Oh, yeah. Bet you didn't see this coming, did ya? DID YA? Also, I'm trying to weave the names of the Fraccion into this without changing it. So Emilou Apacci will still be Emilou Apache, etc.
Chapter 7: Into the Lion's Den
Nnoitra Gilga was known in the west as "Santa Teresa" for some unexplainable reason. His Fraccion, Tesla, had been killed during the war by Kenpachi Zaraki from Seireitei, leaving Nnoitra to travel the desert alone. He, like a typical Arrancar, worked his way through the ranks to achieve power and glory. His dream, like most others, was to become the strongest... but at the cost of what it was worth. Nnoitra had nothing to loose, and everything to gain.
The darkness was scared away by the lanterns lining the walkway. Shadows suspended overhead flickered, startled by the candlelight. Stealthy like the blackness around them, the group crept along the passage. In the first room the Arrancar were gathered, chatting freely and moving coal from one railroad cart to the other.
Peering into the room briefly, Starrk observed the other entrance and plotted a route to the other side. He took Lilynette by her wrist and they ducked behind crates of packed dynamite, dodging out of the line of sight. They crawled at first, hidden skillfully by the crates and mounds of coal, but then jogged to the opening. They disappeared around the corner.
Harribel and the Stars followed, Szayel hot behind them. His boot scraped a chunk of coal loose, making some of the mound topple. They hesitated, but no one seemed to notice so they kept going. Joining Starrk, he moved them down the skillfully hollowed out tunnel to the break in the passage. It forked two ways - left and right.
"Shit," Harribel uttered, "Which way, Aporro?"
Szayel scratched the back of his head, "Mm... I don't know. Let's split up, and if anything goes wrong we'll meet back here unless we find a different exit. Worse comes to worst, run for it and get help before coming back."
"We're not weak," Lilynette hissed, "We can take care of the Arrancar without breaking a sweat!"
"Lower your voice," Starrk said impassively and knocked her on the head, "We'll go right. Who's comin' with?"
"I'll go," Harribel volunteered, taking Szayel's elbow, "And you'll come, too. Stars, scout left." She waved them off and waited for them to fade into the darkness before nodding at Starrk to take the lead. They followed him to the end of the winding tunnel where the sharp left branched off into a hall of multiple rooms. Peering into several doorways, they noticed the rooms were stuffed with dynamite of various sizes and looping wires.
"What are they doing in here that they need so many explosives?" Lilynette questioned, gripping the back of Starrk's coat as they advanced onward. "There's nothing in this canyon, is there?"
"I don't know for sure," Szayel answered quietly, "but there may be gold hidden deep within the heart of this place. From what I overheard the Arrancar mention, anyway, but it may just be a rumor."
They trekked into one of the last rooms to find - "Nnoitra!" Starrk exclaimed and rushed over to the chair where the man's head was limp against his chest. "Nnoitra, speak to us!" He touched the Espada's cheek, reeling back. His fingers pressed against Nnoitra's neck, and then finally Starrk sighed. "Shit, we're too late. He's dead."
Szayel cursed, and his eyes widened, "Wait... if he's dead then..." Behind them, multiple guns cocked. "...We fell right into Aizen's trap." They turned to the Arrancar aiming their weapons at them, filling the room swiftly. "Oh, this might be a challenge."
Starrk smirked, "Or too easy."
Down the left passage with Sun-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apache, the girls marched swiftly to the end of the tunnel. "I just realized," Sun-Sun remarked, touching the strange red wiring lining the walls, "I've been wondering what this stuff is. It's everywhere I look."
Apache analyzed the wiring, "It's... rigged. They might be blowing some stuff up to dig deeper into the heart of the canyon, but we need to be careful now." She glanced at Mila who was already at the end of the walk. The exit spat them out to a drop-off, a pit that traveled down several stories. The wooden boards were petruding from the walls, lining a staircase to the floor.
They snuck downwards, descending into the abyss where the Arrancar were setting up the mines and sticks of dynamite. They didn't bother to look up and see the girls slipping by, too focused on their current objective. "We're almost ready," One Arrancar remarked, setting the final wires on the massive explosive that seemed to come out of the wall itself, "Using that Espada as bait we'll blow this whole place to smithereens and finally be recognized by Aizen-sama!"
The second Arrancar glanced at his friend, handing her some clay to pack the molds together, "Yes, that would be a giant leap forward for us..." Gunshots echoed overhead, rattling the walls and causing debris to flutter down from the ceiling. "Oh, it seems the Espada are right on time. I wonder how many came to save Nnoitra... Not that it's going to do any good."
"Sun-Sun," Mila Rose whispered, "Get to Harribel-sama! Apache and I will try to defuse the master bomb!"
The Star nodded and slipped away, quietly making her way back up the steps. "How big of an explosion is this going to make?" The second Arrancar questioned as the first set a time on the clock. "Just make sure we have enough time to get out."
"Plenty," The first avowed, placing the timer within the heart of the wires. "Alright, let's get out of here. But first..." She sliced one wire not connected to the master explosive, and from not too far down the way they had come an explosion rocked the cavern. "Warning fire so the others can escape." She stood, rubbing her knees soothingly, and they stalked out through the tunnel dug into the far wall.
When they had gone, Apache and Mila made a run for the bombs. "Think you can defuse it?" Mila questioned, leaning over Apache's shoulder who kneeled over the assortment of colors.
The other girl snorted in failed attempt to hold back a laugh, "Of course I can." She flipped a combat knife out of its hiding place in her boot, the carefully crafted blade shimmering in the dim light. Her face flushed at the sight of the crossing wires, but swallowing dryly she shoved her hands inside the core. A gunshot echoed, piercing the dirt beside Mila.
Voices shouted out, "It's the Stars! Kill them!" and multiple Arrancar appeared overhead, aiming their revolvers from the spiral stairs above.
"Hold them off," Apache coerced, working to find the right wire.
Mila didn't respond - she simply fired into the air, outmatched ten to one. Another explosion rocked the heart of the tunnels. Apache sliced one wire, but it was thinner than she thought when her blade slid through so quickly it broke another wire in half. The exit nearby shuddered and caved in. She worked at the wires briskly, her ears stinging with every gunshot that echoed from Mila's revolver in such a tight space. "Defuse it, Apache! Defuse it or this whole place will collapse!"
"Tell me something I don't know!" Apache snapped back, wincing when a dead Arrancar collapsed and landed like a sandbag at Mila's feet.
The voices cried out, "Forget it! This whole place is coming down!" "Let's get out of here!" The gun shots faded, along with the shouts of the Arrancar. The hideout moaned as the walls began to give out.
Mila sobbed softly, the scuffling of her heels came and went as she dropped to her knees. "Apache, we don't have time. Let's just go!"
"No!" The other star barked, "I can do this!" Apache felt her heart speed up until it threatened to race out of her chest. She studied the time on the clock - three minutes, one to finish defusing and two to high-tail it out of there. "I. Can. Do. This!" There! That one! She sliced through the thick black cord. The numbers began to flash, and then they blacked out.
All was still for a moment, Apache's heavy breaths barely audible over the distant rumble of collapsing hideout. "I... I think I stopped it!" Mila exhaled a sigh of relief. "Alright, we can-"
The numbers reappeared, this time counting down from 1 minute.
Apache felt her gut twist. There wasn't enough time now. She jumped up and pocketed her knife, hoisting Mila to her feet. Suddenly the Star screamed and dropped down again, clutching at her stomach. "M-Mila?" Apache went wide-eyed at the sight of the single bullet lodged in her upper thigh. Her gaze wandered to the other two holes in the girl's gut. "No, Mila... Come on, we're going! Get up!"
"Leave me," Mila uttered, blood seeping through her fingers. "Please, just go while you still can, Apache!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"You don't have a choice!" Mila shoved Apache away, "I said go! Tell Harribel-sama and Sun-Sun that I'm sorry we couldn't stop the bomb!"
"It's my fault!" Apache roared, "Now get your ass up! Franceska Mila Rose I demand you get the fuck up and haul your damn self out of this tunnel before I drag you out by your extensions!"
Mila cracked a smirk, "You can't lift me. You'll never make it out, especially if you insist on being so stubborn."
Apache shook her head and held Mila against her chest for a moment, "This isn't how I wanted to say good-bye, you freaking bitch..."
"I know," The star uttered, "Now please... go." Apache retrieved a familiar object from the girl's back pocket and bolted, tears dripping in her wake. There was only one way out now, back the way they had come in… but if it was sealed off, any other tunnel she found first.
She just hoped she could make it in time.
Starrk stumbled out of the tunnel with Harribel and Lilynette in tow, trying to figure out which part of the canyon they had been spit out into. Szayel sprinted out, dragging Sun-Sun by her sleeve, just as the tunnel collapsed with a twist of shattering rock.
"What about Apache and Mila?" Sun-Sun asked, facing the sealed off cavern.
"They can handle themselves," Szayel acknowledged, "I can't believe we just walked into that ambush, though! Why would Nnoitra be alive? It was so stupid of us to think we actually had a shot at finding him with a pulse!"
"If you don't shut up you won't have a pulse!" Starrk snapped, holding Lilynette close, "Come on, let's find our horses and see if we can pick up Apache and Mila somewhere. I'm sure they found their own way out-" Then, the canyon itself screamed and exploded like a volcano. Bolder-portion sized rocks sailed into the air, slamming down around them like hail. "-but for now I suggest we run!"
They weaved around getting crushed, avoiding death by millimeters. Starrk leapt onto a plateau, scaling up with ease. He reached down and lifted Lilynette up with him, the duo falling back into a cave dug out in the side of the cliff. Harribel climbed up after them, assisting Sun-Sun and Szayel. They huddled in the darkness, Starrk covering Lilynette's ears from the sounds of World War I erupting from outside.
"Starrk," She whimpered, eased only a little when he encouraged her to lean into his chest.
Starrk glanced at Harribel, who was standing there - stunned - eyes as large as the moon - unable to move. To think, Apache and Mila Rose were stuck in this? That only meant that Apache had failed to defuse the bomb in time.
Then, just like that it was all over.
The stillness swept over them, mutilated by relief, worry, doubt and anguish. Szayel adjusted his glasses, raking his fingers through his dusty pink hair. He was the first to move, grumbling about the bullet wound in his forearm from the fallout in Nnoitra's torture chamber.
Harribel leapt out of the cave, her crystallizing emerald gaze falling upon the ruin before them. The hideout was almost leveled, a mountain of loose debris, granite, and crystals. "Apache!" She called out, sliding down into the rubble, "Mila Rose!" Wind swept across the destroyed area, blowing the settling dust out of her vision. "Apache! Mila Rose!"
There was no response. Sun-Sun approached her, stepping carefully over the fallen stones. She admired the hollowed out part of the canyon now, looming over her and casting what was left of the mountain in a foreboding shadow. "Harribel-sama," She uttered, touching the older woman's shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll find them..."
Harribel sighed slowly, "Over there," she pointed to the plateau wedged into the face of the canyon, "That's where we were before. That's our way out. Get the other three and retrieve the horses... I'll keep looking."
"Tia," came Starrk's impassive voice. She turned to him, head inclined so she was staring at the ground instead.
Sun-Sun whispered to Lilynette and Szayel, "Let's find our horses." They slunk off, leaving Harribel and Starrk to the desolate destruction.
"Harribel," Starrk caressed her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her smooth skin soothingly, "Oh, Harribel... I'm sorry. There was nothing you could do; don't blame yourself."
"I wasn't," she admonished, "I'm not an idiot, Starrk. If I knew a bomb was down there I wouldn't have sent them down that passage. If we knew Nnoitra was dead we would have left well enough alone. If-" He kissed her gently, calming her.
"It's OK," He told her, bringing her into a tight embrace, "Everything's going to be OK..." She leant her head on his chest, her sigh muffled by his coat. Starrk tingled; the sound of a voice drifting from not too far away slipped into his ears like a parasite. He glanced around, smiling when he located Apache crying faintly for help, leg locked under a boulder. "Harribel, look."
Red Star followed his finger to the Fraccion, her emerald orbs lighting up, "Oh, Emilou!" She raced over to the girl, throwing herself against the rock, "It's alright, I'll get you out!"
"H-Harribel-sama..." Apace muttered, differently colored voids glazed over with tears, "It doesn't hurt, don't worry."
"Were you and Mila separated?" Harribel asked, pushing again but to no avail. Apache didn't reply. "Damn this thing is heavy!" The boulder shifted only a little, grinding into Apache's leg and causing her bite back a startled scream.
"What'd you expect?" Starrk said, "You need leverage. It's not too big, so we may be able to lift it enough to get Apache's leg out." He slid in fingers into the crevices against her shin, curling to get a good grip on the underbelly of the chunk of stone still singed from the blast. "Harribel, get that side." She bent down and joined him. "Apache, when you feel the weight lift I want you to pull your leg out as fast as possible! Tia, one... Two... Three!" The last number was strained as they successfully moved the boulder upwards.
Apache didn't waste any time and slid her leg out, "OK." They dropped the heavy mass, Starrk brushing his gloves off on his jeans. "Harribel-sama I-" Before Apache could finish Tia grabbed her and held her close.
"Thought I lost you for a minute there," She admitted, quirking an eyebrow when Apache tried to push her off. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you don't like hugs. Come, let's find Mila."
"You're not going to find her," Apache hissed, stepping out of the older Star's arms an gyrating so she had her back facing Red Star.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Harribel touched the girl's shoulder but was shrugged away. "Apache, what happened?"
"Mila's dead, Harribel!" Apache blurted, fists balling up, "I couldn't defuse the bomb in time and she was shot trying to protect me!" She dropped to her knees; fell forward to her hands, followed by her tears. "She's dead and I… I couldn't save her!"
END. Next chapter preveiw: If it had the bullet she would get what she deserved, but if not... then she wouldn't know what to do. Her finger found the trigger, hesitant to apply any pressure. "What are you doing, Apache?"