God Yet Lives

S"You remember the annoying monochromatic human who's involved with the human with the enormous house? I went to go shake down some information from her mother. Talking to her was like playing chess with an angry toddler. She grabs the King, flips the board over, & demands that you praise her for her cunning deception. Then you punch her in the face. Except in my case there was a Kido pyramid in the way. Also, the toddler probably cuts herself."
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*Noah's eyes widen as a man below Enkidu waves at him. He has blond hair & blue eyes. He's also wearing a black cloak. He flashes Noah a big, stupid grin.*

???<Bye-bye.>

*Once the Garganta closes, another man appears overhead. He's wearing similar clothes, but with slicked-back black hair & a much more serious expression.*

???2<It is done. He will never find us, no matter how hard he searches. And the other Hollows will not disturb us. Not even the Arrancar.>

???1<Good job. Wish I could say the same for you, big guy, but man, he creamed you.>

*He hops up on Enkidu's axe, looking out towards the faint light of Hueco Mundo's moon.*

???1<You're gonna have to do more than a little training if you want to be ready for Round 2.>
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Urahara<I'll be honest. I need you to try it to see what it does to your Inner Hollow. We don't know who all will be on the invasion team yet, but we are sure Lilith will be. And the last thing we need is to have something unpredicted happen. It's risky, yes, but at our current level, our enemy could easily destroy the entire Soul Society. We don't have the luxury of going slow.>
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*Lilith orders some wine & a steak. Euryale orders spaghetti & iced tea.*

L"This is great. I could use a little filler."
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John<That's not all that the Mirror World can do.>

*A shimmering silver weapon in the same shape as Kujaku's emerges from the floor. John grabs it before it can fall over. As he hefts it, it seems to bend & twist around, as though it's reflected on water.*

"I like this guy brother!"

"Ew, go fap about it somewhere else Karasu"

Mortal furrowed her brow, "Her house didn't seem that enormous," she said, "Anyway, I can only imagine that that went well. I assume... Noctis is her name I think, helped you out though. It is her mother after all."

--

Noctis ordered what Lilith was having, "I'll take my steak rare, and would love a glass of your best cabernet."

Astarte just frowned at him.

"Who on Earth are you?" Enkidu asked, his axe bursting into flames. "I am not in the mood to be trifled with!"

*He hops up in the air & hangs there upside-down.*

<Name's Netzach, how ya doin'? Ya look...well, like a Hollow, I guess. That barrel of fun up there is my associate, Malkuth. He's also an Arrancar.>

*Enkidu notices that Malkuth has a chunk of mask fragment around one of his eyes.*

N<And we couldn't help but observe that maybe you COULD actually beat that guy if you just had a second release, like Malky up there does.>
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S"She did, after I told her I'd drag Noctis to Hell & leave her there. Well, that depends on how you define 'help.' She was really quite useless."
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*When their food comes back, Lilith takes a few bites.*

L"So...do you 2 have any plans, now that you're out of school?"
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John<Anyway, I don't know what you really get by fighting me. The way this place is built, it's doubtful if anyone could beat me here.>

Yue frowned at her right back.

---

"I see" Kujaku says.

"A vacation," Noctis replied, "A well deserved one, if you ask me."

--

"What a loving mother..."

Astarte kept frowning directly at him.

"That may well be true," Enkidu nodded. "I must ask you a question, now... Where did you people come from? Are you natives of Hueco Mundo like myself?"
Enkidu remained in his released state, as he did not know whether or not he could trust the newcomers.

Malkuth<For some time, I've been operating out of Hell. It took me quite a while to track down Netzach in the Soul Society.>

*Netzach shrugs.*

Netzach<Hey, "waiting for my dead boss to come back from Hell" was not in the contract. I even read the fine print.>

Malkuth<It matters not. The simple fact is that we all have reason to want more dead Soul Reapers. So our organization was looking for a sort of...mercenary figure.>
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L"I see."

*Euryale casts a glance at Noctis, but Lilith shakes her head.*

L"I'm not going to invade on your trip. It's bad enough that we'll be asking you for help."
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S"This is why I don't have kids."
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John<Hmm...I think it's time I see if the others have found anything out about Hueco Mundo.>

"Why? Noctis seems like the one being wronged," Mortal replied, "It's not like she stabbed her mother or anything."

--

Noctis shook her head, "It isn't wrong for you to ask for our help. We were attacked too, this has become our fight as well. Even if it wasn't, you're my friend so I would help regardless."

"Hell, huh? This seems new to me..." Enkidu pondered for a few moments. "I'm not big on mercenary work. What's in it for me?"

"Sheath" Kujaku tosses sword samurai x through one of Karasu's skull charms. As soon as it leaves his hands it returns to a normal katana.

Karasu frowns, "Must you be so rough with my children?"

"Yes"

---

Yue stares back.

S"Actually, she did, but that isn't important."
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*Lilith smiles weakly at her.*

L"Thanks, but you don't know what you're agreeing to yet."

E"Well, it's not like you want us to follow you to Hell & back, is it?"

*Lilith stares blankly at her.*
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Netzach<Ugh, do I HAVE to spell it out?>

*He plucks a branch off of a nearby quartz tree & holds it behind his back like Noah wields his Zanpakuto. Then he starts speaking in a deep "tough guy" voice.*

Netzach<"And don't ever leave Hueco Mundo again, or I'll find you!" Pew pew! Weewooweewoo!>

*The last few things he added after pointing the branch at Enkidu.*

Netzach<"Good thing I had my Bankai to save the day! Gosh golly gee, I might be in serious trouble if I ever had to fight an Arrancar with a second release state!">
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John<In the meantime, why don't you...I don't know...investigate Sea of Trees?>

"Sounds like a plan ta me, come'on Karasu" Kujaku puts his hands in his pockets and Karasu sighs and follows after putting his fullbring away.

"I have better things to do with my time," Astarte sighed as she turned and began walking away from Las Noches. "I will be in the Menos Forest if anybody needs me."

A broad smile spread across Enkidu's face, "You have yourselves a Mercenary, friends... How do I get this second release state?"

Noctis let out a small sigh, "I'd bet that is exactly what she wants. Think about it, we were attacked by someone from Hell, and if I know anything about Soul Society I'd bet they got ransacked a few days ago. It would explain why Senthose was working with Soul Society to begin with. That said, if it isn't against Senthose, then there must be a bigger issue. That leaves Hell."

--

Sab looked shocked, "I thought something wasn't quite right with that girl but... she stabbed her mother?"

Kira appears close to Noah, looking around at the fire and general discord.

"So... what happened here?"

OOC: Holy crap, you're alive.

Mortal looked at Sab, "In her defense, she did say she wanted to leave her daughter in hell."

N"We left my lieutenant in charge of protecting the humans here, in case they were attacked again. I've just been watching in case that wasn't enough. And this time, it appears it wasn't. But I don't think the Arrancar was from Hell."
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S"So? I ate a guy."
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E"...Oh."

*Her fork starts shaking.*

L"Are you scared?"

E"N-no! I'm just excited! So...have you ever been there?"

L"Hell? No. No one has. It's not exactly safe."
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Netzach<Well, that Soul Reaper is probably working with the Hell Miasma to increase his powers. What he doesn't know is that WE have a CONCENTRATED form.>

*He pulls an inch-tall red vial out of his pocket with a lid carved like a skull.*

Netzach<You just down the whole thing &, you know what they say, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.">
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*As they approach the forest, they see a sign that says, "Please reconsider. Life is precious." They also see a lot of stray cats going down a forested path.*

"The sea of trees. It attracts hollows like that dumb shit the quincy use" Kujaku sighs.

"Cheer up brother at least you'll have some stuff to vent on now?"

"Yeah yeah lets just get this over with"

They enter.

---

Yue returns to base camp inside the cave walking past the others. Considering his attire and all they'd probably have a hard time recognizing him.

"Astarte's a lost cause" he fists his chin on his fist after sitting on a flat boulder.

"So for all we know it may be really pleasant scenery," Noct said, "I mean, the people will probably be bad, but what else is new?" Noctis reached out and placed her hand on Euryale's shoulder, "You don't have to worry about anything, I'll be there too."

--

"We all have, its not saying much," Mortal countered.

"Not really, humans were too big for me for a while, so I stuck with small hollows. When I got skilled enough to catch a human I had already gotten used to hunting the way I did."

"But you teleport."

"I was also a waist high sheep, kind of hard to eat someone regardless if I can teleport in front of them."

Mortal let that drop and looked at Yue, "I should have known I couldn't leave her to you... Yue. You're too close to eachother in strength, even if you are better. It is like an upperclassmen teaching a freshman. You can only do so much." Mortal let out a small sigh, "So, what makes you think she is such a 'lost cause'?"

"Glad you recognized me right away" he smiled a warm, genuine smile, "I thought you'd attack me or something dumb. In any case I was only aiming to teach her how to control her supposedly uncontrollable hollow side. In all honesty I had never heard of an arrancar losing themselves when they released. She refused to listen properly and... she's a lost cause. I doubt beating her to within an inch of her life would change anything." Yue lays back and uses his scarf as a pillow after taking it off.

"I need sleep. I've been in too many battles lately, my muscles ache and I'm crabby. Wake me in four hours."

S"My point is I've done worse."

*He pulls out Irukandji.*

S"I wouldn't doubt it's possible. Oftentimes, a part of the Hollow's personality is sealed away within the Zanpakuto. Take Irukandji for instance. It's mindless, violent, &--"

*It smacks him on the wrist with its ribbons, causing him to drop it. As it sticks up in the sand, the ribbons appear to fold themselves like arms.*

S"--Petty. But I've long grown past the point where I could not control those instincts."
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L"Oh, no, it is quite desolate & hostile."

*She eats another bite & takes a drink.*

L"Also, I doubt very much they have food or drinks there."
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*Soon after they enter, a Hollow resembling a monkey with large fore-arms & a blade on its tail climbs down towards the middle of a tree.*

<I cannot be defeated!>

Noct shoots her a glare, "Thank you for not sugar coating anything, not like one of us had any sort of trepidation." Noct thought for a second, "That last part may actually be an issue. We're not like you, or Senthose. We need food, or we'll be useless."

--

Mortal shrugged, "You have the same spiritual signature. You could come back as a black guy, and odds are I'll know it is you... Yue." Mortal then stood up and cracked a few joints, "Do you know where the girl ran off to?" She asked, ignoring Yue's bitching about fights despite her willing to bet she was in more, and with stronger opponents.

"Eastbound, towards the giant sand dune with a partially uncovered cave entrance. She might be heading down into the menos forest; s'what I would do anyway."

He then turned his head towards Senthose, "I never had the problem so forgive me for being dense. Then again, for the longest time I wasn't "Me" so."

---

Yue picks up a sturdy looking stick and uses it as his medium producing his fullbring, "Welp, come'on then ape!"