The Blue-Eyed Hollow

[Kolbertt]

Azul opened her eyes- it was midnight already. That dark clothed man had disappeared, as well as the whole alley they fought in.

In front of her laid a pristine white snowfield... No, it was not snow-

Silver sand softly floated around her. The moonlight reflected in them giving the idea of snow. Yet, this whole scene was nothing to Azul.
At this place, she could reason, she had a mind of her own. The voice in her head which drove her to attack those humans had gone away and the silence recomforted her. This could actually be heaven if it wasn't for her mutilated body.

Her monstrous body seemed more useless now than ever, and with the time and mind to actually analyze herself, she could at least imagine what her new wings could have looked like before being blasted to little more than bloody stumps.

As she focused more on seeing the tip of her destroyed body, something strange happened. Concentrated on getting a clearer image of her left wing, she was astounded as sand particles congregated, and feather by feather, reconstructed her left wing to it's magnificent glory.

After the initial shock, she repeated the exact movements on her right wing, and the same thing happened. However, her legs were too damaged to stand, and the hole left by the enemy's kodachi prevented her from moving much of her head. It would be impossible to see the rest of her body. However, she soon discovered it was unnecesary. The mere thought of it drove the dusty elixir to the place in which they were needed, and so, her legs got restored, and in only a matter of seconds, the puncture in her neck was but a mere memory. Yet, there was a single hole in the middle of her chest that would not go away. It didn't matter how much she focused on it, or how much sand she putted there with her own mouth, wind would simply blow it away.

Oh well, that hole didn't actually affect her for some reason. So she expanded her wings and flew like a dove, she didn't know where she was, what had happened, or what the heck was going on, but strangely enough, Azul felt herself at home.

[Dizzy]

Azul gets 19 Soul Points. Don't spend them all in one place, dear

[Kolbertt]

(quite a time since last posted, but heyyy don't let the rpg fall!! It's fun being a hollow =)

Her amazement knew no limits. Apart from healing her wounds in an instant, this place had a strange effect on her new body.
It had not really been that long since she first was aware of her new condition as a monster, and as such, did not know the details. But one thing was for real. Moments before the fight with the black robed man, she felt hungry. A hunger that drove her mad and made her drool over those spirits. Had it not been for that man's arrival, she could have probably devoured each one of them--- the mere thought of it creeped her out... since when did she become Such a monster?

Of course this did not happen here. For some reason, she did not feel hungry at all, it seemed like the air in the atmosphere was enough for her body to do all the incredible things she could do now.

It started clumsily, but as time passed by, Azul got used to her body step by step. At first, she could not even land properly, and even crashed a few times... but later on, landing came as natural as moving her three tails at will.

Her flying speed had improved. Though there was nothing to see how much she had advanced, the feeling of wind through the wholes in her mask felt stronger, like it did when she dived from high enough height and rised at the last moment. Like the landings, this failed quite a few times before she realized how to do it properly. First, she flew high enough, then, she closed her wings which automatically compacted to her body and simply free-fell. The trick was to lift her face, as most of the movements of her wings were instinct, like they had been in her fight---

Now, when it came to her tails, it was a whole different story. For being someone who had never experienced the pleasures of an extension, Azul was quite adept at manipulating them. With the mere thought of it, a tail would simply move to the specific place she wanted. These tails/tentacles, it seemed, had some stretching properties, since they reached distances quite afar from her body. Just for the fun of it, Azul laid in the sand, her wings extended, and pounded a hole in one of the many crystal rocks with her three tails at unison. It was quite funny to do this, but each strike seemed to get stronger than the last one, since the rocks were starting to get broken more easily.

As she did this, she randomly remembered that one of her tails transformed into a mouth in her fight...
It seemed difficult though, that her seemingly innocent tail could do something like that, but just to be safe...

Azul put her tails in front of her face... jup, they were just "ordinary" tentacles, no mouth whatsoever... but Azul wanted to make sure, she remembered quite clearly how the tail had split in two to reveal a menacing jaw which tried unsuccessfully to bite her opponent.

"Ehm... You are just a trio of normal tentacles, right?"

Her tentacles answered back respectfully... with a massive jaw protruding from the middle tail and swiftly screaming a deafening shriek straight to her face, which of course, left her knocked down for quite a time ---

[Dizzy]

20 points get!

[Kolbertt]

She could still feel the burns in her face under that mask- But the cooling wind at least made her feel better. In a way that even she could not really understand, she could sense that man's presence going away, but at the same time, she felt a strange presence at a distance- It gave her a familiar feeling, like the feeling one feels inside a brother's bedroom, but at the same time, it terrified her.

Even though she was flying fast, Azul did not know how to return to the only place she felt safe, and now that she thought of it, did not know how she had "teleported" from that desert to this place, but at this time, it only mattered to get away from here. It was far too dangerous-

Little by little, she increased her speed as her strength returned. The presence of that man disappeared, but that monstrous entity could still be felt...

A bullet in the middle of the sky, in front of her, nothing but blue sky could be seen, but in a second, a little white spot appeared out of nowhere, in an instant, the spot turned into a pair of hands which tore open the sky straight in her path.

Without the time to react, she tried to stop, but was not able to do it. She had entered that realm while retaining her speed. Azul closed her eyes and awaited a killing crush...

She felt her body still moving forward, but rapidly loosing the magnificent speed it had gained as she fled. While still having her eyes closed, Azul stopped in middair, it was not until she breathed again that she dared open them . It was undoubtfully the air of her home.

Indeed. The bright shiny sky had turned into an ebony dark night. Also, she was just above a sea of sand instead of kilometres away from the land, merely a man-height distance between herself and the sand which had already started healing her. Only one mistery remained...

She turned her head back, and standing there, mere metres away from her, a slim figure standed, hands over his head holding over a blue sky in his hands. This enigmatic figure let its long, slim hands down and the only pressence of light in this endless night closed itself like blinking. It slowly turned to face her. And behind a strange mask, dark eyes met with her blue eyes.

"Querida, Welcome to Hueco Mundo"

[Dizzy]

That's 19 points to you, have fun with them.

[Kolbertt]

"Querida, welcome to Hueco Mundo"
The thing in front of her had said this as it slowly advanced towards her.

"My name is Adapalene, pleased to met you" The monster bent in a respectful way in front of her. Despite it's scary appearence, it seemed friendly. To describe this thing as scary, though, was a mistake.
This bizarre show stood over a flock of tentacles - It's short, slim body looked too frail to withstand even the slightest force. A pair of overgrown, stick-like arms hanged loose from both sides of the torso, which bended over the weight of an enormous head obscured behind a gigantic, heart shaped mask...

"ejem, would you mind not looking at me like I'm some kind of freak?"-
Azul came back to reality, it was not everyday that you saw this kind of talking creature...

"Sorry, It's just... you are so weird..."

"Sigh... as expected from a newborn hollow... you are still an idiot" As he said this, Adapalene putted a finger in front of her face... those long pencil like fingers were as freaky as Adapalene itself. "This is you now, you are a hollow,
just like me". As he said this, he slowly moved his finger down, leaving a sphere like mirror in front of her. "Can you see now?"

More annoying than his mocking tone was the fact that he was right. Sure, she knew she had a bird-like body, a mask which was capable of resisting blasts, and a hole in the middle of her body, but she did not want to remember it.

"Stop it, I know what I am, I am Azul Lamixen, a ..." "HoLlOw" Adapalene interrupted her. This mutant midget was starting to get her nerve...

"Would you please stop calling me that?!, I'm no hollow, whatever that is"
"Idiot... You are a hollow now. You died, and now you are this, simple enough?, no? then look at yourself, you have noticed that hole in the middle of yout chest right? I think not even you can be so idiotic...
ugh, excuse my rudeness, I tend to get angry over such trivial matters"

This conversation was far away from being trivial to Azul. In front of her a mutant midget insulted her and now clasified her new status as something trivial.

"You know, I must go now" Saying this, Azul raised her wings and prepared to fly, but then... those skinny hands appeared from below and grabbed her legs with an unusual strength. Adapalene stood there, in front of him a dark space was at the height of his shoulders, his hands inside that strange phenomena.

"As I was saying, you and I will cooperate now. If it were not for me, you would still be flying in the human world right now, so you better sit and shut the fuck up" Adapalene took his hands out from the hole in front of him as the hands that kept Azul at bay made her drop straight to the floor.

"Again, excuse my rudeness. I loose my nerve quite easily, just like you my dear"
"How do you..."
"Because I can see everywhere I want with my power"
As he said this, he started waving his hands in different directions. Each opening a drift to a different place in the world, the Eiffel Tower, a deep blue sea, a dark jungle... and as sudden as they appeared, they dissapeared and everything returned to normal.
"Since you have that stupid expression of yours... oh... just allow me to explain. My power is complete dominion over the space thread. I can see and communicate anywhere with anyplace I want to with just a little effort. Over the years, my power has expanded to the point I can easily open safe passages between the human world and Hueco Mundo..."
"If you are so powerful, then why do you need me"
Azul was not really pleased with her newfound "ally", he seemed to have that big head of his full of ego---

"Dare interrupt me once more, and you will appear straight in that shinigami's arms" Arrogant as he was, Adapalene was well informed and knew how to make a bad treat sound horrible. However, his tone changed as he speaked again.
"As ironic as it may sound... my power does not allow ME to travel to the human world... I'm trapped here until my strength grows... and that's where you come in play.
Your job is to entertain the shinigami while I kidnap wandering souls"
"And how are you supposed to do that if you cannot leave here?"
"Ahh, finally, an interesting question. Just because you seem to be listening I will forgive this interruption. In fact, I'm quite hungry. So sit back and enjoy the show."

Azul did as she was told. She sat and saw Adapalene's movements one by one.
First, he stabbed the sand at his "feet" with his hands. And slowly oppened a little hole. After contemplating it for quite a time, he let out a weak "found you". He then proceded to open the hole even more. Now it was around half a meter wide. He held it open with just one hand, expanding his fingers to their full length, the other hand raised and suddenly entered this realm of his. After a few seconds, Adapalene took his hand out with a small boy.

The boy was about 5-6 years old, from his head, the blood ran freely from an open wound. He was crying with force. Adapalene contemplated his prey, and in no more than 4 seconds, had started devouring this little boy no much smaller than himself. It was a bloody scene.

"You see this boy here... he just happened to die because of a bike accident... poor boy, you now see why a helmet is a must, don't you?... oh wait you don't..."
Adapalene suddenly broke. A deep, strange voice surfaced
"SEE WHAT HAS BECOME OF MYSELF!! ME! THE MASTER OF SPACE IS TRAPPED IN THIS WORLD DOOMED TO STARVE WITH WEAK SOULS THAT DO NOT SATISFY ME!! IT'S HUMILLIATING!!" He splashed blood as he shouted. Azul only watched in amazement.

"You see, stronger souls tend to be a little more difficult to trap... not to mention they attract shinigami's faster. So how about it?" He asked with blood still dripping from his mouth...

"I give you transport, you are my divertion. Though keep in mind that I won't take you out if a shinigami is present. I would not want my presence to ..."

Azul had stopped hearing. All she could do now was to agree. Instead of being horrified, she found herself tempted by this little boy's soul. So far, she had only consumed a single soul, and with it came memories of who she really was...

"I want to keep the stronger souls for myself"

Adapalene was shocked by this statement. "Sigh... quite a greedy bitch ain't you? Don't test your luck hollow. This "oferta" is ..."

"You might be stronger, but you need me more than I need you. Twice I've moved from world to world without your help. So while I get MY SOULS, you go fishing somewhere else. Got it?
This sudden change in her personality seemed only natural. This was, after all, a business, and she had to get the most of it- but sure, she had become a greedy bitch

Adapalene remained silently. It was the first time he had remained quiet at her reply. And with this silence, their uneasy alliance was born.
"Azul Lamixen you said?"
"Yes"
"You better watch your back"
"I sense you won't do nothing stupid"
"..."

It was the second time he remained silent.


(Note to dizzy: It's long and with dialogue, like it now XP)

[Dizzy]

32 points get!

Just a note about gaining points for everyone - the number of points that characters get for RP threads will go up over time. Also, Prim's capped the amount a character can gain at 25% of his/her total reiatsu.

[Kolbertt]

Luckily for her, no one had chosen to follow Azul around. At her current state, she was indeed a bit pathetic... all burned, spoted, and cutted from the top to the tip of her wings.
No one was following her and it was quite a distance from the fight, so she stopped and repeated the fight in her head...
There was Lexi... and things were even for quite a time, until a little girl arrived... then things got a bit blurry... scenes of sakura petals and streams of ink, like those of old japanese paintings... but for some reason, there was a huge mental blank in the middle of her memories... -Oh great, now I get short memory amnesia too- but suddenly, as clear as sky above her, Keiji stood in front of her. She was starting to develop a really strong grudge against that man.
Hope that other hollow kills him for good... " But then, the bomb finally exploded. That hollow standing there... was powerful. Her strength was high, but not to the suffocating level of that monster she once felt (see plot (http://www.bleachasylum.com/showthread.php?t=2058)) her strength was enough to be admired, but most important of all, reachable... yes... if she wanted to regain her memories... Azul would have to become strong. As strong as that hollow-

Inmersed in thought, Azul did not realize there was a fissure in space until she had started walking into it. Her body moved itself like a tired body moves to a bed... slowly, and eager to finally rest, despite not being able to remember all of it, it indeed seemed she had been fighting for weeks (breaking the fourth wall once again:cool:) - after all, the only place she could call home was Hueco Mundo.

For a change, it was nice to see the dark cold night of Hueco Mundo like a spot of dirt in the middle of the sky, and every tired step she gave, the darkness got bigger and bigger, one step more...

And she dropped like a stone in the sand.

"You are indeed pathetic... the arrogant tone in his voice spotted Adapalene's presence, the little midget "MASTER OF SPACE" as he like to auto-proclaim himself. But don't worry, you did your job well, now get up and stop humilliating yourself"

But she did not want to. She was too tired to move and even though the healing properties of this world were already healing her, it was still too tiring to even try.

"Did you not hear? I said get up.
"Don't bother me..."
"Excuse me? as he said this, Azul felt her body being lifted from her neck. Now that she could see him, it was quite clear that he had feasted in at least half a dozen of persons. Not only his mouth, but his entire chin, torax, most of his front tentacles and arms were black from cloted blood. If I tell you to get up, you do it"

And doing this, he left her go. Her body was slightly better, but it still felt heavy to stand.

"So, how was your hunt eh? I made sure to "go fishing" somewhere else as you said, It was not really bad as you can clearly see- Behind that mask, Azul could feel a disgusting grin - Anyway, good job! You gave that shinigami quite a fight, eh? Even though you suck at fighting and do not really use how to use your body, nor have any tactics, that two on one fight was not that bad... you are weak, yes... but you've still got potential ...

Adapalene kept on babbling incoherent stuff. The pleasure in his voice stroke Azul's ears like sizzling snakes - every single word he spoke, made her want him dead. Her body got better, but her head felt like it would explode at any moment.

"But then... a sudden change in his tone caught Azul's attention. When did you learn to perform Garganta?

"Excuse me?"
"Oh don't play ignorant with me, I saw your fight, remember? You summoned that hollow through a Garganta."
"What?!" Now that he mentioned it, Azul did not notice when did the Hollow arrive, nor how did it arrive. It was there, along with Keiji and that other shinigami.
"Oh, great you got hit quite strong in the head right? You know, I'm in quite the mood to tolerate your idiocy. But if I see you use that idiotic technique again, you'll face my wrath...
"I really do not know what you are talking about..."
"Garganta, my dear, is that thing you did. That stupid generic move that insults my abilites... While I swiftly unthread the fabric of space, you punch a hole in reality in a crude and violent way. In a fashion not different than an animal.

Though not really quite understanding, she using that ability would indeed explain how she moved from world to world without Adapalane's help.

But anyway, while still thinking how she had done that incredible feat, a sudden slap got her by surprise and made her crash into a nearby rock with considerable strength. "But now... his voice was overflowing with killing intent. If I find you are screwing me in any kind of way... now not only his voice, but his appearance was starting to change... he started raising, his tentacles were expanding, and with all the blood bath, he now had a terrifying appearance.
... You'll see."

And as sudden as he had grown, he suddenly turned back to normal. Despite being trapped in Hueco Mundo, Adapalane was a formidable force. His little glimpse of power had shocked Azul.

"I'll get stronger..." she thought.
"And once I am strong enough, I'll make you pay for this."

But for now, she would stay with him. At least, until she learned more of this Garganta ability, and until she was able to erase that idiotic smarck of his.

[Kolbertt]

Cliffhangers and unsolved questions!!:
Why is it that Azul's mind is fractioned?

Why is it that Adapalane, who can manage to transport others through the use of portals, unable to leave Hueco Mundo through a single Garganta?

What is the true extent of Adapalane's powers?

questionss that remain unsolved- but will be cleared in next postss!!

[Dizzy]

30 points get!

[Kolbertt]

"My, my, you actually came unharmed for a change"

Adapalane stood quiet. It was strange, considering that he liked to wave his arms around as he monologued. But today, he seemed to be less talkative than always.

This unusual silence recomforted Azul. Since now, she could rejoice in her newfound memories.

At first, it seemed almost like a dream. She could see herself in a dark tunnel, an alley maybe, but she was not alone. She was there with a cat. Nothing out of the ordinary, just herself playing with that spotted cute cat. She petted it and that made her happy. That little cat held a special significance to her, but that was all she could remember at the moment...

Those memories came back when Azul snatched the human soul from that hollow, but since she got beaten rather badly after that, her memories got mixed with her dying deliriums- Hell she had even dreamed of Adapalane!

But with that second soul, her head got clearer and could distinguish between a memory and a dream. Not only that, she also remembered something else- this time, a dialogue...

"Haha, you know? You can be a bit of an idiot sometimes!"
"Maybe, but that's what you like about me"
"Oh, sure!"
"Yeah! You know it's true! If not, how could you mock me when I'm not around!"
":eek:! Who told you!!"
"What?! You mean actually do that!!"
"Haha, just kidding!:p see, that's what I do REALLY like about you. You are just like a big child"
"Hey!! That's not truth!"
"Yes it is!"
"No it's not!"
"See!? You answer back like a small child!"
"Oh, because you are soooo mature"
"Yes. I am and you are not"
"You are nuts"
"And that's what you like about me"...

The whole dialogue played in her head, but no image came with it. Just a black image and the strange feeling that something was terribly wrong-

But why? If she was happy at that time, what could possibly be wrong?!

What the hell is wrong with her head?! Why does she remember that dialogue and at the same time knows that cat was her only friend? Even worse why does she feel so sad when she thinks about it...

"Are you okay?"

Adapalane once again brought her back to reality. In real life time, few seconds, barely a minute had passed, and it was tipical of Adapalane to attack her with a barrage of insults and sarcasm whenever she paralized thinking. However, this time his voice sounded sincere.

"Yeah..."

"You are crying..."

"What?!"

Indeed, tears run from the eye-holes in her mask.

"It's the first time I see a hollow crying"

And as he said this, Adapalane extended his arms towards her face (not moving one inch), and softly cleaned one of the tears.

"Don't worry little girl..." He said softly "You are a hollow now, and all that should concern you right now is to devour and get stronger" - and as he said this, he licked his finger.

"Go get some fresh air, fly around, I'll call for you in a while, but until then, you are free to do as you wish."

"Yeah, thank you... I could really use some fresh air right now" Maybe he is not as bad as he seems

"Go, go... just refresh that head of yours, I need you mind-clear for our next hunt"

"Haha, maybe that's as nice as he can be" And with this thought in head, Azul felt a slight smile coming to her face- And with a wordless goodbye, she opened her wings and flew free.





Once Azul was out of sight, Adapalane finally moved. "Ughh, she is finally gone" and under him, hidden in a flock of tentacles, his meal rested unfinished. "Now, I can continue undisturbed ..."

[Dizzy]

36 points get!

[Kolbertt]

(This happens after Azul devours soul number 8 (http://www.bleachasylum.com/showthread.php?p=105999&mode=threaded#post105999), but before she arrives at soul 14 (http://www.bleachasylum.com/showthread.php?p=105999&mode=threaded#post105999), in the human world)




As she flew from soul to soul, Azul could not help but think.

Every time she had eaten a human soul, she regained a little bit of her memory. It was the only reason why she had turned into cannibalism in first place-

“Well… it’s not cannibalism any more, since I am a hollow now.”

But that last soul had no such effect. Despite eating it, and not leaving even the slightest hint of its existence, no clue came back to her mind.

“Maybe… it needs some time. Or … probably, I need to concentrate… Or … maybe… this is all I will remember---

No, it cannot be. There is nothing wrong. I need to focus on it, remember, please… it’s just a matter of effort…no, no, no, no….”

Without even noticing, Azul had started descending.

“What if that soul was defective? Maybe that person sinned heavily and as such his soul was no good… yeah… that would explain it”

“Oh why cannot you just accept that your memories are not coming back?”

That sudden voice shocked Azul and made her realize she was now standing in a little park. Just metres away from a pair of lovers that were too busy to even look at her. But no one else seemed to be around.

“I’m inside you, little shit”

“What!?”

“Oh, come on, it’s not the first time we talk, use your defective brain for once.”

Now that it mentioned it, Azul had indeed heard that voice before. It was the voice that had offered to help her in that fight. The very same voice that told her how to shot her feathers, and later on made them explode on their own, almost killing the little girl. It was the same voice that took over her body.

But it was strange; this second persona of hers only came out when she was distressed, in danger or had not eaten a soul in quite some time, so it was quite a surprise to hear it now.

“Who are you?” Azul asked

“Oh my god, is that question for real? I am obviously you, well, at least part of you”

“Oh great, I’m a fucking schizophrenic now…”

“Hahaha, it’s nice seeing your sense of humour remains despite all that has happened. But no, even though your mental health is far from being normal, to say I’m a fraction of your mind would be incorrect.”

“Ok… then what exactly are you?”

“As I’ve said, I am you, but at the same time, I am not you. I am your will, your fear, your despair, and the rightful owner of that body”

“WHAT?!?!”

With this last declaration, Azul shocked. She started swinging her head around like a maniac, hoping to throw the voice out of her head by force. But it did not matter, the voice still sounded as clear and strong as it had sounded from the beginning.

“Before you go hysterical at such a trivial matter, LISTEN TO ME!”

And with that, her body suddenly stopped. But not because Azul wished so, it was the will of that voice in her head.

“Now, if you ask nicely, I’ll explain the situation to you”

Azul remained silent. Despite the frenetic and sudden movement, neither the lovers in the bench nor that little child with his mother seemed to notice her. At first, she liked not to be noticed, but now she felt outright ignored.

“Would you please concentrate on OUR conversation?” but now, the voice seemed softer… and she could once again move her own body.

“Why… cannot they see me? And why do you exist? Just what is wrong with me!?”

“They cannot see you. You are dead, remember? You are nothing more than a ghost for them. As for why do I exist, the correct question would be: Why do YOU still remain here?-

Yes, my dear. That you are still around makes no sense. The body you control is mine originally. You died, and your spirit should have dissolved into madness over the grief of your death… That sorrow in your heart is what turned you into a hollow, and what allowed me to appear. Your pain was strong enough for me to be born, but at the same time, your mind is completely oblivious to the pain your heart suffered…”

This newly acquired information was interesting, but it did not tell her what was wrong with her.

“That makes no sense! How come my mind and heart are detached…” but as she said this, she realized it. It was her amnesia.

“EXACTLY!! Now you understand! When you died, you knew nothing of yourself. Your mind was blank the moment your body perished. But your heart did not forget what killed you. Deep inside you knew you were dead, but your mind was happy. As such, when I took control, I destroyed what gave you that momentary happiness! But then, that idiotic shinigami arrived and knocked me out before I could take total dominion over your body.

“You destroyed that which made me happy… What does that mean?”

Completely ignoring Azul, the voice kept on rambling in her head.

“Things just got worse for me when you realized that you recovered your strength in Hueco Mundo. I had to wait for your body to get weak in this human world or your sanity to be shaken so that I could take control… and even then, when I had my body at my total will, once again that idiot Keiji appeared and you had to awaken once again, ruining my perfect chance.”

“What did you do?! Answer me!”

“And now, you are getting stronger and stronger and you are starting to know your body more and more. This is not the way things should be! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!!”

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!!” Azul screamed that last sentence, but despite this, no one seemed to care.

“You want to know? Then remember, go eat more souls, there are some humans there, humans got souls don’t you know? Why don’t you just kill them and devour them? Oh, wait, does eating souls restore your memory? Mmm I think they don’t, or do they?” The voice now started to mock her. But at the same time, the voice got softer and softer… like the distance between them was increasing.

“I will get stronger… I will remember everything, but I won’t become a beast like you!”

And once the voice in her head remained quiet for good. She realized, it was not her body that had gotten weak. It was her mind, the doubts she felt allowed this inner beast of hers to surface. But as she settled down and gained the will to fight this inner beast, she was able to suppress it.

“I won’t become a monster.” She said to herself as she removed her tails from the lovers in the bench. During the inner monologue, the tails had quietly stretched towards the lovers with obvious intentions.

“I may devour souls, but I won’t kill if it’s unnecessary. I need those souls to know who I am. Why am I dead, and why is it that my heart pains me so much.” And as she said this, she prepared to fly.

“I still don’t know how to regain my memories, but right now, eating souls is the only thing that made me remember anything. I will take my risks with the next soul…

But also… If I eat souls, I will get stronger. I will be so strong that you won’t be able to come out again.”

There was little Azul knew of this voice. But “it” did seem to know a lot about Azul. “It” was not willing to help her. “It” wanted her dead. “It” had already ruined her life (or after life) once. And that was enough to hate “it”

“I will crush you into the very core of my mind”

As she said this, Azul left for the next soul, not knowing what awaited her...

[Dizzy]

45 points for your troubles.

[Kolbertt]

(Primera, I wanted to ask if you could move all the previous threads into this one, just for the title :P)

Azul was right to trust her instincts.

Even though the first soul had failed to give her any kind of memory, the second one indeed allowed her to remember clearly a particular scene, but for the first time, she was more interested in talking with Adapalane than in her recently found memory.

Though, at first she hesitated a little, Adapalane seemed to be in quite a good mood right now. So it was better now than ever. “Hey…”

“Yes?” A lightheaded Adapalane answered.

“Can I ask you something personal?”

“Oh, sorry darling, you are not my type.”

“I know you are gay, so shut the fuck up, it’s something more important”

“That’s quite a rude thing to say, don’t you think? Anyway, what do you want?”

The improvement on their relation was obvious. Compared to their initial reactions, this indeed seemed more like a partner conversation than the forced exchange of words they used to have, hell, he had even slammed her on a rock just for interrupting him.

“I wanted to ask you… about your life…”

“Well, my life is quite simple, while you distract shinigamis I …”

“No, I mean… when you were alive”

“Oh, you mean that life. Well it’s been quite a while since I last talked about. You know, the usual. Got killed one particular day in a park, spent some time as a wandering ghost, and became a hollow, anything else?”

This simplification was shocking, at least to Azul.

“How come you can talk about your death so shallowly? Was there nothing you felt regret for? What about your beloved ones? What about your dreams? What …”

“Because I don’t care for that stuff anymore. I died, what’s so bad about it? Want details? Fine, I got stabbed to death by your random criminal, solved mystery; the bastard is in jail, I am still dead. Regret? Yes, I regret not taking an extra slice of pizza. Damn the pizza was good that night. Beloved ones? Friends? Family? Yes, my children grew and moved and went away from my after-life, my ex-wife got married again, and friends you ask? Little by little they forget you. Oh!! And dreams, yes, I used to have dreams.”

“… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what? Making me remember? Don’t worry about it. It’s been years since I last got over it. I did not get to see my children anymore, but at least I made sure my wife got what she deserved…”

“You mean… You ATE her?!”

“Why, yes- she was my first and only woman in life” and he added with a grin “it’s only natural that she was also my first human soul… But she was obviously not the only one this time, jeje…”

The conversation was clearly turning into a disgusting monologue, since once again; Azul lacked the words to answer back. Luckily, it was Adapalane who got the conversation back on trail.

“Anyway, why do you ask?”

“Because… I was wondering how much souls I would have to eat before I regain my whole memories…”

And as she finished the sentence, Adapalane broke in a burst of laughter, which awarded him a wing slap on part of Azul. (100 str.) Adapalane barely flinched.

“Shut the fuck up… It’s not funny”

“It’s a little funny. Anyway, what do you mean you don’t remember?! All hollows like us remember”

“Like us?”

“Ugh… do you not feel heavy carrying your ignorance around all the time? Allow me to explain.

Simply put, when a human soul turns into a hollow, either they fall to the fear and turn into nothing more than a super-powerful animal.

But there are those like us, whose willpower and intelligence can suppress that instinct and keep their sanity. Given that you definitely do not shine because of your intelligence, I’d have to say your willpower is definitely strong.”

“But why do I not remember anything?”

“You ask ME why?! I’m intelligent, not a seer. How the heck could I know what’s wrong with you? So far you are the only hollow I’ve seen that doesn’t remember anything…”

An odd silence took place. Adapalane had changed his tone, the happiness you could feel moments ago in his voice was now gone.

“Every time I eat a soul…” Azul said, “A little piece of my memory comes back… but those last souls did not work like that… It’s like… they had no effect.”

“Mmm…” Adapalane was in deep thought.

“When you eat a human soul… you absorb the spirit energy they posses, that’s the reason why you get stronger when you eat human souls, and since our bodies are made of the same material as spirits… you could actually say your its your soul that gets stronger… but a stronger body needs more energy to be sustained or grow… that’s why human souls tend to taste worse each time… or in your case, I can imagine that’s why they are not as effective as they were before…

That’s basic hollow knowledge. Don’t know if that helped you”

Indeed, it did help her. Little by little the pieces of the puzzle fitted.
It was not that her memories came back with every soul she ate. It was her soul that got stronger, and since her soul was stronger, she was able to surpass the barriers her inner monster had laid in her mind.

It was her inner beast. Her Fear. It was the cause behind her amnesia… but that didn’t make sense, since Fear had said the amnesia was there before it arrived…

“Just for the fun of it…” Adapalane interrupted her thoughts. “What did you remember this time?”

“I’m not too sure myself… It was like I was standing there… seeing someone in a bed covered in blood and bandages…”

“Ah, that must have been your deathbed”

“Probably…” And after a long silence, Azul finally spoke. “Just one more question”

“What is it, dear?”

“Why is it always about getting stronger?”

“Because it’s a dog eat dog world…

Talking about eating, can we get back to work? I feel I’m starving”

[Dizzy]

Azul gets 41 points (the new system starts when/if Prim approves it, if you were wondering).

[Kolbertt]

So far, Azul knew that shinigamis protected souls. So, when she spotted Lexi Hunter in the middle of the woods, she thought it would be a good idea to wait until Lexi left for lunch, fell asleep, or whatever shinigamis did. She really did want to avoid a fight, and any possibility of being hurt… She did not want to succumb to Fear, once again.

That’s why she was surprised when, right in front of her eyes, the green haired girl unsheathed her sword in front of the soul, and in less than a second, the soul was engulfed in light and disappeared.

What the heck did just happened?!

To this point, Azul had remained at a considerable distance, but the frustration of losing a soul (ergo postponing any newfound memory) and her curiosity got the best of her. She descended in a direct and less than quiet way- right in front of the shinigami.

“You, shinigami girl… what did you do?! What did exactly happened to that soul?!”
She kneeled and let her tentacle like tails extend. From both her sides and over her head, three giant mouths grinned menacingly.

For the first time, Azul had a good opportunity to observe her. Though that green, long hair was her most shocking feature, her slender body was indeed beautiful. Though difficult to see under that loose kimono she wore, she was indeed a petite, little girl… she seemed to be no older than 12, maybe 14 years old, but her cerulean eyes contradicted her body… they showed signs of hardship, confusion… indeed, they were the eyes of a really mature woman.

“I don’t really want to fight… But if I must rip the answers out of you… then I will!” Her mouths emitted a shrieking scream at this point. That action, like most of the actions her tails did, was out of her control… Her tails were mostly obedient to Fear, and Azul had to concentrate to control them. If they were acting on their own, it was not a really good sign.


(Dizzy my dear, your turn)

[Dizzy]

(lawl all the female hollows want a piece of lexi XD)

Lexi Hunter was rather more than mildly disturbed at Azul Lamixen’s apparent state of mind. Going from acting rather amiable (at least for a hollow’s standards) to jumping right up in front of her and screaming bloody murder at her with all four of her mouths wasn’t particularly expected. Though to be fair, the last time they had met, the hollow had been yelling about fighting for her sanity and eventually, her body had been taken over by some other crazed, animalistic persona bent on turning Lexi into a bloodstain on the ground. So, she thought, maybe Azul can be excused for being just a little bit volatile.

However, due to the fact that she was still suffering from the aftereffects of several broken bones and subsequent healings in an extremely short time-span, she decided not to take her chances with those malevolently hissing tails and took a few steps backward before replying to the hollow’s query.

“Hmm? This? It’s called a konso, or a Soul Burial in English if you need a translation. It’s how us shinigami send souls to the afterlife. But … don’t most hollows know this stuff already? … It’s pretty important. Even someone who just recently became a hollow such as yourself has to have seen it at least once, haven’t you?”

Hmm, I don’t particularly feel like having answers ripped out of me today. But Azul … well, she’s … I guess she’s kind of a friend. As close as a hollow can get, anyhow, And besides, having her around beats the presence of my S&M mistress.

She eyed the hollow warily, closely scrutinizing it for any more signs of impending insanity, and found plenty. The green-haired shinigami let the point of her sword drop downwards to imply that she wasn’t sticking around to fight, but she still made sure to keep her sword unsheathed. After deciding that she ought to continue their conversation, she leaned herself casually against a nearby tree and began to speak again.

“So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, eh? You weren’t stalking me like that other hollow does, were you? Cause it’s creepy, and I wouldn’t appreciate it very much if you started. Still, weird S&M friends aside, how’s life … or, well … how’s death been to you? You haven’t been eating too many souls, have you? I’d have to stop you if you did.”

Lexi said all of this rather airily, as if she was just making random small talk just to get to the actual subject she wanted to talk about. And lo and behold, she was.

“Actually, as long as you’re here, I wanted to ask you something that’s a bit … personal. … Okay, here goes. Exactly what is your relationship with Otowari Keiji? I’m sure that you two know each other somehow and it’s confusing the hell out of me, so … yeah.”

She trailed off anticlimactically and stood there silently, waiting for a response.

[Kolbertt]

Konso, or Soul Burial … Azul thought. So that’s what happens to a soul when a shinigami meets a human soul.

Up till this point, Azul had thought that shinigamis simply stood close the soul until it turned up into a hollow. But things were a little clearer now.
These guys are like Grim Reapers… just without the scythe.

But the conversation interrupted her thoughts.

“Otowari Keiji… so that’s his full name?” The sudden upbringing of this topic was surprising, but she did indeed not lose anything opening up to Lexi, who was showing obvious and sincere intentions of peace. In fact, it was a perfect opportunity to learn more things about her situation, hollows, shinigamis, and death itself. She calmed down her tails, and relaxed her wings.

“Cannot say I do not know him… Met the guy on different occasions, like that one time he almost killed me, oh! And there was this other time where he interrupted… Oh, well, he used to be my stalker so yes I know him… But… he seems to know more about me than I know about him, but that’s only natural…”

Wait, just now is not the time… lighten up the situation, earn her trust or you might end up being fried by her lighting bolts

“Afterlife you ask? Well, it’s not simple… You either fight and get stronger or end up beaten by a shinigami or some random hollow. It’s almost like a regression into prehistory.” Lighten up the situation…

“Anyway, I can see in the way you walk you are having hard times as well… and since you brought up the topic…” And as she said this, Azul willingly moved one of her tails forward. “How about we expand on this S&M topic? Cause you know… this little things can have more than one use, if you know what I mean…” and gave a sensual and slow lick to the tail in front of her face.

Seeing the shockingly horrified expression on Lexi’s face, Azul quickly added as Lexi threw herself over her sword, “Just joking!! Hahaha!!!” She laughed sincerely; it is good to laugh from time to time.

“Geez, little girl, you take things too seriously, cheer up! Enjoy life, or in my case, after life! Hear my advice, if you are going to get raped, at least try to enjoy it, otherwise you will go nuts” Wow, that indeed was out of place

Despite the obvious fact that Azul was the last person who should talk about sanity, there she was, corrupting a young child’s mind. But at the same time, had swiftly evaded the taboo topics, their fight and the devouring of souls.

“So come on, let’s talk for a while, I still have some time until I need to go back into Hueco Mundo, you know, that big, white desert where hollows live. Tell me, what are your dreams, your goals, I get a feeling that there is a special someone in your life, my feminine instincts and that ring in the middle of your necklace tell me so…”

Even though it had been Azul who insinuated things, the idea of this girl going out with Keiji made her feel odd...

Please don’t tell me you are going out with Keiji…

[Dizzy]

Lexi listened intently for an answer to her question, realized that Azul hadn’t given her any real one, and then burst out laughing, even falling to the floor and rolling around from pure mirth. The laughter must have continued for at least a minute before it finally subsided and Lexi dragged herself back up to a standing position, propped up by her zanpakuto.

“My god, you are hilarious. If I get raped, at least try to enjoy it? Priceless, just priceless.”

Lexi paused a bit to cover up another bit of laughter. So far, this had already been an interesting chat, to say the least. It was certainly news to her to find out that hollows could be so … conversational. To be honest, when she had first noticed Azul’s presence in the wood, she had expected a bit of banter over some light sword-clashing and nothing else, but this was like they’d been comrades for a while now, despite their fights. It still felt strange to her that she was befriending a hollow – they had always been taught in the Shinigami Academy that hollows had no hearts left, hence the hole in the chest, and acted upon instinct alone – but altogether, she found that she was rather enjoying the hollow’s company.

Well I don’t suppose the one-liners hurt either. Strange though, that she shows up right in front of my face and starts screaming and whipping tails at me, and now she’s all sunshine and rainbows and unicorns. … Do hollows get PMS?

Still, I prefer this to the entire going insane thing. I wonder how much of her memories she’s gained back, though. Considering she still has no idea why on Earth that Keiji would be stalking her, probably not a lot. Should I want Azul to regain her memories? On one hand, it would be some interesting knowledge to gain, and Azul’s … a friend, I can say that at least. On the other, she needs to devour souls to do it, and letting her get away with that is something that goes against everything that a shinigami values.

Well no matter what I think about that subject, it isn’t really appropriate for light conversation. I suppose I’ll just skirt around it for now.

Anything else I ought to keep in mind from what she just said? Hmm, I didn’t know Hueco Mundo was a giant desert either … and FUCK SHE’D BETTER NOT BE TALKING ABOUT THAT RAT BASTARD KEIJI, OR LUNE’S GONNA HAVE SOME GODDAMNED EXPLAINING TO DO ABOUT WHY EVERYONE FROM HER TO HOLLOWS THINK THAT NOW ARRRRGH.

Suddenly, a somewhat more pressing matter came to mind. Lexi stared down at her emerald-green necklace, lying still deep within the inside folds of her kimono, and back up at Azul.

“Hold on, you can see this? I must’ve tried a dozen methods to make it invisible … maybe they just don’t work on hollows … at least I should hope so, since nobody’s really supposed to see it. Anyways, it has nothing to do with anybody, least of all some kind of … “special someone”. I’m afraid your feminine instincts are wrong for this once. To be honest, I got it from a … actually, hold on a second. Would the name Felix Ronsse ring any bells for you? Some kind of former captain of Soul Society who supposedly jumped ship and fled to side with you hollow-types?”

((sorry i'm taking so much time with my posts, schoolwork's been keeping me busy >>))

[Kolbertt]

Don’t you see it now, all instinct left is this hollow instinct. Azul thought, or wait, was it she who thought that?

“Don’t worry about it, it’s that I have a really good eyesight…” Lies. It was not that she had seen it, but in a sort of twisted and bizarre way, knew that ring was there. It had a strange glow she could see even under her clothes…

“Mmm… Felix Ronsse… Nope. It does not even ring to me… but you know... I’m the last person you would want to ask something to… I have a pretty bad memory, remember? –

Lexi seemed to be genuinely enjoying Azul’s company. And hell they had been through a lot together, but…

Her tails were starting to hiss once again. It was nothing too serious, but there was not much time before she lost her head once again. Damn you… If I lose this chance I can kiss goodbye my opportunity to learn something from a shinigami.

-Oh yeah, go on, drink some tea if you want, I’ll wait here… I’m always here…

Fuck you…

Trying her best not to show her internal conflict, and to hear something else rather than her own thoughts “They are not only yours…”Azul continued the conversation.

They talked about a lot of stuff. Many topics that were common both for shinigamis and hollows, but new to Azul, they talked about after-life, shinigamis and such – the conversation was indeed interesting, and she really learned a lot.

But there was a topic that really got Azul’s attention.

“You actually mean… that if I get killed by your sword, I will be reborn?” Yes- you will, but you won’t regain your memories if you do so...

-Oh shut up

-But it’s true! You will be reborn as a completely new individual, your memories, your pain, and your history… All will be lost.

-How can you possibly know that?

-Ask her if you don’t trust me.

-Shut the fuck up.

-Just ask her so that I can kill her.

-You won’t lay a finger on her.

-And how are you planning to stop me?

-Like this… - BANG!!

Azul crushed her head on a nearby tree. Hey!! Don’t treat my body like that! – Far from quieting Fear, the bang had made its voice stronger, the bastard was laughing.

“Sorry, just a slip. Let’s continue with the conversation- you said that if your sword kills me, I will be purified and reborn, but will I be able to regain my memories or will they be gone forever?”

[Dizzy]

… Good eyesight? The best eyesight in the world wouldn’t be able to help you see something if it’s invisible. How on Earth … no, I shouldn’t go any further into this. Hmm, she doesn’t know Felix either? Well I suppose he must be telling the truth then. Soul Society made it out to seem like he wanted to rally the hollows against us, but Azul’s … relatively new to the hollow world, so she might have just never heard of him yet. Can’t say for sure … but I’m feeling pretty optimistic at the moment, so I suppose I’ll take her words at face value.

Lexi was finding the exchange of information extremely insightful – she was learning loads about Hueco Mundo and its hierarchal system, and she even fancied a visit, perhaps when she gained her initial release like Felix had said – and in return, she was giving Azul the general spiel on how the afterlife, shinigami, and hollows worked.

She made sure not to divulge any information on Soul Society, though. Sure, she would have trusted Azul with the knowledge to a reasonable extent, but the winged hollow wasn’t the sanest of characters, and who knows what the consequences could be if any of Soul Society’s secrets were to spread like wildfire all around the hollow world.

Speaking of Azul’s sanity … I think it might be degrading or something. She’s spacing out all of a sudden, and I can sort of see some kind of involuntary twitch going on. It kind of looks like she’s trying to suppress something in her head or something … and she isn’t having too much success with it.

Indeed, the symptoms were worsening. Azul was now clearly acting like something inside her was antagonizing her, something that shouldn’t be there. It was either her going nuts or a pretty bad stomach flu. Still, Azul seemed to be keeping it in check, and kept the conversation going. A particular topic seemed to spark her interest – being reborn as a soul in Soul Society.

That would be nice, actually, Lexi mused. Maybe she’d even became a shinigami like me, and we could have chats like this more often.

“Yeah,” she started, “a shinigami’s other job – apart from shepherding souls to Soul Society – is the purification of hollows. Your sins as a hollow get erased completely, and you’re admitted to the afterlife … Soul Society. I don’t know if you’d want to take the path … I’ve never actually met a hollow-turned-soul, so maybe they lose their memories as a hollow, and … Azul? Are you still here?”

For the hollow had seemingly lost consciousness, going entirely limp, though still managing to stand upright. Her eyes just appeared blank, and upon closer inspection, the irises were glowing – an eerie golden color. Suddenly, Azul thrust herself across the clearing and slammed her head into a tree, with enough force to leave a hell of a mark on it. Staggering backwards, she appeared to regain herself.

“Sorry, just a slip. Let’s continue with the conversation – you said that if your sword kills me, I will be purified and reborn, but will I be able to regain my memories or would they be lost forever?”

Lexi just stared at the hollow, though she wasn’t surprised. It was more of a quizzical look than a shocked one, and when she spoke, she didn’t even bother to address the question.

“Azul? … What on Earth is wrong with you right now? … Azul?”

Without so much as a word, the hollow lunged at her, and she only just barely managed to draw her sword in time. Those tails of hers slammed hard into the zanpakuto, and the reverberations from the clash rang through Lexi’s entire body. She pushed Azul off of herself, sending the hollow skidding backwards a few paces, while the tails hissed and snapped at her.

Lexi cursed to herself. Azul’s eyes were now fully golden, flames coursing menacingly through the irises. The green-haired shinigami raised her sword up into a reluctant fighting stance and waited for her friend's next action.

[Kolbertt]

“I’m sorry… Lexi… but … we will have to continue… our conversation… some other time...”

Azul panted heavily. Out of sheer curiosity, she had stayed for too long in a world were Fear was able to flourish. And the effects of doing so were now starting to appear- her whole body was moving against her will, and it had even attacked Lexi in a less than glamorous way.

There is something terribly wrong here... it should not have this level of control yet… short time before, it was barely able to throw an insult or a sarcastic remark, but now, it is taking control of my whole body. Can it be… that it was merely waiting for this moment?

“Yes, you trash. You really thought you could suppress me for that long? No my dear idiot. I was merely playing innocent until the time arrived. Now, it’s time to say goodbye, Azul Lamixen”

To the outside world, Azul merely moved slowly, like being really high, but now her eyes shone brightly with an unnaturally golden color.

“Now… please run… I cannot… guarantee… your safety” It was becoming a real pain to talk, she indeed had no time to waste. Knowing this, she tried to escape, she really did not want to hurt Lexi… her only real friend. She lifted her wings, looked at the sky and prepared to fly away. But merely a second after separating from the floor, she lost her body.

Azul was now trapped inside her own physiology. This spiritual jail however, did not block her senses, ergo; she was capable of seeing everything, feeling everything, hearing everything but unable to talk. As she realized this, a voice sounded, not in her head, but everywhere.

“You will go insane little by little as you taste the flesh of your friend… that’s the least you deserve”

Now, Azul’s body turned back and looked into Lexi. Its eyes, however, now irradiated killing instinct, and saw in Lexi nothing more than a probable meal.

Without a single word, it threw itself with the tip of its wings extended with the intention to impale her. As it had predicted, Lexi moved swiftly out of the way, but it was already prepared. Using one of its tails to monitor the movement of its enemy, it had followed her movements with its remaining two tails. Lexi would have to move quickly if she did not want to lose her legs to the menacing jaws that swiftly tracked her.

But alas; she had done it. And with a slash of her zanpakuto forced the hissing tails to retreat. Now bleeding, the tails seemed more menacing than ever. And the eye in her third tail monitored every single movement of Lexi Hunter.

“Jeje…” The hollow laughed quietly. And finally came to face the shinigami straight in the face. Even though it was the same face, the expression denoted a totally different personality.

“I appreciate your help. You are the sole reason I was finally able to shut that fucking bitch.” The hollow pointed at the shinigami with razor sharp feathers.

“Now, allow me to thank you, with a swift and painless death!” the feathers then flew straight into the shinigami’s neck at a blinding speed.

[Dizzy]

F – fuck! It’s just like that time we first fought … with that hideous, scraping voice and those golden eyes … Azul must have split-personality disorder or something. What’s that it said again? … “Azul has left the building” or something … this can’t be her inside there, but … fuck, I can’t hurt her! If I accidentally rip her mask open, then I’ll never see her again, and she might lose all of her memories, and … fuck!

The hollow within was a tempest, leaping effortlessly between the trees and rushing at her from every angle, claws flailing and tails hissing. Lexi was quick, but fighting at her usual speed in the wood was just asking to be impaled by an errant tree. She dodged everything she could, hopping up into the branches and using every skill she possessed to avoid contact with the hollow who had formerly been Azul.

Still, her abilities were no match for the hollow’s reckless speed – with a much larger body than hers, she could slam through the branches and easily snap them like twigs. Her charges were getting quicker from the lessening number of branches blocking her path, and unless Lexi was careful, she’d be hollow food quickly enough. Not only that, but Azul could seemingly track all of her movements, even when she managed to get behind the hollow … she suspected those insidious tails.

Damn it … running isn’t going to work forever. Azul’s clearly got more stamina than me, and my shyunpo steps are decreasing … and she’s acting like she can track every one of my movements! I need to neutralize her. Maybe if I trapped her with a few falling trees … damn it!

Azul came rushing into the branches she was standing on, and the green-haired shinigami jumped up into the air, pointing her sword down.

Forgive me for this, Azul … I’ll get you back from inside there, but for now …

She slashed out at her assailant and managed to connect with two of those tails. This didn’t surprise her; the hollow was showing little regard for its own health, focusing solely on attack. Now spurting blood and hissing even more venomously than before, they thrashed all over, snapping branches as they went. The attack had bought Lexi just a bit of time, but then that voice came ringing into the woods, that rasping voice that was nothing like Azul’s, and it spoke words that drove a chill into the pit of Lexi’s stomach.

“Jeje,” it snickered, and brought itself to full height, face-to-face with Lexi. “I appreciate your help. You are the sole reason I was finally able to shut that fucking bitch. Now, allow me to thank you, with a swift and painless death!”

She swung her feathers at Lexi, with the clear intention of beheading her. Her prior experience with them told her that it wasn’t a good idea to stay still, and she just barely managed to swerve out of the way, letting the razor-sharp feathers draw only a bit of blood before leaping backwards onto another tree. Then the words hit her.”

“What was that? I … I what? I … helped you take over Azul’s body?”

Lexi nearly dropped her zanpakuto at that, and the hollow didn’t even reply before taking the opportunity to strike. It caught her by surprise, clamping down on her injured left leg with three sets of jagged teeth, and ripping her flesh and bones apart. Blood gushed out like from a broken dam and coated the hollow from head to toe. Lexi screamed out in pain, overbalanced on her remaining leg, and tumbled down from the tree, dropping her zanpakuto in the process.

Gaaah! S .. shit! Taichou isn’t much of a healer, is he … damn, I was hoping to just incapacitate her without doing any damage, but that’s a bit too much for an unarmed girl who can’t stand up. I guess it’s now or never!

“Hadou #4, Byakurai! Double Byakurai! Triple Byakurai!”

The electrical energy gathered onto her fingertips and discharged itself like bullets. Some of them were aimed to fell trees and slow the hollow down, and some of them were aimed at Azul’s arms and legs to stop her in her tracks. She wasn’t quite dumb enough to try a fire-based attack in the middle of a dense wood where she couldn’t move and branches littered the ground, and even lightning was pushing it … it required the utmost concentration of harden the energy to the point where nothing would burst into flames, and it was a concentration she was quickly losing as the hollow stormed nearer and nearer.

((Lexi is immobile, Fear is coming in for the kill, and an outbreak of fire is a vaguely likely possibility! What strapping young purple-haired lad will arrive to save the day?))

[Kolbertt]

Please... stop it... I beg of you.

From inside, Azul could feel the warm blood of Lexi Hunter all over her body. In only seconds, Fear had taken her body and took advantage of the field to unfairly hurt the shinigami.

Ignoring Azul’s words, the hollow threw itself to the little girl, who had retaliated with three lighting blasts. Without even slowing down, Fear blocked one of the blasts with a single wing-slap. The severe blood escape was probably altering her movements, since the other two did not even get near to it.

Now, it was only seconds away from the kill… she stood defenseless on her good leg while pathetically pointing at the hollow with her shaking sword. Fear slapped it away, and as the zanpakuto flew away and got nailed in a nearby tree, the tree Lexi had aimed at fell straight in the head of the hollow.

“Fuck… I should have killed her instead of just playing around…”

It took quite a time before it could stand back… and when he did, it was not really pleased to find that its left wing was quite hurt. To be sincere, it was totally hurt. It would still be able to fly, but its speed would be severely reduced. The hollow searched for the girl who had done this… and found her crawling in direction of her sword, leaving behind her a trail of blood from her injured leg.

Its head was bleeding profusely, as the tree had done critical damage… But it did not matter. Once it devoured the shinigami’s spirit body, it would absorb all of her energy… its body would be restored… and it would be stronger.

Not to mention that devouring Lexi would crack the last bits of Azul’s sanity. Officially making this body the property of Fear. Azul? Well, she would still exist, as a vegetable in the back of its mind. It would make sure of that. He wanted the person that had profaned this magnificent body to suffer for all eternity.

Fear prepared to assault the shinigami, but was suddenly stopped when it realized not only its left wing, but his complete left side was pretty bad hurt. Lexi barely had a leg left, but the hollow was barely able to stand without, since its own legs were rather hurt as well. At least I can still fly… I think…

“You want to play with trees? Fine… let’s get serious…”

The hollow then swung its right wing and threw eight feathers. Lexi instinctively threw herself to the ground, but the feathers were not aimed at her…

She was now at the floor. And behind her, the feathers, which had impaled themselves on the tree, exploded. The blast made quiet a big hole in the middle of the tree, which now cracked and slowly felt under its own weight. In mere seconds, the shinigami would die squashed like the bug she was, unable to move thanks to her wound.

And from inside, the hollow rejoiced as it heard Azul crying out loud for mercy.

(Now, where is that goddamned stalker when you need him?:P)

[Mystic Serenade]

(Mr. Stalker has arrived ;p)


It would only be moments now before the felled tree would collapse thus ending the life of a young Lexi Hunter. Heh…what a shitty way to die, getting crushed by a tree..

However before that could occur, the tree soon burst into numerous splintered pieces. In the blink of an eye, Keiji was now standing in front of the injured Lexi. He sheathed both of his zanpakutou. “How many times do I have to tell you to contact headquarters before, taking part of unauthorized missions hmm Lexi?” He paid little heed to whatever remark she threw back at him. “Anyway, just sit still and wait for once, Lune should be here soon.” His attention soon turned to the hollow. “Fancy meeting you here,” he said calmly as he walked towards it.

The hollow certainly wasn’t happy about this new presence, and it made its intentions clear by firing off the feathers he knew all too well by now from its right wing. He threw a few needle-sized splinters that he had grabbed back when he cut up the tree. He had acted quickly and in turn the needles met the feathers closer to Azul then at him, causing the hollow further damage. “Don’t even try anything funny, you’re too injured to even run away from me properly. Now stay still like a good hollow.” He rose his hand, ready to cast a kidou. “Bakudou 9, Geki.”

He further advanced towards the winged hollow as it was now further immobilized by the bright red light. “DAMN YOU, YOU’LL RUIN EVERYTHING!!!” it shrieked at him.

As he stood before the hollow, gave it a condescending look, “Silence, I didn’t come here to talk to ‘you’. Just sit back like I told you to.” He then took a tenderly hold of the hollow’s mask with one hand and unsheathed one of his zanpakutou with the other. “Time for a nice chat don’t you think.” Then came the moment he had been steeling himself for ever since that day they first met. Enough knocking himself over it on the inside, today he would get some concrete answer. He brought down his zanpakutou, hilt first, with every intention to shatter the mask of this hollow.

[Dizzy]

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/125/heyabl8.png
((that explains why it took so long, hmm?)

“Pfft, you just give me five seconds of your attention and that’s it? What kind of savior does that?!”

Despite the wisecrack, Lexi was still grateful for her friend’s appearance and saving of her life. She didn’t think she’d be of much help without the ability to move, or the knowledge of where her blade had fallen, so she supposed that waiting for Lune to show up and treat her would be best.

What fun, it’s just another day of losing fights and being saved. I live such an exciting life, don’t I.

Sure enough, the healer came strolling along behind Keiji with Lexi’s zanpakuto in hand, and after a rather patronizing look at her and a quick evaluation of her wounds, opened up a portal to Soul Society and began to drag her limp body through it.

Damn … I’m not gonna be staying? Oh well … I didn’t really think Lune could mend a broken leg in a few minutes anyways … OH WAIT, SHIT! KEIJI DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT -

She raised her sights up to the purple-haired shinigami, who had by now bound Azul, completely immobilizing the injured hollow, and was walking purposefully towards her. She was screaming profanities to the point where Lexi didn’t know if she would even be heard.

“OI, KEIJI! DON’T KILL HER! AZUL ISN’T AN EVIL HOLLOW, SHE’S JUST BEEN POSSESSED BY SOME KINDA PSYCHO WACKADOO IN HER HEAD!”

The words sounded stupid, perhaps the dumbest things she had ever said, but in context, the scene was completely serious. Keiji merely gave her a glance before turning back and raising his zanpakuto.

She entered Seireitei at the exact same time as the mask was struck and shattered into pieces, and she saw nothing more of the scene.

and lexi is outta here ;o

[Kolbertt]

“DAMN YOU, YOU’LL RUIN EVERYTHING!!!”

Indeed. Otowari Keiji had arrived and in less than a minute, had not only ruined Fear’s possibilities of a quick meal, but also its possibilities of finally taking control of the body. It was the worst possible scenario for Fear.

And then, the time for revelations came… the already cracked mask was not difficult to break with the hilt of that Zanpakuto, and under that mask, the face of a blue-eyed, dark haired woman appeared.

Her factions were indeed beautiful. The slim lips finally moved, and the voice that came out was that of Azul.

“You… I remember now…”

The moment she had awaited for so long finally came. Keiji’s voice was exactly the same voice Azul had heard in her head, long ago when she remembered that last dialogue… but now, be it because of Keiji’s presence or the latest soul she had eaten, she could clearly see it all now.

(Flashback time.)

She was walking along Keiji- they had known each other for how long now? She could not remember. Time had just flown ever since they met, and a familiar dialogue played along with these newfound memories.

"Haha, you know? You can be a bit of an idiot sometimes!"
"Maybe, but that's what you like about me"
"Oh, sure!"
"Yeah! You know it's true! If not, how could you mock me when I'm not around!"
" ! Who told you!!"
"What?! You mean actually do that!!"
"Haha, just kidding! See, that's what I do REALLY like about you. You are just like a big child"
"Hey!! That's not truth!"
"Yes it is!"
"No it's not!"
"See!? You answer back like a small child!"
"Oh, because you are soooo mature"
"Yes. I am and you are not"
"You are nuts"
"And that's what you like about me"...

But now… she could see the tragic end to that conversation, thus, explaining the pain she felt whenever she remembered these seemingly happy times…

“And that’s what you like about me… Hey… what’s wrong with that car?”

That car lost control in a mere instant, as if a spirit had taken possession of it, and ambushed both of them. Keiji had jumped out in the nick of time, but Azul was not that skillful… No, her name was not Azul… at least at that time.

The car had crushed both of her legs, and had opened a serious wound in her head. Barely conscious, Azul, named at that time Mitsuru … requested Keiji for help… only to find that the man she had trusted her love, ignored her and was focused on running away. She finally lost her consciousness, wandering in her mind, how could he have abandoned her…

(End of flashback)

Back at the present time, Azul now could feel the air in her face. Fear had escaped to the back part of her mind, seemingly afraid of the fade light that now illuminated Azul’s face.

“You… I remember now… you were the one who left me to die…”

[Mystic Serenade]

"Heh, you're right...I did leave you to die that day," he placed Azul's...no Mitsuru's head into the crook of his neck as he embraced her. "Because that day, I also died." He stared off into the distance as he weaved his finger's through her hair. "I was hoping you would have lived through that day...guess not. Anyways I don't expect you to believe me, but I tried my best to protect you that day...I'm sorry."

At that moment he separated from her to look at her eyes, those deep pools of blue that he remembered getting lost into daily. "You know, I've missed you a lot, you idiot." Before she could let out any sort of response he pulled her into a deep kiss.

He didn't know how long it was but at the end, he knew what he had to do. "I'm sorry," and at that moment he shoved the blade of one of his zanpakutou into her chest. "I'll find you again someday, I promise." With that he prepared to deliver the final blow that would free his once beloved from this form.

[Kolbertt]

That bastard...

That sudden kiss sure was something unexpected... but she could still not forgive him. And things did not get any better when she saw him extend his blades.

"You know..." she whispered in his ear

"There was a time, when I would have died for you... but not anymore"

Suddenly, she straightened the tails she had swiftly entangled along his legs during their kiss. The result, Keiji lost his balance and felt down.

"You have killed me once... I won't fall to your blade once again"

Her words had gotten cold. Her heart was shattered, and the pain in her chest kept growing the more she looked at that man. And little by little, fragments of her mask were reappearing... Indeed, to stay any longer would mean to either lose herself, or give that mongrel the pleasure of killing her... again.

But she was still rather hurt, physically hurt. It would be a bad idea to merely run away, and Keiji had not recovered yet... wait... is that a tear?

It doesn't matter...

Indeed, it was a lose/lose situation. Exhausted, she just gave in, prepared to take whatever destiny had prepared for her.

She allowed her body to fall over Keiji's. Their faces were now in front of the other, but at a steady pace, her mask was reforming...

"Also... You always sucked as a lover"

Azul then extended her neck backwards, and with all her remaining strength, delivered a massive headbutt with her now complete mask... If she was going down, at least she would take Keiji with her.

She rotated over her damaged body, and both of them ended facing the blue sky like they had done millions of times... it was a bizarre parody of what they relation used to be-

Seeing the blue sky, Azul lost her conscience.






When she finally woke up, she was already in Hueco Mundo, an extremelly irritated Adapalane stood by her side.

"Recover fast, you have work to do. And once you came back, there is a lot we must talk about"

[Mystic Serenade]

Damn, got away again.

Indeed, this was not how he ever envisioned things to be. He rubbed his head a bit, "Damn...guess some things never change." It seemed now that most of the events of that night came full circle in his mind. He died trying to lure the hollow away, she died from her wounds it seems. "Guess my last valiant act in life turned out to be a failure after all, figures."

He quickly gathered his bearings and prepared himself to leave. So that hollow is definitely her now it seems, guess some things are better off not knowing after all. Wonder how I'm supposed to go about this now. He sheathed both of his zanpakutou and shook off the dust that riddled his hakama. He stepped through the senkaimon with only one thing clearly in his mind. He enjoyed those days long ago he had with Mitsuru, he cherished them. Not knowing what happened to her that day always haunted the darkest corners of his mind. But that was long ago, and he lived a different life now, and now he knew. One day however, he'd bring closure to the ghosts of his past. The doors closed slowly behind him as he stepped through.

"How troublesome."

[Kolbertt]

After devouring that last soul. Azul felt empty.

All this time she had fought to regain her memories, not even knowing why was it that she had forgotten everything. But now that she knew the reasons behind her death, there was nothing else for her to do. At this point, she had already accepted the fact that Keiji had left her to die. He had his reasons, and he even died later on that day… Why? She didn’t know, but the Material World was definitely the worse place to think about this.

However, for some odd reason, Adapalane did not open up his portals. There was no shinigami on sight, nor any kind of danger…

“Oh come on… what the fuck are you waiting for?”

Her head remained quiet. True, she had spent minimum time in the human world, but last time, Fear had remained quiet and took her by surprise. Pointless to say, Azul was less than eager to repeat that same experience.

“Come on… open up…” she said this openly, as she was sure he was seeing her.

She was starting to get anxious… hysterical to say the least.

But finally, after what seemed like ages, a rift in the space finally opened up in front of Azul. “Finally!!”

She jumped forward and entered the portal in less than a second, not realizing that the one who had opened it was not Adapalane, but a spider like hollow who barely knew what was going on.

A little freaked out, the spider like hollow screamed "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU BASTARD!!"

[Pharos]

"Get out of my way!!" Arachnee shouted. He could feel the strong souls nearby, but this stupid hollow was in the way. To take it down was not an option, since he seemed much stronger than him.

Sigh... such a strength and so little brain, what a ... what'?!

"I'm sorry..." The other hollow said.

"You mean you can actually talk?"

"Well... yes, I'm talking now..."

Arachnee was surprised, this hollow, though lacking sense, was capable of talking. It was not one of those mindless hollows going around lately. Maybe... it would be interesting to have it around.

"My name is Arachnee, and I have a proposal for you" Arachnee went straight to the point, there were strong souls nearby and he was not in the mood to lose them.

"But first, let's take a walk together" as he said this, he opened another garganta and invited the hollow to go for a walk with him.

[Kolbertt]

Azul had two options.

She either stayed in Hueco Mundo alone, waiting until Adapalane decided to call her back- this would suppress her inner demons quiet literally. However…

From the recently opened garganta, a strong smell of souls leaked… it was like a very strong presence had made itself present, or a great quantity of them had appeared, like that Halloween night… or maybe even both.

All options had a pro and a con – and both of them involved a great level of gambling. If she remained in Hueco Mundo, a place where only monsters like her and Adapalane lived- it would only a matter of time until she met up with someone stronger than her… those monsters Lexi had told about, the gigantic monsters which embodied death and fed on their own kind. The higher level hollows.

On the other hand, she could go back to the Material World. If things went fine, she would end up getting more and more souls- at first, she needed the souls for her memories… and even now, there was still a huge mental pool in her mind. Would more souls fix this? Or even worse, what is that remains hidden from her mind? Did more pain await her in her yet unfound memories? There were still many doubts in her mind that needed to be answered… and yet again, the only answer would be to get stronger.

But if things went wrong... well, everyone knows what could happen.







After thinking for a moment. Azul decided.

“You go.” She said calmly.

“I still need some Hueco Mundo air... wounds from a previous battle. But… before you go, can you leave the Garganta open?”




(Note to Dizzy: Sorry for the pathetically short plot .) Pharos just kept on rambling on going straight for the souls -)

[Pharos]

"Well, well..." Arachnee thought.

"It's really nice to talk to someone who is not just an animal. Let's meet again sometime... there is a few thing I could teach you"

There was something strange about this hollow. Be it her deep-blue eyes, or something about the way she seems afraid to leave hueco mundo despite being obsenelly strong.

"After we finish with our soul hunting... Let's meet again at the same place." It would be a little troublesome to keep the garganta open. But if it gave her an ally, it was definitelly worth it.

"Here, take this, it will allow me to find you again." And as he said this, he gave the bird like hollow a web made from his own reiatsu. He putted it around her leg, as a kind of odd and ugly chocker.

"I'll be leaving now, let's see each other again"


(Kolbertt: Forrrooo, deps seguimos, deja el drama pa deps:P)

[Kolbertt]

As the floor got closer at a dangerously high speed, Azul’s vision became blurry. The approaching surface seemed strangely distant, and despite being closer to the crash at every passing second, everything felt distant. It was like watching everything through a dark long tunnel that expanded exponentially, until there was nothing.

Literally, it was like darkness had engulfed everything. And in the middle of this entire nothing, Azul stood there, just watching as the darkness kept on running.

Then, the darkness changed. Suddenly, it looked like the obscurity had gained a texture, like some kind of cheap wall paint gone really bad. But when Azul tried to touch it with her hand, it felt like velvet… then she realized it. She had regained her hands.

Not only her hands, but also her whole body was back! There was no sign of those dangerously harmful wings, nor any hissing tails. But, what was the meaning of this?! According to Lexi’s words, there was no way to turn human once you ended up being a hollow, but then, the facts were undeniable. She was human, it didn’t matter how you looked at it. The only problem was…

“Where the heck am I?”

Indeed, this place was nothing like she had ever heard about. The darkness had changed yet once again, and now seemed like dark water flowing from the centre of an invisible sphere towards the opposite end of it. In little words, it felt like being trapped in a bubble of petroleum that slowly closed on itself. If things continued this way, she would end up being squashed…

Damn it… what a nice place to enjoy my newfound humanity. What the fuck, this place defies basic physic for god’s sake, not that much made sense lately. But anyway, don’t loose your cool, just keep quiet and you will see the light… wow, that indeed was fast.

Slowly emerging from the dark stream, something was appearing. It was… a bed? Yes, from the darkness, a bed with white sheets stood normally in a vertical position.

Ok… what the fuck is that?

There was no confusion in it. Despite the bizarre view, what stood there in an impossible position was nothing else than a bed. A typical hospital bed with white sheets.

But now, in the middle of all this darkness, an inhuman hum could be heard. Mesmerized by this sound… Azul moved softly towards this bed. Besides it’s odd position, the bed was also abnormally big, twice the size of a normal bed, and it … moved? From underneath those sheets, a slight but continuous movement could be felt: That strange humming sound came from that bed.

Azul felt the strong need to pull those sheets apart. Something underneath those sheets just felt… strange.

I feel it… underneath this giant sheet. There is something mine…but what is it? I cannot tell... Fuck, there is only a way to know. And with this thought in mind, Azul grabbed the sheets and pulled them down. Not prepared for the horror that awaited her.

Underneath those white bed sheets, there was what seemed like a woman. Her face was covered with bloody bandages and only a closed eye could be seen. Her arms were fixed strongly to her body with barbed wire. Not only her arms, but also most of her legs and body were strongly tied in an exaggerated way with this wire. This could explain the blood over the bed, over her hospital gown and bandages.

Azul stepped back in horror. “What in god’s name is the meaning of this?!” She wanted to run, to escape this dreaded place, but it was impossible. The darkness was still around her and there was no possible way to escape. It did not matter how much she tried to run, the darkness did not seem to move.

“This… is what you’ve done to me” A dark and deep voice interrupted her futile attempts to escape.

“That voice… it’s you!”

That dreaded voice came from the hanging woman. Now, her eye was wide open and from it creepy golden glow shown. This woman, hanging from that enormous bed, covered in barbed wire and dripping blood was none other than Fear.

“What is the meaning of this?! Where am I?! And what the fuck are you doing here?!”

“Here? This, my dear, is your mind. It truly is a mess as you can see. But you know, it’s the very first time we see each other face to face, so how about you come here and give me a hug?”

Far from wanting to hug fear, Azul was desperately looking for something to attack her. And for the first time, she actually regretted not having her hollow body… It would be nice to impale Fear now that she had the chance.

“You are so easy to read… I do not need to read your mind at all to know what you are thinking. You are desperately looking for an exit, you are terrified to be against me… but that’s only natural, I am the embodiment of your pain…”

Wrong. It seemed that in this place, Fear was unable to read Azul’s mind.

“Anyway...” Fear said… “It’s about time… your body is getting weaker, so It’s only a matter of time before I can free myself once again…”

“No, you will stay here. I won’t let you!” As she said this, more wires appeared from the bed and covered Fears body. Strengthening the grip she had over her- Was that the meaning of those wires?

“Jeje… Do as you will… this things get weaker and weaker every time anyway.” And as she said this, the barbed wire cracked.

“You won’t find the exit… and if I kill you here, I WILL REIGN OVER YOUR BODY!”

She tried to move, but the barbed wire still held her firmly... or so it seemed.

“What happens? Are you breaking down?”

“No… I’m breaking out!”

Suddenly Fear broke loose.

The barbed wire still expanded and tried to tie her to the bed, but now, she floated like a ghost completely covered in the wires heading straight to Azul. She stopped and her stretching, damaged and wounded hands were inches away from Azul’s face. She had stamped herself against the darkness; because in this sphere shaped space, there was no place to run.

“I want it now! Give me your heart and your soul!”

This sudden HYSTERIA freaked the hell out of Azul… but now, as Fear got closer and closer to her, a great pain emerged. From a hole in her chest, pain expanded like poison in her system. But behind Fear, in the mattress of the bloody bed, the familiar feeling called for her, and the hum she had heard begged for Azul to go.

Her pain expanded to her head, and she softly started to lose conscience.

In reality, the phyiscal world, Azul was merely lying unconscious in the ground. Having what seemed like epileptic attacks as her hollow body shook and moved spastically.

But in her inside world, she was fighting against this inner monster not to end up dead. The nausea and migraine was not helping. The barbed wire’s were retreating, and Fear’s movements were getting faster. Would this be the end for Azul?

Yes. She would have ended up dead, if it had not been because suddenly, the spherical structure shattered and the darkness lost its shape. Now, a white light engulfed the room and took Azul away. Fear remained there, cursing and shouting blasphemies while Azul flew away.


And then she woke up. The sky above her and the sand underneath her revealed her position. She was in Hueco Mundo.

But…how?

“It was time for you to wake up” A familiar voice said.

“You…”


(Let's see if Dizzy finds the musical references :P)

[Kolbertt]

Standing in front of her, was no other than Adapalane.

“It has been a while hasn’t it…” He said in his usual tone. “Ah, how I missed rescuing your beaten body from that wonderful world… Anyway, there is something I would like to know…”

Fuck… I’m screwed now… He will bring up the whole Lexi and Keiji scene… Just concentrate and everything will be fine… it is not such a serious matter. Just don’t lose your cool and don’t make him angry.

“Is everything right in your body?”

“What?!”

“Your body… it’s strange. I’ve never felt this before, it’s like there are two different powers confronting inside your body… It’s simply… interesting.”

Something about his tone made her nervous… he talked with the demeanour of a scientist inspecting a new kind of bug.

“Yes… everything is just fine. I have no idea of what are you talking about.”

“Sure? You seem abnormally anxious today…”

And true it was. Aside from the mental stress, she had barely recovered from that last fight, yet, her tails moved vividly from side to side.

This is wrong… they should remain quiet in here.

“No… they are free to move as they wish… anywhere.”

To hear this voice in the middle of Hueco Mundo was like receiving a kick in the nuts, Sudden, unexpected and extremely unpleasant.

“Surprised? There is nothing to be surprised. This is MY body, and now that I can free myself here, there is nowhere you can run…”

I …but …

“I; but, my god, can you stop blabbering? God, I play a little with you and suddenly you piss your, well, my pants. But don’t worry; it will be over soon.

“Hey… you there? Come on, I did not bother to look for you only to have you go blank minded in my sight… show some dignity at least”

But then Azul’s eyes flashed yellow and a menacing voice came out.

“You midget, don’t dare order me around anymore.” And with this, Fear aimed at Adapalane’s head, only to be stopped midair by a giant, strong expanding arm that stopped the tails in their track and slammed her head in the ground.
“NOW YOUR PLACE BITCH!!” Adapalane’s oversized hand had squashed her cleanly, and not even in her current strength, Azul was able to even scratch him. But Fear was a different storie altogether.

With sand in her mouth, Fear grumbled an incoherent insult, and once again threw her tails at Adapalane. This time, the attack was successful, and for the first time, that body tasted hollow blood.

“Ugh… now you’ve earned yourself a spanking.” He said as he backed off. Fear now lifted her head. In Hueco Mundo, and without Azul’s intervention, Fear could control her body at her whole.

“I am at a complete different level now…” Fear said. “Trust me when I tell you I will feast on your body.”

“Ha… that’s my line, you idiot.”


================================================== =====


However, the fight between Fear and Adapalane was unknown to Azul, who was now trapped in the same dark tunnel. But now… the darkness moved differently. It leaked out, and a room started to appear. A burned, rusted hospital room. And in the middle of it, the same humongous bed hanging from the wall appeared. This time however, the barbed lied in the floor over some bloody sheets. And lying in the bed was Fear in all her glory.

“Oh, how strange to see you here… It doesn’t matter, since this is my mind already.”

She jumped from the bed, and suddenly, wings and tails emerged from her back.

She was an angel, a bloody, destroyed and ragged angel.

[Kolbertt]

That disgusting angel descended quietly, until her feet touched the floor. She still dripped blood, and the bandages looked more damaged than ever.

“It’s strange to see you here.” She said. “Every time I took control of your body, you simply faded away… so what is the meaning of this? Is it because we are in Hueco Mundo? Or is it that you are actually getting stronger?”

Azul stood in horror. Now, she was completely powerless. Deprived from her hollow body, there was little she could do against the changing Fear. She understood now, that the bandages, hospital gown were very much like the barbed wires. All of them were a simple way to keep Fear in check. But now, like rotting, the human features of Fear kept on melting. Like rotten flesh, the pieces felt and disappeared in the small layer of darkness that covered the floor.

“It doesn’t matter. Since now, when I kill you, I won’t have to worry about you surfacing once again. This body will be mine, like it was intended to be.” Fear then bended forward, and one of the tails in her back ambushed Azul.

How to defend against that? She was as defenceless as those souls she had devoured before, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She ducked and rolled to the sides in a futile attempt to dodge the incoming tails. She failed, and one of the tails nibbled in her elbow and held her strong against the wall

“How strange… It should have ripped your torso in a single bite.” Fear said in an estranged tone. “But well, it should not surprise me, you have an annoying habit of delaying inevitable things. Your death would not be an exception” She then looked at her arm, which had melted to nothing more than a skinny stump, and ripped it with one of her tails.

“Go on, make this quickly…” Azul said. After all, it was useless to try to fight a hollow with one’s mere human strength.

“Oh no, don’t think for a second I’ll make this slow” Bang, a second tail had gnawed in her right hip. The pain was unbearable. “See? That’s a mere fraction of the pain you made me suffer…”

“You know nothing … Ugh… about pain…”

“Oh yes, your memory crap. Want the truth? Okay, I’ll give you the truth.” At this point, Fear’s body had deformed into a disgusting sight. Her right arm had felt, and her whole body was growing. “The truth is in there…” She said as she moved her tail near the bed she had hanged.
“To be sincere, when I was born, your head was already a mess. You had blocked your death and the cause behind it. And that made it a real pain in the ass for me to take control of your soul. You wasted my time by aimlessly walking around as a ghost, while my power went to waste. Luckily for me, your precious pet died and I could break free…” she then strengthened the grip in her mouths, blood pumped out.

Azul was in a dire situation. She had neither the spirit nor the strength to face that monster. Fear, who had now turned into a variation of the hollow body they shared.

This monster was born from my pain. It’s only natural that she makes me suffer before finally ending my life… My life… what kind of life did I have? I still cannot remember. Pathetic, I spent most of my afterlife trying to remember whoever I was, and the only thing I remembered were a lot of random staff and the reason behind my death… My death… I died, but nonetheless... Hahaha... how is it I've not seen it until now?

Unlike the hollow body they shared, this one had at least nine more tails than the original body. Its wings were not as developed as the other ones and lacked the feathers that made them so dangerous. This new body was the true form of Fear, sublimated by Azul’s mind into something weaker and harmless. It was her mind that made her resist it. It was her will to go on living that blocked her memories. As she realised this, razor wire crossed across the room and cut the tails that held Azul.

“What is the meaning of this?” The hollow asked in shock.

“This is my mind.” Azul answered. “From the very beginning, I’ve held inside me the power to control you. You tried to take control over me, and I unwillingly accepted that. I surrendered to my pain, not realizing that I’ve always had the chance to eliminate you from the start.”

“You, actually hurt me? NONSENSE!” Fear then threw all of her tails at the same time, only to be stopped by more razor wires that appeared out of nowhere, Fear shrieked in pain and horror.

“I’ve always thought… that I needed you. Though painful, you were linked with my memories. Living is dealing with pain. And that meant I had to endure with you. Not only that, but my fear of losing myself into you actually made you stronger” As she spoke, more and more razor wires appeared. Unlike the barbed wires that had kept Fear at bay, these ones had the sole purpose of destroying.

“But now… I’ve realized that even if I died, even if the person I gave my heart to betrayed me and left me to die, even if my whole world crumbled over me… I’ve somehow retained my ability to think. I blocked my pain once, but that is not the answer. I’m stronger now. Both physical and psychological” The razor wire now had advanced towards a trembling Fear.

“I felt betrayed. I felt alone… But if there is something I’ve learned is that I can overcome this pain. This fear that invades me… That fear of being alone again, of being betrayed again… I have no need for it. I have no need for fear.” Even more razor wire appeared, this time from every single angle of the room walls. Fear was now pierced and entangled in these wire net, and as she hanged in the air, Azul walked quietly towards her, her wounds healed at an amazing rate.

“I must admit. If you had actually killed me from the beginning from the start, you would have won. Your sadistic pleasure and the time you took to deliver the killing blow, allowed me to realise my errors. You’ve accomplished your task. You made me grow through suffering. But now, I have no need for you”

“You…”

“Farewell, and just die”

The razor wires then started moving. At first they moved slowly, merely cutting Fear’s flesh with superficial wounds. But then, speed raised, and Fear’s flesh started to burn from the friction. And in seconds, the razor wire had made Fear’s body explode in a torrent of blood and guts. A total Fatality.

Azul stood there, now covered in blood. She watched how the burned room and everything around them dissolved revealing her real inner world. She watched everything in amazement as she licked the blood in her wounds.


Back in the real world, Adapalane was having a hard time. The hollow in front of him was stronger than expected, if things continued like this, he would have no choice but to resort to “that”…

But suddenly, the hollow shook violently, and a perceivable crack sound ringed in Hueco Mundo.

“What the fuck is the meaning of that…” Adapalane said as he watched the hollow.

The hollow’s body now had a visible crack. Not only that, but it was expanding. Pieces of it felt, like an empty carapace, and a whole new body emerged from inside that cocoon. Something previously unseen, Azul’s hollow body had evolved.

http://i8.tinypic.com/7xd14z7.jpg

She looked at her new wings, moved her different body a bit, and finally said to Adapalane

“Sorry for all the trouble… Mind if we get to work now?”

Adapalane accepted, out of sheer commotion. But inside, he was glad to see Azul was back, and stronger than ever.

[Kolbertt]

Azul was about to leave through that recently opened rip in the space, but then, she was truly sorry for knocking one of the few persons that had been nice to her. Though having only interacted for a while, Arachnee had been nice and opened a Garganta for her to travel while Adapalane did who knows what…

“Guess it’s the only thing I can do for you right now- I wonder if Adapalane would mind having some extra company.” She grabbed Arachnee with one of her hands and headed to the portal, only to find it was closed.

“Ok… probably he’s got arachnophobia or something like that. Ugh, this means I’m trapped with you for the moment right Spider-boy? Come, let’s go”

For being such a big hollow, Arachnee was surprisingly light, and Azul could still fly with the humongous spider on her back at quite a good speed.

It’s surprising I can still fly with these new wings… Last ones at least had an aerodynamic shape, but these ones look more like giant hands than anything else. Anyway, how am I supposed to awaken Spider-boy here? Hueco Mundo is the only place where wounds heal, but I didn’t hit him that hard anyway. Bleh, let's just give him some time.

Azul keep flying until she found what she was looking for, that nearby lake where no one else seemed to interfere.

“It’s actually nice to see some peace… Everyplace is flooding with disasters. Fires, mass murders, one of this days, this little lake will grow and drown everyone in that little town down there. Don’t you think so too, Spider-boy?” But Arachnee was as cold as the water in front of them, and it would be a while before he moved.

Azul sat and watched at the lake. Now that Fear was gone, she could actually stay and appreciate the beauty of this world, something that would have spelled her doom before. But now, he was gone. And that meant she had her memories back, no more voice in her head threatening to kill her, and no need for eating more souls. Then… Why had she done that? And now that she mentioned it, those last souls tasted particularly bad. And even yet, she still felt the urge to eat them. It was like the urge to smoke bad cigarettes.

“Haha… I guess I suffer from soul addiction, don’t I?” Azul took this lightly, and not really wanted to go deep in the subject. “Bleh… Let’s think about this later, it’s almost dusk and I cannot remember last time I saw one”

Time passed by, and neither Arachnee nor Adapalane had made a move in all those long hours and it was not until past dusk that Arachnee finally moved.

“Oh, you woke up. Sorry for that back there… It’s been a while since we last met, and I’ve changed a little. So… Tada!! Allow me to introduce myself this time. The name is Azul Lamixen.”

[Pharos]

Arachnee woke up and all that received was an incoherent rambling from Azul Lamixen.

“Yeah, yeah. Not so loud please, my head still hurts from your beating” Arachnee had already discovered the hollow’s identity. Not that it mattered cause he was to beaten up to even move, and probably he would end up being eaten by her. No, that doesn’t make any sense; she could have eaten me from the very beginning if she wanted to. Then what does she want?

“Ugh… before we go on talking, can you open up a Garganta? I won’t be much of a help lying here, so come one, open the Garganta and let’s leave this place at once”

Azul kneeled her head. For being someone so powerful, she sure is a modest person. “I…” she said, “I do not know how to open a Garganta… That’s why we had to wait here”

“What?! You mean you are all big and strong, but cannot even open a rip in the space?! Jejeje… you really are something.” Seriously. There is something terribly wrong with this hollow. How come she has moved from world to world if she does not even know the basics of Hollow techniques? I smell something terribly wrong…“Well… to open a Garganta, all you do is follow your instinct, or in your case, my instructions…”

Arachnee explained the basics of a Garganta, and rounded up the idea “It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway, sounds easy right? Well, just do it. Close your eyes and break the dimensional fabric”

Arachnee was not really surprised when Azul opened her first Garganta in front of him. After all, a Garganta was a matter of skill, but sheer power like the one she possessed could play a big difference in the way a Garganta opened. Her garganta was raw, but it will suffice.

“Now, carry me and let’s go to Hueco Mundo. We really need to talk"

[Kolbertt]

Close your eyes... Concentrate… picture the road to your destiny…

All of Arachnee’s advices sounded like new age crap. But nevertheless, it worked. In front of her, and without the aid of her hands, a portal slightly darker than those of Adapalane opened.

“Sure… Hop on” Like she had a chance. Arachnee had already climbed on her back…
“Anyway, let’s go now.” However, as soon as she gave a steep forward, she felt into the darkness with Arachnee on her back.

“IDIOT!! Concentrate, NOW!!!” Arachnee shouted as they felt. Azul, used to Adapalane’s perfect manipulation of space, did not know on how to form a path of spiritual energy, and was now falling freely into the emptiness. However, before they felt too much into the nothing, Arachnee managed to solidify a path, barely strong enough to handle Azul.

“Now, concentrate on the road, picture in your mind the pathway- Or else we will fall into nothing!”

“Shut up, how am I supposed to concentrate with you shouting?” Neverthless, she tried to do it. A grey pathway could now be seen, and over it, Azul could fly easily.

“My god, you are dangerously incompetent at creating Garganta” Arachnee said. “How is it possible that you do not know about Garganta and energy manipulation, yet are so strong?”

“Well… I got some help,” Azul confessed. “There is a hollow trapped in Hueco Mundo that has helped me get through the worlds with his skills. He is not a bad guy once you get to know him. Anyway, how much do we need to go through this road?”

“It depends on the Garganta” Arachnee answered. “A good garganta is as simple as going through a door. While some poorly constructed Garganta can be as long as kilometres. But, what do you mean? A hollow trapped in Hueco Mundo that can't go through worlds, yet, make others go? That is plainly stupid.”

Offended by his incredibility, Azul felt like throwing Arachnee in the darkness. Instead, she answered back. “It’s weird, I know. But he uses his powers to open portals. But he cannot keep them open for himself. So he is trapped, hunting souls while I distract shinigami- Adapalane is strange, but a go…”

“What did you say?” Arachnee jumped from Azul’s back and almost fell. “You do not mean Adapalane ar-Raqîb. Don’t you?!”

“What? No, Adapalane. No arrakiv or whatever. Plainly Adapalane”

“Adapalane ar-Raqîb, the observer.” Arachnee now shook with fear. “He is one of the most dangerous hollows in Hueco Mundo”

[Pharos]

“Adapalane ar-Raqîb, the observer. He is one of the most dangerous hollows in Hueco Mundo”

Arachnee was paralyzed; terror was visible in his eyes.

Even if he had remained hidden in the sand for so long, stories of Adapalane ar-Raqîb were feared even at that long time ago.

“Even years before… The name of Adapalane ar-Raqîb was known all throughout the area… They tell of a hollow with unmatched strength. It was rumored that he had even taken down a Gillian himself! However, it was not his strength that made him terrifying.”

Of course she didn’t know anything about Garganta.

“His most terrifying ability… is that of omnipresence”

The road around them was becoming lighter. Arachnee was too weak to maintain the road under him, and Azul would not be able to maintain it forever. They had to move on. But… going to Hueco Mundo will be our doom.

“Adapalane ar-Raqîb earned the title of observer by the other hollows because of his ability. He was weak at first, but his natural prowess at Garganta allowed him to observe every single place, be it Hueco Mundo, the human world, or even Soul Society. There is no place hidden from his vision, and if he could see it, he could reach it. And there is no way to prevent him from doing whatever he wants. He knows no limits, and if he wanted it his claws would penetrate you. And you would never know what happened”

Azul had a look of disbelief in her face. But so far, Arachnee had not said anything strange. Adapalane had always been well informed of her actions in the human world, and there was definitely something fishy about his ability. But then…
“Then why should he help me? He said he couldn’t leave Hueco Mundo… And he even said he needed my help for his growth? What’s the meaning of that?”

“How should I know?! Stories told that… they said that once he got tired of human souls, he started eating other hollows… He would simply crush them and eat them whole… you should be dead, and OH FUCK! HE HAS SEEN ME WITH YOU!! I'LL DIE!”

“Calm down, if he was that Adapalane of your stories, I should be dead, and also, if he could see it all, then what? He could appear right now and crush us both”

“Oh, he CAN crush us, trust me. But he cannot come here… his own ability prevents him from seeing this reality, not that it matters, cause if we stay here we will die. Oh FUCK we are doomed!!” And he at least was doomed; the r