Chapter Twenty-Five

Edward frowned, pushing Erina's healing hands away from his new Black-Hollow-claw scratches as he rose.

"Do you recognize that third reiatsu?" he asked, and the others looked at him in confusion.

"No...?"

Herald and Steve were easy to recognize, coming closer with the heavy darkness of the Black Hollow following – or chasing – them... but there was something new, too.

"It's not Shinigami... or Arrancar?" Edward didn't like the feel of this. Something about that reiatsu made his spine prickle, and he loosened his Zanpakuto in its sheath. "Get ready for trouble."

The fight aboveground had been distant, too far away for Edward to figure out any details from the reiatsu alone, but he had thought that unfamiliar reiatsu was one of the enemies. Now Ryohime's reiatsu was gone, and the stranger was coming back with the Division lieutenants... were they bringing prisoners?

If it had been a Shinigami reiatsu, or even Arrancar, it would have been less troubling. As it was, Edward was not feeling very friendly towards unknown elements, especially with this whole war thing going on.

His wariness saved him. There was a green flicker, and suddenly a red-cloaked man was standing on the sandy floor, a sword in hand. Edward's instincts kicked in before his brain and he flung himself backwards as the sword flashed towards him, the tip slicing mere inches from his flesh.

"Enemy!" Edward yelled as he jumped back nimbly, then released his Zanpakuto. This new opponent was fast, he would need every feline instinct available.

Yylfordt, following his master's lead, released his Zanpakuto, though he kept his distance for now. Edward had been instinctively wary of this newcomer, which (to Yylfordt) meant it was someone to take seriously. Erina leapted backwards, getting in front of Kitsune like a human shield.

She didn't back up far enough. Edward and Yylfordt jumped to intercept him as this new enemy lunged at her, but he was too fast. Erina gasped in shock as the sword slashed across her throat.

Edward roared wordlessly, pouncing on the stranger's back with all claws outstretched. The two tumbled sideways, the enemy's sword lost in the sudden jumble of red cloth and black fur. Kitsune immediately leapt for Erina, the telltale glow of healing kido already flickering into existence around his hands... but Erina was getting up when he reached her, apparently completely unharmed.

"What are you doing, Edward?!" she yelled, alarmed. "That's not an enemy!"

Edward ignored her. His ears twitched, and he shot her one sidelong look as if to say, "Good, you're alive," before going back to snapping his fangs at this new enemy's throat.

"What's wrong with Edward?" asked Steve, looking alarmed, as he and Herald dropped down through the trapdoor, the Black Hollow still struggling against his ensnaring release. "Why's he attacking Sanseki?"

"I don't know!" Erina exclaimed anxiously. "He just jumped him all of a sudden."

"This man attacked first," protested Kitsune, drawing a knife from his belt. He glanced at Yylfordt for support.

"Who's Sanseki?" he asked tensely, impatiently flicking the tip of his whip in the sand. He looked about to jump in to help Edward, but found himself unexpectedly blocked by Herald.

"Alright, this is getting irritating! Everyone, stop fighting, we need to figure this out."

"There is nothing to figure out!" insisted Yylfordt, lashing his whip in the air angrily. The sharp crack emphasized his annoyance. "That's one of Caro's men, right? And he came down here and tried to kill Erina. Why are you defending him?"

Steve got between him and the two battling figures, stretching out his free hand warningly. "Don't you start too, Yylfordt. I don't want to have to fight either you or Edward, but if you keep insisting on this nonsensical battle I'll have to step in!"

"Steve, pay attention!" yelped Herald, but it was too late. The Black Hollow broke free and leapt right into the middle of them all, roaring in rage. His tail lashed out, catching Herald and knocking him back violently into a boulder.

Yylfordt steeled himself. "I'm sorry, brother," he muttered, then lunged forward while Steve was distracted, his whip cracking. Steve cried out in surprise as Yylfordt's whip snapped around his outstretched arm, yanking him off balance and ruining his attempted puppeteering.

Everything quickly dissolved into chaos, but Edward didn't even notice. He was entirely focused on the man beneath him, the person who had almost killed Erina. They wrestled around in the sand, Edward trying to get a fatal grip around the man's throat, his opponent trying to throw Edward free and reach his sword.

That sword...

The fur along Edward's spine was bristled. He knew that if the enemy got a hold of that sword again things would turn very quickly. Something about it terrified him, especially considering a blow that should have killed Erina had seemed to do nothing at all.

What kind of sword doesn't cut?

It seemed to him that, if it didn't cut, it had to be capable of something much worse then simply killing. And the thought of that made his black-furred tail poof up.

He snarled, snapping his teeth. The man had one hand at his throat, desperately pushing to keep his fangs out of reach and making it hard for Edward to breath. Edward flexed his claws, drawing a hiss from his opponent as they dug further into his shoulder and side.

Something suddenly hit Edward from the side, and he yelped in pain as he was knocked over. Yellow Bakudo chains climbed swiftly around him, tying his hind legs together and wrapping around his jaws like a muzzle. He balked, trying to free himself, when he saw Erina standing some distance away, hands outstretched as she chanted the follow-up to the Bakudo she had just cast.

Erina?! Why...?

His opponent was getting up, limping towards his sword. For the first time Edward noticed the fighting everywhere else. Steve against Yylfordt, Herald against the Black Hollow against Kitsune... and Erina, standing there passively, her Bakudo holding Edward down as the enemy retrieved his weapon!

What's wrong with everyone?!

With as much of a roar as his chained jaws allowed, Edward surged forward, snapping through the Bakudo that had held his legs. The enemy was running towards the battle between Steve and Yylfordt, and from the looks of things it would be a two-on-one fight if he got there. Erina was shouting something, but Edward found he could hardly understand her. He was acting on old, deep instincts now, tempered by his humanity but still strong enough to fully engulf his identity.

His inner Grimmjow had reached its strongest. He leapt, slamming into his opponent's back, his claws digging into his shoulders to keep him in place while his hind claws racked at the man's vulnerable back. They fell to the ground again, Edward again on top, but this time there was no hand to hold back his teeth. He lunged for the back of the man's neck... then every muscle in his body tensed and he jerked to a stop.

His eyes flicked up. First Erina, now his own brother? Edward's teeth bared in a snarl, and even though he couldn't force himself to move against Steve's invisible strings, he could still dig his claws into the man's back. If Edward was to be dragged off his victim, he'd take half the man's skin with him.

Steve and Edward locked gazes, trapped in a stalemate. Yylfordt was trapped by Steve's other hand, and Kitsune was now dueling Erina. It seemed the only thing keeping Herald from joining the fray on the wrong side was the raging Black Hollow, who was doing a fine job of keeping him and Lilynette on their toes.

For a moment, though, everything seemed very still and quiet to Edward. He met Steve's eyes defiantly, then, fighting the hold with all his might, grated out a single sentence with his inhuman voice.

"Do you no longer trust me?"

Beneath his tightening claws his enemy also cried out in pain, hissing lies through his gritted teeth. Edward saw a flash of conflict in Steve's eyes... then felt the tug of Steve's puppet strings.

Abruptly, unwillingly, Edward was forced to retreat, though his claws tore long gashes in his enemy's back as he backed away. His opponent gasped in pain and lay still for a moment. But then, of course, he reached out and grasped the hilt of his sword.

Edward fought against Steve's grasp, ignoring the enemy. He stared at Steve, eyes burning with anger and betrayal. Steve wouldn't meet his gaze, he was talking with the enemy and looking everywhere but at his brother.

A sense of failure descended over Edward as the enemy approached him, that frightening sword held almost casually at his side.

Steve fought for him, he thought, his Hollow side retreating slowly as his adrenaline faded. Steve trusts him over me.

From somewhere high, high above, a familiar sword fell like a comet towards them.