Disclaimer: I don't own a snail anymore... I think my fish ate it. So now all I own is a killer fish.

Authors Note(s): I don't really have anything to say this time around... If you have any questions, then review, I'll answer then next chappie.

You were correct. I'm sorry. It is spelled Atomsk, without an 'i'... I could have sworn that there was an 'i' in it when I was reading the manga, but I looked again, and it is without an 'i'. I went back and fixed it. All is well now.

Chapter 4:

Derivation

I awoke from my unconscious state, to see flaming red on the inside of my eyelids. It took me awhile to realize that my eyes were still closed. Feeling a slight bit bold, I opened them... An overwhelming bright light slid over the redness, I stared at it and saw myself in heaven... but then, I was just seeing spots. Personally, I expected the stairway to heaven to be a little more welcoming. I never have to worry about the gateway to death now though, that's one question that will always remain unanswered...

What does it feel like to die? To abandon your body for eternity?... Is it like fainting? Or is it more like being born?

I heard voices form around me. Whispers, mumbles, and unintelligible words. I tried to get up, but I found that I was strapped down to the table I was laying on. That's when I started to panic. I yanked at the straps in vain, and cried out as loud as possible.

"AHHHH!!!! W-WHAT'S GOING ON?!!!!" The tears welded up in my eyes, and ran out of my eye sockets with ease. I squeezed my eyes tight as I screamed. Then I thought back to what had happened... "NO!!! WHERE IS HE?!!! WHERE'S ATOMSK?!!" I continued to thrash about violently on the table. Whoever had put me there, noticed my cries and a huge gang of unknown aliens, wearing white clothes came up to me. I held back my fear, bottled it into the pit of my stomach, and short whines still exploded from my throat as I breathed.

Have you ever been so terrified that you couldn't stop crying? When your unable to swallow that lump in your throat ? When you stomach feels pumped, and your breathing is in uncontrollable gasps for air? Well, that's what I felt like... Now multiply that horror by ten.

At the same time, either annoyed by my cries, or sensing my fear, they stabbed me. All of them. Not with knives. Not with swords... but, with shots. Tons of shots, all in my abdomen.

Have you ever watched a shot go into your body? The pain isn't what hurts, it's your mind that says it's painful. The depression that appears just before the needle breaks the skin... Then, ever so slowly, you feel, or rather, sense, the needle as it glides beneath the indent, and out of your eyes viewing. It injects the fluid medicine into your system, and the needle comes out, followed by a bubble of blood.

I didn't see what they were stabbing me with. What I felt wasn't the needle inside me... it was a knife, carving out the turkey for dinner. That's what my mind thought it was, so that's how it felt. I can't even begin to explain that mental pain... because it is so much worse than any physical pain possible.

I cried, I sobbed, I wept, and all the tears that refused to come at that time, tore away at my insides, and twisted without mercy. The agony of it all was I inflected all this torture on myself. I arched my back into the needles, and shoved them into me deeper, and deeper. They withdrew the shots, and I slammed, and I mean slammed, my back onto the table. If it wasn't for the padding, I would've broken my spline.

Whatever they did to me after that, is all a blank. I don't know if they stopped then, or if they continued my torment. I blacked out after I hit the padding of the table. I wanted to finish my dream...

Why is it that you can never finish a dream after you wake up? You go back to sleep, thinking about that same dream... and you end up dreaming something COMPLETELY different? But... can you really finish a dream? I mean, do dreams have an ending?

Maybe that's why we die. An eternal slumber. Maybe, that's where we dream. We finish all the dreams... and crush all the nightmares.

"Hey..." a voice called out to me. "Girl..." Something was shaking my shoulder, and it slowly pulled me awake. My sight was blurry for a moment, I blinked it off, and the source that had awaken me became clear. A woman, kneeling down beside me...

Peach pink hair, a twinkle of frost glimmered in it like a star in the sky at dusk. Her dark green eyes laid on my face, examining me as I stared at her. A smile spread across her lips and she looked oddly familiar. She appeared to be normal... even with the funky hair color.

"It's about time," she said, the same smile remaining in place. "I was beginning to think you were going to sleep forever."

"W-Who are--?" I started a question, but she cut me off.

"Who am I? Well, that depends on who's asking... but since it's you, I'll make an exception and tell the truth. Where to begin?" I gave her a confused look. She seemed to be thinking. After several long moments, she elaborated further, "I'm an alien."

"I got that much..." I replied rudely. Her grin only grew.

"Well, my name should give you an answer, but it will also tag a few more questions along with it." She hesitated, obviously weary about giving out her name. "Katte Haruha, pleasure." She extended her hand to me. I shook it, dazzled.

"Haruha? But I'm-"

"Haruhara... I know, Raharu." Now, I was freaked out.

"How did you..." I began a question, but my voice trailed off, and I couldn't force it out of my mouth. She was still smiling.

"I'm your sister." she said plainly.

"No... I'm an only child." She must of had brain damage or something. I didn't know what else to think other than she was insane.

"In fact, we're even closer than blood sisters; we were created by pure genetics. We have no parents--" I couldn't take her explanations at that time, I had to fight back.

"I HAVE PARENTS!!" I retorted.

"They never told you that you were adopted?" she queried, the smile fading slightly.

"N-No..." I stuttered out, tears of shock forming in my eyes. No! No! NO! This lady must be crazy!

"You're name was already programed into you--Genetically," she spoke softly, "Raharu... it's okay."

"Y-You're a liar!!" Her assuring words didn't even come close to ease the anguish.

"Haruko," she sounded... and the weirdest thing happened...

My mind respond to it, like someone had called my name.

"It's an alias, which was also programed into you, genetically," she continued to explain, even when I didn't reply. "My aliases include; Tsuki and Kasea..."

"LIAR!!" I shouted, unable to keep my inner tension from erupting any longer.

"Relax, will you please?" I only turned up my volume.

"RELAX?!!! YOU WANT ME TO RELAX??!!!" I jolted into a sitting position. "AH!" I yelped, my arm grasping my stomach, a serge of discomfort seizing me. I remembered all the shots that I had gotten, and fell back onto the floor. How did I get on the floor?...

"You okay?!" she asked, handing me a pillow, and throwing a blanket over me. She grabbed a shot and I cringed. She rolled up my sleeve and wiped some alcohol across my skin. I gasped, and turned over onto my side, wrenching out of her reach, curling into a ball.

"Please..." I whined, "No more shots..."

"But, this will be the last one, it will make you feel better, I promise." She brought it back to my shoulder to try again, and I squeezed my eyes shut tight.

"Why should I trust you?" I demanded, but she had already gotten up, and was walking away.

"See? You didn't even feel it." She chuckled lightly to herself, disposed of the shot, and came back to my side. "All that stuff I said was true." I shook my head side-to-side disbelievingly. "But now, I have a question for you." She paused, I turned over to lay on my back again. I noticed that she had a new type of smile on her face now, almost sad. She put a bandage over where she had given me my shot, and crawled under the cover of the blanket with me. "How do you know Atomsk?"

"How do you know that I know Atomsk?" I asked back at her.

"You were yelling for him earlier." I raised my eyebrows, now recalling that I didn't know what was going on.

"Amarao told me about him, all I know is his name," I replied.

"Amarao... Amarao... Where have I heard that name before?" she repeated his name, hoping it would jog her memory. "Ah-ha! That short little kid, lacking in the eyebrow department?"

"Yeah, that's him. Where is he?" I confirmed her thought.

"No clue, last time I saw him he had just been captured. Few years ago... Yeah, I explained some stuff to him," she said resolved.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Like...uhh... 'bout Atomsk, and his power. That sort of stuff." She was the one. The woman that I had the urge to meet. It was her.

"Where is Atomsk?" I wondered, dieing to feel that ecstasy again.

"He got away again... I'll have to track him down."

"Got away from what?" I was so dumb back then...

"Uhh... Have you--Well... umm..." She stopped and collected her words. "Have you ever looked into his eyes?" I nodded, and she sighed. "So... you've experienced the power?"

"Power?" Was she... referring to the ecstasy?

"That feeling you get when you look into his eyes?"

"Yeah. It's the best feeling in the whole world." I was barely speaking in a whisper.

"His power is incredible... he has enough N.O to steal whole star--"

"Systems," I finished her sentence. "Amarao told me that..."

"Are you in love with him?" she asked in the most straight-forward manner.

"Huh? I-In love with him?" I directed back to her, not sure of her meaning.

"Not in love with him, but with his power?" she reworded her question, better for my understanding. "I've met him, without his power, and trust me... you wouldn't love him. He's actually a really boring guy..."

"I love the feeling I get from him... is that wrong?" I was so innocent then...

"You're not the only one... there's many."

"You?" I was so naive...

"Me, and millions of others. You're still just a kid, so you're only after the feeling... I'm after the power. The N.O."

"The power of N.O?... What's N.O?" I didn't get anything...

"N.O utilizes the right and left brain's distinct thought processes to open and inter-dimensional channel, capable of pulling things through. Sometimes from light years away, in an instant. You have to find someone that has that power, like Atomsk. You then use his head to open the channel to N.O," she answered swiftly, she must have had to explain all this to other people before.

"And you want that power?"

"Right. Atomsk is the Pirate King... I'm a space pirate, which means that he's my king." I considered her words, then it sunk in. If this woman is really my sister, and she's a space pirate... that means I'm a space pirate too.

"I'm a space pirate then..."

"Not quite yet." That welcoming smile returned. "But after I train you, then yes you will be."

"Train me how?"

"I'll get to the details later." She was probably tired of explaining by that time. "I'll be your superior, and I'll teach you everything that I know. I'll make you stronger than myself."

"Why?" I almost didn't want to ask another question, but curiosity killed the cat.

"You're my sister... My powers have reached their plateau, which means that I'm not going to get any stronger unless I get a big boost of energy, like Atomsk's power. I'll pass my knowledge and power unto you, and you will train farther than me. When you reach your plateau, maybe, just maybe, you'll have enough power to beat Atomsk, and get what everyone wants."

"Why do y--"

"No more questions," Katte ordered. "We need some rest, and the more questions I answer, the more questions you'll have. Go to sleep." My sister cuddled up to me, pulling the blanket up to her cheeks.

"Okay..." She snapped her fingers, and the lights went out, except one blue night light in the corner of the room.

"Were you ever lonely?" she asked a final question, a personal one. I'm sure she only wanted to know, because she could relate.

"I was... all the time..." I looked over at her head on my shoulder, and I felt a void being filled within myself. Her eyes were already closed, and no doubt she had fallen asleep. I sighed. My eyelids slowly fell, and I was out, and I didn't even dream...

An extremely huge thank you to all my wonderful reviewers!

I apologize for any mistakes I might have made in that chapter. (like accidentally writing 'the' instead of 'there' or something stupid like that) I wrote this really late at night, and I don't trust myself enough to say that I didn't make any mistakes. If I did, I'll fix it when I notice it.

To anyone that was wondering where I got Haruko's sister's name and aliases from, I picked a few random words that reminded me of Haruko, and looked up how to say them in Japanese:

Katte Ones own way (liberty)
Tsuki, short for Usotsuki Liar
Kasea, changed from Kasei Housekeeping

!REVIEW PLEASE!