Project 1121651 by Qwerty McMegabite

Stage: 00:1:01 In The Beginning

Saturdays were always quiet in the Sevroski household. The morning sunlight shone through the windows as the curtains flickered in the light breeze. The salty air was a common phenomenon being that their house was beach-front property, southern California to be more specific; however, the smell of cupcakes fought for supremacy. Mr. Sevroski was out on business, the Misses was reading a magazine in the kitchen with one of her two children playing by her side, the son, and the daughter was outside, chasing boys on the boardwalk with her friends. The buzzer went off and the mother made her way to the oven, put on her mitts, and pulled out the tray.

The boy was an six-year-old by the name of Christopher, but his family dubbed him Caesar due to a bit of a cocky streak in him. He got his streak, along with his jet-black hair, sense of honor, and Japanese, from his mother, and from his father came his green eyes, thin build, and thirst for adventure. One thing he didn't inherit was his title of Otaku. His sister, Mel, is the exact opposite. The only thing they have in common is the hair color. At seventeen, she is already a junior in college and going for her masters in medical chemistry, electronic engineering, and physics, so it's hard to find time for anything. When she does get some free time, she usually spends it with Christopher. This time, she just felt that she needed to get out of the house.

Mrs. Sevroski was busy frosting her cupcakes, "Hey, Caesar?"

"Yeah, mommy."

"Have you been practicing your Japanese?" speaking her language as she dipped her knife in the frosting. Christopher's experienced tongue answered back, "Yes and my German and my French and my Russian, and even those sword techniques you showed me, mommy."

Mrs. Sevroski pats Christopher on the head and hands him a cupcake, "That's a good boy, Caesar. Now eat your cupcake at the table."

Christopher ran to the table. Mrs. Sevroski bore a motherly grin as she watched her little boy sit at the table. He turned and flashed a grin covered in chocolate. She loved her little boy and never wanted him to grow up, but as he did, their bond grew tighter. Her love helped him through many hardships in his life. He also believes that it was her love that spared his life when the epidemic came.

It all started with a train crash carrying chemicals to be destroyed and a sample of a new virus, Pompey, being sent to a lab somewhere in Arizona for research. The chemicals must have mutated it because the symptoms of the people weren't what the should have been and the medicine they gave the people wasn't working. Scientists didn't know what to do.

Christopher caught it four months after his mother did. His father was out of the country when it broke out and wasn't allowed in and Mel was in a lab in Tucson, trying to find a cure. She eventually found one, but it was very slow. Christopher pulled through; however, the meds were too slow to save Mrs. Sevroski.

The cure was only half the problem. The victims suffered from a severely weakened diaphragm and they slowly suffocated to death. They were put on a respirator until a solution to this new problem was found. It was Mel who eventually found that a simple steroid got the diaphragm working again for a short period of time. After a couple months of therapy, Christopher was back to working with his father at the auto shop. Christopher had just finished the last car for the day. He shut the engine and went to wash up. As he was drying his hands, his father came into the room.

"You done?"

Christopher threw the paper towel away, "Yeah, dad."

Mr. Sevroski gave his son a hug, "Happy 18th, Caesar."

"Thanks," he hugged back, "Hey, when's Doc and Alan coming over?"

"They should be here at about eight. Son. I have to talk to you," they walked into the office. Christopher sat down in a chair, "Something bothering you?"

"Caesar," Mr. Sevroski sat down behind his desk, "I'm leaving the auto shop and Omicron to you."

"What?"

"Caesar, I can't do this anymore, not without your mother."

"I...understand, dad. But what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to move up to the cabin. I think nature should help fill the void."

Christopher lowered his head and tried to change the subject, "I got a lead on Rose."

"Really? What did it say?"

"It said something about Tokyo, but it doesn't matter now. I'll stay and run the shop."

Mr. Sevroski opened his desk and pulled out a picture of him and his late wife, "You know...," sighing, he studied the picture a bit , "I think I'll run the shop," he put the picture down, "Tokyo's where I met your mom. Maybe you'll have luck there too."

"But dad, are you sure?"

"Just make sure you take care of Omicron and have fun. You have a bright future ahead of you, Caesar. Make sure you live it up."

Mel came busting through the office door, "We're here!"

"Hey, kid," Alan gave his brother-in-law a hug, "How ya been?"

"Just fine," Christopher tuned and hugged Mel, "Hey sis."

"Oh! Caesar, so how's it feel to be 18?"

"Eh, nothing special. Dad's leaving Omicron and he put me in charge."

"Huh," Mel rushed to her father, "Something wrong, daddy?"

"No, sweetheart, nothings wrong. It's just nothings the same without your mother around. I just want to settle down and be an old man."

"I'm going to Tokyo."

"Since when did ya plan dat, kid?"

"Since I got a lead on Rose that said she was moved to Tokyo recently."

"So, dose Exocorp bastards moved yer sweetie pie ova seas?"

"How are you going to blend in Tokyo?" Mel put down the present that she had for him.

"I'll go as a foreign exchange student who wants into Tokyo University, that way, I can be as foreign as I want and I don't need to go through too much legal formalities."

Mel put on a smile, "Tokyo U? Up to your Otaku self again, I see."

"Oh, shut up Doc. All I have to do now is find some place to stay because Grandma and Grandpa are in Okinawa, aren't they?

"Yeah they are, but I still have some favors I could use," Mr. Sevroski brings out his address book, "You can stay in the boarding house I was at when I was there."

Mel's smile only got bigger, "And you promised some girl that you'd go to Tokyo U with her. Eh Kei-Kun?"

Christopher glared at his sister, "I...think I'll pack now."

"Oh Caesar," Mel tossed her brother the gift she brought, "It was mom's."

"Its mom's sword," Christopher unsheathed it and admired the ornate blade, "It's beautiful."

Mr. Sevroski got up and put his hand on his son's shoulder, "Your mother wanted you to have it when you became a man. I think it's time."

"Thanks, mom," Christopher held it for a second before sheathing it again.

It took Christopher three months to get to Tokyo. He had to at least graduate high school before he could set his plan into motion. There were other formal matters as well as informal ones to attend to before his departure from the United States.

One of the things that stood in his way was his family. They were willing to cut him loose from the ties holding him home, but they were cautious of his new behavior. It was both relieving and troubling to see Christopher so organized and controlling. The thing is before his hospitalization, Christopher was a very reckless person. He paid no attention to the well being of anyone. Whether they are friend, foe, or stranger had no regard to his careless actions. He had acquired such wild and unpredictable behavior since the disappearance of his beloved Rosemonde. They were madly in love with each other. The two could hardly spend a waking second apart from the other and almost slipped into withdrawals if the time grew too long between separations. It was only a near-death experience that slapped Christopher back into his senses.

The landlord led Christopher to his room, "So you're the kid I was told of?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh no need to be so formal, any son of Ben and Yui is my son. I owe that much to your father. Just call me Mr. Horibuchi. How's your Japanese?"

Christopher readjusts a strap as he answers back perfectly, "My mother was very proud of her heritage, Mr. Horibuchi."

"I expected as much of Yui. You sure you don't mind staying with my son?"

"I'm sure, Mr. Horibuchi."

Mr. Horibuchi handed Christopher a key, "Well this is it. I'll leave you two to get aquatinted."

"Oh what's your son's name?"

"Kentaro. Have fun!"

Christopher opened up the door, and was immediately led into the Kitchen, "Kentaro?"

"I'm in here. Just put your stuff down for now."

Christopher happily complied. He walked towards Kentaro's voice, following it to two doors, one across from another.

"Which one's mine?"

"You get the one to the left."

Christopher slid the door open, "It's just like mom's room," Christopher knocked on Kentaro's door, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure."

Christopher entered a sweltering room. Kentaro was apparently both a kendo warrior and a boxer from the decor of the room. There were various kendo equipment on the far wall and in the middle of the room was a heavy bag and some weight equipment.

Kentaro was twenty-seven and about Christopher's height. He did have a bigger build than him though. His black hair was matted to his forehead as he worked the heavy bag. He took a final punch before he stopped to grab a towel, "Hi, it's nice to finally meet you," he took a analytic look at Christopher as he bowed, "You look a lot like your father."

"I get that a lot. My name's Christopher."

"Well you already know I'm Kentaro. It's so awesome that I actually get to meet the son of one of the best kendo warriors of Japan. Your mother taught you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but I could never be as good as she was." "I hear you. I've seen her fight before. It's a pretty awesome sight."

Some memories of kendo bouts with his mother flooded into Christopher's mind, "Try to admire it on the receiving end. It's too bad she's dead though."

"Yui Sahara is dead? What killed her?"

"Well," Christopher didn't want to remember, "it was a new virus that did her in."

"I'm sorry man."

Christopher started to slowly reach for his mother's sword he had under his coat, "Yeah, but she did teach me many things before she left. Like...," Christopher blocked an attack from behind with the sheath, drew his weapon, and swung around, placing the blade at the neck of his assailant, "how to fend off a pretty girl attacking from behind."

The girl dared not to move, "How the hell did you know I was there?"

Christopher sheathed his sword again, "I heard the door open and close and your footsteps, although very light and soft, told me of your movements," he smiled.

"Christopher, this is my baby sister, Koneko."

Koneko brushed her short hair to the side as she looked at him with disbelieving eyes, "This can't be the son of the great Yui Sahara. He's too skinny."

Christopher stared right back at Koneko, "You're a pushy one, kid. If I'm not Yui's son then why do I have her sword?"

Koneko grew angry, "You have no right to call me 'kid'," her eyes became thin slivers, "That may be Yui's sword, but can you use it like she could?" with that, Koneko drew her sword against Christopher again.

Christopher quickly drew his sword and tripped Koneko. He caught her as she fell forward, inches before she ran herself on his sword, "I can use it just fine."

Koneko's face was white, "You just got lucky this time."

Kentaro helped her sister up and led her to the door, "I think it's time to leave, Koneko."

When Kentaro came back, Christopher was busy unpacking, "Hey, don't let Koneko get to you. She just feels threatened now that there's actually somebody around that can put her in her place."

"Haven't you tried to do something about it?"

Kentaro rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, but she never took it seriously because I'm her brother."

Christopher unpacked an oak, black box, "She is pretty though. How old is she?"

"She's 17. You won't see much of her during the week though because our school schedule is different from yours," Kentaro eyed the box, "What's that?"

"Its personal family stuff," Christopher put the box on the dresser, "So what do you do?"

"I'm a boxing coach. The money's not great, but it's something I want to do, so I have no complaints. What are you going to Tokyo U for?"

"...Uh," Christopher shoved his hands into his pockets. He forgot to decide what to take at Tokyo U. He felt his keys, "Engineering. I want to design cars."

"That's cool," Kentaro bent down to open a box up and found a good number of racing trophies, "Oh. A racer I see."

Christopher got embarrassed, "I'm not too great."

"These trophies say otherwise. There's a track not too far from here."

"Maybe I'll check it out when I get my car."

"You got a car?"

"Nothing great, just something to get me around in."

"Do you need help unpacking?"

"No," Christopher took the trophy box from Kentaro, "It's ok. I have some personal things in here, so..."

Kentaro smiled, "I understand. Just call me if you need anything."

Christopher slowly woke the next day. He slept in after staying up late unpacking. After checking to see if Kentaro was home, which he wasn't, Christopher took a shower and got dressed in his usual obscene T- shirt and baggy jeans. He took a puff of his steroid inhaler, ate breakfast and cleaned up before asking Mr. Horibuchi about how to get to Tokyo U. He spent a couple hours drifting around in the public transportation system before he got to where he wanted to go. Once there, he found his way to the main office and registered to take the entrance exams. He then wandered downtown, stopping in various manga shops and picking up a few things. By the time he returned home, Koneko was back.

Koneko stood leaning against the wall across from his door, "You'd think that the son of the great Yui would have a car."

Christopher pulled his keys from his pocket, "Oh, shut up."

"I actually came to apologize for how I was acting yesterday."

"Is that so," Christopher entered the apartment.

"Yeah, when I heard she was dead, I just-"

"Apology accepted," Christopher held out his hand, "So, how long you been a kendo girl?"

Koneko wearily shook his hand, "Since I was five, your mother was my idol."

"She started me when I was three and by the time I was seven, I could put up a fight, but I was thirteen when I could actually win."

"You beat Yui Sahara?" Koneko's disbelief could be heard.

"You don't believe me, do you," Christopher started for his room.

Koneko followed him, "None in the slightest."

Christopher reached in and grabbed two wooden swords, "To the roof then."

Koneko took a power stance, "Whenever your ready, baka..."

Christopher took the sword in one hand. He charged Koneko with almost inhuman speed and slashed at her without giving her a chance to react. Koneko just stood in the same stance; She was too surprised to do anything.

Snapping a finger, Christopher brought her back to the real world, "What the hell was that?" Koneko yelled, "How the hell are you so fast?"

Christopher smiled, "The scary part is that my mom was faster than me. I think that's enough for now, or you still don't believe me."

"One more time," Koneko was ready for his speed this time, "Come on."

Christopher squared off again. He again made a mad dash at Koneko. For the sake of variety, he jumped up in the air, landing right in front of her. She tried to attack him, but missed as he rolled. As he finished, he tripped her and she fell face forward. Koneko rolled over to make an attack. Christopher blocked and made a theatrical spin before thrusting his sword at Koneko's face, stopping it only inches away.

Kentaro was standing in the roof access doorway clapping, "Could never be as good as her, huh?"

"I guess I sort of am," Christopher was a little embarrassed, "I just don't like to brag."

Kentaro threw Christopher a handgun, "How are you with one of these?"

Christopher looked at the gun, "Hey! This is...mine."

Kentaro looked Christopher right in the eyes, "You're him, aren't you? You're Caesar."

Christopher loaded a bullet into the chamber and pointed the gun at Kentaro, "Who are you?"

"I never thought I'd ever meet the infamous Caesar, let alone live with him," Kentaro took a step forward.

"Stay back," Christopher fired a warning shot at Kentaro, "Who sent you? FBI? CIA? MI6? WHO?"

Kentaro kept his cool, "Hey, hey don't worry man. I'm just a loyal fan. Koneko, why don't you say hello to our little terrorist friend."

Koneko was terrified, "What do you want? Just leave us alone!"

Christopher kept his sights on Kentaro, "What do you mean by 'fan'?"

"That's just it, you're my favorite of the Omicron bunch. I remember when your father started Omicron. Hell, my dad was one of the original members."

Christopher lowered the hammer and put the safety on, "He was? Dad never told me that there were any retired members. Come to think of it, how did you find out about me?"

"You can't be the son of Benjamin Sevroski and not be in Omicron. I knew you were in Omicron before you got here. I just didn't know which one you were, that is, until you pulled that little move on my sister. I've seen you do it before on TV."

"Whew," Christopher breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought I was in it deep."

Back in his room, Christopher was showing Kentaro his things, "...and this is our Comm.-D," throwing Kentaro a small device.

Kentaro unfolded the Comm., "Wow! This stuff's great! Where do you get it all?"

"My sister designed them all," Christopher started to put away his equipment, "She's the one we call Doc."

"So..." Kentaro got a bit nervous, "How do you get in to...Omicron?"

"What's that?"

"Oh nothing. It's always been my dream to be in Omicron. I mean the excitement of it all. It must be great..."

"If we got in this for the excitement, we would have quit a long time ago. There's nothing glamorous about what we do. We formed to stop all the top-secret government bullshit, and right now we have to stop Project 1121651. Actually right now I need to sit on my ass and wait for some stuff that my sister's bringing in a couple weeks and then go on a fund run."

"Well, I still want to fulfill my dream. I want in."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Well, we don't have the time to train a new guy right now. After the fund run though," Christopher tries to look ahead, "I think we could. Wait, what am I talking about?" Christopher turns and puts a hand on Kentaro's shoulder, "We're short a couple people, so I think we could fit you in."

It was to be a couple hours before Kentaro left, after which, Christopher found himself lying on his bed. He found it funny that he would allow himself to slip like that. He took into consideration the thought that he might be loosing his touch, but he quickly dismissed such a farfetched idea. What was it that was throwing him off of his game? He never made a mistake like that before. Even during those years with Rose missing, Christopher was at least aware enough to keep his identity and any evidence that would expose him from discovery. He soon put to rest the fury in his mind. Mr. Horibuchi did know he was who and what he was, so why should it be such a crazy idea that he would tell his son? There was nothing else to it, or was there something still he should be worried about? Better yet, was there someone?

Koneko was in her car, driving three of her friends to school.

"So Koneko, I heard that a foreign exchange student moved in with your brother," , Asuka was powdering her face.

Motoko was knitted her brow, "I think I've seen him. He looks like a dork."

Megumi put down her book, "I bet he doesn't even have a car," she noticed that Koneko was getting a bit ridged, "Hey, don't you know anything about him Koneko? He does live in your boarding house."

"No! Nothing at all! Nope! I don't know anything! Not a single solitary thing about Christopher!"

"So his name is Christopher, eh?" Asuka put her compact away.

Megumi laughed, "You like him don't you?"

"That's not it," Koneko wanted to tell them that he was the infamous Caesar, but then again, she wanted her head just where it was, "I know that he's the son of Yui Sahara."

"Oh really! Wow!" Motoko screamed, "Um...Koneko... Who's that?"

"She is one of the best kendo warriors that ever existed."

Megumi thought for a second, "He doesn't look strong. How can he be a warrior with such a skinny body. Hey there he is!"

Christopher was buying some fruit for his trip around town. As he pulled out some money to pay the shopkeeper, a thief came up and snagged the money from his hand. With little effort, Christopher grabbed the pickpocket and punched him square in the face. The robber was out like a light. Christopher bent down to take his money and then paid the man. As he left, people made way for him. The girls were quiet the rest of the way to school.

Christopher looked at his watch as he bit into an apple, "They should be here soon," he thought.

It was another five minutes until a black 3000GT pulled up to the curb with the window down, "Hey, kid!" Alan got out and threw Christopher the keys, "Nice damn car ya got 'ere!"

Christopher took another bite, "So where's Doc?"

"She's back at da boardin' home tryin' ta talk da ol' man inta lettin' ya use da lowah part as a garage for ya ta work in."

"That's cool. Hey, you guys brought all my stuff. right?"

"Yeah, yeah yer bike's 'ere too."

Christopher pushed Alan out of the way, "Let's go back home. We need to talk about a fund run."

"Now we're talkin'!"

Mr. Horibuchi smiled, "Anything for the daughter of Yui. How's your father been... After, I mean."

Mel put down her tea, "He took it pretty bad. We all did."

"It's sad to hear such a beautiful woman had to die like that."

"Yeah. Caesar had even worse luck. His girlfriend was kidnapped about the same time. We haven't heard from her since."

"Really? What was her name?"

"Rosemonde Aulupe, she was a Parisian. We've been looking for her for a long time, it's almost the second anniversary of her abduction," Mel smiled, "I've never seen Caesar work so hard for something. He made a promise to himself that he'd find her. He's just like mom when it comes to promises."

"Is that so? Then I feel sorry for whoever took this Rosemonde."

Christopher gave his sister a hug, "Hey Doc!"

"Hey Caesar, how's it going?"

"I found us a replacement for dad!"

Mr. Horibuchi smiled, "That's great! Who is it?"

"Kentaro!"

"Is he sure he wants to do this?" Mr. Horibuchi was skeptical.

"He said it was his dream."

"Hold on Caesar," Mel chirped in, "You know that aspiration and our line of work doesn't mix."

"Yeah, but he's very determined to become one of us. I'm sure he'll do just fine," Christopher smiled then went serious, "But before we do anything, we need to do a fund run."

Mel thought about it, "Are you sure? My research firm revenue should be coming soon."

Christopher started to leave, "Think of it like an advertisement that Omicron is back in business."

It took them a couple weeks to figure out what they were going to do. Such an amount of time was almost unheard of given that they had to figure out the best place to hit, learn every square inch of the building, figure the position of guards, ready their equipment, figure a plan of attack, practice it, and doing so without creating any suspicion. Then again, they wouldn't be the world's best, or worse for that mater.

Even though four A.M. Tokyo was pretty busy, it was better than having it at it's usual mid-day hustle and bustle to pull a fund run. Three members of a falsely accused terrorist organization holed themselves in a motel but 300 yards from the US Embassy, dressed for the occasion. The Omicron uniform consisted of a black trench coat over a white button down, black tie, black baggy pants, boots, a large-rimmed black hat, their trademark mask of the face of Comedy, and underneath it all was protective armor; however, each threw in their own twists to the get-up. Christopher gave his uniform both a blade master look with a hint of bar fly, Mel wore a lab coat instead of a button-up, and Alan had a bunch of bags to carry his extra stuff in and a three million dollar, prototypical exo-suit. The exo-suit unit went on the back while two sleeve-like appendages came off the sides. The left one had an experimental energy unit that could do one of three things: form a shield, blade, or beam. The right arm housed a 5.56mm carbine barrel with three round burst capabilities, small rocket launcher, and a .9mm automatic with a 2500 rounds per minute rate of fire. Each arm was fed by the back unit, which also housed boosters for short ranged flight and a missile launcher with 25 small missiles. The exo-suit was made with very light materials, such as titanium and aluminum, to compensate for the other heavy components, thus the exo-suit weighed a grand total of 175 lb.

The air was wet from a light rain less than an hour ago. The late night traffic could be heard echoing throughout the steel jungle. The three of them were waiting for a guard change. They needed to blow the gate, but they wanted the least amount of deaths as possible. Their problem was with the UN's spanking new Human Genome and Medical Research Division, not anyone else.

Mel was on the roof of the motel, scouting the gates with the scope of her rifle, "Hey, it looks like their going to change real soon so get ready."

Alan had positioned himself for a clean shot at the front gates. He waited as he petted his patented Mini-Rail Gun, "I'm ready, how 'bout ya, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Christopher was waiting in a dark alley way not too far from Alan, "You guys sure you know what you're supposed to be doing?"

"Caesar, don't worry," Mel's attention never left the gate, "...Mr. Wizard, now!"

Alan charged up the magnets and fired a rocket at the gates. Christopher took off after the rocket with another trademark Omicron device, a booster belt. Once he was clear of any obstacles he ignited the burners and shot forward. The rocket smashed open the gate followed by Christopher blasting through and then using the belt to stop. He activated a sound filter and covered his eyes with his hat because Alan's rocket was then chased by a flash bang to allow Christopher enough time to get in safely. Christopher strapped the door with explosives, blew it, and proceeded inside. He knocked out a couple guards and went up the stairs. Upstairs he began looking for the computer terminals. Once he found them, he hooked up a device to it so Mel could hack her way in.

Christopher pulled out a tranquilizer gun and sheathed sword, "Mel, how much time do I have to buy you?"

Mel was already in, "I'd say about twenty minutes."

"Ok," Christopher shot a guard, "Twenty minutes," he shot another one, "I can deal with that."

Mel found a couple names of some terrorist groups whose funds hadn't been frozen yet. She then traced those funds to their source and hacked into them. From there, she transferred the funds from the terrorist bank accounts to their Swiss one.

"Ok, Caesar, I'm done."

"All right, now Mr. Wizard?"

Alan was charging up his rail gun, "Ready when you are." "Fire...," Christopher made his way outside and hightailed it away from the embassy, "Now!"

Alan fired the round straight into the embassy. The projectile smacked against the wall and detonated, sending an EMP wave throughout the embassy and destroying any record of their presence from the technological eye.

Christopher opened the door, "Oh, hey Koneko! What do you want?"

"You're trying for Tokyo U too, aren't you? Well I need a study buddy."

"I guess you can join me," Christopher let Koneko in, "What are you having trouble with?"

"English," she sighed, "That's the only thing I have a real problem with right now."

"Oh?" Christopher opened the door to his room, "Ladies first!"

"Yeah, yeah. So why are you going to Tokyo U if you're an international terrorist?"

Christopher sat down at the Japanese style table, "I really don't need to get in. I just need something to do so no one gets suspicious."

"Then, why are you in Tokyo?"

"Ever heard of Exocorp?"

"You mean those guys who say they do research for the better of humankind?"

"Yeah," Christopher took a sip of his tea, "They kidnapped my girlfriend and are moving her around the world. I've got a lead that she is in Tokyo somewhere."

Koneko leaned up against the dresser, "I'm sorry, I guess it's not my business."

"Naw, it's ok. It's been two years since she's been gone."

"Well, um... Could we get back to studying?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Christopher went to his closet, "You want a blanket? It's kind of cold in here."

"Uh... Sure."

Christopher slid the door open and reached for a blanket, but knocked over a box instead, "Oh, whoops!" The contents of the box spilled all over and Koneko was quick to investigate, "Hmm, what's this?" she picked up a few books, "Neon Geni... Love Hi... Cowboy Be... You're... You're an Otaku?" Koneko noticed at least twenty other different titles.

Christopher started to pick up his books, "Well..."

Koneko pushed Christopher out of the way, "What the hell?! Your entire closet is filled with more books? And Movies too!"

"Heh heh," Christopher was just glad she didn't find all the top secret government files and high tech weaponry, "Uh... Yeah?"

"You mean to tell me that the infamous Caesar, who is also the son of the Great Yui is a little, immature manga geek?"

"Kinda funny, ain't it?"

Koneko grabbed her things, "I have lost all respect for you."

Christopher watched her leave, "Bye!" he had a large grin.

He figured it out. He now knew what had been the oil under his fingers, slowly laming his touch. His heart stung him with resentment. He hasn't found Rose yet, so how could he be falling for another? He almost hated himself for it, but just like that, all those dark feelings were gone. The instant her name flashed in his mind, Christopher felt lighter than he had ever felt before. However, he could not completely fly away because Rose still grounded him with the chain she had on his heart. For the first time in his life, Christopher David Sevroski was at loss of what to do. The two names both sang and burned in his mind. The sweet Rose and the fair Koneko.

Kojiro held Megumi in his arms, "So where is he?"

"Well," Koneko checked her watch, "He comes by here every Saturday about this time, so..."

"Hey, ain't that him?" Motoko pointed.

"Huh?" Koneko scanned the area, "Oh yeah that's...uh."

Christopher had on some very thick glasses and it looked like he didn't take a shower. He had on a 'Got Anime?' shirt tucked in some really tight pants, "Oh hey Koneko!"

Koneko didn't like what she saw, "Uh...Christopher? What are you wearing?"

"What do you mean? This is what I always wear!" he had a very cheesy grin.

Kojiro bowed, "Hi, I'm Kojiro!"

"Hello," Christopher followed suit.

"So, you're the so-called kendo master. Koneko has been talking all about you."

"I know, I've seen her talk about me from my window." Christopher had that grin on again.

Kojiro shrugged off that last, creepy comment, "Uh...this is my girlfriend, Megumi."

"Ak! Oh... Uh... Look at the time!" Christopher pretended to be very nervous, "That new Manga shop should be opening soon. Heh heh,.." he made his way cautiously around the other girls before making a mad dash for the corner. He kept this up until he was sure they were out of sight then jumped in his car and drove off.

"Um... Koneko, I don't think he's all of what you said he is," Motoko leered at her friend.

"Yeah, Koneko," Asuka started to leave, "He seems like a total geek. How did he kick your ass?" Megumi followed, "This was a waste of time."

Koneko busted into Christopher's room, "What the hell was that?!"

Christopher smiled, "Looks like I got the last laugh."

"You completely humiliated me in front of my friends!"

"Well," Christopher shrugged, "I am, after all, a little, immature manga geek. Besides, I need to keep a low profile. If I start strutting, I'll draw too much attention to myself."

"You haven't been doing anything since that embassy business, so why do you need to stay so low, that was like eight months ago."

"Firstly, we're training your brother. That takes a lot of time and money. Second, we haven't got any new leads, so we can't do anything. Lastly, the job we do have planned is still in on the drawing board. After we do some research on the facility, we need to run drills and prep for the actual infiltration and there's a hell of a lot of red tape to go through before we even get any of the equipment we need."

"You people are just lazy," Koneko left the room.

After two months of parading around as a manga geek, Christopher was pretty sure his pseudo-personality was set in stone. He began to dress normally and, as he predicted, everyone kept treating him badly, which was good. The only con to this game was the fact he couldn't drive his car around, so he rode his skateboard. He was really good on it, but he didn't like to show off.

Things were fine until one evening, he witnessed a robbery. Christopher was quick to assess the situation and was even on the news. The interview was going smoothly until they started to ask him about how he thwarted the enemy. Christopher played it off as an accident, contradictory to fifty eye-witness accounts. To make up for the sudden gain of fame, Christopher forced himself to barf on the camera man and passed out. Now, not only was he a geek, but an under-aged drunk.

That Koneko made mad. Just when her friends came back and told her that they were wrong about Christopher, he goes and hurls on camera and faints. She had to find something that would make him look cool, but he had nothing in his room that was valid evidence, or so she thought. Actually, all of Christopher's racing trophies, kendo awards, skateboard videos, Omicron gear, and '56 Gibson Les Paul were hidden in his room.

It wasn't until a week after Christopher also added slob to his growing list of bad traits that Koneko found what she could use to prove her friends wrong. She had found out where he hid all his pictures of him and his misadventures around the world, however, none of which were about his Omicron escapades. One day, she took the box.

"Koneko, what are you doing in my room," Christopher was innocently eating some cookies.

Koneko grabbed the box, "I'm going to take this box of pictures and I'm going to expose your true self!"

Christopher remained calm, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She ignored his warning and took the box. She ran all the way from the boarding house to her friends house where she had organized everyone to witness the spectacle. Christopher was sitting in his room when Koneko came bursting through the door. He had been idly looking at all the pictures that should have been in the box. The thing was that he knew she was going to take the box and filled it up with pornography so that they would also think he was a pervert, which worked quiet well. Christopher looked up at an obviously infuriated Koneko, "...Yes?"

Koneko's burning glare grew thin and piercing, "I loathe you."

"Aw, angry are we?" Christopher smiled, "I don't know if I'll ever stop. It's so worth ruining my reputation among complete strangers just to see you. You're cute when you're mad, you know that?" he patted her on the head as he left.

Koneko stood speechless. She knew that was meant as a compliment. No one but no one had called her cute before and she blushed at the prospect of being called such. She watched Christopher leave and he flashed her another grin before he shut the door.

Christopher had decided on Koneko. It's had been almost three years since he lost Rose and he thought that it might be time to move on. Of course, he was still determined to find her, but he had to also take into consideration his father's words: "You have a bright future ahead of you, Caesar. Make sure you live it up." It was time to formulate a plan.

Christopher followed Koneko to one of her kendo lessons. Mr. Ohno was a very popular teacher and Koneko's class was a fairly large one. Near the end of the class, Mr. Ohno called on Koneko.

"Horibuchi-san, introduce us to your guest."

Koneko signaled for Christopher, "This is Christopher Sevroski, a foreign exchange student who's living in my boarding house."

Christopher took his bow, "Pleased to meet you all," he turned and bowed for Mr. Ohno with a smug look on his face, "Pleased to meet you."

Mr. Ohno also had one, "So, are you any good with a sword?"

"Is Auntie as goofy as she's always been?"

Mr. Ohno laughed, "Didn't your mother teach you to respect your elders?"

Christopher laughed as he grabbed Koneko's sparring sword, "You know her..."

Mr. Ohno thrust his sword at Christopher's chest which was effortlessly parried. Christopher counterattacked by striking at Mr. Ohno's back, but his death strike was defended with some quick sword movements. There they stood, stick to stick, both gazing deeply into each others' eyes. The class made a ring around the combatants. Koneko was the only one cheering for Christopher, the rest of the class favored their instructor. Mr. Ohno wanted to make this a good show, so he went in for the kill. Christopher power struck the instructor's sword and cut it in two. He then ran behind Mr. Ohno and thrust. The contact of wood to fabric ended the match.

Christopher dropped the sword and hugged his uncle, "Long time no see, Uncle Ohno"

Mr. Ohno hugged back, "Yeah, its been, what?, eight years since I last saw you in the States," he stepped back and his expression changed, "I heard about your mother from Gendo, what a loss, eh?" "Yeah," Christopher had a sad look, "I miss her," he was silent, but quickly perked up, "Mr. Horibuchi has been taking good care of me since I came here."

"Just like Gendo to never forget a friend in need," he turned to his pupils, "Everyone, this is my Nephew. He's the son of Yui Sahara."

Christopher held the door open for Koneko, "It's getting late, Uncle. I'd better go home."

Mr. Ohno checked his watch, "...Oh yeah it is. Your Aunt is going to kill me. Heh heh."

"Oh, say hi for me, won't you Uncle," Christopher helped Koneko into his car.

"Don't worry, I will. Bye Caesar!"

Christopher patiently waited at a light, "It was sure nice to see my Uncle."

"Of all people, your uncle had to be my instructor," Koneko kept her attention out the window.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Koneko answered sharply.

"Oh come on now, you expect me to believe that."

She glared, "I'm not in the mood to talk."

The light turned green, "Aw, why the sad face?"

Koneko looked away, blushing, "Oh shut up..."

Christopher smiled, "Come on now, you can tell me."

Koneko started to cry, "Just leave me alone."

Christopher pulled over. He took her head in his hands and wiped away some tears with his thumb, "Tell me what's wrong."

She was speechless, motionless, staring into his eyes and never wanting this moment to end. Then it came as a burning lump in her throat, "Because I know once you find her, you'll leave me."

Christopher had a reassuring smile. He looked right into her tear- stained eyes, "How could I do such a thing to you. Yes, she may have been my first, but that's long gone now. I'd never leave you."

A shadowy figure threw her headphones across the room.

"How could he say those things to her?" she thought, "How?" and in a blind rage, Rosemonde Aulupe smashed the radio.

She got up, poured herself some wine and slammed it. She began to pour some more, but the liquor ran dry. Throwing the spent bottle across the room, Rose downed the contents of the glass and threw it against the wall as well. Rose started to cry, "I thought you loved me, Caesar. I thought you were different. I would have done anything for you, but you turned out to be like the rest of them," she grew angry, "Backstabber, liar... Now the only thing left to do is to kill you. The sands of time are against you, Caesar. Will you be able to outlive the storm on the horizon, or will you die on your knees, begging for my forgiveness. Either way, I'll make sure I have the last laugh."

The Little Thingy That The Authors Put At The End

Seeming how I am a brand, spanking-new writer, I need feed back. I have had friends and family read it, but I can't shake the feeling that they're just saying those things to shut me up. So please, tell me anything. Praise me, hate me, flame me, or love me. I don't care.