Testfic 3 was Kiseiju. Pretty good, innit? The only real thing I have to 
say about it is that I'm sorry I didn't think of it myself. Course, if I 
had, I wouldn't be a starving college student in a three-room apartment 
writing fanfics. 
Okay, here's a little something I need you folks to consider. My project 
Cooperate Takeover still needs another co-author. I got replies from a 
couple of people, but they didn't send anything back after I sent them 
my first draft. I figure, they must've been disgusted by it or 
something. Come on folks, it can't be that bad . . . can it?? Anyway, if 
you have enough time on your hands, help me out. Thanks!
The show must go on . . . gotta be real good to get this one right. It's 
been outta print for twenty years . . . oops, shouldn't have said that. 

The Fallen One/The Winner

"Liar!"

"Grandfather! No . . . can't call you that. I'm not your grandson any 
more."
The old man smirked.
"No need to pretend you don't know me. I've found out what you've been 
doing all this time." The old man pointed at him. "It's for that girl 
isn't it? The girl called Elm."
For a moment, the boy stood still. 
"I have something to say to you."

"This is very confusing," thought Elm as she watched the entire 
conversation from around the corner. 
"Be quiet," said the woman behind her.
Elm squirmed in the woman's grasp. She was very confident in her own 
strength, but the woman obviously had training. She looked around the 
corner again. Apple left the hall with his "grandfather." 
"Leggo of me! I have a lot of questions for Apple! If you don't I'll 
beat you up!"
The woman took no time to react. Elm felt her wind being knocked out of 
her.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to remain quiet."
"A . . . pple."
Apple didn't hear.

The door opened. Four stood within; an elderly woman, two bodyguards, 
and what appeared to be a dwarf. The woman rushed over to Apple.
"Allen!"
"Ah . . . long time no see . . ." She slapped him. ". . .Mother."
"Please don't use violence wife. Violence does no good," said the dwarf 
as he desperately reached up for her hands. 
"Shuttup!" She screamed, addressing no one in particular. "You embarrass 
me boy! How could have I raised a son like you!? You are the scum of 
this corporation!"
Apple winced, clutching his burning cheek.
"Allen. Don't make Mommy mad," said the dwarf.
"Didn't I just tell you to shut up!?"
". . . Can't we settle this peacefully?"
"If I'd known he was like this earlier, I wouldn't have asked the 
doctors to save him from that stupid suicide! He deserves to die!"
Apple's expression changed. He looked . . . a bit sad.

Voices rang through the hospital.
"Be quiet! Can't you stay still for even a moment?"
"No! I don't want to be bandaged up!"
"You know? You're not one bit cute!"
"Don't you dare speak with me like that!" The voice paused for a moment, 
then continued softly. "So you actually care about me? Well, I do have 
to thank you."
The other voice didn't respond.

"Well, a little bit, anyway."

". . . hurts."
Elm blinked open her eyes, then fell back. 
"Where . . . am I?"
"I'm sorry. Perhaps I used a bit too much force."
Elm turned to see the woman, standing in a corner of the room.
"My name is Rumi, and I am the Administrator's secretary."
"Where am I!? Where's Apple!? Don't hide . . ."
<Mother. Father.>
Elm turned around. A window, no. It was a one-way mirror. Apple on the 
other side, talking with an elderly woman.
<I thank you for raising me, but . . . you didn't raise me as a son. You 
rose me as a heir to the company.>
Apple turned away, his hands in his pockets.
<You knew from the start that I had a high IQ. You've given me tutors on 
marketing since I was three. You were always so busy, I remember. We 
never met, all those years. Just tutors, tutors, tutors everything. Well 
I thank you. Thank you for what? Thank you for giving me a shitload of 
knowledge I didn't need. No, you didn't give me any love. You just 
wanted me to make money.>
He looked back at his parents.
<No friends, no family. Hell, I can't even remember you so much as even 
offering to give me a pet dog. Money's everything, everything's money. 
Not that it mattered to me. Money was like water to me. I just didn't 
drink any of it. Stuck it down the well of your throat!>
He paused, looking down at his feet. 
<And at twenty-three, I was an executive.>

"What kind of numbers are these?"
A hand held out a stack of papers.
"You can still add thirty percent to the production rate!"
The hand it revealed to be Apple's. He is slightly younger, his hair 
moussed back.
"Take your pick. Fire the incompetent ones. I'll take control 
personally."
"Yes, sir."

<At the time, they told me I was hot. Yeah, real hot stuff. And you know 
what? I believed it. That's how arrogant an asshole I was. I can't 
believe that was me. I can't even imagine myself doing that . . .> 
Flash. <. . . on second thoughts it wasn't me. It was the bastard 
personality that was in this body before me. Frankly, I'm glad he's 
gone. I hope I never have to meet him again. Bastard.>
Apple turned to the one-way mirror and traced "Apple" on it. 
<What happened next?>

Allen sat at the computer, highlighting the names of several dozen 
employees.
"Rumi? Get over here. I want you to tell these people they're fired."
"But . . . these people . . . they're not all that bad . . ."
"You know what I mean. The people on this list are the most socially 
active people in our company. But that's got nothing to do with ability. 
We need workers, not negotiators."
"But . . ."
"You're just a secretary. You have no need to worry about these things."
". . . Yes."

<. . . and two weeks later, the price of our stocks fell like they'd 
never fallen before . . .>

"What?"
"The shareholders are angry, sir."
"That's impossible! How could they do this to me, the frigging 
bastards!"
"You're the bastard, Allen."

<Grandfather's all purpose wisdom, eh? No siree, I didn't know any of 
the stuff he told me. Didn't have enough experience. He blamed me 
though. He cursed me, told me how I'd sped up the company's gears, and 
forgotten to oil them. No, that's not true. In theory, everything I did 
was for the better of the company. That is, if it had a clean slate. But 
no. No it didn't. Turned out that the company had a lot of deals I 
didn't know about. Apparently, certain 'Elder,' ahem, didn't feel the 
need for me to know. If I'd known, the shares wouldn't have fallen. And 
that . . . wouldn't have happened.>

"Why haven't I learned any of this before?"

"Sir! Sir! That company's saved!"
No response.
"Sir?"
Allen'd collapsed on the table. A bottle of sleeping pills had spilled 
all over the floor.
Rumi screamed.

"What have I been working for? What did I hope to achieve? Nothing means 
anything anymore."

<. . . I was discovered early. Saved in the nick of time. But what came 
of it?>

"That time, it was really, really bad."

<Mother. You're right. You should have left me to die.>
"No . . . the Apple I know is a child . . . an innocent, kind child . . 
. he can't do anything without me."
"The young master was saved, but his personality was shattered. He sat 
there, staring out into space. That was how he spent his time. I had to 
teach him to speak again. I fed him every day. He'd become like a child 
again."
Elm looked at Rumi.
"I've been a serving girl in his house since I was five. He was two 
years younger than me, and I'd been his older sister back then. He 
doesn't remember how cute a child he was . . . I watched him fall. The 
little cherub turned into an imp with the education they gave him. He no 
longer saw me as an older sister. Pretty soon, he ceased to see me at 
all."
"What . . . happened to him?"
"He became a child again. I cannot say that I was sad. This was the only 
way a fallen angel could be redeemed, and I took it upon myself to do 
that. I became his second mother."

"Mr. Allen," said the man, "here are the textbooks. Perhaps you'll think 
of something."
Allen hugged on to Rumi.
"Don't . . . let them . . . Mommy!"
She hugged him back.
"I won't. I promise I won't . . . son."

". . . I nursed him back to health, and slowly, very slowly, his memory 
returned. . . . for some reason, his personality didn't revert. His ways 
were still childish, and for the sake of the company's name, his 
grandfather kept him in isolation."
Rumi turned away.
"Then he disappeared. He left a note telling us not to worry, that he 
would be back. He said he just needed some time to himself."
"That's when I met him," though Elm.
"I see." 
Elm turned. A boy was standing in the door.
"Taro!"
"I understand now. He has no grudge against the company. Leave him Elm. 
He is of no use."
<I will not let you do as you please out there, Allen! You are here to 
stay. I'm going to re-educate you!>
<I don't think so.> Apple pulled out a gun. 
His mother gritted her teeth. <Guards! Get him!>
If this had been Batman, there would have been a lot of, "Smack! Pow! 
Oof!" Needless to say, Apple was on the ground in seconds. 
<Damn, that always works in movies!>
<You'll not leave my sight from now on! I'll teach you some manners!>
<No! I've got nothing to learn from you!>
"Elm. Let's leave."
<No! I won't stay here!>
"He's the one who tried to destroy our home!"
But he's also the one who tried to save it.
<I just want to be with Elm! That's all!>
"Apple!"
She jumped through the mirror and thew off her jacket. Throwing it on to 
the heads of the two bodyguards, she kicked them against the wall.
"Who's that girl!?"
"It's the girl from the Shannon home. She's heard everything." Apple's 
grandfather briefly considered what he was going to do.
"Sorry, but I'm not going to let you touch Apple!"
The old man just laughed.
"Ironic, isn't it," he said, "The one who ordered the demolition of the 
Shannon home is the boy you're protecting right now."
The girl stopped for a moment. Then she smiled.
He flinched. 
"Damn you!" The bodyguard got up and threw himself at Elm, sending her 
through the window.
"Elm!" screamed Apple. 
He and the boy from the observation room ran toward the window. At the 
last moment, the boy stopped. Apple continued. 
"Elm!"
"He . . . actually jumped."

Wind whistled past Elm's closed eyes. She felt a hand grasp hers.
"I'm sorry Elm . . . I've hurt you."
And they fell on to something soft.
"A curtain?"
A piece of cloth was suspended between two helicopters. From one, a man 
and a woman yelled over the sound of the propellers.
"Caught ya!"
"Chime! Poca!"
"We rushed over as soon as we could!"

"Damn it! You won again thief!"
The stood there, looking as Apple and Elm held each other on the cloth.
"How did it end like this!? I'm his mother! His mother!"
"Wife . . ."
Grandfather faced Rumi. 
"You've worked hard, Rumi."
"Thank you."
"But . . . you've fallen in love with him, haven't you? . . . I'm sorry 
if this has been taxing."
She blushed.
"It doesn't matter . . . At least I was able to do my best for him."
She looked at the old man.
"Today, when I saw him, I was proud. Proud that he's become the man he 
is."
The old man smiled.
"Perhaps."

"Elm, I . . ."
"What's the next job?"
"I'm . . . going to buy out the company."
"Yup. Get it back from Granddaddy."
"Okay!"

Perhaps the thousands out there who enjoy their lives haven't actually 
enjoyed anything at all. Perhaps it is the pain of living in suffering 
that shows us the light. Perhaps for every tear shed in this world, 
there is a smile. And perhaps a smile that has risen from a sea of tears 
is the brightest smile of all.
Goodbye Grandfather. When you meet me again, I shall be a different 
person. I shall prove my worthiness to you.
A life in paradise isn't for me. In the end, I shall be the winner.



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