//------------------------------// // Capitulo Cuatro // Story: A Destructive Sacrifice // by Dirty Bit //------------------------------// Capitulo Cuatro A Friend In Need Celestia found herself inwardly drained after she had handled the lion's share of her duties while Luna was away with the mysterious visitors. Duties such as hearings, paperwork, and the occasional court meetings was easy enough before her sister returned to her back then, but the work had piled up greatly since then, especially with her student being a princess. Requests for new equipment for construction, better books for the local library, and imported materials from other reaches of Equestria for fashion purposes. These were three examples that were reasonable for the betterment of Canterlot in a whole, but were taxing to achieve regardless. As she mulled over her quota of visitors today during her brief moment of reprieve, she was met with the throne room opening once more, this time to reveal her sister, along with the two visitors, who looked slightly better than before, save for their tattered garbs. She got a better look at the gaping holes seen on their bodies and suppressed a wince. "Ah, Luna. It's good to see you with our mysterious guests in better shape despite the workload you foisted upon me earlier." Celestia said cheekily. Luna scrunched her face. "Believe me, sister, I shall seek to repay you for that injustice, but right now, it's time for proper introductions. Wouldn't you agree?" She turned to Harribel with her question, who nodded before stepping forward and bowing curtly to Celestia. "Please allow me to introduce myself, Your Majesty. I am Tia Harribel, ruler of Hueco Mundo." She waved a hand behind her towards her acquaintance, who looked away with an indifferent glance "This man behind me is known as Grimmjow Jeagerjacques, one of my strongest warriors." "A pleasure to meet you both. I am Princess Celestia." She smiled down at the two guests "I see you are already acquainted with my sister Luna. I hope she has treated you all well." "Well, my ass." Grimmjow spat as his eyes narrowed. Harribel looked back at Grimmjow with a stern gaze. "Grimmjow," Harribel started warningly "I would kindly ask you to be more well-behaved in the face of royalty. Especially those who were kind enough to take us in rather than dispose of us the moment we arrived." "Then why don't you have some pride for once, O powerful ruler!?" Grimmjow snapped before pointing a thumb at Luna "This one here didn't think to trust us at first until you bent your bruised ass over for her!" "We're naught but foreign entities in an undiscovered land, unaware of how powerful its inhabitants are, let alone its rulers. I demand your compliance." Harribel shot back calmy, ableit with restrained irritation. "Whatever! Just try to show some more backbone, huh!?" Grimmjow sneered, unabashed in his rudeness. Celestia merely observed the argument between Harribel and Grimmjow, taken aback by Grimmjow's blatant vulgarity and misbehavior, as well as how he was willing to berate his own ruler while she herself commanded him to act properly. Aside from wondering about who they are and why they were in Equestria, Celestia was curious about their culture and customs to present themselves in such a unique, but unprofessional display. After their brief spat, Harribel faced away from Grimmjow and took a deep breath before regarding Celestia with an even glance "Pardon our altercation. Please rest assured that your sister has treated us with the utmost care that she could offer to us. For that, we're in your debt." She punctuated her gratitude with a curt bow. "Please, there is no need to stand on ceremony." Celestia replied warmly before her expression shifted to curiosity "Although, I'm left to wonder as to how and why you're both here at this time. You and your...retainer?" She tried to brush off Grimmjow's glare "The two of you appearing spontaneously has left my sister and I rather curious." "Though they have not stated it flat out," Luna piped up "I've reason to believe that they-" "Put a sock in it, princess. I'll say it, myself." Grimmjow rudely interrupted, much to Luna's chagrin. Taking a few steps forward until he stood beside Harribel, the male hollow looked up at Celestia, although he bared his teeth in a sneer tinted with ire and what Celestia surprisingly noticed as embarrassment. "Our world, Hueco Mundo, is currently under siege by these pretentious bastards known as Quincy..." _____ Harribel knelt in her holding chamber as two chains held up her arms, her head hung in a mixture of anger, pain, and shame. Ever since the empire known as the Wandenreich mysteriously appeared and laid siege to her land, Hueco Mundo had been in a state of disarray. She had cursed herself for failing her fellow hollows as their new ruler ever since Barragan's passing. She could already hear that infuriating boast said by her captor not too long ago after she had left her alone to wallow in pain. It echoed in her mind and thereby expanded her shame. Her subjects used as pawns for this Yhwach person? Reprehensible. Harribel already dreaded about the well-being of her Fracción despite them managing to escape from the Wandenreich's clutches. Normally, she would not worry over such things, since the Tres Bestias were more than capable warriors that were loyal to her, but the Quincy proved to be very powerful, and she could only wonder where her comrades were at present. She could have sworn she heard a faint explosion as she was being held, but the hollow queen only dismissed it as more carnage outside of her she went back to resigning to her fate. A part of her wondered what would happen if Soul Society were to decidedly intervene or not, considering the Soul Reapers and the Quincy both share a common enemy in hollows. Another explosion - followed by slashing noises - reached Harribel's ears as she tried to entertain herself with thoughts of an otherwise grim future. She decidedly lifted her head as she heard them growing in volume, wondering what could possibly be happening outside of her prison. Her eyes widened when she noticed the doors exploding inwards to reveal a familiar face carrying several injuries on his catlike form. His face was locked in an expression of bestial fury, biting back the pain that shrouded his entire body as he leapt at Harribel and slashed at the chains with a growl, cutting off both with ease as her arms slumped to the floor. "Grimm...jow..." Harribel uttered as she was quickly hoisted up onto his back. Grimmjow muttered a curse when he saw three Quincy blocking his only exit and readied his right elbow, pointing it at his obstacles. "Garra de la Pantera!!" He shouted before five dark green darts from his elbow, prompting one of the Quincy to quickly fire at them all, causing a massive explosion that knocked everyone present back, Grimmjow and Harribel included. Despite the pain that wracked his body, Grimmjow was somehow able to recover with Harribel on his back, lunging towards the entrance and passing the other Quincy as they gave chase. As Grimmjow descended into the next room, he caught a glimpse at a moustached man sitting on his throne with a look of boredom. He had half a mind to go over there and wipe that irritating expression off of his face, but the former espada had different plans: Escape with the ruler of Hueco Mundo. Grimmjow heard promises of capture and referrals of 'Your Majesty' behind him as he continued to retreat from the Quincy base. Meanwhile, Harribel's exhaustion from both her capture and Grimmjow's rescue were causing her to fade into unconsciousness. "Grimm...jow..." She uttered once again. "Shut up! I'm trying to get us out of here!" Grimmjow snapped as he dodged several energy projectiles. He grew increasingly frustrated as the pain was catching up with him, gritting his teeth as he mustered more energy to move towards what he could percieve as the exit. A quick cero to the doors confirmed that they had managed to step back into the ivory sands of Hueco Mundo. Grimmjow, for his part, was actually happy to step back into his native land, rather than the contemptable stronghold that he stormed. Nothing else was on his mind, but a hasty retreat, as much as the thought compelled him to kill something. Sadly, the same Quincy that pursued Grimmjow and Harribel were still hot on their trail, not letting up in their assault. Knowing they were the only ones after them, Grimmjow wondered if he should thank any human-created god that there were no reinforcements to make things even worse for him. He decided to curse any human-created god when his Resurrección wore off. "Son of a bitch!" Grimmjow growled as he did his best to keep both his running speed and Harribel secured on his back. As he dodged more projectiles coming his way, he grew furious and wondered if there was a way to lose them. he perked up when he realized that he still carried a memento from Las Noches, specifically his former leader. He reached into the pocket of his hakama to pull out what looked like a small, black cube as he glanced at the Quincy behind him from the corner of his eye. He knew that the Caja Negacion was only meant for Fracción and the occasional arrancar of average strength, but he did not have much else to lose aside from what was left of his dignity, the arrancar on his back, and his very life. 'Only got one shot at this...' He thought to himself, not happy with his situation at all. The plan was simple: Make a Garganta, then launch the Caja Negacion back at the Quincy gaining up on him. Letting out another growl, he followed through with his plan and opened a rift in the air while simultaneously tossing back the only item that could assist him. He was confident that his plan would succeed until the impossible happened. One of the Quincy shot an energy projectile at the Caja Negacion, quickly guiding it towards Grimmjow and Harribel, causing the former to instinctively dodge. Grimmjow's eyes widened when he noticed how both the cube and the projectile launched at it expanded with their respective energies directly in the growing rift of the Garganta. The three energies then melded together, and where Grimmjow and the Quincy expected an explosion of massive proportions, there was only a bright light that engulfed the two arrancar and blinded their pursuers before it subsided into itself and blinked out from existence, leaving behind a trio of confused soldiers. _____ Celestia, Luna, and Harribel shared looks of utter shock as Grimmjow concluded his tale, and the latter could only gaze back at them all with an indifferent glance before a scoff escaped his lips. "So yeah," He broke the silence "That's pretty much our situation. Unless we find a way out of here, or if those bastards find us, we're totally fucked." To be continued...