Episode 71: Descending Storm
Eyes were drawn to them within moments and Adagio drank the attention in as she waded into the crowd with swaying steps. The dancers parted as if pushed by invisible hands, but their looks were of equal parts curiosity, apprehension, and measuring hunger, like a pit of vipers all carefully teaming around what they weren’t certain was competition, a larger predator, or fresh prey. She could all but smell the fear hidden behind their eyes, but none of them had decided where she belonged in the pecking order yet. Well, she’d fix that soon enough. Adagio winked at the Arrancar staring at her and her companions behind her, flashing a sharp smile.
“I don’t mind if you all want to stare at me all night, but the walk here was long and I could use a drink. You-” she pointed a claw at a random, somewhat muscular Arrancar male nearby, “-be a dear and grab my friends and I something from the table, will you?”
He blinked confused brown eyes for a second, pointing at himself, “What? Me? Why should I-”
“Now,” Adagio said, voice as cutting as any blade, and before he seemed to know what he was doing the errand boy was off to fetch drinks.
Ember came up beside Adagio, arms crossed, eyeing the dancers, “What? You guys never seen a Vasto Lorde before? Quit your starring and either get back to dancing or find something else to gawk at!”
“What’s a human doing here?” one of the more belligerent sounding Arrancar said, pointing towards Fenice.
“None of your freakin’ business, that’s what!” snapped Ember, and Adagio stepped in, letting her smile turn into something closer to a challenging smirk.
“She’s with us. Those who have an issue with that, I do encourage you to try doing something about it. I’m hungry, as well as thirsty, and some of you look just so... robust. Of course I’d hate to sully Thorax’s dance floor with too much blood this early in the evening, so perhaps you should take Ember’s advice and get back to enjoying the party?”
Some of the crowd stared at her incredulously. A few others gave her measured nods of approval. Most shrugged and did exactly what Adagio said and went back to dancing, seeming to have accepted the newcomers in their midst. A few others still stared with open interest, until sauntering out of the crowd was the tall and lean form of Thorax, slipping through the crowd with the smooth skill of a schooner navigating thick coral reefs. His obsidian features were lit up by a honey coated smile, his voice bright, loud, and carrying over the crowd.
“Adagio! Ember! So glad you two made it! I hope my little pleasure den wasn’t too hard to find?”
“I’ve been here before,” Ember said flatly, “It's not like you move the place.”
“True, true, oh but wouldn’t be fun if I could? Make it a game just to find the place? Ah, but then I wouldn’t have nearly as many guests to entertain, and where’s the fun in that?” Thorax’s eyes positively gleamed with amused delight, then they fixed upon the two girls standing slightly behind Adagio and Ember, “And speaking of guests, whom do I have the pleasure of meeting here? Adagio, you really have brought me two visions of beauty, haven’t you?”
Fenice’s face flushed to a rosy shade and she looked away with an angry glare, teeth grit as she only paid Thorax a sidelong, heated glance. Roka, smiling politely, stepped forward and offered Thorax a courteous bow of her head.
“The pleasure is ours. I am Roka, and this is my sister Fenice, Fraccion to our Father, the Lord Fourth Espada.”
Thorax placed a hand on his chest, teeth barred in a pleased grin. “Then let me introduce myself as well. I am Thorax, humble Fraccion to Lady Chrysalis. It is a distinct and absolute honor to welcome the Fourths own daughters to my humble hall of entertainment. I do hope you find this evening enjoyable and if there is anything,” his eyes slide over Fenice for a moment before turning back to Roka, “And I do mean anything at all I can do to make your experience here more to your liking then you have but to ask.”
“You flatter us with such attention,” Roka said, her eyes carrying a knowing glint of amusement, but also a flash of protectiveness as she stepped closer to her sister, “Rest assured if I think of anything I shall let you know immediately. However we’ve only just arrived and I believe my sister and I wish to take our time and look around at what is already offered.”
“By all means,” Thorax said with an exaggerated bow, throwing his hands out to gesture grandly around the vast chamber, “Eat, drink, dance, and be merry, for tomorrow we may well die.”
This was met by a number of dark chuckles from the nearby Arrancar who’d mostly gone back to dancing to the heavy beat of the music coming from the central platform. The young Arrancar girl up there running the music hadn’t even stopped from bobbing her head and waving her arms to the music, sweat dripping off her dark skinned brow. Thorax noticed Adagio’s look and smiled affectionately.
“My sister Ocellus. She’s far more musically inclined than I am, and without her talents these parties would be much duller affairs.”
“Would that make her another of Chrysalis’ children?” inquired Adagio, glancing towards where she saw the male Arrancar she’d sent off for drinks returning. The man was managing to balance a tray filled with tall glasses filled with what looked like wine on the palm of one hand while managing to twist and turn his way through the dancing crowd with remarkable dexterity.
To her question Thorax merely winked, “Our Lady Chrysalis has many children who serve in her horde, even if we don’t all bear the distinction of being her Fraccion. Or even carrying her blood.”
“How many males even survive her attentions, besides Lord Tirek?” Ember quipped, and Thorax let out a rich laugh.
“Only our Queen knows. Oh, I see you’ve already met Rep! Hey Rep! Did Adagio wrangle you into getting drinks? For shame, Adagio, poaching an Espada’s Fraccion for your service already? And here I thought I was your one and only!”
Adagio rolled her eyes with a slim smile, partially at amusement at Thorax’s pouting tone, and partially to hide her surprise at his words. An Espada’s Fraccion? She’d just picked her errand boy at random from the crowd, not knowing he had any special standing. It was still hard to see it, even as she gave the man a closer look.
Of average height the man was well muscled but otherwise unremarkable in appearance. His skin was the color of milk chocolate, his eyes hazel and fixed in a slim, plain featured face. He had a well groomed but otherwise almost unnoticeable head of dark green hair that just went past his ears. He wore white, like most Arrancar, in the form of well cut suit pants tucked into dark shoes, and a long sleeved, open shirt that exposed a fit chest. His Hollow hole sat just above his belly button, and along his nose was a fine and smooth fragment of his Hollow mask that looked like a part of an avian creature’s beak.
The man stopped and offered the tray towards Adagio, speaking in a somewhat nasally but not unpleasant voice, heavy with affected courtesy, “Madame’s drinks, as she requested?”
It was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or genuine, so Adagio just decided to play it straight and took one of the drinks, inclining her head, “Thank you. Such prompt service must please your Espada. Rep, was it? Thorax was just telling me about you. Ember, Roka, Fenice, don’t by shy, go ahead and drink up.”
“Is that alcohol?” Fenice asked, eyes suspicious, “I’m not into getting plastered.”
“I can find you something more sugar laden, if that’s your pleasure, madame,” said Rep, barley missing a beat.
“Rep just loves to serve, don’t you Rep?” said Thorax, chuckling as he went up and stroked the other man’s arm, “And so well sculpted. I mean, does Catrina know how to pick her Fraccion, or what?”
A deadpan look crossed Rep’s face as he said in a quiet voice barely audible over the music, “You haven’t even gotten drunk yet and already with the touching. Thorax, we talked about personal space, didn’t we?”
“Yes, yes. Well, I mean, you talked. I mostly nodded my head and wondered about carpets and drapes-” at Rep’s groan Thorax laughed loudly, “Hah, I meant for in here! Don’t you think we need to liven the place up with some proper carpeting? I want purple velvet, personally.”
“Aaaaand that’s my cue to be elsewhere,” Ember said, “When the innuendos appear, so does Ember disappear. Adagio, I think I spot a few guys from my dad’s horde screwing around over by the wrestling rings. I’ll be over there, pile driving someone into the mat if you need me.”
“Mind if I come?” asked Fenice, and Ember looked the human over briefly, then smiled and shrugged.
“Sure, why not?”
As Fenice smiled gratefully and went to follow Ember, Roka touched her sister’s shoulder briefly. “Be careful, sister.”
“You too,” Fenice replied with a soft smile and nod before disappearing with Ember through the crowd. Thorax just watched them for a second before letting out a snorting laugh, snatching a drink from Rep.
“Pile driving someone into the mat. Heh, and she says she doesn’t like innuendos.”
“I think in this case it was meant quite literally,” Roka said, coughing politely, “And if it wasn’t, then I’ll have to have a talk with her about where she takes my sister in the future.”
“So am I done getting people drinks now, or what?” Rep asked, and Adagio responded by taking a long swig of the drink in her hand, letting the fine red wine slip down her throat, and then with her tail she snaked it around another drink to grasp it off the tray.
“I’d say so. Thank you. So you serve Catrina, I heard that right?”
Rep glanced at the one remaining drink on the tray in his hand, shrugged and grabbed the drink while tossing the tray over his shoulder, and took a hefty gulp himself before gasping and wiping the wine away with the sleeve of his shirt. “That I do. Me and an entire army of miniature, fuzzy death machines.”
Adagio recalled the very strange looking Hollows that had born Catrina’s palanquin during the meeting with Torch, just before the Quincy raid. Those odd looking patches of stark white fuzz hadn’t made her do more than blink at the time, but now she was curious.
“It seems its not uncommon for Espada to have their own, unique servants. What’s so special about Catrina’s, if you don’t mind my asking?”
A hint of nervousness twitched in Rep’s eyes, “They’re not that special. Las Noches might as well be the center of Hueco Mundo, but there’s a lot of endless desert out there, and in a few places you get tribes of Hollows that are a bit... different. The Bushwoolie tribe is like that.”
“Mmmhmm, and just how did you end up in Lady Catrina’s employ? I’ve only met her once, but she seems to be a woman of, how shall I put it, exacting tastes?” Adagio inquired. She watched as Rep raised an eyebrow at her, his own gaze turning towards weighing her.
“Let’s just say me and Catrina go way back and leave it at that, eh? What about you? Not exactly the typical Hollow, are you?” He gestured at her chest, where her Hollow hole prominently displayed her gleaming ruby siren gem. “Crawled right out of Lord Grogar’s science labs, went from Adjuchas to Vasto Lorde faster than anyone could blink, walked into the Lament’s tower, and now you’re shacked up in the Queen of Thorns old rooms while paying a social call to Thorax’s den of all places, with the Fourth Espada’s Fraccion in tow? Do you have any idea how weird this all looks from the outside?”
Adagio couldn’t help but laugh, “I imagine it looks like a lot of things. I like the idea of people guessing. What’s your take on it, as one on the outside looking in, hmm?”
Rep glanced between her and Thorax, and Thorax only grinned and gulped his drink, saying, “You’re on your own for this one, Rep. I’m not giving any hints.”
Rep puff a sigh out the side of his mouth and fixed Adagio with a earnest stare, arms crossing over his chest. “If I was going the paranoid route I’d say this all looks like an Espada power play. Grogar made you, or found you, or did something to you, and has turned you loose to cause havoc in Las Noches’ power structure. Only I don’t think the old goat is going solo on this venture. He’s got approval from up top. No way he’d have the guts to try shaking things up otherwise, not unless he knew his wrinkled butt was protected. As for you, Adagio, I feel like you’re either way smarter than you look and are playing those that are playing you, or you’re significantly dumber than you think you are and you’re being used without realizing it. Coins still in the air on that one, I think.”
“And that’s the paranoid assessment? What’s the non-paranoid one?” Adagio asked, not wanting to say too much and rather just keep Rep talking. The truth was that Rep’s assessment wasn’t entirely wrong. She more than suspected Grogar was still trying to use her for his own ends, and Chrysalis had already made her wants known, to a degree. Adagio knew she still had strings attached to her, despite her growing freedoms, and that even her being here right now might be playing into one or more plans that others had for her. She was just banking on her, as Rep had suggested, being smart enough to play those trying to play her.
“Non-paranoid? That doesn’t exist here,” Rep said with a wink, “But closest to it I get is just assuming you’re a very unusual Hollow who’s managed to not get crushed underfoot yet by the giants she in the playground with.” His eyes glazed over for a moment with the veil of distant memories, “Hasn’t been the first time someone’s worked their way up from nothing around here, so best of luck to you, Adagio. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go find a hole to hide in.”
He moved off with rather incredible agility, impressing Adagio once again with how smoothly he managed to move through the roaring mass of dancers. At his quick exit, however, she blinked and glanced at Thorax.
“What was that about?’
Thorax just laughed and pointed off in another direction, “The prey flees when scenting predators nearby.”
In the direction Thorax pointed Adagio saw an exceedingly tall beanpole of an Arrancar girl scanning the crowd with her eyes shaded by a large hand. The girl’s proportions seemed all off, with too large a hand on far too slim a wrist and long, noodle arm. Her head seemed a bit too narrow, her nose a bit too long. Her hair was a tomato soup red, and completely unkempt, left in a rounded, shaggy mass to fall down her back. Even her Arrancar clothing seemed off, shaped like a pair of white overalls and suspenders. Her lower left jaw was marked by a Hollow mask fragment shaped like the jutting jawbone of a large hunting cat, complete with large saber fangs.
“Reeka,” Thorax said in a low murmur of quiet amusement, “She’s one of Hydia’s daughters. Quite the improvement over her mother, I’d say. Her sister Draggle ought to be around somewhere too. They’re largely harmless, unless on a mission from Hydia. Right now, however, she’s likely looking for Rep. Hence his disappearing act.”
“Do they not like each other?” asked Roka.
“Oh, quite the opposite,” Thorax replied with a wry half-grin, “But enough about that. Roka, would you care for a dance?”
He turned to her and dipped low, offering Roka a hand with a panther’s grace and a smile to match. Roka eyed his hand with another curious raise of her eyebrow, eyes giving away nothing with their placid surface. Slowly she took his hand, her ghostly white skin all but reflecting off his onyx surface.
“A short dance,” Roka said, then turned a glance towards Adagio, “If my escort does not mind?”
Adagio considered. She saw no real issue letting Roka enjoy herself with Thorax, although she recalled Ember’s warning about how Thorax enjoyed messing with people. Still Roka was a grown woman and could likely take care of herself. Besides, Adagio imagined out of all the people Thorax might cross, the Lament was not on the list.
“Go enjoy yourself,” Adagio said with a nod, “I’ll see what trouble I can get into on my own.”
“Don’t bring the cavern down. Oh, and why don’t you check out the pool? I think you’ll like it,” Thorax quipped with a wink and then proceeded to spin Roka off, hand in hand, in what looked to Adagio like someone doing their damnedest to bring swing back. Not that any of the Arrancar dancing had any uniformity to what they were doing. She saw as many different styles form as many different time periods, almost none of it matching the wild techno music that Ocellus was pumping out. So why not swing? Roka seemed to enjoy it from the smile Adagio caught on the woman’s face as she followed Thorax’s lead as they spun off into the crowd.
Now that she was left to her own devices, at least for the moment, Adagio finished the one drink she had in her hand with one long gulp. Then she considered the empty glass, and seeing the general chaos around her she shrugged and tossed the glass aside with nary a care as her tail coiled forward and she took a sip from the other drink she had there. Hollow constitution aside the alcohol was making for a pleasant warmth as she sashayed her way through the dancing crowd and headed for the nearest ramp leading up to the catwalks.
She wanted a more commanding view of things. As she went she swooped by one of the food tables, remembering vividly just how good that fresh apple at Lament’s tower had been. Attempted decapitations aside, of course. What was available on the table was a truly chaotic spread consisting of piles of college dorm junk food, assortments of seemingly random fast foods, and stacks of freshly barbecued meats of every description. Her eye caught a familiar logo on a wrapped burger and on impulse she snatched it up as she breezed by the table.
Yup, the same fast food joint she and her sisters had been working at back in Canterlot City’s mall. Was that just coincidence, or did Thorax know more about her than he was letting on? Either way she devoured the burger in short order. There’d been a time not long ago she’d hated her free meals at lunch break, as it reminded her of where she was trapped in life. Now the taste just made her smile at remembering the way her sisters would bicker over the food.
Reaching the ramp leading up to the catwalks Adagio was caught by a whim and just decided to leap the rest of the way up, balancing on the twenty foot high catwalk’s railing as she continued to sip her wine held by her tail. Arrancar were up here as well, dancing away, or chatting around small tables as they ate. She had a perfect view of the “pool” across the back of the chamber, as well as both the central dance floor and the areas beyond. With sharp eyes she could pick out where Roka and Thorax continued to dance, creating a small, clear area around their swift and smooth motions.
She spotted Ember in one of the wrestling rings, apparently tag-teaming with Fenice on a pair of Arrancar who looked to be from Torch’s horde. Apparently it was a no-swords-allowed affair, but that wasn’t stopping Ember or Fenice from slamming their competitors around. Despite being merely human it seemed Fenice was no pushover.
Well, neither of Lament’s daughters are getting themselves killed, and Ember seems to be enjoying herself. I’ve already gotten a broader picture of who’s who around here. So far so good...
She saw that she was drawing more than a few looks from the Arrancar nearby, and with a winning smile Adagio didn’t skip a beat, winking at those staring at her and finishing her second drink, then casually tossing the empty glass with her tail while proceeding to do a back dive off the rail to sail towards the pool below. She’d seen enough of the other party goers jump off the catwalks into the waters to know it was deep enough, and she had a sharper sense for these things ever since her evolution anyway so she had no doubts as she dove into the obsidian water.
She could hear the noise of the party even underwater, taking a minute to simply revel in the feeling of the cool embrace of the water around her. Other Arrancar were swimming above, engaged in contests of wrestling and quasi-violent water jousting with the occasional clash of swords and bloodletting. Adagio could smell the blood in the water, her senses sharp as any sharks. She swam the circumference of the pool, feeling out its depths, curious.
Aside from her lake she hadn’t noticed any water sources in Hueco Mundo, and only now was wondering where this pool had come from. Stretching out her senses, feeling the water around her like a bat might sense a dark cavern with its sonar, Adagio could tell the pool was connected to a set of underground tunnels, which in turn fed into a large subterranean reservoir. It might even link to the depths of her own lake. If she concentrated hard enough she could almost feel an echo of familiar dark magic in the distance, and felt more certain this underground water reservoir would eventually link up to her lake.
Hollows didn’t need food or water the way mortals did, but it was a useful luxury, and suddenly it made more sense to her why Las Noches was built where it was. If what she was sensing was accurate there were numerous small wells, probably connected to the inner chambers of a few Espada holdings.
She somehow doubted many Hollows, let alone Arrancar, could sense the paths of these maze-like tunnels the way she could, or breathe underwater like she could. Her eyes shined and her smile was pleased as a cat with a fresh caught bird.
I could use these underwater tunnels to get into almost anywhere in Las Noches. Even Grogar’s... hah... hahahahah! ‘Why don’t you check out the pool?’ Thorax, you cad. What do you want from me that you’re giving me a gift this nicely wrapped?
She doubted he could have known just how strong her aquatic affinity actually was, but given her appearance he’d probably guessed she might have a chance of realizing and piecing together the facts about this little party pool and what it really meant. In fact she imagined it wouldn’t just give her access to various parts of Las Noches, it might give Thorax and his ilk serving Chrysalis similar access, if they had the means to traverse the underwater tunnels. Perfect for spying. Also Chrysalis’ story of being able to murder the various friends of the Queen of Thorns suddenly had more weight if Chrysalis had a means of getting around undetected.
Her mood higher than ever she swam up to the surface at high speed, breaching the water to do an elegant flip through the air before splashing back down. Invigorated, she smoothly flowed to the pool’s edge and burst out with a single easy leap, stretching languidly as she wrung the water from her dress and hair. She got a few catcalls as she did so, and with a smokey grin she just winked at the admirers and for simple fun she made a gesture with her hands, taking control of some of the water within the pool and setting it to creating a tall wave to crash over the swimmers, eliciting hoots and hollers of equal consternation or delight from those in the pool.
Laughing to herself Adagio walked towards the other side of the large chamber, drawn by the curious sound of energy blasts going off. A few dozen meters from the wrestling rings and its cheering crowd of onlookers there was a carved out, rectangular portion of wall. Here she saw what looked to be the world’s most deadly game of dodge-ball being played. Some Arrancar, perhaps a dozen, were set up along the far wall of the carved out area. Each one looked battered and bruised, some bleeding profusely from more severe wounds, yet each one was grinning like crazy as they drank from big metal kegs of booze they were carrying while dodging around like mad. Lined up at the entrance of the carved out area were other Arrancar who were all laughing uproariously as they took turns taking aim with their hands and firing hardened ‘bullets’ of reishi at the other, keg-totting Arrancar.
Coming up behind one of the onlookers, Adagio asked, “What’s this about?”
The pig-tailed female Arrancar glanced over her shoulder at Adagio, still snickering over seeing one of the living targets of the game taking a hit to a leg and hopping about, and blinked in surprise. “Whazzat?”
Adagio wrinkled her nose. This girl’s breath absolutely reeked of alcohol.
“This,” she pointed down the shooting gallery, “What am I looking at?”
“Ooooooh, thisssh! Hehehe! Thish ish Bala Ball! Stupid fishy don’t know nuthin’.”
“And the chances of getting an intelligent response have dropped to zero,” Adagio muttered, wondering if there was someone less drunk nearby. Meanwhile the pig-tailed Arrancar girl had started to sway back and forth while following Adagio’s tail, which was idly swaying about as well.
“Yush got a tail, did’ja know dat?” the girl said, pointing.
“Your powers of observation astound me, miss...?”
“Draggle! I’mma Draggle!” the girl burped and then turned a fine shade of green. Adagio wondered if she’d need to rapidly avoid some projectile vomit, but Draggle seemed to get whatever internal battle was occurring under control and simply burped again, louder this time. Adagio took a moment to more carefully observe this one, now that she had a name and recognized it as one Thorax had mentioned. This was Hydia’s other daughter then? She could only wonder what Hydia herself must look like.
Draggle was... broad. Adagio got the sense there was more muscle than flab, however, to this girl. Her frame was like a boulder, with stout legs and arms that didn’t jiggle with fat so much as look like cannon fire would bounce off the hardened hide of these limbs. She was dressed similarly to her sister Reeka, although Draggle had made an attempt at more flowery dress with the addition of an actual skirt to the ensemble. Her short pig-tails were coarse and black colored, matching surprisingly well with skin the color of blood oranges. Her left eye and brow was covered in a large fragment of rather human looking Hollow mask.
Adagio, despite herself, put on a diplomatic smile. “Adagio Dazzle, a pleasure. Now while I might be asking too much, could you explain what, ahem, ‘Bala Ball’ is?”
Draggle’s eyes blinked slowly, not both at once, but one at a time, then she pointed, “Shoot Balas at the balls. Them’s dudes with the booze is the balls. Shoot ‘em.”
“That’s...it?”
“That ain’t enough?” As if to prove her point Draggle raised one hand, the one not carrying a large, clear bottle of what Adagio suspected was pure moonshine, and red energy crackled around the girl’s hand. She then punched out, and with a snap of sound a red burst of small but concentrated Hollow reishi shot out. One of the Arrancar ‘balls’ yelped as the shot clipped their shoulder, spinning them into the wall. Laughter from both the lined up shooters and spectators, as well as the other ‘balls’ filled the air and each ‘ball’ took a drink from their kegs.
Adagio observed the game for a minute, and started to catch on to the rules on her own. They weren’t complicated. The ‘balls’ were all volunteers, dong so to get their hands on their own beer kegs. They could take a drink every time they dodged a ‘Bala’ shot. Dodge enough in a row and they got to walk off, keeping the keg. Of course that didn’t happen very often as they got more and more drunk, so some gave up and let others try. Eventually beer kegs would run out and somebody would bring in fresh ones, with a new batch of volunteer ‘balls’. Meanwhile the shooters also drank, became worse shots, and gave up, to let fresher volunteers take a crack at the game. Everyone got drunk and had a good time, injuries notwithstanding.
“How does one do these Balas?” Adagio asked. Now that she had watched the technique being performed for a little while she recognized this as the same attack Ember had used during the fight with the Adjuchas tribe in the Forest of Menos. While clearly not as outright destructive as a Cero, the rapid speed of the shots looked useful. She wanted to learn how to do the technique as well, but couldn’t quite figure it out just by watching.
Draggle, however, was not proving to be all that helpful as she just shrugged and fired off another Bala without looking at her target, “I dunno. You jush do et.”
“Ah, of course, how foolish of me,” Adagio said with razor thin sarcasm.
“I could show you.”
Adagio looked over her shoulder as she saw Roka approach. Her pale skin was glistening now with sweat and Roka’s cheeks were a faint shade more red, but otherwise her expression was a cool and collected as ever as she walked up and offered a small smile to both Adagio and Draggle.
“Done dancing already?” Adagio commented with a questioning raise of her eyebrow.
“I did tell Thorax it would be a a short dance,” Roka said, coughing slightly as she glanced away, “He is exceptionally skilled. I wouldn’t want to take his attention the entire night, merely trying to correct my lack of experience.”
Draggle was staring at Roka, then her eyes slid over to Adagio, blinking again in that one-two slow combo, then she pointed at both of them. “Holleeeee craaaap yur that freaky Vasto chick an one uv the Foursh kids!!!”
“You’re only now noticing I’m a Vasto Lorde?”
“I jush thought you wus a real ugly chick.”
“...Excuse me?”
Roka smiled with the politeness of a porcelain mask, patting Adagio’s shoulder, “Now Adagio, I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that. She’s clearly had... quite a bit to drink. Father imbibes, but only in moderation.”
“Whoa the Foursh ish a’ drinker too!? An’ he cuts dudes heads off! Thash so raaaaad! Heheh!”
Roka’s polite smile wavered slightly, “Yes, it is indeed, um... rad.”
Adagio ran a clawed hand over her Hollow mask, “I think we’ve found Di Roy’s soul mate.”
“I was under the impression he and Gaw were...well, never mind that,” Roka said, clearing her throat as she rapidly changed the subject, “But as I was saying, if you’re curious about the Bala technique, I could teach you the basics.”
“I wus jush sayin’ ish easssy! You fling out yur hand an bam, boom, zap. Ya know?” Draggle added with a helpful smile, flailing her hand around and firing off a few random shots, much to the yelling irritation of several nearby spectators.
Roka nodded in courteous fashion, “As you say. However Adagio is not an Arrancar yet, so the technique may be more difficult for her.”
“Seriously?” Adagio asked, and Roka nodded.
“Your power is great, and Ember has told me you have no difficulties with Cero. However Cero is a raw, unrestrained blast of destructive power. Bala requires more refined control of one’s reiatsu, which generally isn’t found outside of Arrancar. However you're talented enough you might be able to do so without the evolutionary benefits of being an Arrancar. Let me show you... here, stand like this.”
Roka showed Adagio to an open spot on the firing line, and with practiced and gentle touches of her fingers Roka positioned Adagio in a straight posture with her right arm out. Roka was standing just behind her, head beside Adagio’s as she spoke just loud enough to be heard over the buzz of the party.
“Instead of unleashing your power like a unrestrained wave, try taking hold of just a portion of it, like imagining a pebble in the palm of your hand.”
Adagio did so, focusing on the center of her palm and imagining just a sliver of her power pooling there. For a moment she felt that small bubble of pressure building, but as she did so it was like the power inside her leaped for release, pushing itself through her hand in eager need to destroy. Adagio pulled it back, but lost focus on the bubble in the process.
“Do you see what I mean?” Roka said, not chiding or accusing, but encouraging, “Your reiatsu wants to escape and destroy, as is normal for Hollows. To restrain it isn’t easy, isn’t natural for us. Arrancar are not merely human appearing, our natures are closer to reflecting the will and control of humans. Hollows are beings of innate negative emotions, and as a Vasto Lorde you must feel them more strongly than ever, yes?”
It was true, Adagio was frustrated and angry, immensely so, at just one small failure. She pushed the feeling down, as she’d been practicing doing that since practically the day she’d been captured by Grogar, but she understood what Roka meant.
“So when I become an Arrancar my emotions will be easier to control, and in turn my reiatsu as well?”
“More or less. We are never fully free of the negative emotions that make us what we are, but Arrancar are the pinnacle of controlling that power and making it our own. When you evolve, you’ll be able to feel the difference.”
That gave Adagio an idea. She was a Hollow, true, but she wasn’t like any other Hollow in all Hueco Mundo. She had ways of calming herself, and aspects of her soul she understood better than most. She closed her eyes and thought of the ocean. She thought then of her cold, dark lake, and how at home she’d felt there. Even in the simple water of this chamber’s pool she’d felt a sense of calm and elation both at once that set her at ease. Water was her domain, her element to control.
Touching upon a part of herself that was connected to her siren gem and furthermore connected to the depths of the lake that was her domain, she summoned water into the palm of her hand. The water formed there from thin air, a condensed sphere no larger than a golf ball.
Roka saw this and watched curiously, as did several other Arrancar as Adagio focused her reiatsu once again into her palm, but this time tied the power to the sphere of water.
Now the water started to pulse red, surrounded by an aura of Hollow reishi, and interlaced with the water she could feel her aggressive Hollow power being restrained inside the water. The calmness of working with the water counteracted the raw aggression of her Hollow power. Snapping her eyes open, Adagio took aim and fired.
The water bullet combined with condensed reishi fired off like a shot from a sniper rifle. She missed the Arrancar she was aiming at down at the other end of the shooting gallery, but that was probably for the best because her shot impacted the wall and cored out a meter deep hole in the raw stone, blasting rock chunks everywhere.
Adagio let out a loud laugh, “I think I’ll call this one ‘Aqua Bala’. What do you think, Roka?”
----------
With spittle flapping from his lips the short Arrancar male with the punkish crop of red hair performed a flying dropkick at Fenice’s head. Grinning, despite her relatively foul mood, Fenice kicked off the wrestling ring’s floor for just an instant, her spirit energy and the reishi of the floor reacting and propelling her with higher speed than any human could normally move. She then grabbed her opponent by the ankle, and shouted, “Ember, catch!”
Ember, who had her own opponent in a firm headlock, saw what Fenice was doing and shared the same grin as the human girl, suddenly spinning her own foe around and launching him like a javelin just as Fenice was throwing her own already airborne opponent straight towards Ember.
The two Arrancar who’d stepped into the ring with them collided with each other head on with a loud, wet smack, and both bounce to the floor in dazed heaps. Without missing a beat Ember jumped up onto the corner turnbuckle and launched herself into an elbow drop, while Fenice went for the side ropes. The moment she hit the ropes she once again reached out with her spirit energy, bringing out extra power and spring from the ropes so they’d launch her with more force as she joined Ember in elbow dropping upon their stunned opponents.
Moments later they were tossing both unconscious Arrancar out of the ring. There were no ‘referees’ down here to do three counts. Fenice was fairly sure the Arrancar didn’t really know, or care, what referees were and that this whole wrestling thing was, at best, about the same as what one might find in the back yards of some of the less safety conscious members of society.
Still, rough as it was, it proved a good outlet for her frustrations and anger. She still couldn’t believe Father wanted her to get friendly with this Adagio woman! Ember seemed alright, at least, but Adagio just rubbed Fenice the wrong way. Something about that confident, smug look that was always in her eyes. Reminded Fenice of... other people she used to know.
Unconsciously her hand touched the small amulet around her neck. Her face twitched as she remembered fire and agony. And before that the pain of loss followed by a ravenous hunt for the truth.
I thought she had all the answers. But she abandoned me just like everyone else did. Everyone before Father, Roka, and the other kids.
A hefty clap on her shoulder shook Fenice out of her thoughts as Ember leaned over to look at her, “Hey, wake up! You good to keep going or do those scrawny human muscles need a break?”
Fenice put on a scowl that she didn’t entirely feel, sort of half-grinning even as she tried to glare at Ember, “A break? As if. I was going to ask you if you were okay to keep fighting without your sword. I know how you Arrancar are just so helpless without your Zanpaktou.”
“Pfft, you’re thinking Soul Reapers, girl. Arrancar can kick ass with or without a weapon. It's the Soul Reapers and Quincy that are defanged little babes when deprived of their fancy toys,” Ember said, flexing an arm and patting her bicep with the other hand.
“Well then let’s kick the next poor schmuck’s butt who climbs into the ring with us, because I sure ain’t done,” Fenice said, smacking a fist into her palm, looking out at the crowd and shouting in challenge, “Who’s next!?”
Before the eager crowd could finish arguing over who’d go after Ember and the human next Ember herself narrowed her eyes and walked over to the other side of the ring, peering out towards where Fenice could see a bunch of Arrancar lined up in front of some kind of shooting gallery. She’d been hearing the Bala’s being fired, it was hard to mistake that distinctly deep and echoing boom, but she hadn’t paid what was going on over there much mind. Now she strode up next to Ember, looking in the same direction the Arrancar girl was with a wondering stare.
“What are you looking at?”
Ember’s eyes grew heated as she grumbled, “What does that idiot thing he’s doing?”
It took Fenice another few seconds to spot what Ember was looking at, or rather who. Walking in swift strides across the crowded party room as if they owned the area was a group of Arrancar, but they didn’t look like they were among the usual festive guests. There were maybe eight or nine all together, but at the very front of the pack were two in particular. One was a tall and brutishly muscled female with a stark shock of white hair with purple tips.
Gilda, Fenice recognized Lord Guto’s top Fraccion, although she’d never really formally met the woman.
The other Arrancar was a male, a fellow with rusty red skin and missing one arm. Fenice didn’t recognize him, but Ember seemed to.
“The hell is that?” she asked.
“Garble. What is he doing with Gilda? Here?” Ember’s eyes flicked to the right, towards the line of party goers firing away at the shooting gallery, and she swore under her breath, “Dammit, there’s Adagio! C’mon, I’m smelling trouble.”
----------
Adagio was gradually getting the hang of her jury-rigged new technique. She discovered she couldn’t fire it as fast as the more natural Bala’s the Arrancar used, as forming the ‘water bullet’ took a second more time and concentration, but it packed a bit more punch as well while still being a much faster attack than a Cero. Her aim was still all over the place, but she imagined with a few weeks practice she’d be able to snipe an apple off someone’s head at a hundred paces.
Or just take their head off, whichever she pleased.
“Thas prutty gud n’ all, buuuut shtill think Bala’s better,” slurred Draggle as she went through a fresh bottle of a lime green drink the origins of which Adagio could only guess at.
“I’m impressed at your ability to improvise,” said Roka, tapping a slim finger to her chin, “I wonder if perhaps I could try new things with my strings.”
“We could always train together,” Adagio suggested, “Considering your Father wants us to spend time together as friends why don’t I offer one of the rooms in my territory as a place for you and Fenice to train with me? I’m certain Ember would agree to join as well.”
“That sounds like a lovely idea. I could always stand to sharpen my skills...” Roka said with a smile, but then the smile bled off and her eyes grew serious as she saw something behind Adagio, "And it seems an opportunity may be soon arriving.”
Adagio turned, although she felt their presence before she did so. There were so many different Arrancar reiatsu filling the chamber it’d been nearly impossible to pick them out from the crowd, but now that they were close she could distinctly sense Gilda, Garble, and Greta’s spiritual pressures. As well as about half a dozen others which she assumed belonged to the motley collection of thuggish Arrancar that flanked Gilda like her own personal posse. None of them wore friendly faces, although Adagio noted that Greta at least looked like she didn’t want to be there in the first place.
Garble and Gilda were both at the very front of the group as it came to a stop in front of Adagio and Roka, and the pair started talking at the same time.
“How’s it going trash-”
“Fancy seeing you here-”
The both paused, shooting glares at each other for apparently missing out on the other one’s intended script for this encounter. They continued to glare for a moment before Garble rolled his eyes and made an ‘after you’ gesture to Gilda, to which she snorted and stepped forward one more step, arms rippling as she crossed them under her chest.
“Hey trash, figured I’d come to the party after all. Might be at least one thing halfway entertaining down here.”
“Yeah,” shot Garble, “Wouldn’t want anyone thinking we’re not sociable.”
“Garble what the hell are you doing down here?” Ember called loudly, appearing with a flash of Sonido beside Adagio. A moment afterward Fenice appeared as well, her feet briefly glowing with motes of green light from her own swift movement technique. Fenice pointedly slid close to Roka, her hand on her amulet.
“What’s going on?” she asked her sister, and Roka’s face remained a stoic mask.
“I’m not certain, but stay close.”
“Shur, I’ll be riiiight here...hic.”
“I didn’t mean you, Miss Draggle. Could you please remove your hands from my waist?”
Meanwhile Adagio had stepped forward in similar commanding fashion as Gilda, although she kept her posture casually relaxed and her voice pleasantly smooth. “I’m glad you decided to join us, Gilda. I was afraid the prospect of a gathering that didn’t involve the immediate threat of violence wouldn’t appeal to your tastes. And Garble, how good to see you. How’s the arm?”
She could see the raw anger shoot across his eyes like a laser, but he surprised her by managing to keep his voice level as he smiled in anticipation of something.
“I only need one to take care of snarky little puffer fish that don’t know when to back off. You might have Lord Torch and Ember fooled by your helpful act, but I see right through your BS. As for you, Ember, I can go wherever the damn hell I want. What are you even doing at this lame party with her anyway? I keep telling you she can’t be trusted.
“And I keep telling you to mind your own business,” Ember said back in a heated voice, hands clenched as she looked over the other Arrancar present, “Which clearly you can’t take a hint on. What’s with you!? Guto’s people aren’t our friends, Garble, so what are you doing with them?”
Gilda cracked a smirk, “Oh, me and Garble ran into each other just the other day, and while I’d normally rather kick around a dweeb from Torch’s horde I got to hearing about his troubles with the walking tuna here and realized we had quite a bit in common. Decided to ask him to come along for a bit of partying to... let off some steam.”
They’re up to something, Adagio thought, But if they just wanted to fight it would’ve made more sense to ambush us either before we got to the party, or after we left it. Why confront us here, openly, where Thorax could interfere?
Not more than a heartbeat after she had the thought Thorax himself came swiftly slipping out from the crowd, which was starting to gather and grow around the confrontation as more and more Arrancar realized something was going down. Thorax was all smiles, his twinkling eyes revealing nothing as he sauntered up between the two groups.
“Ah, I do so love to see such camaraderie and budding bonds forming between my fellow Hollows! Warms my heart. Gilda, I’m just thrilled as can be you mustered up the courage to come join us other social butterflies. And Greta, you’re looking radiant this evening.”
He blinked at Garble, “And you’re here too... you.”
“Garble!” Garble near shouted and Thorax waved his hand.
“Garble, of course, was just on the tip of my tongue. I also see Gilda’s brought some other strapping friends with her. Welcome, welcome, feel free to join in our revelries!” His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, his voice not changing a whit form its friendly tone yet somehow carrying a hint of warning, “As long as you don’t forget whose house you’re in, of course.”
Gilda looked at Thorax as if she was considering scraping something filthy off her heel, but kept up her mockingly friendly grin, “What do you think we are, Thorax, a bunch of fresh off the desert idiots who don’t know the rules of Las Noches?”
She gave Adagio a sharp, hawkish look at those words, and Adagio’s danger senses kicked up a notch. Gilda and Garble clearly had a plan, but she didn’t know enough about the customs of Las Noches yet to get a fix on what that plan was. Starting a fight with her seemed to be their agenda, but could they really risk that in what was essentially Chrysalis’ back yard? Granted she didn’t know how much Chrysalis might actually care, one way or the other, but Thorax clearly wasn’t eager for a real fight to break out here. For a moment he dropped the friendly mask and had a more severe look on his face as he eyed Gilda, voice dropping an octave or two.
“Of course not, but we both know you have such a unique sense of humor. Might be someone wouldn’t take a joke quite as well as if they knew you. Wouldn’t want there to be any misunderstanding leading to trouble.”
Gilda shrugged, “Hey, I won’t break truce first. If some idiot can’t take a joke, that’s their problem to start. Rest assured, Thorax, I’ll finish any trouble that gets started.”
“And just to show we’re not here to be poor guests,” said Garble, “I took a trip to the human world to hunt some fresh souls, and look at what I brought for you all.”
He snapped his fingers from his single hand, opening up a Garganta portal. Adagio didn’t recognize what part of Las Noches it opened to, but there were a few more Arrancar waiting on the other end who she imagined were more of Guto’s warriors. They pushed through a group of disheveled looking humans... or rather human souls, Wholes, by the intact soul chains dangling from their chests.
They were of varied age and genders, but every single one of the souls looked horrified and confused, huddling together in this strange place filled with even stranger people. They clearly didn’t understand what had happened to them or what was going on.
Thorax’s eyes dilated, his nose sniffing the air, “They smell... fresh.”
Garble shrugged, “Couldn’t find any who were already dead, so I had to make a few myself. Car accidents are really easy to cause. Heh, you should see how easily humans scatter when you drop an overpass on a highway.”
Adagio’s blood was frozen, but she kept herself in check. The callousness of Garble was sickening and infuriating, but she had to remind herself she’d done horrible things herself. Somehow that excuse was losing its potency, however, as she looked at the terrified, recently murdered humans, and realized that this was all because Garble was trying to provoke her.
It was working. She could see the other Arrancar weren’t bothered by this, but many were looking at the fresh human souls with hungry eyes. Even Ember seemed enticed, but her deep frown and furrowed brow suggested Ember saw the trap for what it was. Roka and Fenice were both stock still, Roka’s face a stone mask, while Fenice’s disgusted, furious shock was plain for all to see.
Garble, grinning like a chef presenting an entree, grabbed the youngest human soul and shoved him forward, a boy who looked barely into his teens. One of the other souls, an older woman, shouted in fear but was smacked across the back of the head by one of Gilda’s other flunkies and shoved to the ground.
Meanwhile the boy stumbled forward, looking around in horror, while Garble kicked him in front of Adagio.
“As a sign of no hard feelings why don’t I let you take the first bite, Adagio?” Garble said, ignoring the human soul’s blabbering questions about what was going on and what was happening. “Whaddya say, he’s plenty fresh and juicy. And it’s not like you have a problem with eating humans, right?”
Adagio knelt in front of the human soul, cupping his chin with one hand and making a show of inspecting him, while her mind ground its mental gears. So this was Garble’s game? He knew she’d interfered with the Quincy hunt. He must have suspected she had some sort of squeamishness about killing humans. This show was to provoke her into action, either trying to rescue the humans, or otherwise offer him some insult by refusing his ‘gift’, creating the pretense needed to start a fight here and now.
Calculating the odds, Adagio concluded she might be able to save one or two of the human souls with some fast talk, perhaps turning Garble’s plan against him by claiming more of the ‘gift’ than he intended and shuffling the souls off to be ‘eaten’ later. She didn’t see any way to save them all without starting the very fight she’d prefer to avoid until she could stack the odds more heavily in her favor. She didn’t really owe these strangers anything to begin with, she just really hated being challenged like this and... and if she was going to brutally murder someone she was going to do for better reasons than food from now on.
She rose, opening her mouth to start spinning any number of quick persuasions to collect at least a couple of these humans for herself... but the room exploded into intense, skin scalding heat before she could get a single word out.
Fenice had ripped her amulet free of her neck and an eruption of magma rushed out in a flash of blinding light, her broad greatsword bursting forth into her hand. In an instant the girl moved, eyes alight with righteous fury, green motes of light rippling around her feet as she vanished in one split second and appeared between Garble and the human boy’s soul the next.
Garble had been expecting an attack, just not from Fenice, and his eyes shot wide as he raised his one arm to defend himself as her sword slammed down with enough force to crack the stone floor beneath his feet. His Heirro reinforced skin kept the blade from severing his limb, but Garble’s skin was still cut deep, and Fenice wasn’t done.
With a roar of pure rage Fenice’s blade gleamed red and a blast of flame and lava poured from it, point blank onto Garble.
Adagio didn’t flinch from the flames, nor hesitate while the rest of the room was still busy staring in shock at Fenice’s sudden actions. Adagio was not going to fool herself that she could salvage this situation with fast talk anymore, not with Fenice launching into a rampage. All that mattered now was to act, and act decisively to get herself, her people, and if possible maybe a few of those human souls out of here intact.
The blast of flame and lava sent a smoking Garble flailing backwards, burned by still very much intact and alive. For all his poor qualities, Adagio had to admit he wasn’t weak and Fenice’s attack, while devastating, had still only managed to injure him. Recovering, he whipped his Zanpaktou out with a snarling grimace.
“You worthless human bi-”
His focus had shifted to Fenice, so he didn’t see Adagio’s kick coming as she crunched her heel to his face at full speed, sending him catapulting through the crowd of onlookers to skid to a stop at the foot of Ocellus’ sound stage. For her part Thorax’s sister just shrugged and switched discs to change the music from one techno beat to another, this one with a faster beat that somehow seemed... appropriate for the violence about to break out.
The air was filled with ringing steel as Gilda and most of her cronies drew their own Zanpaktou. Only Greta kept her blade sheathed, glancing uncertainly at Thorax.
Thorax was fastest to recover among the rest of the crowd that was watching, shaking his head and running a hand through his thick, moss colored hair. “Not what I had in mind for the evening, but this kind of dance has its charms, too. Everyone! Truce has been broken, give the combatants space! Anyone who steps into this tete-a-tete is going to get added to my list.”
Whatever that meant it had an immediate effect on the crowd, which parted further back from Gilda and Adagio’s groups to form a much wider circle of eager onlookers. Adagio even heard a few placing bets on which side would come out on top, but most watched with eager bloodlust, just as happy to watch the violence as they were dancing and partying a moment earlier. Adagio was fine with that. It meant she didn’t have to divide her attention and could focus just on Gilda’s group without worrying about others joining in. It also clearly meant Thorax wasn’t going to step in either and stop things like last time, not that Adagio expected him to do so. Clearly certain rules had been violated when Fenice attacked Garble that meant they no longer had any kind of special protections, at least not from Garble and Gilda. Thorax had done what he could by making it clear no one else was going to interfere either. Good.
There wasn’t any time to coordinate a plan with her allies. Gilda grinned like a hawk spotting the plump rabbit it’d been hunting and her eyes locked onto Adagio. In short order her and her pack of goons were flickering across the distance between them and Adagio’s group with swift Sonidos, and everything turned into an explosive melee.
Gilda went straight for Adagio, her heavily curved talon-shaped sword striking down hard at the seemingly unarmed Vasto Lorde. Adagio raised her hand, water swirling into a long shaft in her hands which then solidified into the shape of her trident. Zanpaktou and trident clashed, Gilda momentarily taken off guard by the sudden appearance of Adagio’s weapon. Adagio took advantage of that by pushing off with her trident to back Gilda up a step, then lashed out with her tail, the scythe-like blade on the tip cutting across Gilda’s chest.
Adagio blinked as her tail blade sparked off of Gilda’s exceedingly hard Hierro. Gilda grinned fiercely.
“Not as soft as the Hollows you been getting easy pickings on,” Gilda said as her body was surrounded by a thick aura of bright purple energy, her reiatsu pouring out of her with hefty pressure, “I’m Lord Guto’s best warrior and the one who’s going to be the next Espada!”
The woman’s spiritual pressure hit Adagio hard, but she sucked in a breath and then pushed back with her own reiatsu, power surrounding her with a brilliant blue nimbus that matched Gilda’s. She spun her trident to the ready and struck hard, thrusting for Gilda’s heart, “I’ve survived conversation with the Fourth Espada. You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to impress me.”
Meanwhile Fenice found herself surrounded by Gilda’s thugs, but as one of them leaped to get behind the girl while she was busying fending off the foes in front of her a set of thin strings reached out and ensnared the bald headed man and snapped around his arms and neck.
“Urk!”
Roka, hand outstretched with only a few glints of light displaying the strings attached to them, gave the man a placid, glassy look as she constricted the strings and choked him at the same time she pulled herself towards him. Her other hand flicked and her dagger Zanpaktou appeared in it as she flipped over her victim’s head and jabbed down. The dagger cut a deadly stroke across the man’s face, splitting one eye. As he screamed Roka landed in front of him, and she yanked with her strings to end him flying into another of the Arrancar attacking Fenice, slamming both of them to the ground.
“Fenice!” Roka shouted in warning. Despite her efforts Fenice was still dealing with three other Arrancar, and while Fenice was swinging her sword in great, flaming arcs that splattered magma around to keep them back, one of them was charging up a Cero with a deep red glow.
Fenice saw it and swore under her breath, swinging her sword around to prop it like a shield, but it turned out she didn’t need do as Ember burst in and swung down with her own Zanpaktou, severing the Arrancar’s hand clean off before he could fire his Cero. The energy already gathered turned unstable and glowed brightly before exploding, Ember jumping away while Fenice guarded herself with her greatsword.
“T-thanks!” Feince shouted to Ember, who in turn just growled and shook her head.
“Save it for later! The hell were you thinking, attacking like that!?”
Fenice’s face reddened with both anger and embarrassment, “What else was I supposed to do, watch that crap keep unfolding!?”
“This isn’t the time for discussing it,” Roka said with stone smooth calm, dagger raised at the ready as Garble finally recovered and came roaring back into the fray, body still smoking from Fenice’s attack by his own rage hardly deterred by the fact.
“That’s it! I’m done screwing around with all of you! Ember, last chance to back off from this! That Adagio bitch isn’t your friend, she’s just using you and our horde for her own power grab!”
Ember seethed with a heavy breath, matching Garble’s stare with her own, “You don’t know what you’re talking about, and if you’d just back off and listen instead of flying off the handle you’d realize Adagio’s a worthy ally. But I can tell you’re going to be a stubborn idiot about this until you either kill her or she kills you, so you know what... let’s just get this over with.”
Ember, her Zanpaktou still dripping blood from the Arrancar whose hand she’d severed, pointed the blade at Garble. He hesitated for a second, seemingly torn on whether he wanted to face her, or go after Adagio. A moment later he let out a ragged growl and said, “Your mistake.”
No more than an heartbeat passed between the two before they charged at each other, a blinding storm of blue clashing with red as the pair launched into a deadly blaze of sword strikes. Fenice and Roka were left to face the remaining Arrancar thugs, but the two sisters were back to back now, and Gilda’s posse was now faced with a dangerous bulwark formed from the combination of Fenice’s potent strength and deadly lava fighting alongside Roka’s murderously precise, swift dagger and unpredictable strings.
Adagio couldn’t keep tabs on that portion of the fight, however, as she was locked toe to toe with Gilda in a lethal dance of her own, and the difference in their strength was so slim that any slip up could easily mean a swift and fatal end. That didn’t mean she wasn’t concerned with her allies, nor with the human souls who were now gathered together around the young boy, all of them cowering like sheep frozen by a war of wolves around them.
“What are you looking at?” Gilda laughed darkly at Adagio’s distracted glance, “You don’t have time to worry about others, trash!”
Gilda’s speed was admittedly faster than Adagio’s, and it was only the fact that Adagio had a longer hafted weapon good for defense, combined with having an additional limb with the use of her tail that was letting her keep up. Gilda never slowed, leaping from point to point around Adagio in a constant press to find a weakness in Adagio’s guard. Adagio trying to assess the situation with her allies created a window and Gilda, like the experienced warrior she was, used that window.
Adagio felt a burst of pain in her side as Gilda’s Zanpaktou cut through her bone armor and drew blood. Fortunately Adagio had abilities Gilda wasn’t aware of, and just as Gilda was grinning at her well struck blow, a cascade of compressed water that Adagio had been forming above them came crashing down and rammed into Gilda with crushing force.
Gilda screeched like an enraged eagle, pushed to the ground by the water pressure. Even as she was pushing back to her feet Adagio struck, driving her trident down towards Gilda. The woman reacted with the speed of warrior born instinct, twisting away from Adagio’s blow, but one spoke of the trident still struck Gilda’s leg as she leaped away, and this blow managed to draw blood. The strike still jarred Adagio, sparks flying once more from the sheer hardness of Gilda’s skin, but the reiatsu within her trident was more concentrated than that in her tail, and this was no grazing hit. The barb of the trident took a chunk of skin with it and Gilda stumbled.
Adagio rushed to capitalize, jabbing low, then high in rapid succession. Gilda, eyes blazing, swatted aside one attack with her blade, then managed to grab the trident just below the forks with her other hand, handing it in place.
“You know your problem? You keep stepping in crap you don’t understand,” Gilda said, pushing Adagio’s trident upward, “Lord Guto’s struggled for centuries trying to carve out a place for himself and us, and you just walk in here and think you deserve the same respect and power we’ve struggled all that time to build!? This ain’t no fairytale fantasyland, princess! Time to wake up!”
Gilda slammed her knee into Adagio’s gut, the blow almost sending Adagio flying but she managed to maintain her balance and instead skidded back, taloned feet grinding furrows in the stone floor to halt her. She saw Gilda extend a finger, a throbbing purple orb forming at the tip of the finger as Gilda prepared a Cero.
Adagio raised her trident, focusing on what she’d just learned to do. Small golf-ball sized orbs of water formed at each tip of her trident and she encased them in a shell of hardened reishi, letting the water stabilize the otherwise free flowing Hollow power.
The Aqua Bala’s fired in a rapid storm, faster than Gilda could finish charging her Cero. With wide eyes Gilda was forced to dodge with several fast Sonido movements. Adagio’s aim was terrible with this technique, but she was firing as quickly as she could, tracking Gilda like one might when just hosing down a foe with a machine gun. The water bullets rocketed everywhere, several spectating Arrancar having to duck or dive out of the way.
Gilda went high, flying upwards as Adagio tracked her, and one of the bullets managed to strike Gilda’s shoulder, blasting away the cloth of her vest and bruise the flesh beneath, but Gilda didn’t stop charging her Cero and now flung her finger out, firing a fairly compact purple beam down at Adagio.
Adagio took to the air as well, stepping off the small reishi particle in the air with several quick steps that got her just clear of the Cero, which blasted a deep hole in the ground where Adagio had been standing. Adagio heard Thorax groan at that, something about repair bills.
Streaking right for Gilda, Adagio spun her trident in readiness to strike, and Gilda rushed to meet her, but before the two met in mid air there was a clash of flashing forms between them as Ember and Garble appeared. Both were sporting several fiercely bleeding cuts, Ember’s brow bleeding to cover half her face while Garble’s chest showed a long cut that stained his dusky skinned chest a darker red. The two were pressing their blades against each other, red and blue sparks of energy arcing between them before they broke apart in a burst of air pressure and ended up facing each other with Gilda and Adagio forming a cross between them.
For a second all four combatants flicked eyes around each other.
Then Garble, with a wicked grin, flashed towards Adagio. His one arm swung his falchion shaped Zanpaktou out to the side and a deep orange glow pulsed within the blade.
”Explode, Despecho!” (Spite)
A storm of dark orange fire engulfed him, and both that spiritual mass and his own changing body smashed into Adagio like a meteor. She felt a sense of pure vertigo as she shoved bodily across the entire domed chamber and then slammed straight into the wall with enough force to shake the room and explode out a decent sized crater in the wall.
“Hey!” shouted Thorax, “Watch the collateral damage. I’m not letting you ruin my party den, so either do this without Resurreccion or take this outside!”
“Yeah, sorry Thorax, little late for that,” Garble said as the flames cleared and his transformed body was revealed, one large claw pinning Adagio to the wall. He was twice his normal size now. His body was clad in thick plates of bone white armor, his legs turned into reverse jointed, taloned appendages. Curved spikes rose in a row down his spine, and his thick crest of red hair now spilled from a draconic shaped helmet bearing fanged jaws. He still only bore one arm, even his Resurreccion form not compensation for that old injury, but the one limb he did have was now bearing machete sized claws and spiked knuckles.
Adagio felt that claw grip around her, trying to crush her in a squeezing vice. Garble’s eyes glared at her like twin pools of blood as he whispered, “She can’t see what you are, but after I turn you into paste it won’t matter. Now hurry up and die.”
Ember had rushed to try and help, but found herself confronted by Gilda, who nearly took Ember’s head off with a swift blind-siding strike that Ember barely dodged, losing a few strands of cerulean hair in the process.
“Hey, let Garble have his fun. He bitched at me about wanting this all day and much as I’d like to gut the fish myself, I don’t care who does it as long as she’s out of the way.”
Ember didn’t slow down, catapulting herself straight towards Gilda like a battering ram, and the two exchanged a swift storm of sword strikes as Ember tried to batter her way past Gilda, only finding herself stonewalled by the other Arrancar’s tenacious parries and equally furious counter strokes. Even so, Gilda glanced downward where she could see the gang she’d brought with her was struggling against Roka and Fenice. Jets of lava careened around from Fenice’s broad swings, burning the flesh from one unfortunate Arrancar’s chest while the magma clung to him. At the same time Roka parried a blade coming for her face, then unleashed a swarm of strings that wrapped her opponent around one leg and proceeded to saw the limb off with surgical precision.
“Greta, the hell you waiting for!? Get your ass in the fight!” Gilda shouted to her companion, who still hadn’t moved to draw her weapon.
Greta shot a hesitant look between Gilda, the fight, then Thorax. Then with a begrudging sigh she pulled her short, straight Zanpaktou and tucked it into an inverted grip, moving with a swift Sonido to appear next to Roka, striking with serpent speed. Roka spun in a twisting evade, Greta’s sword cutting through her robe. Fenice shouted an angered cry and turned around, her greatsword trailing splatters of magma as she swung at Greta, who with incredible agility flipped over the blow.
Roka landed from her evasion, her robe torn and showing a bleeding wound beneath, but Roka ignored the injury with little more than a flicker of pain on her face before sending a wave of strings back at Greta.
As all that was happening Adagio was pushing back against Garble’s crushing claw, flexing her arms and grunting with effort as she forced the sharp talons around her open. She’d felt Garble’s Resurreccion before, and back then when she’d still been an Adjuchas the power of an Arrancar’s transformation had seemed overwhelming. Yet now she could tell the difference between her and Garble, just as clearly as she’d been able to sense the difference between herself and Gilda. She and Gilda were pretty evenly matched, even if Adagio had to admit Gilda still had an edge over her.
But Garble was not on the same level as Gilda, transformed or not.
She let her reiatsu burst out of her, shattering more of the crater behind her, and now it was her claw gripping Garble’s and pushing it back. He grunted with the effort to try and force her back down, his eyes twitching with disbelieving fury, but Adagio just sighed and looked at him with a cutting gaze.
“The window of opportunity you had to get rid of me has already long passed, Garble,” she said, taking her trident and with enough force to generate a shockwave she slammed the prongs into his arm. He roared in pain, but the roar quickly turned to a higher pitched cry as Adagio twisted the trident, gouging into his muscles.
“I’ve no more patience for fools. My plans extend beyond your petty little grudge, and if you want to end this so badly, I’m pleased to do so.”
She yanked him around, still attached to her trident, “But on my terms. Let’s go for a swim.”
With a powerful swing of the trident she tore Garble free of the weapon, and sent him flying like a cannonball into the pool with such force it exploded a massive geyser into the air. She followed him down, diving into the waters with significantly greater grace. Enveloped by the cool depths she sensed Garble immediately. He was proving his resilience, if nothing else, but quickly recovering from being stunned and getting his bearings underwater. He sensed her presence and swung his claw out, firing a crimson Cero that scalded and steamed the water in a cascade of bubbles as it shot towards her.
Adagio was underwater now, in her element, and with a gesture of her hand she generated a powerful current of water that bent the Cero beam upwards to shoot harmlessly upwards. Well, harmless save for the way it impacted the roof and sent chunks of stone hurtling down into the pool. Garble grabbed one of those large stone chunks and swam towards Adagio, swinging the stone like a club.
The gloomy, poor lighting down in the pool threw off his aim considerably and Adagio was far more agile than he was underwater. She slipped around the slow attack and got behind Garble, and her tail wrapped around his neck like a hangman’s rope, clenching tight. He struggled in place, his large claw scraping at her tail. She winced as it managed to draw blood, cutting gouges in her soft tail’s flesh, but she kept her grip tight as she dragged him deeper, heading for the hole at the bottom of the pool she’d sensed earlier.
As Garble kept trying to claw himself free Adagio swam down, dragging him behind her, until she was within the winding networks of underwater tunnels. Using her water senses she found an alcove not far away, a tunnel dead end where she slammed Garble against the wall. His struggles were weakening. Even in an empowered Resurreccion form, he still needed to breathe, and by now his endurance was flagging.
Drowning him would have been as simple as keeping him still for another couple of minutes... but Adagio had other plans.
With a gesture she pushed enough water away from the wall, drawing in air all the way back at the pool, as to create a bubble around both her and Garble. She loosened her tail just enough for Garble to gasp for air, but before he could slice at her tail with his claw any further she rammed her trident back into the already injured arm, pinning it to the wall.
“Grraaa! You... you little piece of-”
“Spare me the insults, you have no more air to waste on them,” she said, grinding her trident into his arm for emphasis and cutting off his words with a garbled scream. “Now, just to clear up any confusion, yes I’m using Lord Torch’s favor for my own purposes. Nice deduction, genius. Everyone in this place uses each other, it's just the nature of the beast. That said, I happen to be rather fond of Ember, and I don’t intend to do her any harm.”
“Lying sack of crap... I know you turned her against me! I know you did something to her head, so you can stop pretending to care about her. If you’re gonna kill me, just get it done.”
“Oh? Admitting I’m the stronger one are you? I could get used to that,” Adagio said with a smile, “And about what I did to her? You’re right about that too. Oh don’t look too excited, me and her sorted that out already, you can’t use it as a wedge against us. Ember was angry, true, and if you’d proven what I’d done before I talked it out with her you might’ve convinced her to turn on me. Just a little too slow on the draw, there, Garble.”
“Yeah, how about now?” he said, opening his mouth and firing a point blank Cero from it.
Adagio slammed her free hand into the beam, parting the wave of burning orange energy around her. Water vaporized to steam, but when the steam cleared Adagio was still there. Her hand was blemished and charred by taking Garble’s Cero, and it stung fiercely, but it was still intact. Playing off the pain she brushed her hand off on her chest, ignoring just how much that actually hurt as she hid a pained grimace with a smooth smile.
“Nice try. Let’s finish this up quickly. I still need to deal with Gilda before she kills one of my friends. Which in case you haven’t noticed, includes Ember.”
“What are you...” he started to ask, but she clenched his throat with her tail, choking off the words.
“I don’t need you to talk. I need you to listen, even if you only have a pea-sized brain to do it with. The Quincy are coming, and Ember and I will be in the thick of that. I’m not going to lose what I’m building here. So, I can either kill you, or...”
She leaned forward, the gleam of her siren gem brightening as her voice turned melodious, “You can do what I say.”
----------
Ember breathed hard as she ducked beneath Gilda’s blade and drove her own forward. Gilda used her elbow to knock Ember’s sword aside and kicked out with one heavily muscled leg. Ember raised her own leg to block the blow, pulling her sword back and freeing one hand to fire a Bala at Gilda’s face. Gilda took the blow head on, literally, but the strike only seemed to piss the woman off more as she snapped her head back into a harsh headbutt that struck Ember square in the nose and sent her reeling back.
Before she could recover she felt Gilda grab her leg, the other woman quipping, “What’s wrong, don’t have you dad around to hide behind?”
Gilda flung Ember down with impressive force, cratering her into the ground. Dazed, Ember rose to her feet while not far away Thorax cleared his throat, “I do hope you realize whoever wins this fight is cleaning up afterward.”
“Little busy Thorax, can you save the bitching for later?”
“I literally have pools of burning lava in the middle of my dance floor. This isn’t what I meant when I said I wanted this party to be hot.”
“You could always do something you giant blowhard!”
As Ember shouted at him, Gilda came in from above, chopping down with her sword and forcing Ember to abandon yelling at Thorax to defend herself. As the two clashed, Rep appeared out of the crowd, handing Thorax a drink and taking a sip form one himself as he said, “So who’s winning?”
“Well Adagio tossed Garble into the pool. That was amusing. They’ve been down there a spell, so either one of them is dead by now, or they’re having some kind of heart to heart chat,” said Thorax, accepting the drink with a grateful nod and taking a long swig before gesturing off to the side, where Greta was alone battling against Roka and Fenice, since the last of the other thugs Gilda had brought were already down for the count.
“Greta’s managing to keep those two busy. Not sure which I’m more impressed by, her or the Fourth Espada’s children.”
Rep idly scratched his chin, “That human isn’t doing half bad. Never seen one with a power to summon a sword like that. Is she even human? Her reiatsu feels... a bit Hollow like to me.”
Thorax nodded with a knowing gleam in his eyes, “I’ve heard of this phenomenon before. Chrysalis took an interest in their ilk a long time ago. Fullbringers. They’re kind of like our watered down, mortal cousins.” He licked his lips, glancing towards the pool, “Speaking of water, I do hope our aquatic guest hasn’t fallen prey to any ill fate.”
“Hmph,” Rep laughed, “Did you see how she fast pitched Garble into the water? I was skeptical about the whole ‘Vasto Lorde’ thing, but I felt her power. She’s the real deal. Just a question of whether she survives long enough to ascend to an Arrancar like us... then I think Gilda’s going to have competition for the next Espada slot to open up.”
“Ah, getting vibes similar to those of your Catrina?” Thorax asked, and Rep took another drink, unblinking.
“Honestly? She reminds me more of your Espada than mine. Take that how you will.”
“Is it her stunning good looks?”
Rep snorted, “Its the vindictive streak. She could have killed Garble by now. For most of us that would be enough. But no, I think for this Adagio it’s not enough to kill her enemies. She either has to humiliate them, break them, or make them hers. Possibly all three.”
Thorax nodded, then a large smiled crept onto his face as he saw the water of the pool stir. “I think you may be right about that, Rep.”
Out of the pool Adagio rose, standing on the water and walking along it. Behind her she dragged a barely conscious Garble, still pulling him by the neck with her tail. She unceremoniously dumped him onto the floor, where he lay coughing.
The fight slowed as everyone saw this, Ember and Gilda pausing in mid-swing of their swords. Roka and Fenice still faced Greta, but Greta backed off, keeping her blade at the ready but not pressing the attack as all eyes turned to Adagio standing over a battered and defeated Garble. Adagio walked forward, pressing trident against Garble’s back as he rose into a sitting position.
“Garble has surrendered,” Adagio declared, “Anyone who still wants to fight, feel free, but I’m only accepting one surrender tonight, the rest of you are going to be finding me quite out of mercy to hand out.”
Gilda let out a harsh laugh, “You think I care? I can take all of you at once if that’s what I need to do.”
At her words Thorax took a step forward, raising a finger, “Actually Gilda, the breaking of truce was between Garble and Fenice. If Garble is done fighting, then the rules are back in force and I have to say I’m not going to look too favorably on anyone else starting fights in my home. At least not fights that I don’t approve of and can possibly start a betting ring on.”
Gilda’s eyes narrowed and she sent a venomous gaze towards Garble, “So, what, you get your wimpy little butt handed to you and you just cave like a craven coward?”
Garble didn’t respond, eyes downcast, looking completely defeated. Gilda spat in disgust.
“Well I’m not coward, and I could give two craps about your little ‘truce’ Thorax. Come at me, Adagio. I’ll settle this here and now!”
“You will do no such thing.”
The speaker’s voice tore across the room like a spear, arresting attention from all present and making a large portion of the crowd part. Gilda and Greta both looked a shade paler as they spun around and knelt immediately as a man strode through the crowd. Adagio looked him over, not recognizing him. He had bronzed skin, and youthful, aquiline features. Thick brown hair obscured parts of his face, yet couldn’t entirely hide the tattoo covering the left side. She might not of recognized him, but she could stab a guess easily enough. After all how many men in Las Noches would have the number ‘6’ tattooed around their left eye? This had to be Guto, the Sixth Espada. If there was any doubt, from the way Gilda and Greta were both kneeling, or the number on the man’s face, the rest was dispelled by Thorax turning and presenting a welcoming smile to the man.
“Lord Guto, we don’t see you down here very often. Or at all. Drink?”
“Silence, I’m here to discipline my flock, not indulge in your pointless frivolities.”
He approached Gilda and Greta, who kept their heads bowed low, although Adagio could see Gilda was shaking. Not from fear, but from barely constrained anger. Guto glanced Adagio’s way, his sharp orange eyes calculating but mostly furious. He barely looked at the rest of the scene, just scanning over Ember, Roka, Fenice, Garble, and the still huddled human souls once, then dismissively snorting as he stood before his two Fraccion.
“Get up,” he commanded, and both Gilda and Greta rose quickly to their feet. Guto glanced around at the other Arrancar Gilda had brought. All were either unconscious or dead from their fight with Roka and Fenice, and Guto made a disgusted sound.
“Pitiful. Eight of you, four enemies, and this is the result?”
“Lord Guto, this wasn’t over! I was about to finish the-” Gilda began, but the back of Guto’s hand silenced her with a cracking blow loud enough to echo through the chamber. Gilda remained standing, but she was staggered by the hit, her lip starting to bleed profusely form it as Guto grabbed her by the neck and hauled her off the ground.
“Finish them? Is that what you were about to say? Perhaps so, but did you not consider what slaying the Fifth Espada’s daughter while under the Second Espada’s roof might cause? Or one of the Fourth’s children? Did you think, for even a second, about the ramifications of your actions?”
“But... but this upstart Adagio, you said we should teach her a lesson.”
Guto dropped her, only to drive a knee into her gut and leave her sputtering on the floor. “A lesson, yes. Where in that concept did it seem to you that you should let some sniveling little wyrm con you into doing his dirty work for him!” Guto gestured with clear distaste towards Garble, who shrunk away from the Espada’s attention. Most the rest of the room was backing away from the man as well, and Adagio could smell the fear in the air. Guto wasn’t even exuding any heavy reiatsu, but the presence of an Espada alone seemed to command a great deal of fear and respect in an of itself.
Gilda, coughing, looked up at him, “I... apologize, my lord, for my indiscretion.”
Each word fell out of her like a cement block, her voice forced and filled with humiliated ire. Off to the side Greta spoke up, fear in her voice.
“Lord Guto, our comrades need healing...” she nodded towards some of the beaten Arrancar still lying on the ground. Guto huffed, rolling his eyes.
“They can crawl their way back to the aerie tower, if they can. If they can’t, then they’re not worth our time. As for the two of you, you will return with me, now. This matter is over.”
He then turned to leave, his eyes passing over Adagio only for a moment as he did so. There was nothing but heated ire in that look, and Adagio knew she’d risen in the Espada’s estimates as a threat. Gilda and Greta followed behind like two whipped dogs, although Gilda made a show of holding her head up and glaring at anyone who stared at her as she left. Greta moved slower, still worriedly eyeing her wounded comrades, until Thorax got her attention with a gesture and gave her a reassuring nod. Greta managed a small, grateful smile before she followed Gilda and Guto out the doors.
Silence followed for a few moments before Thorax clapped his hands and said, “Okay, that was distracting! Ocellus, put on something with some pop to it. Let’s get this party moving again.”
Minutes later the music was going strong, the party goers were back to dancing, drinking, and general shenanigans, which left Adagio and her own companions standing in front of a pack of very scared, confused human souls with Thorax overseeing proceedings with an amused grin.
“Far as half-time shows go, that wasn’t too bad,” he said, nudging Adagio, who tilted her head at him in a sass filled look.
“And I do so wonder how Garble knew to go to Gilda with his grudge over me. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you Thorax?”
“I haven’t the faintest clue what you’re talking about,” Thorax said, “But I do so love to see people work out their problems. On that note, what happened between you and Garble? One moment you’re trying to kill each other, now he’s running around my party as a serving boy, getting people their drinks or food.”
“Part of a deal we’ve worked out. Don’t concern yourself with it further,” Adagio said, glancing at the human souls, “Now about them...”
One of the humans frightfully said, “Someone, please, tell us what’s happening? What are all you people?”
“Whew, I don’t do exposition. The party could use some extra entrees,” Thorax mused, then at Fenice’s heated look he added, “Buuuut I suppose if any of you wanted to claim them for, I don’t know, your personal snack pantry, or whatever else, I could call it a gift. Garble did bring them for my party anyway, so they’re technically mine. How about I hand them over to you, Adagio, as a housewarming gift for your new digs?”
Adagio nodded thoughtfully, “That works for me.”
“What are you going to do with them?” Fenice asked.
“Not certain yet, but I have an idea or two, but that will have to wait until I check on a few things,” Adagio said as she approached the scared human souls, looking squarely at the one who spoke.
“You lot, follow her,” she pointed at Fenice, “And do what she says. Your continued existence depends on it.”
“Wait, me?” Fenice said, blinking and pointing at herself.
“Yes, you. You started this mess by attacking Garble, you can deal with the consequences of looking after this lot until I figure out what to do with them. Got a problem with that?”
Fenice slowly nodded, face hardening with resolve, “None whatsoever.”
“Good, then if that’s settled, I need a drink or five,” Adagio said, and Thorax let out a happy chuckle.
“Let me go get my good stuff. How bad do you want your hangover to be in the morning?”
In short order Adagio was lounging back by the pool, a bottle of something fruity and exceedingly alcoholic in one hand while Roka tended to her wounded tail, which had admittedly taken quite a thrashing from Garble’s claw before things had been settled. Roka’s strings stitched up the torn flesh not just on Adagio, but on Ember and Fenice as well, who were all resting nearby. Fenice was trying to calm the human souls and explain their situation, but Adagio was barely paying attention.
Her eyes slid towards where across the room Garble was stiffly serving other party goers, and the two briefly met eyes, Garble quickly looking away before going back to his work. Ember saw this and shook her head in wonderment.
“The hell did you do to him, Adagio?” Ember asked, her voice lowering to a whisper, “Was it... you know...?”
Adagio sighed and gave a slight nod, “In part. I could have killed him, but he has a use, and I’m loath to waste a potential resource. My song can be very convincing.”
Ember had a contemplative look of mixed emotions, “I could have dealt with him myself.”
“You shouldn’t have to. He’s my problem.”
Fenice let out a low grunt, “You should have killed the murderous bastard.”
“Dad certainly wouldn’t have cared if you did,” put in Ember, “It was a fair fight, and you proved yourself the stronger. Far as my dad would’ve thought it would’ve just been the natural order of things for you to off Garble.”
Adagio shrugged at their words, “That may still be the cards, but as long as I can use him, I will.”
“Whatever you might’ve done with your song, he might still cause trouble. Nobody carries a grudge quite like Garble,” Ember said, then frowned, “Except perhaps Gilda, and her Lord Guto. Bloody hell, Adagio, you’ve really got this talent for pissing off all the wrong people, you know that? Gilda’s never going to forget how you humiliate her tonight, and Guto’s not going to take this slight lightly either.”
“Problems to deal with when I get around to it. Right now, I’m going to call this a win,” Adagio said, gulping from the bottle in her hand and enjoying the warm alcohol hitting her gut.
“Today, yeah. What about tomorrow?” Ember asked.
“Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.”
----------
In a world with no sunrise the only thing determining the time was the base’s own clocks, and Twilight Sparkle saw the digital readout on the monitor in one corner of the room slowly switched to read “0458”. Almost five o’clock. Almost time.
“Couldn’t sleep either?”
Twilight rolled over in her bunk to see Sugarcoat sitting up in hers, reaching over to grab her visor from the top of the foot locker at the back of the bed and put them on. Twilight rose, trying to stretch the tense ache from her limbs as she found her glasses and put them on as well.
“I slept a little, but not very well,” she said, remembering fitful dreams as she’d slipped in and out of sleep over the night.
“Nothing to be done about it now. I doubt we’ll feel the fatigue when we’re busy fighting for our lives,” Sugarcoat said, and Twilight suppressed a shudder.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“So do I, but I’m not expecting it,” Sugarcoat replied with her usual bluntness.
As the clock struck the fifth hour a loud and insistent klaxon blared through not only their room but the entire base, echoing like the wail of a choir of banshees. Soon enough all of Twilight’s other squadmates were awake, and they scrambled to get dressed. Uniforms went on, various gear was assembled, mostly alchemic ginto tubes and in Cotton Barrel Hooffield’s case a medical kit. Soarin, who’d been standing guard outside, poked his head in after he was sure the girls’ were all dressed and said, “Better get a move on. We’re due up on the tarmac in ten.”
Every girl went over a final check of their gear, with Twilight slipping on the Hexenfaust and double checking the armored glove was in good condition.
“Okay gals, we ready to do this thing!?” Indigo Zap shouted, pumping her fist in the air, “I know I am!”
“Oh, I’m totally ready,” said Sour Sweet with a smile that soon twisted into a rictus grimace, “I’m certain nothing is going to go horribly wrong. Nope, not at all.”
“Relax Sour, if anything does go wrong, we can always throw you at the problem and you can annoy it to death,” said Lemon Zest.
“Ya’ll just leave any trouble ta me n’ ma sis!” said Buzzsaw McColt, “We’ll keep an’ eye on all ya soft skinned city folk.”
“Don’t cha’ listen ta this thick skulled jabbersack,” said Cotton Barrel, patting her medkit, “Gonna be me that’s fixin’ any trouble any o’ ya’ll git into.”
“Pffah, what’s a Hoofield know ‘bout stitchin’ folk back up?” snorted Hacksaw, “Yer liable ta put an’ arm where a’ legs supposed ta be. Ya know, ‘cause ya don’t know yer head from yer a-”
“Move it ladies!” Soarin said, tapping an invisible watch on his wrist, “Times wasting.”
Soon they were all as ready as they were going to be and Twilight found herself at the head of the group as Soarin led them out down the base’s underground corridors. The base was filling with Quincy moving this way and that, most of them gathering up the stairs that lead out onto the large courtyard. The moment Twilight got outside she felt the air stirring with the sound of dozen of revving up turbine engines. Looking up into the dark sky she could see that many of the VTOLs were already airborne, circling the fortress as more Quincy loaded up into VTOLs that were still rising up from their underground hangars.
Tanks were rolling out from their own bunkers, crossing by twos out of the open main gates to rattle into the desert like a swarm of silver scarabs. They were joined by other vehicles Twilight hadn’t seen before, longer and more narrow in shape than the tanks, and she saw Quincy soldats loading up into both back and side doors on these vehicles, leading her to realize they were armored personnel carriers.
It looked like the cadets would be flying, however, as Soarin led them to the area where the VTOLs were being raised up to the surface landing pads one by one. Each VTOL seemed big enough to carry at least four squads of soldats, and Twilight saw that among some of those boarding the VTOLs there were unique Quincy, who often work more elaborate or stylized uniforms, She hardly knew every Sternritter, but could guess that those were who she was seeing, especially since she did at least recognize Spitfire and several other Academy instructors among those boarding.
They had to wait for their turn, minutes tensely dripping by as they, along with other squads of cadets, were slowly moved forward until a pair of VTOLs became available for them. As they were shuffled up to the landing pad they were met by a number of Sternritter. Fleur De Lis looked like a hungry shark, eyes shining as she watched the cadets approach. Next to her Fleet Foot stood, eyes hidden behind mirror shade sunglasses. Twilight didn’t know Fleet Foot very well, as the instructor hadn’t been assigned to her group of Academy cadets. Swept back white hair contrasted with light blue skin, and Fleet Foot showed a casual stance, one hand on the hip of her white leather pants. She wore a similarly Quincy white bomber-style jacket.
There was one other Sternritter present, and Twilight blinked as her mother stepped towards her.
“Twilight.”
“Mother...?”
Soarin gave Twilight Velvet an awkward salute and stepped aside, joining Fleur and Fleet Foot as Velvet went up to her daughter. Twilight’s mother had a pensive look, glancing at the rest of Twilight’s squad briefly as if embarrassed to be doing this in front of them, but she then looked back to Twilight. She raised her hand as if to put it on Twilight’s shoulder in a motherly gesture, but then hesitantly lowered it and instead stood straighter and performed a simple salute.
“Take care of your squadmates and yourself, daughter.”
Confused, Twilight returned the salute, feeling a mixed storm of emotions. She hadn’t really talked to her mother much since... well since learning about her heritage as a Quincy and her decision to join the Vandenreich. Things had just been too awkward between them, and there had never seemed to be any time to talk things out. But after she’d managed to sort out her feelings with Cadence, Twilight realized she really needed to try and patch things up with her parents as well. But they were leaving to go to battle, and there wasn’t any more time right now.
“I will, mother,” she said, swallowing her feelings and meeting her mother’s gaze evenly. Twilight Velvet nodded, a hint of both pride and fear in her own eyes. She looked as if she had more she wanted to say, or to even give Twilight a quick embrace, but instead she finished her salute and then with a final nod to Twilight and her squad she turned and marched towards another VTOL, where Twilight could see Cadence was waiting. Cadence, even at a distance, managed to give Twilight a final wave before the doors to the VTOL closed on both her and Twilight’s mother.
“Okay, enough teary eyed farewells. Get loaded up, kids,” said Fleur De Lis with a heavy lick of her lips, “We’ve got Hollows to hunt.”
The cadets were broken into two groups of different squads, Fleet Foot going with one group onto one VTOL, while Soarin and Fleur De Lis loaded onto the next VTOL with Twilight’s squad and the other half of the cadets. The interior of the VTOLs passenger area was remarkably well lit and consisted of two rows of well padded seats with safety straps on either side of the wall, with another double sided row of seats built along the center, enough room for seating forty. There was a second deck with a see-through grating floor, where Twilight could see multiple doors that could open, presumably for Quincy to fire out of, or deploy from. The cockpit area was sealed off by thick metal doors from the passenger compartment.
As Twilight and her fellow cadets strapped in the loading doors started to close, and Twilight felt a strange feeling of being watched. Glancing towards the doors she saw, distantly on one of the fortress walls, a tall and dark figure watching her VTOL, or rather... watching her.
She couldn’t make out his face at such a distance, but somehow knew Sombra was nodding to her as her VTOLs engines revved up and the doors finally closed. As she felt the VTOL rise into the air to join its dozens of other brethren, she tried to still her fears. There certainly wasn’t any going back, now.