around Rolf's neck and followed him closely. Rolf was uncomfortable with Shir's hold.

"Well, now let's see what my sister thinks of you."
Shir was a bit surprised. "Sister? I didn't expect that. If I can have her trust, I'm in. If not..." Shir released her hold on Rolf and tried to dismiss any negative feelings from her mind.

Rolf stopped by the door of one room. It was open, so he got inside. He looked at at the surroundings, but it looked like there was no one inside "Nei?"
"Yes?"

Rolf looked up and saw the pointy-eared girl on the ceiling, rubbing a cloth on a dark spot. Shir looked up and was surprised. It looked like the girl was floating on the air.

"Nei? What are you doing up there?" Rolf was in a mix of surprise and irritation.
"Oh, Rolf, I'm cleaning a dark spot on the ceiling. It was annoying me. I stayed staring at it through most of the night and couldn't sleep." Nei answered coolly, not understanding her brother's irritation.
"Huh... hello?" Shir entered the room shyly. She examined the room and felt a sense of relief when she noticed that the girl was not floating. She had her feet on the top of the wardrobe. Even so, her position showed unnatural strength and balance for a human.
"We have a new woman in the group, Nei." Rolf was still annoyed to see Nei calmly rubbing the cloth on the ceiling and became irritated. "Nei, can you come down here for a moment?"
"Oh, Rolf, you don't need to shout!" Nei leapt from the top of the wardrobe and fell on her feet, in front of Shir, who as a bit scared by the aerial acrobacy. She was more scared to see Nei's claws in her hands. Nei grinned at her, while cleaning her hands in her apron. "Oh, will you be joining us? That is great."
Shir was a bit reassured by Nei's smile and went to kiss her cheek, though less excitedly than with the others. "So you are Rolf's sister? I was anxious to meet you. You are so lovely!" "And weird. How can she be Rolf's sister?"
Shir was still uncomfortable with Nei's unusual features, but she tried to be nice to the girl. Rolf was relieved to see that Shir apparently was not shocked by Nei being a biomonster. "Well, Nei, what do you think?"
"Think about..." Nei looked at her brother with an inquisitive face.
"About her joining our group." Rolf was impatient.
"Ah!" Nei's gaze lost all the worry. "If she really wants to come with us, that is fine. The more people helping us, the better."
Shir was relieved to hear that Nei was not a bit concerned about her character. She felt sympathy for the numan girl. "Well, she doesn't look threatening. She is even good-looking. Gorgeous, I'd say. But I don't have to worry, as she is Rolf's sister..."
"Well, let's get going." Rolf motioned Shir to follow him.
"Wait!" Nei stretched her arms towards Shir. "Leave your bag here. This will be your room."
"Alright." Shir handed Nei her handbag, feeling she turned her back and followed Rolf to the door. She heard some noises and looked back. Nei had jumped on the bed, then on the wardrobe and in less than one second she was brushing the dark spot on the ceiling again. Shir turned her head again and followed Rolf out of the room.

"What did you think of my sister?" Rolf asked as soon as they left the room.
"We are stepping into a dangerous territory now. I must be careful." Shir was a bit worried. "She is lovely, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is." Rolf seemed displeased with Shir's noncommittal answer.
"Though she doesn't look like you..." Shir's voice was filled with tension.
"Yes. Do you have problems with that?" Rolf suddenly stopped and turned to Shir, staring intently at her eyes, scaring her.
"No... No problems..."
"Aren't you worried that my foster-sister is a biomonster?" Rolf crossed his arms and kept staring deeply at Shir's face.
"Is she?" Shir's voice denoted discomfort. "She looks normal..."
Rolf tapped his foot noisily on the floor. He knew she was lying.
"Oh... Rolf... why would I be worried? She is your sister, isn't she? For me she is like anybody else." Shir chose her words carefully, though she spoke in a steady manner in order to not sound artificial.
"Are you being sincere, Shir? Can I trust you?" Rolf's tone changed from angry to worried, as he frowned.
"Yeah, of course!" Shir hugged Rolf tightly in order to disarm him. "I'm a thief, but I'm not an evil person. I'd never do any harm to your sister."
"Well, I see..." Rolf tried to free himself from her embrace, but he didn't really want it, as he felt pleasure in feeling the warm touch of Shir's body. After some seconds, he finally pushed Shir gently. "I'm always afraid people will do some harm to Nei. Many times people yelled at her, attacked her and even tried to kill her..."
"Don't worry, Rolf. I like her. I'll help you protecting her."

Shir saw Rolf's eyes shining with her last words. "Well, I've made it! I don't have anything against Nei, but my last words were exactly what Rolf wanted to hear. Nothing can prevent me from joining the group now."

Rolf resumed walking, followed by Shir. Shir was overconfident again, catwalking down the aisle as as model. Rolf led the way straight to the end of the aisle, where the laundry was. As they were reaching the laundry, they could hear the sound of the washing machine and another sound of metal scratching some hard surface. Rolf knocked the door jamb and entered the laundry. "Excuse me..."

"Don't worry." A mysterious woman's voice answered, calmly.

Shir entered the laundry and looked at the woman. Her eyes met a blonde girl seated in a bench by the wall, with her left leg on the bench. She was wearing a dark blue dress, not so short as the one Shir was wearing, but her position on the bench revealed as much of her legs as Shir's dress naturally revealed. The woman was holding one slasher leaned on her left knee. She was sharpening its blade with a whetstone, which she held with her right hand. Her golden curly hair was hanging down her face, hiding it from view.

Shir felt an immediate antipathy for the girl "Hmmm, looks like I'll have competition here. And an unfair competition. Look at her legs! And with * large as that, she will always steal all the attention for her! I'll have to do something about that!"

"Anna, can I have a brief talk with you?" Rolf tone was unusually polite.
"Damn! She had already stole Rolf's. Look the way he talks to her!" Shir's face couldn't hide her anger.
"For sure." Anna slowly tilted her head up, revealing her blue eyes.
"Yikes!" Shir jumped up, scared. Her heart started racing like mad, she started trembling. Her scream startled Rolf, who looked at her, and then back to Anna, trying to ignore Shir's odd behavior, as he was getting used to her mannerisms. "She will ruin everything! From all the women in the world, it had to be her! That damned guardian!"
"Well, this girl wants to join our group..."
"Shir Gold, isn't it?" Anna interrupted Rolf, grinning at Shir while she rearranged her hair, making her face perfectly visible.
"Do you know her?" Rolf was confused, alternating his stare between the girls.
"I've met her once..." Anna answered in a nonchalant way and turned her attention back to her slasher blade.
"And is it fine for you?" Rolf was still surprised as he never expected girls with such different personalities would know each other.
"Yeah, if it is fine for you." Anna's coolness frightened Shir. She resumed sharpening the slasher blade.
"Well..." Rolf turned his attention to Shir, who was paralyzed with fear. "No one has anything against you, Shir, so that means you are now part of the group."
"Gre... great..." Shir was trembling.
"Well, gotta go now, must get our trip ready. Will talk to you later about our mission. Feel free to ask anything to any of us." Rolf turned his back to Shir and started leaving the room.
"Tha... anks..." Shir's voice was almost inaudible.

Shir stayed still, trying to understand what had just happened. Many things were on her mind, specially the memories of her previous encounter with the guardian. She remembered of how the guardian caught her on the act, how she tried to kill the guardian and how the guardian almost killed her. She also remembered the compassion in the eyes of the woman when she released her.

"Why... why... didn't you... sa-say... any... thing...?" Shir's voice was trembling, together with her whole body.
"Why should I?" Anna answered without taking her eyes from her slasher.
"Is it... OK... for you?" Shir was still trembling and now confused.
"Yes."
"We.. well... I'm going... to the kitchen..." Shir turned her back to leave the laundry, as she was feeling completely disturbed by the presence of the guardian who frustrated her robbery years before.
"Shir?" The sound of metal being rubbed at the whetstone stopped for a second.
Shir was startled. She had a hard time to control herself to be able to leave the room and now the voice of the guardian calling her made her almost lose her balance. "Wha... what...?"
"Do you think you are up to the task we are about to perform?" Anna's voice was very calm. She didn't take her eyes from her slasher and resumed sharpening its blade.
"Y... ye... yes..." Shir was afraid as she had never been before, surpassed only by when Anna was pressing the point of her dagger in Shir's throat during their first encounter.
"Good."

Anna kept sharpening the blade of her slasher, not caring for the presence of the thief in the room. Shir waited for some time, just to see if Anna would ask her something else, but it seemed to her that Anna was unaware of her presence in the room. She started leaving the room very slowly and noiselessly, trying to control her limbs, which were still shaking.

Finally Shir was able to leave the laundry. She walked back to the kitchen. She wanted to drink some water and relax. "I know I should be rejoicing to be admitted in the group, to be able to live thrilling experiences in company of these hotties. But I didn't want this experience to be so traumatic! This woman again... I can't understand her. I can't understand why she hadn't killed me back then when I tried to kill her and I can't understand why she didn't tell anything about me to Rolf today. Now I'll have to endure her presence everyday. I don't know if it is something I'll be able to cope with. Just to think of her gives me creeps... Well, that is something I'll have to endure... There is no going back. I wish I was able to understand her... to understand her..."