"Cannon!" Matt's trademark beam lanced at the boxy monster, colliding into its huge face at full force. He didn't know what the fuck these things were, but he'd be damned if they weren't going to get a face full of DIE!

Helena released her claws, channeling flame. With a yell she lifted her hands, then lurched forward, issuing a tiny burst of fire at the bull monster. It stopped and quickly expanded into a big sphere - maybe not big enough to engulf it entirely, but it would sure draw attention.

The monster shouted in surprise and anger as the Megaton Cannon smashed hard into its face, bowling it over to the point where its stumpy legs could not keep it balanced. With a mighty crash, it toppled over, leaving Ileyna in the clear.

"DAMN YOU!" the bull monster roared, swinging its club with surprising speed, only for the burning sphere to sweep through it thanks to its own movement, leaving the white body charred and blackened on one side.

R.D. stretched his right hand out and closed it into a fist, one finger at a time, until the fabric began to stretch by the movement. Instantly, the Godhand ignited over his forearm, and he punched the ground, sending him high into the air. Spinning about, he went careening towards the fallen monster as it was pushing itself up. Spotting the amnesic teenager coming down at it, the monster swung out with its own fist.

The two crashed together, and after a moment, R.D. was sent hurtling into the ground. He screamed, more in rage than in pain, as he smashed into the dirt, bouncing once. "Damn!" he snarled as he got up. "Matt, that thing's made out of metal!"

"Metal, eh?" Matt shouted, curling his jagged claws. "I can dig it!" He glanced back at Helena. "Stay back and keep shooting!"

"Okay!" Helena called back. Claws burst from her toes as she weaved her magic.

Matt turned back to the bull monster and shot towards it, amplified by Dragon Drive. He almost skimmed the ground as he swooped in. He reared back with a set of claws and raked them across the bull monster's leg as he blazed past, intending to slice it off.

Though the attack left deep gouges in the monster's leg, the beast did not topple from a missing limb. With an angry roar, the beast swept around, slashing at Matt with its club, though it missed.

"HANG ON!" the other one roared, charging over after Matt. Beams immediately began to pelt it, fired from Alasea's sword and Ileyna's hand. With a growl, it turned around and scooped up a massive chunk of rock and dirt, and lifted it up over its head, ready to throw.

"DIE, YOU FILTHY HUMANS!" it screamed as it threw it at the girls.

Hugo fired up the G-Stone and launched his Force Option in front of the girls, to blow away the part of the rock that directly fell on them. Helena also sprang into action - she threw her weight into Alasea and pushed her out of the way of the projectile.

Helena pushed herself off of Alasea, her back curling. "Get Ileyna close and let her use Mass Effect!" she said. She squinted her eyes and bowed her head, forcing her wings out of her back with a wet snap.

Meanwhile, Matt flew back and charged Megaton Cannon again. He fired at the bull monster's wounded leg, hoping to finish the job.

Alasea nodded as she pushed herself up. "Ileyna! You got to use your Stand!"

"Right!"

The club flashed out again at Matt as the Megaton Cannon fired, and the beam crushed through through the weapon, breaking it in two. Unfortunately, the beam was deflected a bit by the counter, and it sweeped past the monster's leg. With a growl, the beast flung the broken club at Matt before charging.

"Shit!" Matt darted away JUST as the broken club hurtled past him. That could've hurt!

As the bull monster charged, Matt arced down low, flying between the monster's legs and raking once more with his claws. Good thing this big metal monster wasn't quick enough to catch a target like him!

Helena launched back up and bolted towards Ileyna, joined by Hugo with G-Stone blazing. Helena wrapped her arms around Ileyna and ran her towards the boxy robot.

"Let's kill this thing, Matt!" R.D. shouted, readying his Phase Blade as he ran towards the bull monster.

And immediately halted as the sound of a gunshot rang through the air, just as a bolt of eldritch fire smashed hard into the bull monster's eye. The eye was dislodged, tubes yanking off from behind it as it as it went spinning through the air, only to hit the ground and shatter into fragments of metal and circuitry. With a curious groan, the now one-eyed monster's remaining eye rolled up into its head as it collapsed.

"What the hell!?" R.D. sputtered, looking around for the source of the gunshot. "Its a robot!?"

"CAPTAIN!" came the shocked cry of the boxy robot. It turned its gaze towards Ileyna and Helena as they were rushing towards it. "HUMAN SCUM! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

Three more gunshots rang out, smashing hard into the boxy robot's arm and knocking it aside. The fog was beginning to clear now, with so much going on.

And on a nearby hill, a voice rang out as something--two somethings, actually--stepped into view.

"BLASTED GANMEN, ITS TIME TO PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!"

Startled, Matt swiveled towards the newcomers. Oh, GREAT. More fucking robots?

Surprisingly, the robots--Ganmen, the new, red robot called them?--stepped back in what appeared to be complete fear. Whatever these new robots were, they were afraid of the newcomers.

"I-ITS THE GURREN!" the boxy one screamed, stepping back. "WHAT'S IT DOING HERE!?"

"OIOIOIOIOI! SO, YOU RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF THE GURREN BRIGADE?!"

The Gurren, as the Ganmen called it, began running down the hill at a furious charge, followed by the tiny robot in its wake. In an instant, the Gurren smashed its fist into the face of the boxy robot, and they both went tumbling across the ground, forcing everyone to clear out of the way.

"What the hell's going on!?" R.D. demanded, pulling himself up out of the dust as the two Ganmen tried to kill each other.

Matt grabbed R.D. at the arm. "I don't know, but we're getting the hell out of their way!" He rocketed over to Ileyna and Helena, checking to make sure they were fine.

The Gurren stood, dragging up the boxy Ganmen by the arm, and smashed a knee into its gigantic face before twisting around and ripping its arm right off, causing Alasea to wince at how barbaric the fight was becoming. Discarding the arm, the Gurren reached up and clasped its hands together before bringing the combined fist down hard into the Ganmen's skull. The metal plating crumbled and the robot was quickly flattened into scrap metal, its two eyes comically flying out of its face and smashing into the dirt.

"I think its time we made ourselves scarce!" R.D. shouted, motioning for them to flee. "Let's get out of here!"

The bull Ganmen had the same idea, apparently. It picked itself up and began to retreat, flinging up a massive cloud of dust as it fled the battle.

"BRO! THAT ONE'S GETTING AWAY!" the tiny red Ganmen suddenly shouted, pointing.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY FROM ME, THE TENACIOUS DEMON LEADER!?" the Gurren roared. "SIMON! LET'S DO THIS!"

"RIGHT, BRO!"

The small Ganmen leaped high into the air, only to be snatched up by the Gurren's right hand.

"ALL RIGHT, TAKE THIS!" The Gurren shouted, light glinting off of its massive sunglasses in a dramatic fashion. The arms and legs of the smaller robot combined with its body, and from its underside, a large drill extended. "CERTAIN KILL! PERFECT COMBUSTION OF A MAN'S SOUL..."

Raising the small robot up, the red Ganmen flung it straight at the fleeing enemy with a throw so hard that the Gurren ended up rolling forward, unable to balance.

"CANNONBALL ATTACK!"

The robot-turned-drill projectile tore through the air at insane speeds, and immediately caught the bull Ganmen in the back. It immediately pierced through, gutting it, and within moments, the bull Ganmen erupted in a massive explosion.

"This guy's INSANE!" Matt said when everyone had gathered back together.

"Let's head for cover," Hugo said. "If he chases us, blow up some rock and dust to hide us from sight."

"Too late, he saw us," R.D. muttered, watching as the Gurren trotted right up to them.

"NOT OFTEN YOU SEE OTHER HUMANS ON THE SURFACE!" came the Gurren's voice as it stopped before them. The mouth opened up, and a second mouth, much like teeth, inside of it followed suit. And out from the Gurren's jaws came... another human.

Well, he DID save them from those two other robots...might as well extend some sort of peaceful offering. "Uh...hi there!" Matt called, stepping forward and waving. "Thanks for helpin' us out back there. Giant robots aren't exactly our forte." He glanced at R.D.. "Well, most of the time."

"Ha ha! Well, I'm surprised you haven't just stolen one yourself!"

The man jumped down from his Ganmen as R.D. arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean, steal one?"

"That's how I got my Gurren here!" the man replied. "Me and Simon took it from those damned beastmen!"

Matt was waiting for the man to wonder why in the hell these kids were able to fly and shoot fire, but hey, don't ask, don't tell.

"What are beastmen?" Hugo asked.

"They're the ones that keep the humans beneath the surface," the man said, a confident grin on his face. "We made it to the surface after one broke through the roof of our village and started tearing it up. Naturally, it was up to me and Simon to take care of it!"

Who is this joker? R.D. wondered, a bit put-off by the man's overbearing confidence. Off-handedly, he motioned for Helena and Ileyna to revert to their human forms before the man could make out the details through the fog.

"Um, who exactly are you?" Alasea asked, apparently wondering the same thing. The man's smile froze on his face, and he blinked once.

Suddenly the man's grin widened, light glinting off of his crazy spectacles.

"If you don't know, then I'll tell you, so open up those big ears and listen!"

The blood-red cape flared out, the emblem of a flaming, bespectacled skull on it waving about as the man suddenly thrust his index finger high into the air in dramatic fashion.

"The leader of Jiiha Village's Gurren Brigade, silencer of crying children! With a man's soul, and a strong back!" he shouted for all to hear, as if the air around him had ignited. "The tenacious demon leader, the great Lord Kamina... is me!"

Edited by RisingDragon on November 16, 2009 at 16:05:30.

Matt's face slowly crinkled into confusion. And they thought HE was weird. His dramatic speeches weren't THAT insane, either.

Still, might as well run with it. "Well, Kamina, thanks again," Matt said. He took a step forward and offered a hand to shake. "I'm Matt, and this is my motley crew. Incidentally, we are terrible at making music."

Helena laid her hand on Alasea's shoulder and squeezed hard. Her wings cracked and folded back into her body, and as she gasped in a moment of pain, she slapped her other hand over her mouth.

Alasea winced at the squeeze; she briefly wondered if it'd dislocate her shoulder. Then it was released, and she held back a sigh of relief. Behind them, Ileyna lost her glow. Luckily, Kamina hadn't seen them.

"Well, come on then!" Kamina said, motioning for them to follow. "You can hang out with us for a bit!"

He turned and shouted. "Hey, Simon! Yoko! Come meet our new friends!"

The small red Ganmen trotted over to Kamina at his beckoning, and in a moment, the pinkish dome covering its skull flew back, revealing a young boy sitting inside of it, looking a bit unsure.



"Uh... hey."

Matt raised a hand. "Yo!" Hey, what else was he going to do? Talk to Kamina? He wasn't even sure if that was good for his health at this rate.

Hugo carefully walked up to the tiny robot and began examining it, making a few taps on the metal here and there with his pickaxe. "This thing's legs are way too short," he muttered to himself. "How do they support the weight?"

Kamina blinked and leaned over Hugo, looking down at it. "Eh? What's this?"

Without any concern for his well-being (Alasea noted and nearly cringed) Kamina picked up Hugo and brought him up to face level. "A miniature Ganmen? Even smaller than the Lagann, no less!"

"Hey!" Hugo lifted his pickaxe and bonked Kamina square in the forehead. Hard. "Put me down!"

Kamina winced and dropped Hugo on the spot. "What the hell?" he muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"He's a friend of ours," R.D. said. "He's like a Ganmen that can move on his own." Please, Matt, don't screw this up now.

"Really? That's kind of cool," Simon said, leaning over the Ganmen's rim and looking down at Hugo. "Where'd you find him?"

"Uh--"

"Heeeey! Kaminaaaa~!"

R.D. cut off and turned to the sound of the voice, and then did a double-take.



"... whoa."

Behind him, Alasea took one look, and began to frown.

Hot chick in center pocket to avert uncomfortable conversation topic...great timing! And Matt definitely meant that. "Is that the Yoko you mentioned earlier?" he asked Kamina. He slid in front of Hugo and pushed the Mettaur back with the side of his shoe. Fortunately, Hugo didn't try to bash him in the toes this time.

"Ah, Yoko!" Kamina greeted, raising up a hand. "These are the kids we just saved."

"Yo," R.D. said, lifting up a hand in greeting.

"Really? I'm a bit surprised," she said, smiling at the group. "Not every day you find a bunch of kids picking fights with Ganmen."

"Well, I AM great," Matt said.

"A great pain in the ass," Hugo said, never missing a beat.

"Well, it depends on your perspective. But yeah, we're a bit used to fighting crazy enemies like that."

Kamina made a hearty laugh while clapping Matt on the shoulder. "I like this kid!"

R.D. could only shake his head. This could not possibly end well. Kamina was too much like Matt for their comfort.

"Well, come on! Let's meet up with the others and then you can tell us your story!" Kamina stated. "We'll take you there in my Gurren!"

Okay, even Matt had to lighten up a bit at the possibility of riding inside a giant robot. "Sounds good." He beckoned at the girls. "Come on, let's boogie!"

"We have to get our stuff first," Helena said. "Go on ahead, we'll catch up." When Matt wasn't looking, she leaned over to Alasea and whispered, "Run the gem over my shirt, I'm NOT talking to these people with an exposed back."

"Right," Alasea whispered back, nodding. "Be right back."

As Alasea went back to get their stuff and find the gem, R.D. looked about and tried to figure out how this was going to work. Apparently Yoko was going to ride with Simon on the mini Ganmen--Lagann, he presumed from Kamina's earlier comment--and Matt was certainly joining Kamina in the Gurren's cockpit. "Okay, Ileyna, Hugo, you'd probably be better off riding with Simon. Me and the girls can ride on the Gurren's hand or something."

For the most part, Ileyna did not look forward to it, judging by the nervous look she was giving Kamina, Simon, and Yoko, and their two mechs.