Endangered (solo)

It took nearly an hour for Moldale to explain to Stratus what had happened to him. For the most part he didn't believe anything the horse hollow was saying. The lack of a mirror it was hard to see the new changes. But he knew the the his companion had no reason to lie about something like this. The once gray hollow could subtly feel the difference in form. Walking ,breathing, everything felt foreign and yet familiar with his new body.
"Evolved?" Stratus muttered as he sat watching the white sands. Moldale had told him to remain underground and left for parts unknown one he had completed their long chat. That suggestion was quickly discarded as Stratus suddenly didn't like staying still. It didn't take long for him to navigate his way back to the surface of Hueco Mundo and the endless desert that blanketed the landscape. The anxiety of being underground vanished in the newly opened space. It was quite liberating for him.

After staring around for several moments he opened his senses to the surrounding area. He could feel them; a variety of hollows were all around him. For the first time since coming to this desert he didn't feel a single presence greater than his own. It was frightening as it was thrilling. He looked at his hands; truly looking at them for the first time since his recent transformation. They looked nothing like they had before. Thinner and bony, and yet he knew they were just as strong if not stronger as they once were. They had to be. He could feel the difference in strength of those around him he was leagues above them all. But even with that thought in mind, he recalled his visit to the white fortress far from his present location. He remembered the fear he felt in the face of the huge power threatening to choke the life from his body. With the power he had gained, the growth he had made, he was still nothing next to the power.

As the chill raced down his spine his body armor twitched. As he eyed the strange occurrence he then remembered the armor true nature. After lashing out in a rage, he had yet to get a reaction out of the hidden tendrils. How to move them he had no idea. Stratus tried to will them to move, but at best he could only feel his muscles flex beneath the strange armor. He raised his clenched fist high above his head and then slammed it against the armor. There was a loud crack as the hand struck, but there wasn't a hint of either breaking on the armor. His hand actually hurt slightly from the attempt.
"Figures it's as strong as I am." he said aloud. The thought of trying to use his slime to pierce it came up, but if successful he would do considerable damage to himself. Stratus groaned. A bothersome ability had once again appeared. The path to learning his other powers had be full constant training. At this point the prospect of spending hours practicing didn't make him happy in the slightest. "Progress." he said sarcastically. True he was more powerful, but it seems it came with it's own troubles as well.

With a grunt he kicked at the sand around his feet making a small cloud. This was silly; why did he have to deal with crap like this? Why wasn't he in control of his own body? He kicked the defenseless dirt again making the large cloud grow. It didn't help in the slightest, but he still didn't stop doing it. Within minutes there was a huge cloud of smoke blanketing a wide area. Stratus finally stopped kicking once the air became so thick he started to cough. As he was coughing he heard cough that was not his own. Instantly he quieted and opened his ears along with his senses. Sure enough there was now someone with him in the large smokescreen. Stifling his cough he gathered slime in his hand and poured his energy into it. The glowing was quickly tossed in the direction he had felt the spiritual signal. At the same time Stratus took a large jump back. The orb impacted with the ground and the explosion knocked most of the smoke away and thinned the rest. Thin enough for him to see the outline of a figure in the direction of the blast. He was about to create another orb to throw when a flash of purple light came from the figure. Diving to the ground saved him from being caught in the blast of energy. The energy tore the remainder of the smoke away. There was an explosion behind Stratus as the ray impacted with the ground further away. Still Stratus kept his eyes on his opponent. It's face was cat like in appearance, furry,a button nose with long whiskers, but it had 3 pairs of eyes. Two large set with two smaller sets on the inside and a third pair upon it's forehead. The white mask had horns like a bull jutting out of the sides and a small spike growing from the top of it's skull. It's mouth opened wide revealing rows of fangs. As the smoke finished clearing he got a view of it's body a hybrid between feline and reptilian. A tyrannosaurus rex's body whose hind legs matched it's forelegs. Huge muscular legs than ended in large hooked claws. It's monstrous tail waved back in forth. The creature was slightly taller than him but at least twice as long.
"That wasn't very nice." Stratus as he got to his feet. Sparks of lightning radiated off the creature's horns. Slime started to gather in Stratus' hand, but before he could do anything the lightning shot from both horns and joined into a single large bolt. The bright and hit him in the chest. The thunderous shot knocked him off his feet and into the air a couple feet. The blast's impact had slightly stunned the him, but he landed on his feet. He looked at the still smoking dent in his armor and growled. "Not nice at all."

He had thought nothing would mess with him, but it would seem that he had somehow gotten this beast's attention. The beast licked it's lips and the electricity arched across it's horns again. This time Stratus was ready or he though he was as he let a thin layer of slime out of his body. To his surprise he felt the slime flow, but it was beneath his armor.
"Crap" he muttered and dove once more,but this time it wasn't a huge bolt of electricity that came rushing at him. Instead he was hit by an electric storm. The lightning simply arched off the horns and reached for Stratus. It literally felt like hundreds of needles were being driven into his skin and the electricity snaked around him ate at him. Moving his body was almost impossible as the high current raced through him. His limbs shook uncontrollably as the pain build up higher and higher. Screaming was about the only thing he could do as more lightning shot off the monster's horns and hooked into him. The six foot hollow dropped to his knees his hands grasping at the sand. Stratus' armor started to rattle, but at this point he didn't notice with the burning pain the other hollow was inflicting. Suddenly the armor pulled a part as the tendrils shot forth. In a flurry of movement they all tried to strike at the other hollow. As surprised as Stratus was, the other hollow was even more shocked. The lightning stopped as it tried to evade the swipe of the six tentacles. It moved left to avoid one slash, but was hit by one of the other tendrils coming from the other direction. It was only a glancing blow, but the claw cut into it's flank. The tendrils weren't finished as they jerked Stratus to his feet as they pursued the retreating hollow. One tendril swept low and from the left and another came from the right, two others thrust at the hollow like spears. The creature jumped to avoid the first two and then shifted left to avoid the next. Each time the tendrils tried to hit him, the swift footed beast evaded with ease. Stratus could only watch in amazement as the four tendrils weaved back in forth unrelenting. Four? What about the last two? So engrossed in the display he had lost track as the last two tendril had positioned themselves high above Stratus' head. The had extended themselves straight up to their maximum length. It looked like a pair of massive horns. What were they doing? Something itched in the back of his head as he saw the answer. He laughed and as if on cue the last two tendrils came straight down. The other hollow had just finished jumping the low swing of two tentacles and then squashed like fly. The monster's movement was halted as the claws dug into it's body. The other tendrils joined it's brethren and began to hammer the beast. In seconds it's was cut to ribbons by the ferocious assault.

Finally the tendrils retracted and reformed the armor plate across his chest. A now bloody armored plate. Stratus grinned and looked at the mutilated body before him. It's horns were now broken and one of it's legs wast only hanging on by a strip of flesh. The rest of it's body was covered in multitude of cuts and places where the claws had impaled it. Perhaps he didn't need to control them after all. The broken form of the hollow shuddered as it tried to move. Lightning danced over one of it's horns, but quickly fizzled. Stratus laughed as he moved forward and placed his hand on the monster's head petting gently. He reached down and grabbed the injured leg and yanked. The tiny bit of skin tore and Stratus eyed the sizable leg.
"All this fighting made me hungry." He said wickedly as he bit into the bloody flesh. It was sweet as sin, Stratus' armor rattled sharing in his twisted glee.