The bird on her left lifted its beautiful head and released a cry. Thanks to the spell, it was barely heard, but the tune suddenly shifted and overwhelmed them. The African warrior cast the spell again, but no matter how many times he tried, one or more notes got through as he couldn't cover them all.
"We'll have to go without our sense of hearing." Byakuya frowned. "Trying to block all but our own voices will be impossible at this rate."
"She wants us to do that, though," Sasakibe argued, his rapier sparking with electricity.
"It's better than letting her control us," Toshiro spoke up, then turned to the warrior still trying to block off the music but not their voices. "Block out all sound." He turned to Ruala. "Can you set up a mental link instead?"
The guardian nodded and a few people shared nervous glances.
"It only allows basic mental communication; your own thoughts remain your own." The young king explained before anyone tried to cut out. They needed this setup if they were to keep communicating without threat of falling under Luetha's control.
"Telepathy?" Luetha's glowing eyes narrowed and her bird stopped singing to glare angrily at them. "Hmph. Many of your mental barriers are weak. As an enchantress I can still break through even if you can't hear me."
"Cast the spell!" Another African warrior griped at the one supposed to be blocking out all frequencies.
The warrior quickly muttered the words and suddenly the world went quiet. There was no rushing wind, no rustling clothes or leaves, no panicked cries as several warriors were startled by the sudden silence. But there was also no music, no risk of being controlled. They were free of Luetha's song spells.
'Think aloud as if you were speaking to communicate.' Ruala said gently to them all, only brushing the surface of their minds to avoid invading privacy. Through her they would be able to communicate, but as a result she could not fight, not if she was to control the communication 'signals' to where they needed to go. She now stood behind them all, the plant form of Sofia curled around her as a protective barrier and weakening Luetha by fighting with her for control of the flora.
'Keep your eyes wide since we can't hear now.' Toshiro said, his practice speaking with Myndræl serving well for this type of communication. 'We'll have to go completely by instinct.'
'No problem!' Despite being deaf, they could almost hear Ikkaku's laughter as the man twirled his spear and leaped forward.
'Wait Ikkaku!' Ichigo grimaced and leaped forward, having seen the evil glint in the bird's crimson eyes as Ikkaku and several lower Reapers approached the giant plant demon.
The stunning wings on her back opened to their fullest extent, her clawed hand rising into the air like a baton, the bird's mouth open, clearly singing, but muted by the spell. Realizing something was coming, Ikkaku had the sense to pull to a halt on a platform of Spirit Energy, the others continuing on only to get pierced by blood red vines sharpened with black thorns, pulling their impaled victims under the ground. The demon narrowed her eyes in a sneer, taunting Ikkaku to take the leap.
"Don't you think you're just clever?" Ikkaku hid his surprise behind a smirk, knowing only Luetha could hear him.
'Back off, Madarame!' Rukia called out, leaping up onto his platform. 'My Bankai will kill off her plants, wait until then.'
'Tch, no fun.' Ikkaku grumbled.
He reluctantly backed up a bit.
'Anyone below Captain level power should back away.' Ruala warned, knowing the extent of Rukia's Bankai release. 'You will otherwise freeze.'
The others didn't dare question her, backing up several meters for good measure, and even those with high Spirit Energy backed up a little just to be safe. The only one who didn't move was Toshiro, since his power exceeded theirs, not to mention he was an ice spirit as well.
Luetha looked curiously at the petite woman before her, purple eyes narrowing as she lifted her blade up before her.
"Bankai." The temperature dropped instantly and an icy mist began to rise. The world went white and became an arctic wonderland, ice spreading over everything it could in a thick layer, snow falling over top and dusting the landscape in a beautiful array. "Hakka no Togame!"
Rukia now wore a long white kimono lined in lavender lines, the sleeves long and wide over her arms. Long lavender ribbons looped behind her and trailed down, an ice flower over her chest and half of an ice crown wrapping around the left side of her head, her hair now as white as the Ice King's due to the fact that she herself was now below freezing. Her sword was made of pure ice and could be seen through like glass, glittering like crystal.
The plants could not survive absolute zero, submitting to the snow smothering it and becoming useless. The ground froze solid to prevent further weeds from sprouting. Ruala had her Rahvain switch from her elemental form, the Flora beast's powers no longer needed in this snowscape. Though they could not hear it, they could see Luetha as she writhed in anger, her bird shrieking in fury. They had lost an important aspect of their power, but while the plants were dead, she was not. Her vined skirt lifted from the ground before the ice could race up her body and she clawed at the frozen earth angrily with her feet. They would not have been happy with the Demon Lord's rather colorful language in that moment.
'I've killed her plants, but I still can't hold Bankai for long.' Rukia moved back down to the others. 'I give myself thirty minutes.'
'That's all we need.' Ichigo replied.
'We must find her heart, it will be hidden.' Ruala reported, Sofia now in the form of a polar bear to continue protecting her master from any possible attacks while withstanding the cold. 'Only then will a Demon Lord die. It will look like a gem.'
'What about that one on her forehead?' Komamura questioned, motioning with his snout to the silver diamond upon the raging demon's head.
'I doubt it's that obvious.' Byakuya argued. 'But just to be sure we'll break that as well.'
'Alright, now it's my turn.' Ikkaku smirked, ready to leap forwards once more.
Before them, Luetha lifted up her hand, claws taking on a sickly green glow. Poison, of course, from the nastier side of plant life. Probably the worst kind if the look in her eyes was anything to go by.
'Make sure not to get hit by those.' Karin scowled, searching for a potential weak spot. Where would this creature hide her most precious object? It wouldn't be in anyplace obvious, such as the headdress or in the normal position of a heart, so where else could she keep it?
'Her bird.' Toshiro said. 'Those feathers are hardened in a certain spot like armor; her bird is holding her heart.'
They looked over the feathery portion of the Demon Lord and spotted what their king had, a hardened shell of violet and silver feathers, once the bird's right wing. Their target set, they prepared their next assault, Ikkaku up front and fending of the poisoned claws of Luetha and deadly sharp beak of the bird.
'Of course he finds it.' Ichigo smirked, his blade at the ready to fight.
'I'm sure it won't be easy to get to, be on guard.' Shuhei warned.
The bird grabbed onto Ikkaku's blade and tossed him aside, his back slamming into a tree. Unfazed, the man just rolled his shoulders, smirked, and prepared to pounce again.
"Such annoying creatures," Luetha hissed, unheard. "How dare you underestimate my power of song!"
The bird opened its beak and let out a beautiful melody unheard by those around it, but most definitely heard by the earth.
"My magic lets the plants survive even absolute zero!" Luetha's hand lifted in a swift pattern like that of an orchestrator.
The earth trembled and the snow over the ground shifted. In the next moment, thick vines covered in thorns shot from the weak points in the snow layer and curled around anyone nearby, spearing them with its sharp points and constricting tightly.
'How can they survive the cold!?' Rukia's eyes widened as the plants took another portion of their group. As she scanned over them, her mouth dropped open in horror. "Lieutenant Sasakibe!"
The unfortunate Squad One Lieutenant had been standing right next to where a vine had appeared and had no chance to react before the thorns had trapped him into the coils of the plant it was attached too. Arms pinned and the pain overwhelming, his rapier could not help him, and the only thing his voice could do was scream, which they realized with dread they could hear.
"All magic is the same." They heard Luetha chuckle and they looked at her in fear. Suddenly the battle was deafening from the sound of wind and twisting vines crashing through snow and ice. "Kill the caster and the effects vanish."
One of the vines rose a little higher, revealing the crumpled form of the warrior who had blocked their hearing to spare them from Luetha's enchantments. From the worried looks on the faces of the other African warriors, this was the only one among them capable of casting such a spell. They had been ill prepared to face a songstress.
A Kido spell hit the vine holding Sasakibe, the vine emitting a shrill screech – they never found out how – and retreating, dropping the man to the ground.
"Get him out of here." Toshiro demanded, having been the one to cast the spell. He held up his zanpaktou and continued his defiant glare at Luetha, other warriors freeing their comrades that still lived and carrying them out as well, but as a Lieutenant, Sasakibe had been his first priority. Those already dead were dragged beneath the snow and earth, turning the white landscape red as they went. They were running out of fighters.
Now that their hearing was returned, Ruala no longer needed to act as the telepathic source and cut the link, bringing her blades out once more as her polar bear formed Rahvain stood beside her with a growl.
"Fight off my enchantments now, foolish warriors! Your Soul King will fall!" Luetha lifted her hand, her bird raising its head.
"You talk too much!" Zaraki sneered, leaping forward with his sword raised.
A large flower rose above the snow and opened its petals, revealing fangs not that different from the Flora beast Sofia could form into.
With a roar, said spirit leaped and latched onto the flower, giving the Squad Eleven Captain free run to go straight to Luetha. Noticing this, the enchantress reached out, her claws clashing with the jagged blade and pushing it aside. Next her bird lunged, aiming to sever the man's head from his neck, only for a sudden burst of power to push it back with a squawk.
"You're mine!" Though he knew where the kill spot was, he wasn't ready to kill the demon yet, so he aimed for her neck instead.
Her eyes narrowed and she ducked under the blade, her bird going in for a second try and succeeding this time. It tossed the man aside with a shrill cry, the sound echoing in their ears and making them dizzy.
"As if we'll be beaten by that!" Karin sent a wave of fire at the plant woman.
"Time to end things!" Ichigo added on to the fire with his Getsuga Tensho.
"The ones who will be ended are you!" A sharp melody echoed in the air as her bird sang, making everyone tense. What was she attempting now?
Not about to let her finish, Komamura brought forth his Shikai and made an attempt to crush her with it. Luetha replied to this by creating a netting of iron hard leaves around her, shielding her from any attacks while her bird continued to sing. The giant sword was at least putting pressure on her, enough for Rukia to focus her icy power onto the Demon Lord.
"If I can just…kill her plants." Rukia grimaced, feeling the effects of her Bankai begin to take effect. Her thirty minutes were already running out. The battle was going too fast.
"I'll help." Toshiro created an ice dragon and shot it towards the leafy barrier, Rukia's power propelling it forth.
It hit and the leaves froze in a great flower of ice before shattering away.
"It seems I'll have to take away winter." Luetha zeroed in on the two ice wielders.
"You'll have to get past summer first." Karin stepped forth with Ichigo, Ikkaku and Yumichika beside her. Shuhei and Rangiku jumped ahead of them along with Sestiva, the two girls combining their ash and sand into a strong attack that Shuhei hid behind.
"Power of the earth holds no threat to me." The demon flapped her wings, pushing away the dust easier than even she would have thought.
Once she caught sight of the scythe armed man she realized why, attempting to bring up a vine barrier to stop him. Now Ruala stepped in, lighting the vines aflame and destroying them before backing off as the Squad Nine Lieutenant took a slash at the woman's torso. Only through a last minute movement was she able to protect that single spot where they knew her heart lay. Unfortunately, this let her realize that they knew where it was…which angered her greatly.
With a shrill cry she clawed at the still airborne man, leaving deep scars across his chest and sending him flying backwards, Rangiku catching him before he could hit something else and further damage himself.
"Filthy warriors, I will drag you beneath the earth to be food for my plants!" She snarled, eyes alight with fury. Now that they knew where her kill spot was she had to finish them off and capture the Soul King before they reached it.
Karin appeared before her with her Bankai's wings spread out behind her, the phantom of her spirit lashing out and latching on with its jaws to the plants Luetha summoned to stop her.
"What a good opportunity." The enchantress hissed.
Not wanting to find out what that opportunity was, Karin slashed through the air and sent a wave of white hot fire towards the Demon Lord, hoping to consume her completely in flames. The snow in their immediate area evaporated straight into steam covering the two of them from sight and making several panic.
"Karin!" Ichigo was the first to jump forth, Toshiro behind him waving his sword to create a chilled air current that took away the steam.
Fortunately the teenager was fine, but so was Luetha. A charred tree rested between them, having rose up to block the fiery attack, only to crumble away into ash. There was no end to the types of plants the demon could use. Scowling, Karin created two of the fiery phantoms and had them go to opposite sides before she herself charged from the front. She was trying to trap the demon. Seeing this, Byakuya assisted by preventing any escape with Senbonzakura, several other warriors surrounding her.
The bird hissed at this, staring down one of the Wyvern phantoms coming towards it.
A melody echoed around them and the surrounding soldiers suddenly gained a blank look, jumping towards her, but not to attack. Two blocked the wyverns with their bodies, dying upon impact but preventing them from hitting Luetha. Two more blocked Karin herself, forcing her to back away before she cut down her own allies. The others took the hits from Senbonzakura, leaving her perfectly fine.
"That's cheap!" Karin growled, pushing the two attacking her aside and glaring daggers at the demon.
"I'm not letting anyone step inside." Luetha summoned more plants from beneath the frozen landscape, most of them withering in the cold. More and more rose up only to wither away.
"Looks like that's not doing much for you." Renji sent Zabimaru towards her, hoping the snake could get close enough to use his attack.
"In nature, plants that have died become the base of the next generation." Luetha grinned, her bird playing another melody.
Toshiro looked at the vines withered around the Demon Lord, covering the white snow and turning it black, the color spreading as the plants crept outward, crawling their way to cover more ground. That's when he realized…she was removing the obstacle of the snow!
"Rukia, try to keep the area around her frozen, she's trying to free herself from the snow." He spoke to the petite woman.
"I can't hold Bankai much longer, though." She warned, lifting her blade a bit and concentrating her power around the Demon Lord.
Sensing this, Luetha let her bird handle the snake and motioned with her hand towards the immediate threat, the snow around her and those nearby shifting away as multiple fanged flowers rose up to snatch whoever they could. Rukia was forced to focus on the enemies around her instead of the demon, costing her precious time and power. Toshiro assisted, since he was one of those close by, but the damage was done. Rukia had to start thawing herself out now or her Bankai could do damage to her.
"I'm sorry." She said to the young king.
"Don't be, she's a clever foe." Toshiro replied. "We can't expect anything to go our way. Worry about yourself for now, I'll keep the temperature down and try to stop her plants."
"You can't be wasting your energy." The Lieutenant warned, hair turning back to black and the dress fading back to her uniform painfully slow, leaving her vulnerable should Luetha attack again. Several warriors took guard around her just in case and Ichigo kept glancing back as he traded blows with Luetha's deadly poisonous claws or her fanged plants.
"Just this won't wear me out."
He scanned over the remaining force. A great many of their warriors were dead, and those still living of higher ranks worn out and planning on a retreat. The Captain level fighters were still trying their best to get around Luetha's ever growing plant army as she summoned each thing just in time to block them. He noticed Rangiku, Sestiva, Shuhei, Ikkaku and Yumichika speaking to each other in short words just out of the Demons Lord's notice. What could they be planning? Ruala was among them as well, he soon noticed, her faithful feline spirit keeping a watch from a nearby snow covered tree, perfectly blended, as if scanning over their enemy.
Sofia looked at him as if she knew he was looking. Her gaze said 'we've got this, stay back' just before she returned to her watch.
"Looks like we might be ending this soon." He muttered, Rukia looking at him curiously, almost thawed out.
Ahead, Ichigo let off an attack in the hopes that Luetha's powers were weakening from her constant summoning. A melody echoed in the air and a shield of vines blocked the majority of the Getsuga Tensho, leaving only a slight gash across the woman's arm. One of few. She had to be weakening soon as the scars accumulated, but she showed no signs of weariness.
"Ready to die!?" Luetha snarled, sending a wave of fanged plants at him, the tree behind him reaching forward to hold him in place.
Flames destroyed the tree while a black and red wave killed the fanged flowers.
"Thanks Karin." Ichigo turned to his sister.
"No problem, surprised the trees still move." The teen shrugged.
"Yeah, I normally wouldn't go around destroying nature but if she's around you kind of have to."
"If the frost won't kill them I guess I'll have to burn them." A wave of fire rushed off her claws and burned through the plants trying to snag the group with Byakuya and Komamura, the two Captains focusing on protecting the remaining warriors with them. The Immortal Aries was having a blast with the flowery demons Luetha had brought back, Kenpachi not quite as enthusiastic and trying to get back to Luetha.
Suddenly, Luetha found herself surrounded by ash and sand once more as Sestiva and Rangiku began the first step of their plan.
"I told you, this won't work!" The Demon Lord prepared to take away the dust.
"Ash at high speeds suffocates." Rangiku replied with a smirk.
"And friction between the sands can make them burn." Sestiva laughed.
Sure enough, Luetha could feel the air around her begin to heat up from the millions of particles rubbing together, the ash trapping air inside as well as the heat. Soon, just the right reaction occurred and flames lit up inside the sphere of dust.
The girls retracted their respective zanpaktou powers and backed away, Ruala darting forward instead as Luetha screamed in agony, trying her best to remove the fire. Her left eye bore the scarlet red of her fire element, letting her control the natural flames into more refined shapes. Now twisted into physical tendrils of white hot fire, she had them wrap around the birds head – to keep it from singing – and trapping Luetha's arm to her torso, burning both targets in the process.
"No! There's no way I can lose!" Realizing she was losing, the Demon Lord began to panic. The plants reacted wildly in response, snatching at whatever they could grab, even each other.
"Too late now!" Ikkaku shouted as he leapt up towards her, Yumichika following close by with a different target.
"NO!"
A spear dug deep into her chest, shattering the hardened shell of a wing protecting that spot. At the same time, Yumichika's weapon struck the woman's forehead and shattered the silver gem resting there. While the target was probably obvious, they wanted to make absolutely sure they'd hit her kill spot, whether it was the gem hidden in plain sight or the one buried within the bird.
Beneath the former shell lay a beautiful emerald gem carved into a perfect flower, not a single facet off from the real thing. Cracks began to appear as Ikkaku's zanpaktou dug in deeper, the perfect crystal flower becoming riddled with scars like a disease.
"You…you have not won…" The Demon Lord growled, falling to her knees as her heart cracked further. Ikkaku and Yumichika backed up a few steps. "There are four more…and you've lost so many…can you survive until the Demon King?"
"That bastard is no king in my eyes." Karin spat, resealing her Bankai but keeping her sword out. "I'll cut him up good for all the problems he's given me."
"Such ignorance…I've always…enjoyed watching humans…stumble around blindly."
"Except we know where we're going, because we're way stronger than humans." Ikkaku sneered.
"Simply souls of former humans…still prone to stumble…you will eventually fall…all of you."
"But it will not be this battle." Toshiro spoke loud enough to be heard. "Dethmaiyn will fall before we do."
Violet eyes narrowed at him, as if trying to wound him with a glance, perhaps even one last chance to use her plants. Then, she seemed to smile, something in her gaze giving him that impression, a sinister grin that hid something dark.
Her body began to glow, Ikkaku and Yumichika backing up a bit in case it was something bad.
"I am no fool…to think I still have a chance." The Demon Lord sighed, her body beginning to rot away and break apart into sparkling green spirit particles. "I will accept my death…and bring the Solar Five to four. If you think you can win, Ice King…I bid you luck to try. If you recall, there are more dangers than just us…"
An image of Theda flashed into the minds of those who saw her, Toshiro grimacing. That was the only reason he felt hesitant in opening the doorway. Once he did, that monster would be loose.
"We will defeat all of you." Komamura growled back.
The woman was nearly gone now, the air filled with spirit particles. The plants finally died from the snow still smothering them, never to rise again, only to be replaced when the unnatural winter left. With its last breath, the bird sang a morbid tune to signify their death. Then, finally, she was gone.
The warriors cheered.
"One down, four to go." Ichigo let out a sigh of relief.
"We best take the injured back and bring in the rest of the force." Rukia turned to Toshiro.
"I'll stay here with a few to begin opening the door…I'm not sure how long it will take, but Ruala is sure it takes a few minutes."
"Are you sure you don't want to wait?"
"I need to wait for Myndræl anyway, but be quick. I'm calling for him now."
She nodded before heading over to the others to see who all needed assistance back. The red haze that had surrounded them was beginning to clear away, which would make getting back much easier.
"Jeez, once we got past her damn plants she wasn't a challenge at all." Ikkaku huffed.
"Tch, seriously?" Kenpachi scowled. "The other ones better be stronger."
"Oh we will be!"
The voice was so sudden they didn't have time to react. Smoke and fire exploded around them, smothering their sight and attempting to suffocate them, many coughing harshly to get the thick particles out of their airway. An evil giggle echoed around them.
There was a pained shout back atop the hill, and only two were standing up there.
"Ikkaku!" Karin used Shikai to absorb the fire around them while Ichigo scattered the smoke with a wave of his zanpaktou. "Yumichika!"
'What the Hell just happened?' Toshiro wondered.
Yay, finally got through! These fights are harder to do than I thought. Enjoy!
Beta'd by Writer of Craziness