Chapter: 18

"This is ridiculous!" complained Zalya. "I had them! I thought our whole mission was to kill as many Soul Reapers as possible. Why the hell would you yank us out of there before I could finish them off?"

Yagi shot him a look and Zalya changed his tone.

They managed to return to their underground hideout without being noticed. Yagi stood by the mantle where Ichigo's sword hung like a trophy. He admired it and was still debating what he should do with it. There was plenty of time to decide. Right now, he had to address his group. There was much to do and obstacles to deal with. None of which he hadn't foreseen other than the appearance of the Arrancar, but now that he was dead, he posed no issue. Even with things going smoothly, certain members of his group were confused by his actions to leave the weakened Soul Reapers alive when they could have easily been killed.

"Because," he said, "we're taking one step at a time. Now that the Arrancar is gone, we need someone to break the news to Ichigo. Since those two are apparently close, I can only imagine how Ichigo would take it." Yagi smiled at the thought.

"Oh, I see. You wanted messengers to tell Ichigo that his friend is dead and watch him freak out." Zalya chuckled. "That's pretty hardcore, baby."

"You slipped again," said Yaku. "How depressing."

"But not as depressing as Ichigo getting that awful news, right, baby?"

"Stop calling me baby. It's depressing."

"Everything's depressing with you!"

Yaku finished polishing his mirror and examined his reflection in its smooth surface. "Aren't you afraid the Soul Reapers will retaliate with us wounding so many? I know we're sending a message and weakening them, but there's a depressing saying about not wounding what you can't kill."

"We can and will kill them," said Yagi as he turned to look at Zalya. "I also had to get this idiot out of there before he bled to death."

"Half of that wasn't even my blood."

"They're catching on to your power and will try to restrain you so you won't be able to cut them. Then you will have to inflict damage to yourself and that will in turn weaken you. Especially if you have to keep doing it."

"With that Arrancar gone, it'll be easier to deal with, bab- sorry. It slipped, it slipped." Zalya knew better than to call their leader by anything other than his title. Even though they were cousins, he had to be very respectful. He knew what Yagi was capable of and didn't want Yagi coming after him.

"What's our next move?" asked Mordere.

Yagi leaned against the bookcase in their hideout. "I have something to see to in my personal lab. Let Ichigo struggle and roam free for a while. It might be fun to watch the Soul Reapers scramble. It's not like they can do anything. Certainly not to us." Yagi grinned. "But I do have a little surprise I would like to unveil to them just as soon as I'm finished."

Mordere shared his leader's grin. "How fiendish, leader, sir." He knew exactly what he was talking about, and so did the others.

"How depressing..."

Ikkaku and Rukia returned to the Seireitei as quickly as possible. Rukia didn't want to leave Ichigo alone with Shinji for too long but at least he was with someone. She had to get Ikkaku medical attention no matter how much he insisted he didn't need any. Ikkaku was only willing to follow her back because he wanted to check on his friend.

After leaving Ikkaku at the sickbay, Rukia went to speak with her Captain. He allowed her to leave the Seireitei even though she wasn't assigned to leave with the other two they dispatched. Ukitake knew how worried she was about Ichigo so he allowed her to leave.

On her way there, she ran into another member of the Division carrying a tray of food. "Sorry."

"Take it easy, Lieutenant." The Soul Reaper adjusted the contents of the tray, making sure nothing had spilled or would if he continued on his way. "Damn that Arrancar is a bottomless pit. Sending me out for food like I'm some servant."

"What?"

"Yeah. But the Captain told us to keep him comfortable. Had I only known what I had signed up for."

Had Veneno sent the Soul Reaper out to get food while he sneaked out to find Yagi? If that happened... That was impossible. The time-line was off. Either that or this Soul Reaper was extremely slow.

"When did Veneno ask you to get food for him?" she asked.

"What? Uh... Not too long ago, but it's not like I wrote it down."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Rukia's hands were shaking.

"Uh... about a half hour ago. Why?"

"A half hour?" That couldn't have been. She watched Veneno die just an hour ago. Maybe a little less. "Where is he?"

"Uh..." The Soul Reaper pointed down the hall.

Rukia ran to the room at the top of the stairs. She burst through the door calling his name.

Standing by the window was none other than Veneno himself.

At first, Rukia thought it was wishful thinking playing tricks on her eyes, but it was really him. The sword at his side was proof enough of that fact.

"Veneno..." She was so relieved.

He turned away from the window and smiled. "Sweet of you to worry about me. At least I know I'll be missed."

"Then you..."

Veneno nodded. "It wasn't the real me. It was a clone."

"A clone?" Rukia repeated slowly.

When Veneno was revived, some of his powers seemed to be lost. He displayed certain abilities he possessed before and others appeared to no longer exist. Cloning was one of them. He didn't seem to be able to use it even when he tried.

"While I was in Hueco Mundo," he explained, "I had a lot of time on my hands. I passed the time doing different things. One of them was seeing if I could still clone myself since it was a power I had before. Nothing happened when I tried, just like before while I was in the Seireitei. So I thought the power was lost. Then I ended up making a single clone of myself. I realized I still had the power. It just took a while to come back, I guess. Maybe I was still in a state of recovery."

Rukia thought back to the fight with Zalya. Never once did Veneno draw his sword. He tried to strangle Zalya right off the bat. Even before he knew about Zalya using blood. Now she understood why that was. It was because he didn't have a sword to wield. Only the original Veneno had a sword. Clones did not. That was true, even back then. The clones would always borrow someone else's blade if they wished to fight.

This also explained why Veneno knew what had happened without being there. He knew Rukia had grieved, seeing it all happen through the eyes of a clone. Veneno was aware of everything that happened to one of his clones. Their experiences became his.

Rukia kicked him in the rib. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?! How scared and sad and... I was trying to find a way to break the news to Ichigo. You're damn lucky I came here first!"

"I told you not to worry. At least my clone did."

Rukia was still upset but happy to see him in one piece.

"I decided to use a clone to spy on Yagi. Knowing how dangerous he was, I didn't want to take any chances. I also didn't want to leave the Seireitei in case something happened. And this way I can learn all his techniques. He also thinks I'm dead so he won't be looking for me."

Veneno's face became serious and worried.

"Unless..."

"Unless what?"

Veneno pushed Rukia aside. "I'll be right back."

If Yagi had read the files, then he would also know about Veneno's cloning ability. Who knew what else he knew? He could have read anything from those files. Veneno had to see Mayuri at once.

"And Rukia."

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone about that ability still being mine. No one else knows and I want to keep it that way. Mayuri might try to rope me back in if he found out."

Rukia nodded. "My lips are sealed."

The only other person who knew was Akon. That was what they had spoken about back at the lab.

Veneno was concerned for several reasons. Mayuri was at the top of the list but there were others. On the surface, it might seem odd to be worried about discovering that a long lost ability had returned, but it brought more questions. Veneno had asked Akon if he should be worried about his body developing rapidly like before, but Akon assured him that it was nothing to worry about. He always had the ability, but after his revival, Veneno didn't seem to be able to use his cloning ability anymore. He had come to terms with that, but now the power had returned. Akon guessed that it was Veneno's body finally being fully recovered since his powers did return over time and it was a slow process. He didn't see a reason to worry.

Veneno wasn't so sure it was as simple as Akon was describing. He claimed that this was a sign that Veneno was fully recovered and back to his full strength. Veneno told Akon that he was wrong. Before he was able to make multiple clones with little to no issue. Now he was lucky to make one or two and it would leave him feeling exhausted. It wasn't the same as it was before. This was another reason why Veneno was so concerned. It left him with more questions no one could answer.

All they had were theories. Technically, Veneno was still an experiment. If something was happening to his body, it was anyone's guess. He couldn't go to a doctor. Experimentation made him this way. Even to himself, Veneno's physiology was a mystery. Some things he had to discover on his own.

He certainly didn't want Mayuri finding out for him. Most of all, it sounded painful. Even for answers, there was no way Veneno was going back to that. He had suffered enough.

Rukia followed Veneno to Mayuri's lab. Veneno was a man on a mission. He shoved any Soul Reaper in his path out of the way and kept marching. He didn't stop for a second. Rukia hurried to keep up.

When they reached a door, Veneno kicked it open and stormed inside. Mayuri stopped what he was doing and looked up with a yellow grin.

"Oh, how wonderful to see you again. Have you changed your mind and decided to resign yourself to-"

Veneno stopped in the center of the room and looked around at the different monitors. "Where's the one you use for records? The archives?"

"What?"

"When I was here before, I read the history of this place. What you taught Soul Reapers at your academy and your rules. I learned so much, but those were in books and written on paper. I'm talking about the digital ones. I know you keep records on file as well. On you computer. Including backgrounds of Soul Reapers and their abilities. Things you've come across over time and added them into the history so you can look back on it. That stuff."

"You want that?" Mayuri looked confused. It was as if Mayuri had offered Veneno gold but he just wanted the wooden box it came in. "Records and files?"

"You do add to them, don't you? Everything you've come across."

"Of course I do. I've added plenty to them, but I'm not the only one with access. Many others have-"

"But it is on your computer, isn't it?"

Mayuri frowned. "Well, of course it is. But again, that database isn't just-"

"I know. Other Soul Reapers can look at that stuff. But is it anyone?"

"It's restricted, the files you're talking about," said Mayuri. "I can get into them and so can the Head Captain and a few other Soul Reapers. Ones on in the court and other higher-ups. Why so interested all of a sudden?"

Veneno looked at the monitor hanging over a large keyboard behind Mayuri. There were different formulas he couldn't understand and measurements, the numbers of which were lined up beside the different ingredients. He frowned looking at the screen. "What is that?" he asked, pointing. "Is that the cure you're working on?"

"No. Just the parts I've managed to isolate from-"

"Is that uploaded to the records?"

"Not officially. I'm still working on it." Mayuri was getting tired of this. Not only was Veneno interrupting him, he was asking far too many questions. "What is it already? Tell me what's going on now."

"The Quincy has seen the records," Veneno said bluntly. "Somehow their leader has found his way into your records and gained access to everything on file. That's how he knows about the Soul Reapers he's facing and their powers. You had also added Victor's Hollow formula to your records when he used it. That's how he knew about it. He read the file. He's been spying on you guys. That's why he's so prepared."

Rukia gasped. "That's how he knew where and how to strike. No wonder we looked unprepared. He had a cheat-sheet!"

Victor looked insulted and embarrassed. "That's how he got his hands on my serum." Then he turned to Mayuri with a look of annoyance. "This is why I don't write anything down. For just this sort of situation. I don't want someone spying on me or taking something that doesn't belong to them. This could have been avoidable if you hadn't written it down."

Victor looked angry. He had every right to be. If Mayuri hadn't added the information to the database, the Quincy wouldn't have had access to the records and taken the information. He wouldn't have been able to poison Ichigo.

Mayuri was beside himself with shock and rage. A Quincy hacking into his system without him knowing about it was an impossibility as far as he was concerned. He asked himself over and over how this could have happened. All the information the Quincy had was stolen from him.

"This is your fault."

Mayuri turned on him. "My fault?!"

Veneno flinched at his raised voice. Rukia backed away seeing Mayuri take a step towards Victor.

"This is my fault?! You're the one who created it! If it weren't for you, none of this would be happening!"

"I wasn't the one who wrote it down. You were. It was my serum. What business is it of yours? Why do you need it? Such information-"

"Such information nearly destroyed us! I had to get that information down to add it to the record to avoid such a thing from happening again in the future. Any information I can gather could be useful."

"It was also useful for the Quincy."

Mayuri threw a cart out of his way as he stomped over to Victor. "You are the one who created it! It doesn't matter what I did or did not do. The fault falls on the one who started it! If you hadn't created that serum, I never would have gotten the information and put it on file and the Quincy would have had nothing to steal. Therefore, the fault is yours!"

"I never-"

"You never intended this, did you? Writing it down or not, you still created it. Take some responsibility! You made it and used it! That is the only reason we have it on file. You started this whole thing!"

Victor kept a stiff jaw no matter what Mayuri threw at him. Once Mayuri had finished, it was Victor's turn to speak. Instead of yelling, Victor sighed and lowered his head.

"You're right," he admitted. "No matter my intention, I still created it."

Rukia felt sorry for Victor. Though there was an argument, she still didn't believe it was all his fault. Anything could be turned into a weapon with the wrong person wielding it. Even with the best of intentions, things could still go wrong. Simply creating something didn't make it bad or evil. It was what the person intended to use it for.

The only reason he created that serum was to please Linnette. He knew Hollows were captivated by her song and knew Linnette craved attention and wanted to be loved. Believing he could give her what she wanted by turning human beings into Hollows, he created that serum behind her back. She never asked him to do it. She never knew his intentions. He thought he was giving her a gift and fulfilling her desire. He thought she would be happy. That it was what she wanted. Only afterwords did he realize his mistake. After hearing it from her mouth did he truly know what she wanted and vowed never to use the serum again.

Mayuri turned away from Victor in a huff. "Think for yourself once in a while, man. Stop letting that girl call all the shots. You need to know when to not listen to her whims."

Victor grew angry again. "This was not her doing so do not put any blame on her. She never asked it of me. I acted on my own."

Mayuri turned around. "You sought this on your own?" Mayuri was intrigued. "Then you can think for yourself. That's good to know."

"You already knew that." Victor tried to calm himself. It was rare for him to raise his voice. He always kept a calm, dignified composure, even in battle. Calling negative attention to Linnette or speaking ill of her in any way seemed to be the only way to get him to display a more menacing side. His handsome face and gentle demeanor hid this well.

Mayuri pulled the cart closer and counted the items to make sure none of them were missing when he sent it sideways in anger.

"I wish for Linnette to be happy," Victor went on. "That is the only reason I created that serum. Not out of spite and not out of cruelty. My intentions were not wicked and I didn't wish to make you an enemy or to start a war. I was only trying to give her a captive audience. She wanted to be loved. She never got the attention she desired or needed. So I took action. Without asking her, I acted on my own and created something I thought would please her. I had no evil intentions. I just wanted to give her an audience. That was all. I wanted to make her happy."

Mayuri was about to retort but Victor cut him off before he could begin.

"But I was wrong. She was crying when she told me. Only then did I realize just how wrong I was. I misinterpreted. I gambled. I assumed." Victor looked down out of shame. "Even Cedric tried to talk sense into me but I wouldn't listen. He told me that sometimes to keep her happy and see that she was well, we had to deny her certain things. We would have to say 'no'. I didn't believe that. I couldn't see how she could be happy if she couldn't have whatever she wanted. I thought he didn't love her enough. Not as much as I did. Because I love her, I wish to give her everything. He claimed to love her as I do, but I didn't see how if he could deny her something."

Rukia remembered that fight. Victor was going to kill Cedric so he would be the only one in her life. The one who would give her anything and everything. No limitations, no restrictions. No matter what it was, he would find a way to give it to her. He felt he was doing the right thing. Only after Linnette pleaded for him to stop while sobbing her eyes out did Victor see the error of his ways and knew he was mistaken. Linnette needed balance in her life. She needed both of them. It wasn't that one loved her more than the other. They wanted to give her a good life but in different ways.

Afterword, they had changed into something favorable. Instead of being spoiled and thinking that the world revolved around her as they had originally taught her, they had changed to become a good family to her. They no longer tried to make her a star on stage the whole world would love. It was enough for them to love her and raise her so she would have people love her as she was. They had to do it together.

It must have been difficult for them, but Rukia approved of how those two had changed for the sake of the girl they loved.

Mayuri sighed. "Your personal feelings aside, this is still a problem. Whether or not you had intended it, it's a problem." Mayuri leaned against the table behind him. "And it's killing Ichigo."

Rukia looked back at Victor who wore a pained expression.

He loved Linnette and was protective of her. He and his brother were picky about who was allowed to be with her and would be suspicious of anyone who came her way. Ichigo was possibly the first one they had come to trust. They knew how much Linnette cared about him and saw that he was a good influence on her. On them as well. With Ichigo's help, they decided to change for her sake. They respected him. Perhaps even call him a friend. He and Linnette were friends.

It was extremely rare for them to care about anyone other than Linnette. Ichigo was possibly the only one they shared concern for. They cared about him as well. Not just because of Linnette's feelings, but because they liked him as well.

Knowing that it was his serum that was making Ichigo suffer was painful for Victor. He had to accept it. Even the possibility that it could cause Ichigo's death.

This was very hard for him. For all three of them. They could lose someone they cared about and call a friend. Ichigo was important to them.

Victor didn't want his serum to be the cause of anything evil happening to Ichigo. He didn't want it to kill him. He didn't want it to be responsible. After all, he was the creator.

Mayuri turned to look at the screen behind him. He cursed under his breath. He was furious that the lead Quincy was able to sneak a peek at their restricted files and the information in the archives.

"They knew about me as well," mentioned Veneno. "The lead Quincy knew about how I tried to take over this place. He also knew that Ichigo had defeated me."

"Yes, yes," said Mayuri. "That was all added into our history. It was all mentioned. Along with the power you possessed to transform people into Hollows." He shot a look back at Victor. "A lot of that going around..."

"But he didn't know about my revival," said Veneno. "I know you had Akon taking notes on my recovery and you were helping me heal in the lab. But that was done in a private lab you had access to and no one else was allowed in there."

Mayuri's eyes lit up. "He didn't get to my private personal files. The ones I keep separate from everyone. Even the Head Captain hasn't a clue what goes in them. It's all off the record."

"So then you know which files he got into?" said Rukia.

"More importantly, I know which ones he didn't get into. I can work with this." Mayuri started typing on the keyboard and the screen changed. "He didn't access my files. I doubt he even knows I have them. The Head Captain certainly doesn't and it's going to stay that way, you hear?"

They nodded.

Mayuri kept typing. "Those notes about your recovery are mine alone. To everyone else, it's as if it never happened. Only I have access. Which means, this stuff is safe. On the downside, the Quincy has all your profile information. Your positions, powers, names... That's why he knew about Captain Soi Fon's Zanpakuto before she released it. Yes, I heard about that. That Quincy she was fighting knew what it could do and knew to avoid it and use Ichigo as a shield. Crafty."

"Now that he has that information, what do we do?"

"Nothing," said Mayuri. "He's already read it."

"Can't you just change the files and add information to them? You know, to confuse him?" said Rukia.

"Of course not. Even if I changed the files in any way, what good would it do if he already has them memorized?" said Mayuri. "And besides, if I did start altering the information, he's going to know that we know he's been in it and get suspicious. He won't trust anything we put in it and he'll know that we're on to him. Complete waste of time."

"Then what do we do?"

"Nothing," said Mayuri. He didn't sound worried at all. "What's done is done. He already saw our hand. We'll just have to deal with it and fight him anyway. At least we know which ones he's seen. This narrows it down."

Victor was thinking. "Is there any possible way you could trace him? He got into the information somehow. Perhaps he left a trail. It could lead us to his location."

Mayuri gave Victor a look of pride. "Sometimes I don't give you enough credit. I knew you were smart but..." Mayuri started typing again. "In theory, yes, I could trace him. If we find his location, we could get the jump on him rather than all this running around."

"But what about Ichigo?" asked Veneno. "Aren't you working on a cure for him? Shouldn't that come first?"

"They're both of equal importance, but first things first." Mayuri kept typing. "A cure will still take some time. And if we know where the Quincy is hiding, we can get there and see if he has his own notes on a cure. We must also be open to the possibility that even if we do cure Ichigo the Quincy could have another serum to inject him with the instant he's out of the woods. If we get to that lab first, we can hinder his work. He must have a lab."

Veneno didn't want Mayuri's attention to be on anything other than a cure. He wanted Ichigo fixed as soon as possible. The longer he was like this, the shorter his life would be.

"I need to see Ichigo and make sure he's ok," he said.

Rukia grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving. "Not so fast. The Quincy thinks you're dead. If you go back there, he'll know you're not. You need to stay here and act as a trump-card. You could be a great sneak-attack, Veneno. They could use a surprise."

She had a point. If he went back there, they would know he was still alive and he would no longer have the element of surprise. They could use his clone's death to their advantage.

"I'll go. And I'll bring Ichigo some supplies," said Rukia.

"Does your Captain know you're sneaking out again?" asked Mayuri.

"Does the Head Captain know about you withholding information and storing them on secret files?"

"Touche."

Against the advice from the medics in the sickbay, Soi Fon was leaving. Now that she was stable and her life was not in danger, she was determined to leave the Seireitei and finish what she had started. She was going after the Quincy who did this to her and put an end to him. She wasn't out for revenge. She knew how dangerous he was. The sooner he was done away with, the better. She didn't want another Soul Reaper to be sent to the sickbay the way she was. Or if they even made it that far. That Quincy was deadly. She had to stop him.

Please review! ^-^