Kira Izuru held his hand out behind him, halting the squad members behind him. This was not the scene he had been expecting. The report described the mission as suspicious spiritual activity in the world of the living; most likely hollows. A routine expedition. But what he looked at now…there was no possibility that hollows were involved.

Grey ash covered everything, along with crumbled debris of what used to be a highway system. Tree stumps were all that were left of the forest that the highway ran through. Those that were lucky to survive were now just burnt twigs, easily breakable by the slightest push. Cars became crumbled chunks of metal as they littered the ground. The only color that could be seen was the aged brown puddles of blood.

The lieutenant stepped forward from the forest they had landed in, keeping his hand behind him so his subordinates stayed put. A few steps out he kneeled down, scooping a pile of ashes in his hand.

"It's soft…but it's not like normal ashes from a fire. It's too dark…" Izuru muttered to himself as he stood back on his feet. He spun on his heels to face his men, "Check the perimeter! Practice extreme caution!"

"Yes sir!" the men all nodded before running out of the woods, all heading in different directions.

Izuru pulled a small black pouch from his chest pocket and poured the ashes into it. Whatever it is, ashes or something else, Kurotsuchi will enjoy picking it apart.

A spikey-haired squad member jumped onto one of the broken chunks of cement, running his hands over the spattered blood stains. "This doesn't have any hollow reiatsu on it at all."

A slight breeze blew Izuru's soft blonde hair, along with a small feather. Its golden color stood out against the grey surrounding it. The lieutenant gingerly strode across the wreckage, plucking the feather out from under the shambles of a broken boulder. He examined it, turning it over in his hand before tucking it away with the ashes in his pocket.

"I can't pick up any traces of anything," a member shouted as he stood from probing a pile of broken trees.

"Seems to me like nothing's left here," the same spikey-haired squad member placed his hand under the cement and flipped it over with ease, sending it flying to a jumbled pile of cars.

"Just keep searching!" Izuru yelled, "There must be traces of something." He ran a hand through his bangs and sighed, "Maybe I should've just gone to the beach with the others."

The sound of crunching metal to his left made him jump backwards and unsheathe his sword, sporting a defensive yet intimidating stance once his feet hit the ground.

A man in a tan trench coat crouched on the roof of a car. His head was tilted low enough so his features were blocked by the coat around him. His hands were bunched in his pockets, but it created a bulge big enough for Izuru to assume he was armed. The same dried blood and ashes that covered the ground covered him as well. Though his face was hidden, Izuru knew the man could see him.

"This is Lieutenant Kira Izuru of the third division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads of the Soul Society. State your name and purpose!" he pointed his sword at the mystery figure.

The man immediately straightened, raising his head to show blank white eyes and ghoulish pale skin. "Soul Society?" He jumped from the car, making Izuru tighten his grip on his sword; though the man landed in a bow. On all fours, the man lowered his head, as if he was a dog begging for food. "Thank god you came!"

Izuru approached the man hesitantly. The edge of his sword still pointed at the man's head, which was now at the tip of his feet. By then, his squad had grouped up behind him, arming themselves as well.

"State your name," Izuru repeated, his voice harsh.

"My name is Madson Phil," he spoke quickly and with such desperation Izuru debated putting his sword away. Phil grabbed his feet and looked up at him in distress, "Please! You have to help us!"

"…us?" Izuru questioned, lowering his sword.

As if on cue, more trench coated people emerged from the woods around them. They huddled together, all with the same pale skin, white eyes, and ridden with ash and blood. Despite the empty color of their eyes, Izuru could still see the fear behind them.

Izuru knelt down to Phil and took his hands off his feet. "Did you do this?" He motioned with his hand to the battlefield behind him.

Phil nodded and sniffled like he was on the verge of tears. "I apologize, but we had to. The demons are acting up in preparation of the End Times."

"Did he say demons?" the squad members muttered to each other.

"End Times?" Izuru questioned, quieting his subordinates before turning back to the man at his feet.

"Yes. The balance that you as members of the Soul Society work so hard to maintain is about to be disrupted."

"What do you mean?"

"This world is about to become the battlefield for the final battle between Heaven and Hell."

Izuru's eyes widened, and the once quiet muttering behind him became shouts of disbelief. Distraught over took him, and he found himself unable to yell at his team. He couldn't even stop his own trembling let alone control his squad's. The very idea of the two conflicting places was implausible. As far as he was concerned, the Soul Society was heaven. Could it be that all the talk of higher beings and angels wasn't complete nonsense?

"But with your help," Phil regained his composure and placed his hand on Izuru's shoulder as if they were long time buddy's. "The balance can be restored."

Izuru looked into the man's strange eyes, then to his people, who were still crowded together. They too hid behind their trench coats, but their white eyes watched him with interest. It was strange at how similar they all looked, with only the slightest differences in hair color or the shape of their face.

"How do you know all of this? Why should we believe you?" Izuru stood, his tone taking on seriousness once more; though he helped Phil to his feet as well.

"Because. As angels, we cannot lie."

A shadow began to cast over Izuru's face as his eyes widened once again. His ears filled with the sound of ruffling feathers, which was oddly similar to a shaking bush, and the cracking of ligaments as they were pushed to their limit. Then, finally, with a loud whoosh, he was left staring in awe.

Sam watched the ripples in her coffee spread as she stirred her spoon. She was such an idiot last night. Now Renji's really gonna avoid her. Should she apologize to him? How would she even begin? Just stroll up to him and be all 'Hey, sorry bout last night. I got this weird problem with relationships, it's kind of a long, dumb story. But hey, at least we don't have to worry about the whole awkward encounter in the morning, am I right?' The sad part is, that's probably exactly how she'd say it.

"Sam!"

A muffin nailed the girl in the head, sending crumbs and blueberry bits all over Orihime's living room.

"Ow! Rangiku did you really have to throw it that hard?!" Sam rubbed her forehead and scowled. She'll be picking muffin chunks out of her hair all day.

"Well you shouldn't be zoning out like that. You're missing vital information about my night," Rangiku placed her elbow on the small table in front of her and bit into a muffin roughly.

"Samantha-san, you've been acting strange since last night," Orihime spoke quietly as she stirred her own coffee. "When you left early last night, you seemed very troubled." When the two girls simply stared at her, she shrugged and turned her attention back to her coffee, "I may not be strong like you guys, but I can make up for it in intuition."

Sam ran a hand through her hair, flopping her curls onto one side of her head. "Nah. I was just tired."

"That's funny," Rangiku finished her muffin and reached for another, "Renji said the same thing last night when he left." She smiled cheekily, "Spill it."

"Abarai-san? You like Renji?" Orihime perked up as she leaned in closer to Sam.

"Of course she does! Don't you see the two together? They're practically soul mates!"

"Did something happen last night?" Orihime became the typical teenage girl, eager to listen to the latest juicy gossip.

Sam let out a long sigh and rubbed her face. She couldn't drop the cliché 'it's complicated' bomb, nor could she explain exactly why it could never work. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place for the second time. Luck obviously wasn't on her side this week.

"It did!" Rangiku started bouncing up and down. "Something happened and you're keeping it from us!"

"Oh please tell us Samantha-san! It'll never leave this table!"

Sam smirked and lifted her cup of coffee, "Yeah. I'd believe that if Rangiku's mouth wasn't as big as her boobs."

"It is not! I only slip every once in a while when I'm drunk…" Rangiku whined.

"Which is pretty much every day," Sam rolled her eyes and drank her coffee.

"Not every day...Huh?" she looked down at the corner of the table where a small cell phone was buzzing. Rangiku reached over and opened the flip phone, reading the message to herself.

"What is it?" Sam asked after biting into a muffin. She was relieved the attention was away from her and hoped it would stay that way.

"It's a message from Soul Society. They say all Lieutenant's must come back immediately for a joint meeting," Rangiku's brow creased with confusion as she closed the phone.

"Joint meeting? As in captains and lieutenants? That only happens in dire emergencies," Sam stuffed the rest of the muffin into her mouth.

"I guess times of peace are always short lasted," Rangiku groaned and stood up. "Thanks for letting us stay here Orihime but we've gotta go."

Orihime smiled and nodded, "No problem! If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know!"

"Even if we didn't tell you, you and Ichigo would still find a way to get involved," Sam smiled at her and stuffed another muffin into her mouth. Her smile was short lived when a Tracker materialized from the shadows of the hallway to their right. It danced in a figure eight, making swirling movements like the coffee in her cup did minutes ago.

Ignoring the shivers that went up her spine, she followed Rangiku in the opposite direction. One bonus of being in the fourth division, limited missions in the world of the living. Hence, less time spent haunted by those stupid things.

"How was your vacation, Samantha-san?" Unohana smiled kindly at her lieutenant. They walked side by side down the long, wide hallway that lead to the meeting room.

"It was fun…yet interesting," she knew she couldn't lie to her captain. Orihime's 'intuition' was nothing compared to Unohanas'. It was like a freakin sixth sense.

Though it wasn't entirely a lie. She really did have fun with everyone. And it was interesting watching everyone's reactions to the body shots. But she always finds herself dwelling on the negative times more than the positive ones; though she really wished she didn't.

Her captain chuckled, "Those always make for the best memories."

A smile slowly spread across her face until she mirrored her captain's laugh. "Yeah. I guess they do."

"Captain Unohana, Lieutenant Daitenshi," Sasakibe Chōjirō stood in front of the giant open doors that lead into the room. He bowed his head slightly as Unohana returned his greeting. The lieutenant glided to the side, allowing the captain to lead the way into the room.

Sam awed at the design and largeness of the room. It was fairly plain; the only furniture being a chair for the Head Captain to sit in. The walls were a deep burgundy red, with the floor being light wooden tiles. Some captains had already taken their places in two lines facing each other, acting as a path leading up to the big man himself, with the even-numbered squads on the left and the odd-numbered squads on the right. Which meant their spot was right next to…shit.

She stood next to her captain and awkwardly slid into her spot next to her captain, careful not to bump Renji who was (of course) positioned right next to her. Pretending to be distracted by the room, she bit her lip and rocked back and forth on her heels.

"So what, you're not even gonna talk to me now?" Renji questioned, staring down at her with angry brown eyes.

In surprise, she stopped rocking, leaving her body in an awkward position. "What? No!" she said a little too desperately, making him cock his head to the side. "I just…suck at saying I'm sorry."

He stared at her a few seconds longer, then chuckled. "Yeah, you really do. Just save it for later."

She smiled up at him in admiration. "Thanks." Feeling herself relax again, she began to rock back and forth once more. "So any idea what this is about?"

Renji shrugged, "I guess these people confronted Izuru when he was on a mission. They said that they needed the Soul Society's help."

"Our help?" Sam scrunched her face, "Since when has someone asked us for help? Usually we're their enemy before we even know what's going on."

"I know it's strange, but it must be pretty serious if they want lieutenant's here too," he motioned with his head to the spots across the line from them. "Supposedly, Izuru's escorting them to the meeting. That's why he's not here yet."

Sam looked at the vacant spot in front of her. The spot designated for the fifth division was absent of a captain and lieutenant. The order skipped from one straight to five, leaving Momo to be the only representative for the fifth division. Though it was still debatable whether not she was back in the right mental state to act as captain.

Before she could speak again, their attention was drawn to the open doors, where the sound of footsteps could be heard.

Sam wasn't sure which stopped first, her breathing or her rocking. She'd seen that god awful trench coat too many times, and those vacant eyes still haunt her dreams.

Phil walked into the room, hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. Izuru held onto his forearm, not forcefully but rather reassuringly, as he walked closely behind him. The flames that stood as the souls of the captain's burned brightly, so much so that he refused to look directly at them. The lieutenants beside them were much easier to bear with, and he opted to look at them instead. Thankfully he did, for that's when he spotted her, for the first time since their last battle. Her flame burned gold, whereas the rest were blue. Funs over, Sam, he thought to himself as he came to a stop in front of the head captain.

"Your name, young man," Head Captain Yamamoto spoke, tilting his head up as the analyzed the tiny man before him.

"Madson Phil," his voice was strong as compared to when he first spoke to Izuru. Phil stood straight; strong and confident.

Sam's lungs began to burn, forcing her to inhale loudly. Phil? The Outcasts are here? In the Soul Society?

"According to what you told Kira Izuru, you claim to be an angel," Yamamoto waited for the outbursts around him to quiet down before continuing, "In all my years in the Soul Society I have yet to hear nor see any evidence that would prove the existence of these biblical creatures. Show all of us here what you showed the lieutenant."

Phil chuckled, apparently unaware that the atmosphere around him had become tense. "With all due respect sir, I disagree with your second statement-but I will oblige."

Sweat began to pile up on Sam's forehead. He knows.

Phil took his time removing his coat, folding it nicely over his arm before turning around to face the captains. With a slight smirk, his dead eyes found Sam and he unfolded his wings. Though, they weren't the beautiful white or gold that many people dreamed. They were tattered and frayed, practically caked with dirt. The awe that was written on everyone's face, including Byakuya's, was replaced with utter disgust. Despite the displeased remarks around him, Phil kept smiling at her.

Sam furrowed her brow, staring right back at him. Is he just here to toy with me?

"What kind of joke is this?" Zaraki Kenpachi laughed and reached for his sword, "Just let me kill em for wasting our time."

"Those are hardly wings," Hitsugaya Toshiro scoffed.

Phil held up a hand, "I may have told a little white lie."

"Head Captain, let me kill him!" Zaraki lunged forward, only to be blocked by Captain Kurotsuchi.

"The boy does seem to be mocking us, and that will go unforgiven. But," he fished in his chest pocket for some papers, "I analyzed the ash and feather that was given to me by Izuru, and analyzed its composition. It seems there was some reishi on it that matches the reishi we took from Hell. Other than that, we have nothing. Perhaps we could borrow one of yours for further testing?"

Phil inched away from the creepy captain, until he created a safe distance. "Well I take back my previous statement then," Phil turned back to face the head captain, "You really haven't encountered our kind before. Those ashes were the remains of an angel or demon, but considering the battle that had taken place just before your arrival, that feather must have belonged to a demon."

"The feather was gold, shouldn't something that allies itself with the leader of hell have something…I dunno…black?" Kyoraku questioned.

Phil shook his head, "How stereotypical of you to assume that. Wing color varies, no matter what side of the spectrum they side on. What separates angels from demons is the tattoo of a sun on the back of one's neck; that is the symbol of Lucifer."

"Then what happened to your wings?" Renji spoke this time, making everyone turn their eyes on the lieutenant.

Let's see how he gets himself out of this one, Sam smirked at the thought. The real reason his wings were so ragged was because he had such a weak rank. The higher up you are, the more glorious your wings became.

"That brings me back to my little white lie," Phil pulled his wings back in, sporting small slits in the back of his navy sweater. "I used to be an angel. It would be more suiting to call me a fallen angel. But, I have chosen to side with the righteous, and I'm in the process of retrieving my previous status."

Chosen to side with the righteous? That's such bullshit. He wants to side with whoever will take him back, which is currently neither. He lost his chance a long time ago with the rest of the Outcasts. Sam bit her lip as she fought back the urge to speak.

"Enough chatter," the head captain regained control over the room. "If by chance we believe you, what brings you to the Soul Society, asking for our help?"

"Well, I figured it was only right to alert you- the protectors of the living world- of the upcoming war that could shatter that same world," a smirk spread across his face as he once again caught their attention.

"Would this war involve the demons you spoke of before?" Kyoraku Shunsui tilted up the straw hat he always hides his face under.

Phil nodded, draping an arm over his chest and resting an elbow on the same arm. He gripped his chin, as if he was about to delve into a long lecture. "Precisely. You see, the balance between the fallen angels that chose to side with Lucifer and the fallen angels that chose to side with Heaven are currently at balance. But, there is one fallen angel that has yet to choose."

"And their decision will tip the scale," Sui-Feng finished for him.

Sam suspiciously cocked her head to the side. Where exactly is he going with this? Have I been out of the loop for so long that everyone has chosen sides already?

"Indeed. That will trigger the End Times, a final battle between Heaven and Hell to see who really is strong enough to control the Throne."

"So you're asking us to fight with you?" Ukitake Jushiro asked, concern overlapping his usual happy tone.

Phil shook his head, "This war is something we want to avoid at all costs. We have reason to believe that this undecided angel will chose Lucifer, and give him the final manpower he needs to succeed the Throne. But if we were to erase this angel, the balance would remain, and the war can be avoided completely."

"So you want us to do your dirty work and kill this person?" Kuchiki Byakuya asked in a deep voice, narrowing his eyes at Phil.

"Not even that. Just hand them over to us and we'll take care of it from there," Phil's voice softened to a whisper.

Silence filled the room as everyone contemplated the plan. Sam shifted awkwardly. That can't be right. Everyone shuns the Outcasts. Their loyalty doesn't matter as far as the balance goes. Phil may be telling the truth that he believes he's sided with God, but there's no way he's officially sided with Him. And who would even tell the Outcasts about the mystery angel's possible choice? Their only allies are themselves…unless…

Sam's widened eyes shot up and met Phil's. He smiled devilishly at her and put his trench coat back on.

No. He couldn't mean-

"This angel could be hiding anywhere, and we have no means of finding them," Unohana spoke up beside Sam, making her jump.

"Ahh but we do. You see, this angel is special," Phil ran a hand coolly through his chopped blonde hair. "She has defining…" he began to walk down the aisle of captains, tapping his chin as he thought of the right word. "Scars."

"She?" The Head Captain spoke. "So you already know who it is?"

"Oh yes," Phil turned quickly to give the captain a nod, "It seems she's been hiding from us."

Sam took multiple steps back, clutching her head.

"Sam, are you alright?" her captain turned around to watch her with worried eyes.

"Hiding…" Phil stood in the spot Sam used to be in. "Here." He cocked his head to the side, taunting her. "Isn't that right, Gabrielle?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Sam, widened in shock. Sam kept her eyes locked on Phil, who smiled, pleased with the yelling that now filled the room.

"Gabrielle?!"

"How is that possible?"

"Does that mean-"

I'm not good. Sam's words ran through Renji's head. He stared at her in disbelief. It can't be her. Then that would mean everything…everything they'd been through was just a cover up? "Sam, is this true?"

She broke her stare with Phil to look at Renji. His eyes pleaded her to say no, but she'd lied to him long enough. "I'm sorry." The pain in his eyes then, the sheer disappointment was a mirror image of Lucifer's on the day she lost it all.

The sound of blazing winds filled everyone's ears as Sam unleashed her wings. Now those, those were the wings people dreamed of. They were blindingly bright, sparkling even.

She screamed in agony and anger and charged at Phil. Her hands were at his throat within seconds, and with a single flap of her wings, she pushed them across the room and through the wall. The speed was so fast, Phil couldn't release his own wings without risking them snapping from the pressure. All he could do was fight to breathe as she tucked her own wings back in, letting them fall hundreds of feet to the ground below.


So? What do you guys think? Shit pretty much hit the fan in this chapter and it really only gets worse from here on out so I hope you guys don't get too attached to characters :D

Please review and let me know of any questions or suggestions! This chapters song was Liars and Monsters by Escape the Fate.