//------------------------------// // Filler - an unanticipated encounter (two) // Story: HiE - A Hollow in Equestria // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// "Ulquiorra, what are they?" Twilight asked nervously, instinctively moving closer to where the Espada stood. All around them were hundreds of "humanoids" as Ulquiorra described them, and all of them were saying things that made no sense to her. Many of them were carrying what looked like tools, or weapons or some sort. She seriously doubted that they were here to fix leaky pipes with those wrenches, or help Ponyville with its gardening with those shovels they were carrying. "They look to be humans, from some portion of the African continent. But their reiatsu doesn't possess the same texture as the humans I encountered back in my world," Ulquiorra explained calmly as his eyes shifted about, taking in the details of their surroundings. There was absolutely no uniformity between them. Their manner of dress varied greatly, as did their armaments of choice. In terms of strength they were all little more than trash. Individually they were of only minute significance; if they were to go up against a pony like Applejack, they would lose quickly. But he highly doubted they would take turns in attacking any particular target. Just the way they moved seemed to suggest a swarm mentality of attack. And he highly doubted that they would settle on swarming him exclusively. That would've made things far too simple. "I would recommend retreating back to the library." "No good. We're cut off," Spike stated nervously and gestured in the direction of the building. There were humans over there too. Lots of them. And they didn't look the least bit friendly in nature. Ulquiorra calmly shifted his eyes from side to side, weighing his options of approach. The first option was to utilize the gonzui technique, and simply pull the souls right out of the humans, thus immediately ending the threat they posed. All of them were so weak as far as he could see, it would prove trivial to end their potential threat in such a way. But there were two problems with such an approach. The first was that he truly hadn't evaluated whether or not he actually still possessed gonzui since getting here, as he had no need to determine whether or not he could suck the soul out of a pony. Attempting it may fail, and at a crucial time too. The second was the remote possibility that the technique would also suck out the souls of at least some of the ponies in the area. And while that could be explained away as collateral damage, it wasn't something he particularly wanted to engage in right now, seeing as there was no way of telling just which ponies might become affected. For all he knew Twilight Sparkle would be one of them. And that would mean his head on a platter. The second option was to utilize his sonido, and send these humans flying as he plowed into them and through them, scattering them like dust in the wind; bowling as it were. But even with his speed and such an approach, there were hundreds to contend with, and slowly working their closer, poised as if they were ready to pounce at any second. Even as fast as he could move, there was no way of ensuring the ones he struck would be the ones about to attack. He could easily wind up taking out a large group of them to the west, while one from behind could exploit the opening presented. And he highly doubted that either Spike or Twilight Sparkle would have the constitution and initiative to retaliate in his absence. The third option was, again, to utilize his sonido, but this time for the purpose of scooping up both Spike and Twilight Sparkle, and depart to higher grounds. He had already confirmed that both were physically capable of withstanding the forces they would be subjected to, for the duration of the distance they would need to travel. But even retreat was risky under present circumstances. Spike's small size, combined with his draconian durability required very little in the way of securing him for travel. Twilight Sparkle was another story, with her greater degree of mass. He couldn't simply tuck her under his arm and be off, as there were too many unknown variables to account for right now; significant internal damage, and even death, couldn't be ruled out as a possible outcome of such a course of action. There was also a fourth option, but it reeked of utter desperation, and wasn't worth the time it took to actually think out. He could feel a disturbance in the ambient mana in the area, and he became aware of Twilight Sparkle encasing the three of them in a small forcefield. "We're not going to be able to talk our way out of this, are we?" she asked him as she moved closer to where he stood. It almost looked like she was trying to hide behind him for protection. For a forward assault it would likely work, but they were surrounded. "I have significant doubts. Even if we could understand what language they were speaking, I doubt they would be willing to listen to us," he replied. They seemed undeterred by the presence of the shield, and still continued their advance towards their current position. "So... what's the game plan now?" Spike asked nervously, afraid of what the answer might be. "You and Twilight Sparkle will remain behind the shield. I'll tend to this matter, and clear a path to the library so you can get to safety," Ulquiorra replied. "No good. Even if we can get to the library, I doubt the door's going to keep them from getting inside. Not with axes and picks at their disposal. The door will be reduced to kindling in no time. And I don't have enough mana to expand my shield to encompass the whole building," Twilight stated, "I don't even know how long I can keep the shield up if they push the assault." Ulquiorra observed her. Her overall reiryoku levels had been reduced to just under one third of what they had been at the start of this morning. The continual practicing of the new lightning spell, the teleportation, the use of the shield, and even sending the last opponent flying, had significantly weakened her. And even though her current reserves still put her above a regular unicorn in terms of strength, she still wasn't anywhere near her top form in terms of performance. Even if she could grab Spike and teleport the both of them away, there was no way of determining what distance would be needed to achieve safety. In simple terms, this wasn't a good situation to be in. "Then it appears we'll have to fight our way out," he commented. "Fight? As in... kill?" Twilight asked as she looked up at him for clarification. "Potentially," Ulquiorra replied. Twilight tried not to frown. That wasn't exactly the answer she'd been looking for when she'd asked. She had hoped -ridiculous as it was- that Ulquiorra might offer up some other answer. Something, anything, that wasn't all but actual confirmation of the fact that they might have to actively shed blood and end lives themselves. Despite his advice at breakfast, she really wasn't sure if she could bring herself to actively, and deliberately, kill another individual, even if it was necessary. She understood that humans were bastards in nature, but didn't even bastards deserve to live? And then an old glass bottle shattered against the outside of her shield, engulfing the whole thing in a cascade of fire. Her legs nearly buckled, and her concentration nearly faltered enough to let the shield drop. "I don't think they're gonna give us much choice," Spike commented grimly as he looked out around them. Ulquiorra remained silent as he considered their available options. There were a great many to choose from, but almost none of them were any good, or would be of any use to them in this situation. And then he heard something. Something that sounded mechanical. And then he saw what it was that he'd heard. One particular human was working its way through the crowd, with much darker skin than the rest, wearing a burlap sack over its head, and wielding... a chainsaw of all things... The human gave an excited yell as it leaped forward and brought the chainsaw down against the shield, causing sparks to fly in every direction as the cutting chain was ground against the dome. "I... I-I don't know how much longer I can hold out," Twilight stated as her stance began to falter, and her legs began to buckle. There was way more strain being applied to her shield than she'd anticipated, and she was having a lot of trouble compensating for such. "Then don't. Allow your shield to drop, and we'll proceed with a new approach," Ulquiorra replied, "I'm about to release a significant portion of reiatsu. As weak as these humans appear to be, they should succumb to being subjected to a greater concentration, causing them to falter. As soon as they are, drop your shield and proceed as necessary," he instructed. Up until now these ponies had only been exposed to the amount of reiatsu that his body couldn't perfectly suppress on its own, due to the sheer magnitude of it all. They had yet to experience just how dense that reiatsu truly was. And if these humans were anything like the ones he had experience with, they would easily be sent to their knees in seconds, and be left unable to move. The weaker one might even die off immediately from having their souls crushed by the pressure they were subjected to. Twilight tried to reply, but didn't even get the chance to get a word out before she was suddenly subjected to an overwhelming, stifling sensation. It was like the air had suddenly grown both heavier and thinner at the same time. The last time she felt something like this, it'd been during the changeling incident. But this seemed a lot more concentrated than the last time around. If the last time had nearly knocked the air out of Rainbow Dash's lungs, she didn't want to consider what this would've done to the cyan pegasus. But as she looked outside, it looked like it was having the desired effect. The humans were starting to drop to their knees, the fight being taken out of them from what they were subjected to. It looked like they were being deprived of air. All except for the one using the chainsaw, and trying to cut downward through her shield. The one seemed a lot hardier than the rest of them. "Drop your shield now," Ulquiorra instructed. And the moment the shield dropped, he went into action. The chainsaw was easy enough to stop with the palm of his left hand, the teeth failing to cut through his hierro as they easily glided over the skin, all the while casting sparks in every direction. The one eye that was visible through the hole in the burlap bag, which had gone wide at what was being witnessed, went even wider as he easily leveraged the chainsaw back on its wielder, pressing the rotating chain against the outside of the bag, and then right through its skull. As the machine was turned against the one holding it, sending blood flying in every direction, along with bits of bone and brain matter, and showering him in the process of it all, he couldn't be sure which was louder to hear; the roar of the motor, or the screams of agony as the human's brain was cut through, until its entire head was split in half all the way down to the neck. As the human collapsed on the ground, his body twitching from the nerve impulses still running through it, Ulquiorra noticed that the others were starting to look like they were overcoming the presence of his reiatsu and getting back up again. That simply wouldn't do... All around Twilight and Spike, bloody carnage, and general chaos, was unfolding at incredibly high speeds. They hadn't even had time to look away before the first human was killed in a showery spray of bodily bits, before getting at least partially coated in it themselves. The only thing staving off the nausea at the moment was the high degree of adrenaline coursing through their systems. And just as quick as the one human was down, and no longer able to make any noise, countless others all around them were sent either flying or falling. Ulquiorra was nowhere to be seen now, traveling at speeds faster than their eyes could perceive. And considering the carnage that was unfolding around them, neither one of them was certain that they actually wanted to follow. Some things were better left unknown... like the mystery of the severed arm landing next to them, still clutching the spade its previous owner had held in life. "Spike," Twilight gulped, trying to hold back that ever-growing sense of nausea, while trying not to look at the bloodied stump of a limb. "I think we're fucked." "Well you know what they say," Spike replied as he grabbed for the spade, fighting to pry loose the hand that gripped the shaft. "When the going gets fucked, the fucked get going!" Twilight didn't know how to respond to Spike's comment, or his use of language, or even the way he was acting. She suspected it was some sort of disassociative coping mechanism in response to the sheer degree of stress they were currently facing. From a psychological standpoint it made sense, as she truly didn't believe he'd ever normally act like this on his own. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted as a bladed implement went flying just over her head, spinning end over end, before the cutting edge firmly embedded itself in the face of a human armed with a wrench that had been charging right for them, and went unnoticed by her until just now. The force of the impact had snapped the head back, while the body had continued forward as all the tension was immediately released, causing it to fall to its knees and then topple over backwards, trapping its legs underneath its body, the pipe wrench dropping to the ground with a clank, its twitching hand no longer able to hold onto it, what with the curved blade buried so deep into its skull. "Come on, Twilight, pick up the pace already! I can't watch your back and mine at the same time!" Spike stated as he took a good two handed grip on the spade and prepared to make good use of it. Twilight blinked and shook her head, trying to clear the confusion from her mind. She looked between Spike as he shouldered the spade, and then back at the dead body before him. They were pretty much already up to their necks in carnage right now. And escape was pretty much impossible. With that thought in mind she looked between the wrench,and the curved bladed implement, trying to settle on which one to grab. What Ulquiorra was in the process of doing to the humans before him couldn't truly be called fighting, as the term would at least suggest some sort of struggle was occurring. But for him, with the speed of his sonido, and their inability to respond to or even see his movements, he might as well have been cutting down overgrown plants. What he was facing didn't even warrant unsheathing his zanpakutō. It didn't even really warrant using both of his hands. But regardless of that fact, there was undeniably a sense of primal satisfaction to doing just that. Humans were being scattered like flies left and right, and he really wasn't even trying all that hard. His attacks were very basic in nature, consisting of a backhand slap to the face, a punch here, an kick there, a knee or elbow strike to a vulnerable target, and the occasional impalement of his fist through a chest or two, just to break up the monotony. If he were feeling an urge to exercise the dramatic, he'd switch to using his foot to hook a human at the back of their neck and fling them away in a random direction, or sweeping a human's leg out from under them and stomp down on their head, crushing the skull in the process... and even grabbing one upturned human by their leg, and swinging him about like a club for knocking down a group of several or more that has clustered together, before discarding him after having served his intended purpose; and serving it admirably. He spared a glance back at Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Spike was at least trying to make an effort in procuring himself a weapon, but Twilight Sparkle seemed frozen on the spot, and unaware of the human running towards her while brandishing a wrench. A sudden yell brought his attention back forward, and he became aware of the human charging towards him, while waving a... his mind wanted to call it a kukri for some reason, but he couldn't tell for certain. But that was neither here nor there right at the moment. "Excuse me." In one quick movement he snatched the large, curved knife right from the human's hand, turned back around, and flung it in the direction of the human with the wrench. He watched as he spun end over end, well over Twilight Sparkle's head, before firmly burying itself in the human's head, right between the eyes. The results in this matter were satisfactory in nature. "Thank you." And then he turned back and punched the other human in the face with enough force to completely remove his head from his shoulders, and sent it flying into the chest of an another unsuspecting human. It was results that he truly hadn't expected to happen. But he wouldn't object to the way it had turned out. Twilight was certain that bones were broken as she slammed the wrench down on the human's exposed foot. It should've been an excruciating things to be subjected to, but the response she'd gotten had only been temporary in nature, consisting of an angered yell, a bit of hopping around, and a return to hostility. It was absolutely nuts! However it became a matter of irrelevancy as Spike was there to pick up the slack, and slammed the flat part of his commandeered shovel against the human's face, sending them toppling over. "Stay!" Spike stated as he slammed the spade down on the human's face. "Down!" he continued as he repeated the blow. "Damnit!" he yelled as he rotated the spade ninety degrees, and brought the edge down onto the human's chest, cutting deep into his tissue, and earning a pain-filled yell, before the body went limp. The sheer degree of casualness Spike was exhibiting about the unrestrained violence they were forced into... that was a major concern for Twilight right now. He was adapting to this matter way too easily for her tastes. It was almost like he was enjoying himself. He was far too young to be entertaining such disturbing thoughts, and actually looking forward to doing this stuff. She flinched as Spike ripped the shovel out of the chest cavity, pulling blood and certain bits of bodily tissue in the process. And that brought her up to another matter of why she simply couldn't get her head into the game; possibly the reason why she couldn't adapt to everything as easily as Spike was. Death wasn't unknown to Equestria. But the mechanics involved in this case were confusing to no end. Every single living organism in the world hosted countless strains of bacterial contaminants, held in check by the host's immune system preventing the rapid multiplication of such. But upon death, and the immune system shutting down, these bacteria were given unfettered access, allowing them to quickly multiply, and break down the host tissue. This allowed for the host to be reabsorbed by the many various parts of the ecosystem and serve as nutrients, allowing for said ecosystem to continue thriving and prospering. It was the true cycle of life. Through death their was rebirth. But the process was a complex one and could take anywhere between days and months, depending on the environment in which the death occurred. And it only applied to the soft organic tissues that made up the musculature and related structures, not the bones themselves. Therein laid the source of the confusion. These humans didn't seem to be abiding by the rules of nature. When one of them died, it was only a matter of minutes -or sometimes just seconds- before their bodies seemed to begin decomposing into a thick, bubbling, tar-like substance, and evaporating away like water on a hot frying pan. It wasn't just their flesh, but also bone, and even clothing! Such things were supposed to be physical impossibilities! And yet they were happening all around them without fail. "Twilight!" Her thoughts on the impossibilities of what she was seeing unfold all around her, were interrupted by the yell coming from Spike, alerting her to the fact that a human wielding a wood cutting axe was coming right at her. She immediately yelped and fell backwards on her haunches, barely missing the axe cit colliding with the side of her skull, and nearly toppling over backward in the process. But she had no time to recover herself, as the human had already recovered from his swing, and was bringing the axe bit down. Immediately, out of some form of instinct she really didn't comprehend at that point, Twilight parted her hind legs, just as the ax bit was firmly buried in the ground right between them. The axe bit had come within less than an inch of nicking something important to her. And if she had been born a stallion, something very important would have been more than just nicked... Now it was personal. That was more than enough motivation to get her in a fighting mood, as she retaliated by swinging the wrench around and smacking the human upside the head with it, knocking them right off their feet. As Twilight climbed back to her hooves, she determined that she would worry about the consequences of her actions later, when they were all alive and able to worry. But they had to stay alive to get to that point, and that's just what she intended to do! Ulquiorra spared a glance back at the others. His attention had been directed elsewhere during the time, but Twilight Sparkle had apparently overcome whatever stumbling blocks she had been faced with, and was now getting as involved in the matter as Spike was. She was beginning to take things seriously now, and fighting back with increased ferocity. That was far more conductive of actually surviving this matter. He observed as the lavender unicorn took a particularly aggressive approach to one human, consisting of knocking them down, straddling their chest, and proceeding to unmercifully beat their head in with the wrench she had made use of. With that fact in mind, he returned his focus to his own matter, and snapped the neck of the human nearest to him as easily as he would a twig. Unfortunately things went wrong in that short amount of time, as they next thing he heard was a frightened scream from Twilight Sparkle. Turning around, he saw her now laying on the ground on her back, grappling with a human that was firmly holding onto her pasterns... and sprouting four, writhing, barbed tendrils from its mouth as it tried to bite at her face. In a flash he crossed the distance, and delivered a sweeping kick to the human's face, shattering the head and reducing it to a mess of red chunks and blood spray that flew everywhere. And then there was an eruption of tissue as an enormous creature, similar in appearance to a centipede, erupted from the stump of the neck. Only it was much, much bigger than any centipede he had ever seen before; far bigger than should've been possible for the human body to house in addition to its normal physical structure. This... was as far from normal as he had ever seen. Exactly what the hell was going on around here? A roar of green flames, courtesy of Spike, quickly entered his line of sight, engulfing the strange creature with ease, as it writhed about and screamed in agony. Ulquiorra's approach was considerably lacking in terms of flash when compared to Spike's approach. But it was far more effective in nature, consisting of the discharge of a Bala at the base of the neck -or whatever it was- and more or less disintegrating the creature entirely. Entirely, and quite messily, as various bodily fluids were sent flying in every direction, suggesting this creature was of a particularly juicy nature. Twilight rolled onto her front as she retched, trying hard to get something out in response to being covered in unidentified viscous materials that reeked like nothing else she'd ever smelt before, and being front and center for a brutal butchering of a slaughter. "Ulquiorra?" Spike asked, ignoring the fact that Twilight was trying her best to be violently ill on a hopelessly empty system. "Yes?" Ulquiorra asked in response. "None of that was normal for humans, was it?" Spike asked. "Not even close to normal," Ulquiorra replied. He was hopelessly confused by everything that had happened up to this point. And then there was a loud echoing crack, and he was struck in the side of the head by something. On an unconscious level, Ulquiorra had been aware of the fact that, through a combination of all their efforts, the assortment of humans present had dropped from potentially hundreds, to almost none. The only evidence left behind of their presence had been their assortment of various weapons, and the minute traces of their reiatsu from where they had fallen, and subsequently dissolved away. But while the crowd had been thinned out considerably, there were still a large number present, and they were of a significantly different appearance. Up until now, they humans they had been fighting looked like angered civilians from some remote village, who had simply grabbed whatever had been handy, before marching off as an angry mob to confront them and kill them. The ones that were currently falling into place, however, wore what appeared to be uniforms of some paramilitary organization, and carrying far more modern and effective weapons. Rifles were present, along with large metal riot-type shields, adorned with various decorative images likely intended to intimidate, and electrified batons that crackled with electricity. The situation had grown progressively worse with the arrival of these soldiers. Or perhaps they were mercenaries of some sort. He really didn't care just what they were, one way or the other. Their weaponry could cause far more damage from a distance, and there was little he could do to stop that from occurring. He was fast, potentially faster than a speeding bullet, but even he couldn't outpace hundreds of speeding bullets. Through one course of action or another, this situation had just degraded into a turkey shoot. And they were in the middle of it. "Fuck," he muttered to himself.