Malum Infectio

by swirlheart

Nearly two years later, Ichigo runs into a massive problem which turns the Soul Society into a battle field. What makes matters even worse is that he is forced into his Hollow state by the enemy and not even Linnette's voice can reach him. Maybe she can get Shinji and the others to help save Ichigo before he tries to kill them. Rated T for battle scenes. Please R&R

12. Chapter 12

Chapter: 12

Since Linnette and the others were in the area of Ichigo's battle, it was a simple matter of retracing their steps to find out the direction he took. The gate opened to release them out into the vast land with endless possible paths Ichigo might have taken. Rukia asked the gatekeeper before they continued if he had seen Ichigo. According to the gatekeeper, he hadn't seen him leave and never opened the gate for him. He did assume, however, that Ichigo might have slipped out when he opened the gate for a group of Soul Reapers who returned at some point last night.

"That must have been when Ichigo sneaked off. He got lost in the crowd coming in," Rukia announced. It was the best explanation they could come up with.

The group set out to find him. Rukia and Renji took the lead while Victor and Cedric followed close behind with Linnette on Cedric's shoulders. They wandered in the proper direction, traveling in a straight line. An hour passed and then another. Linnette kept a look-out from her high perch but there was no sign of Ichigo. She was getting impatient. She hoped they would find him by now.

"Is there a faster way to find him?"

"Not really." Renji kicked a rock in his path. "We just have to keep looking and try sensing his Spirit Energy."

"I don't think I can do that," said Linnette.

"Then leave it to us."

It was a long run and no signs of the person they were searching for. Linnette had lost track of time. She wasn't sure how many hours had passed or how many minutes. Time meant nothing.

Rukia stopped and turned her body in the direction of a land of stone. Wind-carved rocks stood scattered across the land like mountains upon the land. Rukia put her hand on her sword, preparing to draw. She was sensing danger. Renji stood beside her and drew his weapon, not wasting a moment. Seeing their actions, Cedric lowered Linnette to the ground and stood in front of her protectively while Victor stood behind her to guard her back.

Something was coming from the rocks. Something large and menacing.

"Is that..?"

The creature was a Hollow. Large and dangerous. Its long orange hair was somewhat familiar. So were the tattered Soul Reaper garments clinging to its large white body.

"Ichigo?"

This was Ichigo's destructive Hollow form. This was Linnette's first time seeing him in this state. When she saw him begin to Hollowfy in the past, he didn't look like this. Rukia had seen the mask before when Ichigo used his Hollow powers in battle. This Hollow's face was a perfect match. This was Ichigo. Without a doubt.

"What the hell?" whispered Renji in disbelief. "What happened to him?"

Ichigo's head rotated towards them and stopped. He let out a growl.

"That's Ichigo?" Linnette asked, trying to peer around Cedric's body. "How'd he become a Hollow?"

"I bet those bastards did it to him." Renji raised his weapon. "Ichigo! Can you hear me? Stand down, now! We don't want to hurt you!"

Ichigo growled even louder at them, his eyes fixed on Renji.

"You hear me, Ichigo? We're here to help you. So just-"

In a flash, Ichigo pounced and slammed his fist into Renji's chest. The blow knocked Renji off his feet and into the air. Before he could hit the ground, Ichigo punched him again to keep him airborne.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried. "Ichigo, stop!"

Ichigo grabbed Renji by the neck and dragged him through the dirt and slammed him against a rock. Snarling, Ichigo bashed Renji against the stone repeatedly. Blood sprayed the rock with each impact. To free himself, Renji swung his weapon and cut into Ichigo's arm. That only fueled Ichigo's wrath and he slammed Renji against the rock even harder.

"Stop it, Ichigo!" Rukia had to attack in order to keep Ichigo from killing Renji. "Bakudo-"

Ichigo picked Renji up and threw him into Rukia before she could finish. The two were sent flying backwards. Victor reached out to catch Rukia while no one bothered to grab Renji who rolled across the dirt and came to a stop flat on his back.

Ichigo turned to face them again and snarled, as if tempting them to fight him.

"You like?"

They looked up at the voice. The lead Quincy was standing on a rock behind Ichigo, smiling down at them as if they were guests to a party.

"I should thank you all," said Yagi. "This really wasn't possible without your help. Especially yours, Victor."

Victor frowned. "I don't know you. We've never met."

"True. But every action you've ever taken is on record. It's a pleasure to meet you face to face like this." Yagi bend forward in a mock bow. "If it weren't for your Hollow serum, I would have never been able to do this. Ichigo is the result of all my hard work, tweaking your serum to make it even more powerful than it already was."

"What?" Victor's face showed a rare moment of shock. He looked at the Hollowfied Ichigo and knew this was partly his doing. His serum to turn humans into Hollows had fallen into the wrong hands. It was used to turn Ichigo into what stood before them now. Victor frowned in disgust. Disgust at himself and at the enemy.

"You invented it. You should be proud. Even though you vowed not to use it ever again, the point is you made it. You're the creator." Yagi chuckled. "Oh, but I couldn't have done it without Mayuri's help as well. He was the one who put it on record. Kisuke as well. They both have a record of the serum and of the cure, just in case anything happened. If they hadn't filed the information away, I would never have known where to begin. So I have to thank both of you. You, Victor, for creating it. And them for writing it down."

They were horrified. Victor kept the information in his head and never wrote any of it down so it would never fall into the wrong hands. Mayuri and Kisuke were the ones who analyzed it so they could come up with a cure, which meant they had the information on record. The serum and the cure were written down and kept filed away. Thanks to them.

The Quincy was right. They were all to be blamed. Victor for inventing it in the first place. Without him, there would be nothing to fall into the wrong hands. But if Mayuri and Kisuke hadn't written down the serum and the cure in detail, no one would have even known what it was. It wouldn't have mattered if Victor was the creator because he was the only one with access to the information. Because of them, now more people knew and they could look it up. If it weren't for them, the enemy wouldn't have known where to look or how to get the information. They were all at fault to different extents.

"Was this your plan?" Rukia asked. "To turn Ichigo into a Hollow so he would attack us?"

Yagi shrugged. "Perhaps. Plus, this way he'll be out of my hair."

"Some plan." Renji got to his feet wiping the blood from his chin. "Linnette has the ability to control Hollows. You just turned Ichigo into a Hollow. He won't be a threat to anyone with her around."

That was true. Linnette would be able to tame Ichigo. Surely this Quincy knew that. Or was he hoping that Linnette would die from her injuries and be unable to help get him back under control?

"Go on," Renji coaxed her. "Get Ichigo back on our side. Serum or no serum, he's a Hollow and she can control him."

Linnette stepped forward, Victor and Cedric standing close by to assist if needed. "Ichigo? It's me." Linnette stood in front of him with her arms close to her body. "It's ok. I'm here. It's alright."

Ichigo didn't recognize her. He only saw her as a target. He started to growl.

Speaking to him wasn't enough. She would have to sing to get him under control. She started to hum a tune. He snarled. When she started singing, he roared. Linnette flinched, stopping her song. Ichigo roared angrily at her and swung his arm to hit her. Cedric pulled her back just in time. Ichigo's claws just missed her chest by less than an inch.

Now Ichigo was even more worked up than before. He kept roaring and bared his teeth at them all, itching for a fight.

"I don't get it," Linnette whimpered. "It should have worked."

"Did you do it right?" Renji asked her.

Yagi was laughing from his perch.

"What's so funny?" Renji demanded.

"I knew she was going to try that. Sure, a part of me was hoping she would have died back there from the injury I inflected, but another part was planning on her survival." Yagi gestured to Ichigo. "I've done my research on everything you've been doing. I'm well aware of the fact that she can control Hollows. I know that full well. However, I noticed that about two years ago you had a run-in with some giant Hollows in the Seireitei that she could not control. Even an Arrancar who couldn't be calmed by her voice. So that got me wondering why that was. And I figured it out. It's so simple. Her voice works on Hollows but only Hollows. Those of a lesser class. She can't control ones of a higher class, such as Arrancars. Or in Ichigo's case, Vasto Lordes."

"What?"

"That's right. Ichigo's too advanced for her to control now. He's evolved beyond where her voice can reach. She can't tame him. Her voice simply won't work on a Hollow of his class."

Of course. Linnette did have trouble controlling certain Hollows and no one understood why. Some assumed it was because the Hollow was tone-deaf, but now they knew the real answer. They were too powerful for her to handle. Her voice only worked on lower class Hollows.

To Arrancars, her voice must have sounded like anti-music to them. Which explained why Ichigo became violent rather than calming at her song. Where other Hollows found her voice soothing, high level Hollows found it to be the equivalent to screaming in their ear.

"So Linnette can't calm him down?" Renji asked, turning to face Rukia.

"Looks that way." They needed a new plan. Using Linnette for this mission was pointless now. She wasn't going to be of much use here if her voice was ineffective on Ichigo. "So you planned it this way? Why? What's your goal?" Rukia asked Yagi.

"My goal?" Yagi snickered. "I've already explained it to Ichigo before injecting him with this new serum. I suppose I'll explain it again. Put simply, I want to eliminate Soul Reapers and destroy the Seireitei. I feel that Quincies can do a finer job ruling than you. We'll do things our way. But in order for us to take over, we must first get rid of you. That is our goal. That is what we want."

"So you changed Ichigo into a Hollow so he won't be able to fight back and so he'll attack us?"

Yagi nodded. "Yes. I saw him as a threat. I know he can take us down, so I had to stop him. Plus, I did plan on using him to kill two birds with one stone. Not only will he no longer be a threat to me in this state, but he will become a threat to you. Linnette's voice cannot calm him. He is beyond control. And I know being such good friends and all, you won't have it in your hearts to kill him. Especially since he is powerful enough to stop us. And since you won't kill him, he can kill you without hesitation. He gets to do the work for me. He'll eliminate you. All of you."

"That's brilliant."

All eyes fell on Victor. "Don't praise him!" snapped Renji.

"But it is an excellent plan. It's a no-win situation," said Victor. "Put simply, as he stated, unless we kill Ichigo, he will kill us. He won't be able to stop himself from killing Soul Reapers, which is what the enemy wants. The destruction of Soul Reapers. The more he kills, they less fuss they have to go through. However, if we kill Ichigo before that can happen, not only will we be losing a friend which we don't want to do, we will also be losing the only person who may stand against the enemy. That Quincy himself just said that he saw Ichigo as a threat and knew he could take them down. One way or another, the enemy will get their way. Either Soul Reapers will die, which is what he wants, or Ichigo will die, which is also what he wants."

Yagi clapped his hands together. "You are a smart man. I expected no less from the one who could come up with such an ingenious serum." Yagi sneered at him. "Oh. Speaking of which, there's something else I forgot to mention. Remember how I said that I made some changes to the serum? It's more powerful now. But that's not all."

"What do you mean?"

Yagi smiled wickedly at them. "The serum has been altered to put tremendous strain on Ichigo's body. It will kill him from the inside out. It's basically a toxic serum. He'll rampage, then the serum will finish him off. Either way, Ichigo is going to die. It's just a question of what's going to get to him first. You or the serum."

Rukia's hand shook as she grasped her sword. "You sick monster..!" she hissed through her teeth.

"Keep in mind, girl, that I alone hold the cure for Ichigo. Since I created the serum. I changed it to the point where the cure you already have has now become useless. You need me alive if you want any hope of sharing his life."

"We can't trust you," said Rukia. "You've already made your objectives clear. You want us dead. Ichigo, too. Why would you hand over a cure if it defeats your purpose? It makes no sense. You're just trying to save your hide."

Yagi shrugged again. "It doesn't matter. No matter what you think, it doesn't change the fact that I alone hold the key in saving him from a terrible fate. But that's up to you."

Rukia looked from Yagi to Ichigo. He wasn't attacking anyone and hadn't been for some time. It seemed he was waiting for them to come to him. That wouldn't last. She could tell that Ichigo wanted to fight. They didn't have much time to think.

There wasn't much to think about. Yagi gave them their options. Either kill Ichigo or have him kill them. Killing Ichigo was exactly what they wanted since he actually stood a chance against the enemy. Yagi just confessed that. Killing Ichigo was basically doing the work for them. Either way Ichigo was going to die. By their hands or by the serum. They didn't have a lot of options.

No matter what the situation, there was no way Rukia was going to let Ichigo die. Yagi just said that he had a cure. That meant that there was a way to reverse this. There was hope. If there really was a way to cure Ichigo, then all they had to do was find it. They already knew there was a way. What it came down to now was getting Yagi to give them the cure, which seemed unlikely, or find the cure for themselves. There must have been a way. If they could come up with a cure from the first time, then they could do it again.

"Seems he needs a bit of a push." Yagi summoned up his bow and fired an arrow past Ichigo's shoulder.

Startled, Ichigo roared and charged in for an attack. His sights were set on Rukia and the others.

Before turning to run, Renji shouted to Victor and Cedric. "Just grab the guy and we'll make him hand over the cure for Ichigo!"

Victor and Cedric hesitated. It wasn't because they didn't obey Renji, it was because they were afraid.

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Yagi from the safety of his stone perch. "They know I'm the one who attacked Linnette the last time and nearly killed her. If they so much as look at me funny, I'll do it again. I don't have to do anything. It will happen just by me desiring to do it. Sometimes, I don't even have to think about it. If they grab me, I will do it. No matter how fast they can move, no matter what happens, I can and will do it again. And the next time, I will kill her. I don't think they want to risk that." Yagi turned to the two men. "Do you?"

He was right. They didn't want to take that chance. No matter what they did, Linnette would be in danger and they would be helpless to protect her. Just like the last time. They couldn't attack. They couldn't do anything.

Ichigo took a wide swing at the group with his arm. Cedric grabbed Linnette and retreated to a safe distance. Rukia and Renji both jumped back as well. Victor stayed put and tried to catch Ichigo's arm with his bare hands. Victor wasn't injured, but the force of Ichigo's attack drove Victor's feet below the surface. It looked like Victor was sinking into the earth. Ichigo swatted at Victor from the front and freed him from the earth, sending him flying back to where the others had fled. Victor could see that battling against Ichigo wasn't going to be easy, even for someone like himself. Reasoning was impossible and restraining him was going to be just as difficult.

"Great," Renji grumbled. "What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"We can't hurt him," Linnette pleaded. She couldn't bear to see Ichigo get injured or even worse, killed.

"He's going to hurt us if we don't do something!"

Linnette clung to Cedric's arm, silently begging him to do something to save Ichigo. Cedric got her message and passed her off to Rukia.

"Take her." Cedric ran straight for Ichigo. Arms free, he used both of them to grab onto Ichigo's wrists and hold them in place.

Ichigo raged and roared. He couldn't move his arms so long as Cedric was holding them. However, doing so had left Cedric wide open. He was right in front of Ichigo with both arms occupied. Ichigo opened his mouth wide and unleashed a powerful cero straight at him.

"Cedric!"

He managed to get away in time but that meant releasing Ichigo. Now they were back to square one.

"Damn it." Renji drew his sword. "You're not giving us much of a choice, Ichigo! You hear me in there?"

He answered with a roar.

"Just run!" Rukia told the group.

"What good will that do? He's just going to follow us," pointed out Renji. "We have to stop him, don't we?"

"We have to get him away from Yagi first. Remember he's still watching us." Rukia looked behind Ichigo to the man standing atop a stone a safe distance away. From his current position, Yagi couldn't hear what they were saying. Rukia knew Ichigo wasn't the only threat nearby. They also had to worry about the Quincy. "If we can get far enough away, Yagi might not follow us. And since Ichigo won't stop attacking, it might give us enough time to think of something while we lure him away from Yagi."

"Shouldn't we keep an eye on Yagi?" asked Renji. "He might try to pull something once he's out of sight."

"One problem at a time. He's hanging around for a reason."

"Yeah!" said Renji. "To watch us get killed!"

"Maybe not. If he were that confident that Ichigo would kill us, he would have just run off the second he was unleashed. He's observing him. I think he knows something we don't so he's keeping an eye on Ichigo. If we can get the two of them apart, we might have a chance. In any case, we have to do something about Ichigo."

"If the man is still lurking around, he could be waiting until we have Ichigo restrained. Then he'll come and try to break Ichigo free so he can rampage again," said Victor. "That may be his plan. He wants to make sure Ichigo is free to attack. He doesn't want us to hold him back."

"That could be it."

"Incoming!" Renji jumped as Ichigo fired another cero at the group.

Ichigo ran forward, mouth agape.

"I'll try to freeze him in place." Rukia had to be careful not to cause Ichigo too much damage. He wasn't really their enemy. She had to freeze his body just enough so he wouldn't be killed.

Ice appeared, freezing Ichigo's feet to the ground. He roared and smashed the ice with his fists, freeing himself. He tried to attack again but Rukia used more ice to freeze every part of his body below the neck. At least Ichigo could breathe and his head was facing upward so he couldn't fire a cero at them or the ice.

The ice began to crack and split. With sheer force, Ichigo broke the ice with his limbs and set himself free again.

"This isn't working!" Renji yelled. He knew they had to hold back to keep from killing Ichigo, but by doing that their attacks weren't enough to do anything. They were just wasting energy. "The only way we have a chance is if we fight seriously. Otherwise, he's going to keep breaking through and come after us."

"If we do that we risk killing him."

"I know that, Rukia, but..."

Ichigo wasn't going to stop. He was on a rampage. It wasn't his fault. He wasn't doing this by choice. The Quincy was making him do this. He turned Ichigo into this.

"That's it, Ichigo," Yagi whispered as he watched. "Keep going. Kill them all. Then it's your turn once I'm through."

Ichigo beat the ground with his fists and screeched so loud it made the ground quake. He slashed and snapped and roared. The group tried to keep him confused by splitting up, but that didn't work. He went after a target on a whim. His only motive was to destroy. For the time being, Rukia was his target. He lashed out at her with his claws and snapped his teeth in her direction. When she got too close, Renji stepped in to protect her.

They continued like this for some time until Ichigo grew annoyed and slapped Renji aside with his claws. Even when Renji was on the ground and an easy target, Ichigo did not go after him. He pursued Rukia for no other reason than to attack the one no one would let him reach.

He stomped on her foot to keep her from getting away and stood over her, snarling. Rukia was like a fox in a trap. There was no way to escape unless she cut off her own foot. Or his. Ichigo's flesh was too thick and he could easily regenerate.

"Ichigo, no!" Rukia screamed at him. "Listen to me! Ichigo! Ichigo!"

For a moment, Ichigo paused. Then he started roaring again. This was different. This roar seemed pained.

Ichigo stepped off Rukia's foot and screeched to the sky.

His armor-like flesh started to chip and crack. It started to fall apart like an eggshell. As the Hollow's body began to break, Ichigo's Soul Reaper body came into view. He looked like a butterfly escaping from its cocoon. His Hollow form fell apart and shattered around his feet. The real Ichigo stood in front of them, semi-conscious but otherwise seemingly unharmed.

It was a huge relief to see Ichigo standing before them. It also raised a lot of questions.

Ichigo dropped to his knees.

Rukia went over to him. "Are you alright?"

Ichigo hunched over and vomited.

Rukia moved back to avoid it. Now she was concerned. She knew something wasn't right.

Yagi had said that he injected Ichigo with a serum that would turn him into a Hollow like the other people he had experimented on. However, those people couldn't change back. Even Mayuri had confirmed it. The fact that Ichigo had shed his Hollow form meant something. Something she couldn't begin to understand. She knew something was happening and it wasn't good.

"Is he ok?" Linnette asked from a distance. Cedric wouldn't let her get any closer.

"He's back to normal," said Renji. "I guess that drug thing was a failure after all.

Ichigo heaved and hacked up again.

"Renji, he's sick," said Rukia. "Something's wrong."

Renji grew concerned and bent down to take a look at his friend. He should have known better than to think it would all be resolved so easily.

"Ichigo, are you ok?" he asked him. "What's wrong?"

Ichigo heaved like a cat coughing up a hairball. He turned his head to the side to look at Renji. His lips glistened with saliva and snot. "I don't feel right... Ugh!" Ichigo curled into a ball, holding his stomach.

Rukia rubbed his back, trying to help. He moaned and cried out in pain. He fell to one side in a fetal position.

"It feels like something's shredding my insides..!" Ichigo grunted and moaned. He was in tremendous pain.

"This isn't over." Rukia knew something was happening to Ichigo. She knew it was impossible for him to be fixed that easily. The serum was still wrecking havoc on her friend, tearing him apart from the inside out. Just as Yagi had said. "It has to be the serum he was injected with. It's doing something else to him."

"That Yagi guy did say that it was a poison," said Renji.

Ichigo cried out in agony, unable to get relief. This was beyond feeling sick. This was much, much worse and he didn't know what it was. He had never felt anything like this before and he had been stabbed with swords multiple times. Nothing compared to this kind of pain.

"Oh, looks like you're hurting," came Yagi's voice.

Ichigo struggled to open his eyes and saw him standing nearby. The group faced him but no one attempted to get close.

"What's happening?" demanded Rukia. "What did you do to Ichigo?"

"It's as I said," Yagi explained. "The serum will kill Ichigo. Tear him apart from the inside out. It's only a matter of time. It could take hours or days. I haven't a clue." He looked down at Ichigo and smirked. "I should have taken into account your amazing ability to resist and have true inner strength. So resilient."

"What... did you do... to me?" Ichigo managed to choke out. He was in so much pain he could hardly speak.

"I supposed I should explain." Yagi looked at Ichigo when he spoke but he was addressing everyone there. "You see, Ichigo can suppress the Hollow he can become under normal circumstances. However, with this serum things are a little different. Usually, Ichigo can suppress the Hollow and regain control with little issue. However, this serum won't allow that. It's not something he can suppress. It's a forced Hollowfication. Even if he was able to change back for the moment, soon the Hollow will take over again. It's not a matter or willpower. That's just how it is. And the more Ichigo tries to fight it, the more strain he will put on his body."

"What are you saying?" asked Renji.

"Put simply, either Ichigo becomes a Hollow and doesn't try to resist the change, resulting in less strain on his body. Or he can try to combat the change and shorten his life. The more he resists, he more pain he goes through, the more strain his body goes under, which will only kill him faster. The more he fights back, the weaker he will become."

Ichigo was trying to remain himself so his friends wouldn't be in danger, but that was only killing him more quickly. If he became a Hollow, it would buy him more time to live, but his friends would be in danger. It came down to a choice of putting his friends at risk or shortening his life. It was a no-win situation. A situation, no doubt, Yagi had planned form the beginning.

"You son of a..." Renji had his weapon pointed at Yagi.

"Ah-ah-ah." Yagi wagged his finger at Renji's blade. "I alone hold the cure. And killing me won't save him. Not to mention how I have other powerful men at my disposal. You couldn't handle us before so what makes you think you can handle us now? Handle me? You know what I'm capable of. I don't even have to touch you."

Renji gripped his sword tightly but didn't swing. He knew Yagi was right. They couldn't handle the enemy when they first attacked and there were only four or five of them against everyone else. These men made the Soul Reapers look weak. It was insulting. Attacking Yagi wouldn't solve anything. He would only end up losing again and it wouldn't cure Ichigo. He would be just as sick if Yagi were living or dead. Having him alive gave them a chance. Though it was unlikely that Yagi would hand over the cure or be willing to fix everything himself, at least they would have the possibility. If Yagi were dead, they had no options. Yagi could also use the same attack he used on Linnette that nearly killed her. That was a warning shot. Yagi could probably do it again on all of them at once and no one would stand a chance. Renji didn't want to provoke him. It was best to stand down for now until they had a plan.

Ichigo writhed on the ground, holding his sides. The pain came in waves, some worse than others. He needed help.

Yagi stepped aside. "I see no reason to attack when I know Ichigo will do it for me." He smirked. "I did not come here to fight. Only to observe. I was surprised when Ichigo managed to suppress the transformation so I had to come closer to investigate. But it will only be harder to do from here."

Ichigo's vision was starting to blur from sweat and tears. He was in so much pain.

"You'll only get weaker from here, Ichigo. The more you fight it, the more you'll wear yourself out. Keep that in mind."

Yagi took one step back and vanished. He reappeared further away and flashed away again, leaving them.

There was no time to look for him. They had to take care of Ichigo first.

"We made a cure before, we can do it again. And after we have it, then we can hunt down that bastard Yagi and deliver some serious pain." Renji punched the palm of his hand, warming up his fists for a future fight.

"In the meantime, we have to help Ichigo." Rukia helped Ichigo into a sitting position only for him to slump over again, spitting onto the ground. He still felt like throwing up but nothing was coming out. "Mayuri's been studying what's been happening for some time now. He's our best bet at finding a cure for this."

"Then let's go to that creep's lab and get this done already." Renji was ready to run back. He was already moving, unable to wait.

Cedric bent down and lifted Ichigo into his arms, cradling him. Ichigo moaned, his eyes shut tight. Cedric could feel his body heat through their clothing. Ichigo was burning up. They had to hurry. Ichigo was only going to get worse from here.

Renji and Rukia led the way followed closely by Cedric carrying Ichigo and Victor carrying Linnette. Rukia slowed her pace to check on Ichigo. He was no longer crying out but he was still moaning.

Ichigo opened his eyes weakly to see where they were going. "Wait. No, stop. Cedric, stop. Please."

Cedric looked down at Ichigo. Honoring his request, Cedric stopped running. The others saw this and came over to ask why he had stopped. "Ichigo told me to."

Rukia leaned closer to Ichigo, knowing he wouldn't have asked them to stop unless there was a good reason.

His eyes were shut again and sweat was rolling from his brow. "Don't. Don't take me back there."

"We're trying to help you, you idiot," said Renji.

"No, he's right," said Rukia. "If we take Ichigo back to the Seireitei, he could Hollowfy again and rampage there. Then Soul Reapers will be in danger. And many of them are still recovering after the last attack. They're not prepared."

"You're right," agreed Renji. "Not to mention how Ichigo will only end up being attacked if he shows up as a Hollow. They don't know the situation. They're going to think he's a threat and attack... He is a threat, but that argument aside..."

Ichigo started to twist in Cedric's grasp, a massive wave of pain striking him. "I can feel it coming on..!" Ichigo said through his teeth. "You have to get away from me."

"And leave you? No way. We're not doing that."

Ichigo let out a scream and rolled out of Cedric's arms onto the ground. As he hunched over as if ready to vomit again, they saw the white form of his Hollow begin to take shape between his shoulder blades. His back was starting to Hollowfy. He couldn't resist it though that didn't stop him from trying.

"What are we supposed to do?" Renji wondered aloud.

"We have to get back to warn everyone of the situation," said Rukia. "We'll go to the Seireitei and explain the situation. We can get help."

"Are you nuts, Rukia?" said Renji. "If we tell them that, they're going to try to kill him."

"Not if we explain that there is a cure. We'll go to Squad 12 first and tell Mayuri to come up with a cure. He's been studying what's been happening for some time. He should be able to come up with something."

"Then what do we do about him?" Renji pointed at Ichigo on the ground.

"We can't take him back to the Seireitei. Not in this state. I know that's what Yagi was betting on from the start. He wanted us to bring Ichigo to the Seireitei so he could Hollowfy and kill as many Soul Reapers as he could. He wants Ichigo to do the work for him. He also considers Ichigo a threat so if we kill him to stop his rampage, we'll only be doing what Yagi wants. He wants Soul Reapers dead and Ichigo dead. No matter how you look at it, he's going to get his way. Either Ichigo kills us or we kill him."

Renji looked down at Ichigo with a sorrowful expression. Knowing what would happen was difficult to accept. Also seeing Ichigo in this state, hunched over on the ground like a wounded animal, was hard to watch. What Renji wouldn't give to drive his sword through Yagi's chest at that moment. "Damn him. He's put us in an impossible situation. What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"We might have to leave Ichigo here while we get help. We can't take him back. And out here, there are very few people. He's away from populated areas. But when he's on the move, no doubt he'll go to where there are people. Thankfully it will take him some time."

"We could leave these guys with him," suggested Renji. "They're strong enough. Linnette might be useless in this situation, but these two could hold him off. Keep him busy for a while. It's not like Ichigo can be reasoned with when he gets like that. Like Yagi said, he's too evolved, so Linnette's voice won't do anything but piss him off."

Ichigo fell onto his shoulder, holding his ribs. While they were talking, his transformation was progressing. His hands had become the clawed hands of a beast. His hair was also beginning to grow, falling around his shoulders and face, sticking to his sweaty flesh.

"I guess we have no choice," Renji sighed. "We have to warn the others. No one can get through to him so having Victor and Cedric fight him might be our only option. Just go easy on him so you don't kill him. Ready, Rukia? Let's get going."

"Wait."

Cedric was the one who spoke which had everyone turn to him in surprise.

"I have an idea. It might work."

Even his brother, Victor, looked surprised. Cedric was a quiet observer. That didn't mean he wasn't intelligent, but he rarely spoke his mind or came up with plans. That was Victor's job.

"What are you thinking?" Victor asked him, curious to know what his brother had come up with.

"I think you and Renji should return to the Seireitei and explain things. It's your serum Yagi is tampering with so you might be able to help do something about this. Renji knows the area well and I think having a Soul Reaper explain things would be better. The Soul Reapers might not listen to an outsider as well as they would their own kind. Having a Soul Reaper explain the situation might hold some merit."

"Point taken. And what of you?"

"I will be going with Rukia."

"Going?" Rukia repeated. "What do you mean? Aren't we staying with Ichigo?"

"I need you to take me some place. I can't get there on my own so I need your help."

"I'm going, too!" said Linnette. "If it will help Ichigo then I'm doing it."

"Are you sure? Staying with Victor might be more safe."

Linnette refused. "I'm going with Cedric and Rukia."

They couldn't go against her wishes so Linnette was in Cedric's care.

"So we're just going to leave Ichigo alone?" asked Renji. "Anyone else think that's a little foolish?"

"We don't have much of a choice and staying with him won't do anything. Anyone fighting him will be at risk. The best we can do is try to distract him but that's about it. And at this point, he's closer to the Quincy so he'll attack them before going on to other people, I think. And if we hurry, we can make it back before he gets too out of control."

There wasn't much they could do. They had to go with Cedric's idea.

Rukia bent down to Ichigo. "We're going to get help. Just hang tight, ok?"

Ichigo knew he would be alone but he didn't care at this point. Being isolated in the middle of nowhere while he suffered incredible pain certainly bothered him. He wanted to be close to people. However, he knew if they were with him, they would be in danger. He wanted them to leave him by himself. That way they would be safe.

"It's fine. Go." Ichigo managed a small smile, encouraging them to carry out their mission. He could hold out for a little bit longer.

"Let's hurry."

Ichigo watched them leave and shut his eyes, trying to will his body to no longer feel the pain. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough he could force it to subside. So far it wasn't working. It was getting more intense and his vision started to blur.

"So what exactly are we doing?" asked Renji as they ran back to the Seireitei. "Cedric, where are you going with Rukia? You never explained."

"I got the idea when Yagi said that Ichigo's Hollow form was too evolved. That was why Linnette's voice had no effect on him. Not in the usual way. There's only one other person I know who responded the same way Ichigo did when he heard Linnette's song."

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:D Someone else is about to arrive! Wonder who that could be..?

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