Wayward Son (Arawn/Open)

The pungent aroma of blood flooded Kaiyo's senses, exaggerated perhaps by a strike of lightning that exploded down from the sky; cracking through a nearby shanty house. Crackling flames quickly began to spread, the already murky air fogged by thick smoke that swayed through the pair. The mild surprise of her strike landing had inflated her ego slightly, and allowed for a momentary glance at the wound. Of course for this man it was by no means fatal, but that was round one to Kaiyo.

Hollow eyes bore into her opponent as he was knocked backwards. Bewildered masses of soldiers had begun to appear behind the Captain, of course deciding to keep a safe distance. They silently stood and watched the pride of the 11th squad, hidden behind her small stature they couldn't see the maniac smile with which the girl was holding her stance. It was unusual for Kaiyo to fight with both hands on her blade, but she deemed this man fun enough to indulge in such techniques.

The flickering adrenaline rattled through the girl's body, resonating with a sporadic buzz that heightened her senses with every barren bolt of lightning that split the tempest above. Kaiyo held her stance as the flames wrapped around Sal, concentrating with her iron clad resolve, the girl attempted to match such manipulation. The angelic white light that was radiating from her blade erupted along the metal, shooting in violent sparks around where the girl stood. The mustered energy colliding with the attempted peaceful air, sucking in the vortex that grew with the howling winds. Pushing her uniform around her body in desultory advances. A bite of angst dropped at Kaiyo's gut in the moment she picked up Sal's rising power.

The torrent of flames shot like a bullet towards the Captain, the fiery flames reflecting on her shimmering eyes as her instinct shot her upwards. Aiming to flip forwards over the strike, some deviation was needed. Kaiyo hadn't expected the man to chase the attack, especially in her dodging space; that just seemed a bit rude...Personal bubble much?

Whatever, it made her job easier than moving around more. The flames from below hung at their feet for the few moments she remained above them, sucking in the cool air to the flaming pit of death below. Kaiyo was fast, and especially good at swordplay, so the block wasn't a real issue. Though there was admittedly a large amount of power behind it. Leaping in time, they'd met right before his attempted overhead slash. The girl moved her left hand along her own blade, holding it flat against the flat side as she thrust it upwards against the man's slash. Holding the defence for only a moment, she prayed inwardly she'd be fast enough. Flash stepped instantly past the man, she brought her blade along with her, twisting around behind him as she tried to julienne slice his back.

The Captain lunged her downwards to safety, rolling on impact to soften her landing as she twisted back around into her stance. Her previously white haori charred and now smeared in the blood that had fallen where Sal had been standing. Kaiyo's blonde hair was flipping around her neck, kept out of her face by her signature headband as she titled her head back and began to laugh. 'I was expecting a bit more from that perfectly formed arse of yours' she smirked. Light on her feet, and focused as hell. Kaiyo had missed this level from combat, and was actually starting to respect the man in front of her quite a lot. The inward timer set off in her mind, ticking down until her attention span called for more excitement; god she missed being able to use her Bankai.

The space around the Captain crackled, every molecule in the air seemingly vibrating in unison as the white shards of electricity snaked from her blade and blackened the earth where they ground themselves. Sal didn't see her move, his own attack had obscured his vision for a second and that was all Kaiyp needed.

It was like a scene from a rather messed up Japanese Horror movie. This small, innocent looking girl rising up above a raging inferno, death in her eyes, coming straight towards him. Sal didn't dwell on the ice water that poured into his guts when she caught his attack head on, and effortlessly at that.

She vanished from sight and it wasn't due to superior reflexes that Sal managed to turn and deflect the counter attack. When engaging in swordplay, the easiest place to get a kill strike was from behind. This was made all the easier when both combatants could, at will, fly...in a manner of speaking. A simple prediction that was ground into him through countless battles and intense training.

Kaiyo hit the ground and rolled up onto her feet. Sal wasn't as graceful and simply landed upon bended knee's, the ground giving way under him, kicking up a thin cloud of dirt that was immediately caught up in the harsh wind blasting the battle field.

The fire around him didn't flicker in the wind, it was his to command and no outward force could change that fact. He smirked at her, she was good. Very good, scarily good in fact. He might have to resort to more...questionable methods to even make it out of this alive. Doing that, however, meant that he would never be able to return to the Gotei, even if his name was cleared.

"Keep this up and you can have a personal test run of the whole fucking package darlin'!" Sal's smile suddenly switched from playful to terrifying, his eyes taking on an animalistic edge, the blood coursing through his body quickening with his heart rate. This was it, all or nothing, the good old days were back and he'd missed them like a lover.

He was gone in an instant, Flash stepping, a technique he rarely utilized, and appearing beside her. His Claymore came from the hip, slashing upwards and as it reached the apex of its arc he launched his upper body forward bringing his left leg up behind him and planting his free hand upon the ground, firing a kick straight at her face.

Her jaw cracked a-jar to reveal a pearly white grin, split between the practically demonic expressions the two beings were conversing with. That blood lust was back again, the epicentre of her adoration for such adrenaline coursing through her body in glistening shards of golden light. So rarely did that same instinctive edge appear in anyone else, even those who showed glimmers of such a feeling had never been so in touch with it as this man. In fact, Kaiyo had never fought another Shinigami who presented such primal energy.

It was warm, beyond warm. The hellfire that was running rampart around Sal drew in the light around it, curdling the thunderous skies above. Things were only going to get worse. Distant alarms fumbled through the raging fires that had spread around the pair, obliterating the town that had stood there not so long ago. Like a descended pause button, a single inhalation was enjoyed, for a moment of a second, everything around her engulfing her senses in a tingled delight.

Then he moved, his speed so close to her own that it threw her off slightly. A moment of retreat underlined her block as Sal appeared to her side. It was no surprise he could use Flash step really, it had just not been expected, still her technical ability was unfaltering. Twisting to the side, Kaiyo swung her blade downwards with her turn, angled to block the strike as the flames followed it further. Licking further around as she spun slightly once more, on the defensive still to avoid the flames. Too much caution had been added perhaps as her dodge caught the edge of Sal's kick, snapping her body around full turn as she lunged her blade forwards, 'Raikou Mato' she called, flipping backwards to land steadily. Two intertwined bolt of lightning shot towards Sal, a helix of light coursing from the tip of her blade.

Kaiyo stood back up straight, almost snarling as she moved her jaw around. It was one of the harder kicks she'd taken in combat. Of course her tactical knowledge had always relied upon instinct over, well, actual knowledge but she realised the need to turn these proverbial tables. The small girl lunged forwards, scorching the ground further as she flash stepped, appearing above the tall man with her blade raised above her head, she tried to wait until the last moment before flash stepping again. Before making any contact as she appeared back at his feet, swinging her foot around at the back of his legs in the hope to drop him to the ground.

Kaiyo lunged back upwards with her blade, the fast jab withdrawn quickly as she brought her left hand up to guard her face as she spun around, bringing her right heel around towards the man, followed by clean horizontal strike in her turn; dropping her back into stance. Her smile still affixed, the Captains eyes were ablaze, desperate for this man to unleash the power he was hiding.

They were on par spiritually, their energies colliding in the air around them creating so much friction that the dark clouds over head applauded their strength with repetitive thunderclaps that reverberated across the land, punctuated by forks of lightning that danced across the sky.

Sal's kick found its mark and he was back on his feet when the jagged tongues of electricity shot towards him. He spun to the side of them and then his eyes were drawn skyward as Kaiyo blinked from existence only to appear again above him. He feel for the feint, his sword arm rising to block before he could realize his error in judgement.

He fell backwards from the leg sweep. The world slowed as he risked a glance over his shoulder. He saw the tip of the blade rising toward his spine, the utterly ruthless look on such an innocent face and then...it all went to hell.

The tip of Kaiyo's blade met a diamond hard surface, a spray of black living metal erupting from Sal's face and reforming into tendrils as the main body of the substance coated Norongachi's skin from head to toe. The Tendrils lashed out like vipers tongues deflecting the onslaught in a heart beat and then stabbing into the ground they pushed Sal back onto his feet.

The blazing aura around his body swirled in its intensity and then the licks of fire were invaded by blacks, greys and whites that drained the color from the rest of the fiery aura.

Sal had his back to her, the surface of the perfectly smooth head catching the lights of the fire and bending it in peculiar ways. He flexed the talons on his free hand, watching the metal shimmer under his gaze and then turned to face her.

What Kaiyo saw was a monster and nothing less, gone were the vibrant brown eyes of Sal Norongachi. They had been replaced by the glowing green, pupiless, eyes of Abaddon and upon the ebony face, contrasting with the brilliant white of the ragged mask in the shape of an Omega Symbol, was a permanent smile of jagged silver fangs.

The Glaswegian gave his Claymore a twist in his hands and let his head flop to the side slightly as he drove his gaze into her very soul.

"My turn..." The words were not actually spoken, the silver teeth never moved, instead it was a form of telepathy where the thoughts were imbedded in the recipients mind.

In the space between seconds Sal was gone. He appeared in front of the Captain and from his shoulders and sides the living metal moved under his command firing leaping outwards it reformed its makeup into blades that Sal put to work immediately, he slashed at her mid-section with his Claymore while the four Blades of Abaddon stabbed forwards, two at her chest and two at her abdomen.

He flipped backwards, ascending at a phenomenal rate, and with a roar akin to some legendary beast of old it he rained beams of black fire down upon her and the surrounding area, blasting the ground down to its atomic make up before landing lightly some ten feet from his opponent.

There had been only a few moments in Kaiyo's entire existence that had truly left her with a genuine 'What-the-fuck' response...This was one of those moments. From the second the black tendrils exploded around Sal, she moved back. Her senses dodging around the sheer insanity of being unable to grasp what the hell was going on.

Of course she'd heard the rumours, but it was something very different entirely to actually witness one of the monsters. Holding the misfortune of fate as the shimmering metal that had engulfed his figure glistened between the converging forces of fire and lightning. The shock reverted to an internal panic of sorts; the man's appearance alone was quite literally monstrous, but it was the energy that worried her. Clear as day it became more obvious, the reason for such a primal edge to his combat and reiatsu. Even hollows, surely could not be so hellish.

Something else triggered her response further- the impure darkness that had voided what felt like the entire light of the world had been illuminated by the monsters eyes. No great reasoning was applied, this man had meddled with impure souls and had paid the price, but to Kaiyo he was the sheer personification of evil. Of course no figments had ever been created in her mind before, and it was more of a subconscious realisation. Whatever the exact reasoning, the Captain's resolve hardened.

Kaiyo's grin was mirrored in Sal's jagged fangs as he stared straight into her eyes. It was really starting to seem more and more like a battle of good and evil; and it didn't take two guesses as to who was which. No longer was given to this shock, as he moved.

'Shit' he got fast. The metallic casing around the man lunged forwards with his own blade as he appeared next to the girl. The resonating voice of the man in her head had only helped catch her off guard slightly. Her knee-jerk reaction lagging behind as she pointed her blade downwards and twisted to the side. Her left hand pushing firmly against the side of her blade as she blocked the living metal. The dark matter wrestling against her ever-brighter Zanpakuto. One strike had been the price of four, as Sal's claymore cut through her side; that familiar sting of pain prickling against her grin with a slight grimace.

Then he moved back. That was all the time she needed to get her bearings back, to stop her head from spinning and catch a sharp breath that tugged at the blood soaking through her previously white haori. The black flames burst forwards towards the girl as she cackled, gripping her blade ever tighter as she pushed her vast energy through her blade, channelling her reiatsu into white lightning as she twisted around the black. The absence of colour striking through the sheer power that had surpassed the pre-disposed area; sending shock-waves of wrought destructive power beyond the districts that surrounded them.

The Captain blurred between the maelstrom, slicing through the black flames and twisting, ducking, diving around the others like a ballerina; such grace was lost in this madness. With every move she made through, the flames licked around her, edges singing through her defences and clawing ever closer to her. The immortal words of her own Zanpakuto raged through her mind as Sal finally landed back to the ground.

Fighting off the last of the darkness, her words were lost, and hidden. He was fast, admittedly, but was he faster than lightning?

'Chouwa no tomoshibi' the cursive torrent of light exploded upwards from the ground, surrounding Kaiyo in that comforting glistening light she knew all too well; reaching up to the heavens and enveloping her senses in such an immersive strike as the heavens were split with the light. Bolts of lightning rushing down to join such a vast mass of energy.

She was so fast, even with the power of Abaddon firing his synapses to full capacity he could barely follow as she evaded the black shafts of fire that he had sent towards her. He had cut her however and if it bleeds....

"Why?" The thought came from no where and he found his focus being drawn inward. "That could have been you, if you hadn't been chosen to go on that mission. You would have followed blindly, you would have killed for that uniform...once upon a time." The green eyes turned back to the fight, but the question remained: Why did she have to die?

He felt the up swell of spiritual energies around his opponent, frightening power that could rip the world asunder on a whim. Was he in love? It was possible.

He channeled his own energy in the same instant, the black fire around him billowing out in a crackling cacophony that covered a good ten meters outside his own body and then he planted his Claymore in the ground and drawing all his power to himself he folded it in upon itself, so that the flames swirled around him like an ever decreasing vortex until there was but a dark resonance around his silhouette.

"Raise Hell..."

The world exploded after those two simple words. Darkness met light and a dome of energy perfectly separated down the center engulfing Sal and Kaiyo as well as everything for hundreds of meters. The Shinigami who had gathered to watch the fight cried out as they were caught upon the shock wave, flying backwards with no hope of recovery as these titans clashed.

The armor that adorned Sal's body was as black as night, the same living metal, dark as the eye of the void, covered it sapping the usual red from its flaming metal. The white mask blazed upon the dark helm, the green eyes shining through the t-shaped slit that allowed him to see and exposed his nose and a portion of his mouth to the world.

The ground under the heavy armored boots, with three blades at the back of them, simply vaporized into ash as the heat exploded from his body, far out classing anything the Captain had felt before. He held the twin swords in either hand, each looked as if it were made of black rock honed to a razors edge, across their surface were cracks that glowed red like lava veins to match the armor he wore. It were as if the broken fragments shifted slowly across their surface, like the tectonic plates upon the earth moving forever across a sea of fire.

The area around them was desolate and broken for as far as the eye could see. Trees as tall and as mighty as any he had seen had been ripped from their moorings, roots and all, and cast aside by the clash of their power.

The girl gazed back it him, her body flickering with shards of electricity, her eyes unflinching at the sight of his Bankai. She tightened her grip on her Zanpakuto and he saw that innocent smile play across her face.

"I'm impressed...." She said, her voice full of charm that one might find endearing...if it were not for that coldness in her bright blue eyes.

"We aim to please..." Sal said, his voice a mass of distortion as Abaddon and Claidheamh Mor's joined his own.

"Then you failed..." Her voice was flat, cold, like the whole world had turned to ice. "'Blinding Illumination, Tenrai Zenpyou"

The world exploded in white, a wave of energy slammed into Sal's body, the electricity crackling across his armor, and he felt the gargantuan power of this girl. It rivaled his own, no, it exceeded it and for the very first time in his afterlife Sal Norongachi felt fear...he could not win...not against her.

Sal rallied his courage and raked the two massive 8ft swords together and slashed them one to each side and charged. He moved like the bulky armor held no weight, stuttering between heart beats he was there and gone again covering the distance rapidly.

She simply stood there, her sword held casually in one delicate hand, and watched him, the deep blue of her eyes reflecting the black fire that was soon upon her. The twin behemoth blades fell upon her like the hammers of the gods but before they could taste her flesh a foot ploughed into his gut, he heard the 'crack!' as the plates covering his abdomen splintered and then he was flying backwards like a cannon ball, ricocheting off the ground and chunks of debris, trees, rocks and all manner of solid object that lay in his path.

He ground the heels of his boots into the ruined earth and brought himself to a stop, glaring up at her with sheer contempt in the green eyes of Abaddon shining like emerald suns framed by the black of his helmet.

A crack pierced the air and a fork of lightning blasted against his shoulder pauldron but he took the blow and retaliated with a lash of black flame that moved just as rapidly scorching the edge of her forearm. She didn't even flinch, it was as if she didn't register the pain.

Sal stood back up and they faced each other with perhaps Thirty feet between them, the difference in size was almost comical, a literal David and Goliath. Sal flexed his spiritual power, he could feel her doing the same.

He wasn't sure who fired the first shot but suddenly the space between them was filled with fire and lightning. A bolt would be snapped from the air by a tendril of flame and vice versa, it looked like a duel between gods, one elemental being clashing with another.

The pair never moved, this was a game of will not physical strength, each testing the others control of their Zanpakuto. It was even, thousands of lighting bolts mingled with a thousand more whips of fire. The scene was chaotic and if one of them slipped the consequences would be dire.

The Shinigami who had survived the earlier blast were standing in awe as they watched this fantastic light show, the true power of a Soul Reaper being displayed before them with terrifying elegance.

She was the first to let her guard slip, a jet of fire slammed against her chest and she stumbled backwards with a yell of pain but returned the favor in kind with a bolt of electricity that blew a chunk of armor from Sal's upper body.

Sal roared his defiance and lifted his arm to unleash his fury with a concentrated jet but...it refused to move...it hung limp at his side and he saw her smile. His left leg was the next to falter and he fell to one knee, the second was not far behind and he found himself swaying perilously upon the ground his limbs beyond his control.

He glared at her, helpless as he stepped forward like she had not a care in the world. Those cerulean eyes mocked him and he knew that his death would be long and painful.

She raised the tip of her blade and pointed it at his chest, stopping some Eight or so feet from him, and an arc of lighting burst from it slashing across his body it burned through his armor and brought a spasm from his body and a scream from his lips.

"Young fool..." She began. "Only now, at the end, do you understand." Another blast of lightning shattered the entire left hand side of his armor.

"Your feeble skills are no match for my power!" The lighting poured upon him without end and his world was all but pain but he would not look away from her, would not break eye contact no matter how much he screamed his eyes remained transfixed.

He felt it then, the protective burst of raw primal anger, Abaddon had truly awoken. The beast that dwelled within him rose to the fore and as he watched Kaiyo was impaled in Four places by shafts of the black metal. She didn't quite know what had happened.

Her blue eyes looked at the spikes that had ripped through both shoulders, one leg and her abdomen, like it were a dream. Blood began to trickle from her mouth,a small amount at first and then it poured like a torrent and her brow came down in anger. She raised her blade but it quivered in her hand and then fell to the ground.

The spikes retracted themselves and she fell to the ground coughing up lungfuls of crimson onto the ground. Sal watched her and knew that she was not defeated, incapacitated yes...but it would take more than that, far more to destroy this monster...and somewhere in his heart he knew that he would be the one to do it. He would be honored to, when the time came but it was not today.

He used the last of his power to command Abaddon to carry him, four black spidery tendrils stabbed into the ground and hoisted his broken body into the air and then carried him at speed. He reached the treeline and chanced a look back, the watching Soul Reapers were attending to their fallen leader and he knew that Squad 4 was not far behind to provide her much needed medical attention.

His energy did not carry him much further and Abaddon was soon lost to him, retreating back into his body and his Armour disintegrating as his Zanpakuto sealed itself. He fell to the dirt, he only hoped Arawn had the curiosity to see what was going on over this way...or he was screwed.

At first Arawn it was easy to ignore the throng of people that were rushing the streets looking for Sal. The false information had done it's work. It was the best he could do aside from fighting them outright. Of course Bryce was skilled enough to not get caught for spreading the lie. The swarm of shinigami were going in the wrong direction so there was nothing to worry about. Having seen the man in action he knew they wouldn't pose any threat to the warrior. But in high enough number they might bring anyone down. The best he could do now was stand back and hope for the best. Unfortunately, Mr Murphy would have his say instead. The crowds of shinigami returned minutes after they had gone astray. Now they were heading in the right direction. There was an explosion in the direction Sal had taken.
"I had thought he would use stealth." Arawn muttered. The decoy attempt was now moot. The shinigami were swarming at him. Discarding his white lab coat Arawn joined in the mob. Some where talking among themselves as they ran
"Did you hear!?" asked one man
"What?" came his friend's response
"The intruder is taking on a captain!" replied the first man.
"Which one?" was the excited reply. Arawn had heard enough. Using Shunpo he pulled ahead of the crowd. It was an easy if not tiring way to circumvent the maze streets of Seireitei.

There was no need to ask for directions. The sounds of explosions was no replaced with bright lights of the battle unfolding. The whole area around them was black as if a thousand battle had been fought instead of a single one. From the distance he could barely make out the two forms standing in the middle. Sal truly was an amazing man to give a captain this much trouble. Lightning came crashing down from the heavens, and fire reached for he sky. The raw elements the two commanded was enough to end a shiver down Arawn's spine. How could he help in such a fight? Only thing he could knew he could do was take a bolt of lightning. And being a human shield was the last thing he wanted to do. The thunder danced more and finally the bright display died down. The fight was over. It was time to see who the victor was. He descended into the trees that were left and an attempt to come up behind Sal last location. If the captain won, it would look like he was coming to her aid. This was not the case, he stumbled upon the prone body of his haphazard friend. A part of him expected as much, but the other was impressed the man was in one piece still from such a confrontation.

Too say he was in bad shape would be a compliment. He had seen better hit and run victims. It had looked like Sal had been put through hell. He was covered in cuts, bruises, and burns. There was blood coming from his wounds, his color was pale from the loss of the vital liquid. Arawn cursed himself no not learning healing arts. Well he had tried, but failed horribly. It was a shame it wasn't a common part of shinigami's learning curriculum. He didn't have time to complain he had to move fast before someone else found Sal, or even worse him with Sal. Quickly he drew his weapon from his sheath.
"Drift, Haung Long." he said as he spun the blade over his wrist. A yellow glow engulfed the weapon and he caught it as it flipped. The silver katana was now replaced with a golden two foot kurki blade. Focusing his energy the air about it began to shimmer. Arawn touched his weapon to the wounded man. In seconds the body rose from the ground. Next he tore off his uniform's top and did his best to wrap the injured man. There were still several open cuts. Covering them wouldn't be enough. With a sigh he stuck his weapon into the ground. "Hado #8: Blades of Flame." from his left hand a fire ignited and grew into the shape of sword. "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt." He ran the edge of the blazing weapon across the cut sealing the slashes across the other man's skin.

Sal heard the footsteps through the warm blanket of pain and then looked upon the most glorious sight he had ever seen. Arawn, the dependable Shinigami who had saved his life more than anyone else.

He remained motionless as the Reaper released his Zan and through its power made his body feel as weightless as air, lifting him into the air. He watched with detachment as Arawn tried to bind his wounds but all that really did was hide the mess.

The next thing he saw his comrade do made him wince involuntarily. He knew what was coming, it was the oldest medical trick in the book. "Make it quick..." Was all he said and then ground his teeth together as the flaming blade cauterized his wounds, sending a fresh wave of pain and the fragrant smell of his own flesh cooking.

He tried not to scream but everyone had a breaking point and he'd reached his. He howled in pain but forced a clenched fist into his mouth toe muffle the sound, biting down upon the knuckles and drawing blood. They couldn't afford to be found.

When it was over he exhaled loudly and whimpered pathetically before looking at the Reaper. "We have Fifteen minutes to get to the extraction point."

"We indeed" He said to himself. There was no way the man would make it to the extraction point in three hours with the wounds he had.
"Well it's good you can talk, but I don't think you're in any condition to move at the moment." Arawn spoke. Things were about to get sticky. He had to help Sal once again, but not get caught. Helping a man that just went toe to toe with a captain wasn't exactly a good thing. Hopefully if they moved fast they could break through the pursuers before they realized what was happening. Quickly he finished administering the crude first aid and then dispelled the blazing sword in his hand. Now he retrieved his golden weapon and pressed the cold blade against Sal's body once again. He wanted to renew the floating energies before attempting to move the man. With ease Arawn picked up the other man as if he was made of paper. He took the remainder of his torn shirt and wrapped it around the blade to hide it's appearance. The tattered remains of the black dougi was to make a crude mask to cover his face. He he tucked his hair into the folds of the torn shirt and left a small gap for him to see out of. No a sliver of his face or hair could be seen. Arawn took Sal across his back and crossed his arms over his shoulders and around his neck. With one hand he secured the other man's arms, with the other he held the shielded sword and pressed it against his side. "Preparations complete" No one could see his face and the effect wouldn't wear off mid flight.
"Okay, which way is the extraction point?" he asked finally ready to move.

The smell of his own flesh cooking seemed to be lodged in Sal's nostrils but the pain had begun to subside and he silently congratulated the Reaper on some quick thinking.

He waited patiently as Arawn maneuvered him into position and did his best to shield his identity from the swarms of black clad Gotei that would be on the hunt for them. He felt a touch guilty about dragging the man into this mess, it seemed that whenever they met Sal always brought some kind of trouble to his door.

"Couldn't be helped...there are millions of lives at stake.." He thought just as Arawn spoke.

Sal tried to speak but his throat felt dry and horse and he coughed away the feeling. "North East from here, the Forest outside Zaraki. Hurry, we dont have much time..." He said his voice a mere croak.

Kaiyo's eyes welled with tears as her collapsing lungs groped at the meagre strands of air they could grasp. The momentary lapses of light had circled around her eyes, her head throbbing was so minor compared to how the rest of her body felt. Her small body was convulsing, shaking her entire body as the pain continued to sear around her body. So vast it couldn't be isolate to one particular point.

Kaiyo had felt pain before, a lot of pain; but nothing like that. Nothing like the torrent of wrath that man had torn asunder.

Sweat dropped to the ashen ground beneath her, swirling into a pool of her blood as Kaiyo barely managed to hold her upper body up. Her weight resting only on one side; the other too incapacitated for any such task at the moment. Kaiyo could already sense the healers around her, struggling against just the reiatsu that had lingered in the air; dry with the stench of death. She couldn't care less for their well being at the moment, of course she knew she wouldn't die, but the overwhelming pain that had stricken her body immobile was a power that frightened her.

A gentle hand tried to lift Kaiyo's head, the touch alone dropping the unfortunate shinigami to the ground; residual reiatsu from the girl and her attacker wiping out a shinigami just like that. The whispers and shouts subsided as Kaiyo gave in, surrendering to her weak appearance as she dropped to the floor, her face swirling up small clouds of ash as it hit the ground. A squelch of blood sticking to the broken earth as she landed. Involuntary shaking was keeping her wounds open, soaking up the dank air around her.

Still conscious at least, Kaiyo recognised the spiritual energy of the nearest man, the 4th squad Captain. What an honour; she'd save a formal greeting for later though. A flash of light appeared with a familiar warmth, flooding her senses with a stinging security. The pain remained though- it was more than a healer could cure. The needle pricking her skin lightly, pushing it's way through the burnt flesh of the Captain; the fibre's of her torn robes fused to the melted skin as the vial numbed her body.

Unwilling to loose consciousness just yet, the girl attempted her final struggle. Swatting away healers as she tried to stand, still unable to breath and in so much pain one might have wished for death. In the back of her mind, Kaiyo did- but that was a thought none would ever know about. Her blonde hair clung to her sweaty and blood smeared face, her eyes hollow with a sorrow unlike any being. The girl staggered up to her feet, wobbling and swaying in an agonising bid for combat, her knee's buckling instantly as she fell straight forwards. A small whimper of pain squeezing through her lips as her floppy hand landed just inches away from her Zanpakuto, her fingers curling into a loose fist. So much anger, so much sadness. To be beaten so publicly, it was almost worst that they had both lived. Even worse than that, was the flicker of exhilaration that had loved the man for what he had given her, and hated him for what he had taken away.

'Follow...Him'.

The direction set Arawn gathered his energies and shunpo'd. The man on his back was weightless almost like he wasn't there. For that much he was thankful. In the past he had flash stepped with while holding someone, and lost some speed and distance. His zanpukto rather mild ability had become quite beneficial in this situation. They had vanished and reappeared several hundred feet from their last location. Arawn grinned.
"I'm always useful." came a growling voice from the sword in his hand. The grin on his face vanished as Haung Long made himself known. With a groan he took his second shunpo. While the burden of Sal's weight was solved, the overall burden of multiple flash steps was not. It wasn't Arawn's greatest skill, but he was capable. Within minutes he had done at least five long distance shunpos. They didn't have time to make smaller and safer jumps, so he continued to push himself. The sixth wasn't half as far as the first, and the seventh was even less so. There was no denying that he was at his limit. He didn't dare try another shunpo at this point. They had covered some distance. The ground forces where probably far behind them. Arawn reapplied the his weapon to Sal to prevent the man's weight from returning and slowing him down. With no other choice he began to literally jump from tree to tree. It seemed they were still traveling NE as Sal had mentioned, but he had no idea how close they were. And for that matter he didn't know what the contact looked like. He wanted to let the wounded man rest. Arawn had no other choice, but to try to get more information.
"Sal, how close are we? Are you sure they will be there? Will they recognize you?" Arawn's mask made him look suspicious. Hopefully if those helping saw the wounder warrior they would trust him enough.

The distance melted away under Arawns speed and Sal fought constantly against the pain wracking his body, trying to stay conscious. He kept his eye open for land marks, a broken shack here, a small cluster of houses there and then he saw it a few hundred meters ahead silhouetted against the dark outline of trees. A stone monolith.

Just in time, Arawn was growing tired from the exertion, he could feel his breathing becoming heavier. "See that pointy rock amongst the trees? That's where we're headed and don't worry, they'll be there if we hurry." He said.

At the Extraction Point

"Charlie 3, i'm picking up a whole mess of Spiritual Energy in the surrounding area. Can you get a visual?"

"Roger that Charlie 2, the Reapers are out in force. Seems our boy did one hell of a job busting them up. I'm in position at sector 3-1." The pilot gazed at the HUD before him, the holographic displays spread across the control console of his cockpit showing the outside of his M.A.T.T and also the various sensor displays that the machine came equipped with.

"Any read on him?" Charlie 2 crackled over the com-system.

"Negative. Its hard to get a read with all this interference." Charlie 3 adjusted his scanners, trimming down its scope to compensate for the obscene amount of spiritual energy blazing all around them. "Wait a minute. I'm getting something. Its weak but its definitely him. Moving fast from Sector 2-9 heading right for me." The pilot spun the torso of his armored suit and saw the figure appearing in the distance and then his alarms began to beep.

He checked his scopes, yellow dots appearing upon the red holographic grid of the area. He checked his visual, the package was moving closer and closer and then it was right next to him but the pursuers were closing fast as well. He looked down upon the pair, his M.A.T.T hidden from sight by a light refraction cloaking field. He spotted Norongachi upon the Reapers back, he looked in bad shape and the guy carrying him didn't look in tip top condition either.

"The speed these Reapers are coming in at he wont get to you in time. Fire up the Rift, I'll buy some time. Charlie 3 out." With that he took a firm grip of his control sticks and then flicked his com-system to external.

"Norongachi, get to the extraction point. You've got company coming. I'll buy some time." His voice blared at the pair and then his cloaking field shimmered off and the gargantuan 14ft mechanical behemoth appeared before them, twin spirit energy heavy assault machine guns, fed directly from the SP generator that powered the beast, gleaming in the moon light and a deep red photoreceptor shining down from the dark outer hull.

Spoiler:

The machine lumbered forward at first, the whir of servos and hydraulics filling the night, as it took its first steps onto the dirt road that they stood upon and then Sal felt the spiritual energies flowing from the man made engine that was housed in the Mobile All Terrain Tanks chest. It worked in a similar fashion to the Quincy technique of drawing Spiritual energy from their surroundings but with a much higher yield.

"Don't get reckless, we're holding the gate for three minutes. If you aren't back..." Sal called up to the M.A.T.T pilot.

"I know the protocol. Now go." Charlie three responded and then checking his read outs gunned the machine into a break neck run. Its mechanical legs pounded the earth, gouging chunks with each stride, and it moved swiftly, almost nimble for such a large creation, his scanners showed twelve in the pursuit party. All he had to do was hold them off.

He cocked his weapons and then with a quick maneuver of the controls the machine soared into the air. He cocked his weapons, and orientated the upper body to face downwards, the Reapers just came over the rise, they hadn't seen him yet. He reached the apex of his jump, the boosters were only short lived, and the M.A.T.T plummeted down toward the running Shinigami.

The only warming they got was when half of their number were cut in two by blue lances of energy that rained from above, the machine guns spewing spiritual projectiles as quickly as their regular counter parts would bullets.

The three pronged toed feet bit into the earth as gravity finished its work, the shock wave of the impact knocked some Reapers over while others choked in the ensuing dust cloud. Charlie 3 spun his weapon into motion, the senors tracking the nearest targets and the huge arms brought his guns to bear the stuttering fire took them down quick and clean but the remaining 4 were no longer off balance.

Zankaputo's were drawn and now it was truly time to see if Humanity could stand on its own. They came in quickly, very quickly, he wasn't sure if the machine could keep pace but his sensors were good, they allowed him to trace their spiritual energies and he swung the entire upper body round an arm slashing through the air to smash in the rib cage of one attacker and then with reflexes honed through Fighter Pilot training he dropped the Mech down, one hand planted into the ground and sent the massive foot colliding into another.

His senors bleeps a proximity warning and then internal diagnostics screeched at him just as the remaining Shinigami cleaved off his left arm just above the elbow join. Fluid and gas spewed from the damage and he acted quickly, dropping his machine gun he drew out the large scale SUNDER dagger in his leg compartment and caught the next blow on its blue fluorescent edge, it took a mere push to send the Reaper bouncing across the ground and then he turned quickly and plunged the blade backwards, underhand, straight into the chest of the remaining Reaper who was attempting a leaping slash at his back.

His readouts were all pretty much in the red, lights flashed at him and sirens wailed, he had to retreat and retreat he did giving chase after Norongachi and the Reaper and hopefully, safety.

A thick sheen of sweat now covered Arawn's body. He had nearly exhausted his reiryoku and the mask he wore was quite hot and stuffy. As uncomfortable as it felt it was quite necessary. Suddenly there was a voice calling out to man across his back and suddenly a metal monstrosity appeared out of thin air. Arawn skidded to a halt nearly falling over. He had encountered a large metal hollow of similar size. But this behemoth instead lumbered in the direction they had just came from. It would seem that whoever was in that contraption was indeed on Sal's side. Saying a silent prayer Arawn continued running. A part of him wanted to stop and watch as he heard sounds of battle behind them. There wasn't time for such things and there probably would never be. He could always ask Sal about it later, but doubted the man knew much about them. He shook the idea from as he sprinted. They should be close, according to Sal and the voice from the machine they were almost there. Keep running, that's all he could do. He kept his eyes open for the "rift" the wounded man had mentioned. 3 minutes didn't seem hardly enough. Thunderous explosions sounded from behind him. He could only wonder what kind of battle was unfolding between the large robot and the shinigami forces. He couldn't afford to waste time.

The stone monolith rose up, a few hundred yards into the forest. The dense woodland was deathly silent as they entered, not a bird or animal stirred which broadcast with certainty that all was not well with the world.

They proceeded with caution, even though Sal knew that in a stand up fight an M.A.T.T was more than capable you could never tell with Shinigami. Their powers were diverse, making any fight with an unknown highly dangerous and hard to predict.

The base of the stone was directly ahead now and Sal tapped Arawn on his shoulder feebly and motioned to a cluster of trees to the far left of the Monolith. "Look real close," His voice barely a whisper. "Notice how some of foliage doesn't appear right. Like some of the leaves, the trunk of that tree, are stretched. That's how you spot them." He finished with a weak smile.

The distortion was mild, if you didn't know what to look for the chances of actually noticing it were slim to none. Sal had learned as much as he could about his new Allies, their technology, weapons, strategies and the capabilities of their soldiers while they in turn assessed him. The years had not been kind to the former Shinigami, whatever trust he had when he left Seireitei Two Years prior had long since been ground from him.

Everyone is an Enemy, even if they don't know it yet. That was the harsh creed he lived his life by now.

He urged his savior on and as they got to the base of the Monolith the M.A.T.T disengaged its cloaking field and stepped forward to meet them. It stopped beside them, towering over the pair and then the chest compartment gave a hiss as hydraulic mechanisms kicked in. The chest compartment moved forward a few inches and then slid upwards revealing the young brown haired woman inside.

"Took your sweet ass time." She said smiling down at them from the cockpit.

"Traffic..." He responded. "Fire up the rift." With that the Cockpit resealed itself and the Armored Walker jerked into motion, moving a dozen feet or so from them. Its metallic hands reached into leg compartments and withdrew four large circular pieces of equipment. It places two on the ground, between two trees, and the other two she attached to the trunks of these trees 18 or so feet up.

"Connection in...5...4...3...2...1" After the count the four machines sent out a high pitched hum and then beams of electricity shot between them connecting all three in a very rough door shape. The electricity danced and popped as it formed the outline before sparks fired from each corner into its center and literally 'peeled' back the fabric between the worlds leaving a black nothingness.

Once more Arawn could only marvel a the strange technology before him. While it was true that Soul Society had similiar ability to open gates, the process was more akin to magic than science. Magic was like a cheat code for reality. Making fire from thin air, moving faster than speeding bullet, A fusion of both perhaps. Still to see humans had created such a device without a mystical component. While he would love to stop and ask them more about it he knew as the portal opened his time with them had come to a close. Slowly he released his grip on Sal and walked him over to the gate.
"If I'm to be of any use to you here, I can't be seen here with you." Arawn spoke. "As soon as you're through I'll have to try to circle around and join up with the rest of the shinigami." That or he would just run back to the edge of town. Either way now was time to say goodbyes. "I hope they got some medical personnel on the other side of this thing." he said eying the beckoning void.

"As always, you're a life saver." Sal Smiled weakly, a huge mechanical hand reaching down to prop him up just as Charlie 2 lumbered toward them, his armor battered and broken the once fluid strides jerky and erratic but he was alive and that was all that mattered.

"You look like shit!" Charlie 2 Called out to her comrade as she lifted Sal up like a child would a toy.

"I'm alive...they arent.." He responded and came to a stop beside them.

"I'm sorry about all this Arawn, i really am." Sal called to the Shinigami and then watched as Charlie 3 lumbered through the portal before Charlie 2 joined behind him.

The end was almost here, he just hoped the meager force he had gathered would be enough.