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

[shoottokill]

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."

Comments

[extinguir]

Forvalaka froze at the sound of Halibel's Gran Rey Cero, his fur rising along his spine as the before-lightning prickle of fell Chakra swept through the hall. He narrowed his fiery eyes, ears turning to the conversations of the others in the moments after.

He may be right, he said. The wyrm is holding back. Reserving his strength until they are too spent to fight back. He is old enough to have fought and killed Hollows before. Fire burns them from the world almost as effectively as your magic swords and his is hotter than most.

Wonderweiss gripped his blue-green mane more tightly, the palms of his hands damp. His friends were out there, they couldn't just die. Couldn't just give their all for a losing battle, that was suicide.

He felt numb. Everything seemed fuzzy for a moment, as though he'd just been shrouded in something muffling and thick. He listened to the monster's bellowing and the clicky falling of rocks in the aftermath of Halibel's latest attack.

If Stark couldn't kill it, and Stark could easily kill or incapacitate some of them with his reiatsu alone, they had no chance. Gin, or Lumi, they might have a chance, but Gin was for Hollows and Lumi was hurt, try as he might to hide it. Wonderweiss knew that his staying to the sidelines wasn't selfish self-preservation alone and he could read some aspects of the man's behaviour as accurately as he could an animal's. He was strange like that.

We should get away from it, the Torama said quietly, his voice echoing in Wonderweiss's head, low and deep and warning.

"No," Wonderweiss said. "We can't just leave them."

They are some of the strongest people here, Forvalaka said, tail flicking, claws scraping the wet marble floor. Sending weaker backup will not help. The rest of you can't do anything. You should cut your losses and get out.

Wonderweiss felt as though the floor had gone from under him. Torama, as a species, were social. They roamed the wilds of their native lands in prides, like packs of wolves, and seldom walked the world alone. Family, and unity, were everything to their survival, and Forvalaka was suggesting they leave some of their group behind to die? Was that how dire the situation was?

He shook his head, not wanting to accept that they couldn't possibly win. They were Arrancar, they couldn't... there had to be another way. Maybe if... would that even be possible? It... it was a monster, a beast. There was nothing to say that couldn't...

He swallowed. Hard.

"Let me try," he said, voice level, and clear. Gin, who had been stepping forward, stopped. Lumi paused in the middle of whatever he was whispering to Marluxia and looked up. "Let me try," he repeated.

He was a beastmaster. The wyrm might be ancient and strong and powerful, but it was still a beast. There had to be a chance. Even if he could hold it in thrall for long enough for them all to get out, it was something.

[palehornedprince]

Sometimes, Yylfordt hated being related to Szayel. He was in the middle of one of those times when Wonderweiss stepped up and shocked his thoughts to a different track.

"Try what?" He asked, utterly incredulous. "That thing can shrug off Stark, little bro, I don't think you can take it."

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

Szayel pushed his glasses back up his nose as he looked Wonderweiss, and his oversized house cat, over. He'd made initial assessments of Wonderweiss's power levels when he'd first recovered from the poisoning that had left him incoherent, and they had been... interesting.

Wonderweiss had a lot of power in potentia, but Szayel couldn't assure it would ever be realised. He was also well suited to being a Beastmaster; the boy walked everywhere through daily life with the offensiveness levels of the average dreamhare. Provided said dreamhare wasn't faced with Szayel, at least.

Still, there was no reason to believe he'd be able to take on something of this magnitude.

"Don't be ridiculous, Wonderweiss. This thing slipped Kuja's control, and frankly, you're not in the same league."

[gracefuldahlia]

Lumi was antsy. Marluxia was not, but Marluxia knew that the snap of his fingers and a step backwards would take him safely beyond the reach of the wyrm. Information like that made you practically unflappable.

Still, he'd been in general agreement with Lumi's sentiments, although Gin's step forward had made Marluxia inclined to linger a while longer, just to see what type of rabbit he pulled out of what type of hat. And then Wonderweiss had spoken.

Marluxia, and Lumi, had accompanied Wonderweiss before. They'd encountered a forest, that Marluxia could hear, and discovered there that Marluxia could hear the green word, and control plant based enemies in a way that looked, to some, a lot like a very specific kind of beastmastery. Watching Wonderweiss in action, however, had sharply outlined the differences.

What Marluxia did wasn't at all beastmastery, it simply looked that way to the untrained eye, and what Wonderweiss did was a power that had impressed Marluxia. That, and the fact that Lumi liked him, had made Marluxia kindly disposed towards Wonderweiss.

He and Lumi, he knew, were the only ones present to have seen Wonderweiss actually subjugate a creature.

"Don't be so sure," he said, his voice soft in response to Szayel's derision. He took a step forward, placing a hand on Wonderweiss's shoulder. "Consider your actions carefully, Wonderweiss." He, and Lumi, also knew the consequences of failure for Wonderweiss, too. "Do you really think you can?"

[extinguir]

Wonderweiss looked from the Granz brothers, one misunderstanding him and the other dismissive, to Marluxia. He pressed his lips together, a frown on his face.

"Possibly," he said, echoing Forvalaka's earlier sentiments on the potential for the Arrancar winning the fight. "It's never certain, not even with a Dreamhare, but it's possible... and if it doesn't work, I can hold it for long enough for everybody else to get away."

It didn't sound like a stupidly self-sacrificing notion until he said it out loud, but it still made sense. If he could hold it just long enough for the rest to withdraw and get out, the potential for losses would be greatly reduced.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi looked at Wonderweiss, sitting atop his gigantic cat, and tilted his head to the side. He didn't know much about Beastmastery, but Wonderweiss did have a truly uncommon talent when it came to the art. It could, perhaps, outstrip Kuja's.

"If you want to try," Lumi said, just as softly as Marluxia did, "we will back you."

[shoottokill]

Well then, thought Gin, smiling broadly, this is a turn out for the books.

Wonderweiss had some strange friends, didn't he? He knew he'd travelled with the two, but he had assumed, obviously wrongly, that the trip was one of convenience for all involved, not a curious friendship. Marluxia was far more companionable than is associate was, but even he seemed willing to back the boy's venture. That was interesting.

He stayed where he was and slid his hands into the opposite sleeves. If the kid wanted to have a go, he should have a go.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya scowled and punched Yylfordt in the arm. She had a clue what Wonderweiss was proposing, but, much like Szayel, considered the idea to be suicide.

"It ain't like hitting it is fucking working," she pointed out, grumpily. "Or is that the only way any of you Arrancar know how to fight?" Hit it, hit it with an element, hit it with a weapon, hit it with a cero, hit it harder, or faster, or whatever, but every tactic so far had consisted of physically attacking the thing. And this bastard was shrugging off their attacks like they were ants.

She was scared because Grimmjow was out there, and he was going to die if someone didn't do something. Wonderweiss thought he could do something, and Tayuya was happy to let him try if it gave Grimmjow a shot at surviving.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia listened to Wonderweiss, and nodded, very slowly. He wouldn't say he approved of the idea, if he was honest. There were uncertainties with all engagements, true, but Wonderweiss intended to take on this one. This wyrm was old to the point that 'ancient' was more appropriate, and mean to match its age, and powerful enough to slip Kuja's bonds, whatever form they had taken.

This was no Dreamhare. This was no Hellhound or Torama either.

"As Lumi says," he said, "we will back you, but only if you genuinely think you can. I am not about to endorse something you know to be suicide."

But if Wonderweiss says he can, and genuinely thought he had a chance, then Marluxia would accept his word for it.

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

Szayel watched Marluxia, and Lumi, offer their quiet support to Wonderweiss. On the one hand, he found it curious. They weren't particularly social, and friendly as Wonderweiss was, he was still just an Arrancar, and of a tier that they shouldn't be interested.

But here they were. Backing him up.

Of course, there were other factors at play.

"Ayco vun oui du cyo, ed fuh'd pa oui dryd kadc aydah ev ra vyemc," he muttered, under his breath, only just audible over the sound of the battle continuing at a desperate limp outside. "Ihmacc oui tuh'd pylg uvv xielgmo ahuikr," he added, after a moment's consideration.

[extinguir]

Wonderweiss looked at Marluxia and then at Lumi. He took a breath and nodded, face set.

"I can," he said.

It was never, ever certain, and this time was less certain than the rest, but he saw no reason not to try. Having the two people who had been present for a subjugation helped, of course, even if the other Arrancar, especially Szayel, was not so confident.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi nodded, and put the safety back on his gun.

He was injured, of course, but that only impaired the movement of that one arm. If needed, he could put on the burst of speed required to get Wonderweiss out of harm's way should he not be able to engage with the dragon, or if the spell was broken before the contract was set.

[cierva]

Apache stared at the conversation going on.

She knew Wonderweiss to be a Beastmaster, and while it was pretty impressive that, at his age, he'd managed to wrangle both a Hellhound and a Torama, both creatures who were known to be difficult because of their social ties to the rest of their packs or prides, they were nothing compared to the monster at their door.

She swallowed, looking from Wonderweiss and his odd choice of friends, to Szayel, who seemed ... dismissive.

"If it doesn't work," she said, voice quiet and not loud enough to carry to those making the plan, "I have an Aeon too."

It wasn't a nice one, and it was difficult to control, but it was an Aeon, and a good one. She could back Tayuya well enough.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya looked at Apache, surprised at the news that she had an Aeon. One that she thought might be useful, anyway. Plenty of people had Aeons, getting your first was a thing common in some countries, though Tayuya didn't know if that applied on Jylland. Mostly they got the newb friendly Aeons, like Valefor. Ones that were known to be kindly disposed towards most and weren't likely to exhaust a prospective summoner. It wasn't that they couldn't be seriously powerful, in the right hands, it was just that most people that got an Aeon for the sake of getting one never really learned how to use them.

Tayuya specialised as a Summoner, so did Kadaj. Apache knew that, so offering her own Aeon's hand in a possible fight meant she had one outside the average newb friendly sphere.

She nodded, just the once, her expression grim. She had Bismarck, but if this thing could shrug off Halibel's attacks the way it was, Bismarck wouldn't be enough. Backed up by Anima, Griever, Ark, and whatever Apache had, though? Then they might have a chance. Though it'd be hard to take it down without destroying the surroundings, too.

"Yeah," she agreed, "if it doesn't work, we go for it."

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia nodded, slow and considered. "Very well," he said. He glanced towards Lumi. Lumi had clearly decided his role in the following action already, and Marluxia flashed him a brief look.

Lumi was injured, but still fast. Fast enough? There was a chance they'd be forced to find out. Wonderweiss seemed to have intentions of holding the wyrm while the others fled, whether he could hold it or not. Marluxia didn't share that intent, and he wasn't about to allow Wonderweiss to sacrifice himself that way either.

Not without a fight, at least. Though he wouldn't fight so hard it endangered himself or Lumi. Marluxia had his limits.

"Are you ready?" There was little point in allowing the current fight to continue if it would benefit no one. Except possibly infuriating the wyrm further.

[spira_npc]

The attack had hurt. It was unlike anything he had ever been attacked with before, and it forced him back and exploded against his skin.

It hurt. They hadn't hurt him yet, but clearly they had power beyond the ones he had known before. His ancient and armoured skin smoked, and the air was choked with dust but he could still feel them there.

He hunkered down, built the fire to the fullest of his ability, and released it in a plume of scorched air that pierced the dust, aimed directly at the ones weakest to it. He could outlast them. Would outlast them. But they had hurt him, and he was not going to allow them to do that again.

[destroytiburon]

Halibel watched the dust begin to fall to the ground, clearing slowly, and then a pinpoint of light within the dust became visible, and flames erupted forth with an intensity to make her turn her head away from it.

She was immune to the magic, immune to damage from the heat, but she could still sense the power contained within the attack.

Their enemy had answered her attack with one of its own, and as they had increased the strength of their attacks, so had it.