TTGL: So this is the Heavens.
Chapter 19: So becoming a semi hollow will increase my badass appeal?
The darkness was heavy, weighing down Kamina's limbs as he passed into the tunnel that led to the hollow world of Hueco Mundo. Everything was black except for the narrow silver path which he ran along.
He ran along it for several minutes in complete silence, his feet making no sound as they pounded down the silver trail. Any normal person would have been anxious about charging into the largest hive of hollows in existence without any powers whatsoever but Kamina was simply excited at the prospect.
The path ended suddenly in a bright flash of white light. Next thing Kamina knew, he was falling headfirst toward a white sanded desert below. He freefell then crashed into the sand. Spitting a mouthful of the fine grains out he pulled himself up and looked around.
As far as his eyes could see was a sea of sand dunes and black skies. Everything was monochrome. Picking out a direction at random he began walking, keeping an eye out for anything new. He scaled the largest visible dune and from this vantage point saw the vast white structure that Ichigo had informed him as being Las Noches, Aizen's former HQ.
Without caution he approached the vast white outer walls. On closer inspection they were falling into disrepair. He continued to walk towards it but he seemed to get no closer. Speeding up he sprinted to it but still the vast structure seemed to sit on the same spot of the horizon.
After what seemed like a solid hour of running the structure finally seemed to be getting closer. It was now that he was able to take in the true scale of the palace. As it became closer it grew massively in size. Just the wall that Kamina could see must have been many miles wide. It looked to be more like a walled town than a single palace.
Another hour of running and Kamina was finally on the approach to the grand stone gateway that led inside. Every step brought more detail to the scene, individual cracks and stains marking the plain white stone.
He sped up his tired legs, excitement building with his goal nearly within reach. Underneath his feet the sand suddenly dropped away. He leapt back as from below the sand exploded outward and a brown skinned hollow with an upside-down pig head. The monster struck out at him with hammer shaped hands and Kamina dived through his legs, slashing at its exposed back.
The hollow screamed and lashed its arms backward. Kamina jumped up onto it and kicked it in the face, flipping backward to avoid the counter attack. Before the beast had time to recover Kamina rammed his blade through its throat.
"See! Who needs shinigami powers anyway."
The sand around him began to rumble and churn. He took several steps back as the sand rose up and began to form as a giant hollow with tree trunk like arms and a sandcastle head. The massive hollow growled and bent down low to examine Kamina.
"A shinigami, eh? I haven't seen one of them for many years now. I will enjoy crushing the life from your puny body."
"Puny?" hissed Kamina. "Who are you calling puny? I am the mighty Kamina! I will be the raging wave that washes you away! What's a lump of sand compared to manly resolve?"
"Insolent wretch. I am Runuganga, guardian of the white sands. I will not allow you access to Las Noches. Turn back now or die beneath a tomb of sand."
"Like hell I'm gonna turn back now! I still have enough power to stomp on a sandcastle!" Kamina boasted as he shot forward. Tendrils of sand rose up around him and shot out in an attempt to skewer him but Kamina's reflexes were near perfect even without spiritual energy to enhance them.
A monstrous fist smashed down onto him which he managed to leap away from but the sheer force of the impact still sent him flying. More sand spikes lashed out to impale him while he was in the air and couldn't dodge but he battered them away with his blade.
"If I had my bankai you'd be already dead by this point. Since that aint an option though we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." Kamina smirked. A wave of sand rushed at him and he charged at it, not even attempting to dodge.
At the last possible second he jumped and ran up the vertical wall, throwing himself over the top and rolling painfully down the other side. Half way down he managed to regain his footing and continue his sprint toward the hollow. Runuganga thrashed with both fists causing sand to fly up as the hands made craters, displacing both the sand and Kamina. Using this sudden momentum he sailed through the air and hit the hollow's chest, wedging his sword within it to stop him from falling.
A sand spike erupted from Runuganga's skin which Kamina only just managed to swing himself away from. Grabbing his orange shades in his left hand and Gurren in his right he began to climb up the creature's body even as dozens of spikes and tendrils assaulted him. Numerous cuts crisscrossed his flesh but he was able to avoid all major damage.
Runuganga became more frantic but Kamina was determined. The giant pounded its own chest in an attempt to crush the teen. Kamina pulled his sword and shades from its chest as he pushed himself up, springing over the oncoming fist, landing upon its top then springing again onto its ugly face.
"Surprise!" laughed Kamina as he grabbed hold of the hollow's eye socket to keep himself on the face. He offered the hollow a grin before running his blade through its eye. Runuganga roared and reached up to grab him.
"Unlucky for you, Nemu left me with a few tricks up my sleeve. Take this!" shouted Kamina, drawing a rubber duck from his pocket. He threw it into the hollow's eye then dived from the head, freefalling toward the ground far below.
Kamina hit the sand with a thud. He just had time to turn over and witness Runuganga's head implode. The body swayed then collapsed into the sand.
"I told you not to mess with me!"
The sand twitched. Kamina cursed as Runuganga reformed, looking very pissed. If anything the hollow looked even bigger now.
"You will pay for that!" growled the sandman. Four tidal waves of sand formed and rushed toward Kamina, fully surrounding him. Runuganga punched down from above, sealing the top of the trap and preventing Kamina from escaping over the waves.
"How many times must I warn you not to attack my visitors." spoke an unknown, female voice. The sand fell away and Kamina saw Runuganga crashing down. A lone woman in jeans and a green top stood beside the new pile of sand. She had a horned skull upon the top of her head. Pale green hair swayed around her.
This woman walked up to Kamina. "And who might you be? It is rare for us to have guests here." she asked softly. "You feel like a shinigami but I sense no energy coming from you."
"I am the mighty Kamina, leader of the world famous Team Dai-Gurren! What's your name, sweet-thing?" replied Kamina, the natural flirt within him coming to the surface.
"I am Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, former espada." Up close Kamina now noticed the large scar that ran down her forehead and the red painted line that wan horizontally across her face.
"Nelliel…hmm. You must be the Nel that Ichigo told me about."
Nelliel perked up instantly. "You know Ichigo? Is he still fine? He hasn't come to visit in ages, leaving a poor girl like me all alone in this big nasty desert."
"He's as fine as you can be in the middle of a war."
"War?"
"Yeah. Aizen has returned. He has hollows and souls with him and has destroyed the Seireitei. Ichigo wanted to know if you knew anything."
Nel mused a moment. "Follow me. We'll talk in a more comfortable environment." she said, heading towards the gates of Las Noches. They opened at her touch and she passed through without pause.
Kamina followed and gazed around in wonder as the world changed. white buildings and towers were everywhere. The main palace of Los Noches sat like a proud emperor, tall and imposing at the centre of the compound. Above was blue skies. Amidst the splendour though were signs of ruin. Rubble littered the ground everywhere and many of the towers were destroyed or damaged. The floor appeared to have several craters and even the sky had holes in it revealing greyness beyond.
They entered the main palace and were met by corridor after corridor. Every room they passed looked identical to Kamina. Eventually they arrived at a large room with a single throne like chair. Nel slumped into this chair. Without any noticeable communication, two other hollows entered carrying another stone chair. One was very fat while the other was stick thin. They placed the new chair beside Nel and she motioned for Kamina to sit.
She patted the arm of her chair idly. "This throne belonged to Aizen himself when he was lord of Las Noches." she seemed to relapse into reminiscing on old memories. Slowly she turned her eyes back to Kamina. "I have noticed the increase in hollow activities and suspected trouble but it doesn't seem particularly organised here. Just the usual hollow raiding parties. I haven't seen or even heard rumours of Aizen."
Kamina nodded. "Ichigo had another request too. Aizen destroyed my spiritual energy, preventing me from remaining as a shinigami. He wanted to know if you knew a way to hollowfy me to create something called a visored."
Nel mulled this over. "I know of no way to create a visored from a soul without the Holyoku. I do however know of a method to recover your powers. If you can retain your mind that is."
"What do you mean, if I can retain my mind?"
"There are four types of spiritual warriors. You have the shinigami and the hollows which you know of. You also have shinigami that gain hollow powers known as the visoreds and hollows that gain the powers of shinigami called the arrancar. Ichigo is a visored while I am an arrancar." Nel explained.
"What's that got to do with my mind?"
"I do not know how to give you hollow powers while retaining your form as a shinigami. I do though no how to turn hollows into arrancar."
"Wait! You want to turn me into an actual hollow? That's crazy! Hollows are ugly, evil, mindless beasts!" shouted Kamina. He hade no intention of becoming a monster even if it returned his powers.
"I am a hollow." purred Nel. "Am I ugly. Am I evil? Am I a mindless beast?" she queried. Striking a cute pose.
"Err… no. definitely not."
"It is true that in your basic hollow phase you could become a mindless beast but if you push past that you can regain your appearance, your memories and increase your maximum power several times over. It is your choice."
It was one of those rare moments that Kamina had to stop and think carefully about his answer. This was more than a life or death choice. If he wasn't strong enough he would become a monster and seek to hurt his friends.
Nel could sense his deliberation. "If you were to fall then I would end you."
Kamina gazed at his hands as though they were the manifestation of his soul. "So as an overview, if this goes wrong I am dead but if I succeed then I'll become like you."
"Basically, yes."
"So becoming a semi-hollow will increase my badass appeal?"
"Certainly."
Kamina clenched his fist. "I'm in!"
"Are you sure?"
"Who the hell do you think I am! What the mighty Kamina says is exactly what he means and don't ever forget it!"
Nel smiled at his resolve. "Okay. When you become a hollow I'll have taken you to an area where only hollows can enter. Consume all that you can and at the end is a cave that leads to the under forest. By the time you reach it you should have consumed enough to survive down there. There is no grand plan, just eat and keep your will dominant at all times."
"Sure thing. Nothing can outshine my personality so of course I'll be in charge of my own body." Kamina bragged. Nel could tell that he one hundred percent believed himself though.
Nel rose to her feet. "Shall we begin then?" she whispered as she walked towards him. Gently she placed her hands on either side of his face and leant in. Her ample breasts rubbed against his chest as her lips moved towards his. Kamina had no idea what was going on but he wasn't about to complain. An inch away from his face she slowly changed direction, nestling her chin into his neck. She bit down, drawing blood.
The pressure increased and her teeth passed through skin, muscle and artery until she hit bone. Kamina tried to shout out in pain but his throat was no longer working. He felt his blood draining away but also felt a strange energy flowing into his body from the wound. As the new energy spread through his body his limbs began to buckle and his skin felt inflamed. He tried to scream but still nothing came from his mouth but blood. He screamed again, this time without his knowledge, and it pierced the silence with its monstrous tones.
Nel released him and stepped back, wiping the blood from her face. Kamina's body began to deform. He grew, doubling in size quicker than his skin could expand. It tore then re-grew as dark hide covered in blue fur that was sharp to the touch. White liquid frothed from his mouth and quickly coated his face creating a skull where Kamina's face had been. His right hand became a bone blade while his left grew sharp talons. Skin began to flake away on his chest, gradually revealing his new hollow hole.
Nel flicked a small box into his hollow hole. "Good luck, friend of Ichigo." she said before he flashed away.
Kamina viewed the world through glazed eyes. He was inside a large stone corridor that had several passageways. Above him was the open black sky, below him the white sand. The walls were grey and emitted a strange aura which was probably something to do with why only hollows could enter.
He had an unquenchable hunger that wrecked his entire body. It was hard to keep in control of his actions rather than just running to find a meal. The fact that he could smell other hollows nearby made his appetite that much more furious.
A vast shadow appeared in one of the passageways. A gruff, demonic voice began to speak. "I smell fresh meat. Newby hollow aren't you, hahaha."
The hollow rounded the corner. It was a guerrilla like beast with thick limbs rows of spikes covered its hide and its head was like that of a hammerhead shark.
"You smell strong for a newly turned. I will enjoy consuming you. With your power I may just reach menos level. Be glad that you will become a part of the future lord of hollows!"
Kamina punched him in the face with his talon nailed hand. The force sent the other hollow crashing into the wall.
When he opened his mouth all of his urges wanted him to say words such as kill and consume but he grappled for control of himself and managed to say what he wanted in a gravelly voice.
"Don't waste you time talking while your foe is still able to punch you, jackass."
The hollow bellowed in rage and leapt at Kamina, his spikes elongating as he ran. Even as he charged though, Kamina was feeling suddenly gassy. He belched, taking himself by surprise as a red beam flew from his mouth and destroyed his attacker's mask.
Smelling the blood his senses went wild. Unable to control himself he pounced upon the crippled hollow and began to rip through its flesh with his razor like teeth. He could feel that other hollows were coming, drawn by the smell of blood so he quickened his feeding until nothing remained.
"Tastes like chicken!" he growled happily.
He took of at a run choosing his path at random. Several fights were taking place between hollows in the distance which drew Kamina and every other hollow toward them. The primal urges were pulling at him, becoming dominant but his ultimate goal remained clear within his mind.
He followed the strongest reitsu until he came upon five hollows locked in a fierce combat. Without any thoughts he jumped in roaring, levelling the closest monster after grapping its head with his hand and slicing it clean off with his bone blade. As he dodged around the other hollows he snapped his jaws out of place like a snake and ate the decapitated head whole.
A cero hit him in the back but he used the momentum to boost forward and punch a hollow so hard that his fist ripped straight through it. Whipping around he prepared to attack the other three but only one remained.
The last hollow was stood upon the other two's corpses. It was about the size of Kamina and had hairless blood red skin. His mask was plain whitewith no distinctive features except for a single horn on his forehead that ran down his face to his mouth like a big nose blade.
Kamina moved to attack him but the hollow raised its hands. "Whoa there. Chill. Before we rip each other to shreds, I have a proposition for you. Do you know what lies at the end of this maze?"
"A cave to where the strong hollow are." replied Kamina impatiently. He gnawed on his last victim as he waited.
"Yep. Strong as in Menos Grande such as Gillian and Adjuchas. Normal hollows alone aren't enough to take one down but it would take too long to become one ourselves simply by consuming other low level hollow. I say we work together, split the kills and take down a Gillian."
Kamina made a rumbling sound. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"We're hollows, you can't. you just have to go along with it and hope you could kill me if I tried anything. that's the hollow way." stated the other. "They call me Ren, by the way. Short for Render."
"Kamina. I'll trust you but know that I've fought against shinigamii captains and Aizen and still ain't dead yet so you wouldn't stand much of a chance.
"No worries. I can see that you were turned by an arrancar. That automatically makes you an upper end hollow, not to mention you must be skilled to even get one to turn you." pointed out Ren.
"Anyway, this is basically a hollow proving ground. Weak hollows that want to get stronger come here to fight and feed until they ever become strong enough to venture into the under forest or are themselves consumed." explained Ren as they finished off their fallen foes. "I know the way to the cave but a strong hollow is waiting there as he knows that is the best place to prey on stronger hollows. That was the main reason I haven't gone down yet. I'm good, but he's better."
They sped through the strange labyrinth, dispatching any hollows they found in the process. Kamina fed on another six hollows before they reached the open space where the cave stood. Faintly in the back of his head he could hear the voices of all of his meals but he was easily ably to suppress them.
"There he is." remarked Ren, pointing out a beastly hollow stood before the cave entrance
He was an imposing hollow with a birdlike head and turtle shell across his back. Four arms hung at his sides and a thick tail lay on the floor behind him. His skin was grey and resembled sharkskin.
"So how are we gonna do this? We need a plan." asked Ren. Kamina didn't reply though as he had already halved the distance to the hollow. Ren cursed and ran to join him.
The shelled hollow gave them a beaked grin and raised its four arms. Kamina lunged with his blade arm but was easily blocked and punched backwards into Ren. The hollow fired off a cero, hitting the both of them and sending them flying. Both Kamina and Ren retaliated with their own cero but they dissipated against their foe's callous hands.
"Give me some covering fire! I'm going in!" called Kamina as he once again rushed his foe. Ren shot a barrage of cero that forced their opponent to defend against them, leaving his side open to attack. Kamina slashed but the hollow span, its shell blocking Kamina's swing. Ren swooped in to attack the other side but was thrown backward by the numerous arms.
"Give me a boost." Kamina growled after jumping back to avoid the counter attack.
"What?"
"Throw me into the air!"
"You can't be serious."
"Just do it!"
"Fine." sighed Ren. He linked his arms and held them low for Kamina to stand on. With all of his strength he threw Kamina high into the sky. Kamina rained down cero from above. Shell-bird, as Kamina had nicknamed him, lifted his arms above his head in order to protect himself from above.
Ren ran again for the direct attack but Shell-bird seeing this turned his shell to him. He was batted away by the agile tail.
"Blazing head-butt!" roared Kamina as he angled himself into a head first dive. He hit Shell-bird's arms with such force that the hollow's legs buckled. Unable to turn quickly while on his knees he was struck full force in the gut by Ren. A stab through the throat by Kamina finished him.
They chowed down on their defeated enemy and felt his strength flood through their veins. Once finished they took their first steps into the cave. It was a simple and narrow area but descended down a long way. There were no hollows within it though so it was a boring walk.
When they finally emerged out of the other end they found themselves in a huge cavern filled with soaring trees. Everything was gloomy, limiting sight but Kamina could sense hollows all around him. The place was packed with them.
"Now to find a Gillian." muttered Kamina.
"Hmmm. Don't they travel in packs?"
"I dunno. It doesn't matter. You know what they say, the more the merrier!"
"You are crazy."
"Meh, sanity is overrated." answered Kamina, brushing off the insult.
A giant foot interrupted their squabbling. Kamina dived to the side and gazed up to see a skyscraper sized hollow in a long black hooded robe and a very large, pointy nose upon its blank white mask. Kamina had studied them in the academy. It was the lowest level of Menos Grande, the Gillian.
In the twilight between the trees more oversized white feet were visible, indicating a gathering of the mega hollows.
"Well, finding them was easy. How do we take one down though?"
"Leave it to me. Just distract him." said Kamina as he began to clamber up one of the trees that the Gillian was stood beside.
"Distract it! Do you know what will happen if it sees me? A house sized cero, that's what!" shouted Ren. Kamina didn't answer and the Gillian was half way through a step away from Kamina's chosen tree. Cursing loudly Ren fired a cero at the Gillian's face.
It placed its foot back down and turned its head menacingly toward the far smaller form of Ren. An ominous red formed inside the Gillian's mouth. Ren tried to run but it was too late. It fired.
And went wide, blowing up the forest beyond. Ren looked to see Kamina hanging from the Gillian's nose. He had jumped from the tree and grabbed onto the protruding nose, biting down upon it with his gleaming fangs. The Gillian tried to cero him but couldn't get the right angle. Kamina bit down, breaking the tip off.
The Gillian screamed as Kamina bit down again. Raising himself up on his hands he fired a cero point blank in the hollow's eye causing it to reel back. Dislocating his jaw, Kamina took in the entire nose and took the entire thing off. He felt a huge amount of power infuse his body and dove straight into the Gillian's eye socket.
The giant hollow squirmed and pulsed as Kamina consumed it from the inside out. It resisted for a minute then fell to the ground dead. A few more seconds and Kamina re-emerged and finished the hollow's remains.
By this time the other Gillian had fully surrounded them and stared down at them with animalistic eyes. Kamina began to glow, signalling the Gillian to open fire.
Thirty crimson beams shot down at the two minor hollows. There was a huge explosion that set the surrounding forest ablaze. From the flames rose a towering figure of black. As the smoke drifted away, where Kamina had been stood was now another Gillian. It roared and lunged, a mindless and enraged beast. With monster power it began to rip into its fellow menos.
Kamina's mind floated through the abyss. There were so many voices crying out that his own voice was lost in the din. Hundreds of voices merging together to create one mind rending buzzing sound.
Nel had warned him about losing his mind but he had taken in too many hollows in too little time. Everything felt at one, to go against that seemed impossible and unnatural. He tried to be heard but it was useless. His mind was sinking deeper into the sea of lost souls.
Within his own head he heard old voices and phrases, but they were wrong. The loudest of all was the voice of Simon, but it was strong and confident. In a tone that left no room for doubt he spoke: "Don't believe in yourself, believe in me. You always gave me the strength to continue because of your faith in me. Always remember though, we all have faith in you too. Who the hell do you think you are?"
Kamina's eyes shot open. He was in a large black void filled with hundreds of hollows all fighting for control. He stomped into the middle of the horde.
"Hey hey hey hey hey! Listen up bozos. I am the mighty Kamina, leader of Team Dai-Gurren, shinigami extraordinaire and badass hollow. I'm taking charge here, you got that? So much power should only belong to a person of such many fortitude and determination such as myself. Go on, clear off!"
The collective hollows growled violently toward him. He released a burst of powerful spiritual pressure that caused a strong wind through the void. "Just who the hell do you think I am!"
Back in the reality, Ren had dove for cover and watched fearfully as the Gillian that Kamina had become massacred everything around it. It had no control what so ever. Ren cursed as it turned its attention to him. It raised a foot to crush him but stopped as it released a powerful burst of air. The plain white mask morphed as a triangular shade design grew over its eyes.
"Who the hell do you think I am!" it bellowed. It cut down the menos around it with a concentrated cero then grabbed the closest, one arm locking the Gillian's arms while the other covered its mouth.
"Consume him now!" roared the Kamina menos. Ren complied, making short work of the defenceless Gillian
Ren too began to glow and transform. Without wasting time Kamina tied him up with vines while Ren fought for internal dominance. While he waited, Kamina took to eating the littered corpses of his butchered opponents.
"Oi, Kamina! Let me out." came a cry from behind. Kamina turned to see that the tied up Gillian had developed Ren's horn blade. He quickly untied him.
"What now?" asked Ren, picking food from his teeth with a tree.
"Same thing that we do every night, Ren. Try to take over the world!" boomed Kamina.
"What?"
"Sorry, there is a messed up little rat hollow in here with a surprisingly powerful mind. Anyway, all we do is keep eating until we evolve again."
"Sounds like a plan. I sense more Gillian over there." said Ren, pointing out a patch of forest.
And so they gorged on Gillian. Their focused minds made them more than a match for the blank monsters that fought using instinct alone. Considering that Gillian are comprised of hundreds of hollows and Kamina and Ren where consuming dozens of Gillian, their total hollow count skyrocketed.
They spent two entire days gorging on the massive hollow before Kamina began to feel strange. His giant gut began to rumble violently. He screamed out as his entire body convulsed and constricted. Every bit of him began to fold in upon himself. His limbs morphed and shrunk until finally there was a dazzling flash of light.
Kamina stood far below the towering Ren on four paws. Sleek light blue fur coated his entire body. His jaw was filled with razor sharp canines and a white death mask covered his snouted face. He was, for all intensive purposes, a large and powerful alpha wolf.
"A puppy. Seriously?" laughed Ren.
"I'm a wolf, bitch. Get over it." barked Kamina. Personally he quite liked it. Wolves were indeed a very manly and badass animal that had universal appeal.
Another five Gillian down the line and Ren transformed too. He retained his humanoid shape, becoming very similar in shape to his original hollow form except that he now had three horn blades on his head, his claws had grown longer and his plain mask now had war paint markings running along its length.
"Do we take the plunge now?" asked Kamina. He knew that there was another level of hollow but he also knew that there was only less than ten in existence which meant that it would take a very long time to achieve, time being something that Kamina didn't have a lot of. "Shall we take off the masks?"
Ren shook his head. "I don't know about you but I'm aiming for the top. Think about it, Vasto lordes are one of the strongest beings in existence. If we became one we'd have the worlds at our feet."
"I'm not disagreeing with you on that but it could take years. I need to be somewhere as quick as I can be." countered Kamina.
"What would you do if I said that I know of a way to become Vasto Lorde in just a few days tops."
"I'd say your bulling me."
"We became Gillian by consuming a Gillian so surely if we consumed a Vasto Lorde we'd become Vasto Lordes ourselves." explained Ren excitedly.
"You just said yourself that they are supper powerful." pointed out Kamina. He was torn between the urge to return to his friends or the prospect of fighting an insanely powerful opponent.
"The two of us could do it. If we're going to rise to the top then we need to fight those already there. The old arrancar all bit the dust when faced with shinigami. We need to be stronger then them."
Blood lust won out. "I'm in! know where one is?"
"They are solitary creatures but we hollows have places were it is unsafe to go. Its in those places where you can find the Vasto Lordes." said Ren.
"And the closest of those is?"
"The eternal glade here in Menos forest. At the centre there is an open area where none dare to tread. A Vasto Lorde is rumoured to live their and feed off of vast quantities of Gillian."
"One way to find out." commented Kamina as he padded forward.
"Wrong way."
"I knew that."
Six Gillian and an Adjuchas later they arrived unharmed at the edge of the glade. There were no other hollows within a mile of the clearing and a dead silence filled the air. Ren stopped to scout out the area but Kamina just strode straight out into the open. Ren rushed to join him again, cursing his impatience.
The glade was completely bare except for a lone rock at its middle. On this rock sat a skeletal man whose bone armour covered him from head to toe. He had a crown of horns ringing his head. His mask had only a single slot for eyes. Streams of long red hair broke through several sections of bone around the head like water bursting through a damn. Across his back was a massive sword that looked easily capable of cutting a man clean in half.
The Vasto Lorde looked up at them but otherwise showed no sign of movement. Its aura was low and threatening like a cat confronted by a mouse. Being near him made Kamina's head feel like it was full of white noise.
"It is rare that prey finds me." came a whispered voice like rustling paper. "I am due my feeding time. I thank you for your timely appearance."
"Man. Are all Vasto Lorde this creepy?" asked Kamina nonplussed .
"How the hell would I know. They're rare to find and if you happen upon one it's the last thing you'll see." said Ren, watching the creature carefully.
The Vasto Lorde slowly cocked its head to the side and ran a blood red tongue across its teeth. In the blink of an eye he was gone.
Kamina and Ren started. They looked around them frantically but could see no sign of him. Not until his fist suddenly impacted with Kamina's back. He somersaulted through the air then slid across the dirt, gouging a deep trench. Before he had ground to a halt the Vasto Lorde was back before him, grabbing his paw and swinging him into a tree with enough force to shatter the wood.
Ren jumped in to help but was kicked away with violent force. He fired a series of cero to make the Vasto drop Kamina but it didn't seem to notice the impacts. Kamina swivelled his neck and bit at his captor's arm but his teeth wouldn't puncture his steel like skin. He clawed at the Vasto with his remaining three paws but again this did nothing.
The Vasto Lorde leaned in, mouth open to rip into Kamina's throat. Quickly Kamina searched through the fur of his shoulder with his snout and grabbed the small item that was entangled there. It was another of Nemu's exploding devices. He flung it into the Vasto's mouth then braced as it exploded. Kamina was released but the internal explosion only seemed to have shook the hollow lord up rather than actually injure it. It beched a smock ring to mock him.
"Damn it! He's stronger than I thought." growled Kamina. Come on, lets give him all we've got!"
They both charged. Kamina had speed far surpassing normal adjuchas and zipped around the Vasto seeking a week spot. Ren was about to attack the front so Kamina dashed around to attack from behind. The Vasto Lorde leaned backward until its back was fully arched over, grabbed Kamina and used him as a club to smash away Ren.
Kamina used a cero but the Vasto opened its mouth and absorbed the blast. The skeletal hollow clicked its tongue and threw Kamina high into the air and turned to Ren. It dashed forward with blinding speed and attacked with a chop from its hand. Ren blocked but the attack still cut into his arm.
At this point Kamina hit the ground. Cats always land on their feet but unluckily in this instance, Kamina was a canine and so arrived back on earth arse first.
The Vasto attacked again which Ren just managed to block but then attacked immediately after, cutting a section away from Ren's side. The Vasto roundhouse kicked him into Kamina with such force that it broke every rib on the left side of Ren's body.
Kamina ran circles around the Vasto firing a constant stream of cero as he went creating a red ring of death. The Vasto Lorde fired his own cero, obliterating the ground and sending Kamina tumbling amongst the rubble. With both his foes temporarily down, The Vasto slowly approached the prone body of Ren.
Ren tried to turn over but his body was wrecked. He managed to turn his head enough to see the gaping maw descending upon his throat. It bit down, taking a chunk of flesh away with a sharp tug.
Kamina span through the air like a missile and impacted with the Vasto Lorde, knocking it back. His claws glowed red as he began to rip into the greater hollow. He managed to knock the humanoid back and released a blue cero at his face shouting "Shoop da woop!" knocking him back further.
Using this brief moment he went to Ren's side. The hollow was in a bad way, bleeding profusely.
"Damn him. Damn him to hell." coughed Ren. "He consumed a bit of me. That means that I can't evolve any further. That bastard! There is only one way to get stronger now. Raaaaaagghh!"
He grabbed his mask and ripped it off. There was a huge burst of energy the forced Kamina back. As the light died down, a perfectly human shaped being stood before him. His hair was a short, spiky black while his eyes were a piercing blue. He wore loose scraps of white cloth and had a zanpakuto hung at his side. He had a mask fragment on his chin like a goatee while the horn blade still curved over his face.
"This is more like it." the transformed Ren muttered, drawing his sword. "Stay back, Kamina. This is gonna get intense."
He flashed forward, striking the Vasto Lorde into a tree. The Vasto tried to counter but was slashed again sending him bouncing across the floor. Ren fired a powerful cero after him, shredding several trees.
The Vasto jumped back to his feet, the massive sword in his hands now. They traded blows, each scoring several minor hits upon the other. Kamina jumped in, pinning the Vasto's arm long enough for Ren to stab him through the chest. The Vasto shot a cero point blank at them, knocking all three combatants away.
Ren and the Vasto recovered quickest and leapt back into combat. Their blows were furious and their speed staggering. Despite the Vasto's injury it still seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Kamina jumped in again but was hit by the back of the giant sword and crashed to the ground.
"We need to finish this quick." grimaced Ren. "Resurreccion! Blade of the gods!"
His limbs grew thinner and became like blades themselves while large pins grew across his chest and back. His entire body became a weapon.
He fired a salvo of pins toward the Vasto Lorde, each one releasing a cero. Even as he defended against these, Ren blasted forward, all limbs hacking and slashing at the bone coated hollow. He now seemed to have the upper hand.
The Vasto Lorde was fast but he couldn't manoeuvre the massive blade as effectively as Ren could his arms. Kamina stayed back, knowing to charge into the swirling mass of blades was not smart. He sprinted around and began to fire cero at the Vasto's back.
But after cut broke apart the Vasto Lorde's bone armour. He changed his style, wielding his sword in one hand while his now free hand began to swirl with golden energy. As soon as the entire arm was glowing he held it up high above his head. Both Ren and Kamina were pulled forward and up, hitting each other directly above his upheld hand.
The Vasto Lorde clenched his fist, crushing the two other hollow together. He flicked his wrist and they sped off into the forest like a cannon ball, going through trees like they were made from paper. While they were still in the air he hit them repeatedly as though he was playing a giant game of pinball.
Ren fired more pins, buying the both of them enough time to escape. While the Vasto was caught off guard he launched into a new assault scoring several hits before the Vasto fired three cero, one from its mouth and one from each hand. Ren's defence was opened up and the Vasto struck with all of his force, his sword passing straight through Ren's blade imbued body.
There was a splash of blood as Ren fell to the ground. He hit it with two distinct thuds. He had landed either side of Kamina, his chest upwards to the right, the stomach and legs to the left.
"S-still not enough…" he rasped. "I expected more from m-mysel-f. Why? I wanted so much…more." His eyes were becoming glazed. "Kamina… consume me. Use me. Kick his ass and fulfil both our dreams!"
"Damn it all!" screamed Kamina. "Hang on in there. I'll wipe the floor with him then I'll get you straight to the best medic in the world, she'll fix you up."
"I'm on borrowed time already." choked Ren. "If you don't consume me then he will." his eyes became unfocussed and the tone of his voice changed." I worked so hard…to try and get my body back…so that I could return to my love. It was all for nothing. I'll never see her again." tears rolled down his blood soaked face. "Let me live on inside you, please!"
Kamina closed his eyes. "Okay. Rest easy. I won't let your death be in vain."
"Thank…you…"
Kamina quickly consumed him, taking all of his vast power. A red aura like flames erupted around his body. "This ends now!" he barked at the Vasto Lorde.
The Vasto charged forward and swung. Kamina caught the blade in his teeth. While the Vasto struggled against him he fired two cero from his eyes, tossing skeletor into a tree, his blade still in Kamina's mouth. He threw the sword away and charged with all the speed that his four legs allowed. Head first he barrelled into the Vasto, ripping into it with tooth and claw.
The humanoid hollow shoved him away but Kamina ran backwards and forwards, smashing into him with every pass. The Vasto tried to release a cero but Kamina fired one first straight at his oponant's mouth, causing both cero to explode in his bony face. As his foe staggered back, Kamina locked his jaws tightly over the Vasto's head and proceeded to repeatedly cero him at point blank range. When his mask was suitably smashed up, Kamina chomped down, completely crushing the skull. He savoured this meal.
Kamina started to feel his body change again. "Soon." he said softly. "I'll be back, and that bastard Aizen won't know what hit him." with these words spoke, he embraced his transformation.
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A/N: Dear lord that was a long chapter. Sorry about the delay, I missed a day or writing by going to see Harry Potter on a week where my chapter was double its usual size. I've been working none stop so hope you guys don't mind the extra day's wait.
Winner of this week's Omake was Shade the Bat. So Mr Shade, just tell me if you want it through email, PM or as a chapter of this story.
Not much to say this week, my fingers ache so can't be doing with additional typing. Hope you all enjoyed. Please review or PM me. Until next week
-FWF