Return of the Fourth Reich: Part 1

by jperrin116

It's been a long time coming. Here's part 1 of my sequel to my first story, Rise of the Fourth Reich.

Introduction

The neon-green sky flash with eldritch lightning, and clamored with the sound of dark thunder. A mighty wind was blowing through the black void, and it was moving with such a speed it could pick up boulders the size of giants. The only thing the wind did not seem to affect was a single, ruined tower seemingly placed in the middle of the void. A tower that was abuzz with activity of the foulest kind.

A group of excavators in black uniforms were digging through the rubble with shovels & picks, all under the watchful gaze of a trenchcoat-wearing, monocled man. The wind picked up in intensity and went through the ruined tower top, knocking over three of them. The rest of those working went over and helped their comrades out. The man with the monocle spoke.

"Don't let the wind bother you. As long as we are working within this tower, the forces outside cannot affect us. Now, keep digging!"

As soon as the man finished speaking, one of the uniformed excavators hit something with his pick, which made a distinct ping. The others working around him immediately stopped, and turned to face him. "Hier, Hier!" the excavator shouted excitingly. The other excavators dropped their tools, and immediately went over to see what was found. The man with the monocle calmly walked over, hopeful that they found what they were looking for.

The excavators immediately stepped aside and allowed the man to come through. He took off his monocle to clean it, and looked at what was found: a black metal gauntlet. Feeling a sense of relief & pride, he placed his monocle back and gazed up to the sky.

"Soon" he said "you will return to our world, and bring us back to glory. Leben Sie lang das Schwarze Sonne!"

Chapter 1

Ichigo was sprawled out all over his bed. The day before, his family took him on a shopping trip that he didn't necessarily want to be a part of. As usual, however, Yuzu gave him a pouty look that he knew all too well, and because of the look, he went. It was 3 hours of looking for stuff that he almost never needed. Relief came to him around dinner time, as his dad decided to cook Yakisoba, something that he hadn't had in a while.

In any case, he was too tired to get out of bed. Drool coming out of the left side of his face, and pajamas about ready to come off, he was determined to not wake up. Unfortunately, such a desire was not meant to be, as a knock from the door caused his tired body to stir. A moan, yawn, and stretch later, Ichigo was up, but not fully awake.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm." Ichigo moaned.

"It's me!" said a familiar, excited voice.

"Yuzu?" Ichigo asked. "Is that you?"

"Of course silly" she said. "Who did you expect it to be?"

"Sorry" Ichigo said. "Still tired from yesterday, I guess."

"That's okay." Yuzu said. "There's still some breakfast downstairs, but you better hurry before someone takes it!"

His eyes glowed at the word of breakfast. "I'll be right down!" Ichigo shouted. He took off his pajamas, ran to the closet to grab clothes, briskly walked to the bathroom to wash & get dressed, then headed downstairs to eat. As he got to the kitchen table, he saw his father take the last bowl of rice. A hunger-induced rage came over him, causing him to lunge towards his dad, with an intent to obtain something to eat.

Ichigo almost managed to grab the rice bowl from his dad's hand, but his father noticed his son's advances, and swerved to right to avoid his food being taken.

"Too slow." said Ichigo's dad. "If you were a little quicker, then you might have gotten this luscious bowl of steamy rice." With a few quick gulps, the bowl of rice was gone, and it was tossed into the sink. "Ah, that was delicious." he said as he patted his stomach in satisfaction.

Ichigo stared at his father, seething with unnecessary anger at his father's actions. Within his stomach, a growl unlike anything that he had ever heard came into being. After he heard it, Ichigo went after his father in the manner that they usually went into: a wild frenzy of karate & weak insults. As they fought, cabinet doors came off, dishes broke, and Karin was eating at the table, keeping calm & quiet, until Ichigo & his dad knocked the table back, and the bowl that Karin was eating out of fell to the floor. She rose out of her seat, and screamed as loud as her lungs could take it.

"You two sit the hell down and shut the hell up!"

Ichigo and his dad immediately froze where they stood. They couldn't even look at Karin's face because they were so scared. She immediately grabbed two chairs, and pointed at them. Ichigo and his dad walked slowly towards them, and sat down. Karin started walking back and forth in front of them, apparently frustrated at her brother & father's stupidity.

"You know" she started saying "I was hoping to enjoy this weekend, hoping that I wouldn't have to deal with much. Instead, I have to deal with you nitwits! On a weekend, no less!"

Before she could berate the both of them, Ichigo and his dad turned to each other in apparent horror & agreement, and ran out the door as fast as lightning striking a tree. As they left the house, the door closed as fast as they ran. They got to any alleyway a block from they house, mostly to hide, but partially to catch their breath. To them, a later burst of anger was better than a burst of anger at the moment.

"Wow" said Ichigo "You were fast. Usually, you aren't that fast leaving the house except when..."

Ichigo's dad placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I told you not to talk about that." he said. "It would be embarrassing if your sisters heard."

"Dad" Ichigo said "they're not hear right now."

"Oh, I guess you're right." his Dad said.

The two of them got their breath back. With a nod to each other, Ichigo's dad went back to the house, while he stayed behind. With what went on back at the house, it reminded him of what went on two months ago. The anger within the house brought back memories that he had preferred left forgotten. In any case, he decided to head back to the house, hoping that things have finally calmed down.

Chapter 2

It was a bright sky in the Soul Society. The clouds were floating in ethereal delight, and the breeze would make anyone smile when they felt it. On a small hill where a cherry tree was in full bloom, Captain Shunsui was in a particular state of bliss. Ever since the end of the war with the Nazis, he has had more free time to just lounge around & drink. The bottle of Sake that he had with him had the subtle taste of pear & cinnamon, and when he saw Yoruichi walking up the hill, he was more than happy to pour a second glass for his friend.

"Ah, Yoruichi" Shunsui said "I didn't expect to see you here. Come, I poured you a glass of this new Sake I found."

"Eh, why not." Yoruichi said. "I really came just to enjoy the view, but I guess a little alcohol wouldn't hurt." She then sat by her comrade, taking in the sight, as well as the glass of Sake.

"What brings you up here?" Shunsui asked.

"Nothing much." said Yoruichi "Just thinking of stuff."

"Like?" asked Shunsui.

"Of them." Yoruichi said solemnly as she took a sip of her drink.

"Ah." responded Shunsui. "I still couldn't believe that the Nazis were actually able to give the Soul Society a beating. Just as hard to believe that so many good people died in the fighting. There's still one things that's been puzzling me about the end of it all."

"What's that?" asked Yoruichi.

Shunsui went on. "Do you remember when Ichigo was reading from the Fuhrer's diary?"

Yoruichi paused for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I remember that. What were the last few words?"

Shunsui spoke. "Soon the balance will be restored, I believe. I wondered what he meant?"

"Not sure." Yoruichi said. "I'm just glad that we don't have to deal with them anymore."

As if on cue, the clouds suddenly began to turn grey, and a rainy mist began to fall. Yoruichi & Shunsui got up from the ground, and got under a deeper part of the tree. Shunsui realized that he forgot to pick up his bottle of Sake. As he went over to pick it up, he accidentally knocked it over, spilling the delicious liquid all over the soggy ground.

"Damn." he growled. "There goes my Sake. That stuff costed me a fortune!"

"Don't worry" Yoruichi said as she patted her friend's shoulder. "I'll get you another one."

Shunsui smiled, then looked at the sky. "Was it supposed to rain today?" he said.

"I don't believe so." said Yoruichi. "I'm just as surprised as you are by this weather. It feels strange for some weird reason, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, it does." Shunsui said while stretching out his hand to feel the mist. "I feel something...familiar."

With her surprise turning to worry, Yoruichi swiftly ran down the hill. "I'll head over to Observations and see if they've noticed anything!" she shouted as she went away.

"Alright!" yelled Shunsui. "You let me know what they've found!"

When his friend disappeared out of sight, Shunsui leaned back against the tree, and looked back up at the sky. Yeah, he thought to himself, this feels too familiar.

Chapter 3

As Yoruichi ran to Observations, a massive thunderbolt came down onto a small guardpost. The force & energy could be felt at least a mile away, and it created a big dust cloud. Hoping that nobody was hurt, or dead, she went to investigate. Observations would have to wait.

When she got to where the thunderbolt landed, the dust cloud was still floating. It was very think, much like a bowl of pea soup. Fortunately, Yoruichi was able to see no dead or injured bodies around the impact site. However, she did notice a large figure standing within the dust cloud. She couldn't make out the figure's physical features, save for the fact that the figure was at least 1 foot-and-a-half feet taller than she was.

Yoruichi stepped closer towards the figure, but the dust cloud began the swirl upward, and it eventually revealed a man wearing a uniform not unlike that of a soul reaper, save for the fact that it was white with black trimming instead of the other way around. At first, the man's head was bent downward, but it lifted up a moment later, revealing a striking set of blue hair. Next, the man's left eye opened, showing a striking green eye, followed by a wicked smile. His teeth were the whitest that Yoruichi had even seen.

Yoruichi pulled out her knife. "You there, turn around!" she yelled.

"Of course." the man said coyly. "I didn't realize you wanted a look at me so badly. Alright, I'll turn around now."

He turned around to face Yoruichi, and she realized why he was so eager to do so. On the lower right portion of his face, a skull-like mask was apparently stuck. What was most frightening was the hole in his stomach. You could look right through it, and not see any organs & blood.

"Grimmjow is the name." the man said. "It seems that I'm in the right place. Now it's time..."

"For what?" Yoruichi asked nervously.

"For you to die." Grimmjow said plainly, and immediately charged. Yoruichi readied her knife, yet for some reason felt uneasy about her opponent. He was within a foot, when a blurry flash passed him. The flash stopped, and that's when Yoruichi realized that it was her friend, and lover in secret, Soi Fon. No other woman could move as fast as her, Yoruichi thought to herself.

"Well" she said "it seems that I got here before you were going to hog all the fun."

Yoruichi smacked herself in the face. "Your help is appreciated, but I'm more than capable of taking this guy on my own!"

"Yeah right." responded Soi Fon. "You always hog the fun. Why not share once in a while?"

Grimmjow looked at Yoruichi, then at Soi Fon. It seems that my work might be easier than I though, Grimmjow said to himself. "Ladies, Ladies, may I have a quick word?"

Soi Fon & Yoruichi turned around. "What!?" asked both women loudly.

Grimmjow spoke. "With you two here, that makes my work that much more complicated. Since that's the case, would you two get down on your knees so I can slice your heads off?"

"Well...na" Both women said at the same time, and went in for the attack. Grimmjow drew his blade, and readied himself for the attack. The women came in, and furiously began striking at Grimmjow's sword. They strike fast, Grimmjow thought, but I can strike faster. He began to spin like a tornado, blowing Yoruichi & Soi Fon away from him. Both of them got slammed up against a wall, and slowly fell to the ground.

Soi Fon got to her feet first, then picked up Yoruichi. She hooked an arm around her shoulder, and began to take her away from the battle.

"Come on" Grimmjow said as he saw the two women escape "I wanted this to be quick and easy. Now you're making this harder than it needs to be, and that's making me mad!"

Grimmjow began to give chase. It was hard for Soi Fon to move around, especially since Yoruichi was out of action. She was able to keep a safe enough distance so that their pursuer couldn't make a safe enough ranged attack, and was able to partially mask her trail.

"An Arancar!?" Soi Fon was surprised to see one within the Soul Society, especially since security was increased after the invasion by the Nazis. It must have taken a massive amount of spiritual pressure just to break through the shield, Soi Fon thought to herself. It didn't matter at this moment in time, all that matters is getting Yoruichi to safety. A minute later, she found a small shed where she could put her friend. She opened the door, and placed Yoruichi down onto the floor, along with a flash of water, some rations, and some medical equipment.

"Stay safe." Soi Fon said, and kissed Yoruichi on the forehead. She got up off of her knees, and exited the shed. As soon as she closed the door, she turned around and saw that Grimmjow had found her.

"Well, I finally found you." he said angrily. "Now I can finally kill you. Do you have any last words before I separate your head?"

Soi Fon drew her zanpakuto from it's sheath, then got into a defensive stance. "Not really."

she said. "Other than the fact that it'll been an honor to make sure that you die instead of me."

Just as they were about to fight, Soi Fon's assassin squad appeared out of nowhere. There must be at least 30 men here, Grimmjow thought. This won't be an easy fight.

A moment later, Grimmjow felt a small prick on the back of his neck. He felt around, then pulled on what appeared to be a small, metal dart. The size of it made him laugh, but he began to feel a little light headed. He tried to walk forward, but he stumbled more than walked. His eyesight began to blur, then he blacked out. His body fell to the ground, still alive, but unconscious.

"I didn't ask for you to follow me." Soi Fon said loudly.

"We felt this...Arancar from the time it appeared." said an assassin.

"How?" asked Soi Fon.

"Observations had some new detection equipment that can sense abnormal energy signatures." the assassin said.

"Alright, I'll forget this act of disobedience." Soi Fon said. "Take him to the holding cells, and make sure security is extra tight."

"Yes sir!" her men shouted, and they and Grimmjow disappeared.

She looked back inside the shed, and saw that Yoruichi was still out cold. "Time to pay a visit to an old friend."

Chapter 4

It was afternoon at Ichigo's school, and there was something happening that hasn't happened in a while...he was actually awake & paying attention to the teacher. For the first time since the Nazi invasion, he had a newfound energy that brought back some much needed vigor in his life. Despite that, lights seemed brighter, noises sounded crisper, and just living somehow felt more...lively. In any event, he continued to write down the notes that the teacher was putting up on the chalkboard. He was just about finished writing everything down, when a message came over the loud speaker.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you are needed at the main office. Repeat, you're needed at the main office."

Everyone turned around to look at Ichigo, who was just as surprised as they were. Closing his notebook, he got up from his seat, and left the classroom for the main office. He arrived there 2 minutes later, and the principal guided him in.

"Principal, did I do something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"No." the Principal said. "Actually, there's a woman in my office who wants to speak with you. She sounded quite impatient."

"Alright, I go speak with her." said Ichigo, who waved at the principal as he walked into the Principal's office. The first thing he saw was his friend Orihime, who seemed to be a bit puzzled herself.

"Hey there, Ichigo." she said in her usually happy voice.

"Same to you, Orihime." Ichigo responded. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't think you should be asking me that." Orihime said, who then pointed to the principal's table. "That's a question that you should ask her."

Ichigo then set his sights on the principal's chair, which was turned around so he couldn't see who it was. The chair turned around, and was amazed to see who it was.

"Hello, Ichigo Kurosaki." the woman said. "It's been a while."

"Soi Fon, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked in a shocked voice.

Soi Fon went on. "There was an attack earlier this morning. The intruder managed to injure Yoruichi, but we caught him by surprise and is our prisoner now."

"I see" Orihime responded "But that doesn't explain why we're in this room right now."

"That'll be explained right now." responded Soi Fon. "Yoruichi is fine right now, but she's been knocked out cold. I need you to bring her out of it, while I need you to help me interrogate the prisoner. You up for it?"

"Yeah we're up for!" said Orihime excitedly.

"Me too." Ichigo said.

"Then we leave immediately." Soi Fon said, who promptly snapped her fingers. A blinding flash of light a moment later, and there was noone in the room. The principal thought he heard something, and decided to pop his head inside to take a peek. He looked around, and saw nothing. "I need to retire." he said.

A minute later, Ichigo, Orihime, and Soi Fon appeared in the Soul Society, at the shed where Yoruichi was. "He's in there." Soi Fon said. "Wake her up, if you can."

"Alright." Orihime said, and opened the door. She walked in, and closed the door. Ichigo & Soi Fon stood outside, talking to each other about what had happened.

"So what happened? I thought that security was improved after the Nazi invasion."

"Well Ichigo, the security was boosted, but with this attack, it wasn't enough. It's strange, though."

"What's strange?"

"There was only one individual who appeared past the shield. An Arancar no less."

"An Arancar! How did one of their kind get through the shield!"

"We're not quite sure. Some of the science techs scanned the break in the shield where the Arancar broke through. There was an energy signature of some sort at the break, and at the crater where it landed. We haven't gotten anything back yet, but it's starting to look like..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Orihime came out of the shed, holding Yoruichi, who seemed to be doing much better.

"All done!" Orihime said cheerfully. "She's all better, but still a little shaky. Just put her down for some rest, and she'll be better tomorrow."

"It's alright." spoke Yoruichi. "I'm on my feet, aren't I?"

"Indeed you are." said Soi Fon. "Orihime, please keep an eye on her while Ichigo and I head towards my office. I got to pick up some things."

Orihime raised her hand in a salute. "Alrighty!"

"Come on Ichigo" Soi Fon said "let's go to my office."

The two proceeded towards her office, which was only a 5-minute walk away from where they were. As they walked, Ichigo started up another conversation, hoping to finish what they were talking about earlier.

"So what was it you were going to say before Orihime cut you off."

"Well, you're not going to like it."

"It can't be that bad...can it?"

"We detected Black Sun energy."

Ichigo froze in his tracks. "Black Sun energy!? I thought the Nazis were the only ones who could manipulate it?"

Soi Fon stopped walking as well "Apparently, they aren't. There is on major difference however..."

"What's that?"

"The energy signature coming from a Nazi source is very stable & controlled. The energy signature that we found seemed to be unstable & chaotic. I guess that the Arancar's grasp of the Black Sun is either in it's basic stages, or they don't quite understand how it works."

"I see. Strangely, that sounded comforting."

"We're wasting time just standing here, we need to head to my office. I need to grab some stuff for the interrogation of our Arancar prisoner, and I need you there for some extra...muscle." Once she was done talking, Soi Fon and Ichigo began walking again.

5 minutes later, they got to the building where Soi Fon's office. When they got to the front, they both noticed that there were no guards around. For that matter, they're didn't seem to be anybody around.

"That's strange. There's usually at least two guards standing in front to check people as they go in. An emergency troop inspection have been sent out, but why wasn't I notified?"

"Not sure." said Ichigo. "Let's keep going."

The two went through the gate, and into the building. Just like the outside, there was nobody inside. Everything was still in it's place, just that there was nobody at desks, filing papers, or even cleaning up the place.

"This is starting to worry me." said Soi Fon. "Ichigo, keep an eye out for anything out of place as we head to my office."

"No problem." Ichigo said.

The two of them went up a small flight of stairs, up two floors. They got to the 3rd level of the building, and swiftly walked towards their destination. The finally got to Soi Fon's office a moment later, but something was out of place. The door was slightly ajar, and the both of them thought that they heard some shuffling inside. The two of them drew their zanpakutos, and stormed right in.

When the charged into the room, they were greeted by two men in camouflaged uniforms, armed with some sort of firearm. Soi Fon's chair was turned around so they couldn't see if anyone was sitting on it, but a raised hand a second later told them that there was.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, lower your guns, I don't want bloodshed in here. Not when we have such important guests."

The seat turned around with a squeak, and Ichigo & Soi Fon were shocked at who they saw.

Chapter 5

When the seat was turned around, it was none other than Faust, the infamous leader of the Fourth Reich. He was in the same uniform that he was in when they first came into the Soul Society, complete with his signature white hair. The only thing that was different was the white half-mask he was wearing on the left side of his face. Other than that, he was exactly the same as they last saw him.

"You...You son of a bitch!" Ichigo yelled. "I thought I killed you back in the Veil!"

"Indeed you did, Mr. Kurosaki." said the Fuhrer. "Indeed, you did kill me when you & I fought in the Veil, but as you can see, I'm sitting right in front of you at this moment."

"It seems that corrupt sorcery brought you back from the grave." Soi Fon said.

The Fuhrer spoke. "Well, first off, it's good to see you again. Second, it may indeed have been sorcery, but it is anything but corrupt. We in the Fourth Reich have far more...scientific methods for our capabilities."

"Don't sound so mighty." spoke Soi Fon, who drew her blade at the same time. "Now then, dieeeeee!"

She charged the Fuhrer, who simply got from his chair, and pulled out a pistol. He aimed it at his assailant's weapon, and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through the air, and knocked the weapon out of Soi Fon's hands. The zanpakuto landed into the floor, firmly, but loose enough that it could be taken out with a tug. Soi Fon looked back to see if her weapon was alright, shocked that a single attack could disarm her.

The Fuhrer, still holding the pistol in his hand, spoke some scathing words. "Now, now. Here I am trying to have a conversation with two highly intelligent people, and the first thing one of you do is act like a savage and try to kill me. How rude."

As he spoke, he noticed that Ichigo was staring at his mask, wondering as to what laid behind it. "Enjoying my face?" asked the Fuhrer, who caught Ichigo completely off guard.

Ichigo snapped out of his small daze. "No, just staring at the mask. What happened? Did you visit a bad plastic surgeon or something?"

The Fuhrer just let out a deep laugh. "Mr. Kurosaki, your humor as always amuses me. To answer your question, however, no. The mask you see symbolizes my payment to the Black Sun."

"Payment?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, payment." the Fuhrer said. "Even a master like myself, must pay up something to the Black Sun sooner or later. Suffice it to say, this mask will come off, but at the right time."

During the conversation, Soi Fon walked back to her zanpakuto, pulled it out of the floor, then placed it back into it's sheath. "What are you doing here, Fuhrer?" she asked. "You don't have control of the Soul Society anymore, so what brings you back here?"

The Fuhrer let out a small cough. "Ah, I almost forgot." he said. "I was going to get to this sooner, but the excitement of seeing you again distracted me. Where was I...ah yes, now I remember."

"I'm here because of your little problem. Your Arancar problem, that is."

Chapter 6

"How do you know about the Arancar?" Soi Fon asked.

"Oh, I could sense it." the Fuhrer said. "The Black sun was screaming in pain because of the abuse."

"Abuse?" Ichigo asked. "What do you mean by...abuse?"

"I didn't think you could possibly be concerned." the Fuhrer said sarcastically. "I would tell you, but the right people aren't here."

"What do you mean?" asked Soi Fon.

The Fuhrer spoke. "Well, there's only one captain in this room. I was hoping to have all of the 13 Court Squad captains in the room."

"Why?" Soi Fon asked.

"Let's just say that my problem is your problem." said the Fuhrer. "The fact that someone else beside the Fourth Reich can manipulate the Black Sun is frightening, and a threat to our power."

"Even if we were able to work together" said Ichigo "what guarantees that you won't just try & take over again."

"That's actually quite simple." the Fuhrer said. "The last time that we fought, you decimated much of my army. Even if I were to attack, it would be futile. Besides, I...well, I'll save that for later."

Soi Fon took Ichigo by the shoulder, and walked him towards a corner of the room. "This is bad." Soi Fon whispered.

"I'm with you on that one." whispered Ichigo. "What the hell are we going to do?"

Soi Fon was silent for a moment. She turned her head to look at the Fuhrer, then turned back. "I know what we're going to do."

"What?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"We're going to give him exactly what he wants." said Soi Fon.

Soi Fon released Ichigo shoulder, then walked to the front of the desk. "Alright, Fuhrer, we'll indulge in your request. I'll assemble the 13 captains immediately, and then we'll talk."

"Wunderbar!" the Fuhrer said excitedly. "I look forward to our little gathering."

Chapter 7

The 13 captains of the Court Squad were all gathered at the Grand Hall, the meeting place of the Soul Society higher ups. The massive size made anyone of a weak mind feel timid, but to the Fuhrer of the Fourth Reich, it was nothing more than a show of bravado.

"I'm impressed." the Fuhrer spoke. "I didn't realize that you were trying to compensate for something."

The 13 captains just held their tongue. They knew that in order to complete their plan, they had to act as humble as possible.

"Fuhrer, didn't you have something important to discuss." asked Captain Amagai. "I honestly hope that you didn't call of us here to just insult all of us, especially after the actions you took two months ago."

"You're right, you're right." the Fuhrer responded. "I didn't call all of you here to insult you. I came to talk about your little intruder."

"Indeed." said Captain Retsu. "This was quite the disturbance. Even since your invasion two months ago, we boosted our security. We studied the Black Sun from the notes we captured from your scientists."

While the captain was speaking, the Fuhrer reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small box of cigarettes. He shook it for a second, then pulled out a particularly well-packed stick. He put the box back in his pocket, and pulled out a silver lighter. He brought it up to his cigarette, lit it, and put it back in his pocket. He took a drag, then expelled the smoke. While all of this was going on, the captains were just staring at him, thinking that he was just continuing to insult them.

Seeing them staring at him, the Fuhrer responded. "In case you were wondering, I lit this so that I wouldn't insult you anymore. I thought that you would appreciate my attempt to be kind."

"Please get on with it!" Captain Kuchiki yelled.

The Fuhrer spoke. "Indeed. As you obviously know, as of about 6 A.M., an Arancar pierced the energy barrier through the use of the Black Sun. Only the Fourth Reich has the ability to manipulate the Black Sun. The fact that anyone outside the Fourth Reich can even attempt to use the Black Sun is nothing more than a vile insult."

While all of this was going on, the Fuhrer failed to notice all of the captain's hand movements. They were precise and in synch, flowing as smoothly as a forest stream.

Before the Fuhrer could continue to speak, a sudden glow came forth from the floor. The cigarette fell from his hand, and the glow turned into a blue light which shot up, and formed a column around him. He extended his hand towards the light, and it shocked him.

"Clever, but cowardly." The Fuhrer said. "If you wanted to put me on trial, all you had to do was say so. I would have come willingly."

Surprised that their enemy had found out about their plan, they proceed with their plan.

"Fuhrer of the Fourth Reich, before this trial goes on, we must ask that you take off you mask." Spoke Captain Hitsugaya.

"Why?" asked the Fuhrer.

"Those who are put into a trial must be exposed to the judges." Hitsugaya said. "Their faces must be seen by all, so that everything is exposed to the light."

"A fair statement." the Fuhrer responded, and took off his mask. He dropped it onto the floor, and crushed it with his boot. Everyone had wished that perhaps that they didn't ask to take off his mask.

The Fuhrer looked up from the floor, and beheld a disfigured face. The right side looked completely normal, but the left half was completely burnt. It almost looked as if it was freshly burnt, and it smelt freshly burnt as well. The only thing that didn't appeared damaged was his eye, which was as red as it was since the day he was born.

"As I told Mr. Kurosaki earlier, I had to pay a price to the Black Sun." the Fuhrer said, all the while looking at Ichigo. "While my body wasted in the Veil for 2 months, my spirit wandered. In one encounter, the Black Sun came to me with a offer: have someone guided to my body for resurrection, or be consumed by the Veil. As you can see, the Fourth Reich found my body. You can also see the price that I had to pay for such a deal."

"Fuhrer, it is apparent that you have indeed suffered." spoke Captain Retsu. "However, we cannot forgive you for your actions. The amount of lives you have slain in your mad grasp for conquest is practically unforgivable. Do you deny or accept the charges we have brought against you?"

Dropping his cigarette, the Fuhrer stepped on it with his boot, and rubbed it out. "Guilty as charged." he said. "If I have to go through this to solve a problem, then so be it."

Before the proceedings could continue, the sounds of thunder came overhead, and rain came falling down. The captains were very surprised by the sudden change in the weather, as such weather rarely appeared in their world. While the captains were busy talking to themselves, Yoruichi, who was sitting close to the judges, walked over to Soi Fon, and took her over to the side for a quick chat.

"What are you pulling me over here for?" Soi Fon asked.

"Before I encountered the Arancar" Yoruichi said "this happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Before the Arancar showed up, the weather changed. I think they somehow use the thunder & rain to transport themselves into our world. It's quite clever, actually."

"No wonder we weren't able to detect anything until they fully showed up." said Soi Fon. "Coupled with the Black Sun energy, they're practically untraceable."

"We need to get everyone out of here." Yoruichi said urgently. " I got a feeling that something bad is about to happen."

"I agree with you." responded Soi Fon. "I'll get all of the captains out of here. As for the Fuhrer, I'll..."

She turned around, and saw that the Fuhrer wasn't in the light column. Surprised by this turn of events, she turned to the captains to see if they saw something. "Did anyone see the Fuhrer escape?" Soi Fon asked. Each of the captains nodded their heads no, which raised the tension in the hall even more.

Captain Retsu got up from her chair, and spoke. "Due to recent happenings, this trial will have to wait until the Fuhrer is captured, and brought back to justice. In the meantime, return to your men, and prepare for a possible attack."

Chapter 8

The captains proceeded through a door in the back. Each of them had a sense of urgency, one that pushed them towards their men. The only people that were left in the hall were Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Orihime. The sky was now a light grey, with thunder rolling through the clouds, and rain was falling down like the tears of angels.

"Ichigo, Orihime, I need you guys." spoke Yoruichi.

"What for?" Orihime asked.

"With the captains going back to their squads, there's one thing that still needs to be done."

"What's that?" Ichigo asked.

"The energy readings that Observations detected the last time the weather changed detected was Black Sun energy. Soi Fon probably told you that."

Ichigo nodded.

"Wait!" shouted Orihime. "Does that mean that the Arancars are working with the Nazis?"

"Nobody is sure." Yoruichi responded. "That's why I want to go to the old Nazi Laboratory, and check for something in one of their old books."

Ichigo and Orihime both gave Yoruichi a worried look. Closing her eyes, and giving her signature smile, she attempted to comfort her friends.

"Don't worry. The Nazi technology has been completely gutted. On top of that, they've practically been on lockdown since the end of the occupation. We'll be safe."

Yoruichi's friends gave a sigh of relief. The three went towards the Nazi Laboratory in search of some information as to how the Black Sun is currently being manipulated. Hopefully, their search would be short & successful.

As they were heading towards the laboratory, several thunderbolts struck the ground. Some of them were far away, but others were close to their position. They noticed that the rain had stopped, but it became a gentle mist. The sky lightened up in color, but was still very grey, and the thunder finally stopped striking the earth.

"Something's not right." said Ichigo. "Why did the weather suddenly calm down?"

"Not sure." responded Yoruichi. "Let's not stop and idle about. We need to get to that laboratory."

The three continued towards the Nazi Laboratory, when they began seeing grey clouds of fog. Thinking nothing more that perhaps that the temperature was rising, they arrived at their destination.

When they got to the front of the building, the notice that there were no guards keeping an eye on the place. Though there wasn't any sense of dread, Ichigo, Orihime, and Yoruichi kept an eye out for anything suspicious. As for the building itself, none of them have ever been inside. Despite that, the Laboratory radiated the intense evil & mysticism of the Fourth Reich.

"Well, here we are." responded Yoruichi.

Chapter 9

Yoruichi took a small, rusted key from her pocket, and placed it in the main door's lock. With a small twist, the gears inside the lock turned into each other, and the door creaked open. She put the key back into her pocket, and pushed the wooden doors open.

"Well that was easy." Yoruichi said. "Let's go in. We got to find that library." With a wave of her hand, the three individuals walked inside the abandoned laboratory.

The laboratory was definitely abandoned. Cobwebs covered chairs & doors, dust was on all of the signs and pictures, and the air flowing through the building was as cool as a summer night. Every now and then, the sound of mice & rats could be heard crawling on the floor, and through the ceiling.

"Such a spooky place." Orihime squeaked.

"It definitely has a dark...feeling within." responded Ichigo. "Yoruichi, why hasn't anyone come in here to just look around?"

"Once the occupation was over with, and after you left, the 13 captains had a meeting. During that meeting, they came to the conclusion that any book that the Nazis brought with them were deemed harmful. Most of them they burned, but a few were stored here for same keeping & research. The technology that they used here was utterly destroyed as well. After all of that, they locked this place up, and was designated as a forbidden zone. Luckily, I was given one of the few keys to this place. Now that the door is open, let's go in."

The three friends walked inside the abandoned laboratory. As soon as Orihime walked inside, the door suddenly closed behind them. Startled, Orihime immediately ran past Ichigo and Yoruichi in a frightened panic.

"Well, looks like somebody is already looking around." said Yoruichi sarcastically.

"Shall we follow her?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course." Yoruichi responded, and the two immediately began to follow their frightened comrade.

Not that the task was hard, as they followed the sound of Orihime screaming echoing through the dusty halls. It wasn't long before they caught sight of their friend, when they managed to catch sight of her running towards another set of large wooden doors. Apparently not noticing them, Orihime ran into the doors. With a thud a second later, she fell on her butt. Ichigo & Yoruichi caught up to her, and helped her to her feet.

Orihime dusted herself off, and rubbed the small bump on her forehead. "Ouchie." she said. "That hurt! I didn't even see these doors here!"

"You gotta watch where you're going, Orihime." Yoruichi said as she took off some cobwebs from her friend's shoulder. "Hopefully, my key here can open the door." She once again took the rusted key from her pocket, and placed it in the lock on the left door. She tried to turn it, but the key wouldn't move. "Huh?" Yoruichi said.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"The key doesn't seem to be working." said Yoruichi. "I was told that this key would unlock all of the doors in here. It seems that it doesn't want to work on this one." She placed the key back into her pocket. "Ichigo, mind taking a crack at this?"

Ichigo drew his zanpakuto, and walked right up to the door. "Yeah, I think I can take a crack at this." he responded.

"Orihime, let's take a step back." Orihime said, and the two of them walked away from the door. They went behind a corner, and crouched down. Ichigo then charged up his weapon, and swung at the door. With a flash of blue light, the door became hundreds of tiny splinters, which blew into the room. Ichigo put the blade ack into it's sheath, and went to get Yoruichi & Orihime.

"Ladies, the way is clear." he said. The two girls got up from the ground, and they all went inside.

During the Nazi occupation, they had only heard of this library. Now that they were inside it, they were actually surprised at how humble the place appeared. Despite the dust, the three individuals could feel the power of the knowledge within the books. The air inside the library was cool, kind of like a breeze on a summer afternoon. The three individuals weren't, however, distracted by the temperature, and immediately set out for their objective.

Yoruichi started speaking "Okay guys, spread out, and take over a part of the library. Start searching for a book that'll shed some light on the situation at hand. Hopefully, this shouldn't take too long."

"Right." Ichigo and Orihime said at the same time, and off they went. Yoruichi stuck to the shelves near the entrance, Orihime went to the west section of the library, and Ichigo went to the middle cylindrical shelf. As soon as they went to their designated areas, they began looking through the array of books before them. The dust that floated through the air due to their rapid searching would make a lesser individual cough and sneeze without mercy, but not for these three.

10 minutes went by, and none of them found anything that would help. Ichigo seemed especially impatient by his inability to find a book that would help. He was curious, however, by a single tome sticking out of a shelf to his left. It was a plain thing, only about a big as a dinner plate, and covered with a plain brown binding. He tried to take it out, but it wouldn't budge. He gripped it with both hands, and pulled harder, but it still wouldn't move. Finally, he put a leg up against the column, and pulled one more time. Fortunately, the book came out.

Still clutching the tome in his hand, Ichigo let out a small laugh of relief. He flipped through it, when he noticed that the pages were completely blank. What is this, Ichigo asked himself. Just as he was about to throw the unused book to the floor, the column began shaking. Ichigo, Orihime, and Yoruichi turned around to see the books within the column shelves falling out.

"What's going on!?" asked Orihime loudly.

"I don't know." responded Ichigo.

"What did you do?" Yoruichi asked.

"Nothing!" Ichigo yelled.

The column continued to shake & rumble. Finally, the shaking stopped, and the library went back to normal. Before the normality actually settled in, the column immediately sank into the floor, and revealed a small pedistal. On top of it rested a large book, with the black leather binding still holding on. When the three friends got closer, they could see some green lettering on the cover. Sensing the power within the pages, Ichigo grasped the book in both of his hands, and felt some sort of connection with the tome.

"Of Ebb and Flow: Life of the Black Sun." spoke Ichigo. "Yoruichi, is this the book that you're talking about?"

Yoruichi leaned over, and took the book from Ichigo's hands. "I think it is. Let's take it back as quickly as we can."

Yoruichi slipped the book into a small brown sack. Now that they had what they needed, anymore time spent in the library would be a waste. They exited the library, and proceeded towards the exit, when they were stopped by the sound of more thunder. It was very close, as the sound echoed throughout the halls. They could smell the ozone created by the thunder, and they could also hear the sound of people speaking.

"Sounds like Arancars." spoke Yoruichi. "Head back to the library, and look for cover!"

Orihime & Ichigo nodded in agreement. They rushed back to the library and looked for cover. Orihime found a large stack of books, Yoruichi leapt up onto a gargoyle above the entrance, and Ichigo flipped over a table and hid behind it. They could hear the two that were speaking walk closer to their position. A minute later, the two Arancars arrived at the entrance of the library, and their reaction was...strange.

"What the hell!?" the first Arancar shouted.

"It seems that someone has already been here." the second Arancar spoke.

"I though that noone else knew about the book?"

"The book?", Yoruichi thought to herself. "How did the Arancars know about this book?"

Just then, Orihime's voice appeared in her head. "Yoruichi, what wrong?"

"They know about the book!" spoke Yoruichi telepathically.

"How's that possible!? I thought we were the only ones who knew about!?"

Ichigo's voices came in a second later. "Someone must have tipped them off, or they somehow knew about it beforehand."

"Could the Fuhrer have told them?" asked Orihime telepathically.

"I don't think so." responded Ichigo. "They seem to have known about the book ahead of time. As to how they know, I'm not sure."

"What are we going to do?" Orihime asked. "If they're as strong as we've been lead to believe, we'll be crushed!"

"Calm down, Orihime." Yoruichi said. "We'll ambush them when they come right in. I don't want to fight, but it seems we have no choice."

Orihime & Ichigo nodded. They went back to their cover, and waited for the two Arancars to step into the library. 2 minutes later, the Arancars arrived at the library, intent on looking for the book that was taken by Ichigo and his friends.

"Now!" Yoruichi yelled. She, Ichigo, and Orihime jumped out of cover, fully charged for the fight.

"What is this." growled the first Arancar. "We were told noone else knew about the book."

The 2nd, smaller Arancar placed his hand on the other's shoulder. "Calm yourself." he said. "This is nothing more than a small setback. One that will easily be fixed."

Ichigo took a small step forward. "Who the hell are you two?" he asked.

The smaller Arancar stepped up. "Calm yourself." he said. "My name is Stark, and my larger, angrier friend right next to me is Yammy. We're here for the book that your dark-skinned friend has in her possession. Am I mistaken?"

The three friends looked at each other, and were stunned. They were hoping that maybe the two looters confused them for scroungers. Unfortunately, the ruse didn't work in their favor.

"Don't lie to us!" Yammy yelled. "We can sense the eldritch energy emanating from the tome!"

Ichigo gripped his Zanpakuto's handle, just in case a fight was going to break out. Yoruichi gripped her dagger's hilt, and Orihime placed her right hand on the charm in her hair.

"I'm sorry about my partner's anger." Stark said. "It get's ahead of him so often. Now, I'm sure we can come to some kind of peaceful agreement. Lord Aizen..."

"Lord Aizen?" Ichigo asked. "How's that possible?"

"It's quite simple really." responded Stark. "After he had succeeded in his earlier endeavors, he's been gathering strength and influence in Waco Mundo, preparing to lash back at the Soul Society. He has one obstacle blocking his path: the Veil"

"When the Nazis had invaded" Yammy spoke "their tampering with the Veil somehow caused that dimension to surround the Soul Society, effectively covering this dimension with a secondary shell. Lord Aizen has come to the conclusion that the Nazi knew of a way to pierce the Veil surrounding this place, and that information is held in a book. Specifically, the book that you hold right now."

Stark spoke. "As I said a couple of seconds ago, we can do this quite peacefully. If not, I'm sure that my associate's bloodlust can definitely be sated if he killed two of you."

"Why two?" Orihime asked nervously.

"Cause we need a hostage." responded Stark. "Now I'm only going to say this once more. Give us the book peacefully, and none of you will die."

"Don't think so!" shouted Ichigo, who suddenly charged Yammy. He drew his blade, and was about to land an attack, when his target gripped Ichigo's weapon, and tossed him aside. Yoruichi drew her knife, and went for Stark, but was blinded by a flash of green light.

"I had a feeling that this would occur." said Stark. He walked right over to Yoruichi, who was stunned by the flash, and took the book from the satchel that she was wearing. He placed it inside his robes, they proceeded to draw out his sword. He was about to drive his sword right through Yoruichi's head, when Yammy stopped him. "Yammy, what are you doing?" Stark asked.

"We have the book" he said "but we've also got to find our hostage."

"What about her?" Stark asked, pointing to Orihime, who was hiding behind a stack of books.

"Yes, she'll do." said Yammy. "She'll do nicely."

Chapter 10

It was an hour later when Ichigo & Yoruichi woke up. They got up to their feet, still dazed from the flash, when they realized that Orihime was missing. Stark & Yammy were also missing, as well as the book. The library was now eerily silent, with books both destroyed & intact misplaced all over.

Ichigo starting talking. "Ugg, what the hell happened? Yoruichi, are you alright?"

Yoruichi rubbed her head, and moaned. "Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, where's Orihime?"

Ichigo looked around for a moment. "Damn, those bastards must have taken her. You still have the book?"

Yoruichi felt the bag that once held the item in question. "No, those Arancars took it." she said in a disappointing tone.

Ichigo punched a bookshelf to his right, causing blood to trickle out. "Damnit! What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

As if on cue, he & Yoruichi heard footsteps. Although hiding was on the table, they were far too frustrated to hide. Ichigo picked up his zanpakuto off of the library floor, and Yoruichi drew her knife. Both got into a fighting stance, waiting for whoever was coming towards him. When the figures creating the footsteps got into the library, Ichigo & Yoruichi were surprised by the people standing in front of them.

"Captain Hitsugaya! Rangiku! What are you doing here!?" Ichigo asked loudly.

"We were in the neighborhood, when we heard some loud noises." responded Hitsugaya. "Rangiku and I them came over here as quickly as possible. Looks like we got here too late."

"You're damn right you're late." Spoke Yoruichi as she sheathed. "Suffice it to say, the situation is looking a little worse right now."

"What do you mean?" asked Rangiku.

Ichigo sheathed his blade. "Well, for starters, Orihime has been taken. On top of that, they also took a book that we were coming here for."

"Well, that's great." responded Hitsugaya. "We got the aftermath of the lightning storm, and a possible Arancar invasion. Now they have a hostage, and a Nazi book! This isn't looking good for us."

"Then let's get back to the other captains." said Yoruichi. "They need to be updated on what has happened here. Hopefully, we'll get back in time before anything happens."

"Agreed." responded Rangiku. "Let's get going!"