Valentina Volpe

Darkness. Infinite darkness forever haunting the endless sea of sand. The bleak shadows that cover Hueco Mundo, only illuminated by the ominous crescent moon that hung motionless in the bleak sky. No plant life existed. Only odd quartz sculptured that resembled trees and plants peaked from the ever changing sands. The ground, forever shifting with pallid white sands. No obvious signs of life except the vast quantities of hollows that dwell among the sands and below the desert in an endless forest of nightmarish life forms. She stood alone, far from Las Noches, far from any living thing that could interfere with her agenda for the day. Her deep golden eyes glowed with ambition, her pupils narrow, like those of a cat. A malevolent grin played about on her soft, pale lips. The snow white fur of her tail stood on end as a rushing breeze caressed her. Her vulpine ears stood erect, scanning the area for any sign of movement. Her soft lips curled into a wicked little smile once more, a low chuckle coming out of nowhere. Her mission was clear to her. She had a little trick up her sleeve, and she needed a target to test it out. She recently discovered that she had the ability to perform an odd new cero. One she happily named "The Shining Cero." She didn't know of it's strength, because she had yet to fully perform it. Today, that was going to change. She was going to learn to use her newly discovered ability, and master it before she would return home to Las Noches. Before she would begin, she needed to hunt. With a heavy sigh, she dropped onto all fours. The change, rippling through her body in a wave of pain, and slight pleasure. She sat up on her knees, letting out a howl, her cry deep and baying. She fidgeted in her clothes for a moment as she felt the prickling of her pelt on her back. It itched and annoyed her. She smiled, her right hand coming up to grip the charcoal black zipper of her top. She tugged the zipper down, it making little noise as she loosened her top. She shed the cotton sheathe, tossing the garment aside. The moon's iridescent glow hitting her milky white flesh. Her grin grew wider. The black markings that decorated her chest, her face, and her shoulders began to glow with an ominous black light. Her golden eyes smoldered beneath half closed lids. She felt the prickling of her pelt already sprouting down her stomach now, her flesh bubbling. It was coming. She ripped away her pants, the fabric tearing away as it it were no more than wet paper. The black markings, much like the marks on her arms, were glowing now. She was getting anxious, her patience now gone. She tensed her muscles to urge the change on. She let out a hollow growl as the creaking and crunching of bones began. Her arms lengthened and her legs shortened. Her knees cracked and buckled into a new shape. Her back arched, A ridge of fur bristling down her naked back. Black fur crept up her forearms and shins. Her fingers shortened, becoming paws. Her silken white hair became no more than a shaggy mane that covered her chest, shoulders and stomach. She let out an agonized howl as her skull creaked, her jaws lengthening to become a canine muzzle, her face soon growing soft white fur. Her mask fragments remained as a reminder of shat she really was. The hole in her chest was still visible through her thick pelt. Her golden eyes began to glow brighter as the change came to an end, signaled by her tail going from one to three. She let out a roar from a mouth not meant for human speech, letting out a warning to all in her path that she was coming for them. She held her head high, sniffing the air, taking in the many scents around her. One managed to catch her attention. With a wide grin, she rose up onto her four feet, her fingers and toes kneading the sand, taking in the lovely feel of the soft terra. Nothing pleased her more than going for a long run in the sand. She stretched this way and that, limbering up for the hunt that she had ahead of her. She needed to be ready to strike as quickly as possible, just incase something popped up in her way. She took in one last deep breath, then took off into the vast wasteland, hunting for a target.

The thunder of her pursuit shook the sands, after all, she was no normal fox. She stood at about six feet tall at the shoulder, nearly seven and a half feet if counting up to her ear tips. Her tails were nearly five feet in length, each swaying behind her as she tore through the desert at an impressive speed. her body gave off a soft crackling noise as her fur generated an unusual amount of static electricity. She traveled the sands, hunting for a reasonable target. Along the path, she came across a few weaker hollows. First, was a small gillian that resembled a small lizard. She didn't want to waste her cero on such a tiny target. The lizard fled, giving her a challenge. She gladly accepted and gave chase. The lizard only made it a few feet before it was scooped up into her jaws. A few failed snaps, her teeth glancing off of protective bone before a canine tooth hit a yielding surface before it popped like a yellow grape. The lizard squirmed as her teeth chewed it, snapping bone and ripping flesh. She swallowed down the bloody mess, trickles of blood dripping from her hungry jaws. She then chases a larger, caribou like adjuchas. The hunt looked like something out of the Discovery Channel. She stalked it, staying out of sight until the target let it's guard down, then sprang into action when she was in range. She pounced and sank her teeth into the creature's neck, ripping out it's windpipe before it could blink. Blood stained the white sands as it spurted from the creature's gaping throat. It fell with a loud thud, it's blood pouring like a crimson fountain. Such a lovely sight. Val admired it's beauty before devouring the beast like a rabid dog. Her snow white muzzle was now painted red. Once finished, she began to stalk another, slightly larger target when something caught her attention. Her nose twitched as the sensory organ captured the scent of her target. A massive Menos Grande wandered out of the sanctity of it's forest home and into her personal hunting grounds. Wrong move. Her jaws parted, her grin, wide and toothy. A low growl echoed within her throat. She slowed down a bit now as she drew closer to her target. She crouched down into the sand, her target now in her sights. The massive creature lumbered through the sands, looking as if it were lost. Stupid creature... She thought as she watched it, her pupils growing wide. She ran her tongue across her teeth as if sharpening them. She didn't want to kill it. Not just yet. She just wanted it crippled so it couldn't move. She stayed low, suppressing her reiatsu to keep herself from being discovered by the idiotic hollow. Her shoulders twitched, her sinews trembling from restraint. Just...a little...closer... She thought to herself as she crept closer, her stomach dragging in the sand as she approached silently. She got within a few feet of the hollow, then she struck. With a silent pounce, she latched onto the Menos' back with her claws. The beast howled in agony as she ripped at it's back. She sank her razor sharp teeth into the Hollow's skin, it's hierro holding for a moment before she felt a pop, followed by the bitter taste of blood as it exploded onto her tongue. She released the bite and shook her head, the taste of Menos blood disgusted her. She snarled and bit again, shaking her head a bit to throw the creature off balance. The hollow howled and plummeted to the sand, hitting hard with a loud crash. Val bit a little harder, striking the proper nerves to paralyze the beastly soul. The menos lay motionless in the sand, twitching and screaming, unable to put together proper words due to it's underdeveloped intellect. Val simply grinned and backed away from the beast. She reared up on her back paws, her bones popping and snapping. She began to take on her humanoid shape once more. She had to take this form to perform her latest ability. She shed her silver pelt in exchange for her soft flesh. Her bones returned to a human structure rather than canine. Her skull cracked and returned to her lovely human look. She now stood on two human legs, though her feet still resembled canine like paws. Her hands still held a thin layer of black fur. Thick pads still covered the palms of her hands and the base of each of her five fingers. A three inch claw protruded from her fingers, each being sharp enough to easily rip through a hollow's hierro. She stood there glaring at her target. She was naked, worm-like, almost frail looking beneath the silver light of the moon. Her single tail swayed anxiously behind her, her devious gaze eyeing her target like a hungry animal. She wasn't going to eat it. Oh, no. She was going to use the paralyzed beast as a target. Now in the proper state, and a prober distance of 20 meters from her target, she began to focus her reiatsu into her right hand. She felt an odd tingle in her palm. The mixture of electricity and reiatsu tickled her flesh. It almost excited her. Her anticipation began to build as she prepared to test her ability to create her shining cero.

Val kept her eyes on her target as she channeled a massive amount of her reiatsu into her right hand. An aura seemed to glow around her, yet it wasn't like her normal aura. This aura was white instead of bright yellow. This was because of the conversion of her reiatsu. She channeled her natural electrical current, along with her reiatsu, causing her reiatsu to turn white. This was the signature color of her new ability. The shining cero, El Resplandor Cero. It was time now. She raised her right hand, holding her arm straight out, her hand at chest level. She curled in her clawed fingers, leaving her index finger extended. She closed her eyes now and focused her reiatsu into her index finger. She invisioned the energy collecting at the tip of her claw. As she saw this in her mind, the cero began to form in the same manner. A bead of white light appeared at the tip of her claw, slowly expanding. Seconds passed by, seeming like minutes as the cero grew. The Menos felt the massive amout of reiatsu that she was channeling and began to panic. It howled as if calling for back up, but nothing came to assist. In Hueco Mundo, it was kill or be killed. Every hollow for itself. Val only smiled as she listened to the hollow's cries of panic. She kept her focus, however, continuing to pour her reiatsu into this ever growing cero. The orb of white light was the size of a basketball now, and still growing. After a few minutes, the cero was at the size of a large ball, about 5 feet in diameter. It was fully charged now. Val opened her eyes, a malicious grin on her face as she began to speak to the Menos before her. Consider yourself lucky....you're the first to see this cero.....Now feel it's heat. El Cero Resplandor!! The beam shot from her finger at a break neck speed. The beam itself was seven feet wide and fifteen feet long. It tore through the sands, this cero rivaling a gran rey in power. The beam of pure white light enveloped the Menos. She heard it's horrified screams, then dead silence. Her beam ripped the creature apart and incinerated the pieces. The sand that was in the path of the cero had turned to glass due to the immense heat. Val simply smiled, satisfied with the results. Steam rose from her finger, then faded. Val turned her back to the scene and yawned a bit. Her body was too drained to use her sonido, so she began the long walk back to Las Noches, her tail wagging happily. She was about half way home, her body nearly fully recovered. After another hour of walking, the sat down in the sands to rest for a while. She gave a soft sigh and let her reiatsu recharge. Her shining cero was a complete opposite of a cero oscuras, and twice as strength. Instead of darkness, it represented light. Instead of black, it was white. She closed her eyes and soon dosed off, taking a short cat nap.Her ears suddenly stood erect atop her head. Something was approaching, and rather quickly at that. She caught the static sound of a sonido. This was no menos. The spiritual pressure this intruder gave off was far stronger than any menos. She then saw it. An arrancar. One like her, yet this one looked human. All except a horned helmet like attachment on it's head. The arrancar glared at her, then charged a cero in his hand. Val only grinned. More target practice. She let the arrancar fire his cero. She simply sonidoed out of the way. She needed more practice on her cero anyway. A menos was too weak. An arrancar would be more of a challenge. She appeared behind the arrancar and bit his throat, striking the proper nerves to paralyze, just as she did with the menos. The arrancar shouted expletives as he fell, motionless, into the sand. She wanted him alive, just as she wanted the menos. Her body had recovered by now. She was ready to fire a second shining cero. She moved about 20 meters from her new target, then turned to face him. The arrancar was shouting at her, but she ignored his words. He was more chatty that the Menos. This irritated her a bit. She sighed and charged a bala in her right hand, the yellow condensation of spiritual pressure forming quickly. She launched it at the arrancar, knocking him out instantly. Silence. Val smiled and now focused her reiatsu into her right hand again, it concentrating a lot quicker than last time. This pleased her. She raised her hand again, holding it out at chest level, her fingers curling in, all but the index finger. She closed her eyes and channeled her reiatsu into that one finger, the white orb forming on the tip of her claw yet again. The cero charged much faster this time. Within a few seconds, it was the size of a large melon. A single minute passed and the cero was now 6 feet in diameter, much larger than the last time. Val's grin grew wide and toothy. She was far more pleased with the results this time. Once the cero charged completely, she fired. The cero howled through the sands and ripped through the arrancar's torso, the seven foot wide beam engulfing the arrancar. Just like the menos, screams rang through her ears for only a few seconds, then complete silence. Total devistation. Bits of the arrancar still remained scattered in the sand, portions of the ground now painted red with his blood. A bloody horned helmet sank into the white sands. That being the only solid portion of the arrancar that remained. How it survived the blast, she doesn't know. She was still surprised there were bits of him that remained. He wasn't completely incinerated like the menos. Val shrugged and sat down in the sand, drained of energy, but she wanted to rest only for a short while before one final test. She wanted to see it's destructive powers on human subjects. A vile grin crossed those bloodthirsty lips of hers. She took an hour to recover her energy, then slashed her right hand across the air in front of her, ripping open a garganta. She entered the rift and fled to the world of the living to perform the last test. Human experimentation. Nothing would please her more.

Val crossed over the dangai precipice word in what seemed like days to her. The trip was semi-helpful however. It gave her more time to recover her energy, building up enough reiatsu to use her cero one more time. Her journey ended when a garganta ripped open, revealing a bright light at the end of the dark tunnel. The light was no more that the human world sun. It's vibrant golden sheen made her squint. She was used to eternal darkness. Entering the world of the living during the day always hurt her eyes. She kept her eyes half closed until they adjusted to the painful light. Her lids fluttered open to find herself in the rural area of Karakura. Houses lined busy streets. The voices of humans talking back and forth as they walked along the alabaster grey sidewalks rang in her sensitive ears. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she caught the horrid scent of the world of the living. She now remembered why she hated it so much. She'd enjoy annihilating the disgusting abominations. She wandered among the clouds for a moment until she found a densely populated area. A city park. Humans dined at rickety wooden tables covered in cloths with odd patterns. Human children threw balls and flat circles at each other, laughing. They seemed to be having....fun... It only disgusted her more. She grinned wider and poured her reiatsu into her right hand, preparing her cero for one final assault. She extended her right hand, holding it chest level yet again. Her fingers curled against her palm, her index finger still extended. Her eyes were wide open this time, watching everything take place. An orb of bright white light formed on the tip of her claw, it's glow rivaling the very sun that provided light to the human worms. The orb expanded a tad slower this time, growing to about 6 feet in diameter. With an excited growl, she fired her cero. The burst of white light collided with a picnic table, eliminating a family of twelve. The burst covered the entire family, incinerating the worthless creatures before she could blink. A chorus of screams and cries rattled the park, growing louder and louder until the noise crescendoed to the clouds. It was like music to her ears. She found herself laughing uncontrollably as she watched the surviving humans flee from the horrifying crater in the ground where the family once sat, laughing and eating together, unaware of the oncoming end of their useless lives. She was completely satisfied now. With her usage of the cero reaching it's limit, she used the remainder of her energy to open a garganta to take her home. She journeyed through the Dangai, replaying the image of the humans in her head. She was too entertained by this. After a long journey, a garganta opened, spitting her back into Hueco Mundo. She dropped into the sands, utterly drained.

The cero really took a lot out of her. She was panting now, her body lightly trembling. She felt numb. With a heavy sigh, she decided that this cero was only to be used in a dire situation due to the strength and the amount of reiatsu that it used. She laid back in the sand, gazing up at the desolate moon as it loomed over her, it's silver light covering her like a luminescent blanket. She exhaled slowly and rested a while in thought, her body naked, her worm-like vulnerability showing at this time. She was weak right now, and she knew it. She could be easily picked off at this point, but she had to rest. She took an hour to nap and recover her energy. The second cero seemed to drain her a lot quicker than the first. This ability couldn't be used twice in a row. Not in one day. She growled softly, hating this drawback, but knew that if she tried this again, she'd be done for in a fight. After a long nap, she awoke. She sat up slowly and stretched. The scent of hollows filled the air. They came for the shredded bits of arrancar that she left strung all over the sand. The smell of his blood attracted the scavengers. Her body was still weak. She couldn't take on a horde of ravenous hollows. Not right now. She rose to her feet and sonidoed off, heading quickly to Las Noches to recover safely.