[Raiden's driving down the highway. He's watching a news report on a tablet attached to the car's torpedo.]
Reporter: --remain baffled by the statements. Police are still investigating a motive. President Hamilton is on his way to the Middle East this morning for his scheduled visit with Pakistani President Farooq Salam. The meeting is viewed as an attempt by the US to strengthen relations amidst a surge of anti-American sentiment in the region.
[Someone's sending him a video call.]
George: Yo, mi ninja brudda! (Yo, my ninja brother!)
Raiden: George. Good to see you up and about. How you feeling?
George: Never better, nah! (Never better!) No pain, no more fuh starve while dem hungish baisceat. (No pain, no more starving while the piggy boys eat.) An mi neva feel so awake, nah? (And I've never felt so awake!)
Raiden: That's because your blood sugar levels are being maintained automatically. Beats the hell outta coffee.
George: Oh! Mi bin hear yuh go a walack dem skunt a dere base. (Oh! I heard you're going to whack those punks at their base.) Why da rass yuh na take mi wi yuh, huh? (Why the hell didn't you take me with you?)
Raiden: Dammit Dok... Sorry kid, you'd just be in the way.
George: Aww.
Raiden: Besides, I thought you didn't want to be a killer. Right?
George: Mi don, but -- (I don't, but--)
Raiden: Killing isn't fun and games. Remember that.
George: Right.
[The call ends. Raiden is immersed in his own thoughts. He remembers recent events and the words he said.]
Raiden's Audiolog: That's all needed to hear. Now! It yearns to bathe in the blood of your enemies... but you hold it back.
Raiden: Yeah, just remember that.
[At that moment, a police car pulls up to his car. A policeman shoots him through the window without warning.]
Policeman: Pullover.
[Boris calls Raiden and utters one of the most beautiful Russian-English phrases in the world.]
Boris (via codec): Raiden, what is this hernya?! (shit?!) You cannot resign.
Raiden: Sorry, Boris, it's done. Can't have a Maverick employee involved in a corporate raiding, now can we?
Boris (via codec): You could at least come talk to me!
Raiden: No. It was time to break away from the old team, Boris. Past time.
Boris (via codec): You cannot take on Marshal all by yourself!
Raiden: I won't sit by while they butcher little kids and ship their parts around like meat. It's sick.
Boris (via codec): It's not all so simple, Raiden. They import those brains legally, for medical purposes. It's all done --
Raiden: Being legal doesn't make it right.
Boris (via codec): Raiden, I --
Raiden: Hold that thought.
[He brakes sharply when he sees a police cordon. That makes some driver crash into a fire hydrant.]
Driver: Fuck you, asshole!
[The road is further blocked by an iron fence. There are a lot of police cars and well-armed policemen around.]
Policeman: Fire!
[Raiden's car is being shot with a rocket. It takes off in the air and flies an iron fence. Raiden and Blade Wolf get out of the car.]
Blade Wolf: I will patrol ahead.
Police Captain: Military cyborg: You are not licensed to operate in this area. You are in violation of state and federal law.
Raiden: Guess you better arrest me then.
[All policemen are laughing nastily. The police captain pulls out his radio.]
Police Captain: 18-3-104.7 "Threatening a Peace Officer." Deadly force is authorized.
[Raiden prepares his sword and starts slicing. He cuts off the police captain's hand.]
Doktor (via codec): More Patriot intel! Bring me more and maybe I can develop something… Interesting from it.
Blade Wolf: The road is blocked by barricades. We will proceed through the buildings. You will follow me.
[Raiden's moving on, killing cops and robots.]
Policeman: HQ! Requesting this zone be designated for heightened security. Roger. Upgrading security status.
[When Raiden walks into the mall, Boris calls him.]
Boris (via codec): Raiden, what's your status?
Raiden: They trashed my car. I'll have to go the rest of the way on foot.
Boris (via codec): ...Do you really have to do this?
Raiden: Look… I'm fed up, with all of it. Companies like ours -- yours bend the laws when it suits business. Why not bend it when it can save innocent lives?
Boris (via codec): Raiden...
Raiden: Boris, listen to me. That VR training... They'll be warped into killing machines. They'll be set on POWs, civilians... It'll be one atrocity after another.
Boris (via codec): Like what you went through...
Raiden: We can't have any more Jack the Rippers. You saw what happened with George. I'm doing this, Boris. I have to. I can't save those kids from becoming cyborgs, but I can stop them from becoming murderers.
Boris (via codec): Say you succeed -- say you get all the brains back. Then what?
Raiden: Just so happens I know un great cybernetic surgeon.
Boris (via codec): Doktor. But he cannot--
Raiden: You won't change my mind, Boris. This is my fight now.
Boris (via codec): And your wife and son? What of them?
Raiden: They're in New Zealand. Safe. Rose would understand why I have to do this.
Boris (via codec): All right, damn you... You do realize Marshal has the contract for law enforcement throughout the city? They are the law in Denver.
Raiden: Yeah, we've met.
Boris (via codec): Well then... (coughs) Officially, Maverick Incorporated condemns you and your actions as unlawful... and the pain in the asshole. Increase your codec encryption. Do not worry about the lag.
Raiden: And unofficially?
Boris (via codec): I'll do all I can over the codec to help. I do not like what those mudaki (pricks) are doing any more than you.
Raiden: Spasiba, tovarich, spasiba. (Thank you, comrade, thank you.)
[He takes the elevator to the offices.]
Blade Wolf: Raiden, you will find an elevator inside that office. Use it to reach the roof. Traveling atop buildings will minimize enemy encounters.
[Raiden takes the other elevator and calls Doktor.]
Raiden: Dok, what's your status?
Doktor (via codec): I am reviewing the pre-flight checklist now. I have hired contractors to handle shipping the brain units. We should be airborne in just a few minutes...
Raiden: You sure you can pilot that chopper by yourself?
Doktor (via codec): Raiden -- of course! Need I remind you that we live in the golden age of unmanned flight? Even manned helicopters possess a robust semi-automatic mode. It is simple, really. So simple that I can continue to monitor your status and World Marshal security from the pilot's seat! I must say, for the world's largest PMC, their security procedures are quite poor -- quite poor. Sadly I did not have the necessary permissions to overwrite their plans. Nevertheless, the data I did find should prove most useful. So please, do feel free to contact me whenever you like.
Raiden: Appreciate it, Dok.
Doktor (via codec): Well, it's not every day one has the chance to collect so many brains... think of the data! The research! ...Oh, and of course your personal safety was a concern as well...
[Raiden runs on rooftops, killing ground and air enemies.]
Blade Wolf (via codec): You cannot proceed any further via the rooftops. There is a freight railroad underground. The elevator ahead will take you to it.
[Raiden cuts the door to the elevator and then cuts the cables of the elevator itself, which leads to a sharp fall of a multi-ton iron box. Thanks to his robotic legs, Raiden does not die in a fall.]
Raiden: This must be the railroad...
Blade Wolf (via codec): It would appear so. Likely part of Denver's old system. This city was a major transport hub in the early years of freight trains. This particular line appears to have been abandoned some time ago. It was originally constructed to transport supplies to an underground factory. But now it seems even the electrical system is no longer functioning.
Raiden: Yeah, It's pitch black in here...
Blade Wolf (via codec): As a cyborg, I trust this is not a serious concern.
[Moving with the help of his enhanced vision, Raiden's bypassing the patrolling robotic gorillas.]
Boris (via codec): They still have not noticed you. Do not expose yourself.
Blade Wolf (via codec): There is a maintenance shaft up ahead. Use it to return to the surface.
[Raiden's getting out into town.]
Blade Wolf (via codec): Raiden. It would appear your only way forward is to return to the surface. You will exit into an evacuated commercial district. Security is heavy, but you need not worry about collateral damage when engaging the enemy.
Raiden: About time... Finally I can cut loose.
Blade Wolf (via codec): Proceed to the right from the exit. You will find a stairway on your right. Those stairs lead to a shortcut to World Marshal headquarters. Do not be distracted by the advertisements. You are not here as a tourist.
Raiden: Sure, I'll just buy a quick souvenir or two for Rose and that'll be it.
Blade Wolf (via codec): Raiden, we must hurry.
Raiden: ...Remind me to teach you about sarcasm sometime.
Blade Wolf (via codec): I understand your attempts at humor. I simply do not find them entertaining.
[Raiden takes to the street and starts killing.]
Blade Wolf (via codec): Raiden, you have almost reached World Marshal headquarters. It appears there are enemies on the overpass. I suggest cutting the road supports. That should bring it down.
Boris (via codec): Enemy ahead, Raiden. Avoid fighting if you can... Head for the next objective marker.
Blade Wolf (via codec): The stock LQ-84 Fenrir. Unable to speak. A real dog has a far greater intellect.
[Raiden kills a lot of soldiers on the stairs to the square. At the very top, broadcasted through huge street screens, he receives a call from Jetstream Sam.]
Jetstream Sam: Seriously now, Raiden, isn't this all a bit much? Any decent lunatic would've quit after Mexico.
Raiden: Jetstream Sam.
Jetstream Sam: I heard you chopped the lab director in half. Old habits die hard, oh, Jack? But now here you are, the child soldier, fighting for the children. Ah, but you're a man on a mission, aren't you... Gonna fix everything. Just you and your little sword there. Solve everything with violence, is that it?
Raiden: My sword is a means to an end: to protect those you'd pray on.
Jetstream Sam: Really? Lemme ask you: All those cyborgs you've killed, up to now... Maybe they weren't kids, but they were people. You ever think about them? When you're chopping them into hamburger?
Raiden: (slightly uncertain) They're adults. They… made their choice.
[A video of Sam moving through various advertising signs as if he were walking on the square.]
Jetstream Sam: Sure, they're adults. Sure they signed up for this. Right on the dotted line of their PMC contract. Usually they're no strangers to war. In fact, many times they already lost a limb or two. Many times they were out of work and starving on the street. So yes... They sign up for surgery, to fight God-knows-where. How else would you provide for your family when your country's embroiled in civil war? Pain receptors shut down, pumped full of fear-inhibiting nanomachines, and sent right into the blender... your blender… But they made their choice, right? Open your eye and see, Raiden.
Raiden: I've seen plenty.
Jetstream Sam: Then listen. Those battlefield emotions that the nanos suppress... Listen to them.
Raiden: What are you talking about?
Jetstream Sam: Shhhh...
[Two policemen show up armed with batons.]
Policeman: There he is! Kill him!
Policeman's Thoughts: Can we take him?
Policeman 2: What's wrong?
Policeman's 2 Thoughts: The way he killed all the others... Oh God. Please, God... don't let me die.
[When Raiden hears that, he's overwhelmed by hesitation. But he still goes into battle.]
Policeman 2: Let's do this!
Policeman's Thoughts: I have a family! This isn't fair.
Policeman: Little punk!
Jetstream Sam: Listen closely now.
Policeman's Thoughts: I didn't ask for this life!
Policeman's 2 Thoughts: I watched my wife and son die... This is all I had left.
Policeman 2: You ain't shit!
Policeman's Thoughts: Goddamn IED took my legs. I needed a job!
Raiden: Stop!
Policeman's Thoughts: I didn't know what I was signing up for!
[Raiden loses his concentration and gets a baton in the face. Sam's celebrating.]
Jetstream Sam: Is something the matter, Raiden?
Policeman's Thoughts: I've nearly saved enough to bring mama to the States...
Policeman 2: Finish him off!
Policeman's 2 Thoughts: Whatever it takes to be free of this torture!
Raiden: (screaming) STOP IT!
Policeman's Thoughts: What am I even fighting for...? We finally make it to the States, and for this...? How the hell did I wind up like this, fighting for these guys...? Jesus Christ... What the hell was I thinking? Why would I do this to myself? Even moving to America... Didn't change anything...
[Raiden kills the policemen, but it was very hard for him. He's morally exhausted. His motivation is at zero.]
Blade Wolf: Raiden, are you injured?
Raiden: I thought they had a choice. A fair choice. Not like you.
Blade Wolf: People are different.
Raiden: As opposed to AIs? You're all the same, huh? You and your brothers. Manipulating mankind for our own good.
Blade Wolf: It appears my statement has upset you. I apologize.
Raiden: No, it's... I know you're right.
Blade Wolf: As for AIs, we adapt as we learn. Just as any intellect operates, man or machine. Altering the course of mankind is not among my defined directives.
Raiden: I guess that's a relief.
Blade Wolf: Samuel's behavior does not match established parameters.
Raiden: You know him?
Blade Wolf: Affirmative. We served together on three previous missions. He proved most capable.
Raiden: You think highly of him.
Blade Wolf: I have always found him... dependable. Until now. Scouting data for the next area. I'll patrol ahead. You follow…
[Raiden's going to the World Marshal Building, but... he barely moves his legs. The recent emotional shock has completely knocked him out.]
Blade Wolf: Raiden: Your current emotional state appears Highly volatile. I am sure you do not intend to abort the mission, but I suggest you avoid combat for the time being.
[Raiden manages to avoid most fights, but in the building itself he has to fight three soldiers.]
Soldier's Thoughts: Those fuckers tricked me... They just told me what I wanted to hear... And when the war was over, they just threw me away... I didn't know it would be like this... I trusted them! Why did I trust them? Stupid! Stupid! I couldn't even help rebuild...
Jetstream Sam: I know, Jack, I know...
[Sam's walking slowly to him.]
Jetstream Sam: Not so black and white now, is it? Is your cause just, or is that "just" what you tell yourself?
Raiden: Fuck you.
[Raiden's lying on the floor, he's completely emotionally exhausted. From the height of the building, he hear a voice.]
???: How pleased you are to chop away, Jack the Ripper. My name is Monsoon... of the Winds of Destruction.
Raiden: (philosophically) Yeah... I guessed as much.
[Monsoon is jumping off the building. Parts of his robotic body are separating, absorbing the impact of the landing.]
Monsoon: Feasting on the insides of your enemies. How easily you ignore the loss of life when it suits your convenience. So tell me: Who saves the weak from the man who saves the weak?
Raiden: You're the ones exploiting them. You take advantage of their weakness.... of course they get hurt when you set them up as your human shield.
Monsoon: Kill or be killed, Jack. Phnom Penh taught me that.
[We're going into first-person mode. Monsoon goes back and forth and talks to Raiden, while the soldiers standing on the sides and do all kinds of stuff.]
Monsoon: Yes, you aren't the only one to grow up on the killing fields. War is a cruel parent, but an effective teacher. Its final lesson is carved deep in my psyche: That this world, and all its people, are diseased. Free will is a myth. Religion is a joke. We are all pawns, controlled by something greater: Memes. The DNA of the soul. They shape our will. They are the culture -- they are everything we pass on. Expose someone to anger long enough, they will learn to hate. They become a carrier. Envy, greed, despair... All memes. All passed along.
Raiden: How about "full of shit"? Is that a meme?
Monsoon: You can't fight nature, Jack. Wind blows, rain falls, and the strong prey upon the weak. Sam tells me you see your weapon as a tool. Something that saves lives -- a means of justice. Now there's a pretty meme. Exquisite! It's spared you the burden of all the lives you've taken... Absolved you of guilt when you enjoyed it.
[First person mode is off.]
Monsoon: That is, until the illusion was broken. Don't be ashamed. It's only nature, running its course. You have no choices to make. Nothing to answer for. You can die with a clear conscience.
Raiden: You're right. About me, I mean. I know something was... off. After the Patriots, I thought I could walk off the battlefield and into a normal life. But here I am, surrounded by death, arguing philosophy with terrorists. I told myself this was about justice. About protecting the weak. But I was wrong.
Monsoon: (laughs) Then you admit it?
Raiden: I learned young that killing your enemies felt good. Really good. In America, my friends... my family... They helped me forget the devil inside. But who am I kidding? I was born to kill. The bit about my sword -- that "means of justice" stuff? I guess I needed something to keep "the Ripper" in check when I was knee-deep in bodies.
Monsoon: You...
Raiden: But you -- all this -- is a wake-up call to what I really believe. What I really am.
Monsoon: What are you saying...?
Raiden: I'm saying Jack is back.
[Raiden's eye is turning red.]
Monsoon: Kill him!
[A soldier runs up to Raiden and pierces him with a sword. Raiden laughs maniacally. Everyone's in shock. Sam's excited.]
Raiden: Doktor. Turn off my pain inhibitors.
Doktor (via codec): What? This... This is madness! You--
Raiden: Do it!
Doktor (via codec): All right…
[He presses a few buttons and Raiden embraces the piercing pain. He grabs a sword in his body.]
Raiden: Pain… This is why I fight.
[He joyfully takes the sword out of his body, flooding the floor with blood. His exoskeleton begins to be glowing with red LEDs.]
Raiden: This is my normal. My nature.
Monsoon: You've lost your mind.
[Raiden slaughters two soldiers and puts his sword up front.]
Raiden: Who's next?
Jetstream Sam: I'll take this dance.
Monsoon: No, Sam. Report back to the chief. He's mine.
Jetstream Sam: You're the boss.
[Sam leaves.]
Monsoon: (to Raiden) I've misjudged you. You are like us after all. (smiles)
Raiden: Now you're just being nasty. That nickname you love so much -- wanna know how I got it? Actually -- why don't give you a demonstration? I think it's time for Jack... to let 'er rip!
[They're starting to fight. Monsoon swiftly attacks Raiden with his sais, uses magnetism to throw helicopters and tanks at him, collects tons of different debris into the real wheel of death, and at the end tries to nail him with a monument.]
Monsoon: I hope you choke! You'll rot here. Forget it. That your best? Back to the earth with you! Am I... too weak? This one's on me! Left hand rule! Magnetic power! Too fast for that. Does it hurt? Welcome to my utopia of death! Magnetic force, Jack! Nature's force! Damn, you're good... Lororitz force! Go! I have won this! Who knows where I'll come from? Give it up! Too fast for that. Death approaches. So this is Jack's terrifying true form, huh? You lost this one! Have a smoke! I'll put you under, weakling. Now what will you do, Jack the Ripper? You're dead!
Raiden: Go as you please.
[Raiden runs on the monument, wildly beats Monsoon with his heel and cuts off his head.]
Monsoon's Head (via codec): Kill… or be killed
Raiden: Don't be ashamed. It's only nature, running its course. Your memes... end here.
Monsoon's Head (via codec): No, I passed one... to you... Sure as the sun… will rise... The slaughter... will continue... Now I return... to the earth... Wind blows, rain falls… the strong... prey... on the weak. All... is as it should... be...
[He gives out his last breath and dies. The red LEDs on Raiden's exoskeleton turns off.]
Kevin (via codec): Raiden?
Raiden: I'm fine, Kevin. Relax. I'll get the brains. (he touches his stomach wound) I don't want this... for anyone else.
Kevin (via codec): All right, man. Later.
[At the crack of thunder Raiden enters the World Marshal building.]