7. Glieder der Götter

LUCY'S SUB-CONCIOUS

"Zanpak...?" Lucy was aghast by this man. What was he doing in her sub-conscious.

Assuming he was an intruder, Lucy unleashed her two working vectors at Muramusa. The man performed a strange gesture with his hand and stopped Lucy's vectors immediately before impact.

"What!" Lucy was surprised.

"Humph. If I hadn't stopped that any time sooner that would have surely killed me. However I have a power much stronger than yours. I can give it to you – but it will be at a cost."

Lucy was unsure. She remembered facing the beastly Bando before spacing out and arriving here. She really had no choice. She had to accept this new freeloader in her sub-conscious.

"Thank you Lucy. You made the right choice." Muramusa lifted one finger. "Before you can use me you must remember my name and this incantation."

MEANWHILE...

"Dammit it looks like she's stuck there." Bando was referring to Nana as she was still skewered on the halberd. "Never mind, there's a few spare blades for you girl.

Nyu's face disappeared under the shroud of her hair. She was unaware of the danger about to face her. Bando brought his blade down to kill her quickly. He was surprised to see that she blocked it with her two vectors as if she anticipated that move long ago.

"So you can block eh? I won't let it happen again." But surely she parried the weapon as soon as he boasted that.

Lucy stood up, her face still hidden. "You...Bando do not deserve my mercy..."

Bando laughed as if he heard a brilliant joke. "I need your mercy. You need my mercy." Bando gave another swing which would have killed Lucy however.

"PARALYZE THE LIMBS...DESTROY ALL IN YOUR PATH. ..AWAKEN...MURAMUSA!!!!!!!!"

MEANWHILE...SOUL SOCIETY

"Where is this enormous spiritual pressure coming from?" captain Ukitake wondered as he roused from his bed rest. Even for a veteran captain. This was awfully radiant.

A hell butterfly entered his room.

#An unusual and high spiritual disturbance has been recorded from the world of the living and has penetrated into Soul Society. Be warned as structural damage may result all captains should be prepared for a possible battle in the world of the living#

"This can't be possible?" Ukitake pondered to himself. "Whoever is causing this is not a Shinigami or a Hollow, or even an Arrancar."

Elsewhere Commander Yammamoto raised an eye.

"The Diclonius has indeed obtained a god-like power."

The spiritual disturbance would trigger an even ghastlier problem as it revived the scattered Diclionii memories from the real world.

Soul Society would now brace itself against not just a rogue Diclonius but an army of Diclonius. The Battleground: Soul Society itself.

WORLD OF THE LIVING – NEW KARAKURA

Ichigo could also sense the strong spiritual pressure. It felt like the Earth's gravity had quintupled in magnitude as he struggled to stand.

"What.....is.........this?" Ichigo struggled to usher a few words.

A shrill scream could be heard in the other room. Yuzu had collapsed under the sheer intensity and Karin was barely conscious.

"Ichigo...you..........must........"

Karin now fell unconscious under this thunderous force.

Isshin was standing alone in his bedroom. Donning an old kimono and a small rag of a haori.

"It can't be helped." Isshin spoke in a serious tone for once. "I must fight."

NEAR THE SITE OF THE SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL DISTURBANCE

Kurama, Rukia and Tatsuki ran outside and looked at the crimson sky where also a purple aura radiated from the epicentre of the spiritual disturbance. As they looked into the aura they only further damaged there spiritual integrity.

"Don't stare into it." Rukia warned. "We must go and find out what it is."

Kurama already jumped to the obvious conclusion.

"Lucy..."

EPICENTRE

Around here the reiatsu fluctuated sporadically. Any normal human would have died instantly. Luckily Bando's new powers meant he could handle it.

"So you hid a zanpakuto all along?" Bando exclaimed.

Lucy's clothes were vaporised by the rupturing of reiatsu. Her body was high in the air suspended by a dazzling display of transparent arms. Her face was marked with two purple streaks which zigzagged down from her eyes-of which were orange in colour. Her hair flickered like flames. A metallic object was embedded in her torso. It was shaped like a lotus flower.

Her zanpakuto was, in essence, her ultimate ego: Demonic Lucy. The awakened Diclonius.

Oh crap! Demonic Lucy. Who would have thought she could get any more sinister? Is Soul Society - is the world itself doomed? What will Ichigo do? I'll leave you in anticipation for a while as I take a brief break and enjoy some other fanfics. Stay tuned.