Trouble on All Hallow's Eve

”I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise “

Titus sat in the carriage as it made it’s way down the cobblestone road to the party, it was too celebrate the occasion and Titus had decided he would fit the part. “Borrowing” this carriage and then manning it with two gruesome Hollow Creatures, the carriage would look a right sight on the roads as it moved speedily through the night. To add even more terror to the vehicle Huginn and Muginn flew around the outside, the perfect transportation for a Hollow Lord on all Hallow’s eve. He glanced at the map and directed his beasts on where to pull the cart with his convocar, they could not really fight his decision and Titus would put them to sleep once he reached the party, they were already terrified by what he would do to them if they got out of line.

“From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes”

He hummed to himself, as he made sure his gigai was still in the right order, because it was made at the wedding the gigai still was in the semblance of Titus’s old man form. Exactly what he wanted, for a masquerade ball all he would need was a mask and so he had chose to don a mask in the semblance of a wolf. Ironic that his skeleton form was possibly more terrifying then any costume he could think up, but he doubted that would matter. His katana was disguised as a cane as per it’s usual state when he was not in battle. With a howl from his Hollow and a bumpy stop Titus gathered his thoughts. He decided it was about time to put his Hollow to sleep.

“The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son”

To the spectator viewing the carriage from the outside, they would hear these lines and fine them recognising them from somewhere distant before they would see the two fearsome Hollow which pulled the carriage seemingly to become limp and fall into a deep slumber. The Eagle and Vulture which were perched on the door of the carriage would seem curious at the surroundings as an old man with a cane wearing a wolf mask got out, the two bird like Hollow sitting on his shoulders. The man continued singing as he examined his surroundings.

“The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

It seemed the only way to the island upon which the event would situate was a stone path leading from here to there, he noted the moon was in the appearance of a Jack-O-Lantern. Powerful magic for someone to have wrought that, or maybe this entire place was a complex illusion. Either way it seemed tonight was getting more and more interesting, so then he began walking across the path paying attention to the other guests that were starting to arrive.

"Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

11 GP 589 Words

That is exactly what the letter he had received said, with a map to the location, but absolutely zero idea on who the hell had sent it. He had found it in his mailbox sticking out after he had picked up his daughter from her mother's workplace; Val had an important board meeting and Adi wanted a little time to spend with his little girl. After reading the letter he thought it was a joke, or maybe an abnormal way to spice things up for a damn good bit of sex frim Val, but after telling her about it, and finding out she had nothing to do with it, Adi figured it was just a party flier.

Until not a single joint in town matched it. And New York is a pretty big town, especially Manhattan.

That said, Adi did his detective bit, working with Lou to cross reference everything and found out what he could, but to no avail. Eventually, the two men came to the conclusion over a few shots of bourbon. "Alright, so let's get this straight. We just got a letter, with no return address, from a person whom which we have never heard of before, telling me, and only me, to arrive, in costume, not my literal but you know what I mean, to a castle that no one has ever heard of before. And we got nothing on this?" Adi asked his partner. "Sadly, not one damn thing hombre. I ran the names and locations through every damn data base I can find, even those asssholes at SPECTRE don't know a damn thing." Luis replied. Both men really were at a standstill, and for all the money and resources they had, they couldn't find a damn thing. This left only one option for Adimus, and that was for him to go in alone, to this party, in full garb of his "costume", ready and willing to investigate. "Yea Lou, I think we're going to have to do it the old fashioned way on this one." Adi said. "Like Prague?" Returned Lou, "Yep, like Prague."

To those in our audience that does not know what these two fools refer to when they say "Like Prague", they hark back to a security assignment Adimus had received awhile working abroad, and Lou, while with the Delta at the time, was giving a small black ops job to carry out. Neither knew who to protect, who to kill, and had barely any intel other then "Protect a plitician's daughter", yet both went in blind, and both somehow went home alive. Fun times. And this Halloween Ball situation was exactly the same; Not a single clue to anything, just had to go in blind and see what happened. "But what gets me the most," Adi started to say, "Is how this person sent it to me, knowing my exact address, who I am and all that. My name was on the letter head, my real one, but still, somehow this all reeks of Underworld spirit stuff to me. Giving me the creeps."

"Well, we'll just have to knock on their door and bust some heads if they turn out to be bad guys. Come on, I'll go get the plan ready." Lou said to reassure the Iron Knight. And just like that, on the appointed night, Adi and Lou were flying high over head, and after checking that everything was in place, Adi opened up the bay doors to their aircraft, and after shaking hands with Lou, donned his super suit and leaped from the plane, letting his cloak form wings and glided to the ground below, landing just at the point where the mainland ends and the one lone natural land bridge began to lead up to the castle where he was to attend a party. "Well, guess this is just another thing to chalk up to the record books." He said to himself as he started up the path, all weapons still cast away. "Demons, possessed hillbillies, hollows, arrancar, shinigami, super villains," Adi said to himself walking along the path, looking around and checking his surroundings, "Mad scientists, mad scientist arrancar, and now creepy dark, winding road with body of water underneath it leading to a dark, ominous castle. Yeap, another weird one for the record books." He finished, as he neared the gates of the castle, the massive structure bearing down on him like a monster hunting a lost child.

WC: 815
GP Made: 16
GP Total: 16

[For obvious reasons this thread will not be tied to Artix's canon. Consider this me having fun. =D]

Late in the night while Victoria was fast asleep in the warehouse Artix had been unable to fall into his usual patterns of slumber. Something was stirring within him, something that he couldn't explain. A strange urge had washed over his senses, like an addiction that was yet to be fulfilled however Artix was oblivious as to what it was that he had the urge to do. Did he wish to fight? No, he was rather relaxed actually, no pent up aggression to speak of that needed releasing which was strange in and of itself. Maybe he was hungry? He often woke up in the middle of the night for a snack, but as he sat there for a couple of moments not a sound erupted from his stomach, he didn't even feel the slightest bit peckish. He sat for a while on the stone cold ground, his back resting up against the warehouse wall as he attempted to pinpoint the reason for his lack of tiredness. Almost half an hour passed as Artix stared off into the darkness, unable to find an answer to the mystical question that slipped from his grasp: What was it that he had such a strong temptation to do? With a sigh he gave up. It was like the answer was just an inch within his grasp but his mind was incapable of telling him the fundamental details. Instead he thought it best to just go back to bed, close his eyes and hope that the monotony would sing him a lullaby as he drifted off.

His advances towards his mattress however were halted by something that hadn't been there when he went to bed that night. A flier of some sorts sat tucked under the jewelry case on top of his dresser. He stared at it for a moment, wondering if maybe Victoria had put it there. But she had gone to bed before Artix. What if somebody else put it there? Had they snuck in during the cover of darkness and planted it there without him noticing? Regardless, he picked it up and unfolded it, his eye's (His eyepatch had been taken off to allow him more comfortable sleep) scanned through the words and ever so slowly his face lit up. A huge smile spread out across his face, one riddled with glee and excitement, yet his eyes spoke of something much darker and more sinister. He had just figured out what it was that he had the urge to do.




The Vizards foot fell upon unfamiliar soil as his crimson beads stared up at the castle before him. It was bathed in the warm light of the Jack-o-lantern in the sky, clearly the work of some magical genius or a person with great skill in trickery, or maybe even what the humans called "Special effects." Either way it was impressive. Since this little gathering required a certain dress code of masks Artix had chosen to use his vizard mask for the night since he didn't really own anything else. He figured that it looked the part and would fit well with the aesthetic of the party. Scary, yet not horrifically so. The same could possibly, maybe, kind of, sort of be said for his costume.

Feeling confident in himself Artix approached the edge of the water and peered down at his own reflection, lit up by the light of the moon. His face was covered by his mask and he had no intentions of taking it off, he felt that the look he was going for called for an air of mystery. His hulking shoulders and neck were bare, revealing the scars and the terrible burn mark beneath. His costume began about half way down his chest. The shoulder less black dress began with a rose in the middle of Artix's chest, kept tightly to his body by a handy black corset outlined and tied with white lace. Just below the arch of his shoulders were two black plumes of material that began the dresses sleeves. The dress at Artix's waist was ruffled and layered, diverting into two sides once it reached his scarred muscular legs. He smiled beneath his mask which had orange markings instead of blue to accent the occasion. This was what he had the urge to do.

Demon Princess(?) removed himself from his reflection and began the journey up the path towards the gothic structure in the distance, the other guests no doubt looking at him with all manner of emotions ranging from interest to utter disgust. But Artix had only one thing in mind. A whole night of forgetting about his troubles, letting his mind be free and drinking to his hearts content.

[Words: 773][GP: 15][Total: 15]

Kyousuke Tsukimiya frowned. This was most certainly not his cell. He was not deep underground, and not in solitary confinement.

This was a softly-lit hotel suite. A pretty good one, too, by the look of things: large bed, expensive sheets. Elegant furniture, expensive rugs over a parquet floor. Really, the only way he could tell it was a hotel room was by the way it didn't look like it was lived in so much as rented out for short periods of time. Nothing of personal value anywhere. No photos, nothing.

He was sitting on the side of the bed, wearing a black tuxedo, a crooked blood-red bow tie at his crisp white collar, bewildered by his situation. Moments ago—was it moments ago?—he had been in what was more or less a dark pit. Now he found himself in much more comfortable surroundings, and he wasn't alone. The adjacent bathroom door was closed, and the light was on. Kyousuke could hear faint humming from within.

He got up quietly and strode softly over to the bathroom door, unsure as to what he would find within. He opened the door and was greeted with the pleasant smell of perfume and scented bathwater, and a highly unusual sight.

Hazuki was wearing a long white dress, closely matching the color of her skin, and was gazing into the mirror as she affixed little silver skulls to the lobes of her ears. Her long, silver hair cascaded down her exposed back, and she glanced at him as he entered.
"There you are," she said with a smile. "Zip me up, will you?"

It was all too much for Kyousuke. None of this made any sense.

"What?" It was all he could muster.

"My dress. Zip it up for me, I can't reach." She motioned toward her back and lifted her hair for him.

"Where are we?"

"We're in a hotel, Kyousuke. We're about to go to a Halloween party. I'm getting dressed. I need you to zip up my dress." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't recall you being this slow, what's gotten into you?"

Kyousuke blinked, and it all came back to him. A mysterious invitation, a map. Mention of a celebration. Someone named Nephania. That had been real?

"Nothing," he said, looking doubtful for a moment. "Nothing at all." Hazuki looked at him expectantly. "Right, the dress." Kyousuke stepped behind her and zipped it up, brushing her skin ever so slightly as he did so. It was cool to the touch, almost like a marble statue. He caught her reflection in the mirror, and was taken aback by how beautiful she was despite her paleness. It was ironic, really, that someone so thoroughly evil was so pretty.

"You look—" he began.

"Gorgeous, I know." She turned to him and stroked his cheek softly as she looked him in the eyes, yet somehow it stung as if he had been slapped. "Are you wearing your fangs?" she asked.

Kyousuke felt his canines with his tongue, and yes, they were elongated and quite sharp. He flashed a quick smile, and Hazuki giggled. "They look good on you. Oh, your bow tie is crooked. Here, let me."

She busied herself with straightening it out and Kyousuke just stood there, bewildered by this side of Hazuki. What was she up to? Then something occurred to him. "Hazuki, the invitation didn't mention if I could bring someone. Why are you coming?"

She laughed at that. "Do I really count as a plus one, Kyousuke? You know full well I'd end up going one way or another."

That was true, of course. Hazuki would've been there either way. At least this way Kyousuke had a "date", even if his date was an inner Hollow. The absurdity of the situation was close to overwhelming, and yet Kyousuke felt as though everything was perfectly fine somehow.

"Well, go put your cape on and call us a cab. I don't want to be late."

---

It was already dark when they arrived, and had been for quite some time. The cab ride had taken them through a landscape that had gotten progressively wilder as they neared their destination, and fields had given way to a forest that grew thicker the deeper they went. They reached the gates of the estate, situated right on the coastline, and the cab left them there, unable to take them further. Kyousuke offered Hazuki his arm and she took it gracefully, and they set off together at a leisurely pace.

The walk along the craggy land-bridge was pleasant, and the two of them engaged in some lighthearted, uncharacteristically candid conversation as they made their way down the crooked path, lit by a gratuitous amount of jack-o'-lanterns. Overhead, the sky was inky and lit up by the enormous moon, somehow magicked into looking like the jack-o'-lanterns below. Hazuki sneered at it, unhappy with the choice of color and Kyousuke couldn't help but laugh.

"Ice blue is a much better color," she insisted, and Kyousuke laughed even harder. He could see that they were not the first guests to have arrived, and to his relief, Kyousuke wasn't the only one with company.

They reached the castle walls, and as the Vaizard and his inner Hollow passed through the outer courtyard, Kyousuke was awestruck by the grandeur of the fortress. Tall spires, massive keeps, a simply magnificent garden: it was very impressive.

He wondered what the inside would look like.


°922

Mad props to Artix for crossdressing! Also, Kyousuke's inner Hollow is—for all intents and purposes—fully corporeal tonight, so feel free to interact with her as you please.

Kohaku stared, blinking so slowly that her eyes began to itch. A huge pumpkin was floating in the sky, hanging there like a giant drop of rainwater suspended above her head. Stranger still, it was cut into, a creepy face staring back down at her with the eerie features of a smile. All Kohaku could think about was that old myth that if you left pumpkins or watermelons out ten days after Christmas that they'd turn into vampires. Was that what was going on here? The pumpkin certainly had sharp teeth. But it wasn't moving, which perhaps meant that before it started to do so she had better enact a quick escape. Kohaku looked around for the first time, finding herself damp and slightly dirty from standing in a thicket of brambles and wet mulch.

Where was she? Kohaku had a very dangerous thought, rising up over the more logical one that this was simply a dream – she had been kidnapped by demons. Her mind was clearly altered, so someone had wiped her memories of the last few hours. It only made sense that her abilities would draw the attention of evil beings, so they had whisked her away and somehow she'd escaped from them to land here in the middle of the woods. Or... Perhaps not the middle, Kohaku realized as she glanced to the left and spotted a nearby road. It wasn't paved, so this had to be somewhere rural, right? Dirt and small pebbles lined its path, but that was better than standing here in the weeds.

She scrambled over the embankment and suddenly becoming aware of her attire, a long silky black dress and overcloak that hobbled any attempts at climbing. Eventually Kohaku did make it up though, and she panted softly in the cold night air, wiping her sleeves off with bony hands. Alright, if she had been kidnapped, then she just needed to get back. This wasn't any different than her normal situation anyway, it was just a matter of finding her way out of this place. The road she was standing on went both forward and back, but there seemed to be a building looming out from the darkness ahead. Should she try there first? They would have information on how to reach the nearest town and she couldn't exactly just wander around out here. It was fall, it might even snow!

Wobbling forward, Kohaku cursed to find that she was wearing some sort of strange shoe contraption. She'd seen them on the women walking through town in Karakura, the shoes a dark crimson with pointed toes and a long stick at the heel. They were patently not useful for walking over dirt, as the heel kept sinking into the ground causing Kohaku to lurch forward painfully. Her ankles felt fragile, and after rolling them several times due to bad balance Kohaku shucked off the shoes and carried them in one hand. It was easier to walk barefoot, even if her toes began to freeze the second they were unprotected from the frigid nighttime breeze.

It took a long time to get to where she was going. During which, Kohaku became positive of her state of affairs. Definitely kidnapped by demons. This was the only logical conclusion when she was nearly run off the road by a carriage pulled by some specimens that could only be called demons by any stretch of the word. Now, being half demon herself, Kohaku still found the sight of them to be rather repulsive and she ducked behind some shrubs when they approached, watching with wide eyes as the creatures toiled to pull the carriage up towards the house. Maybe that wasn't where she wanted to go? But it was the only thing within miles, Kohaku could feel the minds teaming about the building and could also sense that there weren't exactly hubs of minds anywhere else nearby. It was her only option, so she kept walking.

Perhaps she was in an alternative dimension. That would make sense. The demons had grabbed her, and formed a portal to return to their homeland. But she'd been dropped accidentally leaving her here in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of demons nearby. She would have to fit in, in order to get the information she needed. It was lucky then, Kohaku realized, that she was wearing a mask. And after taking it off to examine it, she saw that it was one of those old Japanese Noh masks, with the angry red youkai face. No one would know the difference, she was positive!

Reaching the building, though really it was like a manor or castle or something grand like that, Kohaku stepped forward. No one stopped her as she followed the crowd into the foyer, and furthermore no one called out and reached for her arm as Kohaku stepped from room to room, finally settling in the less filled area in the back. It was pretty creepy to see all these pumpkins jeering at her with their poor faces all cut up, but at least the lighting in here wasn't false. She'd be safe for now, until someone came by that seemed to know the answer to her question. Yes... For now she would sit in the corner and wait.

WC: 882 | GP Earned: 18 | Total GP: 18

Note: This is in no way canon for my character. XP

The lieutenant mused to herself, letting a small grin dance over her supple porcelain lips. Shakespeare always did have such a pretty way with words, even if his plays were somewhat lack luster sometimes. She'd read them multiple times, yet had never thought to quote the playwrite until now. The brightness of the senkaimon faded quickly as it disappeared, leaving the young lady at the end of the long path, staring ahead at the lake locked citadel. Her brows rose as she looked over the sky, hiding the awe she held over the bright jack-o-lantern styled moon. Eyes flickering down at the parchment in her hand, Cho Ah chuckled to herself before tucking it back under the bottom hem of her corset.

The opaque bodice was made of silk, held closely against her torso and tied in the back with a crimson ribbon. Her long skirt was large, multiple layers of black over one another and puffed out in the back- reminiscent of Victorian styled gowns. The heels of her shoes were small, perhaps only two inches long. The foot garments themselves were also black, rising only below the ankle and tied with thin string. She lifted a hand, garbed in dark lacy gloves which only rose to her wrists, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as it tickled her faintly flushed cheek. Her locks were left to hang loose save for a pair of small red ribbons pulling her hair back to separate it from the rest of her fringe, each poking from the back of her head. She wore no makeup, save for the smudged eyeliner and blue shadow framing her deep cerulean gaze.

Cho Ah made her way across the cracked riddled path, feeling a little uneasy about the water surrounding her. It was pretty, the lights of the pumpkin décor reflecting off of it like a mirror. Her pale skin seemed all the more white under the veil of night, though she somehow didn't feel so selfconscious about it as she normally might. Afterall, most of her face was hidden by a skeletal looking mask, adorned with diamonds which glittered in the orange and yellow moonlight. As she approached the large entry way doors, the Amai paused, licking her lips before pulling them inwards with nervous apprehension. This was one of few times she'd gone to an event by herself; she didn't even know if either of her brothers would be going.

...Part of her hoped not for some reason.

She had passed a few other individuals along the way- one of which seemed to be... a masculine looking gentleman in a prettier dress than even she had on. Cho Ah couldn't help but dart her eyes away as a hand slapped over her mouth, trying to hide a burst of laughter whilst her shoulders stiffened, pace picking up dramatically so she could put a safe distance between herself and the 'princess' so not to blatantly stare. She had barely made it to this point without staring at the stranger who appeared from nowhere and seemed to drop right out of the sky- those that had decided to attend were really setting a standard for weirdness.




Word count - 569 / Gp Acquired - 11

"Huh. Never thought you could pull it off." Ix commented as she walked around her sister in a circle, making sure that everything was all in shipshape. It was fascinating, seeing her sister in such a get up, mostly because it didn't look at all at home on a girl. But still, she somehow managed to pull it off.

"Oh, please! Of course I pulled it off! I mean, this is Halloween. I have to try my hardest to fit the bill for Halloween. Besides that, I bet you're gonna pull off your outfit too." Locura replied, grinning as she adjusted her cap. For the evening, she was the great Sherlock Holmes. And so of course who would follow after Holmes other than Watson? Ix sighed, looking at the suit Locura was holding for her.

Well, at least the one plus would be the top hat; Ix had to admit that she would definitely be rocking that hat.

"Yeah..." Ix trailed off, sighing. She just wasn't so sure she could pull off the whole tie aspect of the outfit. But she would definitely try; that was the whole point of Halloween, dressing up even if it would end up being a terrible outfit. So while Ix began to undress, to put the outfit on, Locura picked up the letter they had gotten in the first place that had prompted this.

A Halloween party...hopefully some jerk wouldn't crash it. And this Lady Nephania...Locura had never heard of her before, though if she was some human woman, that was understandable. The girls had chosen to ignore the part about masked attire. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson never wore masks, and the girls weren't about to ruin the best costumes ever by putting on a silly mask.

"Done, yet, Dr. Watson?" Locura joked, turning around to her sister as she playfully puffed on a fake pipe. There was, of course, nothing in it or anything. It was just for show. But damn it made her feel awesome, pulling the whole persona off like this. Ix, for her part, was almost done. She seemed to be having trouble with the tie, though.

With a tsk, Locura walked up to Ix, and just a few moments later, the tie was all done. Then Locura picked up the nearby top hat and plopped it on her sister's head with a giggle. "You look adorable!" Locura exclaimed, then she gleefully grabbed Ix's hand, opened a garganta, and pulled the two of them through it.

Moments later, they were at the party.

And Locura immediately began to giggle at the crossdressing man. She couldn't help it, despite the fact that she knew Sherlock Holmes didn't giggle. Ix shook her head, poking her sister in the shoulder.

"Holmes, I don't recall you ever giggling." "Watson" pointed out with a blank look on her face. Truth be told, she too was trying her hardest to not just laugh at the man that was crossdressing. He was hilarious. But she had to restrain herself; they had to act the part, after all!

Words: 520 something
GP: 10/10

Salzabor never missed a party without a good reason; the opportunity for experimentation was too high to pass up. When he had received that strange invitation he had immediately set out to find the best costume he could. Luckily, one of his newest inventions had just reached completion, and it would serve as a wonderful costume.

It felt strange to have someone else’s skin covering him, but he was willing to deal with being uncomfortable for a few hours. The skin he was wearing was an exact replica to Kenshou Ine’s, and the disguise itself was perfect. Salzabor had taken some skin cells so graciously left be the Shinigami when he had last seen him in that church graveyard and cloned them. Next, he spent weeks artificially replicating Kenshou’s Reiatsu signature and designed a small disk-shaped item which would steadily put out the Reiatsu, masking the fact that he was actually the Septima Espada. He had also taken care to create a costume identical to that which Kenshou wore.

Salzabor smiled, feeling the artificial skin stretch on top of his own face to reveal his teeth. Now that he was effectively Kenshou, he was free to have a bit of fun. As he walked up the jagged path towards the massive castle in the distance, he couldn’t help but admire the detail the host had used when making the scenery. Somehow, they had managed to transform the moon into a giant, glowing Jack-o-Lantern, and fog surrounded the castle, giving it a mysterious and ominous presence. As he neared the grand entrance of the castle, he could hear sounds of cheer coming from inside.

Pushing open the doors, Salzabor announced loudly, just as the real Kenshou would, ”The Flash God has arrived!” All around him, firedancers and jugglers preformed their routines, as a ghostly orchestra sang loudly high above the Septima Espada. Acrobats soared through the air as they performed dazzling displays of athletics. While the performances were incredible, Salzabor knew that the real Kenshou wouldn’t care much. The Shinigami was like a honey badger, and didn’t give a damn; and so Salzabor must also become like a honey badger.

Salzabor looked around the room, a bored expression on his—Kenshou’s—face. Finally, he found the thing he was looking for, the reason he had come here in the first place. It’s time for this party to get a little more lively. Salzabor thought as he began to move towards the bowls of punch alongside one of the walls.

Slipping his hand into his pocket, he pulled out small vial of clear liquid. Salzabor shook it once for effect and then poured a small amount into each of the five bowls, leaving only a small bit left in the vial. ”Rohypnol…rape drug.” Salzabor whispered to himself in a strained German accent, quoting a movie he had recently seen. As he slowly moved away from the punch bowls and to an area with a good vantage point, the Septima Espada smiled. This party was about to get a lot more exciting.

Word Count: 518
GP Gained: 10

Well it was certainly an interesting environment the Arrancar found himself in, though that might due to the fact that his head was still reeling from the simple fact that he'd had quite a bit to drink and was only just now standing up from behind the bar with the unconscious bodies of the previous tenders serving as cushioning while he laid down with a sense that if he had to fight like...a million tentacle dragons at once? He could totally fuckin' do it...whoop their asses back to the ocean...did they live in the ocean? Man who cared...Garra groaned a bit as another glass was set in front of him already filled with the red liquid that had been thus far his demise, a gentle hand with painted nails and slim fingers presenting it to him as he looked up with hazy eyes at his companion who was substantially less drunk than he seemed to be. She had a pretty face, pretty mouth too...then again he knew that rather intimately and pointed his finger shakily at her. "You...you're just...getti-getting...gettin'...me drunk so I'll forget when you stabbed me in Paris..."

The girl smiled and chuckled to herself, she was wearing her own version of a Hollow costume, wearing plastic fragments as a chinstrap and a highly revealing version of the standard wear of Las Noches which included only thin straps of white over her assets similar to a bikini, but Garra wasn't persuaded, remembering the last time he'd been involved with her on a mission had resulted in the aforementioned incident. She responded softly, "It was part of the mission, you know that. Stop being such a hard ass."

The Arrancar shouted back, "No YOURE the hard ass!...hard ass...I'm only as drunk as an eagle, fuck... you!"

He couldn't quite recall how he'd gotten in this position and was beginning to wonder if she hadn't drugged him and brought him along as some sort of apology for last week but he was still plenty upset about it and besides, mating with a human was uncalled for and ridiculous...even in his Gigai...which could be plainly see as the top part of his costume was attached, the lower part of his body covered in what looked like a half-pineapple half-squid monster that he didn't recognize. When did he even pick this costume? And why would he wear something he didn't know? How drunk was he and actually...where was he? His eyes looked around and he noted that there appeared to be quite a few costumed individuals who were parading around. "Am I...am I at a party?...Why'd you bring me to a party?...I don't like parties Suki...I don't..."

"Only way I was getting in here was with you in tow, I'm not really much of a special human afterall...sorry, I may have drugged you and drug you along..."
"You...what?"
"You take a lot to take down...drugs are easier."
"The...the fuck is wrong with you?..."

SPOILER: Click to show

Garra's Costume : images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080615020050/powerrangers/images/c/c1/MMPR_Pineoctopus.jpg

[Word Count | 514]
[Growth Points | +10]
[Total GP | 10]
[/spoiler][/font]

The rider of the African wild ass found it slightly embarrassing to ride the animal, but at the same time humorous. Besides, it kind of fitted his costume.
His massive body straddled atop the working animal did look slightly ridiculous, but any laughter from possible onlookers would've been muffled and killed out, the bestial and unnatural appearance of man fused with goat, chains hanging from the wide shoulders, and a sack slung over the shoulder with a strangely human-like figure stuffed in it. Hugo couldn't remember whether that was a prop or an actual body, not that he really cared that much. In fact a real body would make for a far better effect.
His breath was hot and visible, coming out from between the yellow jagged teeth of the suit, the creepy suit restricting air circulation.
Despite its low comfort, Hugo quite enjoyed it, he didn't know why, but he felt a certain connection with it. Maybe it was the fact that this fairy-tail creature was a hunter. And Hugo also liked Christmas.

As the mount ambled down the road, it came to a sudden halt, throwing Hugo forward slightly.'What the hell?'Hugo said, directing the question at the donkey, but was obviously greeted with no answer from the beast. Up ahead was what Hugo presumed to be the place of residence that had sent out that formal invitation. It was obvious that it wasn't just some friendly invite, Hugo didn't have enough, or the right,acquaintances to receive something like this. And yet his curiosity had been sparked, thus he had no other way to satiate it other than accepting the proposition.
So now here he was, walking towards an ominous citadel, the moon casting a light that didn't feel entirely natural. Hugo craned his head and was delivered with the sight of not a pale-white rock sitting in the black sky, but an orange orb with with a carved face, a jack-o-lantern.
This induced a bout of laughter from Hugo, his huge frame rocking with the maniacal shrieks. A terrifying sight, an intimidating silhouette, with the outline of a demon, the over sized fangs catching the yellow light of the substitute moon Issuing forth from the mouth was the hot breath that merged with the slight most and an echoing laugh that would be associated with an insane person, a serial killer.
Finally the shaking stopped and the unpleasant laughing died out, leaving only cold silence in the night. He crossed the distance between him and the entrance fairly fast, then looked back at the animal. It wasn't moving from the spot it had stopped at and its figure grew more shadowy and indistinct as the space between them lengthened.

Hugo suddenly got a strange feeling crawl over him. Despite the heat within the outfit, he felt a deep chill run through him. He looked up again at that weird moon, and it felt like the jack-o-lantern was looking at him. Watching him. He shook his head clear of the feeling and once again felt the exhausting heat of the Krampus costume. He crossed the sinister entrance and came towards the large doors of what appeared to be the main entrance. His massive arms pushed them forward easily and he instantly was bathed in the warm golden light of what looked like a ballroom. He suspected that before the end of this, things would certainly pick up, without a doubt. If he had been invited, then obviously at least his clear superiors had been as well.
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WC-587= 11GP
TotalGP= 11

The rap tap of Titus’s cane along the path as he made his way across the courtyard mixed with the hushed discussions of people eager to enter the ballroom and thus the party. The door seemed to be opened now apparently people forgot to close it in their eagerness to enter the party, he could not blame them, even now he felt something in the air that caused him to feel mildly exhilarated. He continued walking and began a discussion with his Hollow. “There should be many people we know at this party, already I am picking up Arrancar and Hollow reiatsu that I know. Pureza? I think, that man Garra from the Espada meeting, Locura and Ix his Fraccion and Kenshou?” For a second he was almost sure…no, it was nothing, he would let it slide. Huginn ducked his head and let out a soft call as not to appear obnoxious, Titus smiled at that.

He reached the door and entered the party his Pesquisa almost instantly flaring up, all sorts were here and he picked out the Hero Adimus at least two more Vizard who were openly demonstrating their hollow reiatsu but no one seemed to care or more likely no one actually knew and that seemed to be it. He noted Kenshou pouring something into the punch bowls, not like Kenshou to pour [what Titus assumed was] illicit substances into anything. He would stay away from the punch bowls to remain safe and instead tapped the shoulders of one of the waiters and obtained a glass of champagne, he took a sip. The benefits of having a gigai over being a skeleton was that you could enjoy human substances immensely. He pointed out Pureza who was seemed to have adopted some sort of tiger form with her reprimir this evening, interesting choice but he supposed everyone was getting involved.

It seemed everyone was having a good time and that was all Titus could ask for, a world away from petty rivalries and…. Was Garra drunk? He had just picked Garra out of the crowd and the pretty Human dressed, as an Arrancar seemed to be enjoying toying with him. Obviously he knew her. It was obvious from the expressions and snippets of his words and all Titus could do was let out a faint chuckle at the antics of the Arrancar. His gaze flicked over the room, yet this event was one of great amusement. He noted a nervous girl standing outside the door and obtained another glass of champagne from one of the waiters who gave him an odd look something akin to “what-are-you-a-drunk-hobo” he might’ve been, he did not know. He walked towards the girl out of the ballroom and held out the glass. “You look nervous m’dear perhaps some dutch courage will do the trick?” at a glance of her reiatsu she was indeed a Shinigami and she reminded him of someone, who? Titus was not sure but it would nag him in the back of his mind for a long time till he worked out who exactly this girl reminded him of because that would explain why he had been so compelled to offer her the drink.

534 10 gp

Garra stabilized himself a bit as his head began to clear a bit more and he tried to work through what happened thus far...

----------

He recalled walking in with his companion, though he seemed to distinctly remember only agreeing to take her in to say hello and then leaving because she was hardly the type of company he would want to be caught in public with, a human being with no exceptional abilities was such an insult to his person that even this minute offer was difficult for him. In the interest of maintaining good business relations with his peers he consented, they didn't have long lifespans anyways, it was a minor gesture on his end to tolerate her for a night despite her knife-happy disposition...as he was walking in he noted the carriage that came past, driven by Hollows it seemed which implied that another Hollow was driving it and most likely an Espada as they had quite a bit of sway over their inferiors. She was quick to point out these creatures as if they were news to her.

"Tame Hollows? How creative!"
"You talk like we're all wild and unruly..."
"Well, the basic forms are..."
"Remind me why I agreed to this?"
"I look really good in my outfit?"
"For a human."
"For a human if you insist...that one seems rather daper though up there..."

Garra raised an eyebrow at his companion before looking up where her slim finger pointed up to see the airplane coming over and what appeared to be a generic superhero falling out of it, one eye narrowing in disbelief as he tried to gather what exactly possessed a man to dive out of an airplane...oh there he went, his cape flared out like a hang glider and lead him down easily enough, the Arrancar still confused as to who would make such a flashy entrance and have no concern for the attention. Maybe it was another human, Suki seemed to imply it was which was an odd thing to say considering the fact that racial identification must've been difficult for this distance.

"Human eh?"
"Same costume, shows up in files every once in a while, has somekind of superhero complex...you don't pay much attention to work do you?"
"I only know what I need to, the rest is ignored, I'm just a killer not a researcher. The fuc-"

The Arrancar stopped momentarily in his movement to watch the dress-clad Artix walk by, seemingly either intoxicated well beyond sanity or simply not concerned with public opinion, though the dress was actually seemingly more revealing than his party date. Well, probably not considering he didn't have much of anything to reveal and his bare skin meant very little to women, at least in his classical understanding of their sexual preferences. He wasn't sure what to make of this party and brought one his costumed tentacles to his head, shaking the dangling bells attached to it as his head shook in bewilderment. Suki's lips moved to form additional words but he looked at her firmly, sending the simply message that they should say nothing and continue without drawing any further attention to the man-dress...he really wished he could just forget the man-dress...he was going to get VERY drunk when he got inside, like drunk enough to forget his name...

His senses did trigger as he sensed another approaching Hollow, noting the presence of also a Shinigami, turning his costume head (which was very difficult to tell considering its cylendrical pineapple shape) to look at two finely dressed individuals coming together as a couple. Something which was repulsive to Garra, a Hollow and a Shinigami? How disgusting...he paid them no further attention beyond his passing glance, gripping Suki by the shoulder and directing her to walk with him away from the two of them. She seemed less happy about the situation.

"Hey! I wanted to say hello!"
"Absolutely not, disgusting union...we're entering now."

With that said the two made their way quickly into the party and his memory became foggy once again...

--------

"Hello? Are you there? Somebody's spiking drinks and theres a handful of women prettier than I am....one of them is a Hollow..."
"Huh, what? Hollow?"
"There we go..."

Suki slapped his cheeks to gather his attention fully, sliding a glass of water to the Arrancar who downed the glass like a shot quickly and shook his head, coughing a bit before grabbing his costume head up off the ground and slipping it back on over so he could return to full costume. In his Gigai his presence was limited by he still didn't want to be caught dead with a human, that seemed to be the primary motivation for his large, encompassing, difficult to see through costume...though it was undoubtedly memorable because it was so odd. He'd stolen it from the evidence locker of work so he did need to be somewhat careful with it...hopefully nobody vomited on it...or in it as the case might be considering his inebriation...

"Fuck. I still remember Artix in a dress..." Garra responded, flexing around in the costume as he got comfortable and cleared his throat. "Oh well, get any more drunk and I won't even remember the night at all which would just be a crying shame...ya know...with the human date...and Espada making themselves look foolish...and...you know what, just hand me another bottle and I'll let you know what my reason for drinking is once I'm successfully unconscious...actually, hold up, hot Hollow?"

"You're an ass..." The dressed-up female responded curtly, slapping the outside of the costume with little effect to the inner inhabitant.

SPOILER: Click to show

http://images2.wikia...Pineoctopus.jpg

[Word Count | 956]
[Growth Point | +19]
[Total GP | 29]
[/spoiler][/font]

The path to the front gate of the mansion was long and winding but Artix made his way up rather quickly as he was anxious to get stuck in to whatever kinds of alcohol they had stashed up in there. Vodka, Whiskey, Rum, Champagne, hell even lager, he was willing to drink anything on this particular night of spooky Halloween fun. And the food! Who knew what kind of treats they were serving! The thought of chomping his jaw into a Halloween style cake was heavenly! He saw a great deal of guests as he turned his head to see how far he'd come; some kind of tentacle beast was walking arm in arm with a beautiful human woman, a pair of arrancar dressed in strange out-of-century human clothes passed him, one of them roaring with laughter although he couldn't quite figure out why. He stood for a moment as he patted out the creases in his dress before deciding to get a move on. Something in the sky caught he eye as he turned; a human leaping from a flying contraption and gliding down to safety. He narrowed his eye's.

"Show off." He muttered as he moved his great work boots forwards once more. Sadly his costume was not one hundred percent complete. He had spent a good twenty minutes trying to fit his huge feet into what human women called High Heels. He was forced to rule it off as a lost cause however as they were simply too small for him to wear. Instead he wore his usual footwear, grimy steel toed boots. They didn't ruin his outfit entirely but he would have preferred the heels. Something compelled him to hum a tune as he approached the front gate. He sang the song as an internal monologue.

"I feel pretty. Oh so pretty. I feel pretty and witty and bright!"

A Pumpkin greeted him to the mansion, several pumpkins in fact lined around the perimeter of the estate, each one sitting on the wall and smiling at him with flickering flames for brains.

"And I pity, any girl who isn't me tonight."

The front doors of the castle were already open, most likely to prevent the annoyance of having to swing them shut every five seconds as guests continually poured in. He looked up in awe of the architecture of the building, it was much more magnificent up close.

"I feel charming. Oh so charming. It's alarming how charming I feel!"

All manner of wonderful colorful things were taking place in the ball room. Everywhere Artix looked he could see something that dazzled or excited him. Entertainers of all walks of life screaming and whooping with joy as they carried out their routines. Flying over his head, throwing each other around, fire spewed through the air with a magnificent blazing roar. Jugglers, acrobats, singers, dancers, musicians, magicians and so many more varieties that Artix simply could not observe them all.

"And so pretty. That I hardly can believe I'm real."

He spotted an open door to his right and could see people walking about with drinks in hand. Through that door, he guessed, must have been the bar. He made a beeline straight towards it, his good time awaiting him in the form of a bottle of Whiskey. A few other people were already there, a small girl dressed in black made a quick exit and disappeared around a corner and Arty could see Garra and his human date at the bar. He made sure that his dress wasn't falling down before sidling up to the bar beside Garra, giving him a hearty slap on the back and ordering a glass of whiskey, the bottle of which he took from the bartender and gulped heavily from as he lifted his mask away from his mouth. He continued to hum his little tune. He cought his reflection in something shiny behind the bar.

"See that pretty girl in that mirror there?"

"Tonight is gonna be the best night I think both of us have ever had." He remarked gleefully, turning to look at Garra, nodding acknowledgement at his date. His voice deep and distorted due to the masks effects.

"Who can that attractive girl be?" He asked as he looked directly the woman at Garra's side. Artix was too impatient to wait for the alcohol to take effect before he started flirting.

[Words: 734][GP: 14][Total GP: 29]

Shortly before Garra had released Artix from the small huddle he had felt a light tapping on his back, since his previous conversation partner had suddenly found the urge to jump upon his date The Vizard guessed that there would be no room for a third body, especially not one of his size or one wearing a dress. Instead the hulking man swiped his attention from the Arrancar and the Human and instead turned it to a girl whom he could not identify. Her skin was orange, much like the multitude of pumpkins that lined the walls of the bar however her particular shade was accented with black stripes, (The violet shade being so dark that Artix couldn't tell the difference) giving her the appearance of a tiger. It was amazing how detailed her costume was, it clung so tightly to her body, of which Arty tried not to linger his eyes around too much for fear of offending the new arrival, and not a crease was in sight, not to mention the fur looked incredibly realistic. In Artix's opinion it was a rather pleasing look, very wild. From what he could gather her natural appearance wasn't too bad either, while seemingly less mature than the woman accompanying Garra she had her own unique beauty.

"Evening" He greeted in a friendly tone, a jovial yet awkward smile stretching across his face. He had only vaguely heard what this woman had to say to him, something about smelling like a hollow and a "She-Knee-Gah-Me" and was at a loss for words. Maybe she was foreign, or had some kind of speech impediment? Either way Artix could piece together rather easily what she was trying to say. Shinigami. He took a few more large swigs of whiskey to stall for time. His mask was still skewed to one side so that his mouth was visible and thus so were the scars upon his face, how else was he supposed to drink? If one peered at him from a certain angle they may even have witnessed the crimson ruby's behind the mask that made his eyes.

"It's a long story, lets just say that I have the best- and worst -of both worlds." He said, chuckling as if it were a menial joke. He didn't want to get bogged down by thinking about all of the difficulties being a vizard came with. He was here to drink and be merry and that was exactly what he was going to do. Trying to be polite to his strange new friend he held the whiskey bottle out to her.

"Drink?" He prompted.

[Words: 434][GP: 8][Total GP: 37]