Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. However, note that anything not of the Manga/Anime (unless I point out otherwise) is of my own design, including my OCs Kai, Rertyan and the Sanctuary Team.
Warnings: Contains slight romantic reference, swearing and violence throughout.
Brief: Just over a year has passed since the initial incident which brought Kai to Karakura, and it seems his past just will not leave him alone. An old adversary's return forces the group into a new world, but something has changed. Can they work together to stop the ultimate evil from destroying their homes, or will darkness fall over the dimensions?
Pairings: KaiHime, Ichiruki
Bleach; the Doomsday Tomes
Chapter 2: The Power of Destruction
By the river, a fair distance away from the action taking place, a certain dark-haired Kurosaki took another running kick into the football, propelling the leather object towards the goal with lethal velocity. She let out a roar of victory as the ball grazed passed the goalkeeper's fingertips and into the waiting mouth of the goal just as the timer went off, announcing a victory for her team.
"Great game, guys!" Karin called, grabbing her ball and putting it in the net which she used to carry it. "Same time next week?"
"You got it, Karin!" one of her friends announced, waving goodbye to her as she left the pitch. She had not gone far when she felt something about the air shift. She looked into the sky, seeing dark clouds gathering near the centre of Karakura. "What on Earth is going on here?" As she wondered this, a strong wind blew up and washed over her, the air laced with Ichigo and Rukia's reiatsus. Karin's eyes widened. "Ichi-nii? What the hell is he doing there?"
Soon the wind eased off, and the eleven-year-old started on her way home again, this time at a faster pace, knowing that if her brother was at the centre of the trouble, there was nothing to worry about, as it was likely being dealt with. Up above, however, things were not going quite as smoothly as the group had hoped.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo roared, arcing Tensa Zangetsu's black blade at his opponent, but the Chaos Zempacki brought his own sword down upon the attack, splitting it. "I'll ask you again; who the hell are you?"
"That's an unusual attack," the Zempacki said, again ignoring the Squad Five Captain. "The density was very high, but the power was pathetic at best. If you want to pierce out hides, it will take more than that, human."
"Stop ignoring me!" Ichigo barked. "I am Ichigo Kurosaki, Captain of the Fifth Squad in the Gotei Fourteen. Now, tell me who you are!"
"See, was that so hard?" the creature grinned. "My name is Skywrath; I am Lord JX's second in command and the Head of the Zempacki Raiding team known as Chaos Void."
"Zempacki?" Ichigo questioned. "You're one of them?"
"A Chaos Zempacki, to be precise, but yes," Skywrath replied. "Now, I think I shall give you the pleasure of dying at my first release, seeing as how you were nice enough to show me your 'Bankai', as you called it." Skywrath turned his sword upside-down, reminiscent, Ichigo noted, of Byakuya's Bankai preparation, and ran his left hand up the blade, a red glow emanating from it as he did so. "Disengage Primera Lock!"
The red colour faded, replaced by a ring of golden-red chains which ran through the air around Skywrath without touching him. Suddenly, a black padlock appeared in front of him, which promptly burst open, and the ring exploded away from him in all directions, creating a spray of crimson all around. At first, nothing, then a blast of reiatsu followed the same explosive movement as a black and red energy wreathed the katana blade, the energy dancing wildly like a tribal dancer around a flame, and this sudden occurrence made Ichigo pause, giving him the perfect chance to move ahead and strike.
The change was instantly clear to the young Captain, as his adversary's speed abruptly increased, the Zempacki vanishing briefly before his eyes found him again, the energy-wreathed katana arcing through the air towards him. Ichigo blocked with the black blade, but a series of sparks lit up around the locked weapons, and Ichigo struggled against the heavy-handed swing, marvelling slightly at the forceful, virile attack, and noting that his weapon was becoming increasingly hotter from when it first made contact with the energy shroud. Roaring as he channelled his reiatsu into his weapon, Ichigo swung Tensa Zangetsu with all his power, breaking the lock he had been in with Skywrath. He donned his mask quickly while his opponent was recovering, but it did not take long before the demon was back on the prowl. Ichigo let out another, now hollowfied, battle cry, his darkened reiatsu pouring out of Tensa Zangetsu's obsidian blade, wreathing it in a similar manner to Skywrath's own, before slashing at the air with malice behind him. Skywrath blocked the hit with one of his own, which glanced off of Ichigo's zanpakuto and left his open to attack. Ichigo released his left hand from the sword's grip and pointed his index finger under his right arm at Skywrath, three light beams of deep crimson quickly spinning up about the digit, forming a dense sphere of black with a distinct red tint, much like his reiatsu.
"Cero Oscuras!" he shouted, firing the dark 'doom blast' into Skywrath.
The Zempacki made no attempt to stop his attack and evade, instead bringing the sword in a downward arc and intercepting the ray, gritting his teeth under the force of it. As the beam's energy began to deplete, he finally broke free of it, splitting it in two. Both parties stood ready, each showing few signs of exhaustion.
"You're one hell of a fighter, Kurosaki, I'll give you that," Skywrath complimented. "And such control over your hollow too; it is most impressive. But," Skywrath's face changed to a rather dark, serious expression. "Why are you so intent on stopping us? We have no gripes with you, your family, not even this 'Soul Society' place. So, what makes you fight so forcefully?"
"You forgot two things," Ichigo replied, his glare never once wavering. "First of all, you just appeared from nowhere above my town, which is reason enough to fight back, and also your people are threatening my friends. That is why I am facing you, Skywrath!" The orange-haired Captain charged at the Zempacki, swinging forcefully downward, but his opponent blocked, making no move to counter.
"You should think carefully before you say that," Skywrath sighed. "I mean, come now, do you really believe that those weaklings or that boy fighting Lord JX are your friends?" Ichigo blinked from behind his mask and hesitated in replying, so the Zempacki pressed on. "So, you do doubt some of them, eh? That is probably wise, else you might be shocked when they turn on you."
"Shut up!" Ichigo barked, breaking the sword lock and recommencing the fighting fiercely.
While the others fought beneath the cloud line, their opponents unreleased for the most part, sparks rained down over JX and Kai as the curved blade of JX's scythe scraped against Supernova's glowing edge, each combatant putting all their power into their swings. JX and Kai had both donned their masks by this point, their hollowfied reiatsu pressing down on the people beneath them, and the scythe-wielding fiend grinned behind his mask, pointing a finger at Kai as they parted by a few metres, a blue spark of electricity swirling around his digit. Kai followed suit, the six-point-focussed Cero spinning much faster than JX's, and fired at the same time as his opposite. The collision of the Twisted Cero and the Dark Fate Cero's beams created a large explosion which shifted the clouds beneath them and stirred up a light fog around them. JX held his ground.
"I know that you are hiding something from me," he said in his usual, somewhat regal tone. "Your zanpakuto has changed slightly, though how I am not sure. Not that it matters, I suppose." He could make out Kai's silhouette in the fog. "Show me this new power of yours; fight me with everything you have at your disposal!"
Kai was taken aback by this, but the knew that if the battle lasted too much longer, it would prove dangerous, especially with the build up of opposing pressures from all-too-similar reiatsus clashing like they currently were, so simply smirked a little, his body glowing a deep red as he forced out his reiatsu to it's maximum.
"Alright then, but you asked for this," he said, drawing the Enigma Cypher out of his being, his body pulsing with reiatsu. "Enigma activate!" The reiatsu changed started to focus on Kai's left hand, turning red as it did so, before he slammed the device in his right hand into it. "Cypher unlock!"
The display turned red and shattered, pulsing around Kai in a sphere and wildly lacing his body, which was now glowing a deep blue and his zanpakuto bursting into flames. JX grinned at this, but his features folded into neutrality again when Kai lunged at him without any change to his zanpakuto physically. The scythe intercepted sharply, but JX misjudged the power behind the swing and found his zanpakuto forced down, the tip of the sword nicking his shoulder and leaving a shallow, angry mark down the front of his right shoulder. He grimaced, but swung back in a counter attack, forcing Kai back and charging after his positive alternate. Kai grinned, focussing his reiatsu entirely into the Shikai in his hands, a bright white glow pulsing over the zanpakuto, and uttered four words with pleasure as JX's eyes widened with shock;
"Supernova Dragon, Supreme Release!"
The energy burst forwards before encircling Kai completely, his form changing quickly into that of Hypernova Dragon. He grabbed the sword as it solidified in the air beside him, then lunged at the stunned JX, cutting across his chest and leaving a bloody trail in the flesh. He swung to strike the left shoulder, hoping to disable the arm, but the sword rebounded off of the shoulder plate there. He masked his confusion and went back on the offensive, flames wreathing his blade as he struck this way and that, leaving a series of marks on JX without sustaining anything more than a slight graze from his opponent. Kai struck JX around the face with the flat of his sword, making the fiend spin away while he backed off, red-white flames pulsing over the sword while tendrils of lightning trailing off of it too as he reeled back his weapon.
"Hypernova Dragon, Thunder Wave!" he shouted, throwing everything he had into his attack as he arced his blade downwards.
A blast of flame, reshi and lightning, the twisted mass of which had an intense magnitude to it, hurtled towards JX as he turned to it again, striking him with a powerful hit full-on and exploding with the sound of a furious dragon roaring to the skies, the ball of fire scorching the being trapping inside the searing prison. When the flames had died and the smoke faded, JX became visible, his skin and clothing charred and bloody, his right sleeve destroyed mid-way up his upper arm, the chest-plate cracked in three places. Remarkably, and also much to Kai's confusion, the shoulder plate which hung on the left shoulder was unmarked and intact in all it's mismatching glory.
"That's one tough bit of armour," Kai commented, shouldering his weapon. "I'm impressed by how well you took that attack too."
"Pah," JX scoffed, spitting a thick spray of sanguine out of his throat. "Channelling my Twisted Cero into Hellraiser cancelled it out pretty well, I suppose." Kai eyed the scythe, the blade of which was shattered and the bone-like staff split in two, the rear blade section having fallen away in the attack.
"Hate to break it to you, but it cost you the use of your Shikai," he noted. "You won't be able to fight with it any more." JX looked at his mangled zanpakuto, which reverted to its original state in a red glow.
"No matter," he shrugged back, sheathing the blade. "That is why I have this." He tapped the shoulder plate three times with his knuckles, a dull, hollow thud of metal resonating from it with each tap. "I can tell you are curious as to what it is; for it to have survived that attack of yours unscathed and without even a hint of damage or any markings to suggest that it has been hit. I can see it in your eyes, and I know that you don't recognise it. Perhaps this will jog your memory, seeing as how you are the one who 'destroyed' it in the first place!"
Kai's eyes shot wide open as JX reached behind him and pulled out a cylindrical item which was silver and metallic on the outer edge and housed a sphere which was a red-orange hue with a black 'X' shape in the centre. From the far side of the item, a fairly short pink-purple tendril hung limp behind it, four small, curved teeth jutting from the tentacle, matching the holes inside of the socket in the panel of armour.
"It can't be," Kai murmured, a feeling of dread welling-up within his core. JX grinned.
"Oh, but it is," the fiend replied, bringing the item level with the socket, the tendril pulling towards it and slotting into the port, a good tension holding it suspended between JX's grip and the socket. "Behold, Kai Friel, the true form of the Left Arm of Destruction!"
"Stop this now, JX!" Kai pleaded, but his ulterior self wrenched the outer casing away, the item inside pulling into the socket and a dark red panel closing over it.
At first, nothing, then JX howled in pain, falling to one knee, a thin line appearing briefly on the panel before the two halves parted. Inside was a single eye, the cross closed except for a single black pupil at the centre of the unusually coloured, bloodshot eye. The shoulder plate developed the same deep red hue as the eyelid on its front, before the left sleeve of JX's clothing tore itself to shreds, as did the section two inches from the plate on his torso. A brief pause, then the plate emitted a roar of its own, a deep, low growl as if the creature were trapped inside a cave, and JX's cries of agony echoed over the battlefield. Below them, the combatants began to wonder what was going on, but none gave any ground to their opponents. The plate released a series of pink-purple tentacles, which wrapped around the entire length of JX's arm and bit into his collar and the join of his shoulder to his torso. The mass of tentacles twisted together around his digits, forming black claws at the tips. Finally, with this done, JX stood upright again, his breath short and sharp, his face sweat-coated while the forearm and the back of his left hand secreted a luminous green liquid which shifted and shaped into red armour plates with black spikes and a dark grey panel in the forearm, in which the spikes resided, and Kai stared on in abject horror at the sight of the newly formed arm.
"Wh- What the hell is that?" Kai asked, his tone a mixture of horror, slight fear and disgust at the disfigured item.
"I told you," JX replied, his voice strained as he recovered from the pain of the melding. "This is the first part of the Impendium Crucible; the Left Arm of Destruction; also referred to as the Wanderer's Anchor when in it's docile state. And the power of this, my foolish alter ego, is indescribable. Let me show you what I mean."
Kai lost sight of the man briefly, but a searing pain shot through his back and he shot forwards as the fist was brought heavily into his back. He felt a sickening crunch, and knew instantly that the armour beneath his left wing was shattered, along with his third and fourth ribs on the same side. He spun around and lashed out with the space where JX had been, but, much to his shock and bewilderment, the fiend was gone. He twisted again in the air, catching sight of his opponent as he threw a punch into his chest, sending him sprawling back under the force by several metres. He twisted to grind to a stop, drawing his left hand over his face and drawing out his mask quickly, his form darkening and becoming wreathed in flames as he thrust himself forward, wings extended.
He may have gotten more powerful, Kai thought, his grip tightening around the sword as JX charged at him, Hellraiser still sheathed at his left hip. But with Rertyan's power behind me as well as Supernova's, I can't be stopped. He got some lucky hits in, but he won't stand a chance against Dark Nova Dragon.
Kai was taken aback when his blade reached JX's arm, surprised that he had not changed his course and shocked when the blade ground across the left arm, sparks flying wildly, but without even a hint of damage to it. He sprung backwards and lined up another strike, utilising Rertyan's Sonido and his own Shunpo to vanish in a flurry of reiatsu, using his Screech Step swiftly to finish the battle. He appeared just behind JX, releasing the reiatsu in a wall which repelled the fiend, then thrusting his obsidian blade into JX's shoulder, the sound of metal sheering and splintering echoing over the air.
Kai's eyes shot open as he stared at the sword in his hand, or rather what remained of it, for the blade had been the thing which shattered in a hail of black steel, the tattered stump still pressed to the back of JX's left shoulder.
"Th... That's..." Words failed him as JX's cold grey irises fell upon him, a mild amusement in them as he did.
"'That's impossible', right?" he finished, taking Kai's stunned expression as confirmation. "I hate to disappoint, but that isn't the case any more. I am aware of how powerful you believe you are, but the fact is that better warriors have been consumed by this armour, and their power is what I now wield." JX moved swiftly, back-handing Kai with his left hand and shattering his mask, leaving only his Supreme Release with a broken weapon, no helmet and a bruised face. Then he gripped him by the neck, Hellraiser in his right hand. "Now, I have grown bored of this farce, and I have business to attend to. Goodbye, Kai Friel; I will not miss you."
The blade plunged downwards and arched into Kai's chest, a huge amount of power crashing down over the Vizard Captain as he began his rapid descent towards the surface, while the storm clouds hurled their venomous liquid down beside him. As he fell, one word passed through Kai's mind, his voice failed and his body torn;
Dammit.
This took some time due to a series of coursework for Electronics being finished today, but I have paperwork to do still, so I may be slow to post for a while. Sorry about that.
Anyway, please be sure to tell me what you think, whether that be compliments or criticism, I don't mind either way.
For now, see you guys and girls later, and I'll post again real soon if I can.
