DV: Another chapter of fun. Anyway, while we would like more reviews (they do help us know what readers think), we're not the type to hold a story hostage for reviews. We're not that egotistical.

US- Well, I'm not, anyhow ;) Anyway, is it just me or does the vast majority of entertaining material from this fic span from the sheer banter between our characters? Hell, do our characters even like each other, or do they just put up with each other as they are both annoying jerks? Either way- enjoy another prompt update where surprise surprise, there is more banter.

Disclaimer: We think this should be pretty obvious by now, but we don't own Bleach.

Marcus III

Marcus had to admit that despite Minato being a massive, egotistical jerk who liked sitting on thrones a bit too much, the guy could heal. He was feeling a lot better, and now with some rest Marc was certain that he'd be ready and raring to go in no time.

The two of them had descended into silence while Minato worked, and Marcus was glad of this. He really needed time to think- puzzle, really.

It was still hard for him to wrap his head around just how much had happened in (To him) a single day.

Even in Marcus' chaotic life, being dropped in another dimension was just strange.

His company doubly so. Minato… he didn't know what to make of the man. From their talk earlier he could tell that the man wasn't just old as sin, but stupidly powerful too. He was another Self Insert, but had lived so long he could barely remember the name of the anime. And… well, that was about it. Marcus was only just realising it, but the asshole had barely revealed anything about himself or his own world except to say he was a Captain and that Agents didn't exist in his world.

That didn't exactly matter though. Minato was also the only sorta ally Marcus had in this foreign and dangerous world.

Marcus had no doubts that there would be no repeat of his own world- there was no possible way that he could settle into the Gotei 13 like he did in his world. It didn't matter that he was competent and had gone through six years of the Academy, he had no past here. The paranoid higher ups would never let him join their ranks.

Then again, Marcus wasn't jumping at the chance to re-enter the military. He had two goals. One, murder a certain person. And two, maybe go home when he was done.

But the murder was the most important thing.

"I wish I could talk to you still, Javan." Marcus mused internally, still missing the voice of his once friend. Omega's appearance was normally enough to Disrupt his connection to his pseudo-spirit, but Marcus knew that even when he awoke Marcus wouldn't hear his voice.

Unfortunately there had been a certain amount of...friction between the two. It had been weeks since they had been on speaking terms with each other, and weeks since Marcus had personally silenced their communication methods.

Marcus suddenly wished for nothing more than to hear another voice- the silence he had earlier enjoyed to give himself thinking time was no longer welcome.

"Sooooo… Minato… what's the plan of action now? I'm basically healed up now, so what do we do?"

Minato gazed down, eyes piercing, "You are hardly healed. I have had time to do the rudimentary work. I wasn't Captain of the 4th. But as for plan of action after that...we need to figure out what is going on. Our killing of Kenpachi Zaraki will somewhat affect things, but I want to see what those immediate ripples are before we commit to anything yet."

Marc blurted out the words before his mouth could filter them. "Oh god, you're one of those types!"

In fact, it wasn't a surprise. Enough clues were in place for him to figure it out.

"What do you mean?"

"You're an Aizen Wannabe! No, an Urahara Wannabe, with the fan and everything! Either way, you're a scheming Magnificent Bastard fellow! Watching in the shadows, calculating everything and then stating at the end 'It all went according to plan'!" Marcus knew it wasn't wise to taunt the super powered former Captain, but it wasn't an understatement to say that Marcus was out of fucks to give. They were both in the same boat anyway, Minato couldn't afford to off him just yet.

Minato just gave a cagey smile, accentuated with the fan, "In fact, you figuring that out was all according to plan."

Seeing that he seemed more amused than angry, Marc decided to continue the gag. "Oh no! I bet that you used a combination of Memory Dust and Bullshit Emitters to force this outcome! How did I not see this nefarious act coming?"

"Nobody suspects the simple business man." The fan was waved melodramatically.

"What's up with the suit anyway? You using your Bastard tendencies to play the Stock Market or something, old man?"

Rolling his eyes, Minato shot back, "Nothing in this world is free. So once I wasn't with Soul Society, yes, I took a job on Wall Street."

Marcus certainly wasn't surprised. "Getting back on track though, what are we going to do? An… an old friend once told me 'what do you want, what do you have, and how can we use what we have to get it?'."

"Well, we have ourselves. You've stated to be around the level of a lieutenant, and I'd take my chances against anyone except Unohana or Yamamoto. Furthermore, we have all the chaos that Ichigo is creating. And to top it off, I can count the people on one hand that know anything more than the bare-bones information about us. That's not a bad starting point, honestly."

Marcus guessed Minato was right about that. Minato was suggesting that the two of them were tough enough to make it through the entire events of the Ryoka Invasion, and that as Outsiders they were utter unknowns thus would be unpredictable. Still, Marcus needed goals. Thing to aim for, and things to beat. For so long now the goal had been 'kill Omega, protect friends'. The friends were gone, but he still needed to kill Omega. That was broad though, he preferred step by step things. Do this training, fight this person, make this ally.

And while it was just the start of an idea… Marcus had something. The only question was whether he could actually trust Minato to help him. He knew nearly nothing of him, while his Urahara tendencies only mudded what he had figured out. How did he know that the ex-Captain wouldn't stab him in the back?

'Trust no one'

Still, Marcus literally couldn't get what he wanted alone. This idea… if successful he might be able to get everything he wanted.

"I… I have an idea. I wouldn't normally consider it, but this isn't my world. I can face the consequences of my actions, so long as my goals are achieved."

"Which is to kill that Omega fellow and maybe return home, correct? Don't worry, a king does not so quickly dispose of one of his Knights."

Damn, Minato was perceptive. Perhaps he have revealed too much about himself earlier. Thank god he hadn't spilled everything. "My idea is that we aim for the top. In this war of Chessmasters there is one goal and one target. I say that we steal the prize everyone wants. I say we claim the Hōgyoku for our own."

Minato drew a long breath, seemingly pondering, "You are aware of all the obvious repercussions of such an act?"

"I am." Marcus nodded.

"Well, I..somewhat agree with the idea. However, I disagree with your timing and methods. Sosuke Aizen will be defeated, even with it. However, it is impossible for it to be destroyed by anything that exists in this world. Thus, I propose we covertly remove and replace it with fake once Urahara repossess' it after Aizen is sealed. Trust me, he won't ever try to use it and figure out the swap. Then we won't be caught between two sides by painting a metaphorical target on our backs."

"Wow, he really is passive." Still, Marcus just couldn't agree with such a method. Hide in the shadows for the entire war, then just swap it out later? Marcus couldn't afford to just sit on the sidelines and wait. Omega was still active and scheming, plus there was no guarantee things would go as Minato suggested. Kenpachi was dead, and if having Fate trying to murder him had taught him anything, the universe hates it when someone changes something.

Plan for the worst, because things will go wrong.

Even a small butterfly might mean a world of difference. And there was no guarantee that the Hōgyoku would ever be extracted from its host.

He'd give one last attempt to persuade Minato. "I don't mind having a target on my back. If anything, now is the time to act! We're unknowns, and Aizen can't possibly have planned for us! Give him time and he will wreck us. I say we kidnap Rukia now while nobody is expecting it, extract the Hōgyoku, then flee to the human world and hide out in Hawaii. We then use said bullshit tool to tear reality a new one and go home."

Tear a hole through reality, and give Marcus the power up he desperately needed to finally surpass Omega. If the thing could send Aizen to the god tier, surely it could give him a measly little power up?

But would Minato listen? He was old, and no doubt set in his ways. Could Marcus really see Minato conceding, or would his cautious nature win out?

"That plan has some merit, true. However, as is typical with the young, you haven't seen all the potential cons. First off, Aizen won't bother with us if we don't give him a reason too. Second, I'm sure you've seen Kyōka Suigetsu at least once, and you know that's all it takes. Does the hypnosis transfer over? We don't know. And third, can the Hōgyoku even rip reality like that? Is potential death worth a maybe?"

"Screw the potential death! It's not like I have that much to live for anyway once I've dealt with Omega!"

A sigh, "If we can come up with a way to fool Aizen, yes it is possible, or frame Urahara, your plan will work."

"So what are we doing then? It seems like the Hōgyoku is our best bet either way, so what plan have you got oh wise one?"

"If we want to make this happen now, we need to go now. If we get to Rukia and take the Hōgyoku from her and vanish before she leaves the tower, Aizen will think Urahara gave him a red herring. Since you're too hot-headed to wait, that's our best bet."

"I'm not hot headed… just very Stubborn." Marcus grinned at his own little private joke. It had taken work, but Minato now seemed receptive to his idea. Now they would just need to plan themselves a heist. "Come Minato, let's discuss just how we're gonna pull this off…"