Trial By Fire [Robert/Anastasia/Rainier][TBTP]

High up on one of the white-washed and towering structures of the Seireitei stood Rainier and Anastasia, side-by-side as they visually and spiritually surveyed the city around them. In their immediate vicinity, Rainier—with his eyes closed for concentration—could feel blip after blip of spiritual presence that, like them, had no business in this city of Shinigami. There was something nice about this, after the departure of Tova Diabló. It made him feel strong, superior to the Shinigami in a way he hadn’t in a very long time.

The two of them hadn’t even planned to be here, no one really did. It was the day they were supposed to go hunting for the first time in years. That never happened, not when Anastasia discovered the natural “holes” in the world that connected to the Seireitei. They weren’t Garganta portal, they weren’t Senkaimon, they were just holes. Neither of them knew how long they would last and Anastasia insisted they go. She practically dragged him through the first one.

It had been hard enough to get his agreement just to go hunting, let alone to storm into the Seireitei.

Now? Now he was happy they did. The Shinigami were busy with the other, unannounced visitors. Two Arrancar like them had gone largely unnoticed. It let Anastasia and Rainier both—but most Rainier—get used to the fact that they were actually, truly here of all places.

As each moment passed he grew ever-more accustomed to the thought. But now it was time to actually do something. Anastasia, even in the middle of the great Seireitei, proved impatient to start what they set out to do that day: to fight, to kill, and to devour.

They leaped to the top of one of the tallest structures in the city and began to look.

With their initial scans complete, Rainier stomped down on the building below them for a distraction. He held his spear upright in his other hand.

“What even is this, do you think?” He wondered to her aloud. They both did that sort of thing. “I just hope it holds!”

He laughed when he spoke, grinned, and pointed his spear in the general direction of a Shinigami they had wandered near. Even from this distance the man looked worse for wear. His spiritual pressure, while large, fluctuated violently. Under normal circumstances that man would crush the two of them together. But now? Now he had the potential to become a delicious meal that they would not have to fight so hard to get.

A powerful, but wounded soul always proved a tempting target for a Hollow. All of the quality, only a fraction of the danger. What wasn’t to love.

Rainier knew that his choice of target would surprise Anastasia. She had barely gotten him here, barely gotten through the shell of anxiety and uncertainty. Now that they were here, though? Rainier felt alive. And the thought of taking on a target like that immensely powerful Shinigami down there, even in his wounded shape? Not to mention the small number of other, much weaker Shinigami?

It touched off an excitement within the Privaron that he just couldn’t stop. A red glow appeared in his free hand almost unconsciously as the eerie power of a Cero gathered in his palm.

He lifted the blunt end of his spear from the stone rooftop beneath his feet and angled the spearhead down at the Shinigami man. Then he leaned back just enough to lift his forward foot off the stone. A moment later and his weight shifted in an instant. His foot slammed down and made the skyscraper shudder for a moment. His arm tensed as it hurled the spear forward and away from his grasp.

The weapon whistled as it went through the air but it was overcome by an even louder, static hiss a moment later. Rainier took from the roof and rushed down through the air with the supernatural speed of his Sonído. The city and all of its buildings whirled through his vision as he leapt a massive distance in a single step.

When he reappeared it was to the opposite side of the man, his target. He knew the Sonído, and his own sudden appearance in the man’s peripherals, would catch his attention. But he needed to capture all of it, and the wide, toothy grin didn’t do it on its own. As his feet finally touched the ground again, Rainier lifted his left hand and revealed the bright mass of crimson spiritual energy that had gathered there.

Just past the man in front of him, the Shinigami, who could still see his spear as it roared closer—as if moving in slow motion—and realized that his aim was dead on. Even if it missed the Shinigami, it’d soar past his right side and let him snag it right out of the air without being impaled by his own weapon.

Right when his eyes confirmed the position of his spear, the red erupted. It surged forward like a wave and engulfed everything in front of Rainier. It groaned the strange noise that all Cero were known for as it carved a halfpipe through the stone ground that covered the entire, white city.

At that moment, there was no turning back. There was no undo.

He felt more alive than he had in months, years, or even decades.

*****

902 Words/18 GP
Total GP: 18 GP

The almighty Seireitei. She would comment about how the great have fallen, but that’d be rather hypocritical of her, wouldn’t it? Even still, this is what they had been afraid of? Sure, here and there dots of terrifying signatures reached out to touch the edges of her spiritual awareness, but the vast majority? She had fought base level hollows stronger than the footmen here. Didn’t these people know how to raise an army? A cluster of ravaging beasts that only cared about eating were stronger than the bulk of their army.

If she had known this, she would have pushed for them to pay the black robes a visit a long time ago.

Bow in one hand, a charging Bala in the other, she blinked a few times, quietly watching as ignorant Shinigami pranced about below. Stupid, mindless roaches, the lot of them. They didn’t even have the common sense to look up.

“I like this side of you,” she commented with a smile towards Rainier’s excitement. How long had it been since she actually saw him practically snarl in anticipation? “I bet you’ll never want to go back to hiding again after this.” The statement wasn’t really meant to be responded to, though they did share a small stare before he snapped his attention to his target.

A small band of Shinigami surrounding what she could only assume was a Lieutenant or a Captain given his spiritual weight. Honestly? He looked a little too overcooked to make her stomach rumble, but then again, Rainier always did have weird tastes.

As he leaned back, she brought her bow up, stringing the charging Bala onto a thin line of reishi reminiscent of a Quincy bow. By the time he had let the spear slip from his fingers, Bala after Bala had been shot out to snipe the smaller Shinigami that weren’t worth the time nor energy. The rain of spiritual destruction effortlessly passed by Rainier’s frontal assault, though left little wiggle room.

That was their fighting style, after all. Precise and well timed. There’s wasn’t much room for error -- not a lot of outs if one of them slipped up. Sure, they’d try to correct as necessary, but in their early days of fighting, that was easier said than done. Many Bala and spears to the faces or knees made them really good at knowing what the other was doing.

And, as Rainier unleashed his screeching Cero, Anastasia quietly hopped to another roof and strung up another Bala, her eyes dead set on where the Shinigami had been last. if Rainier hadn’t hit him, she sure as hell would with this next shot.

[442. 8]

He felt it coming. There was no way he could mistake that dull hum in the back of his throat for anything other than bloodlust, and as his attention fell from the quandaries in his head to the flow of Reiatsu, he knew at once what was happening.

An ambush.

High-quality military tactics from the Arrancar simply weren’t something the Shinigami were used to, and even Robert was caught off guard by the precision of the assault he felt thundering down on him. Two Arrancar, one charging into close quarters at an impressive gate while the other charged… cero? no, definitely Bala.

Robert rocked his body back, swinging all of his weight into his mangled shoulder blades before kicking off, pushing himself off the ground and landing on the flats of his feet with a quiet groan. Bala were fast, as was this shinigami, but they weren’t all focusing on the same things. If the Bala eliminated the shinigami they were aiming for he couldn’t be healed, but if he was hit he’d have a far harder time of things. There simply wasn’t enough time to block both attacks.

“Bakudō Number Seventy Three: Tozanshō!”

He chose the Shinigami.

The palms of Robert’s hands slapped together, charred flesh meeting barely exposed bone as he melded his Reiryoku. In a flash the light shot from his hands, expanding and twisting as it formed a small pyramid around the group of Shinigami. No sooner had it formed than the bala found purchase, bouncing into the barrier and dissipating harmlessly.

Before he had time to readjust, the Arrancar was on him, spear and cero ready to find purchase. Robert didn’t have time to form a quality barrier, but he didn’t have to take this all on its own. He threw his arms out in front of him, forearms overlapped like a makeshift shield as he attempted to block the spear. From the gap where the arms overlapped a flow of Reiryoku began to expand outwards into a barrier, but it was too late to be useful. The tip of the spear ripped straight into the flesh of his forearm and a second later the Cero consumed him, and through it all sailed a Bala from Anastasia.

When the chaos of attacks subsided, Robert still stood, his feet planted firmly where he had left them. The tip of the spear had sunk through an inch of mangled flesh and lodged its tip in the bone, while the Cero had lost itself in the noise of Robert’s already burnt body. The bala had found purchase against his eye-patch, ripping off the tattered red leather and sending it sailing to the wind as it left a nasty crack in his eye socket.

And through it all, clean white teeth smiled out of Robert’s grinning maw.

They knew exactly what they were doing, but even then it wasn’t enough to overcome the advantage of raw power. Robert wrapped his unharmed hand around the shaft of the spear and levied his strength to tear it free. With a flick of the wrist he hurled the spear straight into the sky, and then muttered a simple phrase.

“Hadō Number Fifty Seven: Daichi Tenyō!”
Robert’s Kidō exerted itself upon the spear, accelerating it with all the force of his spirit as he navigated it through the sky and towards Anastasia.

Why did you let them hit you? That same damn voice echoed in Robert’s mind once more, its tone as aloof and distant as ever. Why did you save the others instead of yourself? You didn’t know their attacks wouldn’t kill you.

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601 Words this post
12 GP this post

A blue, inverted pyramid formed and shielded the other, weaker Shinigami from Anastasia’s simultaneous assault. Rainier watched, out of the corner of his eye and awareness, as he Bala pinged against it and shattered into a rain of particles that evaporated in mere moments.

That only heralded the start of the bad news.

It started in the guise of success. Rainier’s spear drove into the man’s forearms with a satisfying crunch when it collided with bone. His Cero washed over the man from behind and left him, even more than before, burnt and even closer to death.

But it didn’t stop him.

Right after his first Cero, Rainier started to prepare another. The glow of red and shrill cry of his spiritual energy both radiated from his palm just as the man in front of them ripped the Arrancar’s spear from his flesh. He hurled it straight into the sky and, right after his previous spell saved the lives of his comrades, he shouted another.

In mere moments, two spells that Rainier had never seen before.

This one didn’t seem to do anything at first, not until Rainier caught sight of his spear as it stopped in mid-air, rattled from the suddenness of it, and then shrieked through the air far faster than he could have ever thrown it—right at Anastasia.

No big deal, then! Rainier decided. He trusted Anastasia to weather that as well as she could. In the mean time, however, the Shinigami had neglected him. Rainier intended to make him pay for that. After all, whether in his hand or not, that spear was still his Zanpakutō. It was still part of him.

Even as it hurled itself at Anastasia, a point of red appeared and grew quickly. Rainier took a half step forward brought his palm right up against the man’s back at effectively point-blank range. Right as the Cero on the bottom of the flying spear grew bright enough to see, and loud enough to hear, Rainier fired another from his hand with the same deafening groan.

The one from his spear fired a moment later, slowed as the spear raced in the opposite direction, and barreled down on the Shinigami from his front.

By the time it reached the ground, Rainier was gone. He leapt into the air with all of the speed of his Sonído and reappeared high over the Shinigami man. His right hand still steamed from the heat of the first two, crimson Cero that leapt from him and, this time, he pointed his left hand down, ready to fire.

Or, with a little luck, catch the spear the Anastasia would hurl his way. It wouldn’t be the first time that something like this happened, after all, and Rainier could already tell that their sad little victim had never been on the receiving end of a coordinate Arrancar assault like this before.

Despite how powerful he was, and despite that he appropriately wielded magic he had never even witnessed before, Rainier felt that unmistakable thrill. The sense that he could cut completely loose, that he had to, that he was up against an opponent demonstrably superior to him but—whether due to good fortune or good tactics—actually had the slightest chance of victory.

He had forgotten that he lived for this.

Neither of them would let it go easy.

*****

560 Words/11 GP
Total GP: 29 GP

Yeah, sure, of fucking course. Attack the little girl who hadn’t done any damage to anyone. Smart play you stupid Shinigami.

The thoughts were mostly out of panic as she lined up a Bala with the rocketing spear, though were laced with a bit of hope for Rainier’s counter attack. Propelled by some weird Hadou or not, it was still just a spear -- one she had been hit with millions of times over her life as an Arrancar. An attack she knew she could weather.

As the Cero shot from the spear and at the unsuspecting Shinigami, Anastasia’s Bala shot out and pushed against the tip of it, pushing it off course just enough. Slowing it down just enough. Without even batting an eye, one hand fell from the bow and grabbed at the spear.

The force pushed it through her hand and into her shoulder, slicing through her Hierro without much qualms. Though, despite everything they had done to slow it down, she didn’t doubt it would have went straight through her had she not caught it. You would think Rainier would learn to stop letting the enemy have his spear after all this time, but no he had to do it for the flare.

With a wince and small grunt, she pulled out the spear, spun it in her hand, and the chucked it at the Arrancar who had just appeared up in the air. The blast of his Cero covered the ground, hiding away their target just enough to make her feel like she could shake her hand a few times from the pain. Honestly, the burn of the spear eating away through her palms hurt more than the wound, if only because she knew the shoulder thing was an easy fix.

Though, fuck, this was one of those times Rainier’s Regeneration would have been helpful.

But this was a fight and she had to soldier on. Raising her bow back up, another soft glow of a charging Bala forming, and ignoring the way the movement made even more blood ooze out from her shoulder, she waited for any signs of movement. If anything -- anything -- caught her eye, she’d let loose the Bala with every intention of stopping the Shinigami before he could power up another one of those attacks. Even if he was faster -- even if he was stronger -- they had numbers and tactics on their side.

After all, Shinigami were pretty stupid.

[407. 8]
[16]

When the voice echoed through Robert’s mind, all he could do was let out a short, frustrated wheeze. He fucking hated hearing voices. It had always been the worst part of being a Shinigami, but now that he was a Vaizard, he couldn’t be sure if this was simply another deception. After all, he had tried to talk to this voice and it had ignored him, yet it thought that mid-combat was a good time to chat?

Because I need them to treat my wounds he replied flatly. It was the obvious reason, after all. He was covered in wounds, and he would need their help if he intended to keep fighting.
Lie. The response was cold, stern, and immediate. Why did you do it?
Now that frustrated him. It wasn’t a lie--he needed them to heal him! How was he meant to survive, let alone keep fighting, if he was left in this condition? What was it playing at?

The pressure of a charged Cero from behind Robert drew him out of his head and back into the fight. Whatever was going on in his head, he couldn’t focus on it to the detriment of the battle. He kicked off the ground with a Shunpo, heading straight into the air. The Cero grazed across his left foot, and then he dropped back onto his feet with a loud snap. His left leg gave way on impact, dropping him to his knees as his achilles tendon snapped in two. He sunk his teeth into his lip, and did his best to stifle the desire to scream.

Why did you do it? the voice repeated, louder and more insistent than before.
Because that was my job, it was what I had to do! Robert roared back as he brought his hands above his head. A flash of green shot from his palms, and he wrapped himself in a shimmering bubble. The coordinated Cero strike from Rainier washed over his barrier like fire, but failed to pierce it.
Lie! cried the voice, its anger and frustration clear. Why did you do it?!
I’m not lying!
Lie! Why did you do it?!

As the rolling waves of the cero past and revealed Robert, a single bala was loosed. It tore through the weakened barrier, smashing into Robert’s exposed chest and knocking him onto his back.

BECAUSE WHAT IS THE POINT OF HAVING STRENGTH IF I CAN’T DEFEND THOSE WEAKER THAN ME?! He rolled onto his stomach, and spat a thick spray of blood into the dirt. He couldn't keep taking blows like this. The next one could kill him. Robert brought his hand up to the blood in front of his face, and with a mangled finger quickly scrawled a sigil with it.

“Hadō Number Seventy Nine: Chimonmyaku!”

He slammed a flat palm into the blood sigil, and extended his will to the surrounding environment. He was incapacitated and outnumbered, and there was only one advantage on his side: His blood was everywhere. Between Iko and these Arrancar, there were drops of his blood in almost every location around them. Thanks to Rainier’s spear, it was even in the area around the long ranged fighter. At the activation of the blood sigil, Robert’s very blood lashed out. From every drop there rose a blade of crimson and shadow. Thin rapiers rose from the tiniest drops, and massive greatswords from the largest of pools. They shot high into the sky and jutted out of the walls they stained, aiming to skewer everything in their path.

Robert pushed off the ground in the chaos, forcing himself to rise to onto his knees and face his opponents. Whoever you are, whatever you are, either help me fight or stop talking. I refuse to let them kill me, and I won't let you distract me any longer.

Alright. it responded, its voice far more content than before. I’ll help.

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652 Words this post
13 GP this post

Chimon—what, now? Rainier wondered. He barely caught the name of the spell as he plummeted from the sky and caught the spear that Anastasia had pitched back over to him. He had already gathered the energy for a Cero deep in his chest, one he could roar out at Robert at a moment’s notice—but he wasn’t even given that much.

All around him, the blood that soiled the white stone of the embattled Seireitei rose up. It formed into crimson blades in a moment and, a second after that, rocketed out in all directions similar to what had happened to his spear a moment ago.

And Rainier was caught in the air, in the Seireitei, a city surrounded by Sekkiseki of all things. It made the spiritual particles in the air thin, nearly impossible to control, and Rainier could feel that beneath his feet as he subconsciously tried to bring them together.

Panic hit like a wave and Rainier felt his stomach leap into his throat. That repulsive field of his immediately extended out into the world and pushed back against the blood-swords that threatened his life. He felt it slow them a little, as if they had splashed into a lake and slowed down as they sank to the bottom, but it was hardly enough.

The first that reached Rainier had, much to his dismay, found itself pointed straight at his face. He smashed it to the side with his spear and leaned to avoid it at the last moment, but it wasn’t alone. Another hurled towards his chest and this time, Rainier was able to bash it away with his spear at enough of a distance to divert it entirely.

In those few, short moments, he had avoided near-death twice. But there were even more of those blades, all around, and he couldn’t stop them all even with his supernatural powers. He eyed each one and the panic grew in slow motion. Furiously, desperately, he felt himself try to build a platform beneath his feet, but each time it was like bringing dry sand together. There just wasn’t enough.

You needed mountains to make a beach or a desert. Anything else would simply collapse if you stood on it.

So he started to reach farther. He stretched out the power of his soul to gather more and more from all around the Seireitei. He felt the resistance of the Sekkiseki and then reached even further. Bit by bit he felt, as he fell, something sturdy finally form under his boots.

“Good enough!” He shouted aloud without even realizing it as he leapt from that weak platform in the air—but it word. The static hiss of his Sonído sounded off and threw Rainier across the sky, towards the ground, and he hit the ground in a head-first roll. The momentum carried him back to his feet and Rainier sprung upright.

Even that miracle hadn’t been enough.

One crimson blade lodged itself between his ribs on his left side, dripping blood onto the stone beneath. Another had pierced his back, right next to the shoulder blade, and left Rainier slightly hunched as he stood there. With wounds like these, even his Regeneration couldn’t heal them quickly enough.

He’d have to settled for stemmed bleeding, he decided, as he ripped the one from his side and tossed it away. He did the same to the one on his back, grunted as he endured the pain, and tossed it aside even harder than the one before it.

The only satisfaction he had, after that, was that Robert was still on his back.

Rainier aimed to keep it that way.

He jumped into the air again, just a handful of centimeters above the ground, and started to repeat what he had just done. Step by step he launched himself across the ground at Robert, faster than running properly, and felt the platforms he managed to build grow sturdier and sturdier. After the first few steps, they felt perfectly solid.

“Stay down!” Rainier roared as he approached and jumped off the air one more time, getting a bit higher, and looking down on the fallen Shinigami. The Cero that he had saved, another beginning to gather at the tip of the spear in his right hand, erupted from his mouth and bore down on the Shinigami man directly below him.

*****

729 Words/14 GP
Total GP: 43 GP