Disclaimer: Bambietta Basterbine and all related characters belong to Shueisha.

Sternritter E, Bambietta Basterbine, was unsure of just why Yhwach had assembled his incomplete army of sternritter to his throne room but she was willing to wait for His Majesty's explanation. However, it took a considerable amount of effort on the quincy's part to keep her pent up emotions in check. To snap, to criticize the Wandenreich's ruler for interrupting her own time would be tantamount to suicide, both professionally and literally.

Then did Yhwach's commanding tone suddenly issue forth, catching the attention of Bambietta and the others who called the Wandenreich their family. "My beloved quincy, today is a momentous occasion. Some of you have been by my side for a thousand years, your faith in me tested as I recovered my strength. Others are new to our fold as I have been gathering our forces for the express purpose of bringing an end to the age of the shinigami. Now we are one step closer to our goal. For today I bring into our ranks Sternritter Z."

"Z?" Candice Catnipp giggled as she moved up beside Bambietta. "What, we're going to have to work with the Zookeeper now?"

"Personally I'd be all for the Zigzag!" Meninas McAllon offered up, her voice as peppy as usual. "No one would be able to hit them from a distance on the field of battle! No one!"

Liltotto Lamperd was the next to bring forth an opinion, soft spoken as ever. "I'd personally be cool with the Zebra. I don't know what the power would be but those are the best animals, you know? They probably taste great."

"As your leader I advise you all to kindly shut up," Bambietta said under her breath. "For your own good of course."

"Is their dissent among the ranks?"

Bambietta and her friends all froze on the spot, Yhwach's overbearing gaze settling on them.

"No sir!" Bambietta gasped out, her tone clearly in a panic. "We were just happy to hear that a new member of the Wandenreich is going to be introduced to us!"

"You will be most pleased to meet her then." Yhwach glanced over his shoulder. "Please introduce yourself, Giselle Gewelle."

"I don't want to!" a voice squeaked out from behind the emperor. "They're all going be cruel to me! Just like so many others!"

Yhwach sighed, an uncommon sight for those under his command. A quincy that overstepped his or her bounds he knew how to punish easily. A young lady scared out of her mind, however, was a whole different matter.

"Sternritter Z is a girl?" Bambietta knew what she had to do then, her self-imposed responsibility clear to her. "Your Majesty, if I may?"

Yhwach looked at the sternritter and nodded his head in approval.

His Majesty's acceptance of what was to come, Bambietta walked forward and stepped around him. It was then that she came face to face with a rather frail and short teenage girl, one that was perhaps a little younger than Bambietta herself. Giselle's long hair framed a pale face, one that was quite timid and possessing eyes that were both pleading and terrified. Bambietta began to reach out to her when the young girl backed away, trying to hide behind Yhwach no matter what it took.

"Oh no, you so do not question His Majesty's orders!" Bambietta grabbed hold of Giselle's wrist and pulled her out from behind the tall emperor. In response did Giselle shiver on the spot, pulling away from Bambietta. She began to sniffle then, tears welling up underneath her eyes as she felt herself become the center of everyone's attention.

"Now look what you did, you dumbass," Liltotto said with a sigh. "You just had to go and make her cry."

"Hey!" Bambietta shouted, ignoring Liltotto and focusing exclusively on Giselle. "No sternritter is going to be blubbering on my watch!"

"I knew it," Giselle whimpered. "You're a big meanie, just like everyone else was."

"Was?" Bambietta was caught off guard by the usage of the past tense and looked towards her emperor for guidance.

"When I found this quincy in the world of the living, she was being assaulted by those around her," Yhwach explained simply. "Children can be so cruel, hurting those that are different from them. No doubt their actions were not a new occurrence."

"And?"

"I could not let a quincy suffer further or perhaps die," Yhwach continued, "so I butchered those monsters myself."

That had hardly been what Bambietta had been expecting to hear, but it did not seem like it was out of the question for His Majesty. Yhwach was nothing if not brutal in his simplicity. Nonetheless, Bambietta felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Fantastic, Your Majesty." Trying to ignore the justice dealt out by her veritable god, his sadistic streak more than a match for her own, Bambietta turned her attention back to the sobbing Sternritter Z and smiled slightly herself. Not one born out of a twisted satisfaction but of an attempt at comfort.

"Look, I'm sorry for being cranky, Giselle," she said, trying to be as nice as she possibly could. "It's just that, being the de facto leader of all the sternritter ladies-"

"That hasn't been officially determined yet!"

Bambietta ignored Candice and continued to speak to Giselle. "I just want to make sure everyone in my team is capable of kicking ass when need be. You have to toughen up, you know?"

"But I'm not a fighter," Giselle said as she rubbed away some of her tears, her eyes never moving away from their staring at Bambietta. "I don't think I could even throw a decent punch if I tried."

"Well then," Bambietta replied, puffing her chest out proudly as she planted her hands on her hips, "I'll just have to be your sword and shield, won't I?"

Giselle sniffed back a few times, the teenage girl finally beginning to compose herself. "You'd do that for me?"

"What else are friends for?" Bambietta turned back to Yhwach. "By the way, Your Majesty, what does the Z stand for?"

"It's quite simple really," he replied. "The Zombie."

Bambietta's eyes widened, her mouth all but falling open. "The Zombie?"

Giselle whimpered a bit then. She had heard the tone evident in Bambietta's voice so many times in the past from others who had rejected her. "You're going to hate me, huh?"

"No, no, no!" Bambietta replied, waving both her arms in front of herself frantically. It was simple really. She just was terrified of zombie films, that was all. A simple fact that those under her command had no problem reminding her of whenever the chance arose. "It just wasn't the kind of power I was expecting is all! Yeah! It's cool! Real cool!"

Liltotto rolled her eyes. "Smooth."

"You mean it?" Giselle asked, her eyes suddenly lighting up with a surprising amount of happiness. She leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Bambietta and embracing her tightly. "Oh, I've never had a friend! Thank you, thank you!"

"No problem." Bambietta patted Giselle on the back gently, unsure of how to handle the situation. She could see Liltotto, Candice and Meninas snickering at the sight of her present circumstances. "Me, Candice, Meninas, Liltotto; we're all going to be your friends now."

Bambietta grinned then as she saw slight traces of panic appear upon the faces of the trio. She half expected Giselle to turn to them but she still kept her loving embrace of Bambietta locked in. All she did was glance over her shoulder at the others.

"Candi, Meni and Lil." Then she stared up into Bambietta's own eyes. "Can I call you Bambi?"

"Well, if you want," Bambietta said, somewhat baffled by the sudden need for nicknames.

"And I'll be Gigi!" Giselle snuggled her face directly against Bambietta, clearly not interested in letting go of her first friend any time soon. "I'm going to be with you, best buddy, right until the end of time!"

"Yeah, I won't let you be lonely," Bambietta said softly as she placed a hand on Giselle's back.

It was a quiet moment then, one that hung across the throne room for what felt like several minutes to Bambietta. The quincy was unsure of how to bring it to a close, Giselle's embrace squeezing further. Then did Yhwach glance at her, a stern expression upon his aged face. He nodded slightly, his tone beginning to show his desire to end this introduction sooner rather than later.

"Sternritter E," he began to say, "the evening is all but upon us. I ask that you show your new friend to her chambers. There are many left, so I leave the choice in your capable hands." Then did the emperor stare out at the rest of his forces. "My loyal followers, you are all dismissed."

Bambietta could see her fellow sternritter beginning to leave the room under His Majesty's command and thus in turn did she begin to move forward, guiding Giselle out of the chamber. She took notice of Candice and the others still giggling at her situation but Bambietta paid it no mind. She could always berate them later if she was still irritated then. For now she had orders from His Majesty to complete. She and Giselle stepped out into the hall then and the newcomer continued to cling tightly to Bambietta as they began to make their way down the narrow pathway.

"It's so cold," Giselle whimpered, her fingers digging into a sleeve of Bambietta's uniform.

"You'll get used to it," Bambietta replied, trying to gently pry Giselle off her arm. It was no use, however, and Bambietta could only sigh and leave herself to such a predicament. "It's a palace practically covering in ice so it kind of goes with the territory."

Silence overtook the two quincy as they continued their journey then; Bambietta unsure of what to actually say while Giselle was simply content to lean against her shoulder as they continued to move forward. In time, however, the unlikely pair came to the destination that Bambietta had chosen. It was not far from her own room, nor those her friends had chosen long ago, and in turn was it a perfect location. It had been empty for some time and now was that unbearable vacancy about to end. The stillness and silence of the room was at last coming to a close, the door to the chamber slowly creaking open, two young ladies standing in the entryway as the lights activated to their presence. Bambietta held the door open with her right arm, awaiting the moment that her traveling companion would step through.

There was nothing for several minutes on end, leaving the sternritter to sigh slightly. "Tah dah, Gigi!"

Bambietta had little else to say as the young Sternritter Z stepped into the living quarters. Giselle glanced around slightly, taken back by how oddly colorful the room was compared to the pure white walls that had existed in the rest of the palace. "This is so nice!"

"Hope you like it! Bye!" Bambietta was about to shut the door and take her leave when she suddenly felt a tug on her cape. She turned around and could see that Giselle had taken hold of her cloak, the girl's eyes pleading.

"Please don't go," she whimpered, her eyes showing the slightest signs of watering. "I don't want to be alone."

Bambietta could not help it, her eyes very nearly rolling in response. "Okay, fine. I'll stay a little longer."

"Yay!"

Sternritter E was not one for playing nice, as any of her fellow quincy could attest to, but there was a part long since buried away within her heart that appreciated being wanted. Despite the irritation evident in her eyes, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly at the sound of Giselle squealing in delight at her answer. Then Bambietta suddenly felt the tug on her cape intensify, Giselle having not let go as she turned to move further into her room. Whether it was intentional or a random act of forgetfulness, Bambietta did not know. She simply stumbled forward, allowing the latest member of the Wandenreich to have her way with her for the moment.

Then did Giselle let go of the cloak, turning as she hopped up on her bed. "So where are you from?"

It was an honest question but one Bambietta did not want to hear or answer. Her heart cried out in sorrow but her outer layers of personality did what they always would in such a circumstance. She simply became haughty. Bambietta puffed out her chest, closing her eyes as she firmly planted her hands on her hips. "I'm not going to dignify that question with a response, thank you very much."

"Oh." Giselle said nothing more then, unable to see past the defensive attitude and into the truth behind the rude response. She simply glanced away, her fingers closing tightly around the sheets of her bed.

Bambietta slowly opened her right eye, then her left, taking note of the way Giselle was trembling. The quincy mentally cursed herself out then, realizing that she had gone a bit overboard yet again. "Look, I..." She was about to rationalize her action, to explain to Giselle what she had gone through ages ago, but Bambietta held her tongue, finding what she hoped would be a less painful discussion, at least for herself. "Where did you come from?"

"A little town called Perducieux." Giselle brightened up considerably, her eyes closing as a wide smile showed off her clenched teeth. "Born and raised by parents, surrounded by people."

The way she said it, Bambietta could tell there was something very off by Giselle's statement. Had she chosen her words, or lack of certain words, carefully or was she subconsciously denying that she had a loving mother and father? Worse still, Bambietta could see an errant bit of moisture at the corners of Giselle's eyes. Now Bambietta was regretting having turned the conversation in a directiont that was apparently painful for the newcomer.

Sternritter E was unsure of how to even proceed now. Commands and protection, that she could easily offer to someone under her guidance, but sympathy and affection? That was something relatively alien to her. She would never ask for such things, no, but neither could she so willingly give them out either. She knew it well enough, it just was not in her makeup. Not since the day a young girl of Fioritura had died and a sternritter had taken her place in one form or another.

She need not have worried herself as Giselle quickly opened her eyes. "But it's okay now," she said with a slight giggle as she brought a closed hand up to her mouth. "Because I'm with people who understand me now! You get me, don't you, Bambi?"

"Yeah, sure," Bambietta said, still trying to get used to the nickname that she had been assigned. "You, me, Candi and the rest of the gang, we're going to be friends for life."

"And maybe even death." Giselle could not help but grin a little, unnerving Bambietta the slightest bit.

"Yeah, that's just... great." Bambietta shivered slightly, remembering well what Yhwach had titled this sternritter. "You know, you've had a rough day, a long trip here I'm sure, so maybe you should get some rest."

"Bambi," Giselle said again, "I'm scared."

Bambietta stopped, her hand on the door knob. She sighed slightly, then glanced over her shoulder. "Of what?"

"Of change," Giselle answered softly. "The present becomes the past, the future the present, but it always changes. Even what I have now will go away some day. Life and death, it changes everything."

Bambietta did not know what to truly say. All she could do was be herself, the boisterous and brash type. "Hey, I'll have none of that, you hear me? The Wandenreich is your family now! I'm your family now!"

"What?"

Bambietta marched over to Giselle and looked her square in the eyes. "I'm going to be with you until the end of the line, you hear? No way I'm going to let a stupid thing like death slow me down! So no more crying, no more being a scaredy cat of a silly thing like change, okay?"

Giselle wiped her hands across her eyes, taking away any tears. "Oh. Okay."

"Good, now-" Bambietta was about to bid yet another attempt at farewell but stopped when Giselle began to rummage through a side pocket of her slacks. From it she produced a small trinket, one shaped like a red heart. "What's that?"

"It's something my my mother gave me," Giselle explained. "She told me to hold it close until I met someone who would accept me for who I truly am. When I met someone who could do what she and my father couldn't."

"What are you talking about?"

"If I tell you a secret," Giselle began to whisper, "I hope I can give you this."

Bambietta was not sure what her newest ally was getting at but she was willing to listen. "I guess there's only one way to find out if you can. Give it to me straight."

"Well, you see..." Giselle took a deep breath. "I'm technically a boy."

Bambietta said nothing at first, her face remaining in a neutral expression. Then did she simply raise an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Giselle's fingers began to wrap around the heart shaped object, unsure if she had simply found another like those who had rejected her in her old life, those who had beaten her, those who Yhwach had saved her from. She shivered a bit but pushed forward nonetheless. "In body I mean. But deep down in mind and spirit, I'm pretty sure I'm a girl. At first I wasn't sure, but the last ten years or so..."

Giselle shook her head.

"Mom and Dad didn't understand. They were so silly! And they weren't truly understanding. Especially not him. He..."

Giselle shook her head again, eyes watering more.

"I don't miss him. But Mom, she wanted to understand, or at least tried to! I was a girl at heart and she let me follow it. The name, the clothes, the all-girls school. She was supportive in action, even if she said she really didn't understand it. But with Dad, it..."

Bambietta did not like where this last part was going, but she kept herself quiet and let Giselle finish.

"It cost Mom everything. He came after me too many times to count. And Mom tried to save me each and every time, but he hurt her. And one time he hurt her too much. And everything changed. He grabbed her by the throat and around her mouth and nose and... I never saw her again."

Giselle's eyes narrowed, even as tears continued to form around their edges.

"Or him."

Bambietta reached out tentatively to Giselle then, wanting nothing more than to give her a hug. Though the look in Giselle's face was concerning, Bambietta understood it all too well. Though the circumstances were different, she understood far too well what it was like to lose it all in a sea of violence. "Gigi, I-"

"Even if you can't accept who I am deep down," Giselle said, her expression softening as she looked up at Bambietta with tears at the edges of her eyes, "please don't tell anyone else anyone else. Please..."

"Of course I won't," Bambietta said, pulling Giselle into an embrace, one hand pressing against the back of her head. "That's your truth to share, not mine."

"We're still friends?" Giselle asked, sniffing back as her cheek pressed against Bambietta's shoulder.

"More than that," Bambietta whispered. "I think we're kindred spirits."

Giselle felt truly at ease then, for the first time in ages. There was no judgment, no harsh punishment. No violence, no drawn blood, no kicking her when she was down. She simply was and that was more than enough. Giselle smiled widely then as the hug ended. As it did so, she took hold of one of Bambietta's hand and set the heart brooch in the palm, closing Bambietta's fingers around it.

Bambietta pulled her hand away from Giselle, glancing down at the traces of bright red heart between her fingers. It was not quite her color, it did not quite match her life style, but it was something she'd cherish regardless. She looked towards the young lady then, an honest smile on Bambietta's face.

Giselle returned it then as well, hers one that could melt Bambietta's violent and broken heart. She could see that her smile was warming Giselle's as well.

"So if you're Bambi," Giselle suddenly spoke up, "then we should all be the Bambies! Me, Meni, Lil and Candi!"

That caught Bambietta offguard. "Wait, what?"

"I mean, you're the leader, right?" Giselle offered up. ?We all should be named after the boss. And the Bambies are a cute nickname! Or do you not like it? Uhm, maybe instead we could be the Bamb Squad or the E-Women or-"

"I like it!" Bambietta exclaimed, smirking. "No, I love it! The Bambies it is. That ought to settle things with Candi about who's in charge!"

More than a little happy, Bambietta reached out with a free hand again, gently touching Giselle's shoulder.

"Now how about you get some rest and we'll see each other tomorrow, all right? It'll be time for some training, so I'm going to toughen you up, you hear?" Bambietta was about to turn away when once again did Giselle take hold of her cloak. Sternritter E did not sigh this time. Instead she suppressed a slight giggle, knowing that escape was clearly not an option at this rate. "Yes?"

"Just for one night," Giselle began to ask, looking away, "can you stay by my side?"

"What?" Bambietta was taken aback by the request. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll toughen up tomorrow, I promise," Giselle said meekly. "But this place is still so big and scary. So please, just stay by my side for this one night. I beg you."

Bambietta knew she should have declined, to have refused outright, but she could still feel in her hand the gift that Giselle had given her. She could remember well that she had said that they might well be soulmates. She could still understand the significance of the secret that had been shared with her by the newest sternritter. Because of all that she relented. "Okay, fine. But just this once, Gigi!"

Bambietta watched as Giselle's smile grew brighter still. The quincy undid her cape then and began to lower herself to the floor. She sat on the soft carpeting, resting her back against the bed frame as she wrapped the cloak around her body. The back of her head leaned against the soft material of the mattress as she glanced up at Giselle.

"You could use the bed you know." Giselle seemed surprised by Bambietta's actions. "That can't be comfy."

"I've slept in worse places," Bambietta replied. "Besides, that bed isn't exactly big enough for the two of us."

"Then I'll-"

"This is your room, not mine. The bed is yours to take. I'm just a transient guest at best."

"Transient?"

Bambietta giggled. "You're such a goof. Let's just get some rest, all right?"

Bambietta reached out with her spiritual power, taking control of the energy network that pervaded the walls of the room. The lights dimmed then, just as they had come alive when she had opened the door. Darkness fell upon the room, giving Giselle reason to finally lay down in her bed. She tossed and turned for a moment before becoming still, one of her hands falling off the side of the bed and resting on Bambietta's hat and head.

"Hey," Bambietta said softly, yawning as she started to drift into a deep slumber.

Giselle felt the contagious yawn hit her as well, her own thoughts drifting into sleep. "Bambi, you'll never change on me, right?"

There was no answer at first, Bambietta clearly asleep. Giselle closed her eyes then, realizing she would get no reply. Yet then did one come about, a loud snoring effect echoing across the room. Sternritter Z's eyes widened then in shock as she glanced down at Bambietta, another loud noise escaping her nose and mouth. Giselle giggled slightly in response and began to close her eyes. Yet then did Bambietta say something, leaving Giselle to wonder if she was speaking of her own volition, having awoken for a brief moment, or simply talking from her heart as she slept.

"Friends forever, Gigi..."