The Gates Of Hell

Byakuya Kuchiki stood atop the ramparts observing the swirling mass of decomposing flesh down below. The great wall surrounding the Sereitei had been a godsend throughout the disastrous outbreak, warding off the legions of ghouls left to wander Rukongai in search of fresh meat. Having exhausted their food supply they had begun to lose their fervour, but the sheer numbers still posed an imminent threat were they ever to break through the barrier.

Thankfully the walls were sturdy enough to outlast any invasion. The only chance of a breach lay in an attack upon the four gates at the cardinal points of the wall. Ukitake had initiated a hasty mobilisation of the Soul Society's full remaining fighting force to guard each gate and prevent the dreaded swarm to gain entry upon the sacred ground within.

With Mayuri's betrayal laid bare the plans had already been set and all that was left was to capture and destroy the rabid scientist and hopefully return the Kurosaki child to his former self. In either event only two pillars stood against the living.

Byakuya glanced back to his loyal subordinates, waiting in formation around the gate and assembled upon the ramparts on either side of him. Most were from his own squad however a scant few stragglers from the abandoned squads had joined his own to bolster the defences upon the South Gate. All were ordered to maintain their position at all times and to remain at their posts until ordered otherwise. Regardless of who the men had served they all knew better than to test the patience of the Captain of squad 6, Byakuya Kuchiki.

In silence they waited, listening to the hissing of the wind which whipped their stony faces high upon the wall.

To the North Ikkaku Madarame and Tetsuzaemon Iba held positions at either side of the gate. Each man led their own separate contingent of their amassed forces ensuring that each side be governed by a captain class officer. Scouts upon the ramparts remained between them to relay information between the lieutenants. In the absence of any immediate thread the two warriors had become complacent, paying little heed to the chatter among their ranks.

In the East Hisagi and Matsumoto had an identical arrangement to those in the North, as did Isane and Kiyone in the West. Following Captain Commander Ukitake's words to the letter neither strayed from their post, regardless of how restless Matsumoto had become. Never being a woman to enjoy silence she frequently burst into nervous bouts of song, singing to herself simply to calm her jangled nerves. Hisagi watched on with a sympathetic gaze understanding full well the effects of the tension. He struggled to remain strong at the head of his forces, fighting the trembling of his hands and his hollow legs.

The Kotetsu sisters maintained their barricade in the West to the best of their ability, but neither were the most proficient of leaders. The thin-skinned and cowardly Isane and her devoted sister who despite her best efforts could only fill the role of a capable officer at best and nothing more. Neither were the fiercest among their comrades and the pressure of their situation had only come to wear them down. Isane had become overworked after taking over the duties of her deceased captain Unohana whilst Kiyone had been strained from trying to organise the whole of Soul Society under her circumstantial role as assistant captain to the new captain commander.

As such, those spearheading the operation had been unprepared for what was to happen next.

Isane noticed a young shinigami stumbling past his comrades, skin pale, eyes wide. He looked to be quite sickly, no doubt unfit for the task at hand. The concerned lieutenant stepped down from her post and strolled out to meet the frail figure on his way to the front.

As she got closer however she noticed something off about his appearance. The blue vines sapping away at his essence just beneath the marbled skin, the black roots winding around his pupils which like cataracts had become a clouded haze. His lips devoid of colour.

The man was dead.

And yet he took another step forward.

Isane screamed, raising the alarm among the others. Her troops sprang into action, despite the confusion, drawing their weapons and fanning out into a defensive line, expecting an attack from behind. None had noticed the beastly abomination which lunged at their leader.

Isane was tackled to the ground and left at the mercy of the undead beast. From afar he had not looked much different from any of her other soldiers, blending into the crowd with considerable ease, but up close she could still smell the foul stench of decay on his breath as he bared his fangs, drool splashing down against her cheek.

With another pitiful cry the frightened shinigami tried to fight off her assailant, but unlike the other ghouls this one had a powerful grip. His hands clawed away at her uniform, nails digging trenches through the soft flesh of her bosom. Her hysterical cries brought the attention of the others to the melee at last and in an instant her forces lunged at the beast.

With unthinkable reflexes for the undead, the ghoul leapt up into the air and somersaulted over to the ramparts where a thin layer of troops lay in wait. With imposing strength the ghoul swatted away the attackers, throwing them over the ramparts to the hungry dead below.

"Stop him! Kill him at once!" Kiyone roared, her voice already hoarse from her panicked breaths.

As the shinigami forces surrounded the ghoul they were met with unimaginable resistance. This one grave-born fiend had managed to fend off against all who faced him. However, the ghoul could not withstand the barrage of blades from all sides as the wall of opposing soldiers encircled him and like a coiled snake wrapped around his body to devour it. Carved up into pieces, some remained to hack away at the pulverised mess to ensure it never moved again.

Kiyone ran to her sister who sobbed in a heap where she had been struck down. She cradled her older sister and whispered soothing words to her in an attempt to ease the girl's troubled mind. All the while burning questions ran through her head.

What in the world was that? Why was it so strong? It took down at least a dozen men before they could stop it! If there are any more of those things in our ranks...

Suddenly the alarm rang out across the Sereitei.

Hisagi clutched Matsumoto's bloodied body with one arm while swinging his sword wildly with the other. They had appeared out of nowhere, mixed into his own ranks like any other troop. With strength unlike the bloodthirsty beasts beyond the wall these members of the undead legions had remarkable strength and resilience. No longer slavering hounds, these warriors were cunning, encircling their prey like sharks and moving in for the kill. Numbering at a measly pack of five they had pounced upon Matsumoto and her personal guard. With the rest of her forces on alert and even Hisagi's men rushing to her aid it left their forces wide open for an ambush. Spreading out and surrounding the much larger force they tore away at them with reckless abandon, turning the defensive line into ghoulish reinforcements.

Hisagi made the mistake of rushing to Matsumoto's side rather than slaying the pack leaders. As he pushed the newly turned dead back the rest of his men were quickly brought over to the realm of the living dead.

Unable to raise the alarm he simply took a final stand against the horde, a furious battle-cry the last sound to escape his lips as the rotting grey tide overwhelmed him.

The research and development squad had placed triggers upon the gates to sound the alarm in the event of them being over-run. Fortunately it worked, however it was already too late. With the Eastern Gate wide open the dead poured in like a surging ocean wave.

Within the twelfth squad's headquarters Ukitake grit his teeth and cursed, "They broke through? How?!"

"What do we do?" Kommamura asked, staring at the monitor before them.

"We have no choice. Kommamura lead your men to the East gate and keep them at bay until Mayuri arrives. Once he shows his face we should be certain that the other gates are secure and can divert all our forces into pushing the dead back out into Rukongai."

With a bow Kommamura set off, knowing full well that there was no time to discuss the matter further.

Behind them all Rukia, Alice and Karin shared terrified glances.

Isane limped alongside the young man charged with escorting her to the infirmary. Kiyone had been adamant about remaining guard upon the gates, especially with the alarm being raised. If one gate had fallen that surely meant more of those evolved ghouls lay in wait within their ranks.

After checking over the young shinigami Kiyone had asserted that he was indeed not one of them and was a decent candidate to help her sister get to the fourth squad infirmary safely.

Draped over his shoulder he walked alongside her, albeit slowly with her dragging feet. Their march was unimpeded the entire time and yet he could not calm himself at all, eye ever wandering to every flickering shadow and the slightest noise.

Nevertheless he had succeeded in his mission and set Isane down on one of the beds in the infirmary. While she rested the subordinate wandered around in search of supplies, chancing upon a small table covered in various equipment.

He picked up some bandages and antiseptics and a cloth and made to return to his lieutenant, but something made him turn back, something catching his eye.

A single syringe lying amid the rest of the equipment, half filled with a viscous red fluid. T had to be blood, but the more probing question was from where it might have come from. It looked like blood, but there was something just perceptibly off about it.

Lost in thought he failed to note the shadows creeping up from behind him. By the time he turned around it was already too late.

Slammed against the wall by one assailant, the other snatched up the strange syringe and stalked his prey.

"Wait! What are you doing? Get off of me!"

His cries were in vain, however they served as a warning for Isane to escape, if only she were listening and not taken over by her prior panic attack. Her rampant sobs drowned out the screams only a few rooms away.

"Report!" the scout yelled above the chaotic din within the research and development department. He bowed before Ukitake and relayed his message, "The East Gate has been entirely over-run. Captain Kommamura's forces have engaged the undead but they will not last without proper reinforcements!"

Ukitake scowled, his plan falling apart before his very eyes. He had been sure that he had seen ahead of that psychotic fiend and yet Mayuri had set himself safe-guards in anticipation for every one of Ukitake's movements well in advance. The thought of spies on the inside never crossed his mind, besides the dead stood out plain as day and were sluggish and mindless. The new strain running rampant within Sereitei had become as close to their former counter-parts as possible and yet their reflexes, strength and agility had become more-so than it had when they were alive.

The 'cure' Mayuri had been working on all this time had simply been a mutated strain of the virus to strengthen his vile army. With stronger henchmen he had become a much more formidable enemy and with the numbers now certainly on his side...

"No...I won't go down so easily!" Ukitake clenched a fist and glanced up at the few loyal soldiers left at his disposal. They stared back with determined expressions, all expressing their desire to fight to the last breath.

"Report! Mayuri Kurotsuchi has arrived in Soul Society and is headed towards the East gate! I repeat Mayuri Kurotsuchi is headed for the East gate!"

All eyes fell on the captain commander, awaiting his orders. Ukitake measured up his fellow warriors and closed his eyes, "Very well. You understand what we must do. Mayuri must pay for his crimes and we must also prevent the dead from claiming Sereitei. Rukia, Karin, Alice...I want you to find Ichigo. Bring him to his senses before he has a chance to be used against us. Soi Fon, I want you to scout out all of these new beasts and destroy them. Ensure they don't get a chance to regroup with their master. As for me...Well I'm going to take that rotten doctor's head!"

Mayuri and Ichigo arrived in an empty courtyard near the centre of Soul Society. Having already gauged the situation Mayuri led his blood-thirsty servant towards the East gate where the prototype advanced strain had broken through the gate and released the flood of undead which would bring down Soul Society. More of the advanced strain would be ready and waiting with the infirmary of Fourth Squad now turned to a production line for the dead.

Everything was falling into the palm of his hand and it was only a matter of time before the entire world would be in his grasp.

Although it was a surprise to be discovered so soon, Mayuri had known better than to ignore the threat of attack. After discovering the correct means for crafting the ultimate being and having three prototypes in reserve it was a simple matter assigning each of the new member's missions for the inevitable mobilisation against them. Spread the virus within your ranks, break open the gates and fight until dead. Each had accepted their roles without so much as a word and marched off to join the rest of their squad to wait for the moment.

The plan unfolded perfectly.

The end was assured and the beginning of the new era had reached its dawn.

Just as the sun would set in the sky and disappear, so too would the human race and so too would the foolish shinigami who thought they could control the living and dead well beyond their means. The end of their road was nigh whilst Mayuri prepared to pave the way for a new path which man could take; the road paved with blood and flesh to lead the ultimate being to the new age.

And he would be their God...

Well this chapter is a little short and the scenes are as well but since there is a lot of scattered action going on I wanted to give everyone their place in the spotlight. But amidst this madness the final battle is building up! Don't miss it!