Burning Heavens Fall Upon Us
Evil's Maiden Dances To Her Final Tune
Lightning Shatters The Monster's Bones
The Predator Feasts Under The Dark Veil
Turmoil Rages Within The Doll's Heart.
The storm raged over Aaroniero's head.
It was a blanket of combating Reiatsus, completely displayed out in the open and a mark their powers couldn't be contained. Bolts of red, white and blue cracked across the artificial heavens with the occasional handful glassing the sandy landscape. Showers of glass and dust flowered the air around the dome of refracting light, flickering intermittently by the force of discharging Reishi impacting around her.
In her mind's eye, using her Pesquisa, it was like the entire vista of her senses had been drenched in red. Such virulent pressure filled her senses that it was becoming harder to focus on her multi-tasking, issuing beads of sweat to crawl down her forehead and neck. Grounding her molars together with mounting waves of irritation she knew that she had to do something if she was maintain her advantage over the enemy.
During such comprehension, something occurred that she had completely overlooked. Like glass being carved by diamond an audible snap was heard above the roaring thunder. Following this was a number of combustions that she could picture like orange and yellow fissures above her. Eyes opened and pupils dilated at the sudden images of fiery debris raining through the clouds down to the sand below.
"The Canopy is rupturing!" Aaroniero whispered out loud.
Raising her head to look through the transparent barrier placed over her squatting frame, she could already see an enormous piece of rubble heading towards her. Ironically, it had a picture of the Sun on it, entombing the durable piece of infrastructure in molten tongues. Reishi bounced to and fro, crashing into the pieces of the sky occasionally shattering them in brilliant flashes of light. But this was so dense and large that it easily could have been the size of one of the Palaces dedicates to the Espada and easily absorbed the lightning strikes as it continued to lumber downwards.
Retracting her widened eyes into a narrow glare, she brought her agape expression under control. Standing high enough that her body passed through the envelope of her barrier with it fizzling out of view soon after, she stared up at the rumbling meteorite. It looked like the Sun itself was coming down to bear upon her, crushing her underfoot and wiping her out of existence. The sands distilled and the air waves emitting from the artificial sky already began flattening the dunes surrounding her.
The looming shadow of the burning rock heading towards her engulfed the landscape. It spread outward till an orange and golden glow of the flames curtaining its massive frame colored the pale sands below. Just seconds away from crushing the possessed Shinigami, the to-be victim's hair flourished around her crown as much as her beige cloak over her Shihakushō.
Then, all at once, an explosive pyre of violet Reishi discharged from her person. Shooting upward like a geyser of light, it crashed into facsimile Sun, splintering its face. The falling debris flames became snuffed out as gravity itself was defied in the face of such powerful energy. Violent cracks spread outward like a web, splintering the haphazardly shaped sky piece. Without even ten seconds passing, the entirety of the smoldering boulder was pierced through by the beam, detonating it soon after.
"So this is my full Reiryoku?" Aaroniero thought as she looked upwards, watching the fake Sun eliminated by her own power. The blaze of her own Reishi deafened her from the rumbling thunder of the storm, the clouds parting before the tower of light that pierced it into Hueco Mundo's true sky. Waves of pressure blew back the many fiery stones falling from the dark storm clouds, twisting around as a semblance of a cyclone formed around the distance that she stood upon.
Smiling, she relaxed, snuffing out her power to a more composed state. Feeling her cloak flow back over body, she began treading under the moon lit hole in the storming sky. A dark smile spread as her feet kicked off from the sand, speeding away, becoming a wraith of motion.
"I refuse to stand by and play Commander. My goal is too close to completion to just be idle," Aaroniero thought as a carnal grin spread ear to ear, eyes alight with a violet hue with pupils becoming abysmal slits, "I will seize it with my own two hands. No one, not the Shinigami or these Privaron bastards will stop me!"
Chapter Eight - Falling Sky, Rolling Thunder
La Muerte Field, Zero Hour
Overwhelming.
It's how Sverrie could describe in a single word what it felt like to be amidst the Reishi storm. Two colliding Reiatsus flowing outwards at an uncontrollable rate, depicting the fierceness of their battle from afar. She couldn't even see where they were and it was almost akin to standing beside them. Monstrous, carnal and wrathful; they were the embodiment of passionate warfare.
Yet, when she looked at the human girl, who now stood above the ground prone Shinigami she had enslaved there was something off. She saw a look that spoke bounds of her awe to what she was experienced. But instead of being swept away by it, she stood still, as if she was unaffected by the howling gusts of wind and chaotic strikes of crimson, white and azure lightning dancing around them.
"She's acting like...she's better than me!" Sverrie thought, her beautiful heavenly features becoming shrouded by an ugly sneer. Brows knitted together as her eyes squinted into a dangerous glare. Her own complementary Reiatsu seemed to buffet the invasive air waves sent their way by the storm, even scattering several downward lightning bolts. Much to her pleasure she saw the pair of Lieutenants fall back onto their haunches, joining their demoralized senior officer in the scattering dust.
All it did to Orihime, however, was return her attention to her.
"You should leave," She told in a passively commanding tone to the re-christened Espada, "at this rate, this whole place will start falling ontop of us."
"Tch," The Espada tsked, cocking her head to turn her chin up at her new adversary, "you must truly take me for a fool. This light show is nothing but a charade. The only ones capable of collapsing Las Noches are those numbered of Quatro and above when using their sword releases. Do you think that this Substitute Shinigami and Rana have that kind of-"
"Sverrie!"
"What?!" The Swan Arrancar shrieked with indignation, turning her head to look at Sedosa. Both her and a pale faced Patros, she realized the instant a deafening crack was heard above the incredible roar of repeated thunder claps. Turning to look up she let out a gasp at what she witnessed.
Arcing with virulent bolts of Reishi, portions of the faux blue canopy began to descend through the blanket of pitch black storm clouds. Some alight with electrical conductivity, others smoldering in flames the debris came down from hundreds of smaller pieces to dozens of immensely wide boulder shaped parts. Casting shadows across the flashing and opaqued landscape, it looked like the sky was falling down on their heads.
"Nelliel used her Resurrecion earlier," Orihime iterated, her eyes widened at the rain of rubble heading down towards them, "she used that black Cero of hers. On top of that, Ichigo and that Arrancar both used their strongest forms simultaneously. I'm surprised the fortress didn't fall apart sooner, even now..."
"Stop cowering, all of you!" Sverrie shouted out, turning on her heels to face her two cohorts. Raising a commanding hand towards them, she gestured above her head, swinging it to the side as she yelled further, "both of you, destroy the canopy heading towards us. Show them just how powerful you two are and it'll make it more satisfying to crush them underfoot."
Sighing, Patros squatted and grasped his sword, noticing that Sedosa held her bow-blade in front of her aloft. Both of their bodies became engulfed with a mantle of Reiatsu, with Patros colored orange while Sedosa was a deep purple. Just as the first wave of rocks came down atop their vicinity, they announced their release commands simultaneously.
"Defile, Gerifalte!"
"Eviscerate, Araña del Abismo!"
Twin plumes of violet and orange Reishi blasted upwards, scattering the rocky hail surrounding them. When revealed beyond the haze of transforming light, Patros adopted a hulking arm-less beast with an armored torso and twin pauldrons affixed to his shoulders. His mask covered his entire visage, giving him a broad toothy expression, his previously combed hair now matted over his pale skull. He stood taller than his erect sealed posture, despite his hunched disposition, looking quite fearsome as any released Arrancar.
Sedosa, however, appeared to take an eloquent appearance contrasting most of her kin. A grey-purple complexion was pronounced from her exposed navel up to her spider tattooed breasts that were unrestrained by any top, appearing to be part of the intricate twin creatures sported over her chest. A pair of forked pauldrons in deep onyx wrapped into sleeves that covered both hands, now sporting a pair of metal guards that showed a pair of crossbows over wrists. Below the waistline flowed out the six-legged black bodied, white spiral designed body of a large spider abdomen. Her dark violet hair flowed down her naked back, her hood unfurled to reveal a dark lipped and exotically colored face of a strong cheekboned woman. If one was to look closely, her tongue sported a hole through its center, drawn more notice as she licked her teeth with excitement.
"Let's remove these annoyances after we're done cleaning this up," Sedosa suggested as she pointed both of her arms up at the hailing sky.
"For once, I can agree with someone on that notion!" He mulled out through his mask, raising his hulking form to bear aim at the raining rocks.
In the instant they did so, they saw a cacophony of golden flashes rip through the air, outpacing than the distant lightning bolts. It tore through the haphazardly falling debris, disintegrating it and obliterating their substance as it danced through the heavens. Even the monstrous scaled pieces of the sky ceiling were blown away by the instantaneous attacks, as if they were mere nuisances.
Turning to look at Sverrie, she looked up gawking in the same manner they did. After exchanging a few glances, they turned to look at Orihime, who's hand was raised. A single pin had detached from her set, showing that she had awakened Tsubaki to rapidly streak across the skyline. After it seemed a square kilometer of the dropping canopy was blown away, she called him back to hover around her head, circling her protectively as she stared off at the aghast Shinigamified Hollows.
"She did all of that in seconds," Sedosa realized, feeling herself back away apprehensively, "I couldn't even track that thing's movements. Is...is her Reiryoku higher than all of ours?"
"You impudent human!" Patros growled out with uncharacteristic animosity. While Sverrie silently stewed with indignant anger, the formerly two-faced Arrancar possessed a loathing for humans even greater than the two of them combined. This was only strengthened in his true state, and witnessing the equivalent of showing off crossed the line for him. "are you challenging us?!"
"I was protecting my friends," Orihime said with absolution, her eyes bathing in an eerie golden glow that seeped into her white cloaked form. "you were only concerned about yourselves. As long as you stand there, intent on spilling their blood, I will not stand by and watch it happen!"
"You've got a lot of nerve, girl," Sverrie hissed, taking a few strides to put herself towards her right flank. With her eyes meeting the human's, she let her smile spread in a cruel fashion across her face. Waving her arms to either side, she chuckled, snapping her fingers with afterthought, "I'm going to enjoy watching you squirm. Patros! Turn her to dust!"
"Gladly!" Patros snarled appreciatively, bearing aim at Orihime and the rest of the grounded Shinigami.
"Wait, Patros-!" Sedosa reached out, alarm coloring her attractive features.
"Nivel Veinte!" He roared out, the leftmost pauldron unfastening, opening up like a claw. Let loose in a torrent of pale yellow stream of Reishi, the sand parted and funneled around the beam of light. Even as his attack persisted he laughed out in murderous glee at the thought of destroying another human-
A streak of light followed by a whistling sound passing by his head, and Patros found his attack was bisected all the way through his body. In the shape of a thin yet tall disc, Tsubaki flew through his Reishi beam, cutting him down straight through the middle. A look of incredulity briefly crossed his face before the blood geysered through either side of his skull following the rest of his body, falling limply onto the ground. At that
"He was cut down...that easily?!" Sedosa thought with alarm, pulling back her arms as she caught sight of Orihime's focused visage. It held a hint of sorrow within her gaze but wasn't moved at seeing Patros dying at her hands. Gritting her teeth, the Spider Arrancar raised her arms trembling to take aim but couldn't find the courage to pull the trigger.
"Don't," Orihime warned out, just as quickly forming a Santen Kesshun with a swift flex of her right arm. A loud crack echoed the air as a Reishi infused fist struck its golden transparent field. The glowering Sverrie appeared with teeth bared, looking more feral than delicate as she once did.
"Cower before a human? Retreat? I'm opportunistic but not fearful!" Sverrie retorted, slamming one fist again and again at the durable defense of her target. After the seventh punch didn't budge the field, she palmed it with the opposing hand, charging a rosy colored Cero at its center. Until it overcast her view of the girl behind it did she fire it, allowing it to lap over the triangle as she roared out with fury. "Roll Over And Die!"
A faint whistling sound was heard again, passing over Sedosa's left shoulder, streaking faster than she could visualize. By the time Sverrie turned her head to her own right to see the source, an overwhelming sensation of pain bore through her arm. It continued even as it fell to the ground, her stump profusely spewing out blood as the Cero she was firing fizzled out, popping and snapping till nothing was left.
"I told you to stop," Orihime said confidently, once again retaining Tsubaki's place over her head in a spinning in a circular fashion. "will you now listen to reason?"
"This is...far...from over!" Sverrie growled, her hand now clenching her bleeding stump as she backed away from Orihime. Looking sharply at Sedosa, a ferocious surge filled her being at the petrified Arrancar. Kicking off the sand in a swift Sonido, her body carried her across space quick enough that she whizzed in front of her cohort without a second delay.
"Sv-ulk!" Sedosa began to say until her throat was wrapped into a merciless choke hold by the winged entity.
"You dare call yourself an Espada? You didn't even try to stop her. Patros is dead and I've just lost my arm," Sverrie hissed out, watching as her hand slowly snapped the woman's neck until her head nearly popped off. In a shower of gore that she carelessly lapped over her white and pure front, she coldly let her drop lifelessly to the ground, turning on her heels to walk away from it, "consider that retribution."
Orihime was horrified at what she saw. It had all happened so fast. One moment she was hellbent on killing her and clinging to her wound. The next she turned her aggression at her own ally, killing her in cold blood. Feeling her hands ball up into fists at her sides, her own calm Reiatsu soon rose up considerably as she set her sights at her.
"She was your comrade! Why did you kill her?!" She yelled out, her blood boiling with righteous anger at the unrepentant stare she received by the simmering Arrancar.
"Her betrayal couldn't be overlooked. I can't have trash too scared to bear arms against the enemy," She answered nonchalantly, taking long strides towards her. It was when her limbs locked up that she registered the intensity of her enemy's Reiatsu. Like a veil of hot metal, she could barely move forward, especially in her state.
Looking at the dazed Byakuya, she tried her hand again at calling him to her.
"Byakuya! Come to your Mistress!" She commanded, her tone stern and purposeful.
At that moment, Orihime felt Byakuya's own Reiatsu rise. Turning to look at his ragged yet unharmed person, a familiar stoic expression crossed his face. His hand clenched the sword hilt till his knuckles were pale white, the only thing resembling emotion from his otherwise dispassionate being. Before she could ask what was going on, his body flickered out of view, reappearing in front of the Swan Arrancar.
"Yes, that's my Ba-" Sverrie greeted him with swelling joy at the sight of her beloved servant. The feeling of cold steel thrusting through her bosom, however, did nothing but cement a look of fearful shock across her face. Shakily looking down, her hands trembled towards the offending object, watching it slide further into her chest.
"You laid your hands on me," Byakuya spoke calmly, holding a cold venom as his eyes stared hauntingly still at Sverrie's face, "turned me against my comrades. Not only that but you tarnished the memory of my greatest Pride. For making me forget that promise I've yet to fulfill I shall end your life and leave not a trace of you to be carried in the wind."
Releasing his hold on the sword, it suddenly sunk into her body, rippling her skin in a sickening if not intriguingly mesmerizing fashion. Lowering his hand to his side, Byakuya murmured out loud the deadly promise of execution, "Bankai."
"Unnnnnngh...rrrrrrrrrgh...glrrrrrrrmmmmmgh!" Sverrie groaned and garbled out as she felt impossibly enormous blades furrow out of her body without cutting her to ribbons. Through her back, breasts, hands, legs, feet and hands. Even her mouth seemed to protrude a metal ribbon of steel out that dwarfed her own head. Almost nothing but her quivering, tear stricken eyes were left to be seen as her angelic figure was marred by the hundreds of towering blades sticking out of her body.
Turning on his heels, Byakuya left her behind as he whispered with finality, "Scatter, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
A brief glitter of pink was followed with a sudden scream that lapsed the air and sandy ground. An instantaneous geyser of blood flourished upwards, soon exploding into dark grey dust that was evaporated within the wind that the Bankai was carried through. Swirling around in a majestic display of beauty and power, Byakuya's Zanpakutō swirled around in a beautiful dance, returning into his hand as a sword shortly afterwards.
"C-Captain," Nanao stuttered out, amazed she had the opportunity to witness such a spectacle. At the same time, she couldn't help but feel sorrow for what had happened and looked at the various bodies surrounding them. Returning to look at him, she saw his body grace past him as she tried to mouth out encouragement, "I-"
"My actions here may not have been my intent, but they are still my burden to bear," He responded matter-of-fact, not allowing himself to look any of them in the eye. "I regret not doing this sooner for I had took the lives of Shinigami and suffered indignation worst than I could have imagined. I ask not that you forgive me, Lieutenant, but that you not speak of the matter till judgement is passed upon me after this ordeal."
Momo bowed her head, balling her fists as she stared hard into the sand. She knew there was nothing she could say or do to help soothe the situation. Just glancing at Nanao's helpless expression, it was clear that she was out of ideas just how to make amends.
That was, until they heard as much they felt Orihime's presence at the places where their comrades had fallen.
"Miss Inoue?" Nanao queried with confusion, looking over at the strawberry blonde bending over Isane's body. Despite the roaring thunder lingering in the background, its howling winds now returning to lap across their bodies, she couldn't help but focus her stare at her. A sudden golden glow was suddenly generated from her Shun Shun Rikka, forming a dome over the cold husk that was Lieutenant Kotetsu.
"What is she doing?" Momo asked, slowly rising to her feet while the Captain turned in response of the commotion. When the glow dissipated and the dome disappeared, all grew still, as if expecting something. Then, they saw Isane rise suddenly, looking around with stark confusion while issuing a startled gasp by Momo and Nanao respectively.
Even Byakuya took a step back with amazement at what occurred.
"W-W-Where am I? What happened?" Isane stood shakily to her feet, her memory hazy of what transpired. Everything seemed like it was a blur and she couldn't shake a horrible feeling. That was, until Momo leaped into her arms and tackled her to the ground with joy; much to the amazon built Lieutenant, "Momo?!"
"You're alive! I'm so glad you're alive, Isane!" She blurted out as her tear-stricken face buried itself into her bosom.
"I...I died?" Isane asked, knowing full well the answer to her question. Looking over to Orihime, she nodded somberly before turning away. Watching her walk away, she tried to reach out to her, but couldn't find the words to say.
"That horrible Arrancar...she...she..." Momo trailed off, wiping her face with her sleeves as Byakuya and Nanao approached with inquisitive eyes.
"You died," Byakuya bluntly stated, eyes narrowing at her, "slain by the Arrancar who bewitched me. I saw the light dim in your eyes before you fell. Yet...you were brought back."
"Perhaps," Nanao began to say, watching Orihime apply a similar treatment to Kiyone and Sentarō, both of them looking confused at their present states of living. "Aizen's desire to acquire Orihime wasn't completely based on a purpose to bait us. It's possible he wished to use her power for some other purpose."
"Regardless, he doesn't need her any longer," Captain Kuchiki dismissed immediately, watching Orihime smile at those she brought back from the dead. His attention would be stolen with another explosion in the distance, this one causing the very sands underneath their feet to shift. A crimson white light expanded outward, sending all the canopy's remaining debris scattering across the collapsing desert fortress.
Lowering his raised arm that shielded his face, he could see an unusual warp in space, almost like a mirage. Easily a few kilometers away he saw a silhouette just as Nanao made a curious comment. Something that made everyone shuffle nervously.
"Where are the bodies?"
Momo, the two 3rd Seats and Orihime all turn towards Nanao's worried expression, trailing it to see only bloodstained outlines in the sand. Sure enough, the bodies of Novena Espada Sedosa Belleza and Arrancar #59 Patros were gone without a trace. Even Sverrie's absentmindedly forgotten arm was gone, as if all had evaporated into thin air.
1 Kilometer south of La Muerte Field, Zero Hour
Chōjirō could barely believe his luck.
The friction between the two Reiatsus, one he almost couldn't recognize but confirmed was Ichigo's, had generated a storm of Reishi. Amidst his struggle to maintain a defense against the Segunda's empowered form, one that was now only as thick as glass, he saw him stop and pause at the sensation he felt. The continuous output of his own Reishi through his Zanpakutō into the sky now felt unnecessary.
He made it in time, thanks to the Substitute Shinigami.
"I'll make sure to thank him later," Chōjirō mentally noted. Swinging his Shikai downward, causing his barrier to collapse and startle Soto out of his awestruck reverie. Taking a step forward, his blade alight with golden energy, he shouted dramatically, "why don't we see how well that form of yours fairs against this?!"
Leaping back in a Sonido enhanced somersault, the Raptor Arrancar landed atop of a carved sand dune. Seeing a distant spark he chuckled at his own fortune at his now enhanced reflexes. This Shikai's true power didn't seem to even test him at this point. That's what he believed, until the sky thunder clapped and his whole body lit up in a dramatic searing spasm.
"What?!" He thought with anguished bewilderment, stumbling back as pieces of his armored carapace felt brittle, snapping embers of blackened skin revealed underneath his durable Hierro. Even his mask was starting to crumble, revealing a grimacing expression as his eyes glared forth.
"That was one strike, Arrancar," Chōjirō stoically declared, swinging his rapier to his side before bringing it to visually divide his visage. Tendrils crawled up and down his blade, sporadically snapping in the air to express its controlled energy. Pointing it towards him in a challenging manner, the Lieutenant promised vocally, "how many can that body of yours withstand?"
"Big talk, Shinigami," Soto spat, taking a step forward, crossing his arm-mounted scimitars together to grind in a threatening gesture. With the edges glowing a bright emerald, the Arrancar leaped forward, bringing himself within a bare meter in front of his target. Swinging his arms out, a geyser of Reishi cutting power was unleashed before his gaze, "Lacerar!"
But in the instant it was released, it vanished with the sight of a explosive blaze of electricity. His metal weapons absorbed the power unintentionally, causing him to roar out in waves of pain as his body cracked and popped with glowing burns of shocks. Stumbling backwards, it was all he could do to keep standing, heaving heavy breaths before his nemesis.
"I commend you for withstanding the second strike," Chōjirō murmured, his voice barely audible above the rumble and claps of thunder to explosions scattering across the sandy landscape. Fiery debris already started to fall through the storm's envelope, peppering the ground with its smaller pieces while also heading down to their heads. Without even looking at the scale of some of the burning rock, Chōjirō swung his Zanpakutō to his right, invisibly commanding the storm to discharge dozens of bolts to lash out at the shrapnel aimed to crush their vicinity. In a flash of gold he continued with a composed disposition, "but this is my domain now. This next attack will be the end for you."
"I will not give into you, Shinigami!" Soto yelled out, pointing both bloodied arms towards the Lieutenant. Swiftly an emerald orb grew rapidly in size, expanding and thrumming with forced focus as he coughed raggedly at doing so. Laughing morosely, he smiled venomously as his enemy. "I'll die standing instead of cowering before another of your kind! Now, take this-!"
"Genzen Jukei!" Chōjirō shouted with a mighty swing of his sword, striking the sand before his feet. A mighty clap of thunder was felt from below, just as an orb of glowing golden light swirled and took shape in the heavens. In a flash of golden light, an immensely proportioned lightning bolt arced down and over the Lieutenant's head, barreling straight through the late firing Cero before hitting the Arrancar head on. Hair was burned away, skin melted and soon even his remains turned to ashes in the wake of the blistering attack that carved a deep glassed trench for a great distance before the Shinigami's eyes.
"Rest in peace, proud Hollow. May your next life be better than the one you've lived," Chōjirō bowed his head respectfully, lowering his sword to his side in reverence of his enemy. He knew, had the elements not been at his favor, he surely would have been killed. It was just another reminder of how grateful he was to Ichigo for having increased the stakes in his current fight.
Distantly, though, he felt the waiting line of enemies ready themselves to assault. Brandishing his weapon the Lieutenant awaited the two dozen foes he could sense lying in wait. They had been careful, avoiding detection and keeping out of sight. Allowing their more foolhardy brethren and elitists to perish so they may have a chance of beating exhausted targets.
He knew at this moment they were to be dead wrong.
But as the rumbling of the thunder continued, the distant explosions of fights still ongoing, he felt something suddenly happen. A signature had materialized beyond the hills of sand, vile and foreign to his recognition. Cacophony of screams and flashing lights were seen, followed by plumes of flames and bodies rising then falling just as quickly. When the plethora of cries and spikes of Reiatsu had rose just as suddenly he felt an eerie silence.
Swallowing a parched throat, Chōjirō hesitantly tread forth, supplementing with a handful of Shunpo. By the time he arrived, he saw a number of craters with trails of vapor leaving their impact sites. Among the piles of blood and bodies was a single figure, hunched over a particular corpse. A single tendril was lancing out, voraciously consuming one body among the pile after another, leaving sickening splashes of decaying flesh and ichor in its wake. When another flash of lightning illuminated the silhouette, Chōjirō's voice hitched as he called out with confusion.
"Miss Kuchiki?" The Lieutenant asked with a startled, almost disbelieving tone.
Sighing, a slitted pair of pupils bordered by purple irises turned to glare at the 1st Division's right hand man. With a sword in hand she rushed in a beige cloaked blur, appearing far faster than the man could predict. Sword meeting flesh, the man's mouth overflowed with blood as his eyes widened with shock.
"You really shouldn't have looked, Lieutenant Sasakibe," Aaroniero said as his eyes stared up, a wicked smile playing upon her deceivingly soft face. Raising her left arm, still in the form of a blood soaked tentacle, she thrust it into his chest. Producing a sickening crunch and squelching tear, she finished speaking as her feast continued, "at the very least, now you'll know what it's like to be part of a greater being!"
20 Kilometers From La Muerte Field, Minutes Prior to Zero Hour
"H-Hey!" Uryū called out, coughing more blood out of his mouth as his breath escaped in wheezes.
Mayuri turned his head away from the purposefully slow eating of Szayelaporro. The only thing that remained was a single tendril, wrapped tightly around a squirming Verona. He pleaded and squealed, like a pig caught in a noose. He had a morbid fascination but was pestered incessantly by the profusely bleeding Quincy.
"What is it?" He asked in a grated tone.
"Are you just going to leave us to die here? Huh?" He inquired angrily, his eyes still jabbing daggers at his nemesis.
"Take it easy, you're not doing yourself any favors," Renji attempted to calm his ally, but quickly got an equally angry look at him before it was redirected back at the Captain.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Don't just ignore me!" Uryū rammed a fist into the sand, rasping for breaths to shout more at the decadent scientist.
"Be quiet," Mayuri sighed, picking one of his ears idly as he looked at Verona squirm while he was drawn higher towards the chewing mouth of his Bankai, "you're becoming an annoyance. Need I remind you what I do to things that annoy me, hmmmm?"
"With all due respect, Captain, Ichigo may not be happy to hear that one of his comrades got jack squat when he could have lived thanks to you. I wonder how long you'd last against him or any of the other guys that call him friend?" Renji cocked a challenging grin, full well knowing the ramifications of goading such a...precariously balanced individual.
Turning around, Mayuri's golden teeth spread from ear to ear, giving him a chilling appearance as he strode over to them. Leaning over so he could look directly down at Renji, colored in flashes of crimson, blue and gold by the Reishi lightning crackling above his head he whispered in an amused tone, "Are you threatening me with the prospect of that Ryoka will harm me? Is that your way of convincing me to save your miserable, pitiful lives? What makes you believe I have anything to fear from him or his band of misfits?"
"Easy," The Captain heard the Quincy answer for the Lieutenant, the sound of a bow materializing followed by an arrow being pulled back gave the Shinigami pause. Looking over, despite his weathered condition, Uryū was standing in an unnaturally stiff posture. Recognizing it as the Ransōtengai, his smile regressed into a displeased frown, "I think you may be cautious but you're also a coward. If an enemy you never fought came at you with power greater than your own, I suspect that you could do little against him. I can see that, even as weak as I am, there might be a chance I could make it very painful for you to end my life. Do keep in mind that, as smart as you are, I dare call myself a bit more intelligent than you when it comes to common sense."
For the longest time, the rumble of thunder was all that filled the tension filled land. Renji looked practically agape at the Quincy's bold accusation and the audacity of his actions. Mayuri seemed to lock a silent glare at the boy, his gait not turning from his his halfway pose. Even as their gazes met, there was something akin to an enigmatic twinkle in his eyes. Turning his head, he sighed and raised his hand, calling out.
"Nemu."
In an instant, Uryū found his arm caught and pulled in a painful twist behind him. With an arm wrapped around his neck, he could feel the strain of the shoulder nearly rending out of the socket. With a firm kick to the back of his knee, the Lieutenant forced him back onto the ground, his arm still held at a disadvantageous angle to keep him faceplanted in the sand.
"For someone who boasts of common sense, you really didn't think I could cover my bases and be unguarded by the likes of little you? I'm wondering if anything you said has credibility now, Quincy boy," Mayuri chided with a thin lipped smile, looking down all the while Uryū groaned and coughed with effort.
"Captain, if you'd please-"
A pitiful wail interrupted Renji's plea, causing all to turn their eyes to the Fracción. Verona squirmed and convulsed, the tendril wrapped around him seeming to pull away from his belly where a trickle of blood was to be seen at his navel. A pair of lips stretched across the tentacle's end, speaking out loud in a haughty tone, "Did you really think you had bested me, Captain?"
"No way! He's still alive?!" Renji exclaimed with horror, while Uryū just stared fearfully at the talking tendril.
"Behold! Fornicarás' greatest technique, Gabriel!" The voice declared, becoming more disembodied as Verona began to swell outward like a balloon. Soon it was almost too much for him to take, before a head of pink hair began to escape his mouth. The voice continued to explain even as he escaped his crude rebirth chamber, "I impregnate the host with my tentacle, putting a part of my cells inside of them. Then, I feed on their essence, stealing their Reiryoku and stamina to completely revive myself. At the very last moment, I become anew, and they are left to rot as a husk."
Finishing his explanation, his body slithered out in complete released form, now slathered in evaporating internal juices. Rising to full stature his smile stretched ear to ear with pride of his rebirth. He drank in the wide-eyed stare from the Captain, fear-driven looks by the Lieutenant and the Quincy. The only one that didn't seem intimidated or impressed by the sight was the Captain's own subordinate, whom simply kept a mild stare aimed at him.
Regardless, he was satisfied by his grand re entrance into the battlefield. Chuckling, he waved a hand out towards Mayuri, "You may find yourselves at a lost of what this means. I shall put it into the simplest terms your puny minds can fathom. You cannot win against me. I'll keep coming back, like the mythical phoenix of human folklore, burning out and lighting aflame once more every lifetime. In essence I am an Immortal Being that cannot die and will never fall to any Shinigami or Hollow's hands."
Pointing at the Phaoroh toting Captain, he then asked in a beguiling knowledgeable tone, "Now then, shall we start with the reintroductions, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi?"
"No," The Captain responded bluntly, his stare taking in the sight with less than mild entertainment. "there's no need, Arrancar, since you've haven't changed your tune nor your appearance."
Szayel's visage retracted his smile, his eyes squinting with a twitching glare at his enemy. Watching the Captain approach with a few footsteps, he stood still, angrily observing his intentions.
"An Immortal, hm? Is that all you are?" Mayuri asked, bending his head to the side, waving his arms with impatience, "come now, if you're hiding anything else, don't be shy. I want to know everything there is to know about you. Please don't tell me that's all you have?"
Raising a hand, the Espada curled his digits in a way that indicated a desire for the Captain to step closer. Upon the revealing of an ominous shadow encroaching over the Shinigami's vicinity, that assumption would have been false. In an instance, the monstrous Bankai dove head first to clamp its jaws over its creator.
"What the-?!" Renji began to exclaim, watching the sand wash over him from the force of the attack.
"It attacked its own master?!" Uryū asked incredulously, still caught in the grip of his feminine captor. Despite all of this, she didn't seem fazed in the slightest by these revelations. He wondered if she was just a doll at this point, but he could definitely attest she had the capacity to feel and emote from his last encounter with her. He could only wonder what just happened until Szayel broke out into a fit of mocking laughter.
"Serves you right underestimating me, Shinigami!" Szayel began crowing out, watching the Bankai smother its head into the sand, its maw enclosed completely around the Captain. Pointing at it, he grinned sadistically at the others, eager to explain the phenomena unfolding before their eyes. "any creature that devours a part of my body gets infected by my cells. I don't need to understand the flow of your Bankai's structure but I can tell its organic. Woe is you for having a living creature as your source of ultimate po-"
What came next was a massive pop, sending gelatinous chunks of flesh and ichor scattering throughout the air. Much to his chagrin as the others, parts of the gore flitted over the Espada and his enemies. Wiping the blood off his face his dropped at the sight of his enemy perfectly unharmed. Besides being bathed on rapidly evaporating saliva, he held his sword erect as the remains of the Bankai transmuted into crimson Reishi flowing into his blade's sealed state.
"My-My, how sneaky of you, turning my own Bankai against me," Mayuri jeered at the Arrancar, grinning toothily as he waved his sword pointedly at his enemy, "I modified my Zanpakutō that, for any reason it turn against me, it will self destruct. I haven't been a Captain this long without taking precautions so don't take me for any imbecile you take under your employ."
"Tch, so that's why you were so calm," Uryū murmured, unable to look up at the mute smile Nemu had on her face to see her superior still intact.
"Great, but what's that going to do for-?" Renji began to ask until an audible crack filled the skyline above them. Looking above the Lieutenant's eyes bulged at the sight of the rumbling clouds above their heads. Flaming wreckage composed of the once endless day-lit canopy began to drop over their heads, roaring mightily as smaller bits pummeled ahead of the larger chunks into the sandy landscape around them.
"THE SKY IS FALLING?!" He shouted out in comical fright.
"This is insane?! I noticed Ichigo's Reiatsu earlier but the scope of the collateral damage he's causing is now becoming ridiculous!" Uryū rambled out, his own face paling in shock, with even Nemu looking up with contract pupils.
"What an interesting phenomenon," Mayuri said calmly, his own eyes tracing over every burning piece of debris as it fell quickly towards them, "it appears that the combined released forms of that strong Arrancar and the Ryoka boy's is causing a structural collapse. Apparently this place wasn't built to withstand such intense pressure. I think I may have underestimated the extent of his strength after all."
"Fools," Szayel interrupted, causing everyone's gaze to break away from the imminent burning death towards a dark thin smile stretched across his face. "as if this will prove a challenge to clear away."
Snapping his fingers, a sudden explosion of rainbow lit Reishi erupted from the sand not but a dozen meters behind him. From it a whizzing figure rushed upwards, intercepting the first rocky projectile, easily scaling the size of a city block. Smashing into it, all pieces of it disintegrated before it danced away, ricocheting into the other descending canopy fragments hurdling down. In a matter of seconds all of the wreckage that potentially threatened them was erased, and the figure crashed down like a comet beside Szayel's left flank.
Reishi exuded from its body like vapor, clothed in a tight form fitted white garment that was conformed around the thin torso. Long sleeves ending at the shoulder wrapped around his hands, similar to the knee-high boots. A blonde mass of hair was braided into a ponytail, flourishing about the shoulders with its head bowed. When crouched, it appeared that it was a very humanoid entity unlike the many other grotesque abominations that had been revealed prior to now.
"Allow me to introduce you to my most recent and greatest creation!" Szayel boasted, swinging an arm around in a way that allowed the being to stand upwards, standing up fully to meet the height of his shoulder. When a feminine face was revealed, it would be revealed by the non-existence of mammaries or wide birthing hips that it was more of an effeminate male. A hole presided around the voice box, creating a perfect space in its neck, and revealing it lacked the ability to speak. Curiously there was no weapon on its person, indicating that it destroyed all the wreckage barehanded or by some other means.
Regardless, its body seem to project a very powerful Reiatsu, enough that the sand billowed out into waves of airborne particles. Each grain crackled, snapping into oblivion, invisible tendrils of Reishi dancing across the air before everyone's eyes. Despite its emotionless state, a very carnal sense of emotion was felt in the air, belying the dead look in his eyes.
"Project MEAT's first production, Crisol de Razas," Szayel finished with dark delight, pointing at the Captain's now intrigued visage, "his first victim will be you, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Then the rest of your Shinigami allies will fall. Pray to whatever deity gives you comfort that he'll end your lives swiftly and not a slow death you all deserve!"
A/N: And finally finished! You don't know how much I procrastinated this story due to the low number of people with vested interest in it. Believe it or not, I wasn't eager on continuing the story despite the exciting story elements yet to come. But thanks to people reviewing and commenting on the story I finally worked up the nerve to update it and doing so with less mass of words. Please let me know in your Reviews, if you leave any, if you prefer it this way or not.
First off, we'll talk about Orihime. I really wanted to make her a believable badass in this Chapter without breaking her character in any way. I think its just bizarre for most readers to accept that she COULD be competent if you have an author who cares about her. And because I do genuinely care for Orihime, she does get to pretty much singlehandedly thwart Sverrie, Sedosa and Patros' plan of slaughtering this group of Shinigami. While it was mostly Sverrie's fault she lost her ally and made Byakuya resolve to kill her, Orihime definitely put them all in that corner, so props on that. Showing off her abilities, I almost forgot that not everyone knows she can bring back the dead so this was quite the revealing to showcase her powers in this way.
Next is Chōjirō Sasakibe. As much as I wanted this guy to live throughout the story, I had planned out his demise in advance so this was just a quick change in order of when it happens. After a brilliant use of the Reiatsu storm Ichigo and Rana created, he was able to make short work of Soto, poor bastard. Not until a very ravenous Aaroniero show up that he realizes he shouldn't have peeked and got himself eaten as a result. How will this affect the others and what does Aaroniero plan to do with the additional aspect of power he possesses? We'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?
And now the biggest tease is this fight right here. Well, not a fight but more like cool speeches and Mayuri just being a troll. I had some of you no doubt wondering what Szayel's Project MEAT was. Well now here it is, a young boy by the name of Crisol de Razas. Just what are the abilities this Arrancar possesses? What makes him so special that Szayel had to wait until now to reveal him?
FIND OUT in the next update of A Predator Among Us!