spira_rp | And I don’t wanna say I told you so...

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And I don’t wanna say I told you so...

Gin Ichimaru's footsteps were light on the Desert Palace's ancient stone floor. They were soft enough to barely echo off the walls except for the scuff of a toe or heel.

He liked the Palace at night. It was more peaceful, like any populated place tended to be when most of the inhabitants were in bed and, for the most part, quiet. Even the air seemed to move more quietly when the hum of conversation and the distant sparks and flares of spiritual pressure were felt from the training centre, where the wards applied didn't keep it back if the door was left open.

Peaceful as it was, he rarely slept there. He had somewhere else for that, somewhere within his jurisdiction as a Gotei captain. He retained a room though, and it was from there that he was walking, heading in the direction of the quiet kitchen, while the borrowed sky outside the window was dark and the air was cool and filled with the smells of night time.

Nobody seemed to be up. He was sure that some of the denizens would still be awake, doing whatever they felt like in their rooms, but nobody was up and about. It was too late for the night owls and too early for the morning people. He smiled to himself as he reached the top of the stairs down to the main hall, but the expression fell away abruptly when the sound of an alarm split the silence.

The noise set every nerve in Gin's teeth on edge. Halfway between a scream and a siren, it was a magically amplified and erratic, half-undulating sound that had obviously been designed not to be ignored under any of the circumstances it might be set off to. It was hideous, organic and ear-splittingly loud, akin to the sound of a thousand babies crying and just as many tomcats yowling, foxes screaming and nails being drawn down a chalk board and it rose and fell in tone enough that it was impossible to get used to. For a moment, even Gin stood frozen at the top of the stairs, eyes briefly wide, the hair on the back of his neck on end.

"That's new," he said to himself, his soft voice drowned by the screechy baying of the siren.

He headed down to the hall, feet quick on the stairs. From beyond the front door, and the hall that separated the door to the Zertinan Caverns from the palace proper, he heard a low roar, angry and bellowing, even with the siren's wail doing its best to block everything else out.

"Oh," he said. "Look's like one of Kuja's little pets has slipped its leash." He smiled to himself, directing his gaze up the stairs, anticipating appearances from other members of the Clan. "This should be fun."

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"Let's get on with it," Nnoitra said, stepping forward as a volunteer for the vanguard.

As he did so, Ienzo stepped back, putting some distance between himself and the door. It didn't surprise Nnoitra. He wasn't a fighter, not like some of the others were.

Marluxia quirked an eyebrow at Lumi's confession and glanced at him out of the corner of one eye. His smile was amused, and his chest jumped with a huffed breath that came through his nose.

"I think there are enough Arrancar to deal with this," he said, his voice soft, and very quiet. "Let them do what they're good at."

Lumi, conversely, was a little more important than someone else's underlings. Marluxia no more planned on getting him involved in the fight than he did on taking up the vanguard position himself.

Nel looked at Nnoitra, and at Gin, who, it had to be said, might be capable of taking this monster down, and who, quite clearly, had no intention of doing so right now.

She looked over at Stark, and released her mask fragment. "You should be waiting for it with a cero," she said, glancing at Halibel as well. "The moment that door opens it's going to attack, we need to make it back off."

Stark was the fastest, and most powerful with a cero, which, as much as she knew he was going to dislike her volunteering him for the fight, made him the best placed to be involved in the fight.

Ulquiorra, without any apparent communication with Ienzo on the matter, took a half step to place himself in front of him, and very firmly between him and the door.

He didn't unsheathe Murcielago, however. He could feel the power, and age, and unpleasantness of the thing they were facing, and Ulquiorra of all of them was well used to that kind of feeling from something. It was big, and old, and powerful, and likely would take a combined effort from the Arrancar to defeat, which meant that for now, Nel was right, and projectiles would get them further than swords would.

It would be waiting.

Szayel watched Lumi and Marluxia share some... exchange. Whispered words and significant looks. It was hard to miss the way Marluxia's chest moved as if Lumi had said something he found amusing. Not the sort of amusing you laughed at, but the sort of dark amusement that drew a noise anyway.

And then there was Ulquiorra, acting the bodyguard even though he was in the Palace, and had no bodyguarding duties to perform.

So many private little secrets on display, it really was quite fun.

"Save me some samples," he said, smirking at Nnoitra.

The monster they were facing was interesting, too, of course. He wouldn't object to the chance to study it.

Stark stared at Nel, his expression dark and flat and unhappy. He'd just been voluntold to be the first out of the gate and he wasn't entirely happy about it.

It made sense of course -- he was the only one of them capable of instantly firing a Cero, having no need for a charge time, but it still put him in the line of fire and he wasn't pleased.

"Fine," he said, heaving a sigh as he said it.

He looked around at the group, and those who were battle capable. Nnoitra had already decided he was going in, which was fine. He pointed at Nel, Halibel, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. "You four, you can be on the front line with me and Nnoitra," he held his hand up at Apache. "Not you. You're a Fracción and I don't want Yylfordt there, either."

Stark glanced at Gin, standing there, probably the most powerful among them, unless the Ryoka were hiding some serious strength, and apparently planning on doing nothing. Jackass.

"Nnoitra," he said, waving vaguely at the door to the hallway.

Only then did he release his mask fragment.

Edited 2016-06-30 22:33 (UTC)

Nnoitra answered Szayel's request with a flash of one of his four middle fingers and strode forward, following Stark's instruction.

Until then, he hadn't been quite aware how warded that door was. The door's opening flooded the main hall with spiritual pressure, old and heavy, and he knew it was only going to get worse when the one between the hall and the Caverns outside was thrown wide.

Whatever was waiting for them out there wasn't nice. Even so, he headed to open the second, pausing only as a loud, low roar sounded thunderously beyond it.

Lumi stepped back, out of the way, suddenly wishing that he hadn't left his sword on the dresser. It was useless to him at the moment, heavy as it was, but something made him wish he had it.

He shook it off, holding his gun ready. He wasn't going to be anywhere near the fighting, not if he could help it, but it didn't take two hands to fire a gun, not if the target was big enough. If he had to take a potshot or two, he was still capable.

Wonderweiss decided that both Barghest and Forvalaka had been right about the thing beyond the doors. The reiatsu that flooded the main hall, still held back by one of the warded doors, was heavy, even for an Arrancar to take. He released his mask Fragment.

Whatever was out there wasn't happy. He got the feeling it was angry, perhaps afraid. It was certainly a little vengeful, there was no way that its assault on the door could mean anything else, but there was something about the roar that put him in mind of a sad thing, or of some odd anguish.

He scowled, balling his fingers in the Torama's mane and swinging himself onto his back. He was more than big enough to ride and he felt safer up there. Forvalaka was swifter than he, especially if he didn't employ Sonido.

Even stepped back and out of the line of fire.

Marluxia and Lumi seemed reluctant to join in the fight, though their reasoning was obvious enough. Lumi was still suffering the effects of his injury at the hands of Xigbar, and Marluxia, currently unarmed, wasn't prepared to manifest his weapon in front of all of these witnesses unless he absolutely had to, much like himself. Ienzo, standing far back, considered himself non-combatant.

When he felt the wash of reiatsu, Even was glad of his decision. If he wasn't mistaken, and he so rarely was, the tide of spiritual pressure that had flooded in was of the Fire element, and not something he wanted to chance his luck against, not after the Zaltys.

Halibel shared a brief look with Nel. Stark was exceptionally powerful, but he lacked motivation. Neliel had the knack of telling him what to do without it sounding as if she was issuing an order, and it was what Stark required.

She slipped a finger into the hilt of Tiburon and withdrew the sword from its sheathe. It was quite unlike any of the others in shape.

With the first door opened she straightened up a little. Their enemy was fire elemental, which gave her a distinct advantage.

Nel nodded at Stark's instructions to her and the others. He had a good on his shoulders when he wanted to, Stark just generally preferred that his head rested on a pillow.

"You too," she said, softly, to Wonderweiss, "stay back, and on your guard."

Nel raised an eyebrow at Gin as she went to stand near Halibel, ready for the door to open. Stark might be the first one, but they'd have to be close behind to be able to fight without getting hurt themselves. Gin, however, could probably dice this thing from the doorway, and had no visible intention of doing any such thing.

She liked Gin well enough, but you really could go off people.

Yylfordt reacted to Stark's order to stay back and off the front line with a nod. He didn't need telling twice.

"Watch it, bro," he said, to Grimmjow. "No heroics, yeah?" Let the big boys handle it, even though some of the big boys were girls. They were, at least, big girls.

"Nice of the Ryoka to volunteer to fight," he muttered, barely audibly. Yeah so one was injured, but they'd seen Even ruin a Chaos Infused Hollow, so they knew perfectly well that he at least didn't need to be armed to fight, and Marluxia was never armed, which made you wonder how he'd got his scary reputation if he needed a weapon...

Okay, so Ienzo was just a nerd, but still, it would have been nice to have some extra help.

Kadaj frowned, his hand on Souba's hilt. "Stay with Apache," he said, to Tayuya, before he moved away. He didn't join the Arrancar preparing to atttack, however, instead he moved nearer to Gin.

He couldn't use his bankai abilities. Not in front of the likes of Lumi, and Ulquiorra. That left him hobbled to start with. He would use them, if someone's life depended on it, depending on whose life, anyway, but he couldn't risk it otherwise.

His other main ability was summoning, which as a rule they avoided doing in and around the vicinity of the Palace. Anima would be a big help, even if the thing was, as it inevitably would be, immune to the instant death effects of Anima's Pain. Summoning Anima, here, however, came only just ahead of using Reunion in Ulquiorra's line of sight when it came to plans of attack.

Kadaj felt useless, and he hated it. "Do you think they can handle it?" He asked, quietly. They could already feel the pressure of the thing from beyond the door. Kadaj was suddenly unsure if he'd even be able to get close enough to the thing to put a mark on it if he tried.

Ulquiorra flashed Ienzo a brief look before he separated from him. He didn't need to instruct Ienzo-san to stay put, because he knew Ienzo-san would do that anyway. Still, Ulquiorra flashed him a look before he joined the others.

The reiatsu was intense, but it was fire elemental, and Ulquiorra was water, and so it didn't set his nerves on edge the way a thunder elemental would have done.

"It's Fire Elemental," Apache said, looking up at Yylfordt. "Both of them are weak to it."

By 'both of them' she meant Marluxia and Even. Lumi was, as far as anybody was concerned, out of commission. A glance told her he wasn't happy to stay back, but he did so anyway, gun ready all the same.

She would have joined them, had intended to, but Stark's order kept her back. Not quite as effectively as the hideously heavy reiatsu would have, but effectively enough.

"Ohhh," Gin said, giving a wide smile and a bit of a shrug. "I should think so. One way or another. I can always step in if I need to, but that thing out there ain't a Hollow."

He was neither weak to it, nor strong to it, elementally at least. It was inevitably big and he had a good idea what it was, but he couldn't be entirely sure, not with the veritable menagerie that Kuja kept in the dark places of the caverns, ready to murder anybody who came too close without invitation.

"Least they have a battle plan," he said, quite cheerfully.

Even put himself just ahead of those who were deliberately keeping out of the way. He remembered the way the fire spewed by the Zaltys had felt, and this thing was stronger, much stronger, by the feel of it.

His chakra flared as he bolstered his defences, making use of his Sentinel class, not his shield.

Nnoitra paused again at the door handle, taking a moment to strengthen his already formidable Hierro. He took in a breath, held his weapon in two hands, and opened the main door with a touch to the glyph and a pull on the handle.

"Being weak to it didn't stop Even with that Zaltys," Yylfordt muttered. He glanced at Tayuya, who looked unhappy both with being kept back, and with the fact that Grimmjow had been called up front.

If Grimmjow got hurt, Yylfordt got the distinct impression Tayuya would take a leaf out of Even's book.

He hissed a quiet curse when the door was finally opened and everyone could get a taste of what this thing's unrestrained reiatsu felt like. He couldn't have gone up front if he'd wanted to anyway, because he wouldn't get as far as the door before that flattened him.

Szayel moved to the back of the assembled watchers. He had no intention of getting involved in this fight, but it would be interesting to observe, at the very least.

He watched Kadaj have a quick conversation with Gin, and Even put himself at the head of the rear guard. Lumi and Marluxia were staying well clear, of course, and it had been impossible to miss that little look from Ulquiorra to Ienzo before he'd gone forward.

He ran his fingers into his hair and paid attention to the reiatsu levels. This was going to be educational.

Kadaj frowned. He didn't like this, he didn't like this at all, but there was also little else he could do about it. He'd have to trust that Gin would step in if he had to. He had to trust that Gin would step in before anyone got killed.

Some of them, perhaps, Gin might hesitate for, but Nel, and Grimmjow, at least, surely?

Did he trust him to do that? If it didn't cost him anything?

"I hope it's enough," he said, quietly.

He needed to speak to L. He needed to know if L had been tracking Kuja, if anything had happened on Kuja's end of things, and if it hadn't, why this might have happened, which was a question Kuja might be able to answer. He knew his security measures better than the rest of them, after all. Of course, if L hadn't been tracking Kuja then he wanted to make sure L was doing his bit to get in touch with him right now.

He frowned and glanced around at everyone else before he headed off to question L. Kadaj was no use here, after all, not right now, at least.

The door was a tiny little thing, made for little scurrying creatures of soft flesh and splintery little bones to hide behind.

Hide they did. The magicks around the door were familiar, the same as the kind that had bound him for who knew how long. He'd been bound before, but that magick had worn away and he'd been free, and then he'd been bound again, mind and will as shackled as his body.

It lay in the collar. Little scurrying creatures had put it on him when he was young, and weak, but though the collar had remained, the magic had faded, and he had become strong, and old.

Then one of them had come along, after a long, long time, and revived the faded magic. But he was old and strong now, and the magic was no longer as strong as him, and he was free once more.

He wanted to stay free, and he knew where the fragile little things that had kept him tethered stayed.

Claws battered at the door. He could feel them beyond it, strong ones, ones that weren't as fragile as he was used to, but that only made it all the more important to destroy them. They didn't feel like humans, and their ilk, they felt like things much older, and much darker, though not as old as himself.

The magic of the door flared, and it began to open, and he raised his talons to swipe at whatever came out.

Nothing emerged.

Stark did as planned and fired a Cero through the open door, aiming blindly. It came quickly without the need to charge it, but the feeling and the noise was the same.

With just his Mask fragment out, the chargeless Ceros weren't exactly top-level in terms of power, but they were enough to sear most things, and easily the same level as those of the other Arrancar. To achieve anything more spectacular, time had to be put in, and Stark didn't have that.

He caught sight of what had set off the alarm in the light of the blast. It was a massive wyrm, huger than any he'd seen before. It had a collar around its neck, suspended in the way that only the ancient people knew how. It was older, and harder, and meaner than any he'd ever seen.

Stark had a feeling that the Cero wouldn't do a lot of good.

Gin stepped forward.

He didn't make to join in, or follow those going into the throat of the connecting hallway, he just wanted to see which of Kuja's monsters had managed to slip its leash.

Ahhh. One of the collared ones. Were he a lesser man, the disappointment would have made his smile falter, but he kept it in place. The Wyrm might not have been one he had forced into submission, but it had fought the spells that had bound it and won. It wasn't such a big strike against the spellcaster as a resistance to subjugation would have been, but it was still a strike.

He smirked.

The Arrancar were in for a fun time.

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