God Yet Lives

<Please, how could I NOT drink when you've come all this way?>

*When they get to her dining room, Rangiku lets go. When she turns towards a seat, Venezuela scurries under the table. It's not a particularly effective hiding spot since it only has one leg & no cover, but it's something.*

"It's just...I'm sorry about what happened. I lost control of my Hollow..."

*Rangiku hands her one of the bottles.*

<Don't worry about it. The fact that you came here is enough.>

*Taiyo lets out a relieved sigh.*

"Okay."

*She then looks at the bottle in her hands like she's never seen such a thing before.*

Astarte blushed slightly and smiled at Sab before Senthose spoke to her, bringing her to a halt.
"Not all powerful hollows are intelligent," She hissed, anger flicking across her face momentarily. "I've come across plenty of brutes that just jump on the closest of me they can see without a thought."
She then continued walking.

Enkidu rose uneasily to his feet, his massive form swaying as though he was about to collapse.
I feel...
Before another thought could enter his mind, his entire body exploded with flames. The fire extended far upwards into the night sky and reached out across the sand for hundreds of metres in every direction, turning it to glass almost instantly.
Almost as soon as the fire had broke out, it disappeared. An even taller, bulkier form stood in his place, blood red and marked with many glowing orange veins. A blazing golden halo appeared above his helmet and he hefted his improved axe above his head, letting out an incredibly loud war cry that would be heard for miles around.
The glass that had been formed shattered and was blasted away instantly as the massive force generated by the war cry exploded around the area.
As the last echoes of his war cry died away, Enkidu Cyprus lowered his axe and turned his eyes to Las Noches, a savage grin spreading across his face.

Mortal let out a small chuckle, "Temper, temper, Astarte," Mortal chided, "Rule number one about Senthose, don't take his insults personally. They are, in fact, personal, but he does it to everyone, so you just have to get used to it. You should learn to let things slide."

Sab saw Astarte smile, but didn't know what answer she meant by that, and after that little outburst, she didn't really know if now was a good time to ask, "So..." she broached cautiously, "is that a 'yes', or...?"

--

"If everyone is ready to go, sure."

*Senthose grins.*

"Powerful Hollows are not threatened by weak ones. Flying hollows are not threatened by grounded ones. Intelligent Hollows...well, they are few & far between. But they tend to stand atop the food chain. So I suppose you could keep doing what you're doing, & it will be fine as long as one of them doesn't come along, & decide that your powers would be put to better use when added to his own."
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<Go on, drink up! Sake isn't meant to be drunk alone!>

*Rangiku downs a large gulp.*

<...Hey, where'd Foxxy go?>
=========================================
*When they get home, Noctis enters their bedroom & finds 2 bird cages with fire & skull locks sitting on the bed. Outside, Euryale is rooting around in the hall closet for extra blankets & pillows.*

Astarte felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as Senthose spoke. Was that a threat?
He's not coming inside my cave.

Enkidu began storming towards Las Noches, waving his axe above his head and firing streams of fireballs into the stones and cave-mouths that made up the "palace". Shattered fragments of stone scattered all across the sand as his strikes hit home.
I don't know when those guys are getting back or how I could contact them, so I'll spend some time doing what I do best.
He stopped about a hundred metres from the palace and lifted his axe vertically above his head, gathering a vast amount of flames on the blade. When there was enough flames, he chopped downwards and launched a gigantic ball of fire that crashed directly into the throne itself.
I don't even care if there's anyone here to defend it, I will tear it to pieces!

Noct took one of the cages, went to the backyard, and opened it up to see what all the fuss was about with the miasma.

--

Mortal let out a small yawn, "Remember Astarte, don't take it personally."

*A Hollow tries to fly away, but one of its wings ends up being burned by Enkidu's flames, & he falls to the ground, reaching out into the desert.*

<Arrancars! Please, you're our only hope!>
==========================================
*Senthose glances up before Aroma sneezes.*

A"Sorry...guess someone must be talking about us."

S"Of course they aren't. That's just a stupid superstition. Let's keep moving. Maybe we'll find a better place down here than the Las Noches caverns."
===========================================
*Euryale immediately starts coughing.*

E"What is that SMELL?"

Noctis came back inside, hand over her nose and mouth. "Holy crap, I've got to endure that damn thing and I'm not even getting a Firaga?!"

Enkidu's shadow fell over the grounded Hollow and he smiled down at it.
"How does it feel?" He chuckled. "To be completely and utterly helpless?"
He then lifted his foot and brought it down on the winged hollow, the impact blasting sand up into the air.
After that was done he lifted his axe into the air and swung it around in a full revolution, flames pouring across every inch of sand and rock nearby.

Astarte turned to Sab and shrugged, her face unreadable, before sonido'ing to a small cave entrance about fifty metres away.

L"You should consider yourselves lucky, I hear it can kill someone with low spirit pressure."

E"Here's your bed things. Sorry about the couch, but I don't have a guest bedroom."
=======================================
S"Does she think I can't track her movements?"

"I just don't want to walk with you," the clone behind them explained before vanishing.

"Well, there is your answer," Mortal said, ripping open a garganta and following after Astarte.

Sab turned to Aroma, "What does that even mean?! Does she want a dress or not?"

--

"I can see why," Noct said, "That stuff is rancid."

A"Are you going after them?"

S"I don't care."
=============================
*Lilith sets up camp on the couch.*

L"Hrm...you guys say you have Hollow powers? Would you like me to teach you how to fire a Cero tomorrow?"

Noct nodded, "When I was perfecting my Lanza I think I may have stumbled upon it when trying to figure out how to use reitsu to augment my shadows, but some proper training would be very much appreciated," Noct said with a smile. "Are you going to be fine with the couch? I could go and get you an air bed if you want. It'll give you more room."

Astarte nodded to Mortal before entering the cave. The dome-like ceiling was quite low, just a foot over Astarte's head. On the far side of the cave- about twelve feet from the entrance- a large blanket of fur that looked as though it had been torn from the back of a beast long ago lay on the floor.
On the floor next to the blanket were three hollow masks, with long cracks through the centre.
Astarte lifted her index finger and charged a Balla on it, casting a dull red glow across all surfaces within the cave.

Enkidu stepped over to whatever was left of the throne and slammed his axe into it.
"Where are those two bastards?" He growled, speaking to no-one in particular. "This turned out to be a lot more boring than I had hoped!"

"Its nice," Mortal said, looking around.

"Could use some light..." Sab added, "Though I guess that could be said about anywhere in Hueco Mundo."

"This red glow is all I need for what I do," Astarte shrugged. "That's eat, sleep an-..."
She trailed off, turning her eyes away and staring at the hollow masks. If the red glow of the Balla weren't there, they all would have seen her blush.

OOC: I am once more proud of Noctis.

L"Which is more comfortable?"

E"Probably the couch, those air beds can be a bit stiff."

L"Then I'll go with that."
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*Senthose sighs.*

S"Why don't you go on ahead, Aroma? Uncle Senthose has to kill a man. Again."

*Aroma totters off as Senthose Sonidos through the "ceiling" & into a deep pit between two dunes. The branches of the Menos Forest hold the dunes mostly in place. Once there, he flares his Reitsu high enough to be felt across the desert.*

S"Come and get it."

"He's really too flashy" Yue sighed. Even he could feel Senthose's reishi from where he was. He closed the bird cage and breathed in the last of the linger miasma before opening a garganta on the ground which he slipped through...

...only for another one to open in Astarte's cave and him to fall through that and land in a sitting position gracefully with the cage resting on his lap. He turned and faced Astarte, "Are you blushing?"

Enkidu turned to see where the Reiatsu was coming from and grinned.
"Perhaps there is someone worth killing around here after all?" He spoke while advancing at speed towards it, keeping an eye out for the source. "It feels quite familiar. Very recognizable..."

Astarte spun around and pointed the Balla at Yue's head as he entered, the blush clearing away and her face becoming expressionless again.
"No. You should enter by the doorway- didn't I tell you to stop being piggish?"

*When he approaches the pit, he hears a voice coming from it.*

S"You're looking for the King of Hueco Mundo, are you not?"

"Sorry" was all Yue could really offer up.