Chapter 54: Stand Together

*We have snow here in lovely Minnesota~! Last year we only got an inch but now we have over ten inches of the white stuff! Merry Christmas indeed.

About Bleach chapter 250... OH! MY! GOD! Nothing in this world makes sense anymore!

*Gin opens his eyes and blinks in surprise and shock* I knew there was something about Unohana. I mean there had to be a reason why the guys from the Eleventh were so scared of her.

Seirin: You know... in a way it kind of does. It makes sense and at the same time it doesn't.

Naoko: Sounds like what EmpressSaix feels after a day in her eastern philosophy class. EmpressSaix pull yourself together and stop spazzing out on us!

SasuTenLuvr, racism is bad. I am not racists, I swear. I don't give a damn about peoples' different nationalities and such. I can't speak for some of my characters though...

We have one more hurdle to go before we can really start tying up loose ends, which should start after this chapter. Colette isn't the type to fight on the front line like our dear Naoko, she's more of a behind the scenes person. But that doesn't mean she isn't a force to be reckoned with.

The Serene Dancer, thank you for the compliment about my fluff. Depending on the pairing it can be easy to write fluff or hard. I love how you think Colette is awesome, I'm really surprised about how many people like her. You'll see what I got planned for him later.

In this chapter I borrowed a concept from Avatar: The Last Airbender (which I do not own). You'll recognize it when you see it.

Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, the Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ayame, or Seirin. Only lots and lots of OCs.*


"So where are we headed?" Naoko asked or rather demanded.

"There is a large spacious underground room not too far from the cells where your Soul Reapers were held. I suggest taking the hidden side entrance located outside in the garden. Follow the narrow cobblestone path all the way to the end, there you'll find a large weeping willow tree.

"You should be still able to pry open the door on the front of the tree. After that follow the steps going down and the hallway. You can handle the rest, I'm sure." Colette explained as though she were giving instructions for a simple everyday task.

"This isn't another one of your traps is it?" Uryu asked, he would not be made a fool twice in one day.

Colette opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it and opened it again to speak, "I'll explain that later. Now you had better get going if you wish to apprehend my grandfather. I suggest you two bring reinforcements as a precaution."

The Quincy princess scoffed, "As if we need help bring down an old geezer."

She knew that was uncharacteristically callous and arrogant of her to say. But at the moment she was too angry to care and she only wanted to claw out Philip Martin's throat.

The Frenchwoman stared at her coldly passive and deadly serious, "He may be old but my grandfather is not one to be taken lightly. Doing so will result in a horrendous death. So do the smart thing and take the reinforcements. Treat him as though he is the deadliest creature you've ever encountered."

Colette and Naoko stared at each other after she said that. It was like watching a lioness and a wolf slowly circle each other while sizing each other up. Both were waiting for the other to give in.

It was Naoko who broke the predatory trance, "Fine, we'll take Zola and Min with us. I highly doubt Mary and Reginald are in any position to be causing trouble. But what about you? Are you coming with us?"

"I have a few things that require my attention, so I will not be joining you," she replied primly.

"Should we be worried about the things that are requiring your attention?" Naoko asked with narrowed suspicious eyes.

"No, if it'll make you feel any better I promise that you and I can sit down, have tea and talk this all out. But right now you need to catch my grandfather," Colette said a little tensely.

"Fair enough. Come on, Naoko we got to find Zola and Min and catch this bastard," Uryu broke in.

He and his sister departed the room leaving Colette alone. She relaxed a little; she played her part now it was up to everyone else to play theirs. Uryu and Naoko found Min and Zola easily.

"Zola, Min. We need you both to accompany us. It's urgent," the prince said as soon as he caught sight of the two women.

"What are we doing now?" Min asked.

"To catch the rat who's been giving us hell since we got here," the princess replied.

The foursome quickly traveled down the staircase and out the backdoor. The only cobblestone pathway there was overgrown with weeds and crabgrass but they could still follow it. Just as Colette promised the path lead them to a large weeping willow.

"Now if only we can find the door," Zola muttered as she ran her fingers over the bark. Naoko and Uryu had filled her and Min on what was going on as they made their way to Philip Martin.

"There!" The African princess exclaimed when her fingers found the doorway crack.

She snaked her fingers in as deep as she could and pulled hard, Uryu leant a hand and the two were able to open the ancient secret door. The group was hit with a blast of stale musty air. Behind the door a set of stone stairs descending down into the underground greeted them.

"Time to corner that filthy rodent of a man," Naoko growled as everyone filed in and down the steps and then the hall.

This dungeon hall was different from the one they traversed early in that there were long thin windows that allowed sunlight in to light the way. At the end of the stone hall was an old worn but thick wood and iron door. Acting as the leader Uryu grabbed hold of the rough iron doorknob and twisted it.

The door swung open easily despite its obvious age and wear. The group hesitatingly moved through and found themselves in an impossibly large cavernous room. It was all composed of stone but it looked both manmade and natural. The vaulted ceiling above made the room even larger, beautifully carved stone arches and pillars held the ceiling up.

The ceiling was covered in breathtaking art, carvings of gods, goddesses, mythological beasts and Quincies of legend. A vast gold baroque style chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, matching unlit torches sat uniformly on each pillar.

Once they tore their eyes from the ceiling they noticed the rest of the room. There was a level above them and a grand staircases that lead up to it. It looked like an abandoned ballroom. But then they noticed the walls were lined with barred jail cells.

This place was a giant prison.

"What the hell is this place?" Naoko said with a mixture of horror and fascination.

"It was a ballroom at one point in time."

The group turned to see Philip Martin looking stern yet cool at the top of the grand staircase. "But now it serves as a prison. A place for future prisoners of war."

"What would a ballroom be doing all the way out here? And why is it a prison now?" Uryu said darkly.

"The mansion has been built and rebuilt over the centuries. It used to extend all the way out here and beyond. This room is an example of Pompeii, something vast buried long ago and hidden from view. To answer your second question, I decided to turn this room into something useful.

"A soul synthesized silver laced room, no spiritual pressure in here can be felt from the outside," Martin answered. His voice would sound friendly and casual to the untrained ear but to the teens they could hear the deadly sharp edge.

"It's fitting that you chose a future prison for us to catch you in," Naoko growled.

"Catch me you say? No my dear, It is I who will be catching you all." The murderous elder slowly descended the stairs. He snapped his fingers and the door the teens had come through slammed shut on its own. "This prison will be getting its first inmates... pity you'll be dead."


'Yumichika, what is the matter with you? You need to relax and rest. Your wounds won't heal otherwise,' Kujaku said.

But the Soul Reaper found that he couldn't follow his sword's order. Something was wrong, he could feel it. Something was wrong with Naoko. She had left looking... troubled after listening to whatever it was that the servant had told her. Yumichika was too far away to hear what it was. Naoko merely told him she needed to leave but would be right back.

Almost fifteen minutes had passed but it felt more like hours. Each second that ticked by increased the anxiety in his heart a little more.

Something is wrong, very wrong. I can feel it. With a hardened resolve Yumichika yanked the blanket off his legs and swung them over the edge of the bed.

'What do you think you are doing?' Kujaku demanded. 'You need to rest. You're in no condition to be possibly jumping into a fight.'

'I can't explain it but something feels wrong. I have a strong feeling that Naoko is in trouble and she needs help.' Yumichika grabbed his sword and fixed it to his hip.

When he tried to put weight on his wrapped feet he stumbled and had to grab onto a chair to keep from hitting the ground. He straightened up and slowly walked to the door. Yumichika grit his teeth and ignored the pain of doing something as simple as walking.

He pulled the door open and saw Nemu standing right outside her room. Her sword was latched at her hip too.

"So you feel it too, don't you? That something's wrong?" Yumichika asked.

Nemu gave a curt nod. Before both could move out and seek their Quincy allies a familiar voice cried out.

"What the bloody hell happened to you two? !"

The Soul Reapers turned to see Oliver and Angelica standing down the hall. Oliver looked pale and wide eyed and Angelica was blinking curiously at them.

"It's a long story Twitterson. But right now we need to find Naoko and Uryu, we think they might be in trouble," Yumichika explained quickly.

The russet haired British man snapped out of his pale stupor when he heard that some of his friends might be in trouble. "Do you know where they are?"

Yumichika thought about that for a moment. He had no clue as to where they were exactly but... there was something in his heart, his instincts, that was pulling him in a certain direction. It seemed his heart knew the way and he was going to follow.

He stole a glance at Nemu. The look on her face told him she felt the same thing he did. The feeling that their hearts were tugging them in a certain direction like excited bloodhounds that had caught a scent.

"I don't know exactly where but I have a strong feeling where they might be," he said slowly. It sounded crazy when he said it out loud but it was the truth.

Oliver and Angelica exchanged looks and then Oliver said, "Better than nothing, let's go."


Naoko took a small step back, "What do you mean dead?"

"Exactly what I said, my dear. I won't waste my time and resources imprisoning you when I can easily kill you four and leave your bodies where no one will ever find them," The well dressed man finally reached the bottom of the steps.

His hands were tucked behind his back, shoulders back and back straight. In his pressed casual suit he looked like a harmless well-to-do gentleman. Too bad he wasn't what he looked... but then again no one ever was.

Philip raised a withered hand and looked like he was about to summon a bow. Uryu quickly stepped in front of Naoko, Zola and Min to offer some protection. But instead of summoning a bow Philip waved his hand as though swatting away a fly, which the teens may as well have been. Uryu was suddenly thrown back and with much force against a nearby stone pillar.

"Brother!" Naoko cried before she tried to run to him.

But she couldn't and she only had a second to be puzzled because a second later she and the two girls were writhing on the ground. Naoko was clawing at her throat, fighting to breathe. Zola was struggling to keep her limbs from being twisted and bent in ways they were never meant to. Min was fighting to keep her spine from being snapped from being bent so harshly.

What... the hell is... happening? ! Naoko thought with panic.

She had never felt this way before. It was beyond terrifying, being unable to draw in a simple breath and losing control of her twisting limbs. She could only watch in helpless panic as Philip Martin ideally strolled over to her brother who sat slumped up against the pillar.

Uryu's head was pounding, his ears ringing and the breath been knocked out of him. He was a few seconds too late in regaining his senses when the older man tightly seized his throat and hoisted the prince up off the ground and against the pillar. For an old man Philip had an iron strong grip and it was getting tighter around Uryu's throat.

"Never send children to do an adult's job. I thought I could count on my grandchildren getting rid of you and your pesky sister but I was wrong. It's time for you to be dethroned Prince Uryu. Tell me, do you know the name of the clan that devised the technique of stripping a Quincy of their powers?" Martin asked.

Uryu searched his memory for the name of the clan but couldn't find it. All he could remember reading was that the technique was developed by some old clan in England. Old English clan... His blue eyes widen in horror and realization.

"Yours..." he rasped.

The older man smiled darkly, "That's right. Long ago, my clan devised a way to remove someone's powers instead of restoring them like other clans have tried to perfect. It was a perfect way to keep people in line and make the disobedient ones an example to the others. We would strip them of their powers and throw them at the feet of a pack of hungry Hollows.

"My clan was the most powerful and the most feared in not only England but all of Europe. We were so close in usurping the current monarchy but my family slipped up at the last moment. We fell from grace but not nearly as bad as your ancestral clan, the Ishidas. Now my clan has the chance to claim our right to rule over everyone... even those despicable Soul Reapers.

"And once I strip you of your powers and give them to Reginald to replace what you took. He will not only become a great king but a great general leading the army that will enslave hose bastards that dare call themselves gods."

Uryu tried desperately to get his arms to move or at least try and wriggle out of this man's grip but he couldn't. No part of him would respond. Damn it, why can't I move?

That dark smile Martin was wearing seemed to grow a little more. "I see you've noticed your lack of ability to move. It's another handy technique my clan invented called Imperium. It's an old Latin word that means 'complete control'.

"I don't know how well versed you are in a Quincy's anatomy but there are veins of reishi inside of us that run parallel to our actual veins. Quincies are masters at manipulating and controlling reishi. Now I'm sure that little brain of yours can put two and two together."

Uryu's panic rose even higher when he did put it all together. By being able to control the reishi inside a person Philip Martin could control that person. He could bend their limbs and bodies without the consent of the person he was controlling. Or worse... he could do fatal internal damage.

The old man lifted his hand, his fingers hovering just an inch from Uryu's chest. "Now it's time for you to say not only goodbye to your powers but your life as well—"

"Get away from my boyfriend! Hadō 4, Byakurai!"

A streak of pale blue lightening shot towards the older man but he jumped away before it could hit him. Uryu fell to the floor gasping and massaging his bruised throat. Nemu ran up to Uryu and threw her arms around him before looking him over.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you or doing anything, did he?" She asked.

The prince shook his head, "Boyfriend huh?"

The two broke out in shaky laughs before hugging each other again. Yumichika found Naoko and helped her sit up while Oliver and Angelica tended to Zola and Min.

"How... How did you find us?" Naoko asked once she could breathe without coughing.

"I know it sounds crazy and maybe even cliché but I followed my heart and it lead me to you," the Soul Reaper admitted.

The princess blinked at him. Compared to some of the things she had seen, done and heard, that was not crazy. In fact it made sense when she remembered what Rui'iro Kujaku told her.

"You know soul mates possess a link that is virtually unbreakable."

Maybe that peacock zanpakutuo wasn't talking crazy after all.

"I've heard crazier. I'm glad you're here," she reassured him.

"So what the bloody hell happened? Did we kill the crazy bloke?" Oliver asked as he slightly supported Zola.

"Not quite."

The dust and smoke settled to reveal Martin standing upright, unscathed. He dusted his shoulder off with a mild look of annoyance. Everyone took offensive potions, the Soul Reapers pulled their swords out and the Quincies readied themselves to summon their bows or run. Martin's abilities were terrifying and if he could control them from the inside...

No wonder Colette told us to only go after him if we had backup. She wasn't kidding when she said this guy wasn't to be taken lightly, Naoko thought with a silent gulp.

Martin's eyes slithered from one end of the group to the other. His eyes narrowed in disgust at the sight of the Soul Reapers prepared to fight. This wasn't going according to plan and he may have to abandon said plan for the moment. But if I do that then Reginald may never have a chance to have his powers restored and I cannot allow that to happen. I cannot allow our people to be denied their rightful king!

"Things have become a little too crowded for my tastes and I fear we may have to cut this engagement short," he said smoothly.

"Don't you dare think we're going to let you run away!" Uryu barked.

"I prefer to think of it as a temporary retreat," Philip countered.

"That's not going to happen. Split and devi—" Yumichika was about to call out his sword when someone's hand stopped him.

He looked to see Naoko's hand wrapped around his on the hilt of his sword. His lilac eyes caught the determined look of her sapphire eyes.

"It's time we started fighting side by side. We fight, we fight together," her fingers tightened softly around his. He gave her a firm nod.

In unison a Soul Reaper and Quincy cried out, "Split and deviate, Rui'iro Kujaku!"


*And we leave off on a nice little cliffhanger.

About the reishi veins inside Quincies, I know they take in power from outside around them and Soul Reapers draw power from inside their souls. But I figured there had to be some reishi inside a Quincy for their powers to work and ability to manipulate reishi to begin with.

If you didn't catch it I borrowed the idea of bending the reishi inside someone from the idea of bloodbending from Avatar: The Last Airbender (which I again don't own).

Philip wanted Uryu's powers so he could give them to Reginald before the irreversibleness of not ever having his powers restored sets in. Taking one person's powers and installing them into another is the equivalent of an organ transplant. And like with any transplant there runs the risk of the body rejecting the donor's organ and causing serious complications even death. You get the idea of what could've (or might still) happened.

Ayame: Wow, you've really thought this through haven't you?

Me: Yes, because I know there are nitpicky people out there and I want to get the details right. Though I'm sure I missed something. I hope you appreciated this long chapter and wish me luck on my finals on Monday in your reviews*