Arc 1 ~ Canon 1: Tartarus Stirs [DE, R]

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

Jak had taken advantage of a huge opening in Leonardo’s guard. With Shizuka’s daunting technique frying Leonardo inside out, it was all he could do to stay focused and activate his rotation ability to dispel his attackers. But Jak didn’t even give him the chance to get out of that situation. This second attack slung by the nakabakki struck the defenseless Leonardo without giving the kenpachi a chance to prepare himself. The man’s grasp on Jak was loosened, allowing Jak to break free as Leonardo stumbled backward. He spun the ground beneath him a fraction of a second after Jak struck, throwing both Jak and Shizuka back with his special ability before Shizuka could follow up after Jak’s attack.

Leonardo was left panting, exhausted and suffering from severe internal and external burns. An ordinary soul would have collapsed, but Leonardo has exceptional pain tolerance and strength of will that kept him standing. Mariam was bleeding profusely from her left as well, putting them in a dire situation. “Leonardo,” Mariam muttered through her clenched teeth as she gripped her wounded arm. “We to have to abort this one.”

Unfortunately for Titan, retreating was easier said than done. Shizuka burst into motion with her Bringer Light, activating it in quick succession to deceive her opponents. Mariam prepared to throw a punch at Shizuka only to find that the woman disappeared once more. Leonardo didn’t have the time to react before he felt Shizuka’s ANNM begin to drench him. “No you don’t,” he yelled as his reiatsu spiked. Leo’s rotation ability was activated again, but this time, he began spinning his own body. He spun like a spinning top, sending ANNM flying all around as he did. ANNM smeared over Shizuka as the woman was still unloading it onto Leo. Mariam and Tom were quick to back away before any could splatter onto them, but Jak would also have to act quickly.

Leo’s spinning was only halted after 2 bullets from that distant sniper slammed into his thigh and chest, forcing him to take a knee. Dizzy from his spin and struggling to fight through the pain, he was on his last leg. Seeing that, Mariam raised her fist to throw a punch empowered with her shockwave ability, hoping to eradicate Leo and Shizuka simultaneously. Leo was a lost cause already, but she was more than willing to sacrifice him if it meant bringing that annoying fullbringer down with him.

As Mariam cocked back her fist, Tom darted in front of her with Bringer Light. It was becoming clear why the mercenary was known as Tom Bullets. Before Mariam could even react, he moved at a ridiculously blurring speed, darting to the right before making a sharp u-turn to strike Mariam’s left arm. It appeared that this darting motion was part of Tom’s power, allowing him to transform momentarily into a bullet with a pre-determined, linear path. But Mariam had picked up on Tom’s power after he successfully landed his first hit on her, and with her superior strength and speed, she managed to use her free right hand to catch Tom before his attack landed

That large bullet Mariam grasped in her palm slowly transformed back to Tom’s normal body, her hands wrapped around his neck. Tom attempted to activate Martial Discipline: Ken to break free, but Mariam was too fast for that as well. She jabbed her knee up at Tom, imbuing it with her shockwave ability so that it was powerful enough to shatter his Ken just as it formed.

Mariam held Tom’s body in front of her, keeping him between Seb’s defense crew, the sniper, and herself. “Let’s pause for a second,” she said calmly, breathing heavily between those words. “I’ll make you a trade. If you remove that explosive material from my subordinate and let us both walk away with no problems, I’ll give you back your little friend with his head still attached to his body.” As she talked, Mariam’s grip tightened around Tom’s neck. He kicked and struggled desperately, but to no avail. The choke hold prevented him from making a sound, but he looked to Shizuka and Jak with pleading eyes.

---

The tired, injured Col Arana took accepted his payment, but Amalia was not so easy. ”What precisely are you concealing beyond these walls?” Amalia began to ramble on for a little bit longer, but she didn’t make it past a few extra words before Sarah cut her off curtly. “It’s none of your concern.” There was a lot of anxiety in her voice, like she was determined to get Amalia and the rest of them away as quickly as possible. But while Col was sitting to catch his breath, Douma stood to the side and watched the exchange curiously. “Hey Douma, we should probably g-“ Mid-sentence, Douma cut off his subordinate simply by raising is hand at her. A small crimson cross similar in appearance to Amalia’s hung from his stretched arm.

Sarah visibly struggled to contain her rage. “Douma, if you don’t watch yourself, you might end up at war with Seb again. Remember how that went last time?” The rogue wasn’t intimidated. He lowered his hand, letting the red cross lean against his leg before his fingers wrapped themselves around it. “War with Seb?” A bloody aura began emanating from Douma. His reiatsu hadn’t spiked at all, but instead, a wave of dark energy flowed out from him, slowly extending several meters around. To anyone with moderate energy sensory capabilities such as Col and Amalia, they could visibly see that dark reiatsu. And if they looked very closely, they might even pick up on a hint of Arrancar within it.

“Seb is incapable of war. Your infantry is slaughtered. Your facilities and assets abroad have unlikely been stormed by other competitors while you’ve been occupied here. Shanks and Belcher are obviously occupied within your walls, so you and Alexander are the only line of defense, and we out-number you.” Check mate. “I recommend you do as the Quincy says and tell us what’s behind those doors.”

Alexander, who had been calmly leaning against the rocky wall from which they emerged, took a few steps forward toward Sarah. He was preparing himself for battle. Sarah, on the other hand, stammered over her anger as she tried to formulate a response. “You- you- we paid you for a service, and that service is done. It’s time for you to-“

BOOM

The metal panels behind the rocky surface of Seb’s headquarters were blasted into the sky, causing debris between the size of pebbles and boulder to rain down up on the group gathered outside of the base. That terrifying presence returned once more, except it wasn’t transient this time. A growl and bark could be heard from within the base, followed shortly by pained yelp.

And then there was silence. A heavy silence that fell as hard as the boulders but as slowly as the floating dust. It took about half a minute before debris settled, but in the presence of a godly aura like the one within Seb’s base, it was hard to perceive time the same way. Thirty seconds felt like several slow, painstaking hours, but eventually, they’d see her.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play This}

A silhouette appeared on the other side of the debris, outling a slim figure possessing demonic, sharp wings and pointed ears. She appeared to be the counterpart to an angel, a true demon. Even from behind the dust, her predatory blood-red eyes shined through and glanced at the pathetically ordinary souls that stood below her. The silhouette began walking, and with each step, its features became more clear. She had long, pointed ears and plum-colored skin. Her long, magenta hair flowed behind her like a river as she moved forward into the open, walking on air ground about fifty feet above the ground. The woman’s revealing dress was comprised of a medley of cloth and spiritual steel. And to top it all off, her wings carried enormous metallic blades with a length nearly equal to her own.

And in her left talon-like, she carried something quite large, the size of a person really. Except as she drew closer, it became apparent that it was no person at all. It was a large wolf with charcoal fur, weakly struggling with the little energy it had left as it tried to break the woman’s grasp around its neck. “Belcher…” Sarah whispered under her breath with a quivering voice, as though she was about to break into tears. Her Belcher had been defeated. She paid it no mind. Instead, with a devilish smile, the woman let her gaze under her bone-white tiara shift betwee Douma, Alice, Amalia, and Col as though she were deciding what toy to play with.

“My, my, what do we have here?”

SPOILER: Click to show

{Meet the Arms Dealer}

Not far behind her, another man appeared. This one was more human-looking, except it was clear to those with high energy sensory that he belonged to the Bount race. He simply stood quietly behind the woman, his muscles tense with fear. The Bount did not want to have the same fate as his colleague.

After several moments of deep thought, the woman finally released a loud, disappointed sigh. “Worthless. All of them. How sad,” she commented to herself, loudly enough for the entire party to hear. Her eyes turned first to Douma. “I have no use for a man who has already sold his soul.” Then, to Amalia. “Or a slave to the Emperor.” She hesitated at Alice. “You might be of use to me in the future, but I need leaders. Generals.” And finally, her gaze shifted to Col. “And I would sooner trust a fox in a chicken pen before I would trust you with my army.”

“Power hungry sharks, the lot of you are. And I have no use for sharks. They can’t be tamed.” And finally, the woman turned to the quiet man behind her. “But you, Shanks. You have potential. You just have to be smarter and stronger than disappointing Belcher over here.” As she said his name, the woman tossed the bleeding Blecher to the ground below, where he release a curt cry on impact. Sarah rushed instantly to his side, and the Arms Dealer didn’t interrupt her. No, she kept her attention on Shanks.

“And this is your last opportunity to prove yourself to me.” She lifted her right hand to reveal an enormous diamond the size of a softball. It was huge, and those with sharp energy sensory would realize that, although its reiatsu signature was still dwarfed by the Arms Dealers’, that gem had an extremely high spiritual presence as well. It had to be the Crystal that they had all come for.

“It’s a clever tool, really. You harness the energy of a failure’s explosion into jewelry. Not bad at all. But now that you can no longer manufacture those diamonds, it seems that this is your last one.” A coy smirk pulled on the woman’s lips. “And they want it. If you can escape with the Crystal and your life, you can expect another visit from me, Shanks.” The woman opened up a garganta just in front of her. It seemed that whatever technology was negating garganta in the surrounding area was no longer functioning.

“And if not…” The Arms Dealer tossed the Crystal over to Shanks, who caught it in his right hand. “Then it’s a shame.” The woman beckoned the garganta with her index finger, causing it to rush toward her. After swallowing the woman up, the garganta dissipated. Shanks was alone, with Alexander and Sarah below him and his enemies in front. He raised his hands toward Douma, Amalia, and Col defensively, his left palm open and his right still tightly grasping the diamond.

“This does not have to go the way she thinks.” But it seemed that even Shanks had troubling believing those words as he spoke them.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shanks FC and Stats}


Class 1 Bount Rank 4 Leader
Strength: 100 (50)
Speed: 400 (800)
SpPr: 350
RS: 400 (1000)
Inst: 150
Senses: 200 (100)
ES: 0
HE: 0
Total: 1600 (TT)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Belcher FC}

OOC: This is the finale! Shanks has the Crystal. Belcher is incapacitated, but Sarah and Alexander are capable of fighting still. Douma and Alice are fighting alongside one another, but Amalia and Col certainly can’t be counted out. Only one can leave with the Crystal, who will it be?

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Her attack was marginally successful, but it wasn't enough. Mariam and Leonardo were close to being taken down, but this time wasn't quite what she needed. On top of that, Leonardo was able to get some of this fluid on Shizuka. If she used any kind of ignition tool, she was done for, as well. Mariam and Tom both avoided the flying remains of ANNM when Leonardo used his ability, which was a shame. Keeping it off of Tom was fine, but Mariam needed to be a part of it. Although it did look like she was struggling quite a bit there, too. As Shizuka took a breather, she could tell that the female Kenpachi was going to try to attack once again.

Despite that, two bullets from a mysterious sniper managed to nail Leonardo right into his body. A sigh of relief managed to briefly escape Shizuka's lips when she watched him collapse to his knee. As he fell, Shizuka watched as Mariam raised her fist. This was to throw a punch. Shizuka crouched a bit and prepared to move out of the way, but she didn't quite need to. Tom leaped into action and the blonde's eyes could barely keep up. She wasn't able to catch everything he did just by watching, but she could see small movement patterns through analysis. She could piece it together relatively well and saw that Tom was defending her. So that's why they called him 'Bullets.'

All for nought, unfortunately. Shizuka's eyes went wide and she gasped when she saw that Mariam was able to catch Tom before his attack landed. Shizuka also recognized Tom's attempted Ken, but she was sad to see it didn't work. This wasn't going to be easy, even when Mariam was injured and Leonardo was almost dead. Kenpachi types were no joke, and this was frustrating. Shizuka looked at Jak, forgetting he was there for a moment. At least he was okay. Her eyes darted back to Tom. She was weighing her options for another attack, but he managed to help so much more than she could have ever asked. He went above and beyond and she hated that she was just going to leave him.

“I’ll make you a trade. If you remove that explosive material from my subordinate and let us both walk away with no problems, I’ll give you back your little friend with his head still attached to his body.”

"You're not in a position where you can bargain, Mariam. You'd better give him back to me with all of his body parts in-tact and with him still alive and well. Let him go first. You know I can't detonate this stuff without killing myself, as well. But I promise you that I will destroy both of you if you don't do this. Once the trade is complete, I will remove the fluid and let you go. I always hold my word."

Shizuka got her natural gift for controlling the souls of objects ready. This Soul Command was going to remove the liquid from both her and Leonardo's bodies so long as this girl gave Shizuka back her comrade. She was very serious in her threat, though. If Mariam failed, that was going to mean the end of both of these Kenpachi. That was the absolute. Shizuka wasn't going to let them get away after pulling any sneaky stunts, and Jak needed to remove himself from danger. She was prepared for that, too. She would defend Jak if it came down to something along those lines. She was going to take on both of them. Mariam had better hold her end.



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 3650
Fullbring Stage 1: 6/10
Liquid Type: ANNM
Gallons Remaining: 40/100

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

OOC: Bumping! I know it's only been a week, but I fully intend to turn this adventure in during July for the double TP summer event. I hope to see some posts dropping soon so we can finish this up or I'll have to rush through this final stretch of the thread, and I'd really rather not do that.

[Jak Halcom]

Jak was surprised that his plan actually worked. he felt the grip on his arm loosen when the bolt made contact with his face. With a both legs pushing as hard as they could, he finally got free just as the earth under them started to rotate. It was enough for him to get launched uncontrollably, but at least he was away from the giant. Jak hit the ground hard with a grunt, he would skip a bit grunting with each collision with the ground before he skid to a halt. Jak groaned as pain shot through his whole body. He managed to get to his hands and knees looking over to the battle still going on. Shizuka was spraying some sort of liquid on Leonardo, who tried to spin to get it off.

The stuff went spraying in every direction. Jak pushed off with his hands and feet using movement to try and avoid as much of it as possible. The bullets would hit the man bringing him down to his knee. Jak smiled a fiendish smile. This whole damn time, he had been at a disadvantage, having to feebly fight for his life. Now he had an advantage. He may be able to take out Leonardo while he was wounded. Normally, Jak was against killing anything, other than a hollow. His mother had ingrained into his young mind that all life was precious, no matter the form. With all he had been through, Jak disagreed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another young man being held by the throat by the friend of Leo's.

It looks like we are in a bit of a stand off, Jak thought looking for the girl to Leonardo. The girl made her demands simple. They walk, and she releases the young man with his head still on. Jak was torn. On one hand, he hated to see these monsters walk off the island alive. On the other hand, he was near completely spent. His right wrist was powder, and his muscles screamed with every move. He didn't even have enough energy to transform again. He just wanted it all to stop. It seemed that Shizuka was holding her ground through. Apparently the stuff that she poured on Leo was explosive. Jak turned to the three of them holding out his left arm at the crumpled form of Leo.

"She might not be able to, but I can." he said coldly. Jak had no issues killing Leo where he knelt. It it shown in his eyes. Hatred mixed with murderous intent fill the his crimson eyes. He was done taking their shit. Jak almost wanted the girl to kill the young man just to have a reason to kill Leo. To reduce him to meaty chunks. Jak really didn't know if the chemeical would do that, but he at least figured it would kill him. One spirit bolt was all it would take. 

[Col Arana]

Col's eyes lazily traced over the group as they discussed their course of actions, his extra limbs shifting as he tried to get comfortable. The human frame wasn't well suited for comfortable positions when it came to having six limbs instead of two. Wonderful for fighting and killing of course, less so for leisurely reclining. It seemed Sarah, however, was trying to cover something up. Col's eyes bored into the girl, his smirk upon his face. The newcomer, who appeared to be Alice's boss was engaging with Seb, making clear, Seb's disadvantage in the current situation. Col grinned at this. It was very entertaining to see Sarah so flustered and frustrated. He leaned in, eager to hear her response.

However, that wasn't forthcoming, as the echoing, thunderous sounds from inside Seb interrupted any answer she may have made. Col's eyes pierced towards the base's front door, probing curiously. He didn't have to wait long. An elfin woman exited the fortress, dragging a huge wolflife creature with her. A Beast Clan? I've never eaten one of those before.... Col mused. Beast Clan were very rare, and he'd never had the pleasure. Well. The great wolf seemed weakened at any rate. Perfect prey for Col. The woman herself though.... She was clearly a leader of some manner. It was in how she carried herself. One born to rule, and of a natural charisma. He watched each of them be addressed in turn, ending with himself, as he was mocked. But Col did not take offense, the spider laughing softly. "How wise of you." He answered. Even Col was honest in admitting such a thing would be utter idiocy. He worked best alone, or in a very small group. Large groups only served to whet his appetite, and resulted in people getting snacked on. "Power hungry sharks the lot of you are. And I have no use for sharks. They can't be tamed." Col gave a lilted sigh. "Perhaps not, but neither do they discriminate when prey is tossed into their waters~" He answered, allowing then, the woman to finish as she tossed what Col presumed to be the Beast Clan to the ground. His eyes gazed at the wolf-like beast hungrily. But as well.... the man behind him. His fear was palpable, and like a beast himself, Col could sense his fear. Fear strong enough that he actually drew his eyes away from Belcher, and instead to this man. A Bount.... His energy sensory could tell him that much.

And then.... was that it? The jewel that had drawn so many to this field of battle? Col's eyes honed in on the diamond, and he listened intently to the explanation. A Failure's explosion? Col had never encountered a Failure in his life, so the phrase was unknown to him. His eyes narrowed slightly. And.... then the Arms Dealer abandoned the Bount and her subordinates. Col's face split into a grin, the multiple eyes on his forehead, blinking excitedly. A soft crackling sound emanated as the arrancar rose from his seated position, having caught his breath. "Well then..." He noted. He gazed at Sarah and Alexander for a moment. "....I was given my payment, and I received an appropriate battle. Though my opponent was a disgusting sort, that is not your fault. I shall keep my word. I don't intend to kill you today." He informed the two. His eyes flickered across the others however. The Quincy. The.... what was that figure that Sarah had called Douma. The one Alice answered to. "Well then. That still leaves our final friend here." He looked at Shanks, his smirk growing. His energy sensory stretched out to check the crystal he was holding. Trying to analyze the reiatsu within it. An explosion had been used to create it? Was it stable? Unstable? He wondered, and probed. Distracted at the last, by the man's feeble attempts to dissuade focus on himself. Col chuckled at his expense.

"Poor Bount. Your master has left you to a pack of hungry wolves with a steak tied to your back." He remarked. "I have little interest in your politics and wars. In fairness I'll grant you a single moment to try and conceive of a reason I shouldn't simply take your treasure and devour you.... Not necessarily in that order." He inquired. His wrists clicked and flexed, as Col made sure his limbs were loose and limber in case the Bount attempted to flee. Col's webs would stop him quite quickly in his tracks, were he to attempt it. "Of course I cannot speak for the other company present." He gave Sarah and Alexander what may have been his attempt at a pitying look, but ended up coming across as condescending. "It seems you two may want to flee. I'd take your puppy with you, else I'm liable to devour him as well." He warned them.


Release: 6/16
Reiatsu Remaining: 2225 (-1000 after Release)

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Amalia's sardonic chuckle broke the tension and she removed her mask and tossed it to the side. "Slave?" She asked calmly through soft laughter. "You must me mistaking me for these frightened sycophants. I'm no slave. In fact, I'm as liberated as they come." The cat was officially out of the bag and her identity as a Vandenreich member had been revealed. She wasted no time cutting her opponents with her dagger of a tongue and her characteristically pretentious tone. Soon after she had spoken, the arm's dealer exited the scene and left the remainder of her forces to prove themselves.

Amalia's azure-colored eyes scanned the opponents standing before her. That's the treasure I was hoping to find, and in perfect time, of course. She thought to herself. It was unfortunate it had to end this way. She would much rather have found it by herself, stolen it, and returned to the Silbern. No one would have ever noticed she was gone until it was too late. And now this delusional arm's dealer has presented this precious item to the masses, each of them now eager to ascertain it.

Any outcome other than her obtaining the item was simply acceptable. They are all either too simple or grotesque to be in possession of such an item. It belongs with the Vandenreich and will be bestowed to his Majesty by Amalia. The abominations that stand beside her are the only obstacle now, and unfortunately she is outnumbered. She needs to go about this carefully and thoughtfully. In fairness I'll grant you a single moment to try and conceive of a reason I shouldn't simply take your treasure and devour you.... Not necessarily in that order. Amala's gaze intensified, narrowing her eyes slightly as she glanced out of the very corner of her periphery. 

Decades of deplorable mutations created what stands nearby and he wants the crystal for himself. Yeah...that's not going to happen. Amalia thought just before she raised her hand and released two class one side-arm arrow. The arrows were imbued with double the speed, now moving at 1600 and possessed pure destructive potential now that they was set to explode upon contact. One arrow was aimed directly at Belcher, who appeared to be too incapacitated to move, while the other would sore right past Belcher's head and land behind him. Amalia had two objectives in mind: Create some commotion and determine whether the others would attempt to save Belcher or simply let him be evaporated by her arrow.

The woman appeared affectionate toward the wounded beast, but Amalia wasn't certain how the others felt. Choosing to defend the beast meant he could be used as a handicap. Placing him in danger meant half their attention would be on keeping him safe and therefore limiting their effectiveness in battle. Amalia wasn't one to to spare attention on a dying ally. She was someone who would use such compassion against an opponent in order to gain an advantage. Even if mod soul made an effort to save the ragged beast she would find herself purely outclassed. Each of Amalia's class one explosive areas were capable of creating an explosive radius of at least 40ft

A cruel smile painted Amalia's face as she fantasized about the death of the mod soul and beast clan. Sarah would easily be caught in the blast if she attempted to save Belcher instead of abandoning him and leaving him to his fate. She would truly enjoy such an outcome. Even better would be if the Bount and Fullbringer jumped in to save the two. As she contemplated this she used movement to ascend into the sky, avoiding the powerful explosion as it rushed outward. As she gazed below, her cross glowed brightly as it pulled in reishi.

23, 150
+800 Quincy Cross
-240 for two class one, double speed, explosive arrows
=23,710

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

OOC: Here’s part 1 of my canon post. This is the response to Shizuka and Jak’s mini arc. I’m too tired to write up Col and Amalia’s response at the moment, but keep your eye out for it in the next day or two hopefully. Jak and Shizuka do not have to wait for my DM post for Col and Amalia before they post responses.

"You're not in a position where you can bargain, Mariam. You'd better give him back to me with all of his body parts in-tact and with him still alive and well. Let him go first. You know I can't detonate this stuff without killing myself, as well. But I promise you that I will destroy both of you if you don't do this. Once the trade is complete, I will remove the fluid and let you go. I always hold my word."

Mariam maintained her poker face, but it was quite obvious that she was backed into a corner. "She might not be able to, but I can." Jak stood at the ready as well, able to finish off their opponents the moment he saw an opening. With every second that the stand off lasted, Tom’s struggle grew weaker and more desperate until, finally, his body went limp and he slipped into unconsciousness.

If Mariam maintained her choke hold for only a few seconds longer, the last sliver of life would escape Tom’s body. However, those few additional seconds never came. Off to the side, the group would hear a rustle in the bushes. They weren’t alone. That third member of Titan, Henry, emerged from the trees. Part of his arm was red and burnt from the explosive trap Shizuka laid earlier, but he had managed to recover and catch up. His timing was impeccable.

Henry’s opened with a powerful shockwave punch directed at Jak, which would send the nakabakki flying if it landed. But the punch was only the first part of his plan. As he withdrew his extended fist, he activated his own unique ability. Within a cone around Henry, all the air suddenly rushed towards him. That range of his cone was about thirty feet, barely reaching the wounded Leonardo. Leo would be pulled toward Henry rather forcefully. The heavily injured kepanchi would have hit the ground hard had Henry not caught him.

Mariam used Henry’s appearance as a distraction. This was her opportunity to pull back. She threw Tom’s body at Shizuka forcefully, forcing the Xcution assassin to either dodge and leave her ally to take damage from the throw or attempt to soften his blow. In the meantime, Henry began to step back into the trees with Leo in his uninjured right hand. His wounded left side wouldn’t be very useful in mounting a defense. Several bullets soared toward the pair of Kenpachi, but Mariam used Shunpo to appear between Henry and Leonardo before the bullets reached them. She was their last line of defense, flexing the muscles in her healthy arm to block the bullets.

“You two go, I’ll hold them off.” Mariam spoke with confidence, but she was not in her peak condition either. Even though Tom was out of commission, Shizuka and Jak would still be daunting opponents. Still, it appeared as though she had a trump card. Mariam used her fingers to slip off a silver ring she wore on her middle finger, carrying the ring in her fingers. Whatever that ring was, it certainly had some sort of use to her or she wouldn’t have take that moment to pull it out. As Mariam spoke, Henry already began running with his maximum speed away from Seb’s hired defense. Jak or Shizuka would have to act quickly if they were going to stop their retreat, and even then, Mariam would certainly try to stop them.

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

"I have little interest in your politics and wars. In fairness I'll grant you a single moment to try and conceive of a reason I shouldn't simply take your treasure and devour you.... Not necessarily in that order." Shanks had no response. He simply stared back at Col with an emotionless gaze. While his expression was void of concern, the tension in his muscles reported otherwise. He was not at ease.

"It seems you two may want to flee. I'd take your puppy with you, else I'm liable to devour him as well." Seb’s remaining leadership seemed to like this idea quite a bit. Sarah drew a brass knob from a pouch at her side. It appeared to be some sort of tool. Shanks began to step down a stairwell of air ground to reach his allies. For just a moment, Seb had hope that they’d be able to retreat with no additional consequence and the final Crystal in tact.

But that hope was quickly extinguished when Amalia went on the offensive. Two class 1 explosive arrows at double their ordinary speed with 2000 reiatsu behind them. Things couldn’t get much worse. Alexander used Bringer Light to position himself about 150 feet into the sky to avoid the blast. Shanks and Alice used Schiene to do the same while Douma also positioned himself in the sky with Shunpo.

Things were not so simple for Sarah, however. She wasn’t about to abandon Belcher. But Sarah anticipated the attack the moment that Amalia’s reiatsu surged, and she was quick to act. The mod soul might have been emotional, but she was also a veteran of crime and combat. She was a survivor, and her instinct kicked in. As Amalia’s arrows formed, Sarah activated her Stand. An angelic figure appeared directly in front of the mod soul and beastclansmen. It immediately grabbed both and threw them into the air. Sarah grabbed tightly onto Belcher’s unconscious body as they soared, narrowly avoiding the arrows that directly impacted

But the explosion would catch up to them quickly, as the Stand had sacrificed itself to give Sarah and Belcher only a slight head-start. Just before the flames consumed the unfortunate pair, Sarah used her own ability to create a marshmallow man right in front of her. The marshmallow would absorb the majority of the explosion’s brunt force, but the rest of it carried over to Sarah and Belcher. They were tossed even higher into the air, but at least the marshmallow protected them from the heat and fire of Amalia’s attack. Sarah was breathing heavily, but she was relatively uninjured.

The woman would reach her maximum height at a position quite close in proximity to Alexander and Shanks. She summoned a second marshmallow man to replace the first. It stood on a platform of air ground and caught her and Shanks. The marshmallow was quite large, much like Baymax from Big Hero 6. It was so large, in fact, that when Sarah got back on her feet, she was able to put that brass knob in her hand to the marshmallow’s chest and pull open a door. This door led to a black room hidden from view of the rest of the party. It seemed that this was her escape plan.

“We gotta get out of here,” she told the rest of Seb. Shanks acknowledged this, but by this point, Douma had drawn the black at his waist. Alice pointed the chakra-imbued pistol in her right at Sarah. Amalia was only about fifty feet away. Col Arana was still in close proximity as well. Escape would not be easy at all. “Alexander and I will do what we can,” he said. There was no remorse in his voice. In fact, Shanks spoke as though he were a DMV employee. He had no capacity for emotion what-so-ever, but it seemed that he was willing to hold his ground against the overwhelming odds against him. Alexander, who had not spoked a word at all, simply nodded in agreement and activated his fullbring. Shanks was going to go all-out as well.

“Zieg Dich.”

With a gust of wind and a flash of light, Shanks’s doll appeared before him. She seemed like a mysterious-looking woman with a black cloak, pale skin, and purple hair. Interestingly, her perplexion was lined with uneven creases as though she were composed of multiple sheets of paper. That’s exactly what she was made of. And just so her paper composition was painfully clear, the woman also possessed large, angelic wings of white paper that stemmed from her back. The paper woman was Shanks’s only doll, but she was not the kind of opponent to take lightly.

Ten sheets of paper flew off of the doll’s wings and body. Five flew toward Amalia and the other five flew toward Col, all of them with 600 speed. They’d follow Amalia and Col wherever they ran, and if the pages succeeding in reaching them, they’d wrap around different parts of their bodies tightly and begin to squeeze with 600 strength.

In the meantime, Alexander the Black used Bringer Light to appear before Douma. He left a black trail of ash behind him as he moved. Douma, in response, activated his own unique parasite technique and countered Alexander’s assault with the power of the living tentacle that emerged from his left arm while he counterattacked with his right arm. Alexander was no opponent to underestimate, for he blocked Douma’s slash by activating his secondary fullbring transforming his shoulder to a gleaming diamond form. The rogue and fullbringer traded blows left and right while Alice supported Douma from afar with her firearm.

As that battle was going on, the marshmallow tossed Belcher into the portal Sarah opened up on its torso. “Sarah.” As Shanks called for his subordinate’s attention, he tossed the Crystal toward her. Sarah almost panicked when she saw their asset handled so casually but she was able to very gently catch it, doing all she could do cushion the impact of the Crystal on her hand. Based on her reaction, it would appear that the Crystal was in fact both fragile and dangerous. But now that she had it in her position, Sarah was prepared to follow Seb through the doorway and make her final escape.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Sarah’s Stand}
Stand’s Appearance

Rank 3 Brave Boost
Strength: 400 (1000)
Speed: 400 (700)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shanks Stats}
Class 1 Bount Rank 4 Leader
Strength: 100 (50)
Speed: 400 (800)
SpPr: 350
RS: 400 (1000)
Inst: 150
Senses: 200 (100)
ES: 0
HE: 0
Total: 1600 (TT)

Class 1 Doll Rank 4 Leader
Strength: 300 (600)
Speed: 250
SpPr: 300 (150)
RS: 400 (1000)
Inst: 150
Senses: 150 (75)
ES: 50
HE: 0
Total: 1600 (TT)

OOC: I expect about two more rounds of posts before this thread is officially over depending on the actions taken during those posts. Let's get your responses in quickly to make sure we can reel in double the TP for this thread

[Jak Halcom]

Jak's arm shook from today's exertion as well as his nerves during this tense situation. There was nothing more Jak would like than to blast the large man into oblivion right then and there, but the fact that Shizuka hadn't done anything yet made him pause. He assumed that she couldn't detonate the chemicals by needing to be close, and would get caught in the blast, but still...Jak held off his murderous impulses a while longer. He didn't know Shizuka well, but he knew her well enough that she shouldn't hesitate unless there was reason. All this waiting was putting him on edge. He just wanted out of here. To go home, and sleep this off like a bad hangover. 

The bushes rustling caught Jak's attention. His body was tensed ready to move in case he needed to. It seemed that his instincts were correct on this one. A man came out of the bushes with an injured arm. He punched out at Jak, who once again used movement to avoid the attack stepping closer to Shizuka. He did not want to get isolated from her. It seemed that he was an ally of the two foes. He was able to attract Leonardo to him and start making his escape, with the woman acting as a barrier between them and the escapees. Mariam threw the still body of Tom at Shizuka, but Jak managed to catch him though off balance. The impact aggravated his right wrist, but he tried to be gentle with Tom. 

Jak was no medic by any stretch, but he knew how to check a pulse. Jak positioned Tom so the half demon could check the other fighter's pulse with his good hand. It weak, but there. He would survive, given he that psycho didn't manage to over there and finish the job. Jak looked at Shizuka after laying Tom flat a few paces from the battle to give him some air. "He will be fine. What do we do now?" He asked her keeping his eyes locked on the foe before them. 

270 remaining

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Amalia escaped to the sky and was prepared to see the marvelous explosions her arrows were about to create. Though it seemed her opponent was unwilling to accept her and the horrid beast's fate. Summoning discipline. She commented mentally with a devious smile. What a clever mod soul, but her stubborn attempt to defy fate was going to fail her. As Amalia's smile widened, a sinister, guttural chuckle echoed from from within her throat through closed teeth. She was truly amused by her efforts and more so by the consequences she knew were about to unfold. 

The stand skillfully caught both arrows in hand and they instantly detonated. Evidently the mod soul had never fought a Quincy before as explosive arrows explode upon contact with anything they touch, even if it wasn't the Quincy's original target. They were volatile, but incredibly effective tools in Amalia's arsenal. Even better, these class one arrows both possessed Amalia's immense reiatsu strength. Their subsequent explosions spread like a raging ocean of  flames, each producing a radius exceeding 40ft. There was simply no way for Sarah nor Belcher to avoid the spread of the blast, Sarah especially now that she was incurring damage in place of her stand.

Amalia's laughter could be heard from the sky as the flames churned and spread like tidal waves. The winds generated from the explosion rustled her hair and clothing as her eyes marveled at her own power. "To behold such magnificence and stunning beauty in your final moments is a truly glorious way to die." Her joyous and malevolent laughter provided a soundtrack for the roaring explosion. Amalia's true nature and the joy she takes in killing others shined through in this moment. She was unbelievably tame before this, but having her identity as a Sternritter revealed liberated her natural proclivity for chaos and violence.

Even more enjoyable was the way in which her opponents would die, bathed in an ocean of fire. Having the explosion erupt so close to the mod soul and beast clan meant they would be subsumed in the blaze, but the mod soul would likely have her hands completely blown off due to the transfer of damage from her stand. Neither of them were strong enough to withstand the strength of those explosive arrows. Belcher, in his weakened state, would be at the mercy of Amalia's attack. Unfortunately, Amalia wasn't known for her mercy. He would immediately feel the force of the explosion and the flames would envelop his body like a wrap, incinerating his fur and peeling away his flesh.

The now armless Sarah would also find herself coated in the flames, but her torment was double. Whatever the stand experienced was reflected upon her body, but standing so close to her own protector meant she would be assaulted a second time. Amalia took twisted pleasure in the idea of the mod soul being purified twice due to her audaciousness. Amalia lowered her head as the pain continued to spread through her body, but she didn't care. It was a marvelous way to send two people to their deaths.  She lifted her head and grinned at Shanks and Alexander, her hair slightly draping over her face.

She lifted her hand and combed it behind her ear as she straightened her posture. The explosion had since died down, but the orange coloring of the blaze highlighted the area. Shadows danced about as Amalia tilted her head and nodded slightly with a toothy smile. This was her way of mocking the two after having watched their comrades perish. Amalia showed no fear. Only pure joy and amusement shined through in her expression. A sign the two were not facing a typical opponent. Her madness knew no bounds, a lesson they had likely already learned. "Now that we have that behind us," she said sweetly, "you may surrender the item."

Amalia pointed at Shanks. "Shucks...shells, or whatever your name is, give me the crystal." She demanded dismissively. "Trust me, it would be foolish to labor under the delusion that you can prevent me from acquiring it. That doll won't stop me. I've killed hundreds of your kind." She said with a smile. Amalia continued with a tone resembling a saleswoman. It was as though she was trying to appeal to his better judgment. Amalia's sultry gaze and wicked smile accented her phrasing.

"It always ends same." She said with a near compassionate tone. "I reduce their dolls to pieces, causing them to feel unbelievable agony, only to behead them and bring about true death. Is that what you want for yourself? Do you want your final moments to be that of your doll pleading with you?" Amalia expression darkened. "I imagine your doll has similar affection to you as the others did their masters. If only that translated into strength." She held out her hand. "Give me the crystal." Amalia demanded sweetly a final time. As she spoke she activated teilchenaufprall, more pain surging through her body as six large, black spheres appeared around her. Amalia sighed in response to his doll releasing sheets of paper. "Fine." She said with some irritation in her voice.

Three spheres rocketed toward Shanks and his doll, each with a speed of 800. Each of the three spheres sprouted dozens of spikes and tendrils. One of the spheres used its tendrils to pierce the five pieces of paper before rotating different regions of its body like simultaneous saws. Once the papers were ensnared they were quickly dragged toward the sphere and sliced by the violently vacillating surface, each of the sharp-edged spikes acting like knives to slice the paper to pieces. The two other tendril, spike-decorated spheres  launched at Shank's doll. Dozens of tendrils assaulted her, lunging at the doll like spears. Their numbers and speed are capable of easily overwhelming even the most competent fighter. With the doll distracted, Amalia wasted no time. She fired a class four arrow (1600 speed) straight for Shank's chest. 

23,150
+800 Quincy Cross
-600 Tielchenaufprall (particle impact)
-70 class 4, double speed arrow
=23,280

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

OOC: I made a mistake in the Col/Amalia response and neglected the drawback of Stand. Because Sarah’s Stand took Amalia’s arrows head on, those injuries will he reflected to Sarah. Thus, Belcher and Sarah will fall to the ground out of commission. Shanks will then retain possession of the Crystal but his remaining actions will be unchanged.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Shizuka watched as Tom's body went limp. Anger filled her heart and it took a lot of power to hold herself back from getting too rowdy. She needed to wait until the timing was perfect before she made her next move because she couldn't risk hurting Tom. She wasn't about to get him caught in the fire when he had done nothing but help. She needed to act quickly, though, because Tom wasn't going to last much longer. She could tell he was struggling. This wasn't about to end well for him and something was going to have to be done or else she'd lose him entirely. That hold was going to kill him. Even then, Shizuka had an opening to kill Mariam. But she still didn't want to risk Tom's life if she could save him.

Of course, perhaps both fortunate and unfortunate, another member of this team emerged from the trees. Shizuka could have sworn she blew this guy up, but she should have known better than to assume the best when it came to people like this. They were entirely too tough to beat on their own, and Shizuka was running on her last leg here. She didn't know if her plan was going to work, but Henry had given her an opening she didn't know she needed. Henry threw an attack in Jak's direction but the boy was able to dodge. Leonardo was sucked towards Henry, weirdly enough, and the latter was able to catch him. Okay, so all of them were closer together. Good.

Shizuka acted quickly and was thankful that Jak was there to catch Tom. Hopefully he would snap out of it, but Shizuka might be able to help him later if he doesn't. Henry wasn't going to get away so easily and Mariam was just a human shield. Before she could speak, Shizuka used Soul Command to throw the ANNM off of her own body and on to the three Kenpachis. She screamed "TAKE HIM AND RUN!" at Jak, hoping he would listen. These three were too focused on escaping and retreating to pay attention, more than likely. Shizuka hoped to gain an advantage there. The second the fluid touched the bodies of the Kenpachis, she used Soul Command once again to act as a blasting cap. Explosions bursted all around her, covering the area in smoke. If they remembered, she sprayed a lot of fluid earlier. Whatever wasn't on these enemies was also going to explode because of the highly reactive state of the explosive.

Bringer Light helped Shizuka get about a mile away, but she didn't stay to see if she had succeeded. Judging by their poor health and difficulties moving from previous injuries, and the fact that they were all distracted since they were trying to get away, she felt confident. But no one could really tell how well it would work with people like that. Although, despite the resilience, even cockroaches die when they get stepped on. She waited for Jak to meet up with her and bring Tom her way, though she felt bad. While it was possible Jak got caught in the explosions, she did give a warning. Maybe that was enough. She was getting tired, too. Her Fullbring was reaching its end for this released period. She didn't want to have to bring it back out.



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 3550 (-50 for Soul Command, -50 for Bringer Light)
Fullbring Stage 1: 7/10
Liquid Type: ANNM
Gallons Remaining: 40/100

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

OOC: This post is for Jak and Shizuka. Once Col posts, I’ll drop my Amalia and Col DM post.

Jak’s strength was quite handy as he managed to catch Tom’s body, saving the fullbringer from suffering further damage. It was lucky that he did, for Tom was barely clinging to life. His body was desperately trying to recover oxygen, and any impact from the hit could’ve been enough to send him over the edge into the abyss of death. Shizuka was visibly enraged by the action. But Xcution’s top assassin was not the type to stand at the side and watch. She’d channel that rage into action.

Shizuka’s skill with Soul Command was the key to her plan. She had used that innate Fullbringer ability to remove the dangerous explosive liquid from her skin, ensuring that she can use her release’s power to its full extent without harming herself at all. Leonardo’s eyes widened with a mix of fury and desperation. At this point, he was the only one with any ANNM still on him. He was done for.

Henry realized this as he carried Leo in his hand. The coldhearted mercenary had no sympathy for his comrade. No, Henry was in survival mode, and at that moment, Leonardo was the biggest threat to his life. Mariam acknowledged this too, and they both acted immediately to try and secure their own life as much as possible. “Throw him!” yelled Mariam with a heavy urgency in her voice. They were running out of time. Henry threw the screaming Leonardo with full force, like a professional baseball pitcher on the mound. Leonardo’s heavily wounded body sped past Mariam, narrowly missing her as he rapidly made his way toward the rest of the ANNM on the ground.

And just as he soared over it, the ANNM erupted into a circus of flames. Leonardo’s body was no more. Shizuka, and hopefully Jak, would have used a step technique to get out of the way at the last second. Henry had just barely completed his throw, and Mariam couldn’t afford to lose both her greatest assets on one job. She said she’d defend Henry, and the young girl was a man of her word. As the explosion formed, the silver ring Mariam held in her hand began to glow as well.

The flames were rushing to consume Mariam and Henry with a blinding speed, but the ring would just barely form a defense in time. It transformed so that what once was a tiny ring turned into a massive metal shield, like an enormous version of Captain America’s shield. It withstood the flames, forcing the fire to split like the Red Sea around the remaining Titan leaders. Mariam and Leonardo were safe from immediate harm.

But the explosive force was not something even Mariam could resist with her strength. She was tired and wary. Although her arm could handle the power of the explosion for a split second, it’d soon give in to fatigue. Henry, with his hand extended, reached forward to grab Mariam’s shoulder and assist, but it was too late. The pair of Titans would be sent flying high into the air, continuing their free fall until they were far out of sight.

Team Titan was blasting off agaaaaiiiin.

Ding.

Shizuka and Jak had a minute to catch their breaths before they’d encounter a new figure. He moved with silence, only alerting the pair with his modulated voice when he arrived. “Titan won’t be bothering us anymore.” If Shizuka and Jak looked up, they’d notice a figure standing on an a thick tree branch ahead of them. He was wearing a faded golden mask with ammunition strapped to his combat jacket. He held a carbon spiritual steel sniper momentarily before strapped it to his back. Shizuka’d recognize him as one of Douma’s subordinate Crow.

“You’ll receive your compensation at Seb’s headquarters,” he told them as he jumped down to the ground and began walking toward Seb’s HQ. “Though there was a recent explosion in the general direction of Seb, so the fighting may not be done. I strongly advise caution.” There was a creepy excitement in Crow’s voice, as if the prospect of danger and death excited him. His eerie tone might set Shizuka and Jak on edge, but if they chose not to follow him, they wouldn’t receive any pay for their work.

The walk would take a little while, and Crow, who was normally a man of few words, was surprisingly talkative. Well, relatively talkative. “Douma is always looking for allies in the Underworld. Your occupation would certainly allow for more part-time work, Shizuka. If you wish, you can certainly partner with Douma on some projects.” Crow then turned to Jak, studying the Nakabakki from behind his glossy yellow mask. “And I don’t know who you are, but you’ve got some talent too. Looking for a job? New hires never seem to last very long, but I have a feeling that you’re a survivor.”

Crow, Shizuka, and Jak had some time to socialize and walk before they’d make it to Seb’s headquarters, where Amalia, Douma, Alice, Col, Alexander, and Shanks were currently involved in a heated battle. But until then, could talk briefly to Crow and figure out what to do with Tom’s injured body.

[Col Arana]

Col kept his word. Deceitful, backstabbing cretin that he was, he kept his word today. He did not make the first move, and he did intend to allow Sarah and Alexander to leave in peace. No indeed, today it had been the Quincy that struck first, assaulting with a pair of arrows that produced significant explosions. "Ah... it must have been your reiatsu signature I noticed earlier." Col noted. "Fighting against that wave of Hollows. Marvelous." A part of Col strongly considered attacking Amalia at this very moment, to cut her down. Quincy did have a natural weakness to Arrancar after all. A quick strike and Amalia would fall, and Sarah and Alexander could escape in the chaos. If Col was feeling so generous, anyways. Was he though? Hmm.... That depended entirely upon how much it benefited him to attack Amalia at this moment. Were the arrancar fresh, and at full strength, he'd gladly do so. But... he'd rather take it easy for now. Besides. Attacking Amalia could draw Douma's attention upon himself, and he was not prepared to fight that one head on, in his current condition. Perhaps another time. For now, he allowed Amalia to attack unimpeded, studying what happened immediately after.

Sarah was using her creation abilities, making another of her marshmallow men. This time, Col noted she was using it as a portal of some manner. Probably to escape. It seemed similar in nature to an Arrancar Gargantua. Well. Sarah was allowed to leave, along with her pet. The other man was not. As Shanks summoned his doll, Col began to charge a Cero, using the blood from the wound Kozu had inflicted on him earlier. The Cero resembled a black void in the air, as he charged it with one finger, pointed at Shanks. But even as his Cero charged, Col's other limbs were also already in motion. Each of his five limbs, plus his mouth spewed out thick strands of webbing, which flew through the air above Shanks' head, as well as to his left. They didn't seem to have any particular target, they were simply to cut off his avenue of escape-- keep Shanks from following after Sarah. The webs flying past his left were simply because the web Col sprayed from his mouth would have obstructed his view of Shanks if he'd tried to aim it above him as well. And he wanted to make sure he had Shanks on-target. As his doll began to generate its attack, a black Cero-- Cero Oscuras, exploded out from Col's hands. The paper projectiles fired at Col were instantly consumed. The doll as well, would be engulfed in the Cero, and instantly rendered into less than atoms. Cero Oscuras was an immensely powerful Cero, that doubled the user's reiatsu strength. At present, Shanks, his doll, and his doll's attack were faced against a Cero with 2800 Reiatsu Strength. Even with Class Advantage the gap in power was too vast to overcome, the Cero shredding through them and their attacks like a light fog. Anything caught in this attack was turned to dust.

Not that Col expected this to be the end of Shanks. But if Shanks tried to dodge into the air, or to his left, he'd run directly into Col's webbing. Col had launched the webs as soon as he saw Sarah create her portal, cutting off Shanks' escape route that way. If Shanks touched any of the webs, they'd bind to him like iron, with an adhesive strength of 1400. The webs themselves were incredibly strong, and flexible. The moment anything became touched by them, they may as well have become tethered to Col. Unable to escape the former Escudo. Of course, Col could remove his own lines if he had to. Shanks' doll might have had a chance at using this against Col. But if Shanks were snared in them, he would be in deep, deep trouble. His only escape route was to the right. Furthermore, destroying the webs would be difficult as well, as they were highly resistant to reiatsu. In fact, they absorbed it. Purely reiatsu-based attacks would simply be sucked into the webs and dissipate.

Sarah's escape attempt appeared to have failed, and she hit the ground. A pity for her. But Col would hardly mourn her. In fact if her body stuck around, he might be inclined to devour her as well. She was strong enough to be a worthwhile meal, at least.

Fortunately for the group present, nobody was at risk of being hit by Col's Cero Oscuras except for Shanks and his doll, but it would be ill-advised to get behind Shanks at this time. Col's eyes glimmered as his energy sensory focused in on Shanks. Col had unleashed his attack at Shanks' right hand side-- or Col's left. This meant that for Shanks to dodge to the opening in Col's net, he'd be dodging directly into Amalia's attacks! Col was being safe right now. True, he could have tried to hit Shanks' directly with his webs.But as Shanks had not displayed any signs of skills or abilities yet, Col couldn't be certain if that would work. Therefore, his Cero Oscuras was actually largely defensive, and to force Shanks to move, while his webs were simply to force Shanks to move a certain way. He'd let Amalia be the one to properly test the Bount's abilities. Although it was very possible that Shanks' doll was about to be destroyed. What would that do to a Bount? Col didn't know. He'd never fought one, only heard of them. He had no idea what would happen if this projection of the Bount's self was obliterated by Col's Cero Oscuras. But he expected he'd find out shortly~

Release: 7/16
Remaining Reiatsu: 2225 (-1400 after Release -400 for Cero Oscuras)

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

By leaving her Stand behind to tank the explosive force of both of Amalia’s class 1 arrows, Sarah sacrificed herself in order to protect Belcher. It was a noble move, one not often seen between two criminals. In the underworld, the predominant philosophy was the survival of the fittest, but it seemed that Sarah and Belcher had a very unique relationship. But whatever that relationship was, it wouldn’t matter if the two failed to survive this encounter. Sarah and Belcher both fell to the ground, their bodies already unconscious before they hit the ground. Sarah skin – well, the skin of her gigai – was charred and scortched by the flames of Amalia’s exploding arrows, and Belcher was already heavily bruised and cut beneath his thick fur. They both clung to life with the little energy their bodies had left. Any other harm that’d come to Sarah and Belcher would likely result in their death.

Amalia tried to reason with Shanks, but the Bount stubbornly refused to part with the Crystal. Her words, while intimidating, failed to push Shanks toward surrender. That Crystal was all he had left. ”Fine.” It seemed that Amalia acknowledged that battle was inevitable. And, naturally, the duchess of the Vandenreich made the first move. Her Particle Impact was a fearsome technique. The orbs of reiatsu rushed to meet the dolls sheets of paper. The simple 8” by 11” pages didn’t alter their course at all, instead continuing their direct course. But right before the blades of Particle Impact emerged to slice them into useless scraps, the papers seemed to do Amalia’s job for her. They shredded themselves instantly, turning into a dozen or so smaller scraps of paper that parted to the sides, narrowly avoiding Particle Impact. As the reiatsu orbs continued toward the doll, the scraps of paper closed the distance between Amalia with a speed of 600

But they were smaller now and wouldn’t succeeding in wrapping around Amalia’s limbs as they planned. Instead, as the pages made contact with Amalia’s skin, they’d combust. The mini-explosions created from each paper scrap would deal a significant amount of damage to Amalia considering that about 60 shreds were targeting her. This would interrupt Amalia’s attempt to shoot a class 4 arrow at Shanks, forcing her to deal with the doll’s attack first.

However, Shanks and his doll still had a fair amount of other issues to deal with. Shanks could do little to prevent Col’s spread of his webs, and as he observed the Arrancar’s technique, the doll dealt with Amalia’s particle impact. Ten more sheets of paper came off her body. One of them ran head-first into the Particle Impact spear before it could reach the doll. Amalia and Col would both detect a surge of reiatsu in the paper just before contact was made. They’d even notice a change in appearance; it would appear glossy and reflective. While the spear’s intended purpose was to pierce, the sheet of paper would miraculously reflect the energy in the spear. Amalia, now distracted with the scraps, would likely briefly release mental command of Particle Impact’s movement for a brief second to protect herself. Even if she used a step technique to dodge, that’d be enough of a lapse in focus to buy the doll time, sending the spear flying in the opposite direction that it had previously moved. The spear was not quite as fast as particle impact, but because it was simply orienting itself to defend the doll, it’d be able to position itself to defend against the spear if Amalia redirected back to the doll. On top of that, there were 9 other defensive sheets of paper that hovered around the doll as well.

But Shanks’s larger concern was the threatening black energy stemming from Col Arana’s charging cero. The doll’s initial 5 pages targeting Col wisely retreated toward the ground to avoid clashing with the powerful cero. The experienced black market lord had witnessed Cero Obscuras in the past, and he was appropriately cautious of this technique. While Shanks’s expression was as void of emotion as ever, the increased tension in his body signified his concern. He stepped in closer to his doll, allowing the paper woman to create a defense for the both of them. All ten sheets of paper converged on the doll and Shanks, expanding and folding to create a leaf-less paper tree around the pair. Shanks and his doll were at the center of the tree trunk, protected by the white bark. This tree would amazingly tank Col’s cero, protecting Shanks and his doll from its remarkable explosive power.

As the cero subsided, the 5 sheets that dodged toward the ground would rise back up toward Col, attempting to wrap around his limbs. If they made it that far, the paper would transform into sticky paper and adhere strongly to the Arrancar. As they did, they’d pull back on his arms and legs to try and fold the former Escudo like a dumpling. It was a strange binding strategy, but if they paper succeeded in converging all of his limbs behind Col’s back, they’d stick together as well. Col would need to muster an offensive power greater than 2000 to break that binding.

Meanwhile, the tree would open a doorway at its back, allowing Shanks to escape. The Bount used Scheine to dart out of the tree with a speed of 5,600. Scheine’s tracks led him underneath Col’s webs so that he could begin circling around Seb’s destroyed HQ and making his escape. Even after Schiene ended and Shanks was out of the web, he moved rather quickly with a speed of 800. Furthermore, the Crystal was still in his hand.

Douma broke off from Alexander and summoned his long, bone dragon. The dragon moved with 1100 speed, allowing Douma to rush past Shanks’s allies and begin catching up to the Bount. Both Alexander and the doll, which emerged from the tree as well, were too slow to stop him. They were, however, in position to go after Amalia and Col. The remaining Quincy and Arrancar would have to act quickly and figure out how they were going to get past Seb’s last line of defense. If not, it seemed that either Shanks would escape with the precious gem or Douma would take it for himself.