[Anchorage, Alaska] From Alaska with Love

Alaska, the least interesting of the numerous ArranCorp locales Seis had been sent to over the years. And he had seen just about all of them at this point so that was saying something. The only site which might even remotely compete was the Antarctic research facility, but even there the skyline was more interesting these days. Sadly however sightseeing wasn't why he was here, that would imply that he got vacation time... which he usually didn't, most of those 'in-the-know' didn't get little excesses like that. They felt that they were above such things and thus anyone who wasn't a flunky had to play by their rules. Instead he'd been sent here as a final warning and deterrent. Ranis, the Arrancar in charge of the facilities here, had taken it upon himself to stimulate the influx of souls by using mercenaries, starting private little wars across the globe in an effort to increase his own power-base. Even if such things weren't a general no-no within Marin's circle, Ranis had been sloppy and now the human authorities were beginning to close in. If something wasn't done soon they'd be able to trace his activities back to ArranCorp, which in turn jeopardize everything they had going at the moment. Even if Seis didn't agree with everything they were doing he couldn't allow that to happen, that was his job as Marin's secret enforcer.

Stepping out onto the private aircraft's ramp, he took in a deep breath of the cold Alaskan air through the nose of his gigai and sighed. Various fragments of memory trapped at his core from those poor souls which had gone into creating him seemed to indicate that the air should taste different in different places, and that may have been the case long ago, but not anymore. Or at least not that he could tell with his hybrid senses. No, every place seemed the same to him, tainted with the stench of rot and corruption. The Human World was dying, too much pollution and greed had been allowed to run rampant, and now as a result they were trapped in some dystopian cyberpunk's idea of the future. Sure things could be changed, but who was willing to put that much effort into something when the current way of doing things was so much easier. Humans could be so stupid sometimes... not that any of the other races were any different of course, they did all come from the same stock... whether they wanted to admit it or not. He alone was the exception to that rule, and even he wasn't sure whether he truly was or not.

Descending the ramp he made his way over the the waiting limousine and nodded in greeting to the driver, “Brenda... long time no see.”

Brenda, a human who had once served as one of the numerous 'rent-a-cop' guards back at their New York headquarters, smiled back and extended her hand in greeting, “No kidding. I was beginning to wonder if the big-wigs upstairs had forgotten about us lowly working types they'd stuck out here in the boonies.”

Seis smirked and took the offered hand, “Not at all, things've just been kinda hectic back at the front is all. I assure you we haven't forgotten about ya... that's part of why I'm here.”

Brenda's eyebrow arched in curiosity, “Oh really? Guess that means you've heard 'bout some of the goings on out here then?”

The hybrid agent shrugged, “Probably, although I'd be interested in hearing your point of view on the matter on the way over. My initial briefing was kinda vague since I'm only a messenger, having a few juicy details with which to spice things up couldn't hurt.”

His driver laughed and clapped him on the shoulder before opening the door to the car and gesturing inside, “Glad to see things haven't changed, I'll gladly fill ya in. Its 'bout time someone came down on that pompous ass er-pardon my saying so of course...”

Seis gave her a lopsided smirk as he got into the vehicle, “ Your secret is safe with me buddy, now let's get this dog and pony show on the road.”

Brenda visibly relaxed when she saw Seis' expression, “ Yes 'ir!”

The trip across town from the airport was a fairly uneventful one, but it gave Seis plenty of time to review the information he'd been provided once again, as well as add in a few additional notes based on the info Brenda was able to provide. His chauffeur of course wasn't able to provide anything additional in regards to the rumored mercenaries, only rumors from around the watercooler and numerous sightings of various 'toughs' coming and going from the executive suite at almost all hours. But she was able to clue her passenger into various other dealings of which he'd been initially unaware, things like money laundering, prostitution, and possibly even racketeering. Either Ranis was even dirtier then Marin had been led to believe, or else someone else in his office was using their bosses connections for even less good then their manager. It was obviously something that he was going to have to investigate... maybe he could even find a use for these underworld contacts, he WAS going to probably have to find an unrelated fall-guy after all. Best to make use of the resources he had available and maybe even take a bite out of local crime in the process, scum was scum regardless of race and it was his job to deal with it.

Broken out of his reverie as the car came to a halt he looked outside and took his first in person look at the newly remodeled Alaska headquarters. It was nothing artistically speaking when compared to the New York building from which he usually worked, but it was still impressive in it's own right. Eighty stories of glass and steel, surrounded on all side by lesser high-rises and holographic billboards seemingly ripped from the pages of science fiction, the lights in the various offices glowing like a beacon even now so late in the evening. No one slept anymore, there was no 'down-time' while the city slept, everything was a 24-hour affair just like in any other major city of the past. There was now always a constant bustle of activity, didn't matter whether or not the sun was at it's peak or in remission... not that you could always tell given the thick layer of clouds which always seemed to blanket the skies over any large settlement. Another legacy from the various ultra-tech wars that had been fought over the years no doubt, maybe even an after-effect from the Shinigami Civil War itself.

Climbing out of the vehicle once Brenda had opened the door he smiled at his friend and winked, “Stay put, I won't be long...”

The former 'rent-a-cop' just laughed and shook her head, unsure whether he was seriously trying to flirt with her or just teasing her like usual when he slipped into some kind of over exaggerated mannerism, “Will do boss...”

Entering the building only further cemented his earlier thoughts as he observed the controlled chaos of dozens of employees scurrying about the lobby on various errands for their taskmasters. The room itself was lit with glowpanels intended to give the cavernous chamber a strange orange glow, the holographic fountain at it's center seemingly spewing forth liquid flames thanks to the illusionary effects from the overhead lighting. Yet another sign that someone hear wasn't very good with the concept of subtlety.

Making his way across the lobby he approached the receptionist's desk and leaned on the countertop, “Hi... I have an appointment with the director, I'm Mister Xin's representative.”

The woman behind the counter smiled at him as she checked her terminal, finding everything in order she printed off a security pass for him and said, “Of course Sir, we've been expecting you.” She gestured towards a small sitting area populated by a expensive pair of leather couches “If you'll just wait over there, someone will be down in a moment to escort you upstairs.”

“Thank you,” Seis said as he took the offered passcard. At least things down here seemed to be running smoothly, that meant that the rot hadn't spread all the way to the roots like he had feared. So assuming he could find an appropriate fall guy they could probably keep this branch office open for awhile longer. They'd need new security though, he'd felt their gaze on him since he'd entered the building, and the intent behind it was most decidedly NOT friendly. He'd guessed some of them might be in on the conspiracy, but if there were enough to keep an eye on him AND the boss then the entire department was suspect. Handling such things weren't his department though, he'd include his findings in his report and then Marin would most likely dispatch Valintine to clean up the mess... assuming of course Ranis' replacement couldn't handle it himself.

Sensing a presence behind him he turned just in time to face his escort, a burly looking man whose look and reiatsu just screamed disguised Arrancar “So you're the one they've assigned to keep an eye on me?” The big guy merely snorted, obviously not enjoying the task he'd been assigned and only causing Seis to smirk again, “Well then lead the way 'Big Guy.'”

The elevator ride up to executive suite on the top floor was a long one, longer then would've been expected thanks to the tense atmosphere within the lift-car. Seis could feel the tension radiating from Ranis' assistant, it was obvious the guy was of the enforcer mentality and was probably debating what to do with the small character which had just been dropped in his lap. His very presence meant that they were attracting unwanted attention from the big guns back in New York, and while eliminating their representative might solve the problem it might also come around to bite them on the ass. Holding back like this was probably killing the poor bastard on the inside, but that was fine with Seis. Let the poor guy stew for a little bit, depending on how this meeting went he'd be getting his soon enough, and he'd make sure that his comeuppance was more then worth the wait.

Stepping out into the plush carpeted hallway as the elevator doors opened, he followed his impressively built guide past a small cluster of secretaries and through a large set of heavy oak doors. On the other side of those doors lay Ranis' office, a large and expensively furnished affair with thick carpeting and a large panoramic view of the city. In some ways it reminded him of Marin's office back at headquarters, except of course that the King of Hueco Mundo would never blow this much cash on a simple work place.

The Arrancar behind the desk looked up as they approached, his gigai designed to look like a youngish looking executive type from one of the various 'ivy-league' schools scattered about the globe. His look fit in perfectly with the spoiled rich kid décor and architecture of the building, which wasn't surprising since it was HIS design. “And just who pray tell is this Gideon?”

“A representative from the Boss sir...”

Ranis looked as Seis expectantly as he waited for him to introduce himself, which only caused him to smirk again as he affected his best mock scottish accent, “Seis, Shíyàn Seis...”

It was obvious from their expressions that the joke was lost on both Ranis and Gideon, but that was fine with him... they'd get it soon enough depending on the outcome of this meeting...

The Director indicated one of the chairs in front of his desk, “Well Mister Seis, please have a seat and tell us what brings you here today.”

Nodding in thanks he moved around to take a seat, pulling an old fashioned hardcopy envelope from his pocket as he went. Sitting down and taking a second to enjoy the comfort of the smartchair as it conformed itself around his slight frame, he then proceeded to lean forward and pass his care package across the desk. Watching as Ranis opened the antique paper envelope and began reading the letter's contents he took another glance around the room, surreptitiously analyzing the area's layout as he quietly tapped his foot and awaited the Arrancar's response.

He didn't have to wait long as Ranis stopped reading only halfway through and proceeded to glare at him over the memo, “And just what may I ask is this?”

Seis shrugged, “I'm not cleared to know the EXACT contents, but I was led to believe it was supposed to be a last warning.” His tone got much colder as he continued even though his expression remained friendly enough, “Seems he's finally gotten tired of hearing about your antics out here, might have something to do with the Feds closing in. Put simply, knock it off and toe the line... or else we'll find someone who will.”

Ranis colored visibly as he tensed in frustration,[color=orange] “I have no idea what you're talking about. As I've told Marin on several occasions now, everything we do out here is in accordance with the rules that were laid out for us.”[/orange]

'Oh please,' Seis thought to himself, 'Cut the bullshit already!' He then responded by saying, “I understand that, but just the same, it seems like someone thinks differently, and apparently has the evidence to back it up. Which in turn jeopardizes the company as well as the Human World front.”

The rogue Arrancar seemed to pause, almost as if taking a mental breath before he said anything, “Again, I have no idea to what you are referring... however, if someone under my command IS doing something that they're not supposed to then I will immediately get to work putting a stop to it.”

Seis nodded, “I see, if that is how you feel about it then I will pass on your answer when I get back to New York.” Standing up to leave he finished, “Good luck with your investigation.”

This time it was Ranis' turn to nod, “Of course, and thank you,” He gestured to his burly sidekick, “Gideon, if you'd kindly show our guest back to his car?”

“No need,” The young hybrid said, holding up his hand in dismissal, “I think I can find my own way out, thank you. Besides, I'm sure you two have much more important things you need to deal with.” Having said that Seis made his way for the door, pausing as soon as he'd opened and tossing one last remark over his shoulder, “Good evening gentlemen.” It wasn't so much a polite parting as a prophetic statement, the tone behind it was cold as ice.

Stepping out into the hallway he retrieved his cellphone from his pocket and detached it's small wireless receiver. Activating it as he walked, he keyed it's frequency to that of the small listening device he dropped from a specially designed compartment in his shoe while he'd been tapping earlier and began listening in on what Ranis had to say in wake of his visit. Somehow he got the feeling that it would be most interesting.


“So what do we do now boss?” Gideon asked, the sound of crinkling leather indicating that he had probably just taken over the seat that Seis had abandoned.

”Simple,” Ranis snarled, “We have to divert blame and cut our losses. I'd hoped we could have progressed a little further before getting to this point, but we can always start up again once the heats off.”

“But why are we worrying 'bout something small like this, with the contacts we got something as silly as Human cops ain't gonna be much of an issue?”

The Director's tone became a tad frustrated, almost as if he were getting tired of explaining himself, “It's not the humans I'm worried about, although they could prove to be an annoyance if they put their mind to it. No, what I'm worried about is our illustrious 'King'... If he's seen fit to stop harassing me electronically and actually send someone out here to berate my in person then that means he really is on his last nerve. And too many people who have gotten on his last nerve have disappeared in the last year or so, I won't be added to that list. Thus we're going to hold off for the moment and divert his attention to someone else. I don't want him focusing on me again until I'm finally ready to challenge him outright.”

Gideon paused, his next thought coming out more as thinking out loud then an actual question, “But who could we frame up on such short notice? We got all the 'witnesses' and 'files' in place, but no one to attach to 'em to.”

Ranis' tone now was amused, almost like he was sensing some sort of poetic justice in his idea, “How about that impudent little flunky he foisted off on us? That kid had no respect for his betters and it would do him some good to become the focus of Marin's ire... besides, it would most certainly divert the heat off of us.”

“I like it boss, I like it a lot...”


Turning down the volume on the bug as he exited the building Seis couldn't help but shake his head in amusement. If only these poor bastards knew how badly their chosen course of action would have backfired should he allow them to continue, but of course he couldn't do that. As soon as he'd lied directly to the young operative's face Ranis' fate had been decided. He'd be lucky to live to see sunrise at this point, let alone live long enough to implicate Seis in his illegal activities. And on top of that he'd actually made the hybrid's job easier by drafting up his own false evidence, all he had to do was break into the network and fill in the blanks. Why weren't all of his assignments this easy?

Nodding to Brenda as she opened the car-door for him he said, “Home please, I have a feeling it's gonna be a long night...”

Midnight... once considered the darkest hour, now nothing more then another number on the clock. In a time when the world never sleeps, what meaning does a silly measurement have? Despite the “late” hour the city outside was still bright and alive with the sounds of activity, a total contrast to the darkened interior of the comfortable executive suite in which Seis resided. The only audible noise being the sound of the young hybrid shifting about restlessly in his bed. One could almost say the silence was deafening, if they didn't mind the cliché. But all of this only made the sudden appearance of all the more stunning, the quiet sounds of time and space being ripped asunder seeming to echo throughout the room as three black clad figures slipped in from the darkness.

Slowly moving across the room, like shadowy wraiths in the night, the three specters encircled the bed. Reaching behind their backs they each drew a long straight blade, fairly mundane in appearance, and simultaneously positioned them so that they were poised to strike the form curled beneath the sheets. Just seconds before they pierced the covers however, the desk-lamp on the nearby table came to life, driving out the darkness and revealing Seis sitting cross-legged in an armchair idly fiddling with a stylus, “Evening gents, hate to burst your bubble... but I think ya got the wrong target.”

The three figures, now revealed to be Arrancar dressed like modern day ninjas, each looked at each other and then tore away the sheets from the bed. Revealing a couple of pillows and a small furry robot toy shuffling back and forth across the bed. “I know it's a little cliché, but I couldn't resist... you'll forgive me?” Seis asked with a mischievous grin as he watched his would-be assassins visibly shake with anger at being played.

Turning to face him in unison, the three Hollows charged, blades poised to cut the young trickster in half where he sat, “Guess that's a no then?” Kicking off from the floor Seis launched himself into a shunpo, reappearing atop the bed as he watched his three attackers dogpile onto the armchair, “Alright then, let's be about it... unless of course you guys want a couple minutes alone while you're over there? Ya do look like you've gotten kinda cozy...” His playful quip was met with more frustrated growls as the three disentangled themselves and once again turned to face him.

Once again they decided to charge him together, but this time they staggered their attack, coming at him in a wedge formation as they poised to strike. Lunging towards the first guy, he reached out and deflected his thrust, spinning on his heel as he ducked under the extended limb and brought his elbow back into the Arrancar's solar plexus. Then, using the limb he'd captured as a part of his block as a lever, he tossed his target across the room and onto the bed. He then dropped down into a crouch and swept his arms out wide, catching the other two assassins off balance and sweeping out their knees as they passed. This proved to serve as only a momentary distraction however, as after seeing their comrade fall the other two had been given a split second to prepare themselves before he was able to follow though. Enabling them to brace for his attack and roll with the fall so that they could quickly come back up in a crouch ready for more.

Moving in tandem while their companion recovered himself, the two used sonido to quickly recover lost ground and surround their target. Swiping their blades simultaneously they hoped to outmaneuver their target by attacking him from both above and below, a good tactic under most circumstances but not necessarily against someone of Seis' skill level. Leaping into the air he shifted his body so that he was hanging horizontally and then twisted his hips so that he could spin clear of the danger zone despite the room's low ceiling. Landing at the foot of the bed he moved his hand beneath the back of his coat and vanished, reappearing a moment later by the door to the room clutching a wakizashi as one of his adversaries collapsed to the floor in a bloody heap. Thankfully no one from housekeeping would notice the mess however, unless of course they were spiritually aware for some reason.

Turning to face the two remaining targets he had just enough time to dive out of the way of another slash as the Arrancar who had gone for the low swing moved to close the gap. Having successfully evaded the attack he proceeded to slide in past his attacker and position himself behind him, mirroring the Hollow's movements as he tried to get another shot at him. This also allowed him to keep an eye on his second opponent as he finally recovered himself and launched himself across the room. Making sure to keep an eye on the one behind him, Seis brought his blade up to block his new target's thrust and then followed through with a snap kick, narrowly missing his target as the assassin executed a sonido side flip out of the line of fire. Reappearing to the left, Seis was able to mirror his first target's movements so that he was now positioned with the two Arrancar facing each other, the first accidentally parrying the attack of the second as they were unexpectedly reunited. Then, tiring of this little dance, he flipped his blade around into a reverse grip and jammed it back into his opponent's unguarded rear, severing his spinal cord and with it his life as his limp form was kicked back into that of his partner. That just left one hitman remaining, unfortunately he seemed to be the most skilled of the set.

Using shunpo again, this time to move behind his one remaining target, the hybrid agent brought his blade down in an attempt to strike at the base of his opponent's skull. Despite being caught off balance by the corpse of his associate however the assassin was able to bring his weapon around in an awkward parry while at the same time tossing aside his partner's dead weight. Then using sonido he moved to open a little distance between them as he turned to face his enemy. There was a palatable tension in the air as the two of them faced each other across the suite, time seeming to slow for a second as they sized each other up. The moment passed quickly however, and after only a couple of seconds the two remaining combatants rushed towards each other, each vanishing in their own version of a flash step as they moved. As one would expect from such a display, they both reappeared on the opposite side of the room from where they started, crouched with their weapons clutched in post-strike position as they waited for the other to fall. Endless moments seemed to tick by as they waited, but finally, as the digital time piece on the nightstand rolled over to 0:01, the final Arrancar collapsed to the ground. A pool of blood forming from a gaping wound in his neck as a small trickle ran down it's mirror image on Seis.

Flicking the gore from his sword, Seis stood up again and returned it to it's hidden sheath at the small of his back. He then turned to regard the bodies littering the floor and shook his head in bemused disgust, “What sloppy guests you guys are, tsk tsk tsk....” Opening a garganta to a remote part of the Forest of Menos, he proceeded to dispose of the bodies by dumping them through the portal to be devoured by any wandering Hollows. Not a classy method, but it had served him well in the past and was a very effective method of diverting blame away from himself.

Next, with all of the 'messy details' dealt with, he proceeded to head over to the miniscule luggage he had brought with him: a small satchel containing a change of clothes and a hefty looking backpack. Picking up the backpack he went back over to the bed and began slowly unloading it's contents, eventually revealing a complete suit of body armor. He held the helmet in his hands, it's metallic face staring up at him as he contemplated the weight of it. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. This was the same ritual he went through ever time he was forced to don the CRAM suit, the implications of it's presence and his assigned tasks haunted him constantly. This time however he didn't dwell on it for very long. Not only was his target this time clearly evil, but he had also made the mistake of making it deeply personal when he decided to have the one he knew as Marin's assistant eliminated. Seis didn't take kindly to threats, especially when they were directed at his own person, now Ranis and his cohorts were about to find out EXACTLY what he intended to do about it...

Thirty minutes after the attack in his hotel room, Seis was exiting from a garganta atop the roof of the Anchorage ArranCorp building, his features hidden thanks to the prototype CRAM suit he’d secretly acquired from the R&D department back home and the unique OCRA device he’d received from Marin. Taking extra care not to trigger any special alarms by gathering spirit particles under his feet, thus avoiding direct contact with the roof’s surface, he made his way over to the main door back inside the building. He did not go through the door however, that would be too easy as well as just plain stupid, instead he went around to the side of the accessway and utilized the advantages provided by a spirit form to pass through the concrete barrier. Thankfully this place was far enough removed from the primary distribution pipeline as to have not received most of Valintine’s paranoid and invasive security measures yet, otherwise that little trick probably wouldn’t have gone off as smoothly.

Continuing to float a couple of inches off the ground he made his way down the steps and into the building proper, pausing at the interior access hatch just long enough to listen for movement before quietly passing through the door and slipping inside. Now that he was inside however things would prove a tad more difficult. Most of the secret goings on within an ArranCorp facility usually occurred either within the sub-levels or the executive floors, as such these areas were usually reinforced with a material similar in nature to Sekkiseki, albeit dramatically weaker, in order to prevent spirit beings from accessing them using the same methods he’d just used. It obviously couldn’t prevent the use of gargantas and the like, but then again only Arrancars and Hollows could use those… with a few exceptions of course, so it was no big deal. Their main aim was to keep out the Shinigami, as they were most notably immune to traditional Human World security measures, and for that particular purpose they served just fine… unless of course you were somewhat intimately familiar with the building’s layout like Seis was. Making his way across the level he was on was a simple task, the top floor was mostly storage so there was very little traffic to impede him, and within no time at all he was facing the doorway down to the next level, which would be the first of the executive floors.

Again pausing to listen for movement, he quietly opened the door and began making his slow decent down into the core of the enemy stronghold. With each “step” he could feel the effects of the special materials becoming more pronounced, trying to suck him down so that the rules of gravity would once again apply. By the time he’d reached the bottom his feet were forced to make contact, his spirit form advantage over the buildings security now effectively negated by the tower’s structure. Double-checking to ensure that his OCRA was still active, it’s light bending effects and reiatsu suppressors all that would be hiding him once he opened this door, he stealthily cracked open the metal portal and proceeded to slip into the office proper. The sounds of general business chaos easily covering the soft sounds of his approach as he made his way along the edges of the room towards the main elevator. With it being as late as it was there were fewer people on duty then there would be at the office’s peak, but that still meant there were warm bodies for him to avoid as he moved towards his destination. There were even a couple of occasions where he was forced to employ some creative acrobatic skills in order to avoid being caught by a cluster of office ladies as they moved past, too concerned with their own gossip to notice the strange flared distortion above them as he almost came in contact with the overhead lighting. Such was the way of things, people were always too concerned with their own affairs to notice what was going on above them, which was why hiding up high was always better then being down low, if only for cinematic tradition’s sake.

Within no time at all he’d made it to the bank of elevators over on the far side of the room, although he did feel slightly awkward standing next to someone’s clerk waiting for the elevator while under full stealth. This feeling of awkwardness became even more pronounced once they had boarded the lift-car only to find that they were the only two aboard, cheesy elevator music wafting through the air as the descended to the flunky’s destination. To an outside observer it would have been just plain comical, to Seis however it was just part of the job. He only had to put up with the absurdity of the situation for a couple of minutes though, his unwitting travel companion was descending to the 73rd floor, six levels down from where they had started and only two below the one which the shadow operative required access. Once the clerk had exited the elevator it was a simple matter to shimmy his way up through the car’s top maintenance hatch and back track his way up the shaft using the service ladder.

He moved up the ladder quickly, his destination being the level where he’d had his meeting with Ranis, which should his memory serve was supposed to contain private offices and a break room. Prying open the lift doors a bit to peek inside he groaned to himself, the area near the door he was using as an entrance and some 30 feet beyond was covered in laser sensors, ones most likely attuned to pick up spirits as well given their location. Seemed like some of Valintine’s security measures had made it out here after all. Slipping his way through the door he stood at the end of the hallway taking in the crisscrossing pattern of the beams. He took a deep breath to center himself and then took a running leap through the first set of beams. He then slid under the second set using the momentum from his run and rolled onto his back barely missing a low flying section of the grid before rolling himself back up into a crouch. Next he then flipped over the remaining set of trip lasers, pushing off from the wall like a wire-fu acrobat to land clear of the beams… and right on top of a hidden pressure sensor.

“Shit,” he groaned to himself as he felt the floor give slightly under his weight. What were the odds of encountering something like that at the end of a laser grid and in the middle of an office?

Above him he heard a whirring noise, which was followed a moment later by three metallic orbs dropping from the ceiling and hovering ominously in front of him. He rolled to the side as the three drones fired crimson beams of light at his previous position. As he rolled he pulled his wakizashi from it’s resting place at the small of his back and hurled it at the closest orb, piercing it easily and blowing it to pieces. As this was happening the two remaining orbs reoriented themselves and snapped off another shot at him; forcing him to duck under the converging beams and watched as they sliced a cubicle in half.

“That might hurt, better stop fucking around… not that there’s much point left in being stealthy anymore” he mumbled to himself as he moved into a crouch and deactivated his OCRA, it obviously no longer serving him any purpose versus these thrice damned security drones.

Waiting for the orbs to begin charging another shot, he then moved between them, dropping to the floor as they fired at him and smiled behind his visor as they cut each other to pieces. Obviously R&D still had a few bugs to work out in the Artificial Intelligence department… not that he was going to tell them that of course. His job would be so much easier so long as the units remained dumb enough to fall for such simple tactics.

As the spliced machines fell to the floor he heard the sound of something or someone heavy coming around the corner. Pulling himself upright he watched in resignation as a Gideon came around the corner and leveled a large chain gun at him. He had obvious just witnessed the scene which had just occurred and seen it as an excuse to shed his gigai, for he was now in his spirit form, his natural appearance being that of some kind of metallic skeleton creature.

Looking at the Arrancar aide as he prepared to fire at him Seis couldn’t help but say, “Aren’t you supposed to be looking for some kid named Connor or something?” The distorting effects of his helmet combined with his limited acting skills displacing his voice enough to be unfamiliar to the untrained ear.

His opponent’s eyes seemed to almost have a red glow as they narrowed into a glare, his finger tightening on the trigger as it began to rake the room with small bone flechettes, possibly Gideon’s Ressurection? Seis didn’t have much time to think about it as he dove behind one of the cubicles and drew his sheath, he then the kicked cubicle’s rolling chair out into the walkway, hoping to momentarily distract his adversary. The genius Hollow opened fire on the chair that was only half the size of its target as Seis went around the other side of the cubicle and hurled his small saya at the Numero’s head with enough force to knock it loose from it’s shoulders. Unfortunately however this was not enough to end it as Gideon continued to rake the room with fire as his head dangled by a fleshy wire and rolled against his chest.

The hybrid agent couldn’t help but look at the damaged Arrancar in surprise, “Ah Man! Why won’t you die already?”

Diving into another cubicle, he retrieved his zanpakuto from where it had landed and began to formulate a new plan. As he did so the machine-esque Hollow came around the corner and grabbed him by the throat, slamming him against the wall of the cubicle.

Pinned to the wall by his throat, Seis smiled weakly behind his helmet, a totally failure of a plan flashing across his forebrain, “Um… your shoes untied?”
The once again brilliant Arrancar used its remaining arm to reorient its head to look at its feet, in the process giving Seis just enough time to unseal his weapon, the weapon’s sudden expansion from Japanese short sword to Chinese dao causing the blade to shoot down into the creature’s foot and piercing it’s coincidentally volatile Hollow hole, unwittingly crippling it.

Falling to the ground again Seis rubbed his throat, “What kind of idiot puts their weak spot in the bloody foot? How the hell did they even fit it in there, not to mention if the damn thing steps on a good sharp nail its fucked!” That particular mystery of the universe was going to have to wait however, Marin’s secret weapon still had an appointment to keep and after all that commotion he most certainly did NOT want to be late for the final act.

Pushing open the main office doors the hybrid technowarrior found himself staring Ranis right in the face from across the wide surface of his desk. There was a slight agitated tick in the Arrancar’s left eye, but other then that he seemed completely unfazed by what he was most certainly aware had just occurred outside his private sanctum. Not to mention the fact that he was currently staring down some kind of ultra-tech ninja wielding a Chinese broadsword, obviously this particular Hollow was cooler under pressure then his personality type would indicate after a first encounter.

Turning his auto-conforming office chair to face his unexpected guest the rogue spirit leaned back slightly a stippled his fingers under his chin in a mannerism similar to the one the King of Hollows adopted when he was thinking, “So I take it you’re the one who’s been responsible for all those rumored disappearances of late? Funny, I thought you’d be taller, more intimidating… ah well, no matter. I’ll simply dispose of you like I’ve done the others who’ve gotten in my way. All my scapegoats are in place by now I’m sure.” Standing up, he made a motion as it dusting some lint from his tailored pants, “So, shall we get on with it then? I’m sure we both have pressing matters to attend to… after all; keeping a race such as the Hollows in line must be a demanding chore. Don’t you agree?”

Not giving Seis time to respond he launched himself over the desk, blurring out of sight momentarily with a sonido and reappearing to the hybrid’s left as he came down with a katana which he had seemingly materialized out of nowhere. The young operative had just enough time to bring Wǔ fēng into position before the blade made contact, sparks flying in all directions as the two-weapons became locked. He didn’t give Ranis time to follow through however, executing a quick jab with his free hand and combining it with a small air blast in order to give the attack some extra power. The end result sent his opponent sailing across the room and into one of his over priced leather couches.

His target landed with a spectacular crash, but quickly recovered himself as he came back up in a rolling crouch, his weapon now clutched in the high guard position as he reevaluated his opponent. “Interesting, that attack was most unusual… almost shinigami like in it’s precision. If I didn’t know any better I’d think I was fighting one of those ignorant Soul Reapers, but that can’t be right now can it? Why would one of their ilk side with us? With the exception of Aizen and his traitors there has never been such an unusual alliance, I wonder what other secrets you hold my strange little friend… maybe I’ll keep you alive after all to see if you have any secrets of value.”

Seis’ expression was unreadable behind the amber material of his visor, “You can try if you like, but the only secret I have to show you is the path back into the Cycle of Life.” With that last statement he began executing a quick series of blade twirls before bringing Wǔ fēng across in a wide swing and releasing a crescent shaped blast of air at his opponent.

Despite the attack’s nearly imperceptible nature Ranis was able to evade it, catching only a searing graze as the razor sharp wind strike sailed past him and cut deeply into the wall. Leaping into the air he hurtled towards his would-be assassin with deadly speed and precision, swooping down from above like a hawk as he lunged forward with the tip of his blade. He found that his attack was once again negated however, his armored assailant quickly going into a series of dance-esque movements as he approached before easily slipping out of the path of his attack and seemingly guiding him past with his arm movements, a small vaccum forming where he had just been and pulling the Arrancar off balance as he came in contact with it. This agent of Marin’s had strange talents indeed.

Using sonido to carry himself to the far side of the room before his opponent could exploit his compromised defenses, he turned back to face Seis and brought his blade back up into a Jiken stance, “Curiouser and curiouser, but I’m afraid that I’m losing patience with you my friend. Therefore I’m going to do you both a great honor and a disservice by revealing my true form to you. I hope you’ll understand one day, but at the moment I just really don’t have the time it would take to fully analyze that weapon of yours in detail. It was an interesting diversion but I’ve grown tired of it.” Twirling his blade into a reverse grip he unsealed his power, taking on the appearance of a giant tengu as he did so, “Supper time!”

Kicking off into a sonido lunge Ranis was able to surprise Seis with the exponential increase in his speed, just barely missing taking the hybrid’s arm off in the process. The only thing that had saved him from grievous injury was the prototype CRAM suit, it’s combination ballistic mesh and artificial hierro proving to be just potent enough to blunt the attack. Capitalizing on his attacker’s moment of stunned surprise, Seis opened a garganta behind his opponent and brought Wǔ fēng around in a quick swipe, unleashing a Kage Bakudan at point-blank range and sending them both flying. Since he had been prepared for this however, he was able to quickly recover himself by turning his fall into a mid-air flip, donning his mask mid-flight and landing just in time to catch his target flat footed with another crescent shaped Kūshū and splitting him wide open before ensuring his defeat with a cero blast. The mess was minimal however thanks to it being contained within the confines of his portal, not as pristine as it could have been, but clean enough that any number of reasonable explanations could be devised.

Closing his dimensional passage with the corpse still inside, he then dismissed his Hollow mask and made his way over to Ranis’ computer terminal. Wasting precious minutes he didn’t have to crack the system’s passwords, he was able to break in and find the files the rogue Arrancar had been referring to during his theoretically private conversation with Gideon as well as the private books he had been keeping of his illicit transactions. It only took him a few additional moments thanks to the wonders of the find/replace command to redirect the evidence so that it implicated a couple key members of the organizations Ranis had been dealing with. Leaving him with just enough time to reactivate his OCRA device before the non-android members of the building’s security division came bursting into the office along with a couple of police officers in search of the source of the triggered alarm. All in all their response time left a little to be desired, but once again he wasn’t going to complain as it had given him the time he’d needed to complete his task.

It only took them a few minutes to become satisfied with the idea that it was a false alarm, an idea that was made so much more believable by the fortuitous arrival of the replacement Director sent by Marin following receipt of mission completion. His story of mistakenly triggering the alarm due to his unfamiliarity with the building combined with his impeccable credentials made the task almost easier then taking candy from a baby. Seis wasn’t sure whether he could have possibly even come close to doing a better job of it himself, he was certain that he lacked the natural gift for playing the fool that Ranis’ replacement enjoyed.

Once the room was safely empty again he dropped down from the perch atop a bookcase where he’d been hiding and opened up another garganta, this one back to his hotel room. He still had several hours before he had to be back in New York and he intended to make the most of them while he was living on the company’s dime. He knew he’d done well even if he was never going to hear any gratitude for it, so he might as well get something out of the deal.