After the preparation was over, Kamina, Mami and Homura set off towards the designated spot where they would meet Kyubey. Sure enough, back on the hill full of flowers in the dark night sky, he was there waiting for them. Sayaka, Kyoko, and Kittan were there as well, seemingly having only just arrived. The team of Spiral warriors and magical girls stood together and faced the Incubator with determination in their eyes. Kamina then stepped forward and turned towards them.
"All right! Listen up you bozos! It's now or never time! We're gonna smash through that Anti-Spiral's little hole and show him what team Dai-Gurren's made of!" He once again threw his hand up in the sky as he enlarged his Gurren along with Lagann. Kittan did a similar act, as he threw his Space King Kittan along with his regular Kittan into the air. He leapt right into the cockpit as the space gunman was made. Kamina looked at the giant new mecha with awe. He wasn't aware that the regular gunman was inside the bigger one! "A gunman inside a gunman? What kind of tricks have you guys been pulling while I was gone?" Kittan simply smirked.
"A lot of things you wouldn't get ya bozo!" Kittan cried out. He then looked at the four magical girls behind him, and then back at Lagann. "So who's going to be piloting Lagann this time?" Kittan asked. The four magical girls looked at each other for a brief moment before Mami spoke up as she turned towards Homura.
"Homura-san. You should pilot Lagann like before." Mami said in a calming tone as Homura faced her. "Kamina-san told me how hard you tried to save Madoka in all those different timelines. From what he told me, it sounded like you've always held out hope. Hope that Madoka could be saved. Gurren-Lagann is a symbol of hope. If anyone should pilot Lagann and be a part of it, it should be you again." Homura nodded in response as she hopped back into the cockpit and leapt up into the air. She then slammed into Gurren, forming the mighty Gurren Lagann.
"If we're done with the sap speeches, we should probably get our asses in there!" Kyoko smirked as she whipped out her Soul Gem and focused it on Kyubey. Like the incubator stated, an entranceway to a labyrinth opened up. "Madoka's not gonna be able to save herself you know!" Kyoko added as she transformed. Sayaka and Mami both did the same. All of them ready, they faced towards Kyubey once again. A bright light shone from the tiny creature as they all shielded their eyes. When their eyes snapped open after that, their surroundings had completely changed.
They found themselves in what appeared to be space. When everyone looked down, they found that they were standing on a path of tiny lights. Galaxies and cosmos could be seen as far as their eyes could see. Unlike other witch labyrinths, this place was actually pretty to look at. It was majestic, the vast infinity of space around them. But they didn't let it falter them. Remembering their reason, Homura led them towards where her Soul Gem, which now shined a bright green light along with the purple light, to the Anti-Spiral. The silence was interrupted by Kyubey's voice echoing in their minds.
"The Anti-Spiral now has complete control over our core. However, that doesn't mean that that control cannot be taken back. I will be attempting to regain control as you traverse the labyrinth. But the Anti-Spiral's will is strong. The possibility of that plan succeeding is near zero." Kamina raised an eyebrow and his face gained a confused and stern look inside Gurren. "Do not misunderstand our intentions. Know that the Anti-Spiral have begun to curse us as well. So long as they remain in control of our core, our race is at risk as well as yours." Kyubey added.
"But you're the one who gave them control in the first place!" Sayaka retorted, while sitting atop the Space King Kittan alongside Kyoko as it walked.
"We have no choice but to grant a potential magical girl whatever wish they desire. It is a self-controlled program within our bodies and minds that acts automatically whenever a wish is made in front of us." Sayaka grit her teeth. That thing had an excuse for everything.
"Uh hey, if we're done the little chit-chat with our tiny cat friend, am I the only one noticing the lack of Mugann around?!" Kittan cried out, looking to the left and right quickly, almost throwing Sayaka and Kyoko off. But now that they thought about it, it did seem weird. Unlike what the Anti-Spiral showed them, there was no ambush waiting for them inside this labyrinth. Homura noticed this as her faced gained another concerned expression. It made no sense at all. What kind of trap was the Anti-Spiral setting if it wasn't wiping them out instantly like the others?
"Foolish magical girls!" Shouted the all-too familiar voice of the Anti-Spiral. The group immediately increased their guard as they looked towards where the voice was coming from. However, there was no sign of where it came from. In fact, it seemed to be coming from every direction! "Your everlasting fates were to forever sink into an amount of despair equal to the hope you wished for. It is what kept this universe in balance. You trudge on forward, unaware that your actions would lead to this universe's destruction!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Kyoko angrily shouted. "Come out and say that to our faces you bastard!"
"Where are you hiding Madoka?!" Sayaka shouted as well. The Anti-Spiral only ignored the both of them.
"But that now comes to an end." Replied the booming deep voice. "The power of the Spiral will no longer infect this universe. Now you magical girls will face despair unlike that which you've ever seen before!" Suddenly, a bright light had appeared a few feet in front of them. It was so bright and came so suddenly that the entire group had to shield their eyes. That wasn't the only thing happening. The infinite space around them appeared to be distorting and twisting as the light shined on.
"You'd best keep your guard up." Kyubey's voice telepathically rang to them. "I'm detecting a space-time bypass within the labyrinth of our core. Four unknown signatures have appeared." Sure enough, when the light faded away and the group could see again, they were indeed shocked. Four large strangely shaped figures stood in the distance. Everyone gasped when they saw what the figure in the middle looked like.
It was the figure of a gunman. Not just any gunman. Gurren Lagann.
"No way! It can't be!" Kamina shouted.
"Oh but it is, Kamina." Replied a familiar deep, dark, growling voice as the figures came closer. They came into view, and everyone was able to get a good look at them. This new Gurren Lagann was all black, with red lines on different parts of its body. Instead of the triangular glasses on Gurren, it had the face of a dark skull with sharp teeth on the mouth. A black mask covered Lagann's face. Kamina knew the voice coming from it all too well. It was the same voice he heard moments before his death. "Thymilph the Raging Wave!" The voice uttered. Alongside him stood three other gunmen.
One was a tall white mecha that appeared to have two giant wings with angry eyes on them. It was slender compared to Gurren Lagann, and had a giant triangular shaped mouth. It appeared to be standing on heels and it had a large "V" on its head.
"Adiane the Elegant in Sayrune!" Said a cruel-sounding female voice from it.
One of the other gunmen was a bright orange. It looked so big one could mistake it for a golem of some sorts. It had two large yellow antennae that were attached to its face. It had two massive arms with giant hands.
"Guame the Immovable in Gember!" Said a raspy masculine male voice that came from the mecha.
The last gunman was a tall mecha that appeared to be standing on wheels. Like the Sayrune, it was also slender in stature. Its face had small insect-like pinchers. This one also had giant wings. They were shaped like giant metal blades and were attached to the mecha's chest.
"Cytomander the Swift in Shuzack!" Came a smooth, but angry sounding make voice from the gunman.
"The time has now come for you to regret your entire existence Kamina." Thymilph added. "I don't know how you managed to defeat me and steal my Dai-Gunzan, but that doesn't matter here! Not in death anyway! Now you will suffer the wrath of us! The four generals of the Spiral King!"
"Oh great! Don't tell me that these guys are…" Kyoko started to speak.
"Yeah. That's them all right." Kittan finished for her. "These are the same four generals we fought to take the surface back!" He then pointed at the four generals in his giant gunman. "Hey I hate to break it to you bozos but we already took the Spiral King down and got the surface back for ourselves! We don't have time dealing with cannon fodder like you! I'll make quick work out of you right n-WHAT THE?!" Kittan found himself unable to finish that sentence, as he started to feel his giant space gunman being pulled away into a bright flash of light away from them before disappearing!"
"Kittan!" Kamina shouted as he watched his comrade disappear before his eyes.
"I'm fine!" Kittan's voice telepathically rang in their minds. He had to admit, communicating like that was a really useful trick. "I'll try and make my way back to you bozos! Make sure you guys stay alive! Cause if you don't I'll kick your asses!"
"W-what happened?! Where did he go?" Mami frantically replied, only partially relieved that he was okay. It still didn't tell her what happened to him.
"He's still in the labyrinth; he was caught in another space-time bypass from the Anti-Spirals most likely." Kyubey responded, making a mental note on that. Retaking control of those would be their first priority. "He was pulled to another location in the labyrinth. Right now however, you have bigger problems." As much as Homura hated to admit it, Kyubey was right. The Anti-Gurren Lagann had charged from its position and before they could react, it had landed a kick to Gurren Lagann's chest, sending it flying backwards.
"Kamina-san!" Mami shouted. She began to run towards the giant mecha, when something grabbed her leg. She suddenly found herself lifted up into the air. When she turned her head and looked down, she saw the Sayrune looking at her. Her leg was caught into what looked like a massive whip being carried by the mecha.
"There's no escape for you stinking humans!" Adiane smirked. She swung the whip around with all her might at an incredible speed and slammed Mami into the labyrinth's floor, sending her back a few feet.
"Damn you!" Sayaka shouted. She charged towards the Sayrune, but found herself unable to reach it as the Gember blocked her path. "Get out of my way!" She shouted, summoning her cutlasses and throwing them at the giant gunman. Guame simply laughed as the tiny swords barely dented his stone-hard gunman.
"Do you think those little kitchen knives are any match for my Gember?" He mocked. As the cutlasses bounced off of the mecha, the antennae on Gember suddenly extended and wrapped around Sayaka's arms, entrapping her. Sayaka could only look on and stutter in horror as the mecha suddenly morphed into a monstrous giant orange face with very sharp teeth. "What's wrong filthy human?!" Guame mocked as he prepared to munch on his prey.
"Sayaka!" Kyoko shouted, immediately rushing towards her friend who was about to get eaten. She threw up a barrier between the face and Sayaka, and extended her spear to slice through the antennae. But that didn't stop the Gember from attempting to chew on the barrier. "How many times are you going to get your ass kicked you idiot?!" Kyoko shouted as she continued to focus on her barrier, which was still being chomped on. Kyoko grit her teeth. She didn't know how long it would be able to last.
"Impressive human!" Guame smirked. "So that's what you magical girls can do! But I doubt that will last much longer!" He shouted as he continued to chomp on the barrier.
"Sayaka run! I'll take this guy!" Kyoko shouted. Sayaka looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"Like hell I'm leaving you to fight this one alone!" She shot back. Kyoko only grit her teeth more and kicked her away.
"I wasn't asking you! Go help Mami out!" Kyoko shouted as she pushed Sayaka away when the barrier finally shattered. She only had a second to jump away from the Gember. Any normal human would have been chomped to pieces right then and there. Kyoko was extremely thankful for the extra speed and dexterity that magical girls had. Sayaka seeing that speed and dexterity made her feel comfortable knowing that Kyoko would be all right. She began to run off towards where Mami was, who was facing off against the Sayrune, and losing. She leapt towards the giant mecha, but something slammed her away and onto the floor. Looking back at her attacker, she noticed it was the Shuzack that had struck her.
"Where do you think you're headed to?" Cytomander smiled. "You pathetic naked she-ape." Growling at that, Sayaka summoned yet another cutlass. She leapt towards the enemy gunman, yelling as she brought it down on its left wing. "Did a mosquito just try and bite me?" Cytomander laughed at the weakness of this so-called magical girl. It was almost disappointing to let Thymilph have the fun of facing Gurren Lagann. Weaklings like her almost weren't worth his time! He clenched the fist of his Shuzack and punched Sayaka to the ground, cackling while he did so. "Or, maybe it's not because you're weak. You're just simply outmatched!" Cytomander continued as he looked at his fallen prey. However much to his surprise, a blue circle appeared below her and her wounds on her body completely healed. He looked at this phenomenon with curiosity for a moment before he cackled again. "Gyahahah! That was interesting!" He then prepared to get just a little more serious with his Shuzack, and fought back again.
As Kamina hated to admit it, even he was having problems. Thymilph and the Anti-Gurren Lagann were much more than he expected. Unlike the real Gurren Lagann that used drills to attack, the Anti-Gurren Lagann was able to use lasers as well. They flew at Kamina and Homura at an extremely fast speed. Homura stopped time to avoid the shots, but when she unfroze it to land a punch on the enemy gunman, Thymilph punched right back!
"Impressive, Kamina." Thymilph stated. "That attack just now almost caught me by surprise. I may not have stood a chance against you in my Byakou, but in this Anti-Gurren Lagann, I'm a whole new beastman!"
"Haven't you had enough already you bastard?" Kamina shot back. "We don't have time to deal with cannon-fodder like you!"
"Why are you allying yourselves with that monster?" Homura shouted. "Is your thirst for revenge that great?" Thymilph simply smirked at this. He grabbed Gurren Lagann's arms and prepared to bring it to the floor.
"Revenge? It's not just about revenge. It's about fulfilling our duty no matter where we are!" Thymilph stated.
"Exterminating you stinking humans is our duty to the Spiral King!" Adiane added. "Even in death, we'll continue to fulfill the mission that the Spiral King gave us!" She spoke as she continued to deflect the shots from Mami's muskets and smirked. "Besides, if what your other human friend said was true, then the Spiral King himself should be arriving here! We would not dare to not exterminate humans in his presence!"
"The last thing we remember is waking up in this distorted space." Guame chimed in, chuckling at Kyoko's futile attempts to hurt his gunman. "A voice spoke to us and it was kind enough to supply us with our old gunmen. He turned and looked to the Anti-Gurren Lagann. "Though I'm not sure why Thymilph gets the upgrade."
"So that's why you guys are on this rampage?" Kamina asked as he smirked when he heard this information. He remembered Kittan's story well. The Spiral King was most definitely not dead! "I hate to break it to you beastmen bastards, but we're not dead, and neither is your Spiral King!" He added as he punched the Anti-Gurren Lagan in the chest. "Right at this very second, your so-called Spiral King is on the side of Team Dai-Gurren!" Thymilph's eyes widened for a moment at that information, before he simply smirked and fired more lasers at Gurren Lagann.
"I'm not interested in hearing any of your half-baked lies Kamina! WE SETTLE THIS HERE!" Thymilph shouted. "Cytomander! Guame! Adiane! Go towards Gurren Lagann! Unleash your rage and your hatred! Let us show these humans what happens when you make the Spiral King's four generals angry!" The other generals immediately ran towards Gurren Lagann in their gunman. Homura prepared to stop time once again, when something caught Gurren Lagann's foot. Homura looked and saw that Adiane had latched onto it with her whip!
"No!" Homura thought to herself. With Gurren Lagann restrained she wouldn't be able to stop time and escape from her grasp in it! It got even more futile when the Shuzack and Gember joined in in pinning Gurren Lagann down! Kamina growled. This was really starting to piss him off! These guys weren't even their real target and they were giving them a run for their money! The other magical girls immediately continued to attack the other gunmen in a desperate attempt to free the mecha. "Fighting witches is one thing, but regular magical girl weapons are barely doing anything against mecha!" Homura realized. Her train of thought was interrupted when she noticed the Anti-Gurren Lagann preparing an attack. It had leapt into the air while Gurren Lagann was pinned down. It began to glow a bright red light.
"History shall repeat itself today Kamina! Only this time, WE will stand victorious!" Thymilph shouted. Kamina only got even angrier.
"You think we're gonna give up because of this?! You damn beastmen never learn!" Kamina growled as he focused all his fighting spirit and anger onto Gurren Lagann. Homura did the exact same thing.
"We don't have time to waste with the likes of you! I came here to save Madoka, and I won't leave until she's safe!" Homura shouted as well. The Spiral gauge in Lagann filled up once again. They couldn't allow themselves to lose to these monsters! Not when their real target was still up ahead! Gurren Lagann then began to glow a bright green light. The other magical girls noticed and began to back away.
"Kamina-san…what are you planning on doing now?!" Mami wondered as she saw the two giant glowing mecha.
"What the hell is he gonna do while he's pinned down like that?!" Kyoko shouted. "At this rate he and Homura are both sitting ducks!"
"Damn it!" Sayaka shouted as well. She gazed towards the cutlass in her right hand. "Why can't we dent these things?! We're magical girls! We should be able to cut through anything!" She and the others so desperately wanted to help, but they all knew that only they could save themselves at this point. Even the generals pinning Gurren Lagann down knew something was wrong.
"Wh-where are you getting all this power from?!" Guame shouted as he tightened his grip.
"Thymilph!" Adiane shouted. "Don't waste any more time! Finish these stinking humans now!"
"We can't let this opportunity to destroy Gurren Lagann slip by!" Cytomander chimed in.
Both Thymilph and Kamina smirked at each other before they screamed as they released their power. The lights on both Gurren Laganns shone brighter and brighter. The Anti-Gurren Lagann dive-bombed towards the real one.
"GIGA…" Both Thymilph and Kamina shouted. The three generals knew that Thymilph was about to strike, and prepared to jump out at the last second. However, something was wrong. Even while pinned down, drills were still coming out of the real Gurren Lagann's body!
"DRILL…." More and more drills came out of both Gurren Laganns. The generals immediately jumped to the side as both attacks were about to collide.
"MAAAXIIMUUUUUUUUM!" Both Gurren Laganns became encased in giant drills, that the mecha weren't even visible anymore. The Anti-Gurren Lagann collided with the real one while encased in the massive drills. Seeing his chance to act, Kamina spun the drills with all his might as he screamed some more, along with Homura releasing all the fighting spirit they could. Thymilph growled at this. No matter how strong his will was, he couldn't increase the output! He reminded himself not to let that get to him. No matter what happened, they still outmatched them! They would not lose! They would not-
BOOM!
A massive explosion along with a bright flash of light rang throughout the labyrinth, engulfing the other generals, and the other magical girls. Neither party had time to react, as it had happened in one quick instant.
"What?" The Anti-Spiral exclaimed. It stopped the conversion process on Madoka for a moment to look at where the Spiral men and magical girls were in the core. They had disappeared, save for the Anti-Gurren Lagann and the real one. Vanished without a trace. But that wasn't what surprised it. What surprised it is what it detected in that area. "The remnants of space-time Spiral energy are strong in that area. But that should only be possible if a space-time bypass occurs! We certainly did not-"
"You seem to be confused, Anti-Spiral." Said a very familiar voice. Both the Anti-Spiral and Madoka looked behind them to find a very familiar tiny white face.
"Kyubey…" Madoka said weakly. The conversion to an Anti-Spiral was making herself weaker and weaker by the minute.
"Ah, I see." The Anti-Spiral stated. "You took advantage of the massive amount of Spiral Power emanating from the area and used it to create a space-time bypass of your own."
"We had intended to send them all here, as the fight they were having there was only wasting time. However it would seem that your wish has created some unexpected results to our core, Anti-Spiral. Aside from Kamina and Homura Akemi, we were only able to send them to different sections of the labyrinth." The Anti-Spiral scanned the core, and looked to see what the tiny Incubator meant.
Both groups had separated. Now, each magical girl had the opportunity to fight a beastman one-on-one. Sayaka was in a room that was filled with water, about to face off against the Sayrune. Kyoko was in a room that looked like a giant endless blue sky, about to face off against the Shuzack. Mami was in a room that looked like an endless wasteland, about to fight the Gember. As for Kittan, he was in an infinite space area, fighting against hordes of giant Mugann.
"Hmph." The Anti-Spiral grunted. It didn't matter. They would meet the same fate either way. "What do you mean by this Incubator? Did you come to your former core so that we could finish you?"
"Quite the contrary Anti-Spiral." Kyubey responded. Suddenly, and to Madoka and the Anti-Spiral's surprise, more tiny Incubators filled the pocket labyrinth. Madoka couldn't believe how many there were at the same time. There had to be thousands, or maybe even millions! It was an entire army. "Since our space-time bypass allowed one of us to arrive here. Establishing a connection for the rest of us was child's play." The Anti-Spiral smirked.
"Do you intend to fight us, Incubators?" After saying that, the Incubators did something Madoka thought she would never see them do. One by one, they merged at an incredible speed. A bright light emanated from them as they did so. As they merged, they grew bigger and bigger. Madoka could barely keep her eyes open as the light that shined from them grew brighter as well. When the light faded, Madoka was shocked to see what she saw. The Incubators had combined to form what was essentially a giant, monstrous version of Kyubey.
"This isn't a fight, Anti-Spiral." The giant Kyubey replied. "This is a simple removal of a problem. A one-sided extermination."
"I see. As you wish Incubators." Much to Madoka's surprise, the Anti-Spiral had a trick of its own too! Before she knew it, it had transformed as well, into a hideous monstrosity. It had looked like a mix between Kyubey and something else. It had long ears similar to Kyubey, only it had monstrous faces on them. Instead of Kyubey's expressionless face, the Anti-Spiral had a horrifying skeleton like face. It's arms were massive grotesque appendages. Both entities were so massive Madoka felt like she could be crushed by them simply breathing.
"If you plan on standing against us despite your limits, then we shall fight on an even playing field, using the same form in which you find such comfort in!"
Yeah, I know this one is really late, but bringing in the four generals into this and creating a balanced fight-scene is easier said than done. Plus I had a lot of other issues to tend to outside of this. So given everything now, I'd say this story has about either 2 or 3 chapters left.
Also, just for the record, the mecha Thymilph is using wasn't made up. The Anti-Gurren Lagann was a mecha the Anti-Spiral used in the game, Super-Robot-Wars Z2. Also, if you want a better vision of the Anti-Spiral's battle form, try to imagine a mix of Kyubey, and their Grazenboma (the mecha used in the final battle of Gurren Lagann)
But anyways, it's an all-out brawl! Sayaka V.S. Adiane! Kyoko V.S. Cytomander! (Best General, dat psychotic face), Mami V.S. Guame!, and Kamina and Homura fighting Thymilph in the Anti-Gurren Lagann one on one! But let's not forget the duel of the gods, Incubators V.S. Anti-Spirals!
Next chapter: A Fight Between Gods!