Experimenting on a Shinigami (Keira Grodd)

[Kiera Bright]

Keira paced the length of the long room. Her hands were behind her back, and her eyes cast down to the ground. She was worried. Something that she never lets anyone see. She was growing more and more unstable. Yes she was also getting more powerful, but that power was a double edge sword. The reason for her bodies instability. She needed to find out the reason behind it. Why was her reiatsu so out of control? How could she rein it in? How can she make herself stable again? She looked over to the shinigami strapped to the examination table in the center of the room. Her experiments with hollows were a fun past time, but she needed to start getting serious. 

She wanted to experiment and examine all the spiritual races she could. She had to find out how they managed to keep their reiatsu under control without effort. Maybe they held the key to reclaiming her stability. She watched him stir slightly about to wake. She stopped her pacing. A wicked smile spreading across her face. This monkey had intruded into her sanctuary, and caused some damage. She tried to restrain him, but he had gone and angered her causing her to beat the thing senseless. She would start with this one. It was equal parts punishment as it was for science. She wanted him to be awake for everything. To feel the pain and regret his every decision. For now she waited for him to wake fully. Anticipation was about to kill her.

[Beast]

Grodd barely knew what hit him. He remembered spitting into Keira's face, but what happened after that was pretty blurry. He had been thrown around, crushed, and he had felt multiple blasts of lightning pierce his body from the Kidou Byakurai. Was this girl with the weird summoned arms a Shinigami? She could use Kidou, but had abilities he had never seen before. And her reiatsu didn't feel like a Plus, much less a Shinigami. He was groggy and confused and tried to stand up from the hospital bed he was in. After all, Squad 4 had picked him up, right?

When his arms didn't move when he told them to, the Shinigami immediately started to panic and his eyes focused immediately. He scanned the room that he didn't recognize which was filled with all sorts of unfamiliar equipment. He wasn't in the Soul Society, much less Squad 4's hospital... He struggled, but a quick glance to the right and left made him keenly aware that he was restrained to the point where he'd be unable to escape in his current state. He was battered, beaten, broken, and was unable to escape. But who had captured him? He couldn't yet see who it was.

[Kiera Bright]

All the equipment looked like something straight from a torture horror movie. Many sharp instruments hung on the walls swaying slightly. Various clamps and other smaller interments were on a separate table. All the light in the room was focused on the examination table. The rest was only moderately lit. Keira would step from the shadows into his line of sight. She smiled her wicked smile still having her hands behind her back. "Well finally you are awake." She said with an inpatient tone. "Do you know how long I had to wait to start my experiments?" She took a slight calming breath. "No matter, it just gave me time to think of all the ones I want to do to you first."



First she grabbed a bunch of little sensors and stuck them all over his body. These would allow her to monitor only his vitals, but also his spiritual state. She needed to get his base line. She was not impressed with his spiritual strength. It seemed that she picked a poor choice in specimen, but it wasn't like shinigami were lining up to be tested and experimented on. She popped her fingers and put on a pair of goggles and gloves. There was a large syringe filled with a strange blue liquid she also grabbed. "No hold still, this should numb the pain." She was lying. Really it could numb the pain, or do any number or things as a side effect, but the main thing with the blue liquid was keep him from croaking on her.

She jabbed the large needle into his arm and slowly administered the drug. Once it was in his system, it was time to begin. She started with simple tests. Judging how his reiatsu signature was different from those of other races commonly found. Nothing too painful yet. She would then pull out a small gun looking object with a glowing needle. The intent of this experiment was to see how his spirit reacted to direct stimuli. She would put it to his chest and pull the trigger pile driving the needle into him. The pain would be a mix of physical pain, and something the monkey probably never experienced, as she did this a number of time all over his body, Keira would look at the monitor to see the results. 

[Beast]

Grodd shook and convulsed as he struggled against the bindings that could even hold back powerful hollows, much moreso a Shinigami with strength still within human limits. Keira injected him with some mysterious substance, the purpose of which was unknown to the man, but regardless he didn't want it in his body. He didn't get his way, however, as the goop filled his bloodstream. Not much seemed to occur, that Grodd could feel at least. The monitor didn't read too much change in his spiritual state either, but the test hadn't even begun yet.

The glowing needle gun was more unnerving to the Third Seat than the syringe had been, and he again attempted to break free to avoid it, again unsuccessfully. The physical pain of the needle's penetration of his skin was lackluster and barely felt by the man who had become adept at pain tolerance and damage recovery, but the spiritual pain was surprising and had... terrible results inside the Shinigami. Not only did his heart rate spike because of the shock of the pain, but Keira's spiritual monitor would detect a dark spike inside him.

Blood... Pain...

The Hollow inside Grodd, his Beast Within, had stirred and begun to wake up after being knocked into unconsciousness alongside Grodd. Grodd's spiritual readings would spike for a moment as the Hollow energy mixed with the Shinigami energy, but then would calm down and go back almost to normal. Grodd's heart rate stayed elevated, however, and there was still an additional dark aura that had been picked up on the equipment that had yet to fully disappear.

[Kiera Bright]

The sudden spike in heart rate was of little concern for the failure. It was only natural when put in this situation, what she didn't expect was what the spiritual monitor showed. There was something odd there. Hollow energy? No, that can't be right. It must be left over data from the previous experiments contaminating the data. She cleared the data and performed the experiment again. Again she pulled the needle gun's trigger sending it into the man's chest again. The same reading as before. She did it again to see if the hollow energy was still present in the data. After the third spike, it was still there. Once was a fluke. Twice was a coincidence, but three times there had to be something behind it.

Keira walked to the monitor and tried to isolate the hollow energy from the rest of the data. This was interesting. The sudden turn of events had distracted the scientist from her original goal. Why would a shinigami, a being meant to purify hollows, be doing with hollow energy in their body? "You really are interesting monkey. This may have bought you some more time." She set the computer to analyze the hollow energy in the background while she went to the far wall to pick up another instrument. This wall had many things specifically built for analyzing and reading hollow energy. She wondered if they would work here. There was only one way to find out. 

Keira looked over the instruments kicking some bags of chips out of her way. She needed to clean up the lab a bit. She will work on that when she didn't have a thousand things demanding her attention. Her hand reached for one sensor the three drills. The drills were meant to drill into the masks of the hollows to get readings such as chemical composition, spiritual composition, and anything else that might be of use. Unfortunately it was no use here. The shinigami obviously didn't have a mask to drill. In the end she chose several things to try and poke and prod the hollow energy within the monkey. They would vary from being somewhat painful, to agonizing. 

[Beast]

OOC: Got permission for the results of Keira's experiment from Kento. Usually this wouldn't be allowed until class 3, but a partial form will happen at class 4.

The first few shocks just left Grodd breathless, but quickly his pain level started to increase. His head started to pound as something inside him shook and stirred. Out of the corner of his eye, right in the twilight zone between vision and peripheral vision he could see his Zanpakutou Spirit. She was in her released form, something he had only seen once, but there was something wrong. His Inner World shouldn't be this close to his mind unless he was about to pass out, and it looked like something had Oerwoud Hart in a choke hold.

With her last, and most painful, prodding, a scream would actually emerge from Grodd's lips. He looked absolutely shocked, and terrified, as the scream was more delight than pain or terror. It wasn't his scream... The voice continued to use his throat, his mouth, in a prolonged vocalization. The Shinigami felt a lump grow in his throat, a lump that grew and clogged his esophagus then moved into his mouth where it emerged and took control of the entire lower half of his face. He had no control over his jaw any more... And then he simply blacked out entirely as the pain of battle and the experimentation finally exhausted him.

His eyes rolled back into his head, but the lower half of his jaw continued to move with movements of its own. The sensors were reading nearly 90% Hollow now instead of the small mix before. "Shiitttttt.... I'm going to need more power... More Blood... More Pain... This weak shell can't handle me... I have to grow stronger to be truly alive again... More Blood..."

[Kiera Bright]

Keira kept a close eye on the monitor as she poked and prodded at the hollow energy. There had to be a reason for this. Shinigami don't just have bits of hollow energy inside them. She saw that the hollow was reacting to her prodding, and the screams from the monkey were a bonus too. The more she prodded, the more it reacted. She also noticed the change in the monkey's screams. They were no longer screams of pain, but more like...pleasure? She stepped back from the shinigami ready to summon her arms to bludgeon him if she had to.

The voice that came out of the shinigami was not his own. Though she didn't ever hear him talk, so she couldn't be sure for certain, but the screams didn't match. "Shiitttttt.... I'm going to need more power... More Blood... More Pain... This weak shell can't handle me... I have to grow stronger to be truly alive again... More Blood..." Keira relaxed only slightly seeing that it was still restrained. Though she wouldn't let her guard down just yet. For better or worse, she was making some kind of break through.

"So I take it that the monkey is no longer in control of his body. Who are you then?" She asked calmly making some notes about what she had already witnessed. 

[Beast]

The Hollow inside Grodd responded quickly, but aggressively. "What does it matter? What could you possibly offer me that would be worth that information. I only seek to eat, to grow, to devour... The Shinigami didn't stir at all, still completely unconscious. The partial mask covering his jaw looked like it was struggling to get more control than it had, but it couldn't even move the face from one side to the other. The Hollow just wasn't strong enough yet.

[Kiera Bright]

"What does it matter? What could you possibly offer me that would be worth that information. I only seek to eat, to grow, to devour..." Keira burst into laughter. It was a sinister laughter one would not expect from her just by looking at her. It was somewhere in the ball park of a super villain laugh and a mad scientist. Though was there really a difference between the two? "The question is not what I can offer you. Right now it is what I can take from you." She paused letting the laughter subside and her seriousness come back out.

"Think about it. You are in no position to fight back no matter what I do. I can easily kill you and your host without a second thought." She summoned one of her arms for emphasis. "but we do not have to be enemies. I find this situation quite interesting. We could make a trade. You give me information, and not only will I let you live, but I may see if I can't speed up the process you are going through." She didn't care about the monkey at all. Over the last several months, she had studied hollows extensively and knew a lot about their physiology, but this is still new territory for her. In the end did the hollow in his body even have a choice?

[Beast]

The Hollow was silent for a minute. It was a long minute, full of silence that you could almost physically touch. "You've got balls, girlie. You know nothing about me, yet you threaten me with physical violence. Fine, I'll talk. What I know is what I am. I am Hunger, I am Rage. The piss poor Shinigami on this table used to be a mighty Gorilla. A strong Silverback of his tribe... But I became real when he was poached and attacked by the Zookeeper. I have hungered ever since, and I will feast on his soul until I am strong enough to wrest control and feast on any other soul I can find..."

[Kiera Bright]

Keira jotted down what she was told with interest. So apparently not only could shinigami originate from animals of the living world, but they could have hollow energy in their souls if they died with negative enough feelings. That was what she was getting anyway. She may be completely off base, but it was a start. "In my line of work you have to be ballsy, especially when one scratch can destroy an entire city." It was as much a warning to the hollow as a statement about herself. "Since you were willing with your side of the bargain so will I. I will see if I can't make something to strengthen your energy while the monkey is still here. How does that sound?"

[Beast]

Grodd remained unconscious due to the pain his body had been put through, stirring not even a bit. "I'd rather you not tamper with me. I'm not the only inhabitant of this soul and you could end up strengthening the wrong one... She's a feisty little furball, for sure. Little more than a thorn in my side as I hold all of the power, but alas she thwarts me. If you strengthen her, you will lose an ally and this host will gain too much strength over me." As if responding to the warning, Grodd's dagger that was strapped to his thigh started to glow green and reiatsu started to leak from it. Grodd's Zanpakutou Spirit hadn't yet succeeded in releasing with Grodd unconscious, but she was close and had only begun to try...

[Kiera Bright]

"I'd rather you not tamper with me. I'm not the only inhabitant of this soul and you could end up strengthening the wrong one... She's a feisty little furball, for sure. Little more than a thorn in my side as I hold all of the power, but alas she thwarts me. If you strengthen her, you will lose an ally and this host will gain too much strength over me."

Keira laughed again. "You underestimate me. I have studied hollows for months, and gathered enough information to not only make such a serum, but also able to specify how and on who it works. but I do see your point. One thing I have not studied that much on are those swords. Those Zanpakuto, from what you say, they are just as alive, in a spiritual sense, as anything else." She got up and walked over to the monkey hesitantly grabbing the hilt of dagger. From what she saw they were usually katanas, or at least swords. 

"I will need to experiment on this one for now. Now what to do with you though." She said crossing her arms. She could leave them there. Though she would like to keep an eye on them in case they try to pull something. That is a hollow she is talking to. Maybe she could take it with her and test another thing she had built. Hmm so many possibilities. 

[Beast]

As soon as Keira grabbed the Zanpakutou, her unstable energy gave it the boost it needed to transform. Grodd had been unconscious, his soul in suspended animation almost, and unable to provide the physical energy for the release. The Spirit could transform the weapon on her own, but the Inner Hollow had possessed her powers temporarily and was in control of most of the Inner World right now with an iron fist. But Keira was a strong presence and plenty powerful enough to be the jump start to Oerwoud Hart.

The dagger disappeared in a flash of leaves, leaving Grodd's body covered in bone-like plate around his forearms. His hair and body were also starting to grow out of control and pull at the restraints covering his body. With immense strength, the hair might even succeed in breaking it before the growing arms and body snapped the restraints as well. With Keira being weak to physical attacks, in close quarters due to the lab scenario, and potentially wanting the experiment to continue, she could be in danger if she held onto Grodd for much longer. In addition, the "Vizard" mask had broken apart with Oerwoud Hart's transformation, leaving the remnants behind for Keira to study even if she let Grodd go now...

[Kiera Bright]

When Keira grabbed the dagger it disappeared. "The hell?" She wondered out loud staring at her pale hand. her sensors would go off sensing a sudden spike in shinigami reiatsu energy. It was pushing the hollow energy down though not destroying or expelling it. At least it seemed that she might have a second chance in examining the hollow energy in the monkey once she captures him again. However, she couldn't focus too much on the future right now. She had a situation on her hands. 

The monkey's appearance had changed slightly. He had bone plate like formations around his forearms. That was not the only change however. His hair was growing uncontrollably. They would even manage to break the bonds that held the monkey down. She knew that she needed to get him out of there before he could do any damage to the lab. She used her reiatsu arms to restrain the monkey's body and hair, as much as possible. She summoned another under her to speed up her way through the asylum. 

As his hair would grow wilder, she would summon more to deal with it. She didn't want to take any chances, even if she was being a bit excessive. Once they reached the forest she pushed her arms as fast as they could go. She wanted to drop him off as far away from her as possible. She didn't want him coming back for some kind of revenge, and bother her again. She stopped and used her arms to toss him as hard as they could. She would ride back hoping this was far enough. She would break him again if necessary.  

Once back at the lab she examined the damage that was done. The restraints were destroyed by the man's hair. She wondered how he suddenly had the ability to to that? No matter, she could easily make new ones. Ones that were far stronger than those. She may be able to make ones that are resistant to spiritual damage. She looked down to see the mask fragments from the monkey before he had his episode. She picked a larger shard up and examined it. At least she wasn't ending up empty handed. She put the shards in a container for later. Now she must wait to see if the monkey returns and rest from today's excitement.