[BitPR²] Mortal World V

[Kuroimaken]

"None that I can think of, aside from us going in there unannounced. Not sure how much of an issue that will prove to be, but we don't exactly have time to spare.

I'll ask Doc Tobioka to prepare Katsuo for transport. Chuck, your uncle is going to stay here for the time being to hold the fort - he already told me he has no interest in going to Soul Society anyway. We should be able to rendezvous with Hasunaga-sensei there as well."

[Dorizzit]

Naito's mouth presses into a thin line, clearly annoyed.

"There's...one other thing we need to talk about before we go."

[KnightDisciple]

"Asides from us being way over our heads?" Shinji admitted in a pang of frustration. "If there's anything we've learned from the last encounter, it's that despite our best efforts, we've been getting by largely on luck and surprise. Well, our luck's run out and our enemy is all done being surprised. My Foresight won't do us any good here, not with the kind of people involved, so our strategy is also shot to hell and back. We need to regroup, train, and possibly ask for some reinforcements."

Shinji produced the Reiphone. "I've been trying to get in touch with the Shinigami for a little while now, but to no avail. Either this thing's broken or they got their communications cut off. Neither is a good prospect. So I'm going to see if I can't get to them some other way, but we need to be ready to move as soon as we make any progress."

Chuck frowned at the news of Shinigami comms being cut off.

Naito has been remarkably silent for the past few hours, mostly restricting their actions to disappearing for a few minutes every once in a while and glaring at anyone who comes close. Chuck excluded.

"I can take us there directly. Anything else stopping us from going right now?"

Chuck turned and nodded at Naito's offer, and the urgency therein.

"None that I can think of, aside from us going in there unannounced. Not sure how much of an issue that will prove to be, but we don't exactly have time to spare.

I'll ask Doc Tobioka to prepare Katsuo for transport. Chuck, your uncle is going to stay here for the time being to hold the fort - he already told me he has no interest in going to Soul Society anyway. We should be able to rendezvous with Hasunaga-sensei there as well."

Chuck shrugged at the mention of his uncle, though he blinked at the mention of their teacher's presence. He was about to add something to the dialogue-

Naito's mouth presses into a thin line, clearly annoyed.

"There's...one other thing we need to talk about before we go."

Chuck gives Naito a concerned look.
"What's up, Naito?"

[Dorizzit]

Naito sighs, then leans back and raps three times on the wall behind them.

Alpha-1 steps into the room from the entrance nearest to Naito.

"Something happened that we all need to talk about."

[Kuroimaken]

"So that's why you had a different feel about you." Shinji notes offhand.

The first thing he does is turn to Chuck. "You know if she were anything like Alpha-1 she wouldn't even be walking in without tearing her own hair off, right?" Jumping to conclusions maybe, but they were REASONABLE conclusions.

[KnightDisciple]

Naito sighs, then leans back and raps three times on the wall behind them.

Alpha-1 steps into the room from the entrance nearest to Naito.

"Something happened that we all need to talk about."

Chuck twitches, then one hand grasps his head as he slumps in his chair, breath ragged for several moments.

"So that's why you had a different feel about you." Shinji notes offhand.

The first thing he does is turn to Chuck. "You know if she were anything like Alpha-1 she wouldn't even be walking in without tearing her own hair off, right?" Jumping to conclusions maybe, but they were REASONABLE conclusions.

"Yeah, fine, as proved by that headache. Doesn't mean I don't have a right to at least be twitchy about it."

He seems more resigned than mad.

[Dorizzit]

Naito nods.

"Aoi, as she has decided to be called, is an entirely separate entity from...Her."

"Aoi" bows politely. Her movements are precise and mechanical, but lack the uncontrolled spasms and sudden, violent motions that characterized Alpha-1's body language before her death.

"I am pleased to meet you."

Naito leans back.

"Also, she's going to need to come with us. I need to keep an eye on her."

Naito looks over at Chuck.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've had her under my direct power multiple times. If there was any trace of that b**** in her, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

[Kuroimaken]

"I understand, Naito. For what it's worth, I wish we could have rehabilitated that creature. She was a pitiable existence by most stretches of cognition." Shinji sighs. It's actually almost weird to see how he seems to feel no anger towards Alpha-1; growing up in this place probably had something to do with it.

"I know where that frustration is coming from, Chuck. I honestly get the impression she's a different being entirely, however." Shinji walks up to Aoi and looks her in the eye, his face getting close to hers for a moment, his eyes glowing. "She doesn't seem anything like Alpha-1 as far as her spiritual makeup is concerned. Say, Naito, is there a specific kind of data she already knows? Or something you'd like to show her? I think we have a collection of the public-access books in our library as PDFs."

[KnightDisciple]

Chuck sighed and rubbed his temples. He wasn't wincing as much, so his headache was likely going away.

"It was a reflex. I'm making the cognitive leaps, it's just...a lot of strong emotion and instinct tied up there. But yes, okay. It's nice to meet you, Aoi. And it does actually make me feel somewhat better, Naito."

He opened his eyes and looked to Shinji.

"Okay, so. It'll be the...four...of us, plus Katsuo. Anyone else, or are we keeping this trip small?"

[Frozen_Feet]

[Kunlun Mountains; Mountain Fortress]

There's a knock on the door of the dining-hall-turned-workshop. "Come in!", the master of the house chimes while mixing polymers into anhydrous sulphuric acid and running the solution through a spinnerette.

A female, humanoid hollow in a white ZHE uniform steps in and closes the door after her. "Came to remind you it's time to change your bandages", she says. "What are you doing? That doesn't look like smithing."

"I'm making some para-aramids for a pet project of mine. Call it a proof of concept", he says and points at a far corner of the room. "It's there if you want to take a look."

The female Hollow follows the pointed finger. "... is that one of those artificial bodies Shinigami use?"

"Not quite", the bandaged man replies. "Shinigami gigai are usually grown. They're made of the same stuff as human souls, to mimic real human bodies as accurately as possible when on Earth. I can't really do the same with the equipment I have here, so I'm taking an alternate direction. That is..."

"... wholly syntethic", she ends his sentence for him, walking to the unfinished body and touching its metallic skeleton. "Cool. So who is it for?"

The master of the house shrugs. "I dunno. You, maybe?"

[Kuroimaken]

Chuck sighed and rubbed his temples. He wasn't wincing as much, so his headache was likely going away.

"It was a reflex. I'm making the cognitive leaps, it's just...a lot of strong emotion and instinct tied up there. But yes, okay. It's nice to meet you, Aoi. And it does actually make me feel somewhat better, Naito."

He opened his eyes and looked to Shinji.

"Okay, so. It'll be the...four...of us, plus Katsuo. Anyone else, or are we keeping this trip small?"

"Small as we can make it. I thought of bringing Torahiko too, since I don't like the idea of him being alone with that cross while we're out, but... I don't think the Shinigami would roll with that."

[KnightDisciple]

"Small as we can make it. I thought of bringing Torahiko too, since I don't like the idea of him being alone with that cross while we're out, but... I don't think the Shinigami would roll with that."

Chuck's eyes hardened, then flinched, as if rebuked by the Sanctuary once more.

"Then lock the cross up as deeply as you can. Tell literally anyone and everyone here he's not allowed to so much as look at it while we're gone. And make sure he understands that. Same applies for the rest of the goose-steppers. Until and unless we get back, no one touches the thing, it stays locked up and sealed down. Period. Way I understand it, if it's locked and no one willingly gives him or anyone else the key, they're not going to be able to force someone to give them the key, and they can't break the locks, right? I still don't like leaving him and the ****ing Nazi 2.0s here, but Katsuo's too important to not take care of."

He snorts.

"Knowing the way they've gotten in Torahiko's head he'd probably just blame the Shinigami for everything anyways."

[Dorizzit]

Naito's expression shifts when the new ZHE are brought up.

"Want me to kill him?"

Either the Sanctuary isn't even trying anymore, or Naito has built up a serious resistance to its effects.

"...Or we can just lock the cross up tight. We're supposed to be the good guys, yeah?"

Meanwhile, Aoi leans forward.

"Shall I begin preparations for our departure?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Don't even joke about that." Shinji advises sternly. "If nothing else, killing Quincies was what got us the original ZHE in the first place. So let's go with a non-violent solution, kay?"

He turns to Aoi. "I can't think of a reason not to get ready. As for the cross, I'm literally going to the Shinigami carrying the only key that can open the door that thing is sealed in. Only reason Torahiko can get to it now is because I let him. Otherwise, I can revoke his access anytime."

[Dorizzit]

"They just weren't thorough enough."

Well, on the plus side, Naito wasn't joking about killing people.

"Understood. Initiating phase shift."

Aoi produces a pale, translucent blue screen. Nearby, three cylinders of blue light appear, about the size of an adult human.

"Enter the targeting matrices when you are prepared for transport."

[KnightDisciple]

Naito's expression shifts when the new ZHE are brought up.

"Want me to kill him?"

Either the Sanctuary isn't even trying anymore, or Naito has built up a serious resistance to its effects.

"...Or we can just lock the cross up tight. We're supposed to be the good guys, yeah?"

Meanwhile, Aoi leans forward.

"Shall I begin preparations for our departure?"

"Don't even joke about that." Shinji advises sternly. "If nothing else, killing Quincies was what got us the original ZHE in the first place. So let's go with a non-violent solution, kay?"

He turns to Aoi. "I can't think of a reason not to get ready. As for the cross, I'm literally going to the Shinigami carrying the only key that can open the door that thing is sealed in. Only reason Torahiko can get to it now is because I let him. Otherwise, I can revoke his access anytime."

"They just weren't thorough enough."

Well, on the plus side, Naito wasn't joking about killing people.

"Understood. Initiating phase shift."

Aoi produces a pale, translucent blue screen. Nearby, three cylinders of blue light appear, about the size of an adult human.

"Enter the targeting matrices when you are prepared for transport."

Chuck sighed.

"No killing them. Not yet. At least some might be able to be de-programmed in time. I'm satisfied with Shinji's sealing and locking work combined with the properties of the Sanctuary."

He stood and dusted off his hands, checking his belt and vest for a few moments to ensure he had everything he could. Satisfied, he nodded.

"Right, I'm ready, shall we?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Just as soon as Doc Tobioka is done with the preparations in 7, 6, 5, 4..."

Three seconds later, Tobioka is helping wheel Katsuo down the hall.

[Dorizzit]

Doc Tobioka was most likely surprised to see a circle of blue light appear in the air a few feet over Katsuo's hospital bed a few moments ago. Regardless, it follows him passively without input, moving at the same speed as the bed. Once Katsuo has stopped moving, a wall of light descends until it looks the same as a much wider version of the existing cylinders.

Naito stands up and enters one of the cylinders. As soon as Chuck and Shinji enter their own, all four begin spinning.

"Targets locked. Dimensional coordinates calculated. Dimensional coordinates confirmed. Veil puncture successful. Activating Phase Shift in 3...2...1."

The five mediums vanish.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Kunlun Mountains; the Fortress]

A woman opens her eyes and rises to a sitting position on the table she's lying on. She lifts her hands before her eyes, flexing her fingers. She runs her fingers along the artificially white, smooth skin of her arms. Then, she slides of the table and stands up, taking an experimental step or two forwards.

"How are you feeling?", a bandaged man in a black biker jacket asks. Her head darts to him, and she begins walking to him, slowly. Her right hand reaches up to gently touch his face... then wraps around his jaw like pincers and forces his chin up, her glassy blue eyes gleaming coldly.

"Uh, you know, this hurts like Hell", the man mutters, lifting up a finger. She squeezes his jaw for a couple seconds longer, then lets go and smiles.

"I know. I was just kidding", she says and turns her back to him. "Just testing my grip strength, that's all." She walks around the room, her fingers brushing over every tool and surface in the repurposed dining hall.

"Well good for you", the man replies, rubbing his jaw. "So, do you want some clothes? Or are you content to prance around in your birthday suit? Not that I'm complaining either way..."

"All in due time", she replies, opening up a first aid kit resting on one of the tables. "Let's take care of you first."

[TherianTheorist]

"Yeah? How so?" Margrave inquires curiously as he hops atop a table to be able to keep eye contact with Torahiko without either angling their necks up or down.

The table was a helpful gesture, but doesn't really break the staring going on. "This is completely losing whatever grip I had on the situation. We're in Shinji-San's territory and whatever leadership I had going is gone."

[Kuroimaken]

"Are you? Leadership is not such a fragile thing, Torahiko-kun. If you're truly losing it, perhaps it was never yours in the first place." Margrave muses.

"I also find it strange that you mention this as though Shinji isn't someone you can trust. For someone who's been made the warden of a prison, he seems rather accomodating in my eyes."

[TherianTheorist]

"Are you? Leadership is not such a fragile thing, Torahiko-kun. If you're truly losing it, perhaps it was never yours in the first place." Margrave muses.

"I also find it strange that you mention this as though Shinji isn't someone you can trust. For someone who's been made the warden of a prison, he seems rather accommodating in my eyes."

"It never was." A shrug of uneven shoulders. "I was just the only one who stepped up to speak with Jehoel-dono." He begins to count on his fingers. "Just the the only one who would make an insane promise to build a wall around the world, and invite someone to tear it down with their own army if I do. Just the only one who oddly helpful hollows throw themselves at. Just the only one to try contacting an angel." He puts his hands back down. "It was a few hours, if that. But I spoke for the survivors."

"Shinji-San is... complicated. I'd have trusted them a week ago if they'd just told me they were some kind of onmyo-user, but the sudden living fortress-prison is keeping me on my toes for now." He sounds uncertain about his reasons, because he is.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Kunlun Mountains; the Fortress]

A man stares at a mirror while the naked woman behind him slowly peels away the bandages covering his face. Contemplatively, he turns his head from side to side. "Hey. Do you think it'll ever heal like it used to?"

The woman throws the dirty bandages in the trash and shrugs. "I wouldn't know. I guess that depends on who you think you used to be?"

"Point", the man replies, touching his chin. "I guess it could be worse. It's not like pieces are falling off or anything. The skin will heal. Just a few scars here and there. That's okay. Chicks dig scars."

"I don't", the woman says flatly while applying some disinfective salve on his wounds, then wrapping new bandages around them. "Really not feeling this whole 'bad boy' schtick."

The man throws up his hands in exasperation. "Oh come on! You have to be such a spoilsport? I bet the skank who borrowed my bike digs scars!"

"And I think she'd just be leading you by the nose", she retorts. "Also, I doubt she'd approve being called a 'skank'."

"Well she's not here. So nyeh!" The man crosses his arms and sulks on his chair. The woman finishes her job and closes the first-aid kit behind him.

"You are such a brat, you know that?"

But, before the man can answer, a third person opens the door and steps into the workshop. It's "Lobo", the wolf-masked Hollow. "Hey. Lovebirds. We've got visitors. Come out and check this." He leaves as suddenly as he came, leaving the door open. The two people who were in the room look after him, bemused.

Soon, all three are in the courtyard of the castle, looking at a fourth, a pale man in a black leather jacket and blue denim slacks. He doesn't look amused. At his feet is a fifth person, covered entirely by rags and bound by heavy iron chains.

"Well look at who decided to pay a visit", the bandaged man says. "What are you doing all the way in the China? I thought you were doing that 'happily ever after' stuff."

"Hard to live happily ever after with Jack the-God-Damned-Ripper skulking on my turf", the pale man says wearily, tugging at the end of the chain he's holding. The person covered by rags lets out a pained groan.

"Jack the Ripper? I would've expected Hannibal Lecter", the bandaged man quips, but his good humour fades when he notices the pale man's glaring at him. "Wait - you're being literal? No way! I mean... seriously? That's supposed to be Jack the Knife? How the Hell did that happen?" He points at the covered person with incredulity.

"Yes", the pale man replies tersely. "And that is the very question I came here to ask you. What is a soul who by all rights should be in Hell, doing on Earth?"

Meanwhile, Lobo walks closer to the bound being and crouches before it. He sniffs the air and growls. "Well by the smell of it, Hell's literally loose. When I was fetching boss man's bike", he gestures at the bandaged man, "I came across this weird creature. Or it came across me. Hard to say. Either way, I'm sure it was an escaped convict. Smelled just like this guy."

The woman, still naked, crosses her arms and looks at the bandaged man. "How is this possible? Isn't the road to Hell supposed to be a one way trip?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be", the bandaged man says sourly, staring at the pile of rags shivering in its bonds. "Then again, you're not supposed to be able to escape the Royal Guard either, yet here I am." He glances at the sky. "I suppose it was just a matter of time. You ever heard the saying, you can't build Heaven on Earth without creating Hell? Well, what with Geister-Meister having dropped so much of Heaven down here, it's no wonder if Hell's spilling its guts all over the place as well."

The pale man frowns. "Fix it."

There's an awkward moment of silence. Lobo stands up and looks at the bandaged man. The naked lady looks at him as well. He takes a moment to notice, then looks at all of the others in turn, pointing a finger at himself. "Fix it? What? Me? How in the blazing fires of Hell do you expect me to do that?"

"I don't know. The same way you escaped the Royal Guard. Come up with something", the pale man says dryly and shrugs. "My 'happily ever after' only works if ghosts and goblins get back in their rightfull place: myths and fairytales. All this supernatural nonsense must come to an end, before it becomes irreversible."

The bandaged man puts hands on his hips and huffs. "Well excuse me. What makes you think you can order me around like that?"

"I was the first", the pale man says wearily. "I will make sure I'll be the last too, if you don't get this crap done."

The bandaged man looks incredulous. "You threatening me? Well, obviously you are threatening me. I mean, what the Hell is that supposed to achieve? You know I don't really-"

His response is cut short when the pale man swings the chain, lifting the rag-covered mess up in the air and throwing it at the bandaged man. The bandaged man has to jump back to avoid being hit by it. Whoever's inside the rags lets out a series of curses upon hitting the ground.

"A normal life. A nine to five job. A plain wife and two kids. A red house and a field of potatoes. Growing old knowing the sun will set and the sun will rise just like it has always done", the pale man remarks. "It shouldn't take a superman to secure such a life. For me or for anyone. But that's the way it's going to be, if the idiots in charge of this world get their say. I don't want that. No-one should want that." He turns to walk out of the front gate.

"So go. Fix. It."

[Kuroimaken]

"It never was." A shrug of uneven shoulders. "I was just the only one who stepped up to speak with Jehoel-dono." He begins to count on his fingers. "Just the the only one who would make an insane promise to build a wall around the world, and invite someone to tear it down with their own army if I do. Just the only one who oddly helpful hollows throw themselves at. Just the only one to try contacting an angel." He puts his hands back down. "It was a few hours, if that. But I spoke for the survivors."

"Shinji-San is... complicated. I'd have trusted them a week ago if they'd just told me they were some kind of onmyo-user, but the sudden living fortress-prison is keeping me on my toes for now." He sounds uncertain about his reasons, because he is.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Apologies, this completely slipped my mind.

"I imagine it would. When we first got here, all we knew was that the Sanctuary prevented violence. We didn't know that was because it was alive." Margrave replies. "So you're here based on a series of coincidences and spur-of-the-moment choices made with very little to no information. You know mostly what you've been told, if that. I can't exactly blame you for feeling lost.

Me, I'm here for my family. Even if I don't know what they're doing right now, I know them, and I know I can trust them to do right by me. But you don't have anyone you can say the same of in this situation, do you? You see a lot of people with a lot of different interests at play and you don't know who to cast your lot with?"

[TherianTheorist]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Apologies, this completely slipped my mind.

"I imagine it would. When we first got here, all we knew was that the Sanctuary prevented violence. We didn't know that was because it was alive." Margrave replies. "So you're here based on a series of coincidences and spur-of-the-moment choices made with very little to no information. You know mostly what you've been told, if that. I can't exactly blame you for feeling lost.

Me, I'm here for my family. Even if I don't know what they're doing right now, I know them, and I know I can trust them to do right by me. But you don't have anyone you can say the same of in this situation, do you? You see a lot of people with a lot of different interests at play and you don't know who to cast your lot with?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

No worries.

"It's discomforting, probably more than it actually feels in here." He suspected it of having that kind of mental effect, given everything else it had done during his stay. To him, at least, the Sanctuary was a liar, a thing that had no qualms hurting those it disprove of, but forbid anyone the chance to strike back. That made it not worth angering.

"I'm here based on the whims of whoever happened to have power at the time over the course of several hours a short while back, which was a revolving door, as it turns out. The misplaced student argues. "I don't know what most people around me want, or if my goals are still possible. That's all."

[Kuroimaken]

"Not gonna argue with that. You were dealing with people you couldn't antagonize. All in all, you did the smart thing." Margrave notes. "What ARE your goals, by the way? You didn't mention them once."

[TherianTheorist]

"Not gonna argue with that. You were dealing with people you couldn't antagonize. All in all, you did the smart thing." Margrave notes. "What ARE your goals, by the way? You didn't mention them once."

"Fairly simple ones. Ever since the white sands went wrong, I've been looking to get as many of the surviving Soldat forces as possible, and the artifact, somewhere safe, where they could recover. Now, I'm trying to keep this place from being a prison." Torahiko confesses. "Leaving the people behind would've been wrong, and leaving the cross behind is... not an option, especially with Demitrio-san gone."

[Kuroimaken]

Margrave was awfully expressive for an apparent ten-year-old. Torahiko could spot how his expression changed from one of agreement to one of confusion as the boy mentioned the cross. "Why do you want to get the cross away from here? The folks I get, but that part doesn't make much sense to me."

[TherianTheorist]

"It's what I could save." Well, it's what arrancar could carry for him. "And it's holy, a symbol of hope." He looks down at the floor, not the most confident in that reason. It was more of a symbol of power for him.

[Kuroimaken]

"You don't sound like you believe that. It feels like you're trying to convince yourself, more than me." Margrave points out. "Besides, it's not like the Kuzunoha are going to do anything with it. Shinji thinks it's way too dangerous to be messed with - he even hypothesized the reason the Quincy you met were so belligerent was due to something in the Cross itself."