Sorry for the delay again! I got stuck with some Writer's Block, unfortunately. Here's a big THANK YOU to everyone who's reviewed so far! And don't worry, I have no intention of dropping this story. : ) The next chapter is going to be looong…split into two parts again (if not more). But provided I don't get stuck again, it shouldn't take me as long to write it as it did for this chapter.


Chapter 10- Escape

Simon was in a very deep sleep.

Nia sat on a chair at his bedside. The doctors and the hostages sat around on the other side of the room. She had been keeping an eye on them, with the occasional glance back at Simon.

How long had it been since they came in here? Hours? Days? Minutes blended together, nervous whispers and the beeping of machines filled her head. She felt like she had been holding her breath the entire time. When would it end?

Then she heard a rustle. Nia glanced at Simon again to find that he was finally awake.

She started forward. "Simon...!"

"Hi," he chuckled.

Nia felt the tension in her body flow out at last. "You're okay..." She wanted to cry with relief, but held it back, aware of the others in the room.

Simon was looking at her, half of his face covered in bandages, his remaining eye half-lidded. "Why's your hair red?" he asked. His speech was unusually sluggish.

"My hair?" She put a hand to her head and felt a dried substance matting her hair. Oh...his blood...

"Where are we? And what's covering my eye...can't feel anything..."

Before she could stop him, Simon reached up a hand to touch the side of his face. He felt around with seeking fingers. Seconds later, his eye widened in realization.

Her heart twinged. "Simon...your eye..."

"Oh. Oh. Well...that sucks." His arm dropped back to his side.

Nia sat there, unsure what to do next. She'd been so worried that he wouldn't wake up that she hadn't thought of what to say when he did...

She took a shaky breath. "How are you feeling?"

"...Weird."

"Weird?"

"Like...like when a planet explodes, and a beastman swallows a black hole. Y'know?"

Now she felt very confused. "Simon, that doesn't make sense. How could a beastman swallow a black hole?"

He didn't answer, instead looking straight up at the ceiling.

Nia fretted. Was what he said important? Would something terrible happen if she didn't understand it??

She touched his arm to get his attention again. "How much do you remember?"

"Remember?"

He stared at her for a long moment. Nia wrung the towel in her hands.

Finally, he grinned. Or at least tried to, with half of his face completely numb. "Wow. I'm one pathetic bastard."

Nia blinked in surprise. She had been hoping for him to say something more meaningful.

"And you're turning into Yoko. I'm screwed."

"What? I'm not..."

He reached up and began brushing at her hair, trying to get the blood off. His fingers got caught in her matted curls.

"Ow. Simon, stop—"

He relented, lowering his arm. He let out a deep sigh. "Don't turn into Yoko, okay?"

"I wouldn't, Simon. I'm Nia. Nia." She choked on her words. It hadn't really been too long since he'd asked her, Tell me who you are. But it felt so long ago now...


The surgery was completed successfully. Miraculously, the bullet had not caused any serious damage to Simon's brain (though miracles probably had nothing to do with it), but he had lost a lot of blood and was put in intensive care.

The following few days were tense. The first thing Boota did was announce to the crew that the Anti-Spiral Messenger had joined their side and was no longer a threat. Of course, this only led to more questions, many of which he couldn't answer, and it was clear that the majority of the crew still had their doubts. He also had to be vague on Simon's current condition, beyond the fact that there had been an unsuccessful assassination attempt, for both his own safety as well as Simon's.

Yoko was still nowhere to be seen. For the moment, he'd announced that she was wanted for treason, but Boota didn't expect her to be actually found. No doubt she was still somewhere on the ship, but even if he gave someone the task of finding her, they could very well be the one helping her hide.

Everywhere he went, he could sense that out of eyeshot, people were whispering, doubting, gathering arms. Despite his best efforts, he knew that before long, the situation was going to boil over again.

At least the Anti-Spirals seemed unaware of the extent to which they were falling apart, or if they were, hadn't yet taken advantage of it. According to Nia, the Spiral Power levels of the crew had fallen overall, but that was masked by Simon's Spiral Power, which was apparently working overtime to unconsciously accentuate his healing.

Right now Boota stood in the main bridge, going over the status of the ship with the operators. Kittan and Kidd also sat at a couple of computers, not doing particularly anything (if glowering didn't count). It was quite obvious that they were there to watch over him. But then, he was already sure that they must have played some part in the assassination attempt, and surely they knew that he knew. He chose not to comment on it yet, if only to delay the conflict...

"And how about the damage to the main computer room?"

"Systems are back running at full capacity. But it looks like we lost several drives of memory..."

Boota sighed. "Is it important?"

Tetsukan answered. "All the information from the Lord Genome Head is intact. We're still checking over the rest." He squinted at his monitor, grumbling. "If Cybela were here to help..."

An uneasy silence settled on the bridge. Cybela had been one of the people in the Medical Room when Simon was brought in, getting treatment for a migraine. She'd been stuck there ever since.

Kittan suddenly swiveled around in his seat to face Boota. "So when are they gonna be let out, huh?"

Boota chose his words carefully. "Soon."

"When?" Now Kidd joined in.

By now everyone knew approximately how much damage Simon had taken, either because they saw him in the halls themselves or from rumors. What they didn't know was how much he'd recovered, if at all. Whether he was on the brink of death or ready to come tearing out as strong as ever. The longer they kept the hostages, the more those on the outside would think that he was vulnerable, or even already dead. But the hostages themselves knew better than anyone what his condition was...they couldn't afford to let them go yet...

Becoming impatient, Kittan spoke up again. "Why don't you have Miss Anti-Spiral Messenger show her face to us, if she's really on our side. Let us question her."

There were murmurs of agreement from all around the bridge.

"She doesn't quite trust everyone yet," Boota answered, more curtly than he intended.

"So that's how it is, eh? She trusts the captain but not the rest of us?" Kittan stood up, crossing his arms. "Whose side is she really on?"

Kidd snorted. "That's easy. Whatever side the captain's on. And that's sure the hell not our side."

These two clearly weren't as interested in maintaining the status quo as everyone else.

Boota struggled to keep his voice level. "I believe reason states that those who attempted mutiny should be accused of treason first."

"THEN WHAT ABOUT AILAC AND ZOUSHI, HUH?!" Kidd snapped. "Weren't they betrayed?!"

Boota could feel the fur on the back of his neck beginning to stand on end. All eyes were on him now. He had to stay calm, maintain control...

"This and that have nothing to do with each other," he said, knowing it was a lie. "I suggest you calm down before—"

"To hell with that!" Kidd leapt forward. "Why should we trust you anyway? What else are you hiding? What's the captain really planning?!" Kidd seized his collar, trying to drag Boota down to his level.

In that moment, instinct took over.

Boota grabbed Kidd's throat and squeezed. Kidd choked, eyes bugging out as Boota's grip, laced with Spiral Power, lifted the man a few inches off the floor.

"Kidd, let go!" Kittan exclaimed, trying to get between them. "You saw what that freak did to Yoko!"

They both let go at once. Kidd dropped to the floor, clutching his neck and gasping for air.

"So..." Boota said, looking to Kittan. "You have seen her."

Kittan glared. "And? What are you going to do about it?"

It was an invitation. A threat. He could easily beat the two of them with his bare hands, but that would further cost him the trust of the crew. But if they admitted to outright treason, he would have to do something about it. If he ordered for their arrest, would anyone obey? He was clearly outnumbered...

"I will see to it that the captain knows of this," he said. And without a look back, he left the bridge. Walking quickly down the hall, he adjusted his collar with a trembling hand, adrenaline still pumping.

He'd handled that badly. The stress was getting to him. He didn't know how much longer he could take of this...


Simon felt like throwing up. He'd drifted in and out of sleep several times since he first woke up, Nia and the doctors fussing over him all the while. He was put on pain killers as the feeling returned to his face, and now he sat up in bed, trying to sort out his muddled thoughts to make sense of what had happened.

Nia was with the doctors at the moment, trying very hard to look like she understood what they were saying. For some reason she carried a towel in her hands; she didn't seem to be using it for anything. Though that wasn't the least bit disconcerting as the dried blood in her hair, which thankfully didn't belong to her.

He was glad to see Boota when he came in. Likewise, when Boota saw him, he looked visibly relieved. Nia came over to join them.

"How are you feeling?" asked Boota.

"Like shit, thanks."

Boota smirked. "And in a good mood as always?"

"I've got a hole where my eye used to be," Simon grumbled. "It's not very pleasant."

"Well, nice to have you among the living again." He turned to Nia. "How have things been holding up here?"

"No one's tried to escape yet, but they are hungry. The doctors are rationing the food stores. They said that Simon shouldn't be getting out of bed yet, but they're confused because he's healing faster than is normal..." She sounded exhausted.

Boota nodded. "I'll go talk to them." He left their company.

Nia sunk into the seat beside Simon. After a moment, she asked, "You're not weird anymore?"

"What?"

"You said you were feeling 'weird' before."

"I...did?"

She nodded. "You were saying many odd things when you woke up."

"Like what?"

"Something about a beastman swallowing a black hole. And you said there was a grapehippo under your bed, and I checked, but there weren't any grapehippos."

"...Seriously? I said that?" The hell, he couldn't remember any of that! "What else did I say?" Nothing too embarrassing, he hoped.

"You thought I was turning into Yoko."

"...Oh." What the fuck?! Wait, when did she learn Yoko's name? Did he say it out loud before? He couldn't remember exactly. His head throbbed.

"He told me she was a friend of yours."

'He'? Oh, right...Boota. Crap, how much did he tell her?!

Nia opened her mouth again, looking like she wanted to ask him something, but he interrupted her bluntly. "I don't want to talk about it."

His reaction seemed to catch her off guard. Simon looked away.

Nia and Yoko were two parts of his life that he never wanted to intersect. And now that they had collided, he couldn't help but want to retain what little control he had left over the situation. No matter how futile it was.

"Um...Simon." She hesitated. "About what happened..."

Shit. No. He didn't want to talk about that either.

"What about it?" he asked coldly.

She looked a bit hurt. "You said that...we have no future. But I...you...you didn't mean that, did you?"

"What do you think?"

"Well...you made a promise. And that's why you got back up, right?"

An image surfaced in his memory. Nia with her eyes closed, hands over her ears. His stomach clenched. That's right...it wasn't just his own life that he gave up on back then; he was about to make her lose hers too. It was despicable. How was he supposed to face her now?

"Wh-what are you getting at?"

"I don't know." She bit her lip. "I'm just worried..."

He hoped that was the end of the conversation. Boota, get the hell back here...

"Do you...really want to die?"

Shutupshutupshutup!

"...You did it first," he mumbled.

"Huh?"

"You wanted to die all by yourself, remember?"

She protested. "I didn't want to..."

"But you accepted death. So we're even now. That's all."

It was hardly fair of him to say that, but out of some force of habit, he did anyway.

From the indignant look on her face, Nia didn't seem to find it fair either. She opened her mouth to retort-- but then something seemed to crack, and instead, like a dam breaking, she burst into tears.

Shit. Why did he always keep making things worse?

Dismayed, Simon put his hands on her shoulders as Nia sobbed into her towel. "I...I'm sorry," he said lamely. Shit, he really didn't deserve her at all. "I'm sorry."

Looking around for help, he saw Boota and the doctors staring in their direction. Boota quickly motioned for him to do something. Oh. Simon reached over and pulled a curtain around the bed, hiding them from view.

As Nia began to calm down, she glared at him through her tears. "You...you are a..." She struggled to think of a word to express her frustration.

"An ungrateful jerk?" he offered.

She nodded. Sniffling, she leant her head against his shoulder, and gave his chest a light pound with her fist. It didn't hurt much (not even comparable to the pounding in his head), but it could have created a fissure in his heart for how it made him feel.

"I know." He wrapped her in a hug, sighing. "I've gotta stop letting you down so much..."


When Boota came back, they sat down to discuss what they were going to do.

Clearing his throat, Boota began. "Let me explain the situation."

"I know the situation," Simon said. "Everyone wants me dead."

Boota frowned. "Not everyone."

He forced a smile. "Right." He glanced at Nia, who stood watching the hostages through an opening in the curtain. Her eyes were still red from crying, expression icy. "...Go on."

"First, your secret is out. I've tried to explain best as I can without giving out...certain details, but I don't think it's convinced anyone. Many still seem to believe that there is an enemy on board. Things have calmed down enough for now, but who knows how long that will last."

He gestured to outside the curtain. "We decided to keep the people here as possible hostages. Obviously that doesn't make anyone happy either, but it's the only way to make sure no one storms us."

"How about the Anti-Spirals?" Simon asked. "Have they attacked while I was under?"

"Not yet, fortunately."

Nia spoke up. "But they will know that something is wrong when they do. They could come at any time."

Boota nodded. "And you aren't in the shape to participate in a battle yet."

"I can get by somehow," Simon shrugged. "A little head wound isn't going to stop me."

"But that would reveal your weaknesses to everyone. It would be safer to stay out of sight until you've regained your health."

He scowled. "So we're sitting ducks here? Perfect."

To hell with it all. If he was dead, at least he wouldn't have to deal with this crap.

...But of course, that wasn't an option anymore. Both Nia and Boota counted on him to live. They were looking to him to make decisions.

Too bad he wasn't exactly brimming with ideas at the moment.

As if reading his mind, Boota spoke again. "I might have an idea."

"Yeah?"

He lowered his voice to a hush. "Maybe...we should leave."

Simon blinked. Nia also turned her head in surprise.

Boota explained. "Like you said, we're sitting ducks. We can expect an attack from either the crew, the Anti-Spirals, or the other Spiral races at any moment. We can't take any direct action without putting ourselves in more danger, and at this point, I don't know if it's even possible to regain the crew's trust. In that case, maybe we should go into hiding instead. It will give you time to heal, time to think... And at least they'll have to find us before they can do anything."

Simon thought it over. "We might never be able to come back again." Banished, exiled, wanted by the universe... No longer bound to any duty. Where would they go? What would they do? The possibilities felt both little and limitless.

"Yoko and the others who decided to mutiny must have already prepared themselves to continue the fight without us. I don't think there will be a problem if we remove ourselves as a threat before they do."

What Boota said made sense, but...he didn't like it. To leave everything behind, unfinished...but then, was there anything here that really mattered to him? If the whole schtick was over, if the people here didn't want him anymore, if he didn't have a reason to keep fighting in the first place...

Then Simon realized. "What about Lord Genome? We were working on finding a way to make Nia human..."

Boota shook his head. "It would be too much to expect that you'll be able to go in there again."

He looked to Nia next, and their eyes met. She seemed to consider it for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "I've already come to terms with my father. Right now, I would rather see you safe."

But that meant he couldn't keep his promise to her after all. "Are...are you sure?" he asked.

She gave him a small smile. "We'll find another way," Nia said reassuringly.

Simon had to marvel at that. She was the one who lost out from this the most. She was the one who was going to leave her father behind. And yet she was the one reassuring him. Pathetic.

He sighed. What to do? He couldn't think of anything else. It was a good plan. But it felt a little too much like...running away. Bro never ran away, did he?

What would Bro do if he were in this situation? He had no idea. He found it hard to imagine Bro even getting himself in this mess. Surely Yoko would never want to kill him either. That's right, if he had died instead of Kamina that day, none of this would have happened...

But Bro was dead. He'd already given up on trying to live up to Kamina's legacy years ago. What would be the point of worrying about honor now that things came to this, when he had failed everyone, even dragging along the only two people who cared for him? Nia and Boota were still alive. What mattered now was keeping them safe, and if running away did the job, then...

"Simon?"

Snapped out of his thoughts, he looked back up to find Nia and Boota both giving him looks of concern. He smiled at them. "Okay. Let's get out of here."

Their relief was palpable.

"Where will we go?" Nia asked.

"Gurren-Lagann has warping capability, so we can go anywhere, conceivably. More importantly, we need to figure out how to leave first."

Boota went to get a map of the ship. He spread it out over the bed.

"The issue is how to get from here," he pointed to the Medical Room where they were now, near the center of the ship, "to here," he pointed at the hangar on the lower level where Gurren-Lagann was stored, "without anyone seeing you."

"The nearest elevator is over here," Simon pointed, tracing his finger down the map. "If we can at least get there safely..."

"But there are people keeping watch over the entrance of the Medical Room..."

They thought. Meanwhile, Nia came closer to study the map herself. It was a relief not having to worry about the Anti-Spirals using her as a spy anymore.

"I could cause a distraction," suggested Boota. "Maybe start a fight nearby. That could give you enough time to get to the elevator."

"And what do you expect me to do, leave you behind? I'm not going to have you risk your neck just so I can get away." Simon looked at the map again. "Besides, I also want to get something." He pointed at the captain's quarters on the upper level.

"Is it necessary?"

"I'm not leaving here without it."

Boota sighed. He seemed to understand.

"I can go get it for you," Nia said.

Hell no. She'd been shot at enough already. "You're not going alone."

"It'll be faster if she goes..."

"We're going together," Simon said firmly. "All three of us." He didn't care that it was unreasonable; he wasn't letting them out of his sight.

Boota and Nia shared a worried glance, but they nodded.

They tossed around more ideas for a while, but they were no closer to coming up with an effective plan. That is, until something on the map caught Nia's attention.

"What is this?" She pointed at the room directly below the main engine room labeled 'Back-up Generator.'

"That's where we keep the electric generator. We use it as a back-up for the Super Spiral Engine," Simon explained.

Nia continued looking at that part of the map in silent contemplation.

"What is it?"

"...As the Anti-Spiral Messenger, I can manipulate electric currents according to my will." She tapped her finger against the paper. "Do you think that can help with anything?"

He thought over the possibilities. Then an idea sparked.

"If we shut down the Super Spiral Engine...and take control of the backup generator..."

Yes!

Simon pulled back the curtain. "Cybela!"

Over with the others, Cybela jumped. "Y-yes, sir?"

"Pull up all the circuit diagrams for the ship on the computer."

Looking nervous and confused, Cybela stood and went to the computer in the room.

Throwing off the sheets, Simon climbed out of bed. The sudden movement caused him to nearly black out for a second. Flashes of color burst in his mind.

"Simon, take it easy!"

He swayed a little on his feet. Nia supported his body as he stood.

"Are you all right?"

"...Yeah, I'm fine." Actually, he felt like someone was slowly drilling into his head, but now wasn't the time to complain. He reached for his coat. Half of it was stained brown now, and he had some difficulty getting his arm through the stiff fabric of the right sleeve as he pulled it on. He then took a few tentative steps forward.

Cybela called. "Captain, I found the..." She jumped again as Nia suddenly teleported behind her, peering over her shoulder at the screen.

Simon made his way over to them. Cybela was scrolling through pages of complex diagrams as Nia looked them over intently.

"You understand all that?" he asked.

Nia nodded, not taking her eyes off the screen.

He couldn't make heads or tails of it himself. Though, come to think of it, those symbols did look similar to the lines on Nia's body. But it was astounding to think that she had this much knowledge infused in her mind when until just recently, she didn't even know what a kiss was.

"Do you think you'll be able to control all of it?"

She looked up at him. "I am the Anti-Spiral Messenger." For the first time, she didn't say it in a monotone. Instead, there was almost a hint of pride in her voice.

On one hand, he didn't want to benefit from her non-human qualities-- she'd acquired them at the cost of her freedom. But if she wanted to use them...

"Can you see in the dark?" he asked.

Nia nodded. He turned to look at Boota.

His friend smirked. "I'm a pigmole. Darkness is my natural element."

And Simon knew that he could use his Spiral Power to strengthen his senses. "This could work." He put a hand on Nia's shoulder. "We have a plan."


They began preparing at once. Boota found a bag and collected all the food stores and medical supplies that could be found in the room. The hostages meanwhile seemed to understand that they were planning something and kept their mouths shut. Nia memorized as much of the ship map and circuit diagrams as she could. Simon consulted the doctors; they did not recommend walking about at any length yet, so he ignored them and gulped down more pain killers.

They went over the plan again, outlining alternate routes on the map that they could take if necessary. Simon made sure to put in extra caution. "There won't be much time before they realize what we're doing. We need to do this quickly, without any mistakes." They were definitely not strangers to reckless plans with low possibility of success, but this was on a much smaller scale than usual. Battleships and mecha could continue functioning with a little damage, but flesh-and-blood bodies were of a different matter.

When they were ready, Simon addressed everyone in the room. "In a moment, the three of us will be leaving. We hope to do this without hurting anybody. I want you all to let everyone else know that they don't have to worry about me being the captain anymore. Whatever happens, this will probably be the last that you'll see of any of us." He took a breath and then added, "Good luck."

The room became silent.

Nia went to stand by an access panel on the wall. Boota shouldered the bag of supplies and stood waiting by the door. Simon nodded to them, and went to the computer where Cybela sat. "Do it."

"Yes, sir," she said, and started typing in the command to shut down the Super Spiral Engine. But just before hitting the last key, she hesitated. "Um. Captain."

"What?" he asked impatiently.

Cybela glanced back at him. "I...I was part of the mutiny. And um." She pushed up her glasses nervously. "I'm sorry."

He stared.

"If I knew that you were, um..." Her gaze went to rest on Nia. "...I might have thought differently."

Simon didn't know what to say. Couldn't understand. What could she have seen in the past few days that made her change her mind?

...He didn't have time for this.

He gave her a short, awkward nod. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

She finished the command.

In a moment, the lights flickered and died. They heard muffled voices of surprise from outside the door. Then the back-up generator kicked in, and the lights returned.

Now was the time.

Nia closed her eyes and laid her hands on the access panel. "I suggest no one touches me while I am doing this," she warned. Seconds later, they learned why.

Sparks flew between her fingers. Her brow creased in concentration, and the lines on her body glimmered as electricity pulsed and flowed through her.

The lights flickered again and went out completely, plunging the ship into a pitch black night. Only the fluorescent pink lines of Nia's body and the green iris of Simon's left eye glowed in the darkness.

Nia moved to the door, and with one touch of her hand, it slid open. Out in the hall, people were shouting and stumbling, blind and terrified.

Without a moment to lose, they left the room and raced down the hall in silence, weaving through the people in their way. There were cries as they passed, but they mind as well have been ghosts; they could not be caught.

They made it to the nearest elevator easily enough. Inside, Nia put her hand against the panel, and they ascended. So far so good.

The situation was the same on the upper levels. They made it to the captain's quarters in barely any time. Simon quickly marched in, found Kamina's sword lying on the desk, grasped it—

And that was when the lights came back on.

Nia had a look of surprise on her face. "I didn't..."

"The Spiral Engine is back on. They must have realized already," Boota gasped.

It was much faster than they expected. Almost immediately, they heard footsteps in the hall heading in their direction. "They went that way!"

"Shit!" Boota slammed his palm on the door panel, closing it just as some familiar faces came into view. They heard pounding on the door a second later.

"We know you're in there!" Kidd's voice called. "You won't get away this time!"

They were trapped.

A cold sweat ran down Simon's back. His grip tightened on the sword. If he got either of them killed because of this, he would never forgive himself.

"We want to leave in peace!" he shouted through the door. "Let us go now and I promise no one will be hurt!"

"Hey, did you hear that, guys? The captain's alive after all!" Kidd sniggered.

Boota shook his head. "It's no use. I think he's out for blood."

Simon gritted his teeth. "Guess there's no choice." He unsheathed the sword. "We'll fight our way out."

Then they heard Kittan's voice. "Outta the way!" The heavy double-click of a gun being loaded. Then BAM! A large hole exploded in the door.

Boota cringed. "He brought his shotgun?!"

They quickly stepped back out of range.

"Wait." Nia turned to Simon and put her hand on the blade of the sword, lowering it. "I can keep them busy."

"What? No!"

Another blast through the door.

"I'll be all right. I won't take too many risks."

"Too many?!"

Yet another blast. The hole in the door was now large enough for the barrel of the shotgun to fit through.

"You know how hard I am to catch." She smiled at him. "I'll meet you in the hangar."

"No!" But it was too late. She'd disappeared.

Suddenly there was screaming in the hall. The shotgun jolted and was pulled out of the door. There was a gunshot, and streaks of electricity could be seen through the hole.

Simon quickly sheathed the sword, opened the door, and jumped out into the hall.

"Nia!" he called.

He saw her just as she'd finished throwing Kittan against a wall with her electricity. The others lay on the floor around her groaning. There was shouting from up ahead as more people ran toward the noise.

She turned slightly, sparks still flying from her fingertips. The cool demeanor of the Anti-Spiral Messenger had returned. Looking at him, her lips formed a single word: "Go."

An arm wrapped around his chest. Before he could protest, Boota was dragging him down the hall.

"NIA!"


Boota only let Simon go once they were both back in the elevator. After that, they had some time to rest; it would take at least ten minutes for the elevator to go from the upper levels down to the hangar.

WHAM! Simon's fist met the wall of the elevator, leaving a dent. He continued punching the wall until he winced from the vibrations, and fell back against it, clutching the side of his face in pain. "Goddammit..." he hissed through his teeth.

He fell silent afterward, expression filled with self-loathing.

Boota sighed. "You seem to be under the impression that you're the one protecting us in this situation. Let me remind you who the injured one is here."

"I'm not an invalid!" Simon snapped.

Boota couldn't help raising his voice too. "You nearly died. And you're still on the mend. Believe me, if it means getting you out of here in one piece, we'll do whatever it takes. So do us a favor and save your strength for when you really need it."

A look of recognition crossed Simon's face. Of course it would sound familiar. Simon had said something similar ten years ago, just a day before Kamina was killed. Having his own words thrown back at him, there was no way he couldn't understand their feelings now.

Simon slid down to the floor in defeat. "You little bastard."

"I'm not little anymore, remember?"

The side of his mouth quirked up. "When did you two become so friendly anyway?"

"We came to a mutual understanding."

They prepared for an ambush for when they arrived, and they were right in expecting one, but Nia had apparently already taken care of it for them. When the elevator doors opened, they found the air buzzing with electricity, and people strewn across the floor unconscious. The way was clear.

Then they heard some loud static, followed by a voice.

"Please do not be alarmed. We do not mean you any harm. We wish only to leave this ship in peace. Please stay in your rooms until..."

They looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Nia had hacked into the communication channel.

As they headed down the corridor, they saw that up ahead, the giant steel door to the hangar was lowering, just about to close. Boota sprinted forward, getting there just in time to get his hands under the edge. Crouching, he put all his strength and Spiral Power into pulling it back up. The door groaned. The metal under his fingers began to bend.

Simon set down the sword to lend a hand.

"I said...I'll take care of it...!" Boota grunted, trying to push him away, but couldn't afford to let go of the door.

"Shut up, I'm helping."

They pulled it up together.

Panting and muscles aching, they stumbled into the hangar at last, only to stop in their tracks when they found Leite standing in their way, hands in the pockets of her coat and cigarette in her mouth. The other mechanics milled about behind her.

Simon brandished the sword, and Boota took a fighting stance. But Leite simply plucked the cigarette from her lips and blew out a cloud of smoke.

"You came this far," she said calmly. "Go ahead."

They blinked. The mechanics spread out to make a path for them.

"Th...thanks."

They walked the rest of the way to Gurren-Lagann. Boota went into Gurren to store the bag, and found the cockpit already packed with maintenance tools. He glanced back at Leite, surprised.

Simon stood at Gurren-Lagann's feet, not moving. Boota called down to him, but Simon replied, "She said she would meet us here."

He waited patiently at first, but as minutes passed, he began pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists.

They heard Leite muster the mechanics to get back to work, in effect ignoring them. Nia still didn't come.

"Something's wrong. I'm gonna—"

Just as Simon started toward the door again, Nia appeared beside him, causing him to nearly trip over his feet. She tilted her head at him, bemused. He heaved a big sigh of relief. "Let's go."


Simon climbed up to the platform just above Gurren-Lagann's head with Nia right behind him. The hatch to Lagann's cockpit opened beneath him. He jumped down to stand on the side of the hatch, then turned to help Nia...

She seemed distracted. She was looking toward the door, and a murmur fell from her lips. "Goodbye, Father..."

"Nia?"

She shook her head and turned back to him again.

He extended his hand to her.

She hesitated. As if asking, Who, me?

He smiled. Yes, you.

She took his hand gently.

He noticed how light she was; she practically floated to his side.

Simon dropped down into the cockpit.

Nia followed shortly, sitting on his lap.

This felt right somehow. He decided to take a moment to appreciate it.

Nia peered into his face curiously. It was nice having her this close.

"Ready yet?" asked Boota from Gurren's cockpit.

Simon cleared his throat. "Yeah." He took the Core Drill from around his neck, inserted it into the monitor, and twisted. The cockpit lit up with power. He put his hands on the controls. The hatch closed.

In the hangar, no one appeared to be getting ready to give chase. Maybe because they knew they couldn't take him on in Gurren-Lagann. Or maybe Leite was just eager for him to be out of there with no trouble.

Thanks to that, they had some time to figure out where to go. Out in space, they steered Gurren-Lagann to stand on the hull of the ship. Boota accessed the computer and singled out a list of life-supporting planets, which Nia looked through to pick out the ones not currently watched by the Anti-Spirals.

Halfway through, they heard some sort of signal.

"What's that?" Simon asked.

"It looks like a message..." Boota opened it. "It was sent from another Spiral race...just a day after we defeated the Wuxglavans."

"Hate mail?" He wasn't interested.

"This is where it came from..."

Information and a visual of a blue-green planet popped up on the screen.

Nia gasped. "This planet..."

Simon recognized it too. It was one of the many planets they had destroyed the Spiral Life-Form Annihilation Systems of half a year ago.

Boota played the message. Unexpectedly, it was not in a garbled foreign language, but instead their own, albeit stilted and awkwardly spoken.

"Greetings, Oh Great Destroyer. We of the Kumpu Tribe have been witness to your great feats of power and welcome you heartily to our planet-sphere! We hope you would not be reluctant to visit us, for we would delight to discuss with you matters of importance and treat you to our most generous hospitality."

"...What the hell?"

"They're welcoming us?" Boota scoffed. "I don't believe it. It has to be a trap."

"The Anti-Spiral Messenger of this planet awakened just days before their Spiral Life-Form Annihilation System was destroyed," Nia said.

"So maybe they're genuinely grateful? We saved them right after it was activated."

"But there could still be an Anti-Spiral presence on the planet. At least, there was when..." She stopped mid-sentence. A shiver ran through her body.

"What's wrong?"

"...They're coming."

"What?"

Suddenly, dozens of warp holes appeared in space, and massive Anti-Spiral battleships dropped down all around them.

"Oh, fuck."

Space erupted with a barrage of missiles and beams. They were nearly blown off the side of the ship with the first impact. Simon produced drills from Gurren-Lagann's hands and dug into the hull, keeping them secured.

The ship's shields appeared right before the second volley. At least someone was still working on the bridge.

"Always the best damn timing!" Simon griped. He could barely hear himself over the noise.

"What do we do?" Nia asked.

"We warp, that's what!"

"You don't mean..." Boota started.

"Exactly! Trap or not, we have to go somewhere! NOW!" He locked onto the planet's coordinates.

"They see us!" cried Nia.

As she said that, all the eyes of the Anti-Spiral ships looked in their direction. All of a sudden, every beam was directed at the spot right above them. There was an enormous clash as they met the forcefield. Strong as the shield was, it couldn't hold under such a concentrated barrage for long.

At the same time, the warp sequence was initiated. Spiral Power unfolded before them like a twisting green ribbon.

The forcefield began to tear.

"Dammit, we're gonna make it!" Simon shouted. "WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT!"

Gurren-Lagann charged straight toward the warp hole and the dissolving forcefield. The beams made it through and came shooting at them head-on. The tip of the mecha's helmet made it into the portal. There was a flash of light.

They were gone.