Ok, about two or three weeks ago I sent out a teaser for this story. Now I'm sending out chapter one of the story. I've proofread it, I've checked it for grammar, I've had two other people read it. But you know, between the three of us something was most likely missed. If you spot anything that seems out of place or confusing, feel free to email me(privately, dont flood the list).

WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE: Six months ago Genom acquired an obelisk of unknown power. In that six months they have studied it and sought to harness its power. Three days ago they actually tried to tap into the obelisk's power. Three days ago they failed to do so. All the residents of Megatokyo know that something happened at the tower. A sixty foot hole in the side of the Genom Tower is kind of hard to ignore. Few know exactly what happened, most of those are in the tower itself. The obelisk did one thing before exploding, it 'created' a human being, a young boy about 17 years old. The story begins after Genom rescued the boy.

FORMAT: This is formatted in Outlook Express 5.0, it is written in Times New Roman, 12 pitch and is justified. If it doesnt show up right on your computer I dont know what to tell you.

GENERAL NOTES
   -direct mental thought-
   "spoken words"
   Unless specified all speech is in japanese.


                                    Bubblegum Crisis Broken Seal - Broken Life

He looked at the young boy that had been rescued from the obelisk shortly before its destruction. This young boy who the obelisk had either created or teleported here, the truth didnt matter anymore, he was here now. This young boy who would make many archmages jealous of his natural potential for power. Even with as little training as he had in magic it was apparent to him, only those who knew nothing about magic would think he was completely normal. That was one of many reasons that he'd made sure that he was bound to serve, he didnt want power like his on the loose.

He looked at the doctor, "Will he be awake soon?" The doctor nodded, "He's sleeping now. Best not to disturb him, his body is still recovering from what happened." He looked at the doctor, "Inform myself or Madigan when he wakes." He then left the room, a boomer walked up immediately and delivered a message telling him that he was expected in the war room. He sighed as he walked off to the war room, ever since the explosion things had been chaotic and he'd been spending more time in the war room than elsewhere.

He walked in and saw that Madigan was there and she was looking over several reports, she glanced up as the door opened. "Hope I didnt disturb you." He shook his head, "I was just checking up on our patient. Any news on placing his identity?" She nodded, "Yes, I found what you wanted. Its rather interesting. Come over and take a look."

He walked over and sat down and looked at the monitor she turned his way, it included everything, which wasnt very much. It was very ... interesting to say the least.

NAME: Bryan Templeton
AGE: 62
RACE: Caucasion
SEX: Male
HEIGHT: 5'11"
WEIGHT: 180
HAIR: Brown
HAIR STYLE: Curly, thick
EYE: Brown
DATE OF BIRTH: 10-03-69 
MOTHER'S NAME: Felicia Templeton
FATHER'S NAME: Unknown
CURRENT STATUS: Presumed dead, disappeared March 17, 1986.
CRIMINAL FILE: None
PERSONALITY REPORT: Dedicated, cheerful, prone to acts of recklessness, has a strong view about what he considers to be right and wrong.
COLLEGIUM MAGII FILES: Class Five? mage, late bloomer. He hasnt shown any talent as of yet. It comes as a surprise to us that he hasnt demonstrated any talent as his mother herself was a Class Four Mage and was an early bloomer at that. We will observe him until 18, if he has shown no talent by then we will be forced to powerburn him. 

He looked at her, "Very interesting indeed. It seems that the obelisk pulled him forward in time. The question we must ask now is why?" Madigan shrugged, looking a bit lost, "I wouldnt know myself. At least we've insured that he is under our control, the full report indicated that they werent sure how to classify him, that he was at LEAST a class five mage."

He frowned, "Very well. He's your student, teach him magic. I dont want the Collegium or the Chaosium to find out that he exists until we are ready to use him." She nodded, "Understood." He got up, "Unless you have further questions, I need some sleep." She shook her head and he left, leaving her to her thoughts and her reports. She looked at the report and growled, "I hate you." She shut the machine off and went to get some sleep herself, she knew that peace and quiet was going to be rare in the near future.

He opened his eyes to see a doctor looking down at him, that didnt bother him as much as the memories that flashed through his head. That stone, he'd seen it before, he didnt know where, but he'd seen it, and it was important in some manner. The doctor began speaking, probably asking if he was alright, he caught maybe three words, but at least he understood what language the doctor was speaking, it was japanese. He shook his head, and tried to get it across to the doctor that he didnt speak japanese.

The doctor grimaced and spoke in english, "My apologies, its an old habit that I've gotten into." What surprised him was how well he spoke english, he'd talked with japanese folk before, and if they did speak english it was halting, but this guy spoke perfect english, an accent maybe, but still it was fluent english.

He smiled at the doctor, "No problem, you dont get many american patients I imagine. Now would you mind telling me what happened? The last thing I remember is being drug away from some kind of large stone. Hell, I dont even know how I got there, I hope you have some answers for me."

The doctor sighed, "I dont have the answers, but I can have someone brought down who does have at least some answers. But I need to run a few tests, make sure there werent any side effects of how you were brought here. I also need to immunize you against a variety of diseases, wouldnt want you to get sick, now would we?"

He groaned, "I'm current on my shots, but there's probably a disease or two over here in japan that I'm not immunized again. Go ahead, lets get this over with."

As the doctor got ready he noticed something odd, he'd been in hospitals before but he didnt recognize a single piece of the equipment around here. At least the doctor used methods that he was familiar with to give him shots, that was one thing that technology had not been able to change, the way that blood was drawn from the body.

The doctor finally had him tanked up on his shots and had verified that outside of general exhaustion that he was ok. The doctor left the room then, probably to go get someone who had some answers, leaving him alone with his thoughts for a few minutes.

That obelisk, it was calling to him, wanting, wanting to be reunited with him, like it was part of what he was. That was crazy, it was just a slab of rock, nothing more, nothing less, but he still couldnt shake that feeling. Then he felt something else, it was like an anchor, like something intangible tied him to the general vicinity. Something funky was going on and he meant to get some answers, and he meant to get them soon.

The doctor returned, but he wasnt alone this time, he had company, a lady with him. She looked like she'd just woken up, but that didnt change her manner one bit, she was a professional and that was obvious. She was very beautiful, but her beauty was the kind that one could never hope to touch, it wasnt ice cold, it was just unreachable.

She walked over and sat down, a hand guesture dismissing the doctor. She looked him over for a few seconds before speaking, "I'm sure you have many questions, mister Templeton." Her command of the english language was perfect, not even an accent. Yes, he had many questions and she'd just added a new one, how had she found out his name, he didnt have any ID on him or anything.

He nodded, "Yeah, I've got tons of them. Lets see, what is that obelisk? How did I get here? When am I going home? How did you find out my name? Plenty of questions to ask." He looked at her with a look that dared her to tell anything but the truth.

She smiled briefly, "Perhaps you'd feel more at ease if I told you over breakfast. The doctor said you are healthy, tired, but healthy. Would you care for some breakfast?"

His stomach grumbled, "Yeah, I guess my questions can wait until I have some breakfast. But dont think I'll wait much longer than that."

She nodded, "I'll have an assistant bring some clothes for you, your clothes were heavily damaged in our rescue attempt." She held up her hand, "After breakfast I'll explain what I know, after breakfast." It was as much a command as a statement, but coming from her it sounded more like a polite request. She was good with words, slick, and definitely a woman that he didnt trust for some reason.

About five minutes later one of her assistants brought some clothes, they didnt look too bad, and they fit. He snorted as he dressed, they'd probably taken his measurements while he slept, no big deal. Along with the clothes there was a badge, it identified him as Bryan Templeton, security division of Genom. He figured that the badge was to both keep an eye on him and make sure other employees of this company didnt trouble him too much.

The lady who'd offered him breakfast returned, she looked him over and seemed satisfied with his attire. "I'll explain a few things about who we are on the way to breakfast. Give you a base of reference to work from."

He smiled, while he didnt trust her she was at least giving him data that he would need, "Thanks, its appreciated. By the way, I didnt quite catch your name."

She smiled in return, "My apologies on that, things have been rather hectic these past few days. The name is Katherine Madigan. I'm the Security Chief, and I hold other titles which I will explain about after breakfast."

He grimaced, somehow he didnt like the sound of that 'other titles' bit but he had to play along for now. "Very well miss Madigan, which way is the grub?"

She nodded and pointed down the corridor, "After you Mister Templeton. The 'grub' awaits. I hope it meets to your approval."

He chuckled as he walked down the corridor, and quickly found out that his badge made him all but invisible. People saw the badge and promptly ignored him, though he suspected it was more the presence of Miss Madigan that made them go their own way. Time enough to test his corporate invisibility later, for now he wanted to get both his curiosity and his stomach satisfied.

The breakfast hall was pretty big, and relatively empty, not completely, but relatively, it looked like breakfast had been an hour or so ago. They got breakfast and sat down, he didnt recognize half the food but found some breakfast food he did recognize. While he was slightly paranoid he knew that they wouldnt poison all the food in here. Once breakfast was done and his stomach was full he decided it was time to get answers.

He looked up at her and she raised her hand to silence him, "Some of the answers are confidential. Come, I'll take you to the War Room, its safer to discuss things there."

He nodded a bit glumly and followed her, not like he had much of a choice in the matter. He felt the obelisk again, it was calling out to him, wanting him to come home and be complete. She seemed to notice this and steered him down a different path, one that led him away from where the obelisk must be. He chafed a bit under the restrictions, but he needed answers at the moment.

They entered what looked like a non-descript room from the outside, but looked like something right out of the military on the inside. She led him to one of the side rooms, they were still able to see what was going on in the room itself, but at least it did provide noise protection. Once inside he sat down and looked at her with a look that said, 'ok, explain.'

She sat down herself and complied with his unspoken request, "You felt the obelisk, didnt you? It's calling to you, isnt it?" He nodded, not like he wanted to tell them everything, but he was willing to barter for the knoweldge that he'd need. She sighed, "Its as we feared, when the obelisk pulled you through it somehow created a link with you. Do you also feel anchored to this place, like you can't travel far from here?"

He grimaced and she nodded, so far all he'd done was confirm their suspicions. He didnt have any answers, but they'd received quite a few more. "The obelisk pulled me through? What do you mean by that? What did it pull me through?"

She frowned, "I was against the project from day one, told them it was too risky to try to tap the obelisk's power. They didnt listen, and the state of this tower and your presence is the end result of us trying to tap the power of the obelisk."

He nodded, "I see. Do you know WHY the obelisk yanked me here? What IS the obelisk? How soon ..." he grimaced, "Sorry, go on."

"To answer your questions, no we dont know why it pulled you here. We tried to tap its power and control it, we failed in that task. It exploded, creating at least a sixty foot hole in the tower, we're thankful that there were as few injuries as there were."

She tapped a few keys on what looked like a portable computer, "The obelisk, thats a tricky question. We thought it was King Solomon's Seal. We were wrong, it is a seal, that much we do know, but we dont know what it was keeping sealed."

-A seal, now I remember. I remember seeing pictures of Seven Seals, the obelisk was the Seventh seal. What did they unleash?- He kept his thoughts inward, though he couldnt keep the fact he was thinking out of his face. "Ok, so your experiment went awry, quite a few died. I'm sorry about what happened. How soon will I be able to go home?"

Miss Madigan turned the computer around and let him look at it, it had today's paper on it, what grabbed his attention was the date. The date was March 19, 2032. She reached over and tapped a key, bringing up eight more papers, each had the same date, March 19, 2032.

He leaned back, it had to be faked, no way this could be 2032. Impossible, it was absolutely impossible. She saw the look of disbelief in his face and pulled out a real paper and tossed it to him, it was the New York Times, dated March 17, 2032. He leaned back, his mind racing at unbelievable speeds, trying to cope with this. "How?"

She shrugged, looking lost for once, "I dont know. If you dont believe me we can take you out to the city and let you prove it for yourself."

He shook his head, "It was nineteen eighty five before this happened, and now I'm here in the year twenty thirty two. Its impossible. But I ... I cant deny it. Now what?"

She pointed to the badge, "Start over. This is a new world, the breaking of the obelisk saw to that. Read today's New York Times, I think it hammers it home better than anything."

He looked at the computer, the layout was close enough that he could handle it, he pulled up today's copy of the new york times and began to read articles. If he hadnt been yanked forward in time over forty five years he would think this was a hoax. A part of his mind still wouldnt accept it, but the proof was there, proof enough for even the most skeptical. The article that really got his attention was the portal that had appeared in one of New York Cities bigger parks. They even had a picture of it, a along with pedestrians, cops and the like, it was too real to have been faked.

He leaned back, all choices stripped from him, "So what can I do to help?" He hated the look on her face, she knew that this would happen, she'd won and he'd lost. He didnt mean for it to be a permanent loss, just a loss while he recovered. Then he'd .... hell, he didnt know what he'd do then, but he didnt trust these people, there were things they werent telling him. His life had been broken, and now he had to pick up the pieces. He just hoped that the price of picking up all the pieces wasnt too hefty.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ok, Chapter one is now here, Chapter two is awaiting approval from my proofreaders and critics(myself and others). By the time I hit chapter three on the list I will hopefully have put this all up on my webpage so people can get back parts easier. Many things will also be explained as time goes on, like what a Class Five Mage really means. So the readers can get a good chuckle I'll tell you how this originally started.

He opened his eyes and realized that he wasnt in his own bed. He sat up and began looking around, he was in a park and it was the middle of the night. He grumbled, "I hate frat pranks, always have. At least they didnt put me on a bed out in the middle of a lake." He heard a scream and practically shrieked, at least until he saw the source of the scream.

What he saw was impossible, Leon McNichols of the AD Police was standing there with a crossbow in hand. He'd just fired it at someone else, and that someone looked like a vampire. The fact that he hadnt collapsed from a crossbow bolt that hit near the heart said that much. He couldnt understand what htey were saying but he caught the gist. Leon was terminating this vampire for crimes against humanity. He muttered, "Toto, I dont think this is the Megatokyo I learned about back home."

That folks was the original idea, of course it quickly changed. Yes, some of you may be aware of another story along a similar concept. One where magic intrudes suddenly onto the BGC world. That story is not this one revised nor was it given to me by that author. Our stories are quite different, and we collaberated on the ideas together at times. That author was Kain The Seeker, and his story has been shelved indefinitely. I found it humorous that we were both working on a story with very similar backgrounds, but the two stories are different enough to warrant reading both of them.

Anyway, I hope you have as much fun reading Broken Seal as I have writing it.

Until next time,
     Ken