Rune Factory 2

United States

Chicago, Illinois
The chamber is crowded. Every seat is occupied with angry people. All seats face toward a stage. Upon it is an electrocution chair, but it is empty.

Suddenly, the doors open as police escort a doomed inmate inside. Tomatoes & veggies of all kinds begin to fly. The police don't even bother to shield the inmate as he gets pelted by the storm.

They reach the stage & stop as they wait for the people to run out of vegetables. Taking advantage of the delay, an angry man charges up & punches the inmate in the gut--causing him to topple to his knees. The police watch stern faces but do nothing.

Angry Man: "If you ever touch my daughter again, I'll..."

Inmate: "You'll what?" *smirks* "Piss on my grave?"

Angry Man: *punches the inmate with a right hook* "There'll be no grave for you."

He is about to kick the inmate when the Police Commissioner enters the room.

Police Commissioner: "That's enough!"

Many boos & insults can be heard from the crowd.

Police Commissioner: *takes his gun from his belt & shoots it into the ceiling, causing the room to silence* "That's better." *puts the gun away as he approaches the front stage* "Let's just get this over with. It's pizza night tonight & I don't want to stay here all day."

The cops take the inmate from the floor & chain him to the chair, then place a wet sponge upon his head & lower the doom device. They step away.

Police Commissioner: *approaches the inmate* "Any last words?"

Inmate: "Man, you stink. I'm sure glad I'll never have to see you again."

The Police Commissioner gives the executioner the signal & the lever is pulled. Everything goes black.

Alvarna

Mana's House
Mana: *arrives in Aria's room just as Aria finishes getting dressed* "Good morning, Aria. School finally starts today."

Aria: "Yay! I can't wait!"

Mana: "You're finally old enough to start attending the school that you're dad helped build."

Aria: "Mommy? It's been 4 years since Daddy left. Are you... Lonely?"

Mana: "I was sad when he left, & sometimes I still am, but as long as I have you," "I know I'll be okay!"

Aria: "That's good."

Mana: "Are you sad without your father around, Aria?"

Aria: "Don't worry!" *hugs Mana* "I'm fine, because I've got you, Mommy!"

Mana: "Awww," "That's so sweet of you to say!"

Aria: "Say..." *looks up at her mother* "Why do you think Daddy left? Is he not coming back? Do you think he's... Dead?"

Mana: "I don't know why he left, or why he isn't back yet. But I do know one thing for sure..."

Aria: "What's that?"

Mana: "He went to do something only he can do... And when it's finished, he'll be back! I know it! I believe in my heart!"

Aria: "Yes! I believe it too!"

Mana: "Okay then, off you go!" *gently guides Aria out of the room* "Lessons in school are from 9am to 12pm each weekday morning."

Aria: "Okay!" Mom may be happy to just wait for him, but I can't accept that! I'm going to go & find Dad! *walks with her mother to the kitchen downstairs* But if I tell Mom, she'll stop me for sure! I'd better just keep it secret then.

Outside
A man wearing the orange outfit of an inmate wanders out of the forest as he rubs the back of his head.

Inmate: What the hell just happened? This isn't heaven! Where the fu#k are my wings? *stumbles as he almost trips over a rock* Damn! I got such a friggin headache. *stops to catch his breath* And I feel so weak...

Aria exits the house as his vision goes black & he falls to the ground.

Aria: *runs to the inmate & starts to gently shake him* "Mister! Mister! Are you alright?"

Inmate: *rolls upon his back & slowly opens his eyes* "A-an angel?" *carefully caresses the side of her cheek with his right hand* "She is!" *quickly sits up & hugs her affectionately* "She is an angel!"

Aria: "I... I..."

At a loss for words, she doesn't know what to say.

The train rolled to a stop. It had been a long journey to get to this point, but the girl had finally arrived.

The only problem was that she was still asleep.

"Ufufu~ You were so close to making it to the end of the road. To think you'd drop your guard here."

A mysterious man in a dark robe had approached her. As he pulled out an old book and began reciting the text within it, a strange light swallowed the girl before she even had a chance to wake up.
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"Mnn...uwah...?"

The girl awoke...on a large branch, a few meters up into a tree. Below her, a strange man and a younger girl were having a seemingly indecent conversation. Or maybe he was just excessively grateful for something. Putting it out of her thoughts and thinking it was just a weird dream, she closed her eyes and rolled over.

*thump!*

That action promptly caused her to fall out of the tree. Amazingly, it seemed that the fall didn't hurt much, but it promptly awakened her from her slumber.

"Uuu...what the..."

She promptly stood up, and, eyes still glazed over with sleepiness, gazed around at her surroundings.

Inmate: *thump* What was that? *looks around & sees girl* Uh oh! *quickly lets go of Aria & stands up*

Aria: *sees girl & runs to her* "Are you alright?"

"Uuu...I'm okay. Did I fall out of a tree just now...?" she asked, still somewhat in a daze. She glanced around the landscape once more, trying to gain some idea of where she was.

Aria: "What were you doing in a tree?"

Inmate: *sighs* Seems I was wrong. This isn't heaven, it's hell. The pretty angels can be seen but forever remain out of my grasp. They merely exist to torture my heart for all eternity.

He walks toward the stairs.

"I don't really know..." Futomi replied. "I thought I was on a train...could I have stumbled all the way here?"

Aria: *tilts her head* "And what's a train?"

Aria: *giggles* "You don't talk much, do you?"

Spoiler:

"You've never seen a train? They're big, moving things that can go really fast!" Futomi said.

Aria: "Wow! You must be some sorta monster tamer--riding on big, quick things! My daddy is one too. Or, at least he was."

She looks at the ground.

Futomi had been about to awkwardly correct her definition of what a train was, but even she could tell that something more important was at hand. "I-I see...He must have been very important to you."

Aria: "Uh huh. He taught me everything there is to know about farming. He was the best Daddy in the world." "But then he left." *sits down & wraps her arms around her legs as she looks at the ground* "Everyone else still has their Daddies. Why did mine have to leave? Why must I be the only one without a Daddy?" *looks up at Futomi* "You know what? I must be some sort of devil child. That's why he left." *looks back at the ground* "Cause whenever I tried to play with the other Daddies, they'd either ignore me or outright yell at me & tell me to go home. They only have time for their children. Nobody wants to play with someone's left-behind." "I-I'm just a piece of garbage!"

She begins crying into her hands.

Inmate: *watching from the top of the stairs* What a jerk... To have such an angel for a daughter & just walk away, he's not very bright. *sighs as he looks at his orange outfit* I'm not too bright either. I don't belong here. This is no place for a convict.

He walks toward the main gate & leaves the village.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Futomi knelt down and hugged the girl. "There, there...I can tell just from a glance, you know? You're not garbage at all. I promise you, on my honor as a member of...a charitable organization, that you are a loving and caring child."

Spoiler:

Aria: *briefly looks up* "But you're just a girl. Of course you would say that. But Daddies, they..." *looks back at the ground* "They have higher expectations."
Upon exiting the village, Inmate sees a sign. How odd... Fall West, Winter North, Spring East, & Summer South? Personally, I prefer Summer but that would lead me back into the village. I'll go with Spring.

He follows the trail East.

Futomi frowned a bit. How can I make her understand that she's worth something... Looking at Aria, she said, "You said your daddy taught you farming, right? Do you have any crops?"

Aria: "No, not yet. The season just started."

Futomi smiled a bit. "Well, then, make sure you grow some. I promise you, the proof that you are a wonderful child will grow along with them."

Aria: "Proof can be grown?"

Futomi chuckled a bit. "In a sense. Believe me, though, it will surely appear when your crops grow. That will be my "miracle" to you."

Aria: "But I don't have any Proof Seeds."
Inmate walks into the Spring Forest & is attacked by giant apples.

Inmate:

Futomi chuckled a bit despite herself. "Don't worry. You can just grow what you normally do. I'll take care of the rest, okay?"

Aria: "Okay."
After kicking the annoying apples out of the way, Inmate delves further into the forest.

Suddenly, pig squeals can be heard to the left. He looks just as an arrow flies into his chest.

Inmate:

He falls to the ground.

"Eh?! My injured person senses are tingling!" Futomi suddenly shouted. "Sorry! I'll be back soon!" she yelled to Aria as she darted off in the direction of the inmate.

Aria: "Huh?" She's going to go tickling a person senseless until there's an injury?

When she is about to follow, Mana exits the house & lock the door.

Mana: "Aria, what are you still doing here? I thought you were supposed to go to school?"

Aria: "I, well... I wanted to wait for the teacher."

Mana: "Why you silly little girl." *takes Aria's hand* "Let's go to school together."

They walk toward the school.
The orc archers grab inmate by the feet & drag him toward a fire.

"Stop right there, beasts!"
Futomi charged into the area, tackling one orc and sending it to the ground. With lightning speed, a staff appeared in her hands as she disabled the fallen orc. Glaring at the other orcs, Futomi muttered a brief chant, and a pale white field appeared around her.