"It's really dark in here, Pesche!" Dondochakka complained.
"I know, but what do you want me to do?"
"Sorry, you're right"
"Still... We are never going deeper into this place if we can't even see our feet. Are you able to summon a glowing beast or somethin'?"
"Um... Maybe I am. Let's find out!" The Arrancar opened his mouth to let a big larvae with a skull on its face out.
The insect could emit a bright green light from its body, allowing them to see the place a lot better.
"That's more like it!" Pesche said happily.
"But it seems it's too slow, so I'll carry it"
They continued around the maze of tunnels and pitfalls that were the ruins, trying to get a glimpse of sound, Reiatsu, or anything that could give them a small idea of where the Oni was.
"How do we know we are not lost?" Dondochakka asked.
"To be honest, I don't know. But if there is in fact something hidden here, I guess it must be as deep as possible into this maze"
"You have a point. So what then?"
"Let's keep going down and further into the center. I'm sure we'll get somewhere"
"Alright"
Afyer a couple minutes doing that, they felt that the walls shaked a little and then stopped.
"Was that my imagination?" Pesche thought.
Once again, the same feeling came to them.
"Hey, Pesche. Are the walls moving by any chance?"
"So it's true! Something is going on... Let's go! We might be getting closer" The Arrancar started running.
"H-Hey wait up!"
"No, you must run faster! I can't see without that weird bug of yours"
"It's not a weird bug. He's actually really cute" Dondochakka hugged the creature.
"*sigh* We have no time to lose!"
"Sorry, sorry... I know"
"Also, get ready. We might have to fight in no time!"
"Okay..." The stone face replied, not so motivated. "How do you think the others are doing?"
"They should be fine! Don't you remember how strong they were during the training?"
"I mean yes but, we've never really faced these guys before"
"Maybe so, but don't think too much about it. We just have to do our best and hope for the rest to be okay. Nel-sama is the safest she could be, if that's what worries you the most"
"I wasn't really concerned about that. After all, Ichigo-sama is more than capable of protecting Nel-sama. I'm sure that he won't let anything happen to her"
"Were you thinking about Renji and Uryuu then?"
"Yes. Last time, despite their powers, they were no match for the actual Espada. Even Szayelaporro, who was just the 8th, was able to completely overwhelm them" Dondochakka remembered worried.
"That's true... But I'm sure this time it's gonna be different. It's some kind of hunch I have. Rest assured. They'll be just fine..."
~~~~X~~~~
Takenawa raised his demonic hands and then dropped them down in the air.
As he did this, two colossal hands fell on the desert, making a roar and raising a small sandstorm.
The left hand was black while the right hand was white. Their size completely shadowed the previous White Hand.
"I'd like to introduce you to Another Hand..." Takenawa saluted with his left hand. "...And the famous Killing Hand" The left hand made a pistol with its fingers.
Chad noticed that such a movement wasn't a coincidence.
"Ishida, move!" He pushed his friend to the side.
As soon as the Killing Hand moved upwards, a shot of dark Reiatsu was sent flying at the speed of light towards them.
"Did you see it?" Uryuu asked his friend.
"No. I just had a bad feeling"
"Damn it. That hand really lives up to its name..."
"Ishida!" Chad had a look of the most utter fear.
"What's wrong?"
"Wh-Where...? Where is the other hand?!" He pointed at a blank space.
Ishida was suddenly shocked by the discovery. The black hand was literally gone.
Suddenly, he felt something hit him with tremendous strength in the stomach. He was sent flying through the battlefield.
On the place where Ishida was, Another Hand reappeared. It was in a position that suggested it made a flip with the middle finger to attack Ishida.
"You'll pay for that!" Chad became angrier. "El Directo Mortal!"
As he hit the black hand, the feeling he had was of punching an unbreakable wall. It didn't hurt him, but it didn't work in the slightest either.
Another Hand became hidden once again. It seemed to be able to turn invisible whenever it was not attacking.
Chad looked everywhere and even tried to feel the Reiatsu of his surroundings, but there was no success. The hand could perfectly hide its presence.
Once again, Chad had a hunch to where the hand would appear at least, so he rolled through the sand in the last possible moment.
A second later, Another Hand had fallen over the spot he was moments before. Unfortunately for him, the Killing Hand grabbed him from behind.
Uryuu was spitting blood when he noticed that Chad was in the air, being crushed by the tremendous grip of the Killing Hand.
"AARGHHH!"
"Chad!"
The Quincy didn't think twice before rushing at the giant hand with his bow, but then he thought: "Wait, my arrows won't damage this thing in the slightest... What can I do?!" He looked at Takenawa. Just like Komamura, his movements were the same as the hands', so he had to do one thing.
"Licht Regen" He attacked the Duke directly.
The Oni easily evaded the rain of arrows, but despite his speed and evasion in his new form, Ishida had sent one arrow astray in between the thousand others.
That single Heilig Pfeil circled around Takenawa to then pierce his right hand directly, which forced it to open.
"Ho? You are more capable than I thought. I'll make sure such a miracle does not hapen twice"
Chad fell to the ground, breathing heavily, coughing blood and with his body in a world of pain.
"Chad, how are you?!"
"Kgh... I think I broke a pair of ribs. But that aside... *cough* I-I'm fine..."
As soon as they looked around, the Killing Hand was going right at them again and Another Hand had disappeared.
"Not again..." Uryuu muttered.
The hands toyed with them for another while, giving a hard time to both humans.
Another Hand hid its pressence to grab or punch them, while the Killing Hand could mimick a weapon and attack accordingly. For all this, the combination of both was deadly. Both friends didn't know what to do while Another Hand was invisible and once they noticed, the Killing Hand had already mimicked a knife and sent deadly slashes of black Reiatsu towards them.
In spite of it all, this segment allowed them to start seeing through Takenawa's movements and patterns, though it was not a perfect strategy.
Once the Oni noticed that they were dodging most of the attacks, he decided that playtime was over.
"Enough fooling around, my dear Hands..." Takenawa said. "Show them your true power"
The black hand rose into the black sky above them and created a giant marionette's cross. From the cross, large blue light strings were created and connected to the body of an even bigger being that was being formed.
Fragments of dust and sand started merging together from top to bottom, shaping a soldier of unseen size.
"Behold my strongest puppet, made from the gift of nature as well as my own Reishi: Koloss" Takenawa introduced.
The size of the creature would have even compared to that of Tengen Myo'o for a bit. It was clear that this being was a true monster in terms of power, and not happy with that, the Killing Hand summoned a hundred other puppet souls to fight alongside it.
"You fought well" Takenawa complimented. "But this... Is the end"
The two humans stood like statues in the shadow of the colossus, trying to understand the situation they were in.
"Ishida, do you still have an ace under your sleeve?" Chad asked him.
"Huh?" At first, the Quincy only snapped, leaving his relentless thoughts to go back to the real world. "Yeah... I have one more thing left"
"Good. I'm going to fight this thing and the army. You need to focus on Takenawa. Can you do that?"
Ishida was astonished by Chad's words. He couldn't believe he was going to fight the mountain-size creature alone.
"Y-Yes. I think I might just be able to pull it off"
"Very well. I'm not as smart as you, so I don't think I could ever come up with a strategy the same way that you do, but with my brute strength, I hope that I'll at least be able to give you the chance to carry out your plan. Good luck, Ishida"
"What are you going to do?!"
"Just go. I need space. Don't worry about me"
"O-Okay. Don't do anything reckless"
The Quincy ran off like Chad told him, not thinking about anything else than how to use his last resort to defeat Takenawa.
Chad on his part, looked up to see Koloss in all his might.
"I didn't think I would be forced to use this... But here goes nothing: Cuerpo del Titán"
A memory of the time he made the sand move just by putting his will onto it, Chad had designed a technique that could use this in a massive scale.
His body was covered by a storm of sand and rocks. The materials were swinging around him relentlessly and didn't allow Ishida to see what was going on.
Inside the hurricane of dust and sand, a body was starting to emerge. With his being at the core of this new form, Chad created a colossus of his own to fight the other.
Takenawa looked in amazement at the power displayed by the human. Never on his sempiternal existence had he seen a human with such tenacity and vast amount of Reiatsu.
"I have to end this as soon as possible. There's no way I'm letting these people near Yama-sama" He thought.
The armor was completed at the same size of Koloss. It had a spartan knight's helmet for a head, instead of the monstrous face of the Oni's puppet.
Chad opened his eyes once more. His sight, was the same of his colossus. His movement, of course, was the same.
It is important to note that such a technique was only possible to use so greatly due to the high amount of Reishi present in Hueco Mundo. Unknown to Chad, he had used his Fullbring Powers to pull it off, using the soul of the sand and rocks that surrounded him, commanding them to change their shape.
"Time to end this!" He thought decided, and the Titan roared in reply to his wishes.
Ishida couldn't believe what his friend had just done. However, he had no time to distract himself. He had one job, and he had to carry it out perfectly.
Chad punched Koloss in the head with a right knuckle and turned its right cheek to smithereens.
"You think copying me is gonna get you anywhere?!" Takenawa spouted at Chad.
"I would never copy you. There are so many ways we're not the same. For starters, I'm moving mountains while you play your game!" Chad spat back.
The enemy giant of rock opened its mouth to throw a ball of dark Reiatsu at him, but Chad crouched and kicked the colossus in the legs to make it fall. Koloss had no chance to remain on its feet, falling helplessly into the sand and smashing half of the army of Soul marionettes in the process.
"It can't be... He's winning!" Takenawa couldn't believe it.
While Chad kicked the marionette on the ground, Ishida approached the Oni for one last match.
The rest of the puppet army was trying to catch and kill Uryuu as he approached Takenawa, but was destroyed by Ishida's countless arrows and anti-hollow mines in the process. It did not erase all of them, but it gave him enough space to cross the path.
"I honed this technique for a while... It should go well as long as I have an opening" He thought, getting even closer to the Duke.
Takenawa saw him before though, and flew towards the Quincy to kill him instantly.
"Don't get cocky, humans! Mortal life has always been a joke! Life is just a game! You can't win!"
The Demon was ready to rip Ishida apart with his claws, so he flew directly at him, but that gave Uryuu the chance he was waiting for.
Ishida was expecting such a desperate reaction by this point, so he decided to use his last card.
"I'll show you what Quincies are able to do!"
He broke hisSeele Schneiderin two to resemble a cross and chanelled almost all his remaining Reishi through it. The puppet strings had given him a lot, so there was a lot of material to work with.
"Heilig Kreuz" A blinding light fell upon him as he casted the new technique he had developed.
In his hands, he was now holding a giant golden cross embedded with light. He swinged the crucifix at the Oni while he was still blinded and threw it at him with sheer velocity.
"Reinigen!" As he pronunced that word, the cross exploded and consumed everything on its great radius. The blinding light burned Takenawa, who was screaming in agony.
From the distance, the Titan stood in awe as the giant explosion of light rose from the floor towards the sky.
Chad, determined by his friend's might, delivered one last blow at Koloss before his armor cracked, making him fall. "He... Did it..." He said as he fell through the air, to then lay unconscious on the ground as his Titan crumbled and returned to the dust.
It didn't matter however, as Koloss and the two hands were slowly disappearing. Takenawa was finally dying.
"Is it all over?" Ishida asked himself as he fell to his knees.
The light of the giant cross had disappeared, leaving half of the body of Takenawa crawling in the floor.
Uryuu almost puked from the sight, as guts were coming out of his lower body as he did. Blood was all over the place.
"I... Cannot... Die... We... Are... Un...Dying..." He muttered as he crawled through the sand. "How could I die?! Before repaying my debt... To him...?" The Oni thought as he remembered the past:
Titiritero had been a lonely Arrancar that used to create puppets of sand and rocks to feel he had company.
Adjuchas and Vasto Lordes were afraid of his ability, so no one had ever been his friend...
At least until:
"You are very good at making these" A male voice told him.
The Arrancar was astonished that someone was speaking to him.
"You... Like my puppets?" He asked surprised, not turning towards the other man.
"Yeah, I find them fascinating! Not many Hollows practice a style of art" He replied.
"Art...? I guess you could call it that..." He smiled. "Do you have a name?"
"No... I'm just known around here by the name of my Zanpakuto, Titiritero. What about you?"
"If you want to know at least let me have a look at your face" The Arrancar tilted towards the voice, a bit unsure, but in the end, happy to meet the first person that didn't fear him.
Titiritero had mid-legth blonde hair and dark blue eyes. The fragments of his mask covered half of his face, as if it was a fringe, though his other eye was visible.
His expression became that of shock when he noticed who had been talking to him."No way... You are... Gran Rey Cero!"
"Wow, I'm flattered. I never thought a Hollow living so far from Las Noches would recognize me"
"You are a legend in all of Hueco Mundo. Every Hollow has heard a description of your might, your attitude and your appearance at least once in his life. No description matches the real one though!"
"Well, that makes it all easier. I want you to come with me"
"Huh? Why?"
"I have been here for longer than any other Hollow. I know the loneliness most Hollows deal with, and believe me, I understand how you must feel in your isolation better than anyone else... But that's also why I have a vision. A vision of Hollows working together. A vision of powerful Arrancar like you forming bonds of friendship. A vision, where all of Hueco Mundo coexists in harmony, or at least, as peaceful as it can possibly be"
"And you think I...? I can be a part of that?" His eyes were filled with hope.
"Of course. Everyone must be a part of this, but Arrancar like you especially, since I can't do this alone. To unite all of Hueco Mundo, I need a group of strong individuals that can communicate my ideals and help me keep the peace through these vast lands"
"But... Everyone's afraid of me. How could I...?"
"By protecting them. There are countless tyrannical groups that oppress the weak and feed relentlessly on them despite never becoming Vasto Lordes. Only a handful of us are destined for that, and only a select group inside them will become Arrancar. That is how things are supoosed to be... And that is what causes this divergence and overall, this endless mysery to our race. But... What if I told you that I've found a way to break the cycle?"
"What? What do you mean?!" He couldn't believe what he was listening.
"If you wish to know, come with me. I'll give you a family, I'll give you a home, and if you allow me, I'll give you a name... A true name"
Titiritero's puppets crumbled as he took desperately took the king's hand.
"Please! I'll do anything...!"
"Ahahaha..." The king chuckled. "No need to be hasty. Just follow me. I'll show you your new family in the Palace"
The palace of Las Noches was unlike anything he had seen. Despite being surrounded by endless sands, inside its walls were green areas fountains of water and living trees with beautiful fruits growing on them.
"I had never seen water before... I thought it was only a legend" He said surprised.
"Hueco Mundo has lots of water. The problem is that most of it is very deep underground, but me and my fellow Arrancar created wells and fountains to bring it here" The king explained.
"Amazing"
Once he arrived in the court room, he met six other Arrancar in the courtroom.
"No way! They are Arrancar... Just like me!" He exclaimed.
"The newbie seems euphoric" One with half the Hollow mask of a Unicorn said.
"Though probably we were the same when we first arrived, Nii-san" Another Arrancar, with the mask of a horse and the opposite half broken said.
"Espada! Welcome your new brother... Fukui Takenawa"
"Take...Nawa..." He repeated his new name.
"Do you like it?" The king asked him.
"Yes! I really do"
"Very well then. Takenawa, welcome to the Espada. You'll serve as the Séptima Espada"
"Y-Yes! Um... What does that mean?" He asked oblivious.
"It means you are right under me" A male Arrancar of green hair and yellow eyes put his hand on his shoulder. "Kaneshiro Asahi, Sexta Espada. My Zanpakuto is named Rueda Casino, its powers have a lot to do with luck and chance, but don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna use it on you"
"I'm glad..." He sighed in relief.
"You two will go look for more Arrancar together, though intelligent Vasto Lordes and Adjuchas work as well" The king ordered. "That is our current mission. Even I go find interesting Hollows when I hear about them. That's how I came to find you"
"I see"
"So, do your best! Go when you're ready and we hope to see again soon"
"Yes!" The two agreed.
Takenawa and Kaneshiro travelled through Hueco Mundo together for a very long time. They became best friends and showed each other's their own talents.
Takenawa showed him his ability to create marionettes, while Asahi showed the different kinds of games he had designed.
"I call this game Black Jack. I made these cards by transforming the wood of the trees inside Las Noches into this material with Reishi"
"Cool. You are amazing, Asahi!"
"Nah, this is nothing compared to what the others are able to do"
"Maybe not in terms of power, but the way you design these games is genius!"
"You really think that?" Asahi felt happy. "Thank you, Takenawa. Your puppets are awesome too!"
"Thank you" He smiled at his friend.
Takenawa's existence as an Espada meant by far the happiest days of his life.
Together, the Arrancar formed under the vision of Gran Rey Cero had transformed Hueco Mundo into a real paradise. But unfortunately... It wasn't to last.
Arriving in Hell, after that despicable day...
"So... You were an Espada?" Yama asked the Hollow, who had just fallen into Jigoku.
"Y-Yes... The Angels... The Gods... They killed everyone... I-I-I... couldn't take it, I... I just wanted to die!" He replied as he remembered the way in which he hanged himself with a chain, not being able to take the death of his fellow Espada, especially Asahi.
"Shh... Don't worry. If it's revenge what you want, I'll give you all the power you need. It won't be soon, but I promise you that one day, we will punish those cursed Gods, what do you say?" He showed his hand to the Hollow.
"I... I will avenge my friends... I will... I will avenge my Gran Rey Cero!" Takenawa shouted in replyas he held Yama's hand.
"No matter what I have to do. No matter who I have to kill. I'll do it so I can see their faces cower in despair and their bodies contort with regret!"
His soul couldn't resist the metamorphosis into a Demon at first, which turned his face into an amalgamation that collapsed. Despite this, his own resolve saved the rest of his body in the end. Yama helped him shape a new head, but a dark aura was all he could do.Takenawa's desire for revenge, ended up twisting his soul. His kindness and friendly nature were erased by the wicked power that corrupted him, irreversibly.
Back to the present, Ishida tried to stand up to shoot one last arrow and finish it, but his body didn't let him.
"Ngh!"
Takenawa continued crawling towards the Quincy, not wanting to give up just yet. Not letting go of the new life that had been given to him.
"Mortals... Must... Die... Gods... Must... Die... All... Shall... Perish... Before... Yama..." His black eyes were suddenly draimed of all life. "Sa...Ma..."
Once the Demon stopped crawling, his body started deteriorating rapidly until there was nothing left but sand. Not even the guts and blood left on the field were left. It was like he had vanished. He was completely erased from the face of Hueco Mundo, and possibly, the universe.
"*pant* *pant* *pant* Woah... That was a close one..." Uryuu muttered before falling unconscious due to exhaustion in the middle of the battlefield.
~~~~X~~~~
"It seems the 7th Duke has fallen" Ulquiorra told Orihime as he watched the TV like screen inside the palace. "Your friends are alive"
"I know. Their Reiatsu did not disappear so I thought as much" She smiled relieved from a comfortable sofa.
"Are you sure you don't want to see their battles? Aizen installed this sofisticated system that lets us see everything that happens inside these walls, although a big part of the Palace was destroyed during the fight"
"I'd rather not. I know they are strong, but those Demons give them a hard time anyways... Why do you have to fight them too?"
"I'm sorry, Inoue... I really wish I could do otherwise, but there is no other choice"
"Cifer-kun, I know you are in a complicated spot as well, but I'll tell you something. If you choose to trust me, you can trust them as well. Kurosaki-kun, Sado-kun, Ishida-kun... They never let you down. Neither do Rukia-san or Abarai-kun, and I'm sure the other people that came to this place are the same"
"If I knew what trust was, I would probably understand what you're trying to say..." He sadly replied.
"You could start by telling me your plan" She reminded him.
"I... I'm not sure I have a plan anymore" He looked somewhere else.
"*sigh* I know how hard it must be for you to make such a choice..." She stood from the furniture and went to his side. "But if you put your heart in our hands, we won't let you down" He grabbed his hand and placed it on the center of her chest.
Ulquiorra blushed confused as he felt the warmth of her body. In addition to that, regardless of her clothes, he could still feel the softness of her breasts. He had never touched a woman before, so such a sudden approach left him astonished. He shyly put his hand back in his pocket after a couple seconds.
"I-I will think about it... But regardless of the rest of your friends, I must kill Kurosaki Ichigo. Yama would not forgive me if I didn't"
"And that's whatyouwant to do? You want to keep doing as that Demon tells you?"
"There's no point in answering that. However, if you really wish to know, I decided on my own that Kurosaki Ichigo had to die ever since I was resurrected"
"But why?! Is it for anger?! Is it for revenge?!" Orihime cried, as she could not understand his motives despite knowing more about him.
"No. Totally wrong"
"Then why?!"
"Because I want to thank him" He gave her his typical look of emptiness.
Ulquiorra left the room without saying another word. Orihime was left speechless, unable to comprehend the words she just heard.
"Could it be that death is a prize to him? Like it was some kind of gift? The gift of death?" She thought with great sorrow as she imagined the way Ulquiorra felt about existence. "Oh Cifer-kun..." She cried.
~~~~X~~~~
"P-Pesche! Are you sure this place won't fall down?!" Dondochakka was scared as the walls trembled.
"I don't know! Let's run for it!"
The two Arrancar desperately ran deeper into the ruins, just when pieces of the maze were starting to fall.
"Aaaahhhhh!" The two screamed as they escaped.
Suddenly, they entered a large chamber. Pesche didn't have time to analize the space as he tripped over a pile of rocks, with Dondochakka following.
"Ungh..." Pesche complained.
"Ow... Ow... Ow..." Dondochakka was holding his head in a painful way.
"Huh? What is this place?" He looked around.
Golden statues of beings they did not recognize were displayed on the sides of the ancient room. Even more strange, there was a sound neither of them recognized.
"Do you hear that? What is that sound?" Dondochakka asked.
"Something seems to be flowing..." Pesche observed.
In the center of the room, was an object they had never seen in Hueco Mundo, but that called their attention in the Human world.
"A... Fountain?!" They couldn't believe it.
The only water they knew was the one created by the powers of Arrancar, but they had never seen a natural source of water in Hueco Mundo.
Before they could get near, the place started shaking once again.
"That thing again!" Pesche said bothered.
"It seems to come from there" His brother pointed at a hole in the opposite side of the chamber.
"Let's go" Pesche said decided. "And brace yourself... It must be an Oni"
Dondochakka gulped, but advanced regardless.
On the end of the room seemed to be a beautiful golden gate, but whoever was making the place tremble had forced its way through it.
Looking further, there were many more gates like it, all destroyed of course, and by the end of the hallway, was the shadow of a tall individual standing next to a giant machine.
The two Arrancar wasted no time in approaching the suspected enemy, decided to attack as soon as they saw the opportunity.
"It seems there are only a couple more left..." The Oni muttered as he pressed a button on a control.
The machine turned out to be a large drill and was breaking the golden gate that was blocking their path.
"Stop it! You have no business here!" Pesche shouted at him.
"Ho? Guests? How interesting..." The oni smirked as he tilted towards them. He was wearing a long lab coat, ragged and stained because of use. His blueish gray skin, troll-like face and three curvy horns that came out of his head confirmed that he was the one they were looking for. "Greetings, Arrancar! My name's Anri, the 8th Duke, though many call me Ao because of my skin. I left a note back at the lab excusing my absence, but it seems youchoseto look for my being to challenge me..."
"Of course. We knew you were up to no good, so we decided to come after you anyways! Right, Dondochakka?"
"R-Right! We came to stop you!" The Arrancar replied, though he was clearly scared.
"Hehehehe... I never thought Arrancar had such a sense of duty. I'm kinda new to this Oni business so, I haven't been able to observe you for as long as the other Dukes. Even so, I consider myself a researcher, so I like investigating and finding out about everything. Though I gotta say that you two don't seem to be the most interesting specimens..."
"How insolent! We'll show you what we're able to do. We know you have a sword, draw it!"
"Hmm, nah. I'm not that much of a fighter. Three of us Dukes aren't in fact. Of course, we all have standard combat abilities, but our forte isn't sheer strength or power. But don't worry, some of my machines are designed for advanced combat, so I'll let you entertain yourselves while I finish over here" Ao threw a metallic capsule at them.
The capsule let out a strange dense gas as it opened. Neither Pesche nor Dondochakka had the guts to go near it as it liberated the rare fog.
After the room was filled with it, they heard some footsteps.
"Here he comes!" Pesche told his brother. "Yeeargh!" He shouted as he drew Última from under his pants and sliced the blurry silhouette that was approaching them.
As Pesche cut through the body of the creature, he had a strange feeling. It was as if the being hadn't really died. Instead it had just dissolved itself.
"What the-? What is this feeling?"
The fog started dispersing after a short while, revealing the cause of such a sensation.
A small group of corpse white beings that looked like humans in shape but had no real shape was approaching them.
"Pesche! What are those?!" Dondochakka asked in fear.
"I don't know... But this can't be good!"
"Heheheh... Good luck with those. The 5th Duke shared a portion of him so I could study it and this is the result. I was able to create an army of Homunculi with him as the model, and let me tell you that, thatentity, is the most frustrating Duke you could come across. Unless you have attacks strong enough to instantly disintegrate an enemy, I doubt you're going anywhere..."
~~~~X~~~~
"Woah there are many more Demons than I thought there'd be!" Ichigo told Nel, slashing his way through the gray-skinned soldiers.
"They are no match for us though. We just have to be careful not to be caught off-guard"
"That's right" He replied, shooking his head to get his hair out of his eyes as it was covering them completely, which made her giggle a bit. "At least I don't have to worry about Ishida"
"That explosion was his doing?" She asked surprised.
"I'm sure, that light was definitely the power of a Quincy. Though that was one I've never seen. I guess he got a lot stronger as well"
"I never imagined humans could be so powerful. Maybe one of them would've been a better companion for Ichigo..." She thought with a saddened look.
"Is something the matter?"
"Uh? No! Nothing!" She denied.
"You looked a bit sad, but maybe it was my imagination" Ichigo told her a bit worried after killing the last Demon of the horde.
"Is that so? Maybe you just imagined it..." She said surprised as she thought: "No! I can't worry him in this situation. Get yourself together, Nelliel! You are strong, strong enough to protect him if he needs it!"
"If it's nothing then we can continue. Don't doubt to tell me if anything bothers you though" He finally replied.
"Of course. I know I can always count on you, Ichi" She gave him the smile he loved most.
"Good" He hugged her tenderly. "We are getting closer. Let's keep going!"
"Yes!" She cheerfully replied.
The two continued their run through the dunes to get to the Throne where Orihime was captive and Ulquiorra was waiting for them.
~~~~X~~~~
"Damn, these fuckers never get tired do they?" Hiyori said pissed as she cut through a horde of Demons.
"At first there didn't seem to be so many" Hachi added.
"There are many of them, but look, we are getting closer!" Lisa indicated.
"I'm getting tired of this as well, so why don't we finish this instantly?" Love said, putting on his mask.
Everyone agreed and did likewise.
"CERO!"They all blasted the trademark attack of the Hollows.
The remaining creatures could only scream in agony as they were erased by the vulgar display of power.
"Let's go kick that Duke's ass!" Hiyori carelessly exclaimed.
The Vizards entered the 5th Palace, which looked a lot like a colosseum.
"Look at this place, it's enormous!" Hiyori said amazed.
"It is indeed. This type of Arena is perfect for fighting" Love agreed.
"Where is the Duke though?" Lisa asked.
A loud roar was heard right after she asked.
"It seems he's coming!" Hachi said in reply. "Everyone get ready!"
They all started wearing their masks again. Even though their transformation lasted for hours, if they used too much power they would go back to their normal state anyways, so they had to keep that in mind.
"Finally... A challenge!" The large muscular Demon of gray skin proudly showed his bicep with the VI tattooed as he jumped into the arena to face them. Strangely though, his arms and feet were being held by chains.
"Good, you decided to show yourself early to your death" Hiyori said in reply, not intimidated by the 3.5 meters tall Duke.
"Babble all you want, the only thing that matters in the end is strength. Raw power is the only thing that can decide fate!" The Oni replied with a monstrous voice as he punched his fist against his hand.
"Oi! Why are you chained?" Lisa asked curious.
"I restrained myself with this Demon Iron to give my opponents a handicap. I hate unfair fights, so unless you prove to be worthy opponents, I won't get free of these chains"
"Damn, this guy is nuts!" Love said.
"He is, but he must be tremendously strong to go to such extremes..." Hachi replied, a bit intimidated.
"Whatever. Let's just kill this brute quickly and move on!" Hiyori said as she charged at the Demon with her blade.
"That's the spirit!" The Oni complimented as he charged against Hiyori as well.
The other Vizards took tactical positions around him, ready to act and defeat the Demon quickly through a combinated attack as Hiyori distracted him.
Hachigen muttered an incantation as fast as he could to finish in: "Bakudou 99:Kin!" After he pronounced the words and made the sign with his hands, a spiritual fabric started tangling around the Demon, who fell to the ground and was pinned by iron shafts.
"Not a good day to chain yourself, eh?" Love told him, mocking his impetous decision. "Crush down,Tengumaru!"
The ex-captain released his Zanpakuto, revealing the large Kanabou and its pointy needles, that were as sharp as ever.
Hiyori, who had already released her katana, sliced the Demon on its face, cutting through his eyes.
"Smash,Haguro Tonbo!" Lisa commanded to do herShikaiand pin the Duke to the ground.
"Now!" She indicated.
Love jumped to strike the Oni with greater force while he was still blinded and unable to move. He braced himself and threw a devastating hit on the body of the Demon.
Love's weapon even created a huge explosion as it came in contact with the creature, which didn't do anything to avoid the attack.
After the huge explosion, everyone looked at the Duke to see if they had accomplished it.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Hiyori said as she saw the result.
The Oni's back showed scratches and was slightly burnt, but aside from superficial damage, it showed no signs of having worked.
"Pfft... Is that all?" He laughed at them. "I always take the first blow of my enemies to see how strong they are, but this is just ridiculous. You can't even dream of defeating Yama-sama if that's the case. I might have the hardest skin among the Dukes, but even then, there is a Prince with an even sturdier body. Attacks of insects like you won't ever work!" As he said that, he broke the bindings Hachigen had casted upon him. "Even these chains are better at restraining me than your feeble incantation!"
"He broke the full incantation?!" The Kidou master couldn't believe it.
"Is this seriously the power of the 6th?" Lisa thought as she looked at the mighty Duke.
"The worst part is that a pair of you weaklings killed one of us a while ago... Inconceivable! That Takenawa should be ashamed of his weakness, but then again, given his origins... Not much could be expected. I, on the other hand, am a pure blooded Demon created from a golem of blood and Devil Iron. The Prince of Fire and Earth himself deposited one of his hearts inside me!"
As the Duke monologued, the Vizards looked at each other, deciding to go at full power.
"It's true. You are indeed strong, but I think it's too soon to preach about it. What if I told you we were also testing you? Let me tell you that you haven't seen a tenth of our real strength yet, so you better prepare yourself, for you are to meet your end!" Love declared as everyone wore their masks, ready to use more power.
"That's more like it... Give it your all! Don't contain even a bit of it!" The Demon howled excited.
And thus ends the first fight, but new ones begin. The Oni certainly have a lot to offer and I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am, though I gotta admit, this excitement is nothing compared to the one I have just by imagining the final battles of this part.What do I mean by that? You see, this fic has about 4 main parts. This mini-arc of Hueco Mundo would be the first, so brace yourself, cause there's a lot more coming.
Reviews:
Antex-The Legendary Zororark: Excellent chapter! Loved this! This is getting insane though. The Oni are NO JOKE! But then again, they wouldn't be, seeing as they're the Guardians of Hell and all.
So you haven't gotten CFYOW Neliel yet? I have her and even got a few extras to up her special ability (not trying to brag btw). I even finally managed to get Grimmjow while he was out! Sorry to hear about your luck though man...
Reply: Very happy to see that you liked it. At 1:31 AM of the day after you wrote (if I'm not mistaken) I finally saw "We all have things to protect, that is all there is to it" on the black screen as my beloved Nelliel appeared! Brave Souls has never made me so frustrated yet so happy before. I also got Ulquiorra 3rd Anniversary afterwards, so my dream team of Lunar Ichigo, Ulquiorra 3rd and Nel CFYOW is now a reality. Now I must fulfill my main objective: Getting every 6 Star Nelliel in the game, of which I am missing 4: Resurrection (pink stars), Valentine's, Parasol and small Nel.
Mr Marston:Just discovered this gem and I'm absolutely loving it! The interactions, romance and action are perfectly paced and balanced. Keep updating, I'm hooked! 10/10!
Reply: You don't know how happy and motivated it makes me reading this. I'll keep doing my best to write a story that keeps meeting those standards, and if possible, surpass them!
See you all next time! Evhron out.
Glosary:
Cuerpo del Titán: Titan's Body. Fullbring ability that allows Chad to create a Colossus with the materials that surround him. Its size does depend on his own Spiritual Pressure, but mostly on the amount of Reishi of the plain he's currently in.
Heilig Kreuz: Holy Cross, in german. Quincy power that allows Ishida to summon a giant cross (similar to the one Episode carries around in Monogatari, Kizu, to be precise).
Reinigen: Purify, in german as well. It commands the destruction of the Heilig Kreuz.