This chapter has been rewritten and now contains new information. This chapter leading up to chapter 35 have been altered so if you wish to read please go to the beginning and read from there so that you are not lost. Thank you.
United Against the Legion of Flames
Chapter 19: Stand and Fight!
"STOP!"
The cry halted all movement; none took a step or finished the swings of their swords or the final chants of their spells. Every single soul within the Seireitei had heard the frantic cry, coming to them from all around and nowhere.
The Captains had their eyes to the skies, which had come from a Tenteikūra Kido spell, someone was speaking all across the Seireitei. Their voice reaching all ears inside the walls and forcing them all to a halt to listen.
"Who the hell is that?" Shinji asked himself, he turned and noticed that the shirtless man had also halted and seemed to be waiting for something to happen.
"This is Souta Ryomaru, Seventh Seat of the Ninth Division! All forces stop fighting!"
Many eyes widened at the declaration, those specifically knowing that said person that was speaking had to be dead. Kensei looked to his two lieutenants who wore equally perplexed expressions. How the hell was the man they had seen dead in the Fourth Division speaking right now?
"Isane!" Unohana called, catching her lieutenant who stood in the doorway. "Get to the morgue, quickly!"
She ran off, while her Captain stared out of the window and tried to see what was going on, there was no fighting. What was he doing?
"Do not engage, you are being misled! The Gotei is being misled into fighting against the Seventh Fleet!" Souta continued to yell. "Three days ago my forces along with the Seventh Fleets led by Xrach Fadeligther were attacked by Quincy! We were captured! They have a base and an army!"
"What is this?" Yamamoto growled out, what kind of trickery was at play now? "Find this person, bring them to me now!"
The remaining First Division soldier quickly dispersed from the courtyard and began to search for the one responsible for the communication. There was no possible way that this was Souta Ryumaru, he was dead and gone. How was it possible that these mongrels had been able to trick them? He could sense the use of a Tenteikūra, but how was it they were able to replicate it?
"Quincy forces are preparing to engage as we speak! They are leading you to attack one another! They are waiting for you to destroy each other before they attack!" Souta yelled. "Do not fight, the Quincy are responsible for the Hollow purges and causing us to fight one another! As well as the assassination of Lieutenant Sasakibe!"
Yamamoto eyes narrowed, it was impossible, the Quincy were all gone and there could not be a large group of them still alive. It was not possible!
Kyoraku looked to the skies, feeling vindication and relief but even that did not sit well on him. The Fleet had engaged, the fighting would start up soon enough, especially with the loss of his Division. But even he could see that if they continued fighting it would only get worse, the fighting had to end, no matter the cost.
He needed to get to one of the gates fast, stop anything from getting worse. But as he moved he noticed something, a pale light near Sokyoku Hill, his eyes narrowed and he noticed two figures standing at the edge of the cliff.
Quickly he changed course, if that was who he thought it was maybe he could get the message out before the fighting started up again.
"Mairne Ragetotem, I have a message from Xrach Fadeligther!" Souta continued, addressing the Fleet Commander personally.
Mairne looked up from the position just outside the Northern Gate, hiding within the barrier set up to hide his presence, he noted that several Shinigami were phasing through him and his warriors. Inside this barrier they would not be able to perceive or touch them, they were safe here and the Shinigami had no idea about their location.
Along with the two hundred and forty Shinigami and one hundred Death Knights were unseen and undetected. Yet he had to wonder what was transpiring within the Seireitei, he could not hear the communications of battle underway. It would seem that this man had actually stopped both his forces and that of the Gotei's.
He wondered what this was, some kind of trick, no the Shinigami would not know this. But what could he possibly know that came from that Warlock?
"Twilight Hammer! Xrach said that you would understand!" Souta said.
Mairne narrowed his eyes, and immediately he did know. That was a statement that he knew perfectly well, it referred to the twisted cult that had nearly orchestrated to end of the world. More so they recruited members from the Horde and Alliance, and even created strife between them and within. He knew exactly what that message meant; he knew exactly what it had to do with what has happened.
"So we were right, these Quincy did plan all this." Lucius growled out. "Doesn't change anything, we still need to get Draga."
Mairne nodded, Draga was the priority, and he needed to get her out of the city now. If this battle is not resolved quickly retrieving her would be impossible. Even more bodies would be produced that he could not take back. He was about to give the order when he heard another exclamation.
"I also have in my presence Draga Wolfheart!" Souta yelled, and immediately Mairne became interested. "I am on Sokyoku Hill! The large cliff in the center of the Seireitei! Send someone to collect her immediately!"
Talacgos turned to the long blonde haired Shinigami for a moment before he turned towards the large tower in the center of the city. That would be where this Souta had said he was, giving the Shinigami one last look before his entire form was shrouded in energy.
A swirl of arcane energy expanded outwards and soon a being that dwarfed even the Gatekeepers sat upon its haunches. Shinji looked up and craned his neck to the further angle to look up at the massive reptile. Large blue scales and crystal like appendages along its neck and head in the form of horns along with large azure wings.
"You got to be fucking kidding me?" Shinji breathed out.
"Well… shit." Mari said aloud, taking a few tentative steps back from the Azure Dragon.
It expanded its wings and then took off with a massive gust of wind, leaving behind the Shinigami and Fleet soldiers. Shinji watched as it took to the skies above and quickly propelled itself towards the Sokyoku Hill.
"Well that happened." Shinji said, turning back towards the gate.
He saw that the men were waiting there, not moving at all or even making a move to attack; it would seem that they were waiting for something. Could they be waiting to find and retrieve that Draga girl? If that was the case why would they not retrieve the others?
"Captain? Should we engage?" Daichi asked.
Shinji waved him off for a moment, thinking hard on this. Souta had said that the Quincy was behind this, and that they were both being manipulated into fighting each other. Also if they were going to attack as soon as they were finished with each other that could only mean that they did not want the Gotei at its full strength.
"Stand down." Shinji ordered, he wouldn't be made a fool of, if these Quincy were really here and were responsible, than he would not give them the satisfaction of having his men die at a neutral party. "Let's see what happens."
Souta hissed under his breath, he couldn't believe it, he and Xrach had pulled it off. He was actually scared that this wouldn't have worked and the only thing he would be receiving is a quick death by the Sternritter.
He couldn't believe that the Warlock had been able to plan this entire event out, and it was by chance and good timing that they were able to stop the fighting. If his message had come across correctly and if the Fleet retrieved Draga then they would pull back immediately. If that was the case the Gotei would be at full strength to fight against this Wandenreich without consequence.
"You did well." Draga said, helping up the Shinigami as he staggered to a knee.
Souta accepted the help willingly, his strength was almost gone. Whatever that stone had done it only just kept his essence from parting with his spiritual vessel, but his power seems to simply leave him. That made his mission harder to accomplish considering he had to get from the Fourth Division to the Tower of Penance.
Having freed her from the Tower was easy really, but it was the guards at the damn door and the steps leading up to the damn place that was a pain. But once all that was done all he had to do was get her to the hill and signal someone to come get her. And from the massive reptile that was coming their way he was certain he got the right attention.
"Hopefully this will put an end to any conflict." Souta said aloud, running a hand over his face.
He may have hated humans and their damn ways, but the one he was trapped with had given him the means to save the Gotei and the Soul Society. Souta couldn't hold it against him for being human; he just would have liked it to have been much easier than how it was done. Dying was not fun.
As the Dragon landed it began to alter its size, its form changing into a smaller and humanoid appearance. Soon a pale skinned man with blue hair walked forward, he stood before Draga and nodded his head to her. He raised his hand and soon a glyph appeared, he placed his hand upon it and spoke.
"This is Talacgos, I have Draga Wolfheart, she is alive and safe." The Blue Dragon said.
"Halt!"
The three turned towards the source and found the Captain-Commander strolling towards them, his sword drawn and his face contorted into a furious scowl. Souta knew that despite everything the man would not listen to him, if he thought his Lieutenant had been killed he would be furious.
The only way to stop this was to make the Fleet leave, and if Draga was no longer here they would do just that.
"Go." Souta urged.
Talacgos grasped Draga's shoulder and blinked out of existence, quickly enough that he just missed being engulfed in a wave of fire from the Captain-Commander.
As the venerable Shinigami glared at the vacant space where the two enemies had been he turned to glare at the one who had allowed them to go free. Souta stepped back hesitantly, even if he was willing to risk his life for the Gotei he did not want to die a second time, especially without a means to come back.
"You, who are you!" Yamamoto roared, reaching forward and grasping the Seated Officer by the throat.
As Souta was throttled by the old man, he tried to breath but was unable to draw breath. The Old man did not believe him to be the real Souta, he had been pronounced dead alongside Sasakibe when they were both brought to the Fourth Division.
"I… am… Souta…" He was stopped when the hand tightened around his throat.
"Lies!" Yamamoto roared, tossing the man aside. "No soldier of the Gotei would free enemy prisoners; neither do they raise themselves from the dead! I have had enough of these lies! About the Quincy, about the dissension in my ranks, about the honor of the Gotei! I will have my answers."
Mairne turned when he heard a loud swish, and to his infinite relief and joy he found the one individual there that he was begging to see. Draga stood there, next to the Blue Dragon; she was devoid of her armor and kept in simple robes. He did not question it; instead he stepped forward and checked her over carefully.
"Draga." Mairne murmured, relieved and feeling the stress of the past few days flow away, to have her back was a blessing.
"Master." Draga said, lunging forward and actually hugging the large Tauren, who jovially returned the embrace.
To see his young apprentice safe and sound relieved Mairne is such a way that he could not describe it, truly he felt his heart leap in joy. He had come here expecting a slaughter and instead he was able to save her with not loss of life, on either side of the conflict.
Mairne thought over the next few moments carefully, now that he had accomplished his mission he needed to relay their newest orders. He looked towards the Blue Dragon in disguise; he would relay his next command to all his forces.
"Contact all our forces, retreat to the barriers and begin to depart, we will not be staying here." Mairne ordered.
"What of the Quincy?" Lucius inquired.
Mairne had expected the question, and honestly he had no real reason to leave or stay. If the Quincy were coming they were of no consequence to them, certainly they had manipulated their people and would have likely caused many casualties. But how could he commit to the Shinigami who only now still were fighting them.
He would make sure that peace was made, but not now, not when the bad blood still flowed.
"They are not our concern." Mairne replied. "Talacgos, make the call."
The Blue Dragon nodded before he raised his hand and summoned a runic circle, speaking into it.
"All forces are to retreat, the mission is complete, we are done with these Shinigami."
"Captain-Commander… I am Souta Ryomaru, I was captured by the Quincy." He said, but the looming form of his leader did not convince him, instead the hardened and fiery gaze of the Shinigami bore down on him hard along with his overwhelming spiritual pressure.
"I do not believe you. There is no possible way you could have survived what you did." Yamamoto growled, but before he could speak further he saw someone approach, appearing to his left and walking forward slowly.
"Captain-Commander." Kyoraku called, stepping forward and looking at him under the brim of his hat. "I think we should listen to what he has to say."
"Enough! I will not speak of this any longer, we have an enemy at our gates and I will have them consumed in fire before I let them set another foot inside the Seireitei." Yamamoto replied.
"They won't, because they are leaving." Kyoraku said, looking past the Captain-Commander to the Southern Gate.
He could see the small army pass back out through the gate, they were leaving. Their mission was complete, they had rescued the person they wanted and now they were not going to remain. It was that simple, they only wanted their people back and now that they had them there was no point in fighting anymore.
Yamamoto turned and glared at their retreating forms, did they think they can leave and escape their judgement. They had done more damage to the Seireitei in the last five minutes than anyone has done in the last thousand years. He would see them all dead for their transgressions. Against the Gotei, the Balance and every Shinigami that has died in their wake.
"Pursue and eradicate them!" Yamamoto ordered, he planned on standing on the field soon enough, and bathing these mongrels in the heat of his sword.
"No." Kyoraku replied, and in an instant that fiery anger turned from the South and towards the North where the Eighth Division Captain stood.
"You dare defy my command!" Yamamoto roared.
"You heard it yourself, the Quincy are responsible! They orchestrated this all! Everything that has happened and every action against us has been planned and made by them!" Kyoraku said, leveling his own glare, he would make sure that they did no end this with one storming off. "You are denying it now even when you have physical and firsthand accounts of who was responsible! Why are you hiding from this?"
Yamamoto growled, how dare he defy him in this moment of war, the boy thought he could lecture him. Tell him that the Quincy was responsible, it was not possible, and they were all gone save for that one little boy that was friends with Ichigo Kurosaki. The man that lead them had not been seen in over a thousand years, he may not have dealt the killing blow but the wound he left would have taken him.
"I hide from nothing! I sought to the end of their race personally, and there are none left standing!" Yamamoto growled out.
"Do you know that? Do you know that you truly ended them one thousand years ago? Did you finish the one man who had started it all?" Kyoraku asked.
"That man is dead, he died one thousand years ago when I created this Gotei, and as time passed his wretched kind followed with him." Yamamoto barked. "The Quincy do not exist, they cannot extinct."
"Souta." Kyoraku asked, he knew that he needed only to ask one question to destroy that argument. "Who was leading the Quincy?"
"Yhwach…" Souta wheezed out, feeling the pressure of Yamamoto's spiritual pressure on his shoulders.
When those words left the Seated Officers mouth however the pressure disappeared, and if one could see the face of the Captain-Commander they would see the anger and rage replaced with shock. Kyoraku knew than that he had finally broken through that hard exterior and found what he needed to find.
"Impossible." Yamamoto said, his eyes wide as he turned to the downed Seated Officer. "It cannot be… it cannot be him."
"Captain-Commander, it is him, his name is Yhwach. He is leading the Quincy and is planning and invasion of the Seireitei." Souta said, slowly rising to his feet. "My execution at the First Division was a ruse; they have a force with them that have the power to match a Captain in strength. One of them has the ability to take the form and power of others; he took Xrach's form and made it look like the Fleet was responsible."
Yamamoto looked on his mind reeling, he would have denied and discounted his words and whatever he said to try and prove the Quincy had returned. But the fact remained that Souta Ryomaru had said the name of a man that none save a few knew of. There was no possible explanation to how he knew of his name.
"We have been played Captain-Commander, we all have." Kyoraku said. "The Quincy are back, the evidence points to them, despite the Fleets appearance they did not do what was said, they did not destroy those souls. Nor did they actively try to fight us, they came in peace. And now they are leaving because they have what they wanted. It was never them that were the enemy. It was the Quincy."
Yamamoto felt the fatigue wear of the past few days lay heavily upon his shoulders; he could not believe that this was happening. That he had been led astray by the mechanization of that man, playing to the tune he had set so that he could use the Gotei as a means to not only destroy one of their enemies but also part of themselves as well.
'I have been used, taken for a fool.' Yamamoto seethed, his anger redirected.
He looked over to the gates; the former enemies had already departed. That was good, he would not need to worry about them then, he turned back to Kyoraku. If what all he had heard was right, than the Quincy are here to face the Gotei.
He did not need to question it, if that Man was responsible, than that was all the proof he needed to know that they would be here soon.
"Alert the Captains, we are to prepare for the Quincy immediately." The Captain-Commander said.
But that would be as far as his order would go, for as soon as they were uttered a violent quake rocked the Seireitei. All across the massive city appeared pillar of blue flames.
First Northern Rukongai
"Take the prisoners and drop them in front of the gate, we do not need them." Mairne ordered, before he turned and moved towards Kingston.
Talacgos raised his hand and the bindings around the Shinigami's wrists lifted and were dragged forward. He led them forward and towards the edge of the barrier, he would personally drop off the prisoners and then depart.
"Master, we cannot leave!" Draga said aloud. "If the Quincy are planning an attack it would be now, they will decimate this city and if the one is inside he will be killed!"
Mairne did not halt as he saw the Kingston continue to prepare to portal back to the Garadar, he would be getting all his forces out of this afterlife. He would not seem them all killed for no reason. Even if that boy was here he could not commit his forces to this, not after what has happened already. He may have been willing to save Draga but with their goals set how can he tell them to continue fighting?
"Please, we need to save him." Draga pleaded, grasping his arm and trying to make him face her.
Mairne sighed as his apprentice continued to try and get him to remain in the Soul Society, in a way he understood why he needed to stay. But how could he commit his forces to this? He had never intended to, he had always wanted to give prior warning and ensure that they are aware of what was coming to pass. Never did he want to actually lend them any aid of his forces; this was not their war despite his investment in ensuring that the Shinigami win.
Everything he had done up until this point was to ensure the Seventh Fleets survival. Even if they were to become allies and that one would fight by their side in the final battle how could he justify committing troops to save a young man that they knew not was an ally or enemy. He may have been seen as an ally, but he may not be one at this moment, and he could not send people to protect him.
"We have no reason to fight here anymore." Mairne replied. "So long as you are here there is no reason for us to remain. Even if it is to just save this one boy, I will not commit so many lives to this."
It was a shallow reason, he knew and so did she, but what else could he say? That he did not want to let any more lives be lost in a conflict that did not concern them. He wanted to say that, but Mairne knew that it would be hypocritical to say he did not come here for the very same reasons. To say that staying to save one person at the expense of others was exactly what he was about to do for her.
But to save one other, one that was not their own, the cost being many others, how could he ask for that?
"My visions amount to nothing if you do not follow them." Draga said, as if catching on to what her master was thinking.
Mairne turned to her and looked her square in the eyes, seeing the conviction in them to remain, to fight.
"I may die here, I may not survive, but so long as the one who I saw does, than it will be for the greater good." Draga finished, planning on turning around and marching towards the gate when a small quake rocked her off her feet.
Ahead she saw a pillar of reishi fire spew up from the earth, just within the gate, along with many overs just noticeable beyond the top of the walls. The invasion had begun.
"What the hell?" Sui-Feng growled, rushing through the North gate and back into eh Seireitei.
Since that message had been played and the retreat of the enemy she could not fathom what was going on right now. Quincy? Actually were here and they were responsible for all the events that had unfolded over the last few weeks. It didn't make any sense at the moment.
"Captain, what do we do?" Omaeda yelled, he along with her men were clearly anxious at the sudden appearance of the reishi fire pillars that were now everywhere around the Seireitei.
She growled under her breath, she couldn't believe this, they were under attack and from what was just said by that dead man it was by Quincy. Had everything that damn monk told her been true? Or was this some kind of damn trick?
"It would seem that you are in trouble."
Sui-Feng turned towards the gate, seeing a single person standing there. He clicked his fingers and soon people began to appear, to her surprise it was the Eighth Division, all alive and bound by simple cuffs.
"I have been ordered to return them to you, you will need all the soldiers you can to fight this invasion." Talacgos said, snapping his fingers again and the cuffs vanished in a flash of light. "Good luck Shinigami, you will need it."
"Hold it!" Sui-Feng yelled.
"We do not wish for conflict, you have other things to worry about." Talacgos replied, glancing over his shoulder to the Captain. "Do what you need to do, but do not expect us to offer any aid, you have not earned that right."
Sui-Feng hissed under her breath, she wanted answers and she wanted them now. Despite what was happening she wanted to know who the hell these guys were and what they represented. She had heard from Kyoraku that they were here to warn them of the Quincy, she had brushed it off. Along with the source of that information, visions of a future where the Quincy have invaded and decimated this city.
Also the means that were explained and the details she read over were simply too solid. When Kyoraku had shown her that file it had so much detail that she suspected it was manufactured by someone within the Seireitei. But claimed to come from a recounting of a vision, she found that preposterous.
"Who the hell are you people?" Sui-Feng growled.
"We are the Army of the Light, we came here to save you and the entire world, now do your duty and save the Soul Society." Talacgos said, before he waved his hand again.
Soon ahead of him multiple swords appeared, and it was quickly realized that they were all Zanpakuto. The Zanpakuto that had been taken from the Eighth Division soldiers and sealed away by the Blue Dragon now lay on ground in neat rows. With nothing else to say the dragon disguised as a dragon quickly vanished in a burst of light.
"Dammit, Omaeda!" Sui-Feng barked. "Get your ass in gear; you are coming with me to the nearest pillar. San Tsuluz! Get these Shinigami out of here."
"Of course Captain." San Tsuluz replied, his face covered completely while his chest was bare.
Sui-Feng turned and quickly moved off with her Lieutenant. Leaving a contingent of twenty Omnitsukido at the North Gate to deal with the returned Eight Division soldiers.
"Lieutenant Nanao, come with us, we will get you back to the Division for recovery." San Tsuluz said.
"No, we won't be going anywhere." She said, reaching for her Zanpakuto and pulling it from its sheath.
The rest of the Eighth Division Shinigami following her example and did the same, all of them lining up behind her and staring ahead with grim expressions. San felt a little off by the way they were acting; it could be that they were angry about being captured. But he got the distinct feeling that they may be angry at something else.
He would need to question her back at the Eighth Division barracks, but this might be a little tricky to do if they are uncooperative. Especially if there are over two hundred and forty of them and only twenty of him, and for some reason he got the distinct feeling that a fight may be happening very soon.
"Please, you were injured, we will need to get you checked out." San Tsuluz replied, his hand reaching for his Zanpakuto.
"Hehehehe, No need, they are all good."
San Tsuluz looked up to see a man hovering over the Eighth Division soldiers, a large smile on his dark face. He may not be privy to many things about what is happening but he could certainly tell from the design of his cloths and their color that this man was likely not part of the Army of the Light.
"Go get them my lovelies." Pepe said.
"Yes, PePe-Sama." Nanao said, raising her Zanpakuto and charging towards the surprised Fifth Seat.
"What… is that?" Mari said, looking at it in surprise, it was then that she notice more beginning to sprout up across the Seireitei. "There are more of them, what the hell?"
Shinji turned and glared at the rising pillar of fire, he guessed that would be the Quincy coming in force. If that was the case that would mean that twenty of the bastards were inside the Seireitei, too many for them to deal with.
"Mari, Daichi, go to one of those pillars, take the men with you and see about cornering off whatever comes out. I need to deal with one myself. Momo, follow me!" Sanji ordered, leaping up to the nearest roof and then pushing off towards the closest pillar.
Daichi and Mari shared a quick glance before nodding to one another, they quickly took off to the next pillar to see about catching whoever was going to be appearing through it. They travelled only for a few minutes before coming to a halt on a rooftop.
The Reishi fire had engulfed two buildings and part of a small plaza, around it he could see Shinigami were converging on it. Some were from different divisions and one from the Twelfth. It would seem they were trying to determine what was happening.
"I can't sense anything, it's like there is nothing there." Mari said aloud, she could minutely sense the energy and clearly see it, but there was no outburst of spiritual pressure or waves.
"The Quincy draw in spiritual particles and energy, they don't expel it like us." Daichi said, jumping off the roof, and as he did his Division soldiers began to gather, along with several more of his fellow officers, together they moved to the base of the pillars "Keep your guard up, and do not engage until we have a target."
"Wait! I got something; there is a person inside the pillar!" The Twelfth Division Shinigami said.
Just as he finished those words something appeared out of the pillar, but it wasn't a person, it was a projectile. Daichi turned in surprise when he saw a soldier beside him simply explode into dust when he was struck. In the next moment three more fell to the ground dead, or what was left of them that hadn't disintegrated. Something was inside the pillar and attacking with impunity, and they couldn't do the same.
"Get to cover!" Daichi yelled, taking to the skies and the roof as more bolts fired out from the pillar, he ducked behind a building just as another volley appeared.
As he landed he found that only thirty of his people remained, he suspected the other twelve were dead. He didn't dare count what happened to the other group of Shinigami around the pillar, likely if he did not see them they were not going to be coming. He ducked low when he felt the wall be was behind break and crack, a chunk of it exploding just behind him, moving down three Shinigami.
He ducked low when he felt his cover continued to shudder, taking an endless barrage of attacks. He looked over to see that some of the Shinigami were trying to reinforce their cover with Kido, a good idea. He glanced over his shoulder when he saw Mari drop next to him, her back against the wall.
"Damn, whatever is in there ain't going to be easy to take down." Mari said, peaking through one of the holes blown through the wall.
Mari looked at the pillar to see a silhouette just visible inside the flames; whoever it was likely was only just exiting the protective veil. She ducked back when a bolt veered towards her head, and obliterating the adjacent building across the street from her. She gave the collapsing wall a look and was happy she at least dodged it, seeing as it had not only been obliterated but also disintegrated.
"Didn't think those arrows would be that powerful." Mari said, before she glanced at her fellow Officer. "Got any ideas in that bright shiny head of yours?"
She knew an all-out assault would be suicide; they needed to at least catch their attacker from all sides, or draw their attention somewhere else while the rest struck. If you couldn't defeat it with power, beat it with overwhelming force. Either you had the power, or you get a lot of people to make up the difference.
"I will take the attackers attention, you strike when you have an opening." Daichi replied, drawing his Zanpakuto from its sheath.
He looked over and began motioning for his men to circle around and flank the Quincy, he would need help if his attack failed, that way they can at least offer some help should he need to get out of there quickly. He saw them nod and begin cautiously and slowly moving around to the Quincy's flank, while he glanced at Mari, pointing to the entrance to the plaza.
She nodded her head, understanding his plan well enough. He would strike from above and then she would come in below. Without another word he leaped up and into the sky, before he drew his Zanpakuto and released it. He held the blade in front of him, parallel to his body, one on the hilt and the other over the blade.
"Jump in Shock: Raiton-fisuto!" (Lightning Fists)
As the blade released it cracked with electricity and formed over his hands, taking the form of a pair of knuckle dusters with a solid plate covering is fingers. Along that plate was a kanji symbol for thunder.
"Surround the target!" Daichi called out, and he quickly descended towards the Quincy, who he noted was female.
He reared back his fit and attacked, aiming right for her face. But to his surprise when he struck she grabbed his plated fist into her palm and didn't even budge, but then he activated its special ability. The woman was consumed in a burst of electricity, her form completely concealed and out of view as he poured all his power into the attack.
When he cancelled the current and saw that she was unharmed, he realized that he may have misjudged this woman's powers. She was unharmed and showing no wear or tear, but worst of all, she was smirking up at him.
"Thunder? You think that shit will work on me? I am the fucking Thunderbolt after all." She said, throwing Daichi aside and raising her bow, firing a bolt at the bald seated officer who was sailing haplessly through the air.
He planted his hand on the ground and vaulted himself out of the path of the arrow, watching at it obliterated a nearby wall. But he was quickly forced to dodge again when another appeared, moving to pierce his forehead. He rolled to the side, avoiding it narrowly, but when he looked up his target was gone.
"Too slow baldy." She said, smirking at the stock still Shinigami, and grabbed the back of his skull and then channeled a massive current of electricity through his body.
His body exploded with a burst of electricity, sparking and even melting the tiled floor where they both stood. Daichi let out a pained cry as he was electrocuted, and after only a few seconds he fell forward and to the ground. The seated officers body smoking and charred black in several places, while he occasionally had a spasm and a spark short out over his body.
"That was easy enough, now for you assholes." Candice said, looking up towards several unseated officers on top of the nearby building, she raised her fist that cracked with lightning, but before she could strike she was blocked off by someone.
Candice Catnip raised an unimpressed brow as she stared at the woman that was in her way, she looked like an old woman with that grey hair. But she didn't care about what hair color she had, all she wanted was to kill her and then do it to someone else.
"I think it is time I take charge of this fight, get out of here and warn the Captain what is going on, I'll take it from here." Mari said, looking over to her soldiers, who quickly complied.
Mari raised her Zanpakuto, both blades held in a reverse grip and over her chest, having both blades form a cross.
"Rise from the Ashes and Fly Far: Fenikkusu." Mari said, releasing both her Zanpakuto at once, both turned black with red cracks, and erupted in a burst of fire.
As the fires cleared the blades became dark red scimitars, their crossguards taking the form of two bird heads. Both heads were a deep gold and with long handles tied off with black leather wrappings, that she held deftly in both hands. Her hands were protected at the side by two golden wings that were connected to the head.
"I am different than most Shinigami." Mari said, staring at the Quincy with cold dispassionate eyes. "If you think I will let you leave here without at least a severed limb, or second degree burns, then you are surely mistaken."
"Trust me, you ain't going to do any of that, when I'm done with you, I'll hang your corpse right next to this cooked Shinigami over here." Candice said, gesturing to the burnt Daichi, kicking him in the side for good measure.
"Time to burn bitch." Mari said, dropping low and charging forward, appearing right in front of the smirking Quincy.
Southern Quadrant
"Looks like I have to kill you all." Bazz-B said, moving past the four seated officers he just cut down in five seconds flat, their bloody and beaten bodies showing that the life had been ripped from them quite violently.
"Shit, he killed all of them." One unseated officer said, backing up as the Quincy moved forward, if he could take down Lieutenant Izura Kira, the Third Seat, Fifth Seat and Sixth Seat, what chance do the rest of them have.
"Don't back down, we can win this, we just need to work together." Another said, the lithe man had a sweat of fear on his brow, but despite this he raised his Zanpakuto.
"That aint gonna do you any good, so just die." Bazz-B said, swiping his hand at them and releasing a wave of condensed reishi fire.
As it sailed towards the shocked and helpless Shinigami, it exploded on contact. Engulfing everything in front of the Quincy in a wall of moving red flames, he smirked to himself at the easy finish. Killing everyone here would be too easy; there wasn't anything here that would be a threat to him, until a Captain showed up.
As he began to walk away he let out his senses, looking for anyone that may be a challenge. Maybe he could find the Captain-Commander, show that bastard what real fire is like. A smirk crossed his lips at the thought, he was certain he could get all kinds of respect for that, maybe even a private audience from his Majesty. That would be a good deal.
"Heh, just what I am looking for." Bazz-B said aloud.
But then he noticed something, there was still screaming of surprise and fright coming from where he fried those Shinigami. That shouldn't be right, they should all be dead right now, why the hell weren't they all dead yet. Nothing could survive something like that, so why the hell could they?
"Damn, that hurt even though I blocked it, feel my skin tingling"
Bazz-B looked ahead, seeing someone kneeling on the ground with some sort of shield in front of him. It was a large disk shield that had the Greek symbol for Omega emblazoned on it. Despite the shield looking to be partially melted and battered it had remained intact. It was then that the owner stood up, revealing a man with a few armor pieces over his wrists, legs and shoulders.
"I didn't know if Bakuteki Tano could take it, but it would seem it did." He said, smirking as he twirled his spear around and aimed it at the Sternritter. "Get out of here boys, you ain't got a chance against this guy."
"Sir?" One asked shakily.
"Go and get the wounded to the Fourth Division, I'll hold him off as long as I can, and see about getting Ōtoribashi-Taicho down here, could use some help." The armored man said, and he was met with the sound of his soldiers using Shunpo to escape, while five went to retrieve their fallen soldiers, and were not halted by the Quincy.
Eventually the only ones still in the area was Bazz-B and the unknown Seated Officer, both staring down one another. Gauging each other, one with hidden anxiety and the other with apathy, the difference in power was easily evident.
"My name is Arashi Akiyama, Seventh Seat of the Third Division, and you have made a mistake in challenging me." Arashi said, twirling his spear and jabbing it towards the Sternritter.
"I never challenged you idiot, and besides you made the mistake of coming here and thinking you can win." Bazz-B said, moving forward casually as he put his hand on his pocket and scratched his side.
"Of course I can beat you, I am a Shinigami of the Gotei 13 and you are some hot headed dick head that thinks he can push my boys around." Arashi said, smirking as he raised his spear and placed it over the side of his shield. "This time there will be no surprise attacks, just one on one. So come and get me you prick!"
"It'll be my pleasure!" Bazz-B shouted with a laugh, shooting forward and kicking the shield, and too his surprise he didn't even knock it down or dent it.
It should have sent that bastard through the fucking wall, but instead he remained rooted in place and unaffected by his attack. His brow raised as he drew back his fist and slammed it into the shield, and like before no result came of the attack.
"Nice huh, this is my Zanpakuto's special ability: Farankutsu (Phalanx), my shield is able to absorb any kind of physical force and energy and redirect it, through my spear." Arashi said, stabbing his weapon forward.
Bazz-B looked to the spear and grasped the shaft before it could touch his neck, but then he noticed that the metal head was glowing. He could feel the spiritual pressure within it, it was actually forcing his hand to un-clench as the pressure continued to build.
"Bigguban (Big Bang)." Arashi said aloud, soon that glow of the spear grew in intensity before it detonated.
The entire plaza ruptured and blew apart, flattening the surrounding buildings and also uprooting the stone tiles on the ground. Those two strikes he received from the Sternritter were redirected as powerful blasts of force from the head of his spear. As soon as his attacked hit something it would explode all that force and redirect it into the thrust, or can be called to release it on command.
As soon as the dust settled Arashi smirked at this, the Quincy likely didn't know what hit him.
"I may be a Seventh Seat, but I am far from weak asshole!" Arashi said with a smirk, looking up over his shield to see no one there, for a moment he thought he may have actually obliterated the guy, but doubted that he could kill him that easily or quick.
"Yeah, and what happens when someone hits you from behind?" Bazz-B said, making a cold chill run up Arashi's spine.
Without another thought he leaped forward and attempted to gain some distance, but midway through his leap he was hit. He saw the Sternritter raise his hand and point one finger at him, Arashi pushed his shield off the ground and as he was midair he brought it to his defense. But he was shocked when he felt intense agony pass through his stomach.
A stream of fire shot forward and pierced his midriff; his shield didn't even stop it. It melted a near round hole through the metal and his stomach, incinerating his insides and also the next few blocks behind him.
"Well, what do you know, I guess if there is more piercing power rather than brute force I can simply cut through it, dumb ass." Bazz-B said, watching the Seated Officer hit the ground and roll to a stop.
Arashi tried to stand but, he couldn't even get his legs to work, his wound was agonizing, and also he was certain some of his internal organs had been destroyed and likely his spine was out of the picture as well. How the hell did he get behind him? That was a thought that ran through his mind as well as the fact that maybe his bravado may have been spoken too soon.
"Fuck… that hurt…" Arashi said, only have enough strength to fall onto his back, his shield too heavy for him to lift, despite it weighing nothing in his grip. How strange that was, his Zanpakuto being so heavy he couldn't lift it, almost humorous had this moment been any different.
"Well don't get comfortable with that pain, because it is about to get a whole lot worse." Bazz-B said, raising his finger and pointing it at the downed Shinigami.
"You are such… an asshole." Arashi gritted out, smirking slightly that he was at least going to insult him one last time.
"Yep, and that is how I roll." The Quincy replied, before aiming right for the Seated Officer's heart, gonna finish him nice and quick.
But before he could do the deed he noticed something, running along the ground, it seemed to be some sort of black mist. Looking up he saw it moving over the ruined buildings and descending onto the area like a morning fog.
"The fuck?" Bazz-B said, and soon enough it expanded and engulfed him, but that was it, nothing else happened.
All around he could see darkness, nothing within five feet was visible, only a black mist and just the tiles on the ground he could see. What the hell was this? Some sort of Kido spell? What the hell was the point of this?
"Behind you…" A whisper came into the Sternritter's ear.
Bazz-B turned and raised two fingers, firing an explosive stream of fire into the darkness around him, but even with the intense head it only travelled so far before it was consumed by the dark. His eyes narrowed, was this some kind of illusion? Were his eyes deceiving him?
"You weren't fast enough…" The echo said, and Bazz-B turned and fired another burst, like before he watched it disappear into the dark and then the hollowed words returned. "Try again…"
"Come out you little shit!" Bazz-B yelled, raising his foot and slamming it into the ground, releasing a heavy wave of fire.
As the fire expanded outward and around everything he noticed that the fog began to recede. To his satisfaction the fog had dispersed from his attack and allowed him to see that he was back in the Plaza. But there wasn't anyone here.
"What the hell was that?" Bazz-B growled out, he turned to look at the likely incinerated Shinigami.
But he didn't see anything, no ash or bones, not even a smoking corpse to show that he had been there when he had incinerated. The guy was gone. He turned back towards the fading reishi pillar to see that even the beaten bodies of those three Seated Officers and Lieutenant were gone as well.
"What? Where the hell did they go?" Bazz-B growled out, looking around in irritation that they had escaped under his nose.
"This is an alert to all of the Seireitei; we are under attack, to your designated stations! All Captains are to engage the enemy; I repeat all Captains are to engage!" Akon shouted over the speaker, he couldn't believe it.
The Quincy were here, the force they had at first denounced and later suspected to be the culprits for the hollow extermination. Then they turned to the Anomalies, thinking them the more logical choice as they had shown the skills and power necessary to carry out the extermination. But they had remained unconvinced after the investigation.
'Why the hell didn't we fight for this more?' Akon thought, who else could it have been?
"Sir, were getting twenty readings from over the entire Seireitei, all of them are likely the Quincy. Also we have lost the reiatsu signatures of fifteen Seated officers as well as seventy five unseated officers." One of Akon's fellow Officers called. "Wounded are being carted to the Fourth Division, but… damn it, we lost the signal!"
"Sir, the communications are down! We can't reach the other Divisions! Something is blocking our communiques!" Another called out, Akon looked at the screens, and it would seem that something was blocking their transmissions in order to prevent them from forming a cohesive resistance.
"Get the Inner Corp troop, get them to set up remote relay transmitters through the Seireitei." Mayuri called out, walking into the lab and drawing everyone's attention to him. "We need to re-establish communications with the Divisions and plan out how to push this assault out of the city. Move!"
As everyone scrambled to do as their Captain ordered, while he himself went to the screens and checked the readouts that were coming in. It would seem that the casualties were mounting up very highly, also he was picking up a disturbance in the Soul distribution, it would seem something was happening to the Shinigami when killed.
'Hmmm, their souls are being eradicated, then why am I picking up a disturbance in the Saketsu? Maybe some kind of interference, or possibly something was overwriting it.' Mayuri thought to himself, seeing the readout of the casualties as their spiritual power and essence dispersed and vanished from the sensors.
"Sir, these adversaries have abnormally high reiatsu, and we are suffering severe casualties." Akon said, walking towards his Captain and appearing to be concerned.
"Then these adversaries are likely Captain-Class opposition, once communications are restored contact the men and have them get out of the areas, they would only be in the way." Captain Kurotsuchi replied. "Also monitor the battles; we need to see what these fighters are capable of, also see about getting Souta Ryomaru down here. If he has any data we need it."
"Yes sir!" Akon said, and began directing his men to their objectives.
"This will certainly be an interesting battle, I wonder what new tricks the Quincy have learned in the last few centuries." Kurotsuchi said and he looked over the incoming data.
"Unohana-Taicho we are getting reports of many wounded, but we are unable to send any relief teams out, or receive anyone." Isane said, rushing down the halls, Unohana looked down at the wounded Seated Officer.
He was actually from her Division, having been injured while being sent out to collected the wounded, it would seem that someone was stopping them from collecting anyone. That was troubling, she could not send out anyone else unless that threat was handled. Sadly she had no means to communicate with anyone outside the Division directly.
"The guards we have are being killed off by someone, we do not know who it is but we have lost nearly half our guards to him." Isane continued, drawing Unohana's attention to her.
"I am aware, have all relief teams return to the Division, they can do nothing out there." Unohana replied, her face having a heavy frown upon it. "Have all of them prepare for post-battle treatment and recovery."
"Beg my pardon, but before we lost communications were received a call for aid. The Sixth Division has been attacked; they are requesting support from us." Said a Seated Officer, she had her hands folded behind her back as she stood beside Isane, her long hair tied into a braid.
"Thank you Akari-san, but when we regain communications relay that our Division is under assault and we cannot send out any relief teams, tell them to collect their wounded in retreat and wait for assistance to arrive." Unohana stated, moving out with two of her officer's right behind her.
"But so many have already been killed, can't we do anything?" Isane asked.
"No, we have orders to remain here and only sent out teams to collect the wounded, if we cannot do the latter we simply must remain here and wait." Unohana replied.
"But, they will die." Isane said.
"Yes, but if we die as well that means there will be less of us to help the wounded, we need to think of the best outcome in this. We running through the Seireitei will only leave more wounded to tend to, and not enough people to tend to them." Akari said, looking saddened slightly at her own logical thinking.
"Do not fret Akari-san, we will do what we are meant to do, you have my word on that." Unohana said, smiling slightly.
But when a bolt slammed through the far wall down the hallway Unohana frowned. It would seem that she would be called to deal with this.
"Have the guard's retreat, protect the rest of the Division, I will deal with this one personally." Unohana said, walking toward the blown out wall and stepping through.
As Unohana moved out of the building she leaped up onto the surrounding wall, her eyes scanning the surroundings quickly. Before she felt something moving towards her quickly, with a quick glance she raised her hand and summoned up a small kido spell.
"Bakudo Number Eight: Seki." Unohana intoned.
When the large spear struck the ball it was blown back and spiraled through the air before hitting the ground with a thud. Unohana turned and looked at the attacked, finding a towering man with red hair and in a white uniform walking towards her.
"Oh man! I was scared that I wouldn't get your attention, thought I would have to come in there to get that ass of yours out." The Sternritter yelled out, clearly pleased.
"You attack my Division and expect me not to respond?" Unohana asked.
"Oh I expected, that is why I did it, a fine piece like you deserve to be killed by a man like me." He said. "I mean I have been killing these weaklings for the last few minutes and it has been so boring!"
He stomped onto a dead Shinigami, crushing his head in the process before he smirked at the Fourth Division Captain. Who only responded with a deep frown of condemnation, she did not like the way he treated that corpse.
"Now I get the chance to kill something that can actually put up a fight!" He yelled, rushing forward and raising his hand and forming a new spear.
He leaped up and drew back his weapon to strike at the Fourth Division Captain, who did not drop her frown.
Saved by the Dead Guy: Surprising isn't it? I changed it that Souta actually survived and saved everyone in the nick of time and made sure that no one got killed. Now as for those who are wondering how this happened it is quite simple. Soul Stones, these nifty little stone are uses to prevent a soul from passing on from a deceased body. Now while Souta is already a ghost he possesses such a powerful spiritual presence that he can manifest himself with a body. That is why Shinigami and powerful spiritual beings are so tangible in the World of the Living, because they technically are partially manifested there.
So when Souta was killed his spiritual body didn't get taken into the stone, it was his Essence. The Soul of his Soul, his Soul Core was taken into the stone and then the stone regenerated his body and allowed his essence to return so that he could be revived. It is a nifty little thing to have. Xrach implanted it into Souta in the Wandenreich City, remember that Stone Xrach had made to heal Souta, well what happened to it?
OC's all around: As you noticed I have made an appearance of a few OC's. These guys are going to make some appearances in the story from time to time. You probably noticed Daichi, Mari, Arashi, Akira and Daiki. Yep, all these cool guys are OC's and they will be some major players in this story in the future.
Here is a small list.
Akari - Fourth Division, Fifth Seat.
Arashi - Third Division, Seventh Seat.
Daichi - Fifth Division, Fourth Seat.
Daiki Sato - Twelfth Division, Fifth Seat.
Mari Chie - Fifth Division, Third Seat.
San Tsuluz - Second Division, Fifth Seat.
For more information on these characters the wiki will be updated to have profiles and data on these guys when it is completed. Along with other relevant information when I have the free time to do it sometime this month.