The God I Made

by Spunky0ne

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(Calling all Bleach fans! Aizen fans! Any fans! There is a two hour premiere tonight of a show that you do not want to miss on MTV. It is called The Shannara Chronicles and the arc they are showing for the next ten weeks is based on one of sci-fi great Terry Brooks's novels, The Elfstones of Shannara. Those of you who know me, know that Terry Brooks is one of my greatest inspirations. His books are fabulous and you do not want to miss this MTV show! If you don't know Terry Brooks, you might know the Star Wars episode, The Phantom Menace. Terry Brooks wrote that! Watch The Shannara Chronicles and then write to support to tell the site to add a category for related stories. You won't be sorry, trust me! I will, of course, continue to write lots of Bleach chapters, but I will also delight with some stories that I've had put away in my personal treasure trove that are based on Brooks's works. Please help me get a place on the site to put them!

Now, about this new story...I've had a lot, as in a HUGE number of people, asking for an epic Aizen/Ichigo story in addition to Longings (which I promise I will be updating soon!), so after writing the oneshot, I Could Touch Your Heart, and reading how much people liked that, I crafted this epic Aizen/Ichigo apocalypse story just to warm the hearts of Aizenfans everywhere. It might not be May yet, but it's time for some Aizenfun! This is yaoi and mpreg of a sort...so don't read if you don't like that. Enjoy! Cheers, Spunky)

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Chapter1: Apocalypse

The steady pitter-pat of falling rain was the first thing that reached Ichigo's senses to tell him that he still lived.

I can't move.

I can't see.

I can't feel my body.

I only know that I have killed my enemy.

I killed Ywach and now everyone will be safe.

The thought gave him comfort as he laid alone in the ruins of the palace, his body as much a piece of the wreckage as any other and his mind weary, but peaceful in the knowledge that the great evil they had faced was gone.

Everyone else was cast out, he remembered, It'll be a long time before they can get back up here. But we have lots of time now. Because we fought our hardest and won, we have all of the time in the world...

He faded back into a comforting greyness, soothed by the steady thrum of the rain, cooled by its touch on his torn flesh. He breathed in the fresh air it left in its wake, glad to be free of the heavy burden of duty and allowed to rest and recover.

It has to rain for a while. The rain has to wash everything clean and the shinigamis have to come and repair the damage here, then...

Ichigo's brown eyes opened and blinked.

What happens now?

Who is king, now that the soul king and Ywach are both dead?

Yoruichi said they can just make another. I saw her attempt to make another king out of that thing that came up from Soul Society...Mimihagi...

Ichigo began to feel a little chill, deep in the core of his ruined body, as he remembered.

In my heart, I wanted to protect the king, but instead, my hand was forced to kill him! And when the blade sank into his body, where it was protected inside that crystal...I saw...

Pain stabbed at Ichigo's nearly frozen heart, making him loose a pained cry that echoed through the crumbled ruins of the fallen king's palace. His eyes began to glaze over and crushing pain began to break through, in his aching heart, his stunned mind, his broken body.

Ywach was horrible. I couldn't leave the worlds in his hands. But...the soul king was...a lie! I didn't listen when Ywach tried to explain to me. Just like I didn't listen when Aizen told me the same thing a long time ago.

But they were telling me the truth!

The soul king was no more than a prisoner, someone the shingamis imprisoned in that crystal. A powerful person who could provide the forces needed to maintain the balance of souls. But, that's it. The one in the crystal wasn't asked if he wanted to be king. It was like Yoruichi said, they made him. He was nothing but a prisoner, kept against his will. And the only good thing, the only comfort that he had, was that he also didn't want the worlds to end.

But he's dead.

Ywach is dead.

What happens now?

Ichigo's mind became as chaotic as the thick, wet drops that pounded down, falling endlessly, not knowing where he would land, only knowing that he would be broken and scattered by the impact. Hot tears leaked onto his face, burning in the cuts his enemy had made, the pain joining one much greater that gathered inside, until he loosed a ringing howl of despair.

What did I do this for?

I thought I was saving everyone.

But this isn't saving anyone. They're just going to start all over, imprisoning someone and making a situation like what happened before. How many times will they repeat that mistake? How many thousand of people will be hurt and die because they're doing this?

What can I do?

What can anyone do?

How can I change things so that it's not like that?

Ichigo squinted suddenly as something near him began to glow, softly at first, leaking light through the piles of debris and shining into his eyes.

What is that?

He squinted harder as the light strengthened and reflected bright colors all around. Ichigo's head shook as it turned so that he could look more closely, and he felt a little bit of energy flicker in his beaten body. He rolled onto his side, then paused, panting hard as his head spun dizzily. Then, when his eyes cleared, he crawled slowly towards the source of the light, wonder making the pain seem more bearable as he continued to look into it.

Come, Ichigo.

Ichigo sucked in a stabbing breath.

I know that voice. I heard it before, when I held Ywach's sword and it sank into the soul king's body. His thoughts reached me for a moment, but I didn't remember until now. Yes, now I remember. He told me not to be afraid. He told me I was strong enough, and that everything would be all right. He told me to trust myself...my heart, my powers and my instincts. It would be enough, he said, to give us a new beginning.

Is this what he meant?

Ichigo dragged his badly damaged body forward over the jagged, dusty pieces of shattered columns and cracked flooring. He was sure it was opening up new cuts on his already shredded skin, but he hadn't the presence of mind to care about that. His only instinct was to crawl towards the glowing light. Whispers began to reach him, some like the king who had spoken to him, and others slightly different, but still possessing what felt like ancient wisdom. The sound guided him forward, even as his eyesight dimmed and his head rang with the effort he poured into just moving. By the time he came within reach of the light, he could see that it was a small artifact of some kind. It hummed oddly with life as he stared and blinked, then reached out a quaking hand.

It seemed to be a multi-colored prism, but he could see where part of it had darkened. He felt the danger in it darkening anymore and focused all of his attention on it. His fingers touched the cool, glassy surface of the prism, and everything went white and blinding all around him. He was thrust violently into a tumble of memories that hammered at his shocked mind from all directions.

They all show the same thing...the same thing every time. Every time, someone or something that I love is threatened, and every time, I scream how I will protect each and every one of them. Again and again, the ones I love are threatened, and over and over, I get stronger so that I can protect them. Until I've climbed to the highest place in our worlds and I've fought for everyone.

But even though I won, our worlds are dying...

The rain is falling everywhere...here, in Soul Society, the living world, even in Hueco Mundo, even in the depth of hell, the rain is pounding down. The end is coming and all of us will die...

...if I don't do something...

I want to do something.

More than anything, I want to save our worlds!

MORE THAN ANYTHING, I WANT TO SAVE OUR WORLDS!

Ichigo shivered as the light that had swallowed him whole shimmered brightly, and he felt that light drawn down into his injured body, curling up and growing smaller, drawing its power in until it was only a pinpoint buried deep inside him.

Very good, Ichigo, the king's voice said, blending in with the other voices that had spoken from within the prism, You are ready now.

Please accept this gift.

Please save us all.

"B-but how?" Ichigo whispered, his vision fading as the light from the prism within him dimmed, "How do I save everyone now?"

Ichigo heard approaching footsteps and felt a chill run down his spine. The person approached slowly, and he felt dangerous eyes scanning the area around him, raking over the scattered pieces of Ywach's remade palace disapprovingly.

"Where are you?" a male voice asked, one that send icy bolts of fear through Ichigo's heart.

Oh no!

He tried to move, but found that the effort of reaching the prism had drained him. He stared in mindless terror as the man he had heard moved forward, his brown eyes coming to rest on Ichigo's broken body and his lips smiling devilishly.

"How interesting," the man said sedately, "This defies explanation, doesn't it?"

He moved to Ichigo's side and knelt, leaning over him and still smiling at the look of horror the young man gave him.

"Aizen!" Ichigo gasped shakily, "How did you get here?"

"Ichigo," Aizen addressed him, shocking the shinigami substitute with the tone of near affection he employed, "Are you all right? You look like you have seen a monster."

"Y-you are a monster!" Ichigo spat furiously, his battered body shaking all over with rage, "How did you get here!"

"Yes," Aizen agreed, "I am a monster. You are right. And I don't know exactly how I got here. The last I remember, I was tied to that blasted chair that Kurotsuchi Mayuri made. I saw the taichous as they fell from the sky and Inoue Orihime saved the ones that couldn't save themselves from crashing down. They stood near me, staring up into the sky and all of us awaiting our fate. We sensed that the fight ended and that you were victorious, but when they tried to return, they found the gates to the heavens were locked. Everyone tried...the treacherous Mayuri, the powerful Kyoraku, the genius Kisuke, everyone. And each one of them failed to find a way to get up to you. Kyoraku soutaichou sent Kuchiki taichou to search the Kuchiki family archive for clues as to what to do. Byakuya entered the archive alongside his cousin, his sister and his fukutaichou, but none of them returned. A message came back from them, extending permission for five people to enter the archive then...Inoue Orihime, Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yoruichi, the quincy officer Bazz-B, and Jaegerjaques Grimmjow. The five entered and we waited to learn more. But, as we sat waiting, the rain continued to pour down. In time, we knew, it would flood our worlds and drown everything in a raging sea. All life would come to an end if the balance wasn't restored. We all knew it, and we sat, wondering what in kami's name we could do to stop it."

"And..." Ichigo whispered, gazing disbelievingly into Aizen's dark eyes, "you were their answer?"

To his surprise, Aizen's smile widened and warmed. His eyes twinkled with amusement and his laughter echoed around the room, sending deep shivers up and down the immobilized Ichigo's spine.

"Was I their answer?" he repeated, smirking, "Ichigo, you should know better. Those people down there would never choose to rest their hopes on me. They were not the ones who freed me from my bonds and made me appear here."

"You...appeared here?" Ichigo asked in a haunted tone, "Why? Why would that happen? How could it happen? The taichous were sure you couldn't escape that chair! How did you?"

"Ichigo...Ichigo," Aizen said reprovingly, as his hands reached towards the collapsed man and strong healing power began to soothe him, "Don't you understand? I didn't break those bonds. They didn't let me go. I didn't escape at all."

"You didn't escape?" Ichigo mused, his mind whirling, "Then, what did happen? How did you get here? Who let you in? Tell me, you bastard!"

Aizen gave a soft, amused huff and continued to heal him.

"You really aren't in any condition to make demands," he scolded the younger man, "Right now, I'm sure you're very aware that if I wanted to kill you, I would already have done it. You are powerless right now, injured and helpless, Ichigo. But...you cried out with the same plea that our worlds cry out with now."

"What do you mean? Just tell me what the hell is going on!" Ichigo demanded, sitting up as the healing began to revive him.

Aizen's smile faded and he looked into Ichigo's fierce gaze with perfect seriousness.

"Everyone cried out together, Ichigo," he said more quietly, "Everyone. All of the heroes and villains, Shinigamis and humans, quincies and hollows, denizens of every place where the rain is falling now. Our worlds are ending, and we all wanted to find a way to save them. Then...someone answered those cries."

"And you were the answer?" Ichigo snapped, shaking his head, "How stupid do you think I am?"

"You aren't stupid, Ichigo," Aizen assured him, "although, you do tend to act without thinking sometimes. But, you are failing to see the whole picture here."

"What do you mean? Stop talking in riddles and just say it!" Ichigo yelled, coming to his feet and clenching his fists, "If you know how to save our worlds, then tell me. And if you aren't the answer, tell me who is!"

"My, my," Aizen chided him, shaking his head ruefully, "You never change."

He paused and his eyes became affectionate again.

"You grow stronger and stronger, but it doesn't change you. I find that...exhilarating, Ichigo. And so, I'll answer your questions. I didn't escape that chair. I wasn't sent by the taichous. And I am not the answer that will somehow save the worlds."

"Then, who or what is?" Ichigo said, drawing his anger back under control and glaring at Aizen in challenge.

"You should really lie down. You are still badly injured," Aizen warned him, "I barely gave you the strength to stand, and still you seem to want to fight me. It only proves that you still don't understand anything. But...we are never going to get anywhere and our worlds will be drowned in rain unless you do understand, so here it is. I am not the answer that will save our worlds, Ichigo...we are!"

Ichigo stared back at him incredulously, then the last of his strength left him and he started to fall. Aizen captured him in strong arms and looked deeply into his eyes.

"I know you heard his voice," Aizen went on, "You heard the voice of the soul king."

"The soul king is dead!" Ichigo spat, "I know because my hand was used to kill him. It doesn't matter what voices are in our heads, he's gone and our worlds are falling apart."

"Listen to me," Aizen said calmly, his fingers touching the area over Ichigo's heart and his eyes enslaving the younger man's, "We are not here by chance. We were chosen. And we were not just chosen, we were chosen a long time ago, Ichigo. I once met the king. I know I haven't told you that, but I did. He called me here in what I thought was a dream. I was little more than a boy at the time, and I hadn't yet come into my full powers. But the sages of Central 46 sensed my powers and they decided I was too dangerous to be allowed to live. They came after me without warning and they would have had me. I could not have escaped. But as they broke down the doors to my home in the Rukongai and as they slaughtered my family, I was pulled away. I was pulled away and brought here and dropped on the palace floor at the king's feet."

Ichigo stared back at Aizen wordlessly, frozen by the man's story, and more, by the truth he sensed in it.

"You begin to understand," Aizen said, "That's good. Let me finish. The king welcomed me and told me not to despair about the loss that was happening. It was necessary, he said, that darkness come into my life and take away everything. I had to be alone."

Ichigo stiffened as he remembered the touch of Kyoka Suigetsu's thoughts during their battle.

Loneliness?

"I had to be alone and I had to desire his death. In short, what you said before is true. I am a monster. I had to become a monster, Ichigo. He knew back then, and that's why he saved me. He knew that he needed me and he needed you."

"That's crazy!" Ichigo managed, his voice shaking, "That's impossible! Why would he make you into a monster and then make me?"

He stopped as Aizen shook his head reprovingly.

"He didn't make you, Ichigo," Aizen insisted, "He made me into a monster, and I made you. And he needed us both to come here, right here and right now, because we both have the power and the desire to save our worlds. But what we needed was balance...your light and my darkness. Only that would save the worlds...not the lie that he was!"

"You're crazy!" Ichigo shouted, struggling to break free of Aizen, but only making the other man's arms hold him more tightly, "Let go of me! Let me go!"

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything to you, Ichigo," Aizen chided him, "I am only going to take care of you, and I will work with you to find a way to restore the balance of our worlds. You want that too, don't you?"

"I don't trust you to help restore the balance," Ichigo said angrily, "I know you just want to take over! For some reason, you can't do that yet. For some reason, you need me alive. But I'm not going to fall for your tricks. I'm not buying anything you have to say!"

"Then, hold on to your mistrust," Aizen advised him, "but don't delay anymore. We need to get working on this before everyone drowns."

"You say that like you give a damn about them," Ichigo said in a disgusted tone, "But I know you're not thinking about them. You're only thinking of yourself!"

"Isn't that the nature of a monster, Ichigo?" Aizen asked, smirking at him.

Ichigo started to give a furious retort, but froze in Aizen's arms as the palace trembled and began to shake violently. Strangely, the violence seemed to only affect the buildings Ywach's power had constructed. Everything around the two men broke apart and exploded suddenly, although they remained protected at the center of the destruction. Then, as the dust began to clear, the two men watched with widened eyes as the air around them shifted and the soul king's palace slowly began to restore itself. Piece by piece, it slowly reconstructed the throne room they stood in. But instead of the strange cocoon and floating platforms, one vast, expansive plane was constructed. A palace and gardens, a courtyard and strong, kido enforced gates...and outside of the palace, a huge kingdom, open space with fresh air and sunshine, nothing at all like the prison the old king's home had been. Ichigo and Aizen stared in amazement at the new royal realm that was set in place around them. Aizen took a deeper breath and glared in approval at the change.

"That," he said, smiling at Ichigo, "is a kingdom worthy of us, don't you think, Ichigo?"

"You're insane!" Ichigo insisted, "Let me down!"

"If I let you down, you'll only fall," Aizen said reprovingly.

He carried the resisting youth into the lush, fragrant gardens, and deposited him, kicking and swearing, into a warm, bubbling pool that stood beneath a large waterfall. Ichigo splashed down into the pool and felt instantly the inflow of healing power that seeped in from the roiling water. He laid still, letting the water wash over his body, calming the last of his hurts and slowly restoring his energy.

I have to recover before I can fight him.

"You still want to fight me, Ichigo?" Aizen asked, stepping to the water's edge and opening the dirty, tattered yukata he wore, "You are annoyingly hard-headed. What is it going to take to make you understand? You may be the light and I may be the essence of darkness, but right now, we are all the hopes our worlds have. You need to forget about trying to attack me and focus on that. Look closely at me, Ichigo. You will see that something has changed."

Ichigo stared at Aizen's revealed body and his eyes rounded.

The hogyoku?

"It's gone," Aizen said quietly, "I don't know why or how. I still feel its existence, but it has separated from my soul and it is somewhere inside me and waiting for something."

"It's waiting for something?" Ichigo repeated, sitting up straighter in the water.

"Yes," Aizen answered, "and when I touched that place over your heart, I felt that something was inside you and waiting too."

Ice seemed to shoot through Ichigo's veins as he remembered the light that had entered his body before.

Is he talking about the prism?

Could it be that what Aizen is telling me is true?

He watched in silence as Aizen let his yukata fall away and he waded across the pool to stand under the warm waterfall. He stood serenely under the fall of water, washing away the dirt and filth of Muken and looking more dangerous and beautiful as the water streamed through the short brown strands of his hair and down the fine curves of his slender and surprisingly muscular body. He watched Ichigo closely as the shinigami substitute shed his tattered clothes and set them at the edge of the pool.

"There'd better be some clothes in that new palace," he huffed tempestuously, "I'm not walking around naked in front of you!"

"The worlds are ending, you fool," Aizen chuckled, turning so that Ichigo couldn't miss the perfect view of his lovely round bottom, "You have more important things to worry about than being naked in front of me."