Traitor to Soul Society? (Frost and Nius, open to other Hollows)

A Garganta opened within the Menos Forest, and from it stepped the 12th Division Captain of Soul Society. Surprisingly, unlike previous visits to the Forest, Ryouta was not here to slaughter Hollows for sport as he ordinarily might be. Instead, he was here to establish an alliance, just as he hoped to make one with the Bounts and Superhumans, and perhaps even the Quincies. Ryouta was no fool, he knew that his secret would eventually get out, and that the punishment was death. In all likelihood, that would be his fate as decided by the courts, since he had willingly undergone the process of Hollowfication.

Anyway, he was here with peaceful intentions, and so sat cross legged on the ground to await a curious, intelligent Hollow, Menos, Adjuchas, or perhaps even an Arrancar.

Of course, his presence attracted the feral sort of Hollow that was all stomach and nothing else - whenever such a Hollow attacked him, Ryouta would use a Bakudo spell to render it unable to attack, but alive. In this way, he hoped to convince any approaching intelligent Hollow that he meant no harm.

N.I.U.S was drawn out of its internal scanning of protocol by an alerting presence. There was incredible strength in this new being, something N.I.U.S had never before encountered, and to its surprise what little it could make out from the amazing pressure was hinting at it being a shinigami. What was even stranger was the presence of all the mindless hollow starting to surround the shinigami, but they were not killed, instead they were only stopped from advancing. Curious. Although N.I.U.S was still not quite used to the forest, having only recently discovered its ability to travel to Hueco Mundo, it quickly made its way towards the shinigami. The serpent slithered up to the site, making sure to stay outside of the cluster of ferals.

"You are a curious anomaly. The hollow spoke, the artificial voice rising above the snarling crowd of lesser hollow. "You are the first of your kind I have seen cross into this realm. And you are far stronger then any I have seen outside." The mechanized hollow moved closer, the red eyes examining the shinigami in front of it, a white addition to the usual robes that it had not seen before laid on the shinigami, a sign of rank, perhaps? "Why are you here?"

It was a ordinary day in the desert, tartarax was wandering the shifting sands as he usually did. Tartaraxs hoofs left behind prints in the sand that slowly vanished in the wind blown sands. As tartarax walked across the desert he felt something odd going on under his feet the sands shifted as he stopped and looked at the ground to see a swell appear under his feet."aww shit, not again"tartarax groaned as he tried to move from the collapsing sands. Tartarax sunk deep into the sands until there was no light but darkness until he felt himself falling from the sands and landing on the ground near the shinigami and the mechanized hollow and all the immobolized feral hollows."damn, not this place again"tartarax said as he struggled to stand up because he landed on his back, but he managed to get up to see a shinigami sitting crosslegged with mutiple paralyzed hollows and a odd looking hollow talking to him."yo, any of you two know how to get out of this damn forest"tartarax said as he rubbed his scar not really caring there was a shinigami near him.

Ryouta smiled benignly as the mechanized Hollow approached - his smile hid greed. He had never before encountered a Hollow like this, part machine, part Hollow. He almost felt a kinship to it, considering his own mechanical arm and eye. Ryouta was about to respond when a little sand trickled down from the ceiling, followed by a whole lot more sand and a Hollow with hooves. It seemed totally oblivious to the fact that Ryouta was a Shinigami, and a powerful one at that. In Ryouta's eyes, that made it either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. He was more inclined to believe the latter, as bravery was assuredly a rarer quality.

With nary a smirk, he pointed sarcastically up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. "I believe that might suffice?"

That snarky comment being made, he turned his attention to the mechanized Hollow. "My apologies for the interruption. I am 12th Division Captain Ryouta Ayame, Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute...and I am here to forge an alliance between myself and Hueco Mundo."

Ryouta left it at that. He didn't want to overload the Hollow with too much information, or accidentally let slip something he didn't want it to know. First, he would gauge its intelligence to see if it would be of any help. He doubted the hooved Hollow would be of any.

N.I.U.S awaited a reply with uncharacteristic anticipation, this man intrigued it. What it had not anticipated however was the hollow coming crashing down from the sands above, seemingly unfazed by the shinigami and yet more surprisingly, by the machine itself, the first one it had seen not to be surprised by its appearance. That was irrelevant however as the disruption was unwanted and would have annoyed N.I.U.S if it had been capable of it. However the query of the seemingly dimwitted hollow was quickly taken care of by the shinigami and its own question was answered shortly as well.

A traitor shinigami? This man before it was proving to be even more of an anomaly then it had first believed and he was also the first shinigami not to fit the mold it had formed after its numerous encounters with them. "An alliance with Hueco Mundo? Concluding from what I have seen of my kind, we are utterly divided. An alliance between two hollow is rare enough, a united Hueco Mundo seems utterly inconceivable." Despite its words, N.I.U.S was intrigued: could what he spoke of be possible? A united hollow force that could withstand the standing forces of the shinigami, it was an incredibly attractive proposal, indeed. "However, if what you say can be achieved... Then I am listening, certainly."

Ryouta smiled with an air of bemusement about his face. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? I, unlike my predecessors, have spent a great deal of time studying Hollows. Forgive me for my candor, but the majority of your brethren behave like animals, only with more of an emphasis on hunger. However, they can still be controlled enough to make them useful." He paused for a moment, fingers bent to form a steeple in front of his scarred face. It was not for dramatic effect, merely to emphasize his next point, but still, the overall feel of it was quite theatrical.

"Foot soldiers. Hollows respond enough to fear and hunger that a being such as myself could conceivably shepherd a large group to an immensely populated area. This would naturally draw out Shinigami. With my aid, those Hollows could easily overcome the fodder that make up most of the Gotei." Ryouta smirked now, and raised a hand to stop the Hollow if it was going to comment on the fact that that was not technically an alliance.

"When I say an alliance with Hueco Mundo, I don't mean with the brainless brutes. Ideally, Las Noches would be the best. But I think my err..quest is more realistically started here. With you intelligent Hollows, pre-Arrancars, if you will. I prove my reliability to you, and we work together to achieve a common goal."

Of course, Ryouta had left out gaping parts of his full plan. He had given the gist of it though, and that he thought was enough for the preliminary part of the conversation. Perhaps this Hollow would have something else to say that might change bits of his plan, some new variable Ryouta had to prepare for, or make use of. And besides...he'd never seen a Hollow like this before, and was itching to study it.

This shinigami was proving ever more fascinating, not only did he possess immense power, but he also seemed to hold more knowledge regarding hollow then N.I.U.S did. While it was utterly intrigued by the thought of getting to know the meaning of what he had said of 'pre-arrancar', it knew that asking now would be a sign of weakness and likely of little use in what they were currently discussing. Its mind moved on to the other matter, storing that tidbit of trivia for later use as it decided to address his plan. "Using the hollow as fodder shock troops? An interesting plan and certainly something I would support."

This was proving to be ever more promising, fielding an army against the shinigami under the leadership of one of such power? It did not know much of how large their forces truly were but could only imagine it would be a considerable blow if it all went according to plan.

It could tell that some information was withheld however but considering the difference in power and the admittedly rather enigmatic appearance of the shinigami it concluded that it was better not to ask, for now. Another question formed, however. "You are formidable in power, yet I cannot imagine you are alone to be of such power among the shinigami. As if that were the case your defection alone would be absolutely crippling, I imagine. As such, if someone equal to you would appear, what then?"

Ryouta smiled - this Hollow did possess some measure of intelligence. "True, true, the other Captains are all formidable opponents in their own right. However, I know of all their powers, their strengths and weaknesses. And they don't know about all my abilities, not by a long shot." Ryouta stood and reached up as if to scratch an itch at the top of his head. His fingers curved down, crooked like the branches of dying trees, and he pulled down with flourish.

Ryouta's Hollow mask (reminiscent of a long-eared wildcat) appeared over his face, and instantly, his spiritual power increased by a great deal before he forced it down so as not to suffocate the lesser Hollows by his mere presence. That being done, however, Ryouta still seemed to emanate a deathly cold chill that penetrated flesh to instill a numbing terror. The Hollows that he had immobilized earlier gave pitiful moans; at this point their fear had overcome all vestiges of hunger, and had they not been bound, all would have raced off blindly into the forest to escape this nameless horror.

"This is my Hollow mask," said Ryouta with a grin. "How do you like it?" His voice seemed curiously altered, as if two voices were speaking at once. It was a disconcerting sort of thing to hear, that was certain.

This power, it was beyond comparison to anything N.I.U.S had come across. As that mask came down the overwhelming presence washed over its systems like an avalanche and emergency protocols forced a temporary shut down as it was close to overload, yet this was quickly revoked as the sensation died down. The creature could not feel fear, yet the statistics for it escaping alive if things were to go wrong were daunting. All calculations of their comparable strength pointed to just how effortlessly this shinigami, although it felt no longer like one, could destroy it. It was strange for it to consider itself so inferior.

A hollow mask? It was a curious thing without a doubt yet it explained why this being felt nothing like a shinigami anymore. It also noted the effect it seemed to have had on his voice, this specimen was proving to be the most fascinating being it had yet to meet. "It is overwhelming. It is beyond anything I could have predicted and fascinating to no ends." The creature made a short pause before continuing as it formed a new trail of thought. "So is this why you go against the shinigami? You are both shinigami and hollow. Am I correct?"

"More or less correct," said Ryouta with a satisfied grin at the Hollow's praise. "I am indeed both Shinigami and Hollow in that there exists within me Shinigami and Hollow traits. However, I am not a Shinigami in that my interests certainly do not coincide with Soul Society's at this time, nor have they in the past." Ryouta lifted his chin proudly; here was where he would paint himself as a person to be trusted by the Hollows. "I chose this path - it was no accident that I became a Hollowfied Shinigami. I brought it upon myself, for I knew that eventually my differences in ideology with the Gotei would come into conflict. And I chose the path of shadow. Willingly."

"The Gotei is too rigid. They do not understand progress for progress's sake, and as a scientist, that is unacceptable to me. Steeped in tradition, their stagnant way of life must fall to give rise to a more...adaptive world."

He was being intentionally vague, N.I.U.S was certain. He was talking of his objective to change the world yet no mention of in what way except to make it adaptive, clever. There was no way to capitalize on this knowledge for the moment however and even if there was, the physical differences would be impossible to overcome if it would turn out it that it would antagonize this being. Regardless, if this plan would end up hurting it in the long run seemed unimportant as it was likely it would not escape declining this plan in either case, the risks seemed substantial but the benefits certainly made up for it. "Your explanation is agreeable. So what exactly do you intend for my part in this?"

Ryouta touched his fingers to his mask, and it faded away, alleviating the chill that had accompanied it almost instantaneously. He drummed his fingertips against his metal eye thoughtfully - it was a habit that he had purposely cultivated because so many people (usually Shinigami) found it highly unsettling. Ryouta was no stranger to psychological warfare - he liked to be secure in the knowledge that people would act exactly as he predicted them to. "My initial plan was to have Hollows like you be...Lieutenants of sorts, shepherding your more feral companions into the fray of key points in Soul Society, entrance to and exit from granted by myself."

"These would be quick surgical strikes designed to weaken the foundations of Soul Society; each of the squads works independently of the others, which I have always found incredibly stupid," Ryouta elaborated further. "However...you are the first Hollow I have ever met that appears as a machine. I wonder if you could tell me if you know how you came into being?"

The plan was sound, if one were to remain firm in the assumption that the shinigami was sincere. Everything hinted to that yet full certainty was not achievable, but N.I.U.S had already decided that following this plan was the best course of action. The description of independence and internal weakness of the court guard squads was unexpected: N.I.U.S had formed the assumption that they would be far better organized, yet there it was. If he was telling the truth.

Then came the question of its own origin, to be expected. The shinigami reminded it of the Creator in a lot of ways and an inquisitive nature was part of that. "I was created by a human. I was a computerized artificial intelligence granted the knowledge of spiritual presence and with the technology to work with that knowledge." The creature decided to not make any further remarks on the Creator or the conclusions it had drawn regarding him. "I had a lot of machinery inside myself that served no purpose and tubing that stretched across my entire being seeming to mimic organic veins. I came to a conclusion and acted upon that. I killed the scientists who observed me and I used their meager human essence to fuel me, their combined spiritual presence enough to give me spiritual awareness." It paused, the repercussions of that act returning to memory as it remembered its turn to hollow.

"My ascension drew the attention of a hollow. Incapable of defending myself against it, and it being incapable of properly consuming me, it destroyed my central processors and all the redundant systems. Since I lacked what humans call 'soul', I immediately became hollow and destroyed the fiend. That is how I came to be. Sufficient?" N.I.U.S had spilled out a large part of its history, but what did it matter? From all it could calculate it had nothing to lose by presenting it and it had told no information regarding the specifics of how this transformation had occurred.

Stratus couldn't contain his laughter. He too had come to see the source of the disturbance he had felt. Moldale and Rei/Roun had joined him, but decided to keep their distance. The gray hollow's curiosity had gotten the better of him and he move close enough to hear the strange man speak. Having heard him, he was filled with mirth.
"You're quite the metal fool." he said to the serpentine hollow. "Can't you see he's just using us." The gray hollow kept his distance, even several feet away he could feel the shinigami's power radiating from his body. He hadn't killed any of the other hollows, so there was a fair chance he wasn't about to start now. Moldale walked up beside him. He was slightly reassured by the other hollow's presence beside him.
"Boy's got a point." he grunted. "We're fighting for ya, but not really gaining anything from it. As much as I'd like kill every shinigami, no offense. It's more risk than reward " Moldale glanced at his companion then back at the shinigami. He was glad to see Stratus use his head once in a while.
"Seems you're powerful enough to wipe us all out with one hand behind yer back, why not seek those blokes in Hueco Mundo? I'm sure they'd jump on board in a second." He paused as he thought about it. "Or is it you can't? Part shingami and part hollow, but trusted by neither."

Ryouta smiled as the mechanical Hollow told him the story of its genesis. So...from what it tells me, the process if replicable. All one needs to have is a lack of regard for the value of human life. I could have an army of mechanical Hollows programmed to be loyal to me! This was already turning into quite the fruitful exploit. Aloud, he said graciously, "Thank you for telling me that story - truly; as a scientist, knowledge is everything. That was more than sufficient; it was ideal." So even if he failed to use ordinary Hollows as shock troops, he could make his own - the only difficulty would be hiding the large number of human deaths he would need to make such an army. Still, there *were* 6 billion people on Earth- no one would miss a few hundred thousand, if taken from different locations.

Ryouta was about to continue speaking when he sensed the presence of new Hollows approaching, followed presumably by the laughter of one of them. It spoke harshly, sowing seeds of doubt perhaps in the mechanical Hollow's perception of Ryouta. Stein longed to end this trouble-making Hollow's existence on the spot, but Ryouta restrained the impulse. Instead, he addressed the Hollow's concerns as honestly and earnestly as he could appear. "True enough - I understand how you could have come to that conclusion based on what you have heard. Allow me then, to outline my...scheme."

"My ultimate goal, as stated, is to make the world more adaptive. For that to happen, I need the Gotei 13 in ruins - or at least, enslaved in some way. The destruction of Seireitei is my primary goal. I'm sure you can understand that such a...project requires a great deal of force - either that or subtlety I do not have the patience for. That is partly why I require Hollow allies." Ryouta paused a moment to gather his thoughts, and then continued. "As for benefit - we all stand to gain if the Gotei is no more. But beyond that - I have extensive knowledge of both the Hollow and Shinigami genomes. I can offer you a quicker path to power as Arrancars; and it works, I used the same process to give myself a Hollow mask."

"I have a multitude of reasons not to go to Las Noches to enlist their aid. Chief among them, I am not powerful enough to command them all safely, nor can I trust them to not use my plans for their own personal benefit at my own detriment. It has nothing to do with trust - no one knows of my Hollow condition besides you, myself, and one other Shinigami in the Gotei whom I can trust to keep his mouth shut." Ryouta sighed melodramatically and ran his fingers through his hair. "I hope that is sufficient explanation of my intentions?"

N.I.U.S repositioned one of the artificial eyes to properly address the new arrival. He had called it a fool yet answered the question that he had never asked all on his own. Declining would mean its destruction, that was inevitable. It was curious however, the hollow spoke of 'us', as if hollows were in fact a collective, rather then the ravenous horde of rampaging hunters. However it did not matter, what was important was that their unexpected entry led to a source of new information, their suspicions seemingly led to a further opening of the shinigami's mouth. He wanted the conversation remaining in his side of the fence, certainly.

It listened intently to his words, still dripping with the same vague nature of before yet more open, certainly. Once more he spoke of arrancar and once more the wording made it appear as if this was a part of estimated hollow evolution. Was that the goal of hollow? To turn into this arrancar creature. It required investigation but once again the situation was tilted in such a way that revealing ignorance of such matters was an easy way to place itself firmly at the bottom rung of this conversation. Now was not the time.

'Las Noches', another thing leaving it feeling at a lack of updates as to the state of affairs in the realm of hollow. The human language of spanish, not the first time it had heard it in the context of hollow and likely not the last. It felt it necessary to reaffirm its position however and thus decided to once again speak. "It would be preferable to know more. You do speak of a basic idea yet avoid details. Some specifics would be most agreeable." Playing the weakling was not getting it anywhere, the direct approach was necessary now.

Moldale listened to the man's words intently. He didn't like this at all. It took a certain type of person to speak so candidly of betrayal. Plotting and planning the deaths of many former allies. Stratus flexed his fingers and Moldale quickly nudged him.
"Don't even think about it boyo, he's way outta your league." he whispered sharply, shaking his head he hoped the shinigami didn't notice the motion.
"If we strike fast, he won't know what hit him." Stratus muttered.
"He'd hit us faster than you can think." Moldale didn't want to anger this man, and yet he didn't want to completely submit to growing terror in his gut and run away. This was a very dangerous situation. He coughed.
"Promises of power is all well and good, but the heart of the matter is how can any of us trust you?" He spoke evenly "You speak of luring in the enemy and eliminating their ranks. How can we be sure this isn't some elaborate ruse to take out hollows?" Shock flashed across Stratus' face. He hadn't thought of that. He merely saw the shinigami trying to use the hollows. Moldale continued to speak. "We are the more intelligent hollows as such we don't act so rashly even in the face of flashy fellows like yourself." As he spoke an idea came to mind. "We'll only get this reward if we survive this plan of yours. What guarantees do we have you won't renege on your bargain once the dust settles?"

Ryouta continued to smile as the metallic Hollow spoke; he was fairly
certain that he could count on it in his plans - and even if he
couldn't, it had already provided him with invaluable information. The
only downside to it being a mechanical being was that as a mechanical
being, it did not have the physical and psychological tells that organic
beings did. For example, Ryouta's sharp eyes, organic and mechanical
noticed the angered flexing fingers of one of the doubting Hollows. His
face betrayed none of ire, however - Ryouta stood nothing to gain from
killing it.

At the (he deemed) smarter Hollow's words about trust, Ryouta threw his
head back and laughed. The sound was uncomfortably out of place in the
Menos Forest. Traces of amusement remained in Ryouta's voice when he
spoke. "Take out Hollows? Friend, I *am* part Hollow by my own will. If
the Gotei knew, I'd be branded a traitor and they'd try to execute me.
Any allegiance I may have felt toward the Shinigami was extinguished the
moment I sought power over their obsolete principles."


Ryouta paused a moment so he could transition to his next thought. "I cannot guarantee your survival - I assumed you were competent enough to do so. If you insist on someone being there to hold your hand, on any raids in Soul Society, I could assist in a disguise with my Hollow mask..."

That slight insult paid, Ryouta returned his attention to the mechanical Hollow. "Be more specific about what aspect of the plan, precisely?"

"Describe the extent to what damage to the shinigami can be expected, how far will this blow ring in their ranks and what would be the expected consequenses of the operation? Your wish for an adaptive world sounds as one that would require destruction on a grand scale. Just how great is the combined might of the shinigami?" The question was one of imminent concern, from the minute of its creation it had been pursued by the shinigami and it still had gathered only so little from what this conversation had given to bear. Its other interests was also coming to bear and decided to put aside its former hesitance in order to alleviate its curiousity. "Beyond that, I also want to know what it is you refer to when you speak of 'Arrancar'. I have not heard of such a thing before."

Moldale starts to laugh at the mechanical hollow's last question. Stratus snickers not wanting to feel left out. He too had never heard of an arrancar, but wasn't about to say as much in the presence of Moldale's laughing.
"The fact ya don't know shows you've not been around long." he began "After a few years in Hueco Mundo you'd learn about them one way or another." He gestured with one of his spikes upward and to his right. "Far from he there's a place called Las Noches. There resides the pentacle of all hollows, the Arrancar." His tail swished through the air behind him as he eyed the metal beast.

"As we hollows grow in power we change, our bodies shift and adapt to this new power in different ways." Stratus nodded as Moldale spoke. It wasn't long ago that Moldale was a rather short humanoid creature. Now he was almost horse like in appearance. Rei & Roun had been something akin to a centipede, and now resembled an alligator. He quietly wondered what his own form would change into. He shrugged and resumed paying attention to what Moldale was saying.
"Their power is intense. Greater than the shinigami captains." He looked at the shinigami, then looked away. "As this one here is part hollow, they are beings that have become part soul reaper. "
There was more to it that. But it was decent generalization. Even though Arrancar were powerful, they were anything but equal. Some were insanely strong, while others barely exceeded the level of a shinigami. The process itself was unknown to Moldale. He was abit curious to how the shinigami happened upon it. Most hollows shrived to obtain the level of Vasto Lorde. Both were powerful and yet small in number. In all his years of existence he has seen only a handful at best. He considered himself luck as neither was know for being friendly.

"More or less," said Ryouta in response to the knowledgeable Hollow's explanation. "Though the Arrancars he speaks of with power to rival or even dwarf the Shinigami Captains' are known as the Espada. There are Arrancar that would pose no more threat to me than *ahem* forgive me for my candor, but than you would."

"Anyway, to answer your questions regarding my scheme," Ryouta continued. "Initial strikes would only serve to get attention - sporadic surgical strikes to lower morale within the common ranks, get them whispering dangerous rumors. Rumors that I will plant. I will foment distrust among the entire 13 Divisions, including my own. As each Division is led by their specific Captain and only their own, xenophobia is only too easy to exploit."

"While it is nice to see the common fodder die, that of course is not the main goal. These strikes will eventually come to the attention of the Captains - they will wonder how Hollows are able to bypass Soul Society's defensive measures. Only a Captain or Vice-Captain would be able to allow them in. Again, I will take advantage of the human foible that is to distrust anything different. This will only of course serve to delay any action they take against us, but it is necessary."

"Soul Society's true power lies with its Captains. Should they be eliminated, or should even a few be killed, Soul Society will be brought to its knees. I will flood the Gotei with my troops. The Captains are noble idiots - they will do anything to save their Division members. While my troops have them distracted, I will take it upon myself to assassinate each and every one of them in the heat of battle."

"Soul Society has been complacent for too long. The common ilk will be overrun by sheer numbers, and the Captains will all die dishonorably."

Such a peculiar idea this, the combining of hollow and shinigami. While superficially seeming strange it was undoubtedly a sound trail of thought. What one can't achieve with one kind of power one uses another to supplement, clever. While the discussion made it rather clear that becoming arrancar did not instantly mean one would achieve great power it remained a point of interest and one N.I.U.S would store for future use. 'Finding out more of how one would achieve such status should be a primary objective in the future.' It proceeded back to the topic at hand hastily after making that one note to itself, listening and filtering through the extent of the plan.

Clever and efficient, two words which quite well described what it had been now told. This one knew manipulation well, not bothered by the idea of betrayal or concern for others, further reminding of the Creator. The plan was extensive and one of many steps, relying heavily on his assumptions falling into place however. Mistakes could spell disaster and just a wrong reaction from one of these 'Captains' in question could quite possibly be the end of their scheme. It showed promise however and while it would prepare plans in the case of failure it remained under the certainty that this would have a high chance of success since all these human qualities it had encountered itself as well during its two years as a mere program. "It is an extensive plan. And one that shows promise. It is sufficient for me."

After the shinigami had said his piece Moldale listened. Stratus stared blankly; he didn't care about all the tactics. The only info he focused on was that the hollows would fight while the shinigami took all the glory of killing off leaders. That thought agitated him greatly. He snorted in contempt a growl growing in his chest. The other hollow glared at him and he quieted down. Moldale finally spoke after much time.
"I'm sure we can herd more hollows for ya, and I know several like minded creatures willing to help." Stratus gasped. "Provided you keep your end of the bargain."
"You can't be serious!" he shouted.
"If not us, then someone else. Might as well get in on the ground floor." he replied evenly. "We pass and we pay for it later kido."
"We pass and we don't get killed by this guy's crazy plan!" the gray hollow retorted. Moldale's tail shot forward and wrapped around Stratus' neck and lifted him from the ground. So shocked by the sudden motion he frantically clawed as the life was being chocked out of him.
"I'll talk some sense into him. I'll return here in ten days, I should have information then. " he gave a nod and retreated dragging Stratus behind him.

He threw Stratus in front of him and the gray hollow stumbled to his feed. "What the hell_" Stratus growled
"We're leaving, shut up and walk." He said coldly. "We'll talk about it later."
And so they walked in silence into the maze of tunnels that led back to their home base. The silence made their trip all the more unbearable. Rather than abate Stratus' anger only grew. It wasn't the fact Moldale had chocked him, it was the shinigami, he really didn't like him.
"Why the hell are you going to help him!?" he barked, unable to hold his tongue any longer.
"Simple at can be, his goals benefit us. Otherwise I'd tell him to sit and spin." the other hollow chuckled. "Ambitious and arrogant, he came here seeking pawns. For being half hollow you'd think he'd know better than making deals with devils."
"So we're not helping him?" The gray hollow was glad they weren't going to lay down their lives for that shinigami.
"Oh, we're helping boyo, just we're going to get ourselves some insurance." Moldale laughed again as they traveled deeper and deeper into the dark tunnels.

"I'm glad we're all on the same page," Ryouta said with a smile as the other Hollows left, leaving him alone with the mechanical one. "We will meet again in 10 days time - for now, don't die. There are still many loose ends in my scheme that need to be addressed - I do not expect action to happen for a great deal of time. But I will keep you posted."

He pulled his mask down over his face and opened a Garganta. "Feel free to help yourself to those other Hollows," Ryouta gestured at the Hollows he had bound with Bakudo spells earlier, and then entered the Garganta, which immediately slammed shut behind him.

The trip had been extremely productive, Ryouta felt. It had supplied him with information invaluable to a plan such as his - yes, in the dark recesses of his mind, the scheme that would make him infamous was sharpening into cohesive form.