Folks, thanks for all the help in regards to the japanese honorifics. My reason was minor, but I like to make sure I'm not making a major snafu on something like this. I made a similar request on another story(shelved for now) about the japanese school system and got a similarly large amount of response. Hopefully the rest of this story will hit the FFML soon. Thats provided it manages to get past my two worst critics, Kain the Seeker and yours truly.

To whet your appetites I am including the prologue for the story, which does need a small amount of revision in my opinion. I'm not asking for C&C, in fact after the tons of responses on the last two stories(namely 3 in as many weeks) I'm not going to expect any. If I get it, I'll be ticked pink and will take the C&C into consideration. If I dont get any C&C I'll send up the next story when it passes my two worst critics. I'm writing this so you can all read it, having my ego stroked or knowing that I'm doing a good job does help. But you know, I'm not going to expect that, I want you all to see this story. I want you to laugh, cry, groan and enjoy the story. Thats why I'm sending it up, so you can have as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Oh yes, flamers will of course be given cameos in future stories and embarassed, killed off or something equally unpleasant. So unless you like humiliation, dont flame my story. If you flame me and dont get a cameo then I may have forgotten you, which you should take as a good sign, I can be rather cruel to characters I kill off.

This is sent in Arial Font and 10 pitch. I'm using Outlook Express 5.0, so if you have a different program to view this the formatting may be off. I let Outlook handle the line wrap and all that, I hope it doesnt make any mistakes. As a final note before the story, its an alternate BGC world, that will become obvious fast enough. The story starts out in March, 2032. Anyway, on with the story!


                            Bubblegum Crisis - Broken Seal: When The Seal Breaks ...

The room was busy, equipment and personnel working constantly to try and make sure that what they were about to do didn't backfire on them. The focus of their attention was a slab of rock about a foot wide and a foot and a half high. The rock practically screamed its power to the world, even to those who didn't know what kind of power it held. It was old beyond belief, yet the carvings that covered it didn't appear to be worn at all by the passage of time. Those working in the room were seeking to unlock the power that lay within it, to unlock it and make it their own.

Madigan looked out over the room, this project that had kept her occupied for the past six months. Six long months they'd labored to find a way to gain access to the power within the obelisk. Six long months of hellish work for everyone, but soon, very soon it'd pay off. She walked out of the room, her duties for the day were done and she didnt want to spend one more second in that room than Quincy required of her. She hated magic and wished that Quincy had never found out about its existence, it made life very ... troublesome for everyone.

She growled a bit as she walked past Mason and his dinner, the girl was cute enough, and she'd be dead by morning because of his bloodlust. He ignored her presence, he was much more interested in his prey at the moment, and that took precedence. She walked on, she'd killed people before and ordered them killed, so death was not something new to her. It didnt mean that she cared to see it so close and personal, that was one thing about Mason that bothered her, he flaunted what he was all too often.

She had dinner and went to bed, her mind wandering over all the permutations of the rock. She wondered just where he had acquired it from, what kind of power it truly held, and many other questions like that soon enough. She mumbled as she laid there, "Even when im out of the room that accursed rock holds my attention. Oh that it had never been found." Sleep finally took her in its oh so sweet embrace.

Two long days later she smiled for the first time in months, on the next day they would be ready to crack the obelisk's secrets. She glanced over at Quincy, he seemed excited, almost like a boy with a new toy in ways. She understood his excitement, despite her distaste of magic if the attempt to take the power from the rock was successful then nobody could EVER hope to oppose them.

Power, that is what it came down to, whoever had the power ruled.

The next day came soon enough for everyone, too soon for soon, too late for others. She stood beside Quincy as the project went into operation, Quincy smiled a bit, "The power of the ancients will soon be ours. None will be able to oppose us then." She kept her thoughts to herself, few could oppose them as it was. What enemies existed that could hope to oppose Genom? That thought sent shivers up and down her spine.

Such questions had plagued her since day one on this project, and somehow she knew they would plague her for some time to come. She returned her attention to the project as it progressed, a new age would soon be upon them and she meant to miss none of it.

The slab crackled with eldritch energy, blowing circuits in the room left and right. Madigan had prepared well for this, each system had at least three backups, and she had installed dummy systems for the rock to blow out. She watched the monitors, seeing the power rise to levels that if they could harness would eliminate the need for power for all of Megatokyo. Then the monitors blew out, the amount of power was too much to measure, she wasnt worried, it was too late to stop now.

The first explosion occured shortly after that, killing several of the techs, but the others continued, knowing that if they tried stopping that the whole place would blow. The fire prevention systems kicked in and began spraying the fires which had broken out already. Quincy stood there, apparently he had expected this to occur. She could do no less and watched the whole scene begin to fall apart as she watched in anticipation.

System after system blew, the stone had already blasted the walls, making them look like melted wax. Finally it was obvious to everyone that the rock was beyond their control, all they could do now is watch. Even Quincy seemed to deflate, "A shame. evacuate the area." Madigan did so, giving the orders to evacuate.

As soon as she gave the orders the rock stopped blowing power everywhere. The silence lasted for a whole three seconds before the last of the systems attached to it where blown out. Only their natural senses could tell what was going on inside the chamber with the rock now.

For a few brief seconds nothing happened, they all waited in anticipation, dreading to move and dreading to stay. Then it happened, the rock flared again, but this time it wasnt so violent. The crackling energy began to take on a shape, a definite one, a human boy. Madigan blinked once and then ordered security to go in and pull the kid out before something happened.

He groaned as he fell, the pain that wracked his body was intense beyond belief. The last thing he remembered was getting up to empty his bladder and now he was here, wherever here was. He tried to stand, failed and hit the cold steel floor again, he was too weak to do anything but lay there. A door opened and several men came rushing in, they were all wearing body armor and looked vaguely japanese. They grabbed him, and began to haul him out of there. He was too weak to protest, to weak to even help them.

He turned and saw something that was etched into his memory, the obelisk which was throwing out blasts of energy. Somehow deep inside he felt close to it, like he knew it intimately, like it had been with him since he was born. The door shut behind them as they ran and the view of the obelisk was cut off from his normal eyes but not from his minds eye.

Everyone who was outside in Megatokyo saw the explosion which rocked the Genom tower. Those inside felt the explosion and went to find out what happened. The hole that hung in the side of the Genom tower was at least eighty feet wide.

Sylia looked up from her work as she felt the explosion on multiple levels of her being. Some she could identify, others she could not. Nene looked up from her traffic duty and felt a sudden strength flood her body. Priss got up, mumbling about damned earthquakes and then felt it, she couldnt explain it, but it felt almost like that one perfect song. Linna felt it also, and she collapsed from the absolute shock as the world was opened to her eyes.

Mages across the world felt the rush of power, some were infused with greater power, some died and some lost their minds. Others who had the talent but had never learned to tap it suddenly were able to do so. Regardless of background, race or class everyone felt it. It would be months before they realized that this wasnt isolated, that it was worldwide.

The world would never be the same again.