Author's note: The second chapter of this fanfic. I realized that I didn't really explain anything in the first chapter, so I will do so here.

First, this story is unbeta'd (heh again) and will probably have weird English in it, so bear with me if it bothers you.

Second, I did go through a little research on the whole TSF aspects, but it is not perfect so if you do notice a mistake in one of the more technical areas, I will be happy to hear your criticism.

Third, as for the timeline of the story, it occurs pretty much a day before the beginning of the coup d'etat arc. For further clarity, right after Takeru obtains the equation for Yuuko.

That's it for now. Please do enjoy my story and leave a review, I really need those. Praise and criticism will be equally accepted and appreciated.

So for now, Enjoy!

"Gurren?" Takeru asked her. "As in crimson lotus?"

"Exactly." She answered him. "This machine's name is Gurren. We found it years ago in the same area that you found our little Lagann here, in the ruins of old Hiiragi Town."

"Found it? How exactly do you just 'find' something like this? It obviously stands out from everything else. It's big, it's bright, and it's menacing! I mean look at those shades! It looks like it came out straight of hell!"

"You can say what you want but we did just find it there by complete accident." She squinted her eyes at him. Again, he could tell that she was hiding something. This woman was a master of half-truths and withholding information. No matter where it came from, this machine was obviously suspicious, especially if he found Lagann completely on 'accident'. He could bet money that she somehow orchestrated it, but that was probably unlikely considering she herself was surprised by his finding of Lagann.

"You said it is the other half of Lagann, right?" he said, repeating her earlier declaration. "How do you know that?"

"Well for starters," She began, folding her arms. "Their colors match exactly as you can see. I don't believe something like this could just be a total coincidence. The two machines match in aesthetics, so that's one thing. Second, we have managed to access a few of Gurren's logs and we discovered something interesting, although anybody could figure it out from just seeing these two together."

"And that is?"

"Well, Lagann is apparently Gurren's head."

"Gurren's…head?" He looked at her like she was making it up, but upon closer look he could see the connection. Gurren's 'face' was on what you could call it's stomach, which he assumed was where its cockpit laid. The top of it however was flat, covered with black metal, and seemed like something else should be able to connect to it.

"Yes, but it's strange." Yuuko added. "There are no ports or cables or anything that resembles a connection. We tried this morning to put Lagann on top of it, but nothing happened. Our objective right now is to install Lagann back on Gurren."

"And I guess that the reason you brought me here is to do exactly that." Takeru said. Yep, he knew that she wouldn't call him down if it wasn't so he could do something for her.

"Exactly. What I want you to do is to power up Lagann while we lower you down on top of Gurren and see what happens."

"I bet I don't have any say in this." He quipped at her.

"Oh, I like smart boys. You catch on fast." She said to him, chuckling.

Letting out a sigh, he relented. "Alright, fine."

He couldn't believe he let himself get roped into this. Takeru was used to being a guinea pig, but apparently trying to power up a machine no one in the base had any idea how it worked was just too much. He was used to piloting several types of TSFs, so it wasn't like he was scared of it, but rather of the uncertainty of what the result could bring. For all he knew as soon as this thing powered up it would blow up beautifully and sink all of mainland Japan in an instant.

But this was Yuuko he was talking about so maybe he would be ok.

Maybe being a big word.

And so, Takeru found himself being lowered down slowly onto Gurren while inside of Lagann. He didn't quite like how Lagann's cockpit was wide open like that. It wasn't safe for anyone who piloted it if they accidentally fell off from the top. He was thinking that maybe there had to be some kind of cover. Maybe it was external?

As soon as he thought about the cover for Lagann, suddenly a canopy appeared above his head, sealing him inside.

"Yuuko-sensei!" He screamed out. "This thing suddenly closed me in!"

"Oh really? Good job, Shirogane!" She screamed back from next to Gurren foot. "What exactly did you do!?"

"I don't know! All I was thinking was how it was dangerous for this this to be wide open all the time, and suddenly it closed me in!"

"Well good work, Shirogane! Now you don't get to leave until you get me results!"

Urk, this again. Her sadism knows no bounds.

Now sealed inside of Lagann, Takeru grabbed the handles and waited as he was lowered down on top of Gurren. When he felt a slight jerk from the bottom of Lagann, he knew that he was on top of it now.

"Alright Shirogane! Make this work!" Yuuko shouted to him.

At her words, he came up with a few methods. Maybe he should shout a few words? Think a few words? He didn't really know where to start. Lagann stood on top of Gurren, unmoving.

"Alright, let's do this. Link!" he shouted.

Nothing.

"Ok then! Join!" he tried again.

Nothing.

"Combine!"

…Nothing. It was getting kind of annoying. He was commanding Lagann in spoken words and in his head yet nothing he did had any sort of effect.

"Nothing, huh?" Yuuko said to herself.

Not giving up, Takeru continued.

"Link start! Fusion Ha! Lagann powers activate! Super combining form! Penetrate! Impact! Trace on! Install!"

Despite Takeru's shouting of increasingly ridiculous phrases or words, Lagann would not budge. Not matter what he said or what he thought, Lagann continued to stand rigid on top of Gurren, not responding to anything. Takeru felt stupid at his embarrassing attempts.

"I guess that failed." Yuuko said to herself. "Alright, Shirogane! We're bringing you down! We'll try again some other time!" she shouted to him.

Sighing, Takeru relented and stopped his attempts.

"Well that was a total failure." He said as soon as he came down, still inside of Lagann.

"Perhaps we did not try everything just yet," Yuuko said to him while thinking of possible solutions. As a scientist, she already knew what it felt like to fail your experiments. What that meant is that they didn't isolate the correct factor. She knew that Gurren and Lagann we related, she was sure of that. But how the heck do you get them to link? Does it require something other than just words? "I'll keep working on a solution. Get out of that thing and meet me in my office."

And so Takeru did as he was told. Lagann working on mental commands was something he figured out easily by now. It did it when he first found it and now with the canopy. Giving the mental command, the brain-like canopy unwrapped and receded, revealing the high ceiling of the hangar again.

"I see you got the hang of it now." Yuuko told him as he took the small drill out of Lagann's panel and climbed out. Leaving it in the hands of the mechanics, he joined Yuuko in returning to the elevator.

"Well, as you said it works on mental command. It's different from regular TSFs in every possible way except in that. It's kind of reassuring actually." He said a bit hesitantly.

"How nice. Our first priority however is to figure out exactly how to get Gurren and Lagann to reunite. I believe only then will we be able to analyze them completely. Until then we can only analyze its basic features, as well as keep on examining Gurren."

"By the way, Yuuko-sensei, how did you figure out their names?" He asked her. He didn't get his hopes up for a straight answer though.

"I have my sources." She said out straight. Yep, no getting your hopes up with her.

Soon enough the two of them entered the elevator back up to the main base, and swiftly returned to Yuuko's lab.

"Well, now since this morning was so full of results, I'm going back to work, and you should be going back to class." She told him as soon as they entered her office.

He supposed he should really get back to his squad now. He missed the whole first period of class and he really wasn't planning on missing anymore. Even though he already knew all of the material and he had Yuuko covering for him every single time, he didn't like to be absent from class all the time. You can never be too cool for school. As soon as he turned to leave however, Yuuko spoke up again.

"Shirogane, catch this." She said to him. As soon as he turned around Yuuko threw something at him. Catching in midair with one hand, he examined the object. It was a thin metal string. It was slightly thicker than a guitar string, yet amazingly flexible as well. In his hand it coiled almost like regular sewing string. Takeru looked up at Yuuko, questioning the meaning of it. "Put your drill on that string and put it around your neck." She said. "I want you to have it on you at all times. Not in your pocket or in your room. On you at all times, am I understood?"

Unable to refute her judgment, he relented. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good, now get going."

And so Takeru left for his morning classes.

"Early on, 1st generation TSFs such as the F-4 Phantom were envisioned as mobile tanks, and were sent into battle with heavy armaments and armor plating while operated by retrained former military aviators. The results were…"

Takeru couldn't really focus on the lesson. After all, he knew this material already. He could say that he knew more than Marimo knew at this point. Heck, he could even tell her about TSFs that aren't studied in regular training facilities and about TSFs that have yet to be developed. Instead, he found his thoughts drifting back between two subjects. The first was the strange machine Lagann and its other half, Gurren. He could tell from Yuuko's explanation that there was obviously a whole lot more to those two than what they discovered. In the elevator, Yuuko also explained to him that they managed to get Gurren working with several different Eishi, differentiating it from Lagann in that it's not restricted like Lagann. But despite working similarly to TSFs, it had no armaments other than those ridiculous black shades on its eyes. Just thinking about it made him mentally sigh. What kind of crazy person would design a weapon, a sword in this case, that looked like sunglasses? It was so inefficient in so many ways it was almost maddening. But Takeru could agree on at least one thing.

It looked pretty damn cool.

The other subject filling his mind wasn't as happy or scientific. Takeru once more found himself thinking about his red-headed childhood friend Sumika. He found himself thinking about her a lot lately. He admitted already that he missed her dearly, and hoped he could see her again soon. Even if he got to see her and talk to her for a bit in the other world, it wasn't the same. He wanted her by his side, waking him up every day like he was used to, to walk to school together, to have their little fights here and there, and to eat lunch with her. He didn't keep count how much time has passed since he arrived in this world, but he was sure it has been a long time.

He sighed again, however this time not mentally. And unfortunately for him, sighing loudly in the middle of class with Marimo in the middle of teaching was rewarded with a whole lot of pushups.

And she heard him alright.

"Cadet Shirogane!" she screamed at him from the board. Suddenly back in focus, Takeru stood up and stood stiff next to his seat. His sudden movement caused the drill around his neck to jump out of his shirt, displaying it to everyone.

"Ma'am!"

"Tell me, what tactics were developed in the era of the 2nd generation TSFs, and give an example of some of the TSFs were created as a result of this development?" she asked him, completely expecting him to fail.

However, this was easy. Too easy. He quickly answered, reciting the answer by heart. "Ma'am, one of the tactics developed was the High-Low Mix, which refers to a strategic measure introduced by the United States to deal with BETA battle tactics by introducing two inherently different TSF types to create a changeable combat plan. On the 'High' portion of the scale, this involves the use of 'heavy' TSFs, usually referring to units with the capability to operate over long distances for extended periods of time such as the F-14 Tomcat, the F-15 Eagle, and the Su-27 Zhuravlik, alongside 'Low' or 'light' TSFs during combat, which are usually units with higher maneuverability thanks to their lightweight construction, with the tradeoff being reduced combat range such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the MiG-29 Lastochka."

Heh, what do you have to say about that Marimo-chan?

However, his impressive answer was met with silence. He noticed that his team members were, like before gawking at him, amazed with his answer. But Marimo's case was different. She had a shocked expression on her face not because of his answer, but because of the object now nestling on the top of his shirt.

The small drill.

It seemed that at some point during his answer Marimo dropped the chalk she was holding to write on the board, and seemed to focus all her mental capacities at staring at the drill. They remained in that position for quite some time, his squadmates slowly freed themselves from their amazed stupor. But Marimo was still staring at him. In fact, at this point she was openly gawking, trying to take in what exactly she was seeing. It took quite a few callings from Chizuru to finally get to Marimo.

Marimo spoke with stutter. "A-a-ah, yes that is correct Shirogane." The stutter in her voice was abnormal, that was for certain. He had never seen Marimo so shocked before, not in this timeline at least. He never knew she could even make such expressions. He saw these kinds of faces on Marimo only in the other world, where she was a bit more fickle and feeble. Seeing it on this Marimo was far too unusual. Does the drill bother her that much? "Ahem," she recomposed herself, clearing her throat. "You are correct Shirogane. It seems you do pay attention in class. However, dozing off in the middle of my lesson is unforgivable. You just got yourself 200 pushups." She commanded. He agreed to her command willingly, and sat back down.

Sometime later, the bell rang for lunchtime. The lesson wasn't interesting like he had expected since he already knew the material, but he paid attention nonetheless in order not to incur Marimo's wrath again. As his squadmates began to tidy up their tables, Marimo called out to him. "Shirogane, stay here."

He didn't really understand what she wanted. As his squadmates bid him goodbye for now, they exited the classroom and headed for the cafeteria, all the while trying to guess what Marimo was going to do to him this time. As soon as the squad's footsteps could no longer be heard in the hallway, Marimo spoke up firmly, approaching him.

"Where did you get it?"

Takeru could only look at her in confusion.

"I said, where did you get it?" She asked again, getting so close to him he could see his own reflection in her eyes. He was a bit taller than she was, so he was forced to turn his head down in order to look her straight in the eyes.

"I will not ask you again Shirogane. Where did you get it?" She repeated, anger seething into her voice. Takeru was taken aback by the increasing tone of her voice. He had never seen Marimo this angry before in his life.

"Ma'am, I really don't know what you are talking about." He replied, still confused.

Apparently sick of his feigning ignorance, Marimo resorted to more forceful means. She grabbed his collar and yanked him down to her height, repeating her question in an angry shout.

"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME SHIROGANE! I ORDER YOU AS YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER TO TELL ME WHERE DID YOU GET THIS DRILL!"

Her loud voice caused his ears to ring. He had never heard Marimo shouting so loudly and so frantically about something, nor did she ever become so forceful or violent with any of her students. For Takeru, the Marimo he was seeing right now was more than unnatural. She looked deeply in his eyes, studying him and trying to force the answer out of him. Realizing what she was talking about, he turned his eyes downward to look at the drill hanging around his neck. Looking back in her eyes, Takeru stuttered out a weak response. "Uhhh, Ma'am, I…Um…that is…" He didn't really know how to cause her to back down. All he could do was hope that she would let go off him soon.

Marimo was no fool however. Every single time Shirogane Takeru refused to answer one of her questions, was because it was confidential. The only time Takeru was ever exposed to confidential information was when he was dealing with a certain mad scientist: Kouzuki Yuuko.

Having found the answer to her question on her own, she released his collar and caused him to stumble backwards a bit. Trying to figure out what the presence of the drill on Takeru's neck meant, Marimo grit her teeth. She never thought that Yuuko would give him something so insanely important. Something that had shaped her life a long time ago. Something that represented all she had lost. She calmed herself down, not completely satisfied but understanding. "I apologize for my sudden outburst Shirogane," her voice commanding and stoic. She was apologized in a more military manner rather than a personal one, not bothering with any sort of bowing. "I was a bit surprised when I had seen it but now I understand where you could have obtained it. Please go to the cafeteria and inform the rest that the next class will be starting a little later than scheduled. This however does not mean you have the right to laze around. Study while you wait for me to return. Understood?"

Recomposing himself from the earlier scene, he stood stiffly and saluted. "Ah, uh, yes Ma'am."

"Good," she said, her voice calm "Off you go."

Obeying her command, Takeru headed to the door of the class. Giving one last look to the serious Marimo, he opened the door and headed out, closing it behind him, leaving the conflicted Marimo alone in the classroom.

"So what did Instructor Jingujii want from you Takeru?" Meiya asked him as she chewed on some lovely synthetic salmon. "I'm…not quite sure," he answered as he took a bite of the salmon himself. It was really good as he had expected. Kyouzuka really know how to manipulate this synthetic food to create a dish that come close to the original. Salmon were one of the many species on Earth that were brought to near extinction with the invasion of the BETA. They were one of many others, as species such as tuna and flounder had already been completely eradicated. Earth's biological diversity was being reduced by the minute. It was one of the reasons humanity wanted to end the war with the BETA so quickly. Even if humanity was to successfully eliminate the BETA on Earth, actually living normally would be incredibly difficult. Food was already scarce and agriculture become more arduous as more and more farmland was ravaged by war. Humanity would have to live for decades on synthetic food until they would somehow be able to revitalize the land and return prosperity and growth to the world.

"Does it have anything to do with that necklace of yours?" Chizuru interjected, finding interest in the conversation.

"Yeah Takeru, we never saw you with this necklace before. It's kinda weird too. A necklace shaped like a drill? That's something special for sure!" Added Mikoto enthusiastically. The rest of the squad voiced their agreement with a simple nod, making Takeru feel a bit cornered as he sweat dropped. Even if Yuuko didn't voice it, he knew for a fact that revealing anything about Gurren and Lagann was tantamount to suicide. Confidential information is to never be disclosed until she ordered it to be disclosed.

"It's nothing special, really." He said innocently, lying through his teeth. "I guess someone she knew had something similar? No idea. Hahaha…"

"Takeru, if you can't tell us then just say so." Meiya said, noticing his blatant lie. She was sometimes too sharp. If he wasn't careful she could make him spill out his secrets, as much as he shouldn't. The knowledge of him being from another world is one of the most guarded secrets in the world right now; with the only people in on it are Yuuko, Kasumi, and Takeru himself. Since Yuuko is the one who told him to shut his mouth up about that particular piece of information, she would never say anything, and Kasumi was too loyal, smart, and quiet to ever reveal something about him. In the end, he was his own worst enemy in that regard. A bit of mind games in the hands of an expert and he could accidentally spill the beans.

"Sorry." He apologized, confirming the squad's suspicion that it has something to do with his special mission with Yuuko.

"It's fine Takeru-san! It was a bit strange to hear the Instructor scream so loudly too!" Miki added, causing Takeru to give her a confused look. "We heard her shouts from pretty far away," interjected the class rep, making Takeru switch his stare to her. "Don't give me that look, it's not like we intended to eavesdrop on your conversation. She seemed pretty angry from her tone of voice I should say. I guess it struck an emotional chord in her heart or something." She shrugged, relieving her from any sort of retort from Takeru.

"Whatever it is," Meiya added as she munched on another piece of salmon. "It is not our place to pry. She is our instructor and a fellow human being. It would not do to pry into her private life. It is our code of conduct if you recall." Agreeing with Meiya's statement, the group continued to eat.

They finished their meals fairly quickly, and went to clear out their trays when Takeru suddenly remembered what Marimo had told him. "You guys, Marimo-ch…I mean Instructor Jinguuji ordered that we return to class and wait for her. She said she'll be late." He informed his sqaudmates. Feeling skeptical, Chizuru spoke up "That's strange, the instructor is never late to the classes. I wonder what could be wrong."

Feeling curious as well, Takeru said softly "Yeah me too..."

Soon enough they began their walk back to the classroom. On the way, Takeru decided to study the drill around his neck, causing him to fall a bit behind the rest. He looked at it curiously, studying its features. It's really strange, he thought. He believed that Lagann was probably a lucky find in the beginning, but when Yuuko had claimed that she was looking for it, he realized that it probably wasn't as coincidental as he thought. Strangely yet, Marimo acting like she did in the class because of it was nothing less than very unusual. This drill never appeared in any of his other timeline, so what could its appearance in this one signify? Will it spell doom or salvation for mankind? Or will it turn out to be a total fluke?

Returning the drill to under his shirt, he upped his pace in order to catch up with his classmates. As Ayamine was about to open the door however, the base alarm flared up suddenly and loudly. The group looked incredulously at each other as an announcement was made in tandem with the blaring alarm "Moving to DEFCON 2. All combat squadrons stand by in full gear. Repeat, moving to DEFCON 2. All combat squadrons…" The announcer repeated this phrase several times to catch the soldiers' attention.

Out of the entire group, Takeru was the most confused. This event never occurred in the other timeline. Could this possibly mean…Takeru recalled the General's announcement of the activation of Alternative V on Christmas day. Could this possibly mean that Alternative V is starting sooner than before? Did Yuuko already fail? Takeru found himself starting to panic. His goal was to prevent the activation of Alternative V from the start. Having it begin so early would mean all of his progress up until now would be for naught!

"Takeru!" Meiya shouted to him as the rest of the squad ran to gather their equipment "Come on! We need to get ourselves ready!"

"I need to go see Yuuko-sensei! Sorry!" he shouted back as he started running in the opposite direction. Turning around the corner, he lost sight of Meiya. Running as fast as his legs could take him, Takeru sprinted to Yuuko's office.

Earlier that day…

The feelings that Marimo was feeling at that moment could not be easily described. Seeing Shirogane leave the classroom, she bit on her the fingernail on her thumb. She could not understand how something so precious could come into his hands so easily. She knew that Yuuko had given it to him, but she didn't know why. The drill was too significant to just be handed to one of the soldiers, no matter how special they are supposed to be. Determined to get answers, Marimo headed to the command center. She didn't have the clearance to access Yuuko's lab, so she must first speak to her direct assistant, 1st Lieutenant Piatif, in order to reach her.

Arriving at the command center, Marimo spotted the lieutenant at one of the computers, typing down whatever it was she was typing. Marimo didn't care. Approaching her, Marimo spoke up "1st Lieutenant Piatif."

Noticing her, Piatif removed the headphones from her head and stood up to face her, saluting her back. "I wish to speak to Professor Kouzuki's in her lab right now." She said. Taking note of the seriousness of her tone, Piatif responded "Sergeant Jinguuji, I require you tell me the purpose of your visit."

Squinting her eyes as her impatience rose, Marimo responded. "It's about you-know-what."

Piatif's eyes widened a bit at her response. Earlier that day, Yuuko had instructed the lieutenant to tell her if Jinguuji Marimo requested to see her. Piatif was more often than not surpised at the professor's foresight. She must have caused something that would make Marimo want to see her as soon as possible.

"I understand, please wait a moment as I infor-" Piatif began to say as the door to the command center suddenly opened, and looked in shock when she saw who entered.

Passing the doorway, Undersecretary Tamase, General Paul Radhabinod, and Executive Commander Kouzuki Yuuko entered the command center.

"It seems our situation is most complicated." Said the undersecretary, concern in his voice.

"We will discuss this as soon as we gather more information." Answered the General. Yuuko stood by the two men, listening to their conversation. Not letting the opportunity slip by her, Marimo approached her with great courage. "Professor Kouzuki, if I may have a word with you."

Yuuko looked directly at her younger colleague and smiled, knowing what the sergeant wanted from her. "Gentlemen, if you may excuse me, I will brief the sergeant on the situation so she may brief her squad later on." She said, making up an excuse.

"I see, be sure not to take too long." The general answered, buying it.

Yuuko looked back at Marimo and led her through the doorway. She wanted absolute secrecy when they discussed the matter at hand. Nobody can hear what they would be talking about.

Arriving at an empty classroom not far from the command center, Yuuko sat at one of the student's desks in order to make herself comfortable. Putting her left leg on her right, she feigned ignorance. "So what could you possibly want from me at this time, Instructor Jinguuji?"

Marimo's patience depleted instantly at her tone. Slamming her hands on the desk, she shouted at her. "Don't play dumb! You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Her rage noticed, Yuuko continued to listen. "Why does Shirogane have the Core Drill?! It's not something you can just give out to anyone! Tell me right now!"

Looking at her seriously, Yuuko replied calmly. "You are well aware of our agreement, are you not?" Marimo deflated slightly at her response, but continued.

"I am aware! But even so-"

"But even so," Yuuko interrupted her. "Our agreement clearly stated that for me to provide you and your colleagues with a functional life and job, you will relinquish your holdings on Gurren and the Core Drill. Since the two of them no longer belong to you, I am free to do as I wish with them."

Gritting her teeth, Marimo persevered. "But even so, handing the Core Drill over to someone unrelated is—"

"There is a reason behind this course of action." Yuuko interrupted her again, looking her dead in the eye.

"And what reason could that be?" Marimo replied angrily, staring back.

Considering her next sentence, Yuuko smiled again. She decided to be direct. "Lagann has been found."

The surprise on Marimo's face was something Yuuko could describe as to be totally worth all effort. Instantly losing all color in her face, Marimo could only stutter out a response. "Wha-what? How? Where?"

Grinning now that she had grasped the initiative, Yuuko continued. "In the same place where we found you. How we missed it so easily is beyond me, but it was found buried underneath a scrap TSF in the ruins of old Hiiragi Town. And the one who found it…Was Shirogane Takeru himself."

Marimo could barely believe what she was hearing. It was right under their noses all this time, and then she tells her that none other than the 'special' Shirogane Takeru himself found it? It was preposterous!

"But that is not all." Yuuko continued. "It comes as a surprise to me as well, but Shirogane has created a response from Lagann." Yuuko then described the events of that day when Shirogane led her to Lagann's location. She explained to Marimo how she had taken the core drill with her on a mere whim, and how that whim paid off when Takeru proceeded to get a reaction from Lagann and successfully activated it.

Marimo's surprise was almost audible at that point. "But that is impossible!" She said loudly, slamming her hands on the desk again. "The only one who can activate Lagann is-"

"Yet no matter how impossible it seems, it is the truth. Shirogane Takeru has succeeded where we have failed for the last three years. All of our work is nothing in the face of this development, yet this development could not come at a better time." Yuuko interrupted her again. Curious as to what she was referring to, Marimo listened. "I went through the records time and time again. What is described in those records can only be described as the work of god. But that work was undone when Gurren and Lagann were separated. What we have here is a chance, a chance that humanity might never get again. My goal right now is to remake the machine described in those records. It could very well hold the key to humanity's victory against the BETA."

The seriousness of Yuuko's resolve could be felt in what she was saying. Now that the two pieces are together, they can be used in order to ensure humanity's future. "But we have come across a problem," Yuuko continued. "Despite this development, we were unable, even with Shirogane's help, to gain any results. Something seems to be lacking in a department I am not familiar with. Therefore, I am going to experiment with them in the most appropriate field for their purpose."

Marimo's eyes widened at her declaration. "You can't possible mean…"

"You will hear all about it in the briefing." Yuuko stood up from her chair, stretching lightly. "I will overlook this outburst of yours. In the meantime, come with me. There is much for us to discuss."

Leading Marimo out, the two women left the classroom and headed back to the command center.

Takeru was growing more and more impatient with each passing second. After the alarm started, he sprinted as fast as possible towards Yuuko's lab, only to find that she wasn't there, nor was Kasumi. It then dawned on him that she might be in the command center, so he turned around and sprinted there as well. He did find her there fortunately, although not alone. She was in the company of the undersecretary and the base general, as well as being accompanied by Marimo for some reason he did not know. After they had finished their discussion about the situation, he was sent ahead back to the classroom and was instructed to tell the others to wait patiently for their briefing.

Hearing about dangerous things like a coup d'état did not help calm his nerves at all. He didn't understand why such an event would occur, diverging so significantly from what he had experienced. Even worse, was the fact the Yoroi Sakon, the enigmatic and bubbly father of his friend Mikoto showed up as well, bearing some very dangerous words, saying that it is not a coincidence that a group such as the 207th Squadron was formed. Only when he made such a fact so obvious did Takeru start thinking about how strange their group really is. Leaving without saying another word, Sakon left the command center.

As Takeru processed through his mind Sakon's cryptic words, Kouzuki Yuuko walked in through the class doors.

"Salute!" Marimo commanded to her squad. As one, all members raised their hands to salute their superior officer.

"I already told you to quit it with these meaningless formalities, gosh." Yuuko complained, relieving the saluting members. "Anyway, here is the outline of the situation," she said, handing Marimo a file filled with reports. "Read through it."

Taking the file from Yuuko, Marimo quickly scanned over the reports. As she read, she was astounded to discover that the UN Security Council has decided to incorporate American units into the anti-rebel forces. And that they would receive them, right here in Yokohama base. Quickly briefing her cadets of the situation in the capital, Marimo gave the stage to Yuuko, knowing she had more to add.

Yuuko smirked. She had to give it to Marimo for being able to withstand her anger and frustration to such a degree. She just had to see the look on her face once she was finished briefing the cadets on what she had in mind for them.

"Lieutenant, prepare the presentation please." She asked of her assistant. Acknowledging her order, Piatif began setting up the projector. Yuuko began her briefing in earnest.

"Before we start going anywhere, I will tell you of another objective of this operation. In your command under Sergeant Jinguuji, one of you will pilot an experimental TSF that we have developed here on this base. The purpose of this deployment is to give it a test-run, so to speak."

By the time Yuuko finished her sentence, Piatif had already finished setting up the projector. With a cue from Yuuko, Piatif started it up. As soon as the squad saw what was on screen, they gasped in shock.

But not nearly as much as Takeru and Marimo.

"Meet the Gurren." She proclaimed. On screen were schematics, photographs, illustrations, and every detail about the strange machine Takeru saw in the hangar. Descriptions of its size, weight, shape, and armaments we all displayed for the squad to read.

Takeru could not believe what he was seeing. Yuuko was seriously presenting Gurren to the entire squad? And it was going to be used in this operation? Has she finally lost her mind?

"The Gurren is a special TSF that specialized in holding objectives and defensive operations." She continued. With a cue to Piatif, she moved on to the next slide. "It has armor that has been reinforced several times over to give it protection against everything mankind could dish out, be it bullets, tank shells, and even TSF swords. It has been hypothesized it can hold even if a Fort-class BETA steps directly on it, and theorized that it can withstand a laser-class's laser for more than 5 minutes."

The next slide moved in place.

"But that is not what is important here. I can already tell you right now that you might be exposed to combat during this operation. Therefore, one of you will be deployed inside of Gurren for the duration of this operation and using it to defend the objective you are holding. Any questions so far?"

Tamase Miki raised her hand up. "Ma'am, how is this Gurren operated? Is it similar to a regular TSF?"

Liking her question, Yuuko moved on to the next slide, displaying the Gurren's cockpit and controls. "It is indeed piloted similarly to the TSFs you know, expect for a few key aspects. For one, it has been confirmed that it is not necessary to wear an exo-suit during piloting for the sake of eliminating motion-sickness, since Gurren has been constructed in a way that eliminates the motions that cause nausea and weakness in the first place. Basically, motion-sickness is none-existent while inside the cockpit of Gurren. On the other hand however, when it comes to weapons, we had to sacrifice a few key aspects of traditional TSFs in order to compensate for its toughness. First, it does not have in anyway side arms or compartments for storage. The two arms you can see here are all it has in terms of what it can grasp. Whoever pilots Gurren will have to get used to these changes as quickly as possible."

At that point Chizuru raised her hand. "Ma'am, then how can it fight without any weapons at all?"

Smiling, Yuuko answered. "The standard rifle will be held in one of its hands and that will be it for long-range combat. On the other hand," She moved on the next slide, displaying information about Gurren's strange sunglasses. Takeru could see confused looks from his teammates as they studied the slide. "These glasses function in a way that is similar to the standard TSF blade, but even stronger. It has been doubly reinforced with super carbon and titanium, making it able to cut through even a destroyer-class' armored front. We decided to shape it like sunglasses in order to make it easier to draw and use. Any further questions?"

Takeru already realized by this time that the information she provided about Gurren was incomplete. She for one did not mention Lagann, and therefore their hypothesized relations. He had to admit that he did not know anything about its more technical components, although he already realized that she made up the part about it being a prototype TSF. He theorized that if Gurren was being deployed, then Lagann might be as well. Is this her attempt at remerging them? Perhaps, but he had no concrete proof at the moment. Yuuko's manipulations could really drive a man insane sometimes. Takeru then noticed in the corner of his eye Marimo's glare at him, causing a small shiver to run up his spine.

Seeing that nobody had any further questions about Gurren, Yuuko decided to get right to the point. She didn't have a lot of time to spend on this briefing since she had to start accommodating the American Army that was soon to arrive on this base. She had to make sure that Gurren's existence is to remain a secret for as long as possible, even if just for this operation. There was already a lot at stake for her in this operation, but if her hypothesis paid off, then she wouldn't have to worry about any backdoor attempts at theft since Gurren would be permanently locked out for them.

"So," she began. "I'll get right to the point. "She adjusted her coat and folded her arms. "Which brave soul in this squad is willing to put their life on the line to pilot this experiment?"

The squad went quiet at that. Yuuko glanced over the five girls, who were now staring at the floor, concerned and confused, ruling Takeru out. He was needed for something else. A minute passed and not one raised their hand. Feeling irritated, Yuuko tried again. "Well?"

Gathering up her courage, one girl raised her hand high in the air and spoke. "I shall do it."

Happy that finally someone stepped up, Yuuko spoke again. "Finally someone with some steel in them. Very well, Cadet Mitsurugi Meiya, you will forgo piloting a regular Fubuki and will henceforth pilot the Gurren for the rest of this operation."