Chapter 10:

Running across the broken street as fast as she could, Rukia raced to the grass on the other side. Dodging Hollows left and right, she found that they weren't her only obstacle. Overturned cars and abandoned bikes were another. The street was in ruin. Massive Hollows had broken up the street like fragile crackers with all their activity. She had even lost sight of her brother. And judging from the song in the air, it was safe to assume that Renji was unsuccessful in stopping Linnette. Now it was up to her before more innocent people got hurt.

She jumped onto a large piece or gravel and looked around. The fog wasn't fading. Perhaps that was a good thing. It meant that no one would see the Hollows roaming around the street. But it was only a matter of time before people got curious as to the ruckus going on. Everything on the entire block was in fog. Everything between the pedestrian mall and grassy area surrounded by trees were swarming with Hollows. Traffic in the intersection had slowed to a crawl and all traffic from this corner to next had stopped completely due to the roadblock made by abandoned cars and Hollow attacks. Even with the song on the wind and the Hollow's roars, Rukia could still make out the faint shouts of the people who barricaded themselves within the shops, hiding from the Hollows outside. This truly was chaos.

Rukia jumped down and ran over to a nearby truck and hid herself while she caught her breath. This gave her a minute to think. She looked at the girl standing on the bench across the street, still singing her heart out. The truck was right next to the sidewalk. Linnette was only a few yards away. This was the closest she had been to her all this time. She looked around.

Where were her bodyguards? It was hard to believe that Renji had defeated both of them on his own knowing their difference in skill and anatomy. This was her perfect chance to stop Linnette herself if this wasn't a trap. But she needed a plan. What if it was a trap? And if Renji wasn't here, then where was he? Was he defeated? Did she dare dart across that grass to Linnette? It seemed too easy. She took another look. Linnette's back was to her. She wasn't even aware of Rukia's presence. Now was her chance.

Low growling caught her attention. It was coming from overhead. She slowly looked up.

Standing on top of the truck was a Hollow. It wore a white mask that ended at the jaw and folded back like a carapace to the bottom of the skull. It had the body and head of a velociraptor. Long strands of black hair stuck out from where mask met neck. It's yellow eyes roamed the sky, searching. A scarf was wrapped around its ankle.

She knew who it was.

"Brother…"

Byakuya's masked head looked down at her voice. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and unleashed a loud, monstrous roar. He raised his claws, ready to kill.

"Brother! Brother, no!" Rukia jumped aside as he jumped down from his perch. He landed in front of her, his forceful landing causing the ground under him to splinter and crack. He stood tall in front of her. He had no idea who she was. She was only food to him now, and he was so hungry. Talking sense to him would have just been a waste of time.

Rukia backed away. He followed, matching her steps. He was drooling. He growled again and came closer.

"Brother, it's me. Rukia. Don't you know me at all?"

He didn't. He opened his mouth and roared like a hungry beast. He stood tall, raising his clawed hands and prepared to strike.

The sound of tires squealing stopped the attack. Both looked up. A pair of headlights were heading right for them. Byakuya grunted, not knowing what these strange things were. The engine revved and sped up. Squinting, Rukia could make out a green striped hat sitting behind the driver's seat.

"Out of the way, Rukia! Move!"

Rukia dove out of the way as the van suddenly turned to one side, skidding and plowing into her brother, pinning him to the side of the truck. Sandwiched between the two vehicles, Byakuya screeched and struggled, trying to break free. It was pointless. He was there to stay.

Kisuke stepped out of the other side of the van and brushed himself off, not seeming too concerned about the condition of his car. "Whoo! Not a bad parking job, right?"

"What were you thinking? You could have hurt someone or killed him!" Rukia scolded.

"Nah. Even if he was still a Soul Reaper, something like this would have been nothing. I had to stop him and get here so I figured why not?" He opened the door to the van and pulled out a box of darts. He also handed her something that looked a lot like a squirt gun. "I know they're small, but they can give you a better shot at a distance. I've loaded them with darts. Start shooting the human Hollows. The regular Hollows are to be dealt with the old fashioned way. Got it?"

Rukia nodded and helped herself to some extra darts. "So these have the antidote in them?"

"As long as it's the same as it was last time, yes. Let's just hope our friend Victor hasn't changed the serum."

Rukia clicked her loaded gun. "Yeah. Let's hope." She turned back to her brother. "I'll change him back first."

Kisuke shook his head. "Don't waste them on him yet. He's trapped and isn't going anywhere. We need to focus on the humans running amuck in the streets. We have to cure them first before anything really bad happens."

"What? But it won't matter if I change Byakuya back now, will it? It'll just take a second."

"I'm just saying that we should work on the living first and save him for later."

"But later might be too late! Please!"

"I told you, he's…"

Giving a roar, Byakuya pushed the van aside, freeing himself from the metal sandwich. He fell to his feet and ran off. Rukia pointed her gun at him, but he was already gone.

"Damn…"

"Don't worry, Rukia. We'll cure him. And now that he's not pinned anymore, I don't have any problem with you hunting him down and curing him now." Kisuke raised his own gun. "Let's do this."

Cedric followed Victor like a shadow. He jumped. Victor dodged. Their arms clanged together like a pair of swords, echoing through the air. They sprang apart, only to quickly came back at each other with another attack. Victor spun, slicing in a downward angle. Cedric avoided the attack and flipped over backwards. He darted left and their arms collided again. The heel of his right foot sunk into Victor's stomach, sending him flying backwards into a truck. The hard metal side bent like tinfoil under Victor's body. The impact didn't rattle him at all. He placed his feet behind his knees and leaned forward, preparing to spring. He shot off like a rocket with enough force and power to send the truck rolling. Cedric's arm blocked Victor's and they both went skidding backwards into another car. They both flattened the roof like a pair of wrecking balls. Glass burst from the windows and flew in all directions.

"I want her happiness, Cedric."

"I want that, too."

"No, you don't." Victor slashed at him with his other arm. "You want her to be silenced forever!"

"I never said that!" He blocked with his free hand and managed to swing his legs up to kick him in the chest. "She's happy now."

"Only because she's singing."

"She was happy before that, too."

Victor flexed his fingers. "I can give her more. Why should she have to settle for mediocre joy when she can have true blissful ecstasy?"

"You think that's what she has now?"

Victor sneered. "She hasn't stopped, now has she?"

They flew at each other again.

Standing on her perch, Linnette sang. She sang her heart out.

The feelings she had missed so much, the sound of her voice… it was intoxicating. She had almost forgotten how good it was to sing. She loved it. She missed it so much.

As she sang, tears began to flow forth from the corner of her eyes. Her song was even more beautiful than she had remembered. But that wasn't why she was crying. It was from the joy of getting it back. It was a feeling no one could understand unless they had lost something so important to them. Like a crippled man walking again for the first time in years, or the blind being able to see once more. It was incredible.

She put all of her heart and soul into her song, singing like never before. She had it back. The thing that meant so much to her had returned. Her voice told a story, it had a legacy. It brought back memories. It was her passion to sing. Whenever she was sad or alone, she would sing. It seemed to bring her good fortune. After all, that was how Victor and Cedric came to be. Even without them around, her song brought her the reassurance she needed. That everything was going to be alright. That she didn't need to be scared or in pain anymore. That it was all over with.

It felt so good to sing again and she couldn't stop. Her talent was back. She could make her art again, painting the sky with her song.

She was so happy.

All she could hear was her song and nothing else. It could have been the end of the world and never know it.

Renji darted across the street, clutching his stomach wound with his hand. He was bleeding out fast. Where was Orihime when you needed her? He climbed over a smashed car and landed on the other side, catching his breath. His sword was useless and lost, he was injured and there were human Hollows everywhere. "Damn it all."

"Mom?"

Renji looked around.

"Mom, where are you?"

"Mommy?"

He found a pair of little boys sneaking around the corner. They weren't Hollows. They must have escaped the gas somehow. Were they from the other side? Did they brave the massive fog? Or were they from inside one of the buildings? He didn't know.

They kept wandering around nervously, looking everywhere. They kept calling for their mother.

"Damn kids… Their mom's probably a Hollow like the others. Get outta here!"

They couldn't see Renji or hear his voice. They wandered into the street, still calling for her. "Mommy! Where are you? I wanna go home!"

"Mom, I'm scared! Mom!"

A large Hollow turned its massive head. It looked in their direction with a growl. It opened its mouth wide. The two children looked up and screamed. The Hollow snapped at them and the two took off running.

"Mom, help!"

"Mom!"

"Damn kids!" Renji jumped into action, forgetting that he didn't have a weapon on him. Kido was his only defense. But he couldn't kill this Hollow. If they could see it, it was human. "What the hell do I do?"

The kids were running towards another Hollow head-on. This one they couldn't see. A real Hollow. It roared and got ready to kill.

"No!" Renji jumped. "Get away from them! Run left! Left!"

Still the kids couldn't hear him.

"Damn it! I'm never gonna make it in time."

He didn't. But someone else did. An arrow shot out from behind a demolished bike rack and into the Hollow. Dressed in white, Uryu climbed over the wreckage and over to the children. Picking them up under his arms, Uryu jumped away from the Hollow chasing them and over to Renji.

"Get inside somewhere," Uryu told them. "Get inside or get out of the fog."

The boys sniffled. The oldest of the two looked like he was in second grade. They were so young and scared out of their minds. "But our mom…"

"She's probably waiting for you outside the fog. Or maybe she's looking for you inside. I don't know for sure, but you have to get out of the street and away from those monsters, ok?"

"But I want my mom!"

"I know you do. Just listen to me, ok?" Uryu looked back at the Hollow behind them. "Hurry up before you get eaten. Go!"

He pushed the kids towards the nearest building and they took off, crying and running as fast as they could.

Renji looked at him. "Where the hell'd you come from?"

"My house. I saw the fog from my window," Uryu explained. "What's going on? These Hollows aren't normal."

"Even you noticed that?"

"I'm a Quincy, of course I can tell." He saw Renji's wound. "What happened to you?"

"Never mind. I've gotta get back in there. My captain just turned into a Hollow and I know he's going to go after Rukia first. There's this kid who I've got to find. Her song makes these-"

"You mean Linnette's here?"

Renji looked at him, crossed. "Does everyone know about this but me? Is it so hard to be kept in the loop once in a while?"

"Never mind that. You can't go anywhere with that hole in your gut. You'll die if you don't get patched up soon." He pulled out a small white box. "Luckily, I brought along my emergency medical kit just in case. I figured that I'd need it in this situation."

All Renji could do was stare at him. "You're a freak, you know that? But as long as you're here, heal me up as fast as you can."

Cedric sailed through the air and crashed into a fruit stand. He hit a support pole which sent the roof crashing in on top of him. The display stand he landed on broke under his weight and crashed to the ground. Victor landed on a car in front of him.

"I told you! I'm doing this for her! It's better this way!"

Cedric threw an apple at his head. "She said that she wanted to change! She wanted to have people who would never leave her! True friendship! How is this getting her that at all?"

Victor stomped a hole in the car's roof, reached inside and ripped out one of the car seats, throwing it at him. "She's happy! She has her voice back! She has the attention she craves! If she didn't want it, then why the hell is she still singing?" He threw another seat at Cedric. "Answer me that!"

Cedric kicked the second chair away with his left foot. He picked up the broken stand and threw it at Victor, returning fire. "Maybe because she has no idea what you've done! If you truly think that she'd want this then why are you hiding it from her?"

"I have my reasons!" Victor caught one of the boards of wood and threw it back at him. Cedric caught it before it hit his head and returned it. Victor jumped, avoiding it by inches. "My darling diva will sing and sing she shall!"

"You're selfish, Victor! I'm sorry to call you a brother!"

"Brother? Just because she gave us both life you think that makes us related? Please! I never thought of you as such! Friend perhaps, but never a brother."

That wasn't what he impiled before at the hotel. "Then I take it that our friendship is over, eh?"

Victor picked up the car he was standing on. "You tell me." He threw it.

Cedric ducked allowing the car to sail into the building behind him with a crash. "And what of her? She created me, too. What if you do succeed in destroying me? What will you tell her?"

"That you never truly cared about her and it's for the best. At least she'll still have me."

"That's what I'm afraid of. She may have a relapse if I'm not there to balance it out. That's why I cannot lose this fight."

"Well, I'm not losing either!" They flashed away and reappeared in the sky, their arms once again doing the talking for them. They disappeared and reappeared back on the ground, this time in the courtyard. Picking up a trashcan, Cedric threw it at his ex-friend, tripping him. He aimed for the neck. Victor grabbed his arm and the two did a summersault in the air and sprang apart on opposite sides for the courtyard. Victor cart-wheeled across the cement ground and kicked Cedric in the jaw. Such a hit would have broken the bone of a normal human, but both of them weren't so. Cedric grabbed Victor's ankle and threw him aside. Victor tried the hit again. Cedric grabbed his leg and threw him once more. Only this time, Victor grabbed hold of the man's arm, taking Cedric with him. Despite the hard hit, they both quickly got to their feet.

"I love my little diva…" Victor breathed.

"And I love my little girl…" Cedric told him.

"See? You don't even acknowledge her voice."

"That isn't all she is."

"But that's the part of her that brought us here. Her voice is life-giving. I want to keep it."

"I prefer the package to the gift itself."

"And that is why I can never understand you. How can she be truly happy with a man like you living her life for her? I can give her true happiness. You don't care about her at all!"

They collided once again. They slashed at each other in a blur of fists and arms. There was no art or expertise to their swordplay. It was simply a whirlwind-like frenzy. Each swing was fast and heavy. Cedric wasn't able to block every strike. Victor's arm tore into him like a blade, slashing apart his clothing like wet paper.

Both were determined to win, believing that they were the proper guardian for little Linnette. Neither one was going to back down.

Victor was on him again. He slashed away at Cedric body. But no matter how many times he made contact, he wasn't going to bleed. He grabbed Cedric's head and twisted it back, attempting to rip it off. Cedric followed his movement, flipping over backwards and sitting on Victor's shoulders. He bent over again backwards, taking Victor down into a nosedive with him trapped by his legs. Victor grabbed onto Cedric's ankles and turned his body, resulting in both of them heading for earth in an end-over-end summersault. They both crashed through another truck before smashing into the street together with a massive boom.

Both emerged fine. Even that wasn't enough to kill either one of them. They stared each other down before leaping at one another again. They grappled with each other, wrestling the other to the ground.

"She's my diva!"

"She's my little girl!"

"Let her sing!"

"Not if it results in more of this!"

"Do it!"

"Never!"

"Bastard!"

"You'd know!"

They took each other down.

Victor latched onto Cedric's arm and pulled him up off them ground. Cedric wouldn't let him complete the attack. He shot off the ground like a rocket, taking Victor along for the ride. Victor turned his body, punching Cedric in the face. Still soaring through the air, Cedric punched him back. They were going so fast, they matched the speed and power of a large bullet. Acting as such, they didn't even notice the Hollow they had just shot through, killing it. They plowed through another Hollow's leg, wounding it but not doing any real damage. Both emerged covered with blood and goop. They kept going until a third Hollow's body stopped them. They went tumbling to the ground, bouncing off the ground and rolling over and over again and again before finally skidding to a stop.

Panting, both got to their feet. They spotted each other on opposite sides of a car, glaring at one another. They flexed their hands and took their stances.

They attacked.

Grabbing each other by their shirts, the two flew up into the sky. Cedric looked down out of the corner of his eye and spotted a tall narrow building below them. He leaned back into a dive, taking Victor with him. He turned his body, spiraling down at an incredible speed. Victor wasn't going down that easily. He sunk his hand deep into Cedric's chest, piercing his body. Had he been human, he would have bled out, but he didn't. He just continued his fall with Victor's hand in his chest. At the last second, Cedric turned his body around and kicked Victor straight down into the building's roof where he disappeared.

There was a creaking noise as the metal shifted and started to brake apart. A shockwave billowed through the building. Giant cracks opened in the walls and ceiling, glass and rubble raining down. Victor was lost among the falling debris. He had nowhere to retreat. The building fell on his head, caving in on itself from the massive hit.

Cedric landed safely in the street, watching the building fall. Even so, he couldn't manage a smile. He knew even that wasn't enough to stop Victor. They were, after all, the same. If that couldn't kill him, it wouldn't damage Victor that much.

Sure enough, Victor came climbing out of the rubble and crumbled pieces of wall. He lifted a large piece that easily weighed ten times what he did off his back with one hand and threw it away.

"I won't stop 'til one of us is dead!"

"Then this will take one hell of a long time, considering that we're both immortal superhuman beings!"

"Then I'll set the record right now and kill you this instant!"

Cedric jumped onto a broken piece of building, avoiding Victor's attack. He dove down from the scaffolding, bringing a chunk of metal with him and attacked Victor. His foe avoided the attack and dragged his arm along Cedric's abdomen, splitting his shirt in half. Though he couldn't bleed, he felt the hit all too well. He crashed into the street.

He stood up shakily. Something was wrong. Normally he couldn't feel pain. Why did it hurt now? Was Victor finally wearing him down? Or was it that their bodies could only take so much before breaking? Cedric didn't want to wait around to find out. He had to finish this fight before it took his life.

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