Evolution [Santa]

[Col Arana]

From the halls and towers of Las Noches, to the quartz spires of the Forest of Menos, there was one law in Hueco Mundo. Might made right. The strong flourished and the weak died. A bitter and brutal world, that turned out the monsters that were the Hollows and Arrancar. Driven mad by hunger, even those that regained their once human minds, they were often driven to madness by the experience. So much so that only those that were vile, cruel or violent in life ever resembled the person they once more by the time a Hollow evolved into an Arrancar. Such was the case with Col Arana. Once nothing more than the neglected child assistant of two promising scientists in Italy, now, a scant few centuries later, one of the most vicious and terrible creatures to walk the sands of Las Noches. Col was hunting tonight. Red eyes piercing the gloom of the sands. Here he had waited at his old lair for quite some time, and there had been yet an adventure or two-- a tale to tell of what had happened whilst he awaited his promised guest. A Hollow in the employ of XCution. 

Meeting with Shizuka, one of the Seven Guns of XCution had been a privilege and honor for Col. Never had he met a woman with as much charisma and charm as her. In two centuries of life, Col had never met someone like her. He'd met few enough that he could see as equals, and fewer still that he had found the company of enjoyable. Shizuka had proven to be both. And her ambitions and goals... Yes. Col very much wanted to see where that woman would go. But to get to that point, first he had to do something for her. A trial of sorts. A vetting process before he could be truly counted among the ranks and allies of XCution. Col had been promised a visitor. Not a when, only that they would arrive, and so he had waited here for them. Of course, he hadn't told Shizuka where he would await them, but she had assured Col that her Hollow would find him.

The former Escudo sat in wait in what had once been his lair as a Hollow. A dark cavern of his own making deep in the sands of Hueco Mundo, far from Las Noches. An empty plain, much like all the others, but to Col it had been home. He knew every dune, every turn of his cavern like the back of his hands. Once he had dwelt in the deep tunnels beneath the sands. An abominable shadow in the form of a colossal spider. Filled with an endless and insatiable hunger. Col had made the sands for miles around nothing more than a dead zone, where even now many Hollows and arrancar alike, feared to tread. Even now, however, as an arrancar.... it was the closest thing to home that Col knew. And in the darkest depths of this burrow, he waited. The insides were strewn thick with silken strands that ensnared those unfortunate to wander in. And those strands were strong. Strong indeed. Col himself could pass through them as if they were naught but curtains, and had even woven great hammocks of the material on which the arrancar rested even now. But to any others? No, to others, these webs would stick and catch. They would bind and hold, leaving the victims helpless for the ravenous arrancar. 

Col expected a Hollow of XCution to be careful though. Smart. Intelligent. Perhaps they would seek to draw him from his burrow, instead of venturing in. Or perhaps they would be bold and did just that. Col had eaten a few Hollows that had strayed too close, since he had returned, and hoped that Shizuka's messenger was not one of them. ...No... No, Col had faith that Shizuka had gotten the measure of him during their meeting and would have forewarned her Hollow. Besides. He doubted she'd have sent one that would die before it even got a word out. Col was content that he had not yet killed the future CEO of XCution's messenger to him. He was satisfied he had not yet failed her trial. He conceded he was most curious as to whom this messenger would be, but Col had learned one thing in his centuries of hunting, trapping and feasting. Patience was a virtue. In a bored manner the arrancar stepped off of his hammock and began to venture along webbed trails towards the entrance of his burrow. He longed for natural light, for although he knew the location of every thread, turn and twist of this cave to such an extent that he did not need his eyes down there, he did miss the benefits of actual visibility. So Col began to climb from his burrow, and ascend towards the surface of the white desert. And as he did, his advanced energy sensory began to detect something.....

[Santa Ajora]

Santa abhored the spiritual worlds. They were such a tremendous pain to move through. Most times she was forced to utilize ulcera to move about without attracting tremendous amounts of attention. Of course, she knew that this was important. This was a test after all. and a Strange one. Shizuka had informed Santa that there was a potential new recruit that was going to meet with her. She had been.....unspecific. She had merely stated that they would meet her. And memories of her own trial came to her mind.

Has Shizuka intended her to test this new recruit? Why? She was a bit incredulous these days. The shinigami. The Arrancar. The hollows. All of these beings she had ripped down and consumed. She had imagined herself very powerful, how could she not? With her ambitions, it was a necessity. But these days she had wavered just a little. Her conflict with Shizuka had been....interesting. Perhaps this was more than just a test for this new recruit. Was Shizuka testing her shadow? She could only wonder.

Finding her target had not been particularly hard. Apparently in Hueco Mundo he had a bit of a reputation. She didn't even have to threaten the hollows she encountered, they spoke freely enough. Some of them terrified of her. Some of them, terrified of her target. Others fascinated to find out what would happen when they met. This Spider man of an arrancar. He sounded fairly strong. Only solidifying her belief that this may be a test for the both of them. As she made her way to the place through Ulcera, she was.......intrigued. It was some sort of lair.

The worst possible place to ever meet her in a spiritual world.

Indoors.

Emerging from the valley of screams, she was a mere ten meters from the place, and she decided.....to simply wait, and let her blood flow. The instant that she emerged, she was, for a brief moment, an idol of grotesque beauty. Black blood, muscle, viscera, all of it gushed from her body like some disgusting fountain.

From every single inch of her body, a form that looked like a massive deer with a feminine torso sprouting from it's neck. That incredibly long, whippy tail. Every inch of her, from head to toe, sloughed flesh and oozed from her. And for just that instant, that's all she was. But then her ability, which she had no control of, took it's effect.

The moment her blood was exposed to air, and degraded into that special radiation, it began. From every single surface around her. She did't know how big the lair was. But the first 70 meters of it, in every direction, from Ajora, instantly turned black as that dark, inky flesh and bone began to grow. And Bleed. At a terrifying rate at that. As Ajora remained there, standing calmly, throwing out her own spiritual energy senses curiously, that flesh would gush from the walls.

Any space within the place that was less than fourteen feet in width was immediately filled with that hot, writhing flesh, bone, and viscera. Even larger spaces would no doubt become completely full in no time at all. Creating a massive pressure inside of the structure. It wouldn't surprise Ajora if massive sections of the lair that weren't properly fortified would simply collapse from the sheer weight of the material, if not the pressure exerted as it tried to grow into every space.

In addition to sensing, Ajora also scouted the lair. Among the viscera and bone, there were organs. Eyes, ears, mouths, that began to listen, and look, and taste about in search of the recruit. If he happened to be close to her.....well it wouldn't take him very long at all to notice her presence. If not, then he would certainly still feel her presence that was suddenly coming from a massive area, as if every bit of the garden that suddenly grew were a part of her. Or at least it would feel like it. So at this point. All she did....was wait, and relax outside of the lair. As her garden began flooding and spreading through the space of the lair itself.

She imagined it wouldn't take long at all for him to notice her.

[Col Arana]

Col sensed Santa long before he directly encountered her. He sensed her flesh emerging and covering the entrance to his lair, which caused the arrancar to frown in displeasure. He didn't see it yet. Not yet. But he could feel Santa's reiatsu attempting to smother and fill the entrance to the cavern. Fortunately for Col, his lair was massive. A century spent building the lair tunnel by tunnel, in the form of an enormous, nightmarish arachnid, Col had heaved his tremendous bulk as a Hollow throughtout the cavern. The cavern had been made to accomodate a creature many times larger than a human, and provide it living space. Col had redecorated a little to suit his more human proportions, but the cavern itself was still immense. In terms of pressure, Col and his lair could maintain the pressure. For awhile at least. The mercenary continued to approach the mass of reiatsu, his scarlet eyes colored with moderate irritation. He could smell Santa's flesh and viscera. He recognized the smell, and paused for but a moment. A very familiar smell to Col-- one that made him grateful he had eaten his prey not long before.

Moving by sense of smell and by his ability to sense Reiatsu, Col found the mass of flesh that blocked the entrance to his burrow and sighed. "As delectable as your offerings may be, it is considered poor manners by most to spew your flesh all across someone's front hall you know." Col informed the mass of flesh. If Santa possessed the ability to sense reiatsu herself, she would take note that Col's own reiatsu was powerful. No doubt, of course, Santa had met many such individuals who possessed tremendous power. Power was a curious thing and had a different feel in each individual. Some flared it like a crushing wave. Others burned with a quiet confidence. The feel of Col's reiatsu was much like his nature. An ominous dread that hung in the air, not unlike the tension in the air in a horror film, right before the monster lunges out at the victim and drags them, screaming into the darkness.

"I am Col Arana. And you" Col proposed. "Are the one whom I was told to expect. I would welcome you, but it seems you are already making yourself more at home than most." He stated, to the mound of flesh, as he waited for a response. Col did not know that Santa could hear and see through her flesh, though there was precious little to see. Col's caverns were very dark-- well suited to the arrancar which possessed high levels of sensory abilities, and even better ability to sense reiatsu. But if Santa's own senses were not up to the task, then she would see precious little in the dark, besides the glint of his eyes in the moonlight that shone through the gaps in her flesh. Though fourteen feet was a considerable distance, Col in his own Hollow form had been much bigger. There was space enough for the light from the desert beyond to glimmer through and flicker off of the silver hair and crimson eyes of the arrancar in the dark. All that was visible of him at the moment.

"Or at least I presume you are-- there are precious few Hollows in Hueco Mundo as powerful as you." Col could sense Santa's reiatsu, and feel its potency. It was a far cry off of his own, but for a Hollow-- no. That was disingenuous. For most beings, it would have been incredibly powerful indeed. He gazed at the fleshy tunnel that was created amidst his lair. "....Well. I shall be as brief as I can be with the introductions. My name is Col Arana. I understand your employer has a most intriguing task for me, if you are indeed her representative." He stated. Then gave what was perhaps intended as a good natured chuckle, but came off as a malicious snicker.

"Or perhaps I have been deluding myself and speaking to one who knows nothing of why I am here, and who I await." He noted. "She did not, admittedly, reveal what you would look like when you arrived. I apologize, I do not mean to steal the show. Please. Speak your purpose if I am correct in my assumptions."

[Santa Ajora]

Not often people spoke to her garden. But that was the way of things as the .....young man seemed intent to make the first assertion. Considering the spread of her garden to be an offering. And even seeming to voice contempt for it. Several eyes rolled amidst the black sludge that was her blood. At the very least he seemed to know, or at least guess, that she was the emissary from Xcution. This would at the very least save her the trouble of having to explain as much to the man. But all the more, she waited for him to finish speaking, in ihs odd, halting, branching speech. And finally, the many mouths in her garden rasped back in unison.

"I am here at the behest of Miss Sanmizu. I was not made aware that you would be.....holed up. I'm afraid that I don't have any say in the manner with which my garden grows. It is not voluntary. I admit, I was skeptical as to why you would ask to meet me in a spirit world. But if you were not informed about my....condition, then I suppose that makes sense." She spoke in unison to him. His Insanity had stripped her of that sentiment. Even as she spoke calmly enough, the thousands of voices whispered to her. In words she could not hear, but feel. A feeling he likely would sense through her own reiatsu. A Crawling, creeping reiatsu that crept across the skin and whispered too. But of course, in similar fashion, she would assume that he too, would not be bothered by it.

What hollow that ever swam the sea of spiritual pressures in hueco mundo would ever let any singular pressure rattle them? And indeed, after so many years, as one realized that these seemingly unique sensations were.....not unique at all. She had felt pressures like Col's, much like he had likely felt those akin to hers. "If you would be so kind, I'd certainly be interested as to the function of this meeting. And the reasoning for it's location." She muttered, just as irritated as he was, to be honest. She didn't like having to take on social interactions in such places. In such... a state.

"Additionally, if possible, I would prefer we move to the world of the living for this little....thing. The last time I bothered coming here was a disappointment, and you speaking to me through my garden is as irritating as I imagine cleaning it up after I leave will be." She rasped, as the garden had already doubled in the length grown from the walls, the pressure doing quite the same as that rate remained consistent. No matter how big his dwelling was, in a few mere moments of conversation, it was already becoming rapidly cramped as her....focused state made it grow faster than usual. Or at the very least, she hoped he would be a bit more concise in what this meeting was about. Either way, she didn't wish to just keep hanging around here.

[Col Arana]

The hollow confirmed Col's suspicions and a delighted smile crossed the arrancar's face, though it was near impossible to see in the dimness of his lair. "How wonderful. I'm pleased to welcome you into my home, whether or not it seems you waited to be let in." A smile that did not fade as Santa explained that she had come as unprepared as Col. "Not to fret my dear." He replied. "Calling this a condition is such a negative phrasing. A quirk, perhaps." He informed her. "It's the nature of being a Hollow. Immense power, but a limited ability to control it." He mused aloud. This Hollow spoke with many voices instead of one. "Hmhm... I might be inclined to make a biblical jest as to you being Legion, but I do not think it the time, nor prudent, considering we have only just met. It would be unfathomably rude of me to do so." Col noted. Santa was correct to establish that Col was unbothered. He was familiar with similar feelings and urges.

"Ah, the function of our meeting~ Well, it seems Miss Sanamitsu is inclined to extend me an invitation to join her little family in XCution. An invitation I am inclined to accept. But naturally, procedure is procedure, and it seems I was given a little test assignment first." He paused a moment. "A curious little assignment, but nonetheless. As to why here, well. She merely informed me that a companion of hers would seek me out, and that the companion was a Hollow. She assured me you would be able to locate me, but I found myself quite eager to join her organization after our talk. So I decided to return to my old lair, where I hoped I would be somewhat easier to locate." He mused. "I suppose I had an adventure or two, there was that one Hell being, but regardless. It seems it was prudent of me to remain here. But that is the only reason I chose to stay here." He considered her request and the growing wall of flesh that was beginning to spread all over Col's webs throughout his lair. "Well, if you would like a change of scenery, I can hardly blame you. This is quite a hovel, isn't it? Constructed for another time. It holds a certain nostalgia for me, though I imagine it does nothing for you. It is, afterall. Little more than a large cave." Col had been forced to step back a bit to give her garden space to continue growing.

"So I have little qualm with your suggestion, though not to fear. I do not think cleaning up will serve an unpleasant task at all. It's a charming little quirk you have." Col mentioned as he began to open a Gargantua. "If the Human World would help you control your power, then I do not mind going there. I certainly miss the sun, at any rate. As you will perhaps see." Col chuckled good naturedly. "Shall we then, my dear?"

[Santa Ajora]

It was...... a little exhausting to listen to him. No, that was a bit much to say. It was exhausting to listen to anyone at this point in her life cycle. The fact that it was him had little to do with how exhausting it was. And all the same, he seemed to ....flit a little here and there in the conversation. Those countless mouths and eyes offering nothing to express the emotional state of things. But all the same, she considered his words and the apparent notion that she was to be the test for this individual.

She had expected as much, on some level, but hearing it still made her pause just a little. To think that her Gun thought so highly of her.....that garden trembled just a little, a sudden wave of movement. If she had skin it would have blushed. It only affirmed that she had made the right choice in joining the woman. However her attention redirected to the Arrancar as he made it so very clear that he intended to cater to her.

"Control, no. I am simply weaker there. The conditions for my garden to grow as rampant as it is are harder to meet there. Don't worry. Consider it a handicap for your test" She stated simply, watching as he opened the portal. And she ....considered it for a moment, before quite suddenly, the garden stopped growing. And a few moments later, she emerged from an ulcera in all of her glory. Sort of. She had decided to ......take a slight precaution.

When she arrived, Col would see two things. There was the massive stag that was Santa herself, the massive cervitaur, dripping from every inch of her body that vile flesh, blood, and visceral. And....riding on her back. Was a woman. Softly smiling at col Calmly enough. With a hole in the center of her chest, and what seemed to be mask fragments behind both of her ears. Santa had decided to make a decoy. IT was simple enough. It was just a controlled growth of her garden, using her crafting and disguise skills. And, just like the rest of her garden, it gave of her spiritual pressure in equal ammount to her actual body. Making it impossible to tell that it wasn't her actual true form.

The Doll smiled calmly from her 'Steed', gently running her fingers through the mess that sloughed down Santa's body, and indeed, the stain of black blood seemed to be the only covering that she had. Not that that mattered. For all intents and purposes, 'Santa' seemed to be a diamond in this garden of hers. "You're oddly polite for an Arrancar. Thank you for being so accommodating to my...quirk" The Doll spoke softly, without the garden speaking with her, glancing and nodding toward the beast she was riding, as if to specify that it was the focus of her ability. Santa herself simply staring straight ahead, using the eyes and senses of the Doll to affix and communicate.

It made things simpler. It was easier for most to handle, she found. And of course. In the event that he.....tried anything. She would be alright. One could never tell with hollows. And all the same, she would slip in through the garganta, once he made it tall enough for Santa's large form to fit in, and promptly would allow the Arrancar to escort her to the world of the living. Of course, eyes growing off of Santa's real body would keep on him the entire way. But, the doll would remain....gentle....and polite. Even offering her hand to him, as they made their way toward the world of the living, as though she were some lady.

She knew his type. No doubt the notion of escorting such a 'cursed' maiden would get his metaphorical little dick hard. She didn't care. It wasn't as if she was planning on killing him. He was just another job to her. One she intended on getting done as quickly as plausible. Of course, she did have to wonder about what to do about him. What sort of test should she give him? She would worry about that when they arrived in the world of the living she supposed. But for now, she would simply relax and keep an eye on him.

[Col Arana]

Col raised an eyebrow at her statement that he'd be receiving a handicap, but let it slide. His pride was not so easily wounded as to take offense at that. "As you wish milady." He replied, standing before his portal out of Hueco Mundo. He observed as something began to take shape in front of him. Well. Less saw it, and more felt it. In the pitch black darkness, he could only see a silhouette of Santa, thanks to her flesh overrunning most of the entrance to his lair. He could not make out the details of her chosen form in the darkness, though he could certainly tell she was big. Very big. In fact it looked almost like two bodies.... Alas, it didn't matter much. Had Col actually seen the form in detail, he would have seen through the ruse-- albeit only because of what Shizuka had told him. It had been tasked to him to try to convince Santa to undergo the mask breaking procedure to become an arrancar, and the more feminine of Santa's two forms heavily resembled an arrancar more than a Hollow typically did. His discussion here would be utterly fruitless if Santa had already transformed, and he was fairly certain that if Shizuka had failed to convince Santa to transform, she wouldn't have done so on her own. Shizuka had proven to be a very persuasive individual.

However. Col could not see Santa's form clearly in the darkness, so he could not reach any of those conclusions just yet. All he could truly tell was that she had emerged before him, and he would have to presume this was something approaching her true form. She commented on Col's mannerisms and Col smiled. "Well thank you for noticing, my dear. I work hard to cultivate my manners in spite of my nature." He replied just as politely, and stepped aside to allow her by. When she offered her hand to him-- or rather the doll did (not that Col knew the difference at this point), Col accepted it, as he believed a gentleman should, and strode through his Gargantua with her, the crackling void sealing shut behind them as they passed through it.

Shizuka hadn't been wrong to trust in Santa. Col could tell that much. Her power was frightful for a Hollow. Easily surpassing that of most Menos. And having glimpsed an aspect of her power already.... quite frightful. Col did not doubt that it would be a mistake to carelessly charge across that carpet of flesh that had covered his lair. He could not guess as to what her power was specifically, but he did envision many scenarios. The flesh surging up to entrap him like the maw of some carnivorous plant. Or his steps sticking to it like flypaper, leaving him vulnerable to another tactic. In any case.... Col did not doubt that the bones of many Hollows, Shinigami and humans alike had sunken into that mass of flesh, feeding the garden over the decades, or perhaps centuries. Not that he had any need to ask-- it was rude to ask a woman about her age afterall. For the moment, Col merely took solace in the trip to their next destination.

------

In the Human World, the sky crackled with static and then split open to reveal the void beyond, through which Col emerged along with his passenger. He stepped out onto the air ground, and looked around. He had traded the dark skies of Hueco Mundo for the sunlit, albeit cloudy one of the Human World. The arrancar's eyes swept the world below him. They were in a human neighborhood, looking to be a quiet little suburb, the two standing above a cul-de-sac, with human children at play. Col took a moment to take in the appearance of Santa's doll and steed. He smiled. "My, aren't you a sight to behold." He complimented her, already thoughts playing through his mind as to the strangeness of Santa's doll's appearance. Was she not supposed to be a Hollow? They rarely looked so human, even as a Vasto Lorde. And now his mind began to spur down the road mentioned previously, now that he could fully see both of Santa's forms. Though he had not reached his conclusion that Santa's doll was a farce just yet. "How very curious though..." He began, musing aloud as Col began to walk down an invisible set of stairs, generated by his air ground, towards the street below.

[Santa Ajora]

She supposed there were more annoying things. Not that the man's mannerisms were necessarily.......annoying? They were simply odd she supposed. Exotic even. But all the same, she offered no real further comment in response to the chivalry that was offered to her. She didn't pull away when he accepted her hand and allowed herself to be led through the garganta and out into the world beyond. Which was......interesting to say the least.

When they came out into some sort of suburban area, she was a little intrigued to say the least. The Doll looked around, brows lifting a little as she let her head cant to the side for a moment, fascinated with his choice of venue. Or well, wherever he had randomly ended up. Those soft eyes shifted in his direction and she smiled. Making note of his ...apparent fixation on her doll form. And in response, she allowed the doll's skin to shift slightly. just the faintest slither of muscle and siner beneath her jawline.

Just a touch. To make him doubt and wonder, if perhaps it was simply some disguise. Of course Santa herself simply stared dead ahead. Countless battles had taught her the behavior. To ignore the functions of her main body, to waste as little energy as possible. To act as though she were simply some steed. More often than not, people assumed the doll was her, or that it was some sort of disguise for her true body. It was a mixed bag admittedly. The little slither was something that just seemed to work often enough. But who knew.

"There's no need for flattery. That won't be a contributing factor to your exam." She noted softly. She still fucking hated being complimented. It wasn't as bad these days, since she knew it was directed at her doll. And in a way, her doll was her, a true her. But all the same, she bit back absolute DISGUST when he spoke like that to her. And again, he likely would be fascinated indeed. The only proof of her garden.....was some run-off from the steed itself. Seven feet of mess sloughing to the ground in a growing puddle as it dripped onto the area below them in a black-slicked mess. As rather than red, the blood mixed in seemed to be black. Though most mistook it for some kind of tar.

"A rather....populated area to say the least. But I suppose that makes sense for testing purposes." She noted softly at that, smiling fondly at the arrancar as she leaned forward, a slab of bone riding up out of the flesh, still slicked with blood, but forming a hard surface for her to lean on almost like a desk, drumming her fingers along the smothered surface. Her eyes darting up and down col's form before a smile crept across those pretty features.

His comment wasn't lost on her. No doubt he probably was a bit perplexed with what she was. Shizuka no doubt having offered some interesting details on her. But she didn't have anything of that sort to really concern herself with. She was, after all, responsible for indoctrinating him into Xcution. And she remembered Shizuka's test so very very well. Assuming he hadn't released her hand, she'd pull hers away.

"Tell me...Col. When you were convinced to give Xcution a Try. What sort of expectations were presented to you?" She asked calmly, the Doll scanning the horizon, eyeing the children at play. The quiet business about. It was firly into the afternoon, there were a lot of things going on, it was late and many were just getting home from work. "What do you think about the kind of work you may find yourself doing?"

Her eyes cut to him, looking him in the eyes through her doll, so very very used to using her garden as her eyes and ears instead of anything else. Already she had something in mind for his test, as her eyes darted off to the side, where some unoccupied mountains were, but she made no move or mention of doing in that direction just yet. Instead interested in his response to the question. what he thought Xcution was. What he thought he'd be expected to do in general. If he had any....delusions of snooty pickyness.

[Col Arana]

The slither of muscle and sinew that became visible only for an instant sealed Col's guesses. This wasn't Santa's true form. This was some manner of puppet she had crafted. Perhaps it was the steed that was the true form? Hmmm. Col wondered. If I were in her position, what would I do...? Col supposed that one misdirection was effective, but two would be even better. The question was.... could Santa maintain control of her puppets even when there was now an entire world between them? Such an ability would be potent indeed with no obvious connection, and Col was not certain he could sense one. For the moment, Col decided to postulate that the steed was probably Santa's true form, but he would not hedge all his bets on that possibility. Col was cautious by nature, and rarely liked to go "all in" on a mere hunch.

Col noticed a sudden flash of anger in Santa as she responded to him. True she gave no outward showing of it, but Col's skill with Energy Sensory was sufficient to notice flashes of emotion as bold as anger. She didn't like his compliment, it seemed. He frowned slightly. "Then may I offer my compliments instead to your craftsmanship?" Col asked of her. "It seems a pity not to compliment your success in creating such an aesthetically pleasing appearance." He added, indicating that he suspected her ruse.

When Santa commented on the location he had chosen, Col looked around. "It is quieter here. We won't need to speak over traffic. And I prefer the trappings of civilization in any case." Col added, releasing her hand as she drew it back. He fully intended to answer her question about XCution honestly. "Expectations you say? Hmm." Col considered that for a moment. "That I would be tasked with the elimination of problematic individuals with the goal of furthering Miss Shizuka's interests." He replied. Specifically citing Shizuka's interests, rather than the organization's. "When I spoke with Shizuka, I offered my services as an assassin, an enforcer, an informant, and as brute force depending on her requirements." He added. "As those fields are my forte, I would expect to carry out such endeavors."

Col finally touched down on the ground, and looked at a group of humans leisurely enjoying the afternoon sun. Mercifully for them, Col had sated his hunger and was not especially interested in devouring them today. "Are my expectations somewhat close to the mark? I do believe there was talk of a strike out against the Seireitei as well. An endeavor I am more than happy to assist with." He added. "....Miss Shizuka has some interesting goals. I would very much like to see them fulfilled." He concluded, looking at Santa. Both the steed and rider. He doubted he could read on their faces their thoughts so he was attentive to his energy sensory to try to pick up flashes of mood or emotion.

[Santa Ajora]

Santa's Doll turned her attention toward Col, lifting a brow in slight ....surprised when he reacted to his wiffed compliment by.....attepting to compliment something else about her? Why was he dead set on complimenting her? And he even went on to fake some admiration of her garden. Which she, like the rest of that, decided to simply ignore for the time being. Mentally catologuing his .....fixation. Well, it became clear, at least, what had lured him into the Xcution organization. Flattery was Shizuka's forte.

When it came to his intentions on assisting. He seemed, at least to have an accurate notion of what Xcution was. Some of the....newer types, were certainly more unaware of how Xcution as a whole functioned. Something that Santa decided not to stick her nose in. But more appropriately, she let her eyes drift to the side for a moment. Vaguely wondering if he was aware of what would happen to him if he ever disobeyed. What that tattoo on his body was really for. Well no matter.

"In Xcution, you will find yourself needing to take on a considerable number of tasks. Sabotage..." she trailed off as she dismounted the creature she had been riding and strolled up to Col. She reached out to take his hand, and gently brough that black-blood smothered hand of hers to the back of his palm. She gently marked the back of his hand with a symbol, if allowed, at least. And she would continue trying until he let her. Once the mark was made, she would step back and nod to the east.

"I'd like you to fire a Cero in that direction using that hand. Close to the ground. But Do not hit any of the buildings or humans." She instructed the Arrancar, folding her arms across her chest as she watched him, those bright amber eyes expectant, professional even as she waited for him to do as she'd told him. Again. she would be adamant about this. Waiting for him to partake in her instruction, to follow what she'd told him to do.

Of course, the instant that cero started charging, he would notice a difference. As he gathered reiatsu, the ground beneath him immediately began go grow like it had in hueco mundo. Rapidly slithering up his body as it grew. And once he fired the cero, the effect would be very immediate. The Suburban neighborhood would suddenly, in the path of that cero, turn into a hellscape. As Humans suddenly sceamed and panicked as something unseen began to grow up their bodies, pressing down their surroundings with sheer weight, and even suffocating some of them. The insides of buildings rapidly beginning to fill with that vicious garden.

Santa's Doll gestured in the direction of all of the havoc. smiling calmly. "You'll also be expected to work with fellow Xcution. This isn't always a lone wolf operation. Consider these humans members of Xcution. Rescue as many of them as you can in the next five minutes." She raised a finger, and the nearest human would suddenly be twisted, his body broken in dozens of places as he was suddenly twisted like a twist-pop, and then she lowered her finger, letting the corpse drop.

Her eyes then shifted to Col, waiting expectantly. She was sure he expected some sort of combat test. But she had no indention of fighting him. She'd been disappointed enough by Arrancar. And all that side. She was sure Shizuka would't have sent him to her if he wasn't strong. No, this was a more direct test. To test his adaptability, and ability to perform complex tasks. As she herself had found out. Jobs could be ....complicated, to say the least. Many clients had very specific interests. And sometimes, that was more keeping people safe than it was killing them.

Would Col be able to push aside his murderous nature to get a job done? Would he just ignore some and focus on those more likely to survive? Clients didn't care about such things. Sometimes they had unfair expectations. And so she felt it...appropriate to see just how he would respond to such things. It would be imperative that he understand that his 'preference' and 'specialty' would not always be taken into account for his tasks. He would need to adapt. And if he couldn't, then he didn't belong in Xcution.

[Col Arana]

Col noted Santa trying to take his hand. He gave her a strange look as she tried to take it, but allowed her to. He noted the symbol appearing on the back of his hands. "And what, pray tell, is this?" He inquired, noting the new marking. Likely an ability of hers. Surprisingly intricate for a Hollow's power. He thought. Few Hollows possessed powers like symbols or wards or glyphs. Hollow abilities tended to be far more primal. Col thought back to his own days as a Hollow, where the extent of his powers had been lethal toxins, powerful webs, and an invulnerable exoskeleton. And most Hollows he encountered tended to have similarly primal powers. Barbed stingers, acidic drool. Even the most sophisticated of Hollows rarely did more than create small minions, or transform extensions of themselves. So Santa's ability seemed unique. But she seemed the type to reject compliments so Col held his tongue this time.

Santa asked Col to fire a Cero Eastward without hitting any buildings or people. Col paused for a moment, to consider this. "Hmmm.... I can do that if you don't mind me taking certain liberties." Col replied, lifting a hand, fingers outstretched. The Arrancar unleashed his Cero Lightning technique. His regular Cero was far too massive to fire in a suburb like this and still avoid hitting any houses or people. At least while adhering to Santa's instruction to keep it close to the ground. Cero Lightning, however, had certain advantages in that the technique could be condensed quite considerably for more precise attacks. While there was no mechanical benefit to condensing the attack past a certain point, for the purposes of Santa's test it was perfect. A crackling stream of blue-white lightning exploded out of Col’s fingertips

There was one very small ruffle in Santa's plan that would result of the Cero Lightning technique. Mainly that there was almost charge time, meaning Col would be able to react to her garden more or less immediately, taking note of its spread. "I hope you won't take offense if I damage your garden then?" He commented. "What a shame." Col disliked destroying art.

The arrancar saw the garden attempt to grow on him, and there was a sudden flash of red light. Not from a Cero but from something in Col’s sleeve. Something that wasn’t reiatsu. A red blade of burning hot plasma, emitted from a small silver cylinder that had been hidden up Col’s sleeve moved to sear away the garden that was encroaching on Col. Santa’s garden would make it difficult for Col to move, and he needed mobility for the task she had assigned him.

Col launched off into the air, and began to use air ground to flit from house to house. His eyes had a slightly uninterested look in the people he was supposed to be saving. His analytical abilities had already discerned at least one point about Santa’s power. It was triggered by reishi and reiatsu. She had mentioned she couldn’t control it in Hueco Mundo, and in the human world it had begun sprouting immediately as Col had released his Cero lightning. Specifically- it was growing in the vicinity of his Cero, but no further. It was quite apparent to Col, therefore, that it would not help his supposed “allies” for him to use reiatsu to try to free them.

Instead the arrancar used his plasma blade to slash and burn at the flesh surrounding them. Or at the targets in some cases. The plasma blades would cauterize what they cut, so Col didn’t have to worry about them bleeding out. Some might still die from the shock, Col realized, but then… he also rationalized that someone that weak would be ill suited to be of aid to him anyways.

Col did not possess especially formidable physical strength so he was limited to one person at a time, unfortunately. He had created a designated “evacuation zone” as it were, on the opposite side of the neighborhood, away from the path of his Cero, and darted towards it one person at a time, to drop them near the cul-de-sac. Which must have been a strange thing indeed for many of the witnesses, who would see an invisible force ferrying their neighbors over.

On a few cases, Col’s Energy Sensory picked out individuals still in houses, and he aimed to use his Zanpakuto to slash a hole in the wall before attempting to break in, and find anyone else suffering in pain. Col was not shy about maiming those he had to save. If someone was trapped in Santa’s flesh beyond the ability for the plasma blade to simply carve away the flesh, then Col had no compunctions about simply severing a trapped limb, and dragging the screaming person toward the drop-off point he’d established. Between death and maiming, it was expected that maiming would probably be preferred. These poor souls would never realize what had happened, though it was possible some of them may awaken spiritual abilities as a direct result of this, Col acknowledged. Close encounters with Hollowkind tended to do that.

Col did this one at a time, until either: his five minutes were up, his Energy Sensory informed him that he had either gotten each and every person in the area, or Santa’s flesh had killed those he had not gotten to in time. At the end of this, Col walked back to Santa’s side. ”Well, I believe I’ve carried out your instructions to the best of my ability. There are some few that survived your little test at least, and some were not even severely injured in the process. I hope you’ll forgive me for being less than delicate. But while you are correct that we cannot always hope to perform to our specialties, neither can you expect a sword to do the work of a wrench to the same efficiency.” He suggested. ”And your abilities make for a dreadful prospect of sparing individuals. I expect had I attempted to use Sonido, or my Resurreccion to help the evacuation, I would only have spread your garden further, wouldn’t I?” He asked.

Reiatsu Remaining: 3000/3400 (-400 for Cero Lightning)

[Santa Ajora]

It seemed so easy, did it not? Charge into a garden of flesh and blood. He was smart, using a flash of something she didn't recognize in order to burn away the portion of the garden as it grew. However, as he leapt up and inot the air, he would find his footing was not so easily gained. "The garden grows in both directions. Into the world, and into you." She croaked from the entirety of it. The moment he created the air ground, the garden already began to grow from it. His feet impacting on slick blood and blooming flesh instead of the smooth, stable surface of reishi as her garden hungered. even managing to leap from the hastily-created platforms, as he began cutting into the garden surrounding his rescuees, he'd feel something.

A Blade of bone stabbing at his ankle. A hand having partially grown out of the ground, or possibly just the platform he'd created, grabbing at him in an attempt to distract him, though if he ignored that feeble grip, it would suddenly LOCK down with savage, insane strength, twisting with a sudden jerking motion in an attempt to dislocate his leg at the knee, something entirely possible given his incredibly limited strength, as tough as his hierro was, or probably was. Eating arrancar had long ago taught Santa that assuming they were too tough was generally the best policy, which meant that alas she couldn't keep in the training of just narrow wounds, that she'd have to settle for dislocations. Fixable, though painful as they were. All the while, a torso grown out of the garden grabbed one of the humans as a soft shimmer of reiatsu came from the garden around him, promptly placing what seemed to be some sort of bolt-action pistol to the side of the target's head, SCREECHING at him as if to say 'back off or I'll shoot'.

A sudden and impromptu hostage situation, barring him suddenly at the very first of his attempted rescues of the humans. Further along that long line of garden, similar figures were popping up one by one, grabbing onto the screaming humans who couldn't even see what was going on. Knives. Swords. Spears. beyond that initial gun, it seemed the rest just put out simple weapons, almost as if they were thrown together as opposed to the complex item of the gun. No, it seemed as though something else was focused on. A ripple of reiatsu that might pick up on Col's mind, different from the formation of the weapons, which simply seemed to be part of the natural growth. He would feel the reiatsu suddenly flourishing from all around him, as if the Garden itself were expending the reiatsu. But the actual effect would be hidden. Among those skeletal beings taking those human hostages, all 10 of them, in the center of their chests, underneath that black blood that oozed from them a fat sack of gland grew over their torsos, barely distinguishable from the rest of their monstrous forms.

The closest, at least just beyond the first monster that had the gun, the very next hostage taker's gland would promptly do what it did best. The gland exploded, a sudden PWFASH as suddenly the gland, which essentially was a phosphorous factory, exploded, igniting the instant it touched air and promptly blowing a burning mess all over the hostage, promptly ending them in what was....essentially a demonstration. After all, if she just LET him walk into one of them and get burst on. ....Well that didn't really test anything. This was a test of his versatility. His adaptability. And of course his ability to understand what his mission was. What his JOB was. To rescue the humans. At least as many as he could. There were, of course, other humans struggling within the garden, but they also were in some cases close to the bodies she had generated. He could, naturally just abandon them. If he felt it was beyond his capabilities to find a way to save them. Similarly, he could abandon the humans around the hostages that would be in danger of bursting.

But of course, this would reflect on his results in the test.

-100 reiatsu for a Bandido de Cadáveres: Tirador pistol

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tirador}
Bandido de Cadáveres: Tirador
(Corpse Bandit: Shooter)

Class 3

This technique dictates Ajora's ability to create firearms and ammunition with her passive ability. This technique allows Ajora to form working viable firearms as well as ammunition for them with the span of her abilities, though doing so costs reiatsu unlike her passive. Creating a firearm costs 100 reiatsu, creating a weapon which fires projectiles at a speed of 500 and is loaded by simple Bolt-type ammunition generated by her passive ability and as such costs nothing to make ammo and fire.
However, if she makes a munition-type weapon which fires bullet-type rounds, then generating this ammo costs 150 reiatsu, producing a clip of 15 rounds which fire by detonating stored reiatsu (With a 2 in Biochemistry, this produces a clip of 30 as Ajora can use natural combinations of biochemicals to facilitate the firing as opposed to pure reiatsu). These bullets fire at a speed of 800.

For 300 reiatsu, she can produce a clip of five high-caliber rounds, requiring a 3 in Firearms Crafting. These rounds are armor-piercing, meaning that when making contact with spiritual weapons, they only require a 50% superiority to go clean through as opposed to the normal 100% superiority requirement. With a 3 in biochemistry, this produces a clip of 20 instead of 5, as natural chemicals produced by her ability can be applied to more bullets with the same amount of reiatsu. These rounds fire at 1000 speed, and can NEVER be silenced.

-500 reiatsu for Bandido de Cadáveres: Trampero Phosphorous bombs x10

SPOILER: Click to show

{Trampero}
Bandido de Cadáveres: Trampero
(Corpse Bandit: Trapper)

This technique mitigates Ajora's ability to create traps with her overall ability. While simple traps such as pitfalls, bear traps, spikes and the like have no real cost outside of the crafting skills to form them as her garden expands, more complicated traps do require the help of reiatsu and technique.
For 25 reiatsu, Ajora can generate an explosive within her garden, with either remote, snare, or timed trigger to the device as she sees fit. However at this level, the explosion simply causes a massive burst of black blood mist, covering a large 10 cubic meter radius (or a 15 meter cone) from the point of detonation, though anything within 2 feet of the detonation may still suffer damage, and if the explosive is in direct contact with a target, can still apply serious burns and damage. This smoke is heavily infused with reiatsu and thus blocks ES below 200 as well as line of sight.
For 50 reiatsu and at least a 2 in Biochemistry and Trap crafting, Ajora can create a fire trap, creating a swollen gland that when triggered, bursts and spreads burning phosphorous in a 15 meter radius (or a 20 meter cone) from the point of detonation. While the actual detonation does negligible damage, even when directly against a target, the product of this trap causes intense burning, clinging to surfaces and burns even in the absence of oxygen or in water. Ajora is uneffected by the phosphorous (So long as it is produced by her)
For 100 reiatsu, and at least a 3 in biochemistry and Trap Crafting, Ajora can create an acid trap, creating a swollen gland that when detonated, bursts and spreads hydrachloric acid in a 5 meter radius (or a 10 meter cone) from the point of detonation. This acid chews through flesh and most materials that aren't produced by Ajora's ability and eats it's way through spiritual barriers at a rate of 3 meters per post (Reduced to 2 meters if the target has offensive superiority, and 1 meter if the target has 50% offensive superiority. Barriers with 100% offensive superiority are uneffected by the acid. Ajora is similarly immune to the acid (So long as it is produced by her)

This takes up 3 technique slots due to the variety of traps.

Reiatsu: 4400/5000 Reiatsu remaining

[Col Arana]

Into the world and into you, huh? Col's eyes narrowed very slightly as he noticed that the air ground he was using was spawning Santa's garden as well. Air ground would quickly become unreliable. Dual wielding his Zanpakuto and a plasma blade, Col came up with a interim strategy to minimize contact with her garden, as it would not do to carelessly land on it. He already had seen she could create constructs from it, and though it was impossible to truly get a safe distance away from it, Col intended to keep as much distance as manageable. As soon as he recognized the state of the Garden, he didn't intend to stick around long enough for her to make attacks. The next answer would generally have been pre-emptive strikes but since Santa could only begin growing her garden after Col landed, that would be very difficult. For the few constructs that did grasp at him, Col either stepped away from them, or used his plasma blade to swiftly burn through them. Given the nature of Santa's abilities, Col presumed that she likely had some level of regenerative properties, making his Zanpakuto less effective for the purposes of cutting away her garden than his heat-based plasma weapon.

When Santa made a construct to hold one of the humans hostage, however, Col's answer was simple. And immediate. He threw his plasma blade. Not just at the flesh construct though. At the human it was holding hostage as well, the blade spinning through the air, intending to decapitate both construct and human in a single toss. In attempting to hold a human hostage, Santa had just proven something to Col-- that this entire "test" was a farce. There was no feasible way Col could rescue even a single human unless Santa let him. Without the ability to use reiatsu without spreading her garden, and coupled with the fact that Santa had just proven that she could have killed every single human here before Col had taken two steps towards the house, meant that the only way that Col could possible rescue even a single human was if Santa chose not to kill them all.

As such, the simplest way to deal with a hostage situation in this particular instance, where the use of reiatsu was impossible, was to prove that the hostages held no value to Col. Col had already told Santa his credentials. He was a killer, not a savior. His abilities were a very poor choice to use in this situation. Santa may as well have been asking a fish to perform a rescue operation in the center of the desert. So Col executed the first hostage as a demonstration to Santa that threatening their lives would not in any way impede him. Or at the very least, that he had caught on to the fact that he would only pass if she wanted him to.

At this point, Santa had one of two options. She could execute the hostages as she had planned to do, or she could let Col rescue them. In either case, Col was aiming to force her hand on the matter, for if she attempted to replicate the hostage situation, she would find that Col wouldn't hesitate or stop as her constructs tried to hold him back, but simply advance. Once you'd proven that hostages meant nothing to you, only a fool tried to keep using them. Likewise, only a fool would kill a hostage, if they didn't intend to kill the next one used against them. Now that Col had thrown down that gauntlet, he was locked into that course. 

[Santa Ajora]

Santa had thought she'd done a fairly good job. enveloping the hostage in flames. Her skills in stealth and disguise had worked well. Wrap the human in enough of her garden. A thing layer that would just look like some of the black blood had gotten over him. And then fwoosh. The Human screamed alright, but mainly because he was being choked out by the outter layer. And her firebomb was useless against herself, the man dropped and then went still, seeming to have burned alive. A simple thing to show 'seriousness'. That is....until the Arrancar outright slew one of the hostages. She was controling a lot of the garden at once, and so the reflexes were slower than she'd have liked. And she didn't expect the sudden vicious move from the arrancar. The Skeleton keeping it hostage raised it's arm just in time for that blade to slice right through it anyway. The skeleton was not actually a living thing, it was just part of her garden she was puppetteering.

But she was......startled, and the Garden writhed everywhere in response to it. She hadn't actually intended on killing any humans, and suddenly it all went wrong. She suddenly jarred upright, her real body suddenly looking upright as her Doll went very still. Forgetting her little facade as the garden suddenly rasped all around him. "Stupid....simple....small minded......." The voice scratched and wheezed with barely contained rage. That was it?! No attempts at negociating? No circling around? No misdirection?! She had of course intended to make it unfeasible for him to properly get ALL of them. But even SHE had figured some BASIC semblance of ATTEMPT!

The Air screamed as it swallowed her, and not a moment later, Ajora in her true form spilled out of the air before Col as she stepped out of the ulcera, flesh dripping from her body as she stared down at him. Is that truly all you have. Arrancar? IS that all your evolution has BOUGHT you?" She sneered at him. The Human that had been 'burned to death' promptly was rolled over, to expose their face. As much as she would have liked to just eat them, she was angry, and finer control of pumping air to the man's face was growing beyond her reach. "Are you incapable of shunpo? Even a mote of self restraint? You built yourself a lair. A great Web. Are spiders not supposed to be craftty? PATIENT?!" She shook angrily. "When a fool calling himself primera ran from me, I thought at the least that the ineptitude of arrancar at least contained within the Espada. Was I wrong? Are you as cowardly as them?" She rasped at him.

"You may have garnered Shizuka's favor with your pretty talk and your flattery. But you perform poorly..." She hissed as she slowly circled, getting out of his way between him and the rest of the hostages, by now all of them were scared to unconsciousness, or just weakly sobbing. "I gave you a JOB. Arrancar. That is what this is. you will not be an engine of war. You will be an ASSASSIN. A MERCENARY. We need to get PAID. And that means doing what you are asked. Or do you truly think that for all of your might you cannot even save a single one of them?" She hissed contemptuously at him. By now the structures were breaking apart, over fourteen feet of garden rose. Platforms of bone keeping the hostages and the humans littering the ground from drowning in the garden.

"I don't have time to teach you how to use the space between your ears, Arrancar. Make a choice. Are you going to do your job? Or are you giving up?"

-75 reiatsu for Ulcera
4325/5000 reiatsu remaining

[Col Arana]

Santa seemed less than pleased that Col had executed one of the hostages. And surprised? Col was a little surprised himself at the writhing garden. "If you dislike me killing a hostage, perhaps you will think twice before employing them against me~" Col replied to Santa's guttural fury, seeming unconcerned. When Santa addressed Col's evolution however, the arrancar glared at her. "Either you knew more about me from Shizuka than you let on, or that was a very poor choice of words, Miss Ajora." Col replied tersely. "If you did, you'd know that my evolution is incomplete. I have been gifted only with the form, power and control of an arrancar." He replied. As Santa asked if Col was incapable of Shunpo or self restraint, Col replied shortly as well. "As a matter of fact, I am incapable of Shunpo, yes. That is a Shinigami art, one that is beyond the reach of Arrancar and Hollow alike, much like their Hakuda techniques, and their kido-- well, to most at any rate." Col replied. "As for self-restraint, as it so happens.... barely. My self restraint Miss Ajora, was not devouring you, or any of these humans the moment I smelled their delectable scent." He replied. "A feat that is in no way easy, as one who knows the endless insatiable hunger of a Hollow can attest to. And as far as patience... if you wished to see patience, you would not have placed a five minute time limit, now would you?"[/font] He countered.

"Though I'm not so certain why you believe my evolution, or lack thereof has anything to do with it. I would consider what I just did to be a remarkably human thing to do in any case." Col added.

When Shizuka raged at him about his purpose, Col was ready. "Then it is well you are not in charge of XCution, else I fear you would have gardeners handle our architecture, soldiers handling our gardening and the architects handle assassinations." He replied. "Do you bring a missile launcher to perform surgery? Do you bring a scalpel to break open a bunker? Every tool has its purpose, and mine is death. Not life." Col replied. When Santa challenged Col as to whether or not he believed he could save a single one of them, he answered just as quickly and certainly as before.

"Of those in your garden? Only if you permit me to." He replied. "Your little display has proven that much. Every soul in your garden, sans my own at this time, is alive only at your whim. If you choose to kill every single individual before I finish this sentence--" Col began, paused for only an instant, then continued. "--then indeed I have no way of stopping you doing so. Likewise, if I were to choose to kill every single human here, you would similarly be powerless to stop me." He replied. "So that would be the question I field to you. Are you going to permit me to save these individuals, or are you going to kill a few more of them to make a point?" Col asked, as he nimbly skipped along to try to close in on the hostages, Santa had moved away from. If she allowed it, he'd grab one with the hand that had just flung his plasma blade, and throw them over his shoulder, before grabbing a second one to try to move them clear of the flesh, and back towards his originally planned drop-off point.