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 6: Point of No Return; Background Knowledge
Inside the large building, Ichigo found his senses bombarded with a great light from the centre, the noisy chatter of dozens of keyboards being tapped into submission relentlessly by the many typists within, and the scent of burning metal, charred kindling and something reminiscent of coffee mixed with granite or another hard stone. The sheer magnitude of all these things together was mind-boggling on their own, but combined with the very fact that they were in another world altogether made it all the more confusing.
The Council of Blazing Souls, as Inferno had announced it, was a hybrid of a modern office block, a medieval castle melded with futuristic technological weapons lining the walls in show, and a mythical nature, the existence of which would be laughable if the group had not seen it with their own eyes. At the centre of the main building lay a crystalline pillar fluxing with blue-white light, the structure plunging into the ground, through to the next level, and spearing through the ceiling. Wires and tubes ran from the centre out to the various locations in the castle, spreading out like veins and arteries from a heart. Inferno turned to the orange-haired Captain and smiled a little.
"I bet it's strange, seeing something like this," she remarked. Ichigo smiled a little and nodded. "How about we give you the grand tour?"
"Not right now, Inferno," Kai interjected, cutting off any response from Ichigo. "I need to speak with the Drakon Elders right away. It's important." The dragoness looked concerned at the sharp response, but nodded.
"I understand," she replied. "They are waiting for you anyway; it would not be right to keep the Elders waiting. Follow me."
The group of humans followed the yellow-scaled dragoness as she walked into the depths of the fortress. A short way from the central pillar, they wheeled right, then left, then again. By the time they reached the stairwell leading down to the base of the structure, Ichigo had no idea which way they had come in the first place, a sensation which did not ease as they traversed the labyrinth of stone passages, each dimly lit by red flamed torches mounted every ten metres along the walls.
"How's anyone supposed to find anything in a place like this?" he asked. Rukia turned to the young Captain and smirked.
"Seireitei isn't that far from this," she pointed out. "Between the streets around the districts and the passages underground, its no more of a maze than this place." Ichigo snorted.
"You expect it from a city," he returned. "But this place is a building. It's ridiculous."
"It was actually a decision," Inferno interrupted, calling over her shoulder to the two Soul Reapers. "Based on the design of buildings akin to this one on Earth." Ichigo frowned.
"What kind of building is like this?" he asked. Ed chuckled and turned to the orange-haired Captain, ignoring the glare he was receiving from said young man.
"It's more from English ones," he replied. "You know, medieval castles smashed into office blocks. The Elders decided to keep to a hybrid of the two from designs given by the Sanctuary's own Elders. It's a little confusing, but it works for the purpose."
"It's still too confusing," Ichigo grumbled, folding his arms like a spoilt child which did not get its way, much to Rukia's amusement.
Soon after Ichigo's moaning, the group came to a halt outside a huge metal door which seemed to be entirely merged with the stone around it. From the step in the stone walls where the wall formed the door frame, two ultramarine-flamed torches sat at about eight feet off the ground, lighting the door from the centre of its height, and a metal box just below Inferno's shoulder height. She pressed the flashing red button on the metal box, raising the segmented iron screen to reveal a pulsing blue panel the size of a hand and extending a small arm housing a microphone.
"This is the Drakonian Chamber," Inferno informed them, placing her right hand onto the blue panel, the clawed extremity sinking into the panel as if it were plasma of some sort of goo. It began to pulse faster as it read her hand print. "This is where the Elders are for the most part." The panel turned red as Inferno finished explaining. "Access to Drakonian Chamber, designation thirty seven alpha, proxy delta tau." The panel flared yellow briefly, then lit up green. Inferno retracted her hand from the substance and stepped back, a loud whirring and the sound of gears graunching noisily filling the air.
"Welcome back, Elder Inferno," a mechanical voice ground out as bars of metal slid outwards and began rotating around. "Access to Drakonian Chamber approved."
The door shuddered as bolts drew back, barrels and tumblers shifted into position and chunks of metal swung, spun and retracted, all to unlock the hulking behemoth. After a few minutes, the metal panel stood still once more with a strip of blue light down the middle, swinging open in opposing directions to reveal the chamber beyond. The thirteen of them all filed into the room, spying the four occupants inside.
The chamber itself was fairly large and dull in style, the grey bricks prominent, though a carpet the colour of dried blood gave some style to the otherwise drab interior. The crystalline column from the ground level flowed down through the ceiling and into a console around the centre of the room. The four occupants turned to the group as they entered, leaving what they were doing instantly to see who it was who had arrived.
To the far left, standing beside a black obelisk pulsing with green energy, was a fairly short and bulky dragon, sporting a earthy-brown hide, fiery orange eyes and silver-coloured spines, claws and horns. Around the head was a black spined frill of sorts. A series of teeth and horns of varying hues around the creature's neck and bulky armour-like plates of red scales over the chest and shoulders made the dragon seem more intimidating, whereas the short, stumpy tail and disproportionately small wings gave the being an almost comical look. It was obvious that this dragon was a strong being, though clearly not that fast.
Beside the console, moving further around the room, stood another figure, this one dragonoid but with significant differences to the others. It was a fairly tall being with a simple graphite coloured hide, black claws and a white right eye. The strange things about the being was the lack of spines at all, the lengthy tail, and a series of metalwork which consumed areas of the creature entirely; the right arm and a section of the head had been replaced by mechanical parts completely, including the left eye, which glowed a light blue. Further than this, the right side of the chest had a plating which housed the socket for the prosthetic arm, and the wings had been modified to be more streamlined and also to have a few studs of sorts, which connected to something not present. The creature gave a scrutinising look at the group, then turned back to the console, the hand and arm of the prosthetic opening into several small spindly arms, each typing or pulling levers with great speed and accuracy.
The third occupant was stood beside the fourth, and was distinctly different from any of the others; far from being a dragon, the creature was just taller than a human, standing on three legs with a short tail behind it, and four powerful-looking arms, which each ended in five yellowed claws. The face was reminiscent of a pigs but with red eyes, dark tufty hair, pointed ears and yellowed tusks protruding from the mouth. The green skinned creature wore tattered brown cloth around its lower half and two black belts over its chest, each sporting an array of daggers and pouches, and a pair of long-barrelled pistols hung at its waist. It seemed to glare at the group behind Inferno as it looked over.
The final person, completing the quadruplet of dragons in the room, was the tallest of those present by quite a large margin. It had pitch black scales with dark scarlet horns, claws and spines. The underbelly held the same colour, as did parts of the grandiose frill, going with the dulled silver also there. The placid green eyes inspected the people gathered with intrigue, the mighty wings furled calmly behind and a long sword sheathed at its hip. Comparatively, this dragon was by far the most plain, but seemed to exert the greatest reiatsu of them all.
"So," the pig-faced creature grunted. "The rumours were true, I see."
"I guess that means you remember me then," Kai replied icily. The green creature growled audibly, but Kai ignored it, turning to those who were new to Alkahmia. "Let me introduce everyone; the bundle of joy here is Scourge Skofnung, Elder of the Goblin Mercenaries of the Eastern Plains." Scourge glared at Kai's remarks, but said nothing. "The short dragon in the corner is Dalkron, Elder of the Miner Congregation of the Elrean Pass." The dragon nodded its head to them. "The one working at the console is Airone, Elder of the Delta-Wings of Mount Phlexal." The dragon looked over, the blue eyes flashing pink briefly before returning to blue as it had been before. "And the last dragon is Igneous, Elder of the Drakon Empire." The last dragon nodded slightly and walked forwards as Kai finished. "The last Elder is Inferno, the Elder of the Technologists Guild of Libras City."
"It is a pleasure," Igneous said courteously, taking a knee to come down to near the group's height. "To see you again, old friend." A red claw gently moved Kai's black Shihakusho, revealing the red crystal embedded in his chest. "Although, the news of your battle on Earth was less than relieving, as you might understand."
"I appreciate the concern," Kai nodded. "But as you can see, it will take more than that to kill me." Igneous still looked concerned, but remained silent, prompting Kai to continue. "I need to ask for your help, Elders. As you are aware by now, JX has the completed Impendium Crucible, and is now waiting for each part to activate. Unless we act quickly and get to him before they do, the amount of damage which could be caused is immeasurable. We need your help to break through the perimeter of the Zempacki fortress and mask our advance; the rest we can deal with from inside."Igneous turned to the other Elders, silently questioning their decisions. With no responses against this action, Igneous turned back to Kai.
"We will help you in this conquest, Kai," he replied finally. "However, it will be approximately twelve hours before we can mobilise our forces." Kai nodded understandingly. "In total, we have eight hundred and seventy three fighters ready, with another three hundred and twelve returning from Libras City patrols and perimeter defences. Also, we have around a hundred aerial infantry on patrol to add to the hundred and sixteen here, and a further hundred and thirty nine subterranean warriors." Kai added the numbers in his head.
"So, we have a total of one thousand five hundred and forty warriors to take on the stronghold, plus the twelve of us who will be leading the advance, right?" he asked. Igneous nodded. Kai ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Against a force of about eight thousand, we have just over fifteen hundred to take them on..." He grinned a little. "Sounds like my kind of odds." Jon rolled his eyes.
"Just don't repeat what happened last time we fought there," he chipped in. Rukia frowned at his words.
"Why? What happened last time?" she asked. Kai seemed unwilling to say, but Ed was there to answer for him.
"It was along the lines of almost getting his butt handed to him," he said with a smirk. "And nearly levelling a building on his head."
"Not the only time that's happened," Ichigo noted, remembering how his fellow Captain had been thrown through several buildings in the fake, and also some of the real, Karakura Town in the Winter War. Kai glared at the two of them.
"It was the first time I tried using Dark Fate Cero," he growled. "Excuse me if I had no time to practise it because you rushed into a fight we didn't need to have!" His digit pointed accusingly at Ed, who shrugged at his friend's words. Kai sighed and turned back to Igneous. "Since we have so much time to spare, we might as well use that time to train and prepare ourselves." The dragon nodded.
"Of course," he replied. "You may all use the training facilities as you see fit. Also, we have four large quarters currently empty; you are welcome to use them if you need to rest."
Kai nodded and walked out of the room, taking that as his cue to leave. The others from the Sanctuary also left, bowing slightly as they did. Ichigo watched his friend walk away, noticing that his demeanour had shifted somewhat since his defeat above Karakura. He then turned to Inferno, who had walked forward to the remaining six.
"Since we have so much time, how about that tour before you join your friends?" she asked. No one seemed in a rush to train, and each was new to the place, making them uneasy. As if picking up on this, Inferno smiled a little. "It's alright, I don't bite." The slight joke eased the tension slightly, but it still hung heavy in the air.
"We would appreciate that," Ichigo finally said for the group. Inferno nodded and led them away. Renji leaned down to Rukia as they walked, speaking quietly.
"Is it me, or does Kai seem... different?" he asked. Rukia sighed slightly and nodded.
"I have noticed it too," she confirmed. "It's like he has become more distant."
"He hasn't become more anything," Ichigo cut in. The two Lieutenants looked at the Captain with intrigue as he explained. "He's become less... But I can't tell what exactly, or why."
As they traversed the corridors and the doors sealed behind them, none of the group was aware of Scourge talking with Igneous, Airone and Dalkron.
"Are you certain we can trust them?" the goblin asked cautiously. "I am not convinced."
"We have no reason to doubt them," Igneous replied. "You know what damage could be done if we allow the Zempacki to continue as they are."
"Still," Scourge growled. "I don't trust the boy, or his new-found allies." Dalkron rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"I knew ye goblins are meant to be paranoid li'l buggers," he grunted. Had any of the humans been present, they would have mistaken his thick accent for Scottish or a close approximation of it. "But I had no idea ye were this bad."
"The boy has helped us in many occasions," Airone added in his light, almost computer-like voice. "It is right for us to return the favour."
"A favour we would not owe if he had not brought the Champion of Darkness to life," Scourge snapped. "You know what the Prophecy says about him; this is not a wise decision, Igneous."
"I have never asked you to do something without just reason," the tall dragon replied levelly. "This is no exception. Kai is attempting to make amends for his mistakes; we should allow him to, and help where we can." The others backed down at this. "I want you all to go to your troops, have them ready for our march on Lucifer Stronghold. If they are engaged in battle, have them pull out as soon as they can, and have all your troops assembled here. Do you understand?" The three nodded silently. "Excellent. Prepare yourselves, for tomorrow shall bring the day we will scar the Zempacki forces once and for all."
Ground Level
"We have four main towers on the building," Inferno explained as they entered a room through a metal bulk head. "Each one holds a different attribute we fight for. This is the inside of the Knowledge Pillar." The group looked up and gazed in awe at the white sphere of energy suspended above them, a spinning set of metal rings revolving quickly around it. White light shot through a set of pipes connected to the apparatus. "This is the Drakon Master Mind, the source of our collective knowledge. It functions as a Hive Mind for our kind."
"It's beautiful," Orihime said, staring up still. Inferno smiled, but went on anyway.
"The other towers," she continued. "Are the Strength Pillar, housing the Master Muscle, the Aerial Pillar, which holds the Master Wing, and the Power Pillar, which contains the most important and powerful thing we have; the Master Flame." Uryu cocked his head as they started to file out of the room.
"Why would you contain all these precious things in one place?" he asked. "Doesn't that make it easier to attack them?"
"Yes, you might think so," Inferno nodded, leading them on. "But the Council of Blazing Souls exists deep within Dragon Territory; for the Zempacki to get this far, they would have to fight through countless forces and then penetrate the perimeter just to get close to them. The Master Artefacts used to exist in temples on the surface, scattered all over Alkahmia, but these were too isolated to defend easily, so we brought them here." Inferno glanced over her shoulder, noting that Ichigo looked as though he wanted to say something, but was unsure how to phrase it. "Speak your mind, Captain. You seem troubled."
"How did this all start?" he asked. "Dragons and Zempacki look practically the same, but they are different from one another; why?" Inferno paused, nodding at the questions.
"Come with me," she said, leading the six humans into a large room with a long but slender, conical crystal protruding from the middle of the ground. Inferno shifted a little as she pulled a lever, running the devices in the room. The crystal spun, gaining speed, until a beam of blue shot upwards, expanding into an image, like a hologram being projected into the room. "In the beginning, there were only dragons. We lived in harmony, caring for one another and protecting the Five Master Artefacts from any who stumbled across Alkahmia with hostility. That was a long time ago.
"Many years ago, the whole dimension trembled and warped as if it were suffering from an earthquake which even made the air shudder. A dimension known to us as Proximus Alpha," The image of a small purple mass appeared in the hologram, along with a larger, orange mass, "collided with Alkahmia. The force shook the dimensions until, regrettably, Proximus Alpha imploded." The purple mass burst into dust as it struck the orange.
"This," Inferno went on, "left something ingrained within Alkahmia; a rare object known as a dimensional core." A deep blue sphere pulsed at the centre of the orange mass. "These objects protect a dimension from others after it survives a collision. The limitless power of that core has been many the cause of a war, but I digress. The core also brought three other things with it; an artefact of immense power, possessing the strength to consume dimensions completely, known as the Impendium Crucible, eight beings with the power over the elements, and a small microbe, a mass of black matter which flowed with its own consciousness. This was the 'Demon Strain', as it was later named.
"The Demon Strain infected one of our best, a dragon called Magnus Sentiens; he became the first demon in existence, a creature of darkness under the name of Demon X." The image shifted to shown a tall, black creature with red eyes and a malevolent aura about it. "Demon X then infected other dragons to build his army. That is how the Demons came about."
"What about the Zempacki?" Renji asked.
"I'm getting there," Inferno chided. "The Elementals are the reason for the Zempacki; originally, we had captured them, but our holding facility was breached by the Demon Champion as a way of proving his worth shortly after his creation. Once they were released, they wanted revenge; to get that revenge, they imbued the Zempacki with their elements and joined forces with them." Eight figures appeared in the Hologram, each looking sprite-like and differing from one another in some ways.
"These are the Elementals," Inferno elaborated. "They have dominance over the eight elements here; earth, wind, fire, water, lightning, light, darkness, and chaos. Consequently, the Zempacki have access to these to power their abilities. They also have another advantage over us; they have access to a version of Zanpakuto, but we do not.
"The reason for this is the fifth Master Artefact, the Master Spirit, was contaminated by the Demon Strain, isolating it from us and bestowing its strengths to the Zempacki. As such, we cannot use a zanpakuto, which makes it a good thing that we have the likes of you and your Hybrid Zanpakuto." Rukia frowned at this.
"Wait," she interrupted. "We Soul Reapers don't use 'Hybrid Zanpakuto', we use regular zanpakuto." Inferno cocked her head.
"You are not the same as the others?" she asked, intrigued. "I suppose I should not be surprised; after all, for there to be a Hybrid Zanpakuto, there must be an original too." She fixed the three Soul Reaper with a serious gaze. "Would you do me the courtesy of explaining the technicalities of your Zanpakuto?" Renji and Ichigo exchanged blank looks.
"Um, what?" Renji asked. Rukia rolled her eyes and brought her hand to her forehead.
"Honestly," she grumbled. "You're both hopeless." She looked over to Inferno, ignoring Ichigo's indignant comments that he had not said it. "Our zanpakuto officially have three states, though some only manage to acquire two and even less only have two forms overall." She threw Ichigo a brief look before continuing. "A Soul Reaper's zanpakuto possesses an unreleased form, a worded release which we call Shikai, and a final release called Bankai. Each Zanpakuto has a unique name and release command for Shikai, but the name is only for Shikai. Bankai simply uses the release command 'Bankai' for all zanpakuto, but the name changes slightly. For example, Ichigo's zanpakuto, Zangetsu, becomes Tensa Zangetsu in Bankai." Inferno nodded.
"I see," she said, taking the information in well. "Are there any others?"
"The Arrancar," Ichigo remembered. "They had Zanpakuto as well. But they only had one release, right?"
"Sort of," Uryu replied. "If you remember, Ichigo, they had their normal release like a Soul Reaper's zanpakuto, though they called it a Resurreccion. Then a few also had a second release, their Segunda Etapa. I'm surprised you do not remember, considering what happened." Ichigo glared at the Quincy.
"Shut up," he growled back before turning back to Inferno. "Anyway, every time they released, they healed the worst of their wounds, most likely using their dormant Instant Regeneration abilities. Plus their zanpakuto seem to fuse with them when they release."
"Ah," Inferno nodded. "I see now why it is that your comrades wield hybridised zanpakuto. It seems they retain the nature of the Soul Reaper zanpakuto when they first release, but that is not the case when they go into Bankai. In all cases I have seen, the zanpakuto merges with their bodies, as if they are one in the same, and the reiatsu they release repairs any extensive damages on their being. Surely you have noticed this."
"Well," Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, looking away. "It's not like Kai uses his Bankai that much, and besides, the others haven't really shown us their Bankai; not on purpose, at least." inferno nodded understandingly. Ichigo looked up again. "What about the Zempacki releases? Are they like Kai's and the others?"
"Similar," Inferno replied. She brought up another simulation, this one of a sword. "As you have seen when you fought them, the Zempacki have a standard unreleased sword. Each type of zanpakuto differs according to element, but those of the same element have identical swords. Their releases are actually the Zempacki lifting pre-set limiters on their power, hence why they refer to them as 'locks'. The Primera Lock, or primary release, wreathes the sword in their element, meaning all Zempacki have this." The simulation of the sword changed, placing the weapon in the hand of a Zempacki. Chains of red energy circled the Zempacki before then dissipating in a small burst, energy wreathing the sword in the Zempacki's grip.
"After this stage," Inferno continued, "is the Segunda Lock, which requires a heightened reiatsu compared to standard. This gives the zanpakuto a unique form with varying abilities depending on what its element is and how its wielder prefers to fight." As expected, the animation shifted, a black set of chains appearing this time and dispersing. The sword stopped being wreathed in energy, instead absorbing it and changing into a spear.
"The final stage is only for the most elite warriors," Inferno said, loading up the next animation. "This release is known as Elemental Imbuing as it takes the Elemental of the Zempacki in question and merges it with the zanpakuto and the Zempacki itself, resulting in a Calamity Golem, as we have named them. These are rare, as only the highest ranked Zempacki can use it, plus it requires the knowledge of the zanpakutos name." The image of an Elemental appeared behind the Zempacki before melding with it, leaving a burning, deformed creature much larger than the original parts combined. The holograms then faded. "Now then, let me take you all to the training rooms; I'm sure your friends are waiting for you."
I know this is probably a boring chapter, but some of the background information is important for later on.
Anyway, I'm back at school finally, so I might slow down a bit from now on, but I'll still continue writing regardless.
Anyway, let me know what you think, and I'll post again as soon as I can.