Chapter 19

I own nothing

I'm sorry if the last line was too loony tunes, but I just got done watching some episodes with my family before I finished the last chapter. There is some in this chapter.

Everyone present sweat dropped as Ichigo said the famous cartoon line. And they all thought at the same time 'seriously? What the hell is wrong with this kid?'

Koenig's gaze lost their edge as he said "I would feel bad for you if I…"

He didn't get to finish his line as Ichigo suddenly appeared and slashed at Koenig, which he barley blocked. He was pushed back with enough force to make several holes in several abandoned buildings as he flew through 10 or 15. All while thinking one thought.

'OW!'

Ichigo stood there looking as the good doctor went flying through the buildings, then turned to his friends, Rukia looking bored having seen Ichigo's strength before, Heller looking like he had just been hit over the head with a fry pan as he looked from the holes to Ichigo then back again before saying, "what the hell is that form?"

Ichigo answered, his voice sending chills down Heller's spine as he spoke.

"This is my hollowfication form. When I put on this mask, my power increase 3 fold and give me access to more power than I could tap with my Shinigami powers alone."

Heller felt a little confused by the explanation. He had been told what hollows were, but how could Ichigo have the power of one?

He was about to ask that exact question when Ichigo raised a hand and said "I'll be sure to explain it when we have time, but for right now we need to go get that rat Koenig"

Heller closed his mouth and nodded, then heard the sound of a blade flying through the air behind him. He instinctively leapt backwards, flipping as he did so, and brought out his claws as he saw the doctors sword arms become buried in the asphalt. The doc didn't not look good, as expected after flying through 15 buildings. His coat was torn and blood spatter, with his pants torn near the legs and his hair brown with red mixed in. as he turned to snarl at Heller ,he saw that he was missing a few teeth and had a broken nose and black eye. All of which was quickly healing due to his regeneration abilities as an infected. He pulled out his arms in time to block a slice from Heller, and then roared as Rukia cut him using her white sword technique to create ice around the wound to restrain and slow his movements. He acted like a berserk animal, slashing his arms around wildly until Ichigo appeared before him. Then his eyes locked on and he swung both arms at Ichigo for a two handed slice. Ichigo raised his sword up and caught both attacks, not budging except to sink into the ground slightly from the force. He gave the doctor a bored look then took his left blade arm in a secure grasp, and quickly brought his sword down to slice it off.

The doc howled in pain as he shifted his other arm to normal and clutched at the stump of the other one, falling to the ground in pain. Heller stalked up to him as the doctor stayed down then lifted him up by his neck. The doctor gave him a hate filled glare as he snarled, with blood running out of his mouth and turning his beard red, "Do you want me to beg Heller? Is that it?"

Heller snarled right back as he threw the doctor face down on the ground "I want you to shut up and die!"

He grabbed the doctors neck in both hands in claw form and shook him to snap his neck, and consumed him. And be sucked into the most important memory to date.

"I must say Mr. Mercer recruiting the evolved from inside Genteck's ranks is pure genius. We'll rocket through their power structure, why Sabrina Galloway has already been nominated for CFO."

Heller was looking through Koenig's eyes as he saw the hood face of mercer as he said "then I suggest you follow her example. I'll need everybody in place for what need to be done in the green zone."

"Of course, sir."

And with that Heller was pulled out of the memory.

Heller stood there panting as he shifted his arms back to normal. Ichigo moved his hand in front of his mask then sharply moved it to the right, dispersing the mask into wisps as his power returned to normal. Rukia and Ichigo came up and said "Heller? Are you okay?"

Before he could answer he heard a loud thud above him with the shout "HELLER!"

Heller snapped out of his trance as he whirled around with one hand in claws the other tendril. He looked up with a snarl on his face, with Rukia and Ichigo both in defensive stance as they looked up at a standing outline of Alex Mercer. He looked down with his usual expressionless face, but his eyes were cold and angry.

As Ichigo looked up at mercer, he was clenched and ready to move at the slightest hint of danger. But he got the same feeling as he had when he had first fought Azien in soul society. Like they were worlds apart, in terms of everything you could think. And as he saw mercer's eyes flicker towards him, the brief glance gave him the same feeling of Azien, being examined every last inch of him including his soul, while feeling inadequate and powerless at the person before him. Mercer's attention turned back to Heller as he said in a calm voice "Hello James. How's life treating you?"

Heller looked ready to rip mercer to shreds as he spat back "Screw you mercer. You know how life's treating me and right now that's pretty damn shitty."

Mercer gave the same chuckle as Azien as he said "such venom. I gave you everything. And this is how you repay me? By killing Koenig, who I needed ALIVE!?" he said with a bit of his anger breaking through as the deep growl of a jungle cat looking down on its helpless prey. James didn't falter as he snarled back "then you should have told me you more of us running around. Especially some crazy mad scientist motherfucker."

Mercer sighed as he jumped down and began to walk towards them at a slow controlled rate, almost like a strut with his hands at his side waving vaguely to his sides. "So now you know. We're in Genteck, We're in Blackwatch. Our eyes and ears are everywhere."

James slowly relaxed as the realization dawned on him.

"You're building an army."

Mercer raised his left hand and clenched it as he said "and soon, there will be enough of us for me to lead a charge that will wipe Genteck and Blackwatch from the face of the earth."

Rukia and Ichigo glanced at each other and had a one look conversation. This couldn't be Mercer's full plan. This sounded like a step to the master plan. Like Azien he had plans within plans. Ichigo turned to mercer and said "and the virus?"

Mercer looked at Ichigo fully. He seemed to scan him again as he said "What?"

Heller tensed in preparation as he said "The virus goes too, right?"

Mercer looked at the group again and said, with a clear and level voice, and his eye's still dead looking, "Of course. All part of the plan. And if your friends want to help, the more the merrier I say."

And with that cherry parting, mercer turned and leapt into the darkness above them. Though none of them relaxed for a few minutes to make sure he was gone. Heller shifted his arms to normal as his phone rang.

"Father."

Father sounded grim as he said "You and your friends need to come see me in the green zone. Athena's got some bad news."

"Same here. Mercer's been feeding us a line of bull shit. He's up to something."

"James, you don't know the half of it."

James sighed, this sounded like it would send his day down even further.

"We can get the green zone tomorrow. I'll call when we get there."

He hung up and looked at the other 2. They had been running on empty since mercer had shown and it showed in their faces and stances. Heller told them that they had to get back and get some rest. They would decide what to do in the morning.

Time skip, now late afternoon.

Heller, Ichigo, and Rukia stood on a building as they over looked the green zone that was were father and Orihime had taken residence. Early this morning, chad had decided to go to soul society since he couldn't use his powers effectively here and would only be a hindrance despite his friend's assurances he was a valued member. Rukia had decided to take chad to soul society and reported to the commander after bringing chad. The commander had said that the number of souls was rapidly rising considering the time frame and that in order to help them end this as soon as possible; he would be sending some of the captains over from time to time in order to help. Rukia had reported back with this information and then followed them to the green zone while Heller was carried by Ichigo. Due to their flash step abilities, they got there in just a few minutes and now stood there while Heller called up father and got the place they needed to go.

They flash stepped to the place and appeared at a small apartment complex with a good atmosphere. Heller walked in the door followed by Ichigo and Rukia to the apartment. As they knocked, Orihime answered it, giving a squeal of delight as she hugged all of them, Ichigo smiling and returning the hug with vigor. They walked in and found father in one of the rooms where he was tapping away quickly at a computer. He turned with a relived smile on his face at the new arrivals.

"Thank god you're alright. I was worried about you getting here."

Heller said "no reason to worry father, we've picked up some tricks. Now what did you want to show us?"

Fathers face fell into a sad look as he pulled up a simulation of some sort. "this. This is a simulation of the first infection of New York, when it was released at Penn station. One of Athena's contacts did the math to make this."

As they watched, a red circle began to spread outward at a rapid rate, with a death counter and graph along the side rising rapidly.

"Now the second outbreak."

This simulation resembled the first, except the circle spread farther faster, with the death rate climbing just as fast. Heller was confused. What did this have to do with mercer? They had other things to worry about.

Father said "now watch what happens if we reverse the flow, basically see where the infection started then we get…."

Heller said "father we have…"

"THERE!"

Heller looked at the screen again and felt his insides turn to ice as he looked at the address of the second outbreak.

"You have to be kidding me. The second outbreak happened in the same spot as the first? How?"

Father tapped a few keys while saying "This is the footage that Athena got at Penn station the day of the second outbreak."

Everyone crowded around the screen as they watched. It showed the place being deserted except for some homeless people who were sleeping fitfully on benches of the train platform, which was dirtied and scattered with broken pieces of the station. As they watched, they saw a figure begin walking from the outer rim to the center of the room. He came into the light with his back to the camera but had on a jacket with a familiar design o it, with a gray hoodie covering his head. Heller clenched his fists as he watched the figure crouch down and seem to ripple as a light red mist emitted from him. Then he stood up and snapped his arms out at his sides, releasing a blood red mist. The mist covered the homeless in seconds as it drifted outside, leaving them to squirm on the on the ground in pain and begin to change into walkers. And then the figure turned around and seemed to look at the camera as a wide grin split the shadowed face of Alex Mercer.

Heller banged both hands on the desk before turning away with his head in his hands while Ichigo turned Orihime away from the screen and held her while she cried on his shoulder. He saw the images of his apartment being a mess, with his wife lying dead on the ground, drenched in blood while a torn and bloodied teddy bear lay next to her body, with Maya nowhere in sight.

"He killed them father. Maya and Colette."

The father sounded old and tired as he said "I know James. And I'm sorry. But I'm afraid we've reached a dead end. I have nothing, Athena had nothing, and we have no new information to go on."

Heller shifted through his grief and anger, and then shoved it to the side to search through the memories of those he had consumed to look for some scrap of information that could set them on the right track. Then he remembered something he saw in Koenig's memories "…why Sabrina Galloway is already in line for CFO…"

"Sabrina Galloway. Mercer had her spying on Genteck; she's one of his Evolved."

"I know that name… it's somewhere…here… YES! HERE IT IS!"

Heller turned around as he saw father grab a file from the stack next to him and open it. It showed a woman in her mid-30, brown hair in a ponytail while her face looked like a super models, her brown eyes looking coldly back out of the picture.

"Look, it was in Blacknet. Lieutenant Riley is holding a briefing about her later today. If you can get in on that briefing, then we might get a lead on her whereabouts."

Heller nodded as he turned to the other and said, "I'll head in alone, find someone who's part of that briefing, but you have to stay out of sight if you come with. If things get ugly, then you can go all out, but don't hurt anybody else. Understand?"

Renji, Rukia, and Ichigo nodded. They knew that look of Heller and knew that nothing could stop him now.

Heller felt his heart glow slightly. These people around him had helped him make sense of his powers and accepted him as normal, and they knew that he wouldn't stop until he killed mercer, yet they accepted that and even wanted to help him with that goal. And for that he was thankful for meeting them. They had helped him feel like a human again.

Heller turned to father and said, "What's the closest Blackwatch base in the green zone?"

"The closest one is about 6 blocks from here. You should be able to find someone there who's part of the briefing."

Heller nodded and walked out, with everyone except Ichigo and Orihime following them. Orihime asked Ichigo "Ichigo can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"

Ichigo looked at Rukia giving a look that said he would be along in a minute. Then he followed Orihime into one of the empty rooms. He turned to her as she closed the door quietly and turned to look at him. He saw a look in her eyes as she said "Ichigo I'm worried about you."

Ichigo looked at her in surprise. She had been friends with him ever since kindergarten, yet he had never seen her like this. She had eyes that were sad and yet something else, something like…longing.

"Why? I'm perfectly fine Orihime. I can handle myself and I have enough strength."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes as she sobbed, "But you don't. You told us that when you faced Koenig you had to resort to your mask, and that standing in front of Mercer was like facing Azien again. I'm afraid you going to be killed if you fight him."

She broke down in heaving sobs as Ichigo hugged her, feeling hollowed out at seeing her like this. She was right, he didn't have the power needed to fight mercer, but he needed to do this. His sense of duty wouldn't let him run away and leave all those people and his friends at the mercy of Blackwatch and Genteck, not to mention that mercer had to be stopped, for the good of too many to count. But he wanted to comfort her before he left so he pulled back and gently lifted her chin to look into her eyes as he said softly "and if I had to, I would fight him all over again if it meant you and everyone else was safe. No matter what, I will fight this off and come back Orihime. I promise."

She looked back into his deep brown eyes as he said that and she saw what she loved of the man standing before her. She saw his fierce determination to defend the innocent and his loved ones and gentleness as he said his promise and felt her resolve harden. She decided to tell him now. The secret she had told him as he was asleep after his fight with the 6th esparada.

"Ichigo I…I have something to tell you."

He felt confused as he saw her eyes grow a little harder and dry slightly. She looked like she had come to a firm conclusion on something.

She looked Ichigo straight in the eye as she slowly leaned forward and said with a whisper "Ichigo I...I… love you."

And with that she genteelly pressed her lips to his as warmth exploded in Ichigo's stomach and chest. He hugged her to him as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Now he knew why he had cared so much about her. Her confession had put his own feelings into perspective as he hugged her close, feeling like he might die of happiness as the feelings of love began to grow stronger in him.

At least until the door opened and everyone but father walked through with Rukia saying "Ichigo come on lets…" the rest died in her throat while her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and her jaw dropped to the floor, just like Renji. Heller simply smiled as he looked at the two separate, feeling happy that Orihime had gotten the boy she loved and Ichigo got his own feelings through his thick skull. She separated from him with a squeak like a mouse getting stepped on and looking like she had a bad sun burn. Ichigo looked the same as he jumped back and scratched the back of his head.

Renji and Rukia looked at each other then back at them as Renji and Rukia began to stifle laughs. At least until Ichigo looked at them with eyes that could freeze hell on the spot and even the devil himself as he said in a voice that would have scared the shit out of Azien "if you laugh at us, I will make you lives worse than anything you could ever imagine."

Needless to say, Ichigo's threat, along with the waves of killing intent and power rolling of him, Rukia and Renji shut up as they looked at him. They knew that look on his face and decided that it would be a good idea to simply retreat from the room as slowly as possible in case Ichigo decided to go nuts and attack them, then turned tail and ran at speed that would have put Yourichi's flash step to shame. Heller simply said with a smile on his face "We'll be leaving from the roof. Just come up when you're ready."

Then he turned and closed the door as Ichigo reined in his power. Then he and Orihime looked at each other briefly before looking away, their faces feeling so hot that it felt like they might burst into flames.

Ichigo's inner world

"WELL IT'S ABOUT GOD DAMN TIME. GOD, THE WAIT WAS HELL!" hollow Ichigo yelled as he simply watched along with Zangetsu, with a maniac grin on his face that made the joker look sane. Now he had another reason to beat the crap out of his 'king'. After all, that girl was quite a prize in several cough areas cough.

Zangetsu said nothing, but he too had a smile on his face. Ichigo had been feeling love for Orihime for a while now, and he was happy that Ichigo was happy.

Real world

Ichigo and Orihime looked again and said nothing, merely looked as they drank in the sight of each other. Ichigo then said "I have to get going. But I meant what I said Orihime. I will come back to you."

He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead as he said in a whisper "I promise"

And with that he left for the roof to leave with the other, leaving Orihime feeling proud and excited that Ichigo finally knew how she felt, and that the future was bright and hopeful now that he did.

So how was that? I'm sorry if the scene wasn't the best but this is my first story, and I have next to no experience with romance, so I did the best I could. Please review; I need a little constructive criticism!