A Call to Arms (PM for invite)

Kelly cleared her throat and matched Steins gesture of pushing her glasses up her nose. "We have one of them....dead of course. We've had trouble understanding the data from the postmortem and the genetic analysis. You are free to look over what information we have, although what good it will do you i don't know." She finished and Stein continued.

"We can get into Seireitei, that isn't a problem. Its surviving long enough to get what we need and get back alive." It was Garik this time. "As Mr Norongachi politely reminded us a handful of Soul Reapers could wipe us out. Even with our most powerful weapons we could, at best, hold off a Captain never mind 12 of them and an army of Shinigami."

"I'll do it..." Sal said, although he didn't relish the idea. "Although i don't have any idea what i'd be looking for once i got into 12th Division HQ."

"We'll cover the details of that suicide mission in a second." The commander said and they all fell silent as Stein finished. "We already considered grabbing those traitorous bastards before but the problem is that we'd need to get them all simultaneously, we can't have the others alerting their bosses before we can get anything useful out of them." He responded to Stein.

"There's a World Conference in three days in Geneva, bunch of suits sitting round discussing the increasing shittiness of the world at large. Ryan and his team were on stand by for a snatch and grab." Decker said. "Our problem is time..."

An alliance....Sal almost laughed, like he hadn't tried that already. Almost every half decent Reaper and Hollow he had come across was made that offer, some accepted, others didn't but in the end he was always left holding the baby.

"The red tape would stall things too long in Seireitei and as for Hueco Mundo...well...you know Hollow's as well as me, they aren't the Team Spirit kind." Sal said and then the question came, the moment he was dreading.

"I can show you," He said. "We'll discuss it later, if its any help."

"Okay, heres the plan until further notice. Stein, you get to work on the data the Prof here has collected and seeing as how you have a working knowledge of 12th Division i suggest you outline for bright spark here," He motioned to Sal. "What to look for and how to get to it when he storms the gates."

"Ryan, form up a squad of our best and get a tactical plan arranged for the snatch and grab. You'll leave the day before the summit and be back by teatime." The Commander looked around the gathered. "If you have anything else now's the time. If not, enjoy what could be your last week on Earth."

Ryouta let out a snort of mock annoyance - purely for a show of course. "Oh of course, as if Soul Society didn't like me enough, now I'm going to give away trade secrets of the 12th Division to a rogue Shinigami who will presumably relay them to humans." Ryouta grinned, and for the first time his smile carried a little emotion, though mischievousness isn't a particularly lauded one. "I like it." He turned to the Captain. "Before you leave though, I would like to make an attempt at capturing one of these things alive. After I look at the existing data on the dead one of course. I'm not sure what sort of equipment you have that might be able to contain one, but I believe a high-level Bakudo spell from me should suffice to restrain one."

Ryouta turned back to Sal. "All right, I'm going to assume you already have a way to enter and exit Seireitei. The 12th Division is located in the northwest quadrant of Seireitei. The best way to get into the barracks and SRDI itself would be a disguise. Take out a Shinigami wearing robes with a thistle insignia on the inside - that should be good enough. Security is rather lax in there because everyone is encouraged to just be quiet and do their job. The ID card in the inside pocket of the robes should get you into the general archives of the Division, located in the basement. If you lose your way, there are maps posted on the
walls everywhere - no one will question you if you stop at a map - the
12th is constantly flooded with new bodi- err...recruits. It is doubtful you'll find anything in the general archives though. "

Ryouta tapped his fingers thoughtfully against his cheekbones as he formulated his next thought. "The secret archives are only accessible to the seated officers. They're not fighters, except for the Captain and Vice-Captain of course, so you won't have trouble. The secret archives are below the basement, and the entrance to them is a hidden door built into a false bookshelf - I believe it's bookshelf 11. Wait for someone to approach the bookshelf and pull out their ID card - that'll be a seated officer. Take the card and press it to the bookshelf, you'll be let in. Below you'll find the secret archives. They hold data on every experiment that the 12th Division has ever done, except for Captain's work. You won't be able to get into the Captain's lab. In all likelihood, the data won't be there. But if it is, it will probably be coded - I know the Captain requires weekly reports on his subordinates' work. I doubt such a subordinate would have had time to run two complicated projects at once." Ryouta paused for a long moment to think. "If it were me, I would have disguised the project as a failed bioweapon, when in reality it worked. It might be under 'virus' or 'weapon' or something else entirely - all I know is that both archives are organized via the Dewey Decimal system. Good luck."

Ryouta turned to the human professor. "Now, I'd like to take a look at the existing data you have, unless you have any other questions, Sal?"

Sal's eyes narrowed subconsciously on Stein. After their previous conversation on this matter he thought that maybe the Reaper had taken the hint. "We're running out of options though..." The thought sunk in like a lead brick and when all was said and done, he could destroy anything the Humans had gathered on the nature of the Mutagen.

"Okay, firstly. A map, with specific instructions." Sal responded, there wasn't any point pretending he was the sharpest tool in the box and he wasn't prepared to leave anything to chance at this stage in the game.

"Secondly...i can get you one of those bastards. There's a nest, back in Scotland that i was tracking before...all this crap."

"We have very powerful containment equipment, not unlike what Soul Society uses to hold wayward Shinigami. However, it is too bulky to be utilized in the field. I suggest that you accompany Mr Norongachi to capture the creature and ensure its safe return to HQ." The Professor added. "After that we have some of the best technology that Humanity and Soul Reaper can buy."

"That's all she wrote." Said the Commander, standing from his seat and moving towards the door with Garik in tow. "You know what you've got to do and you have less than a week to get it done."

Sal sat there for a moment as the Professor made for the lab to prepare the data for Stein and Ryan headed off to ready his men for their mission to Geneva. Only Stein remained.

He was silent, he didn't really know how to begin. 'Hey heres a fun fact, i have an inter-dimensional parasite living in me!' wasn't much of a conversation starter. He took a deep breath and just let the words fall out.

"Vizards...or Visored...whatever the common name is." Sal began. "It was like that, but the transformation was full body. Well, from what i've read and heard about Vizards at any rate. Can't say i've ever come across one myself." He tapped his fingers on the desk and then, as is always the case, he thought 'Fuck it'.

The dark place had been there since he had defeated Abaddon, a prison of pure evil that had been created to house the creatures power, and he tapped into it now, releasing the locks that kept it in check.

He could feel the living metal surging to the fore and then it began to leak from each eye, rapidly tracing all across his body like conduits on a circuit board expanding and so fast that it had covered almost every inch of him in a second and then the white hot mask, a ragged omega symbol, branded itself upon the ebony liquid of his now covered face and with a flash his eyes were taken over by the vibrant green, pupiless, eyes of Abaddon.

Sal looked up at Stein with a lipless mouthful of silver fangs, the face of the beast locked in a permanent grin akin to a skull. Fingers that ended in claws gouged holes into the table top as he stood and tried desperately to keep the gargantuan spiritual pressure of Abaddon under wraps for fear of tripping whatever security measures the humans might have in place.

"This is what they look like..." Norongachi said, although his lips never moved, the words seemed to enter Steins mind like an alien thought.

Ryouta nodded his head to both of Sal's requests; he could draw up a map in a short amount of time, and was of course eager to take on one of these creatures and gauge its spiritual presence. And then, Sal began talking about Visoreds, seemingly out of nowhere. Frankly, Ryouta was surprised that Sal knew about such things - given his current power level, he probably had left Soul Society while being a rank-and-file unremarkable Shinigami. How did he know about Visoreds?

These questions were dashed when all of a sudden Sal's entire body seemed to encase itself in liquid metal - razor sharp claws and and fangs - a nightmare. Even a person as cool-headed as Ryouta was affected by the sudden transformation. His Zanpakuto was halfway out of its sheath before he stopped himself at Sal's words.

Ryouta quickly sheathed his sword, forced himself to remain calm. This was unlike anything he had ever seen before. "This is...fortuitous. How is it that you are keeping control of your own mind? ... Also, we'll need to take a living tissue sample from you."

The liquid metal retracted back into the White mask and then it too faded, lastly the neon green of Sal's eyes dulled and his own came back. He literally slumped back into his chair and tried to catch his breath, this was technically his first transformation since he had subdued the hellish parasite.

"I over powered his consciousness. He's little more than an animal now and a power source." Norongachi said his voice wavering as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Stein...i still don't trust you. You haven't earned it yet and while i know that we need every scrap of information available to us, i cant let this *THING fall into the wrong hands. You have your own agenda, you've said as much and right now I'm inclined not to pry because i think you realize that whatever you have planned, this could royally fuck it up." Sal said looking the man dead in the...glasses.

"I know...just how powerful science is, especially when its being practiced by a Soul Reaper. I can't risk someone replicating, or cloning, or even dragging more of these things over from the void."

Norongachi leaned over the table and gingerly raised his hand. "This is the best i can give you and its more than anyone else has gotten."

Sal's index finger touched Steins hand and immediately a flood of memories flowed through him, racing down his arm and into the Reapers mind they portrayed the battle with the Fifth, relaying every sensory feeling, natural or otherwise, that Sal had at the time as if Stein had been there himself. Next came the fight for dominance with Abaddon himself, in Sal's soulscape, the capabilities of the still immature creature flowing into the Scientists mind.

"Son of a bitch.." Sal gasped as the connection was broken. "Before you ask, i dont know how i can do it, it all started with the pretty boy inside my head."

"You overpowered his consciousness? So despite how feral these things appear, they are capable of higher brain function. Good to know - and interesting how the process is remarkably similar to Hollowfication," Ryouta said thoughtfully. Maybe it could be another project of his to undertake in the distant future. "I understand your distrust completely."

The flood of memories into his head came suddenly; Ryouta's fingernails turned white as he dug his fingertips into his armrests. The raw power depicted was tantalizing, but even more so was the mystery of how to combat it, and perhaps even take it for his own use. Still, when the series of sensations ended, fear was present in Ryouta's body language, and he wasn't faking it.

It wasn't fear for his life, no, he was fairly confident in his ability to survive. No, what scared him was this telepathic ability to send thoughts into his mind. He had always viewed his mind as something impregnable, a fortress that he alone would ever be able to command. The implications of telepathic communication were...frightening.

It took a moment for him to realize that he had been holding in breath - he let it out explosively as his whole body seemed to relax - no, almost give up in his chair. Dejection was the word to describe it. "Never in all my years have I ever seen anything like that. And while it is exciting, it is also terrifying. I wonder if this telepathic ability is a more evolved form of the hive mind present in insect colonies? There must be some way to explain it..."

He stood up and began pacing back and forth. "You spoke to me like that earlier without having to touch me, so physical contact isn't necessary. Can you tell me if distance is an impediment to telepathic communication? Or does it not matter how far away someone is, you'd be able to project your thought clearly regardless? Does being in the presence of certain things dampen this ability?"

"Because if not, our chances of success are almost nil. Their powers of communication will allow them to adapt to any strategy we employ very quickly - unless we can outgun them, which I doubt is a possibility even worth considering."

"You know how it is with Reapers. We fought," Sal tapped the side of his head. "In here and i won." If sal were drinking a beverage he would have sprayed it all across the room at what Stein said next.

"Higher brain function!? They've engineered WWIII mate, i mean i know humans ain't the brightest but to be so utterly taken in and without knowing it? That takes more cunning and planning than...i can even comprehend." Sal was honest, if nothing else, he wasn't a genius.

"I honestly can't say, i know that the Fifth used it to speak with us before the fight but was he predicting my actions? I'm unsure, i do know that he wasn't expecting me when i crashed his little sailor party. Not that the element of surprise helped any..." Sal grumbled.

"I've...never tried it like that, i mean i could give it shot but i need to cool down first. The son of a bitch takes it out of me." Norongachi's heart was now at a manageable rate but he could still feel that infectious venom pumping through his veins, it wanted him to kill, it didn't care what or who it just wanted something dead and if he weakened, it would get its wish.

"You can test whatever you want on me, Kidou, incantations, weapons, i really dont care. Anything except taking a part of it for study." He said with a warning look. "

The humans, can't know. Not yet, i'm low on resources and places i can sleep without fear of attack. They wouldn't understand, humans never do, and I'll need them to finish this."

"I'm sorry, I was under the impression that the mutagen caused a beast to be born from human flesh, and that the beasts were controlled by the Twelve. I see that that is not the case," Ryouta responded. "Take as much time as you deem necessary - we have a week, after all." He sat down, and began running through the memories that had been passed on to him in his head. They had come as a flood before, and Ryouta had been unable to really process any of the information. His fingernails bit into the palm of his hand as he recognized many of the faces that Sal had in his memory. Lieutenant Jin Sal had mentioned, but present in his memories were other people Ryouta knew, or had fought. Arawn was a member of his own Division, Hiruma was a Captain now and Yummei - he had been one of the toughest fights in Ryouta's time as a Captain. It had taken all of his skill and Kuro's to escape that one alive.

"After processing all that you have told me, I feel that I owe you a truth about myself," Ryouta said. He removed his glasses to reveal his organic eye, but also a mechanical eye in his left socket with two glowing red pupils that hid all emotion. "Do not reveal this to anyone, but in actual fact - I am Captain Ryouta Ayame of the 12th Division." Ryouta paused a moment to let that information sink in. "I stumbled upon documents that hinted at this project - something I had no idea of existing. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. I expected it to be a coverup for a botched experiment by an incompetent squad member - and now I find myself in the middle of this. There will be no need for you to enter the 12th Division for documents. I have them with me."

"However, the Captain will probably expect you to still go to Seireitei. I suggest you use the opportunity to contact Hiruma; I recognized him from your memories. He is a Captain now, and having fought one of those beasts with you, is the most likely among the Captains to come to our assistance. He will also understand the need for discretion," Ryouta continued. "Now...when you are ready, I would like to try several ways of blocking your telepathic abilities."

"The Hybrids or whatever you want to call them are, maybe the Circle are using telepathy like you said to control them. I have no idea but i can say for certain that the foot soldiers and the generals are worlds apart."

You could have heard a pin drop such was the silence emanating from Norongachi upon hearing this news. This man was a Captain and not only that he was head of the very Division that got itself lured into unleashing Hell on Earth.
Why tell him now? Sal wondered. What did he gain by revealing the truth this early in the game? Was it a ploy? Some gambit to gain favor for his honestly only to shiv him in the back at the right moment?

He really wished he knew how to harness this Telepathic business, he was getting tired of finding out about traps when he was slap bang in the middle of it.

"I..." Sal really was lost for words, not even a sharp slanderous comment sprung to mind.

"...This changes things Ayame....maybe for the better, i mean just knowing i have a Captain fighting beside me makes me feel a whole lot better about our chances." Sal said, his voice full of sincerity and for once, tact. If this man was a Captain and things got ugly, here of all places, Sal and these Humans might not see the end of the world.

"Or....for worse. I left Seireitei because of someone in your division, because, i felt that if the Captain Commander and Central 46 wanted to they could have stopped it. To say that i loath everything about your Division is a vast under statement.....what can you say to change my mind?" Sal said, choking back the bile of his own anger.

Sal feel silent for several heartbeats, his face told the story of his thought process. The rage had passed, a calm had settled over him. Acceptance.

"You don't have to say anything. You're all i have right now and if you want to betray me when this is done that's fine and dandy, I'll be waiting." There was no venom in his voice, if anything he looked defeated, world weary.

"That's some good news," He said, somewhat relieved at the thought of not waging a pitched battle in the narrow streets of Seireitei. "Hiruma....hmm...the Ice guy?" Sal asked recalling meeting the 'roving Psychic' one night a few months back. "I never considered him as a long term ally. Worth a shot at any rate."

Sal stood up. "Whenever you're ready, Doc."

Ryouta watched Sal's reaction to his revelation impassively - he had reacted more or less the way Ryouta had expected him to. "I cannot speak for Central 46, nor can I speak for the Sotaicho," Ryouta said, after the silence, apparently ignoring Sal's readiness for experimentation. "But I can speak for my Division. Our philosophy is one that emphasizes progress for progress's sake - and I am afraid that in our zeal...we may do things that seem quite amoral. I am not making excuses for anyone in my Division - I myself have tampered with things that most would consider monstrous. But rest assured of this...until the Twelve are destroyed, our respective agendas are not in conflict."

That being said, Ryouta also stood. "The first thing I would like to see is if reiatsu designed to obscure sensory techniques and the like will be effective in blocking your telepathy. I am going to release my Zanpakuto - do not be alarmed." Ryouta unsheathed his Zanpakuto slightly, so that a little metal shone in the sterile lighting. "Weep, Reifujin Arashi." The bit of metal that showed dissolved into innumerable drops of water; liquid began to pour from the opening of the sheath, more liquid, it seemed than would be able to fit in its volume.

"Kyuugeki Kasumi," Ryouta said. Almost instantly, the room was filled with a dense, opaque mist that was chill to the touch. However, it also effectively made Ryouta's spiritual presence untraceable within it. It was obvious the kind of advantage this might grant him over a potential enemy - and appropriate given that he used to be in the 2nd Division. The technique would also give an added benefit of shrouding any odd reiatsu from being sensed by the humans. "Now," Ryouta's voice sounded like it was coming from all directions within the mist. "Try to tell me something with your mind."

Sal wasn't at all comforted by Ryouta's explanation. At this point the hate was so ingrained in his bones that doubted if anything could dissuade him that 12th Division were a bunch of sadistic bastards with god complexes. He held his tongue however, this was solving nothing. There was a bigger picture and all the little details could be dealt with later.

Sal gave a shrug as the Captain announced that he were going to release his Zanpakuto. Whatever got the job done, he was happy with.

Water doused the floor around their feet, like a broken water main it kept coming, gurgling out of the sheath and then it instantly evaporated filling the room from top to bottom with thick swirling mist. Sal instantly lost Ryouta, visually and spiritually. It was as if he had suddenly vanished.

Sal inhaled a lungful of the damp fog and tapped into Abaddons power again,the Mask burned hot on his face as it rose up through his skin and then the surge of energy, almost like an electric jolt down his spine, as the liquid metal coated his body.

"Can you hear me Ryouta?" He said, or rather thought, it was a strange process to be sure. He was simply attempt to speak as he would in his normal state but every word felt like it was being sent from him on a current of energy rather than through sound waves.

Ryouta waited in the dense fog for a response. And then in his head *...*you*...* me, Ryouta sounded. It was as if he was listening to the radio while going through an area with spotty reception. So it seemed that reiatsu was capable of at least distorting these telepathic communiques. Which meant...that the messages were being sent in a particle form of energy, not wave form, as waves like sound or light would have been able to get through the dense fog no problem.

Ryouta decided to intensify the fog, making it so heavy and thick that it would actually pose a health concern to a human being's ability to breath. "Now try again," he asked. "I believe I may have stumbled onto something."

Sal's body was aching. Every cell in his body felt like it were going to rip itself apart. He inhaled a lungful of the saturated air and tried again.

"Attempt two.." The words sailed from his mind on the same energy current. Whether they found Ryouta was any ones guess.

Norongachi felt the shudder rise up through his body like a heart attack and he slipped down onto his knees. Immediately the metal skin retracted and he fell onto all fours, choking up a lungful of blood with a viscous hacking cough.

He wasn't strong enough yet, no where near capable of utilizing such power without drastic consequences to his well being. He dragged himself onto his feet and ran the sleeve of his jacked across his mouth.

"Did it work?" He asked through the impenetrable mist.

Ryouta let his mind go blank, not wanting any thoughts to interfere with the message Sal sent. Nothing. He smiled grimly, and then sealed his Zanpakuto, clearing the mist instantly to see Sal standing over a small pool of blood on the floor, presumably what he had coughed up. Ryouta assumed it was from his transformation and not from the heavy fog he had conjured - Shinigami were made of tougher stuff than that.

"Based on what we have just tried," Ryouta began. "I think that the signal is being sent with reiatsu particles. However, it is a very strong signal - I had to intensify my Kyuugeki Kasumi just to fully shut it down...it seems reiatsu is a far more complex thing than we initially imagined, since it is capable of something like this." He sat down in his chair again, wondering what the implications of this meant.

"It certainly wouldn't hurt to shut down telepathic communication between these things - for all we know, it might actually stop the Twelve from commanding their minions. Unfortunately, I am one of the few people who could actually use that fog to their advantage in a fight - and I can't be everywhere at once..." Ryouta drummed his fingers against his temple as he thought aloud to himself. "Since it's being sent with reiatsu, sealing away a minion's reiatsu might cause it to lose its ability to send telepathic thought, but that too, is impractical..." His finger drumming became more frantic as he tried to think of another solution. "A blanket seal might work, or a slightly modified kido spell cast by one or two skilled practitioners," Ryouta said finally after a long pause.

"I'm not going to pretend i fully understand what you're saying. I have a practical knowledge of Reiatsu, thats about it." Sal said, sitting back down at the table.

"One thing i do know. I'm like them which means, theoretically, i can use the same Telepathic signal to mess up their game plan. Thats something to consider but two attempts near killed me. I'm no where near strong enough to make practical use of this creature and i really don't have any idea how to go about fixing that." Sal thought about the seals, if they had the jump that might be possible, from what little he knew of Kido, then he recalled the fight he;d seen between the human soldiers and the Hollow.

"These guys have some kind of Four point containment field. The thing disrupts spirit particles to such a degree that it atomized more than a dozen Hollow in a single shot. Think you could modify something like that for what your talking about?" He asked, it was the first good idea he'd had in two years.

Ryouta sat up straight at the sound of that. "Really!? Now that sounds interesting, I would definitely want to take a look at that. I'm assuming that the device isn't powerful enough to take down the minions of the Twelve though - otherwise we wouldn't be in this much trouble." He bit his lip though as a troubling thought occurred to him. "But how will I justify my modifying the device to the captain? He'd want to know where I got the information about their telepathy from, which would mean exposing you."

Ryouta's foot began tapping intermittently against the floor as he ran through thoughts aloud. "Bluffing wouldn't be sufficient...I can't pretend the 12th Division documents revealed this, he doesn't know we have them. Perhaps I can find evidence of these capabilities from the dead minion, and pass it off that way. In the meantime, I can draw you up that map with instructions, though instead it will lead you to Hiruma's quarters."

Ryouta reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a piece of a paper and a pen; two things a true scientist would never be without. He began drawing the map and writing down instructions as he continued to talk. "I think the best move we can make now is for me to go examine the dead minion while you try to enlist Hiruma's aid, and possibly work on making that...condition of yours more practical." Being used to drawing up complex blueprints in a fast amount of time, Ryouta's sketch was done as soon as he finished talking. He slid it across the table to Sal. "Best of luck. Now if that will be all, I really am curious to take a look at that minion."

"You'll think of something. You don't get to be Captain of 12th Division by being a dumb ass, that's what they made 11th Division for." He said with a smirk and took the blue prints, turning them this way and that, trying to find his bearings on the 2D drawing from his memories of Seireitei's layout.

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to going home. Somehow i don't reckon I'll be welcomed with open arms. Anyway, do your thing Doc, I'll do mine and who knows we might actually see next week." Sal said.

Two years is a long time....

Ryouta inclined his head in response. "Yes...while I am not overly fond of the world, I would not care to see it obliterated." He stood from his chair and walked to the door. "Farewell, Sal. And again - good luck."

He stepped out and found Professor Kelly waiting for him. "It's about time you finished up in there," she said. "We only have a week to come up with something useful. Hopefully you'll be able to figure something out that our scientists couldn't."

"Yes, hopefully," Ryouta responded. "Lead the way."

ooc: Ryouta's story will continue here