Andre sighed and flopped down onto the ground. Bored with nothing to do he started pawing at the hard, gritty sand of Hueco Mundo. His body was strong after years of hunting and hiding from other hollows day after day. Although he was once human, his body looked like that of a fox, but not any ordinary fox. He was considerably larger and his claws were surprisingly sharp and were colored in a blinding white. His coat was a deep jet black and no dirt could touch it. His most striking was his deep golden eyes. That peered through the mask on top of his face. The mask reached down the front of his face and on the bottom of his mouth. There were adequate holes that let his marvelous eyes shine through. They radiated wisdom and power and struck fear into any lesser hollow. Today was an odd day for Andre, for the first time in many many years he was bored. He had no inclination to hunt hollows on the plains, they were far beneath him now. Nor did he feel like traveling to earth in pursuit of human souls, they offered him no gain in power anymore. The hunger in Andre had subsided as he grew smarter. He learned that the hunger was just the driving need for power, once he reconciled with that the hunger stopped driving him insane. Instead he replaced that drive with one more manageable. The need to survive drove Andre to his limits. He was able to succeed where a mere baseless drive for power could not, and he was rewarded handsomely for it. “Why…have I reached my limit” Andre asked to the air. His questions always started with why, it was his word. With a sudden resolve that asking questions always gave him, Andre stood up (on all fours) and loped across the endless dessert of Hueco Mundo. On his seemingly random jog through he saw a few of those humanoid hollows he admired so much. “Why have they been able to achieve a new form?” He asked to himself as he stopped abruptly so stare, studying them. Their bodies differed in many ways but the one thing he noticed was that a tiny fragment of their masks had been left on their person. Then it struck him, “The Masks!” he howled out in jubilation and started to ponder if he would be able to actually tear his mask apart. “Why wouldn’t I?’ he mused and continued on his run to a more secluded spot in the lifeless terrain. He knew that he would need plenty of privacy and room for the task ahead and also that he would rather die alone in his own foolishness if this failed. Muscles clenched, Andre began his ritual. At first he started to claw at the mask leaving deep gashes that healed themselves instantly. The pain was intense and Andre knew that this approach was futile. In a howl full of rage Andre stood up on his hind legs, the limitations of his body forgotten as he struggled to achieve a new life. His forelegs grasped his face and tugged mightily. It had to be in one sudden motion or the mask would just repair itself and leave Andre with nothing but pain and sorrow. Tug after tug, pull filled him with in bearing pain. If he thought the mask gashing was bad, this was torture. Like a pinch compared to slowly being roasted alive for days on end. Hours passed as Andre thrashed about and slowly but surely Andre felt a bit of leeway between his face and his mask. With renewed gusto Andre ripped at his face. The mask was desperately trying to repair itself but to no avail. The mask was coming off bit by bit. As success drew near Andre howled out in pain and joy. The sound began as a animals lament but changed into a man’s deep and booming yell. In the last moments Andre dove at the ground and lifted his face up sharply while his strong arms kept the mask down. To Andre’s surprise the mask slipped off but left a sliver on his face, no matter he had succeeded. Or had he? The impact of his pull had sent him flying a few yards away. When he got back up he was on all fours and still looked the same. Then the nausea came to him. His head started swaying and his vision became blurry. Suddenly he retched and retched as if there was something inside of him that wanted out. After each retch his fur slid further and further revealing the skin of a human. Finally after his whole body seemed to be completely covered in human skin he threw up. Out came a large black mass that Andre couldn’t identify. Not that he had time to study it because suddenly his spine contorted and started shifting and changing. The pain was immense as one could imagine. His entire skeletal structure was rearranging itself into a human-like form. After the excruciating moments passed, Andre fainted. The major changes had already occurred and his body would to the rest on its own in his sleep. When he came to his new form was wondrous. He could stand on both hind legs easily but he still felt comfortable on all fours. The only trace left of his dark black fur was a messy patch of hair on top of his new head. His golden eyes still stayed the same and Andre had complete mastery over the memories of his hollow years. There was a change though. He could think faster, better, more efficient than he ever had before. He saw things in a much better light and paths that he had not even come to his mind now opened before him. In fact he though better than any other creature Human, Hollow or even Shinigami, but he would not know that until a little later. His first words were ‘Why have I been granted this power? Why have these paths come before me?” he asked to himself. And to his astonishment the answer came, he was to join the other Humanoid Hollows and stick with them, they were key to survival in his new realm of possibilities. As he stood up he saw a sword and a sheath before him and he knew that they were special. But now was not the time. Quickly he sheathed the sword and started to run on two legs but sometimes four towards the powerful reiastu of the Human like hollows, faster than he had ever run before.