Orihime looked ahead of her, eyes wide, trembling. She hadn't expected this. She had thought that they were going to find some sort of giant hollow, or maybe a machine. She wouldn't lie- giant robot kittens had crossed her mind.
So many things could have been the source of the problem- the sickening spiritual pressure.
They were in the very center of Los Noches, underneath the dome, under the ground. Far, far bellow the surface.
Above her Orihime could hear the muted sounds of battle. She was sure she even heard Ichigo roar out the name of one of his attacks. Everything was as it should have been outside of her little bubble of awareness.
"My, my." The man before her 'tsk'ed. "Seems you've found me."
Orihime wasn't afraid of many things, least of all the shinigami. She shouldn't have been afraid of Miyu Kurotsuchi, Captain of squad 12. But she had seen Uyruu after his fight with this man, and the Soul Reaper's appearance alone was frightening. Not because it was outlandish, but because he had purposely disfigured his body and mutilated it into a weapon, simply because he could.
"W-w-wh-" She couldn't seem to force herself to ask the question.
Ulquiorra's hand gently squeezed her own before he let her go, stepping just in front of her as a sort of shield. He asked the question that she couldn't seem to form. "What are you doing here?"
"Such insolence. Why if I didn't need you alive and ticking…" The man trailed off. "But we do have a deal for you, espada number four."
Ulquiorra narrowed his gaze, not replying.
"Nemu!" Miyu barked.
The girl stepped from the shadows, which had been getting larger and darker in the middle of the room. "It is complete." She droned. "We have ten minutes in counting."
"Good." The scientist cooed. "Now, explain to these simpletons what's going on so that we can get out of here. I'm sick of all these primates."
Nemu bowed. "Yes, father."
Orihime peeked over Ulquiorra's shoulder, looking over at Nemu with interest. She wasn't as scary as her… father. On top of that, she had something to say- by the sounds of it she wanted to tell them exactly what they had come to find out.
"Division Twelve of the 13 court guard squads has created a device that is much like an arrancar's ability to open up a garganta. Hollows are able to phase through their own dimension and into the living world. Similarly, shinigami are able to open a sikimon. However, hollows are able to remain in the limbo- the black space in between dimensions- for short spans of time using their methods, unlike the shinigami. We have developed a device that allows us to open a tear into the limbo- a vacuum. By setting certain perimeters on this device we have devised away to eradicate the existence of anything in one dimension simply by pulling it into the limbo."
Ulquiorra's eyes went wide.
"So… so that means," Orihime was starting to panic; her heart beat escalating. "You're pulling Los Noches into that black place?!"
"That is correct." Nemu informed her.
"Well, it has been fun." Miyu grinned. "But we must be leaving now."
"You are all invited to come to the Soul Society." Nemu recited. "And join us in arms. So long as you are willing to undergo certain precautionary measures and tests you will fully be accepted as a shinigami."
"After all, we can't just destroy a soul that was so strongly affected by the hogeyo cube!" Miyu tittered. "You soul will be reincarnated with who knows what effects!" To himself, he muttered, "As if we need any more Bount dilemmas."
"That is all." Nemu said.
And then, in a flash, they were gone.
.
Yes, I realize this is short. REALLY short. But, I'm trying to get back to regular updating, so... yeah. Internet had been really iffy lately, and I STILL haven't gotten my email fixed completely, but I'm getting there. Sorry for all the slow replies and updates and just... everything. Yeah. Hope you enjoyed it!
(Also: to make up for not updating recently I wrote a little one shot that I'll probably post in the next few days along with the chapter update. Sorry and thanks again.)