Running Spirits, Flying Swords
Chapter 1: Laundry Day
Sonic the Hedgehog called his soul slaying sword into his hand just in time to block against the enemy's own sword. The other swordsman was ridiculously fast, teleporting in and out of reality, leaving only a brief static sound behind.
Sonido they called the technique. A twisted dark version of the shinigami's flash step ability.
Sonic smiled to himself. "These arrancar guys named a technique after me. I'm touched."
It was a deadly technique, but no matter what angle the arrancar came in from, Sonic reflexively threw up his zanpakutou just in time. The red sheen on the black blade glowed brighter than ever in the light of the fore that surrounded them.
All of Karakura town was on fire.
"Just so you know, I'm just going easy on you because I like the blue hair."
The blue haired arrancar only laughed. The sharp toothed grinning jaw stuck to the side of his face opened up and laughed him. "Please. You mowed down enough of our army, but you're no match for the Espada. Even your wussy sidekick reached captain level before you."
"Come on, Sonic," Tails yelled excitedly. His white captain's haori billowed furiously in the burning winds as he bared his twin wakizashis. "We can beat this guy together."
"So now I get to fight Soul Society's newest captain, eh? I should tell you who I am, then. Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, the Sixth Espada."
"Espada. Spanish for the Ten Swords," Sonic thought.
Tails raised his zanpakutou to strike, but another arrancar appeared out of nowhere. One with a pale face and green eyes with markings that looked like tears streaming form his eyes. He reached out his arm, charging up another green blast of energy, all with the same sad, unmoving expression on his face.
"Back the hell off, Ulquiorra," Grimmjow snarled. "The last thing I need is for you to save me from that furball."
"Yet if I didn't, you would surely have been killed," the melancholic arrancar replied. "But make no mistake. I intervened because Aizen-sama ordered me to fight Miles Prower."
"That's Tails-taichou to you, Espada!"
Ulquiorra made no visible response. He simply stretched out his arm and powered up another green energy blast.
"How about we settle things like this? I'll release my zanpakutou and you can go Bankai. We'll see who's alive when the dust settles."
Sonic smirked as he gripped the golden hilt of his zanpakutou. "Sounds good to me."
"Just so you know, Grimmjow. I was once called the fastest thing alive, but I see now that living people are pretty slow compared to souls. Today, I take up the title 'Fastest Thing "
Grimmjow smiled. So did Sonic. Reiatsu like he never felt before boiled though his blood, begging to be released through his sword.
And that's exactly what he did.
"BAN-KAI!"
Let us now turn back the pendulum to a time not so long ago to a story that has not yet been told. Here, we will examine the events that set the wheels in motion to the war that would decide the final fate of the worlds of the living and the dead. Our souls and the souls hiding deep inside us.
It began in space.
This is the place where the story begins. Not in Heavn, nor on Earth, but in the space between both. Far above the sky, in the blackness of space, there lived a hedgehog as black as the space that he made his home.
Tired of the crazy things that went down on that planet and the crazy people who lived there, Shadow resigned himself to a life of solitude aboard the floating space city. He had enough of fighting armies of aliens and robots and angry gods. As for that blue spined rival of his, let him have the planet. They deserved each other. That blue ball had only gotten noisier and chaotic since he first saw it. That goes for the Sonic as well as the planet.
But even that wasn't enough to get away from all the noise. He lived alone with only the memories of the dead to haunt him.
Shadow was far from alone. Shadow saw and heard the spirits of them all. With nothing else to do with his time, he took up his usual position on the main deck of the space station and stared through the big window. From there, he had but to look up to the stars to hear the echoes of the billions of souls that died over the spanning eternity of the universe.
He didn't know why or how, but somehow, the chaos energy that flowed through his body gave him a new ability to see the dead. And there were a lot of dead people floating out there in space. At first, he could only feel a certain presence, but later, he started to see them. Humans and animals alike all floating around. Most of them were silent. Some were pretty talkative and decided to make themselves at home on Ark and blabber on about their old lives. Given the faker's reckless lifestyle, Shadow wouldn't have been surprised if he ended up as one of these ghosts, driving him nuts for the rest of his life.
Given the blue hedgehog's personality, he'd probably end up pissing off his ghostly brethren, Shadow smirked at the thought. Then, he'd be in serious trouble.
That's right. Not all ghosts out there are so friendly.
Shadow had never seen them himself, but he knew what bad spiritual energy felt like. If he squinted really hard, he could sometimes see amorphous shapes hiding far beyond the stars
They say in space, nobody can hear you scream.
It's not true.
There is a lot of screaming that goes on out there. He heard it sometimes. It didn't sound like anything human. It was more hollow.
All those ghosts out there, and yet there was only one that called out his name.
"Shadowwww…" an ethereal voice whispered from the depths of the starry void. The voice was accompanied by the slow rattling of chains
It had been decades before that voice had been whispered into his ears, but he recognized it immediately. He looked to the stars and there she was.
Maria Robotnik had returned, appearing before her beloved Shadow once again.
Maria appeared to him just as she did in life. The only difference was a long chain stuck to her chest. Her blue eyes were brighter than ever, shining with the light of another world.
"You've grown so strong, Shadow," she said. "Strong enough to actually see me."
Shadow backed away, his wide eyes brimming with fear.
"Don't be afraid, Shadow," Maria said soothingly. "I'm not here to eat your soul. I came to you because I wanted you to know that I'm still with you."
"Still with me? Maria, where have you been this whole time?"
"Right by your side, Shadow. I've been watching you. Watching you grow up, watching you fight," she said. Her ghostly hand ran across his chest fur.
"Whenever you would use Chaos Control and zip across the planet, I was always there, riding along."
"I-I can feel you," Shadow looked at her near transparent hand in shock. "I thought your hand would go right through me."
"You have the gift of high specs, Shadow. It means you can see us, you can talk to us, and you can touch us. There are very few people in the world who are on that level."
"If that's true, then…" Shadow lost all use for words and embraced Maria in a hug. He let out fifty years of emotions all in one shot. Tears flowed from his eyes as he sobbed uncontrollably, making his eyes even redder.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Shadow-kun?"
Shadow sniffled. "Maria, did you mean it when you said that you were with me this while time?"
"Absolutely."
Shadow broke away from her and stepped back.
"If so, then you must have seen me do some pretty evil things. When you were watching me, I must have made you very sad."
Maria shook here head. "Don't believe that, Shadow-kun. We spirits have a better view to the future than you living folk. Just remember," she gently slapped him across the face. "There's no need to be such an emo all the time, you silly little hedgehog. It's okay to be happy. You can't be depressed forever. In fact, that's another reason why I'm here.
"What do you mean?"
"Shadow, you must possess great spiritual power. With enough practice, you could even be a ruler among spirits. You can accomplish great things. If you've been haunted by the past, then you can move forward and—"
Suddenly, all the lights in the space station went out.
"What's going on, Maria?"
"Shadow, you probably haven't seen them, but you must have felt them by now."
"Felt what?"
"The Hollows," she said.
"They've come for me," Maria said.
A creeping presence entered the space station. A feeling Shadow wasn't unfamiliar with.
Shadow grabbed her by the shoulders. "Maria, of there's something coming after you, whatever it is, I'll protect you from it. I can stop it."
Something out of nowhere struck Shadow, sending him crashing through the glass, exposing them to the vacuum of space.
"Shadow, grab on!" Maria threw her lengthy spirit chain to Shadow. He grabbed the chain, tethering him to the space station.
"Chaos Control!" he cried and zapped himself back inside.
Shadow zapped himself back in the interior and made a lunge for Maria's spirit chain.
Activating emergency force shields!" Shadow frantically pressed the buttons on the main computer. Instantly, an invisible force field phased in by the window, keeping them all protected from the harsh environment outside.
"What was that?"
"Be careful, Shadow. It's a Huge Hollow."
Then it revealed itself. What was once dark amorphous spiritual blob quickly formed into a monstrous, hulking, ghost creature. It was some kind of lizard like beast, as big as tyrannosaur, but with a white polished skull and hateful yellow eyes burning deep within its eye sockets.
The monster opened its mouth wide and bit down to swallow Shadow whole. The hedgehog pried its mouth open, refusing to get eaten so easily. Inside its mouth was another set of teeth, and inside there a third set of smaller teeth. From deep inside its mouths, the hollow lashed out with a long tentacle like tongue bearing yet another set of sharp teeth at its tip and a pair of pincer-like claws.
The tongue slithered out of its mouth, extending way past twelve feet. It lunged for Maria and grabbed her in its tiny, but vicious jaws.
Maria screamed. Her spiritual blood sprinkled across the ARK.
"NO!" Shadow snatched hold of the slimy tentacle and pulled at it with all his strength. He kept on pulling until it ruptured, squirting out a thick disgusting ooze. The hollow fell back and screeched. A sound never wished to hear again for the rest of his life.
Its monstrous instincts filled with rage, the hollow slashed out with a set of glimmering white claws that raked across the hedgehog's body. Shadow was thrown across the deck, blood raining down where he passed. Maria flew towards Shadow and caught her hedgehog in her arms.
"Shadow! Your bleeding so much," Maria cried. "I'm sorry I brought you into this."
"You don't have to worry about me, Maria," Shadow sneered and sprang at the hollow. The hollow took a step back, a surprised expression was visible on its skull mask. Before it could feast on the Maria's spiritual flesh, Shadow latched onto its arm. With a sharp twist, snapping bone and shredding muscle.
A blood chilling scream escaped from the monster's mouth as it reeled back in a torrent of blood, its severed arm now held in Shadow's hand.
Throwing the rotting reptilian arm away in disgust, Shadow powered up a glowing orb of energy in his hand, ready to send it flying into the hollow's skeletal face.
The monster tensed and locked its glowing haunted eyes at the ebony hedgehog, powering up its own dark energy.
From the creature's skeletal form, behind the mask and all the teeth came out a sizzling blast of red hot energy. The second it left the monster's boney mouth, Shadow unleashed his power.
"CHAOS SPEAR!"
Two powerful auras clashed into each other. The two opposing forces swirled together like Yin and Yang, forming a bright sphere of pure, uncontrolled energy. An immense shockwave that shook apart the space station flung them both in opposite directions.
As the blinding lights dimmed, the energies merged together to cut a doorway through space.
Two new figures stepped through the portal. They looked like Samurai form out of time. Both were clad in black hakamas and kimonos. Each was armed with their own sword.
The smaller of the two samurai, a black haired girl held out a small cell phone-like device.
"So the signal wasn't wrong. There really was a hollow hiding out on Space Colony Ark. I didn't think we'd be notified about one all the way out here."
"Yeah, yeah, there's just better be a way for us to get back on earth," the other swordsman, the one with orange hair and the oversized sword huffed. "I can't stick around here being marooned out in space."
"Ichigo, you're always such a drag," the girl grumbled. "Most people show a sense of wonder when they see outer space for the first time. You're supposed to be all wide eyed and go 'ooh and ah' when you visit outer space for the first time."
"I got no time for crap like that," Ichigo snorted. "And besides, I don't see you doing any of that garbage."
"I've been here before. We're on Space Colony ARK. Fifty years ago, an incident happened here that led to the deaths of many. Years later, hollows started sprouting up all over the place. My squad was directly involved with the cleanup."
"Yeah? Looks like you missed a spot."
"That's why the signal surprised me," Rukia said. "All the hollows should be cleared out. The only reiatsu that should be radiating form here is the Ultimate Lifeform."
"That's very fascinating. So can you tell us how we got here in the first place?"
"Who knows? You can ask Kisuke when we get back. Right now, this is more important," Rukia said, removing her katana from his sheath while Ichigo unloaded the much larger sword off his back and slipped off the bandages.
Shadow's eyes widened as he saw the orange haired guy's giant sword. An oversized crescent sword whose blade was black and silver, much like the moon sliver in the background.
"Who the hell is this?" Ichigo delivered a frowning stare to the dark hedgehog.
"Dumbass, that's the Ultimate Lifeform that was created here," said Rukia. "He's supposed to be very strong."
"Is he? I heard that he was tough from the news, but he's getting his ass kicked by that hollow."
"What do you expect? That's his first hollow encounter. He doesn't know how to control his spirit energy. Your first time was no different."
In the midst of the fight, Shadow teleported away from the hollow and reappeared in front of the two shinigami, frowning
"I don't care much for spectators who stand around and do nothing. And I care even less for people who try to help," he said and made a grab for Ichigo's sword with a bloody hand, snatching the giant cleaver right out of the shinigami's hands.
"Hey! Give me back my zanpakutou," Ichigo yelled.
"I'll zanpakutou you if you don't shut up!" Shadow yelled back. "Now let me see how this thing works."
Shadow swiped the giant blade across the beast's stomach, unleashing a wave of icy black blood over the deck of the ARK.
The hollow screamed.
Wiping away the last drops of ichor form his fur, the ebony hedgehog readied Zangetsu before the hollow. After one chaos control, Shadow blinked out of existence only to reappear directly above the hollow's head. He swung the cleaver sword down hard, but before the blade could connect, a crescent beam of blue light shot out of the sword, smashing into the polished white skull and slicing through the flesh. A final splatter of hollow blood exploded over the deck, but it soon evaporated into nothingness, along with what was left of the ghost's body. The monster let out one final death cry before vanishing forever.
"Don't cry to me. Your fate was sealed the moment you tried to eat Maria."
"That hedgehog is pretty damn scary," Rukia said. "Isn't he cool?"
When the ashes and smoke cleared away, Shadow, stood alone on the deck with the Zangetsu sword glowing brightly in his hands.
"Looks like our help wasn't needed here after all," Ichigo said with a shrug. "Then again, Zangetsu is helping him out there."
"She remained a plus spirit for over fifty years. No wonder that hollow wanted her soul so badly."
"Maria, why didn't you go? Why stay just to float around space all this time?"
"I couldn't leave you, Shadow," Maria said sadly. "You seemed so alone. I could never leave your side."
"Maria…I'm tired of being everyone else's curse. You don't deserve to float around space just because of me. You should go to Heaven."
Shadow grabbed hold of Maria's spirit chain. He raised the sword, preparing to cut through it.
"Idiot!" Ichigo shouted. "That's not how you're supposed to do it. That chain is the only thing that keeping her from turning into a hollow."
"Come to think of it, that's a really long chain. It's like it hasn't deteriorated at all," Rukia observed.
"I never gave in to despair," Maria said. "I always had Shadow."
'Ichogo glanced momentarily at Marai, then at Rukia. They both had similar expressions whenever they looked at Shadow. "Girls must really admire this dumb hedgehog. Who an figure out why."
"Hey, hedgehog," Ichigo said. "Give Zangetsu back to me and I'll use it to enact the soul burial and I'll send her to Heaven for you."
"Hell no!" Shadow snapped. "Only I can do that."
Shadow only had to give Ichigo one piercing glare to force the shinigamis to step back and give space to the hedgehog and the ghost.
Shadow approached the spirit of Maria, instinctively holding the sword high above her head and gently placed the pommel on her forehead. Right away, a circle of heavenly blue light surrounded her. Sapphire sparks that were warm to the touch floated in between them.
"Forgive me, Maria. You should have gone to Heaven a long time ago."
"It's all right. Shadow. I'll see you again sometime soon. I promise…"
Maria sat still for a moment, and then a circle of pale blue light surrounded her. The glowing halo burned brighter until Mara was swallowed up and disappeared from the earth. There was nothing left but a flying black swallowtail butterfly, fluttering off into space.
"The Hell Butterfly will guide her to Heaven where she can rest in peace," Rukia saids, putting a comforting hand over Shadow. "She had a good soul. That's why they wanted her so badly. Now that her soul is at peace, the hollows will no longer haunt this area."
"Good. We're done," Ichigo said impatiently. "Now hand me back my sword so we can get out of here.
"I like this sword. I will keep it," Shadow said in a matter of fact way.
"W-wait just a sec," Ichigo sputtered. " You can't just keep that. Get your own damn zanpakutou if you want one so badly."
"I like this one," Shadow stared into his reflection on the blade. "It fits me well."
"'It fits me well,' my ass! That sword is almost three times your size, you spiny shrimp!"
"What did you call me?"
"What's the matter? Those little pointy ears not workin' for you?" Ichigo yelled as he made a grab for the sword by its hilt. Shadow clenched his fingers around the sword and pulled away. A game of tug of war ensued for the zanpakutou.
Rukia sighed in annoyance. "Ichigo…stop making a fool of yourself in front of the Ultimate Lifeform."
"Whose side are you on anyway, Rukia?"
"This is the sword that sent Maria on her way to Heaven," Shadow said. "She's gone now and this is what I have to remember her by."
"All right, hedgehog, I'm not letting you keep my soul slayer just because of your sappy-ass story. You're handing that over to me right now," Ichigo demanded.
"No. I'm not," Shadow shook his head and held up his empty hand. "Chaos Control."
A flash of golden light erupted from Shadow's palm and engulfed the two shinigami.
Ichigo blinked. "What just happened?"
"We're back on Earth, in Karakura town."
"Damn, my sword is still up there. What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
"Let it go, Ichigo. He might need it," Rukia said. "he showed immense reiatsu. Even wit the girl gone, he's likely going to run into more hollows."
"Fine, but what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"
"We'll figure that out as we go? Just don't get too angsty about it or you'll end up just like Shadow."
The next day...
"Whoa whoa whoa! Shads, ya gotta slow down. What's all this about a monster trying to eat you and Maria's ghost up on Space Colony Ark?"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Sonic nodded as Shadow continued to spill all the details of his supernatural adventure. "So you met this dude carrying a sword called a what? A Zan-baka-toe?"
"How many times do I have to repeat myself, faker? I have the ability to see ghosts. Now all of a sudden I have this shinigami's soul slayer."
"Shinigami? That's a death god, right? Sounds like you had an interesting dream last night."
"I don't sleep, faker. How the hell could I have been dreaming?"
"They call it Sky High Zone for a reason, Shads. And it's got very little to do with the sky. I remember when me and Tails took a trip up there and— " Did Tails ever tell you about the time he met a shinigami? He gave him this black notebook and the next thing you know—"
"Stop changing the subject, faker. I don't know why you don't believe me. We've both seen stranger things than this."
"Look, why don't I put Tails on the line?" Sonic suggested. "He's good at explaining weird things."
"Fine. When can you reach him?" Shadow huffed impatiently.
"He's in the other room watching TV. I'll grab him in a sec." Sonic said. "Yo, Tails. Shadow's on the phone. He wants to ask you about—"
"Tell him to call back," Tails waved Sonic away, not taking his eyes off the TV screen. "I'm watching my favorite show. Don Kanonji's Ghost Bust is on!"
"Dumbest show ever…" Sonic muttered under his breath.
Even though his sharp fox ears could've picked up Sonic's remark, Tails was too enraptured to hear anything. On screen was a loud mustached guy in an even louder costume and cape dramatically screaming, "Smells like bad spirit." He then crossed his arms over his chest for his trademark pose. The kitsune sat on the couch and followed the same move. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders and let out a boisterous laugh.
"BWAHAHAHAHAH!"
Shadow winced as the loud BWAHAHAHAHA laugh crackled through the phone.
"Tails! Knock it off! You know I hate it when you do that."
"The spirits are always with you, Sonic."
"Yeah, and you're gonna be one of them if you do that laugh again."
Another loud BWAHAHAHAHAHA in response.
"What kind of crap is going on over there, faker?" Shadow asked. "Is Tails going to talk to me or not?
Sonic sighed. "Uhh…I'm sorry, Shads. He's a little busy at the moment, but he promises that there's no such thing as ghosts. Don't even worry about it."
"Bunch of useless morons," Shadow slammed the phone down in disgust.
"There's something out there. Something only I can see," Focusing on his eyes back to the endless void of space, Shadow did see something. Somewhere out there in the distant blackness, his eyes met the gaze of old man shrouded in black. The old man floated there as if the space was his home.
"Who are you?" Shadow asked. The way the old man looked at him, Shadow had a feeling he heard him.
"A zanpakutou, eh? So what am I supposed to do with this thing now?"
To Be Continued…
A/N: (Edited the hideous spelling mistakes. Sorry, everyone. Got a little careless.)And so it begins. Welcome to the beginning of the a new epic where Sonic the Hedgehog meets Bleach. I decided to start this story because I hear it helps writer's block if you shift to a new project sometimes. Just some important info, this is an AU where Karakura Town is on the same planet as sonic's world, so the Bleach crew already know who Sonic is. The story takes place right around the beginning of the Arrancar arc.