[BiTPR2] Renewed Revolution: Spirit World IV

[KnightDisciple]

[Soul Society]
[Gate Garrison/Running Battle]

[Soul Society]
Gate garrison

The Hollows are faced with something of a Catch-22. The first could break its bindings, the second could dodge or block Masaru. But doing those would mean letting in all the spells and swords of the Pack, which would keep them from effectively fighting Masaru.

The Hollow Masaru is attacking lifts its sword to block his blows, but only catches one sword - the other hits the hand maintaining the barrier, knocking it off and causing the barrier to vanish. Immediately after, it is hit by three low-level Hado, which make it lose balance, letting Masaru strike at its neck. Bleeding and its mask shattered, it is trampled to the ground by the Captain.

The other one strains against its bindings, but having its hand bound makes it lose grip of its barrier as well. A volley of Kido and a number of sword blows strike against it and knock it against the wall. The spells binding it are cracked, but its feet are still stuck and it appears unconscious. Masaru gets to bag this one and take it home, if he's so inclined.

Masaru takes the time to ensure the first Hollow is utterly purified; after the initial "strike-down", given a moment he will separate head from body, body into 2 parts, and even bisect the head.

He turns to his troops who are surrounding the other one. He points to about half of them. Even as he issues orders and (presumably) more Kido are cast, the shadows surrounding the Hollow will recede.

"Bind this one. Keep the head obscured, though leave it the room to breathe at least. Keep each arm bound separately, along with the legs. If someone is capable, please box-bind the sword and keep it separate. Then deliver the whole thing to Internal Security. They can determine how useful it will be. Make sure to inform them that these Hollows seem to share a hive-mind connection. It's probably not new information, but better to be thorough."

He then gestures to the rest.

"We have not received an all-clear signal so we're going to treat this as an ongoing emergency incursion scenario. You squads will take up a roaming patrol and keep an ear on emergency frequencies, ready to respond to any emergencies.
The rest of you will follow me for a fast-response unit. I'm going to contact other officers to see if we're needed somewhere."

Masaru holds up his artificial arm and taps a particular spot, bringing up a holographic interface that ties into the subtle earpiece/headset he's wearing. He pushes a couple of buttons and selects a channel that should go out to all Captains, Vice-Captains, and Seated Officers of Seat 10 and higher (9, 8, etc.).

"This is Captain Masaru of the Combat Division. A detachment of Hollow insurgents that was attacking one of our Gates, approximately two dozen total, has been taken care of. Several Combat Division squads are still on patrol, please contact them for assistance if needed. I am moving out on patrol with more forces. Please contact me if immediate assistance is needed somewhere."

[Dorizzit]

[Hueco Mundo]
Las Noches - Minutes Ago

Jehoel stops responding to Turiel for a moment, his gaze snapping out into the desert. Then, after a few seconds, he stands up in a single, smooth motion.

"I will alert you when it's time for the remaining Espada to gather. In the mean time, I have another matter that needs to be attended to. Before you get to work in earnest, see if you can put someone on keeping our prisoners alive. After all, we wouldn't want them to think that we're monsters, would we?"

Jehoel's mouth quirks into a grim parody of a smile before he disappears.

Silbern - Now

Sarah can, rather abruptly, feel the presence of someone behind her.

"The remainder of the Zerreißen Himmel Entwicklung are hardly surprising, and the Sin Rostro are an unexpected but known quantity. You, however, do not fit into either group. What brings you here?"

Assuming she turns to look, Sarah will see a tall, regally-featured man standing just over her right shoulder. He wears a loose a suit of a slick, leathery material, ending in a gilled collar of bone around his neck. A perfect hole pierces him straight through the collar bone, marking him as a Hollow of some type. Despite standing perfectly straight, there's a sense of ease in his posture; this is a man used to commanding, or failing that, being heard when he speaks.

And, interestingly enough, he projects no reiatsu whatsoever; as far as Sarah can tell, he has no power at all.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
East Gate Hospital

"Stumpy" is indeed taken to an ice cellar in the basement of a nearby building, after having its wound bound... with heavy iron bands. Just to be safe, it's tied with Bakudo chains and suspended from the roof. This is a really far cry from "healing", but the hospital staff really don't want to use any ordinary Shinigami healing methods - those work by restoring a target's Reiryoku first, and the last thing anyone wants is for it to get its powers back when it's anywhere near here. Being frozen to hibernation, it's reasonably stable as-is.

Meanwhile, a few healers get outside and the nurse tries to convince Ryouma to stay put. "Sir, please sit down. You might have a punctured lung. Exerting yourself might lead it to collapse or fill with blood."

((OOC: you can take it from here and control the hospital staff, Kuroi.))

---

Railgun station

Sayuri sighs in relief as the Hollow is thrown inside. There's a bright flame in the sky for a few second as Koutarou's barrier implodes, and it is indeed quite pretty.

Both of the can feel a faint hum from downstairs. Power has been restored to the monorail system, signifying SSI will be here soon. Koutarou hears Masaru's report, and an additional piece of information from IntSec, confirming one more enemy has been captured. SSI also reports on the red-glowing black cube before Dragon Spiral Tower. Five Hollows might be inside of it, but no-one has ability to check and see for sure yet.

Sayuri finds the chair her captor was using, knocked on its side, and puts it back the right way around to sit on it. She winces a bit as she sits, her uniform is chafing her burns. "Commander... can I ask a few questions", she asks, looking at the molten pools of metals where the crushed remains of the three Hollows are. "Who were these... these... people?" The word 'people' is so forced, it's rather obvious she'd rather used 'things'. "Where did they come from? What were they after? How did all... this get started?"

---

Gate Garrison

The first Hollow is pretty thoroughly dead long before Masaru finishes hacking it to pieces. But hey, better be on the safe side, right?

IntSec goons appear from the shadows soon enough to collect the prisoner. In the same go, they inform Masaru that there are just two Hollows left nearby. They are between this Gate garrison, the East Gate Hospital, and the Monastery of Ho-ou. Barring new orders, if Masaru and the Pack want to give a hand in cornering them, they'd be most welcome.

---

Above and around Sokyouku Hill

The Hollow on the ground curses as Arianna's maneuvering puts the hill between them. No longer having a line of fire, it speeds to the stone staircase and starts climbing to the top again. While its ascent is more rapid than before, the strain is causing the wound on its stomach bleed, leaving a trail of ink-like black blood on the steps.

Up above, Arianna's left axe hits one Hollow square in the chest. There's a loud boom as if she'd hit a large brass gong. The axe cuts through it skin but bounces off its sternum, knocking the wind out of it. Arianna's right axe hits the second Hollow right in the face, shattering its mask. Its head jerks back, a bleeding gash across its forehead.

And at the same moment, Arianna herself tackles the third Hollow, her momentum carrying both of them deep into void-space. In that instant, one of the Negacion pillar's three sides vanishes. The Sokyouku Halberd and the heavy chunk of the Hill hanging from it stop rising upwards. The Halberd wobbles for a second, and then keels towards the open side of the pillar. The device flips in the air and then falls to the ground, the chunk of stone attached to it hitting the ground first, two meters to the side from where it was cut off. There's a loud crash, a small shockwave kicks up a cloud of dust, and then the piece of rock falls on its side and the Halberd with it. With the weapon lying flat on the ground, the Hollows in the air cannot create a properly shaped Negacion to fit it in, and none of them can descend to the ground to lift it back up without becoming unable to get back up themselves.

Arianna has succesfully saved the execution device. Now, she only has to worry about saving herself.

Here in the void, she's not the only one who can move in three dimensions. The Hollow she hit creates a platform of Reishi to keep itself from sliding back anymore, then wraps its inhumanly strong arms around her waist. If it can't get the Halberd, it will just have to do with Arianna, then!

[Kuroimaken]

[The East Gate Hospital]

Ryouma is far from being a stubborn patient. The doctors are just doing their jobs after all. He can be surprisingly unsensitive in response to things that would normally sting a lot, though - and just being near the man might necessitate some coats, seeing as his Reiatsu continuously bleeds at a minimal rate even with his sword sealed.

It's actually kind of curious how that effect hasn't diminished even after what was obviously a heated battle. But perhaps even more curious is that a man in that condition should feel continuously exhausted in some fashion. Surely it merits some investigation.

_______________________________

[Railgun Station]

"All reasonable questions, Yamamoto-kun. We'll know more once we've been able to interrogate the prisoners. I'm told there's a considerable number of them. One of them, at least, I can answer - the Hollows that struck Soul Society today were once all parts of the same entity, an Arrancar we took to calling 'Nanashi'. He'd been cleared for employment by Internal Security, but I guess Hishikawa-taichou didn't mention to him he'd be under probation. If he hadn't taken care to keep them under surveillance, the damage could have been considerably worse.

For now, I advise you rest up. A trauma response team and a security detail are on their way."

Resealing for the moment in order to avoid wasting energy, Koutarou resumes evaluating the field reports. For the moment, he requests that a perimeter be kept around the strange cube, and for them to coordinate Recon and SSI efforts in order to analyze it from a safe distance. Worst case scenario, he could always order it contained or struck. He assigns a high-level priority to this task, seeing as Nanashi's parts seem fond of destroying things in general.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Railgun station

Sayuri waits for Koutarou to finish gatching up with current events and issuing orders. It would be disrespectful to interrupt someone doing such an important job. The trauma team arrives and they help Sayuri with her injuries in the dressing room for facility staff. Afterwards, when the trauma team is about to leave and the new security guards have assumed their positions, Sayuri walks up to the Commander once more. "Commander... I think I may have a lead for you to pursue in interrogations. They asked me about the walls of Seireitei. They also claimed they'd asked the same of you, but that you gave them a wrong answer. I think..." Sayuri takes a deep breath. "I think they came here looking for something which can no longer be found inside these walls." She wants to say 'the Soul King'. But she doesn't, since nothing the Hollows said implied they knew anything about it.

Well. Nothing the Hollows said to her.

[Kuroimaken]

[The Railgun Station]

"...I see. It may be early to draw any conclusions, but that's an important clue. I seem to recall they asked something similar of Hishikawa and his subordinates. We didn't think much of it at the time, believing it simple curiosity.

Then there's the railgun station. They seemed intent on powering it up, but what would they strike?"

Click. Click. Pieces falling into place.

Koutarou lets out a short, amused laugh.

"Oh, that's one for the books. Yamamoto-kun, do you suppose they could be thinking to aim this at the Reioukyu?"

[Frozen_Feet]

Sayuri blinks. "I... suppose that's a possibility. But if they knew enough to think of that, why didn't they know about the walls?" A chill runs downs Sayuri's spine. She was part of the initial planning when Zheng Li Lin ordered Ministry of Defense to come up with a way to displace Soul Society, akin to how the Soul King's realm is displaced. That project ended up folded to Momoka's attempts to prevent all of Soul Society falling to Earth.

"Commander... the walls were originally made to protect the Reioukyu. They're not supposed to be around Seireitei all the time. I know it's an emergency right now, but... but with all of Soul Society cast into the human world, do we know if the walls can return?"

[TherianTheorist]

[Hueco Mundo]
Silbern

At this point, as Torahiko and Demetrio walk down the halls with the black Arrancar, two humanoid Hollows wearing uniforms of ZHE Quincies cross their path, coming from a corridor to their right. The faceless black Arrancar halts. What's with those clothes?"

The Hollow on the right salutes. "We found some excess uniforms lying around. Thought we'd look less like hostile interlopers when wearing the same colors."

The black Arrancar nods. Sounds plausible.

The Hollow on the left tilts its head and look at the cross it's carrying. "So, what's with the cross? Trying to renact Passion of the Christ?"

The heavy silver cross on the Arrancar's shoulders sways as it shrugs at the comment. I'm pretty sure I look more like the Devil. Let's get outside and see what the others found.

The Hollows march out of Silbern's gates, with the Arrancar following them with heavy steps. They expect Torahiko and Demetrio to follow. Demetrio looks at Torahiko for guidance.

Meanwhile, Sarah arrives on the yard too with the many-eyed Arrancar and the two other Hollows. What she sees is quite a change from the open desert behind. There's a large, silvery palace covered in rime and icicles ahead of them, casting an eerie light on everything nearby. Before the palace, to her left and right, there are also garrison buildings and airplane hangars. It looks like a military depot large enough to supply a whole brigade.

Amidst the buildings, dozens of Hollows are carrying stuff towards a supply truck parked next to one of the hangards. Some of them are standing in formation nearby, while yet others are trying to get a disheveled group to line up. If Sarah looks closely, she can see this smaller group is apparently composed of other, living humans! They're wearing similar uniforms to the Hollows, but their uniforms are dirtied, occasionally bloodsoaked and many of them appear wounded. She can hear sobs coming from some of them even from this far. Sad, is the best term for describing them. They're all also pretty young - if Sarah gets closer, she might realize they're just 17 or 18 years old, the majority of them.

She might also see a black-skinned and black-clad humanoid with no face and horns growing from its forehead descending the steps of the palace while carrying a silver cross glowing with blue light.

If Torahiko and Demetrio get close to the group of returned Quincies, they can recognize many of them. These are some of the same people who Torahiko trained with! They're depressed, due to having lost to Las Noches, and horrified by the situation.

Torahiko looks over to Demetrio, and motions for them to follow.

It only takes a moment after stepping outside for him to speak without bothering to indicate who he means to command, or why this is suddenly so important.

"Stay back and watch the cross." The soldat's emotional outburst since arriving in Hueco Mundo sends him running towards the Zerreißen Himmel remnants, feet gouging a trail through the sand as he seeks to close the distance before any more time passes. "More survivors!" Most of them looked to be from his unit, and to have gone through a lot more and fared much worse than he did in his relatively short time before collapsing. He didn't care about their injuries that much, they were alive, that's all that mattered for now. As he finalizes his approach, he calls out between breaths. "What's the situation!? Are there any more survivors?" His tone suggests he already knows the answer will be, but he desperately wishes for another one. It's most likely the single most emotional moment any of them have seen from him.

[Kuroimaken]

Sayuri blinks. "I... suppose that's a possibility. But if they knew enough to think of that, why didn't they know about the walls?" A chill runs downs Sayuri's spine. She was part of the initial planning when Zheng Li Lin ordered Ministry of Defense to come up with a way to displace Soul Society, akin to how the Soul King's realm is displaced. That project ended up folded to Momoka's attempts to prevent all of Soul Society falling to Earth.

"Commander... the walls were originally made to protect the Reioukyu. They're not supposed to be around Seireitei all the time. I know it's an emergency right now, but... but with all of Soul Society cast into the human world, do we know if the walls can return?"

"As it stands, it is less of an emergency situation and more of a potential long-term situation. We're talking decades, possibly centuries, before we can consider trying to send the walls back up. It's practically a miracle of foresight we have an atmosphere right now.

However, that is only an issue under two conditions. One, that the Reioukyu followed us when Soul Society was displaced, and two, if the Gotei were to fall.

The Reioukyu is self-sufficient. It seldom comes into contact with Soul Society proper - often only when someone is promoted to Squad Zero. That by itself is a significantly rare event. They will do fine without the ability to contact us for a while. Even back when Soul Society was located within Izanami, the only way to reach the Reioukyu was by going through Soul Society first. Meaning... unless Soul Society is tethered to the Reiokyu somehow, and it followed us, that the Reioukyu is effectively closed off both to ourselves and the enemy. Opening a dimensional distortion that allowed access to it from this end would be a nigh-impossible feat. After all, when you really think about it, the connection between the two is set up such that going here from there was a matter of whim, but one could not do the opposite trip without someone from there opening a door first.

And if we had an opponent that could, in fact, overpower Gotei and still have the strength to attack the Reioukyu from here, then we'd have bigger problems. It might sound crazy, but I'm actually satisfied with our performance for once. Material damages aside, our casualties were minimal to none. We even had reinforcements from someone I wasn't even aware was still around.

I'm rambling. My point is, we can't afford to go checking on the Reiou while we still have logistic problems of our own to deal with. We could be opening a door for our opponents if we did."

[KerfuffleMach2]

Soul Society
Sokyoku Hill

Arianna would like to respond to Captain Masaru. She really would. However, she was currently held up. Literally. Hopefully, her division was monitoring all messages coming through her reiphone, and would let Masaru know where she was and how many Hollows she was up against. And then, hopefully, he would realize that she was slightly outnumbered here, and he would find some way to assist, be it through him arriving himself, or him sending others of his division to help. You know. Assuming her somewhat undermanned division was paying attention to her at the moment, and not at one of the other areas where Hollows were right now.

The main objective of her plan seems to have worked. The Negacion was interrupted, and the halberd was returned to the ground. Maybe not in the exact position it's supposed to be, but, well, that was a minor detail. Point is, the theft of it was stopped. Go Team Shinigami!

But now? Now it seems that her plan had forgotten something. Sure, tackling a Hollow seemed like a good idea at the time. Knock it away, make it lose concentration on its task. But, it seems that Arianna hadn't really thought of a follow up to that. Because now she was in the void, taking away her flight advantage. And the Hollow had a pretty tight grip on her.

Arianna did what she could to keep the grip from damaging her. She pushed back with her own strength, both from her arms and her wings. The Hollow was probably getting a face full of feathers right now. But, she wasn't as strong as it, so she couldn't break its grip.

However, she did have something it didn't. Backup.

Her axes quickly flew into the void after her. Arianna tried to squirm a bit, to make the Hollow have to turn away from the opening of the void. So it wouldn't see the axes coming in. If that works, Arianna will have the axes fly right at the Hollow's back, trying to hit it hard and make it let go of Arianna. If that works, she'll fly out of its grip and head back through the opening and into the skies above the hill.

[Rater202]

"You, however, do not fit into either group. What brings you here?"

I was kidnapped by a pedophile stalker hollow.

[Dorizzit]

There is a brief pause as Jehoel fails to respond to Sarah's declaration.

"...I see."

Without a second thought, he strides past her. Jehoel moves straight for the Sin Rostro bearing the Cross.

"Excuse me, would you mind pointing me to the Quincy who led you here?"

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Railgunstation

It's relieving to hear the Commander sound so certain. "I hope you are right, Commander." There's a little devil nagging at the back of Sayuri's head, saying there's too many ifs, that there's something they're missing... but nothing useful comes to mind for her to add. She bows and leaves with the trauma team. For a moment, he gets to be alone to gather his thoughts. Then, a message sounds over the radio: "Command, this is Recon! The distortion above Sokyoku Hill is gone, but we cannot contact Junrin-fukutaichou. She could need of immediate backup."

Elsewhere, Masaru also hears this message.

---

Above and around Sokyoku Hill]

How noble of Arianna to put duty before her personal safety. There are a couple of awards she would qualify for after this stunt! Hopefully not the one with "Darwin" in its name, though...

Arianna's furiously flapping wings batter the Hollow and keep it from seeing her axes. However, she might have discounted the other Hollows a bit too soon. The maskless one is falling down into the endless dark, but the one who got wind knocked out of it is back on its feet and jumps on the way of the axes. It manages to catch one in its hand while the other hits it in the shoulder. It bites into its flesh, but stops halfway through the bone. The Hollow brings its working arm to press the axe deeper into the wound so it can't fly away. It might not be able to hold the axes back for long, but it's trying as hard as it can.

The Hollow grappling with Arrianna redoubles its efforts, trying to drag her as far away from the way back to Soul Society as it can. Behind Arianna, the Kumon starts closing slowly.

Back on the ground, the hag-like Hollow reaches the top of the Hill again. It looks up, it looks down, spots the fallen halberd, and walks to it, huffing from exhaustion. It circles the halberd, then starts lifting it back to an upright position.

---

[Hueco Mundo]

The returned Quincies are relieved to see a familiar face, especially one belonging to a living human. "We don't know!", one of them, a seventeen-year-old girl, answers with a sob. "The fighter squadron and armored battallions were destroyed! Caeyrn Belenus was captured!"

At this point, one of the Hollows who's been tending to these survivors coughs to attract Torahiko's attention. It points towards Silbern and the cross-bearing Arrancar. "Yurius is here. We might consider leaving immediately. Even with this many of us, we can guarantee no-one's safety if he gets hostile." Nearby, other Hollows finish packing the truck and start the engine.

At the stairs, the cross-bearing Arrancar halts abruptly. Yurius. Been waiting to see you in person. Its tone is such that it would've been fine waiting for much longer. As for Jehoel's question: I'd do that, but alas, my hands are a bit full.

At this point, Demetrio steps between Jehoel and the Arrancar. "Halt, evil-doer! I cannot let you lay a hand on this sacred cross! That is my comrade's order and I'll follow it to my grave if I need to!" Demetrio's quite a bit paler and wearing funny clothes compared to when Jehoel last saw him, but Jehoel might still recognize him. It's kinda funny. Last time they met, it was in Ikari, when Jehoel and Valentina were playing "good cop, bad cop" with Demetrio for slacking on the job. It's even funnier because Demetrio is who the black Arrancar followed here.

Right now, part of Demetrio is screaming in terror and would want to escape this situation ASAP. But another one is strictly loyal to ZHE cause and comrade Tachibana, and is overriding his basic instinct. His right hand is behind his back, clutching his Quincy pentacle.

Sarah can hear a choir of whispers around her. She indeed sticks out like a sore thumb in her armor, which is why many pairs of eyes were looking at her when Jehoel arrived. Now, even more eyes are trained on the regal-looking Arrancar and a certain hostile tension floats in the air.

Amidst this, Sarah can see the Arrancar who brought her here and the female Hollow. The latter gives the former a glare and punches it between the ribs. "This is your fault." The Arrancar flinches. "We're sorry, princess."

"I cannot sense the Armada anywhere near. That means Yurius came alone. We might have a fighting chance", the male Hollow from before remarks. The female one glances at him. "Yeah, but he was also coming to deal with the White Devil and his army of lesser Hollows alone when he stumbled upon our creator. How much are you willing to bet on that chance?"

[Kuroimaken]

[Railgun Station]

"Understood. Dispatch reinforcements immediately. She's likely outnumbered." Koutarou responds. Not knowing which groups are closest, he opts to let that particular decision up to the operators.

[KnightDisciple]

[Soul Society]
[Seireitei]

Masaru and his troops had been moving in a steady search pattern for the leftover Hollows.

Then he heard the distress call for Vice-Captain Junrin. His eyes narrowed, and his hands flashed out signals to his squads to continue patrols without him. Meanwhile, he hopped on a nearby rooftop and twitched an artificial finger to open a response channel.

"Recon this is Captain Masaru. I am moving to respond. Command, backup would not be unwelcome, if we have many or any more troops capable of achieving sustained or semi-sustained flight."

The "inside the walls" doesn't need to be spoken. Masaru's body is surrounded by dark energy as he closes the channel. He closes his eyes, and for a moment he holds no weapons, while shadows swirl around his body. Then his eyes snap open and a terrible spear is in his hands. His body is cloaked in shadow.

"Bankai. Ancalagon the Black Death."

And then the Seireitei, for miles around, can feel the feather-light touch of his Reiatsu brushing past them. The cool, fluttering feeling isn't oppressive, but instead is almost soothing, giving all the Shinigami who feel it a sense that someone friendly is watching their back.

What Hollows remain in Soul Society, and perhaps even those at the edge of that black void, well, they will suddenly get the sense that a predator is looking for them.

Especially when a dragon roars and Masaru takes to the skies upon the back of his sword-spirit made manifest, Ancalagon's black wings beating furiously as he streaks through the sky toward the rip in the air. When it becomes clear it's narrowing, Masaru's own eyes narrow, and the dragon upon which he rides flaps its wings all the more furiously.

It will be only moments before he arrives to bring aide. Or death. Depends on who you are, really.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Hueco Mundo]
[Las Noches]

[Hueco Mundo]
Las Noches - Minutes Ago

Jehoel stops responding to Turiel for a moment, his gaze snapping out into the desert. Then, after a few seconds, he stands up in a single, smooth motion.

"I will alert you when it's time for the remaining Espada to gather. In the mean time, I have another matter that needs to be attended to. Before you get to work in earnest, see if you can put someone on keeping our prisoners alive. After all, we wouldn't want them to think that we're monsters, would we?"

Jehoel's mouth quirks into a grim parody of a smile before he disappears.

Turiel goes silent as Jehoel's gaze snaps away from him. His own drifts in that direction, but all he gets are faint traces. It's enough to sober up his jovial mood, at any rate.

When Jehoel stands and issues "friendly suggestions", Turiel just smirks and nods.

"Aye. I can do that. Wouldn't do to be impolite hosts."

With Jehoel gone, Turiel turns and flashes away himself, to ensure the will of the Primera is done.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Soul Society
Above Sokyoku Hill

Seeing as Arianna isn't technically alive, she kind of already qualifies for that particular award.

Anyways, Arianna feels her axes encounter resistance in their movement. She swears under her breath when they do, but she keeps directing them to hit the Hollow holding her. It may take a moment or two longer now, but her planned collision should still work. Beating one Hollow with another should have some results in her favor.

Of course, then she'll have to get her weapons away from the Hollows. But, one problem at a time.

Arianna keeps up her struggling to keep the Hollow holding her distracted from the one now flying at it. She also starts swing her legs back and up, seeing if she can get a cheap shot in there. All's fair in love and war.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hueco Mundo
Las Noches

Turiel may notice an Arrancar walking towards the city. Her hair is black, while her arms are a multitude of colors, due to the abundance of tattoos present. She carries a hiking backpack, hinting that she's been gone for a long time.

[Dorizzit]

[Hueco Mundo]
Silbern

Jehoel smiles at the cross-bearing Arrancar, an expression that is entirely devoid of mirth, pleasure, warmth, or even sadism. A purely mechanical gesture.

"And I, you. And, of course, your siblings. I'll admit, this is hardly what I expected to find. Of course, what is life without a little unpredictability?"

He turns his head at Demetrio's approach.

"Demetrio. You seem to be doing well. Your work ethic has improved, if nothing else."

Jehoel doesn't seem to move from his position, but a doppelganger of him appears in front of the starting truck.

"Please, let's not make any hasty decisions. I only just arrived."

[Rater202]

Sarah can hear a choir of whispers around her. She indeed sticks out like a sore thumb in her armor, which is why many pairs of eyes were looking at her when Jehoel arrived. Now, even more eyes are trained on the regal-looking Arrancar and a certain hostile tension floats in the air.

Sarah walks up to it.

Are you going to take me back, or am I going to have to hit you and not stop?

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Above and on Sokyoku Hill

To Arianna's disappointment, the Hollow grappling her has near-literal balls of steel. Or at least there's no visible effect. Who knows how much it is grimacing in pain under its mask?

The other Hollow tries to resist Arianna's pull on her weapons, but as it loses blood its foothold starts slipping. Still holding to the axes, the second Hollow flies through the void towards the grapplers.

So far so good. But then, the grappling Hollow does something unexpected: it turns. Arianna finds herself between the Hollows... and then the second one hits them, and she's sandwiched between the two creatures. On the plus side, the impact is hard enough that the second one loses grip on the axes, and the first one's hold laxes somewhat. It's a chance as good as any to escape towards the fading light.

Down on the ground, the last Hollow holds the massive halberd upright with one hand. It looks up, only to notice the Kumon is closing. "Rats." It can still sense two of its kind are in the city. If it could just get to them, they could open a second portal together, and...

The Hollow feels a sudden breeze and looks to the East, across the city. "Oh screw all kinds of shrew." Like before, there are few things flying in Seireitei's sky - so a massive black dragon sort of stands out. And the dragon is between the Hollow and its kindred. The Hollow and its sword are kinda small for taking down a creature that big. It glances at the halberd leaning on it. "You know, it's a shame I have no idea how to use you." Placing the haft on its shoulder, the Hollow looks to the west, then begins walking towards that edge of the hill, the butt of the halberd and the stone attached to it dragging against the stone.

---

[Hueco Mundo]

The Arrancar waves dismissively at Sarah. "Yeah, yeah, we'll get right to it if Yurius doesn't kill us all." It, too, is paying much more attention to the regal looking man than her.

The female Hollow next to it folds her arms and looks at Sarah. "Believe me, girl, you'll be much better off if you don't start any hostilities. Why don't you go chat with the other living people?" She beckons towards the returned Quincies and Torahiko.

Next to the truck, one Hollow with a crow-like mask glares at Jehoel while holding to the passenger's side's door. "Hasty? You're the one using a magic trick to be at two places at once. We were just about done here anyways."

[TherianTheorist]

[Hueco Mundo]

The returned Quincies are relieved to see a familiar face, especially one belonging to a living human. "We don't know!", one of them, a seventeen-year-old girl, answers with a sob. "The fighter squadron and armored battalions were destroyed! Caeyrn Belenus was captured!"

At this point, one of the Hollows who's been tending to these survivors coughs to attract Torahiko's attention. It points towards Silbern and the cross-bearing Arrancar. "Yurius is here. We might consider leaving immediately. Even with this many of us, we can guarantee no-one's safety if he gets hostile." Nearby, other Hollows finish packing the truck and start the engine.

At the stairs, the cross-bearing Arrancar halts abruptly. Yurius. Been waiting to see you in person. Its tone is such that it would've been fine waiting for much longer. As for Jehoel's question: I'd do that, but alas, my hands are a bit full.

At this point, Demetrio steps between Jehoel and the Arrancar. "Halt, evil-doer! I cannot let you lay a hand on this sacred cross! That is my comrade's order and I'll follow it to my grave if I need to!" Demetrio's quite a bit paler and wearing funny clothes compared to when Jehoel last saw him, but Jehoel might still recognize him. It's kinda funny. Last time they met, it was in Ikari, when Jehoel and Valentina were playing "good cop, bad cop" with Demetrio for slacking on the job. It's even funnier because Demetrio is who the black Arrancar followed here.

Right now, part of Demetrio is screaming in terror and would want to escape this situation ASAP. But another one is strictly loyal to ZHE cause and comrade Tachibana, and is overriding his basic instinct. His right hand is behind his back, clutching his Quincy pentacle.

Sarah can hear a choir of whispers around her. She indeed sticks out like a sore thumb in her armor, which is why many pairs of eyes were looking at her when Jehoel arrived. Now, even more eyes are trained on the regal-looking Arrancar and a certain hostile tension floats in the air.

Amidst this, Sarah can see the Arrancar who brought her here and the female Hollow. The latter gives the former a glare and punches it between the ribs. "This is your fault." The Arrancar flinches. "We're sorry, princess."

"I cannot sense the Armada anywhere near. That means Yurius came alone. We might have a fighting chance", the male Hollow from before remarks. The female one glances at him. "Yeah, but he was also coming to deal with the White Devil and his army of lesser Hollows alone when he stumbled upon our creator. How much are you willing to bet on that chance?"

Torahiko had been expecting grim news, shielding himself for the emotional blow he knew was coming, but it still got to him. He still felt it, even knowing it was coming. He didn't have the words, nor the time, to reply before his attention was redirected to the one called 'Yurius'.

A lone Arrancar was the threat they thought worth leaving early over? Just the one?

Part of him said that they were a fool for showing up alone, even against a broken army. It told him that there was nothing stopping him from retrieving Demetrio or the Cross, that he could rally four or five members of his unit to solve this.

Another part warned him that this was exactly how recently introduced villains got to show off their abilities. It told him that approaching would likely see him meeting any number of unpleasant fates, that that creature was only human looking, and was likely the end result of smelting hundreds, maybe thousands, of human souls into one. It told him to back to Earth, back to Ikari, back home. He could work out a new plan there, plan for the future, he had time there, didn't he?

A third part of him dredged up more concerns he had been trying not to acknowledge. Concerns that he'd return to face the consequences of vanishing in the first place. Or that the Quincy had done something with his identity while he was away.

He stood paralyzed, hoping the tension would stop rising, that any further conflict would be avoided. He had to make a decision. "I was hoping we'd take Demetrio and the Cross with us." He looks over at each instance of Jehoel, and takes the first step towards the one confronting Demetrio. Before turning back to the one obstructing the truck.

"Would you rather I speak to you, or the one who arrived first?" He really wasn't caught up on the etiquette for things like this.

[KnightDisciple]

[Hueco Mundo]
[Las Noches]

Hueco Mundo
Las Noches

Turiel may notice an Arrancar walking towards the city. Her hair is black, while her arms are a multitude of colors, due to the abundance of tattoos present. She carries a hiking backpack, hinting that she's been gone for a long time.

Turiel stops as he notices said Arrancar, and then smiles, walking over to her very obviously, and moving in to give a friendly slap on the back to "greet" her.

"Aha! My friend! Yes, good to meet you! I am Turiel! The Segunda, perhaps you've heard of me? No matter, no matter! I have need of the services of an intelligent and capable member of our society, and you seem to fit the bill. Would you be interested?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Soul Society]
[Seireitei]

[Soul Society]
Above and on Sokyoku Hill

To Arianna's disappointment, the Hollow grappling her has near-literal balls of steel. Or at least there's no visible effect. Who knows how much it is grimacing in pain under its mask?

The other Hollow tries to resist Arianna's pull on her weapons, but as it loses blood its foothold starts slipping. Still holding to the axes, the second Hollow flies through the void towards the grapplers.

So far so good. But then, the grappling Hollow does something unexpected: it turns. Arianna finds herself between the Hollows... and then the second one hits them, and she's sandwiched between the two creatures. On the plus side, the impact is hard enough that the second one loses grip on the axes, and the first one's hold laxes somewhat. It's a chance as good as any to escape towards the fading light.

Down on the ground, the last Hollow holds the massive halberd upright with one hand. It looks up, only to notice the Kumon is closing. "Rats." It can still sense two of its kind are in the city. If it could just get to them, they could open a second portal together, and...

The Hollow feels a sudden breeze and looks to the East, across the city. "Oh screw all kinds of shrew." Like before, there are few things flying in Seireitei's sky - so a massive black dragon sort of stands out. And the dragon is between the Hollow and its kindred. The Hollow and its sword are kinda small for taking down a creature that big. It glances at the halberd leaning on it. "You know, it's a shame I have no idea how to use you." Placing the haft on its shoulder, the Hollow looks to the west, then begins walking towards that edge of the hill, the butt of the halberd and the stone attached to it dragging against the stone.

The Hollow on the ground will find the task of dragging the Sokyoku rather difficult, what with the shadows of the gigantic polearm suddenly reaching up from the ground to anchor the whole thing to its solid rock.

Meanwhile, Masaru lowers his spear from almost casually commanding those shadows, his free hand moving away from where he'd briefly sent orders over the communications net to intercept and restrain the Hollow that was trying (and currently failing) to abscond with one of the most dangerous artifacts in Soul Society.

The Captain himself spurred his dark mount onward, quickly reaching the shrinking hole and assessing the situation.

Ancalagon's manifestation sends a couple of quick bursts of flame toward the Hollows, while the Captain himself reaches his free hand toward Arianna.

"Vice-Captain! Quickly! Take my hand!"

Not because she can't fly or something silly like that, but rather to help her leverage herself away from the Hollows in the peculiar "physics" of that void she was in.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Soul Society
Above Sokyoku Hill

Well. That turn wasn't expected. And now there's a Hollow flying at Arianna. Joy.

Arianna grunts a bit at the impact. Getting hit in the front with a Hollow wasn't fun. But, it did loosen the grip of the other Hollow. Arianna shrugs off the pain and snaps her wings open, further freeing herself from the Hollow. She kicks off of him, headed towards the closing opening. Her axes follow quickly.

When she sees the Captain, she reaches a hand out to him, grateful that help had finally arrived. Her axes reach her other hand as she does this, forming back into her sword.

-----------------------------------

Hueco Mundo
Las Noches

Randii stumbles forward a bit at the back slap. She raises an eyebrow at Turiel, considering tearing into him for it. But if he really was the Segunda, then...well, it probably wouldn't end well for her.

I've heard of a Segunda. But, I have no idea if it was you or not.

So, what are you proposin'?

[Rater202]

[Hueco Mundo]

The Arrancar waves dismissively at Sarah. "Yeah, yeah, we'll get right to it if Yurius doesn't kill us all." It, too, is paying much more attention to the regal looking man than her.

The female Hollow next to it folds her arms and looks at Sarah. "Believe me, girl, you'll be much better off if you don't start any hostilities. Why don't you go chat with the other living people?" She beckons towards the returned Quincies and Torahiko.

Sarah rolls her eyes.

[Dorizzit]

Spoiler

Show

[Hueco Mundo]

The Arrancar waves dismissively at Sarah. "Yeah, yeah, we'll get right to it if Yurius doesn't kill us all." It, too, is paying much more attention to the regal looking man than her.

The female Hollow next to it folds her arms and looks at Sarah. "Believe me, girl, you'll be much better off if you don't start any hostilities. Why don't you go chat with the other living people?" She beckons towards the returned Quincies and Torahiko.

Next to the truck, one Hollow with a crow-like mask glares at Jehoel while holding to the passenger's side's door. "Hasty? You're the one using a magic trick to be at two places at once. We were just about done here anyways."

Spoiler

Show

Torahiko had been expecting grim news, shielding himself for the emotional blow he knew was coming, but it still got to him. He still felt it, even knowing it was coming. He didn't have the words, nor the time, to reply before his attention was redirected to the one called 'Yurius'.

A lone Arrancar was the threat they thought worth leaving early over? Just the one?

Part of him said that they were a fool for showing up alone, even against a broken army. It told him that there was nothing stopping him from retrieving Demetrio or the Cross, that he could rally four or five members of his unit to solve this.

Another part warned him that this was exactly how recently introduced villains got to show off their abilities. It told him that approaching would likely see him meeting any number of unpleasant fates, that that creature was only human looking, and was likely the end result of smelting hundreds, maybe thousands, of human souls into one. It told him to back to Earth, back to Ikari, back home. He could work out a new plan there, plan for the future, he had time there, didn't he?

A third part of him dredged up more concerns he had been trying not to acknowledge. Concerns that he'd return to face the consequences of vanishing in the first place. Or that the Quincy had done something with his identity while he was away.

He stood paralyzed, hoping the tension would stop rising, that any further conflict would be avoided. He had to make a decision. "I was hoping we'd take Demetrio and the Cross with us." He looks over at each instance of Jehoel, and takes the first step towards the one confronting Demetrio. Before turning back to the one obstructing the truck.

"Would you rather I speak to you, or the one who arrived first?" He really wasn't caught up on the etiquette for things like this.

[Hueco Mundo]
Silbern

Jehoel half-smiles at the crow-masked Arrancar.

"I guarantee you, I have no interest in stopping you from being...done...here, as you put it."

As Torahiko steps forward, both Jehoels look towards him in unison.

"I can see this is going to be an issue. Very well."

The initial clone vanishes, leaving only the Jehoel obstructing the vehicle.

"Now then. You are, I can only assume, the highest ranking officer remaining free, given that you are addressing me and not another. So let me see if I have a proper understanding of your desire. Earlier today, the Zerreißen Himmel Entwicklung faction of the Quincies launched an unprovoked attack on the independent city-state of Las Noches, with the intent of exterminating most of our race and, perhaps, forcing servitude on the remains, if Demetrio is any indication. We broke you. Your leaders are gone. Your forces are slaughtered or captured. You no longer have the power to resist us. If our positions were reversed, we wouldn't be having a conversation at all. And you want me to simply...let you go? Taking everything you need to start over?"

Jehoel folds his arms.

"Why should I do that?"

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Sokyoku Hill

Arianna is pulled out of the Void. Last thing she and Masaru see through the sinking portal is the plumes of flame striking the two Hollows, and then the sky returns to normal, as if nothing had ever been there.

Down on the ground, a restraining squad arrives from the Tower of Penitence to arrest the remaining Hollow.

Not long after, Masaru receives a word by phone that his Pack has fought and eradicated the last two Hollows in Eastern Seireitei.

A more comprehensive report of captured enemies is sent to Koutarou. Three have been apprehended: the Arrancar pinned down by Momoka's Bakudo and two members of the 'Nanashi' hive mind, one of which is now held in Tower of Penitence and the other (nicknamed 'Stumpy') which is held in a freezer near East Gate Hospital. Seven are incapacitated and of uncertain status: one frozen by Ryouma, second buried under a building, and five trapped inside the black cube at the Dragon Spiral Tower. SSI is requesting permission to move the cube into the underground prison facility.

Seireitei is peaceful once more.

---

[Hueco Mundo]
Silbern

Some of the Hollows near the truck look at Torahiko, as do the remaining Quincies. The Hollows, at least, have an opinion on what the answer to that question is, but they're waiting to see what the young man chooses to say.

The female Hollow folds her arms and glares at Sarah with her color-inverted snake-eyes. "Oh sure, stand there and roll your eyes, of all the things you could do", she remarks dryly. "Not the most social of kids, are you?"

[Kuroimaken]

[Railgun Station - still]

Koutarou requests that SSI hold their positions until a Combat Division unit can provide them with backup. You know, just in case. Internal Security is making their way there with a squad of their own already to help guide them through the facilities.

[KnightDisciple]

[Soul Society]
[Seireitei]

Soul Society
Above Sokyoku Hill

Well. That turn wasn't expected. And now there's a Hollow flying at Arianna. Joy.

Arianna grunts a bit at the impact. Getting hit in the front with a Hollow wasn't fun. But, it did loosen the grip of the other Hollow. Arianna shrugs off the pain and snaps her wings open, further freeing herself from the Hollow. She kicks off of him, headed towards the closing opening. Her axes follow quickly.

When she sees the Captain, she reaches a hand out to him, grateful that help had finally arrived. Her axes reach her other hand as she does this, forming back into her sword.

-----------------------------------

[Soul Society]
Sokyoku Hill

Arianna is pulled out of the Void. Last thing she and Masaru see through the sinking portal is the plumes of flame striking the two Hollows, and then the sky returns to normal, as if nothing had ever been there.

Down on the ground, a restraining squad arrives from the Tower of Penitence to arrest the remaining Hollow.

Not long after, Masaru receives a word by phone that his Pack has fought and eradicated the last two Hollows in Eastern Seireitei.

A more comprehensive report of captured enemies is sent to Koutarou. Three have been apprehended: the Arrancar pinned down by Momoka's Bakudo and two members of the 'Nanashi' hive mind, one of which is now held in Tower of Penitence and the other (nicknamed 'Stumpy') which is held in a freezer near East Gate Hospital. Seven are incapacitated and of uncertain status: one frozen by Ryouma, second buried under a building, and five trapped inside the black cube at the Dragon Spiral Tower. SSI is requesting permission to move the cube into the underground prison facility.

Seireitei is peaceful once more.

The shadowy stuff of Masaru's "armor" helped bridge the gap just a bit, pulling Arianna toward his hand. Once they linked hands, he deftly helped her end up on Ancalagon's back before wheeling the dragon around and toward the ground.

When the request for Pack aid to SSI comes in, it's swiftly granted. Names are noted in the grim-faced Captain's mind for promotions or commendations. Meanwhile, he turns to Arianna, his Bankai still manifest, Ancalagon himself pacing slowly atop the battered hill, watching the restrained Hollow with a predatory gleam in his shadowy eyes. It's a barely noticeable motion to his riders.

"Glad we were able to retrieve you, Vice-Captain. I'm sorry I didn't arrive sooner. The intended scope of this...operation...was not immediately apparent. We'll likely be dealing with fallout for a while. Still, none of our forces are dead, and only a few have more than light injuries. We can ill afford full casualties in these times."

He shakes his head a bit, as if clearing his thoughts.

"Did the Hollows make any comments as to why they wished to abscond with the Sokyoku? Their overall behavior patterns seemed erratic. But now I'm pondering if this was their goal all along..."

That's not really a comforting thought.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Hueco Mundo]
[Las Noches]

Hueco Mundo
Las Noches

Randii stumbles forward a bit at the back slap. She raises an eyebrow at Turiel, considering tearing into him for it. But if he really was the Segunda, then...well, it probably wouldn't end well for her.

I've heard of a Segunda. But, I have no idea if it was you or not.

So, what are you proposin'?

"Ha! Well if it wasn't before it is now! Maybe later we can tussle and you can see whether you stand a chance or not!"

DANGER DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

"But for now, it would help us a lot if you could help me in sorting and guarding these prisoners. Quincies, the lot of them, and sneaky ones at that. But we don't wanna be too rough with them. You need to make sure any folks around her get crazy ideas they get smacked down, just like any of the prisoners. Don't worry I'll show you where we're taking them. We just need to be all proper-like about it."

Indeed, the line of captured Quincy is pretty obvious.

As are the rather dark looks many residents of Las Noches are giving them.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Soul Society
Sokyoku Hill

Arianna shakes her head a bit as she sheaths her sword. No, they didn't. They also didn't give any indication that they were working with the others. It's possible that this group was on their own, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the other Hollows.

Arianna stretches her wings out a bit. They were still sore from the grip that Hollow had her in.

I know this event needs to be looked into immediately, but I have some information I need to report. About some recent events in Hueco Mundo.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Hueco Mundo
Las Noches

Randii might consider taking him up on that brawl offer. After she sees him fight somebody else. No use jumping into a fight without knowing what she's getting herself into.

However, she has more important things to think about at the moment.

Quincy prisoners? Really? ...why?

I mean, Shinigami prisoners I could understand. But Quincies? Is it because they had something to do with whatever happened to the city?

[KnightDisciple]

[Soul Society]
[Sokyoku Hill, Seireitei]

Soul Society
Sokyoku Hill

Arianna shakes her head a bit as she sheaths her sword. No, they didn't. They also didn't give any indication that they were working with the others. It's possible that this group was on their own, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the other Hollows.

Arianna stretches her wings out a bit. They were still sore from the grip that Hollow had her in.

I know this event needs to be looked into immediately, but I have some information I need to report. About some recent events in Hueco Mundo.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Masaru is quiet for a few moments.

"Hm. Perhaps they were, but my general understanding is that many of these Hollows are in fact part of a conglomerate hive mind, the effect of a strange Arrancar releasing its power. It would explain some of the peculiarities witnessed. Because we didn't have enough odd enemies about."

Sarcasm abounds.

"Well that's not ominous. Hang on, Vice-Captain. Ancalagon wants to stretch his own wings a bit anyways."

And with that they were off, flying for the last known location of the Commander-General...the Railgun Station that was really not that far from their current locale.

Spoiler: OOC to Kuroi

Show

It's okay if these 2 pop in, yes?

------------------------------------------------------------------
[Hueco Mundo]
[Las Noches]

Hueco Mundo
Las Noches

Randii might consider taking him up on that brawl offer. After she sees him fight somebody else. No use jumping into a fight without knowing what she's getting herself into.

However, she has more important things to think about at the moment.

Quincy prisoners? Really? ...why?

I mean, Shinigami prisoners I could understand. But Quincies? Is it because they had something to do with whatever happened to the city?

Turiel gives a grim smile at that question.

"We're taking prisoners because we're civilized, see. Have to treat them nicely.

As for whether they have anything to do with what happened, the answer is that yes, they do. They did it."

[Kuroimaken]

[The Railgun Station]

Arianna and Masaru almost miss him. With the current chaos settled, Koutarou has no reason to flash-step back to his office - so he is walking back there. He only halts his stride when he realizes that they're headed his way.