Frozen Coronation [Yekatarina/Nakita/Rhydderch]

Something was wrong in Las Noches. To the naked eye, perhaps it would seem like any other day, Arrancar and Espada going about their business unimpeded, attending to whatever it was they deemed important enough. Some trained, some lounged around and some even plotted, hungering for something more: Just a normal day. However, the air was heavy and a sense of unease was settling. The inhabitants of that pristine white palace would be able to tell deep inside that something had gone wrong, something had changed. Most would probably brush it off since everything seemed in place, others perhaps those more in-tune with their spiritual senses, would place it on the lack of a certain otherwise overwhelming presence that had become common place.




For reasons unknown to all but one individual within the Palace, Graven had abdicated his throne and vanished without a trace, choosing to wander somewhere deep within the deserts or to be more precise: Exiled. The throne was seemingly empty and the Arrancar left leaderless. Rumors and theories would be fast to spread throughout Las Noches as more people noticed the missing presence, figuring out that Graven's oppressive presence was no longer able to be felt. Theories on the why were numerous but more interesting were the talk of who would take the throne next? Many assumed it would be the current Primera, Micah. Needless to say a power vacuum of this size happening in realm of Hollows was quick to turn to chaos, roaches vying for power they were too weak to win rightly. But the Chaos would be short lived and all questions put to rest in an instant.



A powerful surge of Reiatsu flooded the entire palace, shaking it to it's foundations and followed soon after by an explosion that could be heard and felt even to the deepest reaches of the Palace: Some where, part of the dome had just been destroyed. The surge of power proving far too much for the fragile construction and the cracks began to appear all over, even close to the entrance. However just as Las Noches seemed to reach it's breaking point, just as it seemed it would collapse entirely to this overwhelming power, it stopped. The dome would cease it's creaking and shaking, settling back to it's normal state.

None would be able to deny what had just happened and the reason was clear as the previous fuming chaos had been stopped in it's track: It was a service announcement. Someone had already taken the throne and they were not planning to by shy about it. The only question remained, who? Whom ever it was, their power was without question. While the sheer quantity might not match the former Cero king's, the sharpness and quality was clearly superior. A new monster had appeared.

Whoever deigned to approach the throne room themselves would find an interesting sight: Corpses of Graven's former royal guards, strewn about and frozen to the walls. The once pristine throne room was now bathed in the natural moonlight and wind of Hueco Mundo with the sand and general area frozen into a perfect crystalline ice. In the throne itself, would be the former Sexta Espada: Yekatarina, legs crossed over one another with a satisfied smile on her face and a lit cigar in her mouth, hanging lazily to the side.

"Much better..the natural air and light is far superior to that stuffy façade."

Her voice was rough, almost gravely despite it's clear feminine notation. Wearing a satisified smile, she would relax and close her eyes, curious to who would be the first to approach her. With Graven exiled and out of the way, there was only the Espada left to deal with. Who would be worth keeping? Who would need to be thrown away? Furthermore what plans should she enact to get the Hollows back to their rightful place on top? All things to ponder but for now, she was simply going to bask in the moonlight and enjoy her victory.

The halls of Las Noches had been quiet for an unusually length of time. Espada had a tendency to come and go, either by choice or force. But for the Cero King to up and disappear? No, that was something you didn't see at all. The odds of any arrancar to leave a position of supreme power without a trace was negligible, completely unheard of, and previously thought of as a non-issue for someone like Rhydderch. But here he was, searching the halls for some kind of clue as to where the bastard who'd called him back onto the grid had gone. He wasn't dead, as any fight to depose him would have torn Las Noches apart, leveled the forests, boiled the seas, or made a neat little crater in the desert. With no new landmarks of catastrophic proportions in Hueco Mundo, and no Primera Espada to question anymore either, he was forced to wander the halls in an attempt to find anything useful. In regards to Micah's status, that was absolutely foul play, but who would do that and why was a stumper.

Or it was, as someone decided to test the bounds of Las Noches by reverberated through every fucking mouse hole in the palace. Impressive spiritual acoustics by all standards, but it was giving him a killer headache. The pressure ripped the ash from his cigarette, pulling pieces of infrastructure down as well. He's gotten quite used to the chandeliers and such, and to see them rattle and clatter to the floor was a bit disheartening. Whatever, with a sharp turn on his heels, he made his way to the throne room.

"Well if that wasn't a "Come look at me", then I don't know what is." Something about the reiatsu was familiar, but with the way it tended to flare and distort when fully released, he couldn't figure it out. Definitely espada for sure, but... Hmm. Tiberon? No, not fishy enough. He could sniff out some Nikita, but she wasn't the source, just lurking nearby. Was it... No couldn't be. "No fucking way. Could that be...? That's a plot twist if it's true!" He'd find soon enough as he stepped through the now dilapidated doorway into the main hall.

Yekatarina opened her glowing blue eyes as she sensed two Arrancar approaching, Espada by the feel of it, potentially strong ones at that if not in power alone, definitely of will. Accepting her little open invitation was one test passed now it was just about getting to know them and seeing if they'll be useful or not. The first to arrive was a beautiful looking woman at the same stature as Yekatarina herself. Honestly she couldn't tell what was more alluring, the flowing black hair or the intense red eyes. If things didn't work out as an Espada, she'd make a cute pet at the very least.

"You must be Nakita if memory serves correctly." Shifting her eyes away from the spider towards the hallway behind her, a massive tower of a man appeared soon appeared from the hallway's frozen shadows. "And you're...Rhydderch, yes?" Yekatarina commented as she uncrossed her legs and stood to her feet, leaving her trademark grey officer's jacket behind on her frozen throne. Yekatarina's own outfit was reminiscent of a female military officer complete with a tasteful knee length skirt and dyed in the Arrancar's key white hue. If nothing else, she appreciated Rhydderch's sense of fashion.

"We've not been properly introduced up until now, so allow me to do so. Yekatarina, Espada Sexta..well formerly anyway." A small chuckle followed the tail end of her sentence as she began walking towards the two Espada, the glass like ice cracking ever so slightly under her foot steps sending echoes over the now open landscape of Hueco Mundo.

"You've done well to answer my little invitation. It seems no one else had the balls or they died earlier perhaps. Hard to tell but both outcomes mean they weren't worth my time." Her right hand caressed the face of an ice statue that looked very similar to the former Primera Micah as she passed by it before eventually stopping in front of the two. They would notice instantly that even despite the cold air from all the ice, being so close to her caused the temperature to drop even further: Her body had always radiated extreme cold.

"Tell me. Do you two have the ambition and drive worthy of hollows? Or are you like Graven, content to simply sit by and waste away on inaction? What are your desires? What is it that drives you? I'm very curious." Her glowing blue eyes shimmered with an unearthly energy as they slowly moved back and forth between the two faces of the Espada. She was sure they had questions and she would be more than happy to answer them of course but first, she needed to know if they even deserved to call themselves Hollows and had the potential to grow or if this was all she could ever expect of them.

"Well I'll be damned. Hell of a self given promotion, but I respect the moxie." Damn, this bitch's reiatsu was way higher than he remembered. She must have been keeping it suppressed. What else could explain the lateral jump from Sexta to Cero in this short period of time? Either way, Rhydderch's words range true as he was honestly impressed by the upset of the past few centuries. How could he not answer the summons of an individual of this magnitude? "Not sure I could ignore an invite like that. Seems like asking for trouble to leave it unanswered." His gaze moved to his surroundings, revealing a disappointingly small turnout for this new Hueco Mundo World Order. He didn't have problems with Nakita, though the fact that she was the only one around besides himself and their new potential boss.

"Oh my ambition exceeds that of any lowly hollows, that's for damn sure." Slow strides took the man to the center of the room, now putting him in the vicinity of Nakita. He smirked as he blew smoke from his nostrils, watching the woman as she approached the him and his fellow Espada."I want what I've always wanted. A competent body sitting on that fucking throne, some purpose behind the actions of us Arrancar. Seems like Graven called me back at the right time. Winds of change are blowing in this place, even if it isn't him on the throne anymore."

Yekatarina allowed a small chuckle to slip past her lips at Nakita's framing of Graven's absence. "Yes, something like that. Although I found him unfit for rule, I do still see much use and drive within the old man. Simply killing him would have been a waste and a loss for Hueco Mundo as a whole, currently." She explained. Ideally he would come back and serve her once he was done with his sulking, though if he picked instead to rise up against her? Well, that would be another matter entirely in that case.

Rhydderch spoke up as well after to which Yekatarina simply nodded. "Those who ignored my invitation will be dealt with, with the exception of one who simply isn't here to receive it. The weak ones will probably be killed off, the ones with promise will be given a stern example of why ignoring my summons is a generally bad idea. That said, to the two of you who did show up, I have plans for." She spoke in her normal tone, maintaining her slight smile from earlier before motioning with her hand for them to continue answering the question she had laid out before them previously.

As each of the Espada took their turns answering, Yekatarina nodded softly along to each answer. Both were satisfactory enough, though Rhyyderch's answer seemed oddly hollow to her, although she could sense the meaning he put behind it. It would serve for now. With a small nod of acknowledgement to the two she would take one more feel of their Reiatsu to get an idea of how strong they could be before continuing with her own answer.

"Very well, I like you two. I'm going to be changing things up and as you two showed up, you've jumped to the top of my list..not to mention you're both strong. Rhyyderch, I'll have you be at the front of our armies as my new Primera. If power and a strong throne is what you want then I expect you to enforce that upon all who sit in it, me included. Should you find me wanting, feel free to take a go at me. What better place to do that from then my right hand?" She smirked softly at him, waiting for a little while to see if he'd jump at the chance. She doubted he would, she was strong at the moment but the day could come when she weakened. It would be the hollow way.

After a moment she would turn her gave over to Nakita. "As for you, I'll be moving you up to my third in command. I expect you'll nurture me soldiers fitting of my expectations or at the very least quality food. Are there any among your children that you think are worthy of joining our ranks as of now?" After waiting a moment for her to respond she would acknowledge it before turning around and returning to her throne.

"Since you answered my question, it is only fair I answer your questions as well. Ask me anything and I shall tell you. Though first allow me to state my goals clearly. Las Noches is getting cleaned up, the weak are getting disposed of and I'll be taking in strong new blood. Although I'm not ready to move now, I'd also like to move on the Shinigami in the future..we've been on the back burner for far to long and I think it's about time they remembered our existence and that we're something to be feared. That aside, I've a personal score to settle on that front..but I'll do that on my own time." Yekatarina's eyes glanced up at the sky as she flashed back to her own past for a short moment before returning to the Espada.

"So, your questions?"

Rhydderch turned his attention back to Yekatarina. The word Primera had gotten his attention. A big promotion, and the exact one he'd been looking for a way to weasel his way into under Graven's command. Certainly nothing to shake a stick at. "Primera, you say? Hell of a jump in status, but hell... It'd be an honor both to serve as a right hand, and to keep you in check." He shrugged, barely able to hold back a smile. Right where he wanted to be. Now he just needed to maintain this position, no matter the cost.

"Only question I have is what do you need me doing right out of the gate? Sounds like you wouldn't exactly turn down a recruiting drive, though not sure how you want that done. Given that you want only the best around, that means we'd need to test the capabilities of those interested, probably in combat given our kind. A sort of proving event, pitting myself and possibly Nakita if she's up for it against contenders." He flicked some of the ash from his cigarette into the wind, a breeze carried it towards the door. He'd been waiting for an opportunity, since he was unclear on his new boss's policy on smoking and ash waste. "Those who are strong enough to survive pending your approval can join our ranks, and those who aren't... Well, that'll take care of itself, won't it?"

"What, you got a problem with humans? They're so damned interesting, Nakita. After all, their souls have so much potential. Shinigami were human souls at one point, and hollows are the other result. And by extension, us." Rhydderch moved the cigarette to the other side of his mouth as he smirked maliciously. "They're just meat suits for much more powerful things. A stepping stone for greatness in a fragile squishy shell."

Yekatarina raised an eyebrow at the rather odd question Nakita had proposed. "What sort of incident happened that prompts such a strange question? The nature of weaker beings don't interest me and the only use I'd have for a captured enemy is intelligence followed by an execution. Anyone trying to do otherwise is harboring the enemy and unless they have a damn good excuse, they'll find their heads next to the shinigami's. Does that satisfy you?" Yekatarina wondered her thoughts turned to the implied incident. Just what the hell was Graven doing?

Putting it from her mind momentarily she would turn her attention back to her new Primera as he began to put out suggestions and questions. Thinking it over she would give him a kurt nod before answering. "Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Once I'm done cleaning out the gutters, I'm afraid we'll be left with quality but little quantity. It would serve us well to replenish. Though I don't expect to find any who could best the two of you, they simply need to do well enough to prove they have the potential and drive. Though, if one of you does lose, they'll have earned your position, so I wouldn't suggest taking anyone lightly either." Turning around she would move back to her throne before sitting, clearly thinking on something.

"First and foremost, I'd like intelligence on the current structure of the Shinigami and any notable human organizations. I've heard stirring the Quincy of all things are kicking around. I'm assuming this task would be best left to you, Nakita. But I'm open to suggestions. Either way, knowledge is paramount, we've been out of the game and kept to ourselves for too long and while I would like to make a move..to do so blindly would be foolish and inviting calamity." She looked up over to Nakita before finishing.

"Do you think your children are capable of ascertaining the knowledge I desire? If not, I'll simply have to kick that door down myself, something I'd prefer to avoid. I'd rather know the enemy I face."