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Unknown Location Beneath Soul Society, One Hour Later, Nemu's POV

"I have returned with the samples you requested, Mayuri-sama," Nemu said as she entered the darkened room furnished with a variety of scientific instruments.

"I can see that, you feebleminded fool," came the contempt-filled voice from the far corner. "Bring them here! Quickly!"

Ever prompt in obeying the orders of her creator, she brought the container filled with the reiatsu and tissue samples the spy bugs had acquired during the recent testing of the four prototypes. As soon as her master had sensed their arrival in Soul Society, she'd been ordered to don Mayuri-sama's own variation on Urahara Kisuke's reiatsu-concealing fabric and acquire samples. It hadn't taken her long to arrive at the testing area and, once satisfied that her presence had not been detected, she'd activated the bug-sized drones. Once that had done, she had focused on observing each of the specimens in turn, knowing that her master would want a detailed accounting of what had occurred.

Placing the container on the open space on the table that the former captain of the 12th division had indicated, she stepped back and awaited his next request. Indeed she had given quite a bit of thought as to what the future would hold for the two of them now that they had lost their positions in the Gotei 13. They were very likely considered wanted criminals and were being hunted as such by the various divisions and the Onmitsukidō. While there were no shortage of hidden laboratories and safe houses where her 'father' could hide, it was inevitable that they would all be found sooner or later. That left escaping into the mortal world or establishing a base in some obscure dimension that existed between Soul Society and the living world. No doubt her creator would find it infuriating that a scientist of his caliber needed to hide from his intellectual inferiors and would make it a goal of his to create a means by which he could gain revenge on them all.

Her purpose, as always, would be to assist him in any way that she could.

It was fifteen minutes before Mayuri-sama would finish reviewing the samples she provided and, if the gleeful chuckling was anything to go by, he was pleased by what he'd learned.

"It is truly amazing what my brilliant mind is capable of!" he declared before turning to her with a smile on his face. "I can even surprise myself from time to time!"

"Then they have exceeded your expectations, Mayuri-sama?" she asked in a respectful manner.

"Indeed! The one created from Kenpachi's genetic material is already at 65% of his father's level of spiritual strength without even achieving shikai," he replied as though it was obvious. "If my calculations are accurate, then once he releases his zanpakuto, his power level should double and, should he achieve bankai, that level will double as well."

"Most impressive, Mayuri-sama," she stated, genuinely impressed with what her creator had achieved.

"Of course it is, you dimwit! The others are equally impressive, although there is a small anomaly in Soi Fon's progeny that I had not anticipated," he snapped before becoming a bit introspective. "Still, it could prove most interesting. I only need to conceive of the right stimulus to enhance the unknown component in her reiatsu and the truth should be quite easily discernable."

"Is that wise, Mayuri-sama? With the entire Gotei 13 searching for you?" she asked gently, pointing out that continuing with his efforts could lead to his capture.

"You dare question me!" he yelled before backhanding her hard enough to knock her to the ground. "You useless woman!"

Reflexively pressing a hand to the spot on her face where she'd been struck, she lowered her eyes, feeling bad that she had spoken out of place towards the one who gave her life. It happened from time to time but always unintentionally since she only ever wanted to be something he could be proud of in some way. With each failure, though, her hopes of that coming to pass grew dimmer and dimmer until lately she could barely see their light or feel their warmth.

"Even with the few among them of minimal intelligence, it will take weeks before they find this location," he said with contempt as he turned away from her. "Even should they discover it, the traps and defenses spread out around it will provide ample warning. They are ignorant fools and nothing more!"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama," she said as she rose back to her feet so as to be better prepared for her next orders.

For hours she stood there, silent, waiting for her next set of orders to be issued so she could once more be of use to her creator and perhaps meet his expectations of her. She knew not how much time had passed before he finally turned his eyes to her but she knew by the look in his eyes that he now had a mission for her to complete.

"Nemu! You will take these four injections and administer them to my creations. If those fools refuse to accept my brilliance, then I will not permit them to reap the benefits of it. Do not fail me."

"Hai, Mayuri-sama," she said as she took the case containing the four injectors before turning to leave the underground laboratory.

Navigating through the various countermeasures that had been installed for a hundred yards in every direction around the hideaway, she quickened her pace as soon as she cleared them. Using every method of stealth that she had been programmed with, she began to calculate where her targets would be at this point and what the most efficient order was to administer the injections.

She would not fail her creator in this.

She would not, even if cost her her life!

4th Division Barracks, Evening, Xander's POV

Well, I can honestly say for a fairy spirit mother Unohana is pretty nice, he thought as he walked down the hallways of the barracks. Definitely a step up from Jessica but, then again, I'm pretty sure that some machine with a series of preset responses could beat her in a mother of the year contest.

Yeah, it was safe to say that when it came to Jessica Harris' parenting skills, they were more like a vague afterthought rather than a traditional set of rules that had been handed down for generations. By the time he'd hit his teens, he'd consider it remarkable if she managed to remember to do something motherly more than three times a year. Indeed that was the highest she ever soared as a mother and so it was little surprise that when Joyce Summers entered his life that he began to look to her for the emotional support his mother was incapable of providing.

Spending a couple of hours with Captain Unohana, though, made him take a definite shine to her and actually had him thinking about what his life would've been like if she'd been there from the beginning. Would he still have met Willow? Would he have such a drive to prove himself better than Tony Harris? Probably. Maybe. That was pretty much why he was out wandering the halls of the 4th division barracks while the others were settling into the beds they'd been provided while the people in the white coats draw up their class schedule for the next while. Now that things had slowed down a bit, he was able to think on what he'd learned so far and kinda plan where he'd like things to go from there. Oh, he knew the immediate future would be him and the others learning how to use their spiritual energy properly and how to restrain it so that they wouldn't need Giles' bracelets and necklaces. He was actually looking forward to learning some new tricks from the people who were probably experts on the subject.

If what that glasses guy did to Willow is any clue then being able to fire lightning bolts from my fingertips is a definite possibility, he thought as he passed one of the people who worked for his 'Mom'. Maybe I can do a good guy version of the Emperor when it's all over with.

The people here certainly wore enough black that he could probably put together a decent enough imitation of Palpatine's Sith robes but, then again, he didn't want to tempt fate and go evil.

The only thing he really wanted to do aside from some magic was figure out how to transform his zanpakuto just like Willow and Buffy could. He'd talked to Willow about it and she'd said learning the name of the spirit that existed in the katana was the key. With that in mind he'd made several visits to his own personal Khazad-dûm to speak with the dragon lady and the shadow wolf that embodied the spirit of his sword but, no matter how many times they tried, he could never get their names. He either got gibberish or odd sounds that did nothing to convey what he needed to know. Dragon Lady figured it had something to do with his lack of spiritual development and the shadow wolf gave off the impression that it thought he was just a simpleton.

Only time would tell which of them was right.

As he passed the various rooms that lined either side of the hallway, he took the occasional glance inside but found that most of them were empty. However it was as he reached the halfway point of the eighth hallway that he looked into a room to find a sight that stopped him in his tracks: Lying in a bed with some kind of mask over her mouth and the bed sheets covering everything below the shoulders was a small dark haired girl. She looked to be about the same age as him physically, if a bit younger, but he got the idea from others that looks didn't mean much here. From the way they talked about time fifteen years might as well have been fifteen days for them and someone who looked to be in their forties could very well be in their four hundreds. So this girl could actually be as old as Mrs. S back in the living world for all he knew.

Nevertheless, while his mind knew this, his heart and his soul could only see someone who'd be at home sitting next to him in school or walking through the Sunnydale mall shopping for clothes.

Walking into the room, he began to wonder what had happened to her but, seeing as how he didn't have a PhD to his name, he could only make a civilian diagnosis. Most of the damage seemed to be to her torso and, if she needed some kind of mask over her mouth to breath, then it'd be a safe bet that there was damage to her lungs or the muscles needed to breathe. He didn't know what kind of weapon could do that but if it was a sword like his zanpakuto then he'd put money on impalement and he didn't like the image his mind came up with.

He didn't like the image of some asshole running a cute girl like this through with a sword.

"Oh! I didn't see you there," came a female voice from behind him.

Turning his head, he saw that a nurse had stumbled upon him and for a moment he wondered if he was somewhere he shouldn't be.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was just walkin' around the halls thinking and found myself here," he said, turning to face the young woman with his lopsided smile firmly in place. "If you don't mind me askin', who's this? It's just not right for a cute girl like this to be so banged up."

For a moment it looked like she wouldn't tell him but then a look of fear entered her eyes and discomfort in her body language. This surprised him a bit but then he remembered that the only other person she probably knew with an eye patch was his 'Dad', so it was somewhat understandable for her to react like this. Though he had to wonder if it was looks alone that made her react like this or if the man with the same eye wear as him acted in a way that warranted such a response.

"S-she's Lieutenant Hinamori Momo of the fifth division," the nurse replied, having a hard time looking him in the eye. "She w-was badly injured by former fifth division captain Aizen Sosuke and is currently undergoing extensive internal reconstruction and regeneration."

"Wait! She was put in here by her own captain!?" he exclaimed, unable to understand. "Why!?"

"I-I-I don't know. T-They're still investigating w-what happened," she replied with a start as the fear in her eyes spiked.

Knowing he'd probably get lectured if he didn't do something, he did his best to put on a friendly face and reigned in his reiatsu in case it might be freaking her out without knowing it.

"Well I hope they kick that sonuvabitch's ass when they catch up with him."

This seemed to calm her somewhat making him think she had similar opinions of the traitor but she still looked intimidated by his resemblance to his 'Dad'. Given that she might have something to do with Hinamori's treatment, he figured it'd be best if he just moved along since he didn't want to do anything to cause the young woman to make a mistake.

"Well, I'll move along and let you do your job. Goodnight."

"G-goodnight," the Nurse stated with a slightly trembling smile as he passed by her.

I seriously need to get people around here to stop seeing me as a mini-Zaraki Kenpachi, he thought as he continued his wandering of the hallways. Not much I can do about the eye patch but maybe if I got a new hairstyle or wore something 'Dad' wouldn't be caught dead in they'd stop seeing me as a copy of him.

The hairstyle might be possible since apparently his spirit body had longer hair but he'd have to ask someone where the local hairstylist was in Soul Society. As for clothes, he hadn't seen any real big difference between the shinigami except for that one captain who wore that pink kimono-thing with flowers all over it. That would definitely set him apart from the Zaraki Kenpachi since there's no way a guy who lived for fighting would be caught dead wearing something so unmanly. Personally he saw it as Japan's equivalent to Hawaiin shirts and so he wouldn't have as much of a problem wearing one if he had to. True, he'd try to make it a little less girly and a bit more manly but it'd be the same basic concept in the end.

Still, they'd be spending some time in spirit school soon so he'd probably have to wear some standardized uniform or something, so the best he'd probably be able to manage was a new hairstyle. Maybe a pony tail samurai look? Or maybe a Neo the One haircut?

Man! I need some serious sleep if I'm actually putting serious thought into my hair like this, he thought, shaking his head to clear it of the nonsense.

With that thought he began to move back towards the room he and the others had been assigned to get some sleep. He didn't have any idea how early he'd have to get up but, knowing his luck, it'd definitely be earlier than he'd like and, because he was a 'guest' here, he wouldn't be able to complain or ignore them.

Good thing it'll only be for a month or so, he thought, remembering what he'd heard the old man say about how much time they had to spare teaching four people who dropped outta nowhere.

He didn't even want to think about the possibility of having to get up early every morning for the rest of his life because that would be a fate worse than death, right behind being locked in a room with Snyder and watching someone scarf down an entire truck filled with Twinkies while being tied to a chair and forced to watch.

4th Division Barracks, Residential Section, Buffy's POV

Going from one school to another, she thought as she laid back in the bed she'd been provided along with the others. At least this one has subjects I can actually get interested in.

Not that she was as psyched about it as the others were.

For her this was just a more thorough bit of training like what Giles had taught them so that they could control their spiritual energy better. Once that was done they'd go back to Sunnydale and everything would be more or less the way it was supposed to be for the four of them; normal teenage lives mixed with the odd bit of slayage when it couldn't be avoided. She was no longer the Slayer so she no longer had to sacrifice her own wants and desires to 'save the world' like she had for the last three years. True, she'd have to dye her hair from here on our or tell others that her new shade of blonde was a new look she was trying but that was a minor thing to her. Xander didn't look all that different in his spirit form so she doubted that anyone back in Sunnydale would notice him being a bit taller with a bit longer hair.

No, the two people who'd likely have the hardest time would be Willow and Cordy.

With Cordy… to say that the socialite would have to adjust her wardrobe would be something of an understatement. With a larger rack (something she thought was so unfair since her own was about the same) and unruly hair, it would take some significant preparation in the morning to keep people from suspecting something. She'd already spotted Cordelia making up a list of the hair care products she'd have to get to whip her hair into the desired shape but, as for the other thing, all she knew was that Queen C was dreading the back aches to come.

Willow, on the other hand, would have both skin issues as well as eye issues, neither of which would be all that easy to hide or overcome. Having coffee and cream skin was not something they'd have an easy time dealing with since, without expert makeup artist, it'd be almost impossible to paint the exposed parts of her skin just right. Add to that the purple hair and the eyes and you'd have not only hair dye added to the list but also contact lenses. True, Giles could come up with some kind of spell that could hide the truth but, with all the wackiness that the Hellmouth produced, there'd be a question of reliability.

Still, the return to Sunnydale and the lives they had there was something that would come after they'd finished their training here and it sounded like it'd take at least a month. Some silver haired girl with a skyscraper body had already dropped off the uniforms they'd be wearing while attending this shiny gimme school and she had to say that she wasn't all too thrilled with them. While the colors were fine, the way they'd been put together with the parachute pants and weird wide-sleeved tops made her wonder what century the designer was trapped in. Sure, she knew the whole place had a samurai theme going for itself but there was such a word known as 'restraint' and she was fairly sure the people in charge knew what the word meant.

Then again she was from a country where the only kinds of schools that insisted that students wear some kind of uniform were high class academies for rich kids. In Japan, the country that Soul Society based everything they had on, though uniforms were pretty much a given or at least that's the way it looked to her the few times she'd gone off to slay some Hollows.

I guess I can put up with it for a month.

She had only just closed her eyes when a feeling of danger pinged on her senses that caused them to snap open immediately. On instinct alone she rolled right off her bed and, judging from the sudden protest of the mattress springs, it had been the right move to make. Down on all fours on the bed was a purple-haired young woman clad in an unusual form fitting outfit and holding a needle of some kind in her right hand.

She was about to ask the crazy woman what she thought she was doing when the needle wielder blurred out of sight, only to reappear with the free hand inches away from locking around her throat. Realizing right at that moment that she wouldn't be able to match the crazy lady in front of her in terms of speed, she chose to go with a move that had saved her in the past. Instead of trying to free herself, she focused on the hand with the needle in and tried to judge it's speed and angle of descent absolutely correct. Just as it passed the two inch point from her shoulder, she shifted her body as best she could and watched as the needle pierced the wall rather than her. Then, not wanting to give her foe a chanced to wind up for another stab, executed a palm thrust aimed at the woman's wrist and, when the sharp pointy piece of metal broke off the needle, she had to grin a bit at the success.

"Ooops! Looks like I broke it," she said with false regret in her voice. "Guess you're gonna have to come back tomorrow."

"Not quite," the woman said softly before she executed a knee thrust that couldn't be dodged.

Gasping for air, it was something of a shock for her to watch the needle grow a new point like clicking the lead out on one of those plastic pencils. That was so cheating! However, even if that was the case, it didn't change the fact that round two was about to begin with Mr. Needle and she needed at least five more seconds to get clear of it. It might've been different if she'd been hit someplace else or had some way of using her spiritual energy to absorb the impact but, as she felt the sharp piece of metal pierce her skin, she found her thoughts turning to her mother. Whatever was in the needle wasn't likely of the good and that meant something either that'd kill her or make her wish she'd died.

Looks like I screwed up, Mom, she thought as she felt some unknown substance enter her body. I hope you don't mind if I ask them to lie about how I died. Better you hear some sweet lie then what's probably going to be the nasty truth.

She did not have long to wait for the effects of the injection to show itself because seconds later she began to feel her reiryoku chaotically surge throughout her body. At first it was merely seriously uncomfortable but, as her body began to react to the maelstrom of energy within her, it began to protest being pushed around in so many different directions.

It chose to voice this in the form of pain;pain that caused her to cry out, pain that caused her body to fight her mind every step of the way and pain that caused her control over how her power affected the area around her to shatter.

Her knowledge of the world around her was pretty much cut off by the haze of chaos and the entirety of her focus was being focused on returning order to her being. She tried numerous ways of doing so but, no matter how hard she tried to give form and structure to the forces within her, it all turned to sand in the wind within seconds of it taking form. Over and over again she tried to fight against the growing destabilizing force within her but each time she tried to, the delay before it was swept aside grew shorter. It got to the point where she was willing to accept just about any suggestion, any plan, that could save her from the whirlpool of chaos.

A hand in the storm was what she sensed next.

She could feel power coming from it, strength far greater than what she'd been able to muster so far, and so without hesitation she reached out for the hand, clamping down on it with everything she had left.

She had no idea how much time passed between when her grip was established and what happened next but as she felt the pain numb she found such things didn't matter. All that mattered was that an unknown person had appeared before her with clearly hostile intentions towards her and perhaps her allies.

That meant she knew who the enemy was and with that piece of information everything else fell into place giving her resolve enough to push back the chaos.

She had a target: the woman before her who was a threat to both her and her allies.

She had the means in the form of the power she could feel pushing back the storm with every second that passed.

More than that she now had a goal that was as simple as it was final.

She would kill the purple haired woman before her.

Coming Back From the Bathroom, Willow's POV

"That felt good," she said as she walked back with Cordy to the room they'd been assigned to.

"Yeah. Even though this place looks like it's stuck in samurai mode, the baths almost make me not mind," Cordy said with a half-smile on her face. "Now if they could get American TV and put a decent mall somewhere close by, I might consider moving here."

"Moving here? What do you mean?" she asked with confusion as she looked at busty socialite. "We're just here until we learn how to control our power then it's back to Sunnydale."

"Please don't tell me you're that thick!" Cordelia exclaimed with a roll of her eyes. "They've just found out that we're the test tube children of six of their top people and that we have enough power that they want us properly trained. You honestly think they're gonna give us a few classes then send us home with a 'have a nice day'? Not likely."

She wanted to deny Queen C's words but her academically inclined mind quickly pointed out that the young woman had a point. This was one helluva bomb to drop on them and, seeing how important her 'parents' were, it'd be the equivalent of several members of the president's senior staff suddenly finding out they had kids. It wasn't something that could just be swept under the rug and forgotten about within a couple of days. Still, if she had a good grasp of how things worked, the Gotei 13 couldn't really do anything to mess with their lives. The shinigami were only meant to kill Hollows and help spirits cross over, so interfering with the lives of the living she was pretty sure was against the law for these people.

So until me and the others kick the bucket for real, they can't touch us, she thought as her mind began to drift towards that possible future.

Would she even wind up here when she died? Or would she go straight to heaven?

She was about to ask the rich girl what her thoughts on the subject would be when the air around her began to dance and a familiar spiritual energy touched her senses.

"Buffy!" she exclaimed before she ran down the hallway towards the location of the power.

She wanted to get faster but didn't trust the trick she'd used during her the sparring test to get her where she needed to go without unnecessary damage to both body as well as property. Fortunately, though, she and Cordy had been more than halfway back to their room so it didn't take her more than two minutes to arrive at her destination.

What she saw when she got there though caused her concern to evolve into significant worry since, standing in the middle of a demolished room, was Buffy but not the Buffy she remembered leaving less than an hour ago. Standing in the middle of a whirlwind of spiritual energy with ominous black and purple electricity appearing at random within it was her friend but with differences enough that anyone would be able to tell something was the matter. It was almost exactly like the alternate form her friend had taken near the end of the fight outside the factory when she somehow managed to push the Hollow back on its heels for a good long while.

There were differences, though, and not for the better.

The first was the fact that, at the factory fight, her skin was merely unusually pale while not reaching the point where it'd be better looking on a corpse. Now, though, she'd say that the California blonde's skin was almost chalk white and almost made her consider the possibility of white face paint except for the fact that she could see no signs of hasty application or normal colored skin. Face paint might've been reasonable if it'd just been applied to skin that wasn't covered by clothes but there's no way that Buffy could've done her entire body professionally to this degree in the time since she'd last seen her friend.

The second difference was that the eyes of her friend had not only changed to a seriously faded mustard yellow in color but, unless her eyes were deceiving her, crackles of the same black and purple electricity occasionally escaped the corner of her eyes.

When combined with the decidedly diluted shade of blonde that the teenager's hair had taken on, it was clear that something had backed her friend into a corner to the point where the change from the factory fight had happened again. Given how Buffy had fought the Hollow outside the factory, though, this had the potential to be a very bad thing given how the blonde had ignored all but potentially impairing or lethal attacks. While they might be okay seeing as how they were in some sort of hospital, she still didn't like seeing her friend get thrashed no matter what the reason.

"Buffy? Are you alright?" she asked, trying to figure out what sort of frame of mind her friend was in.

"I am fine for the time being, Willow," Buffy replied with a cold voice, one completely lacking emotion. "However you shouldn't be here. This woman means to hurt us."

For a moment she wondered who her friend meant but then she noticed a purple haired young woman in formal business suit version of the usual shinigami uniform. The stranger looked like she'd been thrown into the wall and there was a slight trickle of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth but otherwise look unscratched. Looking about the unknown person's body, she tried to see how the woman could be considered a threat and that was when she spotted the empty needle in the right hand.

Did she inject Buffy with something? She tried to piece together what had happened, If she did then I need to get Unohana-teichou here quickly.

She was about to turn to do just that, she figured there'd be little she could do against someone capable of overcoming Buffy long enough to stick her with a needle, when the purple haired woman vanished with a blur. For a moment she thought that the intruder had fled but when Buffy blurred at roughly the same time she found out she was wrong as the pair reappeared violently with the latter having executed a powerful punch to the enemy's gut. Caught between the wall and a merciless fist, it was unsurprising that the woman cried out in pain but then a look of desperation appeared in the attacker's eyes. With surprising speed Buffy's attacker managed to get out from between the former Slayer's fist and the wall before delivering a roundhouse kick aimed at the blonde's head. Her first female friend though managed to block it with equal speed before executing a thrust kick that was no doubt meant to send the intruder into yet another wall. This attack was also blocked but the force behind it was enough to cause the purple haired woman to skid backwards more than a few feet until the transfer of energy exhausted itself.

"Surrender and I will make your end quick," Buffy stated in a way that chilled the blood of all who heard it.

"I am afraid that I cannot do that," the intruder replied with strained resolve underlying her gentle voice.

"Then pray that the blow that brings you death comes swiftly," Buffy said before blurring once more with a cold intent to kill in her voice.

For a moment she could only catch glimpses of the fighters when they slowed down enough for her eyes to follow but then, when the window on the far side of the room shattered, she knew that the fight had been moved outside. Running over to the window, she found that Buffy seemed to be having more difficulty with her foe now that there was more room available for utilization by both sides of the fight. Indeed it soon became clear that, while her blonde friend had been capable of holding her own in a closed environment like a room, the same was not the case for an open courtyard. Before long she realized that unless something happened soon, Buffy would taste defeat and as for what happened after that… she didn't even want to think about it.

Thankfully some higher power had decided that enough was enough.

"That will be quite enough of that, former 12th division lieutenant Kurositchi Nemu," came a calm yet firm voice to the right of the battle.

Turning, she saw one Captain Unohana of the 4th division standing less than thirty feet from the battle zone and next to her was the grey haired lieutenant Kotetsu Isane. The appearance of these two caused the former lieutenant to pause in her efforts but Buffy wasn't deterred in the slightest as she once again went on the offensive.

The blonde didn't get very far though.

"Bakudō # 9: Hōrin!" declared Lieutenant Kotetsu as she pointed both her right index finger and middle finger at Buffy, discharging a tendril of orange energy encircled with yellow patterns.

With all the speed of a serpent, the tendril struck wrapping itself around the attacking Slayer, pinning the blonde's arms to her body. While no emotion like frustration or anger existed on the bound blonde's face, she could tell from where she was that her friend was indeed trying to break free. Remembering what she'd learned from Giles about what could happen to a person who tried to force themselves free from a spell on pure strength or will power, she moved to try and calm the former Slayer down.

"Buffy! It's okay. Captain Unohana's here and there'll probably be a few more here any minute!" she said with a bit of emotion to get through to the teenager. "It's over. Calm down."

It was almost impossible to make out what was going on in her friend's mind with emotion removed from the equation but, as the blonde's breathing slowed, color began to return to her skin. As the discharges of black and purple electricity faded from sight, the normal hazel eyes replaced the pale yellow ones. Finally it was when the familiar twinkle of emotion that that could only belong to one Buffy Anne Summers returned that her hair went back to the color it'd been an hour ago.

"Willow… I don't feel so good…" Buffy said as she dropped to her knees, looking like she'd run a marathon with bricks tied to her feet.

"Don't worry. Captain Unohana will figure out what happened," she said as she watched the bands of energy fade away. "We have the person responsible so—"

She was just about to say more when a surge of spiritual energy caused her to looked immediately at the intruder, only to find a blur in the woman's place that vanished a second later.

"Dammit!" she growled before preparing to use all of her spiritual energy to boost her speed so that she could pursue.

"There is no need to pursue her, Willow-san," Unohana-teichou said with her usual serene manner.

"What do you mean?" she asked, unable to comprehend how pursuing the person that had harmed her friend.

"We anticipated that something might happen and prepared ourselves accordingly," Unohana replied with a slightly feral grin.

Suì-Fēng's POV

"The target is fleeing as anticipated," she said as she watched the subordinate of a monster leave the 4th division barracks. "Begin pursuit but do not be detected."

"Hai, Suì-Fēng-teichou!" declared the team of fifteen spec op members.

Then like shadows they pursued the person that they believed would lead them to their primary prey and she would not tolerate failure at this point.

For days she'd led her subordinates in their search of Seireitei, for the place where the monstrous former captain was hiding only to come up empty each time. Oh, they had successfully managed to find several hidden labs but none of them had seen use any more recent then four or five months ago. The only useful information they'd managed to uncover was that the piece of filth that had dared wear a captain's haori liked to put a layer of traps around his labs. Some were purely technological in nature while others were completely based entirely on kido but all of them were good at fulfilling their assigned purpose. Most were meant to kill while others were meant to immobilize or disorient. So far she'd lost eight subordinates to Mayuri's machinations but this had only compelled her to increase her efforts to find the one responsible.

It was earlier today though that a plan was hatched that had the most promise of all the ones she'd heard of so far.

During a meeting with the remaining captains of the Gotei 13, it had been the opinion of the captain-commander that with the arrival of the four offspring the odds were high that their creator would make a move. That move would be to either reclaim what he'd created or make sure that those the maniac deemed 'ungrateful' would not be able to use them to their benefit. While none of them expected that the monster would appear himself, they were near certain that he would send his lieutenant out in his place. When this did happen they would covertly pursue the 'woman' back to where her master was located and finally put an end to this pursuit once and for all.

That was why she'd brought only those subordinates who showed exceptional skill at covert pursuit.

Darting from shadow to physical obstruction, she tailed her prey making sure that she wasn't seen every step of the way. The fleeing pattern of their target was complex but it did not strike her as an indicator that the former 12th division lieutenant knew she was being followed. It was far more likely that this was standard operating procedure for her when the time came to return to her master after a mission. A wise precaution when you didn't want the enemy to learn the location of your primary base of operations but it was based on the premise that the pursuers could be lost in the first place.

That would not happen here. She'd make sure of it.

It was no less than twenty-five minutes later that it all came to an end with the removal of a tile in the street and its subsequent replacement once the criminal safely dropped into the tunnels below. For a moment she considered the possibility that another complicated evasion pattern would be put into effect using the tunnel network but then decided against it. While she had little doubt that Mayuri had done a thorough enough job training his 'daughter', she doubted that it would be anything that took up more time than had already been expended.

"Send word to the other captains," she ordered her swiftest subordinate. "We've finally found the abomination's lair."

"Hai."

"The rest of you encircle the area and let nothing escape," she ordered with a cold voice that left no room for understanding or mistakes.

With a nod of acceptance her team shot off in different directions with the intent of isolating it from the rest of Seireitei and making sure nothing slipped through their nets. She would wait fifteen minutes for the others to arrive before attempting to breach the lair of the monster herself. Not only because she believed that giving the man time to muster his defenses was a mistake but also because she doubted she'd be able to hold back for very much longer. The mere thought the man responsible for the violation of her very being and the utilization of her essence with that man's taint was… intolerable on a level she could scarcely articulate. She wanted nothing more than to tear the bastard responsible into tiny pieces but she was a member of the Gotei 13 and a captain. She had a duty to perform and responsibilities that could not be cast aside no matter how much she might want to.

That was what she kept telling herself, anyway.

She believed that she had about another fifteen minutes before those words ceased to be effective and that was an optimistic estimate. A pessimistic one put her tossing aside her restraint in less than eight minutes.

As she thought about what would come after this mission, however it turned out, her mind turned to the result of the foul monster's experiment. Four teenagers who, from what she'd been able to tell, had power equal to a third or fourth seat in any division and only lacked instruction in how best to use it. As far as her personal opinion on the four was concerned, she was somewhat conflicted between her position as captain of the 2nd division and her position as a woman.

The captain in her saw the potential benefits of having four more powerful shinigami on their side for the coming battle against the traitor Aizen and his party. It would mean four more people who had not seen the man's shikai and therefore could not be fooled by any illusions they might cast in an effort to manipulate the battlefield. If they could be pressed hard enough, it was feasible that they could be brought to the level of a skilled lieutenant or third seat in time for the battle. Not enough to kill the traitors but perhaps enough to distract or even wound him enough so that the one that was capable of slaying him could execute the deathblow.

The woman, in her though, could only see how she'd been violated and used to satisfy the unnatural curiosity of a monster in the form of a man. She knew for the most part that there was nothing the four could've done to prevent their own creation but nevertheless she couldn't help but see them as monuments to what the man had done. The woman in her wanted them gone from her life and steps taken to ensure that they never crossed paths again, even if they should die.

Realistically, though, she knew that the choice would be taken out of her hands and be made by the commander-general in the end. With the deaths of the Central 46, there was no one person who held more power than the captain of the 1st division. The heads of the four great noble family's might be able to exert some measure of influence but in the end the old man would be the one to make the big decisions until a new Central 46 was selected. She could not claim to know the inner workings of the captain-commander very well but, during the time she'd been captain, he'd always struck her as being quite practical. He would make his decision by weighing the benefits against the costs before deciding in a way that would match 'the justice of the world' that he believed in so strongly.

How well that would go over with the remaining captains was anyone's guess.

Whatever it was, she would abide by the decision so long as the monstrous mastermind behind it all was brought to justice in the end.

And if he escaped justice somehow, she would seek him out to deal out her on brand of justice.

4th Division Barracks, Treatment Room #5, Xander's POV

"Will she be alright?" he asked, looking at the sleeping form of his friend.

It'd taken him so long, TOO LONG, to get to the scene of the fight after he'd sensed Buffy's spiritual energy soar and by the time he had it was all over with. Buffy had lost consciousness and, at his arrival, Unohana-teichou had asked him to carry the former Slayer inside so she could be examined and treated. He hadn't hesitated and within minutes the head of the hospital was doing her thing and now hopefully they'd find out the truth of what had happened. Willow had filled him in during the examination, about how the former lieutenant of the 12th division had attacked Buffy, and that this had somehow triggered a repeat of the transformation that had happened at the factory. He didn't like that bit considering how unconcerned Buffy had been while transformed about incurring damage. Hopefully in Soul Society they'd be able to figure out what the hell was going on and cure it because, if they didn't, it was only a matter of time before Buffy took a fatal amount of damage.

"From what I can determine, the substance that Nemu-san injected into Buffy-san's body has been neutralized for the most part but I am uncertain as to the cause," Unohana-teichou replied after stepping away from the bed. "There is a peculiar residue of reiryoku in her system that could be responsible but it has decayed too much for me to be certain. In any case, I believe that all she requires now is a few hours of rest and she will be fine."

He and Willow let out sighs of relief at this but Cordy… he was pretty sure he'd seen a look of concern in the socialite's eyes but then again it might've been his imagination.

Hearing the door to the room slide open, he turned to see lieutentant Kotetsu standing there with a look of urgency on her face that could only mean that business had picked up once more.

"Unohana-teichou! They've located Kurotsuchi-san," Lieutenant Kotetsu declared with energy. "2nd division has isolated the area from the rest of Seireitei. Soi Fon-teichou has sent out messengers to the other captains to converge on her location."

"Thank you for this information, Isane," Unohana said as a decidedly hostile look appeared in her eyes. "I shall leave at once. I shall leave things here in your care."

"Hai, Unohana-teichou," Lieutenant Kotetsu said with a formal bow of respect.

"Looks like I might get some exercise tonight after all," he said with his usual lopsided grin, albeit with an edge to it.

"Oh?" Unohana-teichou asked with a mystified look on her face. "How so?"

"By going with you after this Mayuri asshole of course," he replied as though it was the most obvious thing. "I've got a bone to pick with him and it's seriously pointy."

"That would not be wise. While you do possess considerable reiryoku, you are untrained and would be completely unprepared for the battle that is likely to begin soon." Unohana-teichou pointed out with a warning tone in her voice.

"Well, you know they say that experience is the best teacher." He was not going to back down from his desire and it showed. "Besides, if I'm there, the idiot might actually open the front door for us."

This seemed to be insufficient to sway her even though he'd been serious when he'd proposed that Mayuri might actually let them in without trouble. The guy was a true mad scientist and a cocky asshole as well, so it was inevitable that the bastard would trip up sooner or later.

"I'm sure if we stay behind the rest of you there won't be a problem," Willow said, coming to his aid just like always.

"Very well. However you will remain well back from the fighting and obey every order you are given. Understand?" Unohana-teichou asked with a voice that implied this was the only deal she'd agree with.

"Not a problem," he said with a nod of acceptance regarding the terms before turning to Cordy. "You coming or staying?"

"Gee! Come along to a place where there'll be explosions, blood and pain or stay here," Queen C said with mock consideration before sitting down in a chair by Buffy's bedside. "I'll stay here in case things change with Buffy. They'll probably drag your sorry butts back here after anyway."

He just smiled at this knowing that she was showing her concern as best she could without giving up her status as a rich girl in the process.

"Then let us be off." Unohana-teichou said, leaving the room at a brisk pace.

Following her, Willow taking up the rear, they made their way down the hallways of the barracks before exiting into open air. Unohana sped up considerably from there, forcing him to channel his spiritual energy towards increasing his speed and, when she took to the tops of walls or buildings, he sent some energy to increase his strength. It was a little tricky since both were covered with tiles but he managed to keep up without losing his footing but he was pretty sure he looked like quite the amateur. When he landed on a rooftop that was flat enough for him to risk it, he looked back and smiled to find that Willow was keeping up and looked like she could overtake him if she wanted. It made him wonder just how fast she'd be once she had someone to train her in how to increase her speed properly. He might even sit in on a few lessons to see what he could pick up because he'd learned the hard way that power doesn't mean anything if you don't have the speed to keep up with your target.

I hope they don't have another Snyder running this spirit school of theirs or it's going to be Sunnyhell High School all over again, he thought as they continued to head towards their goal.

It was about ten minutes later that he spotted what had to be their destination point since he could see six white coats on the roof ahead along, with an equal number of people without. It didn't take him long to figure out that it must be the other captains and their lieutenants. This reassured him that the asshole wouldn't get away because, with this many powerful people arrayed against him, there was no way he could handle them.

"My, my! You brought them along?" asked the man with the Hawaiin coat.

"They wished to be present when Kurotsuchi Mayuri is apprehended and have promised to remain behind the frontlines," Unohana-teichou replied politely as she walked to the edge of the roof to survey the scene below.

"Hah! Couldn't stay away from a fight, eh?" his 'Dad' asked with a toothy grin.

"Well, a guy can only take so much rest before it gets boring," he replied with his own toothy, lopsided grin. "Besides, I figure once you've beaten the psycho maybe you'd let me see if I can stab his heart blindfolded. Might take a while but it's not like he'll have anything better to do, right?"

"Not likely!" Kenpachi declared with a full smile that showed he approved.

"Kurotsuchi Mayuri will be captured, tried for his crimes and punished," stated the twelve year old captain, trying to sound all adult. "That will have to suffice for your retribution, Xander."

"As long as you toss him in the deepest hole you've got, it's all good," he said, letting his grin go and replacing it with a look of seriousness.

"I've already made sure that his old cell in the maggot's nest has been prepared," Buffy's 'Mom' said in a tone that implied she'd throw the bastard in herself.

"Sounds like just the right place for him."

"Has there been any sign that he has detected us?" Unohana-teichou asked after finishing her appraisal of the area.

"None. However it's more than likely that he knows we're here but simply doesn't care," Soi Fon-teichou replied with a growl at the arrogance of her target.

"Good for you then. The more cocky he is, the more mistakes he'll make," he said, finding the proposed possibility encouraging.

"Let's hope so," she said before a man dressed like a ninja blurred into existence next to her.

"Everything is in place, Soi-fon-teichou!" the man reported professionally, without looking up at his superior officer.

"Good. Begin the assault!" she declared before disappearing in a blur of her own.

I have GOT to learn that move! he thought with his inner fanboy unable not to compare it to super speed.

One by one the other captains and their lieutenants pulled a similar vanishing act, with only Unohana staying behind to look after him and Willow. As a group they leapt to the ground and soon found that one of the slabs of stone that made up the streets had been pulled up to reveal a ladder leading down to what had to be the sewers. Following the kind woman who was his spiritual mother into the darkness, he couldn't help but think about how fitting it was for slime like this Mayuri guy to have a lab in a sewer.

Probably likes the atmosphere. he thought as he followed the captain ahead of him.

As they ran along, he could hear the sounds of battle already beginning, with the ground shaking a bit in time with thunderous rumbling echoing through the air. Obviously the others had either encountered the ex-captain or were having a bit of trouble with whatever traps or security measures had been put in place to protect the underground lab. Every second that the commotion continued, he was encouraged since it was the silence that often implied death whether it was for one person or many.

He hoped it stayed noisy right up until they finished pounding that asshole Mayuri into the ground.

The Underground Secret Laboratory of Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Main Control Room, Mayuri's POV

"You witless WENCH!" he bellowed as he struck Nemu hard enough to cause her to fly across the room and leave impressive cracks in the wall upon impact. "You have led them right to me!"

"My…apologies…Mayuri-sama…" gasped the feebleminded woman as she tried to get to her feet despite the pain.

"You think your apology is enough to undo what you've done!" he yelled before pointing at the various images on the large computer screen behind him. "All of my conventional escape routes have been occupied and I have not had time to finish implanting my upgrades! I should destroy you for this bungling!"

Indeed what he faced now was the worst possible of scenarios for if he did not work quickly he could very well be captured and forced to submit to his intellectual inferiors' brand of justice. If he had but thirty minutes more there was a chance he could implement one of his more unconventional means of escape. With all methods of fleeing the area by foot no longer available to him, he was forced to consider various portal generation methods of escape. Sadly he had not thought it necessary to have his own senkaimon installed in this lab since he'd already installed a means of overriding the main one used by the rest of the Gotei 13 should it have become required. Besides which his pursuers would find it all too easy to follow him if he employed that method and he had no interest in running for an extended period of time.

That left the prototype he'd developed in this very lab over a year ago that had required an extended period of time being exposed to a very specific wavelength of energy. He'd only remembered it when the mod soul he'd left in charge of this lab had given him an update on its progress upon his entering the room. According to his minion, the prototype was almost ready for use and merely required another twelve hours of exposure to the energy waves.

That left twenty minutes of exposure to the energy and ten to open a stable portal that he could pass through after setting the auto-destruct on the device. However, by his estimation, his foes would break into this room in twelve minutes, leaving him with decidedly less time than he required. Moving back over to the computer, he began to review the various security measures and traps that were still operational or had yet to be sprung by the enemy. According to his systems, a little over half of both had already been used, the rest dropping like flies as his former comrades either destroyed or disabled them.

I need to do something quickly!

It was then that a possibility reached him that could very well buy him the time he needed so that he could escape. Typing commands into the computer, he looked through the list of items stored at this particular lab and within minutes began to smile as he realized that IT was here. Investigating the item further, he was pleased to see that it showed no signs of deterioration and, if brought online, would still perform its function. True, it had something of a design flaw that he'd always meant to fix one day but for his present situation it no longer mattered. It would give him the time he needed to open a portal to safety and, if he was fortunate, end the lives of a few of those fools who dared to reject his brilliance.

"Nemu! Go to storage room four," he ordered in a tone that would not tolerate even the slightest disobedience. "There you will find a device I invented that will boost your combat abilities significantly. Once you've put the device within on, go and engage those fools approaching the lab. Do NOT let them get any closer! Do you understand, you mindless drone!?"

"Hai Mayuri-sama," Nemu said with an imperfect bow before leaving the room.

Snorting with contempt for his creation, he waited until he was sure that she'd gone beyond the range of her senses before leaving for a separate section of the lab. The woman's defeat was certain because, while his invention would enhance her combat abilities to a level where she could easily handle lieutenants and cause problems for two or three captains, there were still flaws in the design. However so long as she managed to keep them from advancing for at least twenty-five minutes, she could be reduced to a pile of smeared organic matter for all he cared. All that mattered was that he escaped so that he could plot his revenge upon the fools that had dared to let a pointless thing like morality control their actions when power and victory was within their grasp.

Leaving the main control room, he descended a nearby flight of stairs to a lower level of the lab and at the bottom he entered into a large room. It was not the size of the place that had his attention, though, but rather the device contained within the glass tube at the center. Even though it had not quite reached the level of readiness he required, the portal generator was still pleasing to his eyes and the energy that danced along its surface. Moving over to the controls, he began to go through what set up procedures he could but in the end what consumed most of his thoughts was where he would flee to once the portal was ready to be opened. The land of the living was not an option since it would be one of the first places that his foes would look and, even with the few of the places that could shroud his reiatsu from detection, his freedom would be fleeting.

It was then that a possibility present itself that compelled him to smile, compelled him to laugh and his mind to boggle at the possibilities both for scientific advancement as well revenge.

Yes! That would be truly the best place to go! he thought as he began to bring up the dimensional co-ordinates. With the developments taking place there as well the alliance that could be made… WONDERFUL!

With a destination in mind and a plan for revenge forming, he was able to proceed with increased energy and enthusiasm. He focused on the task at hand so that he would not have to remain in Soul Society for a moment longer than he had to with uncommon determination.

Soon he would leave and when he came back to Soul Society it would spell the end of the society that dared to reject his brilliance.

He would make sure of it!

The Tunnels Above, Kuchiki Byakuya's POV

This is becoming an annoyance, he thought as he commanded the petals from Senbonzakura to slice the steel barrier that had appeared before him to pieces.

While it had been only a couple of minutes since they'd begun their assault on the criminal's lair but the rate of progress that his group was making was towards their goal was unsatisfactory. With three captains and three lieutenants in his group, it should have been easy for them to defeat any obstruction in their path within twenty seconds of detection. The distance from their points of entry into the sewers to the center of hidden laboratory was not that great, meaning they should be more than three quarters of the way there.

Instead it would be more accurate to say that they were halfway to their destination.

The primary source of his annoyance though came from the fact that he could not find fault with anyone on his side of the confrontation. All of his shinigami allies were fighting competently, using a combination of sword work and kido to deal with the obstructions and those… unnatural beings were staying far enough back that they were not helping or hindering anyone. In light of these facts he could only conclude that it was a combination of the obstructions before them plus the environmental restrictions that were the source of the delay. Given that they were underground, none of them could release their zanpakuto beyond shikai, nor use Hado at levels high enough where they could do significant damage to the tunnels. He had little doubt that the criminal had prepared the traps precisely in that manner and for precisely those reasons.

Still, despite their lack of progress, he had no choice but to accept that they were proceeding as quickly as they were able, so it was pointless to waste energy and thought on being annoyed when it would do nothing but distract him from his mission and that could not be allowed. A captain of the Gotei 13, he had a responsibility to his position to carry out his orders to the best of his ability and therefore had to cast aside anything that prevented him from doing his best. Taking a deep breath, he leapt through the opening he had cut, and released his annoyance into the air, returning the serenity he needed to his mind.

"It would seem that Mayuri-san values the security of his hidden laboratory a great deal," Unohana-teichou stated as she took a place to his right as they progressed. "Had we not gained intelligence from raids on previously found laboratories, this would have been quite unpleasant."

"It will not save him," he stated efficiently making it clear that he would accomplish his mission no matter what.

"No, it won't," Unohana said, an odd accent slipping into her voice for a moment.

Adding this to the list of things he would inquire about after they had the criminal in custody, he felt a flair of reiatsu coming from ahead of them and, with skill befitting his position, he relocated well clear of the most likely target area. An instant later a mass of reiryoku shaped like a spike flew through the air at an impressive rate of speed but the projectile failed to hit anyone. However what happened next was enough to cause him to raise his eyebrow as a more powerful level of reiatsu was approaching at high speed. Whoever or whatever it was, though, was not in possession of even average intelligence as his eyes could clearly spot a blue light approaching his position.

He was forced to re-evaluate his foe when, in the space of a blink, the threat went from being over two hundred yards away to striking distance. Reflexes honed through countless battles and thorough training allowed him to block the strikes that were assailing him and, with a burst of shunpo, he put some distance between himself and this new obstruction.

What he saw confirmed that they had indeed located the laboratory that the criminal was currently occupying.

Before them, clad in some sort of mechanical suit of armor, was former 12th division lieutenant Kurotsuchi Nemu. Evaluating the armor, he could spot three strengths and three weaknesses that he would keep a close eye on so that he could bring the fight to a swift conclusion. The gauntlet covering her right hand bulged outwards on one side and possessed two barrels that stuck out about two inches from the knuckles. He deduced that it was from that gauntlet that the spike shaped projectile had come from and so he would be wary of the direction that arm was pointed. The other arm had a spearhead like projection that had an ominous looking energy field extending half an inch from the cutting edge, no doubt meant to increase its cutting/piercing ability.

One melee weapon and one long range weapon.

He also noticed that there were triangular lumps of metal extending from her torso armor and from her boots and he presumed that these were behind the increase in her mobility. While not beyond what he could handle, it was decidedly higher than she should have been capable of on her own and did place her close to captain level speed. However the criminal made a poor choice when he designed the suit of armor his lieutenant was wearing because its design made its weak point all too visible. In the center of its breastplate was an orb that shone with an inner blue light that pulsed at regular intervals, implying it went through a cycle of some kind. It was all too clear that if he pierced that orb deeply enough, it would deprive the armor of power as well as critically wounding the former lieutenant. This would end the fight and allow them to progress towards their goal unimpeded.

With that in mind he went on the attack, not caring about the rest of his group but peripherally hoping that they would take advantage of his fight with the criminal's subordinate to go around and proceed onwards. With his skills as a master swordsman he engaged the unnatural being before him, intent on ending the fight as quickly as he could with as few swings as possible. After the first minute he found that while her swordsmanship was not beyond a lieutenant's level, her reflexes as well as the speed of her movements made up for that. He also would not be surprised if something had been done to sharpen her eyesight enough to follow his zanpakuto's movements more precisely.

It will not matter, he thought as he began to weave together a complex set of strikes that would soon expose his primary target. No matter how capable the body, if it is paired with an inferior mind victory is impossible.

Seven moves later his opening appeared and he thrust the tip of his blade towards the orb, reassured by the fact that the former lieutenant's attempt to parry would be too late.

Or so he thought.

Just before damage would've been done to the orb, the light within exploded forth with a brightness not witnessed before and, as a precaution, he used shunpo to relocate three feet to the left. It turned out to be a wise course of action since a blast of spiritual energy erupted from the orb with strength similar to Kurosaki Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō. The main difference, though, was that the blast was cylindrical in nature and was about two feet in radius so, while it would do damage if it connected, it was not impossible to evade. Feeling a sharp rise in reiatsu behind him, he realized that one of the criminal's creations was actually trying to overpower it rather than do something efficient like evade it. He did not bother to look back but, based on what little he cared to know of the two at the rear of their group, he believe it was likely the one with Zaraki-teichou's spiritual DNA. Indeed, the reiatsu he sensed did feel somewhat like the 11th division's captain so he did not believe that he was mistaken in his deduction. When he saw the blast vanish but the reiatsu remain he believed that the creation of the criminal had survived in relatively good condition.

Not surprising if he had reiatsu comparable to the people he'd been constructed from.

Whatever the case, his objective of piercing the orb became significantly more difficult if the former lieutenant could unleash an attack such as that with only a few second's notice. Perhaps attacking from the rear? Possible but it held a hazard if the propulsion method she employed bore similarities to fire and she was able to activate it with timing equal to her previous blast from the orb. He would have to make sure that his timing and speed were impeccable and beyond the former lieutenant's ability to counter but it was possible. If he could provoke her to into unleashing the orb blast from the front and then use shunpo to strike from behind, it was unlikely that the armor she was wearing would be able to generate two blasts of equal strength in two different directions.

With this plan in mind he went on the offensive once more, keeping an eye out for another energy blast from the orb on the ex-lieutenant's chest.

He would create another opening and this time he would not be denied.