ITEMS TO GET: Metal Jacket, 4000G

   Fei awakens in Nortune, the capital of Kislev (actually, Nortune seems to be the only thing in Kislev ^_^). The doctor will chat with him a while, then he will be taken to meet Blanka OOPS I mean Rico and his men, so they can conduct their "Baptismal Ceremony". Save your game and make sure you're equipped with the Metal Vest, then talk to one of them to begin.

   You first fight is against Leonardo. He should be pretty easy; just take him down with 3 or 4 Hagans. You immediately move on to Heinrich (you don't get a chance to heal). He's a bit tougher; his attacks take off about 16 HP each, but still not too tough. Again, just use Hagan 'til you beat him. The third fight is against Vargas, and it's a bit trickier. Whenever you attack Vargas, he'll use a combo counterattack that does about 30 damage if you just hit him with a Deathblow, or 10 if you used a regular attack. The secret, of course, is not to use Deathblows. Just hit him with single regular attacks, then use Circle to cancel and build up your combo meter. Once it's high, heal up (so you'll be healthy going into the next fight) and take him out with a combo.

   The fourth fight is against Suzarn. At the beginning of the fight, she will use a scythe attack to drain away all your EP, and will use it again if you try to restore your EP, so don't bother. Just use items to heal, and keep attacking with Hagan. Her attacks can take off 40-70 HP (depending on which one she uses), so stay healed. If you manage to win, you'll receive a Metal Jacket, and then you'll have to fight Rico. You can't win this fight (not without a GameShark, anyway ^_^); Rico will cream you with a combo for over 1,000 damage (how come he can't do that when he joins you?).

   Fei awakens back in the barracks, where the doctor congratulates him on his accomplishments. Don't forget to equip the Metal Jacket afterwards. You're now free to walk around; if you go through the door on this level, you can find a scale to weigh your characters. Up the ladder is the main dorm room; there's a guy in the southeast corner who will tell you a bit about D Block. After talking to everyone, take the west exit, and follow the main street until you get to the bar (with the flashing light outside). Here you'll meet the game's coolest character, the one and only HAMMER! Hammer will try to sell some stuff to Fei; none of it is really worth buying, though.

   To the north of the bar are another door into the dormitory and B-Exchange, where you can exchange Fangs, Eyeballs, and Scales for G (and Hob-Jerky, but you don't want to sell that). If you need the money, go for it, but if you wait a little while, the exchange rates will go up. Anyway, continue north past those two buildings until you reach the guard at the end of the street. He'll tell Fei that someone from the Battling Committee is looking for him at either the dorm or the bar. First, go back to the dorm, but you won't find anyone there. Now go to the bar and you'll meet with Rue Cohen, who tries to persuade Fei to join Battling. Despite Hammer's attempts to convince him to do so, Fei declines.

   After that scene is over, go back to the dorm. Hammer will run in (again) and tell Fei that his "sources" have told him that there's a new doctor. Go downstairs and into the room where the doctor used to be. The doctor will enter -- it's Citan! Citan explains the situation to Fei and offers to try to remove his explosive collar. Agree; you won't be able to get it off, but Citan will sell the safety device to Hammer for a nice 4000 G. Fei then decides that, although he hates Gears, he will enter the Battling tournament. Hammer immediately runs off to register him, while Fei gets some rest.