[BitP:R] Hueco Mundo 3

[Kayne650]

The two "pets" that Talon was searching for were on the ground by the throne, and they looked up when Talon entered the room. They were huddled together, but not holding each other as they had been before, when they were protecting each other from Talon. Instead, they just looked cold. And it was reasonable that they should be so, given that they were trapped under the ground, surrounded by water, wearing very little (Talon's training didn't leave much room for clothes). After Talon entered, the two arose from the ground and went to meet her.

"Good day, mistress!"

"How was your meditation?"

The change was nearly physical. Where once had existed defiance and anger now was only subservience. Occasionally one of the twins acted up, but it was always met with such fierce and swift punishment that it had been deemed completely pointless to fight back. And so, they had succumbed to the ancient adage of "if you can't beat'em, join'em."

But occasionally, Talon could still see the spark of determination in their eyes. Whether their submission was genuine or fake was at best difficult to ascertain, but if the two had decided to take action, they were still biding their time.

[strawberryman]

"Kneel." Talon is hardly in the mood for playfulness, after all there is work to be done! She sets right to circling around the twins like a shark.

"You have come a long way. But now that you have seen how much more I have to offer than Sereg..." She traces a nearly ice-cold finger across each of the lines of their shoulders. "...are you prepared to serve me?"

"Are you prepared to overthrow your old 'master' who gave you no respect? Who forced you to fight for his perverted pleasure? To honor the one who has forged you into a stronger bond? To receive your reward if you succeed?" That word. Reward. She had strategically used it so little, it was like the metaphorical bell that she could use to induce salivating. Every time she had used it before it was associated with feeding on a captured hollow.

She holds up the key to the locks on each of the twin's collars. Sure, she was still wary, as any proper schemer needed to be. But enough time had been wasted, she needed to at least gauge their reaction to finally being freed. At the worst, she could beat them into submission again and teach them what it truly meant to fear her.

[Nicklance]

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".

"He should learn something after the training session. I do not want him to hit a plateau training exclusively against Tadzil. Plus you train long enough with a single trainer you're only going to learn new ways to counter that one trainer alone. Keeping him on his toes will ensure that he conceptualizes every experience into as wide an application as possible."

[Kuroimaken]

"He should learn something after the training session. I do not want him to hit a plateau training exclusively against Tadzil. Plus you train long enough with a single trainer you're only going to learn new ways to counter that one trainer alone. Keeping him on his toes will ensure that he conceptualizes every experience into as wide an application as possible."

"That's not what I meant. Trust me, this kid is gonna see HELL. Here's to hoping you taught him inhuman determination, because otherwise..."

[Nicklance]

"That's not what I meant. Trust me, this kid is gonna see HELL. Here's to hoping you taught him inhuman determination, because otherwise..."

"He's a Quincy child from Genoveva's Pits. That good enough credentials?"

[InyutheBeatIs]

"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.

"Good question!" Pico shouts as he kicks away from the darts, the Cero in his hand growing more dense and somehow more repulsive to look at. "When you can, stop by my place! We'll swap notes."

After he forms and fires another Bala at the other arm, Pico dashes towards the ball of light, stopping just short of the ground. He pulls himself up, the palm of his hand thrust out towards the chromatic orb surrounding Clovis, firing the Cero at point-blank range. The repulsive green ray widens, aiming to engulf the orb in its path.

[Kuroimaken]

"He's a Quincy child from Genoveva's Pits. That good enough credentials?"

"It means he won't die on day one. I'll try to keep your precious boy in one piece, Cuerva-chan... but he shouldn't expect kindness from me."

[Draken]

"Good question!" Pico shouts as he kicks away from the darts, the Cero in his hand growing more dense and somehow more repulsive to look at. "When you can, stop by my place! We'll swap notes."

After he forms and fires another Bala at the other arm, Pico dashes towards the ball of light, stopping just short of the ground. He pulls himself up, the palm of his hand thrust out towards the chromatic orb surrounding Clovis, firing the Cero at point-blank range. The repulsive green ray widens, aiming to engulf the orb in its path.

Bala fired, sonido off, classical misdirection. Clovis sidesteps in the light.

"Come on. That is... - Incoming wide cero. - "Bugger."

With no further time to react, Clovis braces himself against the impact. As the cero subsides, the chromatic sphere has disapeared and the court jester is sprawled in the middle of an impact crater.

[Zerkai]

[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.

"She seems to be a step up from the former Primera. I'll wait and see if she comes crashing through the Segunda Palacio to start something to reserve judgement." Canguro had finally spoken up once Cuerva sped off, not having been sure what to say in the new Primera's presence. She threw her hands behind her head as she started to walk back to Edward's Palacio.

"Although... Genoveva left, I imagine they'd just bump up everyone's rank and find a new Decima. How did this new Primera convince the Ghost King to take her place?" She let out a sigh of frustration, choosing not to think too much about it after a moment.

((OoC: Apologies. Family moving in a few weeks, been hard to keep up on here.))

[Frozen_Feet]

"Step up? Interesting you should say so, Miss. I think she's a step down. But I don't feel like testing my mettle against her yet." Lalita subconsciously touches his arm which Genoveva broke weeks earlier.

As he picks up which direction Canguro is heading to, he stops.

"I'd rather not go back there, Miss. There's very little left for me there", he whispers. "What would you say if we went back to the desert again? Or maybe visit the world below for a chance?"

[InyutheBeatIs]

Bala fired, sonido off, classical misdirection. Clovis sidesteps in the light.

"Come on. That is... - Incoming wide cero. - "Bugger."

With no further time to react, Clovis braces himself against the impact. As the cero subsides, the chromatic sphere has disapeared and the court jester is sprawled in the middle of an impact crater.

Pico seems pleased at the fact that he seems to have the advantage. So, he twists the wrappings tied around his wrists around his fingers, flicking them out and upward with a single flick of the wrists. The handles of the obsidian khopeshes practically soared to Pico's hands as he dashed into the air. If he were any other person, and if this were any other circumstance, the gesture might just have been considered graceful. However, this wasn't any other person, so all he cared about was that there were now two pointy and sharp objects in his hands that he was going to use to beat the crap out of Clovis.

He dashed right towards the center of the impact crater. As he reached the court jester, Pico swung the two blades down in an arc on either side, aiming to capture him by using the curves of the blades as hooks. As he does this, he lets out a yell, as if to emphasise the strength and speed he was putting into the swing.

[Draken]

Immediately upon doing his scene, Pico will notice that Clovis is out cold.

Von Geister gets up and points his cane at the combatants.

"That will be enough, Novena Espada, Pico Kurazume."

He then turns to Alejandro, no words, just listening.

[Kuroimaken]

"Bravo, kid. And here I was expecting to need to break out the inspirational music." Rouga claps slowly but solidly.

[KnightDisciple]

[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'."

[Pico versus Clovis]

Vicente had blinked at Aléjandro's arrival, but gave the Cuarta a quick, respectful bow, before moving several steps away to give the two people he most respected room to speak privately. The two people he admired most, he admitted to himself.

He raised an eyebrow when Pico won, but said nothing.

'Interesting. He seems to have become much, much better in his time training. As I did in my own training. Perhaps there's hope yet? At least some Espada are willing to work for their power. Instead of accepting handouts like that filthy bug Sereg. Heh. His time will come soon enough...'

He allowed himself a small smirk as he stood there, contemplating the future.

[Nicklance]

Cuerva claps when Pico is declared the winner, smiling with pleasure. It seems that Rouga's training does work.

"Bravo. You shall dine with me tonight. Rouga, the invitation extends to you too."

[Edge]

Immediately upon doing his scene, Pico will notice that Clovis is out cold.

Von Geister gets up and points his cane at the combatants.

"That will be enough, Novena Espada, Pico Kurazume."

He then turns to Alejandro, no words, just listening.

"Your Majesty, the matter I wish to speak of is currently of little concern, but could become exceptionally problematic. As it stands, the shinigami are likely unaware that Genoveva is no longer counted among our numbers. It may behoove us make them aware of that fact, so as to prevent any misguided attempts at retaliation. The truce we hold is useful. I would personally deem it unwise for it to go to waste."

[Draken]

"Ah yes, Genoveva's last foray in aggravating rebeliousness."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that my good Alejandro. Arturo already provided me an opportunity to clear that ill-conceived event with the leadership of the seireitei... As a matter of fact, I am expecting a diplomatic visit from the commander general of the gotei soon enough... Your palace holds some of the most aesthetically pleasing abodes of the city. Could you prepare one of your chambers for our iminent guest?"

[Edge]

"Ah yes, Genoveva's last foray in aggravating rebeliousness."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that my good Alejandro. Arturo already provided me an opportunity to clear that ill-conceived event with the leadership of the seireitei... As a matter of fact, I am expecting a diplomatic visit from the commander general of the gotei soon enough... Your palace holds some of the most aesthetically pleasing abodes of the city. Could you prepare one of your chambers for our iminent guest?"

"It shall be my pleasure. I will have the Oak Lounge aired and otherwise attended to."

With that, he turns his attentions to Pico.

"Congratulations on your victory, Novena. It is good to have you amongst our number again."

A brief nod to his fellow Espada, a more prominent one directed towards Von Geister, and Aléjandro leaves in a blur of sonido.

[Terry576]

Cecilia grins widely, waving frantically at Pico.

"Oy! Bastard! Drinks are on me next time you decide to get smashed!"

She seems rather pleased with herself, although that could be because of the cat-person who seems to be having a glare-down with Caiphus.

[Kuroimaken]

Cuerva claps when Pico is declared the winner, smiling with pleasure. It seems that Rouga's training does work.

"Bravo. You shall dine with me tonight. Rouga, the invitation extends to you too."

"I'll be sure to come on an empty stomach. I remember what happened last we dined, Cuerva-chan." He replied with one of his trademark silly yet feral grins.

[InyutheBeatIs]

At first, Pico is surprised by the realization that he won the fight. However, he acts like he is surprised for about three seconds before realizing that Von Geister was talking to him. So, he kneels before Von Geister, trying to at least show some respect for him. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

At the realization that Rouga was talking, and that Von Geister has directed his attention elsewhere, Pico stood up and gave a bow towards him. However, instead of the sort of gesture that he gave towards Von Geister, one clearly intended for respect and nothing else, this bow seemed to have a similar feel to that of a bow of a stage magician towards the crowd at the end of a show. "Thank you, thank you. Glad you still have faith in me."

Pico then looks at Cuerva, giving a small bow and a nod of his head. The gesture was intended to be respectful, however there is still a sense of hesitation. "I will be looking forward to it." Pico stated, looking up at Rouga when he took Cuerva's invitation as well.

However, before he could elaborate on his reaction, he heard Cecilia shouting at him. He almost immediately turned directly towards her, showing surprise at the sudden appearance. His eye twitched a bit almost on instinct, before he manages to smile and wave back. "Alright. I, uh, I'll take you up on that offer. Maybe."

He then turns to Aléjandro after he speaks, grinning a bit before nodding back. "It's good to be back."

After he finishes talking to everyone, he starts walking out of the crater, mumbling to himself a bit. "Since when did everyone get here? And why did everyone show up here anyways?"

[KnightDisciple]

Vicente chose that moment to carefully move in. He wanted the Ghost King to see this...but he also wanted the Espada to see it as well. Master Aléjandro would know of it, and had no need for pomp. Some of these others, however, did need a bit of ceremony. Vicente bowed to each, reserving the deepest bow for Von Geister. He managed not to smirk as he spoke.

"Your Majesty. Honored Espada. I would ask that you give me a few moments of your time. I wish to show you something that I firmly believe will give Las Noches even greater power. I won't go so far as to say "it will revolutionize how we fight", but I do think what you shall see will make us all more powerful."

With that, he brought his right hand to his mouth, placed a couple of fingers to his lips, and let off 5 odd whistling sounds. Within a minute, three residents of the city stood nearby. Two nondescript Arrancar (both of whom felt rather weak compared to the powerhouses standing nearby) and a lizard-man-esque non-Menos Hollow stood at attention. Vicente himself glanced around with a slight frown, before smiling and gesturing at the arena as he spoke.

"Your Majesty, may we make use of this arena? It will only take a moment, will do no worse than what's happened already, and gives more room for the demonstration."

[Draken]

Von Geister looks down towards Vicente with a smile.

"Ah, has that project been completed? Do show it then."

[Nicklance]

Cuerva looks at the arrival of combatants with interest.

[KnightDisciple]

Von Geister looks down towards Vicente with a smile.

"Ah, has that project been completed? Do show it then."

Vicente pauses to consider his words.

"The initial stage, yes. I can reliably produce the material. I do not have mass production down. But that's a much smaller step, in my mind."

The three test subjects have lined up on the arena, all facing the same direction, with about 20 feet between each of them. Vicente walks a bit away from the gathering, then turns to face them. When he is, they can see three heavy-duty vials of glowing liquid in his left hand.

"These are what I call Tonics. Through a specifici scientific process, they have been created to temporarily grant any Hollow, of any type, a new ability. At the moment, I see few limits on just what kind of change they can do. They are narrowly focused, however. And you can only use one at a time. But after about a minute, it fades, and perhaps half a minute later, you can use another. Some might end up lasting longer, but all the prototypes right now are more...active, shall we say. Now, a demonstration."

In an eerily silent movement, Vicente is next to the lizard-like Hollow. He speaks softly for several moments, then hands it a vial that glows a neon green. The lizard-hollow pops the top and drinks the whole thing. It snarls in obvious discomfort for a moment, before it stands straight.

And suddenly spews acid from its hands, where there was clearly no mechanism for such a thing before.

Vicente goes to the Arrancar, and similar actions occur, one being given a purplish-blue bottle, and one a fiery red one.

The purplish-blue bottle gave the Arrancar the ability to breath lightning.

The fiery red one engulfed the final Arrancar in flames that did not harm it, but did seem to char the ground rather effectively.

And as Vicente promised, it was only a minute's time before the affects faded; the test subjects seemed to wince a bit with discomfort, but otherwise were unharmed. Vicente signaled them to leave, while he moved back up to his impromptu audience.

"As you see, there is unavoidable discomfort with the Tonic. This is because it is innately alien to our bodies; from the moment we consume it, our bodies fight to expel it. It takes only about a minute for this to occur.

As stated, I am still working on mass production, but I have reached a point where I can intentionally create a desired affect."

He smiles.

"Any questions?"

[Nicklance]

Cuerva nods, clearly intrigued.

"And these interfere with our unique biological structures in order to produce mutations yes? What are the side effects of long-term usage?"

[KnightDisciple]

Vicente sighs.

"If one uses several, back to back, you run the short-term risk of your body losing effectiveness as it works to clean out "leftovers" that are still swimming around. It won't kill you, but you'll be fighting at reduced effectiveness. But you'd need to use a half-dozen or more, back to back, with essentially no time in-between. If you use two or three, and several minutes later use another, it shouldn't be an issue. I cannot precisely predict the exact reaction of every single Hollow, Menos, or Arrancar's biology to the compounds. There's simply too many variables, especially as we grow in power and change in form. I know the baseline effect the Tonics have, but there are subtle differences that might occur.

Future iterations will have this detrimental affect lessened, but not removed entirely, as that's simply impossible with the very nature of the substances.

Also, if someone uses it heavily, repeatedly, for multiple days, there's a strong possibility of some level of addiction occurring. But that requires repeated usage over a period of time.

These Tonics are tools, but not crutches. No one can or should rely on them to win battles on their own. They are meant to surprise an opponent. Especially a Shinigami, since this is likely the closest we'll get to their blasted Kido."

[Nicklance]

Cuerva glances at Von Geister and Rouga as Vincente mentions the Hollow's lack of "Kido" with a faint smile.

"What about its effects on other spiritual beings? Namely, Shinigami, Mortals and Quincy."

[Kuroimaken]

"Somehow, I have my doubts... Vicente-kun, was it?" Rouga noted. "Those are certainly very impressive, but... how dependant on the user is their effectiveness? Would they have greater or diminished effects on Menos, for example? If their strength is static, it might only matter to the weakest of us."

[Draken]

Von Geister does not show further reaction. Cuerva and Rouga appear to be making all the relevant questions at any rate.