Unlimited Moment
Chapter ZERO: Prelude to a Nightmare


U N L I M I T E D  M O M E N T
Chapter Zero -- Act One: Chaos Incarnate


The sun streaming through the windows illuminated the room. An extremely 
cluttered room, sounds of light snoring eminated from the bed. Next to 
the bed, several dozen empty Mountain Dew cans testified to the caffeine 
intake of the young man on the bed.  Upon a desk next to the bed, a 
computer sat, silently contemplating with its cover off. Cables of every 
sort were attached to the computer -- a sure sign the man in question 
was into computers heavily. Across the floor, a sea of cables, cords, 
books, clothes, and papers floated, a mute testiment to the man's 
bachelor tendencies.

With an audible ring, the old-fashioned steel clock sitting atop the 
computer began to protest the fact that John was still sleeping.

John was average, really, teetering on the brink between manhood and 
teenager. He was 18 years old, with black hair, and hazel eyes. Standing 
about 5'6, he seemed to have an aura of power around him whever he stood 
at a terminal-- he was at home with any kind of PC.

The clock's immensely annoying ringing continued for about 15 seconds 
before John even twitched a foot. The ringing didn't stop, and John 
blearily opened a bloodshot eye. One glance at the clock explained it 
all, and an instant later the clock was introduced to Mr. Wall one more 
time, denting the wall yet again. The ringing stopped.

John reached to the floor, searching for an unopened Mountain Dew.. 
"Grargh.. There HAS to be one here somewhere!", he muttered aloud, 
"Grarrrrgh.."

Finding none, the morning seemed a lot worse than it was-- which was 
considerably bad, mind you! Crawling to his feet, he glanced at the 
'screensaver' on his PC.. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo ran on Demo Mode 
on the PC. <Hmm.. Ryu VS Sagat.. A good battle.. I'd bet my money on 
Ryu. If I had some. *sigh*>

He didn't stay to watch the outcome of the battle-- instead, he exited 
his room (tripping over only 30 or 40 items along the way), and headed 
to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator didn't reveal any Dew in the 
house, much to John's chagrin. <Ohno! We're out of 'Spew! AARGH!!! I 
can't start my morning without my 'Spew!>

A note on the table read, "Found this card at a yard sale yesterday.. 
looks to be PC compatible. Try it in your PC, it might be interesting. 
- Andrew" and beside it sat a very small halfcard.

<Hmm.. I wonder what it is.. no external ports on it..>

Careful examination of the card showed it to have a processor of some 
sort on it, and several other chips, but oddly enough none of the chips 
were recognizable.

<I guess the only way to check out the card is to actually put it into 
my machine and see.. I hope it doesn't fry my PC..>

He carried the card over to his PC, and flipped the BigRedSwitch(TM). He 
glanced warily around.. "What, no sirens? No flashing red lights?"

Finding an empty slot among all the cables running out of every 
imaginable orifice was a difficult-- no, NEAR-IMPOSSIBLE-- task. His 
skill prevailed against the cable beasts and he was able to install the 
card into an open slot. John proceeded to power the machine up.

The screen blinked to life and filled with jumbled ascii characters, 
then the overwhelming smell of burnt electronics filled the air. 
Panicking, John grabbed the card with one hand and flipped the power 
switch with the other. His vision filled to white, an immense explosion 
rocking the room, then there was nothing...

His mind burst into white flame, consciousness falling to pain. He 
screamed, but nothing came out of his lungs-- he couldn't see it, but 
every cell in his body was losing cohesion. As his last thoughts 
themselves lost cohesion, the world had blacked out to his remaining 
senses. 

The Void between universes is not quite the empty nothingness it is
believed to be. Forces beyond most beings contend here for supremacy
over the others. Some are mindless, some are not, and some are not even
able to be described on those terms.

Powers from some planes spill out here and are tapped by other
universes. The reality-warping forces changing the "normal" ways of 
those places. Natural or not, in whichever universe, the power behind 
the throne is located here. 

Two such forces, well known to mankind, can be found in the Void. The
spillage from their planes can be found relatively nearby each other
and travellers going from universe to universe witness their mighty
clash. For these forces, siblings of a sort if you will, are both 
attracted and repelled by the other.

They collide in an area where they meet and separate, for natural
laws are absent in one yet entrenched in the other. The energies stay in 
that spot before going to other universes where they are tapped or 
dissipated. Many beings have tried to control this spot when they 
discovered it, but in vain. When either of the forces can control the 
controllers it becomes a hopeless task. Experienced races merely leave 
this spot alone, knowing what it is and gaze in awe over the power 
involved.

Only one man has ever actually tried to enter this area. The powerful
energies there are random and capricious. Only the insane would attempt 
such a feat. Or perhaps...someone with no choice at all.... 

The story of that man, Twister, is related in the story Twisted Path. 
This, however, is not his story.

John's energy form entered the Void, the rip closing behind him. His 
consciousness was still lost, as he had no physical mind. Passing by the 
famed Event, a few swirls of magic and psionics mingled with him then 
went on to their destinations.

A new rip opened in front of him, and he was pulled in. Then, nothing.

The dull sound of acid rain splashing among dying buildings filled the 
air, then a crash of thunder filled John's ears as his consciousness 
began to revive. <Odd.. it wasn't raining when I got up this morning..>

His eyes opened to a dark blur. Slowly, everything focused among his 
vision. A dead metropolis, crumbling, lied all around him. Building 
after building, shattered, crumbling, lie in silent testamony to the 
death of this city. The tallest building caught John's eye. He peered at 
it through the rain. The faint, yet unmistakable shape of the building 
was burned into his mind forever: Genom. This was MegaTokyo! How had he 
gotten HERE? Wasn't this supposed to be Anime? Or... could this be real? 
The MegaTokyo John knew of was a thriving world, protected by the Knight 
Sabers and AD Police. Why was this so... dead?

The whole scene lying before his eyes was overwhelming. He shivered, the 
eerie desolation making him nervous. He looked down, rubbing his arms. 
<It's cold.. What happened here?>

He noticed a small computer expension card sitting by his foot. The card 
jolted his memory and he remembered. <The explosion.. could I really be 
in MegaTokyo?>

John reached down and picked up the card. It was still intact. He looked 
quickly around for the closest shelter from the rain. About 10 meters 
away, a building sat, fairly intact. His mind was set.

He sprinted to the building and forced the metal door open. The musty 
smell of an ancient tomb rushed to his nostrils, causing him to wince 
slightly. Bile rose into his throat, fear threatening to overtake him. 
He swallowed hard and walked inside.

John's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the building. The hall 
was in perfect condition-- no spiderwebs covered the walls. <That's 
odd.. if there was any life, you'd see some sign.. but this seems 
completely devoid of life-- not even a spider!>

He cautiously walked through the hallway, the surrounding areas growing 
darker. He reached an intersection. To the right, a faint glow.. 
Forward, utter darkness. John thought a moment and headed right. 
Entering a small room, the glint of a terminal caught his eye. A 
terminal? Still running? He frowned and walked to the terminal. A 
message warning of low reserve power. Of course! The PC was running off 
a battery backup of some kind. In front of the terminal, a lone chair 
sat. He sat at the terminal and pressed the spacebar.

The terminal came to life, displaying a still logged-in account. John 
studied all the login information. Sylia Stingray was the last user.. 
and she'd been logged in for... 30 years. <My god... 30 years...>

John studied the system for several minutes, eventually finding an
enourmous file marked "The Last Day". He punched it up and a video
began on the screen.

The Knight Sabres had been sent on a desperate suicide mission, but only
Sylia had survived, although crippled. Images of Nene, Priss, and
Linna's dead bodies burned into his eyes as he watched the ill-fated
mission. He cleared his now dry throat, feeling a deep sorrow for the
loss of the four ladies he knew yet didn't know.

The screen switched to a different video and John frowned. <Huh?>

A news report from several years later. The boomer rampages had grown
more and more violent over the years, but the boomers apparently had
a new leader-- a cyborg of some sort.

It switched again, this time to a stolen Genom log. They apparently
had captured the cyborg to use for research materials, not knowing
the cyborg was infected with a computer virus that had rendered him
insane. The Genom computers were infected, and the virus soon spread
to the boomers. Genom couldn't control them. They turned against Genom
and destroyed it utterly, killing every man and woman inside the tower.

All of humanity was helpless to stop the advance. In desperation,
hydrogen weapons were brought to bear. In one final battle, all life on
the planet was destroyed, but all of the boomers were destroyed as
well-- a dead planet remaining.

As the video faded away, John shivered. "Total destruction," he
whispered to himself. He was the only living creature on the planet now.

John punched up another file marked "Sylia's Emergency Design Note" in 
curiousity. A voice started behind him and he jumped out of the seat.

>From behind him, a holographic image of a remarkable woman stood 
regally, her deep eyes seemingly looking into his soul. He shivered, 
recognizing her immediately. Sylia.

"Knight Sabers, if you read this message, it means I didn't survive a 
mission. I'm sorry I had to leave you, my friends, but we all die 
eventually. Contained within this file is instructions and help on how 
to repair and build new hardsuits. Without me, you'll be doing this by 
yourselves. Now, let's start..."

John paused the recording. <Hardsuit design? This could be interesting.>

Another issue thwapped at his consciousness. <John, this world is dead. 
There's no food anywhere. If you don't find a way out of here, you're 
dead.>

An idea struck upon him, and he carefully pried the casing of the 
computer open. Looking upon the computer's motherboard, he was in awe at 
the technology involved. <Wow, these sure have gotten SMALLER..Wh? Crap! 
I love it! 1 megabit vesa-bus slots when you need an old fashioned ISA 
slot. Looks like this PC can't handle my card.>

He shivered and mumbled, "My only way out is to build a hardsuit and to 
try to interface that card to it... I recall hardsuits were the only
remaining ISA architechure in 2030."

Leaving the terminal, he walked back to the intersection and down the 
dark corridor. His footsteps echoed into his mind, the death march of an 
entire population weighting his soul. At the end of the corridor, 
another metal security door lay. Shattered. He stepped over the remains 
of the door and into the room beyond.

Glass cylinders, hardsuits inside, filled the room. Most of the 
hardsuits were severely damaged, to the point of uselessness. He studied 
each of the suits and noted with disgust that they were for female 
pilots. <I don't have the figure to wear one of these! Besides, they 
don't work..>

Shaking his head and sighing, he knew he had no choice but to get to 
work. He began the long task of dragging suit parts down to Sylia's 
computer. 

About 50 minutes later, he looked down at the fair sized pile of parts 
he'd moved. <I sure hope this works..>. He turned back to the paused 
hologram.

The hologram looked at him almost expectantly, and John unpaused it.

"Oh, one more thing. In case you need Mackie on the team, there's 
descriptions of the necessary hardsuit modifications here, and I set 
aside some special parts for his use."

John faintly grinned and paused the hologram yet again. <I'm saved! Now, 
where are these parts she mentioned?>. John walked out of the lab to 
begin his search.

About an hour later, John looked disgustedly at the hologram. He'd
looked over the entire building several times, and not a single part for
Mackie's use was found. Things were not going his way. Thrown from his 
home into a dead universe, forced to wear a WOMAN'S hardsuit to escape, 
and not a scrap of food or help anywhere! This was humilliating. John 
sighed and looked back to the hologram, unpausing it.

"Now, let's begin with the fundamentals.."


SEVERAL HOURS LATER...


John looked up from the suit he had just completedm his head swimming 
with formulas, ideas, concepts, and design theories.. <This suit looks 
like crap, but it should be able to get me out of here>. The hardsuit 
was a motley mix of parts and armour plates. It looked like something 
cooked up from a junkyard, which, technically, it was. The leg pieces 
didn't match, nor did the arms, and the armour plates were from 
different hardsuits, so the suit had a psychedelic style to it. The 
worst part about the suit was the fact he'd only been able to salvage a 
small pulse laser and a single swordblade -- very weak weapons. He'd 
installed both onto the wrist of the right hand, wishing he had 
something more powerful. <Sometimes you have to put up with what you can 
find, though..>

John smiled the smile of an insane, or desperate man. <Time for the test 
run.. either it works, or it goes up in smoke..>

He stepped into the suit and started up the computer in it. The display 
lit up, showing the room around him in startling detail. He didn't 
notice the suit close around him, but he knew it had sealed when the 
suit tightened to his shape. The chest area seemed a bit roomy, and the 
hips were slightly too snug. He grumbled to himself, knowing exactly why 
that was the case, and knowing he had no choice in the matter. The sound 
of seals locking into place, then the computer started diagnostics. 
Everything was fine.

<Now comes the hard part..>

He opened the expansion area on his chest, and inserted the half card, 
half expecting another explosion. He was wrong. The computer merely 
studied the card and printed a readout on it. <Wow! Talk about 
plug'n'play!>

The readout was astonishing-- the card had been DESIGNED for hardsuits! 
It was a 'warpcard'. With it, a hardsuit pilot could switch universes in 
a flash. The hardsuit's computer could store the relevant data for a 
universe in its memory for later travel, but to FIND a universe, 
however, he had to cross his fingers and randomwarp. Meaning, it'd be 
quite some time before he got home (which incidently, was where
he REALLY wanted to be right now, as he wasn't the hero-type.)

John closed the expansion bay, sealing it, and took a deep breath. This 
experience was completely new to him, yet oddly titillating. An odd 
thought occured to him, and he could but smile. Could it be possible an
anime was being created in his home universe about him? <Hi Mom! 
They're probably reading my mind this very instant if that's the case. 
Scary thought. Perhaps I should put it out of my mind.>

John stepped to the computer and hooked his hardsuit up to it. He let 
the hardsuit download the logs and the design files, knowing they would 
be useful. John walked carefully out of the building. He was about 50 
feet from the building when his sixth sense buzzed a warning at him. He 
ignored it, knowing that the world was dead. Nothing was there to harm 
him.

John was knocked out of his reverie by a sudden particle beam shot to 
his midsection, throwing him to the ground. John gasped as pain flooded 
his nerves. He didn't even have time to think as a grey shape dashed 
forward. He looked down just in time to see a sharpened claw punch 
through his already weak armor and enter his stomach.

Screaming in agony, few coherent thoughts were possible.. <Too.. fast 
to.. human. Thought... boomers...gone. How? Pain...too..much!>

In desperation, he fired his pulse laser, but it didn't even dent the 
armour of the grey shape, now obviously a boomer. It laughed at him 
mercilessly, then lifted him by the chestplate using the claw already 
imbedded into him. It was holding John several feet off the ground. 
Blood dripped from the gashes in the armour, punctuating the haze he was 
swimming in.

"I haven't seen a human in a very long time. I used to enjoy hunting. 
Are you ready to die?", the boomer caustically remarked.

John was too far gone to respond.

"Oh well.. I'd hoped to have some more fun with you before I killed you, 
but you're too weak."

Somewhere in John's brain, a spark flickered, a memory forgotten in the 
suddenness of the attack. At the same time, the boomer's other claw 
reared back, ready to finish the job the boomer had started. The spark 
reached John's consciousness and he gave the command. A moment before 
the claw would have reached his heart, he was gone. He had randomwarped, 
lucky to still have any life left to live. The boomer was left there 
howling in anger at his escape.

His last thought before he left consciousness.. <going .. come back and 
... right this wrong.. swear it!>


U N L I M I T E D  M O M E N T
Chapter Zero -- Act Two: Recovery


All along the seashore, waves lapped wistfully at the sand and grass. 
The sun shined brightly upon the land, giving this world a shine of 
health. A few birds few overhead, heading back to the forests to which 
they lived. The serenity of the land was broken; a 'rip' appeared in the 
sky. The birds scattered. From the rip, a water-like drop fell. It 
'splashed' onto the grass and formed into an amoured figure.

The figure recoiled in pain and took its helmet off to show black hair 
and hazel eyes. The figure, now obviously a he, was suffering from 
gaping wounds on his torso from which blood dripped. He held his helmet 
under one arm and looked around him. The man mumbled aloud, "Where am I 
now? Looks peaceful, though. Have to find help..."

Looking down, the hardsuit had looked like it'd been used in a butcher's 
shop. Blood covered the front in trails. <Looks like I made it.. 
wherever I am..>

John suddenly felt dizzy. Realizing the loss of blood was causing him to 
go into shock, he knew he didn't have much time left before the wounds 
became terminal. He scanned the horizon, hoping to find a town, city, 
house, or ANYTHING that could help. In the distance, an oddly familliar 
town lie. His mind was nowhere near comphrension, so he blindly 
staggered towards the town hopefully. Leaving a trail of blood.

In a house nearby, a teenaged boy named Palom lived with his twin sister 
Porom. The two of them were mages of widely known talent, being the 
youngest masters ever. Palom was a master of 'black magic'. Black magic 
was the kind of spells used offensively, such as throwing bolts of 
lightning, poisoning an opponent, etc. His sister, however, was a master 
of 'white magic'. White magic was magic with non-offensive uses, such as 
healing a person, slowing them, speeding them up, and many other types 
of spell.

The twins had accidently created a new magic called "Twin Magic", a 
combined burst of white and black magic from the twins that was far more 
potent than either mage could produce alone. This "Twin Magic" was 
rather unique in the fact nobody else had been able to duplicate the 
spells they created as twins -- in any way. 

Palom grumbled, staring at his book of black magic. Homework... he hated 
homework. Especially on a nice day like today. His sister had already 
finished her work and had disappeared outside. He'd been caught skipping 
his class the day before and had received a double-load of homework from 
the Elder as a punishment. Magic homework was usually quite boring for 
him. 

He read the book and scribbles notes on a small scrap of paper next to 
him for a minute longer, letting the frusteration boil inside him. 
Suddenly, it was too much for him to bear. "Fire", he yelled, pointing a 
finger at the scrap of paper. A small flame burst from his hand and flew 
into the paper, igniting it. Within seconds, the scrap was charred 
beyond recognition.

Palom slammed the book shut and stormed outside. He started in shock as 
an amoured figure staggered into town, bleeding profusely. It was 
obviously humanoid in nature. Palom heard a modulated voice whisper, "P-
Palom?! Can't be.. Must b-be shock..", and the figure fell to his knees. 
A moment later, the world went dark for John.


AN UNDETERMINED TIME LATER...


The darkness around John lightened to a gray and the pain began to flood 
into his senses. Gradually things came into focus around him. Indistinct 
shapes formed into walls, a lamp on a table, and the bed he lay on. A 
small room, a guest room apparently. To his right, he could see an oak 
door, to his left was a stone wall with a window. Light streamed from 
the window into his eyes, making him blink. He opened his dry mouth to 
take a deep breath, but he discovered a sore throat keeping him from 
that goal.

John forced his mouth open against the pain and croaked, "Ooohhhh... my 
head.. where.. am I?". Footsteps echoed from beyond the door. John was 
too weak to care who was coming, though, and he just closed his eyes to 
wait.

He heard the door swing open, then a breathtaking female voice called 
out, "Elder! He's awakened! Come quick!". John opened his bleary eyes to 
see a teenage girl looking down upon him. He found himself mesmerized by 
the green eyes as he looked into them. Looking up at her long brown 
hair, which accented her beautiful face, his heart jumped a beat. He was 
completely blown away-- it took him a while to find what was left of his 
voice.

The girl smiled, "It's good to see you're awake. Your wounds were 
serious and we were worried about how you'd come out of it. It's good my 
brother found you when he did, or you might not have made it."

John drew in a sharp breath and choked, "Your brother-- Palom?" as the 
memories of seeing Palom flooded into his mind painfully. "You--you're 
Porom?!"

Porom nodded, and smiled. "Yes. And you are?"

"John, and thanks for the assistance."

A nagging thought struck him. <The Porom I knew of was a young girl; why 
is she older than that...?>

A counter-thought slapped him silly. <John.. you're here years AFTER the 
time period you knew. Things are different here now. These are real 
living PEOPLE, not characters in a story.>. John felt a faint guilt for 
not thinking of her as a person. <I'll remember that now...>

John was snapped back to reality suddenly as he heard Porom's voice, 
"John? John?? Are you okay, John?"

"What? Oh. Sorry, my mind was wandering."

Porom glanced back as an old man walked into the room. His bearing and 
demeanor was calm, yet stately. His thinned hair had almost completely
changed to a winter white from the deep red it once was, and his grey 
eyes twinkled slightly with inner power and knowledge. His presence 
commanded a respect held deep in John's subconscious, and it awakened a 
flickering flame there.

The old man walked to John and looked down into his eyes. "Hmm. It is 
good to see that you have recovered.  Your wounds were almost too much 
for our magic to handle. Your strange armor is being kept in the tower 
for when you're feeling better. May I ask your name, knight?"

"John", Porom and John responded at the same time. John smiled over at 
her a moment, then turned his attention to the old man. "You must be the 
Elder Porom called for."

"Indeed, so I am. Welcome to Mysidia, John. Porom and I have been 
watching over you for the past week."

John facefaulted and gasped. "A... week?", he asked in a small voice, 
which incidently was beginning to come back to him. 

Porom interjected, "I told you the wounds were serious, John."

He rose to a sitting position slowly and painfully. "I still hurt all 
over," he commented. He rose to his feet unsteadily and was quickly
held up by Porom and the Elder.

"You shouldn't be up so soon, John," exclaimed Porom, "You might reopen
the wounds!"

John groaned. "I'm not going to just sit here until they've healed. I
have to do SOMETHING or I'll go crazy."

The Elder looked to John strangely for a moment, then asked, "You're
not from this world, are you?"

John visibly flinched at the question, and sat down on the bed. "I'm 
not. I got thrown from my home into another reality, and was attacked 
there. I barely managed to escape-- and I found myself here."

"How do you know our names, then?"

John started to sweat. "That, by itself.. is a LONG story."

"You'll have to tell me sometime when you have more time. For now,
I want to make sure you heal completely. Porom, you're in charge of
our guest for now. See that he gets a place to stay and rest until
he's completely healed. I'll be at the Tower of Wishes if you need me."

The brown-haired girl looked to the Elder with a shocked expression.
"Me? Why me?", she asked of the Elder.

"Because you're of his age, you're a White mage, and your brother found
him. Don't worry, I don't think he'll be a problem for you to handle."

With that, the Elder left the room. John looked to Porom in suprise. "He
knows how to take charge of a situation, I see." he quipped with a pinch
of surprise. "I guess we'll be getting to know each other while I'm
healing."

John sighed. "I guess the only way I can get stronger is to work at it.
Would you help me, Porom?"

Porom frowned a moment, then smiled. "Sure. It'll make the time go by
faster until you're better." John's heart skipped a step at her smile.

"For now, though, you should rest a bit more."

John lied back on the bed, nodding. "I don't seem to have much of a
choice right now," he added, as the weariness started to catch up
with him at long last. The room slowly faded around him, but he caught
one last piece of phrase: "Rest well, John..."


HOURS LATER...


John's eyes opened to moonlight from his window. The moon's gentle
rays bathed the entire room in a soft glow. The pain and fuzziness in
his head slowly began to subside, forming conscious thought.

He sat up in bed and looked out the window at the moon for several
minutes. <I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep.> He moved
from underneath the covers and sat on the side of the bed, gathering
his strength. Standing was easier than he expected. A slight draft
sent a chill across his chest; he absentmindedly rubbed his hand over
his shirt. He discovered torn spots in the shirt where claws had ripped
into his chest. Tracing the tears, he shivered involuntarily. It had
been too close a call.

<Standing here isn't going to do me any good. Maybe I should walk around
a bit.> John opened the door and stepped into the darkened hallway,
unable to see clearly. Glancing to the left, then the right, he saw
doors at both ends of the hall. <Which way do I go? I don't want to wake
anyone up.>

John trusted to luck and fate; he turned to the right and stealthily
walked down the hall. He took small steps, moving slowly with his arms
held out in front of him to make sure he didn't walk into a wall
headfirst. He reached the door and reached for the handle. He quietly
opened the door and entered.

A bedroom draped in delicate shades of green entered his eyes. A window
shed moonlight onto a bed in the center of the room. In the bed, a young
woman slept peacefully-- Porom. John's eyes went to Porom's sleeping
figure and he watched her for a moment. <Sleeping so peacefully.. like
an angel at rest..>

John's throat went dry. Getting caught in here wouldn't be a good thing
to have happen. He stepped backwards cautiously, closing the door behind
him. His heartbeat slowed slightly from its frantic pace, his hands
shaking.

John had always been uncomfortable in close proximity to women. A bad
experience in his past had ripped a deep gash in his confidence and
his heart. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, John turned and
went down the hall to the other door, eventually finding his way
outside.

John looked over the peacefully sleeping town. The crickets quietly
chirped away from somewhere. The buildings were quiet and lightless.
Trees grew about the town, fed by small streams running through the
town. He walked to a tree and sat down against it. <This world had
caught my imagination so long ago, but I'd 'known' it wasn't real.
Now I'm meeting people, almost legends in their time, who exist only
as a story in mine. I'd think I was going insane, but this is too real.
What am I to do now..?>

He pondered the last question for a long time, but the answer seemed
to escape him. Sighing, he went back inside and quietly went back to
bed. Sleep came quickly for him, his wounds hadn't recovered commpletely
yet.


THE NEXT MORNING...


Pain. Intense pain flooding his senses. John awoke to pain
burning through his chest. As the whiteness around him faded to visible
reality, he gasped. Jerking up off the bed, the pain began to fade
slightly. A familliar female voice from his side commented solemnly,
"It'll hurt less if you keep moving for now. When you've strengthened a 
bit more, the pain will disappear."

He jerked around. "Porom! You startled me for a moment there."

"Palom and I talked awhile, and we've decided on the best way to build 
your strength. We're going out to fight some of the weaker monsters of
the area, and you're coming along."

John facefaulted, "You have to be kidding! In my condition, I'd be
massacered by the first thing that saw me!"

"Not really, John, and with us along to support you, you'll have no
difficulty handling this. What kind of weapon do you like to use?"

John felt a sweatdrop run down his nose. "I.. have no real experience
with much anything... except some swords."

"Good enough, come with me to the Tower of Wishes. We'll see if we can
find some equipment for you to use."

At this moment, John realized he wasn't going to have much of a choice.
Inwardly shrugging, he gave in with an almost audible 'piku piku'.

As he walked outside the grey brick home with Porom at his side, he 
became aware of people watching him and whispering to each other. John
smiled faintly. <The center of attention for a change. Heh.>

He walked reverently into the tower, stories of the past swimming
amongst the ocean of his conscious mind. 

The Tower of Wishes.

The Tower was the focal point of all of the hope of humanity. It was 
here that the vast energy of life was gathered. Once, years before,
a small group of people were sent to the moon to battle an enemy 
existing of pure hatred. The hopes and dreams of humanity had kept them 
alive and fighting in the darkest moment, when only one stood against 
rhe hatred. The group went on to destroy the evil, but not without a
terrible realization: Being pure hatred, the creature would never
die as long as there was evil in the hearts of people. The Tower of 
Wishes would stand as a momument to courage and a vigilant watch against
darkness. 

Porom and John walked into a small study-like area. Bookshelves upon
bookshelves of books on magic lined the walls; Mysidia has always been
the ancient, even legendary home of the mages on this world. John
quickly scanned a few titles as they walked through.

"Fire, Air, Earth, and Water-- Elements of Everything"
"Combat Spells for Beginners"
"The Encyclopedia of White Magic"

John kept walking-- magic was not normal to the universe he was from, 
but he was not afraid of it. Nor was he suprised by its existance; the 
many science fiction and fantasy novels he'd read opened his imagination 
and mind to such possibilities long ago.

Ahead, a small staircase led to the main tower. Porom took the lead and 
John followed her, taking advantage of the moment to really study her 
for the first time.

Porom's waist-length brown hair flowed freely down her back. A dark 
green dress accented her body's natural shape and showed her distinct
femininity. Her soft skin was of an ivory shade, suggesting she spent
much time studying indoors. Porom's graceful steps were natural yet
practiced; the art of the courtesian at its finest.

John shook his head violently for a moment to clear his thoughts. A smug
voice in the back of his head remarked, sounding much like a DM from 
some roleplaying session in his past.. <Save VS Spell, -5 penalty..>

He failed. Miserably.

She continued swiftly and gracefully onward, up the stairs. John
followed her lead, and they stepped to the next floor of the tower. A 
room of sheer mirrors. Everything he glanced at reflected his face back
at him.

The room was fairly large and had crystalline pillars evenly around. In
the center, a pedestal majestically reigned, a throne to a glowing
yellow crystal, cut in a cylinderical pattern. The crystal shone softly
with it's own internal light. A sense of peace overcame John and he
stared into the crystal. A soft, musical voice intruded onto his
thoughts gently.

"So, you've come.", the voice spoke sagely. John blinked and looked 
around. Nobody else there in the room except Porom, and it wasn't her
voice. Porom must have heard it as well, for she turned to look at
the crystal.

"Your name is... John, isn't it?", queried the Crystal of Water. John 
could only nod, shaken to his core (but not stirred!). "We've been 
waiting for you. You have an inner light, rare among the human race. 
Very few of your kind exist anymore. We're going to guide you to your
destiny, John," the Crystal continued.

John frowned slightly. "My destiny? What do you mean?", he asked.

"There is no time to explain now. Strengthen yourself, then look to
Mount Ordeals for your answers. Go now.", the Crystal spoke. 

All became silent. John looked to Porom, who returned his startled look 
with amazement. "The Crystal spoke to you! It rarely speaks to anyone,
yet it spoke to someone new. You must be special in some way," Porom
commented in awe.

"I'm just an ordinary guy, Porom. There's nothing special about me-- I'm
just completely average and bland," John responded. Actually, he was 
rather average, but deep inside there was a real person waiting to break
open from the shell. He motioned Porom to lead on, a shy "Lead on, 
m'lady," escaping his lips.

Porom blushed slightly, then smiled. "This way," she called, showing 
John to another starcase at the far back of the room. He followed, 
taking one last tenative glance at the softly glowing Crystal with a
shiver. <It knew my name. Somehow it knew who I was..>

His footsteps echoed softly with a clink against the crystalline floor.
A whisper from behind him caused him to shiver. "We'll be waiting for
you, John..."

John climbed up behind Porom quickly, wanting to be as far from the 
Crystal as possible. His life had changed dramatically over the past 
week, and it seemed destiny had some plans for his future. The weirdest
part, he reflected as he climbed the stairs, was that he was becoming
less and less suprised by each new layer of chaos that attached to him.

Porom was lost in her own thoughts as she climbed the stairs. A.. unique
young man (to say the least) had entered her life a week prior, 
unconscious. He knew her name and a lot about her, seemed mysterious 
about his past-- and even stranger, the Crystal had recognized him and
had talked to him. She didn't know how she felt about this 'John' who
had turned her world chaotic. He seemed so nice, but unsure about
himself at the same time. She sighed inwardly.. only time would tell.


U N L I M I T E D  M O M E N T
Chapter Zero -- Act Three: Thy Inward Fire pt. I


At the top of the tower, the Elder stood staring at the hardsuit. The
blood had been cleaned off the technological suit of armor and it looked
fairly presentable again, except for the fact it looked rather 
mismatched. Then again, what can you expect from Junkyard Tech? He 
looked closely at it, running his hand over the smooth ceremel exterior. 
"Incredible. Armor of a Technology Knight. What would happen if magic 
were fused with the armor?", he mused to himself. Shaking his head, he 
sighed. "John is obviously from a technological universe. Whatever 
attacked him must have been fast and powerful-- he never even had a 
chance by the looks of these impalement marks."

The sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs below. The Elder turned
towards the sound expectantly and was rewarded when Porom came up into
the room with John behind her. He nodded in greetings to the two.

John nodded grimly in return to the Elder as Porom began to speak.

"Elder, John and I are going out to the surrounding forest areas. We
can clean out much of the monster infestation while strengthening him. 
I'll be able to heal any wounds he gets while he's learning."

The Elder stopped and raised his brow in thought. "Yes," he responded
slowly, "that sounds to be an excellent idea."

He waved his hand in a motion to interrupt anything Porom or John might
say.

"First, though, you need to be educated about this world."

John groaned inwardly. <Do I detect a speech coming on? -sigh->

"This world, the blue planet, has several major continents and some 
island chains. Several major kingdoms control the upper world--"

John cut him off impatiently. "Mysidia, Baron, Damcyan, Eblan, Fabul,
and Tororia. Mysidia is the ancient home of the mages, and holds the
Crystal of Water. 

Baron is the strongest country, led by the legendary paladin Cecil and 
his white mage wife Rosa. 

Damcyan, the desert country, is ruled by Prince Edward. Edward was 
trained as a bard and his music is world reknowned. Damcyan is the home 
of the Crystal of Fire. 

Eblan, the kingdom of ninjas, is ruled by the flirtacious Prince Edge. 
Edge lost his parents in a horrible 'experiment'. His temper and inner 
rage at the foul actions of Dr. Lugae unlocked the inner powers he had
and allowed him to raise to a strength never seen in a ninja before.

The karate fighters of Fabul, led by King Yang, defend the Crystal of 
Air. They live in constant preparation and training for the day they
will be needed again.

Lastly, Tororia, the beautiful land of grass, water, and trees, is ruled
by 8 cleric sisters. The women spearsmen of Tororia peacefully guard the
Crystal of Earth."

The Elder smiled. "You weren't kidding when you said you knew some of
this world," His face broke into a small frown. "There is still much for
you to learn in the political aspect, but that can wait."

"Go and train with Porom. I need Palom for a special assignment so he
won't be able to come with you for a while yet." He handed John a small
blue pouch of gold. "In this pouch, there should be enough money for you
to equip yourself."

John was stunned. "Why are you helping me?" he queried softly, "You
don't know me, yet you're trusting me. Why?"

Porom remained silent, but her eyes revealed her curiousity was burning
at the same line of questioning. She looked to the Elder for answers.

"I expected that question, John. In each person, there is an aura of
light radiating from them. Few people have senses attuned to these auras
so they cannot see these auras of goodness or darkness in another. There
are a few people with an aura so bright or so dark that it's dazzling to
even the normal senses.

John, I can see that Fate has thrown you into something against your
wishes. I symphathize with you, you're not used to this yet.. but Fate
has something special in store for you. I don't know what, but it's
obvious."

John nodded slowly. "I was a normal young man before this all happened.
I'm still adjusting to all the changes. I knew before all of this what
my path in life was, but now I don't know. I feel so.. lost.. and
lonely.."

The Elder nodded grimly. "Tell me your story, and perhaps I can help
guide you."

John hesitated a moment. <I.. guess I don't have anything to lose
by telling them, even if they don't believe me..>

He related the story of his morning, the two watching his gestures
and listening intently. When he'd finished, Porom looked at him
disbelievingly, the Elder impassionately.

"If you're who I think you are, John, then your life is about
to change even more than you know," the Elder began, "Go train now
and we shall talk more later."

The Elder thought to himself a moment. <I didn't expect this.. can
it be possible he really IS the one? If he's false and we trust him
then we're all doomed. But, if he IS the real one, then..>

The Elder shivered quietly. So many questions, so little answers.


Elsewhere...


A dark figure stood at the head of a darkened hall. The imposing
figure, draped in midnight black, paced the hall. His armour made
eerily made no sound as he stepped, his cloak swirling around his
shoulders, seemingly embracing him.

The figure began to muse aloud in a deep, malevolant voice:

"He has the warpcard. This.. 'John'.. is stronger than I first
thought. I must have him brought here. Alive if at all possible."

He yelled forth, echoing through the hall. "Dopple!"

A soft female voice resonated from somewhere. "Yes, my lord?"

"You are to bring me John, alive, with the armor intact."

The female voice became almost feral. "Understood. I'm looking
forward to this. I haven't hunted in a long time.."

The dark figure's voice thundered. "Alive, Dopple. Do not kill
him, or I will have your broken body strung from my throne as
a reminder to those who would cross me."

Dopple laughed softly and mockingly. "As you wish."

The figure paced relentlessly. "So, my archnemesis has brought
someone else into the game, has he?"

Back at the Tower...


John and Porom padded softly down the stairs and exited the tower.
John's mind was racing with many questions. Many questions, but not a
single answer. Why was he in THIS world? Why him? The answers seemed
to escape him.

Outside, the dawn's early rays began to shine forth on the city. Men
and women of all ages were moving among the streets on a daily routine.
Greetings were given and accepted, neigbors helped one another, and
peace reigned in the realm of Mysidia. John looked around, his heart
at rest. <Truly peaceful. I could accept living in this world; it is
much more peaceful than home. However, I have some things I must do
before I can go home, much less settle my future.>

<I'm changing. A month ago, I would have never even considered myself
anything but a normal teenaged computer programmer. Now, I don't know
what I am anymore.>

The cool breeze lazily flowed through the town, gently caressing John's
hair. Porom's hair floated upon the wind like a wave on the oceans. He
took a deep breath and smiled-- a new day had begun, and with it, a new
life.


U N L I M I T E D  M O M E N T
Chapter Zero -- Act Four: Thy Inward Fire pt. II


John looked to himself in the mirror's reflection, the glint of
amusement in his eye. Armor of white cloth covered his body from his
shoulders to his ankles, a sheathed blade at his side.

Porom looked at him appraisingly. "Something's missing," she thought
aloud. She tapped her chin with her forefinger, deep in thought. A
flash of inspiration showed momentarily in her eyes and she reached into
her posessions. Several seconds later, she held an emerald green strip
of cloth up in one hand. "Here, John, tie this around your forehead."

John looked startled, but tied the headband into place. "Now you look
more like a dangerous fighter, John," she added with a giggle.

John grinned despite his embarassment. "As dangerous as a declawed cat.
Shall we go on, milady?"

Porom led John to the town gates through the crowds of people, their
light footsteps rumpling softly on the grass. A few clouds drifted by,
the sun's height low on the horizon. John breathed in the fresh air
with deep gasps. <Ahh, the fresh air of the forest.>

They walked softly through the light grasses of the forest, occasional
beams of light making their way through the treetops to the ground
before them. A light breeze rustled leaves and grass softly, but
little was heard.

Out of the forest, the sound of footsteps was heard. John gripped his
blade's hilt tightly, his every muscle taunt with excited apprehension.

Three small figures jumped out from behind a tree screaming a battle
cry. Brandishing tiny spears, the unarmoured Imps charged at the two
unsuprised humans.

John clumsily drew his blade, his adrenaline beginning to course
through his veins. Porom pulled a large staff from somewhere, and the
chaos began.

John didn't have TIME to think; the first Imp charged him, slashing
downward with its spear. He parried wildly with his sword and the
spear glanced off the sharp swordedge. John forgot his blade 
momentarily giving the Imp time to slash again and again. Parrying 
or dodging each brutal slash, John had no time to think about his 
next move. It was react or die. Suddenly, he remembered the blade.
Parrying a vicious stab at his throat, John sliced around rapidly.
Rhe Imp tried to block with its forearm. The blade bit deeply
into the forearm, and John felt an animalistic snarl rise from his
throat. He savagely reversed the arc of the swing, yanking it out
of the forearm. The arc was true, and the blade tore into the Imp's
neck. The Imp screamed in rage and pain, then faded away in a purple 
haze.

John frowned. <No blood. These creatures don't really exist, so it
seems. Creations of magic? I sure don't know.>

He looked back in time to see another Imp disapper in a haze. Porom's
staff had cracked its ribs. Porom and he had both taken one down. 
Suddenly, a fireball blasted out from somewhere and nailed the third 
Imp, blowing him into a tree. He too faded in a purple haze. The brown 
haired Palom ran up, grinning like a maniac. "Didn't want to miss the 
party!"

John raised an eyebrow. "Palom! Good to see you could make it. Name's
John."

Twelve more Imps jumped out from the forest, enraged at the loss of the
others. The three backed into a triangular formation and the Imps 
surrounded them, gleaming spears at the ready.

John frowned. This was no game, lives were at stake. 

Palom jumped forward, a knife suddenly in his hand. An Imp swiped with
its spear, keeping Palom back. "I can't reach far enough with this, and
magic is out of the question-- we're too close to them. Any ideas,
John?"

<Too close for magic.. but what if I can open enough space for them to
get out?>

"Get ready, you two.. I'm going to open enough room for you to get out.
When I yell, you run for it and as soon as you're far enough away, cast
a spell."

The twins frowned, but realized there wasn't much of a choice-- 
swordplay would just cost them their lives.

John feverently wished for his hardsuit, mumbling a silent prayer..

"May fortune favor the foolish...."--He jumped forward in a blur,
jumpkicking the first Imp-- it went down, but John felt a sharp pain
in his back. He screamed and an Imp cackled. "Now!"

John felt the spear in his back yank out, and as he fell to his knees,
he heard the breeze from the spear barely missing a second thrust. John
looked up to see Palom and Porom make their way out of the circle. He
staggered back up to his feet and turned to meet the first of the Imps.

Remembering a bit of his martial arts training, he sidekicked the first
Imp, buying him a precious moment of time. It wasn't enough, though, and
he went down in a pile of Imps-- slashing, stabbing, and scratching.

Palom desperately cast the first spell that came to his frantic mind. 

"Liiiiiiiiiiiiightniiiiiiiiiiiiing Twoooooo!!!"

Out of the sky, a large green hrow of lightning stabbed downward onto
the pile of scrambling Imps. Arcs of current flashed over them all,
and thunder crashed through the air. The Imps faded away like the ones
before them, leaving a heavily wounded John on the grass.

Streaks of blood washed across his clothing. Multiple slashes, scratches
and impalements lined his body. Arcs of current washed over his body,
burning him slightly before they faded. He groaned from his prone position. 
"I need a vacation."

The twins ran to John's prone form. He smiled weakly up at them.
"Thanks. I owe you another one, guys."

Porom closed her eyes and stretched an arm towards John. She chanted silently
a moment, then opened her eyes-- a bluish white aura surrounding her.

"Cure 2," she intoned. John gasped in shock as torn muscles and ripped flesh
began to mend themselves. He scrambled to his feet and wiped blood from his
face with his sleeve. "Thank you, m'lady," he responded instinctively.

Porom and Palaom stared at him a moment, deep in thought. <Why are they
staring at me? Did I suddenly sprout wings or something?>

"Something odd about his behavior," Porom thought, "he acts differently
towards me then you would expect by his other behavior. It's like a
hidden part of his personality is opening up.."

Three days of training passed with John growing stronger and the three
were able to clear most of the imps from the forest with the help of
the hardsuit. John had decided to take it after the second day so he
could gain practice with the pulselaser he'd salvaged. It wasn't the
best in the world, but it was the best he had. The fourth day started
the same, but fate would have a drastically different idea in mind...


THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON...


John finished off the last imp with ease. "This is almost too easy
now," he commented with a grin, flourishing his sword in his armored
hand.

"Don't drop the blade and hurt yourself, John!" admonished Porom. Palom
chimed in, "Yeah, after the LAST time you stabbed yourself in the foot,
you'd think you'dve learned not to show off."

John grumbled. "Hey! I had sweaty palms that time, it wasn't my fault,
really!". A warning buzzer went off in the back of his mind. "Hey.. I
think something's coming.."

A low rumble echoed from the trees around him. "What the?!" cried John.

A dark shape jumped down from a tree and charged through the three.
Palom and John were thrown back several feet, but Porom wasn't so
lucky-- she flew against a tree will a dull crack, then fell to the
ground unconscious.

John jumped to his feet. "What the.."-- the creature caught his eye, now
visible against the light coming down from between the leaves. A dark
purple beast, much resembling a tiger, with long sharp fangs. Claws
sharpened to monocular edges.--"What IS that?!"

Palom groaned in horror. "We've got to get out of here NOW! That's a
Behemoth, and it'll tear us up in a heartbeat. Porom.. she's out cold.
We can't leave her here."

John stared to the Behemoth, it's large muscles rippling from inside
the huge frame. The purple hide looked tougher than leather to his eyes.

Despair rose into John's heart for the first time. They were all going
to die, and it would be his fault. Suddenly it was all too much to bear.
His eyes narrowed, his fist clenched around the sword's hilt in his
hand. "Palom.. Take care of Porom. Get her away quickly.."

"John.. don't. That thing will tear you apart," Palom protested.

"That THING just hurt your sister.. I'm not going to just sit here!"

The Behemoth stared to John, its yellow eyes glowing omniously and
maevolently. It snarled in fury and slashed forward with one huge
claw. It connected with John's chest, shredding through the hardsuit
armor and leaving a gash on his chest. He countered, bringing the
blade whistling downward across the Behemoth's head, drawing blood.

The battle continued like this for several minutes, each seeming
an hour to John's weary body. John took the brunt of the battle;
slashes, gashes, cuts, and scrapes covered him. Blood trickled down
his body, but he barely seemed to notice.

The Behemoth slashed at John one final time, and he parried with his
cracked and chipped blade. With a clink of steel, it snapped in half
in his suprised hand. Anger finally found its way into his
consciousness-- something snapped almost audibly and he saw a field
of red.. blood and flames.

John looked at the raging behemoth one last time. <It's him or me..>

"Come on, you bastard, let's dance!", he screamed, his temper releasing
at long last.

John unconsciously entered a martial arts stance, his posture showing
him extremely pissed. A -snickt- sound and the swordblade extended
from his armoured right hand. "This is the final round, asshole.. Come
and get it," he growled.

The Behemoth growled, blood dripping from its wounds. It bared its
bloodstained teeth and tensed up. From behind, John heard Porom moan as 
she regained consciousness. John tensed like a taunt rope, his knees 
bending slightly.

The creature made the first move and bounded towards John. He
waited-- it came closer and closer, then pounced. That was the signal
John was waiting for; he sprung forward, bringing his right arm up in
a flashing uppercut-- his hand never touched the beast. The swordblade
impacted into the back of the Behemoth's mouth with a wet thunk and
ripped upwards into its head.

John screamed with adrenaline and ripped upwards the blade with all his
strength. The creature tried to scream in vain as the blade ripped
through flesh, bone, and deep into its brain. Instinctively and
savagely, John released his pulselaser shots into the creature's head.
The combination of the blade and the laser was too much on the dying
Behemoth's head and it exploded in a spray of blood and brain tissue.

"There shouldn't have been a behemoth here on the surface! And it was
weaker than it should have been. Something's destroying the balance of
this world," thought Palom aloud.

John remained quiet as he looked upon the corpse of the starving
creature. His hands began to shake slightly. <I.. killed it.. out of
pure temper. What kind of monster am I?>

John turned away from the body in sorrow. <I did what I had to do,
to protect my friends.> His eye caught onto Porom trying to stand. He
reached a hand down to her. "Are you alright, Porom? You had me so
worried."

She accepted his hand and rose to her feet. "T-thanks, John...," but
then she saw the body of the behemoth. "You.. you killed that.."

John sighed, looking down at his bloodstained swordblade. "I had no
choice. It would have killed you if I hadn't fought it. I.. I'm
sorry it had to be that way."

"John.. you defended the both of us. I.. we both.. thank you," awkwardly
added Palom. "I'm not used to thanking people. Thank you."

John smiled; the first smile he'd had in a long time. "Let's get back
to town for a rest. It's been a rough couple of days, and we all need
some time to relax."

Porom watched John for a few moments.

[Stuck here until I can get some certain info needed. I will continue it.]

Porom reached for John's face gently. "John," she purred happily,
"I'm glad you're here."

John felt a twinge of uncertainity and a cold drop of sweat form on his
brow. "Uh.. Porom.. what are you...?" he croaked with a dry throat.

Porom drew him closer, her lips incredibly close to his. He felt her
hot breath upon his face, and the beginnings of his blood to stir
passionately. "Porom.. I.. can't..."

An angry voice from behind growled, "What the..?!". John turned back to
see Porom standing in the doorway. "John, look out!"

John turned to the first Porom and jumped back in shock. "Hwa?" he
uttered intelligently. "Two Poroms?!"

The one sitting on the bed stood and laughed. "The name's Dopple. I'd
almost succeeded in seducing you, John. Too bad she came in when she
did. Now, hand over the warpcard!"

John shook with fury. <That.. that.. clone TRICKED me! I'm gonna...>

John unconsciously began to glow in a slight red aura. "Not a chance!"
he growled in reply. The aura grew brighter and brighter. At this
moment, the Elder walked up behind Porom and saw the scene. John glared
with pure rage at Dopple.

"I don't hit ladies, Dopple.. but you're no lady..."

The aura grew to white hot and John burst into flames. "Now see the
true power... of ANGER!"

The aura faded to a red-hot, flaming John. Dopple raised one arm in
response. The walls blew outwards with massive force, blowing the
entire house apart from within. A huge black aura surrounded Dopple
as she slowly floated in the air.

"Do you really think you can beat me, fool?"

"Save the talk and start fighting!"

Dopple laughed again and the ground began to rumble omniously. Chunks
of rock and dirt began ripping out of the ground and rising high in the
air, disappearing in the distance. John lost his footing and fell to
the earth. Rolling to the side, he barely avoided a huge chunk of solid
rock ripping upwards. John jumped to his feet and the pace sped up--
the rocks began to fly up at lightning speed, carrying him and Dopple
skyward.

Porom and the Elder were thrown back by the explosion that levelled
the house. They, and the rest of the village, were too stunned to do
anything except watch as Dopple came dangerously close to levelling
the entire area.

Dopple cast a hrow of lightning at the firey figure below her. "Eat
lightning!" The lightning hrow struck John's leg, scorching it
slightly. John cast a firebolt in return, and it splotched against
Dopple's aura, causing her to jerk back in pain.

The Elder looked to Porom. "What the heck is going on here?!"

"I.. I'm not sure.. she was masquerading as me and she tried to
seduce him apparently. He got angry, and all.. THIS.. happened."

John and Dopple traded fire, jumping hack and forth among the skyward-
bound rocks. Occasionally a shot would hit to little effect, but
several minutes passed with no resolution in sight.

Dopple yelled to John, "Can you not do better than that?"

John responded in kind, "What's the matter-- getting bored?"

Dopple laughed evilly. "Yeah.. and that's why I drove the creatures
from their homes and into the forest! Did you enjoy the game, fool?"

John's anger reached a new height with Dopple's insinuations. "You--
YOU'RE the one who is destroying everything!"

"Ah, but you are only halfway right! It's a pity you won't live to
tell anyone else!"

"Come and kill me, if you think you can. I'm going to stop your plans."

John reached to his side and drew his sword. <I'll only get one shot,
so I'd better make it a good one.>

Dopple pulled out a wickedly sharp trident from hammerspace and spun it
in a deadly arc. "Let's finish it here, John!"

John's grip tightened on his blade's hilt and he tensed up. About 5 feet
away, Dopple stood on a parallel rock. Looking down at the ground far
below, he realized that if he messed up, he'd be a splotch on the grass.

Dopple leaped first, spinning the trident in one hand. John was prepared
for this and reacted by jumping forward with the blade in a guarding
position. The trident shot forward to strike but was caught on the
block John had prepared. John swung the blade around backwards under-
handedly, catching Dopple on the stomach. She screamed and quivered in
pain as the blade drew blood, slicing deep into her chest.

"Damn.. you.. John! I'll.. be back.. We.. shall meet.. again.. soon..
......very.. soon.. you bastard.. I'll haunt.. you.. till the... day..
you.. die........"

Dopple's eyes glazed over and her form became ethereal, slowly
'evaporating' to nothingness. The rocks that were steadily flying
upward began to lose momentum, then to fall back to the earth.

John closed his eyes, expecting death to shortly become his
acquantenance. The aura around him faded, the fires about his body
dying away. The wind's howling masked the sound of chanting far below.

Everything around him seemed to slow down to a crawl. <So this is the
moment before I die. They say you see your life flash before your eyes
right before you die...>

A second later, his feet touched the wrecked earth. Indeed, it was a
soft landing-- Porom had cast a 'float' spell on John, saving his very
hide from becoming a mess. His eyes were still closed as the rumble of
rocks crashing down around him became deafening.

To everyone's eyes, John appeared to be lost inside the rain of earth.
As the dust settled, John was visible on the freshly resettled grass,
holding his sword in one hand as he knelt. His eyes flicked open.

"Talk about an earth shattering ka-boom... Ow.. my ears hurt like a
roadkill squirrel!" John deadpanned. "If my life is going to be filled
with events like this, no life insurance company will EVER insure me."
[Side note: I apologize to all squirrels reading this story for this
comment. ;) Be sure to remove this for the final posting version.]

With those words, shock set in, and the battered young man's eyes glazed
over.

A VERY LONG TIME LATER...

Pain. Liquid fire melting through his returning consciousness. 

Deja vu. He REALLY would have to learn to stop pushing himself to
his bare limits like that. A headache of nitroglysterine-proportions
pounded away at his brain mercilessly. John moaned an intelligent
"Oy! This feels DAMN familliar."

John rolled to his side, and looked at the severely damaged hardsuit.
Scarred, damaged, scorched, it lay still on the floor beside the bed.

Opening the chestplate, he reached into the components and gently removed
the warpcard. A genius little card, really. He had NO clue how it worked,
but it was his only hope of survival and eventually finding a way home.

Suddenly, the card glowed with a pale blue light and after flying
out of the startled John's hand, floated in the middle of the
room. He fell back onto the bed and watched in amazement. Then an
image appeared around the oddly behaving piece of hardware.

It was a man of a height around 5' 10", whose body was concealed
by a long, black cloak with royal blue trimming along the edges.
The hood was pulled back so the slightly longish brown hair with
streaks of grey indicating some degree of age on the mysterious
apparition's head was revealed. Hazel eyes on a good-looking face
that seemed younger than it should seemed to lock onto John's
presence, making him shiver at the seeming depths that was
somehow conveyed though the image's eyes, and regarded the younger
man.

And sighed.

"Well," the man began, shaking his head, "if this recording has
been activated then it means that Skuld somehow lost or misplaced
the blasted card -AGAIN-, or something else like Mara happened,
who knows?"

<No way,> John gaped mentally, <he can't mean Skuld of Ah! My
Goddess?!> The image smiled wryly and the next few words
unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on your tastes) confirmed
it.

"Yes, I DO mean Skuld, Goddess of the Future, sister to Belldandy and
Urd, and who used to reside with Keichi like Ah! My Goddess. Don't
be surprised," the image chuckled, apparently guessing John's stunned
reaction, "if you didn't know about the anime, the card wouldn't have
landed in your hands, whomever you are." The figure looked up at the
ceiling as it considered its next words before looking at John again.

"That's why I left this message in the card: to explain why I know."

"You see," he began, "magic and psionics are quite possible in the
vastness of all creation. Like you, I was from a world where
neither was an active force. My name I will not tell you because if
you search for me you may encounter people who have been hostile to
me in the past few millennia of my existence and they'd take an
especial interest in you, which you don't want. Trust me on that
point."

John felt chills running down his spine and quickly aborted the idea
that he HAD been wondering about.

"Needless to say, I was changed when I was pulled from my own universe
and acquired great power in both magic and psionics."

"Now the card itself was a concept I came up with and decided
to go to the Skuld I knew, infinite universes, multiverses, and
omniverses having many others. It was designed by us to allow a
person in a hardsuit, like Sylia Stingray made, to travel to a
universe he or she had been to using one's will. The random
universe function was more of a whim Skuld incorporated in the
original design."

"However, I began to wonder what would happen if evil or chaotic
forces got hold of the card, and decided to add safety features.
Skuld agreed." A wry look appeared on the man's face. "I may be
millennia older, and have considerable technical knowledge as a
result, but Skuld still makes me shake my head at the forces
she can utilize with her devices. Therefore, I merely gave her
guidelines to follow for the safeties and she burned them into the
hardware of the card."

"One was that the card would find a new owner if lost, one from a
universe like mine. That owner would be of a generally good-oriented
nature, have certain other features like intelligence and curiosity,
and an otaku nature." The image chuckled at the thought. "Mostly
because they are the most likely to accept what the card could do.
If activated, the card would then take its new owner to a universe
where the owner could and would be mildly compelled to build a
hardsuit of his or her own. It'd find a universe where it would be
POSSIBLE, since I doubt you would normally have the technical skills
to build a hardsuit. Trust me, if it's possible then the compulsion
might be vital."

<No shit,> John mentally added, remembering the universe he had been
launched into the first time. He'd barely survived that one.

"From there things got less then perfect," the image sighed, looking
annoyed, "The willpower needed will take years, perhaps DECADES to
develop for the average person to consciously CHOOSE where to go.
Skuld altered the randomness function to give the wearer a better
chance of landing in a beneficial world for him. HOW, I have no idea,
but she's reassured me about it."

"Once you have the control needed, the card works perfectly and I've
tested it myself without trouble." The image looked thoughtfully at
John, who was VERY uncertain about the whole situation.

<Why am I here? Why was *I* chosen..? I don't understand...>

"I hope those who use this card, which is nearly unbreakable, thanks
to the power inherit in it, do not blame me too harshly if they run
into trouble. After all, the card will take you to realities where
your favourite characters are real, as are their powers. Please
remember that; sometimes they might not LIKE you, so be prepared to
run. You may also gain powers of your own or become immortal like
I have."

His tone turned grim. "It is equally possible to become cursed or
killed so be very, very cautious. My advice is to learn combat skills
and make as many friends as you can, you will need them."

"The last thing is that the card will NOT work for an evil or amoral
person. If you are killed, the card will vanish to find a new owner,
so live long... and prosper." The image of the co-builder of the card
faded with an amused chuckle.

John moaned, slapping his forehead as he got the Star Trek reference.

<Who was that cloaked man? Uh..oops..cliche!>

He closed his eyes to ponder the new information.

<So, I've a reason to be here, but WHAT is it?>

A familliar female voice from somewhere in the room calmly stated,
"John, I can't believe you did that. You could have KILLED yourself!
Why?! Answer me WHY?!"

John's headache suddenly felt much worse.

<I -can't- tell her. It's not right. I don't belong here, and I don't
know how long I'll be staying. Besides, she could find better than I
easily.>

"....."

John looked down at himself. Bruises and cuts recently healed left a
faint trace he could see. <Some hero I am. I didn't even figure out
why Dopple wanted the card. I should just go home and forget all
about this.>

His hands clenched into fists and his arms tightened visibly. His eyes
were squeezed shut, but not in time for a single drop to fall from his
eye. He gritted his teeth. "Why ME, damnit?! Why am -I- here?!"

A faint rustle, then a smooth, soft hand touched his arm.

John opened his eyes to look up to Porom's concerned face. Deep in
his eyes, a sea of pain, frusteration, uncertainity, and something
else-- unidentifiable in the flood of emotion, lay.


...more to come...