Disclaimer: I don't own anything BoF related…it all belongs to capcom….

The prologue to my first fic….. Prologue takes place about 9 months after the events of BoF1.………..It really isn't all that good but….well just read it……

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Fulcrum of Balance

Prologue

The full moon shone brightly, unhampered by any form of cloud, illuminating the lush, grass filled plains with silvery white light. A small camp lay in the middle of the plains, a medium size fire burning brightly in front of a young grass runner who sat staring into the blaze, eyes unmoving, a black bow was laying at his side, a rather large quiver of arrows on top of it. Soft silent wind blew through the tiny camp, blowing the light brown fur that covered his face and chest gently, yet did not seem to touch the small patch of white fur under his chin. The fire wavered slightly in accordance to the gentle wind's wishes.

"Strange how something as destructive and dangerous as fire bends to the will of something as harmless as a gust of wind…." The young grass runner thought to himself, closing his eyes to feel the wind pulsing over his body. "Wind….reminds me of Nina….always telling me "Bo you should really talk more!"." Bo chuckled to himself silently. "And like the fire I would bend to her wishes and talk, even if it was briefly…." Bo smiled faintly while leaning back onto the ground. "I'm glad that I decided to take this little vacation from Tantar….even if the town is only 6 miles away, it gives me time to relax….I can't believe they made me chief just because I helped kill a god….." Bo sighed and slowly closed his eyes, placing his hands behind his head, using them as a pillow.

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Mist slowly seeped and flowed through the thick canopy and bushes of the infamous "Forest of Despair". Crickets chirped silently, owls hooted in the night having slept through the entire day. Several small squirals ran up and down trees, harvesting nut for the upcoming winter. Through this peaceful tranquil scene, a young woman with pitch black hair ran, a frightened expression on her tired sweaty face, her black pupils were wide with fear, reminiscent of a animal being hunted. Covering her slender curves was a light brown dress, stained with mud and sweat. In her nervous hands she carried a basket, huddled closely and protectively to her body, the top of the basket was covered by a white cloth. As she ran, panic stricken, she failed to notice a rather large pile of bones which she tripped on, causing the basket to fly from her guarding embrace into a nearby bush.

"Zan!" The woman said in a weary voice as she pulled herself up.

'ha ha ha ha ha ha…." Laughter seemed to come from all directions as the young woman pulled herself up, staggering.

"No…." The woman said silently, turning around and taking slow steps backwards in fear as tall figure slowly appeared out of the mist. The figure was clad in a blue cloak, slight flashes of silver armor could be seen through the opening down the middle of the cloak. The face of the man was hidden in the darkness of the cloak's hood.

"I've finally found you…" A slithery male voice said in a deadly fashion from inside the cloak's hood. The man began taking slow confident steps, the clanking of armor sounding with each step, dirt giving way to accommodate his silver greaves. "You've made me come quite a great distance….it would have been easier if you hadn't ran away….for both of us…"

The woman reached her hand to her side pulled a small dagger from a concealed pocket and held it in a threatening manner. "Stay back!"

"Come now….." The man suddenly faded away as he spoke, reappearing directly in front of the woman. "Lets not make idle threats…" The man grabbed the hand the dagger was in with his right hand covered by a silver gauntlet.

"Let go of me!" The woman screamed smashing her free hand into the man's arm, trying desperately to escape from his powerful grip, which in turn caused the man to increase his hold on her.

"Don't worry….it will only hurt for a few moments…" The man quickly turned the dagger that was still in the woman's hand towards her chest and pushed. The woman's face contorted in pain as the dagger penetrated her soft skin, warm blood slowly seeping out.

"Why…do you do this…..?" She choked out, blood beginning to trickle out of the corner of her mouth, fear filling her eyes as she lost the strength to stand on her own feet.

The man caught her as she was falling, pulling her close to him. "Pray to Ladon….perhaps he will show mercy upon your black heart…" The man whispered to her dryly, releasing his hold on her, letting her drop to the ground, landing on the moist dirt with a deep thud.

"Zan….." The woman gasped out as the last strand of life left her thin frame, her eyes closing gently.

The man turned toward the bush where the basket the woman was caring for so intently landed. He slowly walked over to the bush, pushed aside the green leaves with his hands, revealing the basket. The man picked the basket out of the inside of the bush and removed the cloth that resided upon the top to reveal a small infant child laying inside. The child looked up at the man wearily, it's red eyes gazing into the man's dark hood. A small pendant with a winged, serpentine dragon, crafted out of a silver like substance, encircling a black jewel, laid upon the infant's tiny chest.

"Your whole family has caused me quite a bit of trouble boy……it will give me no end of pleasure knowing that your dark bloodline will end here." The man chuckled loudly, dropping the basket to the ground, which in turn caused the child to begin to cry. "Yes! Cry! It's the last thing you'll do!" The man's chuckling quickly became all out maniacal laughter. The man's laughter ceased as he outstretched a hand and began to chant lightly, a small strain of fire slowly coming from his palm, all going to a single spot in front of him. As the magic fire gathered, it quickly took the shape of a long serpent, fiery embers dripping from it's gapping mouth, whipping it's long tail around angrily. As it ceased it's grow it let out a monstrous primal howl, floating 2 feet off the ground, its long body coiled like a snake waiting to strike it's prey. "Salamander…..burn the forest….leave no trace of the child or the woman…." The Salamander bowed it's long, slender head in obedience, then uncoiled itself and flew into a nearby tree, catching it ablaze. "Farewell boy.…" The man slowly strode back the way he had come earlier, quickly melting into the thick mist.



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Bo lay silently, his eyes closed, his mind drifting off as sleep slowly overtook him. Suddenly there was a incredibly loud howl that cut through the silent air. Instantly his fighting instincts took over as he shot up, grabbing his bow and his quiver, quickly pulling a arrow from the quiver and placing it to the bow. Bo looked around frantically for the source of the howl, his bow ready for any enemy he found. "Nothing….?" Bo slowly relaxed until the unearthly howl came again from behind him. Bo spun around with lightning speed, landing in a kneeling position as he raised his bow. As he looked for the target, it appeared, a giant serpent floating above the nearby "Forest of Despair". Bo slowly relaxed his aim, looking in awe as the serpent snaked over the forest, embers slowly dripping off it's flaming body.

"Incredible…." Bo thought as he continued to stare at the beast, until of course the beast expelled a steady stream of flame into the forest. "That thing is going to burn the whole damned forest down!" Bo suddenly realized, pulling himself up, he began to sprint to the forest, which was only a quarter of a mile away. His long legs carried him quickly and within moments he had reached the edges of the forest. As he approached, a stampede of one eyed funguses came running out, nearly all of them set ablaze. Several nearly knocked Bo down as they frantically tried to escape the flames, their sticklike arms flailing violently trying to put out the fires that plagued them, which in turn only caused their arms to catch ablaze. "Close…" Bo thought as he watched the Funguses continue to run away in utter horror, several dieing from the flames. "Got to stop this thing before it decides to go for Tantar…" Bo pulled a rag out of a satchel and tied it across the bottom of his face, then entered, bow and arrow prepared.

In the blazing inferno, small mammals ran desperately from their homes as burning tree limbs fell randomly, owls also flying away in fear. Bo moved cautiously, taking slow steps, trying to find the paths with the least amount of fire. As Bo got deeper and deeper into the forest he began to faintly hear the sound of crying, an odd thing to hear in the middle of a burning forest to say the least. The crying sound slowly became louder the farther he went. As Bo reached a clearing, he noticed a tiny basket, this appeared to be the source of the crys. As Bo entered the clearing to examine the basket, the Salamander howled ferociously from overhead, spewing red hot flame at Bo. As the flames approached, Bo's survival instincts kicked in, taking control of his body and hurling him to the side, barley avoiding the fiery death, the spot he was just in was now nothing more than scorched earth, the foliage that had been there had been vaporized instantly. Bo quickly pulled himself back up, knowing that staying in ANY spot for to long would be suicide, and raised his bow to the creature, took aim and fired. The arrow whistled through the wind, finding it's target but due to the intense heat of the flames the serpent was made of, burned to ashes upon contact.

"Damn! I should have known better…." Bo reprimanded himself mentally, jumping from his position as the beast let out another blast of fiery death. "That was a waste of a arrow…" The beast hovered silently, almost mockingly at the grass runner, and coiled itself for another attack. "What the hell am I doing? It's a being of fire…..so all I gotta do is…." Bo quickly chanted a spell of "Chill" as the beast reared it's head for another blast of fire. As soon as the fiery serpent was about to expel another blast, Bo finished his spell, raising his right hand into the air, a beam of blue ice shot from his hands, headed straight from the beast, who had just expelled it's stream of flame. The two streams of death dealing elemental power met, the ice quickly surrounding the breath of fire, and slinking up to the beast it was still attached to, then almost instantly froze the fire serpent, causing it to lose it's ability to fly and come crashing into the ground, shattering into millions of ice shards upon impact.

The battle won, but the forest beyond redemption, Bo decided to escape before he perished. As soon as he took his first step the crying returned from the basket that Bo had forgotten about. Bo quickly ran over and grabbed the basket, deciding he could check it's contents later, survival took priority over curiosity. The adrenaline from the fight with the fire serpent gave Bo's legs a boost in his natural speed, allowing him to cover much of the forest in little time, and the ability to dodge the falling debris of canopy. In what seemed like an instant Bo exited the forest, barley escaping a collapsing oak wood tree.

Away from the danger of the burning forest, Bo placed the small basket on the ground, determined to discover the origins of the crying he had heard. Bo kneeled down and took a look inside the basket, finding a pair of tiny red eyes staring back at him with great interest. "A human baby…? Why would a human baby be in a forest?" Bo placed his hand on his chin in thought, then noticed a small glint of something metallic on the child's chest. "A pendant with a dragon? This doesn't make sense…." Bo slowly reached his hand in the basket to pick up the pendant and inspect it further, his long hairs slightly grazed the childs exposed skin, causing it to laugh and giggle. Bo retracted his hand upon hearing the tiny outburst and got a one-sided amused smirk on his face. "Cute kid." Bo thought to himself, his smirk turning into a light smile. "Might as well take him back to Tantar….can't leave him alone out here." Bo pulled himself up and picked up the basket gently. "Besides…maybe Ryu knows something about that pendant….have to go see him sometime…."The thought of seeing his old friend again caused his smile to widen even further as he walked slowly to nearby Tantar, the forest still burning behind him.

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A aged man, looking to be somewhere in the age of 70 or older stood silently on a nearby cliff, using a small cane to support his hunched, crippled form, watching the events transpire with a wrinkled face covered with a long thick white beard. His face yielded no emotion, watching sternly. He was draped in long black robes, gold linings and arcane symbols of magic running up and down them. On his head was a rather old looking black beret, small strains of white hair coming out the sides.

As the man watched Bo exit the forest with the basket and slowly make his way to Tantar, a great look of releif washed over the old man's haggard, stern face. "Thank Ladon…..perhaps we still have a chance…." The man sighed and quickly mutter a warp spell, vanishing into the night.





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Well it wasn't so bad now was it? I am continueing this story regardless of if I get reviews or not although I would appreciate some....