Plot summary of Xenogears/Part 1

The first part of Xenogears, consisting of chapters 1 to 16, is set in Aveh and introduces the world as well as the political struggles surrounding Aveh.

Chapter 1: Lahan Village
A gigantic spaceship undergoes a cyberattack. The crew's efforts to stop the attack fail, as do evacuation procedures. The captain sets the ship to self-destruct, and its remains rain down on a nearby planet. A purple-haired woman emerges from the wreckage.

Expository text explains that the continent of Ignas is split into two countries, Kislev and Aveh. These nations have fought each other for centuries without cause that anyone remembers. The fighting is aided by powerful mechs called Gears, excavated from the ruins of civilisations past by the world-culture-preserving institution Ethos. More recently, a mysterious military force named Gebler has aided Aveh in the fight.

In the village of Lahan near the Kislev-Aveh border, a young man named Fei fights enemy Gears, against the wishes of a man named Citan. The scene of the burning village morphs into one of Fei painting in the (now-peaceful) village. Fei has lived in the village for the past 3 years with no memories of his life before after being taken there by a masked man, and tomorrow is the wedding of his friends Timothy and Alice. Timothy is excited for the wedding, but Alice's little brother Dan openly tells Fei that he'd rather Fei marry Alice instead, and Alice herself lets slip in a private conversation with Fei that things may have been different had she known Fei for longer.

Chapter 2: Mountain Path
Fei heads to the house of the village doctor, Citan Uzuki, to pick up supplies for the wedding. Citan is busy repairing a helicopter-esque machine, so he directs Fei into a storeroom where a music box from ancient ruins has been repaired. Fei recognises the tune it plays, although he doesn't know from where.

Chapter 3: Fallen Shadows
After dinner and with wedding supplies in hand, Fei heads out from Citan's house and heads back to Lahan, but is interrupted by Gears from the direction of Kislev flying towards Lahan overhead. Fei and Citan rush to the village, where the Gears have broken out in battle. Citan and Fei help the villagers evacuate, but Fei is distracted by the appearance of a Gear with what appears to be a vision of a child version of himself sitting in the cockpit. Fei enters the Gear, and when the other Gears turn on him, Fei fights back (against Citan's wishes).

The enemy Gears are seemingly directed by a flying Gear with crossed arms, who orders one to shoot and kill Timothy during the fighting. At this, Fei loses his mind, momentarily seeing a vision of himself as a child and with his own hair over his eyes, as well as a swinging cross-shaped pendant. A massive explosion ensues, centred on Fei's Gear. The explosion consumes the enemy Gears, Lahan Village, and many of the villagers, including (to Dan's horror) Alice.

Chapter 4: Into the Forest
When Fei comes to, he is surrounded by the ruins of Lahan. The remaining villagers regard him with a combination of fear and anger, especially Dan who is maddened with rage towards Fei over his sister's death. Citan defends Fei but admits that it would be for the best if he left the village. Fei leaves for Aveh via the Blackmoon Forest, in the hopes that the enemy Gears would be less likely to find him there.

Chapter 5: Girl in Forest
Part of the way into the forest, Fei is confronted by Elly, a lone Gebler soldier. Elly initially threatens to shoot Fei but is put off by his current lack of regard for his own life. The two share a cautious introduction after a fight with the forest-dwelling monsters. That night, Fei dreams of someone who looks like himself as a child being abandoned in the desert before being comforted by someone who looks like Elly.

The next day, Fei tells Elly of the attack on Lahan, and goes back and forth on blaming himself for what happened vs. blaming the Gears that showed up. Elly, who had accidentally brought the fight to Lahan, yells at Fei to take responsibility before realising that she's projecting her own blame. Elly wanders off and is attacked by a Rankar Dragon, which Fei struggles to fight until Citan arrives with Weltall, the Gear Fei used in Lahan. Fei reluctantly uses Weltall to defeat the Rankar Dragon.

That night, as Fei sleeps, Citan introduces himself to Elly and reveals that he has figured out her identity, and convinces her to leave. Citan and Fei head off together to Dazil in Aveh, in order to repair Weltall and plan their next steps. The two see a Gebler airship from Aveh as they proceed.

Chapter 6: Dazil
Fei and Citan enter Dazil and ask the local Ethos workshop for parts to repair Weltall; however, the parts they need are too advanced to be kept in stock. Citan rents a Sand Buggy and heads off into the desert in the hopes of finding the right parts at the location of a fight between military Gears. After he does not return for a time, Fei heads out after him.

Chapter 7: Desert Attack!
While trekking through the desert, Fei sees a flying saucer-like structure fly over his head. He is later confronted by enemy Gears, but Citan once again arrives with Weltall and Fei defeats them. Grahf, the director of the Gears that attacked Lahan, then confronts Fei, explaining that he caused the destruction in order to trigger Fei's latent power. He elaborates that he intends to have Fei "destroy god", and summons a Wyrm to further try Fei's powers.

After defeating the Wyrm, the Aveh military arrives and successfully captures Fei and Citan. Fei dreams of Grahf, an older moustachioed man, and a pale-faced man with wild red hair mid-confrontation. After Fei discusses his dreams and concerns with Citan, the latter communicates with a masked figure (whom Citan refers to as 'majesty') regarding the "-time- of the -Gospel-".

Meanwhile, Bart, the leader of a band of desert pirates, spies upon the transporter in which Fei and Citan are imprisoned. Bart excitedly attacks the transporter, and Fei and Citan escape the sinking vessel and get clear in Weltall. Bart attacks Fei in their respective Gears, thinking he is Aveh military, but the two get caught in quicksand and fall into an underground cave system.

Chapter 8: Stalactite Cave
Citan is picked up by Bart's crew aboard their ship, the Yggdrasil. The first mate, Sigurd, recognises Citan (whom he calls 'Hyuga') and the two begin talking. Meanwhile, Bart and Fei call a truce as they navigate the Stalactite Cave. They eventually reach the home of a man who introduces himself as Ol' man Bal and offers to fix up their Gears. Bal additionally tells the two about his theory of how humans came down from paradise 10,000 years ago (as opposed to the Ethos's teachings of evolution), and the legend of the Omnigear, a Gear superior to all others. While fixing Weltall, Bal mutters how it is "the host for the spirit of the slayer of god", and quickly sends the two on their way.

Bart and Fei are stopped by an automated Gear,, on their way out. Fei's power surprises Bart as he defeats the Gear.

Chapter 9: Pirate's Lair
After leaving the cave, the two head to the Yggdrasil, and the ship sails to Bart's hideout with them on board, where Bart receives a warm welcome. Fei and Citan are served tea by Maison, Bart's butler, who tells the two that Bart is the last survivor of the Fatima dynasty, which ruled Aveh until a government official named Shakhan usurped power. Shakhan had also kidnapped Margie, holy mother of Nisan and Bart's cousin, in an attempt to obtain the Fatima Jasper: a device that yields the way to great treasure, of which Margie has half. Bart then shows Fei and Citan the legend of his ancestor, who used the power of a 'giant' to found Aveh, and subsequently sealed it away to protect the kingdom in the future.

Bart asks Fei's and Citan's help in gaining his kingdom back. While Citan is happy to help, Fei refuses, expressing his dislike for fighting and using Gears. Bart later attempts to convince him otherwise by arguing that he doesn't like fighting and just fights to get rid of the cause behind conflicts, and Citan and Sigurd later take Fei to eavesdrop on Bart 'talking' with his late father alone about getting Fei's help, saying that Bart needs a friend. Fei is left more open but not fully convinced.

At night, the Gebler Special Forces break into Bart's hideout and cause havoc. Bart fights back, and Citan commandeers a Gear to help. Fei eventually joins in, both due to pressure from Citan and after seeing one of the intruders threaten children. Once the forces are fought off, Bart thanks Fei and Fei agrees to help Bart for now. The crew sets off to Bledavik, capital of Aveh, to rescue Margie.

Chapter 10: Operation Aveh
A Gebler ship docks in Bledavik. From it emerges Gebler's commander Ramsus and his assistant Miang. They meet with Shakhan, who notifies them of Aveh's anniversary celebrations the following day and their inability to obtain the whereabouts of the Fatima Jasper from Margie. Ramsus gently speaks with Margie himself, but is likewise unsuccessful. Privately, Shakhan worries that Gebler will get the Fatima Jasper before he can.

Fei, Bart, and Citan arrive at the capital of Bledavik where they are updated on Margie by a member of the Nisan church. The three plan their attack: Fei will distract the guards by participating in Aveh's famous martial arts tournament, while Bart sneaks into Fatima Castle where Margie is being held and escapes with her, and Citan secures their escape.

Chapter 11: The Tournament
The trio puts the plan into action the next day. As Bart works his way through Fatima Castle, Fei works his way through the tournament, which is overseen by Shakhan and Miang. Among others, Fei fights Dan (who is still furious with him about Alice) and Wiseman, a cryptic masked figure who knows Fei's name without being told, dodges all of Fei's attacks, comments on Fei's reason to fight without elaboration, and leaves the fight suddenly without a struggle.

Chapter 12: Margie's Rescue
As the tournament continues, Bart successfully reaches Margie's room and leaves with her after a quick reunion, but the two are stopped by Ramsus and Miang on their way out. Fei reaches them and attacks Ramsus, which reminds Ramsus of a hopeless battle from his past against a pale man with wild red hair. Ramsus cannot decide whether he remembers Fei or not, and the party escapes.

The alarm is raised as the party runs from the castle. However, they serendipitously encounter Elly, who hastily assists their escape (despite Bart's reservations regarding trusting a Gebler officer). Fei tries to convince Elly to come with them before they leave, but she refuses. Ramsus sets out to chase after them, but stops when he receives a message from Citan (whom he too calls 'Hyuga').

Chapter 13: Road to Nisan
Safely aboard the Yggdrasil, Margie explains why she fell into the hands of Shakhan and the others make her promise to not go up against the enemy by herself again. Bart and Fei attempt to get to the bridge, but a small stuffed animal that Margie took from the castle stands in their way. Upon talking with Margie, it becomes clear that said stuffed animal is actually a real animal named Chu-chu, who appears on the scene and promptly confesses her love for Fei. Margie is then left alone with Fei, and she explains why she follows Bart.

With Chu-chu now out of the way, Bart heads to the bridge where Sigurd expresses worry about Ramsus. Citan is not on the Yggdrasil, but Sigurd heads off anyway to return Margie home. Citan somehow catches up by the time the Yggdrasil has almost reached Nisan, and he and Sigurd discuss Ramsus, revealing (among other things) that the two of them, Ramsus, and Miang used to be called Elements in Ramsus's training school Jugend.