Twilight of the Gods

Sab shook her head, "Just... quit making this hard!"

--

At that Mortal cocked back and punched him right in the mouth, "You're not allowed to talk anymore!" Should he be flung back by the punch, Mortal rockets after him again, and brings her blade down on the same spot.

--

"Bakudo #1, Sai!" Atae shouted, as she ducked and turned to clear herself of the gun at her back, and pointed at Riruka to lock her arms behind her back. She then began to shumpo away, hoping to make it to Noctis.

--

Noctis made a lanza and threw it into her shadow. "I don't have time for you Ginjo," Noct said, "You're an asshole, but I have business to take care of with Tsukishima."

Astarte began trying to push her way through the surrounding forest in the direction of the mansion.

At this point, several strings burst up from the ground around Tsukishima's feet and tried to wrap around his legs and feet. Eduj's jaw dropped and he projected a large amount of vomit onto the ground before him, from which three clones began to rise.

*Yukio approaches Mortal, forming a blade of black pixels from one of his gauntlets. As he's raising it, a pink blade presses against his throat.*

L"You can't escape. Just give up."

Yukio<Oh, you think so?>

*"Yukio" collapses into pixels, reforming behind her. He then presses a button on his gauntlet, causing more black pixels to surround him & the 2 women.*

Yukio<Guess I'll just have to activate the chatrooms now.>
====================================
*Tsukishima slashes the strings, then quickly moves several feet to the side.*

<Mejores Cadenas. Very clever. But don't you have anything else? I've seen this technique so many times, it's almost boring.>

*Black pixels begin pouring into the surrounding clearing.*
====================================
*Riruka breaks out of the Kido in no time at all. Atae runs into a wall of black pixels, which is quickly forming a ring around the area.*
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*Jackie, Moe, & Giriko appear around Astarte, as well as a torrent of black pixels.*
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*When Zalera moves to block, he's thrown back by Mortal's attack, crashes through a mountain, & seems to disappear into the clouds.*
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"You quit making this hard! I'm going to go again, & if you try to stop me, there will be no more talking. I'll be forced to fight you, with all of my power."
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Ginjo<For what? Euryale is safe. All of your friends are still alive. So why don't you just settle down, so that I can tell you about the enemy that you should be fighting.>

*Black pixels begin surrounding them. Noctis feels herself being cut off from all shadows outside the clearing.*

"Oh, hello," Astarte said, looking around at the three humans. As she spoke, three clones appeared around her. "I suppose I can't treat you as my allies anymore. You could always join me, though. There is very little chance that Ginjo or Tsukishima are going to survive, so you would be better off becoming my subordinates."

One of Eduj's clones charged at Tsukishima and swung a punch at his chest. At the same time, Hector's slashed strings extended and formed a ring around Tsukishima on the ground. They began to glow red.

Mortal takes in a deep breath, puffing out her chest in the process, then lets out a Gran Lagarto Cero from her mouth into the mountain, aiming to level the entire thing in a blaze of glory. After it was over she let out a few strained breaths, then wiped her mouth.

--

"Oh... crap," Atae began to run along the wall, looking for a way in.

--

Sab frowned, "Please don't..."

--

Noctis looked around, "What is going on?" She moved closer to Euryale, and found herself fighting the urge to give her a hug.

"I already gave you fair warning. If you don't want to help, fine, but don't try to stop me."

*She Sonidos out of the house.*
================================
Moe<You don't know what you're talkin' 'bout! They're the strongest!>

*They reappear in a dense forest rising out of a swampland.*
================================
*Mortal comes to in a sterile white hallway of some kind. Zalera is front of her, now a one-armed Plus with a broken chain of fate. But he isn't paying attention to her. Rather, he's trying in vain to scoop up the pieces of a broken shark tooth. Beyond him, Lilith is holding her sword towards Daisy.*

"Nice of you to finally wake up."
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*The whole area that Atae is in turns back, before developing a grid pattern. The grid then transforms to a courtyard in Soul Society.*
================================
*The clearing suddenly turns into their house, complete with the city around it, but no people.*

Ginjo<Yukio set up this room, so that we can talk in private. I had him use your hometown to make you more comfortable.>

"Oh, how very generous of you."

*Ginjo holds a hand out towards them.*

Ginjo<"You betrayed us." That's what you thought just now, isn't it? But we only met recently. Have you ever considered the possibility that you were already betrayed before that? By someone you've known for years?>
========================================
*Tsukishima steps aside, tripping the clone & pushing it towards the Cero string. They now reappear next to a platform of white stone & strange squares resembling Stonehenge. Around that is a desolate, rocky wasteland lit by a bloodred moon.*

Sab brings her back to the house, but not inside, just in case she decides to try and break something.

--

"I didn't really consider it a betrayal," Noct said, "Like you said, we really only just met. That said, what are you talking about? Senthose?" Just then she noticed that she was holding Euryale's hand, and resting her head on her shoulder. Noct took a step to the side, "Sorry..."

--

Mortal looked around, "What is going on here? Is Tsukishima dead, or are you still all fucked up in the head?" She then spotted Zalera, "Hold on one second." She takes a few steps over to him, punches him in the face, grabs him by his broken chain, and dragged him to his feet, taking care not to pull to hard, less he turn into a hollow. She then bared her teeth and bit into his neck.

--

Atae looked around, "Where... what is going on here?"

"Come now, you are all intelligent people," Astarte tried to sound as pleasant as possible, without seeming condescending. "Together they have incurred the wrath of the most powerful known Arrancar, not to mention a Soul Reaper Captain and powerful members of your own species. You must see that they are going to die."

Hector's ring shrunk before exploding violently, meant to catch both the clone and Tsukishima in the blast. Eduj's remaining two clones poised, ready to dive into a second attack.

*Moe grins.*

Moe<I told you. Mr. Tsukishima & Mr. Ginjo are the strongest. Those girls don't even compare to them. And they already took over you Arrancar guys once.>

*Giriko spreads his arms.*

Giriko<He has a point. And our own powers are nothing to be sneezed at, either! If anything, you should come work for us.>

*Jackie folds her arms.*

Jackie<Besides, even if we were going to lose, it's not as though we'd undo everything we stand for by joining with your kind.>
===============================
*Slight error in his plan, the clone offered a bridge, by which Tsukishima could easily speed out of the attack. He then slipped his sword under the string, wound it, & aimed the rest of the blast at Eduj's other clones. When Senthose, now in Segunda Etapa, tried to blast lightning at him, he let go of the wire & jumped back, so that the wire would catch it.*

<I told you. Your techniques are downright boring.>
===============================
*Mortal finds herself muzzled with spiritual fabric. Lilith is pointing back at her mouth.*

"Stop doing that! You know I can't let you kill a human soul!"

*Daisy takes advantage of the distraction & elongates her fingers, trying to stab into Lilith's chest.*
================================
"It's fine. I'm...glad to have you back, Noct."

<When Lilith Psyche was promoted to her old Captain's position, she was told all about his secret legacy: The Substitute Soul Reaper Project. I guarantee that if you searched her possessions, you'd find 2 badges, just like mine. One for each of you. Only these badges hold no authority. Their only purpose is to monitor you, & control your powers, so that they can only be used for the Soul Society's benefit. And if you refuse, or try to quit later on, they'll just kill you. Make no mistake, unless you join with me, you will live under the Soul Society's thumb for the rest of your lives. Probably your afterlives, too. Right up until you die at the hands of some random Hollow, or other maniac.>
=================================
"All right...don't say I didn't warn you!"

*Aroma points to the sky & sprays thick curtains of silk all over the place.*
=================================
*Riruka points the gun at her & fires, releasing a heart-shaped dresser that flies at her like a cannonball.*

Mortal furrowed her brow, "Fine, then I'll just make him someone you won't save!" She was about you yank on his chain but was stopped by the sight of Lilith almost impaled. "Dammit," Mortal punched Zalera, then shoots a cero at Daisy's fingers.

--

Noctis nodded, "Yea, it really, really is." She then looked at Ginjo, "So, what is this, you try to get me to turn on my best friend? I sincerely hope you have something better than that."

--

Sab teleports Aroma to a beach, "That is new. What was that?"

--

Atae pointed at the dresser and shouted, "Sho!" Knocking it off course, and avoiding her. "Is... that your ability? To throw furniture?"

"Oh dear, it seems I will have to show you the difference in power," Astarte sighed. "I had hoped at least one of you could have seen sense."
Two of her clones instantly flew in to attack Giriko, each of them sweeping a scythe for the area between his neck and pelvis. The third clone and Astarte herself pointed their scythes at Moe and Jackie, firing two blasts of lightning into them.

Hector's string disappeared after it had used it's Cero, so that it did not catch the blast of lightning. The three clones were injured but remained alive, and each of them took a ready stance.

*The lightning dissipates amongst the trees. Jackie, who now has her boots soaked to the brim with mud, quickly jumps around, dispelling each clone.*

Jackie<And that's not nearly as strong as Dirty Boots can get. Not anymore.>

*The exhaust pipes begin spewing huge globs of oil into the air. As Astarte is now revealed, Moe charges at her, winding up a punch. For now, Giriko just stands back & observes, snickering giddily.*
========================================
*Tsukishima appears behind one of the clones & slashes at its back. When Senthose tries to fire a Bala, he counters it with a Bringer Light assisted kick. It totally did catch that lightning blast, by the way.*
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*Lilith retreats as Daisy's fingers fall to the ground & black blood spurts from her hand.*

"Thank you. Look...I know some of these FullBring-users have shown unspeakable depravity, but please, let the cosmic justice sort it out. This...is going to sound a little strange, but you're strong enough to do that. I believe in you."

*She puts a hand on Mortal's shoulder.*
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*Aroma shoots silk at Sab's face.*
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*She fires at Atae 3 more times, sending giant stuffed bunnies at her.*
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Ginjo<She is an agent of the Soul Society first, & your friend second. Or do you think I'm making it up? Because she admitted her guilt before I even accused her of a crime.>

"What are you...oh, that's right, she asked you if you were a Substitute Soul Reaper."

Ginjo<Besides, you can tell, can't you? Even though I haven't activated any of the powers I've stolen yet, you can feel some small amount of Soul Reaper power coming from my completed Cross of Scaffold.>

Sab tried to pull it off, "Now you're just being rude!"

--

Three shos later and Atae is barely hiding her amusement.

--

"So what?" Noct asked, "Lilith has never wronged me. I trust her, and her judgement."

--

"He bore his way into my mind, violated the sanctity of my inner world, tried to kill me, threatened those that I loved, and my friends; you yourself were under his control!" Mortal furrowed her brow, "He deserves to be devoured, it is only fitting giving what he does to others." Mortal shrugged off Lilith's hand, "But fine, whatever, give him your 'cosmic' judgement. We have bigger things to worry about anyway."

Astarte frowned slightly and flew up above the trees. Once above, she swung her scythe in a downwards arc and sent a blast of lightning down into the leaves above Moe.

The clone did not move and was simply slashed. At the exact same time, twelve Ballas were fired from Eduj's arm-whips at Tsukishima. Two strings lifted up from the ground under Tsukishima and tried to grasp his ankles.

*While Sab can't see, Aroma punches at her repeatedly, sending a volley of Bala at her.*
==================================
"I was what? Nevermind, like you said, bigger problems."

*She puts both hands on her sword & looks back at Daisy, whose fingers had grown back.*

"Aren't you going to Release?"

<I already have.>

*Large fingers burst out of the walls, floors, & ceiling around them.*

<Did you ever wonder why my blood is black?>
===================================
*Tsukishima evades the strings with some fancy footwork. Surrounding himself with Bringer Light, he braces, against the Balas, & is thrown back. Before too long, he is jumping down in front of Eduj, preparing to slash him.*
===================================
*The lightning strikes the tree & doesn't do much else. To make matters worse, there is very little room above the trees. Three floating clocks appear around Astarte, cloaked in blue fire, & begin counting off from 3. Make that 2.*

~2~
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*Riruka next fires a stuffed pink tiger with purple stripes. While that's on its way towards her, 2 of the rabbits suddenly spring up behind her & try to grab her by either arm.*
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<Tch. Then negotiations are broken off. Too bad. I didn't want to kill you.>

"Before we begin fighting in earnest, I have to know: You started Xcution to attack the Soul Society in secret, didn't you?"

*Ginjo starts laughing again.*

<Yeah. I did. I realized that the only way I'd ever be free of them is if every Soul Reaper who knew about the Substitute Badge was dead. Not that it won't be a happy task, to kill everyone who betrayed me. But once all of you are dealt with, there will only be a few of them left. I can easily finish the job, especially with the powers I've collected.>

"In all honesty it was low on the list of things that are creepy about you," Mortal said.

--

Sab teleports into the water in the beach, using the water to loosen the web, and pull it free. She then teleports in front of Aroma, and lunges forward and tackles Aroma to the ground, going into a mounted position.

--

"They're alive?" Atae wondered, shumpoing away from them. "Hado #4, Byakurai!" Atae shouted, pegging one of the bunnies.

--

"Then it seems like we're just going to have to put an end to your plans," Noct said.

Astarte flashed back to the ground and instantly generated eight clones. Four would go after Moe with their scythes and the other four would attack Jackie in the same way. Astarte herself appeared before Giriko and slammed the palm of her hand into his chest, burning a crest onto his body identical to the one on her own chest.

Eduj blocked the slash with his arm-whips and fired vomit onto Tsukishima's face and chest.

*Tsukishima had moved behind him, & aimed a stab at his chest.*
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*Giriko turns a dial on his chest to 3. Jackie quickly hits apart all of the clones attacking her. Astarte's blitzkrieg is put to an abrupt end when he punches Astarte in the chest, hitting her against a tree, which then cracks. He throws his fist in the air.*

<Jackpot!>

*Jackie then appears in front of Astarte, aiming a kick at her.*
==========================================
*The Byakurai blows a hole in it, but it keeps running after her anyway.*

Riruka<I'm going to make you regret doing that!>

*She begins firing things all around the courtyard--pink beds with curtains, giant strawberry cake slices, stuffed cats, & heart-shaped balloons--meanwhile, Chesed appears near the tiger, which purrs at her as she takes its picture with a phone.*
============================================
*Seeing her lunge, Aroma quickly Sonidos behind her, trying to tie her up with thick strings of silk as she goes.*
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<Words hurt, Mortal. And to think, I was going to explain to you the workings of my Zanpakuto.>

"And it just makes giant fingers? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's creepy, & I guess it's a problem if you manage to grab me, but I can destroy them pretty easily."

*She holds up her Zanpakuto, then hesitates. In that moment, one of the fingers on the roof twists around & fires a Cero at her back.*
=============================================
*Ginjo lunges forward, sweeping his sword towards Noctis's face. Euryale grabs her & forces them both to the ground, where she kicks upwards, causing a spike of rock to jut out at Ginjo. He grabs his second hilt & twists the sword around in time to block, but is thrown into the air.*

Noct travels up the shadow of the spike, and launches off of the tip after Gingo, stabbing a lanza at him, hoping to slip the lanza between the holes in his sword the same way Tsuki did.

--

Mortal disrupts the air behind Lilith with a rugido, slowing the cero, then grabs the soul reaper and pulls her out of the way.

--

Sab spun around and shot a bala at Aroma's hand, hoping to stop her from using webs. A quick she then teleported above Aroma, once again attempting to to tackle her to the ground.

--

"By hitting me in the face with a fluffy pillow?" Atae asked. She then shot another byakurai, but missed intentionally so that it'd hit Riruka's gun.

Astarte blocked the kick with the blade of her scythe, and at the same time fired lightning from her eyes into Jackie's face, hoping to blind her.

Hector appeared to Tsukishima's left and smacked the blade off-course with his bladed hand. At the same time he shot a kick at Tsukishima's stomach and Eduj moved away from them both, a Cero charging on one of his arm-whips.

*Tsukishima spins in the direction he had just been pushed, evading the kick & aiming a slash down from Hector's left shoulder to his chest.*
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*Jackie was blinded, but not before cracking the blade of the scythe, snapping the tree, & sending Astarte skidding through the swamp. Giriko suddenly appears over her, forms a blade out of one of his hands, & slashes downwards.*
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*She releases a heart shaped pillow to take the blast. She then fires off a pair of bats with hearts on their chests & goofy smiles, which fly to Atae's either side. Meanwhile, the bunnies are catching up to her, & the tiger suddenly sprints towards her. Chesed continues taking pictures of all of the animals.*
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"That's what she was trying to say. Her Zanpakuto is her blood. If we destroy the fingers, we just release more of it. And it probably has other powers."

*The lights go out, & Daisy's voice begins echoing all around them.*

<That's right. I'm in charge of eliminating traitors for a reason.>
======================================
*Aroma tries to fight Sab off by grabbing at her wrists or, failing that, her horns.*
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*Ginjo jerks the sword aside to hit Noctis & her weapon away with the flat end of the blade.*

"Stop! Swinging! Swords! At! My! Girlfriend!"

*Euryale stomps on the ground at each word, causing 6 boulders to burst out of the ground & up into the air. She then claps, generating her armor & causing the boulders to turn into spiked steel balls. She begins jabbing to hurl them at Ginjo, stomping as she swings to replace the ones she throws.*

The crest on Giriko's chest exploded violently before he could attack and Astarte flashed a few metres away from him, taking a deep breath and placing another crest on the trunk of a tree.

One of Eduj's clones- now numbering at five- slammed into Hector's back and sent him tumbling away. The clone was slashed in his place a moment before Eduj's Cero blasted into them.

"So... don't eat her..." Mortal said with a nod. She then lit her sword on fire, and used it as a torch, "Can you see her?" Mortal asked.

--

Sab bites her lower lip and closes her eyes tightly as Aroma violates her. A few moans escape her mouth as her body betrays her heart, and she has tears squeezing through her shut eyes. Sab struggles to get on top of Aroma, once she does she wraps her hands around her neck and begins to squeeze, hoping she would go into her 'stone' state.

--

As that was going on Noct landed next to Euryale and created a shadow clone for every boulder. She put a clone on top of every boulder, equipped with a lanza, each riding the boulders so that they could gang stab Ginjo.

--

Atae shumpoed away from from them, then pointed at them, "Hado #12, Fushibi!" A flaming net was shot out, and attached itself to the stuffed toys, setting them on fire.

*Aroma uses Sab's...reaction to wriggle out from underneath her before she can get her cloven hands on her throat.*
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"...I see a bunch of white blurs waving around."

*A white "hand" bursts out of the ground below them, attempting to close over them.*
========================================
*Ginjo manages to destroy a few of them before being pelted with wrecking balls & consumed in a shadowy explosion.*

"Did we just...win?"
========================================
*A giant fucking hole is blasted into Giriko's chest. As he falls over, the armor begins cracking & falling apart, & blood sprays from his mouth.*

Giriko<Im...possi...ble...>
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Riruka<You'll pay for that, you...Chesed, why aren't you DOING something?! Hey...hey! Don't ignore me!>

Chesed<It appears as though I have enough.>

*She points her phone at one of the towers & takes another picture. This time, a white beam shoots out of it & strikes the tower. When it does, whirring crystal structures begin breaking it down & reassemble it into a Hollow. The Hollow is a giant tiger with strong, sinewy legs & 3 sets of bat wings, all made out of rock. It also breathes fire.*
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*Turns out it wasn't fast enough, & Hector ends up Friended. Senthose's tentacle darts out & wraps around Tsukishima, but he slashes it & dives in to attack Senthose. Senthose uses a Sonido Clone to evade & counter-attack, but Tsukishima blocks. When Senthose attacks with his other weapon, Tsukishima Bringer Steps back.*

<Alright, Hector, this is your chance to get our castle back!>

"I am sorry, Giriko. If I could have had any of you as my subordinate, it would have been you," Astarte sighed, walking away from the marked tree and looking for Moe and Jackie. "If you keep fighting, you will all die."

"Canción Forma," Hector said, producing a humming noise similar to the one used to generate his shield. A grey ball appeared in Hector's hand, which was pointed at Senthose, and began rapidly launching dart-shaped projectiles that exploded like Bala on impact. "I think you mean my castle, too."