Izanami no Jidō: Mother, Forgive Me...

The End is Nigh...
New York's atmosphere had transformed from it's black and golden orange, to a depressing white and grey one. As if though the entire world had been covered in it, snow fell from the skies. It's massive towers were covered in it, the city streets were being cleaned from it all, civilians held umbrellas up to keep themselves shielded from it's cold sting.

Tearing through the wintry skies were two VTOL aircraft, both moving at hasty speeds. Within one of them was a young woman with a blood mark in the center of her head, the rest of her body bruised and tattered. She looked as if though she had emerged from a nuclear crater, though what she went through could easily be described as worse...

...she had a child on the way, and she had no way of helping it if it came sooner than expected. All that was on her mind was the apprentice that she had lost. She could not fight the tears emerging from her eyes as she recalled her final moments with her...

Within the other aircraft were two men, one with an elder appearance with red eyes and black hair, and a younger one with blue eyes and brown hair. They were previously wounded, but their captors healed them on behalf of their master.

The younger man covered his face with his hands, slight tears emerging from his eyes as well. The young woman in the other craft was his wife, and she carried his child. He could not fight the anger and sorrow within him, knowing that he would never see his child in person.

The older man, however, seemed to be more resolute. He was sitting in one of the seats nearer to the rear exit of the V-22 Osprey he was flying in. His arms were folded in his lap, and his eyes were closed. His daughter had been killed by his nemesis, who was the very same one who had taken them all prisoner. Apparently, they were going to witness the "destruction" of the world, as he had put it. All in all, it was a gloomy, depressing, and disappointing situation.

He had promised his father that he would keep his fragment to the dying breath. He had failed.

He had promised himself to bring his family back together. He had failed.

But he was too tired of failure to care. It brought him nothing but weariness. So he simply sat there, silent and waiting patiently for his time to come.

"...I'm sorry."

The younger man said a couple of words through his breath, expressing his sorrow over the death of the man's daughter.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Akisame." Haralson answered calmly, opening his eyes to look over at the other man. "You're not the one who killed Brina. So don't blame yourself for my kid's death."

"No. No I should blame myself for her death. For everything. If I had never found out about all of this, and if I just stopped looking for you, then maybe we could have enjoyed our lives before the end came..." Akisame said, guilt riddled his face. So much to the point to where he could not even look at Haralson.

That was something that Haralson could not take.

Reaching over, he grabbed Akisame by the top of the head and jerked his face forcefully up. His eyes were fixed up in a stern glare. "Listen up, laddie." He growled, clearly annoyed with Akisame's moping. "If you and your lass hadn't met me, I would've never been able to overcome my own personal demons as I did. I'm not going to say it again. None of this is your fault. So stop acting like it is!"

"...Yeah. I helped you." he said, his voice still low. "...but did I help the people of your hometown? Did I help the pilot back on the plane? Did I help the innocent people in the village? Did I help my wife and child? Did I help Bri..."

He stopped himself before he could say more. He gently took Haralson's hand off of his head and layed his head back up against the window of the craft.

Haralson closed his eyes, placing a palm to his face in frustration. "....you did what you could." He spoke, taking in a deep breath and sighing. His back was hunched over as he did this, his other arm resting in his lap. "No one can blame you if you were trying your absolute best to protect everyone. The only ones who will mock you for that are the ones that you see as enemies. No one else matters. Think about that before you decide that you want to die in such a pitiful, self-loathing manner."

Akisame chuckled, shaking his head. "I'll be sure to tell myself that before I go to sleep at night."

As he finished, the chopper landed on a large helipad that was fit for two craft. As they landed, an armed guard came up to the door, rifle ready to shoot either of them dead where they sat.

"Out of the chopper. NOW!"

With that, Akisame looked over to Haralson and nodded, as he left the craft for the guard. As he looked to his left, the other craft landed and a robed figure emerged from it, Soifon in tow. She looked over to Akisame and then to the figure. She was speaking to him and he looked down at her before looking back up at Akisame. He then took her and walked over to the young man with Soifon.

"On behalf of the Prophet's whim, this woman has been granted permission to stay in the same cell as you." the figure said.

She embraced Akisame, their hands still cuffed, kissing each other briefly before being nudged by a guard to move.

"Well.... end of the line...."

Haralson sighed heavily, stepping out of the thing and hopping out in his own cuffs. He had to admit, the reiatsu suppressor on the things were strong. Even he, with the strongest reiatsu out of the three of them, could not break them as thought he could. With his cuffed hands lowered in front of him, he could only look on as the couple kissed and were told that they could share a cell together.

"What..." He drawled sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the guards. "Gonna stuff this old man in a cell by his lonesome? I thought your mothers taught you better than to treat your elders like this." He knew he was probably irritating the guards, but all they could really do was kick him around or shoot him. Their options were severely limited, and what options they could take did not matter to him. So he would settle for jeering them to his dying breath.

He did have pride, after all.

The guard simply shoved him on. "No talking."

As they moved through the dark hallways, Soifon could smell death and suffering within the sealed jail cells, it made her sick. They arrived at their appropriate cell and the guard shoved Akisame into it, while simply nudging Soifon into it. Perhaps they knew of her condition?

As they entered the white and empty cell, the door behind them was shut and their cuffs fell off, though their powers remained sealed by the specially designed room.

"Ugh... you guards are boring...." Haralson huffed, but he simply started walking accordingly. As he passed by the couple's cell, he passed a glance towards Soifon and Akisame before looking forward once again, allowing himself to be led to his own cell.

Nearly an hour had passed, and Soifon and her husband sat on the opposite ends of the room. He leaned up against the wall, his arm resting on his left knee. She sat up against the other wall, her knees curled up and wrapped by her arms. As he looked at her, Akisame began thinking about the child resting within her, what they would name it, what it would look like...

"...So, what is it?" he said, his voice casual.

She looked back up at him in confusion before realizing what he meant. "...Oh. Heh, it's..."

She got up and walked over to him, then sitting down on her knees in front of his casual figure. "...It's a girl....just like you always wanted." she said with a warm smile.

He smiled back to her. "Why did you wait until now?"

She frowned and closed her eyes, looking downwards. "I...I wanted to keep it a surprise. I planned to tell you after the dinner party but...I was so mad at you, I thought I would wait for a while longer."

Within the confines of his own cell, Haralson was sitting against the wall with his bent legs stretched out in front of him. He had his eyes closed, and he appeared to be sleeping. However, his voice said otherwise. "I let the Prophet defeat me and take away the only thing that could've been holding this world together. With one mistake, I put the fate of my life in my enemy's hands. Thanks to me, I have handed over the key needed to unlock the destruction of existence....you're not to blame, Akisame, because everything is my fault, and my fault only...."

"Pathetic."

Immediately, he jolted up out of surprise upon hearing that voice. "W-who's there?!"

"A last will by me.... and you couldn't even do that right." He recognized it as his father's voice, scathing and disdainful in nature. "You are nothing but a complete and total failure rotting in your own waste. Look at what you've allowed yourself to become, Haralson. A man of 700 is moping like a child over his own failure...is this REALLY what I passed my knowledge to?"

"N...no...dad...." Haralson's voice started to tremble, immediately taking on a horrified and apprehensive tone. His expression started to obtain more panic, more loss of his composure. "Please.... don't talk like that. I'm not dead yet, I can still--"

''"Still WHAT?!" ''The voice's snarl caused the man to flinch a bit. "Still beg for the piece back and then allow him to kill you? Maybe if you're lucky, he'll be nice and offer you the whole blade... right down your THROAT." It paused for a moment before speaking again. "I don't know why I even bothered wasting my time on the likes of you...."

"N...no, you don't mean that--"

"You are as worthless as my so-called apprentice, if not even moreso. I'm starting to wonder why I even dared to call you my son..."

"Please, Dad, don't do this....I beg of you, calm down--"

"As a matter of fact, I think I WILL stop calling you my son. Consider this my new last rites: die with a pitiful and agonized heart and discard yourself from my memory. You're pointless to me now."

"Dad, don't do this. Don't leave me."

"...."

"Please... I've already lost my daughter, I don't want to lose you...."

"...."

"What's with your silence....? Please....talk to me... Dad--"

"...."

"Dad, please! Come back! Don't leave! I still need you!! Dad!!! DAD!!!! DADDY!!!!!"

That was when the dam completely broke.

WHAM!

WHAM!

WHAM!

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!"

Haralson, completely losing face as well as his earlier bravado, began to slam his hands onto the door in a blind and crazed attempt to break free. It was not coordinated punches that he was using, nor was it even blind swings. If anything, he looked like a trapped animal attempting to break free from the cage. His eyes were wild, and a snarl was visible on his face as he continued to slam his hands on the door.

All the while, he continued to scream.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!! I HATE THIS PLACE!!! DON'T LET ME DIE ALONE!!! PLEASE, SOMEONE!!! HELP ME!!! HELP ME LEAVE!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!!! PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!!"

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

After a few moments more, Haralson had only managed to shatter one thing - the bones within his hands. He had slammed them against the metal door only to have them bend, stretch, and eventually break into pieces. Blood was now dripping from the metal, covering his gashed and mangled knuckles. As the blood slumped to the floor, he slumped to his knees. His words were like a broken mantra.

"Please...."

"Please...."

"Please...."

All of a sudden, he could feel a light tap on his shoulder. As he turned his head around, a figure with black spikey hair and piercing yellow eyes grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him all the way around, and brutally punched him in his face.

As he fell to the floor, the figure stood over him and then leaned down to where he could clearly be seen.

"Hello...brother."

That punch was enough to sap all strength completely from Haralson. He lay on his side, not even bothering to get back up or say anything for that matter.

Soifon had just finished her statement by the time Haralson started going mad. She turned to look in his direction, before looking back at Akisame with concern.

"We need to..." she stopped herself. She realized that it would do none of them any good to try to talk him out of it. He probably wouldn't even hear them. All she could do was lower her head in pity.

"...We need to give her a name." Akisame said, pretending to pick up from where she left off.

She looked back up at him in confusion and surprise. Why should they even bother naming her if they were going to die shortly?

She ultimatley gave a large exhale before giving in. "Okay...you first."

The figure then grabbed Haralson by his shirt collar with his left hand and picked him up with little effort. "Come on brother." he then punched Haralson again with his right fist. "What is my name? Tell me who I am, and I'll let you go."

"Please...." Haralson's voice was a shadow of the power it once was. "De Soto... stop it...."

De Soto then laughed as he dropped Haralson back to the ground. "HA! Looks like you were right old man. He does remember me after all."

Then, another figure phased through the door, his hands behind his back, and his figure hunched over as always. "But of course De Soto, who could honestly forget you?"

De Soto chuckled some more before looking back down at Haralson. "Heh, based on his condition, I could have sworn he'd forget who either of us were." He leaned over to where Haralson could see the other figure clearly. "You do remember the old man, don't you?"

It just made Haralson want to shrivel up in a corner and die. With his broken fingers, he clutched his head and shut his eyes tightly. "Stop it....stop it now....!" He continued to plead, wanting to shut his environment out and leave himself alone.

The elder figure walked over to Haralson and pulled out a menacing key-like sword, before pointing it at Haralson's head. "Boy. I didn't send you halfway around the country just for you to turn into a bloody savage! Now stand and face me with some backbone!"

"WHY?!!!"'

Abruptly, Haralson raised his head up, his wild eyes glaring at both his brother and father. "DON'T YOU GET IT, YOU STUPID OLD MAN?!" He screamed, his failure the only thing within his mind. '"I FAILED! I LET THE PROPHET GET HIS HANDS ON THE HILT! THERE'S NOTHING TO STOP HIM NOW!!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE, AND IT"S ALL. MY. FAULT!!!"'

That was something De Soto would not tolerate.

With a powerful kick to the gut area, he shut Haralson's wild screaming up almost instantly.

"Come on now." he said walking around Haralson. "What happened to the badass that killed me in the town huh?"

"No."

Soifon still sat up with her knees, her arms crossed. She and Akisame were going over names for their child, though Akisame was thinking of all kinds of names that he thought Soifon would like, but none of them had gained her approval so far.

"Hmm...AHA! I know! Yoruichi!" he said, comically excited.

Soifon gave an annoyed chuckle. "Yoruichi-Fon? No way that just sounds weird."

She intended on giving the child the Fon name, thus she wanted something that sounded matching to it.

Akisame sighed, leaning back in a humerous thinking pose. He knew that they were going to die, but he wanted to enjoy these last moments with his wife the best he could.

"What about Brina-Fon?" he suggested, his tone now serious.

Her amused look almost immediatley became solemn. "No. No I don't want her to ever know about Brina."

He looked back at her in a confused manner. "Why not?"

She sighed. "Because she's going to ask where she got her name, and Brina told me to tell her nothing but the truth." She then looked down, recalling what Brina had said. "I don't want my daughter to think that Brina was a ruthless killer turned hero who saved us. She'll only think worse of her than she already does, so I don't want her to think of a reason to ask about her...for Brina's sake."

Haralson lay on his back, his eyes shut tightly and his body slightly sprawled out. "....you just told me...." He said, his voice showing just how much his mind had fragmented. "....he just told me.... that I wasn't worth calling son.... so why are you...."

Charles looked confused at first, before realizing what was going on. "Oh I see. You have allowed the thought of failure to spread so far into your mind, that it is now playing with your senses." He sheathed his sword and paced around the room. De Soto leaned up against a wall with his arms crossed.

"You think that you have failed me? How could you have failed me if the world has not ended yet? The blade has not been forged just yet, there is still a chance." he said.

Haralson laughed bitterly. "....and what makes you think....that I can just leave this place so easily? I'm powerless. The moment the cell door opens, they're just going to kill me and toss aside my ragged body."

He looked down at Haralson, slight scorn in his eyes. "Boy, how far from the McTavish bloodline have you fallen? If you really were my son, then you would not be so willing to accept defeat just because of your surroundings. You know that I would never have sent you on this quest if I did not think that you could do it."

"Do not forget that my and Braeburn's situation was just as your own, Dad...."

That familiar female voice caused Haralson's head to snap towards the opposite side... and his heart almost stopped at what what he saw.

What was standing over him was none other than the familiar figure of Brina, her hands folded in front of her, and a serene look on her face (minus the smile). There was no sign of death on her, and she looked just as she did before she had been struck down by the Prophet. His pupils shrank in shock at the sight.

"B...brina....?!"

She crouched down to his level, her arms resting on her knees. "The McTavish family were always destined to oppose the evils of society, no matter what the cost was or no matter how strong our enemy was. I killed my mother in cold blood in the same manner that I killed others. Yet, I still continued to oppose the ones who ordered me to do it. Braeburn, even as we speak, has yet to be captured by them. That means he's still determined to resist, that he's still willing to fight. We do this because you taught us to do so."

"As I had once taught you to do so." Charles added, his arms folded behind his back yet again.

"And as I was designed to." De Soto stated, the insane smile still present in his face.

"....you're right."

Now there was no more resisting. Haralson slowly brought himself up to his knees, taking in a deep breath and trying to cool himself down. "I'm still breathing... he hasn't killed me yet... I still have a conscience...." He breathed. "So I still have the power to destroy him before he can complete his insane dream. But...."

Slowly, he stood up, his eyes closed in slight frustration. "What do I do now...? How do I break free from this place....?"

Brina remained silent, blinking a few times as she looked at her father with moderate curiosity.

De Soto simply held his fingers up in a position to snap as he looked at Brina and Charles. "Heh. In three...two...one..."

SNAP!

Suddenley, a loud bashing noise could be heard in the cell next to him.

"What the--"

Haralson immediately spun around in the direction of the noise, a dumbfounded and shocked look on his face. He couldn't bring himself to say anything more, furrowing his eyebrows and tensing his body out of reflexive apprehension. Brina brought herself to chuckle a little, allowing herself to turn towards the noise and wait patiently.

"...It's beautiful."

It was all Akisame could say. Soifon had finally come up with a name for their child, and it's beauty brought tears to both of their eyes.

They sat up against each other, holding each other tightly as they passionatley kissed each other with love that would make even the most solemn of people smile. This was their last moments togather, and they planned on making it all count.

She remembered how Akisame saved her from Ultharon's sword, how he comforted her after Yoruichi's coma, and how he managed to reveal a side of her that she had thought was long gone. While he thought of her elegant beauty and grace that had only increased since their first meeting, and how he had done all of this for her sake and her sake alone.

Words could not describe the love radiating from the room.

It was all ruined when two armed guards opened the door to their cell. "Alright break it up you two. The Prophet has ordered that both of you are to be executed at the same time."

Dread swept over Akisame's face. He started to object, wanting them to take him first so that his wife may live longer. But he knew that it would be pointless, bad guys never change. He looked at her and nodded, to which she nodded back. As they got up, one of the guards emited a pained grunt.

SLURCH!

He felt as if though he had been stabbed in the back with a knife, but the pain was far too great to be a knife. He turned slowly to see who had injured him...

"I'm afraid that's an order that you won't comply with."

What he met was a polite smile with a serene, yet dangerous gaze from brown eyes. In one hand, she held the tactical knife that was buried within his back. In the other, she had an SO-45 Kidō Pistol that had been aimed and fired, shooting the other guard in the head and killing him instantly. So he had a much better fate than what the guard the girl had at knife-point was about to face.

She focused - and a horrifying snap could be heard as the guard's back bent back like a mousetrap's lever snapping shut, the spine snapping in two and shattering into fragments. Under the force, the man's waist had split itself open, spilling blood from the crevice. The lifeless, mangled corpse fell to the cold metal of the floor.

The killer flipped her knife around in her fingers in order to fling the blood off, those serene eyes looking over the two. "Did you forget about me already? Disappointing..."

Soifon's face was in total shock. She started to think that she was in a dream, a horrible yet beautiful dream. Her apprentice, who had died in her arms, was now standing in front of her and her husband, saving them from an unjust fate. She could barely speak.

"B...Brina?" was all she could manage.

Behind the young Soul Reaper emerged a massive Vizard figure with shoulder length black hair. He was carrying two dead guards, both had their necks snapped, courtesy of him. He dropped one, and threw the other one towards the cell wall with enough force to break it down, sending the guard plummeting towards the bottom of the city.

Soifon stood to her feet and slowly walked over to Brina. She looked into her eyes briefly, before gently wrapping her arms around her in a warm hug (ignoring the weapons in her hands), realizing that it was no dream.

"I...I had thought that....I'd lost you again."

As best as she could with her weapons in her hands, Brina wrapped her arms around Soifon and returned the hug. "You would have, if it wasn't for the convenient appearance of Mr. Watcher..." She admitted, smiling. "I was quite dangerously close to the edge before he found me partially buried in the snow. Thankfully, it didn't come to that...."

The Watcher gave an annoyed sneer as he helped Akisame to his feet. "I told you; my name is Kafiezial. Stop calling me "Mr."

Akisame stood up and placed his hand on Kafiezial's shoulder. "Glad you could make it in time." he said with a smile.

Kafiezial did the same and turned to Soifon, who was still nervous of his presence. "Don't worry." he said. "Thanks to your husband here, I am no longer under the Prophet's control." he then pointed to the scar where his green gem used to be. "The gem was his method of controlling my mind. I am no longer under it's influence."

Soifon at first looked skeptical, but she quickly accepted him. All she cared for was her daughter, and her apprentice.

"But that's too long...!" After maintaining the hug for a few more moments, Brina gently pried herself from her former master's embrace and lowered her weapons to her side, all the meanwhile taking on a slightly whining tone. "Can't I call you by something shorter like "Kaffy"?"

Kafiezial turned and gave her a comically annoyed look, before letting out a sigh. "Fine. Anything but "Mr." will do. I don't want to be associated with the Prophet in any way besided my blade in his gut."

He then turned to Akisame. "Now as I recall, there was another one with you."

Brina was quick to answer him. "While I was recovering from hypothermia, I managed to get in contact with another helper. He will be aiding us in our mission to eliminate the Prophet and relieve him of the blade of Izanami." She explained. "He'll see to Dad..."

Kafiezial looked back at her in a comically ignored manner. "Not you, him!" he said pointing at Akisame. Soifon decided to cut in. "Haralson...may not be in the best mental shape right now."

"....I figured as much."

Twirling the pistol she had around in her fingers, Brina sheathed it within the holster at her lower back. Her eyes searched around the prison. "I'm surprised that you two did not suffer from the psychological effects that this cell gives off." She commented. "Every part of this complex smells of death, pain, and suffering. To be in such a small room like this for too long and isolated from others can cause even a strong-willed person to breakdown within the hour."

Soifon simply smiled. "I guess we were too busy trying to give her a name."

"Her--"

Before Brina could ask who Soifon was referring to as "her", she stopped immediately. Of course she was referring to the baby, of all things! It surprised her that they were more concerned about what the child was named rather than the possibility that they could've died before she could be born. She couldn't help but admire how devoted they were to the unborn life. So she gave a return smile back and a knowing nod, making sure to meet her former master's eyes.

'''BLAM! BLAM!'''

Her eyes widened slightly as she heard the loud sounds of a high-caliber round going off twice in a row, along with two bodies dropping to the ground. "Ah, I suppose he's done on his end..." She said, turning on her heel and walking past the Watcher. "Kaffy-san... please keep watch over these two while I see how things are going on my assistant's end. Most likely, there won't be any imminent patrols coming along, but I want to make sure there are no surprises before we leave."

Kafiezial simply sighed as she left the cell, scratching the back of his head. "THAT is going to take some getting used to." He then looked back at the couple. "Let's go find the other McTavish."

"....I get the feeling that something convenient just happened." Haralson said dryly, folding his arms across his chest and relaxing his body once more. The two gunshots had just happened to come right outside his door, followed by the thuds of bodies. They probably were executing other prisoners unfortunate enough to have been taken captive, or....

Maybe they decided to take the couple outside of his cell and kill them so he could hear them dying....

De Soto smirked and looked over to Charles. "Heh, told you i'd get it right."

Charles looked back at Haralson with a solemn gaze. "Haralson, what you just heard was a second chance. Another opprotunity to finish what we started, and to save the ones you care about."

Inwardly, Haralson breathed a sigh of relief at the revelation. "Thank God.... they're still alive...."

As Brina moved over to join De Soto and Charles and stood in between them, Haralson looked at all three of them as he turned to face them. "All of you..." He said softly, his expression lightening a little out of apology. "This might be just some sort of hallucination or some dream I'm having at this minute.... but I thank you for coming to...." He stopped for a moment, chuckling lightly. "Knocking sense back into me."

De Soto chuckled some, his face now more sane. "That's what I'm here for." He then gave Haralson a friendly smile as he slowly started to fade away. "Good luck...my brother."

With that, he faded into a black cloud and then disappeared.

"Remember what you taught us, Dad...." Brina said quietly, her own figure starting to fade from view. "We live to resist... and we will not stand for anything else...." She too disappeared from his sight, her presence leaving the last two McTavish members by themselves.

Charles gave his son an expression of approval and nodded. "Know this Haralson; I will always be here when you need me. Even when you feel that you are all alone in this ever changing world, I will be there to guide you."

"Yeah....I know...." Haralson muttered, placing a hand to his heart and lowering his head a little. "Guess I forgot that." He smiled weakly, somewhat embarrassed by his own manic behavior. Because Soifon and Akisame had not been too far from him, they probably heard his screams and believed that he was going insane. He probably were making them too worried for their own good....

His father's shade slowly began to fade away as he walked towards Haralson. He then extended his right hand, motioning Haralson to shake it. "You'll do me proud son. I know you will."

Haralson needn't say anymore. Without hesitation, he reached out and grasped the other man's hand in order to shake it, only waiting until his father's apparition faded away completely in order to move away. It was the seal of the vow - he would continue to fight until he defeated the Prophet, until he avenged his daughter. This time, the Prophet would have to kill him if he wanted to stop him.

This time, he would not break.

SMASH!

Suddenley, the door to his cell smashed open. Out of it's opening emerged the Vizard that he knew as the Watcher, but behind him emerged a smaller young woman with blue hair and a tattered outfit, and behind her emerged a tall young man with brown hair and a black outfit with cargo pants.

"You ah...you doing alright there buddy?" the young man asked.

It was a shock to Haralson's senses.

The force of the door opening immediately caused Haralson to jerk around and shield himself from the smoke cloud that had resulted from whatever that the group had used on the cell door. He also had to crouch a little out of reflex, as he was clearly taken off-guard by the sudden barging into his cell. At the sound of the familiar voice, he slowly relaxed his stance and revealed a slightly annoyed expression.

"Well, I might have lost a few screws here and there during my little "epiphanic prison" session, but otherwise I'm doing good." He drawled, fixing narrowed eyes onto the Watcher as soon as he laid eyes on him. "Mind telling me what the blue hell that masked freak sonuvabitch is doing with you?"

The Vizard simply leaned back against the wall, letting his new friend explain. "You remember when he and I fought on that tower? Well, during that fight, I destroyed the green them that was on his chest." He then turned to point at the burn mark on the figure's pectoral area. "After I did that, I realized that the gem was the Prophet's method of controlling him. Destroying it released him from his control. He's with us now."

The Vizard looked at Haralson and simply nodded, acknowledging him as an ally, regardless of whether Haralson did the same.

"....yeah, all right." Haralson snorted, clearly not believing the story. However, he decided to let it go for now. It wasn't exactly the time to start an argument. "So I take it your supposed ally also helped bust you out of your own cells?"

Soifon crossed her arms and smiled. "Well...it wasn't just him."

Kafiezial added to the statement. "I wasn't the one who broke them out..." he then turned to where Haralson could see clearly in the hallway. "...she was."

Haralson cocked an eyebrow, looked over in the direction of the hallway - and froze, his calm demeanor fading into complete and utter shock.

Slowly, the figure of Brina was walking towards him, her blood-stained katana dripping with the liquid, and she had it out by her side as she made her way towards the group. Bringing up the rear, however, was another youth that looked only slightly younger than her. Unlike the uniform-wearing female, the black-haired was wearing a more casual attire consisting of a red jacket, black pants, sneakers, and a unique-looking hat. One of his hands was in his pocket, but the other sported a somewhat large pistol in his hand that was lowered and pointed to the ground as he walked beside her.

Haralson's thoughts were not on the boy, but the girl that stood before him... alive.... and seemingly unharmed. Subconsciously, he made his way past the group in order to make himself known to her. In response, she stopped, her eyes locking with his and a smile crossing her face. "I see you're still standing strong. From what Akisame-san had mentioned... I thought you were going to do yourself in."

That broke his surprised look and replaced it with his weary-yet-happy expression. "Heh... you know I won't stay out of the running for long, lassie. I'm glad to see you survived..."

As the two were speaking, the unknown male that had accompanied stood a ways off from them, remaining silent and instead opting to inspect the large sidearm that he was carrying. If anything, it created for a slightly unnerving appearance. His expression was next to blank, but every movement he made was expressive. It was a somewhat contrasting aura to the serene and mirthful Brina.

Akisame looked over towards the newcomer, noting his strange handgun. He started to introduce himself, but he declined, thinking that the man was the quiet type and that introductions wouldn't be his strong point. He simply watched on as Haralson and Brina were reunited.

Soifon looked over to Kafiezial and gave him a thankful bow, believing that she owed him that much. "Thank you, Kafiezial. For saving my apprentice."

The Vizard kept his pose and nodded towards her. "Of course. I am always willing to help my allies."

"So, then...." Brina said, flicking the blood from her katana before sheathing it. "Now that we're all back together, what would be the best way to proceed from here?" Her accomplice's ears perked up slightly, and he lifted his head towards the group in order to listen in.

Kafiezial got up from his leaning position and addressed the group. "Our best option would be to head for the top of the tower. By now, the Prophet has begun to assemble the blade, so every minute we have counts." He then made his way out into the hall, looking down both ends before pointing towards the end that was opposite to the helipad. "There is an elevator at the end of this hallway as well as two stair cases. They go through different sections of the building. We should split up into two groups to cover more ground and decrease the chances of being caught. I doubt that we will anyway, but we can never be too sure."

"Oh.... I'm sorry, I forgot about these. Here are your weapons."

It was here that Haralson saw the collection of swords that was in the young man's arm when he spoke up - their Zanpakuto. The youth walked over to the formerly imprisoned trio, sheathing his pistol in order to hold the collection of weapons in order for them to take. As Haralson himself took his own, he gave a nod of appreciation towards the boy. "Thanks, laddie!"

In response, the male gave a silent nod.

"I can work with that...." Brina commented, folding her arms across her chest as she looked over at the Visored. "Who's going with whom?"

Akisame gently took his weapon from the man and gave him a friendly smile in return. Soifon did the same and looked at Akisame, who looked at her and then back to the group. "Kafiezial, Soifon and I will take the right stair case."

Haralson cocked an eyebrow, putting on a slight smirk. "What, you're not going to start doing the vertical tango once you're out of eyesight, are you?" He drawled with clear sarcasm.

To his surprise (although he didn't allow himself to show it much), the youth's eyes widened briefly for a moment before he started snickering at the choice of words, a rather humored look on his face. Instinctively, he placed a hand to his mouth in a futile attempt not to attract attention towards him. When it was clear that wasn't working, he simply turned his head away and continue to laugh quietly.

It was clear that they weren't dealing with a full-out stoic here.

Soifon looked back at him in a comically infuriated yet embarrased matter, her cheeks blushing, an anime nerve appearing on the left side of her forehead. "Hey! This is important! Focus on something besides your pervervial instincts you old sack of bones!"

Akisame looked back at him in a humored look, before looking at the youth in a friendly manner. "He's full of shit. Trust me."

The youth managed to suppress his laughter in order to look over at the man. However, he only allowed himself to nod in response.

Haralson folded his arms across his chest, choosing to ignore the insults directed his way (although his eye did twitch a little) and direct a comically pointed glare towards the short woman. "All right, all right. You did fall into that one, you know...." Popping out of his comical expression and back into his casual and almost indifferent one, he continued to speak. "So that leaves me, Mr. Mask, my lassie, and her little friend. A bit of overkill on our side, but I'm not complaining..."

"Actually, Dad, Kaffy-san's going with them." Brina piped in to correct her father.

"He is?" The intervention made Haralson stop and blink for a few times with a slightly dumbfounded expression. "Oh. Never mind what I said earlier, then."

Akisame then stood in the middle of the group. "Alright. We all know what we need to do..."

As he talked, Soifon began to feel woozy. Not in a bad way, but rather in a more soothing way. She touched her head with her left hand and as she did so, a young, feminine voice began to speak to her.

"Mommy...get down."

Her eyes opened to narrow slits as she pondered what had just gone through her mind. Who was speaking to her? It was a girl, but the only females present were just her and Brina, who was too busy looking at Akisame to attempt telepathy with her. Could it possibly be her daughter?

She quickly shook the thought and continued to listen to her husband, but the voice came back.

"Mommy please get down. I don't want you to get hurt."

Her eyes then widened, her daughter was talking to her.

She then felt a strange rumbling noise. Akisame felt it too as he looked at her, then they realized what was happening.

"Everyone get down!!!"

He then grabbed Soifon and put her on the floor with himself on top of her. Then, without warning, the wall behind them crumbled as a VTOL aircraft plowed through it and spun around in a circle before decimating the other wall, and then spinning out away from the building. From what he could tell, the craft had it's left wing destroyed and it was spiraling out of control.

"....holy...."

Haralson and the youth, after slowly getting up from the ground, allowed themselves to get up and stare in shock. The youth seemed to be even more shaken than anyone else, a hand clutching to his heart and his shocked expression stricken. His pupils were shrunk, and he was breathing in a heavy and audible manner. If anything, he almost looked ready to faint right then and there.

"Tenshina-kun...." The only one who didn't seem to act shell-shocked was Brina. She quickly walked over to him, placing a hand on his shaking shoulder and ignoring the flinch. "Are you all right?"

"Y....yeah...." The youth finally allowed himself to speak again, his hands covering his face. "I....I'll be fine...."

"What in the blue hell caused that?" In order to investigate, Haralson quickly turned around and headed for the wall that the aircraft had blown itself through, looking to the outside.

Akisame helped his wife up and checked to see if she was alright. "You okay?"

She nodded before telling him the revelation. "She...she talked to me. She talked to me Akisame."

He looked at her in confusion. "Who talked to you?"

She leaned closer. "It...it was Eve-"

Before she could finish, Kafiezial yelled out. "It's coming back!"

Sure enough, the VTOL spun right back towards them, making a wobbling whizzing noise as it did so. It then crashed into the floor below them, shaking the entire building and causing the floor below them to give way.

CRASH!

With a loud smash, the floor that the group was on fell one more story, onto the next one that had been hit by the craft.

"Uuh...Shit..."

The crash did not help Soifon's condition. She lay on her side, grasping her now more pained stomach. Akisame quickly came to her aid and picked her up in a bridal carry manner. Before he could question her status, he looked out of the hole in the wall to see several blue energy beams cutting through the many city buildings and causing all worlds of chaos.

Kafiezial stood up amoung the group and walked furthest to the window. "The blade...he's forging it right now."

"Urgh...."

Tenshina, as he was called, allowed himself to sit on his knees. Once again, his hands went to his face, and his body was shaking quite violently. The fact that the aircraft had nearly taken his head of as well as almost make him fall to his death did not suit well with his mindset. If it somehow managed to come a third time, he seriously believed he was going to go into shock.

Sensing his extreme distress, Brina quickly got up, went over to him, and knelt down beside him. "Tenshina-kun! Listen to me, it's fine now, I'm here!" She said, taking on a slightly stern but clearly concerned tone. "Easy, easy, just take keep taking deep breaths...." She paid no attention to Kafiezial's words, although she did manage to hear them.

"What?!" Haralson nearly shouted, running over to Kafezial's side and quickly unsheathing his katana. His expression was that of determined anger. "Do you know where the bastard is?!" He would be damned if he was going to let the Prophet get away with crafting the blade.

Kafiezial looked back at him with equal determination. "He's at the top of the tower. If we hurry we can stop him in time!"

Akisame and Soifon looked into each other's eyes as she managed to stand herself back up. "How...how did she talk to you?"

After he finished, another energy beam tore through the building across from them, causing a bright explosion that forced him to cover his eyes. When it disappeared, Soifon answered him.

"I don't know Aki...but she did. She saved us." she said with a warm expression.

"Can you stand?" Brina questioned Tenshina, slowly standing up to her feet. With great hesitation, he followed suit, sucking in a deep breath before exhaling it and lowering his hands. Though his body was still shaking, he managed to maintain a small nod in response. In turn, this caused her to give an encouraging smile and a friendly pat on the shoulder before she turned towards the rest of the group.

"Right...." In response to Kafiezial's statement, Haralson decided not to waste time. Pointing his sword out, he called out his release command. "God Be With Us, Inga!" It shifted a bright white for a brief moment before changing into its cleaver form. Balancing it on his shoulder, he tensed himself and kicked into a Flash Step to get going. "C'mon! We've gotta hurry!" He called over his shoulder before continuing to initiate Flash Steps to the top.

"I'm not going to let him win over me again.... not this time...!!"

Akisame then held out his sword as it began to glow with a golden light. '''Conquer! Chikyū-Tatchi!''' His sword then transformed into the golden claymore that he was seen with before. He held it down as he looked at his wife and the other two souls. "You three stay here. No matter what!" He looked over to his wife with a stern glare. "Sophie...don't follow me. Please." He then turned to follow Haralson.

"Aki!"

He turned around to see his wife coming for him. He caught her in his arms as they kissed each other. When they finished, she held his face with her hands. "Please...please don't let me lose you again. Promise me you'll come back safely."

He then kissed her again as he held her head with his free hand. "I promise. You hear me? I promise i'll come back." She hugged him one last time with every bit of strength she could muster. As he hugged her back, he looked over to Kafiezial.

"Take care of them for me...Will you?" he said.

Kafiezial put his hand on Akisame's shoulder. "You have my word. Good luck my friend."

With that, Akisame kissed Soifon one more time before Flash-Stepping from view, going to join Haralson in the last fight.

The Final Bout: Darkness vs. Light!
The Blade of Izanami floated in the center of a strange platform at the top of the massive tower. The bodies of several robed figures seen earlier were lying around everywhere, courtesy of getting too close to the sword and it's lightning.

"Holy hell...."

Immediately, Haralson skidded to a stop where he was, his eyes focusing on the blade. He stayed at the top of the entrance, careful not to make the same mistake the once-living people had done. The power imminating from the blade was so incredible, so suffocating.... it almost made him want to retreat back into the building just to give himself more air. But he was determined to hold firm, his cleaver sword held in both hands and his eyes narrowing.

"Well, there's the blade...." He muttered, eyes taking themselves off of the weapon and looking around. "Now where's the maniac working on it?"

Akisame then appeared next to him. He too became somewhat overwhelmed by the blade's power, but he stood where he was, next to Haralson. His sword at the ready, his teeth gnasshed togather as he tried to maintain himself.

"Well now. I can see why he wanted it so bad." Akisame said, trying his best to be optimistic.

Upon seeing no visual of the Prophet, Haralson allowed himself to lower his stance a little. "Whatever you do...." He warned, his senses on the alert out of anticipation that his enemy might attack them while their defenses were down. "Do not allow yourself to get within that thing's radius. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but even I'm not sure I can withstand a hit from those lightning bolts that keep appearing out of nowhere...."

"Right." Akisame said in acknowledgment. "Watch out for the shadows. Remember his Zanpaktou's ability, he can use them to hide from us."

He slowly paced around the area, being sure to stay out of the blade's reach. His sword in tow, he could not help but think about his wife and daughter. He knew that if the Plinian Eruption occured now, then they would surely live with him, but what of Haralson and Kafiezial and the others?

He shook the thought off and continued to search.

Slowly, Haralson began to follow his movements, his eyes moving for a moment to look at Akisame's back. "You thinking about the rest of 'em down there?" He questioned dryly. "Don't worry, mate. They'll be fine as long as they stay where they are."

Akisame glanced back briefly before resuming his search, a slight chuckle in his tone. "Yeah well, you know Sophie. She can't stand to be without me."

He walked carefully over to the near edge of the tower. As he did so, he came across one of the hooded figures, who was still breathing.

"Hel...Help me...P-please..." he said.

Still taking precaution, Akisame slowly worked his way over to the figure. He then pointed his sword at him. "Where is he? Where is the Prophet?"

"He's...he's..."

SPLURCH!

A white blade came through the figure's hood and killed him, before sinking back below. Akisame knew that it was the Prophet that did so, and he knew that he was using the shadows to hide from them. As he looked around, he glanced once over to Haralson, his back turned to him. He looked the other way again and came back around. This time, he saw him.

"HARALSON BEHIND YOU!!!"

The Prophet emerged from Haralson's shadow, his white blade coming down towards his right shoulder.

Haralson's eyes narrowed. "Not this time!"

Immediately, he shifted his blade in the direction of the Prophet's strike, one free hand on the back of his blade in order to effectively block the attack. Once again, his nerves accelerated and adrenaline coursed through his veins. "Hey.... what happened to letting us live in order to witness the destruction?" He asked mockingly.

The Prophet smiled as he locked blades with his nemisis. "You ask that as if though I have failed to deliver!" In a quick manner, the Prophet raised his sword up and slammed it into Haralson's blade with powerful force.

Akisame then Flash-Stepped behind the Prophet and prepared to use his Shikai's special ability. But the Prophet managed to catch the sword with one free hand, still keeping his sword on Haralson's, and he pushed the younger Shinigami back a descent ways.

It cued Haralson to his own ability.

Once the Prophet's blade connected, he swung his own blade up in a parry, his Zanpakuto's special ability using the Prophet's immense strength against him. Hoping to knock the man off-balance with his own blow, the Scot immediately let out a yell as he swung his blade in a diagonally upward direction at his enemy's torso.

The blade's cut managed to pierce the Prophet's lower torso area, but he had successfully tilted himself slightly to the left to avoid the majority of the blade's impact. He landed a few feet away from Haralson, smiled at him, and then sunk into the shadows below.

"Kage no Mai."

Without warning, a beam of black energy emerged from the skies above, heading straight for Haralson.

"Like that's going to hit me...."

With a Flash Step, Haralson avoided the beam just before it could hit him, the dark energy colliding into the roof. He appeared a ways off, making sure to keep away from the blade itself. "He's waiting for something...." He thought, glancing over in the sword's direction. "He has all of the pieces, so why is he choosing to use his own Zanpakuto?"

Akisame watched the two elders fight above him, his sword ready to strike. He knew better than to interfere with the current skirmish, but he still had to look for an opprotunity to use his Zanpaktou. If Haralson could get the Prophet to land and keep him distracted, then he could stop the villain dead in his tracks, and give Haralson a clear opening.

But he had to wait. Wait and see.

Taking advantage of Haralson's brief distraction, the Prophet then Flash-Stepped up close to the scot, holding the flat edge of the sword nearly 3 feet from his chest. The blade then began to emit more of it's black lightning. "Kage no Mai!"

The Prophet then let loose another bolt of black energy towards Haralson.

Fortunately, Haralson was quick to react.

He placed his blade once again in the path of the Prophet's, the flat side fading both of them. The energy once again collided with it, his feet digging into the dirt as his body resisted the point-blank force of the attack. Gritting his teeth, he focused his own energy into the cleaver, the blade glowing a bright blue. Then, with a ferocious swing, he unleashed the pent-up energy upon the Prophet in his trademark energy burst.

The Prophet then remembered Haralson's special ability, the power to redirect oncoming attacks back to their origin. A sneer came across his face as he blocked the oncoming attack with his blade. The power of the attack sent him further into the air, until he successfully managed to redirect the blast to his left. It then flew out into the distant city before decipating midair.

He then Flash Stepped back in front of Haralson and began to strike at him with multiple quick strikes, trying his best to avoid using enough power for Haralson to redirect into another powerful attack.

This time, Haralson switched completely to defensive mode.

Raising his sword, he moved his blade carefully in order to block the strikes directed towards his person, allowing himself to be pushed back closer to Akisame. He was luring the Prophet and keeping the attention off Akisame, making for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Akisame stood closely behind Haralson, enough to where he could strike quickly and not be seen by the Prophet. Slowly, he began charging a great deal of power into his next strike, enough to where he could probably send anyone else nearly a mile away from the tower.

"Wait for it....wait for it...."

As the sparks kept flying from the impact of the two blades, the Prophet gave Haralson a sinister smile, as if he was telling him that any hope that he has is lost. He then reared is blade back to deliver a powerful stab...

Akisame then let out a bit of Spiritual Pressure to let Haralson know that he was close enough, before thrusting his blade forward.

Haralson didn't need to be reminded twice.

Right before either blade could hit him, he used a Flash Step to move himself out of the way to a safer distance.

The Prophet's smile then became a shocked frown as he saw Akisame's blade head straight for him. Realizing that he would be stuck in place long enough to be finished, he continued to propel his blade forward.

As the young Soul Reaper's blade tip hit his chest, the Prophet thrusted his sword into Akisame's left shoulder, blood pouring from it as the white metal pierced it's front and then came back out it's end. Akisame's expression became pained and wounded, but he continued to push his blade. It then shined with a golden light before the ground under the Prophet became cracked under his weight. He was stuck.

Akisame held his bleeding shoulder with his right hand before shouting. "Haralson! Hit him now!"

Once again, Haralson did not need to be notified twice.

"HRAAAH!"

With a yell, he swung his sword down and unleashed an immense energy blast at point-blank range that shook the very foundation of the building the rest of them were in. The light of the attack seemed to illuminate the entire city sector, shining off of Haralson's confident expression as he watched the attack commence. "This is what happens when you mess with the likes of the McTavish!" He jeered.

Akisame gave a slight sigh of relief as he walked over to the pillar of light next to Haralson, still holding his shoulder wound. He started to speak, but the cut on his shoulder kept him from doing so. He then looked back up to the light pillar, and what he saw covered his face with terror.

The Prophet was gone.

He looked around desperatley before remembering the Prophet's special ability. As he remained ready for Haralson's strike, the illuminating light from the scot's attack allowed the Prophet to cast a shadow, thus allowing him the opprotunity to phase through the ground to avoid the attack, completley negating Akisame's ability. He realized what the Prophet was likely to do next.

He then immediatley turned around and blocked a powerful sword strike from the Prophet, so powerful that Akisame's feet dug into the thick metal ground.

"Heh. I should have realized you would use a cowardly tactic like that." he said.

"Damn it...."

Haralson narrowed his eyes and scowled, readying his blade in one hand as he glared at the Prophet. "You just don't know the meaning of the word "die", do you?!" He growled, kicking into a Flash Step and re-appearing over the Prophet's head. Gripping the hilt with both of his hands, he swung down as hard as he could in an effort to cut his enemy in half.

The Prophet smiled as he held his sword over his head and blocked Haralson's powerful strike. "And you don't know how to adapt to a less brutish tactic, don't you?" His blade then began to cackle with it's black lightning. "Kage no-"

Before he could finish, Akisame then swung his sword towards the Prophet's torso. Anticipating the attack, the Prophet slung his blade downwards, causing Haralson's sword to go back up. The Prophet's sword then dug Akisame's in the ground, right before he slammed the hilt of his weapon into the young Soul Reapers face. Akisame was sent back a good feet from the attack as he briefly wiped the blood off of his head before grabbing his sword again.

Haralson immediately swung the blade back down, initiating a flurry of strikes directed towards the Prophet. As he attacked relentlessly, he continued to think about it. "Even though it's a good idea for him not to be wielding that blade.... why isn't he making a move towards it?" He thought to himself, momentarily disregarding the lightning theory.

The Prophet turned and began to parry his foe's attacks. As he did so, his eyes began to glow with a strange blue hue, similar to that of the blade's. Without warning, the Prophet reached out his left hand and then pointed it towards Haralson. The Blade of Izanami then shined briefly, before firing a less powerful version of it's lightning attack at the Scot.

Timing himself right, Haralson only moved to the side for just enough room to avoid the black lightning and keep himself from being electrified. Then, he performed a Flash Step that allowed him to get behind the Prophet. With both hands on the hilt and his position good for a horizontal swing, he swung at the man's head.

The Prophet then turned around and blocked the attack, but he was horrified to learn that Haralson's swing was strong enough to put a crack in his sword. Struggling to keep the blade from over powering him, he looked over at the blade's center. A strange blue liquid was in it's opening, and it was filling itself up to the top of said opening.

"Just a little more."

He then jumped back away from Haralson and then held his blade high up into the air. "At this rate, I am sure to find death waiting in the form of your blade." He said over the loud wind. "But it's time to take things up a notche.

He then pointed the sword towards Haralson as it began to transform with a black fire.

"BANKAI!"

Suddenley, as the sword was engulfed in the black fire, a large string of black chains spread out from the weapon. They all went seperate directions, before they all converged on Haralson.

"Oh, no...."

Now it was Haralson's turn to be horrified.

Not expecting the sudden attack on his person, he could only stand there frozen as the chains slammed into him, causing smoke and concrete to be kicked up in their wake.

"Shit. Haralson!" Akisame said, struggling to get to his feet as he walked over to the towering column of debris.

When the smoke cleared, the Prophet's Bankai was revealed; A blue sword with a great black handle, the likes of which was seperate from the blade itself. Haralson was wrapped in a large wad of chains that emerged from his shadow.

"Do you like it?" he asked pacing around Haralson. "My Bankai allows me to fire spectral chains from the shadows, of which can do just about anything. Throw, impale, ''squeeze." ''As he said the last word, the chains around Haralson began to squeeze him tightly.

Haralson had made a mistake.

Now he was paying the price.

"Ah...AAAAAAAAH!" He shut his eyes and let out an agonized scream as the chains around him begin to squeeze. He had dropped his sword to the side in the ensuing chaos, only leaving him with his own body trapped in the twisted metal. In desperation, he released his own spiritual energy in an attempt to blow the chains off of him and free himself. His body glowed a brilliant blue, his energy like a wildfire as it erupted from his person.

As he did so, the chains slightly loosened enough to where their physical appearance began to peel off, like fire to paper.

Akisame then Flash-Stepped next to Haralson and successfully cut some of the chains holding Haralson, combined with the latter's Spiritual Pressure, the scot fell back down to the ground with Akisame following.

It proved to be unnecessary.

Despite the ordeal that he went through, Haralson managed to move himself enough to perform a recovering back flip and land on his feet. However, when he attempted to stand on his feet, pain shot through his body and he immediately fell to his hands and knees. "Damn it.... I was too careless....!" He cursed himself, reaching over and grasping the hilt of his sword before once again forcing himself into a hunched, standing stance.

Akisame then smiled as he helped Haralson to his feet. "Heh, you're welcome there, for what it's worth."

The Prophet then looked over to the blade again, the liquid within it slowly etching it's way to the top. "It's close. So very close. Soon everyone will witness true power before them." He looked back at the duo. "And you two will have the honor of being the first to perish under it's might."

"Go to Hell...." Haralson said vehemently, panting as he lifted his blade once again to a defensive position. "You're not going to get a chance to even touch that precious blade of yours, because we're going to hack off your hands first!"

The Prophet then sneered. "Your arrogance will be your ultimate downfall."

He then pointed his sword at the duo once more, black energy radiating from it's tip. Another massive string of chains sprouted from the weapon and they all charged for Haralson and Akisame.

"BAN...KAI!!!"

Once Haralson yelled out, a massive spiritual energy erupted from his person once again, bathing all of the fighters within its aura. However, this time, the effects were brief, and the energy vanished to reveal the Scot standing with both of his trademark cleaver blades in each hand. The energy was enough to deflect the chains and keep them safe... for the time being.

"Let's go, Akisame!" Haralson said, throwing himself at his opponent to initiate his newfound assault.

Akisame nodded and held his own sword out as it glowed with a golden light.

"BANKAI!!"

Then, the armor piece on his left shoulder began to expand all over his body as his eyes changed from green to yellow. A golden flowing cape emerged from the back of the armor, and then all of his body became covered in the metallic material, transforming him from a simple warrior into a noble knight like figure. His head then became concealed by his black helmet as he charged towards the Prophet with Haralson.

The Prophet then gave a sickening laugh as he held his sword with both hands, and then swung at the two warrior's weapons. A massive wave of Spiritual Pressure shook the entire city as the weapons clashed.

Inside of the building the three were fighting on, the remaining four could feel the energy radiating from the clashing signatures. It was certainly a vicious fight going on if the aura of the pressure could be felt from where they were.

"Such....powerful reiatsu...." Tenshina muttered, pressing a hand to his heart as a chill went down his spine. However, this time he was not afraid; he had been used to such feelings before when in the presence of his leaders. It was a contrasting feeling from his reaction to the out-of-control aircraft that had nearly crushed them moments before. "Just how strong are those guys up there?"

"Very...." Brina said, her eyes directing themselves upwards from the ceiling. "At the very least, we should hope for a stalemate and for the Prophet to tire himself out for a killing strike."

Soifon was leaned up against a wall next to the others, craddling her stomach as she did so. "Shh...shh. It's alright...Daddy's going to be fine."

"Hm...."

Brina's curious eyes directed themselves towards the woman. She walked over towards her former mentor and leaned against the wall to stand right beside her. "You said it was going to be a month before she could come into this life..." She said softly. "How come it has such active reactions as of this moment?"

Soifon looked back up at Brina with worry. "I don't know Brina. I think....I think that something may have happened during the diner incident. Ever since then...I swear I can hear her voice whenever something bad happens."

She then stood herself up next to Brina. "Like during our fight. When you activated your Shunko, she started kicking me, telling me that she didn't want me to get hurt, some good that did right?"

"She must've known what was going to happen beforehand." Brina mused, putting a thoughtful hand on her chin while crossing the other across her stomach. A teasing smile across her face. "It's a shame... your unborn child has more wisdom than you do. Maybe she'll grow up and become your common sense, sensei...."

Soifon chuckled some before looking back at her with a cocky smile. "You know, if I wasn't having this baby, I would've kicked your ass into next month." she said with a gentle punch to Brina's left shoulder.

"Ah!" Brina whined lightly, pretending to wince at the light blow that the other woman given her. She gave a somewhat miffed look, though it was in good humor. "Replace month with five minutes and you'd have a better estimate." She huffed, sticking her tongue out briefly. It felt rather good to converse with her former sensei in such a manner... even better than simple fighting and words of hatred.

That reminded her.

"Oh.... that reminds me.... you did say something about your child's name...." She commented. "Did you get to choose one?"

Soifon's expression then became somewhat lower as she looked down at her stomach. "We had...well he had went through all kinds of names, trying to find one that would satisfy me. Heh, he even suggested Yoruichi-Fon." she said with a slight giggle.

The name made Brina giggle as well, clearly finding the name to be amusing. "That sounds silly!" She remarked. "As impressive as you've always made Lady Yoruichi sound, it is still a good attempt for a name, though." She tilted her head to the side out of curiosity. "So, what was the final decision?"

She then looked back down with a gentle smile. "It took us an hour nearly. I wanted something that sounded good with Fon, as well as one that sounded good in general." she looked back up towards the darkening clouds. "...I finally came up with one that I liked after he ran out of ideas." She slowly turned towards Brina, a slight hint of worry in her face. She was hoping that Brina wouldn't be offended by their final choice. "We...we named her..."

...Evelyn...Evelyn-Fon."

That was enough to destroy the rather calm aura that Brina had made for herself, replacing it with a surprised and taken aback expression. She reflexively pushed herself off of the wall and took a step back from Soifon. "You...." She turned her head away, bangs falling over her eyes as she contemplated the revelation. "You really named her that....?"

Soifon's expression was now completley worried, with a slight hint of guilt as she gently nodded her head. "I was thinking about people that I knew and...Evelyn just came to mind." She looked back out towards the city, not daring to get any closer to Brina for fear of violent rejection. "She looks alot like her. Did you know that?"

However, what Brina did was quite unexpected, even startling her partner.

When she raised her head up, she had slightly widened eyes and a smile on her face. Then, she shut her eyes, biting her lip in an attempt to stifle what seemed to be overly happy giggles. However, it only took her a few seconds for her to start bouncing up and down like a rabbit, letting out excited squeals of joy with her fists covering her mouth as she did so.

"YounamedheraftermymomohmygodI'msohappyIcouldjustturnmyfaceintoatomato!" She got out between her excited squealing, continuing to bounce in place.

"It...it can't be that exciting!" Tenshina protested, looking at her in clear confusion and exasperation.

Soifon's face became comically surprised, but she too became excited over knowing that her apprentice approved of the name. She then joined Brina in the happy parading, holding their hands togather as they hopped around in circles.

Kafiezial simply sighed, leaning up against a wall while sharpening his Zanpaktou with a large Kukri Knife that he had in his boot.

"Women."

Ending the cheery circle, Brina stopped bouncing and released Soifon's hands before embracing the other woman tightly. "Thank you so much, sensei.... you were actually considerate enough of my mother to give her name to your daughter. I'm glad you don't harbor the cold feelings I had thought you to..." She whispered, closing her eyes.

Soifon then returned the hug with all of the caring force that she could muster. "Brina...You are the greatest friend that I've ever had since Yoruichi...I would never hate you, no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you." She then tightened the hug a little more as she whispered into her ear. "I...I know that I said...that I wouldn't ask for something that I don't deserve but..."

"...Do you forgive me?"

"I already have...." Brina answered simply, but with a slightly encouraging tone. "Now that you've shown me that you truly hold regret for killing my mother. If I didn't....well.... I would still be pursuing you out of revenge, wouldn't I?"

Soifon's left eye became somewhat teary as she hugged Brina even more. "Thank you Brina...Thank-"

"-GAH!!!!!"

Soifon the fell to the ground, moaning in pain while holding her stomach tightly. She was gnasshing her teeth as she was trying to cope with the painful sensation.

"Holy...." Tenshina's eyes widened out of startle, and he took a step back as the former Captain fell to the ground. Brina, however, was more concerned and reactive, kneeling right beside the fallen woman.

"Sensei!!" She exclaimed, worry clear in her tone. "What's wrong?! What's going on?!!"

Soifon was breathing heavily and moaning with pain. Her pain was enough to where she was actually coughing saliva. The voice of her daughter began to ring in her ears.

"Mom...Daddy's hurt....Daddy's hurt....please help him....please help Daddy."

Soifon's eyes widened in surprise and horror. Somehow, Evelyn knew about what was going on outside of her surroundings, and she was scared. Scared enough to where she had to kick her mother to warn her about her fear, and the kicking was strong and painful

"S-She's....she's talking to me....Akisame...Akisame is in danger!"

"Oh, no...."

Brina immediately stood up, her eyes narrowing at the ceiling above them. "So Akisame and my father are on the losing end...." She summarized, her fists slowly clenching. "I guess even their efforts are proving futile."

Soifon gnasshed her teeth just a little bit more before her face became more relaxed and she loosened herself up on the floor, sweating and still breathing heavily.

Kafiezial stood up and kneeled next to Soifon, wiping the sweat off of her head and helping her to her feet. As he did so, he put his hand on Brina's shoulder. "Don't worry. The Prophet is strong, but so long as they can keep him away from the sword, then we will be fine." He looked down somewhat. "I would go help them, but I swore to your husband that I would protect all of you."

Soifon stood up wearily, before regaining her pose completley, albeit still breathing in a heavy manner. "She's...she's going to be coming alot sooner I think."

As all of this was going on, Tenshina had fell silent and watched in solemn silence. He really wasn't sure what to do, considering he did not know them (with the exception of Brina) and the fact that he didn't consider himself to be very social. So he just folded his arms across his chest and kept quiet, allowing everything to play out in front of him.

Brina's gaze switched itself over to Kafiezial before she nodded lightly. Then, she looked over towards her former mentor. "How soon....?" She asked, slight apprehension in her voice but her expression serene.

Soifon held her stomach with her left hand, looking at Brina with worry. "I...a day at most. I don't know why it's changed so fast."

Kafiezial looked over to Tenshina. "You seemed troubled boy."

"...and we can't be sure if we even have a day...." Brina murmured, closing her eyes and frowning at the rather irregular change of events. "I hope Akisame and Dad can pull through for us...."

Under the sudden direction of attention, Tenshina flinched a little. "Um...." He muttered, averting his gaze and turning his head slightly. "I'm...sorry, it's just that....well, I'm kind of bad at talking...." His expression contained moderate embarrassment when Kafiezial directed the spotlight on him.

Kafiezial leaned up against the wall behind him. "I understand. It's not every day you get caught up in a cataclysm at the last minute."

Soifon looked down briefly, before pulling out her sword and looking at Brina with a dead serious glare. "Then we have to help them."

"Agreed...." Brina answered smoothly, unfolding her arms to grasp the hilt of her Zanpakutō with one of her hands. Slowly, she unsheathed her blade. "I wanted to respect Dad's wishes and let him fight on his own without worry of having to protect me, but.... guess I can't do it, can I?"

If Brina had not said what she said, Tenshina would've answered hesitatingly. However, he immediately (and willingly) drew his attention towards Brina, eyes widening at her statement. "Wait... we're going up there to help them?" He repeated.

"Mhm." Brina nodded.

Tenshina's eyes immediately narrowed, his expression turning serious in the blink of an eye. "Yes, ma'am...." He confirmed, reaching into his pocket to pull out what looked like a closed balisong knife. "I'm right behind you."

Soifon smiled and nodded as the two came to her side. She looked over at Kafiezial, waiting for his reply

The Vizard got up from his position and pulled out his Zanpaktou. "I swore I would protect you all. Doesn't mean you guys can't leave."

Soifon nodded in approval as she walked over to the hole in the wall and began to Flash-Step up towards the tower's top.

Brina was quick to follow, her sword brandished in a ready position. Tenshina followed swiftly after her, his butterfly knife in hand.

Kafiezial walked over to the edge of the building with a long sigh. "Gonna be a long day."

He then followed the trio up the building, towards the darkening sky...

It had been a heavy fight on Haralson's end.

Even with his Bankai, the Prophet was proving to be a rather toughing opponent, much to his loathing. His blades were lowered, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths. He was taking on only minor injuries thanks to the nature of his Zanpakutō and his own combat knowledge, but it was not allowing him to overwhelm his nemesis completely.

Akisame was in slightly better shape. He was still standing on both of his feet, and he wasn't all that tired thanks to his Bankai's special ability, which gave him increased endurance and strength. But he hadn't landed any choice blows on his enemy.

He looked over to Haralson, his voice slightly deeper and cybernetic behind the helmet. "How you doing so far?"

"I'm getting irritated about the fact that this has to be dragged out to such a level." The Scot grumbled, his eyes glaring at the form of the Prophet. "We're getting nowhere with this!"

Unbeknowest to both of them, the Prophet wasn't doing all that well himself. Thanks to his pride, he was trying to let the duo live long enough to where they could witness the power of the blade itself, but doing this was costing him greatly. His Bankai may rely on shadows, but using it too much can leave him vastly weakened as he can't use the same shadow twice, and he had used just about all of them in their area. The Blade's light was dimming...a sign that it was nearing completion of it's charge.

Haralson immediately caught the light nearing its completion, his eyes narrowing even more. "All right... desperate times call for desperate measures...." He declared, raising one of his blades up. "I didn't want to do this, considering I might be doing something worse, but...." Then, with a grunt, he swung down and unleashed an immensely powerful burst of energy, not at the Prophet.... but at the blade.

The Prophet reacted in complete shock. What Haralson did might just have been the most foolish thing that any Soul Reaper has done in years. He could not help but warn him, for even the Prophet did not know what would happen next.

"Haralson! NO!!!!"

As soon as the energy blast connected with the blade, a massive shockwave was released from the weapon, knocking all three combatants to their feet.

"Oh, fuck me...." Haralson thought, his heart immediately stopping.

He let out a paiend grunt as he slammed onto his back, nearly dropping his blades off of the building in the process. He leapt to his feet, an apprehensive look on his face as he watched what was about to be a rather horrible process. "Oh, boy...." He muttered. "It seems like I have fucked up big time...."

The Prophet wobbled back up to his feet as he began stepping towards the blade. Akisame noticed this and quickly regained his pose to stop the Prophet. As he did so, a bolt of lightning emerged from the center of the blade and knocked Akisame to the side.

The Prophet's eyes were now solid blue and he walked towards the blade as if though he was a zombie, reaching out to it to take it...

"NO!!!"

Following that desperate scream, Haralson immediately pushed himself to action. With a Flash Step, he re-appeared right behind his foe with an angered look as he swung down, intent on cutting the Prophet in two.

The blade completley severed the Prophet's right arm off. It fell to the ground, blood oozing out of it's open wound...

...but the Prophet didn't react, he reached out his left arm to take the sword in place of the right one.

"SLAM!"

Without warning, a small figure appeared in front of the Prophet and dug her foot into his stomach. Pushing him back off of the platform that he was on and back onto the base of the tower's top. The figure then landed, her hair braids thrashing around her head violently.

"Did you miss me Haralson?" Soifon said.

It was a convenient move on her part.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Haralson turned to give her a slight smirk. Even as his own clothing and hair billowed against the power the blade emanated, he paid no heed. "Glad you see you chose to came at the most opportune time..." He commented. "And that you came with reinforcements...."

It was not too long afterwards that out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brina and Tenshina appear side-by-side with their respective weapons at the ready. However, instead of the balisong knife he was wielding a while back, he was now holding a chokutō sword in one of his hands.

After glancing at them for a moment, Haralson looked over towards Soifon. "You sure you'll be able to hold out, lassie?" He questioned casually.

Soifon inhaled then exhaled. "I'll be fine. You shouldn't worry about me." she said, her tone reassuring.

"But I should."

She looked over to her right to see her husband casually walking towards her, his helmet retracting itself to reveal his head. She turned to face him, defiance in her stance.

"Why are you here in your condition?" he said to her in a stern voice.

"I'm not leaving you and him to fight that freak all alone. Both of you will be killed." she said looking up at him.

That brought Haralson to smirk slightly at her words, and he couldn't help but cock an eyebrow. "You have such little faith in us..." He commented, though his tone did not show offense or hostility. "But at least you did manage to break the stalemate. So I applaud you for that." He looked in the direction of where the Prophet had been knocked back, readying both blades in a ready stance.

Soifon looked back at Haralson with a slight hint of annoyance. "I don't have alot of faith in you. Akisame I'm fine with..." she looked back up at him. "...I can't help but worry about him..." she inched her face closer to his as he did the same to her. "...he's my husband after all."

The then kissed each other, the shining sword behind them illuminating their dark figures.

Kafiezial landed next to Haralson, his sword drawn. "We're too late."

"Ok, seriously, that--" Kafiezial's interruption cut off Haralson's complaint, and he looked with slight alarm in the direction of the Visored. "Too late? What do you mean? He hasn't gotten his hands on the weapon, obviously, so what's the matter?" He really hoped that his energy blast didn't complicate things too much...

Kafiezial looked back at him with a worried expression. "Look at him." he said while pointing at the Prophet who was back on his feet and began going back to the sword.

"The Blade has recognized him as it's wielder. His soul is beginning to merge with the weapon. It's only a matter of him physically touching it." Kafiezial said.

"You've got to be joking...." Haralson hissed, clearly not pleased with the change of events. "I really could care less what that blade's chosen. He'll be diced to pieces before he even gets close!" In silent agreement, Tenshina and Brina readied their own weapons, their own defiant expressions directed towards the doll-like Prophet.

Kafiezial then put his hand in front of Haralson as Akisame and Soifon hopped down from the platform and onto the ground next to Brina.

The Prophet then began to speak as he inched closer to the blade. This time however, his voice was somewhat deeper and more monstrous. ''"Foolish mortals....I will..." ''he studdered before his original voice returned. "K-kill me! Kill me now Harals-"

''"-I WILL BREAK ALL OF YOU!" the monster voice cut in.''

Akisame could not help but stare in confusion, his sword still ready to strike. "Kafiezial...what the hell is going on? Why is his voice changing?"

Kafiezial looked back at him. "He has been chosen, his soul is changing as his body comes closer to the sword. When wielded, the Blade of Izanami changes depending on it's wielder. What we are seeing, is the real Prophet's personality."

Soifon could not restrain her frustration. "Dammit! We have to do something! We can't just let him grab the damn thing!"

Kafiezial cut back. "No! It is pointless now! Anyone besides the Prophet will get vaporized by the lightning!"

"Even if we attack the Prophet himself?!" Haralson questioned immediately, looking on in clear alarm at the Visored.

Kafiezial looked back at him in worry. "I...I can't say. This has never been done by anyone before. I don't know what will happen if we try."

Akisame then cut in. "I'll do it."

Soifon almost immediatley grabbed him and turned him back to face her. "No. No you're not going to do anything to him! Not while that storm is going on! You'll be killed for sure!"

He looked back into her eyes with sadness. "Sophie...my Bankai is the only one around here that gives me the duribility that it does. If there should be anyone to try it...it should be me."

Soifon slapped him. She slapped him hard enough to make spit come out of his mouth. "NO! NO! I'm not going to let you! I can't lose you again! I forbid you from doing it!"

Akisame then looked over to Kafiezial and nodded. With that, the Visored Flash-Stepped behind Soifon and restrained her. Akisame then leaned down and kissed her for what he believed would be the last time. After several seconds, he let the embrace go and his helmet came back over his head as he began to go towards the Prophet.

"Haralson." he said with his cybernetic voice while looking towards his old friend. "...Take care of my wife...and my child. For me..."

"....you're serious, aren't you?" Haralson questioned him rhetorically, his voice solemn and low. He closed his eyes and sighed, lowering his blades and standing back. "All right, laddie. I won't let you down.... just do your worst."

Akisame nodded as he began to put all of his power and strength into his armor and sword. Dozens of things were going through his mind, what he would do, the dinner party, the Oracle, the quest, De Soto, the battle in the town, Brina, and finally, his wife and child. For the first time, he could actually see his child, his little Evelyn, and how that she would one day make her mark on the world. Inside of his mask, a tear came from his eye. Similar to his wife, he could hear Evelyn speaking to him from her mother's womb. She was crying and sobbing, begging him not to go...

...but this was something that he had to do, for her sake, as well as the worlds.

Soifon's face was rampant with angry tears as she violently shook around while in Kafiezial's grip. "NO! AKISAME! GET BACK OVER HERE GODDAMMIT! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU AKISAME! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS! YOU PROMISED ME! YOU PROMISED THAT YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE ME!" Her angry words echoed throughout the area.

He turned back to her as his form began to glow with an orange, electric aura, a sign of his rising Spiritual Pressure. "Sophie..." He looked into her eyes, her teary, anger consumed eyes. "...I love you."

With that, he jumped high into the sky with his blade held over his head. His target was just a few feet away from his destination. With a powerful yell, he charged back towards the ground in a brilliant blaze of orange light. Putting all of his might into his arms, he smashed his blade onto the Prophet's head. As he did so, the Blade of Izanami let loose a flurry of lightning at the armored hero. The light was so bright, that it nearly blinded the entire city.

Now, all eyes were gazing at the blinding illumination.

Both of the McTavish looked on in their own varying looks of solemnity. Even Tenshina, one who didn't know the man personally, could sense and was affected by the tension within the air. However, the young mercenary was also making a silent prayer that the sacrifice would work, that everything would turn out all right in the end. If it didn't work.... then the Prophet would ultimately win this battle, and they would fail in their endeavours.

Soifon's eyes were dried of her tears, but her angry expression transformed into a horrified one. She was so shocked at her husband's sacrifice, that she didn't even try to let herself go from Kafiezial, let alone attempt anything else. Her baby was sobbing hysterically within her, and it hurt Soifon's stomach, but she ignored the pain. She was too busy looking at the massive pillar of light.

The Visored himself looked on in both pity and admiration. The only friend that he had ever had in his entire life had just sacrificed himself for the sake of everyone else. He closed his eyes and bowed his head in respect to the man.

Then, the light vanished, revealing a large column of smoke. Within it, Soifon could see two figures. One of them looked similar to the Prophet, and the other looked like Akisame, but something was different. The Prophet's previously severed right arm was now replaced with what looked to be a monstrous gauntlet, and it was holding Akisame's limp form by his neck. Within the Prophet's head emerged two bright red eyes that stared into the very souls of the others.

Akisame had failed.