Here's an update.. for some reason, this one seems a LOT better, IMHO..

Apologies to Twister for the stolen description.. ;)

Enjoy! Comments are REQUESTED and NEEDED! :)



Project Firehawke X     ---    Prelude Chapter ZERO

The sun streaming through the sun's 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 a screensaver 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 on 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 it 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 bet my odds on Ryu.>

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 refridgerator 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." and
beside it sat a 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 mearly 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,
originally Darren Steffler, who became Twister, is related in the story
Twisted Path.

John's energy form entered the Void, the rip closing behind him. His
consciousness
was still lost, as he had no physical mind.

...more to come...
John "Firehawke" Peasley                     /|
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            |\  Knight of Nabiki [M. Miner] and Dark Lord of the Cyth
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            | |SF2,TP,BGZ,SFA,R1/2,KOR,BGC,SNES,PC,C++,ASM
             \| "What's wrong? Why do you hold back?"