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Full Circle (Razgriz x Candira)

Yoko thought about his answer for a moment and then decided she agreed. She had thought that the surface meant hope for Littner...and in a way, it had. But only so much. "It makes sense. I think all of us had a different idea of what the surface would be like. I think we were all sort of disappointed." She shrugged and smiled at him. "Anyway... it looks like we're almost back. I wonder what Simon is up to?"
 
Kamina chuckled, "Knowing him, he's probably still looking at those gauntlets. Ah, a child's curiosity. I just hope those things aren't too dangerous. If those are what that guy used to defend himself, they must pack serious firepower. Speaking of which, I wonder how our guest is faring. Think he's woken up yet?"

Simon, meanwhile, was indeed still looking at the gauntlets. It seemed to have an activation mechanism similar to Core Drill for Gurren Lagann, but a closer look revealed it to be small pincers at the ends of the fingertips covered in dried blood. "Wonder if that's how it works, poking into his fingers to access the Spiral Energy from the bloodstream" " Simon observed, though he knew better than to try it.

Still, its exact mechanism was eluding him. Giving up for now, he decided to go see if the stranger had woken up yet. He walked out of his quarters to see Kamina and Yoko enjoying each other's company. Kamina was hefting three large deer across his shoulders, and Yoko was carrying a large number of obviously full canteens.

"Hey, Simon! Come gimme a hand with these!" Kamina called; Simon immediately rushed and helped ease Kamina's load. Carrying them over to the butcher stand, he dropped them off to be cut into pieces and served. "So, what did you do all day?" Kamina asked with a knowing grin. "I looked at the strange man's gauntlets, didn't find anything else out.

"Well, I'm about to go see how he's doing. You guys coming?" Simon asked. Kamina nodded, then they both looked at Yoko for her response.
 
"Hmm, good point. But it's a good thing at least one of us is checking those things out. Ron's busy with the gunmen, so he doesn't really have the time for that sort of thing." At the mention of their "guest" she frowned. "I hope he's all right. Seeing him suffer like that is awful." She gave Simon a smile as he came toward them. She waved a little and held the canteens as the two of them got closer. Yoko delivered the water to the people who were in charge of the reservoirs and then came back to the two of them.

So Simon hadn't found out anything new, eh? Just another thing to add to the list of questions they needed to ask that man. When the two of them decided to visit him, she agreed. "Yeah, let's go see him. I don't know if he'll be awake, but I heard from someone a long time ago that when you're sick or injured, it's the company you get that really works to heal you." She smiled and shrugged, heading toward the infirmary with Simon and Kamina.
 
As the trio made their way to the infirmary, they noticed there was a small gathering of nurses and doctors at the entrance to the stranger's room. "What's going on?" Kamina asked. A brown-haired doctor turned and saw it was the three that found the man, "Oh good you're here! It seems the stranger you brought in has finally awoken." "Really? That's great!"

"However, there seems to be another problem. The man doesn't seem to be able to talk, and he acts towards us in an uncooperative manner. As an example, a nurse tried to give him water and he just kept his mouth shut like she was trying to feed him poison." Kamina crossed his arms, "Can you blame him? Have you seen the condition he's in? He's probably scared half to death with all these people! Tell them to leave, we'll talk to him!" The doctor nodded, "You're probably right". He then turned to the small group, "Everyone, please leave. Kamina and his friends are going to make our guest a bit more comfortable. I'm sure we're all very anxious to talk to the new arrival, but he needs space." And with that, the small group immediately disbanded. The doctor then stepped aside, "He's all yours."

Kamina nodded and led his comrades into the room, "Hey there, guy. You're looking a bit better now you;ve got those cuts patched up." The stranger didn't respond, but he did turn his head to look at Kamina. However, when hhis weary eyes came to rest on Yoko, the man let out an audible, hoarse-sounding gasp. He then weakly raised a bone-thin arm, pointed a skeletal finger at her and choked out, "N....no. C.....can't be...S...saw...you die...how...alive?" The man then fell into a coughing fit and clenched his face in obvious agony. "Easy there, mister. You're in pretty bad shape." Simon said; Kamina just looked at Yoko, "Did you die recently without my knowing about it?"
 
Yoko was glad to know that their new friend had woken up, but a little surprised that he would be allowing so many visitors. The guy was supposed to be resting. She helped Kamina get rid of the others and walked toward the man. It occurred to her that maybe he thought the enemy had him, so she was all prepared to explain who they were and where he was when he started to flip out because of her. "Saw me...?" She was fairly certain she'd never met him before--but it was kind of hard to tell. And she was sure that it had never looked like she'd died before. Yoko gave Kamina a clueless shrug...and then there was a connection.

"The girl from the picture," she whispered. Pity came to her face and she sat down next to him, careful to not disturb or alarm him. "Can you see my face? I don't think I'm the person you're thinking of...Please, take some water. I promise we won't hurt you. We're safe here. And we'll answer all your questions."
 
The stranger saw the woman approach him; as she got closer, her face became clearer to him. So when she sat down, he saw no blur at all. "N...no...you...right....not..her...lo..look...similar" he choked out, his coughing fit subsided. "N..no...y....ou...poison...never....break." he continued after the woman offered him water; they must be HER agents. He then fell into another coughing fit, and groaned in agony.

"Poison? What are you talking about?" Kamina asked; Simon seemed to know what was going on, "He must think we're agents of the Beastmen. I think you were right, Kamina. This guy didn't have any friends for a long time." The stranger simply chuckled hoarsely and said, "Kn...know....this. I..kill...her...soon...a...avenge....fallen....so.....kill....me..if you...not....want.....happen."
 
"I don't know what I can do to prove that we're trying to help you. But if I ever find the bastards that did this to you, I'll be the last thing they see." She sighed and took the water. "Watch. I'll drink some. I won't die," she said, taking a cool glass herself. She held it in front of him for inspection and then downed it. She set it down and stared at him. "I don't know what you went through on your own, but I swear on my life I won't do anything to hurt you. Well, not intentionally anyway. Please, at least tell me your name, and I'll tell you all about where you are and who we are."
 
Watching the woman drink the water, he waited for a reaction. After a while, nothing happened. OK, so maybe they weren't going to poison him. The woman's eyes, they were the biggest help of them all. That gaze, penetrating right into his soul. Perhaps he could trust them, and if they didn't know his name, or least what the Beastmen called him, then they either weren't aligned with them or were completely out of the loop. "N...ame....Exodus...Beastmen......call...me....that. Onl....only....name..remember...." He hated having to talk like he was now, but he felt so drained that he had to improvise his speech just to conserve his energy.

He then looked to his left and saw the picture that was supposed to be in his gauntlet. He raised a bony hand to geab it, but only succeeding in grazing it; more tears began to fall down his face. "She was important to you, wasn't she? Care to talk about it?" Exodus shook his head weakly and choked out in his hoarse tone, "B..bad...memory.....no....talk.....". Kamina nodded in understanding; clearly it was a sore subject for him. "Y..your....turn..." Exodus choked out. "Oh, right. Name's Kamina." "And I'm Simon. Don't worry, Exodus. You're among friends"
 
"My name's Yoko," she said, getting him some water now too. "Here, drink up." She held the water to his lips and gently tilted it so that it would just slide into his mouth. She took it away after a few moments and smiled. "Well, Exodus, welcome to Littner. We're a society of humans who were forced up to the surface. Littner is sort of our home base--we protect it from beastmen. That's how we found you--on patrol." She remembered that he'd been reaching for the picture and so she took it from the stand and put it into his hands. "Here. You wanted it right? Don't worry, Exodus. You're safe here. We won't let anything happen to you."
 
Feeling the cool liquid trickle down his throat, it seemed to help immensely. When Yoko put the picture into his hands, he felt his heart surge. "T....thank...you" he said weakly, the hoarseness slightly diminished from his voice. They were forced to the surface? He didn't remember any of that, his only memories were torture and combat by the hands and against Beastmen. As he gazed at the photograph with tired eyes, he said in his mind, "I promise to avenge you my beloved. Harbinger, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. She was too strong" he then set the picture down in his lap and continued aloud in a lower, growling tone "Adiane....will...pay..with....her...life".
 
"Adiane?" Yoko frowned and looked up at Kamina. "I think we have a new point of interest. Maybe we should leave one of those beatmen alive so we can get information next time." Hearing the hoarseness in his voice, Yoko got Exodus some more water. "We should let you rest for a little while, but we'll come back for you. Let the nurses and doctors take care of you, all right?"
 
Exodus just nodded weakly, feeling far too tired to say anything else. Just then, a nurse came in with a stock of fresh bandages. "OK, mister, time to change your wrappings." "His name's Exodus, he just told us" Kamina informed the nurse, who blinked in surprise. "Really? Well, that's an unusual name. But I better update his card." The nurse took the pen and scribbled 'Exodus' onto the upper line of his card hanging on the edge of his bed. "There, now at least we have something to call him instead of just 'mister'."

With that, Kamina said shortly, "OK, we'll just be going then. Come on, guys" "Get well soon, Exodus" Simon uttered quietly as he followed Kamina and Yoko out of the room. Simon looked lost enough in thought that Kamina asked, "What's up, Simon?" Simon just responded, "Huh? Oh, just wondering about Exodus' connection to the woman in the picture. He obviously loved her a lot. I wonder if this 'Adiane' had anything to do with that girl's..." It was here that Simon stopped; he didn't know what this Adiane did if anything. But Adiane was connected to that woman somehow. "Well, whatever Adiane did do, it's something unforgivable, I can guarantee you that. We'll find out what this is all about, and we'll make them pay for it. And destroy any Beastmen that get in our way."
 
She let him get more water before she put the glass aside and smiled softly. "Get some rest." With that, Yoko left him in the care of the nurse. She lingered behind for a few seconds and then caught up with Kamina and Simon who were already talking about their new information. At least now they had a name to go with the enemy they were facing on a daily basis.

Ordinarily, Yoko was a little skeptical of the way Kamina operated--the way he never really had much of a plan, but she was all for following through with this one. Whoever Adiane was, Yoko would make damn sure that they paid for all they'd done. And Kamina and Simon would do the same. "That's right. We can't let this kind of treatment go on." She sighed. Hmmm, I wonder how the mods to the new gunmen are going? Maybe we should go see Ron?"
 
Kamina nodded, "Yeah, I wonder if he's found a way to make the Gurren stronger. Hey, Simon. Go get those gauntlets Exodus had. We'll see if Ron can figure anything out." Simon nodded and yelled, "I'll meet you there!" as he ran off to his quarters to retrieve the gauntlets. If anyone could determine how those gauntlets. Yoko and Kamina continued on their way to Ron's place. They saw that he and his crew were busy at work. Ron was giving orders as he strolled around to make sure everything, "No, you dope! The terminals are aligned the other way! OTHER WAY!" "No! Don't cross those, you'll blow the power core!" "Move out of the way, let me fix that!" he finally grunted as he entered into the cockpit of one of the scavenged Gunmen, doing who-knows-what to its inner systems. "Hey, Ron! How're the modifications going?" Kamina yelled out; Ron exited then poked his head out as he apparently finished whatever he was doing to the inside of the Gunmen.

"Oh, you know. Lack of usable parts, getting grease and blood all over my clothes, same old, same old." Ron said in his usual flamboyant tone as he exited the Gunmen. "Blood?" Kamina asked in a confused tone, to which Ron responded, "Yes, when you decided to liberate of the Beastmen from inside, he decided to explode all over the pilot seat. Needless to say, I was wearing a new shade of red because I didn't see that pool of blood on the floor. Red doesn't match with my attire, you know?" Kamina couldn't help but cringe slightly at the thought. Ron then turned his attention to Yoko, "So, how's our new friend holding up? I heard he's skinnier than a twig, the poor dear."
 
Yoko always had a problem with imagining gross stuff like that being the source of Ron's many different stains, but if anyone could get them out, it was Ron. He was a man of many talents, that's for sure. She gave a nervous laugh at his explanation, seeing how it was partially her fault as well and then turned serious again once Ron asked her how the new guy was.

"His name is Exodus, from what he's told us. He's awake, but he's very weak. I think he has some vision issues we need to see if we can clear up. He's in bad shape, but if he keeps healing at this rate, I'm sure he'll be better soon. Poor guy can barely lift himself up. I hope no one asks him too many questions...Still, I think the more familiar with us he becomes, the better. When he woke up, he thought we were trying to poison him. It's pretty clear that whatever he's been through, he's gone through it alone."
 
"Exodus, hmmmm? Interesting name for an interesting man. If what I heard was true, the Beastmen were taking him away somewhere?" Kamina nodded and this made Ron visibly upset, "I bet those filthy Beastmen just wanted to play with their food before finishing it. Rotten, disgusting savages." Ron's brows furrowed at the thought of someone being driven paranoid like that. "That's absolutely horrendous, why wouldn't anyone help him?"

Kamina then had a thought, "Maybe he ran because he didn't want anyone to get hurt? If the Beastmen were just toying with him like you suggested, maybe he wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen to anyone else?" Ron nodded, "It's a possibility, but no, I imagine there was something else at work here. Something, or someone, wanted him alive for a specific reason. I've seen what the Beastmen do, they NEVER take prisoners. Ever."

Just then, Simon came in with the damaged gauntlets, "Hey Ron. How's everything going?" Ron saw Simon and clapped his hands together, "Oh, Simon. How are you, pumpkin? You look as adorable as ever! What have you got for ol' Ron?" Simon looked down at his hands and held up the gauntlets, "The man we brought in, his name's Exodus. He was wearing these when we found him. Kamina and I thought maybe if you had some time, you could take a look at them?" Ron took the gauntlets and looked over them; apparently he had time now. "Hmm....high-chromium steel, tungsten-carbide coating, looks like carbon-tube interweave in the joints. That man Exodus must have had big hands and a large amount of strength to wield these." He then looked inside where one would put his fingers, and saw the small spikes in the fingertips. "What a primitive device. It's effective, I'll give it that. Looks custom-made, from Gunmen parts no less. Whoever made these knew what they were doing, but I see several improvements that could be made."

"Have you figured out what they do?" Simon asked. Ron just patted Simon's head, "My dear boy, figuring out what they do is child's play. It's seeing how to improve them that makes it worthwhile. Why, I bet I can give some of the Gunmen this kind of power boost. Do you mind if I hang on to these, so I can fix them up and see how to make them even more powerful?" Simon nodded, but then Kamina asked, "So what do they do, Ron?" Ron sighed, "In short, they're compact piledrivers. From what I can tell, they utilize the Spiral Energy by taking it directly from the bloodstream to detonate small charges, driving the knuckle spikes forward with devastating force. Not sure how much power it would take, but with enough Spiral Energy behind it, they can easily go through a Gunmen. And judging by how damaged they are, it seems like this Exodus was dong just that."

Kamina just stood there, his mouth hanging open. "Unless you want to work as a flytrap, dear, I suggest you close your mouth" Ron said with a small chuckle. "Wait, you're telling me that Exodus was punching Gunmen with those things?" Ron nodded, "Nothing but metal on metal could do this kind of damage."
 
Yoko was stunned herself. If what Ron was saying was true, then Exodus...He must have been a formidable fighter on his own--very powerful and much more muscled than the near skeletal figure on the bed now. "No way..." Outrage grew inside of her as the conclusion that the Beastmen had been even more savage than she might have originally thought. "Those bastards. For someone that powerful to be reduced to a walking corpse..."

Not to mention that the man inside the infirmary was either bat shit crazy or the ballsiest bastard she'd ever met. The more she learned about Exodus, the more she found to ponder over. A mysterious guy--one that she found she had a fountain of compassion for. He seemed to have lost someone he loved--to have watched her die at the hands of this Adiane person. He'd been run ragged by Beastmen. And he walked around with gauntlets that used his blood as fuel to physically punch gunmen.

Maybe he was a bigger idiot than Kamina..."Oh boy...now there's a scary thought."
 
Ron saw the outrage in Yoko's eyes; in truth he felt the same way, but there was still one outstanding issue. Just running wouldn't bring someone to a skeletal form like he had imagined; they'd be dead long before that from exhaustion. "I wonder....." Ron said to himself. "You said Exodus ran alone, and you can believe that with a large degree of certainty?" Kamina and Simon nodded, Ron then continued, "Then I don't think the Beastmen are the main culprits, although they are certainly the aggravators , I can assure you that much." "What do you mean, Ron?" Simon asked, not exactly following Ron's train of thought. Then again, it would be a miracle if anyone could.

"I mean, I think that these gauntlets are the main culprits, and his situation of having to combat Beastmen and Gunmen solo aggravated muscular decay. If he truly was alone, that means he had no friendly support, no one to come to his aid. Except for you three and everyone else in this base, obviously. So, and I know this sounds grim, I believe that Exodus' body was being literally consumed each time he used these gauntlets. The human body can only output so much Spiral Energy at once without repercussion, so I imagine that Exodus' structure was damaged largely in part to exceeding his maximum level of energy use." There was an eerie silence as the trio tried to take in what Ron said.

"Like I said, it's only a theory. But based on the design of these gauntlets, it doesn't seem too improbable. That in combination with starvation, dehydration, physical overexertion and an unbreakable will to survive gives you Exodus in his current form. Though how he isn't dead yet from sheer physical duress is beyond me; from what little I've heard, his condition would be 100% fatal for anyone else."

Ron then smiled, "But you three brought him back, and gave him a second chance at life. Hopefully one that will be a little less stressful now that he has some backup for a change." Kamina nodded, "Don't worry about that, we'll make sure he never has to fight alone again. Or anytime soon, for that matter. If he was punching Gunmen solo, he deserves some rest." Ron nodded, "Now, I hate to have such pleasant company leave, but I'm very busy right now. So I'm afraid you'll have to go now. I almost have the modifications completed, just a few small hang-ups. And don't worry about these babies, I'll make sure they're better than ever for our friend."
 
The explanation Ron offered made sense. And It only fueled Yoko's rage. Her point remained valid. And it swung her assumptions about Exodus a little more toward the "crazy column." An attack that drains your life-force...and no other way to fight, by the looks of it. Yoko wondered what would bring Exodus to rely on such methods...Frowning, she nodded to show that she understood.

When Ron told them he was busy, Yoko gave him a little wave. "Don't work too hard." With that, she took Kamina and Simon and led them out.

"Well, boys. What should we do now?"
 
Simon shrugged his shoulders, "I have no idea. I think Ron's a bit off his rocker, though. Who in their right mind would use a device that physically drains them?" "Someone with nothing left to lose, and everything to gain" Kamina spoke up, startling Simon. "That's kind of dark, Kamina." "But it's true. Exodus lost a woman he clearly loved, he ran alone from the Beastmen, most likely fighting them as his body wore down. The Beastmen did something more to him, I just know it. But first things, first. We need to ambush a Beastmen unit and capture one of them alive. Then do what we can to make him talk."


[OOC: Should we skip two days, and have Exodus be fully healed, but not at 100%]
 
((Sure, we can do that. Do you want the beastman to be captured by then?))

"I agree with Kamina. It's just so troubling though...What happened to him?" She frowned and was snapped out of it by the smell of venison. "Hmm, I guess they're working on lunch and dinner already. It's too bad that Exodus' stomach can't handle solid food right now. He'd be in for a treat. But I suppose he'll be getting broth or something like it. Maybe he'll get a taste after all." It was kind of a rapid topic change, but the more they brooded the less it seemed like they did anything productive. "Well, I'm going to take my shift of guard duty early today. I'll see you two around."

Then the redhead was off to one of the towers.
 
(Actually, I think it would be better if we did a flashback, showing why Exodus had to start running in the first place. Then we can skip two days, and perhaps then have the beastman captured.)

Kamina simply said farewell as Yoko went to take her shift on guard duty. "Well, Simon, let's go grab some chow. And be sure to eat something, so Yoko doesn't chew you out for not eating." Simon nodded, saying shortly, "Yeah, yeah" as he followed Kamina to the kitchen.

Exodus meanwhile, was sleeping relatively soundly. Peace was written all over his expression; however, that was soon to be short-lived. For some reason, he woke up. He looked down at the picture in his hand and croaked out, "Har...binger". His mind then flashed back to that fateful day; Adiane's personal Gunmen was facing down Exodus' and try as he might, he couldn't land a blow on her. She had already used strange energy tendrils to cut off the arms and disabled the power core of his Gunmen, forcing him to eject just as it exploded. Landing on his back on the ground, he laid there for a few moments. He felt extreme pain along his left side; he looked down to see that the explosion had badly burned and shredded a good part of his midsection.

Ignoring the pain he felt, Exodus wobbly stood up and motioned to Adiane, indicating he wanted her to charge. Blood dripped down every part of his body; the explosion seemed to have hurt him pretty bad. "Come and get me, Adiane! You goddamned freak!" Exodus roared, the gauntlets in his hands looking as brilliant as they would have in their prime. They seemed to glow with a strange blue energy; this was it. Exodus was going to kill Adiane with his own two hands, and avenge everyone who fell to her twisted, sick experiments. Even if he was horribly injured.
 
Yoko went off on guard duty, but her mind kept drifting back to everything she'd learned about Exodus. She was a little worried, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Just something about him made her care...maybe it was just her instincts to protect and nurture kicking in, but she didn't think she'd be back to normal until Exodus was well again.
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Seeing Exodus on the ground like that was a delicious sight for Adiane. He was covered in blood and definitely going to lose this battle. She would finally have him back in his proper place. However, just was she was getting ready to give the fool what he wanted, a single gunshot cracked into one of her wings and threw her.

Harbringer was at the other end of the shot. Unfortunately, she miscalculated and used up her last round. Rather than bother with the rifle, she tossed it aside and slammed into Adiane with her gunman. "Run, Exodus!"
 
Simon and Kamina were enjoying a nice bowl of vension stew; the day's events made them forget to eat. And so they ate; Simon then said "Hey, Kamina. I'm going to run a bowl of this up to Yoko, then go to bed." Kamina nodded and said with a sly grin, "Alright. Go get her, tiger." Simon turned bright red at this, but hurried off to the guard tower Yoko was stationed in. He eventually found her; she looked to be lost in thought. "H..hey, Yoko. Thought you might be hungry, so I brought some vension stew. Are you still worried about Exodus?"


Exodus had tried to brace himself for battle when suddenly one of Adiane's Gunmen's wings was clipped. He grinned, thinking Adiane would be easier to take down now. However, it didn't seem to slow her down at all, and was prepared to fight when suddenly Harbinger's Gunmen appeared before him, slamming into Adiane's with tremendous force. "Harbinger!" he said as he tried to run forward; however, his leg gave out on him and he fell to a knee.

When she commanded him to run, Exodus froze. No, he wouldn't abandon. She was no match for Adiane at close-range. "No!" he yelled as he tried to stand and fight, eventually succeeding after two tries. "I'm not leaving you!" he roared out as he charge-limped toward the two wrestling Gunmen, preparing to use the distraction as an advantage to deal a crushing blow to Adiane herself.
 
Yoko was staring off into the distance, not terribly alert, but there was someone else with her. She blinked when she heard Simon's voice and turned to see him with a bowl of stew. The thoughtful expression from before was replaced with a smile and she gave him a little wave. "Oh, hey. Thanks, Simon." She got up and took the bowl from him, his question bringing back the serious a little bit. "Well, yeah. I was just thinking he's probably lonely, but that paranoia of his is something else...I think it'll be awhile before he really trusts the people around here. I just hope he's okay is all." She shrugged and took the stew, sitting back at her post. "Wanna watch with me for a little bit?" she asked.
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Harbringer had taken Adiane by surprise, but it wasn't going to work forever. With a supreme effort she shoved Harbringer aside enough to get in a hard blow. The blonde in the cockpit did her best to return the attack without worrying too much about Exodus' position, but it was difficult. "Exodus, I'm warning you, get out of here! You're in no shape to fight!" She delivered a blow to Adiane, but it was swiftly returned with two.
 
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