[BitP:R] Hueco Mundo 3

[Kuroimaken]

Rouga scoots over to Cecilia and whispers, "Cecchan, who's the Zorro-wannabe?"

[Draken]

"Very well Vicente."

Draken demands Inyu to do something damn it.

[Terry576]

Rouga scoots over to Cecilia and whispers, "Cecchan, who's the Zorro-wannabe?"

Cecilia looks at Rouga with an expression of shock. "Zorro's here? He owes me two swords, six knives, twelve pies, and a banana! Where is that cocksure guttersnipe?!?!"

She glares around the arena, a serious look in her eye, before a lightbulb goes off.

"Oooooh! You mean Sereg? He's supposed to be Seven. But he's really just a complete idiot. Had a gigantic arena match a while back. I entered some idiot from Two's sector as my champion."

She giggles. "He got his ass handed to him and back. It was magnificent. Magical. Wonderful. Amaaziiing~" She looks momentarily thoughtful. "Although I think a few guys are trying to throw him out of his position...Caaaaai! I need your heeeelp!"

Once Caiphus presumably answers, she says, "Report. Which of our lovely Arrancar hate Sereg with a passion?"

[Kayne650]

Caiphus' left eye twitches a little when Rouga calls Cecilia "Cecchan", though he doesn't say anything about it. He amused Cecilia, and it wouldn't do to annoy his lady's latest toy. But when Cecilia addressed him, his head turned towards her, snapped out of his reverie.

"Of course, my lady. Though, it might be easier to note the Arrancar who do not wish to oust Sereg-sama. However, the most obvious candidates are, according to my sources, the Fraccion Vicente, in service to the lord Cuarta, and the lady Privaron Talon, both of whom I believe desire his position in the Espada. And, judging by an arm that carries a different reiryoku from the rest of his body, I would wager that the previous owner of that arm would also desire Sereg's death, assuming they are not dead themselves."

[Kuroimaken]

"I was actually talking about the Arrancar addressing His Majesty." Rouga noted.

"I have serious doubts that guy could have killed the Queen of DFC. I'm sure glad Hollows can regenerate, though. I would be PISSED if she'd become a permanent amputee on his account. I would be forced to feed him to lions, and the lions would have to be fed to alligators, which I would in turn make into grass and feed to elephants, which, finally, I would feed the sandworms in the desert."

[riccaru]

As Sereg enters the Arena, a Garganta opens, a figure which could only be described as a cross between an ape and a human walks through, on arm carrying a large canvas bag which seemed to be full. Behind him comes the lithe form of a young redhaired girl who seemed to be holding a leash attached to the Orc-hollow's neck. In her other hand is wicked looking bow along with a few arrows.

"Did you get everything, Victoria? It would be a shame to have to make a second trip."

The girl nods quietly and hands Sereg the bow, who promptly notches an arrow and pulls back, firing it through one of the hollows working on renovations. The fletching sticks out of the chest of the small hollow,the arrow having flied all the way through.

"It'll do." Sereg says as he hands it to a hollow standing near. "Now, about that spear..." He calls as the hollow who had been tasked with it's creation walks through an open door.

"It's right here, Lord Arturo. Just as you wished. But, sir, the end is weak. It will pierce, but there's a good chance it will break off inside the ene-"

"Exactly. Now bring the creature up." The hollow nods and goes down below, and soon a rumbling can be heard at the massive doors behind the small group. Soon the doors swing open with a groan and through steps a massive turtle shaped hollow, who rears its' head and roars in defiance. In a flash Sereg is gone, the telltale boom of his sonido carrying him toward the creature to begin working his new limb back to full capacity.

[InyutheBeatIs]

Blades flash and limbs are torn to shreds.

Or... Not.

What happens is actually somewhat different, because beneath the segmented plating of those limbs one would find no meat and no bone, but only crackling, lightning-related reiryoku forging the conections between the numerous sections of those arms.

So you might have an idea of what happens when a blade goes in contact with that energy. It is akin to what happens when someone punches a tesla coil. A chocking event, indeed.

In the sphere of blinding light, CLovis' main body remains completely concealed.

The shocking event actually sent Pico flying back, sparks flying off of his body and clothes as he does so.

After a moment or two of feeling the pain of thousands of volts of electricity running through your body, Pico lays there for a moment. Note to self. He thinks. Don't do that again. He then starts to get up with a groan. "Oh dammit, man. That's bad." He starts to feel a heat from his back and shoulders, smelling something like burnt leather. He figured out rather quickly, and correctly at that, that his jacket was on fire. At that, he scrambled up to his feet. "Oh COME ON!! How does leather even CATCH ON FIRE?!" He tries to pat the flames out with his arms, pull the coat off of him, even thought about cutting it off for a moment. However, all he ended up doing was tearing a hole near the shoulder and one near the back before deciding that he has better things to worry about, like not dying.

He looks straight at the glowing ball of light, preparing himself to charge the ball of light and destroy Clovis. He regrets deciding to look at the light almost immediately, turning his head away with a start and trying to blink away the spots in his vision. Okay, real quick. Most damage for the least effort, what can you do? As he tries to not be blind right now, Pico looks around at his surroundings, looking amongst the ruins around him for a spare piece of terrain.

Come on, come on, come on...PERFECT!! Pico grins as he finds a piece of wall that seems rather sturdy and sufficiently large enough to cause a severe headache on impact, or at least serve as a distraction. "STRATEGY!!" Pico yells, before practically flying towards his chosen target. In the meantime, he charges a Cero in his mouth.

After bouncing around for a moment, Pico arrives at the piece of wall, slicing into it to cut it loose from its foundation. The wall piece lands with a thud on the floor, raising some dust in the process. Pico casts the khopeshes aside, leaving them hanging from his wrists. He then picks up the wall piece with a small grunt, hoisting it just above his head. Pico jumps with the wall piece above him, trying to get some air before throwing it.

Pico tosses the piece of debris at the sphere of light. However, after waiting a second for Clovis to react, Pico appears right above the sphere, firing a wide Cero straight down.

[Nicklance]

Lalita, for the moment, is giving out very little. But it's not hard to get the feeling that there's hidden depths to the man. "I apologize, my Lady, but last time I visited, there was no protocol", he says and bows. "It seems things have... changed quite a bit since then."

"There is no need for apologies for not knowing what you weren't told. I suppose once I get reliable lieutenants, I will send the word around." Cuerva nods at Lalita, glancing backwards at Adam.

"Palacio Uno is under massive renovations, in the most part because our Lord's rearrangements have caused no less than major damages. Taking the opportunity through necessary repairs, I have decided to refresh Palacio Uno's architectural...functions. These would be done within a few weeks to a month, and until then I am forced to be very creative in finding spaces and fitting multiple temporary functions into the same halls and rooms that are still structurally safe for my purposes."

"I presume you are an Espada as well, would you grace me with the knowledge of your name at least, since you came all the way to my humble abode to say hi?"

[Draken]

The shocking event actually sent Pico flying back, sparks flying off of his body and clothes as he does so.

After a moment or two of feeling the pain of thousands of volts of electricity running through your body, Pico lays there for a moment. Note to self. He thinks. Don't do that again. He then starts to get up with a groan. "Oh dammit, man. That's bad." He starts to feel a heat from his back and shoulders, smelling something like burnt leather. He figured out rather quickly, and correctly at that, that his jacket was on fire. At that, he scrambled up to his feet. "Oh COME ON!! How does leather even CATCH ON FIRE?!" He tries to pat the flames out with his arms, pull the coat off of him, even thought about cutting it off for a moment. However, all he ended up doing was tearing a hole near the shoulder and one near the back before deciding that he has better things to worry about, like not dying.

He looks straight at the glowing ball of light, preparing himself to charge the ball of light and destroy Clovis. He regrets deciding to look at the light almost immediately, turning his head away with a start and trying to blink away the spots in his vision. Okay, real quick. Most damage for the least effort, what can you do? As he tries to not be blind right now, Pico looks around at his surroundings, looking amongst the ruins around him for a spare piece of terrain.

Come on, come on, come on...PERFECT!! Pico grins as he finds a piece of wall that seems rather sturdy and sufficiently large enough to cause a severe headache on impact, or at least serve as a distraction. "STRATEGY!!" Pico yells, before practically flying towards his chosen target. In the meantime, he charges a Cero in his mouth.

After bouncing around for a moment, Pico arrives at the piece of wall, slicing into it to cut it loose from its foundation. The wall piece lands with a thud on the floor, raising some dust in the process. Pico casts the khopeshes aside, leaving them hanging from his wrists. He then picks up the wall piece with a small grunt, hoisting it just above his head. Pico jumps with the wall piece above him, trying to get some air before throwing it.

Pico tosses the piece of debris at the sphere of light. However, after waiting a second for Clovis to react, Pico appears right above the sphere, firing a wide Cero straight down.

Spoiler

Show

Exactly the number I wanted.

Deep in the radiant sphere, Clovis raises his arm and unleashes a Cero Prismatico, the energy surge quickly being dominated by a deep violet light.

A deep violet light that tear at strands of being and erodes the bindings of material and spiritual existance alike, not altogether unlike a garganta, opening a vast black hole into the nether between and beyond worlds.

Suffice to say, the rocks fall into the dimensional hole, if Pico acts quickly, he won't do the same.

[Terry576]

"I was actually talking about the Arrancar addressing His Majesty." Rouga noted.

"I have serious doubts that guy could have killed the Queen of DFC. I'm sure glad Hollows can regenerate, though. I would be PISSED if she'd become a permanent amputee on his account. I would be forced to feed him to lions, and the lions would have to be fed to alligators, which I would in turn make into grass and feed to elephants, which, finally, I would feed the sandworms in the desert."

Cecilia peers at the cloaked Arrancar. "Hmm... I think that's Vicente. He's pretty fun. Has oodles of gadgets and stuff."

She purses her lips. "And he hates Seven as well! Maybe we can be friends!"

She winks at Rouga. "Waddaya think? I bet he'd be an awesome addition to my entourage!"

She's completely ignoring the fact that Vicente is already a Fraccion, has a more than mild dislike of crazy people, and she pelted him with cookies one Thursday afternoon four decades ago.

[Kuroimaken]

"Wouldn't hurt to ask, I guess. He kinda strikes me as the overly serious type, though. Don't think he'd laugh at your jokes much."


He smells like... air, or dust. Something's weird about this guy.

[Frozen_Feet]

"I presume you are an Espada as well, would you grace me with the knowledge of your name at least, since you came all the way to my humble abode to say hi?"

"Ah, we are merely Fraccions of the Segunda. Should you wish to contact us, you only need to speak to him", Lalita says, bowing, before glancing to Canguro. "But now, I'm afraid we have to get going. Thank you for your time, my Lady."

[Nicklance]

"Ah, we are merely Fraccions of the Segunda. Should you wish to contact us, you only need to speak to him", Lalita says, bowing, before glancing to Canguro. "But now, I'm afraid we have to get going. Thank you for your time, my Lady."

Cuerva nods. "Of course, of course. Don't let me keep you." she waves them politely away as she leaps out of the windows and flies back to where Rouga is.

"Did I miss anything? Oh and does the Segunda Espada have Fraccion of these descriptions..." mutters Cuerva quietly to Rouga as she whispers the appearance of Lalita and Canguro to the fellow Ancient.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Palacio Uno]

As Cuerva speeds away, Lalita turns to leave as well, seemingly satisfied considering the smug smile on his face. "So, what do you think of her?", he asks from Canguro as they leave the palace limits.

[Kuroimaken]

"The girl I'm not sure, but the reason Pico is fighting right now is because of the girly guy you just described. If I'm not mistaken, he's the current Decima rather than Pico." He noted to Cuerva. "Pretty slick trying to pass himself off as lower in the totem pole than he really is. I guess he's trying to avoid people pointlessly coming after the post of Decima."

[Nicklance]

Cuerva nods. "Pico better win this and kick the Decima's arse then."

[Kuroimaken]

"And what would be the point of that?

That mockery of an Arrancar took something more important from Pico than his position or even his arm. He took his self-confidence and pride. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to convince Pico that I was training him purely because I wanted him to beat the crap out of that guy.

But Pico coming back as the Decima solves nothing. He would only establish he was superior in recovery time. No, Pico had to establish himself as blatantly superior than his so-called successor. That way, if he ever brought up the subject of his defeat, Pico would have the counterargument of his position. Not that I expect him to stop there."

[Nicklance]

"Your convincing and hope that he would rise above that thing in everything leads to the point of kicking that thing's arse when the need calls for it. And I suspect the need will come very soon, if not already part of why Pico works so hard. Anyway I would not want to discipline that thing myself. It wastes my time and energy."

[Kuroimaken]

"That's sweet of you, Cuerva, but you're mistaken in calling this 'hope'.

It's merely an eye for spotting potential.

Speaking of eye... Your Majesty, permission to add soundtrack?"

[InyutheBeatIs]

Spoiler

Show

Exactly the number I wanted.

Deep in the radiant sphere, Clovis raises his arm and unleashes a Cero Prismatico, the energy surge quickly being dominated by a deep violet light.

A deep violet light that tear at strands of being and erodes the bindings of material and spiritual existance alike, not altogether unlike a garganta, opening a vast black hole into the nether between and beyond worlds.

Suffice to say, the rocks fall into the dimensional hole, if Pico acts quickly, he won't do the same.

Pico's a bit surprised at the sudden reality-warping, space-time-tearing hole that seems to be surrounding Clovis at the moment. However, he's smart enough to try and get away from it, dissappearing and reappearing high above, at a diagonal from it.

"Okay, this time, more effort."

[Kuroimaken]

"NO, YOU IDIOT! MORE FOCUS, LESS EFFORT! MUST I RETRAIN YOU AGAIN?!" Rouga shouted in response as soon as Pico commented.

[Draken]

"Denied. Save your soundtracks to something more worthwhile."

The cero prismatico ends almost as soon as it began, and Clovis uses the free hand to lash up towards Pico.

"I disagree, more effort is quite what I seek. All effort, in fact. An espada must not hold back. An espada must not underestimate. An espada must do what it takes to win."

Suddenly, Clovis' other arm and both of his feet lash up at Pico from other directions of the globe of light.

"And an espada takes orders from none besides the Ghost King of All Hollows."

[Kuroimaken]

Rouga perked an eyebrow. "I seriously can't tell if that was an insult or a compliment, somehow."

[InyutheBeatIs]

Pico managed to jump out of the way of the hand. As Pico listened to both of them, dodging attacks as he does so, he started to grin. That grin soon transformed into a wicked smile, before parting to make way for laughter. It was almost as if they were playing out some scripted joke to him. "Well then!" Pico says in the middle of his laughter, primarely directed at Clovis. "You probably won't mind, then, if I tell you to shut up, lie down, and let me make my own damn decisions, now will you?"

At that moment, Clovis might start noticing a ball of green light forming in Pico's hand. With his other hand, he starts firing off Bala at the various limbs, trying to at least damage them or send them flying back to give him more room to dodge.

[Frozen_Feet]

[White Sands of Hueco Mundo]

Fell wind blows across the eternal dark, caused by titans of the desert clashing and falling down in the distance. A small, lizard-like creature scuttles from its hiding place, readying to hunt down some prey.

It doesn't get far, before a hand shoots from a mound of dust, crushing it in its grasp. The small beast flails feebly, trying to scratch and bite its captor, but its attempts are cut short when a man emerges from the sand and bites its head off.

A faint, crunching sound echoes between the dunes as the man sits idly, chewing on his catch. Pale scars, some old, some fresh, crisscross his bronze hide. The small reptile isn't much of a supper, but it'll keep him going... prepare him for larger game.

He's been on the desert for a while now, and it's slowly divulging its secrets to him. It's all oddly familiar, maybe he'd seen it passingly in his past life, looking through a window between worlds, but the days he's spent there have opened his eyes to see it in a way he never had before.

The desert is just a surface - a lifeless facade, to draw away attention from the world lurking beneath. Only the pathetically weak, and the horrendously strong, would choose to travel above ground.

The rest are hiding, creeping in the abyss stretching miles and miles below the sands. The man had stumbled upon it by accident, when he'd observed a monster crossing over to the dark realm from the void beyond.

It'd been wounded, cuts across its hide and spears stuck in its body. The scent of its blood, it lured others out of their cover, snarling beasts of all sorts circling and surrounding the wounded one. The man observed in wonder as the wounded one had let out a shrill shriek - was it a cry of challenge, or begging for mercy? Did it desire for them to leave it alone, or put it out of its misery? Nonetheless, the others lunged at it - tore it apart, devoured its flesh. But they didn't stop there, oh no. When nothing was left of the wounded creature, they turned at each other - fighting and eating each other until only one was left.

The man watched it rise, a towering black form looming above the sands. The man expected it to maybe howl in joy, to announce its great victory - to move on to fight stronger prey. But it just... stood there, crimson eyes staring forward, without focus or reason. It stayed in place for what seemed like ages, not moving, not speaking, not doing anything.

When it finally budged, the man followed it, curious of what could draw such a creature out of its stupor. And he followed it, until the ground gave away under their feet, and they fell down into the caves.

To think there was a whole forest down there! Mighty pillars of stone, the dead remnants of trees from some long-gone age, the tops of which he's seen above the ground sometimes. The man could only stare in wonder at them for a while - where had they come from? What disaster had seen them buried under layers and layers of dust? How far would their roots reach?

But those fossilized corpses weren't the only kind of trees. The other kind was even stranger, black forms swaying and humming themselves, their numberless red eyes being the only source of illumination for those travelling at their feet. The man recognized them as the same kind of creature as the one that was spawned from the blood of its lesser kin. He felt pity watching them.

Not interacting with anything, just being. What kind of existence is that?

If such thing as oblivion exists, those creatures had found it.

Gotten trapped in it.

The man wandered through the forest, wary of the giant feet treading the ground around him, careful to not catch attention of the myriad eyes. In the forest, there were animals too - they tried to attack him, but he slew them all, and ate them to sate his hunger. It was a grim place, reminding him too much of the life he'd left behind, the life he'd sought to leave behind for so long, but there was no exit in sight - until something set the whole forest in motion.

At first, the man though it was an earthquake, a natural disaster - would such events happen in a dead world? The animals fled before the rampaging trees, so they wouldn't be crushed under their roots. There was no choice for the man but to follow them. What greeted him was a familiar sight - monsters, fighting and killing one another, howling challenges that echoed through the abyss and called everyone to take part.

The trees acted. Why? Maybe, they hoped for something to end their suffering, but that might ascribe too much thought for creatures like them. Bolts of crimson fire lit up the dark, striking the floor, the walls, the ceiling... dozens of trees fell, hundreds of animals were crushed to paste. The man fought for his life, struggling against the tide, desiring to flee the mayhem - but then the cave collapsed..

Once again, he was buried under sand and stone.

But he made it out.

He was glad to arrive back on the bleached surface, to gaze at the moon above. But he was not alone.

From the wreckage, another emerged - a girl, or at least the man thought of her as such. He could not see her face, for it was covered by bleached bone.

But he could see her eyes.

He stared at her, and she stared back. What were they supposed to do then?

In her eyes, he saw a reflection of himself - the enemy.

So they fought.

Why?

"Fight and kill to yer hearts content! Ye're Shinigami! It's yer duty, for pity's sake!"

Was it really necessary?

"So no fear, kids! Let's guide some lost souls to peaceful afterlife!"

Sitting on the desert, the man reaches up, as if grasping something invisible against the moonlight. There should be something there... something is missing.

A sword.

He had not understood then why she had hated him so. It was like back under the mountain again. He couldn't grasp any of it. But in hindsight... why would she not have hated? Why would she not have considered him an enemy?

In her eyes, he saw fear of oblivion. Oblivion that everything in this dead world is around to cause. He understands that fear, for he'd tasted it as well, dying in his cell.

But somewhere there, there was also desire. Desire to cease suffering. Maybe from that viewpoint, even oblivion would seem like salvation.

Salvation one of his kind had failed to grant her, thousands and thousands times over.

Either way, there was but one way forward, with nothing to lose for, or everything to lose for not, trying.

But I abandoned that duty.

Yes... that, he has done. But just as she had only the choice between oblivion and fighting, just as he had only the choice to climb up or forever linger in the abyss, now he only has the choice to keep fighting or starve.

He still has to eat, after all.

He'd abolished his chains, but reality isn't as easy to shake off.

But isn't this what I wanted? Isn't this what I'm for?

A cold breeze shakes him out of his thoughts, and he lifts his hand to shield his face. He's sewn his face back together with bone and sinew of his prey, but the wound still hasn't healed properly. It aches in the wind.

Salvation... freedom of choice. Freedom from hunger and needless suffering.

If I burn the forest down, I'll grant it to them.

He would not need his sword. After all, his sword had been a part of him. I'm still here.

But for now, he'd need to find something else to eat. He turns to look at the battle raging in the horizon, and smirks...

[Draken]

Pico managed to jump out of the way of the hand. As Pico listened to both of them, dodging attacks as he does so, he started to grin. That grin soon transformed into a wicked smile, before parting to make way for laughter. It was almost as if they were playing out some scripted joke to him. "Well then!" Pico says in the middle of his laughter, primarely directed at Clovis. "You probably won't mind, then, if I tell you to shut up, lie down, and let me make my own damn decisions, now will you?"

At that moment, Clovis might start noticing a ball of green light forming in Pico's hand. With his other hand, he starts firing off Bala at the various limbs, trying to at least damage them or send them flying back to give him more room to dodge.

"But I will!"

The bala blasts Clovis' arm into a hundred pieces, but the currents of reiatsu once again gather the fragments and pulls them down into the chromatic orb.

"If I say nothing, how will you learn what is expected of you at this present moment? And more importantly, how will I entertain the king? And if I lay myself low, then how will you earn your place as the novena espada? What will it mean if you can't beat the tricks of reiryoku and light of a mere jester of the Ciudad Baja?"

Clovis swings an arm once again, but this time a hail of energy-charged darts flies towards Pico.

[Edge]

[Pico versus Clovis]

Aléjandro appears close to Von Geister in a burst of sonido.

"Ah, your Majesty. I see you are busy. No matter, what I wish to discuss with you can wait. Also, this fight between Pico and Clovis may prove distracting enough to be described as 'mildly entertaining'."

[Nicklance]

Pico vs Clovis

Cuerva continues to look on the fight, impressed by this Pico. If Rouga claims him to be weak before then it must mean that his training is nothing to sneeze at. And since she has to be away for a short while on a retreat, Adam's training might be better served under Rouga. The boy would not hit a plateau and Rouga can keep a good eye on the boy. Anita isn't a fighter and Adam should be used to Tadzio's typical strategies and tricks by now. Keeping him on his toes will do him good.

Cuerva leans towards Rouga and whispers. "I will be away for a short retreat. Would you train my boy in my place until I am back?"

[Kuroimaken]

Rouga perked an eyebrow. "No love lost between ya, eh? I could try not to kill him. If he survives, he might well become stronger as a result."

Of course, Rouga was trying really hard not to crack a sexy mom joke when she referred to Adam as "her boy".

[strawberryman]

[Talon's Lair]

Theyburningoofucandles andhtheadripvofewax weredallothatnpermeatedethe dankwdarknesseoflthelroom Talon was silently meditating in. Not even smell could penetrate the almost living blackness. The weak candlelight, standing like David to the omnipresent black Goliath only barely lit the massive room, and barely revealed the bloody circle etched on the ground.

Theipasttfew weeksiweresbusy, iftperformediinmsolitude.eHer plantwasonearingathe pointcoftaction.!She had all but bent the twins to her will with her training. After they had learned to fear her, and showed even trace amount of obedience, they were rewarded. They ate the hollow she captured like a pair of hungry pups. And at that point, they were hers.

Talon's draconic eyes open, and she breathes in the cold, saturated air. Yes. It was time to knock a piece off the board. She blew at the candles, leaving the secret room of her lair. She made her way for the throne room with a confident stride. This would be the first step in The Reformation.

She opens the double doors with a slam, looking into the atrium-like throne room, aquatic hollows swimming just out of sight past the glass, in the lake above. She looked upon her throne, made of hollow masks. But most of all, she looked for her pets.