From: Darryl Cheung (This standalone story is to help introduce a new character to CAPOW) - Harmony Lost, Harmony Found - An intro-fic written by Dare Cheung [In another dimension] Ahlen rushes to his fallen sister's side. "ONEE-SAMA!" he cries out. He picks up the bloodied body and rests her head on his arm. "ONEE-SAMA!!" he cries again. "Wake up! ONEE-SAMA!" The woman coughs up some blood and her eyes flutter. She sees grey at first and then the fuzzy image of her younger brother comes into view. She tries to smile. "Ahlen.." she whispers. "Onee-sama!" gasps Ahlen. "Hang on, Onee-sama. You've got to hang on!" The woman grasps her brother's free hand. "Ahlen... I'm dying. I've lost." She grimaces in pain. Ahlen shakes his head violently. "No! Onee-sama is invincible! She can't die! Don't die!" His expression turns to rage. Eyes furrowed, teeth showing, he mutters an oath under his breath. "I will avenge you, Onee-sama." Ahlen's sister grips his hand. "No, Ahlen. Promise you won't. Promise--" she coughs some more blood. "Promise you'll go home and lead a happy life." Her eyes blink slowly. She feels the life force draining from her. "Promise..." she whispers. Her eyes close and do not open again. "Onee-sama?" Ahlen feels his hand tighten one last time before his sister's hand slips away. "Iya!" he cries. He holds his dead sister's body close to his own. "IYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!" Ahlen picks up the sword lying on the ground. His sister's sword. Mizu no Heiwa, she called it; Harmony of Water. It was a name more fitting for its wielder. His sister's sword forms were like the flow of water. He wipes the slightly curved blade on his sleeve, cleaning off the blood. The metallic glint catches his eye and in the reflection he sees his sister's face. He rotates the handle slightly and the light's reflection off the blade is blinding. For a moment in time, he sees nothing, feels nothing, hates nothing, and has lost nothing. After a minute, he kneels by his dead sister's side. He touches her cheek one last time as a tear drops from his face onto her bloodied cloak. He pulls the cloak over her serene body. He stands up and grips the sword tightly. "I promise Onee-sama. After I repay them in kind." --- "Power leveels are increezing!" exclaims Dr. Feelbad. "I keen vinally leave dis God-vorsakeen vorld!" He raises his arms in triumph. A surge of energy impacts into him and smashes him against the console. He gets up slowly. "Vat in da vorld?" Ahlen steps out from the shadow, hands extended from where the energy blast came from. "It's time I put an end to your evil, Dr. Feelbad!" Ahlen gathers up his chi once more and delivers another energy blast. Dr. Feelbad scrambles out of the way just in time. The energy blast hits the computer panel. The system erupts with some sparks, and meters begin to register erratic readings. "Stop dat! Nurse Jones! Relive mein herr ov his mizeery!" From behind another console, a young woman pulls out her sword and approaches Ahlen. "I'm gonna rip you to shreds just like your sister," she taunts. Ahlen focuses his rage into one last chi blast aimed at Nurse Jones. She jumps to avoid it and hurtles towards him, blade extended over her head. Ahlen sidesteps her attack as she slashes through the air. Ahlen pulls out Heiwa, his sister's sword, and parries the next attack. Nurse Jones takes the offense, bringing blow after blow, slice after slice, jabbing and thrusting. Ahlen is barely able to hold his own, blocking each of the attacks. He notices that Nurse Jones is pushing him towards a precipice. Nurse Jones tries a chop at his legs but Ahlen manages to jump over the blade and his attacker. He lands behind Nurse Jones and quickly rolls as the opposing blade swings at his head. "Fast little bugger!" snarls Nurse Jones. "Stay still so I can kill you!" She takes up the attack anew and pushes him against another control panel. Ahlen leaps off to the side as Nurse Jones lunges once more, driving her sword into the machinery. Sparks and the crackle of energy surge through the machine. "Stop Nurse Jones!" cries Dr. Feelbad. "You are deestroyeeng da equipument!" Ahlen takes the opening and delivers a solid kick to Nurse Jones stomach. He turns and gives a roundhouse to her head. Nurse Jones' grip loosens and she is thrown to the ground. She counters with an energy blast that sends Ahlen flying into a large computer unit. Nurse Jones recovers her sword and runs at Ahlen, who cannot get up in time. She screams with rage as she angles the blade to take off his head. In a split second, Ahlen grips his sister's sword and with an equal scream, he channels his chi into the blade. The two blades clash, but the energy enhanced blade cuts throuh Nurse Jones' and slices into her stomach. Nurse Jones falls to her knees, eyes rolled upwards, she collapses. The giant machinery room is filled with computers and other equipment that are sparking with energy. "Nooo!" cries Dr. Feelbad. "My beautival deemensional portal!" Ahlen gets up and stands before the kneeling doctor. "Your evil ends here. I won't let you cross the dimensional barrier and infect other worlds with your sadistic greed." He extends Heiwa at the doctor's throat. Dr. Feelbad laughs haughtily. "Fool. Your fight has deestroyed the equipument. Vee are all dead. Da machine vill explode! You cannot escape in time!" He rolls to one side with surpising quickness. He runs to the edge of the precipice where the dimensional portal gathers energy from the planet's core. "Better to die on my own terms." He throws himself over the edge before Ahlen can stop him. The sound of insane laughter fills the room until Dr. Feelbad disappears into the darkness. Behind him, Ahlen feels the explosion of one of the computer units. The doctor is correct. There isn't time to escape. The secret lab that his sister tracked was hidden deep underground. He looks up at the energy sphere generated by the dimensional portal. There is no other choice. He grips the sword tightly and runs into the sphere and disappears. "Onee-sama.." he whispers as he travels into the limbo and beyond. --- [CAPOW-verse] The odds weren't looking good for Kimiko. Her latest mission had been to infiltrate a local cult and turn over information to Chobetsu. Instead, her cover was blown and she was now tied to a chair with a gun pointed at her head. "Filthy government scum!" the cultist standing above her snapped, spitting into her face. She glared at him with cold, hating eyes. She needed to get loose of the ropes. Another man in the room called out. "Yo! What are we gonna do with her?" The man mused for a moment, pondering what Kimiko knew weren't good things. "We kill her." There were seven men in the room. Things looked from bad to hopeless. The ropes that bound her were much too tight. "If I fail to report back, my agency will send an assault force on this compound," replied Kimiko calmly. "You'll all be dead by the end of the day." The man slapped her face. "Shut up! I've had enough of you. When the new order takes over, we'll topple this cowardly government." He raised the gun to Kimiko's face. A blinding light was followed by a deafening boom. A giant blue sphere of energy crackled as it formed in the middle of the room. The cult members were pushed back over their chairs. They scrambled to their guns. A figured leapt out of the blue sphere. Ahlen looked around to see where he had ended up. A woman was tied to an overturned chair while seven men were fumbling with their weapons. Guns? How primitive! he thought. A few of the men had gotten their weapons aimed and ready. Ahlen extended his arm and delivered a chi blast. It sent four of them into the wall. He leapt into the air as the other two from the opposite side came bearing their guns on him. He sliced through their metallic weapons like butter. The pair stood in shock before throwing up the useless guns and ran for their lives. Ahlen made a sweeping arc with his hand and an energy blast shot at the men's feet. The explosion sent them through the air and into some barrels. The seventh man had turned his handgun on Ahlen and began firing. Ahlen raised up an chi shield and the bullets ricocheted off. The last man kept firing until the clip was empty. He tossed the gun at Ahlen who sliced it neatly in two. The man was headed for the door but was cut off by Ahlen who jumped in front. The man held his hands up in terror and started to back away. He tripped over a chair and landed on the floor. He cried out in fright. "Please.. don't hurt me!" He began to sob pathetically. Ahlen raised his blade and swung at the man's neck. The man closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the end. At the last second Ahlen turned the blade and nicked the man's neck. Blood trickled down. Ahlen lifted the blade slowly. "Dirt like you aren't worth it," spat out Ahlen. The man let out a breath. The swordsman turned his back but sent his foot flying into the man's face. Kimiko had landed face-first, still tied to the chair, when the blue light appeared in the room. She had heard gun fire and screaming but she couldn't turn herself over to see what was going on. When it was quiet she called out for some help. She heard the footsteps of someone approaching. The ropes she felt slacken and realized they were cut. She managed to pull the chair off her and looked to her unexpected saviour. She saw a young man clad in brown pants and a gray shirt, stained with dirt and blood. He was wrapped in a cloak and a sword hung at his hip. He was handsome though young, maybe barely eighteen. His black hair was dishoveled. But what Kimiko regarded most were his eyes. They were remarkably familiar to her. The boy's expression changed from unreadable to outright shock as he looked down at the woman he had saved. His mouth hung slightly. "Onee-sama?" He collapsed in fatigue. --- In his dreams he saw a woman, his sister, Kimiko Souichi. She danced the sword forms, her motions fluid, the blade moved as water. She practiced the forms oblvious to his presence. Then she threw the sword at his feet. He picked it up. His sister gathered up her chi and the point of release was her own body. He screamed for her. Instead, the red energy dissipated and his sister stood unhurt. Yet it wasn't his sister. She looked like his sister but there were small differences. And yet she could be his sister. She drew a gun from her shoulder holster and aimed at him. She fired. He tried blocking with the blade. The bullet shattered it and hit his heart. As he fell, he saw the blade, split in two pieces and sheath into the ground. The world grew black. Then came the light... "Daijobu ka? ... are you all right?" Kimiko asked, concerned. Ahlen woke with a jolt. He felt a damp cloth on his forehead but it dropped into his lap as he sat up. "Hey! Be careful! You over-exerted yourself." Ahlen looked around. The room was small. It was someone's bedroom. Beside the bed there was a dresser with a simple woodframed mirror. At the base lay some stuffed animals and a handgun, sheathed in it's holder. Mizu no Heiwa was lying on the floor and so were some clothes. In fact, they were his clothes. "Oh sorry.. I had to get them off and clean your wounds." He looked up the woman. He saw his sister. "ONEE-SAMA!" he cried out and embraced her fiercely. He began sobbing. Kimiko was surprised at first and embraced him back reluctantly. "Onee-sama..." he began, between sobs. "I thought you were dead and I went after Dr. Feelbad and I jumped through the dimensional portal and everything was blurry .. and... and..." He looked up. The face he saw was his sister but there were differences. Her hair wasn't black like his but reddish brown and cut a different length. Was this really his sister? He saw her die... the dimensional portal... Then he began to comprehend. Kimiko pushed him away gently. "Hold on there. I'm not your sister. You're delirious." Ahlen shook his head, realization of what happened beginning to set in. "No. You are my sister. Only from another dimension." "NANI?! Now I _know_ you're delusional!" Kimiko started to stand up. "No, listen to me." He took her hand in his. "I'm your brother from another world. Dr. Feelbad was able to access the rift between worlds and create a stable portal." He began to tell the story of when his sister travelled to the mystical America, she took her brother Ahlen with her and together they trained as blademasters much to her dismay. Ahlen was always tagging along despite his sister's insistence he stay at home. Eventually he accompanied her on her quests. The latest led her to the evil Dr. Feelbad and she had finally tracked down his latest project, ready to terminate it. Ahlen was nearly crying when he talked about the last moments with her. "You don't believe me do you?" Kimiko shook her head gravely. The boy seemed to have lost so much, she thought with sympathy. "Here..." he reached into the pocket of his shirt. He pulled out a photograph and showed it to her. "Taken on the final day of training." Kimiko studied the picture. There stood Ahlen, and a slightly shorter woman. She had sheen, raven black hair and it was hanging differently. But the eyes were unmistakable; she was looking at herself. "This can't be..." "Don't you believe that it's possible other worlds may exist? Don't you think that there may be a dozen, no a hundred, even a million, others like yourself, living in those worlds. Living their lives not knowing about their counterparts. In our world, we learnt that each path leads only to one outcome, but in other worlds, all outcomes are possible and did happen. The result is infinitely many worlds. "I think.." Ahlen paused. "I think that the gods have given me a second chance. They've let me be reunited with my sister. Please, let me stay?" His eyes cast downwards as another tear formed. "I don't have anywhere else to go." "Alright," she agreed slowly. "Besides, I owe you for saving my butt back there." Ahlen's face brightened. "Onee-sama!" and hugged her once more. "Ack!" she yelped. "We're gonna have to work out some details! I just hope we don't have another drinking party for you at the Lurker's Retreat." "Onee-sama?" His eyebrows furrowed. "But I thought you loved drinking?" Kimiko facefaulted. [END] -- |======[Darryl N Cheung]=======[Computer Enginering 0T0 ERTW!]======| -------------> http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/6808/ <---------------- "Kanawanai yume wa nai yo! Massugu ni shinjiteru." -There are no dreams that aren't possible! Believe whole-heartedly.