Chapter Seven: Heuco Mundo
Ulquiorra Cifer got back to Heuco Mundo with the same composure he usually did.
Beyond, he found Szayel Apporo Granz checking his instruments. As he came forward, Szayel brushed a strand of pink hair aside and moved to meet him. "Ulquiorra, welcome back.
"How did your mission proceed?"
"Events were enlightening," said Ulquiorra, moving past him. The walls and floor of his lab were clean. So obviously, he'd finished any vivisections a few hours ago, at least.
"And what, precisely, were those events? Did you locate the source of the changes?" asked Szayel.
"Yes," said Ulquiorra. "I will explain to you."
And Ulquiorra did just that.
Szayel listened to what Orihime was saying carefully and looked distressed. He shuddered after a moment. "Impossible.
"No human could have such a power, Lord Ulquiorra. There must be some mistake."
"And who are you accusing of inaccurate intelligence, Szayel?" asked Ulquiorra. The emotion that could be described as 'slightly offended' went through him.
"Um... no one, of course, Lord Ulquiorra," said Szayel, taking a step back. "I would never dream of suggesting that your perceptions or interpretations were inaccurate. I merely meant to say that the source could not possibly have been a human."
"Kisuke Urahara is in that location, is he not? He is an inventor of some renown," said Ulquiorra. "Perhaps he is responsible."
"...What relevance does this girl have?" asked Szayel.
"If she does have such an ability, it would be unwise to initiate confrontation," said Ulquiorra. "She seems to believe she is the protagonist in a human story, and so has taken on the tropes associated with that."
"Couldn't we use this somehow, Ulquiorra?" asked Szayel.
"What do you mean?" asked Ulquiorra, who suspected he already knew.
"...If what this girl believes comes true, then surely this could be useful for our own purposes," said Szayel. "What if she were made to believe that Yammy was the strongest Espada, for instance."
"But I'm the strongest Espada," said Yammy. "I'm the Zeroth Espada in my second Ressurection. So I'm the strongest."
"Of course you are, Yammy," said Szayel quickly. "My point Ulquiorra is that this girl could be a very valuable resource to us. If we were to keep her existence a secret, we might manipulate events to make ourselves gods."
"Or put ourselves as the principal antagonist in her internal narrative," said Ulquiorra. "She views herself as a hero. Consequently, any interaction with her will be colored by the story she believes herself to be in. We do not know, however, how far her reach extends and how it operates. Perhaps she grew stronger when she changed targets, or perhaps we became as strong as we needed to be."
"Then what will you do?" asked Szayel.
"Nothing that you would have any interest in, Szayel," said Ulquiorra. "You are not to initiate any experiments on her without direct authorization. Nor will you send any more hollows into Karakura Town. The place is to be left completely alone."
"Why not?" asked Szayel.
"We are facing an entity that might be able to rewrite the rules of the universe. And it may do so without conscious thought," said Ulquiorra. "Becoming a villain in her fantasies would be ill-advised."
And he left. As he stepped out of the door, he tuned his mind to Aureniero's observation posts inside Szayel's lab. Already the scientist was pacing back and forth, believing himself alone. "...Impossible man.
"If he weren't so terrifying, someone would have killed him a long time ago. No matter if her life turns out like a story, I'll just have to manipulate events myself."
"Ulquiorra, want me to smash his skull?" asked Yammy.
"No, Yammy. This event provides us with a very real opportunity," said Ulquiorra.
"Opportunity? Whadda you mean?" asked Yammy.
"Lord Aizen's plans could be greatly enhanced if we can get Orihime Inoue to take our side," said Ulquiorra. "As such, since she is seeking a heroic narrative, we shall provide one.
"Since Szayel is so determined to disobey my direct orders. He shall make an adequate antagonist."
"Do you think he knows Aureniero bugged his room?" asked Yammy.
"I know he believes he can subvert those bugs whenever he wants to," said Ulquiorra. "Yammy, in all future interactions with Orihime Inoue, you are a gentle giant. One who has become cynical because of the world he lives in."
"Wait, what? Why?" asked Yammy.
"It will be difficult to cast ourselves as sympathetic if you act as you have been," said Ulquiorra.
"So... don't kill anyone?" asked Yammy.
"No one she knows or who lives in her general area," said Ulquiorra. "Be on your best behavior when she is in the room. Otherwise, do as you like. Also, you will get into character by feeding your dog extra from now on and not picking fights you can't win."
"Why do I have to do it?" asked Yammy.
"Because I ordered you to do it," said Ulquiorra simply. "And you obey my orders, unlike everyone else." And he turned to walk down the hall.
"Where are you going?" asked Yammy.
"To meet Tia Halibel, obviously," said Ulquiorra.
"Why?" asked Yammy. "You know what, I don't care. I'm getting something to drink."
Tia Halibel was the logical choice to coordinate with.
Humans tended to disregard atrocities when they were committed by a beautiful woman. And her temperament was such that she was unlikely to eat someone Orihime knew. She also, on the surface, appeared the most human of the Espada.
Unfortunately, the last person Ulquiorra wanted to coordinate with was around the corner. Nnoitora Gilga had gone up in rank a great deal, and he had his arms crossed, his blade in one hand. The blade was like a spear, but with a crescent moon instead of a point at the end.
"So, how did things go, Ulquiorra?" asked Nnoitora. "Off you report to your superior officer again?"
"Yes, I am," said Ulquiorra, not relishing the meeting. The last time, he'd nearly sustained damage to his organs. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was planning to go hunting in the Menos Forest," said Nnoitora. "There's a Soul Reaper down there who has been causing trouble for years.
"I'm hoping it might be a woman beneath the mask."
"Disgusting," said Ulquiorra.
The prospect of wasting valuable energy and time on a rape when hollows could not have children was... distasteful. The thought of what the power could have been used for angered him. Especially when one considered that Nnoitora could be taken off guard. He could be killed while indulging in such hedonism.
"Don't get so touchy. You know as well as I just what Soul Reapers like to do to us for fun," said Nnoitora. "All I'm doing is returning the favor."
"You would presume to cast yourself as a protector of hollows?" asked Ulquiorra, finding the contradiction infuriating.
"Of course not," said Nnoitora. "Any hollows not under Lord Aizen's protection get a swift death. Not one of us is getting redemption anyway, so I might as well put them all out of their misery."
"And Neliel?" asked Ulquiorra. That was an inefficient assassination that left his opponent alive.
"That was personal, obviously," said Nnoitora. "She was always going on about how the great Aizen had freed us from our base nature. As if he wanted us as anything more than meatshields. As soon as he gets what he wants, he'll kill us all."
"Lord Aizen does not waste valuable resources," said Ulquiorra.
"And will we be valuable after he wins?" asked Nnoitora. "He'll probably deliberately get us all killed.
"We're all going to be dead by the end of this, Ulquiorra. It's only a matter of how and when. I figure I may as well die in a puddle of my own blood, surrounded by corpses. It seems like it would be a fun way to go out."
"I do have business to attend to, Nnoitora," said Ulquiorra.
"Fine, fine, don't let me stop you," said Nnoitora.
Ulquiorra moved on toward Tia Halibel's quarters. For reasons he had never understood, Ulquiorra had become somewhat popular. Nnoitora usually came looking for him when the urge for social contact came to him. And Ulquiorra was usually the one who was sent as a messenger between them.
Actually, Ulquiorra did everything around here.
He considered whether perhaps the other Espada ought to pull their own weight more. Then Ulquiorra imagined Grimmjow or Nnoitora being given any serious responsibility.
The present situation was probably the most efficient arrangement.
Coming to the door of Tia Halibel's quarters, he entered it. Knocking was meaningless. The room within was large enough to fit several buildings it. The Third Espada's domain was a place of flowing fountains and tranquil pools of water. A number of the female Arrancar could be seen speaking to one another.
Likely sheltering from Nnoitora or Yammy. One of the vulnerabilities to becoming an Arrancar was the need to sleep. As such, most of them choose to swear fealty to one of the Espada and would be offered shelter.
Ulquiorra had never seen the appeal of accepting such a pledge. He meditated alone, and those who entered his quarters did so at their peril.
Of course, as he walked, the waters nearest to him parted, and out of them came Mila Rose. She was a physically attractive, dark-skinned woman with large breasts and wide hips. As soon as she saw him, she sprang out and donned her clothes.
"Ulquiorra, what brings you to our domain?" she asked, voice afraid.
"Yeah, Mistress Halibel wasn't told you were coming? What gives?" said Apache, who was thinner with blue hair.
"Must you two behave so atrociously?" asked Sung Sun, slithering out of the water. She had pale skin and long dark hair. "He's obviously here on a meeting of some import."
"Say that again, Sung Sun!" said Apache.
"Gladly," said Sung Sun. "You are behaving barbarically as anyone would expect you... to..."
Ulquiorra raised a hand.
All of them froze and were reminded that he could kill all of them before they could move. Doing so would alienate Halibel, of course, but Ulquiorra never changed expressions. So they were considering if perhaps Ulquiorra might be willing to do it.
"...How may we help you, Master Ulquiorra?" asked Mila Rose.
"I would speak with my superior. Now," said Ulquiorra.
"Right uh... I'll go alert her," said Mila Rose.
She rushed off.
Ulquiorra waited for a time and glanced to where Sung Sun and Apache were getting some distance. The last time Halibel had chosen to give Ulquiorra orders, she'd given them orders as well. No doubt they thought it gave them some form of hold over him.
"Mistress Halibel says you can enter," said Mila Rose.
Ulquiorra nodded.
He walked past the entryway and into a vast chamber. It was filled completely with water, and there were waves splashing within it. He knew from experience that the water was very cold. And he also knew that there were means to clean out the blood that every so often spoiled the water.
Ulquiorra stood on the only dry land in the room, hands in his pockets, and waited. Eventually, he caught sight of movement to his left. A mess of golden blonde hair came out of the water, and he saw the top half of Tia Halibel's head. Her face would have been considered radiantly beautiful by a human.
Ulquiorra's own base nature had, at times, found her attractive.
"Ulquiorra, why are you here?" asked Tia.
"Szayel Apporo Granz is disobeying direct orders. He is planning to intervene in Karakura Town," said Ulquiorra.
"Oh, is he?" asked Halibel. "Why not just do us all a favor and kill him yourself?"
Halibel had liked Neliel and had always hated Szayel and Nnoitora. So the latter two cooperating to remove the former had annoyed her. "Lord Aizen commands the executions of our subordinates ought to advance our goals. I would think the Espada of Sacrifice would understand this."
"Maybe so," said Tia, voice pleased. "But Szayel isn't worthy of the sacrifice of any kind. Why do you?"
"I believe we have an opportunity to return Neliel Tu Odershwank to the fold," said Ulquiorra. "And it can be done while removing Szayel and advancing Lord Aizen's other projects."
"And why are you coming to me?" asked Tia.
"You have a great deal of influence over the lower ranks. In particular, female Arrancar," said Ulquiorra. "Szayel's tool of choice will be someone he can pretend acted on their own. The Privaron Espada will be an ideal choice that he has influence over. He will attempt to have his chosen pawn disposed of once their usefulness has been outlived."
"I see," said Tia. "So we remove Szayel, put Nel back into the Espada, but what about the human girl?"
Ulquiorra was surprised at the question. "Orihime Inoue?
"That is ultimately Lord Aizen's decision. The only reason we are having this discussion is that Szayel has chosen to disobey orders."
"I've watched this one you spoke of," said Halibel. "You mean to bring her into the fold, don't you?"
"If possible, yes," said Ulquiorra. "She could make a valuable asset.
"Neliel's return will be the means by which we ensure she is not a threat."
"And you want me to tell you where Neliel is?" guessed Tia. She'd ensured Neliel had been kept secret and unhunted.
"You have forbidden any other hollows from hunting her," said Ulquiorra. "Otherwise, her inept guardians should have been devoured long ago."
"Very well then, Ulquiorra," said Tia. And she rose out of the water to reveal that the lower half of her face was masked. It was one shaped like the jaws of a shark, and he'd seen it open before. Her long legs were covered by a skirt of bone, and her massive breasts were scantily clad. "I've always found you the least contemptible of the men in Los Noches. I'll play along with this scheme of yours if only to remove Szayel. But if this human is brought over to our side, I want it."
"That is not within my power to grant. But I shall make Lord Aizen aware of your request," said Ulquiorra. A sense of physical attraction came to him regarding Halibel, but he ignored it.
"Good," said Tia. Then she landed behind him. "Follow me."
Ulquiorra followed Tia out into the main hall. She dressed, covering her jaws with a hood and wearing an outfit. "Girls, I want you to hold down the fort. Ulquiorra and I have business in the Sands of Houco Mundo. There are sacrifices to be made."
"You coddle your Fraccion, Halibel," said Ulquiorra, feeling the emotion called distaste.
"Who are you to talk?" asked Tia, voice somewhat amused. "You don't have any Fraccion. There is no one who is close to your heart."
"What is a heart?" asked Ulquiorra. "Can you define such a thing?"
"I suppose not," said Halibel.
The two of them departed Los Noches and headed across the endless sands beneath a starless sky. As always, the desert was as silent as a shallow grave. Wherever they went, lesser hollows fled in terror. None wanted to be in the presence of a Vasto Lordes.
Halibel kept stealing glances Ulquiorra's way. Was she contemplating whether he might attempt something similar to Nnoitora? Or contemplating such a thing herself? Ulquiorra kept his senses honed, just in case.
Finally, Halibel stopped. "There, down below."
Ulquiorra had never actually seen Neliel in her reduced form. It was... irritating. Once a full-grown female, she was now a mere child, one that was racing across the dunes. She was pursued by two hollows with broken masks. "Come on, Pesche, Dondachakka! We're playing Eternal Tag!"
"Nel, wait up, we can't keep up, don'cha know?!" said the larger of the two.
"Yes, Nel, you have to slow down so... we... can..." said the other. A smaller one.
Then he noticed Ulquiorra descending onto the sands in front of them.
"Oh," said the smaller one.
"Um..." said larger one.
"Ah! It's Lord Ulquiorra! He's gonna eat us, or chop us into tiny little pieces, and we're going to..." Nel trailed off as Ulquiorra moved forward. "Please don't kill us."
Ulquiorra didn't dignity this trash with a response. He simply opened a black portal to Karakura Town. "Walkthrough that Gargantua. Now."
"Um... hang on, that leads to the world of the living. Soul Reapers are out there!" said the smaller one.
"I could kill you right now," said Ulquiorra. "The only one I actually in the World of the Living is Neliel."
"You uh... make a fine point, sir. We'll just walk on through," said the bigger one.
"Hang on, Lord Ulquiorra! Why are you exiling us to the World of the Living? What did we do?!" asked Neliel.
"Nothing," said Ulquiorra. "I merely think that your presence there will have a positive effect."
"So um... you want us to do something?" asked Neliel.
"I want you to find a girl named Orihime Inoue and ask her to heal you," said Ulquiorra.
"You believe there is someone that can heal Master Nel?" asked the smaller one.
"Go," said Ulquiorra. "I have wasted enough time on you two as things stand. Nel is the only one among you of any relevance. If you two wish to be of service, feed yourselves to the nearest Gillian."
Dead silence.
"...Well, you heard him, guys," said Neliel.
And off they went.
Tia looked to Ulquiorra in surprise. "That was surprising kind of you."
"It was the quickest and most efficient way of securing their cooperation. Or am I wrong?" asked Ulquiorra.
"Maybe so," said Tia. "I think, however, that I want your cooperation in another way."
Wonderful. So she did intend to make use of his regeneration then. "Must you concern yourself with such meaningless hedonism?"
"Are you willing to disobey an order, Ulquiorra?" asked Tia, shedding her clothes. "I do have authority over you, from Lord Aizen."
"No, I am not," said Ulquiorra. "I merely think your time could be better spent."
"Then disrobe," said Tia. "I like the feeling of you under me more than Grimmjow or Nnoitora. They have wills of your own. But with you, it's like you are an extension of myself. A willing sacrifice."
Ulquiorra obeyed, finding this a hassle. "Get it over with."
Then she was on him.
As Tia Halibel ripped at his flesh, Ulquiorra ignored the pain. The scent of his blood intoxicated her, and she went wild. Her jaws clamped down on one of his hands, devouring it whole, then moving up the arm. As she bit and tore at him, he remained perfectly still, acting only to direct her away from his vital organs.
He could regenerate from anything else. It was precisely why she bothered him with this meaningless hedonism. She could satiate the bloodlust from her shark instincts—all without fear of losing a subordinate. Most Espada satiated such urges on lesser hollows. Others tried meditation to control them.
But Halibel had a reputation to keep.
Was all this really necessary? Surely she could find some other form of entertainment beyond ripping his throat? Still, all of it was survivable, and he did not mind it.
The pain was...
Hollow.
