I'm sick of this town! Let's give it a nice parting gift...

Chapter 1a: Battle of Rocky Pass

I made up my mind. Fuck this town! I was ready to rid myself of everything tying me down – and no one was going to stop me.

I ran down to the town’s center piece, the statue of Raizo, the town’s founder. True to his word, the scruffy boy was there. Clad in a leather jacket, black boots and pants to match, and a dark red shirt, he leaned slyly against the statue.

“Decided to hang with the best, huh?” he said with a smirk. “First thing’s first – smash this here rockhead.” I nodded and walked up next to him. I curled my left hand into a fist, placing it against the stone, getting a feel for where I was going to strike. I pulled my arm back, then let it fly. The stone didn’t even hurt. It cracked in a spider-web design before crumbling before me. The boy only laughed.

“That was awesome! Guess you’ve got what it takes. They call me Scourge. Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

“Like what?” I asked, following him as he walked towards City hall.

“Showin’ those Kingdom dicks that we’re not to be taken lightly” he sneered.

“Right. And how do you plan on pulling that off?” I prodded, partially curious, partially toying with him.

“By causing as much havoc as I can. For starter’s we’re tearing this place apart. You’re going to help me demolish the more important landmarks. That statue was one of ‘em. There are 4 more, according to a very reliable source.”

“Sounds fun. Where to next?”

“City Hall. There’s a nice little sword on display there that we need to get our hands on before we take down the rest of ‘em. And luckily enough, City Hall is one of ‘em.”

With that, he went from walking to all-out run. I smiled and gave chase. Not to my surprise, we ran into quite a few soldiers and several people that looked like they were working with Zippy along the way. Just for kicks, I beat the shit out of many of them. Scourge claimed he like my “enthusiasm”.

We managed to get to City Hall with no real difficulty. The tricky part was getting in. There were soldiers everywhere, more that I really thought I could take. Scourge, of course, had an ace up his sleeve. I almost mean that literally, as **** rained from above – in the form of exploding playing cards. Scourge told me it was the work of a buddy of his named Ace who pretty much build those card bombs from scratch.

Though it was interesting, it didn’t fully get the job done. A couple of squads came rushing to the aid of their comrades, but it was more like a joke to me than anything. I casually walked out and over to them, then when the least expected it, pulled a gut check on one, took his M9, and shot the remaining ones down. I have to say, it was quite exhilarating.

Too bad there wasn’t enough time to waste with my merriment. Scourge practically dragged me into the old building, and quickly pushed me in front of a glass case with a beautiful obsidian-colored sword in it.

“That’s our prize. Go ahead, take it.” He coaxed. I smiled. I did like the look of it. And it seemed to be calling me.

“What about you?” I asked.

“Nah. Don’t really need a sword. But, I know that thing can be used pretty well against... well, just about anything you want. Don’t think I want to be on the receiving end.”

With that, I shattered the glass. The promises it was making were too good to resist. And it followed through. I could feel the power in me. Power like nothing I had felt before. And…

It snapped out. A small, thin wave went out around me. It knocked Scourge into the wall, who was clearly displeased, while knocking it’s way through the fortifications of the building we were in. I grabbed the still-grumbling trouble-maker and rushed him out, just as the building came toppling down.

He laughed. He laughed and laughed. “You sure are something else. Glad you’re on my side. Just try and work on your aim a little,” he chuckled as he ran off for the next target. Ignoring his comment, I followed. I chased him all around the city until we finished off all the little land marks, which were Sakura Garden, Central Square, and my favorite, the city gates.

Once we had finished our little destructive parade, we met up with a few of his gang buddies – including Ace, Lucia, and a big brute called Tank. Clambering into their little make-shift buggy, we set off for what they claimed to be their home. On our way out, we crossed paths with Roger rounding up several of his buddies. Ace threw several of his playing cards at them, providing cover for our escape. I'm not sure if Roger saw me riding with them or not...

About a day later, we arrived in the mountains far to the west of my former home. I departed from them, if only because I could sense that I was going to run into more choices I had to face alone.

As if fate were listening, laser fired rained down the mountain as the drove away. I looked up to see several robotic warriors blasting away at a group of what looked like cavemen with swords and armor. They were far more than they appeared, as they were tearing through the robots like an saw through a tree. They were suffering losses, but not without taking some foes down.

Before I had realized it, one of the machines approached me. A hologram appeared. The figure was robed and hooded, so I could not make out many of his features. But he did have a distinctly metallic voice. It was sounded like some kind of implant.

“Who are you child? What business do you have here?”

“Nozomi. Just passin’ through. Though maybe I could give you a hand here?”

“Hmmm…” he said, “Perhaps. At the top of this peak is a temple. Find me there and I will explain.” The clunker clanked off, leaving me to go about my business. Or so I thought, because one of the savage-looking warriors backed into me. We turned around to see each other. She was short, shorter than I, at least, though that’s not saying much with my 6’ height. She looked into my eyes as if she knew what I had done in Shibuya.

Turns out, she did. “You! I have heard tale of your escapades in Shibuya! Turning on your own people!” She sighed, “but that is another matter. I need help. That horrible Karras is trying to destroy our temples. We need you to help us get rid of his robots.”

“Sure. Lead the way.” I said with a smirk. She nodded and headed off towards the battlefield. I lagged behind, debating whether or not I was going to help her or the creepy robot guy…