CHAPTER XIV: A FOOL'S WAR
DISCLAIMER: I claim NO OWNERSHIP to ANY of the characters in this story except, (for in this chapter) Tojiro "Neo" Ankoku Vulcan Kikai. All other characters belong their respective creators/owners.
Near Staging Area of Dai-Gunzan, 5:30 pm
The fourteen year old Simon was out walking along a forest area. He saw several of the gunmen that belonged to their team; Dai-Gurren standing out, and all the pilots and members of the team out and talking along with one another.
"Where is she? Where could Yoko be?" the young digger asked himself.
Simon turned his head several ways, no sign of the sharp shooter anywhere. He turned around, running into Kamina. "What's up Simon? Looking for someone?" he asked.
"Oh, hey there bro. Did you see Yoko anywhere, along with that new guy we met?" asked Simon.
"That Tojiro guy? Nope. I haven't seen either of them anywhere. They both better get their asses back here. We're almost ready to take this plan into action!" expelled the confident Kamina.
"Yeah, we sure do." replied Simon nervously.
"Come on blood brother! There's no need for you to act that kind of way here. Believe your drill will bust through the heavens! Trust me, believe in the Kamina that believes in you." he commemorated.
Simon was not at all one to be left confused, but he was still bravely invigorated my Kamina's words, no matter what they were.
In another part of the forest area, a red portal opened up. Yoko and Tojiro stepped out with the portal vanishing shortly afterwards. "This look like the place?" said Yoko.
Tojiro held up his right hand, a holographic image appeared. "Seven years ago. It says this time zone is seven years before Kamina City was built. This has to be it." answered Tojiro, letting the hologram image vanish as he lowered his hand.
"So then let's find Kamina and Simon!" Yoko added.
"Hey there guys!" called a waving Kamina, suddenly appearing in front of the two. Yoko jumped by his sudden appearance.
"Where have you two been exactly?" asked Simon, arriving as well.
"Yoko wished to target practice…on me." Tojiro lied.
Yoko hid her laugh, turning her head away. "Well you do have a pretty thick skull." Simon included.
"Thanks for the amnesty. I sure could use a lot more of it." lied Tojiro again.
"Well then come on! Let's head back to camp!" chanted Kamina, leading the way with Simon trailing behind him.
Yoko began to follow in suit. "Be aware to avoid certain things. We can't let them know we simply traveled here through time. Wait, would they even believe that?" said Tojiro, appearing in Yoko's path.
"I hear you already! Just move!" Yoko demanded.
Tojiro hovered up, "Bye bye." he said in a gloomy tone, hovering his way to the camp. Yoko tightly held her rifle to her back and walked on forward to the camp as well.
Simon was in the small room, being told the plan by Leeron which he must commit to during this dangerous battle. Yoko arrived, remembering this moment.
"Using Lagann, Simon should be able to use it to take over the ship's network systems. By doing that, the whole ship will be under his control." Leeron began explaining. Yoko peered over Simon, and he just noticed her, appearing surprised.
"You'll be fine Simon. I believe in you, okay?" she said, before departing quickly, leaving Simon to continue staring as she left.
"It really matters, however, on Simon's mental energy during the fight. Simon? Simon, I know what you were staring at." said Leeron, attempting to get his mind back on track.
Tojiro was sitting on a tree branch, his back rested against the trunk of the tree. He was busy surveying the activity below. He wore a smug and careless expression, turning his head away. Tojiro's arms were crossed, and so he lowered his head. He used his right hand to lower his bandana over his eyes, then crossing it over with his left again. Down on the ground walked Kamina. He curiously looked around for someone. Looking up, he found that person. "Hey, cloak guy! Down here!" he called.
"Go away. I'm trying to rest for once in my life. Seriously." Tojiro grumbled.
"Sleep? What the hell? Just who do you think you are? Get down here already! We're all working hard to make sure we win this battle!" Kamina continued calling up at him.
"That's what you think." Tojiro mumbled to himself.
A sudden rock hit the side of Tojiro's head, making him slightly angry. "What kind of man refuses to engage in a decent talk with his fellow comrades? If you're going to help, you better start right now, pal!" exclaimed Kamina, waving his fist at him.
"A pretty foolish man wastes time with talk. Why don't you put your words into reality once the battle starts, then we'll try to talk." said Tojiro angrily, referring to what may happen to Kamina if this mission doesn't go well.
"Is that what you think, huh? Have you ever piloted a gunmen? You may be freakishly powerful on the ground: But in a gunmen, the whole game changes!" Kamina implied.
"I don't need to be twenty feet tall to defeat my enemies. All I need to know is that I can do it. Nothing else matters." Tojiro responded.
Kamina grumbled to himself, taking only half of what Tojiro said into consideration. "Then tell me this Tojiro! What gives you the power to fight on!" Kamina continued calling up at him.
Tojiro lifted the bandana from his eyes and keeping it over his forehead. "Well? There has to be some reason you have that power of yours, ain't there?" asked Kamina.
Tojiro slipped off the edge of the branch and landed behind the man of bravado. Kamina quickly turned around to the Nightshade. "My power comes from my training. Not from the curse I carry in my blood, nor the curse I wear on my forehead." answered the Cloakmaster, before walking away. Kamina crossed his arms and put on a curious face.
"Makes me wonder if it was the surface that made him this way." braced a steadfast Kamina.
Tojiro turned his head left and right as he pushed his way through some thick bushes and low tree branches. He finally peered his head through a single bush, spotting Lagann, sitting by itself. Out in the distance were three volcanoes. Tojiro walked up to Lagann and poked it with his metal hand. The canopy opened up and a stunned Simon was inside.
"I figured you were in there. You'd never leave this mech's side." Tojiro said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah. Wouldn't be the first time I thought about that." replied Simon with a smile. The two looked out to the volcanoes, with much on their minds, but no time to think.
"Say Tojiro, what was the reasons behind those training lessons? They almost got me killed!" Simon asked.
Tojiro's eyebrows rose suddenly. Back when Tojiro first arrived in this dimension, he put Simon's emotions to the test. Tojiro cleared his throat, collecting his memories of that day.
"To be honest Simon it was better yourself. Whether you can believe that or not, that's what it was for. For some reason, I have the thought to believe that you weren't so well treated in the past. Or am I just being skeptical?" replied the Nightshade.
"No, you would be right. Back in my old village, a lot of people didn't like me. Mostly because I was smelly or just so strange." said the digger.
"No point on looking back at it now, huh?" Tojiro reassured.
"Sure! I've made a lot of new friends over time. Now we're here on the surface fighting for a common good. Fighting along side bro, Yoko, and everyone else really has made me glad we came up here." Simon explained with a decent feeling of hope in his voice.
"No point of being upset when you realize the truth of its opposite." Tojiro stated.
"It's great that you're here to help too." Simon added.
"Don't look at me to win this battle. It is all about you. Lagann has the ability to take over that massive ship of theirs. We're counting on you." Tojiro put, making sure his words would make sense to this current time.
"That's what worries me." Simon said, looking down.
Tojiro blinked twice, expecting this would come. "Simon, during war it costs a lot of things. Especially courage. During war, people do things they would never imagine themselves doing. War takes price. That's the point of it all. War feeds on fear. That's something you must not give it. Show your enemies what you would do to ensure peace for this world, and for many years to come." Tojiro explained righteously.
Simon looked at Tojiro with a confident smile. "Thanks Tojiro. You're definitely Team Gurren material." replied Simon, giving him a thumbs up.
"Dai-Gurren, isn't that right? Make sure you don't do anything stupid. No playing the hero and sacrificing yourself." noted the Cloakmaster.
"Yeah. You got it." replied the now confident digger. Tojiro walked away, placing his hands in his cloak pockets.
"Hey, Tojiro? Let me ask you something." said Simon.
Tojiro stopped, fearing Simon's question was going to be rash. "Will you…do anything to sacrifice…yourself?" asked Simon.
Tojiro flipped his hood over his head. "No one lives forever, Simon." answered Tojiro rashly.
A barrage of hurdling stones shot down towards a group of Beastmen that stood upon the deck of Dai-Gunzan. "Keep em' pinned team! Don't let up!" exclaimed Kamina from the seat of Gurren.
"You can't be serious? Right?" exclaimed back Kittan.
The Beastmen exploded into clouds of flame. Kamina jumped back, avoiding a series of missiles, along with the other gunmen of Team Dai-Gurren.
"I'm surprised these damn apes are attacking the great Dai-Gunzan so quickly. They must all be asking for a death wish." said Thylimph, one of the Four Generals.
A sudden red stream of light hit the side of Dai-Gunzan. "General Thylimph sir! The ship is falling over!" exclaimed the frightful beastmen at the controls.
"WHAT! Who would dare to face my ship?" yelled the angry Thylimph. Appearing in his hedgehog form was a rolled up Tojiro, surrounded by a blazing red aura.
"I DARE!" shouted Tojiro, shooting towards the bridge. Tojiro hit the beast hit intense power, causing Dai-Gunzan to fall back on its feet.
Tojiro reappeared between Gurren and Lagann. "Good job there, Tojiro!" shouted a braced Kamina.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Focus on the battle." Tojiro shoved off, leaping back off the cliff and into the fray once more.
"He never listens doesn't he?" assessed Yoko.
"Hey, you can't blame the guy if he wants to fight! So let's go!" said Kamina, jumping down into the fray as well.
"I'm heading down as well guys…I'll see you on the battlefield." said Simon glumly, using Lagann to jump down onto the deck of Dai-Gunzan.
Tojiro landed on the deck, immediately spin dashing himself through five Beastmen, blowing them all into hellish infernos. Tojiro saw Lagann drill through the top of a Beastmen. Tojiro rose to his feet, watching Lagann step out of the flames. "Yoko did it again. She had to kiss Kamina this time, damn it." said an angry Tojiro to himself.
Tojiro was suddenly sent packing when the massive hand of Dai-Gunzan smacked him. Tojiro curved through the air and smashed into the rocky ground below Dai-Gunzan with intense momentum.
"Tojiro! Damn you Thylimph!" yelled the angry digger.
Lagann's arms changed into drills and leaped towards the bridge. A horde of gun fire from the cannons aimed at Lagann.
"Simon, you dumbass! You're right in the middle of their fire!" yelled Kittan.
Tojiro clapped his hands, causing Chaos Control on Simon. Lagann reappeared next to Tojiro on the ground. Tojiro forced the canopy of Lagann open. "Next time, I'm not saving your foolish ass. Got it?" Tojiro said in a angry tone, getting in Simon's face.
Tojiro then forcibly shut the canopy and looked up. The massive foot of Dai-Gunzan rose over the two. Tojiro quickly prepared the holy lock, and he transformed into his Werehog form. He held his hands up, stopping the massive foot from squashing them.
"Drill straight up the leg, Simon! Do it!" Tojiro forced the words out, keeping the foot up at all costs.
Turning the bottom half of Lagann into a drill, Simon shot upwards with an immense surge of spiral energy. The leg let out bursts of green light, and finally Simon broke through the deck of the Dai-Gunzan. Tojiro's fists glowed with red ferocity.
"The things I do for these damn mortals. Curse it!" roared the Cloakmaster, shooting red beams of Chaos energy up through the leg, causing the entire Dai-Gunzan to fall sideways, echoing an epic boom that quaked the entire area.
"He just knocked that whole ship over." said a speechless Kittan.
Tojiro leaped up towards the sideways laying ship, but ultimately dug his claws into the ship, as it already began to rise back up. Still in Lagann, Simon flew off the top of the deck, and was harshly tackled two Beastmen.
"Get in there you damn fools! HURRY!" ordered Tojiro.
The Cloakmaster did a backwards jump, spotting six enemy gunmen charging up at him. Unsheathing the Blade of Darkness, the Demigod of Death held it forward and began spinning it. The blade turned magnificently fast, spinning like the propellar of a prop plane. The blade then shined an intense red. Tojiro speared through all six gunmen in a blazing combination. He landed on the ground, swinging his sword and then to the right. All the six gunmen then exploded simultaneously in an insane inferno, which Tojiro sheathed his sword afterwards. "Only a fool challenges me." swayed the Cloakmaster.
With the two Beastmen holding him by force, Simon bashed his drill arms against the two Beastmen, freeing himself and giving him some room to fight. Simon first drove both drills into one Beastmen that charged from his left. Simon quickly thrusted backwards with a boost from the jet engine, and bashed into another Beastmen behind him.
"You little punk! You're gonna' regret that!" said the angry Beastmen, grabbing hold of Lagann.
A sudden shot from Yoko hit the Beastmen in the back of the head. Simon took this chance. He drove the two drills into the Beastmen, then tore the mech in half, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Simon. You…you better be careful out there, got it?" she said over the com link.
Simon nodded his head, "I will. I will…for everybody." Simon said in his thoughts.
Tojiro appeared hovering by Simon's side. "Good luck so far, I assume?" Tojiro mentioned, creating a barrier of Chaos energy to his left, that blocked a series of bullets. He removed the barrier from sight with a wave of his hand.
"So far it's nothing too bad. We'll hold out long enough." replied Simon desperately.
"I believe in what you say. You best not be lying." warned Tojiro, hovering past the front of Lagann.
A large golden beam of Chaos energy suddenly came down from a diagonal direction, hitting both Tojiro and Lagann. "Simon!" shouted Yoko.
The digger and the Demigod smacked across the ground. Simon ended up smashing into a raised hill of rock, while Tojiro slammed against a stone head first. "Damn it. Who in the world just fired that?" cringed the bruised Simon, rising up in Lagann.
Tojiro stood up as well, his eyes widened when he spotted something horrific coming from the sky. Tojiro gritted his teeth. He quickly turned to Simon and stuck his arms out. Using Earthbending, the earth shifted Simon across the ground and put him about fifteen feet away from the Cloakmaster. Once he stopped, Simon lowered the canopy on Lagann, seeing a massive gold beam impact Tojiro dead on. The explosion was intense, sending fireballs flying out of its smoking plume that climbed the heavens.
"Simon! You alright, buddy?" asked Kamina over the com.
"I…I'll be fine. But Tojiro…" stammered the digger.
The smoke ultimately cleared, revealing something in the middle. Simon appeared surprised. It was a circular silver ball of metal. Surprisingly, it transformed into Tojiro, who had reverted into his Mecha Werehog form just before the beam hit him. With his eyes full of a fierce glowing orange. In his mecha form, he turned the dial once, so he stood at about eight feet tall or so. Tojiro set his eyes off to the corner.
"No doubt that came from your weapon, did it not?" said Tojiro, quickly reverting back to his hedgehog form.
The cloaked being stood a few feet behind the Cloakmaster of Darkness, making a large and futuristic looking mini-gun vanish from his hands. Tojiro turned around, raising his clenched fists.
"A fight between gunmen. It doesn't surprise me that you wished to get involve here, Vulcan." said an angered Tojiro.
"You have no need to fear my friend. This shall end it quickly." replied Vulcan, lowering his hood.
"You forget…death fears nothing!" yelled the Demigod of Death, referring to his force given title with vengeance filling his cursed veins.
NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW!
Tojiro: VULCAN! You step into a war knowing NOTHING of its consequences!
Vulcan: That is why I stand here now, Cloakmaster Ankoku. Akuma...has became restless and restless. I've come to relieve that annoyance.
Simon: Tojiro, don't engage him!
Tojiro: Apologies Simon: He's my foe. My twisted target! HE SHALL DIE!
Kamina: Simon, what power are they using?
Kittan: There's no way that can be Spiral energy, right? It doesn't look like that!
Yoko: Kamina, get Simon outta' there!
Simon: Tojiro! Don't sacrifice yourself you idiot!
Vulcan: Darkness enshrouds everyone Cloakmaster; all but their minds...interesting.
Tojiro: I don't care what I have to go through to finish you! YOU shall fall like all the rest! Prepare...FOR MY CHAOS!
NEXT TIME!
CHAPTER XV: MENACING! THE MECHANIZATIONS OF DARKNESS AND STEEL!