Disclaimer: Bambietta Basterbine and all related characters belong to Shueisha. The title of this story, meanwhile, was suggested by NotXeno.

Within the business center of Kyoto there was a nondescript building. For some time it had been abandoned, having been discarded by the local fire department when they had moved on to a new location, one that was the perfect trifecta of evolution. Bigger, better and more well equipped. The old facility was left to gather nothing but dust and cobwebs then. A relic of the past, a ghost, a specter.

Thus had it been perfect for Don Kanonji's needs.

He had considered himself an expert in his field of the supernatural, turning it into a profitable television series while he was at it. Helping the dearly departed was a kindness, he knew that, but it also needed to pay the bills. Yet as time went on did Don Kanonji come to the realization that he was a fool of sorts, a small fish in an infinite pond. First there had been a duo consisting of a spiky haired boy in black garb and short young lady who mimicked his laugh to perfection who had clued in him into the truth of the afterlife. Not long after that had Don Kanonji found himself face to face with what he had only been able to ascribe the title of a malevolent god. By faith and good fortune had he and the citizens of Karakura Town survived that fateful ordeal, saved by the very same spiky haired youth, but for Don Kanonji it was the end of his old life and the start of something new. For very nearly two years he had drowned his sorrows, his powerlessness, at every bar he came across throughout Japan. He stopped going to work, his show falling out of favor with the public and quickly being cancelled. He then took on odd jobs at random, though the majority of it had been based on lies and fabrications. He had taken advantage of the less spiritual aware, allowing them to think he was cleansing dark spirits from their homes, hauntings that were no more based in truth than his own bravado. Soon it had led him to the religious center of Japan, to Kyoto itself, Kanonji looking to do what he could to keep himself afloat there.

Then they had appeared. Three young ladies who were looking for work. One of them had professed her undying love of his old show. She was a cute one, if not the sharpest knife in the draw, but her appreciation of his work had been something that brought a smile to Don Kanonji's face for the first time in so very long. The other two were less than cordial by comparison, one eerily quiet and the other clearly possessing a chip on her shoulder a mile wide. The kindest of the trio had said that they did possess a fair amount of money at the present but that due to unforeseen circumstances they were looking for work that would benefit their skills in the spiritual.

It had been a chance meeting, but one that led to newfound passion in Don Kanonji's life. He had convinced the three ladies to allow him to use their remaining funds to buy the derelict fire station for their operations. From there they had begun a small business in Kyoto, dealing with not just the spiritual but the infestation of hollows that plagued the city. No longer did Don Kanonji feel weak and powerless, having the unyielding strength of the three girls backing him up.

Now with another successful case of vanquishing hollows behind them, the Geisterjager had returned to the station. However, now things were different. Don Kanonji was left to his own devices downstairs, wondering what was going on. The two girls that he and the others had saved from a group of hollows had clearly recognized his charges, but his girls had recognized them in turn. The two, clearly hurt and disheveled from the hollow attack, had been brought back to their base of operations, the one in pink pajamas asking that the luggage she and her friend had left behind at their motel be retrieved.

His three apprentices more interested in the two young ladies, it had been left to Don Kanonji to do what they wished. He had arrived at Tabijinohate, finding that the motel's residents, as well as the owner, were in shock due to the unseen battle with the hollows. The pavement had been torn up in places, damage done to the motel itself as well. Thankfully Don Kanonji was an expert at theatrics and was able to calm their shattered nerves by regaling them all with tales of how he had purged many a poltergeist. Once they had dispersed, he had recovered the belongings in Room E5 and returned to his home away from home.

His green haired apprentice had answered the knock at the upstairs door and had unceremoniously grabbed the two suitcases and the bag full of energy drinks from him. Then had the pink haired young lady who had originally sought him out thanked Don Kanonji before the short blonde one had slammed the door shut in his face. Now was Don Kanonji left alone at the front desk downstairs, wondering just what was going on with the five people under his roof.

"Women."

Bambietta Basterbine sat still in a chair now, hunched over slightly, her upper body on clear display as she had discarded her tattered pajama top. She was gritting her teeth, her scorched back still searing with agony from the cero she had taken for Giselle's sake.

"Stupid birdbrained adjuchas," she hissed through the pain. "There should be several ginto capsules in my suitcase."

Candice placed the suitcase down, propping it open and glancing through the articles of clothing and equipment present. "Well, at least you've still got the white look down pat. I was starting to get worried you'd traded down for pink."

Bambietta raised an eye at that comment, knowing that Candice was looking for some leverage, some kind of hook to dig in with. It was not something Bambietta would permit. Despite her pain she took on a haughty and condescending tone, knowing full well it was the ideal language when dealing with Candice. "I'll have you know that pink is freaking adorable!"

Meninas, meanwhile, was quite distraught at Candice's words, but Bambietta's retort brought a smile to her face. "You think I'm adorable?"

Bambietta glanced at her old friend, her bubblegum pink hair standing out as it always did. Sighing slightly, Bambietta glared back towards Candice. "Little silver canister, Candi. And I'm not going to lie, the sooner the better, because this really freaking stings!"

"Oh, don't be such a big baby!" Candice said as she continued to look over the contents of the suitcase.

"Don't make me get any more bossy with you," Bambietta said, flinching a bit from the pain.

"And who said you were in charge?" Candice asked, arms folding across her chest.

"Whatever," Bambietta winced slightly. "Candi, I could really use some healing."

"Oh. Right." Candice walked towards Bambietta, handing over one of the ginto capsules she had requested. She dropped it into Bambietta's open palm, then stood before her waiting. Candice watched as Bambietta gripped down tightly on the capsule, her eyes closing. Bambietta began to mumble then, chanting a little prayer. It was not something the green haired woman could recall seeing at any point in the past. "What the hell are you doing?"

Bambietta did not reply at first, finishing her spell instead. She then opened her eyes, glancing up at Candice. "Don't you remember our training?"

"I remember that bastard Yhwach drilling in my head about how to put the part of his soul he implanted into me to good use," Candice replied. Then quite suddenly did her tongue slip out from between her lips. It ran across them for a moment, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, and the hand to hand combat! Sparring with Bazz-B, grappling that bod of his! The sweat, the physical contact! Who says fire and lightning don't mix?"

"Okay, way too much information! And I'll be honest, I'm not sure if anyone has even spoke against that specific union in the first place." Bambietta turned away from Candice, having determined that she was not the ideal person when it came to a situation where a delicate touch was needed. "Meni?"

Bambietta's face dropped slightly, shock on her face as she got a good look at Meninas. The young lady's face was blushing a pretty pink, not far removed from her hair. "I'm adorable? She thinks I'm adorable? Me? Adorable? Oh my goodness!"

"Well, she's off on cloud nine." Bambietta could only turn towards Liltotto, the youngest of the group off in a corner with an ice pop in her mouth. "Lil, how about-"

"Nope, not interested, you dumb bitch," she replied quietly, cutting Bambietta off. "Candi's right there and I've got snacks."

"Well, okay then." Bambietta's face twitched slightly, a spark of anger in her flaring. Then it faded as fast as it had come about, a chuckle escaping from her. Candice being boy crazy, Meninas being daft, Liltotto rude and detached. It was just like old times. Still, she also knew that she needed somebody to apply the liquid goodness in the ginto capsule. That was of high priority.

"Bambi, I can do it."

The quincy felt someone's hands on her own. She looked forward then, catching sight of Giselle.

"It's my fault," Giselle said, her face a little sour, "so it's only right I fix it, don't you think?"

Bambietta did not say anything at first, instead looking deep into Giselle's eyes. The whole point of coming to the mortal world was to find their friends. So why then was Giselle still looking so depressed? Bambietta knew full well the answer, though she simply did not want to admit it to herself. The battle with the hollows had no doubt been hard on Giselle, to see Bambietta hurt as she had been, but there was more to it than just that. Ever since they had been saved by Don Kanonji and the others, neither Candice nor Liltotto had spoken a word to Giselle. Meninas had tried but Candice had shut her down quick. Bambietta knew why, she understood why, but she had no use for it right now.

"Yeah, okay," Bambietta replied, glancing up at Giselle. She let her take the capsule then. "I've activated the spell, so all you have to do is rub that liquid onto my back and the healing process will begin. Just be gentle."

"Sure! I mean, you trust me?"

There it was, the question Bambietta had half-expected to hear. She answered it then with nary a trace of hesitation present in her voice. "I trust you with my heart, Gigi."

Bambietta watched as Giselle moved behind her, the older woman slowly grabbing hold of her long hair with one hand, pulling it all over her shoulder and exposing her back fully. Giselle starred at the scabbing, the burnt flesh, the dried blood. It was all because of her, she knew that well enough. If only she had been stronger, faster, than Bambietta would never have had to endure so much agony because of her.

So much because of her. Giselle stared long and hard at the wounds, recognizing their familiarity. She recalled it well, a broken angel descending from the heavens. Wings clipped, strength turned against her. Begging for help, grasping for any and every shred of life. Yet all Giselle had done in response was take it all from her, making that angel something that existed beyond the boundaries of life and death. Beyond Yhwach. All it had taken to steal from their emperor, from their god, had been their souls, their friendship.

Giselle stared blankly, awaiting the moment where she expected Bambietta to activate blut vene, yet it never came. Bambietta had already verbalized the trust she was willing to grant Giselle, but actions spoke far louder than words. Accepting the faith placed in her, Giselle opened the Ginto capsule and allowed its liquid to pour into her free hand. She clasped both her hands together then, the healing solution covering them both. Then did Giselle place the palms of her hands against Bambietta's shoulder blades.

Bambietta grimaced at the slightest touch, feeling the liquid beginning to absorb into her damaged flesh. It intensified for a moment as Giselle gently ran her hands across the quincy's back, covering it completely. Much to Giselle's surprise was when her leader's skin became awash with a green light, the glow very nearly spiraling out between her fingers. Giselle continued to apply the spell cast liquid, all the while watching on as Bambietta's flesh began to mend itself together again, appearing good as new.

The pain no longer present, Bambietta gasped slightly as the tingling sensation of the healing faded as well. "Thank you, Gigi."

"It's the least I could do." Giselle stopped, at a loss for words for but a moment. "It's what I should have done in the first place."

"Please, just stop, alright?" Bambietta did not know what else she could say. Her face sullen, she stood up then, grabbing hold of her suitcase and turning to face Giselle and the others with the broadest, fakest smile she could muster. "Well, girls or not, it'd hardly be decent for me to hang around half naked in front of you all, so if you don't mind I'm going to go freshen up!"

Then Bambietta was gone, stepping into another room with hirenkyaku and shutting the door behind her, leaving those who had once been under her care to their own devices. Giselle glanced around sheepishly then. Liltotto was looking away, not appearing interested. Meninas was simply nervous, sparing the occasional shy look before her eyes would dart away. Then there was Candice, her narrowed eyes staring at Giselle without even a pause to blink.

"You're like a bad penny, you know that?" Candice hissed as she began to move closer to Giselle. "Why the hell did you have to come back?"

Giselle scampered away, stopping only when her back hit the wall behind her. Bambietta was a wildcard, she always had been, and while she and Candice had similar personality traits, there was but one major difference: Bambietta could be nice if she felt the need but Giselle could not recall a time when Candice had been kind to her in the least.

"You know, I don't care why you're back," Candice said as she suddenly slammed a fist into the wall beside Giselle's head. She leaned in close then, their faces very nearly touching. Candice bared her teeth then, grinning wildly. "I'm just glad you showed up here in Kyoto. Because I've been thinking it over and I kind of know one way to get rid of a bad penny for good. An arrow right between those eyes of yours."

"Candi!"

Candice turned to look over her shoulder, a bemused expression on her face as she stared at the clearly pleading Meninas.

"That's enough, okay?"

"You talk like you're in charge of me," Candice shot back. "I'm the leader of our little group despite what that idiot of a man thinks, so what I say goes! And this troublemaker has got to go, you hear?"

"You're in charge?" Liltotto asked, glancing at Candice with disbelieving eyes. "Oh, that's rich, you dumbass."

"Yeah, Bambi's back! Bambi's back!" Meninas exclaimed, suddenly waving two flags emblazoned with the letter E on them. "Who's the boss? She's the boss!"

Candice shook her head at Meninas' childish outburst, unsure of where she had found the flags so suddenly, then turned back towards Giselle. "Is that your game? Touch up your corpse doll, apply some makeup to hide what you did, and now you think you'll run the show through Zombietta?"

Giselle cringed slightly. "Please, don't say that stupid nickname."

"Listen and listen well!" Candice all but snarled. "This is my team now thanks to what you did! So you and your little plaything can go to hell for all I care, you got me? I'll be glad to send you there myself if I have to!"

Bambietta stood dressed once more in her quincy garb, all the while fastening her mantle and cloak around her shoulders. She was feeling better now that the healing spell had taken affect, her back no longer inscribed with pain. Still she was having other issues. Bambietta leaned over slightly, her hands grasping the edges of the bathroom sink. She stared at her reflection in the mirror then, noting things she wished she was not seeing.

The chipper expression she had worn before those she had once considered friends was nothing more than a lie, a fabrication born in the instant and based on the memory of someone who had perished in the Soul Society. Live, die, repeat. She had been reborn there, jaded and traumatized. Still she was uninterested in allowing the world to break her. It just would not do. As far as Bambietta was concerned, it should have been the world that changed to suit the individual, not the other way around. In that regard, nothing had changed. Bambietta was as she always had been, someone who would break the world to remain unbroken herself.

However she could not deny the scars of time. She had not slept well since her rebirth and she had pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion since beginning her search for Giselle. The day to day affairs, the battle with the hollows, that should have been nothing to her. Having forced herself to use blut vene as significantly as she had, however, that had been a fool's game born out of inherent distrust.

"I was going to kill her," Bambietta whispered as she stared long and hard at her reflection, glaring at the circles under her eyes. "I was going to kill each and every one of them for what they did to me. All because it felt so hopeless. It would have been so much easier. Vengeance achieved, humanity lost."

That was what Bambietta felt was a mistake she was falling into again. Giselle's adoration. Candice's egging her on. Meninas' flighty nature. Liltotto's sarcastic barbs and general indifference. It was all coming back to Bambietta, the friendship and camaraderie that had burned brightly within the shadows of the Wandenreich. She had missed it, craved for it to return. Was that why she had allowed herself to keep Giselle at arm's length in a search for those they had lost? Was that why she had abandoned her original objectives?

"I'm treating these people like people again. Like friends."

Bambietta's vision wavered for a moment, her own cast reflection becoming joined by the faces of so many others, as if those she had called her friends were staring down at her. She could hear her own voice then, wailing weakly in her own thoughts. Begging for mercy, for salvation. Yet the expressions never changed. Condemnation and pity, cruelty and indifference, that was all they projected.

One had taken her life that day, the others simply watching on. Bambietta's vision faded, leaving herself to stare at only her own face in the mirror, but the damage was already done. Her fingers began to tighten around the sides of the sink, her body quivering. Anger and frustration, misery and despair, they were at her side. She was among the living once again, yes, but Bambietta was left to consider what kind of broken soul had been granted a second chance?

"Listen and listen well! This is my team now thanks to what you did! So you and your little plaything can go to hell for all I care, you got me? I'll be glad to send you there myself if I have to!"

The voice of Candice snapped Bambietta out of her funk. She turned then, instinct overriding her inner feelings and she pushed open the door of the bathroom in a hurry, stepping back out into the main room of the upstairs. She could see it then, Candice pressing a spirit weapon, a bow, against Giselle's forehead, an pale glow at its tip at the ready. The green haired woman was clearly fuming but her arms were steady, the kill shot primed. Giselle was shaking but Bambietta could see an odd glint of satisfaction in her eyes. Then there were Meninas and Liltotto, the two of them visibly concerned, though only the former was begging Candice to stop.

"Candice Catnipp!" Rare was it Bambietta used a full first name, let alone the last name in conjunction with it, but she knew the power such names would hold. Sometimes being less of a friend and more of a demanding mother had been part of the role she felt she had over the ladies she had befriended so long ago. "Back off! Now!"

"Isn't that sweet?" Candice asked, sparing Bambietta one glance before turning her attentions back on Giselle. "Your living dead girl is sticking up for you! She must love you to freaking bits, huh? Is that what you put in her head? Well let me put something in yours!"

Time seemed to slow for the entirety of the room's occupants. Giselle watched as the hellish glow of the weapon illuminated Candice' face, the power threatening to overwhelm her eyes. Giselle closed them both then, content with what was to come. It was clear to her now, more than ever, that nothing could be as it was. Her actions had seen to that.

Bambietta could see it as well, the blast on the verge of releasing. She in turn formed her own spirit weapon, taking careful aim with her own sword. For a moment she thought it over, how not that long ago she had been envisioning doing to Giselle what Candice was about to. Envisioning how she had intended to take aim at Candice just as she was now. She kept her eyes beading on the center of Candice's being, lighting up her sword with, only then shifting her aim slightly.

An arrow of light flew from the sword then, piercing through the edge of Candice's long hair. A few strands of the lime colored locks fell to the floor then and there. Candice's eyes went wide at the realization of what had just occurred. Her weapon faded away and she quickly moved her attentions away from Giselle to her own hair. Then she glared at Bambietta.

"Bitch, you shot my hair!"

Candice began to move towards Bambietta, blut arterie activating across the flesh of the enraged woman almost as if on instinct. Bambietta welcomed it, a cocky grin spreading upon her face. Despite what had just happened, she was getting another taste of old times. She and Candice had fought it out many times in the past, though on the friendliest of terms. It was a rivalry, one born out of Candice's desire to be in charge, but it had never quite damaged their friendship in the long term. Bambietta had yet to lose to her in any particular fight, so she was not in the least concerned now. If nothing else, she was simply happy to have the attention shifted away from Giselle for the moment.

Bambietta began to roll up one of her sleeves, showcasing the power of blut arterie across her forearm. "That's my girl! Prepare to be pummeled cheerfully, jauntily, and utterly one-sidedly, Candi Ass! You've all been living it up with me gone, but like a middday nap-"

"Not that freaking like again!" Candice retorted, interrupting Bambietta. "Come up with some new material! God damn!"

Meninas watched as the two quincy were very nearly upon one and another. She whimpered slightly, unable to process that they were about to fight again. She had hoped things would be different this time but clearly that was not going to be the case. She ran forward then, allowing blut vene to spread out across every fiber of her being, the skin hardening in preparation for the physical trauma that was about to unfold.

Candice threw her left arm forward, her fist empowered. "Bambi!"

Bambietta did the same as she leapt forward, her knuckles on a crash course towards her foe. "Candi!"

Meninas, meanwhile, was simply leaping into the fray. "Both of you, sto-!"

The pink haired young lady's plea was cut short, the fists of her friends catching her in the face from both sides. She stood there then, blut vene having absorbed most of the impact. Still, the expression that formed on her face was one that did nothing to hide the fact that she had very nearly been knocked out. She began to fall to the floor, leaving Bambietta and Candice to watch in shock. They both spoke in unison then, moving down towards their stunned friend.

"Meni!"

Giselle watched on, not saying a word. She simply brought her hands up towards her face, her long sleeves bunched together. Liltotto kept an eye on the situation from the corner of her eyes, trying to fight off the urge to roll them, let alone sigh. It was the same as always. Bambietta and Candice would find some issue to get all hot-blooded about and a fight would be on the verge of ensuing. Then Meninas, ever the sacrificial lamb of a peacemaker, would step in and take a hit that would bring the two rivals back to their senses.

"Morons." However, despite her condemnation, Liltotto did have to wonder one simple thing. She was always the calm and quiet one, staying out of the others way, intelligent enough to know to pick her moments and manipulate things to her advantage when necessary. Still, she was never quite sure if Meninas was truly the fool or simply playing the part to keep her own grip on the relationships around them.

Liltotto shrugged then, thinking it over. Bambietta feeling she was the boss. Candice always vying for the position. Meninas potentially controlling circumstances through well-meaning innocence. Herself playing games with precision and perfectly chosen words when it suited her. The only one Liltotto could see never trying to have any measure of control over the group was Giselle herself.

Save for one time; the one that had caused so much grief for them all.

"Your Majesty, I don't want to ride the rollercoaster anymore." Meninas was quite dazed by the dual blut arterie attacks she had just taken, yet she was still bouncing back enough to see both Bambietta and Candice looking down at her in worry. Meninas spoke again, her voice trailing off slightly. "Hey, Bambi's back. Yay."

Bambietta could not help herself then. She closed her eyes for a moment and brought a closed hand up to cover her mouth as she chuckled slightly. "Meni, you'll never change."

"So what, you're really you again?" Candice asked, turning her gaze back towards Bambietta. "You were in pretty rough shape when we found you but I figured there was no coming back," Candice motioned her head towards Giselle, who glanced away in response, "from what she did to you."

Bambietta glanced over Candice's shoulder, seeing the morose visage that was Giselle's own now. She was about to say something, anything, to try and make Giselle feel at ease but she did not get the chance. The young woman simply moved towards the door and exited the room without a word spoken. Bambietta began to stand up then when she felt Candice's hand grip down on her arm.

"So this is legit," the green haired Quincy began to say. "You're really back from the dead. Then why the hell are you being all friendly-like with your killer?"

Bambietta glared back towards Candice. She already had heard it straight from Giselle's mouth and she had her opinion on Meninas' involvement, that the woman was probably not entirely aware of what had actually occurred. Yet it was Candice and to a lesser extent Liltotto she had taken issue with. "That's a good question. Why am I playing nice with you?"

"What?" Candice suddenly felt Bambietta pull her arm free but she only reached out now for the woman's collar, looking her in the eyes. "I wasn't the one to take your breath away! I wasn't the one who turned you into that damn zombie!"

"But you could have stopped it," Bambietta replied, her eyes narrow and focused. "Was becoming the leader really that important to you? Was it?"

"What?" Candice's temper flared then, a match for Bambietta's own when it got going. "We were trying to save you from Yhwa-"

"I know, I know, I know!" Bambietta rasped as she stood up and headed for the door. She opened it then, casting one last glance at Candice, Meninas and Liltotto. "I heard it all from Gigi already! I already know what the hell you were trying to do! And that's..."

Bambietta's tone began to dim then, her irritated expression falling into disarray.

"That's what makes this all so damn hard."

Bambietta stepped out of the room then, closing the door behind her. Not with the loud slam that those who knew her expected but rather a simple and quiet motion. Candice began to stand then, completely at a loss for words. Meninas was no different, her eyes watering slightly. It was only Liltotto who gave voice to their shared thoughts.

"We're all a bunch of idiots."

Bambietta stepped outside of the building of Don Kanonji's, glancing around frantically for Giselle. The dark haired quincy was nowhere to be found, leaving Bambietta concerned. "Gigi..."

The shadows were all around her, the moon casting enough light to have given Giselle plenty of escape options back to the solitude of the abandoned Wandenreich fortress. Bambietta prepared to open a portal herself, to go find Giselle once more, but first she stared up at the moon, very nearly determined to curse it out. She knew it would do no good to throw any amount of vitriol at an inanimate object but she was cranky and therefore not in any state of mind to consider what was a wasted action or not.

However, it proved to be far from a wasted action. Before Bambietta could even speak a word she saw Giselle. The young woman's silhouette was caught in the reflected light of the moon itself, standing still in midair. Bambietta knew it well enough, that the quincy had no doubt compressed the spiritual particles around her into an invisible platform beneath her feet. It was a feat common to beings who possessed both spiritual awareness and the mental dexterity to put it to good use. However, beings such as shinigami and hollows were invisible to the naked eye, no different than the makeshift platforms they would be standing on. A quincy was flesh and blood, clearly visible to all around him or her. Bambietta could only count on good fortunate that Giselle had chosen to take such a brash action during the middle of the night, though she had to hope that she was the only one in the immediate vicinity that had chosen to look up at the moon just now.

"Who am I to judge anyone for acting brash?" Bambietta shook her head and then began to walk forward. She condensed the spiritual energy in front of her before her right foot had the chance to touch back down on the ground. It planted itself firmly on an invisible platform then, allowing Bambietta to hover a several inches above the pavement. She stepped forward again then, another platform allowing her left foot to ascend higher. On and on it went, the quincy moving upwards upon an immaterial spiral staircase of her own making. It did not take long and soon she was right by Giselle's side, nearly one hundred feet into the air, clearing the low buildings of Kyoto.

"Gigi," Bambietta said as she placed a hand on the Quincy's shoulder, "it's going to be fine."

"No, it's not." Giselle said nothing else then, allowing the silence to permeate the small amount of distance between herself and Bambietta. However, after a full minute's worth of the quiet, she found the strength to speak again, a lump forming in her throat. "I really wish you had killed me, Bambi."

Bambietta hesitated for a moment, something she knew would not do in such a situation as this, but still it happened. "Don't you talk like that."

"You should have. Then you'd have gotten what you deserved and I wouldn't have to live with any of this. At first I felt such joy when you spared me, when you said we'd find our friends again. But nothing can ever be the same because of me! This isn't something you can come back from, I get that now!"

Giselle's voice cracked then, the quincy wrapping her arms across her torso as she shook slightly.

"I see and hear it again and again, every time I close my eyes! Your terrified face, your voice screaming for mercy! My finger's piercing flesh, your heart in my hand! You should have killed me! You should have let Candi kill me! I don't deserve-"

"Shut up!" Bambietta all but howled, her body shaking. "I refuse to accept that any sternritter I took under my wing would be so fragile! Look your pain in the eyes and tell it to go to hell! Stand up! Be strong!"

"I can't," Giselle said softly. "I can't be strong and I won't stand up anymore. Everything is hopeless."

Bambietta saw it then, out of the corner of her eye, right through the tear forming there. Giselle was dropping out of her sight, the invisible platform beneath her having been willed away by one who desired things to come to an end. "No!"

Once more did time seem to slow for she who had once been Sternritter E. She looked down and could see Giselle plummeting to the streets below, her hair waving in the night air. There was serenity in her face then but Bambietta could still see it, tears at the corners of the quincy's eyes, ones that matched her own.

Instinct took hold of Bambietta's soul and she did as what she knew she must. She allowed spiritual power to gather around her feet and she vanished from sight, leaving behind the platform as it dissipated. Hirenkyaku took her to Giselle in a split second leap of faith and Bambietta wrapped her arms tightly around the withdrawn quincy.

"Not like this, Gigi. You hear me?"

Bambietta knew that what she had hoped to accomplish now, to save Giselle's life, would have been much easier with the power of her vollstandig. However, she was no longer an angel. Bambietta had to wonder if she ever could have truly been considered one. Bambietta shook her head then, knowing she had more pressing issues to concern herself with. She knew she would have to do this the hard way but it was just fine by her.

She focused, concentrating on the air she was soon about to occupy. The spiritual ebb and flow of the mortal world began to coalesce then and there and soon Bambietta cringed as she felt her feet slam into the power. Yet her momentum forced her astray and she and Giselle both tumbled off the solidfied reishi and went into another free fall again. Still their momentum had been slowed and that was a step in the right direction.

"Bambi!"

"Shush, Gigi! I'm concentrating!"

Bambietta knew this would be a problem. While she had trained well under Robert Accutrone, the finer points of spiritual manipulation in an environment such as the world of the living was far different from that of the actual realms of the afterlife. She was unsure of whether or not she could build a platform large enough to properly catch herself and Giselle in the short amount of time they had left but she also knew she needed to try. She focused her gaze down and forward then, tugging on the veritable magic in the air.

Giselle did the same, having an idea all her own. While she had initiated this fall with the intention of a death, it was meant for only one. "I won't let you die, Bambi!"

Then the two collided with yet another invisible platform, one born out of their concern for one and another. Larger than the last, it caught them without any possibility of further falling. Bambietta took the brunt of the impact, her side striking the platform in place of any part of Giselle. It was just as the brunette had wanted.

"Giselle, damn it." Bambietta wheezed as she looked into her eyes. "I made you a stupid promise."

Giselle said nothing, simply laying there on the spiritual platform and staring into Bambietta's eyes. "You could never have."

"I thought we could put the band back together," Bambietta continued. "I thought everything would go back to the way it was. And I'm sorry for giving you that false hope. I'm sorry for my bravado and arrogance."

Bambietta forced herself up then, slipping her arms underneath the prone Giselle and lifting her up. The quincy leader then began to make platform after platform, allowing herself to walk back down to the ground below. She felt Giselle lean into her upper body, the young lady's head resting against her shoulder.

"It can't ever be the same," Bambietta said, her voice a low whisper. "It's going to be different. It's going to be hard. Maybe they'll never completely forgive you, maybe they will. But whatever happens, you have to forgive yourself first. The world is a cruel place. I'll be the first to admit it. But it's trying so damn hard. And we have to do the same."

"Bambi, I killed you."

"Yes, yes you did." Bambietta flinched a slight bit, hoping that Giselle did not notice despite their close proximity. "But I'm alive now and that's all that matters."

"I see it," Giselle whimpered, her eyes closed. "I see you back then, begging me not to do it. Crying."

"And I'd be worried if you didn't feel this way," was all Bambietta could offer up then. "Yhwach made us think we were above humans, above even the gods of death, but that's all we are. People. And people hurt each other and themselves."

"I can't face it," Giselle whimpered. "Not for another moment."

"Yes, you will."

Giselle's fingers began to grip down on Bambietta's mantle, her eyes closing tighter as she tried to look at her sins. "You're so strong, Bambi."

Bambietta said nothing as her feet touched down on solid, visible ground. She simply stood there then, a momentary flash of a cruel face appearing before her. The quincy did not have the heart to tell Giselle the truth, to let her know that she did not even have to close her eyes to see terrible things. Strength would beget strength, even if built on a lie. At least that was what Bambietta was hoping for.

Bambietta slowly set Giselle down, smiling slightly as she saw her legs stand firm. "That's it, be the quincy that I know you are."

"Bambi! Gigi!"

The two slowly turned, taking notice of Meninas stepping out of the former fire department, Liltotto and Candice right behind her. Meninas was waving excitably, the other two more withdrawn.

"Oh, I'm so happy we're all one big happy family again!" Meninas shouted as she leapt towards Bambietta and Giselle, wrapping her arms around them so very tightly. "I missed you both so much!"

It was times like this that made Bambietta curious about just how aware Meninas was in general, let alone about what had happened between them all during the war with the Soul Society. Still she was willing to fall into the hug. She had said it well enough, that things would never be the same, but when it came to Meninas there was one small exception.

"We talked it over," Liltotto said as she moved in close, "and we've decided to give you another chance, Gigi. Isn't that right, Candi?"

Candice simply stood there quietly, her arms folded across her chest. She was unwilling or unable to look at the spectacle before her. Finally did she at last speak, her tone still as belligerent as ever. "Yes, we agreed about that, Gigi. But you better watch yourself around me. No creepy crap, you got that?"

"Yes," Giselle stammered, having trouble breathing due to Meninas' tight hug. "Meni, please, you're squishing me and Bambi."

"Oh!" Meninas exclaimed as she let go. She was Sternritter P no longer, yet still she did not know her own natural strength. "Sorry, sorry!"

Bambietta gasped herself, trying to get air back into her lungs. "Yep, just like old times."

"As for you," Candice suddenly said as she got in Bambietta's face, "let's just make one thing clear. I'm in charge."

"Oh?" Bambietta smirked a little, knowing this was a challenge she had not faced since she and Candice had first met. "Is that a fact? I'd like to test that theory."

"Damn straight I'm the big boss around here! And as my first ruling as your boss is that there will be no killing hot guys!"

Bambietta flinched a bit, remembering the faces of all those she had killed out of simple and unfocused spite. Remembering what her parents had wanted out of her. "You're not the leader, but that won't happen again."

"Oh yes I am!" Candice explained. "So you better deal with being under my heel! And if you don't like it, you can blow it out your ass, bitch!"

Bambietta grit her teeth a bit, then moved her face directly up against Candice's own, their eyes locking with one and another. "I've had more than enough of your sour notes, Candi. It's time for a new tune! An oldie but a goodie! You asking 'How high?' when I tell you to jump!"

Giselle, Meninas and Liltotto simply watched on as the sparks very nearly flew between the two quincy. Giselle was simply smiling from ear to ear, seeing a glimpse of her past, a sight for sore eyes, one that made her feel better about her future. Meanwhile Meninas was just worried that she'd have to take two more punches by the end of the night, while Liltotto was simply shaking her head slightly. She knew full well that Bambietta and Candice would continue to butt heads for all eternity. They were too similar for their own good. That, however, was such a source of entertainment that she did not truly mind.

Not far away was Don Kanonji, the man watching the madness from the doorway to his new home. He was unsure of what exactly had transpired between his apprentices and the two newcomers, but he knew one thing in his heart. "It looks like the Geisterjager just got a little bit bigger today."