8. Mutiny

LAS NOCHES

"If we want to change things, we simply need to take over."

"What are you saying Miss Maria?"

"I'm saying that we kill Lord Aizen."

*****

ULQIUORRA

Why do they speak of such treachery towards Lord Aizen? What should I do? Should I intervene or listen a little longer...

I'm about to peer through the gap in the open door and it's hinge but I see Maria – Aizen's Ninth Espada, walk over to the door to shut it n case someone like myself came past and heard their diabolical, no mad idea. If Lord Aizen ranks us Espada to our true lethality levels, then I could easily take both those women down. If they are serious about taking on Aizen, they would need to somehow convince all of the Espada to mutiny against their creator. So I will cup my ear and listen attentively on their scheme...

The first one to speak is Aoi, the Seventh Espada. She seems timid and unsure about this:

"You want to kill Lord Aizen? But that man is very powerful."

Maria interjects:

"That man THINKS he is very powerful, but I've noticed where he gets it from."

"What's that?"

"When I fought him as a hollow he was able to cast an illusion of himself and reappear behind me. He is weak and therefore relies on tricks of the mind to win over and manipulate his enemies."

"How did you deduce that by yourself?"

"Well when I was receiving my number he was watching, in front of me. He knew I would make a scene if I received such a pathetic rank, and somehow I was hypnotised into a trance during the whole ceremony."

"Does he use a pendulum or his hands? How does he do it?"

"Well, after receiving my number, I bumped into Starrk again and by now I was out of my trance. I asked him if he knew anything about Lord Aizen's ability to hypnotise people. He said as his 'Primera Espada' and thus loyal servant he could not disclose anything to me about it, but then he hinted me with a riddle. He told me: 'If the pen is mightier than the sword, then the will of man is but a slave to them all."

"So."

"I'm confident that his power lies in his sword. Look at it, and you are temporarily under his control, all your senses are altered to suit his 'illusion'."

"Whoa. That is amazing"

"Yes but he is our enemy now so don't admire his power."

"Oh! Sorry Miss Maria. So how do you plan to fight him, whilst avoiding gazing at his sword?"

"Well I was considering stealing it, but I doubt he would leave something so valuable behind while he's sleeping, so I may need to either destroy it or seal it from my vision."

"That sounds very difficult. I was nearly killed when I faced him."

"Yes Aoi but that was before we were aware of his powers. Now that we know his weakness we can take him on."

"Wait 'WE'? Why do I have to fight him?"

"Because you're my friend and plus...don't you want to consolidate for your chosen higher rank?"

"Hmmm...Okay we'll fight him together. Only because I couldn't bear to see my Maria hurt."

"That's good. We shall attack him at a time when he least suspects it and when the other Espadas are away from his guard."

"So what should we do in the meantime?"

"Let's get to know the others around here, especially my mother."

Footsteps indicate their leaving. No time for me to hide so I will just dash back a little than stroll by as if I'm completely oblivious to the entire conversation they had.

The two Espada notice me across the corridor. "Ulquiorra, how good to see you." Maria greets me like a cheerful schoolgirl. How pathetic to put such an act on.

I simply nod to both girls as I walk past them but Maria calls out to me and I must halt. "So Mr Schiffer, how long have you been an Espada for?"

"Goddammit..." I say under my breath. "Over a hundred years."

She bows and pats her knees whilst giving me a terribly childish look. "Wow! That long? You should be number one by now."

"Starrk and Szayel have also been Espada for a hundred years as well." I reveal to the two.

"Yes but I think you're the most powerful. In fact, I think you should lead the Espada." She walks over to where I am and rubs her finger up and down my chest in a flirting manner. What could she be possibly trying to achieve out of this performance?

"Aizen got it wrong with you Ul-qui-or-ra." She emphasized the 'ra' which I had to clench my fists at. "You are...really...number one" her voice goes colder as she mentions 'no.1'. It is much lower and even makes me shiver slightly inside, but she would be able to tell my uneasy mood right now. I'm very good at hiding my rare emotional spikes.

Forget this ruse, "I heard you two in there. I know you are plotting to kill Lord Aizen."

She stammered back alongside Aoi who just shook her head. At least she had more rationale. "N-n-no- we weren't really going through with it. We were just imagining how an imaginary scenario would pan out." She seemed caught between her cold, sadistic nature and her pathetic adolescent nature.

"You do both realise the implications of going through with such an act do you?"

Maria cocked her head. "Implications? Is that even a word?"

I want to slap myself in the face. Why am I even having this conversation? Why don't I just kill her? Or perhaps I should be a bit more laissez-faire. "Lord Aizen has obviously vacated ranks 7 and 9 for a reason. He sees you two as weak. What makes you think you low ranking Espada could possible have a chance?"

"Because I know his weakness." She informs me. Although I already heard her before in the room I still managed to show a subtle expression of shock.

I recompose myself. "Nevertheless, Aizen is not to be underestimated. He is our leader for a very worthy reason and trying to avoid his powers is near impossible."

She catches on my mention of 'near' "Ah but not entirely impossible. So there is a way to counter it."

I stutter briefly. "W-well y-yes b-but-"

Her voice sounds enticing again like before. "Y-know we could really use some strong allies against this Aizen person, if you help me overthrow Aizen..." She unzips my jacket exposing my neck and chest to the icy cold air, which ironically seemed to warm my otherwise frozen soul. She whispers in my ear "...I'll appoint you as my strongest Espada."

Should I succumb to her wooing tactics or maintain my upmost loyalty to Lord Aizen. How could I possibly turn against him? After all, he was my creator and in a way, my – perfect father. Yet lately I have come to loathe some of his traits, like how he seems to treat us as if we Espada are dispensable and expendable. I also dislike his lack of charisma since our defeat so many years ago in Karakura Town. And I have also begun to question his choosing of two of our more recent Espada – Reina and Nora, as second and third Espada respectively. And there is one more factor that has put me at unease: what of our tenth Espada? Every time I bring it up in his quarters he casually states that he is our 'secret weapon' in our second battle at Karakura. But why would such an inferior ranking Espada need to remain a secret? What are his motives, and why has it been so long since we have restruck at Soul Society. Maybe I have grown born of his reign...maybe it is time...for a change...

But of course would it be worth it? Me, risking my reputation and my life, when even Starrk doubts he could challenge him. Perhaps I should remain out of this whole situation.

"I will let you carry on with your mission...but do not expect any help from me..."

Maria seems to scoff as if she almost expected me to join her conspiracy. "How can you abandon us like that?"

"If you two are really worthy enough to kill Aizen and overthrow him, then I will kiss the very ground you touch with your feet." I boast.

"Fine." She pouts. "We will go through with it ourselves, and you will have sore lips after kissing this cold floor." Finally the Maria storms off the same way I was originally heading, her pet Aoi following her. Has that girl realised she is two ranks stronger yet? She should not be under her command but commanding her.

"Tch, what a joke." I shrug to myself as I walk the other direction of the corridor. Just as I take a few steps I hear the tapping heels of another advancing Espada. It is Reina – the second Espada. Should I inform her as well?

"Good evening Ulquiorra." She humbly greets me.

"Good evening to you too Reina."

She zips past me and juts her head in the door of Maria's quarters. Snaking her head up and down. "Where is she?" she says more firmly

"Maria?"

"Yes, she was here a while ago wasn't she?"

"Yes she was."

"I need to see her about something important."

"Well let me pass on the message."

"No thank you Ulquiorra, it is urgent."

"If you want her that much you best see her before she is slain by Lord Aizen."

She cautiously steps back and talks inquisitively. "What do you mean by that statement?"

"Her and her friend thinks they can challenge and defeat our Aizen."

"What? She really has reverted to her psychotic ego. It is just as I feared."

"So why were you after her?" I decide to return to the original subject.

She sighs deeply and speaks her truth. "Maria is my Neogene daughter from the real world. She may appear inferior, but she is unpredictable and a potential threat to me and all of us."

"And..." I again interject.

"...And I wanted to eliminate her while she was in a premature Arrancar state."

"You should not be concerned; she will die by Lord Aizen's hands anyway."

"Hmm, perhaps your right. In her current state she could not possibly awaken her full power. Should I just leave her to do her bidding then?" She seeks my guidance, how ironic for an Espada of higher rank than me. Maybe Aizen did get the rankings wrong.

"I told her she could go ahead and that I would not interfere, so perhaps you should do the same."

"Perhaps." But suddenly she seems to change stance. "But she is still my daughter. Maybe I should help her."

"I can't believe you. You wanted to originally slay your daughter and now you sympathise for her. How pathetic." I brush her aside and walk off but must soon bring my sword to my body to protect me from a surprise strike.

"Don't insult me or my daughter without my approval." She growls past pure white eyes.

I show no expression to her emotional banter. "You should really think before you release your sword against a fellow Espada, even if you THINK you are two ranks above me."

She scolds "Maybe I should kill YOU first and have at my daughter's scraps later."

We both fly back from the parry of our swords. "I do not wish to fight you, but if you insist..." I breathe in deep, contemplating what I'm about to do. "Normally I would not be allowed to do this, but now I have a slight desire for her to defeat Aizen now since I'm about to do this."

"Don't be foolish Ulquiorra you'll collapse this entire palace." It is obvious now that even she fears my power.

"BIND...MURCIELAGO!"

By the way, if you haven't worked it out yet, Asagi is the fifth Espada, but I won't tell you who the tenth Espada is (though that might be obvious as well). So it looks like civil war has emerged in Las Noches. Will Maria be able to match Aizen as an equal? How will she counter his hypnosis? I'm having much more fun writing about this than of Masane as a Shinigami, but I will return to that story shortly after the next few chapters.