Epilogue: That One Time Kaiju Came to Hueco Mundo
Epilogue: That One Time Kaiju Came to Hueco Mundo
A couple of days had remained before the Dark Hunters vastly powerful, interdimensional master would re-open the portal that had brought them to Hueco Mundo in the first place. Upon their return to Las Noches, X and his team had used the same hidden tunnel they had exited from to enter the enormous Hollow bastion once more and make contact with Adagio Dazzle. From there, she’d insisted on them retiring to her territory’s lounge area for them to recount the tale of their exploits over much needed and appreciated food and drink, Irys and Gaw both particularly ravenous.
X had done most of the talking, with only occasionally one of the others adding their own details where his own personal experience didn’t account. Through it all Adagio listened raptly, only rarely asking questions and allowing them to give her the story in full, with little embellishment. X couldn’t help but notice that the woman kept a very strong poker face throughout, giving away no initial hints as to what she thought of the whole affair. At least until the end, when the stack of informative documents procured from Tempest Shadow had been provided.
Then Adagio’s eyes lit up like fireworks and a pleased smile had brightened her features considerably.
The next day or so had then gained a distinctly celebratory air. It wasn’t often X and his companions were given any time to... unwind. Adagio all but insisted on providing them with comfortable amenities for their remaining time with her and her own, and there had been more than one “shopping run” to the human world to procure whatever they desired in terms of refreshment or entertainment.
Admittedly only half the Dark Hunters really participated much. Gigan was focused mostly on doing what self repairs he could with some tools snatched from one of the supply runs, although Di Roy spent quite a bit of time hanging around the cyborg and trying to trade quips. X didn’t refuse any food or drink, but merely hovered around the festivities, most of his time spent at the bar talking with Adagio, who seemed to insist on being the one to mix and pour drinks while they conversed.
It was here that X learned quite a bit more about this reality and it’s present situation than he would have imagined. Adagio had provided documents of her own, written up herself, that summarized everything, but she was quite open to chatting with X on the matter, although he did gauge she was keeping certain details back here and there.
“So you died protecting the Aria and Sonata of this world,” he said, looking into a half finished glass of whiskey while Adagio favored a glass of wine, herself. She had a small half smile on her features, not quite sad, not quite proud, but more contemplative than anything else.
“Looking back on it, it was one of my more impulsive decisions,” she said, taking a sip of the wine and leaning on the bar, gazing towards him contemplatively, “I fully expected Grogar to destroy me utterly, and was only trying to buy that idiot Sunset Shimmer time to get everyone to safety. I hadn’t accounted for the possibility the old bastard goat might take me prisoner.”
“Grogar...” X muttered the name. He’d heard it before already. Apparently the same Espada that had experimented upon Yin and Yang. He looked at Adagio quizzically, “Yet here you are, an Espada as well, on the same side as the one that tortured you.”
“Ah ah ah, not the same side, per se,” Adagio said, “Espada are often in competition with each other. We all ostensibly serve Tirek, but in fighting is not only allowable, but expected. Don’t fret...” Adagio’s eyes turned sharper than any sword and colder than space’s depths, and X would know. Her voice was an ironclad promise to herself, “One day, Grogar will get what’s coming to him, and I’ll be there for it, to see it done. Count on that.”
X believed her. Finishing his own drink, he asked something that had been on his mind for the past day or so, “Tempest Shadow, do you intend to try and seek her out?”
Adagio drummed her fingers on the bar, the shadow of Grogar vanishing from her expression as she took on a more contemplative mein, “She would be a useful ally, no doubt. However, considering she just got over one bad break up with an unfaithful master, I don’t know if I can expect her to be eager to throw in with another Arrancar so quickly. Quite frankly the information you’ve brought me has opened up plenty of other possibilities at the moment, so I’m in no great rush. I have more immediate concerns to deal with before then, anyway.”
“Understandable,” X said, recalling that their conversation the other day had turned towards the state of Las Noches after a great battle with the opposing faction of humans, the Quincy. Apparently Adagio had a friend who’d been taken prisoner during that battle, and there was a need for a rescue operation. “I wish you the best of luck.”
The laugh that came from Adagio was distinctly musical, and one he’d heard before, from the Adagio he knew from the same world his own Aria was from.
“Ohoho! I don’t need luck, X. I make plans, and I execute those plans. And if those plans fail, I have backups. Luck just doesn’t come into the picture.” Her eyes softened, “And you’ve helped me with those plans considerably. I almost regret I can’t offer more in exchange besides information.”
“The information you’ve provided is sufficient,” X replied, tapping the sizable stack of documents on the bar next to him, “I believe my master will be satisfied.”
“I should hope so,” Adagio said, her expression briefly shifting to a guarded one, “Should your master ever turn his attention to this world, he’ll certainly have an idea of who’s who.”
It was unspoken, but there was an edge to her voice that said she understood fully that their alliance in this temporary circumstance didn’t mean that at some future point they might not still be enemies. X knew this. His master had sent him and his team here for reconnaissance purposes. You don’t recon someplace if you’re not doing a threat evaluation, possibly preceding an attack. It was entirely possible that, one day, he would face this Adagio Dazzle, Sixth Espada of Las Noches, as a foe, depending on what his master decided to do in the future.
But that was for another day. For now, they could enjoy a moment’s peace and respite.
The evening was a lively one, with Megalon taking full advantage of the television set up in the lounge and the extensive collection of films Di Roy had snagged from unsuspecting stores in the living world. The outgoing cyborg had convinced Gaw to sit still for a time on the lounge’s largest couch to do a movie marathon, with the animate Megalon providing no shortage of run on commentary while Gaw largely sat crouched on her legs upon the couch with a curious look on her face for most of the films, looking utterly perplexed by them.
“Oh, theses’ older black and white movies did some really cool stuff with claymation,” Megalon was saying as the present film, concerning a certain tropical island with an oversized primate as it’s king, reached a climatic scene, “This fight scene with the T-Rex is classic!”
Gaw scratched her head, “Monkey is good fighter. Be fun to fight him. Feels weird, like I see this before.”
“You probably saw it when I was watching movies before,” said Di Roy, who was sitting at one of the chairs behind the couch, with Gigan sitting opposite in another chair. Di Roy had several different sets of sunglasses on the small coffee table between the chairs, and was trying on different ones, selecting a polished set of chrome shades that he then turned to Gigan and said, “What do you think? Going for the full 80s cyberpunk look.”
“The extent to which I do not care cannot be expressed with a numeric value,” Gigan drawled, his attention focused entirely on making a few final adjustments to the machinery in his left arm, the last bit of self-maintenance he had time and tools to do.
“Aw, don’t be like that. I’m looking for the expert opinion of a shades enthusiast.”
“I don’t wear these by choice,” Gigan stated, “This is just how the incomprehensible methods of interdimensional portals decide to make me look. I’d rather just look like my natural form, properly sized or not.”
“But you look so cool! In both forms!”
Gigan tried very hard to keep his face neutral, despite an unconscious tick that might have been a smile, that he would firmly deny to anyone who asked. After a reluctant moment he glanced up from his repair work at the sunglasses on the table and nodded at a pair with a dark blue tint to them, “Try those. Chrome is too reflective. Gives away your position. Those will blend in better.”
As Di Roy tried on the other pair of shades, practically beaming, the door to the lounge opened and a delectable set of smells wafted into the room. Carrying trays, Roka and Irys entered, the latter looking a tad embarrassed as she and Roka set the trays down on the bar. Loaded upon the trays were freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and a batch of raspberry muffins, slightly burned but not extensively so.
Megalon and Gaw both swiveled their heads like guided lasers at the smell of fresh food, the movie forgotten.
“Tell me those are all for us,” Megalon said, mouth watering.
Roka smiled and nodded, “Of course. I asked Irys if she was interested in helping me prepare them, and they turned out quite well.”
“You cook?” X asked Irys, and the pale girl’s skin flushed to a burning red.
“I was just curious to try!” Irys said defensively, “It’s not like I plan on making a habit of it. I don’t even have thumbs in my normal form, so it’s not like I can just do this whenever. Just... just eat them or whatever. They’re burned, so don’t expect them to be good.”
“Nonsense,” Roka said, patting Irys on the shoulder, “You did very well for your first time. Even if you can’t do this in your natural form, I could still lend you a book or two of mine if you’d like to study cooking techniques. I cook for my siblings all the time, so I’ve made plenty of notations myself.”
“You’d do that-? I mean, uh, I guess if you feel like lending them to me, but I probably won’t ever get the chance to bring them back,” Irys said, while Megalon and Gaw pounced upon the trays. Despite trying to feign disinterest, Irys watched intently as the pair wolfed down the first few of the muffins, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when both seemed to enjoy them, despite the burns.
X wasn’t often one for expression himself, but a small smile did touch his face as he watched his people and Adagio’s continue to mingle as the evening continued. Soon enough the time for such things would pass, but there was no harm in enjoying the present moment while it lasted. Adagio clearly thought the same, for she made a point of ensuring everyone had something to drink and kept the mood light through the night. Eventually Megalon and Gaw both passed out on the couch amid piles of chip backs and the crumbs of baked goods. Gigan finished his maintenance and wandered off, presumably to one of the rooms Adagio had set up for them to use for the night. Roka departed to return to her family’s tower, but promised to come back in the morning to see them off. Irys sneaked a handful of the remaining cookies for herself and happily munched them as she went off to her own room.
Adagio and X remained, although as he got up to head off to his own room, Adagio gave him a pointed look as she came around the bar.
“Before you call it for the night, mind confirming something for me?” she asked.
He didn’t quite raise an eyebrow, but he was indeed curious as he said, “If you must. What is it?”
“Now, I enjoy a good guessing game, and I’ve been thinking this one over hard since you first got here,” the siren turned Arrancar said as she folded her arms under her chest and looked at him with an amused, but somehow oddly serious, light in her eyes, “So let’s see if I’m right... you’re with... Aria?”
He blinked, “How did you-?”
Adagio’s smile gleamed, “So I was right. I figured it had to be. You reacted as if you knew me, but not nearly well enough to be in my bed. If the versions of us you know are anything like me and my sisters are, well, you’re just not Sonata’s type. She really needs someone on her same wavelength, to keep up. But Aria? Oh, I think you’d be just the right fit for her. Again, if there’s any similarity at all between the one you know and the one I know. She wouldn’t put up with any of your dark and mysterious crap, and you wouldn’t be the type to back down from her more intense personality traits. A good match, I think. Hmm, well that’s all I wanted to know. She might not be my Aria, but I still like to think of the well being of family. Do take care of her, would you?”
“You needn’t even ask,” X said, and couldn’t help but chuckle, “And believe me, the other you has more than made a point of vetting me. I’d have been in quite a bit of trouble if I didn’t measure up.”
“Good. Any version of me should know how to look after her own,” Adagio said, and then she strode past X, moving past the door and into the hallway, “At any rate, sleep well. As long as you’re under my roof, you’re safe.”
With that she all but glided away, leaving X alone to find his own way to his room.
----------
It was early the next morning that the four Dark Hunters from another reality found themselves standing at the very point where they first entered the realm of Hollows. Adagio Dazzle had allowed to use the hidden tunnel to take them out beyond Las Noches’ walls, and had accompanied the four along with Di Roy, Gaw, and Roka to give the Dark Hunters their send off. X had been concerned over any watchers or scouts from the other Espada spotting them, but Adagio had assured him that she’d personally seen to ensure there were no prying eyes looking their way. He didn’t inquire into exactly how she did that, knowing that at least in this instance he could take her at her word.
The two groups now stood in wait for the arrival of the portal that would be created by the Dark Hunters’ master, which arrived precisely on schedule, according to Gigan’s internal mission clock.
Unlike the dark maws of Garganta, this portal was a vertical flare of swirling white, like a tunnel entrance carved into the air by an enormous hand.
“Spiffy,” Di Roy said, adjusting his new, blue shades as he looked at the portal, “So that leads to a whole other reality, huh? This boss of yours must be something else to pull that off on raw power alone.”
“He’s good on keeping us compensated for our work,” Gigan replied, “Beyond that; don’t know, don’t care.”
“Welp, looks like this is ciao for now,” Megalon said, cracking a final smile, then quirking his eyebrow up as he spotted Gaw shuffling forward. The short statured Arrancar was holding a bag of nacho cheese chips as if it was one of the most precious things in the world, and held it towards Megalon with a look of utter seriousness.
“Last bag. Take it, for being friend of tribe.”
“Whoa, thanks!” Megalon happily accepted the bag, “Gonna need a snack when I get home!”
“You’re going to be too big to eat it when we get back,” Irys pointed out, and Megalon blinked, then shrugged.
“We’ll be this size again sometime. Boss always has more jobs for us. Anyway, thanks again, Gaw.”
Scooting back awkwardly, Gaw looked away and mumbled something under her breath which was far too low key to actually hear, although Di Roy leaned over next to her with a teasing smirk.
“Holy crap, are you blushing?”
This was responded to less with words and more with a sharp growl and even sharper bite to Di Roy’s leg. As Di Roy ran around yelping with a feral Gaw still attached to his leg, Roka and Adagio both pointedly ignored that and stepped forward. Roka held a tidy, rectangular bundle wrapped in simple cloth and held it out for Irys.
“The books I mentioned. I know you won’t get a chance to use them soon, but still, keep them for as long as you need.”
Irys took the bundle with a bit of hesitancy, then held them close to her chest as she gave Roka a look that was trying hard to be neutral but failing to hide some shades of melancholy, “You know I probably won’t ever be back to return these, right?”
Roka simply smiled with a serene, accepting gaze, “Then keep them as a memento. But if fate is kind enough for our paths to meet again on some future day, I’ll look forward to trying your cooking again.”
Adagio looked at both groups, then to X with a satisfied twitch of her lips, one hand on her hip, the other leaning on her trident, “It seems your people and mine made an excellent team, X. If your master is ever so inclined, I wouldn’t be opposed to another collaboration, assuming our goals remain aligned.”
To this, X could only nod, knowing it was best he and his team got moving. It was rarely a good idea to keep their master waiting.
“I’ve had far worse missions than this one,” he admitted, then turned to the portal and addressed his team, “It’s time to go home.”
There were no objections, and no further words to say. One by one the Dark Hunters entered the portal, X being last.
Just before he stepped through into the tunnel of light, he thought he saw, just out of the corner of his eye, a distant figure standing atop a sand dune on the horizon. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought it might have been a noble warrior, giving him one last salute, but the light of the portal surrounded him before he saw more than that final glimpse.
But he smiled, all the same.
----------
“And that is the whole of it?”
The voice filled the unfathomably vast chamber like a remembrance of a volcano’s eruption, powerful and arresting of the attention of any who heard it.
In his natural form once more, Monster X bowed his head to the depths of shadows within which his master dwelled, showing his due deference and respect.
“Yes.” It was not the word so much as the affirmative growl of his kaiju vocals, but his master transcended all conventions of language, so no translation was necessary.
“...Very well,” his master replied, “You performed your task more than adequately. You may inform the one known as Megalon that his... request shall be seen to.”
Honestly Monster X hadn’t expected his master to actually agree to Megalon’s desire for a kaiju sized television in his quarters, with corresponding entertainment system and movies. He didn’t even question how their mysterious master would accomplish such a feat. What the master willed, generally was. One just didn’t question a deity, after all. If that, indeed, was what the master truly was.
X paused, thinking, If that is what he is? Where did that thought come from?
He shook it off, trying not to think too hard about the matter. He did recall Tempest Shadows words, but even if he were to entertain them, which he wasn’t at all certain he should, it wouldn’t do to let that doubt into him in front of the master.
If the master noticed anything amiss, he didn’t show it, and simply said, “You may go. Rest, for soon I may have need of you again.”
“As you wish, master.”
Monster X strode from the chamber with long, powerful strides, and for some time after he departed, the entity known to some as Bagan contemplated matters in the multi-faceted manner that only the truly ancient could.
Bagan was impressed with Monster X and his companions’ performance. As always, the four had proven a very capable set of tools at his disposal. He had of course senses a moment of wavering in X, but that was to be expected. Bagan was no fool. He was aware that at times it was only natural for mortal beings, no matter how large and powerful, to question the nature of the divine. It mattered not. The plan would advance, one way or another.
As for the world that the Dark Hunters had explored, and the information gained from the unexpected alliance with one of that world’s denizens... it was largely as Bagan had anticipated. That world, while highly unusual in the density of spirit energy it contained, was embroiled in its own conflicts. The simple facts of sapient life played out in endless conflict, regardless of the reality in question.
There was a remote possibility that world of Hollows, Soul Reapers, and various empowered humans could prove problematic to his future plans at some point, but that seemed just as unlikely as the possibility that his plans would be halted by the rag-tag assortment of kaiju that had been bumbling about in a wholly different set of worlds that had garnered his attention of late.
Ultimately, the entity known as Bagan didn't believe anything could halt the inevitability of extinction.
----------
The cold winds of Hueco Mundo blew soft strands of sand from the tops of dunes and buffeted the three figures crossing it's vastness, where if one stumbled, the others were there instantly to help them get back on their feet. Temepst Shadow, followed by Yin and Yang, kept her gaze focused ahead, looking for a new future that she had not given up on for either herself or those who counted on her...
---------
Adagio lounged upon a beach chair next to the artificial pool she and her vassals... and friends, had built. Shockingly, Di Roy and Roka had finally gotten Gaw to try learning to swim, although the results thus far involved far more splashing antics than actual learning. But the sounds of them, her companions and loyal followers enjoying themselves relaxed Adagio as she continued to reach over the scrolls X had provided. The woman couldn't help but smile as plans for the future blazed bright in her mind...
----------
If one peeked through one of the incredibly massive archways into a certain chamber within the dark temple on the plane of Zenith, then one might be greeted by the impossible sight of four full sized kaiju sitting on an equally impossible couch that could hold all their weights, watching movies upon a tv screen the size of an aircraft carrier. Whatever machinations the master of these four kaiju might have had, the bond between them remained strong, and grew stronger still with each passing day. For his part, while X only half paid attention to the movies, mostly chosen by Megalon, played, the once very alone and emotionally suppressed kaiju known as Monster X now rested in contentment with his comrades. Whatever future may come, he knew one thing above all else... he would protect his own, no matter what.
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I loved the ending, this side story was great
Loved it, most awesome crossover. You and Tarbtano are artists, and I am both excited, but sad, that your team up has concluded. But I will hold on to a false hope to that someday you both will not only team up again, but you both will feature chapters in your actually ongoing fics pertaining to the other. It would totally blow my mind if Friendship Souls and The Bridge became joined together permanently, with both good and evil factions teaming up respectively for the final all out battle to decide the fate of all reality. I could only imagine what would happen if Substitute Soul Reaper Starlight Glimmer had to face off against Bagan.
I enjoyed this from start to finish.
Very, very well done. A good blend of each, giving spot light to all sides and plenty of good battles. I've been a bridge fan for a long while, thought this was a first into this bleach x Mlp story and I'll admit I'm impressed at the blending of both in this story. your story was great, also you got yourself another fan. Excellent work.
10545120
honestly i like this idea, it would be good for give sunset a sword training.
Also, i like the idea of tempest going to Equestria and there she would fight Platinum, after all, once they were on the same side, and both are ex captains.
also, they need the most help possible who is not from the soul society.
Compared to, let's say, Torch, how the Storm King (without the power taken from his army) and Tempest on a one on one fight would do ? Are they stronger ?
Also, were Yin and Yang looking like childrens or just teenagers when they were adopted by Tempest ? Since she is likely thousands of years old, it is true than they could still be considered as not really different then childrens for her up to a certain age, but still, i like this image of mama Tempest akwardely dealing with girls not looking older then 10.
Is Irys a sort of Vizar now or was the hollow version of her powers just a thing for when in Hueco Mundo ?
As for Yin and Yang, is it truly a no-go to be able to have a Resureccion ? because those kinds of limits in manga universe tend to be overcome even when they were in some sort of compensation for a other power.
Are my questions annoying you ?
so, about yin and yang physical and mental age when they were adopted and Tempest and storm king strength ?
10779556
I'd say both Tempest and the Storm King (pre-empowerment) are stronger than Torch. If you think about in terms of Espada rankings, the Storm King would've hovered somewhere between Lament and Catrina (between 4th and 3rd), whereas Tempest would've been a rough match for Lament (she's actually comparable to Captain Sweet Cider, although that's keeping in mind Sweet Cider lacks Bankai at the moment).
They may have looked a little younger, as spirit entities like Hollows and Soul Reapers still do technically age, but the age rate is kind of wonky and they probably wouldn't have aged that much between the time Tempest found them and the present. Probably the difference between 12-13 year olds versus the 16-17 year olds they presently look like.
Vizard is more a permanent kind of change, whereas what's happening with Irys is more a temporary alteration to her kaiju form based on the fact that she's obtaining it by absorbing Hollow spirit energy instead of raw magic or some other source of power. The change isn't permanent, and she'd only obtain this form again if she was powered up by Hollow energy once more.
Unfortunately the experiments Grogar did on them did remove the possibility of them having conventional Ressereccion. That said, experiments can have all sorts of unexpected results, and there's nothing to say that an experiment designed to make Arrancar Zanpaktou work more akin to Soul Reaper Zanpaktou couldn't have possibilities of it's own. A Bankai-like form that the twins simply haven't the strength yet to obtain.
11109023
Some of the music links have been taken down due to copyright. So you might need to find alternate links
11896817
I appreciate the heads up. Heh, I'll have to remember which ost I used for what, now.
11896878
Not necessarily, the links still take you to the video page. It’s just the video themselves don’t work due to copyright
11896878
Also, I just noticed but Irys unlocked her guardian beast powers when fighting KING Ghidorah not Keizer Ghidorah. Megalon, Gigan and Irys wanted to know what was going on with X, so they confronted King Ghidorah. They had to fight him and were pushed to their limits. This caused Irys to unlock her guardian powers as mentioned above. After the battle, King Ghidorah told them what he knew of the connection between X and Keizer.