Alex Mercer appeared before the two Sternritters he had saved. He came unarmed and with no ill intent lying beneath him. Bazz-B dashes towards him with an intent to kill, but Mercer sideswipes and pins him down to the floor.

Bambi throws herself towards Mercer using her Hammerfist as a leverage. In turn, he turned his arm into a shield and blocks her attack, causing her to be thrown back from the block itself

Mercer then picks up Bazz-B by the neck and throws him towards Bambi, causing the two to fall on top of each other

"Calm down, you nuggets. I'm not here to fight" he tries to ease the situation down

"Cut the crap. What the fuck did you do to us!?" Bazz-B angrily shot him down as the two immediately got back up on their feet

"Can I at least give myself time for an explanation? I swear I'll answer all your questions" Mercer's tone changes to annoyance

Without even trying, he exerted a trickle of his reiatsu towards them. This caused Bambi and Bazz-B to instinctively back off

What the hell is this guy? A little of his reiatsu is potent enough to kill a person!

Having exposed enough, the two reluctantly agreed to yield, transforming back into their normal arms much to Mercer's relief

"Thank goodness. I really don't want to kill my newest recruits right after taking them under my wing. Now, who wants to start asking questions"

"Who– no that wouldn't seem right... What are you?" Bambi started asking her questions as she barely recovered from that exposure.

"It's been roughly a week since we last met, and I never got the chance to introduce myself... My name... From my world, I was called Alex Mercer"

"Alex Mercer... such a stupid name" she simply scoffed at her name

"For a girl whose name really means a helpless follower for me, you're the one to talk" Mercer shot her back with a scathing insult of his own

Bazz-B lets a stifling laugh slip through his mouth while Bambi blushes in embarrassment. Luckily, only three of them were present. Having it heard by a mass crowd would give him a death warrant

If she's able to have a chance at him

"Whatever... What is this place? This isn't Silbern nor Hueco Mundo, and the buildings were too tall for a little realm like this?" She added as she retained her dignity

"Oh this... Yeah I forgot"

Mercer climbed on top of the ledge and raised his arms as he looked over the bustling landscape

"Welcome to New York Zero"

The view from their eyes was as surreal as ever. There lies the city packed with towering buildings and inhabitants living their little lives like normal, and standing in front of them was Alex Mercer, a cold-blooded monster wearing the facade of a polite citizen

"Breathtaking..."

This was the only word coming out of Bazz-B's mouth upon what he discovered. It's very hard to believe that a man like him, capable of such destruction, was able to create a thriving realm like this in a span of days, or even weeks.

"How did you create all of this from scratch? It's like we witnessed something only a god could create"

"Well... it's obviously not easy. Recreating a city from my own memory of it was too much of a stretch, so I have to find a power capable of reshaping itself. Fortunately, I found one in the form of Dangai" Mercer explained how he's able to find a power necessary to create a realm like this

"Dangai? Wait, you conquered Dangai?" Bambietta was shocked that she needed to confirm twice what she had heard from his mouth.

Never in her life she had considered the fact that someone is able to not only overcome the effects of the Dangai, but to effectively subjugate it by himself

"Well, not all of it. I had to leave a little room for passage. After all, I still have the next phase in tow." He clarified himself to the two

Holy cow... He made this city, just by usurping the Dangai. But even that, it would take much time needed to do that.

Just what is this guy?

Meanwhile, Bazz-B wondered what he meant by 'the next phase'

Brushing that aside for now, it was his turn to ask questions

"You... What did you do to us? Why are we still alive?"

"I infected both of you with the Blacklight virus. They're currently keeping your organs working well beyond their normal function. Right now, you were able to bring out not only your enhanced capabilities, but also your first weapons when you came here. That's because the virus within you replicates the cells of the creature you have killed and integrates them into your body as your own. In simpler terms, it turned you into nearly immortal beings and allowed you to obtain abilities of your enemies." Mercer explained once more into how they were alive when he just mortally wounded both of them at Karakura Town

That explanation made them look in awe once more, making themselves wonder the irony of the situation they're in right now. The same person they considered an enemy, is also the same person who saved them from certain death.

In addition, he also gave them the same abilities he used in his fight against them, though from the eyes of Mercer, they haven't mastered it well. As if he was observing a newborn's first steps

"Still, that doesn't explain why you saved us. You could've left us for dead at the river"

"You both showed me the tenacity when you fought me at the river, and that's something I can't let it pass. Besides, your fellow comrades who came to retrieve you told me you'll be honored with a 'burial'. Lucky for me they're easy to read like an open book"

The Sternritters gave each other a pained look. They knew what would happen should they lose in a battle. They were fortunate that they're still alive and kicking, and out of reach from who they once considered as comrades.

The only thing Bambi came through her mind is the fate of the rest of her little group, the Bambies. Given that they knew how the Wandenreich operates, she could only solemnly close her eyes and pay her respects

"One last thing... What do you intend to do? Now that you already hindered our plans to destroy Soul Society once and for all" Bazz-B asked one more, saving this for the last

"That's right. You already killed Jugram, then you outmatched Yhwach in a battle. What's even worse is the fact that you took on six of us by yourself and won. What's next for you on your list?" Bambietta stood by his question

"That's something you two will have to figure out. The question is, what are you two going to do right now?" He gave them an answer that gave them something to think about

"Will you find your way out of this city, back to your pitiful excuse of a leader, and be his sacrificial lamb? Or will you stick around, grow your potential, and become my equal?"

He then tapped the soles of his shoes to the ground, conjuring a door that would lead them to a way out.

That ability, isn't that the equivalent to our Shadow?

"Make your choice. I won't force you to stay, nor take away what I gave you. But I reckon you'll be prepared for what lies ahead should your plans to rendezvous go south"

Both were at a crossroads...

On one hand, they're with what they considered to be the most powerful being to ever appear in this world. And said being offers them a prospect of becoming as powerful as him.

Then there's the fact that he killed Jugram Haschwalth, the Grandmaster of the Sternritters who's supposed to be the heir to the Wandenreich. His death hit closer to Bazz-B, and he couldn't forget what Mercer did

Bambietta also had her thoughts on his choice. Her devotion for Yhwach was because she gave her this power she had right now, not to mention he's too powerful and all-knowing to resist. Then there's the Bambies, who were single handedly trashed by Mercer himself. She deeply cared about them, and she wouldn't let their loss slide

However, what makes them cloud their decision to refuse, was that the fact that he saved both of them rather than leaving them for dead, either at the river or into the hands of Yhwach

...

...

...

"Alright, we'll consider this offer. First of all, we don't trust you, but right now we need a refuge" Bazz-B strikes a deal with their supposed savior

"Bazz! Are you trying to betray your Majesty!?" Bambi expresses her shock at accepting Mercer's offer

He looked into her face and explained his reasoning

"Look, right now we're dead, or at least according to the Wandenreich. The moment we step outside this realm we're going to be hunted down by the soul reapers and the soldats. There's no knowing how many they will bring with them just to take us down. I know you don't trust this Mercer guy and so do I, but we have no choice here. And I really wanted to know what he meant by us becoming a sacrificial lamb to Yhwach"

The two looked at Mercer, with Bazz-B's eyes filled with uncertainty. The former just made a smile on his face

"Fine by me. After all, you may want to improve on your skills from time to time. However, you only have one week to give an answer" Mercer made his own terms clear

"Why one week?"

"Because after this, I'll be going back to Soul Society and spread my work out there, so I'm expecting that you're into it"

The two were genuinely shocked at his intentions. Bazz-B himself knew what he was, so he knew what he meant by that.

"So, you're spreading your virus throughout the Soul Society? Do you even have qualms over infecting a child?" Bambi was appalled at Mercer's plans

"Morality isn't my job. Overseeing the effects and the progress of my work is."

She was partly angered at what he just answered her

Morality isn't my job? At least have some decency, damn it

Then again, I'd be a hypocrite for trying to say that to his face

"So, what should we do now that we have to stay here?"

Mercer transformed his arms into two separate weapons; his left arm transformed into a Whipfist, while his right transformed into a Blade

"I have released a couple of unique creatures throughout this zone with the same weapon that I have. I want you to acquire all of them and master the basics of each weapon, but that alone won't be enough. Because you're both quincies who have been infected, I suggest going back to the basics of your training. I've seen you take on a squad of Blackwatch soldiers and it looks like you're still struggling with your hirenkyaku of yours. I want you to augment the virus into your system. Tap into your true potential, push beyond what your Schrift is capable of, and you'll become as powerful as I am."

Mercer transformed his arms back to normal and walked between them before climbing on a ledge. He then gave them one last advice as he looked at them in disgust

"While you're at it, take some clothes on. You don't want to be walking around the streets half-naked"

He jumped off the building, raising his arms like a bird as he glides away from their sight

The two subconsciously changed their clothes using their biomass; Bazz retained his usual Sternritter uniform, replacing the usual white for a darker one. Bambietta wore a woolen black jacket, trimmed to her waist to expose her slender torso. They looked over the horizon, pondering on Mercer's instructions.

"Become as powerful as he is, huh?" Bambi meekly echoed what he said to them

"The only reason we lost to this guy was because we're too complacent with what Yhwach gave to us. If what he said is true about us soldiers becoming a 'sacrificial lamb', then perhaps Mercer saved us from a much crueler fate" Bazz-B pondered on their experiences against him

"Well, what do we do now?"

"Why don't we stick around with him for a while? Watch what happens"

Finally having the resolve to stick through his plans, they jumped off the building and into the streets. Their week of rigorous training had just begun.