Chapter 37

Okay guys, to be honest I was enjoying detailing the story line from prototype 2, but it's a little tedious now, so I'm going to skip a very small section here. Don't worry, it'll be right where we left off, but I'm just going to skip a small section. I'll write where I skipped. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

I own nothing

Heller took a deep breath as he opened his eyes and sat up, stretching and cracking his bones as he worked out the kinks. He tilted his head, cracking it, before standing up and shifting into his usual attire. He walked out of his room and down the hall to the kitchen, passing Maruyi's room on the way. He stopped as he heard a weird mixture of sounds coming out of it. He put his ear to the door and heard typing, something whirring, and what sounded like muttering.

Heller stepped back from the door feeling troubled. He had never seen that guy come out of his room since he had taught that bastard his place, except for one meal, and that was over 2 days ago and even then he ate in his room.

"Hey, Ashisogi Jizō?"

"Yes Heller?"

"How normal is this for Mayuri?" he asked as he shared what he had heard and knew about his activates for the past 2 days.

The Zanpakutō was silent for a minute as it digested the information then answered, sounding confused and a little grim. "Odd. The only times he's this focused is when he's working on a personal project. He started acting like this when I left him?"

"Yes. Since then I've only seen him leave his room once."

The Zanpakutō thought for a minute, but said "I'm afraid I don't have a clue on what he might be doing in there, but I recommend being on your guard. Something doesn't feel right."

"thanks." Heller said before cutting the connection.

As Heller walked in the room, with the others awake and eating breakfast, Heller's phone rang, stopping the greetings. He pulled it out and found the caller ID said Galloway. He scowled and said "it's Galloway."

The others scowled as well, Ichigo even more so while a hint of his hollow began to surface. He had warned Galloway what would happen if she didn't find Orihime. Time to see if that threat had worked.

Heller picked up, putting it on speaker while saying "you better have something good."

Galloway still had her attitude, but it was less pronounced as she said "oh trust me, it is. That little show you put on with Cantrell has prompted a mandatory meeting of all the commander's relating to fire hawk's immediate execution. If you can take them, you may learn what it's about once and for all. I've already sent the coordinates."

Heller looked at Ichigo, who was looking at phone with so much intensity, Heller expected it to burst into flames or crack under the pressure.

"One more thing. " Heller said. "How's the search for Orihime been going?"

Galloway said nothing for a moment, but they could hear her swallow before saying carefully "I may have a small something. Mercer has been having the evolved moving to 20 different places all at the same time. But I can't track down anything more specific. I do know he hasn't harmed her at all, just holding her."

Ichigo looked crushed, but he motioned for Heller to hang up. Heller did that as he told her to keep digging, then put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and said "I'm sorry Ichigo."

Ichigo took a shuddering breath as he pulled himself tighter and said "let's go take care of that meeting. If it's big, we've got to stop it. For everyone's sake."

Rukia and Renji stood and said "we'll come with."

Heller shook his head and said "no offense, but it sounds like we're going to have to move fast in order to end this. Me and Ichigo need to be able to go full speed and power in order to do this."

Rukia and Renji stopped to think, but they had to admit that Heller had a point. Ichigo and Heller were both on a whole different level compared to them. So they both nodded and sat back down.

Dana said "I'm going to do some digging, try and get into Blacknet and find out more on fire hawk, maybe on where they're keeping Maya. Good luck guys."

Heller nodded, but said "before I go though, Rukia , Renji, can I talk to you in private?"

They both looked confused, but followed Heller to his room, where he locked the door and turned to look at them, looking very serious.

Renji saw and asked "what's wrong?"

Heller sighed and said "okay, I'll get right to the point. I want you to go to soul society and have Urahara do some digging on Mayuri and Soi Fon and what they're doing here."

Both looked shocked and Rukia said "but we can't do that. They're both captains, and both part of very important departments."

"Yeah I know. But it's the fact that they're head of departments that has me worried." Heller said. He held his hand up, forestalling their responses and said "just listen. From what I heard, Soi Fon is the head of the assassination division of soul society while chuckles is the head of the R&D branch. Those two things, added to the fact the commander sent them, are telling me something more is going on here then we think."

The two stopped for a moment to digest this. They had to admit that Heller had a point. Why would the commander send the assassination and R&D heads to the red zone, simply to provide help? Though they didn't want to admit it, Heller had a point. Something just wasn't adding up.

Heller sighed and rubbed his eyes saying "maybe I am just being paranoid, but I can't help but feel like I'm dead on. Either way, will you two do this?"

Both of them thought for a minute, though their minds were made up, then nodded and said "yes."

Heller smiled and shook Renji's hand, then ruffled Rukia's hair, ruining it and ticking her off as he said "you're good people. Good friends. I'm glad to have met you both."

Both of them smiled and said "and we feel the same."

Renji opened the Senkaimon in Heller's room and as they walked through, they turned and said "good bye Heller. See you soon."

Then the gate closed and vanished.

Heller then sighed. When he had shaken Renji's hand, he had slipped in a piece of paper saying he and Rukia were not, under any circumstances, to come back to NYZ. That he cared too much about their safety to let them come back, and, that he wanted them to have each other while they could, and enjoy the happiness he had been robbed of by mercer and Blackwatch. And Heller would be sure to kill mercer, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

Heller then squared his shoulders and left the room, leaving to take care of fire hawk, kill mercer and Blackwatch, and save his daughter and Orihime from the hell they had been taken to.

(Okay: this is where I skip a little bit)

Heller and Ichigo were standing on top of a building away from the Blackwatch base they had just left in ruins after Heller had consumed the commanders who knew about fire hawk. While they were a little tired, Heller knew they were going to have to move pretty damn fast to end this thing.

He called up Dana and said "Dana, we got a big problem. We figured out what fire hawk is. Blackwatch is planning to do a bomb run with thrombotic missiles equipped to helicopters."

Dana said "oh crap. If that happens everyone will be killed."

"We know. That's why we need you to try and find where the helicopters are being kept. Can you do that?"

"Yeah hang on." Heller heard rapid typing as she said "I've been hacking at their files since you left. I'm…almost… there!"

Dana was silent for a minute then said "okay, there are 4 at a base near the ocean, southwest of your current position. From what I can see, there are eleven total and one base where they've been keeping the supplies for the run. I'll mark them on your phone."

"Thanks Dana."

He hung up and said "based on what I saw, we have 5 minutes before they start the run."

Ichigo looked impatient as he said "then let's hurry the hell up and go."

They flash stepped again, this time appearing where Dana had marked the first 4. Heller looked down and saw them lined up on the ground, looking like normal transport copters, but they were equip with some very large misses launchers and seemed to have 20 missiles per launcher.

Heller shifted to his sword as he said "lined up like damn dominos."

He looked and the others and said "wait a minute; I'll take care of this."

He flash stepped up about 100 feet up, too high for Blackwatch to see him without being on the lookout. Heller charged up his sword arm, not caring about the power since civilians had long since been killed or driven out of this area, and Ichigo had flash stepped away a couple blocks after seeing what he had planned. He swung his blade while saying "Getsuga Tensho."

The wave was good size about 50 feet across and flew towards the base. Blackwatch was shouting and trying to run, but no good. Heller's attack hit the first helicopter, slicing through it with ease, before exploding, sending up a dome of flame and air blast 100 feet across. The Blackwatch and small base were utterly wiped out as the blast subdued.

Heller's head turned as he heard explosions. He inwardly cursed. Blackwatch had started Fire Hawk. He looked at his phone and saw 2 blue dots, both of them standing by itself. Heller and Ichigo. He saw another 7 red dots scattered in 3 groups through the red zone, all moving. And a building, a little red square, was marked as well.

He and Ichigo met back up then flash stepped to the first group. They arrived to find 3 helicopters raining down missile after missile at the street, taking out huge chunks of land with every hit.

Heller growled and said "time to end this."

He made the first move. Shifting to claws, Heller flash stepped to the front of the lead helicopter appearing before the cock pit. The pilot and copilot both jerk while the former shouted "SHIT, COME IN RED CROWN, WE HAVE…"

He was cut off as Heller punched his claws into the copilot's chest, injecting him with virus, and then shouted "HAPPY LANDING ASSHOLES!" before getting out of there.

The copilot grunted in pain, his body withering, before he exploded in hardened skin and guts, the shrapnel killing the pilot and sending the helicopter plummeting to the ground, where it crumpled like a soda can before exploding.

The other 2 copters saw what happened and began looking around for Heller, stopping their run. Ichigo appeared in front one and pressed his hand to its nose, and said "eat this. Hadō #33,Sōkatsui (Pale Fire Crash)."

Ichigo's palm glowed blue as a small hole was blasted in it, completely destroyed the controls and the legs of the flyers. It would have fallen the ground, but Ichigo decided to put it to good use before it was destroyed. He quickly grabbed it from underneath, and found the last helicopter, which was now pointed at him and ready to launch. Heller appeared in a blur and either side, slicing of the launchers and catching them, then retreated, both under his arms, as he shouted "NOW!"

Ichigo smirked evilly as he swung around the helicopter by the nose, then threw it with astonishing speed for something so large, turning tail over nose. The other chopper had no chance as they collided, both exploding as the fell in flames.

Ichigo raised an eye brow at Heller and said "plans for those?" motioning at the launchers.

Heller shrugged and said "always had a weakness for irony and I figured what better irony then stopping them with their own weapons. Here" He finished by tossing Ichigo one of the launchers, which he caught with one hand.

Heller glanced at his phone and saw the next group was fairly close, this group a group of 2. He looked at Ichigo and said "follow my lead."

They flash stepped to the next group and appeared in front of them above the street, stopping them both as they saw them. Heller heard one pilot shout "OH CRAP!" as they fired missiles at them. Heller and Ichigo dodged every single one, not even breaking a sweat. When the barrage was stopped, they both rose their own launchers, Ichigo putting Zangetsu on his back, and said "adios idiots."

Both of them fired a single missile each, a tongue of flame coming out the ends as the rockets went flying outwards. The rockets went blazing forward, Ichigo's missing by an inch, but Heller's hitting his target dead on. The explosion set of the remaining missiles in their artillery and turned the chopper into a fire ball that took out the other one with ease.

Heller looked at Ichigo and said "nice shootin, but be careful with the recoil."

Ichigo looked at the weapon with distaste and said "if you don't mind, I think I'll just stick with Zangetsu and kido. Using this makes me feel… dirty."

Heller shrugged and said "I don't mind, but destroy that if you're not going to use it. We can't have Blackwatch get a hold of that."

Ichigo nodded and threw the launcher straight up, sending it 100 feet in the air, before pointing at it and saying "Hadō #1, Sho," sending a blast of air that crushed it and set off the remaining cargo in an explosion.

Heller looked at the phone and said "okay, why don't you take care of the last two, while I head to take out the base, then we'll meet back at the apartment?"

Ichigo nodded and they both vanished, each heading to their own destinations.

With Heller, general P.O.V

Heller appeared on midair, overlooking the base. You could tell they were agitated by the alarms, running to and fro, and the fact that the bunker like building in the center looked large enough to house 2-3 hundred people. No doubt full of all sorts of nasty toys Blackwatch had.

Heller grinned savagely. He was looking forward to this.

Heller took careful aim at the stock pilled weapons, locking on, and then fired off every single shot at it, sending down a rain of death and flame. He threw down his launcher and got out of there as they all hit.

Well to make a long story short, it looked like the fourth of July was going out of business.

Heller was looking at this and feeling good. He turned his head and felt for Ichigo's spirit energy, and found he was back at the apartment already. Heller figured he better get going, but then he paused. He felt for spiritual energy again, but he noticed one was missing.

"Where's SoiFon?" Heller thought.

Heller quickly flash stepped to the apartment, opening the door and walking in. Ichigo got off the couch and walked over saying "nice going Heller, I saw that explosion from here."

Heller gave a passing thanks before saying "where's Soi Fon?"

Ichigo blinked then said "uh, from what Dana told me, she left after you took out the depot, little before I got back, said she heading back to soul society for something. Something about needing a certain piece of equipment."

Heller frowned. This felt wrong. Soi Fon didn't strike him as the kind of person who would need to go back for supplies. She struck him as the type to pack what you needed, and if you forgot something, oh well. But he didn't know what to do about it.

But he couldn't get rid of this gut feeling. Like something was about to happen. Something that would change everything.

Soul society, commander's office, P.O.V

"So, James Heller has disabled Blackwatch."

Soi Fon was standing at attention as the commander was sitting at his desk, his chin resting on his hands and he thought.

"Yes sir. And his power seems to be growing. I'm afraid that he might become too strong for any of us to handle. Even you."

The commander sank deep in thought. If James Heller could reach such high levels, and not be under soul society control or friendly with them, the potential lash back could be catastrophic.

The commander looked up and said "very well. When you have a chance, inject Heller with the antibodies that Mayuri has made. We can't allow him to become any stronger without some way to control him. Am I understood?"

Soi Fon bowed and said "yes sir."

Well, how's that for an ending? I'm sorry for taking so long, but I had writers block and my stream of ideas are running dry. Also school is almost over and some of my teachers are putting us through the wringer for the end of the year tests.

Also I may not be able to update until next week due to school and the fact my family is taking a vacation. So I hope you can stand the wait. Until next time, review favorite, and enjoy.