How did this Happen? [OPEN]

It had been a hard few weeks as Cazador adjusted to his new form, still quite large for a adjuchas but he could move through the skies of Hueco Mundo without as much notice. Blood smeared down the chest of the dragon clearly he had been hunting once more, ever on his path of evolution to one day defeat eve and take back the throne. He had been drawn towards Las Noches by a powerful reiatsu it was a shinigami's of that much the dragon was sure, he was impressed by the level of power that was displayed. He could feel two other energies coming from the throne room as well, he assumed that would be Eve and her primera the only people he knew in Las Noches strong enough to have such a signature even at this distance from the fortress. Cazador was only halfway back to the place when the two disappeared now the beast was interested, had someone cleared him a path to the throne and just left?



It hadn't taken more then twenty minutes to fly to Las Noches but already a crowd had gathered even at the gates, a few guards preventing entry to the city causing a backup and plenty of tempers were already in full swing. More then one hollow attacked arrancar or arrancar attacked hollow in a mad rush not only to enter the city and find out what happened but to also for a few have them try for the throne. A few parted to allow Cazador through, most just didn't recognize him in this form, his hide gleaming faintly in the eternal moonlight. Pushing his way to the front he made it to the guards two arrancar who refused him entry. The eyes of the dragon went from the face of one arrancar to the next like pools of molten gold, “You will get out of my way unless you wish to be consumed.” A few muttered in the crowd as they realized the voice coming from his throat was that of the former king. One of the guards stood down the other drew his blade, Cazador slowly started to stride past the guards, the one willing to bare steel against him rushed with his rapier trying to stab the dragon in the back. The blade bit into the hierro of the dragon bending until the blade snapped, the spear tipped tail of the dragon rose up and curled around the wrist of the arrancar pulling him into the air. “Did you think I was lying?” A bala built over the fist that Cazador made punching the arrancar for a double blow of claw and bala knocking them out.



He dragged the body with his tail as he continued towards the main castle, he could see messengers being sent out from the building and streaming to the towers of the espada. A few stopped when the noticed Cazador dragging the arrancar but thought better of it and continued on their way sent by their new 'king' already he could feel a presence ahead in the throne room. Pushing his way through the crowd to see Levi sitting atop the throne of Las Noches. “So your the next one on the list then are you?” The dragon had changed since his last encounter with Levi, no longer was he just a towering beast, now in his more compact form his intelligence had risen beyond it's former capacity. He dropped the arrancar he had been dragging through Las Noches on the floor in front of himself, his foot planted on the back of the defeated foe as Cazador wrenched back the arrancar's arm and tore it off his torso. Taking a hearty bite from the flesh like it was a drumstick, blood dripped down the beast's already gore covered flesh. “Do you even know what it takes to be the king of Las Noches Levi? I know I didn't when I first sat my ass on that chair.” Casually motioning towards the throne with the arm in his hand blood spraying across the throne room toward Levi, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” He hadn't understood what Octavia had meant when she told him this but he was learning. “What's your big plan?”

WC 713

The raging force of two monsters colliding sent echos through the fetid air of Las Noches. The source of power drawing in more arrancar than hollow whos curiosity got the best of them. Lent knew better but one signature was that of Eve, the sovereign of these damned sands. She owed her much, so with reluctance she approached. Keeping to the shadows as to not be seen, who knew what the others would do to someone as small in stature as her?

The Dragon that soared through the sky acted as her way point while she zig zaged through the alleyways and buildings still being restored. Levi never bothered to learn this place, preffering the mortal realm to this place of solitude.

Upon arriving and avoiding the fleeing messangers, she snuck in as quietly as she could muster behind the overgrown lizard and popped her head out to see Levi standing in the hall.

All the murmerings of the queen being dead told her the results more clearly than she could have perceived. The bodies upon the floor only solidifying the truth. "This isnt good. A change of power will likely leave us open to more of these attacks."

Her voice rang out as she ensured her distance from the old King as to not be swiped. "Segunda, though it is your right to claim title, might i suggest you wield power through the illusion of Eve surviving?" The soft tone filled the hall as she walked its walls. "Or at least spread rumor of a failed attempt for the shinigami to pick up."

Stepping through a shadowshe let her form change into the likeness of the former Queen, adding battle wounds before revealing the form to the small audience. "You took me on for espionage, this might be a great first test." She spoke with a wry smile. She did enjoy the visage of royalty. 

It was a damn shame Eve had to perish so soon. Lent never had time to repay her for the gift of assention, but now that debt was cleared. The only tie left was with the Segunda Levi, which seems to have grown more complex considering thenew circumstances.

Wc-364

"There's no sense in hiding it."  A voice caked thick with ennui echoed from another direction in the cavernous chamber where those with the brains to discuss such things had begun to assemble.  Levi, quick to act as always, had sent the peons on ahead.  There were people who excelled at passing along orders and taking them, and then there were men like Amadeo.

"The former Queen offered no comfort, no protection, in any capacity beyond that of a closed door.  Anyone who was dumb enough to believe that she did, will continue to be dumb enough to be kept in line by whoever sits where she sat."  His hands hung in the pockets of his lab coat, thumbs still sticking out as he strolled over the barren stone floor towards their assembly.  His shoes made precious little sound with each step, no doubt intentionally.  "But we will have to work on your language if you're to expecting to continue a role in leadership."

The dragon that had sauntered up and decided to unwrap his takeout meal at the foot of the throne was easy to write off as 'typically brutish' in keeping with Hollows of his nature.  But there was some sort of an air about him, a regalness, that suggested he had an expectation that his opinion should be taken seriously and that he was worthy of respect.  Traits that were rare in a Hollow to be sure, and were therefore worthy of intrigue.

The other one, an Arrancar he did not know, skulked about the edges as her faint aura of silver glinted when it caught the light.  Her presence here was unexpected, and given the amount of pressure she was exuding, it's likely that she had only taken up the courage to voice her opinion because she knew this would-be-king.  A quiet voice on his shoulder.  Perhaps a confidant.  Probably not.  More likely someone wishing to yield power but understanding that they lacked the means to assert.  A parasite at worst, a manipulator at best.  Regardless, they were likely a survival and that--if nothing else--had to be respected.  No matter how it had come to pass, they had found their way to this chamber and would wield influence over what was to come.

Amadeo was aware the battle took place, but he had relied on instrumentation to follow the fray from one of his many workshops.  Small devices not unlike a seismograph violently swung their pens over graph paper, making the sharp spikes in spiritual pressure, the intense waves of outflow, as the Shinigami's first release unfurled.  It drew attention, to be sure, and soon their half-breed leaders responded.  The presence of all three, magnificent and terrible as it was, gave a wealth of data even at that tremendous distance.  The battle was short, and the meters gave many strange readers, but it would have to be dissected later--as soon as the signals went quiet he had made his way here.

"You have to know that if they wanted to take more, they would.  The Shinigami, that is.  I understand you want to appear firm, appear strong, but you must temper yourself."  He took a long look around the room as more faces began to show, answering Levi's call.  "We all must temper ourselves.  Until we can be sure that our defiance is worthy of their fear."

//561

“Cazador! How ya been?” Levi smiled cheerfully when the old king arrived. He had changed quite a bit since that day when the two had exchanged the secrets of bala and cero. “Last time I saw you...” Levi used Sonido to jump nearly to the ceiling and held his hand out, palm down, as if sizing up a child “... you were thiiiis big!” Levi looked and sounded like an uncle bragging on how an adult nephew had grown, which wasn’t too far from the truth. Cazador had been a step above the average Gillian, but a Gillian nonetheless. Becoming an adjuchas could be called the hollow equivalent of becoming an adult.

“This new form suits you.” He continued, dropping down so he was eye-level with Cazador. “You’re like the fearsome dragon and the proud knight all in one.” Cazador had been at the top of Levi’s “probably going to be an Espada” list from the start. As a Gillian, he had held the throne, for however short a time. He had experience leading Hollows. That was a quality that Levi could not ignore. He was still abysmally weak in the grand scheme of things, but he was among the most capable hollows in Las Noches as it was. Oh how the mighty had fallen.

“In all seriousness; Cazador, I know full well what I’m getting into.” Levi almost never let his smile drop around others. Robert had gotten him to scowl by pushing him around. Cayo had earned a frown by cutting off his leg. Freylief... well, she had nearly killed him and Ai, both. Those were the only instances that Levi could remember letting his cocky smile fade without replacing it with some mockery or deception of another emotion.

At that moment he dropped it completely, and looked Cazador in the eyes with a fully serious expression. Like everything else about Levi, that smirk served a purpose. It hid his real feelings and protected him from manipulation. It gave him an appearance of control, even when he had none. It angered his enemies and coaxed them into making mistakes. It made him look confident and indifferent even when he was focusing he entire being on a task.

In that moment, he needed none of those things. In that moment, he needed to look like he was serious. He needed to look like he was taking the task at hand seriously. He needed the hollows, his hollows, to look at him and think “ok, he’s not fooling around with this. He knows what he’s doing.” In that moment, he needed to look like he understood the unfathomable gravity of the situation. So, he did.

“I can’t really make a plan until I know what I’m working with, who my Espada are going to be. You’re high on the list, by the way.” Levi had intended to give Cazador, and the rest of his audience, an overall strategy to satiate their curiosity and alleviate their fears. Before he could however, another Espada contender made herself, and her opinion, known.

Lent was one of a very select few arrancar that he could use for Espionage. In fact, she was the only one he could think of, and for that reason a strong contender for Espada. Her plan however... was appropriate for her role.

“Lent, I like the way you think...” He said as he stepped toward her “...but I wish you had done more of it.” He spoke quietly enough that only she, and perhaps Cazador, could hear. It wouldn’t do to humiliate a future Espada in front of the Hollows she would be ordering around.

Yet another arrancar of note made himself known before he could elaborate. Amadeo was a kindred spirit for Levi; a scientist and a man of reason. His words showed that. They also showed a bit of presumptuousness that Levi would have to watch.

“First of all, I’m king now.” He reminded everyone with a raised eyebrow and a return of his signature smirk. “I set the fuckin language standard.” No one could tell the king what to do. No one could be heard telling the king what to do. It wasn’t a matter of pride or protocol, it was a risk. If anyone got away with it others would try, and soon he would be forced to either kill one of his soldiers or lose control over them.

“That said, you’re not wrong per-say. The harsh reality is that Las Noches, the very center of hollow power, is horrifically weak in comparison to our enemies. We’re like kittens facing down a herd of elephants.” Levi turned his back to the crowd as he spoke, and made his way back to the throne. It was a hard thing to say, and a bit risky, but Levi believed that pretending otherwise was a dangerously obvious bluff.

“Which brings me back to Lent’s idea.” He said, sparing her a glance over his shoulder. “It would have been a good plan, except for three things.” He paused for a moment as he arrived at the throne, and turned to face the crowd again rather than sitting down. “First of all...” He counted off the reasons on his fingers as he spoke. “My power will more than suffice in controlling the hollows.” With that, he let loose a bit of his reiatsu: not enough to choke anyone, but plenty to remind them that he was the strongest hollow in the room. “Second...” He said as he sat down. “... if you look closely you’ll notice that both heads are missing, and I promise I didn’t eat them. Third, and most importantly, it would be a death sentence for all of us. If we did somehow manage to convince them that the woman who’s head a captain had brought back wasn’t dead, they would try again. What would you do against that?”

Levi locked his fingers together and looked down, staring sadly at the ground. “No, there is not use in clinging to the past. For better or for worse, Las Noches is going into a new age. And going back to the whole kittens and elephants thing, it’s going to be a dark age.” Levi stared at the floor and let that sink in for exactly five seconds. The mood in the room predictably dropped, he could feel it in everyone’s reiatsu. But he wasn’t going to let it stay that way.

“The thing about hollows and kittens though.” He said as a smile started forming on his lips. “Is that we thrive in the dark!” Levi stood up proudly, and grinned at the hollows beneath him. He wasn’t giving up yet. He wasn’t going to let them give up either.

“The shinigami think they have us beaten. They think Las Noches is no longer a threat to them. And that will be their downfall! When the sun is up the elephants are always watching for predators. Lions can’t even gather themselves for an attack without being trampled and scattered. When the sun sets though, the elephants are blinded. They no longer see the threat that the lions pose, but the lions see clearly in the dark. In the dead of night, the lions swoop in and devour the elephant’s young. And that is exactly what we are going to do.”

“Let the shinigami think they have us beaten! Let them laugh and revel in their victory! Let them mock us to their hearts’ content! What need have monsters for pride? We will embrace shame and disgrace! We will use every method of survival they refuse to! We will lie and cheat and steal to succeed! We will gang up on the weak and stab the strong prey in the back! We will use any resource, any pawn of any race that we can! If we can convince them to fight for us, then we will use them as soldiers. If we can get them to spy for us we will use them as spies. We will use them until they are of no further use, And then we will use them for food!”

“Let our enemies think they are safe. With that their strength will become their weakness, and our weakness will become our strength! We will grow strong in our desperation while they grow lazy in their confidence! Our fear will make us lean, while their safety makes them fat!”

“Let them laugh at us and mock us for running away like kittens from an elephant. While they laugh, we will hunt. While the captains sit in their offices gloating about their power, we will devour their weak. While they drink in celebration, we will gorge ourselves on humans. And when they have grown fat and lazy and weak, we will descend on them like a pack of lions!”

“So, tell me, Hollows of Las Noches...!” Levi shouted as he spread his arms open wide, beckoning to all of his subjects. “... which of you is monster enough to follow me through this dark age!?”

WC: 1504
TWC: 2,729

The dragon rose up to impose himself upon the crowd as Levi mocked him, standing silent while the upstart made light of the situation. His attention was caught by Lent as she played at being Eve, a sneer crossed the face of the dragon as a blue bolt of lightning shot off from the dragon towards Lent, not harmful enough to cause damage but made to inflict pain. “Don't play at being someone stronger then you are, their foes are just as likely to strike you as their allies.” He made a point of exaggerating his consumption of the arrancar below him, the golden gaze of the dragon turning back to Levi. “You wish me Espada...” He eyed the corpses left behind of Eve and Kionchi both had made him look foolish in the past, plus their corpses still radiated power that hadn't yet faded. “I would take the position only if you agree to two terms.”

Stretching out his free arm and pointing towards the bodies on the floor, “The first one is I want the right to consume both Eve and Kionchi.” Crossing his arms over his chest as he looked over the crowd gathered, “I also ask for full dominion over all the hollow. How could you expect arrancar to lead something so different from themselves.” He paced cross the room to rest against a pillar leaving red prints on the floor in his wake, “If you can't accept these two terms Levi, then be prepared for civil war among our people and I can assure you Levi, there are more hollow in the desert then arrancar in Las Noches. You may rule here in this enclosed fortress of arrancar, but I know who rules the sands and skies out in the desert of our world.”

A few hollow in the crowd bellowed their support for the old king of sand, while it was true the dragon wasn't as powerful as most he made up for it in cunning and skill. It was clear in this new form he had grown beyond the tyrannical lizard he was before now into a real beast worthy of the title Dragon. “The only other demand I would make and I'm much more flexible on this one is the right for me to challenge any of your choices for espada to sure they are strong enough to lead in the first place.” The beast relished in the chance for a decent challenge in his new form but challenging the king would only cause him the ire of another monarch of Las Noches.

WC 431/1144

The idea wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it was clearly not the best. She scoffed at the words Levi spoke, imploring her to think more. It was when the jolt of lightning jumped from the dragon when she realized how out of place she was amongst these beasts. The pain swarmed her body as she gritted her teeth, even though it wasn't meant to be strong, Lent's distinctive lack of strength made it much worse upon her than perhaps the lizard intended. Not wanting to lose any more face between her current employer and the seemingly rival entity, She steeled her expression to mask the hurt while she awaited her regeneration to kick in.

Waving one of her hands across the borrowed face, the silvery mist warped and dispersed. "I'm sorry, are you jealous that I can actually pull it off?" She leaned in closer to the beast as her arms unfolded and extended outward. "Unlike you I need to be in the heart of danger, its the nature of my work. But don't you Dare think claiming a bit more strength is beneath even you." Spitting the words, the woman knew this would likely get herself smeared across the floor and walls. With its attention returned to Levi, her arms folded behind her back as she puffed herself up. Presentation went a long way, even in a world of predators.

Eyes glancing over upon the other arrivals, She made note of a familiar kind of snarky attitude that was oddly similar to Levi's. Is this a commonality amongst eggheads? Her legs locked as the burst of Levi's power filled the room. Again, she steeled herself against it, how much longer did she need to endure these so called formalities of hollow kind? Her only goal was to ascertain the current situation and get back to work collecting information. Literally anything but having to deal with these ilk would be a welcomed moment.

The new King gave a decent speech, or at least good enough for yet another straggler making their way into the throne room. After his own little blurb, Lent eyed the man and smirked as she wiped the tip of her nose. "Think you got a little shit right there." jeering as she mocked the man and gave out a hearty laugh. "You already know where I stand, your highness." it was a curt response, accompanied by a soft smile and a wink towards the brown clad arrancar. 

WC-414
TWC-778

For anyone convinced by a single speech in the wake of such a profound event, their efforts simply would not make a difference.  But that was fine.  More than fine, in fact, when weighed against the coming trials that would test all of their once great nation-state.  Men, women, and things from all over Las Noches would have to die before this king or any of his new friends could even hope to achieve their work.  Their sacrifices, then, would be the name of the game.  Some of them would sacrifice for another, willingly, and that was fine and well.  Whether it be out of fear, out of loyalty, out of some greater purpose, or even a misguided assumption of revenge; it did not ultimately matter.  And others would be sacrificed unwillingly or unwittingly, played as the pawns they are against objectives deemed worthy of achieving by their betters.  All that blood would have to come from somewhere, and flow somewhere.

Maybe Levi was the sort of creature that could direct the flow, or at least reign it in.  He had a knack for appearing head and shoulders above lesser bullies, which he was only too happy to remind everyone of as the air nearby thickened with power and intent--just enough to remind the others what they had already discerned, in case they forgot themselves in the midst of all this frenzy.

"Long may he reign."  Amadeo crossed his fist over his chest in a subdued salute to the man who had crowned himself King.  Despots were something of a commonality, almost an expectation, in Las Noches but he had never stood so close to the featured event or had such a reasonable tie to the one running it.  The access, the possibilities, they were nearly intoxicating.  And perhaps, if he had been a lesser man, he'd have succumbed.


//308

Sand crunched beneath Verbrennung’s feet as she made her way towards the white city, her gait sluggish and unsteady, the Raven cradled in the crux of her right arm. Occasionally a sizzling sound would follow after her as blood dripped from cuts and stabs of varying size and depth across her form, but more prominently from the stump where her left forearm used to be. What a night she’d had, one she probably wouldn’t have lived through without her regenerative capabilities to stabilize her once she escaped and passed out. Even now she found herself hissing whenever a stray wind blew a little too harshly against her frostbitten flesh.

Those dark features twisted into a weary scowl as her advancement halted in front of the doors of Las Noches, or at least where they used to be. A smoke-filled sigh escaped the Espada as it became evident ‘something’ had happened yet again. Even so, Verbrennung leaned forward and pushed through her fatigue to enter the city. She didn’t sense anything of note so whatever conflict had occurred must be over by now, right?

The white halls of Las Noches were vast in size, and thus, usually bore within them a great number of Arrancar bustling about their business. Today, however, it was abnormally empty. Actually, that wasn’t technically true. They were devoid of life. Strewn about like some grim painting were the cleanly cut down corpses of Arrancar she’d never bothered to know the names of. Was it poor form for an Espada to be even a smidge happy about this scene? There was no one to gawk at her, and the pearly walls and floors looked more grounded and ‘real’ with blood on them. It made her own trail of boiling blood look less out of place.

Verbrennung continued to shuffle her way into the depths of the city, occasionally leaning against an immense pillar for aid, aiming for her journey to end in the throne room. She sensed a gathering within and figured that’s where she ought to be right now. The sight of a wounded Espada probably wouldn’t help morale but she didn’t much care about how they felt about it.

A black hand pressed against the quartz doors of the throne room and—for a second time in her life—Verbrennung pushed through them unceremoniously, nearly stumbling in as they gave way. Those weary red eyes were met with a scene she expected: a crowd of Arrancar huddled about looking like scared pups.

She shoved past those who didn’t move out of their own volition, eliciting a few pained yelps as her natural heat burned such individuals, making her way to the front of the crowd. Now she saw what she didn’t expect: the Primera and Queen Eve were dead. Bisected and beheaded like cattle at the slaughterhouse. And then there was Cazador making a scene of eating an Arrancar whilst making a speech about terms before a figure sitting upon the throne. Was that Levi?

The dragon Full-Mask—now an Adjuchas—was proclaiming his conditions to Levi about becoming his Espada. Something about commanding all the Full-Masks and consuming the dead Primera and Queen. Verbrennung couldn’t much be bothered to listen to the details as pain still wracked her form from her prior fight.

“... You going to let this... weak creature push you around?” Was all she managed to bark out to Levi before she crumpled to her knees whilst blood began to pool around her, “Don’t disgrace the dead like that, at the very... least.”

The flames that eternally danced upon her shoulders were dim and the bird nestled in the arm that actually bore a hand breathed shallowly. She'd run out of adrenaline and worried that, with it, time.