Life and Death V
A scream billowed out from the Research and Development facility. A lingering wail of unbridled terror stretching on into the cold breeze outside. Rukia craned her neck to see the entrance to the facility, but there was nothing to see from her vantage point. The unspoken horrors beneath the ground were far from her knowledge. All she could do was lie there and imagine the nightmares her friends were living through in the darkness below.
Karin, who had been softly weeping beside her suddenly rose to her feet and with trembling steps approached the entrance. Rukia could see the trepidation in the younger girl's unstable footing and uneven gait. As much as it frightened her, Karin wished to stand by her brother's side.
Rukia felt a slight tinge of jealousy, being unable to move. She too desired to fight along with Ichigo, but the bullets seething within her flesh betrayed her wishes, keeping her trapped on the ground. Without being able to physically protect them, she silently prayed for their safety as another scream rattled out from deep underground.
Mist poured from Mayuri's lipless mouth, hanging open in a silent yawn. Eyes clouded over like cataracts stared blankly at the two stunned warriors before him. For a moment he seemed to ponder his next move, taking in the sights and sounds all at once. Slowly his hand receded from Ukitake's ankle, allowing him to jump out of the way and return to Ichigo's side a safe distance away from the maniacal fiend they faced.
"What the...What in the world just happened?"
Ichigo took a deep gulp of air and stared at the beast, "I don't know, but it can't be good."
"It's your blood isn't it? You should know what it does since you're the patient zero for this strain!"
"I don't feel any different. Aside from being played like a fool I don't feel any different from before I...Well before I 'died'."
Ukitake nodded gravely and cast a glance toward the stairs. "We should leave. Now."
Ichigo gave his assent and together they made a break for the exit.
A blur of movement, a flash of white before their eyes. Suddenly Mayuri was standing before them, blocking the stairway, a devilish grin on his face. Ichigo charged at him, letting out a mighty roar. With his sword poised to kill he lunged at the demonic scientist. Mayuri danced around the attack, gliding past the blade and stepping within Ichigo's range. Drawing his hand back with amazing speed he plunged his bare hand into the boy's stomach, the force sending him wheeling backwards into the mountain of debris.
Capitalising on the distraction Ukitake ducked in from behind slicing in a downward arc. Mayuri shuffled aside and grabbed the captain commander by the throat, lifting him up off his feet and then slamming him down into the ground with a deafening thud.
Ichigo once again charged in but was once again beaten back without effort from the beastly traitor.
A rasping chuckle emanated from his spittle-flecked grin, "Marvellous! Such strength! To be able to take down both Kurosaki Ichigo and even Ukitake! This is incredible! I cannot believe you fools would squander your chances to attain such power!"
Ukitake wiped blood from his lips and cursed, "If such power comes at the cost of innocent lives then I could never wield it! A weapon used without meaning is far weaker than the weapon used for justice!"
Mayuri laughed at that, throwing his head back and howling to the sky somewhere above their underground prison, "Your foolish idealism was always your greatest weakness! It takes a greater mind to possess the strength of a god!"
"Placing mankind on a leash does not make you a god Mayuri! Your reign of terror is over!"
"So says the man who must hold up the walls of his castle with his bare hands! Your kingdom lies in ruins and you still defy me? Such insolence can never be forgiven."
"My kingdom is in ruins? Look around you Mayuri! Your army is defeated, your prized experiments turned against you and your precious toys running out. Can you not comprehend defeat even as your pathetic kingdom built on bloodshed and lies burns down around you?!"
Once again, a laugh from the wicked madman. "A small victory is not enough to impede progress. There are plenty of undead soldiers in this world and the next, bountiful legions across the world willing to obey my rule in exchange for some fresh meat! And now that the virus courses through my veins I can procure it at any given time to spread the disease! All I have to do is kill you interloping fools and the world will fall right into my hand."
Ichigo tightened his grip on his sword and affirmed his offensive stance. "Then I'll just have to defeat you and get this all over with!"
"Face my wrath insolent child! I shall unleash my divine punishment upon you for acting against the word of your god. Such is the inevitable fate of Adam it seems..."
With a defiant roar Ichigo raced off with his sword raised high. Lunging at his foe he feigned a downward slash, allowing Mayuri to once again narrowly dodge with his otherworldly gliding. Then as Mayuri moved to the side Ichigo spun on his heel and kicked out, driving his foot deep into the madman's gut.
Caught off-guard Mayuri stumbled right into Ukitake who thrust his sword up through his stomach to erupt in a shower of blood out of his back. The sheer force of the blow lifted Mayuri up off his feet from where Ukitake left him to drop in a heap.
Rather than let him rest Ukitake aimed his palm out towards the crumpled heap and fired off several blasts of kido letting the nefarious traitor burn for his crimes.
From within the smouldering wreckage a seething rasp of laughter echoed out. A molten hand stretched out and clawed at the earth, dragging the singed corpse along with it. Even as the flames devoured his flesh, Mayuri rose back up to his feet, still smiling.
"A clever tactic I must say. But you seem to have forgotten something Ukitake. You never listened to me, even when you relied upon me the most. Surely you recall what I told you about the walking dead?"
"When the dead are reanimated they cease to be a spiritual entity and thus cannot be harmed by spiritual weapons. The same can be said for kido." the words were spat with venom, dealt with a sinister grin.
Upon closer inspection, the searing red flames had little effect on the ghoul, simply lighting him up and nothing more. Ukitake cursed and grit his teeth understanding fully well the gravity behind the doctor's words.
He had just squandered their chance to take down Mayuri for good. Their tactics may have worked, but Mayuri was never one to fall for the same trick twice. He would have already calculated a way around it if they tried the same thing once again.
There were only so many chances left.
Time was running out.
"Ichigo...We have to end this quickly."
Ichigo nodded and reaffirmed his grip on his sword. He shared a knowing glance with the older warrior and the two charged in unison, taking opposing sides. While Ukitake rushed in from the left, Ichigo struck from the right, narrowing Mayuri's options and rendering him unable to defend against the two of them at once. He could only guard against one of them, leaving the other side open for attack.
Mayuri simply grinned at their incoming onslaught and switched his attention to Ichigo.
With blinding speed he swatted away the young man's sword and pushed him in the path of himself and Ukitake, forcing the captain commander to come to a grinding halt. In the confusion Mayuri then shoved Ichigo aside and lunged at the older foe, burying the overgrown talon on his left hand right through Ukitake's chest, well off centre.
Ukitake collapsed immediately and coughed violently, blood flecking his lips. He made to move but was instantly brought to his knees by the crippling pain.
With only Ichigo left to oppose him, Mayuri was free to focus his entire being upon the defiant young warrior. He feigned an offensive to lure Ichigo into a counter-attack and then saddled up behind him, jabbing his finger into Ichigo's side.
Both combatants fell and Mayuri proudly stood over them, malicious laughter dripping from his jaws.
"How does it feel? Do you now understand the price of your betrayal?"
Ichigo curled up in agony and cursed, "Argh! Fuck! What did you do to me!?"
Mayuri grinned menacingly at the ever present pain in his victim's glares. "Have you ever heard of pressure points? By striking certain nerves one can bring even the strongest of opponents to their knees. With one press of a finger you can kill a man! However I am merciful enough to simply have you bowing at my feet. You see, Kurosaki, within your brain, a message has been received that your stomach and intestines have been damaged and yet I haven't even pierced your flesh. In fact where I struck was far from your stomach and intestines. Regardless, the associated nerves have been crippled, fooling your brain into believing you've suffered severe internal damage."
Ichigo's movements slowed and he began to weaken.
"Your blood pressure shall drop until your brain cannot sufficiently function and you shall fall unconscious. As for your friend over there, I'm afraid I wasn't as gentle. You see rather than play around with pressure points, I simply punctured his lung. With the captain commander's lung disease, such an injury will surely be fatal."
"Bastard!" Ukitake rasped, his breaths coming in painful wheezes.
"Save your breath Ukitake, trust me you'll need it. As you become more flustered you use up more of your Oxygen. With a pierced lung you cannot reserve enough Oxygen for respiration and in time you will suffocate and die! It is over Ukitake! Even if by some miracle you could take my life your fate is sealed!"
A faint light of hope appeared in his eyes, but it only brought a sick smile to Mayuri's face.
"However, in your condition the very act of standing up and moving towards me will expend most of your remaining air. In your state you wouldn't even be able to get within striking distance before collapsing. Of course that would be if you were a healthy person. With your shrivelled diseased lungs you won't even be able to stand! You will die bowing to your god!"
Mayuri cackled insanely.
"Your futile struggle is over. I applaud you for coming this far and even managing to repel the horde, but inevitably your kind were born to die. Extinction is only the precursor to evolution. As one inferior being disappears, from their ashes grows more advanced life. Mankind was promising, but the next species shall be superb! If only your childish ideals hadn't chained you to the sinking ship of man you could have shared in this glory and led the way to a brighter future. You have lost your chance Kurosaki, but be glad that your blood shall be the fuel to ignite the spark of life!"
"Shut up dammit!" Ichigo snarled, pushing himself shakily to his feet. With one hand to his stomach and one on his sword, he slowly rose and stood against this foe. His knees were shaking and his vision was unclear, but he could still stand.
He could still fight!
Ukitake struggled to breath. Unable to intervene he watched on as Mayuri's own devilish creation remained as the last stand of mankind against his monstrous plan. Silently he prayed for the child's success...
Time seemed to crawl to a halt as the two foes stared down one another, searching for every possible weakness, consciously manoeuvring around their own. Ichigo may have still been standing, but he would not be able to fight on much longer. The next bout would surely decide the victor.
Mayuri grinned confident that all possible routes lead to his advantage.
This time Mayuri charged, catching Ichigo off-guard. Landing within striking distance before he could even widen his eyes, the nefarious doctor drew back his hand and prepared to strike. Helpless to resist, Ichigo stared down at his defenceless self as time slowed further until it had stopped completely.
This was it, the finishing blow. The decisive end to their battle, the end of mankind.
But mankind fought back!
'Boom!'
Several of Mayuri's front teeth shattered behind a gushing torrent of blood. Smoke billowed out from the hole in his jaw and with widened eyes Mayuri froze mid-strike and fell back.
"Ichi-ni..." she whimpered.
Ichigo glanced up to his sister, still holding the smoking pistol in her white-knuckled hands. He then clenched harder upon the hilt of his sword and sliced down through Mayuri's shoulder, severing his left arm. Before the ghoul could react he then pierced the demonic ghoul through his non-existent heart before rending the blade aside, to erupt out through his ribs.
Blood poured from the decimated ghoul but even in his state, his smile was ever present.
Ichigo grit his teeth and raised his sword for the final blow, but Mayuri was far quicker, slamming the palm of his one remaining hand directly into the boy's knee. With a bone-breaking 'crack' Ichigo collapsed to the ground, dropping his sword in favour of clutching his shattered knee.
"Ichigo!" Karin cried, already taking aim again. She had missed the brain with her first shot, aiming too low leaving the bullet to simply carve its way through his bottom jaw. But in her panic her hands were shaking. She couldn't line up the sight no matter how hard she tried.
Fortunately, Mayuri didn't seem to be bothered by her at all, fumbling through his coat instead. He procured a needle of some sort and dug it into his stomach. Remarkably, the gaping bullet-wound at the base of his skull closed itself up until not a trace of the wound remained. When he turned around, Karin let out a shrill scream at the perfectly chiselled grin of the madman.
"That was the last of my regenerative elixir. How fortunate that at the very least I've got nothing left standing in my way. Except for you, young lady..." his eyes drifted across her slender, blood-spattered form and his smile spread to consume his entire face. "You are an incredible specimen, taking after your brother well. It would seem that though Ichigo has expended his usefulness, there could be much to gain from his darling little sister!"
Ichigo crawled toward his sword but the doctor kicked it far across the room and then booted the young warrior in the ribs, leaving him gasping for air.
Calmly, Mayuri strolled towards her, unperturbed by the pistol in her hands. Besides, Karin was trembling so much that he could plainly see the gun barrel wobbling.
It all happened in a blur. Mayuri pounced, restraining the girl. Ichigo cried out but failed to stand and Ukitake pushed himself up and bolted for his foe. Before anything could register in any of their minds, there was blood, screaming, agony, death.
And then there was silence...
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