Boss Stevens

*“Space Base, not space base.”*

- Boss to Ryu

**Boss Stevens** is a supporting protagonist in *The Dark Age*. He is one of the co-founders of the New Resistance.

## Personality

Boss can be described as weird and wacky. When inside the Space Base, he is often found lounging around in a red one-piece pajama; even Ryu is baffled by why he does this. He has also shown a fondness for Pillow Pets.

Boss is somehow able to detect when people capitalize words, and will call someone out if they don't capitalize "Space Base". He constantly plays the Mario Party "Space Land" theme inside the Space Base, and justifies it by saying that "we're in space" when people complain.

## Background

Japanese American Boss Stevens lived in a middle-class family. When he was little, he received a hat that looked kind of like a pine cone when he was little, and that hat has never left his head since - at least, until he outgrew it and made another one.

When he was young, Boss helped a classmate, Hotaru Fukuda, learn and understand the English language during their first couple years together in school. Thanks to Boss’s help, Hotaru learned English and obtained a new nickname which he would go by for the rest of his life: Ryu. Boss and Ryu became very close friends through schooling and such; they were, as you would call it, “heterosexual life-partners”.

It was during this time that Ryu first his magical abilities. Boss had accidentally insulted a celebrity popular among the senior students. One of them took it personally and decided to go beat him up. Before he could even throw a punch, Ryu was there. He punched the student, creating a small explosion that sent him flying into the nearby wall. Ryu later learned that he could harness magical energy into his hands and feet and release it in the form of explosions, adding a lot of damage and knockback to his punches and kicks. With this power, he could demolish a thick concrete wall in a couple punches. Boss, however, found no magical powers, and became quite jealous of Ryu. Despite this, Ryu reassured him that his powers would eventually surface, keeping their friendship intact.

Even after schooling, the two of them stayed in the same apartment, each one taking several jobs to keep their living space. Boss primarily became a botanist and wildlife reserve keeper; it was there when he found his pinecone-related powers after he accidentally turned a squirrel into a pinecone tree.

This partnership was completely unaffected by the Great Cataclysm in 2685. Boss and Ryu still stuck together throughout Schueren’s rule, making barely enough money to survive. The pair often spent their time in a bar, socializing with others in similar situations. One fine day in 2689, they accidentally angered one of the tenants, who tried to kill them with a chainsaw. Of course, Ryu used his powers to blow him away. The barkeep noticed. He introduced himself as Goon and recruited the two through a series of complicated paperwork and inside sources, and they joined the Resistance.

The duo’s first Resistance days were boring and mostly pointless. They were mostly used on “cocaine and drugs” as Norman would say.

...not really. Boss and his partner Ryu were mostly used as surveillance; missions where they needed to blend into the crowd and gather information through rumors for the Resistance.

## Powers and Abilities

### Pinecone-related Powers

Boss has a plethora of pinecone-related abilities.

#### Pinecone Transmutation

This is Boss' most powerful technique. If he has enough magical energy, and if the enemy's mind is weak enough, Boss can turn the enemy into a pinecone tree.

#### Pinecone Spear

Boss' signature weapon is his pinecone spear; a long, hard, and sharp spear with a pinecone tip. He prominently used it during the fight with Otenar and Doc Pain.

#### Pinecone Projectiles

Boss can telekinetically control pinecones, allowing him to turn them into homing projectiles. This was shown when he bombarded Theselt and Lumen with pinecones.

#### Pinecone Sap Traps

Boss can summon special pinecones that, when activated, emit a sticky sap onto the ground. This prevents the enemies from moving, severely limiting their mobility.

Boss used a variation of this pinecone against Theselt. Instead of emitting sticky sap, this variant released a mysterious wave of magic that temporarily slowed down time for everyone in the field except Boss.