Deep in the Desert

Sand

It stretched out as far as the eye could see.

Sand

The only break seemed to be deep ravines, that were so dark one could not see the bottom of them, cutting through the landscape like gigantic scars.

Sand

A moldorm jumped out and tried to bite Grimmjow as he walked out on the dunes.

Sand

Link smiled as the moldorm turned to smoke. The bluenet hadn't even bothered drawing his sword.

Sand

The blond was following the bluenet when…

"Wait, Link."

He turned around. Midna was hovering in the air her expression downcast. "Before we go on," she said, "there's something I want you to hear. Do you remember what the spirit said about the Fused Shadows?"

"Which spirit?" Link asked her. He didn't mind speaking Hylian now that Grimmjow wasn't taking part in the conversation. She looked up at him. "Lanayru," she answered, and Link shook his head. "That annoying serpent tried to get into my head. I didn't let him so whatever he had to say I missed it," he told her.

"Oh," Midna said. "Well, basically he was talking about the ones who created the Fused Shadows." Absentmindedly, she bit her lip. "They tried to rule the Sacred Realm you see and… They were banished. They were chased across the sacred lands of Hyrule and driven into another realm by the goddesses. It was another world entirely… The antithesis of Hyrule, where the sun shines bright. Its denizens became shadows that could not mingle with the light. Eventually, most came to call it the Twilight Realm, and from it, none could return to the world of light… They were forever doomed to live in the twilight, flitting in the half-light of dusk, mere shadows of Hyrule… This is the history of the Twili as it has been passed down from our ancestors…" she explained.

Link had to force himself to keep from laughing – not because of Midna's story but because their people was named the same as a family of snakes. He looked out over the desert and smiled softly when he saw Grimmjow.

"Do you understand what I am?" Midna asked. "I'm a descendant of the tribe that was banished to the Twilight Realm!" she growled.

Link reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Midna," he said softly, "I honestly don't care who your ancestors were. You are not them."

The imp looked up at him with a small smile playing on her lips. "It was a peaceful place… you know. Until Zant took control and transformed all of the Twili into shadow beasts. It's clear to me now that he somehow gained a great evil power previously unknown to our tribe… In any case, I was sent from there, and could no longer get into the Twilight Realm without his power," she told the blond.

Link nodded slowly taking the information in. "Then are all the shadow beasts we've killed so far transformed Twili?" he asked.

Midna nodded. "Yes but since we've only defeated them and not killed them there is no need to…" her eyes went wide. "You did kill some of them," she whispered. A hand flew up to cover her mouth. "Oh, no," she cried.

Link watched as the imp started crying. He knew why of course. The Twili were her people, her subjects. A warm hand landed on his shoulder. "What's going on?" Grimmjow asked.

Link turned to him and explained what he'd learned so far.

"So, we've been murdering her people then?" Grimmjow said. He received a nod and shrugged. "There is nothing we can do about that now but not kill the next ones we meet." He looked back out over the desert. "That place she talks about sounds a lot like Hueco Mundo to me," he pointed out.

"It could be the same world just different parts of it," Link said. He looked back at Midna. "The only thing Gurimujō and I can do now is promise you that we will not kill anymore of the shadow beasts," he told her. "We cannot change the past."

Midna dried her tears – angry at herself for showing such weakness in front off these two… Her eyes scanned over the blonde's face. 'Where did those markings come from?' she wondered. 'How long have they been there, and how come I haven't noticed them until now?' She gathered herself. There was still something she wished to tell him. Casting a glance at the brutish bluenet, she decided to just stick to Twi. "There is another tale told by my people… though the goddesses forbade us to return to the world of light, they left one link between the light and darkness. Something called Kage no Kagami was passed to the protectors of Hairuru… It's our only path to Kage no Sekai… and we must get there. You'll come with me… won't you?" she begged the blond with a pleading look in her eyes.

Link sighed. He smiled softly at her. "We'll both come with you and we'll kick Zanto's ass for you O.K." he said.

"Arigatou," Midna mumbled before disappearing down into Link's shadow.

"Allons, let's get going," Grimmjow said as he grabbed the blonde's hand. "You're so slow it will take us all night to get across this desert and I found something the imp should probably take back to where it belongs." He pulled Link along with him as he Sonído-ed. His blade was out and the moldorm dead before the blond even noticed it was there.

The bluenet pointed. "Looks familiar to you?" he asked.

Link sighed and smiled up at him. "Looks an awful lot like the missing piece of Eldin Bridge," he said.

Grimmjow nodded.

…

"So, do we go down the dark hole?" Grimmjow asked as he looked down the stairs that had been revealed when Midna lifted the large white rock out of the way.

Link scrunched his nose. "No we don't. We've got other things to do right now," he said. He looked out over the sand. There was a long way to go yet. Of course if Grimmjow kept using Sonído to get them there it wouldn't take them all that long. He laid eyes on a campfire in the distance. There were figures walking around it slowly and several structures of some sort as well. "We should go there next," he said and pointed to the fire. He turned when there was no answer. Grimmjow wasn't there.

The blond taped into his animal senses and sniffed around. The bluenet's scent disappeared down into the dark hole next to him. He sighed. 'Well, I'm not coming after you,' he thought. "I guess, I'll have to do this the hard way then," he mumbled as he jumped down from the mesa.

Rolling as he hit the loose sand, Link started making his way across the desert towards the coliseum looking building in the distance.

Blue eyes scanned the room. By now he knew that the rooms all looked the same whether there were torches ablaze in them or not. Faint lights hung from the ceiling. They were reddish in colour and seemed to pulse. Black shoed feet walked forward and jumped down. They landed on the ground below softly. A monster fell down towards had stone floor beside Grimmjow. He drew Pantera and cleaved it in two.

Another fell a bit further away.

"What the fuck," the bluenet hissed. He had faint burn on his hands from the fire that had spread from the slug-like creature. He stabbed the monster and looked up. There were another seven flecks of red hanging from the ceiling. He sighed. He could kill these weaklings just by raising his Reiatsu.

Seven thuds sounded as the slugs hit the floor around him.

The stone blocking his path to the next room rumbled as it fell out of his way.

The next room was just as dark as the one he'd left. He tilted his head. Last time he checked fire did not fly. He held a hand out and focused. The blonde's bow and arrow had gotten him thinking. Ceros were big and very visible compared to arrows. He wondered if it was possible to create a Cero that was smaller or invisible something that the enemy wouldn't even see coming. He rolled his Reiryoku between his fingers. Creating new attacks was almost impossible to do but then again the last time he'd tried he'd still been under Aizen's control. He gave up eventually and drew Pantera. 'Maybe, Link's got some ideas,' he thought as he cut the tail of a lizard. It was unusual for him to want to confide in someone else.

Four bats and another lizard later he was ready to proceed.

.

"Disgusting slime," Grimmjow growled. He sent off a Cero at the huge purple chuchu. The grand ball of energy impacted with the slime, pulsed and vanished as the purple mass grew. The bluenet blinked. "What the…?" he said astounded. He drew Pantera. Knowing that the blade would get the job done, he marched forward. The chuchu only lasted for a few more second.

.

"Gkrooooooaaaaashhh."

The scream cut through Grimmjow's body freezing his very bones momentarily. A blade fell towards his unguarded back.

An aura of blue caught the blade.

Grimmjow's Reiatsu flared and he could move once more. He turned towards the bandaged corpse and roared. Taking two quick steps forward, he pierced the mummy's body with Pantera. The sharp blade cut through the old bones and rotting flesh with ease. "Now how the hell did that happen?" Grimmjow hissed angrily. He strode up to another of the mummified warriors lying on the ground. He walked just close enough for the warrior to rise.

"Gkrooooooaaaaashhh."

This time the bluenet could feel the power that washed over him as the corpse screamed at him. He countered it with his Reiatsu and smirked at the mummy. He caught the blade as it came sailing towards him and crushed the sword with a flick of his wrist. This mummy fell as fast as the last one once Pantera cut through the dusty bandages.

'For enemies who could use a form of spiritual pressure they aren't very sophisticated,' Grimmjow though as the last mummy fell to his blade.

.

"For fucks sake die you stupid pile of bones!" Grimmjow roared. He must have cut the stupid thing down a dozen times by now. He froze. If the stupid thing wouldn't die then he could just vaporize it, right? A grin spread over the bluenet's face slowly. He raised his arm and a blue orb of energy started forming in his hand. He sent it off and watched as a dome of bright blue light spread out from the skeleton's body.

When the dome disappeared there wasn't even a trace of dust left from the dry bones.

"Tsk, that will teach ya," Grimmjow said.

.

He didn't have any other difficulties until he reached a room with five rotating statues. He'd learned quickly that if he walked up to close to one of them it would try to shoot him with a power beam. He was starting to lose his patience with them and was contemplating just blasting them to bits with a Cero, but he still wanted to create that small arrow Cero. If he could get that right then…

"Rawr!"

The statues were torn to bits.

Grimmjow was seriously contemplating going back up again because this place was starting to piss him off. He wanted to know what was at the bottom though. He knew he was going deeper. He had to be one the thirty-somethingth floor by now.

.

Grimmjow studied the two immobile armoured enemies before him. These two held power. "Maybe we've finally found something beside the blond brat that can work some rust from you Pantera," he said as he walked up to the black clad monsters. He danced out of one's sword's path and backflipped over the other's blade.

Hack, stab, jump, hack, he was slowly peeling the black armour off his enemies. Piece by piece fell to the ground with a loud clank.

A large maniacal grin had spread over the bluenet's face. He was enjoying himself. They weren't as difficult to deal with as an Arrancar, of any level, but two of them still gave him a bit of a challenge.

As the last of their armour came off, the two knights threw their big and clumsy blades aside together with their shields before drawing elegant long swords.

Grimmjow laughed crazily one of the knights bolted forward and tried to stab him. He grabbed the blade with one hand and lifted his entire body up so he could kick the guy in the head. He landed on the ground and moved Pantera to catch the blade that was aiming to cut his head off. He parried and struck. "Tsk, boring," he mumbled when the blade passed through the knights skull and it exploded in a cloud of smoke.

The other knight was dealt with rather quickly after that.

.

"Not a single fucking thing," Grimmjow said as he looked around the final room. The only thing there was that naked winged woman. She had tried speaking to him earlier but gibberish wasn't something he cared much about.

The woman tried to tell him something else. He glared at her and she shut up. "Better make it back to Link now," he muttered. This had been a bloody waste of time.

Link removed his bow from one of the pouches fastened to his belt. He pulled out the quiver as well and fastened it to his baldric. An arrow was removed and placed on the bowstring. The structures he'd seen earlier turned out to be wooden outlook towers. He could barely make out the bulblin's dark shape on top of the closest tower, but that didn't stop him from letting the arrow fly. The shape he'd seen fell from its tower and exploded in a dark cloud that was almost impossible to see in the night.

One of the bulblins cried out catching an other's attention. He pointed to where their comrade had fallen and ordered the others to go cheek it out. The King would not be happy with them if they let an intruder in to the main camp.

Link crouched down in the shadows. He watched as the bullbo came closer. Placing his hands on the cold sand beneath him, he focused his magic through his fingers.

Bright green eyes opened wide. They located the monsters. Strong legs carried the blond over the dunes quickly. On either side of him it looked like giant serpents were moving with him just beneath the sand. As he came closer to the mounted bulblins, he flicked his wrists. The sand that had been moving with him as he ran lifted from the dunes around it. Two big gaps opened wide. They crashed down on the green-skinned monsters and their steeds.

Smoke rose from the ground slowly as the sand coloured red from the bullbos' blood.

The bulblin paced back and forth on top off his tower. 'Where are they?' he wondered irritably. 'It can't possibly take that long to deal with an intruder, can it?' He turned to pace back as an arrow imbedded itself in his skull.

…

"Brrrr, it's cold out here at night," Link mumbled as he walked up to a set of sturdy wooden barricades. 'Well, obviously someone doesn't want company,' he thought as he touched one of the sharpened posts. A spark appeared by his fingertips. It danced there for a moment before the entire wooden structure in front of the blond caught fire. "Ahh, that's better," he hummed and held his hands out as the flames warmed his cold body. He looked up. The half-moon stood high in the sky above. He briefly wondered when Grimmjow would show up again. It had been several hours since they had parted ways now.

Once the fire had died down, Link stepped over what was left of the barricade. As he walked, the twisted laugh of a Poe reached his ears. He tensed slightly. Last time Grimmjow had dealt with this type of foe. He ducked as a scythe passed through the air where his head had just been. The scythe was swung once more, and he grabbed a hold of its snath. He smirked. When the bluenet had fought his Poe, it had left a strange pulsing purplish orb behind. The blond punched his hand straight through the ghost's body and grabbed that strange orb. He ripped it out. A blue shimmer in the air was all that was left.

…

Grimmjow landed on top of a broken arch. He looked around. Before him was a labyrinth of ruins. He could see several of those little disgusting green-skinned idiots hanging around the ruins. He blinked as one of the bulblins fell from its position on top of a tower. 'Looks like Link's having fun,' he noted.

A little while later the blond came running across an open area below. Grimmjow smirked. He Sonído-ed and landed right behind the teen. He caught a fist as it came flying towards his face. His smirk widened slightly. "You're getting faster," he said as he lowered the hand and pulled Link closer.

Bright green eyes looked up at him. "You scared me you moron," Link said. He moved closer to Grimmjow. "Don't do that," he said before wrapping his free arm around the bluenet's neck so he could pull himself up and kiss him gently. Grimmjow let go off his wrist, and the hand made its way to the back of the bluenet's head tangling in the soft hair there.

The kiss ended.

Link smiled at Grimmjow as he lowered himself back down resting his head against the bluenet's bare chest. There was no heartbeat. Not that it really bothered him. It did make him curious, but he could wait for answers. "So, did you have fun?" he asked. Warm arms settled around his waist.

Grimmjow shrugged. "If the monsters around here don't get more creative than that I don't know if I'll even bother fighting them," he said. "I think I got a collection of all the beasts represented in this world."

Link chuckled. His wandering hands settled on the bluenet's hips. He titled his face up and said, "So you're going to just watched me deal with the rest of them as we keep going then?" he asked humorously. "That doesn't sound like a very good way to treat your bitch."

Grimmjow ran a hand through the blonde's soft locks. He tightened his hold on the soft strands so that Link couldn't move his head. "So, you're finally admitting to being my bitch, hmm?" he said with a superior smirk.

The blond rolled his eyes. "Not really it's more of an I-can't-convince-you-otherwise-so-you-think-that-way kind of thing," he said. "I still won't actually be YOUR bitch until you've claimed me properly." He pulled away from Grimmjow slowly and the bluenet let him go. "We might as well clear this place out before morning comes. I'm tired," he said as he started walking. "At least now I don't have to sneak around anymore." He threw Grimmjow a bright smile.

The bluenet chuckled warmly. He followed the blond around a corner.

A screech floated through the air. It was cut off almost immediately as a cold silvery blade tore through the monster's body. "Tsk, weakling," Grimmjow mumbled.

The huge stone axe slammed straight into Link throwing him up against the one of the walls in the small building they just entered.

A growl cut through the air. "Don't you dare hurt my bitch," Grimmjow hissed at the bulblin king.

Slightly intelligent red eyes widened momentarily. This creature was not someone that should be trifled with. He looked over to the smaller one. Twice that human had defeated him and now this creature was protecting him. For the first time since he'd joined this war, King Bulblin wondered if he'd picked the winning side. He had a healthy amount of both fear and respect for the dark king, but next to these two his resolve wavered.

Grimmjow unsheathed Pantera. He could feel her bloodlust…his bloodlust. He avoided the axe as it came sailing towards him. He stepped to the side and his silvery blade glimmered with blood. A maniacal grin spread over his face as he avoided yet another blow from the big clumsy brute. It was a bit like fighting the Diez, Yammy Llargo. The attacks were slow, powerful but way to slow to have a chance at hitting him.

By a white brick wall green eyes opened as a hand made its way to a wound in the blonde's scalp. "Ouch," Link hissed. He healed his injuries and his vision cleared. He could see Grimmjow adding another cut to the big green-skinned monster that had knocked him out. "Bad bulblin," he whispered in Hylian. He could see that his blue-haired partner was enjoying this though. A small smile spread over his lips. "Grimmjow stop playing with him and kill him will you, I'm tired, I wanna sleep!" he whined but there was almost like a laugh clinging to the words. He started giggling as the king was brought to his knees.

Grimmjow raised his unoccupied hand. A small blue orb appeared. It grew slowly until it was the size of an apple, and then the bluenet fired it off at the monster. He Sonído-ed over to Link, picked him up, and kicked open the gate they had entered through.

Barricades blocked their path. There were at least half-a-dozen of them.

"Oh, my turn," Link exclaimed excitedly and clapped his hands. His feet hit the ground as he was let down. He smiled up at Grimmjow, stood up ion his tiptoes and gave the man a quick kiss. "Thank you," he said. He turned back to the barricade and placed his hands against the coarse wood.

Fire leaped out of his hands. It roared as it struck down on the planks and posts in its master's way.

Once the fire had died down the two fighters proceeded on their path. Before them twin pillars reached for the skies. The sandstone stairs were lined with broken and battered columns. A coliseum stood proud but the entrance looked more like it would lead to a crypt. The Triforce and wings sat above the dark opening.

The sun would rise soon.

Link yawned.