[Bitp:R] Hueco Mundo 2

[Frozen_Feet]

[Endless Void]

Alarmed, Lalita hops backwards as Pico throws his sword at him. Distance between them plays in his favor - the bandage has to extend all the way to have hope of catching him and its reach stops just shy of hitting the Fraccion. Smirking, Lalita creates another orb before his finger, this time aiming it at the bandage, hoping to sever it - how embarrassing would it be for an Espada to lose his sword into the Void!

Lalita doesn't let his hopes too high, however. Considering Decima could shoot forth to close the distance at any moment, he quickly reaches for his right earring and rips it off; it grows into a proper wind wheel in the blink of an eye. Creating another foothold out of the rampant energies, Lalita jumps backwards, deeper down into the darkness, one eye fixed on Pico while the other observes rapidly shrinking forms of Caiphus and Cecilia.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva's Tower

A trickle of fear pierces Talon's expression. She does a damn good job of hiding it, though, as she manages a just barely arrogant push of speech. "Y-you... w-wouldn't d-dare..."

"WOULDN'T AH?!" comes the growl as dangerous pressure is felt, pressure that could snap the draconian Privaron's neck if it got any stronger as air is cut off once more. Squeezed tighter then Talon likely thinks that Genoveva could squeeze without killing her, sharpened teeth bared in a snarl. "Ah murdered da former Primera on mah first day in Las Noches! Da next Ah challenged Von Geister for dominance of dis shatty place! Ah ran dozens of hollows an' arrancar out of der homes just ta build mah home and killed the mewling weaklings when de dared petition mah to protect dem from bigger fish! Every challenger to mah position 'as died alone an' afraid in da dark, an' ya think Ah wouldn't dare to strangle an arrogant wittle pissant with ego FAR above her pathetic station who dinks to insult meh in mah own bedroom?! Let mah show you 'hat Ah dare to do Dull Blade..."

The tight grip remains even as Genoveva raises up her other hand, that slowly begins to gather blood red light into the center of it. A freakin' Cero! But it was charging slowly and the Primera's tight grip loosens just the tiniest bit to allow Talon to speak...or beg not to die, which ever came first. Unless Talon convinces the Primera of her worth by the time the cero finished...

"You? An ally? Allies need ta be useful, someting ya gave up on bein' to mah when ya refused Edward's offer to patron ya in mah games to put yer massive boy-toy back in 'is place. By all means share dou, how could ya be an ally? Tick tock Talon, dat's da sound of yer life runnin' out..." Tick tock, every second that orb is getting brighter and larger...

[strawberryman]

[Genoveva's Tower]

"I'm... n-not here... t-to challenge... you!" Talon musters as large an exclamation to Genoveva as she can.

"I... j-just want... t-to know... what you were... up t-t-to. ...S-so I c-can... g-get in... on it!" She coughs and chokes for a moment, mustering as much of an empathic look as possible for her. "I'll d-d-o what... you request... b-but I c-c-can't help if... you k-k-kill me..."

[Kuroimaken]

Rouga senses he's missing something that's almost... exciting, for his weird standards. But right now he has to contend with a pretty pissed off Fraccion.

It's a good thing he was slow to anger.

"You probably shouldn't go so close into my personal space if you're not ready for your first kiss, toots." He says in a tone slightly remniscent of a madman. Rouga licks his lips slightly to get his point across. Hopefully she'd get the message.

"You do realize that kid down there is in more hot water than a lobster ready for dinner? I could actually go out there to help him, probably... but you need to not jab into my face if you want me to actually have an interest in doing that.

Though at this point I'm not sure how much good that will do.

I might need a little kiss to smooth this one over."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva

"Ah don't make requests Talon. Ya beder learn dat fact right quick if ya intend ta be useful. Ah say 'jump', you say 'how high'. Ah say kill, ya say 'how many'. Ah say 'die' and you frakkin' die. Capiche?" Genoveva says evenly, but there was no maniacal grin on her face nor did her frown disappear either...or the cero, "Ah haf no use fer an ally who doesn't do wat she's told when she's told."

Another fraction of an inch release in pressure on Talon's throat, even as Genoveva pushes against her even more powerfully to continue to bend Talon backwards over the ruined hole in the wall.

"Am Ah clear Talon? Until ya prove otherwise, yer less den dirt in mah eyes, dirt dat should feel lucky dat Ah don't do Las Noches a favor and put ya out of yer misery.." Sweet, sweet air then as Genoveva releases her vice-grip and lets Talon's back return to an almost normal shape, though she doesn't let go of the other's throat...or stop charging the cero either.

================================================== =====

Amada

Amada didn't take another's points! She made her own!...Which in this case was the reminder that Pico was fighting and that, by staying her to argue with Rouga, she was shirking her duty to help him out...thus denying her the chance to move up through Las Noches' societal structure.

"...Dammit! This isn't over between us, you big buffon!" Amada hollered as a garganta opens up behind her and she steps through, pulling her pick from her belt. Once in the endless void...well...there's nothing there. Nothing to obstruct reiatsu sensing abilities, but also a whole bunch of empty space to search as well. Considering the fact Pico might be in literal danger, the moment she senses any reiatsu, she begins to drift towards it at her top, non sonido, speed which...wasn't particularly fast.

But she'd be damned to not help out her employer in getting rid of that nosy miko-arrancar-thingy!

[strawberryman]

[Genoveva's Tower]

This was outrageous. Talon wasn't some lap dog to be told to fetch.

...However, given her situation, it gives her very little choice. She grits her teeth, and nods reluctantly. Her eyes deceive the utter hatred boiling inside her even as she submits herself to her superior.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva

Finally the light from Genoveva's cero begins to dwindle until finally it disappears completely, the Primera roughly pulling Talon back up into a standing position before releasing her throat. As could be expected, she'd left a hand-shaped bruise on the draconian arrancar's slender throat and there wasn't so much as a drop of remorse in the Primera's squint-eyed gaze.

"Don't take mah fer a fool either Talon. Ah know ya and Ah know ya want to slide a knife 'tween mah ribs. An any time ya feel ya got the gumption to try, Ah'll be right here." Genoveva promises as her malicious grin finally returns, it was almost a relief after the cold menace from before, "Now why ya wan' in on what Ah'm doin'? Ya don't even know what it is."

[strawberryman]

[Genoveva's Tower]

Talon doesn't rub her neck. In fact, she goes right back to her assertive, aloof stance as she looks on Genoveva. "...What arrancar wouldn't? If you were causing destruction for the Shinigami, which it was obvious even without your confirmation that you were, then it would prove interesting enough and of possible benefit to me." She did not elaborate on how.

Her eyes narrow. "Were you really alone, though? Merely testing our rivals seems a waste. Von Geister has been around for longer than any, he could tell us the strength of the shinigami himself."

[Kuroimaken]

Rouga would've stopped her, but she was just too freakin' amusing.

"Ah well. I DO owe the guy a drink. Might as well make sure he's alive to drink it."

One convenient thing about Rouga's Reiatsu sense is that it extended beyond the regular means. Relying on something as intaginble as a twinge didn't feel right to him. The advantage of using a physical sense like smell is that it was more instinctual.

That, and Reiatsu in scent form left a trail he could follow.

Feeling it up to the place where they'd initially shunted themselves through, Rouga opened up a Garganta and started sniffing. He was unlikely to make it to the spot in short notice, but since the Void had no wind nor any other element to eliminate the scent trail, he would still be more efficient at it than Amada (for a given definition of "efficient" anyway).

[Terry576]

Caiphus' eyes widen as Pico fires Ceros at the two. Had the man lost his mind completely? To attack the lady Cecilia directly; the only possible reason would be insanity, temporary or permanent. He started moving as soon as he saw the blasts approaching.

In a flash, he vanished and reappeared in front of Cecilia, taking the brunt of the blast himself while protecting Cecilia from the blast. When the light from the Cero dissipated, Caiphus still stood, with only a few burns and a torn shirt to show for his troubles. And those were already regenerating, except for the shirt.

"You were a fool to attack the lady Cecilia." Caiphus said in a low voice. They had a significant lead on them, but it wouldn't be impossible to catch them. Just difficult. "Shall we give chase, my lady?"

Cecilia shakes her head, grinning.

"No, we need to leave Pico alone so he can have his LOVE SPAT."

She turns on a heel, and flicks her hand, opening a Garganta. She walks through, reappearing in Pico's quarters. Her voices echoes through the Endless Void,

"Caaaaiphus, you coming?"

She pauses, looks around, and notices something.

"Oh, bring back that other guy. He amuses me. And he needs dancing lessons."

[Kayne650]

Caiphus nods when Cecilia asks if he's following. It seems like a waste to come all this way and not really accomplish anything.

Wait, the other guy? Caiphus looked around, only seeing Rouga, having recently opened his own entryway to the abyss. "Do you mean him, my lady?" Caiphus asked, pointing at Rouga. If so, then this might be interesting. Rouga was even larger than Caiphus, and would probably be able to put up quite a fight if he had to. Maybe it'd even be fun. But Rouga was already leaving, following the trail of Pico and the person he was fighting. He had to act fast if he was going to catch him.

Or maybe not. The man moved with the grace and speed of a chained walrus. He wouldn't be hard to catch.

[Terry576]

Cecilia nodded.

"Yes."

[Kayne650]

Very well then," Caiphus said in response. "I'll return momentarily."

A crackle of Sonido later, Caiphus appeared in front of Rouga, standing on a platform of smoky gray. "The lady Cecilia requests your presence, Rouga-san. It would be inadvisable to keep her waiting." Caiphus isn't making demands or even requests; he simply states facts. What Rouga will do about those facts is a whole different matter.

[Kuroimaken]

"Oh, you guys worried me for a second. I could have sworn you were all ganging up on poor lil' Pico. But if that other kid is all he has to worry about, he should be fine. Lead the way."

Pico may be a waste of skin, but he had still somehow become the Decima. Might as well give him some credit for fighting off Lalita.

"Don't suppose you could tell me what she was asking me for?"

[Kayne650]

Caiphus turns around and leads Rouga back to Cecilia, resisting the urge to simply Sonido back.

"The Lady Cecilia need not explain her reasons to me, I am only her servant. However, she did mention something about 'dancing lessons'." With Caiphus turned away, it was impossible to tell through his dry voice if he was joking or not.

[Kuroimaken]

Fair enough.

Rouga COULD use Sonido... his just wasn't particularly fast.

[InyutheBeatIs]

[Endless Void]

Alarmed, Lalita hops backwards as Pico throws his sword at him. Distance between them plays in his favor - the bandage has to extend all the way to have hope of catching him and its reach stops just shy of hitting the Fraccion. Smirking, Lalita creates another orb before his finger, this time aiming it at the bandage, hoping to sever it - how embarrassing would it be for an Espada to lose his sword into the Void!

Lalita doesn't let his hopes too high, however. Considering Decima could shoot forth to close the distance at any moment, he quickly reaches for his right earring and rips it off; it grows into a proper wind wheel in the blink of an eye. Creating another foothold out of the rampant energies, Lalita jumps backwards, deeper down into the darkness, one eye fixed on Pico while the other observes rapidly shrinking forms of Caiphus and Cecilia.

Pico tries to snap the bandage back towards him, but unfortunately it doesn't completely dodge the bullet-like orb and most likely explodes, destroying that portion of the badge. Unfortunately for Lalita, the blade manages to still head towards Pico thanks to momentum. Pico manages to catch it by the now flexible bandage, flicking the handle into his hand. The split bandage ends start to float towards each other, apparently reweaving themselves, repairing themselves.

He doesn't even pay attention upwards, completely ignoring everything that the various crowd was saying. There were only two things that he was concentrating on at this point; Lalita's throat, and his own grip on his talon-like sword.

Pico crouches, and after a moment springs off of his erratic platform, shooting directly towards Lalita. As his flight takes him in front of Lalita, he raises his ankh, outward curve faced towards Lalita, and brings it down to bear on him with enough force to cleave stone. However, he also attempts to knee Lalita after he brings his force to bear on him, attempting to shove Lalita off balance.

[Callos_DeTerran]

[Genoveva's Tower]

Talon doesn't rub her neck. In fact, she goes right back to her assertive, aloof stance as she looks on Genoveva. "...What arrancar wouldn't? If you were causing destruction for the Shinigami, which it was obvious even without your confirmation that you were, then it would prove interesting enough and of possible benefit to me." She did not elaborate on how.

Her eyes narrow. "Were you really alone, though? Merely testing our rivals seems a waste. Von Geister has been around for longer than any, he could tell us the strength of the shinigami himself."

Genoveva

"Hn." was the only noise that Genoveva makes, continuing to look down at Talon before crossing back across her chamber to take her seat once again. Hands fold in Genoveva's lap as her easy breathing resumes. For a moment, there's the nagging doubt that she's returned to sleep.

"When da last time ya remember da Old Ghost leavin' da city? Ah can't 'member it happin' since Ah came here 'most two hundred years ago. Lot can change in dat time and Ah wanted ta see how de shinigami's strength 'ad improved compared to er own." comes the easy answer, though if it's the truth or not is debatable considering the Primera's inscrutable features, "And aye, Ah went alone but fer a trio of no-names to snag meh some prisoners. Der probably dead by now though."

[strawberryman]

[Genoveva's Tower]

...Talon wasn't sure if she's telling the truth or not. But in such cases where one was unsure, the draconic privaron usually sided with lies. But there was no way to prove it, and definitely no way of forcing it out of her. So, playing the game it was.

"...I guess I can believe that. So what does one have to do to be involved in your plans for Hueco Mundo?" Talon fights a growl, but her eyes still narrow.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Endless Void]

Unfortunately, it's not stone Pico's blade meets. Lalita catches the blade between prongs of his smaller weapon, sparks flying as the two weapons meet. Then he twists his wrist to wrench the weapon aside. Pico's knee Lalita deflects with a rapid kick of his own, making it more likely for Pico to end up unbalanced than he.

Then, Lalita sleeve that had so far appeared empty is torn out of the way as his recently-healed hand shoots forth, knocking Pico's other hand aside and pointing at his face. "Fooled ya!", Lalita chimes playfully, sticking out his tongue at Pico's face as it's bathed in crimson glow, split-second before the mass of solidified Reiatsu explodes forward...

[InyutheBeatIs]

[Endless Void]

Pico's khopesh gets deflected, but not without some resistance on his part. The knee to the chest is much more easily deflected, as most of the effort soon focused on his khopesh from being sent flying. This causes him to stumble onto a hastily formed platform beneath.

Lalita's teasing causes a vein to bulge on Pico's forehead. This vein quickly dissappears as he notices the red energy being hurtled at his face. Unfortunately, he doesn't get out of the way fast enough, taking a face full of explosive spiritual buckshot. This sends him flying downwards, before flipping over himself and landing on yet another hastily formed platform.

His other hand soon jabs into the air towards where he guesses Lalita will be, and fires a barrage of Bala in practically every direction, one Bala from each finger.

[Frozen_Feet]

He fell for it. That's Lalita's first thought as Pico is send reeling to the dark. Any enjoyment derived from it soon fades, though, and wary of feeling prematurely victorious, he removes his other earring. Now with both his weapons ready, he dodges Pico's aim, ready to deflect bolts that pass too close.

However, after a while of watching Pico waste his breathe, he relaxes slightly, arriving to a conclusion: He's not seeing me properly. He takes a moment to steady himself, crimson orbs forming at the tips of each prong of his weapons. Then, while Pico is shooting to a wrong direction, Lalita swings the wheels in calculated arcs, shooting half dozen explosive embers at Pico.

[InyutheBeatIs]

The embers catch Pico somewhat unawares, as the next thing he knows is looking at the embers and feeling rather stupid for trying a stunt like that, just before everything goes "boom".

The explosions rocket him into the air, his long coat beginning to burn, the fur trim long since burnt to charcoal. The cloth choker has fallen off of his neck, and his skin is starting to look rather singed.

Still, he maintains some for of composure, as he soon grabs his other khopesh, identical to the one he has in his hand. The bandage that wrapped around it soon tied itself to Pico's wrist, while his hand gripped the handle of the blade tightly. He soon rockets towards Lalita, only this time he appears above him...completely upside down. He swings his khopeshes inward, the tips of the blade pointed inward as well, as if he were trying to rend Lalita's flesh like a bird of prey. He soon shifts himself after the swing, obviously intending to flip Lalita over his head and down to his feet to be greeted by the loving embrace of his leather boot-heels.

[Frozen_Feet]

Lalita hurriedly brings his wheels to parry Pico's strike, but his stance is too stretched and one blade slips past the guard. Alarmed, Lalita hops to the side, but the tip of the blade still catches folds of his Kimono. There's the sound of metal against metal and cloth tearing as Lalita rolls out of Pico's immediate reach to avoid his attempts to throw and kick him.

He stops some distance away, part of his chest readily visible now. There's a thin, white scratch across his right pec. If anything, at least Pico's assault managed to remove any confusion of whether the lithe form before him is male or not.

Lalita makes no obvious attempt to move or attack, content to observe and measure his opponent for split of a second. "Well? Is that all?", he mocks, still with the girly voice.

[Terry576]

Fair enough.

Rouga COULD use Sonido... his just wasn't particularly fast.

Cecilia grins as Rouga returns, throwing her arm over him.

"Rouga! Buddy! Pal!"

She walks towards the door, most likely with Rouga in tow.

"So, I've been thinking. You're a Privaron. I'm an Espada. We should hang out more often."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva

"Not like ya can chose ta not believe meh and be able ta act on de knowledge." Genoveva says simply, letting the verbal barb fly out with casual cruelty. Her lips tug up in the corners, in the beginnings of her usual sadistic grin before her head tilts to the side.

"Ain't it obvious? Ya just haf ta follow yer natural instincts. Want to take what ya want from da people who took it from ya, then all Ah'll give ya da chance to act on it. And all Ah ask in return is yer unquestionin' obedience when Ah send ya certain orders. Simple, eh?" comes the condescending, in a sense, directions as Genoveva leans her head against the back of her chair, "Or were ya expectin' ta be brought into dis as an equal without provin' Ah can trust ya?"

[Kuroimaken]

This was a little weird.

After all, this was the first Espada who actually treated him as a person roughly on a similar level instead of, you know, trash.

Not that it was unpleasant.

"Sure, why not? Could use the company. What do you feel like doing, Cecilia?"

[InyutheBeatIs]

Lalita hurriedly brings his wheels to parry Pico's strike, but his stance is too stretched and one blade slips past the guard. Alarmed, Lalita hops to the side, but the tip of the blade still catches folds of his Kimono. There's the sound of metal against metal and cloth tearing as Lalita rolls out of Pico's immediate reach to avoid his attempts to throw and kick him.

He stops some distance away, part of his chest readily visible now. There's a thin, white scratch across his right pec. If anything, at least Pico's assault managed to remove any confusion of whether the lithe form before him is male or not.

Lalita makes no obvious attempt to move or attack, content to observe and measure his opponent for split of a second. "Well? Is that all?", he mocks, still with the girly voice.

Pico winds up kicking at the empty air, wondering for a second whether he was actually falling like some kind of cartoon coyote. When he realised he actually was, he forms yet another platform under him. At this point, he has to take a few seconds to catch his breath as he turns around to face Lalita, making sure he wasn't about to get sniped in the back of the head. It was then that his eyes wandered to the "woman's" chest to find a distinct lack of womanly figure there.

Of course, that didn't stop the confirmed-man from trying to act like a girl. At the girly mocking, Pico narrows his eyes at him in annoyance (as if he wasn't before). "*huff* Ah, quit it would ya? *huff, puff* I can see your man...boob...chest, WHATEVER! I can see you ain't some girl! Who the frak are ya, anyways?! Some kinda cross-dresser?!"

Pico adjusts his khopeshes in his hand, flipping them upside down so the blades touched his elbows like a praying mantis. All the while, he tries to catch his breath some more. It's all too obvious that he's getting tired, and he wants to end this.

[Frozen_Feet]

Lalita snorts, briefly glancing at his torn shirt. "Wow, you actually noticed. Maybe you aren't as wasted as I thought. Not that it seems to much an issue to you..." Lalita gives Pico a coy wink. He manages to look annoyingly cute despite having his cover blown.

"What's the matter, Decima? You're half past dead, and I have barely a nick on myself", he continues. "Is alcohol withdrawal getting at your heart? That'd hardly be surprising, if not for the fact you're supposed to have none. What have you been doing all your time as an Espada? Have you ever actually trained, tried to improve yourself, or have you just wasted your days drinking and lazing off?"

Lalita sidles around Pico, weapons hold in guard, crimson platforms forming and fading as he stalks around the Decima like a feline watching its prey. "I can see why Apolinar is so pissed about losing to you. You are infinitely weaker in mind and resolve than he is. No doubt, without that sweet girl you have as a Fraccion, you'd been usurped ages ago."

[Terry576]

This was a little weird.

After all, this was the first Espada who actually treated him as a person roughly on a similar level instead of, you know, trash.

Not that it was unpleasant.

"Sure, why not? Could use the company. What do you feel like doing, Cecilia?"

Cecilia shrugs.

"Well, I was going to give Pico a piece of mind with Caiphus, you know the usual. Interrogate him about some stuff that's been going on, smack him on the head when he lies, and then poke his Fraccion a few times before leaving!"

She frowns, annoyed.

"But then he had to go and fall in that bloody Garganta! You would think he would be careful about leaving those things lying around."