70 Days ago

Grimmjow collapsed back against the wall next to the three bodies. The white-garbed soldiers hadn't been that powerful, but he was exhausted. He'd been awake for at least ten days, his spiritual pressure was all that was sustaining him. A small figure dropped next to him.

"Grimmjow's hurt!" Nel moved toward the gash on his leg and he saw her reaching into her throat.

"Don't-" but she belched out hot liquid and though he made a disgusted noise he felt the healing properties flood into him. He just sat there and shut his eyes, knowing it was too dangerous to fall asleep here but so tempted to just let go.

"Heh, going to make this easy for me then?"

Blue eyes shot open but the sword was already at his throat. Nel made a startled noise and cowered next to him.

This one was big, he had the same white hood as the others but he pulled it off to reveal his white-double breasted trench coat and black combat boots. This one, at least, didn't seem to have one of those cross-things on his wrist but neither did he see a mask or hollow hole. After all these days of fighting, he still couldn't figure out what these people were.

"Tell me, arrancar, do you have bankai?" The enemy asked.

"Screw you."

Though he knew it was useless, he reached for Pantera. The man moved forward to strike but instead of feeling pain a dead weight simply dropped on him and he was staring down at his attacker's dead body.

"You dropped your guard." Halibel said, flicking the blood from her blade.

"No kidding." He groaned as he stood up, his leg barely taking his weight. "I didn't think I was going to see you again."

"Yes, well I am surprised you have survived this long."

"Hey." He shot but he was too tired to fight with her.

"You need rest."

"No shit, but I can still feel them searching for us."

He stumbled when he took his next step and she caught his arm. "We stick together from now on." She instructed. "Yammy is one floor down. We'll regroup and take turns resting while we figure out what to do next."

He didn't argue. It had been three weeks of constant running and fighting in the palace. Though the invaders had broken in much faster than the espada had first intended, the large and confusing layout of the building gave them a huge advantage and was the only reason they hadn't been captured yet.

Grimmjow let himself be lead down stairs and through twisting corridors. He could see Yammy was a little worse for wear as well but his massive spiritual pressure would uphold him for some time yet.

They were in Szayel's old lab, he thought, a place full of traps not even they knew about but it was as safe as anywhere else in this place, so when she said she'd take first watch he didn't hesitate to shut his eyes and give himself over to the darkness.

1 Day ago

Nel shivered in the living world, hovering on the top of a building feeling many souls but not able to distinguish the one Grimmjow had told her to find. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't rid the images of his tortured form from her mind. She should have acted sooner she told herself, she should have attacked them the very first day she'd seen them chain him up in that room. From her perch in the ventilation shafts that seemed to run all through that area of Las Noches, she had seen much of the Vandenreich's activities. But that information was worth nothing if she was trapped in this horrible world with no friends.

She began to sob, her wails lost to the ears of the living, until she felt a flare of power and her heart skipped. That familiar, powerful riatsu she'd thought gone, that shinigami power she had learned to trust and love rather than fear.

"I...ICHIGO!:

She burst into the air, forgetting every fear of this world and saw the black figure in the distance.

"WHAA!"
The teen soul reaper heard the cry far above him and stopped dead in the air.

"N-Nel?"

Too elated to slow herself down, the child arrancar only increased her speed to reach him faster.

"Super Speed!" She slammed into him full force and they didn't stop until they stuck the ground.

"Y-you show up after such a long time to do this...? Ichigo sputtered.

"I-Ichigo...help me Ichigo!" She murmured into his chest and he felt the seriousness. "Hueco Mundo is...Heuco Mundo is..." She burst into tears and he sat up, holding her against him but feeling the urgency of hearing the rest of her news.

"What, what happened in Hueco Mundo, Nel?"

"They've taken it!" She wailed against him. "And captured them!"

"Who? Nel, please calm down and explain." But her hysteric were getting the best of her. He caught the name Vandenreich and then he tensed hearing her sob out Grimmjow's name.

"Nel." He forced her back to look at him straight on, "You have to tell me what's going on."

Present- Hueco Mundo

"What's going on?" Halibel asked as she was hauled up to her feet for the first time since her capture. Grimmjow supervised the others who took hold of her chains and her arms. Her legs couldn't quite support her and she was forced to lean heavily on the soldiers.

"Yammy's power will be enough to make new arrancars." Grimmjow explained, leading them out of the room. "You can serve our lord in a different way." She was lead away from the cells to the espada meeting room. Her eyes widened seeing the stains on the table and the distinct darkness left in this room after what had happened here just two days ago. She looked to Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow, is this where they turned you?"

"Like I said, there was nothing to turn. I was liberated, and now that we know it was a success, we're going to free you too."

"Free me of what?"

"Your Zanpakuto and your false loyalties."

She was hauled up onto the table, the stink of his blood wafted up to her.

"Grimmjow, don't do this!" She wasn't one to beg, but if they broke her like they did him, it was all over, they would be with the Vandenreich until they died. "Grimmjow, I know you still remember Nel! I think you still remember me! Stop this now!"

He leaped up onto the table. They'd already gotten her hands above her head but he pushed the other soldiers aside. His blue gaze met her own.

"Grimmjow...?"

"Get our Lord." Grimmjow called to the others. "We can't do anything until she leaves her Resurrection form."

He gave her another cold look before jumping off the table again.

"Grimmjow wait." He paused, the others filing out ahead of him, "is this all your blood?"

He looked over the table, the chairs near the centre and the floor also stained brownish red. She knew it was his, but she was trying to make him recall the torture, evoke some sort of reaction in her former ally.

"You are strong," was his answer, "You will also survive it."

"They took Pantera from you!" She screamed when he started to turn his back on her. "They've made you their pawn!"

"It should be quicker for you." He said back lowly, ignoring her pleas. "You have been severely weakened already, so don't be afraid, you won't suffer long."

The door clanked shut.

58 days ago

"We've lost." Halibel spat out when they felt the new spiritual pressure closing in. "Time for us to go."

"Go where?" Yammy demanded, angry at her for giving up; angry at himself for being so tired and angry at these beings that had chased them for weeks in their own home and they still had learned next to nothing about them.

"Anywhere." Grimmjow wheezed. He was the most beat-up of the three- though nothing debilitating. Nel clung close, he was barely aware of her presence now, the last weeks were a blur of exhaustion and battles and only now and then did he hear her voice or become aware of her fingers digging tight in his torn uniform.

"We move as one." Halibel instructed. They had taken shelter in the remains of her home. The ceiling of the dome sky was spotted with holes from where the invaders had broken in. "Through that opening there," she pointed to one of the smaller ones. "On three."

They all tensed, a roll of massive spiritual pressure flooding the area.

"One, two, thr-"

Chunks of marble were flying past. Girmmjow could see nothing in the devastation. Something struck him, he flew far across the desert, crashing into another building or structure. More explosions sounded, he managed to get back up, looking around for the others but seeing no one, only feeling the oncoming force of the invaders and so he had little choice. He ran.

He was prepared to jump for the ceiling, follow the plan, but then he heard her scream.

"Halibel!" He turned to see a tide of water washing over the dry land. But its force faltered and died and he stared, watching her fall, not sure what had struck her. "Bastards!" He shot forward, he would grab her and go, make a break for the desert and get somewhere safe until it was all over. But as he was closing in, her green eyes flared wide and her canon arm rose, aiming straight for him.

"Idiot." Just before the force of her water struck, he felt overwhelming darkness closing over his soul and caught a glimpse of a man in a white uniform but cast in dark shadow that swirled all around him.

Then he was flying through space, halfway to his destination before he realized what she'd done. When he collected himself, he saw her far below, slumping to the earth, the terrifying being standing above her. And then spirits were converging on him and he had no other choice than to turn his back on the scene and shoot through the ceiling into the perpetual night.

Present- World of the Living

"How is Nel doing?" Rukia asked a tired Ichigo when he shut his bedroom door on the sleeping arrancar girl.

"Not great. I think she's traumatized." He sighed, "She's been crying about him non-stop."

"Grimmjow?" They were still trying to come to terms with that particular relationship. What Nel had told them about the remaining three espada teaming up made sense in terms of survival, but they saw no reason for the gruff and violent sixth espada to show Nel any mercy.

"She says they became friends after she saved his life. And they..." He looked back at his bedroom door.

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"She said they came to see me after the battle with Aizen. She said he agreed to bring her because he owed her but when they got here I couldn't see them."

"What?"

"I remember that night. I mean, I had no idea it was them, but one night, not long after the battle with Aizen, I woke up suddenly and I felt like I'd been struck by something. Actually, I always kind of thought it was you."

"Ichigo, I don't make it a habit of jumping on humans when they sleep."

"I know, I just thought...maybe you were checking on me."
She went quiet, her deep eyes showing several emotions. "I wanted to see you, Ichigo, but we weren't to interfere in your life. Not until everything that happened with the Fullbringers anyway."

"Yeah, I know."

"Ichigo, is there anything else she's said that you haven't reported to us?"

"No. Just more about Grimmjow."

"Alright. We only have four days left."

"Rukia, do you really think these Vandenreich guys can beat the Soul Reapers?"

She gave a sad sigh. "I don't know. You heard from the other two about the vice captain of the First."

"Yes."

"And so many others were wounded and killed in so short a time. I...I'm worried, Ichigo."

They moved down the stairs to the kitchen. Isshin and Yuzu were at one of Karin's soccer games, it was early evening but the close of a precious day when they only had four until the Vandenreich attacked.

"What are you thinking, Ichigo?" She was watching him lean against the window, staring up at the starry night. But even in his faint reflection on the the glass's surface, she could see what was boiling in his brown eyes. "Don't you dare, Ichigo. They killed more than a hundred Soul Reapers yesterday!"

"Yeah, and after tonight, there are only three days left. Maybe I could do something to prevent any more people from dying."

"No, Ichigo, you will just get killed. We did not give you your powers backs for you to act so recklessly and stupidly. What would happen to your sisters if you ran off and got killed? To your dad, Orihime, our friends? What about that little girl up there on your bed?"

"Nel wants me to go save Grimmjow."

He turned to face her just waiting for whatever reprimand she could come up with but he was surprised to see her covering her mouth with one hand.

"Ichigo..." she was shaking. "You can't seriously be considering it! Promise me you won't go. Swear to me now!"

"No, Rukia, I can't."

Her eyes narrowed. "Carriage of thunder,"

"What?"

"Bridge of a spinning wheel."

"Rukia, I don't understand what you're saying."

She raised her arms "With light divide this into six!" Six thin beams of bright light struck him before he could react. In his human form, he couldn't easily escape the kido spell.

"Rukia, what are you doing?" has strained out, pinned by the bands of light that immobilized him.

"Saving your life." She raised her hand again. White light engulfed him and he fell unconscious to the floor.

Present- Hueco Mundo

Her curses and hollers of rage faded, the room around Grimmjow grew dark. Someone grabbed him when he started to fall.

"Soldier!"

His eyes snapped open, he saw Halibel in her chains, blood already coursing down her arms from her zanpakuto. Someone brushed the other soldier off of him and he felt that dark shadow fall over him.

"Grimmjow?" He focused on the king's face but couldn't speak, feeling faint again. The Vandenreich king saw the wound on his neck, still so deep and not yet healed.

"Take him back to the healers." He ordered the others. Grimmjow had only been released from their care this morning and since then he'd been worked hard. Though their healing techniques far surpassed those of the Soul Reapers or Aizen's healers, it would take time for Grimmjow to recover from such extensive damage and blood loss- not to mention the loss of his soul.

For the king, it had been a glorious feeling, when Grimmjow had dropped to his knees before him two days earlier, and he had seen in his eyes such emptiness, a blank mind waiting to be moulded. All he'd had to do was explain to Grimmjow his truth, tell him to be loyal and forget all others, and he had. He had obeyed every order since. The perfect soldier had been born. And now he would gain another.

Grimmjow was taken out of the room by the others, the king took a few steps but turned before leaving and smiled up to the woman on the table, "I can't wait for your rebirth, Halibel."

42 Days ago

Grimmjow struggled forward, using branches to support himself. Everywhere were bodies- Menos, Vastal Lordes- any hollow who's power was lesser than his own had dropped instantly when the green mist had rained down on them and seeped into their lungs, their skin, stung their eyes and made them spew blood. He could feel the poison wreaking havoc in his own body, and he just had to hope his spiritual pressure would push it out before his organs started shutting down.

He collapsed at the base of a tree. How many days since he'd escaped to the nocturnal desert? How many days since he'd looked down at his leg and realized she was actually gone: the arrancar child he'd told every day for five-hundred days to leave him alone? How long had he been running on no sleep, no food, no hope of saving his allies or even escaping himself?

He shut his eyes on the dark forest, on the world that was filled with nothing but pain any more. He was hunted, he was hurt and he was alone. He had no will to ever rise again.

"WHAAAAA!"

The shrill cry went through him like an electric shock and out of sheer habit he cried out for her to shut-up before it ever fully registered who it was.

"Gri-GRIMMJOW!"

"I said...shut up..." he covered his shock at seeing her alive again and watched her move closer to him, gripping his torn pant leg and he didn't tell her to let go or get away because right now, when the air seemed so thin and his body felt like it was burning from the inside out, it was a familiar feeling he could hold onto, a comfort he didn't want to shake off.

She questioned him about his escape and he about hers, but none of that was really important now. A moment ago he had been ready to let go, but now, though it shot pain through his gut, though his body screamed at him not too, he grabbed a branch and pulled himself up. Because now he had a reason to keep moving.

Hey all, another chapter from me and yesterday I read the latest from Kubo! Won't say anymore in case you haven't read it yet!

I hope you are following the time jumping alright, but in case you didn't catch it, this chapter ended with the begining of the first chapter. Also, I took the word-for-word lines used by the fan translation of chapter 485 in the manga when Ichigo meets Nel so thanks to Manga1 Scanlations on !

And thanks to you for your reviews!

Riza