A/N: Are people still reading this? It's hard to tell. A one word review would be nice. Just one word. For example, 'Good' or 'Bad' or 'Admirable'. Just something so that I can know if people still read this.

Also, sorry for the late update.

Ta. Thanks if you are reading by the way. It's just that I haven't had any reviews. So, understandably, I'm getting a little worried that no one's reading it.

Chapter Nine

Rukia was the first through the gate, followed by Uryu, Orihime and Chad. Ichigo was bringing up the rear because Rukia had a Hell Butterfly, and, apparently, that meant that she needed to go at the front. This aggravated Ichigo. He didn't know why but suspected that it had something to do with Uryu's occasional glares of self-righteousness that passed his way every other step. Uryu, of course, was rather happy with the arrangement.

Upon entering Soul Society, they were 'greeted' by three Captains and an unnecessarily large number of Soi Fon's ninja squad - as they had so been called by Urahara who was not exactly her favourite person anyway. Two Captains were a pleasant sight, the third, who was glowering threateningly, looked as though she were about to pounce on all five of them. In fact, she wasn't. She was going to pounce on the unfortunate sixth soul who was not quite as adept a ninja as he was an escape artist.

Sword to throat, Aasa raised his arms. Soi Fon was unimpressed with his inability to block her speed. Aasa was, frankly, terrified. He had heard enough stories about his own psychopathic Captain, but rumour had it that Soi Fon had tried to kill almost everyone in the Sereitei at some point or another. These rumours were, of course, hyperbole and so should have been ignored. Either way though, the thin cold blade hovering centimetres from Aasa's arteries did little to reassure him.

"How the hell did you get here?!" asked Ichigo, pointing at Aasa accusingly.

"I'm a very good escape artist." observed Aasa doing his best to smile – and failing – with a sword intently waiting to draw his blood, sitting at the base of his Adam's apple.

"Not impressive," said Uryu, "It would have taken any intelligent person less than a minute to get out of such a hackneyed confinement."

"Hackneyed confinement?" asked Orihime.

"Same-y trap." explained Chad.

Whilst this conversation had been occurring, Rukia had run over to her Captain and his friend and saluted. She had then been told – for the umpteenth time - that she didn't need to do that and had quickly apologised more than was necessary. Captain Ukitake was having one of his better days and it showed. His face was more alive and bright than it had been in times past and his white hair seemed to take on a moon-like shimmer. Captain Kyouraku gave the delicate Rukia a hearty slap on the back. Her entire frame seemed to shake from the impact.

"So how've you been?" asked Kyouraku.

"Good." replied Rukia, still not entirely used to the idea of speaking to Captains as though they were normal human beings – partly because they weren't though Ichigo had told her that that wasn't really an excuse and that she should take a leaf out of his book.

"We heard about what happened," said Ukitake, "They're going to detain Aasa until Captain Kurotsuchi releases the Soul Reaper."

"We have to wait until she's released?" asked Rukia.

"Unfortunately," replied Kyouraku, "Yes."

"There are all sorts of special injunctions preventing us from interfering with his research," informed Ukitake, "We can only enter the building if there is significant danger to either his division or the Sereitei in general. It's a pain."

"… Is there anything we can do?" asked Rukia over the increasing hubbub of noise behind her.

"Well," said Kyouraku, "You didn't hear this from me but there is a dangerous, unfamiliar increase in spiritual pressure over there and it's not getting smaller, it's getting bigger."

Rukia nodded, ignoring the cacophony of noise behind her.

***

Kitty heard once again: the occasional bleeping of a machine registering her heartbeat, the consistent and annoying hum of complicated scientific paraphernalia and the distinct and irrevocably fear-inducing tapping of a certain foot. Smell arrived next; the detestable smell or chlorine and all things clinical and clean, whilst having the sweetly disgusting scent of dank and damp in the peripheries. Then came taste; iron, metal, blood in the mouth. Next was touch, pain smouldered in limbs whose names escaped her at the time. Then sight; her eyes rising to meet the impatient orbs of a heinously sadistic god. Such was the ritual of waking up from unconsciousness.

"Again!" exclaimed Captain Kurotsuchi. He waltzed over to Kitty, strapped to a chair that resembled all too closely an electric chair, and slapped her, "Infantile child!"

Kitty took the blow but it made her very angry. Angrier than she'd ever been. Angrier than Gerechtes Einhorn had ever been and Gerechtes Einhorn was just about ready to erupt. It felt as though lava were her blood and as though her every nerve ending were crackling like lightning. Kitty, at this point, had gone through enough of Mayuri's insanely painful treatments for her body to begin to get used to them. The lava in her blood was an injection of 'just-enough-poison-to-not-kill-her' and the electrified nerve endings were 'just-enough-exposure-to-pain-to-not-kill-her'. Though, Kitty had far exceeded the stage where she was able to distinguish pain from anger. She had also learned very quickly that it was an incredibly stupid idea to back-chat the madman.

"I suggest you do not fall unconscious again!" shouted Mayuri, "Or else I might just have to stop being so generous!"

Generous? snapped Gerechtes Einhorn, Is that what the madman calls it? If you don't get yourself out of this mess, Kitty, so help me, I'll kill him.

He's a Captain, Gerechtes Einhorn, stated Purlicorne, There is no way you can stand up to him.

Wait and watch.

"Nemu!" screamed the psychopathic captain, whose voice strained into a high-pitched squeal from the sheer effort of maintaining his emotions. Nemu ran over to him, keeping a fair distance between them whilst being close enough for him to not care. He glared at her but then continued, driven by curiosity to uncover hidden secrets, "Fetch it."

Nemu paused. There were several 'its' in Squad Eleven's quarters. Not only was the term used to describe equipment and objects, it was also used to describe people. From the context she could assume it was a piece of equipment but of the many millions of pieces of diabolical machinery in the building, it was impossible to deduce which of the many tortuous things it could be. She frowned slightly, as much as was physically possible for her to do so and hazarded the risk of a question, "My apologies, which 'it', Captain?"

It wasn't hard to work out what happened next. A lightning fast strike sent her flying into the pipe-ridden wall whose contents seemed to drip through and infect the wall with its greenish, dampish tinge. Nemu, not even noticing the pain, stood up and awaited to be attacked by the verbal onslaught that was yet to come. What was happening to her was terribly unjust but she didn't mind, or even care. What consequence was it to anyone else, how a father treated their child?

"The newly created device. The one on my desk! Go!" shouted Mayuri, "Quickly, quickly you maggot-infested fool!"

Nemu left swiftly. Kitty had, as would have been expected, watched the event unfold and it was not aiding her in controlling her less pacifistic side, who was on the verges of breaking the very delicate cage that held it in place. Kitty pulled against the straps holding her down and was met by a fist to the face for her insolent attempts at doing so. She gritted her teeth and found herself growling. Mayuri pulled away and stared at her as though he were analysing the formula of a poison.

"Interesting," stated Mayuri, "Are you growling because you're in pain? That's an unusual reaction. It must have something to do with-"

"IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE A BASTARD!" screamed Kitty. A punch immediately responded. Kitty flinched and kept her eyes closed, the hit came as more of a surprise than it should have been. She shifted uncomfortably and opened her eyes. Her eyes widened. How long had she had her eyes closed? Where had that thing come from? Why was he putting it on her head? And, most importantly, where the hell was the Calvary?

***

They were waiting outside. They could not act unless there was something happening. All they could do was patiently sit and watch. They had to sit over a mile away and were not permitted onto the roof. They were not given backup for they did not need it. They were not given commands because they were not required. Yet, they were not trusted to go in before such a time as it was allowed. They had to wait. All they could do was wait.

Nothing happened for a long time. There were no noises. That was peculiar, there should have been some noise, yet there was none; even their breathing was silent. There was no wind, nothing to interrupt the pure nothingness that forced the group into such perfect stillness. There was no wind to blow against their clothing, their hearts beating in their chests did not seem to move them and the silence was agonising. They could do nothing to break it.

Ichigo wanted to turn to Rukia for some encouragement or reassurance, just as the rest of the group desired to turn to him, but there was a consensus now. No one could move. No one was permitted to move. No one was allowed to move. Unless something happened. Only when some great event destroyed the silence, the stillness, the nothingness, could they interfere. They wanted to look to the sky, each finding some great metaphor in the situation but they could not interfere. All they could do was sit and wait.

***

Flash. It is a forest; dark in the shadows of the leaves and trees but lighter in the embrace of the dappled sunlight that peers through the tiny holes which the leaves cannot keep hidden. The river trickles quietly but cascades loudly and powerfully as it falls from somewhere high in the sky; it flows through the forest, it's lifeblood. A unicorn, powerful and proud, delicate and modest, stands in the centre of the forest. Flash. The forest shakes. Trees fell. Light vanished. The river changed. A corrupted colour of poisonous blood engulfed the stream, taking hold of the entire forest. The lush green grass turned black, shrivelled and died. The trees rotted and became one with the soil. The river killed all that it touched. The sky turned red as fire, bleeding rain of black. Gerechtes Einhorn was furious. Flash.

Screaming was not uncommon within the Division. It was almost eerie if there was no screaming. Something was terribly wrong if there was no screaming. So, when the screaming of the young English girl stopped, something was terribly, terribly wrong. The Division waited, if the Captain got in contact with them, something was beyond wrong: something was catastrophic. They waited and prayed nothing catastrophic was happening. Five minutes passed. Something was beyond catastrophic. Something was happening and it was beyond words.

Flash. "How dare you touch Kitty! You FILTH!" screamed the manifested form of a unicorn. It's coat white as snow, its body powerful as the Earth itself, its horn as deadly as a knife and its eyes as dangerous as an erupting volcano. Flash.

They ran. As fast as their legs could. It was impossibly fast; the speed at which they moved. They launched themselves up the building. They devastated the door. They glared inside. They didn't like what they saw. The girl was still tied down but the Captain was injured. Before him stood a very tall, imposing and impossibly powerful creature of such fury that they immediately backed down and left the room. The righteous justice of the unicorn was one they dared not interrupt.

Outside, the group moved.