Good morning, noon, evening, or whatever time of day it is when you read this. Now, I'll first adress a few things. First, if you haven't watched TTGL, then don't read this. I kept Kamina's fate vague in the summary for a reason. Second, thank you for spending your time reading this! And third, if you read my other crossover and found this, congrats! You win the game! Now then, this would be the part where I answer reviews but, ya know…

Let's just get straight to it! Now then…action!

AN, Take two: So as you may have noticed, I haven't posted any new chapters for a while. I could chalk it up to me trying to learn how to better write a story over the last few months, but that'd be a pile of bullshit, and we all know it. While I have taken the occasional day to watch/read about writing a good story, it by no means was enough of a strain on my schedule to stop writing. So here's the thing. I almost entirely forgot my thought processes whilst writing this story, and I didn't keep any notes. To get back into the mix of things, I will go over every single chapter and update it to more suit my current style/iron out any mistakes/make it more readable. That sums everything up, so I won't keep ya. Enjoy!

The valley, rocked by the thunderous explosions of mechas and cannonshots that laid it to waste, was suddenly silenced by two souls crying out.

„JUST WHO…"

„…IN THE HELL…"

"…DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!"

The volcano overlooking the battlefield started erupting again, colouring the entire sky a bombastic red, perfectly befitting the explosive nature of the Dai-Gurren Brigade. The fire in the sky reflected off of its leader's dented mecha, the drill that would open their path to tomorrow, Gurren Lagann. Over the course of this long battle, both Gurren and Lagann had sustained quite a bit of damage, so even with the self-repairing that Gurren Lagann possessed, the wear and tear was clearly visible in the light of the eruption. You see, Gurren Lagann was a very special mech indeed; it was the result of the combining fighting spirits of a boy who had yet to become a man, and a man with an unwavering belief in his younger brother.

The biggest difference in the two mecha was their size: Gurren easily towered over any human, whilst Lagann barely reached up to an adults' chest. Then again, one would be amiss in claiming any sort of similarity between the two: Gurren was a demonic, grinning face with arms, legs, and giant swords welded together to look like its pilot's shades, yet it went without a head. Lagann, being basically a head, filled that gap. It, too, had a face on the front, however, this one looked much more humanoid than Gurren, and unlike the other, this mech did not let you enter through its mouth, but through a hatch on the top of the head. But the unlikely pair shared one common trait: their fiery red plating, oozing the fiery soul of their pilots.

Once the two Ganmen combined, they took on a more complete form; Simon, the pilot of Lagann, the smaller and smarter of the two, took the place of the head. Kamina, on the other hand, the loudmouth and leader of the Dai-Gurren Brigade, the one doing all the heavy lifting, took his place inside Gurren, the body of humanity's hope that was Gurren Lagann.

Their union did not just complete them, it also allowed the other to shine even more; once Lagann drilled into Gurren, the latter's limbs would grow longer and broader, and Lagann would receive the helmet of a true soldier. Even if that true soldier was currently trying to kill them to get it back. The helmet looked similar to those of samurai, with an added green light in the middle of the two adornments on its head. And what is probably the least important, their power increased – by how much, the sky itself was not even the limit (according to Kamina). However, this mighty mecha was entirely surrounded by the enemy, and even with the pilots at their current peak, the odds were bleak.

"You idiots, don't just stand around! Get them!" the enemy general yelled, pointing at them as dozens of enemy mecha jumped at them. This would be an easy battle, impossible to win by the humans. At least, that's what the general thought, grinning in his Ganmen. After all, he had split the leader's Ganmen apart from behind with his mecha's glaive, and judging from the screams, he had hit the man inside as well, likely splitting him in half. His death was imminent, and a single bewildered boy wouldn't be able to stand up to his army.

"Get out of my way, you stupid punks!"

And just like that, the whole army was destroyed in a flash. Gurren Lagann created dozens of drills all over its body, extending them to stab through every last of their enemies in sight. Then, all of the silver drills retracted, and every one of his lackeys went up in flames, coating the land with even more blasts and sending thunder toward the ashen sky. The last mech standing was Gurren Lagann, and even though no one on either side of the battle could tell, their leader was at his limit. His comrades were cheering for him as they resumed fighting with new vigour, and their enemy was thrown into disarray by the sudden display of strength.

Things looked up for them now, but Kamina knew this wouldn't last. He would die because of his wounds. But he would not get put out like a campfire. No, he would take that general with him, in a giant eruption of his soul. Yeah, just like that, he thought as the volcano spewed forth bright chunks of molten rock, burying an unfortunate beastman. His eyes set themselves on the general, who started panicking, the fear evident in his voice.

"S-stay back! Condemn Glaize!" he yelled, shooting a glowing beam from his mech's glaive racing toward Gurren Lagann with a frightening velocity. However, Kamina was not scared at all. He would not give in. Never.

"It cannot break this hand!" he shouted, smashing Gurren Lagann's palm into the light, deflecting it high into the sky, leaving no trace of damage after it dissipated. This resulted in the general's jaw slacking and his arms shaking as he stuttered out a fearful "Impossible…!" at the sight of this power. Meanwhile, Kamina felt himself starting to get dizzy. It seemed that he had lost too much blood. He kept his grin as he thought of his hot- and redheaded lover.

"I'm sorry, Yoko. It seems like I won't be able to pay you back, like I promised." He thought, before addressing his little brother a few feet above him. "Simon, never forget this. Believe in yourself. Not in me, who believes in you. Not in yourself, who believes in me."

"Bro? What are you talking about…?" came the static answer from the communication system, unsure of what to make of his words.

"Believe in you, who believes in himself. Let's end this." He spoke with utmost confidence, even as the blood spilled from his grin. He lifted his head, and with a slight green glow in his eyes, he stared at his final opponent, who was still unable to grasp the fact that his attack and minions were but a speed bump for the mighty Kamina. Heh, as if he could even grasp what their power truly was. As long as he didn't understand the why the Dai-Gurren Brigade fought so recklessly, there was no way he would ever beat them.

"FINISHING MOVE!" he yelled with all the spirit that he could muster, ripping off Gurren's glasses from its face and throwing them straight at the beastman general. Still in the air, they split into two identical copies, and hit the enemy's arms and legs, making him fly into the air and effectively immobilizing him. He was stuck in a way that his shady silhouette resembled a star.

"Heh, piercing the heavens…Simon, I'll leave that to you. But at the very least, let me borrow your drill to pierce this bastard…!" He thought, before coughing again, spilling more blood into Gurren. "I should wrap this up quickly."

He lifted Gurren's arm into the air, making all drills on the mech's body disappear, before a huge drill was formed on the hand currently pointing at the sky.

"GIGA…" It seemed to inflate itself by a huge margin.

"DRILL…" It grew again, now bigger than the mecha itself. He heaved it in front of Gurren Lagann, giving it a good spin with his free hand. His eyes were glowing more and more, now looking like a green traffic light at this point. Fitting, seeing as it was time to go. He silently thanked his little brother for letting him borrow his drill, and made the mecha leap.

"BREAK!" he screamed, his mind tuning out the pain and shutting off all thought processes. It only focused on carving a hole into this motherfucker. The mech seemed to disappear, being replaced by pure green energy that pushed the drill ever closer toward its destination, that destination being the star-shaped mech tied into the sky. Nay, it would go beyond him. It would not stop for him.

The drill was slightly wobbly as it shot upward, but that was to be expected. After all, Kamina had only borrowed it from his younger brother. However, when it did hit, there was no problem. It pierced through the metal plating, tearing the beastman inside to shreds, whose last, screamed words were silenced by another, weakened eruption of the volcano. Gurren Lagann landed on the ground, the drill shrinking back into its arm, and for a split second, time seemed to be standing still as the shades returned to their rightful place.

The second they did, the enemy Ganmen blew up with a loud, gigantic explosion, allowing our hero to finally let out his last, ragged breaths. He had done it. Now, the Dai-Gurren Brigade would…would…

He couldn't think straight anymore. He let go of the controls, and held up his upper body by placing his elbows on his legs to be somewhat comfortable in his death. His breathing was highly irregular now; he had but seconds to live now, so to make the most of them, he smiled as he spoke.

"…farewell...comrades…" he uttered. He vaguely heard Simon ask something, even more fearful than usual, although the meaning of his words eluded him. Everything went black. He couldn't see, let alone speak or hear anything now. He was as good as dead.

Then, all of a sudden, a tiny, squeaky voice called out. Hopefully it was just his imagination, but after the second repeat, he begrudgingly had to admit it to be real. He couldn't exactly understand what it said either, but it constantly got louder with each repeat. The one thing he did understand was the feeling of annoyance the voice created. Couldn't a man die in peace? He could at this point tell that it was a girl calling him, albeit the content of what she was saying still eluded him. Her nagging tone did nothing to make this easier.

Then, from a moment to the next, his vision turned completely green. It felt like he was falling from a ridiculous height, air blowing past him at incredible speed. Naturally, with his large wound, if it could even be called that, that hurt like hell. He nearly bit his tongue off due to the pain. Then, just as the pain got completely unbearable, he felt the fall stop. He was lying on the ground now, but not the ground he was used to. Unlike the hard, rocky soil of the wastes he wandered with his comrades, this felt...different. He couldn't tell exactly what that difference was, as his skin had gone completely numb at this point.

He heard voices cry out, and one of them seemed vaguely familiar. Oh yeah, there was that squeaky one again. Oh well. It's not like he cared all too much anyway. He let out a final, raspy breath before blacking out.

Louise Françoise la Blanc de la Vallière was in a rather foul mood today. Not only had she been unable to get a single wink of sleep the night before, but when she did manage to crawl out of bed and out of her room, she had been greeted by the person she wanted to see the least. Stupid Zerbst.

Then, after what felt like half an eternity of mockery, which she naturally reacted to with her usual cold comments, she had breakfast, thankfully without that cow continuing to follow her around, but a senior student's familiar decided that it would be a great idea, nay, a fantastic idea to jump right into her meal and wallow in it like a pig would in mud. Of course, after said student gave the fakest of apologies, she went back to her room to change. And of course, who else but Zerbst would decide it to be a good idea to follow her around and give her "helpful advice" to avoid being covered in soup and juice.

Having gotten used to it, she kept her composure against all odds, and entered her room silently without ever raising her voice. Like hell would she give in to this barbarian's pathetic attempts of provocation. After all, she was a daughter of the Heavy Wind, and lived by the Rule of Steel. Never give in. Never lose face. And, most important of all, act honourably at all times, at all costs. And so, after she got dressed again and left her dirty clothes in a basket to clean up, she checked her clock. It seems as if she still had some time before that class. So, she did the only thing she could think of.

Studying. Both incantations were replayed as often as was humanly possible in her head, like a broken cassette tape, she didn't even need to check the textbook (which she still did, just to be absolutely certain). She got them stuck in her head months ago; saying that she'd been preparing for this a long time in advance would be an understatement. Yet, even though she was certain to be completely ready, Louise couldn't help but feel anxious. She started pacing around the room, thoughts of possible scenarios flying through her head.

"What if I fail, just like usual? What if it just blows up, like usual?! What if the familiar I summon is…!" she stopped thinking and slapped her cheeks, making them go as red as her eyes. Shaking her head, she made it clear to herself that there was neither time nor use for these insecurities. Going into this, she would need confidence. And as she shot a glance at her mirror, she realized that her appearance did not match that confidence.

She had black rings under her eyes, her pink hair was messy in places, and her red pupils were surrounded by reddened eyes. This would not do. At all. She went to her desk, and opened a drawer, which contained a whip and a comb. Louise glanced at a corner of the room, in which some hay had been strewn about. Hopefully whatever sort of beast she summoned would be obedient enough that she would not need this.

After she had done her hair and covered the black rings, she put everything back where it was meant to be. The comb in the second drawer from the top, and the powder, together with the brush in the pouch on her right. She took another look at herself. Looking presentable now, she felt pleased at having managed to hide the effects of stress this good. Never lose face.

Checking the clock, Louise realized her time was almost up. After repeating the mantra in her head, she stood up and grabbed a clean cape, sliding her wand in its pocket as she put it on. A noble should never be late for anything, including classes, obviously, so she got a move on. As she walked through the maze that was the Academy, trying to avoid any hallway that she could hear that cow Zerbst from. Weirdly enough, that included any hallway she thought of taking, as if that haughty laugh could find her anywhere to taunt her.

But in the end, Louise reached the courtyard without ever running into her arch nemesis. She spotted her teacher, a 40-ish year old, balding man who wore purple robes and a small pair of round glasses who went by the name of Jean Colbert. He was waiting for the class to show up, but as it seemed, she was the first to arrive. She made her way over to him, ignoring the sneers of her peers. When she was but a few steps away from him, he noticed her, and gave a friendly wave, though it did nothing to hide the concern his eyes were all but oozing.

Louise knew why. He had warned her many a time before. If she didn't nail this test, she was out. She needed to succeed, or she would no longer be considered a noble, no longer have a reason to live. The shame would be unbearable, let alone when facing her family. A certain person came to mind as Louise steeled herself. She could not let her down.

Despite the pressure she was under, which only got worse because of his pity for her, she actually liked Mister Colbert. He was quite understanding when it came to her…"condition", and treated her like everyone else. And besides that, he had enough respect for her theoretical prowess when it came to magic that he allowed her to pass the first year here, even with her abysmal scores with the practical side. Although he did lack a spine, she couldn't blame him. After six months of trying to get the entire school to stop making a mockery of her, anyone would give up. Also, he always came up with really weird stuff, like explaining how one might be able to improve their spells by adhering to some weird rules.

"Physics" is what he called them,his favourite to explain being the "law of conservation of energy". It was odd, really, how he always seemed to come up with these bizarre theories. And yet, if kept in theory, they made sense. If you don't supply the energy of a spell all by yourself and are aided by the circumstances, i.e. you have water nearby to manipulate and don't have to create it first, then obviously you need less willpower to pull it off. Yet, due to their very weirdness, he had been denied funds repeatedly by the Royal Institute of Magical Research for practical pursuits of his ideas.

But this was irrelevant. They had a small chat about the weather before they fell silent again, awkwardness filling the air, and idle thoughts Louise's mind. Both quickly dissipated when someone started boisterously laughing as they entered the courtyard. "Zerbst" , Louise thought, and she was right. The big-breasted germanian girl walked up to them, and, paying no attention to the teacher, started teasing Louise, calling her the usual names. Zero, Failure, Flattie, she'd heard them all before.

She stood fast, and soon enough, the tanned girl got bored of her stoically cold responses and returned to her friends, who made their own comments about the pink haired girl, which were just the same degrading cr- no, Rule of Steel. Louise calmed herself, and just waited for the rest of the students to arrive. She could feel the pitying gaze of her teacher, but ignored it. Seeing it would only worsen her mood.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Mister Colbert cleared his throat and announced that the rituals could now begin. So, everyone went in line to summon their familiar. To be frank, Louise was rather excited to see her classmates play the familiar lottery (and hopefully get absolutely horrible results). Some students got amazing familiars, such as Tabitha, a rather quiet, but brilliant girl, who got a freaking dragon (which Louise didn't mind, this girl was the only one smaller than her and didn't try to drag her reputation through the mud)! And, much to the Vallière's chagrin, her arch nemesis got a fire salamander, an animal on the brink of extinction, known for its incredible power for its size, being able to pull an adult up a mountain with little effort. Of course, there was also the fire breath. Of course Zerbst would be lucky like that. Others got familiars that were about as plain and run-of-the-mill as it got, like Montmorency, a blonde friend of Zerbst's, and she got a frog. Just a regular old frog. Nothing special about it. Even if she did put a bow on it.

Her fiancé, Guiche, also got an amazing familiar. It practically floored Montmorency after appearing, going for their engagement ring. It was a giant mole, known for their great appetite for jewelry. Now, weirdly enough, he was not disappointed or angry at his obvious misfortune in the lottery. A mole was an incredibly difficult animal to keep because of its gourmet taste, but, apparently unperturbed after getting it off his fiancée, he immediately hugged that thing and named it Verdandi at some point during the cuddling. Funnily enough, judging from that jealous look, that was more love than he'd ever shown Montmorency. It was enough to make Louise let out a small mirthful giggle, even though she knew that she would go through Hell in just a second.

"Alright, has everyone conducted the ritual yet?" asked Mister Colbert, adjusting his glasses, even though he knew the answer. "No sir, the Zero hasn't failed yet!" that blasted Zerbst yelled, making every student laugh as Louise made her way through them to the middle of the courtyard. She ignored the jeering as much as possible, and whipped out her wand. Mister Colbert nodded, and gave his okay after making everyone take a few steps back. She knew that it was just a precaution, but it still hurt.

"Rule of Steel, Louise. Rule of Steel." She thought to herself, before waving her wand, and just starting the incantation.

"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call! Answer to my guidance and appear!" She cried with all her hopes, dreams, and worries laced into this spell. She heard someone make a remark about how this wasn't how the incantation actually went, and it was true. She had spun it a bit differently to suit her tastes a bit more, but the spell would still work.

Definitely.

Except that it blew up in her face, as usual.

"Man, leave it to the Zero to cause an explosion with something as simple as 'Summon Familiar'!" Zerbst yelled over the debris settling, causing everyone else to start chanting the word 'Zero' over and over again. And again. And again. She fell to her knees. Just make it stop. She held her ears shut. "SHUT UP!" she screamed in her mind. Even in despair, she refused to break the Rule of Steel. But it wouldn't matter. She would still be married off to some low-class pig for sure now.

As she pondered just how bleak her future was, something touched her knee. It felt warm, and quite liquid. She slowly opened her eyes. Her pupils widened considerably as they took in the sight. The grass was stained with fresh blood. She looked into the dust cloud, and her jaw slacked, feeling the urge to vomit rise up. While the others were still chanting their mockeries, Mr Colbert noticed that something was amiss, and ran forward. Slowly, as the situation sunk in, they stopped chanting one by one, and once the smoke had cleared, they realized why Louise had started vomiting. Some of them did too.

"Someone get the healer over here!" Mr Colbert yelled. For in the grass right in front of Louise, was a young man with blue hair, split cleanly in half, guts spilled all over the ground. He was quickly brought to the healer's office, although no one doubted he would die soon, despite the healer's desperate work to keep him alive. Rumours soon spread that he ended up like that due to the explosion, but Louise would hear none of them in her absence. For she was by the side of her would-be familiar, day in and day out, having blacked out after she saw the man's injuries, and was promptly placed in the bed next to him. And so, nearly a week passed before one of them opened their eyes…

Well, that's a wrap! Let me know what you thought of it, if you would be so inclined. Anyways, don't expect this to be updated very frequently. I am in my last year of school, and I have another crossover that is far from finished. But anyway, we'll see just who woke up first in the next chapter! And this is where I say…bye!