Shadow's Of The Past, The Blood Queen and The Desperado (Sixty Four Years Ago)

A lone desperado searched Hueco Mundo in search of an ally. He sat atop his horse in resserecion as he rode through the midnight blue starlit sky created by Sosuke Aizen so long ago. The sand spraying across his horse as it pounded against the ground with sonido in each step. The crescent moon full as the Desperado thought of Aizen, his offer to join the army that had fallen. The man had refused his over all those years ago, wanting to gain strength on his own before finding his family. John hadn't thought about them in some time, Jack and Abigail. He knew they had long since passed on, and maybe had a chance in heaven, but with what he witnessed his son do, he considered that his son might have ended up like him.

The thought quickly left his mind before he turned slightly western, leading him towards Hueco Mundo's Las Noches. He knew the place well, having visited the castle many times after heard that a new Espada force had gained control under the banner of a woman named Ashlei Clixxe. A woman who used blood and nothing more to drain her enemies dry and destroy them, that was the rumor. He had never met any female Arrancar and was interested, yet he was a married man so he was interested only in the special chance of meeting one.

But this was not the lone Desperado's mission, his mission being to find his family. His memories were quickly leaving him and he knew he didn't have much time left to find them. His memories of baby Jack and one in particular from his teenage years reminded John that Jack tended to try and be a hero. He smiled as he thought about how Jack tried to shoot a grizzly bear those four hundred years ago. The idiot had heard about how it had been killing people at random and tried to shoot it with John's Bolt Action Rifle, the fool. He had wound up riding into the mountains and tracking Jack with their dog's help.

John began to slow as his memories left his mind in a frenzy, seeing how the boy was probably out being a hero like he had read about in all his books. John pulled a book from his saddle bags, a memento of Jack that was hundred's of years old with a locket he was going to give to his first daughter. The locket he decided he would give to young miss Ashlei Clixxe, hoping she would see it as a kind gesture and not something like trying to win favor. He was a loner and didn't call for help unless he truly knew he was going to die if he continued on.

That's how he had always been though, he thought. even when he was in that old gang, he was a loner still. But, he was starting to believe a Posse would be more enjoyable than lone travel. The Desperado was becoming more of a leader as it was and decided to posse up. But with the Espada in place, they might see him as a threat if he made a strong group. Maybe he could just stick to the basic plan and travel and grow stronger on his own, but that wouldn't be what he desired, since that would be giving up on his family But he wondered sometimes, could he make a new family if he couldn't find his own? Would it affect his mentality so much that slight pressure could crack him and turn him into an outlaw once more?

His resserecion horse snorted at the thought before John met its eyes. Those eyes told him one thing, just keep looking until you can't look no more. First though, he needed to find someone who might keep him going. Someone who understood how much family meant. He thought about it as he tilted his hat with a "Howdy, Young Miss" to a female arrancar with red hairwho appeared in her mid to late teens with a respectful tone as he always used. As pulled his horse into the city surrounding Los Noches, thinking about the girl he passed, he wondered just who she was since he had only heard of one female Arrancar. Then again there were probably several more than just her and he didn't know it. The stall he passed with guns on display caught his attention and he began to study each one, noting they had a cattleman's revolver and he whistled.

"That is a mighty fine weapon you have there, good sir. I ahven't seen one of these in over four hundred years."

So, this guy was here to see Ashlei eh? Well he needed to get his facts straight first. Rumours spread like wildfire when somebody strong enough to topple the former Cero Espada comes into play and Ashlei was no different. Back then, her name was Ashlei Mischevang. It was her true birth name given from her mother: Monica Mischevang and her father of whom has gone nameless throughout history. Monica gave birth to several children, Ashlei being the eldest of the bunch but also being the first of the group to die. Would you believe she has over ten sisters all from the same mother? These kind of events that spread through Ashleis child life showed her just how cruel the world can be. She was hung, drawn and quartered before drowned in a river as final punishment. Proclaimed a witch, she was to die a witches death.

That happened over 50 years ago now. Today, Ashlei leads the espada with an iron fist. She might seem innocent and cute, but her childlike stature is just one of her many tools to get round you. She is not the kind little child you might expect. The girl wandered the hallways and corridors of Las Noches, watching people that she passed to see what they were up to. A woman would occasionally run up to her and hand her something to see on a Broadcast. The floating screens generated by Garganta portals were handy for learning about the goings ons in the world. She looked into the broadcast to see Karakura doing its usual thing. Apparently they were advancing some kind of barrier. The girl just titled her head and smiled before walking off without a word. As she got some distance though, she frowned and chewed the tip of her thumb.

Ashlei turned a corner, flicking her red pig tails out of her face. She stormed down the stairs and out into the fresh air of Hueco Mundo. She stood still for a moment, waiting for something. She looked around herself whilst adjusting her black and white uniform which consisted of shorts and a shirt in the arrancar style. For some reason, she wanted to just stand out here and wait for something. She yawned, then noticed somebody had come into the area riding some kind of horse. She was intrigued, but did not say a word. he was talking to somebody already. Would be rude to interrupt him wouldn't it?

It had been a good conversation with the salesman, but Mr. Targast's instinct told him to move on.Maybe it was the small girl watching his every move with such an intrigued look on her face, eyes shining once she had noticed his horse. John smiled to himself mentally, remembering how most girls wanted a pony or horse when he was still alive. Now-a-days they wanted a cellularite phone or something like that. Though he personally liked riding horse back, and visiting those he wanted to speak to. This was one such occasion, since the Cero Espada was rumor to have eyes and ears everywhere. He had come to place a request, one that could affect the rest of his time in the afterlife.

The red-headed child, still watching him as he led his horse resserecion over to a fountain where water was obviously. He tipped his hat to the young lady with a smile and slight bow, just to respect for a fellow Arrancar. The girls eyes seemed to still be either locked on him, or his horse so he led the horse by the reins over to where she stood, a foot or two lower than John. He got down on one knee and smiled to the small child. Looking into her eyes he felt as if she was a grown woman, full of experience, loss and war. His eyes blinked then widened with recognition, as if to tell the girl standing before him that he acknowledged her power. Her long red-hear smelled of blood from what he could tell, this set off some alarms in his head, but he didn't have any content or ill will towards the child before him.

Gasps sounded from around him, he wasn't sure why until people mumbled about how he was treating the Cero Espada like a child. The Cero Espada... really is a little girl. Well I'll be a cow patty baked in the hot sun on a June afternoon. He smiled once more, this time with respect as he tipped his hat."I suggest the bystander's remember who shoots the fastest in Hueco Mundo, and that they shut their yap." John turned away from the girl in front of him, looking over his shoulder at the weaker Arrancar who had tried to sneak up over something as petty as disrespect.

John swatted the reins, seemingly causing his horse to glow and then turn into his revolver before falling into his holster on his right hip. He wasn't showing off, he was just conserving energy for future use. He didn't want to be exhausted later after all. John reached into his pouch and pulled out a locket, opening the locket to see photos of his wife and son. Ashlei Mischevang, the Cero Espada was in his presence and tears almost welled in his eyes. The water was on the eyes, but refused to let go. With a quick wipe on his sleeve, John Targast spoke kindly to the young girl before him.

"Howdy, Young Miss. I don't mean to treat you like a child, contrary to what other dingbats around here think. I apologize if I offended you, young miss. My name is John. John Targast. Wha's your's, little lady?"