Don't own Gurren Lagann, Gainax does.
From Dai-Gantei's throne room, Ribo Soma Teppelin and his new Lord Regent watched their great fleet impassively. Ribo breathed in the air of excitement surrounding his vassals. Quietly, he reflected on how easy it was to manipulate the masses through the simple mechanic of patriotic fervor. In that way he was a master.
Rising from his throne, he decided that the time was ripe to once more put those skills to use.
"Gentlemen..." he addressed the zeppelin crews. "I ask of you not as subjects, not as subordinates, but as brothers and sisters regardless of species: what is it that you desire?"
High above Kamina City, the engineers stopped in the middle of checking the missiles to listen to Ribo's words.
The refugees below looked in curiosity to why three enormous oval shaped aircraft without faces were lingering over the city.
"Do you wish for redemption?"
Several crews of Beastmen were eagerly painting phrases such as "Eat lead and DIE!" and "Burn, human vermin!" on the missile casings.
"Do you lust for revenge?"
The captains of each zeppelin stood on the bridges of their respective ships, proud to be leading this first strike against the human infidels.
"Do you want to push these rats back to the caves from whence they came? Do you crave for their spilt blood? Do you wish to deliver unto them as they delivered unto you? Do you wish to see the third-rate Neanderthals sent once more into the maw of despair?" Ribo lifted a shot glass of amber liquid to his lips, drinking eagerly. Within one of the Zeppelins, a petty officer flipped switches.
"YES YOUR MAJESTY! WE WISH FOR JUST RETRIBUTION AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE! FOR OUR FAMILIES, OUR FRIENDS, OUR DREAMS, OUR EMPIRE, OUR CAPTAIN, OUR KING!"
Within each zeppelin several hundred Beastmen screamed the same animalistic cry. Out in the air, one thousand aerial Ganmen pilots each joined in the declaration of revenge. Viral's eyes widened at their enthusiasm whilst Ribo merely smiled triumphantly, teeth showing.
"My brothers and sisters, see before you the nest of the rats that poison our beautiful land. If you wish to take your homes back..." He raised high the hand that held his shot glass.
"THEN TAKE IT!"
He flung his arm down, sending his glass crashing into the floor to shatter into a thousand fragments.
At that exact moment, each zeppelin captain gave the signal to fire. Missiles leapt from their tubes, screaming down upon the city below, filling the citizens with sudden terror.
One special missile shot ahead of the rest, programmed for a very specific target. With unerring aim it crashed into the unfinished statue of Kamina, the city's namesake. The monument was almost instantly vaporized.
Other missiles cruised into unfinished buildings, holding people of all ages, their lives disappearing in a flash of fire and metal. More explosions rang out in a line across the now burning city. Men and women were swept up into the flame, fragments of ruined buildings goring them as they try to run. None were spared, neither the women, nor the elderly, nor the children.
Everywhere, homemade Dai-Gurren flags burned in the wind
From the Dai-Gantei, Viral watched in morbid awe and shock. Even when he had been assigned the specific duty of eliminating surface humans, he had never seen such a slaughter. There was no resistance; what could the regular humans do to fight against a wave of guided missiles? Viral was disgusted at the lack of honour in the massacre, before he reminded himself that he had left that behind him.
Whatever it took to get back at the Gurren Lagann.
Whatever it took.
Missiles streaked down, leaving white contrails behind them. Bombs fell free, whistling as they fell. The already burning city was lit up with explosions, killing many who had survived the first attack.
Today was to be a day of bloodshed, a day to seize the new king's promised victory. In that instant, the gauntlet was thrown down. Fire rained down upon the vulnerable earth, and life by life Ribo wrote his challenge to the Dai-Gurren Brigade. Viral looked behind him, hearing something from Ribo, who appeared to be muttering to himself.
"...atop a mountain of corpses. I build my throne atop such macabre foundations. For human bones are stronger than steel."
Chaos reigned throughout the humans' still-developing sphere of influence. Crude settlements were clustered around the Teppelin ruins, the battered, weary Dai-Gurren their sole guardian. As missiles scorched the earth, carpets of flame blazed towards the human shanty-towns, with every blast bringing the onslaught and stench of death even closer.
Within Dai-Gurren, Dayakka desperately tried to recall the rest of the Brigade. Hopefully the whirlwind of fire and death would bring them running, even drunk as they would surely be. Until then, the city was defenseless.
Except for one red shape that streaked through the sky.
The Gurren Lagann soared through the sky, prepared once again to face the impossible and come out on top. Yet even at such altitude, Simon heard within himself the cries and creams of the wounded and dying. He looked down at the path of destruction; from above, the flames took on a spiral pattern. It was a sick, twisted joke, and Simon felt bile rise in his throat.
"And to think…if they only stayed undergrou…"
He crushed those thoughts. They had fought long and hard to carve out a better home for themselves, their children, and their children's children. They would not give up and flee back to the bowels of the earth without a fight.
"Dayakka! I need updates on Kittan and the others!" he yelled. "Where the hell are they already?"
"We've managed to contact them and get them to their Ganmen, if only just. Unfortunately, they still haven't made it out of the city..."
Simon paled. If they couldn't escape the barrages, he alone would defend humanity.
Throughout all his fights, he had never truly been alone. Either Kamina or the Brigade had always backed him.
"Dammit. Where's Nia?" He feared for her safety. She should be aboard Dai-Gurren, but Nia was Nia...
"She left with Rossiu to organize the evacuation. For all I know she's still down there somewhere, possibly pinned down in some shelter."
Immediately Simon's stress tripled. Nia was out there in danger. He couldn't bear it if she was hurt. Like when Kamina died, he would likely lose himself again, and this time nobody would be able to pull him out.
" Have they managed to get out of the city yet?" he asked through grit teeth.
"I just told you, I have no idea where they were! But I haven't seen anyone leave the city, so they're likely holed up in a shelter somewhere."
"Looks like it's all up to me, then..." he muttered.
For the first time, he was on his own. Not even when he had fought Lordgenome had he been truly alone. Still, he reminded himself, every member of Team Dai-Gurren, dead or alive, was present on his back. And to top it all off, Nia was in danger. He had more than enough reason to end this quickly.
"We'll send backup as soon as we can, but until then you're up against major odds," warned Dayakka.
"Heh." Simon clenched his teeth. "Unlucky for the Beastmen. Major odds you say? When has that ever stopped us? In fact, I think this is Team Dai-Gurren's kind of battle!"
"Please don't do anything too reckless! We're still…"
"Dayakka, just concentrate on getting the rest of the Brigade rolling. I'll take care of all these missiles for you."
Gurren Lagann boosted, taking position before and beneath the oncoming airborne titans. As he waited for them to begin spitting out explosives again, Simon prepared his own artillery strike.Gurren Lagann's body and limbs bristled with drill-shaped projectiles, each one charged with enough fighting spirit to utterly demolish a typical ganmen.
The skill would be in getting them to make contact.
Simon got as close as he could, waiting for the zeppelins' missile ports to belch out their next stream of explosives. He was ready for anything they could throw at him.
"That Ganmen there is interesting," remarked Ribo from his safe viewing point on the other side of the Earth. "Viral, do you recognize it?"
"Sir, that's the Gurren Lagann."
"Oh? So that's why your face twisted up upon seeing it. It's interesting; I believe I know what he's planning to do, and it will require quite a lot of Spiral Energy to pull it off. This will be a good test of my adversary's skills." He shifted in his seat. "Still, I think it's safe to say we no longer rule the airborne front. Send in the shock troopers." Immediately a nearby officer relayed the order to the zeppelin crews.
Almost the instant the enemy fired Simon filled the airspace with swathes of blazing green trails. Much as they had done to Cytomander's air squadron during the Battle of Teppelin, the drills punctured the missiles. A mass of deafening explosions spread in front of the zeppelins as their deadly cargo were intercepted, but a few especially fast or durable missiles carried on unharmed.
"Oh no you don't!" yelled Simon, and he boosted off in hot pursuit of the escapees. One he quickly overtook, detonating it with a crushing fist. The next three drew ahead of him slightly, but with longer drills, he pierced and destroyed them. A final missile still eluded him, one of beastly size and exhausting speed. With a thought Simon created a shorter, thicker drill and fired it at the missile, which exploded in a blinding flash of light.
He paused for a moment to catch his breath. He glanced at the zeppelins, and saw the autoloaders cycling fresh missiles into tubes.
"Do they never run out?" he groaned, exasperated with their persistence. Still, he positioned himself to intercept.
On the bridge of the foremost airship, Enzai watched Simon struggle with predatory interest. Wave after wave and Gurren Lagann had still not fled or broken. He let loose a dark chuckle.
"Interesting... excellent. This boy might just live up to his reputation. If the Lord Regent is correct, I may just get to have some fun after all!"
"Lord Enzai, we are receiving orders from Dai-Gantei. Should Gurren Lagann intercept, you are all to defeat him in combat and if possible, bring the pilot and his mecha back to his Majesty alive. In addition, he wants us to send in the 105th Mendel Marine Division along with the 43rd Underland Army Division."
The orange haired man gave a deranged smile and signaled to his crew, his eyes glinting.
"Good. Tell Mito and Clora to ease off the bombardments and join me on the field of battle. We've done enough damage, and the boy is getting in the way. It's time to descend upon the vermin and smite them in person!"
"Yes, my lord!" As the crew scurried about enacting his orders, Enzai grinned viciously.
"Send a call down to the hangars, and get the mechanics to prep my Yatano Kagami. I will go out to meet this upstart in person."
At that moment, humans and feline Beastmen began to flood from the zeppelin hangars, plummeting to the ground, weapons strapped to their backs. With perfect timing they deployed their parachutes at once, drifting gracefully to the ground. As they landed they drew their weapons, firing at anything other than themselves.
Enzai laughed inwardly at his master's aggressive opening maneuver. Even with their prior experience against Cytomandra, it was unlikely they had ever witnessed guided missiles and airborne commandoes used so openly and destructively. Ribo was truly unfettered by the rules with which his predecessor Lordgenome had bound himself. It was a perfectly executed shock attack, and the best part was that the results were showing: of the humans' armed forces, only the Gurren Lagann had yet launched, which meant either their Ganmen had been destroyed by the missiles or the pilots were killed likewise.
Or, better yet, they were all cowering in fear.
"Bring the aerial ganmen flights back to defend the ship," ordered Enzai. "Should we fail, there is a chance that the enemy will make a move for the airships. You will not allow him to destroy any of them, at all costs."
Enzai left the bridge with a swish of his coat to a chorus of "Yes, my lord." He headed for the dark core of the hangars, intent on matching his skill against this "Simon the Digger".
While Simon was taking a breather, a missile streaked by him with intense velocity to collide with a skyscraper near the Dai-Gurren. The boy panicked.
"Dayakka! Dayakka! Are you with me, Dayakka?"
A series of coughs and crackles were replaced by the warm, familiar voice. "Ah, Simon? Is everything OK up there?"
"The missile barrages have stopped, but now they're throwing all kinds of other things at…"
Simon narrowly dodged a series of attacking planes, easily taking them out with a rapid counterattack. Aerial Ganmen began to spread out and surround him, transforming and diving towards him en masse. Some missiles, fewer than the first waves, began streaking through.
"Dayakka, what's happening down there?"
"Looks like some kind of crack infantry are ransacking the cities! They're even holding their own against ganmen! Kittan and the others are back, but…gah!" A missile crashed into the side of theDai-Gurren, and Simon's heart froze.
"Dayakka!"
"... We're fine. Dai-Gurren just got hit is all! Listen, Simon, we're having a hard time coordinating everything down here. Keep those fighters away from us!"
"Leave it to me! I will rule the skies!"
Simon let his blood burn as he faced the oncoming storm. Tens, hundreds of ganmen - but none of them would be a challenge for the invincible Dai-Gurren Dan's leader.
'"It's been a while, Beast-bastards!" he screamed, working himself into a fury. "You're about to find out... just who the hell I am!" And drills began to pour out of Gurren Lagann's body.
Moments later, the sky was riddled with explosions and streams of green energy.
While the Brigade dominated the aerial front, the settlements were faring far more poorly. Besides their missiles, each zeppelin carried several platoons of paratroopers, and numerous ganmen.
The paratroopers struck the ground, their gait depending on their animal half or lack thereof. The strike force's captains were the last to land, falling to the surface with an odd grace.
They were humans, but not with human qualities. An otherworldly aura surrounded them, and behind visored helmets each one sported glowing green eyes. They looked around themselves calmly, seemingly distant from the chaos that raged around them. The agglomeration of rogues and soldiers made its way steadily through the streets, meeting human opposition for the first time.
They quickly gained the upper hand. Bazookas smashed ganmen hulls into scrap metal, buildings were looted and wrecked, men and women gunned down viciously. The settlements had no chance.
For a while, it was no longer war. It was simply massacre.
As the shock troopers ran through the streets, dispassionately gunning down fleeing humans, destroying grounded ganmen with their bazookas, one boy cautiously peeked over a windowsill from the top floor of a new apartment and watched as all his work was laid to ruin.
"No, no, no, no, no, this isn't good," muttered Rossiu fearfully. "And...what on earth? There are humans with them! Fighting alongside them! What kind of trickery is this?"
"Rossiu, we cannot fret about such things right now," replied Nia, holding several children close. "We need to focus... if we don't get ourselves and these children to a safer place..."
"What safer place? There's nowhere secure enough! We'll be slaughtered if we step into the streets! It's best if we stay put and hope none of them find us..."
The children whimpered and wailed, frightened by Rossiu's words. Nia, seeing their discomfort, crouched down on one knee and tried to offer them hope.
"Please listen... you might not believe me, but the situation is not as bad as it could be. We've always won before, right? And..." She smiled and looked up at the sky through the one window.
"And Simon is taking care of those nasty things up there. So we can calm down and focus on getting out of here, yes?"
Reassured, and glad of a distraction, the children began to look for better hiding places. Nia turned back to her companion.
"Rossiu, have hope. I know Simon will come through for us!" Rossiu took a deep breath.
"Easy for you to say…" Before he could finish, the children screamed.
Heavy, thundering footsteps and the scraping of metal could be heard outside. They heard yelling from the shock troopers followed by several blasts.
"Oh no. They've found us, I knew it..." lamented Rossiu, ducking down behind the windowsill.
"Wait, Rossiu!" Nia exclaimed as she recognized a familiar shape.
It was a gleaming ganmen, red and pink, with an oversized rifle barrel on top of its head.
Nia knew it well; a custom made as a more sniper-friendly alternative to the Dayakkaiser. And its pilot...
"Hey, Nia, you in any of these crumbling sheds?" Nia and Rossiu were overjoyed.
"Yoko!"
"Thank goodness we found you. It'd have been terrible for you two to be missing."
"Shee? I toldja, they'sh all fine!"
The King Kittan stumbled past the Yokkaiser, with the Twin Boukun following suit. All three pilots were clearly intoxicated.
" Kittan!" reprimanded Yoko. "Stay behind me like I told you to! God, I am never going to a party with you again! In fact, I think I'll get rid of all our alcohol after this!"
"Haha! Don'tcha, don' give me any of the ol' mouth, woman! You'sh gonna need a fron... a front... guy! And th'ncredible Kittan's yer man!" Yoko sighed.
"Listen, Nia. Despite our... state, we've managed to clear out all the soldiers between us and Dai-Gurren. If you can get back along the path behind us, you should be safe. Get going before they manage to push us back again!"
"I will! Thank you, Yoko!"
Kittan lumbered into the distance, the Twin Boukun stumbling along behind it. Yoko yelped and ran after them
"Get back here, you idiots! What if you spring a trap or something? We don't know what's ahead, you might..." Yoko's admonishments faded into the streets ahead. Rossiu and the children stared after them, wondering if they would see another sunrise.
"See, what did I tell you?" Nia interjected quickly, sensing the mood. "Our Team Dai-Gurren will never let us down!"
Simon closed his eyes. The air had been cleared of ganmen, and he was given a chance to sit back, rest, and take in sweet gulps of oxygen. The fight had been one-sided, but undeniably hectic, and he knew there was worse yet to come.
"Simon! How are things?" called Dayakka once more.
"I've repelled the aerial attack... but I'm pretty beat, and I don't know what else these guys have up their sleeve."
"Well, we have good news at last. The fight on the ground's evening out. It's still tough, but Makken and Iraak are sober enough to keep the frontline steady. We might be able to send you backup in a minute.'
"...Okay. Thanks, Dayakka."
"And to top it all off, Leeron pulled another miracle and got the weapons going! Soon we'll be able to cover the air with the flak cannons, and you'll get a well-earned br…"
"Hold that thought, Dayakka," interrupted Simon as a strange apprehension ran through his body. "I don't think I'll be getting any breaks yet." He tensed, and raised Gurren Lagann's fists, eyes peeled to spot the intruder. As it happened, the intruder had no worries about being spotted.
A bulky red fighter plane with indigo plating at its peak appeared in his peripheral vision, streaking at the Gurren Lagann. Two long blades ran down the wings, and as it passed it tried to use them to slice at Simon. Simon deftly dodged and fired a drill in response, which the newcomer dodged easily.
"I'm impressed, Simon the Digger. That was an entire air force you dispatched," oiled the fighter jet. "I can see why the newcomers speak of you like a living legend." Simon narrowed his eyes.
"I didn't ask for praise. Now are you here for small talk or to fight?"
"Much as I would like to, I don't think I can stomach your manners. Y ou should show a little respect to your elders in the art of war."
"Why should I!"
"You shall see soon enough…boy."
"Look, if you're not going to give straight answers, there's no point in talking like this. Let's just get down to it, shall we?" Simon summoned a drill as the jet flew circles around him.
"Ohohoho. A challenge, is it? You think a pup like you has the right to challenge Enzai Golgi, Royal Knight and Leader of the Membrus Guard? I shall prove you wrong!"
Simon gritted his teeth, and the gauge in front of him rose.
"My Gurren Lagann will pull me through! You'll see why they call me a legend!"
"Good! I can't wait to match my Yatano Kagami against the famed red ganmen! I'll enjoy this fight!"
The jet sped towards the Gurren Lagann, spitting bright fire from the beam cannons around its cockpit. Gurren Lagann dodged deftly, narrowly avoiding the wing blades before returning fire with its drills. The jet turned to make another pass. They danced back and forth until Simon detached Gurren's shades, deflected the lasers, and made a swing at the jet.
"Your mine!" he roared as he prepared to slice the jet in two. His eyes widened in shock as a hand morphed out of the jet to grab the shades before they struck. A leg morphed out to kick the Gurren Lagann, sending it crashing into the ground.
"What the…" Simon gasped once he had regained his bearings. Where they jet had once been now floated a ganmen, similar in size to the Gurren Lagann.
"Impressive, making me transform," praised Enzai. "I underestimated you, boy. It appears what you showed against my hordes was no indicator of your true strength... but even at this level, you are doomed. My comrades and I will make short work of you together."
Two more ganmen sailed into view. One was, surprisingly, a smaller specimen, much like Lagann, yet with a more savage and demonic aspect, its armor a mix of dark grays and blacks. Its companion was a tall, strong-jawed mecha wrapped in an armored mantle, though whether for style or protection Simon could not tell.
"Against three at your level," leered the demonic Lagann, "you stand no chance. Give up, Simon the Digger. If you would come with us..."
"Those words," said Simon with a determined smirk, "are words I'm afraid I've forgotten. 'Give'? 'Up'? Yeah, I'm sorry, but you've lost me. Can you define that for me, oh Royal Knight?"
"Overconfidence will be your downfall, brat!" snapped a female voice from the cloaked Ganmen.
"Bullshit! All it means is that I'll be able to face you down without fear!"
Simon charged, pummeling Enzai once more. The smaller mecha zipped in, knocking him off balance, and the cloaked ganmen caught him with a painful kick. Enzai followed through, beating Simon until he was trapped between the three ganmen.
The situation was dangerous, but still he was not pushed to his limit. He zoomed skywards, all three mecha in hot pursuit.
"Time to use that trick again..." he muttered. The gauge filled with energy. The drills appeared once more, and he turned to fire them at his adversaries. Enzai was knocked aside. The Lagann-type was sent spinning away, but the cloaked one threw its cape out and absorbed the projectiles.
Still, he had created an opening.
He flipped and boosted down, straight past the cloaked ganmen, and slammed into Enzai's mecha. They carried on straight into the ground, plowing a furrow in the earth.
But Enzai was not finished, and he punched the Gurren Lagann. Simon stumbled back before jetting into the air once more, only to meet with the cloaked ganmen's fist. The Gurren Lagann crashed back into the ground.
The cloaked Ganmen came down and approached, ready for the kill. Drawing back its fist, it punched down at the prone Gurren Lagann, but Simon was able to react in time and caught the fist instead. He rolled to his feet, caught another punch, and threw the cloaked ganmen at Enzai. Simon manifested a drill, preparing to charge the two entangled Ganmen, but was interrupted by the demonic Lagann, who charged into his side and threw him off balance. This gave the other two time to recover, and Simon was forced to jet into the sky again.
And so they danced, a destructive ballet of attack and counterattack. As the fight wore on, it became apparent that Enzai had by far the greatest offensive power of the three, while the cloaked ganmen was the best armoured. The little ganmen was presumably a hidden ace, a trump card to be kept in reserve, completing a potentially powerful combination.
As things stood, however, the cloak's defense coupled with Enzai's force were keeping Simon on the defensive. He would have to kick his fighting spirit up a notch if things did not change.
Once again he found himself pursued through the sky. Turning once more, he attempted to summon the drills again. Instead he summoned blood from his lungs. He coughed, tasting an iron tang.
"Did I…use too much!" yelled Simon in shock.
A headbutt from the mini-ganmen threw him far away. The trio laid fire on him as he tore through the air, unable to stop, explosions riddling the Gurren Lagann's hull, until suddenly two pairs of arms caught and braced the stricken ganmen.
"Cowaaaards! You beasht guys think ya can knock ol' Simon round by gangin' up... 's not the way men do stuff!" yelled the one on his right.
"Don't worry. Your reinforcements are here, Simon." reassured the ganmen on his left. Yoko and Kittan had arrived, making the field even once more.
No, more than even; they had a far superior chance of winning. The two had certainly come at the right time. Simon sighed with relief. Enzai laughed contemptuously.
"Mito, Clora, I expect you can deal with these lackeys right?"
"Don't order me around Enzai! I was gonna do that before you even thought of it!" snapped Clora.
"Understood," answered Mito.
"Good. I was just starting to have fun with this one, and it'd be a shame to end it early." Simon tightened his grip on Lagann's controls, hope renewing him.
"Kittan, Yoko, you ready?"
"Any day."
"Yesh!"
He thanked the fortunes for his comrades and addressed Enzai. The Gurren Lagann's arm raised, and it pointed an accusatory finger at the strange ganmen.
"Listen up," he said. "I don't know who or what you are, or who your leader is, or what he thinks he can gain from attacking us. But one thing I do know..." Simon pulled his goggles over his eyes. Once more he felt his fighting spirit well up. Behind him the King Kittan and the Yokkaiser prepared for a fight.
"...is that you haven't even begun to see what we can do."
Rewritten third chapter. Made the Knights more stronger this time around.
Written by Zaru, edited by 1 over 0 and Juubi-K.
If you liked this, you will enjoy Words Without a Voice.