Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to their respective owners. I only own original characters.
Chapter 36: A Shocking Revelation
Close to the Hokage Monument, Konoha, Northern Nipponichi
It was now time. Having recently spied on some of Aizen's well-known associates, Huey was now joining along with the Shadowy Spiders on searching for the so-called power source they had heard about. From what they gathered, Aizen was hiding somewhere in these caverns, as was his plans. But they had to be cautious. From what Kakashi had heard, some imperials had managed to infiltrate Konoha undetected. He had told his teammates and comrades to be extra careful when operating around the city.
They now stood outside an entrance to the many caverns on the Monument. But before they entered, they had to make sure that the other groups were performing their tasks as well. Yoruichi was speaking to Urahara through her communicator.
"Alright Kisuke, we are about to enter the caverns. What's the status about the other teams?" she asked.
"The concert outside the Hokage building is expected to start about 20 minutes from now on! Luckily, the Entertaining Emus are positioned backstage. I will explain to them how they are supposed do perform on the scene! While the show is going on, the Happy Hamsters will do the handy work by planting explosives near the buildings we suspect Aizen have links of business to" Urahara told her.
"But are you sure that phase will work? They could be attracting unwanted attention on the way!" Mustang voiced his opinion.
"That's kind of what I was hoping for. You see, if they do that, Aizen is sure to send his spy from the Court Guards in order to sabotage our plans. So while you search for Aizen inside, his spy will be focused on protecting his business around Konoha!" Urahara explained further.
"Well…that somehow….makes sense" Kakashi remarked while thinking.
"But right now, less chatting more searching, you may begin your mission!" Urahara explained and he hung up.
"So we better get started, right?" Huey asked his teammates. They all nodded.
"Yes! Until Rin and the other councilmen returns, the fate of Konoha depends on our shoulders!" Yukio told them.
"Okay! Let's find that charming bastard!" Mustang said and readied his gloves.
The team started the mission and went inside the cavern.
Inside the deep caverns of the Hokage Monument
Huey and his team had been searching through them for about ten minutes. All was quiet so far, but every team member started to think that they had walked around in circles. These caverns were indeed much as confusing as a labyrinth. All they could see was the darkness and the small, green light that dominated the ways.
"These caverns are getting worse. I can feel it in my veins" Huey said grimly while tightening his grip on his sword.
"Yeah…..we haven't found anything yet. But we are not alone…someone's waiting for us" Kakashi said.
"This power source might be a danger to the whole of Fictiontopia. If a madman such as Aizen is in possession of such, who knows what he will do!" Yukio voiced his concern.
"I agree…but for now….let's keep searching" Yoruichi suggested.
Suddenly they could hear a loud screech coming towards team. From that direction a dark and purple light was lighted upon the teammates' eyes. They all could feel the powerful Spiritual Pressure. It was very strong. But before they knew it, a dangerous bug-looking monstrosity stood before them. He head a black head and eyes of red. His fur had become grey-like.
"What the…..what the hell is that thing!?" Mustang asked angrily and shocked at the same time. Yoruichi suddenly widened when she got a closer look at the beast's human-like face. Her eyes widened.
"I…I don't believe it! How can this be!?" she asked while staring at the creature before them.
"What's wrong Yoruichi!? Do you recognize that monster!?" Kakashi asked his partner.
"Before defecting to Aizen's cause, he was a Soul Reaper back in the Soul Society. He was even a former captain like me before this…monstrosity! His name is Kaname Tousen!" she answered.
"But his appearance resembles that of a Hollow! Did Aizen do something to him!? Yukio asked while loading his guns.
"That's right! He underwent Hollowfication thanks to the Hogyoku's power. But this transformation is not the result of the Hogyoku! No, something else must've turned him into that abomination!" Yoruichi said while studying their opponent's appearance.
"Then it has to be that power source hidden deeper here! We must be getting closer!" Huey remarked while trying to find a way beside the monster.
But suddenly, Kaname opened his mouth and a dark purple cero was loading there. Obviously he was going to launch it at them.
"EVERYONE TAKE COVER! HE'S GOING TO RELEASE A CERO!" Yoruichi told her comrades.
Everyone did and they all managed to avoid the powerful cero. Is it flew through the caverns, it left a terrible quake that could be felt be standing on the ground. The Shadowy Spiders managed to come back at their senses.
"That cero almost made the cavern collapse! If he does that one more time, we won't be able to escape from this place!" Kakashi said cautiously.
Kaname walked slowly towards them but he was suddenly shot a few times on his body by Yukio. It left marks, but it didn't necessarily injure him.
"Shit! His body is completely invulnerable! There's gotta be a weak point in him somewhere!" Yukio cursed while loading his guns. "I might as well summon some Naiads, but they don't last long!" he added.
"Maybe I shall let him taste my flame alchemy! This lighter I borrowed from Havoc should do the extra damage! But it will cause one hell of an explosion" Mustang explained. Yoruichi suddenly got an idea and got closer to his comrades.
"I have an idea how we can do this! I, Kakashi and Huey will go further the cavern. But we also have to dispose Kaname!" she explained to them.
"But how shall we do it? My gunshots don't reflect much damage on him!" Yukio pointed out, but he was calmed down by Yoruichi.
"Instead of shooting at his body, focus his head, more specifically his eyes. A Soul Reaper discovered that his head was the weakest point. Your powered gunshots should at least leave a few scratches at him. I and Kakashi will use our speed to pass him. But once we are gone, Mustang must use his alchemy. You might as well get a bit longer if you're gonna cause some fireworks here!" she told them.
"But I don't possess that much speed!" Huey said.
"Don't worry! I will carry you on the way. But in the meantime, Kakashi can use his Lighting Blade to slow Kaname for a moment!" Yoruichi told him while motioning towards Kakashi.
"Well, I guess you have a point! But we need to move quickly if we are to avoid that monster!" Kakashi said.
Yukio had prepared his guns and this time, he was ready.
"Okay Yoruichi, Kakashi! Here goes!" Yukio shouted and started firing at Kaname's face. The monster groaned in pain, but he stopped once Kakashi used his Lightning Blade. He managed to cut off his left arm.
"Now he's too distracted to chase after us! Follow me, Yoruichi!" Kakashi called out to her and he started to sprint forwards. Yoruichi grabbed Huey and in a blink, she used her Shunpo in order to catch up to the shinobi. Yoruichi's Shunpu was among the fastest of all Soul Reapers.
With them gone, Mustang snapped his fingers and delivered a large flame attack at Kaname. If course this was not the most dangerous attack yet. However, the young alchemist wanted to refrain from using the lighter he borrowed from Havoc. But Mustang knew that he and Yukio needed to defeat Kaname, so he couldn't become a pest in their plans.
On the backstage of a scene, outside the Hokage building
Tom Dubois, the gentle but idiotic neighbour of the Freeman family had been trying to make a new life for his family in Konoha. But finding a job was not necessarily easy for a man like him. Recently, he became involved in the activities of the Hakusho-movement. Well, he was actually never a member, but he decided only to find out if it was good for him. It turns it was….sort of.
Tom had been recruited to join the Entertaining Emus along with other known members of the Hakusho-movement. They were going to perform on the stage in order to attract anyone's attention. But their performance was something very unusual.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY CROSS-DRESSING!?" Tom asked outraged at Urahara's message.
"We are going to perform a play written by a famous half-anime celebrity: Winston Jerome. I hear he is quite famous for his manly roles" Lee said while trying to calm him down.
"Yeah but….why do I have to cross-dress as an old woman?" Tom asked again.
"Well to tell you the truth, you look a lot like him. But you lack of course his accessories…..and you are black-skinned!" Ling pointed out to him, confused at the same time. Suddenly Ikakku stepped in.
"And besides, it's not like it's a big deal! Why the hell am I stuck with you clowns, anyway!?" he complained about being put on this time.
"You think I'm a clown, you bald-ass freak!?" Kazuma rose up and confronted the bald Soul Reaper. He twitched after hearing this insult.
"Shut your mouth, or else I will knock off that gibbering head of yours" Ikkaku retorted to him.
"Enough already, we must be prepared for our performance!" Ling tried to stop the confrontation.
"Trust me, Tom! We you will do a good job at this! Don't sweat it!" Lee said with encouraging words while giving Tom his thumb.
Tom thought about what Lee just said. Perhaps he could do a good job. And besides, everything was for the sake of saving all of Konoha, including his own family. Taking a deep sigh, the man rose up from his seat with a so-called determined look on his face. His teammates looked at him with satisfaction.
"Then so be it! I shall take that role and impress the audience as I was Winston Jerome himself! Let's get those bitches!" he declared with his loud voice. It seemed pretty obvious that they would carry on with their phase.
On the stage, outside the Hokage building
A large audience consisting of both rebels and half-anime characters sat on their seats. It was almost as if it was a bowl. Even Yagami's closest associates had been invited to observe this event, as was every friend or ally to the members of the Council of Yuu. The associates of Aizen were also present. The curtains were large. Appearing on the scene was the Fifth Hokage: Tsunade. She was accompanied by her assistant: Shizune. Now it was time to open this concert or whatever people wanted to call it.
"Citizens and friends of Konoha, we welcome you all to this spectacular event, close to the Hokage building! In order for to promote better ties between rebels and half-anime characters, we have arranged this concert to inspire our partnership! So sit back and enjoy what you will see! Today, everyone will be given an impression upon each other, so let the play begin!" she was finished with her speech and the whole audience gave her applause. She and Shizune returned to their seats near the corner of the scene.
The curtains were lifted and it showed everyone the scene of a living room. But it didn't take long before Ling stood in the middle dressed in a yellow tuxedo. He was also wearing a gentleman's hat.
"Hello everyone, how are you feeling today?" he asked out loudly towards the audience. Most of them stared at him confused.
"I will be this play's narrator! So you don't have to pay attention to me at all, because I will be floating above the scene and narrate all of what's happening!" Ling declared and he was suddenly lifted up to hang over the living room, much to the amusement of the audience.
The scene began with Lee dressed like a housewife and Kazuma dressed like an abusive, alcoholically husband. He even had his tie bound around his head.
"It all started with a troubled couple. The housewife was constantly harassed and abused by her husband, given the fact that she was born with inhuman eye-brows and always wore those tight green stockings!" Ling narrated. All were laughing at Lee's ridiculous appearance.
"You stupid, bitch! When are you gonna start shaving those eye-brows of yours!?" Kazuma demanded while approaching to Lee's face.
"Honey, don't shout so loud! The kids might hear us!" Lee said with a so-called desperate voice.
"Don't give that bullshit! I had it with our stupid-ass engagement!" Kazuma said and walked away from the scene. Lee began crying as fake as he could.
Suddenly Ikkaku came through the door placed on the scene and eyed Lee.
"But there was a third member in the young couple's home! It was a handsome and strong man, who was always taking care of chores in the household, even though his appearance resembled that of a skinhead Neo-Nazi!" Ling explained with irony, causing huge laughs around the audience.
"I'm gonna kill you for that, asshole!" Ikkaku muttered lowly and went over to Lee.
He was suddenly embraced by Lee and gulped awkwardly given the fact that he was actually being hugged by a man.
"The desperate housewife always found comfort within him and she even confessed her love for him. But how were they supposed to get rid of the abusing husband?" Ling narrated.
Kazuma appeared on the stage again and this time, he confronted Ikkaku who stood beside Lee. Lee merely hugged himself tightly against Ikkaku's elbow, making the bald Soul Reaper even more embarrassed. The entire audience laughed at this.
"Who the hell are you!? Don't mess around with my wife!?" Kazuma shouted and was about to deliver a punch at him, until something very unusual happened.
Right in the middle of the scene, Tom suddenly appeared, dressed as an old woman. He danced and wriggled his butt at the audience. Truth be told, everyone was just shocked about what they saw. He was dressed in an old lady's clothes and wore both glasses and a black wig. Tom began moving closer to both Ikkaku and Kazuma. He slapped their heads and continued dancing. The whole audience applauded his performance. After all, this was a typical play by Winston Jerome.
Around the districts of Konoha
The Happy Hamsters were now splitting up in order to plant those explosives at the targeted buildings. Riley was now accompanying Hiei and Kouga in planting some near the central district. They made sure they were not being followed.
"Yo! What kind of building is this shit?" Riley asked his teammates.
"This is actually a storage building, but Aizen does business inside it! Once we blow up this craphole, he is sure gonna be pissed about it!" Kouga stated while watching for any dangers.
"We were told that his spy would arrive to interrupt us if we were moving against him. With that spy out of the way, Aizen will completely loose his eyes and ears! His Arrancar servants are easy to dispose off, regardless of what they are!" Hiei stated lowly. Riley chuckled at this.
"Man I like your cold and badass attitude! How about you join my crib after we pull this shit?" he asked the black-haired demon who closed his eyes.
"Join you in a lame group where you humans often hire prostitutes? I don't think so!" Hiei answered.
"Okay! We're done here! Now we move on to the next building!" Kouga declared, but he stopped when he began sniffing in the air.
"What is it?" Hiei asked the wolf-demon.
"I don't know….but for some reason…this place reeks of filth" he answered lowly.
"Yo! It stinks here because this place is full of trash and shit! Why else do you think it stinks here!? Riley rebuked his teammate.
"Hey don't take that tone with me, kid! I will whoop your ass if you keep…" Kouga was stopped once he heard Riley say pause to him.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hiei asked the young boy.
"If you say something stupid and gay as that, then you gotta say no homo! Or else, you are gay!" he explained, much to the annoyance of his teammates. "Anyway, let's leave this place! We better meet up with that black-haired homo and his four-eyed partner!" Riley suggested to his teammates while referring to Sasuke and Uryu respectively.
In a nearby garbage can, someone lit his head up on order to get some clean air. It was actually none other than Conan, the young detective himself! He had been eavesdropping on some of the people who were walking nearby, including Riley and his teammates. He merely smirked while adjusting his glasses.
"As much as I hate to admit that it was terrible to hide inside here, I'm glad that I've managed to get some information around this town. I think it might be best to inform Goku and the others about this! We must be prepared!" he thought while walking around the streets in his disguise.
In the deeper reaches of the Hokage Monument
Huey, Kakashi and Yoruichi had continued the path while Yukio and Mustang were dealing with Kaname. As they ran, they could see an opening covered by purple light. Huey had seen this power before, at Sakigawa. It was no doubt that something ancient lied in these caverns. They all left the scene, convinced that no one was hearing them….or so they thought.
Once the tunnel ended, they came to a large area that was located in these caverns. But there was more to it. On his chair, Sosuke Aizen stood there smirking at them. Not far from him, the Arrancar Nnoitra Gilga stood there and stared at the trio with battle-hungry eyes. However, Huey and his teammates could feel the dark energies growing stronger. The power source had to be in here somewhere.
"Uninvited guests have arrived! How annoying, I realised you and your allies were skulking around in Konoha. Am I right, Yoruichi Shihoin?" Aizen asked the intruders while eyeing the purple-haired woman. She glared in return. "And I see that Urahara himself is not present here! Where is he?" he added with aquestion.
"Aizen….you still look the same as always!" she stated sternly. "From the day you betrayed your friends and comrades!" she added bitterly. Aizen mused at this.
"How illogical, I have always been the same….until you interrupted my plans of becoming a god!" he stated.
"Enough talk, Aizen! We have a few questions for you and you will answer them!" Kakashi said while drawing out a kunai from his pocket.
"Oh…I'm listening" Aizen stated with his so-called enthusiasm. "Are you still upset that I "ousted" Light Yagami from his nest?" he began asking them with venom in his voice. The trio's eyes widened at that question.
"You….you were the one…" Kakashi said lowly and shocked. Aizen chuckled at him.
"That's right, Kakashi Hatake! My long way to vengeance needed to be rushed. In order to do that, I had that imbecile killed so I could move my operations here!" he revealed his motive for Yagami's assassination. "And of course with those half-anime scum crawling around the city it was only natural that most rebels would pin the blame on them!" he added while taking a brief glance at Huey.
"You bastard….you framed my people!? For something they had nothing to do with!?" he angrily asked while resisting his urge to draw out his sword. He was calmed down by Kakashi.
"Actually we already had suspicions about you being the culprit!" the masked shinobi said. But we still have other things we would like to inform you about" he added.
"We heard about what happened at Karikiri Bridge! You were using a servant of the Dark One to separate Ichigo and the others!" Yoruichi stated.
"Yes! What about it?" Aizen asked lowly. The woman merely smirked confidentially at him, much to Aizen's indifference.
"If you think you have officially destroyed the Council of Yuu….then you are honestly a damned fool!" she exclaimed while glaring up against him. "They will come for you!" she added.
Aizen was annoyed at her taunt for a second, but he shrugged it off and let out a laugh that was louder. The teammates stared at him with confused looks. Why was he behaving like some maniac?
"Then let them come! Council of Yuu, Team Z and the Dark One, none of you will stop my quest for vengeance! Not as long as I have THIS!" he said and pointed his hand towards a large lake that was located in this area! The trio began staring at it. For some reason, the lake seemed twisted.
"Aizen….just what the hell is this power source of yours?" Yoruichi asked. "Is that the reason why you defected from the Dark One's ranks?" she added. Aizen grinned at her.
"If you want to find out….how about I demonstrate it in front of you? Then you will perhaps be given an answer!" Aizen taunted and reached his had over the lake. He still stood there on the height.
Suddenly, the lake started to glow purple, and a new energy suddenly sprouted up from it. The energy began infesting upon Nnoitra, who was still watching all this commotion with killing intent. He soon realized that the twisted energy was taking control over him and his eye widened in shock. The Arrancar began screaming in pain.
"AAAHHHHHHH, THIS PAIN! IT TAKES CONTROL OVER ME! AHHHHHH!" he screamed out loud, much to the trio's caution. But Aizen showed no remorse upon his subject, so he laughed sadistically.
"That's right, Nnoitra! Use this power as your weapon! Now destroy these intruders!" he commanded remorseless.
The Arrancar eyed the trio with his painful expression. But for some reason, his Resurrección: Santa Teresa had been released without his command! This made Yoruichi shocked! Nnoitra began growing out dark limbs on his body and his horns sharpened. She had never seen such terrifying transformation from before.
"He….he can't control himself! And that power….it seems familiar somehow!" Kakashi stated shockingly.
"I think I've seen that power from before! Back in Sakigawa, there was one Arrancar who underwent similar transformation. But this one here seems more powerful and more painful!" Huey explained to Yoruichi and Kakashi.
"But you also saw something else: Kaname was also transformed by this power!" she told him.
"Be careful! He's preparing to strike at us!" Kakashi interrupted his teammates when he saw Nnoitra preparing his scythes. He ran towards them in full speed. Luckily, Yoruichi managed to grab Huey before quickly disappearing from Nnoitra's rampage. Kakashi however, wanted to at least counterattack him.
"Lighting Blade!" he shouted and he clashed with Nnoitra. But the Arrancar was overpowering him. As Kakashi tried to clash against him, he noticed Nnoitra saying something.
"I SEE NIGHTMARES! I SEE MADNESS! IT WILL CONSUME US ALL!" he shouted and used his Sonido to appear behind Kakashi. Fortunately, he was fooled by Kakashi's Substitution Jutsu. But he soon turned his attention towards Yoruichi and Huey.
"I don't believe it's true!" Yoruichi said lowly and shocked. Huey wondered about what she was thinking about. The purple-haired woman suddenly turned her angry glare towards Aizen.
"YOU ARE A SICK BASTARD, AIZEN! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, MESSING AROUND WITH THAT POWER!?" she lashed out against the fallen Soul Reaper, who merely grinned in return.
"Why are you so upset about this, Yoruichi!?" Huey tried to ask her. She calmed down and soon, Kakashi joined their group.
"Is it what Kisuke told us recently? Is what he…or we suspected true!?" Kakashi wanted an answer from her. She nodded her head.
"Yes! At first we refused to believe it! But after Kenshin Himura brought back examples of Gohei Hiruma's blood to us…we knew what it was!" she stated sternly. Kakashi was shocked by this. Huey was also becoming very concerned about the situation here.
"What type of power is this!?" Huey wanted an answer. Yoruichi turned her attention towards him.
"You may not possess much knowledge about them, but this power that has been plaguing this country for the last few months has it's roots during the creation of Fictiontopia" she explained. The woman eyed her face towards the tainted lake. "In this lake lies a primordial power! It is the heart belonging of one of the Seven Deadly Ancients: Komada of the Nightmares" she explained grimly.
Soon, they could all hear the voice of an ancient demon from Nnoitra. But they saw something else over him. Behind the Arrancar's body, two pink/red eyes could be seen observing everything around him, including the trio. They all stood still and couldn't even move a muscle.
"I SEE YOU! I FEEL YOU! I TASTE YOU!" the voice belonging to a forgotten evil emerged from Nnoitra's form.
To be continued….
Author's note: Okay! Now we're getting closer! Komada is a character from the anime and manga series: Bio Hunter. It is actually his demon form that I'm talking about here. I added the title: of the Nightmares just to make him more symbolic.