Chapter 38

I own nothing dear readers. Now enjoy this and I have to say this. Thank god for music inspiration when writing

Heller and Ichigo were looming over Dana's shoulder as she was trying to hack Blacknet. Since Heller had stopped fire hawk, they had upped security, and now that the city was safe, Dana was focusing all he resources on finding Maya. Soi Fon still hadn't returned, Mayuri was shut in his room, and Nemu was thought to be in the same place. After Heller had beaten the crap out of her 'father' she seemed to have disappeared.

Dana growled "damn it!" as she threw her hands up. "I'm sorry Heller, but only a few people in black watch seem to know were Maya is and the names are under top level security. It would take me months to crack this code. I'm at a dead end."

Heller was tense as he prowled the room, like the cat hollow he had turned into not so long ago. He shook his head and said "I can't track down people I don't know, and Maya seems to be shielded from my hunter vision somehow. That only leaves one option. It's time to consume rooks."

Ichigo sighed and rubbed his head. Much as he hated the guy, he didn't want any more people than necessary to die. But if this is the only way…

"Better go get him then. You can track him down right?"

Heller nodded as he said "I've seen him and know his name, tracking him with hunter vision will be a piece of cake."

He headed to the door, saying "I'll be back in 5." He went out into the hall, and then flash stepped to a building to begin sending out pulses.

Apartment, general P.O.V

Ichigo sighed as he sat down. Lately it felt like he was more and more useless. For all his powers and skills, he couldn't navigate this maze of death and blood. Not like Heller could. He could only put his faith in Heller.

Then Ichigo's phone rang. He picked up and saw the caller ID was Kisuke. He picked up and said "hello?"

Kisuke sounded panicked as he said "Ichigo, where's Heller?!"

Ichigo was thrown by the tone as he said "uh, he just left. Why?"

"Ichigo, we have big, big problems."

Ichigo felt his heart clench as he asked "how bad?"

Kisuke simply said "Soi Fon."

Kisuke's lab, soul society, 10 minutes ago.

Kisuke was alone in his lab as he was typing rapidly at a computer terminal. While his lab wasn't as twisted as Maruyi's was, it had a few odd things here and there, but not severed arms or anything like that.

Ever since Renji had told him that Heller wanted to know why Soi Fon and Mayuri were in the red zone, he had been trying to figure that out. He had been hacking Maruyi's system, an easy task, and the computer he had taken to the human world, but he hadn't been able to make heads or tails of the entries there.

He stopped as he found an old transmission. Only a few days. And it was from Mayuri to the commander.

"hhmm. Wonder what this is?" he thought as he easily bypassed the firewall. He pulled it up in another window and watched as it started to play. And he found the real reason on why the commander had sent them to the human world.

When the video was done, Kisuke was frozen with shock, then he started throwing things everywhere looking for the phone and while thinking "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."

Real world, with Heller, real time, his P.O.V

I was standing in midair as I set out one last pulse. The pulse rebounded, giving me the lock on rooks. I felt determination in my stomach as I got the info. If i got rooks, i would get not only Maya, but cut of the head of operations in the red zone.

"Time to move"

But just as I was about to flash step, I heard something rumble behind me, I looked over my shoulder to see a Senkaimon in midair. As it opened, several black blurs jumped out, only to reform as several people dressed in ninja garb, all black clothing veering everything except their eyes. And there were roughly 30 all around me, at attention and looking at me with white eyes.

I growled. This didn't feel right, and that feeling only grew as Soi Fon walked out, dressed in her captains robe while looking cold and hard.

I growled "what the hell is this Soi Fon?"

She looked at me like dirt as she said "I'm afraid, Heller, that you pose an intolerable threat to us that needs to be put down. I'm here to do that."

And she drew her sword. As soon as she did, all of the men she had brought with her charged, all drawing short swords like here or daggers.

I growled as I flash stepped up wards, forming my hands to tendril and hammer fist. First group to charge me were hit first with tendril, tangling them and pulling them tighter, then a kick backwards, sending them flying. Next group got close and stabbed me, through the chest, back and stomach. They stopped, thinking they had won, but I said "nice try." Then I pulsed my energy, sending them skidding backwards.

Deciding I had enough, I shifted to hands and used my speed to take out all of them, using my strength and simple punches and kicks to send them plummeting to the ground.

General P.O.V

Heller turned to Soi Fon and said "if that's the best you got, then you're out of luck."

She snorted and said "don't get cocky. Sting all Enemies to Death, Suzumebachi!"

Heller narrowed his eyes, then shifted to blade and said "reflect in despair shadow shifter!"

Both of their energy went sky rocketing as their blades from, Soi Fons gauntlet and Heller's own blade.

Not waiting, Soi Fon flash stepped behind Heller and tried to stab him, he whirled around and blocked, both fighting against each other while Heller growled "why are you doing this?"

She growled back "because I was sent to."

Heller's eyes widened, shocking him, and Soi Fon used the chance to break the standoff, sending his sword to the right, then flipped, kicking Heller in the face while stabbing him in the chest.

Heller went flying before stopping himself and looking down. The tattoo formed right over the space where his heart would be, showing a hit.

Soi Fon snorted. "Like I thought. You really have no heart Heller. You just destroy and grow."

He looked behind him and she said "game over Heller."

And stabbed him in the back, hitting the same place as the first strike.

Soi Fon then retreated, waiting for the poison to take affect and destroy him.

Only it didn't. Heller turned to look at he with rage filled eyes, looking like a monster as he growled "you know NOTHING. Not of me, or my life SOI FON!" he yelled as he charged, she being to shocked as he hit her, first in the stomach with a hammer fist, causing blood to burst out of her mouth as a few ribs broke and sent her upwards. He then shifted to whip fist and grabbed her around the ankle, stopping her, before using his whip fist as a bungee cord and bringing her back down into his foot, kicking her backwards. She went flying, only for her to crash into Heller again as he got behind her. He held her around the neck, blade at her face as he said "now answer my question. Why is soul society trying to kill me?!"

But Soi Fon was too stunned, both from the hits and the fact her Shikai hadn't worked, so she groaned out "how…?"

Heller said "my body can be made immune to any sort of poison or drugs, and since your Shikai uses poison, I was able to grow immune from the first hit. Now answer the question!" he finished as he increased his grip on her neck.

Soi Fon wheezed out "because… of what you are."

He released his grip enough for her to breathe properly and she kept going. "You're a virus Heller. You grow and grow, consuming powers and people. You spread like the plague, killing all those in your path, mindless of anything but your goals."

Heller was feeling his chest grow tight. Soi Fon was making it sound like he was another mercer.

She said "and you are uncontrolled. You are bound by nothing but your own limits, your mind, and your family. How can we know you won't turn on us at some point in the future, taking our lives, and our loved ones, simply for your own goals, causing untold destruction in the process?"

Heller felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. They made him sound like a mindless beast, something rabid and powerful, that needed to be put down because of what he might do. Not even bothering to know him or what drove him. Just kill him because he was a risk.

"And that is why, you must die."

Heller felt a tickle in his gut, like something had pinched him, then he felt something enter his body. He looked down, and saw in Soi Fon's hand, a syringe that was in his stomach. And the plunger was all the way down.

Heller snorted. "You think you…can…" he trailed off as he felt a sensation in his body. It started small, a small ache, like maybe a flick on the skin, but it quickly grew into a burning pain that made Heller groan while staggering back, letting Soi Fon go. She rubbed her neck while turning around and saying "looks like it worked."

Heller fell to his knees, his arms turning to normal as he clenched his stomach. He looked at Soi Fon and growled "what did you inject in me?"

Soi Fon took the liberty of flash stepping to his side and kicking him in the head, sending him rolling over his platform before answering while walking towards him.

"A little something the Mayuri cooked up. What I injected are specialized antibodies designed to kill all the black light virus in your body. But since your body is black light, it's killing you."

Heller growled. The pain was crippling but he managed to stand, his arms at his side as he said "not for long."

Heller's arms were covered in tendrils, but when they receded, nothing had changed.

"What the?"

He was cut off as Soi Fon punched him the chin, then several jabs to the body, and lastly a spin kick to the side, sending Heller flying and skidding again, this time on his side.

Heller sat up, his face and wounds only slowly healing.

"The anti-bodies not only kill you, but prevent you from shifting any of your body into weapons as well." Soi Fon said, walking, though I think strutting might be a better description, as her sword went back to its sealed state.

"And now, I think it's time to put you out of your misery." She said as she rose her sword, blade down, to stab Heller through the chest. He was too weak to move and could only watch as the blade shot down.

"Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light)!"

The six rods of light came out of nowhere as they slammed into Soi Fon's main body, stopping her cold, the blade less than an inch from Heller's chest. Soi Fon snapped her head to the side, to see who had stopped her, but she only saw the palm of a hand. As she watched, said hand began to glow with a white aura, the light drawing her in as the voice said "Bakudō #83 Tanma Otoshi." Which was the last thing she heard as her vision went to black like a TV being flipped off.

As Soi Fon flopped down, knocked out, Heller looked up at the guy responsible for saving him.

"Took you long enough." Heller said, trying to sound sarcastic, but slightly failing due to the pain spreading in his body.

Ichigo, for of course it was him, said "I'm sorry, I just got a call from Kisuke before I left." He helped Heller to his feet, but Heller immediately doubled over and puked, a thick black sludge mixed with red coming out and falling below, his hand on Ichigo's shoulder for support.

Ichigo was looking at him grimly while holding him, since Heller couldn't stand straight in his pain. "We need to get you back. Whatever they injected is hitting fast and hard. You need help."

Heller nodded through his pain, but nodded at Soi Fon, who was still held by Ichigo's kido and said through his pain "what…about…her?"

Ichigo looked at her in distaste as he said, "I'll get her as soon as I help you. Can you stand being moved?"

Heller chuckled wearily as he said "do I have a choice?"

Back at the apartment, a few minutes later

Heller was laid down on the couch, his eyes closed as he was curled up in fetal position, unable to move due to the pain in his body. It felt like he had been dipped in acid, mixed with lava, poison, and piece of broken glass, and that it was slowly making its way through his body, leaving black veins where it went. He was sweating like a pig and also constantly coughing up slight black sludge from his mouth as his temperature rose steadily

Dana was holding a wet wash cloth to his head while Ichigo was trying medical kido, waiting for Urahara to get here. Mayuri and Soi Fon were knocked out and bound by kido in Maruyi's room, having captured Mayuri after Kisuke called and receiving Soi Fon from where he had knocked her out.

Ichigo growled "damn it. I can't cure this, not if it's something that's meant to be a cure in the first place."

Dana was looking at Heller in worry as she asked "What's happening to him?"

"That, is something I can answer."

Dana and Ichigo looked around, and saw Kisuke standing in front of a Senkaimon and missing his hat, looking like crap as the gate closed.

Kisuke walked over to Heller while digging in his robe until he pulled out a syringe, talking as he examined Heller.

"I thought so. Dana, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that your brother Alex was injected with a parasite during the first infection?"

Dana winced, then nodded and said "Why?"

"Because this is something similar, in a way. The parasite the Alex was injected with was designed to produced anti-bodies to kill the black light virus in his body, all while feeding off his body to produce the anti-bodies. I'm afraid that this is similar, but the anti-bodies aren't being produced by a parasite. They're replicating and using Heller's own spirit energy to do it."

Heller managed to crack open an eye, hearing everything through a haze of pain, and croaked "how long?"

Kisuke shook his head as he tapped a vein in Heller's arm and withdrew a small sample of black sludge. "I'm afraid it's not much. Based on the simulations that Mayuri ran while making this, the anti-bodies are already breaking down your cells. I'm afraid you have maybe 10 minutes."

Heller chuckled, and then broke out in a horse fit of coughing. When he finished he closed his eye and said "so I'm dead in 10 minutes."

"Maybe."

Heller opened his eye again as Kisuke explained. "When Mayuri was running his simulations, I noticed that he hadn't taken into account your hollowfication energy, possible since he didn't know. When I entered that in, I found that if you use your mask, you can increase your time to at least 1 hour. I'm positive I can find a cure in that time."

Heller snorted. "How? You may be brilliant, but even you can't find a cure for this in 1 hour."

Kisuke said "I have a friend. I meet him a couple years ago when I was traveling in New York for a vacation and I attended one of his lectures. When I talked with him afterwards, we stopped for coffee, talked for a few hours, and when I left, we kept in touch ever since."

Ichigo was growing impatient and said "this is all very interesting, but how the hell is your friend going to help cure Heller? I very much doubt he knows anything about this, let alone how to cure it."

Now Kisuke smiled, a weary smile, but a smile none the less.

"That, my dear Ichigo, is where you're wrong. The doctor I met that day, and that I've been talking to all these years, happens to be none other than doctor Ragland. The one who cured Alex of his parasite during the first infection."

Well the room went silent with shock. When no one said anything for a few minutes, Kisuke cleared his throat and said "well, we better get started. Heller, put on your hollow mask, and remember, the longer you can keep it on, the more time you can buy for us to cure this."

Heller shook out of his shock and said "all right." Then, moving slowly through his pain, he raised his right hand to the top of his head, reaching for his hollow power, then pulled down sharply, putting on his mask. The power sent a small blast of air through the room, as Heller tried to restrain his power for the long run. When his hollow power flooded in, he felt the pain lessen significantly and looked at his arm to see the black veins lightening and receding. Not disappearing completely, but close enough to his skin color to hide them from view at a quick glance.

He looked at Kisuke and said "well, here's hoping."

20 minutes later.

They heard a knock at the door and Kisuke walked out of Maruyi's room to answer it. Since he had taken that sample from Heller's arm, he had been using the equipment in the room to try and research it enough to make a counter cure for it.

Kisuke looked through the peep hole in the door and broke into a wide grin. He quickly unlocked the door and opened it.

Standing there was an African American man, with short black hair, square glasses on his curved nosed, and wearing a black over coat while also having a hand bag in his right hand. The man broke into a smile as well and laughed as he hugged Kisuke with one arm saying "Kisuke, you old idiot, good to see you!"

Kisuke hugged him back, thumping the man's back, before pulling back and saying, "Good to see you too Ragland, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

The mood turned darker as Ragland nodded and said "I gathered from your call, the young man you called about is the one who's been fighting Blackwatch?"

Kisuke nodded and said "and I'm afraid he's been infected with antibodies. Something some people from where I'm from cooked up, but based off the tumor Alex mercer was infected with. I was hoping you might be able to help."

Ragland said "I can try. Where is the man?" he asked, walking forward as Kisuke turned and lead him to Maruyi's room. Since Heller had put on his hollow mask, he had moved there in order for Kisuke to keep an eye on him while he tried to find a cure.

Kisuke opened the door and walked in, showing the room to be filed with equipment, most of it running as Kisuke tried to find a cure. Heller was sitting on the bed cross legged, his eyes closed as he tried to keep his hollow powers as long as possible. While the mask was still there, the blackness of his veins was slowly creeping back. He opened his eyes as her heard 2 steps of footsteps and immediately saw Ragland. Heller didn't move as Ragland walked forward, saying "hello. I'm…"

"…doctor Ragland, I know." Heller said, his voice sounding growly due to his power. Ragland stopped, unsure, until Heller said "sorry, but my voice is like this when I have my mask on, it has nothing to do with you." Heller said as he uncrossed his legs and got up reach out to shake hands, which Ragland instantly returned.

"I heard you might be able to help me."

Ragland nodded and said "well that's the hope, but I need to see what the physical symptoms are first. Can you take off your shirt please?"

"hang on."

Heller focused then shrugged, shifting his clothes back into himself, leaving his chest bare. You could see a spider web of black across his body, but all of it seemed to originate from just below his stomach, where it was pitch black. Where Soi Fon had injected him.

Ragland set down his hand bag and snapped it open, then reached in and bought out a brown, leather bound book, which was overflowing from added post it's and smaller sheets of paper.

"it's lucky I kept my notes." Ragland commented as he flipped through it, glancing between it and the spot on Heller's body. Then he nodded and said "so far, it looks almost exactly the same, but stronger and faster. Do you have an analysis of the anti-bodies?" he directed this question to Kisuke.

Kisuke nodded and went to his computer as he typed rapidly, Ragland blocking the screen beside him. Heller heard them muttering some nonsense before Ragland nodded and said "no doubt, this is almost identical to what Alex was infected with, but slightly modified to deal with your strand of virus, DNA, and to be more aggressive. It's amazing that you've survived this long."

"Can you cure it?"

Ragland hesitated and said "I might. But I can't be sure until I run some tests. So you might as well get comfortable again. This might take a while."

30 minutes later

"DAMN IT!" Kisuke said as he banged a fist down on the table beside the computer. He and Ragland had been working nonstop, trying everything and anything they could think of, but nothing would work. The most they could do was kill 99% of the anti-bodies, but if even one was left, Heller would die. They just couldn't kill it all or give Heller's body the ability to adapt to the anti-bodies. Heller was looking worse for wear, his breathing was growing more labored as he tried to keep his hollow powers flowing while the anti-bodies were beginning to adapt, which you could tell as the veins of black were growing darker and growing across his body. He asked "still nothing?"

"I'm sorry, but whatever we try, this thing can adapt faster than we can kill it. We're out of ideas."

Heller closed his eyes. His mind was getting blurry from pain and exhaustion, but he tried to dig deep and try to find something, anything, that might save him and allow him to save Maya.

Then he heard Shadow Shifter say "Heller! We may have something!"

Heller opened his eyes and sat up slightly. He had forgotten about shadow shifter and Ashisogi Jizō and he felt slightly guilty that he had.

"what are you talking about?"

"we may have found a way to kill the antibodies." Ashisogi Jizō said, sounding equally excited.

"what? How?"

"if you can materialize us, we can tell you."

Now Heller was confused. "And how the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Picture me in spirit form and I can take Ashisogi Jizō with when I come out."

Heller shook his head as he closed his eyes and tried to focus on shadow shifter's spirit form. It wasn't hard, and he felt something slip out of him, then a single thump on the floor along with a gasp from Kisuke and Ragland. Heller opened his eyes and saw Shadow shifter, in his clock and his eyes glowing, while floating beside him was an odd creature. It had a baby's face, large white eyes and head, with a lock of blue hair curling on the top of its head, and with a small body that was mostly covered with a blue and green over shirt that feel to its feet, which weren't touching the floor. The skin was bright yellow and it had a glowing white halo behind its head, along with purple butterfly wings.

Heller blinked once, twice, 3 times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. While Heller was doing this, shadow shifter drifted over to Soi Fon and chuckles, then quickly took her sword in his hand, which was dark brown, then drifted back over as he said "I have the first ingredient."

Ashisogi Jizō was looking at the computer, not touching it yet the screen was flickering until it stopped and Ashisogi Jizō nodded and said "this should work. We just need two more ingredient after the venom."

Kisuke said "okay, I know Ashisogi Jizō, and you must be…" he trailed off.

Shadow shifter said "where are my manners? I'm shadow shifter, Heller's Zanpakutō. It's nice to finally meet you."

Heller said "okay, what the hell is going on?"

Ashisogi Jizō said "sorry. But we think we have a way to cure you." As Ashisogi Jizō spoke, a copy of it in Heller's sword form appeared and it grasped it, while shadow shifter brought out it's sword form from the depths of its clock, which it then tapped against Soi Fon's sword, causing it to glow red, before throwing Soi Fon's sword away, where it hit the wall and stuck, quivering.

"How?"

Shadow shifter began to explain.

"when you were injected with the anti-bodies, we knew at once and began to try countering the effects. When that failed, Ashisogi Jizō began to examine the effects of the anti-bodies as closely as he could, as well as what slowed it, stopped it, and killed it as Kisuke and Ragland tried. What Ashisogi Jizō thinks is, that if we can both stop and poison the anti-bodies at the same time, we can kill them before they adapt."

Kisuke said "how? We've tried that and it didn't work."

Shadow shifter said "true, but what you didn't try is this. Ready Ashisogi Jizō?"

Ashisogi Jizō nodded and said "ready."

Shadow shifter then rose his sword, horizontal and said" Sting all Enemies to Death, Suzumebachi."

The sword began to glow red until it shrank, becoming an exact copy of the gauntlet that is Soi Fon's Shikai, but the gold was replaced with red.

Both of them approached Heller and he said "wait, what are you…"

He was cut off as the both stabbed Heller, in the point of injection.

Heller felt pain strike instantly and howled in agony as he began convulsing. He stayed this way several minutes until he stopped, his mask shattering as he lay panting.

He looked at the two spirits and said "what the hell!"

He sat up, looking murderous, then stopped. He felt no pain. He looked down and saw that where black had been, nothing but regular skin color, and he felt better, stronger even.

Ashisogi Jizō and shadow shifter disintegrated their respective blades as Ashisogi Jizō said "I'm sorry Heller, but we only had a minute left. We needed to act fast."

Ragland and Kisuke looked shocked. Kisuke stammered "how…how…"

Ashisogi Jizō said "what you have to remember is my ability is the ability to paralyze anything I cut, cutting of any and all movement. And that Suzumebachi uses poison in its stinger, which can also be used as a counter poison if injected into yourself.

Kisuke nodded, beginning to understand. "I see. By using your paralysis ability, combined with the poison made by Suzumebachi, you paralyzed the cells, halting the ability for them to adapt, then used the poison to kill them all."

Heller shifted back into his clothes and stood, saying "wow. I feel great. Thank you. Both of you."

Shadow shifter and Ashisogi Jizō both said "of course. You may be the one who wields us Heller, but more then that, you're our comrade, master, and above all, our friend. We'd never let you die."

Heller smiled and said "thank you. I'm very touched that you care so much about."

Both of them nodded, then said "until next time Heller." Then they both turned into clouds of energy, Ashisogi Jizō pink and shadow shifter red, then floated to Heller and merged with him, returning to his inner world.

Heller sighed and said "thank you. Both of you." Then he said "now, onto the next order of business."

Kisuke looked nervous, as Heller looked ready to murder as he said "and that is?"

Heller looked at Soi Fon and Mayuri, his eyes glowing as he said "sending back the trash."

Oh oh. How's that for a nice twist? Heller is alive, well, and SSSOOO pissed. I shudder to think what I have planned for this story. Hoped you liked the chapter. So be sure to favorite, review, and take a look at Dante Price: multiverse jumper chronicles. Until next time!