Azul shifted his attention to the girls and charged, only to have Toshiro appear in a flash and cut him off with a swift strike followed by a wave of ice. From behind, Vincent took a few shots. His weakened state made his aim a little shaky, not that they were doing much damage anyway.
Eager to avoid the ice, Azul turned away and struck out at Vincent, sending the man rolling down the hall and out of breath. Until he could recover his strength, Vincent couldn't do much. Letting his guard down, Toshiro looked over his shoulder to make sure the girls were unscathed, only to be sent into the wall by Azul's thick-muscled tail. Dazed, Toshiro lay on the floor, Azul turning and placing a heavy paw on the Captain to keep him down.
"Let him go!" Shalua rushed in, aiming for the heavy wound Hitsugaya had earlier inflicted, as Azul tried to crush the life out of the Soul Reaper.
Azul easily swept her aside with a heavy paw but resulted in releasing Toshiro. Shalua fell to the blow but the young Captain was able to escape and gather his breath, watching the fight. With the three of them so easily brushed aside, and all because he let his guard down for a brief moment, the battle had taken an abrupt turn. Shelke now stood alone, looking between the three of them with an expression that read 'you should have seen this coming'. It infuriated him, that smug look on her face.
That look quickly switched to shock when Azul struck out at Shelke, knocking her down. She stumbled back up, looking at the beast with her own mixture of shock and confusion. As he attacked again she leaped back before reaching into the container at her back and taking out the orange materia he'd seen earlier. Instead of jumping in as he wanted, Toshiro stayed put and watched.
"The extreme potency of this shield materia is comparable to that of your barrier field Azul." She recited in a monotone voice while holding the materia before her, eyes glowing orange, as Azul froze in place.
Azul's form lit up in a white light, his Lifeforce becoming less corrupted, and shrunk in size. Standing, Toshiro kept a watchful eye on the Tsviets. In a matter of seconds Azul was human-well, humanoid-once more, and looking rather furious about the situation.
"Shelke," He growled fiercely, "why do you stand in my way?"
"You were trying to kill me." She sighed, pocketing the materia. She looked a little miffed about being attacked by a fellow Tsviet.
Azul glanced briefly at Toshiro, shifting his legs slightly to break off some more of the ice around his torso and thighs, before turning back to Shelke.
"Then now is the time." The giant said, lifting an arm to strike.
Still in a state of shock, Shelke didn't seem prepared to move away in time, so Toshiro darted in. Hyorinmaru clanged harshly against Azul's thick skin.
"You're no longer required." Azul continued talking to Shelke, before looking straight at the Captain. "You, however, I need."
"Not happening." Toshiro pushed the giant back, taking guard in front of Shelke to her ever increasing surprise. He was risking a lot to guard her but held his ground nonetheless.
"No longer…?" Shelke was truly barely registering Toshiro's presence, trying to understand what Azul had told her.
"You're no different from the others." Azul growled at her while keeping his gaze on the icy threat in front of him. "You're weak body is nothing without Mako."
'That's why her Lifeforce isn't as warped.' Toshiro thought to himself. 'This Mako must be the cause. It's protected her from severe damage.'
Hyorinmaru growled in agreement, recalling the information about Mako as condensed Lifestream energy.
"You're only skill is collecting data from inside a virtual reality." Azul continued, sparking Toshiro's curiosity. "It makes me sick to think of YOU as a member of the Tsviets."
"Shows how monstrous you people are." Hitsugaya snapped back. The giant simply laughed.
"Weiss has ordered her termination." He smirked.
"Weiss?" The Soul Reaper questioned. His teal eyes noticed Vincent attempt to stand, but his injuries were keeping him grounded, and Shalua wasn't built for such a rough hit.
"Her mission was to identify and locate the keeper of the Protomateria." Toshiro glanced at Vincent once more at that word. "But now we no longer need what was given to her, and we cannot let it fall into the hands of the WRO."
"And what was given to her?" Toshiro questioned.
"Do you really think I'm going to tell you that?" Azul roared with laughter. "I suggest you step aside, I'll be coming for you next."
"I hadn't planned on killing you, but if it comes to it, I won't hesitate."
"We shall see, little Captain."
Though his brow twitched at being called little, Toshiro kept his calm and waited for Azul to strike first, making sure Shelke stayed behind him. His left arm felt a little numb now from the loss of blood but he had to hold strong. Azul was also handicapped by ice, so they were on even ground.
Black circles appeared around Azul as he was once again frozen by what Toshiro assumed was Shelke's materia.
"To Soul Society with you." The Captain growled, hoping Aerith would hear him, and sent a wave of ice rocketing towards Azul while Shalua grabbed onto Shelke and headed for the nearest door, Vincent not far behind.
Unable to dodge, Azul was soon encased completely in ice, where he would not move from again. But while Azul was encased in ice, a troupe of Deepground soldiers came to finish his work. The constant release of Hyorinmaru was by now tiring Toshiro, and his bleeding arm wasn't doing him any favors.
"Encased in your ice I should be able to take him through." Aerith appeared quickly beside the Captain. "Try to hold it like this for five more minutes."
"Hurry." Toshiro panted, the loss of blood starting to affect his vision.
The Lifestream shot up from the floor and encased the frozen Azul, quickly sucking him under to where no Deepground-soldier or Tsviet-would ever be able to reach him. Azul out of the way, Deepground took fire on the Captain.
"Captain Hitsugaya!" Shalua shouted out, the door now open with Vincent just rushing through.
Using Flash Step, Toshiro raced through the door to the safety of the hall. Shalua attempted to follow but had a struggling Shelke holding her back.
"Let me go!" The small Tsviet squirmed.
"I don't think so." Shalua snapped right back, turning Shelke's conflicting face to one of shock once more. "We have ten years to catch up on; I'm not going to let this end here."
The thick metal doors began to close quickly and the squadron of soldiers was fast approaching. In a ditch effort, Shalua placed her robotic arm between the doors to keep them open a moment longer.
"Shalua!" Vincent called out. Toshiro was back up and attempting to hold the doors open, but even the strength of a Soul Reaper couldn't beat the mechanics. Vincent joined him to no avail.
'Dammit! If only I hadn't lost so much blood.' Toshiro hissed. 'I can still fit through; perhaps I can reopen the door.'
But the Deepground soldiers were approaching, and the open doors would let them right in. In obvious pain, Shalua turned once more to Shelke.
"You can still get through, go!" She shouted to her younger sister in a panic, pushing the child through.
Releasing his hold on the door, Toshiro tried to use a Kido spell to halt the doors movement. Red light enveloped the doors as he used Geki, only to find it didn't work on the door. The Kido spell sapped the last of his strength and he fell to his knees.
'If I can't save her then I at least have to close the doors.' Toshiro panted, his hazy gaze noticing the oncoming troupe, a grimace forming at the thought of forcing Shalua to her death.
'Your strength is fading, there's nothing you can do.' Hyorinmaru countered, willing his master to rest.
"I'm sorry, Shelke." Shalua seemed…peaceful. Her sister, though shocked, was safe on the other side of the door now. "Vincent, Toshiro; take care of her."
The scientist smiled one last time at her younger sister. The Deepground soldiers took aim.
"Wait!" Vincent reached for his gun, hoping to at least take out the soldiers before they took out Shalua.
"I love you, Shelke."
The doors slammed shut just as the bullets flew, resounding against the door in hollow tones. Toshiro knew he could barely summon the strength to stand but he fought to stay conscious and keep the ice around Azul together until Aerith signaled it was okay to release. Next to him, Vincent growled and slammed his fists into the door.
"Why…?" Shelke's whispered words caught the young Captain's attention. "Why would she…why?"
"She's your sister." Toshiro replied simply.
The answer didn't seem to satisfy Shelke as the girl continued to search for an answer. The bullets were still ringing, meaning the soldiers wanted in.
Vincent, taking that as a signal to flee, turned to the two of them.
"Can you stand?" The gunman questioned Toshiro.
"Probably…not." He replied unwillingly. His limbs shook slightly; just how much blood had he lost? Azul's strike must have hit a vein for it to pool the way it was. Hyorinmaru quickly froze it but the damage was done.
So Vincent took it upon himself to carry the Soul Reaper, much to Hitsugaya's chagrin, as he fled, dragging a stunned Shelke behind him. With the close contact, Toshiro took notice to something missing in Vincent, some force that he couldn't recall in his blood deprived state.
At least the raid was over and Azul was now in Mayuri's hands.
Man, school is rough. Almsot Spring Break but halfway through the semester. Stuff is getting hardcore in the AP classes I hardly have time to type this!
But those are my problems and don't relate to the story, so ignor that. Azul has been defeated and is in the hands of Mayuri!...Oh i wish that poor giant luck. I know Shiro seemed a little weak for this, but remember, he's on a limiter, lost a lot of blood, and has had to use his Spirit Energy in large bursts for two raids in a row that were very close together, so he's not exactly in top shape at the moment.
Hope you enjoyed!