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(K. Sorry about that ><')

Aislinn pushed herself to her feet, shaking out her sword arm and ignoring the blood that dripped from the two parallel cuts on her left palm. Nera was back in the sky, and her reiatsu was jumping ominously. Her next phrase was obviously some sort of release command, and Ash brought up her guard once more, tensed for whatever technique the arrancar was able to wield.

The sky darkened angrily, as though heralding the storm Nera had so recently promised. Ignorant of Nera's abilities, yet unwilling to give her the chance to use them, Ash bent her knees and lept skyward, slashing at the dark shadow in the sky that surrounded the arrancar. If she pressed the attack, perhaps Nera would be unable to carry out whatever technique she intended.

Arresting her strike, Aislinn just managed to pull her blade back, angling it to block the dark slash of dark reiatsu that Nera shot at her. Although she succeeded in blocking the reiatsu, the sheer knock back force pushed her back to the ground. She landed heavily, dark reiatsu bearing down on her. With considerable difficulty, she slashed her blade sideways, managing to cast off the attack. The dark reiatsu smashed into the ground before dissipating.

"That's all you're gonna do?" Ash glared up at the arrancar, disgruntled that her attacks weren't landing. Of course, whenever she got frustrated, she got reckless. At this point, taunting Nera seemed a good way to lure her in close so Ash could engage her attacks, though perhaps it wasn't the best course of action. "Here I'm expectin' something big and powerful, but that's all y' got? 'Spose your brains 'd match your brawn, eh?"

"Y' got uglier, there, I'm sorry t' say," Aislinn couldn't help the jibe as Nera stepped free of the dark cloud. At this point, Ash noticed that her skin had taken on a strange, purple glow. It had to have something to do with the arrancar's power, but Ash couldn't feel its effects. Still, the idea that Nera's energy was covering her body made her skin crawl. She opted for a more solid stance as the woman approached.

Strangely, as the arrancar drew closer, Ash felt as though a great weight was pressing down on her body. The tip of her blade wavered as the weapon grew heavy in her grip. Some unknown force was dragging at her limbs. She gritted her teeth, willing herself to remain upright. This had to be the arrancar's power. It was some sort of force manipulation-- that much Ash could tell. It was a perfect counter for Ash's maneuvers considering they were all based upon speed and agility. Without her reflexes, her fencing technique wouldn't hold against the arrancar's power-based attacks.

The thought that she was at the disadvantage fueled Aislinn's anger, and she drew on it to fight the heavy weight that had settled over her. Assuming a two handed grip, it took all of Ash's strength to lift her sword. Taking a painfully slow step, she aimed a slash at Nera's chest, using the odd, heavy force to add momentum and power to her downward slice.

"It so happens that I do think I'm funny, y' know. Crack meself up every day," Aislinn quipped, refusing to acknowledge the danger of her situation. It wouldn't due to dwell on how difficult it would be to combat this technique. In any case, there was a thrust aimed straight at her chest that needed avoiding.

It was only too easy for Aislinn to allow her knees to buckle. She dropped like a stone catching herself on her hands as she evaded the attack aimed at her chest. If she hadn't been so weighed down, she could have retaliated further, but Nera's gravity was too powerful to combat at her current level.

That didn't mean she would admit defeat, though. By shear force of will, she lashed out in a low, sweeping kick, attempting to bring Nera down with her. If it was successful, she'd go to pin the arrancar down. In that case, the excess gravity would work against Nera. She'd be trapped beneath Aislinn's increase weight and be unable to move without releasing the technique. And by that point, Ash would have done her best to crush the woman's windpipe in a choke hold.

With the gravity technique bearing down on her, there was no possible way Aislinn would be able to avoid Nera's slash of reiatsu. Still, she wasn't about to lie down and let the attack hit her head-on. With growl of defiance, she pushed against the weight, throwing herself away from the dark claw that shot in her direction. Her movement was enough to draw her from a direct strike, but the wave of purple reiatsu sliced deeply into her shoulder.

Aislinn cried out in pain. The cut burned sharply and every movement elicited bolts of pain that lanced up her neck down her arm. The cut was bleeding sluggishly, staining the dirt beneath her in rich, red tones. Her eyes burned brightly in anger, teeth gritted against further sound.

"Hah... I'm hoping you're not expecting me to freeze, now, are ya?" She said a bit breathlessly. She pushed herself to her knees, hating to kneel in front of the arrancar, yet unwilling to lie down in defeat. She pulled her sword to her side, lifting the weapon with both hands, though the tip wavered under the strain. This done, she couldn't find the strength to initiate an attack. She could only fight an inevitable force of gravity for so long before the technique won out.

"Don't know 'im," Aislinn lied automatically. Even if she got pounded into the pavement by this arrancar, she would at least be able to protect Kasen from her. "Honestly-- are all arrancar this dense?"

Aislinn's face was pale, a sheen of cold sweat standing out against the ashen tones of her skin. The effort required to resist Nera's gravity was taxing her strength to the limits, while the physical strain was doing nothing to help her wounded shoulder. Although she had always been quite confident in her abilities, she could now see the gap between herself and an arrancar. She'd let her natural arrogance get the better of her, and she was only lucky she had the willpower to withhold Kasen's name from this woman. She needed to be stronger, but she needed to survive this confrontation, first.

"Then again," She mused, aware that she was probably pissing Nera off. It didn't matter. So long as Kasen was protected, Ash was comfortable with the consequences of a smart mouth. "Maybe it's that extra bone that makes your skull so thick. Ol' Aizen should a' thought a' that 'fore he made ye,"