Welcome to Gaia! ::

With a curt nod and a disapproving look to the last remnants of the major fighting, Charles tries to point at any one of the fight. "I mean squad ten. They are supposed to be our allies, or comrades. Instead they are feral, antagonistic, dangerous. Rather than coming together, they are so anxious for a fight- any fight that they would battle each other and welcome war with such abandon as to be more like squad eleven on steroids." Charles still watches and his eyes dart back and forth taking in details, analyzing attacks and counters.

Brought back to the book, he smirks at his own security and points out several characters. "These are a code I devised using language structure from one language, but using icons from another. Given a bit of time, anybody could likely break it, but on a first glance it looks like garbage." In truth, it was something he had rarely seen in complexity. Utilizing grammar and iconography from several sources and having spent years of free time, he is rather proud of it.

"I thought long ago, when I first came to train as a Shimigami, that if my personal notes might get taken, it would be best to keep them encrypted. More than once somebody tried to copy off my notes for one reason or another, and then fail miserably because they tried to decrypt my notes instead of study." This time the smile on his face is more genuine, despite twinges of shy color on his face. Despite himself, he is prideful of his coding.

(( Ick . . . oral pain sucks worse than just about anything, I know. ))

"I don't see why not . . . but whom do you suggest we mess with? Thus far all I see is you, me, and the strong silent type here." Still smiling, he nods his head to Doc. Feeling better with backup here to help if some . . thing . . . got interested in them, Charles begins to enjoy having an actual conversation. Just as long as it doesn't get as dire as the last one he attempted to make.

A mischevious smirk finds Charles' face as he studies the response offered. He looks to his book, the code as easy to understand to him as a native language. A small part of him wants to keep it private, to keep it for himself. A larger part of him wants to not only be useful, but be instrumental to the projects. Wild fantasy made reality through his effort and mind. Weaving devices to alter the fabric of the world tapestry . . . and to ensnare those too trusting, too small-minded, too short-sighted to see potential.

Looking to deMarco, he nods slightly. "It'll be a pleasure to offer my coding. As for what is happeneing, my information is sparse." Reaching over, he turns a few pages back and points out some of the sketches he did of both Arrancar summoning hollows and the release of squad ten's zans for battle.

"I arrived here, and stumbled into a tense camp of our friends. They are what I was taught the hollows were- terse, at each other's throats. Shortly thereafter the Arrancar appeared, and I introduced myself. They seemed taken aback that I didn't just attack on sight. Instead, I offered my hand and it was actually taken. I tried to make inroads to peace or at least not fight them in a losing battle. Instead, these tennies provoked them. The battle is squad 10's battle lust, and the hollow's current superiority. They have the seireitei, numbers, and power. Fighting them like this is useless . . ."

A heavy sigh escapes him again, but he starts to point out specific notes. "These are my quick bits, mostly negative. They waste a lot of movement and energy with flashy releases and attacks. Now things are dying down because of it. Most of the hollows summoned know they are outmatched, which is why I hid. Without a shikai, I am too weak to pose a great threat." Admitting he is without more than just his blade seems to bring him back to being on guard. An inadequacy that makes him feel unprotected and very vulnerable at the moment, but the sensation passes soon enough as a wave of calm hits him again. Confused as to what this means, he just shakes his head slightly and turns back to his notes, ready to explain a bit here or there.

Seeing the Arrancar's speed wasn't a surprise for Sho. He had learned a lot about them in the academy and that their speed was one of the main topics they focused on. Seeing the Arrancar sidestep leads Sho to believe that there was going to be some kind of a follow-up from his attack. Sho use's his Reiatsu to speed up the attack causing the flaming Naginata to strike the ground before the Arrancar's counter fully takes place.

Suddenly an idea hits Sho, he looks at the Arrancar and yells, "Arrancar ... if it is speed you want, than I will give you a lesson on speed you won't forget!" Sho's Naginata turns back into his fiery Zanpakutou as he watches the Arrancar's right hand launch a set of half a dozen glowing whip like tendrils out at Tenshu leaving his left hand and left side open for an attack. Sho yells, "Bakudou #4 .... hainawa" an energy rope launches out with the intent on wrapping the left arm of the Arrancar and making it useless. This allows a large gap in-between the left rib cage of the Arrancar's body. Sho uses his Reiatsu to help speed up his run to that of the speed of sound. With his Zanpakutou pointed at the Arrancar's ribcage, Sho aims to thrust his Zanpakutou threw the ribs and into the heart of the Arrancar thus ending the fight....

((Charles...You better watch what you say...

other than that I wanted everyone to know I'm still alive and am lurking around the thread. Everyone is having fun fighting so I didn't want to ruin it. If you need to contact me, either PM me or...OOC post here. >< ))

Calmed by the wave of emotion, Charles watches deMarco rise in anger. Cautiously he reaches back over and rests a hand on his zan's handle. With cold analyzation, he immediately knows that this short fuse could be trouble. If this is what a researcher is like, small wonder squad ten was out for Arrancar blood. Kneeling with a hand ready to defend himself Charles is struck how odd this seems. The enemy was calm and collected and squad ten ready for a fight, even if they had to pick it. Now this researcher is ordered to keep him in a warzone, and is ready to start lobbing grenades at the thought of an enemy worth blowing up.

What alarms him more is that he has no fear of this shimigami, and doesn't mind the thought of defending himself here. Perhaps it is due to not being outnumbered a thousand to one, but this doesn't feel right. When deMarco calms and slumps against the tree, Charles shifts a little, no longer content to stay at deMarco's side. Instead he kneels and sits on his ankles facing his new superior.

"Don't misunderstand me. I did what was the most logical and beneficial. Even with the 'help' of squad ten behind me, should a fight erupt, I would have been little more than fodder. We are no longer the anthill facing wasps- our numbers no longer are overwhelming. We no longer control the hive. Did I expect diplomacy to gain me back anything more than time and perhaps information? No, even a child is not that naive." Sighing softly, Charles looks down at his left hand which is free and making a fist gently in the air before him.

"A blunt force attack will not work." The admission seems to take every bit of strength to follow up on as he looks up with a cold and calculating gaze, fully realizing that he is not only being insubordinate, but speaking what some might consider treason. "The seireitei is too strong for the power we can bring to light. It is designed far too well, and we have limited power and options. If our home is ever to be restored to us, we must learn! The hollows were hungry, had a need to win. Now we are showing signs of the same desparation. What is worse, simply thinning their ranks will not work . . ."

Looking out to the battlefield, surveying the wounded Shimigami and the devastation wrought by the battle. "Look out there- what do you see? The aftermath of a battle where both our kind and theirs have suffered and fallen. Still, where are their dead? Where are the defeated hollows, or dare I hope defeated Arrancar? Our weapons purify them and send them back . . . " He turns to deMarco with a dire expression " . . . to the area around the seireitei. We are not defeating them- we are feeding them!!!

"Holding the seireitei means that they have infinite access to the areas surrounding it and can make more hollows en masse. For each one of them that falls, a dozen can take their place. For each of us that falls, a single petal falls from a sakura tree. Once they are all gone it will be seasons before more are ready to bloom. Without learning more, developing more, without the hunger to be better, we might as well surrender." Blinking slowly, deliberately, Charles stares down deMarco. The words are spoken calmly and without malice, chosen carefully to show he is not sympathizing with the enemy- but aware of how bad the situation really is.

Charles only hopes that his analysis shows he will do what he is told- but is aware that for now a fight is futile.