Disclaimer:
	I hold no ownership over Shining Force or anything
related to such a great game!  I wrote this out of my
love for the game itself.  

*First fanfic alert!*
(Author's note:  I had originally posted this on
Fanfiction.net but was not satisfied with the feedback
there.  Hence, therefore why I joined and posted it
here.  I am in need of some heavy C&C, as I want to
improve my writing.  Thanks for your time!)

An Alternate Shining Force story:

Distant Realities
By Darksoar

Chapter 1

�Where is that boy?�  Kokichi muttered impatiently as
he peered at the exposed machinery of his latest
project.  �I told him to buy the oil and be back here
in an hour.�  Truth to tell, his grandson had only
been gone for fifteen minutes, but Kokichi�s patience
today was wearing thin.   

Grumbling, the old inventor straightened his back and
looked around his workshop.  It was a sorted mess,
with heaps of scrap metal, gears, rods, pulleys, and
miscellaneous whatnot all jumbled in their respective
piles on the floor.  His current project, which was
lying on his �surgery table�, was one which he�d been
working on for almost five years now.  It had gone
well, even with the constant setbacks, with no other
help besides his adopted son.  

His son was almost a grown man and was just about to
reach the age of 19.  He was Kokichi�s assistant in
the repairing of machinery and in some electronic
research.  Kokichi had found the lad when he was still
a baby, hidden in bushes a few yards away from the
gruesome remains of a battlefield.  Having had no wife
or children at that time due to the almost-hermitlike
existence he lived (because of his profession a.k.a.
�Absent minded Inventor�), Kokichi was not heartless. 
He chose to take the child home with him.  

He had named the baby boy Max, having pulled it out of
the blue and thought it as good as any.  The maiden
name of Kokichi�s long dearly departed mother had
served to bring the baby�s name to Max Wellian.  

The early years of Max had been rough, more so on the
old inventor rather than his son.  To start with,
Kokichi didn�t have a clue of how to raise a baby.  He
had made a lot of mistakes that resulted in late
nights, baby Max tantrums, and tons of stress.  All of
these together made a few white hairs show up earlier
than planned.  But eventually through trial and error,
the inventor had learned how to adequately take care
of Max.

Now, seventeen years later, Max had grown into a fine
young man.  Kokichi had endeavored to instruct him in
the art of science and technology as soon as Max could
read and write (public schooling courses).  And like a
sponge, Max had soaked it up almost as fast as Kokichi
could teach him.  Though his grandfather was not
perfect, Kokichi�s intense passion for science and his
almost limitless patience served him well in this
stead. 

By the time Max was ten years of age, he had already
mastered the basic concepts and was beginning the
intermediate ones already.  Kokichi didn�t forget the
other areas of study though.  He  had sent Max to the
local beginning school to broaden his education.  

But when Max turned twelve years old, another interest
unexpectedly caught his eye.  Although his grandfather
didn�t expect it, neither did he condemn it nor did he
forbid Max to pursue it.  

It had all started when Max had witnessed an unarmed
man defend himself against three ill tempered,
slightly drunk swordsmen.  While bearing no armor nor
weapons, he had knocked them all out using only his
bare fists and feet.  The unarmed man had done it with
such ease, it was amazing and had gained him a good
amount of respect from the locals.  Max had been
stunned at the man�s inhuman speed and impressive
skill.  He had immediately sought out the man and had
pestered him endlessly to teach him.  

Kokichi was not sure of all the details, but somehow
his grandson�s persistence had paid off.  The man
turned out to be a wandering monk.  His name was Hayai
Kobushi and he grudgingly agreed to teach Max the
beginning steps of his fighting style, which was one
branch in the large tree of martial arts.  

After that things had snowballed.  Max became even
more enthusiastic and persistent in learning how to
defend himself and anything related to that subject. 
Hayai had taught him until Max became the equivalent
to what the monk called a second dan.  The monk was
also quite startled to see how fast Max took to
martial arts.  

He had later told Kokichi that he had never seen any
person increase in skill as rapidly as Max did.  By
the end of one year, Hayai�s wanderlust urge took hold
of him and he took his leave of Homesphere.  The very
next day, Max had gone around the village, seeking
someone from whom he could learn more fighting arts
from.  

Swordfighting came next, learned from a retired
SwordMaster.  Archery, which lead to hunting and the
basics of tracking.  Battlefield strategies, which
Kokichi helped encourage by teaching his son how to
play chess.  Seeing the limitless potential within the
young and eager lad, Kokichi didn�t want to only
experience science and technology.  He wanted his son
to live to be an old and happy grandfather, just like
him.  The old inventor was also well traveled, and he
knew extensively the dangers of the road.  

Therefore he allowed a concession and had hired
several instructors who were experts in the areas Max
showed the most interest in.  Even though Max had
other interests, Kokichi also continued to instruct
his son in the art of science.  For although Max had
become almost addicted to the art of war, science was
one of his first loves, and he wasn�t about to leave
it behind.  

Kokichi saw that if Max continued like that he
wouldn�t get a decent, well rounded education.  So
after a serious talk with Max, they came to a
compromise.  It was decided that Kokichi would send
him to the Martial Academy at Guardiana, which was
well renowned for turning out skilled and intelligent
warriors.  Should his grandson graduate from there, he
could be work anywhere he wanted to, due to the high
prestige of the Martial Academy.  

The cost wasn�t a problem as several of Kokichi�s
earlier inventions had proven quite successful with
their patents.  The old inventor actually had a small
fortune which he could live comfortably off.  The main
reason why he had kept on continuing with the
inventions was because he just loved his work.   

The memory of the past had Kokichi grinning in spite
of himself.  He had done a decent job of raising that
boy right, he thought to himself.  With his latest
project just about done, Kokichi was feeling very
satisfied in accomplishing an almost difficult task.  


The old inventor�s reverie was interrupted abruptly
when he heard someone knocking.  Turning around, he
saw that it was Emman, one of Max�s friends.  He was a
bit out of breath, and was sweating as if he had run
quite a distance.  

�Dr. Wellian?�  Emman panted, �I�m sorry to, um,
bother you but it�s an emergency!�  He sounded worried
and disturbed.  Without waiting for Kokichi to
respond, he continued, speaking rapidly.  �Max and
Rict Baln are fighting again!�

�Not again!  Those two boneheads!!� he groaned and
headed towards the door, automatically grabbing a
much-used and worn out wooden rod along the way. 
�Where are they this time?�  he growled, shooting a
sharp look at the lad. 

Swallowing nervously, Emman shakily replied, �At the
back road to the Town Square!  F-follow me!�  



Gramps Kichi was going to kill him.  

That was the only thought running through Max
Wellian�s head as he calmy dusted himself off the road
and turned to face his aggressor. 

It had been a simple errand.  �Go to the store and get
five medium-sized oil flasks.�  Kokichi�s grandson had
taken the shortcut to save time.  The shortcut was a
roughly beaten path that cut near the outskirts of
Homesphere and ended up connecting to the main road
heading to the Town Square.  He also hoped to avoid
fighting with Rict Baln especially today.  Normally,
he looked forward to such confrontations, but today he
wanted to relax and take it easy.  

Unfortunately, it was not his day today. 

Rict Baln had sprung a surprise attack on him  by
leaping at him from behind the trees.  With
exceptional reflexes, Max had instantly thrown himself
into a side roll and came up facing his attacker. 
Starting to feel angry at this unprovoked attack, Max
called out in a clipped tone,  �Just what exactly is
it now Baln?  I�m busy now and I can�t play with you
today!�   

It was widely agreed amongst the youth of Homesphere
that Rict Baln was considered THE bully.  At two
hundred twenty pounds and possessing bright, red hair,
said bully had an overbearing attitude, arrogant
mindset, and a generally ill-tempered behavior.  Rict
had set out at an early age of nine years old to
terrorize and put down anyone who was smaller then him
and not an adult.  Being an overly large kid even at
such a young age had aided his �quest� greatly. 

Max had speculated many times in the past that Rict
was carrying years of barely suppressed anger.  Ten
years ago, Rict�s father had just gotten up, threw on
his travel pack, and suddenly left his mother.  Just
like a blast of wind, he had disappeared one night,
leaving behind only a note saying �wanderlust had
struck him� and that �he was extremely sorry, but he
couldn�t help it�.  

His abrupt departure had affected Rict greatly, and
soon afterwards he�d begun to take out his anger on
those smaller and weaker than him.  And he had such a
big bone to pick with Kokichi�s grandson, personally. 


Snickering nastily, the bully smirked and crossed his
arms over his chest, �Oh please don�t tell me you�ve
forgotten how we first met.  I�m still interested in
getting some payback for that.�  

At once recalling the incident, Max was hard pressed
to not collapse in laughter as he remembered back to
that day, nearly five years earlier.

***Flashback*** 

Max and Rict�s paths had crossed for the first time
when Max and Kokichi had moved to Homesphere.  As can
be expected, the encounter wasn�t anything friendly. 

A younger Baln had wanted to test the mettle of the
town�s newest youth, and so one day had interrupted
Max�s walk to the market.  Placing his fists firmly on
his hips, Baln had leered at Max and told him to pay
him the �toll�.  

Max had stoutly refused and had tried to walk around
the bigger boy.  Rict, a bit miffed by the unexpected
response, grabbed Maxs� right shoulder.  A little bit
angry, the bully pulled him towards himself and shook
him roughly, harshly demanding the money.

Being treated like a rag doll didn�t agree with Max,
not at all.  Therefore he responded in the only way he
could think of, instinctively.  Possessing quick
reflexes even back then, he kneed the bully between
the legs as hard as he could.  

Rict had immediately loosened his hold on Max and
slowly sank to his knees.  He carefully held his
privates and had made a weak, continuous sound.  Max
would later compare it to those a wolf makes when he
bays at the moon.  Except being much higher in pitch
and weaker in volume, of course.  

Max had of course quickly made his escape, grinning
gleefully at having gotten free of a potentially
harmful situation (for himself).  He was a bit anxious
and fearful of any future retaliations by the bully. 
But however, he thought it over and reasoned that a
bully of Ricts� character would not let anyone know he
had been bested.  And by a smaller boy at that!  His
reputation in town would be ruined.  So therefore, the
only wrath he would have to keep an eye out for was
Rict�s, and not the bully�s parents.

Kokichi�s adopted son resolved to speak with his
father about what happened that day, in order to try
and avoid any further troubles with Rict Baln.

***End Flashback***

Narrowing his eyes at his enemy, Max replied with a
mocking smile for Rict, �Well, should I alert a wolf
pack to start howling and  let you have the lead?� 

Max had the pleasure of seeing the smug look on Rict
suddenly transform in a grimace as the bully�s face
contorted in rage.  

�That�s it.  You�re dead!!�  Rict howled and charged
at Max with fists clenched.  The smaller teenager�s
face made no move to defend himself or even run away
as his enemy dashed towards him with a meaty fist
cocked back.  But Max didn�t panic, he just stood
there with a calm face and measuring eyes.  Rict
lashed out with a ferocious right straight, throwing
his entire weight behind it.

To Max, Rict�s attack was nothing special. It had all
the subtlety of a oncoming freight train.  Max quickly
dodged to the side and, as the momentum from Rict�s
dash carried him past Max, chopped the back of the
bully�s neck.  The extra push made Rict totally lose
his balance and control over his forward motion and
fell on the ground face flat.  

Max jumped back from his opponent and raised his fists
in a martial arts stance, right hand loosely held in a
fist near his chin and left hand held vertically
before his face, fingers closed together in a
knife-like formation.  He waited for Rict to get back
up.

Barely half a second later, the bully raised himself
off the ground, face rubbed with dirt and red with
embarrassment and anger.  Cursing foully under his
breath, he clenched his large fists and swung his body
in the direction of Max.

But Max was already there.  Advancing quickly but
stealthily, he had waited to seize the opportunity to
catch the bully off guard.  A lightning quick
left-right jab combination to the jaw knocked the
bigger boy�s head to the side just enough to
temporarily stun him.  Max followed up with a hard low
left hook to an unguarded kidney, making Rict jerk in
sudden pain and shy away from the unexpected assault.

Reflexively, the bully swung a wide backhand swing at
Max, who quickly ducked it and came up with an
uppercut that rocked Ricts� head back.  Unlike the two
opening jabs, Max had spared no power in this uppercut
and had even added a bit more force by lieu of
springing from a slight crouch.  

Rict quickly retreated back several steps, his guard
finally up.  Glaring balefully at Max, he wiped the
blood that was emerging from the corner of his mouth. 
Surprisingly, Max hadn�t pressed his assault and stood
there, studying Rict with calculating eyes.  

As in a duel, the two combatants stood there,
reassessing each other.  It seemed to be an uneven
fight.  Rict stood at 6�1, with the physique of a
laborer.  He had possibly the longest reach, as well
as being one of the stronger young men in Homesphere
and was an experienced fist fighter.  

Max, on the other hand, stood at 5�8, and lacked the
height and reach to match the bully.  He had a compact
build, but was extremely fit, very agile, and
possessed quick reflexives and Hayae�s training.  On
top of all of that, Max learned quickly from his
mistakes.  

Getting his composure and calm back, Rict took a few
breaths, shook his head to clear it, then raised his
fists in a boxer�s stance.  He began to advance
slowly, weaving his body left and right, all the while
keeping his feet in balance with each shift of weight
he made.  

Max also began to shuffle slowly forward.  He stood
sideways in relation to his opponent to present the
smallest target of his body as possible.  Left foot
forward, right foot out, Max replicated the fighting
stance he had used earlier in the fight.  It was a
countering stance, to be used against an aggressive
enemy.  

As if to prove the younger boy�s choice true, Rict
attacked.  He came in fast and hard with a right-left
jab combination that Max easily slapped aside with his
knife hand.  Fearing a counter attack, Rict
immediately launched into a straight kick.  

Had Max just done that, Rict�s foot, and most of his
weight behind it, would have fractured his left hip. 
That wouldn�t have helped him at all, so he spun to
the right, allowing Rict�s body to move past him. 
While spinning, he slid into a footsweep that made
contact with the back of his opponent�s shins.  

Rict felt the air rush out of his lungs as he impacted
the hard ground.  His eyes teared in pain and he tried
to desperately suck in oxygen.  As his tortured lungs
gained a little air, he focused on his surroundings
and saw a sight he really, really hated.  Wellian was
standing a few feet away, with his arms crossed over
his chest.  

Then the bully saw it.  �It� being Wellian�s damned
smirk, which was a pure sign of evil if he ever saw
one.  It wasn�t really a distortion of the mouth, per
say, but there was something there.  A very irritating
something, that gleamed in his eyes.  It severely
pissed him off, and he decided to do something about
it.  

�Jeez Baln, this scene looks familiar somehow.  You
provoke me, we fight, you end up in the dust.  Don�t
you ever learn?  You can�t beat me until you get more
training!�  recited Max from habit, as they had done
this many times years past.  

 �Shut up!�  his opponent raged and suddenly rolled
away and got to his feet.  He breathed heavily and was
flushed deep red in his face.  �Damn you!!�  

�So you�ve said before a hundred times.  C�mon I know
you can do better!!�  Max settled into a defensive
stance and waved for Rict to begin.  

Predictably, Rict charged.  However this time he was
in better control of himself and his movements.  Rict
kept his punches compact and tight, leaving the
smallest holes in his defense he could manage. 
Despite his size, his punches were hard to see as a
complex mix of jabs, hooks, crosses and uppercuts were
thrown.  

However, Max was still the faster as he handily
deflected or dodged all blows directed at him.  Though
he didn�t counterattack, Max was just waiting for that
one chance to end this fight as efficiently as
possible.  He still had to go to the supply store
after all.

Rict was getting angrier at the double facts that had
presented themselves to him.  One was that he wasn�t
even landing a solid hit.  Second was that Wellian
wasn�t even trying to fight back!  Cursing loudly, he
increased the tempo of his punches, trying to get the
smaller man into a more vulnerable position. 

But Max wasn�t cooperating.  He had been coolly
observing Rict�s fighting style and making minute
adjustments as needed.  Unbeknownst to Rict, by
increasing the tempo of his punches he had slightly
loosened up his tight stance.  Which in turn meant the
opportunity to successively counterattack was at hand.


And Max took it.

Slightly tilting his head to the left, he dodged a
right straight that flew by so close he felt the rush
of air brush his cheek.  Before Baln could even
recover or throw a follow up punch, Max quickly
stepped into his opponent�s space and let fly a
devastating trio of blows.  In rapid succession, a
right liver blow was followed by a left.  As Rict�s
eyes involuntarily teared up at the pain, his head
exploded upwards yet again with a powerful uppercut. 
Although it was a near thing, his tongue barely
escaped being cut in half by his teeth as his jaw was
smashed closed by the impact.  

Both fighters seemed to stop in mid action for a split
second.  Then gravity kicked in and Rict collapsed to
the dirt road with a loud thud, unconscious.  Max
relaxed from his pose and breathed out deeply, letting
the adrenaline and tension flow out of him.  Master
Kobushi had taught him to do that after every battle. 
It kept the muscles from straining themselves too
much.     

Max grinned victoriously and dusted himself off
casually.  He made a salute of respect to Rict Baln. 
The larger boy had really improved his boxing.  Had
not Max been trained by a former Monk, he would�ve
definitely been beaten, and quite badly at that.  

His reflective mood was harshly interrupted when
something hard smacked him in the back of his head. 
�Ouch!�  

Reflexively, Max threw himself into a forward roll and
came up in his usual stance.  He was about to attack
on whoever had whacked him when his eyes recognized
his assailant. �Gramps Kichi!  What are you doing
here?�  Then he spotted Emann, who smiled nervously at
him then looked at the unconscious bully with wide
eyes.  Max instantly figured it out.  Emann must have
heard or seen them fighting from his house, which was
nearby, and had been worried for Max.  He must have
gone directly to Max�s grandfather for help.  

�Don�t play dumb, kid!  What the hell happened here?� 
snapped Kokichi, glaring at his grandson. He waved the
wooden rod, which he had used for smacking his
grandson�s head, in agitated circles in the air as
suspicious gleam entered into his eyes.  �Don�t tell
me you were fighting with that Baln kid again?�  A
pointed glance at the unconscious bully was
accompanied by a pointed finger.  �HOW MANY TIMES HAVE
I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT BULLHEADED BRAT?!!�

As his �Gramps� Kichi ranted on and on, Max shrugged
and began to walk away while Kokichi was otherwise
distracted.  He didn�t get more than five feet when
that damned wooden rod struck him again.  And in the
same place on the back of the head, too.  

Max involuntary cursed under his breath.  

He received a harder whack for his troubles.  

Emann chuckled lightly.  

�Pay attention!!  And quit that swearing!  I didn�t
raise a foul-mouthed kid!�  roared his angered
Grandfather, cane held at ready should Max decide to
attempt another escape.  Hearing this ferocious
tirade, Emann wisely decided to keep his mouth shut,
not wanting to draw any attention to himself.   

Groaning, Max prepared himself for yet another long,
loud full blown lecture.  And holding his hand against
a soon-to-be bruise that was throbbing with bearable,
yet irritating pain.    

___________________________________________________


Two hours later, Max and Kokichi were in the workshop,
doing some last minute adjustments on the old
inventor�s latest project.  Emann had already gone
home to eat a late lunch, and they had dragged Rict to
his house and dropped him on the front porch.    

�Is it ready Gramps?�  

Kokichi barely grunted a reply as he tightened a bolt
inside the project�s innards.  He withdrew his hand
and placed the wrench back in its place in the open
toolbox.  Wiping some of the oil off his hands with a
convenient rag, he allowed a wide smile to crease his
face and turned to his assistant-grandson.

�Are you ready, boy?�

That grin was out of place for such a serious tone,
Max thought.  He rolled his eyes at that, then nodded
his head.  He didn�t trust himself to say anymore, as
he was still a bit sullen after the unfair lecture his
Gramps had whipped out.  After all, Max had
righteously defended himself.  Oh well, perhaps it was
just just old age that was making him eternally cranky
and short tempered of some things.  

Despite his efforts to keep an approximate mood fit
for such an important and amazing scientific
achievement, Kokichi couldn�t help but feel a bit
giddy and excited.  Like a kid who discovered a new
toy, it was all he could do to not start bouncing
around, making childlike noises of glee. 
	
Calling upon the discipline learned from a lifetime of
careful study and implementation, Kokichi brought
himself to a decent degree of control.  He took a deep
breath and let it out slowly.  Then without further
adieu, he pressed the activation switch and closed the
lid.  Standing back with arms crossed over his chest,
he was about to witness years of hard work, about to
come to fruition.

END CHAPTER 1

CONCEPTION OF IDEA: JULY 14, 2004
WRITING COMMENCEMENT:  JULY 15, 2004
ROUGH DRAFT COMPLETED:  AUGUST 31, 2004
MULTIPLE EDITING COMPLETED:  SEPTEMBER 22, 2004

Author�s Notes:

	Well, this is my very first fanfiction ever. I was
kinda nervous about posting it here, hence the long
editing time.  I'm surprised that I managed to finish
a chapter.  This is just a idea I had by looking at
some of the other Shining Force fanfiction on
Fanfiction.net.  I noticed that the majority of the
fanfics were about after the events taking place in
the Shining games, or about the children or
descendants of the Shining Force(s).  Since I favor
reading fanfics that are about alternate realities, I
decided to try my luck at writing one.  It turned out
to be tougher then I thought it was (my apologies to
all those fanfic writers whom I thought weren't
churning out chapters as fast as I wanted) but it's
been quite a learning experience. 
	
Basically this is an alternate reality fanfiction
(What, no way!  Says the reader sarcastically) based
somewhat on the events of Shining Force:  The Legacy
of Great Intention.  As this first chapter has shown,
everything will be different, yet a few things shall
remain the same.  All the characters in the first
Shining Force shall be included, never fear, however,
even the members of the Shining Force shall be greatly
affected by my twist to this well-played tale.  Don't
worry folks, I'll try to make it an enjoyable, decent
read as the story continues.  
	
This being my first fanfic, I'm sure there are tons of
inconsistencies and plot gaps and so forth.  I don't
think there are that any grammar/spelling errors, as I
dedicated several hours in ironing them out, but there
are maybe some that remain hidden.  So if you, the
reader catch such errors (and more) and wouldn't mind,
please take some time and offer me some C&C.  I would
be appreciative of any tips that would help me improve
my writing skills and the reading quality of this
piece.  Thanks!  
	
If any of you out there are familiar with martial
arts, I would like to ask you guys did I use the
correct terminology for the moves that Rict and Max
performed?  I�m a writer not a fighter, so any
suggestions and corrections would be indeed welcome.  
	
By the way, Kokichi's 'project' shall be announced in
the next chapter, along with more characters being
introduced.  Fear not, the next chapters' Author's
notes shall be shorter.  Heheh.  
 
	Till, next time.  See ya! 

Darksoar




		
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