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Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
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Ant Hill: Part 2

Ajuga raced towards the large circle of Scarabs, their wings glittering beautifully as they shimmered and summoned a large� well, it didn�t look like a portal. It really looked like a pillar of light. Maybe it was some sort of beacon, she decided, summoning more Locusts to defend the outpost. As much as she wanted to join her father and Ulquiorra in their battle with the giant horror, she knew she would be better off dealing with whatever trick the Swarm had planned. Besides, she could see the Generals massing near the light, and she had a bone to pick with one of them� a few of his �bones� actually, if he had any. This time she knew what he was capable of and she wouldn�t be going into a scuffle with him blindly.

The collective buzz and whine of the Swarm had really begun to get to her. She would give almost anything for some peace and quiet. Her ears would be ringing for days after this was all over, if not weeks.

�Well, when I�m done, there�ll be one less bug to give me a headache�, she decided, narrowing her eyes and picking out Zee from among the other Generals thanks to his white top knot.

With a final push of Sonido, she leaped and aimed a slash of her claws at Zee�s back. The General disappeared briefly before reappearing before the beam of light. Zee walked into the pillar, followed by at least two dozen more Generals, paying her no heed. Cursing, Ajuga chased after him, determined not to let her prey escape again. Somewhere behind her, she heard Diaemus and Hana calling out a warning, but she didn�t turn around, too intent on sinking her claws into the General�s eye sockets to bother turning about. This was her fight and she was going make sure the bastard that had starved her, beaten and broken her arm and Diaemus�s wings and chained her to his wall got what was coming to him.

White light surrounded her as she entered the pillar, blinding her with its radiance and making her eyes water. The ice and rubble under her hind paws disappeared as well. In fact, she felt weightless, almost as if she was floating and while she fought to try to keep her sense of equilibrium, she lost track of how much time passed. When gravity finally grabbed hold of her again, her sight returned with it and she found herself standing on cool marble.

For a second, when she heard nothing, she feared that she�d gone deaf, until she realized that she could no longer hear the sounds of the fight she�d just left. The only things she could hear were the sighing of the wind as it occasionally gusted around her and her own breathing. There was no buzzing, no battle, no Cero explosions, no Zabimaru roaring. The absence of noise quickly led her to believe that she hadn�t arrived at any location belonging to the Swarm, or if it was, no one was present save for Zee and his escorts. In fact, the wind carried no other scents save for those of the Generals ahead of her, indicating that no one had been this way for a very long time.

�Where in the world am I?�

This place was unlike anything she had ever seen before. After spending time in the Hive, she could tell the Swarm certainly hadn�t had any hand in building this soaring architecture. Oddly, it reminded her a little of Aizen�s Palace, in the middle of the Seireitei, only far grander and gravity defying. Before her stood a shut and sealed gate. Zee�s scent went through it. Tail lashing slightly in the thrill of the hunt, Ajuga stalked forward towards the massive structure blocking her access to the city beyond it. Her hand rested on the gate, but it refused to budge no matter how hard she pushed on it. Staring up at its height, she pondered whether she ought to try climbing it, or trying to slash through it with her claws.

Then a shivery tingle shot up the arm attached to the hand she had on the gate, alarming her. Before she could let go, it swung open and after shaking herself, she dismissed the odd feeling. Placing both hands on it, she gave the gate a solid shove, and walked through it. Then she grinned, showing her fangs, then switched to Sonido, determined to catch up with Zee and his fellow Generals.

She did not notice the gate gently closing and locking behind her, already hot on Zee�s trail.

Hana�s stomach felt like someone had twirled her through the air, around and around, by her feet and then hung her upside down over a clothesline. That sensation followed her as she staggered out of the pillar, lurching from side to side and dizzy. A hand grasped her by her upper arm before she could fall on her face. The young Shinigami came face to face with an equally disoriented and slightly grey-faced Diaemus. The two managed to steady one another enough long enough to regain their bearings and for the floor to stop moving.

�What� what just happened? Where�s Ajuga?� Hana said, putting the palm of one hand to her temple and looking around with a mixture of wonder and apprehension. �And where did that thing take us?�

�Hana, this way! Hurry!�

Diaemus�s answer was to pull her towards a metallic gate, not far from the column of light. �Her scent is fresh. She must have just come through here!�

�I�m going to skin her, so help me!� Hana snapped as she marched angrily towards the barrier. �Single-minded, reckless, unthinking idiot! Is she trying to get herself killed on purpose?�

�All appropriate adjectives, Hana. We�ll need to catch up with her for you to perform such a feat though,� her winged friend replied, though he sounded even less happy than she did.

She snorted and prepared to kick her way through the gate if she had to, or get Diaemus to carry her over it. However, when she touched the right side of the obstacle, it gave way under her fingertips and she received a shock through her hand, which she attributed to static electricity. The air was somewhat dry. Sensing no resistance, she wriggled through to the other side and pushed it wider so that Diaemus could follow. When he�d cleared his wings, she closed the gate and tried to figure out which way Ajuga would have gone. Sighing, she pointed upwards and Diaemus took the hint. Maybe, with her searching on the ground and Diaemus looking for Ajuga from above, they�d locate her faster. Angry that, for the second time that day, they�d had to resort to searching for their foolhardy friend, Hana took what looked like the closest street and began running. She could hear Diaemus as he took off and attempted to catch the wind blowing through the spectacular, if deserted city. She had no idea where they were and if she managed to get her hands on her sister-all-but-in-name, Hana would do more than just skin her.

She swore that Ajuga�s punishment would involve math problems� preferably trigonometry. Maybe she�d even include some calculus if Ajuga couldn�t come up with a decent explanation for why she�d done something so incredibly foolish.

Her feet carried her down several alleyways and through numerous buildings, until she set foot in a very large courtyard. A marble fountain with three tiers that had once held water and now only held dirt and gravel stood at its center, its middle tier crumbling on one side. Unfortunately, Hana was so intent on deciding what kind of mathematical horrors she�d inflict on her friend that she failed to notice she wasn�t alone.

Three Generals stepped out from behind the ruined fountain and fanned out, intending to intercept her. She berated herself for forgetting that Zee hadn�t entered the gateway alone, and skidded to a halt. Bringing her hands up quickly, Hana fired off a blast of Kido.

�Sōkatsui!� she shouted at the top of her lungs. The blue shaft of energy shattered what was left of the stone fountain, sending the pieces everywhere. Hana took the opportunity to duck down a side corridor, while the three crouched in an attempt to shield themselves from the flying debris and the crackling electrical barbs. She�d meant it as a distraction at best. It wouldn�t take long for them to figure out where she�d gone and she hoped that she would be able to find Ajuga by then. Her thoughts grew darker by the second and she prayed Diaemus was having better luck than she was.

�Oh, yeah,� she promised herself, �lots and lots and LOTS of math problems� HEAPS of them!�

Nothing thrilled Grimmjow more than a good, old-fashioned brawl, other than getting it on with Karin of course, but that was a thrill of a different sort. He would admit that Ulquiorra, when the bat chose to take the stick out of his hind end, made a decent bug-crushing partner. Despite decades of a bitter rivalry, the trip north proved that they could work well together. It had taken them less than the span of ten heartbeats to get the Swarm�s undivided attention. He�d felt a moment of hesitation when the giant ice mound erupted, but he soon spotted Karin and the others, safe and sound, before the spiky millipede-thing took him back into the fight. Maybe it was a centipede, but fuck it! Who cared? Szayel would probably twitch at the lack of distinction, but he couldn�t care less what it was, only that it was going to give him a good battle. He�d grown bored of swatting flies.

�Beware those spikes� at least until we know what they do,� Ulquiorra warned him, tossing a green Bala into a tangle of Locusts bearing down on him from the right, reducing the lot to cinders. �That steam is also suspect.�

�That�s just warm oxygen�� Grimmjow grunted, though he sniffed again to make sure. While the extra oxygen wasn�t harmful to breathe and had given them a bit of a boost, it did pose a different sort of danger. Accidentally igniting the gas around them with a stray Cero was a distinct possibility. The Sixth figured it might be a good idea to curb their energy-based attacks, lest they end up in the middle of a fireball of their own making. �Then again,� he reconsidered and grinned wickedly, �now would be an excellent time to let loose. Not like any explosions are really going to hurt us.� He was, after all, the Aspect of Destruction and nothing screamed �demolition on a large scale� more than explosions with plenty of fuel behind them.

He tossed the idea aside for now. After all, he had no way of calculating how the increased oxygen in the air would affect such things, and Karin would haunt him for the rest of his life if he inadvertently killed her with one of his own Ceros. His life would also become devoid of sex as a side effect and he shuddered. Yeah, he decided, it would best to put that idea aside for now.

Ulquiorra shouted something to him, but it was impossible to hear his companion over the Swarm�s relentless buzzing. They might not be able to kill him with their claws, but Kami, they were going to kill him with the noise. His ears were flat against his head and the position did little to mitigate it. His ears would annoy him all the way home if he and the Fourth didn�t find a way of reducing their numbers fast. It was driving him insane. Grimmjow thought it might be worse for Ulquiorra, what with those large ears and no way to cover them. Then again, bats tended to travel in large, screeching flocks, so perhaps the noise didn�t bother him at all. Hell, Grimmjow realized, his winged companion might even find it soothing. If the noise did bother Ulquiorra, the other gave no sign of it, firing Ceros and Bala at will and raking all four sets of claws across the carapaces of as many of the Locusts as he could.

Ignoring Ulquiorra for now, he leaped in close to the strange �porcu-peed�, determined to discover how tough the thing really was. The spikes shifted to meet him, and he brushed them carefully to determine their strength. For a moment, he thought that nothing had happened. Hell, the edge sliding against his arm hadn�t even hurt, not at first. He believed that his Hierro had either stopped the cut from happening, or that the edge hadn�t been that sharp to begin with, up until he looked down and saw blood oozing out from a long, thin rent in his armored forearm. His blue eyes squinted at the shallow injury.

�Mental note,� he reconsidered. �Those spikes are dangerous. Stay away from them.�

Next, he used his Desgarrón. Despite the fact that it was an energy-based attack, the results were still quite physical and usually, very tangible. Large numbers of the Locusts perished as it tore through them, and plunged into the �porcu-peed�. When the ice dust settled, the tough, spiky shell was singed, but still intact. Grimmjow felt a feral grin spread across his face.

�Finally,� he thought, �a real opponent�.

Ulquiorra shouted something at him again, but the infernal buzzing prevented him from hearing anything other than a vague exclamation. Karin suddenly flung a bright spike of pure panic his way. He�d been too preoccupied with the �porcu-peed�, and hadn�t noticed that most of the Locusts had scattered and regrouped. The majority of them were now barreling towards Karin and Ajuga, on the opposite side of the lake

�Fuck!� he cursed, sending another Desgarrón into the retreating ranks. The attack didn�t slow them down. Before he could disengage and try to make it there, the reinforcements they�d been waiting on for two whole days finally arrived. Grimmjow let out a breath he hadn�t even realized he�d been holding when he saw Starrk and Yammy�s pet holding the massive cloud of insects at bay and went back to trying to flay the monster below him.

Starrk appeared a few feet away, with his Resurrección fully released, which meant that Lilinette was here as well. Sure enough, he saw the misty wolf pack assemble, waiting for its orders.

�About time you showed up, slacker,� he taunted. Starrk yawned in response, but Grimmjow hadn�t really expected him to rise to the bait. The collective First eyed up the giant �porcu-peed� instead, scanning the monstrosity for some kind of weakness. 'Porcu-peed' snarled up at them, but was unable to reach them. The poor little darling had no wings with which to fly and they were too high off the ground for it to rear back. Ulquiorra flew over to them, wings beating the air to stay airborne.

�Your mate and daughter appear headed for trouble,� Ulquiorra called down to them, pointing his Lanzo Verde down and to the left of the ruins of the Hive before he flew upwards to try hitting the humongous insect from a different angle. Grimmjow duly looked down, just in time to see his daughter dive in a pillar of light, the brightness swallowing the girl, tail and all. His nostrils flared in both outrage and astonishment as he recognized his child had adopted her favorite �hunting stance�, intent on killing something before she�d vanished. To make matters worse, he saw Hana and Diaemus plunge in after their friend, presumably to drag her back.

What the hell was that kid doing? There was no way to know what that thing was or where it went, or if there was even a way back. His eyes darted to Karin, who frantically raced after their daughter, Szayel by her side, or rather, lagging slightly behind her. His mate�s pet looked exhausted, which didn�t surprise Grimmjow. Aizen had probably run his forces ragged trying to get up here, only to find the battle already in progress. The only way the scientist would regain any of his strength was to do what Tesra had already done: enter his Resurrección and take the rejuvenation that went with the release of one�s powers.

�Huh. I wonder if he can pull off a full release, with that cracked mask of his. Nel sure as fuck didn�t last long after Nnoitra broke hers. Then again, she didn�t have a Claim holding her powers in place either. Still, doing so would put undue strain on the Claim and Karin ain�t that strong, reiatsu-wise. The last thing we need during a battle is Szayel regressing.�

Starrk chose to speak up at that point, pointing his finger at the column of light.

�Go on. The Fourth and I will deal with this creature,� the First told him. It sounded less like an order and more like permission granted from a superior. Starrk outranked him, both as an Espada and in the pack, so he supposed that made sense from the other�s point of view, but it still felt like Starrk had just dismissed him.

He wanted to protest, and point out Diaemus and Hana had both just jumped into the pillar of light after Ajuga, probably to drag her out. There was one good reason to go after them though, and its name was Zee. Wringing whatever the General used for a neck sounded like a great plan at that moment. Glancing back down at the �porcu-peed�, and the light scorching his most powerful attack had done to it, he decided that it might be best to get revenge on the damn General instead and leave this creature to those more suited to figuring out its weak point. Besides, Szayel was no match for Zee, even if he was an Espada. He would be damned if the General got hold of his daughter again, or his mate.

However, Lilinette�s irritated snark, coming from the mouths of four misty, wolf-shaped Ceros that had congregated behind their master, was what got his feet moving

�Dammit Grimmjow! We didn�t come all this way to get Ajuga back just to lose her again!�

�Fuck it! I�m going!� he snarled, launching into a Sonido just as Karin and Szayel disappeared into the pillar of light.

He�d had to ditch the cloak when it became apparent that he had a choice: he could use his Bankai or he could let the multitude of Locusts that filled the air above the frozen lake overwhelm him. It wasn�t going to remain frozen for much longer if the giant thing lingering on the shore of the island that had housed the Swarm�s base didn�t stop dancing on it. Between the corpses piling up, the multiple cracks that Hitsugaya Toshiro had created to give Harribel access to more water than what her Resurrección could summon and the heavy creature trying to get at the three Espada harassing it from above, he expected it to cave in at any minute.

Maybe the thing would still be wearable once the bid to destroy the bugs� nest was over. He�d glimpsed the half of the scouting party, with a thankfully whole Ajuga, that wasn�t involved in the fight, standing on the cliff where he�d dropped off Szayel. Nemu had already gone on ahead, or so he believed. It was a good thing, he supposed, that his Bankai, with its cowl of ape fur, provided the same sort of concealment for a small black cat as the cloak.

It did not, unfortunately, spare the wearer from the wrath of said feline. Renji winced at the loud, insistent yowl in his ear.

�What the hell, Yoruichi?� he hissed at the animal wrapped around his shoulders.

�You weren�t listening! We need to go after Karin!� Yoruichi all but shouted. �Down there! See the pillar?�

He growled in response. Of course, he could see the damned thing! Renji looked over at the tall, wide beam of white light the Scarabs had formed, just in time to see Karin and Szayel leap into it. When they failed to come out the other side, Renji�s heart nearly stopped. A Locust buzzed in front of him and he had to kick it out of the way, coating his left foot in bug guts.

�Are they crazy? Where the hell had they gone? Was that thing some kind of Senkaimon?�

�Quickly Renji! After her!� Yoruichi commanded and emphasized her point by digging a couple of claws into his shoulder.

The redhead swore up a storm, adding a few phrases that involved selling off the cat on his back to a violinmaker to use her guts for strings before he disengaged the Swarm. He didn�t need any further prompting as he raced after the two idiots. Zabimaru got anything in his way out of the way as he half-ran, half-fell into the pillar, trailing the bone links of his Zanpakuto and the skull behind him.

�Damn you, Szayel!� he cursed as he felt himself �free-fall� and struggled to keep his grip on Zabimaru. �I told Vindula-chan and Abisara-kun I would get your pink ass home in one piece! Jumping into strange, glowing pillars is NOT going to help me keep that promise!� He was going to tan Szayel�s hide when he caught up to him, no matter who was there to see it and this time it wouldn�t be because Aizen had forced him to do it. Provided, of course, that he survived this.

The portal was an interesting, blinding, gravity-flipping affair and he was thankful he hadn�t had more than a few bites of trail rations for breakfast. Otherwise, his stomach might have tossed his meager meal back up. He let go of his Bankai and felt Zabimaru lurch in his grip as it returned to its normal state, along with the rest of his garb.

Coming to a less-than-elegant landing on a floor made of very hard marble, he gaped up at the floating islands of the Royal Palace in stunned silence, before getting to his feet.

�Renji�� came a voice at his elbow and he jumped instinctively, nearly beheading Nemu with his still-drawn weapon as she suddenly materialized beside him. Renji quickly sheathed his Zanpakuto. Nemu bowed before she turned and took off through a pair of gates that someone had left wide open.

�My apologies, Renji. Szayel summoned me. We should try to catch up to him and Karin-san,� she called back urgently. He nodded in agreement and started to pursue her before he remembered that he hadn�t come here alone.

�Yoruichi? Hey! Yoruichi!�

He looked over his shoulder, only to find the feline had up and deserted him, slinking off to Kami-knew-where. �Damn it!� he cursed, and ran down the path Karin and Szayel had taken, trying to keep up with Nemu. Somewhere ahead of them, they could hear a fight that involved a lot of snarling and the sound of breaking masonry and more than one explosion. �If you get your ass capped, I swear I will force you to use that stupid, Resurrección of yours so I can kill you again!� he snarled.

Aizen watched the battle with a sense of satisfaction. Thanks to the work that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had begun, he was certain his forces would be victorious. While the Swarm had numbers on its side, that advantage continued to dwindle as the minutes ticked by. Harribel and Toshiro were doing quite a bit of damage to the remains of the Swarm�s aerial forces and the only thing that had taken him aback was the admittedly impressive creature that had surfaced from the lower levels of the Swarm�s nest. He had no idea what it was, nor did he really care to know. Once his Espada and their pets had dealt with it, he�d order it dissected and he could inspect it at his leisure.

The only thing that did concern him was the pillar of light created by the circle of Scarabs. Now that he�d seen the things in action, he had a better idea of what they were attempting. They�d created a gateway, one that required more than just a pair of Scarabs to construct.

He found that intriguing. Perhaps they were trying to bring in another insect contingency to challenge him. As none of the Swarm showed signs of retreating, he doubted that the Scarabs had meant it to be a means of evacuation to their own Realm. Taking a step back and tapping his lip with one finger, he considered other possibilities, surveying the various insects� actions. The Cockroaches and the Beetles had ringed the Scarabs, presumably to provide the Scarabs protection while they made their gateway, but the way that the Locusts had targeted the scouting party gave him pause. Compared to the two Espada raining down death and destruction on the Hive, the less-powerful group of women and Ulquiorra�s son would pose a lesser threat, though he conceded that he was looking at things from a slightly different perspective. Who knew how a hive-mind rationalized things? They did have Ajuga with them, which provided a partial explanation, though not a complete one. He could wait until they returned to the Seireitei to interrogate the girl, to see if there was some rational reason behind the abduction.

He could see no sign of the Generals, but from the reports, he knew they rarely took the front lines, preferring to issue orders from the safety of cover. A logical tactic, one he himself favoured. Still, this was the Swarm�s nerve center in this Realm and if the leaders were not here, it begged the question: where had they�d gone? If they�d already conceded the field, why keep the gateway up? Did they plan to return for some reason?

Then he regarded the gateway itself. If the typical Swarm invasion only required two Scarabs to move an attack force the great distance between this isolated lake in the far north and the Seireitei itself, what sort of destination would require the use of so many Scarabs? The answer, of course, would be one that needed a large amount of energy to access, one that would be difficult to reach under normal circumstances.

Aizen�s mouth thinned and his eyes narrowed.

The known �locations� on that list were few and the glimmering pillar did look a great deal like the gateway to the Royal Realm he�d created with the O-ken. It �felt� the same way as well, though why the Swarm would create a gateway there of all places escaped him.

The Swarm having access to the Royal Realm, if not the Palace itself didn�t exactly bother Aizen as much as it puzzled him. They could not take the Spirit King�s Throne from him without an Heir unless they killed him. The likelihood that an Heir existed among the Swarm was also laughably low. Nevertheless, he decided that it would probably be best to eliminate the Scarabs and shut the portal down, just to be on the safe side. He didn�t leave back doors open, as a rule and saw no need to leave one unsecured now.

�Stay here and heal those of my forces who need it,� Aizen said absently to the human woman hanging back behind him. Ulquiorra�s pet was no warrior and he hadn�t meant her to engage the Swarm with the others, but it would be wise if she made herself useful while he dealt with this minor issue. She nodded briskly, which he barely registered before taking the field himself.

To say he encountered resistance would be an understatement, but he hardly needed to draw his Zanpakuto to deal with it. Every Locust in the sky chose that moment to try for him and he had to admit he found it refreshing, and maybe even flattering, that the enemy recognized him as a power worthy of fear. If they wanted to stop him at all costs, they were welcome to try. They were also welcome to perish in the attempt.

Aizen started to make his way towards the Scarabs, letting the force of his reiatsu tear a path through the Swarm and through the streams of acid that the beetles shot at him. None of it landed on him, the stuff evaporating before it touched his person. They seemed determined to keep him from getting to the gateway, which only fuelled his resolve to get through their defensive lines and dispel it. Then he paused, as a flash of pink overhead made him look up, peering through the shifting clouds of Locusts. He caught a glimpse of Karin and Szayel as the two flung themselves into the gateway. Interestingly, the tank-like insects seemed oblivious to their presence.

Now, that was curious and only fuelled his suspicions as he Shunpo�ed out of the way of another jet of acid. The liquid accidentally took out several Locusts closing in on him from behind. Aizen frowned, wondering if the insects� current focus on getting to him, or preventing him from getting to the Scarabs had anything to do with the fact that they�d all but ignored the human woman and her pet.

Szayel was intelligent, and he had been collaborating with Unohana for some time over biological matters, such as the surge in hybrid pregnancies. He wouldn�t put it past the scientist to have found a way to clone Unohana�s genes or snitch a blood sample from her, giving the Espada access to the Royal Realm. Did he think he had a chance at assuming the Throne himself, using such a tactic? A large part of him hoped Szayel had taken the risk. Finally, his favourite toy would have made a mistake great enough earn him a permanent spot in Aizen�s dungeon, allowing him to use Szayel as he wished. Such a crime would also keep the other Espada from questioning the sentence. Starrk had been particularly� uppity of late when it came to his �pack�, but a charge of treason would silence even the Primera�s protests as to his treatment of the slippery Arrancar.

A much smaller, more paranoid portion of his brain brought up a different possibility: that Szayel had figured out a way of not only taking the Throne, but also unravelling all of the complex changes Aizen had undergone in his quest to assume control of the Realms. The same, uneasy voice had led him to force Szayel to his knees, in all sorts of positions over the years, in an effort to break the Arrancar to his will and keep the scientist from ever questioning Aizen�s authority over his person.

That particular chance was remote, but still real and he had not attained what he had over the years by engaging in faulty risk assessment. Allowing such an oversight to slide simply would not do. Checking out the situation himself seemed prudent.

He turned his eyes from the pillar and took in the status of the conflict, strangling any of the enemy that came near him with his reiatsu. The rest of his Espada and their pets had things under control, despite the number of troops the Swarm had on the field. They hardly needed him to supervise the squashing of insects. In fact, he was positive that, by the time he got back, all that would need doing involved a bit of healing and some mopping up.

Toshiro and Harribel, with all of the water, snow and ice around them were doing their best to speed up what Aizen hoped was the extinction of a ten-year thorn in his side. There were only two other warriors who showed the same level of efficiency, thanks to the wide range of their respective weapons. The first was Barragan. The walking skeleton strode through a black cloud of Locusts, wielding Respira and they decayed and dissolved around him. The other was Byakuya, whose Senbonzakura chopped any who came close to the noble into pieces. Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Starrk had taken on the behemoth that resembled a mutated millipede�

� Except that when the smoke from the latest rounds of Ceros had cleared, the Sixth was nowhere to be seen.

Had the Espada fallen? Aizen cast his eyes downward, looking for the telltale electric blue that would reveal Grimmjow�s location if he had been hurt. When he couldn�t find it, he began searching. It wasn�t in the Sixth�s nature to run from a fight. The more he looked, the more he realized that the Espada wasn�t the only one for which he couldn�t account. The tattooed oaf and his distinctive Zanpakuto were silent and while she was a much smaller creature to track, Nemu had disappeared as well.

Something wasn�t right. All of the missing had a connection of one kind or another to Szayel and Aizen wasn�t a big believer in coincidences.

He turned back to the pillar, his suspicions growing and marched towards it, intent on finding out exactly what was going on. At the very least, he could punish Szayel, as well as his pets, for desertion. He could even think of it as an unexpected bonus.

One corner of Aizen�s mouth quirked up at the idea and it grew into an anticipatory smile.

Here is the promised second part.

Next Chapter is titled: Bloodlines Revealed.

Ichigo will Appear in two weeks.

This weeks question: Who is ready for Spring? Because I sure as heck have had enough of the Arctic Outflows.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56255 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2