An Unseen Dilemma [OPEN]

"Hello little mouse." Gwen's smile erupted into a wicked grin as she stepped out through the garganta. She was wearing a crisp set of uniform, pure white, and highly stylish. It was reminiscent of the SS uniform the Germans used to wear during the second world war, but instead of a swastika, a pentacle adorned it instead. She had been in Hueco Mundo, assisting the Jagdarmee with their operations there, and one particularly feisty and desperate hollow had formed a portal, trying to escape by any means necessary. She had followed and exterminated it, and had been interested to see where it lead. Perhaps to allies?

But no, all she found at the other end was spirits' favourite haunt, Karakura town. And within that place, a little shinigami, all on her own. She seemed to be squealing and oogling at a teddy bear shop. Oh how banal. Gwen was really going to come across as the enemy here. She straightened her cap, and clasped both hands behind her back, still grinning menacingly at the shinigami. Did she have any idea what was about to happen? The shinigami were still so carelessly leaving their forces out in the open, alone, unguarded like this. It was as though they had no appreciation for the fact that this... This was a war. And as far as Gwen was concerned, she was on the winning side.

"What's a little mouse like you doing so far from home?" she asked, before performing a sonido to get close to Sam, and then aiming a backhand at her face, intended to knock her straight through the shop window causing mass panic and hysteria. If the blow landed it would smart especially due to Gwen's rock-hard Hierro. She considered killing the shinigami there and then but no... That wouldn't send the right message at all.

An aggressive punch of static. Gwen exited her sonido in front of the shinigami on the rooftop, so much so that the two were face to face, only inches separating them. Gwen's icy blue eyes bored into Sam's face. Any blow that came her way would be parried using only her rock hard skin, deflecting any attacks with deft movements. Gwen moved almost imperceptibly fast compared to Sam, such was the power gradient between them.

"To send a message." Smirked Gwen. "I need you to hit me with your strongest blow. All the strength and power you can muster." If Sam had not moved away at this point her voice would have settled almost into a whisper, her voice dripping with sensuality. "Anything less than your best efforts... And you're going to die." She remarked. Indeed, if Sam didn't take this seriously, there was every chance she could die. Gwen's reiatsu was serious and hot and the temperature around them even then had soared to a level that was uncomfortably warm and dehydrating.

She needed to make sure that there were no doubts in Sam's mind that she was dead. That no matter what she did now, her life was absolutely and utterly in Gwen's hands- this entire exercise was a demonstration of her power. If she had to torture her for that, then she would, no qualms.

"Didn't you fucking hear me?" Gwen asked her, enraged. She shot a Bala at the shinigami's chest, which given their relative difference in strength, would most likely feel something akin to getting hit by a train. Gwen had reigned it in a touch though, if she killed the little shinigami now this whole exercise would be utterly pointless. Though she really did need to drown the shinigami in a pit of despair. She would perform a sonido to appear behind Sam unless she somehow managed to dodge the bala coming at her nearly point blank, and would pluck her our of the air by the scruff of her shihakusho.

"You need to hit me. If you're even going to draw your sword now, you need to throw everything you have into one sttack. I need to feel your killing intent." Gwen told her, icy blue eyes glowering in stark contrast to the fiery inferno of her reiatsu. First she would break the shinigami's spirit. Then she would break her body. Only then would Gwen send her licking her wounds back to Soul Society, broken and ashamed. The psychological war against the shinigami was as important as the physical one. To break them down, wear down their psyche. That was what this winter war would entail.

The shinigami had by some miracle managed to dodge her bala, despite its blinding speed. No matter- the attack would likely have killed her regardless, the glancing blow that struck her was more than sufficient to serve Gwen's purpose. Gwen's eyes flashed dangerously, excited that she'd get to see what this shinigami could do, prepared to gloat at her for her utter weakness. The shinigami even released her shikai- for she hadn't managed to achieve a Bankai. She seemed to be releasing multitudes upon multitudes of power but to Gwen it was still a mere drop in an ocean. She snickered as Samantha told her that this was the full strength she was capable of. Gwen dropped her arms to her sides, and suppressed her reiatsu. Sam would be able to see that she was doing nothing, making absolutely no effort whatever to dodge or defend herself, that she was taking this blow as cleanly as she could.

The wave of reiatsu washed over her, and dissipated behind her. The arc of energy seemed to be coming in slow motion to Gwen, but she didn't make any effort, as it passed over her with absolutely no effect whatsoever. Her hierro nullified all traces of damage, though the difference between their strengths meant that it would have been negligible regardless. She would stand there for several moments, allowing the true futility of Sam's options to become utterly apparent.

"I felt... Nothing." Gwen told her blankly. She couldn't hold back her smile. She cracked her neck with a smooth motion, before blinking. "Not good enough." she told the Shinigami, before disappearing in a crackle of static. When she re-appeared she would be spinning through the air next to Samantha, before aiming an earth-shattering spin-kick straight at her right humerus, aimed to completely break it in two. She would then perform another sonido to just above her, a rock-solid elbow aimed at her head, aiming to floor her with an elbow drop, before landing, cat-like on her feet.

Following this she would take ahold of the zanpakuto, and unless by some miracle Sam managed to hold on to it, pluck it from her hands, before waving it about, debating whether or not she ought to keep it as a keepsake. She would swish it backwards and forwards in a whipping motion, before examining its edge. She took a breath, before in a single fluid motion, she snapped the shikai clean in half over her knee.

"You shinigami are worthless. You will all fall before the might of his Majesty. You aren't the only ones getting all buddy buddy with us Arrancar. After what you've done to the world... You all deserve to perish in his Majesty's perfect world." she spat.

She saw the hope draining from the shinigami's face as her attack did absolutely nothing. It made the arrancar ecstatic, goosebumps had erupted all over her steel skin. She straightened her mask-fragment come hairband, and breathed a sigh of satisfaction following brutally flooring Samantha. Oh what fun. The more sadistic part of her wanted to continue the torture for longer, however, it was much more politically astute to use this opportunity to send a message to the shinigami. As she dropped the useless shikai to the floor, she saw the shinigami's power faded. With glee she saw the shinigami on the floor begin to cry. Excellent. Just as she had wanted.

She had broken both her body, and her spirit.

She had delivered her message, perhaps it would have been prudent to leave there and then. That might have been what a quincy soldier would have done. But Gwen, despite everything, was still an arrancar. And she was a mean-spirited one at that. Dressed up in the hugo-boss trappings of the Wandenreich she might be, but her baser instincts, the crueller ones, saw that shinigami crying on the floor and she reacted instinctively. All the times she had nearly been cut down... Purified... Her personality and power lost to these self-proclaimed gods.

Gwen walked towards the fallen Sam, laying down a healthy blanket of reiatsu suppression in case by some miracle she, or anyone else tried to pull any funny business, and knelt beside her, her big boots at the shinigami's eye level. She leaned down so her pretty but severe and compassionless face was visible through the shinigami's tears.... And broke out into a motherly look of concern. She reached forward and wiped away the shinigami's tears.

"Hush, hush," she cooed gently, the sparkles of empathy glittering in her icy eyes. "it's okay little shinigami," she said softly, tucking a strand of blonde hair back behind Sam's ear. She leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, "please don't cry." she whispered softly, sounding almost on the verge of tears herself.

"I fucking hate to see you cry." her face changed instantly into a look of disgust, and hatred, teeth bared, upper up furled back into a snarl as quick as a flash she leaned forward and kneed Samantha powerfully in the gut, in a horrendous suckerpunch. Gwen snickered and got to her feet, happy that she'd let loose enough of her anger on this unsuspecting soul reaper. "Just remember... You were defeated by Gwen Olivarez, of the Wandenreich. Don't tresspass into human territory any more, Shinigami." she spat, turning away from Samantha, stomping on the zanpakuto as she went for good measure. She opened a garganta, and prepared to step out of it, leaving the shinigami on the rooftop.