Hollow King – chapter twenty three

You wake up at Las Noches

Tite Kubo owns bleach

Gondra staggered to his feet. Even though he was a hollow for only a small period of time, he had gotten used to that form. Being humanoid again felt strange and nostalgic to him.

"Good work finding this one, Szayel Aporro. He will be a worthy contribution to my army and to your research." the man in white with slicked back brown hair stated in a calm but ere tone.

"You praise me, Aizen-Sama." Szayel said with a bow.

"Hey Grantz." Gondra growled as he balled his right fist.

"Yes?"

"Lets see you grit those teeth!" SLAM! As soon as Szayel looked up, Gondra belted him in the face with a fierce right hook. The mad scientist flew backwards and hit a wall. He had a mad look on his face as his body shattered like glass and then evaporated like mist.

"My, that looked like a good punch." the man stated from behind Gondra.

Gondra spun around to see Grantz standing next to his leader. Aizen had his zanpakuto drawn and pointing downwards.

"Thank you Aizen-Sama. I'm sure that would have been quite painful if you hadn't intervened. Your zanpakuto is truly a marvel to behold." the pink haired man kept laying on compliment after compliment.

"Yes. Kyoka Suigetsu has never failed me." Aizen stated as he sheathed his sword.

"Come on! I'll take you all on! This ain't the first time I've fought naked!" Gondra ranted.

"Shoot to kill. Shinso." a calm and creepy voice called out as a blade shot out of the darkness and stopped a millimeter from Gondra's throat stopping him in his tracks.

"As you have yet to notice, if we wished to fight you, you would already be dead." Aizen stated in a calm voice.

Gondra looked to his left in the direction of the blade to find a man with short silver hair and squinty eyes that made him look like a fox or snake. "You should go put something on." the man chimed.

After the man withdrew his blade, a small nonthreatening arrancar dressed in a green outfit with half a skull on her timid face lead Gondra to a room off to the side.

"Please get dressed. I will show you your quarters when you are done." she stated with a bow before leaving.

After the door closed, Gondra scanned the room. On one side there was a large wardrobe, full of all sorts of outfits. A full length mirror was hanging from a wall on the other side of the room. After quickly slipping on a pair of white boxers, Gondra thought to himself. "Guess this is what all arrancar think about when there first created. What do I look like and where are some damn clothes."

His steps still unsteady, Gondra walked over to the mirror. He was shocked at first but then fascinated at what he had become. He was now cadaver pale with natural blackened nails and eyes. What was left of his mask was most of an eye socket with a horn jetting up into his hair, which was now smog gray, and spiky with natural light gray highlights. The mask fragment also covered his left eyebrow, half his forehead and part of his cheek with jagged edges. He then noticed that his left ear had several slivers of bone looped through it. Another part of the fragment he guessed. He looked to the other side of his face noticing several cobalt blue diamond eye marks under his right eye. His eyes where now a jade green with dragon like slits. The mixture of his old sky blue and amber hollow irises he supposed. And last he looked down at his chest. There was a medium sized hollow hole on his left pectoral, where his heart should be. He looked closer, noticing the edge of something sticking out. He reached in and withdrew a familiar looking photograph. It was of him and Isane on there first date. He remembered hiding it under one of his armor like scales when he turned into a hollow. He couldn't believe he still had it.

"Even now, she's close to my heart." he mused. The picture was the only thing that was connecting him to his past life as a shinigami. That black marble along with Aizen had warped him physically and mentally, fusing his mind completely with Tyler's. It was like mixing two different colors of paint to make a new one. He was starting to enjoy not hearing Tyler's shrill cackle in the back of his mind. But Gondra knew that the mad hollow was now a complete part of him. It made him feel more crazy than before and filled him with confidence. Tyler Durden. That was the name he had almost said to Aizen, but his own personality seemed to be the dominant one.

When he grinned at his thought he noticed another new and disturbing aspect of his new look, his teeth. In place of his normal human teeth where triangular shaped dragon fangs. When he grinned it reminded him of a zipper, or a simple zigzag shape.

After he had enough with looking over himself, Gondra turned to the wardrobe. He scanned his selection, rather pissed off they didn't offer more black. Gondra decided to dress his style with a pair of white cargo pants with black pockets and cuffs with a white army belt looped through them, a white muscle shirt with black trim and a black hollow skull logo emblazon on the front. He noted that the shirt clung tightly to his chest and revealed the edges of his hollow hole. He then selected a pair of standard issue arrancar boots and a white forties German army style trench coat that had been modified with a hood and black trim. He thought it was most appropriate, after all he wasn't with his allies anymore. He was apart of axis. He placed the photograph securely in one of the inner pockets of the coat.

Something in his mind caused him to turn his attention to the corner of the room by the door. There propped against the wall was a large dark gray blade and sheath just waiting for him. He noted right away that it was Tyler's old blade, the one he would use in there countless sparring matches. Now it was his he supposed as he walked over to it, picking it up. From far away it looked like a large straight edged katana but under closer inspection it was much to wide to be such. Unsheathing it Gondra gazed at the silver blade. Noticing the rectangular holes along the flat edge, obviously there to reduce weight. It resembled the kind of sword an anti hero would have in an anime or video game, only thinner. Looking over the blade, a name pulsed in his mind: Hexagram. This was what was left of Tyler; a fierce blade with palpable killing intent. With an exited yet somewhat melancholy grin. Gondra sheathed the blade placing it through the adjustable straps on the back of his trench coat and turned towards the door.

"Hey, Girl! I'm ready." he called out.

XXXXX

The small arrancar lead Gondra down the long halls and flights of stairs of Las Noches. All the white walls reminded him of an insane asylum. The girl stopped at a door in the middle of the hall and opened it.

"This is your room for now. Please make yourself at home." the girl said with a bow and left.

Gondra interred the room and sat on the bed. He lazily scanned his surroundings. The room was as spartan as it could be with a small bed, window, and bathroom. "I bet it doesn't even have a shower." he groaned. With a yawn he threw off his trench coat and tried to sleep. It was easier than he thought it would be. His dreams were filled with broken memories like shattered glass. He couldn't even recognize half of them. Gondra wasn't sure if he was asleep for minutes or days, trying his damnedest to peace together his shattered past. The only face he could remember was his and that girl's. Isane. The others were slowly coming back to him but not fast enough. Gondra shot up in bed, awake when he heard a loud knock at the door. He threw on his trench coat and opened the door to find a strange looking arrancar with golden rings around his neck, connected to a large white helmet. He was wearing a frilly gown like robe that clung to him tightly and a pair of gentleman's gloves.

"Who are you?" Gondra asked, wondering what was behind that large mask making these under watter bubbling noises.

"My name is Aaroniero Arruruerie. Espada number nine." the strange figure stated in two different voices, the first low and demonic and the second high pitched and child like. Both voices were creepy as hell and accompanied by that underwater bubbling sound.

"Man, his head sounds like a bong." Gondra thought to himself before asking. "And what does an Espada want with me?"

"I came here to collect you for a meeting. I was given the task of broadcasting the information to all low ranking arrancar but it seems that your dreams wouldn't allow me access. Quite peculiar indeed." Aaroniero explained.

"Understood. Where is the meeting?" Gondra asked.

"You are new here and don't know your way around yet. So, I will lead the way." Aaroniero stated as he began to walk down the hall. Gondra followed him.

Aaroniero stopped when he reached a large room and gestured for Gondra to enter. Gondra walked past the Espada and turned around to thank him but he was already gone. Vanished without a trace. Gondra blinked several times then shrugged and entered the room. There had to be about twenty or thirty other arrancar in that room. Most of them with vary low spiritual pressure.

Gondra lazily scanned over them as he pushed through the croud. A flash of fire grabbed his attention. Not fire really, it just looked that way. "It's her hair." Gondra thought to himself as he scanned this certain female arrancar up and down. Her hair was blood red with yellow streaks and orange highlights, her skin was slightly more tan then most of the other arrancar he had seen. Her outfit also caught his attention. She was wearing a standard issue arrancar hakama that had been torn into a mini skirt. He feet were strapped into a high heal variation of arrancar boots. A low cut white halter top revealed some nice cleavage and a hollow hole in the center. Her mask fragment was a bone chocker around her neck. Something about her appearance reminded Gondra of Sunaryu. When Gondra's reached her face, she turned abruptly to look at him.

"What the hell are you looking at?" she shouted. The flame headed arrancar walked over to Gondra and got up in his face. "Well?"

Gondra noticed that she had two different colored eyes. One blue and one green. "Take it easy woman. You just remind me of someone. That, and I like your hair." Gondra said openly. Displaying his saw toothed grin.

The girl blushed before asking, "What's wrong with your teeth?"

"Want to find out?" Gondra asked, licking the top row.

"Go fuck yourself!" the girl retorted. "Do you even know why we're here?"

"Fuck if I know. I was just created so I don't know half of whats going on."

"What number are you?" she asked.

"Arrancar number 87. Gondra Durden. You?"

"Arrancar number 69. Aiona Grantz." The girl answered.

"Grantz! Your that scientist's little sister! Aren't you?" Gondra asked.

"Yeah. So what?" Aiona answered with a scowl on her face.

Just then a familiar looking figure stepped out to an upper balcony and looked over the crowd. It was the wiry lean arrancar with the shock of blue hair and a mask fragment of teeth on the right side of his face.

"Alright you maggots! Aizen has given me permission to weed out the useless lot of you that serve no purpose other than to take up space. I, the sixth Espada command you all to fight to the death. Just to make it interesting, the few of you that are left will have the great honor of becoming my fraccion." the blue haired man ordered with a cocky grin.

"Who the hell's that?" Gondra asked.

"That's Grimmjow Jagerjaques, he's been real cocky lately since getting his arm back from that human girl and killing Luppi to regain his rank." Aiona growled. Apparently she didn't like him too much.

"Human girl? Could she mean Orihime?" Gondra thought.

"Quit standing around and fuckin' fight!" Grimmjow ordered.

Just then a rather large arrancar tried to blindside Gondra with a fierce punch to the side of his head. Un-fazed Gondra turned around to look at his attacker. With a mad grin, he latched his hand onto the arrancar's face and blasted his head off with a cero. That got things rolling. Countless battles erupted throughout the room. Gondra blocked a spin kick directed at his head by Aiona and grabbed her by the hand.

"Lets team up!" Gondra shouted as he started to spin around.

Aiona got the message and delivered bone shattering kicks to all the arrancar in proximity to her and Gondra in a massive windmill attack. Gondra let go, causing her to fly straight forward and smash through an arrancar's ribcage. She landed on her feet and drew a large metal fan from behind her back. With a flick of her wrist she unfolded it, revealing a razor sharp edge. Gondra grinned and unsheathed the large sword form behind his back.

"That's one hell of a blade. You compensating for something?" Aiona asked mockingly as she used her fan to slit the throat of an attacking arrancar.

"I ain't compensating for shit!" Gondra fired back as he channeled his reatsu into the blade sliced the massive cleaver through the air, a blade of spiritual pressure shot from the cleaver and decapitated several enemies in the process. An arrancar that ducked, lunged forward and thrusted his blade at Gondra's chest. Gondra grabbed the blade right before it punctured his skin and smashed his cleaver over the arrancar's head. He then heard a large group of arrancar call out there sword's names and take on there resereccion forms.

"Maybe we should do that." Aiona suggested.

"Ladies first." Gondra said back.

"Alright fine. Sway! Espantapajaros!" Aiona shouted. Causing her entire form to be shrouded in mist. Gondra could hear the rattling of chains as the fog subsided. Her release form was disturbing and sexy at the same time. Aiona was now clad in a black and white bikini with spiked knee high boots. And elbow length gloves/ Chains were wrapped around her waist arms and legs and she had stitch like markings all over her body, including one on each side of her mouth. Her hair now looked like it was truly on fire and her bone chocker was now spiked with teeth. She spun around causing some of the chains to unwind and slice through hordes of enemies with the hooks on the ends of them.

"Alright. Guess that means its my turn." Gondra stated as he leaned his sword on his right shoulder. "Shoot down the sky. Hexagram!" he roared. Instead of his sword vanishing, it exploded, shrouding him in a silver smoke. Gondra could feel his boots and trench coat disappearing and being replaced with his dragon parts. When the smoke cleared, there he stood. His feet now a set of dragon claws, his back, neck and sides encased in scale like armor that seemed to click into place over his muscle shirt. A pair of bladed gun barrel wings and a spiked tail were now attached to his back, his arms now were dragonified and his mask fragment had miraged over his face to form a horned visor with partial eye sockets. Several arrancar tried to team up and attack him, but he just spun his bladed wings around like they were mechanical, shredding the arrancar into tiny bits. Another wave came at him only to be pummeled by Gondra's armored arms. He realized that he could vibrate the scales on his arms and use them like chain saws.

Gondra spread his wings in took to the air burning every arrancar he flew over with another attack he just learned he could use. A fire blast he called Encendido Cero. "Aiona. I suggest you get the hell up here!" Gondra barked out.

Aiona shot one of her hooks into the sealing and retracted the chain to zip-line up to where Gondra was. "What are you gunna' do?" she asked.

"A special attack I've never tried before." Gondra stated as he aimed the gun barrels of his wings at the remaining arrancar on the ground. "Genocidio!" Gondra roared as he fired hundreds of explosive rounds from his wings in rapid succession at the few remaining foes on the ground, carpet bombing the entire area. When the smoke and debris cleared not a single enemy was left standing.

Gondra and Aiona landed on the ground and deactivated there release modes. Gondra was breathing heavily and looked drained. He wasn't used to his new powers yet. When the two arrancar looked up at the balcony Grimmjow stood there with his arms folded and the slight look of surprise on his face.

"Good job kids. It looks like the two of you are my fraccion now." he announced with a grin.

"Isane... if you could see me now, what would you think of me?" Gondra asked himself.

XXXXX

Isane paused for a second. She felt something familiar.

"Stupid girl! I told you not to let your guard down!" Kenpachi roared as he came at her with his blade. Isane was barely able to block the attack and was sent flying backwards. When she landed on the ground with a thud, she looked up to see Kenpachi sheath his sword and approach her.

"Whats the deal? You spaced out there for a second." Kenpachi asked as he held his hand out.

"I... I thought I felt Gondra's presence. Like he was with me for a moment." Isane explained.

Kenpachi grinned. "He's probably thinking of you right now. I'm sure of one thing though."

"What's that, Captain Zaraki?" Isane asked as Kenpachi pulled her up.

"I bet hes gotten himself into one hell of a fight." Kenpachi said with pride, looking at the clouds. "You ready to go another round?" he asked.

"I think so." Isane replied with a nod.

"Alright! Just remember that I have trouble holding back." Kenpachi said with bravado as he stepped back a few feet and drew his sword.

Okay. Thats chapter 23 I hope you all liked it. I put a little something in it for everyone, thanks to the great comments I've been getting. BTW GokuSS400 is my beta for this fic now too. Nothing against Rinda, I just can get the chapters to you guys faster this way. If you guys prefer quality over quantity, let me know so I can go crawling back to her lol. Oh! And pleas leave me lots of reviews. They help my write faster.

Two things I'd like to add. one and most importantly, I hurt Rinda's feelings when i Uploaded this chapter and I am sorry for that. Gomen na sai Rin-Chan! the other thing is that I created a new forum that I'd love all of you to use.

Sandragon Out.