章節 16: Chapter 16: No Escape
*This fanfic belongs to Melkor's Mercy, I don't own anything*
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Hueco Mundo, Ichigo XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ichigo followed Grimmjow further out into the desert where many of his various former adjuchas could be seen training with one another. They all immediately tensed up and stopped what they were doing as Grimmjow landed. Behind him, Ichigo, Wonderweiss, Yylfordt, and Luppi did the same.
Di Roy was the first one to speak, "Grimmjow, good to see you're back."
"I hope you enjoyed your break while I was gone because now your real training begins," the blue haired arrancar replied before looking over his followers.
"Grimmjow, what is the High King, White, doing here?" Edorad asked nervously as the fearsome Espada strolled up with his hands in his pocket.
Grimmjow spit on the ground and chuckled, "Alright listen up you idiots! I've had my fair share of beating common sense into you for now, so in the mean time, White's going to teach you how to fight as a team. Any stupid questions before we start?"
Edrad's eyes widened, "Fight as a team? We already do that though…"
"No you don't…I've been scoping out White's Fracciones, and they're far more cohesive than you guys. If we're gonna be in a lot of big scale battles, then delivering combos and covering each others' backs is what will make all the difference," Grimmjow began.
Ichigo nodded in agreement, "Grimmjow is right. However, this brings up another important point as well…even though the Espada are vastly powerful, we can't be everywhere at once and will not be able to safeguard Hueco Mundo's inhabitants by ourselves. The Shinigami outnumber us by a considerable margin. Even if I could kill every last one of them, I wouldn't be able to keep them from killing our army if it's weak and unorganized. Do you understand?"
Shaw Long was the first to respond accordingly, "Your rationalization is perfectly understandable, High King. You will be busy dealing with the Shinigami Captains…but they have Lieutenants and an army of Squads beneath them as well. You cannot deal with all of them at once."
"I hope you do understand, because it's not like this is hard to comprehend," Luppi scoffed, "King White wants the army to be reliable so he doesn't have to worry about protecting it while fighting the elite Shinigami."
"I get it now…" Di Roy nodded submissively.
Yylfordt sighed, "What sort of things can we do to improve our battle synergy then?"
"I'm glad you asked," Ichigo grinned, "To start I want to see how well you guys can fight as a team. I'm going to divide you into two groups. Both sides will fight the other. I'll evaluate your group flaws after you're done."
"What?! How can we learn to work with each other if you divide us up though?" Nakeem deadpanned.
Grimmjow shook his head in disapproval, "Just do what he says…this kind of stuff makes sense after it's over."
"Alright the first group will consist of Shaw Long, Nakeem, and Edorad. The second team will be Luppi, Di Roy, and Yylfordt. Separate and meet up with your team. Come up with a battle strategy and then when I call for it, your teams will battle each other. The first team to lose a member in battle loses," Ichigo explained.
"The hell?! That's not right," Edorad protested.
Shaw Long seemed to understand as he shook his head, "No…it makes sense. It forces us protect each other in battle."
"Yeah, but why are we stuck with Nakeem though?!" Edorad growled.
The hefty arrancar turned towards Edorad annoyed, "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying you're dead weight bro," Edorad sighed.
"Ugh…why do I have to work with them?" Luppi protested as he looked at Yylfordt and Di Roy.
"I would prefer to not have Di Roy on our side…he's pretty weak," Yylfordt complained.
"Not weaker than Nakeem," Edorad shot back.
"Shut up!" Grimmjow immediately silenced their complaints, "you won't get to choose who's on your side in the heat of battle…and you sure as hell won't always be on the same level of power. That's not the point here."
"Exactly…each team has a strategist, a powerhouse, and a weaker ally. Try to coordinate a strategy that most effectively deals with it," Ichigo commanded.
Doing as commanded, each side split up and got out of hearing range of each other. Grimmjow looked at Ichigo approvingly, "This ought to be good…I wonder which side will win."
"Luppi's a lot stronger than your Fracciones, but he's not exactly a team player. It could go either way," Wonderweiss added.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX With Yylfordt, Luppi, and Di Roy XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"This is stupid…you two just need to stay back and let me handle them. We're going to lose if you get yourselves beaten right away," Luppi sassed authoritatively.
Di Roy gritted his teeth at him, "Like hell we will! How do you expect us to get stronger if we just sit back and do nothing?! Besides, I doubt you could fight all three of them at once."
"I beg to differ…I'm stronger than all of you," Luppi replied snidely.
"Shut up you two…don't you even see what the Espada are trying to teach us? In battle, your allies won't always be your choice and neither will your enemies. We all have different talents and roles to play…ways to help each other. Battles aren't always won with sheer power," Yylfordt interrupted.
"So…what's the plan then," Di Roy asked anxiously.
"Yes, I'm eager to see what our group strategist has to say…" Luppi sighed.
"Since you're supposedly strong, Luppi, you should be in the front. I imagine they will probably use Edorad to tank our assault. He's pretty tough in his release state. So if you can hold him back in their opening assault, I can flank and help you neutralize him immediately. If I know Shaw Long, he will probably hang back and try to observe all of us before making his move. However, he doesn't know Luppi's abilities yet. We can use that to our advantage," Yylfordt explained thoroughly.
"What should I do then?" Di Roy asked.
Their plan will most likely be to attack our weakest link, you, as quickly as possible. Knowing Edorad's idiocy, he will go for you immediately. Luppi hold him off and I will try to get Edorad if he overextends. If they make any other moves, be ready to respond to on the call changes. The main thing I want you to do Di Roy is bait them. Stay close to Luppi."
"Alright then," Di Roy nodded.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Shaw Long, Eodrad, and Nakeem XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I say we blitz in there and take down Di Roy as quickly as possible. That's the rules of the match yeah?" Edorad suggested.
Nakeem nodded, "That would be the best course of action, and I can stay with Shaw Long in case they try to sneak around or something."
"That is a foolish plan, Edorad…blitzing them could prove an issue since we have no idea what Luppi is capable of. He's ranked pretty highly in terms of power. Though we can use that to our advantage. He seems pretty arrogant and may be easy to taunt. If we can separate him from the group, then it will be easier to break through their defenses."
"Maybe, but what about Yylfordt? He's not a pushover…" Edorad stated.
"You should focus your efforts on distracting him. He will likely focus more on defending Di Roy since Luppi is there to attack us," Shaw Long replied.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Back with Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Wonderweiss XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Are you all ready?!" Ichigo asked.
Both groups came back and stood across from the other. On one side, Luppi and Yylfordt stood on Di Roy's flanks. On the other, Edorad stood in front with Shaw long Nakeem on the sides.
"Everyone release! There's no point doing this in your base states!" Grimmjow commanded.
One by one, each Fraccion released their Zanpakutos revealing their forms. Luppi's form was somewhat alarming to Shaw Long, who didn't expect the extra appendages to sprout from his back.
"Start the battle!" Grimmjow shouted.
Without hesitation, Edorad immediately charged in bull-rushing Yylfordt. The blonde was somewhat surprised to see the other arrancar targeting him, and peeled away slightly from his team as he clashed with him.
Luppi ran past them right away and went in for both Shaw Long and Nakeem. They were surprised by his speed and strength, which was clearly higher than anticipated. Luppi quickly swept Shaw Long back with one of his tentacle like appendages and launched a follow-up sweep with another.
Nakeem watched surprised as two more wrapped around Shaw Long's claw like arms preventing him from attacking. Luppi swiftly threw the other arrancar around smashing him repeatedly against the ground. During this time he failed to notice Edorad and Nakeem both switch targets and charge Di Roy.
Yylfordt growled in annoyance, "Luppi, get back here!"
By the time the arrancar turned around, he saw Edorad and Nakeem both standing over a downed Di Roy. Yylfordt appeared somewhat roughed up, and was glaring in annoyance.
"Shaw Long's team won," Ichigo announced expectedly, "that was a good tactical switch. Though it's not quite as cohesive as I'd like to see. Nevertheless, you utilized your weaker link to help win, so I believe you understand what the point of this challenge was."
"We lost? Damn…" Luppi huffed in disappointment.
Grimmjow shook his head at the arrancar, "I don't think you get it yet."
"Hey I just did what my strategist told me to!" Luppi defended himself.
Ichigo took a step forward and sighed, "Perhaps so, but you fail to see the bigger picture here. It's not worth going for a kill if your allies are in trouble. Our ability to safeguard one another is the only safety we're going to have against the legions of Shinigami and Quincies."
"Well this was barely any help at all…" Luppi said displeased.
"How's about we make a new challenge. I want you to fight all of my Fracciones at the same time. Maybe that'll be a challenge enough for you," Grimmjow scoffed.
Luppi's face seemed somewhat alarmed by the statement, but he didn't back down from the challenge now that everyone's eyes were on him.
"Fine…" he sighed.
"Wonderweiss, do you mind keeping an eye on them out here? I'd like to speak to Grimmjow in private," Ichigo requested.
The blonde Espada nodded his head, "I certainly can."
Grimmjow gave Ichigo a curious look, "What's this about?"
"It's about increasing our power. C'mon, let's leave them to it here," Ichigo replied.
The blue haired arrancar grunted, "Shame…I wanted to see the loudmouth get his ass kicked. Alright, let's go."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mayuri's Lab, Soul Society XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Standing around the infamous captain of Squad 12, was Isshin, Yoruichi, and Urahara. Everyone there appeared to be in a serious mood.
Urahara walked up to the machine examining it curiously, "How's she holding up? Is your machine still tracking her?"
"Her vitals are still holding, though I've seen several sporadic jumps in heart-rate and adrenaline flow in the past day," Mayuri explained.
"That's not good…" Urahara said slowly.
"What do you mean, Kisuke? Didn't you give her a Reiatsu concealing cloak? That combined with her stealth skills, would make it hard for anyone to notice her," Yoruichi perked up concerned.
"Well, there's a catch to those cloaks…they sort of malfunction if one is under heavy emotional stress or has a high heart-rate. She might be in trouble," Urahara stated.
"Let me go after her, Kisuke! I can't let her die there for the sake of her own pride!" Yoruichi insisted.
Isshin shook his head doubtfully, "There's no telling what they would do to a Shinigami if they found one in Hueco Mundo."
"Well, I can gear you up to go if you really want…but just you and nobody else. The Captain-Commander would have my head if we launched an unauthorized mission there. Be quick to find out what's going on and hurry back ASAP," Kisuke sighed with a seriousness uncommon to his character.
"What should I do if White shows up?" she asked.
"Run…as fast as possible. Retrieving Soifon and the information she has will be vital," Urahara replied.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Soifon, Hueco Mundo XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Shinigami Captain felt slightly worried as she realized she was surrounded. Examining the new arrivals with deadly caution, she immediately realized that they were neither Shinigami nor Hollows. That left her to assume they were the only remaining possibility.
"Quincies?" Soifon spoke questioningly as she looked at each of their unusual appearances.
"Indeed we are…what a very astute observation," the one identified as Kirge said in a very condescending way.
Soifon narrowed her gaze as she looked between the three of them, "What are Quincies doing in Hueco Mundo?"
"We could say the same for you. Shinigami Captains rarely leave the safety of their Soul Society," the Quincy with the strange visor and bad teeth stated. His bare chest and stomach appeared to be showing much to her disgust.
"I thought all of the Quincies were dead…" Soifon said more to herself than the surrounding foes.
"Incorrect assumption. The pure-blooded Quincies still live as well as powerful hybrids," the cyborg one with the knight like helmet announced.
Looking around nervously, Soifon tried to determine the best course of action. She had no idea how powerful these enemies were and she knew that fighting them would attract the attention of hollows. Given what had happened earlier with Gin, she had no desire for that scenario to happen. Weighing her options still, Soifon stalled for time as she rephrased her question, "Why are you three surrounding me? What business does your kind have here?"
"We are under orders to observe the hollows and learn about their plans. I imagine you are here for a similar reason no? You were attacked recently after all weren't you?" Kirge asked smugly.
His surprising insight into Ichigo's attack on the Soul Society left Soifon gawking in disbelief. She shook her head questioningly, "How do you know about that?!"
"That doesn't really matter…now what shall we do with you?" Kirge asked rhetorically. It was pretty obvious he already had something sinister in mind.
Soifon knew she was in trouble and immediately decided to take off running. Thankfully her speed proved superior to the Quincies, but that still didn't ease her concerns as the three Sternritters came following behind at high speeds.
"Apprehend her, now!" Kirge demanded as the three of them began to chase down the lone captain. Soifon was running for her life now as she had no clue what to do in this situation.
Her mind barely had time to process the fact that Quincies were chasing her when all of a sudden the wrist device she was wearing began to beep. She looked at it confused, "What the hell?"
'What is this thing beeping for?' Soifon began to wonder as she continued to move at high speeds further away. It felt like she was running for hours but it could have very well just been minutes. It wasn't long however, before she was winded.
Believing she was a safe enough distance away from Las Noches, the captain finally stopped in her tracks and turned around drawing her Zanpakuto, "I'm not going down without a fight!"
"On the contrary…you are," Kirge stated in a familiar condescending way. He appeared somewhat out of breath himself, but otherwise fine.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Ichigo and Grimmjow XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Care to explain what this is all about?" Grimmjow asked after a deeper journey into the desert. The two hadn't said a word after leaving the Fracciones behind with Wonderweiss.
Ichigo finally stopped and nodded his head, causing Grimmjow to land next to him. The blue haired arrancar cocked his head uncertainly, "Well?"
"I've been thinking about how we could all get more power. You know about Shinigami bankai right? It's a second stage beyond their original shikai. With it they become ten times more powerful, supposedly. What if we could do the same?" Ichigo theorized.
"What?! Achieve a bankai? That's Shinigami nonsense, White…what we really need to do is figure out how to empower our release forms," Grimmjow replied.
"That's what I mean…if bankais exist for Shinigami, then there must be something greater we could achieve," Ichigo continued.
Grimmjow shrugged, "It sounds all good in theory, but being arrancars already makes us superior to Shinigami. I imagine the release states of the Espada are all more than a match for the bankais of captains. Not to mention, with all of us united, they won't stand a chance against Hueco Mundo."
"Barragan told me something when I spoke to him last. He said that the Espada actually existed before, and that the original members were the ones responsible for the creation of Las Noches. They were all united too…but failed to defeat the Shinigami. Their leader was the first arrancar, Zangetsu…and after his death to the First Kenpachi, Hueco Mundo fell apart under civil war and was eventually subdued," Ichigo explained in detail.
Grimmjow's eyes were almost maddened with rage, "What?! That old skeleton bastard knew this all along and never said anything?!"
"Calm down, Grimmjow…I'm telling you this now, because you deserve to know. The former Espada exceeded all of our power, and they failed to defeat the Shinigami. They didn't have enough power…and when their leader fell, the rest fought over the vacuum left behind. That could very well happen again if we don't take precautions," Ichigo continued.
The Sexta Espada nodded his head, "Yeah I understand…so what do you recommend we do in order to achieve this second stage of release?"
Ichigo sighed, "I wanted to talk with Ulquiorra about it. He's seen multiple Shinigami bankais, and likely has some good insight into the matter. I just wanted you to think about this ahead of time. It's going to take everything in our arsenal to survive. We're going to need monstrous levels of power to strive."
"So what do you recommend I do then?" Grimmjow wondered.
"I want you to see something. It's an ability that calls upon both Shinigami and hollow powers," Ichigo stated as he held up both hands forming a red, white, and black cero.
Grimmjow's eyes widened considerably, "What the hell?"
"Gray Rey Cero Oscuras," Ichigo said as he unleashed the powerful beam into the landscape. As he fired it, he turned his head towards Grimmjow, "The black spiritual energy is my Shinigami power. As an arrancar, you have this power as well. Try to tap into it."
As the attack finished, Grimmjow laughed in admiration, "I like the way you make points around here, White. I'll definitely work on trying to tap into that power."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Soifon XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Right as Soifon's Zanpakuto came from its sheath, she saw a colossal stream that could only be identified as a cero erupt leagues away. Her eyes lit up in panic as she wondered what it was. It seemed to distract the Quincies as well.
Nanana observed the horizon and his eyes visibly widened beneath his visor, "Readings show an arrancar cero. The power level is…remarkable. Estimated distance, two hundred kilometers."
"Are you serious? That far?! What a display of power. Can you track the trajectory to the origin?" Kirge asked, suddenly not as interested in the trapped Soifon.
BG9 did a follow up scan with Nanana, "Origin traced further towards the center of the desert near Las Noches."
Soifon remembered the heavy, feeling of power before. Even from this distance, the echo of Ichigo's power was distinguishable. The cero didn't seem to be aimed in any particular direction, which led her to believe that Ichigo had been training again or something along those lines.
"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi," Soifon spoke her release command as her short dagger-like Zanpakuto transformed into a long hornet colored stinger over her middle finger.
'There's no point in holding back right now…but I don't think I can afford to use my bankai. I'll have to save that as a very last resort,' Soifon thought as she held up her arm.
The three Quincies turned towards her somewhat alarmed by the turn of events. She glared at the trio of white-clad freaks and spoke one follow-up word, "Shunko."
Her spiritual energy seemed to reshape into the form of wind as she stared her enemies down, "If you want a fight, then I'll give you one!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Hueco Mundo Desert, Nel XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Further into the desert, the turquoise haired Espada was currently helping her Fracciones to improve. They had been progressing fairly well, and she did her best to help them compensate for the weaknesses the Quincies used to exploit them last time. She sensed Ichigo's cero firing into the distance and briefly wondered what he was doing.
She brushed her distracting thoughts aside as Gantenbainne announced the obvious, "Woah, did you guys feel that power?!"
"It would seem even White himself is training right now…what a truly commendable King he is," Dordonii nodded approvingly.
As they continued training, Nel heard the heavy thud of someone landing behind her. She briefly glanced back and noticed it was none other that Nnoitra and his one Fraccion. The lanky, dark-haired Espada sent her a glare, "What are you doing out here?"
"Training my fracciones like Ichigo told us to. I've also been thinking of ways to counter Quincies. What brings you here, Nnoitra?" Nel asked casually.
The one eyed arrancar sent her an annoyed gaze, "I wanted to fight you and see if you're truly as strong as that stupid test claimed. I find it rather insulting that you're considered stronger than I am."
"Why does that matter? We're all allies here…what do you hope to gain by fighting me? If it's training, then by all means I would be happy to help you, but I'd rather not fight you for no reason," Nel replied.
"Urgh…What, so you think you're too good to fight me then?! Is that it? C'mon, draw your Zanpakuto and let's prove it!" Nnoitra growled.
"I don't think Ichigo would want us fighting over something so pointless…we have more important things to worry about right now," Nel tried to reason.
All it seemed to do was provoke Nnoitra further as he hissed in disgust, "You can't hide behind the king forever…I want you to prove if you're worthy to outrank me!"
"Why me specifically? Surely Grimmjow or one of the other Espada would love to meet your challenge…" Nel sighed.
"They've already proven their strength! Barragan and Grimmjow fought White, Starrk is unquestionably powerful, Ulquiorra and Harribel are questionable, but they carry themselves like strong fighters. You on the other hand…you act like a frail female, yet you're supposed to be the sixth strongest arrancar?!" Nnoitra ranted.
Cirucci immediately took offense to Nnoitra's condemning statement and cut in angrily, "Watch what you say about Lady Nel! She's more than a match for you, Nnoitra!"
"This aint good…" Gantenbainne sighed as he covered his face with his palm.
Dordonii simply watched silently as Nel drew her Zanpakuto. The woman gave Nnoitra a disappointed sigh, "If you insist on this, Nnoitra, then I will meet your challenge."
Before either one of them could say another word, Nel's eyes lit up in surprise, "Wait…do you sense that? Quincies…"
"Quincies?!" Cirucci gasped.
Nel gave Nnoitra a brief glance, "This will have to wait until later…though you're welcome to help me investigate."
"Pfft…Quincies huh? How convenient. Though…that spiritual energy I sense does seem rather unfamiliar. Fine let's go," he groaned as Nel, immediately took off towards the source.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Soifon XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The captain's battle had been going downhill rather quickly. Despite her superior speed and skill in hand to hand combat, the three on one exchange was almost too much to deal with.
BG9, the cyborg-looking quincy formed some type of massive machine gun and started firing at her as she shunpo'd around the battlefield. The Quincy with the visor chose to stand back and observe the fight, but Soifon grew increasingly nervous the longer he watched them battle.
Kirge on the other hand had been firing countless Reishi arrows in addition to BG9's minigun. Unable to go on the offensive, all Soifon could do was dodge and run. She already knew what they were trying to do. They were hoping to wear her down so that she could be easily captured.
Deciding she had no choice but to be reckless, she appeared behind Kirge and elbowed his back as hard as possible. Wrapping an arm around one of his shoulders, Soifon quickly flipped in the way of BG9's oncoming barrage of Reishi bullets.
The Sternritter was unfortunate enough to receive many wounds from the assault, but Soifon herself was unable to avoid some collateral damage in the process. She appeared further away and examined several fresh bullet wounds that had grazed her limbs. Thankfully nothing struck her torso or head, but she barely had time to celebrate as Kirge was now furious.
She quickly took cover behind one of Hueco Mundo's large rocky structures as she contemplated the next best course of action. Peaking out from her cover, she could see the Sternritters closing in.
Kirge in particular was incoming with deadly intent, but before he could make contact, a blue blur blindsided him and slammed the Quincy into the sandy ground. Standing over the downed Sternritter was none other than Grimmjow. Soifon didn't recognize the Arrancar, but she immediately felt a surge of fear as the bloodthirsty hollow cackled, "Quincies in Hueco Mundo?! I'll kill every last one of you bastards!"
Grimmjow turned towards Nanana and BG9 and gritted his teeth, "You're gonna wish you'd never set foot in Hueco Mundo!"
"Nanana! Identify that hollow!" Kirge ordered as he managed to get up and retreat further away. Nanana looked at the blue haired arrancar calmly, "It's an upper-level Arrancar. Judging by his spiritual energy, I'd guess a former Vasto Lorde. He's strong, but not a major threat."
"The fuck did you just say?! Not a major threat huh? You won't be saying that in a minute!" Grimmjow growled as he charged the trio with ferocity.
BG9 attempted to fire his minigun, but was too slow to react to Grimmjow's speed. The arrancar grabbed the weapon as it began to fire and forced it towards Kirge and Nanana. The two Sternritters immediately dove out of the way as the Minigun wildly fired in their direction.
Grimmjow held onto the weapon as hard as he could and began to pull violently. As BG9 attempted to resist, the blue haired hollow kicked behind the Cyborg's knees forcing it to the ground. The minigun was still firing, but now it was shooting into the air, hitting nothing.
Kirge attempted to peel Grimmjow off of his ally, but as he got in range, the Espada laughed manically, "Not so fast, asshole!"
At near point blank range, Grimmjow pulled one arm off the minigun and fired a cero at the Sternritter forcing him to retreat. During this time, BG9 managed to recover slightly, and was trying to stand up again.
Before he could get enough momentum, Grimmjow flipped the Sternritter over his shoulder smashing it on the ground. The minigun was still in Grimmjow's grip, and now it appeared as if he was attempting to rip the thing off. He let out a sadistic howl as a cranking strain could be heard. The minigun ceased firing as the weapon came clear off BG9's arm.
"Haha! I'll rip you to pieces Quincy fucker!" Grimmjow laughed as he smashed the minigun against BG9's head.
He immediately drew his Zanpakuto and charged towards Kirge with bloodlust. The Sternritter appeared to be slightly afraid as the ruthless hollow closed in.
He attempted to fire his Heilig Pfeil towards the rampaging arrancar, but the arrows proved ineffective as Grimmjow easily deflected or dodged them. Forced to use his blade, Kirge parried Grimmjow's Zanpakuto barely in time.
The blue haired hollow pushed powerfully against the Sternritter immediately causing his arm to shake. Kirge's eyes widened slightly as Grimmjow gave him a hateful stare. The hollow pushed harder as he spoke with fury, "I don't know why you Quincies were stupid enough to come back, but you're not getting out of here alive! I'm not as merciful as White is!"
Kirge tried to disappear with his Hirenkyaku, but it proved ineffective at out-manuvering Grimmjow as the arrancar followed with a sonido. The Sternritter watched curiously as Grimmjow slit his free hand against his own blade. The hollow flicked it at Kirge's eyes causing him to grimace.
The Quincy cried out uncharacteristically in pain causing Grimmjow to cock his head, 'Does my blood hurt him?'
Without giving it much more thought, the Espada formed a Gran Rey Cero in his hand as Kirge attempted to hold back Grimmjow's Zanpakuto. The Quincy quickly opened his eyes when he heard the sound of something gathering energy. His face was one of pure shock the blue and white cero formed in Grimmjow's free hand blasted him at point blank range.
The Sternritter was immediately launched into the distance as the powerful cero seemingly tore him and everything behind him to pieces
Nanana watched Grimmjow closely during this time and had finally managed to pinpoint the weakness in his Reiatsu. After his cero subsided, Grimmjow shook his head in disgust, "Now it's your tur-"
He immediately felt his entire body freeze in place as he was no longer able to move. Out of nowhere, Nanana had managed to hit him directly below his hollow hole. He glared at the Quincy disbelievingly, "What the hell is this?"
"It's your weak spot…the place on your body with the lightest defense of Reishi and muscle. It will slowly break apart your spiritual energy from the inside if the gaps are widened enough," Nanana explained before striking the area again.
Grimmjow spit up blood and let out a shriek of pain. During his brief incapacitation, BG9 had managed to regain its bearings. Grimmjow looked over and noticed BG9 rising from the ground. The cyborg reached down to grab its minigun and managed to reattach it with the use of Reishi.
Grimmjow finally managed to recover, but felt himself considerably weakened from the cheap shot. He defensively crouched into a more feral fighting stance as he kept his eyes glued to the two Sternritters. "This one is quite strong. Wouldn't you say, Kirge?" Nanana asked.
Grimmjow briefly glanced behind himself and saw the white-garbed Quincy miraculously still alive. He appeared injured however, but otherwise functional.
Kirge held his hand up as Reishi began to enclose Grimmjow into some type of strange energy cage, "This one will do nicely for a recoverable specimen. From him we may be able to gain good insight into the hollow hierarchy and identify their weaknesses and plans."
Soifon watched somewhat horrified as Grimmjow brutally beat against his cage. He howled in anger, "What the hell is this supposed to be?! You think this shit will hold me, quincy?!"
"Silence animal…you will be properly broken once we return to the Silbern. However, there is still the matter of that Shinigami Captain. Track her down, you two. I'll secure this arrancar for our return trip," Kirge announced.
"GRIND PANTERA!" Grimmjow howled as loudly as possible. An explosion of blue spiritual energy erupted from the cage, which visibly expanded from Grimmjow's raw power pouring forth. Soifon continued to watch the scene in disbelief as the hollow's form was more cat like than before. Grimmjow's hair was long and blue now, and his mask fragment changed.
He viciously clawed against the cage much to Kirge's amusement. The Sternritter laughed at him, "You won't break out of that so easily, hollow. Like a beast in a cage, you will soon learn the pointlessness of your resistance. "
"Lanzador Verde!" a feminine voice sounded as an energy charged lance pierced into the cage. Kirge watched with horror as it began to show something akin to cracks. Moments later, Grimmjow burst free with an anger none had ever seen before.
As his cage broke, he roared like a sonic boom causing the desert to shake. Leaping into the air, Grimmjow formed long blue energy claws and swiped them down towards the Quincies. To say the attack was overpowering would be an understatement.
The Sternritters had no choice but to flee from the destructive rampage as Grimmjow began to rabidly destroy everything in range of him. As they distanced themselves from the feline hollow, a voice sounded from behind, "You're not taking ANYONE, Sternritter!"
They all turned around and saw a centaur knight, with a colossal lance. Nel stood there with a look of bloodthirsty fury as she kicked up sand with her back feet. It was obvious that she was about to charge.
"We need to retreat, Kirge!" Nanana said somewhat urgently now. The Quincies didn't get the chance to debate the matter as Grimmjow appeared right behind them. He jabbed one of his claws right through Nanana's chest and held the Quincy off the ground, "I'll tear out your heart!"
Nanana tried to resist, but felt immense pain as Grimmjow's other claw pierced his throat. A bluish grid like pattern covered the Quincy's body trying to stop the blood that was now pouring from his body. Throwing him aside, Grimmjow, immediately charged after the recovering Sternritter.
Meanwhile, Kirge watched with horror as more arrancars began to show up. First it was Nnoitra, but soon Nel's Fraccion arrived as well. They all closed in, but Nel quickly held her hand up, "Allow me to show you what I can do, Nnoitra…"
Further away, Soifon was still hidden behind the rock and was now in full panic. She knew it was only a matter of time before Ichigo showed up. Deciding this was her only chance to escape while the hollows and Quincies were busy with each other, she began to take off.
Nel charged Kirge with brutal speed and immediately overpowered the man as she trampled him onto the ground. She spun her lance around stabbed BG9 in the shoulder before he had a chance to react. The cyborg pointed his minigun at the hollow but was shocked when Nel stabbed her lance directly through the barrel.
Tilting her weapon upward, she instantly snapped it off BG9's arm before swinging the lance's other end in for a jab. The lance pierced the Quincy's chest and it was immediately brought off the ground before Nel tossed the weapon into the nearby rock formation Soifon had been using to hide.
From her mouth, Nel charged a massive pink cero and fired at the cyborg without mercy. Before the attack was even over, she charged in and retrieved her lance. BG9 appeared heavily damaged as its uniform was now mostly tattered or gone.
What was beneath it surprised Nel somewhat. Many strange, mechanical like appendages came forth as the Quincy stood up. Reishi erupted from the tendrils as unusual energy formed into the shape of what she could only describe as wings. A five sided halo formed over the Cyborg's head.
Nel immediately recognized that it was a Vollstandig having seen Bambietta use the technique against Ichigo. She briefly distanced herself as the cyborg floated off the ground with two reformed Reishi miniguns over its arms.
Dordonii's eyes widened, "What is that?!"
Nnoitra cocked his head, "That's a strange ability…"
"Stand back everyone! It's his Vollstandig. It's a Quincy's ultimate ability!" Nel ordered. Everyone backed away as many openings fired missiles into the group of arrancars. They were quickly countered as Nel pre-detonated them with another cero.
She held her lance cautiously as she observed the Quincy for a moment. Meanwhile, Grimmjow had been brutally torturing Nanana with as little remorse as possible. The Quincy tried to flee and fight back, but was unable to stop the rampaging Grimmjow.
Despite the work of his Blut Vene to alleviate injuries, Nanana was still bleeding profusely. He was now covered in claw marks and had many gaping wounds covering his body. Even his blut abilities were proving ineffective at healing him before a new set of wounds appeared.
As he attempted to strike Grimmjow's underbelly again, the Espada grabbed the Sternritter's wrist. Squeezing as hard as possible, Grimmjow twisted the Quincy's hand until a crunching snap could be heard. Nanana shrieked in agony as Grimmjow continued to twist even despite the wrist already being broken.
"You can go on about my 'weak spot' all you want, asshole, but any part of you I choose to break is a weak spot on your body!" Grimmjow cackled maniacally as he held the Sternritter's arm outstretched and broke his elbow next.
Tossing Nanana to the ground, Grimmjow shook his head in disgust, "Say goodbye!"
Before he could deliver a killing blow, a now winged Kirge managed to intercept him. Grimmjow looked at the Quincy almost disbelievingly, "What the hell is that form?!"
"Allow me to show you the true power of a Sternritter, hollow filth. This is my Vollstandig…and it will destroy you," Kirge boasted.
"I highly doubt that…I'm going to tear those wings off," Grimmjow laughed as he pounced the Sternritter. Kirge slashed his blade hoping to deliver a cut now that Grimmjow was disarmed, but he was surprised when Grimmjow parried with his long elbow arm-blades.
They appeared to grow in length as a blue glow radiated around Grimmjow's body. The Espada slashed in instantly disarming Kirge before following up with a devastating series of flurries.
Kirge could barely believe Grimmjow disarmed him and attempted to form another blade out of Reishi. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time as one of Grimmjow's arm blades swept across his throat immediately decapitating the Quincy.
The Sternritter's head fell down onto the sand right in front of the pain-stricken Nanana. He barely managed to look up as Grimmjow's imposing form stood over him. Grimmjow growled, "You'll never cage me, Quincies."
Nanana didn't even have the chance to use his Vollstandig as Grimmjow stomped on his head. Nanana rolled away and made a last-ditch effort to jump away and flee, but as he did so, one of Grimmjow's claws pierced his chest.
Grimmjow literally ripped the Quincy's heart from his chest and squeezed it into mush. Nanana immediately fell over dead shortly afterward. Holding his arms out-stretched, Grimmjow released a deafening victory roar before breaking into a bloodthirsty laugh.
Looking over towards Nel, Grimmjow noticed she had finally brought the cyborg down. Nnoitra appeared somewhat surprised by the power radiating from the two Espada. He looked between Nel and Grimmjow seriously, 'They're both definitely former Vasto Lordes. Those Quincies stood no chance. Is there truly this great a gap between me and them?'
Grimmjow landed next to Nel and gave her a somewhat curt nod, "Nice of you to join the battle. Were there any more of them?"
"From what I saw, there was only three…though you were here before us. What did you see, Grimmjow?" Nel asked curiously.
The blue-haired arrancar shrugged as he reverted back into his normal form, "They were looking for a Shinigami I think…though how could one be here?"
"Hmm…Where is Ichigo? I sensed his cero earlier. I'm surprised he didn't show up and investigate this," Nel wondered.
Grimmjow scoffed, "You can't expect the High-King to go intervening every time something happens. I told him I'd take care of whatever was out here. Still…he might want to know about Quincies invading. I'm pretty sure the warning he sent last time was an ultimatum. If they came back here, then that means they're going to invade."
"Where is White anyway?" Nnoitra interrupted the conversation as he gave Grimmjow an uncertain look. The Sextra Espada shrugged, "I don't know…but I guess we should go find him. I think he said something about looking for Ulquiorra."
Moments later, a various arrival of individuals landed to investigate the source of the spiritual energy that the battle had no doubt been beaconing. Among them were Wonderweiss, Luppi, Grimmjow's Fracciones, and several other Numeros.
"What happened here?" Wonderweiss asked as he noticed the three Espada standing over the dead Sternritters. Nel reverted back to her humanoid form and was the first to respond, "Grimmjow apparently located some Quincy infiltrators. I came with Nnoitra and the others to investigate what was happening. We managed to kill them before they could escape."
"Where is White?" Wonderweiss asked looking at Grimmjow.
The blue haired man sighed, "Uhh, looking for Ulquiorra. I'm sure he'll turn up again pretty quickly."
"Well, regardless…In the meantime, we should really get back to Las Noches and call for an Espada meeting," Wonderweiss nodded.
"That's probably a good idea…if the Quincies came back again so soon, then we need to be prepared for their invasion," Nel nodded.
"What about that Shinigami they were supposedly looking for? Could they still be somewhere nearby?" Nnoitra wondered.
Grimmjow scoffed, "I don't sense a thing…but they did appear to be after something whenever I showed up. If there was a Shinigami here, then they're probably gone now. Still…it wouldn't hurt to be on high alert. If the Quincies can infiltrate Hueco Mundo this easily, then what's stopping the Shinigami?"
Wonderweiss looked down at the mutilated Quincies before turning towards Grimmjow, "It would be wise for us to bring these bodies back to Szayel's Laboratory. He might be able to discern useful information from the bodies."
"Well I'm not about to haul those Quincy corpses anywhere…" Grimmjow said carelessly as he put his hands in his pocket. Nel looked over at two nearby Numeros.
One appeared rather thin and blonde, whilst the other was more stocky. They both perked up alarmed as Nel looked at them. "I'd hate to ask, but do you two mind bringing those bodies to Szayel's Lab?"
"No need to ask them, I'll have my people do it. Hey guys!" Grimmjow yelled at his Fracciones, "Make yourselves useful and haul this heap of Quincy shit to that Lab."
"We'll take care of it, Grimmjow," Shaw Long responded before any of them could protest. The two arrancars Nel had asked previously, immediately stepped forward.
The thinner one shook his head, "No need, Dondochakka and I can handle this. It would be an honor to assist the great lady Neliel."
Nel giggled somewhat at the comment and shook her head, "I'm not really a 'great lady' but thank you nonetheless."
"You got that right…" Nnoitra muttered under his breath.
"Let's get back to Las Noches. I'm sure Ichigo won't be far behind us," Grimmjow motioned as the Espada all left.
All of the Numeros stood around the downed Quincies as they each wondered who was going to be the first to touch the bodies. Cirucci examined them more closely and cringed at the way Grimmjow's victims looked.
She shook her head, "Remind me never to piss off, Grimmjow…"
"Let's just get this over with…" Yylfordt sighed as he reached down first.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Soifon XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Her heart was racing faster than it ever had before as she continued to run without stopping. Soifon hadn't even taken the time to look back and see if anyone had come after her. Finally unable to take another step, she stopped and hunched over gasping for air.
Her entire body burned, and the high of her adrenaline was drowning out most other senses. As she caught her breath, she tempted a look back and noticed nobody in pursuit. Her breathing began to slow as she continued to lower her heart rate.
The woman had never been this terrified before in her entire life. Between the hollows and the Quincies, she felt like somebody was going to jump up and catch her at any second. She looked down at the instrument on her wrist that Urahara had given her in order to leave Hueco Mundo. She quickly activated it as she looked back double checking that nothing was around.
As the Garganta opened, she turned forward again and was about to charge through it. Unfortunately, something was now in front of her. She shrieked in disbelief as she fell back onto the ground. She scrambled back in fear despite the fact that it was probably pointless.
In front of her was a black haired, green eyed hollow. The Arrancar looked down at her with an almost stoic carelessness. Ulquiorra said nothing as he simply blocked her escape through the Garganta. He made no movements to attack and didn't even bother to speak as he stared at the captain.
She felt truly hopeless now. Despite making it so far, she inevitably tripped at the finish line. There was no escaping Hueco Mundo now. She could finally breathe normally again and stood up. Soifon spoke after a long silence, "Nothing to say hollow?"
Ulquiorra said nothing as he briefly looked back at the Garganta Soifon was about to escape through.
"Come on! If you're going to kill me then just do it already!" She taunted. Ulquiorra simply began to walk forward without an spec of urgency or concern. Soifon slowly backed away as she tried to come up with a last minute miracle.
She continued to back away before a brilliant idea came to mind, 'If I lure him far enough away, I can double around him and make a break for the Garganta before it closes. I just need to lure him a little bit futher…What the hell?!'
Soifon couldn't move back any further as she bumped into something that clearly wasn't there a second earlier. She already knew what it was before even looking, but couldn't stop herself from slowly stealing a peek back at the obstruction.
There stood none other than Ichigo. Soifon immediately gave up on any idea of escape and simply dropped to her knees in defeat. She held her head down shamefully, "You caught me…"
She felt Ichigo grab her arm and examine the strange device on her wrist, "So that's how you came to Hueco Mundo? This must be Captain Kurotsuchi's technology."
She remained frozen in fear, refusing to look up as Ichigo ripped the device from her wrist. He immediately crushed it in his hand forcing the Garganta to close.
Ulquiorra spoke for the first time after he broke it, "She couldn't have been here for very long. She must be a spy of some kind. The Haori is white beneath that sand-colored cloak. She's a captain."
Soifon didn't know what to do anymore and simply remained motionless in defeat. Ichigo examined her for a moment and nodded, "She matches the description of Captain Soifon."
Deciding her only option at this point was to withhold information, she feigned ignorance to Ichigo's knowledge about her, "How do you know my name, hollow?"
"I know the names of all captains now. Believe me when I say, we'll make sure to take down every last one of you before this war is over," Ichigo stated as he picked her up and through the captain over his shoulder.
If she hadn't been trained for the better part of her life to never cry then she probably would have been bawling her eyes out at this point. Soifon could only stare behind at where she had almost escaped as Ichigo and Ulquiorra made their way back to Las Noches.
Along the way, they passed the battlefield where the Quincies had been defeated. Ichigo noticed Soifon's attention turn that way.
As she stared at the devastation, Ichigo began to speak, "I imagine Grimmjow and the others killed those Quincy infiltrators. We show no mercy to spies. You're going to regret coming here, Captain Soifon."
"Don't even bother trying to torture me…the Stealth Corps is trained to never talk in the event of capture, and I'm the leader of it," she spat.
"We'll see about that…" Ichigo replied.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Las Noches XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Upon arriving at Las Noches, Ichigo quickly ordered Ulquiorra to assemble the rest of the Espada. While the ebony haired hollow was doing so, Ichigo took Soifon to one of Las Noches' tower tops. Upon arriving, Ichigo tossed the woman off his shoulder and onto the ground.
She chose to remain in that position until Ichigo grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to a nearby edge. He held her over the side and spoke with a darkness matching his infamy, "Look out there, Captain Soifon, and tell me what you see."
"Hueco Mundo," she replied grimacing in pain. Being held by her hair over the ledge was more painful and uncomfortable than she would have ever imagined.
Ichigo shook his head, "No…that's not what you see. Try again!"
"A desert? Las Noches? I don't know what you want me to say!" she shot back.
"You know what I see? I see a legion of hollows willing to do anything to survive. Your kind in all your self-righteousness would have us slain. You hide in your Seireitei sitting high up on your thrones looking down on us. Who are you to pass judgment on my existence, Shinigami? Not you, your Captain-Commander or even the Soul King has the right to deny my existence!" Ichigo ranted.
Lifting Soifon back up he chucked her back onto the peak of the tower. She tried to stand up despite the pointlessness of her situation. She didn't want to die in such a pathetic way. As she got up, Ichigo grabbed her throat and held her over the edge again.
"You're going to tell me, why you're here, Shinigami…and what you know!" he demanded.
She stubbornly remained silent even though she knew it was unwise. She expected some kind of physical rebuke, but instead Ichigo simply dropped her over the edge. As she fell off the tower, panic began to ensue, 'Did he seriously drop me?! This wont' kill me though…'
As she tried to fly, she soon found herself unable to, 'What is this?! I can't…my spiritual energy is depleted. Damn it…well at least I'll die before being tortured.'
As if the moment she thought it, she was caught mid air by Ichigo who threw her skyward. She flew at high speed way past the peak of the tower this time and high into the sky. As she reached peak altitude, she felt Ichigo grab her hair again before throwing her into the tower's peak. It left a considerable crater, but thankfully she didn't fly through the ceiling.
Ichigo landed nearby and knelt over her in the crater. She fearfully avoided his golden black gaze. Something about his eyes was truly frightening to her. Unfortunately, Ichigo forced her to look at him and gave the woman a hateful glare.
"Stop it, you damn monster! Your eyes are pure evil!" She struggled, trying to avoid the hollow's fearsome gaze. For some reason, he heard Karin's voice whenever Soifon said "monster."
"You're that afraid of me are you? Do you know what it's like to be a hollow? That's true terror. The emptiness…the hunger…the stife. They haunted me every waking second. You're blind." Ichigo said stoically.
She no longer said a word as malice radiated from her gaze, "Just kill me, you fiend! I'm not going to talk, and I don't care about anything you have to say!"
Ichigo let go of her allowing the woman to finally look away. She appeared very bitter and resentful. He simply looked at her and shook his head distastefully, "I'll ask you one last time, Captain Soifon…what do you see? I want you to remember…"
"A hollow abomination…" she muttered as fearlessly as she could. For some reason she now felt like inciting Ichigo so he would just finish her off.
Much to her surprise, Aizen's voice filled the air shortly after, "Ulquiorra mentioned you captured a Shinigami. So Captain Soifon infiltrated Hueco Mundo hmm?"
"Yeah…" Ichigo said with a distant look in his eyes. He appeared deep in thought much to Soifon and Aizen's confusion.
"I would be more than happy to take care of this, Ichigo…my former colleague is not quite as tough as she claims to be," Aizen explained.
Ichigo shook his head, "No…I have another idea. Do you have the Hogyoku with you, Sousuke?" Ichigo asked.
Aizen nodded, "Of course…what do you have in mind?"
"Killing these Shinigami isn't enough for me…they need to understand why we're killing them. Give me the Hogyoku," Ichigo asked outstretching his hand.
The suave Aizen slowly handed it to Ichigo and watched curiously as the Hollow King held it over Soifon. "I'm not going to kill you Shinigami…I'm not even going to interrogate you anymore. You're going to wake up tomorrow…"
She screamed in horror as Ichigo activated the Hogyoku's power causing a blinding light to overtake the petite Shinigami. After it subsided, Soifon felt a massive hole form below her throat. Her vision fled her as the last thing she saw was a beaming Aizen and an angry Ichigo.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Espada Meeting, Later XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ichigo, along with Aizen, came through the doors into one of the many throne rooms of Las Noches where the rest of the Espada were all sitting around a conveniently placed table. Aizen took his seat at the very end closest to the empty throne that was no doubt reserved for Ichigo.
As he took his seat, Ichigo sighed in annoyance, "Alright…so as most of you know, the Quincies attacked earlier."
"Where the hell have you been? It's been hours!" Nnoitra grunted.
"I heard you captured a Shinigami spy, as well? What happened? Where is she now?" Harribel began to ask inquisitively.
"I dealt with her appropriately." Ichigo replied.
"Is she dead?" Lilynette piped up curiously.
Ichigo didn't bother responding much to everyone's confusion, but Aizen was quick to explain, "Ichigo believed the Soul Society needed to be taught an important lesson. Killing her would have been too simple. Instead, she will endure Hollowfication. I believe it was Ichigo's intention to demoralize the Soul Society further. Whatever information she may have gathered will be of little use in the long run. What she'll represent to them is far more beneficial to us."
"But…if she lives, couldn't she still go back to the Soul Society and tell them what she saw?" Grimmjow asked.
"And tell them what? If she does survive…she'll be a hollow, and the Soul Society will kill her itself. I commend this judgment, High-King." Barragan said resoundingly.
"Well I hope she saw our numbers…and knows that the Soul Society is doomed," Nnoitra nodded.
It took everything in Gin's being to not go wide-eyed at the news, 'She got captured after all…and that bastard used the Hogyoku on her? What will happen to her now? I wonder what the effect will be?'
Tousen nodded in complete approval, "I implore your actions, White…the Soul Society could use a fair bit of Karma. Simple killing is not enough to always deliver justice. Captain Soifon was a lavish, self-righteous noble and her fate is well-deserved."
"Grimmjow does have a point though," Lilynette interjected.
"I don't care…" Ichigo spoke up, "I'd rather the Shinigami see for themselves the lengths I'm willing to go to in order to destroy the Soul Society. They'll never send another spy here after they see her. I can guarantee that."
"Haha! I admire you so much High-King!" Nnoitra laughed in approval.
Nel frowned slightly, "It seems cruel…but war is war I suppose."
"Don't show them pity…they won't show us any," Ulquiorra interrupted.
"Moving on…what do we know about these three quincies that were slain?" Barragan asked.
Grimmjow thought for a moment, "I don't know, but they all had that Vollstandig or whatever it was. I'm guessing they were Sternritters. I imagine the Wandenreich going to be pretty pissed off whenever those guys don't report back in."
"I foresee a full-scale Quincy invasion in the not too distant future. We're going to need to be ready for when they strike out at us," Harribel stated.
"What a hassle," Starrk yawned.
"That brings up another point…after several conversations with some of you, it's become clear to me, that in order for us to truly combat the Shinigami, we will need powers to match their bankais. A second form if you will. A Segunda Etapa…" Ichigo explained.
Everyone's eyes went wide, including Aizen's and Gin's. Harribel looked at Ichigo incredulously, "What makes you think we're even capable of a second form?"
"Ulquiorra and I have theorized the possibility, but it only makes sense. They have a shikai and a bankai. We have one Release," The hollow king stated.
Everyone seemed deep in thought as they wondered about the possibility of achieving such a form. Aizen was quick to reassure them of the possibility, "Considering the mirrored disparity between hollow and Shinigami, it is entirely possible. Shinigami achieve their bankais when they have a true understanding of their own Zanpakutos. Each of you should invest some time in your blades. They are a part of you…"
"Continue training your underlings as you have been, but each of us should try and find a way to unlock this new form. We will need them if we're going to survive. Should any of you make progress, help one another out," Ichigo said before standing up.
Everyone began to disperse shortly after, as they returned to their own business and training. Ichigo was eager to check in on Szayel and immediately made his way towards the lab.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Soifon, Deep in the Desert XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The raven haired woman awoke in the desert of Hueco Mundo far away from Las Noches. She tried to figure out what was happening as she vaguely remembered being captured by Ichigo.
"What the hell happened to me?" She asked aloud trying to figure out where she was. There was nobody or nothing in all directions except for sand. She looked around with a sense of utter disbelief, before a familiar voice filled her ears, "Soifon, are you alright?! What happened to you?"
She looked behind herself and saw Yoruichi there much to her utter disbelief. Despite the resentment she still held, Soifon was in no position to complain as she immediately reached up and embraced the other woman, "Yourichi?! Is that really you?!"
"C'mon, let's get you out of here…we can talk later," Yoruichi tried to comfort the woman.
Soifon still couldn't fathom how she ended up back out in the desert, but she was relieved to see an ally. Yoruichi picked the petite captain up and opened up a nearby Garganta with her wrist device. The dark-skinned woman decided to create small talk as they passed through in order to alleviate some of Soifon's stress.
"It took me a while to find you. I scoured all over the desert and feared for the worst. Thank heaven you didn't get captured. You'll have to fill me in on what happened once we get back," Yoruichi explained.
"I-I did get captured…I escaped somehow I think," she tried to rationalize. There was no possible alternative…Ichigo wouldn't have simply dumped her out in the desert. She must have escaped. Maybe she got away after they left her in prison or something? She could vaguely remember Ichigo torturing her from before passing out.
Yoruichi was quick to notice the woman's duress, "Are you alright? Did anything happen out here?"
"What are you doing here, Yoruichi? Why would you come to this awful place?" Soifon asked faintly.
"I came to make sure you got back home…just relax now. You're safe," Yoruichi soothed.
Soifon shook her head, "He's too strong…too fast. He…they want to kill the Soul King. I need to speak to the Captain-Commander immediately!"
"Calm down! We'll talk about it once we get back to Squad 12. Kisuke and Kurotsuchi are both waiting for us I imagine."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Soul Society, Squad 12 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Upon exiting the other side of the Garganta, Mayuri, Kisuke, and Isshin all tensed up eagerly. They appeared relieved when they saw Soifon unharmed, though Urahara was quick to notice her lack of gear and Haori. There was no doubt in his mind that something had happened.
"Captain-Commander! I need to…speak to him immediately!" Soifon tried to sprint out of the lab. She was quickly blocked by Yoruichi's superior speed, and grabbed from behind by Isshin, who held her steady.
The dark-skinned Shinigami eyed her former apprentice urgently, "Something's wrong with her…I've never seen Soifon this…troubled."
"Bring her to the chair, I will perform a physical examination immediately," Mayuri stated without a shred of empathy. Soifon began to pant heavily as she was guided over towards the chair and sat down. Everyone stared at her alarmingly as the woman began to shake in her seat, "C'mon let me out of here! I have vital information!"
"Tell us and we'll pass it along…you need to relax. You're safe now, Soifon. Just…tell us what you saw and what happened," Urahara said in an uncharacteristically empathetic way.
She looked down at the ground and slowed her breathing, "I infiltrated as planned and spent most of the my espionage time observing the various hollows. They have countless arrancars now…and they all live in this giant palace called Las Noches. It's larger than the Seireitei."
"You're doing great so far…tell us what you learned about them? Is there any sort of hierarchy beneath White himself? What did they appear to be doing?" Urahara asked as Mayuri began with his examination.
Soifon normally would have been extremely opposed to the mad scientist even touching her, but was too traumatized in her recollections to really protest. She thought for a moment as she remembered the events leading up to her spying on Ichigo and Aizen.
"They have an elite council or something like that called the Espada. There's ten of them. They're the strongest hollows. I…I managed to eavesdrop on White and Aizen while I was there. They…they're talking about killing the Soul King, and Aizen told White all about the captains! Aizen was teaching him…and they trained I think. They acted like they were friends," Soifon ranted almost incoherently.
Yoruichi's eyes widened, "Aizen and White are friends you say?"
Isshin's eyes lit up with anger, but he restrained himself in order to prevent traumatizing Soifon further. The Stealth Force Captain shook her head, "I'm pathetic…leader of the Stealth Corps…Captain of the Soul Society. I was so powerless there…Quincies they-they showed up and tried to capture me, but then the hollows started fighting them. I ran for my life…tried to escape, but they captured me."
"They captured you?!" Urahara gasped. He was immediately beginning to understand what was wrong with Soifon now.
The man looked towards Yoruichi urgently, "Where did you say you found her?"
"Out in the middle of the desert…" she replied.
"She's missing everything I sent her with…" Urahara noted.
"I-I escaped! And collapsed I think…" she concluded.
"She's still got her Zanpakuto...it might be possible," Isshin noted.
Mayuri immediately pressed her head down as he held a light over her eyes, "Kisuke Urahara come look at this…"
Everyone crowded around the scientist as they noticed an unusual blackness filling Soifon's sclera. Her dark brown irises appeared to flash in a luminescent glow as they got brighter and more golden. Judging by the looks of absolute horror coming from her allies, Soifon knew something was terribly wrong.
She immediately reached for a nearby mirror and shrieked in terror, "What the hell?! My eyes?! They're like his!?"
"Hold her down before she escapes…she's hollowfying," Mayuri commanded. Isshin and Yoruichi reluctantly held Soifon down as she began to writhe furiously, "No! This can't be happening! Let me go!"
Her voice got progressively more echoic as she began to growl. Suddenly her memories came back to her as she remembered what Ichigo had done before she passed out. The hole from before reappeared below her throat as she began to vomit white reishi. Before long a black and white mask with golden streaks formed over her face.
"Kisuke do something!" Yoruichi shouted at her long time friend.
Urahara seemed greatly troubled by this turn of events, "There's not much I can do without the Hogyoku…but we're going to have to suppress her power forcibly."
"Meaning?" Yoruichi snapped.
"We're going to have to beat her unconscious…" Kisuke said slowly.
Unable to control herself anymore, Soifon instinctively broke free from her restraint and Shunpo'd out the door faster than even Yoruichi could track.
"We need to go after her! The last thing we need right now is everyone finding out about this!" Isshin announced as he bolted out the door.
Yoruichi turned towards Kisuke and Mayuri, "I can't believe this…find out something we can do. Isshin and I will go catch her."
"Good luck…she's probably twice as fast with hollow powers," Mayuri said dryly. He didn't appear all that fazed by the situation but was deep in thought.
"Urahara…you're the 'expert' in this field. I suggest you get to work immediately. I will go ahead and inform the Captain-Commander of the situation," Mayuri said mockingly before leaving.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi and Isshin had finally managed to corner Soifon as they both charged in different angles. Soifon released a deafening hollow shriek as they apprehended her much to their displeasure. It seemed to set the Soul Society on high alert as countless Shinigami began to flock towards the scene.
Chief amongst them was Kyouraku who was at a loss for words when he saw that the hollow shriek had originated from a masked woman that was undoubtedly Soifon.
"Somebody go find Captain Hirako, right away," Kyouraku urgently commanded one of his underlings.
As more and more Shinigami flocked to the scene, Soifon felt her senses drowning out again. The last thought on her mind was one of complete shame, 'What have they done to me?! I'm…a hollow?!'
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票