Chapter 3: The Barren Truth
Wolfgang Eichwald (Sternritter 'C') sat in a lounge, quietly sipping a cup of Black Tea. Since the night before, he had been thinking about his conversation with Uryu Ishida. His eyes moved downwards, glancing over at his left hand. On it was a white glove with the Quincy Zeichen embedded on it.
"Take this," Uryu said, handing a black box to Wolfgang.
"What is this?" he asked as he grasped the small case.
"A weapon," Uryu replied. "You must never use it until I say that the time is right. It would be unconventional if you were to activate it at the wrong time."
That was the last thing he was told before being dismissed. The weapon itself was the very glove on his hand. What a glove could possibly do, he did not know. But Uryu seemed to treat it as something dangerous, so it must have held a great power.
"Can we sit here?"
The voice snapped Wolfgang out of his thoughts. Looking up, he found Bianca Böhm (Sternritter 'U') starting at him. His friend and recruiter pushed her lengthy blue hair out of her face, smiling warmly with chocolate brown eyes. Or, least he thought she was. A black fabric covered her lower face.
Wolfgang gestured for Bianca and her companion to sit. "Go ahead. No one else is going to be keeping me company any time soon."
Sitting down at the table was actually pretty awkward for her. The woman was only 21, but she basically looked like a skyscraper at a height of over seven feet tall.
"Hey, are you okay?" Julia Panzer (Sternritter 'J') asked with a worried look as Bianca struggled to get in her chair.
"I-I'm fine," came her flustered answer. "Anyway, Wolfgang, I'd like you to meet Julia."
Compared to Bianca, the small girl could be considered a mouse. Her uniform had been rather tight fitting, in fact it was ridiculous to start in their cold environment. She wore a shirt which didn't cover her anything above her collarbone and pair of short shorts.
"So you're Wolfy!" Julia exclaimed. "I wanted to see you in person. Is it true you and Bianca used to be in the SAS?"
"I didn't know people here knew about things like that in the World of the Living, but yes. And aren't you a bit young to be a Star Knight?"
Julia's cheeks became as rosy as her pink locks of hair. "I'm not some little girl! Yeah I'm short, but I'm actually five years your senior, kid!"
Wolfgang felt a little stunned by that. She definitely didn't look that old.
"Hey, calm down," Bianca said, trying to assuage her little friend's anger. "It's that temper of yours that makes people think of you as a child."
Julia took some time to cool off, but she still couldn't help feeling bad that someone misinterpreted her size for her age. Again. "Sorry…" she mumbled.
"Could you quit it with all that noise,"Lukas Roehr (Sternritter 'F') complained. The white haired man lay stretched out on a couch, hands behind his head and feet propped up on the opposite end. His glasses threatened to slip off his face as he tried to sleep.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Bianca commented. "Why don't you come have a drink with us?"
"Because I'm so damn cold," Lukas muttered. "Whose idea was it to make this place the temperature of the Himalayas? And I don't get enough sleep. Commander Ludwig is always making me do all nighters on sentry duty. I can't remember the last night I had an undisturbed time in dreamland."
"It's your fault for always being so lazy," Julia said accusingly. "If you looked up the definition of a 'good work ethic', you'd probably be able to enjoy a good night's rest."
Lukas zipped his white trench coat up over the bridge of his nose and tried to doze off again.
"How does someone sleep so much?" Nils Weider (Sternritter 'V') cut in disapprovingly. The silver haired man sat playing poker with the ever so silent Adrian Kaufman (Sternritter 'S'), who watched his own deck carefully. Like Bianca, he sported a fabric mask which sat under pale blue eyes. His black and messy hair clung to the sides of his face as a sloth clings to a tree limb. Running down over his left eye was a pair of scars.
"As if it weren't annoying enough with Julia around," Nils continued. "At least that Lukas dead beet knows when to shut up. Once she's started, you can't even bribe her to stop."
A chair came flying towards him and took him off his own seat. "What the hell?!" he shouted. Julia stood up with childish malice after using the piece of furniture as a projectile.
"You sort of deserved that," Adrian admitted in a low voice as Nils got back into his place at their table.
"You almost never open your mouth. Yet when you do, it's always to make a smartass comment," Nils said with irritance. He rubbed one of his toned, sleeveless arms where he had been hit.
Wolfgang looked at Bianca. "Is it usually like this?"
"Most of the time it's worse. So yeah," she confirmed.
Schattenreich
Otto Richter (Gottesengel 'P') walked down an ashen road lined with oil lamps. On either side of him marched the Kallaverist, soldiers of the Schattenreich who wore uniforms and filter masks matching the path which they walked. Atop each of their heads was a black beret.
Below the walkway was a deep gorge which swallowed up what little light the vermilion sky provided.
In the distance rose the Dämmerung, a black fortress/palace towering with an abundant amount of battlements, watchtowers, and barracks.
A medic ran over to Yosiah Grimmlocke (Gottesengel 'N'), who was covered in burns. He merely waved them away but accepted a syringe of painkiller. As he injected it into his wrist, Nicolle Dassler (The Manipulation) admired the blade Zangetsu.
Otto moved on ahead of the two and through the Dämmerung's front gate. As he crossed the courtyard leading to the palace's entrance, a bald man whose gray combat vest was similar to his called out to him.
"What's this?" The man asked as he leaned against a column, arms crossed. "Weren't you supposed to bring back proof of Kisuke Urahara's execution? And where's that Kurosaki kid? How's Her Majesty going to take this?" He smiled wickedly, his blonde goatee shifting with the movement.
Otto narrowed his eyes. "I don't remember having to answer to you," he replied icily.
Yosiah had caught up and put the back of his hand against Nicolle's shoulder, signaling her to stop. They didn't want to get stuck in between these two's conflict. Otto tried to continue but the man stopped him. "Out of my way, Baader."
Baader Batterlicht (Gottesengel 'K')'s grin broadened. "Come on, don't be like that, Otto. Being part of the four elite doesn't mean you can order me around. I'm still one of the seven strongest members in our army."
Just when it seemed like they were going to go Mano e Mano, Yosiah intervened. "Well, let's not keep Lady Xelia waiting." He pushed Otto along, away from the masked man's bitter rival. Unfortunately, Baader wasn't finished yet.
Grabbing Yosiah by the arm, he turned him and stared the suave man in the eyes. "Hey, you shouldn't be getting in the way of other people's conversations. Or were you attempting to make more enemies?" Baader's Reiatsu rose, causing Nicolle to grow skittish and Otto alert.
"Now, now. Let's not start any fights," Yosiah said as he brushed the man's hand away. "Besides.." His face shifted from his normal calm to a dead seriousness. "Do you honestly think you can kill me?"
Surprised by the sudden change, Baader backed off. The trio made their way past. When they were well within the mausoleum, Nicolle tapped Yosiah on the shoulder. "What was all that about?"
Yosiah sighed. "You know about the 'Four Horsemen', Her Majesty's elite guard, right? Well when the first three were assigned, the chance for the last position was split between me, Otto, and Baader. Of course, you can see that Otto was ultimately picked. That Baader's been bitter ever since."
"Quiet," Otto ordered. "We've made it to the Queen's chamber." The room they entered was dark, only lit by a single torch. Shadows twisted and moved due to the flame's light. Not much could be seen of Margaret Xelia, who herself was swathed by the shadows. Her torso was hidden beneath a black mantle. Her silver hair was tied into a braid, which ran down her back. Covering her eyes was a set of bandages.
"Otto, Yosiah, Nicolle," she addressed gently. " How has your mission gone?"
The three of them weren't sure what to say. Since he was of higher rank, Otto took the responsibility of giving the news. " I am sorry, Your Majesty. We failed to kill Kisuke Urahara and to bring back Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Oh, you poor children. You haven't failed anyone," Though she looked young and spoke in a smooth voice, she talked like an old mother.
Her reply was not what they had been expecting. "Um, Your Majesty? Did we just hear you right?" Yosiah spoke up. "The mission was not achieve those objectives?"
Xelia shook her head. "Baader must have told you wrong before you set off. While i did want Ichigo Kurosaki brought back, I did not command anyone to actually kill Kisuke Urahara. I simply requested that you gauge his strength and take some of his Reiatsu. Am I right correct in saying that you did that?"
Otto walked forward and handed her a circular medallion. "Thank you. With this, we will now be able to steal his Bankai. Your true mission was to bring this to me. As for the Kurosaki boy, Nicolle, I believe you have one of his zanpakuto?"
"Y-yes, ma'am."
Xelia smiled warmly at them. "You have done well. What you did has given me essential assets."
The companions were joyous to hear her praise them. "Thank you!" they all said in unision. They all turned to go but Xelia gestured them to stay.
"Before you go, I must ask you something. Do you know why this red chromatic gray is the primary color of our army?" The three were at a loss. "It is because this world is too black and white. Whilst the shinigami wear black, Hollows and Quincies have adopted white. They make not know it, but that pushes them to be polar opposites. Each one one of them have antagonized each other, calling themselves righteous and the others 'evil'. Yet in ignorance they fail to realize they are all equally as 'evil' and guilty as the next. As long as the laws of the universe revolve around the division of black and white, all beings will remain divided as well. Ideally, our worlds should be full of vibrant colors mixing and amongst one another."
Xelia sighed. a sigh of weariness."Sadly, this is not the case in reality. Soul Society, Hueco mundo, the Vandenreich. They may hold a pact of peace now, but who's to say war will come to pass between them in the future. It has only been three years since they were at each other's throat. The problem is mostly caused by their different perspectives on 'good' and 'evil'. That is the problem. 'Good' and 'evil' should not exist. what we classify as them are things which dwell within all creatures from birth. They are only mere notions we create based on mindsets made from experience. That is why I wish to bring all worlds together in harmony. But there is one thing in our way to accomplishing this feat. One reason why all realms remain in conflict." Xelia's voice had anger in it for the first time.
Otto, Yosiah, and Nicolle traded glances. There was only one topic that infuriated their leader. One man, no, one creature who had been the center of the problem which she lectured about. The Soul King.
Dept. of Research & Development, Seireitei (3 Days Later)
" It's exactly as I've said before," Akon (Twelfth Division Lieutenant) confirmed to his Captain. "Hundreds of Rukongai residents have been reported to disappear for approximately one day, the reappearing with no memory of what happened to them in that time."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi examined the reports akon had shown him. He turned to the horned Vice Captain with intrigue. "Do we have any leads as to why this happened?'
"No sir," Akon replied. "All we have come up with is that a majority who disappeared have fallen to illness. They seem to succumb to intense pain and and a fever. Within the last few days, officers of the Gotei 13 have also disappeared. The Thirteenth Division's Third seats Sentaro Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu are currently in the Fourth Division's barracks undergoing the most treatment. They are suffering the most."
West Rukongai District
A man collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. He clutched at his chest, yelling for aid. "Somebody please...help me!" his fellow neighbors ran to his assistance. "What's wrong? Have you come down with the fever?" The man they were helping was one of the people who disappeared.
He arched backwards on his knees as red light flooded out of his eyes and mouth. One of the villager's recoiled in horror. The man's body suddenly burst into a towering pillar of Reishi. Around Rukongai, all the victims of the mysterious disappearances met similar fates, illuminating the night sky. Those who were outside the range of the blasts looked on in terror. That was only the beginning.
Hundreds of soldiers in gray with filter makes poured out of the obelisks: the Kallaversit. They begin destroying anything in sight, people included. the Captains of the Gotei jumped into action as emergency sirens blared around Seireitei. Squadrons of Shinigami were sent out . The Black Sun had come.
A/N: There it is! The chapter to start the war. How will the Three Lynchpins deal with this?Now, I would like to apologize for the sudden increase in how long this chapter was compared to the others.. My future ones will be longer than the first 3 now that I can write the war. Sorry for the sudden expanse of OC too. I needed to introduce some before the fight started, so I used this chapter. Criticism and reviews are welcome and encouraged.