Ultrabross's Vision

CHP61: The War Begins

There was nothing but brightness, blinding and it was no different for his subordinates. Little by little that brightness died down and it was then each realized they'd relocated! Yamamoto gazed around and confirmed it was only himself, his lieutenant and 3rd seat in command that relocated to the specific location. Floating upward was the head guy himself. Ultrabross hovered downward with a large grin on his face which was replaced by laughter. Yamamoto watched him intently with narrowed eyes, and the entire group was on guard

"You're probably wondering where here is, am I right? You need not worry, It'll be the place of your tomb...all of you," Ultrabross licked his lips.

"Where have you taken us," Yamamoto looked around, none of it in the slightest familiar. "And what of the other divisions?"

"Do not concern yourself with such insignificant details, I'm your opponent. I've gone through recent changes, and I'm aching to test these changes. You, the Gotei Thirteen are my greatest enemy, but maybe not personal, you're an obstacle in the way that must be dealt with. This has been a long time coming and I look forward to savoring this victory," Ultrabross grinned.

An individual standing to the left of Yamamoto cracked his knuckles, taking a single step forward. He had pupil-less eyes, short silver-gray hair and a small black handlebar mustache with lightly tanned skin. He wore a white jinbaori over his standard uniform with long white arm guards and topping it was a white turtle-neck under his uniform.

"It is unwise for one to claim victory, especially when that fight has yet to begin. Overconfidence will be your downfall."

Ultrabross let out a snicker, amused at the words from the second in command.

"Chojiro Sasakibe," Ultrabross crossed his arms, an unhidden smirk wide over his lips. "I've already won. Things have played out exactly as I envisioned and there is nothing that can be done to hinder what's already been set. You lost your one chance to stop me early on when you allowed Kurosaki to disembark on an impossible mission. Had you studied my subjects more carefully you could have stopped me in my tracks."

"And what is it you seek, your end goal?"

"Oh come now, surely you should be able to figure that...but then, perhaps I've overestimated you all. Placing you on much too high a pedestal, a minor mistake, but could you blame me? After all, you're the almighty Gotei Thirteen," the king snickered.

Yamamoto wasn't in the least bit amused and his patience grew thin. Their whereabouts were a mystery and he couldn't sense the reiatsu from a single of the other captains or their subordinates. The air was cool and thick, a purple colored sky with not a single cloud and nearby trees. Mountains were visible out in the distance, but took on a different shape and the surface particularly odd. Clearly they were no longer in soul society, but the same could be said regarding the human world.

"Not a clue huh? Well then I guess I'll explain it to you," Ultrabross grinned rubbing his hands together. He gazed at the three shinigami with much intent but none more than Yamamoto, "You people hold the title death god, and with it comes a great responsibility to maintain order and balance of souls."

"We know all that," Okikiba snapped. "We don't need a review or history lesson on our active roles."

Ultrabross chuckled with crossed arms.

"I suppose you're right, so I'll go ahead and get straight to the point. Ichigo's soul was compromised from the very beginning he took on the hollows...those same hollows you people should have inspected more closely."

The three shinigami were baffled by the reveals! They couldn't confirm if what he said was true, but the bit concerning Ichigo and their inability to reach him started to make a whole lot more sense. If what the dark king said was true then Ichigo might very well have been lost, his soul corrupted and fused with the darkness of hollows; each and every one of the unique hollows slayed after setting out on his mission. If that was truly the case than none would be able to forgive themselves, but no one would shoulder a larger burden than Yamamoto.

"You two," Yamamoto looked to his lieutenant and 3rd seat. "It was my decision to send Kurosaki Ichigo out onto a mission blindly and therefore it is my problem; a problem in which I will erase...personally."

Yamamoto's eyes fell over the enemy floating above them.

"But sir!" Both Okikiba and Sasakibe voiced at once.

"Silence," Yamamoto shot back but didn't give eye contact. ""My decision is final and you will abide. Back away, I don't want either of you caught in the crossfire."

Okikiba clinched his fists and was hesitant to back off. If the enemy before them was capable of commencing such an uproar, he wondered just how powerful a foe he was in combat. If it were up to him they'd all fight together, but that wasn't his decision to make.

"Have you two gone deaf, I said get moving!" Yamamoto commanded.

It was then Sasakibe who bit at his tongue and clutched his fists, but orders were orders and coming from the head captain they couldn't be ignored. The surrounding was unlike anywhere they had traveled, but did exactly as he was asked and took off away from his captain. Okikiba was reluctant but eventually followed his lead and the two came to a stop a little over one hundred yards away. If the head captain didn't want them involved they had no problem granting the request, but neither would hesitate to jump in if it appeared as though the enemy had a heavy advantage. Ultrabross let out a chuckle which quickly turned to laughter.

"Foolish old man, to think you actually believe you can take me alone and rein victorious. It seems in your old age you have gone senile, unable to make smart decisions."

"It is you who has made a grave mistake in challenging the Gotei Thirteen, your youth, misunderstandings and overconfidence will lead to your end. A cub should never bare its fangs at the king," Yamamoto responded.

The evil king applauded the words of his enemy and clapped.

"Well spoken, but you're far too old to back up those claims and it is you that reeks far too much confidence. Did you really think I'd wage war with you beings without first doing my homework. I am plenty knowledgeable in terms of your strengths and weaknesses. On the flip side you know nothing of me and what you don't know could hurt."

The head captain remained standing with his eyes closed, the wind blowing in various directions. It was almost like the calm before the storm and the storm was coming, that much he was positive of.

"You look flustered old man, things not playing out as you envisioned? I am the end of everything as you were accustomed, you shall witness the beginning of a new era," Ultrabross hovered backwards scratching at his left cheek. "Then again I will be standing over your decapitated body soon, so I suppose that statement would be inaccurate."

Yamamoto let out a sigh but didn't budge.

"And what became of the other captains, do they remain in soul society?"

"Of course not. They've been relocated just as you bunch and if you want to see them or your precious soul society again you'll have to get passed me first."

A period of silence followed and Ultrabross stared down the head captain who made no attempt to return his gaze. It was more than clear Yamamoto was in deep thought, but what about the dark king could not say. Till then his eyes hadn't opened but that quickly changed, the head captain looking his enemy over closely. The dark king stood at 6'1, spiky dark green hair and silver colored eyes. He wore armored boots in the color of silver with matching gloves that extended to his elbows. Silver armor covered his chest, shoulders and beneath it all was a gold colored body suit.

"You ready to begin old man, or do you still have questions? It truly doesn't matter regardless, this is simply a fight you cannot win; you're against an opponent far superior to yourself."

Ultrabross chuckled and awaited a response from his opponent.

"It isn't too late to call back your underlings to assist you, one against one or three against one, it doesn't matter...you death gods are heavily outmatched."

"It is a mistake for a warrior to claim victory before he has won, watch your tongue" Yamamoto replied.

"Is that so?" Ultrabross grinned.

Yamamoto lifted his right arm and Ultrabross specifically paid close attention to the wooden staff held in his hand.

"Young fool, you will soon realize never to overlook an opponent, especially when that enemy is the Gotei Thirteen! Reduce All Creation to Ash."

Right before Ultrabross's eyes the wood dispensed and in its place was a sword, or rather Zanpakuto.

"All Things of this World, Turn to Ashes..." Yamamoto uttered.

The dark king eyed the blade known as Ryujin Jakka, flames forming at the blade's tip before quickly extending upward. In just about the blink of an eye much of the blade was covered and Yamamoto's body along with the nearby surrounding area were engulfed as well. Though there was distance between them Ultrabross could feel the intensity of the flames, beads of sweat running down his face. In that instant he clinched his fists and smirked, knowing he was in for one. There was no one better to test his new abilities against. The spiritual pressure exerted from the blade was substantial, the density of the air much tighter and harder to breath.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Ultrabross shouted in excitement.

With his right arm extended outward a dark aura circulated around it before forming a dark blade which he held firmly. He swung the blade around and got a feel for the weapon. Yamamoto watched him closely and couldn't say for certain what just happened. The blade seemingly formed out of nothingness. The idea did come to mind that perhaps it was formed using gathered reiatsu from the atmosphere, but he quickly dispelled the idea. The head captain sensed a strange dark matter reverberating from the weapon, but it was dissimilar to anything he'd felt before.

"Things are just about underway it seems," Okikiba said.

"Agreed and this enemy has the X factor seeing as he's studied us beforehand, but that doesn't mean he has the advantage. Even so, he's not to be underestimated especially with the amount of headache he's caused us," Sasakibe added.

Even from one hundred yards away they felt the force of Yamamoto's Zanpakuto, its spiritual pressure extending far and beyond where they stood. There were many unanswered questions surrounding the enemy before him and deducing such hidden secrets would have to be done during battle.

"Are you ready to begin...old man?" Ultrabross smirked.

The heat from the flames got his blood pumping and he was eager to clash blades with the death god opposite him. Yamato blitzed his enemy, covered and surrounded by flames and their blades clashed. The impact of their blades colliding resulted in a sizeable crater shaping below and Ultrabross was unaffected by the heat of the flames. In that one exchange Yamamoto picked up on a peculiar aura rumbling from the enemy, similar in feel to a barrier. The two pulled away from each other only to collide blades once more.

XXX

Their surroundings were odd, twenty foot walls on either side of them and an endless hall no matter which direction they looked. Unlike division one, others were separated from their divisions during the instant the bright flash appeared. Walking these strange halls were Shinji Hirako, Momo Hinamori and Izuru Kira. Izuru had been separated from division three and not much had been said since the change of environment. The three so desperately searched for a way out, or answers to what transpired. They tried cutting through the walls using their zanpakutos, but even that was for nothing.

"I don't like this," Izuru clinched his fists. "I don't like it one bit!"

"None of us does and the longer this goes on, the more pissed off I get!" Shinji added.

Momo remained silent as they continued on, fiddling with her fingers and trying her best to stay calm. Unexpectedly laughter filled the halls and each of the three looked around but couldn't figure where it originated. It seemed as though it came from all directions, echoing and getting louder the longer it went on. From what they could tell the laughter no doubt belonged to a child, likely a young girl.

"Damn that's irritating!" Izuru covered his ears.

"You can say that again," Shinji placed his hands over his ears.

Little by little the laughter died down and reverted to chuckles and by then Shinji held a firm grip over his blade and kept his eyes peeled for a potential attack, as did the others. Soon the laughter had completely vanished and it was replaced by a voice.

"Welcome to my maze, where anything is possible hahaha! Will you survive or will you die?! I'm so excited to find out, aren't cha?!"

Both Shinji and Izuru shot each other a knowing look, one in which didn't require a response.

"She sounds no older than eight, what the hell is this!" Izuru bit at his tongue.

"Ok, before we begin allow me to introduce myself," more snickers followed. "I'm Vixy Bloom and you're inside the maze of death. If you haven't figured I'll go ahead and tell you. Everything before you was constructed by yours truly...that's right, me! I hope you're all pumped much as I am."

"Little girl!" Shinji shouted. "Or whoever you are, this is no time for games. Dispense of these walls and show yourself!"

"Hehehe, that's not how it works silly goose. You play through and make it through the maze and once I'm satisfied or you complete the necessary steps, you'll be free to play with me. Don't worry I'll go easy on you from the get go, K."

Shinji gritted his teeth and punched at the wall to his left.

"No games, show yourself or else..."

"Or else what?" she laughed some more.

Next was a loud rumbling sound and shaking at their feet, Momo stumbling somewhat but maintained her balance. From both sides of the hall sharp blades in the form of energy shot at them and with the use of their zanpakuto's they cut the blades down and it took every bit of their speed to do so without taking damage.

"Yes, yes! This is gonna be so much fun, can't you feel it?!" the female voice spoke again from somewhere hidden.

The atmosphere around them was quickly consumed by a cloudy like subtance and they made certain to stay close to one another so not to lose each other in the fog. The fog soon died down and when it did the surronding had changed entirely.

"Where," Momo looked all around. "Where are we?"

"Obviously still inside that lunatic's maze," Izuru replied.

The change in location was much more spacious and a lake off to their left with numerous trees all around and forty foot walls in the color of light blue. The ceiling shared the same color wit childlike things painted across each, bunny rabbits, candy, teddy bears, etc.

Elsewhere inside the king's castle the silver haired vampire laid atop a bed with her face buried in the pillows, feeling completely powerless. The way in which things continued to go downhill was upsetting and depressing. She had never felt so useless in her entire life and all her friends were imprisoned because of her as well as her half-sister. It was very possible there wasn't a single soul in the world that cared more about her than Akua, maybe perhaps Tsukune...but the list was short.

The thought she was responsible for everyone's misfortunes continuously played in the back of her mind over and over. No matter which way she looked at it there was a lot of truth in the thought. She halfway wished she didn't exist just to take away the pain, hurt and weight that had fallen over her shoulders. It was also in that moment that a voice spoke from deep within, which started with a whisper but grew louder with each second that passed.

"Ura-chan...Ura-chan." the soft voice called out to her.

Since she had removed the Rosario it was the first her outer self-had attempted to speak.

"What is it?" Moka shot back, annoyance in her tone.

"Don't beat yourself up over everything, the situation is out of our control. We didn't ask for this and even if we didn't pass through the yokai realm after Ichigo, we still would have faced the same dilemma. Sooner or later the king of this realm would have come after us," Moka's outer side voiced.

Moka pushed up from the pillows and rolled over on her back, one leg positioned over the other.

"Yes Omote, I know."

"And our friends would have come running just as they have and the circumstance would be no different," The outer personality of Moka was curled up in a ball with her knees pressed against her chest. "If you want to reconnect the Rosario and let me take o..."

"No," Moka silenced the outer personality. "At some point an opportunity to free the others and escape will arise and I'd be the most suitable to do so. Tsukune and Ichigo are the only known two persons that are capable of removing the Rosario. And as of now Ichigo transformed into that monstrous state and is under the control of Ultrabross and Tsukune is locked away. Just hold tight, there's no way we're giving ourselves to him."

The out personality remained silent from that point forward as Moka stared up at the ceiling.

XXX

The skies were dark and the atmosphere foggy as three death gods to the Gotei 13 walked through a swamp like surrounding. Sounds of nature were on heavy display and they kept their eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. They had not yet figured where they'd been relocated to or what became of other members to the Gotei 13. The entire scenario was peculiar and leading the way was Toshiro Hitsugaya, followed by his lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto and lastly Renji Abarai.

"Where the hell even is here?!" Renji looked around as they walked along.

"The million dollar question," Rangiku added. "One second we're in soul society and then puff the next here. This isn't the human world, at least not ours. That much I think we can all agree on."

"But why, what was the point...what exactly does the enemy have to gain from all this. Especially when you take into account all his hard work and plotting evolved around breaking into the Seireitei," Renji voiced.

"Could have to do with the fact we figured what he planned. He probably couldn't believe his eyes when arriving into soul society only to have the Gotei Thirteen's best fully prepared and awaiting him. The fact we're here in this unknown wilderness has to do with his desperate attempt to try and put things in his favor," Rangiku added.

Agreeing entirely Renji shook his head and they walked only a few yards more before Toshiro raised one hand and signaled for them to stop. Both did as he commanded and even looked at each other with questioning eyes.

"What is it?" Rangiku inquired.

"Listen," Toshiro replied, but in a whisper.

Renji and Rangiku again gazed at one another and then back at the captain of the tenth division. Oblivious to what had captured the captain's attention Renji opened his mouth to speak and that's when he picked up on the cries. It wasn't long before Rangiku perceived those same sounds and together they walked slowly in that direction. The sounds became clearer the further they went and each soon confirmed it was the cries of a woman. They were shielded by the bushes and trees surrounding the area but out in the lake she stood, in the complete nude. She had long blond hair and her face buried into the palm of her hands. She seemingly had the body of a model, well defined and even somewhat athletic. Renji stepped forward passed the bushes, but was grabbed from behind.

"What're you doing?" Rangiku uttered.

"What do you think," he attempted pulling away, but she held firm.

"Approaching some random naked woman out in the middle of nowhere, in a lake of all places seems like a really great idea," she spoke with clear sarcasm. "Oh and by the way, we are shinigami...highly unlikely she'd be able to see us."

"Rangiku is right, this might be a setup by the enemy," Toshiro said.

"She's just a woman," Renji looked between the death gods opposite of him. "What threat could she possibly be?"

In one tug he broke away from Rangiku's grasp and took off in the direction of the woman. Toshiro tried calling out to him and when that didn't work he had no choice but to follow and Rangiku did the same. To their surprise the woman's sobs slowed as she gazed over her shoulder in the direction of where Renji approached.

"She can see us, what the hell!" Rangiku thought silently.

"Ma'am are you ok, what's wrong?!" Renji asked.

He was able to stand atop the water using his shinigami abilities, but with the situation being what it was he allowed himself to fall through and stand beside her. Rangiku and Toshiro weren't far behind and stopped a couple feet short of Renji.

"It's gone, everything, everyone...I've got nothing," her eyes looked downward at the surface of the water.

The sadness was clear in her tone and Renji sensed a strange aura resonating from the woman, specifically her inner spirit.

"What do you mean and who're you?" Renji questioned moving forward.

"Will you help me?" she looked him in the face as another tear fell from her eye. "Move on and find peace, I've got nothing! You...you must help me!"

Renji bit back as she walked toward him and her exposed breasts bouncing up and down.

"I uh..."

Rangiku and Tosiro again looked at each other and couldn't believe the scene unfolding in front of their eyes. It was the strangest sight they had seen in a while. First, the woman was able to see them in shinigami form and secondly was her claim, which brought further into question where they were.

"Please you must, I need you! Will you love me?" she threw her arms around Renji, her chest firmly pressed against his.

"Love you? What the hel..."

He was quieted at her lips pressing against his and all in that instant he lost sense of everything, his thoughts swept away by an unknown wave as her tongue swirled against his own. Renji's shoulders lowered as he gave into her passion and his by standing colleagues watched in disbelief with no idea what to do or what even to make of what transpired before their very eyes! The woman slowly pulled back and a sinister smirk shaped over her lips.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes," Renji answered without hesitation.

"Would you do anything for me?" she flashed her eye lashes.

"Yes, mistress," he replied.

"Great, then dispose of them," she pointed to both Rangiku and Toshiro.

Renji faced the captain of division 10 and his lieutenant, his eyes glowing a bright white.

"Anything for you mistress."

The woman patted him over the shoulder snickering as a barrage of bats surrounded her body and when they disappeared her blond hair was replaced by a shade of green, a sleeveless black bustier top adorned with white feathers and small heart cut out of the midriff, purple nylons decorated with bat patterns, and bat like wings extending from her back and both sides of her head.

"That's what I like to hear, my little slave," Morrigan laughed victoriously.

To Be Continued