[Bitp:R] Hueco Mundo 2

[Shades of Gray]

[Middle of Nowhere]

"I cannot say that I have, Gwen. But the rumours of the place have reached the ears of my Lord and myself, and others within our congregation. It almost sounds wonderful. Only the king of the city stands between it and the perfection of Change."

The fae/shinigami continues walking, a wry smile on his lips.

Slightly off-center from the Middle of Nowhere

"Perfection of Change?" Gwen had a confused expression as she strolled along the cold dark sands. "You're going to try to kill the king? Wouldn't he be the most powerful hollow ever?" She asks skeptically as she balances the lamppost against her shoulder.

[Edge]

Slightly off-center from the Middle of Nowhere

"Perfection of Change?" Gwen had a confused expression as she strolled along the cold dark sands. "You're going to try to kill the king? Wouldn't he be the most powerful hollow ever?" She asks skeptically as she balances the lamppost against her shoulder.

"Kill the king? Hardly. I know my capabilities, and he is beyond me. I was merely musing on how close to the societal ideal my Lord and we his follows dream of."

Eriku's smirk becomes more prominent for a brief moment, before returning to its usual subtlety.

"Methinks we have dawdled in our travels enough, Gwen. How is your sonido?"

[Shades of Gray]

Sonido

"Sonido... Sonido... That's the wooshy one, right?" She quietly asked her lamppost. "Uhhh, I think Post-San said I'm good at that one. Yeah." The arrancar said as she kicked at the sand. "I haven't done it in a while though."

Decima's Palacio

Anita, fraccion to Genoveva, was seen leading ten prisoners of various races and genders to the Decima's Palacio in chains. The prisoners did not even bother to put up the facade of being rebellious, rowdy, or even hateful. Anita seemed to have a quiet control over them.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Lalita doesn't waste his time while Genoveva goes through her act. He chucks Canguro into the corner and rips his other earring to his hand as well, carefully weighing the circular weapon as it returns to its intended size. His face is like stone as Genoveva reveals herself to be undamaged.

When Zane appears to the hole in the wall, Lalita's muscles tense as he considers leaping past Genoveva to fetch his other weapon, crimson light gathering in his free hand, but as he lifts his right foot to move, he realizes he's already too late.

So, as his shirt is suddenly torn apart, revealing his lithe upper body, he swings his right foot backwards, sending a strong and fast kick where he sees Primera's head being from the corner of his eye.

Genoveva

"'ey, he piced da fight wid me. Ah just want' ta chat." Genoveva says lightly, giving an entirely too nonchalant of a shrug given the situation that had sprouted up with so little effort. Truly the Primera was a force of...well...utter chaos wherever she went, though if this was by design or simple presence could be a matter of debate among certain circles. Then her head swivels to face Zane...even as Lalita's foot passes through the Primera's body and the arrancar appears a couple feet back.

"An' you, ya pale-skinned dawg. Ya have no right ta be so familiar with someone as far above yer station as Ah am. Hold yer tongue, an' wait like every odder bollocky boyo who dinks 'e can condescend mah." A quick dash over to the other fire wheel, having seen Lalita eye it, and an even faster kick sends the weapon clattering across the floor over towards Canguro, almost as if to dare the ex-Numeros to aid Lalita.

"Now pretty boyo..." the Primera says with an ever-cruel smirk, re-sheathing her falchion at the small of her back before cracking her knuckles, "Lesse da real you. Da core of yer bein' ya seemed to have 'id from everyun else."

Then Genoveva was dashing forward, fast as fast could be, to grab hold of Lalita's wrist tightly with both hands. A powerful tug pulls the Fraccion's arm up into the air and hanging out from his body...then the Primera was blurring across the chamber once more, but this time with Lalita in tow...right towards one of the artful pillars that supported the domed roof of the chamber.

Crack.

Thick cracks spread across the pillar from where Lalita's elbow struck it, though the noise hadn't come from the stone. His arm is bent at a most peculiar angle, one that can't be reached naturally, even as Genoveva begins to chuckle and wrench the arm even further into that bone-breaking angle with the awful strength she possesses in abundance.

"Now sing mah lil' songbird. Sing to meh of Wrath." Even as her last word was said, the Primera glows a bloody red color as a feeling of searing hot rage and blood-lust begins to emanate from Genoveva. A berserker rage would begin to creep into the bodies of those too close to the malicious arrancar woman, a desire to rend and break that which angered them. But to a creature of Wrath...

[Frozen_Feet]

Lalita's pretty face twists in agonized grimace as the bones in his arm give away. However, there's one positive side to the situation that's not lost on him: this time, he knows exactly where Genoveva is. As she leans closer to bend his arm, his free hand strikes forwards, letting loose a cero against her chest. Another one is already forming in his hand before the flash from the first fades.

Burn.

Lalita's lips are squeezed tight and his eyes are open wide in expression of unparalleled hatred. That's how much Canguro and Zane see of him, before another blast of crimson flame blinds their vision. Who or what it hits is impossible to tell, as backlash of the explosion shatters what's left of the support pillar, causing the roof of Lalita's apartment to come crashing down, dust and falling stone obscuring the fighting pair from view.

Burn, you wretched little whore!

[Draken]

Ciudad Baja

Apolinar has only enough time to cool down a bit after his meeting with the new "privaron", before a soldier appears to him, paying all proper protocols that Draken doesn't really remember.

"Sir! There has been a report of the discovery of a body in the immediations of the primera district, the clothes matching the uniforms of one of our princes!"

[Steilos]

Apolinar looks up at the messenger and gets up off his chair when he is given the news.

"Dead, you say? Why would a prince of the Ciudad Baja be dead on one of the surface districts? I sure as hell didn't send one up there!"

Just when he was beginning to calm down too. What a day.

"I suppose I should go and look. Take me to this body, now! And if you're lying to me..."

The General leaves the threat hanging while he picks up his helmet and heads for the door.

[Kuroimaken]

There was a good chance Apolinar would pass by a large, wide open space on the way.

Apparently, it was the place Rouga chose to train his legion.

They were all doing push-ups... with blocks of sekkiseki on their backs.

At least one would HOPE it's sekkiseki, because otherwise those were really heavy rocks painted the right color.

They were all in synch, and yelling out their counting. It was currently on the 2000-something.

"You vermin, you should be done with your 20.000 pushups by now! And to think I'm even letting you use both arms! You're a DISGRACE! Perhaps I should have you bring my love letters to the female Espada out there and watch their reactions?"

For some reason, they started speeding up.

[Steilos]

Apolinar did indeed see and hear the Legion getting trained - and he approved greatly. Perhaps this Rouga person might actually be of some good - although 'Ringo' still stung a bit. Okay, so it stung quite a bit.

Turning to his messenger, Apolinar asks some more questions that have just occurred to him as he walks.

"Do you know what he was killed by? His exact location?"

[Kuroimaken]

With that, Rouga started sniffing the air.

"Oh, hi Ringo. What are you up to?"

His Legion suddenly grew very, very tense. It looked as though they'd heard the voice of Death itself.

"HEY YOU! I DIDN'T SAY STOP!!"

[Draken]

The messenger answers dutyfully.

"Ten infantes and infantas serve his highness, the Ghost King, as direct envoys to the Espada, Malak, Astrid, Maldrea, Helena, Sarine, Zamir, Gaston, Damien, Revean and Athos. The body was found mauled into disfigurement and the area isolated."

[Steilos]

The General nods to himself as the messenger talks. Ah yes, that's right. Those princes. Although why someone had mauled one...

Then Rouga interrupts, in his own inimitable way.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT CALLING ME THAT!?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Nothing that I can remember. Anyway, what's that about someone being mauled to death? Sounds pretty serious."

Why yes, Rouga IS selectively hard of hearing. How did you know?

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Amore, who had been hiding somewhat till this point, appeared near Lalita, looking somewhat panicked, a shield of powerful blue Cero appearing around them. L-lalita, w-whats going on?"

[Steilos]

"Nothing that I can remember. Anyway, what's that about someone being mauled to death? Sounds pretty serious."

Why yes, Rouga IS selectively hard of hearing. How did you know?

"That is none of your business. Return to your duties, privaron."

That sentence was absolutely not loaded with hate. Ok, it was.

"YOU! Down there! Did I see you trying to get that stone off your back?"

The recruit looks up, caught in the act with the stone slipping off his shoulders. The General looks at one of the braziers lighting the path, and then back at the recruit. Then, with a sudden rush of air, Apolinar is behind the brazier...

...Kicking it straight onto the work-dodger. His screams should liven up the place for a few minutes or so.

[Kuroimaken]

Rouga didn't seem happy with that.

"Hey Ringo... I don't care that he actually deserved that, but next time, you give me a heads-up if you're going to physically punish one of my recruits. Your method seriously sucks."

[Steilos]

"Did I give you permission to criticise my technique? No, I did not. Did I ever say that I needed my underling's permission to do anything? No, I did not! Now, I must go on my way. I have matters more important to attend to than a whiny subordinate."

And indeed he does, following the messenger away from Rouga. His habit of asking questions was seriously getting on Apolinar's nerves.

[Zerkai]

-"Now sing mah lil' songbird. Sing to meh of Wrath." Even as her last word was said, the Primera glows a bloody red color as a feeling of searing hot rage and blood-lust begins to emanate from Genoveva. A berserker rage would begin to creep into the bodies of those too close to the malicious arrancar woman, a desire to rend and break that which angered them. But to a creature of Wrath...

Lalita's pretty face twists in agonized grimace as the bones in his arm give away. However, there's one positive side to the situation that's not lost on him: this time, he knows exactly where Genoveva is. As she leans closer to bend his arm, his free hand strikes forwards, letting loose a cero against her chest. Another one is already forming in his hand before the flash from the first fades.

Burn.

Lalita's lips are squeezed tight and his eyes are open wide in expression of unparalleled hatred. That's how much Canguro and Zane see of him, before another blast of crimson flame blinds their vision. Who or what it hits is impossible to tell, as backlash of the explosion shatters what's left of the support pillar, causing the roof of Lalita's apartment to come crashing down, dust and falling stone obscuring the fighting pair from view.

Burn, you wretched little whore!

Canguro

"...Why do I even bother!?" Canguro glared down at the too, gritting her teeth before her the collapsing roof turned her gaze upwards to the falling debris. despite her injured leg, she lept up from her position on the wall, the greaves on her good leg glowing green "Bala Patada Rapida!" her relatively uninjured leg swung around in at a series of rapid kicks, shooting over a dozen bala at the debris falling near her before using sonido to speed over through the hole Genoveva made when she burst into the room in the first place.

[Kuroimaken]

"I ain't saying you gotta ask permission..."

With that, a bala ricocheted off the ground near Apolinar's feet.

"...I'm saying it would be polite to let me know first, biatch."

[Steilos]

"Politeness implies I actually give a damn what you think."

The bala is not unnoticed, although Apolinar is far too busy to even worry about such a small trifle for now. He continues walking away towards the surface.

[Kuroimaken]

"Fair enough. Suit yourself, Ringo-chan. Oh, and for the record, legion. Anyone who follows with my compliment gets excused from their pushups.

Now repeat after me: catch you later, Ringo-chan!"

"Catch you later, Ringo-chan!"

[Steilos]

Ringo-chan.

He had to get on with this body business... Better get it wrapped up qui-

Ringo-chan.

I mean, what could have possibly caused that to happen? Outside the Underc-

Ringo-chan.

Sod it.

Wheeling around, Apolinar appears with a crack of Sonido two inches in front of Rouga's face.

"Say. That. Again."

[Kuroimaken]

There was visible tension on the legionnaire's faces. Rouga was baring all of his pearly white teeth, his canines particularly showing.

"Ri.N.Go.Cha.n" <3

[Steilos]

Apolinar says nothing. He just stands stock still for a few seconds, face not even moving, eyes remaining locked on Rouga and that smile he wanted to punch so much.

For a further 10 seconds, he just stands there, before inhaling as if to bellow full force at the Privaron's face. At the back of his throat, however a Cero forms...

And is released at point blank, right between Rouga's eyes. The General then takes a few steps back and vanishes in a blur of sonido, leaving his voice echoing in the air.

"I would love to smash that arrogant little face of yours into the ground, worm, but I have pressing business to attend to. Now cease this frivolity and GET BACK TO WORK!"

[Kuroimaken]

There was a whole lot of smoke, specially because it WAS a point-blank Cero.

Apolinar would be able to tell that Rouga reflexively extended his aura of Hierro when the energy built up, from the pressure alone. In effect, it would have practically blown off on Apolinar's face as it left his mouth, all things considered, though why it didn't could be attributed to the Sonido he executed immediately thereafter.

Once the smoke dissipated, Rouga looked no worse for the wear.

"And THIS, everyone, is why Hierro is an important capability in an Arrancar's suite of powers. I want you all to clap in thanks for Ringo-chan's gracious aid in this practical demonstration, or I will maim you all where you stand!" He said with the same giant smile as always.

*cue furious clapping*

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva

The Primera's expression briefly shows some startled excitement, likely at how quickly Lalita bounced back already, but then there's nothing to see as the cero hits her dead on. And it had hit this time, because the Fraccion could still feel her holding unto his arm as the violent energy blasts the other arrancar.

In the aftermath of the explosion, Genoveva flits out of the smoke, back towards Canguro but, oddly enough, stays a good way back even as her grin all but splits her face.

"You. Canguro. Do dat again, tis what Ah wanted to talk to ya 'bout." she demands, despite the fact her vest is blackened and smoking, turning her back on the enraged Lalita with almost casual disdain...

Spoiler

Show

Not to Lord Asmodeus, if Amore is close to Lalita, then he's likely within range of Genoveva's Aspect Aura of Wrath right now. She's actually specifically staying back away from Canguro so it's not affecting her.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Segunda's Palacio]

Lalita rises from the rubble, striking Amore to his chest with his healthy hand, shoving the smaller man away. Amore might find this horrifically out of character from his usually polite and friendly comrade. "Stay away", he hisses with a voice that's clearly a command. Horrifying stare of his cold, grey eyes adds 'or face my wrath as well.'

Then Lalita turns towards Genoveva's back, grasping his remaining weapon so tightly his knuckles pale. He forces a smile on his face, but there's no warmth in it - only malice and hatred. "My my, is the little girl curious?", he says with sickenignly fake sweetness in his voice. "I'm sorry, but we adults don't have time for your games. Why won't you go home and grow up a little?"

Her seeming calmness, obfuscating mannerism... all so obviously feigned, all so infuriating. Lalita speaks, because part of him remains convinced he can't physically break Genoveva's concentration - but he wants to see that mask of hers break. See that something can get throught to that pesky, arrogant, hateful brat.

It's incredibly petty, yes. Hatred often is.

That's what Lalita thinks as he lunges towards Genoveva's neck, aiming to cut her jugular with one, swift slash.

---

[Middle of Nowhere, getting closer to Las Noches]

Post-san keeps quiet during Gwen's discussion with Eriku, content to just lay balanced on her shoulder. The trip holds no particular interest to it - around them, there is just sand, sand, sand and more sand. Only a slight change in the position of the moon tells him they have advanced.

But then, something rises from the moonlit horizon - great stone spires, and a vast dome. At first, it looks very small, but it steadily grows as they run towards it - and much to Post-san's shock, once the structure has already grown greater than any mortal-made building he'd ever seen, he realizes they're still leagues away.

Whoever had built such a structure? How long had it taken? Why would anyone spend effort to build it in such a place?

He can't help but wonder, and he wants to ask Gwen if she does, too. But Eriku's presence makes him remain silent.

I don't want to go in...

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva

In a sense, Lalita gets exactly what he wants in seeing something get at Genoveva, though the jury is still out on if that was a good thing or not. As Lalita lunges, he catches a bright glimpse of color from Genoveva's eyes as her arm raises to block his own just past the blade, seconds before his broken arm erupts in pain as she plants a hard spinning kick right against his shattered elbow. The momentum carries the Primera around until her back is facing towards him once more, until she pushes off just barely and effortlessly flies into the air about Lalita to land squarely on-top of his shoulders.

"Ya over-step yerself and tread on what lil' patience Ah have left fer ya." Genoveva says softly, though still infuriatingly calm. Her eyes have opened the tiniest bit to appraise Lalita with re-newed interest, up until the moment she gives a short hop and a sharp kick to the side of Lalita's head to send him flying across the chamber and skid across the ground...just to find his murderous rage leaving him as suddenly as it had arrived. In the absence of her perch, Genoveva lightly lands on the floor and stuffs her hands into her pockets once more with a knowing grin plastered across her smug face. "Tell mah...are ya as lily-livered as de odders den? Is dis yer limit? Da grand glass ceiling? Or is der more?"

Slowly she approaches Lalita, the soft taps of her tabi boots on the floor seeming all the louder and more ominous for it, until her shadow lays across him. The rage doesn't return but rather...a sense of nothingness. Canguro, Zane, Amore...all seem to disappear in the face of the yawning nothingness that opens up to the Fraccion once the Primera was close to him. Nothing but empty desolation, nobody but Genoveva and himself in all of Hueco to distract him from the inevitable, terrible truth. Death was at hand, not the paltry sensation given to mortals before they passed on, but the true death of the mind and soul. The spirit-shattering isolation that ate away at a person's very vitality until their mind broke from the sheer depressing monotony of it all. A promise from the wretched creature in front of him, to embrace him the crushing despair that she represented.

"Which is it? Are you a lion...or a dog?"

[Frozen_Feet]

[Segunda's Palacio]

The kick to his head causes the world to whirl around in Lalita's eyes, and for a moment he thinks he'll pass out. Pain causes bile to rise to his mouth, and he barely resists throwing up.

However, the mindless rage dissipating makes all the fade from his mind. The clarity he'd tried so hard to gather from shards of a person inside him during his time alone in the White Sands... it's a welcome turn to have it back.

He grits his teeth as Genoveva saunters closer, weighing his chances, crimson light swirling all around his body. He's about to lunge at her again, when the wave of isolation washes over him, threatening to extinquish the flickering flames dancing on his skin.

It brings up memories... memories that had never really belonged to him, but defined his whole being. The crushing despair... it's the same feeling he'd felt when wrestiling in the mud with an aborginal, trying to reach a knife faster than his foe, when staring an oncoming cavalry charge with the crowd of others pushing you forth so he couldn't turn around, when rising from the trenches to run across the No-Man's Land towards certain death...

Giving up is futile.

Face to face with an enemy again. No turning back, no chance to run... only way forward, through someone else. He hates it, hates the world for forcing him to it, and especially... hates Genoveva, the way she thinks she can just play with his life. For that moment, she embodies everything the young man sees as wrong in the world, and it makes the horrible rage resurge all on its own.

Fight her. Harm her. Take her down with you. Maker her burn.

The feeling causes the crimson flames burn brighter, and Lalita's eyes shine nearly white with power as his pupils twist and warp, into two black crosses threatening to burn a whole through Genoveva's visage. "No more a dog than you are, First blade of the Ghost King", he hisses, throwing his working hand forth, three Bala blasting forth toward Genoveva. "As far as I'm concerned, you only have a bit stronger bite than I do!" At the same moment, he leaps forth, aiming a roundhouse kick against her side, but at the same time swinging his Fire Wheel through the air around him with purposeful strenght. He'd already learned he couldn't trust her to stay where his senses told her to be, so he fight as if confronting multiple opponents... there are only so many places to be around one's body, after all.

He'd turn that despair back against her, make her feel what he does, and watch her break under it... he'd find a away. Somehow.

"Tell me, is this your real nature....", he snarls, charging and firing a Cero from before his torso, cutting through the room to reduce possible places for Genoveva to be. Zane, Canguro and Amore might all realize they should get away, lest they be caught in the systematic destruction of the Palacio as well. "... or is it something you stole from someone else when they refused to play your silly little games? Such a sad, broken, lonely little girl you are."

In the corner of the room, the abandoned Wind Wheel begins pulsating with malignant energy, red flames taking demonic shapes around it as they begin to creep up the walls. Air quakes around Lalita as he jumps after Genoveva again and again, determined to push her on the defensive.

"Scorch...!"

[Zerkai]

Canguro

"Geez... this is getting bad... and ridiculous." Canguro glared as she watched and avoided any stray blasts that came her way before landing on the ground a ways away from the two.

"Preparese... Salto Poderoso!" Canguro's bladeded greaves and armguards started to glow and crackle with green energy, followed by a release of reiatsu that kicked up dust and debris around her. She was now in her releases state, serrated greaves and amrguards forming long blondes mounted on her wrists and legs. With a Sonido she was near the Genoveva and Lalita, now standing six and a half-feet tall as she stared down at them, eyes not visible form under he half-helm.

"That's enough! If you two keep fighting each other and tearing this place apart, I swear to the Ghost King I will eat you both." Her tailed then slammed against the ground behind her with a resounding crack, making a small crater with a slight wince visible in Canguro's face as it happened, now standing on two legs and hitting the floor like that didn't help, but it was for emphasis. Just in case she was ignore again, she raised her arm, the long blades mounted on her forearm now in Genoveva's way to keep her from getting closer to Lalita