What? An update? What is this nonsense?

So sorry that took like... what was it? Two weeks? But I've been so busy! Four hours of swimming a week, plus homework, plus babysitting, plus family reunion thingies, plus friends' birthdays= no updates.

But I managed to do one today... Yay!

Anyways, this is going to be done within the next four chapters, most likely, and I'm probably not going to be writing much fanfiction for a while... I've got a little project of my own that I'd like to try out, and although I'll probably fail epically... I'm still going to try.

If I owned Bleach, there would be an episode where somebody has to try babysitting Yachiru.

Bren and Tara led Annica and Janice across the soft desert sand, searching for the exit, which Renji had described to them in great detail, with brief interjections from Kaili. Neither had been too happy with their assigned job- which was to get Janice and Annica back to their bodies, and then to return to their own, but they both understood why it needed to be done.

Still, was it really necessary for Annica and Janice to be conscious at the time? Because, really, they could just knock them out and drag them. A bit painful, perhaps, but much better than listening to their idiotic complaints. Besides, it would only be painful for Annica and Janice, and in the twins' opinion, they deserved it.

Swallowing a groan, and forcing back the urge to beat the crap out of Janice and Annica, Bren trudged on. Her only comfort was that she knew that Tara felt the exact same way.

"What day is it?" Tara asked offhandedly.

"Wednesday." There was a brief pause, and then an identical grin spread onto both girls' faces.

"Goliath came out yesterday!" They exclaimed together. "Yay!" This realization brought on another dance, this time one of pure elation. After all, they had been waiting for it for a year.

A brief meeting later, the three Shinigami and four dragons had a battle plan. Of course, something was going to go wrong, but it was comforting knowing that they had something planned, even if it didn't work out. Now they were just waiting for Dagger to come back to the cave.

Victory was very nearly certain. Even though Dagger was invisible, there was still only one of him against seven of them. The odds weren't in his favour. But even so, Byakuya felt that they had missed something. Something important. It was bothering him, to the point where he was finding it difficult to concentrate on the world around him. Something imperative had been overlooked, and if he didn't think of it, soon, they were going to be in big trouble. He just knew it. Unfortunately, he still couldn't figure it out.

It had only taken Tara and Bren a few minutes to figure out how truly depressing Hueco Mundo was. In a place where the sun never shone, and monsters lurked around every corner, there had to be something cheerful. But there was nothing. They couldn't find anything even remotely happy about this place. Everything spoke of danger and darkness, and really, it was fitting. Even so, neither girl could shake off the blanket of gloominess that had been draped over their shoulders. There only comfort was that if they were feeling bad, Annica and Janice must have been feeling ten times worse.

The sand whispered softly into the silence, and Tara and Bren exchanged a look. It was almost as though they were being warned, and in this dark atmosphere, what was to say that they weren't. Both of them stopped so suddenly that Janice and Annica nearly ran into them. Ignoring the squawks of irritation from behind them, both girls listened intently. Again, there was the barely audible hiss of sand parting underfoot. And nobody was moving.

Slowly, they drew their zanpaku-tos, holding them ready. After all, it was unlikely that the being coming towards them was an innocent bookseller, here to give them Goliath. Although that would be amazing, the chances extremely slim, like the chances of Terry Pratchett coming to Alberta, although that too would be amazing.

"What are you doing?" Annica demanded. Bren and Tara both groaned softly.

"You really don't know the meaning of the word stealth, do you?" Bren hissed angrily.

"Of course I do! It means-" Annica began, just as a menacing shape darted out from behind a sand dune and leapt towards them.

Renji was leaning against the wall of the cave when he came.

"Well, I've come to play a game!" Dagger exclaimed, before noticing that his captives were no longer there. His handsome face (and Renji had to admit that he was handsome, although not nearly as good-looking as Byakuya) contorted into a scowl.

"It's not very nice to steal people's toys." He whined. "Not nice at all."

"People aren't toys," Kali informed him stubbornly.

Dagger ignored her. "Now I have to go and get them back," he muttered, turning towards the exit. "Bullies."

Three sharp blades stopped his exit. "Not a chance," Kaili told him. Dagger's eyes narrowed.

"So you want to play now?" he asked. "Fine. Let's play." He lifted two fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply. "But first let me call some friends."

Just as dark figures rose over the horizon, swooping towards them, Byakuya realized what they had been missing. Dagger had more than just three dragons under his control. Much more.

Suddenly, it was them that were outnumbered.

So... Review?

-Stormy