I May Be Dead, But I'm Still Alive!
“...What the hell happened!?” He heard as someone shouted over the comms. He fidgeted. “Dai-Gunzan has gone berserk!” He heard another person shout. What? The man thought as blood poured from his large wound. He attempted to open his eyes. “If it stays on course, it’ll fall into the mouth of the volcano!” His eyes stayed closed as though he were sleeping, refusing to respond. Dammit! Come on… “Pull yourself together, Simon! Do you read me!?” Simon? The bleeding man thought to himself. Simon… He repeated in thought as though trying to speak to his brother through his mind. He finally opened his eyes.
He quickly assessed his situation. He was lying stomach-down, a large gash trailed up the left side of his abdomen from waist to shoulder. He’s lost a lot of blood already if the rather large pool of crimson liquid he’s lying in is any indication. And most of the screens on the walls of his Gunman were either cracked or shattered completely, leaving glass shards all over the cockpit, adding to his already fatal injury.
Heh. Alright then. That’s how it’s gonna be, huh? His breathing, he realized, was soft, almost non-existent, as though he was already dead. I don’t think so. My men still need me… Simon still needs me!
He began to push himself away from the floor, small daggers of glass cutting his fingers and the palms of his hands. “Can’t a guy get a little sleep around here?” He said aloud as more blood literally poured off of him adding to the already large pool of red.
With all of his strength, the man pulled himself into his pilot seat and dusted his hands of the glass. He wrung his hair out, ridding his cobalt-colored hair of the dripping crimson. Then he smirked and merely ignored the pain from his gash as it came back full force. He didn’t have time for pain at the moment.
He took the handles that controlled his Gunman, the Gurren, maneuvering it to stand up. After his mech had stood up as straight as it could, he raised its left arm towards the Gunman head that overrided the colossal Gunman, the Dai-Gunzan, and launched the mech’s fist into its face.
“Simon! Let’ see you grit those teeth!” He growled into the comms, his smirk still ever-present. he watched as his shot hit dead on, giving a sucker punch to his brother’s Gunman, Lagann.
After a short moment, he heard Simon shout through the comms in surprise. “Bro? You’re alive!” The blue-haired man’s smirk became a lot less forced, not that it was very forced in the first place.
“Simon,” the cobalt-haired man squeezed his left eye shut as warm blood seeped into it as it dripped from his head, “who the hell do you think you are?” he growled into the comms again.
The man made his mech take a stance and pointed to the sky with its final arm. “Your drill is the drill that’s gonna bore through heaven and earth… and even tomorrow!” He continued. “What’re you sitting here dawdling for? We’ve won, kid!” His smirk turned to a triumphant grin and his glare at the Lagann intensified. “That behemoth belongs to you now. You don’t have to worry about anything now.” Then he waited for an answer, knowing full well what it would be.
“Bro… You’re right!” The man’s grin widened a bit more as he heard Simon yell back through the comms with a burning passion behind his words. Then the Dai-Gunzan turned around and away from the volcano it nearly ran into moments ago and struck a confident pose. “Everybody!” Simon shouted through the comms again, this time to the rest of Team Gurren. “Everything’s okay now! Dai-Gunzan is ours now!” Simon’s grief from mere moments ago turned into burning passion. “Come on aboard!” As everybody began to cheer at Simon’s words, a laser hit between them, turning the ground it hit into a near-nuclear explosion, throwing them back.
“You damn dirty humans…” The blue-haired man heard the voice of the beastman who had dealt his fatal blow. The man looked towards the sky and saw the beastman’s Gunman being followed by other smaller Gunmen as it fired lasers from its spear.
You… Kamina thought, annoyed.
“I received that as a gift from the Spiral King himself! I’d sooner destroy it than see it fall into your hands!”
Kamina laid back as he sighed a bit. “The old furball doesn’t know when to give up, does he?” He said aloud. “Come on, Simon.” Kamina leaned forwards, pain lancing up his stomach and chest from his left, but he ignored it, he’s speaking to his brother at the moment. “Let’s send these clowns packing.” He heard his brother respond with, “huh?” Kamina looked at his screen and grinned widely as he saw the beastmans’ Gunmen coming down fast. “Combine. We’ll use the Gurren Lagann to do this last mission!”
“You got it, Bro!” Simon shouted once more. Kamina watched as Lagann jumped from atop Dai-Gunzan with the arm he launched in tow. Lagann then grabbed Gurren’s massive shades and threw it at the enemies attempting to attack Gurren from behind, cutting them in half before they exploded in a bright inferno.
“Let’s do it!” Kamina shouted. Lagann jumped into the air and quickly forming into a drill, dug into the top of Gurren, with the tip of the drill bit cutting into Kamina’s cockpit, as usual. Then the damage done to Gurren immediately begun to repair itself along with its legs, and the arm even reattached itself.
“We brawlers are sustained by willpower even when mocked as crazy and reckless!” Kamina shouted with passion. Simon continued for him. “If there’s a wall in our way, we smash it down! If there isn’t a path, we carve one out ourselves!” Gurren Lagann’s hand reached out and caught Gurren’s shades as they returned. Simon and Kamina shout together, “The magma of our souls burns with a mighty flame!” Gurren Lagann slams Gurren’s shades onto Gurren’s eyes. “Super Ultra Combining, Gurren Lagann!”
“Who-” Simon began, “-the hell-” Kamina said next, “-do you think we are!?” Finally, both Kamina and Simon shouted as Gurren Lagann took a stance of power and confidence. As if on cue, the volcano, now directly behind them, let out a humongous eruption with molten lava and bright fire raining down.
“Stand your ground! Kill them! Kill them!” Thymilph, the leader of this group of beastman, shouts at those under his command, sending them towards Gurren Lagann.
“Make tracks, cannon fodder!” Kamina yells with fervor. Impossibly long drills fly out of Gurren Lagann, piercing through the air and impaling all the Gunmen in one go, making them all explode in great orbs of blinding flame.
“Damn you… Condemn Blaze!” Thymilph shoots a blue flame at Gurren Lagann which is simply blocked by a single hand. “You’ll have to do better than that!” Kamina shouts in triumphant glory. “I-impossible!” Thymilph yells in clear panic, his earlier confidence and rage gone.
That’s right! Kamina thinks to himself. We got him right where we wa- Kamina’s thoughts stop cold as he feels the strength begin to leave his body, even with his amount of willpower, his body quickly begins to feel drained.. He hasn’t got much time left. But he’s not done yet, he must help Simon one last time before he is truly gone.
“Listen close, Simon.” Kamina begins, mustering up what strength he is able to so he can say these words. “Never forget.” I am not done yet. “Believe in yourself.” I’ve still got one last mission. “Not in the me that believes in you.” One last breathe. “Not in the you that believes in me.” Listen to my words. “Believe in the you,” Because… “that believes in yourself.” It is the last of them you’ll ever hear.
“Bro?” Simon asks when Gurren’s shades jump off of Gurren Lagann’s chest and into its hand.
“Finishing move!” Kamina shouts as Gurren Lagann throws the shades at the final Gunman in which Thymilph resided. The shades split into two pairs and began to cut off the legs and feet of Thymilph’s Gunman before stabbing into its forelegs and forearms and forcing it to spread out as it hung in the sky.
“Giga-” Kamina began as drills began to poke out of Gurren Lagann’s body. “-Drill-” A drill elongated from Gurren Lagann’s arm before widening into a massive mountain of a drill. “-BREAKKKKKKKKKKKK!!” As Kamina yelled with hot-blooded passion, Gurren Lagann shot off the ground, its drill forming a bright trail of green energy. Gurren Lagann’s drill pierced straight through the stomach of the Gunman, ending the life of Thymilph. Gurren Lagann settled on the ground then the massive drill shrunk and retreated back into Gurren Lagann’s arm. And immediately after, Thymilph’s Gunman exploded in a brilliant flash of nuclear worthy proportions as Gurren’s shades returned to their rightful place.
It’s done, Kamina thought tiredly, the mission’s over. Kamina could feel the life slowly leaving his body, leaving him feeling cold but strangely… comfortable. Almost at peace. I guess it’s my time now… Kamina thought as he felt his eyes begin to close and his body begin to relax. You can take it from here… Simon. “Later… buddy…” Kamina said with his last dying breathe. Finally, He felt his soul begin to pour out from his mortal body and drift off to… wherever it is that souls go.
“Bro?” Kamina’s heart wrenched at hearing his brother’s questioning voice. Bro, I’m sorry to leave you hangin’... “Bro?” Oh, right, he can’t hear me anymore… “B-bro?” I’ve already said what I needed to say… “Bro… Bro, p-please answer me…” Please. Just take me where I’m supposed to go already!
And with that, Kamina started shooting off through space at speeds that couldn’t even be imagined. Kamina could see thousands of stars and planets and moons flying past him faster than the speed of light. This is… He couldn’t find the right words to describe it. There were no words to describe the beauty that Kamina saw as he shot through space and time.
He may have been nothing but a soul now, but that didn’t stop him from smiling in content and relaxing as he was guided through time and space. If this is where people go when they die, Kamina thought, then this is gonna get old really fas-, his thoughts ended abruptly as he hit the ground headfirst.
}~~~<>~~~{
An Unknown Amount of Time Later…
The first thing Kamina felt when he woke up was an awful throbbing in in his head. He put his hands to his head and rubbed at his temples in attempt to relieve some of the pressure. After lying on the ground, which was unusually soft, for a few minutes, Kamina decided to sit up. Then he remembered the huge gash on his abdomen. He clenched his eyes shut and waited for the pain to hit... But it never came. Confused, he opened his eyes and looked down to where his wound was supposed to be, only to see a large, splotch-like mark that ran from his waist to his breast. The splotch-mark was a bit darker than his regular skin color, not insanely dark but dark enough to be noticed at a glance. Almost like a birthmark of some sort. "Huh. Weird." Kamina thought out loud. He knew that he wasn't really talking to anyone, but he needed to hear his own voice at the moment.
Forgetting about his miraculously healed wound for the moment, Kamina decides to take a look at his surroundings. He seems to be outside at least, as he can obviously see the sky, clouds and sun, but he also notices that he is surrounded by tall trees, and bright green grass covers the ground. "The hell?" This doesn't look anything like the spot I was at when I was-, Kamina's heart skipped a beat. "H-hold on a second.." Kamina puts a hand to his chest, takes a deep breath and waits patiently, looking for a- bump-bump... bump- bump... bump-bump...
Kamina lets out a huge breath after feeling a few beats of his heart. Well, I'm alive now. But how? He thought in confusion. I remember what happened. I felt myself... leave my own body. How could I still... be in my body? Kamina thought back to the moment of his "Death" and tried to remember how he could have gotten here.
He replayed his memories over in his mind. He and Simon had just ended that annoying "Thighmelt" or whatever that beastman's name was and he had felt as his soul began to slip from his bloodied and torn form along with his consciousness. He remembered as he lingered for a moment, hearing Simon speak to him, calling for his Bro. Kamina shuddered. Then he remembered that he shot off into the sky and into space, past the moon and past thousands upon thousands of stars.
Wait, Kamina pushed himself onto his feet, feeling a little wobbly before gaining balance again, is this the afterlife? He rolled that idea around in his for minute. Or, He thought, this is another chance. For some reason that answer seemed more believable than the afterlife one. Kamina put a hand to his chin and closed his eyes in thought. He thought the afterlife was supposed to be all soft and comforting, and while the ground is covered with soft grass, his landing was not at all comfortable. Speaking of his landing, Kamina looks to where he was lying and sees that he had made a rather large indentation on the ground with dirt thrown all around him, putting a Kamina-sized crater in the middle of the otherwise pretty clearing.
"Oops." Kamina said aloud sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, which was aching a lot less now. With how pretty the rest of the clearing looked, he felt kinda bad for messing it up. Oh well, Kamina thought to himself, on the bright side, I'm dead I guess, but at least I'm still alive. Kamina paused for a moment before chuckling at his contradiction with a growing grin on his face.
He took another look at what seemed to be a forest that surrounded him, with no visible trails leading from the clearing. Huh. Kamina thought. Where am I, anyway? It was a logical question. Last he remembered, he was in Gurren, dying. Then he shot straight into space and away from Earth and he landed on... another planet? Maybe, but if so then why does he have his body back, AND in good condition! Did he take it with him when he went flying into the sky? He hopes not, then his friends wouldn't have anything to remember him by. But he couldn't have. He remembers that he slipped from his body as a spirit THEN shot into the sky. Then how did he get this body?
"Grrr! All this thinking is making my headache come back!" Kamina shouted as he rubbed his temples thoroughly. Maybe I should give it a rest, Kamina thought, It's probably important though, so I'll think about it later. Maybe he can ask someone about it or something. Then a thought occurred to Kamina. IF there is anybody here. He was possibly on entirely different world, it was very possible that there weren't any actual people here, it could even be an entire planet of nothing but beasts and animals. Or worse, an entire planet of beastmen! The thought made Kamina grimace.
Kamina looked into the sky just for comparison and winced as the bright sun burned his eyes. "Shit!" He exclaimed. Kamina reached to the bandages he had wrapped around his stomach only to find what he was looking for to be absent. With a small amount of panic, he started to search the grass thoroughly for his keepsake. Then he finally spotted a glimmer in the grass and smiled in relief. He picked up his shades and wiped the dirt off of them before placing them on the bridge of his nose where the sat perfectly.
With no idea where he was, how he got there, or where to go, he chose a random direction and began to walk through the forest. After all, there wouldn't be any point in staying put. He also might find some people while looking around.
}~~~<>~~~{
A Few Hours Later...
While walking through the forest, Kamina had discovered a few odd things. First: The animals here were either very stupid or very friendly. When he was taking a short nap under a tree, he awoke to find what seemed to be a normal squirrel. No, really. An actual squirrel. not a squirrel-bat, not a dog-squirrel. Just a squirrel. It was standing on his stomach poking at his chest with its nose, sniffing him. Then after Kamina sat up a bit more, the squirrel only traveled lower onto his knee. It then stared at him for a moment, tilted its head, scratched its ear with a paw, and then shot up the tree Kamina was lying under. And every other animal he met would get close enough for him to pet them. Which he did with a fiery-orange falcon-like bird. It was really weird for Kamina. He was so surprised that he didn't even think to catch one of the tinier animals for food.
The second thing he noticed was that there was some really weird plants here. One bit of foliage looked like a large ball of blue petals with a tube on top and four yellow fluffy thing under it. Then things got weird. It started to gently launch tiny bubbles with glowing, pink, fluffy things inside them until the entire area was covered in them. They floated gently through the air and into the sky before being whisked away by a soft, unseen gale. A man knows when to appreciate beauty, and that was one of those times. He rested under one of the trees in the area and watched as thousands of tiny, bubbled, pink fluff-balls flew off into the sky.
This was an odd world, but it was definitely a peaceful one so far. Kamina liked it.
After a bit more walking, Kamina's stomach began to growl. He hadn't eaten anything in a LONG time. Geez. I really should have caught one of those little animals for a snack. Kamina thought to himself. He groaned in annoyance as his stomach growled in hunger. Wait, what would I do if I caught something anyways? Kamina thought. I don't even know how to start a fire! Now both frustrated, annoyed and hungry, Kamina kept walking through the thick forest. I swear to... I don't know-, then Kamina remembered what Yoko told him the big bright ball in the sky was called, the moon! I swear to the moon if I don't find at least a simple piece of fruit to eat I'll- Kamina's thoughts stopped cold as an alluring smell wafted into his nose.
With the determination of a bloodhound on the scent of a criminal, Kamina ran through the trees, following the smell of a potentially cooked meal.
}~~~<>~~~{
Somewhere In The Everfree Forest...
Zecora was in a good mood today.
She had a wonderful week and her "good day" streak seemed to have no end in sight. Since she was having such a good week, Zecora decided she would make her favorite meal: Cragadile Stew! Zecora used to have thoughts against eating meat, but after trying some home cooked bacon she purchased from a visiting griffin merchant, she changed her thoughts immediately. After all, her ancestors used to eat the meat of the beasts they conquered, so why shouldn't she enjoy a bit of her omnivorous nature. And if it would try to eat her anyway, why couldn't she eat IT instead?
So Zecora had decided that it would be a good enough day to cook outside. She had set up her cauldron and a fire big enough to heat it. She had set it all up near her hut so that she may go back inside if she needed something.
Zecora had been cooking for a while now, throwing in a spice or seasoning now and then. The stew is almost ready! Zecora thought giddily. She couldn't wait to eat the whole bowl! The smell alone made her mouth water in anticipation. Just a few more minutes!
Unfortunately, Zecora's wasn't the only mouth that was watering at the moment. A large creature stalked up to Zecora from behind. Zecora's ear flicked as she heard a rather large creature step behind her. Maybe I got too excited, Zecora thought worriedly, I should have ate inside the safety of my home. The Zebra felt a hot breathe on her neck. Then she gulped.
}~~~<>~~~{
Back With Kamina...
At the moment, Kamina was thinking of ways to get a free meal from whoever was cooking. When he smelled that food, his mouth immediately began to water and his stomach yearned for at least a bite. Though he couldn't place his finger on the exact smell, he knew it smelled like cooked food and he wanted some.
Hmm, I wander what they're cookin' anywa- Kamina's thoughts are cut off by a scream from the direction of the smell. Kamina began to sprint at full speed in the direction of the scream. Then he came upon a tiny hut built into a tree, with a medium-sized cauldron in front of it with something bubbling inside, obviously the source of the smell. But he was more interested in the creature that was screaming terror.
The first thing he saw was a giant wall of orange fur scaring a smaller cloaked figure against the hut just far enough from the door to keep it from going inside. Oh, picking on someone smaller than ya, huh? Thought Kamina. Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson!
"HEY-HEY-HEY-HEY!" Kamina shouted as he started running at the large animal. "Why don't you pick on someone closer to your size!?" The beast was just turning when Kamina had gotten close enough to be right next to it. Kamina did a fast turn of his own, throwing a foot straight out while swinging around and slamming his leg into the beasts face, throwing it across the small clearing. Whoa, Kamina thought in surprise, I kicked him that hard? Kamina froze for a moment before shaking his head and getting into a fighting stance.
As the beast got up, Kamina got a better look at it than before. It looked like a large cat with large tufts of red fur around its neck with two bat-like wings on its back and a huge scorpion tail. Finally, Kamina thought, something at least a little familiar. The beast's glare locked on Kamina before it let loose a bone-rattling roar. Kamina laughed at its attempt to instill fear. "Is that all you got, pussy cat!?" Kamina shouted back at the big cat-bat-scorpion-thing. "Do you know who you're dealing with!?" Ignoring his shout, the beast bounded up to Kamina and lunged at him with its teeth. Kamina brought his hands up quick and grabbed the jaws of the large feline, keeping its mouth open. "Just who the hell do you think I am!?" Kamina shouted as he and the beast pushed against each other. Kamina then took one hand away from the beast's mouth to grab its mane and began to pull in attempt to throw it off balance.
To Kamina's surprise, he easily pulled the feline's entire body, jerking it to the side and throwing it off balance for a second before it recovered its composure and began to push back at him. With a smirk, Kamina quickly grabbed two handfuls of the beast's mane and started to spin in circles while slowly lifting the beast into the air. The big cat began to whimper and paw the air in panic as it was swung around and around. After spinning the poor cat in circles at least 8 times, he threw the big feline with all his might away from the hut and the little cloaked lady. The beast was chucked a short distance before crashing into a tree, shaking loose a good amount of leaves. The large feline's legs shook in pain, since it had hit the tree back-first, as it attempted to stand up. Kamina began to calmly walk toward the beast with his hands in his pockets. "Remember these words, pussy cat," Kamina began, and was slightly surprised to see the large cat whimper and look at him with what was obviously fear.
}~~~<>~~~{
Manticore's POV...
All the Manticore wanted was a good meal. Preferably a pony-sized meal. And when he had smelled an equine-prepared meal, he thought it would be easy pickings. But then another predator had come for the meal. It was a tall, lanky animal with obvious muscle rippling through its arms and chest and had dark markings around its shoulders with a large tuft of blue fur on it head. The Manticore thought it would be easy to assert his dominance over this skinnier predator, so he challenged it with a roar, but was annoyed to hear the lanky predator laugh at him. It LAUGHED at him! Then it proceeded to mock his roar! How DARE this inferior welp mock the obvious apex predator of this forest!
The Manticore attempted to end the lanky predator's life by ripping out its throat with his teeth, but was given a surprise when the smaller predator grabbed his jaws and proceeded to shake him around by his mane with no effort, as though he was a newborn cub! It was at this point that the Manticore realized he had bitten off more than he could chew. The smaller, skinnier predator had turned out to be much, much stronger than him and he was now whimpering in fear as he was spun around multiple times then thrown across the small clearing and into a tree back-first.
The Manticore attempted to stand but his back wouldn't allow him to stand up correctly without massive amounts of pain, not to mention the condition his wings could be in! The Manticore couldn't feel them, but he could imagine how mangled his wings probably were.
Then he heard the lanky being speak, and it said for him to remember its words. While the Manticore was an animal with no real use for knowledge, he was a lot smarter than any of his kin and other kind. He was intelligent enough to learn languages but had no way to use them with no voice of his own. He gave the lanky predator his rapt attention, lowering himself to the ground in attempt to make himself seem submissive and whimpered pathetically for mercy.
The tall being's eyes widened for moment and it paused before speaking again. "When you hear of the one who walks this forest with no fear," the Manticore shrank back as the superior predator's burning red eyes stared into his, "when you hear of the man who can bring giants under his control with his bare hands," the fiery-eyed predator began to stalk towards him intimidatingly, "when you hear of the man who walks with confidence in his step, determination in his eyes, and fire in his heart," the Manticore tried to step back as the new apex predator of the forest stepped closer, but the tree behind him kept him from going back any further, "They speak of this man, they speak of the mighty Kamina!" The tall being shouted as it pointed into the sky. "If you try to attack anyone else in this forest, remember my name!" Then the lanky predator pointed at the Manticore with a dangerous look in his eye. "Now scram!" The Manticore stood back up quick and limped into the thick of the forest as fast as he could, trying to get away from the humiliation with what little dignity he had left.
}~~~<>~~~{
Zecora's POV
"And if you come back, I'll be sure to remind you of your place!" The the tall being shouted after the Manticore.
At the moment, Zecora was relieved, confused, and a little embarrassed. How could she have been so naive as to cook outside in the open, out in the Everfree? AND she didn't hear that manticore until it was right on top of her! How could she let such a thing happen? Her mother would be so disappointed in her. Well, Zecora thought, At least this... person came when he did. He saved her life!
"Excuse me, sir?" Zecora addressed the tall, lanky being. The being in question turned around and looked at Zecora with a smile. Zecora removed the hood that shielded her from the sun to get a better look at her savior. The tall being looked momentarily surprised at her before regaining his smile and his gentle look. "Thank you very much for saving me, Kamina I believe it was?" Kamina nodded his head in confirmation.
"Yeah, it wasn't any problem." Kamina said with a smile as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his long-clawed... hands? Yes, she believed them to be hands, much like a minotaur's. Kamina continued. "I couldn't just stand by and let that big old cat have you for lunch!" Kamina crossed his arms and shrugged nonchalantly. "By the way nice to meet ya, Miss..."
"Zecora. You may call me Zecora." She said to Kamina. Now that Zecora thought about it, she owed Kamina her life. It was only right that she offer him a reward of some kind.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, good sir Kamina." Zecora raised her hoof towards Kamina. Kamina hesitated for a moment before wrapping his entire hand around her hoof and shook. "Please, if there is anything I can do to reward you, please tell me!"
Kamina smirked. "How 'bout you share some of whatever's in that pot and we call it even."