Summary: Sometime after the Fullbring Arc, an unexpected situation forces the Head Captain to send Ichigo and the Shinigami on a cruise with the Arrancars and other past opponents. As they set sail on an huge replica of the Titanic, chaos ensues with each group barely getting along. Will the partying, drama, and romance end up conquering them all or is there something more sinister at work?

All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I'll post this once so read carefully - I do not own Bleach or anything related to it. Also, this fic was originally based off of Ultimate-drax's "Cruise Along" with permission...

A/N: Enjoy!

"Science does not know its debt to imagination." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Prologue

The atmosphere in the 12th Division was calm. The silence filled only by the hum of computers and a recurring bleep. Contrary to popular belief, one did not always hear screams and shrieks in the Division although the occasional cry of agony was not uncommon. Besides working under the infamous Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the job of an officer in the 12th Division was actually quite mundane.

Akon spoke from experience.

After more than a century in Shinigami Research and Development Institute, the third seat had come to realize that excitement only arose when something was unusual or wrong.

Things had been quiet since the whole Fullbring fiasco.

A little too quiet.

Akon felt a headache coming on. Warily, he eyed the empty white mug sitting on the corner of his desk. The remains of his coffee from a few hours ago were still sitting at the bottom, having long since gone cold.

I need more coffee. Hot coffee.

He hated working the night shift. It was currently one in the morning and he was tired as hell and bored out of his wits. If something didn't happen soon, he'd start to question his sanity.

Tapping his fingers on his desk, he tried to ignore the stabs of pain assaulting the back of his mind, but couldn't. It was growing, wrapping around to come full circle to the front of his head. Need...more...coffee...dammit! Admitting defeat, he motioned his assistant over. Just as he was about to send Rin to fetch him another cup, the alarm sounded.

Change was immediate.

Chairs screeched, keyboards clicked, and electricity filled the air - it was like all life had returned to the room.

Akon straightened up.

"Hiyosu. What seems to be the matter?"

"It appears as though we have an intruder."

"Oh." It's just an intruder. "I wonder what poor fool it is this time. The Captain doesn't take lightly to trespassers."

He certainly did not. The last foolish person to annoy Mayuri Kurotsuchi had landed an immediate job…as a test subject.

But hey, a little excitement is always better than none at all. Akon was never one to complain. The last time he managed to find fault and actually complain about something was when—

Hiyosu's gasp brought him back to the present.

"Uhh, Akon. You should come check this out."

The trace of fear in his voice immediately alerted Akon. The third seat quickly strode over to the lower officer.

"What is it? Where is the intruder now?"

With panic interlacing his words, Hiyosu started. "He's there. The intruder is there in the—"

Akon's eyes widened.

"...Sector of Mysteries..."

The Sector of Mysteries...

The very mention of it sent shivers crawling down Akon's spine. Few knew of its existence and even fewer dared mention it.

Captain Kurotsuchi had ordered him and an elite group of researchers to build it secretly some time after Aizen's betrayal. The Captain had been in one of his moods and was muttering something about "Stupid Urahara with his damned Hōgyoku" and "I'm the only genius here."

When Akon asked the Captain what purpose it would serve, the Captain simply said that, "The Sector of Mysteries will be a section of the 12th Division where I shall carry out confidential research. Using various data and samples that I have collected, many of which are from Hueco Mundo, I shall be researching various mysteries of the world such as time, love, thought, death and so on. I find them quite fascinating."

Akon had known that the true purpose was merely to show up Kisuke Urahara and conduct his most horrific researches in secret. One had to be really careful of what you said around Captain Kurotsuchi and so he never brought it up again...

"Hiyosu, can you pull up the security footage?"

Typing ensued. "Whaat! Why aren't any of the cameras working?"

Akon massaged his temples for a totally different reason. "Probably a glitch. Rin."

The young boy quickly swallowed the sweet he was eating. "Ahhh, yes Akon-sama?"

"See if you and Hiyosu can find a way to fix the system."

"What will you be doing sir?"

"I will stop the intruder myself."

Akon left the room left the room quickly and proceeded to take a multitude of turns in the maze-like hallways of the 12th Division.

Since he had begun working in the 12th Division, he had seen and done many horrific things. He was not an easy man to scare so why was he feeling so unsettled at the thought of going down into the Sector of Mysteries?

His heart beating fast in his chest, Akon stopped before a nondescript, plain wall.

The secret entrance to the Sector of Mysteries.

One would never expect the gateway to the most dangerous department in the all the 12th Division to be behind such an ordinary looking wall. There was a reason the best hiding place was known to be out in the open...No one would suspect something as ordinary as a wall to be a secret doorway.

Lieutenant Kusajishi of the 11th Division had taken quite a fancy to this particular type of hidden door. Rumor has it that she ordered them to be built all over the Kuchiki Manor along with many tunnels. Needless to say, Captain Kuchiki didn't like them since he could never seem to find them and seal them off.

Akon placed his palm against the wall and it swung inwards revealing the dim interior of an elevator.

He stepped inside and the doors closed leaving him in complete darkness. He hated the dark. The elevator automatically began descending and he could feel the air getting heavier with each passing second. He was entering the very depths of the 12th Division.

After a considerable amount of time, a cool female voice informed him that he had reached his destination. The doors opened with a woosh.

Bracing himself, Akon stepped out.

I've arrived at the Sector of Mysteries.

The huge, but narrow room he found himself in was completely dark except for the few twinkling lights embedded into the ceiling. Glancing up, he could see that the high, cavernous ceiling was meant to resemble the night sky. If he wasn't so creeped out, he may have found it to be beautiful.

There was a slight chill in the air and the silence was only broken by his nervous breathing. Feeling like a trespasser in a forbidden place, he hesitantly made his way forward.

With every step he took, the pressure seemed to increase.

He couldn't hear a single alarm, but warning bells were going off in the back of his mind. Something is off...By now he should have encountered some sort of obstacle or identity checker. Security was normally really tight in the 12th Division, especially down here.

It was strange, not in a good way of course...Swallowing nervously, he slowly continued placing one foot in front of the other and moving forward.

He safely walked over to the other end of the room until two, jet black doors were menacingly looming over him. This was it. No going back now.

Gently, he placed his right palm on the doors and they swung inwards with a loud screech.

He gasped.

A bright light hit his eyes and then everything went black.

A/N: Who can guess where the Sector of Mysteries is from? Thanks for taking the time to try this fic. I'd love to know what you think of it. It is a bit confusing now, but this is only just the prologue...

Hugs,
Hylla