The bars pressed into Ichigo's back. He kept his eyes fixed on the wall before him, but it didn't stop him hearing the sounds that escaped the cell behind him. It seemed Bambietta wasn't ready to kill Grimmjow just yet. Her men had been going at it for quite some time now. Ichigo didn't want to know what they were doing to him to make him make those noises. He couldn't see anything from where he sat as they had pulled Grimmjow farther inside his cell. Still, he wouldn't have looked if he could.

When it was finally done, he heard her approach him. He never turned, but she leaned down low, so her voice was just in his ear.

"Buzzbee hasn't left his room since last night. I guess he's really having a good time with your girlfriend."

Ichigo whole body tensed, but he said nothing. Bambietta walked away. He listened to the sounds of Grimmjow trying to breathe and not cry. By the sounds of it, he was failing.

Finally Ichigo found it in him to stand. It was about all he could do these days. The constant drain on his soul was destroying his body. He could barely cross his cell without collapsing. But he had to see now.

He turned and braced himself with the bars. He could see just a foot and a trail of blood.

"Grimmjow."
Nothing. Ichigo could still hear his breathing so he knew he wasn't dead, though the espada probably wished he was.

He waited a long time, listening to strained breathing, wondering if it might come to a sudden end. For all he knew, Bambietta had left the espada too wounded to survive.

He started to call out again when the door far down the end of the hall opened.

It was just one. He could see her long blonde hair and knew with relief it wasn't Bambietta—but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be another torturer. If Ichigo had the energy—or not been past the point of caring—he would have blushed at the cut of her uniform. It looked more like a role-play costume than an actual Vandenreich uniform, but there was no mistaking the waft of power that came from her.

Then, as she got nearer, he went rigid. It was her—the one who'd chased him down in the rukon district—dragged him back here. His hands clenched over the bars but he didn't speak yet.

Candice stopped at Grimmjow's cell. Her eyes darted up to Ichigo for just a second then returned to the body beyond the bars.

"You still alive?"

"…unfortunately."

"Well, buck up espada, now ain't the time for sleeping." She put a hand on her hip but turned away from him. "Yo girl, it's clear!"

The far door hadn't quite shut but Ichigo hadn't noticed the figure hovering there. Now she stepped over the threshold.

Ichigo's breath caught. Her hair was pulled back. She wore a white uniform—less revealing than Candice's—but there was no mistaking who it was.

"Orihime!"

"Shut up!" Candice held a hand out toward him without looking at him. "Don't say another thing." She then turned to Orihime. "And you, don't let him distract you." She drew a key from under the belt of her uniform and stuck it in Grimmjow's lock, throwing open the door. "Him first."

"Alright." Ichigo watched Orihime's face distort as she saw Grimmjow's body. But she said nothing, stepping inside. A second later, golden light bathed the dark walls.

Ichigo waited, frozen in anticipation. He wanted to scream out Orihime's name, or to call the Vandenreich woman over and find out what was going on, but he felt the urgency to be quiet, to wait and be told what to do.

He heard coughing, then Candice, who'd been hovering in the doorway knelt down just out of sight.

Orihime emerged again. Ichigo could hear the woman talking to Grimmjow but he didn't make out their words as he beheld the young woman before him.

"Orihime…"

What could he say? What words in the universe could express his sorrow for what had happened to her?

"I reject."

He stumbled back from the strike of power against his bars. After all he'd done to try to make them yield to his will, they split under hers in seconds.

She really was one of the most powerful people in this universe.

"Ichigo." Her arms were around him before he'd even fully understood that she'd freed him. She stood holding him when it should be him holding her. His hands closed lightly over her back, remembering the scars laid in her flesh the day earlier.

"I'm fine," she whispered into his ear. "I healed myself."

"Orihime

"I said I'm fine." She drew back, still holding his arms but staring up into his face. His breath caught—her eyes were fierce—not dulled by pain and horror, or struck by sorrow. "Candice and I…we took care of Buzzbee."

"What? What are you saying?"

"Hey, lovers, get a move on!"

Ichigo's head snapped up. Candice was staring at them with her hands folded under her chest. "We've got one shot at this, so you better not fuck it up for me."

Ichigo kept a restraining hand on Orihime. "What's going on here?"

"No time to explain kid, all you need to know is I'm your way out."

"Why are you helping us?"

"I've decided I'm done with these assholes. Busting you out will hurt 'em big time."

"I don't believe you. You have to have a better reason than that for turning on your own people."

"Trust her," Grimmjow stepped out of the shadow of his cell, eyes glinting with the same look that had been in them the day he'd made the deal, "she has her reasons."

"You trust her, Grimmjow?"

"Yeah."

"Orihime?"

"She saved me yesterday."

Ichigo eyed the woman again. "Fine. Where's Zangetsu?"

"With the King so don't go getting any ideas of getting back your soul. I'm giving you your life: that should be plenty. Now then, Grimmjow, make sure Kurosaki doesn't face plant. Inoue and I will take it from here."

Orihime gave a nod. She stepped away. Already Ichigo felt unsteady without her at his side.

"Grimmjow," Candice snapped.

"Fine." He still looked shaky himself, but he obeyed, moving over to Ichigo. He looped Ichigo's arm over his shoulder and kept the hold snug with his other hand around his waist.

"Good. Now try to keep up, boys."

That was exactly what they had to do, in their perilous flight from the bowels of the Vandenreich prison. Ichigo at once wondered where all the guards could be—he hadn't seen many but he'd always imagined they were just beyond the doors.

He glance at Orihime's back. Had she and Candice taken care of them on the way down here? Surely Orihime wouldn't kill anyone.

Or maybe, after all that had happened, she would.

Ichigo shook the thoughts from his head. It didn't matter now. He had to concentrate on keeping up with their swift pace.

"Back," Candice hissed. Ichigo's shoulder slammed into the wall when Grimmjow shoved them back. They waited, breathless, then Candice gave a motion that told them they could continue, but quietly.

Ichigo felt the swell of power on the fringe of his consciousness. It wasn't from one person, but many. He looked around—not having had the tour of the Vandenreich homeworld Grimmjow and Orihime had gotten in their stay here. He knew by the power they must be passing by a well populated area, he just wondered where it could be.

But though he glimpsed the ivory splendour at the ends of long hallways, Candice never took them that way. She kept them off the main path, taking every service corridor, every back door possible.

Finally she stopped them in a room that was sweltering hot and full of pipes and gauges.

Grimmjow set Ichigo down and let him catch his breath. Orihime dropped to his side at once but Ichigo watched Grimmjow take hold of Candice's arm and draw her to one side.

"What's the plan?"

"Seireitei."

"You serious?"

"What? You got a better plan? You and I got nowhere else in this damn world we can go. Least we know we can make it in the rukongai."

"Fine, but how do we get there?"

"The same way we first attacked."

Grimmjow looked between her and Ichigo. He hadn't been there to witness the shocking revelation that the Vandenreich Homeworld had existed in the shadow of the Seireitei all this time. "Wait," Ichigo protested. "I thought only Bach could do that."

"If we wanted to merge our city back onto that hill, sure. But I can manage four people."

"What the fuck?" Grimmjow still wasn't catching on.

"Shut up, darling." Candice placed a finger on his lips. He scowled but she went on. "We aren't so much in a different world as we are in a shadow dimension, just a hair's breadth away from the Seireitei. But we can't just go merging spots willy-nilly. There's a system—well, a location, were we can more conveniently travel back and forth."

"Where?"

"Up." She turned her eyes to the pipe-riddled ceiling. "All the way up, to the top of this building. It's where they guard the passage linking here to Sereitei. It will take us into the sky above the city."

"You mean what used to be the city."

"Yes."

"Fine then what the hell are we doing down here?" Grimmjow urged.

"Getting ready. Once we leave this room, we can't stop, not for anything. Sorry kids, but I'm not pulling any noble shit. You get behind then you get left behind."

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

"We take the servant's stair. It doesn't go all the way up to the top, so we'll have to cut back into the main hall. My betrayal isn't known yet, but it will be as soon as you three are seen with me. Then we break for the gates."

"You said they're guarded?"

"We'll unguard them when we get there," she smiled.

Orihime gave Ichigo a nervous glance. He squeezed her hand and whispered, "We have to do whatever it takes."

"..Okay."

"Alright, we ready?" Candice clapped her hands together. She was all bravado but Grimmjow could see the nervousness in her. "Boys in back." Orihime once again moved up with her. Grimmjow got Ichigo on his feet.

"Here we go," he muttered to the teen. Ichigo looked sideways at him, reading the tension in his jawline. Grimmjow knew their chances of success were slim.

"Grimmjow."

"Yeah?"

"For what it's worth, thanks."

"We had a deal," he simply said. "Now shut up and don't slow down."

They moved, fast and quiet. When the hit the stairs, Ichigo felt faint. He could barely keep pace with them while they were on even ground, now he was dragging his feet and tripping them up.

"Dammit." Grimmjow halted and dipped his knees. Ichigo realized what he was doing only when he was slung over Grimmjow's shoulder. It was terribly uncomfortable but he couldn't complain in the situation. Candice stopped long enough to ask Grimmjow if he could manage.

"Just keep moving," he grunted back and she didn't hesitate further.

It took the better part of an hour for them to hit the top of the stairs. In all that time, they never met another soul. Luck was with them—for now anyway. Everyone but Candice was panting by the time they were at the top. Grimmjow had slowed down considerably and they took a moment for him to catch his breath while Orihime held Ichigo.

"This place is massive," Ichigo muttered, staring back down the winding stair case. It reminded him so much of Las Noches and how impossibly large it had seemed. "How close are we to the main stair case?"

"Six corridors."

"And then how much farther up to the top?"

"Just keep going. It's one giant staircase to the top—easiest way to get a shit ton a troops through, if need be."

"Great, we'll be moving targets, then," Grimmjow muttered.

"We will, so just make sure you keep moving."

With that, they got themselves ready again. Grimmjow let Ichigo try his feet again. If the teen could manage to run at least some, that would ease his burden.

They left.

They made it about a hundred meters before they first encountered trouble.

"I reject!" Grimmjow and Ichigo were blinded for a moment by the shield that suddenly appeared before them. When it was gone again just a second later, the threat had already been eliminated by Candice.

Ichigo caught the tremble in Orihime's hand. She had protected them but now a servant lay dead at her feet.

"Keep moving!" Candice gave her a shove and they were off again but the further they went the more trouble they faced and soon it seemed impossible that they would even make it to the stair case.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo hollered when he saw an attack coming their way. A blue arrow cut through the air just as Grimmjow pulled them down. When they looked up, they saw not just one but several soldiers.

"Stern Ritter E, what is the meaning of this?" They called.

"You three keep going," Candice ordered.

"You said no noble shit," Grimmjow argued.

"It ain't noble you're fuckin' slowing me down. Get a head start up those stairs."

"Fine." Grimmjow dipped his shoulder and hoisted Ichigo up again. "Move, girl," he ordered Orihime and they ran just as Candice's power erupted all around them.

They hit the stairs. Like Candice said, it was one, broad and open staircase all the way straight to the top. Servants were cluing in to the fact that something was wrong but no one attacked them just yet. Ahead of them Orihime began to slow down.

"What's wrong?" Grimmjow asked.

"The power…" she looked at him. "Why isn't it affecting you?"

He felt the weight of spiritual energy coming from the battle behind them but it wasn't enough to slow him so it certainly shouldn't affect her since she had her powers.

"Just don't stop." Grimmjow caught her wrist and pushed them forward but ahead of them he could see the movement. Soldiers had gotten the call and were moving down the stairs to meet them. He pulled her to stop.

"What do we do?"

"They can't kill Ichigo," Grimmjow breathed. "Get behind us."
But Orihime stood her ground as blue arrows and other weapons took aim.

"I reject."

Blue shattered against gold. Grimmjow and Ichigo stood in awe of the dazzling display of light and power that came from the young girl before them.

Then they heard the cry at their back.

"RUN YOU IDIOTS!"

Grimmjow spun. He saw Candice, half way up the stairs to meet them, but ahead of her was another.

"No…"

"Yes." Bambietta grinned wide. "Pathetic hollow. Let go of Kurosaki." She pulled out her blade. "Or I'll make you."

"Fuck."

They couldn't run. Orihime was stuck at their back, defending them from one side while Bambietta came at them from the front. She swung straight at Grimmjow's neck.

Sword met flesh with a sickening, wet impact. Blood splashed down on the floor. But Grimmjow still stood.

"Impossible." Bambietta yanked her sword back from the hand that had stopped it. Grimmjow too, looked amazed that his bare palm—though cut—had stopped her blade. Ichigo remembered how he'd done the same with Zangetsu a long time ago, and he recalled not being able to cut Zaraki when they first met. Both times was because of their superior spiritual pressure.

"It's back," Ichigo breathed. The way he was supported he could see the unmarked flesh at Grimmjow's neck. He recalled how long it had taken for himself to regain his full powers after Purgatory. Now he realized it must have been the same for Girmmjow after Orihime removed the seal. Unbeknownst to them all, the espada had been slowly regaining his power all this time.

Grimmjow grinned and flicked the blood from his palm.

"Let's do this, bitch."

"Grimmjow, you fool." Candice was running to meet them. "Get the fuck away from her!"

He didn't have time. Bambietta was smiling, abandoning her sword for raw power. The ground around them shook, Orihime's shield faltered and a wave of deadly blue washed over them. Ichigo felt his back cut open. He didn't have spiritual pressure to protect him. In fact, he felt the strain on his soul become too much and everything around him began to grow faint.

"Shit." Another arrow cut through Ichigo's calf. Grimmjow dropped with him to the ground and held up his hand, trying to form a cero that could counter the attack but he wasn't strong enough yet. Meanwhile Bambietta had her fist drawn back, and orange glow forming in it. They were dead.

"Bitch!" Candice connected with Bambietta at the moment of release.

Both women screamed.

The golden shield dissolved.

And the world turned to thunder and ash.

Our poor heroes! Thanks so much for your reviews, I always love to read feedback!

Riza