Ryuranger
08-13-2004, 05:17 PM
--Black Cross
--Chapter One: The Ivory Tower
Peace ended in 2024.
America was the first to fall. Death descended on the once great nation overnight. Surgical strikes neutralized the U.S. military. Ground troops rounded up citizens for slaughter or enslavement. Children were sacrificed to false gods.
Russia fell next after a nuclear missile attack consisting of the entire U.S. payload. The once great nation was vaporized. Its people killed seconds after viewing a blinding flash of light.
Africa was used as a breeding ground for biological weapons and genetically enhanced soldiers. Canada was turned into a wasteland.
The shroud of death continued to fall. Australia. Britain. China. Survivors huddled towards the last remnants of civilization in Japan, France, and Italy. People lived in what corners they could find, fearful of the ones who had taken their homes. The ones who had killed their families and relatives.
They feared the Black Cross.
Those with wealth could afford to forget such evil dominated the world. They lived in high-rise skyscrapers or mansions secluded in the wilderness. The working class crammed into what apartments and homes they could. They worked. Sometimes ate. Procreated. Their homes provided no luxury or entertainment.
The lower class lived on the streets, fighting against each other for survival. Fighting against each other for what little precious space and privacy that was available. Privacy itself became something of a currency.
The world was sick and dying.
And the Black Cross liked it that way.
***
2044
Twenty-year-old Takuya stood at a wide window that looked down on the city, 70 stories below. He adjusted the collar of his suit. He hated dressing up. He had since he was a boy and his father had insisted on dragging him along to business meetings.
The city beneath him used to be called Tokyo. Now, like all other remaining cities, it had no name. According his father, cities were nameless because the people who inhabited them. They were predators. Vile creatures. None were worthy of survival.
Takuya had lost many nights of sleep as a kid while listening to tales of the world beneath the safe skyscrapers and bridges he knew.
High-rise buildings were connected with an intricate series of bridges, turbo lifts, and platforms. Gardens adorned the roofs of some buildings. Swimming pools, resorts, and condominiums sat on top of others.
Takuya found it all boring.
He leaned forward and placed his hand on the glass. He felt a strange longing as he looked down on the streets below. He wanted to learn more of the nightmarish villains that lived below. He wanted to know the truth, not just childhood bedtime stories. But he knew his father would never allow it.
The young man heard someone enter the room. It was Takuya’s father. The man had a slender but powerful build. A scar extended down his tanned face, from his hair line to his cheek bone. Godai had always worn the scar proudly, as a reminder to his son of what awaited him if he were to venture into the dark streets below.
“Takuya,” Godai said as he placed his hands on his sons shoulders. “Today is the day you were born for. Today is the day you become man. Today is the day you enter my world, and help me shape the future.”
After 20 years, Takuya still rarely understood his fathers ramblings. They were a mix of insanity and clarity, pessimism and hope, rage and affection.
All Takuya knew was that his father was a businessman. And Takuya wanted no part of the business world.
“Come,” Godai said as he led his son to a nearby hallway. “Come and prepare…”
***
The city streets below were not as vile as Takuya believed. At least in some parts.
The city block known as the Dims was a collection of run-down buildings of concrete and steel. Each building extended no more than three stories high. The complex network of bridges above blotted out most of the sun. Artificial lighting cast a dimly-lit pale hue on the streets and people.
Debris and garbage dotted the roads, normally piled into corners. Alleys were set up with cloth tents and string. He more privileged members of the Dims lived in make-shift wooden huts that spanned between buildings.
The buildings themselves were used to service the people. Eateries produced a wide range of food, from gray goop to half-rotted fruit. Medical bays disposed of the deathly ill. Farmers raised animals for slaughter. Men could trade a warm meal for a night with a hooker.
It was a strange society. Bradin viewed it as his playground.
The boy, who appeared no older than 17, had grown up in the Dims. He lived in an alley with around 16 other orphans, all raised by a man they only knew as Boss. Boss groomed his kids to be thieves. Bradin prided himself as the best.
He moved in the shadows towards a vendor selling old military rations. He stood behind a wooden booth that was poorly made and held together by rusted nails. The rations were a good find. Their nutritional value could guarantee people at least another year of life. Maybe two.
A mischievous grin spread across his face. He was going in.
***
Takuya walked through a hallway lined with glass. His father stood tall and proud besides him. They were headed towards a tall black skyscraper in the distance. Beneath the suspended hallway was a wide park that sat upon a bridge between two skyscrapers.
Takuya suddenly felt a rising wave of anxiety. Something bad was about to happen.
“Father…”
The hall in front of them exploded, glass and shrapnel spreading in every direction. The shockwave knocked Takuya and Godai backward. A large piece of glass tore across Godai’s neck, ripping open his vital artery.
The suspended passage shrieked as it tilted downward, losing support. Takuya and his father’s body started to slip downward. Takuya grabbed onto the side of the suspended hall to keep from sliding downward. He grabbed onto his father’s wrist, holding on as tight as he could.
Blood soaked Godai’s shirt. His face was pale, and he wasn’t moving or breathing.
Takuya wrinkled ghis brow with rage as tears clouded his vision. “What…what’s happening?”
A dark figure landed on the other side of the bridge, startling Takuya and nearly causing him to loose his grip. The man had dropped. From the sky. Was that even possible?
The man hardly even appeared human. A pair of blades that looked like buzz saws extended back over his bald head, which was covered with lumps and scars. His flesh almost seemed burnt. One of his eyes was solid black, and the other red. He wore a black vest and slacks. Jagged metal blades grew from his arms.
Takuya glared at the creature. His rage and confusion clouded the fear of his imminent death. “Why are you doing this?! Why?!”
The creature tilted his head, a grin of sick pleasure spreading over his lips. “You don’t even know what I’m doing. You ask why before you ask what. Or who. Silly Jap.”
The creature pounced forward like a cat with its arm blades extended forward. A blur of motion streaked in the opposite direction and slammed against the attacker. The creature went skidding backward on his side of the bridge.
Takuya’s savior landed on the edge of the bridge and rolled his hands into fists while facing the fallen monster. He wore a skin-tight black body suit. A segmented gray chest plate covered his upper body. A silver belt wrapped around his waist. Red lines that almost seemed to glow extended down his arms and legs. His shoulder pads were made of the same gray material that protected his knee caps. His helmet was red-trimmed black with a yellow visor and gray mouthpiece.
The grotesque creature flipped back onto his feet and snarled at the black-armored fighter. The fighter leaned backward for a moment before spring forward, dashing towards the creature, and slamming a flying sidekick against its chest. The kick’s impact created a booming sound that shattered whatever glass wasn’t already broken.
It was the last thing Takuya saw before the bridge collapsed and he started plummeting downward, his hands still wrapped around his dead father’s wrist.
---to be continued in part two. this thread. watch for it...
--Chapter One: The Ivory Tower
Peace ended in 2024.
America was the first to fall. Death descended on the once great nation overnight. Surgical strikes neutralized the U.S. military. Ground troops rounded up citizens for slaughter or enslavement. Children were sacrificed to false gods.
Russia fell next after a nuclear missile attack consisting of the entire U.S. payload. The once great nation was vaporized. Its people killed seconds after viewing a blinding flash of light.
Africa was used as a breeding ground for biological weapons and genetically enhanced soldiers. Canada was turned into a wasteland.
The shroud of death continued to fall. Australia. Britain. China. Survivors huddled towards the last remnants of civilization in Japan, France, and Italy. People lived in what corners they could find, fearful of the ones who had taken their homes. The ones who had killed their families and relatives.
They feared the Black Cross.
Those with wealth could afford to forget such evil dominated the world. They lived in high-rise skyscrapers or mansions secluded in the wilderness. The working class crammed into what apartments and homes they could. They worked. Sometimes ate. Procreated. Their homes provided no luxury or entertainment.
The lower class lived on the streets, fighting against each other for survival. Fighting against each other for what little precious space and privacy that was available. Privacy itself became something of a currency.
The world was sick and dying.
And the Black Cross liked it that way.
***
2044
Twenty-year-old Takuya stood at a wide window that looked down on the city, 70 stories below. He adjusted the collar of his suit. He hated dressing up. He had since he was a boy and his father had insisted on dragging him along to business meetings.
The city beneath him used to be called Tokyo. Now, like all other remaining cities, it had no name. According his father, cities were nameless because the people who inhabited them. They were predators. Vile creatures. None were worthy of survival.
Takuya had lost many nights of sleep as a kid while listening to tales of the world beneath the safe skyscrapers and bridges he knew.
High-rise buildings were connected with an intricate series of bridges, turbo lifts, and platforms. Gardens adorned the roofs of some buildings. Swimming pools, resorts, and condominiums sat on top of others.
Takuya found it all boring.
He leaned forward and placed his hand on the glass. He felt a strange longing as he looked down on the streets below. He wanted to learn more of the nightmarish villains that lived below. He wanted to know the truth, not just childhood bedtime stories. But he knew his father would never allow it.
The young man heard someone enter the room. It was Takuya’s father. The man had a slender but powerful build. A scar extended down his tanned face, from his hair line to his cheek bone. Godai had always worn the scar proudly, as a reminder to his son of what awaited him if he were to venture into the dark streets below.
“Takuya,” Godai said as he placed his hands on his sons shoulders. “Today is the day you were born for. Today is the day you become man. Today is the day you enter my world, and help me shape the future.”
After 20 years, Takuya still rarely understood his fathers ramblings. They were a mix of insanity and clarity, pessimism and hope, rage and affection.
All Takuya knew was that his father was a businessman. And Takuya wanted no part of the business world.
“Come,” Godai said as he led his son to a nearby hallway. “Come and prepare…”
***
The city streets below were not as vile as Takuya believed. At least in some parts.
The city block known as the Dims was a collection of run-down buildings of concrete and steel. Each building extended no more than three stories high. The complex network of bridges above blotted out most of the sun. Artificial lighting cast a dimly-lit pale hue on the streets and people.
Debris and garbage dotted the roads, normally piled into corners. Alleys were set up with cloth tents and string. He more privileged members of the Dims lived in make-shift wooden huts that spanned between buildings.
The buildings themselves were used to service the people. Eateries produced a wide range of food, from gray goop to half-rotted fruit. Medical bays disposed of the deathly ill. Farmers raised animals for slaughter. Men could trade a warm meal for a night with a hooker.
It was a strange society. Bradin viewed it as his playground.
The boy, who appeared no older than 17, had grown up in the Dims. He lived in an alley with around 16 other orphans, all raised by a man they only knew as Boss. Boss groomed his kids to be thieves. Bradin prided himself as the best.
He moved in the shadows towards a vendor selling old military rations. He stood behind a wooden booth that was poorly made and held together by rusted nails. The rations were a good find. Their nutritional value could guarantee people at least another year of life. Maybe two.
A mischievous grin spread across his face. He was going in.
***
Takuya walked through a hallway lined with glass. His father stood tall and proud besides him. They were headed towards a tall black skyscraper in the distance. Beneath the suspended hallway was a wide park that sat upon a bridge between two skyscrapers.
Takuya suddenly felt a rising wave of anxiety. Something bad was about to happen.
“Father…”
The hall in front of them exploded, glass and shrapnel spreading in every direction. The shockwave knocked Takuya and Godai backward. A large piece of glass tore across Godai’s neck, ripping open his vital artery.
The suspended passage shrieked as it tilted downward, losing support. Takuya and his father’s body started to slip downward. Takuya grabbed onto the side of the suspended hall to keep from sliding downward. He grabbed onto his father’s wrist, holding on as tight as he could.
Blood soaked Godai’s shirt. His face was pale, and he wasn’t moving or breathing.
Takuya wrinkled ghis brow with rage as tears clouded his vision. “What…what’s happening?”
A dark figure landed on the other side of the bridge, startling Takuya and nearly causing him to loose his grip. The man had dropped. From the sky. Was that even possible?
The man hardly even appeared human. A pair of blades that looked like buzz saws extended back over his bald head, which was covered with lumps and scars. His flesh almost seemed burnt. One of his eyes was solid black, and the other red. He wore a black vest and slacks. Jagged metal blades grew from his arms.
Takuya glared at the creature. His rage and confusion clouded the fear of his imminent death. “Why are you doing this?! Why?!”
The creature tilted his head, a grin of sick pleasure spreading over his lips. “You don’t even know what I’m doing. You ask why before you ask what. Or who. Silly Jap.”
The creature pounced forward like a cat with its arm blades extended forward. A blur of motion streaked in the opposite direction and slammed against the attacker. The creature went skidding backward on his side of the bridge.
Takuya’s savior landed on the edge of the bridge and rolled his hands into fists while facing the fallen monster. He wore a skin-tight black body suit. A segmented gray chest plate covered his upper body. A silver belt wrapped around his waist. Red lines that almost seemed to glow extended down his arms and legs. His shoulder pads were made of the same gray material that protected his knee caps. His helmet was red-trimmed black with a yellow visor and gray mouthpiece.
The grotesque creature flipped back onto his feet and snarled at the black-armored fighter. The fighter leaned backward for a moment before spring forward, dashing towards the creature, and slamming a flying sidekick against its chest. The kick’s impact created a booming sound that shattered whatever glass wasn’t already broken.
It was the last thing Takuya saw before the bridge collapsed and he started plummeting downward, his hands still wrapped around his dead father’s wrist.
---to be continued in part two. this thread. watch for it...