Episode 46: The Shadows Move
Frustration and an intense flare of anger boiled through her as Rainbow Dash stared with ruby ire at Clover, who stood firmly in her path to the doorway out of the room.
“What did you say?” Rainbow Dash said in a barely controlled tone of disbelieving fury.
Clover, taking a deep, uneasy breath, held her hands out, her voice firm. “I said going after Applejack would be a mistake.”
“And I give a damn about what you think, why?” replied Rainbow Dash, steam all but bubbling out of her nostrils as she clenched her fists tight enough to hurt.
Clover weathered the angry onslaught and glare with a resolved look of her own. “Because if you go after her, right now, all you’ll be doing is rendering her action in drawing off Captain Sweet Cider meaningless. The entire reason she went alone was so that we wouldn’t have to face the Kenpachi in a battle we couldn’t win.”
“And it's a fight AJ can’t win either!” shouted Rainbow Dash, the aura of her Fullbring starting to crackle around her in sparking bolts of energy. She hadn’t summoned her wings yet, but the girl looked all but ready to do just that and blast her way out of the manor estate. “For goodness sake Clover, she needs us!”
Clover shook her head, “It's too late, Miss Dash. If the fight was still happening, trust me, we could feel it from here. As it is I can’t sense either Captain Sweet Cider or Applejack out there, and you can trust that I still have the sharpest spiritual senses out of all of us.”
“She’s right, my lady.” said Nocturn with a respectful bow of his head to Rainbow Dash, his face somewhat pale and sweat stained as he held the bandaged stump of his arm. “I respect your loyal fervor to speed to your comrade’s side, but you dishonor her actions by placing yourself in harm’s way when she clearly intended to draw such danger away from us so we could move more freely.”
“Dude, stuff it!” Rainbow Dash said with a guttural huff, “AJ is way too awesome to leave any of us hangin’, and we shouldn’t leave her high and dry either! I have to know if she’s okay or not! I...” her teeth ground against each other like cinder-blocks. “I just have to, okay?”
“But in doing that you’d literally be signaling our position to every Soul Reaper in the district.” said Clover, “How long before you’d find yourself embattled with another Captain, or a group of Lieutenants?”
“AJ could be dying out there!” Rainbow Dash exploded with electrical energy, her wings both metallic and lightning bound spreading from her back, pony ears manifesting along with her crackling prismatic tail. “I won’t stand still while a friend needs me!”
“U-um, if I might say something?” said Pipsqueak, who’d been standing in a nervous huddle by the futon where Fluttershy still lay unconscious. “I am nearly certain that Lady Applejack was not slain.”
All eyes turned to the young noble, who gulped under Rainbow Dash’s hard, spearing gaze. “Speak up Pipsqueak, what do you mean by that?”
“Well, not to defame Third Seat Clover’s claim to the sharpest spiritual senses, but, um, I could sense the conflict between Captain Sweet Cider and Lady Applejack. While I couldn’t tell all the details, I did sense that in the end, um, the Kenpachi remained standing and Lady Applejack had fallen.”
At Rainbow Dash’s near volcanic look Pipsqueak raised his hands and shook them vigorously in front of him as he stammered, “S-she was still alive! Beaten, but living. I sensed the Kenpachi take her and depart. Um, in roughly the same direction as the Fourth Division headquarters, I might add.”
Rainbow Dash blinked, frowning. “Those’re the healer dudes, right?”
Pipsqueak bobbed his head in an eager nod, “Yes, exactly! I don’t mean to downplay your feelings for your friend, but I believe she is at the very least out of immediate danger, if Captain Sweet Cider took her to the care of the Fourth Division.” He suddenly coughed, several long hacking spasms.
“Whoa, you okay little man?” asked Rainbow Dash, but Pipsqueak waved her off.
“Yes, yes I’m fine. Just a minor condition. Now, Lady Rainbow Dash, there is a great chance we’ll learn more of Lady Applejack’s condition soon, as we are going to the very same place.”
Clover and Nocturn both looked at the young boy in surprise, this being the first Pipsqueak had mentioned of any plan. Clover’s expression was doubtful, but she cast equally concerned eyes at the prone Fluttershy. “That... makes sense. Miss Fluttershy needs more medical attention than can be accomplished here. Still, if the Kenpachi herself is there-”
“We’ll figure out how to deal with her and anyone else who gets in the way.” said Rainbow Dash as she went over to kneel by Fluttershy and placed a hand over the other girl’s forehead. “Flutters is down. AJ is down. Dammit I wish I knew how the others were doing.” She closed her eyes tightly, feeling all the tension roiling through her body, buzzing like the electricity around her wings. Her mind kept flashing with images of Applejack’s battered, broken body, and it made her feel a wintry chill inside her alongside the heated boil of anger and the electricity, vibrating need to do something!
While she’d been out snoozing like a complete wimp, Applejack had stepped up to the plate and gone toe to toe with her own mother. Rainbow Dash couldn’t imagine what Applejack must have been feeling at the time, or the guts doing something like that must have taken, and it hurt to think that all she’d been doing at the time was lay there in an unconscious lump while Applejack did all the heavy lifting.
She had to make this right, somehow. And as much as it burned her from the inside out to admit it, Clover and the others were right. She’d be all but spitting in Applejack’s face if she didn’t do everything in her power to keep Fluttershy and the others safe, rather than blow it all on some angry, rash idiocy.
Okay Dash, time to put on your big girl pants and do the job AJ trusted you with.
“Right, so we’re going to this Fourth Division place. Can we move Fluttershy while she’s still out like this? Is it gonna be safe for her?” Rainbow Dash’s first priority now was the safety of her wounded friend. She hadn’t taken too close a look at the wound Hurricane had given Fluttershy, but what she had seen had definitely looked bad.
“It will be.” said Pipsqueak with a solid, determined look as he walked up and knelt beside Fluttershy, “I’ll be coming with you to make sure of that. With my healing Kido, I can keep her stable until we reach the hospital.”
“Once we’re there how will we deal with any of the Fourth Division Soul Reaper guys there?” asked Rainbow Dash, “Will they even help us?”
“With the emergency you and your friends caused many of the Fourth Division won’t be in the hospital, but out in the field. It should give us a chance to slip in unnoticed and acquire medicine and tools to help heal Lady Fluttershy.” Pipsqueak paled a bit. “Although with the Kenpachi there too... well, I’m not certain. Maybe we’ll be lucky and be able to rescue Lady Applejack before being seen?”
Rainbow Dash found herself giving the young boy a cocky smile and lightly punched his shoulder. It was a good way to hide her own fear, which squirmed inside her in a nervous, gut churning clench. “Hey, a chance is all we need. So we sneak in, fix up Flutters, nab AJ, and then skip out before anyone knows we’re there. Totally foolproof!”
Clover shifted on her feet, “Not sure I’d call it ‘foolproof’, but you’re right that it's our best chance at the moment. We still need to figure out how to link up with Sunset and the others.”
Nocturn, rubbing his chin with his one remaining hand, said, “Wherever they are now, your friends will have the same goal you do. Rescuing Captains Luna and Celestia. That means logically we make our way towards the Repentance Cells, after finishing up at the Fourth Division.”
“They’ll be heavily guarded...” murmured Clover.
Nocturn gave her a grin of shining white teeth, “I'm in the 2nd Division, Clover. The Stealth Corps. Do you honestly think we don’t have secret ways through the halls of headquarters?”
“Into the Repentance Cells?” Clover asked incredulously.
“Of course not,” Nocturn chuckled, shaking his head, “But I’m sure I can get us close, without being detected. There are other 2nd Division members using the secret halls to hide, until the right time. If we can break the Captains free, that will be enough to turn this around, I think.”
“So what are we waiting for!?” Rainbow Dash said, smacking a fist into her other hand, “Let’s get this avalanche of awesome rolling already!”
In short order Fluttershy was very carefully and gently loaded onto a stretcher that Pipsqueak produced from one of the manor estate’s many, many closets, then proceeded to lead the group towards the west end of the maze-like building. As they walked through the immaculately clean wood floor hallways and their paper walls, Rainbow Dash carried Fluttershy’s stretcher alongside Clover, while Nocturn walked beside them, Pipsqueak leading. Rainbow Dash felt an odd buzz down her spine, a sort of tickling that left her looking over her shoulder.
“What is it?” asked Clover.
“Don’t know... just a weird feeling.” Rainbow Dash whispered back, eyes narrowing to red slits as she gazed down the hallway behind them. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like they were being watched. However even when she stretched out her spiritual senses, feeling out for any reiatsu, she couldn’t pick up anything other than the people she was with.
“I guess it's nothing.” she muttered, continuing to follow Pipsqueak.
He soon led them to a small storeroom in one corner of the huge manor, and inside he raised one of the tatami mats, revealing a short staircase leading down to a smoothly carved and well lit tunnel. “Most of the nobles have these emergency pathways to the Fourth Division, in case of medical problems. Normally the healers would come here through this tunnel, but we can use it to reach the hospital without trouble.” The boy paused, then added, “Hopefully.”
Heading down into the tunnel, moving as swiftly as they could without endangering Fluttershy, none of them noticed the fleeting movment of a shadowed figure slowly following in their wake.
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Moon Dancer wiped at her eyes, trying to expunge the growing ache of exhaustion. She was seated at a table deep inside the Daireishokairo, the Great Spirit Book Gallery. Around her were shelves twelve feet high laden heavily with books and scrolls, all flowing in one large circle surrounding a central pit that went down for level after level of records, and up as well, all the way to the surface of the building. From the outside it would have looked almost like a humble affair, with its single squat, cylindrical building, but its archives spread deep into the ground, darkly lit save for occasional hanging lamps that burned with a soft blue glow.
In front of Moon Dancer was an archive terminal, a bulky affair with a wide keyboard of metal keys and a large, circular screen projecting images of the numerous files she was searching through. Because she wasn’t certain exactly when the book on the Queen’s Key went missing, she had to go through all the dates starting from yesterday, and search gradually backwards through the archive records.
Whoever took the book couldn’t do so without checking it through the archive’s system. For easily the twentieth time she grumbled under her breath about the lack of updates to the archive’s functions after the centuries. Copying the living world’s computer advancements, including keyword searches, would have saved her hours of this mindless slogging through check-out records.
There was, of course, the possibility that whoever took the book had somehow altered the records, though how they could have done that baffled Moon Dancer. It would take an extensive knowledge of the system itself to be able to make those alterations, not to mention the skill of a Captain to manipulate the complex Kido spells to do so. Even she wasn’t a master of those spells and she specialized in Kido!
Leaning back in her chair, running her hands over her head of two toned hair, predominantly red with stripes of violet, Moon Dancer groaned aloud and stretched her creaking arms and legs. “What am I even doing here? Oh, right, I’m the only one who knows these archives well enough to do this without my brain dripping out my nose! Augh! At least Radiant Hope or Meadowbrook could’ve volunteered to help!”
She wished she’d badgered either of those two to come help her. Not that they’d have actually been a lot of help, but company would’ve been nice. Some Soul Reapers might have joked about her being an anti-social recluse, but even Moon Dancer liked having someone to bounce ideas off of, or at least help alleviate the boredom. Her brain was starting to feel like it was molding, her thoughts getting sluggish with the monotony of the search.
She wondered how the others were doing? Redheart was probably doing her job as a healer, but were Radiant Hope and Meadowbrook okay out there? All Moon Dancer knew was that there was fighting taking place, but that was only because the alarms had reached even to the Daireishokairo. She perhaps should have gone to check on Captain Blueblood, but he hadn’t sent a courier for her, so the emergency couldn’t be that bad yet, could it? Either way, without direct orders she was left to her own devices, and she wanted to overcome this challenge in front of her. The information was in there somewhere, hiding from her, and she’d be damned if she was going to let herself be beaten by a collection of books!
Bending back to her work, Moon Dancer swept through another set of logs tracking visitors to the Daireishokairo and the various documents either looked up or checked out. Checking out a book was easy enough, you just had to run it through a device that temporarily inscribed a ward pass on the book to let it pass the archive’s ward, which would otherwise trigger an alarm. At the same time this process took a sample of reiatsu from the one checking out the item and used that to log the user, along with a time stamp. As far as she knew one couldn’t easily duplicate that ward pass, not without knowing exactly how they were made in the first place. The devices that inscribed the wards were built by the Twelfth Division, but she had a hard time believing anyone from the Twelfth Division would be involved in this whole screwy mess.
As her frustration peaked she decided to try going over the first records again, the ones starting from the previous day. Maybe she missed something in her earlier haste? Marking where she was, she brought up the first screen of logs. Passing over a few sets of logs, Moon Dancer paused, her brow creasing as she leaned towards the screen. It was a small thing, barely noticeable unless one happened to have a particular eye for detail and also hated it when things were out of place. One of the words in a particular line was misspelled.
Check out date - 04202016 - Object: The Treatsei on the Mechanics of Metaphysical Theory, Vol. 3.
The word ‘treatise’ wasn’t spelled right. A simple enough mistake, the kind anyone could make, if not for the fact that these logs were generated by the device doing the checkout of books and not written or typed in by hand. The device couldn’t make a spelling mistake, logically speaking.
The only way that word would be misspelled is if someone got into that device somehow and physically altered the record, and didn’t proofread their work. Possibly because they were scared of getting caught and in a rush.
The date was also telling. Very recent. In fact it was just about a month ago.
Right about when that trouble with those human girls started. Moon Dancer realized. Her mind started to race, following a simple and short train of logic. If someone had intended for all of the current chaos in Seireitei to be taking place, and if the Queen's Key was their intended target, then they would be taking full advantage of the Soul Reaper's being distracted to find it. Theoretically only the Captain Commander was supposed to know the Key's location, but given the sheer convoluted nature of Seireitei's bureaucracy what if that practice didn't begin until after someone left a record of where the Key was, perhaps in an old, forgotten book deep in the archive?
Over several thousand years we have more records we've forgotten about than anyone could possibly remember, even the Captain Commander himself. But even if someone changed the record-
“Find anything?”
Moon Dancer all but jumped out of her seat, spinning around to see Meadowbrook looking at her with a quizzical smile and raised brow. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, slowly breathing in and out to calm her racing heart. She was a lot more tense than she thought she’d been, and she sat back down in her chair, trying to calm her nerves.
“Came to check on how you were doing.” Meadowbrook said, sliding up next to her and leaning against the table with one hip, arms crossing. “That and to update you on things outside, in case you were wondering.”
“I was curious if I needed to go check on my Captain, but I haven’t heard from him since the alarms went off.” Moon Dancer said, glancing sidelong at him past her glasses. “So what is going on out there?”
He gave her a quick rundown, starting with the confrontation at the Thirteenth Division barracks and the resulting battle, made all the more chaotic with the arrival of the Ryoka girls from the world of the living. Meadowbrook looked up at the wide, open hole running up and down the archive. “Clover was with them. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that, but I’m worried about her.”
“She’s your subordinate, you’d know more about what she’s capable of than I.” said Moon Dancer dryly, “So with the Ryoka scattered everyone is searching for them? Why hasn’t Captain Blueblood contacted me then!? You’d think he’d want his Lieutenant at his side during a crisis situation.”
“Heh, as his Lieutenant you should know best that Captain Blueblood probably decided to go for tea first, before anything else.” Meadowbrook said with a wry quirk of his lips, drumming his fingers on the table.
“Augh, the sad part is you’re probably right. I can just see the Captain sipping tea while Seireitei burns around his ears.” Moon Dancers rubbed her face again, “Whatever, if he needs me, he knows where I am. Right now I need to focus on this.”
“Which brings me to my first question again; have you found anything?” Meadowbrook leaned over her shoulder, peering at the screen.
“Not one hundred percent sure of it, but I think so, yes.” Moon Dancer pointed out the erroneous log date and explained the problem. “The only issue is that I have no way of determining who made the alteration.”
“Who did the checking out?” asked Meadowbrook and Moon Dancer keyed in a few strokes on the keyboard and the log changed to a new set of information, all names. Glancing over it to the right line in the log, Moon Dancer’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Meadowbrook.
“Meadowbrook, did you know about this?”
He stared at the screen, frowning deeply. The name on the screen was that of Captain Starswirl. Moon Dancer could all but see the gears twisting about in Meadowbrook’s mind.
“I don’t watch everything Captain Starswirl does. He spends most of his time in our labs anyway. Whoever altered the record could have just put his name there to be incriminating.”
“Or he might have simply assumed no one would suspect him, especially with such a seemingly innocuous record. But Meadowbrook, the only way to alter records like this would be to know those ward pass devices inside and out, and your Division was the one that designed and built them!”
“I know that.” His teeth clenched and he breathed out a hiss, “But they were built before either my or Captain Starswirl’s time. He’d know the specs inside and out, but... I have a hard time swallowing this. Why would he want a book about the Queen’s Key? Why steal it?”
“If he’s working for those trying to destroy Soul Society...”
“But why!?” Meadowbrook nearly shouted, his upset becoming more apparent by the second. “It doesn’t make any sense for him to betray us like this! He’s a researcher with access to the greatest labs in creation, with the full backing and resources of Soul Society behind him. He only cares about his research! He’d have no reason to jeopardize his position by helping the enemy.”
Moon Dancer had to admit that Meadowbrook did have a point. It didn’t make a lot of sense for Captain Starswirl to be a traitor. Where was the motive? It was possible someone could be trying to frame him, just like Celestia and Luna, but that didn’t scan by her logic. Frame jobs had to be pretty public to work, and so far Starswirl would be entirely in the clear if not for discovering this one little mistake in the altered record. No one could have predicted she’d come here and find this... could they? She regained her train of thought from before Meadowbrook interrupted it and she rubbed her chin, giving him a thoughtful look.
“Its entirely possible Captain Starswirl is just another victim of framing, just like Celestia and Luna. No matter how skilled one might be in altering records, the devices still take a sample of reiatsu during the check-out process. We can check the device to find that reiatsu sample. Once we bring this to the attention of the Captain Commander. Even a small piece of evidence like this might be enough to get Central 46 to halt the execution! This could avert the entire crisis and stop the fighting!” Moon Dancer said, reaching into a drawer of the table, where a recording slate could be found. The small metal slab could be used to record information from the terminal to be taken from the archive.
Just as she was about to put the slat into the terminal both she and Meadowbrook heard a voice chanting from across the chasm.
“Hado Number Sixty Six: Hyoga Seiran!” (Glacier Vapor Storm)
Moon Dancer barely had the time to look up in stark shock, eyes wide, as a spiral blast of deadly ice flew at her from the other side of the archive. She felt Meadowbrook tackling her, trying to knock her out of the way, then the world flashed blue and white, along with bone biting cold.
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Upon reaching the end of the tunnel there was a short staircase leading up to a door with a simple wood handle, and painted with the symbol of the Fourth Division across its center. Rainbow Dash watched Pipsqueak as the boy went up the handful of steps to the door, his outward posture calm save for the slight tremble in his knees that betrayed his nervousness. He closed his eyes for a second and Rainbow Dash imagined he was using his spiritual senses to try and determine if anyone was on the other side of the door.
A moment passed, heavy and buzzing with quiet tension, until Pipsqueak opened his eyes. “Its clear on the other side.” He looked unsure of himself.
“Is something wrong?” asked Clover.
“I don’t know. I spread my senses outward for a good distance, just to get an idea of how busy the hospital will be and the best route to take to avoid being found but... I didn’t sense anyone.” Pipsqueak said, biting his lower lip and covering his mouth to suppress a cough.
“No one at all?” Clover frowned deeply, eyes glinting the dim tunnel lighting with a curious gaze. “How far did you look?”
“Not the entire building, but several rooms and hallways out. Doing more might have alerted someone to our presence, but it's just odd that I didn’t sense anyone close to these emergency entryways. There’s usually at least one healer on standby nearby in case a noble triggers an emergency medical call.” Pipsqueak looked back at them, then the boy seemed to gather his courage, straightening his back. “Well, it doesn’t change what we must do.”
He placed his hand on the handle, which glowed with a soft green light. “These emergency entryways are warded. Only those of noble blood can enter, or those of the Fourth Division who have the right ward pass.” Opening the door a bright, pale light poured in from the well lit room beyond. Existing out into a hexagonal shaped room of wood tiled floors and white washed walls, there were identical doors along most the other walls, all presumably leading to other emergency tunnels to different noble estates. One door was a bit larger than the others, however, and also already ajar, leading out into a empty hallway.
Well, not entirely empty. The moment the group carefully stepped out into the hallway Rainbow Dash threw out an arm to block the others. “Hold up!”
Her alarm was due to the rather alarming amount of blood splashed upon parts of the floor, wall, and even the ceiling. The sprays were long and trailing, and by Rainbow Dash’s guess enough to leave a few bodies laying around... but there were no bodies to be seen. Just a broken sword, laying split in two a few paces down the hallway to her right.
Clover let out a sharp gasp as she caught sight of the state of the hallway, and soon enough the whole group was standing amid the blood stains, Rainbow Dash taking point and activating her Fullbring. Twin metallic wings, flanked top and bottom with crackling electrical wings, formed from her back along with the ears and tails of her pony features. “What happened here?”
Pipsqueak, his features turning a ghostly shade, knelt by the broken katana on the floor. “I... I can’t even guess! There must have been some sort of battle here. The Fourth Division has been attacked!”
Nocturn, carrying the back part of Fluttershy’s stretcher while Clover took care of the front, cast a hard look around the hall. “Not exactly a battle, I fear. These stains, they stem from those caught by surprise. Only one of them managed to draw their blade to defend themselves before being cut down. Whoever did this was either incredibly fast... or was trusted until they moment they turned.”
“We need to investigate.” said Clover, “There must be clues to who did this laying around somewhere.”
“Fluttershy first, then we check stuff out.” said Rainbow Dash firmly. “Pipsqueak, where to?”
“T-this way.” he said, stepping gingerly around the broken Zanpaktou and leading the group further into the Fourth Division hospital. They passed by rooms with doors flung open, the beds inside overturned, no sign of healers or wounded. Just more bloodstains. It was silent all around them save for the muted sound of their own footsteps and the uneven buzz of Rainbow Dash’s electricity. She was on high alert, tense to the point of snapping.
Reaching the end of another hall after taking a few turns, Pipsqueak led them to a wide set of sliding wood doors.
“This storeroom should have medical supplies we can use. Everything we need to properly care for Lady Fluttershy.” Pipsqueak said in a quiet tone, glancing around uneasily as he started to push the doors open. Just as he did so there was the polite cough of someone clearing their voice behind the group.
“Ya got a’ permit ta be takin’ stuff outta there?”
Rainbow Dash, along with everyone else, turned to find Captain Sweet Cider filling the hallway with her cherry red height and broad shoulders. She was covered in bruises and even had a bit of blood trickling in a dry line down a cracked lip, but otherwise looked healthy and large as life as she eyed the group staring at her with open shock. A grin split her face.
“What, ya’ll don’t think I can’t keep my reiatsu down so I can sneak up on folks when I want?”
While the others were still standing there stunned, Rainbow Dash exploded into motion. With a crackle of lightning that arched off the walls, she flew forward at full speed, electricity pooling her her right fist. She crossed the space to Sweet Cider in a blaze fast enough to put many a Flash Step to shame, her fist striking out in a cobalt thunderbolt.
Sweet Cider blocked the punch with her right hand snapping into position to intercept Rainbow Dash’s fist, electricity surging around both of them in wild spasms that burned lines through the walls. Still, Sweet Cider bore the brunt of the electrical discharge with little more than a grunt, and gripped Rainbow Dash’s fist tightly in her meaty palm.
“Now take it easy girl an’ have a seat! I got words fer you folk!”
Rainbow Dash found herself being spun around with ludicrous physical force, tossed bodily down the hallway like a bouncing, discarded action figure. She managed to right herself in mid-air after the third painful bounce, and was about to go bolting right back in at Sweet Cider when another voice, in a familiar twang, rang out.
“Rainbow, stop!”
Rainbow Dash halted, halfway to doing a flying drop kick at Sweet Cider, and instead ended up falling face first to the floor when she saw Applejack down an adjacent hallway. Applejack was leaning heavily against the wall, looking like she’d been run over by several busses by the state of her bruised flesh and the thick white gauze wrappings around her arms and hands. Her thick blonde locks were matted down with sweat and dust, and even though her eyes burned brightly there was unmistakable exhaustion in her shaking form.
“Girl what’re ya doin’ outta bed, dagnabbit!?” shouted Sweet Cider at the same time Rainbow Dash cried out.
“AJ, are you alright!?”
Applejack winced at both shouts, “Ya’ll don’t gotta yell. Ain’t my ears that’re busted up. An’ sorry ma, but I woke up feelin’ Dash’s spirit energy nearby an’ figured I oughta be there ta colm ‘er down.” Despite the pained look on her face and the clear taxing effort of staying standing, AJ smirked. “‘Fore ya both end up tearin’ down the whole hospital.”
Sweet Cider’s stance relaxed, her eyes softening. “Sorry there hayseed, I sensed yer friends an figured I’d git the rough introduction outta the way while you were still out. Didn’t know ya woke up. An’ ya still shouldn’t be walkin’ ‘round right now. I ain’t no healer an’ could only bind a few of them licks I gave ya.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes were snapping back and forth between the two, her head looking left and right with a bewildered look filling her face. “Bwuhuh?”
Applejack shook with a laugh, then grimaced. “Ow, dang smarts ta laugh. Dash, fellas, she’s got her memory back.” The girl nearly collapsed, sagging against the wall, both from her drained state an the clear, heavy emotions straining her voice. “My ma knows who she is...”
Sweet Cider was beside Applejack in an instant, kneeling down to hold the girl as Applejack sagged down, her limited energy already drained. “Easy there hayseed, easy. Let’s git ya back ta bed, an’ then I need ta track down someone who’s got some healin’ skills.”
Pipsqueak took a hesitant step forward, bowing respectfully to Sweet Cider, “If I may, I am trained a little in the healing arts, and was going to treat Lady Fluttershy’s wounds. If you allow, we shall treat Lady Applejack as well, Captain.”
Sweet Cider turned an intensely searching gaze towards the young boy, which he met with a gulp and a straightening of his back. “Huh, you’re Platinum’s boy, ain’t ya?”
“I have that honor, yes.” he held his head a little higher, “My name is Pipsqueak, Captain.”
Rainbow Dash noticed that every time Pipsqueak said ‘Captain’, it made Sweet Cider twitch like a fly was buzzing around her ears. Feeling rather awkward about having just tried to electrocute Applejack’s mother, albeit on the perfectly understandable assumption that she was still a threat, Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head and said, “So you got your memories back and stuff, so... that means you’re on our side, right?”
Applejack, despite her exhausted state, still managed a sharp look at her, “Rainbow Dash, what kind o’ wool headed question is that!? ‘Course she’s on our side now!”
Sweet Cider patted her daughter on the shoulder and helped Applejack stand back up, letting the younger woman lean on her as she looked to Rainbow Dash, then cast a careful glance at Clover and Nocturn. “Right, I’m gonna git this air cleared fast, ‘cause we got bigger problems ta deal with, not the least o’ which is what happened here. First off, I’m rememberin’ who I am, but I also remember all I’ve done as Captain o’ the Tenth Division. All them years as a’ Soul Reaper Captain, those’re still with me. Now I ain’t lettin’ nothin’ happen to you girls, an’ I’m clearin’ up this mess in Soul Society even if I got ta go blade ta blade with the Captain Commander himself. That said, the Tenth Division is my people. I’m responsible for ‘em, an’ I ain’t ‘bout ta turn on ‘em. We’re bustin’ out Celestia and Luna and finding out who’s behind all this” she gestured at the bloodied halls of the hospital. She then eyed Clover and Nocturn again.
“Either o’ you two object ta followin’ my orders on that?”
Clover shook her head, “No Captain, as long as your goal is the same as ours, I’ll consider myself under your command.”
Nocturn offered a wane smile, “Even if I did have reason to object, what would I do? Fight the Kenpachi? I’ve already lost one arm today, I’m not looking to become a double amputee.”
Sweet Cider looked between them, then nodded firmly to Pipsqueak, “Then git whatever supplies ya need an’ let’s see ta patchin’ folk up. Be quick, kid, we’re on somebody’s clock an’ I git the feelin’ we’re past half time an’ goin’ towards that somebody’s endgame.”
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Moon Dancer saw the ice covering the archive terminal she’d just been sitting at, the entire table and terminal encased in a solid, jagged spear of ice that extended out and covered a good portion of the floor. She recognized the Kido as one of the higher level destructive kind that could flash freeze almost anything it directly hit. Had Meadowbrook not tackled her, she’d be finished.
Meadowbrook himself was still on top of her, but he rolled aside quickly, scrambling to his feet while grasping her hand and hauling her up as well. He’d drawn his Zanpaktou in his other hand as he looked back at her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, pulling her hand away from his, which he didn’t do anything to stop, and she drew her own Zanpaktou, a katana with a crescent shaped hilt and with a handle wrapped in deep purple cloth. “Did you see who attacked us?”
“No, and I can’t sense them either.” said Meadowbrook, his eyes scanning the area across the vast gap in the middle of the Daireishokairo’s cylindrical structure. “We need to run.”
Moon Dancer was about to ask him why they should, as there was two of them and just one attacker, when it occurred to her there might not be just one attacker, just the one who’s revealed themselves. On top of that she soon realized that Meadowbrook was right, even when she pushed out with her spiritual senses she couldn’t detect the slightest hint of reiatsu. No spiritual pressure at all. Which should have been impossible for someone who just pulled off a high-level Kido to hide their spirit pressure again so quickly. Even Captain Luna would have difficulty pulling off such a feat.
So they were up against an unknown number of enemies with the capacity to conceal their reiatsu. Suddenly running didn’t seem like such a bad idea, and she nodded to Meadowbrook. The two took off, rushing along the long, circular path that followed the inside wall of the archive. It was like one long, gradual spiral curve, occasionally marked by staircases that acted as shortcuts to get higher or lower, faster.
Moving swifter and swifter, until they were both flickering between staircases with the power of Flash Steps, Moon Dancer thought they might make it to the top without difficulty. Perhaps their mysterious attacker had bet everything on just that one surprise Kido, and had given up after-
She spotted the shadow of motion almost too late. A blindingly swift, dark figure, barring a flash of steel. Moon Dancer spun away from the blow, her sword reaching to parry. She was off balance with that parry, and while her Zanpaktou met cleanly with the steel of another Zanpaktou, the blow hurled her off her feet and smashed her into the wall. The blow jarred her, knocked the breath out of Moon Dancer’s lungs, and left her dazed as she awkwardly stumbled back. The shadowy figure followed up quickly, rushing her with a low swing of its blade. Moon Dancer cried out as her slow attempt to jump back wasn’t quick enough and a raw burst of pain lashed up her shoulder, leaving a shallow but profusely bleeding cut.
“Moon Dancer!” Meadowbrook had reached the next set of stairs up, but he swung around, ready to dash back to her aid.
The shadowed figure halted between the two of them, seeming to hesitate for a moment between two different targets, and giving Moon Dancer her first clear look at them. Their form was almost entirely concealed in a heavy black cloak and hood, but Moon Dancer remembered the feminine voice that had chanted the Kido, and could tell this figure wasn’t tall nor particularly broad. The Zanpaktou the woman held was wrapped in thick gray cloth, concealing the shape of its hilt and handle in an obvious attempt to keep the wielder’s identity secret.
Which means she can’t release to Shikai, otherwise she’d give away who she is. She can’t risk that if one of us gets away. Moon Dancer thought, coming to a swift decision on what she had to do.
“Meadowbrook, keep going.”
“What!? I’m not leaving you behind!” he said firmly, eyes narrowing.
“Somebody has to get out of here and warn the Captain Commander about what we’ve found!” Moon Dancer said in a sharp, almost desperate tone.
In response Meadowbrook simply shook his head, “Not happening. Either we get out together, or we take this traitor down together. Take your pick, Moon.”
Stupid, stubborn man! her mind growled, “Fine! Then all or nothing! Pulse, Haiiro Hansha!” (Grey Reflection)
Her quick, sharp command transformed her Zanpaktou in a grey, mist-like shimmer. The katana seemed to waver in shape, in a foggy blink becoming the shape of a broad chakram blade, with a purple wrapped handle on one edge that Moon Dancer grasped. As she braced herself into a fresh fighting stance the cloaked woman hadn’t moved, almost as if she wasn’t in any particular rush and was content to see what Moon Dancer and Meadowbrook did. Moon Dancer didn’t know whether to count that as lucky for her, or see it as a dire sign of how outmatched she and Meadowbrook were.
Seeing her release her Zanpaktou, Meadowbrook managed an encouraging smile and readied his own, placing his free hand on the back of his blade, which started to radiate a gleaming, teal color.
“That’s more like it, Moon. Drift, Kasso-ha.” (Gliding Leaf)
With spurts of teal energy like a sputtering fountain his own Zanpaktou transformed into the shape of a long hook-sword, with a sharp curved blade tip and the handle encased in an sharp crescent blade guard. The pommel ended in a shorter, spike-like blade, gleaming dangerously.
Moon Dancer couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw the hint of satisfied smile somewhere in the dark of that cloaked figure’s hood, gleaming white. Incensed by this, Moon Dancer decided she’d be the one to go on the offensive. Though her shoulder ached painfully, she raised her left hand, palm outward, and swiftly chanted.
“Hado Number Thirty One: Shakkaho!”
As she chanted, and the red ball of swirling flame ejected from her outstretched palm, her Zanpaktou also glowed with a similar red energy and discharged an identical ball of crimson Kido power. Her Haiiro Hansha’s unique power was that it could duplicate any Kido spell she chanted. It didn’t have to immediately discharge the Kido, either, she could store Kido inside her Zanpaktou to release later without even needing the chant, but for now she wanted to see how this mysterious traitor handled a double Shakaho.
Both simply and efficiently, as it turned out. The cloaked figure Flash Stepped right between the two converging balls of Kido energy, slicing through them with her Zanpaktou as she went, causing both spheres to careen off course and instead fly right for Meadowbrook.
Moon Dancer saw the explosion, but not what happened to Meadowbrook, because she was too busy trying to defend herself from her foe’s ludicrously swift strikes. Even with the reiatsu boost from releasing her Shikai helping her move faster and ignore the pain in her shoulder, Moon Dancer could barely hold off the frenzy of sword strikes. Whoever this was, they were skilled, perhaps as good as one of the Captains.
And Moon Dancer had never found swordsmanship her strong suit in the first place.
In short order she was knocked off balance again, put flat on her back and exposed, with the blade of her enemy poised over her throat. The new angle, looking up into the cloaked face, gave Moon Dancer a momentary glimpse of blue eyes in a feminine face. Then suddenly an arm, ghost-like, rose out of the floor beneath her and grabbed her around the waist. She felt a sudden, chilly tingle through her body, and then in a disorienting yanking motion she was pulled through the floor and down to the level right below where she’d just been.
Fear overtook her for a split second, until her calm, rational mind reminded her of just what the nature of Meadowbrook’s Shikai was. As she expected, it was Meadowbrook who’d grabbed her with his hand phasing through the floor and, once he was in contact with her he was able to extend his Kasso-ha’s power to her and let her phase right down through the floor. He stood now, one hand around her waist, grinning like a goofy idiot.
“You damn near blew me up with those Kido.” he said, winking, “Lucky you I’m so evasive.”
She elbowed him, “Jokes later, run now. Can your Zanpaktou get us through the wall?”
She was familiar with Kasso-ha’s basic power, but not what its full extent was, or what limitations it might have. The fact that it did have limitations was a foregone conclusion, as most Shikai’s did have certain limits on what they could achieve, even with versatile powers like the ability to phase through solid matter. Meadowbrook confirmed with with a solemn shake of his head.
“Too deep underground. I can only phase us for thirty seconds at a time. We’d end up trapped in stone if we tried to fly out of here now. We need to get higher first.”
“Then let’s move, before-” she began to say, then the entire floor above them exploded with a blast of lightning, presumably from another Kido the cloaked traitor had changed. Wood chips rained down on them as she and Meadowbrook dove forward away from the blast, both of them rolling to their feet with weapons ready.
The black cloaked figure stood amid the ruin of the shattered floor above, dust swirling around her. This time she gave the two Soul Reaper Lieutenants no time to think or act, flickering forward with an instant Flash Step that put her in front of both Meadowbrook and Moon Dancer, her sword flashing left and right with such speed it appeared to be in two places at once.
Moon Dancer wasn’t able to block fully, feeling the burning cut of steel on her forearm. Meadowbrook deflected, then phased, letting the blade pass through him in a buzz of teal light, like fireflies. The moment the blade was past him he became solid again and slashed hard with his hook sword, clearly trying to catch the cloaked figure’s hood to remove it.
The figure danced away from the blow, only losing a scrap of black cloth. On impulse Moon Dancer snatched the scrap of cloth, thinking it might lead to some clue to this traitor’s identity. She then turned around, grabbing Meadowbrook by the shoulder while shouting, “Up!”
Understanding immediately he didn’t even hesitate to jump upwards, phasing them both through the floor once again and taking them to the level they’d just occupied. Meadowbrook had to time his jumps carefully, as misjudging his phasing could get either them painfully stuck in solid matter, one of the risks inherent with his Zanpaktou’s power. However he’d been using this power for a long time and knew how to handle it with near perfect timing. Without needing Moon Dancer to tell him, Meadowbrook started leaping further and further up the levels of the Daireishokairo. He’d solidify just enough to get a foothold on the floor and jump up again, phasing through the floor, only to solidify them once more. She kept a firm grip on him the whole time, his hand once more around her waist. She knew contact was necessary for him to extend his power to affect her, but it still left her vaguely irritated at the contact. Moon Dancer wasn’t really the touchy feely type. She liked her personal bubble.
The threat of imminent death, however, was cause for an exception in this case, so she stayed close and tight to Meadowbrook, lest a mistake break their contact and leave her stranded halfway between floors in a very ignoble and likely messy end to her career as a Soul Reaper.
She kept an eye out for pursuit, knowing full well the cloaked traitor wasn’t going to just let them get away easily. However with the advantage Meadowbrook had in terms of distance gained by literally skipping through floors, she hoped they might make it out well ahead of their pursuer. It certainly seemed that they were nearly in the clear, when they finally phased through the final floor and made it to the very top of the Daireishokairo. It was a larger hexagonal chamber than the rest of the archive, with a great domed ceiling with a final array of book and scroll shelves arranged in several final encircling tiers. The ground floor itself was a wide, open space, with a grand hall leading to a pair of tall, open doors.
The area for checking out documents was a series of pedestals lining the entry hall in neat, ordered rows. Each pedestal carried a shining, gold cube shaped device with a slot for inserting any document, be it book or scroll, that one wished to check out of the archive. A plain palm press to the top of the cube imprinted one’s reiatsu to the database, caused the device to place the ward pass on the document, and it’d spit the item out the other end. Simple. Easy. And someone had manipulated one of those devices to get a book out of the archive without leaving a trace of who they were. Or rather, an altered trace.
And only she and Meadowbrook knew about the alteration, and what it might mean.
Landing solidly on the ground floor, Meadowbrook let go of her and both she and him shared a glance before both breaking out into a full sprint towards the doors. They were almost halfway there when Moon Dancer saw something that made her blood run to freezing streams. Darkness was crawling up around her and Meadowbrook in a square formation that was rapidly boxing them in, and Moon Dancer, being one who had focused much of her studies on Kido, recognized the pattern immediately.
Impossible! Without an incantation!?
Meadowbrook must have recognized what the Kido was as well, because he barreled into her, knocking her clear of the Kido’s enclosing wall just in time. However he was trapped within. Moon Dancer rolled aside, staggering to her feet while looking on in mute shock as the tall, rectangular tower of pitch black matter finished closing around Meadowbrook. It was then that Moon Dancer finally heard the familiar female voice of the cloaked traitor behind her, completing the Kido chant.
“Hado Number Ninety: Kurohitsugi.” (Black Coffin)
The cloaked figure was holding up a slim hand clad in a black glove, pointing upward, standing between Moon Dancer and the doors to the outside. How she had caught up so quickly, Moon Dancer couldn’t say. Was it possible this mysterious woman was just that fast? But what occupied her attention now was the sense of reiatsu, thick and heavy, leaking out of the figure’s cloak.
The cloak is what’s concealing her reiatsu! She can’t contain it while using a Kido of this level. But who is she!? Only a Captain could use a level-ninety Kido!
The thought drew her attention back to the Black Coffin, the giant slab of darkness. She knew the Kido in theory. She couldn't perform it herself, but she knew its effects. Inside the dark, enclosed coffin, space was warped and gravity distorted. It crushed whatever was inside with overwhelming gravitational force. Even Captain-class Soul Reapers rightly feared the Kido’s destructive power. Worse, Meadowbrook’s Zanpaktou couldn’t save him, as the Black Coffin was too powerful a Kido spell to be bypassed by a Shikai’s ability.
“Meadowbrook!” she shouted, knowing the cry was meaningless.
Sure enough, the Black Coffin became wreathed in dark violet light, several pointed shapes, like sharp crosses, appearing across its top surface. Then the edifice broke apart like pieces of black glass. Meadowbrook was there, standing, if only for a brief second before the damage done to him became evident in a burst of blood from his mouth and startled eyes.
“No!” Moon Dancer rushed to him as he fell, catching him and holding him as she sank to her knees. His Zanapktou clattered to the ground next to him, returning to its sealed state. That alone gave Moon Dancer pause. If Meadowbrook was dead, or dying, his Zanpaktou would be vanishing, not just returning to a sealed form.
Still, he looked terrible. The Black Coffin had crushed his limbs, left blood seeping from his ears, eyes, and mouth, and Moon Dancer couldn’t imagine what had happened to him internally. If he didn’t get medical attention immediately, he was going to die!
And she knew healing Kido, of course, but the traitor was right there in front of her. There was no way to heal Meadowbrook while the enemy was directly before her.
Knowing how hopeless the situation now was, Moon Dancer still gently set Meadowbrook down and stood, facing the cloaked figure. She looked at the traitor with anger seeping into her eyes like tongues of flame. Her voice was heavy, raw, and strained.
“Why are you doing this?”
Not really to any surprise of Moon Dancer’s, the figure didn’t answer, and instead began a slow, methodical walk towards her. Moon Dancer, knowing she was outmatched, but refusing to go down without a fight, summoned up what courage she could, her body becoming haloed by soft white light as her reiatsu flared up in preparation for another Kido chant. If she could just immobilize her opponent, maybe she could buy time for her to escape with Meadowbrook, and get to the Fourth Division in time to save him.
“Bakudo Number Sixty Two: Hyapporankan!” (Hundred Steps Fence)
In her left hand a six sided, pale violet pole of solid energy appeared. At the same time her Zanpaktou formed an identical pole along its edge. She pulled her arms back and then threw them forward, unleashing both poles at once. The twin Kido then erupted into a flying swarm of two hundred identical energy poles, all converging on the cloaked figure in a dense mass that, in such an enclosed space, should have been all but impossible to evade.
Moon Dancer, not even taking the split second to see if her Kido managed to strike her target, rushed to pick up Meadowbrook. Scooping him up with her free hand, shouldering his injured body as best she could despite her own protesting injuries, Moon Dancer then chanted another Kido. Placing her palm on the ground, a faded red light emanated into the floor.
“Bakudo Number Twenty One: Sekienton.” (Red Smoke Escape)
The red glow burst into a thick, scentless cloud of opaque rose fog that billowed out to fill the room. Without looking or hesitating Moon Dancer ran, using her memory of the room’s layout to guide her, given her vision was as obscured as the cloaked figure’s should be. She caught vague glints of pale light from the rods of her previous Kido, the scores and scores of binding rods having impacted all over the ground in a thick blanket. She didn’t see the cloaked figure pinned down anywhere by the rods, however, but she didn’t let the realization slow her down as she rushed at full speed towards where she knew the doors out were.
She burst out of the trailing red fog that crept out of the front doors of the Daireishokairo and onto a vastly wide bridge of arcing wood that cross over a glittering moat that surrounded the Daireishokairo’s circular white dome. Not taking even a second to look around, Moon Dancer bolted down the bridge, heading for a gate in the distant wall that enclosed the archive building. If she could just get through the gate and find help-
She felt a brush of air and caught a shifting motion to her right. She tried to evade, shifting direction with a blinking Flash Step, but carrying Meadowbrook slowed her down and left her more unbalanced than normal. When she saw the cloaked figure flit by her, blade thrusting out, she swung Haiiro Hansha to parry. The chakram blade skipped off the other Zanpaktou at a bad angle,
Moon Dancer felt an odd, cold numbness spread through her chest, and for a moment she wasn’t sure what had happened.
Then she looked down to see the Zanpaktou sticking out of her flesh, with deep red blood staining her black robes an even darker shade. The cloaked figure pulled her sword free, leaving Moon Dancer to sag down to her knees, Meadowbrook sliding from her shoulder, and her own Zanpaktou clattering to the bridge beside her. To Moon Dancer’s growing shock, she saw her Haiiro Hansha starting to vanish, bits of the blade flicking off into motes of grey light.
That’s not good...not good... she thought through a muddied haze, the numbness in her chest spreading to her mind as she fell face first to the ground. Her Zanapktou starting to vanish could really only mean one of two things. Either that wound had destroyed her ‘soul sleep’, the part of her spirit body where all her reiryuku rested, and hence the core of her spirit energy was now gone. Or the wound was fatal, and she was dying, and her Zanpaktou along with her.
She saw a shadow cross over her and was able to turn her head to the side to look up at the cloaked figure that loomed over her. Moon Dancer tried to move her hand, thinking to try one last Kido, but it was like her thoughts were sliding down a mud slick precipice into a deeper dark and her hands wouldn’t do what her brain told them to. She was pretty sure the spreading pool of red flowing around her was her own blood.
The last thing she saw before everything went dim was the cloaked figure holding out a hand towards her, surrounded by a intense emerald glow of light.
----------
The Fourth Division was mostly one large hospital consisting of a humble appearing central building with a sloped roof of gentle sea-green shingles. The front entrance had a simple swept up roof with the square symbol of the Fourth Division plainly painted over the doors, steps leading up to the doors from the courtyard surrounding the building, with a few trees spread around the area. There were several smaller side buildings back behind the main building, mostly for housing the Fourth Division’s healers and to act as secondary supply areas, and it was inside one of these store houses that everyone had gathered in.
Sweet Cider had moved the beds that Applejack and Fluttershy lay into the storehouse herself, along with carrying most of the medical equipment Pipsqueak needed, with Rainbow Dash’s help. Pipsqueak now worked tirelessly over the two injured girls, both of them having been given injections of medicine meant to enhance the effects of healing Kido. On top of that each bed had an apparatus built over them, a long wooden arm attached to a disc that hovered over the patients, designed to project focused concentrations of healing Kido energy to repair more intense wounds. Those were being used on Applejack’s hands, which had multiple broken fingers, and the deep wound on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“I don’t know if either of you will be healthy enough to do more than walk, but I think I can repair enough damage to allow you leave under your own power.” Pipsqueak said in a gentle and somewhat embarrassed tone to a freshly awoken Fluttershy. Though still looking pale and shaken, Fluttershy offered the young boy a smile like a soft splinter of sunlight.
“You’ve done so much, Pipsqueak. Thank you. I actually feel much better.” she said, the faint strain in her eyes betraying the pain she was still feeling, even having taken some painkillers.
Applejack, not looking much better than Fluttershy, put on a brave face and encouraging grin. “Ya got a fair talented hand fer patchin’ folk up, Pip. Where’d you learn them skills anyhow?”
Pipsqueak’s mouth twitched in a nervous grin, battling between embarrassment and pride as he glanced at the ceiling. “I spent a lot of time here in the hospital when I was younger. Captain Zecora was very kind to me and when I got curious she taught me, and when she didn’t have the time Lieutenant Redheart helped me learn.”
Off to the side, sitting on an unused counter while swinging her legs idly, Rainbow Dash asked, “What were you doing here at the Fourth Division all the time?”
"Oh, ummm...” Pipsqueak touched his chest, licking his lips. “My condition. When I was smaller, mother would bring me here whenever I had a particularly bad coughing fit. Only the skills of Captain Zecora were enough to help me, back then. Now that I’m a bit older my body is a bit stronger, and the medicine mother brings from here is enough to keep the coughing under control. Most of the time.”
Fluttershy’s eyes shone with sympathy, “Oh my, that sounds terrible. If... if I may ask, what kind of condition is it?”
Pipsqueak got rather quiet, looking away from them all. “It's not important, really. I worry my mother enough about it, no need to worry you ladies about it. Ahem,” he held his head up, affecting a noble posture, “It wouldn’t do for a proper noble man to be a burden to others, especially such fine women as yourselves.”
Rainbow Dash snarked out an amused laugh. “Look at you, little smooth operator. Give it five or six years kid, and you might break some hearts like that.”
“The burden of being born a noble.” Pipsqueak acknowledged with a sagely nod.
Just then the door to the storeroom swung open and Sweet Cider strode in alongside Clover and Nocturn. Clover was looking at Nocturn with admonishing eyes, already mid-sentence when the doors opened. “-said you need to have that arm looked at again. Stop trying to be so tough.”
“But I’m so good at it.” Nocturn said with a smug look, despite the rather wane way sweat dripped down his forehead.
Clover rolled her eyes, crossing her arms firmly. “Change the bandages at least. You don’t want that getting infected.”
“Yes, yes, fine I’ll lick my wounds if it shall assuage your worries.” he replied with a heavy, resolved sigh.
Meanwhile Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pipsqueak all shot inquiring looks towards Sweet Cider and the other Soul Reapers, Applejack speaking up. “Anythin’?”
Sweet Cider frowned, like a red stone slab cracking. Her voice was heavy gravel, thick with concern. “I’m guessin’ there were maybe two dozen Soul Reapers here. An’ Captain Zecora was here too. We could sense traces o’ their spirit energy lingerin’ ‘round the place, but nothin’ ‘bout where they went or who hit ‘em. It’s like whoever attacked was bein’ all but invisible.”
Clover looked disbelievingly at the ground, shuddering slightly, “Captain Zecora’s Zanpaktou is supposed to be infallible in terms of detection. Nothing should be able to get the drop on her once she activates it.”
“Unless someone got to her first, neutralizing her before she knew the hospital was under attack.” pointed out Nocturn, “Then this individual could’ve taken the rest of the hospital at their leisure.”
“That’s one possibility.” said Sweet Cider gravely, eyes narrowin, “Here’s ‘nother one. What if Captain Zecora herself was doin’ the attackin’?”
“Are you being serious, Captain Sweet Cider?” asked Clover with wide eyes, “Do you really believe Captain Zecora could be a traitor?”
“I ain’t sure what I’m gonna be belvin’ no more, but either we got ourselves one heck o’ a invisible assassin runnin’ ‘round, Captain Zecora’s gone rogue, or worse... both o’ those things’re true an’ we’re in even more trouble than we thought.” Sweet Cider said, looking more sour with every word. Then she raised her head to look at everyone in the room with hard eyes. “Either way, ya’ll can’t stay here.”
Pipsqueak looked at Applejack and Fluttershy in alarm, gulping. “I’m not sure they should leave just yet. Maybe a little more time to make sure they’ll be okay to walk-”
“Lord Pipsqueak, I’m all kinds o’ appreciative fer helpin’ healin’ these girls, includin’ my own daughter, but fact o’ the matter is that this hospital ain’t safe. We’ve moved out here so when more Soul Reapers show, they won’t find us right off, an’ it’ll give ya’ll a’ window ta sneak out the back, but if ya don’t git goin’ soon, as in now soon, then we’re gonna be neck deep in ‘nother fight. An’ more o’ us fightin’ Soul Reapers is just what the real bad guys’re wantin’ I reckon.”
Sweet Cider’s words carried a heavy, gold ring of truth to them, and there was little the others could do to gainsay her on the fact. Rainbow Dash hopped off the counter, dusting her hands off.
“So if we’re going, then where are we going? Yo Nocturn, you said something about more secret passages?”
At her inquiry, Nocturn bobbed a swift nod, “Second Division has all sorts of secret ways to get around Seireitei. It’s why so many of us were able to scatter and hide when the split happened.” He rubbed his chin, dark eyes thoughtful, “If I recall correctly, which I always do, the nearest passage is a few streets to the north, hidden in one of the alleys between watchtowers. It will take us to the east stairs leading into headquarters.”
Sweet Cider’s eyebrow rose an inch, “Them stairs are mighty exposed. Ya got another sneaky bolt hole ta avoid gettin’ spotted? ‘Cause I guarantee ya that Hurricane’s got troops guardin’ them stairs.”
“There shall be another passage built into the plateau face.” said Nocturn, “We just need to find a way to sneak past any guards to reach it.”
“Or someone creates a distraction.” Rainbow Dash said, to which Applejack frowned at her.
“Ya ain’t thinkin’ what I think yer thinkin’, are ya Dash?”
“Hey, you played decoy for us with your mom.” Rainbow Dash shot back, a pained undercurrent in her tone that she wasn’t able to hide entirely, “Now it’s my turn.”
Applejack looked ready to share some sharp words, but Clover stepped between the two, “Look, we don’t know what may need to be done until we get there, so let’s forestall any arguments until we actually see what we’re dealing with. Sound reasonable?”
Applejack’s heated words turned into a slow sigh as she nodded, “Fair ‘nough.”
For Rainbow Dash’s part she looked away, saying in a quieter voice, “Yeah, sure.”
Suddenly Sweet Cider stiffened, her eyes darting towards the south wall of the storehouse, and her voice came out in a hard rumble. “Ain’t no more time fer talkin’. Ya’ll gotta go now. I’m sensin’ Soul Reapers comin’ this way.”
“How many?” Rainbow Dash asked, while at the same moment Applejack said, “What’dya mean ‘ya’ll’?”
Sweet Cider was already going to the storehouse door, opening it and pausing to look back at them, “Enough comin’ that I ain’t gonna risk any o’ you gettin’ caught, so yer followin’ Nocturn ta that secret passage, now. I’ll run interference an’ make sure ya’ll ain’t followed.”
“Whoa, wait, maybe we should help you out-” Rainbow Dash began to say but Sweet Cider cut her off with a sharp look.
“I ain’t planin’ ta fight, ya fool girl. Far as them folk are concerned I’m still a’ Captain. I do got some smarts in me an’ can do a little fibbin’ when needs be. I’ll divert ‘em from lookin’ fer ya’ll an’ at the same time see if I can’t git them workin’ on findin’ out who attacked the hospital. Also gotta git in touch wit my Division anyhows. Silverstar’s probably goin’ grey worryin’ ‘bout where I’m at.”
“Silverstar?” Applejack asked, almost exactly mimicking her mother’s earlier eyebrow raise. It seemed the Apple family had a trademark, in that department.
“My Lieutenant. He’s a decent sort. Might understand what’s goin’ on.” Sweet Cider’s brow grew deep furrows, “Dependin’ on how much he knew ‘bout my sealed memories, otherwise I might hafta pound his face in. However that turns out, I’ll be doin’ all I can ta git the other Captains focused on findin’ our real enemies an’ not you girls.”
Applejack took that with an uneasy shadow crossing her face as she adjusted the stetson on her head, seeming to touch it almost by reflex. “I git it, it’s just... I just got ya back, ma. I... didn’t think I’d be partin’ ways again so quick.” Her voice hitched a bit at the end, and it was clear the girl was fighting back a host of emotions trying to bubble their way out.
Sweet Cider went from the door, to Applejack’s bedside in the blink of an eye, and her big, bright red hands pulled her daughter into a tight, warm hug. Sweet Cider’s eyes held Applejack’s in a strong but softly gentle gaze, her voice rough and intense, filled with its own heady feelings.
“Ya listen ta me, Applejack. Listen’ darn close. Ya ain’t losin’ me again. Whichever way this all shakes out, I ain’t gonna let nothin’ stay standin’ ‘tween me an’ family no more. We’re partin’ ways fer a bit, an’ that’s it. But we’re seein’ each other again, hayseed, ya hear that?” A hand went up to Applejack’s head, patting it hard and lovingly. “I’m proud o’ ya Applejack. And I love ya. Just remember that, an’ the rest’ll work out itself, ya hear me?”
Applejack couldn’t really talk past the tears falling down her cheek, only managing a emphatic nod to her mother’s words. Everyone else was dead quiet, not daring to interrupt the moment. When the moment passed, Sweet Cider took a deep breath and turned to the others. “An’ ya’ll be careful and don’t take no foolish risks.” She eyed Rainbow Dash, “That includes you little missy. Ya seem like a right fine friend ta my Applejack, an’ I’d hate ta hafta knock sense inta yer head after hearin’ ya did somethin’ reckless.”
Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and made a pinched faced, sour expression. “Yes, Miss Apple.”
Sweet Cider guffawed, shaking her head. “Yer a darn cheeky one, ain’t ya?” She then looked south again, her eyes focusing on things far off and unsee. “They’re almost here. Time fer all o’ us ta do our parts.”
Giving Applejack a final look, Sweet Cider quickly headed out the door, vanishing with a swift Flash Step almost the moment she got out the door. In short order Applejack and Fluttershy were helped to their feet with Clover and Rainbow Dash both offering shoulders to lean on to help the girls walk. With Nocturn leading the way, and Pipsqueak bringing up the rear, the group quietly started making their way out towards the back of the Fourth Division’s hospital compound.
And none of them took note of the hidden, cloaked figure, keeping the shadows, following them.
----------
"Alriiiight! Here it is! I suppose I should say 'ta-da' or something, but you don't look that impressed." said Ditzy Doo, looking Sunset up and down with a thickly amused smile. She and Sunset had finished recuperating in the hot spring and after getting nice and dry, not to mention clothed once more, Sunset had been told to wait while Ditzy had gone off to get what they needed for her Bankai training.
Ditzy hadn't been gone too long before returning, Flash Stepping atop a rock outcropping while holding a very strange looking object at her side. To Sunset it looked like a very angular and odd proportioned mannequin. It was about as tall as Ditzy, with made from some kind of pale, bone colored ceramic material. It had a oblong head and strange, long pointed arms and legs. A pair of unusual, dark tubes ran from a point on its back, around its left shoulder and hooked once more into a hole in its front. Sunset just blinked at it, then shot Ditzy a questioning gaze.
"Its not that I'm not impressed. I mean this thing is supposed to help me get this incredible power in a ridiculously short time span, so that does impress me... but why does it look like a freaky mannequin? I don't know, I just thought when you said that you and Discord had equipment down here to help me get Bankai I was expecting something... bigger and flashier?"
"Heh, sorry, we're all out of Hyperbolic Time Chambers." Ditzy patted the mannequin fondly, "Bankai training isn't really about physical limits. Like I told you, the only way to do it fast is to make your Zanapktou spirit manifest and force them to submit to you. That's what this Tenshintai, or Divine Transfer Body, is for. It acts as a vessel for forcing a Zanpaktou spirit to physically appear. Just stab Hokori right into this baby, and she'll pop out."
Sunset put her hand on Hokori's hilt, looking between the blade and the mannequin. "And then what? We fight?"
"That's the idea." Ditzy said, and her voice turned serious, gaining a tough and somber edge to it. "Just don't forget, this isn't play sparring. Hokori will be seriously trying to kill you, and I won't be interfering. Interrupting the training will run the risk of crippling your relationship with Hokori. If I stepped in to save you, you might lose Hokori altogether. It'll be do or die, the second you begin-"
Sunset rammed Hokori into the center of the Tenshintai doll before Ditzy even finished speaking. Sunset fixed Ditzy Doo with a burning, determined gaze, her voice steady.
"There's no turning back for me." Sunset said plainly, "If there'd been such a point, I wouldn't have taken it anyway. This is the path to protecting everything I care for."
Sunset took several steps back as Hokori's blade started to glow with bright flames, surrounding the mannequin. Sunset cracked her knuckles, taking a deep breath. "I was born to tackle 'do or die'."