(Valley Of Screams)
'Where... am I?' Senna thought to herself as she came too. She found herself in in a canyon lined with crevices on both rock faces that extended for miles. She was strapped to a pole with a red cloth ring binding her to it. Several floating purple orbs were orbiting around her and the poles. She heard movement ahead and saw the Dark Ones heading for her. "So what? I just hang here and wait while you mope about losing? Waiting for your stupid plan to ultimately fail?" She said defiantly against the guys that held her prisoner.
"How dare you speak to Lord Ganryu in such a manner!" The man with the rocket pack growled at her, stopping when his master raised his hand.
"Relax Rihan, I've long since abandoned the need of formalities." He told his loyal second in command. "And your bravado is charming, but futile. With you here, our plan will succeed and our vengeance against the unjust laws of Soul Society will-"
"NO ONE CA~RES!" Senna interrupted, showing more disrespect for her captors. "What good is your plan going to do? You want to destroy the Living world and Soul Society? To what end? How do you ultimately benefit from this? It doesn't matter, because you're going to be stopped." She took on a condescending and confident smirk. "My lieutenant will stop you."
"What makes you think Soul Society will send anyone out to save someone who doesn't exist?" Ganryu demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, your 'lieutenant' wasn't much of a threat to us." He boasted while snapping his fingers and beginning the ritual, making the Blanks and their energy swarm around her. Soon she was wrapped in cloth made of Reishi that coalesced around her and reformed into a strange altar. The defiance in Senna's eyes, never faded once.
"Because he said so himself." She said with a smirk. "He never abandons his allies." When she said that, a crushing pressure made itself known to everyone in attendance. "That's probably him." She spoke, hiding her relief with casual calm.
"Riyan! Benin!" He called to his artillery and crossbow sniper. "Get up there and prepare to attack! Jai, Mue, Bau!" The dark skinned, slender, and giant men stiffened at his call. "Defend the Shinenju at all costs!" This close to victory, he refused to fail. Until a single phrase froze the very blood in his veins.
"Too slow." They all heard as Ichigo was already in between them and Senna. Jai let anger override his reason as he immediately charged at the hybrid. Ichigo raised a hand up. "Ikkotsu." He whispered before throwing his fist forward. Jai's body collapsed around the fist buried in his gut, feeling his organs rupture and his bones turn to dust, before flying off from the force of the blow and crashing through layers of rock. The event took place instantaneously. "Looks like I still need work. He's still in one piece." Ichigo said, giving himself to his more violent nature. He looked over the Dark Ones with cold black and glowing yellow eyes. "For your crimes, and threat to life, you're all to die." The Dark ones gaped at the strength and ferocity locked away behind those eyes. The club wielding Bau charged at him with the intent to crush him with his mighty clubs, an effort of futility. Ichigo caught the club and weathered it's shockwave before thrusting his palm into the man's gut. "Hado #33, Sokatsui." He said, unleashing the punishing pale fire at point blank range and turning the man into ash.
"M-monster!" Mue gasped as two of his allies were struck down easily. Ichigo was in front of him in a heartbeat, his blade swirling with Reishi as he brought it down.
"Getsuga Tensho." He whispered as he killed another of the Dark Ones. He looked up to see Senna and Ganryu, looking at him in fear as he hastened his progress. Senna was wrapped in a weird, viscous matter that was calcifying into a strange tree. Ganryu suddenly smirked as Riyan and Benin shot down at him. A barrage of missiles and bolts coming down on him. Just as soon as they were fired, they were destroyed by two unlikely allies, showing up to aid the Hybrid. "I thought wasn't getting backup." He stated as the Fullbringers turned to him.
"The Captain Commander said that about the Gotei." Ginjo said, hefting his claymore on his shoulder. "We're still not members."
"Besides, we had time to kill." Tsukishima responded. "Let us have some fun and you do your mission Kurosaki." Ichigo nodded his acknowledgment as he shot toward Ganryu. Riyan was firing more missiles at Ichigo, only for Ginjo to intercept them and wipe them out with an energy blade. "Think we'll get in trouble for this?" The more laid back of the two asked.
"I was always more for giving orders, not following them." Ginjo responded. "Besides, we already got what we came for." The two looked up at their chosen opponents. "What's the harm in having a little fun?" He asked before they charged at the Dark Ones.
(Tsukishima vs Benin)
The purple haired Dark One blocked the white katana of Tsukishima before pushing off from the blade. She threw a few daggers before firing another bolt at him. Tsukishima swerved around the attack as he flew toward his opponent disappearing from her view. He reappeared right in front of her and slashed her from shoulder to hip, his blade leaving a shallow cut as it phased through her body. He jumped back as she hesitantly felt her wound.
"I'm hurt that you've forgotten about me so soon, Benin." Tsukishima said, addressing the Dark One as an old friend while his Fullbring took effect. "I said I would check the situation personally, but Lord Ganryu just didn't feel like waiting did he?" He knew her entire life after that cut. All of her memories were his knowledge, free for him to manipulate at his leisure.
"Yeah..." She said hesitantly, unsure of her own memories before fully falling victim to his power. "Yeah, sorry. We had a window of opportunity and we took it. We didn't have long to take advantage of it."
"It's alright, but answer me one question." He said, trying to gather more information. "Why did you all listen and trust Aizen?"
(Ginjo vs Riyan)
Riyan kept up his barrage of missile strikes toward the Fullbringer, desperately trying to end him so he could try to stall the Soul Reaper from undoing their plans. Ginjo proved too fast and had a good counter to his missiles. It was either he dodged them in time, or he destroyed them in a single swing of his energy cloaked blade. But unlike his opponent, Riyan had the limitless supply of Blanks to power his attacks. He sent out the next barrage, while a few strafed around in the confusion to get him from behind. Ginjo swung his blade and was enveloped in the explosions.
"Finally! Got him!" He cheered, before feeling himself get impaled from behind. He looked over his shoulder to see a lightly singed and ruffled Ginjo, with his blade shoved through Riyan's chest.
"That was honestly annoying." Ginjo said, looking down at the Dark One as he desperately tried to summon Blanks to heal himself. "But I doubt you have anything useful to tell me." Ginjo flared his power, making his energy blade incinerate Riyan. "So goodbye!" He yelled, before destroying the missile shooting midget. "And meanwhile, you were playing with your enemy's head again. Weren't you?" He asked, looking to his side to find Tsukishima with his ever present and cold smile. "We already got what we wanted from that guy Ichigo punched, so why bother?"
"I got her memories, but I wanted to know their feelings." Tsukishima explained. "Their thirst for vengeance had long since consumed them. Easy prey for Aizen to use to his benefit." Just then, a massive torrent of black energy suddenly appeared and tore a hole in the dimensional space. "That wasn't necessary and probably dangerous." The world began to shake as the tear grew.
"Oh crap... run!" Ginjo yelled as they departed, leaving the rest to the hybrid.
(With Ichigo)
Ganryu threw all of his abilities at the hybrid, all to stop him from crushing his mission of vengeance. Swarms of blanks, the calcifying slime that created this false tree they were in, thousands of daggers, none of which even slowed the hybrid down. Ganryu watched in fear of the boy, the monster, that Soul Society sent to kill him. He slashed through all the Blanks with simple swings, let his Reiatsu tear through the gooey slime, and deflected the blades with his bare skin.
"NO!" He yelled, appearing in front of Ichigo. Refusing to hide in the shadows any longer. "My clan was unjustly banished by the Soul Society. I will have my-"
"Just shut up." Ichigo said with such intimidation that Ganryu froze. "I don't give a damn about your clan's history and you deserve no sympathy." He said as he cut one of his fingers. "There is nothing to justify your actions to anyone." He raised his finger up to Ganryu and charged a cero, mixing it with his blood. "But I'm doing this to get my squad member back. Gran Rey Cero." He unleashed the dark torrent of power as it destroyed everything in its wake. The last of the Dark Ones died instantaneously, frozen in the presence of a truly dark beast. "Oops. That was probably a bad idea." Ichigo winced at the tears that began to form all around him. The sky, bleeding the restrictive current of the Precipice World. "Gotta find Senna fast. Limit restore!" He said, sealing his power back up and releasing a Pesquisa. "Found you!" He said, flying down to the heart of the tree and prying open the path to Senna. "Having trouble Rookie?" Ichigo asked with a smile.
"Good to see you too L.T." She said with a smile as she recalled the feelings and memories of the Blanks, as well as her own happy memories. She was unsure of her past, but she knew that her memories with Ichigo were entirely her own.
(Soul Society: Seireitei)
"We have reports. Lieutenant Kurosaki has recovered the Shinenju and caused devastating damage to the Valley of Screams." One of the communications officers relayed to Yamamoto and the gathered captains. The old dragon smiled as he watched his student emerge from the dimension with Senna in his arms. He succeeded in his mission in less than half the time he was given.
"That boy's really something." Kyoraku said while Ukitake was gaping in shock. "Took care of the Dark Ones and began the process of destroying that dimension." He looked down to see Isshin boasting about his son, leading the cheer among the rest of the Gotei in attendance. "Definitely a future Captain Commander."
"In time, maybe." Yamamoto conceded. "He is still young and driven by his emotions before duty, but he'll grow and he'll learn. A leader must learn to listen to their heart as much as their head. Something I remembered just recently." He said, sharing a moment with his students. 'Yes, a fine commander in time. But that punch was too sloppy. Back to the punching board for you boy.' He thought just before alarms began going off.
"Warning! Several Reiatsu signatures are being detected, coming from... THE VALLEY OF SCREAMS!" The man yelled, surprising everyone as the images changed to look into the dimensional pocket. It was then that Yamamoto got the final confirmation of the Vandenreich's return. An entire battalion bearing Yhwach's banner.
(World of the Living)
"Hey Senna, we made it." Ichigo and Senna burst free from the dimensional pocket, greeted by his entire squad cheering at his victory and the smiling faces of his friends... and Ginjo and Tsukishima. "What the heck were you two doing there anyway?" He asked the Fullbringers as they joined their squad on the bridge. The two former enemies smiled at the hybrid with the same smugness they once had. Senna, went to talk to Ichigo's other friends.
"Serving probation." Ginjo explained, pointing at a seal on his neck. "Considering what we did, or almost attempted, we are currently on probation. We do anything out of line, we're dead."
"So for now, we do the field intel gathering." Tsukishima said, holding up his bookmark. "My Fullbring, 'Book of the End' can cut through anything, or lets me control someone's memories after I cut them. As a bonus, I get a comprehensive knowledge of those I cut. It was suspected the Dark Ones were influenced by Aizen and we were sent to find out."
"Thanks for punching that one guy," Ginjo said, "made the job short."
"So what did you find out?" Ichigo asked.
"Aizen met with Ganryu and the Dark Ones." Tsukishima relayed. "He told them that he sympathized with their plight and the injustice of Soul Society and that now was the best chance they had to strike. They were so desperate to get their vengeance, they were ready to throw their lives away for this insane plan. That's all I got from them." Ichigo pondered on the information. What was Aizen's goal in doing this? Testing out their strengths and current defenses? These thoughts were cut short when Uryu cried out.
"Ichigo! Behind you!" He said, making Ichigo turn as several tendrils pierced through his major joints and wrapped around him. He saw a figure with a white helmet, a white cloak covering its body and single glowing eye. The thing suddenly began to retract its limbs, pulling Ichigo towards it and back into the collapsing dimension.
"Target locked, recovering Ichigo Kurosaki." It spoke robotically. "Get over here!" It yelled as Ichigo began to struggle against it. Chad was quick to respond, transforming his arms and firing a blast at the unidentified Quincy. It swerved to dodge and Chad grabbed onto the tentacles that were pulling Ichigo into the rift.
"Don't just stand there!" Uryu yelled as Tatsuki began raining down fire on the strange bot while Orihime deployed her shield at the same time the thing pulled out a large minigun. "Help your lieutenant!" Uryu pulled out his Quincy bow and began firing thousands of glowing blue arrows. The rest of the squad sprung into action, either pulling Ichigo back or firing kido spells at the Quincy bot. It so far had proven too fast and too durable to let go of the hybrid, who was trying to make sure his limbs didn't tear off. He could grow them back, but it still hurt and he didn't want to risk it with any member of the Vandenreich. Ginjo and Tsukishima tried attacking it from behind but it reacted so fast that it managed to shoot holes in their chests, forcing them to retreat and Orihime to multitask.
"Guys!" Ginjo coughed out with some blood. "He's not alone! More are coming!" He took a quick glance back into the Valley of Screams and saw more white clad figures coming to the dimensional portal. They were having trouble with this one thing, how could they fight off more? Senna looked portal and remembered that she was the only one that could close it, but at a cost.
"Cover me!" She called out, getting overhead and in the center of the portal. Uryu jumped next to her and saw a battalion of Quincy soldats coming toward them, getting their bows ready. Uryu responded in kind and began shooting at every arrow they fired.
"Senna!" Ichigo growled out, pulled against his binds while his squad either fired kido spells, pulled with Chad, or tried to hack away the mechanical tentacles. "What are you doing?" She began to glow as the world seemed to change.
"I'm closing the portal." She said, calmly, almost resigned. "Returning the memories to the Blanks."
"What?" He asked, disbelieving that she was doing what he thought she was doing. "Limit one release!" He called out, breaking his first seal again. "Senna stop this! You can't-!"
"Yes I can!" She yelled out. "You said it yourself, squad 15 looks after it's own!" She looked at him with sad eyes. "You've done so much for me, it's time I returned the favor." A whirlwind enveloped her as she flashed him one last bright smile. "It's the least I can do."
"Senna no!" He roared, jumping toward the robot that was pulling his. "Ikkotsu!" He roared as he punched the android, breaking a hole through it and shattering his hand in the process, but he was freed from his binds. He turned and pushed himself toward Senna, just as the wind exploded. "SENNAAAA!" He cried out as light enveloped the world.
"Ichigo, can you do me one last favor?" He heard her voice through the haze of light.
(Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers!)
BG9's Attack
"You think everything will be fine?" Bazz-B asked his fellow Sternritters as they came into the world of the Living. "He's just supposed to hint at the Vandenreich's actions."
"He'll be fine." Bambietta dismissed simply. "He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the mission." She said, just as they saw Ichigo and his squad struggling with the android in question. "Or he could screw it up."
"He follows orders to the letter!" Bazz-B yelled out. "What the hell?" Just then, radio static came from Bambietta's person.
"Sternritter E. I have captured Ichigo and am now returning him for your personal pleasure as instructed." The message from the android cut as both Bazz-B and Candice turned to glare at the blushing brunette.
"You slu-" Candice was about to say when the exact same message played, but for her.
"Sternritter T. I have captured Ichigo and am now returning him for your personal pleasure as instructed." Now she was gaping in surprise and blushing mad.
"Can I have a go before you try to kill him?" Candice asked.
"How dare you!" Bambietta demanded. "Killing a stud like him would be criminal! Let's take turns." She said, getting her fellow's agreement. Bazz-B just hung his head in defeat.
"Why did it have to be you two?" He asked, just before the bridge exploded.