"Well, now what?" The mismatched pair stood before the maw of the dark tunnel, seeming to go down deep into the earth. Next to it, a ramp rose steeply up, and to both sides the tunnels stemmed off right and left. Until now, they had faced no other option than right or left- up and down was a whole new thing to consider.

"Nel wants to go up."

"I know, so do I, but maybe that's the point, I mean, who's going to go down? Maybe it's a trick."

"Hmm..." She seemed to consider this deeply. "Or maybe the bad guys want Grimmjow to think it's a trick."

"Ugh." he didn't want to start down that route. He was exhausted enough as it was, and swallowing back pain like he'd never had to do before; he wasn't about to start a psychological evaluation of the labyrinth's architect.

"Fine, let's just see what's up the ramp, we can always come back if it doesn't look good."

"Okay good, Nel really didn't want to go down that way." She let go of his leg to move up the ramp while he staggered forward with the help of Pantera at a much slower pace.

"Nel, just wait for me, I don't want-" He wasn't sure what registered first, the heavy chink of stone meeting stone, the echoing vibration of the solid impact, or the fact that he was suddenly staring at a perfectly smooth wall of stone.

"No..." He dropped Pantera to place his palm against the wall that had dropped into place almost the moment Nel had left him. "NO! NEL!"

"Grimmjow!" He could barely hear her, that meant the wall was thick.

"Hold on!" He called. "Just..." but what? What could he tell her? What could he do? He already knew Pantera couldn't cut this stone, he had tried hours ago to carve some markings to use as a point of reference but not a scratch had been left in it.

"Grimmjow..."
Slowly, he let his legs give and he slid down the wall, hand still against it as if he could still feel her through the ton of stone. He let his forehead rest against it as well, and tried to keep the despair from his voice when he spoke.

"It's okay. I'll find you." But he knew that he would probably never see her again. He had been resigned to dying in this place, but at least they would have been together. Now, he had brought her to this world not only to die, but to die terrified and alone. "I'm sorry." But he whispered the word, she would not hear.

That deathly voice screamed out. Its soulless scream echoed much sharper and louder off the walls and Grimmjow found his hand back on Pantera.

"GRIMMJOW!"

"NEL!" he stood. "Nel stay there, I'm coming, I swear, I'll find you."
"It was so loud!"

"I know. Just don't move. I'm coming"
"..Okay."

The scream repeated, a definite hint of blood lust in that sorrowful howl. The despair may not have disappeared, but he was definitely not going to sit by and wait for that beast to find Nel.

"I promise, Nel, I will find you."

It had taken everything he had to tear himself away from that door, and the only thing powering him forward was the hope he'd find the other side of it. Her tiny voice, the thought of her waiting for him all alone, made him move with a speed he hadn't before been able to muster. That wasn't to say he was moving fast, but each laboured step was taken without pause, without hesitation, no matter what shocks of pain movement sent through him. He wasn't even really sure how he was still alive at this point, he supposed since the bleeding stopped he would make it, but he couldn't imagine how his destroyed shoulder wouldn't be causing other issues, like stray bone fragments in his blood system or something.

But Hell, what couldn't he survive if it meant saving Nel?

He had chosen to move into the tunnel leading down. It was dark in here, but his eyes were sharp and there were patches of light here and there, though he wasn't sure of their light source. Some instinct in him was telling him to turn back, as the air grew humid, the stench of rotting flesh pungent, and the floor steepened, slopping further into the monster's lair. But if he found the monster, then at least he would know it didn't have Nel.

The next scream made him stop, not out of fear, but because it was so loud it half paralysed him, the piecing pitch ran straight through his ear drums and into his skull.

"Come and get me, you Son of a Bitch!" His voice echoed along the tunnel. The next scream had a definite note to it that indicated it had heard, and the audible clunks meant it was on its way. He glanced around in the dark and found a smaller side tunnel to use as partial concealment. He would face this thing, but it wouldn't hurt to get a look at it first.

He leaned back against a damp, grimy wall. This part of the maze was very different, the size and shape of the tunnels less uniform and more organic, as if they had already existed in the earth. Perhaps that was the case, and the maze above had been constructed based on this natural network. The stone still kept his power at bay, but he was starting to feel like that suppression wasn't as strong down here. It was hard to tell though, since he knew he was also being fuelled by the need to find Nel.

The footsteps grew closer, he caught the eery silhouette of the monster on a far wall just like in some cheesy horror film. He slid a bit further down the side tunnel he was in, just to give himself a little more space. And then it emerged into his line of sight, staring forward, not yet noticing him, and giving him a chance to take it in.

He recognized it.

It took some time, in the dark and distress of this place, but as he took in the stocky hoofed legs, the humanoid torso and thick brown mane, he started to guess where this creature had come from. When it turned his way and he saw the narrowed faced, antlered skull, he knew just exactly from whom this creature had been created.

Halibel had said Mila Rose had been deformed, experimented on. Well, in those experiments, the King must have taken her left arm, because it was from three left arms that this creature was created. Ayon, created from the left arms of Halibel's fraccion. Though as Grimmjow watched it turn and saw spouts of deformed wings at its back, one hand discoloured and only claws for fingers, he was certain that the King had added to the chimera with some other poor numeros. He could only be glad that Halibel never had to know the fate of her other companions.

Ayon stomped around, sniffing, and it didn't take it long to turn its head toward him. It was impossible to see its eyes down here, but the bunching of its muscles was certainly enough to tell him it was time to move.

He moved back, deeper into the tunnel, seeing now that it was Ayon, the hybrid was far too large to get in here. But it still tried. Grimmjow avoided his massive reach, standing at roughly ten feet, Grimmjow was at a definite disadvantage in terms of the reach of his sword. Clawed fingers scraped over the rock and the beast tried to squeeze in deeper. Maybe he could get it stuck, Grimmjow thought, then see where this tunnel led, get out of this situation without a fight. But he had no such luck when something caught him around the ankle and he fell on his back.

The snake-like tail had him tight, and pulled him forward while greedy hands made a grab for him. But Grimmjow still had his working hand on Pantera and he made quick work of the tail. Ayon screeched in agony as he sliced the end free. Claws just missed him before he worked back into the tunnel, tasting vile blood that had sprayed back on him. Ayon thrashed against the narrow walls, at first in pain but now in fury. Grimmjow raised Pantera again. This was probably his best chance at landing a significant blow, while the beast had limited motion, but getting past those claws was a challenge.

Its screech was deafening him. Those massive jaws opened and closed hysterically and the longer Grimmjow stood waiting to make his move, the less he wanted to. His body really couldn't take any more damage, and one hit from this thing could be it. He didn't really expect to survive, but he wouldn't throw his life away until he really had to.

"I really hate to run from a fight, especially after I called you out." He lowered Pantera. "Do me a favour, get yourself wedged in here real tight so I don't have to worry about you anymore."

He followed the tunnel deeper into the darkness, the smells of rank meat became distant and even that howling scream was only on the peripheral of his mind as he was forced to sense out in the dark, no more hidden sources of light to guide him. He felt the walls closing in closer to his body but he had already committed to this plan of action and he wouldn't turn back unless he had to.

When he finally became completely blind in the dark, and the tunnel gave way to an opening, he did feel the first pricks of panic. No matter hardened warrior, blood lustful killer, steadfast soldier- no one liked to feel lost in the dark, with nothing but the unknown pressing in on you from all sides. Right now, he could still turn back, follow the tunnel toward where he knew there was light. But he if walked into the open space, he risked never being able to find this spot again. One mistep, one forgotten turn, and he would be as stranded in this opacity as life raft at the mercy of the sea.

He calmed his mind and settled his nerves before moving beyond the tunnel. It felt like an intersection, as he patted the wall next to him and found another opening. He considered moving further around, to feel if there were one or more other tunnels branching off from here but he also didn't want to risk losing his original path, so he turned right into this tunnel, assuring himself he could still get back to the light from here.

After seven more turns in the dark, pinpricks became thick tines jabbing into his chest. He was definitely on the verge of panic now, feeling claustrophobic as the darkness loomed on endlessly around every corner, and every step could be fatal as he could not see the dangers lurking for him.

Then, finally, he made a turn and perceived the faintest break in the endless obscurity: just a touch of a grey haze looming in the dark.

He limped forward, Pantera scraping off the floor until a haze became a glow and grey turned to washed and flickering orange. He was just beginning to make out the walls when his foot caught on something and he fell forward onto a mess of broken stone on the floor.

"Ugh." He shifted in the pile so that the pressure was off his bad shoulder but then just stopped, allowing himself a second to breath and let his eyes readjust to the dim light.

After a moment, he wished it was dark again.

Firstly, the stones he believed he was lying on were in fact a snare of broken bones, porous, old, piled on top of one other for what looked like years, even though Ayon could only have been down here since Aizen's defeat. But still, as he pulled himself up and saw the forms, they were clearly hollows who had died over time as they were sent here. Perhaps these skeletons had been built up over the years, perhaps another beast before Ayon had been here, or perhaps...Ayon was no the only monster in here.

The thought stilled him. He ceased his movements in the jangling mess of calcium and cartilage and listened hard in the dark. He heard nothing, and in the faint light, he saw nothing. He reassured himself that anything that had been living down here would have heard him long before now, and forced himself to move forward.

Still, as he moved, no amount of self reassurance could keep his instincts from remaining on edge.

"I'm fine." the weak voice protested against the movements of the large captain of the Seventh Division, and against his wishes, Hitsugaya found himself much hihger in the air, sitting atop the shoulders of Captain Komamura as he leaned against the wall. Though he protested to the undignified position for a captain, his arms certainly felt relief when they were able to relax and blood flow into them again. Likewise, the souls of his feet were thankful for the rest. He sighed in both frustration of his situation and relief from his discomfort. Komamura was large enough that such relief was capable even at the level of his sitting, so he settled himself for the night while the others were free to move elsewhere in the dungeon to find sleep.

"Why him?" Kisuke finally asked Renji as they found a place away from the others. Though the others had readily brought Urahara up to speed, their prolonged captivity seemed to have brought on routines they themselves were not even aware of, and only Renji, Chad and Urahara were still awake enough to talk. The dungeon grew quiet and Renji answered him in a whisper.

"My Captain didn't give me all the details, but what he said was..."

"What?"

"Well, I find it hard to believe, but he said Captain Hitsugaya tried to take his own life recently. He was caught, however, and since then has been chained up."

"Interesting."

"I'm sorry?" Renji didn't hide the note of annoyance, "but I see nothing interesting about it at all."

"I do apologize, lieutenant, but I, like you, don't see mere captivity, even torture, as enough to make a captain commit suicide, therefore, I think we can conclude that Captain Hitsugaya believed that in killing himself, he would also rid the world of his bankai."

"You mean, take it away from the person who stole it?" Chad questioned knowingly.

"Precisely." Kisuke couldn't keep the smile of a teacher who's student was catching on. "He must have thought that in ending his life, he would end his power that has probably been used against his own comrades. It explains why the King has kept all of them, really. He must need them to be alive in order to use their bankais."

"What does this mean, then?" Renji asked. "I mean, how does this information help us?"

"All information is helpful, Renji, never forget that. However, I will have to contemplate all the implications of this. Still, I am fairly confident this is good news for us."

"Good," the red haired lieutenant sighed, "because right now, I think we could all use some of that."

"Captain Uryu, why are we stopping? The prisoners will regain consciousness any moment."

"I know." Uryu met the gaze of his subordinate with a stare that read dare to challenge me. The soldier hesitated, but a moan from Ichigo spurred him to continue.

"The King ordered us to bring them straight to him, sir. We shouldn't stop."

The others nodded their agreement but were less ready to speak up.

"And I will bring them to the King. But don't you think we should also be searching for the other escaped prisoner? The one who made that mess back there?"

They had crossed through the devastating scene of where Orihime had ripped those Vandenreich apart out of her control.

"Ah-"

"The answer is yes. You," he nodded to one member of the group, "carry the girl. I'll get Kurosaki. I want the rest of you to search the desert around the Soul Reaper cage, she may have gone to rescue them."

"Yessir." The rest left, only one remained, carrying Rukia. He could easily take this man on his own. He had to repress a smile.

"U-Uryu?" Ichigo had come too, his arms were bound at his back but Uryu had looped his own under him to keep him upright.

"Shut up, prisoner."

Ichigo glanced the other guard.

"Uryu...now."

Ichigo hit the ground when the support was lost but mere seconds later there was another thud and the other quincy landed next to him.

"I wasn't sure just how you wanted to handle this." Uryu knelt, cradling Rukia, but swiped a hand over Ichigo's bonds to dissipate them.

"I'm not sure either, but we can't go after the King without a plan. And I'm worried about Orihime and the others."

"Fair enough, but she's strong Ichigo, she can do this."

"Maybe, but I think we should all be together before we attack. And I want to find my father, Renji and Chad and...your father."

"I agree, there is no way to know what exactly would happen when we face him. We may need to get out fast. I know where Renji and Chad were taken, Ichigo, they aren't alone."

"You mean Urahara?"

"Most likely, but there are others. You remember how along time ago they failed to take your bankai?"

"Yeah."
"Well, they-"

"That's enough."

Ichigo and Uryu froze at the new voice. "So, does this mean you've betrayed us, Uryu?"

A girl stood in all white, not much bigger than Rukia, youthful looking but a hateful smile plastered on her face. Next to here was tall slender figure with a high collar and long black hair, male or female was hard to tell. Finally there were two men, one with hair cropped into a mohawk, the other looked serious and stern, like a university professor.

"Bambietta." Uryu addressed.

"It was that girl, wasn't it?" She demanded, "the one that went berserk. She reversed all the hard work we put into you."

"You could say that."
He set Rukia on the ground gently and let his quincy medallion shift out from under his sleeve.

"Don't bother, Ishida, you no longer stand a chance against us Stern Ritter and you know it." She reached inside her breast pocket and pulled out a medallion.

"BANKAI!"

So, obviously this has broken from canon since we've seen alot more of the Vandenreich since I started writing this but I will just keep with what I envisioned. I am a bit sad to see the loss of interest in this one, but I will try to conclude it anyway. I've never discontinued a story and I don't really want to leave this unfinished.

Riza