Chaos Caused by Law
Every man when he was a child wanted to be a pirate at one point or another. Such dreams and fantasies died away with age and maturity, but for one boy this dream became real. This boy was Nailo Chronopa. In the year 2058, Cars were outlawed because of the severe pollution they caused the planet. Politicians and Environmentalists thought this would benefit both the planet and the people. They were wrong. For the first few months "Going Green" seemed like a great idea. But because of the lack of automobiles the oil industry collapsed, severely crippling the entire world's economy; Riots broke out, Crime increased, and transportation was much slower.
After about 2 years, Scientists developed machinery to run entirely on solar power, but because cars were outlawed they had to think of another mode of transportation to apply this to. This is what birthed the ARC's. They looked like old naval vessels from the Revolutionary war, but could fly in the sky. The sails and mast were lined with a cloth that had solar panels running through it. They could still run at night but only because during the day part of the energy is stored in batteries below deck. Now that you know this, the story may begin.
Nailo was 19 years old. He lived in the Slums of Fallenhelm because during the riots his old town was razed to the ground. He lost everything except for his phone, his wallet, and two of his rings. His parents were killed trying to get away from the riots so Nailo lived alone. He had no money, no food, and nobody save for a few friends but they were in just as bad of a situation as he was. So Nailo became a thief. He learned to sneak and hide in the shadows. He could pick someone's pocket while he walked past them without them even feeling his hand. While he had these skills he refused to steal from people of Fallenhelm. Those who lived there had nothing, just like him. No, he picked convoys and guard patrols for his targets. Those fools didn't deserve their money; they got it through harsh taxes and bribes from corrupt politicians.
On one occasion, Nailo was caught while he picked an ARC Captain's pocket. He got away but the guards knew his face now. So Nailo had to make himself a weapon to defend himself lest the police found him. He scavenged the local Tech scrapyard for parts to make a tazer but found something odd amongst the scrap. It looked like a hilt from a long sword that had broken off, but it looked futuristic and shiny. Nailo picked it up and grasped it in his hands. It had the word "RAZ" carved onto the side of it. He squeezed it a bit and at that moment he felt small needles pierce his palm where he gripped the hilt. Nailo was about to drop it from the shock of the sting but something amazing caught his eye. A red blade protruded from the hilt. It rippled as if it were liquid. He moved his free hand to touch it, but the moment his hand made contact the place where his fingers touched would solidify. When he retracted his hand the blade would ripple again.
Nailo swung the blade back and forth to get the feel of it. The weapon had no extra weight. Then Nailo caught an odd smell. He brought the blade close to his nose and smelled. It smelled metallic. He let go of the hilt, letting it drop to the ground and gazed at his hand that had held it. There were several small holes in his palm that were bleeding. "When did I start bleeding?" He thought, and tucked it into his jeans.
After scavenging for a few more minutes Nailo decided to head back home with his findings. As he made his way out of the scrapyard a loud crash sounded from behind a nearby building, followed by a girl screaming for a moment before being silenced. Nailo moved to investigate. Every fiber of his body told him to just walk away and not worry about it but he ignored it. Someone was in trouble and while he didn't particularly involve himself in others' affairs he was curious.
Nailo crouched down and snuck around the building he heard the noise from. The building door was kicked ripped off the hinges and wood was splintered everywhere. Quietly he stepped inside. There were a few broken tables and chairs but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. He heard footsteps in the next room and pulled out his new RAZ and squeezed until the needles stabbed him again. A blade started to protrude from the hilt and then Nailo cursed. "The room is too small for this", he thought to himself. As if reacting to his statement the blood retracted and spread across his hands. The hand that held the RAZ grew short crimson sharp points on each individual knuckle, on his free hand the crimson coated his fingertips, giving them the appearance of claws.
"This works… I guess" He thought to himself and he moved into the room that emitted the sound.