God Yet Lives

"Mashed potatoes!" Noctis chirped, "I mean um, if we have any, if you like mashed potatoes..."

--

Atae backs away, "What the hell are you talking about?"

--

Mortal raised an eyebrow, "I didn't make any orders. Did I make an order?"

"No, I believe you asked a few questions, some rhetorical."

"See, no orders. That said, I'm not going down any path you point me in, not until I know what the hell is going on."

Yue is covered in cuts and lacerations but there's a circle of deflected blades neatly surrounding him. He appears to be alive, some how. He gives Senthose a wordless thumbs up.

Kite: <...Control this!>

*Kite dramatically flips him off before redirecting his wheel around the building and attempting to absorb the flames.*

Kite: <Bakudo #21, Sekienton. (Bakudo #26, Kyokkō.)>

*After making himself invisible, Kite leaps upwards onto another building or any other high structure, looking down upon Gevurah trying to come up with a plan that doesn't consist of running.*

=====

*Aera is sitting atop a high building, glaring at a bird next to her looking extremely mad.*

*Gevurah appears behind him.*

<I know you're there.>

*Flaming Kamehameha.*
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S"Payment before I get you out of these vines. Money, trinkets, secret documents, whatever. I'm not picky."

L"Are they coming back?"

S"Difficult to say. They might be planning a counterattack, or they might have more important targets."
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<Oh, but you don't have a choice. Do you see any other routes out of this jungle?>

*With that, he disappears into the forest. The Soul Reaper had fucked off in the middle of their conversation.*
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*Euryale digs around in the cupboard for some potatoes & starts skinning them.*

"Do you like anything on them?"
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*Szayel comes out of the blast with a lot of blistered skin, but not much else besides.*

<You damn fool, I've analyzed your spirit pressure! Even if you manage to hit me, I can still minimize the damage!>

*He grabs the Atsuko doll with a tentacle. Venezuela, meanwhile, is...scratching her back.*

"Well... I never want to do that again" Yue says in a deadpan voice.

Atsuko felt her limbs go cold and jelly when her doll was picked up.

"What are we going to do?!" She demanded, looking at Venezuala, "He's still not dead and those voodoo dolls are still there!"
Usually Atsuko made a point of remaining calm and level headed in a bad situation, both for herself and for those around her, but she had never faced a situation quite so bad before.

"Gravy." Noct said, delighted.

--

"I don't think he thought this through." Mortal said, running a hand through her hair, "Sab?"

"Right." With that, Sab released, grabbed Mortal and Aroma, and teleported into the sky. Before they could plummet back down Mortal released, stuck her hand out, and began to survey the area from a bird's eye view from on top of the dragon's hand.

--

Atae looked baffled, "What do you think I am. Where would I get secret documents from. The best I got is a reitsu boost, maybe you can use that."

*Senthose grabs her & starts shaking her upside-down.*

S"The amount of Reitsu you have would be better spent on a flea! What are you, poor? Come on, there must be SOMETHING in those robes worth a damn."

*Lilith snickers.*

S"Oh, shut up!"

L"In any case, whether they come back or not, we should probably get moving."
=======================================
*As a matter of fact, Sab's teleportation fails somewhere around the canopy. They don't even get outside of the clearing. Which is probably a good thing, as there's no guarantee Mortal's ability would work that well, now that the Seki Seki Barrier is back in place.*
=======================================
*Some time later, Euryale has cooked everything & put it down on the table.*
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*Venezuela fires a Gran Rey Cero at that asshole. Without waiting to see what happens, she rushes into the explosion, grabs the doll, & fucks off. When the dust clears, Szayel has a few charred spots, & looks much angrier, but is no more dead. Worse yet, the trees behind him are full of bright blue flowers.*

S<Congratulations. You have annoyed me to the point where I am now simply going to incinerate you both. I hope you're proud of yourselves.>

I can't run away.... with my leg in the state that it's in, I wouldn't get far at all before he caught me. Kido doesn't seem like it's going to work either. Damn... Damn...

"Bakudo 30, Shitotsu Sansen!" Atsuko cried, aiming to pin Szayel down for a few moments before lifting her blade above her head and performing a hop/shunpo towards him. Presuming she made it, she brought her blade around in an arc that would slash Szayel's throat.

OOC: I don't see why it wouldn't work, it'd be like saying Koma's shikai wouldn't work, but I'll just go along for plot's sake.

They begin walking down the path.

--

Noct smiled, "Thanks for cooking for me." She said, eying the food.

--

Atae simply folded her arms and hung in the air while Senthose did what he did, "Are you done messing around? I'm poor, I don't have any trinkets worth a damn, and I'm a fifth seat, so the only 'secret document' I could get you would be the medical records of some low level mooks running around Soul Society."

*Unfortunately for her, Szayel blocked with one of his tentacles, & took a swing at her with another. Venezuela was digging up more dirt.*
=========================================
*Kira woke up after they were all spit out of a giant, green one-eyed manta ray. Covered in spit.*
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*Mortal, Sab, & Aroma soon come to the path winding up Sokyoku Hill.*
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*Senthose touches a vine & they all turn gray & dissolve. He then pokes her in the forehead 3 times.*

S"You. Owe. Me."

L"Where should we go?"

S"Sokyoku Hill. It is the highest, most visible location in all of the Soul Society. This jungle will not penetrate that far. If Blondie here isn't COMPLETELY useless, she'll at least know what direction she came from."
==========================================
*Euryale finishes setting the table.*

"Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in."

Atsuko grabbed the attacking tentacle with one hand, "Tzuri Raiden!"
Electricity was then fired through both offending tentacles.

Kira rose to a seated position and looked around.
"Captain Unohana?" He asked, blinking a few times to adjust his eyes to the light, "Where am I?"

Noct did so.

--

Mortab follows the trail.

--

Atae, being a seasoned adventurer, and outdoors woman, instantly finds their current direction, and points them the right way. "It is this way."

"Splendid" Yue begins high speed regeneration as he follows Senthose and co.

*Kite's blasted into whatever as his missing wheel shoots towards Gevurah's back, sending streams of fire flying around him like ropes to stop an escape attempt. The wheel that had been flying around the building darts off.*

Kite: <How the hell did he do that?!>

*Senthose's group meets up with Mortal's group on top of Sokyoku Hill.*

"Why on Earth are you here?"
========================================
<The Squad 1 Barracks. I came here to help retake them after I made sure the Central 46 were safe, and now I'm heading off for Sokyoku Hill. It is the highest ground in the Soul Society, and one of the few places where Binah's Bankai cannot reach from ground level. It is surely a point of strategic importance for the enemy.>

*She climbs on board the bigass ray's back & scratches it behind the ears. It purrs in a gargley sort of way.*
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*Euryale sits there with her hands clasped for a few moments.*

"So, how is it?"
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*Szayel grabs her by the throat & begins charging a Cero.*

<You are beginning to irritate me, Shinigami!>
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*The flaming Kamehameha blew away the invisibility Kido.*

<Talking to yourself? Must be an intellectually stimulating conversation.>

*He flares his fire, & begins to break free from the restraints.*

<Insects are easy to find, they are so simple-minded that they always hide in the same places.>

"Shall I go with you or stay here?"

Atsuko flailed wildly with her arms and tried once again to stab Szayel in the throat.

Mortal pointed at Aroma, "She was worried about you, and I figured if you weren't back already you might need some help, so we all came by. So, what is going on, I don't remember Seireitei being home to a forest, or is it a jungle? I don't know, point is, we're here, so explain what is going on."

At this Atae spoke up, "Soul Society is being invaded, and attacked--"

"Tell me something I don't know, or at least something I didn't expect. Honestly, you guys get invaded every few months it seems."

"That is all there is to say, we're being attacked, I'm sure you know more about the situation than I do. As for the forest, it is the Bankai of my captain, Binah," Atae gave a cautious look to Lilith, "Opinions... differ as to whether or not she may be involved."

--

Noct smiled, "It is wonderful." She declared, "I have not had a good steak in ages... it was just what I wanted." She continued. Leaning back a bit satisfied she added, "Honestly, after this meal, I don't think anything could upset me."

S"Well, it's good to know that I was missed. But, on a more important note...."

*Senthose approaches Sab, putting an arm around her shoulders & leading her slightly away from the group before whispering something to her.*

S"(Binah Psyche is the mother of Lilith Psyche. If Lilith tries anything funny, I want you to take her some place far away. Outside of the forest, your ability should work.)"

L"What are you over there plotting now?"

*Senthose lets go & waves Lilith off dismissively.*

S"Nothing, nothing, I just forgot she was a lesbian, that's all."
========================================
"Thanks."

*Euryale bites her lip.*

"Well...there is...probably something I should tell you...."
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<In your condition, I doubt there is much you can do.>

*She flies off.*
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*After she cuts his sternum, he fires, but a bunch of dirt clumps around his hand, causing it to blow back & burn him. While he's distracted by the dust cloud, Venezuela runs up & starts gnawing on his throat. He begins punching her in the head.*

<Get off of me, you lowly beast!>

"Really? I thought Lilith was more your type?" Yue scratched his chin and gave Aroma a slight wave.

Atsuko grabbed his punching arm and held it back away from Venezuala before hacking into the tendon with her Zanpakuto.

Kira, feeling slightly crestfallen, began wiping some of the manta-ray spit off of himself and turned to the others to see if they were conscious.

Sab simply nodded, then waved off the concerns of a suspicious Mortal.

"So, what now?" Mortal asked.

--

Noctis looked at Euryale, "What is it my love?" She asked happily.

*Without warning, a big ol' pike skewers Szayel & he sinks into a flaming vortex, which then vanishes as if behind closed doors.*

"...Wait, didn't someone kill him a few years ago?"
============================================
*She starts wringing her hands, occasionally gesticulating towards Noctis.*

"Well...have you ever done a good thing, at least you thought it was a good thing, but later you find out it might have been a bad thing, & you're not quite sure what to tell the person you did the good-thing-that-turned-out-bad for? I mean, I'm not saying YOU did anything, but, you know, if you DID do a thing that put you in that kind of situation, & again I'm not saying you did, but how would you handle it, if you did, even though you didn't?"
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*As a matter of fact, they were not.*
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*Unohana flies up to them & lands, the giant green cyclopean manta ray she's riding on dissolving into mist & returning to her sheath, where it re-forms her sword.*

U<Yes. What indeed?>

???<You need not do anything. I merely bid you to assemble here because you were the worthiest to appreciate my arrival.>

OOC: Mood music!

*When they all look to the source of the sound, a Garganta opens. Out of it steps a woman in a black cloak, which does nothing to hide her ample curves & chest. At her side is a Zanpakuto & on her head is long, silvery hair, with the top of it tied like some kind of crown. Other adornments she has include gleaming silver bracelets, with matching belt & chain necklace. She smiles down at them. Mortal would recognize her as the woman who attacked & scarred her when she was still a Hollow.*

S"Since you keep asking, THAT is Keter."

K<My glory is known even to the base lifeforms of Hueco Mundo? I am pleased to hear that!>

"Now THAT'S my type" Yue points sardonically. "That's how you make an entrance."

"Was that..." Atsuko asked, her voice trembling, "The Gates of Hell?"
Before Venezuala could answer, Atsuko fired more questions: "Who the hell are you? You are an Arrancar too! What's going on?!"

Kira looked for a Hell Butterfly.