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Full Circle (Razgriz x Candira)

It was just about this time that the entire ship began to shake wildly. Over the PA system, an Kiyane's voice rang out. "Battle stations! We're under attack!" And with another jolt of the ship, Yoko had her rifle in hand and was heading up to the decks to check out what was happening. As it so happened, the very object of Exodus' eternal hate for all beastmen was attacking with a small group of soldiers. Having never seen the general before, Yoko had no idea what she was about to see.

(I think this is supposed to happen at sea, and guam is supposed to attack first so that Simon can get himself back in gear, but I'm not 100% on that one.)
 
Simon had been about to answer Nia's question when he felt the ship rock and Kiyane's voice play over the PA system calling for all hands to report to battle stations. For an instant, it seemed that the spark had returned, but it was quickly extinguished when he realized just how useless he'd been in the past few battles and how Yoko and Exodus had gotten so badly hurt. Of course, the incidents regarding those two had absolutely nothing to do with him, but his guilt clouded his rationality to the point that everything that was wrong with the team was a result of his own failure. Boota tried to motivate the digger to action, but his squeaks and ineffective tugs at Simon's collar didn't even get so much as a blink from the troubled young lad.

In the command room of the Dai-Gunzan, Ron, Kittan and the rest of the bridge staff were peering out the wide window to see that a giant wall of water had erupted from out of nowhere. "Well, this is certainly peculiar. What on earth could have done this?" Ron asked nonchalantly, seeming more curious than actually afraid. "I don't know, but I can say 100% that whatever it is isn't on our side" Kittan then added sternly; no way this was an ally. The water surrounded them on all sides, leaving no room for escape.

And as if to add proof to his point, several clearly hostile Gunmen emerged from the wall of water and landed on the deck of the former Thymilph's prized Dai-Gun. When the soldiers landed on the bridge of the Dai-Gunzan, several allied Gunman launched from tubes embedded in the surface to engage the boarders. Kittan was about to rush out and join then, but then he noticed something: A huge shadow in the water getting larger and closer to them. "What the hell is that thing?" Kittan asked to no one in particular, a hint of surprise in his voice as it seemed like the colossal shadow would break through the water and ram the bridge.
 
A huge gunman appeared out of an enormous wave. The voice of that twisted general--the one who haunted Exodus' past rang out through a set of speakers. "Relinquish the DaiGunzen now and prepare to die, humans." The cold, bitterness of the words had a certain eloquence to them. That snobbish, refined voice...those cold and bitter remarks....they reminded Nia of someone. Her eyes widened as she looked up.

"I know that voice!" With that, the little princess ran out onto the deck in front of Adiane's gunman. "Stop right there Adiane, the Elegant! Withdraw immediately and leave these people in peace by order of the Spiral King's Daughter, Princess Nia. Do you not know who I am?!"

Yoko's jaw dropped, her eyes widening as Nia delivered her declaration to the head honcho. Everything about the situation was so surreal. The little girl had run right past her, like an idiot, to stand tall amidst the attack. Chaos raged all around her and she spoke clearly and with authority. The fact that she knew the name 'Adiane the Elegant' meant that Nia knew this monster personally. In fact, Nia was the princess the monsters all around them served. Perhaps that was the biggest shock of all. But in the back of her mind, Yoko knew what horrors that name was attached to. And she instantly knew that Exodus would have something to say about Adiane being there. And his fists would be doing the talking.
 
Thankfully for everyone on the Dai-Gunzan, the man in question was still out cold, unmoving with the respirator mask over his face even as the bane of his existence threatened to annihilate those he was working to free them from. He would not awaken to get another shot at the cold-hearted wench that had so cruelly stolen the object of his affection from him, that had forced him to go on the run for all these years. But perhaps it was for the better; he was clearly in no shape to take her on. Not that Team Dai-Gurren would let him do it let alone anyway.

Regardless, more pressing matters had just come to the attention of the conscious members of the crew; those on the bridge stared stupefied as the well-dressed girl declared herself the daughter of none other than the Spiral King himself. Was she serious? Or was this a ploy to get Adiane to leave them alone long enough to get their flagship repaired? "Well, this is certainly a new development" Ron commented idly; one of the other members just scratched his head and asked the question on everyone's mind, "The Spiral King's daughter? Is she for real?"

But as if to accentuate the severity of Nia's statement, all combat on the bridge of the large ship had all but grinded to a halt. "Hah! That child is lying! Everyone knows the Spiral Princess never leaves the safety of the Capital! Kill her!" one of the Beastmen shouted through his speakers, whilst another stepped in front of him and replied, "Are you insane? That is her! Do you want Lord Genome to kill us all?" And in Adiane's cockpit, a holographic screen with the face of a bug-eyed Beastman popped up, "General Adiane, what are your orders?"
 
Adiane herself was halted by the girl's sheer audacity. Upon closer inspection, that was most certainly Princess Nia. But what was she doing here? And why was she protecting these people. A little shocked, she simply stood still for a moment, letting her comrades voice her own doubts. Growling, she ordered her soldiers to stand down. "Princess! I'm so sorry. We weren't aware that you were here..." Frowning, she wondered what the hell she was supposed to do now. Had the humans captured the princess? But if they could have done that, then they could have easily found the Spiral City...that couldn't be it.

In any case, she doubted the Spiral King knew about this. It was best if she returned to the city to report it. Her lord would not be pleased to see her again without Exodus, however. And the fact that she couldn't destroy the giant gunman ship because of an errant princess would no doubt earn his wrath...but she had no choice. If she killed the girl, she would undoubtedly be killed. Yes, it was best to return and find out what was going on.

"Withdraw for now. Don't worry princess, we will return for you soon." And with that, the strange general disappeared, the troops she commanded following her. And just like that, the water disappeared.


Nia had been fully confident in her ability to protect those aboard the ship. Still, she sighed in relief as the threat removed itself from the area. These people had been nothing but good and kind to her, and she was glad that she was able to do this much for them in return. The idea that she might soon be able to go home, however, filled her with a rather confusing mixture of emotions. But perhaps her father would reward these people for saving her? It was possible.

Though she didn't really know what was going on, much less understand it, the princess was pleased that she could have been a help to her people.



Yoko stood in awe. Never in her life did she expect to see beastmen retreat, let alone do it because a little girl told them to. The realization of what Nia really was, however, was shocking enough in itself. What on earth was going on? How did this girl appear to them, and what did she really want? The innocence she seemed to exude seemed almost suspicious to Yoko, and she knew that her feelings would be mirrored in other crew members besides herself.

"Just what is going on?" she wondered aloud, staring at the little pixie who claimed to be the daughter of their worst enemy. And how would this turn of events affect Simon? Frowning, she let her gun rest safely across her back, crossing her arms as she watched other members of the crew rush out to her.
 
And in what seemed like the world's most unlikely turn of events, the young girl Simon had found at the bottom of a dark trench had turned out to be their savior. Needless to say, everyone was stunned when a General would retreat by the command of a human; just who was this girl? No way she was ordinary if she could get one of the Helix King's stooges to just back off without so much as a retort. Hell, she even apologized! As Adiane left, cheers of victory could be heard on the deck and shouts along the lines of "Yeah, turn and run, you fucking coward!" and "Don't even think of coming back!" echoed.

However, things were much quieter up in the control room of the Dai-Gunzen; Ron simply breathed out a sigh of relief and said, "Well, I'm definitely glad Simon brought her back now; we're certainly in no shape to fight something that size. Which reminds me....Better try again to get this heap up and running again. Later". The effeminate engineer then took his leave, singling out Kittan and a few others to stare down at Nia from the bridge. "What do we do now, Kittan?" one of the crew then asked; the Black Sibling then replied, "Well, I don't know all of what we can do. But one thing's clear.....We're going to interrogate her" His fists tightened on the control console as he added, "If she is who she says she is, I'm gonna put the screw to that little girl and find out everything she knows".

Simon, meanwhile, was just staring at the entrance to the main deck, watching with eyes wide in surprise; she was the daughter of the Spiral King? No way.....No way someone like her would be the child of such a monster. But what if she was? What if she was just like him? No....Just because she might be related to him didn't make her like him at all....Did it?
 
It wasn't long before the princess was collected and brought to the cafeteria (of all places) for interrogation. She sat in a chair amidst the children and looked up at Kittan with a pleasant smile. A large crowd had gathered around her, dying to know what was going on, apparently. Of course, it was also full of lecherous men wanting to ogle the girl. Yoko was thoroughly disgusted at the thought. Still, she wanted to be in the room to hear it all as well. The real identity of their mysterious princess was something she couldn't very well ignore. Especially when Exodus was on board. There was no telling how he would react to the defenseless girl, and in case something went down, the sniper wanted her facts straight.

Of course, putting Kittan in charge of interrogation might not have been the wisest of things to do.
 
Indeed, there was quite the group surrounding Nia the Spiral Princess along with Gimmi and Darri, the former of whom started digging into the food rather ravenously. "Mmmm....Sprgh......this is good!" the enthusiastic young boy said; standing off to the side as a spectator was the strange old man - currently dressed in a chef's apron and hat over the modest shirt and pants he wore while holding a ladle - that Yoko, Simon, Exodus and the late Kamina had encountered on their way to the trap that was the hot springs. The corners of his mouth twitched upward into a slight smile as the trio ate, clearly pleased to some degree that his cooking was appreciated.

However, their meal would not go uninterrupted for long; one of the crew members currently seated right in front of Nia next to Kittan then spoke up, keeping his tone even and calm as he asked, "So, uh, Princess....You had said you were the...." His question was interjected with Gimmi shoving a meatball into the man's mouth, saying "Here, eat! This is great!" A few chews and the man's eyes widened in surprise, replying "Hey, this is pretty good. You're a decent cook, old man". The elderly chef simply nodded in reply; Kittan was starting to lose his patience already, and the little stunt - however cute it might have looked to most of the others - pushed him over the edge.

Standing up in frustration, Kittan then shouted, "What the hell are you guys doing?! This is supposed to be an interrogation; you don't just roll out the welcome mat! And you don't give this kind of a spread to the enemy!" He then slammed his hands on the table in front of Nia and said directly to her, his tone clearly channeling his current aggressiveness, "Alright, little girl, you had your fun! Now you're going to spill everything you know the Spiral King!"
 
Nia raised her hand as Kittan came to the end of his rant. "Excuse me good sir, but what is an interrogation?" Her vacant face belied a mind that was unused to such things. Knowledge of the outside world--indeed, knowledge of anything other than what her father wished for her to know--had been withheld from Nia. The girl was fairly smart--no dumber than any other girl her age. She was naive, and that was somehow much worse. Her sweet voice and pretty face only added to the idea that she was delicate and vulnerable. Of course, she was, but Yoko sensed that this wasn't the entire story when it came to the little princess sitting there.

Still, with the way Kittan was carrying on, even Yoko could tell this wouldn't end well. Sighing she continued to watch from the back, not really sure what was happening here.
 
Kittan nearly fell over in shock upon hearing the girl's question; thankfully a few people were there to help catch him, their expressions revealing the same level of stupefaction that seemed to plague Team Dai-Gurren's de facto leader. Whispers could be heard throughout the crowd, though this was more towards the back where the so-called Spiral Princess couldn't hear them. Upon regaining his composure, Kittan once again got in Nia's face and replied heatedly, "What's an interrogation?! An interrogation is something that you do when you want information from the enemy!"
 
"I see. And what is an enemy?" she asked, politely. She seemed to genuinely be lacking in knowledge, as hard to believe as it may be. Still, the little girl was desperately trying to understand the situation in which she had been placed. She wanted to be helpful, but she also wanted to understand what was happening. Frowning, she got the impression that Kittan was a very excitable person. Apparently he wanted information from an enemy. But she wasn't aware of such a thing--what was it? Perhaps he was just confused.

Yoko sighed, putting her head in her hand as Kittan went on. The sheer naivete of the girl was daunting, but she couldn't be completely ignorant as to her situation here, could she? And her position as a princess was cause enough for suspicion. Obviously she held some power, but just what kind of power did she hold? What influence did she have over the four generals that she could order them away like an annoying dog?

Frowning, the sniper leaned against the door, wondering where Simon had gotten off to.
 
Once again, Kittan was so confounded by this girl's naivete, except this time he actually faceplanted into the table from the sheer shock of her question; there's no way she could be this dense, could she? This had to be an act...But still, Kittan would play along for now. "An enemy is a bad person! It's someone just want to smash in with your fist!" he replied, somehow ending up with a whole porkleg in his mouth yet still able to talk rather clearly.

Simon meanwhile had gone back to his room, the digger's goggles and drill being used as tools to continue perfecting the stone sculptures of his fallen 'Bro'. Part of him wanted to see if what Nia had said was true, but the lingering heaviness in his heart suppressed any motivation to carry out his curiosity beyond simple pondering. He needed physical distraction at this point, and making these replicas served amply to help him in that respect, yet unknowingly making the hole in his heart that much bigger. And despite little Boota's best efforts to help cheer Simon up and break him away from this self-destructive cycle. However, the girl which he'd found in that box soon found his way into her thoughts...Who was she really? Was she really the Spiral King's daughter? And if so, what did that mean? She didn't seem like him in any way; of course, looks could be deceiving, but his gut told him she was being genuine. Even still, he didn't know what to think of her; there was just too much to deal with at the moment.

In the hospital bay one level below, their newest charge slowly began to stir from his slumber; it was time for him to wake up. His eyelids twitched before parting to reveal the natural coloration of his hues; his head pounded and his whole body ached. Of course, given what Ron had to do stop him, it was no surprise; still, it sucked to keep getting laid up in a bed so often. A muted groan left his throat as he tried to sit himself, a hand coming up to rub the side of his head and clear the fogginess. He couldn't help but wonder what he'd missed, since to him something felt...Off. Even in his clouded state of mind, he could tell something wasn't right...The question that remained was: What was it?
 
Yoko nearly fell over in shock. Could this girl really be so sheltered? It was unbelievable that she'd be so...out of touch with the world. Then again, it aided her story--a princess would probably be out of touch--especially if she was a true daughter of the Spiral King, who was clearly out of touch as well. But wouldn't a princess at least know what an enemy was? What was happening to education? Someone in her position should at least have a decent vocabulary!

"I see," the princess said. "You want information from your enemy to smash them, right?" She smiled. "But what have I done to make you want to smash me?" she asked, tilting her head. Hadn't she just protected these fine people who'd taken care of her? Had she done something wrong? Perhaps she hadn't been grateful enough? Suddenly she was a little worried that she'd been ungracious, and that simply would not do. "I do not understand what I did wrong. Please tell me," she said, watching Kittan as he fumbled around with the food.
 
Before Kittan could continue on his rant, none other than Dayakka himself stepped; being captain of the ship, it was his job to oversee the livelyhood of his crew and any newcomers that were aboard this ship. Dayakka could see the genuine nature of this girl's confusion; and while it baffled him that she could be this clueless about the world, he could see plain as day the way they were going about it now wasn't going to get them anywhere. Kittan may have declared himself the leader of Team Dai-Gurren, but he was not in charge in this fashion; placing a hand on the Black Sibling's shoulder, Dayakka calmly stated, "Kittan...That's enough. Let me try talking to her".

Kittan just glared at him, having removed the porkleg from his mouth, before standing aside; as proud as he was, he too could see that this girl just wasn't getting what he said. "Hmmm.....Maybe Simon might have luck with her" he said in his mind; he'd let Dayakka talk with her for a while, but Kittan had a feeling Simon might be better off talking with her and gleaning some more information. They were in the same age group after all, or at least it appeared to be that way.

With Kittan gone, Dayakka gave Nia a warm smile and said, "You'll have to forgive Kittan, Nia...He's an easily excitable person. Rest assured, no one wants to smash you. But hopefully you can understand being who you are is quite suspicious. I am curious though; if you really are the Helix King's daughter, what are you doing all the way out here?"
 
She frowned as Dayakka asked her the question she wanted the answer to most. "I don't really know myself, sir. I don't remember how I got there or why I was inside the box Simon found me in. It must have been some mistake," she said, thinking on it. She frowned again, still not remembering. "I don't know what happened, really. Father wasn't all that happy with me awhile ago, though. I think I upset him when I asked him why I was born..." She was at an age when she'd just had to know--had to ask. But of course, she'd managed to anger her beloved father, the Spiral King himself.

"I have heard what is happening to you all from Simon and I can't believe my father would do this--not without a reason. Perhaps if you all would be kind enough to bring me back to him, I could talk to him for you. Maybe he doesn't know he's hurting you so much."

Her innocence and naivete were absolutely astounding. Yoko found the mixture to be both pitiful and grating at the same time. When Exodus woke up, she'd have a hell of a time explaining all this to him. He might not believe her when she told him that someone so dense existed. She shook her head and decided to just get the recap later. Sitting through all of that had been painful. And watching Kittan get steamrolled by a little girl was just embarrassing.
 
(lol, poor Kittan...Anyway, sorry for the delay)
Dayakka's head cocked to the side a little as Nia gave her answer; she didn't know how she got into that box? How was that possible? She didn't appear to have any visible marks on her, nothing that would suggest she was knocked unconscious by brute force. Regardless, Dayakka could tell that this girl's lack of knowing was sincere; the way her eyes peered into his, full of confusion and doubt, was evidence enough of that. "You upset your father because you asked why you were born? That's not a good reason to get angry at all, especially with one's own child" the benevolent captain then commented, which was met with murmurs and nods of approval from some of the surrounding group of people; however, there was still a general air of distrust towards her. But who could blame them; even if she was innocent, she was the daughter of the bane of humanity's existence. "But as for your father, everything that Simon and the others have told you is the truth; that's why we need you to tell us where he is. Where the Capital is".

Kittan, meanwhile, had gone checking for Simon to see if perhaps he would have better luck with Nia. Maybe it was a long shot, maybe it wasn't, but Kittan wasn't going to sit idly by and let this potential goldmine of information get away. It was fairly easy to predict where Simon was though; in fact, Kittan wasn't surprised in the slightest when he found Simon in his room, the space almost entirely filled with stone figurines of Kamina's head. Crossing his arms, Kittan then spoke up, "Still at it, eh Simon? Listen, that girl you found...We need you to talk to her. She has information we need, but so far we can't get anything out of her".

Kittan, however, would see that Simon simply wasn't interested in talking; the little digger continued to work on his sculptures of Kamina. His Bro, his idol, the aspiration of everything he wanted to be. Kittan, after a few minutes of getting no response, got fed up and just said, "Ah, screw it...You wanna just sit here like a lump, go on ahead". He then turned and left, feeling aggravated that he couldn't get the digger to snap out of his funk.
 
As the interrogations and discoveries continued, Adiane made her way back to the capitol. Princess Nia was with the humans?! How had such a thing happened? Why was she protecting them? And did the Spiral King know? If so, why hadn't he sent word to her about it? These were the questions racing through her head as she raced back to the capitol. The Spiral King would not be happy with her for returning without having completed her mission, but surely he wouldn't have wanted the princess to be harmed in the mayhem of an attack.

She came to him, seeking an audience, bowing and groveling, knowing full well that she wasn't going to be able to escape reprimand in the harshest of forms. She reported what had happened and waited for the king to respond.
 
The Helix King sat upon his throne, a frustum of a drill cone with a high back for him to lean against; his imposing seven-foot-tall, well-muscled figure enshrouded by a tan cloak, several of the incredibly attractive ladies from Beauty Village hung onto him, their gazes endearing as if he were the only thing in the world that mattered. Fine by him; they were merely toys or dolls for his amusement anyway. One of his thick digits tapped on the armrest of his chair impatiently, glaring as Adiane bowed before him. How dare she return without Exodus, and worst of all that she came back when she'd been given one last chance to capture Exodus and destroy the human resistance.

For some while, the red-ringed sclera of the Lord of the Beastmen gazed upon the Water General's hunched form; his booming voice then echoed throughout the vacuous room, "Adiane.....Do you enjoy trying my patience? I find you in my presence yet again, and for what? Because my daughter happened to be in the enemy's clutches? As far as I can see it, I have given you ample opportunity to prove your worth as a General, but time and time again I see no results but failures. I can't help but wonder if you carry as much resolve to carry out your duties as you imply...I also wonder just how much Thymilph really meant to you?" The women clinging to him merely chuckled at their master's tongue-lashing
 
She'd expected it, but her loyalties were coming into question. "I'm sorry my lord, but how was I to know that the princess had fallen out of your favor? I would never dare to harm something you love, majesty!" She had to let the comment about Thymilph roll off of her for now. She was on shakey ground as it was. "If I fail again, I will never show my face here again," she vowed. "I will avenge Thymilph and capture Exodus or die trying."
 
"Oh? You dare to presume what I do and do not love, Adiane? Your insolence truly does know no boundaries." was the Helix King's cold-hearted reply; he would be lying if he said he wasn't getting some enjoyment from watching the scorpion-tailed General grovel like a dog. After a moment's pause to let his words sink in, he then added, "And yet you presume I will allow you to leave; after your repeated failures, Adiane, I'm thinking a reassignment is in order".
 
"Be merciful, your majesty. How was I to know that the princess had fallen from your favor? I was not informed," she said, panicking and clinging to straws. "Please, your majesty. Allow me this one last chance."
 
"Pleading ignorance and trying to command me, Adiane?" was the Helix King's reply, utterly unfazed by the pathetic begging of his subordinate. "For someone who wants another opportunity, you're not making it very convincing on my part". A hand came up to stroke the thick beard on his strong jaw in thought, doing so for a few seconds before adding "I think Beauty Village will a more suitable place for you, Adiane".

"Master, are you sure someone like her is appropriate?" one of the ladies clinging to him said in an incredibly dismissive tone; another chimed in "Indeed, she is so beneath you". "Silence, both of you. I'll make use of my subjects as I see fit". "Apologies, my Lord...We only wish for you to have the best" was the women's simultaneous response.
 
"Please forgive me your majesty. I wish only to serve you to the best of my abilities. But I am sure I can defeat them. I will bring them down in your name if only you'll give me the chance!" The women clinging to the Spiral King would be thrown away after their usefulness was over. She had served him well over the years, and he would flick her away like lint if he was displeased. She had suffered and sacrificed for him and yet this was how she was repaid?! The humans would pay for lowering her to this level. They would die for their treachery against the Spiral King. And she would see to it that the little princess would die, too.
 
As Adiane spoke again in that ever-impudent tone of hers, Genome showed no change of emotion, instead resting the side of his head against the middle knuckles of his left hand as he contemplated what to do with his failure of a General. After a few moments, the Helix King then commanded, "Very well, Adiane. Go forth and destroy the human resistance. I do not want to have to see you in the Capital again without Exodus. Now be gone, before I change my mind". Truthfully, it was more to get her out of his sight that he allowed her to go; she would keep begging and begging to return to duty and he didn't want to put up with it. Whether she lived or died ultimately mattered little, if anything, to him.

Outside the throne room, a still heavily-bandaged Viral awaited Adiane's exit; she'd left him behind when she rushed out to confront the Dai-Gunzan and its new crew. Or rather, his injuries from his confrontation with Exodus and trying to protect his General prevented him from keeping up with Adiane, but at least she could have waited for him. He wished to make his case that he too needed to avenge Thymilph, and that he would not be left behind again.
 
Upon Lord Genome granting her permission to fight, Adiane said her thanks and left the chamber, her heart beating faster than normal and her disposition more irritable than usual. Edgy, was a better way to put it, but damn if she would admit such a thing. She saw a soldier she recognized and snarled as she came closer. "Viral."
 
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