In the far reaches of space, Gurren Lagann burst from the Anti-Spiral vortex. In the machine's cockpit, Simon frantically steered his controls toward freedom as a sleeping beauty began to awake in his arms. A wave of black, vine-like tentacles emerged from the portal and chased the fleeing Gunman. Just when the tendrils were about to catch the humanoid craft by its ankles, the monstrosities were blown away by a barrage of cannon fire.
Simon looked forward to see a grateful sight. The Yoko W Tank, armed from head to toe with heavy and long range weapons, was clearing a path for him. His cockpit screen soon became active with the image of the cheerful young woman piloting the rugged machine. She had a rather voluptuous physique, and she was scantily dressed in a pilot suit with a white and red color scheme and an odd star motif. Simon shouted toward his screen out of concern for his comrade.
"Yoko, be careful with these guys!"
Yoko's fiery red ponytail bounced as she nodded in response.
"Don't worry about me!"
She gave a playful wink into the screen.
"Just worry about getting Nia out of here. I'll cover you!"
Simon resumed his dash to safety with some reluctance, leaving Yoko behind as she continued to unleash waves of artillery rounds toward the extraterrestrial enemy. Unfortunately, she had overestimated her position, and she soon found the Anti-Spiral "arms" to be spawning faster than her endless supply of missiles and lasers could follow. She was then caught off guard when the army of tendrils abruptly ceased following Simon's flight path and careened directly toward her Gunman. The bulky unit allowed her no time to dodge, and her cockpit soon lost power as it was swallowed in darkness.
When Yoko awoke, all she could see was a void of black. Her senses told her she was still sitting in the cockpit of the Yoko W Tank, but reality appeared to her as nothing but an empty abyss. After she turned her head a few times to study her non-surroundings, she heard a low, masculine voice echo through the air above her. She knew instantly it was the Anti-Spiral leader.
"The avatar has escaped. You'll make for a suitable substitute."
She blinked before replying in confusion.
"What's so special about me?"
The Anti-Spiral's disembodied words were cold and mechanical, absent of any human emotion.
"You're a woman. It's only natural that a lifeform capable of bringing life into this universe should be the one to end it."
Yoko quickly grit her teeth in contempt and clenched her hands into fists. She answered in total rebellion, having formed the resolve to defeat this menace long ago.
"I'll never help you! Humanity isn't stupid enough to destroy itself!"
"Is that what you really think?"
As soon as the Anti-Spiral finished speaking, Yoko raised her gloved fingers to the sides of her head and screamed. Somehow, she was suddenly experiencing a series of horrifying visions in her mind. It was as if someone was taking a video diary featuring eons of war, famine, genocide, and other assorted human misery and forcing her to witness them firsthand. She knew the visions were real, but she was barely able to remind herself that hope still remained. Gasping between her painful shrieks, she answered the Anti-Spiral with as much rage in her voice as ever.
"Your damn theory is wrong! They can still change!"
"Then join me, and together we can make them change them into the one form they belong in: Pure energy."
Another throbbing set of visions bombarded Yoko's brain. She raised her knees to her chin and clutched her temples with more force as she frantically shook her head.
"No! I'm not going to kill everyone!"
"Then you'll only be letting them kill themselves. Wouldn't you, a compassionate being, rather grant them a merciful death?"
The pain was ceaseless now. The visions continued to flow unhindered, uninterrupted. Yoko curled into a fetal position as she screamed for mercy.
"Stop it! It's too much!"
The alien entity was amazed that the girl was anything more than a quivering bag of flesh at this point. He could see he was making progress, but he would have to use a different method if he was going to complete his "lesson."
"Why do you continue to cling to your worthless idealism? Have you not experienced enough misery of your own to accept the truth?"
As Yoko heard these words, the images in her head took a much more cruel form. Rather than random, ambiguous suffering, Yoko was now shown something from her own life. She watched Kamina, her doomed lover, being skewered and killed in a Gunman sneak attack. The violent event looped through her mind over and over again, each time from a different angle, with every tragic detail being just as how she remembered it. As she squeezed her eyes shut in a hopeless attempt to stop the flashbacks, small droplets began falling down her cheeks. The only words she could say came as a struggled whisper.
"Just... make it go away..."
Simon had reunited with the Arc Gurren team minutes ago, but Yoko was still nowhere in sight. Nia was now fully conscious, seated in Simon's lap. Her eyes scanned over Gurren Lagann's radar screens as she helped her co-pilot search each sector for the missing compatriot.
Simon sighed before he spoke.
"Yoko's taking a long time. I hope she's okay."
Moments later, Nia finally smiled and pointed forward.
"Ah, there she is!"
The Yoko W Tank had appeared on Simon's main screen, and the unit was quickly approaching the rest of its team. The Gunman was alone, apparently having dispatched the entire Anti-Spiral wave that had been pursuing it. Unexpectedly, however, the machine halted in place when it was a certain distance from Simon's fleet. This was followed by Nia suddenly clutching the side of her head with one hand as she quietly groaned in pain. Simon spoke in shock as she continued to writhe in his arms.
"Nia, what's wrong?"
Even she was uncertain of what happening. When she realized her mysterious headache must have been due to something interfering with her brainwaves, her eyes widened in horror. There could only be one thing causing her sickness, and she soon replied with dread in her voice.
"Oh no. He's gotten to her!"
Before Simon could question her ominous words, the image of Yoko seated in her cockpit filled his communication screen again. Although the redhead was still in her questionable pilot attire, she was otherwise not her usual self. Her eyelids were narrowed into slits, and Anti-Spiral symbols branded the skin on her face and midriff. She announced her intentions coldly.
"I, Yoko Littner, am the messenger of the Anti-Spirals. Anyone who opposes my race will be destroyed."
Simon reacted with a baffled gasp, leaving Yoko an opening to attack. A new wave of Anti-Spiral tendrils erupted from the relatively tiny frame of her Gunman, impaling and slicing through the bulk of the Arc Gurren brigade in a single attack. Amidst the subsequent chaos, Simon regained his senses and began evading Yoko's seemingly demonic attacks. Then, something even more bizarre happened.
In a flash of light, Simon found himself floating freely in space. Nia was gone, as was any sign of the fleet. As he looked about, he the noticed only one person occupying the cosmos was Yoko, who was now swimming toward him. When she reached speaking distance, he could see she had a look of regret on her face. After letting out a sad sigh, she spoke to him in her familiar tone.
"I'm sorry it had to be like this, Simon, but it's the best way for everyone."
Simon's eyes remained wide with shock. He tried to comprehend why Yoko would at first act as a traitor, and now communicate with him in such a strange way.
"Yoko... wha-... what are you doing?"
When she replied, her mouth tried to curl into a comforting smile.
"Don't worry. I just wanted to say goodbye."
After she finished speaking, she closed her eyes, lightly took a hold of Simon's chin, and shyly brought her lips to his. When the two embraced, she gave him a small present. A tiny parting gift. A kiss of death.
Gurren Lagann suddenly exploded into a glorious display of green smoke and fire, having suffered a direct hit from one of the Yoko W Tank's missiles after becoming strangely motionless. With the charismatic leader gone, what little remained of Simon's fleet was swiftly annihilated. The Anti-Spirals' new messenger fought without mercy and with little resistance, destroying anything in her way.
When the scene of slaughter came to an end, Yoko opened her cockpit hatch and stood on the frame of her Gunman. Her eyes studied the galaxies around her, but then focused on a specific point. She gazed toward a small, blue star in the depth of space. It was the the planet Earth, the last (and now poorly guarded) stronghold against the Anti-Spirals.
Yoko outstretched a single gloved hand so that perspective caused the tiny planet to appear as a marble resting in her palm. After a low, sinister giggle escaped her smirking lips, she snapped her fingers shut and visually crushed the object in her hand. Soon, humanity would be an extinct species and the universe would be saved.