Movie Canon 3: Bonds From The Dark [R, NDE, Extreme]

[Kento Waffles]

Quest Name:[/b] [Movie Canon 3 - Bonds From The Dark]

Who can participate?:[/b] [Taiho Kasumi'Oji, Kazura Uzaki, Kashmir De-Mona]

Quest Time Frame (How long it takes):[/b] [6-7 pages]

Quest Setting (NDE/DE):[/b] [NDE]

Quest Synopsis:[/b] [Hell. The worst place ever to exist. A place whose history is infinite and whose future is limitless. Where monsters arise which surpass the entire Soul Society. A dimension of limitless evil. And as of today, there's a portal into Hell sitting in the sky above Karakura Town. It's quiet, actually. Quite docile. Nothing has come out of it. It's just a very small red portal in the sky, constructed by fire. However, the reiatsu is unmistakable. Naturally, there are those who are curious of its origins, and what may be within... So various organizations have sent some of their best to investigate. They have all been guaranteed by Satsujun that he will assist them in leaving once they go in, because Satsujun too is curious, but has sent no representative of his own.

Now, explore Hell. Discover the source of this portal. And, if you dare, try to close it.]

Maximum Number of Participants:[/b] [3]

Overall Goal:[/b] [Close the Hell Portal]

Number of missions involved:[/b] [5]

BASIC Synopsis of each Quest mission:[/b]

1. Initiation - All who enter Hell in this way must first pass through Initiation. To get to the true terrors of Hell, players must defeat a Gate Guardian.

2. Torture - Getting through Hell isn't an easy experience. As a matter of fact, it's impossible, even at your level. Players will have to rescue an old friend in order to gain assistance for the remainder of the thread.

3. Wandering - Pass through wandering on the way to find he who opened the portal. You know how who it is, and you must defeat him. But to get to him, first you must go through Wandering. Before you reach the end of your journey, the chasm which leads to the abyss, you will be forced to overcome a cataclysm.

4. Dorigaiden - Players now will have arrived at the abyss known to some as Tartarus, most as Dorigaiden. It is the worst place in all of Hell. The allegedly inescapable dark realm. Players will traverse to seek out their foe. But, be weary... On the way, players will have to sacrifice one.

5. Defeat God Asura.

Recommended Class for entry:[/b] [1]

[Kazura Uzaki]

#FireInTheSky

The hashtag had quickly gained traction on all popular social media sites, especially Instagram where the picture of the flaming portal could be seen. A pair of movie directors (A Fullbringer and a Quincy) were quick to claim it as a publicity stunt for their new movie "Hell Gal", a Hell Boy parody. Though they didn't announce this, of course, they had been paid by a man calling himself "Batman", who wanted the portal to stay under wraps and avoid the attention of the military and avoid panicking the populace.

This move turned out to be the biggest controversy since Dressgate where thousands of people argued "Is it Black and Blue or White and Gold?" Anyone with any inkling of spiritual sense, whether or not they could fully see ghosts, would see a burning portal in the sky that looked Hellish (pun intended). Those that had no spiritual connection at all, though, would just see a blurry photograph with nothing showing through. The confusion had people downplaying the actual threat that this portal represented. Which was fine for Batman.

This man, who called himself Batman, was none other than Kazura Uzaki, CEO of Uzaki Enterprises. He had a very good reason for quickly keeping this portal away from the eyes of those who would get too curious and investigate. He was one of the few Karakura Town residents who remembered the last time that Hell invaded, and he was not about to let it happen again on his watch. That day had been... that day had been terrifying and unforgettable. That whole week had been awful, and reliving it again brought a bad taste to the man's mouth.

The first wave of released creatures had brought so much suffering. Hason ran wild, killing spiritually unaware and spiritually aware citizens equally with their reiatsu-empty ambushes. After having killed a Kangaroo Hason, Kazura had ran after a familiar reiatsu signature and had been reuinited with the Shinigami and the Fullbringer from Xcution. The Shinigami was the first that Kazura had seen in the area, and the others were so far behind that people were dying. Lives were being lost left and right, screams filled the air...

The cleanup was rough, and the accompanying task from Discord was rougher. If the pyramid wasn't found and retrieved, more Hell creatures would be let loose on the environment. After going through Xcution's underground base and seeing even more dead bodies splayed out along the ground, Kazura and Himitsu finally reached the resting place of the pyramid, though they didn't know it yet. They had tried to calm the beast, tried to pacify it, but in the end, Discord returned and just killed it in an instant. Another life lost unnecessarily...

The Fullbringer had resolved as soon as he saw that portal and felt that sickening reiatsu that he would not let that happen to his town again. He set up a 24 hour rotation between his employees to watch it for signs of activity, taking an 8 hour daily shift himself to both keep pressure off of them and also to give him the optimal amount of time to take in the potential for an oncoming storm. It was also nice to have a little bit of time to reflect on some of the big events that had happened in his life recently... Because there had been a lot.

OOC:This flashback catches up Kazura to his present level of Lacrima Crafting. It takes place during/after the ongoing thread with Jem that has slowed to a halt. Feel free to skip it if you're not interested, since it has no impact on this thread. Consider it Filler to kick off the Movie.

It was a sunny day, both where Kazura was and outside in the real world. By pushing his reiatsu into the pill of one of his Mod Soul employees, Jem, Kazura had hoped to understand how they were designed and how their soul had been artificially created. He had just scratched the surface of his investigation when a foreign and dark presence sucked his mind and soul into the pill. Though he didn't realize it immediately, Kazura had entered some sort of Inner World similar to a Shinigami's, though made up of code which was the very substance of Jem's existence.

Through an adventure inside Jem's Soul Pill, Kazura had escaped with his life, just barely. In the process, he had gathered valuable insights into the nature of souls. Combined with research on reiatsu orbs that Taien had given him that had been made by Kyomei Kuchiki of the Soul Society, Kazura had begun a path that was leading him into darkness. He didn't know it yet, but playing god and playing Shinigami was starting to lead him to awful sins. Sins against Life itself.

The research on the orbs and on Jem's pill had led him to design what he called Lacrima, a lattice of a crystalline material that could conduct and store reiatsu with ease. It was a breakthrough much beyond that of the Reiatsu Circuits that he had made before using the concept of fiber optics. No, this was a material that could be durable, instead of breaking like glass, and could actually keep a great amount of reiatsu stored. But the Inventor didn't stop there, like he should have.

"What contains more reiatsu than a Soul? What if I try to put the Soul of a Flame into this crystal?" It was curiosity, and the pursuit of science, that had pushed Kazura across the threshold into darkness. Though he still was blindly unaware of the horrors that he had unleashed upon himself and upon the world. Kazura took the raw flame of a campfire, pulled out its soul, and stuffed it into a crystal with the help of an array that he had built to channel the reiatsu into the empty crystal.

The resulting enchanted crystal was warm to the touch, not burning hot, but warm enough to keep an entire room from freezing and stay comfortable. It was more magic than science, and Kazura was absolutely enthralled. His next thought pushed him deeper towards the inevitable pit of darkness. Towards an act of irreparable Sin. "Hmmm... If a campfire did this, what would a volcano do?" And so the Fullbringer took a new chunk of crystal and diverted the flow of a volcano to pass through his soul array.

The resulting enchantment was... disappointing. The lava flow, though many times hotter than the campfire and in much greater abundance, produced a Lacrima Crystal that was equally as hot as the campfire. "What did I do wrong? Everything went according to plan, and yet... The result is the same..." Kazura almost abandoned hope, and had put Lacrima production and research on the back burner in his mind. What good was it going to be if he couldn't use it to fight better? If it had stayed there, he might have avoided his Sin.

When Baal the Vandenreich General attacked his company and set fire to a third of his factories, Kazura was angry. During the resulting clash, Kazura managed to incapacitate an attacking Quincy. Investigating his body led Kazura to find his Quincy Cross still attached to his body. It was the method by which they could draw in reiatsu to restore their reserves and fuel their techniques, and it could be considered their sealed release. When the Fullbringer touched it, he felt an overwhelming presence coming from it. The power of a strong Soul of Raw Reiatsu.

Kazura took the cross for himself, and when he used it in his next Lacrima Crafting, the result was glorious. It was a much much bigger result than if Kazura had used a bit of his own soul. And that was the Fullbringer's unforgivable Sin. He had taken part of the Soul of a living being and bound it to his own equipment to fuel his own desires and whims. And that didn't take into consideration the souls that were lost in failed attempts to successfully bind the soul to the Lacrima...

There was a lot to think about while sitting on UE's roof, just watching the Hell Portal sit there inactive. The Fullbringer had yet to come to terms with his Sin, finding himself to be blameless in what he had done. He hadn't even killed the Quincy that he had taken the cross from. No, he was of pure conscience as he sat on that roof, sipping tea while keeping a close eye on the portal through binoculars. It didn't take long for him to come to a conclusion though.

He needed to go inside that portal and shut it down before all Hell broke loose on Karakura Town Again.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats/Skills}


Strength - [200 x.5 (100)] Points

Speed - [300] Points

Light Aura - [40] Points

Dark Aura - [60] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [400 x2.5 (1,000)] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [150] Points

Instinct - [250 x2 (500)] Points

Senses [150 x.5 (75)] Points

Energy sensory - [50] Points

Healing Expertise - [100] Points


Total SP: [1600] Points

Abilities

• [Crafting/Forging] {4}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {3}
  
  
• [Analysis] {2}
  
  
• [Learning] {2}
  
  
• [Krav Maga] {2}
  
  
• [Street Fighting] {2}
  
  
• [Leadership/Charisma] {1}
  

Total SKP: 17

[Taihō Kasumi’Oji]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Mood Music}

Taihō felt an almost diabolical smile spread across her face as she stared across the Karakura Town skyline toward the burning doorway into Hell. It was a rare event that caused even the faintest shadow of a smirk to cross Taihō’s face; for her to pull a full on, ear-to-ear grin could only mean one thing: She was well and truly excited. An entire world to study and document, an untold number of new research possibilities. Sure, there was the whole legions of the damned thing to worry about, but that was honestly the last thing on Taihō’s mind right now. Standing atop one of the taller buildings in Karakura town, eagerly anticipating the reconnaissance report from her subordinates before moving on with the next stage of their operation, the only thing Taihō was concerned with at the moment was getting into Hell.

Taihō glanced over her shoulder to the twenty or so members of Squad 8 arrayed behind her awaiting orders, then her gaze shifted to the Senkaimon doors closing, then disappearing from view. This was it. They were officially on their own. There would be no reinforcements form Soul Society unless the portal became active and the forces of Hell began to invade the Land of the Living, but by that point Taihō doubted rescuing her would be high on the list of priorities. She knew Satsujun had agreed to handle the extraction when the time came, and that she could expect support from Uzaki Enterprises, but those facts did little to comfort her. And yet, she wasn’t scared, or even nervous. She was anxious to see what was on the other side of the portal.

”Captain Kasumi’Oji? We’ve just received word that the area around the portal is clear. It seems the portal itself is already under surveillance by Uzaki Enterprises, but otherwise no one seems to have approached it.” This was one of Taihō’s subordinates, snapping Taihō free from her thoughts. Though her face was largely hidden by the tall collar of her oversized Captain’s Haroi, Taihō’s expression still slipped into one off icy calm as she turned toward him, her tone glacial in it’s cold, implacable resolve.

”Good. Secure a perimeter around the portal. If Kazura Uzaki arrives, let him through; otherwise, no one but myself is allowed to approach the portal.” Her subordinate nodded, and led the other members of Squad 8 in sealing off the area. If Kazura was watching the portal now, he would see the Shinigami take up strategic locations around the portal, placing odd markers on the ground and buildings in a twenty foot radius of the spot over which the portal rested. Once they were all arranged, a thin yellow barrier formed between them, extending up to the sky. Anyone who lacked spiritual abilities who approached the barrier would subtly and instinctually avoid the area, not so much forced away as gently redirected. Those with spiritual abilities were unaffected, by Taihō’s men could head them off by themselves.

Confidant that the portal was secure, at least for now, Taihō returned to her musings. In all honesty, her presence there was a bit odd. She was Captain of the Financial Squad, the Squad with perhaps the least reason to get involved with a doorway in the Land of the Living which led to the bowels of Hell. In fact, when the portal first appeared on the SRDI monitors, and the Captain Commander had called the Captains together, he had been in favor of sending Captain Kuma-Hebi, who led Squad 3. As the expeditionary Squad, this fell directly within Alexander’s jurisdiction. There had also been a suggestion of sending Captain Tezuka, of Squad 12. Squad 12 was the science Squad, and would be most suited to studying the phenomena. However, Taihō had objected to both suggestions.

Would it not be better, she had reasoned, to send someone with the power to deal with any threats they might encounter inside Hell, who also had the scientific background to thoroughly study it? None of the other Captains except Aramis had strength in the areas of research, but Aramis wasn’t exactly a powerhouse. In that regard, the only Captain with both the strength and knowledge to make the most of the expedition was, in fact, Taihō. After a fair amount of discussion, and more than a bit of bullying from Taihō, she eventually got her way. So now, here she stood, preparing to enter the bowels of Hell itself. Honestly, she was have gone even if Captain Commander Ningen had explicitly ordered her not to. She simply couldn’t resist seeing what was on the other side.

Making her way street level, Taihō felt it’s intense, malign Reiatsu pouring out like a tide of darkness, sweeping across the city like a wave of evil. With her acute Energy Sensory, Taihō could almost feel the billions of screaming, tortured souls just on the other side of the doorway, as well as other, stranger things farther in. However, she was still much too far away to sense anything useful; more than likely, the nature of the portal itself kept her from sensing to far beyond it. Which meant she was going to have to go in. Not that there had been any alternative, of course.

”This should be interesting” She noted dryly to no one in particular, as she prepared herself to go up to the portal, and into Hell itself.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}

Type: Spiritual Genius, Level 4

Strength - [150/3=50] Points

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [150*3=450] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400*3=1200] Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [100] Points

Senses - [100] Points

Energy sensory - [250*3=750] Points

Healing Expertise - [150/3=50] Points


Abilities
[Weapon: Swords] {3}

[Illusion Resist] {3}

[Battle Analysis] {3}

[Stealth] {3}

[Strength of Will] {3}

[Kashmir De-Mona]

While everyone else dawdled, he was already inside. While everyone else dawdled, he was already inside, for this sort of malignant aura was what drew his kind. This kind of malignant aura was what drew his kind: Monsters. There had been other guards sent to patrol around the fiery chasm come its genesis. Shinigami, the protectors of life and death, who were the innovators that sent souls to the balanced world of Soul Society. Humans, that parasitic life form which ate the planet and was the most greedy and power hungry, and had come for curiosity's sake, for purpose. Hisssss.... Went the black Garganta. The silver line in the sky which opened into a black maw near the portal.

That was what had happened. When he had sensed the opening to another world, he couldn't ignore it. When it beckoned, he followed. When it called, everyone inside of the fiend was filled with the most seductive lust. Black reiatsu misted around his ankles when he stepped out of the cavern of screaming souls. At once, those patrolling the portal were filled with regret and anticipation. They feared death, though they represented it. They knew it was coming. The proximity to Hell made the prospect of death even less enticing. The monster's reiatsu wasn't detectable amid the turbulent sea of Hellish auras emanating from the edge of the world, but those who saw him physically already knew who he was...

The truth in all its awful glory. The answer to despair and the next logical step in the circle of hatred. The destiny that no one wanted to know, but everyone eventually submitted unto. "I am revenge," he said. "When you work all your life at a desk, and come home to a dissatisfying marriage, and your children take you for granted... When on your death bed, you realize that your life meant absolutely nothing. I am what you will desire. The sweet nectar of REVENGE." This was the strongest of the Espada, and the one whom they called the Arrancar King. Reincarnated from the fear-invoking name that had been Adalo, he now dwelt in two worlds, and not just one. Kashmir De-Mona.

The man in the black tuxedo: Kashmir De-Mona. With his awful white smile, and his snaky yellow eyes. One of the Shinigami rushed at him. The Shinigami had his blade held in front of his chest. He went for a moderate slash. His spare arm was over his chest. He knew how to defend himself. His slash wasn't befitting an amateur. Still, before the spirit of revenge, everyone is an amateur and no one is a victor. Kashmir put up his left arm lazily and the sword shattered against his skin, coated in the strongest defense: Hierro Ultima. Kashmir reached out and grabbed hold of the Shinigami's face, and crushed his head in the same instant.

The other humans and Shinigami were terrified, and didn't move. It only took one minute for Kashmir to use his lone, blood soaked hand to kill the rest of them. Later, when the Eight Division Captain's sentries arrived, they wouldn't find anything around the portal. These battles had taken place on the ground made of air, and upon death the victims had all fallen to the town. The news later that night would report corpse which had been dropped from the sky, like Heaven spitting out these sinners in rejection so that they might find Hell. That didn't matter, though. Soon after, Kashmir walked into the portal without pausing to think it through.

When he arrived in that horrid world, he would look around and see the misery. Yet still, it felt incomplete. Something beckoned him toward those huge guardian spirits in the sky, like skyscrapers against the skyline of Armageddon. He was standing there, scrutinizing those guardian spirits, when the other two would arrive. He was the first they would see. Meanwhile, he wouldn't notice them until later. What he did notice was that something in his heart, which knew best where to seek hate and misery, told him to kill that guardian spirit. Others were beginning to draw around him, gawking at the visitor who had appeared. He paid them no mind. They wouldn't be any fun. They were already broken toys.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}

Strength - [400] (1100) Points

Speed - [350] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] (150) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] (1000) Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [150] (100) Points

Senses [100] Points

Energy sensory - [250] (563) Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: 1900

[Kento Waffles]

An explosive, fiery form materialized in front of both Kazura and Taiho. It was actually identical for both of them, primarily because it was the same person, using a technique to appear to both of them. The figure that appeared was a pumpkin made of fire which had glowing yellow eyes. One in front of Taiho, one in front of Kazura. They might be surprised, or they might just expect the weirdest of all things while a portal to what was clearly Hell was open. The man who called himself Kashmir De-Mona (or who the Dungeon Master would prefer to refer to as Adalo) did not receive a pumpkin specter because he was already in Hell. He did not need a mission to goad him into it.

"MIGHTY HERO!" the pumpkin exclaimed to both Kazura and to Taiho. "I AM A MESSENGER FROM THE BEYOND! AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, A PORTAL TO HELL HAS OPENED IN YOUR WORLD. IF NOTHING IS DONE TO CLOSE IT, HELL WILL BEGIN TO SPILL INTO THIS WORLD, AND ALL OF YOU WILL BE CONSUMED BY THE FIRES OF SUFFERING. I CAN GUARANTEE YOUR SAFE RETURN IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL, AND CAN GUIDE YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY. YOU MUST ENTER HELL AND FIND WHAT HAS OPENED THE PORTAL, AND YOU MUST CLOSE IT. THE FATE OF THIS WORLD AND ALL OTHERS CONNECTED TO IT ARE AT STAKE!" It was such a typical quest appearance. Some kind of strange, dramatic guide that gave them a quest to fulfill. So video game-like. Or like Lord of The Rings.

Up above, flames ejected forth from the portal suddenly, like a solar flare, and burst forth. It was over a mile long, and created a line of fire in the sky for six full seconds. Later, pictures of it would appear on the internet. People would discuss the fire stream in the sky, and wonder if the apocalypse was coming. Only the spiritually vigilant would see it, and those without even the slightest iota of spiritual awareness wouldn't see. But, just that some people in the population could see it was enough. The social damage would be done. And that wasn't even the worst of it. It was the start of the end of the world if it was not stopped.

[Kazura Uzaki]

From his perch at the top of Uzaki Enterprises Headquarters, Kazura saw it all. From the streets below, some people almost swore that they could hear the sounds of flaming curses raining down from up there, but most of them chalked it up to their imagination or were too busy looking at the mile of flame in the sky. The majority of Karakura's population had -some- inkling of spiritual sense due to the nature of the town and how heavily the reiatsu particles filled it. Kazura was not happy that Hell had decided to trump his appeasing of the population, so he gathered up his equipment and he left. Left straight for the portal, not even addressing the random pumpkin. It told him that he needed to be inside the portal, and that was all it was useful for. For now at least.

[Taihō Kasumi’Oji]

(OOC: Sorry for the delay. I've been real busy lately.)

IC: Taihō was interrupted in her musings by the abrupt appearance of a large, pumpkin like entity, directly in front of her. She listened to it as it spoke, bluntly suggesting she enter the portal to avoid an impending disaster. As the pumpkin rambled on about guiding them through the great beyond, Taihō began to wonder if, perhaps, she was expected in Hell. She actually chuckled faintly at the idea, and thought that it wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest, but also found it an unlikely scenario. Perhaps this was a message sent by Satsujun, hoping to prod her into action? Was it possible Kazura was seeing something similar? Well, whatever the reasons may be, Taihō hardly needed an invitation into Hell; however, a guide would prove useful.

”Really? I had never guessed that it was a portal into Hell, or that I should do something about it. Thank you so much for enlightening me.” Her tone remained cool, almost mechanical, yet the sarcasm was clear. With that, she set out, using three Shunpos and Air Ground to make her way to portal. If the pumpkin intended to follow, it would have to do so under its own power; no matter how useful it may have been, Taihō had no intention of carrying it around with her.

By the time Taihō reached the mouth of the portal, a solid minute had passed since it belched out a mile long stream of fire. Despite this, Taihō noted the distinct smell of sulfur in the air, as well as the considerable heat pouring out of the portal. It was particularly sweltering for Taihō, wearing her oversized Captain’s Haroi; however, she didn’t even consider removing it. It was a shell for, a wall to keep the outside world from shattering her fragile grip on sanity. And so, she merely decided to live with the heat, and unflinchingly stepped into Hell.

Upon entering into Hell, Taihō immediately noticed the man standing near the portal. Out of all the others nearby, whom Taihō assumed to be Sinners damned to an eternity of suffering, this one man stood apart. He was well dressed, and carried himself with an air of confidence that was almost palpable. With her advanced Energy Sensory skills, Taihō scanned him, then visibly winced. Though his Reiatsu bared the tell-tale signature of an Arrancar, there was something else about him that made Taihō wonder if he wasn’t some particularly powerful denizen of Hell. An absolutely appalling aura was emanating off of him, like some sort of eldritch abomination. In all of her years slaying Hollows and Arrancar, Taihō had never seen one who was so irredeemably evil. Even the most vile of Arrancar typically had at least one redeeming quality, but as far as she could tell, the man, no, the thing standing before her had none.

Despite this, however, Taihō didn’t feel it necessary to attack the being before her, nor did she think it was likely to attack her. Rather, he seemed to be intently staring at a large creature above them. From the very limited information Soul Society had available to it regarding Hell, which Taihō had naturally perused before departing, she identified it as one of the Guardians of the gates of Hell. Did the man plan on attacking it, or was he merely observing? Taihō didn’t know, but she knew of a way to find out.

”Interesting. I hadn’t expected to meet an Arrancar down here. Am I to assume you are an agent of Sonken Kouhai’s?”


Reiatsu: 4500-50-50-50=4350

[Kashmir De-Mona]

Music

"Kou...Hai....?" In the abysmal world of infinite black sky and a land of white sand and eternal darkness, there lived a foreigner King over whom not even the Lord had dominion. But in that same land there lived a dark spirit whose purpose was chaos, and hate, and the cycle of revenge. This was the spirit of De-Mona. In today's world, he was the Arrancar King, and he had forgotten of the existence of the foreigner. But now it was starting to come back to him. But now it was starting to come back to him, because he could remember all of the pain that the foreigner had caused. It made him happy. In fact, this entire place around him made him happy. Pain...everywhere...

"Yes..." the Arrancar King said to the Shinigami before him, turning to face her. "Yes, there was such a man... And I did once live with him... Yes, it's all coming back to me now..." Bright yellow eyes on a pale face. Piercing. Intimidating. Somehow loving. The very incarnation of the darkness in the hearts of all creatures that can experience pain. Yes... The man who is so much more than just flesh and blood. "I remember now... Adalo. Adalo De-Mona. That's...what they called me... But that isn't my name anymore... No... He vanquished me. Yes, in fire... I was incinerated by dark red flames. Yet here I am... Yes... I am born anew... Stronger than before."

He pulled his cross necklace from out of his black dress shirt, and kissed the cross. "I am Kashmir De-Mona." The reincarnation of the Primera Espada! Yellow eyes glossed over an extremely tall woman in an oversized coat. The whispering souls around her and the voice of her spirit told him enough. A Shinigami. A Captain. A noble. A young woman who was under a cruel pressure to succeed in a world that pitted her against rivals that she could not overcome. Me, too... I was like that, too... They always wanted me to be as good as Tommy.. But no matter what I did, they loved him more... That's why I killed him. Because I HATED HIM.

The Arrancar King acknowledged the voice in his head. He was not just one spirit, after all, but the evil of many. He was legion, and he was also immortal. Kill the physical body of the spirit of De-Mona, and a new one will still appear. There is no escape from the will of evil. Then, instead of only glossing over, the yellow eyes fixated completely on the Shinigami woman, as if focusing on her only now, and acknowledging her presence fully for the first time. Before, it had been Adalo rediscovering himself as Kashmir. Now, spirit and memories complete, Kashmir De-Mona looked Taiho Kasumi'Oji in the eye. She made him thirst with her hunger for victory and success. And ohh, she was strong... How he wanted to make her more like him... It was almost as delicious as Sozen...as Okusa... Kashmir licked his lips just thinking of those two.

"A Shinigami..." Kashmir said. "Yes... You are our enemies in Las Noches." He drew forth his Zanpakuto, and then he licked it along the flat of the blade, tasting the metals and the cold tool for killing. He breathed in the wonderful smell, and he put it back in its rightful scabbard. "Only, I never saw it that way. You're not my enemies. You're my friends, aren't you...? My wonderful friends, who sometimes I need to teach a little bit..." Kashmir cocked his head to the side. He put his cross back into his shirt. Why was a Shinigami in Hell, again? What was Hell, actually? This place? Ah... Paradise. That's right. "Do you like it here?" he asked.

[Kento Waffles]

OOC: I'd like Taiho to react to Adalo before I respond to either of them. After Taiho's post, I will cut back in.

IC:

"Be weary, Kazura," his guide said, following him through the portal. Though the guide had disappeared for both Taiho and Kashmir, it remained for Kazura, and as he entered the portal, he would find himself suddenly flying through a tunnel of red flames. During that time, the guide spoke to him. "You will soon be encountering two other individuals--One a Soul Reaper, the other an Arrancar. Both are evil in their own ways, and one day Hell will claim them. While you are with them, be weary. They will draw on Hell and it will make them more powerful, but you will atrophy and Hell will make you weaker. Beware, Kazura, or one of them will take your soul from you."

And that was Kazura's warning while he was flying through the portal. When he emerged, his guide would already have vanished for him too. His emergence would be just a few seconds after Taiho responded to what it was that Kashmir had to say. He would literally appear within a few yards of them, deposited even within range to listen to the last bit of their conversation. Immediately, he was up there with two whose ranks were legendary. A Captain of Soul Society, or in other words one of the strongest from that place. And an Arrancar whose spiritual power was equal to a Captain's. The auras that Kazura would experience? Unparalleled. But... there was yet another on par with them. A huge guardian in the sky which guarded the gate which separated Hell from the real world...

[Kazura Uzaki]

The tunnel of red flames was definitely unnerving, but Kazura kept his calm as he listened to his guide explain that Hell would drain him and put him at risk of losing his soul to the individuals who had already beaten him into the portal's depths. He nodded to the flying pumpkin, as odd as that sounded, and steeled himself for what he was about to encounter. He... wasn't prepared enough. He emerged from the portal just a few yards away from the shinigami and the Arrancar, and a bit farther away from the massive guardian in the sky that prevented them from entering Hell. What surprised Kazura the most, though, was the familiar face that he saw. "Wayne? I... didn't expect to see you here..."

It wasn't too much of a surprise for Kazura to recognize Kashmir, due to the man's human world presence as an important businessman and rival to Uzaki Enterprises in most every way. In fact, Wayne Enterprises had routinely beat out the fullbringer's company on big contracts, promoting healthy competition that had pushed Kazura to design and invent at his best. It was entirely possible that Wayne was indirectly responsible for a lot of the success that Uzaki had seen in recent months. The only question that Kazura had was... was Wayne the Arrancar or the Shinigami? Both of the figures had immense spiritual presences, something that the fullbringer couldn't yet match. Kashmir in particular... was on a level the fullbringer had never experienced before. He was stunned by the feelings of Hell, Taiho, and Kashmir, and had no more words. He was not to be the leader of this expedition, that much was obvious to him. And it was a foreign feeling to him...

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

(( OOC: With Taiho out, I got permission from Kento to get in on the fun ))

“He’s still at it?”

“Mhmm, hasn’t budged in hours. He might just be asleep.”

“No, it can’t be. He slept through the afternoon yesterday.”

“Is he dead?”

“He might be close to it. He hasn’t seemed like a real ‘person’ for the last two weeks…”

A pair of unseated Shinigami of Squad 6 whispered between themselves as they watched their Vice Captain sitting perfectly still, his feet crossed comfortably and his hands resting at his sides. He took that position at about 4 am. It was no 7 am. Soul reapers wanted to use the Division 6 training grounds but refrained out of fear that they would disturb the Lieutenant. Himitsu had a kind reputation, but he was also known to be committed to his conditioning. For the last week, he had literally lived in the training grounds. He ate, slept, and mediated there. He kept to himself, and everyone stayed away. He hated getting disturbed in the middle of his training.

But there was still uncertainty between the squad members as to whether or not he was training. As they continued to discuss possibilities, the two shinigami got careless and raised their voices to the level of an ordinary outdoor casual conversation. They were making jokes and laughing, completely forgetting that their Vice Captain sitting only fifty feet away may not actually be asleep.

“Ha, that’s right. Things are getting crazy. After Captain Sozen’s sister tore Soul Society a new one, things haven’t been looking too good.”

“I’m feeling that too. And now with that new Hell portal opening above Karakura…”

Himitsu’s ear twitched. It went unnoticed by the soul reapers.

“I’m surprised they’re only sending one person to investigate. I mean, even if it is Captain Taiho Kasumi’Oji. Other than Captain Sozen, she’s probably the best choice. But just one person to handle a potential invasion of hell? I don’t like those odds.”

At that very moment, Himitsu’s eyes jumped open, revealing a steel gaze. He grabbed the katana laying beside him, his zanpakuto, and strapped it to his waist before walking right past his startled subordinates. “Tell Captain Kuchiki that I’m going to be gone for an indefinite amount of time.” They seemed bewildered and confused, but one muttered an uncertain response. “Uh, wh-where do I tell him you’re going?” Himitsu didn’t pause to answer the question but simply continued walking away as he replied. “Hell,” he said. And with that, he turned the corner and disappeared.

---

Himitsu stepped out of the senkai gate to be met with the dwarfing sight of the portal. It was huge, larger than the one Discord summoned so very long ago. All that devastation that Karakura faced with the first invasion would be nothing compared to the destruction that would occur if demons flooded through this new portal. Discord is small compared to the forces that are now in play. Himitsu is even smaller, but he hasn’t let that stop him before. The only difference is that he would find a way to come out on top. There was too much on the line this time. Millions of lives. He wasn’t going to let them die, not again.

A blast of electricity vaporized a bear-like hason | A hell-spawn similar to an insect was struck with a thin bolt of lightning | A puddle of blood spread across the dim room as a young girl cried over a lifeless body | A monsterous chimera held a child hostage under its paws. Flames rose across the city | People ran from the invisible demons only to be devoured | Himitsu fought and fought and fought but THEY KEPT DYING

Himitsu!

The Vice Captain’s breath was fast and heavy as his panicked, unfocussed eyes stared up at the portal. Not this time. They won’t die. We’ll save them all. I’m beside you now, and there is nothing that will change that. The voice of Himitsu’s zanpakuto spirit, usually enthusiastic and burly, was now calm and soothing. The shinigami gently tapped his finger to the hilt of his katana although he were patting Flex in gratitude. You’re right. I need to keep my head straight. Whatever we find in there, we can beat it. Exactly! A real man won’t turn away! Get your ass moving, Himitsu! We’ve got a world to save. With those words of encouragement, Himitsu sprinted at full speed on a platform of air ground, heading straight for the portal to hell. He didn’t slow down as he approached, not until he disappeared through the gate.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [100] Points (50)

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] Points (800)

Light Aura - [90] Points

Dark Aura - [10] Points

Instinct - [100] Points

Senses - [150] Points

Energy sensory - [50] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

Abilities

• Mental Incantation Level 3

• Leadership/Charisma Level 1

• Weapon: Staff Level 3

• Battle Analysis Level 3

• Battle Skill: Kido Level 3

• Strength of Will Level 3

[Kento Waffles]

Suddenly, voices began to emerge. "Outsiders... There are outsiders here..." Slowly, there were humanoid figures walking toward the three--Himitsu, Kashmir, and Kazura. Those approaching them all looked like people, but with skin that was sunken gray, eyes that were dead empty and to the ground. Sluggish movements, with chains wrapped around their wrists and ankles. Creaking slowly, there was the approach of those figures. "Please help us, outsiders... Help us escape.." There they were, numbering in the dozens, closing in as a circle around the three. Hands outstretched, often wrinkled, reaching toward all of them...

Fire lit the sky above, scorching and felt even down there on ground level. Huge, black cloaked figures with massive skeletal arms and white masks flew across the sky. The Guardians of Hell, it seemed. Those who prevented anyone from trying to use the gate to escape from this terrible place. And now, the outsiders grew closer. "Please, don't leave us here in HELL..." There were so many of them... So many dozens of them. The pressure of their insurmountable despair was palpable as a sort of distortion in the air. It was so intense that one could literally see it forming waves of spiritual energy pulsing from them with each beat of their miserable hearts.

The guide that had helped Kazura, Kashmir, and Himitsu to arrive popped up, just as Taiho grabbed the incoming wrist of one of these ghouls. "Don't touch me, filth..." she said, but as she did, the guide screamed. "HEROES, DON'T LET THEM TOUCH YOU! YOU WILL BE DRAGGED IN WITH THEM!" As if on cue to this, chains exploded forth from the ground toward Taiho. Eyes going wide, she was quick to use a flash step, but the chains simply sped up and grabbed a hold of her in mid air, wrapping quickly around her. In a last effort, Taiho's reiatsu exploded out, blasting the chains away. This gave her a chance to land and flash step up to one of the guardians of the gates.

"Bankai..." she said, and out from her Zanpakuto exploded suddenly dozens of black and green strings, flicking toward the Gate Guardian nearest to her. The Gate Guardian, in its infinite wisdom in the ways of misery, knew how best to counter. From its very body emanated the hottest of all fires ever felt, and the incoming strings diminished, dissolving into ashes. At that point it was that Taiho's wide eyes grew all the wider, for the Gate Guardian's free hand then slammed her body, and she flew downward back to the ground, where chains wrapped around her, and dragged her quickly underground... And now, the Gate Guardian turned to the remaining three, who were surrounded already by ghouls trying to grab at them..

[Kazura Uzaki]

Ressurection no Jutsu!


In the same instant that Kazura saw a familiar face, Himitsu the Shinigami, he also felt the incoming despair from the sinners who had been imprisoned in this first level of hell. Their skin seemed to be the entirety of their bodies, so thin and ragged were they. Every sad beat of their miserable hearts was a physical reverberation in the air which filled the space that the four "Outsiders" stood in. And in just an instant later, the four became three as one of the Shinigami was dragged into Hell by the chains of the ghouls. It took just a third instant for Kazura to act, summoning his control of Soul Dominance to push the sands of Hell outwards in all directions to force the ghouls away. It wouldn't stop them, but it would give the group some time to deal with the giant Gate Guardian in front of them.

Remaining Reiatsu: 9,850/10,000 (-150 Soul Dominance)