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Full Circle (Razgriz x Candira)

Simon just stared at Exodus, his mouth open, tears in his eyes. "No way..." he whispered. "They were responsible for..." His eyes widened and he looked to Kamina as if the two of them had realized something important. What that something was, however, was not obvious to the others.

Yoko was crying. What an awful experience...no wonder...No wonder he didn't trust them. No wonder he didn't want to let anyone in. Be that as it may--now that he had them, there was no point in pushing them away. Rather than try to say anything, she came to him and put her arms around him, tears still in her eyes. Clearly, if there was one of them that needed comfort it was him. She simply couldn't imagine the kind of pain he'd been through, but losing a woman like Harbringer...It was no wonder he'd been broken.

There were no real words for this kind of pain. All she could do was try to give some comfort.
 
Exodus was fairly surprised at the reaction he'd gotten; he'd expected them to run him out because he was their enemy. But his surprise only grew when Yoko embraced him; he definitely wasn't expecting that. And frankly, it made him a bit uncomfortable, especially when he felt her tears on his skin. "Y...Yoko......this really...." he started to say, but then Kamina shot him a look that said 'Don't argue, just go with it'. So Exodus just let out a small sigh; it would take him a long while to warm back up to people.

"So.......now that you know who and what I am........what are you going to do?" he then asked in a crisp tone; this was met with a confused look from Kamina before he responded, "What do you mean what are we going to do?" Exodus sighed, slightly irked at having to spell it out, "Well....now that you know I am one of the enemy.......what do you plan to do with me?" Kamina just sighed, "Isn't it obvious, dumbass? We're going to help you get back at those bastards!" Exodus seemed genuinely confused; it was almost llke he was expecting that they would either throw him out or kill him on the spot.
 
Yoko pulled away after a moment, pulling herself together soon after she realized that Exodus wasn't being comforted. She was a little surprised that he'd thought they would throw him out or kill him. What a stupid thing to do, especially after all that work to get him better. "Ever heard that saying? 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend?' Well, as far as we can tell, you're not a beast man supporter. Besides, what happened to you wasn't your choice," she said. "Of course we're going to help you!"

Simon nodded, "Yeah! They deserve to get what's coming to them, so let's work together and strike 'em down!"
 
When Yoko and Simon voiced their support to aid him in his vengeance, he couldn't help but feel terribly confused and relieved at the same time. And while Yoko's words rang true, his experience taught him that being the enemy of another's enemy doesn't always make you their friend; it was a nasty sword that cut both ways. Still, he saw that he was indeed among allies here, at least with respect to these three. Still, his expression was solemn and his tone flat and devoid of emotional substance.

"Well, I'm relieved you three want to help me, but know this.......if we run across a General, they are not to be trifled with; they're strong, relentless and brutal. Their lieutenants are no slouches either and in some ways even more dangerous, since they fight for the glory of their leaders. Something I'm sure you three can attest to, having faced Thymilph's lieutenant Viral and lived to fight another day." Exodus never fought Viral personally; he had a feeling that was going to change in the near future. But he would welcome it; every Beastman that he killed was another token of redemption for letting his comrades die.

His body tensed noticeably as the images of the exploding Dai-Gunten and Harbinger's Gunman exploding played in his head; they died because of his failure, his inadequacy as a leader. But he would continue his onslaught regardless, in honor of their sacrifice. Both had sacrificed their lives to save him, so it was only natural that he would continue his campaign.

After a bit of an awkward silence, Kamina then spoke, his tone brimming with confidence, "Exodus, you can count on us. We'll send those Beastman bastards back to whatever hole they crawled out of!" Exodus just stared blankly at Kamina, before a slight smirk crossed his face. "You know, Kamina, you remind me of me......when I wasn't such an empty husk."
 
"Yeah, just leave it to me and my bro!" Simon said with a big grin. "With Gurren Lagann we can do anything," he said, brimming with very uncharacteristic confidence. That was more Kamina's department. Then again, the two of them hung out a little too often. The little guy was picking up more and more of Kamina's personality--but he was still a far cry from the man himself.

"Don't worry about a thing, Exodus. You're a part of Littner now, and we take care of our own," she said with a wink. "Besides, Littner was once a weapons cache. We're far better prepared to handle the beastmen than you might think." She smiled and patted his shoulder.
 
(Wow, I completely forgot what Littner was before ol' Genome rose to power or even why they came to the surface in the first place, lol.)
Exodus felt himself lighten up at Simon's remark; they certainly seemed confident in their ability to handle the Beastmen. His mood lightened even more as Yoko told him he was one of them now, though he still seemed fairly solemn and despondent, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who was familiar with his story.

Exodus then saw an outstanding issue; though he was certain they knew what it was, he felt the need to express it. "Hey........If you guys don't mind.......can we keep this between us? I really don't think the others will take too kindly knowing a fellow soldier is a Beastman hybrid." Kamina paused, but just replied, "I don't see the problem......Like Yoko said, it wasn't like you asked to become what you are...." Exodus just cut him off, "Please, just.....don't say anything. I don't want anyone else knowing." The truth was, even though he didn't tell them, several of the other villages he'd stayed had run him out or even tried to kill him when they found out he was a Beastman in part. And even if Yoko, Simon and Kamina were capable of understanding, he didn't know enough about the others to trust them with this secret.
 
Yoko frowned softly but she understood his hesitance. "Alright, Exodus. I promise I won't say a word. But I will say this to you--If they find out further down the road, there's a chance they'll be mad that you didn't trust them. But I don't think a soul in Littner would judge you." With that, she squeezed his shoulder and walked back to Kamina and Simon. "So then...What now?"
 
At Yoko's comment, Exodus couldn't help but snort derisively; of course there were those that would judge him. And besides, it wasn't like e wanted people to think he was just some far-stronger-than-average human; he knew how people reacted to anything Beastman-related and didn't want to risk fighting a war on two fronts. To think otherwise was just being blind; still, she promised to not tell anyone so that made things a lot easier for him for the moment.

As Yoko left Exodus to his thoughts, Kamina answered Yoko's question with his thoughts, "Well, the way I see, Lyos told us where we need to go. So, let's you, me, Simon, Ron and Exodus head out to find this Thymilph. Who knows we might even get to destroy a few more just for fun. So, I think we should head out and find this place. But let's go see Ron first; he might be cooking something else up for Gurren."
 
Yoko frowned and looked back at Exodus. What worried her was that he'd been through quite a bit already. What if he couldn't handle anymore? The idea of him losing anything else was just so sad. Still, they were going to need him for his knowledge of the beastmen and various generals. "Alright then. Let's find them and make them pay. You guys go see Ron. I'm gonna turn in early."
 
Exodus just stayed where he was, leaned against the wall of Kamina's room; he was cursing how easily attached he'd get to people. He didn't know if he could handle any of them dying. But, he needed to be strong; he could practically hear Sovereign calling him a 'weak baby man'. "Wish Harbinger and you were still here, big guy. Make this a hell of a lot easier." he thought to himself. When Kamina and Simon said they were going to go see Ron, Exodus was snapped out of his stupor a bit.

When Kamina and Simon left, giving Exodus their regards, it was just him and Yoko left in the room. He felt exhausted, yet at the same time knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Perhaps it was reliving those horrific and pleasant memories simultaneously, maybe the anguish of losing the two people closest to him in his life was getting to him again. Whatever it was, it made his mind war with itself. "Yoko......I'm sorry I made you cry...it wasn't my intention to make you hurt" he then said out of nowhere. He didn't want people to shed tears over him; what happened happened and no amount of crying would solve that.
 
Yoko waved at the two of them as they left and then blinked as Exodus apologized to her. She came back to him and sat down next to him, her hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault I started crying," she said, rubbing his back a little. She smiled softly and shook her head. "I know you'd never hurt me on purpose." The redhead sat with him for awhile, taking her hand away from his back.

"I think it's a pretty natural response for someone with a heart. Learning the cause of your pain was enough to make me feel some of it. And I can feel where you're coming from better now. But even so, through all the pain we feel we have to keep going and adapting or we'll never make it." Habringer must have thought so or she wouldn't have done what she'd done. Of course, she'd never be able to tell Exodus that.

"I just want you to know you're not alone. We all need to lean on someone at some point. And whether you like it or not you're part of a family now. I just ask that when you really need someone...You ask for help." She smiled and wondered if she was just making it worse, but figured she probably couldn't make it that much worse.
 
Exodus just sat silently, feeling Yoko's hand rub his back gently; in truth it reminded him a little of Harbinger's loving embrace. And that fact saddened him, knowing he'd never be able to hold his lover again. He knew he wouldn't hurt her on purpose; didn't mean he couldn't feel bad about making her sad too. Even if it was a natural response to empathize with someone after that someone had experienced such a traumatic series of events.

Yoko wasn't making it worse, but she wasn't making it better either. Still, Exodus appreciated the effort, as misguided as it was. "I don't know if I can, Yoko. I mean, I know people have lost a lot, and my case probably isn't all that special. But.....they did this to me, turned me into this monster. I have to make them pay.....for everything they took from me. And the countless souls that have died at the hands of the Beastmen." He then held his head in his hands, like he was tired of it all. Tired of fighting, tired of losing the people he got close; and yet deep down, he felt the overwhelming need to continue, out of a sense of vengeance for the fallen. Which was true, because if he quit, that meant Harbinger's and Sovereign's sacrifices were for nothing.

He then stood up and said, "I'm sorry, Yoko......I just need some time to myself. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that he left to go.....somewhere. He didn't tell her, because he didn't want her to follow him. He didn't want her to see him like this any longer; as ashamed of himself as he felt, he couldn't seem to snap out of his funk.
 
Yoko knew she wasn't really doing much for the poor guy so she let him go and nodded. "I understand. I'll see you tomorrow okay? Try to shake off some of the gloom." She smiled and then left him to himself, heading back to her room, glancing back at him now and then as she left and he did the same. Finally, she was back in her room for the night. Poor Exodus...and Harbringer and Sovereign too. She said a little prayer for them both, though she'd never met them, and then went to sleep.
 
Exodus knew that sleep would not come easily for him; he made his way out of Kamina's room and decided to head outside. After a while of searching, he found a place to sit outside; the sun was quickly falling below the horizon, which meant no Beastmen would be coming. They couldn't operate at night, so he would be safe out here. The descent of the sun made the sky turn shades of oranges and purples, before the brilliant stars of the night made themselves known. It was there he sat, in reflective silence, trying but failing to control the roiling state of his own mind.

The wind picked up, the cool desert night air sending a chill through Exodus' body, his slightly long black hair ruffling under its influence. But still he sat, unflinching, hoping the cold would help snap him out of this. It didn't; he wanted to let go, to move on without forgetting, but the losses of Harbinger and Sovereign, both to protect his sorry ass, weighed too heavily on his mind. And while he knew wishing wouldn't bring them back, he wished heavily that they were; he longed to hear Sovereign's booming laugh and shitty jokes and feel the warmth of Harbinger's embrace.

"Get it together, Exodus. You aren't going to be able to avenge them if you keep feeling sorry for yourself. What would Harbinger and Sovereign think?" he then said as a last attempt to pick up the pieces. He could hear Sovereign now, his face in that amusingly maniacal grin he seemed to wear the whole time, "Bah! Look at you! Crying like weak little baby man! Get up! Fight!" He then looked to his left, and actually saw him standing there. "You are stronger than weak baby Beastiemen! You are Sovereign's brother!" He then heard Harbinger speak to him; it was like she was standing next to him as well. Looking to his right, he saw her as well and when she leaned down to embrace him, he could feel it. "Exodus......This isn't you. The man I knew would push through this......you have people that care about you....let them help you......use their strength and make it yours. You can do this, Exodus. We're with you, even if it's in spirit." Exodus then tried to hug her; she seemed so real. But when he came close, both of them disappeared.

He then gave a sigh, "That's right.....They're gone. Man I'm fucked in the head." He then held a massive hand to his broad chest, "Harbinger.....Sovereign.....I'll make sure your sacrifices weren't in vain. I'll show the Beastmen the righteous fury they've unleashed. They will know terror, they will know pain." He then took a deep breath; he wasn't even aware of how long he'd sat out here. But when he looked up, he could see the sun starting to peak out over the horizon. He couldn't believe it was morning already; he knew he should find a place to hide, thinking about what Yoko might say if she found him out here. But, he was ready for any words of displeasure that might come his way.
 
Yoko tried to sleep but every time she tried to doze off she kept waking up, thinking of Exodus. He'd gone through so much--lost so much. He wouldn't allow himself to open up to anyone. It was understandable, but it wasn't healthy either. Everyone needed someone. She tried to forget her losses and pick up and move on. It was all she could really do, given her circumstances, but had she been in his shoes...she might have given up by now.

Around dawn, she realized this was about as much sleep as she was going to get. Rather than dwell on it, she combed her hair and put it up, making sure she was dressed before she got up and headed for the mess hall for something warm to drink. Yawning, she walked along until she saw Exodus. She watched him for awhile before making herself known.

"You're up early," she said, coming closer.
 
Exodus was still deep in mourning remembrance when he heard Yoko's voice; he turned to look at her, his semi-lifeless eyes gazing into hers. "Uh.....yeah, couldn't sleep." he then replied softly, his tone empty of inflection. He saw that her eyes had slight dark circles under them; she must not have gotten much sleep either. Still he wouldn't say anything about it; he was sure the circles under his eyes were far worse. "Well, this is it, I suppose. We know where Thymilph is going to be, now we need to find this 'far-away volcano to the north'."

He then let out a sigh before continuing, "Yoko......I'm sorry if I've upset you. You and the others have been so kind to me. But my wounds......" he then paused as he held a massive clenched fist to his heart..."here"......and then put his hand back down before adding, "They're going to take some time to heal. But know that I will not drag you all down; I will fight against them with as much of my power as I can muster." Of course, he was missing the real reason that Yoko and the others were worried about him.
 
"I'm not hurt, Exodus." She shook her head. "But you've got to know you can trust us to be there. I know it's going to take some getting used to, but we're not worried about whether or not you'll fight. We're worried about the toll it will take on you." She smiled and shrugged. "Oh well. I guess it's not really my place. You just try your best." With that, she headed off to find something to drink before the beastmen started up their attacks again.
 
Exodus just watched as Yoko walked off; of course she wasn't hurt now. He was referring to yesterday, but he decided not to press the issue. And so he was left to his thoughts, his hulking form hunched over on that rock in thought. Maybe the toll would be too great for him to handle; however, he needed to keep going. To keep fighting for his fallen comrades; it was his anesthetic for the pain.

When Yoko arrived at the mess hall, she would see Simon and his 'bro' Kamina sitting down. She would see Kamina seemed extremely energetic today; it was for good reason too. They planned to head out soon to find a Beastman General, one of the things that Exodus and his former comrades took down themselves. If they could do it, so could Team Gurren. He was dressed in his father's cape, the sword held in its sheath next to him.
 
She'd never admit it, but she had to love Kamina's flair. He looked impossibly cool in the cape and with that sword of his. His energy level was definitely enough to pull her out of her own thoughts. Exuberance was something he had in spades, and it was one of the many attractive qualities of his. She went to the kitchen to get some tea and a small breakfast, sitting down with the boys. "What's up, you two?"
 
(Sorry for the lateness. Was having some trouble thinking up a response)
Kamina "Hey, Yoko. Not much......just trying to think about what we should do. Lyos did tell us where the General was, but Ron found something interesting while he was working on Gurren.......there was a rallying point for the Beastmen programmed into the Gurren." He then paused for a moment before continuing, "The only thing is, there's no indication of where it is. But I think we should head there first anyway, see if we can get some more information. I mean it's not like it should be hard to find"

A few more moments of them talking later, Kamina stood and said, "We better go get Ron and Exodus, the sooner we move out, the sooner we can take the Beastmen down" In truth Kamina was a tad concerned, but his machismo prevented him form showing it. He could feel just how much Exodus wanted the Beastmen dead; it made his hatred towards them seem small in comparison.
 
Yoko took a sip of her hot coffee and nodded. "Alright, then. Let's be on our way." She smiled and stretched a bit. I'll get some stuff ready for us. You guys can find Ron and Exodus." With that she went about her business, getting things ready. Simon ended up collecting Ron, and Kamina got Exodus. Once all of their things were packed, the foursome set out to find the mysterious rendezvous point.

After meeting the Black siblings and fighting a lot of gunman on the way, they ended up fighting a gunman that forced the group down into a cave in. Yoko had been riding with Exodus when they all fell and the impact had knocked a few things off and a couple of people out.
 
Exodus packed up and left with the four of them; throughout their travels, they came across various Beastman units, all of which were subsequently annihilated. He kept his anger in check to the best of his abilities; though any time he was near those vile, disgusting creatures he just wanted to lose it. Lose it and rip them to shreds; but, he controlled himself, fighting with similar intensity to Kamina, Simon and Yoko. He'd clued Ron in on who he was; Ron wasn't happy that Exodus would keep something so important from him, but after hearing his rationale understood. Exodus still was in disbelief that they were so non-chalant about it; he was their enemy after all, to a certain degree. But he didn't question it further, not wanting it to suddenly reverse on him.

The meeting with the Black Siblings was quite interesting, to say the least; Kamina and Simon were training to make the Gurren Lagann's fusion more manly and cool, and the leader Kittan thought that Kamina was a Beastman. While he targeted the right group, it wasn't the right person; this was something Exodus was thankful for. They helped them track down and eliminate a large number of Beastmen for a while before parting ways; Kamina kept joking that two of the sisters were giving Exodus very interested looks. Naturally, Exodus just brushed this off, obviously not caring one way or the other; his body language showed that he was becoming impatient and tense. It was like fighting was all he was able to do; that was the unfortunate truth. He was a beast, bred for combat and built for war.

When they reached a large flat area, Exodus was trying to help coordinate the fight to the best of his abilities. Ron warned them that the ground they were standing on was unstable and they needed to move. Before they could do anything, however, the earth beneath them gave way, causing the group to plummet a good ways down. Since he was riding with Yoko, the fall resulted in them landing together; he laid beneath her, his hard body acting somewhat like a cushion. Her ample chest pressed was pressed against his face, making that the first thing he saw as his eyes opened. "Ugn....Yka, cul yu gt of mii plee? (Uh......Yoko, could you get off me please?)" he then said, his voice muffled slightly.

Kamina groaned out as he sat up in Gurren, "Hey, everyone in one......." he then started to say, but stopped when he saw that they had landed in a village full of people who were looking right at them. Then, when the villagers laid eyes on Gurren Lagann, they all dropped to a bowing position; Kamina just blinked and said, "What the......."
 
Yoko woke up shortly after Exodus, only to discover that her top had come undone, and if she moved she'd be rather exposed. Immediately she freaked out and pushed him out of the transport, covering herself with an arm and sighing in relief as she pulled back in and put her top back on quickly. She put herself together quickly, glad to see that Exodus hadn't gone far and surprised to see that they all had an audience. "Oh..."

((I'll be Gimme and Darry when the time comes))
 
It was long before Exodus felt himself forcibly ejected from the transport; her push made him land on his head in a pond. While it didn't necessarily hurt all that badly, it still smarted enough to make him wince. "Jeez, what was her problem?" he grumbled, oblivious to her wardrobe malfunction as he had been pushed out before he would have seen anything. He stood up in the shallow water and shook himself like a dog. He then sat up and looked around; there were a large number of people, between forty and fifty, standing on the shoreline.

"A person left the Face-god!" "They must be angels from the heavens!" "That angel must be powerful! Look how big he is, mommy!" were some of the comments he heard. "Face gods? Angels?" Exodus mumbled, a bit confused as to what was going on. Kamina had already stepped of Gurren and was equally confused as he made his way up next to Exodus; he then saw a very familiar structure and reached up to tap Exodus on the shoulder. Exodus looked down to see Kamina point at something and say, "Look familiar?"

Exodus' eyes widened in surprise; the structure was clearly a Gunman. "What's a Gunman doing down here? And why would they worship it?" Exodus asked to no one in particular; Kamina however spoke up and replied, "Your guess is as good as mine" Exodus walked up to it, "This thing must be ancient. It's all rusted and beaten." He then started reaching a large hand out to touch it. He then heard a fairly quiet voice say, "Please don't". He and Kamina both turned around to see a small, black haired boy in white robes stand at the front of the of the group of people. "That's a holy relic, please don't touch it. It protects this village."
 
Yoko blinked and looked at Simon who looked just as confused. They all stepped out of the machines soon and were on the shore shortly. The villagers murmured excitedly to each other and crowded around, but the boy seemed to be someone important--if not in charge altogether. Yoko stayed behind with Simon as Kamina stood up front with Exodus. Ron was there on the other side of Simon.
 
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