Why do I have a feeling Shadow should never return to Kingdom Hearts unless Gummi Ships are replaced somehow?
Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
FTFY
Now get in the van.
All jokes aside, I don't think there's any candy near that disabled spirit portal.
Because Gummi Parts are congealed emotions related to a world concept (like a pseudo heart, but didn't quite make it) but, there is no set emotion gummi parts can be made from. So, given some worlds, some gummi parts can be made from congealed negative thoughts/emotions. It's basically candy sprinkled amongst a lot of leafy greens. And Shadow ain't really picky, he just likes his "candy" better.
dracklor
Beyond the Frontier
- Location
- Texas
Several candies are made with sap, does this tree have sweet (dark emotions) flavored sap?
Well, from what I recall, Okage: The Shadow King actually fits fairly well with at least some of that, which I had commented about before. Actually refreshed my memory on some of the details to make sure I'm not missing anything too horrible. And I found a detail I had forgotten: Pink shadows! It's like Shadow is already there. The main/player character Ari even has a thing, that due to reasons, is easily Overshadowed. Hence why he's got "Evil King Stanley" in his shadow.
But more seriously, I think most, if not all, of the darker/more depressing bits get solved by the end of the game. And the only one that might not be could easily helped out simply by Shadow/Adam helping out. Specifically the situations involved with the character that turns out to be a doll/'fake'. Which Shadow could easily make a bit more real, since one of the stated issues I think was that said had no 'soul'. And even in the case of the game itself, became more of a person due to interacting with people. Which sounds much like getting a KH-style Heart, that more or less functions as the soul in other settings. Easily sped up, really.
And re-familiarizing myself with the details, it seems like Shadow could outright solve some of the problems accidentally, or at least majorly disrupt the big bad's plans by simply talking/interacting with people. For much the same reason Ari does.
There's also some points reminiscent of Chain of Memories/Namine style memory erasure/blocking by the Big Bad. Not quite the same, but I can already think of a few ways Shadow could deal with it. I mean, the fact of the 'retroactive always been part of the world' of Darkness could easily mess with the ability to effect him at all with that. And continuing to interact/talk with people.
Shadow would also likely start messing with the 'Classification System' thing in and of itself, and well... Shadow Ofadam being himself, would likely end up yoinking the controls away, removing pretty much all the bad stuff involved there, if not the entire thing. I mean, the 'forced to play a role' bit would go straight into the trash. The only part of that that I think might have a chance of staying is if it was just 'acting assistance' kind of thing. And entirely voluntary, able to be turned off at any point, without doing mind manipulation to make the person not want to turn it off. Probably also some automatic shut offs.
There's also a few details I think Shadow would realize pretty early on, and end up completely derailing the plot. Again, quite a bit of it is likely to be solved by Shadow interacting with people. And it's just kind of hilarious the more I think about it.
So it'd likely be a 'fairly quickly solved plot', followed by Shadow doing Shadow things. I mean, there's also the fact that one of the characters wants to open up an athletic gym.
None of the darkest/sadder parts of the story really are caused by Darkness, really. And certainly nothing that goes to the point of Bleach's implications. So it might serve as an adequate palette cleanser, if you can't think of something better by the time you finish with the Bleach plotline.
And re-familiarizing myself with the details, it seems like Shadow could outright solve some of the problems accidentally, or at least majorly disrupt the big bad's plans by simply talking/interacting with people. For much the same reason Ari does.
There's also some points reminiscent of Chain of Memories/Namine style memory erasure/blocking by the Big Bad. Not quite the same, but I can already think of a few ways Shadow could deal with it. I mean, the fact of the 'retroactive always been part of the world' of Darkness could easily mess with the ability to effect him at all with that. And continuing to interact/talk with people.
Shadow would also likely start messing with the 'Classification System' thing in and of itself, and well... Shadow Ofadam being himself, would likely end up yoinking the controls away, removing pretty much all the bad stuff involved there, if not the entire thing. I mean, the 'forced to play a role' bit would go straight into the trash. The only part of that that I think might have a chance of staying is if it was just 'acting assistance' kind of thing. And entirely voluntary, able to be turned off at any point, without doing mind manipulation to make the person not want to turn it off. Probably also some automatic shut offs.
There's also a few details I think Shadow would realize pretty early on, and end up completely derailing the plot. Again, quite a bit of it is likely to be solved by Shadow interacting with people. And it's just kind of hilarious the more I think about it.
So it'd likely be a 'fairly quickly solved plot', followed by Shadow doing Shadow things. I mean, there's also the fact that one of the characters wants to open up an athletic gym.
None of the darkest/sadder parts of the story really are caused by Darkness, really. And certainly nothing that goes to the point of Bleach's implications. So it might serve as an adequate palette cleanser, if you can't think of something better by the time you finish with the Bleach plotline.
- Location
- USA
Ok, trying to find a reality where bad things never happened is pretty hard.
I personally can't really recall any fandom that never had conflict or bad things happen, either during their run (via manga, tv shows, comics, or such) or previously in their fandom history, outside some of the stuff made for little kids and that's because it's usually kept so simple. Part of this is that is because a perfect world where bad things never happen and things always go well is really hard to make a story out of. Stories are made via conflict: man against the world, man against nature/the wild, man against mankind, man against the divine, man against himself, and so forth (there may be others, I can't currently recall).
The problem is when people go 'dark reality' and 'logical' about fandoms and stuff, and start applying 'logical' reasoning to another reality with very vague proof and/or evidence, usually to make it more 'realistic'. Yes, bad things happened or are happening in the fandom. No, I don't think it makes it 'dark' unless things don't improve or change. It'd be like called the real world 'dark' because things aren't great right now. For further examples, there are 'grimdark' and 'dark fantasy' both have settings where the situation is bad but while both have a 'fight despite not knowing if you'll win or make a difference', grimdark has generally has it so you don't know 'if the villains will be defeated in the end or if the world will be even worse off' and dark fantasy generally has the protagonist win 'but at a cost' (lost of friends/family, and/or innocence), if I understand everything correctly.
- Location
- Planet Earth
Hmm... Places where Shadow could go...
Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
Naruto?
Star Wars?
Star Trek?
Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy?
Percy Jacksons Olympians?
Addam's Family?
Hotel Transylvania?
Charmed?
My Little Pony?
I'm kinda curious if after shadow we will go back to following Sarah, or maybe we will go back to following Adam? I still wanna see Adam in settings like Harry Potter, Stargate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc...
WH40K?
Jk but seriously the one anime with the familias and dungeons and stuff would be pretty epic if you have the darkness and the dungeon become friends
Just imagine the chaos as the monsters start dropping candy instead of magic stones.
Plus you only have medieval society bad stuff happening instead of eternal asshats who keep choosing to purge everyone else
We'll just ignore the gods... for now (whistles innocently)
Jk but seriously the one anime with the familias and dungeons and stuff would be pretty epic if you have the darkness and the dungeon become friends
Just imagine the chaos as the monsters start dropping candy instead of magic stones.
Plus you only have medieval society bad stuff happening instead of eternal asshats who keep choosing to purge everyone else
We'll just ignore the gods... for now (whistles innocently)
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- Location
- Arizona
Personally, I'd recommend Shokugeki no Soma, or the english named version is Food Wars on netflix. It's a cooking anime, where some of the characters have had really shit backgrounds and have some rough emotions, but generally everything seems to get better emotionally as the show progresses. It also has fan service, as great dishes causes peoples' clothing to explode off them in food orgasm moments.
Honestly, I think Shadow could go there to help people be more emotionally stable, and also cause I want to see a shokugeki food challenge based on candy, as judged by Shadow.
However, a warning to everyone thinking of watching it. This is grade S food porn, do not watch without something to munch on, or if on a diet.
Honestly, I think Shadow could go there to help people be more emotionally stable, and also cause I want to see a shokugeki food challenge based on candy, as judged by Shadow.
However, a warning to everyone thinking of watching it. This is grade S food porn, do not watch without something to munch on, or if on a diet.
Here's some thoughts on those suggestions:
Buffy might be a bit too dark, considering some of the stuff there. A bit 'heavy', for a lighter break. Might be possible with a stronger/more experienced Shadow. I mean, there's all kinds of all powerful beings there. The First Evil, Glorificus, the mess with the 'Powers that Be'. Could be entertaining for an eventual visit.
Naruto... That, offhand, already has 'evil mad scientist' in it. Along with some of the stuff later on. And depends on if you count Boruto stuff as canon. The Chakra tree thing/ending of Naruto is already pretty big/depressing. The whole 'moon eye' plan. Just a lot of kind of horrifying stuff.
Star Wars has been done in story already, but a different era might be possible. The issue is all the Sith stuff. Not light hearted and silly setting.
Star Trek is closer thematically, with the 'exploration' themes. That sense of wonder. Well, on an overall level. Warehouse Adam I think had words about going there? Or at least settings like it; there's time travel already in there and I'm not sure if the backing away from that would effect Shadow's seemingly random transfers. There's also the Q. Borg, while being horrifying might well easily be handled, if they show up around where Shadow would be. Changeling interactions might be interesting.
Grim Adventures does fit some of the other silly/light-hearted bits. Though there are other implications elsewhere. Billy might make some things difficult to write, without him being annoying/horrifically destructive. Though given that his hatred/fear of spiders, that might cause some interactions. Depends on if Shadow uses tentacle arms that happen to make him look spider-like enough to be an issue. Then there's 'Fredfred Burger'. Whose character trait is to be the most annoying person in the world. Or at least the 'gag' about him. Then there's Nergal/Nergal Jr, which has possible interesting interactions with Shadow, given the shapeshifting thing. Other possible interactions with Grim, but nothing specific comes to mind on that.
Percy Jackson wouldn't fit as the next visit for Shadow. Though I can already see some interesting possibilities there.
Addam's Family actually fits pretty well? Likely Shadow would be adopted into the family pretty much immediately. Not sure what all would happen during the visit.
Hotel Transylvania, only saw the first film but it could work as a possible future visit.
Charmed, I'm not familiar enough to comment much on. But I don't think it falls under 'light-hearted and silly' for immediate next visit. Given the fact that there's a 'Book of Shadows', there's already potential for something there. Shadow could most likely end up helping out the Charmed Ones from there, to the point where quite a few of their troubles don't happen? I can't recall the specific details too well, though.
And My Little Pony was already done by a different version of Adam. Could be an alternate time from that (such as what happened with Worm), or just go for a different generation. Which might be its own interesting bit, since I think that version of Adam would be able to see that particular visit? And having a view of 'future timeline, but where Adam didn't show up at all'/'canon' timeline, would be of interest to Twilight, at least a little bit. Might cause them to try to piece together a map of shadow corridors/however Shadow is jumping around. And they might be able to hook back up to them. Such a thing seems like it'd be further along though. Even if it'd be a 'this is now something characters are working on'.
Danmachi? I could see it. Maybe Shadow 'adopts' Lila before canon events.
And noms the Famila connection that she really wants to get out of, but can't get the bribe to actually get a meeting with Lazy Soma. And without that, she could easily go in and complain to the Guild that the Soma Familia is robbing her. Since it clearly wouldn't be any kind of 'Familia' payment since she's not part of them. And you can't prove otherwise! Shadow could easily do a few nomming to get proof of the shady stuff there. Maybe even provide something better than Soma does. While he's trying to make the 'perfect' wine.
Hestia's church ending up getting fixed up, as well. Certain other actions getting cleared up. I think there was even one character that got framed and then more or less sold into slavery. Shadow could easily create/reveal the proof of that exonerates that.
Shadow would essentially create a non-god based Familia, just by seeing the interesting empowerment. Really, I think any Adam would be able to. He'd also likely figure out a way to improve the 'foundation' even after level ups. Since it really bugs me that, for all I understand that setting, leveling up just sort of blocks off that prior potential, sets a new 'baseline' and gives you larger gains per stat point. But having stronger stats on the now invisible, and presumably unchanging, lower levels helps out. And I don't think there's a way to 'refuse' a level up if you complete an impressive enough quest.
Shadow would also likely mess up the 'only on level up' available stuff. I think there was also 'can only be unlocked at a specific level' as well. Along with the fact it's 'pick one'.
So potential future visit, just not the immediate next one. That or a different Adam visits that setting.
Hestia's church ending up getting fixed up, as well. Certain other actions getting cleared up. I think there was even one character that got framed and then more or less sold into slavery. Shadow could easily create/reveal the proof of that exonerates that.
Shadow would essentially create a non-god based Familia, just by seeing the interesting empowerment. Really, I think any Adam would be able to. He'd also likely figure out a way to improve the 'foundation' even after level ups. Since it really bugs me that, for all I understand that setting, leveling up just sort of blocks off that prior potential, sets a new 'baseline' and gives you larger gains per stat point. But having stronger stats on the now invisible, and presumably unchanging, lower levels helps out. And I don't think there's a way to 'refuse' a level up if you complete an impressive enough quest.
Shadow would also likely mess up the 'only on level up' available stuff. I think there was also 'can only be unlocked at a specific level' as well. Along with the fact it's 'pick one'.
So potential future visit, just not the immediate next one. That or a different Adam visits that setting.
Arc 4: Hollow victories.
- Location
- Here
Below the endless bone sands of Hueco Mundo, In the forest of bone itself, the number of pink-eyed Hollows, of the Masked, continued to grow.
From the slithering first followed a creeping second, a flying third, a crawling fourth, and so on and so forth.
Each followed by endless observers in the Darkness, each still weaker than a single slow moving slow witted Gillian, they moved in every direction under the dim network of 'trees', and they collected beings much stronger than themselves through the assistance of many hands that reached from nowhere.
A few met powerful foes, and had to fade away back to Darkness for safety. Death simply meant returning to the cycle of life, being consumed only involved being temporarily held hostage until they were saved by their siblings, but they were all Masked because they couldn't let go.
They couldn't find peace.
But they HAD found purpose. Drive.
And dangerous or not, risky or not, they continued to explore and attempt to save ever growing numbers of Gillian, the massive mountains weeping Souls in the Darkness as Gem's love slowly purified them of captives and filled that endless void.
But a milestone was about to be reached.
The first captured Gillian Menos Grande, the longest held and cradled by the Darkness, was starting to wake up.
Her many held Souls were already born anew, as Masked or leaving for Soul Society.
She herself, theoretically, shouldn't exist.
She was a container. A mindless husk formed by raw power, to be conquered by whichever Soul dominated the crowd of Hungry Hollows that had torn themselves into a frenzy of pain and reluctance and torment.
She was meant to be Nobody.
Shadow felt that didn't matter.
Gem felt a connection.
Together, something about this empty husk resonated with them both.
And so she began to awaken. To find her own life, unexpected, undeserved, yet given with love and without expectation or mandate.
In the Darkness, she found her roots.
In the Darkness, she found her inner light. Her Heart, in a way.
Her power twisted like a cocoon, forming a Domain in the Darkness, one that welcomed her new endless family.
Her roots of pure Light grew forth, loved by the Darkness itself and supported by it.
Her arms sprouted and multiplied upwards, reaching towards something only she could touch, something important.
As the endless Masked slowly investigated their newly awakened sister, she felt her white bone mask alter and form close to her branches, even as she felt her roots gently begin to connect with her other sleeping sisters.
A Gillian's Husk was supposed to be a transient state. Not a creature. Not an existence. A natural stage of life that formed to protect the multitude warring within her.
And as her roots connected with the increasing number of crying Gillian surrounding her, as she felt her other sisters slowly being purified as she had, she rejoiced.
They, half asleep and lost and confused, rejoiced with her as they dreamed.
And here, in the Darkness, they grew as a network. Eventually, they would be as one.
In the Darkness, joy grew a forest as the White Lady awoke.
Her soft and warm pink eyes watched her Masked brothers and sisters, as they watched others, and her roots supported their claws and paws and feet and tails, her branches supported their rest and gathering, and her Domain began to slowly shift and expand.
It would take time. Much time.
But she would pass that time with these little ones… Together.
And should her bright white Light in the Darkness help guide lost Pluses and Souls to a safer place, a land of Masked danger and protective monsters, that was more than acceptable.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Shadow blinked as Gem somehow met a friend? A sister? Something like that.
Huh. Neat!
Good timing too, Gem always worked so hard.
It was good for her to get a bit of help now and then! Already, he could feel them gossiping about something as pulses of pink and white light flickered back and forth.
Plus, it meant that Shadow would have more time to look for Candy and stuff!
He absently redistributed the near uncountable armies of Masked in the Darkness to better cover the new territory that the White Lady was developing into, no reason to risk any intruder or whatever disturbing the girls while they had their chat.
As for him, his Candy hunt plan would have to be put on hold until Yuzu was done using him as an assistant. Turns out that having infinite bodies and forms and limbs and stuff really helped out with a bit of tidying up and stuff!
And sure, this Candy Shop wasn't her home or anything, but picking up after yourself (And maybe scouring a level of clean unheard of by mortals directly into the surrounding area) was just good manners.
He absently formed a few extra jaws to eat the bits of dust tossed to the floor (Not a great Snack, really, but the amount of spirit energy soaking the whole area was surprisingly high!) as he helped Yuzu dust the next store room.
This was win win, really! Shadow got to help Orihime's friend's sister, the nice girl herself felt useful despite not being able to train for mortal combat against an army of unknown foes, and he managed to get that awesome big mustache man to promise a reward of Candy for cleaning the shop!
TWO types of candy! Some sort of gum thing and another called a 'Jaw Breaker', which couldn't really break your jaw unless you had terrible dental hygiene or a bone disease but WAS a bit more solid than the other edible options.
Then again, Shadow had no issue chewing on bone, metal, crystals, or worse… So maybe it COULD break your jaw if you had a meat body instead of solidified spirit energy particles enhanced by Darkness?
Meh, who knew. They looked amazing though! More than one color too!
Yuzu wiped her sweat away with a smile! "Oh Shadow, you are being VERY helpful! Not needing to constantly replace the cleaning water or make multiple trash runs, able to easily shift size to help us get to those really pesky corners near the ceiling, thank you SO much for doing all this!"
Shadow gave a thumbs up!
…Also a claw wiggle?
She giggled. "Yes, I don't mind if you have my share of the 'reward candy', I mostly snack when cooking during the day anyway so I rarely eat any treats between meals."
His eyes grew wide at such a concept. Eating all the time while making MORE stuff to eat!? That was BRILLIANT!
That was it, new plans: Shadow was going to become a chef. Maybe a patissier for basic desserts with a few branching studies in being a Glacier or Décorateur to handle the cold or frozen treats and working on decorating the cakes and stuff in the most optimal way and…
Yuzu carefully shoved more Dust (and some sort of Soul residue) off another shelf.
Oops, right, they were cleaning.
A maw filled with bright sharp pink fangs screamed open and SNAPPED tight over the newest offering.
Nailed it! That Candy was going to be THEIRS! Muah ha ha ha!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Ichigo grunted as his arm fractured again. "Hurts like a BITCH! Get over here and let me cut up your STUPID hat!"
A flex of power restored mobility and he began fractionally forming fragments of blades with every step, setting up a terrain hazard of sharpened spikes with each movement.
As part of his own Soul, he could easily ignore the jagged edges as they pierced his outfit and feet without injury, but hopefully it would inconvience this STUPID JERK! "I'm going to slice it in half! TWICE!"
Not quite sure what happened this time, but the instant smack and heavy impact felt familiar. Was that a kick?
Ichigo felt the rubble scatter from his body as he excavated himself from the new gravel pit.
No, that had just been that stupid cane again.
The old guy hadn't bothered throwing a kick or a punch at all recently, just… Gently poking him with that STUPID stick and watching his body ragdoll uncontrollably off into the sunset.
Kisuke Urahara chuckled. "It's good to see the younglings so energetic!" He absently tilted his pristine, untouched hat.
Fuck, even his clothing was dust free! Jerk!
Right, leaving improvised caltrops everywhere is pointless if you aren't strong enough to even make the asshole bother to fully DODGE your attacks. He absently swung his blade, the form most familiar to him for some reason, and spewed a small wave of sharp metal shards in that general direction.
It didn't work before, and it didn't work NOW, but at least it FELT good. "Right, indirect attacks don't work, environmental attacks have been less than successful…" Would work against a hoard of weak weenies though. A good control skill and crowd suppressing method, he'd remember it. "...Right, let's try something a bit more energetic."
Shaking his blade, he felt the material fragment and twist and twirl until the entire sword was more a sharpened spiral of metal… With more and more energy compacted into the tip!
Some deliberate structural weaknesses to encourage the explosion to send the shards the right direction… "If you won't step on spikes and the landmine idea is a flop, how about I try directly introducing you to a previous concept?"
It was probably cheating, honestly, to basically combine a frag grenade and landmine onto the tip of a spiral sword and smash it into people.
Dangerous too, and sort of ignores the whole point of landmines and terrain manipulation in the first place.
But if nothing else, hopefully the wind from the blast would MOVE THAT DAMNED HAT! "HERE I COME!"
His feet selectively allowed the blade fragments to interact with them, allowing him to instinctively gain a foothold to better thrust himself towards the target!
FUCK YOUR HAT!
The man didn't even bother to not smirk. "Interesting idea, but unstable."
And he poked him with that FUCKING STICK AGAIN!
Sword tip exploded, spiral sword fractured instantly, everything got a bit fuzzy, a bit floaty… THEN he smashed into another boulder.
Several of them this time.
Ichigo felt his spine begin to unfracture as he forced himself to recover. "Right… That was what, three rocks in a row with one whack? He only goes for smashing me through multiple obstacles when I'm on to something."
Forget the odd structure of the blade, most of that had been pointless… Not to mention his weapon was a bit sluggish due to air drag despite the awesome design.
Go for something classic, but keep the general idea of 'Explosion on a stick'.
Absently, he mumbled to himself… "Less physical stuff, it only slows me down…" The blade shifted into something more spiritual than solid. "More thin, just enough to extend my reach…" The massive cleaver shape shifted down to something only mildly massive rather than bigger than two or three people.
After all, having a sword a hundred feet long just gave this asshole a bigger target to poke with that stupid cane!
Along the edge, Ichigo forced more and more spirit energy to gather. "I need something to gather this stuff together, but don't want to waste time making fragmentation material…"
Well, fuck it. His whole BODY was made out of spirit energy, right? It clearly can be solid or not, depending on his desires. If impossible shit was on the menu, let's get a full serving!
With a slightly disturbing feeling of nostalgia, Ichigo began to grip the energy in his blade, especially the forces near the edge off towards the tip… And began to Ç̶̣͉̠̙̯͍̲̬͖͉͎̪̖̠̝̣͎͘͟ͅo̡̰̪͖̫͙̥͢m̷̬͔̦̫͎̱̤̺͇̹̳̱͓̳͍̬̰͙̞͢p̶̢̦̜̞̹̲̻̟͙̦̖̪͙͇̠̣̱̟̻ͅṟ̸͈͓͈̻͟͟͝ḛ̷̢͙̼̻̰̠̕s̨̥̞̼̘̝̯͍̹͇̮̟̩̭̦̝̱̩͢͝s̻̭̟̦̬̹̝̗̳̖͖̯̜̮͓̮̥̫̕͘͟.
.
An uncomfortable but familiar feeling of weight, of pressure, of restraint… "This may be an impossible fight." As energy tried to escape his sharp grasp, even more power was forced to chain it down. "This may be a forbidden obstacle… Especially at my skill level."
He wasn't an idiot.
Urahara radiated power without needing to, showing his talent and skills through his own inaction.
Speeds far faster than a train were ignored, blades longer than cars casually disregarded… To this man, a 'simple candy shop owner', the best that Ichigo could do is thrash around as a baby at best.
His black blade began to flicker with a glowing blue edge. Power swirled through the entire structure, directing and compressing it further. "That is fine. I don't mind impossible tasks, not if it is for a worthy cause."
Flickers of imagery. His sisters. Dad. His friends, even the ones that weren't incredibly attractive.
His home and the trials and tribulations he had endured there.
Burning emotions began to fuel his motivations. "This is needed. I need to be stronger. I need to be far stronger." The risks were too high if he wasn't strong enough.
A rainy river side, stained with the blood of a loving parent.
[[You still have not called me.]]
Another pulse of energy nearly destabilized his blade, but raw REFUSAL kept it whole. But as chaos failed to rend it asunder, something else filled it in the process.
[[What's the difference between a king and his horse?]]
Something raw and familiar. Some part of himself. "I… I feel some sort of pressure. I always have since I was much younger."
[[Why is it that one becomes the king and leads them to battle while the other becomes the horse and carries the king to victory? What is the difference?]]
Right now, Ichgio felt somehow far more clear minded. Focused.
[[There's only one answer. INSTINCT!]]
As the burden on the sword twisted and tightened, it shivered as bits fractured and were compressed into something more REAL. Into something more solid.
[[I refuse to play horse to a king who's weaker than me.]]
Something that forced him to question himself. About his motivations, and his determination.
[[I won't be a horse to someone who's uncertainty and hesitation will end up getting us both cut to pieces.]]
Yet at the same time… That self challenge was also a drive to excel. To exceed!
The flames of power began to tighten and glow brighter on the blade of the sword.
[[If you aren't willing to assert your strength and retain the crown, then I'll destroy you. Which means I'll be king.]]
The edge of his blade suddenly shivered, as the light became a thin line of raw H͏̰̩u͎͞n̲̣͚̠̹g̖̭̙͖͍͖̪͢e͔̘̼̲̖̟͓͝r.
And almost unwillingly, a manic grin began to seep into his body and his eyes flickered brighter.
[[A killer instinct is mostly forged in battle! With PURPOSE!]]
His voice slightly echoed with the calls of the Masked. "Let̛'s ̶t͡r̀y͡ ͜this one m̨o̴re͟ ͟ti̛m͟e..."
Eyes wide, his heart beat with battle.
Ears hunting danger, nose smelling risk.
A twist of energy and his edge nearly C̕͠R̵̢̛͞A̧͏̶̢C͢͏̶͟K͏̶̛͝҉E͟D̕͜!
He may be destined to fail. Urahara may be an impossible obstacle, an impassable road block, as futile as a man attempting to fight the heavens.
With a roar, he hurled his body forward as the blade descended! "I͠f th͠e ͠h̵èa̶ve͠ńs t̨he͜mse͏lve͢s t̀r̡y ͟t̸o̷ ͡s͘tan̷d͘ ͢in m͞y ẃay͠, t̛̛̕͢h̡́̕͝ȩ̨̀ǹ̸ ̡I̷̸̛ ̛͢s̵͏h̵̡̕͘a̶̡͟͞͝l̷̷͘l̵͜ P̦̰̺̖̥̺̳̹̕I͠͏̷̙̲̙̲͈͓͖̺̟̻͙̪̟̘̞̻͟͠E͏͕̟̥̲̘̝͓̼̟̭̤͍͍̫Ŗ̧̫͈̩̜̫̣̼̜͍͍͈C̶̢͍͓̯̘̫̳̖̯̥̥̗̰̖̝̦̺ͅE̶̴̵̡̫̠̦̞̙͚̫͕̻̰͎̞̥̟͎͓͘ͅͅ ̸̢̖̩͉̳͎T̸̩̫̼̞͖̩̝̕͡ͅH҉̡͙͎̤̙̬̞̠̯͙͔̖̮̕E҉̥̼̙͇̩̰̙̻̫̤ͅM̴̷̸̺̬͔͉̟̗̟͖̣̪͖̟̮̱̬̣̯͠͝!
.
The excess power bled from his sword and began to wrap his legs and spine, his torso pulsing with too much energy, but in the end… Wasn't all his body a sword?
That power was forced tightly too, allowing Ichigo to BURST with speed!
Blade neared the suddenly wide eyed man in that FUCKING hat! "F̶̡ú͘͡c̵̨̨̛k͞ ̕͡ y̶̨o̵̕͟͠ų͢!̴͢͟͝ G̵̻̹̞̰̝e̻̗̜̹t҉̥͍͕̹̤s̫͙̳͕͕̣̼̕u̱͙̥g̥̥̺͘a̟ ̸̯ T̡̪̭̭̣e͍͚͓̻n̷̘̺̮͉̺̫ͅs̸̗̤͎̰h̰͈ͅō̻͚̗̩̝̤̖͠!"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Ichigo paused, blinking, as the room shivered slightly. "Oh dear."
It had been a while since they had separated… And consequences were starting to show.
Hmm… Probably for the best to take a break. "I believe my spiritual form has just managed to knock himself unconscious. Karin, could you ask Yuzu to make us some tea for when I wake up? You know she will be unhappy if we try to take care of it ourselves."
Tatsuki blinked. "Hang on, you can communicate with yourself from this far away? That's crazy!"
It… Wasn't so much communication, but self reflection? After all, they were the same person, and he knew himself pretty well in his opinion.
[[Nowhere in this world can there be anyone who knows me better than you. We will never fight alone.]]
Yeah, it wasn't quite telepathy or anything, just… Instincts? Understanding himself? Something. "I think it is more like how you know where you are when you wake up most of the time. Just… I understand where I am and roughly what is going on for both of me, but it is more an abstract feeling than directly sharing words."
It felt complicated to put into words.
Ichigo tried anyway. "I personally feel… Committed and focused. Prepared to consolidate my foundation and fully rest and recover. But my other half feels some unknown threat, some instinctual danger that evidence hasn't been found for… And honestly, as we are both the same person, I can't easily dismiss his concerns."
Not feeling that incessant itch of mental danger was almost more relieving than allowing his human body to fully recover. "So when I suddenly feel a massive spike of satisfaction followed by a huge explosion and silence, it was easy enough to understand that my training just had a breakthrough… And my other half may have MADE that breakthrough using his skull."
No, it didn't count as calling yourself a moron. No, Ichigo wouldn't bother defending that stance.
Karin narrowed her eyes. "Hmm… Well, I wouldn't mind some tea too, and today has been pretty crazy so far… Fine. But you can't let Yuzu know that one of you managed to knock yourself out the first DAY of training, she might cry."
EVERYONE winced at that. "Understood."
Sigh, it didn't help that doing nothing, that healing like this, felt stifling.
Ichigo had always felt a certain level of motivation in his life. Perhaps pushed from unhealthy sources, such as his own guilt and self loathing forcing him to improve faster, to try and fill in that space that Mom had left in their lives.
But even when he eventually became stronger, when he attempted to be the best son and brother and guardian he could be, there had always been more to do. More training, more studying, more exercising.
No longer focused towards a future job or trying to pick up chicks or looking 'awesome', but each action attempting to become a stronger foundation. A dependable body, a sharp mind, and enough open possibilities that he could have multiple choices to pick from when it came time to step up and take more responsibility.
It had built him up, but also left him… Unsure.
Especially at moments like this, where he was trying to give his body a chance to heal and just spend a bit of time with his friends and family.
Ichigo repressed twitches as he considered what he COULD be doing right now.
Because, logical or not, efficiency be damned, a good portion of his Soul desired what his Spirit Form half had instantly strove for: Combat.
The ability to test himself.
But he was broken.
Even as parts of his Soul restructured, as his body's flesh was cannibalized and regrown, as his energy began densely shifting his raw material… It would take time.
And though he twitched to grasp the power that now so effortlessly followed his commands, he knew it would be unwise. Would hinder his recovery. Would force him to be inactive even LONGER, trapped like this.
Choose to be passive now, to be an invalid, or become crippled later. Or unable to perform when needed.
In a way, he deeply envied his more free and emotive half right now.
That raw instinct didn't care about consequences, not long term ones. He was exploiting every ounce of potential and energy and time to accomplish the most possible at every second… Even if that was less than optimal.
Theoretically, as Ichigo knew, rest was a vital part of becoming stronger.
Though, that logic and most others got thrown out the window when you no longer HAVE a body and are a Soul fueled by passion and determination. As shown by his impulsive half cheerfully smashing his mind unconscious during the ASSESSMENT portion of his training routine.
Ichigo sighed. Not even into the first day of training, and half his Soul decided to explode himself.
Yeah, that sounded about right.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The first Shinigami that was freed from a Hollow didn't know what to do with herself.
She had been in endless torment, struggling against an army of Hollows that had consumed each other… Devoured, controlled, compressed, forgetting…
And then, release.
Her form recovered and reinforced, salvation as she was reborn in the Darkness.
Nothing tethered her here. Not to that place. No regrets remained.
After all, she had saved her squad… Even if she had paid the ultimate cost. And the Hollow that had consumed her had been so twisted that it refused to look towards salvation and had been trapped within the 'Snack Pit'.
Hearing his screams as black eels with sharp pink fangs consumed him alive had been… Cathartic. To say the least.
But the issue wasn't her tormentor, the monster that had hunted Pluses and her friends and her comrades.
The problem was the others.
She walked, a Soul who hadn't passed on and yet hadn't Hollowfied, through an odd sort of forest. White glowing roots twisted under her, glowing white branches reached upwards as if towards heaven.
Each step she was surrounded by Hell Butterflies, by vanishing Souls acting as if someone had performed a proper Konsō Reisai to put them to rest… And by Hollows.
Endless forms, of any and every size… All with glowing pink eyes.
And sorrow.
This strange forest was drowning in the soft agony of sadness.
It was Soul wrenching, as she saw fanged monstrosities cautiously offer small comforts to each other, as twisted forms bawled in unrestrained horror at what they had seen. What they had gone through.
What they had done.
And much farther away, in the distance, an endless wall of black forms with white masks and white bone blates and white spikes and white fangs and white claws.
All with glowing pink eyes… All looking out into the Darkness.
Searching for something.
Protecting everyone here.
Even her, the predator of these creatures.
More than that, these 'trees' were not made of wood or even normal spirit particles. It was blatantly obvious after even a cursory examination.
Every tree trunk was the same woman.
Her Light didn't fight the Darkness, didn't push it back, but they embraced each other.
And she embraced all of them, here in her arms, in her woods.
She… She didn't know how to handle that.
The shift from a hopeless and endless war, to self sacrifice with only a hope for her friend's salvation, to endless torment… To this?
It was too much.
How could she go back to Soul Society now?
It would be so easy. She could feel it like a summer wind, a distant call. No pressure, no urge to hurry… If she desired, she could leave and be reborn in Soul Society. Possibly with all her training and skills intact.
But for what?
Her team, her loved ones, they all knew she was gone. Had been for centuries, if they even survived. Did she wish to return?
Her memories reviewed the endless struggle against the Hollows and the Bount and the Quincies and the… The list goes on and on. Soul Society tried to fight nearly EVERYONE, and it had felt needed and necessary because…
Well, because they had to, just to survive.
At least that was true for those on her level. Those not in control.
Every day was a struggle, a reaction… Following orders.
Should she go back to that?
To fight these Masked?
Soul Society wouldn't understand these people. Wouldn't even bother to try, would start corpse autopsies and torture testing and worse without hesitation. It was something the research division was proud of, the endless cruelties they designed over the years.
And the Masked WERE people.
No monster would feel pain like this, would feel empathy like this, would crumble into sorrow this way. No monster would so desperately cling to the chance of salvation, to community, to a potential future like these endless crowds.
In the end, Soul Society didn't even really understand its OWN people, much less others. Outsiders. Monsters.
And, unlike the Hollows, these Masked had something far more dangerous than energy beams or sharpened blades or instant recovery or lethal ambushes…
They had community.
Even now, she saw massive numbers of Hollows being captured, purified, emptied of Souls and OTHER HOLLOWS, then either crumbling down through remorse or snarling their way over to the Snack Pit.
Hollows that would need entire teams of Shinigami, being captured by a flood of weak limbs from the Darkness… Captured without injury, captured without danger.
Fighting that would be madness, even if she could morally justify attacking these victims of life.
She felt… So lost.
Time passed as she wandered. She even bumped into other saved Shinigami, and a few other human Souls powerful enough to not simply cross over to Soul Society who were walking these endless woods.
A few words, sharing information… They came from all eras and times. Some Consumed recently, some long ago like her… Just as confused. Lost.
Eventually she noticed one of the Masked, as they were now formally called, looking at her in shock. "Yes?"
The creature flinched, and started to shuffle his numerous limbs backwards. "Sorry, sorry, sorry…"
…Wait. "Tonose?"
It flinched again, but refused to answer.
She moved forward without fear.
After all, any Hollows that were evil or twisted were trapped over in the 'Snack Pit', there was no danger here. Not with the Masked. "Is that you, Tonose?"
The spider-like man shifted his body as his mask tilted down, letting her see his many pink glowing eyes. "I…"
She hadn't known Masked could cry actual tears. He was trying at least.
He sobbed. "I couldn't save you… I couldn't save any of you… I couldn't leave you all behind..."
Ignoring his mutated body, now far stronger than any Soul Reaper, she wrapped one of his massive limbs up with a hug as he broke down. As she whispered. "Shh, I… It was needed."
Not all her team had escaped that day, long ago. Clearly.
It didn't matter for now.
She had found one.
And, like a light in the dark, she also found a path.
If she had found one… She might find the others.
Together, two 'foes' of an endless war began to walk together in a forest of Light in the Darkness searching for Souls and Masked… For the ones who were forgotten.
Their life had long been over, after all… They had time.
From the slithering first followed a creeping second, a flying third, a crawling fourth, and so on and so forth.
Each followed by endless observers in the Darkness, each still weaker than a single slow moving slow witted Gillian, they moved in every direction under the dim network of 'trees', and they collected beings much stronger than themselves through the assistance of many hands that reached from nowhere.
A few met powerful foes, and had to fade away back to Darkness for safety. Death simply meant returning to the cycle of life, being consumed only involved being temporarily held hostage until they were saved by their siblings, but they were all Masked because they couldn't let go.
They couldn't find peace.
But they HAD found purpose. Drive.
And dangerous or not, risky or not, they continued to explore and attempt to save ever growing numbers of Gillian, the massive mountains weeping Souls in the Darkness as Gem's love slowly purified them of captives and filled that endless void.
But a milestone was about to be reached.
The first captured Gillian Menos Grande, the longest held and cradled by the Darkness, was starting to wake up.
Her many held Souls were already born anew, as Masked or leaving for Soul Society.
She herself, theoretically, shouldn't exist.
She was a container. A mindless husk formed by raw power, to be conquered by whichever Soul dominated the crowd of Hungry Hollows that had torn themselves into a frenzy of pain and reluctance and torment.
She was meant to be Nobody.
Shadow felt that didn't matter.
Gem felt a connection.
Together, something about this empty husk resonated with them both.
And so she began to awaken. To find her own life, unexpected, undeserved, yet given with love and without expectation or mandate.
In the Darkness, she found her roots.
In the Darkness, she found her inner light. Her Heart, in a way.
Her power twisted like a cocoon, forming a Domain in the Darkness, one that welcomed her new endless family.
Her roots of pure Light grew forth, loved by the Darkness itself and supported by it.
Her arms sprouted and multiplied upwards, reaching towards something only she could touch, something important.
As the endless Masked slowly investigated their newly awakened sister, she felt her white bone mask alter and form close to her branches, even as she felt her roots gently begin to connect with her other sleeping sisters.
A Gillian's Husk was supposed to be a transient state. Not a creature. Not an existence. A natural stage of life that formed to protect the multitude warring within her.
And as her roots connected with the increasing number of crying Gillian surrounding her, as she felt her other sisters slowly being purified as she had, she rejoiced.
They, half asleep and lost and confused, rejoiced with her as they dreamed.
And here, in the Darkness, they grew as a network. Eventually, they would be as one.
In the Darkness, joy grew a forest as the White Lady awoke.
Her soft and warm pink eyes watched her Masked brothers and sisters, as they watched others, and her roots supported their claws and paws and feet and tails, her branches supported their rest and gathering, and her Domain began to slowly shift and expand.
It would take time. Much time.
But she would pass that time with these little ones… Together.
And should her bright white Light in the Darkness help guide lost Pluses and Souls to a safer place, a land of Masked danger and protective monsters, that was more than acceptable.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Shadow blinked as Gem somehow met a friend? A sister? Something like that.
Huh. Neat!
Good timing too, Gem always worked so hard.
It was good for her to get a bit of help now and then! Already, he could feel them gossiping about something as pulses of pink and white light flickered back and forth.
Plus, it meant that Shadow would have more time to look for Candy and stuff!
He absently redistributed the near uncountable armies of Masked in the Darkness to better cover the new territory that the White Lady was developing into, no reason to risk any intruder or whatever disturbing the girls while they had their chat.
As for him, his Candy hunt plan would have to be put on hold until Yuzu was done using him as an assistant. Turns out that having infinite bodies and forms and limbs and stuff really helped out with a bit of tidying up and stuff!
And sure, this Candy Shop wasn't her home or anything, but picking up after yourself (And maybe scouring a level of clean unheard of by mortals directly into the surrounding area) was just good manners.
He absently formed a few extra jaws to eat the bits of dust tossed to the floor (Not a great Snack, really, but the amount of spirit energy soaking the whole area was surprisingly high!) as he helped Yuzu dust the next store room.
This was win win, really! Shadow got to help Orihime's friend's sister, the nice girl herself felt useful despite not being able to train for mortal combat against an army of unknown foes, and he managed to get that awesome big mustache man to promise a reward of Candy for cleaning the shop!
TWO types of candy! Some sort of gum thing and another called a 'Jaw Breaker', which couldn't really break your jaw unless you had terrible dental hygiene or a bone disease but WAS a bit more solid than the other edible options.
Then again, Shadow had no issue chewing on bone, metal, crystals, or worse… So maybe it COULD break your jaw if you had a meat body instead of solidified spirit energy particles enhanced by Darkness?
Meh, who knew. They looked amazing though! More than one color too!
Yuzu wiped her sweat away with a smile! "Oh Shadow, you are being VERY helpful! Not needing to constantly replace the cleaning water or make multiple trash runs, able to easily shift size to help us get to those really pesky corners near the ceiling, thank you SO much for doing all this!"
Shadow gave a thumbs up!
…Also a claw wiggle?
She giggled. "Yes, I don't mind if you have my share of the 'reward candy', I mostly snack when cooking during the day anyway so I rarely eat any treats between meals."
His eyes grew wide at such a concept. Eating all the time while making MORE stuff to eat!? That was BRILLIANT!
That was it, new plans: Shadow was going to become a chef. Maybe a patissier for basic desserts with a few branching studies in being a Glacier or Décorateur to handle the cold or frozen treats and working on decorating the cakes and stuff in the most optimal way and…
Yuzu carefully shoved more Dust (and some sort of Soul residue) off another shelf.
Oops, right, they were cleaning.
A maw filled with bright sharp pink fangs screamed open and SNAPPED tight over the newest offering.
Nailed it! That Candy was going to be THEIRS! Muah ha ha ha!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Ichigo grunted as his arm fractured again. "Hurts like a BITCH! Get over here and let me cut up your STUPID hat!"
A flex of power restored mobility and he began fractionally forming fragments of blades with every step, setting up a terrain hazard of sharpened spikes with each movement.
As part of his own Soul, he could easily ignore the jagged edges as they pierced his outfit and feet without injury, but hopefully it would inconvience this STUPID JERK! "I'm going to slice it in half! TWICE!"
Not quite sure what happened this time, but the instant smack and heavy impact felt familiar. Was that a kick?
Ichigo felt the rubble scatter from his body as he excavated himself from the new gravel pit.
No, that had just been that stupid cane again.
The old guy hadn't bothered throwing a kick or a punch at all recently, just… Gently poking him with that STUPID stick and watching his body ragdoll uncontrollably off into the sunset.
Kisuke Urahara chuckled. "It's good to see the younglings so energetic!" He absently tilted his pristine, untouched hat.
Fuck, even his clothing was dust free! Jerk!
Right, leaving improvised caltrops everywhere is pointless if you aren't strong enough to even make the asshole bother to fully DODGE your attacks. He absently swung his blade, the form most familiar to him for some reason, and spewed a small wave of sharp metal shards in that general direction.
It didn't work before, and it didn't work NOW, but at least it FELT good. "Right, indirect attacks don't work, environmental attacks have been less than successful…" Would work against a hoard of weak weenies though. A good control skill and crowd suppressing method, he'd remember it. "...Right, let's try something a bit more energetic."
Shaking his blade, he felt the material fragment and twist and twirl until the entire sword was more a sharpened spiral of metal… With more and more energy compacted into the tip!
Some deliberate structural weaknesses to encourage the explosion to send the shards the right direction… "If you won't step on spikes and the landmine idea is a flop, how about I try directly introducing you to a previous concept?"
It was probably cheating, honestly, to basically combine a frag grenade and landmine onto the tip of a spiral sword and smash it into people.
Dangerous too, and sort of ignores the whole point of landmines and terrain manipulation in the first place.
But if nothing else, hopefully the wind from the blast would MOVE THAT DAMNED HAT! "HERE I COME!"
His feet selectively allowed the blade fragments to interact with them, allowing him to instinctively gain a foothold to better thrust himself towards the target!
FUCK YOUR HAT!
The man didn't even bother to not smirk. "Interesting idea, but unstable."
And he poked him with that FUCKING STICK AGAIN!
Sword tip exploded, spiral sword fractured instantly, everything got a bit fuzzy, a bit floaty… THEN he smashed into another boulder.
Several of them this time.
Ichigo felt his spine begin to unfracture as he forced himself to recover. "Right… That was what, three rocks in a row with one whack? He only goes for smashing me through multiple obstacles when I'm on to something."
Forget the odd structure of the blade, most of that had been pointless… Not to mention his weapon was a bit sluggish due to air drag despite the awesome design.
Go for something classic, but keep the general idea of 'Explosion on a stick'.
Absently, he mumbled to himself… "Less physical stuff, it only slows me down…" The blade shifted into something more spiritual than solid. "More thin, just enough to extend my reach…" The massive cleaver shape shifted down to something only mildly massive rather than bigger than two or three people.
After all, having a sword a hundred feet long just gave this asshole a bigger target to poke with that stupid cane!
Along the edge, Ichigo forced more and more spirit energy to gather. "I need something to gather this stuff together, but don't want to waste time making fragmentation material…"
Well, fuck it. His whole BODY was made out of spirit energy, right? It clearly can be solid or not, depending on his desires. If impossible shit was on the menu, let's get a full serving!
With a slightly disturbing feeling of nostalgia, Ichigo began to grip the energy in his blade, especially the forces near the edge off towards the tip… And began to Ç̶̣͉̠̙̯͍̲̬͖͉͎̪̖̠̝̣͎͘͟ͅo̡̰̪͖̫͙̥͢m̷̬͔̦̫͎̱̤̺͇̹̳̱͓̳͍̬̰͙̞͢p̶̢̦̜̞̹̲̻̟͙̦̖̪͙͇̠̣̱̟̻ͅṟ̸͈͓͈̻͟͟͝ḛ̷̢͙̼̻̰̠̕s̨̥̞̼̘̝̯͍̹͇̮̟̩̭̦̝̱̩͢͝s̻̭̟̦̬̹̝̗̳̖͖̯̜̮͓̮̥̫̕͘͟.
.
An uncomfortable but familiar feeling of weight, of pressure, of restraint… "This may be an impossible fight." As energy tried to escape his sharp grasp, even more power was forced to chain it down. "This may be a forbidden obstacle… Especially at my skill level."
He wasn't an idiot.
Urahara radiated power without needing to, showing his talent and skills through his own inaction.
Speeds far faster than a train were ignored, blades longer than cars casually disregarded… To this man, a 'simple candy shop owner', the best that Ichigo could do is thrash around as a baby at best.
His black blade began to flicker with a glowing blue edge. Power swirled through the entire structure, directing and compressing it further. "That is fine. I don't mind impossible tasks, not if it is for a worthy cause."
Flickers of imagery. His sisters. Dad. His friends, even the ones that weren't incredibly attractive.
His home and the trials and tribulations he had endured there.
Burning emotions began to fuel his motivations. "This is needed. I need to be stronger. I need to be far stronger." The risks were too high if he wasn't strong enough.
A rainy river side, stained with the blood of a loving parent.
[[You still have not called me.]]
Another pulse of energy nearly destabilized his blade, but raw REFUSAL kept it whole. But as chaos failed to rend it asunder, something else filled it in the process.
[[What's the difference between a king and his horse?]]
Something raw and familiar. Some part of himself. "I… I feel some sort of pressure. I always have since I was much younger."
[[Why is it that one becomes the king and leads them to battle while the other becomes the horse and carries the king to victory? What is the difference?]]
Right now, Ichgio felt somehow far more clear minded. Focused.
[[There's only one answer. INSTINCT!]]
As the burden on the sword twisted and tightened, it shivered as bits fractured and were compressed into something more REAL. Into something more solid.
[[I refuse to play horse to a king who's weaker than me.]]
Something that forced him to question himself. About his motivations, and his determination.
[[I won't be a horse to someone who's uncertainty and hesitation will end up getting us both cut to pieces.]]
Yet at the same time… That self challenge was also a drive to excel. To exceed!
The flames of power began to tighten and glow brighter on the blade of the sword.
[[If you aren't willing to assert your strength and retain the crown, then I'll destroy you. Which means I'll be king.]]
The edge of his blade suddenly shivered, as the light became a thin line of raw H͏̰̩u͎͞n̲̣͚̠̹g̖̭̙͖͍͖̪͢e͔̘̼̲̖̟͓͝r.
And almost unwillingly, a manic grin began to seep into his body and his eyes flickered brighter.
[[A killer instinct is mostly forged in battle! With PURPOSE!]]
His voice slightly echoed with the calls of the Masked. "Let̛'s ̶t͡r̀y͡ ͜this one m̨o̴re͟ ͟ti̛m͟e..."
Eyes wide, his heart beat with battle.
Ears hunting danger, nose smelling risk.
A twist of energy and his edge nearly C̕͠R̵̢̛͞A̧͏̶̢C͢͏̶͟K͏̶̛͝҉E͟D̕͜!
He may be destined to fail. Urahara may be an impossible obstacle, an impassable road block, as futile as a man attempting to fight the heavens.
With a roar, he hurled his body forward as the blade descended! "I͠f th͠e ͠h̵èa̶ve͠ńs t̨he͜mse͏lve͢s t̀r̡y ͟t̸o̷ ͡s͘tan̷d͘ ͢in m͞y ẃay͠, t̛̛̕͢h̡́̕͝ȩ̨̀ǹ̸ ̡I̷̸̛ ̛͢s̵͏h̵̡̕͘a̶̡͟͞͝l̷̷͘l̵͜ P̦̰̺̖̥̺̳̹̕I͠͏̷̙̲̙̲͈͓͖̺̟̻͙̪̟̘̞̻͟͠E͏͕̟̥̲̘̝͓̼̟̭̤͍͍̫Ŗ̧̫͈̩̜̫̣̼̜͍͍͈C̶̢͍͓̯̘̫̳̖̯̥̥̗̰̖̝̦̺ͅE̶̴̵̡̫̠̦̞̙͚̫͕̻̰͎̞̥̟͎͓͘ͅͅ ̸̢̖̩͉̳͎T̸̩̫̼̞͖̩̝̕͡ͅH҉̡͙͎̤̙̬̞̠̯͙͔̖̮̕E҉̥̼̙͇̩̰̙̻̫̤ͅM̴̷̸̺̬͔͉̟̗̟͖̣̪͖̟̮̱̬̣̯͠͝!
.
The excess power bled from his sword and began to wrap his legs and spine, his torso pulsing with too much energy, but in the end… Wasn't all his body a sword?
That power was forced tightly too, allowing Ichigo to BURST with speed!
Blade neared the suddenly wide eyed man in that FUCKING hat! "F̶̡ú͘͡c̵̨̨̛k͞ ̕͡ y̶̨o̵̕͟͠ų͢!̴͢͟͝ G̵̻̹̞̰̝e̻̗̜̹t҉̥͍͕̹̤s̫͙̳͕͕̣̼̕u̱͙̥g̥̥̺͘a̟ ̸̯ T̡̪̭̭̣e͍͚͓̻n̷̘̺̮͉̺̫ͅs̸̗̤͎̰h̰͈ͅō̻͚̗̩̝̤̖͠!"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Ichigo paused, blinking, as the room shivered slightly. "Oh dear."
It had been a while since they had separated… And consequences were starting to show.
Hmm… Probably for the best to take a break. "I believe my spiritual form has just managed to knock himself unconscious. Karin, could you ask Yuzu to make us some tea for when I wake up? You know she will be unhappy if we try to take care of it ourselves."
Tatsuki blinked. "Hang on, you can communicate with yourself from this far away? That's crazy!"
It… Wasn't so much communication, but self reflection? After all, they were the same person, and he knew himself pretty well in his opinion.
[[Nowhere in this world can there be anyone who knows me better than you. We will never fight alone.]]
Yeah, it wasn't quite telepathy or anything, just… Instincts? Understanding himself? Something. "I think it is more like how you know where you are when you wake up most of the time. Just… I understand where I am and roughly what is going on for both of me, but it is more an abstract feeling than directly sharing words."
It felt complicated to put into words.
Ichigo tried anyway. "I personally feel… Committed and focused. Prepared to consolidate my foundation and fully rest and recover. But my other half feels some unknown threat, some instinctual danger that evidence hasn't been found for… And honestly, as we are both the same person, I can't easily dismiss his concerns."
Not feeling that incessant itch of mental danger was almost more relieving than allowing his human body to fully recover. "So when I suddenly feel a massive spike of satisfaction followed by a huge explosion and silence, it was easy enough to understand that my training just had a breakthrough… And my other half may have MADE that breakthrough using his skull."
No, it didn't count as calling yourself a moron. No, Ichigo wouldn't bother defending that stance.
Karin narrowed her eyes. "Hmm… Well, I wouldn't mind some tea too, and today has been pretty crazy so far… Fine. But you can't let Yuzu know that one of you managed to knock yourself out the first DAY of training, she might cry."
EVERYONE winced at that. "Understood."
Sigh, it didn't help that doing nothing, that healing like this, felt stifling.
Ichigo had always felt a certain level of motivation in his life. Perhaps pushed from unhealthy sources, such as his own guilt and self loathing forcing him to improve faster, to try and fill in that space that Mom had left in their lives.
But even when he eventually became stronger, when he attempted to be the best son and brother and guardian he could be, there had always been more to do. More training, more studying, more exercising.
No longer focused towards a future job or trying to pick up chicks or looking 'awesome', but each action attempting to become a stronger foundation. A dependable body, a sharp mind, and enough open possibilities that he could have multiple choices to pick from when it came time to step up and take more responsibility.
It had built him up, but also left him… Unsure.
Especially at moments like this, where he was trying to give his body a chance to heal and just spend a bit of time with his friends and family.
Ichigo repressed twitches as he considered what he COULD be doing right now.
Because, logical or not, efficiency be damned, a good portion of his Soul desired what his Spirit Form half had instantly strove for: Combat.
The ability to test himself.
But he was broken.
Even as parts of his Soul restructured, as his body's flesh was cannibalized and regrown, as his energy began densely shifting his raw material… It would take time.
And though he twitched to grasp the power that now so effortlessly followed his commands, he knew it would be unwise. Would hinder his recovery. Would force him to be inactive even LONGER, trapped like this.
Choose to be passive now, to be an invalid, or become crippled later. Or unable to perform when needed.
In a way, he deeply envied his more free and emotive half right now.
That raw instinct didn't care about consequences, not long term ones. He was exploiting every ounce of potential and energy and time to accomplish the most possible at every second… Even if that was less than optimal.
Theoretically, as Ichigo knew, rest was a vital part of becoming stronger.
Though, that logic and most others got thrown out the window when you no longer HAVE a body and are a Soul fueled by passion and determination. As shown by his impulsive half cheerfully smashing his mind unconscious during the ASSESSMENT portion of his training routine.
Ichigo sighed. Not even into the first day of training, and half his Soul decided to explode himself.
Yeah, that sounded about right.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The first Shinigami that was freed from a Hollow didn't know what to do with herself.
She had been in endless torment, struggling against an army of Hollows that had consumed each other… Devoured, controlled, compressed, forgetting…
And then, release.
Her form recovered and reinforced, salvation as she was reborn in the Darkness.
Nothing tethered her here. Not to that place. No regrets remained.
After all, she had saved her squad… Even if she had paid the ultimate cost. And the Hollow that had consumed her had been so twisted that it refused to look towards salvation and had been trapped within the 'Snack Pit'.
Hearing his screams as black eels with sharp pink fangs consumed him alive had been… Cathartic. To say the least.
But the issue wasn't her tormentor, the monster that had hunted Pluses and her friends and her comrades.
The problem was the others.
She walked, a Soul who hadn't passed on and yet hadn't Hollowfied, through an odd sort of forest. White glowing roots twisted under her, glowing white branches reached upwards as if towards heaven.
Each step she was surrounded by Hell Butterflies, by vanishing Souls acting as if someone had performed a proper Konsō Reisai to put them to rest… And by Hollows.
Endless forms, of any and every size… All with glowing pink eyes.
And sorrow.
This strange forest was drowning in the soft agony of sadness.
It was Soul wrenching, as she saw fanged monstrosities cautiously offer small comforts to each other, as twisted forms bawled in unrestrained horror at what they had seen. What they had gone through.
What they had done.
And much farther away, in the distance, an endless wall of black forms with white masks and white bone blates and white spikes and white fangs and white claws.
All with glowing pink eyes… All looking out into the Darkness.
Searching for something.
Protecting everyone here.
Even her, the predator of these creatures.
More than that, these 'trees' were not made of wood or even normal spirit particles. It was blatantly obvious after even a cursory examination.
Every tree trunk was the same woman.
Her Light didn't fight the Darkness, didn't push it back, but they embraced each other.
And she embraced all of them, here in her arms, in her woods.
She… She didn't know how to handle that.
The shift from a hopeless and endless war, to self sacrifice with only a hope for her friend's salvation, to endless torment… To this?
It was too much.
How could she go back to Soul Society now?
It would be so easy. She could feel it like a summer wind, a distant call. No pressure, no urge to hurry… If she desired, she could leave and be reborn in Soul Society. Possibly with all her training and skills intact.
But for what?
Her team, her loved ones, they all knew she was gone. Had been for centuries, if they even survived. Did she wish to return?
Her memories reviewed the endless struggle against the Hollows and the Bount and the Quincies and the… The list goes on and on. Soul Society tried to fight nearly EVERYONE, and it had felt needed and necessary because…
Well, because they had to, just to survive.
At least that was true for those on her level. Those not in control.
Every day was a struggle, a reaction… Following orders.
Should she go back to that?
To fight these Masked?
Soul Society wouldn't understand these people. Wouldn't even bother to try, would start corpse autopsies and torture testing and worse without hesitation. It was something the research division was proud of, the endless cruelties they designed over the years.
And the Masked WERE people.
No monster would feel pain like this, would feel empathy like this, would crumble into sorrow this way. No monster would so desperately cling to the chance of salvation, to community, to a potential future like these endless crowds.
In the end, Soul Society didn't even really understand its OWN people, much less others. Outsiders. Monsters.
And, unlike the Hollows, these Masked had something far more dangerous than energy beams or sharpened blades or instant recovery or lethal ambushes…
They had community.
Even now, she saw massive numbers of Hollows being captured, purified, emptied of Souls and OTHER HOLLOWS, then either crumbling down through remorse or snarling their way over to the Snack Pit.
Hollows that would need entire teams of Shinigami, being captured by a flood of weak limbs from the Darkness… Captured without injury, captured without danger.
Fighting that would be madness, even if she could morally justify attacking these victims of life.
She felt… So lost.
Time passed as she wandered. She even bumped into other saved Shinigami, and a few other human Souls powerful enough to not simply cross over to Soul Society who were walking these endless woods.
A few words, sharing information… They came from all eras and times. Some Consumed recently, some long ago like her… Just as confused. Lost.
Eventually she noticed one of the Masked, as they were now formally called, looking at her in shock. "Yes?"
The creature flinched, and started to shuffle his numerous limbs backwards. "Sorry, sorry, sorry…"
…Wait. "Tonose?"
It flinched again, but refused to answer.
She moved forward without fear.
After all, any Hollows that were evil or twisted were trapped over in the 'Snack Pit', there was no danger here. Not with the Masked. "Is that you, Tonose?"
The spider-like man shifted his body as his mask tilted down, letting her see his many pink glowing eyes. "I…"
She hadn't known Masked could cry actual tears. He was trying at least.
He sobbed. "I couldn't save you… I couldn't save any of you… I couldn't leave you all behind..."
Ignoring his mutated body, now far stronger than any Soul Reaper, she wrapped one of his massive limbs up with a hug as he broke down. As she whispered. "Shh, I… It was needed."
Not all her team had escaped that day, long ago. Clearly.
It didn't matter for now.
She had found one.
And, like a light in the dark, she also found a path.
If she had found one… She might find the others.
Together, two 'foes' of an endless war began to walk together in a forest of Light in the Darkness searching for Souls and Masked… For the ones who were forgotten.
Their life had long been over, after all… They had time.
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verycoolname
Not actually cool
You redefine the concept of a fix fic and I adore it.
Well I think this version of The White Lady will handle things differently than the Hollow Knight canon version. Namely, that I think that the reason for creating the Vessels will be different. And she might well handle the issue herself. Or at least be able to call in Shadow to help out.
Would certainly look completely different as a world, given I don't think Hollownest would actually fall. Or at least, not to the same extent it was. Certainly some areas would be much better/safer.
Would certainly look completely different as a world, given I don't think Hollownest would actually fall. Or at least, not to the same extent it was. Certainly some areas would be much better/safer.
- Location
- Earth U.S.
gathering?
forms
terrain
relieving?
restructured?
invalid
had
designed
Hollows
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
All the serious feels.. we require more talk about grandbabies and Pink Ichigo and his harem in porgress to balance this next time.
Probably. Or simply Juzu teaching Shadow Ofadam how to make candy.
Other places that got darkness but arent as dark as bleach. Hm. Possibly slightly lewd.
... probably not Eikken. Not only is the magic and darkness there at next to nothing level but the lewdness level is also over nine thousand candies.
... Labyrinth?
Probably. Or simply Juzu teaching Shadow Ofadam how to make candy.
Other places that got darkness but arent as dark as bleach. Hm. Possibly slightly lewd.
... probably not Eikken. Not only is the magic and darkness there at next to nothing level but the lewdness level is also over nine thousand candies.
... Labyrinth?
... You call genociding large parts of the world light? Also there's the whole strong people as necromantic golems that Nox uses in his genocidal plans thing.
Although Nox is an awesome villain.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
Hence why i said Dofus, and Not Wakfu
- Location
- Earthly Palace
ı was watching The Disturbing Full Story of Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls before this and ı came to the realization if shadowofadam go there it would be fun...now ı know what you're thinking dude we wanted a light-hearted thing but without corruption in a play it can happen and it would be so easy to defeat prime evils and save the world without destroying the WORLDSTONE
I had no idea they were seperate things 😓
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
Dofus is the Prequel.
- Location
- Planet Earth
Maybe have Shadow go to The Magicians... It is both lighthearted and not... but it could be fun.
Or maybe Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends? Fairly OddParents?
It is surprisingly hard to think of places the MC could go that are lighthearted, that they have not already been to, and that do not have some seriously sinister deeper elements.
Or maybe Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends? Fairly OddParents?
It is surprisingly hard to think of places the MC could go that are lighthearted, that they have not already been to, and that do not have some seriously sinister deeper elements.
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
Where Hollows go to get boned. Also, I noticed your title pun.
Simmy? Ah, no, not quite.
Thrust Through the Heavens with Your Spirit!
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER
- Status