TTGL: So this is the Heavens
Chapter 15: This isn't possible!
It was unbelievably dark. Under Captain Kyouraku's guidance the Dai-Gurren had stomped its way through miles of countryside until it reached a cluster of mountain. With difficulty they had managed to get the giant battleship to traverse the jagged spires of rock until it emerged into a huge clearing, flanked on all sides by the mountains. Within this crater like area was a forest of pine trees that stood extremely tall, nearly reaching as high as the Dai-Gurren itself. The two conscious captains led Kamina through the extreme gloom of the trees as without causing huge destruction, the Dai-Gurren could not pass through the tightly packed trunks.
Bristles and pin like leaves lashed at Kamina's face but he had few other problems. His night vision was well honed while Renji and Shunsui seemed to have the root memorised despite the dark and twisted paths. They had made a point of nobody else being allowed to go with them and had refused any light.
"How much further is this damn tunnel." Kamina yawned. "I could dig my way there faster. I did learn from the best."
"Its not far now." answered Shunsui. Renji was keeping unusually quiet. Both captains seemed grim.
"What's got you so tense. Its only Hell." said the master of understatements.
"It's crazy, that's what." snapped Renji. "Only twelve shinigami have ever taken that path but only four ever came out. We're not talking about your average guys either, these were lieutenants and even captain. You aren't even at that level so what chance do you have?"
"Who the hell do you think I am!" came the confident reply.
"That's not an answer. It means nothing. You think that the denizens of Hell will care who you are?" Renji countered. He was about to say more but Shunsui spoke first.
"We're here."
Kamina looked around expecting a ominous cave, bottomless pit or glowing portal but all he could see were more trees. Shunsui slowly approached one of the larger, more distorted trees, pointing out that the trunk was hollow.
"This is it, the entrance to Hell." Shunsui said as he poured himself a cup of saki. "This is your last chance to back down. Once you pass through that gap then there is only success or death. The horrors down there won't just destroy your body but your mind as well."
Kamina peered down the hole. "I'm sure." he confirmed. "Real men follow their hearts, and mine is screaming that this is the way to go."
Shunsui sighed and took a long sip of the saki. "Guess there's no talking you out then."
"Nope. Just carry on without me. Get as many men as you can together and prepare for the coming battle with Aizen's forces. I'll catch up to you in my own time. Clara is in charge until I get back since you're too lazy to command and Renji just doesn't fit the role. I trust her judgement."
Kamina stepped onto the edge of the gap. Shunsui threw him his saki flask.
"You'll need it more than me."
Without looking back Kamina hopped into the hole, shouting as he fell "See you on the other side."
At first everything was pure darkness, then the shades of black changed into a maelstrom of colours and patterns that entirely surrounded Kamina as he fell. Even when he closed his eyes the colours stayed just as vivid within his eyelids. Then that too passed, the world becoming a crimson colour, the air thick like liquid. To Kamina, it felt as though her were drowning in blood.
He lost track of the time it took to hit the ground. It could have been ten years or a single second. His mind felt like it was lagging, thinking in circles. It took all of his determination just to process a single focussed thought.
Like a drunk thrown into an alley he examined his surrounding with blurry eyes and a mind unable to add two and two together. He appeared to be in a roughly hewn cave that had no visible form of light but were still lit up. The walls themselves seemed to glow a baleful red. Symbols dotted the stone but they seemed to constantly move and change so that Kamina couldn't focus upon them.
He stumbled down the tunnel unhindered for a long stretch and even began to control his thoughts again. That was when Viral rounded the next corner, butchers knife in hand.
Kamina was taken aback for a moment but then his cocky nature returned. "Viral, looks like Simon sent you on a one way journey to Hell. Unlike you, I'll be leaving shortly though."
"Like hell you will, naked ape!" Viral screamed, rushing forward with his knife. Kamina drew his sword and they exchanged a flurry of blows. It felt just like the first time they had fought, somehow the beastman having the upper hand. This didn't bother Kamina though. He loved being the underdog, it made victory that much sweeter.
Viral's large clawed hands swung his blade wide and Kamina saw his chance. He swept in and slashed at the gap in his rival's defence but his sword stopped short and he let out a roar of unadulterated pain.
He glanced down to see a spear head protruding through his chest. Blood frothed and poured from the wound. Tilting his sword slightly he saw the reflection of his new attacker on its blade.
"Thymilph!"
"Finish him." growled the fat ape general.
"Gladly." answered Viral with a shark toothed grin. He took a step forward, raising his knife.
Kamina couldn't move. He was stuck on the blade, completely unable to dodge. He lifted his sword. "Let's make them grit their teeth, Gurren!" The blade transformed into the familiar black shades.
He countered Viral's attack, knocking the beast back. Kamina grid his teeth and swung his legs back. The second they touched the bulk of Thymilph's stomach he pushed off, ripping himself from the spear. Fresh pain shot through him but he banished it from his mind using his momentum he swung at Viral, smashing the knife from his hairy hands. Instantly after he slashed upward, cutting deep across the entire length of Viral's body.
A white beam shot at him from behind, catching his side. Kamina cursed and span around to face the former general.
"You've cost me my life once already, I wont give you an opening to do it again. Giga shade break!" For the second time, Kamina's shades pinned Thymilph's limbs. He struggled in vain as Kamina's fist came hurtling toward him. The ensuing explosion signalled the end of the battle.
Kamina stood there panting. He watched as both of the bodies melted and sunk into the ground. He fell to his knees, clutching his wounded chest. He felt on the verge of passing out when a hand suddenly clutched his shoulder gently. Looking around he saw a young red head beside him.
"Yoko? How? What are you doing here, what the hell's happening? This isn't possible."
"Calm down Kamina. Everything is going to be fine. I missed you so much, every night I dreamt about you, about your promise to pay me back." she whispered, teary eyed.
She began to sob. Kamina embraced here, not knowing what else to do. Just her smell brought back so many memories and feelings. Slowly she leaned in and kissed his lips.
Kamina screamed out in agony. His lips blistered instant cracking and welting dramatically. A sensation like he had swallowed venom passed through him, a burning in his mouth, then throat, gut and eventually every nerve in his body.
Yoko laughed playfully, brushing herself against him sensually. Where she touched broke out into a harsh rash moments later.
"You're not Yoko. Get away from me!" Kamina howled, swinging his sword at her in a near frantic attempt to make the paid stop. The blade hit her neck, lopping the head straight off.
The head rolled, coming to a stop next to Kamina's. its eyes were still wide open, still looked identical in every way to Yoko. Kamina was still in a world of pain but he dragged himself further down the tunnel. Any amount of pain was more bearable than having to stare into Yoko's lifeless eyes.
More sobbing reached his ears after several minutes of crawling down the path. Kamina closed his eyes, he didn't want to see whatever it was. He just kept crawling blindly forward but the crying just grew louder, closer. His plans were foiled when his hand brushed something soft.
"Bro? Bro, its really you!" came an exited voice.
"Go away! Just leave me!" Kamina shouted. He felt the figure jump back and cower.
"B-b-bro? You too." The voice resumed sobbing. "I tried so heard but I just couldn't win. I wasn't you, I didn't have the strength to fight. Everyone pinned their hopes of freedom onto me and I let them all down. The Spiral King was just too strong. He killed me, then everyone else too. It hurt so much. Now we're all here, cursed. Yoko went ahead when we heard fighting. Have you seen her?"
"None of you are real! You're all just illusions!"
"We're real bro. Its really us. Yoko missed you so much. She was so exited about the chance to see you again. She said that you would bear any pain to finally be with her."
Doubts and horrors filled Kamina's mind like a tsunami. His resolve and determination all seemed so fragile, like a glass wall against the hammer of truth.
The voice continued. "I'm so sorry bro. I just couldn't live up to your belief in me."
Kamina wanted nothing more than to comfort Simon, to pat him on the back and tell him that he did good. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see the comforting sight of Simon's back. He pulled himself closer and placed an arm across the boy's shoulder. "Whatever happens, Simon, just know that it is never too late to pierce the heavens."
"I'd rather pierce your vital organs!" snarled Simon. He grabbed the core drill from around his neck and stabbed it into Kamina's chest, right into his heart.
"It's your fault that all of this happened. You took us from our peaceful lives under ground. You betrayed my trust by kissing the only girl I had ever loved. You preached non stop about never giving up then die! You said that it was a waste of time digging graves for people that buy it out there, that it would never happen to you. Well I watched you die. I dug your grave. The sight if your sword sticking out from a mass of rocks, your cape wrapped around it, that is the symbol of our lost hope. The only lesson that I've learnt from you is how to kill!"
He twisted the core drill. A beam of energy ripped through Kamina's chest leaving a hole straight through it where his heart use to be. Simon laughed manically then stabbed himself through the stomach like the dishonoured samurai of old.
Kamina lay unmoving, staring absently at the ceiling. His breaths were laboured. A shadowy figure entered his declining vision. It resolved itself blurrily. It was a long haired, middle age man in a red cape.
"Hello, my son."
The young pilot gurgled slightly, unable to even speak.
"It looks like you have failed too. After you called my bones pathetic, you went and died yourself. Now you are about to die again. I raised you better than to break your promises like this. Your promises to Yoko, Simon, Humanity and shinigami, all broken. You aren't a real man. You don't even deserve to look like one. This is all you are, boy."
Kamina's father held out his hand, moving it over Kamina's body. As the hand passed, the skin and flesh peeled away until Kamina was nought but bones. A skeleton.
A laugh of hysterics racked Kamina's whole body. He groped around until his hand closed around a flask. With bony finger he opened it up and raised it to his skull, tipping the liquid through his jaw and down his gullet. He could see the white bones of his body mirrored in Gurren's blade, watched the saki splash over his ribs.
He stumbled onto his feet and danced drunkenly down the tunnel, bones clanking together. The more that he drank, the safer he felt. The images from Hell merged with his drunken hallucinations until reality was none existent. Kamina strode boldly forwards at the head of an army of near naked women riding pigmoles against the vile forces of beastmen. Rabbits flew through the sky chasing far off gunmen while the blood stained sun watched while eating ice-cream.
It was in this drunken stupor when he came face to foot with another familiar sight. Several meters tall, gleaming white stood Enki, its helmet worn proudly, twin katana in hands.
Viral's voice rang out, "Thought you'd killed me, eh Kamina?" it taunted. "Well think again! This time, I'll take my revenge!"
"Bring it on, fur-face. You damn cat. Holy shit, you're a furry. I though only chicks went in for that. Do you have little cat ears under all that hair. Ha ha ha." slurred Kamina. He had completely lost his mind.
"Shut it, naked ape."
"Attack! Legion of naked fan girls, do your masters bidding. Rabbits, provide air support. Nacho shuriken of doom!" Kamina cackled.
Enki stomped on him.
A new voice entered the fray. "Outta the way, jackass, unless you want to die!"
Kamina looked up. Enki's foot was half an inch from his head. He turned his head to see a bald man with a huge three piece weapon struggling to hold the foot in place.
"Hey, I recognise your baldness. You're Itadakimasu!"
"Its 'Third seat of Squad Eleven Ikkaku Madarame' you god damn idiot!" hissed the man through clenched teeth. "Now are you gonna move or keep standing there like an idiot."
"That's what she said."
"That doesn't even make any sense damn it. Grrr. And you can get you're goddamn boot outta my face!" the man growled before throwing the foot away.
"So, you another mind fu-"
"I'm real otherwise I wouldn't be helping you."
"Maybe that's what they want me to think.
Ikkaku smacked him across the head.
"See, you are trying to hurt me too." Kamina punched him in the face. Ikkaku wiped away the blood and punched him back.
A giant sword whooshed down upon their heads. There was a clash of steel. A spiritual pressure that could have suffocated Satan himself cut through Kamina's bogged down mind. The sheer power and bloodlust set his teeth on edge.
"You boys finished playing?" came a beastlike rumble. A monstrous figure stood before them, holding the mecha's weapon in place with a jagged sword which was held single handed. Features that could have been carved from stone stared savagely up at the robot, his single visible eye burning with fighting spirit.
"Captain." Ikkaku nodded.
"This guy yours?" the monstrous man asked, addressing Kamina.
"Mine?"
"Everything here is taken from your mind. It makes nightmares according to your own fears and memories. A giant robot is too new school to be any of us." grunted the man.
"Yeah…" breathed Kamina. His brain felt like it had been tied into a knot.
"Too bad." the man grinned. In a single slash that moved quicker than Kamina's eyes could follow tore into Enki, shredding the metal like butter.
"Damn!" howled Viral. "I'll get you Kamina! I'll get you all!" The mecha sped away, disappearing into the darkness.
Ikkaku and the captain began to walk away. Kamina followed and took in his surroundings for the first time since his earlier encounters. The single tunnel was no longer present. Instead they were in a huge chamber that had several tunnels leading off in different directions. After passing through several rooms he deduced that they were in a honeycomb type maze of chambers.
"You that kid from the Academy? The mortal warrior that was runner up in my tournament after only a few month training." asked the captain.
"Maybe. I …don't really remember. You though… you're Kenpachi. No one could forget such immense power." Kamina muttered, clutching his head.
"Looks like you've been got good. A bit further and you can get some rest. Yumichika is setting up camp." Ikkaku stated.
Camp turned out to be three sleeping mats angled around a freshly lit fire in a chamber that had only one entrance. The flames were green and the walls pulsed with thousands of faces.
Yumichika was a slender man with medium length black hair and delicate features. He looked at his wits end though. His hair was a tattered mess, his robes in tatters, his skin mud encrusted. He also had two scraggy feathers attached to his right eye but Kamina didn't even hazard a guess why they were there. There was a near crazy twitching in his other eye.
Kenpachi fully took in Kamina now that there was a light source. His sole eye moved slowly like a shark might examine potential prey. "Take my mat and get some rest. Don't mind the nightmares though." he growled. "I've not finished today's workout, I'll be back later." With that he left.
"So, kid. What you doing down here?" asked Ikkaku. He was leant against the wall drinking from a gourd.
Kamina stretched out on the mat. In the company of others reality was becoming more prominent. His mind had returned to stability. "Getting stronger I suppose." he answered while checking his body. Other than scratches and bruises he was fine. His skin was present and there were no holes or wounds. It had all been in his head, yet the pain was still enough to nearly kill him.
"Aizen is gathering his forces to attack the remaining shinigami. I raised an army to fight them but need to get stronger if I ever hope to fight him."
"You actually want to fight face to face with Aizen?" laughed Ikkaku. "Looks like you found the best people to go through hell with then. Us members of squad Eleven live to fight with the strongest. Kenpachi is considered the strongest out and out fighter and he doesn't even have a bankai. that's why he's here."
"Man, if that guy gets any more power the world will explode."
"Probably. It'd sure kill Aizen though so we win by default."
"How come you guys are so near to the entrance anyhow? You all look like you've been fighting for a week straight."
"We have." seethed Yumichika. "Our captain isn't renown for his sense of direction. We got lost in this maze and had to backtrack."
"Yeah. The captain tried to just carve his way through the walls but they just threw him around like a pinball. We've been going round in circles fighting our nightmares for five days now, at least I think five days. Its hard to keep track of things here." Ikkaku added.
"Isn't this all in our heads though. I mean, I thought I got cut up real bad but I'm fine." said Kamina. The horrific memories were still so vivid.
Ikkaku shook his head. "That's only a starter designed to broke your mind. After that, the real threats start coming. They'll still be in familiar shapes but they really will hill you. That robot earlier would have crushed you for instance. I was attacked by a horde of pink haired little demons. It was a nightmare until I realised I could no kill her again and again, then it became more therapeutic."
At that moment Kenpachi entered again. "Pack up. We're leaving."
"But we haven't slept, you know that you need to be fully awake in this place." argued Yumichika.
"With four of us here, the legions of Hell are ready to pick a fight. I say we oblige them. I'm gonna fight 'til I reach the devil himself so I can box his brains out." came the eager response.
"Now your talking!" grinned Kamina, jumping to his feet. He could feel his spirit returning, like a warm flame spreading through his body. "I'm gonna teach these bastards what happen when they mess with my head. For what they've done, there is no mercy!"
He grabbed Gurren and barrelled out of the chamber. Kenpachi's grin became wider. "I like this guy. If he proves to fight as big as he talks, I'm gonna face him as soon as we get out from here. Maybe he'll manage to give me a few minutes entertainment."
The four shinigami ran through a series of chambers until they entered a vast chamber, twice the size of the room in which they had fought Enki. Unlike the barren stone of all the prior rooms, here the floor was a sprawling carpet of sand like an indoor desert. The roof was clustered with large stalactites that pointed downward threateningly.
Before them, filling much of the dessert, was an army of gunmen. There were more gathered here then Kamina had ever seen in his life. What he'd give for Gurren Lagann at this moment, he thought to himself. Then he'd show them how a mecha really fights!
"Looks like Hell has taken a liking to you." mocked Ikkaku. "Guess it got bored of our crappy imaginations."
Yumichika ran his eyes across the horde. "There looks to be five hundred of them."
"Plenty to go around." Kenpachi rumbled. "I'll take the two hundred in the middle. You can split the rest between you."
With that he was off. With startling speed for such a large man he bolted forward. The front gunmen moved to attack but with a single swift stroke of his blade the mecha crumpled into the sand spilling gears, wires and oil.
Both Ikkaku and Yumichika released their shikai and ran to either side of the room. Ikkaku's spear pierced through metal easily on the thrust but the strange four bladed sword that Yumichika wielded proved to be less effective.
Normal people may have questioned the effectiveness of a sword against giant robots, but not Kamina. More than once in life had he tried to attack enemy gunmen with nothing but his trusty sword, so now that he was even stronger he certainly wasn't going to think twice about it.
Choosing the biggest open space, Kamina dashed in, jumping over an oncoming fist from a large spiny gunmen, running up its arm onto its head and stabbed his zanpakuto down into it. Muttering a quick kido he braced himself as the blade exploded, detonating the mecha.
Spinning around he blocked an axe that sent him skidding back but he was able to flip out the way of a club, landing on the club wielder's face. With a powerful slash he shattered the metal teeth to reveal the cockpit beyond. It wasn't a cockpit though, just a gaping black hole that threatened to consume him. A thrust into its forehead was enough to silence it.
Yumichika was really struggling now. Ikkaku saw this and shouted over. "Yumichika, use it you damn idiot! You don't have to keep it hidden anymore, remember."
The other shinigami huffed. "How I detest using it! Fine. Split and deviate, Ruri'iro Kujaku." The four blades began to glow, elongating and becoming green vines of energy. With these he began to tie up several nearby gunmen.
Kenpachi was lost to sight by this point. There was a trail of debris marking his path and in the distance smoke and scrap metal constantly flew from the centre of a large crowd of mecha.
Ikkaku eyed his spear then his captain's rampage. "This is taking too long. I can't get left behind. Bankai." The spear grew, becoming three bulky metal blades held together by thick chains. Red fur decorated the blades in the traditional Chinese fashion. Then he was off in a whir of movement, smashing down gunmen left right and centre.
Not wanting to be left behind, Kamina released his shikai. Quickly scanning the battlefield, he smiled. "Earth crushing tears of heaven cascade!"
He swung rapidly skyward. With each swing an identical pair of shades shot out from Gurren, spinning off toward the roof. They hit the stalactites, causing them to rain down upon the gunmen army below.
A wave of pure power sent the last few standing robots to the ground. Kenpachi waded through scrap back to the others. "You cut my fun short." he growled.
Kamina was about to reply when Yumichika shouted outs. A gunman had risen up and grabbed him by the face, lifting him into the air. The mecha was in ruins, an arm missing, its body cracked and one eye hanging off. Its hand clenched and Yumichika howled a muffled scream.
Ikkaku clove it in half instantly, catching his friend as he fell. His face was bloody but he was still able to move.
Around them all of the mecha were beginning to rise. Dismembered hands crawled forward and battered bodies limped and stumbled. In next to no time, the gunman army had fully risen.
"Zombie robots, seriously?" exclaimed Ikkaku.
"That's more like it! Fight 'til nothing remains!" Kenpachi shouted, diving back into combat. The others followed suit.
For what seemed like hours they fought non stop. Every time the hacked down a foe, it stood back up. It wasn't until the all gunmen had been beaten down to vast piles of nuts and bolts that they finally stayed down.
Kamina was panting wildly. He had suffered next to now injuries throughout the entire brawl but the sheer strain on his body had left its mark. Ikkaku and Yumichika looked run down too although Ikkaku was already recovering. Kenpachi still looked unfazed, surveying the wreckage with contempt.
"My faf. My beautiful faf." slurred Yumichika. He had wiped the blood from his face and was now examining himself in a pocket mirror that he appeared to carry with him. His nose was crushed, looking like a pig snout. His lips were swollen and a few of his teeth were missing.
Slowly, a bolt began to vibrate amongst the wreckage, then another, then another. Kamina readied his sword again but rather than a gunmen rising up, the individual scraps began to fly through the air. They collected together high above them, forming a sphere of metal. Like rapid rusting, the metal began to turn dark, forming a red surface like dried blood. The more scrape that joined it, the more humanoid the sphere became until a hideous demon of muscle and claw stood before them, taller even than the Dai Gurren.
Yellow energy spiked up around it like a out of control fire. A mane of horns jutted from its head while claws that looked like swords tipped each of its fingers. The look in its eyes screamed out in lust for blood.
"Holy Hell!" whistled Kamina in a mix of primal fear and awe. "Is that Satan?"
"Satan has already ran for it." rumbled Kenpachi. "This is my Zanpakuto."
A/N: Hoorah! I'm back in business. For the foreseeable future we're back to weekly updates.
I was a little disappointed with the shortage of reviews last chapter so I've stepped up my game now, hope it showed. I was trying to cut Kamina down a bit, show his more fallible humanity without taking away from his epicness so you'll have to tell me if I succeeded.
And finally I'm bringing Kenpachi into the story. He is another difficult character to write as he is serious and gruff, but at the same time he seems quite light hearted. Anyway, startling revelations on his zanpakuto. I'm going out on a limb with dabbling with his power but its something I know a lot of people are curious about so I'll try my best to make a realistic suggestion.
Please leave your comments in a review or PM. Any questions and I'll get back to you ASAP. Until next Friday, sayonara.
-FWF