"So, that's the whole story, huh?" Ichigo asked, thinking it over.

"That it is. A few new pages in that book Saya told you about?"

Ichigo stared directly into Grimmjow's eyes.

"Yeah. A few."

"Good, now that you know that…" He brought his sword up again.

"But if that's really how it is, then why'd you leave her?"

"I already told you; I got tired of babysitting her."

"It sounds like you were more angry that she had kids."

Grimmjow lost his grin; he was getting bored now.

"Yeah, so what?"

"They just came out of her today, right? Isn't it a bit narcissistic to expect her to be paying attention to you again when she's a brand new mother?"

"The kids aren't born yet, remember? They're just two sacs of webbed up eggs."

"But they're alive. And they can be killed."

"What do you care about it anyway? They're not human or soul reapers. So what does it matter?"

Ichigo shook his head.

"It doesn't matter whether they're human, a spirit, or a chiropteran. If someone wants to kill them when they haven't done anything wrong I'm not going to stand by and let it happen."

His grin returned and Grimmjow shrugged.

"And yet here you are, out here, fighting me for no reason."

Ichigo brought his sword up again.

"It's not for no reason."

Once again the grin vanished, and his arms lowered to his side.

"What's that mean?"

Diva walked over to her babies normally, even though she had goose-bumps all over her body. She hadn't wanted to kill her sister. But between that and letting her sister kill her babies, that was what she'd chosen. The girl hoped that the death wasn't very painful, and from the lack of screams, assumed it wasn't.

"Just go to sleep Saya." She thought.

The reason Saya's killing blow hadn't been such a thing was because the rain, as the fought, had washed all of her blood off of the sword. It didn't matter if she had special channels in the sword to make it stay in there; water washes away everything. Whether it be blood or breath. Diva's blood, however, had barely been exposed to the rain for a second, and there hadn't been enough time for the rain to save her as it had her younger sister.

"She's gotten enough breaks. It's time for luck to favor you, my little darlings." She thought affectionately as Diva reached her babies that remained covered by the now-soaked dresses.

"With auntie Saya gone you two won't have to worry about her hurting either of you, though you'd better play nice with each other and make sure not to get cut."

They still didn't answer her.

"What's wrong? Are you upset with mommy?"

The cocoons pulsed, and she smiled.

"No, not my little dears… you'll never be angry with me."

She was ready to live a different life; a life without "chiropterans" or "humans" or anything else like that. Diva wanted to live a happy life with her daughters- she wanted to live a happy life. That was all. And now she would be able to do that. It was her dream finally made a reality. So it was no small matter when she heard Saya pull the sword from her chest and stand up again. Diva quickly reeled around, moving several feet in front of her babies to keep them out of harms way.

Saya looked about as surprised as she felt, but that didn't seem to stop her from wanting to kill her sister.

Her blue eyes trembled as she stared at her sword-wielding sister.

"W- Why?" She spoke under her break, the question more to herself than to anyone else.

"Why won't you- why won't you just die?" She screamed at Saya, taking the girl by surprise.

"My blood kills you! That's how it works! So why aren't you dead yet, Saya?"

Her blood had been on the blade. Her blood had been on the blade when she thrust it into her; a layer of crystal-like substance that coated the entire blade proved that. It was the result of their blood mixing and crystallizing. Yet here she was, standing and completely healthy. But why?

"Why is it always like this? You always get all of the breaks; the world's love. While I… get it's sorrow…" She trailed off, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Diva…"

"You lived a happy, love-filled life. You were free to wander the huge grounds of the estate on which we lived. I was trapped in a tower; I felt no happiness, received no love, and was treated like I barely existed."

Her hands tightened into fists as she reminisced about the past; it was the first time she'd truly done so.

"You had people who cared about you to show you how you're supposed to do this and that, and to protect you whenever your feelings were hurt or someone was angry at you. I was locked in a cage, uneducated, not taught about all of the different rules and feelings of humans, and, more importantly, with no one to care about me."

Diva's blood boiled and she felt a new source of energy overcome her as her long-dormant emotions rose to the surface.

"You let me out and told me you would love and take care of me! And when I next saw you all you wanted to do was kill me! For being 'evil'! But you forgot Saya! Was it not you who abandoned me to go out into the world alone?"

Her twin took a step back at the emotional assault.

"All these years you've called me evil and tried to banish me from the world, but in all those years did you ever once consider maybe I'm not bad? Maybe I'm just… unlucky…"

Diva's head fell down once again as the energy receded. As the strength faded, tears welled up to the surface.

"I hate you Saya. I hate how you're always in the light, damning me for not knowing how to get out of the dark. And this is going to end tonight."

The girl felt her anger burst to the surface and she ran at her sister like berserker.

"I don't care if I do die! I'm not going to let you kill my children, Saya! Not even if I have to tear your heart from its chest and devour it!"

Her sister made no moves; she was completely stunned. Diva felt no happiness at that, however, and was completely focused on one thing; killing Saya. Haji stepped in-between them when he realized Saya was too shocked to move, causing her infuriated sister to scowl.

"Out of my way!" She yelled, not deterred in the least.

He didn't budge though. Not even as four shapes glided their blue forms onto the roof behind her. The girl hadn't felt their presence, and was stopped in her tracks when she suddenly sensed four of her chevaliers now standing at her side like knights. Yet… she didn't know what the feeling was, but it felt like they were knights in black armor.

"My chevaliers…" She spoke.

"Don't you worry now, Diva dear. We won't let them touch a hair on your perfect little head." Nathan reassured her.

"It's time that we finished Saya off and were done with her." James added.

"But… my blood didn't kill her."

Amshel stepped forward, and looked at Haji as if he were a bug.

"Most likely due to the birth of your children. Your blood purity must have been passed on to them."

"But- how did you know they were-"

"We used a satellite to track where you were and saw them on the roof with you."

"Oh."

His gaze changed to look at her. It was strange, the look in his eyes didn't change.

"Where are your children, Diva?"

"They are right over there, by that little building. Why?"

"We need to observe them as soon as possible and learn whatever we can."

"Observe? But why-"

Images flashed through her mind. Thoughts, sounds, feelings, smells, loneliness, sadness, despair… all of the things she had felt and experienced throughout the uncalled for incarceration in that tower all those years ago suddenly all came back to her.

"But they're my babies. You can't just use them like experiments."

"We can impregnate them as well, after that we will be able to return them to you."

"But that could take forever, and with how young they are they might not know-"

"You were young during our first 'experiment' weren't you?"

That experience still jarred her senses. It had been the only time she fought back against him whenever he tried to experiment on her. She didn't want her babies to go through that.

"Amshel, I don't want you to experiment on them or with them. I just want to live with them and be happy."

His gaze returned to "their enemies".

"I'm afraid that it's necessary." He spoke in an unapologetic tone.

"You can't-"

"Diva, you do not know how to be a mother. You did not have one either, and yet here you are."

His voice was so cold and machine-like. Why she hadn't seen this in him before now was completely beyond her. Yes, here she was. And she loathed her life. She wouldn't have even wish it on those who had forced it on her.

"Amshel, my children are mine, and mine alone."

"Is that so? That's a pity."

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Then again. Since you are now incapable of either killing Saya or producing more children…"

"No-"

"I'm afraid you're simply no more use to us."

"What do you mean?"

"Now that your blood's purity has been passed on to your children, we no longer have an urging to help you. To us, you are now nothing more than a pathetic child."

Her hands tightened back into fists.

"Amshel-"

Whatever she had to say was cut off as a hand plunged through her chest and thrust out the back of it. It might have hurt, had it not disconnected her spinal cord in the process. The burgundy-colored arm lifted her up into the air, allowing the girl to glare at him with her dull blue eyes.

"Do not worry. This won't kill you. Not this alone anyway."

Her whole body trembled as blood built up in her lungs. She spat all the blood she could muster into his face, leaving it to be washed away by the rain into the rest of his burgundy suit.

"How rude; typical of a beast raised in a secluded tower."

She got no more chances to respond before his hand threw her back away from both groups. Diva landed on her back but was rolled over by the momentum as she crashed into the wall her babies had been set near. Diva crawled over to them and scratched against the concrete as she grasped for her unborn children. As her hands reached them she pulled them tight to her chest, as her lifeblood continued to spill onto the ground.

"How could you do that to her? Wasn't she your queen?" Saya yelled.

Amshel set his arm back down at his side and allowed the rain to wash the remainder of her blood away.

"For someone who was intent on killing her before we arrived you seem awfully protective of her now."

Saya backed up, Haji between the chevaliers and his master. He stood fearlessly before them, but surely knew that it was impossible for just the two of them to fight four full-strength chevaliers and win.

"Though I suppose she may still serve some use as a lab rat once again. Having been compelled by my blood to care for her all these years I would thoroughly enjoy showing that little girl her insides once more."

"You're sick!" Saya spat.

Amshel Goldsmith grinned as he took a step towards them.

Something flew downward, colliding with the floor between them and exploding, the combination of chemicals and water creating a smokescreen that momentarily rendered all of the people there blind. As they all struggled to see a figure materialized behind the chevalier and began walking towards both groups.

"So… this is what it looks like when you get a buncha bats together." A man mused as the "smoke" cleared.

"Strange, I'd have thought it would look a bit more impressive." The blue-haired man finished, his katana propped over his shoulder.

"I could care less about that girl, but fighting all six of you sounds like it'd be a real blast. Mind if I join in?"