Dancing in the Dark (Closed)

The news wasn't good. Every channel, on every network, in every news paper, told the same story. Hostilities. Talk of war. The world gone mad.

Sal looked out across the city. This was his home, he'd fought and bled here. He'd protected her when no one would and she'd sheltered him under her greasy wing when he had no place to call his own.

The phone began to ring. A mobile, a special one, acquired off some black market dealer that he'd come across in his travels. He reached into his pocket and retrieved it and checked the caller ID. Mystery Bitch.

"Whats the word?" He said as soon as he flicked open the black screen.

"You don't have much time. They're gathering." Came the soft female voice. Turns out his fellow freak, although marginally more pretty than himself, had made arrangements to evacuate the area of the city that he and Claidheamh Mor had annihilated in their fight. Smart girl, he had to admit.

"You told me not to trust him, i need a plan." He responded, a light rain spraying across his face and hair.

"He wants them dead as much as you. You don't have a choice."

Sal thought it over for a second, which is more than a million thoughts have gotten in the past, he wasn't a big thinker, unless it involved lunch or the colour of a girls underwear.

"If i lose, what happens?"

"You'll unleash something worse than anything the Twelve could dream of. There has never been an instance where a Soul Reaper has been a host."

"Great, I do nothing: Armagedon. I do something: Armageddon. You aren't really filling me with confidence here." Norongachi grimaced.

"Do what you do best: Kill it. Thats the only way, once you've established dominance, it loses its consciousness. You get the power. He gets his wish."

"Is that what you did?"

"Something like that.."

Same old mystery. He didn't even know her name, yet here she was dolling out advice he was supposed to take purely on faith alone. What choice did he have, if he wanted to win he needed all the help he could get. Abaddon was just another source of power, even if it cost him his soul.

"How much time do i have.."

"Two days. They're gathering EVERYONE to them. This is it. Their ready for war. I have to go Sal, don't let me down."

The phone went dead and Sal was left wondering what exactly she meant at the end there. Don't let me down as in, fail to defeat Abaddon? He couldn't quite understand it but there was a niggling feeling in his brain, like an itch he couldn't reach.

"I really am getting sick of this soul searching shit..." He muttered, and sat down, in the rain, his Katana laid beside him. He didn't like this part, the initial separation as his consciousness turned inward upon itself and he was sent helter skelting down the rabbit hole to the barren landscape that was his soul, the resting place of his Monsterous Zanpakuto and the cold hitch hiker that had recently taken up residence, its cold ruthlessness and lust for death leaking into his waking mind.

He came to on the mountain top, where he had fought and lost his death match with Claidheamh Mor, the giant was no where in sight. The mountain was devoid of life as always, the rock underfoot black and glass like in texture, reflecting the celestial swan song as every sun in every star system in the universe died by the Lord of Wars will.

"I've been waiting." The voice arrived in his mind like a whisper, insidious and devoid of any humanity. "You're ripe, little Shimigami. Ripe for the taking and now even the mighty Claidheamh Mor can't stop me."

"Its true then eh? That whole bullshit speil you gave me the last time about redemption and finishing what you started...that was so you could feed off my soul and grow to a point where me and the big guy couldn't bitch slap you back to whatever hell you came from." Norongachi responded, circling the in the darkness, the occasional brilliance over head in the black sky showing the smallest flicker of that brilliantly white facial mask that Abaddon wore.

"You are a clever one.." Abaddon responded, but there was uncertainty in his voice, he wasn't sure what was coming, the element of surprise was lost to him.

"You don't think i let you stay so long for the good of my health? I've felt you leaching off me. We both have and we've let you. Despite Claidheamh Mor's insistence that he cleave off your head and get it over with. You've been played Abaddon and now i intend to use you, just like you planned to use me."

Norongachi drew his Katana and without a thought it ruptured and stretched, extending and widening, casting a flaming glow across the area as it settled into its more expansive Claymore form. The arena was encircled in a hissing ring of fire that snapped and screamed to life, devouring the air and cutting off any chance of escape.

"Unwise, very unwise." Abaddon said in its hissing tone, the hint of a chuckle there as he stretched out from the ground, the black liquid-metal skin forming its body, like a noxious oil spill the legs, torso, chest, arms and those deadly talons took shape. Lastly was the head, utterly bald and that constant silver fanged smile, then the searing whiteness of that mask that had the shape of a ragged Omega symbol spreading from the corners of its mouth up through the neon green eyes and over the back of the skull.

"I never claimed to be a wise man." Sal said and without missing a beat a jet of fire roared over Sal's shoulder and collided with the creature, then another joined it from the left hand side and another from the right and then one more from behind.

It was surprising how easily this had come to him since that battle with Claidheamh Mor. He could, he found, keep up such a basic level of control almost indefinitely and there was something satisfying in watching an enemy melt into a puddle, it was like a whole new hobby for him. Hacking them to death obviously still being his calling, of course.

The being struggled against the onslaught of flame, pinned as it was to the spot. Sal watched with little feeling and the merest suggestion from his mind transformed the fair into a coiling serpent that squeezed and burned the roar of its flames drowning out the inhuman howls of the trapped creature.

"Too easy..." Sal muttered and with a grunt of dissatisfaction the ground exploded under the bound Abaddon and rose into an inferno that burned white hot.

The screech near shattered his mind and the blast of spiritual energy sent him flat on his back. He looked up and saw that Abaddon had dissipated his attack and was now hovering in the air. He did not look happy.

He was gone and then he was back, at a distance that was far too close for comfort. The talons came down and the Claymore rose up. They clashed in a cascade of sparks before Sal lashed out with a kick and rolled up onto feet but too slow. The initial rake of claws ripped through his t-shirt and slashed away at his left side right down to the bone, revealing half a rib for the world to see.

"Mother fu-!!" Sal screamed but regained his focus in time to deflect several more lighting quick strikes. Norongachi had to move as quickly as he could, his feet a blur of hyper accelerated motion dancing across the arena and his sword a constant flash of silver that met the on coming attacks.

Sal used every trick in he could, swords made of fire joined him in his fight but Abaddon revealed his own abilities beyond the mind blowing melee skills. His body could be manipulated, slick tentacles of the black metallic liquid firing out to deflect wayward strikes from the disembodied molten weapons.

Sal's sword sung through the air from the right and bit into the arm that rose to deflect it. Immediately Sal increased the intensity of the fire wreathing the blade and the creature screamed out as its fore arm was consumed before leaping back.

Sal himself staggered backwards, sweat covering his body and the blood seeping from his wound. He was tired already, he was being pushed quicker than anyone had ever pushed him. He straightened up, he couldn't lose this chance to get on top of the fight.

Norongachi surged forward, his blade held high and behind him the billowing trail of fire forming and rising up like a tidal wave of pure annihilation ready to fall as soon as he gave the word. He got within five or six feet of his target when spikes of ebon metal punched up from beneath him, he barely had time to dodge them but the advantage had been lost and the creature was on the offensive, leaping from a standing start its remaining clawed hand pierced his shoulder, clawed and clawed at him as they fell so that Norongachi looked like he'd lost a fight with a pissed off tiger.

They rolled across the ground and the fight descended into a bloody and brutal fight for survival at extreme close range, Sal punched, kicked, gouged and bit while swinging his sword at any part he could and Abaddon did the same until the creature rolled ontop of him and wrapped his hand around the Shinigami's neck.

Sal struggled, frantically, but the hand was like iron, locked it seemed, indefinately. The lights were getting dim, he couldn't get a single slither of air into his lungs and already his vision was narrowing.

"Just go to sleep. I'll do the rest. Go to sleep, Sal. Sleep now." The voice insisted and part of Norongachi wanted to listen while another part got very pissed off.

Sal slid his knees up against the demons chest but there was no way of budging him, Abaddon knew this and made no attempt to rectify the situation, and then he pushed with all his might on the black metallic torso and as the creatures lower body rose Sal swung up his sword and punched it right into the bastards rib cage.

Abaddon's screamed resounded across the entire expanse of Sal's soulscape and was thrown clear allowing the Glaswegian to suck in a lungful of air as he rolled onto his front and struggled to his feet.

The beast was struggling, the sword still buried in his side, the blade burning white hot, but it couldn't get up. Every time it tried the Sal manipulated the blade from afar, twisting it and pushing it deeper into whatever soft and squishy parts Abaddon had inside it.

"You lost, prick." Sal said standing over the writhing body, screaming like a wounded animal, unable to escape.

[/i]"It would take a super nova to kill me you insignificant Mortal! Even you don't have that power so here we'll remain, stuck forever!"[/i] He responded.

"Lets give it a try, shall we?" Sal said with a smile and with a flick of his wrist spikes of fire separated from the circle around them and plunged into various spots in Abaddons body, pinning him, face up, to the ground. Sal retrieved his Claymore from the trapped form, which squealed satisfyingly.

He looked the blade over, this was his first time, since the Fight had been won, that he'd use this particular technique. Then he let a malicious grin cross his face and he looked down at the squirming enemy.

"Raise Hell.." He spoke, softly to the blade, which answered immediately its masters summons. The ground ripping apart under foot, vents of magma and brimstone spewing outward all around him, rising into the air and then pouring over his body.

Abaddon watched in agony as Sal was wiped from view by the elemental fury and he hoped, against all odds, that some how luck was on his side and through some twist of fate Sal's powers had gone haywire. Then he saw it.

The Armour, glowing red, with hairline cracks that glowed as if lava were flowing just beneath the surface, the first step that this new enemy took toward him melted the very rock under foot, the second sent geysers of fire shooting up all around them. Then, it drew its swords and nothing outside of the pits of hell could terrify more. One blade was more than 7ft long while the other was 5ft, their surfaces, like the armour that covered this being from head to toe seemed to be made of small sections of some rock like metal that shifted, like continental plates, around the form of the weapons and armour.

Abaddon tried to struggle away, he recognized this thing as resembling Claidheamh Mor but it was much to small and, if it were possible, even more menacing.

"Get back!"

"I'd need a supernova you said?" Came the voice from behind the full faces helmet, but it was not that of Sal's, it had the sound of death and destruction in its tones that were normally associated with Claidheamh Mor.

"No! Please! We ca-" That was all Abaddon could say before both molten Claymores rose up in the gauntleted hands and fell down towards him. The resulting explosion shamed the dying stars themselves, the expanding globe firing outwards in all directions, reducing everything to nothingness.

Sal stood panting in the aftermath, the soulscape he had known, was gone, there was nothing, just blackness, like he had atomized his very soul. Except for one spot of light, on the ground, at his feet.

It was like a liquid, rippling with his movements yet lit so brightly it was hard to look at. Sal fell to his knees and gingerly, reached out for it. It got him first.

The pain was unbearable, the white liquid diving straight onto his fair and boring into every pore, burning it acid, then it was done. Sal, with some trepidation, held up the flat of his now sealed Zanpakuto and looked at his reflection in its surface. There was the dullest glow left, a shape upon his face. One he had seen before. Omega.