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Full Circle (Razgriz x Candira)

Grateful for Ron's preparedness, Yoko kept her back turned while he put his pants back on, already going back to the gunmen to help get things ready for camp. She found Rossiu getting things himself. The two of them worked together to haul everything down and gave it to Ron and Simon to set up. It was Darri who finally caught Boota and brought him back. The little pigmole crawled up Simon to sit on his shoulder while he worked.

Before long, there was a camp set up, and nearly everyone was ready for some sleep.
 
(Time for another time-skip)
After everyone ate their fill of the roasted game, they all turned in. Exodus was soon fast asleep, his back against a large boulder; Gimmi and Darri also curled up next to their caretaker, the man's massively muscled arms draped protectively over them. It was quite an interesting sight, seeing the man that had earlier acted so viciously being more like a doting father The guy was wiped out; seemed his little transformation took more energy out of him than anyone might have guessed.

*Five days later*

It had been five days since the events after the destruction of the bathhouse Gunman; Team Gurren was on the move trying to locate where this rendezvous point was, but they weren't having any luck. Exodus continued with Gimmi and Darri's reading lessons in the downtime; it was almost like nothing happened. Almost.

When he wasn't teaching Gimmi and Darri, Exodus did something that he and Harbinger had tried out in the past: meditation. He found it helped him focus, especially when his temper flared, though that was usually after the fact. He knew he needed to not be so hot-headed, but the sight of a Beastman just made his blood boil; it didn't help that he knew the reasons why, either. Even if they justified his heightened aggression and brutality, he wouldn't be much good to keeping his promise to his fallen comrades if he went into another blind rage.

Soon enough, however, Exodus' sensitive ears picked up on sounds of explosions in the distance; he turned his head in the direction. Though his eyesight wasn't as capable as Harbinger's, he possessed a fair capability of long-range resolution. He picked up faint flashes of light. Exodus knocked on the back of Gurren from the cage, "Kamina, stop" Kamina stopped and replied, "What is it?" "Off to our right, I heard explosions. I think they're might be a battle; could be the rendezvous point we're looking for." Kamina paused trying to squint his eyes, but saw nothing. He then looked at Yoko and asked, "Hey, Yoko, can you see anything? I got nothing."

(I figure this is where they find the group of Supers being attacked by the Beastmen)
 
Yoko found it encouraging that Exodus had gone back to his normal self, and that he had taught Gimme and Darri how to read. She smiled at him now and then as he kept them close at night, protecting them like a real father might. They made quite an endearing picture. Even more encouraging was the fact that Kamina and she were rarely apart these days. They still bickered, of course, but it was nice to just be around each other. They'd only kissed the one time, but it was enough to hold onto for awhile. No other time had seemed quite right.

Simon seemed to pull away from the two of them though, preferring Rossiu's company, or Ron's. Still, he was always cheerful enough when Kamina talked to him, treating him like a brother as always. They were still close, and happy enough, but whenever he saw Yoko and Kamina alone, he excused himself. Yoko thought it was odd, but Kamina suggested leaving him be, so she did.

Five days passed like that--five days of frustrated searching. They still couldn't seem to find the rendezvous point. It always seemed to be moving somehow. They were still working on getting there when Exodus stopped them, pointing out that he'd heard something. No one else had, even when they'd all stopped. To the naked eye--at least for Yoko and the rest, there was nothing in the distance, but the redhead know better than to ignore Exodus. Without hesitation, she pulled out her scope and took a look.

"There is something there...It looks like some kind of battle...But it's a little hard to tell. It could be gunman attacking another village."
 
Kamina was surprised to hear that it might be another village getting attacked by Gunmen; well, the possibility was there, but even if it wasn't, the fact that it was possible was more than enough motivation for him and Exodus. "Well, let's not sit around here! If there's Beastmen asses that need kicking, I'll happily oblige them!" "Seconded" was Exodus' response, with Simon adding, "If there's people in trouble, we can't just ignore them" With most everyone in agreement, Kamina turned the Gurren portion of their combined mech form hard to the right and made it go forward; Exodus climbed out of the cage to stand on their Gunman's shoulders, gauntlets at the ready.

When they arrived at the battle scene, they would see it was not a village of humans or a village at all: It was two groups of Gunman fighting each other. "What the hell? Beastman civil war? Did you know about this, Exodus?" Kamina said as he brought the Gurren to a halt outside of the battle area; while they hadn't heard of other humans hijacking Gunmen, the likelihood was fairly high that they had done so. "I don't know.......Could be; there were others we liberated from the research facilities. Could be a group of them fighting back" Exodus replied, remembering the other Super Beastmen that had not been converted.

The battle was chaotic; pockets of fighting were scattered all over the place, making it difficult to discern who might be friendly, if there were any friendly forces involved. Suddenly, as if to help clear things up considerably, one Gunman shouted, "Brothers, to me! Re-group and retreat!" About seven other Gunman broke off and started to run away; this made the thirteen remaining chase after them, leaving two distinct groups to discern from. "Well, that makes things simpler..." Exodus commented as he pounded the gauntlets on his hands together, charging them with his Spiral Power. Kamina grinned, "Yeah, it does. Let's do this!" And with that, Gurren Lagann charged into battle; Gimmi and Darri were moved to inside the Lagann's cockpit with Simon, so as to protect them further from damage.

When Exodus got close enough, he leaped forward off of Gurren Lagann, plowing a charged gauntlet straight into the side of an enemy Gunman; the explosion was strong enough to blow a hole clear through its cockpit, killing the pilot. This made the others freeze, giving Kamina an opportunity to slash the one furthest forward with the mech's sunglasses, causing the Gunman to collapse and explode. Their position put them between the retreating Gunmen and the ones pursuing "Yeah, Team Gurren's here to kick some ass!" Kamina called out confidently; the Beastmen all focused on the Gurren as Exodus landed back on Lagann's head, his golden hues having returned and his body in a combat stance. "This is the end for you!" Exodus added, a calm but noticeable fury in his tone.

Just then, a bellowing voice was heard, "Brothers! Look, Exodus has come to our aid! We cannot lose!" Just then the seven retreating Gunmen returned and stood by Gurren Lagann itself; this resulted in a somewhat tense standoff. "Looks like you were right, Exodus" Kamina then commented. "Bah! Exodus' presence has no bearing on the situation! You will all die!" the voice of the presumed enemy leader called out, clearly ignoring the feats Exodus accomplished. "Exodus! Let us crush these mongrels!" the Super clan chief said to him; Exodus was taken aback, but then replied, "That goes without saying! Lay waste to them! Leave not one alive!" And with that the battle commenced anew.
 
Yoko wasn't sure of what to make of what was actually happening. For a moment all she could do was watch. Subconsciously, her hands readied her rifle, and a few moments later when it was decided they were going into combat, she joined Exodus on Gurren Lagann's shoulder, though she was on the other side. She wasn't entirely sure of what to do, but she figured that Exodus would need to be covered. She shot down a few missiles headed toward them and just went with it.

After awhile, she understood that these men and women were people like him that he'd freed from research facilities. It became clear who the enemy was, and soon she was fighting with the rebels.
 
The fight dragged on for a short while; thanks to Exodus' 'kamikaze' attack style (in that he openly attacked the Gunmen with his gauntlets, something which he felt would likely invoke Yoko's ire) and Yoko's superb marksmanship, supplemented in great part by Gurren Lagann and the other rebels, the battle ended with no friendly casualties and all hostile Beastmen and Gunmen neutralized. The sounds of cheering and roaring bellows could be heard from the rebels, clearly ecstatic over crushing their former oppressors and captors. Exodus stood on the head of a wrecked enemy Gunmen, looking out in some random direction away from everyone else. "This many........Thymilph must be close" he then thought to himself, a hint of a grimace creeping across his previously emotionless face.

"Exodus! Why do you not celebrate in victory?!" he heard one of the rebels call out; Exodus turned back around to see who he presumed to be the leader of the group looking at him from the cockpit of his own Gunman: A large man, even larger than Exodus himself, with small but dangerously curved horns growing out of his temples. So they were Supers, and soon more of them - each maintaining a largely human appearance, but with small physical mutations - opened their cockpits to reveal themselves and look to Exodus like he was some kind of important figure. Exodus returned their stares in turn before declaring, "Because this is not a victory worthy of celebration. These are but pawns, the lowest rungs of soldiers in the Human Eradication Army! There is no glory to be had in erasing them from existence!" Some of their faces seemed to fall, causing Exodus to add, "But it is a vital necessity, and of that, each of you can be proud of your strength and determination!"

Another then spoke, "Where are your comrades? The other two of the Trio?" Exodus bowed his head, letting a somewhat eerie silence fall before responding, "They're dead; they fell to the hands of the Beastmen". Murmurs spread through the rebel forces, clearly showing worry that two of the Trio were gone. Exodus then raised his head and added, "But fear not, for one of the four Divine Generals has fallen! Sovereign sacrificed himself so that Cytomander the Swift would meet the end he so justly deserved!" This received a unanimous roar of approval from the Supers, spurring Exodus to continue. "My comrades and I search for another, Thymilph the Crasher. This will not be an easy..." he then said before the leader cut him off, "You would face Thymilph? Let us join you, Exodus! That bastard killed most of my clan, and I won't rest until his blood flows in rivers!" Exodus couldn't help but smile slightly; that was easy. "If that is what you wish......We will show Thymilph the might of our combined fury!" The Supers roared again in approval; Kamina just watched with a growing smile, commenting to Yoko on Gurren's shoulder, "Looks like Exodus is pretty popular, huh, Yoko?" He had to admit Exodus knew how to rally people together; he owuld be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit more pumped up.
 
Exodus wasn't earning style points for his fighting skills with Yoko, but she couldn't really argue with him about it. Now was neither the time nor the place, and frankly, she had other things to worry about--like herself and keeping her balance on top of Gurren Lagann. When the battle was over, she gave a little cheer and then a big sigh of relief. She sat down on the giant mech's shoulder and watched the scene unfold before her, taking note of Exodus' natural ability to take command. Even if he hadn't already had their respect, she got the feeling that it wouldn't have been difficult to garner. Impressed, but not sure what to do with that impression, she only nodded at Kamina in response. She turned to him and smiled. "Good job to you, too. And thanks for not moving around too much. It made my job easier." She smiled at him and then slipped down into Gurren's hand, just laying there for awhile.
 
"Well, I needed to give you stability; pretty hard to rock that rifle like you do if I was jumping around like a madman. I don't know where you learned to shoot like that, but I hope I'm NEVER downrange as your enemy." Kamina then said, blatantly complementing her skills with the rifle. And it was true; she really knew her stuff. He maneuvered the hand's fingers so that it acted as a kind of chair for Yoko to be more comfortable in. "Better?" he then asked her. As Exodus and the other Supers talked about what to do, Kamina couldn't help but wonder what this Thymilph would be like; if he was anything like Cytomander from Exodus' description.

Just then Exodus suddenly appeared in Gurren's other hand, startling Kamina, "Gah, where'd you come from!?" Exodus just ignored it and replied flatly, "Thymilph is close; these Supers were running from him and his forces. Apparently these were a few of his soldiers we just defeated; he's probably less than a day or two out" He then paused and pointed towards a large set of towering mountains, adding "That way". Kamina just grinned and replied, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go show that beast what Team Gurren's made of!" "Not so fast" "What?" "To just charge against a Divine General is certain death; and I think you have a pretty damn important reason to stay alive as long as possible." He then motioned with his head, pointing him towards Yoko. "Take it from someone with experience" he then said.

He then gave them a brief pause to let his words sink in before continuing, "We know where Thymilph is; now I don't know much about him, but what I could gather told me he's is proud but cautious warrior. However, he won't hesitate to barrage us with everything he's got; like the other Generals, it can be assumed he's a blood-hungry bastard who'll wipe us out without blinking an eye. Even if it means his own soldiers perish by his own hands". Exodus crossed his arms before sitting on Gurren's hand, adding "Also, he's likely going to have some massive firepower" "How much, exactly?" "I think that's something you'll just have to see for yourself" was the scarred veteran's reply; if it was anything like Cytomander's ship, it was going to be enormous. That was the thought in his head.
 
Yoko had to smile at Kamina's little jokes. He was charming, and always good for a laugh. And lately, sweet as can be. He even moved the hand she was laying in so that it was more of a chair. She smiled. "Hey, thanks." She jumped a little as Exodus appeared as well, but didn't react quite as much to that as she did to the knowledge he brought with him.

They were close. Very close. They had allies, yes, but they were up against a general. And if Sovereign had had to give his life to take out a general, she wondered how many people would die against someone who had more fire-power. Still, they were close to their goal and it was no use being afraid now. They couldn't exactly turn around anyway.

It was when Exodus motioned to her that she blushed just a little, blinking in awe. He'd just equated her with something to stay alive for. Well now, how was she supposed to react to that? She was both flattered and embarrassed. And frankly, she wasn't sure how much she should matter in the long run to either of them.
 
The silence that followed allowed Kamina to process what Exodus had said. Kamina was admittedly still a bit taken aback by Exodus' indirect mention of Yoko; well, he did care for her. A lot. More than simply a desire to protect, he didn't exactly know what to call it. His mind flashed to the kiss he and Yoko shared after that little episode with Exodus. That was nice, really nice. He wanted to share another one, but right now. He then flashed her a confident smile, saying, "Well, Yoko, guess that means I get to be your shining knight, huh?"

Exodus noticed this but let it go; while a deep part of him craved the touch of a woman, like he did with Harbinger, he realized that he'd had his chance at love. It was time for him to help their relationship bloom into something they could both cherish. It certainly didn't help him any that Yoko resembled Harbinger in so many ways; but, he felt he wasn't her type anyway. He was too violent, got angry too easily, let his emotions take control too often. As much as he tried to keep himself calm and level-headed, the losses and pain he experienced brought out the worst in him.

Little did any of them notice poor Simon sulking in Lagann's cockpit, his face having fallen into a very noticeable pout. It was like Yoko was slipping further and further from him; his heart burned for Yoko. But Kamina was so much better than him in every way, he wouldn't stand a chance with her. But Exodus then said, "Well, let's move out; once we find where Thymilph is, we can devise a battle strategy." "But I thought....." "We aren't going to fight him, Kamina; we'll get a feel for the land and what his arsenal/troops are like, then we hit him. Hard."
 
Speechless was a good word for Yoko at this moment. Red-faced might also apply. Just who was Exodus to go around making these decisions for people anyway? Maybe she and Kamina weren't really attracted to each other that way? Okay, what if Kamina wasn't? When he made that crack about being her knight, she could have vanished from embarrassment. "Oh, knock it off, you two!" She stood up from her little 'chair' and made a face. "Jeez..." She frowned and busied herself with her rifle for a moment before she said, "Hey, put me down, okay?"

She might have been susceptible to his charms, but being teased by others because she liked someone wasn't exactly at the top of her "fun things to do" list. Not to mention, being a reason to stay alive for put a lot of pressure on a relationship that didn't even have full form yet...still, she hoped he would keep in mind that she really didn't want him to die when he was out there. Best to busy herself with other things. As if on cue, Ron appeared, and asked for her help with something. She was grateful to lend a hand.
 
Exodus was taken aback a bit when Yoko told them to knock it off; what exactly did he say? The 'shining knight' remark might have been in bad taste by Kamina, but that was how he was. Exodus could see that, therefore he saw nothing wrong with it. And he didn't say a word to her; so what was she going on about? However, he decided it wasn't important and banished the thought from his mind. Kamina just smirked and replied, "There you go" as he lowered the hand to let Yoko off. Watching as she went with Ron to do....something, Kamina then brought the hand with Exodus on it closer to the cockpit.

"So, not that I don't appreciate your little nudge, Exodus, but mind telling me what's up?" "Well, you two obviously care about each other on more than just a friendship level.....So I figured I'd remind you you're not just fighting for freedom here. You're also fighting to make her happy, to help humanity start anew and give her a life she can be truly content with. Anyone with a brain can see that." "Now wait a minute...." "I don't see why you're denying it, Kamina; a word of advice: Don't." This shut him up; Exodus then sighed and added, "Don't repeat my mistake; believe me, it will make things a lot easier" He saw his former relationship in these two, so he would multiply his efforts as much as possible to make sure they would be happy together.

When Yoko and Ron were finished with what they were doing, Team Gurren and everyone in company moved out. After about a day of travel, the tribe leader stopped everyone, saying that Thymilph was near and that they should be ready for anything. Exodus added that they should not be afraid; of course, no one in the group was overly afraid. It was more like moderate nervousness; however, as they all climbed up a ridge, they saw what Exodus knew he would find: a titanic Gunman that dwarfed the Gurren Lagann. "N...no way.....That's what you had to fight against?" Kamina commented; this thing was massive! How the hell did it even move? "Not the same one, but it was about that size, yes" was Exodus' reply. Kamina just smiled, "So what's the plan?" Exodus thought about it for a moment, then said "The Supers and I will create a distraction; your Gunman's the most powerful one here, and a killing blow in the right spot will end it quickly. Some should stay behind though; we can't commit full forces to the attack, lest something happen and we all get wiped out." Exodus then went into detail on how to partition the forces; this was going be a fairly intense battle.
 
Yoko wasn't sure they could take all of this on on their own. Even with their odds improved with the supers on their side, she wasn't sure they could get the job done on their own. She looked at the new recruits curiously, wondering if their stories were just as tragic as Exodus'. After awhile, she went to do recon and give her own advice at their little meeting. She was amazed by the fire power it would have, not to mention the sheer size of it. It was a lot of pressure to have Kamina and Simon be the ones to shoot it down. She only hoped they could handle it.

"Don't worry, you two. We'll keep them off of you," she said encouragingly, putting her hand on Simon's shoulder.
 
Exodus listened to Yoko as she gave her report; it seemed dividing the attack would be the best thing to do. When it was all decided who was going to do what, he bowed his head; it was now or never. "Diversion team, on me! Let's go rattle the monkey cage!" Exodus called out as he hopped onto the shoulder of the tribe chieftain's Gunman; soon, Exodus and the Supers were off. Kamina then replied as he pointed to a rocky crag, "This way, we can wait over there until we know Exodus has his attention" Team Gurren made its way to the spot and waited for Exodus and his team to do their thing.

Thymilph sat in the control tower of the Dai-Gunzan, fuming; not only did Viral fail in his objective, but now he had a tribe of wandering Supers who were giving him a headache. He'd crushed so many other tribes, and yet this one was annoyingly persistent. He let out a growl of frustration as he listened to the updates from his scouts and the tactical team giving him sensor input. Nothing; he couldn't find them anywhere. He slammed a massive fist on the control console, shouting "Incompetent fools! Find them at once!" But he would soon find that his search was over, for soon of his scout teams reported a small group of Gunman approaching their position; it wasn't any of theirs.

Thymilph smiled, only to have it turned into a grimace when chaos broke out over the radio; soon, there was only static. At least until a familiar voice came alive over the speakers, "General Thymilph the Crasher......How you disgust me" "Exodus.........." he growled, followed by barking out orders to find them, his voice broadcasting enough for the rest of Team Gurren to hear. "They say you're an intelligent warrior, Thymilph, but you're looking incredibly stupid right now". Thymilph then looked up to a group of Gunman on the horizon, a lone figure standing on the head of the front-most one. It was Exodus alright; Thymilph bared his teeth and laughed, "A naked ape like you, acting so confident! Your comrades fell before the Generals, and you will become one of us! Soldiers! Massacre them!" Exodus just slammed his gauntlets together, that characteristic blue glow roaring to life, making his hands seem to be encased in fire. His eyes shifted to that predatory gold coloration, "I'm going to enjoy watching you die, Thymilph! Even if I have to slaughter hordes of your soldiers first to do it!" With that, Exodus and the Supers and the main part of Thymilph's fighting force collided in battle, making Thymilph appear to be preoccupied. But when Team Gurren would launch their attack, they would be surprised.
 
Team Gurren was setting up with all of the gunmen and the supers who were traveling on foot. Yoko decided that she and a few other supers would help out by providing cover from further distances. They wouldn't exactly be snipers, but they probably wouldn't be easily seen either. When they needed to back off, though, they would enter the fray together, moving as a unit. Supers maybe fast and powerful, but a bullet to the head would take care of them pretty easily. Just for safety, there would be gunmen nearby to help the snipers if it were at all possible to help provide cover.

Other supers were foot soldiers, planning to use their abilities and guns to launch a war against the gunmen--a few stayed behind to act as medics or reserves. Exodus would be leading the strike. And when they'd finally gotten the giant gunman's full attention, Simon and Kamina would take it down. All things considered, Yoko thought it was a pretty good plan. It didn't stop her from worrying about her friends, but it gave her the confidence to do what needed to be done.
 
It was chaos; intermittent explosions could be seen as the battle raged on, Gunmen from both sides being blown to pieces as the artillery cannons systemically fired off. It was apparent that Thymilph cared little for the well-being of his troops, but he was clearly a very careful shooter; he would intentionally hit some distance behind Exodus in order to try and catch him with the shockwave of the explosive shells, while simultaneously engaging the other targets. Exodus himself managed to avoid getting hit in the crossfire, his reactor gauntlets blowing massive holes in the enemy Gunmen as they tried to grab him or shoot him. He had to admit he felt alive; the possibility of slaying Thymilph made his determination and thus his Spiral Power grow.

Thymilph growled; this was getting annoying. "Idiots! Catch Exodus! Don't make me come out there!" Thymilph threatened; Exodus just smirked and said mentally, "That's it, just a little more" Kamina took this as the cue to move in; Gurren Lagann was formed and Kamina said to Yoko, "I'm counting on you, Yoko" before leading the assault force to engage in battle. Right before they could engage, however, an artillery shot came out of nowhere and blasted everyone astray. Thymilph and Exodus both turned their attention to the explosion; a voice then called out "Nice try, you naked apes!" Exodus looked up and saw the Enkidu, Viral's Gunman, standing on the head of the control tower. "Viral, get back in the med bay! You're in no condition to fight!" And it was true, he wasn't; heavy bandages covered his form from his recent bout with Exodus in his feral mentality.
 
Yoko provided cover for a good deal of the supers who were on foot. She did her best to aid other gunman in the destruction of the enemy forces as well, but there was only so much she could do at one time. She and the supers like her were doing their best to cover everyone, but they were vastly outnumbered, and though it may have seemed like they were winning, she had a feeling the tide would turn if they weren't careful.

As Kamina told her he was counting on her she nodded. "Got it." No pressure or anything. Just gotta keep those two alive. So she kept firing, trying to aim carefully and conserve her ammo. And then came Viral. She had to say, his resilience was impressive. Evil though he may be, the guy could take a punch--or in his case, a near death experience--like a champ.
 
Kamina and the rest of the assault force struggled to their feet; luckily, none of the Gunmen were heavily damaged. The same could not be said for those that were on foot; some had died thanks to that well placed shot, but others were still alive, if somewhat shaken by the force of the impact. "What the.....Exodus kicked his butt, how the hell is he still able to move?" Kamina said as Gurren Lagann was back on its feet once more, grimacing as the lieutenant's Gunman stood, a sickle-shaped weapon in its right hand.

Before anyone could say anything, another fireball erupted from Enkidu's head; Kamina shouted, "Scatter!" The remaining foot-soldiers were scooped up by friendly Gunmen and carried away from the blast zone as the powerful artillery shell impacted with the ground; however, this stranded Gurren Lagann from help. "Prepare to die, filthy ape!" Viral shouted as he charged Gurren Lagann with his sickle-weapon raised; Kamina ripped the sunglasses from Gurren's face and raised them just in time to block the would-be fatal strike. Some of the other Supers tried to come to Gurren Lagann's aid; however, the artillery cannons on the bow of the Dai-Gunzan fired, obliterating and scattering them once more. Thymilph continued his barrage, killing friend and foe alike as the Supers and humans continued to try and destroy the giant Gunman, letting Kamina and Viral battle it out. "You're going to die, Kamina!" Viral shouted as their duel continued.

Exodus, meanwhile, was frustrated; he didn't think Viral to recover so quickly. His injuries were incredibly severe, he didn't expect Viral to be able to move at all; this was bad. With Thymilph's fortress Gunman still able to move, and Viral's interruption of the surprise assault, things turned around in the Beastman's favor. It would take some kind of miracle to be able to even withdraw
 
Yoko ran like a mad woman with the others as the fireball rammed into the hard earth. The impact knocked her around a little but she was fine. That didn't mean she stopped moving though. Before long she was scooped up by a friendly gunman and the area was cleared a bit more. They couldn't get too far away so she hopped back down, taking aim with her rifle before firing again. She could see that things were not going well for them--not with Viral out and about. Not with operational guns.

But just as she was beginning to think they would lose, reinforcements came in the form of hijacked gunman from all over! Humans piloted them, and those from Litner seemed to be leading the charge with the help of the Black siblings.
 
Gurren Lagann was taking some pretty serious hits from Viral's Enkidu and Thymilph's cannons; though thanks to Kamina's fighting spirit, all of the damage it was dealt seemed to magically vanish. This frustrated Viral to no end, causing his slashes with the sickle weapon to become more erratic. "Nargh! Why won't you die, you filthy ape!" the Beastman lieutenant finally exclaimed in sheer rage; Kamina's eye twitched and he shouted back, "A real man would come up with better insults than ape! I look nothing like a monkey!" Kamina then swung the sunglasses hard, knocking the sickle weapon from the hostile Gunman's hand. Then in one swift motion, Kamina cut off Viral's Gunman's right arm; this made the leader of Team Gurren smirk. "How's that for ya?" Kamina called out mockingly; Viral retreated to the safety of the Dai-Gunzan on top of its deck. A small plan cooked up in that devious mind of his, one that would lead this filthy ape to his death.

Kamina then decided to do something that would certainly grant him a chewing out from Yoko: he used the cannon explosions as launch platforms to propel himself up to the deck of Thymilph's fortress. He intended to go after Viral and Thymilph at the same time. Exodus saw this and grew shocked; what the hell was he thinking? Then again, he would have likely done the same, so he couldn't say too much. Kamina, however, was just jumping on the opportunity he saw to go after Thymilph himself, forgetting that he was the figurehead of the human resistance movement and recklessly endangering himself.

This didn't go unnoticed by the shrewd General either, who said quite forwardly, "You're even stupider than you let on!" The arms of the Dai-Gunzan then came up and batted the Gurren Lagann like a fly before grabbing its legs and starting to pull. "I'm going to tear you apart, filthy naked ape!" Thymilph cried out; shearing sounds began to be heard as the joints were stretched, despite Kamina's best efforts to release himself from his grip.

Then, a storm of weapons fire hit the right arm of the Dai-Gunzan hard, forcing it to release the Gurren Lagann onto the deck again; Kamina and Exodus looked over to see a yellow, stout, star-shaped Gunman land right next to him. "Guess the party got started without me, eh?" a familiar voice called out. "Kittan?" Exodus and Kamina said unanimously; a deep laugh was heard before Kittan replied, "You're damn right!" However, their little reunion was cut short when a massive arm swept them off the deck, forcing both Gunmen to hit the ground hard. "He's a tough one, ain't he? Kittan commented, readying himself for another assault as Kamina did the same.
 
Yoko cheered with the others as reinforcements arrived on the scene. Even people from Littner were there! Her energy returned, she fired off some shots to cover Kamina and Kittan, wondering where the Hell Exodus was.
 
Despite the combined efforts of those from Littner, the remaining Supers and Gurren Lagann, it was clear that they couldn't win this. No matter what they tried, Thymilph was always three steps ahead of them. "Damn it, we can't beat this guy, not while that thing's legs are still able to move. We have to retreat!" Kamina shouted. Thymilph just replied, "You couldn't beat me even if my Dai-Gun's limbs were all ripped off! Face it, we are the dominant species! The Beastmen rule the surface with an iron grip!"

Exodus landed on top of Gurren Lagann's head, his body slightly beat up but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. The former Trio leader closed his eyes and tried to think of something; they needed to retreat, but Thymilph would just give chase. Something that size and that mobile would be impossible to outrun; if only........Exodus got an idea. "Simon! Kamina! Can this thing fire projectiles?" "Hell yeah! Gurren Lagann can do anything!" "Good, fire them around the ship! Break the earth from under Thymilph's feet! That'll slow him down enough!"
 
Yoko knew they weren't going to win. She'd known that when Viral showed up with his crazy self. They needed an out, and they had one now. All that was left was to find a distraction of sorts. As it stood, the supers and herself could probably get away on foot. That would be the road of cowards, however, to all of them. Though, at this point, there wasn't much more they could do.

She finally spotted Exodus and figured he had a plan since he was talking to Simon and Kamina... if anyone could take care of this whole situation, those were the guys...but what were they going to do?
 
Exodus merely held on as Simon and Kamina enacted his half-baked scheme; titanic drill-shaped were soon laid in a wide circle around the Dai-Gunzan's feet. Thymilph misintrepreted the plan and laughed, "Bahahah! You think those puny things are enough to hold me back?! Stupid apes!" Exodus grimaced, praying that this plan worked just for the sake of shutting him up. "Now, Kamina, Simon!" Exodus called out.

Gurren Lagann took off like a rocket; the drills were pile-driven into the ground, each one cracking the earth a little until eventually the ground shook around Thymilph's fortress. The disgruntled General clung to his control console, feeling the Gunman he was in charge of shake and tilt before finally sinking into the ground. "AAAARGGH! DAMN YOU, YOU FILTHY APES! DAMN YOU, EXODUS!" Thymilph bellowed out in frustration, his voice clearly broadcasting for all to hear as he worked to liberate his fortress from its earthen prison. "I suggest we use this to retreat" Exodus commented calmly; this was affirmed by his partners-in-crime and soon enough, everyone who'd survived the assault was quickly exiting the battle zone.

Once they were a safe distance away, a camp was set up and several stations were established by present company to deal with food, supplies, repairs and medical treatment. Kamina and Simon disengaged the fusion of their individual Gunman; it was this that made the damage on both mechs apparent. The armor suffered major trauma, and there was a lot of exposed circuitry. Ron gave a disgruntled sigh and went to work himself on fixing the Gurren and Lagann.

"Well, that could have gone better" Kamina commented, rubbing the back of his head as he sat by the fire. Exodus nodded, "I should have anticipated Viral would make an appearance..." "Oh, don't even start, Exodus. That wasn't your fault, and besides, you provided the distraction to get us out of there." "But still, things could have gone better" "True enough......And next time, they will. Thymilph's immobilized, so that will make things easier on us" Of course, Kamina wasn't exactly innocent either; he DID launch himself right into the enemy's hands after all and nearly got the Gurren Lagann, Simon and himself killed.

But that was the furthest thing from his mind as he turned to Yoko and said quite honestly, giving her a thumbs up, "Nice job on the covering fire, Yoko. Really saved our butts out there"
 
Yoko was relieved the instant she saw her friends, and though she felt a little like running to them, she waited for them to make their way over. It was one thing to be happy to see them, it was another to be desperate. After all, she'd known they would make it out okay...hadn't she? She smiled at them all as they arrived, Kamina's congratulations lighting a little bit of a playful fire.

"Damn right I did. What were you guys thinking out there? You can't just throw yourself at everything without a plan, you know! What would have happened if you didn't have me looking out for you?" she said, shaking her head as if they were hopeless. Sighing, she shrugged. "Oh well. I guess since we made it out I can't stay mad. Besides, I'm tired," she said stretching a bit. "Well, I'm glad you all made it back. I'm gonna go talk to the guys from Littner. Looks like we'll be making camp nearby, and meeting up later. Get ready," she said with a grin, running over to the people she knew from Littner.
 
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