Chapter 58
"I told you that we used too much blood!"
"Well, this wouldn't have been a problem if someone had bothered to give me the correct measurements..."
This is the laboratory of Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He has been working on repairing Soul Society and researching the current situation. Right now, he is arguing with his second-in-command, Akon, on a certain project.
"Sir, with all due respect, we can't just expect to revive hearts with just plenty of blood!" said Akon.
"Thank you for your intelligent outlook on this project. All I needed to fix this was a certain correct measurement of blood that can be mixed. You don't seem to get this well through that skull of yours!"
"Don't get pissed at me cause you think that these "heartless" have actual blood in their systems?!" Akon sighed. "We saw the Keyblader fight. There's no actual way for these heartless to suddenly disappear because you happen to "revive" the person they used to be."
"Well, that depends on how this works out to be." Mayuri looked over to the far corner of his laboratory. There was a capsule that was lit green. "As for now, I need you to do something very important. Open that capsule in the far corner."
"You mean...the secret project from Hueco Mundo?"
"Yes. It is finally time for him to come back. Now that he's been revived..."
Akon hesitated, but decided to go ahead and open the capsule. He knew that they need to use every available option to get help, but this is not something that he wanted to be a part of. In particular, he didn't want to be involved in this experiment. He reached out to the capsule and opened it.
Laying in the capsule was a man covered in a blanket. His eyes were closed, but Akon could see a green outline around his face. The being inside had a hole in its chest and black hair. Without a doubt, this being was Ulquiorra Schiffer.
Without warning, he opened his eyes. Ulquiorra slowly looked around him as Mayuri approached him.
"Why hello there, I hope you are awake enough to understand me." Mayuri smiled as he relished in the thought of succeeding yet again in reviving the dead. He got the idea after seeing a Quincy with the powers of zombification in the last war. Now, he has his own powerful army of the undead serving him.
Ulquiorra just nodded at Mayuri.
"Well, I figured that you wouldn't have anything in particular to say," said Mayuri. "Now then, I want to know exactly how you move. Go on, get out of the capsule."
Akon moved back in alarm, but Ulquiorra just stepped out and walked around the lab. He was glancing, trying to piece together memories...
"I can assume that you revived me here in the future," he said while walking around. "Now, I seem to recall that Ichigo was alive when he defeated me. How is he doing?"
"He's not in this universe at the moment," said Mayuri. "He's traveling other worlds and saving them from despair."
Ulquiorra stopped moving and looked at the scientist. He must have gathered information on all the hollows he revived because he hit the right words.
"Do you feel despair, Espada?"
"No. Not anymore." Ulquiorra shifted his gaze to the walls behind him. "That girl changed my view. To think that I would be pulled out of despair by those two..."
Mayuri chuckled. "Ichigo succeeds in the impossible. Anyways, we have to discuss an important matter at hand. You weren't surprised at the existence of the other worlds, correct?"
"No."
"Was Aizen aware of the other worlds? And did he go to other worlds?"
"He was aware of it, but he never went there."
Akon looked shocked. Aizen knew about plenty of things, and if he knew about the other worlds, surely he might know something about this current situation...
Mayuri seemed to be in the same thought process as Akon. "Is there a reason as to why he didn't go?"
"It's because the way to get to this world has not been connected. The Soul King seemed to have shut it off so that only Keyblade Masters could travel the worlds. Aizen wanted to explore this possibility, but he was too busy trying to take over Soul Society."
Mayuri looked confused. "Wait, the way to this place...?"
"Since the worlds are scattered around, they each have a bubble of sorts that protects them. Every world used to be a part of one until a certain event triggered the world to split apart. This universe is not exempt from others because it has a way into it. That must have been how you were attacked to begin with."
"Interesting..." Mayuri pondered over this. Yhwach was a big enough mess to deal with, but a world that can be attacked by keyblade wielders at any day seems to be just as threatening.
"Anyways, what is my purpose in being here?"
"You are the person that I wanted to revive the most...since you have the defensive capabilities needed, I need you to retrieve something from a place nearby."
"Where will I be heading to?"
"Well well well...you seem to be very compliant." Mayuri clapped his hands and opened a hole of darkness as big as him. "There is a place that has a certain object. I need you to retrieve it for me and return in a minute."
Ulquiorra was confused. What could possibly take only a minute to retrieve?
"Alright, understood." He went into the void, only to bask in the light. He felt his body burn up, pushing against his regenerative body. Pushing forward, he discovered a card on a pedestal surrounded by darkness. He grabbed it and made it out of the void.
"Now see, that wasn't hard, was it?" Mayuri took the card and showed Ulquiorra what it was. It has a Dragon with blue skin and bright eyes on it.
"This is called a YuGiOh card. Apparently, these have souls of the monsters in it, and they have been scattered in places due to this whole mess. I need to analyze one of these things for something very important."
"So this is all that you needed me for?" Ulquiorra looked disappointed.
"Not at all, my dear Espada! There is going to be a new thing that I need you to do for me."
Mayuri walked over to a projector nearby and showed an image on one of the walls. "This world consists of something rather unique...many keyblade wielders exist here. It seems to be a place where logic gets thrown out of the door a lot. I need for you and a couple of others to go there and find me an artifact."
"I hope that it is not as odd as the last one I retrieved."
"It will not be! It is something ancient and it seems to have found its way into the place. It's called the Staff of Rimbard. Over an eon ago, before the Soul King was a thing, there existed a power that structured travel between the worlds. We have that legend of other worlds in Soul Society too, and that staff is mentioned plenty. I need you and a group of my choosing to investigate the world and report to me about the whereabouts of the staff.
"Where is my team going to be at?"
"They will be behind you. I need you to find the object and send it to me if possible. After all, I want for Soul Society to be sufficient in its ways, and this staff can help with that."
Ulquiorra sighed and walked to what appeared to be the resting room. "I'll nap before I go. Is that alright with you?"
Mayuri looked shocked. "You sleep?!"
"Well yes. All of us sleep."
"But you sleep?! Espada can sleep?"
Ulquiorra sighed once again and went to nap. Mayuri decided not to pursue this anymore and looked at Akon.
"I need you to get our team set. They will leave shortly."
"Sir, if I might interject, this does not seem to be a good idea. Why not send Shinigami?"
"You act like as if I haven't already done that."
Akon widened his eyes. "What?"
"Yes. I sent them a while back after Yhwach lost, and what happened was that they became lost. I still cannot really find them."
"Sir, what makes you think that this won't happen to the arrancars?"
A sudden knock was heard. A figure emerged in the room, holding a gun and stomping loudly.
"That's simple, my friend. That's because...we aren't as weak as them."
Mayuri grinned. "This mission is going to bring all the results that I need..."
Mayuri went back to preparing for sending the group to the world. Akon looked nervously at the man who came in and decided that he might as well just let this happen. Once more, another pathway into this fight began to open...