Lost in the Darkness

A/N: Alright, here's another chapter. I'm speeding right along here. I can't do much more without skipping over time, as nothing will progress without me skipping over time. I am proud of this story so far, but I am anxious to complete it and get to when Aizen betrays the Soul Society. I won't skip that far ahead, but I really don't want to keep it up at this pace.

So, we get to see a different side of Adara when she's fighting against—guess who!

Thanks to Lulukiryu for adding me to their story alert!

Thanks to for reviewing!

Chapter 10

Streak of Madness

"What is the truth my fears conceal?"

--

After he had claimed that my interaction with Urahara could be useful, it did not take long for Aizen to alienate his captain and others that he considered a threat to his plans. People in Squads 12, 3, 7…His own captain were turned into Vizards. I was certain there were more, but I had only heard of a few of the people that were changed by his experiment. I was not surprised when his captain was sent out of the Seireitei to live in the Transient Realm peacefully or die. Aizen was climbing the ranks again. He also went to the Academy on his first day as captain, a humble, studious man ready to share his wisdom with the students. I was no longer his assistant. Gin was. His lieutenant followed him to the academy, where he would lecture the students and then return to see if I had learned anything from the reports of Hueco Mundo. More Arrancar were coming into being, most of them being low-level Gillian. I did not bother keeping track, only of how many there were total. If one of the Vasto Lordes transformed, I would mention it casually. I had grown accustomed to the flash of warm excitement that lightened his eyes for but a second.

My lord was very interesting, and also very emotional. When night came, he relied on the fact that I would be sitting in his chair, waiting for him to tell me of the day's stresses. I allowed him to every night, and I never hesitated when he lay back, moving to his bed where I had grown comfortable with sleeping so close to the man. Tonight was like any other, and I was content to allow him the comfort of something regular. I sat in the chair, waiting to hear the tea start whistling in the nearby room. The room was larger and had its own small kitchen, as this was the captain's room, unlike the small rooms of the barracks reserved for the rest of the squad. This was a rare night that Kaname would be with us. Aizen spoke harshly of the day's stress, of what had happened that excited him for the day that was short in coming. Kaname waited as patiently as I.

It wasn't until the tea whistled that Aizen paused, allowing me to retrieve the tea and serve it for us. It was comforting to see Kaname, and it seemed that Aizen knew I treasured his visits. The blind man allowed me to also have an outlet, and I visited him during the day often in the ninth squad to rant about the troubles in Hueco Mundo, which I had to always advise Sato on how to deal with them when they were too great for Cuarenta Espada to handle. On occasion, I had to go myself and visited Kaname afterwards to tell him about the stresses of my day and we would sit in his room to chat over some sort of treat that he procured. He would talk about his stresses as well, a little less openly. It was as close to friends as an Arrancar and Shinigami could be.

Kaname's eyes were closed, but I got the distinct feeling that he was watching me. It was an odd sensation that had grown familiar with time, the poking and prodding of his reiatsu, deftly searching for mine. I had not noticed it until I had sat and conversed with Aizen and Kaname in a setting that Kaname was unfamiliar with. It seemed he had been sorting out what was where. I was almost certain that Aizen was used to it when I was not. Of course, Aizen had most likely been Kaname's tutor long before I had shown up. The blind Shinigami was very trusting of Aizen, and I believed him to be foolish for trusting the man. I did not trust him myself.

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, Kaname 'looked' to Aizen for something to be given up, for a reason that he was there. Aizen had probably invited him for no more than tea and to check to be sure that his 'puppy' was still loyal. He had done this with Gin a plethora of times, and I was almost tired of the fox that was growing taller and lankier with every passing day. Where he had once been at my abdomen in height, he was now at my shoulder. It was not a pleasant experience to know that he was growing so quickly without me growing at all. It was almost annoying. I had liked that he was so small. He had been cute originally, but now his constant grin was becoming as annoying as his Rukongai accent.

"Adara-Kun, are you paying attention?" My gaze snapped to Aizen's at his soft baritone. Honestly, I had no clue, but I did not need to respond. His sigh was enough to know that he had understood. "I will be staying at this level for a while longer. After all, it is not a good idea to just leave now. They wouldn't be very limited if I left now, even though there are several missing Shinigami of influence. I will need to wait until everyone is very dependant on me, maybe get a new lieutenant once I make Gin a captain. The same goes for you, Kaname. You will both need loyal lieutenants, just so that we can pull the wool over their eyes with more ease."

I wondered what I had to do with it, but figured that he would tell me soon. Kaname's reiatsu had diverted to prodding at mine again, perhaps because he was bored of the conversation, or perhaps because he was curious as to how much prodding it would take to annoy me. Honestly, he could take all day to do this. "Adara-Kun, I have a feeling of what will happen soon. With all of the new Vizards, Urahara Kisuke's attention will be drawn to what has happened. Thankfully, I placed them under Kyouka Suigetsu's influence. Without doing so, they would blab what had happened. No, now they have a motive placed firmly." He paused. "What I would like you to do, Adara-Kun, is make sure that we have a way of keeping tabs on them in Hueco Mundo. Make sure that I know if anything happens that they make sudden movements or we lose where they are. Is this understood?"

"Hai," I said softly, knowing I really didn't have anything else I could say. Kaname was seated in the chair and I sipped my tea from the arm of it, ankles crossed so I didn't swing my legs and fall on the floor or onto Kaname's lap. I was balanced quite precariously and did not care to go elsewhere without the intent of doing so. I watched Aizen, knowing my mission would be best completed tomorrow during the day, when it was most likely that I would encounter someone. I closed my eyes to listen to the rest of their conversation.

--

At this time, I do not remember falling asleep. I must have, because there was a point in the conversation that everything dulled to a buzz and I was suddenly aware of being surrounded by warmth. I opened my eyes and noticed that everything was blurry, raising a hand to rub at them in a futile attempt to make them focus. It took a few seconds of blinking to see that I was curled tightly in the chair with a warm blanket tucked around me and a pillow put under my head. Across from the chair, Aizen was sprawled out on the bed, looking rather peaceful in his sleep. His hair was messier than normal, so I believed he must have been tossing and turning for most of the night.

Slowly, I pushed away the comfort of the blanket, not really wanting to. I was cold from doing that, but sighed to myself, knowing I would have had to get up eventually anyway. I put my feet on the floor, a bit annoyed that my tabi and sandals had been taken off, as the wood was cold. I pulled on my tabi (which were folded on top of the sandals, set neatly next to the chair) and sandals hurriedly before getting up to prepare for my mission. I had to get someone to start monitoring the Vizards, which also meant finding the Vizards in the control room. I opened a Garganta to give the first order, hearing the familiar rip. I stepped through, glancing over my shoulder at Aizen while the Garganta patched itself up. When I was encased in darkness, I ran along the path of my reiatsu, breaking through in a matter of seconds. The passage became more natural each time that I completed it, after all.

Upon arrival, I inhaled deeply. I missed the cool, dry air of the white desert. Hueco Mundo was a barren place, but it was home, and I missed it as acutely as most Shinigami missed the Seireitei when they were on a mission in the Transient Realm. I sat in the sand, allowing myself a moment to feel the rise in my power. As a Hollow, I knew the reiatsu-charged air would only assist my power level. After I felt that I was decently stronger and reacquainted with the power in the air, I stood, brushing sand from my black disguise. In seconds, I set into Sonido to get to the walls of Hueco Mundo faster. The familiar drone almost gave me a headache. Sonido was very rare for me to use as of late.

As I reached the walls around Las Noches, I became aware of an air of foreboding in the air. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Adrenaline rushed through me. My sixth sense for danger was making me smile despite myself. I rather enjoyed battle, honestly. It appealed to my inner beast after a long time without battle or blood anywhere nearby. Leaping up onto the wall, I found myself diving down into the sand in a split second. The blast of a Cero went across the wall where I had been seconds earlier. Turning my eyes up, I found a familiar man and sighed. "Diogenes, this grows old," I said, covering my excitement at the chance to fight.

"Really? It's more fun each time I beat you, honestly." I couldn't argue with that. I loved to fight, and the danger of an opponent that had defeated me before was just a bonus. Danger added to the adrenaline rush, the release of the final result more satisfying. A part of me that I hadn't felt since Aizen's arrival roared; my suppressed Hollow was acting up more than it had in a long time. The lack of sustenance most likely contributed. The thought of ingesting another soul most likely riled it, making it more desperate to claw its way free. It was…Vicious. A smile escaped her. Diogenes smirked as well; the calm before a battle.

It took seconds before we were firing cero at each other, the collision of equal power taking but seconds to cause an explosion. Through the smoke, we sought each other out, colliding with the blades of our Zanpakutou. In all honesty, there were no more words to be said. Allow the collision of ringing blades and metal to speak for itself. My Hollow howled in hungry, bloodthirsty excitement. I couldn't hold back from a powerful slash. In a sense, my Hollow was helpful. With such a desire to break free, I was stronger, my power escalating to a rather bloodthirsty roil.

Diogenes had caused me enough trouble, hadn't he? Besides, if I remembered correctly, I had been unable to assist Aizen for a while because of him, thus inconveniencing the man—why was I dragging Aizen into this?—and making me have to do more work than I could stand afterwards. His presence was no more than a nuisance. He wasn't overly helpful, either. My mind was made up—probably not for the best, really, as my mind wasn't entirely in this fight anymore—to kill him, and so my body obeyed my mind, and I entered the fight for real.

--

Diogenes could see a sudden change in Adara. No, not in Adara. Not her whole self…There was a sudden change in her eyes. Her reiatsu spiked, and for a moment, it was rendering him incapable of breathing. He moved his Zanpakutou at the last moment, blocking her vicious hit. She smirked at him, turning quickly. When he moved to block her kick, she punched his cheek and got him in the side with her knee, sending him crashing into a wall of Las Noches. His head rolled slightly, but he was still breathing, and that wouldn't do for the bloodthirsty Arrancar. She aimed, a ball of red energy gathering at her fingertips. He was defenseless for the moment that it took for him to get over the disorientation of being slammed into a wall head-first.

Another cero met hers and she looked to the side to see Sato Zulima. The blonde Espada crossed her arms over her chest calmly, looking at Adara evenly. "Adara, where is your mask? When hidden, you are less powerful." Adara huffed, not really caring for Sato's words. Her eyes were turning catlike, her hollow form starting to surface. She had to kill two? All the more fun for her. Sato noted this and put a hand on her Zanpakutou, Amarillachoza, ready to defend against Adara's released state, her Resurreciόn. Adara's mask began to ripple in front of her face, coming out from the skin where she had concealed it. Sato drew Amarillachoza and parried as Adara jolted forward with a strong blow. Studying Adara's eyes, she noticed how drunk they seemed, how dark they were with a need to kill. "Snap out of it, Adara," Sato said firmly, not yelling. She needed to assert dominance to Adara's instincts, to her Hollow, and yelling would not do that. Yelling would probably rise more anger, after all.

If there had ever been a Hollow to obey orders, it wasn't Adara's. Her tanned skin was changing in color, skin darkening into Bengal stripes around her body, while the rest of her skin turned almost gold. Her yellow eyes seemed to glow behind her mask, the moonlight giving a shimmer to her visible skin. Her nails seemed to darken to a black color, sharpening and curving into strong talons. Her hair grew longer, into a sort of mane, it seemed. It was wild, a testament to her current state.

Black talons similar to those now on her fingers now ripping her tabi and sandals, it was almost certain she would be returning to the Seireitei barefoot. Her form hunching as her reiatsu whipped around, her legs changed shape as well. They became more similar to the shaping of most quadrupeds, the Bengal stripes visible on her ankles. She bent at the waist completely, hands splayed on the sand. Her knees bent as she prepared to spring, and Sato watched blankly. Her long, blonde hair moved in a slight breeze that rattled through.

Diogenes, struggling to remove himself from the wall, sensed the tension. He watched the two females, one of which he had teamed up with before their masks were ripped. He frowned, feeling his body for damage. His cheek stung, but it would heal. His side hurt, which may limit his strength and movement, but that was all. He could still fight. Moving quickly, he joined Sato and drew Adara's attention first.

Noise and movement were triggers at the moment, a threat to her perseverance and her life. These threats must be annihilated. Diogenes caused her to jolt forward, claws poised to pierce him. He moved to the side quickly, letting her pass him. He remembered the weight of his Zanpakutou in his hand and moved quickly, swinging it into her side. A howl of rage escaped and Diogenes frowned. He expected her to fall, but he supposed one of the most powerful Hollows would be just that powerful. Sato put a hand on his, making him hold the Zanpakutou at his side.

"You must refrain from fast movements and loud noise unless performing a distraction. She's at her basest of instincts because she hasn't fought in so long." Sato's deep gaze surveyed the white sand that was turning dark with splatters of blood.

"I'm at the base of instinct?" Adara questioned, voice echoed with a low, growling voice. It was her Hollow speaking with her in tandem. She turned, glancing back at them. She wasn't registering pain, nor the injury—the gaping wound—at her side. Her catlike eyes were shadowed by her mask, lips curled into a sneer. "It appears as though you underestimate me."

"Do I? If Diogenes moves or yells, you'll attack him. If I do the same, you will attack me because your Hollow thirsts for blood, and feeling threatened is the excuse that your inner Hollow is searching for. Do you even register that you're injured? That you could die from losing blood?" Sato was calm, explaining patiently. Adara didn't reply, slowly turning, poised as a predator. Diogenes took his stance quickly, a bit too quickly.

Adara launched into another attack, lunging at the Espada member. He held his Zanpakutou in defense, countering her talons. Adara gained a smirk as her palm landed on the flat of the blade. Her talons suddenly curled around the Zanpakutou, ripping it from Diogenes's grasp and throwing it out of the way of her prey. Diogenes stared at her in shock, but the only thing he could do was attempt to destroy her power. It would anger her power, but maybe he could do it fast enough that she would lose her power? His fist moved quickly, slamming into her mask in its center, a Bala immediately slamming into the mask. It cracked but didn't fall as Adara's talons slammed into his side, ripping him apart. He disintegrated into black, the way a Hollow died. Pieces of her mask started to fall from her face as the Bengal stripes faded, her skin going back to its normal tanned form. Her body turned back into its sealed form and, as her mask fell and her eyes shifted from their catlike quality, she sank to the ground.

Sato cautiously approached Adara, knowing to move slowly because the losing of one's mask would make them feel unsafe, anxious. Feeling threatened was dangerous for the attacker. Not the victim. She knelt in front of Adara, whose unfocused eyes rose to hers. She was in her sealed form, weak from the injury and sudden expulsion of most of her energy. Her mask was gone, and her forehead was bleeding. Blood made its way down her nose, splitting to go down to her mouth. Her lips were pressed into a firm line as she seemed to gain her thoughts back. Sato waited patiently, looking over the Arrancar.

"Are you feeling more released?" she asked finally, tone as quiet as ever. She had sensed someone midway through the fight. Someone that Adara may not feel comfortable with. As her eyes cleared and Adara nodded, Sato noticed a spark of fear flash in her eyes. Suddenly, Adara turned her whole body, not noticing the blood falling down her side. Her body must be desensitized, but this didn't matter. Not anymore, not with cold brown eyes staring into hers.

The other two invading Hueco Mundo had their own expressions, Gin sitting on the top of the main wall and swinging his legs. Tousen was standing next to Gin. Tousen seemed more attentive, but Sato knew Gin was paying close attention as Aizen pulled Adara to her feet. When she stumbled, he deftly put an arm around her to steady her. He walked her carefully, and while she tried to support herself, she stumbled. Aizen held her arm tightly, knowing that he would have to let her heal here if she could make it. "Depend on me," he breathed, seeming annoyed at her lack of wish to be close. Then he looked down and switched sides, letting Adara's uninjured side be against him. He looked to Gin and Tousen, nodding at the large doors of Hueco Mundo.

They would have to find a new member for the Espada, though who that would be was currently up for grabs. As Adara stumbled next to him, Aizen thought about how the Arrancar was so beat up. Sure, she had won the battle, but if Sato had attacked her, she would be dead. There was no question of that. Perhaps she wasn't as powerful as he had thought. He should pit her against some other Arrancar and see how she fared when she was healed.

--

Urahara Kisuke sat in his home, Urahara Shouten. He was staring out the window at the moon. That Shinigami had opened some gateway, but it didn't feel like a Senkaimon. What had she used? Her reiatsu was odd…Maybe she was not what she seemed to be.