Episode 110: Desperate Measures
The dank, darkness of the earth enveloped Sunset as she reached the bottom of the shaft that Gloriosa had dug. It reminded Sunset of a giant gopher burrow, with loose roots and dirt still hanging from the ceiling. She feared the tunnel could easily collapse, and just hoped it’d hold steady while she followed Gloriosa and Timber. She felt responsible for the pair. She’d told Gloriosa she’d help, that she’d make sure her home was protected. The entire point of Sunset and her friends working so hard to master the powers they had was so they could protect people like Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce. Normal people, dragged into this seemingly ever more unnecessary war between the Soul Reapers, Quincy, and Hollows.
Sunset wasn’t naive. She knew it was a miracle no one had died yet here at the camp, and that said nothing for what damage might have been done to Canterlot City itself. It stuck a hot pool of anger to simmer in her gut, but she didn’t let it distract her from the task at hand. Her Zanpaktou was providing plenty of light, with Hokori’s blade flickering with ready flames, and Hikari providing a soft, steady pulse of white illumination. Sunset couldn’t afford to move too fast, in the narrow tunnel, but she was still able to Flash Step ahead at a steady clip until she reached an unusual end to the tunnel. Unusual, in that it opened up into a much larger tunnel that Sunset didn’t think Gloriosa had made.
Easily twice as wide around as the previous tunnel, this one ran crosswise and on Sunset’s right hand side the tunnel swiftly turned in a bend. More roots hung around the walls here, twisted together in thick, gnarled bunches that almost looked like natural support archways, as if intentionally constructed to keep the tunnel stable. The realization sent an eerie shiver down Sunset’s back. Had someone... built this place? Surely not Gloriosa herself. She’d only recently gotten her hands on those geodes and the magical powers that came with them. This tunnel felt much older, with a dry, dusty scent that spoke of centuries of age.
Sunset could sense Gloriosa’s spirit energy, however faintly, and could tell she’d gone down the bending path. She still wondered at the Hollow flavor to Gloriosa’s reiatsu. How had Gloriosa become infected with Hollow spirit energy? Was it truly identical to what Ditzy Doo and Starlight Glimmer had? But wouldn’t that have required the Hogyoku? Or at least something like it?
Not necessarily, she realized. For all the power she and her friends had gained, their actual knowledge of Hollows and their abilities was still limited to a handful of examples like Grand Fisher, who had possessed his own unique ability to mimic the souls of those he’d slain. It was entirely possible another Hollow might exist who had the power to embed their own energy inside a host. As similar as what had happened to Gloriosa appeared to the Hollowification process Ditzy and Starlight underwent, it wasn’t identical. Ditzy and Starlight manifested a full mask, under their own will. Gloriosa looked more like she was being taken over, like an infected wound.
Worse, Sunset suspected the magic Gloriosa had been using from the geodes had vastly accelerated the process. It was already clear to her and the girls that Equestrian magic fed into and amplified spiritual energies, be they Hollow based or otherwise. Indeed that synthesis went both ways, likely amplifying the magic as well. It was little wonder Gloriosa had become so powerful, so quickly. The amount of magic in those geodes was already incredibly strong. Amplify that with a synthesis with Hollow spirit energy and it was no surprise Gloriosa pulped a Tatzlwurm like that.
But it was obvious she wasn’t in her right mind, and even more clear something was influencing her. Sunset didn’t know what it was, other than it had to be some kind of Hollow. And that she was going to introduce that Hollow to the business end of her Zanpaktou if that’s what it took to save Gloriosa and Timber.
If only the situation up top wasn’t so damn complicated!
Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the bronze badge Soul Society had given her and her friends, and Discord had modified to be secure communicators between them. They could be set to broadcast to the whole group, or specific individuals. Not wanting to trip up Twilight or Adagio, whatever their present situation was, Sunset keyed it just to Rarity, who she knew was up top in the camp.
“Rarity, can you hear me?”
A moment later the silent tunnel filled with Rarity’s voice, “Most certainly, Sunset. Have you found Gloriosa and her brother?”
“Not yet, but they’re not far ahead of me. There’s old tunnels down here. Definitely not something built by humans. I’m moving ahead and don’t know what I’ll find down here, but wanted to make sure you guys were updated. Try to help Dash and Applejack if you can and secure Camp Everfree.”
There was a slight pause, and Rarity’s voice was tight with tension as she replied, “I largely agree, darling, but with one small addendum. I’m worried about Twilight, and that Quincy assassin. I feel I ought to... go deal with that.”
“Wait, what?” Sunset said, alarmed, “I’m worried about Twilight too, but it’s dangerous to go off on your own like that!”
She could all but feel Rarity giving her a flat, ‘oh really?’ look as her friend said, “Did you really just say that after jumping down a hole, alone, to face who knows what danger, by yourself?”
“O-okay, point in your favor. Still, we don’t even know if the person impersonating Sour Sweet is after Twilight.”
“True, we don’t, but the more I think about it, the more my gut instinct is telling me Twilight is the most likely target, and am I not allowing any of our friends to come to harm.” Rarity’s voice carried a note of resolved finality to it, and Sunset realized it wasn’t likely she’d talk her friend out of this. Gulping, Sunset kept her eyes focused ahead as she went down the dark tunnel, the badge held up like a cell phone.
“I get it, Rarity. But can you track them? Can you beat them? Can you do it without blowing our cover? And what about the other girls?”
All pertinent questions, even if it was clear Rarity was going to do this one way or another. Rarity’s reply was swift, clean, and precise as her needlework.
“I can track them better than anyone else, given that when I sent my crystals at that haughty coward earlier, I made sure one tiny shard got left stuck in their clothing. A shard I can still sense, while I suspect they aren’t looking for it. I don’t know if I can beat them, but I can certainly foil any attempt on Twilight’s life. I can do it while making it look like I’m helping a dear friend, not specifically helping her fight any Soul Reapers. All Captain Starswirl or anyone else might see is me dealing with a Quincy, and they can hardly complain about that, can they?”
“Okay, fine, but... damn it, I wanted to keep us all from splitting up too much.”
“Chaos of the battlefield, darling. There’s no controlling it. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will still be here to protect everyone in camp, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack are more that capable of protecting themselves.”
“Yeah, so... if something goes wrong, who’s going to protect you, Rarity?” Sunset asked, a sense of real fear alighting inside her.
“I’m no damsel, dear. I’ll manage.”
“No argument here,,” Sunset said, swallowing her doubt, “Just watch your back.”
“You too, darling, you too.”
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It was easy for Celestia to feel the indignant rage spilling from her Zanpaktou as Shinryu Taiyo roared their frustration to the heavens. Already the top of the mountain they stood upon was little more than a blazing pool of magma, making the whole peak look like a fiery, melting ice cream cone.
”Come out and face our righteous wrath you insignificant speck of a Hollow!” bellowed the twin dragons of white plasma, ”We shall reduce this entire mountain to a sea of molten flame if that is what it takes to draw you forth from whatever hole you’ve crawled your worthless carcass into!”
“Control yourselves,” Celestia said, kneeling down atop of one of the dragon’s heads and patting the super-heated scales, her hand immune to the heat that would otherwise reduce normal flesh to vapor in an instant, “Grogar can’t have gone far, and if I am to sense him, we must reign in our own reiatsu.”
That much was true. Her and her Zanpaktou’s spiritual pressure was spilling out so much that it was hard to focus on discerning details elsewhere. Grogar may have been using any number of means to cloak himself, but no such method was truly perfect and a sufficiently detailed and careful search could reveal, if nothing else, a trail indicating where he had gone. Assuming he had gone anywhere. Celestia wasn’t ruling out the possibility that he was laying in wait for an ambush.
With great reluctance her Zanpaktou obeyed her will, their heat lessening as they pulled back their spiritual pressure. As Celestia’s senses cleared, she directed the dragons to slowly fly down the length of the mountain slope. As they did so, gliding silently upon heated wings that left trails of steam in their wake, Celestia focused her senses and closed her eyes. She probed the area around her for any small trace of Hollow reiatsu.
She sensed the residual pieces of the slain Extinguishers at the mountain peak... the fading marks of her fight with Grogar up the slope... and there, just the faintest taste of a recent trial of Grogar’s reiatsu. It was minuscule and distorted, no doubt hidden by some manner of device or power to cloak his energy, but it was there, going back down the mountain and into the thick forest of the foothills.
Her Zanpaktou sensed it as well and the dragons eagerly surged forward, like bloodhounds scenting their prey.
Celestia, however, suspected danger, and began to tell them to wait. She was a moment too late in doing so, and the air around her and Shinryu Taiyo darkened as a Garganta portal opened up above them. She felt Grogar’s reiatsu nearby, no doubt flaring up as the Espada used his power to open the Garganta, and she mentally directed her dragons to unleash their flames upon the location she sensed him at. Twin tides of rock vaporizing plasma billowed forth down the slope, and Celestia saw a shimmer in the air as Grogar sprang up to avoid the brunt of them. Even then, his body was scorched as he discarded a flaming cloak, no doubt the object he’d been using to help obscure his reiatsu.
Although the plasma burned and blackened some of his skin, Grogar remained focused on the Garganta above as something emerged, or more accurately fell like the fall of a close portcullis from the Garganta’s depths.
White spurs of bone slammed down around Celestia and Shinryu Taiyo like the bars of a prison, but in actuality they were the gigantic rib cage of another bizarre Hollow, no doubt courtesy of Grogar’s laboratories. This one was horrific in that Celestia could see the Hollow’s small, withered, emaciated main body at the top of a large, dome shaped formation of bones, as if the creatures rib cage had been gigantified and bloated beyond all reasonable measure to take the shape of a prison while it’s own central body remained a husk at the top.
For a split second Celestia wondered what Grogar thought he could accomplish like this. Even if he’d modified this Hollow’s rib cage to be heat resistant, it was impossible for such a low powered Hollow to contain her and her Zanpaktou for more than a few seconds. Already Shinryu Taiyo was letting out roars of defiance as their heat surged back, the huge bones of the rib cage prison starting to melt. They didn’t quite instantly vaporize, no doubt because Grogar had built in some heat resistance, but it wouldn’t matter, Celestia would be free in a moment and-
Her expression froze. Grogar hadn’t jumped up just to evade the fire. He’d gone to the top of the Hollow with Sonido, and now crouched above the emaciated body’s Hollow hole. There, his gnarled fingers unfurled around a small, orange cube of energy.
Caja Negacion.
At that moment Celestia instantly understood what was happening and did the only thing she was capable of doing.
Grogar’s plan had been sufficient and simple. Force her to release her Zanpaktou, and then neutralize it. Shinryu Taiyo had to be in it’s Shikai state for Grogar’s plan to work, because Celestia was too fast to be easily trapped, but the twin dragons, as incredibly powerful as they were, were a bit slower and more bulky. They wouldn’t immediately be able to get clear of this Hollow’s rib cage prison.
Which normally wouldn’t matter, if not for Caja Negacion.
The Espada’s ability to trap other Hollow’s in a dimensional subspace by inserting that cube into the intended victim’s Hollow hole. It wouldn’t work on non-Hollows, unless the non-Hollow was standing close to a Hollow it was used on. This poor Hollow soul had been modified by Grogar to act as a catalyst for creating a Caja Negacion with a wider area. Anything inside the rib cage would be trapped in the subspace dimension.
The cube entered the Hollow’s hole, and instantly the space around it began to twist and fold. Grogar had already moved away with Sonido, clearing the now enfolding space. Celestia moved as well, pushing as fast as she could with Flash Step, and just barely clearing the space in time before reality folded around the space where the modified Hollow, and Shinryu Taiyo, were now trapped.
All she got was a mental message from her Zanpaktou.
”This won’t hold us long, wielder! Do not let this foul one’s tricks defeat you until we shatter this prison and come to your aid!”
Then the dimensional prison closed fully, and Celestia found herself on the mountain slope, divested of her strongest partner and weapon, and facing a very smug looking Grogar. The Espada tapped the flat of his own blade in the palm of his other hand with a smile like the cat that just found a wounded bird on the ground.
“I’m not always prone to self-congratulatory words, but I do love it when things go according to plan. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t entirely certain that would work.”
Fists clenched at her sides, Celestia didn’t disguise the anger burning across her features, although most of it was directed at herself, “I’ll confess that I underestimated you. I knew your reputation for disgusting levels of mutilation of your own kind, but never imagined just how many of your fellow Hollows you’ve twisted into even more unnatural forms. Your perverted mind truly knows no limits.”
“Nor does your capacity for self righteousness,” Grogar spat back, scoffing, “Those Hollows had no existence worth anything other than to be preyed upon by other Hollows. At least in my labs their sacrifice furthers my understanding of Hollow evolution, a far more valuable contribution to the world than if left to their own devices. Now then, I seem to have a Soul Reaper Captain in front of me who is lacking her oh so powerful Zanpaktou. Whatever shall I do with her?”
It was Celestia’s turn to smile, her eyes flashing dangerously, “If you believe the fight to be over simply because I am separated from Shinryu Taiyo, then I’m not the only one who’s underestimated their opponent.”
With those words, her reiatsu exploded. Normally Celestia prided herself on her self control. Her ability to maintain composure and a calm demeanor, no matter how she might feel on the inside. Her kind, motherly nature was no act, of course, but often times she had to take a firm hand with herself to ensure she never lost her temper or failed to show consideration and level headedness in any given situation. Many depended on her, and her nurturing mindset. Many who knew her, only knew her as a caregiver and loving leader.
On her face now was an expression completely at odds with that nature, showing only the furious yet tempered resolved to crush the evil in front of her.
As her reiatsu blasted around her like a pure white whirlwind, Celestia reached up and grasped her Captains coat, throwing it off in one smooth motion. She then pulled her arms into the wide sleeves of her Soul Reaper robes and withdrew them from the front, disrobing the top half to fall to her sides. Underneath she was clad only in bare skin, save for white cloth straps across her chest. The muscle tone of her body was now far easier to notice. Despite her womanly curves, her abs were hardened muscle, and her arms remarkably toned now that no robes hid them. Perhaps more prominent was that the reiatsu flowing through her actually made some of her veins glow like rivers reflecting sunlight.
Wind howled around her from the outburst of reiatsu, and Grogar faced it with his usual unruffled mien. He was no fool. He was well aware that Celestia’s power extended beyond the potency of her Zanpaktou. Her proficiency in Kido was reputed to be among the top five of the Gotei 13’s Captains, and while her unarmed combat prowess was supposedly less than that of her sister’s, it was clear Celestia was... exceedingly fit and had plenty of reiatsu to spare to power her unarmed fighting, even if she lacked the refined skill Luna possessed. The simple fact was that even separated from Shinryu Taiyo, there was a large power gap between Celestia and Grogar.
But he had accounted for that. Not only was he still sitting on a store of built up power from the modified specimens he’d sent as sacrificial lambs to be slaughtered by the Soul Reapers in Canterlot City, the artificial siren gem’s proverbial tanks had been topped up by the destruction of the Extinguisher, which had been altered in the same manner to have their energy transferred to him upon being slain.
He released that additional energy now, feeling the invigorating rush as the siren gem flashed and suffused his being with the power of his sacrificed experiments. Individually they didn’t amount to much, but taken as a gathered whole, the pool of additional power was not insubstantial. But that was the real strength of Hollow-kind. They consumed their fellow Hollows relentlessly, becoming an every more potent amalgamation of consumed souls. That was how Tirek had risen to the top. Among all Hollows still in existence, Tirek had an appetite for consuming his own kind that was unrivaled, and an innate ability to get the most out of each soul he devoured. Grogar’s envy of Tirek was a caustic, burning furnace he kept hidden deep in his withered chest. Grogar was on par with Tirek in terms of age, but Tirek had lucked out to have the innate talent and ability to grow in power exponentially, while Grogar had hit his natural limits long ago.
It was why Grogar was relentless in his drive to study his own kind and develop the means to force Hollow evolution forward. It was infuriating to let someone like Tirek, whose mind was dull and narrowly focused, to have such power. Grogar would correct that unfair injustice by any means necessary, and he was convinced that with the replication of Adagio Dazzle’s siren gem he’d not only found the means to replace Tirek, but to reforge all Hollows.
Well, the ones that proved worthy at any rate. Grogar didn’t care how many millions of Hollows would fall short of his exacting standards, but the rare few that impressed Grogar or earned his favor would find themselves elevated. Or at least granted specific evolutions as Grogar saw fit. He’d be the architect of Hollow destiny, guiding it upon a path of endless evolution as he saw fit.
Today’s battle was just another step upon that path. He’d known Celestia would be the most dangerous enemy on the field, and if allowed to act uncontested she’d interfere with his experiments. Adagio still had a role to fulfill, as did others who didn’t even know it yet.
Celestia came at him with a speed and fury that would be difficult for even a high ranked Espada to dismiss. Hardly a surprise. Celestia could fight on even ground with Chrysalis, after all. Grogar was still just barely able to brace his Zanpaktou in front of him to receive her first punch, and felt his old bones rattle to their core as he was driven back with such force that even with his legs digging into the ground he was sent reeling down the slope and left a long divot in the ground as he went. Celestia didn’t give him a moment to recover, leaping forward like a shining comet and smashing downward with a fist wrapped in pure white reiatsu.
He couldn’t dodge, so instead opted for the faster counter of firing a Cero from the tip of his Zanpaktou, the pale verdant beam breaking upon Celestia’s fist like water around a boulder. Her fist drove through the destructive energy and smashed into Grogar’s chest, blasting the air from his lungs and catapulting him in a haphazard roll down the mountain.
Coughing and working to catch his breath, Grogar gave Celestia a withering look and slashed his Zanpaktou across the ground in front of him. The force of the strike shattered the rock and sent up a wave of dust and dirt. He then whipped his arm back and then swung it forward, throwing his Zanpaktou through the dirt cloud in a deadly spin. Celestia still sensed the attack coming and made a fast spin on her heels, turning around the spinning blade to evade it’s edge with only a lock of hair being lost in the process. However Grogar had already used Sonido to appear in the path of his Zanpaktou and caught it, immediately twisting around into a backhanded slash at Celestia’s side.
She caught his wrist instead, halting his attack, which caused a back-blast of force from the halted blow that billowed out behind both combatants. Celestia twisted Grogar’s arm upwards and then stepped in to deliver a powerful elbow to his chest, indenting it and causing a burst of spittle and blood to burst from his mouth as he was sent flying backwards.
He fell to one knee, coughing, and Celestia turned towards him, raising a hand to prepare a Kido. She then noticed that Grogar was also grinning, and had a second to notice that as the smoke was clearing from the dust cloud he’d thrown up earlier, there was an object laying on the ground that looked like a similar device to the cylinders built into the Extinguishers. Grogar had dropped it there when he’d used Sonido to go through the dust cloud, banking on Celestia focusing on him and his Zanpaktou rather than notice anything else.
The cylinder was indeed a compact version of the cold generating devices he implanted in the Extinguishers, and with a spark of reiatsu from Grogar, it detonated with a dome-shaped blast of freezing air. Celestia jumped back, Flash Stepping away from the blast. She caught some frost on her limbs, and winced at the extreme cold that numbed her limbs. Landing a good distance away, she took a second to focus her spiritual pressure to push back the cold and shake the ice from her limbs, but it was then that she also felt the massive uptick in Grogar’s reiatsu, and instantly knew what it meant.
Grogar knew he couldn’t contest Celestia, Zanpaktou or not, in his base form. However she was too fast and skilled for him to be able to release his Zanpaktou as long as she was right in his face, ready and able to strike. But the frost cylinder had created enough of an opening, with Celestia driven back far enough, that he could raise his Zanpaktou and invert it to point at his stomach as he grinned with mad menace.
”Peel away; Locura.” (Madness)
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Rapid situation assessment was a skill Twilight was growing more accustomed to, and it didn’t take a huge stretch of her intellect to realize that every second Starswirl kept Ember trapped here was a second longer for the entire mission to fail. It was obvious enough that Ember wasn’t able to get clear of Starswirl’s ward on her own, and even with Clover secretly trying to aid them, the fight wasn’t going their way.
Di Roy and Roka were using their full strength, and when Starswirl had still been restraining himself their assistance was somewhat useful. Now, however, Twilight could tell the pair of Arrancar were too far out of their depth to be much more help. They’d likely get themselves killed if they kept facing Starswirl alongside her. Not that Twilight really thought much of her chances on her own, either, but she was still better suited to taking Starswirl on than anyone else present, especially given her Schrift.
“You two!” she shouted to Di Roy and Roka, “Leave Starswirl to me and go help Ember!”
Di Roy shot her an incredulous look, shark teeth showing in a wide frown, “You seriously think you can handle this guy alone?”
Roka gripped his shoulder, then, “Twilight knows what the risks are, and she’s right...” frustrated acceptance filled her voice and darkened her eyes, “We’re not strong enough to do more, here. But saving Ember is why we’re here, not defeating this man.”
A low grunt escaped Di Roy as he spat to the side, “Getting so damn tired of being outclassed in every damn fight... but you’re right. Shit. Try not to die, Quincy gal, you’re all right for one of your kind. We’ll get Ember out of here, so don’t worry and kick this nerd’s ass!”
Twilight just nodded, not mentioning that she was a nerd, too, so she wasn’t sure how to take that. If she was going to beat Starswirl, it would be by out thinking him. As Roka and Di Roy turned around and rushed to assist Ember, Twilight focused on Starswirl, who had watched the exchange with seeming placidity, but she suspected he wasn’t idle.
She sensed the reiatsu inside his Shikai, and knew he was up to something. Given it could create any kind of chemical Starswirl wanted to, her mind reeled at the possible ways he could attack her. In fact, one simple way to check the easiest way he could attack her simply required she use her Schrift in a very simple manner.
She extended her spiritual energy, taking hold of the surrounding reishi with her Schrift. She contextualized the change she was making in her mind and willed it to happen through her Schrift. She felt the power respond, leaping out of her eagerly. The change was subtle but immediate as she saw a thick, opaque gray gas appearing in the air, moving towards her like a small bank of mist.
Twilight immediately jumped upward to get above the now visible gas, taking aim with her bow and counter attacking with a succession of teal witchfire arrows. Starswirl protected himself with a swiftly cast Kido, pointing a finger and chanting, “Bakudo Number Seventy One; Okina Ana” (Gaping Hole)
What appeared to be skeletal hands coated in paper talisman manifested in front of him and then gripped the air, tearing open a hole that created a sudden, powerful suction force. This suction was not merely air, but was laced with spiritual energy that gripped Twilight’s arrows and pulled them into the hole.
“I continue to be impressed by you,” Starswirl said, “You immediately realized it was sending an invisible nerve gas towards you. You used that Schrift of yours to make the gas ‘visible’. Another altered variable. A terrifying power, but it seems to have limitations, otherwise you would use it to attack me directly, altering any number of internal variables in my body. Making my heart fail, for example. Hmm, interesting.”
I hope so, Twilight thought, Because my only way to win is to get you to think you understand my Schrift.
“Maybe I just don’t want to kill you,” she suggested, standing in the air with the help of Hirenkyaku, keeping her boy trained on him, “I’m just here to rescue Ember, after all. Your death isn’t an objective.”
To keep the pressure on, she fired more arrows, but these ones were aimed in a gentle arc around Starswirl’s location rather than at the Captain himself. She drew upon her magic, having Midnight help her lace the arrows with some fairly basic spells, while casting another spell on herself.
The arrows exploded with bright flashes, saturating the area with blinding flashes, while Twilight herself felt her body become lighter and time’s flow alter as the spell she cast on herself vastly boosted her speed. That, combined with another Hirenkyaku, propelled her into the area around her field lab, which was just inside Starswirl’s ward. She moved in a purple streak, snatching up half a dozen M-Cells from the nearest work table. She was tempted to grab the shield harness her team had been working on, but given it’s unstable nature, the M-Cells would have to do.
She spun about, still accelerated by the spell, and raised the first M-Cell to her Hexenfaust. She’d built in a port accessory into the bottom of the Hexenfaust, which opened up like a single-shot breech loader on a grenade launcher, only fitted for an M-Cell.
Inserting the M-Cell, she felt Midnight gasp inside her as the magic from the M-Cell filled the Hexenfaust and charged both it and Twilight’s body.
Oooh, that feels good! Midnight purred, making an audible lip smacking sound in Twilight's mind, Give me another.
Twilight shook her head, One at a time! If we overcharge this, the Hexenfaust could explode. We expend the energy from each M-Cell individually.
She turned her attention back to where Starwirl had been... wait, had been? Where was he!? She’d hoped the acceleration spell would let her do this fast enough to catch him off guard, but she had to spin around to spot the elderly Captain casually walking along the top of one of her lab trailers, casually spinning his Zanpaktou’s fan form.
“How fascinating. You’ve been conducting the same kind of research on magic that I have. Once I have you in custody, I’d love to pick your brain about your progress. Have you discovered how to stabilize magical fields alongside sources of spirit energy?”
For all his seeming relaxed stance, Twilight felt his spirit energy spiking upward. A basketball sized globe of pale liquid grew from the surface of Starswirl’s Zanpaktou and flew at Twilight, streaming thick white fog. She knew what it was instantly and jumped to the side, barely fast enough to avoid the sphere as it burst nearby. Liquid nitrogen splashed everywhere, empowered by Starswirl’s reiatsu and freezing over portions of Twilight’s field lab.
Some of it got on her Hexenfaust, coating parts of it in instant frost. Taking a moment, she made a point of staring hard at the frost as she extended her reishi into the Hexenfaust, her Schrift altering the temperature back to normal.
“Shall I guess your Schrift’s name, or will you just be polite and tell me?” Starswirl asked, disappearing from view with a Flash Step that took him behind Twilight. She couldn’t come close to identifying the barrage of toxic chemicals that spewed out of his weapon in multiple, cone-shape blasts. Could only move as fast as she could with Hirenkyaku to try and get out of the way, and when it was clear she couldn’t, she teleported to avoid the noxious liquids.
She landed nearby in time to see the streams of toxic liquids rain down on one of her trailers and start to melt the metal like plastic under an open flame. The smell was gag worthy.
“You’ve already figured it out,” she told him, letting the magic from the M-Cell gather in her bow, which started to flare with an aura of blazing teal flame-like energy, “I’m Sternritter V; the Variable. That’s all you need to know.”
While this was occurring, Roka and Di Roy and both moved to engage Clover and Meadowbrook. The two Soul Reapers sensed them coming, with Meadowbrook turning to hold both hands out and hastily chant a Kido, while Clover jumped up on one of the top edges of the inverted pyramid shape of the Tozansho Kido. She did this to take herself out of Meadowbrook’s line of sight so she could make a hand gesture towards Roka, who’d been moving to engage her.
Clover didn’t know Roka, but seriously hoped Twilight had explained Clover was on their side. Her hand gesture was a ‘wrap up’ motion with her finger, then holding her arms to her side. Roka gave a small nod, understanding. Clover made a show of firing off a Kido, pointing a finger and unleashing a Byakurai in a white streak of lightning, but it’s aim was just off enough for Roka to easily dodge it while unleashing a stream of threads from her spider legs.
While those threads wrapped up Clover, Meadowbrook finished his Kido, aimed at Di Roy.
Dim motes of green light bloomed into being around him as he made a slashing motion with both hands, “Hado Number Fifty Nine; Seiki no Mure.” (Century Swarm)
The green lights began to emit a fierce buzzing, then born from their verdant depths came a swarm of incandescent locusts. While each one was no larger than a real locust, the swarm consisted of hundreds of the spirit-born bugs as they rushed Di Roy. The Arrancar slammed the wide arm guard on his left arm forward to break through the swarm, some of the bites fruitlessly biting into the hardened bone armor, while others flew around it to start trying to bite and burrow into Di Roy’s Hierro hard flesh.
Di Roy ignored the pain and rushed forward like a charging bull, catching Meadowbrook off guard and shoulder ramming the Lieutenant into the ward wall with a meaty smack.
“Don’t know why you don’t have a Zanpaktou, Soul Reaper, but sucks to be you,” Di Roy said, pulling back his own Zanpaktou in preparation to slam it forward at the stunned Meadowbrook, but a stream of Roka’s threads flew past him and wrapped up Meadowbrook, pinning him to the ground.
Di Roy looked over to see Roka was also holding Clover aloft with more threads, dangling the other Soul Reaper from one of her spider legs like a fly wrapped up in a cocoon.
“Hey, I had that guy,” Di Roy complained, and at Roka’s look he added, “I know, I know. Adagio said to keep casualties to a minimum. I wasn’t gonna kill him. Just, you know, maybe take an arm off or something.”
“Let’s just try to get Ember free,” Roka said, and both Arrancar hopped upward to examine the Kido spell still containing Ember.
Inside the Tozansho, Ember looked back at them with the air of a caged lioness. She’d watched them come to help, but the Tozansho blocked sound, so all Ember could do was wordlessly shout something neither could hear as she gestured wildly at the barrier. Di Roy scratched his head.
“I remember getting trapped in one of these dang things... Heeeey,” he glanced closer at Clover, eyes peering, “Ain’t you the same Soul Reaper who did that to me?”
Clover, wrapped up in thread thoroughly save for her exposed head, blinked at Di Roy. In his present form he didn’t much look like the half-Arrancar she’d faced back then alongside Sunset Shimmer, but now that she was looking at him closely there were similarities. And that voice...
“You’re still alive?” she said, “Fluttershy sent you running away last time. How did you become a full Arrancar?”
“Looooong story, and mostly throwing my lot in with the right boss. Say, how about you be a peach and dispel this barrier thingy?”
Clover scrunched her features up and whispered, “Not a good idea. It’s...” Clover cast a small glance towards Meadowbrook. He was bound up in a manner so he was stuck with his head pointed just out of line of sight. If she kept her voice down, he couldn’t hear her. “It’s making an opening through Captain Starswirl’s ward. If I dispel it, Ember has no way out. You three need to break through it manually.”
Then louder, she said, “I won’t dispel anything. Sorry to disappoint.”
Di Roy scratched his head, then recalled that Adagio had said something about Sunset having a Soul Reaper pal who’d be likely to help them out, or at least not interfere. No wonder it was the same girl who’d been paling around with Sunset back then. Happy to play along, Di Roy laughed, “Hah, as if we’d be stopped by weak sauce Soul Reaper barriers. Roka, let’s punch a hole in this thing.”
“It seems there’s a good opening over there,” Roka agreed, pointing towards where the Tozansho’s edge pierced through Starswirl’s own barrier. She made several pointing gestures, giving Ember a meaningful look. Ember looked confused for a second until she turned around to look at the same spot, then smacked her head.
Not knowing how much time Twilight could buy them, the trio went to work immediately. Di Roy went to one side of the Tonzansho’s edge, while Roka went to the other, after having deposited Clover on the ground next to Meadowbrook. Ember went to the interior of the edge poking through the outer barrier, then all three Arrancar together charged up Cero beams at the end of their hands.
Di Roy made a three-count with his fingers, counting down so all of them could time their blasts at once. Three ruby beams struck at roughly the same point on the Tozansho, the admittedly powerful Kido swiftly overwhelmed by that combined Hollow energy. Normally Ember would have been in danger, firing a Cero inside the Tonzansho, but with Di Roy and Roka firing as well from the outside, the barrier broke fast and the destructive energies punched through. And specifically, the Ceros punched through the part of the Tozansho that was sticking out of Starswirl’s barrier, punching a hole through it.
As the Tozansho vanished it left a person-sized hole in Starswirl’s barrier, and the three Arrancar wasted no time in rushing through it with Sonido, Ember going first, followed by Roka, then Di Roy.
As the trio appeared outside the barrier, Di Roy didn’t hesitate to gesture with a hand and opened up a Garganta portal, “Okay folks, one way trip to Hueco Mundo coming right up!”
“Wait,” said Ember, “My Zanpaktou is still at the Soul Reaper lab. I’m not leaving without it.”
Di Roy looked like he’d just bitten down on a pile of sour grapes as he grimaced and groaned, “Aw hell, I forgot about that! Craaaaap! Okay, fine!” He closed the Garganta, and gestured with his own Zanpaktou in the rough direction of the former lake, “Let’s make this fast, then! Every second we’re here is a second fate can bend us over the rails and go to town.”
“Colorful way of putting it,” Roka said, “But not inaccurate. Ember, you should be able to sense your Zanpaktou’s precise location, so lead the way. But please recall, Adagio asked us to try to avoid killing any Soul Reapers.”
Ember had a less than enthusiastic expression as she flexed her hands like claws, “Roka, I’m getting my Zanpaktou. If there’s a Soul Reaper in my way, I’m going through them. How intact they are after I do that is not what I’m worried about.”
With that, Ember turned and dashed away with Sonido, leaving Di Roy and Roka to exchange worried looks before they rushed to follow.
----------
Seconds dripped by with the slow tension of a drop of water on the precipice of a faucet as Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood facing the behemoth bulk of the Hydra. Both girls were wound up tightly in stances ready to burst into motion at any moment. Yet as those heavy seconds passed with the slow drip of high adrenaline readiness, nothing happened.
The Hydra just stood there, observing them with its four sets of sharp, intelligent eyes.
“Uhhh... you gonna do something, or what!?” Rainbow Dash shouted, the lightning from her spear crackling with her rise in irritation. “We don’t exactly have all week, buddy! If you’re not here to fight, then scram, and we can get to more important stuff!”
“Ain’t sure ya oughta be tauntn’ the thing, Dash,” Applejack said, then clammed up as the Hydra made a coughing, chortling noise from three of it’s four heads. From the way it’s deadly looking maws were curled upwards, Applejack suspected it was laughing at them. However one head, the second in from the right, looked at its fellows with disdain and barked a sharp word in it’s odd, guttural tongue that got the others to cease its wet chuckles and looked back at the girls with a more serious air.
The head that didn’t laugh, which seemed to be in charge, lowered itself slightly and spoke again, however this time the words were in English. Well, English of a sort. The accent was so thick and rough, the words so alien coming from a throat not meant to speak them, that both Dash and Applejack had to struggle to understand the garbled speech.
“We fight soon, small ones. Taking measure of ones who halted our kin with such slaughter. Worthy of respect, so dumb brothers should not laugh so. We would know names, before the shedding of blood begins again.”
Applejack hadn’t expected this beast to speak, let alone ask their names, so she was taken aback enough to stare dumbly for a few moments. Rainbow Dash took things more in stride, shrugging her wings as she said, “Name’s Rainbow Dash. She’s, Applejack. What about you, each of your heads got a name, or are you all, like, one dude?”
The Hydra’s speaking head tilted slightly, then responded, “We are separate in mind, one in soul. We are called Ormir, of the Land Tribe. We serve our High Chieftain as Jarl of our clan. The one you shamed with defeat was Bjornir, one of our Thanes.”
Rainbow Dash’s face blanched slightly as she turned to nudge Applejack, “Hey, uh, AJ? Did I miss a talk with Discord or one of the Soul Reapers back in Soul Society? Because none of that made sense to me.”
“Ya didn’t miss nuthin’, Dash. This guy’s lingo is new to me, too,” Applejack said, suppressing an urge to sigh. She got the feeling this situation was suddenly a lot more complicated. Taking a deep breath, she shouted to the Hydra, Ormir, “Yer gonna have ta clarify a bit there, partner! We ain’t got a clue what no Jarl or Thanes are!”
Ormir shook with a low, rumbling sound that might have been another laugh, or just a growl of consternation. “My clan is of the Beast Realm, which holds three Tribes of Land, Sky, and Sea. No surprise small ones from this realm know nothing of us. It is no shame to you, but remember us well. With our names known to one another, we can now battle.”
“Whoa there! Hold on a sec!” Applejack said, “Why don’t ya at least tell us why all ya’ll from this Beast Realm place are doin’ here attacking a dang summer camp in the first place!? An’ don’t take this the wrong way, but I thought some o’ yer kin were supposed ta be from another world, called Equestria!”
“Equestria...?” Ormir stretched the word out, all of his heads looking at each other quizzically. Suddenly one of the heads said something in their native tongue, and the main head’s expression lit up with understanding. “Ah, you mean our sister realm. We call it by a different name; Asgard. Yours is Midgard. Theirs is Asgard. Both realms are tied to ours. Both where kin go upon ‘death’ to be reborn.”
“So yer sayin’ yer Beast Realm is tied ta both worlds?”
“Yes. Beasts die in both realms, and come to us, then die again, and return. Simple enough. Foolish, how the guardians of death in Midgard try to control it all. Hmph, not why we’re here, to talk.”
Applejack was no scholar, but she was smarter than some people might have given her credit for due to her mannerisms. What Ormir was saying had a lot of implications, but it also plugged in some holes that while Applejack herself might not have wondered about them, she was willing to bet Sunset or Twilight would find fascinating. Really her first biggest thought was that this explained a bit about why so many critters from mythology resembled creatures that Princess Twilight had confirmed existed in Equestria. This Beast Realm was connected to both worlds, so chances were at some point things like hydras, kraken, or dragons did exist on Earth. She was curious why that wasn’t the case anymore, but maybe the Soul Reapers kicked them out and sent them all back to the Beast Realm, and it just became easier for those creatures to migrate to Equestria instead?
Well, whatever the case, Applejack wasn’t finished yet, despite the Hydra clearly getting ready to charge. She took up a ready stance, palms out and charged with energy to fire, but she still said, “Ya still ain’t said why yer here doin’ this! What’s some Beast Realm Jarl or whatever ya call yerself got ta gain from attacking us!?”
“A bargain struck, and what is owed being paid,” Ormir replied, “Nothing more.”
“A bargain with who? Over what?” pressed Applejack, but Ormir’s heads all shook back and forth as one.
“Spoken enough, small one,” the Hydra said, and with that, he surged forward. The ground trembled like jelly at his steps, which came faster and with more impact than anything Ormir’s size should have been able to achieve.
Applejack could sense reiatsu coming off of the Hydra, strong enough to be a concern, but not enough to frighten her off. Seemed about on par with some of the Captain’s she’d sensed in the past, but her mother’s reiatsu was a lot stronger, comparatively speaking. Then again, Applejack might’ve been biased.
Either way, she wasn’t about to take Ormir lightly, and neither was Rainbow Dash. Applejack blasted upwards and to the left on golden jets of energy, while Dash essentially vanished in a blinding flash of indigo lightning. The Hydra continued to smash through the space they’d just been in, all but crushing what was left of the tent grounds, and all four heads began to swivel about.
At the tip of each head’s maw a magical circle took shape, runes blazing across the circumference of the circles with flickers of green energy. Then at the same time, Ormir’s spiritual pressure felt like it coiled inside him and the ground broke apart beneath the Hydra as he jumped upwards with unnatural force.
The four magical circles discharged slim, green rays that curved towards Applejack, forcing her to swiftly alter her course to twist away from them. One grazed her right leg, and she realized the beams were actually highly concentrated streams of corrosive goo. Even a small grazing hit from the stuff sizzled her armor, scoring it deeply. Applejack didn’t want to think about what a direct hit to her bare skin might do.
At the same time, those magical attacks weren’t all Ormir was throwing out. His spiritual pressure seemed to shift through his body and enter his tail, which he then swept at Rainbow Dash, who had zipped up behind him. Unlike the magic he was using, the Hydra’s spiritual energy came out in a pale blue wave fired from his tail, which turned into the biting head of a massive ethereal snake who’s forehead was covered in strange, symmetrical runes.
Dash, not one to back down from a challenge, took the attack head on with one of her own, sweeping her spear around to unleash a dazzling discharge of lightning that smashed into the oncoming snake with a resounding collision. Rainbow Dash looked a tad surprised that the ethereal snake wasn’t destroyed by her lightning, but rather was just knocked aside. And unlike an energy attack like a Cero, the snake remained, tied to Ormir by a ghostly strand of spirit energy.
“Hah,” Ormir laughed, “The Anima of a Jarl is not easily banished, little thunder bird!”
“Whatever you say. Seems like everybody's got a gimmick these days, but in my experience, whoever hits harder still comes out on top!” Rainbow Dash said, vanishing in a thunder-crack of the sound barrier being casually torn apart as she charged the Hydra, who was falling back to the earth from his earlier jump.
Rainbow Dash blitzed him very much like she had the bug bear, appearing as several dozen blue streaks of electricity as she slashed and stabbed with her spear. Wounds opened across Ormir’s hide, spewing thick, green blood, yet he seemed untroubled by the injuries as he crashed to the ground in a titanic quake and snapped powerful jaws at Dash. His heads moved with surprising speed for his size, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t caught, although she was forced to back off for a moment. She saw the damage she’d caused wasn’t slowing him down much, and the wounds were slowly closing.
“You regenerate, too? Guess I’ll have to take you down all at once!”
“Ya mean we’re gonna hafta take him down all at once,” Applejack reminded Dash, blasting past her and smashing a fist forward, assisted by a boost of rocket energy from her elbow. She was aiming for Ormir’s main head, the one doing most the talking, but that glowing snake of blue light came around with the speed of the wind, intercepting her fist and blocking it with the snake’s head. Despite its phantom-like appearance, the snake was solid as a wall, and Applejack felt it resit her punch as solidly as anything with a healthy dose of reiatsu behind it could.
There was no doubting this Hydra was something like the equivalent of a Soul Reaper Captain, although Applejack felt her fist pushing the snake back. She didn’t know if it was because she and Dash had gotten strong enough through their training recently, but she felt a burst of confidence. Easy or not, she thought she and Dash had a good shot at winning, as long as they kept cool heads and coordinated their attacks. However it also occurred to her that there was a possibility Ormir was still holding back. The fight had just started, and for all Applejack knew this ‘Anima’ snake was just the equivalent of a Shikai. It hadn’t really demonstrated any weird powers yet, either.
Pushing off with her fist, Applejack flew backwards and called out to Rainbow Dash, “Hey Dash, we’re doin’ the Canterlot Comet Crusher!”
“Wait, which one’s that again?” Rainbow shouted back, referring to several combo moves they’d worked out together, but in their mutual enthusiasm it was possible the pair had disagreed on a few of the code-phrases as to not give away their plans to the enemy, “Is that the one with the fog, the cyclone, or the flare?”
Applejack nearly smacked herself, but that would have been ill-advised while using the energy jets from her palms to help herself fly. Instead she bellowed, “Cyclone! Now!”
Dash saluted and instantly burst into motion, her energy wings leaving prismatic afterimages as she began to rapidly circle Ormir. Meanwhile Applejack flew upwards, dodging more homing streams of caustic goo that the Hydra cast her way. The snake, or Anima as Ormir had called it, tried to go after Dash. It followed her and lunged at the girl’s streaking form, but every time it’s ethereal fangs smashed down on empty air. Powerful or not, this Beast Realm Jarl wasn’t beating Rainbow Dash in a contest of speed, and Rainbow’s motions, combined with her Fullbring’s power to control weather, was already creating a tornado around Ormir that Captain Hurricane himself would’ve been jealous of.
The sharp winds tore at the Hydra and kept him stuck in place, but wasn’t doing much actual damage. The heads looked around in irritation at the tornado they were at the center of, but then looked up to see Applejack had flown up to the cyclone’s apex.
There, Applejack threw her arms up above her head and stretched her legs into a descending kick. Ports opened up along both her gauntlets and leg armor as she fired off powerful jets of gold energy that sent her careening downward. She added a spin to the move, pooling some energy from her outstretched, kicking foot to form a swirling tip of power almost like a drill.
Then Dash added her part to the attack, filling the cyclone with a river of lightning, both spearing down from the sky and blasting out from Rainbow Dash’s own body, turning the whole tornado into a flash of cobalt blue.
“Canterlot-” Applejack said as she neared her target, Ormir sending his snake spirit up to intercept her.
“-Comet-” Rainbow Dash’s voice boomed through the cyclone as she flew out of it to join Applejack’s descent, her body covered in an aura of crackling lightning as she joined her spear tip next to Applejack’s kick.
The cyclone spat out a discharge of unbelievable voltage, smashing into the ground around it and channeling straight into the Hydra. At the same instance both spear, boot, and snake collided.
“-Crusher!” both girls shouted as one, colliding with the Anima.
The snake of spirit energy wasn’t able to contest Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s combined force, smashed downward along with them until they all impacted into Ormir’s chest, driving the Hydra into the ground. The cyclone exploded in a hurricane force of wind and discharged lightning, alongside the impact of Dash and Applejack’s dual strike that shattered the already fairly broken ground.
From the mess, both girls flew out and managed individual flips, landing in ready poses as they turned to look at the dust and smoke from the destruction they’d wrought. Rainbow Dash held out her palm, and Applejack didn’t even look as she high-fived it.
“That worked even better than I thought it would,” Dash said, grinning.
“I’m just glad ya didn’t fry me with all that lightnin’. You’ve gotten better at makin’ it go where ya want. When were were trainin’ these combo movies ya kept zappin’ me by accident.”
“And I said I was sorry each time,” Rainbow Dash said, smirking as she gestured at the settling dust cloud, “But hey, we nailed it this time! Your timing was perfect, AJ.”
“Yeah, well, ain’t ‘bout ta let it go ta my head,” Applejack said, glancing away awkwardly. Wasn’t actually all that often that Rainbow Dash was that free with praise. Applejack wasn’t really sure how to respond to it, instead of the usual ribbing. “Anywhos, we’d best make sure the big fella’s down fer the count.”
“Good point,” Rainbow Dash agreed, just in time for the ground to shake as the dust cloud billowed away from the gargantuan form of Ormir raising all four of his serpentine heads from the settling dirt.
He was certainly injured, there was no doubting that. His stance was wobbly and his movements slowed with pain. The Hydra’s body was badly burned from the massive influx of electricity he’d taken, and his chest was partially caved in from the twin impact of both Fullbringers striking with near full force and with a direct hit. Yet stand he did upon his two ponderous, clawed legs, and smashed his tail into the ground with a echoing impact.
“Well struck,” he said respectfully, “Worthy of a fellow Jarl, I’d wager. I cannot keep calling you small ones, it seems, for that size does not match your strength.” One of the heads coughed, spewing blood, “I think you crushed some internal organs with that blow. Going to be days regenerating from that. You’ve earned a place upon my trophy wall, as foes deserving of remembrance.”
Rainbow Dash tossed him a deadpan, slump-shouldered stare, “Gee... thanks. Think I’ll pass on the taxidermy lifestyle. How about you just crawl on back to that Beast Realm of yours, along with all your slobbering buddies, before me and AJ here get back to clobbering your scaley butt?”
“My shattered rib cage would agree with you, but I am not quite prepared to make a coward of myself by fleeing while my clan’s debt remains unpaid,” Ormir said, and his spiritual pressure coiled within him once more. The translucent form of his Anima serpent appeared once again, only now the ethereal snake split into many, with now a writhing plethora of rune covered snake heads flying towards the two girls.
“Aw horseapples!” Applejack groused, throwing herself backwards to avoid the first few snakes that ripped apart the ground where she’d been standing. She quickly started firing off blasts of energy from her palms or the heels of her boots, dodging and kicking around to keep the snake heads away from her.
Rainbow Dash’s body flared with a corona of lightning as she spun her spear in a blinding pattern, flying straight into the biting storm of snake heads. Her spear slashed and stabbed at the biting wraiths, and with a singular spin Dash produced a charged circle of electricity that she hurled at Ormir through the writing mass of Anima serpents.
Ormir defended himself with magic, all four heads casting simultaneous barrier spells to absorb the lightning circle that smashed into it. Meanwhile Applejack, much slower than Dash comparatively speaking, was having trouble keeping her distance from the dozen or so snake heads that were coming after her. She blasted away one, then two, then a third, only to get her right arm caught by the fangs of a fourth.
“Gorramit!” she cursed, wincing in pain as the ephemeral snake, twice as large as her own body, started trying to crush her arm and thrash her about. Applejack remained steadfast through the shaking, and smashed her left fist into the snake’s translucent eye, firing a beam of gold energy from the wrist nozzle of her gauntlet straight into the Anima. That broke it apart, and Applejack was able to make a safe landing on the ground.
Rainbow Dash had broken away from the mass of snakes coming after her, and began to charge up a hefty blast of lightning by raising her spear up and summoning lances of electricity from the sky to gather at the tip of the spear.
However, before she could discharge it at the wave of twenty or so serpents coming at her, something flashed in front of her.
Golden hands extended in dozens of multitudes, passing by Dash in a shining wave. The hands, palms out, impacted the oncoming ethereal snakes and forced them into a coiling, halted mass. Rainbow Dash looked behind her and felt surprise flick her expression into one of open shock.
“Fluttershy!?”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t quite immediately resolve the difference between the relatively meek and humble girl she’d seen earlier that day with the glowing, gold goddess surrounded by a blinding halo producing dozens of potent spectral limbs. Fluttershy was walking calmly forward, more and more of the nearly solid gold limbs flying out from the blinding interior of her halo to smack away Ormir’s spirit serpents.
“Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked, her spiritual pressure washing over Dash in a warm, soothing wave that made Rainbow feel like she’d just spent a week resting in a summer glade. She felt the small injuries she’d accumulated being swept aside like so much dirt, and her own energy being replenished as if she’d taken a drink from a cool, clean mountain spring.
“Whoa... y-yeah, better than fine. When did you get all glowy and limbed up?” Dash asked, gesturing at the physical additional arms attached to Fluttershy’s body.
“Just recently. I’ll tell you about it later. Do you and Applejack need help? Me and Pinkie Pie came to check on you, since it felt like you were having some trouble.”
Rainbow Dash looked over to where Applejack was just in time to see Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena catapult in like a spinning top, Pinkamena grinning like a madwoman as she swung the Pinkie Hammer to whack half a dozen phantom snakes. There was a distinct crack like the first shot of a game of billiards, and the snakes went bouncing around like the balls from that very game, smacking into other snakes while Pinkamena landed between Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Things got boring back at camp,” Pinkamena said, licking her lips, “So we left those Quincy girls to watch things while we came to see if there was anything good to eat over here? Is the multi-headed gecko what’s on the menu today?”
She gave an appreciative look at the surrounding carnage of already defeated creatures, “Looks like you’ve already had lots of fun.”
“We’ve been busy, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hey, where’s Rarity and Sunset?” asked Applejack, and Fluttershy gained a concerned look.
“Rarity said she was worried someone was after Twilight and went to track them down,” Fluttershy said, “Since we’d dealt with the attack at the camp, we thought we’d come help you. As for Sunset, she’s underground, chasing Gloriosa Daisy and her brother.”
“The camp owners? What happened with them?” asked Rainbow Dash, but before anyone could answer there were four distinctly disgruntled throat clearings from the hydra.
All the girls looked to see the Hydra’s four faces bearing a wounded look of chagrin.
“If you could all stop talking, we’re supposed to be fighting.”
“Hey buddy, you hold your horses. Or snakes. Or whatever,” said Rainbow Dash, “Me and my friends here are just catching up with current events. In case you didn’t notice there’s a lot going on around here and it doesn’t all involve you. We’ve got Hollows and Quincy running around here, too, and honestly that was enough before you Beast Realm weirdos decided to stick your nose into things!”
“Beast Realm?” Fluttershy inquired with obvious interest, now taking a rather fascinated look at Ormir. The Hydra seemed rather uncomfortable with Fluttershy’s scrutiny and self-consciously all four heads found somewhere else to look other than the girl’s piercingly intense eyes.
“Oh man, is this gonna be on the test?” said Pinkie Pie, her hammer form drooping, “This is gonna be four grade geography all over again if I have to remember all these realms and worlds and stuff.”
“It is not our fault that the discharging of our clan’s debt has come at an inconvenient time for you humans,” Ormir said, drawing himself up and rearing his heads high, “We know not of the Hollows’ or Quincy’s dealings here. Our sole goal is to honor our debt by attacking the place called ‘Camp Everfree’.”
“Oh my,” said Fluttershy, “Whyever would someone want you to do such an unpleasant thing?”
“We are not obligated to answer...” Ormir began, but Fluttershy just kept staring at him. The manifested spirit snakes of his Anima all hissed, drawing up around the Hydra’s body in defense, and Orimir growled from his four maws, “Do not try to bewitch us. We shall not betray our honor by divulging anything to you. We would be slain, first.”
“That can be arranged.”
All eyes turned upward to see two women standing upon the air some hundred feet up, their Soul Reaper robes stirred by a fain breeze. Captain Sweet Cider and Lieutenant Posey both had their Zanpaktou drawn and held in ready battle stances. Applejack’s eyes lit up.
“Ma, yer here!”
Sweet Cider couldn’t quite keep a parentally satisfied smirk off her cherry red features as she looked at the battlefield, noting the number of defeated creatures strewn about, and the heavily injured Hydra. “Looks like ya were havin’ a grand ol’ time over here, hayseed. Good work holdin’ the line ‘till we could clean things up back in town. Ya’ll gals alright?”
“We’re cool, Mrs. Apple,” Rainbow Dash said, grinning, “We totally have this. Snake boy was just about to spill the beans on what he and his legion of Equestrian critter rip-offs were doing here. Riiiight Orwhatever?”
“Ormir...” he replied, simultaneously proving that gigantic Hydra Jarls from a spiritual dimension of mythic creatures were quite capable of pouting.
“Dude, seriously, check your ego. You might be someone epic back where you come from, but you majorly picked a fight with the wrong people,” Rainbow Dash said, “I don’t care who you owe beyond knowing who my smacking hand is going towards next. And considering who just showed up, you might want to rethink your chances, which were already low when it was just me and AJ inserting our boots up your bad-touch zone.”
“Ya really wanna be tellin’ someone else ‘bout checkin’ their egos?” Applejack said, giving Dash a flat stare, “Pretty sure there’s a sayin’ concerin’ pots an’ kettles that applies here.”
Sweet Cider cleared her throat in a singular and loud fashion that caused all attention to divert back to her.
“I don’t know what yer doin’ here, Beast Realmer, but yer presence, attackin’ livin’ humans no less, is violatin’ yer kinds’ treaty with Soul Society five ways from Sunday. I got half a mind ta lop three o’ yer heads off an’ drag the remainin’ one back ta Seireitei so ya can explain ta Captain Commander Scorpan just what ya think yer tryin’ ta pull.”
Ormir narrowed his four sets of eyes, but even past his reptilian features it was easy enough to tell that he was exceedingly uncertain of his chances against Sweet Cider. “My heads would grow back, but your point is taken, Soul Reaper. My clan’s debt did not extend to doing battle with your kind, and now that you are here, there is no cowardice in taking the remains of my thralls and returning to the Beast Realm. Our duty is fulfilled as best it can be....”
“No wait just a sec’ there,” Sweet Cider began to say, “Who said I was gonna let ya walk?”
However, even as she spoke, Orimir’s heads were casting magic, forming circles of emerald light in front of them. Everyone tensed, some to defend or evade, or in Sweet Cider’s case, to attack. Yet a mere half second later the spells were cast and in an impressive flash of light, he vanished in a singular pop of emerald light that looked familiar to any who’d witnessed a teleport spell.
Sweet Cider hadn’t seen such before and blinked in annoyance, “What n’ tarnation was that?”
“Look like magic ta me,” said Applejack, kicking the dirt in front of her, “Heard Princess Twilight mention teleportin’ before, an’ willin’ ta bet that was it.”
“So the dude just up and ran? Lame,” Rainbow Dash said, “How are we supposed to find out who he was working for?”
“I think it's better that there won’t be any more fighting,” Fluttershy said, “At least not here. I can still feel conflict nearby. Oh, I think Twilight’s in trouble, and Luna, and maybe Celestia?”
“Don’t forget Sunny!” Pinkie Pie said, “She’s totally going to try to solo this level’s boss, I just know it! We should go help her now that the mini-boss has skedaddled!”
“Who says ‘skeaddled’ anymore?” pondered Pinkamena.
“Uh, I did, like, two seconds ago, duh, “ said Pinkie Pie.
Sweet Cider blinked at them for a second, then sighed and turned to look at Posey, “Lieutenant, would ya mind stayin’ here with them an’ ensurin’ if there’s any more trouble ta help protect the civilians?”
“Of course, Captain,” Posey said, briefly glancing towards Fluttershy past the length of her bangs, “It’d be my privilege. But, um, what will you be doing?”
“Luna’s reiatsu is still faint, an’ I’m sensin’ powerful Hollows either near her or headin’ towards her. Celestia’s still fighthin’ an Espada, but her reiatsu is goin’ strong. I sense Starswirl nearby tackling some Quincy an’ Hollows, but he don’t much feel like he’s in any danger. I’m headin’ ta help Luna outta whatever jam she’s gotten herself into.”
At those words worried looks were exchanged between the girls from Canterlot High. They all knew Adagio had fought Luna, and it sounded like Adagio had come out on top in that fight. But if Sweet Cider showed up...? The problem was that they couldn’t say anything without making it blindingly obvious that they were on Adagio’s side, more or less.
Still, Applejack did try, “Hold up, ma! I know Luna’s in a’ tough spot, but there’s somethin’ brewin’ down below this camp, too. Sunset’s run off after a lady named Gloriosa who’s, uh, got some kind o’ Hollow trouble goin’ on. Ya might wanna stick around.”
Sweet Cider looked at her daughter, and shook her head, “It’ll have ta wait. Luna’s reiatsu is way to faint fer her ta still be in’ fightin’ trim. I ain’t got time ta second guess things. Just stay her, look after yer little sister, an’ I’ll be back before ya know it.”
Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but Sweet Cider had already vanished with a Flash Step, and the farm girl was left gawking at empty air. She grit her teeth, muttering under her breath, “Dagnabbit, hope Adagio’s got the sense ta run away like that Ormir fella did.”
----------
Adagio had Luna imprisoned in a condensed sphere of water, leaving the Soul Reaper woman’s head exposed but otherwise encasing her body with a tightly pressurized body of water that kept Luna’s limbs pinned. Luna’s Zanpaktou was out of reach, contained in another, smaller sphere that Adagio kept floating next to her. She didn’t want to take any chances.
“What do you intend to do with me?” Luna asked, eyes staring at Adagio hard, despite the blood in them.
“I’m still considering that,” Adagio said, pursing her lips as she tapped her chin, “As a hostage you could be quite useful. However I don’t want to reenact the last few days in reverse, so I won’t be taking you as a prisoner to Las Noches. The last thing I need is your sister banging down my door to rescue you. Been enough rescuing going on these days, I think it’s time to flip the script a bit.”
Luna’s eyes twitched with razor suspicion, and Adagio couldn’t deny she was enjoying toying with the Captain just a bit.
“Just what does that mean?” Luna asked, biting out the words.
“Only that if I’m going to use you as a bargaining chip, I’ll be doing it here, today, instead of taking you home to cash in at a later date. I’ve only one objective here, and it hasn’t been achieved yet, so you’ll be helping me with that. Specifically, convincing your fellow Captain to allow me to depart with my forces, and Ember.”
Luna’s response was laced with something approaching sympathy, or perhaps pity might have been more accurate. “You believe Captain Starswirl will give up Ember in exchange for me?”
“Are the bonds of comradery between Soul Reapers that weak?” Adagio replied, and Luna stared back at her.
“It has nothing to do with that. Captain Starswirl would have no desire to see me harmed, but he also wouldn’t compromise his research for my sake. You may have beaten me, Adagio Dazzle, but you’re weakened from the fight. Starswirl is as likely to consider you a viable acquisition, were you to present yourself before him with me in tow.”
Adagio’s lips twisted into an annoyed sneer. True, she was exhausted from the fight with Luna, and certainly injured from the ordeal. Her body was recovering, albeit slowly. She didn’t enjoy the kind of regenerative powers Chrysalis possessed, but she recovered fast like many Arrancar did. But Luna was right, Adagio was in no shape to fight another Captain.
That being said, Adagio could sense Starswirl and Twilight Sparkle’s battle. She wasn’t sure why Ember hadn’t escaped with Di Roy and Roka yet. She assumed Starswirl must be preventing them from fleeing through a Garganta, somehow. Still, that didn’t change that Starswirl was already dealing with a difficult opponent in Twilight, so if Adagio showed up now with Luna, that might complicate things enough for Starswirl to make him back off and listen to reason.
“Perhaps you’re right, or perhaps you’re not,” Adagio said, “You must sense that Starswirl is fighting right now, and regardless of who he’s fighting, I think I’m still sufficient threat that my arrival would make him consider negotiating for your release. It’s a better bet than any other I have available right now, so I’ll play the cards in my hand as best I can.”
“Of course there’s no harm in someone slipping you an ace up the sleeve, is there?”
The new voice came from behind, and Adagio whirled around to see, to her surprise, Greta approaching from the treeline. It didn’t take Adagio more than a second to realize that, despite appearances, this wasn’t Greta. The ‘woman’ was walking with a hip-swaying swagger that identified them more thoroughly than a fingerprint to Adagio.
“Well, I’m never opposed to stacking a deck in my favor, Thorax, but what are you doing here? And impersonating one of Guto’s warriors, no less?” Adagio said, and ‘Greta’ pouted at her and flashed her eyelids in an innocent blush.
“Aww, what gave me away?”
“Oh please, you know you were signalling who you were with that little sauntering walk of yours. Aside from myself and my sisters you’re the only person I know capable of moving their hips like that,” Adagio replied, and cast a sidelong look at Luna upon hearing the Soul Reaper make a quiet noise.
Luna was now looking at ‘Greta’ as emerald fire enwrapped the image of Guto’s warrior and burned away the false appearance to reveal Thorax’s effeminate yet sinfully well sculpted male form. Thorax brushed locks of soft green hair from his face and placed one slim, dark hand on the hilt of his Zanpaktou while bowing to Adagio.
“I suppose it’s true, I do know how to work what my mother so generously gave me. A pleasure to see you, Adagio. And you too, Lulu. It’s been ages.”
“Thorax..” Luna said with a quiet tone brimming with a hidden tempest of emotions that got Adagio looking at the Soul Reaper Captain’s carefully guarded expression with a spike of curiosity. Luna’s stare at Thorax was utterly intense, and flavored with a rich blend of apprehension, mistrust, and... regret? .
“I take it you two have a history?” Adagio said, turning a questioning glance towards Thorax. He, oddly enough, looked... guilty? Embarrassed? It was difficult to tell. He looked at Luna with a similar mix of emotions, chief among them a sort of resigned regret as he shrugged his shoulders and held out his hands in a ‘what can I say’ gesture.
“You could say that. Mother once tried to get, *ahem* Luna here on our side of the fence. The first Soul Reaper to willingly defect to the Hollows. It, uh... didn’t work out.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Luna replied with a hardening tone, “I would describe it along the lines of Chrysalis lying to me, trying to take possession of my soul to turn me against my sister, and you helping her do it by trying to convince me you cared about me.”
Thorax was quiet for a second, eyes regarding Luna with the same bitter mix of emotions in the Captain’s gaze, “I don’t suppose trying to explain my side of the story would matter to you at this point, would it? For what little it may be worth to you, Luna, I am sorry. Mother has a singular way of getting what she wants. At the time I had little choice in the matter, not that I expect you to be sympathetic. It’s also water under the bridge, for me, and has nothing to do with why I’m here.”
“If you were listening in to our conversation, which no doubt you were, you know that I’m a busy woman,” Adagio said, “So tell me why you’re here, and be quick about it.”
“As you wish,” Thorax said, gesturing towards Luna, “I want to take Luna off your hands and keep her as a guest in Las Noches.”
“No,” Luna and Adagio both said simultaneously, and the pair glanced at each other while Thorax crossed his arms and grimaced.
“At least hear me out, first, won’t you, Adagio? You haven’t even heard what I’m offering in exchange for her.”
“I’m not sure it matters,” Adagio said flatly, “She’s too much trouble to keep as a prisoner, and I don’t need her sister or any other Captains barging into my territory trying to get her back.”
“She won’t be in your territory, she’ll be in mine,” Thorax said, “Thoroughly guarded within the depths of my mother’s fortress.”
“Still no dice,” Adagio said, and held up a hand to forestall Thorax from opening his mouth, “I’m certain you have plenty of things to offer me in payment for my prisoner, but the bottom line is, she’s more useful to me right here and now as a bargaining chip than just about anything you could put on the table. Nothing personal, Thorax, but unless you have a way for me to conveniently ascend to the rank of First Espada, have a way to instantly end this asinine spirit war, or can instantly teleport me to Equestria-”
“I can teleport you to Equestria,” Thorax said bluntly, and Adagio lost her breath for a moment, shocked into silence.
Thorax stared right at her, expression giving away nothing but blunt seriousness, “You heard me correctly, Adagio, and I’m not lying. Give me Luna, and I’ll get you to Equestria. Today, if you so wish.”
“...How?” Adagio hissed past clenched teeth.
“I won’t tell you that. Take my offer, and then you learn the method, but only when Luna is safely in my custody back in Las Noches.”
It wasn’t often that Adagio was left without an immediate way to respond. Her mind was in full processing mode, analyzing every inch of Thorax’s facial expression and body language, seeking any hint of a lie or deception. At the same time her brain was calculating a dozen different scenarios and possibilities where this deal could prove useful to her. She could use it as leverage with Sunset or Twilight to get any number of favors in exchange for a route to Equestria, assuming Thorax would be willing to transport more than just Adagio. Tirek would certainly find such information useful, but Adagio wasn’t willing to hand the keys to invasion of her home world over to him. Might be useful for arranging some manner of... accident or ambush, however.
While her mind reeled at the possibilities, her thoughts were broken by the sudden arrival of another.
Gaw literally appeared before her in a flash of Sonido, and it was obvious at a glance that she’d been through a rough fight from the arrow wounds puncturing her shoulder, arms, and legs.
“Gaw,” Adagio said, “Did you end up tangling with a Quincy?”
Thorax and his deal would have to be shelved until she knew what had happened. The last Adagio had known, Gaw had been with ‘Greta’ and Gilda just before Gilda had blown the ‘covert’ part of their operation, and for reasons Adagio still didn’t know yet. Honestly she’d have asked Thorax by now if he hadn’t distracted her with all this business with Luna.
Gaw, giving Thorax an odd look and sniffing at him, frowned and said, “Yes but not Quincy we know. Wore a fake face. Pretending to be another. Like this one with the stupid face.”
“Excuse me, my face is gorgeous,” Thorax said, planting one hand on his hip, “But that aside, yes, I did mean to mention to you Adagio that it looks like one of Twilight Sparkle’s Quincy friends isn’t who she appears to be.”
“What happened?” Adagio asked Gaw, “Be brief.”
Gaw was good at being brief, that was certain, “Gilda saw Smooze. Tried to kill him. Yellow girl with pink hair stopped her. I stuck fighting Quincy, then girls you said were friends came and helped. Red hair and purple hair.”
“Sunset and Rarity... and the other one was Flutterhy. And Smooze you say? I don’t suppose you know how that fight panned out for Gilda?”
Gaw shook her head and Adagio waved it away, “No matter, it doesn’t affect us here and now.”
With a licking of her lips and sharp teeth, Gaw looked at the captive Luna, “You win fight. Good. Strong tribe leader. We eat this one?”
“No, Gaw, we don’t eat her. Thorax and I were discussing what to do with her, in fact. And on that note, I-”
The ground exploded about ten meters behind the group, leaving Adagio to growl out an exasperated sigh, wondering what the interruption was this time. At least until she turned around and felt a wall of overwhelming reiatsu spill towards her that had been kept suppressed just a few seconds ago, but now rushed out in a flood.
Adagio didn’t actually recognize the absurdly tall, muscular woman with red skin and wild blonde hair, but she certainly recognized the black Soul Reaper Robes, white Captain’s Coat, and the rather large Zanpaktou being carried over the woman’s shoulder.
“Howdy ya’ll,” said Sweet Cider, “I’mma ask ya ta hand over that there Soul Reaper ya got sitting over there. Otherwise things’ll get a mite ugly ‘round here.”
This was absolutely not what Adagio needed right now! At a glance, she tried to assess the threat level this woman represented, and didn’t like what she saw. This Soul Reaper was almost the utter opposite of Luna. Where Luna was slim, with a stance that had emphasized speed and grace, this crimson giant of a woman was excluding brute physical might. Her reiatsu had a blunt, powerful vibe to it, and Adagio could tell the woman was holding it back, likely to have gotten this close to them without being immediately detected.
Adagio was injured and her own energy reserves were low. She was still in her Resurreccion form, however, while this Captain hadn’t appeared to even released their Shikai yet. If Adagio blitzed her now...
But Adagio couldn’t guarantee a fast victory, and she also was still uncertain as to the situation with the rescue team. The conflicting reiatsu from over there wasn’t telling her much outside of the fact that Twilight and Starswirl were still fighting.
“Well?” the Captain said again, bouncing her Zanpaktou on her shoulder expectantly, “I’m bein’ real polite her, given ya’ll a chance ta give over Luna.”
“Captain Sweet Cider,” Luna said, “I’m pleased to see you here, although embarrassed you have to see me in such a state. Is your daughter Applejack well?”
Adagio kept her own facial expression neutral, but did flick a glance at Luna. Had Luna dropped that information intentionally to clue Adagio in to who this was? Sweet Cider? Now that she gazed at the features, the resemblance to Sunset’s farmer friend was rather unmistakable. An interesting coincidence, but not information that really helped Adagio much. She and Applejack weren’t friends, and the familiar connection between the girl and this Soul Reaper Captain wasn’t something Adagio could use. At least, not immediately.
“Captain Sweet Cider, is it?” she said, deciding her best bet was to try and play for time. “I’m Adagio Dazzle, the Sixth Espada. A pleasure.”
“Uh-huh,” Sweet Cider said, sounding distinctly unimpressed, which did rankle Adagio somewhat. This Sweet Cider had almost disturbingly similar mannerisms to her daughter, it was like talking to a tall, red Applejack. “Look, I know who ya are, girl. My daughter told me what happened to ya while tryin’ ta rescue yer kin. Ya got my respect fer goin’ so far fer family, but don’t make no mistake, while yer wearin’ the title o’ Espada an’ servin’ that bunch in Las Noches, you n’ me are gonna be foes. It’s cause o’ yer sad tale that I’m lettin’ ya off with droppin’ Luna and pissin’ off back ta Las Noches. You do anythin’ else, like try ta sweet talk me or attack, an’ we’re doin’ this the hard n’ fast way, ya hear me?”
Gaw peeled back her lips and let out a low, feral growl, one hand on her Zanpaktou and the other digging into the ground with her claws as she crouched into a ready stance, but Adagio held her trident out to forestall any premature actions that would likely get the young Arrancar killed.
“Down, Gaw. It’s not a fight yet.”
“Indeed,” Thorax said, clearing his throat and stepping forward, “A fight would be... regrettable. I know who you are as well, Captain Sweet Cider. Your reputation is known to us in Las Noches, given you’ve taken the title of Kenpachi.”
Adagio raised an eyebrow, and upon seeing it, Thorax elaborated, “A title given to the strongest swordsman among the Soul Reapers.”
That only furthered Adagio’s confusion, but it was a title she’d heard of before, albeit in a very tertiary manner, “I’ve heard it mentioned. Does it actually mean anything? I thought the Captain Commander, that Scorpan fellow, was the strongest Soul Reaper.”
“Ain’t that simple,” Sweet Cider said, her voice lacking much patience, “Couple o’ Soul Reapers more powerful than me, especially the Captain Commander. Excludin’ him, though, ain’t none that match me in raw strength, blade ta blade. Don’t mean Celestia wouldn’t whomp me with her ridiculous Bankai, or Cheese with his tactics. Guess Hurricane can keep pace, but he’d never beat me without doin’ somethin’ underhanded. All that aside, I see ya ain’t let go o’ Luna yet. Do I gotta start countin’ down from ten like yer my gorram children lookin’ ta get a paddlin’ fer not goin’ ta bed on time?”
Adagio looked to Thorax, saying in a low voice, “What do you make of our chances?”
Thorax licked his lips and cast her a haphazard smile, “Not nearly as high as I’d like. Even with three of us, your pet there would be killed in moments, leaving it to us two. I’m...” he hesitated, lowering his voice to whisper, “I’m stronger than most in Las Noches are aware. If we work together, we may stand a chance. You also have a trump card, do you not?”
Lament. Adagio hadn’t been eager to call him in, but Thorax was correct. How Thorax knew about that, Adagio wasn’t certain, but given the man’s clear capability in infiltration he might have learned the information almost anytime prior to the start of this mess. More importantly, should she use that trump card now? Was handing Luna over to Thorax in exchange to access to a path to Equestria worth fighting Sweet Cider?
With Lament, it’ll be four on one, although I might have Gaw fall back. I’m not losing vassals in a fight above their paygrade. This will complicate matters, but if I leave now, before I know Ember is safe, this whole endeavour will have been for nothing.
“Ten...” Sweet Cider began her count, while Adagio raised her trident.
While she’d told Roka to decide whether or not to call Lament in if things got bad, she’d realized the possibility that she might need to make the call herself, so had arranged a simple signal she could send for Roka to see. To ensure it couldn’t be mistaken, the signal was a trio of scaled back Cero beams, fired in short succession, straight into the sky. It was distinct enough that it wouldn’t likely be accidentally replicated, and since Roka’s spiritual senses were fairly keen she shouldn’t have trouble telling it was Adagio’s reiatsu firing the Ceros.
Adagio saw Sweet Cider tense as she fired the Ceros skyward. The Captain had no way of knowing why Adagio fired what felt like intentionally weakened beams into the sky, but she was no fool, either. It wasn’t hard to surmise it was some kind of signal, and that whatever Adagio was signalling, it probably wasn’t a sign the Arrancar was about to surrender Luna.
“Made yer choice then,” she said, taking her Zanpaktou off her shoulder and letting her spiritual pressure exude from her in an oppressive wave. Adagio, Gaw, and Thorax all felt that reiatsu like suddenly having a mountain pressing down on them.
“It’s unfortunate, but Luna’s too useful right now to hand over,” Adagio said, preparing herself by letting her own reiatsu push back against Sweet Cider’s, her body becoming lined in a blue glow. Gaw was breathing hard under Sweet Cider’s spiritual pressure, but was glowing red as she let her own reiatsu spill out and gripped her Zanpaktou, likely to use her Resurreccion as soon as possible.
Thorax was being more conservative, hiding his own spiritual pressure as he stood there and slowly drew his cutlass-shaped Zanpaktou, “Well Adagio, you did manage to beat one Captain today. Pull that off twice and your prestige back in Las Noches will certainly make a leap.”
“Wouldn’t be gettin’ yer hopes up,” Sweet Cider said, and with that she came head on at Adagio.
The motion was both fast and powerful, and while the speed wasn’t on par with Luna’s, the raw might of it caused the land behind her to break apart in an explosion of rock. Adagio barely got her trident up in time to take the blow, and Resurreccion or not, the strike sent a shockwave out that blasted back Gaw and Thorax both, and drove Adagio back like a pinball. She managed to halt herself by using her bladed tail to jab into the ground and dragging it along for several dozen meters, but her trident shook from her numbed arms.
Well, she's certainly just as strong as she looks, Adagio thought ruefully, realizing she may well have pushed her luck a tad too far with this one. She sincerely hoped Roka didn't waste any time in summoning her father.
----------
Roka, Di Roy, and Ember had reached the edge of the depleted lake when the trio of thin Cero beams could be seen cutting into the blue sky. They might have missed them if not for Roka casting out a wide net of spiritual senses with her Pesquisa to try and make sure they didn't run into any trouble on the way to the lab, upon which she halted.
Di Roy and Ember stopped as well, although Ember looked incredibly aggitated at doing so, but both saw the Ceros dissapating into the sky. Ember had no idea what the Ceros were, and said, "What, did some idiot not know how to aim?"
"Going to guess it's boss lady signalling us," Di Roy said, and closed his eyes for a second to use his own Pesquisa, upon which his eyes shot open and he shuddered, "Holy crapbaskets on a zip-line to hell, who's Adagio fighting!? This reiatsu feel like a steamroller made out of angry swords!"
Ember focused a moment to sense what he was, and visibly grew a shade paler, "No way... this feels as strong as my father... no... stronger? How many Soul Reaper Captains are that strong? We have to go help her!"
"We ain't doing jack against someone on that level," Di Roy said, "What we do is snag your Zanpaktou and get out of here, so Adagio and Gaw and leave too. It's the only reason we're here."
"Remain calm," Roka said, her expression placid but her eyes grave, "Adagio and I worked out a backup plan for such an instance, although I was hesitant to do this..."
She raised a hand and opened a person sized Garganta portal. A small thread glinted from her robe's sleeves, and Roka sent the thread of reishi through the portal. There, it would stretched across the Precipice World to Hueco Mundo, to the very tower of her father in Las Noches. Through the thread she could exude her reiatsu and signal Lament that his aid was needed.
For a small moment Roka still hesitated, even as she felt her thread enter Las Noches. She had a cold feeling inside her that she didn't like, but couldn't put a name to. If she didn't summon her father, Adagio and Gaw were likely to die, and yet...
Roka shook off the hesitation and sent the signal.