*Quick Note* Forgive me if I have named anything wrong in this or the last chapter. I am rather new to this anime, but I know enough to say I love it. Again, I am sorry for any errors I have made. Enjoy Chapter 2!
Simon was sitting at the table nearest to the kitchen doors in the mess hall. Nia opened the door with a plate full of food for the rest of the crew. They all stared at the food in horror and disgust. Rossiu fainted at the thought of what happened last time. Nia's smile turned to a confused frown as she placed the plate on the table the Simon sat at. "Is it that bad?" They nodded and almost threw up. A large frown came over Nia's confused look as Simon put a hand on her shoulder. "I think it is great, Nia." She giggled and hugged Simon as he and Boota began to dig in. Shortly after they started eating, Yoko walked in and came next to Simon. "Let's go, Simon!"
She grabbed him by the ear and tugged him away from the table and out the door. When they reached the top deck, Gurren Lagann was already prepped and ready to go. Boota sat on Simon's shoulder and gave him a nod of readiness. Yoko climbed inside Gurren's cockpit as Simon was climbing towards Lagann's. "So what are we doing exactly?" An image popped up as the canopy closed on Lagann; it was Leeron.
"You and Yoko are going to be checking out a weird occurrence just a little ways away from here." Leeron informed Simon. An image of Yoko appeared opposite Leeron's. "Something crash landed into the earth and caused a huge dust cloud."
Simon looked off in the distance to see the remainder of dust and particles in the air as the object started to cool down from the heat it experienced as it penetrated the atmosphere. He thought to himself for a moment, feeling weird as to what it could be. It didn't move as if it were made of stone, yet it was the size of a gunman. Simon shook his head and pushed past his thoughts of what it could be. Soon after, Gurren Lagann sped off the deck and ran to the place of impact.
An image of Yoko appeared once again; a serious look on her face. "What do you think it is, Simon?" He shrugged his shoulders: "Could be anything to be honest." Yoko thought to herself for a moment. 'Anything...'
The door of the pod blew off and landed nearby. A figure stepped out of the metal meteor. It reached inside the pod and grabbed a rifle of sorts, checking the clip for ammunition and replacing the full clip in the receiver. It stepped back an inch, then looked down the barrel to see if the sights were smashed. It's light blue hair began to wave in the wind as it's red eyes scanned the weapon for any other damage. As they watched from a distance, Yoko gasped. "Is that...?" Simon was as surprised as she was, but canceled the thought of it being Kamina: "It can't be!" As Gurren Laggan approached the familiar man, he quickly turned and threw a canister towards them. A huge cloud of smoke surrounded them as the pod and the man seemed to disappear in the thick fog. Simon was caught off guard as he looked around for him. Suddenly, the man flew from the smoke onto the canopy of Laggan, smashing it in with the butt of his gun. Gurren Laggan slapped him off, ending the man through the clearing smoke and onto the hard and crusty earth.
"Who the hell are you?!" Yoko questioned him. He stood, a smirk on his face. "Me? I am Hibiki, or ECHO if you please," he boasted "Fighter of Jeeha Village, brother of the great Kamina!"
Yoko and Simon stared at him in shock as a confused look over came ECHO's pride; "Um... Hello? Anyone in there?" Yoko fainted, leaving Simon alone. Gurren Laggan started to rub the back of Laggan's head; "You wouldn't by chance know who Simon the Digger is, do you?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Know him? Heck, I was the first babysitter! Kamina took him in after his parents died. Say, why do you need to know?" Laggan's canopy opened, revealing a curious digger. After crawling down, he walked up to the 6 foot man. He stared up to him, curiosity and wonder filling his gaze. "You're... You're Kamina's brother?" He nodded. "Well prove it."
"Look Simon, I don't mind your curiosity, but I must ask, where is my little bro? I haven't seen him in almost years!"
Not only had he been surprised he knew who he was, but heartache struck Simon as he recalled what happened to Kamina. Simon sighed as he turned back to the combined mechas; "Come with me, I'll tell you when we get to Dai-Gurren."
While in the mess hall, Simon explains to Echo what happened to his brother. A long frown covered his face. "I can't believe he died." Simon lowered his head in sadness as Nia approached with a small plate of food for Echo; "I thought you were hungry, so I made you this." He looked at the plate, then thanked her. Kittan, Dayakka, etc. all lunged towards him before he took a bite; "No!" They all hovered over him. He dropped the piece of food in his mouth and began to chew. Fear covered their faces as he swallowed and began to eat more. They sighed as he finished the plate and moved it to the side. Simon stared him down from across the table; "So what were you doing in that pod thing."
He shrugged his shoulders. "After dad died, I wandered the desert aimlessly, dodging encounters with gunmen, until I found this village on the surface. I think they called it Minpei, I can't remember. Anyways, they told me that I was healthy enough to enlist into their armed forces. I did and I was sent to this station out in space. I was told that I needed to be 'put to sleep' for the travel. And that's about all I can recall." Yoko walked in and slammed her fists on the table; "So you let a group of militia men do whatever they wanted to you? You are as dumb as Kamina!" A slight smile crossed his face.
"Aren't you a feisty one?" She blushed then left the room. He looked to Simon with confusion. "What was that all about?" He thought back to what he saw before they attacked Dai-Gurren; "I don't know."