Chapter 8
The captains proceeded through a door in the back. Each of them had a sense of urgency, one that pushed them towards their men. The only people that were left in the hall were Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Orihime. The sky was now a light grey, with thunder rolling through the clouds, and rain was falling down like the tears of angels.
"Ichigo, Orihime, I need you guys." spoke Yoruichi.
"What for?" Orihime asked.
"With the captains going back to their squads, there's one thing that still needs to be done."
"What's that?" Ichigo asked.
"The energy readings that Observations detected the last time the weather changed detected was Black Sun energy. Soi Fon probably told you that."
Ichigo nodded.
"Wait!" shouted Orihime. "Does that mean that the Arancars are working with the Nazis?"
"Nobody is sure." Yoruichi responded. "That's why I want to go to the old Nazi Laboratory, and check for something in one of their old books."
Ichigo and Orihime both gave Yoruichi a worried look. Closing her eyes, and giving her signature smile, she attempted to comfort her friends.
"Don't worry. The Nazi technology has been completely gutted. On top of that, they've practically been on lockdown since the end of the occupation. We'll be safe."
Yoruichi's friends gave a sigh of relief. The three went towards the Nazi Laboratory in search of some information as to how the Black Sun is currently being manipulated. Hopefully, their search would be short & successful.
As they were heading towards the laboratory, several thunderbolts struck the ground. Some of them were far away, but others were close to their position. They noticed that the rain had stopped, but it became a gentle mist. The sky lightened up in color, but was still very grey, and the thunder finally stopped striking the earth.
"Something's not right." said Ichigo. "Why did the weather suddenly calm down?"
"Not sure." responded Yoruichi. "Let's not stop and idle about. We need to get to that laboratory."
The three continued towards the Nazi Laboratory, when they began seeing grey clouds of fog. Thinking nothing more that perhaps that the temperature was rising, they arrived at their destination.
When they got to the front of the building, the notice that there were no guards keeping an eye on the place. Though there wasn't any sense of dread, Ichigo, Orihime, and Yoruichi kept an eye out for anything suspicious. As for the building itself, none of them have ever been inside. Despite that, the Laboratory radiated the intense evil & mysticism of the Fourth Reich.
"Well, here we are." responded Yoruichi.
Chapter 9
Yoruichi took a small, rusted key from her pocket, and placed it in the main door's lock. With a small twist, the gears inside the lock turned into each other, and the door creaked open. She put the key back into her pocket, and pushed the wooden doors open.
"Well that was easy." Yoruichi said. "Let's go in. We got to find that library." With a wave of her hand, the three individuals walked inside the abandoned laboratory.
The laboratory was definitely abandoned. Cobwebs covered chairs & doors, dust was on all of the signs and pictures, and the air flowing through the building was as cool as a summer night. Every now and then, the sound of mice & rats could be heard crawling on the floor, and through the ceiling.
"Such a spooky place." Orihime squeaked.
"It definitely has a dark...feeling within." responded Ichigo. "Yoruichi, why hasn't anyone come in here to just look around?"
"Once the occupation was over with, and after you left, the 13 captains had a meeting. During that meeting, they came to the conclusion that any book that the Nazis brought with them were deemed harmful. Most of them they burned, but a few were stored here for same keeping & research. The technology that they used here was utterly destroyed as well. After all of that, they locked this place up, and was designated as a forbidden zone. Luckily, I was given one of the few keys to this place. Now that the door is open, let's go in."
The three friends walked inside the abandoned laboratory. As soon as Orihime walked inside, the door suddenly closed behind them. Startled, Orihime immediately ran past Ichigo and Yoruichi in a frightened panic.
"Well, looks like somebody is already looking around." said Yoruichi sarcastically.
"Shall we follow her?" Ichigo asked.
"Of course." Yoruichi responded, and the two immediately began to follow their frightened comrade.
Not that the task was hard, as they followed the sound of Orihime screaming echoing through the dusty halls. It wasn't long before they caught sight of their friend, when they managed to catch sight of her running towards another set of large wooden doors. Apparently not noticing them, Orihime ran into the doors. With a thud a second later, she fell on her butt. Ichigo & Yoruichi caught up to her, and helped her to her feet.
Orihime dusted herself off, and rubbed the small bump on her forehead. "Ouchie." she said. "That hurt! I didn't even see these doors here!"
"You gotta watch where you're going, Orihime." Yoruichi said as she took off some cobwebs from her friend's shoulder. "Hopefully, my key here can open the door." She once again took the rusted key from her pocket, and placed it in the lock on the left door. She tried to turn it, but the key wouldn't move. "Huh?" Yoruichi said.
"What is it?" Ichigo asked.
"The key doesn't seem to be working." said Yoruichi. "I was told that this key would unlock all of the doors in here. It seems that it doesn't want to work on this one." She placed the key back into her pocket. "Ichigo, mind taking a crack at this?"
Ichigo drew his zanpakuto, and walked right up to the door. "Yeah, I think I can take a crack at this." he responded.
"Orihime, let's take a step back." Orihime said, and the two of them walked away from the door. They went behind a corner, and crouched down. Ichigo then charged up his weapon, and swung at the door. With a flash of blue light, the door became hundreds of tiny splinters, which blew into the room. Ichigo put the blade ack into it's sheath, and went to get Yoruichi & Orihime.
"Ladies, the way is clear." he said. The two girls got up from the ground, and they all went inside.
During the Nazi occupation, they had only heard of this library. Now that they were inside it, they were actually surprised at how humble the place appeared. Despite the dust, the three individuals could feel the power of the knowledge within the books. The air inside the library was cool, kind of like a breeze on a summer afternoon. The three individuals weren't, however, distracted by the temperature, and immediately set out for their objective.
Yoruichi started speaking "Okay guys, spread out, and take over a part of the library. Start searching for a book that'll shed some light on the situation at hand. Hopefully, this shouldn't take too long."
"Right." Ichigo and Orihime said at the same time, and off they went. Yoruichi stuck to the shelves near the entrance, Orihime went to the west section of the library, and Ichigo went to the middle cylindrical shelf. As soon as they went to their designated areas, they began looking through the array of books before them. The dust that floated through the air due to their rapid searching would make a lesser individual cough and sneeze without mercy, but not for these three.
10 minutes went by, and none of them found anything that would help. Ichigo seemed especially impatient by his inability to find a book that would help. He was curious, however, by a single tome sticking out of a shelf to his left. It was a plain thing, only about a big as a dinner plate, and covered with a plain brown binding. He tried to take it out, but it wouldn't budge. He gripped it with both hands, and pulled harder, but it still wouldn't move. Finally, he put a leg up against the column, and pulled one more time. Fortunately, the book came out.
Still clutching the tome in his hand, Ichigo let out a small laugh of relief. He flipped through it, when he noticed that the pages were completely blank. What is this, Ichigo asked himself. Just as he was about to throw the unused book to the floor, the column began shaking. Ichigo, Orihime, and Yoruichi turned around to see the books within the column shelves falling out.
"What's going on!" asked Orihime loudly.
"I don't know." responded Ichigo.
"What did you do?" Yoruichi asked.
"Nothing!" Ichigo yelled.
The column continued to shake & rumble. Finally, the shaking stopped, and the library went back to normal. Before the normality actually settled in, the column immediately sank into the floor, and revealed a small pedistal. On top of it rested a large book, with the black leather binding still holding on. When the three friends got closer, they could see some green lettering on the cover. Sensing the power within the pages, Ichigo grasped the book in both of his hands, and felt some sort of connection with the tome.
"Of Ebb and Flow: Life of the Black Sun." spoke Ichigo. "Yoruichi, is this the book that you're talking about?"
Yoruichi leaned over, and took the book from Ichigo's hands. "I think it is. Let's take it back as quickly as we can."
Yoruichi slipped the book into a small brown sack. Now that they had what they needed, anymore time spent in the library would be a waste. They exited the library, and proceeded towards the exit, when they were stopped by the sound of more thunder. It was very close, as the sound echoed throughout the halls. They could smell the ozone created by the thunder, and they could also hear the sound of people speaking.
"Sounds like Arancars." spoke Yoruichi. "Head back to the library, and look for cover!"
Orihime & Ichigo nodded in agreement. They rushed back to the library and looked for cover. Orihime found a large stack of books, Yoruichi leapt up onto a gargoyle above the entrance, and Ichigo flipped over a table and hid behind it. They could hear the two that were speaking walk closer to their position. A minute later, the two Arancars arrived at the entrance of the library, and their reaction was...strange.
"What the hell!" the first Arancar shouted.
"It seems that someone has already been here." the second Arancar spoke.
"I though that noone else knew about the book?"
"The book?", Yoruichi thought to herself. "How did the Arancars know about this book?"
Just then, Orihime's voice appeared in her head. "Yoruichi, what wrong?"
"They know about the book!" spoke Yoruichi telepathically.
"How's that possible! I thought we were the only ones who knew about!"
Ichigo's voices came in a second later. "Someone must have tipped them off, or they somehow knew about it beforehand."
"Could the Fuhrer have told them?" asked Orihime telepathically.
"I don't think so." responded Ichigo. "They seem to have known about the book ahead of time. As to how they know, I'm not sure."
"What are we going to do?" Orihime asked. "If they're as strong as we've been lead to believe, we'll be crushed!"
"Calm down, Orihime." Yoruichi said. "We'll ambush them when they come right in. I don't want to fight, but it seems we have no choice."
Orihime & Ichigo nodded. They went back to their cover, and waited for the two Arancars to step into the library. 2 minutes later, the Arancars arrived at the library, intent on looking for the book that was taken by Ichigo and his friends.
"Now!" Yoruichi yelled. She, Ichigo, and Orihime jumped out of cover, fully charged for the fight.
"What is this." growled the first Arancar. "We were told noone else knew about the book."
The 2nd, smaller Arancar placed his hand on the other's shoulder. "Calm yourself." he said. "This is nothing more than a small setback. One that will easily be fixed."
Ichigo took a small step forward. "Who the hell are you two?" he asked.
The smaller Arancar stepped up. "Calm yourself." he said. "My name is Stark, and my larger, angrier friend right next to me is Yammy. We're here for the book that your dark-skinned friend has in her possession. Am I mistaken?"
The three friends looked at each other, and were stunned. They were hoping that maybe the two looters confused them for scroungers. Unfortunately, the ruse didn't work in their favor.
"Don't lie to us!" Yammy yelled. "We can sense the eldritch energy emanating from the tome!"
Ichigo gripped his Zanpakuto's handle, just in case a fight was going to break out. Yoruichi gripped her dagger's hilt, and Orihime placed her right hand on the charm in her hair.
"I'm sorry about my partner's anger." Stark said. "It get's ahead of him so often. Now, I'm sure we can come to some kind of peaceful agreement. Lord Aizen..."
"Lord Aizen?" Ichigo asked. "How's that possible?"
"It's quite simple really." responded Stark. "After he had succeeded in his earlier endeavors, he's been gathering strength and influence in Waco Mundo, preparing to lash back at the Soul Society. He has one obstacle blocking his path: the Veil"
"When the Nazis had invaded" Yammy spoke "their tampering with the Veil somehow caused that dimension to surround the Soul Society, effectively covering this dimension with a secondary shell. Lord Aizen has come to the conclusion that the Nazi knew of a way to pierce the Veil surrounding this place, and that information is held in a book. Specifically, the book that you hold right now."
Stark spoke. "As I said a couple of seconds ago, we can do this quite peacefully. If not, I'm sure that my associate's bloodlust can definitely be sated if he killed two of you."
"Why two?" Orihime asked nervously.
"Cause we need a hostage." responded Stark. "Now I'm only going to say this once more. Give us the book peacefully, and none of you will die."
"Don't think so!" shouted Ichigo, who suddenly charged Yammy. He drew his blade, and was about to land an attack, when his target gripped Ichigo's weapon, and tossed him aside. Yoruichi drew her knife, and went for Stark, but was blinded by a flash of green light.
"I had a feeling that this would occur." said Stark. He walked right over to Yoruichi, who was stunned by the flash, and took the book from the satchel that she was wearing. He placed it inside his robes, they proceeded to draw out his sword. He was about to drive his sword right through Yoruichi's head, when Yammy stopped him. "Yammy, what are you doing?" Stark asked.
"We have the book" he said "but we've also got to find our hostage."
"What about her?" Stark asked, pointing to Orihime, who was hiding behind a stack of books.
"Yes, she'll do." said Yammy. "She'll do nicely."
Chapter 10
It was an hour later when Ichigo & Yoruichi woke up. They got up to their feet, still dazed from the flash, when they realized that Orihime was missing. Stark & Yammy were also missing, as well as the book. The library was now eerily silent, with books both destroyed & intact misplaced all over.
Ichigo starting talking. "Ugg, what the hell happened? Yoruichi, are you alright?"
Yoruichi rubbed her head, and moaned. "Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, where's Orihime?"
Ichigo looked around for a moment. "Damn, those bastards must have taken her. You still have the book?"
Yoruichi felt the bag that once held the item in question. "No, those Arancars took it." she said in a disappointing tone.
Ichigo punched a bookshelf to his right, causing blood to trickle out. "Damnit! What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
As if on cue, he & Yoruichi heard footsteps. Although hiding was on the table, they were far too frustrated to hide. Ichigo picked up his zanpakuto off of the library floor, and Yoruichi drew her knife. Both got into a fighting stance, waiting for whoever was coming towards him. When the figures creating the footsteps got into the library, Ichigo & Yoruichi were surprised by the people standing in front of them.
"Captain Hitsugaya! Rangiku! What are you doing here!" Ichigo asked loudly.
"We were in the neighborhood, when we heard some loud noises." responded Hitsugaya. "Rangiku and I them came over here as quickly as possible. Looks like we got here too late."
"You're damn right you're late." Spoke Yoruichi as she sheathed. "Suffice it to say, the situation is looking a little worse right now."
"What do you mean?" asked Rangiku.
Ichigo sheathed his blade. "Well, for starters, Orihime has been taken. On top of that, they also took a book that we were coming here for."
"Well, that's great." responded Hitsugaya. "We got the aftermath of the lightning storm, and a possible Arancar invasion. Now they have a hostage, and a Nazi book! This isn't looking good for us."
"Then let's get back to the other captains." said Yoruichi. "They need to be updated on what has happened here. Hopefully, we'll get back in time before anything happens."
"Agreed." responded Rangiku. "Let's get going!"
Chapter 11
The sky outside was now a lifeless, dull gray. A foreboding sense of gloom wormed it's way throughout the Soul Society. The rank-and-file were starting to become paranoid, while the otherwise stoic & iron-minded captains were suddenly beginning to feel insecurity & doubt. As for Ichigo, Rangiku, Yoruichi, and Captain Hitsugaya, they seemed to be unaffected by their twisted surroundings.
"I can feel it." spoke Rangiku. "Can any of you feel it?"
Yoruichi tugged some cloth on her shirt, and let out a small breath. "Yeah, I can." she responded. "There's something not right, but I can't quite tell what it is."
"It's some kind of...miasma." said Captain Hitsugaya. "I can even feel it in the buildings. This kind of dread must have taken a lot of energy to use."
Ichigo nodded in agreement. A moment later, he noticed a pair of feet sticking out from an alleyway. Pointing at them, the group went right over to investigate, and discovered that the feet were attached to a soul reaper who had died of unknown causes. His short black hair was somehow beginning to turn grey, his eyes were glossing over, and his skin had somehow started taking on a green sheen. The sight of the corpse had unnerved the group, with Ichigo taking it personally for some reason.
"His skin color looks familiar." said Ichigo as he was rubbing his chin. "Any of you guys think it looks like something we've seen before."
"I don't think we have enough time to investigate. Look over there!" Rangiku said loudly as she pointed towards the sky. Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Captain Hitsugaya looked upward, and saw what looked like bulbous insect floating through the air. They began flying towards the corpse, oblivious to the presence of Ichigo and the others. They backed away from the body, and watched as the bugs began draining the body. At first they though the insects were draining leftover fluids, they immediately noticed that they were draining energy from the corpse, as their backsides were getting larger & larger. Once they were full, they started floating away from the body, away to some unknown destination. Ichigo and his friends walked back over to the corpse, and noticed that it's skin was no longer green.
"I think I recognize those creatures." said Ichigo.
"You do?" Hitsugaya asked. "What are they?"
"They're called Geists." Ichigo responded. "I remember the Nazi scientists talking about them. Apparently, they're native inhabitants of the Veil. Think of them like spectral ants. Different species, different functions, that kind of stuff."
"Does that mean the Nazis are back?" asked Yoruichi.
"I'm not quite sure." responded Ichigo. "On the one hand, I can definitely sense the energy that they used. On the other hand, this feels...natural somehow. Almost like we're in the Geists's natural environment."
"Wait just a second." said Yoruichi. "I thought that your connection to the Black Sun was severed after we took out the Nazis. How can you still sense anything?"
Ichigo scratched his head, then spoke. "Perhaps I have some sort of faint connection that I still don't know about. Only time is going to tell with this situation."
"Well, time better tell soon." said Yoruichi. "Cause I hear someone coming!"
Ichigo and the others headed into the alley to avoid being seen by whoever was coming. The shadows were dark enough that they couldn't been seen, but not dark enough that they wouldn't be able to see anything. The four friends began coming up with what to do next.
"Hey Rangiku, take a look around the corner." said Hitsugaya.
"Why me?" Rangiku asked.
"Because if there's a guy coming towards us, you could charm him with your...feminine whiles." Hitsugaya responded.
Rangiku closed her robes. "You pervert!" she said, smacking her commander in the head. "Alright, I'll take a look. Just don't try to take a peek of me."
Hitsugaya simply huffed. "Alright, alright. Just take a friggen look." he said.
"Hee hee, okay then." said Rangiku with a smile. She peeked around the corner, and saw 3 Arancars. Two of them were male, and a strawberry blond female. Rangiku then noticed that the holes typical of an Arancar were replaced by a hole shaped into a familiar symbol. As one of them began looking in her direction, Rangiku quickly ducked back into the alleyway to avoid being seen. She seemed a little bit out of breath, perhaps due to her close call.
"Did you see anybody?" asked Yoruichi.
Rangiku caught her breath. "Yeah, I did." she said. "There were 3 Arancars. Two were guys, and one was a girl. They kinda creeped me out, though."
"How's that?" Hitsugaya asked.
"These Arancars don't have holes on them." responded Rangiku. "They got that Nazi sun symbol on them. Are you sure that they aren't working with them, Ichigo?"
Ichigo quickly shook his head. "Yes, I'm positive!" he said loudly. "As I said before, this feels natural somehow!"
Just then, he realized that he'd been talking too loud. His position, as well as the position of his comrades. Each of them promptly gave him a smack to the head, and a bump immediately started swelling up.
"Ow." said Ichigo as he was rubbing the bump on his head.
"Servers you right." said Yoruichi.
As if in response, every building around them immediately started to shake. A moment later, and they all crumbled into dust. The dust then rose to form a thick cloud that surrounded Ichigo and the others, as well as the ruins and the Arancars. The dust was so thick that they couldn't see their opponents, but their opponents could probably see them. Slowly and quietly, Ichigo and the others began to creep out of the dust cloud to avoid getting caught, but the cloud quickly began dispersing, and the group was surrounded by their pursuers.
"Well, Well." said the female Arancar. "It looks like a couple of rabbits trying to run away."
"I don't like rabbits." said the first male Arancar. "They're too full of life for my taste."
"What shall we do with them?" the second male Arancar asked, raising his head to be on level with the others.
"Let's skin them." the first male Arancar said.
"Agreed, let's..." and the female Arancar was interrupted by a bang, and a cloud of black smoke. The three Arancars began caughing and trying to wave away the smoke, with little success. After a few seconds, the smoke mostly dissipated, with only a few thin wisps floating in the air. The three Arancars stopped coughing, and the so-called rabbits had disappeared.
Chapter 12
Ichigo and the others kept running. Together, they could have probably beaten them. It was something about their power, how they were easily capable of harnessing the capability to destroy. There was only one group of individuals who had the same capabilities, but they needed to confirm it with the rest of the captains.
At this time, clouds were starting to fill the air. They were black like the night, and were streaked with a dark green. Ichigo started feeling his connection to the Black Sun regain potency, but as to how this was happening, he didn't know. Yoruichi, Hitsugaya, and Rangiku noticed that Ichigo was beginning to change some how.
"Ichigo." said Yoruichi as she touched her friend on the shoulder. "It's your powers from the Black Sun. They're coming back, aren't they?"
"They are." replied Ichigo. "I can't seem to use them just yet. The power behind them, however, is coming back. Captain Hitsugaya, how far are we from the rest of the captains?"
"Not far." he responded. "In fact, Captain Retsu is close by. We'll get to her and her men shortly."
"Okay then, lets go." said Yoruichi, and the group headed to Captain Retsu's base. They needed to regroup with the rest of the Soul Society if they were to fight against the Arancars, as well as tell them about Orihime's disappearance. Their only hope was that the fighting had not already started.
Sure enough, they arrived at Captain Retsu's base. Two large and burly guards stood in front of the gate, guarding it against intruders of all kinds. Fortunately, when Ichigo and the rest of the group walked in front of the gate, one of the guards lowered his head, and let them inside. Within the base was a sense of strained calm. It was peaceful, but there was a kind of tension that could break the calm at any time. Rangiku noticed Captain Retsu walk out of her office with her second-in-command not that far behind. With a wave of Rangiku's had, Captain Retsu briskly walked right over.
"Ah Captain Retsu, good to see you." spoke Hitsugaya.
Captain Retsu shook Hitsugaya's hand. "Same to you." she replied. "I assume you've come to join the fight?"
Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Rangiku instantly formed a worried look on their faces. "Fight?" Rangiku asked. "What do you mean by fight?"
Captain Retsu sighed. "Since the weather & spiritual pressure began fluctuating, Arancars began showing up and fighting with the rest of the 13 court squads. Fortunately, my men haven't located any sign of Arancar activity near our base. We've started taking in wounded, and the numbers coming in are not good."
"How bad is it getting?" asked Ichigo.
"Just follow me." responded Captain Retsu. She waived her hand, and the quartet followed. They walked through a small, tranquil garden with blooming roses, and stopped in front of Captain Retsu's private dojo. "The squeamish need not apply." she said kindly, and pushed the doors open. Her comment about the numbers coming in not looking good, were right.
There were cots set up all over the place. Cloth walls were placed between each cot, and medics were going between each station. A few of the occupants were walking between to help out, despite their injuries. Some were missing hands, a few didn't have arms, and a couple were missing eyes. The severely injured were lying on the cots, and these victims of war had wounds so disturbing, they are better off undescribed.
"My god." said a stunned Yoruichi. "I've seen wounded, but nothing on this level. Captain Retsu, how bad has the fighting been getting?"
"We've been having some difficulty." Captain Retsu replied. "A small few have been killed, but the Arancars have started to push us back. The wounded are coming in more that those without injuries. Since you guys showed up, there's a possibility that we can push them back instead."
"In that case, lets go Rangiku." spoke Captain Hitsugaya. "Ichigo, Yoruichi, take care of Captain Retsu and the wounded. We'll send some backup as soon as we can."
Ichigo nodded. "You two take care of yourselves." he said, and Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku left the base. Meanwhile, Ichigo turned to Captain Retsu, and gave her a few words.
"Captain Retsu, there's another problem that we have." Ichigo said.
"What's that?" the captain asked.
Ichigo continued to speak. "Before we came here, we ran into a group of 3 Arancar. Those guys seemed to be on a power level that is different than a normal Arancar."
"Hmmmm, that does sound like trouble." responded Captain Retsu. "I'm not the kind of person you should be talking about this to. Captain Mayuri is much more knowledgeable about this kinds of things. I'll send a message to him right now. Hey, where is Orihime? Wasn't she with you?"
"We think she's been taken captive." Ichigo said solemnly. "As to why, I'm not quite sure. I can only hope that they aren't treating her too badly."
"Indeed." replied Captain Retsu. "Hey, before you guys head to the front lines, can you help me with some of the wounded that are coming in? My own men have their hands full fighting off the Arancars and taking care of everybody else."
"No problem." responded Yoruichi. "Ichigo, lets get to work."
"Alright." Ichigo responded, and the two went with Captain Retsu into the makeshift hospital. They carted around bandages and medicine, tied up wounds, brought in new wounded, and gave comfort to the soldiers that were starting to showing signs of fear and despair. After a few minutes, the hospital's load was lightened a little, and Captain Retsu sent Ichigo and Yoruichi on their way. Before they left, the captain stopped them for a few final words.
"Hey you two, there one last thing."
"What's that?" Ichigo asked.
"A couple of my men have been hearing some strange noises." the captain said.
"What kind of noises?" asked Yoruichi.
"We're not quite sure."responded Captain Retsu. "We sent a few recordings to Captain Mayuri, but even he hasn't been able to identify. Be careful out there."
"We will." replied Yoruichi. "Ichigo, lets get to the front lines."
"Right." said Ichigo as he nodded his head. "Lets go!"
Chapter 13
Ichigo and Yoruichi were traveling through ruined-covered streets towards the front lines. Along the way, they occasionally came across dead soul reapers, draped in pale skin and drained of life. Every once in a while, a few Geists would be seen hovering above a corpse, draining what little energy they have left. The two stopped right in front of a body with a particularly fat Geist feasting on it, and had a few words with one another.
"Hmmm." breathed Ichigo.
"What is it?" asked Yoruichi.
"I truly hope the Nazis aren't working with the Arancars." Ichigo replied. "Either one of them are bad enough on their own, but if they are working together, who knows what will happen?"
"Lets hope that's not the case." said Yoruichi. "Now come on, and let's get moving!"
The two walked away from the corpse, and continued to head towards the front lines. At this stage, they began smelling smoke, and the grey sky started turning red from the flames of war. As they were getting closer, they began hearing sword clash against sword, and soldiers crying out in a bloodshed-fueled frenzy. Ichigo and Yoruichi were within distance, when they saw two flaming fireballs coming down on their position. The two jumped out of the way, and the fireballs hit the ground. When they got up to inspect the flames, they realized that there were bodies within the fire. Whatever had done this must have had some immense power. "I guess we're getting close." Ichigo said sarcastically.
Yoruichi just shook her head, as the two kept going to the front lines. They got within a few inches, when a wall to their right bursted apart. A moment later, two fighters tumbled through the wreckage, holding wicked blades near each other's throat. After a minute, the warrior on the bottom sliced his sword across the Arancar's throat, causing dark blood to spill all over the ground. The fighter that was on the bottom pushed the body aside, and got back up to his feet. After he dusted off his robes, both Ichigo and Yoruichi realized that it was Captain Hitsugaya.
"Hitsugaya, over here!" Yoruichi shouted out as she waived him over. After wiping off the blood from his zanpakuto, and sheathing it, he briskly walked right over. He must have been in battle for a while, as he was breathing somewhat heavily, and his robe has numerous tears all over, revealing deep cuts.
"Jesus Hitsugaya, has the fighting been that bad?" Ichigo asked.
"Indeed." responded Hitsugaya. "We've managed to kill a couple of them, but they've killed dozens of us. The field hospitals are receiving more than releasing. Captain Retsu has already receive 30 to 50 wounded since you guys left."
"Then let's even the odds!" Yoruichi said loudly as she drew her knife. "Ichigo, let's kick some ass!"
Stunned by his friend's sudden change, Ichigo nether the less unsheathed his zanpakuto. "Like wise." he responded.
"Now that we're all on the same page, lets get back into the fight." Hitsugaya said. Those Arancar aren't going to kill themselves!"
Ichigo and Yoruichi both looked at each other, and nodded. They trailed Hitsugaya as he began heading back towards the fighting. At this stage, whole buildings were wreathed in flames, and the sight of bodies, both Arancar and Soul Reaper, were becoming more and more common. Although there were indeed Geists popping in to harvest energy from the corpses, they seemed to gravitate to the Arancar bodies more than the Soul Reaper bodies. As to why this was happening, they didn't know, but it concerned them regardless.
After a couple of minutes, the three warriors arrived at the front lines, and it was a wild mess. Soul Reapers were clashing with Arancars, but while some of they were just as shaped as they were, most of them seemed deformed and incomplete. It didn't matter, as they needed to be driven back and killed. Their presence was an affront to the Soul Society, and they wouldn't allow to them to taint their world. Hitsugaya spotted a group of his men that were in trouble, and raced to their rescue. Meanwhile, Ichigo and Yoruichi came under assault by a couple of the deformed Arancars, and quickly fought back. The brutes were strong, but not strong enough to withstand attack from the two warriors. A few more jumped into the fray, and they too were added to the pile.
"Man, these guys just keep coming!" yelled Yoruichi.
"We got to hold on Yoruichi!" Ichigo yelled. "We can't let them get further into the Soul Society!"
"Indeed!" Yoruichi yelled out. "It's just that...Ichigo, look out!"
Ichigo suddenly turned around just in time as he thrusted his zanpakuto into the chest of a deformed Arancar. The body stopped moving, and black-green blood began bleeding out from the wound. As first he thought it was just an optic illusion, but Ichigo swore to himself that he saw something twinkling in the blood. With a quick shake of his head, he pushed the deformed Arancar's body off of his blade, and onto the ground. He then went to Yoruichi's side when she began to get surrounded. The two became one, with each other's back touching the other, and their senses heightened.
"They aren't letting up!" Yoruichi said loudly.
"They got to be coming from somewhere." Ichigo responded. "They just keep coming from out of the woodwork!"
Captain Hitsugaya rejoined then, back to back. "It's going to take a touch of luck from the heavens that's going to get us out of this mess." He said while panting heavily. All around, Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Hitsugaya heard the roar of battle getting louder and louder. They could hear the screams of fellow Soul Reapers dying, and Arancars getting felled in two. The "touch of luck" that Hitsugaya was talking about was indeed coming, but not in they way that anybody would expect.
Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Hitsugaya were continuing to fight against the deformed Arancars, when loud whistling noises suddenly come into being. They were so loud, they started to drown out the sound of clashing steel. A couple of Soul Reapers began running past, but the three didn't understand why. A second later, and explosions began rocking their immediately vicinity, sending debris and Arancar body parts high into the air.
"Get back!" Hitsugaya yelled. Ichigo and Yoruichi started retreating with the other Soul Reapers, and Hitsugaya followed from not far behind. They ducked behind a few low walls, hoping that they didn't get hit by whatever had torn the Arancars apart. There were a few more explosions, then an eerie dead silence blanketed the battlefield. The Soul Reapers and Captain Hitsugaya stood up from behind the walls to see what had happened, but with all the dust and smoke floating through the air, not much could be seen.
"What the hell was that?" asked Hitsugaya, still shock from the explosions.
"Not quite sure." Ichigo replied. "I'm just glad that those explosions occurred."
Ichigo was waiving his hand around to clear away some dust. "They were definitely loud, but where the hell did..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Soul Reapers could hear what sounded like marching within the smoke. The Soul Reapers were peering into the smoke to see what it was, but they couldn't make out what it was. A few moments later, they could make out several figures within the smoke cloud, but they still couldn't tell who it was. After yet a few more seconds, the smoke had finally cleared up, and the Soul Reapers could finally tell who the figures were, and they weren't prepared.
"Nazis." spoke Hitsugaya nervously.
"Son of a bitch." Yoruichi growled. "They were working with the Arancars!"
"That's not a nice thing to say, considering we just saved your life." said a familiar voice from behind. Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Hitsugaya turned around, and saw the Fuhrer standing behind them, looking quite smug.
"So, are you here to pick us off?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.
"Actually, I'm not." the Fuhrer replied. "As it turns out, we're both in the same position."
Chapter 14
Orihime woke up on a small cloth cot, only to realize that she was in a completely different environment than the one she was in earlier. A large wooden door behind her stood perfectly still, standing silent, and probably locked. The barred window was letting in a silvery moonlight, and the breeze that was coming in was calm and soothing. She got up from her cot, and rubbed her head. There was a bump on her head that she hadn't noticed before. Earlier, she remembered being with Ichigo and Yoruichi, trying to get a book of some kind. They managed to find it, only to be met by two Arancars. From there she remembered they took out her friends, and after that, nothing else.
Orihime walked towards the window, and she then saw something she hadn't see before. In front of her eyes laid a vast, white desert. There were grey, sickly trees jutting out at random intervals. The black sky above was studded with small silver specks, except for the moon, which was fixed at a single point. It looked just liked the moon that could be seen from Karakura Town, except that she could have sworn she saw a grinning face upon the moon's surface.
"Where am I?" Orihime asked solemnly.
The door to the room began to shake. She noticed a flimsy chair in the corner of the room, and promptly picked it up, and held it in a weak defensive manner. The door finally began to open, letting in some faint torchlight. The door open up wider, revealing a figure. Orihime couldn't tell who it was, as the torchlight was unusually bright. The torchlight dimmed a little bit, and Orihime was finally able to see who the figure was.
"You." spoke Orihime nervously, still gripping the chair. "I remember you. You're one of the Arancars that kidnapped me. You aren't going to rape me, are you?"
The Arancar had as extremely surprised look on his face. "No, I'm not going to rape you!" he yelled. "I don't go for the living. Even if I did, I don't like stupid girls!"
The Arancar slowly walked towards Orihime, who at this time was shaking because she was so nervous. The Arancar stopped just short of the chair, and swiped it out of Orihime's hands. She backed up against the wall, shaking more and more. The Arancar was within enough range to slap her, until another Arancar stepped in and spoke.
"Yammy! Stay your hand. The master was our captive without any blemishes."
Yammy still had his hand raised. A second later, he reluctantly lowered it, and back off. The other Arancar walked right in, bringing a chair with him. He placed it on the floor, and pushed it towards Orihime. She was still shaking, but after the Arancar nodded his head, she took the chair, and sat right down.
"You're Stark, aren't you?" she asked. "You were the second Arancar that took me."
"Indeed." replied Stark. "Yammy and I took you from the Soul Society, and placed you here in Waco Mundo."
"Waco Mundo?" asked Orihime. "What exactly is this place?"
Stark cleared his throat, and responded to his captive's question. "It is a place where we, the Arancars, can exist without interference from those that are alive. Our master made us from the dark energy that infuses this dimension, and soon it will be time to take the Soul Society, and from there, the entire world of the living."
"Who is this master of yours?" Orihime asked.
Yammy let out a low, sinister laugh. This made Orihime even more nervous than before, and she really could do or say anything. "You'll know soon enough." he replied evilly.