People are screaming as some huge boss monster stomps around Neo-Block City.
The boss turns to Riko, its messed-up jaw twisting into a creepy smile. Everything goes quiet for a second – no wind, no falling stuff, no buzzing from the sky. Just the monster's pointy teeth gleaming in the daylight.
Then sound comes back all at once.
A woman yells.
A guy drops his food.
A kid screams for someone Riko can't see.
The giant thing lifts a big foot.
Riko's stomach drops. "NO, NO, NO—MOVE!" he shouts, waving his arms like it will make everyone run.
The monster stomps its foot down.
The ground cracks, sending bikes flying and flipping a delivery drone like it's nothing. People run everywhere, slamming into doors, hiding behind cars, tripping over each other. A food vendor leaves his cart, and noodles spill on the ground.
Riko doesn't think, he just runs.
His legs move before he can think, carrying him into the mess. The world shakes with every step the boss takes. Glass falls from broken windows. A taxi spins out of control, hits a streetlight, and crashes into a building.
Riko dodges sparks and jumps on a crushed car to get higher. "HEY! TRASH MOUTH! HERE!" he yells, waving his arms.
The boss turns, slow, like he's annoyed that Riko is still alive.
It stares at him.
"Yeah!" Riko yells, his voice cracking. You want another beating? I forget how many we fought already!
The monster huffs, steam coming from its throat.
Then it comes at him.
Riko barely has time to get ready before the thing's arm swings. He puts up his hands, hoping to block it.
He can't.
The boss's arm hits him super hard. Riko sees white, then black, then everything as he flies backward. He smashes through a vending machine, breaking plastic and sending soda cans everywhere.
He doesn't stop.
His body crashes through another vending machine, with glass and lemon-lime soda. He falls on the broken ground, coughing.
"Ow," Riko groans, looking at the sky. "Okay, that hurt. A lot."
Something fizzes near his ear – a soda can sprays soda on his cheek.
"Great," he says, wiping soda off his face. "Now I taste citrus and regret."
The ground shakes again.
Riko gets up, his ribs hurt with every breath. He has dust in his hair. Metal wires hang around his shoulders. He stumbles forward, seeing double. Two bosses for a second then, just one.
Sirens go off all over Neo-Block City, loud and scared. Speakers say:
"WARNING: BREACH IN SECTOR 12. FIND SHELTER NOW. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
People run, pushing past Riko. A guy grabs Riko's arm, eyes wide.
"Kid—run! It will KILL YOU!"
"I know!" Riko says.
"Then WHY are you going that way?!"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Riko shouts, pulling away and moving ahead.
The boss's shadow gets bigger over him.
A piece of the road breaks, and a car slides into a store. The boss raises its arm, going for people stuck between buildings.
Riko's stomach flips. His legs shake. His heart pounds.
"I can't just… let that happen."
He runs, ignoring the pain in his ribs. The ground feels weird, like it's moving with every glitch from the sky. He jumps over a sign, slides under a streetlight, and goes for the boss.
His body moves before he thinks. His fist goes back.
"C'mon… c'mon… glow or something—"
Nothing.
His fist is just a fist. On his arm. Covered in soda.
The boss swings down.
Riko dives, grabbing two people and rolling them out of the way as the monster's hand slams into the street.
The people stare at him.
"Go!" Riko shouts. "Run before it—"
A huge hand grabs him.
Riko can't breathe as the boss lifts him up. His legs dangle. He hits the monster's fingers, but it doesn't seem to notice – it just squeezes harder.
"Let… go…!" Riko yells.
His arm beeps.
The screen on his arm goes crazy, with error symbols and warnings.
Then, it says: "USER TOO WEAK FOR THIS FIGHT."