Disclaimer: I don't own DP or TTGL.
BGM: "BREAK THROUGH THE DREAM" from the Gurren Lagann OST.
Tunnel Rats
Danny blinked sweat and dust out of his eyes and shifted positions, trying to get better leverage on that one stubborn cogwheel that just wouldn't move no matter how much he greased it. He glared at the rusted hunk of metal one last time, and then let his head fall back against the tunnel wall. From somewhere slightly above and to his left, he could still hear Tucker trying to reach what his oldest friend had affectionately nicknamed "that ganked-up bunch of wires I can't freaking reach, and hand me those pliers". If he'd had the energy (not to mention the space) to move, Danny would have shaken his head in sheer exasperation. As it was, he really didn't feel like setting off a small landslide of assorted dirt, shriveled (hopefully animal) corpses, and decades- or possibly centuries-old dried machine oil.
Somewhere above and to the left of Danny, Tucker had in fact just finished fixing that ganked-up bunch of wires, at the cost of all the feeling in his fingers and a whole lot of electrical tape. Muttering something uncomplimentary about the hypothetical mother of whichever hypothetical idiot put the mechanism together in such a backwards way in the first place, he forced a few gloved fingers through a tiny two-inch gap and pushed at what he thought was an activation switch. He blindly scrabbled at it, squinting to try to make out whatever-the-hell-was-in-the-way and again, again cursing whoever else had most recently worked on the old excavator. If he could just reach a few more millimeters-
He neither heard nor felt the click. He did, however, hear the thunks and groans of ancient machinery screeching back into life. And then Tucker realized he was very close to what would very soon be moving parts, and he was out of that engine like a greased pig-mole before dinner. "Too close, way too close," he gasped out. Then he yelped as what looked like a vaguely humanoid grease monster punched him in the arm.
The grease monster spat something on the ground, and then reached up to pull its face – er, safety goggles off to reveal a pair of very angry and loudly accusatory blue eyes.
"…Oops?" he squeaked out, relieved.
"You could have warned me!" Danny spat out.
Tucker stepped up close so he could actually see, and said, "Well, at least you're not hurt."
"…Yeah, the globs of muck falling on me out of nowhere kind of clued me in to the fact that the engine was restarting. Never mind that I'm not the genius who went and crawled into the mechanism."
Tucker shrugged. "Hey, at least we'll get an extra food portion out of this."
"Which Dash will steal," Danny said resignedly.
"No, he'll steal yours, and I'll hide mine, and with an extra serving we might both get to eat for a change. And if not, there's always our friend up in 'ponics," Tucker pointed out.
Danny reflexively slapped a hand over Tucker's mouth to shut him up before he got them both in trouble, looking around to see if anyone could have overheard. Okay, no one in sight, nice clear tunnel with no sharp turns or sneak-up-on-you curves that someone could hide behind…
Tucker mumbled something past Danny's hand, and Danny let him go. Tucker rubbed frantically at his lips with his sleeve, trying to get the gunk off, and Danny smiled. "Now we're even for you not warning me about the excavator."
Tucker coughed, "Aw, shut up, man. I was a little busy trying not to get my ass fried, or crushed, or-"
Danny cut him off. "Okay, okay! Thanks for the incredibly gross mental images, by the way."
"You're welcome," Tucker chirped.
"…Let's just check in with Lancer and get this day over with. Please."
A/N: TTGL/DP fusion crossover. Because I was watching the Parallel Works on YouTube today, and I realized there is a ton of spiral imagery in the background of DP, and for crying out loud he glows green, and Danny refuses to give up once he's actually committed to a goal, and Spiral Power is effectively compressed determination and the will to survive, and, and – Oh, he is going to kick ASS!
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