(Italicized sections denotes that Simon is either dialoging or thinking to himself. It should be fairly simple to decide which.)
Episode 1: Pierce The Heavens With Your Drill!
Day after day, my only job is to dig.
As we drill, the village grows bigger.
The elder will be pleased, and give me mole-pig steak for dinner.
“So do you dig for the steaks?”
No, not exactly.
“All day long, all I hear is the sound of my drill grinding through the earth. A rough sound on the ears I realize, but the signal of an even rougher job for my lungs. I can barely breathe what will all this dust. But then again… I’m getting sidetracked aren’t I? No I don’t do it just for the steaks, I do it for the… huh?”
The dialogue and the sound of the drill stops as a young, blue haired boy of 14 peers through the rubble. He lifts his red goggles and beings to work through the earth surrounding what he is looking at. He works feverishly, as if his life depends on it. It seems like a difficult task, but he makes it seem so easy. Well, he did say he has been doing this his entire life.
Nonplussed, his face masking all emotion except for some minor surprise, he holds up a small, golden drill. Within it glows a faint red triangle of some form of energy. It is a beautiful trinket, and the boy smiles in wonder.
“Sometimes, you find treasures.”*Cue Intro Song: Sky-Color Days!*
Tengen Toppa: Gurren-Lazengann!
“Drill, drill, DRILL! I can hear him yelling, even from inside the village walls. *Sigh*, that’s the elder alright; he’s probably beating someone with that katana of his right now. But, I don’t exactly care at the moment. I’ve got what I want, and I just want to get out of here now. Oh wait; that’s right, I never told you my name huh? It’s Simon, of Jiiha Village. Which I guess, makes my full name Simon Jiiha. But you can just call me Simon the Digger.”The earth on the outside of a section of the village walls begins to spew dirt and rocks as a drill from within begins penetrate the crust. The digger seems to be drilling at an enormous rate, as the dirt begins to simply pour out from the wall. The village elder and the other diggers stare in amazement as... Simon pops out uneventfully. The other diggers sigh as they return to their work, but the village elder instead turns back dog-faced.
“Hey! Why can’t you dig that well?!”
Simon walks along, admiring his new prize all the while with his head down, until he lifts it to the artificial light to catch it in a better view. His face and body are caked with dirt as into his line of sight appears three youthful girls, all whispering about him; yet not softly enough that he cannot hear.
“Gross, it’s that hole-digger, Simon!”
“Getting smeared in dirt everyday; what could be fun about that?”
“He’s holding something weird, too.”
“Gross!”
“He smells too!”
“Oh, he’s looking at us!”
“Look out; he might drill a hole in you!”
The three girls walk away too laughter as Simon sighs deeply, revealing a deep-set loneliness. He puts his head down once more and walks on, at a slower pace now however.
Unwittingly, his head bumps into a ruggedly muscular abdomen, and looks up to see a smiling, handsome face adorned with orange glasses and with a full head of blue hair. The head is attached to a muscular, tattooed body, which Simon seems to recognize.
“Keep your head up when you walk, Simon!”
“…Kamina!”
The smiling figure, now identified as Kamina of Jiiha Village lifts his glasses, but for only a second. His whole figure brims with charisma and inward strength, as he pats Simon on the shoulder and smiles broader now, reassuringly.
“Not Kamina, call me big bro!”
Simon dejectedly drops his head again, his voice is glum, unaffected by the bright cheerfulness Kamina brings to the dull village.
“I… don’t have any siblings…”
“I look up and he’s still smiling. I don’t understand why he can be so cheerful. Actually… I do. It’s because he’s not a digger, he’s good looking, and everyone likes him. I just don’t get why he has such an interest in me. But it is still nice to have a friend.”A smile creeps onto Simon’s face involuntarily. Kamina’s antics are seemingly having an effect on Simon, and for the better.
“That’s not what I mean! Siblings in spirit, soul brothers! Who cares about what ugly broads say? This thing looks good on you!”
Kamina holds the golden drill that Simon found while digging, and turns it around in the light, admiring it. The faint red triangle of energy glows again while Kamina turns it, but only for a moment. Kamina seems not to notice as he smacks Simon on the back in a gesture of brotherly love as he leads him away.
“Just remember Simon, the drill is your soul!”
As Kamina and Simon walked, Simon kept his head up this time. He was smiling, both inwardly and outwardly. Just being around Kamina made Simon feel better. Perhaps they were “soul brothers.” After all, they both shared the unusual blue head of hair.
“Troops, I’ve returned!” Kamina roared, while obliterating an old rusted lock attached to several decaying lengths of rope. “How go the preparations?”
“Perfect!” a group of three teens called back, giving the thumbs-up without looking.
The sound of squealing mole-pigs is heard in the background as Simon looks up at Kamina apprehensively. The latter has a protective death grip around Simon’s neck as he smiles broadly, picturing in his mind his grand escape to the surface.
“Kamina, wh-what are you going to do?” Simon asked warily, looking up at his brother, holding his golden drill treasure between his hands.
“Listen up, Simon. Your drill doesn’t belong to the elder. It’s all yours!”
“Your drill…”
“IS A DRILL THAT WILL PIERCE THROUGH THE HEAVENS!”
Until Next Time!
Next Episode: Arrival From Above? Let’s Break Through To The Heavens!