God Yet Lives

Kira grinned slightly, "You must have been hurt bad- I just poked you... There's a big fight going on up on Sokyoku Hill..."

Atsuko was expecting some kind of piggy-back ride, and was at first worried that she had somehow weighed down her Arrancar ally.
"Uh, what kind of unusual?" Atsuko asked, holding on as tight as she could to avoid slipping off. "A dangerous unusual?"

*Kite turns his face and endures the punch to the face with a groan as he lets go of the wheel they're both grabbing and it starts spinning into Gevurah's arm at high speed. He flash steps away, landing on the second wheel.*

Kite: <You made a big mistake coming here!>

Atae moaned, "I just got out of a damn forest..." She said, trying to figure out where she was again.

Mortal heard Keter behind her, turned, and screamed a Rugido off at her. If nothing else her ears should be ringing.

--

Noctis smiled, "A nicer word with the same meaning." Noct leaned back a bit. "So... what exactly happened between you two? I can't imagine anything good, or pleasant."

<Soul Reapers...& something else. Rotting flesh? There's a hint of sulfur in there.>
=========================================
*None of that happens, as his dumb ass is sent flying into the inferno Gevurah created by the super-punch, which was also Gevurah's.*
=========================================
"I don't know what you expect me to do about it."
=========================================
"Apparently, she is convinced that I'm a prostitute."
=========================================
*Keter grabs her by the lips, like you would when scolding a small child.*

K<Such vulgarities. Have you no sense of appreciation?>

*She points at Sab.*

K<I am already considering terminating you for being an albatross to my precious Arrancar. Move from that spot, & solidify my choice.>

*Kite still lands (on his back) on the second wheel and the first one still spins into Gevurah's arm.*

When Mortal heard Keter threaten Sab she was overcome with such raw, and naked rage didn't even consciously realize that she cocked back her fist and launched a punch directly at Keter's smug face. The dragon's punch came from behind and was also aimed at her head.

--

Noctis looked a bit shocked, "Really, that all? Maybe the years have been kind to her... I mean, that just means that I brought you. I remember once she implied I had either threatened or brainwashed someone into being my friend. I was 13."

Yue lashed out at Keter with his bladed whips, reishi crackling of them signifying the explosive edge they held.

*Senthose holds his breath, but Keter sidesteps the attack. He then breathes a sigh of relief.*

S"Here's a tip: When you're fighting an extreme narcissist, don't aim for the face unless you're sure you're going to win."

K<You disappoint me, Mortal. You live in a shack in the human world, you haven't attacked any souls for a few years now, the world has virtually forgotten your existence. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She is holding you back. But it is my fault, really. I should have killed that fool Aamon again. And you much sooner."

*At the last remark, she turns to Senthose, only for him to whip off his robe (replacing it with his resurrecion) & snap it around her arm like a towel.*

S"Do you like trivia, Keter? I do. One: Silk has a tensile strength equivalent to steel. Two: I noticed you only try to dodge Mortal's attacks."
===========================================
"What a horrid woman. Are you sure you weren't adopted? She sounds more like Zalera, frankly."
===========================================
*As he's holding on to it, it probably does not. Also, for fun, it then burns to ash.*

<You still don't understand what my FullBring is, do you? It is called Inferno, & it activates the soul of hydrogen. But that phrase doesn't really explain the full breadth of my powers. You see, when you get down to basics, the entire universe is just hydrogen in different forms. There is hydrogen in the air, the water...your weapon was no different. Was it iron? Steel? Bronze? It matters not, really. All other elements are just multiple hydrogens fused together. I just need to pull them apart, with these hands. You could say that I reweave the very tapestry of creation. And now you see why I am no mere "fire-user," yes?>

"Who says I was aiming for Keter?" the blades slam tip down into the ground causing an explosion and debris to kick up. Yue activates his blanket darkness ability and vanishes into the forest of trees waiting for the right moment to strike Keter when her guard was down.

Noctis shakes her head, "Loathe as I am to admit it, I've seen the papers. I've had this suspicion, well, hope really, years ago. There is also the fact that we do look quite alike." Noctis stood up at this point and took the dishes to the kitchen. "The food was delicious, Euryale, thank you."

--

After fist bumping her dragon thanks to Keter getting out of the way, Mortal turns towards the woman and begrudgingly listens to her drone on, "Shut up, you don't know anything about me!" At Senthose's cue, Mortal takes the opportunity to attack, this time aiming for the woman's throat. It was Mortal's hope that the strike would prevent her from talking anymore. Should it miss however, Mortal had the dragon's punch aimed lower, so it would take more than a small movement to avoid.

*A Severing Void rises up to take the attack, though it cracks.*

K<I know more than you think, my dear. Think back...what was happening when we were fighting? We weren't in Hueco Mundo, were we? Do you still remember their faces?>
==========================================
"Yeah...sure...."

"Well, Unohana more or less said that I'd just be getting in the way," Kira sighed. "So I guess we could either wait here or head out into the forest."

Atsuko thought for a few moments before responding.
"I think it should be up to you..."

Mortal wasn't gonna have any of her shit. She repressed any memories she may have had, and furiously launched an endless volley of punches at the Severing Void, dragon punches following right along, "Shut up! Just shut up!"

--

Noctis looked over at Euryale from the kitchen, "You alright?" She asked, not sure that she was liking Euryale's tone.

[Crap, how am I supposed to beat something like that? Only idea I can think of is igniting the hydrogens during the division process, but considering all of the stuff he's been doing with fire that probably wouldn't work anyway.]

Kite: <All I know is those tricks of magic didn't do much to help you beat Senthose.>

[I need to try to ignite the hydrogens explosively before he he finishes burning them or whatever it is he does. That's the only plan I can think of right now. But... how am I supposed to do that? I could sacriffice my wheel, but if it fails I'm screwed. I guess it's a bad idea...?]

*Kite spins his wheel in his hands, shooting fire bullets at him like a machinegun.*

*He slashes away at them with his fire-sword.*

<I was going to just kill you, but after that? No, I think I'll drag you through the Gates to a place where you'll wish you COULD die.>
=============================================
*When the dust clears, Keter steps out. She is now armed in a helmetless suit of white plate armor under her jewelry, her black cloak forming a kind of skirt/cape thing.*

K<To answer an earlier remark, the only reason I've been dodging her attacks is because I didn't want to use my Hollowfication just to stay unmarred.>

*She finally manages to saw through Senthose's robe.*
============================================
"Okay...I don't know where else to go."
============================================
"I suppose I should probably head back into the forest. But, on the other hand, I don't want to leave Nel here."'
============================================
"I'm fine, really."

<She's not the one you should be worried about anyway.>

Woah, she's really beautiful... wait... stay focused Yue goddamnit!

Yue is still waiting for an opening.

Noctis was about to continue questioning Euryale when she head the voice. She body went rigid, a mixture of another home invader being the second to last thing she ever wanted, and hearing about Euryale's meeting with her mother causing her to become about as friendly as a feral cat that was being fucked with. Noctis looked around the room for the source of the voice. Should she find anything she asks, "Who are you?" Should she not, she asks, "Who's there?"

--

While the bitch is talking Mortal douses her with flames.

*The flames flicker over her without harming her.*

K<Very well. I did not wish to resort to this, but I'm afraid you leave me no choice.>

*She stabs Mortal somewhere in the chest.*

A"Mortal!"

K<Fret not. The wound is not fatal. But it will be difficult to use any of your abilities until it heals. Now, believe it or not, it isn't all about you. I've come to announce my annexation of the Soul Society.>

*Lilith's trees become covered with ice & begin to fall apart. As she & Unohana are on their way over, they find their path blocked by Hod, Netzach, & Binah. Binah looks away from Lilith.*

L"...It's true, isn't it? Why?"

K<Why is Malkuth not with you?>

N<Guess he must have kicked the bucket. Heh, that is too funny.>
=========================================
E"Umm...Noctis, what are you doing?"

"We could take her back to her barracks," Kira suggested. "Does that sound okay?"

"With this forest surrounding us, I don't know another way either," Atsuko grumbled, obviously unhappy with the idea of heading towards yet another enemy. "So I guess we'd better go this way."

"What's your agenda Keter?" Yue had appeared behind her with his blades poised to run her through, but he didn't.

"Why are you attacking Soul Society? What is the purpose of your sending Basidus to claim Hueco Mundo? I want answers."

K<It is my divine right to rule the worlds. All other powers rightfully exist only as representatives of my own. And if they are representatives, then Basidius ought to have considered himself a tool, at best.>

S"And what about Aamon?"

K<Aamon? I would have nothing to do with that arrogant fool. I only killed him because I knew he'd drag my world into ruin...that's the same reason I let him run free for so long after the War! Those fools who defied me deserved their fates!>

L"How did you destroy my Bankai without using any energy at all?"

Hod<Wouldn't you like to know?>

L"Not really."

*She holds a hand to her face, but Unohana grabs her shoulder & pulls her back.*

L"You can't seriously be considering surrendering!"

U<Just wait.>
===========================================
"Let me get this straight...you want to walk into a possible ambush situation...because you're lost in a forest?"
===========================================
"Doesn't make much sense, all things considered. It is difficult to fight when escorting a fallen comrade. And we do not know the state her barracks are in. For all we know, the whole place has been rigged to explode."

"That's pretty big talk but can you actually pull it off?" Yue withdrew his blades and stepped aside.

"And what will you do with the worlds you rule? Usher in order? Chaos?"

"Well..." Atsuko stammered, not really sure what to do or say. "While we're in this forest, does it matter where we go? Basically anywhere this forest reaches seems to be the domain of our enemy, so we could be ambushed anywhere. You're carrying me, so how about you just decide where you want to go?"

"Quite true," Kira nodded. "Then do we just stay here and hold the fort?"

Noctis let out a sigh, if Euryale didn't hear the voice, then it meant Noctis was hearing things again, though that didn't really mean she was crazy. "I heard a voice, last time I heard something or saw something it wound up being that hollow that did that." She pointed towards the hole in the wall, "So, be alert, we may, or may not have an issue." With that Noct opened her fullbring and began to scan the house, and surrounding area for anything out of place.

--

Mortal ground her teeth as she fell to a knee, hand clutching her chest. She was going to stand and continue fighting, but Sab was already by her side, and had a firm hand on her shoulder to keep her from standing. "Please, no more." Sab said softly. Mortal begrudgingly agreed, though she knew she wouldn't have stood a chance if she fought. The new wound, as well as her recent ones, and her overall exhaustion from the previous day had left her drained, and battered.

--

Atae gazed over at Binah as well, wondering the same thing as Lilith: why had she done this?

*Sab was sent flying by a Kido blasted from Keter's finger. She was then hit with yet another for each word.*

K<I! TOLD! YOU! NOT! TO! MOVE!>

*Senthose slashes her in the back.*

K<That STILL doesn't hurt. Fool.>

*At this, Lilith can contain herself no longer. She immediately goes into Hollow form & charges past the trio, but Netzach dropkicks her out of the way before she can get to Keter or Sab. He catches Binah glaring at him.*

N<What? Relax, it's not like I killed her, or anything.>
==========================================
"You can't be serious. Please tell me that's some kind of bad joke."

*NADA!*
==========================================
"I suppose we have no other options."
==========================================
*After a while of crawling, they come to a decrepit mansion that clearly had not been repaired from the destruction of the Soul Society. It had long since become overgrown with plants. There was also some kind of ditch with the broken ruins of a small bridge in it. Venezuela stands, rips some ivy off of a pillar, & reads.*

V"'Kuchiki Manor'? What's that?"