The Former 4th [Ulquiorra]

Careta moved to a special place within the Desert. Well, special to her. This was where the Desert showed her how to shatter her mask, becoming the first Arrancar. She always fancied she would see the remaining bone fragments in the sand, though it was a foolish notion.

She came here now because she required a birth of another type now. Drawing her blade from it's scabbard slowly, bringing the blade p to her lips as she whispered across the bladed edge, "Devastar, Corezon del Hueco Mundo." Her tongue came free and a line of crimson formed on her tongue as she licked the blade. The blade slowly began spilling from her hands, turning to sand itself.

The mask reformed over her face and her fingers seemed to stretch into claws. The bones extending in her elbows and knees, forming into spikes. She kept a masterful hold over her reiatsu, keeping it 'quiet' so none would feel the release unless they were close. She stilled it to nothingness as her head tilted back...she was far from done.

"Revelar el Final, La Madra de Hueco Mundo." The Desert around her trembled with the explosion of reiatsu, stirring as if awakened. She tried to keep it contained as tightly as possible to herself, but any Hollow in the area would either be dead or fleeing for their lives. Her body didn't change again, instead her skin was and clothing were white...sparkling in the moonlight like the rest of the sand of the Desert. She was made up of it's sand. She was one with it.

She shivered once before she called out a name. "Ulquiorra Cifer..." Her voice was like the wind brushing over the dunes or moaning through the quartz trees. "I have need of you All-Seeing Eye. You are unmatched in the Pesquisa..." Looking at the sand as she gestured a hand and a large circle depressed into the desert floor at her feet.

"You who knew Loss like no other that had stood with you." She could feel the Desert tremble with effort. Effort of gathering old reiatsu, separating it from new and piecing together a 400 year old puzzle. Careta felt the reishi of the Desert coming to bear in the circle as a shimmer of something began to take shape.

Ulquiorra Cifer

Ulquiorra Cifer, Fourth Espada, first to attain the Segunda Etapa, had died. Almost four hundred years ago, he had gotten in a fight he thought.. no.. he KNEW he could win. A fight against an orange-haired human with a zanpakuto and a hollow transformation. He had miscalculated, due to this thing called a "heart" and a strange will to fight he didn't understand, the human had beaten him. A feat he found improbable until the very end.

For four hundred years, his spirit had remained. His reiatsu and his body scattered along the sands of Hueco Mundo. For four hundred years he watched as everything he had known was taken from the desert, he watched as Las Noches fell under new management, and he had watched as arrancar after arrancar fell to soul reaper blades.

Ulquiorra fell to the enemy's blade.. he had failed Lord Aizen. And yet... what was this feeling? He heard something... a voice?

"Ulquiorra Cifer..." The voice was calling him, it sounded female.. "I have need of you All-Seeing Eye. You are unmatched in the Pesquisa..." Ulquiorra felt strange... he could feel the dust moving. He could feel his reiatsu flowing in the desert towards the woman. He knew his body was reforming.. he was getting a second chance.

"You who knew Loss like no other that had stood with you." This woman seemed to understand him, but how was that? He had been dead for over four hundred years... It doesn't matter. Whoever this woman was, she was bringing him back. He could already feel his body reforming. His legs.. his chest.. his head. He moved his muscles, tensing and un tensing them. They felt stiff, but that could be remedied. He opened and closed his mouth, testing his jaw, facing down and slowly but surely opening his eyes. The desert sand was what he saw, along with distinct black fur. It seems that he hadn't left his segunda form since he had died.

Ulquiorra sighed, his segunda etapa fading away back into a sealed state, his normal form and clothing returning. Looking up and seeing the woman that revived him. He coughed slightly, then spoke. "My name," he started, his soft voice raspy, but clearing up fast, "is Ulquiorra Cifer." He blinked emotionlessly, slipping his hands into his pockets, "But I'm sure you already knew that."

She simply watched as the body in front of her began to reform. Those cold, pale blue eyes stared at him with only slight interest, her face remained stoic as he let his Segunda form dematerialize and return to his normal. She looked at the white uniform for a moment before looking to the sand at her feet. It slid up into her hands from the ground and reformed as a sword. Her skin returning to normal as she slid the sword back into it's scabbard.

"Yes, I know your name." Said coolly as she watched him a moment. "You would not know me, I was held in slumber during your time. I am Careta, The First to Shatter. I have called you because the Arrancar have become...pathetic creatures save a few. You would know one. He was with your Espada...Grimmjow. Very few of you survived Aizen's betrayal of the Desert." She turned on a heel and began to walk.

"The Espada have fallen even past what a Soul Reaper would make of them...I plan to form my own family of Arrancar and return us to the status of what we were. Powerful, feared. Not to be crossed. The Desert has suffered and I wish to restore her glory to her, as she is dear to me." Careta's words are spoken softly, but little emotion crosses her features, anger does spark in her eyes when she speaks of soul reapers, however. And what the Desert has become. "I have asked the Desert to return you to her dunes...what you choose to do now is, of course, up to you. But I would offer you a place with a new...division of Arrancar. Las Noches is...beyond repair, but the Desert is Vast and a new pearl can be carved of her sands."

Her eyes turned sidelong to watch him. "What say you? I can tell you already that while you were merely the 4th in your day...you would be a match for the Primera now. I will be offering the same to Grimmjow...though he is flippant and I'm not sure if he would join me. It is worth the chance, however. A new order within the Desert...with strong foundations...Tell me your thoughts on this."

Still walking at an even, unhurried pace. Her arms at her sides, but she doesn't seem to have a need to busy them. Looking away from him finally as she looked forward once more.

Ulquiorra Cifer

Ulquiorra stared blankly at the woman, noting the pale blue eyes, the long hair, and the sword sliding back into it's scabbard. This woman obviously knew what she was doing here. He heard her call herself "The First to Shatter" Upon hearing this, he spoke. "By 'The First to Shatter'.. Do you mean the first arrancar to be created?" He asked, suspecting the answer but verifying for his own sake, and to satisfy the twinge of curiosity in his gut.

A "tsk" sound escaped Ulquiorra's lips at the woman's next comment, "Yes I know, the arrancar were faltering even while I was still alive. The underlings becoming continually weaker, the standards lowering. It got to the point where a basic Gillian class was allowed an espada position, it's unthinkable." He thinks on the name she spoke, Grimmjoww.. It had been long indeed since he had last heard that name. The last he heard of the blue-haired espada, he had sealed Ulquiorra, albeit temporarily, in a fraccion punishment area. When Ulquiorra had escaped, he never heard from Grimmjoww. Ulquiorra assumed that the man was dead. "Yes, I know of Grimmjoww, he was no colleague of mine. Always trying to surpass me, he had something to prove that I never comprehended. Obviously not someone I associated myself with." He spoke bluntly.

Ulquiorra carefully considered every word the woman spoke, weighing his options. He was alive again, he had another chance. Did he want to join with the one who gave it to him? Or roam the desert on his own? In the end, his decision was painfully obvious.

"It seems to me like my choice was made for me." Ulquiorra started dryly, "I am loyal to those who earn my respect. Bringing me back from the grave, and for such a noble cause, definitely earns that much from me." He finished, staring at the woman, "I think the arrancar have grown weak, as have the espada. I will work with you, and help you to create your new faction." Ulquiorra said, a determined air about him as he did so. "Though be warned, if Grimmjoww will be reluctant to join, mainly because I am here." He stated, his eyes never leaving the woman's. "I will join you, Careta. You have my services and my loyalty."

She looked to him for a few curious moments. "Yes, I am the first Arrancar. Some say I was the first Vasto Lorde. Though, I do not know if that is true." Quelling his curiosity with softly spoken words.

"Yes, I know of Grimmjow, he was no colleague of mine. Always trying to
surpass me, he had something to prove that I never comprehended."

Careta could not help the smile that curled at her lips. "Do you not comprehend? Shall I explain it to you? When we are Hollow, we feast on the weak souls in the world of the Living. When we become Menos, we eat anything and from the depths we struggle and become the most powerful within and become Gillian. From there we can become Audjuchas...continuing the hunt, continuing to eat...until we evolve again. It is the law of the White Desert...the strong consume the weak. Aizen did not understand this, though he claimed to. It is apart of what we are. Always seeking to be stronger, better, faster...this urge is stronger in Grimmjow than most."

She held up a hand when he began to speak of loyalty. "So not offer yourself out of a sense of obligation to me. Do it because it disgusts you to see what things have become. What the Shinigami now are. I plan on setting ourselves up here in the Desert before moving to the World of the Living...where we already have a foothold. If we can gather the Hollow of the Living World and fortify them with stronger Arrancar...But first we must have a...base, if you will. We do not have Las Noches, and honestly I do not want it. That Shinigami did more harm than good." Sounding...rather irritated about it.

Her eyes closed and she reached up to run her hand down her face, smiling bitterly. "Regardless...join because you want to, not because you think you have to. We Arrancar...are not creatures of loyalty and friendship. But we are capable of standing together. Make the Soul Reapers regret they ever grew arrogant enough to enter our home and stain our mother with our own blood. That is a right only we may have."

Ulquiorra Cifer

Ulquiorra knew this woman was intriguing. She was strongly spoken, she seemed to be able to analyze the reasoning behind Grimmjoww's actions, something he himself was not able to due, although that may have been purely due to a lack of caring for the subject. She said they already had a foothold in the world of the living, she hated what had become of the arrancar, and she claimed to be the first arrancar ever made. This one was very interesting.

Ulquiorra thought for only a moment before responding, "Alright, I'm convinced." He stated firmly, "I do despise what has become of this world, and I want it back to the way it was. I support your plan against the current arrancar and the soul reapers." He stared at the woman, walking closer to her casually, "I will help you on this, Careta. You have my word. I will make the current arrancar and the soul reapers pay."

Those pale blue eyes turned to regard the once Espada for a few long moments. Considering his words for a time before she took in a breath to speak, "First things first. We need structure. A castle is only as strong as it's foundations. I want you to use your All Seeing Eye to find us Arrancar who are not content with the way things are. See past their words to their intentions and if you find them worthy of us, then you will bring them to me."

Careta reached up and tugged almost absently on her ponytail as she considered. "To the East of this point is a forest of quartz trees. I will begin creating our tower and modifying the area around it. Ensuring that only those we want to be able to enter may enter." She held out a hand and the from the sand sprouted a small quartz tree, growing upwards until it reached her hand and she broke off what looked like a small quartz flower bud. "Take this and keep it on you at all times, Ulquiorra Cifer. This will allow you to pass without harm through or over...or under the forest of trees to the tower. Any whom you bring must be able to survive the journey without to be able to be gifted so."

The tree crumbled to sand, Careta brushed her hand along her thigh before looking to the East. "Consider those who do not see the truth of our ideals as trash not worth wasting our time with. Dispose of them if it is your wish, I do not care. Those who won't stand with us will either stand against us or stand aside. Even this...Cero Espada. The problem of being in such a position is that you have to make sure you're either strong enough to kill anything to oppose you or have those who will stand with you." She glances to Ulquiorra for a moment. "The best leaders are both, Ulquiorra. I am not Aizen, I will not give an order that does not have obvious benefit to all of us. I would expect you to speak freely around me, any concerns or ideas you may have...I would treasure."

"And I am not blind to personal goals. Should you have them, I will be pleased to see you pursue them as well as any order. This is where Aizen failed through ignorance. He did not understand that while we may not have hearts like others...we still have our drives and our own desires. We must be allowed to pursue them else we will rail against the one who prevents it."

She offers a pause and looks to him. "One thing I will not stand for, however, is the ideal that we stand best on our own. True, it is not first within our nature to trust our backs to one another...but that is why you fell and the Espada failed. Had you fought alongside a brother or sister...Ichigo Kurosaki would be dead and gone." Letting her words sink in a moment before she began walking towards the East.

"I trust your judgment in who you think will stand with us...and I will judge who shall sit at the table of ten. Your place is already assured."

Ulquiorra Cifer

"Arrancar that aren't content?" Ulquiorra questioned, a pale right hand running through his hair on the side that the helmet didn't cover, "It is to my understanding that all arancar of the current generation have been brainwashed to an extent to be content. Regardless of that, I will try my best." Ulquiorra finished firmly, his gaze unswerving as he stared at the woman in front of him.

He watched as the tree grew, barely registering the woman's words now, they were irrelevant. He took the small bud from the woman, feeling the material run over his left hand. It was rough, but also has a slightly soft feel to it, a logical impossibility, but Ulquiorra has just come back from the dead, logical impossibilities were the least of his worries.

He regarded the woman's words with care, noting the dark tone in her voice as she spoke of an arrancar's needed worthiness to enter the fortress that was to be constructed. After the woman finished, he spoke softly, a slight hint of humor in his otherwise cold, callous voice, "Trash, you say? That term is familiar to me. Very well, I shall do what you say, I will speak openly around you, and I will recruit others to our cause. I will swiftly eliminate anyone who stands against us. I only have one argument against you." His head faced the ground, his eyes still locked onto the woman, he was glaring at her through his bangs now. "I will never leave the mission for the benefit of personal goals, such meaningless drivel is unimportant to me." He lifted his head again, gazing now at the sky, "My only goal is to find and defeat the one who killed me, Ichigo Kurosaki. But.." He trailed off, looking back at the woman, "I have no doubt that eventually he will come to me"

Ulquiorra nodded slowly at the woman's confirmation of his status, questioning only briefly, "Really the only position I could possibly have is fourth." He stated coldly, the number "4" tattooed on his left pectoral clear in his mind. If he could have, he would have smiled, "Although, maybe the trash thinking I'm weaker could be used to the advantage of the cause?" He stepped back, turning his body sideways, sighing softly, "It is up to you what my position is, who serves in The Ten, and what missions I will undertake. I couldn't care less who I serve with, or what I do, as long as I can bring this new generation trash to its knees, ruining its very core." He said, an ominous air to his voice.

Careta nodded her head. "Yes, Arrancar that aren't content. I hold out hope that not all have become...so content. Though, I am sure once word of our existence reaches the Espada...they will try to get someone in. That is where I need your All-Seeing Eye. To see through pale farce and ensure their intent is true."

Careta leaned back against a sudden rise of sand that seemed to anticipate her, watching him a moment. "The Forest of Quartz will be...modified by myself. The trees will share my Hierro and drink deeply the reiatsu of any who come too close. That shard will allow you to be immune to this. I am the only one who can make them and they resonate with the one given once it passes from my hand...so you or anyone else cannot give them away." Explaining in detail she was sure he didn't require but she gave him anyway.

Raising a brow as he seemed to allow some anger...or was it disdain show through his emotionless mask. "I am not saying you would leave a mission for such reasons. I am saying that personal goals of those will be apart of La Orden de Copas (The Order of Cups) are not lost to me. Surely you have a desire for more than the death of Kurosaki? Simply know that my ear is never deaf to the plights of my brothers and sisters."

Taking a breath and letting it out, as if simply testing the air rather than needing to breath. "No numbers, Ulquiorra Cifer. We are all able to sense where each stand when it comes to power and should act accordingly and accept the consequences in doing so. We are not children who require numbers to explain where each stands. Besides, numbers mean nothing when we stand a united front. Besides, were you not the more powerful of Halibel and Baraggan? With your Segunda Etapa? But was not Nnoitra the more powerful when it came to Hierro? Power is relative to the situation." Looking across the sands for a moment, "I am powerful in many ways because the White Desert itself is my weapon and my shield. She heals my wounds and ensures that I am never depleted. To stand against me is to stand against the power of Hueco Mundo itself. That does not mean I can't take lesson of Grimmjow's furious excellence in battle, or your own precise tactics in a fight. Do you see? Even the strongest Arrancar can learn from another. Those numbers were merely another means of control Aizen held over you."

His final words brought a nod to her head. "The Tower of La Orden should be built soon. I will handle Grimmjow once I've rested from it's creation. Make your existence known to those who would wish to know. You've been without form for 400 years and much has happened since then. Stretch your wings, Ulquiorra. See what delights of the Human World you can find, or here within the Desert. Until the Tower and Forest are finished, we cannot...recruit." Said with a light smile as she straightened from her leaning position. Creating the Tower and modifying the Forest would take time and considerable power. She would be weak for a few days and then be able to look to the horizons.

Ulquiorra Cifer

"I see, well if nothing else, that should be an easy task." Ulquiorra said, dismissing the topic of the discontented arrancar, now that he knew exactly what to look for, that part of his purpose here would be almost too easy.

Ulquiorra listened to the woman's explanation about the forest's future "modifications", but he didn't need it. He had already guessed what the defenses would be. Still... Modifying an entire forest to adapt to the requirements of this cause was quite a task, he was impressed. The reiatsu drain idea itself was rather impressive as well, Ulquiorra wondered how long the woman had been planning all this. "It seems," He spoke softly, his tone unrevealing, as was his face, "That you have put a lot of thought, planning, time, and effort into this. This cause must be vitally important to you." He listened to her speak once again on personal goals. "No, there is nothing else. I have been dead four hundred years, there is nothing else here for me but the cause, and the death of Ichigo Kurosaki." He glared, slipping his left hand out of his pocket and resting it on the hilt of his sword.

Ulquiorra would have laughed if he could have at the woman's next comment, "No numbers? I am sure with Grimmjow with us, he will command to be named the most powerful. His arrogance and intolerable disrespect and ignorance for those stronger than him makes him a possible liability, more than anything, if you are going to use that system. Never-the-less, I agree with your standpoint that we should work together, work off of each other's strengths, and learn from our brethren." He said, effectively stating his viewpoint on the subject.

Ulquiorra slid his foot forward slightly, kicking up a small cloud of dust, listening to the woman explain her power. "I see, so that is how you revived me. You commanded the very desert itself to bring my scattered body and reiatsu back together. Intriguing."

Ulquiorra nodded, "I shall do what you ask, I will take no rash action, but I will try to, as you said it, 'spread my wings'." He looked at her darkly, "I only have one question. Why me? Surely more powerful arrancar could have been revived, as you said, Nnoitra's hierro is stronger than mine, didn't he die in this same desert? As did Zommari, Szayel, and Yammy?" He questioned, intentionally not mentioning the name of the ninth, the pitiful gillian-class espada was the most worthless being in hueco mundo in his opinion, beaten by a shinigami whos power wasn't even worth Ulquiorra concerning himself with. "Even if the revival of the others would not have worked, surely more powerful have been created since I died?" He continued to question, he wanted to know what exactly he had that this woman needed so badly, it couldn't just be his All-Seeing Eye.