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Hollowed Ch. 15

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Chapter 15

"Did you feel that?" Szayel asked, pausing and turning in the direction of Arturo's and, shortly following, Ulquiorra's release of spiritual energies. Grimmjow, whom he had been paired with for their little excursion, stopped as well, but didn't seem as fazed.

"Come on, pink head," he said, in an irritated way. "We don't have time to worry about them, remember? Arty boy sent us out to eliminate Nnoitra, and that's what we're gonna do. They can just die on their own if they want to." The two of them started to run again, but this time Szayel was smirking.

"You did feel Luppi, right?" the scientist asked, shooting Grimmjow a sideways glance. The 6th gave him a dangerous look, but only nodded.

"Yeah? And?" he asked. "As long as that juvenile's dead then I don't care."  

"I see," replied the 8th as they continued to use sonido.

"Just focus on current events, alright?" Grimmjow asked in a snarling voice. "I don't really feel like lingering on the current subject very much.

"Alright, alright," Szayel was swift to quip. "I didn't say anything."

"Hmph," said the pantera. It was just as well that the conversation ended there, at least, because no sooner had the 6th said that, than they suddenly felt the sharp swing in the balance of spiritual pressures, and sensed the sudden presence of their old pal Nnoitra. Without warning, a huge, clover-shaped weapon swung down in between them, nearly slicing the tails off of their Espada suits, and creating a deadly tailwind.

"Hey there you two!" the 5th cackled, leaping down in front of them and swinging the chains of his weapon carelessly around in a wide circle. The two that he had attacked leaped to the side, suddenly wary. "What's goin' on?"

"Hey, Nnoitra buddy!" Grimmjow said, less-than-enthusiastically. "Nice to kill you."

"Nice to kill you too," replied the 5th, who then chuckled at their slightly humorous comments. Szayel sighed and rolled his eyes. He quietly drew Fornicarás out of its sheath, leveling it at Nnoitra confidently.

"Come now, Grimmjow," he urged. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me," replied the blue-haired warrior, grinning psychotically. He unsheathed Pantera, drawing him slowly and with precision, aiming it dead at Nnoitra's throat with a superior air. "I think we should get started!"

"Me too," the 5th stated slyly, licking his lips in anticipation. "Tesra! Help me take them down!"
Instantly, his fraccion appeared, hand on sword hilt, glaring angrily at whoever dare oppose his idol.

"Of course, Master Nnoitra," he said, drawing his sword and steadying it at Szayel.

"Good," replied the lanky, black-haired Espada. "This will go all the quicker."

"Right then!" Grimmjow yelled. "Let's get this thing started!"

Instantly upon shouting this, the 6th, 8th, 5th, and the only fraccion present all unleashed their spiritual reiatsus in one enormous blast, all trying to catch each other off guard. Unfortunately, it was all synchronized, and nobody got startled very much. Quickly seeing that this would not help him to a certain degree, Grimmjow lunged for Nnoitra and almost succeeded in slicing his neck clean open. Had the 5th not dodged fast enough, this is what would have happened.

Instead, he jumped to the side and slid backwards a few feet, taking the time to swing his zanpakuto around threateningly, and whip it back towards his attacker without missing a beat. Grimmjow expertly blocked, and then leaped forwards with a psychotic slash, decimating the cuff of his superior's outfit with one hit, but not penetrating the skin. Nnoitra bared his teeth with a huge grin and used the chain on his weapon to snap back at the 6th and rip the entire sleeve off his Espada suit. Grimmjow leaped away just in time, but a large trickle of blood was already escaping the stinging wound in his arm.

"Say, isn't that the arm you already lost to Tosen?" Nnoitra prodded, resting the weapon across his shoulders. "I guess it's your unlucky limb."

"Aw, shut up, Nnoitra," said the blue-haired Espada evenly, testing out his arm just to prove it didn't hurt. "Just 'cause I lost it before doesn't mean it ain't useless!" he proceeded to use sonido to appear to Nnoitra's left, and slash satisfyingly down his side with a long, sweeping cut. Blood leaped away from the wound and the 5th, eyes wide, leaped away as well.

"How did you do that, you little weakling?!" he shouted, amazed that someone had managed to puncture his hierro. Grimmjow smiled in response.

"I may be the 6th," he replied. "But that doesn't mean I'm weak."


Meanwhile, Szayel had decided to face off against Tesra, hoping to kill him off quickly and then join Grimmjow in beating up Nnoitra. However, the fraccion had proved to be a little more powerful than he had first expected. The dirty-blond-haired man had made his move quickly upon the fight's beginning, and went straight for Szayel's blind side, attempting to make a cut in a good spot.
Although he wasn't one for combat, the 8th had managed to dodge using sonido, and actually had the brains enough to think of appearing to the right of Tesra and landing a huge kick in his side. Surprised, the fraccion stumbled, but predicted the next move correctly. Quickly, he brought his sword up just to his left, which turned out to be where Szayel chose to appear. Unable to dodge something he ran right into, Szayel found himself cleverly sliced across the chest. He leaped
backwards as if electrically shocked.

"I can read you like a book, Szayel Apporo," Tesra smirked, allowing himself a small moment of victory and righting himself by pointing his sword at the slightly disoriented scientist.

"Is that so?" scowled the pink-haired Espada. "I guess I'll just have to become unreadable."

"Uh oh…" Tesra said, his eyes growing wide as Szayel lifted his zanpakuto to his mouth.

"Sip, Fornicarás," Szayel said in a cold tone at the same moment that Tesra cried:

"Crush, Verruga!" Simultaneously, Grimmjow roared,

"Grind, Pantera!" and Nnoitra screeched:

"Pray, Santa Teresa!"

In one accord, all four of them unleashed their full battle potential; sending such a sheer amount of spiritual pressure roaring through Las Noches that even Aizen was pushed into a state of discomfort. Without a pause, they started to hack into each other anew, each one with their release forms activated.

Never before had the lonely, whitewashed halls witnessed such power.

***

Except, that is, for the battle going on in the corridors across the complex. For that is where Ulquiorra was battling it out with Starrk and Lilynette. Only moments ago, he had gone into his release form – which was forbidden – and started to attack the pair with a fresh sense of power. Now, instead of his normal, high-collar Espada suit and helmet, the 4th was enclothed in a sweeping, white robe of sorts, and his head was adorned with a full helmet sporting two magnificent, curving horns. The most intriguing aspect of his new form, however, were the two long, elegant black wings that had sprouted from his back, brushing the floor and opposite sides of the hallway with their size. Starrk and Lilynette's eyebrows shot up and their eyes widened.

"And I thought I'd seen it all…" commented Starrk as the 4th turned to face them with new energy. Casually, slowly, he repositioned himself in a battle stance. "But we aren't going to let that bother us, are we now, Lily?"

"'Course not!" she said, although there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. This new form of Ulquiorra's was different, but she already knew that upon the initiation of your release form, your reiatsu and speed were greatly enhanced. Already, the two of them could feel themselves being pressed down on as if gravity had increased by 50%. Taking the hint, Ulquiorra raised his sword and held it at a ninety degree angle to them.

"I prefer this battle end sooner than later," he stated calmly. Promptly upon finishing that sentence, he disappeared, and without a moment's pause, Lilynette suddenly let out a loud cry and collapsed into a heap on the ground. Whipping around, Starrk found the 4th standing behind her, his sword hilt having been driven into her skull. Blood started to pool around her small form, and Starrk instantly felt a twinge of anger grace his personality.

"You're quicker than I thought," he said through his teeth, coming around to bear with the 4th. "And smarter. You know that I can't go into my release form without Lily, don't you?"

"I have managed to deduce that, yes," replied Ulquiorra stoically. "It would be as hopeless as going against a powerful opponent without your zanpakuto."

"Now THAT, I'm not giving up," stated Starrk calmly, tightening his hold on the hilt of his sword. He gritted his teeth again as he analyzed his knew strengths and weaknesses that came with Lily being out of the picture. By the looks of it, she wasn't going to wake up by the time this was over, either.
"I did not think as much," replied Ulquiorra, using sonido to put a little distance between him and the 1st. "I would not think of fighting an unarmed opponent."

"That's good, to say the least," was the reply. "And here's another good thing." He went into sonido, dashing to the right of the 4th, but was a little too slow. Expecting this, Ulquiorra dodged the blow by stepping backwards one pace, and then making a stab for Starrk's vital organs. In accordance, Coyote blocked expertly, forcing the green-hilted sword away from his own and then swiftly kicking his subordinate in the gut – hard. Ulquiorra stumbled away, and right into Starrk again as he appeared behind the cuatro using sonido.

"Sorry to do this, but…" Starrk said. Without a pause, he drove the blade of his sword straight through Ulquiorra from behind, slicing him through the ribs with one, swift movement. The 4th's eyes grew wide as he felt the tip of the blade puncture his right lung, and then pass clean through him to the other side. Glancing down, the saw the front half of Starrk's blade coated in blood as it started to retract.

"I don't think I'll be able to regenerate that…" he thought, as the 1st Espada swiftly drew out his sword, letting the 4th fall to his knees, coughing up more of his dark red blood onto the bright white floor than he would have liked. Regardless of this wound, Ulquiorra kept his hand clenched tightly around his zanpakuto hilt, not ready to give up in the least.

"Hey Lily, you ok?" he heard Starrk ask in the background. He knew that Lilynette would not be able to awaken at this point, but if Coyote used a kido spell on her, then he might be able to heal her enough – and then his fate was sealed. Disgusted with his failure so far, Ulquiorra saw only one way to finish this fight once in for all. Gathering up all the spiritual strength he had left, he closed his eyes slowly and then, still on his hands and knees, said quietly:

"Resureccion Segunda Etapa."

***

"Now how do you feel, you insignificant kitten?" Nnoitra screeched, laughing at the bloody, weakened state that Grimmjow was now in. The blue-haired warrior, now in his half cat form, was practically dragging himself along, limping horrifically because of a major leg wound. Aside from that, and the fact that he was losing a lot of blood, he was infuriated by Nnoitra's comment.

"Insignificant WHAT?!" he roared, panting. "I outta teach you a thing or two!"

"As if!" Nnoitra laughed, swinging Santa Teresa around on all four of his arms. "I don't even know why you endeavored to fight me! You know it was a losing battle all along."

"You wish!" Grimmjow spat back, sonidoing around and striking at the tall figure from the side. Expertly, three of the four arms knocked him away, Nnoitra kicked him swiftly in the chest, and then his fourth arm came around and attempted to spear him. Luckily, the 6th was able to dodge this, and slice Nnoitra's arm clean off.

"Oh, come now, that's the third time you've done this!" Nnoitra laughed, quickly pausing to let a new, regenerated arm push itself out of the severed stump. Flexing his new fingers, Nnoitra tipped back his head and laughed again. "You're not getting anywhere, Grimmjow!"

"I will, you just got to give me a minute!" retorted the 6th breathlessly.

"You shall? Well, I might just wait then. I don't favor fighting an opponent who's at a disadvantage," replied the tall Espada. He casually swung Santa Teresa around in circles in each of his hands as he waited for the pantera king to catch his breath. Just the sight of him, so relaxed, set Grimmjow's blood boiling. He couldn't possibly be that far beneath the 5th, could he?


Meanwhile, only six or seven yards from where the first duo was battling, Szayel was still fighting it out with Tesra. It angered the pink-haired scientist to some degree that a mere fraccion was able to withstand his attacks in its adjuchas form, while he was in his released one. Shouldn't Fornicarás be able to beat him to a pulp without much effort? The 8th gritted his teeth, knowing that he had never been one for combat. Their fight had gone on, unperturbed by the two others, and they had occasionally spared glances at their battling partners, to make sure they didn't kill each other. Tesra was especially on guard, but he was also clever enough to spot an opening when it became available to him.

"Are you just going to stand there while I attack you, Szayel Aporro?" shouted Nnoitra's close follower as he saw Szayel get distracted by the battle to their side, bringing down his now amplified fist on top of the modified scientist. Szayel whipped his wing bones to protect himself, and was glad when they withheld against the attack.

"Of course not, you stupid fool," he said, grinning psychotically, much in a way that Grimmjow would have. "And you just made a fatal mistake."

"What?" Tesra asked, suddenly on guard. Without pausing, Szayel swiftly snapped his wing up and let it wrap snugly around Tesra's arm. Szayel sneered as the huge adcjuchas shoved him aside.
"You're doomed!" he laughed, as a large drop of purple substance dripped off of his wing and landed in his hand, instantly transforming into the shape of a small doll. This time, it was Tesra in his fraccion form.

"What… what is that?" Tesra asked, uncertainly. Without hesitating, Szayel quickly gave the doll a small prick, causing the fraccion to snap back into his smaller, more human-like appearing form.
"It's you, my friend," replied the psychotic scientist, smirking. He adored moments like this, when his enemy first realized what he held in his hand, and the fear and recognition that flooded their eyes. Without pausing, he took the doll in his palm and then quickly squeezed his hand into a fist, effectively crushing all of its internal 'organs'. Tesra collapsed to the ground with a cry, clutching at where all of his real organs were, and letting his sword fall to the ground with a clatter.

This, of course, caught the attention of Nnoitra, who was still standing nearby waiting for Grimmjow to catch his breath.

"Tesra?" he asked, flicking his gaze in that direction. Both his and the 6th's attentions were caught by this new development, but not in a good way, on Nnoitra's part. They were just in time to witness Szayel take the doll's tiny arm in his hand and twist it backwards, effectively breaking the real Tesra's arm without any effort at all. The 5th's eyes snapped open when his fraccion coughed up more blood that was safe for him.

"Wow," Grimmjow said to himself. "Nifty." However, this comment was quickly overpowered and drowned by Nnoitra's loud, roaring voice.

"Tesra you idiot!" he screeched, leaping in between the two of them with sonido. Without missing a beat, he lifted Santa Teresa and smashed it down on top of the 8th, forcing him to the ground. The scientist's poor attempt to block the blow was dashed away as the immense strength of his superior, combined with his reiatsu, crushed his inner spirit to near shreds. Striking again, the 5th easily sliced open the pink-haired warrior's torso and severed off his right wing.

"Wh-!?" Szayel started to say as he felt and saw his own blood leave his body. Knowing that he could survive if only he could strike Nnoitra, he started to lash out with his long wing bone, but it was all for naught.

"This will teach you!" shouted the 5th Espada, opening his mouth wide, forming a quick cero on the tip of his tongue. Before anything could be done, he had shot it full-force straight into the scientist, smashing it into him with a bright ray of golden light. A moment too late, Grimmjow kicked the superior Espada away and into the adjacent wall, sending him straight through it and into the other side.

"Aw heck this can't be good," Grimmjow said as he looked left to where Szayel was lying. An extraordinarily large pool of blood was forming underneath him sickeningly quickly, and the 6th could clearly see that his other wing had been blown away from his body as well. He started to head towards him, but Nnoitra had reappeared in the hole in the wall, a beyond angry look on his face. Grimmjow prepared himself for an attack, but the 5th's attention was all directed towards his fraccion.

"Tesra!" he called, dropping all four of his weapons at once and rushing to the small form's side. Grimmjow's eyebrows shot up, but he was paid no heed. Watching, still a little surprised, the 6th got an even bigger shock in a few moments.

"I-it's ok, Master Nnoitra," Tesra coughed, more of his blood spilling out of his mouth and onto his fraccion outfit. Nnoitra, a horrified look on his face, kneeled down next to him quickly supporting his head with his arm quickly slipped underneath it, something that Grimmjow had never seen him do – and it certainly turned backwards everything that he had previously thought of his
untrustworthy, higher rank superior.

"But… Tesra… are you alright?" the 5th asked, although he sounded less that hopeful. Still stunned, the 6th stood nearby, unsure of what else to do as the fraccion reached up and grabbed the sleeve of his master.

"I'll be fine, big brother," whispered the fraccion hoarsely. Grimmjow's eyebrows shot even higher up, his eyes snapped open, and his jaw hung slack in disbelief. Either he'd heard wrong, or he was crazy. He decided that he must have been even crazier after Nnoitra grasped Tesra's hand tightly, and then spoke with emotion choking his throat.

"Tesra… don't…" he started to say, but stopped. His fraccion gave him one, last, weak smile before his eyes closed, and he went limp all over, his hand falling out of his brother's and onto his own chest. A tense moment went by, the 5th kneeling in disbelief where he was, unable to comprehend what he'd just seen. Grimmjow, needless to say, was also unable to comprehend what he'd just seen, but he instantly saw a chance, and decided to take it.

Striding up behind the 5th, he took his zanpakuto – for now he had reverted back to his original form – and drew it back, ready to strike. Just as he was about to slice him through, though, Nnoitra began to speak.

"He was my little brother," the 5th said under his breath, in a way that one would never have expected him to say. Grimmjow paused, for reasons he did not know. "I remember waking up with him in Heuco Mundo – we were both fused as the same adjuchas Hollow."

The 6th waited, but he did not lower his sword as his superior continued in his quiet, completely new voice. He watched, stone-faced, as the story went on.

"Eventually, we got separated when a Soul Reaper split us into two, but I ended up killing him and gaining his power," he said. "After that, we both went around killing Hollows and consuming them, but Tesra always fell behind, until I was several levels higher. I was the one who first regained my reason, and then helped him along to regain his once I had reached Espada level. From then on, he decided to be my fraccion, and I his master, but… we never referred to each other as brothers again… until now," the 5th finished. "I wish I had treated him as what he deserved…" his head bowed over his brother's body in a sadness Grimmjow could hardly comprehend.

There was a slight pause, as Grimmjow comprehended this new information. He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, as if to clear it.

"Sorry about all that," said the 6th quietly, slowly, as he opened his eyes again. Without pausing, he thrust his sword forward and through the heart of his adversary, using his renewed spiritual energy to reinforce his blade as he did so, infesting Nnoitra's body with his own presence, and killing him instantly. Not even with a last cry of pain, the 5th slowly dropped and fell over the body of his brother, both of them coldly dead.

After a pause, turning away from the scene, Grimmjow somehow felt at a loss. That all went to show how much he really knew about his fellow Espada… first Ulquiorra and that turquoise-haired stranger were brothers, and now Nnoitra and his fraccion? The world must have turned upside down when he became employed by Aizen. And speaking of his fellow Espada…

"Szayel?" he asked, suddenly remembering that the 8th had fallen in battle was well. Turning, his gaze fell upon the mangled body of his comrade, hoping to see him resting on his elbows, giving the scene a surprised, speechless expression, but… The instant he gave the pink-haired Espada a closer look, he knew that he wouldn't be getting back up again. His feet slowly dragged themselves over to the body of his fallen friend, and his eyes looked emptily down upon it without much comprehension.

Szayel was lying on his back, blood slipping from his chest and mouth onto the floor, eyes closed as if he were merely sleeping. His glasses – the remnants of his Hollow mask – were gone, having completely fractured when Nnoitra struck him down. The remains of Fornicarás's release state were still lying around him in broken pieces, becoming stained red in their master's own blood, the power they had possessed gone.  Szayel was dead.

Grimmjow clamped his jaw shut until his teeth hurt. He always told himself he never cared much for the other Espada, but after this, he wasn't sure if he knew anything anymore. The bleak aftermath around him was a sudden and sharp stab in what remained of his subconscious mind, and he felt as though the images would never leave. Wordlessly, he set himself down beside the dead 8th Espada, staring off down the hallway where the brawl had taken place. Silently, he let his mind succumb to the wounds he had acquired in battle, and fell into unconsciousness with the strange feeling that he was going to be missing someone when he woke up.
Chapter 15 of my fanfiction "Hollowed".

I had trouble writing this, that's why it's late. But hey, I reached 50,000 words, and 105 pages! YES!!!

Hope you liked it. The Nnoitra-Tesra thing was my sister's idea, and I came up with how it worked. I really enjoyed it, for the short moments it existed.

I actually think this chapter rivals chapter 8 in terms of sadness. What do you think?

~Azedarach

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SasoriPuppetMaster's avatar
i love the whole nnoitra/tesla brother thing, and i adore tesla, but im well, OK with those three dying, but if ulqui dies (again) or grimmy or arturo i will just loose my mind D: BUT if they ALL die, then it'll be a little ok D: at least they'd still get to be together D: just so long as aizen goes down with em T.T
*will refrain until tomorrow to read more*