Chapter 37: Stalemate

Alvaro and Xun ran along in the same direction and watched for each other's next attack. Xun held up his zanpakuto, already in its shikai: Junoha, and fired the twin guns at Alvaro.

However, just at that moment Alvaro ran past a tree, which the bullets Xun shot stuck into. "Hee, you've got to pay more attention to your surroundings if you plan to hit me with those toys of yours!" Alvaro shouted to Xun.

"I wasn't attempting to hit you that time actually. I was trying to make you reveal your weapon." Xun replied "Where exactly is your zanpakuto? An Arrancar's power is sealed in the shape of a sword right?"

This was true; Alvaro did not have a sword on him anywhere, unlike the other Navaja of his group. Xun was confused because if Alvaro was not in possession of his zanpakuto, that meant he could not use his true powers during this battle. Xun hardly believed he thought his power as it is was enough to completely dominate this battle. And even assuming he did, he would have at least brought it with him in case worse came to worse.

"Oh, right, thing is I actually don't have a zanpakuto." Alvaro said simply, as if it was natural, and Xun stared in disbelief. "No, it's true, out of all the Arrancar's that have ever come into existence, I am the only one's whose powers did not get sealed into the shape of a sword."

"Are you saying you are already at full power as well?" Xun asked.

"No, I still have a released state, but I don't need a sword to use it. Instead I just use my ability." Alvaro said and suddenly stopped, and Xun stopped with him. Alvaro then clapped his hands together as if in prayer. "Let me show you, this is my ability: 'Forjar'." Alvaro told Xun and then slowly pulled his hand apart.

As he pulled his hand away from each other, a small green mass of his reiatsu began to compress. After the mass became about 5 inches in diameter, it began to be given shape. And once that had been done, Alvaro grabbed two objects that then became completely solid objects, no longer simply reiatsu.

The objects he had made were curved knives, and without even a moment of hesitation, he threw them at Xun. Xun reacted immediately, pulling up both his guns and firing a single bullet from both, stopping the knives before they got near him. "So that's your ability?" He asked.

"Indeed, I can use my reiatsu and surrounding reshi to create an infinite array of objects. Literally anything I know of, I can create. I never actually tried, but I've speculated it would even be plausible for me to create a new life- a living being, with my ability." Alvaro said, and yet as he did he didn't sound as if he were bragging.

"The power of creation, huh…" Xun muttered to himself. "What a coincidence,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alvaro asked, confused.

"…Because my zanpakuto is the very symbol of destruction." Xun answered and raised his black gun and pulled the trigger.

However he did not fire a single shot, instead it was like his gun was an automatic machine gun as it fired out consecutive bullets with no end. In immediate reaction Alvaro clapped his hands together and then spread them out as far as he could. Following this more of his reiatsu and reshi built up and created and 2-inch think plate of metal, completely blocking Xun's attack.

Just as Xun stopped firing bullets, Alvaro jumped over his sheet of metal with two new swords in his hands and leaped down on Xun to slash him. Xun did not hesitate to switch his weapons to their blade mode and block the attacks, then shoving them aside and stabbing toward Alvaro himself.

But Alvaro was not caught off guard and used Sonido to get behind Xun, swinging his swords at Xun's right, but was blocked again easily. "You're not half bad there man." Alvaro laughed at his fun.

"I suppose I should take that as a compliment, since I'm not really trying yet." Xun responded.

"What's that?" Alvaro questioned.

"You have no idea what kind of power I possess. I told you my guns are the symbol of destruction, but do you have any idea what that means?" Xun asked. "It means that anything you could think to create I'll destroy just as quickly. Opposite powers rival each other in every sense of the word, when something is made, it is bound to break; whenever something is broken, something will try to fix it. So is the nature of everything in existence."

"What are you rambling about?" Alvaro rushed Xun to his point.

"Even living creatures such as us are bound to the law of creation and destruction. It might be more easily noted at the cycle of death and reincarnation." Xun said and Alvaro raised an eyebrow. "When a human in the World of the Living dies, they become a soul and come to the soul society. When a soul in the Soul Society dies, their body is destroyed and becomes reshi, but their soul travels back to the Human World and is reincarnated, and then it starts all over again. What is created is destroyed; and what is destroyed is created again."

"You know you're starting to ramble here, but it sounds like you're saying our fighting is a stalemate, is that it?" Alvaro asked.

"Not entirely, but yes."

"You're not being clear, what do you mean: 'not exactly'."

"Our powers are opposite, and therefore are at stalemate; but our strength is not parallel. The winner of this battle will be whichever one of us is truly stronger than the other; but that being said, we will never be able to figure out who is strongest without fighting at our strongest."

Alvaro finally grinned. "Oh, you're saying that because we are in such a stalemate, we should skip everything and use our full power right now?" Alvaro gathered. "You know something, I actually kind of like the sound of that! Skip the boring part of the battle and get right to the fun!" Alvaro said with a laugh, and clapped his hands together.

"So you're going to release your full power?" Xun asked.

"That's what you want right!" Alvaro replied and then pulled his hands apart, his reiatsu and reshi compressing between. "Fear my true power of absolute creation! Become everything, Encarnación!" Alvaro cried out, and the green mass of reshi poured over his whole body and began to change him to his true form.

As Xun watched, Alvaro's body seemed to become bigger in an overall sense. Spikes began to form at almost every part of his body and grew outward. When the transformation was done the green reshi dispersed his body and immediately Xun could feel the difference in his power. Alvaro's body had not simply become larger; it had been covered in a dense coating that looked like stone, which was likely his Hierro. The 'spikes' that came from his body were in fact blades made of the same substance; one at either wrist or elbow, and four large ones on his back.

Alvaro then used his power to make two long swords in his hands. "Your turn, let's see that Bankai of yours!" Alvaro said.

Xun slowly lifted his two guns so they were next to each other and pointed toward Alvaro; however, he did not call 'Bankai'. He instead shot a single bullet from both guns, taking Alvaro so off guard he didn't have time to block or dodge, and the two bullets hit him smack dab in the head. The force of the bullets made Alvaro fall back, but his Hierro had not been completely penetrated by the bullets, and because of that fact he was still alive.

Alvaro got back up and looked at Xun with scorn. "What's with you, you talk about using our full powers and then you don't respond in that manner!" He yelled.

"Sorry, I just don't see the point." Xun replied.

"Huh, what the hell is that? You're the one who brought it up!"

"You're right; I should say that I no longer see the point. Your true powers are not nearly as strong as I had anticipated. The feel of your reiatsu does not make me fear for my life. Therefore I do not see the point of using my own full power."

Alvaro clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You know something; you're really starting to piss. Me. OFF!" Alvaro screamed and charged at Xun, swinging his sword at him, but he was blocked immediately by Xun. "Not yet!" Alvaro screamed and continued. He swung his second blade at Xun's other side, but without even glancing to the side he raised his second gun and blocked it as well. "Let's see you handle this!" Again Alvaro screamed and ducked his head.

The four blades on Alvaro's back pointed toward Xun suddenly grew and came at him. Unable to block Xun jumped back, but the blades did not stop. The four razor sharp blades continued to extend for Xun even after he had jumped back because of Alvaro's ability.

Xun was taken off guard and hesitated for just a moment, but that was long enough for the four blades to reach and pierce Xun's body. "Hee," Alvaro responded and retracted his blades to their original length. "What do you think of my strength now?"

Xun slumped and looked at Alvaro. "It is still too weak. This wound means nothing; I was simply caught off guard for a moment. Your creation abilities improved much with your release. But now that I understand that I will not be taken so easily. My eyes can keep up with even Ken's or Akane's max speeds, the speed of your creation is nothing compare to them." Xun said and held up his guns. "There not even close to the speed of a gun."

"The speed of a gun, huh?" Alvaro repeated, as if he had an idea. "Interesting thought; I've never actually tried it before…" He spoke and then used his ability on all of the weapons on his body change form, and they became gun barrels. "…But I suppose using guns could be pretty useful!" he said, and readied himself to take on Xun full force.