Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
- 52
- 53
- 54
Disturbance

It was uncanny how much the Swarm seemed to value her existence. The bugs had moved her from the frigid cell into a much warmer room, one that also doubled as her keeper�s living quarters. To her disgust, that person turned out to be �Zee.� He was the only one who could speak her language without the buzzing accent that made the words difficult to understand. They�d finally started feeding her real food, raw meat she�d identified as venison once she�d sank her fangs in it. With regular meals, she slowly began to heal and to regain her strength. The wound in her neck closed after three or four feedings, thanks to the quick healing ability she�d inherited from her father. Diaemus had done a number on her, an indication as to just how hungry her friend had been when she�d agreed to �donate� her blood and reiatsu as a means of giving him enough energy to escape. The Swarm had even tended to her broken arm and the bones were knitting together properly, but she didn�t want to rely on that arm for anything serious just yet.

Then again, it wasn�t as if she could go very far. Her jailers had chained her ankles together and once her neck healed, they�d placed a fitted metal collar around it. The collar had an attached chain that locked to another loop of metal jutting out from the wall. She had just enough slack to keep from choking if she sat up and forward to eat, but not enough to let her roam the room at will. They�d at least given her a comfortable bed, woven from some kind of tough, silky-feeling threads, but the bed, the food, the occasional bathroom break and the medical treatment were the only kindnesses.

Right now, the only things she could really manage were eating, resting and attempting to glean information from her captors, which wasn�t much. What she did know was that Diaemus had pulled off the perfect vanishing act, if Zee�s anger and frustration was anything to go by. She hoped her friend had made it back by now but if not, at least he wasn�t in Zee�s clutches. Speaking of the devil, Zee walked through the doorway, her �meal� in hand. She tried to force herself to sit up, but Zee quickly moved to her side and rested a hand on her shoulder, holding her down.

�You are not to move yet,� he ordered firmly.

�Fuck you,� she spat rebelliously, but reluctantly lay back down, not because she couldn�t hold herself up or was obeying him, but so she wouldn�t reveal how much strength had returned to her already. Of course, there wasn�t much strength to conceal. She was still terribly weak, but with a few more deer in her belly, she might be able to start thinking about a way to sneak out of this place. A good Bala, aimed at the iron loop holding her chain would be a great start...

�Diaemus really let me have it. Who knew the winged rat, with all his going on about being �reserved� and �proper,� had such a voracious appetite?� she marvelled, knowing that she needed to wait on doing something so bold as making a break for it until she could replace all of the blood and the energy that Diaemus had taken from her.

The insult had no effect on Zee, possibly because the words meant nothing to him. She didn�t think that the Swarm engaged in sex as a recreational pastime. They probably didn�t curse at one another either, given their hive-mind, though they might have some sort of nasty words set aside for those who weren�t members of the Swarm. However, she�d bet her next breakfast that the �words� Zee had snarled when they had stormed in to find her bleeding out and twitching on the floor of her old cell involved some kind of profanity.

�Eat,� he ordered her sternly, holding out two large, still-bloody chunks of meat towards her. It was difficult to keep her mouth from watering as the metallic smell of fresh blood filled the air in the room.

Ajuga eyed them and gave them a sniff, but detected no signs of tampering. Reluctantly, she took one chunk from him, the meal staining her lips and hands as she tore into it. It was hard not to gobble it down too quickly. All she was these days was �hungry.� Her mother would have a fit if she saw her eating like this; Karin, being human, preferred her meat cooked and served on a proper plate, with condiments and side dishes that included disgusting things, like vegetables. Then again, she�d seen her mother�s insignificant canines and less-than-razor-sharp teeth. Burnt, heat-processed flesh was probably the only way her mother could enjoy a good steak.

Ajuga preferred her meat raw, if not still moving, and in her current blood-depleted condition, the more raw meat she ate, the better. The venison was so fresh it was still almost body-temperature, which was a relief. The blood loss had chilled her and the growing warmth in her belly as she gulped down what had recently been a deer helped with that. Now if only there was something she could do to mend her reiatsu levels. Unfortunately, even if she did start eating Swarm soldiers, she�d gain less reiatsu from devouring them than she would if she ate the pitiful Plus souls in the Rukongai.

�Why are you holding me here?� she asked after she finished, licking her fingers of every last drop of red stuff and seeking out any bits of meat that might be caught between her teeth. Nothing was going to waste if she could help it.

She hadn�t asked Zee the reasons behind her capture until now. That was partly due to her weakened condition and partly because she didn�t really expect him to answer. Her first guesses involved studies and experimentation, which she abandoned the longer she remained in this room. If they�d really wanted to dissect her, or even examine her, they�d have done so long before now. She�d been around Szayel enough to know scientific curiosity when she saw it and it was entirely absent in her captors.

�We will use you to rebalance the Realms, since your mother seems to be incapable of doing so,� Zee replied sourly, though his reply made no sense. The fact he�d said anything at all startled her.

She was about to ask him for clarification on just how he expected her to do something that not even Szayel or Aizen could manage, but to her surprise Zee continued to talk, so she bit her tongue and hoped he would be dumb enough to monologue about his �evil plans.� The villain in the silly book she�d seen lying about in the Science Division�s lobby one day and picked up to read had done that. Maybe she�d get lucky and Zee would do something equally dumb.

�Tomorrow, we will go to the Palace and you will sit on the chair and say my name. After that, the rift will reseal and the Realms will begin to balance,� he declared.

Ajuga blinked at him, utterly confused as to what he�d just said. Was he serious? How would her sitting on some chair and saying his name restore the messed-up Realms? Was the Swarm crazier than she realized? If it was that easy, then why hadn�t Aizen done it already? Zee might as well have hopped up and down on one foot and rubbed his head and his belly with his hands for all the sense such a statement made.

�Rest,� Zee told her, turning and striding towards the door.

�Wait,� she called out after him, to no avail.

Her attempt to go after him came to an uncomfortably halt, thanks to the collar. She spat some vivid curses that would have made her father proud and caused her mother tan her hide with a reiatsu-infused, spike-encrusted stick had she heard them. Seething in frustration, Ajuga sat back and tried to keep her temper under control. Ajuga could have broken through the chain with the claws attached to the arm Zee hadn�t damaged, but she was still in no condition to escape and she didn�t want to tip her hand. In addition, the General had most likely locked the door and that might prove a bigger obstacle. Spitting and hissing like a pissed housecat, she crawled back into the silky nest and tried to use the time to recoup more of her lost strength. At least the nest was warm and she had a stomach full of meat to digest. As worn out as she was, it didn�t take long for slumber to find her.

When Karin initially pictured the outpost the Swarm might build for itself here, she�d envisioned something more like a massive underground complex dug by a colony of ants, or maybe a termite mound. She�d been right about the subterranean portion, but she�d certainly missed the mark on the rest of the complex that rose from the center of the island, in the middle of the frozen lake on Hana�s map. Instead, the scouting party discovered what looked like an old-fashioned beehive, entirely carved from ice and with plenty of exits and entrances at various levels. The impressive structure sparkled when the light hit it, reminding Karin a little of the great, glass dome enclosing the Science and Research Division back in the Seireitei. It wasn�t quite as tall as that glittering, multifaceted creation, but those taking it in from a hidden spot near the edge of the lake were impressed. There was also more than a little grudging respect for the bugs themselves, as well as their willingness to build with ice. Normal insects would have died from the frigid temperatures long before now.

Upon seeing it, they�d immediately dubbed the Swarm�s base �The Hive,� based on its outward appearance and the handful of Locusts that buzzed in and out of the various entrance and exit holes like honeybees. They would leave and return with freshly cut timber. Hana guessed that, from the amount of wood gathered, it constituted part, if not all, of the Swarm�s food source.

The logging was what tipped them off. They knew they were close yesterday, when they�d stumbled across a great swath of clear-cut pine trees. The Swarm had stripped the forests of acres and acres of timber, taking all but the smallest of stray branches. They�d even made off with the deadfall and half-rotted dead trees. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra ordered everyone to hide along the rocks lining a ridge overlooking the deforestation and observed a horde of Locusts chewing the trees near the base of each trunk. The insects would take the logs, one bug on each end, and carry them off over the horizon. In this manner, they�d zeroed in on the Hive�s location, aided by Hana�s map.

Getting there, however, had been trickier. They had speed on their side, but thanks to fewer stands of uncut trees, it was harder to stay undetected as they surreptitiously followed a Locust and its burden. Thankfully, Szayel�s map proved useful when a lack of cover forced them to fall behind by skirting around the edges of already-cut clearings.

It was a testament to the map�s accuracy when they finally caught their first glimpse of the Hive. In line with Hana�s calculations, the Swarm had built their strategic fortification right where Hana�s calculations said it would be. This far to the north, winter had not yet relinquished its grasp on the land, and the scouting party knew that they would have to wait until the following evening to think about crossing that wide-open expanse if they wanted to keep their presence a secret.

The next step involved finding a secluded spot where they could recover from the gruelling pace of their journey. The tangled roots of a colossal fallen tree proved an excellent system of support for the camouflage�patterned tarps. As the tree had fallen in a northerly direction, its roots sheltered the ground beneath them from encroaching snowdrifts and spared them the task of digging out a bare patch to set up their encampment. Stringing those out and staking them to the forest floor gave the little party a spot to let the men rest and recover from the extended use of their Resurrección forms. Karin left Orihime and Hana to guard their camp and made her way to a spot overlooking the lake and the Hive. Finding an out-of-the-way position amid what she guessed were juniper shrubs from the smell of the branches and the pale blue berries, she lay down on her belly. Taking a deep breath, she slipped into Jinzen, and then focused on the ice dome.

She easily caught sight of all of the little energy signatures that belonged to the Locusts. Seeing them move through the tunnels of the Hive reminded her of the medical videos that showed blood moving through a person�s arteries and veins, or perhaps traffic patterns moving through a city�s streets, as seen from above. The signatures moved in one direction only, then stopped to let another batch of energy signatures cross their path. The reiatsu points that identified Locusts seemed to be near the surface. The signatures belonging to the much-larger Beetles were deeper within the base. She thought that might be due to a desire to stay close to whatever heat source they used. In fact, the deeper she looked, the more �life� she found.

In a way, it was really was like looking at a forest. Plants had their own energy signatures. Individually, each bit of reiatsu was weak, almost negligible. However, when one took in the energy of an entire forest, the signatures combined to create a �haze�. The Swarm�s wholesale signature was the same; the deeper down she gazed and the more insects she looked at, the thicker the haze grew, until only the strongest signatures stood out.

She recognized the Scarabs� reiatsu thanks to spending so much time with Mushi. Thinking of the Scarab in its pen, she hoped someone remembered to feed her while they were gone, and that Mushi wasn�t giving those tending to her any problems. Karin reminded herself that Abisara was conscientious enough to make sure someone was on the job and Jushiro was too softhearted to let the insect starve.

Here and there, she could see the small-but-powerful signatures that she guessed belonged to the Generals. Like the sharp reflections of sunlight on water, they stood out against their weaker kin. Thanks to the two encounters she�d had with Zee, Karin managed to pick out the General�s reiatsu relatively quickly. It was a relief to know that he blatantly outshone the others. The last thing they needed was more than one General like the one who had stolen her daughter.

Once she identified Zee, it didn�t take long to locate the one signature she really wanted. She almost sobbed with relief when her eyes picked out Ajuga�s reiatsu. Her child�s energy levels were low, but steady. She let herself linger over her daughter�s form for some time before jerking her thoughts back to the task.

Using the Locusts� movements as an indicator for the locations of tunnels and chambers, she mentally mapped the Hive�s layout. She also plotted what she hoped would be the fastest way to get to wherever they were holding Ajuga. The increased haziness in the deeper parts of the Swarm�s outpost, as well as the convoluted nature of the tunnels made finding a direct path difficult. In fact, the haze became as thick as rice gruel the lower she got, until it seemed like one solid sheet of energy. Then she paused and took a much closer look. Karin let her �sight� drift towards the very bottom of the complex before she realized that she wasn�t looking at a vast multitude of congregating insects.

Instead, she swallowed the gasp as the single, massive signature moved.

What lay below was one immense entity. If she squinted, she could pick out the edges of its body when it shifted.

�Whatever that is, it�s at least as big as a bloody cargo ship!� she marvelled, before a number of different explanations for a bug that big paraded through her head.

Could the thing that lay curled in the bowels of the Swarm�s Hive be the leader of the Swarm? Maybe this creature served to pump needed oxygen into the dome to keep the Swarm comfortably living here or it could be some kind of relay bug, sending and receiving messages and reports. She hadn�t ruled out the thing as a heat source. She wished Szayel were here, mostly because he might have a better idea of what function this new life form might have, based on its size and its location within the Hive. He was the Seireitei�s expert in all things pertaining to the Swarm and that wasn�t saying much, considering how little they truly knew about the creatures.

She�d gathered as much information as her hiding place would allow as she didn�t want to tarry any longer. Her jacket had barely kept her from contracting frostbite after lying on the ground for so long. Retreating to their makeshift shelter, she greeted Hana and Orihime before squirming her way into the sleeping bag where Grimmjow lay snoring until her chilled flesh met his.

�Damn girl, what were you doing, rolling in the snow?� he complained as his eyes shot open. One of his arms snaked its way around her waist. From the rustling outside of the bag, his sudden yelp had roused Ulquiorra and Diaemus.

�She�s alive. Kami, she�s weak, but she�s alive,� Karin announced, fighting back tears of joy.

Hana and Orihime cheered, mindful not to make too much noise while doing so. Karin heard a muffled sigh of relief from one sleeping bag and guessed it was Diaemus. A matching �hmm� from Ulquiorra came from the other bag. Grimmjow pulled Karin flush against him, nuzzling her neck. She felt him relax, as some of the tension he�d held in his frame for the last several days finally drained away. The fear that Ajuga had succumbed to the combined injuries inflicted by the General and those created by Diaemus when he�d fed from her evaporated, but there was the rest of what she�d seen and she wasn�t sure what to make of it.

�I scanned the Swarm�s base, from top to bottom. There�s something at the very lowest levels, something enormous. It�s bigger than Szayel�s entire Division,� she reported. Hana and Orihime looked at one another, concern clouding both women�s features.

�Should we wait for the rest?� Hana suggested, sounding somewhat reluctant to take on anything that large without help.

�Waiting would be prudent,� Ulquiorra replied, his voice drifting up from his sleeping bag. �Clearly, Ajuga is in no danger and it would be foolish to engage a foe that large with our current roster. We stand a better chance of success if we postpone an all-out attack until reinforcements arrive.�

Hana nodded and looked to Karin again.

�Can you see the others?�

Sighing, Karin nestled more comfortably against her mate�s warmth and slipped into Jinzen once more. Doing so was easier now that she knew her daughter was safe. After several minutes of concentration, she sighed and shook her head. The warriors following them were still well out of her range. She also privately marvelled at how far their little scouting party had come in such a short amount of time.

�Check again in a few hours,� Ulquiorra suggested sleepily. �For now, we should remain concealed, learn what we can of their patrols and recover from our rush.�

Karin let herself slip off into slumber, only to wake a few hours later. After eating a lunch of cold rations, she once more sought out the force that should have been behind them, again with no luck. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra disappeared into the forest to observe what they could of the Swarm�s movements and patrols, while Hana and Diaemus went hunting for fresh meat. That left Karin with Orihime, who sat staring pensively at the coals of their small fire.

�Do you think it will take long for the others to catch up?� the other woman asked, breaking the silence.

�I doubt it. They were going to leave the next morning. We pushed hard to get here, though. They will probably catch up to us tomorrow night or sometime during the next day. It depends on whom Aizen is bringing with him. They can only travel as fast as their slowest warrior,� she pointed out, �or their slowest piece of equipment.�

�Of course,� Orihime agreed, looking off towards the south. �Who do you think he will bring?�

�I don�t know, probably most of the Espada and Taichou-class Shinigami. The rank and file Shinigami wouldn�t be able to keep up with someone like Starrk or Nnoitra. If it were up to me, I�d have Jushiro or Unohana stay behind to run things. Jushiro�s tuberculosis is much better now, thanks to the new medicine he�s on and the damage to his lungs you managed to heal, but he�s still risks a flare-up if he exerts himself too much,� Karin answered, trying hard not to sound gloomy.

�The timing of all of this stinks!� she seethed inwardly. Aizen was finally out of the city, but there was no way she could communicate with Yoruichi and the Escapees in the next day. She also didn�t think that reasoning with Zee would be possible at this point. The insectoid bastard had been the one to screw up a perfectly good beginning to a coup against Aizen with his opportunistic abduction of Ajuga and she no longer felt she could trust him as far as keeping his word. Then again, if Aizen�s approaching force annihilated the Swarm�s base and the bugs within, there might not be any insects left with which they could coordinate an attack. The conspirators would have to find some other way of engineering an assassination and she wasn�t fool enough to think they had an unlimited amount of time to do it.

Then again, if she could get Zee�s attention, she could warn him of the approaching force. After all, they�d have Aizen right there, where they could get to the usurper. She did promise, after all, that if they killed the bastard she would sit on the Spirit King�s Throne and allow her presence to start stabilizing the Realms. She had no idea how the process worked, but she was sure she could figure something out. Maybe there was an operating manual. Surely, the Soul King�s Palace and the Royal Realm had an archive of such things.

If it didn�t� well, she�d just have to wing it.

She�d also have to convince Ulquiorra to go in and get Ajuga out to pull it off. She also, somewhat selfishly, relished giving Zee a piece of her mind and her fist for daring to go behind her back and taking her daughter.

The frustrating part was that this would have been the perfect set-up, save for some important unknowns, such as which Espada Aizen had chosen to accompany him and which pets had been included. Any attempt at a rebellion right now would result in an ugly mess as the Arrancar and Shinigami battled one another, with allies turning into enemies thanks to whoever held their Claims. Then there was the whole issue of robbing Aizen of the power the Throne gave him. Without knowing if she�d have both the conspirators and the promised help from the Swarm�s General, it was yet another thing she couldn�t risk doing. The Swarm had been to the Royal Realm before; Zee had admitted as much, but Karin had no idea if they�d be able get there again, especially from here.

Still, there was a slim chance she could work something out with the Swarm�s representative during the skirmish. Karin would just have to keep her eyes open. She doubted even Aizen would survive a dip in beetle acid. A slow, agonizing death as the stuff ate him alive would be a fitting death for the bastard.

The return of Diaemus and Hana interrupted her brooding. The first carried several cleaned and gutted rabbits and the second had an armload of dry wood for the fire. Diaemus had apparently seen her previous reaction towards the un-skinned rabbits Grimmjow had tried to offer his mate and smartly learned not to make the same mistake.

�Thank you Diaemus-kun,� she said and smiled at him. Spearing the meat and setting it over the fire to roast, she pulled out the dwindling bag of rice while Orihime filled a pot with clean snow.

The rabbits and rice had almost finished cooking when Ulquiorra returned from his patrol, and the rest of them had finished eating by the time Grimmjow made it back to their encampment. His late return might have something to do with the wild pig he had tossed over a shoulder. Rabbit was all fine and dandy, but the idea of pork made Karin�s mouth water after days of bland-tasting bunnies and travel rations. In addition, Ajuga would be starving when they finally retrieved her and the resulting commotion would chase away any game. With the cold weather, they didn�t need to worry about the meat going bad or flies getting on it, but she didn�t think, between two Espada and their hybrid children, that it would last very long

After dinner, she descended into Jinzen again, and repeated what she�d done that morning. Ajuga was right where she had been last time and the Hive�s inhabitants had settled down for the night. The quality of her daughter�s reiatsu hadn�t changed, but at least it hadn�t deteriorated either. Reassured, she cast her sight to the south. There was still no sign of the others. After an hour of fruitless searching, she shook her head in response to the silent, questioning looks the others sent her.

�I believe you will catch sight of them in the morning,� Ulquiorra stated, unperturbed by the idea of another night there.

�Probably,� she agreed.

The fact that her daughter was so close, yet unreachable tormented Karin. The need to hold back on a rescue also frustrated her mate, from emotions she could feel through their mutual Claim. He still looked like his normal, cocky, confident self on the outside, but he was just as worried about Ajuga as she was and doing his best to cover it up.

�Men and their need for posturing,� she sighed to herself.

Still, she silently offered him what support she could that wouldn�t make him appear weak in front of Ulquiorra. That wasn�t a hard thing to do, considering Orihime had wrapped her body around the Fourth Espada, complaining of the cold and doing her best imitation of a coat. Diaemus, seeing the display, did his best not to look in his parents� direction.

They set up the order for night watch and Karin curled up in her bedroll next to Grimmjow�s warm body.

�Tomorrow,� he whispered in her ear.

�Hmm?� she murmured, confused.

�Tomorrow we get our daughter back, whether the others show up or not. By the time we are done pouring hot water down it, there won�t be a thing moving in that ant hill,� he growled.

Karin nodded in agreement. One way or another, they�d rescue their child. She still wanted to approach the Swarm openly and possibly negotiate for Ajuga�s return but she couldn�t predict whether such an opportunity would arise.

�We are so doomed,� she muttered. Grimmjow�s arm tightened around her at the sound.

�Huh?�

�Nothing.�

The next morning was cold and foggy and Karin was reluctant to leave the relative warmth of the sleeping bag. Grimmjow was already up and about, roasting meat from the boar over the fire for breakfast while Hana watched the pot of rice. From the faint red stain that she�d seen at the corner of his mouth, her mate had probably already helped himself to some of the raw boar, once it had thawed enough to chew. Orihime still slept and there was no sign of Ulquiorra or Diaemus. She decided that the two were likely on patrol. Crawling reluctantly from bed, she immediately dove into her coat and zipped it up. Once that was done, she took care of the rest of the morning�s business and finally settled against one of the tree roots, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

While her body was still relaxed, she deepened her breathing and entered Jinzen, then cast her �sight� at the Hive. Her daughter�s condition hadn�t changed and she could see Zee congregating with some of the other, weaker Generals, but otherwise all seemed �normal� within the structure itself. She let herself linger on her daughter�s energy for a few minutes before turning her attention back the way they�d come. Half an hour later, she�d reached the end of her range of vision, just as Hana announced the rice had finished cooking and that breakfast was ready. Orihime stirred, sat up and began combing her fingers through her long, tangled hair.

She was about to drop her �sight� when a faint glimmer, the size of a spark from the campfire, caught her inner eyes. Jerking upright, and drawing everyone�s attention towards her, she focused more intently on it as it grew in size, approaching from the south. Behind it, another, dimmer glow appeared. Both moved towards the scouting party�s position at high speed and she didn�t need to see their forms to recognize them for what they were.

�I can see Aizen and Starrk,� she proclaimed, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice and then added, �They will probably be here by noon, maybe early evening at the latest.�

As a rule, Karin had never been pleased to see Aizen before, but this marked the lone exception to it. The rest of the attack force would be with him and that meant Ajuga�s rescue was nigh. Soon, she would have her daughter in her arms. Then she could scold the crap out of the girl for doing something as hare-brained and reckless as to attack a General. After that, she�d blister Ajuga�s father�s ears for his contribution, both learned and genetic, to their daughter�s risky temperament. She smiled, showing a few teeth and narrowing her eyes, looking forward to delivering both rebukes.

�Ah. Then we will soon recover Ajuga�� Ulquiorra remarked, taking a bowl of rice and pork from Hana and digging into it.

��and bury those,� her mate said as he took two steps back from the fire, finishing the Fourth�s sentence, �fucking insects in an icy grave.�

Karin was too elated to think about smacking him for his language. She agreed with him this time, ignoring the cursing. However, he still winced when she flung herself into his arms, holding him tightly as strong emotions raced through her. It didn�t take long for him to return her embrace though.

�We�ll get her out of there,� he promised. �Now eat.�

�I know.�

Hana pressed a cup of strong tea and a bowl into her hands and Karin downed her breakfast as fast as she could, her stomach doing excited flip-flops all the while. She�d do her child no good if she were hungry when they stormed the fortress. The others seemed to have the same idea and any conversation took a back seat to eating. After another cup of tea, the young woman set her bowl aside and once again let her �sight� wander back to the Swarm�s base, seeking out Ajuga�s energy.

This time she gasped and then froze. Grimmjow gripped her as he felt her stiffen and received a sudden rush of panic.

�What is it?�

�They are moving her,� Karin declared, biting her lip and stepping away from him. Twisting around, she turned to face the Hive, the alarm on her face growing by the second.

�Where are they taking her?� Grimmjow demanded sharply, even as the others came to stand around her.

�I don�t know�. Shit!� she screeched, and raced from their hiding place, bolting for the edge of the forest and the frozen lake beyond it. Grimmjow was hot on her heels as she threaded her way through the trees, picking as short a route as she could through the snowdrifts.

�Karin-san! Wait!� Hana cried after her.

The others finally caught up with her when she reached the spot where the forest ended and the edge of the lake ice began. Grimmjow reached out and snagged her upper arm, bringing her to a halt. Diaemus, who had thought to carry Orihime, set his mother down briefly.

�She�s running through what I think are corridors and they are chasing her,� Karin informed them. �I think she�s escaped!�

�But�� Hana started to protest, only to have Ulquiorra interrupt the young Shinigami by raising one hand.

�Aizen-Kami and the rest well be here soon enough. We will strike now and create as much confusion as we can,� the green-eyed Espada declared, earning a surprised look from them all. �Let us �kick their asses�, as I believe you would say, yes?� he asked Grimmjow.

�Now you are talking, Ulquiorra! That woman has done your pale ass some good!� the Sixth cackled, rubbing his palms together in anticipation. Orihime blushed, but she still smiled triumphantly at the compliment. The Fourth Espada�s eyes narrowed a bit at the other�s language, then sighed and delivered his instructions to the rest of them.

�Diaemus, Hana, Orihime, remain with Karin and get to Ajuga. Get her outside and make sure she�s uninjured. Once she is safe, let us know. Grimmjow and I will destroy the upper portion of the dome with a barrage of Ceros. Keep your mother safe.� He directed the last bit to his son, his normally monotonous voice becoming stern.

�I will sir,� Diaemus assured him.

The two Espada took off, abandoning stealth and attacking the line of Locusts on their way out to gather wood at random. The first three they encountered fell in a spray of goo, the stuff splattering on the snow beneath them, followed by the insects� remains. The effect on the Swarm�s base was instantaneous. Locusts boiled up from almost every �exit� portal, intent on neutralizing this new threat. The two �threats� readily engaged anything that came at them. The drifts beneath the fight took on a sickly viscous green hue and sported numerous Locust bodies in various stages of dismemberment. The hive-mind the Locusts shared seemed fixated on the two Arrancar, as they paid no mind to the four smaller forms hurrying across the lake as fast as two pairs of Shunpo-aided feet and one pair of wings could take them. With the Swarm�s attention on Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, the rest of the scouting party clambered into the closest reachable entrance and slipped inside.

�It is time. Come!�

Zee stalked into the room without warning and made the announcement with all of the arrogance she�d come to expect from him. Ajuga glared hatefully at the General as he removed the chain that went to her neck collar from the wall and proceeded to walk towards the exit. The hybrid girl literally dug her claws into the nest and refused to budge. Zee, obviously not expecting her to put up a fight, nearly toppled backward when he met with her resistance.

�Go away, bug. I�m still tired.�

She yawned melodramatically, and proceeded to curl back up on the silken bed, hoping she�d made her point. Instead, she heard his jaw clench in frustration. Bracing her body for the expected tug of war, Ajuga was not disappointed as he yanked on her leash, harder this time. Her claws sank into the bedrock supporting the silk nest and she held back a growl of pain as the collar dug into her neck and her throat. She hissed at him and pulled back, gaining about a foot of chain. This went on for a good ten minutes, during which he had managed to get her out of the nest and to the doorway. With a wall to snag, she had much better leverage than the stone floor, which now had dozens of deep furrows from her claws.

�Enough of this!� Zee snarled and then shouted, �The Realms must be stabilized or all will collapse!�

�Fuck you!� she spat at him.

He gave another sharp yank, and this time she deliberately let go of the wall, calculating the angle of the tug. As a result, Zee ended up with an armload of fury-fuelled claws and teeth as she landed on him. The move and her use of the momentum of his last pull evidently surprised him. In the confusion, Ajuga drew a large amount of ichor, enough to know she�d put a serious dent in his exoskeleton.

The girl quickly swiped her claws across the collar, ridding herself of its irritating weight. When Zee finally managed to get a hold of her and throw her off of him, she let him. She was certain that the look of shock on his face when he realized the chain in his hand remained slack instead of being drawn taunt was one worth remembering. Regrettably, she never saw it. The moment her paws hit the floor, she was gone in a burst of Sonido, racing out of the door with every ounce of speed she could muster.

She didn�t bother trying to find the Hive�s entrance, since her first objective involved putting as much space between her and Zee as possible. Instead, she took as many corners as she could in a bid to confuse anyone following her. Cloaking her reiatsu was second nature to her, so she hid herself as well. Some sort of alarm went up, because the low, persistent buzzing that usually filled the Swarm�s base with ambient noise turned into a shrill keening as the entire nest roared to life.

It was a good thing she spent a large amount of time with Szayel. Doing so let her listen in on his research, and thus she knew that, like most insects, the members of the Swarm did not rely entirely on their eyesight. The construction of their eyes and their vision was much different from hers. Instead, they depended on their sense of touch, as well as what their feelers and antennae could detect. By remaining completely still at times, Ajuga managed to elude her pursuers. Locusts rushed right by her, failing to notice she was there. Even one of the beetles lumbered past without stopping when she hit a larger tunnel.

She paused as she stared down the tunnel after it. The beetles had to get out somehow. This tunnel would likely connect to another and eventually, she�d be able to follow the hulking things to the nearest exit and freedom. Once outside, she could hide, rest, and hunt to regain her strength. Then it would only be a matter of waiting for a clear night. She prayed that she remembered the lessons on constellations that �take-ji had given her. She�d need them, after all, to find her way south and to stay ahead of Zee. He didn�t seem the type to want to let her go without giving chase.

Ajuga swallowed and when she judged the beetle was far enough ahead for her to avoid detection, edged around the corner into the bigger space and trotted after it.

�If Diaemus could do it, so can I�, she thought, trying to conjure up the confidence needed for what would probably be a very long, taxing journey home.

�It�ll be easy, right?�

Huge hugs and thank you for those that took the time to review. Update will most likely be late next week, as my job schedule is shifting a bit, so don�t panic if you don�t see the next chapter by noon, it will probably be in the evening.

There is something I feel like I need to note (Manga spoilers ahead), giving the latest Bleach chapters. Since I first started writing POV five years ago (recall I had been writing a year before posting part one), I had pretty much always intended to give Rukia her Bankai (I am actually writing in that area of the story now). We have now seen what it is, which is great. I don�t have to make something up anymore. Unfortunately, it doesn�t really look like something that�s going to work in the space she�s fighting in. Black Fox and I are going to have to talk it out a bit, see if we can make it work or if we might have to tweak/make a new one for her even though it has been revealed now. You would be amazed at the number of reviews I got on my Inuyasha ficts about Sesshomaru�s mother�s name and how I had it wrong, even though the fict had been written long before that part of the Manga ever came up.

This Weeks Question: So, who thinks that this �Sternritter V� is royally screwed being paired up against someone as absent minded as Yachiru is?

Next Weeks Chapter: The family reunites and the final battle against the Swarm begins.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2