By Grendel226, a.k.a. Arren Dracone
Authors Note: This fanfic was written in stream of concious technique. What I was capturing is that moment before a person dies when their life "flashes before their eyes." Or at least some of the most affecting moments. Please be cognizant that this story was loosely based on the short story "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. Also, the title is a line from the song "Underground" by David Bowie from the Labyrinth Soundtrack. Phantasy Star IV and all characters are property of Sega of America and Sega of Japan. Copyrights belong to their rightful owners.
Rika Ashley stared distantly as the cool breeze caressed her face. Hanging from a fascinatingly small black metal hook in the ceiling of she and Chaz's house was the answer to her problems. "Of course it's the highest quality rope...made of real carbonfibre." The shopkeeper had appeared insulted but that was of little concern to Rika. People had never been completely pleased with her and this was just one more isolated incident in thousands. Standing on a chair she slipped her slender neck into the noose. Glancing around the room one more time she closed her eyes and kicked the chair out from under her. And the rope broke. She sat dazed for a moment but it had broken...an act of the Great Light perhaps. She sat dazed on the floor for a moment and then had the urge to run; to flee the place where she had almost committed this most heinous act. "High quality rope indeed!" she thought with a scowl as her feet rapidly and silently struck the ground. As she burst into the sunlight her perception seemed heightened. It was almost as she'd imagine Raja's "Mystic Visions" he'd told her about when he slipped into another realm to speak with the priests of past. Colors seemed more vibrant and her hearing was more accute than usual...if that could be possible. The town's folk glanced at her as they always did: with quiet disdain and fear. Swiveling her ears she caught a bit of the conversation: "There she is....shhh. Maybe she'll leave if we pretend not to notice her." Shaking her head she continued to run...knowing very well where she was going. The terminal outside the remains of Seed's outlet in Birth Valley blinked. A crowd was gathered, as they had been before, and a man was speaking on a platform. "And as you can see," he said in thin nasal tones, "the activity in the biosystems lab created an undesirable creature....called Neifirst!" The picture of Neifirst flashed on the screen and hushed whispers ran through the town. "Great Light!" "It looks like that Ashley Girl!" "Is she safe? Are they the same?!?" The citizens turned to her with the rage of an angry mob in their eyes and she fled again. This time to the hill where she and Chaz had first embraced after she had lept from the Landale. There was Chaz. running towards her...reaching his arms out....and then she was being pulled back. A flash of light like so many stars bursting into being dazzled her eyes. And in the quiet of the home of the Ashleys, Rika swayed gently in the breeze in the embrace of her carbonfibre savior.