AN: This is my first fan fic. After seeing the dreams in Gurren Lagann I really wanted to write a possible scenario for Viral who seems really happy in what we glimpse of his dream. Other Gurren Lagann characters most likely won't appear, but then again, that might change. The fic is rated T because I wanted to give myself some leeway when writing more chapters, thought I don't plan on writing anything sexually explicit or overly violent. I think the series had enough violence that writing a more tranquil and psychological-based fiction is a nice balance. Any series characters that appear will probably be a little OOC but I'll do my best not to stray too far.

I don't own Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann or any of the characters, though if I did I'd have about a hundred Bootas.

Viral couldn't remember a day in his life that he hadn't been traveling or sleeping outside. A supposed orphan (his childhood was hazy at best) he simply hadn't been able to stop moving from one place to another. Anywhere he stayed he felt restless, as if he belonged somewhere else. Except he couldn't find that place. It was eternally out of reach. At first the urge to move had been unbearable and it drove him to travel without stopping for days. Eventually it calmed down and it was rare today that he really felt compelled to wander constantly. Now he paced down a well-used road, alert while he walked without being wary.

Up ahead, a little village sat, basking in the sun. Viral's first instinct was to walk around the village and continue on the road, but on second thought he decided to go through it. It had been over a year since he'd seen other people; if he was uncomfortable, he was just passing through anyway. Upon entering, he began attracting stares from the villagers, making him hunch his shoulders and duck his head a little. He could only imagine the sight he made walking through. His clothes were worn and dirty; full of holes, and his blonde hair was muddy, long and unkempt. His sharp eyes glared at anyone that so much as glanced at him. Still they continued to stare as he passed. This was a mistake. He should have gone around the damned village. He should turn around now, but no, that would look even stranger. Better to just keep going and then break into a run once he was clear of the villagers.

He had made his way to the town center where children were playing and women were watching them when something made him stop. He had a strange feeling that someone was calling out to him, though his ears heard nothing of the sort. When he looked around there was a large, bearded man watching him. The man gestured for him to come closer. Uncertain, but overwhelmingly curious, Viral complied and made his way over to the man. He was tall and well-built, wearing the clothes of a smith. Behind him was a smithy; undoubtedly his.

"Need a place to sleep tonight?" The bearded man asked in a rich bass voice.

"No, I'm just passing through," Viral said, hoping that he could slink away without any trouble.

"Ah," the man nodded as if understanding, "it just looked like you needed a friendly hand."

The blonde traveler avoided eye contact and scowled at the ground, "Really, I just want to be on my way."

"Where are you going?"

Viral paused, unsure of how to answer. There was no destination that he was trying to reach and he didn't carry maps so he couldn't have invented a place even if he tried. Cities, towns, villages…they were all nameless to him, just like the people that lived there. So he found that his answer was the simple truth: "I don't know."

A large, calloused hand landed on his shoulder, not in an unfriendly way. "Well," the man reasoned, "if you don't know where you're going, why don't you spend the night here? You might find that this is the place you've been trying to get to during your travels."

He couldn't help but stare at the smith whose words hit home.

"Come in," the hand guided him into the smithy which was clean and filled with intricate works of metal. The walls were lined with beautiful swords, axes, hammers, spears, shields and helms and on the anvil was a delicate and elaborately worked rapier. Viral looked at the weapons each in turn, noticing that there was a strange symbol worked into the metal. It looked like a twisted ladder and it was present on all of the smith's items.

"You're very talented," he remarked.

The bearded man smiled then shrugged and sat down on a stool near the anvil. "I think of it as something I've always been meant to do. I enjoy creating things." He swept his arm to encompass the entirety of his stock, "Sometimes weapons and armor are more than just pieces of metal used to fight. Sometimes they become much more in the right hands, the right situation, the right time. This one," he lightly touched the rapier, "has taken a long time to make, but it will be worth it when it's finished."

Viral came closer to look at the unfinished weapon. It looked more ornamental than anything with jewels woven into its golden hilt and guard and the blade glinting in the light that the forge's fire gave off. Carefully he picked the rapier up and felt it in his hands. So light! And the blade so thin as well. "A beautiful decoration," he put it down again.

"Ah but it's not merely decorative," the smith smiled, "despite its appearance, in the right hands it can do more damage than you'd think."

Something about the man made Viral feel comfortable and at ease. He'd never really felt this way around other people before, but this man…it was almost as if he'd known him all his life. "I think I will take you up on that offer," he said softly, then extended a hand, "my name is Viral."

The calloused hand grasped his own and the man smiled with even white teeth, "I'm glad you changed your mind, Viral. My name is Genome."

AN: From what was seen in Simon's dream, the characters interacted with other characters that were important to them and who better for Viral than Lord Genome? Please tell me what you think so far!

A.F. Venta