Thank you for the wonderful response there has been for this story, I apologise for not updating for so long but life has been chaotic. Among other responsibilities several family members have had to have medical procedures and it has been stressful, hopefully things will pick up soon and I will be able to begin updating regularly again. Thank you for your patience, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Two: Viral:

The scraping of fingernails against stainless steel echoed through the sterile concrete corridors and infiltrated the electronically operated doors into the laboratory rooms beyond, riling the occupants and exhuming growls and low grunts from the mindlessly hungering Infected.

The scraping stopped as the man causing the sound came to a halt outside of one of the rooms; manic golden eyes glinted as he gazed through the spy hole with a hint of admiration and clinically fed lust. With a few careless and practiced taps of the coded machine beside the door and the stainless steel passage way whirred and ground open.

Inside the room was brightly lit, blindingly so for anyone unused to such brightness and the occupant of the room was very unused to it. Eyes squinted and he turned his head from side to side in aggravation, discomfort, and restlessness.

The golden eyed man walked over slowly and ran a long, talon-like blue nail down the side of his experiment's face, feeling a slight fever and beads of sweat on the attractively tanned skin. A crazed; wide smile appeared and his unappealingly yellowed teeth were revealed as his eyes lit up with approval, he scanned the monitors on the other side of the bed and checked the various canular drains and sticky pads which connected his experiment to the monitors.

He was reacting well to exposure to the virus. 96 hours into exposure, with steadily increasing doses of the virus and he was showing less than a 10% reaction; compared to the other test subjects this one was a gem among concrete slabs.

The subject's breathing was normal, his heart rate and pulse rate were only minorly elevated (most likely due to the stress of the experiment, he noted); furthermore, and to the golden eyed man's great excitement, the subject's brain functions were normal and there was understanding in his eyes, which meant, most definitely, that the virus was not affecting his ability to reason. The subject's temperature increase was likely to be due to the air conditioning which had broken down three hours previously, and his skin was slightly clammy to the touch, which was to be expected considering.

Dragging painted white fingers over his chin, the golden eyed man let out a breath and swept towards the monitors; double checking them before he leaned down and replaced the empty syringe with one full of poppy red liquid.

"Let us increase the dosage to twenty-five millilitres, shall we?" he asked, grin never fading as he restarted the intravenous drip, "And see whether or not this delicious experiment can continue to higher plains."

With light steps and a very minor skip, the golden eyed man retreated from the room once again, turning only to press a button on the lock machine; watching as the metal doors ground shut once more. And then, he continued down the harsh corridor, ignoring the cries; the groans; the moaning and the unearthly gargles which were coming from the other rooms.

Miles away, across the deserted and virus afflicted country-side, as the night drew on, Aizen and his band of survivors had arrived at a large and abandoned warehouse. It had secure doors which could easily be barricaded and the only windows were up on the second floor, too high for the Infected to climb to.

The brunet glanced behind them as they entered the warehouse and held a torch in his left hand while he sported a revolver in his right hand, "Szayel; Renji, search to the back of the warehouse, and check the second floor. I want to make sure we aren't about to lock ourselves in with anything foul."

"Yes, sir." The two answered, both flicking on their own torches and cautiously walking around the perimeter of the building.

"Rukia; Byakuya, do a sweep of the outside area before you take sniper positions up on that second floor." He told them.

"Yes, sir." The small girl replied as her brother merely inclined his head before they both headed back out of the warehouse.

Aizen watched as Ulquiorra escorted Grimmjow into the warehouse and helped him sit on a hay bale. The brunet strode over confidently and crouched down in front of the blue haired male, "How is he, Ulquiorra?" he asked.

"His temperature is steady; Mr Granz has been monitoring his blood pressure, pulse rate, and heart rate as we travelled and he said that so far they are stable. But there is no knowing how long that could last for-"

"In other words, I'm fine at the moment but in the long run I am totally fucked up." The blue haired man rumbled suddenly, taking Aizen by surprise.

"Ah, he speaks at last," the brunet smiled slightly, "You've been very quiet Grimmjow. I was concerned."

Azure eyes flicked to chocolate ones, "I've still got some life in me at the moment. Don't start digging a hole in the ground just yet."

"That's the Grimmjow I know and scold."

He stood up again and clapped the blue haired man on the back before he nodded to Ulquiorra and finally put his revolver away. Glancing around he saw Renji lighting up a couple of large candles so that they could see where they were walking without using up the torch batteries.

"Aizen," Szayel's voice startled him and he spun around to face the pink haired male who had appeared behind him.

"Yes, Szayel?" he replied.

"We found something and, I think you should come and see it." He replied, looking a little green around the gills.

"Of course, lead the way."

The pink haired male gulped and turned, leading him towards the back of the warehouse where there was a small side room; the door was ajar from where it had been checked for signs of Infected but the most disturbingly noticeable thing was a the stench which was leaking from the open space.

Aizen covered his mouth and nose with his hand and winced slightly at the nostril burning odour; Szayel looked ready to pass out as he stepped forwards and slowly pushed the door open fully. The two recoiled instantly at the site of rot eaten flesh, blackened by age and decomposed by the temperature and moisture of the small cupboard; there was an army of meat flies buzzing loudly above the din of the preparation going on in the forefront of the warehouse as they feasted on the decaying corpse which was slumped in the cupboard.

"What... The hell..." the brunet rasped, snapping the door shut again.

"I noted a definite bullet hole in the corpse's left temple," the usually flamboyant male told him, nudging his glasses up his nose, "It would appear that he, or indeed she as there is far too little of the corpse left to identify gender, decided suicide would be far better than facing the hordes of Infected."

The brunet nodded slowly, "I would have to agree with your diagnoses. However we can't simply leave him, or her, in there to continue rotting; it isn't humane. And our humanity is one of the only things still separating us from the Infected."

"Well... Good luck with that. I don't have the stomach to move him, or her." Szayel held his hands up and stepped away.

"Indeed, however, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow both have strong stomachs and I believe it would do the latter good to have his mind taken off his recent injury: delegate duties Szayel." He patted the man's arm before he walked off.

"With pleasure." The pink haired male grinned in malevolence and half danced off to tell the two of their brand new job with zest.

It was a good hour later when they had finally disposed of the rotted corpse in the back room and finished preparing for the small hours of night which were left. Finally ready, Aizen and Renji slid the doors shut, bringing down the blockade, and completing the sealing of their new and temporary safe haven.

Sitting among the cluster of candles which had been lit, the group once again sat down to eat. This time a small, homely stomach filler as they had little time and were not yet brave enough to light a full fire to cook over after the attack on the cottage.

"Do you think that," Grimmjow began quietly, "Do you think that there is any chance of making a cure?"

"I'm not sure-"

"We shouldn't get our hopes up about it when-"

"I don't think so I mean-"

"Of course there is," Szayel raised his voice above the mottled answers of their fellow group members as his golden irises fixed upon the cobalt ones of the loud mouthed blue haired male, "It is merely a matter of time, the correct resources and a science laboratory in which to work. Grimmjow, in science there is no chance: there is fact, and there is creation. For hundreds of years there has been disease and there has been science to provide a cure for it."

He looked back at the pink haired scientist/doctor-figure, "And what resources would someone as intelligent as... Let's say, you, need to synthesise a cure, Szayel?"

A ring of laughter escaped the other, "Flattery will get you everywhere Grimmjow Jaegerjaques," he flicked his hair over his shoulder, "For one such as me, where perfect reigns supreme, I would require a laboratory before I even considered attempting to synthesise a cure."

"Answer the man Szayel." Aizen murmured from the other side of the fire, not raising his gaze from the can of beans he was devouring elegantly.

Sighing, he nodded once, "For one I would require the living body, and believe me when I say that I use the term scarcely, of one of the Infected; I would need a sample of the original virus as well as the DNA of someone who is immune to infection. The latter of which will be almost impossible to find. However those are the most important three resources I would require. There are of course many other things as well that I would require."

Aizen raised his gaze slowly, and only for a moment as Szayel spoke; his former thoughts gradually coming to be confirmed as the scientist unravelled much of his knowledge to them. He lowered his eyes again and finished his can, setting it aside before he stood up.

"We will have to leave early in the morning to make a start towards the city; if luck is with us we may be able to commandeer a vehicle of some kind, however we cannot assume as such. I am retiring for the evening. I suggest you do not remain out of bed for much longer yourselves. You know the rota for the first watch." He inclined his head politely before he headed into the shadows and mounted a pile of bales, using his bag as a pillow behind his head he reclined and rested his hands on his stomach, wondering quietly to himself whether or not their former eighth comrade was still alive. Ichigo was strong, he was skilled and brave; his desire to protect others would eventually be his downfall but it was difficult to imagine that he would simply be carried away without a word of cry for help.

Closing his eyes, Aizen resided himself not to consider the fate of the feisty orange haired young man who had so captivated his attention. Ichigo was the reason that he was still alive to lead the group of survivors; the young man had rescued him. When hope had been lost and his life on the brink of its very end, Ichigo had appeared like an angel on a mission.

Formerly the head of a large pharmaceutical company, Aizen Sousuke was retreating down the long hallway; throwing down his empty revolver and watching as the large horde of people who had formerly worked for him. Now they were shambling, stinky; bloodied corpses, cold to the touch, and hungering for his flesh.

"I knew I shouldn't have given any of you a bonus this year. You bunch of ungrateful, lunatic, flesh-eating... Bastards..." he paused and gulped as his back hit the door to his office.

The cluster of corpses closest to the front began to shamble faster as it became clear that their prey was trapped, arms reaching out; mouths stretching open with fresh blood dripping down their fronts in torrents; wild golden eyes staring lifelessly at the food source. Aizen swallowed hard and resolved himself to go out fighting, he stepped forwards and raised his fists, knowing full well that they would not get him far.

It was in that moment, when all hope faded and his death seemed imminent that something appeared to distract a large huddle of the dead corpses; the brunet's gaze was drawn by a looming shadow which had formed on the floor to ceiling window half way down the hall way from his location.

A crack, a shatter and the sound of flying bullets whistling through the air broke the melancholy of groaning and moaning from the undead. A flash of orange drew his sights and he watched a lone figure battling through the horde towards his location, leaving none 'alive' in his wake.

Corpses fell under the wrath of his skilled and mysterious saviour, and before long, Aizen came face to face with the orange haired man who had appeared in the nick of time. He was covered in gore and coagulated blood; and was reloading the two sawn off shotguns he had wielded to such effect before.

"Unless you wanna die here I suggest we move quickly." His saviour told him, his voice surprisingly warm despite the manner of their meeting.

"Where are we going?" Aizen asked as he hastily followed back down the hallway, away from his office and through the piled up corpses around them, "And what the hell are these things?!"

"Ever watched horror movies?" he asked, "These are your classic undead zombies."

The brunet gawped slightly, "Zombies? How?! And where are we going? There were loads more of these things on the lower levels..."

The orange haired male stopped abruptly and gripped the front of his shirt, "Pin back your lugholes and listen good, 'cuz I am only gonna to tell you this once. We don't have time to stand around chatting so I'm also gonna make it short and sweet," he raised an eyebrow, "All I know is that the dead are coming back to life, they are devouring flesh and they will kill their friends and relatives with no differentiation between the two. The most effective way to kill the bastards is to shoot them in the head or take the head clean off. Now, I am trying to escape the worst of this infection before I get killed, and I am doing so with three friends one of whom is injured. I decided to come here, considering that this is a major pharmaceutical company to get some medical supplies when I happened to see you running through that window. Now I am going to rescue you and get the hell out of this place. And, as for where we are going... My friends are waiting on the roof with a helicopter. Now, are you done asking questions?"

Aizen stared for a moment, not overly used to being addressed in such a demeaning manner, "I have one more question." He said calmly, "Can I use one of your guns? Mine ran out."

"Sure." He handed over one of the shotguns and pulled out a revolver instead before they began running for the stair case.

It didn't take long for them to locate a sufficient amount of medical surplus and before long they were already heading back towards the roof. They encountered several groups of the undead on the way but easily took care of them. Upon reaching the roof, Aizen saw a special Army helicopter ready and waiting for them; the two of them ran towards it, both glancing back as they heard the door slam open for a second time, releasing another swarm of undead creatures which had followed their scent from the lower levels of the building.

The orange haired young man grabbed Aizen's jacket and forced him to bend over as someone opened fire from the machine gun which was fitted in the helicopter. They got aboard their ticket out and assisted in shooting down the creatures that were hurrying towards them.

It took only a moment before they were rising into the air, safe from the arms of the flesh-eaters; everyone relaxed slightly. Aizen slumped in one of the seats, hardly believing that he had been rescued at all, let along that they had escaped unscathed.

He looked at the orange haired young man who was bandaging the leg of a petite woman with black hair and steely grey eyes. Swallowing his usually overinflated pride he cleared his throat, "Allow me to do that. I am medically trained." The brunet moved closer and took over from his saviour, "Thanks for picking me up like that. I know it probably endangered you more than simply finding these supplies."

"Don't mention it." He replied, grabbing a bottle of water and drinking from it, "Humanity is all we have left now. It won't take long for this infection to spread."

"You sound like you know a lot about it." He commented.

"Not really, it is just logic." The younger man shrugged, "I'm Ichigo by the way; that's Rukia you are seeing to. Renji's on the machine gun and our pilot is Byakuya; Rukia's brother."

Aizen looked at them in turn as they were introduced, "Pleasure to meet you all. I am Aizen Sousuke, of Las Noches Pharmaceuticals." He responded.

"I think everyone knows who you are," Ichigo smirked, "Your medical company is the largest in the country."

"Ah of course, not that that is going to be of much importance any longer, not if what you say is true and the world is coming to an abrupt end." He sighed, "How strange it seems that we should live to see such times."

"Time has nothing to do with it. It's scientific advancement that has put us in this situation." Rukia said quietly as she inspected the work he had done on her leg.

"More than likely." The brunet agreed, "Where do we go from here, if I may ask?"

"I don't know," Ichigo sighed, "Ideally we need to restock on weaponry; if this infection spreads we are going to need to arm ourselves against them thoroughly. But I think we should also do a sweep of the city to see if there are any other survivors, but then... I don't want to risk my friend's lives." He sighed again and rubbed his forehead.

"I can offer my advice; I am used to being in charge of groups of people and weighing up risks." Aizen offered.

Ichigo looked at him for a long moment and nodded, "Alright. What do you think?"

"There is an unmanned Army barrack on the western edge of the city; I think we should stock up on weapons first before even attempting to search for more survivors. We should also see about food supplies before looking for anyone else. Once we've done that, it would likely be a lot safer for all of us if we didn't consciously search for others, but if we bump into anyone like you did with me then we take them with us." He murmured, "I know it's cruel, not to search for them. But at a time like this, with an epidemic like this, we have to put our own safety first."

"He is right," Renji called from the gunners seat, "The more intensely we search the more likely it becomes that we will put ourselves in danger."

"Alright," Ichigo agreed, "It's a good plan. Let's follow it."

Aizen sat up abruptly, looking around for signs of what had woken him; he came face to face with Rukia herself. She had her hand on his arm and her eyes were large and animated.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It is daybreak." She replied, "You wanted to move out in the early hours of the morning."

"Ah thank you Rukia." He said and shook off the remaining memories of his vivid dream, the memory of his rescue and his original meeting with Ichigo and his friends was as fresh in his mind as it had ever been.

"Are you alright?" the young girl asked him, noticing the slightly glazed expression he wore.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you." He replied as he stood up and began assembling the weaponry he kept on his persons.

"Ichigo would understand you know..." she breathed, "He would never have wanted people to risk their lives trying to find him."

Swallowing slightly, the brunet looked at her, "I know, but still... It would have been nice not to lose him."

"Yeah..." she looked down and patted his arm before she walked away to wake the others up.

Aizen sighed as he watched her go and looked down at the sawn off shotgun in his hands, he bit his tongue and put it in its holster before slinging it across his back at an angle.

'Humanity. I guess you were right after all Ichigo. It is all we have left. I just hope there is enough of it left in the world to give us a nudge in the right direction.' The brunet thought before he walked towards the exit to unblock the door so that they could move on.