Rock Howard/Story

Past
Rock is the son of the most noteworthy crime lord in South Town, Geese Howard. Although he knew of his father's existence, he grew up living a modest life with his mother in a small apartment. He often wondered about his father and was excited at the prospect of someday meeting him. When Rock was seven, his mother contracted a mysterious disease, and he tried his best to nurse her to health. As her illness worsened, Rock went to Geese Tower and met his father for the first time in his life. Though the boy pleaded for medical aid and told him that Marie desperately wanted to see him, Geese would have nothing to do with the matter and sent him away. Marie died the same night and Rock has had a grudge against his father ever since.

Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory
Sometime after the events of Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory, Rock encountered a man by the name of Terry Bogard, who is Geese's adversary. Terry wishes for the both of them to get along.

Real Bout Fatal Fury
A year later, Rock meets Terry, who finally settled his vendetta against Geese. Rather than hate his father's enemy, he felt a complicated mix of loneliness and joy knowing that his father died. Since Terry left the scene soon after, the boy followed him and attended his street fights. Rock angrily charged at him once after learning about his father's death. After their scuffle, Terry quietly accepts him and they begin their travels together.

Garou: Mark of the Wolves
As the years go by, Rock becomes a formidable fighter, due in no small part to having been trained by Terry. Approximately ten years after Geese's death, Second Southtown was established. During this time, a new King of Fighters tournament arose, dubbed Maximum Mayhem, to which Rock decides to join to search for his purpose in life.

By the end of the tournament, Rock finds his final opponent is Kain R. Heinlein, who reveals himself to be both the host and Rock's uncle. Upon winning, Rock discovered that the tournament was orchestrated by Kain to bring Rock to him. Kain, aware that Geese Howard's will held presumably valuable secrets but unable to discover them without assistance, won Rock's aid in working through the document by offering information regarding Rock's mother — whom Kain claimed was still alive. Terry accepts Rock's decision to become Kain's new partner, with Rock promising to return.

The King of Fighters series
''Rock's life in this timeline seems to mostly be based of his Fatal Fury counterpart up until Garou: Mark of the Wolves. However, it is implied that Rock's ending in Garou MOW did not occur in this timeline.''

In this timeline where his father Geese is alive, Rock is growing up during The King of Fighters XIV tournament under Terry's wing. His last appearance as a child is when he and Terry met one of their friend Joe Higashi before recruiting Tizoc for the 2003 tournament.

The King of Fighters XIV
This section is currently considered non-canon, despite his quotes in XV making references to this instance.

Rock appears in the fourteenth tournament. During an interaction with Ryuji Yamazaki, he seemingly knows that he is Terry's protégé, and he's looking for him. In an attempt to lure him out, he attempts to attack Rock. In another interaction, he has difficulties communicating with Vanessa, as well as being slightly disturbed by Whip's antics with Voodoo, her whip.

SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy
During the events of SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy, after XIV tournament, Terry was having nightmares on being turned into a woman by a sand fighter known as Kukri and being pushed by Rock off the Geese Tower in his original male form, after Geese refuses Terry's help and allows himself to fall. Terry awakens faceplanted to the floor, while Rock is done cooking breakfast and calls him to eat.

The King of Fighters XV
This marks the first time Rock enter the team-based KOF tournament after growing up, starting from the fifteenth tournament. While Terry goes to Pao Pao Cafe to meet with Andy and Joe for upcoming tournament, Rock is surprisingly being secretly invited by B. Jenet via her phone mail to be a new member of her KOF team consisting of them and Gato, with Rock acting as Tizoc's replacement, due to the wrestler's certain reasons. Despite having an opportunity to fight against Terry and one of their friends who participated the tournament, Rock must be wary of a recurring participation of a team lead by his father, Geese, in person.

At some point during the tournament, in an ironic twist of fate, Rock runs into Geese. In their confrontation, Geese admits that meeting Rock is destiny, and warns his son of the fate of their own bloodline, suggesting he has accepted the fact that Rock is indeed his son. Of course, Rock does not want anything to do with him, being the one responsible of Marie's suffering.

After the tournament, Rock felt that teaming up with Terry would be better should the next team tournament be announced someday, with Jenet as the third member within Terry's would-be team, should one of Terry's old friends join other team(s) or take an absence on the next tournament. Terry had no ill will about Rock joining the fray, and was in fact, thrilled in seeing him participate.