Arc 1: Canon 10: Winter is Coming [Complete]

[Deleted]

There were suddenly a whole lot of explosions. Like the same amount of explosions as in an awesome action movie. If you dropped maple syrup on your picnic blanket in a park and tried to count how many ants showed up, that was how many explosions you could see with your eyes. It was super pretty, too. There was a lot of complexity with it. There was something about nuclear fusion and heat seeking and detonation stuff, but Anastasia absolutely didn't understand a single thing about it. So the next best thing, next to understanding, was knowing how to use! She knew how to use, so that was good enough.

Anastasia didn't wait for Emerich's speech to be finished before she did anything. Instead, her reiatsu sank around her and began to create a circle that was black in front of her, a sort of black hole. And it wasn't the friendly sort of black hole! Oh, no! It was a big, scary black hole bigger than three houses. It was big and scary and it was super intimidating! Emerson-something would be scared for sure when he saw it. There were no fancy explosions to her Bankai appearing, because that would give it away too fast and take away the fun! "Bankai..." Anastasia murmured to release the black hole. "Saishu Tekina Shokubai: Sen Sanzu." It was huge, and scary. And it was awesome. It was so full of awesome. Emma-something was going to be wowed and he should faint because it was so awesome. Well...that was rude. Shoku-chan chastised Anastasia. What did you expect, mate? I ain't got time ta' wait on 'im! Aru~. I'm a pirate, not 'is maid.

The dragon was heading up to get through Shade's Bankai and towards for Kaen when Anastasia attacked it. She had seen his Bankai get stolen, but that so didn't matter. Hers had to get hit by that big white beam thingy to be stolen, and it moved around with her. Since she had it mobile, she could totally just waltz around and keep it with her. Say it,darling~. Say it! I'm a genius aren't I, Shoku-Chan?~ she teased and annoyed him purely because it was fun. But now this had to have quite the reaction~! Anastasia complimented herself in her head all while rubbing it in her poor spirit's face. Just focus, Ana. the Zanpakuto spirit retorted to her. She wore something akin to a wicked grin before but that would only widened even more as the moments passed. Her spirits couldn't be dampened by the nagging of her Zanpakuto! He loved her and he knew it, he just wouldn't ever admit it. Anastasia fired three hundred bullets out of the big black hole, and they were heat seeking. The dragon was a big hot thing in the room, so it was going to be hit. Anastasia was sure the technique was called Shokubai-u. She was pretty sure. Shoku-chan would remind her later!~

There was a painful crack in Anastasia's left arm, because that technique was dangerous. It hurt, but she forgot about it after a second. It wasn't that she was good with pain. She was just easily distracted. And when all of those things started exploding across the dragon, three hundred blasts the size of a house to annihilate it, she got distracted. It was so sparkly and pretty! Oo la la. But it only took about two hundred of the bullets to actually totally wipe out the dragon to the last spec. The remaining one hundred went after the next hottest target, right after the dragon. That was Emmy-something! His bow was full of hot, highly condensed reiatsu! Anastasia hadn't intended that, but she was going to take credit for it happening anyway. I'm pretty smart, aru~ You oughta let me drink to me hearts content when this is over, mi amor~

The dragon would be destroyed before reaching Kaen, and Emerich had one hundred big blast bullets coming towards him with a capital and big bold red triple B. Meaning BBB. Anastasia kept smiling while all of this was going on. When she spoke again, the bullets would be closing in on Emerald-something! "Oh uh...Look out, mate~!" Anastasia chimed in cheerfully. Can you hear the urgency in her voice? Yeah...there was none of that~! Oh yeah and the dragon's tear was still seen by everyone because that makes it emotional. The tear was seen just before destruction.

"I think it's best if we abandon ship mates~" Anastasia decided. She ran up to the door, kicked it down, and jumped through the door and jumped out, all espionage style like in Mission Impossible, with explosions in the background. No really, the explosions were going to destroy the room and probably kill Emerich. Everything was going to blow up everywhere, pirate style. So they had to get out. There was no way Emerich was coming out of this one uninjured!~ Ah, the cute ones always died first, aru~! Oh well. No skin off her back.

Also if she didn't have the power to take out the door, Kaen or Shade would. Teamwork!

Bankai: 1/10
Anastasia's Remaining Reiatsu: 3725/5250

[Zou ۞]

Just as everyone escaped back into the ice castle, out of the warm room, they'd see a flash of white and blue light within the room, consuming all of Anastasia's explosions as well. Regardless, the room had been destroyed. All walls had been completely and utterly annihilated within the room, and a few others right next to it. However, those other rooms appeared to have been the same anyway. And, by matter of fact, the ceiling had survived unscathed in every single room. For whatever reason, the ceiling was incredibly durable. Regardless, the damage was immense. There was steam and smoke everywhere. It was a suffocating mess for certain, but the fate of Emerich of the Vandenreich was however uncertain. And when the silhouette could be seen, walking from out of the smoke, perhaps even slowly at first, there couldn't help but be a bit of fear, and apprehension.

Emerging forth, Emerich had a few burns on his body. Some were second, or even third degree. There were over a dozen, and his outfit was quite scarred in numerous locations. A blood vessel had popped in one of his eyes, turning it all red. He was looking at them with a look of aggravation, and frustration. Of irritation, and of annoyance. But most important was his bow, which once again had changed forms. It appeared to be some sort of scepter, only a meter long in total. It was glowing. An enormous cloud of blue gas could be seen drifting out of the ruins of the room, out of the wreckage and the ashes. Behind Emerich, this smoke did not look like it lacked the power to give threat. He was walking slowly, moving towards them with a sure certainty of what he was going to do. He stopped, standing about ten meters from them.

Emerich looked at the three Shinigami, as if knowing the battle had just become more difficult. The question of Kaen's Bankai was worth raising as well. It had been killed, but did not return to Kaen. Could Emerich release it again if he gave up the reiatsu? Could he use it as he had previously? Would he even dare to use it in the middle of the actual ice castle? However, for Kaen, it must be a wonder of whether or not he would ever even get his Bankai back. He did not know that it wasn't gone forever. It wasn't impossible that he would never get it back. Before this, he'd probably never even known that it was possible to actually steal a Bankai. Emerich said nothing when he first left the ashes, for he was panting. While the attack had been ingenious in that it would wreck the room instantly, and bring the fight outside too, it seemed that it had annoyed Emerich as well.

"Regretful," Emerich said, "That with those skills you three will not join our Vandenreich. It is a pity, really. All three have now used Bankai, the peak of a Shinigami's power. But as a Quincy, I have yet to use the peak of my power..." What none of the Shinigami knew was that he had quite a few powers that could give them a lot of trouble when they were fighting him. Emerich looked around at all of the Shinigami with those daring, challenging eyes. How would they choose to confront him? The way that his eyes looked...was different. It was a look as if he expected to die, and to take them with him. Could it be that he really was going to die? Given his injuries, was it possible that he could be deemed useless since he'd taken them against these mid rank Shinigami? Maybe the Emperor would kill him!

Well, that was all speculation. In an instant, ten arrows shot out faster than the blink of an eye. At the Hirenkyaku speed that Emerich used for shooting his arrows, it was undeniable that things were going to get difficult. All of them were soaring towards the three Shinigami. Three for Anastasia, three for Shade, four for Kaen. Kaen probably got the most because he'd lost his Bankai and was the least able to defend himself. However, when the arrows were approaching, they suddenly detonated into large shockwaves of blue reiatsu moving at twice the speed that the arrows had been moving at! Ten large explosive waves of blue energy. Was this what had canceled out enough of Anastasia's blasts to save Emerich's life? What was going on? Regardless, if these attacks hit, there would arguably be consequences.

Emerich's Remaining Reiatsu: 4160 Reiatsu (+800 from Spirit Fragment/Quincy Cross, -200 for bow release level 2, -100 for ten class 7 arrows)

Active: Bow Release Level 2

[Shade Kawada]

Shade stepped in between his newly released bankai and Kaen’s immense flame dragon as it rapidly approached him. There was no fear in his eyes, and the way he gripped his sword revealed that he was confident in his ability to deal with the rogue bankai. The lieutenant, however, did not get a chance to defend himself and Buraindo Kira from the san-seki’s bankai because before he could, Anastasia would take care of the problem for him. “Bankai...” he heard come from Anastasia’s direction, “Saishu Tekina Shokubai: Sen Sanzu” Shade stared at Anastasia with his eyes wide open as she released her bankai. First Kaen had demonstrated bankai abilities, and now Anastasia? “Has the pinnacle of shinigami achievement really been reduced to a common parlor maid’s plaything?” thought Shade as he looked at the huge black hole form in the room.

The soul reaper watched as countless bullets, just like the ones from her shikai, launched from the black hole at Emerich and the dragon. It was apparent that Shade and Buraindo Kira would need to make a quick retreat when he saw Anastasia herself kicked down the door and leave the room. He had a feeling that things were going to get nasty in here. As the bullets closed in on the dragon and Emerich, Shade also made the decision to evacuate the room before the explosions consumed the whole area. At a speed double Shade’s Buraindo Kira immediately squeezed through the doorframe and got to safety as well.

*BOOOOOOOOOM*

Behind him, as Shade left, the entire room lit up and a horrendous sound exploded out like an earthquake. The room that they had been in was completely destroyed and the coolness of the ice castle once again granted the three shinigami with their beneficial enhancements. Neither Anastasia, Shade, or Kaen would feel cold at all due to the item that Shade had given them at the beginning of their mission, and due to the second item he’d given them, the strength of their reiatsu would double. Shade, who had other items have his speed increased 10 times while traveling on ice as well as having his reiatsu amount doubled once again.

With the three of them presumably safe from the explosion outside the room Shade would turn and face inside as the dust settled. “It’s not over...” he said dryly. “Regretful,” said the quincy as he emerged from the ashes, still alive, “That with those skills you three will not join our Vandenreich. It is a pity, really. All three have now used Bankai, the peak of a Shinigami’s power. But as a Quincy, I have yet to use the peak of my power...” Shade gripped both his swords in each of his hands, stepping in front of Kaen and Anastasia to defend them from any attack made by Emerich.

Both Kaen, Anastasia, and the quincy would notice that Shade’s bankai had grown quite quickly. It was now larger than a box car for a train, spanning 40 cubic feet total as it kept growing larger and larger. Buraindo Kira quickly surrounded Shade in an ever-shifting cocoon that allowed its master to gaze out at his opponent. It was a perfect 360 degrees defense composed out of a brownish, bloody mush. Immediately, as soon as the arrows shot out at them the lieutenant would instinctively use one of his bankai’s abilities. The various mouths that covered his bankai would snap open and begin drawing in reiatsu from their surroundings. It would be a subtle process that would not even be recognized until all of Emerich’s arrows got within twenty yards of Shade. Because Kaen and Anastasia were nearby, they were protected as well.

Emerich’s arrows would disappear before they even detonated as all of their reiatsu was transferred to Shade through the use of “Consume.” This only worked because at the time of absorption, Shade’s reiatsu strength was slightly larger than Emerich’s. This allowed him to absorb 100% of everything of Emerich’s that cost reiatsu as long as it came within twenty yards of any part of Shade’s bankai. This ability could prevent both step techniques and releases, assuming they cost reiatsu, if Emerich ever attempted to use them within twenty yards of Shade’s bankai. Shade was not about to allow himself to become overconfident simply because he’d absorbed a few of Emerich’s arrows though.

Not explaining the arrows’ sudden disappearance, Shade immediately went into his counteroffensive. Pouring all his concentration into control of his bankai, Buraindo Kira shot a long, thin tendril of the bankai at double Shade’s speed directly at Emerich. This extension of the bankai was made out of the same disgusting substance as the rest of Buraindo Kira and it reached Emerich before long. Immediately it branched off into twelve separate tendrils that aimed themselves at and around various points of Emerich’s body. If one of them so much as touched him then he’d be attached and held to it by a stat strength of 900. Any attempt at Hirenkyaku while the bankai was using Consume within 20 yards of him would only provide Shade with more reiatsu and prevent anything from happening. Meanwhile, another part of Shade’s bankai shot out from the cocoon defense that Shade had erected around himself and began absorbing various pieces of rubble as another part burrowed into the very floor itself, presumably to anchor the main body to the ground in case of any overwhelming shockwaves.

What Emerich didn’t know was that Shade’s bankai was incredibly good at taking any amount of force. It didn’t matter if it got hit by the shockwave of 100 atomic bombs. Buraindo Kira could be dropped from orbit or punched by Hercules himself and still survive due to its gelatinous form. Because of this, it made Buraindo Kira the perfect defense for Emerich’s shockwave-based attacks assuming that Shade could react in time to cover himself. Shade took this time to rest. He did not have the kind of stamina that Kaen or Anastasia possessed despite his best efforts, but decades of relying on a zanpakutou that provided artificial stamina was bound to wreak havoc on one’s natural stamina. “Bankai, the peak of a Shinigami’s power?” retorted Shade, “You don’t know what you’re talking about... Quincy... You will never be worthy enough to see my full strength...”

Remaining Reiatsu: 900 (Doubled because of Ice Ring) (+100 from Emerich’s arrows) (+100 more because of Ice Ring) = 2,000
Bankai: 2/10

New Reiatsu Strength: 500

[Zou ۞]

Before they were even within 20 yards of him, Emerich was gone. The tendrils...were never going to get that close to him, it seemed. A voice spoke near Shade, or perhaps within his mind, or perhaps simply it had been spoken before Emerich even moved. Regardless, he would hear these words, as would Anastasia and Kaen. Regardless, he would hear what Emerich had to say to Shade's constant rhetoric of attempting to glorify himself and bare down on his enemies. "Your full strength, Shinigami? Arrogance. This in itself is your full strength, bolstered even by artificial gimmicks. You are nothing compared to true power, such as that of the Emperor. As I recall, it has taken three of you to stay alive this long." That was undeniable truth. In a one on one, any of them probably would have died.

However, when Emerich appeared behind all of his enemies, they'd find that he'd already shot and detonated an arrow along the way. It seemed that Emerich had figured out Shade had something to do with the arrows disappearing, based on the fact that Anastasia and Kaen had already displayed the general idea of their abilities, and that he had suddenly started talking for no reason. What they'd find was that the arrows exploded before coming within range of the Bankai. Had Emerich analyzed it so quickly? Or perhaps he'd seen the rough time when the arrows dissipated, and figured the distance. Regardless, it seemed a controlled detonation. What Shade would find was that the nova blast heading forwards was not being absorbed.

And he'd find, if it hit his Buraindo Kira, that the ashes left behind could not regenerate or heal. A blue ring had been seen on Emerich's finger, and this itself was an item which had already been implied. The blue flames that could be seen with the explosion and all of the arrows he'd started firing of course revealed that he was using cold fire like Malik had. Meaning MOO could not regenerate their bodies, and Buraindo Kira if burned would not heal from it. The explosion was sufficiently larger this time, and there appeared to be five of them. Based on that, an enormous amount of Buraindo Kira would be wiped out, including the tendrils and similar appendages. The Shinigami, if they did not get out of the way, would also be hit and destroyed.

All parts of Buraindo Kira caught in the attack would turn to ash. The approximate value in size would be reduced by about 80% if Buraindo Kira was hit by the five explosions, which moved at twice Emerich's Hirenkyaku speed. They were all laced with cold fire. All three Shinigami however had plenty of time to escape. The arrows had been meant for the Bankai, not for the Shinigami. Instead, something else remained. Filling that large main icy room into which the battle had stepped, enormous clouds of blue gas. That entire section of the ice castle, which was being sealed off by slamming wooden doors all around, was probably going to be filled with the blue gas in a matter of seconds. In this way, space to escape to was running out.

Their time to fight was running out. Emerich was strong, without a doubt. His ability to move was unimaginable. He moved so quickly that how could any of the Shinigami possibly hope to keep up with him? When he moved behind the Shinigami, it was a blur none of them could keep up with. When he attacked, it was more than likely impossible to dodge or block with such a huge speed difference. So how did they escape? Well, there were ways, but to say the least it was uncertain. Emerich was sending a spinning kick towards Kaen's head, which was meant to shatter and crack it, probably kill Kaen with the kick. Likewise, the spin took his leg towards Anastasia too, meaning that if he missed or hit Kaen, he'd still continue towards Anastasia. Based on the power of the explosions, Emerich seemed to have surmised he could attempt to overpower all of their attacks with his own.

As for Shade, Shade was going to have to get away from the explosions anyway. Anastasia and Kaen did too, but they were also being attacked by kicks. Shade himself, even with his items, was too slow to intercept Emerich and stop his kick. This was how absolutely fast he was. No one there had nearly the speed that Emerich did. On a certain man's forum system in an alternate universe, Emerich had 6500 in movement speed. And his nova explosions actually had twice that, so by matter of fact his explosions would be even harder to evade than he was. How would the three Shinigami pull out of this situation that he had put them in? How would they survive? Well, this had to be seen. Regardless, they were being watched from afar by one who was viewed by others as a God.

Emerich's Remaining Reiatsu: 3410 Reiatsu (+800 from Spirit Fragment/Quincy Cross, -200 for bow release level 2, -350 for five class 1 arrows, -500 for Hirenkyaku constant, -500 for offensive Blut)

Active: Bow Release Level 2

Note: Offensive Blut used on reiatsu stats. Spiritual Pressure is worth 300. Reiatsu Strength is worth 800.

SPOILER: Click to show

Focus - This focuses his bow into that scepter form, which super concentrates it so that its attack value is five times his reiatsu strength. So if he were to smash it against a Hierro or a sealed Zanpakuto, that Zanpakuto or Hierro would feel the hit. Hard.

Nova - This is the explosions. They are enormous blue shockwave type blasts. He can remotely detonate them at will, and they move at twice his Hirenkyaku speed. Not only is it lined with cold fire from the ring, but on its own it has shocking destructive potential. Anyone engulfed in the blast will be turned to ash by a combination of cold fire and nova. The nova itself actually shatters the bones of anyone it hits. Likewise, one cannot heal from these wounds.

[Kaen Youji]

Well fuck. There went Anastasia's Bankai. When Anastasia warned them to escape the room, Kaen obeyed the command, smashing through the door with his shoulder before Anastasia would even reach it, simply ramming his way through, into the main chamber. An icy blast of cold air hit him in the face as he did that, as the temperature had changed drastically. "Damn it's cold out here." He commented, hearing the immense explosion from the room behind, the walls themselves collapsing in the blast. And a flash of blue light. Kaen frowned. "That's annoying." He remarked as Emerich reappeared before them, his bow completely changed. So. Quincy also had a form of release? Surprising indeed. "Regretful."That with those skills you three will not join our Vandenreich. It is a pity, really. All three have now used Bankai, the peak of a Shinigami's power. But as a Quincy, I have yet to use the peak of my power..." Kaen merely smirked grimly, noting the look in his eyes. "Bring it." He responded.

"Your full strength, Shinigami? Arrogance. This in itself is your full strength, bolstered even by artificial gimmicks. You are nothing compared to true power, such as that of the Emperor. As I recall, it has taken three of you to stay alive this long." Kaen smirked. "So what?" He responded, using Shunpo to move clear of the explosions of the arrows, as he saw them destroying Shade's Bankai. "Regardless of how many of us it takes, if we win, you're still defeated." A darker look flickered into Kaen's eyes. "And something tells me that the Vandereich doesn't take kindly to defeat." He commented, the accusation clear.

Kaen's sword transformed back into his armguard. He'd released shikai-- it seemed that power had not yet been taken from him. A flame began to shape, the instant Emerich began to move towards him. Emerich was fast alright, but the distance Kaen had created with his Shunpo the instant he'd seen the explosions gave Kaen just a blink of reaction time, which he was able to take advantage of. He met Emerich's attack with Senka. Emerich was too strong and too fast. Kaen couldn't completely defend against his attacks, nor could he dodge them. So the only solution in a situation like that was to try and go for trades. Let your foe scratch you, so that you may cut their flesh. Let them cut your flesh so that you can break their bones. Let them break your bones so that you can kill them. Well. The latter might be too much to hope for, but Kaen intended to go for as close to an even trade as he could muster.

Kaen lifted both arms as Emerich launched his flying kick, using Senka to charge right into Emerich, taking the spinning kick on his left arm.

KRAK

There went Kaen's arm. That kick, which possessed enough power to break Kaen's neck, definitely had the power to shatter the bones in his forearm. That was fine. An arm was a cheap price to pay if this work. Emerich's spinning kick would have left him wide open, and given he had launched a head kick, his ability to respond to an attack would be slowed. Even his arrows would have difficulty being fired, due to his leg being in the way. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue, but with Kaen using Senka, though still not equal in speed to Emerich, he was fast enough that Emerich likely wouldn't have time to process the trade-off attack.

Kaen had used his momentum to push his arm in front of Emerich's torso, and finished shaping his flame. Instantaneously, the shaping flame formed into a sword. The blade wouldn't just pierce through Emerich. It would be formed THROUGH Emerich, already impaling the Quincy at the moment of its creation, much like the Canon Rukia's Shirafune technique. Only with a blade of fire instead of a blade of ice.

But it wasn't over yet. Kaen's zanpakuto's greatest strength was that, as flames, the weapons he formed could be manipulated, even in shikai, as long as they maintained contact with Kaen's zanpakuto. So, the blade that Kaen created, upon impaling Emerich would immediately begin to shapeshift, extending two prongs from the center of the blade, outwards, until they would pierce outside of Emerich's body. Effectively, Kaen was trying to shred Emerich's internal organs, something that would, at the very least, put the Quincy on borrowed time.

Shikai: 1/10
Remaining Reiatsu: 550

[Zou ۞]

OOC: Kento claims if I skip my post right now and let Ana combo with Kaen, Emerich will be killed. I'm skeptical. Skip me. Let's see what you can do.

[Deleted]

As a pirate, Ana had learned lots of things. One of them was that sparkly blue things were usually mermaids, trying to sink the ship! Oh for fucks sake...The sirens are out to get me, mate! Anastasia thought cheerfully. Mermaids were something else entirely! I used ta skin the likes o' them and use their hair to ride the backs of a school of sea turtles in my time.." Who knew that they were so small and didn't even look like people? Where did all of that fish tail human body stuff come from? Though, they looked unusually like reiatsu based stuff that happened to NOT

[/color] be mermaids. Since Ana had never seen a mermaid before this though, she knew nothing to compare these ones to! Nothing told it wasn't, so, why the bloody hell not think it is!? If it's black, it must be a raven, aru~.

Anastasia didn't want for Emerich's bullets to hit and explode everything. It was time to end this fight! If she didn't, then all of those mermaids were going to seduce them and drag them to the bottom of the sea! "OI. Fuckface, ye ain't dragging me down ta' darlin' davy's locker again~!" This was UNACCEPTABLE[/color] in bolded red and all caps. Anastasia did the only thing that was sensible in that delicate situation. She risked the lives of all of her allies with the strongest power that she had. She tended to do that. Risking live. Why? She didn't give two cents about anything but the mission and getting rid of a certain roadblock. It was fullproof for sure! If it wasn't, then Anastasia wasn't Captain of an entire ship, and admiral of an entire fleet of pirates, ready at her command to plunder all of the booty. Booze and booty were the great things in life. Really. And the gold kind of booty thank you very much.

"Shokubai Ginga." Anastasia said to activate her power. The black hole behind her expanded. It suddenly began to grow and open up. It widened and started to engulf the area. It opened up and the bullets that flew into it dissolved. As it opened, it would enclose Shade and his Bankai and shut down the fleshy thing. But as it went to the other two, it was enclose Emerich first, whose reiatsu and powers would instantly dissipate! Got him! Aru~ Anastasia thought. This gave just enough time for one split second for Kaen's flame sword to penetrate the chest and kill Emerich, before both of them were caught in the Bankai. They wouldn't want to both be caught. Powers dissipated inside of it. And also inside of it, everyone got a crappy little rusty katana, and were in a world filled with a thousand hot and burning suns! This was the finale though! She hissed playfully, "A second wind for everyone. Make it count~"[/size][/blockquote]

Bankai: 2/10
Anastasia's Remaining Reiatsu: 0/5250

[Zou ۞]

OOC: Okay! Great! Emerich's dead! This thread took too long.

It's done. Terminated. +900 TP of any kind to all participants. Also +700,000 Ryo to all participants.