I do not own TTGL; all rights go to its respective owner.
Hope you enjoy!
Hello, my name is Simon, Simon the Digger. This is my story, well, mostly my story. I figured now since it's all over someone had best keep history in line. Guess I'm a good candidate for it.
I suppose I should start from the beginning, my beginning. I was a digger for the town of Jeeha, an underground village buried far below the surface. I drilled tunnels to expand the village so there'd be more room for new residents and such. I could say that I wanted to help the town, but I really enjoyed the digging because of the buried treasure that I'd find.
I didn't have many friends there, besides my brother, Kamina. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy being with others, I just didn't see the point, but I digress.
The beginning, well I guess you could say it was like any other day. Little did I know that that day would change my life forever.
A young man continued to drill through an already spacious tunnel, making plenty of room for a large man to move around in without too much trouble. He was a taut looking boy, not much shorter than other people his age. The glow of his goggles illuminated the path ahead as minerals and rock gave way before him.
In the seventeen years Simon had been underground he had done his fair share of digging. His muscles and torso were firm from the labor and long hours.
Wonder how far everyone else is? He had a knack of digging ahead and outrunning his fellow dig crew.
On and on he continued to drill, deeper into the earth and further away from home.
I wonder how Kamina is doing? The digger mused as his tool suddenly struck something.
Simon quickly moved his drill behind him and pulled up his goggles. Grabbing the small object he examined his findings, it was a drill bit. In the dim light of the tunnel it glowed green, surprising him.
Wonder what this could be? He hefted the bit in his hand; it fit easily in his palm and had decent weight for something of its size.
Kind of odd for a drill bit to be buried so far underground. It was yet another mysterious artifact from the surface no doubt, as Kamina would probably tell him. He grasped it in his hand and put it in his satchel, keeping it safe until he could get back home.
Simon then began to dig once again, drilling away the stone and dirt. He always had an uncanny ability of finding unique things within the earth, something many people attributed to luck. Usually it was due to the fact that he stayed long hours and well into the night sometimes, digging and digging.
He glanced at his watch; it was dusty from the debris. Probably time to go back up. The digger turned around and began to move his way back up towards light and Jeeha.
As he exited the dig site he fiddled with the drill bit he discovered, trying to weave a piece of leather through the hole at the base. It was proving to be a formidable opponent.
Not paying any mind to his surroundings Simon accidently ran into someone. The person was solid and tall. Looking up he could see it was, in fact, his brother Kamina. He was wearing his signature glasses and looked down on him with a confident grin.
"What've you got there, Simon?" His eyes glanced down at the bit.
Simon held it up proudly, "I found it today in the tunnels. What do you think?"
Kamina nodded approvingly, "Fitting of you, Simon. Make sure to keep it close to you, you never know when one of these losers will take interest in your treasure."
A devilish smile replaced his grin, "You really think someone would be that bold?"
His brother smiled back, "No way in hell."
They both chuckled, turning towards their home. It only took them a short walk to arrive.
It was a rather humble place, with only enough room for the two of them. Since his parents had died, Kamina had taken care of him. They may have not been brothers by blood, but might as well have been.
Kamina plopped down in one of the chairs, close to the door. "Man I am gassed."
"What happened today?"
"Some of the haulers decided to skip out and leave most of the work for me to do."
Simon shook his head; Kamina didn't dig for the village and instead moved away the rock and other debris that came out of the tunnels. It was hard labor and really tested someone's physical prowess. Sometimes it surprised him how he could stand after long days of doing such things.
The digger shrugged, "You know you could be digging with me. It wouldn't take much convincing of the chief."
Kamina shook his head vehemently, "No way partner. I'll be fine."
He chuckled, "Whatever you say, bro."
They sat in silence for a while. They didn't typically have dinner until a couple hours after the workday. The other villagers were bustling about below on the main level, trading and such after their shifts finished up. They were very close to the ceiling of Jeeha, the people below looked like ants to him.
"One of these days Simon, one of these days we'll bust outta this joint. Mark my words."
He looked over to see his brother knocked out in the chair, lightly snoring as sleep took over.
Guess it's my turn for dinner tonight. Simon smiled to himself and began to work on their meal.
"Fly piggies! Fly!" A tower of pigmoles erupted out of the pens, soaring towards the ceiling of the village at an alarming rate.
I can't believe that we're almost out! A figure shadowed the column and brandished his weapon.
No! "Kamina, not you again!" It was the chief, and he looked none too happy that they were there.
Kamina roared boldly. "You best step aside! We're going to the surface!"
The chief chuckled, "Not today you aren't!" and with a heavy swing of his sword, broke the column apart.
Damn chief, why does he always have to get in the way? Simon thought as he plunged to the ground below.
Simon jumped in his bead, sitting upright. His eyes were greeted to darkness, as always.
He rubbed his forehead, what a strange dream. It seemed like it was still "night" for them, no one was bustling about down below and most of the lights in the village were off.
He could hear the snore of his brother coming from the other side of the curtain. Wouldn't surprise me if he slept for a week after a shift like that.
Quietly he got out of bed and grabbed his things, since he was already awake might as well start the day.
The earth was soft where he was and the digging was easy. Simon could feel his mind relaxing from the rather extraordinary dream. It had already been a couple of hours, chances are everyone was digging up above and the day had started, he had forgotten his watch on accident so he wouldn't know.
He had dug so far and so fast that the construction crew and other dig crews probably wouldn't catch up for days, not that he cared very much. He enjoyed the digging.
I wonder how long it will be before we can go up there? What does the surface even look like? No matter the case we'll get there, Kamina, and me, we'll show the chief and all the people of the underground.
His drill struck something.
Huh?
He tried turning the shaft and the object, in turn, didn't budge.
Not normal to come across two things in practically a day. Simon quickly dug around it and opened up space. It was made out of metal and looked peculiar. It was a large face with two stubby arms and legs.
He backed away, alarmed at first of this discovery. This has got to be the largest artifact ever found!
Wait until Kamina sees this!
Simon exploded out of the hole and ran for his home, he hadn't felt this much excitement in a long time. He startled the other digging crews as he barreled past, they shouted at him, but it fell on deaf ears.
Kamina was still asleep when he blew through the door, waking him abruptly. "What the hell Simon, you look like a man possessed?!"
"Bro, you've got to see this, I found something amazing down in the tunnels!" He was out of breath and it took him a minute to get it all across.
"Really?" Kamina looked surprised.
He bobbed his head, his breathing coming back down to normal. "It's a giant metal face, it's amazing!"
His brother's mouth opened wide in a yawn, "Then there's no time to waste! Onwards!"
They had just made it to the base floor of Jeeha when a tremor struck the village. The chamber shook from the force of the shaking, people ran for cover.
They aren't usually this harsh, what's happening? A feeling of dread crept into his stomach as he peered upwards, looking at the ceiling in worry. Collapses had happened before, but something didn't feel right.
Cracks began to form in the cap of the village; light began to sift through from above. The fractures began to grow and the rays followed. One final quake brought it down.
An extremely large, white creature fell from the world above. It didn't land very far from where Simon and Kamina were standing. His brother looked at the creature with some kind of manic glee.
While he did share his brother's enthusiasm for what was going on above them, he quickly got behind some cover and urged Kamina to do the same.
"Bro, we don't know what that thing is capable of, get down!"
Kamina smiled, "Lets go take a peek, Simon!" With that his fearless friend ran towards the creature.
The digger shook his head, "Always looking for a fight." He sighed and ran after Kamina.
It didn't take them long to move across the chamber and get a clear look at it. The creature was mechanical and yet looked like it lived and breathed. Simon stood a couple meters behind his brother and was struck with awe. The chief cowered not very far from where they were standing, hiding in one of the homes with an expression of fear.
Kamina was ecstatic, "That thing gives me the chills."
Almost as if it was responding the creature stood up and looked down on the two of them. It had an ugly face, like a demented pigmole and wielded a club as its weapon.
What surprised him even more is that it spoke, "Who the hell are you?"
Kamina pointed his finger, "I am none other than the mighty Kamina, demon leader of Team Gurren! I'm not just gonna let you attack my village and get away with it!"
The beast chortled, "Oh yeah and just how're you going to do that?" It pulled its club over its head, ready to strike.
Simon felt his gut lurch, "Bro."
Kamina struck an aggressive pose, "Come on and fight me, give me your best shot!"
The club began coming down, right on top of them. He could only watch as the shadow grew and grew. So this is the end huh? Never thought I'd go out under a giant, demented pigmole's club.
He could hear a crack coming from above, followed by the club swinging off course and hitting the nearby chamber wall. Several more cracks sounded off and the beast was thrown off balance, landing on its rear and dropping its weapon.
As if the day couldn't get any more surprising Simon was once again stumped. A girl swung down from on high, like some sort of angel of war. In her hands was a weapon of some sort, she pointed it at the creature and more cracks resounded in the village.
She landed only about two feet from them with the weapon still pointed. She had bright pink leggings, alarmingly short shorts, a flame covered bra, and striking red hair pulled back into a ponytail. Angel of war? Definitely right.
The girl called out, "Get back you two!" She pulled a lever on her weapon and it released a cylinder that clanged on the ground.
The demented pigmole began to get up and reach for its club. It made ready to attack once more.
"Who are you?" Simon asked in awe.
Her head turned and amber eyes locked with his, "Do you have a death wish? Get back!"
She lunged and knocked them out of the way of the club. The girl landed right on top of him, much to his discomfort, her breasts brushed against his chest, causing him to blush, but she didn't seem bothered in the slightest.
It only took her a few seconds to jump back up and return fire on the creature. Is there a way we can help? Fists won't do the trick against something made out of metal. Then it struck him. I bet we could use that thing to help!
He looked around for the entrance to the dig site and was relieved to find it wasn't too far away. "Follow me guys, I have a plan!"
The red-haired girl looked surprised, but Kamina quickly took off, both following Simon into the dig site.
"So what's this plan of yours?" The girl called out from behind him as they crawled through the tunnel.
"Its that thing you found earlier, isn't it Simon?" Kamina's voice was muffled behind the girl, but Simon could still hear him.
Simon lit the way with his goggled, his pace rather frantic. "Yep, I bet we can use it to fight that thing."
The creature was going on a rampage up above, probably destroying everything in order to find them. I hope everyone got away and into the tunnels. Simon shoved the thoughts aside and pressed on.
When they found it the girl gasped, "How did a gunman end up all the way down here?"
Simon hopped into the smaller machine, "Is that what those things are called?" He looked around inside, trying to find a way to activate it.
She nodded, "Yes, they're piloted by beastmen, nasty creatures whose only thought is to kill us humans."
Kamina looked at the face, "So is this one of theirs?"
Shaking her head she shrugged, "No, they wouldn't bury one of their own machines."
Simon looked up from the console, "So we could use it to fight them?"
She snorted, "Probably, only if you can get it to work."
How the hell do I start this thing? He pulled some of the levers that were on the console and nothing seemed to be working.
He could feel something shuffle around on his side, a small pigmole jumped out of his satchel with the drill bit in tow. It was glowing once again, if anything it was brighter than before. The digger quickly understood what it meant. This has to be the activation key for it!
Simon took the bit from the pigmole and pointed at the small hole on the console. Inserting it carefully and twisting it clockwise the machine whirred to life. Yes!
A spiral slowly twisted from the center and lit up the display, "Activation received, Lagann is now online."
Simon looked down in astonishment, "What?"
Kamina whooped, "Awesome! Lets get going you guys!"
The girl and his brother hopped into the machine, looking at him expectantly.
"Right!"
The gunman looked around wildly, he couldn't believe that he lost his prey. Puny humans, always scurrying around like roaches!
He shouted at the walls, "Where did those three go?"
No one responded to him. Incessant creatures, why can they just not obey?!
He swung his club around angrily, striking the many homes around him.
"Where did they go?!"
The chief of Jeeha cowered in a house close to the gunman, he called out. "I don't know, they disappeared. They could be anywhere!"
"Then you will die!" The creature raised his club and swung it down on the house they were sheltered in.
He put his hands over his head and covered his eyes. I don't want to die today. As the gunman was about to smash them a hole appeared from below, unknown to the beastman.
Simon spoke to the machine, "What are you?"
The voice spoke once again, "I am a Lagann-type gunman, meant for reconnaissance and strategic combat."
"How are you going to fight?" The girl asked from behind him.
Without a word drills replaced Lagann's hands.
Kamina piped up, "Are those your weapons?"
"Yes, all Lagann-type gunmen use these as their primary weapons."
Simon could feel a pat on his back, "Then this should be right up your alley, Simon!"
The digger gripped the controls. "Alright, then we need to fight that thing above. Lets take that bastard out!"
"Confirmed, engaging drilling operation."
"Huh?" Out of nowhere a canopy closed them into the tight cockpit of Lagann.
"Activating jet boosters." The machine began to rumble.
Simon tried pulling back on the controls. "Uh, hold on you guys!"
A drill popped out of Lagann's head and all three of them began to spin at an alarming rate. Without much more warning Lagann tore back through the hole that they came from increasing speed as he went. It churned through the stone and rock, leaving nothing but dust behind as it made its way towards the objective.
"Approaching the target, Simon."
Surprised that the machine knew his name he only gripped the controls more, "Thank you, Lagann."
"Give me a better answer, damn you!" The gunman shouted down below.
The chief cried, "I don't know where they are, I already told you that!"
"Lies!" The beastman brought down his club.
Down from below the gunman, green energy began to glow and burst from cracks at its feet. It only took a second for the rock to give out and let a smaller machine explode from down under. It rammed itself into the stomach of the larger gunman.
The chief gasped, "Thank the heavens!"
"Come on Lagann, let's tear this guy apart!" Simon grasped the controls firmly; he could feel the energy in his fingertips.
"Understood."
Lagann's drills spun faster and faster, it began to shred and twist the metal. The rockets began to whine as they lifted the enemy gunman upwards.
They lifted it higher and slammed back into the now destroyed ceiling of Jeeha village. They increased speed and began breaking down their opponent.
"That's what you get for attacking our village, you creep! We're going all the way to the surface!" Kamina shouted through the canopy at the gunman.
It screamed, "What the hell are you doing?!"
"We're sending you to hell!" With one final push Lagann broke through the stomach and tore itself through the innards of its enemy.
We're finally doing it! We finally did it! Simon could feel the fire in his chest, his blood was boiling hot.
Lagann busted out of the ground and sent pieces of the gunman flying around. It fell to the earth in a heap of wreckage. As it fell the canopy of Lagann opened and revealed the world to its newest members.
Two spheres were giving off a dazzling light show, one a cold blue and the other a warm orange. Simon felt the wind take his jacket, leaving his chest open to the cool breeze, but he didn't care.
Kamina whooped and hollered from behind him, "We did it, Simon! We finally got to the surface!" His brother was smiling from ear to ear, finally achieving his lifelong goal.
Simon chuckled, "I can't believe it! Its so beautiful."
The pilot of Lagann nearly jumped out of his skin when the girl spoke. "My name's Yoko by the way, figured I didn't mention it before."
"Huh?"
She smiled at him, "Yoko, that's my name."
He grinned back all the brighter, "My name's Simon. Pleased to meet you!"
His brother poked his chest, "And I am Kamina, the leader of Team Gurren."
Yoko looked down towards the desert below, "We need to meet up with some of the people from my village. Think you can get us there?"
Simon pulled on the controls; they seemed to be responding to his commands. "I think I can, just point the way."
She pointed to a group of lights down below, "That's where we're headed."
He nodded and directed Lagann towards the village. This isn't so tough.
There were people moving towards the remains of their opponent, lights flickering from the ground. New world, new people.
"This is Dayakka, he's the leader of Littner village." Yoko introduced the two to a large man who wore a tank top and blue jeans.
He reached his hand out to the two, "Nice to meet you, thanks for getting Yoko back safely. Wasn't sure how she was doing when she fell down that hole."
Yoko huffed, "I would've been fine, you know that."
Dayakka chuckled, "Whatever you say."
"My name is Simon." The digger shook his hand firmly.
His brother followed suit, "I am Kamina."
The chief smiled, "Always nice to see a few more faces up here on the surface. Sorry we wrecked your village." Dayakka scratched the back of his head.
The group had quickly loaded up the salvage from the battle of the day. Lagann took the weight of the larger pieces and followed the group from behind.
The blood brothers looked up to the sky, the bright blue sphere was now far overhead. He couldn't believe that just a few hours ago they were below ground with nothing on their mind but to get out of it.
"Can you believe it bro? Now we can finally find your father." Simon grinned enthusiastically.
He could hear Kamina sigh, "Yeah, I guess."
"Isn't this what you've always wanted?
His brother nodded and smirked, "Its nothing. Man do I wish I could have one of these bad boys! It tore things up today." He patted the side of Lagann.
"It was amazing, I can't believe that I found it when I did."
A new voice graced the conversation, "Why aren't you just a pretty little mecha?"
They nearly jumped out of the cockpit. Simon looked over to see a man with bright green hair walking beside Lagann.
"Um, who are you?" Kamina looked at the strange man, his voice was odd and his demeanor even more so.
"I'm Leeron, chief mechanic for Littner village." Kamina was still skeptical.
"You can call me, Beautiful Queen."
Kamina grunted, "I'd rather die!"
They began unloading all the salvage outside the village gates, which happened to be made out of three feet of steel.
Dayakka and Yoko walked over to them, "Thanks for the help, hate making you guys do this after what happened to your village."
Simon smiled down at them, "We were more than happy to help, thanks for letting us stay with you."
The man laughed, "Well, it's the least we could do."
"You can park Lagann inside, we have plenty of room." Dayakka motioned to follow him.
Kamina hopped down from the mecha, "Alright, I'm ready for some grub."
Dinner was relatively uneventful, considering everything that went on that day. They cleaned up and put everything away, Lagann was parked close to the gates and had shut down for the night.
Dayakka showed them where they could take a load off, Kamina passed out almost immediately afterwards. Simon on the other hand decided to stay up for a bit, figuring there was still a little more he could see before the day was out.
He strolled around Littner village, avoiding people's homes so as to not look like a creep, but he was genuinely curious of everything up above.
Before long he just decided to sit in the center of the village, where they had supper and just bask in the atmosphere.
"Well you seem mighty content." For what seemed like the fiftieth time that day Simon nearly leapt out of his skin. Behind him stood Yoko, with an annoyingly happy expression on her face.
"You could say that." He turned back around and looked out the gate. The night sky was casting a silver light into the village. It was quite beautiful. Yoko plopped down beside him, looking out into the wilderness with him.
"So, is it everything you wanted it to be?"
He smiled, "For sure. Everything I wanted and more."
She scooted closer to him, much to his surprise. "We haven't had anybody new come to the surface for quite some time. Only Littner has done it I believe."
Simon glanced at her, the amber glow of the lanterns setting her eyes alight, "Why?"
She shrugged, "Something caused a leak of poison gas to seep into the village, so we had to evacuate. We've been up here fighting ever since."
"How long have you been up here anyway?"
Yoko scratched her chin, "Since I was twelve I think, it's been a while."
"And you are how old?" He stated plainly.
Her face quickly formed a pout, "That isn't something you should be asking a girl."
He put his hands up and laughed, "My mistake, haven't really had a chance to talk to girls."
The smile returned to her, "Seventeen, going on eighteen." She stated her age proudly, eighteen was technically adulthood in Jeeha village, and Littner was the same he supposed.
She looked at him expectantly, "And you?"
"Well, Kamina is twenty four, I think, and I am pretty sure I'm seventeen."
Yoko looked at him in surprise, "You don't know how old you are?"
He blushed, "Um, it wasn't really something we kept track of in our village."
She stretched out on the bench, "Well, seventeen is good enough for me."
"Oh, good enough for what?" His eyes sparked with mischief.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see her blush, "I didn't mean it like that! Ugh, goodnight, Simon!" She quickly stood up and began to walk away.
"Goodnight. Yoko." He watched her leave, her hair bobbing around behind her.
Yep, I definitely like it up here.
And so begins their journey…
For those new to this project I'd like to say welcome to The Heavens Will Be Shattered and to those returned after the rewrite, welcome back! This has been an interesting adventure for me to say the least and I do hope you enjoy.
Feel free to review at your discretion and leave a fav or a follow if you feel inclined!