Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest]

Camellia · Apr 9, 2018

I think he's also okay in the hollow fisher episode, where he pretends to be Ichigo, but it was a short scene.

Phigment · Apr 9, 2018

And now, for the boring bookkeeping sections, the fanwork round-up:

For a stunning 81 chapters of his consistently amusing "what if Nemo was the numero and Cirucci was the Privaron" alternate take, Omicron gets 810 XP. And, there's probably a completion bonus in it for you, in the event that you successfully wrap up Mini-Nemo's adventures.

Everyone involved in this Discord chat log: Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest] collectively get 500 XP

And Krekalie and Coshiua, for producing fancy artwork, each get 1 Billion XP.

Pow! Done.

Coshiua · Apr 9, 2018

Phigment said:
And now, for the boring bookkeeping sections, the fanwork round-up:

For a stunning 81 chapters of his consistently amusing "what if Nemo was the numero and Cirucci was the Privaron" alternate take, Omicron gets 810 XP. And, there's probably a completion bonus in it for you, in the event that you successfully wrap up Mini-Nemo's adventures.

Everyone involved in this Discord chat log: Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest] collectively get 500 XP

And Krekalie and Coshiua, for producing fancy artwork, each get 1 Billion XP.

Pow! Done.

I'll put my billion XP into Cirucci's Resserecution -- Legendary Resserecution here we come!!

Arcus · Apr 9, 2018

Phigment said:
For a stunning 81 chapters of his consistently amusing "what if Nemo was the numero and Cirucci was the Privaron" alternate take, Omicron gets 810 XP. And, there's probably a completion bonus in it for you, in the event that you successfully wrap up Mini-Nemo's adventures

It's a coup!

Dragontrapper · Apr 9, 2018

Phigment said:
And now, for the boring bookkeeping sections, the fanwork round-up:

For a stunning 81 chapters of his consistently amusing "what if Nemo was the numero and Cirucci was the Privaron" alternate take, Omicron gets 810 XP. And, there's probably a completion bonus in it for you, in the event that you successfully wrap up Mini-Nemo's adventures.

Everyone involved in this Discord chat log: Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest] collectively get 500 XP

And Krekalie and Coshiua, for producing fancy artwork, each get 1 Billion XP.

Pow! Done.

This has gone so meta that my head hurts.

Omicron · Apr 9, 2018

Well done, @Phigment, well done.

But if I truly let your takeover go unchallenged, could you really handle the burden of running this Quest? I think not. You exist only in opposition, defined by the material you choose to twist. Without Number None, Number 48 could not live on, and would starve into oblivion.

And so I must take it upon myself to continue this Quest whatever the cost, that yours may live. Is this not generous?

Phigment · Apr 9, 2018

Omicron said:
Well done, @Phigment, well done.

But if I truly let your takeover go unchallenged, could you really handle the burden of running this Quest? I think not. You exist only in opposition, defined by the material you choose to twist. Without Number None, Number 48 could not live on, and would starve into oblivion.

And so I must take it upon myself to continue this Quest whatever the cost, that yours may live. Is this not generous?

As previously discussed in this thread, you and @Maugan Ra are linked in some sort of unholy-shonen-questing pact, drawing from the same well of power.

Maugan Ra has recently been banished to the far East, possibly forever. That means there are unclaimed resources available, going to waste, just waiting for someone with the vision to reach out and grasp them. And you have no allies to come to your aid.

Omicron · Apr 9, 2018

Coshiua said:
Here are a couple of quick sketches:

Coshiua said:

Coshiua said:
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Now You Feel Like Number None Fan Art
Phylius, Marlena and Alberto
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--
If I had thought about it a little bit more before I broke out the Ultra-Thin Sharpie, I probably would have tried to incorporate some form of mask fragment into Marlena's hair in order to make her look more distinct. I probably would have also tried to find a place to do more than just widening the black collars and cuffs of Alberto's uniform and make sure they didn't came out so pixel-y, too.

Still. I absolutely adore how Phylius came out this time, and I believe that this is a decent imagining of Marlena and Alberto.

Coshiua said:
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Now You Feel Like Number 48 Fan Art
Tired & Beaten Up Minirucci
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"Do you like it, Lady Nemo...? I... I went and got the Mantis Shield for you, because... because I thought you would like it. I know... it's a little old and dusty -- I had to break through a few walls after I got it to escape from this creep who keeps following me and trying to steal my stuff -- and I didn't have time to clean it and...." "and I just... I just hope you'll actually like it."

Coshiua said:
================
Now You Feel Like Number 48 Fan Art
Minirucci Cleaning Up
================

Coshiua said:
================
Now You Feel Like Number 48 Fan Art
Cheerleader Minirucci
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EDIT:

================

Now You Feel Like Number None Fan Art

Jester Girl Nemo

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Coshiua said:
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Now You Feel Like Number None Fan Art
Chichimaru and Nel Tu
===================

Coshiua said:
In the future, I'll have to attempt to draw out some part of this last update. I mean, there are a lot of things that I would personally like to see drawn out: Nemo holding the horse, parts of the Nemo vs. Yumicha fight, the escape, the Hollow gnawing on Nemo's arm, etc.

But, for now....

Mad Scientist!Nemo

I like these.

Your Minirucci pictures are adorbz. Mad scientist Nemo is... actually pretty horrifying? That Chichimaru picture is surprisingly sweet. Have 75xp for the lot.

EarthScorpion said:
A Man's Echoes

"I was there!"

"I bet you fainted. You're weak." The quarters of the unattached Numeros were mostly empty, but they're still where the lesser creatures of this monstrous city gathered. There used to be more of them, but the volatile whims of the Espada and the perils of this life have thinned them out.

"I was in the crowd. I saw it, I swear! The Thunderbird Princess killed him dead! She took him down!"

"One of the old Privarons? That was her?" The arrancar tasted the air with her lizard-like tongue. "No, no, she doesn't feel like that. She's not that powerful. It's probably one of the new monsters. Something dragged in from the wastes, its mask broken, and sent in to make an example of Nnoitra." She spat in the fire. "Well, good riddance to him. He killed too many of us. Would that someone'd taken him down sooner."

"It was her! I swear!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"He tells the truth." A bird-masked woman with a splinted arm had entered while they talked. They hadn't paid her any attention. They knew her of old.

"What're you saying, Elyssa?"

"Cirucci is the new Quinta. She killed Nnoitra." Her expression shows a hint of remembered pain. "I saw more than I wanted to."

"So why're you here?"

She sat down by the fire. "I heard you talking. Yes. He did kill too many of us. The Espada aren't safe to be around." She paused. "Would you like to get out of the main city? Away from them?"

***

In the deserts, the gillians parted the sands like great ships in the endless night. Knee-deep, they waded through silver sands; thoughtless, selfless, filled only by their hunger. The spiritual pressure of the hollow world washed over them, pulling them to and fro like the wind of the mortal world.

Only sometimes the thousand minds within them came into accordance, and they spoke in a thousand voices; a chorus from a single body. Such thoughts, of course, were small and base; things born of their singular nature. Yet in such moments, some of the great mindless beasts gained a unitary self as one soul triumphed in the disruption.

Now was such a time, and five wading gillians opened their mouths to speak. Their masks reshaped themselves as a blood-red wave of spiritual pressure rolls over them.

"That which rose has fallen. That which fell has risen. The Killing Moon has set." were the first words of five new mantises.

***

In the desert dwell small communities of arrancar who never knew the touch of Aizen's sorcery or the harsh ministrations of his mask-breakers. Built into the side of a rocky spire were carven dwellings, where broken-masked men and women lived off lizards and the black blood of stranger things. Ancient pillars rose up to the worn houses. Hanging ropes woven from hair was how strangers accessed this place.

Clad in dusty black, a woman with the shattered remnants of a toad mask ignored the ropes and leapt up.

"You're back," said a dark-skinned man with half his face covered by a feline mask. "What did you find?"

She dropped her satchel on the floor. "Gillian moult. And there's much more where that came from," she said.

"What?"

"It was the freakiest thing I've ever seen." She shivered, wrapping her arms around her. "Five gillians moulted all at once. And all of them said the Killing Moon has set."

The man blinked. "The..." He crosses himself. "That monster is dead?"

"Maybe?" The woman licks her lips with a too-long tongue. "If he is dead, then... what kind of monster killed him?"

"Something from Las Noches," the man says. "I've heard that the mightiest monsters are all there. The creatures there put even Nnoitra Man-Killer to shame."

***

The spider ran. This time on his back he carried messages in his mind, as well as salts and unguents made from Hollow blood. And beverages brewed from unspeakable things. Yes, the scattered Hollows of this desert were taking the news of the death of Nnoitra very well.

They were being very generous.

Maybe he should look to carry more news around, if it'd get him the same kind of generosity.

***

The moon of the living world was nearly full and it shone down upon the alleyway. The place had been smashed up; bins overturned, concrete cracked, walls dented.

The centipede monster lying in the corner had not been the source of the violence. It had been the target of it.

"All right!" an orange-haired deliquent with an oversized sword and black robes said, grabbing the monster by its neck and hefting it up with one hand. "You! Hollow! Talk to us! What do you know about Aizen's plans?"

"Tell us," said a looming figure behind him. He balled his weighty hands into fists. "Or else."

"Aizen's plans?" the centipede monster hissed. Behind her mask, a second pair of teeth could be faintly seen. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on," the orange-haired boy said. "Aizen. Rogue shinigami captain? Working with the Hollows? Has all kinds of evil plans? You're a Hollow! You must know who he is!"

If the centipede monster had one regret, it was that she hadn't been able to eat the boy with the shiny glasses. He'd seemed so tasty. But she'd chased him in here and suddenly these two had jumped her and they were far too powerful - and one of them was a shinigami too! She looked up. There was the boy, standing on the roof looking down on them.

"Have you considered breaking her mask?" the glasses-wearing boy said. "You might get more out of her if she could think like a human."

"Don't!" she screamed. The pain they so casually talked about was... no! She hated them! She hated them she hated them she hated them!

"I dunno," the orange-haired boy said. "Isn't it a bit..."

"You're planning to send her anyway," glasses-boy said.

"True," the big one said.

The shinigami looked her in the eyes. "Look, just tell us something about the Hollow World, or Aizen's plans, or anything. Just give us something to work with here."

Of course she talked.

***

"So, that's about it." Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "Me, Chad and Ishida had an idea that maybe we could find out more things about what the Hollows are planning by finding some and beating them up until they told us everything they knew. The one we found was babbling on about how they'd heard that the Hollow moon had fallen from the sky or something. And didn't even know anything about Aizen's plans. Turns out, regular Hollows don't know much."

Urahara leaned on his cane, staring out over the training grounds below his shop. In the distance, something exploded, throwing up a small mushroom cloud of dirt. "Mmm. I could have told you that."

"Yeah, but we wanted to help! Plus, I was starting to get tetchy with how nothing really is happening." Ichigo glowered. "Aizen is out there. He's planning something. You said he'd sent a thief to steal from you, so I thought he's probably also got spies. So if we could find one of his spies..."

"I doubt he'd use a regular Hollow," Urahara said. "Their hunger leaves them too impatient. Even the thief he sent was an arrancar - and made from a Gillian on top of that." His knuckles whitened. "It might be for the best that you didn't find one of his spies. We can't risk too many injuries on our side before he makes his move. There's ten Espada out there - each one a Captain-level opponent, at least."

"Yeah," Ichigo said, one hand going to his sword. "I'm just waiting for a rematch with the Tenth. This time I won't lose! She'll pay for hurting my friends!"

"She was the weakest of them," Urahara warned him. "If you couldn't beat her, you won't stand a chance against anyone higher."

"Don't worry, I've been training," Ichigo said, his scowl darkening. A titanic thunderclap sounded from down below, and he blinked. "Uh, what's happening down there?"

"Oh, don't worry," Urahara said happily. "They're just training."

"... no, seriously." A bouncy auburn-haired motion caught his attention. "Is that Orihime? What's she doing so close to those explosions?"

"Training. Everyone's having fun. It's peaches and cream."

Ichigo looked straight at Urahara. "Is someone shooting magic at Orihime?" he demanded. "Because if someone is..."

Urahara looked straight back, without blinking. "Calm down," he said. "No one's trying to hurt her. She's just there in case anyone gets hurt. There's no need to worry. Everything's just fine."

Behind him, a gigantic dome of blue light rose up, before detonating. A wave of dust blew over the two men on the ridge.

"Just fine," Urahara repeated, clutching onto his hat to stop it being blown away.

Nice. I like the mythical tone Nnoitra's death takes in this.

I don't know if it should be canon because, in a way, it is too much of that - if the death of Nnoitra had such wide-ranging impact it implies that such would happen with the death of any Hollow of similar power, and even as the strongest Adjuchas he not a Vasto Lorde, whose actions shape the world.

But eh, I like it enough, and it's not like there are many around of similar power that it'd cause much of a setting/plot issue.

I'll call it canon. Have 100xp.

Phigment said:
Now You Feel Like Number 48
XiX: That Which Reflects

—————————————————

You move closer to the shield. It's enormous, easily five feet wide and nine feet tall. Either it was built to be used by a hollow with non-human proportions, or someone wanted to emphasize the legend by giving the physical evidence heroic scale. The metal is thick and solid, and the face is polished to a mirror-shine.

It's not perfectly flat. As you stand in front of it, some trick of perspective stretches your reflection. The Cirucci looking back at you is taller, leaner, longer of leg and body and neck. She looks, at the same time, more regal and hungrier.

Also, her hair is in terrible shape. Whoever built those flamethrower traps has a lot to answer for. You run your fingers through your curls quickly to restore a little bit of order to the chaos, but you can only do so much without a proper brush.

"This is it," you tell Ishi, lifting the metal from its reinforced brackets on the wall. "This is what I've been looking for. Nobody in Las Noches has one of these. We're taking this mirror back with us, and then I'll present it to the Privaron, and she'll give me that smoldering look and be all 'Cirucci, I see now that you're so smart and daring and beautiful, together we'll be unstoppable!', and then…"

"I have a different suggestion!" rang an authoritative voice from across the hall.

You and Ishi turned to look back the way you came. There, right at the entrance to the path, stood a familiar figure. It smiled a familiar sharkish smile, suave and confident as ever. His white suit and broad mask were immaculate.

"Di Roy Rinker," you acknowledge frostily. "I can't tell you how pleased I am to see you again, after you took that crown and left me holding the bag."

"Oh, come now," Di Roy says easily. "Don't hold grudges. We made a good team, and you impressed me, against the Butcher King. I let you take it back to Barragan, just as we agreed, didn't I? And then he sent you off to bury it forever. Such a waste, really. If he didn't want it any more, you can hardly blame me for taking custody after the fact. It's in better hands now, and no one the wiser. I could, perhaps, have been more diplomatic about it, but overall, it was to your benefit, too."

"My benefit, Di Roy? Findorr Callius knows the crown didn't get buried. He called me a thief, and nearly killed me, because you had sticky fingers. He's still after me, I'm sure."

"Really. Findorr?" Di Roy seemed legitimately surprised, although who could be certain with someone as slippery as he had proved to be. "I wonder what he actually suspects happened. That could be trouble. If it makes you feel better about the affair, however, know that I didn't get away completely unscathed, either."

Di Roy raises his left hand, and slowly peels a glove from it. It's hard to make out at this distance, but you can see the hand is visibly withered, thin and frail looking. He flexes it slowly and painfully, then replaces the glove.

"I dare say that if you had carried the crown away to be buried as Barragan ordered, you wouldn't be pleased with the results. It has acquired a distinctly unwholesome aspect, now. But that's the past. Let's talk, instead, about what's happening right now."

Di Roy spread his arms wide and gestured toward the walls of the temple.

"Here I am, on another little excursion for my own king, looking for another of the buried treasures of Hueco Mundo, and here you are, standing right next to it. There's power in the past, Sanderwicci. Power just waiting for the right people to gather it up and put it to use. And you can be a part of it. You have brains. You have talent. We're much alike. I hope you realize that. I see it now. We're both smart enough to go hunting for the treasures those other dullards never even thought to ask about, and bold enough to reach out and take what we want. Work with me. Bring the shield to me. You've already crossed the chamber, so you can return safely."

"I see why you would like to have someone take all the risks. But why should I play along? What's in it for me?"

"While it's crude to point it out, Cirucci, if I want something from you, I can take it. You admitted that when you handed over the crown. But I'm not going to resort to threats. Let me make you an offer, instead. Join me. After we return the shield to Grimmjow, there will be another relic to find, and another after that. Findorr wants to harm you? It doesn't matter. He never leaves Las Noches, and I have an endless list of missions to keep you away from that sunny fortress. No one will interfere with you while you're doing the work of the Sexta, and he'll forget you quickly enough. Protection, adventure, purpose…I can give you everything you need. Vastly more than some dried-up cowardly has-been hiding from the world."

He's smooth. There's no question that he's smooth, and handsome, and he knows it. His words paint a pretty picture. But you can't help but think back in your mind. Di Roy is offering you a partnership, and asking you to take the first step, to make a show of faith. But there's someone else who offered you help when you needed it, and hasn't asked you to do anything first. You know who you hunted down this shield for. You offer Di Roy your most winning smile, and then, with a flip of your wrist, use Golondrina to smash a hole in the wall between yourself and the outside.

"It's a nice offer, Rinker. But if you want the shield, you're going to have to do this the hard way. Catch me if you can!"

In a blur of Sonido, you grab Ishi and escaped through the gash in the wall. It's a tight fit with the shield, and even as you exit, you Di Roy starting across the corridor. Oddly, he doesn't even look particularly angry. His grin grows wider, and takes on a sort of wolfish cast as he speeds your direction.

Well, at least until the flamethrowers catch him.

You really wish you could stick around to see him deal with the last trap, because it would be hilarious, but you're on a schedule. With a head start, and a little luck, it shouldn't be too hard to get back to Las Noches before he can catch up. And then…hopefully he's not the spiteful sort. Having two fraccion with grudges isn't ideal, but you don't think he'll come looking for revenge. You'll have to be alert, but sudden violence isn't really his style. In any case, that's a problem for another day.

When you return to Las Noches…

{ } The first priority is to introduce Ishi to Aisslinger. He's a creepy jerk, but a promise is a promise.
{ } The first thing you do is present the Mantis Shield to Privaron Nemo. She'll be amazed!
{ } The first thing on the agenda is getting cleaned up and changing clothes. You can't go wandering around looking like you were dropped into a pit and set on fire, even if you WERE.

Phigment said:
Now You Feel Like Number 48
XVI: Building Bridges

——————————————————————

This whole plan was terribly daunting when you conceived it, and actually setting out on it hasn't made it look any easier.

You know you need to do something to make the Privaron want to keep you around. You can't go back to huddling in the foyer of Matias's old workshop with the other numeros. Findorr would locate you instantly, and he wouldn't be above hurting them just because they were near you. You might not be extremely close, but you don't want to see Huisser or Meleas get hurt for being in the same room as you when Findorr starts feeling punchy again. As a fraccion, he could probably kill every numero in Las Noches, and nobody would bat an eye.

Also, you really don't want to get hurt yourself when Findorr gets his act together. Even if he's realized his original grievance was nonsense, he's not going to forgive you the humiliation of being dismissed by Nemo like a naughty child any time soon. And remembering that gives you a dark little thrill of satisfaction; it may not have solved all your problem, but it was nice to see him get his own taste of humiliation, for once.

You spend a few seconds picturing Nemo standing on her pillar, looking so authoritative in her new uniform — which you got her, and is so much more flattering than that old jacket was — smoke rising from the horns on her mask, arms like steel cables…

Anyhow, you need somewhere to sleep, and all things considered, the Privaron's fort is the best option. Which is why, out of pure pragmatism, you have to make the Privaron see that she wants you around, before the eternal boredom and restlessness of all arrancar makes her tired of you.

And, really, she needs the help. A lady of her station should have staff, even if she's not technically allowed fraccion. She obviously needs help taking care of things, given what a mess her fort was, and a great power has more important things to do than dusting anyhow. You can be her staff! At least for a while. And since you're the most senior member of the staff, logically you're the Chief of Staff. Cirucci Sanderwicci, Chief of Staff for the Privaron Nemo Elcorbuzier. Sounds about right. Definitely a step up from "Cirucci Sanderwicci, that numero who runs errands that aren't important enough to send a fraccion, even when you already have six fraccion standing around".

But what? How to make the right impression?

You briefly consider making a run to the living world for supplies. There are all sorts of amazing things just laying around in the World of the Living; furniture, entertainment, fancy food and drink. And while, technically, it's sort of illegal to leave Hueco Mundo right now, that's hardly a problem as long as you don't get caught. Heaven knows the Pillar Fort could use a few throw rugs and some pictures on the wall; it's like tomb. It's just, well, that's so generic. Anyone can open a portal to the living world and clean out a grocery store. Nemo might like the results, but it's not an argument for you, personally, being indispensable, just for sending some numero or other on a supply run once in a while. Or going herself.

You could do the opposite; make a big grand gesture. Instead of trying to buy her with treasures, demonstrate devotion and grit. You could go to the Forest of Menos…no…all the way to the ocean! Go to the ocean, and bring back proof; show her that you aren't afraid to work, and you won't just give up when the going is tough. Almost no one has gone to the ocean; it's so far away, so mysterious. That would be a suitably epic show of loyalty, right? But it would take so long…and every day you're away, is another day for her to get used to not having you around…

Ultimately, the problem is that you just don't know enough about Nemo to make a decision. She's a mystery. What does she like? What does she want? What does she value? Her whole past before coming to Las Noches is shadowed, beyond thin rumors that she came from the East with Matias Nouvel. And that, ultimately, is what decides you. You'll go East. There's a mad hermit, supposedly, who knows stories of the past than any other hollow in Hueco Mundo. It's said that when other hollows try to eat him, he recites historical trivia at them until they expire from sheer boredom. If anyone know anything useful about the Privaron, it'll be him.

It takes more than a day of hard travel through the desert, before you come across the hermit's strange dwelling. But it can be nothing else, surely. Who but a madman would be building a bridge in the desert, across an empty riverbed, where there are no travelers and no roads for those travelers to walk?

You're not even sure where he got the stones. No two are the same size, and on close inspection, they have writing carved into each block, in tiny cramped letters. Some of them are words you understand, and some are in unknown tongues, and some seem to change language mid-sentence.

"Hello?" you call, seeing no sign of an occupant. "My name is Cirucci Sanderwicci! I was told that I could find a crazed hermit here!"

"I'm not crazed!" came a reply from a thin, reedy voice. "Also, there's no one here! You should just move on now. Waste of your time, hanging around a totally deserted bridge by yourself."

"If there's no one here, who said that?"

"Uh…it's the wind! Whistling through the stones of the bridge. Sometimes it sounds eerily like voices, but it's just the wind. Nothing important. Weeeeeeooooooo…"

"Well, then, it seems like, as a public service, I should start taking stones out of this bridge. Then it won't make noise to confuse people who wander by. Maybe I'll start with that big triangle rock in the middle. It looks important."

"No, don't! You have no idea how long it takes to put them back together, it's awful…Look, I'll be honest with you. I'm not the wind whistling through the rocks. This bridge is haunted. I'm a spooky ghost, bound here for all eternity. You don't want to stick around, lest you suffer from my terrible ghost magic. I'll give you a last chance to flee before I subject you to terrible curses."

"This is Hueco Mundo, you cretin. We're all ghosts, and I don't think you have enough terrible magic to be making threats. I'm the Privaron Nemo's chief of staff, from Las Noches, and I'm not afraid of you. So get out here before I bring this stupid bridge down around your ears. Assuming you have ears."

He does have ears, as it turns out; a wizened, but still human-like head pokes out from a hidden crevice, and the rest of a spindly natural arrancar follows it. He has a whole through his head, and a beard that would drag the ground if he hadn't tied it off around his waist. To your surprise, a second hollow squeezes out after him, this one long and winged. An adjuches, with an unbroken mask, shaped something like a huge dragonfly. It's strange to see an adjuches in close quarters with such a clearly weak arrancar; few would pass up the chance for an easy meal.

"Here I am. Now, what is it you need from the great Ren Ensuenoloco? I'm very busy, you know. Building a path to knowledge, which will lead me to wisdom. Youngster like you wouldn't understand."

"I'm told you you're very old, and know lots of stuff. I need some information about history."

"The past, is it? Well, perhaps I can help. Have you ever heard the story of the Wise Vasto Lorde? Not the kind of thing they tell you in Las Noches, I bet. He was a hollow so powerful, he was even able to defeat death…"

You can already feel your eyes glazing over as the mad hermit drones on. Truly, his is a terrible and fearsome skill.

"Shut up," you cut Ren off. "I know about your whole bore-people-to-death routine, and it's not going to work. I don't want just any old story, I want to know about Nemo Elcorbuzier. And no funny stuff, if you know what's good for you."

"Elcorbuzier?" Ren echoes. "Never heard of him. I don't really keep track of current events. And I don't know what you mean about funny stuff. You ask me about the past, and then, I start to talk, and you interrupt. Very rude. But I tell you what. I know a lot of stuff. I know so much, it's hard to even remember what all I remember, much less remember what's in those memories. But there's a set of ruins to the south of here I was just about to go visit. If you'll go there and bring me back an object I describe, save me the trip, I'll do some meditation and see if I can't jog the old memory about the Nemo chap. That's fair as anything."

Before you can answer, the adjuches pushes forward and stares closely at you.

"Your mask," she says. "You know how to break the mask? Can you show me?"

"I had help," you admit, not sure where she's taking this. "Lord Aizen aided me. If you want to break your mask, you could go to Las Noches; you don't seem totally weak…"

"I don't want that path," the dragonfly woman denies. "I will do it myself. But you cannot tell me how. And this old one cannot remember how he did it. So many arrancar, but none can say how."

"Well," you suggest, "not none. I've never broken anyone's mask but my own, and that with help, but there are others who have done it. Aisslinger learned it, and helped make many arrancar for Lord Aizen, before he was banished. So there's at least one."

The adjuches catches her breath.

"There is a place, not far from here. A place I know where many hollows have gathered, and built a temple of stories. I am Ishi. If I help you find what you seek, about this Nemo Elcorbuzier, will you take me to this Aisslinger? Will you swear it?"

This could be the chance you've been waiting for. Or it could all be false hopes. What do you do?

{ } Take Ren's deal. Run his errand, and return, and hear whatever he can remember about the Privaron's past
{ } Take Ishi's deal. Swear to introduce her to Aisslinger, and follow her to search for knowledge at this hollow temple.
{ } They're both useless. Insult them, then keep searching on your own.

Pandemonious Ivy said:
Google Says:

Did you mean siblings?

Phigment said:
Now You Feel Like Number 48
XX: That Which Exhumes

——————————————

The return trip is faster than the journey out. When you left, you were searching for Ren's bridge, and in the vast, shifting desert, even a bridge is a tiny thing. A needle in a haystack. To have any chance of locating it, you had to move deliberately, periodically unleashing pesquisa or using sonido to take to the air and gain a better vantage point.

No such precautions are needed to find Las Noches. Hueco Mundo is vast, but Las Noches is vast itself, and more, you have an enchanted needle which always points back toward the empty city-fortress. Returning is just a matter of walking, with the enormous shield sideways across your shoulders.

Ishi flies overhead some of the time; at times she lands and walks nearby. It's hard for her to keep pace with you; her great dragonfly form is well-suited to flight, and poorly equipped for the ground. When walks, she struggles to keep the pace you set; when she flies, she zig-zags and curls constantly not to outdistance you.

Watching her reminds you that you used to be able to soar at will. Not just for those precious times when you release the power pent up in Golondrina; once, you were as much a creature of the air. A part of you wants to tell her; another part wants to speak of anything else.

Ishi spots the walls first, and the gate which opens into Nemo's wall-fort. She circles down to land next to you, and you halt to speak.

"There is your palace, yes?" she asks. "It is enough? You are home; you will keep your word? You will show me this Aisslinger?"

She has a sort of desperate edge to her voice. Not threatening, exactly. More…expecting the worst. She has been searching for so long, and disappointed so many times, that she is resigned to the possibility. She expects to betrayed, and she would rather face betrayal here, where it is just the two of you, far from any allies that might be waiting in Las Noches.

You can't help but remember that she is an adjuchas, no trivial opponent, and like all in Hueco Mundo, a predator. And in the time you travelled, her wounds have been regenerating, which is a capability you surrendered upon becoming arrancar.

You kneel down in the sand, and begin drawing rough shapes.

"Cirucci Sanderwicci keeps her word," you reassure. "This circle is Las Noches, and we are standing here, at the place. Aisslinger lives in a series of tunnels, at this X, not far away. I must deliver this prize first, but if you will be patient a little while yet, I will take you to Aisslinger myself. Or, if you cannot wait, seek him out yourself. If you go to him, be wary. He is bitter, and cruel, and he may have servants with him. He is arrancar, with a beaked mask, and his hands and feet are like tree roots. He knows how to break masks, but do not submit to his arts lightly. He cares greatly for his own self, and little for his patients."

"It is more than I received from Ren," Ishi finally answered. "I will go with you, and wait a little while. I have already waited long."

And so, the two of you walk the last steps to Las Noches, and enter by the gate of the pillars. You lean the shield against the wall outside, and peek your head around the doorframe. Inside, there is the familiar checkerboard of light and shadow cast by the columns. The floor needs sweeping again.

And brooding stonily against the closest pillar, staring you right in the face, is the Privaron.

Well, so much for making a grand entrance. You straighten up slowly and step into full view. You desperately try to project sophistication and unflappability. This is terrible. You look like you were rolled down a hill in a barrel, and you sort of forgot about it on the way back because you were so excited about giving her the shield, but what were you thinking, you couldn't have cleaned up first, you look like a crazed hermit, and she's so calm, so perfect in her new uniform (which you got for her, and that was totally the right call) even if she insists on wearing those hakama under it, and why isn't she saying anything, and…

Nemo Elcorbuzier walks toward you calmly, and silently looks at you like a general inspecting a line of soldiers. She tugs lightly at your surviving sleeve, and pokes at your curls with a finger, which is totally uncalled-for, given the sorry state of her own hair. She probably doesn't even condition. Eventually, you can't handle the silence any more.

"Mistress Nemo? I'm back, you probably noticed I was out for a few days, but I brought you back a present! I think you'll really like it. It's very pretty, and it's the only one like it. Um, it's a little dirty right now, because I had to break a few walls when I was getting it, but I'll polish it right up again, and it'll look so nice on your wall, and you're going to love it. I just…I hope you like it…"

You duck back around the corner and pick up the shield. Ishi is standing out of sight, with a funny look on her face. Well, kind off. It's hard to tell, with that mask, but she looks like she WOULD have a funny look on her face, if her face worked that way. Something about her eyes. You glare at her sharply, just in case, and then carry the shield out to where the Privaron can inspect it.

Her reaction is as much as you hoped for, and confusing, besides. She was wearing what you almost call a satisfied smile as you round the door frame, and then her eyes catch the Mantis Shield, and the expression drops from her face, enchanging for a sort of bewildered scowl. Her eyes narrow, and with a step, she's grasping the shield by the rim, examining the little carved flourishes that decorate the insides edge.

Which is odd, when you think about it. You'd expect the decorative touches to be on the face, where other people could see them, but that side is totally featureless. Pure, unblemished, shining.

Whatever Nemo is looking for, she apparently found it. She takes an unsteady step backward, and then another. And then, before you even have time to flinch, she hurls a bala right at it. To your shock, it rebounds from the mirrored surface, and streaks off to impact a far-off pillar face. She touches the shield again, and stares at her own reflection; cracked mask, brown eyes, wild hair, as if she has never seen herself before.

And then she gives you thumbs up. And, then, affirmation finished, points sharply off to one side, where you see a tea pot sitting.

By the time the tea is ready, the Privaron is kneeling calmly by the little low table, with a cheerily malicious smirk. Ishi is reclining uncomfortably; her body is not well-suited for furniture. She seems to fighting an internal war against stark panic, from being in such close proximity to such great power. Which is fair; not everyone can be as fearless as Cirucci Sanderwicci, after all. The adjuchas has probably never been close to someone of Espada-tier power before. You feel a swelling of benevolent sympathy towards her.

That evaporates when you realize she's telling Privaron Nemo about the temple, in entirely inaccurate detail, but you have to get the biscuits arranged before you can interrupt gracefully.

"I do not mean to stare," Ishi was saying breathlessly, when you finally begin serving the refreshment. "I am sorry. I am sorry if this is rude. But, your mask…it is not like hers, or Ren's, or the Rinker's. It is large, and rough? Why is it so?"

You want to slap Ishi, honestly. You don't just go around asking people personal questions like that. Not important people, like Nemo Elcorbuzier. All that wandering around the desert must have sandblasted her manners right off. If she gets vaporized for impertinence, it's going to be no one's fault but her own.

But the Privaron doesn't take offense. She shrugs, and feels the jagged edge, and glances sidelong at the shield of the Mantis.

It is rough, she signals, because she didn't know any better when she removed it. She had not wanted to break her mask, but she was captured once, long ago, and there was no other way to be free. She removed her mask like a snared wolf will gnaw off its own leg; it was painful, and left scars.

Ishi reflects upon this, as the three of you sip tea.

Congratulations! You have reached the end of Arc 3.

This is the good stuff. Fraccion!Cirucci is all kinds of adorable, and you made Ishi into a prominent character, which is impressive.

Have 25xp for each of these. Seeing as you managed to wrap this up as a coherent arc (even if one written in a very anachronistic order), I will give you a completion bonus of 75xp, for a total of 150. Cirucci gets half xp from these as usual.

CornyBones said:
i was informed that the proper protocol for fanart is to post it in the thread.

a little nemo

How many times do I have to tell you people not to spoiler fanworks or else I miss them when collecting.

This is good. It's really good. Love the lighting effects.

Have 50xp.

EarthScorpion · Apr 9, 2018

Omicron said:
Nice. I like the mythical tone Nnoitra's death takes in this.

I don't know if it should be canon because, in a way, it is too much of that - if the death of Nnoitra had such wide-ranging impact it implies that such would happen with the death of any Hollow of similar power, and even as the strongest Adjuchas he not a Vasto Lorde, whose actions shape the world.

But eh, I like it enough, and it's not like there are many around of similar power that it'd cause much of a setting/plot issue.

I'll call it canon. Have 100xp.

Mmm. Honestly, I'm just a big softy and wanted to give him the "my death will be remembered" he always wanted, at least in a small way. He got his mythological death, standing until the end in the face of the Thunderbird.

Anyway 100XP into Descorrer, for the sake of magic door moth.

Phigment · Apr 9, 2018

Omicron said:
This is the good stuff. Fraccion!Cirucci is all kinds of adorable, and you made Ishi into a prominent character, which is impressive.

Have 25xp for each of these. Seeing as you managed to wrap this up as a coherent arc (even if one written in a very anachronistic order), I will give you a completion bonus of 75xp, for a total of 150. Cirucci gets half xp from these as usual.

Slam the XP into Descorrer, please.

I have plans for the portals. Mysterious plans.

Aleph · Apr 9, 2018

EarthScorpion said:
Honestly, I'm just a big softy

This is clearly lies

@Omicron how can you let him stand in your thread and lie like this

you should both be ashamed of yourselves

Pandemonious Ivy · Apr 9, 2018

Phigment said:
Everyone involved in this Discord chat log: Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest] collectively get 500 XP

Put it all into Moonwalking. I believe it synergizes with Sonido and nobody can tell me differently!

Phigment said:
That means there are unclaimed resources available, going to waste, just waiting for someone with the vision to reach out and grasp them. And you have no allies to come to your aid.

ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA!

Omicron said:
Have 25xp for each of these. Seeing as you managed to wrap this up as a coherent arc (even if one written in a very anachronistic order), I will give you a completion bonus of 75xp, for a total of 150. Cirucci gets half xp from these as usual.

So... since you quoted me as well, I take it to mean that I have xp to allot too.

Hmm... Put it all into Moonwalking. I believe...

Omicron · Apr 9, 2018

Pandemonious Ivy said:
So... since you quoted me as well, I take it to mean that I have xp to allot too.

Hmm... Put it all into Moonwalking. I believe...

Uh. No idea how that happened. Probably clicked the multiquote button too quickly while tabbing between the omakes I was collecting.

Of course, @Pandemonious Ivy is a Ulquiorra fan, which marks them as a terrible person, and therefore they gain Negative XP, so that 25xp will be directly deducted from Nemo's Moonwalking skill.

Pandemonious Ivy · Apr 9, 2018

Omicron said:
Uh. No idea how that happened. Probably clicked the multiquote button too quickly while tabbing between the omakes I was collecting.

Of course, @Pandemonious Ivy is a Ulquiorra fan, which marks them as a terrible person, and therefore they gain Negative XP, so that 25xp will be directly deduced from Nemo's Moonwalking skill.

You're just a bully ;-;

Picking on poor me and innocent Daddy Sadbat like this, hmph

When does Knight of Dust update, huh, ya big bully?! Stop holdin' out on us!

Omicron · Apr 9, 2018

Pandemonious Ivy said:
You're just a bully ;-;

Picking on poor me and innocent Daddy Sadbat like this, hmph

When does Knight of Dust update, huh, ya big bully?! Stop holdin' out on us!

maybe if people actually read my original quests i would update them faster

have you thought about that

Pandemonious Ivy · Apr 9, 2018

Omicron said:
maybe if people actually read my original quests i would update them faster

have you thought about that

@Everyone

QUIT BEING ASSHOLES AND GO READ OMICRON'S WORK THAT ISN'T INVOLVED WITH BEING A BLATANT SELLOUT!

Goodness

Phigment · Apr 9, 2018

At least you've gotten Omicron to admit that Moonwalking is a skill, and Nemo has it. Now, it's just a matter of adding XP.

BossFight · Apr 9, 2018

Redshirt Army said:
Hah. That's a very clever way of tying the ideas about P!Nemo being a natural arrancar to her backstory with Mantis.

I love it.

Am I missing something? Where we supposed to infer something from that comment

Wind-Up Citrus · Apr 9, 2018

rogthnor said:
Am I missing something? Where we supposed to infer something from that comment

That this quest is a fanfiction ouroboros?

Coshiua · Apr 9, 2018

Omicron said:
I like these.

Your Minirucci pictures are adorbz. Mad scientist Nemo is... actually pretty horrifying? That Chichimaru picture is surprisingly sweet. Have 75xp for the lot.

Thanks!

I'll put 50 in to La Marana and 25 into Cirucci.

Kinruush · Apr 9, 2018

rogthnor said:
Am I missing something? Where we supposed to infer something from that comment

The myth with the Mantis snaring the sun was actually Mantis snaring Nemo somehow, and she had to break her own mask to escape it.

Pandemonious Ivy · Apr 9, 2018

Time to shill Second Best Quest in the thread for Best Quest!

Support the author!

The Sandman · Apr 9, 2018

Omicron said:
Of course, @Pandemonious Ivy is a Ulquiorra fan, which marks them as a terrible person, and therefore they gain Negative XP, so that 25xp will be directly deducted from Nemo's Moonwalking skill.

Shit, we can't afford that! It'll ruin Nemo's image as a smooth criminal!

AbeoLogos · Apr 10, 2018

I just realized Nemo managed to give an answer while her mistress stared out the window.

Her communication skills are enviable.

Andres · Apr 10, 2018

AbeoLogos said:
I just realized Nemo managed to give an answer while her mistress stared out the window.

Her communication skills are enviable.

Sometimes Nemo speaks verbally but it only shows up as her regular mode of communication instead of in explicit quotation marks. We Kneel in Terror is a good example of this happening.

Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest]

An Autistic Kyogre~!

Homeless Draconis

"I already have dragons, I do not want men."

"I already have dragons, I do not want men."

╯‵Д′)╯彡┻━┻

Princess of Stabbity

Panties, Revolution. Big Drawers. Parachute.

"I already have dragons, I do not want men."

Panties, Revolution. Big Drawers. Parachute.

"I already have dragons, I do not want men."

Panties, Revolution. Big Drawers. Parachute.

An Autistic Kyogre~!

Who?

Panties, Revolution. Big Drawers. Parachute.

So Zetta Slowpoke