Episode 13

Synopsis
As the Dai-Gurren proceeds through the desert towards Teppelin, Nia finds Simon is resting on the deck. He comments on her new hairstyle, and admits that he likes it, but Nia reveals that she wants to work; she can’t stand not doing anything while everyone else is so busy. Before Simon can suggest anything, Yoko interrupts their conversation to lecture Simon for not eating breakfast again. She feels that eating is part of his job since he’s the only pilot of the Lagann, and that gives Nia an idea about what she can do: cook. She heads to the kitchen and starts cooking for the eager crew, but before they can eat, the ship’s warning alarms go off.

Within Dai-Gurren's bridge, Kinon reports that the enemy appears to be in the sky. Dayakka is skeptical, but the readings don't lie; Supreme General Cytomander has arrived. From his flying aircraft carrier, the Dai-Gunten, he launches a fleet of bomber and airplane Gunmen into battle. The Dai-Gurren crew prepares to fight, but since Rossiu happens to be sick from an unknown cause, Yoko decides to pilot Gurren. Inside the cockpit, however, she notices the Gurren Brigade symbol on the seat and is reminded of Kamina. Boota helps her move forward, and the Gurren quickly accepts her as its pilot.

Outside, Kittan demands that the flying Gunmen come and meet his own mecha head on, but only recieves a salvo of missiles for his trouble. Kiyal is equally eager for battle, but quickly has to retreat when an enemy slices off the lower turrets of Dai-Gurren (narrowly missing her and her sister). Before Attenborough can return fire, owl-like robots take out Dai-Gurren's turrets with clusters of bombs. Watching the carnage and reflecting on his comrades' failures, Cytomander gleefully wonders if he’s too strong for the humans.

In order to take the fight to the Beastmen, Simon has the Dai-Gurren throw the Gurren Lagann into the air. From there, he uses long, thin drills to swing from bomber to bomber, destroying each one in the process. One of the planes manages to dodge the drill and dives at the Gurren Lagann, but Simon avoids it and sends drills out the back of the Gurren Lagann to impale the aircraft. Yoko then alerts Simon to the fact that they can combine with it, giving Gurren Lagann the ability to fly on its own.

With Gurren Lagann occupying the bombers, the rest of Team Dai-Gurren opens fire, intensifying the battle. Gurren Lagann continues to fly towards Dai-Gunten, but the Enkidu, now sporting a flight engine of its own, joins the fray. Simon recognizes the vengeful Viral, but has difficulty fighting back, as he is still new to flying. Yoko opens Gurren's cockpit and fires her gun directly at Viral, who retaliates by punching the Gurren Lagann in the chest, sending her into free fall. Simon rushes to catch her, but crashes into the Dai-Gunten, with Viral following close behind.

Inside the Dai-Gunten, Simon checks on Yoko. She’s still alive and talking, but she has clearly hurt her arm. The Enkidu soon lands beside them, Viral demanding to know where Kamina is. When Simon reveals that Kamina is dead, Viral is shocked and enraged that he’s been losing to Simon ever since the loss of Dai-Gunzan. After giving Viral his name, Simon heads off to fight by himself, vowing to protect Yoko. The subsequent battle damages the Dai-Gunten's innards, incurring Cytomander's wrath.

The Enkidu is still unable to best the Gurren Lagann, causing Viral to question why he’s losing to a human child. Watching the fight, Yoko sees that Simon really can fight by himself like he always said he can. Suddenly, Cytomander intervenes, pinning Yoko to the wall with his Shuzack mecha. With Yoko trapped, Simon is unable to do anything. Cytomander orders Viral to finish off the helpless Gurren Lagann, but Simon scoffs, asking Viral where his honor has gone. Realizing that Simon is right, Viral puts away the Enkidu’s weapon, which enrages Cytomander further still.

Meanwhile, the team is pushing the Dai-Gurren to the point where it can run up the side of a rock structure and jump right at the Dai-Gunten. The Dai-Gurren manages to land several devastating kicks, one of which causes an explosion that unbalances Cytomander’s Shuzack. Simon takes the opportunity to grab Yoko and escape, while Viral catches the Shuzack, even as Cytomander threatens to make him pay for his previous actions.

Outside, Leeron notices that their attack dislodged one of Dai-Gunten's levispheres, and has the Dai-Gurren grab it so that it can land safely. Now on the ground, Simon watches the (damaged but still air-worthy) Dai-Gunten retreat, and Yoko stares wide-eyed at him. Eventually, she asks him if he knew that she liked Kamina, and he confirms that he did.

In the aftermath, Nia visits Yoko in the infirmary. Hearing Simon’s stomach growling, she suggests that he come and eat with the others. Moments after the pair leave, Rossiu suddenly bursts out of his infirmary bed and rushes to the bathroom. Afterwards, he reveals the reason for his illness-Nia’s cooking! He had tried some-and found it repulsive-but couldn't work up the heart to tell her the truth, since she looked so happy making it.

Leeron and Yoko suddenly realize that the rest of the crew is about to taste that very same cooking, but it’s already too late. The mess hall is filled with groaning, sickened crewmen-except for Simon and Boota, who even find it delicious.

Meanwhile, Viral is brought before the Spiral King by Cytomander, who requests the right to execute him for his insubordination. Viral accepts his fate, but before his death, he makes a last request of the King. Desperately, Viral asks the question that gnawed at him ever since Simon revealed Kamina's death: are humans really inferior beings compared to beastmen, and what exactly are they?

Impassively, the Spiral King dismisses Cytomander and takes Viral to a room where the walls and floor are lined with beastmen in capsules. He then explains that beastmen are imperfect beings; in order to preserve their powerful bodies, they have to go into a stasis-like sleep. Cell revival is essential-wake them forcibly, and the entire body’s cells would undergo necrosis. Amazed, Viral questions why the Spiral King created the beastmen with such bodies. The lord of Teppelin responds by creating a small model of a drill in his hand, and he asks if Viral really wants to know what humans are.

Apprehensive yet determined, Viral whispers: "Yes".

Major events

 * Gurren Lagann gains the ability to fly.
 * Viral learns of Kamina's death.
 * Dai-Gurren damages the Dai-Gunten, also stealing a piece of technology that will allow it to fly as well.
 * Nia becomes Team Dai-Gurren's cook-but only Simon and Boota can eat her food.

Eyecatchers
Pre Commercial: Boota sitting in Yoko's breast, pointing at an airborne Gurren Lagann.

After Commercial: A dramatic shot of Cytomander.

Trivia

 * This episode features the fourth use of Lagann's integration ability in the series, when Gurren Lagann hijacks a bomber-like Gunmen and turns it into a winged flight pack.
 * The bombs dropped by the owl-like Gunmen resemble Bullet Bills, an enemy in the Super Mario Bros. series of games.
 * A character resembling Squidward from the Nickelodeon show SpongeBob SquarePants makes a small cameo as one of the crew members of the Dai Gunkai.Tengen_toppa_gurren_lagann_squidward_cameo.png