Empty alleyways.
Peeling asphalt.
Leaden skies as far as the eye can see.
This is where I belong.
There was a time when this place was the center of the world...
Or so the old geezers once told me.
But there's no sign of that anywhere now.
No Future.
There is no future for us.
Crap! Crap! Crap!
Ritchie?
--What's wro-- --Lyde, run!
Damn it! Go away!
I said, go away!
What the heck?
Am I gonna die without having done anything?
No! No! I don't want that!
I don't want to end here!
--We're... saved?
--Holy cow... --We're... saved?
Drawing at a time like this?
Yeah.
So that I'll never forget this moment.
"Day of Rage"
Whew! It's freezing!
The boss is gonna yell at you again for slacking off.
I know.
Huh? Were you reminiscing about that day again?
Yeah.
It's been ten years, man.
You've become an old, old man.
And yet, you're still a virgin.
Hey, shut up, moron.
--Boss! --You stinking little brat!
--Did you do something again? --You stinking little brat!
Did you think you could steal from the till and not get caught?!
The hell you say?!
Kn-Knock it off!
I could easily find a replacement for a dirty little brat like you!
So, will you pay back what you stole this instant?
Or will you quit your job here? Pick one!
I ain't paying you back! And I ain't quitting!
So you did take it?
You damn brat...
I hate to interrupt when you're busy, but...
Would you mind not quitting until you've fixed this for me?
Whoa! Awesome! I haven't seen a vintage amp in ages!
L-L-L-Lyde, my dear boy...
I wonder if it'll really be okay...
It'll be totally okay.
He might not look it, but Lyde's good with his hands.
He's been the best at tinkering with gadgets ever since he was little.
Also, he's crazy good at drawing.
So, you two have known each other for a long time.
Yup, we've been together since we were five.
What're you chitchatting about?
Hey, you're done already?
There were loose connections in the power circuit.
Also, the amplifier was on its last leg, so I replaced some parts.
But I'm sure you'll want to see for yourself.
--Oh... --Ritchie, watch the shop for me.
Sure thing.
Wait, where are we going?
Well, just come with me.
This is the Londinium Patrol Squad.
This zone has been designated
as the theater of implementation for Operation Godfather.
--All unauthorized persons are asked to leave immediately.
--Ooh! It's so responsive! --All unauthorized persons are asked to leave immediately.
Wow...
How is it?
It's better than perfect!
I'm not sure I remember the last time it moved so well.
Oh, yeah. Do you wanna go for a ride?
A ride? Me?
Yup. You fixed it for me. You've got a right to ride it, too.
No one's ever said that to me before.
Hup.
It's not meant for two, so it might be a bit cramped, but...
Well? Doesn't it feel great?
This is awesome!
You are encroaching on restricted airspace.
Turn back immediately.
Huh?!
You have been warned. Turn back immediately!
--Aw, that's no fun.
--This seriously ticks me off. --Aw, that's no fun.
Isn't that...
That's... Ritchie, right?
That ass. I told him to watch the shop.
Where is he going?
What's he doing?
What's he doing? Well, that's...
Professing his love, I'm sure.
Professing his love?!
Wow...
Now, then...
Whoops. It should be ending soon.
Well, shall we get back to the shop?
O-Oh, sure.
But, man, he sure never gets tired of it.
He tries over and over again, and he gets rejected every single time.
I'll have to be there to comfort him again.
Ritchie!
What happened to you?!
That hurt!
You stinking old geezer!
Where the hell were you wandering about, leaving your post at the shop?!
I wasn't wandering about anywhere!
Uh-oh, this is looking a bit déjà vu here...
I only went with a customer to test the amp I'd fixed.
Don't give me that back talk!
There you go again, doing these stupid drawings.
Fancy yourself a full-fledged artist, do you?
Give that back!
You planning on becoming an artist and leaving this town or something?
Hah! What nonsense!
You're going to work here for the rest of your life until you die.
Handling something important in that way...
It's not something a proper adult does.
Th-Th-That's...
Here.
And here's your payment.
Big Bro!
Huh?
Cheers!
Haven't laughed like that in ages.
The look on the boss's face when that bundle of cash was thrown at him!
What's wrong, Big Bro? What's with the long face?
I got carried away and did all that,
but now I'm having second thoughts.
Of course, it was fine, Big Bro.
An old asshole like him
can keep counting coins in the trash heap for the rest of his life!
Right, Big Bro?
Would you knock it off with that "Big Bro" thing?
No matter how you look at it, I'm younger than you guys.
Come to think of it, we still don't know what your name is, do we?
My name?
Now that you mention it... I'm Lyde.
And this guy is Ritchie.
Yo.
I'm Nir.
What're you here in Londinium for?
What for?
It's not like I especially had some goal.
I stirred up a bit of trouble in the last place I was at...
And you hightailed it out of there?!
That sounds kinda cool!
Not at all. It wasn't like that.
I see, so you don't have anywhere to stay.
Then, come stay with us tonight.
There's something I want you to see.
--Come on, this way.
--Lyde! --Come on, this way.
--First thing you say is "I'm home"!
--Oh, shut up. --First thing you say is "I'm home"!
Long time no see, ma'am.
Pardon my intrusion.
--Did you all eat already?
--Damn it. --Did you all eat already?
If it's soup, there's still a little left.
All right, already.
Who's she?
She's our mum. I mean, not like our real one, but...
Our parents and relatives all got offed in the Earless air raids, so...
Sorry, I didn't know.
Vivienne is the upstanding old bat who took us in.
Ready, set...
This is the thing we saw today during the day.
Yup. It's one of the Londinium Patrol Squad's Equipment.
We found it, broken and abandoned!
Amazing, right, Big Bro?
I want you...
...to pilot this thing.
Me?
I say pilot it, but it's under repairs right now.
How do you like my special soup?
It's so good! I couldn't get anything this good, even in Chelsea!
Oh, Ritchie, you are such a flatterer.
Well, I'm going to go ahead and turn in,
--so I'll leave it to you to clean up.
--So bland... --so I'll leave it to you to clean up.
I can't believe you're drinking that disgusting stuff.
What? I think it's good, though.
Gag.
All that aside, about that Equipment again...
It's looking like it'll be complete real soon.
Still, we're not Players, so even when it's complete, we can't pilot it.
So, please!
We want you to pilot it in our place.
Of course, we'll take care of you while you're here.
I mean, not that we have much.
But please! I'm begging you!
Is it... all right for me to be here?
What are you saying, Big Bro?
That's a given. Right?
Of course!
Thank you.
Then, it's settled.
All right!
Say, Big Bro...
We'll be able to activate the Equipment, right?
Yeah...
I'm sure...
If you're passionate about it, I'm sure it'll work out...
...is what I think.
It looks like I've gotten caught up in something weird, Echo.
Oh, dear! Did I wake you?
Oh, no...
Making an adorable guest like you sleep on the sofa!
I'll have to have a strong word with that child.
Um, where are Lyde and Ritchie?
The balcony.
They seem to have woken up early to go rummaging about.
I see...
So, you're finally awake.
Top of the morning to you, Big Bro.
Now, then, since we got canned,
starting today, we can dedicate our time to this thing!
Well, then, here's to another day of giving it our...
...all!
Snow...
My heart's kinda beating out of my chest.
So, how is it? Think it'll activate?
Hmm, hard to say. I'll just have to try it for starters.
It's dangerous, so stay back a bit.
--Ooh! --It's running!
What is this?
You okay?
I'm okay.
But...
So, to begin with,
what do you want to accomplish by getting this Equipment running?
What do I want...
I want to stick it to them.
I want to stick it to the people in that tower who control this city.
Those high and mighty bastards who take whatever they want from us.
They told us that we're powerless to do anything,
and I'm gonna stick it to the bastards who dissed us!
Hey, there, all of you.
I'd like for someone to go pick up the Christmas cake.
Christmas...
I'm an antichrist, so...
I couldn't care less about some stranger's birthday.
Honestly, you are too much. Well, then...
I'll go.
Really?
It just so happens that I got some time on my hands.
Presents for boys...
I have no idea what I should get!
Yeah.
Are these Christmas presents?
N-No...?
All right, then it's fine.
Also, that thing you've got parked out there.
--What? --If the Council Unit folks spot it, they'll get pesky about it,
so hide it in the back alley.
Thank you, mister.
Talk about a brush with danger.
I was in a hurry, so I came out in this, but...
Now, then...
The cake shop she told me about is...
What's that?
Earless approaching Londinium.
All residents are asked to remain calm
and take refuge in a nearby shelter.
On Christmas?! What the hell?!
--Earless approaching Londinium.
--What is that? --Earless approaching Londinium.
--There's something flashing! --All residents are asked to remain calm
--Where? --Look! At the top of the tower. --All residents are asked to remain calm
--Look! At the top of the tower. --and take refuge in a nearby shelter.
Quickly get to a nearby shelter...
The decision has been made to implement Operation Godfather.
In order to guide the giant Earless "Queen,"
here, in the West End district, scrapping will commence.
Scrapping?!
I repeat.
With the implementation of Operation Godfather,
the scrapping of this district will commence.
This is messed up.
Wrecking their own town...
Those high and mighty bastards who take whatever they want from us.
Lyde! Ritchie!
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
What the hell is going on?!
Why are they targeting us?!
Shouldn't they be targeting that huge-ass Earless?!
I'm sure...
If you're passionate about it, I'm sure it'll work out...
...is what I think.
I'm gonna do it.
Do what?!
Those cockroachy bastards...
And those freaking Earless...
And this shitty situation...
I'll wreck it all, the whole lot of them!
You... That's...
And I'll prove it to them!
The Player's plug!
That I'm alive!
Oh, crap!
Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Oh, crap!
But this is crazy cool!
Go faster, you piece of junk!
What the--?
Lyde?!
Woo-hoo!
Lyde! Ritchie! How are you piloting that thing?!
Hey, Big Bro!
I don't really get why, but a jack opened up in my back!
You know, it's like you said.
If I'm passionate about it, it's sure to work out!
What the heck is up with that thing?!
Big Bro, we'll be waiting for you up ahead!
You heard him!
You idiot! Don't do this!
Lyde, could it be that you're getting cold feet?
You could say that.
What about you?
Me, too.
I've thought about this for a long time.
That I want to be like that guy I saw when we were little.
In my head, I knew that was impossible.
But I couldn't give up on it.
Let's go and do this.
Let's show them that we aren't just pieces of garbage!
Yeah!
To win a fight, first, you crush the enemy boss!
--Go! --We'll prove it to them that we're alive!
God Save the...
...Queen!
Lyde!
Did we...
...do it?
That's...
That's...!
This is a test run.
Everything is within the realm of what we expected.
No problems here.
Why are you...
Why are you here, Mu?!
I can't stop thinking since then...
That if I hadn't said that their wish would surely come true,
maybe those two wouldn't have gotten on that Equipment.
Dying defending the country...
That's not what I wanted you two to do.
All I wanted was for you to enjoy my soup.
That maybe it would've been better if I hadn't met you two.
Mu, I will never forgive you.
And, Echo,
where the hell are you right now?
Visible from the watchtower is the rowdy banquet of the poor.
The children twirl and dance to the beat of sha-la-la-la-lee.
And the boy learns that you do not always get what you want.
On the holy day, the snow comes down thick.
The curtain rises on the stage and you quietly transcend the rainbow.
As you murmur such words as, "Who in the world am I?"
"Real Me" "Real Me."
The Player's world is about to change.