Episode 196: Warrior's Challenge
Episode 196: Warrior’s Challenge
Within Gilda was a tumult of thoughts scraping like feral wolves for her attention the closer she got to Guto’s tower. Why was she doing this, again? Throwing her lot in with that overconfident, arrogant, entirely too talented prig, Adagio? Furthermore, was she really about to stick her neck out as if all but begging Guto to cut her throat? Because he would. She had no illusion left in her mind that Guto would, or possibly ever did, consider her valuable. Then again, Gilda glanced beside her to the ease, gliding strides of Fluttershy beside her, and thought that her own sense of self worth was going through some serious re-evaluation lately.
The angry, proud part of Gilda’s mind kept shouting at her that she didn’t need anyone's help! Not Adagio’s, and not Fluttershy’s! She could become as strong as she needed to be by herself, and...
What, exactly? Build a horde of Arrancar warriors she could abuse the same way Guto had abused her? Fight again and again in battles against Soul Reapers, Quincy, or even other Arrancar for the sheer sake of it? Granted, fighting had always felt good to Gilda, but ever since Fluttershy had defeated her so utterly, and taken a stroll through Gilda’s less than sterling memories, there was a painful sensation in the pit of her soul that much of her existence had been wasted on the pursuit of strength that didn’t even matter because Gilda had nothing worth fighting for. Not even herself.
So was that what she was doing here, helping some Quincy rescue another Quincy that had nothing to do with Gilda? Just because Adagio asked? Or because, more likely, Fluttershy had? It was almost frightening, really. Gilda saw Smooze walking right alongside Fluttershy, out in the open, fearless of the consequences, and it was just flat out scary how much loyalty that girl could inspire. Was it a part of her freaky powers? No, Gilda didn’t think so. Fluttershy hadn’t put any kind of mind control on her or Smooze, she was pretty sure. It was just that the damn girl had an uncanny capacity to make someone want to follow her example, which was annoying because Gilda was about as opposite of Fluttershy as a person could get.
“Looks like the welcome wagons coming out to meet us!” bounced Pinkie Pie with happy abandon, as if they were out for a leisurely stroll through the park, rather than approaching Guto’s heavily fortified tower, with not only his own army camped out there, but Hydia’s as well. Gilda could see movement among the collection of tents strung up around the base of the huge tower, among the tallest in Las Noches aside from the central one that Tirek occupied. Arrancar were stirring, calls ringing out now that Gilda’s group was spotted. Not that they were trying to hide their approach. She, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Smooze were as out in the open as could be. The whole point was to draw attention and get Guto, and possibly Hydia if she was around, to engage in a little distraction.
Knowing Guto like she did, Gilda figured that this was still going to somehow end in violence, and it surprised her how much fear she still had of him. Her burly arms weren't quite trembling, but her hands were, a little, and her legs felt a tad weak the closer to that tower she walked. She’d spent so much time in there, training, fighting for position among Guto’s warriors, trying to please him and make him proud, to make herself worth something. And she knew how swiftly his displeasure turned into painful consequences.
Fearfully, she glanced at Fluttershy. She sincerely doubted any amount of the girl’s calm charm would work quite so well here, today, and Gilda was surprised at how much of her fears transferred easily into concern for Fluttershy. As if she had any reason go give a damn! Dammit, she had to be sharp and focused right now! Not losing her head over a human girl, no matter how much said human girl had shown more kindness and concern for Gilda than almost any other person ever had. Greta, maybe... speaking of which, Gilda realized that among the Arrancar swiftly approaching to intercept their group, Greta was at the head of it.
Gilda wondered if Greta had continued to stay in Guto’s good graces after Gilda's thus far lackluster performance as an Espada. She hadn't heard much from Greta after the Everfree debacle, and hadn't had time to check in on her, and hoped nothing about that affair had reflected badly on Greta, who'd mostly just been there as Gilda's backup. Granted, Greta was supposed to have omitted certain details of those events to Guto, but in the subsequent report Gilda had needed to give to Tirek, much of the truth had already come out anyway. Guto wouldn't have put any blame on Gilda's actions on Greta, right?
There were about a dozen Arrancar in the group that arrived in front of them to bar their path. Eight of them were of Guto’s horde, all tall, well muscled, proud looking warriors who already had blades out as if ready for a fight, Greta most of all as she glared at them... and at Gilda, which made Gilda flinch a little. Her friend was clearly not so happy to see her, or perhaps she was just putting on a mask for the others, Gilda thought hopefully? Something did seem off about just how out of sorts Greta looked, and it made Gilda wonder if something had happened since the Everfree incident?
The other four Arrancars were of Hydia’s troops, all unusual looking in their own ways, with one having a neck and limbs elongated like pipe cleaners, and another whose entire body looked squashed down and compacted like a ball of playdough. Once, Gilda might’ve made fun of the collection of oddballs Hydia collected for her horde, but after spending time with Fluttershy, she perhaps could see something admirable in the way the present Eight Espada seemed to accept those who didn’t normally fit in.
Kind of like how Adagio does it, too. I wonder if Las Noches really would be better with someone like her in charge, instead of Tirek.
“Halt!” Greta said in a voice of forced, officious tone that didn’t really sound like her at all to Gilda’s ears, “What business do you have in Lord Guto’s domain, Tenth Espada?”
Hells, Greta, I didn’t become some different person just because I got a damn number tattooed on me... and what's with this unfriendly attitude? Did my screwing things up in Everfree cause you to get in hot water with Guto? Gilda thought ruefully, then drew herself up to her full height. It’d been agreed she’d open up the talks. Nobody would recognize Smooze as he looked right now, at least not until he pumped out enough reiatsu to make it clear who he was. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie would certainly jump in soon, but right now Gilda was the one who knew how to talk to Guto’s people.
“Cut the crap, Greta, and relax. It's just me. I’m here showing these humans around, because they just set up their embassy and are curious to see one of the best armies in Las Noches up close.”
Greta’s eyes did a complex dance, flickering towards pride at Gilda’s compliment, but also immediate concern and suspicion as her gaze scanned across Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, both of whom smiled, Fluttershy with serenity, and Pinkie Pie with so much friendliness it made Gilda feel a tad sick inside. Nobody ought to be able to smile that wide or openly with multiple Arrancar blades pointed at her. Then Greta’s eyes settled on Smooze, even more suspicious of his odd, digital screen helmet/mask.
“Right, so the weirdo humans want to play friendly or some crap, fine. What are you doing helping them, Gilda? And who’s the freak in the mask?”
“He’s not a ‘freak’,” Fluttershy cut in, her voice not so much sharp as it was blanketing, as if each word was as implacable as the sky, “He is my friend, and a former resident of Las Noches.”
“Smooze, former Tenth Espada,” Smooze himself stated bluntly, to the reaction of several gasps and Greta’s throat making a strangled noise, “I now owe allegiance to the Canterlot Spirit Coalition. I am here as Lady Fluttershy’s vassal.”
“Friend,” Fluttershy corrected, to which Smooze made a polite, embarrassed coughing noise.
“And loyal bodyguard?” he offered as something of a compromise title, and Fluttershy gave a small smile and nodded.
Greta, eyeballs still wide like grapefruits, glanced Gilda's way, “This doesn’t actually make me feel any more comfortable with you being here, Gilda. Or them. Again, why are you helping them out? You do realize that outside the confines of that little embassy Lord Tirek granted them, these humans are free game?”
Pinkie Pie giggled then, loudly, and all the Arrancar gasped as she just appeared next to Greta in less than an eyeblink, her jester’s motley now worn plain on her body with the seamless activation of her Fullbring. Greta didn’t even have time to respond before Pinkie was hugging her with one arm, while suddenly producing a rather large and sparkling cake in her other hand, “Awww don’t be like that, Miss Grouchy Face! We’re here to make friends, after all! Why fight when we chill and eat cake?”
Greta eyed the cake like it was a bomb with a lit fuse, and the Arrancar around her, at least the ones from Guto’s horde, had their blades pointed firmly at Pinkie Pie’s face. Not that the girl seemed to make the cutlery aimed squarely at her head as she giggled and glanced at the four Arrancar from Hydia’s horde, “What about you guys? You all as grumped up as these fellas? I got more where this came from, you know?” She bounced the cake towards one of them, the squashed down one, who caught said confection in his oddly wide, oven-mitt hands and glanced at the cake with a quizzical look for a moment before popping it into his large, trash-can sized mouth.
Chewing it down, the Arrancar went, “Mmm, not bad, girlie! Heya guys, maybe we keep this one around for a bit to make more yummy stuff?”
This gained a chorus of agreement from his fell oddballs, to which Guto’s Arrancar all continued to glare daggers, both at them and the humans. Greta, slipping Pinkie’s arm off from around her shoulder, growled and shoved her Zanpaktou back into it’s sheath, her eyes remaining fixed on Gilda, despite Pinkie being right there grinning next to her, as if this was all one big joke. Perhaps to Pinkie Pie it was. Gilda hadn’t really seen what Pinkie was capable of, not like with Fluttershy and Rarity, but if Pinkie was on the same level then as absurd as it felt to Gilda, chances were Pinkie could solo this entire group of Arrancar soldiers and still be grinning and giggling about it afterward.
“If Hydia’s... servants-” Greta said the word as if it was more insult than anything else, “-want to play friendly with this so-called ‘Coalition’, then they’re welcome to your company. We who serve Lord Guto still have standards.”
Gilda felt her teeth grind at Greta’s challenging look, staring straight at her as if somehow Gilda was lesser than her, when Gilda was the one who was a damn Espada! Maybe it was time to remind those here that there was a reason she’d been Guto’s right hand enforcer for so long. And what was Greta’s problem, anyway!? She was acting weird, and it was starting to really worry and tick Gilda off at the same time! With a menacing growl on her lips, Gilda stepped towards Greta, and to her small pleasure she did see most of the Arrancar loyal to Guto flinch back. They remembered her well enough, it seemed. Greta stood her ground, however, starring into Gilda’s eyes with that look of challenge still present.
“Back off and chill, Greta. You want us gone? Go ahead and try. Everyone here knows you can’t take me. Not when I was still a part of the horde, and sure as hell not now when I’m the Tenth Espada. Want to try challenging me for the position?” She didn't like throwing it out there like that, but dammit Greta was acting as if they weren't even friends! Why?
There was a flash of something in Greta’s expression. Not anger. Pain. But it was gone swiftly, replaced by a stone-cold challenge once more, “Don’t tempt me. I’ve heard you’ve been having trouble even recruiting anyone to your side since you left us, so perhaps you’d be better off if someone took the Tenth seat from you? Since it seems Smooze doesn’t want it back.”
“I could not possibly care less about my former position,” Smooze stated as clearly as a man declaring his disinterest in watching paint dry. Greta made a face, but otherwise ignored him.
“I’m sure Gilda wishes she had more time to spend with the friends she has among those here,” Fluttershy spoke up, drawing Greta’s attention, and most others as the girl stepped forward with an inviting smile, “she thinks about you often.”
Gilda, face immediately shooting through with red, made a choking noise, “Fluttershy, maybe can it with the personal talk?”
“My apologies,” Fluttershy said, blinking with pure innocence, “I merely wished for Greta to know that your position hasn’t changed, that you are friends, really. But you’re right, this is probably something you two should work out between yourselves. Just promise me that if you do come to blows, you’ll try to understand one another at the same time?”
“Is... is this girl for real?” Greta asked plainly, blinking, then her eyes narrowed with suspicion, “Hold on, don’t tell me this is the one who... beat you, Gilda? You lost to this sappy chick?”
Gilda's mind poked at her, rattling with a sneaking feeling that what Greta just said didn't add up, but Gilda was already too flustered and growingly bothered to lock down those stray thoughts to work out what her brain was trying to tell her. She was distracted from thinking about it further when Pinkie Pie let out a tittering laugh, soon after which the girl's expression got oddly serious for a moment, “Oh please, Fluttershy is like, probably the toughest cookie in our collective jar at the moment. Me n’ Mena can bake up a real storm of hurt when we want to, but you don’t want to mess with Flutters, trust us.”
“Us?” asked one of the other Arrancar warriors, and from Pinkie Pie’s shoulder a pink and red tendril of energy grew and formed into Pinkamena’s grinning mouth of wide, horrifically sharp teeth.
“She means me, chewy.”
“Gah!” the Arrancar leaped back, as did most of the others near Pinkie Pie, which only caused Pinkamena to let out a dark chuckle.
“Man, I miss freaking people out. Hey Pinks, if this whole thing turns violent, I’m free to get some nibble-time in on these guys, right?”
Pinkie Pie looked up and tapped her chin as if thinking about it, and then held up her finger and thumb in a ‘just a little’ gesture, “It has been awhile, so I think its okay if you’re gentle about it. No limbs.”
“What about fingers?”
“Negotiable.”
Most of the Arrancar present now looked rather horrified, except the four from Hydia’s forces, a group that was growing as more and more Arrancar showed up to see what all the fuss was about. One of them looked forlornly at Pinkie Pie and asked, “Cake? More cake?”
Pinkie Pie smiled and pushed Pinkamena’s head back into herself, much to the others' protests, as she said, “Oh yeah! I can totally bust out some more tasty treats, if you all agree to be super nice to me and my friends here.”
“We can be nice!” said one of Hydia’s Arrancar, “Hydia gives us yummies, too, when we behave.”
“As long as ‘yummies’ doesn’t involve human souls, then I totally got you guys covered,” Pinkie said, and with a gesture out twirled her massive pink hammer from a puff of similarly pink spirit energy that rose from her body. At first the Arrancar looked alarmed at the appearance of a weapon, especially one that large and, well... loud in its coloration, but Pinkie simply flashed a grin and seemed to give the air itself a little ‘tap’ with it. A few moments later it started to literally rain cake, donuts, cupcakes, muffins, and other assorted pastries.
This caused a bit of a riot among Hydia’s Arrancar, while Guto’s forces looked on in mildly shocked horror at what could at best be described as a scene of zombie horde horror, only being enacted upon hapless, sugary treats.
Fluttershy tilted her head a bit, “I thought your powers mostly revolved around gags, Pinkie, not just randomly summoning food.”
“Humor is in the eye squiggles of the beholder,” Pinkie intoned with mock wisdom, “I mean, I find the looks on these guys’ faces to be hilarious,” she gestured at Greta and the other Arrancar loyal to Guto.
Fluttershy looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded as if that made total sense. Gilda was not entirely sure it did, but she had the twisting gut feeling that trying to understand Pinkie Pie was a swift road to madness. As innocent and playful as the display of summoning a rain of pastries might seem, Gilda suspected it was just the sugary tip of the deadly iceberg that was Pinkie’s Fullbring, perhaps as frightening in its implied ability as Fluttershy’s.
I hate the fact that as ridiculous as these girls are, I never, ever want to have to fight them again. Does that make me smart, or a coward?
Regardless of the answer to that question, one thing became immediately clear to Gilda in the next moment...
“What is the meaning of this!?”
They’d succeeded in getting Guto’s attention, for that was his voice bellowing as the present Seventh Espada landed nearby in a towering flurry of speed and power, and his eyes, radiating pure displeasure, was locked firmly on her.
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In one of the exterior corridors on the ground floor of Guto’s tower, invisible to any who were looking directly at it, a shimmer of haze appeared and a figure dropped out as if having leaped through the wall.
Twilight Sparkle was clad not only in her white Quincy uniform, but she was wearing a thick white cloak over her body as well. Her eyes darted left and right. A pair of very alert guards were at the end of the corridor to her right, where an archway opened up to the outside. But those guard’s had their eyes focused on the spectacle that Gilda, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Smooze were making of themselves, so the guards weren’t looking in Twilight’s direction.
Not that they would be able to see her even if they had. Twilight moved slowly a few steps down the corridor to the left, and waited for the rest of her team to step through one of Cinch’s ‘Windows’. Next cam Sugarcoat, also wearing one of the long white cloaks that was identical to Twilight’s. Her visor made a soft hum as she met Twilight’s gaze, then noted the guards, and nodded.
One by one the rest of the Quincy infiltration team stepped through the faint, invisible haze from the Window that linked the Coalition's embassy with this spot. Cinch couldn’t get a dart any deeper inside without risking detection, even with the cloaks that Twilight had modified. The cloaks in question, which every one of the team was wearing, were of the same variety that Quincy used to make themselves invisible to regular humans when performing operations in the living world. Twilight, making use of her Variable, had switched the ‘variable’ of what the cloaks made someone invisible to. Now no Arrancar would be able to see them, as opposed to humans. Still, the cloaks only dealt with visual input. Their footsteps still made sound, and if they used too much spirit energy, the reiatsu would be detectable. Furthermore, Gilda’s intel had told them that Guto had his own types of wards all over this tower, so Twilight knew they couldn’t rely on the cloaks to get them very far.
“Sounds like a real party out there,” Lemon Zest whispered, hearing Guto’s roaring voice from outside.
“Sounds like they’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing,” Sugarcoat stated in a similar whisper, “Keeping all eyes on them, including the big man himself.”
“Is Fleur with him?” Twilight asked, and Sugarcoat looked, starring at seemingly the wall itself, but Twilight knew Sugarcoat was making use of her own Schrift, the X-Ray, to see right through everything.
“No, she’s not.”
“Lucky us,” drawled Sour Sweet, her smile swiftly turning into a grimace, “Only that means we have to search this whole tower for her, now.”
“Better than what our Plan B was to get her away from Guto if he dragged her outside,” whispered Sunny Flare, “Personally I prefer sticking to stealth instead of trying a smash and grab that relies solely on the element of surprise.”
“We won’t have to search every corner of the tower, hopefully,” Twilight said, still watching Sugarcoat, “Can you pinpoint her anywhere else?”
The exact range on the X-Ray was fairly far, as long as nothing too reishi dense was involved. Even then the X-Ray could allow Sugarcoat to see and transmit through just about anything, but there was a strong chance that the heavier wards Guto had on his tower might interfere with a clear line of sight. Sugarcoat looked around thoroughly for a minute or two as the noises of shouting grew louder outside, and Hollow reiatsu started flaring up.
Twilight felt Guto’s reiatsu and Gilda’s both quite clearly, given how familiar she was with both after the assault on Las Noches. Even if she couldn't hear what was being said, the spikes of power on display suggested, if not a fight, there was one heck of an argument taking place. She silently prayed for everyone’s safety, although ultimately she trusted Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy could take care of themselves.
“Got her,” Sugarcoat said finally, looking straight up, “Looks like she’s at the very top, north side. Plenty of sentries between us and her, and those wards... yeah, they’re dense as Sour Sweet’s sarcasm streak.”
“Hey!” Sour Sweet said in a hard whisper, although just as quickly paused and added, “Fair.”
“Any chance at all you could use the X-Ray to transmit yourself and one us up there without tripping the wards?” Twilight asked. She knew plenty about how Quincy set up wards, but almost none about how Arrancar did it. Gilda wasn’t the most technically inclined when it came to spirit powers, so she wasn’t a very big help on knowing specifics. All she did know was that the wards were of Guto’s own crafting, and that they were all over the place, especially on the upper levels and on almost every object he considered to be his personal possession; Fleur included.
Sugarcoat shook her head, clearly holding in a sigh, “Not a chance. At least, I wouldn’t risk it. I can get through most of the wards, but not without tripping over at least one of them. It’d be even harder if I had another person with me.”
“Then we proceed on foot,” Twilight said, and looked at her squad with a calm sense of command she hadn’t really felt even a month ago, “I’m on point. Sunny, left flank, Sour, right flank. Indigo and Lemon, rear guard. Sugarcoat, I want you in the middle with the X-Ray, keeping us updated on guard positions. We move fast and quiet. Do not engage unless I give the order, otherwise if a guard gets suspicious, evade and hide.”
They all nodded at her with quick salutes that Twilight was surprised didn’t feel odd or awkward to her anymore. They were friends, but this was a mission, and they were also Quincy. And they had one of their own to save.
----------
Gilda did her best to keep her arms at her sides in a calm position, not letting her fists clench despite the sweat now on her palms. Guto rose from the crouched position he’d landed in and stood at his full height, his eyes as hawkish and judging as ever they’d been, piercing right through her as he looked down his aquiline nose at her. Even as a certain boiling anger bubbled inside her at the look, a part of Gilda felt like a child all over again, a young Arrancar terrified and eager to serve and please the once Sixth Espada.
No. I’m not that overeager, or spineless, anymore, she thought with a fierce inner growl, I will not let this man make me feel small ever again.
It felt good, but didn’t change the fact that as Guto let his reiatsu pour out of his body in a raw display of power, bronze skin glowing with a sharp yellow aura, that Gilda could feel all to clearly the difference in spiritual pressure between them. Adagio might have knocked Guto off his perch as Sixth Espada, but the man was still higher ranked than she was for good reason, and... if Gilda wasn’t hallucinating it, he felt stronger than she remembered.
He couldn’t have improved so dramatically in a short period of time, could he?
“Gilda,” he said, voice rich with that imperious tone of judgmental displeasure he used whenever she’d failed him in some manner, “Why have you come here with these... uninvited guests? I don’t recall summoning you for any reason, nor seeking to have mere humans tracking their mud all over my territory.”
Pinkie Pie made a gagging sound, “Uggh, and I thought nobody could out-do Cinch on being a smarmy, stick-up-the-butt, snooty-pants.”
Guto’s eyes turned like raised spears towards Pinkie Pie, his reiatsu crashing upon her like a tide. But the girl just withstood the rush of spiritual pressure, laying her magnificently pink hammer on her shoulders and staring back at him with her baby blue eyes, “Nuh-uh, buddy, can’t make me feel all crushified and quailing with your big scary spirit farts. I can do it too, see?”
Pinkie Pie’s body became outlined in an aura of raw pink energy, her own reiatsu rushing outward in a ball of condensed, spiritual fluff that seemed to less crash into Guto’s and more just... absorb it in the way a rubbery ball might absorb an impact. Guto blinked, but his face did not lose an iota of its glaring ire.
“Guto, enough!” Gilda said, shocked at the volume of her own voice as now she let her reiatsu flare out. It didn’t match the volume of what Guto could put out, and much to Gilda’s chagrin it didn’t match Pinkie’s either, but at least the burst of her own spirit energy got him to look towards her instead of the human.
“I was considering disciplining the human for speaking with such disrespect, and I may still do so, but since you were once a favorite of mine, Gilda, I shall allow you to explain yourself.”
“Nothing to explain,” she said, “They wanted to take a look around. I offered to escort them. Figured since you’re such a... powerful and grand Espada, you might enjoy showing off for them.”
He crossed his arms and gave a scornful look over the group, “Showing my power and the glorious stature of my holdings does indeed please me, but only for those who have the wit to appreciate it. A pink, bumbling fool, a quiet and unassuming flower, and... oh my, that isn’t you, is it Smooze?”
“...Guto. -_-” Smooze replied flatly.
Guto’s eyes blinked in brief wonder, then he flashed a rather harsh smile, “...and a disgraced former Espada. Not the most wonderous collection of guests you’ve dragged to my doorstep, Gilda.”
Gilda took in a sharp breath and tried to keep herself sounding cordial, which she wasn’t really succeeding at, “Look, these Coalition people are just trying to be all diplomatic and crap. You don’t have to take them on a freakin’ tour, but at least, I dunno, chat them up for a bit. I mean, don’t you got that pet Quincy to flaunt around?”
It wasn’t the most subtle probing, but Gilda had noticed that Fleur de Lis wasn’t with Guto, which was rather surprising given how much he seemed to see the Quincy as some prized pet. If she’d been with him, that meant it would’ve been up to her, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Smooze to provide enough distraction to give Twilight and her team an opening to launch a surprise attack and snatch Fleur away. But with Fleur not here, that meant that right now Twilight had to be searching the tower. But that would take time, so now Gilda and company had to keep Guto’s attention rooted out here for as long as possible.
The way he looked at them with his lips twisting into a smile that was purely for show, and especially seemed to eye Fluttershy, gave Gilda a gut chilling feeling. His voice became smooth as an edge of broken glass. “She is currently being given a lesson in discipline, due to some unruly behavior. I do rather think that with enough time I can tame this Quincy’s abrasive spirit and demonstrate to Lord Tirek that their kind can be of use to us, once we’ve won the war. Perhaps not all humans need be consumed or converted to Hollowkind.”
“I’ve wondered if that is all Tirek intended to do, if he won,” Fluttershy said, drawing Guto’s full attention, “A world where everyone eventually becomes Hollows.”
“A magnificent vision, and one I do wholly support,” Guto replied, attempting to loom over the girl, but Fluttershy merely stood with the calm of a willow tree, gently steadfast in the wind of a storm. Guto’s reiatsu flowed around her, without seeming to have any effect. Guto showed only the smallest twitch in his brow that indicated his irritation at her lack of response to his crushing reiatsu and went on to say, tone lowering, “Of course I feel it could use some refinements. We shouldn’t do away with all living humans, otherwise we may lack a proper breeding pool for cycling souls. I’ve drawn up extensive plans for how to control and corral the human population, once they are made to understand the change in management. Why, I hear we may be expanding our goals to whole new horizons... Equestria, for example?”
Pinkie Pie had, unbeknownst to Guto, slipped behind him to make a gagging face as she stuck her finger in her mouth. Fluttershy smiled, but otherwise made no show of having noticed Pinkie. Meanwhile Guto noted the way Greata and his warriors were looking behind him with aghast faces and sharply turned to glare, but Pinkie Pie was already looking quite innocent and starring up at the tower, “Golly that’s a big tower you have there, Mister Grumpy Guto. Is that where you keep all you’re big filing cabinets filled with notebooks on how to be a supervillain?”
“Adorable...” he replied with eyes that were clearly trying to strangle Pinkie by death glare alone, “I can see why Grogar considers you in particular to be a target of interest. Fortunately for you am I above jesting with a clown. It wouldn’t even be worth my time to decorate my tower with your blood as an object lesson in courtesy to any other rude guest who opens their vapid mouth in my presence.”
“Oooo, now you’re making Mena get all frothy and worked up,” Pinkie said, her eyes changing to yellow as the mask of her Fullbring switched sides on her face, “We know lots of ways to make that kind of party fun now, too, don’t we Mena?”
“Pinkie,” Fluttershy said simply, then surprised Gilda by stepping right up towards Guto, almost in a mirror of the way Sunset Shimmer had stepped up to Tirek before their duel. Only Fluttershy showed not even the barest hint of violence about her. She wasn’t showing weakness, either. No, anyone with any combat experience who looked at the girl could tell Fluttershy was fully prepared to defend herself, but there was a smooth placidity to her that seemed to make threats and hostility wash off her as readily as air.
“Mister Guto, I know you don’t like us. Truthfully the feeling is mutual. I can tell there is very little, if anything, about you that I can find common ground with or even consider remotely acceptable. Yet we didn’t create that embassy for no reason. I do believe it is important to the future of our mutually shared realms that some manner of understanding between not only Hollows and us, but all of the disparate factions. Peace must one day be made attainable through open communication.”
Guto looked at her as if she were an annoying, confusing, and particularly amusing small animal that he was trying to work out if he should skin alive, or feed a treat to. Either way, it was a look that dripped condescension. “How sweetly naïve of you. Lord Tirek only allowed your farce of an embassy out of a sense of honor to the only one among you with the strength to provide him some sport. You only have protection while within its walls. Right now, I’d be fully in my rights to rip your soul from your body and devour it in front of your friend-”
“Pfft, as if I wouldn’t whack-a-mole you into next Sunday if you so much as tried it, buster!” growled Pinkie and Pinkamena in a dual voice, which caused Greta a look of concern, but Guto ignored the girl and continued to stare down at Fluttershy.
“-The reason I am not is not because I couldn’t, but because I have just enough respect for my fellow Espada, however lowly she is on that totem pole, to allow her this moment of fanciful entertainment.”
His eyes cut towards Gilda, “You were my favorite. You’ve disappointed me of late, but you wear that number 10 upon your skin due to my influence, my discipline, my protection and nurturing of your talents, Gilda! However crassly willful you have become, your position still reflects upon me.”
“My Lord,” Greta spoke up suddenly, causing Guto to glare at her, making Greta flinch slightly but otherwise she held her ground and spoke boldly, “If I may suggest, since these humans want to ‘understand’ us better... Perhaps we should show them how we in your glorious horde entertain and improve ourselves?”
Guto’s displeasure turned swiftly to the anticipation of a hawk ready to swoop upon an unsuspecting mouse, and Gilda had a sinking feeling she knew exactly where this was going before he even responded.
“Oh, quite an excellent idea, Greta. Yes, that sounds ideal.”
He walked over so that he could address his warriors, many of whom at this point had gathered to watch the scene unfold, joined by the smaller but curious procession of Hydia’s Arrancar who were still mostly focused on devouring Pinkie Pie’s conjured confections. Guto swept his lean, well muscled arms out, “My warriors! Our human guests, plus Smooze, as if he counts as anything anymore, wish to partake of our ‘hospitality’! Perhaps we shall give them exactly as they desire... in the colosseum!”
As was almost always the case when Guto mentioned the colosseum, referring to the massive underground arena complex below the tower, there was as much fervent eagerness as there was a certain disquiet reverence. Nowhere in Guto’s holdings was treated as more sacred, yet frightening, more important, yet etched with memories of blood. No warrior in Guto’s horde got their position with anything less than spilling blood in the colosseum. Often that blood would have been of former comrades one had gone through the trials to be considered worthy.
Gilda could remember her final trial in that underground pit with vivid detail, even without Fluttershy having refreshed that memory not so long ago.
That colosseum was used for everything in Guto’s horde. Not just mass battles to find the most worthy candidates from the hopefuls seeking to join his horde, but it was almost always used daily for entertainment via blood matches. It was also frequently used to resolve disputes. Almost any disagreement or grudge in the horde could be dealt with via a fight in the pit. But really, any excuse was a good one in Guto’s book, and Gilda had a bad feeling that if he got Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy in there, even on the pretense of just a friendly match... someone was going to die.
----------
Her last time in Las Noches, Twilight had not exactly gotten the grand tour, what with all of the violence, blood, and extreme personal trauma. She’d seen a little of Adagio’s territory, and the little personal touches Adagio had added to the otherwise cold and barren halls and rooms within the fortress’ monolithic exterior walls. However this was the first time she’d been inside the domain of one of the longer established Espada, and Guto’s tower was... certainly different.
Whoever the man had been in his human life, Twilight suspected a great deal of aesthetic taste had carried over, for she felt like she was walking through the recreation of someone’s somewhat twisted interpretation of ancient Rome as seen through the lens of a person who’d romanticized it a bit too much. Every hall had marble columns draped in tapestries of crimson or gold, all bearing depictions of great battles with zero historical context. The walls were lit by interspersed, bronze hanging braziers that dangled from chains. Fine vases of various colorful materials and statuettes of gold were displayed in every nook and cranny, almost carelessly.
Yet there was function amid the seeming surface frivolousness. The tower was not the widest, no more than fifty yards across, at most, but it was tall, easily spanning half the height to the immense ceiling above, making this close to the tallest structure if one did not count the central tower that pierced the ceiling itself. This meant that Guto’s tower had dozens of floors, and Twilight rapidly learned each one used its space to the maximum. The first fifteen alone were essentially a multi-tiered barracks for Guto’s warriors, which was saying something considering how many were camped outside. A central staircase separated the floors, but the location shifted every five floors, forcing Twilight’s team to move between the two sets of staircases through a wide, oval shaped middle room. In doing this, she noted that the oval acted as a mess hall, connecting a ring of sleeping quarters, bare bones and spartan in furnishing to begin with, but every five floors there was a distinct jump in luxury and ornateness of the barrack’s.
Simple, bare floors and tables became rug covered, plush affairs of many pillows and gold gilded furniture. By the time they sneaked their way up to the fifteenth floor, the “barracks” was more like a lavish palace, with silken finery everywhere. Yet even here, there was a draconian tension to the guards they were passing. Thus far their altered Quincy cloaks was making moving past the sentries at doorways a relative breeze, which afforded Twilight time to note that even in the most luxurious of the barracks rooms... nobody seemed at ease. Every Arrancar warrior greeted each other tersely, spoke in controlled, hushed voices, and moved with tightly controlled precision amid their clearly assigned tasks of maintaining the rooms in pristine order.
And all of it held an undercurrent of barely perceptible fear, as if each Arrancar was worried that if they scratched or scuffed the wrong piece of furniture, it’d be their heads.
The ease of progress halted the moment they got to the sixteenth floor. Apparently Guto hadn’t bothered with wards on the barracks levels, but past this point was where he considered his personal domain to be, thus only Arrancar he’d authorized to be there could ascend higher. Twilight had been waiting for Sugarcoat’s signal, as Sugarcoat’s visor and her X-Ray Schrift let her pinpoint the exact spot the wards began with a precision that even Twilight couldn’t match with her sharpest senses.
“Right here,” Sugarcoat whispered in Twilight’s ear, pointing to where a tall, bronze bust of an eagle sat at the top landing of the stairs, staring across the doorway with flat, metal eyes, “That ugly as sin statue is projecting a field across the whole doorway. First big ward. Looks like it encircles the whole hallway beyond, too.”
“Are we clear behind?” Twilight asked. Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest both looked back and nodded, Lemon giving a thumbs up.
“Only four dudes on the last floor, and they ain’t moving around much,” Lemon said. Of course that could change at any moment. This was the most dangerous part of the infiltration, with her team on the relatively narrow stairs. Sure the Arrancar couldn’t see them, but if a guard came walking up or down the stairs, it would risk bumping into them, even if the girls pressed flat against the wall. She needed to clear this ward quickly.
Taking a deep breath, she reached into her mind, Okay Midnight, we’re up. These wards are for dealing with spirit energy. Let’s see if we can work a little magic to either disable or fool them.
Midnight’s voice spoke with eager and haughty candor in her mind, and Twilight swore she could hear the cracking of knuckles echo in her thoughts, With pleasure. I’ll have this taken care of in no time.
Twilight surrendered a little control, letting Midnight take the reins as she began to weave subtle magic around their body. Her eyes lit with pale, teal flames of magic, and Twilight felt her vision adjust until she could see the sparkling gold threads of energy holding the spirit ward together. The statue was an anchor point, sending out a whole net of thin wires of energy through the walls, the floor, the very air itself. Twilight’s power, a fusion of spirit energy and magic both, could now see the ward clearly. Now it was just a matter of working out just where to poke and prod to switch it off without actually tripping the ward off.
She felt Midnight’s focus, and simple, purring pleasure at working any magic at all. Twilight’s face gained a mischievous smile, a flamboyant hand raising to her chin as she spoke as Midnight in a quiet, dulcet whisper, “Tsk, such a blunt barrier. No finesse at all. It’s all tied to one, singular control node. If Guto made these himself, the man has the tact and subtlety of a sexually aroused hippopotamus.”
Twilight flinched, her voice becoming abashed, “Midnight!”
Her face immediately switched back to Midnight’s charmingly smarmy smile, “What? It’s an accurate description. And amusing.”
“Just deal with the ward already,” Sugarcoat said, “We’re on the clock, Twilight’s weird other self.”
“And we’ve got incoming,” Indigo Zap said, tensing, her artificial legs making a soft scraping sound on the stone stairs as she shifted against the wall, “Someone’s running up this way.”
Midnight sighed and nodded, “Yes, fine, I’ll be quick. Now, let's see here...” she lit up her finger with an ember of teal magical energy and pointed it at the eagle statue, “If I were to cut any thread... I’d say... eenie, menie, minie, moe...”
“Hurry up.” Sour Sweet said in a frantic whisper as shouts could be heard from below and someone started running up the stairs. The girls all started to press themselves to the wall as an Arrancar male with a head of red hair came barreling up the stairs.
“And... snip!” Midnight said, sending a streak of subtle, curling magic into the eagle statue, and just in time for her to slide to the side and join the others up against the wall as the Arrancar warrior pounded up the stairs past them.
“What’s the damn racket about?” said a challenging voice from past the stair’s landing, apparently a sentry that saw their comrade running up in a rush.
“Big gathering at the colosseum!” said the red headed Arrancar, “Lord Guto sent me to inform everyone to be present. Sounds like those weirdo humans might be fighting in the arena, or maybe Smooze? Oh yeah, Smooze is back, and he’s working with the humans! Can you believe that!?”
“No, not really, but heck, I’m down to go watch some blood get spilled. But, uh, you sure Lord Guto is authorizing everyone to go spectate. As in, everyone? Because I know he doesn’t like leaving the top floors unguarded.”
“Yeah, no, poor suckers up top got to stay, but he told me anyone who isn’t on duty on the top strata is good to come watch. You’re the last guy I had to inform. So hurry up, man, everyone is piling into the arena right now, and I do not want to miss this. There’s this freaky pink chick with a big hammer, and she, like, makes cakes appear out of thin air!”
By this point the red haired Arrancar and his companion, a broad shouldered, black haired fellow, were already walking back down the stairs. This was problematic because while just one Arrancar had gone up without issue, now that there were two of them walking side by side, it was a real squeeze.
Midnight had surrendered control back to Twilight, and as a last resort, she pressed her hands to the wall and sent a small spark of the Variable into it. The two Arrancar kept chatting as they walked past her and her squad one by one, all of them pressed against a wall that was now rather subtly a few inches wider than it had been a second ago...
“She summons... cake? How terrifying.”
“Nah, dude, you don’t get it, she was like, all up in Greta’s grill like it was nothing, I mean super fast, and she had this second head pop up out of nowhere and she had the creepiest grin, even if it was a little hot, but like in a ‘going to eat your throat’ kind of way? I’m telling you, I’ve never seen a human give off a freakier vibe. I sooo want to see what she can do in a fight. I bet Greta’s going to fight them. Huh? What’s up?”
The broad shouldered Arrancar had paused, glancing at the wall, mere inches from Indigo Zap’s face, who remained stock still.
“Is it me, or does the wall look weird to you?”
The shorter redhead Arrancar looked at the other one with an impatient eye roll, “No, dude, it looks like a wall. Now come on! We’re going to miss it!”
“Hmm...” the other Arrancar grunted, then shrugged and nodded, joining his chatty companion as they continued down the stairs. After a full minute, Twilight and the other Quincy girls all let out a collective sigh, and moved off the wall.
“Way too close,” breathed Sunny Flare, “And wow, do these guys know how to bathe? At all?”
“Remember, water is at a premium in Hueco Mundo, and Guto doesn’t strike me as the kind to spring for it often,” said Sugarcoat, “Questions of hygiene aside, the ward is down. There are more, but if Midnight can keep pulling off the same trick, we should be able to reach the top.”
Twilight took a deep breath and gestured for the girls to follow her as she made her way up the stairs and into the sixteenth floor hallway beyond, “And it sounds like we don’t have a moment to spare in getting there, if what we just heard is any indication.”
----------
Gilda hadn’t expected being back in this place to twist her gut the way it did. Not so long ago she’d still been a part of Guto’s horde, and had been to the underground colosseum plenty of times. It hadn’t bothered her then. Had it? Could she have just shoved all the ugly memories of the arena down deep in her mind while putting every waking moment of focus on getting stronger to both impress Lord Guto and earn her shot at being an Espada?
And now, having accomplished her supposed life goals, it all felt ashen when faced with that same, cold pit of sand she’d spilled the blood of her fellow hopefuls, just to become a part of something she could see never had any value in the first place. The colosseum was as it had always been, a wide, rectangular pit of sand and dirt surrounded by tall walls of stone where dozens of rows of stone benches were placed. One side had a far more comfortable throne of stone, piled with cushions, where Guto took his seat, imperiously watching as members of his horde moved in to fill the benches. Gilda kept glancing his way, something bothering her that she couldn’t put her finger on. Guto usually wore an open vest to show off his lean, well muscled chest of golden tanned skin, and a golden torc that covered his Hollow hole. It only now occurred to her the torc was gone, and he was wearing a high necked white tunic under a golden breastplate. Why bother with armor, when he had Heirro?
Her mind switched gears as a familiar cackle lit the air, and Hydia’s mass of interestingly unique Arrancar started to pile in to the wide chamber, with Hydia herself waddling along at the head of the parade, “Ghahaha! Guuuuto! Why didn’t you tell me you were having the human kiddos over for some fun!? I’m seriously insulted over here! Reeka, Draggle, tell him this is my insulted face!”
Beside Hydia’s bulbously bouncing body, her two Fraccion daughters marched along, short and squat Reeka yawning as if she’d just woken up from slumber, and tall, wiry Draggle alertly and obediently pointing at Hydia, “Yup, that grimace is definitely a sign of how nettled you are.”
Hydia shot a grimacing grin at Guto, “See? Insulted.” Before he could even open his mouth to respond she Sonido’d over in a flash, planting her prodigious backside onto the stone bench beside him, cracking it in half without a care as she propped her hands on her knees and looked over at where Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Gilda, and Smooze were all standing near the edge of the wall leading into the arena pit, “Hey there, you little stinkers! Figured you’d stick to your safe zone embassy, instead of waltzing your pretty souls hither and thither! And Smooze, you ol’ pussbag, what are you doing back! And with a snazzy new outfit, to boot! Planning to snag your old post from Guto’s baby chick?”
Gilda flinched at the terminology, although Smooze was swift to wave a gloved hand, “I have no interest. As I have said. Many times. >_< I serve at Lady Fluttershy’s pleasure now.”
“Ew,” Hydia said, “She’s nowhere near pretty enough for a beautiful sludge bucket like you. And here I was thinking of setting you up with one of my daughters, but eh, your loss.”
Fluttershy cleared her throat and inclined her head towards Hydia, speaking diplomatically, “I’m happy you could join us. Mister Guto was just about to demonstrate some of his people’s culture with an arena match.”
Hydia made a choking noise, eyes flicking towards Guto, “Well ain’t she just the politest thing ever? She does know that Lord Tirek still kind of wants to have one of their souls to suck the magic out of, right? Or that my Groggykins would literally murder to have one of them strapped to a lab table?”
“I do believe they are aware, yes,” Guto replied, lacing his fingers in front of him as his elbows rested on his throne, “And indeed you and I could take them both, perhaps, and choose which one we give to Lord Tirek and which to Grogar.”
“The pink one I’d totally wrap up like a gift burrito to hand over to my Grogolog,” Hydia said, licking her lips, “Buuuut I’m guessing there’s a reason we’re not just going ham on them right now?’
“Uh, we can totally hear you both!” Pinkie Pie called, “And for the record, come and try it, sister.” Pinkie Pie still had her hammer out and planted the head heavily in front of her, smiling wide, with her teeth sharpening to points very much like Pinkamena’s, “Me and Flutters are here to play nice, but if you want to play a totally different game, I’ve got party tricks even my friends don’t know about.”
Fluttershy didn’t visibly shift her stance, but there was a change in the air about her, as if the calm looking girl had suddenly grown immeasurably more alert and ready to snap into violence, “I would prefer we keep our exchange pleasant today. Even in a place like this, an arena meant for contests of martial prowess, we can maintain a spirit of friendly competition, can we not? It would be very unfortunate to have to deprive the very people we seek to befriend of... such key leaders.”
The threat was clear, as was the simple fact that neither Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie were afraid of being surrounded by Arrancar warriors and two Espada. What was more, whether it was Hydia or Guto themselves, or any of their servants, all could tell this lack of fear was no mere front of false bravado. They all keenly remembered the battle of Sunset Shimmer with their near god-like ruler and the thought was in almost every mind that it was entirely possible these two girls may well possess power in equal strength to their friend who measured up to the standards of Tirek himself.
Guto forced a polite smile, although one not devoid of a certain nasty streak, “Words worthy of an Arrancar. Perhaps you would like to demonstrate this power you have such confidence in, then, Miss Fluttershy? You are the one who defeated Gilda as I understand it. Perhaps we should see how well you measure up to she who has replaced her as my favored warrior? Greta!”
“My lord!” Greta stood from where she’d been waiting, giving Guto a bow, “I would be my pleasure.”
“No.”
All eyes turned to Gilda, who was the one who had spoken. Gilda, face filling with storm clouds, marched until he was at the foot of the steps leading up to Guto’s throne. Guto looked down at her with a mixture of disdain and faint interest, “No? What, do you propose a rematch with your newfound ‘friend’, then? We all might enjoy watching, in detail, how the mighty Tenth Espada lost to a human girl.”
A series of unpleasant laughs rose amid Guto’s warriors, but Gilda ignored the mocking noises and glanced sidelong at Greta, then back at Guto, “No, I mean if you need to entertain yourself by watching some blood spill on the sands, then I’ll fight Greta. After all...” she turned to Greta, trying to recall the friendship they once had, the sisterhood of growing up together under Guto’s rule, “That’s what you want most, isn’t it Greta?”
Guto scoffed, “I’d rather watch the human girls fight instead-”
“Wait, Lord Guto,” Greta said, making Guto’s face darken at the interruption, but Greta bowed again with respect, even as her eyes drilled heated holes into Gilda, “I know it’d entertain everyone to see the humans fight, but I believe Gilda deserves a... chance to demonstrate her worthiness for her title.”
“Oh?” Guto said, eyebrow raising, “Are you making this an official challenge, Greta? That could be... worthwhile.”
Gilda nearly froze. She’d merely intended to make this a chance for Greta and her to work out their feelings in the way warriors like them knew how, but if Greta was making this a challenge for the position of Tenth Espada... “Greta, don’t. I know you’re pissed off at me, maybe even for good reasons, I don’t know. I figure we can fight it out and get it out of your system, but-”
“But nothing,” Greta said, drawing her Zanpaktou in a sharp ring of steel, “You wanted that damn number so badly, you can fight to keep it. Now either get your ass in the ring, or walk away and prove, finally, to all of us how weak and cowardly you really are.”
There was a heaving element to Greta’s breathing, as if her emotions were rising too fast for her to control, and Gilda just stared at her in blinking wonderment. What had happened to Greta since she’d left to become an Espada? Was Greta really this angry at her for not staying in Guto’s horde? Or was there something else going on here? Either way, Gilda didn’t want to fight Greta in an official challenge, as it’d be all the harder to spare her friend’s life in a fight like that.
She felt a warm hand on her arm and glanced over to see Fluttershy next to her. The girl’s kind eyes warmed and calmed Gilda, and Fluttershy said in a quiet voice only they could hear, “You don’t have to do this.”
The implication being that they’d already bought Twilight and her team plenty of time at this point, and Fluttershy was willing to find another way to run down that clock even more without Gilda having to fight her friend. But even if Greta was taking this far too seriously than she should, no, because this clearly was important to Greta... Gilda didn’t think she could afford to just walk away from this. She shook her head, offering Fluttershy only the smallest of smiles, “Nah, it’s cool. I think I need to sort this out.”
Then, she turned fully to Greta, took a deep breath, and drew her Zanpaktou, “Alright. In the pit, then.”
She leaped down to the colosseum sands, striding out to the middle, and felt the rising rush of Greta’s reiatsu as her friend joined her, following her out to the very center of the arena. Even now, the dull brown dirt and sand was spotted with old bits of long dried blood, until the entire field was pockmarked with such testaments to its long, violent history.
“Well then!” Guto clapped his hands and stood, like a sports officiator bellowing to a crowded stadium, “It seems we have a special treat for all to behold! Our very own Greta seeks to take the throne of our former comrade, who seems to think befriending humans is a pathway to power rather than humiliation. Perhaps Gilda will show us how much ‘stronger’ her experiences away from our horde has made her, or perhaps instead my most favored warrior, Greta, will soon be installed as Las Noches’ newest Espada! Let their blood on the sands of this hallowed arena be the proof of their resolve! Warriors, are you prepared?”
Gilda sighed, thinking of how many young Arrancar, barely more than children like she and Greta had been long ago, had listened to that pompous speech before having to kill or be killed by their friends. She looked into Greta’s eyes and readied her sword, “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”
Greta’s eye twitched and her lips curled in a pained and angered sneer, her own Zanpaktou rising in front of her in an aggressive stance, “Ready.”
Guto drew his own gladius styled Zanpaktou, and raised it high for a long, drawn out moment, before lowering it and commanding, “Begin!”
Gilda thought she was prepared. She’d sparred with Greta countless times after they’d joined Guto’s horde, pushing each other to get stronger. She’d always had the edge over her friend, always been the one who’d come out on top, even if she never looked down on Greta for the fact. Greta was never that far behind her in terms of power, and worked as hard as anyone Gilda had known to push herself. In a dead serious fight, Gilda was worried about whether she could beat Greta without doing life threatening harm to her...
There was a crack of shattering air, followed by a Sonido of such intense speed that Gilda swore she thought Greta was still standing still even as she felt the edge of Greta’s blade reach her. Only pure, refined warrior instincts had Gilda’s body moving before she even had time to register her own actions, her own Sonido blurring her as she leaped back. Even so, she felt a raw tear of pain down her chest, and as Guto’s warriors and Hydia’s servants alike all exploded with cheers and roars of excitement over the starting battle... Gilda breathed heavily and looked at Greta with shock.
Blood dripped from her friend’s Zanpaktou, and Gilda wore a shallow red line of bleeding wound down her chest from that opening blow. And Greta did not give her a moment to catch her breath, turning and holding her Zanpaktou in a ready lunging position as she burst forward with another rush of speed. Gilda was a bit more prepared for it this time, managing to scrape her blade along the edge of Greta’s thrust, turning the point away from her heart in a blazing rain of sparks. Greta’s strength still drove both herself and the blade forward, and she slammed her shoulder into Gilda, knocking her to the ground and sending her skidding along until she nearly slammed into the arena’s far wall.
Gilda lost her breath for a second, and felt Greta’s reiatsu as her only warning before her friend, wearing a torn snarl on her face, appeared in the air above Gilda and dropped down, sword first, like a piercing meteor. Gilda rolled aside, throwing her body into a spinning evasion while slashing with her blade in retaliation. Greta struck the ground and smashed the sands in a plume of dirt, and Gilda felt her Zanpaktou strike flesh, tearing a ragged line over the white jerkin that Greta wore.
Rolling into a kneeling slide and then rising to her feet, Gilda kept her blade up, eyes focused as she watched Greta emerge from the small crater her dropping attack had created. Greta’s jerkin was torn across the stomach, a shallow wound bleeding into the white fabric. Greta’s lips almost twitched into a smile.
“So you didn’t go entirely soft on me.”
Gilda sucked in a sharp breath and tensed herself, keeping her guard up as she and Greta started to circle one another slowly, “I haven’t gone soft at all.”
“Not from what I’ve heard and seen,” Greta replied coldly, “Consorting with the same humans you lost to. Hanging out with that stuck up bitch, Adagio, who is clearly disloyal. I don’t know why, Gilda, but you’ve changed, and none of it has made you stronger. You... don’t deserve to be an Espada.”
A rushing of pale green reiatsu flowed off of Greta as she gripped her Zanpaktou in both hands and held it above her head, “So I’ll take it from you, since you don’t seem to actually want it anymore in the first place. Or me.”
Gilda knew what Greta was about to do, and worse, was starting to understand the source of Greta’s pain and anger, “Greta wait-”
“Tear through the storm; Cernicalo!” (Kestrel)
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I hope that Gilda manages to stop Greta without hurting her too badly. Keep up the great work! First!
Oh, neat, we get to see more of Gilda's character get explored. I know it would break the flow of the two alternating plotlines you have going on, but I also would like at least a quick check-in on Rarity and company soon.
We are reaching One Piece levels of plot threads. It's good, everyone gets something to do, though admittedly it can make it hard to follow sometimes, if the action jumps from place to place. That's why OP has those Map remainders at the start of the episode
So yeah, Guto definitely has a gem. Now the question is if Greta has, too.
I find Hydia and her army's antics quite charming.
Nice to see Gilda with her old gang. Despite what is said, I think more of the Horde remarks Gilda relatively fondly. Besides that I've always wondered if Gallus or Gabby (poor girl, must have a hard time) are in the Horde. We haven't heard from Grampa Gruff, too.
My memory of the events might be a bit hazy, but weren't they together at Camp Everfree? And it was Thorax instead, IIRC, but I don't think Gilda knows it.
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Yes, you're correct, and this is a case of one part of my mind not communicating with another. Part of the reason Greta is acting so aggressive and pissed at Gilda is because of the fact that she figured out Thorax replaced her, and Gilda never noticed, or came to check on her afterward. Gilda hasn't put that together yet, but yeah my brain spaced on writing anything to clarify that. Spruced things up a bit now to hopefully make that clearer.
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Ahh, yeah that's a pretty good reason to be mad.
Continuously, Gilda's gonna be so mad at Thorax for that.
Oh God, last chapter and this chapter both ended on cliffhangers, and I'm not sure which one I want the next chapter to tackle. But I'm betting we're going to have to wait a month to find out what Greta's cernicalo looks like. Both sad and excited for the wait.
I meant to say this when they first showed up way back when, but you’ve got Reeka and Draggle mixed up body type-wise. As far as their Gen 1 counterparts go, Reeka is the short and fat one and Draggle’s the tall skinny one.
Wasn't expecting a Gilda centric episode, but I don't hate it. It's cool to see how she has progressed from being a minor antagonist for our main heroines to an ally of them.
Interesting to see how Mid and Twi are both speaking aloud here. In the past Midnight only ever spoke in Twi's head and never had external influence (outside of helping control spells). Now its more like there sharing control. A simple yet cool way of showing how there relationship has progressed.
Guess I shouldn't be suprised the Thorax replacement incident had consciences but for some reson I am.