to the beginning

Summary: Space was vast.

It was one of those things that everyone knew but few would ever experience. Even fewer would truly experience the cruel nothingness of space. It was one thing to hop on a charter to one of the colonies that orbited the Earth or to go to the moon and vice versa.

In a world where space travel has become more accessible, Ren Amamiya is saved by legendary pilot, Yu Narukami. Inspired, he aims to become a pilot and has his world changed forever when Prince Marth of Altea, the alien planet Earth was at war at, crashes onto Earth.

Author's Notes: admittedly, my mecha au is pretty half-baked worldbuilding-wise. it's a lot of stuff that i just like in anime, RPGs and space-themed media. it also just shamefully rips off gundam and voltron legendary defender LOL. think of it just as... vibes. also i most definitely got science shit wrong sorry lol.

Space was vast.

It was one of those things that everyone knew but few would ever experience. Even fewer would truly experience the cruel nothingness of space. It was one thing to hop on a charter to one of the colonies that orbited the Earth or to go to the moon and vice versa. It was another thing to be one of the workers on these colonies who watched the sun rise over the homeworld with only a tether keeping them from floating into the nothingness of it all.

Ren watched the planet from his assigned spot. Sweat rolled down his face inside his suit as he tried to ignore how bright it was out here. He swallowed. His hands were jittery as he struggled to perform the extremely simple maintenance on The ATLUS.

It all happened too soon.

Mobile suits jetted across the open expanse of space. There was no air in space. So, he didn’t hear the thunderous shots of bullets raining down or the sound of the beam saber slicing through the non-existent air. Not until it was too late. Explosions collapsed in on themselves as warships closed in on ATLUS.

“Amamiya! Get in!” Mishima’s voice crackled over the speaker in his suit. “Hurry before—”

Another explosion rang through the air. Ren watched as the tether keeping him attached to the ship snapped and he began to float away. Pure panic pulsed through his system as he thrashed, desperately reaching for the floating tether and trying to swim towards it only to be thrown further and further away. Without realizing it, he gulped down the air in his tank desperately as he floated further and further out. Bullets whipped past him as he watched the ATLUS fight with Altea once more. Charcoal eyes watched as the ship took bullet after bullet from other ships and mobile suits.

‘I’m going to die here.’

Ice water washed down his back as he travelled further and further away, just barely managing to avoid the battles happening. He could feel the heat of the blasts as the stars twinkled in the distance. Explosions fired off like the fireworks he used to watch on Earth during summer. Tears welled up in his eyes and floated inside his helmet.

He didn’t know how long he floated until his back smashed against something cold, hard, and incredibly solid. The impact thankfully wasn’t enough to make his helmet shatter. His eyes shot open as he spun to turn to see what his merciful saviour or perhaps the thing that’d make him see his maker was. A mobile suit.

The cockpit opened up. Its pilot waved towards him.

“You’re with ATLUS, right? Get in,” a kind voice called out to him over the communication system. Gulping, Ren tried to pull his way toward the cockpit before making it inside. The pilot motioned towards the dual seat behind his. It was small and offered no real support but it’d keep him still and out of the way as the pilot did his job. “I’m Yu. Who are you?”

Yu... why did that name sound familiar?

“...R-Ren.”

“Okay, Ren. You’ll be safe with me, alright?” Ren could hear the smile in Yu’s voice while he strapped himself into the second seat. “I gotta try to drive these guys out but this is the second safest spot you’ll be besides The ATLUS... Or Earth, I guess.”

Ren blinked as the pilot chuckled to himself before diving into battle. The force of the mobile suit was intense. It was a miracle that he didn’t vomit. He watched as Yu effortlessly piloted through the chaotic scene. Pure awe shone in the brunet’s eyes as Yu fought. Eventually, the battle ended just as fast as it began. He charged towards the still intact ATLUS. The mobile suit eventually landed on the vessel. Yu unstrapped himself from his seat and helped Ren out of his. “What did I tell you? We made it out alright.”

“Y-yeah, thanks.”

Yu smiled at him as they stepped out of the cockpit and into ATLUS’ hangar. Yu pulled off his helmet to reveal his silver hair and it was then that he realized who had saved him.

Yu Narukami, ace pilot. The Lightning Rider.

Stars sparkled in Ren’s eyes as he watched Rise Kujikawa, superstar idol extraordinaire, race toward the ace pilot. She jumped into his arms and crashed her lips onto his. The two kissed properly as the hangar cheered for the couple. Ren watched as his heart ached.

☆ ☆ ☆

Space was vast.

Unlike Earth, Altean, and other planets in the Intelligent System space travel was eons ahead. Space wasn’t this beautiful mysterious thing anymore. It was something to be conquered and still feared. The race originated from Altea and slowly migrated to other territories. Travel was easier for them due to their advanced understanding of science and the strange atmosphere that Earth could only describe as ‘magic’. Their mobile suits were powerful. Scarily powerful. A psychic link between the pilot and the ship allowed for immaculate combat.

It was no wonder that the Earth Federation grew resentful of the other planet. How could it not when they just showed up on Earth one day and effectively changed history?

Prince Marth of Altea watched the Earthen sky in awe as colours exploded and twinkled down upon them. It was like the drone shows on Altea, though a lot showier with the loud explosions that he could feel in his two hearts and the heavy scent of gunpowder that lingered in the heavy air. ‘If only Caeda were here.’

He fell in love with Earth and its colourful cultures, not knowing what was to come in the next decade.

☆ ☆ ☆

Months had passed since Ren’s rescue. He had been going through life listlessly up until that moment. He knew he didn’t want to fight in the war. He was complacent with just being a janitor who knew how to do simple mechanical repairs. Now, after watching Yu Narukami weave in and out of combat effortlessly and feeling his heart race every time he saw his hero in the halls of the ATLUS, he made a decision. He was going to be a pilot. He was going to ride with Yu again.

Even if it killed him.

The training was hard. Incredibly so. Vomiting after drills and practice was a common sight to see him in. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before taking a long sip of water. “Shit, Kamoshida’s a hardass,” he muttered to himself. His nose still ached from the strike across his face from being a ‘insubordinate piece of shit’. He smirked to himself. It hurt but it was worth making that admittedly pretty unfunny joke much to the amusement of him and fellow bunkmate, Ryuji Sakamoto.

His nose continued to ache even after Ryuji snapped it back in place. “That effin’ asshole, he knows we gotta go to Earth tomorrow. Sorry, Renren. I did my best. It’s gonna hurt like a motherfucker when we hit the atmosphere...”

Ren rolled his shoulders. “It’s whatever.”

Ryuji rolled his eyes. “Quit tryin’ to act so cool!”

The two snickered.

☆ ☆ ☆

Marth panted. His webbed fingers ran along his neck and tugged at the collar of his plugsuit. The tiara on his head began to slip down his sweat-laden forehead as he travelled toward Earth. He knew this was risky. He knew this was treason. He knew it was all sorts of bad. However, letting things go unsaid was infinitely worse. He wouldn’t simply stand by and let his kingdom and this magnificent planet fall to ruin for the gain of a few. His sharp teeth sank into his bottom lip as his mobile suit hit Earth’s atmosphere. He flipped a few switches and a fine film glossed across the smooth cerulean finish of his mobile suit, saving him from burning up in the atmosphere. Still, it was an incredibly rocky ride as he let gravity pull him down onto the planet.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Alright, we’re going to be doing mobile suit training. You maggots will need to learn how to fight in both zero-g and on-planet environments,” Kamoshida muttered as he paced in front of the cadets. Ren rolled his eyes as the man prattled on and checked off every box in the drill sergeant stereotype list. “I do hope that you all will actually take this training to heart. Do I make myself clear?!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Get into your mobile suits and show me what you can do.”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

The cadets all rushed into their respective mobile suits. They were simple mass-produced ones. Only the most celebrated pilots and soldiers got customized mobile suits, after all. Ren flushed at the memory of him being rescued by Yu and did not immediately recognize the iconic Izanagi-08. One day, he’d make it and have his own suit. He was sure of it. He’d one day be part of the Wild Card unit that Yu was a part of with Minato and Hamuko Arisato and Aigis, a foreign pilot that not many knew about. There were other members who were associated with the Wild Cards before retirement or simply rejected the offer and opted to operate on their own. Admittedly, it was mostly a status thing. It was a status that Ren wanted.

Ren sucked in a deep, shaky breath as he locked himself into the cockpit of his Persona-96. His hands rested on the twin control sticks. He gave them a gentle squeeze as the systems began to boot up properly. His eyes closed.

“Clear for take off.”

“Amamiya, taking off!” he shouted as he pushed on the sticks and pulled the ignition trigger. The suit lurched forward before the tracks below him shot him off the runway and above the roaring ocean. The thrusters stuttered but eventually got started. He glided across the ocean, steadily picking up speed before he charged the thrusters again. Eventually, he got air. The suit still felt heavy. Incredibly so. It was awkward but incredibly freeing. Steadily, he climbed higher and higher into the sky. The g-forces kept him glued to the seat as he flew higher and higher into the blue sky. He longed to feel the wind whipping through his hair and the spray of the ocean on his skin but he kept his cockpit closed. Like a good boy.

As he grew surrounded by cirrus clouds that whisped around him like candy floss in the machine, he blinked when something beeped on his radar. His eyes flickered towards it. A mobile suit was picked up.

“Must be one of the others...” he mumbled to himself. ‘Probably should meet up with them.’

He flew towards the signal only to blink at the sight. A cerulean mobile suit that twinkled like sapphires under the intense sun that rocketed towards the earth. It wasn’t like anything he had seen before. His eyes narrowed.

“Is this one of ours?” he asked control.

“Pardon?” answered Makoto, a young woman who worked in communications. “Can you send us footage?”

Tapping on a few screens, Ren hit record on his camera and chased after the falling blue mobile suit. “This one.”

Silence hung in the air before a new voice came in. The deep, angry baritone of Kamoshida blasted in Ren’s ear drums. “That is not one of our suits! It’s a filthy Altean. You have permission to shoot it down!”

Ren blinked. Alteans?! Here?!

His mouth grew dry as he charged towards it. His hands gripped the control sticks tighter as he throttled the thrusters and chased them down.

“What are you waiting for?! Take the shot!”

Ren sucked in a shaky breath. His eyes closed as his heart raced. Could he really end another life? Why wasn’t this something he considered before joining the military? Was he a coward? How bad would things be if he said no?

“Take. The. Shot.”

Finally, he pulled the trigger. Again. Again. Again and again.

☆ ☆ ☆

Curses flew from Marth’s bleeding maw as his mobile suit was hit again and again. He lurched back only for the Earthling mobile suit to chase after him. He raised his beam saber and attempted to deflect the bullets with the white-hot plasma. However, the wild pilot continued to chase and shoot. Tears stung at his eyes as he struggled to keep his mobile suit steady. Panic pulsed through his system. He should have sent a signal or message to Earth before attempting to breach their territory, he knew that. However, he couldn’t risk the wrong people catching him.

He supposed this was repentance for being Altean.

His eyes screwed themselves shut as another blast hit his suit.

Was this how he was going to go out? A failure of a prince? He gripped the controls of his mobile suit and bit back a cruel laugh.

Another shot and the alarms of his mobile suit rang nonstop. He spun out of control and hit the ocean below.

'I'm going to die here.'

☆ ☆ ☆

“Good job. Head back to HQ,” Kamoshida called out.

However, something kept Ren going. He rushed to the crashed mobile suit. Something called out to him.

“Shouldn’t I check for any potential survivors?”

“Don’t bother. Return to HQ.”

He swallowed but continued to head to the crash site despite his superior’s griping. His still-healing nose ached as the mobile suit hovered above the ocean, his eyes scanning both the 360-degree camera feed and the radar. Eventually, something caught his eye. He kept the engine running as he cracked open the cock pit and held out its hand slightly lower. He crawled onto the hand and squinted at the sight; the cerulean mobile suit impaled on rocks along the coast. He swallowed as he dove towards the water and swam towards the rocks, and the waves continued to crash over and over again. He struggled to scale the sharp rocks, slipping a few times, but eventually made it. His hands ran along where he assumed the cockpit’s override was. Eventually, the suit cracked open.

Inside was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

A young humanoid with bluish-green scales surrounding his face. His webbed fingers stayed gripped on the controls of the mobile suit. Blue blood dripped from his lips and nose. Ren blinked as he reached for the Altean, the first one he had ever seen up close.

Slowly, the Altean’s eyes opened to reveal the most intense shade of blue Ren had ever seen.