Kamina took a closer look at his monitors. "This is Mr. Kasshu's student?"
Unimposing was a good word to describe the machine that faced them now. After having seeing the heroic Gundam, the monstrous Evangelion, the broad-shouldered Gipsy Danger, and a walking furnace like the Big O, this small, orange craft seemed quite plain. It was just a little taller than Gurren Lagann, but it did not seem nearly as threatening. Its legs were simple boxes, as were its stubby arms. There were no gaping vents to draw in cool air for a hungry reactor, and no gigantic weapons slung over its back. A set of folding wings were bolted to the sides of those simple, boxy legs, giving the slightest hint that it might be capable of some mid-air maneuvering. It did carry a heavy-looking assault rifle in its right arm, complete with underslung grenade launcher.
"We can't let our guard down," said Simon. "Even if it doesn't look impressive, it could be really dangerous. And who knows about that pilot?"
"Yeah, you're right," agreed Kamina. "We can't get too cocky."
"It is an honor to fight you," said the voice of their opponent over their communications channel. From the little they had gotten to know him, Inaho seemed like a smart, quiet kid. Intelligence could be dangerous, but when he didn't talk much it made him hard to read. Simon carefully moved the controls to bring Gurren Lagann into a fighting stance.
"Same to you," he replied. "Let's go."
The orange robot began to move the only threatening thing about it- the rifle, which was a sign that Gurren Lagann should get out of the way. Simon tilted the controls back and hopped out of the way, but Inaho had not fired.
Hmm. Their first response to the rifle being drawn is to run. They have no ranged weapons of their own. This is logical, he thought. This is exploitable.
"He's just faking us out," grunted Simon.
Kamina pushed his own angular sunglasses back into place. "Well, Team Gurren doesn't get faked out! Let's show him what we're made of!"
"Right, bro!"
Gurren Lagann dropped to one knee and sprinted forward, extending a long, thin drill from its right forearm. The orange robot took a step back, as the wings on its legs unfolded to their full length. The feeble booster on its back warmed up, and it slowly floated out of the Gunmen's path. Inaho lowered his sights over Gurren Lagann's exposed back.
Your Giga Drill Maximum move is the only time you have any coverage for your back. Otherwise, your jets are completely exposed. Anyone just needs to wait for you to charge to clip your wings.
"He… just dodged?" asked Kamina, swinging Gurren Lagann's drill out to pierce nothing but air.
"No, wait! He's trying to shoot us in the back!" cried Simon, knowing it was too late. The Gunmen was fast, but it was not faster than a trigger pull. Yet, the bullets never came.
Her target lazily floated around in the zoom optics. Either he was hustling, or he was actually that slow. Considering that they were fighting Gurren Lagann, Holly assumed that they really were that slow.
"So we've got a nice, plump turkey for you to shoot, Liger," grinned the elf. The cockpit had a little inertial damping, but not much- it was an unusual feeling to bounce up and down so much as she sped across the desert. Being seated inside of the robotic cat's head certainly looked amazing, from the big holographic displays to the tapered canopy, with the huge, heavy control arms providing wonderful feedback- considering the luck she had with the jet and now this machine, Holly decided to add stealing vehicles to her internal list of viable strategies.
"Now, what kind of weapons have you got? Let's see… double-barreled shock cannons and a beam gun. Not bad. But which one will do the most damage to that big turkey?"
The Liger let out a soft, metallic roar as the weapons display panel shifted to a new image.
"Strike Laser Claw? Now that's a name I can stand behind. Claws, good; striking, good; lasers, even better. Strike Laser Claw it is."
Maybe she was being childish, but piloting the Liger was just too much fun. A targeting reticule moved into the center of the display, and instructed her to increase her speed. Holly shoved the control arms to the full-throttle position and clicked down the oh-so-wonderful boost button. Twin turbines and accompanying winglets folded out from the Liger's flanks to provide extra thrust and downforce. The speed shoved Holly further back into the racing-bucket-like seat.
Gods, it's like a mecha death cat sports car! Amazing!
Her target closed to three hundred meters, two hundred, one hundred. She jolted the controls backward and the Liger leapt into the air, placing the oblivious orange robot below her. In the corners of her display, the front paws glowed with energy channeled through the Liger's metal mane.
"Okay, Zero, let's tear 'em apart! Strike! Laser! Claw!"
I need to calm down. This is just too great!
The massive robotic liger crashed down on top of the orange machine, its energized claws slicing through the Kataphract's thin armor like paper. Gurren Lagann hesitated before turning around to find that their opponent had suddenly been mauled to death. Holly opened a hailing frequency, kicked her legs up onto the center console, and folded her hands behind her head.
"Simon, Kamina, how's it going?"
"Uhm, just fine, thanks," replied the younger boy.
"Well, we've just spent the rest of the round getting the band back together, and we wondered if you guys were in for one last gig?"
"Aw, yeah! The indomitable Kamina always is ready for a new challenge!"
"Great. Just give me a ride back to the others. I'm going to set this beautiful creature free." Holly tapped the canopy release and hopped out of the Liger Zero's head, flying over to Gurren Lagann's waiting hand. The Liger gave the elf a wistful look before turning towards the horizon and releasing a triumphant roar. Holly waved the Zoid goodbye as it loped away.
"I'm going to miss that cat," she sniffled.