Stage 1 - The Boy From Neo-Tokyo

June 5th, 2090 AD- Neo Tokyo

Since Tokyo sank into the sea, as a result of the Garsalan attacks 30 years ago, a new metropolis came to take its place, made up of the surrounding areas that survived the attacks, now filled with what refugees escaped Tokyo, began to expand their own respective towns, and cities, and eventually, came to be considered one city, Neo Tokyo. Though the new government's seat of power was not Neo Tokyo, That title belonged to Shinkyo. it was undoubtedly one of its largest urban areas. Though the living conditions were less than stellar. The worst of it, however, was the Atsuda ward, at the far south end of the city. One of the many slums that rose following the war. It was home to a variety of criminals. Three youths, in particular, had made a name for themselves.

Below the towering skyscrapers of the upper district, there was the decrepit, yet bustling streets of District 7. On a street with particularly run-down shop fronts, three boys briskly walked down the street, with authority. and strangely enough, many cleared the way when they took notice of them, less than willing to get in their way, regardless of how old they might be. Though they'd stayed calm, seemingly ignoring it, it was very clear that they drew attention. People leaned in to whisper to those beside them, as they pointed, stared. The Fair-skinned boy standing on the right was the tallest of the three, even towering over many of the men that surrounded them; he had wild dark blue hair, spiky as it grew outward from his head, and reaching down to the back of his neck. His attire was what one would expect, a simple black hoodie and some jeans. But aside from his height, what one could also take notice of were the fingerless gloves on his hand, with metal studs on each knuckle.

"Yo, Natsuo."

Just then, the taller man, Natsuo, glanced at the man between the two, though he looked about average height for his age, he was noticeably smaller than Natsuo. As he opened his eyes, his yellow orbs reflected on the light around him. His brown hair was wild as well, though not nearly as spiky as, say, Natsuo. Rather than a hoodie, he wore a black shirt and a pair of black jeans, wearing a brown leather belt. Attached to that belt, and going into his pocket was a small chain, gold in color.

"What is it, Takeshi?"

The youth, Takeshi, glanced over at his ally.

"Those guys said they'd be around here, right?"

The third stepped forward, though noticeably shorter than the other two, his build was more stocky, to say the least. His rather muscular arms were put on display, as his sleeves stopped just before his shoulders. His black hair is shaved, nearly unnoticeable unless one got close enough.

"They'd better be... Selling on our turf, challenging us directly. Normally doing what they did would've just got them killed."

Takeshi glanced over at him.

"Got that right, Tsubasa, lucky for them, we're always up for a fight… "

Yamato Tsubasa, Inoue Takeshi, and Honda Natsuo, the three youths were infamous for not only their association with the Yamamoto-Gumi, yakuza that had a lot of influence in Neo-Tokyo, running whatever weapons they could, but their constant fights while getting these weapons delivered. Though many did not see it as anything special, they just saw it as another part of the society that formed after the Garsalan made their attacks. The three were just some of many who found themselves doing whatever they could to survive after the deaths of their respective families. This group had bonded over that since they were young children, about 7 years old. Three boys against the world, as they saw it. As they continued their walk, they would soon stop in front of a dimly lit alley, as they'd finally found them, standing below the alley's sole streetlight, were 4 Youths, all looking to be of similar age of the three in front of them.

Though, at the moment, they squatted in a circle, as they talked amongst themselves, unaware of their presence, at the least, until they started walking toward them. The first one to take note was a bald man with a rather pudgy face, the left half of which was consumed by burn scars. He had a rather large body that matched his face. His purple orbs moved toward the three as he took notice of them. Followed by him nudging the one beside him, a Broad-Shouldered black-haired boy, who, one could say, looked much too large for his age. A smirk crawled onto his face as he stood up, turning his gaze toward them, as did the other three.

"There you are...Actually had me thinking you three wouldn't show up, Inoue."

Inoue cracked his knuckles.

"Hah, like we'd run from some two-bit punks who don't know what they're getting into."

The bald one stepped forward, putting his fists up in front of him.

"Like You're one to talk. Think you're hot shit because you're the Yamamoto's Errand boys?"

"Nah, It's because we've taken weaklings like you out without breaking a sweat."

As Natsuo stated this, he put his hands up as well, soon followed by Takeshi and Tsubasa. An action that was met with the four preparing themselves as well. The black-haired one soon began a charge as he yelled out.

"We'll see who're the real weaklings here!!"

Soon, with a war cry that echoed through the streets around them, the 7 charged, meeting each other in the middle, and beginning a brawl. A left hook flew at Takeshi, from the Leader of the group, which the boy dodged as he stepped back. However, the man wasn't ready to let him get away, and soon prepared to go for another, but Natsuo stopped this, smashing his fist into his stomach, the man recoiled, stepping back, and holding his stomach. The bald one, alongside one with green hair, rushed forward, ready to strike Natsuo. Takeshi and Tsubasa nodded at one another as they rushed forward to intercept them. A kick from Takeshi smashed into the side of the green hair's legs, which soon gave out under him. Quickly thinking, he shoved him into the bald one's path, causing him to screech to a stop.

"What are you doing, idiot, get out of the way!"

"Did you not just see him-"

However, he was not allowed to finish, as Tsubasa stepped in front of him, launching an uppercut into his chin. One that seemed to lift his body as he fell back into Natsuo, who soon threw him aside. The black-haired one frowned, as he rushed back into the fray.

"Take this!"

His target glanced over as he spoke, seemingly unaware before the fist crashed into his face, his head lurching to the right. Takeshi skidded back as he took this punch. But, even so, he began to smirk. The hit hurt, no doubt about that… But that was why he knew that he'd found a challenge.

"Come on, Show me what you got!"

As he yelled, he soon began a dash over to the raven-haired youth, to return the favor, one fist protecting his chin, the other reeled back, and ready to strike. The other soon accepted his challenge, running toward him in the same fashion.

"You'd better do so too!"

The battle continued from there, An elegant show of strength, power, speed, technique… Or, at the least, that's how they saw it. To the growing crowd that lie on the edge of the street, which they'd grown unaware of, absorbed in their battles, did not see it the same way. Neither were the ones who arrived on the scene in white cars, their sirens blaring and echoing through the streets. Something that finally brought them all out of battle mode, and brought their attention back to what happened around them. The three cars stopped, and, within moments, emerging from them, were the Neo-Tokyo police. The crowd soon parted, and, so did the two groups. Takeshi frowned as a Familiar officer stepped forward, one with a long head of gray hair, and a beard of the very same color.

"Them Again…" He thought

The man known as Kawasaki Toshio. He stopped at the end of the alley, his eyes moving across them as he parted his mouth to speak.

"Inoue, Yamato, Honda... My three favorite Yuro-Uni(Night Urchins)…"

He began to step closer.

"Looks like we got lucky… Four more than usual."

As he began to step closer, the opponents glanced at one another. Though they didn't say anything, their intentions were clear, a sort of, silent truce, something that the officers didn't pick up on. Something that worked to their advantage many times before. And, it'd likely do so now. The black-haired one stepped forward as well.

"Who are you to interrupt us, Stopping a manly exchange of spirit like this?"

Toshio scoffed at his response.

"Exchange of spirit? All I see is some punks Exchanging fists…"

Soon, the boys prepared to make a run for it, beginning to face the other direction, scouting for an escape path, and whatever else was required.

"No, you don't…"

As Takeshi spoke, the aging officer turned his attention to him, raising an eyebrow at the boy's words.

"Hm? What do you mean we do-"

He was soon cut off as all seven quickly turned tail and began dashing away, splitting up as they cleared the end of the alley.

Toshio pointed at their disappearing forms.

"Don't just stand there, go after them!"

The officers soon did just that, however, the seven simply ignored this as they continued running. The black-haired boy glanced at Takeshi as they all ran.

"I'll be coming back to finish this tomorrow. The Name's Ryuji, don't forget!"

Soon, the four split off, and the three were left alone.

"We'll split up like usual, I'll see you guys at the Maglev!" Natsuo yelled.

The two nodded, Takeshi turned left, Tsubasa went right, And Natsuo continued in the central paths. Eventually, his friends left his sight, and he was left running alone. Though to his benefit, with what felt like minutes of jogging and running, he looked to be alone, the sound of boots against the ground stopped. And soon, so did he.

He stood there, huffing for some time, the dash he made having exhausted him. At this point, at least 10 blocks away from where he started. And he was only going to go further from there. He soon began walking through the streets once again, weaving through the crowds of people, as quickly as he could. Those friends of his getting arrested was not a result he was exactly fond of. He continued, ignoring the chatter around him until he heard a familiar voice from behind him,

"Inoue!"

As he heard his name spoken, Takeshi turned on his heel, putting his gaze on an approaching pale-skinned young woman, wearing a pair of jeans and a white tank-top. Her slanted purple eyes came to focus on the Youth as she stepped closer. As she pushed her back-length, platinum blonde hair away from her eyes. She was about average height, though, still much shorter than Takeshi. She was one of the many associated with the Yamamoto-Gumi. Kuba Kimiko. Takeshi began to walk toward her, stopping as he was just a few feet away from her.

"Kimiko… What brings you here?"

She paused for a moment before she began pacing around, almost appearing as if she was thinking of a response.

"Heard you three went to go fight those guys who just rolled into town… The guys higher up, uhm, wanted me to investigate…?"

Though, her words came out sounding like more of a question than a statement. A smile found its way onto Takeshi's face.

"Heh. I don't believe that for a second… You came to check on us, didn't you."

She averted her gaze, as the two stood in silence for some time.

"Alright, you got me… Heard those guys are actually well-known in some towns around here. Thought they might be a problem."

As he took note of her worried tone, Takeshi began to avert his gaze as well, before he turned away.

"No need to do that. After all, you know we can handle it."

As Takeshi finished, Kimiko turned away as well.

"Well, I guess you're right... I'm gonna head home, I'll see you three tomorrow, alright?"

Now, Kimiko began to walk away, and so did Takeshi. This was something he'd grown used to, having known her for quite a while, though he never did understand why she wasn't honest with her statements, it wasn't something he dwelled on. Resuming his walk through the streets, until he came to the base of elevated tracks that served as a station for the city's maglevs. Takeshi ascended on the studded steel stairs until he came to the top of the platform. His eyes began to scan the crowds of people as he stepped forward.

"Man...Where are those two Bozos?"

For a few moments, he continued to look around, until his question was answered as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Right Here."

He looked over his shoulder, as he saw the blue-haired youth standing there.

"There you two are, Looks like we all got back."

Tsubasa leaned on the chain fence that served as a barrier to the streets below, leaning his head back on it as he sighed.

"They always manage to show up when things are getting good, Huh?"

"Yeah… If we wouldn't get locked up for it, I'd fight them by now. For all the good fights they interrupted, should at least give us compensation." Takeshi Responded.

The third, Natsuo, chuckled at this.

"Yeah, Like THAT's ever gonna happen."

The three continued for a few minutes, they spoke of the fights they had, the ones they'd have later, the situation with the other groups in the area like they normally did. For a few minutes, at the least.

"Alright, I'm gonna head home."

Takeshi turned on his heel, waving the two off as he began walking away.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Natsuo waved back at him as he left, before he turned back to Tsubasa, as the two began talking once again. Takeshi turned them out as he descended upon the stairs, and made his way back onto the streets once again.

"Man...I need to get my money up, I can't be living in that shack the rest of my life…"

He would soon shove his hands into his pockets, as he continued to walk off, his mind soon drifting to other things. What he took in as his gaze moved around. Knowing he had some enemies around her, as did his friends, getting ambushed wasn't exactly something he looked forward to. He wasn't stupid, anyone could figure out how wrong a five on one, or possibly more could end up. Though, thankfully for him, he did not see much of anyone.

"Well...Looks like I'm g---"

Takeshi's movements stopped, as his thought process halted... Something that wasn't unique to him, many of those around him stopped walking as well, interrupting the usual hustle and bustle. Soon, the eyes of all those there drifted to the sky, as an all too familiar sign filled their ears… Throughout the city, a shrill tone played from the intercoms. From the lower districts to the skyscraper-filled city center. This tone, the dreaded sound that most hoped to not hear… They all recognized it.

"....Garsalan."

He clenched his fist, as he simply thought of the name. His blood began to boil, and his anger simmered. There were not many on earth who didn't have hate, or, at the least, a strong dislike for the Garsalan. Takeshi was no different. Most knew what the Garsalan did as they made first contact, and of the raids, they did on major cities to keep the humans down. The memories of which began to run through Takeshi's head.

"This is my chance…" He whispered.

As he spoke, his ears were filled with a loud boom, as the ground under them shook. It was then that he looked to the horizon, and began to see the spire's in the center of the city fall, destroyed by the streams of laser fire that came from the mass of Garsalan Ships. And, as if that weren't enough. the hum of an engine soon filled his ears as well, the sky above him was soon filled with blue light, streaming from an airship, that began to descend upon them, until the bay doors opened, and out came the Garsalan. Their exoskeleton seemed much thicker, with armored plates tacked on, but that wasn't what caught their eye… Rather, it was the guns held in their hands. One of the Garslan stepped to the front, the horn on its head, showing it was male, had a red cloth wrapped around it. Identifying him as the Squad's commander. For a few moments, the armed men stood in silence, until a deep garbled voice came from the commander.

"Yui cluw whed du nu... FAISA !!"

Though they could not understand his words, as he pointed his palm at them, his intentions were clear. Soon, the horde of people began to break apart. Though, even with their attempts at an escape, many of them were unfortunate, caught within the oncoming hail of gauss rifle rounds. Something none of their bodies could bear, limbs ripped off with single shots, the roads below them running red with the blood of the City's inhabitants... Takeshi's rage grew as this continued, as his eyes flew around at the people falling limp, and then, back to the soldiers, more specifically, the shortest of them all.

"If I can get just one of their guns…"

Takeshi soon rushed to put his plan into action, Ducking under the storm of bullets, as he dashed across the street, careful enough that he went beneath their notice. As he made it to the other end of the street, he turned and began to charge at his target. At first, his approach went unnoticed, until, the being began to hear the tapping of footsteps. His eyes darted to his left, as he saw Takeshi standing there, his fist reeled back... Though, it was a moment too late, as his fist slammed into the being's chitin, knocking him over. Something that caught the attention of his allies. Though, as quick as they were to turn to him, Takeshi was no slower in picking up the rifle and taking shots with the pull of a trigger. Though the other troops took cover, one soon found his chest exploding as he was hit with a shot.

"F'rel!"

"Delnan Tassel, Fusir irruis llaisa ul hain!!"- "Danmed Terran, Focus your fire on him!!"

And that they did. Takeshi cursed under his breath as he jumped into cover, behind a car on the side of the road though, not before a shot flew past his shoulder, leaving a gash on his skin… In hindsight, not the best Idea. As he sat behind the car, the rounds flying by him, he finally decided on his plan of action.

"Looks like it's time for plan B…"

His gaze fell on a manhole cover to his left, as he sighed.

"I hate plan B"

Takeshi sighed as he bolted toward the manhole, ringing off shots back at the Garsalan to his... An Ill-advised choice, given the recoil, was nearly knocking him over. The man struggled to stay standing as he got to the manhole, pulling off the cover, and moving it to the side. Something the commander took notice of.

""Dul'd rad hain Ersefa!"

They soon began giving chase, firing off all the while, but, by that point, Takeshi pinched his nose, leaping down, and bringing the cover back on top. He cleared the ladder next and finally came into the dimly lit waterway. He stood there for a few moments before he began walking.

"Danm, it always smells terrible down here... Then again, I guess it IS a sewer after all."

Now with not much else to do, he began to mull over the events, the past they'd reminded him of, and his future plans.

"This ain't lookin' too good... I don't play my cards right, I won't make it out of here…"

No matter how he looked at it, trying to rush into a squad, or, rather, the squads of troops that were probably swarming all the streets right now, was ill-advised at best. Even then...He wasn't ready to just sit there and do nothing. Not with what just happened up there. It was as these thoughts ran through his head, however, that a low humming began to fill his ears. Takeshi looked up in confusion, as he began to look around for the source.

"The hell?"

Eventually, his orbs fell on the tunnel to his right, as a red light filled his eyes. That was, strange, no doubt. Yet, he began to approach it. As he drew closer, the humming only grew more intense. Then, he took note of an opening in the wall, deciding to play it safe, he peeked over the corner. And it was then that he saw it… A gigantic humanoid suit of armor, its metal exterior jet black. Along with the cannons on the machine's shoulders, that resembled a honeycomb. His mouth fell agape, as he stepped farther out. And then, he took a look at the source of the light, the single long "Eye" Located on the Machine's head.

"It looks like a Vanguard Armor, but… None that I've ever seen. Is it one of those Garsalan weapons? They have something similar, I heard."

Takeshi began to rub his chin in thought.

"Forget it... Whatever the case is, I don't see anyone attending it."

Soon, he began a dash toward it, his boots splashing in the waters below him as he did so. It was then, and only then, that he saw the faded white paint labeling the machine's leg. He squinted his eyes as he attempted to read it. He stood there for a minute or two, but, afterward, he finally made out the characters marking it.

"ガオジナイザー"

"Gaojinizer…? a Weird name, but that doesn't matter to me… How do I get into this thing."

Soon, just like that, the cockpit hatch opened, and, down-dropped a wire ladder... Strange, but convenient, he swiftly climbed and stepped into the cockpit. His eyes moved around as he took in his surroundings, in the center of the cockpit was a seat with all of the machine's controls. He also took note of the surrounding walls, or, rather, screens, that displayed the area around him.

He began to take steps toward the seat.

"All things considered… This doesn't look too hard."

He dashed over to the seat and grasped the gloves that sat on the side, connected to the main seat by wires. He soon slipped them on, as his hands went to the levers on each side of the machine. And soon, out came a holographic display, showing the youth the machine's diagnostics. Soon after, a robotic voice, the suit's AI, sounded through the cockpit.

"Pilot Biosignature Recorded… Access Granted."

Soon, a smile found its way onto Takeshi's face.

"Access granted, huh... In that case, let's see what this thing can do!"

Takeshi soon shoved the left lever forward, swiftly followed by the second... Too, disappointing results, as the machine soon came crashing down, something the boy took notice of.

"Sh-"

His words were unfinished, as the cockpit shook with the impact, so did he. Takeshi rubbed the back of his head, which took the brunt of the impact.

"That could've gone better…"

His eyes went to the display once again, and he took notice of something.

"Auto-Balance System, huh… Would've been good to know about before I busted my ass."

Takeshi soon tapped the display, and moved the levers once again, one back, another forward. And soon, his hands went to the levers just behind them, moving the arms as a result, soon, the Gaojinizer came back to its standing position. He glanced down at the controls once again.

"Legs, Arms, right… Now, Let's see what else this thing has."

He thought back to the cannons that lay on its shoulders, and, his eyes scanned over the display until he took note of something, Comet Pulse cannons, it said. The output was marked at 10%.

"There we go…"

Takeshi soon tapped it, and, rising in front of him, were two red buttons, something he soon figured out, were what fired the thing… After all, it wasn't very subtle. Takeshi began to move the machine's levers, and the cannons moved to the roof. His hands drifted to the buttons, as he tapped them, out came bursts of beam fire, ripping apart the concrete that covered the roof, sending rubble cascading downward. Though the falling debris was trivial at best, the machine's armor was not even scratched.

"Alright, LET's Move!!"

Soon, his eyes fell onto the display once more, and the direction was quite simple, Activate Verniers. And, with a tap of his finger, the machine blasted off, sending him lurching back into his seat. At the least, he did at first, but, the machine's thrusters seemed to adjust themselves, and, for a moment, the machine remained airborne. The red light coming from its thrusters fills the sky around it and catches the attention of the soldiers, and remaining citizens alike. However, Takeshi's attention was not on that, rather, it was on the long black ship in front of him. The ship that had since been identified as The Garsalan's Jul'Mas class battlecruiser, the first ship found during first contact. On the bridge of said ship, the commander of the ship looked on in confusion.

"Whed?! Whu'r OD air dhed?"(What, Who's OD is that?")

A member of his crew glanced back at him.

"Wa'sa lud risa, rais, lu IFF nadasdan!" (We're not sure, sir, No IFF detected!")

While this conversation continued, Takeshi's eyes fell upon the output slider… He soon dragged his finger across it, bringing it up to 40%... A fire seemed to formed, as his hands inched toward the firing buttons once again.

"It's time to make you pay, GARSALAN!!!"

HE soon smashed the two buttons, and, soon, out came two gigantic red particle beams from each shoulder. The captain of the ship looked on in surprise, and raised his hand, preparing to give an escape order, but, It was much too late. The blast soon ripped through the ship's shields, the energy field collapsing where the beams were hit, and the ship itself was no different. Maintenance crews, Pilots, and their commanders were ripped apart as the ship's framing began to take the form of twisted metal. And, by the time the beam had stopped, the ship soon exploded. The explosive force of which went on to shake the mass of ships around it, as well as the buildings below. It was bright, blinding those who bear witness… The Troops directly below the machine only gazed up at it.

"Whed air dhed neshaila?!" - ("What is that machine?!")

"Id nardusirran e Csiairas ail Ola rhud!!!" -("It destroyed a Cruiser in One shot!!!")

"Id her du fa ula ull uisr, dhasa'r lu weirr Tasselr Csaedan dhed!!( - "It has to be one of ours, there's no way Terrans Created that!!!-)

The Terran within the machine, however, either did not notice or did not care. Takeshi Inoue did not take his eyes off of the exploding ship, his handiwork.

"This power… I know what I need to do… It's about time I show these Roaches what we're made of!!"