From Glass Castles To Steel Walls (Zettai)

For the last two hundred years or so, there's been a monster in the sands. Many people have different definitions on the finer points of being a monster and what does and does not count, but all people agree on one thing: If someone shouts 'Monster', you run. And because of that, all the monster ever learned was to chase. By watching the other monsters, he learned what to do once you caught the thing you were chasing, and that became Zettai's life. Hunting down and eating his own kind over and over, day in and day out. Sometimes, he was hunted. That was different, but still the same, and he found enjoyment in that well. But everything changed after his mask broke. Ever since that day, Zettai no longer felt like he was the same monster. Now, he was a different type of monster. Instead of hunting down beings for their power, he wanted their knowledge. He wanted what was on their mind, not in their flesh. After his arrancarification, Zettai could choose what to hunt for. Having awareness of that choice unleashed a horde of questions on his fragile psyche, and he couldn't help but seek out others. He wasn't sure what for. He didn't know if he wanted them to help him or kill him and free him from the frustration, but he knew he needed to find someone else.

Not far from Cazador's initial meeting place with his now dinner, Zettai had just finished his own meal. Three ape-like adjuchas had targeted him as he wandered, lost in thought, but he made short work of them before skulking around their territory. He was looking for a niche of interesting objects and other such things that hollow sometimes liked to collect. Instead, he witnessed something that made his mouth water at the prospect. Just to the left of him, maybe three meters, a beam of energy unlike anything Zettai had ever seen before cut through the sand and shot off into the distance. His eyes watched it disappear like a Forza fan before his brain kickstarted back into gear and he could process what he saw. 'Was that... a Cero?!' He thought to himself, amazed at it's sheer length and girth. His was only a fraction of that size. Suddenly, a realization dawned on Zettai. Cero didn't just come from nothing. Someone produced that thing. As the winds began to blow and eat at the cero's snailtrail, he shot down it in a run, following it to the source in hopes of finding the individual that made such a grand cero.

Cero was something Zettai relied on for just about everything. His main power was support based, and as such, it was no good when it came down to finally killing something or even dealing damage without getting creative and putting more effort into it than was necessary. For that reason, the position of his main gun was filled by cero. If this individual was capable of rational thought, maybe it would be interested in helping him increase the power of his own cero. For a moment, he considered that if this thing wasn't capable of rational thought than maybe running literally right in it's path of fire wasn't the smartest of moves, but he had a feeling that if he was shooting off cero like this, he was most likely occupied. Finally, the wind blew a small dune away and revealed a glorious sight to him. At the end of the trail was the corpse of a worm hollow, who's kind was known to many as a monster in itself. But to Zettai, what was more interesting than the titan was the creature that slew it. A smaller worm, but a million times more efficient and deadly. Staring in awe at the draconian hollow, his logic finally kicked in and he cleared his throat. "Do not be alarmed! I did not come to take your meal! I just wanted to know... Did you shoot that cero, or did that?" Remaining a respectable distance away and stopping, Zettai kept his arms low, hooking his fingers together just over his waist. "Because if the one that shot that cero is still alive, I just wanted to say... That was amazing." The sincerity in Zettai's voice coupled with the shine of Hueco Mundo's moon off his wide eyes were all the evidence he had to his non-hostility, but he hoped it would be enough to not illicit a fight.

----

WC: 750/750

The king calmly feasted on the worm, tearing chunks with his claws stuffing his mouth full of hollow flesh. He could sense the arrancar coming closer, it turns out he had baited the creature well enough, they moved quickly towards the dragon. His golden orbs locked onto the arrancar as he neared, a faint snarl escaped the lips of the dragon, while he was feeding he was his most aggressive, lucky enough for Zettai though was that the arrancar had not started things off on the wrong foot as many others did. He looked over at the man his two arms didn't match which seemed odd to Cazador yet he decided not to ask about it yet listen to what the arrancar had to say. Caz finished chewing to look down at the man after he asked his question, “I fired the cero across the desert. I had hoped it would draw you in.” He accepted the compliment from the arrancar with a proud smile, “It's the cero of kings. So tell me, who are you?” Taking another strip of flesh off the worm quickly eating it as he listened to the arrancar before him.

The smile of the dragon spread across his mask in a grim visage of carnage covered in blood, the wounds in his hands had already regenerated, his reiatsu reached towards the arrancar tasting his spiritual presence. “I suppose I should introduce myself, I am Cazador, King of Hueco Mundo. Now tell me what are you doing out in the sands and not at Las Noches?” Perhaps he was another arrancar that didn't have ties to Las Noches. “Do you know about Las Noches? The old king is dead, I have taken over in his stead. I'm looking to add strong people to our ranks.” Suddenly there was movement in the sand Caz hadn't sensed it sooner focusing on the arrancar, more sand worms. “Well now then young arrancar, show me your strength.” The king would not give up his meal of the worm and if the chance came up he would gladly eat another. The king release what little of his reiatsu he held back his lightning leap across his body as he cried out ready for battle against the six worms.

Building a cero in the palm of each hand casually releasing them towards the worms, they leaped from the sand avoiding the blasts as the sand turned to glass from the heat. Taking to the sky with a powerful flap of his wings, energy building around his hands as he reached over his shoulder sweeping it across the desert releasing a swarm of bala hailing down on the hollow, the hollow leading the pack taking one square in the mask having it shatter upon impact one more for the king's feast. “Enjoy the thrill of combat and show me what you got!” In the back of Cazador's mind he kept track of the arrancar, he wanted to see what the newcomer had to offer to Las Noches, it's not like Cazador couldn't just unleash another gran rey cero but he rather watch Zettai and see what he could do. If the hollow threatened to swallow the arrancar he would destroy them even if the arrancar was weak he at the very least showed respect to the king even before he knew who he was. That wasn't exactly the attitude he got from other arrancar even when they knew who Cazador was, he did have Espada positions to fill after all and even a weak espada who was loyal went further then a powerful one who couldn't be trusted.

WC 605/1312

Zettai's eyes widened. The hollow had fired that glorious cero for him. And more than that, he was honest and gave his intention clear as day. This Hollow was different than the others. Like Zettai, he was honest and chose to walk a different path than their brethren. "Name's Zettai. I have no significant title or role in any form of society." While it was true that he currently equated to nothing in terms of social value, it was also equally as true that he was a free agent; he was a source of power free to be added to any group and be considered an asset. The breeze suddenly shifted, and Zettai felt Cazador's energy seek him out. Remaining still, he brought forth a bit of his own power slowly to meet his own, providing him with the taste he sought. He had nothing to hide, or rather, was unable to hide when such a curious instance was taking place. In fact, Zettai had never met another hollowbreed with enough intelligence to greet him with the same intelligence he greeted them.

"There have been whispers of a king and war, but I was not involved and am not interested in the past. I'm looking toward the future, and if that includes you as the king, then that's what it is." In truthfulness, Zettai had once rushed Las Noches, so to speak, but he was too weak to get past a Privaron guard, and as such, went out in search of the power necessary. But this meeting changed things. This was the King himself, the one he had been looking for an audience with in the first place. A feeling of vertigo washed over him momentarily, and he leaped into the air. Erupting from the ground, a pack of sand worms struck at them violently and swiftly. Drawing his blade from behind his shoulder, the sheath disappearing in the wind as he grasped the handle, his hand was already aiming a cero at the closest worm. Firing it as his blade was aimed properly, he grinned at the king's words. He had already slain the leader, but Zettai would make short work of the rest. The cero that he had fired was narrowly avoided, which was generally what happened to the first shot. That's why Zettai grinned. It was when he initially failed that he could showcase his abilities the most.

Holding his blade parallel with the ground at mask-height for the hollow, he activated the Absolution Wave. His earlier cero, that was coasting just along the desert floor, suddenly hauled itself backwards. Although the cero was now technically aimed at Zettai's zanpakuto, there was a worm flailing in between them. Now was the time to deal with the rest. With his free hand, Zettai conjured two thin needles with his reiatsu. The same shade of green as his reiatsu, one akin to dark leaf, they began to glow brightly just before he threw them in wide arcs. As they repelled each other, they flew apart and created a perimeter between three of the other worms just as they began to rush them. As the cero he fired struck the first worm from behind and blew it apart, the needles in the ground took over as the main source of attraction. Forcing the remainder of his cero the fly between the reishi spikes in the sand, Zettai surprised them with a weak blast from behind. It wasn't enough cero to damage them seriously, but it startled them and gave Zettai the perfect opportunity to finish his combo.

Charging one last cero into his sword, Zettai sonido'd into the middle of the trio. The worms immediately turned on him in an attempt to devour him, which was exactly what he expected them to do. Worms weren't particularly bright. Their reputation for monsters came from their size, speed, and strength in numbers. 'Too bad for these hollow, war is a game of the mind.' Jumping into the air, he swung his sword down and released the cero he had been charging from it while allowing the reishi spikes in the ground to fade. Overfed, the unstable cero exploded upon impact, disintegrating the worms instantly and boring a hole fifteen feet straight into the sand. "To be fair, I always enjoy the thrill of combat." He winked at Cazador before throwing his sword to the left of the last worm as it dug it's way through the granular ocean toward him. Moments before it passed the beast's half-submerged head, Zettai struck the air with his foot and sonido'd to the worm's right. Activating his Absolution Wave one last time for this fight, he pulled his zanpakuto through the air (and the Hollow's head) and back into his hand. Landing on the sand and sliding, he spun around to face Cazador. Unfortunately for a hungry hollow such as Cazador, Zettai's methods of killing left little to be eaten. With the three worms reduced to ash by his overcharged cero and the hollow who's mask had been sliced by his zanpakuto, the only one he didn't reduce to smithereens was the first one. Most of it's head had been blown off, but enough of it remained for a corpse to remain.

"You can also have that one, if you'd like. You can either consider it a gift, or you can trade me something that you have that I would like." This was about as close to a request that Zettai could make. He had no interest in forcing anyone to teach him anything, and preferred for a teaching environment to be friendly and patient. However, Zettai also knew that some people had a lot of pride and liked to keep face. He was hoping Cazadar was this way. "To cut to the chase, I need more power in my cero. I have ideas on how to combine it better with my power, I just can't seem to cram enough power in it to make it last long enough."

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WC: 1003/1753

Cazador sat back watching the young arrancar go to work, his movement was sharp and swift a good sign. The first cero narrowly missed the worm yet that's when he felt a small surge of reiatsu from the arrancar and saw the cero start to return towards Zettai, needless to say the king was interested, it wasn't everyday you saw someone curve a cero like that. He wondered if that power could be used with other hollows cero's as well or if only Zettai's was effected, either way a useful ability to be sure. The follow up was impressive to say the least, with rapid speed Zettai dispatched the first worm and then double blasted the blast three with a decently charged cero, it was unrefined and still only with the skill of a novice but he could see potential in the man. He grinned at the man's comment of enjoying the thrill of combat, he was glad to see he also had some humor to him. He then saw Zettai do the same trick he had with his earlier cero yet this time it was his zanpakuto that had changed direction, going right through the worm and back into the arrancar's waiting hand. Returning to the ground stroking his chin in thought, he had been impressed not only at the speed of the execution but also the style of it. “You've done well Zettai, better then I'd expect to be honest.” Crossing his arms over his chest with the moon of Hueco Mundo behind him he towered over the arrancar, his eyes glowing faintly in the night. “As the king of Hueco Mundo, I gladly accept your gift Zettai, in return I ask that you return to Las Noches with me. I shall personally train you in the way of cero, it shall not be easy nor kind but should you prove yourself, I MIGHT have a position as a Espada open. How do you feel about that?”

Cazador was taking a gamble on this arrancar but judging from his honesty and his skills, two things that the king needed at the moment, this arrancar would make a good fit as a espada, certainly more trustworthy then Octavia yet her advice was valuable and her skill worthy of her position as well. He quickly returned to finishing worms that had been defeated, more souls to be added to the mass of the king. He motioned Zettai to come over to him when he had finished, “Stand back, let me show you how the cero of a king is made. Absorb what information you can from this demonstration, for it will be brief and for one like you perhaps a bit awe-inspiring.” The dragon took a few moments to center himself before taking in a powerful inhale, running his palm over his sharp fangs causing the thick ichor of the king to pour from the wound. The blood pooled in the kings mouth as a sickly sea-foam green light began to emit from the open maw of the king, electric current coursing over the dragon's body focused into a tight blue ball within the quickly growing cero. The green light flickered blue and green before only the blue remained as all the blood of the king had been absorbed by the cero, with a mighty bellow the king took in more energy from the air around him and within building the cero as far as he could contain. Motioning the arrancar behind him he released the blast, with a deafening roar the cero cracked out of his mouth, the space before warping as it dug a massive gouge out of the desert. The newly formed trench in the sand sea, nearly one hundred feet across and fifty feet deep stretched forward as far as the eye could see. The king gave a small sigh as he released the tail end of the beam and it tapered off, he was improving not only was it going faster and further but the size of the blast was improving as well as he saw the small mushroom cloud of the blast off in the distance rise into the air.

“Now Zettai, I hope you take some of what I just showed you and apply it through your training. If practice and growth your power is sure to improve and perhaps one day you shall be able to perform a cero of that level. Just remember that even I didn't learn that level of skill over night so don't be surprised when you can't perform a gran rey on the first try. I didn't even know what I was doing the first time I had performed it, though that's a story for another time.” The gillian laughed at his memory of his fight with Octavia, his first performance of the gran rey and he didn't even know how he had done it. “Come there is still a large distance between here and Las Noches, I'll answer any questions you might have.”

WC 838/2150

Zettai grinned sheepishly as he received the compliments. Truth be told, he may have over-extended himself a little bit. His muscles ached, his vision was blurry, and his heart was racing. As the adrenaline from battle wore off, his higher state of energy went with it, and he came crashing back down to reality. 'Why did I push myself so hard for that?' He questioned himself, uncertain of what he was really looking for here. And then the king reminded him. A place on the Espada.. for him! He had rushed Las Noches before, but a privaron guard showed him that he wasn't yet strong enough for the king. It appeared things were changing. Looking at his shaking hand for a moment, he saw a truth there. His fatigue was due only due to his effort, and that just meant he was going to grow even stronger. Cazador motioned toward Zettai, and he immediately snapped out of his inner thoughts. It was time to see something cool!

This was always Zettai's favorite part about meeting someone for the first time. Seeing their uniqueness is what the arrancar quested for. It's what defined their purpose, and by paying attention to how they used it, it's what defined them. In the pale moonlight, as the sand whipped around them, the dragon drew his own blood. The distinct hum of a cero charging could be plucked from the wind's howling by those who were listening for it, and he let it fill his ears like honey. Drowning out the sound of everything else, he did the same with the sight of it. Using his blood as an additional agent, Cazador formed a massive cero that was even larger than the one he had pulled out earlier. Energy crackled around the dragon Hollow's head as he continuously sucked in energy, until finally releasing it. Astounded, Zettai could barely find the power in himself to step back when he was instructed to. He was glad he pulled it together, however, as the cero departed.

A spiral of potent energies and a weapon of war in it's own right, the cero's high pressure and heat creating a layer of solid crystal in it's wake, creating a large, permanent scar in the desert. Zettai's hand twitched as he watched the horizontal pillar of light disappear into the horizon, perhaps to never end. As it faded, the rest of the world slowly bled back into his perception. "Yes. I want to be an Espada." The denizens of Las Noches were perhaps the only consistent, persistent thing in all of Hueco Mundo (if you didn't count the Sand and Moon, of course). Even base level Hollows learned of them quickly, as they were the only sort of authority in their plane, let alone the only group of Hollow with an Agenda. They were monsters with a purpose, and that was exactly what Zettai strove to be. The King himself was here offering him a chance to be that monster. His eyes flaring with determination at the dragon's words to him, he nodded at Cazador. "Alright. Thank you, sir."

Sir. The word slipped from his mouth without him putting it there. Perhaps it was a remnant of his time as a human, a small piece of it left after doing the Salutation Ritual with A.H. Pausing for a moment, he made the decision that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He was looking to be in a position of subordination beneath Cazador's authority, and he wasn't one to stray against his role, so long as he chose to accept it. And this was most certainly one of those times. "Questions? I will be honest. I have a lot of questions. Many of them personal, most of them irrelevant. I will ask one, however, just to tide my hunger. Do you believe in destiny? What I mean by that is... Do you believe your purpose is preordained, or something you choose for yourself?" He had a feeling he knew what kind of answer he was going to get from Cazador, but he wanted to see if the King saw things the way he did or not. Zettai was very good at being in the position he wanted to be in, but it was still a lot easier to engage a challenge when you had a passion to complete it, and serving under a King was no different.

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WC: 737/2490

The king reached back and rolled his shoulder as he worked out a kink in the muscle as he walked next to the arrancar, glad to see someone so impressed by the might of the king. He would not admit to the man before him but never had anyone shown him the level of respect and awe that Zettai had. His pride swelled within himself, no longer was he having to fight to prove to those he met he was king. Now they accepted his word and gladly would follow him to Las Noches. He could feel a shift in the wind, the sands began to stir and he knew in time a sandstorm would be upon them. “Lets pick up the pace Zettai, the storm is coming and you won't want to be out here when it hits.” The king was never very skilled in sonido but he used it now to start moving quicker, the last time he felt a storm of this level coming obsession had started the war in the Seireitei.

He was glad Zettai was so open about his plans to be a Espada but he knew at his level as skilled as he was, he wasn't ready for the position. He still needed some serious training and Cazador planned to make sure that he got that training at his own hands. When it came to Cero few if any left in Hueco Mundo could match the king's skill in it. While his reiatsu wasn't the most impressive he had grown skilled in that one art. So Zettai would have a skilled teacher in that regard. The wind began to grow stronger whipping at Cazador's backside as he smiled down at the arrancar who thanked him and called him sir. “I like your tone Zettai.” The king gave a nod of approval to the man.

His question was one that Cazador had spent a lot of time thinking about, destiny. He always knew that it was his to be the king, yet he also knew how tightly the chains of fate bound people and if you were willing to sacrifice everything to grow into a monster that you could take fate into your own hands. “Destiny and fate are fickle things Zettai, just remember if you want something badly enough to give up everything it can be yours but is the you who claims it still the same man? These are questions that plaque us all but think long on what you want my Fraccion, in time you will have the strength to be Espada, I give you my word as king that I can see that potential within you.” The king extended his wings and took into the air, a garganta linking to Las Noches opening before himself. “Follow me home Zettai.” He faded through the opening only closing it after the arrancar had followed him through to the glorious city of Hueco Mundo, still in disrepair but slowly it was coming back together.

WC 500/2650
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