Leadership (Stratus, Open)

Min Kyung shook his head as he awoke from his hidden hole in the sand. He had made his decision last night, but didn't like it. He was traveling to that mountain range he had seen in the distance. He shook his body, dispelling the sand from his fur. He began the long walk that would take days to get to the mountain range. It looked like it wasn't too far in the distance, but Min Kyung knew from his travels in the forests of the real world that you can never trust appearances. He began walking, neglecting to increasing his speed in an attempt to save his energy. He would need to make this travel in the least amount of time possible to reduce the possibility of him being slaughtered before he got there. He trudged through the sands which felt heavier over his paws with every step. Sweat began seeping through his pores as they soaked his fur. This is one trait that he wished that he shared with wolves, the lack of ability to sweat. He marched across the sands which never increased in heat. He looked up to see the empty, lifeless sky, and he missed the canopy of the forest. There was no sun, but it still felt like something was beating down on his back. It was more than likely just the air, filled with the different spiritual pressures, it made the air feel heavier. He wasn't used to the different air of Hueco Mundo, as he had been away for so long, living in the real world. Although he loved the forests of the Real World, it just wasn't his home. Min Kyung felt an out of place smile creep across his face, as he increased his speed. The good thing about being back in Hueco Mundo, was that due to the increased spiritual pressure in the air, the hollows' powers were stronger than they were in the human world. He was only willing to push himself to a light jog, just to cover more ground in a shorter time period. He felt a few hollows behind him, keeping their distance. He wondered if they had witnessed his actions with the scorpion hollow the previous night. He shook the thoughts away from his head as he continued, barely increasing his speed. The full mountain range was in sight now, Min Kyung stopping on top of a sandy hill to rest for a bit. He felt the hollows stop and slowly creep towards him.

"Enough of this! Show yourself! This is tiring!" He demanded as he began looking around. He couldn't physically see anyone, but he could definitely feel their presence. A squeaky voice followed his command.

"You think we're that stupid? We know about you, and we don't want any trouble. We're going to the same place, so don't do anything stupid, and we won't have to kill you." The squeaky voice was from directly behind him, but Min Kyung couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the voice, so he decided to ignore the voice and continue walking.

His movements were quite stiff as he couldn't shake the suspicion of these hollows randomly ambushing him. He tried to blur them from his mind, but it stuck in his thoughts, constantly poking at his voice of reasoning. He stopped and looked around. He still couldn't see anything. He turned around and faced behind him, trying to sense a more precise location, but still couldn't find anything. He decided to make this trip a lot shorter, although it would waste a lot of his energy. He started to run towards the mountain, slowly increasing his speed to a full sprint. After a few short moments, he was at his full speed and began his plan. The mountain range was higher than his usual jump, so he needed a little help, or his energy would die out. He ran and was somewhere around a mile away from the base of the mountain. He continued to run for roughly two minutes, cutting the mile nearly in half. He looked down and opened his jaws wide as he let out his Deafening Bark. The Bark hit the sands and vibrated, bouncing off the ground and hitting Min Kyung. He covered his ears with his front paws as he jumped up with his hind legs. The sounds passed, as the energy hit Min, sending him flying high. He was stuck in a spin as he attempted to even himself out. He reached his peak, still at a spin that was now beginning to slow. He would need to do something very quickly in order for his plan to work. He could see a cave entrance at a peak and it was his target. He twisted his body with a strong force to even himself out and focused all of his energy in his feet. He began pushing off the sky as he ran towards the peak. He sprinted across the air, forming small steps with the wind underneath his feet to move himself up towards the edge of the mountain. He sprinted quickly, so much that he rose above his target, but he still had some distance to cover. He could feel energy fading very quickly.

His energy gave out as he could no longer push off the air. He found himself walking along the air, but constantly descending towards the mountain. It appeared that he would land on the edge of the mountain, but as he fell closer to the mountain, it came closer and closer to the very edge. Min Kyung watched as he fell, his face almost smashing into the side. He reached up with his paws, digging his claws into the stone ledge. He struggled to pull himself, but his energy was wasted and he was moments from falling to the ground, and more than likely, his death. He pulled his face up as he saw a very heavy looking lizard hollow. It smiled and began laughing.

"Well well well. It seems that the big bad wolf hollow seems to be in quite a predicament. What should we do about that?" He said as he slowly walked closer to Min Kyung. with a few smaller, weaker hollows following. After a few seconds, the hollow stopped as the smaller minions began to move forward with a menacing look on their faces. Min Kyung shook his head and built up some energy left in his core and let out another Deafening Bark. His paws began to slip as he dug his claws deeper in the rock. The minions were pushed back by the bark, some hitting the rock wall behind them and falling unconscious and a few of them hitting the face of the mountain and falling past the cliff to their death. Screams became muffled by the distance as they fell and fell, silenced by a very quiet thud sound.

"If you're going to kill me, do it yourself, and tell me your name!" Min Kyung said as he continued to struggle. He wanted help, but new he wasn't going to get anything. He raised his face over the ledge once again to watch the hollow. It walked forward more, stopping with it's feet not far from Min Kyung. He bent over, kneeling on the cold stone.

"Kraygaz" The hollow said as he pulled Min Kyung up from the ledge. "I had no intentions of killing you. You owe me for killing my minions, however. I'm looking for a hollow. I've heard that he resides here. We should be able to find him. He said as he stood up, easily towering over Min Kyung. Min Kyung nodded his head, not saying much, but was still confused about how the hollow had beaten him up here. Kraygaz looked and laughed once more. "Sonido. It's similar to the shinigami's Flash step." He said, easily being able to predict Min's confusion. Min Kyung nodded in comprehension as he continued towards the cave entrance, that led to the inner portions of the mountain. Min Kyung looked at this vast land that was La Torre.

Through the darkened tunnels the hollows crawled. It was like an ant hill. The many worker ants moving to and fro all for the sake of the queen. Instead of a queen this mountain had a king; Lord Amago. Espada #1; Primera. Why would the most powerful of arrancar dwell in such a place? Stratus often found himself asking that question, but he was too terrified to ask it aloud. He has been sent to the blasted place by Moledale. There was no other instruction given just for him to venture East. Apparently the horse like hollow was a spy for Amago, and thought Stratus one of his agents. Who was he to tell the arrnacar otherwise? If he valued his life we was to go along with the strange hollow's whims. In the end he did as he was told and helped around the mountain. They weren't very forthcoming with answers, so instead Stratus found even more questions. One of these questions came about the strange pit that occupied the center of the mountain. Twice he had gone down there. Whatever that thing that lurked in the depths was, it was powerful. He had witnessed it make a human spirit into a hollow. But at the very same time a hollow that had been dropped in came out as a fully formed Arrancar. Stratus had attempted to copy the procedure only to fail miserably and nearly was devoured by the darkness. Now he sat in his cave 'observing' those squirming about the mountain. Waiting. Waiting for? That he did not know. So he sat and waited for something, anything to happen.

Min Kyung walked through the mountain's insides, accompanied by the stronger, heavier hollow. He turned around and asked the lizard hollow his question. "Why are you even here?" He asked with a bit of a cynical tone to it.

"That's none of your business Wolf! Now move!" Min Kyung had no idea, but he had already fallen victim to one of Kraygaz's abilities. Min Kyung was now a minion of Kraygaz. The only issue with this was that Kraygaz didn't have complete control over Min Kyung. There wasn't a definite answer as to why, but it was just that way. Min Kyung listened to him and went further into the mountain. There was nothing of interest here and the lighting began to dim, as it got very dark, very fast. Min Kyung adjusted his eyes rather quickly and began to fill his fangs with the venom. This would be an idea place for an ambush, and he was going to be ready. He might even betray the lizard in the heat of the moment to increase in power. He disbanded the thought from his head as they continued to travel through the mountains. They neared another path and Min Kyung flenched when they passed by it. That must lead to the center of the mountain. The amount of Spiritual pressure is insane! Min Kyung thought as he continued down the path, still under the control of Kraygaz. He continued walked until they came upon a small opening. Min Kyung could feel a very strong sense of Spiritual Pressure, yet a familiar one as well. He looked over and saw the same Hollow from his battle in Karakura against the Hollows. "Well if it isn't the slimy hollow from Karakura. Nice to see you around." He said as he calmly approached the hollow. Min Kyung looked back and saw nothing. He could tell that something was off. Kraygaz hadn't followed. Min Kyung froze mid-stride, with one paw raised to the air. He wasn't sure who he had trusted anymore. He knew the hollow that was in front of him, but Kraygaz had also saved him from falling to his death. He stayed frozen in place until the events panned out. He left his reaction to save him. After all, it had saved him multiple times in the past.

The hollow called Stratus could already sense the spiritual pressure before it appeared before him. When he slept he kept a constant surveillance of his surroundings. Keeping his mind active while his body rested, it was less like sleep and closer to meditation. If he wanted true rest he would close off his cave with his emerald crystal. At this time it was just a short rest. So he was aware that something was approaching him. It was curious that there were two such signals, but now only one of them advanced closer. Perhaps this would help him pass his the time. His eyes opened and to the dim lighting. The light giving crystals lined his miniature sanctuary. Although the whole mountain was a bastion of darkness, he refused to bump his head as he navigated the tunnels. To hell with being a creature of born of shadow, he wanted to at least see where he was going.

His attention focused he tracked as the spiritual signal got closer and closer. Soon he could hear the footsteps echo along the tunnel walls. One, two, three, four? There were four sound total. Had he misheard? As he listed he intensified his concentration on the target. Yes, only one creature was approaching him, but four legs. Not a very powerful signal at all, not compared to the one that had accompanied it. Why was it coming alone? Stratus didn't feel like standing up if this was the caliber of hollow he had to face. In less than a moment the creature in question appeared at the mouth of his cave. The wolf like hollow seemed awfully relaxed for one invading his personal territory. Either it was brave, or very stupid. The other spiritual power that had come with him had little chance of overpowering him. Unless the scrawny creature has some devastating skill he wasn't too worried.
"What do you want?" he said gruffly. "I've not eaten yet, so I suggest you choose your words wisely." He traced his hand along the floor. With only the slightest bit of pressure his claws cut into the stone like warm butter. "But if you amuse me, I'll allow you a 10 second head start."

Min Kyung watched Stratus unsure if his life was in danger. Stratus spoke and Min Kyung seriously considered running for his life, but he could tell by the level of spiritual pressure from this hollow, that he wouldn't get too far. He thought about fighting along side of Kraygaz, but if he was hiding, it wasn't going to be a very good fight. He put his paw on the ground and spoke confidently as he could manage. "Well I'm here to ask for the leadership of a hollow that I've heard about. A hollow named Stratus. I believe that you are that hollow. I'm here to ask you to train me to fight as you do in the battlefield, so that I may survive to become stronger. I have great plans for the hollow race." He said as he prepared the poison in his fangs. If it was going to come to a fight, Min Kyung would atleast do some sort of damage to anyone who attacks him. He listened and waited to see what the hollow would reply with.

[Posted as Min Kyung! My bad for the mistake. Been Hectic recently]

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Stratus trembled with laughter, but his deep growling voice drained any mirth from the action. Instead it seemed like the maniacal laughter of a demon before consuming a soul in one bite. He fell over and and slapped the ground as he continued to laugh at the wolf's words. For a moment he almost felt tears welling up in his eyes.Through the tunnels and caverns the sound echoed. All through the mountain the hollow's growling laughter spilled forth. Some hollows stopped to try to figure out what was going on, while others ignored it and continued about their way unphased. Finally Stratus slowly regained his composure and wiped the non-existent tears from his face. In the end he coughed and fixed his eyes on the creature before him. "Well I did tell you if you amused me I'd give you a head start, but I didn't expect something that funny." He gave a small dry chuckle before scratching his head then his chin. "I guess I'll give you another try; what are you doing here? I mean really? Why would you seek me out when there's Espada no more there fifty feet in that direction?" He pointed at the direction away from his cave. If you want to be stronger, if you want a leader there they are. I'm sure Amago will welcome you with open arms." There were so many hollow already crawling about the mountain, what was one more? Did this creature think he was better than the rest? There were a ton of that kind of hollow as well. All them angling for a seat of power, and yet none of them with potiental beyond their current position of peon. Stratus laughed, he was no better. The rule of 'no killing others' was part of the reason not many of the hollows would evolve higher. If they wanted to get stronger they were better off going back out into the desert. The truth was they came here for safety. This place protected them from other attack, but at the same time prevented the growth. Weaklings desiring power, culled by the strength in numbers, and filed with ambition. Perfect pawns for an army. Fools the lot of them. "If you want a fight, I'll give you twenty seconds instead of ten." Slowly he stood up toe make good on his words. He advanced on Min, but stopped. "What about your friend, why is he here?" He had nearly forgotten about the second creature that had accompanied the wolf. It seemed he wasn't going to approach him. Was there more to this hollow's message?

Min Kyung frowned when he heard Stratus begin to laugh. It wasn't very comforting to him that the stronger was laughing. Especially since it made the hollow sound chaotic. Min Kyung growled at anger, but quietly. If the stronger hollows, behind him and in front, heard the growl, it could be taken as an act of hostility, and that was the last thing that Min Kyung needed in the moment. He listened as stratus repeated his question. Min Kyung laughed, as he recalled a quote that he was quite fond of from his past life as a human, before he died and turned hollow. He looked towards Stratus, and chose his words carefully. "Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results. That goes the same with asking the same question. It's still the same answer. I'm looking for leadership from you. I'm not going to some Espada that I'm not familiar with. I'm not going to be some pawn for battle or whatever you people do here. It won't take much from you. All I need is the occasional training, learning such things like that flash steppy thingy that you stronger hollows are able to do, as well as the big laser explosion crap that I've seen from the espada. I think it's called something like Zero, or Cero. Along with the occasional training, all I request is an on-request opening of a garganta to the human world. It won't be very often that I travel there. Only when i need to feed. So it won't take much from you. I told you once, and I'm telling you again. I'm here to seek your leadership." He said with more confidence than the last time. He wasn't sure of the reactions that were to come, but he knew that he was right. He had seen how the hollow fought in Karakura town against the quincy, and he could tell that he could trust this hollow far more than he could ever trust the espada.

"And as for my friend, he's back there, in the corridor. He thinks he hasn't noticed that he has been controlling me. He may have my body, but he doesn't have my mind, and I can tell when the slightest thing is off with my own body. Including delayed muscle reaction from not being in complete control of my own body. So do what you will with him, he is of no importance to me. Just know that If I attack you, it's not my doing." He said with confidence as he turned his head towards the corridor, signaling to Stratus where he the bigger hollow was.

Kraygaz heard the conversation and decided it was best if he escaped while he could. He wasn't going to be eaten by the likes of another hollow. He released his control of Min Kyung and turned down the corridor. He was heading towards the the face of the mountain. He turned a corner, and wasn't seen from anyone in the mountain.

Min Kyung relaxed his legs, falling to the ground when his body was released from the other hollow's control. He stood up and looked towards Stratus. "He's gone. It's all me now." He said as he waited for a reaction.

Once more the adjuchas began to cackle. His wicked guffaw ringing through the mountain for the second time. This time those low ranked hollows paused. For such a thing to happen once to be unexpected, but twice and so rapidly was quite unorthodox. Stratus' latest fit of laughter didn't continue as long as the previous bout had. He held his stomach as the chuckling subsided.
"What a comedian I have before me!" He snicker "Surely Amago put you up to this! This has to be some kind of prank or trick by him." Stratus walked by Min and looked out around both corners before coming back to stand in front of the creature once again. "Really, it can't have been Madoka, that guy wouldn't know a joke if it bit him on the ass." He stared at the wolf, "Wait, don't tell me you're serious"
Stratus palmed his face and sat back down onto the ground. He gave a dry chuckle as he shook his head in disbelief.
"Let's review; you want me to train you. Teach you to fight, survive against all odd and all that crap. You want me to teach you how to use cero." he snorted at that point. He had barely learned to use cero himself, he was in no shape to teach someone else how to do the same. He imagined the mutt would blow his own head off in such an attempt. "And then you want me to chauffeur you back and forth to the human world. I miss anything?" He tapped his forehead as if he was locked in deep thought "Oh yeah; Why am I doing all that for? It's a GREAT deal for YOU, but I get the shaft! Damn do I have 'sucker' tattooed to my mask?" Stratus pointed a claw at the empty white mask that covered his face. "A pretty one sided arrangement and you expect me to jump at the offer? Let's be clear, puppy." he put emphasis on the dog reference "You have nothing I want or need. You're nothing, you're worthless."

He shook his head again and spat on the ground in disgust. "Hell kid, you just got controlled by that other hollow. That's hardly a giving me a good impression!" He sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cave. "You know what? Get out of here and I won't kill you." This was a colossal waste of his time, he was only agitating himself by thinking of it. He should just kill the mutt and be done with it, but he figured it was just another hopeless pawn for Amago's plans. "You want some training, puppy? Here's a freebie; rely on yourself. Stop being a fucking wimp and stand for yourself. If I was a leader, I wouldn't want a baby sucking on my teet. A leader chooses his followers." The last part was something Moledale had told him. At the time he didn't quite understand it. Over time partially understood the true meaning. A leader looked for those he needed or wanted. Power, potential, loyalty, etc. Stratus saw none of these in Min.

Min Kyung frowned at the hollows words. He had no choice. He could have easily argued with him for a bit more, saying stuff about how that most hollows at his level wouldn't have been able to detect that the hollow was controlling him, nevertheless fight against it. Or that he was exceptionally fast. It was all pointless. This hollow wasn't buying it. He was barking up the wrong tree, and would have to find some other ways of opening the garganta. The training, he could manage himself. It would be tough, but he could manage. The real issue was finding someone to open a garganta for him, for he wasn't able to open it himself. He was stuck to live in this mountain. He weighed his options, and bit his tongue as he left the corridor. He was heading towards where he felt the presence of the Espada hollow. He could tell because it was one of the strongest energy presences that he could feel. He headed down throughout the corridor. He walked past the grey colored walls of the inside of the mountain, passing numerous rooms full of hollows, of different strengths. He ignored his fears, he ignored his anger, he ignored his want to kill someone. He needed some sort of leadership, some sort of training. He needed to get better a lot faster, and he needed to do it now. He walked into a large room that was fairly open, lots of room for maneuverability. He was looking at the Espada Amago.

[will be continued in a solo. Thread is done on my side]