[Bitp:R] Hueco Mundo 2

[Kuroimaken]

"Well, I was on my way to tracking him down when you had Caiphus call me. Felt like the poor fella wouldn't take too kindly to a no, besides, how hard can it be for Pico to deal with a transvestite? I mean, it's probably not the first time something like this has happened. And I didn't exactly hit him hard."

[InyutheBeatIs]

Lalita snorts, briefly glancing at his torn shirt. "Wow, you actually noticed. Maybe you aren't as wasted as I thought. Not that it seems to much an issue to you..." Lalita gives Pico a coy wink. He manages to look annoyingly cute despite having his cover blown.

"What's the matter, Decima? You're half past dead, and I have barely a nick on myself", he continues. "Is alcohol withdrawal getting at your heart? That'd hardly be surprising, if not for the fact you're supposed to have none. What have you been doing all your time as an Espada? Have you ever actually trained, tried to improve yourself, or have you just wasted your days drinking and lazing off?"

Lalita sidles around Pico, weapons hold in guard, crimson platforms forming and fading as he stalks around the Decima like a feline watching its prey. "I can see why Apolinar is so pissed about losing to you. You are infinitely weaker in mind and resolve than he is. No doubt, without that sweet girl you have as a Fraccion, you'd been usurped ages ago."

Pico just snorts back at the "wasted" comment. "Alcohol burns fast. I should know. Besides, this ain't the worst I've been wasted before."

Pico wanted to snap back. He wanted to make some quip that would practically burn this guy to the ground. But he couldn't. He just kept looking at Lalita, glaring, every second intensifying his gaze as if he were trying to burn a hole through him. Finally, after Lalita finishes his speech, Pico opens his mouth and barks out. "SHUT UP!!"

The void seemingly echoes with this notion, as he seethes with absolute rage. "You...You piece of s***. You sure have a damn big mouth for some pretty boy! Where are ya from anyway, Eddy's domain?! Bunch a' pansies! Whaddaya you know about work?! I've probably been trying to 'work' at gettin' up in life long before you even existed!!"

He points angrily at Lalita, practically shoving his hand into Lalita's face. "Amada is none of your frikkin' business! She is my fraccion! I! HIRED! HER! NOT the other way around! NOW, I'm going to ask you ONE! MORE! TIME! and don't jerk around with me this time! Who are you?!"

[strawberryman]

Genoveva

"Not like ya can chose ta not believe meh and be able ta act on de knowledge." Genoveva says simply, letting the verbal barb fly out with casual cruelty. Her lips tug up in the corners, in the beginnings of her usual sadistic grin before her head tilts to the side.

"Ain't it obvious? Ya just haf ta follow yer natural instincts. Want to take what ya want from da people who took it from ya, then all Ah'll give ya da chance to act on it. And all Ah ask in return is yer unquestionin' obedience when Ah send ya certain orders. Simple, eh?" comes the condescending, in a sense, directions as Genoveva leans her head against the back of her chair, "Or were ya expectin' ta be brought into dis as an equal without provin' Ah can trust ya?"

"...No. I'm not expecting that." With that, and a last growl, Talon turns to leave.

[Callos_DeTerran]

"...No. I'm not expecting that." With that, and a last growl, Talon turns to leave.

Genoveva

"Where do ya think yer goin'?" Genoveva says softly as Talon turns to leave, waiting until the draconian arrancar turned back around before speaking again, "Ya called meh a whore, or do ya think Ah forgot dat little tidbit? Bah all rights, Ah should kill ya for dat slight...or at least put ya in dah penalty box until Ah remember ya exist."

"Jus' kiddin! Instead Ah feel we should build an understandahin between us...yer first job is ta bring Vincente ta meh. As well as Sereg and Pico. Do dat, and Ah'll see about findin' sumthin important fer ya ta do."

[strawberryman]

[Genoveva's Tower]

Talon throws a still-quite-defiant glare back at Genoveva. "...Fine."

What does she think I am, her gofer?

With that, she darts into sonido out the hole in the tower, heading towards the first 'scent' she was tasked to find, Vincente's.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Void]

Lalita eyes Pico coldly as he rages and foams. "Worked before I existed?", he snorts. "Can't have worked too hard, considering how little you have to show for it. I heard the Septima came here around the same time as you did... even that it was you who saved his arrogant neck from the Shinigami."

"So why is he the Septima, and you are not?"

Lalita puts his hands behind his back, gracefully sliding backwards on his platform... imititating kicking up dust. It's like he doesn't even consider Pico a threat anymore. "You hired her? Are you claiming she had no choice in the matter?", he says deadpanly, cocking his head to the side. "Are you claiming she couldn't have left to serve a better master? Surely she could've asked some other Espada to be her patron. I know Master Edward would've gladly taken her to his flock."

"Have you ever bothered asking why she's decided to stick with you? Why she chooses to look after you and help you trudge through your miserable existence? Even though from day to day, from year to year, it's become more apparent that you will never make it anywhere?"

Lalita shakes his head. "Face it, Kurazume. You are a loser. And I'm just another person in the long list of people you lost to."

[Kayne650]

Cecilia shrugs.

"Well, I was going to give Pico a piece of mind with Caiphus, you know the usual. Interrogate him about some stuff that's been going on, smack him on the head when he lies, and then poke his Fraccion a few times before leaving!"

She frowns, annoyed.

"But then he had to go and fall in that bloody Garganta! You would think he would be careful about leaving those things lying around."

"Well, I was on my way to tracking him down when you had Caiphus call me. Felt like the poor fella wouldn't take too kindly to a no, besides, how hard can it be for Pico to deal with a transvestite? I mean, it's probably not the first time something like this has happened. And I didn't exactly hit him hard."

Caiphus stood off by the side, observing quietly as usual. Cecilia was behaving normally (at least for her) but Rouga was still a wild card. The man was powerful; Caiphus could tell that just from his stance, how he moved. The man was a juggernaut; he had the physique of a mountain, and probably the strength to match. He was someone to watch out for.

Thankfully, Cecilia's minuscule attention span was currently focused on him, so there was someone keeping an eye on him.

[Kuroimaken]

Arguably more dangerous than the Arrancar's powers was his unpredictability. There is one thing to be said about a moving force when you know which path it will sway; at least then you can plan accordingly.

On the plus side, Rouga's personal magnetism appeared to be shallow at best - he didn't look like he might make many allies on the surface. In this, his unpredictability was likely to work against him: if isolated, whichever effort he took might be squashed if it didn't click with the interest of any other Espada.

Yet one look at his face, and one could see that this was the last thing on his mind.

[Vulkan]

[Octava's district]

Mimus walked around aimlessly into the district of Octava. She scratched her head trying to remember as to why she was even out. "Well this isn't too bad nice place here." Mimus scratched at her head as if she was in a daze before shaking her head and shouting "Hey anyone-" Mimus shook her head again twitching and finishing her sentence with a quiet whisper "...here?"

[InyutheBeatIs]

[Void]

Lalita eyes Pico coldly as he rages and foams. "Worked before I existed?", he snorts. "Can't have worked too hard, considering how little you have to show for it. I heard the Septima came here around the same time as you did... even that it was you who saved his arrogant neck from the Shinigami."

"So why is he the Septima, and you are not?"

Lalita puts his hands behind his back, gracefully sliding backwards on his platform... imititating kicking up dust. It's like he doesn't even consider Pico a threat anymore. "You hired her? Are you claiming she had no choice in the matter?", he says deadpanly, cocking his head to the side. "Are you claiming she couldn't have left to serve a better master? Surely she could've asked some other Espada to be her patron. I know Master Edward would've gladly taken her to his flock."

"Have you ever bothered asking why she's decided to stick with you? Why she chooses to look after you and help you trudge through your miserable existence? Even though from day to day, from year to year, it's become more apparent that you will never make it anywhere?"

Lalita shakes his head. "Face it, Kurazume. You are a loser. And I'm just another person in the long list of people you lost to."

Pico grits his teeth, baring them at this belligerent, foolish, sniveling, sparkly PERSON for even considering messing with him like this! Refusing to answer his questions, pah! He's had quite enough of this taunting trickster, and decides it's time to end it right now.

Pico swings his blades outward, the bandages lengthening his reach. "Now just who the hell said I lost, Sparkles?" He sneers, before kicking the reiatsu platform out from under his feet with a rushed electric whine, the reiatsu shattering and sparking as he does so. Within an instant, white bandages should cross Lalita's vision, surrounding him and attempting to embrace him in a cold, metallic grip. As they close in on Lalita, Pico smiles a sadistic grin and glances longingly at the red bridge far above them.

[Frozen_Feet]

At the instant Lalita sees the bandages coming, he lets the platforms holding him up fade and drops down to slip past them. Then he solidifies his footing again and lunges forth towards Pico's side, arching past the bandages, hoping to slash his side during the brief moment he looks away...

[InyutheBeatIs]

Pico tightens the bandages, finding that they captured nothing but air before feeling a scrape against his side. He looks down to find Lalita's wind wheel freeing itself from his skin, a fairly massive cut in its place. The blood drips down his coat, as he soon whips around the tangled mess of bandages towards Lalita's back, attempting to have them unravel as the khopesh ends reach out to snap at him.

[Frozen_Feet]

Lalita's fast enough to avert the tangled mass of cloth, but the blade whips at its end and strikes his back just before he's out of reach. A brief grimace passes his face and Pico can hear the blade tear cloth, but before he can tell if Lalita is injured, he's already turns around to face him. Crimson flames surround his fire wheel for a moment before he releases three rapid blasts against the snaking bandages to disrupt Pico's control over his weapon, then he leaps forward to punch Decima in the face with the sharp prongs of his weapon.

[InyutheBeatIs]

Pico tries to whip the bandages around to catch them, and in fact manages to catch the khopeshes, but the bandages were burned by the blasts in the process, leaving Pico holding his weapons by strings. Before he can exclaim his displeasure over this, he finds himself having to block Lalita's punch, catching the prongs with his wrist. This wasn't the wisest of moves, however, as his wrist is now bleeding from a rupture caused by the sheer force of the prongs.

He soon twists his wrist out, attempting to knock the wind wheel away as if his hand had suddenly turned into a mace. He rears his other hand up, swinging at Lalita's face, his other hand just as much of a mace as the first one.

[Frozen_Feet]

Lalita brings his own arm to block the rather sloppy swing, and there's the distinct sound of metal against metal. A brief hint of pain crosses the Fraccion's face before he manages to push Pico's arm away... and aims a rapid roundhouse kick at Pico's bleeding side, aiming to embed his toes into the gash to cause internal injury and worsen the bleeding.

[InyutheBeatIs]

Pico yells in pain as he's kicked in the side, before grabbing one of the khopeshes in his hand and trying to hook Lalita's leg with it, bringing his own leg to the fray as he turns it into a more metallic weapon and swings it at Lalita's shoulder.

[Frozen_Feet]

Lalita pulls his leg out of the sword's way and throws it back - to have better support as he lunges forward, throwing his full weight behind an elbow strike against Pico's sternum. It has the added bonus of putting him closer to the Decima so it's his tigh instead of his shin that hits his other arm, reducing the leverage behind the blow so the impact doesn't break his bones. Hopefully, it'll also knock Pico out of balance and send him reeling back, seeing that's he's standing on only one foot.

[InyutheBeatIs]

Thankfully for Lalita, it does, although Pico was more floating than standing on anything. This repels Pico, sending him falling for a bit before, once more, making himself a reiatsu stand. He looks up at Lalita, trying to catch his breath, his ears ringing and his eyes beginning to glaze over. He stumbles, righting himself after a while as he focuses in on the man who nearly has him beaten. After steadying himself, he breaths inward, reiatsu forming in his mouth in what looks to be the beginnings of a Cero. However, he's not releasing it when he should, instead holding it as it gathers more and more energy.

[Frozen_Feet]

Lalita watches Pico stumble in the void, then brushes the scratch Pico left to his torso before extending her arm towards him. Orb of red fire begins forming before it, but then a drop of blood seems to seep into it, tainting it, making it dark red in color... all the while cold grey eyes look contemptously at the Decima.

[InyutheBeatIs]

Pico brushes his hand against the wound at his side, blood now staining his fingertips. The wound has bled down his side, trickling onto his biker boots and staining his clothes. The ringing in his ears become the only sound he hears, his sense of feeling disappearing as he pours what reiatsu he has left into this Cero. His vision blinks, becoming staticy and sepia-toned.

Mustering his strength, he reaches into his mouth and pulls out the Cero ball. The orb turns from a piercing green to a neon-green that's almost impossible to look at, crackling with energy as the blood mingles with the sphere. Pico grabs his wrist and hoists it up towards Lalita, aiming the orb at the upstart with one yellow eye closed.

After a while of standing there, Pico weakly grins. "Heh, heh, heh. Yippy-kay-yay, moron."

"Gran. Rey. Cero."

At the mutterance of those fateful words, the Cero orb swells for an instant, before breaking into an incredible beam, nearly twice as wide as Pico is, and just as tall. The beam would normally blast through entire buildings, vaporizing the occupants effortlessly. However, in this case, it might just barely be enough to get so much as an edge.

[Frozen_Feet]

Fortunately for Lalita, he has the advantage of already having the Cero in his hands. As Pico reaches to take the gathered energy from his mouth, Lalita pulls his hand back and hurls the stained fireball towards him. "Gran Rey Cero." It careens through the darkness and meets Pico's lance of neon light two thirds of the way, grinding against and breaking its tip, before the two mix and merge and bloom into a vast fiery explosion. Had they been within Las Noches, the attacks would've likely demolished good part of Pico's palace.

Lips squeezed into a thin line and eyes closed, Lalita skitters backwards, thrown violently back by the shockwave from the blasts. Sparks fly from the platforms he creates and the skin of his soles and fingertips burns from the friction as he tries to brake his fall. When he finally feels himself come to stop and opens his eyes, the very space itself bubbles and hisses before him, distorted by the accumulated Reiatsu. He blinks thrice to rid his vision of sparks flying across it, trying hard to find any sign of the Decima.

Overall, the fight has gone well for him - much better than he had anticipated. The Decima had hardly put up a fight. But he's yet to resurrect. That's good to keep in mind - after all, Lalita has heard that Resurreccion of an Espada is an entirely different thing from those of rank-and-file Arrancar.

Still, Pico has let himself to a really bad shape. Lalita's hard-pressed to believe even full release would heal him to anywhere near full strenght. Besides, there's still the chance of him ending the fight before Pico has a chance to do so...

"So this is the level you languish at", he says, standing up, brandishing his wheels in a guarding stance. His voice no longer has any of the mockery or playfulness it had prior - it's just a statement of observation. Maybe that makes it worse. "You are unfit to be an Espada, or leader of any kind. You are like a dog trying to lead a pack of wolves", he shouts to the darkness. A fiery aura lights around him, flickering sligthly like a candle lit in the night. "Your ambition has only lead you to being mocked, and now it will get you torn to pieces. Tell me, Kurazume, have you ever heard the tale of Icaros?"

[Terry576]

"Well, I was on my way to tracking him down when you had Caiphus call me. Felt like the poor fella wouldn't take too kindly to a no, besides, how hard can it be for Pico to deal with a transvestite? I mean, it's probably not the first time something like this has happened. And I didn't exactly hit him hard."

Cecilia grins.

"Well you never know. He might have an ability Pico can't beat! Like cooking! Or being able to summon beer!"

[Vulkan]

During her completely unnecessary wandering of Octava's district Mimus realized she had a favor to ask the great almighty Von Geist! Only problem was Mimus didn't exactly think ahead of time how to ask a favor from the scariest being she had ever encountered. Standing in his almighty presence she spoke boldly "Von Geist I am in need of-" She then took one good look at his eyes and than proceeded to resist the urge of crying. "I umm- well-well actually.. " She said weakly with small hics between words. She tugged at her own hair. "Yeah, so umm as you could umm see.. I could really use something to keep myself from hoping from emotion to emotion and idea to idea and it's starting to get bad you wouldn't happen to know of anything or one that would help would you?" She then attempted to change the topic " So how is your day?"

[Kuroimaken]

Cecilia grins.

"Well you never know. He might have an ability Pico can't beat! Like cooking! Or being able to summon beer!"

"I guess if he did summon beer, Pico would be SCREWED. Your Fraccion mentioned something about dance lessons? Hope you don't mind me being out of style."

[Draken]

Throne Room

Well, that has to be the most informal way anyone had ever adressed her lord suzerain.

And with the wrong name to boot.

And on the day he was informed of the death of one of his sons (!).

Mimus will then feel the full brunt of Von Geister's tormentous reiatsu weighting down on the entire chamber, that long before she gets to see him, his throne turned to the opposite wall of the entrance. And his voice, doing a rather angry and derisive imitation of Mimus' tone.

"Lord Von Geister, by your grace could you have any use for this miserable being that dirties your floor with her presence? By the way, how was your day?"

And then comes the answer.

"My day... Let me see. One my sons is apparently dead. And now I am having trouble finding food for my dogs."

And then he pulls himself out of his chair, turning a terrifying glare down on the other arrancar.

"Maybe a solution to one of my current predicaments has just showed up."

[Vulkan]

Throne Room

Mimus being the most ignorant of the Arrancar wasn't yet fully aware of how everything operated in Las Nochas. She started to feel the pressure feel as if wrapped around her slowly squeezing the life out her. " Wai-wait I had no clue about this grim news m-my lord!" Out of fear she referred to Von Gesteir as formally as she possibly could. "I`ll do any thing to continue my miserable existence! Anything you want! " Mimus had few options in front of her but groveling seemed to be the best choice.

[Draken]

Throne Room

"Then CRAWL over to your espada and waste HER patience with your nonsense. Maybe she will have you screw a donkey for amusement, that should keep all involved parties sufficiently entertained."

The carpet of organic mass at Von Geister's feet churns with every word, producing claws and fangs.

[Vulkan]

"But....I...don't have an.." Mimus took one good look at the mysterious twisting organic mass and slowly backed away nervously to exit the throne room with every moment feeling that grip feel tighter and tighter till she was at the door way. " Yes I`ll go talk to HER My Lord!" Mimus gently closed the door behind her, now feeling as if able to breathe again after being choked. " Well I'm su-sure she can't be as bad as everyone claims.. right? " Mimus laughed hesitantly before taking another good look at the door to the throne room and wondering why she was still anywhere near this place.

[KnightDisciple]

[Somewhere in the Fourth District...]

With a final rush of air, the being bathed in darkness stopped moving. It...shifted...its body moving in ways that would have made mortals sick to their stomach, had they witnessed it. Finally, the rustling and shifting was done, and the being walked to one side of the dark space. It pressed a switch only it could see, and was bathed in sudden light.

Vicente Ortiz squinted his eyes slightly, before walking towards the high-speed elevator that whisked him towards the surface once more. Before long, he was in the great palace of the Cuarta once more, approaching his suite.

Once there, he quickly bathed, donning fresh clothes and equipment.

After this, he headed out into the District, walking among the lesser Hollows, getting a feel for the ebb and flow of how things were going.

And perhaps to see just what talent lay out there.

[strawberryman]

[Cuarta Sector]

Vincente might feel a slight tingle approaching his position. Either it was a familiar draconic privaron, or a comet made of rage.

Logic would likely dictate the former.

With a roar of wings and a crash, Talon impacts the ground, looking absolutely livid. Which is to say, about the same as always.

"Ortiz. Genoveva. Now."

Truly, she is a social dynamo.