The crawl to greatness (part 5)
A/N: (A really late) Merry Christmas! This chapter took some time to write, but we are finally on the last chapter of "The crawl to greatness", so enjoy! Also (a really early) Happy New Year!
-Hueco Mundo, Barragan's base-
Barragan felt ready. Two days had passed since his fight against Rarox, and he had spent those days preparing for the eventual fight against the Guardian of the Forest. He had been working on trying to effectively order around his army of now 170 Gillians, along with his five original Gillians, and at the same time, working on his Reiatsu sensing skills, so Barragan could find the Guardian's base. He could now control his Gillians almost as well as Rarox could, and his Gillians had started to look like a real army.
Barragan had also been working on a plan to defeat the Guardian and his forces. Barragan figured that due to the more instinctual behaviour of normal Hollows victory would be assured if he could take down the leader, so the main focus of the plan was to isolate the Guardian from his army, and then take him out swiftly.
Barragan stood up from the rock he had been sitting on, and then shouted an order to his Gillians to stand by. Barragan re-recounted his Gillians, and thought over the second part of his plan.
In order for Barragan to seperate the Guardian from his army, he had to use a decoy, which was his army. Barragan would split his army in two, and then send one part into the open and lure away the Guardian's army with hit-and-run tactics, all while the other part of the army would move in and guard the base, and fend off any incoming attackers. The bait army would slowly loop around and eventually end up back at the base where the entire army would fight against the enemy. Barragan would later arrive after he had defeated the Guardian do clean-up, taking care of the remaining forces accordingly.
For the Guardian, Barragan had another plan. He would catch the isolated Guardian by surprise, get off a Cero Decaimiento and drag on the battle and win via the decay effect from the Cero.
Barragan rounded up his Gillians, and started marching towards the Guardian's base, confident that he could win, and take the old Guardian's place as ruler of the Forest.
-Hueco Mundo, Outside of the Guardian's base-
Barragan and his army had marched for almost the entire day, and surprisingly not encountering many Hollows on the way, except for a small herd of Gillians which were all consumed by his army. Barragan had already split his army in two, the bait army and other army in position.
Barragan was scouting out the Guardian's base, trying to see what he was up against.
"That's a lot less than what I was expecting." Barragan thought, confused at why there were so few Hollows.
The Guardian of the Forest's base was built into a large cliff, with a large and open cave that opened up into a large cavern, and had many smaller outcroppings. Standing in the middle of the base were the Gillians, which numbered around two hundred, shuffling around absently, waiting for orders.
Scattered around the base were many lesser Hollows, countless in number, and mostly doing random things, but visibly stayed away from the Gillians. Barragan then realized something.
"In all of my time down here in the Forest, I haven't once seen a lesser Hollow." Barragan stood there and thought about it, but then came to a logical conclusion. "You can visibly see the Hollows avoiding the Gillians, and since I've only been a Gillian and Adjucha, they ignore me, as someone higher up on the food chain."
Barragan shook himself out of his musings, and looked for the most dangerous factor in the beginning stages of his plan, the Adjuchas commanders. Barragan looked around the base multiple times, not finding them, but then saw them in an outcropping in the cliff, seven of them sitting around a table and eating a Hollow. There were another three Adjuchas, which were in seperate outcroppings doing miscellaneous things.
Barragan turned away and quietly Sonido'ed back, feeling ready to start the attack.
Barragan was with the bait army, who he would give orders to fire their Ceros simultaneously at the enemy, and then run away. After they had done that and the enemy was far enough away, Barragan and the second army would move in and take over the base, leaving the Guardian alone. In the bait army were Barragan five oldest and strongest Gillians, just to give it some extra power.
Barragan gave the orders as quietly as he could to the bait army, and quickly Sonido'ed away to the second army, which was lying in wait further away.
Barragan saw as his Gillians stampeded out into the clearing, wildly shooting their Ceros at anything that moved, and then after they had fired, they turned tail and ran. Their suicide mission had started.
the enemy Hollows in the base were caught completely off guard by the attack, but wasted no time furiously running after the Gillian army, the Adjuchas giving the orders to give chase. They ran off in the direction of the bait army, and Barragan could faintly hear the firing of Ceros and Hollows roaring in the distance.
Barragan waited for half a minute after the army had given chase, and then started to move in with his army, giving the order to move out and guard the main entrances and clearing.
Barragan walked into the main entrance, entering into a large and very open cave, with high ceilings that arched like a cathedral's. He walked in further, looking for the Guardian, when suddenly, two figures charged at him from his sides.
Barragan Sonido'ed away to safety, dodging both of the enemies attacks, and looked at the Hollows who had attacked. They were Adjuchas, and resembled stag beetles, with huge pincers and four arms each. They each looked similar, their major difference being color, one being a deep and dark purple and the other being a dark navy blue. They hissed at Barragan.
"What are you doing here, Adjucha?" The blue one asked, its voice filled with hostility.
"I'm here to kill the Guardian and take his place, of course." Barragan answered simply, to which both Hollows chuckled.
"Many Hollows have said that, but the Guardian is still breathing, so I doubt that you'll defeat him, Adjucha." The purple one said this time.
"I didn't come here to talk," Barragan said, getting ready to fight. "So let's do this!" Barragan lept forward, going for the purple Adjucha first.
Barragan slashed but hit only air, and looked up to see the stag Adjucha flying, a pair of wings buzzing loudly. Barragan didn't have time to think about the purple Adjucha, as the blue one was already on him, charging Barragan with its huge pincers and running on its four arms and two legs like a six-legged bull. Barragan couldn't dodge the attack in time and tried to block the attack with his axes, which sent him flying back but protected him from any damage.
Barragan suddenly felt a rush of wind behind him, and barely managed to duck under the swooping attack of the flying stag Hollow, which would have gored Barragan. Barragan jumped after the Hollow, trying to chop off its wings, but only managed to slightly cut its leg. When Barragan landed the blue Adjucha was already on him, but Barragan was getting already getting used to their attacks.
The back and forth exchanges continued, with Barragan being able to block all of the blue Adjuchas attacks without much difficulty, and could dodge the purple Adjuchas large and fast swooping attacks. All the while Barragan was slowly chipping away at the blue Adjucha, who kept on getting more tired and injured.
The blue Adjucha let out a roar of frustration and launched an attack on Barragan, who again blocked all of its attacks. The pruple Adjucha flew in from the side, but Barragan predicted this, sidestepping the attack and slicing its pincers clean off in the middle of its attack.
The purple Adjucha looked in shock at its now severed pincers, and yelled a wild roar of anger, swooping down into Barragan and taking the axe that Barragan had swung into its torso, cutting deeply into its stomach, but not caring.
It stood there furiously punching Barragan in a suicide attack of rage, landing hit after hit on Barragan, cracking his armor in multiple places. It kept on attacking, but was abruptly stopped when Barragan regained his composure and decapitated the Adjucha with his axe, its body promptly slumping down on the floor, the life leaving the Hollow's eyes.
Barragan stumbled backwards, feeling the effects of the purple Adjuchas onslaught. However, the blue Hollow wasted no time in continuing where their comrade left off, launching a second volley of punches on Barragan, who could barely defend the numerous incoming attacks.
Barragan took the attacks for some time, but then saw an opportunity, delivering an unexpected roundhouse kick to the Adjuchas side, pushing them back slightly. Barragan Sonido'ed away immediately, and started charging up a Cero.
The Adjucha started stampeding towards Barragan the second it saw Barragan charging a Cero, but Barragan easily sidestepped the incoming charge and blasted the Cero point-blank into the Adjuchas head, vaporizing their upper body, the rest of their body falling to the ground limply.
Barragan stood there, taking a moments breath after the battle.
"I've never fought two opponents at once like this," Barragan thought. "It took me a while to get used to their attacks, and I didn't anticipate a battle right before the Guardian, so this is a bad situation." Barragan looked at his injuries, mostly damage to his abdomen and arm armor, with bruises visible on the unarmored parts. His axes had also sustained some slight damage, mostly scratches from blocking the blue stag Adjuchas many attacks. "But nevertheless, I must go on, half of my army is on a suicide mission, I need to take out the Guardian now!" Barragan thought, looking around for where the Guardian could be.
Before leaving again, but Barragan ate some of the blue Adjuchas corpse, just so Barragan could regain some energy and heal some of his injuries before the coming battle.
Barragan continued looking for the Guardian, using his Reiatsu sense to try and find him, and then found his Reiatsu signature without much issue, being deep in the base. Barragan headed off towards the Guardian's signature, preparing himself ready to fight the Guardian.
Barragan didn't encounter any more heavy opposition, except for the occasional lesser Hollow here and there standing guard, which were easily taken out by Barragan. After walking for a little while longer he arrived outside of the Guardian's chambers. The entrance wasn't anything impressive, just a large hide covering a doorway into the chambers.
Barragan took a deep breath, and stepped into the chambers, where he saw the Guardian sitting at a stone table, seemingly waiting for Barragan.
"So, you've arrived," The Guardian said, his voice ringing outwards in the abnormally large room. "I've been expecting you, and I already know what you're here for, but before we begin, let us talk." The Guardian said.
"Talk?" Barragan asked, his axes up and ready to slice. "I've come here to fight, not talk!" The Guardian tittered. "You'll get your fight, Adjucha, but I simply wish to talk with you." The Guardian gave Barragan an ice-cold look. "Were you the one who killed Rarox?"
Barragan hesitated. "Yes, Rarox died by my hand in battle, and I claimed his army for my own." The Guardian sighed. "It was a futile hope then, I had a feeling that you were the one who killed him, since your description matches the one we were looking to recruit." The Guardian paused. "At least he died an honorable death in battle. He was always a stickler for pride and honor, but ironically looked down on those beneath him." The Guardian said, mostly to himself. "It's kind of depressing, isn't it, Adjucha?" The Guardian asked Barragan. "Everyone, Amazon, Becunes, Rarox, Leroi and Zeroi, and Parateraul indirectly have all fallen by my enemies hands."
"Who were they? Your Adjucha generals?" Barragan asked. The Guardian nodded. "Yes," He responded. "Becunes and Amazon were directly killed by Soul Reaper invaders that were heading to Las Noches, together with Ashido, another Soul Reaper who had been here for hundreds of years." The Guardian continued. "I was nearly killed, but Parateraul who survived found me, and I ate him to heal my injuries." Barragan nodded. "I know that I killed Rarox, and were the two stag beetle Adjuchas I fought earlier Leroi and Zeroi?" Barragan asked.
The Guardian nodded solemnly. "Yes they were, some of the last competent Adjuchas I had left, and they died." The Guardian stood up from his seat at the table. "You see, when the Soul Reapers came through here I lost around half of my fighting forces due to them dying or deserting, and I myself have decreased in power from almost dying, which the others don't know." The Guardian pointed at Barragan. "You are strong though, so when I defeat and eat you, I will be have regained my former strength and become stronger, which means that I can restrengthen my rule, and kill that damned rat Ashido."
"But, before we fight, let us exchange names." The Guardian said. "I still wish to remember you, mostly for Rarox's sake."
"My name is Barragan Louisenbairn, and yours?" Barragan asked, to which the Guardian exploded with laughter. "Barragan!? I guess I can see the resemblance to him, you both being skeletal in appearance, but he died months ago with Aizen and the Espada! What are you, his reincarnation?!" The Guardian laughed again, and then clamed down. "I jest, but anyways, my name is Teres, Teres Holcan, pleased to make your acquaintance."
Barragan brandished his axes and Holcan extended his long tail, both getting ready to fight. "So, let's begin!" They said simultaneously.
Barragan immediately started to chrage up a Cero Decaimiento, following his plan. He didn't get very far though, since Holcan launched his tail at Barragan like a long whip, interrupting the charge. Barragan dodged backwards, but Holcan didn't let up, withdrawing and throwing his tail again in a large swing. The onslaught continued, Holcan's goal to seemingly not let Barragan get off a Cero Decaimiento.
"This plan isn't going to work," Barragan thought as he jumped over another one of Holcan's attacks. "I can't get off a Cero Decaimiento, or even a normal Cero with that damn tail in the way! I need to get rid of it first." Holcan launched his tail again, but instead of dodging it, Barragan jumped over it and sliced at the tail, trying to cut it off.
Barragan swung with both off his axes, leaving a two deep cuts in the tail, but not severing it. Suddenly, spines exploded outwards from the tail, catching Barragan completely off guard. Barragan tried to Sonido away, but not before one of the spines completely pierce through his left arm, the rest luckily bouncing off of Barragan's armor.
Barragan appeared some distance away, but Holcan was already attacking again, throwing his tail even faster and harder, his tail seemingly extending endlessly to attack Barragan. Barragan, surprised by the speed was hit directly by Holcan's tail, flying back into the wall. Barragan quickly recovered and got out of the way of the next attack, and suddenly started to charge up a Cero.
Holcan, seeing this, Sonido'ed to Barragan in order to hit him faster with his tail. Barragan managed to dodge the incoming attacks, and then blasted a Cero directly at Holcan's tail, blowing off half of the tail.
Barragan gestured with his axes to the severed tail. "Now your tail is gone, and your head is next!" Barragan suddenly pounced on Holcan, forgetting his plan and trying to hack away at Holcan. Holcan calmly readied his claws, and started to defend against the frenzied Barragan's attacks. Holcan wasn't a close quarters fighter, and was more used to fighting with his tail, so Barragan managed to get off some hits, but only small cuts.
Barragan suddenly realized that he had gone against his plan, and Sonid'ed away from Holcan in order to charge up a Cero Decaimiento. Holcan, seeing this, sent out the remainder of his tail that was healing in order to block the attack. Barragan shot the Cero Decaimiento, and Holcan extended his spines in order to further cushion the blow. The Cero hit, and when the smoke cleared Holcan's tail was almost completely gone, except for a meter or two of tail left, which was decaying. Holcan looked down at his decaying tail and swiftly chopped the rest of it off, and suddenly Sonido'ed towards Barragan.
Barragan blocked the incoming slash from Holcan, but was now on the defensive trying to block all of the slashes and stabs from Holcan. He noticed that his axes were starting to chip and get worn down from the many blocks from the previous and current fights, but Barragan suddenly saw an opening, and quickly Sonido'ed away, charging up another Cero.
Holcan couldn't interrupt it in time, and Barragan managed to hit Holcan with a point-blank Cero. Barragan relaxed, certain that he had defeated Holcan with the Cero, but suddenly Holcan dashed out of the smoke towards Barragan, and launched a brutal onslaught of attacks. Holcan had lost his entire right arm, and the right side of his body was badly burnt from blocking the Cero.
Attack after attack hit the unprepared Barragan, who could barely block the many incoming attacks due to his axes being chipped, and the damage to his body was getting worse and worse, as large gashes ripped past his armor and into his skin, leaving him a bleeding mess. Barragan was also completely exhausted, both physically and with his Spiritual Pressure, which was dangerously low from two fights in a row.
Barragan tried to block and dodge as many hits as possible, but Holcan kept on attacking ruthlessly. Suddenly, Holcan pulled back for a large slash, and Barragan saw his chance. He swung his broken axes with all of the strength he had left at Holcan's neck, determined to sever his head. Holcan ducked under the swing, almost anticipating the attack, and launched a powerful slash upwards, completely severing Barragan hands.
Barragan stumbled backwards, looking down at his axe-hands laying on the stone ground, dead and unmoving in shock. Barragan looked up at the completely calm Holcan, who had his arm blown off and his tail severed, and roared, trying to charge up a Cero from his mouth. Barragan barely managed to start charging the Cero, before Holcan appeared and backhanded him straight into the ground.
Barragan felt his skull crack and all of his ribs under the shattered armor break from the impact. Barragan wheezed, rolling onto his back, struggling to breathe from his ribs penetrating his lungs. Barragan's arms laid by his side, bruised and bloody from all of the tail and slash attacks they blocked.
Barragan looked weakly up at the approaching Holcan, who was limping towards Barragan and sat down besides Barragan, breathing heavily.
"A hard fought battle, Barragan." Holcan said. "You fought well, the only one to push me to the brink like this was Ashido, and even he couldn't land the killing blow." Barragan still laid on the ground, trying to say something but only being able to wheeze, and cough up the blood from his lungs. Holcan looked down at Barragan. "You managed to defeat three of my strongest Adjucha comrades, and I respect your strength in battle, but this is the end for you."
Holcan stood up, getting ready to kill Barragan. Barragan said nothing, still laying limply on the ground like a puppet with his strings cut.
Barragan could barely even see anymore, and was slowly falling into unconsciousness from his injuries, but fighting furiously to stay conscious.
"Come on!" Barragan thought, trying to think of a way out of this situation. "There has to be some way out of this! Hey! Voice inside of me! Please, do something!" Barragan thought desperately. "Please, I don't want to die!" Barragan suddenly remembered the attack that defeated Rarox. "If I can get off that attack, I win! Come on, I just need to swing my... axes" Barragan thought, and remembered his severed hands.
Everything started to go fuzzy, and Barragan could barely think straight anymore. "Everything hurts, it hurts so bad... Edvairn... Arrogante... I don't see a way out of this... I'm sorry." Barragan resigned himself to his fate, accepting his coming death.
Suddenly, Barragan felt a crash and impact in front of him, shocking him slightly out of his stupor.
Barragan looked up and squinted, trying to look at what was happening, and could see five figures in front of him, which he could roughly make out.
They seemed to be standing in a row, putting themselves in between Holcan and Barragan. They said something, but Barragan couldn't hear anything.
Barragan tried to make out their figures, and could roughly see them. The one that had talked seemed to be an Adjucha, with a thick layer of skin-like bandages wrapped around its body. Its mask was unusual, in the style of an Egyptian pharaohs mask. Barragan looked at the one next to the mummy-like Adjucha. This Adjucha was larger, and on four legs, with extremely long claws on its forelegs, almost the size of spears. Its skin was a bright green, and its mask looked like a chameleons face.
The Adjuchas suddenly started to fight against the weakened Holcan, making it harder for Barragan to see the Adjuchas clearly. Barragan managed to make out the other three. There was one that was very humanoid, but of course Adjuchas sized. Its skin a dull yellow, with a only a white loincloth covering its groin. Its mask was ornate, in the style of an Aztec jaguar mask, and it was brutally attacking Holcan with only its fists. The next one was a smaller Adjucha, and had an extremely long tail like Holcan, but it was thinner, and seemed to have a large spiked ball on the end, almost like an oversized flail. The Hollow was lightly armored, with leather-like skin covering the extremities and most important parts. Its mask looked like a classical theatre mask, but twisted and evil.
The last Adjucha was gigantic for Adjuchas standards, easily towering over everyone. It had dull brown skin, that almost looked like rock. The Adjucha resembled a stone golem, with oversized arms which it could punch with at abnormally fast speeds, and moved around with its arms like a gorilla. Its mask was extremely simplistic, only being a blank surface with a thin slit across its eyes so it could see, not showing its eyes at all.
The Adjuchas were all fighting against Holcan, who was still putting up a good fight, despite having lost an arm and just fought against Barragan, but it was clear that he was now outnumbered and outmatched. Everything started to go black for Barragan, and slipped deep into unconsciouness.
(Flashback)
-Hueco Mundo, somewhere in the Forest of Menos-
Barragan sat down tiredly, having just ate his fill of the recently completed hunt. He looked up at his five Gillians, who had also just eaten, and were looking at him blankly.
"You know," Barragan said, not sure who he was talking to, mostly himself. "This reminds me of the hunts that I used to do with Edvairn back then, before he died." Barragan said sadly, looking at his Gillians. "I know that it's stupid, talking to some dumb Gillians who can't understand anything, but I haven't even properly talked with anybody in... I don't even know how long. Since I was an Espada? When I became king for the first time? Since I was with Edvairn?" Barragan said, his voice taking on a shaky tone. "I don't even remember half of my time with Edvairn, it was so long ago, and when I became king I almost completely forgot about him, only interested in myself and my power."
Barragan laughed softly, looking down at the ground, and then up again at his Gillians. "It's ironic, right? The Espada that symbolized aging and stagnation, succumbing to both his own power of aging, and ending up stagnant myself, sitting on a hollow throne, not even recognizing myself." Barragan said, looking deep into one of his Gillians eyes, searching for something, anything that showed understanding, but only found a dead gaze. Barragan sighed. "I know that you probably don't understand anything that I'm saying, but it's nice to talk to someone, anyone, even just a Gillian."
Barragan got up, walking over to one of his Gillians, and touched their cloak, feeling the hauntingly smooth fabric, that almost felt like mist. He looked up at the Gillian, who was blankly staring down at Barragan. "Even so, I hope, I believe that you might have some intelligence behind those dead looks of yours. I believe that you maybe hear my words, and understand them, each of you."
Barragan walked back to where he was sitting, and sat down again, looking into each of his Gillians eyes, waiting for orders. Barragan suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. Barragan chuckled. "You know, you five remind me of my old Fraccion from when I was an Espada. Always waiting for orders, dutifully doing what I ordered, and always being there for me when I needed them..." Barragan reminisced happily, and then remembered each of their ends. "And then they died. I even called them cowards and worms afterwards, for losing to Soul Reapers."
Barragan snorted. "Like I was any better, I lost to a fat man in a suit and that shrimp of a woman." Barragan said, and then shrunk even further. "And how I treated my Fraccion. Gods I was horrible. Even Nnoitra treated his Fraccion better than I did, I'm surprised that they didn't ever complain or speak up, although I probably would have killed them." Barragan paused. "And now here I am, all alone, no one to turn to and talk with, spend time with, do things with, with only Gillians and these damn trees for company." Barragan said quietly.
Barragan sighed sadly. "Even if I wanted to talk to anyone, who would I talk with? Edvairn died over a millenia ago, my Fraccion died, and both times were because of me, because of my arrogance and foolishness." Barragan sighed again. "I know need to change, and that's the point of this journey, to humble me, but then I remember all that I've done, and I just want to give up out of shame." Barragan said. "But now, when I think about it again, suddenly I think not. I need to grow, change and be better, for everyone's sake."
"I never apologized to any of them either, so I guess that should be the first step." Barragan said. Barragan sat up straighter. "Choe, Charlotte, Abirama, Findorr, Nirgge, Ggio... Edvairn..." Barragan said quietly. "I'm sorry."
Barragan stood up and looked at each of his Gillians. "Gillians, I promise you now. I will never leave you behind, I swear this on my Fracciones and Edvairn's names!" Barragan declared, the Gillians not reacting at all, still staring blankly at Barragan. "Now Gillians, let's go back, I need to finish my preparations for fighting the Guardian."
(Flashback end)
-Hueco Mundo, The Guardian's base-
Barragan slowly woke up, and noticed that he wasn't dead. He was in a small bed, and from looking around, he noticed that he was in Holcan's chambers, which was strange. Barragan looked at his hands, and saw that they had somehow healed from being severed. "Impossible!" Barragan thought, examining his hands closer and seeing that they had healed completely. "I know that I have high speed regeneration, but to completely regrow my hands when I was in the condition I was in is unbelievable!"
Barragan sat up, and felt that the rest of his wounds had healed completely. Barragan took another look around the room, and saw traces of his fight with Holcan, mostly burn marks from Ceros and slash marks on the ground and walls. Barragan got out of bed slowly, carefully testing his legs to make sure that his wounds had actually healed, which they had. Barragan jumped a couple of times and tested his axes, and also saw that his axes had been completely fixed and his previously shattered armor had been repaired.
Barragan walked around the room a little more, and then walked to the entrance of the chambers, curious about what was outside. Suddenly, Barragan heard voices coming.
Barragan readied himself to fight, and also tried to eavesdrop on the voices.
"Hey boss, is our lord fully healed yet?" One voice asked, which sounded nasal but had a mischievous undertone to it. "I do not know if our lord if fully healed yet, but last time we checked in on him he was starting to stabilize." The voice that was "The Boss" said. Their sounded deep and grand, almost like a kings. "Well I hope that the boss heals up soon, I wanna talk to him." A third voice said, which sounded rough and strong, like a stereotypical warrior.
While Barragan was listening in, he was trying to understand the situation he was in. "Our lord? The boss?" Barragan thought. "Is he talking about Holcan? That means that he's been badly injured from the fight, so I can maybe escape if he can't fight, I'll just need to fight my way out of here first!" Barragan brandished his axes, getting ready to fight the incoming foes.
The door opened, and it was the five Adjuchas that Barragan had seen before he passed out during his fight. The five Adjuchas suddenly leaped forward and kneeled before Barragan, as if they were greeting a king. It was silent for almost an entire minute, where Barragan was completely confused at the situation.
"...What are you doing?" Barragan asked, confused at why the five Adjuchas bowing to him. "We are greeting you, my lord." The Adjucha that looked like a pharaoh said, his voice matching that of "The Boss". "Forgive us for being surprised, we hadn't expected that you would heal so quickly, my lord."
"Why am I your lord?" Barragan asked. "I don't recognize any of you." The pharaoh Adjucha looked up at Barragan. "You were our lord when we were all Gillians, so when we became Adjuchas we also decided to follow and serve you, my lord."
Everything suddenly clicked for Barragan. "You're my five original Gillians, aren't you?" Barragan asked them. The Adjuchas all nodded. "Yes, you were the Adjucha who recruited us, and even though we were but Gillians you treated us well and fairly, along with your other Gillian soldiers." The pharaoh Adjucha said. "When we became Adjuchas, we all thought about leaving you behind and being free, but we remembered the good you did for us, and we respected you, so we then decided to join you instead, and here we are, my lord." The pharaoh Adjucha explained.
Barragan nodded. "Then I must thank you for assisting me in my battle against Holcan." Barragan said. "I wouldn't call what we did assistance, my lord." The pharaoh Adjucha said. "You had more or less defeated the Guardian, and he was incredibly weak when we finished him off, my lord." Barragan shook his head. "No, you still landed the killing blow, saving me in the process, for which I must thank you, my faithful Adjuchas."
Barragan paused. "Also Adjuchas, could you fill me in on what happened after I fell into unconsciouness?" Barragan asked. "Such as how long I have been out for, and what has happened afterwards?" The pharaoh Adjucha nodded. "Of course, my lord. You were unconscious for approximately 3 days, and we managed to heal you by feeding you the corpse of the Guardian, my lord." The pharaoh Adjucha explained. "And during those three days we took over the old Guardian's operations and started the intergration of your army into the Guardian's old, along with the new command structure, my lord."
Barragan nodded. "May I see the new army?" The pharaoh Adjucha nodded back. "Of course, my lord." Barragan raised a hand to the Adjuchas who were going to leave. "Also, do you all have names? I don't wish to call you just 'Adjucha'." All of the Adjuchas shook their heads. "None of us have names, my lord." The pharaoh Adjucha said.
"I will change that then, you all require proper names." Barragan said. "Starting with you." Barragan beckoned the pharaoh Adjucha forward, the Adjucha coming forward. "I, Barragan Louisenbairn, grant you the title of leader of my personal Adjuchas, and with it the name, Adjib Akhenatenus." The now named Adjib rose. "I accept this name and title, my lord." Adjib said, and backing away gracefully.
"Now, each of you will come forward, one by one to recieve your names." Barragan said, beckoning forth the next Adjucha.
After everything was done, every one of Barragan's new Adjuchas had recieved their own names. The pharaoh Adjucha recieved the name Adjib Akhenatenus and the title of leader of the Barragan's Adjuchas. The chameleon Adjuchas recieved the name Lemox Valderaso. The Aztec Adjuchas recieved the name Moctez Zumanama. The monkey Adjucha recieved the name Sun Wukong, and the golem Adjucha recieved the name Daedalus.
Each Adjucha accepted their new name gratefully, happy to have recieved a name straight from their lord.
"Now then," Barragan said. "I would like to see my new army." Adjib nodded. "Of course, my lord." He said.
Barragan and his Adjuchas walked out of the room, and started walking to the entrance of the cave. Barragan looked around at the large cavern that made up the main part of the base, seeing the countless openings that probably led into smaller tunnels and caves, stretching far into the cliff that the base was located in.
Barragan turned to his Adjuchas, or rather Adjib, since the Adjuchas were walking around him, almost like guards protecting their king. "So, Adjib, how large is my army now?" Barragan asked. "And what was our causalty count?"
Adjib turned his head to Barragan, still walking forward. "Our causalty count was around sixty of our original Gillians, which means that our current army of original Gillians is one-hundred-ten, my lord." Adjib continued. "We have also acquired the old Guardian's forces, which include a total of one-hundred-fifty Gillians, roughly four hundred non-Menos Hollows, and six Adjuchas, two being mid-tier in strength and four being low-tier in strength, my lord."
Barragan nodded, but on the inside was still mourning the loss of sixty of his Gillians. Barragan knew that his Gillians were sent out on a suicide mission on his orders, but it still hurt. He had ordered them to their deaths. Adjib seemed to notice Barragan's mourning, and stopped, turning towards Barragan.
"My lord, it is admirable that you mourn the death of those lost in battle, and empathy is a good quality for commanders to have." Adjib said to Barragan. "However, it is never a good a idea to mourn for too long, my lord. All victories have losses, and you should remember the lost ones sacrifices and move onwards, instead of mourning forever, my lord." Barragan fell silent, and then slowly nodded his head. "Yes, you speak the truth, Adjib. I thank you for telling me that, I needed it. Now, let us continue."
Barragan and the Adjuchas kept on walking, and Barragan thought about something that had confused him. "Adjib, could you tell me about these so called 'tiers' of Adjuchas? I don't exactly understand them."
"Of course, my lord." Adjib answered. "The tiers of Adjuchas is something we learned about from the Guardian's Adjuchas, who explained it as classifying different Adjuchas based on strength, usually measured in how many Gillians they can control at once." Adjib explained. "A low tier Adjuchas can control up to forty Gillians at a time, and are quite weak in general. Every newly evolved Adjucha starts as a low-tier Adjucha, but their rate of growth can vary." Adjib gestured to himself and the other Adjuchas. "At the moment, me and the others are low-tier Adjuchas, since we only evolved a short time ago."
Adjib continued. "The mid-tier Adjuchas can control between forty to one hundred Gillians at once, and examples of mid tier Adjuchas were the stag beetle Adjuchas that you fought before the Guardian, Leroi and Zeroi I believe."
"The last and highest class of Adjuchas can vary in strength, the high-tier Adjuchas." Adjib gestured at Barragan. "Examples of high-tier Adjuchas are you, my lord, the old Guardian Holcan Teres, and the commander Rarox. A high-tier Adjucha can control anywhere from one hundred to around three hundred Gillians at once, with the Guardian according to older stories being able to control around two-hundred ninety Gillians at once, although they are likely inaccurate."
Barragan looked down at himself. "If Rarox and Holcan were also high-tier Adjuchas, and I consumed both of them, how strong does that make me?" Adjib shook his head. "I do not know, my lord. Most Adjuchas evolve into Vasto Lordes when they reach around the old Guardian's level depending on the Hollow, although the Guardian was unique, since he could never become a Vasto Lorde for some reason. If we take that into account, that means that you, my lord, are on the brink of becoming a Vasto Lorde. Consuming two extremely powerful Adjuchas such as the Guardian and Rarox must have boosted your growth massively."
Adjib suddenly stopped. "We seem to have reached the exit, my lord." Adjib said to Barragan. "Are you ready to see your army?" Barragan nodded. "Yes, yes I am." They all stepped out into the open, and Barragan saw his army, divided in two big groups, the lesser Hollows and Gillians, with commanding Adjuchas standing at the front. The Adjuchas all stepped up onto an elevated platform of stone, and Barragan followed. His Adjuchas made way for him as he walked up, and ended up at the front, with every Hollow now staring at him. Adjib suddenly spoke.
"All Hollows!" He shouted, his voice ringing out far and loud. Adjib turned and gestured to Barragan. "This Hollow is now your ruler, the new Guardian of the Forest of Menos. He fought and defeated the previous Guardian, Teres Holcan in fair combat and will take his place as the rightful Guardian!" Adjib then turned back to the army.
Barragan stood silently on the platform, unsure of what to say in this situation. "I can't even remember proper kingsmanship," Barragan thought. "I was a king, sure, but I never acted with proper conduct compared to how I remember Edvairn acting. So what do I do now?"
Barragan was shaken out of his thoughts by the sudden roaring of every Hollow in the army at once, almost a symbolic gesture of acceptance. The Hollows roared for almost a minute straight, and then stopped, and slowly started to disperse, heading back to their original stations. The only ones that stayed were the commander Adjuchas, who instead started to approach the platform that Barragan was on. All six commander Adjuchas kneeled when they arrived at the platform, and introduced themselves.
"Greetings, my lord." They all said simultaneously. The Adjucha at the head of the group looked up at Barragan, still kneeling. "My lord, we are here to formally introduce ourselves to you." He paused, and then continued. "We would also like to recieve our new orders, seeing as with the change in leadership our old orders are moot."
Barragan thought for a second, thinking about what orders he should give the commanders. "At the moment I have no immediate orders to give you. However, I want you all to be on standby and be ready to recieve new orders. Otherwise, you are dismissed." The commanders all rose. "Yes, my lord!" They all said, and assembled their smaller armies, leaving to get ready for new orders.
"Let us leave my Adjuchas, we must make plans for our next steps." Barragan said, turning around to leave, with his Adjuchas in tow.
Barragan and his Adjuchas all walked back to Holcan's chambers, which were now Barragan's, and sat down at the stone table in the room. Barragan sat there, thinking about his next steps.
Barragan sat there for a few minutes, nobody speaking, until Barragan spoke.
"Okay then, Adjuchas, I have a plan for our next steps." Barragan said. "My plan is in short, to become king of Hueco Mundo, but there are many things we must do to prepare. The upper parts of central Hueco Mundo are deserts, which means a different environment that we will be fighting in. I am certain that some Hollows have taken control of Las Noches and the rest of central Hueco Mundo has been split up, mostly due to the power vacuum after Aizen was defeated, and the turmoil he left." Barragan straightened, and looked at each of his Adjuchas sitting at the table, looking at him. "To that end, we must build up an enormous army of Gillians! Not just a couple hundred, I'm talking about thousands, that we can use to invade the deserts and take back the throne!" Barragan said, confident in his plan.
The rest of the Adjuchas stared at each other, not saying anything, until Moctez piped up. "Hey boss, the goal of your plan makes sense and all, but there's one major problem with your plan." Moctez said. "What is the issue with the plan, Moctez?" Barragan asked, confused at what part of the plan was bad.
"You see my lord, there are many different entrances to travel in between the upper and lower parts of Hueco Mundo, my lord." Adjib said, butting in. "However, the only major entrance to the deserts is here, in this base, my lord." Adjib explained. "While you were unconscious, we investigated the entrance and came to the conclusion that only smaller Hollow types such as non-Menos Hollows and Adjuchas can pass through them, my lord. Gillians cannot access the upper parts of Hueco Mundo since they are too big to fit, which is also why you would never see a Gillian in the upper parts of Hueco Mundo." Adjib said, and Barragan slowly realized the issue with his plan.
"I understand now." Barragan said, cutting Adjib off. "That means that a Gillian army is unpractical, or also any army for that matter. Non-Menos Hollows are more or less fodder in the upper parts, where the frequency of stronger Hollows is higher, and an army of Adjuchas or Vasto Lordes are out of the question." Barragan sat back down, reclining back in the stone chair, and sighed. "That means we need a different plan and strategy."
The room fell silent again, Barragan thinking again of plans. After around a half hour of hard thinking, Barragan suddenly stood up, surprising his Adjuchas with the sudden movement.
"Alright, my Adjuchas. I have a better plan now." Barragan said. "We still have the same goal of course, but I have divided the plan into two parts. To begin with, we must strengthen our foothold in the Forest of Menos. It is a good staging point and headquarters, which means that we must also focus on strengthening it."
Barragan paced back and forth, almost speaking more to himself than his Adjuchas. "The first thing we must do is search out capable Adjuchas and expand our army in the Forest. If we cannot use our armies in the deserts, then we will use them here." Barragan continued. "We will need different Hollows, such as Gillians for brute strength and numbers, Adjuchas for command, and lesser Hollows as either fodder, scouts or a backup fighting force. The army can practically only be used in the Foresst, due to the lesser frequency of Adjucha-class Hollows and even Vasto Lordes."
Barragan stopped his pacing, and then turned to look at his Adjuchas. "Another part of the plan is for us to leave the Forest and go to the desert, since we need to do recon and see what the situation is there, and also set the stage for me to reclaim my throne. We should also secure allies if possible. The team for this operation will be myself, and all of you, my Adjuchas."
The Adjuchas paused, and then nodded. "But, my lord, if we leave the Forest alone, won't that mean that there is a chance that the other Adjuchas might betray us?" Lemo asked quietly, almost mumbling. "That's true. The Forest will be without supervision, and so the Adjuchas might revolt in my abscence, but I plan to show them that betraying us will be their doom." Barragan said.
Barragan sat back down again. "This plan will require much preparation, and we will start today." Barragan said. "Now my Adjuchas, I will give you my orders which you will also pass on to the other commanders. Each commander will recieve a different order from one of you, understood?" Barragan said. "Understood, my lord." They all said, bowing their heads.
"Now, Sun." Barragan said, turning to the monkey Adjucha. "Your orders are to work with one of the commanders in order to find and recruit more Hollows for our army. Focus mainly on Gillians, since they will be the bulk of our fighting force." Barragan ordered Sun. "Understood, my lord." Sun said, bowing his head.
"Now for you your orders, Lemox." Barragan said. "You will use the many lesser Hollows that we have as a scouting force, which you will coordinate with the help of another commander, to explore more of the Forest around us. You will also keep track on potential entrances to the upper parts of Hueco Mundo and share the information you get with the others." The chameleon Adjucha bowed his head slowly. "Yes, my lord." He said.
As for your orders, Moctez." Barragan said, the Aztec Adjucha perking up. "You will work together with another commander to find out the locations of potentially useful and strong Adjuchas in order to boost our commander ranks." Barragan gestured to Lemox and Sun. "You will also work with Sun and Lemox, using Lemox's information and work directly with Sun, due to most Adjuchas also having Gillian armies." Moctez nodded his head. "Yes, my lord." He said.
"Now, Daedalus." The golem Adjucha slowly turned his head towards Barragan. "Yes, my lord?" He said in his monotone and rumbling voice. "You will be securing the home front, and focus on building up our defenses and setting up new bases throughout the Forest. My old base will be a good starting point, you can work with two commanders, one who will take care of the home defenses and the other with the other bases." Barragan ordered. "It will be done my lord." Daedalus said.
"And now, Adjib." Barragan said. "You will be doing something very important, which is fixing the food situation for our army." Adjib nodded. "Yes, my lord." Barragan continued. "This order might not seem important, but you know that the biggest issue that can arise with a Hollow army is a lack of food. Holcan, from what I saw let his Hollows freely go out and hunt whenever they wanted to, but I don't believe that it was a good solution. Adjib, you will have to make your own system of sustainably feeding each Hollow accordingly, depending on species and find a proper food source. Have a commander help you with the logistics as well." Adjib bowed his head again. "I hear and obey, my lord."
Barragan then stood up, the rest of the Adjuchas following suit. "Now then, my Adjuchas," Barragan said. "go out and give out my orders, and start the preparations for our takeover of the Forest. When all of the preparations have been made, we will ascend towards the desert, and start stage two of my plan!" The Adjuchas swiftly left the room, leaving to deliver their orders and start preparations.
After his Adjuchas had all left, Barragan still sat there and thought, brainstorming a proper stage two of his plan, and then what steps to take for the next phase of his plan, the reclaiming of his throne and title of king of Hueco Mundo.
A/N: The final chapter of the first arc of the arc of the story! (excluding rebirth of the king which doesn't count). The next arc will mostly take place in the deserts of Hueco Mundo, but next chapter will still begin in the Forest of Menos. I hope that you aren't too upset at the new OC's which are Barragan's new "Fraccion", but I'll try to make them interesting, and I won't be focusing too much on them, they'll mostly be there as support characters for Barragan. Also before I end this note, I just want to thank everyone who decided to spend their time reading this random story I cooked up randomly one day, and I thank you for the reviews that you left as well! I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out, but I'll try to at least release it in at least a month, but no promises!