The Soul Reaper captains and lietenants arrived in at the Maggot's Nest a few minutes later, expecting a prison. However, they were met with prisoners robed in white stumbling around in nothing more than a huge pile of rock, dust, and rubble.
"What----happened here?" Soi Fon asked in astonishment.
Kyouraku lifted his straw hat from his eyes. "I believe our answer is right over there." He replied, nodding ahead of them.
Nakami looked to see where the captainwas indicating, and his eyes widened, as did the other Soul Reapers'.
Rei stood in the middle of the destruction, an empty circle surrounding her. She wore a white robe like all the other prisoners, except she had shackles on her wrists and ankles. Her head was down, raven black hair shielding her face from view. Her hands were smoking, as if she had blasted something with them.
"Miss Asaka!"
"Rei!"
Nakami, Renji, and Rukia lunged forward, but the Head Captain stopped them.
"Head Captain?" They asked uncertaintly. "Is something wrong?"
"Careless fools!" He reprimanded them harshly. "Take a good look at her."
They did so, and something caught Nakami's attention. "Um, Miss Asaka? You----wouldn't happen to be-----the one who blew this place up, would you? Miss Asaka? Miss Asa-----!"
His breath caught in his throat, and the other Soul Reapers gasped or stepped back in shock. Rei had lifted her head, her hair falling from her face, and Nakami turned white.
Her golden eyes, once warm and friendly yet full of fire, were now cold, empty, and the color of crimson blood. Her skin had lost all its former rosiness, turning deathly pale. Dark shadows lined her eyes, and as she opened her mouth, he caught sight of a pair of fang-like canine teeth.
"Miss Asaka! What happened?"
Rei turned her empty eyes on him, sending chills running up his back. She was clearly looking at him, except it was as though she didn't see him there. Then her lips moved, and she murmured something.
"What was that?" He asked, listening closely.
She spoke again, louder and more firmly. "Die, Soul Reaper."
"Miss Asaka!"
"Rei!"
"What're you doing?! Are you crazy?"
"Die, Soul Reapers. Die." She repeated, lifting a hand. Her palm began glowing with red energy, collecting in a large ball.
"Is that-----a Cero?"
"But that's impossible! Rei is a Soul Reaper, not a Menos!"
"Look out!"
Rei fired the Cero, blasting the spot where Nakami had been standing a split second earlier, leaving nothing but a pile of dust.
The Head Captain pounded the ground with his cane. "Captains and lieutenants of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads! This is an order from the Head Captain! The girl who stands before us is no longer the person we knew. You are ordered to bring her into custody for interrogation!"
"But Head Captain!"
"This is an order!" He roared.
They didn't have any other choice but to draw their zanpakuto. However, many of them were clearly uneasy about attacking Rei, either because they knew her as a friend or were scared of her strength and power. After all, she had easily defeated most of them when they first met, several months ago.
However, before anyone could attack anyone, Rei suddenly quivered, before collapsing in the rubble. Nakami started towards her, but Toshiro stopped him. "Nakami! Do not act like a fool! Keep your guard up!"
"But Captain!"
"This is an order!"
Before they could do anything, a new voice suddenly spoke. "Well well, what do we have here? I see you've met my new creation."
"Who are you?" The Head Captain boomed, gazing up at the newcomer.
The newcomer stood in the air several feet above Rei's collapsed form, smirking. He had sickly grayish white skin, stringy dark hair, and slitted eyes that were a poisonous green color. His black robes were tattered at the edges, and he carried a large scythe that looked as though it was made from human bones, though its blade was shining obsidian black, smooth, and wickedly sharp. Black chains clanked from his wrists and ankles.
"Who am I, you ask?" The newcomer said.
"Why have you come? Where are you from? What are you?"
"Whoa whoa whoa, old geezer. Cool it with the questions, already! The name is Dokuaku, I'm a Sinner from Hell, thus the chains, and I've come for Rei Asaka."
"You mentioned something about her being one of your experiments." Byakuya stepped forward, his eyes hard. "What exactly have you done to my squad officer?"
"Oh, so she was in your squad? I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid I'm borrowing her for a bit."
"Borrowing her for what?"
Dokuaku sneered. "Nothing much. You'll find out for yourself in a few seconds. Watch carefully, Soul Reapers."
Right on cue, Rei began gagging and retching. The Soul Reapers watched in horror as her eyes flew open, rolled back in their sockets, and a thick white fluid began pouring from her mouth.
"Is that-----?"
"That's not------"
"Impossible!"
Nakami turned to his captain. "Captain Hitsugaya, what's going on?"
Captain Shinji Hirako of Squad Five answered his question. "This is Hollowification. But to think that it's happening yet again-----" His eyes bulged, and he seemed to be struggling with himself. Nakami could tell he was remembering what had happened to him and the other Visoreds a hundred years ago, at the hands of Sosuke Aizen. But Aizen was locked up, and he most certaintly would never Hollowfy his own daughter. So how did Dokuaku do it without the Hogyoku?
Dokuaku chuckled in amusement. "Oh, so you know what a Hollowfication is. However, this is much, much, more than that."
"You bastard!" Nakami growled, releasing his zanpakuto. "What have you done to Miss Asaka?"
The Sinner chuckled again. "My, my, calm down, dear boy. Allow me to explain. A Hollowfication is when you remove the barriers between Soul Reaper and Hollow. However, my experiment here is an example of when you actually fuse a Soul Reaper and a Hollow together, creating the ultimate fighting machine. And in Rei Asaka's case, she'll become the ultimate destructive force, surpassing anything any of you have ever seen, even the Espada."
"What?" Ukitake said in disbelief. "Stronger than the Espada?"
"Of course. The Espada would look like nothing more than little children with wooden swords compared to her."
Unohana stepped forward. "Then I would presume Rei Asaka was your target all along, meaning that you're the one responsible for the infiltration of the Central. And if I may guess, you were also the one who ordered Rei's arrest."
"That's right. You're pretty sharp, woman."
"But why would you go that far? What do you need Rei for?"
Dokuaku sighed, shaking his head. "Dear me, you Soul Reapers are as clueless as ever. Very well, I shall explain. All this is for nothing more than revenge on the Soul Society."
"Revenge? But what have we done to you?"
"Thirty years ago, I was one of the strongest Hollows in the World of the Living. I had everything, until one day, when a Soul Reaper took it all away from me and sent me straight to the deepest pits of Hell, all in less than twenty four hours. And do you have any idea who that Soul Reaper might be?"
Every single Soul Reaper present, even the prisoners clambering out from underneath the rubble, were listening intently as Dokuaku spoke two words. "Kuchiki-----Rukia."
All eyes turned to the lieutenant of the thirteenth squad, who was frozen in shock. "M-Me?"
"That's correct, Rukia Kuchiki. You were the one who killed me that night. I'm sure you remember that night very well."
Before Rukia could react, Renji moved to stand in front of her. "Oi! Leave Rukia out of this!"
"But I'm afraid I can't do that, dear boy, because Rukia Kuchiki is the cause of all this. If you want to blame anyone for the pain you're about to experience, blame her. Then again, you won't have enough time to blame anyone, because little Rei Asaka's fusion is almost complete."
He turned to sneer at Rei, who had stopped twitching. The white substance had stopped flowing from her mouth, and was hardening over her face as a Hollow mask, in the shape of a demonic cat head. Then she slowly got to her feet, and Nakami's heart stopped for a second.
All he could see of her face were her eyes, which were now glowing red like hot coals, full of anger and blood lust. Her breathing was heavy, and tinted with an animalistic growl as she stood up straight, facing the Soul Reapers.
Dokuaku smirked down at her. "My dear, take care of them, would you?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"Rei! Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
Rei remained emotionless. "I will serve my Lord. I will follow his orders. You are his enemies; you must die."
Even the Head Captain looked worried as Rei let her Spirit Pressure run loose, blasting away broken bits of stone and what was left of the Maggot's Nest, sending the prisoners flying through the air. Most of the lieutenants began collapsing, unable to withstand the heavy Spirit Pressure, and even the captains were forced down onto their knees.
Nakami braced himself against the Spirit Pressure, shielding his face from the winds whipping around them, as Rei advanced on him.
"Miss Asaka! Snap out of it! Miss Asaka!"
Rei showed no sign of hearing him, and raised a hand, preparing another Cero. Acting quickly, he adjusted his grip on his zanpakuto, ready to release his bankai, when Rei froze. He frowned. Why did she suddenly stop? Her eyes were fixated on his zanpakuto. Or more specifically, the pommel of his zanpakuto.
He looked as well, and saw the two amber bead bracelets tied onto the pommel, clinking softly as the beads clacked against each other.
Of course! These bracelets meant a lot to Rei! He carefully approached her, still frozen and staring, transfixed by the beads.
Suddenly, Rei's arm began twitching, as she forced it back down. Her eyes were flickering between red and gold, and when she spoke, it was the real Rei speaking.
"N-Nakami? Is that you?"
"Miss Asaka!"
Rei gritted her teeth, her limbs jerking in random directions. "Hurry----I can't-----hold her off-----much longer. Tell them-----Rukia----Hueco Mundo------Aizen knows---------"
"Aizen knows what?"
She was clearly struggling now, as she clutched her chest, breathing painfully. "Hurry----Nakami------before she comes back--------hurry-----get away-----Captain Kuchiki--------get away!"
Nakami could only watch helplessly as Rei screamed out, then disappeared in a flash of light and a tornado of wind, leaving nothing behind.
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What will happen to Rei?
How will Nakami react?
And what part will Rukia play?