Author's Note

No we get into the meat of the story. I'll be using guides from Ron Hiler (who knows these games like the back of his hand) to determine how each chapter is structured. Each chapter from this first series will constitute ten percent game completion (which means getting all the story missions, strongholds, activities, tags, and CDs), which means there will be ten chapters. Enjoy.

Saints Row: Reclamation and Retaliation

The idea of joining a street gang ultimately sounded appealing to Playa, so he decided to take Julius up on his offer since he didn't really have the greatest first impression of the other three gangs. As he approached the church, he could already see the Saints cheering as some of them were ganging up on a young woman, Starlight presumably. Playa remembered Troy mentioning her last night.

She actually wasn't doing too bad for herself, several of the soldiers that tried to jump her quickly paying the price. Playa winced as one soldier tried grabbing her from behind, only to accidentally grab her boobs. She responded by slamming her foot onto his, then turning around to grab him before slamming her knee into his groin. "All right, I think that's enough," Julius declared, "We need to save some for the next recruit."

He nodded over to where Playa had shown up. "I think you got the gist of what's going down here," Julius noted, "If you're gonna hang with us, you got to be canonized. All of us went through it, for better or worse. Some like Starlight and her father Johnny Gat were able to take on all comers, others suffered what we call blood in, blood out. Either way, once you've been through it, you'll be recognized as one of us. You ready for this, Playa?"

Playa nodded as several Saints approached him, ready to rumble. As the fight started, Johnny walked up to Julius. "So who's the new guy?" "Me and Troy found him last night," Julius explained, "He got caught in a three-way between the other gangs, nearly got capped for it." Starlight watched as Playa wound up mobbed and on his hands and knees, the other Saints wailing on his back. "Least he's durable," she noted.

Julius nodded and called out, "Alright, that's enough of that!" The Saints backed off as Troy walked over. "Here, on your feet. It's not so bad, we all went through it." "That's what it means to have blood in, blood out," Johnny noted. Playa nodded as he and Starlight accepted the new purple garments that indicated they were officially part of the gang. Starlight moved somewhere private to change.

When she came back, Julius addressed the Saints. "Alright, let's boil it down to basics. Everyone here knows what we need to do. We got all these bitches riding all over thinking they own these streets. I don't care what flags they're flying. Rollerz, Carnales, or Vice Kings. No one's gonna make us scared to walk these streets! We need to lock our shit down here and now!" He waited a moment for the cheers from the Saints to die down a bit.

"Now if we're gonna be serious about taking back what's ours," Julius continued, "Then we need to show those other motherfuckers what time it is. Break it down and it's all about respect. I know a few people from back when I was with the Vice Kings and I still have their contact info. They're willing to help us spread the word, and fund our gang, in exchange for a few favors. Once we get that respect, the others gangs will move out, and we'll move right on in. And if that don't work, we can always drop any motherfucker flying the wrong colors. Just so long as the word gets out."

"Alright," Troy said as he approached Playa and Starlight, "Julius wants me to walk you through your paces. Starlight, I'm sure your pop has already given you the basics, but a refresher course never hurt anyone. Playa, this'll help you understand how we do things around here. First off is getting you a piece." He walked the duo over to the nearby weapons store, Friendly Fire.

Troy handed the two of them some cash, two-hundred for Playa and a full grand for Starlight. Playa looked at Troy incredulously. "Hey, she earned it for practically winning during her canonizing," Troy retorted, "You would have gotten the same amount if you won." Playa just shrugged, then looked over the selection at the store. "I'd recommend the VICE 9," Troy noted, "It's reliable, holds a decent number of rounds, and you easily scavenge additional ammo off any gang member you drop."

Playa nodded and purchased the gun, while Starlight got the same. "Okay," Troy said, "Now let's see if you can handle those pieces. Some of our boys spotted Vice Kings scouting out the area around our hangout. Let's go clean house." Sure enough, several Vice Kings were already found not too far from the church. Playa quickly started firing at them, down them after a couple of seconds.

"Not bad," Starlight said, "But next time try for headshots if you can. Saves ammo that way." Playa nodded as the group headed for the next set of Vice Kings. They proved to be more aggressive, actually getting out their guns when they spotted the Saints, but still wound up dropped. The third group must've heard the shots, because they soon came in guns blazing. It did them little good, however, as they soon joined their teammates.

"Alright," Troy said, impressed, "Looks like you can handle yourselves on the streets. But right now we need to lose the heat from the Vice Kings. When their leaders get word that we're stepping against them, they'll bring in more soldiers. Their car should be nearby, let's jack it and head for Forgive and Forget. That should take the heat off." Forgive and Forget was basically a drive-through confessional, and that was using the term loosely. The odd religion behind the chain basically used their contacts to get people off other people's backs.

Once the trio did that, Starlight sighed. "So, can we stop by Freckle Bitch's? I worked up an appetite." "I can get behind that," Troy replied, "I'm jonesing for a Fun Bag myself." It should be noted that, between her forgetting her life in Equestria and her new human physiology, Starlight had developed a more varied appetite than the ponies of her homeworld. As such, it shouldn't be such a weird thing to see her bite into Freckle Bitch's signature burger, the Fist, other than wondering how her jaw could bite off so much meat at once and still be able to chew.

Which was what was going through Playa's mind when he saw just that. "That reminds me," Starlight said between mouthfuls, "I didn't see Lin at my canonizing. I thought she was gonna be there." Starlight and Lin had really clicked yesterday. "She wanted to be," Troy explained, "But Julius had an assignment for her and wanted her to get a head-start. I'm sure she'll be glad to hear you made it, though." Starlight nodded, but was a little upset at Julius for pulling something like that at the last minute.

Despite Playa and Starlight being the newcomers, Julius thought they should be helping out most on the front lines, since they showed so much potential. First thing Starlight wanted to do was check in on a few friends she made while still in school, since they owed her something. Not money, but some CDs she let them borrow. Two met her in Mission Beach, while a third met her in Harrowgate.

While in that neighborhood, the duo met with Will, a local pimp. Once he saw the two newcomers, he smiled, "Hey there young bloods. Julius said you two would be coming." He looked to Playa. "You look like you might be interested in a little sumpin' sumpin'. Why not try Peggy over there?" Playa and Starlight looked over to where Peggy was standing. The girl was so grossly disproportionate and overweight, she couldn't qualify as any sort of attractive.

Seeing the disgusted looks on their faces, Will gave a resigned chuckle. "Yeah, I didn't think so. I'll be honest, I've been trying to start a real business, but the only ho I got is so fugly blind motherfuckers turn her down." "How can we help with that?," Starlight asked. "Glad you asked," Will said, "If you can snatch me some of them fine bitches turning tricks for other pimps, I can start to see some real money. Now don't worry, I ain't asking for something for nothing. You get me the girls and I'll cut you in on what they make."

As it turned out, said girls were being used by abusive pimps, constantly slapping and demeaning them if they couldn't turn a profit. Playa felt no sympathy for capping said pimps before getting the girls to join Will's stable. The result was a good chunk of change in the duo's pocket, plus Will started spreading word of the Saints to all his brand new costumers, insuring they would talk about it to other people.

Later, Starlight lead Playa to her favorite restaurant in Chinatown. Reservations for the duo had already been made by Julius, so that they could meet another contact. Starlight quickly recognized Wong Shen Tai, looking slightly more wizened after nine years. Wong's translator spoke to them as Wong himself began speaking in Mandarin. "I'm sure Miss Glimmer recognizes me from when I addressed her father, but you young man are a new face."

Wong smiled as he continued to speak through his translator. "My name is Wong Shen Tai. In the envelope before you are a group of people who have wronged me. I was told by Mister Little that you could handle this task. Please speak to them about my grievances, but they are not to be harmed." Wong fell silent before his translator, then surprised Playa and Starlight by shooting the translator in the foot.

"Apologies," Wong said in perfect English, albeit with a heavy accent, "My translator heard me wrong. I want these people dead." "I'm surprised you didn't kill him outright," Starlight noted. Wong nodded to his translator as the man steadied himself. "It is hard to find a decent translator in Stilwater, and though I can speak English, my accent makes me difficult to understand for most people. Regardless, you will find more details about your targets in the folder."

Before getting started on the hit list, Starlight took Playa to another contact out in Charlestown. When they got to the garage Julius directed them to, a Latino man in a wheelchair rolled up them, which was a surprise for Playa. "What's the matter?," the man said indignantly, "Never seen a guy in a wheelchair." "You must be Miguel," Starlight noted, "You seem a little irritable."

"Don't mind him," said Miguel's girlfriend Jen, "He's just grumpy ever since the boys in blue crippled him for life." "Yeah, thanks to that my boosting days are over," Miguel said sadly, "But I still got an eye for what sells. I got a list of what I need on the wall over there. Some of them will need some aftermarket touches, but I'll be sure to reimburse you. Just be careful it gets here in one piece, or I'll have to dock some pay to recoup the repair price."

As they walked out, Playa tapped Starlight on the shoulder. He didn't say much, but Starlight could already tell what he was thinking. "I gathered from the photos that one of Wong's targets, this girl Jackie, is an ambulance driver. I know the city well, so I know hospitals in this district have a demand for more ambulances. Since Wong doesn't know where Jackie is, I figure we can simply take advantage of her job..." She got out her cell. "And get her to come to us. And then swipe her ambulance for Miguel." Playa nodded in understanding.

She dialed 911. When the operative picked up, Starlight screamed, "Please help! My best friend just got run over!" She gave the exact address they were at, and the operative promised to send someone to help. Sure enough, the driver sent turned out to be Jackie. The woman looked shocked as Playa pointed his VICE 9 at her. "This worked out faster than I thought," Starlight noted, before Playa capped Jackie in the head. They then dropped the ambulance off at Miguel's.

Starlight was able to get two more of her CDs from friends she met in Charlestown, plus she suggested to Playa that they could show the other gangs the Saints meant business by snuffing out their tags. "Dad would be miffed if I used my powers for this," Starlight said as she telekinetically levitated several spray cans, "But it's the best way to get the perfect tags to show Stilwater who the Saints are." Playa watched in amazement as Starlight grabbed three tags in Charlestown this way.

As Starlight put the finishing touches on her last tag, Julius called. 'Nice job. Already word of the Saints is spreading. Now we need to make use of that infamy. Troy's told me about an abandoned storefront in Athos Bay being used as a hideout by the Carnales. We need to clean that building out so we can hold down the Row.' "Got it," Starlight replied. As she and Playa drove to Athos Bay, she said, "You don't really talk much, do you?"

Playa just looked at her. "A little nervous?," Starlight asked. Playa nodded. "Don't worry about it," Starlight said reassuringly, "It might get rough, but I'm sure we'll make it through this." The Athos Bay Storefront by pretty much by the numbers. Several Carnales were inside packing heat, but proved useless as Playa and Starlight rampaged through the stronghold. As they got out the back of the storefront, they heard a cry of, "Damn it..."

Starlight looked to see a Carnales lieutenant making a break for it. "We got a runner," she said, and the two hurried to a nearby car to chase the lieutenant down. Soon enough, the lieutenant's car ran out of gas and he was forced to get out, making him a sitting duck. With the storefront cleared out, several Saints soldiers came in to claim it for themselves. The remaining Carnales in the area either ran off back to their other turfs or switched to the Saints colors.

"Nice work, Playa, Starlight," Julius said as the duo returned to the church, "Now that we have Athos Bay we've got a little breathing room, but two-thirds of the Row doesn't equal a whole, and the Rollerz still have a hold on Harrowgate." "Not for long," Troy said as he walked up, "I just got a tip that there's a big gang war going on in that neighborhood. All three enemy gangs duking it out. We can slip in during the mayhem and take out their lieutenants, sending a clear message to stay off the Row."

"Then what are we waiting for," Julius said, "Let's get our soldiers and head out there." The four of them got a nearby car and started heading for the docks at Harrowgate. "Julius, you okay with bringing the newcomer instead of Johnny?," Troy asked. "Even if I wasn't," Julius replied, "I'd say Starlight is a fair trade-off." Troy nodded as they reached the docks, where the sounds of gunfire could already be heard.

A few Rollerz were in sight firing at some Carnales. With the Rollerz backs turned away from the Saints, they proved easy prey. Playa then moved in and took out several Carnales, allowing the group to move forward. As the Saints moved up the dock, they got surprised when a Carnales vehicle rushed in trying to ram them. Starlight quickly put an end to that plan by halting the car with her powers, allowing Julius and Troy to finish off the passengers.

"Think stopping a car trying to run us over counts as an emergency?," Troy asked. Julius nodded. "If it keeps us out of the bay, sure." Meanwhile Playa continued to move up ahead, eventually taking out the Carnales lieutenant. "Y'know, I changed my mind," Troy said, "I'm glad we found this kid." They were now starting to see Vice Kings among the attackers, which meant all three gang, four if one counted the Saints themselves, were now accounted for.

Up ahead, Starlight was able to take out the Vice King lieutenant when he got distracted by a sudden explosion, caused by an incoming car hitting his own. "Just the Rollerz lieutenant left," she noted, "Why haven't we seen him yet?" "Don't forget this neighborhood is under Rollerz control," Julius responded, "They probably boxed in the Vice Kings and Carnales from two different directions. He should be up ahead, don't worry."

Sure enough, the group started seeing Rollerz again in the nearby parking lot, including their lieutenant. Some leftover Carnales tried to get revenge by firing rocket launchers, but only succeeded in distracting the Rollerz lieutenant long enough for Playa to cap him. By this point, the carnage was starting to die down. Unfortunately, that's when the sirens started blaring up.

"Shit the cops," Troy said, "Quick, let's get outta here." The four of them hopped into a still-intact car from the Vice Kings, and managed to evade the cops until they could reach a Forgive and Forget. After that, they returned to the church. "We did it!," Julius said excitedly, "We managed to take back Saints Row." "So," Starlight said, "Mission accomplished?" "I wish it was that easy," Julius replied, "But we've still work to do. Troy gather up our boys here at the church, this is far from over."

Once the gang was at the church, Julius walked to where the parson would normally stand. "Listen up people. We've got some serious shit to discuss. Sure, we managed to take back the Row, but that don't mean this is over. The Vice Kings, Rollerz, and Carnales will be coming back, and they won't be happy. They only way we can insure our safety is to turn them into nothing but a memory."

He turned to Dex. "Dex, I want you on the Carnales. Ever since they hooked up with the Colombians it's like they own this town. We simply can't compete with kind of drug money. Play it smart. The Lopez family is still around for a reason." Dex nodded. "Got it." "Troy," Julius said, "You get the Vice Kings." "Not a chance," Troy replied. Julius frowned. "Fuck you say?" "Anyone but them," Troy insisted. "Fuck him," Johnny said, "He's just scared of going up against Ben King. I'll handle the Vice Kings."

"You sure you're not biting off more than you can chew, Dad?," Starlight asked. "Relax Sweetie," Johnny said, "Even I'm not about to go hogwild against the Vice Kings. I already have a few strategies in mind. Besides, bullets still kill motherfuckers, right?" "Very well then," Julius said, "Just don't do anything reckless, at least not at first." "What about the Rollerz?," Dex asked. "That's my job," came Lin's voice.

"Lin!," Starlight said, hugging Lin as she walked into the church. "Sorry for not being there at your canonizing," Lin said, "But I was already undercover." "Yeah, I was about to say," Johnny said, "What's with the blue?" Starlight noticed Lin had traded out her purple track pants for blue ones. "Lin's going undercover in the Rollerz," Julius explained, "We know plenty about the Vice Kings and Carnales, but the Rollerz are newcomers. I wanted one of our's on the inside getting some information about them."

"I didn't know the Rollerz pimped hos," a random Saint called out. Lin quickly spun on him and decked him in the face, knocking him to the ground. "You were asking for that," Starlight noted. Lin smirked. "Any other comments?" "Yeah," Johnny said, "When you punch, don't throw your shoulder so much." "He's got a point," Starlight noted. Lin just shrugged. "Alright," Julius said, "Playa, Starlight, when you're ready, talk to one of these guys. They'll have something for you to do." He addressed the whole gang. "It's our time now. Let's get this shit started."

Before heading off to start dealing with the gangs, Playa and Starlight stopped by Adept Way and the office of Legal Lee. Inside, they could see he was already on the phone. "How many times do I have to explain it to you Miss Jackson, do not walk around without wearing your neck brace." "Is that for real?," Starlight asked no one in particular. Lee continued, not noticing the two. "If someone catches you it could severely hurt our chances in court. Just remember, the whiplash has caused you excruciating, chronic pain."

Once he was sure his client understood, he hung up. "Sorry about that. Some of my clients seem to forget the particulars of the court system. Anyway, Julius Little contacted me about your financial situation. I think the fastest way to get your gang the cash you need is with an expensive insurance case. The bigger the claim, the greater the chance it'll be settled out of court, putting the cash in your pocket faster. Of course, it helps if your injuries are... Convincing."

Starlight smiled. "I think we can handle that." Playa looked a little nervous. Next thing he knew, Starlight was playing pinball in traffic, with him as the ball. If anyone did see the telltale glow that accompanied her psychic powers, they dismissed it as a hallucination, especially since she worked to make the traffic accidents as believable as possible. It wasn't long before they racked up quite the insurance claim. Of course, most of the money had to go towards paying Lee his legal fees, but they still got plenty of cash out of the deal.

The next place the duo hit up was a strip joint in Misty Lane. There, they met the club's owner, Jenna. "Hey there," Jenna said when she saw the two of them, "Have a seat." "You told Julius you need someone with discretion?," Starlight asked. "That's right," Jenna replied, "See here's the thing. Plenty of celebrities, and not just the obvious ones, come to me when they need... Companionship." Playa and Starlight nodded, realizing Jenna was running a prostitution business out of her own strip club.

"Each of these people has made their way into my little black book," Jenna said, taping said book, "And the list keeps growing. Now these are powerful people. And if their hobbies were to get leaked it would ruin their careers, and by extension my livelihood. All I need from you two is a good driver. Someone who can give both my clients and the girls entertaining them some much needed privacy."

This task proved more difficult than the insurance fraud, since Starlight couldn't go sending the news vans flying without attraction unneeded attention. Plus some of later clients requested some pretty crazy things in order to get stimulated. Still, with some luck they managed to keep the paparazzi from seeing enough to get a good story on the clients. Jenna thanked them with a considerable cash deposit, and a promise that her regulars would know who the Saints are.

After taking a night to rest, Starlight and Playa tracked down some more of Wong's targets. Alan was found just outside a strip club in the Arena district. Poor guy didn't even see it coming when Playa stabbed him over and over with a knife. Around the arena itself was Bucky, a guy in a hot dog costume. Starlight thought it overkill to kill him with a hand grenade, but she went for it since that's what Wong requested. "He must have really hated that guy," she mused.

Finally, they took a quick trip down to the Barrio district, where they found Roxanne just walking around. Playa used his new NR4 to take her out. Finally, Starlight brought Playa to the Ultor Dome, where she found two more of her CDs. They were also able to snuff out four Rollerz tags with their own. "You're really into this, aren't you?," Playa said, surprising Starlight. "So you do talk."

Playa just raised an eyebrow at her. "I know, I know, not answering your question," she replied. She sighed. "Honestly, my Dad is probably the most violent man in Stilwater, maybe even the world. Me and Mom are the only ones that can even claim to be safe around him. When he first adopted me, he tried his best to shelter me from the crapsack world we live in. But it turns out, the world wouldn't let him."

She leaned on the wall near her last tag. "I've been forced to watch as Dad killed people, most of them trying to kill us. The first time I threw up, though after a while... I kinda stopped. Like some part of me accepted it. I don't like to talk about it much. Least not with new faces." Playa nodded in understanding. That was when a call in from Lin. 'Hey Starlight, can you and the new guy meet me at the arena parking lot? I'm thinking it's about time we move against the Rollerz.' "Sure thing," Starlight said, "We're actually nearby. We'll see you shortly."

At the parking lot, Lin was walking toward's her Voxel, tricked out to look like a typical Rollerz ride. Two Rollerz were walking behind her. "That's a sweet ride Lin," Rollerz One said. "Uh huh," Lin said, uninterested. Rollerz Two looked the car over. "So who tuned this baby for ya?" "No one," Lin said simply, "I did it myself." Neither Rollerz seemed to hear her. "The spoiler looks like Donnie's work," Rollerz One said.

Rollerz Two shook his head. "Nah, the underglow screams Ricky Liu." Nearby, out of sight, Starlight facepalmed. Lin shared her frustration. "What is this, the third grade?!," she called out. After the Rollerz left, Starlight and Playa came out of hiding. "They're like the opposite of your intelligence level," Lin said to Starlight, "I swear we're never gonna kill these bastards fast enough." "Let's not take it too fast," Starlight said, "You could run the risk of blowing your cover."

Lin took a deep breath and nodded. "Anyway I didn't overhear much. These guys are a bunch of macho meatheads." "They do seem to be testosterone driven," Starlight noted, "In more ways than one." Lin nodded. "That's not to say I didn't get any information. I got word that a shipment of high performance cars is coming in today." Starlight rubbed her chin. "These guys are all about street racing and chop shops. They either want faster rides or more expensive parts. Either way, it's something we can use against them."

"And I know just how to do it," Lin said with a smile, "You two need to jack the truck carrying the cars before it makes its delivery, then get it to Samson. He'll load up the car with a few surprises and finish the delivery." Starlight nodded, and she and Playa headed out to track down the truck. Turns out it wasn't hard, as it was already traveling down the nearby freeway, escorted by several Rollerz.

Starlight pulled up to their lone vehicle and side-swiped it, causing it to crash. Then she pulled alongside the truck, where Playa capped the driver, allowing them to hijack the truck without damaging it. From there it was easy enough to get it to Samson's garage, in spite of the Rollerz coming in force. "Now we just have to wait," Starlight said to Playa, "I hope Lin knows what she's doing. We've become good friends in a short amount of time... And I don't want to lose any friends..."