Birth of the Cero Espada
Dylan Wetzel
Wandering the cold, dark deserts of the Hollow world, Hueco Mundo with the two other defected captains, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen, Sosuke Aizen searches for more Arrancar candidates. There were many Hollows who thought they could take them on, but they were proven wrong. None could handle the intensity of their entire Spiritual Pressure.
But then, somewhere in the distance of the west, comes the feel of truly immense Spiritual Pressure. Not only that, but there are many others surrounding it, and vanishing quickly.
"Hmm," Gin says with a small smile. "I doubt such Spirit energy could be an adjucha. "What do you think, Tosen? Lord Aizen?"
The sightless, dark skinned man says, "It does feel more like an adjucha…or a Vasto Lorde. A truly powerful one at that."
"You two are correct," Aizen says quietly. "That is a Vasto Lorde. If he is capable of killing so many Gillians, he'd make an excellent Espada. There are some Menos Grande there as well. With the power of the Break Down Sphere, this Lorde would be truly excellent."
Using Shunpo, all three of them disappear, and reappear on the battlefield. Single, lone figure with two others behind him are consuming the countless corpses of Hollows. Gin takes in a sharp breath at the sheer number of bodies. Sensing their presence, the figure looks up. Faster than they expected, he's standing before them.
Instantly Gin and Tosen reach for their swords, but Aizen holds out an arm. "What is your name, Hollow?" he asks.
For a moment, there's silence before the being says in deep, lazy voice, "I am a Vasto Lorde. My name is Bestia Oscura (Dark Beast). Who are you three, and why are you Soul Reapers here?" The dark being raises its fists. He's at least seven feet nine inches, extremely muscular with medium lengthened horns on his back, and two small ones extending from his shoulders. Cold, dark black eyes, with no white or any sort of color in them. He has dark, wavy black hair reaching down to his shoulder blades. His Hollow hole is in the middle of his throat, smaller than most. His very pale as well, but no light seems to touch him despite being so pale.
"We are planning to bring down the Soul Society," Aizen answers, thrusting out a palm the moment he punches. Aizen's eyes widen ever so slightly in surprise as his feet sink into the sand. "My name is Sosuke Aizen, ex captain of Fifth Company. These are my assistant captains, Gin Ichimaru of Third Company, and Kaname Tosen of Ninth Company."
He pauses for a moment, and then pulls his fist back. "Bring down the Soul Society? How do you intend to do that?"
"We're assembling an army of Arrancars. Captain Aizen has something that can turn you Hollows into an Arrancar. Give you the powers like that of Soul Reapers. We've already assembled a massive army, and have ten commanders to lead them. They are the Espada," Gin says. Aizen pulls out the Break Down Sphere from a coat pocket.
Growling, the Hollow says, "Espada? You mean those weaklings like Grimmjow and Yammy?" All their eyes widen is surprise. "I don't how strong Yammy or Grimmjow are now, but they were absolutely weak when I fought them."
"Yammy is the Tenth and Cero Espada. Grimmjow is now currently the Sexta Espada. But you'd make an excellent Espada," Aizen says. "What do you say, Hollow? Will you join me and help us bring down the Soul Society?"
"What's going on, Bestia? Why haven't you killed these Soul Reapers yet?" one of the other others say, appearing at his side. Then the other. The one that spoke was only half of Bestia's size, quiet muscular and greyish skin. The other Hollow was darker and just a little bit taller. He was small horns on his elbows and knees, with dark gray eyes. The most noticeable thing about them, which they all share, is the claws and horns. They have long, sharp five inch claws of nails, and they have horns. They don't have them in the exact same places, but they do have them none the less.
"These Hollows are annoying," Tosen says. "Why do you keep them?"
"Because they are my servants. I saved them from two Vasto Lordes and a group of adjuchas. They are as much a part of me as any organ," Bestia replies. Then, after a short moment of thinking, he turns to his small servants and asks, "These are defected soul reaper captains. They're planning to destroy the Soul Society. Should we join them or not? Shadow, Light?"
They glance at the three soul reapers and then think for a moment. "Okay. But do you have other allies?"
"Lots. Follow us back to Los Noches, our palace, and you'll meet the Espada. Then, using the Sphere, you three will be turned into Arrancars, and you'll be given a rank," Aizen says, disappearing.
Gin smiles and gestures at them to follow. Using a Shunpo, with the Hollows surprisingly using Sonido, follow them back.
In the main hall of Las Noches, the Espada have all gathered with their Fraccione. "New recruits, eh? They seem weak," an Espada wearing an eye patch says.
"Hush, Nnoitora. Never judge someone by appearance," the only female says.
There's an old man with a crown on his head, a tall, dark skinned man, a pink haired slender man with glasses, someone with a large mask hiding their face, a fearsome looking man with a broken Hollow jawbone on his face, a big, dumb looking man with a broken hollows mask on his neck, and then a guy who looks like he'd rather be asleep somewhere.
"Espada. Meet our newest candidate, Bestia Negra," Tosen says. Grimmjow and Yammy look up in surprise. "Yes, we know you've met him before, Yammy, Grimmjow."
"Calm down," Aizen whispers, and a huge amount of Spiritual Pressure force them to their knees. "Now then…let's get to business." Aizen appears before them, holding out the Sphere. It blazes brightly, and then surrounds the three of them instantly.
Within seconds, all the Espada drop to their knees, and even Gin and Tosen drop to the ground under the sure weight of Bestia's new Spiritual Pressure. It's so thick and heavy, like being trapped in the deepest depths of the ocean, and more than anything, it's cold. It's as cold as ice. Aizen smiles broadly and whispers, "Excellent."
A minute passes, and then it fades back. The three have gone through a radical transformation. The horns have vanished, and they're all very pale. They look extremely human, and all three of them have zanpakto sheathed at their waists. "What rank am I then?" Bestia asks.
"There's already a Primera Espada, but your Spiritual Pressure is far greater than his. You're the Cero Espada, he who represents overwhelming power," Aizen says. "Just to make things safe for all of the others here, make sure to lower your Spiritual Pressure. It could kill the weaker Espada."
"Bullshit!" Yammy bellows, stepping forward the instant he can stand. "I'm Arrancar Diez, but I'm the Cero Espada when I release!"
"Not anymore. I don't need you anymore. If you think you can prove it, you and Bestia can battle it outside. But, Bestia, don't release your sword. As strong as you are now, even lowered, it could easily destroy Los Noches. Releasing your full power here would destroy everything."
Yammy grunts and then says, "Come with me, newbie. I'm going to kick your ass and prove that I'm the only one deserving the rank of Cero." He uses a Sonido, as does Bestia and the rest of the Espada to watch the battle.
Outside, a few miles away from the palace, Yammy and Bestia prepare. The other nine Espada stand back, waiting. In an instant, Yammy charges. Thrusting out his fist, he sends a barge of bala's flying at Bestia. He doesn't move out of the way. Within seconds, the bala's disperse, stopped by his Pressure alone. "Is that all you have, Yammy?" he says, and holds out his palm. A dark green and black ball of energy forms, and then turns into multiple balls of energy and soar at Yammy. They all hit him and he grunts in pain.
Quickly, Bestia is behind him, drawing his sword and slashes down his back hard and deep, drawing a torrent of blood. "Damn it!" Yammy bellows, and swings his fist at him. Bestia doesn't move, his cold eyes unwavering. He sticks out a finger, and stops the attack dead in its tracks. "What? Impossible!" Yammy keeps trying to hit, but the finger won't budge.
Bestia slams his leg into Yammy's side, hard, cracking a few of his ribs. He roars out in pain and draws his own sword. "You're really starting to piss me off. I'm going to release, and crush you!" Holding out his sword, Yammy declares, "Rage…Ira!" and dark, blood red energy bursts out and around him. He doubles in size, growing extra legs and a long tail with a club.
"Humph. I always knew you were a giant pain in the ass. Look at you now. Just one big target for me to slaughter," he says.
"Don't talk big you damn ant!" Yammy roars, his mouth opening wildly and releases a Cero.
"Blot out the light, shadows of Light," Bestia whispers, and a sphere of darkness shrouds him moments before the Cero hits. When it passes, he adds, "Release the light," his blade aimed Yammy. Yammy looks at him mockingly until his own Cero bursts back, hitting him square in the chest, sending him flying through the air.
"What was that?" Yammy groans, getting to his feet slowly, a large, deep gash on his chest. "That was my Cero, but stronger. How'd you do that?"
"Do it again and you might find out," Bestia says.
Yammy opens his mouth again and lets his Cero charge. Once he's sure it's at full power, he release. The burst of energy soaring at Bestia. Again, shadows enshroud Bestia, protecting him. But, unknown to anyone else, it's doing more than that. It's also absorbing its power and the Cero itself, channeling the power into the sword and, once it's done, combines Bestia's own Cero with it and gets released back at the intended target, ten times faster and twenty times more powerful.
As Yammy's Cero subsides, the shadows disperse and this time, aiming his sword at Yammy's face, releases the Cero. The sudden blast of power hits the target at blinding speed, destroying one of Yammy's eyes. He roars out in pain, agony, and rage.
"Unacceptable!" Yammy screams out in pain. Then, his rage reaching a breaking point, his body again starts to change. His flesh begins to bubble, his extra legs and tail getting sucked into him; he doubles in size again, horns stretching out on his head, fur covering his lower body. Transformed once again, Yammy now looks like a giant, one eyed ape. "That's good," he sighs, looking down at Bestia. "You really annoy me. Now I will kill you. I am the strongest of the Espada. You don't deserve the rank of Cero."
Using a Sonido, Bestia uses his Spiritual Pressure to keep him in the air, high in the sky. "Well then, Yammy, let's see how you handle this." Holding out the long, pitch black blade, he says, "Rise from the shadows of the day…Shadow Spears." From Yammy's massive body, the huge shadow he casts huge spears blast up into him, spearing him from every direction. Yammy's eyes widen is pain and surprise. "And now, the finishing blow." Appearing at his chest, he says, placing his right palm on Yammy, "Shred, razor shadow storm." Yammy coughs out a mouthful of blood, the insides of his body being shredding.
Landing on the ground near the other Espada, all of them looking at him wearily, Yammy's body quickly melds back into his original form. Coughing and gagging on his own blood, he tries getting to feet. But he has no muscles, or anything to help him.
Looking down, Bestia says, "I am death itself. I massacre. You never stood a chance." And then Bestia tears into his body, consuming Yammy.