[Unknown place; ZHE headquarters]

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[ZWE Headquarters]

Greetings and formalities occur as additional people show up.

Caeyrn looks at the arrancar as he's unveiled. He definitely doesn't look like a Hollow, but looks fairly similar to the Shinigami. Still a spirit.

The actor looks at Demetrio's eyes. He can see — feel, even — the arrancar's emotions. He, fortunately, tells himself that this arrancar is a spirit, and no longer a human. Still, he could see his emotions. He, at least, looks like a man. Caeyrn feels a pang of...some emotion in him. He can't place which emotion it is, whether it's pity or disgust or hatred at himself or hatred at the spirit or hatred at the quincy's methods or some other emotion. It's probably one of those, and it doesn't matter which. Also, his lips feel dry.

The actor wets his lips, and nods to give approval. "That is very ingenious," he says. He doesn't give a value statement, whether it's good or wrong, because Caeyrn himself can't tell whether he'll agree with it or not. If he voices an opinion, he'll surely find out his own. "Effective, too."
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Torahiko greets one of his squadmates, but otherwise stays an observer for now. He knows he's seen Caeyrn somewhere before too, wasn't he in that one movie? He was part of the ZHE? Maybe he was a look alike?

He lets go of the wheelchair and steps back after the doctor frees the "conscript" from their binds, partly for paranoia's sake, but mostly to keep out the spotlight. It wasn't that big a surprise when the occupant started moving. The scientist said something about it being one of those high-level hollows? Wasn't sklaverei one of the highest level powers for the quincies? And it's best use is apparently taming a monster that wasn't even a monster anymore? "So this is what the quincies are really capable of?"

The real surprise was that for a moment there, he had felt a glimmer of hollow energy from Demetrio, with the killing intent to match. Were the chains binding their mind weren't as tight as they could be? Or perhaps they just corrode without direct management on the quincies part? Either way, he makes a mental note to get further insight later.
Adler pats Torahiko on the shoulder. "You'll be seeing a lot more of what we're capable of", he assures, then nods at Caeyrn. "If you'd follow me, please."

While the Doctor stays behind, amusing the crowd by making Demetrio throw cartwheels on command, Caeyrn and Torahiko are lead to a small church built inside the complex. Or, well, "small" is a relative term. It's almost as big as the cathedral where Caeyrn saw Hein Weiswiede's body. The Totenkreuz has been brought here too - Caeyrn and Torahiko can see the battered silver cross hanging on the wall furthest of them, casting its pale blue radiance on all of them.

There's a priest there too, blessing them and offering them bread and wine. Caeyrn feels a slight tine on the back of his left hand - if he looks at it, he'll see a red letter A gleaming on it momentarily, before fading. "The Cross blesses you and grants you the Schrift A for Armor", the priest proclaims. He then beckons to Caeyrn he's free to stand up and leave.

For Torahiko, the experience is less pleasent. The blue light burns his eyes and skin and he feels like something's squirming inside his stomach and head. For a moment, there's a burning sensation at the back of his left hand, and if he turns to look, he'll see, for a brief moment, black outlines of a letter that could be either B or S, but it fades too fast for anyone to be sure.

Fortunately, that's when the sound of a church bell rings through the building, and Adler pats him on the back. "That's it, Mister Tachibana. Time to go outside. The main ceremony is about to begin."

Off they go again, this time out of the main hangar doors. Outside, it's bone-chillingly cold and utterly dark save for lampposts now lighted by the Quincies and a crescent moon hanging overhead. They move out of the rocky canyon familiar to Torahiko, and then, ahead, they can see a giant, ice-covered palace. At this point, they might get the feeling they're not in Kansas Ikari anymore. Or any other place on Earth, for that matter.

"Behold Silbern, the mausoleum of our late Emperor! Welcome to Wandenreich, the invisible kingdom of the Land of Shadows!"