Chapter Forty-Seven

Soul Society; R&D Dept.

"Captain! Come look at this!"

The twisted captain of Squad Twelve looked up from his monitor and scowled at his Third-Seat. "What is it now, Akon?"

The horned Soul Reaper stood in front of several monitors and computer panels. All of them were flashing red warning lights. "Something's happening in the Precipice World! The scanners are going off the fritz!"

"Calm down, you twit. Just give them a hard reset to-"

"I already did that, sir. Three times."

Getting up from his computer, Mayuri hurried over to the surveillance devices and hit a few keys. "Wait…that part of the Precipice World…" The macabre captain pursed his lips before he pushed Akon out of the way and started to input commands. "What happened to the surveillance drones inside the Precipice World?"

"They suddenly went offline," Akon explained. "Their readings were showing a massive spike in Spirit Energy. I hadn't seen anything like this."

"I have a good guess what it was. What was the color level of the spirit energy? Vermilion?"

Akon's face grew pale. "Black."

Mayuri went rigid as he took in Akon's words. 'That's not possible. Surely…no, nothing in the Soul Society could possibly…' His head snapped up and he typed keys furiously. "Show me the last recorded footage from the drone." His loyal subordinate nodded and walked over to an adjacent monitor and brought up an image. Everyone in the room looked on in horror at the image, having never seen the like in their long lives.

"Captain…what is happening?" Akon asked, sweating through his lab coat.

All Mayuri could do was narrow his eyes as he came to realize what'd happened inside the Precipice World. "Ichigo Kurosaki. You've doomed us all."

Las Noches; Desert under the Dome

While Orihime rushed to her friend's aid, all eyes turned to her attackers, Uryu and the Espada, Zommari. "Rukia!" Tears welled up in Orihime's eyes when she saw that Uryu had hit several vital spots. "Sōten Kisshun! I Reject!" Her spirits appeared and quickly put their healing barrier around the arrow-filled Rukia. The now Hollowfied Yoruichi growled and tensed up, ready to pounce while Nel narrowed her eyes at the intruders.

Noting the sun-mark on Uryu's face, Kisuke surmised the obvious: that Uryu was not acting within his own control. Halibel's warning about the Seventh Espada came back to him. "Zommari claims to be the fastest of the Espada. And from what I've seen there's little to refute that claim. He can create quasi-clones of himself and his released state has the power to rob someone of control over their own bodies."

Kisuke's eyes then turned to the Espada in question, already in his enhanced Resurección. His new form, glowing with Ichigo's red and black spiritual pressure, had him sitting on what looked like a floating pink lotus. But that was the least of his new appearance. Nel was more stunned than Kisuke since she knew about Zommari's Resurección, Brujaria and now Zommari had transformed even more grotesque than Nnoitora.

The Mejorada Resurección had turned Zommari into something that resembled an unholy Buddha straight out of hell. Sitting cross-legged on the floating flower, Zommari's skin was now charcoal black and his body was now more muscular. He'd grown two additional arms and his body was covered in large eyes colored plague yellow. At the center of his forehead was an additional eyes that had the black sun mark around it. Above his head floating three yellow eyes. Around his neck was a floating ring of beads comprised of his spiritual pressure. The black and red spirit energy glowed from the hole in his right pectoral, cracks along his body just like his fellow Espadas. Kisuke also noted the four black tiki-like objects that floated around the Espada.

"I presume you're Zommari?" Kisuke asked, his sword already drawn.

"What have you done to Uryu?!" shouted Orihime.

Floating beside his puppet, Zommari looked on at all of the intruders. His eyes, the natural ones, went from one person to the other, lingering on Orihime and Rukia for a moment longer before he turned his attention to Kisuke. "You are correct. I am the Seventh Espada, Zommari. I see Halibel has given you information about us. She always was quite capricious. Not unlike her predecessor." Zommari stared at Nel. "So, we meet again, Nelliel. It has been a long time."

"Yes it has," Nel replied, glaring at him while fearful for Uryu's sake. "You used your Amor on Uryu?"

"A trifling matter. The Quincy took a moment's respite after battling the Exequias in his enemy's territory. And he paid the price for such a foolish gesture." Zommari's face was impassive as he stared at his former comrade. "Nelliel, as one who bore the title of Espada, I will give you one chance to prove your loyalty to Lord Aizen. Kill the intruders and I will ask Lord Aizen to forgive your transgressions."

"I owe no allegiance to Aizen," said Nel defiantly. She'd found her zanpakuto and took a stance. "I made a promise to Ichigo and Halibel for all that they'd done for me. I will not go back on my word."

"A pity. You could have regained your former glory. Lord Aizen could have even gifted you with a Mejorada Resurección like he gave to all of us. You might as well put your sword away, Nelliel. Nnoitora showed you just how powerless you are against our increased might."

Nel scowled in defiance while Pesche and Dondochaka cowered in fear behind her. None of them were a match for Nnoitora and while Zommari may have been Nnoitora's inferior, the power gap between him and Nel was clear. "It's not going to happen. I serve Aizen no longer."

Zommari hummed in disappointment. "Very well then. If you will not join us, then you will be brushed aside with the rest of the obstacles in our way. Hmm?" Zommari's attention turned to the monstrous Yoruichi. "So you're what Szayelapporo was going on about. How peculiar." His many eyes took note of the cracked, bolted mask. "Hmmm… curious. I wonder what will happen when I rip that mask of yours off."

The brief moment of humanity Yoruichi had regained was gone with the desert wind. "Grahhhhhhhh!" Her body tensing, the white cat-Hollow lunged for the Espada, eager to taste the man's blood. Her yellow claw sliced through the air as it aimed for Zommari's throat. But one of the Espada's tiki shields whirled around his floating body and slammed into her side, knocking her away. "Grrrrrrrr!"

"Learn to heel, creature. You were created to serve us. And you will." One of the malicious eyes on Zommari's shoulders glowed.

"Yoruichi! Get away from him!"

But Human words fell on Hollow ears and Yoruichi didn't listen. She merely howled after a moment when she felt nothing. Kisuke saw no mark appear on her masked face but he soon found Zommari's mark on her white chest. Yoruichi's head strained from side to side as her body fell under the Espada's control. Against her will, Yoruichi slowly walked over and joined Uryu.

Kisuke raised a hand and uttered a spell chant. Orihime blinked as a green barrier boxed in around her and Rukia, keeping them away from the fight. "Orihime, keep healing Rukia. I'll deal with this."

"Kisuke Urahara…" Taking in his opponent, Zommari tilted his head back. He knew that this was no easy prey. "I passed by Szayelapporo on the way here."

"Was he still drooling?" mocked the angry shopkeeper.

"Indeed. You are as dangerous as we were warned. Which is why I will not fight you," said Zommari matter-of-factly. "They will."

The two pawns moved in unison. Uryu jumped into the air and unleashed a volley of blue arrows while Yoruichi charged at Kisuke against her will. Kisuke cursed as he created his crimson shield to block Uryu's arrows only for Yoruichi's yellow claw to tear through it like paper. Knocked back, Kisuke dodged Yoruichi again as she swung her tail to cut him in half. "Shibari: Benihime!"

"Graaaaaahhhh!" Yoruichi howled, caught in Kisuke's net. Before she could tear through the net with her claws, Kisuke uttered a new spell to further her restraint. "Bakudo #75: Gochūtekkan." Five metal pillars appeared and pinned the Hollow to the ground. Dodging another volley of arrows, Kisuke turned his attention to Uryu. "Bakudo #63: Sajō Sabaku."

A chain of golden energy wrapped around Uryu and ceased his attack. He saw Zommari's eyes light up and Flashstepped away before he could fall under his control again, appearing behind the evil Espada.

Even with cold steel at his neck, Zommari remained cool-headed. "You're faster than I heard. But was that a wise move?"

"I'd rather dodge than become another one of your puppets. I'm assuming that's your ability? You can control whatever your eye falls upon. If you mark a limb, you can only control that limb. If you control the chest, you can control the entire body. But if you can control the head, you can rob someone of their consciousness too."

"An astute observation. You are correct. My Amor controls exactly as you describe. However…" Zommari's head turned and he sneered at Kisuke. "If you knew that much, why did you dodge it?"

Kisuke was confused before he realized what Zommari meant. "No!" His eyes darted to the trio next to the barrier he put around Orihime and Rukia.

"Ah!" Nel gasped as she was clubbed by Dondochaka. Hit the desert sands with a thud, she cried out in pain as a sword slashed her back. "Arghhhh!" She tried to rise but Dondochaka's mace came down on her leg, making her bones crack. Pesche, with a sun mark on his face just like Dondochaka, held his sword over Nel's neck, ready to cut her head off.

"Nghhh! Pesche! Dondochaka! He got you guys too?!" Even though she asked, she already knew the answer.

"Keep still, Nelliel, lest you suffer the same fate as your former comrade." One of Zommari's tiki-shields knocked Nnoitora's head over to her. The dead man's cranium landed on the sands two feet away from Nel's, Nnoitora's lifeless eye staring at her. A chill ran down Nel's spine. She hated Nnoitora but she didn't want to see him reduced to this.

Then she noticed something glinting in Nnoitora's Hollow hole…

Meanwhile, things weren't looking good for Kisuke. He had Zommari at bay for only a moment. Then the man's eyes glowed again and he was forced to retreat, dodging his attack. Kisuke cursed his carelessness, making sure to keep Orihime out of the Espada's line of sight. But to his chagrin, the marks he dodged landed on the sands. Zommari flexed his arms as he exerted his new power over nature itself. "I am eternally grateful to Lord Aizen. Now all of nature bows to my command."

The desert beneath Kisuke's feet started to shift, threatening to take away his footing. Kisuke jumped into the air and found the four tiki shields waiting for him. The four swirled around, energy sparking between them to form a Cero at their center. Even with Kisuke's fast speed, he was only able to dodge it by a hair, the blast giving the side of his hat a nice singe.

"You can run all you want. But the game is over. I hope the barrier you placed Orihime Inoue in is sturdy. I'd hate to deliver a corpse to Lord Aizen." Zommari's eyes narrowed before he began to show his new power. He made several hand gestures to his tiki shields and then twisted his neck until his head was perfectly horizontal. Kisuke brought up his shield to defend as the beads around Zommari's neck glowed, the tiki shields and eyes spinning above his head.

"Brujaria Gobernante."

A large purple glyph appeared at Zommari's back. Kisuke realized too late the folly of his defense as large flowers erupted all around them, glowing with chaotic spiritual energy. "Ban-"

Kisuke was too little, too late. The flowers glowed until the light became blinding. Orihime screamed Kisuke's name as they exploded, the shockwave knocking her off of her feet. The barrier holding her and Rukia barely held, large cracks forming from the impact. Zommari's ultimate attack was strong that cracks formed in the dome above them.

As the smoke cleared Orihime could only stare in horror to find Zommari holding Kisuke by the neck, the man's body covered in burns and bleeding from multiple wounds. "Kisuke! Put him down!" she pleaded, making it to her feet.

"As you wish." Zommari let go of Kisuke and watched the scientist crumple to the ground. "You have more important things to worry about girl."

"Graaaaaaaah!"

"Kyaaaa!" screamed Orihime, knocked backwards when Yoruichi shattered the barrier with ease, having been freed from Kisuke's bindings by the explosion. "Sante-" The orangette was cut off when an arrow pierced her shoulder. "Ahhhhh!" Nearby stood Uryu, also freed, with his next arrow aimed squarely at Orihime's chest.

Knowing he'd won, Zommari calmly floated over to them. "It is over, Orihime Inoue. Surrender now."

"I won't!"

"Defiant like the rest. Then let me make this clear." He held up a hand and gestured for his two pawns to move. Uryu created a tiny minibow and pointed it at his own chin. Yoruichi pounced onto Kisuke's unconscious body, her claw raised to deliver the killing blow. Pesche and Dondochaka raised their own weapons to finish off Nel.

"Don't! Please!" pleaded Orihime, her heart clenched in terror.

"Surrender. If you refuse, I will have your friends murder each other before I order them to finish themselves off. Lord Aizen expressed a desire for your powers. I do not know if they will work properly under the influence of my Amor, hence why I have not placed you under my spell. But you should know by now that it is futile to say no. Surrender and I will spare them…for the moment. But first, you will use your powers to revive Nnoitora and Aaroniero and to heal what Kisuke Urahara has done to Szayelapporo. If you refuse, I will kill your friends one by one and then drag you away. Understand?"

Orihime's body went rigid as panic set in. This wasn't like with Aaroniero or Nnoitora where they got lucky. She didn't know what to do. 'This is bad! Ichigo! Halibel! Where are you?!'

"Perhaps you need more persuasion. Very well then." Zommari's eye at the center of his chest lit up, aimed right at Rukia, healed but still unconscious. "Perhaps watching your friend slit her belly open will spur you to submission."

"NOO!" Orihime screamed, jumping in front of Rukia to shield her.

And then a wall of ice appeared in front of her. "Huh?" Orihime blinked. She looked behind her but saw Rukia was still unconscious. "Ice? But who…"

"Hmmm?" Zommari raised an eyebrow at the obvious intrusion. He turned to his right and saw a figure standing in front of a Garganta. "And you are?"

Toshiro Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes as cold air surrounded him. "The last enemy your eyes will ever see."

To be continued