I'm losing myself in here; in this blackness. Its all around me and I can't feel anything... almost anything... I can't see or hear or touch or taste. Its horrible, but there's one bright light that has kept me sane... one thing that's let me endure for so long.

My memories of you.

But my memories are fading now, I can feel myself dissolving into the black sea, becoming just like them. Just like they wanted me to be; I don't wanna be like that. Not again.

Gods I feel so lonely in here, but I won't give up! I remember you, my love, I remember... I remember...

I'm falling apart, the darkness chews away at me a little more each day. Its like a great black ocean beating against a tiny rock, consuming my piece by piece, eroding me.

I can't go on like this.

Help me!

Simon, help me!

_

" Nia!"

Simon snapped back to full alertness in a surge of dream-induced adrenaline. His pulse raced and he gasped as the sweat covered his body. He looked down at the Spiral Matrix, glinting as ever around his neck. He picked it up, like he always did when he was worried or upset or thinking about the past. Nia. He had felt her, this time there was no doubt; no room for the possibility that he'd imagined her. It was Nia. He flashed back to the last time he'd seen her, during his vision whilst his body slumbered in a hospital bed. Until now he'd not even been sure if that was real, or just fevered imaginings. Now, there was no room for doubt.

It was her. Nia. His wife. He felt a surge of hope, rushing through him, such a great boost that the Spiral Grid of the Arc-Gurren pulsed in tune with his emotions, engineers scratched their head in confusion as Simon looked down at the Spiral Matrix, it glinted in the light. Maybe it was just his imagination but it seemed to maintain a slight emerald aura even now. Nia had given him this, it was a solid connection to the past, to the women he loved. Memories of her filled his mind afresh, his bravery at accepting that the defeat of the Anti-Spirals meant her death, her sheer strength of will that had held her form together for a whole week after the fall of those same Anti-Spirals. The keen sense of loss he'd felt in the years after that, but always soothed by the memories she had left behind. He had refused to resurrect her with Spiral Power. He could have; he could have used all his power to rip aside the boundaries between life and death, and lay bare the plain where she had vanished to. He could have invaded Hell itself, if that was what it took, and stolen Nia back from wherever she had gone. But he didn't; it pained him terribly, and he missed her with all his heart but he didn't. In later years, he came to realize that this was the difference between him and his bro. Bro would have done it and to Hell with the consequence. But Simon was a digger and diggers always had to be aware of what they were doing, the slightest misstep could cause a cave-in. Likewise, if he brought Nia back then the rest of the Dai-Gurren Brigade would want him to bring back their lost members, Kittan and the others who died allowing them to reach the Anti-Spiral home-world, and after he did that, then there would be pressure to revive all those who had died in the Anti-Spiral attacks on Earth. Then, if he revived the victims of the Anti-Spirals, why not those who fell fighting the Beastmen? And that was a path he did not want to tread; it was the surest way he could think of to cause Spiral Nemesis. So he'd refused to start the chain, even for the women he loved he would not risk the safety of all beings everywhere. he remembered what he had said to the Anti-Spiral, the words ringing as clear in his mind today as when he'd said them.

''I'll save them both! The girl and the universe!''

He hadn't been able to save Nia. No, he had been able to, but he had chosen not to, though it tore at his heart. Now was he to get another chance? Had something brought her back? Or was she a simple ghost, a memory of the past like Bro had been when he visited them one last time? Help me, Simon. His hand closed around his Core-Drill, its metal form heating up as it channelled his Spiral Power. No, this was real. Nia was real. She needed him now. Like she had before, and he would not fail her.

He surged out of the comfortable armchair he'd been resting in just as Viral entered the door to his quarters.

" Simon, I'm sorry to disturb you but we'll be making contact with the locals in less than fifteen minutes. I thought you'd want to come personally."

" Good thinking, old friend but this time I won't be accompanying you."

He drew his cloak about himself, lifted his sunglasses from a nearby table and paused, " Why do I think some thing's missing...?"

Suddenly, there was a rummaging noise and Boota ran out of a dark corner in the room, the Pigmole was getting slow in his old age, but he still was able to agilely scale Simon's leg and settle on his shoulder. Hmm, thought Simon grinning, just like old times.

" Simon," said Viral, seeing he look on his face, " What're you planning?"

"I'm taking Gurren Lagann out to deep space, I heard Nia, Viral, I think she needs my help."

Simon looked across the room at his friend, expecting some kind of attempt to talk him out of his chosen course of action, but Viral merely stepped aside for him.

" You're a Spiral, of course you heard her. If there was anyone in this whole universe that could help Nia now, its you. We heard you talking to her when you were in hospital. You spoke in your sleep. And when you woke up you had that, Spiral Matrix you called it. Nia give it to you, right? I think that if there's any chance in this universe she could be saved you'd be the one to do it."

" Viral, I-"

" Save it, Simon. I'm a beastman, remember? Lordgenome was my Lord, and King. Nia is the Helix Princess. If she's out there, you'll find her. "

Simon smiled, beaming at his friend, " Thanks, Viral. You're in charge when I'm away."

Viral nodded and then, Simon swept past him, practically running down the corridor to the Ganmen hangers where Gurren Lagann was being kept when not in use. The journy was fast, people stopped to stare but he ignored them, he felt an excitment that he hadn't felt sine he was a kid with bro.

Nia, I'm coming!

Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the shadows, red hair cascading down her back and her rifle slung over her shoulder.

" Going somewhere, Simon?"

"Yoko! Its Nia, I felt her. She needs my help."

Yoko examined Simon's face for a second, almost as if she was looking for any sign of lies or falsehoods, finding none she sighed. "I expected this sooner, ever since you saw her in your dream."

She turned without another word and headed down the corridor. She looked back, seeing a dumbstruck Simon, with a smirk she said, " Didn't think I'd let you go out on your own, did you? After all, we're all that's left of the original Gurren Brigade. Kamina'd never forgive me if I let you go out alone now."

Simon could only smile and gesture for her to lead on.

Demos ducked down behind the cover afforded by the overturned scorpion tank and winced as the impact of bolter rounds tracked his movement. The pain that had constantly flooded his system since the battle was growing as he forced his tired body to act and react with far more force and speed than was good for it.

Weapon, He had to find a weapon. He'd lost his own one earlier and he was too weak and tired to call upon any of his more fatal powers. His head pounded, and not just with pain ether. With the implications of what had happened.

My own brothers have turned upon me once more, he thought, anger growing stronger, straining against the iron bonds of self-control he had spent years perfecting. He looked down at his left hand, the power-armour totally concealed his flesh from view, but he could see through it, down beneath to the ugly scar he bore on his wrist. The last remnants of a wound so deep and ugly that not even an Astartes system could handle it. The last reminder of what once had been, and what never could be again. Hatred coursed through him, a burning hate he had not felt it almost one hundred years. A hate that last time it surfaced, had caused the death of a rival Chapter Master, and the destruction of his entire Chapter.

Of course, he'd known that they had turned against him since his approach, when he had sensed their intent and felt their pathetic attempts at blocking his mental abilities, but to have it spelled out so loudly in the scream of a Bolter brought it all home.

He had been betrayed.

Someone was going to suffer for this.

Like all his kin, Demos knew that the true power of emotions was their innate connection to the Warp; they formed roads, channels through which pure, undiluted psychic power could be summoned and bound. That was why dormant psykers were such a threat to the Imperium of the Corpse-Emperor. If a dormant Psyker became emotionally charged enough to build a stronger connection to the Warp, the resultant surge of power could unleash their slumbering talents. Or it could simply allow a passing Daemon access to their soul. Whatever the case, it was bad for the Imperium. But emotions could also be harnessed, if one had the knowing, they could be used to bolster a failing body.

Like his.

The sound of impacts got softer as Demos felt himself becoming more detached from the world around him, his thoughts came as if from a long distance away, and suddenly, he wasn't worried anymore, he wasn't in pain. His body didn't matter. the pure, undiluted power of the Warp flowed directly into him. It was so easy! He never could understand why none of his battle-brothers bothered to do it - even those who did have the potential. Because it was risky, because every time you did it, you might not be you when it ended. Daemons weren't always allied with the various Chaos Marine factions, and even some of the ones that were wouldn't always resist a nice host body. That wasn't the worst of it ether, but when it all came down to this, when you were a part of the Warp and it was a part of you, then it made things so much more simple. It was worth the risk, worth the fate that he knew would probably one day await him. His powers were growing every day with the grace of Tzeentch, he would one day become a Daemon Prince, or he would become a Spawn. There was no other fate in store for him that he would accept.

The Warp was his home far more than the mundane realm, and one day he would come home for real. A living torrent of Warp Energy, the will of the Change God given form. A Daemon Prince. Everything else was just a delay, a barrier to be broken through and surpassed. Nothing but death would keep him from his goal. The kind of death that was currently offered by his former brothers. That made them a threat, more than their aggression, they were standing in his way. What servant of Tzeentch could allow such a thing to go unpunished?

By now, Demos was so pumped up on Warp energy that he could feel the lives and thoughts of those around him. Without having to leave his cover, he knew that there were six battle-brothers. Three of them touched by the Warp and capable of using their own abilities against his. Three others armed with bolt-pistols and chainswords.

Not for nothing, was Demos a servant of the Chaos God of cunning plans, schemes and generally being a magnificent bastard. He had multiple fall-back plans in case of an event like this, the problem was that he needed to know why they were attacking him before he figured out which of his plans would be the best choice. It would be futile to ask, he knew he would get no answers.

So be it! He would rip the information that he wanted from their cooling bodies!

With a savage roar, Demos stepped free from the cover, at once the bolter rounds tracked him, but he had formed a shield around himself with psychic force, and they could do little more than whittle away at his reserves.

The three Psykers cast their powers against him, a burning spike was driven into his mind, a bolt of soul-snatching lightening hurled at his body, and a freezing numbness invaded his limbs. Against anyone else it would have been an effective assault, but he was a favoured of Tzeentch, sorcerery was his domain.

His very earliest training had been to prioritise targets, that was what he did. Working quickly, he divided his power. Mental barriers slammed down and slowed the assault on his mind, he bullied his muscles into some façade of control and crossed his arms. The lightening struck and inflicted a terrible pain,. Agony, pure and simple, against a human it might even have killed him, but not Demos. He fought back. Suddenly, needles of ice lanced into the attacker and he turned blue, dead before he struck the ground.

All this had taken less than a second, and he felt his shield begin to break down, the combined fire of three bolters too much even for him, he ducked and rolled aside, the shots tracking him, he was too nearly slow. The numbing effect had only been toned down, not banished and it was spreading. He needed to be rid of it before it got him killed.

Rolling into the cover afforded by the burnt-out corpse of an enemy fighting machine, he growled in irritation, the mental strike by his former brother paining him more than he would ever admit; but his attacker was unaware of just how good Demos was. A simple thought, and, for a fraction of a second, he devoted all his power and iron self-control to utterly destroying that marine. He screamed, once, his soul stripped from his body and cast into the terrible currents of the Warp, to be found and toyed with by Daemons or simply to cease existing, Demos didn't care. It was what the traitor deserved. Now alone, the last Psyker's presence retreated from his form, but Demos was ready, letting the powers of the Warp blast through his feeble, mortal form, he reached out, visualizing the retreating tendril of thought before him. It was only a second, it existed for the briefest of times, and any other Psyker might have missed it.

Demos didn't.

The last Psyker toppled, Demos's mind easily slipping between the closing folds of his defences and utterly destroying the portion of his mind capable of sentient thought. His body was still breathing as it fell, but he was as good as dead.

Gathering up his strength, Demos screamed a wordless cry of anger and leapt from cover, falling upon the three Chaos Space Marines like lightening from the sky.

Arkur blurted a series of Scrapecodes into the air, the beautiful chaos of the living code seemed to smoulder before his enhanced eyes, his regarded the Chaos Space Marine standing in front of him.

Typical specimen, measuring at roughly the standard level; armour infused with the powers of the Warp. Spikes jutted from his shoulders and his back, skulls was impaled there, a few bore the blue-coloured helms of Ultramarines. Arkur smiled - or rather, forced the mask of living skin he wore over his true face into a mimic of a smile.

" We are ready." He said at last.

The Chaos Marine smirked, sharpened teeth seemed to drip with blood, he spoke into a personal Vox for a second and then returned his gaze to Arkur.

" We are in position, are your elements ready?"

" We are." Spat Arkur in a cold, emotionless drone, " We answered your call for aid only to find such primitives. I hope for the both of us that this city truly is as powerful as you say."

The Space Marine nodded, " Oh it is. I'll have the bombardment begin and we'll assault in just under fifteen minutes. I shall have my men drop-pod down and capture the agreed staging points. I want you to bring your own forces in through west side and divert attention; while they deal with you we will make a decapitation strike and cruse their ability to co-ordinate forces. Then we shall rally and destroy Lazengann. Is this plan of action acceptable to you?"

Akur ran the plan through his internal Mem-file, but found nothing lacking. Extrapolating the shown powerlevel of these beings, plus their technological level; add in the fact that this was their capital city and would be heavily defended by their crude imitation titans.

" I predict an eighty-two percent chance of victory within the first several hours. That probability than increases by eighteen percent when we assault with group beta. Group gamma will not be needed but at your request, they will assault via the north. Chance of victory: One-hundred percent."

The new Chapter Master, Arnor found himself smirking, "Excellent. This mission will reaffirm the bonds of brotherhood between us and you. If this venture succeeds this world will be yours along with all the relics that it contains. The only thing I need is the head of their leader... I have your full support?"

" The Dark Mechanicum will aid you in this task."

The ground seemed to shake as the bombardment began; long-range guns had been set up last night and were now roaring the displeasure of the Chapter upon the city; entire buildings vanished in a flash of light, rubble covered streets and whole sections of the city became death-zones as thousands perished in the first fifteen minutes of the battle.

Then, with a scream of metal, Drop-pods fell from the sky; AA fire traced them and brought a few down but Kamina city was still recovering from its last siege, the vast majority of them made it through. Soldiers rushed to engage and for a while it seemed that they might hold the line.

Then, the earth began to shake and rumble again, but it was no mere gun barrage this time. The God-Machnes had reached the city boarders, bent and bowed and gnarled with Chaos mutation they nevertheless cut their way through the swarms of Grapearls sent against them, Group Alpha consisted of two Reavers and a Warlord, Group beta was made up of the two surviving Warhounds.

The Grapearls had no defence against the weapons that the titans could bring to bare, each hit was a kill, but likewise, Spiral ammunition chipped away at void shields, and it became clear that nether the titans nor the Space Marines would be able to score a quick victory.

Then, Group Gamma crushed the north section and the whole battle shifted.

Group Gamma was an Imperator titan.

Folger
2010-06-10 . chapter 11

What about the additional lagann-type units that all the cast members appeared in when they lost the gengan toppa form after the final fight? Seems like they'd be a more valuable resource than the death spiral abyss ones.

So, when's Kittan's ghost going to get his lazy ass into gear and help out? I assume you're working on the premise that dying while filled with spiral energy allows for the creation of a spiral-based ghost.

The additional Laganns will be coming into play soon, the problem is that they lack Core-Drills to go along with them - right now they're dormant and unable to be woken. As for Kittan's ghost... he'll be appearing soon, don't worry about that.

Lord of Murder
2010-05-31 . chapter 11

wow im really beginning to hate that coll guy.

That was the idea!

2010-05-30 . chapter 11

great chapter. funny think is if rossiu unleashed all of his spiral he would proabbly kill a lot of the chaos marines. really hope coll gets his dues aka a punch in the face. keep up the good work.

Thanks. Rossiu's still learning to pilot Lazengann, when he's ready you'll see some real action.

Lunatic Pandora1
2010-05-30 . chapter 11

Hmm.. if only Lordgenome could talk with Rossiu a bit more, I could see him becoming a Spiral Warrior in his own right. He always seemed to have a bit of trouble accepting that whole no-defeat-no-surrender attitude that worked so well with everyone else.

And I'm looking forward to seeing what this Spiral 'corruption' is going to do with Demos once he gives up on fighting it

Yes, Demos future will be fun. Well, fun for me. For him it'll be 'orribly painful and confusing. Lordgenome isn't through with Rossiu yet, trust me on this.