[BitP:R] Hueco Mundo 3

[horngeek]

Las Noches

A Garganta opens in the district of the Octava, and through it steps Mei and Serazel. "...let's go. I want to see where Ivaz stands on this first."

[KerfuffleMach2]

Las Noches - Octava District

Ivaz walks down the hall towards her room. Things had been kind of dull around here with Mei and Ruwa and Serazel gone.

Ivaz was going to do something drastic if it didn't end soon. Something that would probably end with her being held accountable for random mass destruction. And that wouldn't be good for her future.

[strawberryman]

[Paramonos' House]

Ruwa awakes with a gasp, sitting up despite the pain... well, everywhere. Even a few weeks of sleep hadn't done much to recover...

But she felt something. No, someone.

But it couldn't be. In a daze, Ruwa sits up, stretching her senses out to see if what she felt--

...It was. Suddenly releasing, she crashes through Paramonos' floor, burrowing into the ground before he returned. Nevermind the fact that there was now a Ruwa-sized hole in the floor. She had more important things to see to...

[Nicklance]

Sector 2 - Alexander Yori

Spoiler

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The young man walks through the hostile city without care of where he's actually going. His body is dead, and it shows. His chest looks withered from his wounds and the chain shattering and his entire being aches from the long trek through the dark desert. Luckily he'd acquired a taste for hollows early.

But now, now was different. For days he'd been walking in a straight line through the endless desert, something within himself driving him toward this spot. And he was almost there. Now he feels it, the burning hatred of life and the unmistakable energy of one of his own in the Primera Sector. Now he heads toward the wasp nest, unknowing of the fate which would once again bring him to meet his murderer.

The mask sits affixed to his face, the hollow reiatsu being enough to cast away immediate suspicion from himself as he treks the city streets, for the Hollows had felt that type of power before. And it was a mixture they were afraid of, for where the quincy energy mixed with hollow fury, the King was present. His drones had taken the form of quincy before, and angering the King was best left undone. Alex had stolen a white hakama from someone's laundry and a sandy brown cloak which hid his body in it's bulk.

Moving about with his odd Hirenkyaku in District Uno, Adam takes his mandatory patrol, his dark grey shirt open from the collar down to his solar plexus to reveal the seal that Cuerva seared into his flesh right over his heart. The citizens of District Uno recognize that mark, if not they would learn.

His first patrol around District Uno caused him to be late, and he received a beating from Tadzio, for being late as the various citizens began to harass him. A Quincy, or even mortals, who are not in the Pit but actively roaming on the surface is a very rare sight, and dangerous too. But when Cuerva announced him to be her mortal Fraccion, the collective gasp and wariness that shot through the crowd gave him some small satisfaction. Subsequent patrols got easier.

Forward Command Camp near the Aerie of Slaughter

Spoiler

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The call for experiment subjects creates a bit of a dilemma for Toriyama Alice. On one hand, the study of Hollowfication will be of unparalleled usefulness in their fight against Hueco Mundo and it's inhabitants, but Takeshi might be getting a bit too close to their enemies.

As the initial stir of arguments and discussion wears off, Alice consults Kurarantou in the sword's Inner World, seeking the advice of her companion.

While the twin-tailed cat's answers remain as cryptic and casual as they always have, Alice makes up her mind and signs up to help the experiment and their further study of Hollowfication.

She steadfastly refuse to ever take the serum herself, however. Her hatred of the Hollows still too deep to overcome.

Kitano Takeshi unfortunately had to be away for a short while. The message was relayed by Haruko Miki (riccaru's Kido Defector character which I think he'll introduce soon) as she takes a seat outside Takeshi's office, playing with a hollow's mask in her hand, turning it around, inspecting it and stuff, and occasionally placing it on her face where the mask covers the entirety of her face, with vicious gnarled teeth covering her own mouth and a single “v” shaped slit for eyes. Two thin red diamonds run vertically over the eye slit, where her eyes set.

She looks at Alice with curiosity in her eyes and a cheerful smile. "Are you here to bind Takeshi while he tries the serum? Or are you here to try the serum?"

Spoiler

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Pardon me while I 'NPC' Miki for this small bit riccaru. Sorry about that and thanks in advance.

[Mina Kobold]

Forward Command Camp near the Aerie of Slaughter

Alice mentally sighs in relief that there are roles for those who do not wish the serum themselves. Externally, she looks as calm and smiling as ever, though, and even her voice seems as polite and unshaken as it always did.

"I am here to help Takeshi while he takes the serum. I am afraid I do not dare to take it myself"

With a slight bow, she stands tall and politely awaits Miki's reply.

[Steilos]

Ciudad Baja, Time unknown. Time Irrelevant.

Apolinar stared at the cockroach-thing in front of him.

He'd set the Hollow menial tasks, such as forging and other menial duties.
Apolinar now had 20 different weapons.

He'd tested Saltamontes' creative ability with reiryoku.
There was now a 10 foot barely controllable mechanical warsteed with mouth-mounted flamethrowers out in the back yard.

The cannon was busted. The training dummies had been set to kill so often they'd fallen apart. He'd rigged the tests in every concievable way and here this damned THING was in front of him mocking him by the very act of existing. Apolinar had been reduced to staring at him in the hopes he'd keel over. No dice.

"Fine... You have passed your evaluation. Return to your commander." Apolinar's hand shoots out and a report detailing the Hollow's success flies with deadly accuracy towards Saltamontes.

[Nicklance]

Forward Command Camp near the Aerie of Slaughter

Alice mentally sighs in relief that there are roles for those who do not wish the serum themselves. Externally, she looks as calm and smiling as ever, though, and even her voice seems as polite and unshaken as it always did.

"I am here to help Takeshi while he takes the serum. I am afraid I do not dare to take it myself"

With a slight bow, she stands tall and politely awaits Miki's reply.

Miki laughs with a twinkle in her eye. "You know, all of us were pretty huge traitors to the Gotei by defecting like this. When I told Takeshi my lack of courage on this 'dare' all he did was to smile and reply "When the people have committed some of the biggest daring deeds in their lifetimes, what's a few more along the way?" and I spent some time thinking about it. No doubt Hollowfication is a taboo and even as a source of power, not a very reliable one. But I'm already here, and knowing very well that the Gotei 13 will not take it lying down at our defection, why should I still hold onto inhibitions?"

Getting up from her seat, Miki dissolves the mask and sticks her hands in her pockets. "It is still all a matter of free will, Takeshi helped me when I volunteered. Now both of us will help him when he takes the serum. Don't worry about daring or not, Takeshi deep down inside would rather not have anyone try it except him. Let's wait for him to come back shall we? He said he has to go back to the mortal world for awhile."

[Kuroimaken]

Ciudad Baja, Time unknown. Time Irrelevant.

Apolinar stared at the cockroach-thing in front of him.

He'd set the Hollow menial tasks, such as forging and other menial duties.
Apolinar now had 20 different weapons.

He'd tested Saltamontes' creative ability with reiryoku.
There was now a 10 foot barely controllable mechanical warsteed with mouth-mounted flamethrowers out in the back yard.

The cannon was busted. The training dummies had been set to kill so often they'd fallen apart. He'd rigged the tests in every concievable way and here this damned THING was in front of him mocking him by the very act of existing. Apolinar had been reduced to staring at him in the hopes he'd keel over. No dice.

"Fine... You have passed your evaluation. Return to your commander." Apolinar's hand shoots out and a report detailing the Hollow's success flies with deadly accuracy towards Saltamontes.

It's not that Private Saltamontes (or Goki-kun as his commander liked to address him) wasn't tired or winded from the constant barrage of tests. He was. But every time you'd think he'd run out of stamina, the SECOND he was given an order it seemed as though he became someone else. One has to wonder what kind of training Rouga put the poor Hollow through.

When the report flies, it embeds itself right on Saltamontes' forehead. With a salute, he leaves the office.

[Nearly a month later]
There's knocking on heaven's door at Apolinar's front door.

[Steilos]

Apolinar looked up at the noise just as a frenzied artifical neigh, a gust of flame and a scream wafted up through the window.

"You may enter."

[Kuroimaken]

"I come bearing a message for Apolinar-sama." The hollow offers before quickly depositing a letter on his desk.

"By your leave."

He attempts to leave as swiftly as possible.

It might be because the letter is from Rouga.

Spoiler

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"Yo! Ringo-chan! <3

Listen, I just thought I'd let you know Pico-kun is trying for the Novena spot today. The kid's got some guts, so I don't doubt he'll get to where he wants to be, but even so, he could probably use a cheerleader! And I thought, who best to cheer him on than you? ^.~

Anyhoo, Ecchan His Majesty is going to be supervising this himself, so you might not wanna miss it anyway. See ya around the bend. ^_^ .õ/

Your best buddy in the whole wide Hueco Mundo
Sougami Rouga

[horngeek]

Las Noches - Octava District

Ivaz walks down the hall towards her room. Things had been kind of dull around here with Mei and Ruwa and Serazel gone.

Ivaz was going to do something drastic if it didn't end soon. Something that would probably end with her being held accountable for random mass destruction. And that wouldn't be good for her future.

Mei searches for Ivaz's reiatsu, and when she finds it, looks at Serazel. "This way."

Then she moves towards Ivaz in a burst of Sonido, making sure Serazel can follow.

[maximus25]

Absalon goes to his quarters, it has been a long day and he has things to think about.

So, necromancia... sounds like an interesting thing.
He thinks to himself.

[Kuroimaken]

Mei searches for Ivaz's reiatsu, and when she finds it, looks at Serazel. "This way."

Then she moves towards Ivaz in a burst of Sonido, making sure Serazel can follow.

Serazel being one of the fastest Fraccion in Las Noches means she most likely need not concern herself. With that said, he doesn't know exactly where she's going, though he can hazard a guess.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Las Noches - Octava District

Ivaz enters her quarters, unaware of her soon to be visitors.

Man...what to do today? Maybe I should go bug Sereg...

[Steilos]

"I come bearing a message for Apolinar-sama." The hollow offers before quickly depositing a letter on his desk.

"By your leave."

He attempts to leave as swiftly as possible.

It might be because the letter is from Rouga.

Apolinar twitches upon hearing -sama. It could mean only one thing. Practically snatching the letter from the messenger before it even hits the desk, the General takes a good long look at the contents.

A few moments later he is crumpling the letter into a tiny ball, the spasmodic twitching of his hands doing most of the work unconsciously. With a crazed flick of his wrist he flings the paper out of the window, neatly decapitating a passing trainee.

Another blur, and the desk smashes into fragments while Apolinar is stomping up the stairs to the upper city hard enough to crack the stone.

At the Fight

There is but a slight displacement of air, and Apolinar stands watching... nothing. The fight is over. He did, however, catch the Tonic and Necromancia. Quite an interesting spectacle to say the least. Such tools could be useful in killing rouga defending Ciudad Baja. He'd have to ask Vincente and that new Primera about training his soldiers in killing rouga this art. Right now, however, killing rouga it was time to focus on killing rouga kill rouga kill rouga kill kill kill

Apolinar stands twitching slightly at the periphery of the group still at the arena.

[horngeek]

Las Noches - Octava District

Ivaz enters her quarters, unaware of her soon to be visitors.

Man...what to do today? Maybe I should go bug Sereg...

Pretty soon, there's a knocking on the door.

[Kuroimaken]

"Uwah, if it ain't Ringo-chan!

RINGO-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!! OVER HERE!!"

Rouga waved and shouted even though Apolinar wasn't that far away...

[KerfuffleMach2]

Las Noches - Octava District

Ivaz raises an eyebrow and turns to her door.

Huh? Who is this?

As she approaches the door, she'll send out a Pesquisa.

Yeah? Who is it?

She doesn't open it just yet.

[InyutheBeatIs]

[Novena Arena]

Pico was snapped out of his thoughts by Rouga's sudden shouting. At the sight of Apolinar, he first scowled. Then, he heard him being called 'Ringo-chan', almost sending Pico laughing right then and there. At that point, he shouted back at Apolinar.

"YO GENERAL! What are you doing here?"

[horngeek]

Las Noches - Octava District

Ivaz raises an eyebrow and turns to her door.

Huh? Who is this?

As she approaches the door, she'll send out a Pesquisa.

Yeah? Who is it?

She doesn't open it just yet.

She'll find... Mei. "Me."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Las Noches - Octava District]

When Ivaz finally opens the door, she finds herself in one of then few times in her life that she's been totally speechless.

She just stares at Mei for a moment with a dumb look on her face.

Then her normal, malicious grin returns.

Well, well, well...look who it is. Where the hell have you been?

[Callos_DeTerran]

[White Sands]

The man does not answer. Only sound to emerge from his mouth is perpetual, low rumble, like the growling of some grand beast - and at the edges of her hearing, Genoveva can just hear something else too, a high-pitched wailing, slowly growing in intensity.

As the ash flakes off his face, she can more clearly see a bone Hannya mask with clipped horns on it. There's hole, surrounded by cracks, struck through the forehead, almost like a third eye. Small trickles of blood run down from it and both of the mask's eyeholes... though the man's eyes, she can't see. From where she's looking, it seems there's nothing but blackness behind it.

As the man realizes he grasped only air, his hand squeeze into tight fists, his tense posture radiating barely restrained fury - while observing, she might notice that he feels strange. Her eyes can tell he's there, but he's not giving out any Reiatsu. Even Pesquisa returns just the reflection of her own aura, nothing more. It's like he's just a steel shell, with nothing inside.

This detail might distract her just as his form blurs again in rapid acceleration, circling the Arrancar girl slightly to send a double punch towards her armless side.

((OOC: The Aura's lunacy, right?))

White Sands

As the hannya mask comes into sight, the unspeakable happens, Genoveva's eyes widen in surprise to expose the hellish eyes behind them even as the vizard came barreling towards her. She doesn't even note his lack of reiatsu, consciously anyway, when there was such an important trait rushing towards her. Thus her reaction to the double punch is...less then ideal. One leg snaps up into the air, planting the sole of her foot on one of the fists and pushing back against it with all the strength she could muster while the other passes through her defenses to slam into her side.

Hannibal would likely discover something unusual himself then, if he was even capable of noticing as much, that this slight looking girl felt like several tons of stone piled into one place! Despite the strength behind the hit, Genoveva isn't moved far back and her teeth are ground against one another as she watches Hannibal warily.

"Are ya even in der anymor'? Ta tink, one of ya damnable shinigami can go 'round impersonatin' us! Hack! Can ya even fight like 'un arrancar?" she growls out spitefully, spitting down towards the distant sand as she keeps edging back, knowing this thing would try to ambush-sprint her again. Finally she plummets down towards the ground, landing nimbly with her hands splayed across the sand as her eyes turn up at the vizard above her, waiting.

[Frozen_Feet]

Kick against the man's fist pushed Genoveva away more than he man, but it still achieved the goal of getting her out of the way enough to avoid most of the force behind the other punch.

Otherwise, it might have gone through her. Pile of stones or not, the punch likely could've cracked a small mountains. The man flexes his fingers in disappointement, blank eyes staring at nothing.

Then, he tilts his head down just enough for the Arrancar to tell he's looking at her. His form blurs in burst of speed again...

... but he does not head for her.

Instead, he runs to the opposite direction, landing on the side of the massive crater caused by her earlier show of strenght. His left hand shoots towards and digs into the ground... emerging blink of an eye later, pulling with it the massive axe left behind by one of Genoveva's earlier victims.

The man lifts the weapon before his chest, as if to test its balance... then swings it so fast it's hard to keep track of it with the naked eye, bone dust flying to the side in waves as a massive crevice is struck to the ground. Shards of rock rain down on him as he turns slightly to face her again, his growl turning into an ear-rattling roar as he calls out to her in challenge...

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva

Slowly Genoveva straightens as the hollow-man lands on the opposite side of the crater that had been formed from her last assault, listening to the roar with a tilt of her head towards the noise. Her hand tightens into a ball as the hollow-man finds a discarded zanpakuto that had been left behind by one of her more recent victims.

"You wanna challenge me? So be it." she says simply as a battle-happy grin comes to her face, a sand plume kicking up as she dashes towards her opponent recklessly. Closer, closer...and then all hell breaks loose as dark shapes catapult out of nothingness all around the battling duo! Hollows and arrancar, abruptly freed from imprisonment within Genoveva swarm through the air in confusion even as their momentum carries them towards Hannibal, a wall of flesh and hierro for him to try and cut through with that axe of his. Some of these ex-prisoners even seem to gather themselves, letting out guttural cries of battle and surging forth to obstruct the view of Genoveva.

Not that she was there anymore, descending from above the oncoming horde with her leg raised for a devastating axe kick that could shatter a vizard as easily as it would stone, but her defenses were open and she was vulnerable to counter-attack. Until the after-image disappears at the last second, a trio of blond ex-Primera's rushing at Hannibal from the sides and back while the confused prisoners charge from the front, enveloping the shinigami-turned-hollow in attackers. Genoveva's unique reiatsu seems to come from every direction, heavy and omnipresent as the attack closes in from almost every direction.

[Frozen_Feet]

The man stands eeriely unresponsive and still as the onslaught closes in, only at the last moment grabbing the first flying Hollow by its mask and smashing it to the ground head first, using its body as a stepping stone as he swings his axe in a deadly arc, cleaving several of his enemies in halves and sending their blood flying through the air. With disturbing deftness, he brings the axe to halt and turns it around, now grabbing the handle with both hands as he commits a second strike, carving a path through the tide of lost souls with frightening ease.

Then he glances upwards, seeing the Arrancar girl's approaching form. His legs tense in anticipation of a jump, but the mirage fades before he manages to do anything. His head swivels around, empty stare meeting the Hollow from the front first. He lets go off the axe with his right hand, blocking its oncoming claws and then - grabbing it by the arm, whirls it around like a club, knocking back those surrounding him, his axe following in its wake!

[Steilos]

The Arena
Apolinar stood stock-still as the familiar ringo-chan echoed around the arena. Already his mind was racing through all the entertaining ways that he could kill this damnable pest. "Rouga." was all he could muster through the apocalyptic rage suffusing his entire being. Pico's laughter cuts in.

"And the drunkard."

[Kuroimaken]

"Hey, that's the Novena drunkard now, Ringo-chan. He looks happy, doesn't he?" Rouga chuckled, displaying a wide grin.

"Alright, kiddo. Since you won, you can keep your clothes on while you run those ten laps!"

[InyutheBeatIs]

"I should've known you wouldn't talk." Pico mumbles in response to Apolinar's lack of response. He shoots off a glare towards Rouga as he hears that he has to run those laps still. With a kick, he's standing by Rouga's side, still giving him a bit of a glare. "Not until I take care of some unfinished business. And don't you dare forget about those ten crates of scotch you said you'd give me if I didn't cheat."

Pico then turns to Apolinar. "You heard right. I'm back in the game." At that moment, he remembers something, a look of dawning realization soon eclipsed by that of sadistic mischief. "Oh, by the way, how was your deal with Private...crap, what's his name, Salter-something? Saltamontes! That's it."

[Steilos]

The Arenaaaaargh

Did he just say.. Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

Apolinar raises a single accusatory finger at Pico. "You? Novena? YOU? NOVENA? YOU!? YOU!?!?!??!" All mention of Saltamontes is lost on Apolinar as his apoplexy over Pico's promotion takes priority.

The finger is now horribly contorted into a shaking fist, Apolinar's rage-twisted face snarling instead of breathing. Taking a few steps forward towards Pico and taking a few dozen strides towards an aneurysm, he clenches his fist.

"Someone like you is only good for drinking this city dry! Novena!? I am going to kill you SLOWLY VERY SLOWLY and then I'll marinate you in your own damn alcohol and feed you to the ADJUCHAS!" Apolinar is practically windmilling at this point, arms flailing in one graphically violent gesture to the next. "AND THEN? THEN I'll HUNT AND KILL THAT ADJUCHAS AND BURN THE BODY INTO NOTHING!!!!! WHEN I'M DONE THERE WON'T EVEN BE A BLACK STAIN ON THE FLOOR!!!!" The general screams, having stopped paying attention to the surroundings a long time ago.

[InyutheBeatIs]

Pico, meanwhile, just stares at him, rather surprisingly unaffected by any of what just happened. He waits for Apolinar to finish screaming, before he reponds. "That's right, frikkin' Novena pal. And this won't be the last time you see me take a step up in the ranks." He narrows his eyes for a moment. "Besides, what makes you so sure you can even get to the 'kill me slowly' part of your plan there?" He turns his head to Rouga at that moment. "Should I even give a crap that he's like this, or should I make him shut up right now?"