Adiane's Counterattack

Jayr POV - Earth, Gekorn region - 1007 AFA-SW

Still sitting in Cratergann's cockpit, I calmly watch the scene as the sudden deluge forms on the battlefield and generates a water wall around the Dai-Gurren.

And soon after that, a gigantic aquatic Gunmen fortress resembling a centipede, whose name is Dai-Gunkai if I remember well, which serves as Adiane's flagship, bounces out of the water wall surrounding the Dai-Gurren and lands on its deck while holding it with its pincers.

The Dai-Gunkai resembles a massive centipede or some other kind of worm, with a long body and many small "legs", that are actually fins, lining its sides.

The bow of the vessel is shaped like a grinning face with eight eyes and a pair of scythe-like pincers, the bridge resembles that of a submarine but is decorated with four eyes and has functional segmented arms with huge lobster-like claws.

(Image Here - Dai-Gunkai)

Standing on top of the Dai-Gunkai is Adiane's personal Gunman, the Sayrune, which is mostly white colored with a vaguely humanoid appearance and it has butterfly-like wings with intimidating eyes painted on them.

The appearance of the machine is very suggestive, ostentatiously, it is intended to be a long face with a crest on top, large insect-like googly eyes, and a fanged maw, but it also resembles a female body, where the crest represents the head, the eyes take the place of breasts and the mouth forms the lower body.

Moreover, this Gunman also has another form and can transform into an alternate scorpion-shaped layout with a multitude of legs, huge claws, and a stinger tail, but since this form is very aerodynamic it is mostly used to improve speed in the water environment.

(Image Here - Sayrune)

The Sayrune jumps onto the Dai-Gurren's deck with its arms crossed, then Adiane's voice is heard as she says, "You can't escape. Human scum."

And soon after, from the Sayrune's elbows, four energy whips come out and slice the main cannon mounted in front of the Dai-Gurrem's bridge making it explode, quickly dealing with the only threat that could have damaged her Gunmen.

Then I notice Yoko running out and shooting with her huge rifle to buy some time for the Gunmen to deploy, but before she could actually do something, I see a delicate-looking young girl of average height with long curly, light blue/pale blonde hair, which appears immaterial, floating and moving like a cloud with hair tips resembling the edges of a blue-gold cloud, peach skin and unique blue eyes with pink crosses "+" for pupils that looks like flowers, that I quickly recognize as Nia rushing out and stand in front of the Sayrune with her arm spread open, and hear her yell, "Halt, Adiane!"

While this is happening, I also notice that Simon is running after her but stops when he hears her speaking, then Nia continues, "The Spiral King Lordgenome's eldest daughter, Nia commands you... Stand down, Adiane the Elegant. Are you aware of who I am?"

And instantly a strange silence falls on the battleground as I see everyone looking at Nia with stunned expressions on their face, especially Yoko and Simon, that are stunned by Nia's true identity, well more Yoko, because, from his face, it is clear that Simon doesn't know what is a princess.

Meanwhile, hearing what she just said and the tone she used, I can help but remember another famous character that many times said something similar, and turned it into his iconic catchphrase and mutter trying to imitate his tone, "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you...", then I exclaim, "Damn! They sound so similar... it's almost creepy."

Adiane POV - Earth, Gekorn region - 1007 AFA-SW

I look at the little girl in front of me, and she indeed looks like that annoying princess, so much that I can't help but mutter out loud, "It can't be..."

But soon, the image of my lieutenant, a tuna-like Beastmen appears as he comments on what I just said, "But it looks like Princess Nia."

Hearing that, I shout back, "Don't be ridiculous!" then explain, "There's no way the princess would be outside the capital!" but the lieutenant says back, "No matter how you look at her, she's exactly like Princess Nia."

Then an idea comes to my mind and with a smirk I say, "Is that so? Then let's kill her and pretend we didn't see anything." but soon the lieutenant warns me just as I'm about to attack, "Adiane-sama, please watch what you say. The conversations here are recorded." stopping me in place.

I click my tongue, then turn around and jump back on top of the Dai-Gunkai to retreat back to the capital and seek the Spiral King for clarification, at the same time, I yell to these insects, "Hear this, human scum! This isn't a retreat. I'll be back!" then we dive in the underwater river and rush back to the capital.

Jayr POV - Jayr's Soulbound Territory - 1007 AFA-SW

After Adiane's not retreat, I make sure that no other danger could befall the members of the Dai-Gurren Brigade, then after being certain that they are safe I open a portal and go back to my Soulbound Territory.

Back in my villa, I'm greeted by Kamina's mournful scream, "Oh NOOOO! Not again! Damn it!!" hearing that, I move toward the living room and see the scene of Kamina sitting on the ground in front of a screen with a joystick in his hands, and on the screen the very familiar blood red letters that form the words, "YOU DIED."

Seeing that, I sit on the couch and ask, "Got once again tricked by a mimic?" hearing my question, Kamina turns around and shakes his head before he replies, "No, I finally learned how to recognize them. I just have to carefully look at the wooden chest and see if they are cracked open slightly. If so I can see their teeth if I angle the camera properly. Moreover, wooden chest Mimics will have a latch on the front while normal chests do not."

Then he looks back at the screen and says with a tone full of frustration, "No the problem is that shitty headless snake lady and those green blobs, they keep killing me no matter how much I try!"

Indeed Kamina is playing Dark Souls 2 in my living room, that is because I tricked him into thinking that this game will train his willpower or in his word his fighting spirit, and looking at the scene of Kamina's character as it gets once more surrounded by the green slimes and killed by the boss, I can't help but think, 'Well, I didn't exactly trick him... playing hard games like Dark Souls does makes your willpower stronger, because only those with a strong willpower can still persist despite the many failures they will face playing them.'

But after seeing Kamina failing once more, I decide to give him some tips and say, "That won't do! If you do not burn the windmill in this area, the boss room will always be filled with green slime that will not only poison your character but also heal Mytha as well. Another thing, after setting the blades of the mill aflame, you will also gain access to Jester Thomas as a summon, which can help you out."

Hearing that, Kamina nods and says with an excited tone, "Really!? Thanks!", and as he is about to enter the area where he will find Mytha the Baneful Queen, I remind him once more, "Before the fight, make sure to travel to where the windmill blades are and burn them. This will make the fight easier by draining some of the poison in the boss arena. The arena is typically covered in poison, but when the windmill is burned, the poison will only be on the edge."

Then I add, "Mytha typically attacks with her spear two or three times in a row, before leaving an opening for attack. Wait for the opening and strike once or twice, then prepare for another attack. Listen for screams, which indicate the magic beam attack that fires from her severed head. Finally, try not to stand behind her for too long. This will typically cause her to use her tail attack to grab the player, dealing harsh damage."

And while I'm telling this, Kamina continues to nod as he focuses on the screen in front of him, at the same time, I can't help but notice that he is now starting to unconsciously use his Spiral Power to improve his reflexes, and realize that his control over his Spiral Power is slowly increasing as he plays.

Seeing this, I nod and mutter in a low tone so that I won't distract Kamina from his run, "Take that! All those fools that said that gaming was a useless waste of time! I was always of the idea that used in moderation, gaming brings many advantages, it speeds up response times, encourages teamwork, stimulates creativity, focus, and visual memory, improves strategy and leadership, teaches languages, improves critical thinking, and many other benefits..."

Then I walk away while Kamina loudly yells full of joy for having finally defeated his enemy while thinking, 'Of course, there are still some basic guidelines to follow, such as to not game for too much time, one or two hours at most, more than that harms the body and mind, especially in young children...'

After a quick meal, I move back to the training area of my Soulbound Territory and once again start my training.

I take a deep breath and focus, then I summon a green spinning ball made of Spiral Power and at the same time, I apply the Spin on it, and the change is instantaneous, now the spinning ball of energy is green with traces of gold in it and at the same time, it is surrounded by a golden cloud of energy reminiscent of electrostatic discharge.

Looking at the result of my training until now, I mutter with a grin, "Yes, this is the result of the perfect union between Spin and Spiral Power! A truly infinite self-sustaining form of energy! In fact, if I let the control over this ball go, it will continue to produce more and more energy, in fact, in this state, this small ball is capable of powering my whole villa until the end of times! And the most absurd thing is that to produce it, I didn't even use more than a pickle of my Spiral Power!!"

But then I calm down and dismiss the ball of Spiral Power, and say, "I have to practice with this some more, as I still need a few seconds to use it, something that can be fatal, especially in lightspeed battles where I can exchange millions of planet-destroying blows in less than a second. And after that, I must try to merge all my energies into a superior one... Of course, I have to be careful with that, I don't want to destroy the universe by mistake..."

And so, for the rest of the day, I continue to get familiar with the Spin infused Spiral Power, then in the evening I prepare dinner and eat it with Kamina, and while eating I also tell him about Simon and the other's situation, of course, I avoid going over the specific details of their emotive state, but I don't hide to him the fact that they are still mourning him, especially Yoko and Simon.

Hearing that turns makes his face grim, but as he hears of the meeting between Simon and his future wife and how he saved her and held her hand, a silly grin forms on his face as he mutters, "That's my Ototo! The great Kamina-sama is proud of you!"

Then I tell him about the Dai-Gurren Brigade meeting with Adiane and the revelation of Nia's status as princess and daughter of the Spiral King Lordgenome, something that stuns him for a few seconds before he once again starts to laugh out loud.

After dinner, I retire to my room and jump on the bed to rest and get ready for another day of stalking, I mean, another day of protecting the Dai-Gurren Brigade from the shadow.

Adiane POV - Earth, Teppelin - 1007 AFA-SW

I'm kneeling with my head lowered in front of his majesty, the Spiral King, as he says in a questioning tone because of my recent failure, "Adiane the Elegant escaping from the enemy? What kind of joke is that?"

Hearing that, I quickly reply trying to explain, "Sir! But the cowardly enemy has taken Princess Nia hostage." but he declares, "You fool. I have already abandoned Nia. I don't care about her."

Shocked, I raise my head and repeat, "Abandoned?" then I once again lower my head and continue to try to explain to him the reasons behind my actions, "But... I didn't receive any information about this."

But his majesty ignores that and questions me, "Do you think it's acceptable to speak like that in front of me?" and hearing the clear annoyance in its tone, I quickly reply, "No."

Then his majesty says, "Adiane... Escaping to protect someone who is no longer a princess is a serious crime. How absurd. Hahaha!" which makes me shake in terror and truly fear for my life as his majesty showed many times how ruthless he can be to those that disappoint him.

So I quickly plea lowering my head even more, "Your Majesty, please give me one more chance!" and he asks with a clear warning in his tone, "Ohhh! Are you telling me what to do?"

Again I reply as fast as possible as my life depends on this, "Not at all, your Highness!" making him ask, "Then what?" and I explain, "Sir! To demonstrate my loyalty, I will take the Seyrune, and before sunset tomorrow, I will annihilate the humans, together with Dai-Gunzan, and eliminate Nia."

It seems that his majesty accepted my plea as he says, "Very well." then he adds, "However, you won't get another chance. Go."

Hearing his command, I quickly dismiss myself and start to move toward the hangar where the Seyrune rests.

On my way there, I meet a familiar Beastman with bandages warped on his face to cover the wounds he recently received in the previous battle.

His appearance is more humanoid than most other Beastmen, except for his cat-like eyes, shark-like teeth, and large clawed paws in place of conventional human hands, with short platinum blond hair that reaches to his chin in the front and his shoulders in the back, he is Viral, a subordinate of the late Thymilph.

He wears a brown jacket adorned with shoulder pads and fur collar with matching pants and bandages from his knees down to his simple black pointed shoes, he also keeps with him a large knife, resembling that of a butcher's.

(Image Here - Viral)

As Viral notices my presence, he stands in front of me and greets me, "Adiane-sama." and it is clear that he wants to ask me something.

Looking at him, a strong irritation starts to rise, and I say, "Viral, is it? I heard you received some serious injuries." but he replies, "Not at all. I will be able to return to my unit tomorrow. My inability to protect Thynilph-sama was the greatest failure of my life. So I would like to ask you- Guah!?" but hearing him say that, the irritation has grown even stronger, and I instantly slap him in the face with my tail.

My slap makes him stop and looks at me with confusion in his gaze as he says, "Adiane-sama..." and as if nothing happened, I command, "Go on... I'm listening."

He once again straighten himself and continue from where he left, "The next attack w- Guah!" and I slap him again making him bleed from his nose, "If possible- Yuck!" and again, "I would like- Urg!" and again, "to- Dah!" and again, "accompany- Grah!" and again, "you." and one last time venting all the frustration I feel over Thymilph's death and my recent failure.

Then I yell, "Tymilph was in debt to me for many things. But it no longer means anything now he's dead! Didn't this all happen because you're a coward!?".

Hearing my question, Viral once again raises his head and says, "Th-that's why I want another chance." but I walk past him while saying, "I've already decided to go by myself tomorrow. Go hide in your hole. I will be the one to avenge Thymilph." and once again walk toward the hangar, ready to kill them all once and for all for daring to take Thymilph away from me.

Simon POV - Earth, Gekorn region - 1007 AFA-SW

I'm sitting on the deck of the Dai-Gurren with my head down looking at the floor, in front of me lays the inert Lagann surrounded by some other useless scrap as I continue to question why it doesn't work anymore.

But from the corner of my eye, I notice the figure of a tall man with a well-built physique and spiky blonde hair, that wears a black, sleeveless shirt, black pants, and black shoes, he is Kittan Bachika the only male member of Black Siblings.

(Image Here - Kittan Bachika)

He and his sisters, Kiyoh, Kinon, and Kiyal, are the only survivor of the Bachika Village that was destroyed by a unit of the Beastmen Human Eradication Army under Viral's command, and before joining the Dai-Gurren Brigade, they lived their lives hunting down the Beastmen using oil bombs as their main weapons.

He crouches down next to me and says, "Hey, Simon. I'm giving you an order as Leader. Ask Nia for information about the enemy."

Hearing that, with my gaze still focused on the ground, I ask, "Why me?" but he just says, "Come on, just do it. You're the one that brought her here. Do something. Listen, she's smart, so be prepared."

And so I find myself alone with Nia on the bow area of the deck as she says, "Kittan-san taught me a lot of things. He said my father has been doing a lot of bad things to the people on the surface. Although I don't think my father would do any of that without having a reason. I don't think the people here are bad either."

Still sitting on the ground with my head lowered, I explain what I know to the best of my ability, "It's not like we did anything wrong. The Spiral King is the bad guy. He's the one."

Hearing my words, Nia asks, "Do you hate my father?" and without hesitation I reply, "Of course." then she follows with another question, "Do you hate me too?"

This time, I don't know how to answer her as my feelings are quite complex, so I decide to just tell how I feel, "I don't know about that." this doesn't stop Nia's curiosity as she asks another question, "Then, why do you fight?"

I simply reply with, "I fight because my Aniki did. Because my Aniki believed in me." a few moments of silence fall between us until she calls my name, "Simon." and move my gaze from the ground to her and see that she is smiling at me as she asks, "This "Aniki" person, who is he?"

Hearing her question, I think for a few seconds, then I start to tell her about Aniki, I briefly tell her about our time together at the Giha Village, our various attempts to escape to the surface, our meeting with Yoko and the changes that followed, the adventures and fight against the Beastmen on the surface, then I talked about that dreadful battle where we won at the cost of losing Aniki forever.

After hearing my story, Nia rests her hands on the rails and looks at the scenery in the distance, and says, "I see. In the previous battle..." and lets her words linger.

I nod and confirm it with a simple, "Yes." Nia then says, "So that means everyone hates me. I guess it's only natural." feeling the sadness in her tone I feel the urge within me to comfort her, moreover, every time we fought together I never felt that Aniki was fighting with hate in his heart, and so I say, "Nobody... hates you or anything. I don't think my Aniki was fighting out of hate. I can't say for sure, but... No matter how bad that situation, he'd always be laughing. How can I say this... Aniki was..."

Suddenly I hear Yoko's voice beside me as she finishes my sentence, "An incredible idiot." then she requests, "I want to hear about him as well."

And so I start to tell them that story with a grim and sand tone as even talking about him still hurts me so much that I feel like getting crushed under a pile of rocks, "Long before we met Yoko... there was one time where we tried to escape our village. But along the way, there was an earthquake, and we were trapped."

All of a sudden, Yoko interrupts me as she mutters, "This story..." as if she wants to say something, but then she shakes her head and says, "It's nothing, go on."

Hearing that, I continue my story, "I was afraid that I'd be crushed to death like my parents. But Aniki... He told us to keep going and encouraged us... smiling the whole time. My hand stopped shaking and I started to dig again. Whenever I was digging in a daze, the earth would say, "Try digging here. It's soft." I would just follow that voice and dig until we finally were saved. But if we'd given up back then, we'd all be dead. We were saved... all thanks to Aniki. Aniki didn't give up even at the end. He was always like that. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be able to do anything. That's why I... I have to shoulder Aniki's share and become like him. That's all I can do."

But soon Nia comments catching our attention, "That's wrong." then she spreads her arms and says, "Didn't you come to save me even though you were alone?"

Hearing her question, I try to explain, "That's..." but she doesn't let me and says, "Simon, you'll be fine on your own! Why are you so fixated on this "Aniki" person?"

I look away from her and say, "Why!? Nia... You don't know anything about Aniki." to which she declares ripping my wounds open once more, "I can't know about somebody who isn't here. But, you shouldn't depend on people who aren't here."

I'm about to cry once more when Yoko yells, "There's no way you could understand Simon's feelings, is there!? Nor could you know anything about Kamina!"

And Nia replies, "I may not know anything about his Aniki, but I know Simon. Simon isn't a helpless person, yet he's always fixated on a person that isn't here."

At this point, Yoko grabs Nia from her arms, pulls her closer, and says, " Do you know who you're talking about!? Do you know whose fault it is that Kamina died? And you, you're trying to lecture us!?"

Nia shocked by her outburst quietly says, "I apologize." Yoko realizes that she lost control and lets her go, and starts to walk away, but after taking a few steps she stops and says, "It's just as you say. No amount of sadness is going to bring Kamina back. We understand that. If we forget about him, things might be easier. But still... It's not that easy... to just forget about him, is it!?" then she walks away.

After a few moments of silence, Nia comments, "That person is crying."

I then mutter, "It's not really your fault." and Nia declares with strength in her tone, "I want to know more about all of you."

Jayr POV - Earth, Gekorn region - 1007 AFA-SW

I'm back to stalking, erm, protecting from the shadow of the Dai-Gurren, and just in time to watch all that drama between a still depressed Simon, a curious Nia, and Yoko who pretends to be strong while still being one of the people that is suffering the most.

Seeing all that, I can't help but mutter, "Thank my sexy Goddess that this character growth arc is about to end! When I was young I always hated this part of the story. Well, I still do, but now I also understand the necessity of it. And I have to say that Nia is surprisingly sharp... I had never noticed this when I watched the anime, but seeing it live, it is clear that she is clearly aware of Simon's potential just like Kamina. And she is also trying to bring it out and help him out of his depression, only she lacks experience in this field and ended up hurting both him and Yoko."

Then I take a closer look at her and comment, "Her royal upbringing for sure was no joke, in fact, even from this distance, I can easily tell that she is also trained in martial arts, and her body hides way more power than it seems. In fact, in pure physical power, she is even stronger than Kamina...Huh?"

I stop and focus on the distance as I sense that Adiane is back and is quickly closing into the Dai-Gurren, but this time, she is alone, and so I mutter, "It is finally time for round 2!"