I do not own the characters, ideas, and/or places from either Bleach or World of Warcraft and their respective universes. Tite Kubo and Blizzard® own them respectively. Any original characters in the story belong to me. Any comparisons to other fan fiction or series characters are entirely coincidental and not intentional.
Hello - Normal Speech
Hello - Thoughts
Hello - Demons / Titans/ Inner Hollow/ Dragons / Arrancar Released Form
Hello – Thoughts of Demons / Titans/ Inner Hollow/ Dragons / Arrancar Released Form
I love reviews. To see that someone took the time to log in (or not) and criticize my work is fantastic. I don't care if the review is positive or negative as long as they give good reasons for their response I'm happy. I have gotten reviews that pointed out plot holes, questions I didn't answer, or simply things that I forgot.
I wanted to try and do what I normally do but Uryu's segment just kept writing itself. It eventually reached the point where I had almost 4,500 words written down before I was done. I decided to see how this chapter format goes in order to determine what I do in the future involving the pacing of the story. Do I continue to do 3-4 short segments per chapter or focus on one character per chapter in order to really flesh out their story?
Please PM or say in a review which method you prefer: One character per chapter or my earlier method. Depending on what is said I will go back and add material to the earlier sections (Chapters 9 – 11) in order to make them full-blown chapters.
Without further delay here is chapter 12 of "Bleached into Azeroth."
Reviews
1. LeadStragetist: "i really like your story. i was curious about something though. if you had had Orihime show up in here what would the time dragon's reaction to that be? her power is basically the regression of fate/time. i'd think they'd absolutely freak over it and try to kill her. it was a random thought and it nagged me to the point that i decided to just post this question."
You would be correct in that the bronze dragonflight would be scared to death of her and try to full-out kill her. But fortunately for Orihime she will not be appearing in this story for a long, long time, if she even does.
2. TerraBull: "Chad - Heh, he gets a armor and possibly a reputation? Otherwise, I think you wrote Ironbrand as Ionbrand a few times. Neliel - Can she Konso? I am curious what she will do once she gets to Silvermoon City. Uryu - Heh, saying that after his intrusion? Will he offer to make some Custom Tailored clothes for her?"
In order: Chad does get a set of armor but I am allowing my readers to choose on it. Since the timeline of this game starts late in Burning Crusade but way before Wrath of the Lich King, his armor can be from Tiers 1 to 6. Ironband is the actual name of the explorer in charge of the dig site in Loch Modan. I do not think arrancar can konso and what she will do in the future is a mystery. Uryu is always classy in times of stress.
...
Secret of the Dragonflights Arc
Chapter 9: Uryu's Battle through the Scarlet Monastery
Ducking under his opponent's wild swing, Uryu twisted around and slammed his knee into him stomach. The man barely managed to stay standing before he collapsed to the ground coughing and wheezing. Standing over the man, Uryu's ears picked up something whistling through the air. Crouching and reaching around, he caught the woman's wrist, stopping the axe in mid-swing.
Uryu increased the pressure on her wrist until she was forced to drop her weapon in pain, "That will be enough from you."
The woman attempted to pull her wrist out of Uryu's grip but found it somehow impossible, "How are you so strong?"
"My father is a doctor so I would know exactly where to hold someone in order to incapacitate them. Now then, will you tell me just why you attempted to kill me?"
She seethed and spit on Uryu, "I will not cow down to you demon. I will get free and destroy you and if I die doing so then my brethren will-"
Her ranting was cut short as Uryu punched her in the stomach and knocking her unconscious. Rubbing his fist from hitting her armor, Uryu grimaced and looked up at the monastery standing ominously on the cliff. It was not long after his confrontation with that mysterious woman on the beach that he made contact with the group of humans in armor. Attempting to be friendly, he approached them unarmed only for them to shout at him and rush towards him with their weapons brandished.
Walking over the bodies and towards the monastery, Uryu kept to the trees just off the road in order to avoid any more confrontations with these people. The woman did say that there were others like her with similar beliefs so he felt it was better to be safe then sorry. Jumping onto a low hanging branch, Uryu saw that the front entrance to the monastery was heavily guarded by dozens of men and women in matching scarlet and yellow armor.
"This is crazy," he thought, "Here I am attempting to break into the stronghold of a group of radical people who see everyone else as demons when I should be trying to track down Ichigo and the others and find a way home. Granted these people may have a library of sorts somewhere in that building with maps and books that could be a big help in the long run."
Uryu looked around for an entrance, "Attempting to go in through the front door will most likely involve heavy fighting. If I am going to find out what is going on I will need to make myself a path."
Noticing that the rooftops of the monastery was not guarded at all, Uryu thought of an idea, "If I could manage to distract the patrols for at least a minute I might be able to make it to the roof without being seen."
Forming his Ginrei Kojaku, Uryu carefully aimed and fired off a shot towards a tree far enough away that it would take the scarlet crusaders a while to investigate. The spiritual arrow flew through the air and hit the tree, vaporizing a large chunk of bark around where it hit and causing the tree to collapse towards the monastery. Uryu watched his work play out as the tree hit the monastery, causing a large portion of a wall to collapse.
As the scarlet crusaders rushed off to figure out what happened and help those that may have gotten hurt, Uryu took his chance and raced across the ground towards the walls. Hopping onto a ledge near a ground floor window, he pushed himself into the air several times before grabbing the edge of the roof. Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was up there, he pulled himself up and rolled onto his back just as a few of the patrols made their way back.
"That was close. I don't know how Ichigo does this on a regular basis. I would feel sorry for him if he didn't cause most of his problems himself."
Pulling himself up into a sitting position, Uryu carefully looked over the edge of the roof. When he saw the crusaders moving around normally or as close to normally as one could after an "accident" he let out a sigh of relief and took in his surroundings. While most of the rooftops were level there was a large steeple to the north that rose at least fifty feet above everything else.
"That seems like a good place to start looking around."
Uryu had to pause several times as he made his way across the rooftops, careful not to draw attention to himself. Getting closer to the cathedral, his sharp mind began to take in the entire building in order to figure out the best way to get in. Noticing large ornate windows on a ledge above him he carefully climbed the masonry and tried to look through one of them only to find that it was too thick to see through. When he attempted to push it open, he found that it was welded shut with age.
As he got closer to the cathedral, he was able to see that it was actually bigger than it first appeared. Looking around for a possible way in, Uryu noticed large ornate windows on a ledge several meters above him. Jumping onto the ledge, he attempted to look through one of them only to find that the glass was too thick. Not put off by this, he tried to push the window open but found it was sealed shut with rust and age.
Jumping down to the rooftops, Uryu looked up at the window, "That one was no good. Perhaps I will have more luck with one of the other windows. I doubt the people inside expect someone to reach this point without being spotted."
After several more attempts, Uryu finally found a window that was still accessible. Gently pushing on the edge of it, it opened with a small creak as years of collected dust fell from it. Instead of immediately looking through the window, he leaned against the wall of the cathedral for a moment in case someone inside might have heard the window open. When no footsteps were heard, Uryu pushed the window open some more and looked around.
To his disappointment, the window did not lead to an office or even a library. It instead opened up to the top of a large chapel. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside the building, Uryu noticed that the hall was almost entirely empty except for a figure kneeling in front of a statue. Trying to get a better look at the person, Uryu cursed when he found he couldn't.
"The light in here is too low to get a better look. I would need to enter to do so but that would alert this entire place to my presence, which is the last thing on my mind."
Uryu continued to watch the figure below as they went about a routine that consisted of praying, pacing back and forth while talking under their breath, and reading from the book on a pedestal in front of the statue. After a while of seeing nothing new occur, Uryu was about to leave to look somewhere else when the large doors to the chapel opened and a large man followed by dozens of armored figures entered.
The figure in the chapel stopped their passing and turned towards the approaching people, "Herod! What is the meaning of this?"
Uryu smirked as the woman's voice reached him loud and clear, "It's convenient that the architecture of the cathedral allows sound to carry throughout the entire structure. I just need to be careful to not make any sounds myself."
Herod kept walking as the men and women with him ran by him and spread out through the chapel as if they were looking for something.
"My apologies High Inquisitor Whitemane, but we are actually here for your own protection."
"My protection?" she scoffed, "What are you talking about?"
Herod didn't respond he as moved past her and out of view. After about a minute, he reappeared, "Where is Mograine?"
"What is all of this about Herod?" Whitemane repeated with a little more force in her voice.
"There have been reports of an intruder in the monastery heading in this general direction. When our men failed to find him, I assumed the worst and took as many crusaders as possible when I rushed here. We must have managed to beat the assassin to you since you are still alive. Now tell me where Mograine is."
"He left several hours ago to take command of a large scouting party to the south near the Bulwark due to those Argent Dawn fools policy of diplomacy. Wait a second, you think he's involved with this?"
"Of course not," Herod said defensively, "I was just hoping he was here to better organize our defenses in case the assassin is not alone."
As they conversed, Uryu's mind tried to process what was said, "It appears that I was not as stealthy as I thought if one of their men managed to see me. Granted I did come this far without being spotted. But something that Herod person said intrigued me. He spoke as if he knew I was heading here specifically but the path I took was long and I had to go out of my way to get here."
He was brought out of his thoughts when Whitemane asked, "Have your men checked the monastery rooftops?"
"They are already up there."
Uryu's eyes widened in surprise as he turned away from the window, "They're already on the rooftops? Have I been so focused on eavesdropping that I let my guard down?"
"Step away from the window assassin!" a man's voice shouted.
Uryu bit his lip in frustration as he carefully turned around on the ledge. Looking on the roof around him he found that he was surrounded by at least a dozen men and women armed with bows, crossbows, and rudimentary guns. Sighing in aggravation, he calmly replied, "You will probably not believe a word of this but this isn't what it looks like."
"Is that so? Well then you should come down to our interrogation chambers. We can clear the whole thing up," the man sneered.
"I think I will take a rain check," he said as he stepped back to the window.
Uryu mentally counted down from three before throwing his back against the open window. Falling through the window just as a hail of arrows flew through where his head would have been, he twisted around as he fell before landing heavily, but safely on his feet. Now safe from the threat of being skewered by arrows, Uryu realized that he now faced the equal threat of getting stabbed to death.
"Assassin!" Herod shouted as he stood in front of Whitemane.
Now that he was inside the chapel, Uryu could finally see what Whitemane looked like. Young and thin with long white hair and a revealing outfit, she would make most girls in Karakura Town green with envy and most men pine for her affection. Uryu, the chivalrous man he was, had a slightly different reaction even in the deadly situation he was in.
"Put some clothes on woman, you're indecent."
...
Sylvanas leaned over one of the parapets of Lordearon Castle and took in the surrounding blighted land. She had been waiting patiently up there for about an hour, waiting for the last of her dark rangers to return from the north. While the first two denied finding anything and apologized greatly for it, the fact that her last ranger had not come back for hours allowed Sylvanas to believe she may have found something…or was dead. Either way it narrowed down the area she would need to search for the anomaly.
Feeling a slight shift in the mana around her that signaled the arrival of a dark ranger, Sylvanas stepped onto the edge of the parapet and walked off it into the air. Falling, she lazily turned around and easily landed on a small ledge outside the castle ruins without injury. Crossing her arms under her chest, she didn't have long to wait as a dark ranger materialized from the shadows.
"I hope your tardiness is explainable."
The dark ranger fell onto her knees before speaking, "Please forgive me Dark Lady, but the information I have managed to gather may be quite invaluable."
Sylvanas simply continued to stare coldly at the dark ranger, "Tell me."
"After leaving the Undercity, my sisters and I decided to spread out in a trident pattern, one headed towards Brill, the other to Brightwater Lake and I myself carefully made my way to the Scarlet Monastery. It was there that I made indirect contact with the target."
Sylvanas stared at the dark ranger for a moment before looking across Lordamere Lake to the south, "The information you may have is crucial and for now I need you to dispose of the formalities. Did you manage to observe the anomaly?"
"Yes."
"Describe it."
"It resembled a human male with glasses, black hair and dressed in an entirely white outfit."
"Did you observe him manipulate pure mana?"
"When I found him, I made sure I was far enough away from him that he would not be able to sense my presence unless I purposely allowed him to. As I watched him, I saw him sneak into the Scarlet Monastery by shaping a bow out of his mana and then firing an arrow with it as a diversion."
"Hmm," Sylvanas pondered, "He is able to freely shape pure mana and he is a competent tactician. Is there anything else you can tell me?"
"There was a…feeling I got from the mana attack."
"A feeling? Sylvanas pondered.
The dark ranger fidgeted before responding, "When the human fired that diversion a feeling crept through my body. I don't know why but I felt that if he had aimed that attack at me and it hit me directly, I would be instantly killed."
Sylvanas didn't speak for a moment as she tried to grasp what the dark ranger was saying, "Anything else?"
The dark ranger shook her head; "Unfortunately his diversion put the entire monastery on high alert. It would have been nearly impossible for me to follow him onto the rooftops without been seen or sensed by the paladins and priests within. "
Sylvanas mentally grimaced at the missed opportunity to find out what this human was doing sneaking into the Scarlet Monastery. Just by the fact he wasn't walking in through the front doors indicated he was not on the most pleasant of terms with them. While she wanted to berate the dark ranger kneeling in front of her, she knew that nothing the dark ranger could have done would have been able to change anything.
"Understood. Excellent work. Go back to the Undercity and report your findings to the two sisters that accompanied you and then wait for further instructions."
Getting to her feet, the dark ranger gave a quick bow before disappearing back into the shadows. Sylvanas waited a moment before turned around, "How long have you been listening to us Varimathras?"
The dreadlord let out a hollow chuckle as he materialized in a swarm of bats, "I felt it was necessary for me to eavesdrop. After all, it does deal with a serious threat to my personal health."
"That can't be all you are here for," Sylvanas mockingly added.
"As always you think you are able to read me like a book but in this case, you are correct. The 'holy' feeling I felt from the man your dark rangers encountered was so peculiar I felt it necessary to listen in on the report first hand."
"So you are scared and wanted to find out as much as possible?"
"I'm not scared, I'm just trying to keep myself as healthy as possible. Now on to more serious matters…what are you going to do about him? With the information you received it does appear that he has no intentions of coming at you directly. The attack against one of your dark rangers and those humans are simply examples of him responding to threats against his own person."
"My ranger gave me more information than she realized. The human only attacks those that attempt to harm him and judging by his reaction to the scarlet crusaders, he doesn't have anyone willing to help him. If he could someone meet someone he can trust, someone willing to work with him, imagine the information and secrets he could tell…"
"Interesting idea Sylvanas. The only problem is he would probably not ally with any Forsaken out of sheer disgust for their form. Knowing that, I take it you already have such a volunteer?"
"Of course my dear dreadlord," Sylvanas answered with a smirk on her face, "How would you like to temporarily take command of the Undercity for a little while?"
...
"What did you just say?"
Uryu ignored the indignant look on Whitemane's face in favor of focusing on Herod, who seemed to be trying to inch closer to him. Moving his eyes away from Herod and around the cathedral he saw that the crusaders surrounding him were gripping their weapons in barely concealed anger and rage.
"Your attire," he repeated, "It is indecent. You should change into something more appropriate."
Whitemane gasped and took a step back. Clenching a fist, she shouted, "You have absolutely no manners! First you come here to kill me and now you dare insult the way I dress? When we are through with you, you will wish you were never born!"
Feeling that the situation was getting out of hand and in no mood to fight, Uryu raised his hands in order to try and placate Whitemane, "Hold on, what makes you think I came here to kill you?"
"Are you dense?" Whitemane scoffed at Uryu, "You break into our monastery, sneak across the rooftops and then spy on me. You would have to be an idiot to not think you were trying to kill me."
"While all of that is true it does not necessary mean that I came here to kill you. I actually had no idea you were here or even who you were until I saw you from above."
Herod made to move towards Uryu before Whitemane stopped him by holding her staff in front of his chest. With a look of disgust she asked, "Humor me. What were you doing here then?"
Silently hoping his gamble was working, Uryu continued, "While traveling west of here several men and women, in the same outfits as you, tried to ambush and kill me without provocation. I dispatched them non-lethally and decided to find where they came from, leading me to you."
"So you are here for revenge then?" Herod concluded, "I shall not let you have the high inquisitor! Men capture him!"
Uryu stood still and scanned the crusaders as they surrounded him. As soon as Herod gave the order, they all shouted and charged at him, weapons drawn and spells ready. Spinning around on his foot, he summoned his Ginrei Kojaku and proceeded to fire an arrow at each and every crusader in the room apart from Herod and Whitemane, who decided to stand back out of harms way. The crusaders he hit stayed standing for a moment longer before collapsing into unmoving heaps on the ground. Watching Whitemane's face light up in horror and Herod step back nervously, Uryu felt the need to alleviate their fears.
"You do not need to worry about your men. I only put enough spiritual energy in my arrows to knock them unconscious. Except for a nasty bruise from where I hit them they will wake up perfectly safe without any lasting damage to their bodies. Can you explain why you are trying to kill me now that I've hopefully shown that I am not here to kill you?"
Whitemane and Herod exchange glances before a bright light shone from her staff. Looking around, Uryu saw that the minor bruises on the crusaders he hit were healing before his eyes. Once they were healed and the light died from her staff, Whitemane turned back to Uryu and said, "It is a most simple answer to your inquiry. You are tainted with the plague."
"I beg your pardon, what plague?"
At Uryu's simple question Whitemane's face scrunched up in disdain, "Are you mocking me? Do you not know of the plague of the undeath?"
"I obviously don't," Uryu quickly responded.
Whitemane watched Herod carefully make his way over to his downed men. Once he was sure Uryu was not going to attack him, he grabbed two of them and started to drag them away. Once he was gone she sighed in annoyance and started to explain, "The plague was first released during the Third War. When it first hit we all assumed it was just another sickness, that our priests and healers would be able to cure it or at least stop it from spreading."
"But you were wrong, weren't you?"
Whitemane's eyes drifted to the side as she nodded at Uryu's question, "We were easily able to stop its spread from person to person but we were too late to stop the infected grain from reaching its victims."
"The virus or bacterium that caused it must have been especially virulent if it was able to be spread through so many methods," Uryu thought out loud, "There are not many diseases that can be spread through direct bodily contact as well as through consumption."
"That was not the worst part. Those that fell ill to the plague developed purple sores, a persistent bloody cough and eventually become delusional and erratic. We thought it was a blessing when the first of the victims started to die."
"What happened after they died?"
A cold chuckle escaped Whitemane's throat, "They came back."
Uryu wanted to say that it was impossible for a dead body to come back to life. His scientific and medical mind almost required it but the experiences in Soul Society, against the Bounts, and recently fighting the arrancar caused him to at least acknowledge the notion that the dead might come back. What he saw in the land surrounding the monastery was more than enough proof.
"They rose from their deathbeds and out of their graves and started attacking the living. Everyone that they killed eventually rose back up as one of them. We had some initial victories in the beginning but eventually they overwhelmed us. By the time the infected grain was found and stopped, the plague was already beyond control. It was in the food, the water, and even in the very land itself!"
Something about what she said intrigued Uryu, "Why aren't you infected?"
Whitemane blinked, "What?"
Uryu explained, "You said the plague could survive in the environment. Surely your exposure, over mostly likely many years, should have infected everyone in this place."
"Our unwavering and fervent belief in the Holy Light as well as being paladins and priests makes us unable to be infected by the plague. That is why we kill everyone and anyone who we come across. They are unknowingly carrying the taint in their bodies. Sure they might say they are healthy and might be healthy for days or even weeks but eventually they will quickly succumb to the plague and start spreading it from wherever they are. It is a blessing to be killed by us while you still have control over your thoughts and body."
"You seem utterly convinced by your story and the simple fact that you aren't a zombie supports your claim." At this Uryu used two fingers to adjust his glasses, "However there is a big problem with your story."
Whitemane jeered at Uryu, "Oh? Pray tell, what did I miss?"
"It is rather simple. You work under the belief that you and everybody in this monastery are the only religious people in the world. If this Holy Light of yours is as popular as you make it seem there would have to be other churches or places of worship around the world. If that is the case they there should dozens if not hundreds of priests and paladins out there that are immune as well. If what you are saying is true, then you have been willingly killing innocent people that are not even tainted."
Whitemane tried to argue with Uryu but only silence left her mouth. Everything he said made sense. The rational part of her brain kept telling her that she has been a willing proponent of torturing and murdering innocent people for years while another voice was telling her to strike down the heathen blasphemer standing in front of her for daring to speak out against her. Eventually she could not hold it in anymore and released all her frustration at once.
"No!" Whitemane shouted, "We are doing the work of the righteous in order to cleanse our ancestral lands of the taint of undeath. I will not allow our children to grow up not knowing where their parents lived without associating it with the living dead! I have had enough of you! Kill him Herod!"
Uryu turned around surprised as a shadow loomed over him. Quickly moving his hand to his back and removing one of his Seele Schneiders, he swung and parried the downward slash of Herod's axe. While he may have stopped the attack itself, the force behind it was great enough to crack the stone floor beneath Uryu's feet.
"What strength!" he thought as he managed to briefly push Herod back before engaging him with a series of sword strikes, "His strength is enormous. While it is nowhere near the strength Ichigo possesses, if he manages to catch me off guard it will do serious damage."
After Uryu managed to parry and block his attacks, Herod decided to take a few steps back and readjust his strategy. Uryu, seeing his opponent hesitate, decided to take the time to do the same thing.
"The size of this building along with his unusual speed makes it unwise to use Ginrei Kojaku. Even if I could, that woman would just heal his wounds. In the end this battle would become one of attrition."
Seeing Uryu standing around, Herod shouted, "You are good but you will still fall to me! Blades of Light!" and ran at Uryu. Several meters away he pivoted on his left foot and began spinning rapidly around, making his attack pattern unpredictable.
Seeing the danger in the attack Uryu moved his Seele Schneider vertically to the ground just as Herod reached him. Even though he was prepared for the attack, the force behind the strike rocketed him across the cathedral into one of the stone columns supporting the roof, greatly damaging it.
In the cloud of dust that his impact caused Uryu coughed in pain, "Damn it! I didn't think he could put that much strength into such a wild attack like that. I grossly miscalculated how strong he was and I paid the price for it. I let my pride get the better of my intellect."
Groaning as he pulled his body out of the rubble, Uryu stood back on his feet. Stumbling the first few steps he quickly recovered and broke into a sprint toward Herod. Herod growled and charged at Uryu in return.
"Light, give me strength!" he howled as his axe and Uryu's Seele Schneider collided, sending sparks flying into the air. After a moment, the impact between the weapons caused an explosion of dust, sound, and wind to reverberate through the building. Whitemane was forced to cover her eyes with her hand, unable to stand the dust flying towards her. After the explosion died down and she was able to see again, she squinted through the cloud of dust and was only able to see Herod and Uryu standing away from each other with their backs facing each other.
Uryu grimaced as a trickle of blood streamed down his chest from the long shallow wound on his shoulder, "Still not good enough." Turning around he saw Herod stagger before coughing out some blood and grabbing the side of his stomach, blood pooling out from between his fingers.
"Herod!" Whitemane shouted as she ran over to him, her hands glowing with a familiar white light. Reaching him, she kneeled down beside him and pressed her hands against his wound and said, "Greater Heal!"
As his wounds were healing, Herod panted and turned to Uryu, "How…were you able…to take my attack…and come out with only…a small wound?"
Uryu grimaced as he tested his shoulder out, "Before I came here my father thought it wound be best to teach me a few abilities that he felt my grandfather forgot to teach me. He was right, unfortunately, but my disdain for the man caused me to leave only after learning a couple of techniques. One of them was what allowed me to survive your attack."
His wounds healing and in considerably less pain than after the exchange Herod asked, "What kind of ability? It did not resemble any type of magic that I have seen before."
Groaning and standing back on his feet, Uryu explained, "In its initial language it is called Blut Vene. I condense and run my spiritual energy through the veins in my body in order to increase my defense drastically. However, it is far from perfect as shown by your ability to cut through it with your attack. If you had managed to land a direct hit on my head or neck I would have been gravely injured or possibly even dead."
Whitemane stood up panted slightly as she finished healing Herod. She would never say it but she was grateful that Uryu was not actively trying to kill the both of them. If he were she would never have been able to run up to Herod without being killed in the process. Her job done, she quickly backed off again to observe the fight.
"This boy is a complete conundrum. I can feel that he has enough power in his body to easily kill both Herod and myself without trouble and yet it is almost like he is holding back, unwilling to kill us. That ability of his is also astonishing. To be able to increase your defense to the point of blocking a blade barehanded is phenomenal. Who is he?"
Fully healed and eager for payback, Herod took a heavy step toward Uryu, "You are good kid, probably the best I've ever fought. I'm sure that if the high inquisitor hadn't interfered I would have lost and probably died. Now then, it is time for you-"
Before he could finish his thought the wooden doors at the entrance to the cathedral flung open. Both Uryu and Herod turned to see what happened when the figure standing at the entrance let loose a hail of arrows that, strangely, entirely missed Uryu.
Whitemane sensed the danger emanating from the figure as soon as the doors opened and slid in front of Herod. Before the arrows were even fired she slammed the end of her staff down onto the granite floor and shouted, "Power Word: Barrier!" Immediately a large and translucent dome of yellow light surrounded the two of them, protecting them from the arrows that bounced off the dome or shattered upon impact.
Before Uryu could figure out what was going on, the figure called to him, "What are you waiting for? She will have to keep the spell going for another ten seconds before either of them will be able to leave. We need to go!"
Uryu was about to argue before he decided against it. As he ran out after his ally, he turned back to Whitemane and said, "There is a quote from back where I come from. It goes something like, 'The first sign of corruption is that the end justifies the means.'" With that said he ran down the steps after his ally, leaving Herod and Whitemane alone in the cathedral as her barrier dropped.
"Should we pursue him?" Herod asked her.
"For now let's not," Whitemane decided, "The odds of him being able to leave this monastery, filled with hundreds of our fellow crusaders, are practically zero. As I speak there are dozens of hardened crusaders patrolling in the courtyard outside ready to cut him down. Now Herod, allow me to tend to the rest of your wounded men."
...
Uryu bound down the stone steps outside the cathedral three at a time. Coming to a stop at the bottom he glanced around for his ally, whoever they were. While he might not be able to find her he was able to see plenty of evidence showing she had been there and it was enough to make him grimace in disgust.
Dozens of bodies lay still on the ground, each of them a scarlet crusader that had been felled by arrows to various points in their bodies. Walking by one body slumped against the large fountain in the center of the courtyard he realized that whoever did this was extremely talented. Each of the arrows in its throat was grouped together within an inch of each other, something that he would find slightly difficult to do on a moving target.
A familiar whistling in the air caused him to instinctively duck and take cover behind a low wall. After several arrows passed near where his head had been, Uryu heard a gurgle as something heavy dropped to the ground. Following the trajectory of the arrows he saw a crusader desperately clutching at the arrows lodged in his throat with both hands before falling to his knees and then ont the ground unmoving.
He only began to suspect who could have done that when a familiar voice called out to him, "For someone who has managed to survive for so long in here you really don't pay attention to your surroundings."
The woman stepped out of the shadows from a nearby building, the shadows seemingly peeling off her body. At first glance she looked like any other person but upon closer inspection he saw that there were major differences in her physical characteristics that made her stand out from humans. The large pointed ears tapering to about a foot above her blonde hair were the first things that his eyes drifted to. Once he moved from her ears, Uryu saw her glowing blue eyes. Looking at them, Uryu couldn't help but try to come up with a logical explanation for what could make someone's delicate eyes glow without rendering him or her blind in the process.
Getting to his feet, he brushed some dust off his clothes, "You could have simply told me to move."
"I would have but I needed to see if your reflexes were sharp and you did not disappoint. I don't remember the last time someone managed to dodge one of my arrows let alone four," the high elf smirked and lowered her bow to her side as she walked towards Uryu, who did not lower his guard or put away the Seele Schneider held firmly in his left hand. The woman sensed his suspicion as her eyes drifted to the spiritual blade.
"You do not need to worry about me backstabbing you for now. If either one of us kills the other it would make escape from this place nearly impossible so let's temporarily agree to help each other get out of this monastery before we kill each other."
Uryu stared at the elf for another moment for he stopped running his spiritual energy through the weapon, causing the blade to quickly disappear. When the woman saw that, her eyes widened in astonishment.
"That is an interesting blade you have there. I can only remember a couple of another pure energy blades and none of them felt as powerful or solid as yours does. I take it you are competent in wielding it?"
Uryu grumbled as he put it away, "While I am capable of using it, I rather prefer using bows."
"The same for me," she agreed.
Before any more could be said, a loud bang echoed through the courtyard. Looking for the source, Uryu saw that the only other way into the courtyard was locked with someone on the other side trying to break in. "Perhaps we can put this conversation on hold until we escape from this place," he suggested.
"Oh?" she slyly asked, "You, the person that made every crusader at this monastery froth at the mouth with rage, cannot deal with only a few dozen scarlet morons out for your blood? And to think I thought you were actually good."
"I can," he smugly responded, "But I wouldn't want to risk a delicate woman such as you getting hurt when I have to save you."
"So smart ass," she jokingly argued, "What do you suggest to get a delicate little thing like me out of here?"
Uryu glanced around quickly before looking up, "We can always use the rooftops. It's how I managed to sneak in here in the first place."
Pushing by Uryu the woman smirked and crouched before easily jumping the thirty feet from the ground onto the roof. Once she landed she turned and looked down to Uryu, who didn't see all that impressed at what she just did.
"Now that I'm up here do you want me to fetch you a rope or ladder?" she taunted.
"How amusing," Uryu droned, "Just stand back and watch."
She watched in awe as a soft blue glow emanated from Uryu's feet before he pushed off with one leg and jumped onto the roof next to her, "That is an interesting ability. I don't believe I have ever seen anything like it. Tell me, what do you call it?"
"You have your secrets and I have mine."
Glancing around and seeing that they were the only ones on the roof for the moment, Uryu turned back to her, "By the way, I don't recall you giving me your name."
Without missing a beat she brushed some hair out of her eyes and responded, "That's because I never gave it to you."
Looking around, Uryu stood up and started to walk back towards where he first jumped up, "We should get going. They managed to get to me on the rooftops earlier and I don't doubt they are going to try again. Do you have a plan for once we leave?"
"As a matter of fact I do but first let's get out of here," she suggested and took off in a run.
Uryu groaned in frustration and ran off after her. After about a minute of running, jumping and climbing over the rooftops several loud and directed shouts caused him to turn to the right. Coming out of a propped up trapdoor on the roof were several crusaders, all the archers with arrows already notched in their bows. Quickly glancing as his ally, who seemed to have noticed them about the same time he did and was just about to shoot her own arrows at them, he summoned his Ginrei Kojaku.
The crusaders seemed to take that as a sign to fire on him first. Ducking and sliding under the arrows he fired off around a dozen shots within a second, all of them either knocking the crusader out or destroying their weapon. With the last crusader neutralized, he stood up and turned to his ally only to see her acting a little oddly. Upon closer inspection he saw that she was staring at his Ginrei Kojaku with a look of hidden disgust and revulsion on her face.
"Is there a problem?"
Moving her eyes away from his bow, she turned and walked away, "Nothing's wrong. I was just mildly surprised when you brought out your weapon."
Uryu released a deep breath of frustration as he dismissed his bow and followed her over to the edge of the roof, "This is not where I came up."
"They will be covering all the easy to reach ways into the monastery and your point of entry was right next to the front door."
Peering over the edge, Uryu saw that it was roughly a sixty-foot drop to the forest floor. Seeing his hesitation, she chuckled and patted him on the back, "What's the matter? It's only a small jump."
Sputtering and adjusting his glasses, he quickly composed himself and waved forward with his hand, "Ladies first."
Scoffing she jumped down after sarcastically saying, "What a gentleman."
Uryu took one last look around the rooftops before jumping down after her. Ever since he was 'rescued' by this woman many more questions had been raised than answered. The first chance he gets he is going to find out what the hell was going on in the world.
...
Whitemane grimaced as she carefully made her way into the courtyard full of dozens of scarlet crusader bodies. Once her barrier had dropped and his men were safe Herod had barreled out of the cathedral after Uryu only to find the scene in front of her. Watching her fellow crusaders carry out the bodies of their fallen brethren she sighed and said to herself, "How can one man cause so much death and destruction in only a few minutes? We didn't even hear them scream."
"I don't think it was the intruder you believe it was Whitemane."
Perking up at the familiar voice Whitemane turned around to see Arcanist Doan shambling towards her. The keeper of knowledge of the monastery and accomplished arcane mage looked worried about something if the heavy tome held under his arm was any indication, "Doan? I take it you have some good news for me? Light knows I need some now."
"In a second," he said hurriedly, "First things first, I do believe that the perpetrator of this atrocity was not the man you fought. Before dying of their wounds a couple of crusaders said an elf with unholy archery skills strolled through the monastery killing all that she came across. They said when they tried to retaliate it was like trying to hit a shadow."
Whitemane paled at the description of the second intruder. She was so shaken that she would have collapsed to her knees if she were not already leaning on her staff for support, "Was it her?"
Doan shook his head, "We are not sure who or what she was. The description of the second intruder only says it was a high elf with blonde hair and above average height. There was, however, one piece of evidence that I was barely able to detect."
"What was it?"
"It was mana residue from an enchanted object. Whenever someone enchanters an object using mana they leave a tiny residue or signature behind. An experienced mage or even warlock can pick up on a signature for a short time after the object has left and be able to tell what the type of enchantment was on it."
"And you were able to find out?"
Doan nervously responded, "Just barely. Whoever came here was under an extremely powerful illusion enchantment. The signature suggests it is so powerful that if you had whoever was here stand next to a real high elf you wouldn't be able to say which was the fake."
"This is troubling and I don't think she was here for us."
"What do you mean?" Doran asked.
"In the cathedral I at first assumed she was an ally of the boy I was fighting but when I saw his reaction I knew I was wrong. He had no idea who she was or why she was there."
"If he wasn't expecting her," Doran asked, "Then why was she here?"
...
Uryu jumped over a fallen tree and picked up his pace as he watched his ally pull ahead of him while jumping from branch to branch in the trees above him.
"Showoff."
Exiting out of the forest and skidding down an embankment Uryu walked forward toward his ally, who was standing on top of a rock and staring at a large ruined castle to the south.
Climbing up next to her he asked, "What is that place?"
With almost a melancholy tone in her voice she responded, "It was once the capital of Lordearon, the seat of power for one of the most powerful human kingdoms in all of Azeroth. Now is it known as the Undercity, a bastion for the freed undead who hold an undying hatred for the living. We must be careful when moving this close to the city. The surrounding area is full of those that would report to their dark mistress."
Raising his voice for the first time since arriving on Azeroth Uryu grabbed her arm, "Hold on just a minute! Since arriving here I've been under almost constant attack. Before I go anywhere with you I want some answers."
She coldly turned to him and Uryu was almost tempted to let go of her arm, "Very well. Ask your questions but make them quick."
Uryu gestured with his arm back towards the monastery, "Who were those people and what the hell was wrong with them?"
"They are known as the Scarlet Crusade and if Whitemane was as talkative as ever she probably told you all about the plague and why they do what they do." When she saw Uryu nod in agreement she scoffed and spit on the ground, "Do not for a second belief the drivel that spews out of her mouth! The scarlet crusade is a group of fanatical murderers who believe that anyone that doesn't agree with them are tainted by the plague and need to be 'cleansed,' which really means killed."
"Where are we going?"
"The undead that live in the Undercity have a barricade to the east, a bulwark if you will, against the feral undead roaming freely in the plaguelands. Our goal is to reach the Alliance base Chillwind Camp on the other side of the bulwark. We will need to blitz the barricade in order to limit the response the forsaken can have. With our ability to attack from a distance we can easily disable most of their defenses before they can retaliate, allowing us to pass with ease."
Uryu looked at her intently for a moment before relaxing, "Let's just get one thing straight. I don't trust you. You're appearance in the monastery was too coincidental to be an accident."
The elf smiled as she held the purple and yellow orb dangling from her necklace, "Paranoia doesn't suit you. However if it makes you feel any better I will not betray you. I find you too interesting to risk dying."
"I do not trust someone whose name I do not know."
"Then let the following be considered a sign of good faith," she said as she extended her hand to Uryu, "I am Lindsay Ravensun and it will be a pleasure to travel with you."
...
Well, there weren't any original characters introduced in this chapter and that makes my life easier since I don't have to remember any new characters. If you want to visualize what Lindsay Ravensun is wearing and wielding it is the Hunter Tier 6: Gronnstalker's Armor and she is using the Black Bow of the Betrayer, both of which are the best armor and weapons available during The Burning Crusade time period, which this story starts in.
On another note, I did decide to put in some of the new Quincy abilities into the story. While they are currently overpowered in the manga I tried my best to make them more equal in strength to other Bleach abilities. We will see what happens with them.
Abilities Used
Greater Heal: Slow but highly efficient priest healing spell that that fix all but the most lethal of injuries
Power Word: Barrier: Prevents all damage to those inside the barrier but leaves them unable to attack or leave the barrier for up to twenty seconds
Blut Vene: Blood Vein or Stilled Blood Guise. Increased the defense of the Quincy
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~Bahamut_Reishiki
