Written by 1 over 0 and Zaru. Edited by the two mentioned and Juubi-K.

Gainax owns Gurren Lagann. The Legion of the Helix and its mecha belong to us.

"So let's continue where we left off," said Rossiu as he sat in his chair next to Simon at the large table. "Hopefully, we'll be able to keep a semblance of order long enough this time to come to a proper decision."

He panned his gaze slowly over the assembled Dai-Gurren members. Kittan averted his eyes in shame, while Zorthy only snorted and blew a large cloud of cigarette smoke. Kidd and Iraak looked serious, for once: in Kidd's case because Dayakka had threatened him with Nia's cooking, and in Iraak's because Yoko wasn't around to distract him. Her absence was still acutely felt, to the extent that an empty chair had been pulled up just for her. The twins were, as always, sweating nervously in the face of decision-making.

"Just in case of another interruption, I'll be brief," started Rossiu. "The important facts, as we know them, are that we're completely at the mercy of an unknown and unpredictable enemy. The extent of his forces is completely unknown, and his next attack could potentially be devastating."

"Pffffft!" spat Kidd. "Like it's any worse than it was with Lordgenome. It was the same thing then too, and we came out all right. This kid can't possibly be worse than his father."

"I don't know..." mused Simon quietly. "This has a different feel to it. Ribo's...different from his father. In some ways they're similar, but in others, they're completely different."

"Regardless," interjected Rossiu. "Our first priority is protecting the citizens of Kamina City."

"Not much of a city any more," commented Zorthy with a bitter laugh.

"Therefore," said Rossiu, "I've taken the liberty of organizing a plan to have all survivors loaded onto Dai-Gurren."

"Is there enough room?" asked Dayakka. "And I think you should have consulted me before loading extra personnel on my ship."

"Chill, big guy," said Zorthy, dragging on his cigarette. "It's not like there's all that many. You should have plenty of room."

"Rossiu got my approval," said Simon apologetically. "I just haven't had the chance to talk to you before now, Dayakka."

"But won't they impede our combat ability?" asked Iraak, leaning forward with hands upon his knees. "If they're in the way, or if they become a liability...And it's not like we can take the fight to Ribo if we're protecting a bunch of noncombatants."

"If anything they'll serve as extra hands," said Rossiu. "It's not like we have an excess of crew members."

"Besides, we'll just dump any extras at a shelter somewhere and then take off to find Ribo," said Kidd, leaning back. "I do assume that's what you're planning to do, right Rossiu?"

"That's the other point I'd like to discuss," continued Rossiu, "As Kittan here found out the other day, we have no idea where the enemy is."

Kittan's face was red with shame and embarrassment as the smoker smirked.

"I can imagine!" said Zorthy with a cold chuckle. "Probably flew around for hours before realizing it, too."

"Zorthy!" snapped Rossiu. "If you cannot restrain yourself, I'll have to evict you from the discussion!"

Zorthy made no comment, but chuckled darkly. He tried to take another drag on his cigarette, but found it was nearly spent. He reached into his pocket, took out another, and lit it up.

"We have no idea where the leader is located," continued Rossiu. "However. Conversations we intercepted during the battle suggested that there are several other bases established globally. Capturing one of these instalments could provide us with the information necessary to root out Ribo Soma Teppelin. Once we have a confirmed location, we can go for the kill."

"But do we know where any of those are?" asked Makken.

"...No, unfortunately we do not. However, when the next attack occurs, Leeron thinks he may be able to isolate one of their bases if we manage to capture an enemy Ganman intact."

"Like we did with Gurren," added Simon.

"So we wait?" said Kittan. Everyone jumped because he had been so quiet thus far. "We wait until the bastards come to finish us off, and only then do we do anything?"

"Yes," admitted Rossiu. "That is the plan, essentially."

"And this plan of yours will take us to Yoko?"

Rossiu was silent a moment before responding. Then, "...Yes. Most likely one of the bases will contain information on where Yoko is being held."

"Then if that's all settled, I'll wait," said Kittan, scraping back his chair to stand. "But I'm not going to sit around if nothing else is going to get done today. Have a good day, all of you." And Kittan left.

"He always seems the one who's unable to sit around," remarked Dayakka. "I would've pegged the twins to be the ones to get up and leave."

All eyes turned to the bumbling afro twins. They were, indeed, visibly struggling to stay still.

"Aw, get out of here you two," said Simon with a smile.

The twins immediately rose and bowed their way out, chanting thank you in unison.

"It looks like this meeting's pretty much over," said Kidd. "Supreme Commander, do you officially adjourn this council?"

Simon nodded, and the other members filed out. He himself stayed behind, however, while Rossiu shuffled and organized several papers.

"Are you happy, Rossiu?" he asked his right hand man. "We have a plan now. Myself, I feel much less stressed."

"Speak for yourself," said Rossiu. "There's still so much to figure out. Plans for the refugees, plans to ration the food, plans to keep the Ganmen operational...You know, you always seem to stick me with the organizing. I never get any help."

"I leave it all to you because you're good at it!" said Simon, slapping Rossiu's back. "Besides, you know none of us are any good at this. If you find anybody else you think would be helpful, then I'll induct him or her into the Brigade with all speed. Hell, you can have a division all to yourself, just for your planners!"

Rossiu smiled. "Thanks, Simon. But I don't think I'll have the time to go recruiting. For now, I'll content myself with my work."

"But don't push yourself too hard," warned Simon. "You're no use to me if you work so hard your brain fries and you end up one of the twins. Then they'd be triplets."

The two young men laughed together at the joke. Then they left and went their separate ways, one to oversee Ganman repairs, the other to create more plans to keep the Brigade running.


Nia found herself in a familiar position; that is, being unable to help in any significant way. She was unwanted in the kitchen, she knew, though she was glad that Old Coco let her in to cook for Simon. Nevertheless, she was determined to help. She had tried helping in the Ganman hangars, but Leite had just laughed her off. She had tried helping in the kitchen, this time as cleaning crew, but Old Coco had quietly shooed her out again. She was fairly certain that it was because she was getting in the way. Finally she had tried helping some of the men carry things around. That went about as well as could be expected.

So it was that she found herself with the refugees, telling stories.

"So then the biiiig dragon came out and roared, but the brave knight stood defiant! And the dragon breathed fire, and all of the knight's armour melted off!"

The children listened closely, enraptured by her tale. The ones that would listen, anyway; many sat staring into nowhere, or clutched rigidly to a parent. It saddened Nia immensely, but she was very careful not to let it show on her face. Instead she wore a big grin as she wrapped up her story.

"But the knight still wouldn't give up, and attacked with his sword and shield! But the dragon spat out little balls of fire, and melted those too."

The children leaned closer, eager to know whether or not the knight would win. Inwardly Nia chuckled; they should already know how it ended. They'd heard the story before, in a different form.

"The dragon snatched up the knight and held him in front of his huge mouth filled with sharp teeth! And the dragon said, 'I shall enjoy eating you, little knight!' But the knight still refused to give up, and he stuck his finger in the dragon's eye! And then he said, 'You don't scare me, dragon!' and in response to his bravery, his magical powers woke up, and the magic spiraled down his arm and blew the dragon to smithereens!"

The children all cheered at the knight's victory. Nia smiled, genuinely this time; though she knew she was casting her father as the villain, it still cheered her to remember that day.

"Another one, another one!" cried one of the children. The others took up his cry, and soon it became a cacophony of pleas for another story.

"I'm sorry," said Nia apologetically. "You've exhausted me of all my stories. I need some time to think of another.

There was a wave of "awwwws" and even an isolated boo, but the children slowly dispersed. One figure remained, however, who was not a child at all.

"But what happened after?" asked Kinon quietly, her face revealing nothing.

Nia smiled. "As if you didn't know," she teased.

The glassed Bachika thought otherwise.

"All I know is, another dragon showed up, bigger and stronger than the last," said Kinon. "And he had a bunch of like-minded dragons under him, all as strong the previous one, if not more. Can the knight take care of this one?"

"Of course!" said Nia immediately. "He's got his own group of like-minded knights to back him up!"

"Yes, but the dragon kidnapped a damsel," countered Kinon in cynicism. "Can the knights save her?"

"Cheer up, Kinon!" said Nia, aware of just what exactly Kinon was getting at. "You know everything's going to be all right."

Kinon drew her knees together. "I guess..." she muttered.

"What's wrong?" asked Nia, sensing something was off.

"It's just...I don't have anything I can do to help."

Nia laughed. "How like myself! I know; you can be my storytelling partner!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," said Kinon. "I can't come up with stories and tell them the way you can. Stage fright, I guess."

"Don't look so sad!" said Nia brightly. "I know! You can go help Rossiu!"

"Rossiu?" asked Kinon.

"Yes! I heard he's looking for people to help him do his organizing!"

"Oh..." said Kinon, disappointed. "I can't do that. I'll be no help."

"Nonsense!" said Nia. "You're smart. I can tell because you wear glasses." Kinon laughed, and Nia frowned.

"No, really!" protested Nia. "I heard the only reason they know you need them is 'cuz you read a lot! If you read so much, you must be smart!"

Kinon reached out and hugged Nia. Nia was surprised and so was slow to hug back.

"Thank you, Nia," said Kinon. "You really cheered me up. You keep doing what you do best." And then Kinon left to find Rossiu.

Nia looked after her, smiling, happy she could do so much to help her friend. Then she began forming a new story, with the same knight, and a new dragon, and a damsel. And as with all her stories, it would end with a happily ever after.

Kiyal watched the encounter from the other end of the room, where she was distributing food. She then gave a stare at Nia before looking down at her basket, realizing it was empty. Then she too walked off.


"It's ready-nya." Ribo turned to see Kuroko behind him. She walked closer, stopping a mere metre away.

"I finished your little request, Ribo hon," said Kuroko sweetly. "Now how about your promise? I need fodder for new ideas, after all, and your Core Unit would make for an excellent research project-nya."

"I told you, I can't," said Ribo dismissively. "And you know why."

"But that's why it'd be perfect!" countered Kuroko. "It's not like you're using it. Hand it over, and I could probably hotwire it and-"

"No."

"You're no fun, Ribo," complained Kuroko. "Why won't you let me take a look at it? And you won't use any other mecha; the Kuzanagi was originally intended for you, you know. Nya."

"I know," said Ribo. "I just...look, you can't have the Core Unit. That is the one thing I cannot give you right now."

"Then maybe you can give me something else," purred Kuroko, sidling up close to Ribo. He felt her body pressing against his, but he didn't flinch as his eyes fixed on the catgirl's own.

"What is it?" asked Ribo calmly. Kuroko leaned her head close, mouth to his ear.

"Send them out now," she breathed in his ear.

"Now?" asked Ribo.

"Now. I've already picked out the pilot."

"I don't have any upcoming missions, though," said Ribo. "The only thing on schedule right now is being taken care of by the Knights."

"That's why I want you to send them out now," said Kuroko sharply. "You can't be completely clueless to your underlings' thoughts, can you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Ribo, genuinely surprised. "I haven't been aware of anything."

Kuroko drew away, shaking her head in disappointment. "You really are clueless, aren't you-nya," she said, scratching her head. Ribo looked urgent for whatever reason.

"Kuroko, please tell me," said Ribo. "What have I been missing?"

"Just trust me, Ribo hon," said Kuroko. "You have to send Viral out this time." She took out a folder and handed it over to him. "All the information's there. You just have to make the decision. I'll have them warmed up and ready to go in the hangar; just send them down when you're ready-nya."

"I guess I'll listen to you this time," said Ribo, looking through the documents in the folder. "But I'm disappointed that you won't tell me your reasoning."

"I'm disappointed that you don't already know what I'm talking about," said Kuroko. "I'll let you figure this one out for yourself-nya."

"Fine, fine," said Ribo. "But what happens if I don't figure it out?"

"Then I guess you're not fit to be king," said Kuroko obliquely with a playful smirk. She turned and walked away, whistling tunelessly. Ribo's mind churned, trying to think of what he'd overlooked. He shrugged, putting it off for now, and walked away to find his knights.


The Knights were suited up in the hangar, waiting for their lord's blessing to enter into battle. Viral stood nearby as well, not in his piloting suit; he was to stay with Ribo for the duration, as he had last time. It galled him slightly, sitting on the sidelines as the Knights fought Simon, but he was certain that Simon would survive. And when he came after Ribo, the Knights would very likely fail, and Viral would be waiting.

Ribo swept into the hangars, garbed in his habitual royal robes. The wind from the open hangar doors swept the robes about, sending them fluttering around Ribo. It was very impressive, thought Viral, but ultimately pointless. Some of Ribo's antics were comparable with Cytomandra's dramatics. However, while Cytomandra was a fool and an incompetent, Ribo was actually capable of getting things done and had the bite to back up his bark. So Viral put up with it.

The wind temporarily abated, and Ribo's robes fell to the ground, revealing another behind him. Viral was surprised; it was one of Ribo's "Nucleotypes" the glorified clone soldiers from before. He bore blue hair, and like all the other Nucleotypes, he had those strange green eyes. He was similar to Viral in some aspects, but a bit taller and bore the same uniform as Mito. Except that while Mito's uniform was garnered in medals and custom colors, the soldier bore no insignia of rank or honour. What was a common soldier doing at the send-off for the Spiral Knights?

Ribo stopped before his Knights, eyeing them coldly. The soldier stopped as well, slightly behind Ribo and to the side. He made no move to bow or kneel. Viral looked him over; nothing stood out to immediately distinguish him from any of the others. The question remained: what was he doing here?

"A change of plans," said Ribo, evidently soon to answer Viral's unspoken question. "My Knights, you will not participate in this battle."

The Knights took it in remarkably good stride. Viral had expected Enzai or Clora to complain loudly, or at least frown. Apparently their loyalty to their leader was greater than their collective discontent.

"Instead, my Regent will lead the troops into battle to purge our enemies from the fallen capital."

This caused a reaction. Enzai's faced twitched, while Clora was openly irritated. Mito was, as usual, completely unflappable, lighting another cigar. But Viral's own reaction was the greatest; his mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened.

"But my Lord!" said Viral. "I don't even have a Ganman to pilot! I thought the Enkidudu was scrapped!"

"Isn't it fortunate that I have taken steps to remedying that?" said Ribo. He turned to the operator's booth in the rear wall and waved.

There was a clanking and a rattling, then the sound of a chain being lowered. Then the two Ganmen came into view. One was the Enkidudu, once more shining in all its glory. Ribo's mechanics had done well in repairing it. However, the other one was more interesting. It was short and stout, and with stubby little legs and short, thin arms. It was another copy of Lagann, like the Kuzanagi, but with a different design. This small mecha was blue and brown, contrasting with Kuzanagi's shades of purple. It was not as menacing as Mito's personal Ganman, but it had a series of metal plates over where the mouth was which covered it in a shape reminiscent of something Viral had once seen in an old entertainment video. Ninjas, he recalled.

"Behold the remodelled Enkidudu and the new Ganman, the Zesshozeiki," said Ribo grandly. "I've taken the liberty of ordering Kuroko to make several modifications that you'll find...interesting."

"That's great," said Viral, "But why did you build the other one? I assume it's for the guy behind you, but I can't seem to figure out why."

"This man - or more than man I should say," said Ribo, "is Phives Dias, one of my soldiers. As you can see, he has no rank, and no decorations. He is not, by far, the most distinguished of my soldiers. However," added Ribo, "that is not why I chose him. Phives was chosen for other qualities that will prove useful to me. In addition, he has no need of rank anymore. As of now, Phives holds the position of Aide to the Lord Regent."

Ribo waited to see what reaction his announcement would get. He was only slightly disappointed when nothing happened. The Knights were either unimpressed or masking their emotions. Ribo would bet on the latter. He shrugged inwardly; his Knights were disciplined. Nothing would come of it.


SLAM.

Viral winced as he hit the wall shoulder first. The aforementioned shoulder throbbed slightly in pain, but it was nothing compared to serving under Adiane.

Enzai stood before him, cracking his knuckles with a glare adorning his features. Mito stood off to the side, already changed into his everyday clothes; Viral wasn't sure how he'd managed to do that so fast. He smoked his cigar nonchalantly, neither ignoring nor paying attention to the confrontation in front of him. Phives stood by the door, arms crossed, saying nothing, doing nothing. He was like a soulless machine; his expression betrayed no hint of emotion. Working with him is going to be fun, thought Viral sarcastically.

Enzai, however; his face was more open. Although he held it mostly still, there were cracks in the mask of disdain. Anger leaked out, in the set of his eyes, the angle of his eyebrows, and, most importantly, the giant hand reaching out to grab Viral by the scruff of the neck.

"Aren't you a prettyboy?" remarked Enzai as he got up close and personal in Viral's face. "I see why you're Lord Ribo's favourite. You and he must get along famously."

"Enough, Enzai," said Mito, interfering for the first time. "You know His Majesty doesn't play favourites."

"Yeah, right," snorted Enzai in Viral's face. "That's why this guy comes along and gets all these privileges out of nowhere, including being the one to drive out the humans after we already weakened them."

"Is that what this is about?" said Viral derisively, defiant look on his face as he stared at the orange-haired knight. "You're a battle-lover. I knew a couple of guys like you. They never lasted long."

Wham.

The fist came from the left, the hand that wasn't busy holding Viral against the wall. Viral's head snapped to his left, creaking on its moorings. He could see Phives, looking on noncommittally.Bastard.

"You're not exactly going to gain points with His Majesty for beating him up," said Mito. "If anything, he's going to be pissed when he asks Viral about the black eye he's going to get."

"You forget," sneered Enzai. "This guy's an immortal, all fancy. He's got some sort of regeneration that'll heal him up in no time, no matter how hard I break him."

"Still," said Mito. "I'd advise against it. You should ask yourself: is it really worth the time?"

Enzai was silent for a moment, during which Viral was allowed to breathe somewhat. Then he redoubled his grip and leaned in closer than before.

"Listen up, you poor excuse for a humanoid," snarled Enzai. "You'd better not fail this mission. Because someday, I want to fight you, Ganman to Ganman, and if you fail I'll execute you myself. Although, really, I win either way."

Enzai released him then, and Viral fell. He did not fall to the floor, however; he landed on his feet and stayed there, leaning against the wall only slightly. Enzai spat on the ground in front of him and left the change room, closely followed by Mito.

Viral stood up straighter and spat out a tooth. He then wiped at his mouth; no blood. Lordgenome's gift was truly amazing. He could already feel the lost tooth growing back. He looked over at Phives. The clone had started changing again, pulling on the jumpsuit that was worn for piloting.

"What was that about?" asked Viral, irritated. "Didn't you think it might be prudent to protect your commander?"

"In the barracks," replied Phives, "Any fights were to be observed but there was no interference. Anyone who got involved, including the defender, was to be reported as a failure. Without good reason, I'd be declared a failure myself."

"And that reason would be?" asked Viral.

"Extensive property damage."

Viral spat. His saliva was clear, but he could still taste an iron tang. "So you'd only interfere in the case that it became too destructive."

"Yes sir."

"So will you report Enzai as a failure?"

"No, sir," said Phives, shaking his head. "I suppose the same rules don't apply to the Knights and yourself."

"You suppose?" snapped Viral. "Next time, think about helping me out."

"I don't know, sir," said Phives, shaking his head again. "If you asked me, it looked like you were more than capable of beating Enzai. You just chose not to."

"Insightful," said Viral, smirking as he reached for his own pilot suit. "You may just be useful to me after all."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate your commendation."


The attack came soon. Sooner than expected. Truth be told, none of the humans had expected another attack this fast, despite all of Rossiu's warnings. Although the pilots were already in their Ganmen, and the gunners at their stations, and everybody else prepared for battle at all times, none of them had truly expected an attack this soon after the last.

"Enemies sighted!" blared Tetsukan's voice over the PA. "All hands move to battle stations! All non-combatants are ordered to proceed to their designated secure area! Repeat: All hands to battle stations!"

Kittan sat in the King Kittan's cockpit, waiting patiently for the order to move out. Inwardly he was raging to fly at the enemy and blow stuff up, but he was determined to follow orders this time.

"All right!" called Simon over the open channel. "Is everybody ready?" The airwaves were filled with cheers.

"Remember Rossiu's orders! If you see a chance to take one intact, go for it! Other than that, let's show these punks what the Brigade can do!"

Dai-Gurren's deck opened, letting bright noonday sunlight into the hangars. All the Ganmen deployed at once, flying into the clear blue sky, trailing streaks of blue energy and one streak of green energy.

"Leeron! Tetsukan!" called Dayakka from his position on the command deck. "What can you tell me about the enemy?"

"It's different from last time," said Tetsukan. "There are no aerial units, only land-bound Ganmen, approaching from both the front and back. I can't see why they're all grounded, but that's the way it seems. Even the carriers are landwalkers, and they're all Dai-Gunzan minitypes. There are none of those strange ships from last time, thank goodness."

"They don't have anything to destroy anymore!" said Zorthy from the Sozoshin's cockpit. "They'll ditch the mass area attacks in favour of concentrating their fire on us!"

"Unfortunate but true," agreed Rossiu from Gurren's cockpit. "Still, their attachment to the ground should work to our advantage. We can do to them like they did to us."

"Agreed," said Simon. "We'll fly above and bombard them. Once they get into the city, though, we'll have to fight on their terms because of the buildings."

"Urban warfare," remarked Makken. "It'll be a lot harder coordinate among the ruins."

"We'll manage!" yelled Kittan. "Now you bozos quit yakkin' and let's get those bastards!"

There was a roar of assent, and the Dai-Gurren Brigade dispersed to attack their opponents.


"They've engaged," said Phives coolly. "The Brigade has dispersed through the air in order to bombard our troops."

"How're they doing?" asked Viral.

"Surprisingly, they're doing quite well. There are a number of new Ganmen, undoubtedly recruited from the civilians in order to replenish their ranks, but they are receiving minimal casualties. Our forces, on the other hand, aren't doing so well."

"About as I expected," said Viral. "Our guys will do better once they're in the ruins. As for us, we'll proceed as planned."

"About that. What's the status of our preparations?"

"No, goddammit, we're not there yet!"

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand."

"It's a joke, Phives. A joke."

"I see. Should I be laughing?"

"It's a little late now."


Simon flew over the battlefield, raining miniature drills down upon the enemy below. Several of the minitypes fired at him with their flak cannons, but Simon swerved the Gurren Lagann and destroyed them with well-placed drills.

"This is too easy," worried Simon. "Either Ribo's lost his touch, or he's got something up his sleeve."

"Undoubtedly," agreed Rossiu. "There are most likely several more powerful units hidden in the minitypes."

"But we've destroyed quite a few, and we haven't seen any yet," remarked Simon. "I'm most worried about those Spiral Knights. Wherever they show up, there'll be trouble."

"All the more reason you should give control to me," said Rossiu. "We'll need to save your strength for when they show up."

"Thank you, Rossiu," said Simon, releasing the controls. "It's great of you to come along. We all thought you were done piloting."

"I was," said Rossiu as he swooped down to destroy a squadron of Ganmen. "But who else is going to back you up?"

"Kittan, Kiyoh, Kinon, Kiyal...especially Kiyal."

"She's gotten really involved lately, hasn't she?"

"Yeah," said Simon. "Then again, everybody's working hard."

Rossiu detached the shades and fell to the ground, spinning and dicing up several Ganmen.

"You've gotten good, Rossiu!" remarked Simon. "That was something else!"

"I was trying to get one intact," grunted Rossiu as the Ganmen exploded around him. "It's not working."

"East come, easy go," said Simon. "They're entering the city now. We'll have to stay grounded and follow them in."

All of a sudden, the enemy gunfire ceased. All of the enemy Ganmen ran into the city, taking cover in the buildings. Each minitype stopped and aimed its cannons skywards. In perfect synchronization they fired up into the sky.

But these weren't regular shells. Instead the projectiles unfolded and twisted, each turning into an alien metal shape. They were cone shaped, with a gatling cannon at the tip of the cone and another machine gun underneath it. Their thrusters were at the ends of the cones, which consisted of small levi-spheres. The drones screeched and screamed through the sky, attacking the Dai-Gurren Brigade.

"And there's Ribo's trump card," said Rossiu exhaustedly.

"You need a break, Rossiu," said Simon, grinning. "I think it's my turn to take control." And the Gurren Lagann flew into the sky to combat this new threat.


Ribo opened the door quietly, and closed it likewise. His feet made no more than a silent rustling as he walked across the carpet as he walked up to the small table next to the window and sat in one of the two beautifully crafted chairs that rested near it. He placed what he carried on the table; a silver tray with two teacups and a steaming teapot, along with a container of sugar. He poured two cups, one for himself, and one for his guest.

Across from him, Yoko sat gazing out across the well-maintained gardens and out to the glass dome that covered Ribo's estate at the top of Dai-Gantei. From there she looked out across the barren wastes of her home, the Earth, and out to the dark sky twinkling with stars. She made no move to acknowledge Ribo, not even taking the proffered teacup. Ribo left it sitting near her.

"My lady Ritona, it is a pleasure to meet with you once more," said Ribo courteously. "I am hoping we can enjoy our time together."

Yoko said nothing.

"We will be spending many hours together, in the future," continued Ribo, unperturbed. "It's best that we get to know each other."

Yoko sighed and looked down at her lap. Then she looked up, out to the stars, and then she looked at Ribo and sighed again.

"All right," she relented. "I'll play your game." She took the teacup and drained it all in one swallow. She set it down again and folded her arms.

"Well...tell me about yourself," said Ribo.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well..." Ribo struggled to find a suitable question. Yoko stared unflinchingly at him. She sighed yet again, shaking her head.

"Fine, fine. I was born and raised in the village of Ritona. I've fought Ganmen since the age of twelve, which was when I got my rifle. I've lost track of how many I've taken down as the years have gone by. And in all my life, I have never, ever worn one of these." She pinched at the purple dress she wore. It was fairly simple, though the fabric was of high quality; she was thankful that Ribo hadn't chosen one of the really fancy dresses that looked incredibly uncomfortable. As it was, she could feel it restricting her movement. Somehow wearing something Ribo had picked out managed to make her feel exposed, though what she normally ran around in was much more revealing.

"Undoubtedly," said Ribo. "You'll have to wear one, though. You can keep your old clothes. I'm not going to force you to burn them or anything. But for modesty's sake, you'll have to wear dresses."

"Because I'm going to be your wife," intoned Yoko monotonously. "What the hell's up with that, anyway? I know I'm attractive, but you can hardly simply choose the first girl you meet to be your wife. I mean, aren't there other Nucleotype girls you can take in?"

"Remember what I told you the other day about evolution?" said Ribo.

Yoko nodded, remembering the chat they'd had as she sat tied to a chair. Hardly a forgettable experience, even with how she normally spent her days.

"Well, you see, evolution never stops. Even when we think we have attained perfection, environmental circumstances can change and we may find ourselves needing to adapt again. My genes can't go to waste; I have to get them back into the gene pool somehow." The redhead's eyes went up.

"Wait, so you're saying..." said Yoko disbelievingly.

"Yes. I need to produce offspring in order to continue my line. Though they are intended to spread to populate the Earth, the Artificial Nucleotypes aren't as suited to having healthy children as a human woman would b.."

Yoko's mouth opened and closed. She pointed, she looked like she might say something, then her arm dropped. Then she did the last thing Ribo had expected. She laughed without abandon.

"Wh...What?" exclaimed Ribo, astonished and blushing, as Yoko nearly dropped off of her chair in a fit of laughter which only doubled upon seeing the boy king blushing like a normal kid his age.

"You...You're so...Ahahahaha! Oh God, you're so...Hahahaha!"

"Lady Ritona, compose yourself!" ordered Ribo, standing.

"Oh Ribo, just...just leave. Get out. I can't take you seriously any more."

"You'd better change that idea," huffed Ribo. "But as per your request, I shall leave."

And Ribo left Yoko struggling for breath in between gasps of laughter.

"Oh wow…at least he has one similarity to Nia other than his looks."


The drones whizzed about, harassing the Brigade with machine-gun fire. Their little yellow frames were too small and too fast to be fought effectively, and although their bullets were weak, they had plenty of them.

"Dammit!" cursed Kittan as another burst of drone bullets ripped along his hull. "These things are annoying! I can't even see them half the time!"

"This isn't working!" yelled Kidd as he unleashed another spray of bullets, failing to hit anything. "We can't fight them!"

"Well we can't just leave them!" protested Rossiu. "Who knows what they may be capable of? For all we know, they might be filled with explosives!"

"Rossiu's right!" agreed Simon. "But we can't just ignore the land battle either! The enemy Ganmen are still advancing! Everybody, get down on the ground and fight them in the streets!"

"Can you handle it?" asked Iraak anxiously. Ainzer began pulling back, its guns stopping their fire.

"I've had worse! Just take care of the ground forces!"

"You'd better come back alive!" ordered Kidd. "It'll be a major hassle if you die!"

"I don't plan on doing anything of the sort!" grinned Simon. "Let's go then!"

The other Brigadeers pulled back, dropping to the ground to take defensive positions in the ruined streets surrounding Dai-Gurren. Simon, on the other hand, stayed airborne, facing the cloud of drones alone.

"They're kind of unimpressive," said Simon.

"Don't underestimate them," warned Rossiu. "I'm here too, you know."

"So I see," said Simon, detaching Gurren's shades. "Let's see how many we can get in one throw!"

He threw the shades, sending them arcing through the cloud of drones. Strings of explosions were left in the wake, lighting up the blue sky.


"Sir, we've received a report that the Automata have been launched."

"Good, good. I presume that means our forces are inside the city, then?"

"Of course. They were able to cover considerable ground while the Brigade engaged the Automata."

"And then?"

"The Brigade had quite a bit of trouble with them. Eventually they all pulled back to defend the streets, except-"

"Except Simon, of course."

"Of course."

"Poor guy must be having a rough time, looking after so many things at once. I almost feel sorry I'm going to be adding to his plate."

"Pardon me, sir, but I didn't peg you as one to show compassion for the enemy."

"...You don't understand sarcasm either, do you?"

"Evidently not sir."


The door to Yoko's chambers opened and closed again. Once more Yoko didn't bother looking towards the door as she readjusted her dress, causing her bosom to bounce a little.

"Go away, Ribo," she said crisply.

"Pardon me, but I'm not Ribo milady."

Mito's voice was softer and more feminine than Ribo's, and altogether less arrogant. Yoko turned around to look at the androgynous First Spiral Knight, who was smoking his customary cigar in mouth.

"And what do you want with me?" she demanded.

"Just wanted to talk a bit with our captive."

Mito sat on the bed and took off his glasses. He wiped them clean, and replaced them on his nose. Yoko just looked on dispassionately.

"The thing is, Miss Yoko," began Mito after blowing a cloud of cigar smoke, "you confuse me quite a bit."

"I tend to do that," replied Yoko, leaning back and stretching her arms in the air. "It's very tiring, especially with Ribo."

"You've spent some time with His Majesty, I know. How did you find him?"

Yoko snorted. "Do you want my honest opinion?" she asked playfully.

"I see that you're quite disdainful of him." From the look on his face the androgynous Knight wasn't surprised.

"Damn right I am."

"But you see," said Mito, "that is my problem. Though it's clear you dislike him, and that you'd like dearly to leave this place, you've never tried to kill him."

Yoko raised an eyebrow.

"I know all about you," continued Mito. "I know you'd be perfectly capable. I know you have at least two improvised weapons concealed on your person at this very moment."

"Three," corrected Yoko with a mischievous grin.

"And yet you've never tried, no matter how many opportunities you've had to be with him, without any guards. Why?"

Yoko rocked back in her chair, face angled towards the ceiling. She then leaned forwards, hands upon knees, and looked Mito in the eye.

"What are you looking for?" she said quietly. "What are you hoping? Do you think I might say that I'm actually in love with him?"

"Well, no, but-"

" 'Cause I'm not. And I'm not going to say that I think he's misunderstood either, because I understand him perfectly, and I think the only one who doesn't understand him is himself. I don't care about my own welfare, if that's what you're thinking. I'd murder him in an instant for the sake of my friends and the human race in general. I harbour no sympathy towards him, no pity, and I most certainly have not contracted Stockholm Syndrome."

"You covered love twice. I get it."

"Ribo doesn't. Or, at least, he doesn't care."

"One of the reasons you hate him?"

" 'Course," said Yoko, leaning back again. "But I still haven't answered your question. You want to know why I don't kill him?"

"That was my question."

"Peace."

"What?" asked Mito, surprised for the first time Yoko has seen him.

"Not what you expected, huh?" said Yoko, smiling triumphantly. "I don't kill him because I think that Beastmen and humans can live together peacefully, and I don't think killing Ribo will help."

"You really think they can live together?"

"Yup," said Yoko. "And so long as I think Ribo can help make it happen, I'll keep him alive."

"You're awfully optimistic," remarked Mito. "How would you make this happen?"

"Simple. Put humans and Beastmen together, in a situation where neither has anything to gain killing the other - they never do, really - put them all on equal footing, and make it so it's advantageous to work together. It's always been in their best interests, really."

"You have some interesting thoughts," said Mito, standing. "I think I may ponder them a while longer."

"Don't take too long," said Yoko. "I'm banking on you forgetting so you can't take this back to Ribo."

"Don't worry, Miss Yoko," said Mito, saluting. "I won't betray your privacy. It's a quirk of mine. Unless ordered by his Majesty, I never disclose secrets."

Then Mito, too, left Yoko to her own devices. Yoko went back to sharpening the spoon in her hand, humming as she went.


"So, repeatedly throwing my boomerang didn't work," panted Simon. Gurren Lagann stood in a fighting stance in the centre of a swarm of drones, shade-sword in hand and drill in the other. "The mini-drill storm didn't work either. They're just too fast. "

"Do you persist in stating the obvious?" said Rossiu with a hint of panic in his voice. He looked to the left and right as the drones circled them, faster and faster. "Could you just tell me whether or not you have any good ideas?"

"I can't vouch for their quality, but I have ideas."

"Like what?"

"What's a reverse drill, Rossiu?"

Rossiu thought for a second. Then, "You're not serious."

"Oh yes I am! Let's see if I can pull this off!"

The drill on the Gurren Lagann's left arm glowed green and changed. It morphed in shape, the flanges growing larger and wider, until Simon had...

"A fan," said Rossiu disappointedly.

"Damn right! SUCK IT, DRONE BOTS!"

The fan started up with a clunk and a whirr. It sped up, faster and faster and faster. As it did, Simon began slowly aiming the boosters in the opposite direction to counteract the suction force.

"It...it's working?" exclaimed Rossiu in surprise. "You've actually managed to create a miniature whirlwind!"

And indeed it had, as the wind began forming into a conical shape. Drones began to list, pulled forwards into Simon's cyclone.

"Let's see how fast it can go!" said Simon, face set in a wide grin. "Full power!"

The Spiral Gauge climbed green until it was completely filled, then continued filling again in white as Simon's spirit rose. The fan crackled with green energy before jumping to incredibly high speeds, becoming a blur of metal. The cyclone intensified, growing larger and more powerful. Gurren Lagann's boosters strained as it tried to keep from being flung by the force of its own weapon. Drones were unable to fight the wind, ending up sucked in and through Simon's weapon, reduced to pieces of scrap metal and exploding. Simon grunted and, with effort, slowly turned in a large circle. When he had completed one rotation, he stopped. The fan powered down, and transformed into a drill, then disappeared.

There was not a single drone left in the sky.

Rossiu sat back in amazement. Simon did likewise in Lagann's cockpit, exhausted from his work.

"...You did it," said Rossiu. "You did the impossible."

"Have you missed something?" joked Simon. "I've been doing that for a while now."

"Yes. Well. Now, all that's left is to clean up on the ground, and maybe we'll even be able to-"

And that's when the rumbling started.


"Sir, the red Ganman...it just wiped out all the drones."

"Oh?"

"He created a personal cyclone and used it to suck up all the drones."

"That's so like him."

"I believe now would be prudent to enact our plan."

"You believe? I know. Send out the appropriate orders, Phives."

"Sir, I was also instructed by His Highness to do one other thing."

"What did he tell you to do?"

Click

Whirrrr

Crunch Thunk Snap

"Now this is oddly familiar."

"A present from Ribo, to allow you to take care of Gurren Lagann."

"It's a very nice present."

"Perhaps a little bit of karma, as well?"

"So you are capable of humour."

"Was that acceptable, sir?"

"Phives, right now everything's acceptable. Let's go show off our new toy!"


The ground shuddered in a series of huge quakes. In Dai-Gurren the command team tried desperately to keep things together as the shockwaves threatened to throw them around like bouncy balls.

"I'm registering some strange seismic activity!" screamed Tetsukan as he was flung sideways.

"No kidding!" yelled Leeron back. "Tetsukan, claw your way back to your seat and enact my backup plan!"

"It's not tested yet!" protested Tetsukan. "Hell, you yourself said it probably wasn't safe!"

"Do you think we have a choice?" yelled Leeron. "It's all or nothing here! If you won't do it, I'll do it myself!"

Leeron crawled his way along the floor as it heaved like the ocean in a storm. He reached Tetsukan's console, heaved his way up into the seat, and held on for dear life as he desperately typed in commands.

"Leeron! Explain please!" yelled Dayakka as he clung to his control panel.

"I'm enacting some emergency protocols I installed involving some modifications I made when I rebuilt this thing!"

"What modifications?"

"You know what, Dayakka?" snapped Leeron, "Just shut up and let me work!"

"Leeron," said Dayakka, barely loud enough to be heard above the quaking, "what's wrong? What's going on?"

"Don't you get it?" yelled Leeron. "They're right under us!"

As if on cue, the earth split underneath the Dai-Gurren with a creaking, shrieking groan. The crack widened like a great maw into the Earth's womb. It was pitch dark at its centre, a darkness that caught the eye and ensnared the vision, eating at the light until it became black as tar. And from within it came a sound.

It was the sound of a drill.

"Switch the screen feed!" ordered Dayakka. "Change to the underside cameras!"

Leeron obliged, and the screen changed. The bridge crew all looked into the great gaping chasm, and slowly their eyes grew wide as they perceived what was at its centre.

The Zessho-Enki's four drills spun in tandem, creating a vortex of earth as it pulverized the ground around it. It was similar to the original Enkidudu except for its color scheme, which was now brown with blue highlights. Its four swords were now four drill tendrils, similar to the destroyed Lazengann. The face of the silver Ganman hand grown an extra set of eyes above its normal ones. And on top of the Enkidudu was a blue and brown head with plates over the mouth and eyes glowing green with spiral power. They heard a deranged triumphant cackle from the combined mecha, which made the Dai-Gurren crew speechless in horror. It held its four drills aimed right at the underbelly of the warship.

"I'M BACK, HUMANS!" yelled Viral maniacally. "HOPE YOU DIDN'T MISS ME!"

"We're going to get sucked in!" yelled Dayakka in panic. "And pulverized by those drills!"

"Not if I can help it!" cried Leeron. And he pressed the last keystroke to put his plan into action.


Simon saw when the earth opened up under Dai-Gurren. He saw as it began sinking into the ground, soon to be swallowed whole into the earth's crust. He heard Viral's battle cry, and froze in terror of his rival, back from the dead. He raced down to try and rescue Dai-Gurren, but he would be too late, he was too high up and he hadn't noticed fast enough...

To his surprise, the Dai-Gurren began rising again. It rose out of the ground slowly but surely, quickly gaining speed as it ascended higher and higher. It no longer had legs; where those had been were the green trails of flight spheres. Soon Dai-Gurren had reached Simon's level, and it floated above the husk of Kamina City.

"Leeron!" gasped Simon in relief. "You must've done this!"

"But how?" asked Rossiu. "You told me it was impossible to replicate the Dai-Gurren's original flight sphere!"

"I'm a magical technical wizard, okay?" replied Leeron. "Let's just go with that."

"Hey, nice modifications!" hailed Kittan over the open channel. "Just wanted you to know, the twins just bagged you your captive!"

"Great!" cheered Rossiu. "All right people, let's move out!"

"You heard the man!" announced Simon. "Dai-Gurren Brigade! Advance into the golden sunset!"

"You know, it doesn't even sound like we're retreating when you say it like that," joked Dayakka. The Brigadeers joined in on the laughter.

The Brigadeers boosted up out of the city to join their mothership. Then Dai-Gurren's flight spheres roared, and the Brigade retreated to fight another day.

Down below, Viral watched as they flew away.

"We don't have flight spheres on this thing, do we?" he asked his aide.

"Sorry, sir. None of our units do, either. We were counting on Kuroko's drones."

"Well, damn," Viral growled. "That's a serious design flaw."

"The Zessho-Enki was designed to rule the land. If we wanted the skies, we would've brought Enzai along."

"True. I've got standing orders to stay in Teppelin if the runts bolted anyway. Oh well. At least I got a taste of what Simon uses every day. And I've gotta admit, it feels damn good."

"I'm happy to be of service, my Lord."

"Are you serious or sarcastic, Phives?"

"A little bit of both, I think."

Viral smirked.

I think I'm gonna like this guy…

There's chapter 7. Courtesy of 1 over 0 with some adding done by me, and editing by both of us and by Juubi-K.(you all should check out their fics)

Also, the Flashback arc of Words Without a Voice will soon commence! They will be short, but faster in terms of updates so stay tuned!