It's been quite a while, but no worries, this story hasn't been abandoned! Please feel free to read back if you need to, I certainly did to try to remember what the hell was going on, and it's supposedly my story.

A big thanks to Anbu-chan for reminding me all of you are waiting for this story.

Electricity immediately came alive, enveloping Raibaju in yellow lightning. Some of the electricity licked my fingertips, but unlike the last time I fully released Raibaju, I kept my own power under control, unwilling to let it harm me. I wasn't going to let this be a repeat of what happened last time, not when Al's life hanged on a thread.

I used shunpo to get behind Lienne, except it wasn't quite a normal shunpo. A shunpo is a short release of reiatsu that propels a shinigami over a short distance. It's not a teleportation technique, like the untrained eye would see it. The more skilled the shinigami, the more distance they can cover.

I brought my sword down, and it too felt quite different. The movements were too fast for even my own eye. Lienne couldn't even even parry my attack, and instead had to use sonido to get away. Even then, she screamed in pain, and I saw a stream of blood fall to the ground from her back to the ground.

What is going on?

Dear Artemis, you wield the power of the Lord of Electricity and Light. You should know exactly what is going on.

I growled at how stubborn Raibaju was being. Couldn't he see I was in the middle of a fight and I didn't have time to indulge in his riddles? I would just have to finish this fight quickly before I could get back to Al.

Lienne let out a frustrated yell and launched herself at me. I flash stepped again, hoping to meet her attack head on, but the strange sensation came over me again and I reappeared much farther away then what I wanted to be, almost ten meters away from Lienne.

Okay, that is enough. Spell it out, you stubborn wolf. What is happening to me?

I could mentally see Raibaju roll his golden eyes at me. I am Lord of Electricity and Light. Tell me, Artemis, how fast does light travel?

Lienne growled and used sonido again to get closer to me, but I simply flash stepped even farther away. This battle was effectively over, after all. If Lienne couldn't land a hit on me, then there was no point. I could toy with her for as long as I could.

Besides, I really wanted to argue with Raibaju now.

Really fucking fast.

Such language is not necessary.

Considering you wait until now to tell me what powers I possess, I find it quite apt.

Oh, and if I had told you before that your speed would increase to such levels, how would you have prepared?

It's the mental preparedness. Of course there's no physical way to prepare suddenly going near speed of light, even in the weird physical realm that is Soul Society. But a heads up would've been nice!

Argh, you're already a coward when it comes to using your powers. I rather you find out by yourself than me tell you and have you decide you rather not go through that.

Fine, I guess that is a correct assumption on my character.

It's not an assumption if it's correct.

Whatever. Now let me defeat this Arrancar and find out what she wants.

Defeating her did take a bit longer than I would admit to. My body was unused to traveling to speeds near light, but as time passed I managed to control how fast I was going until the point where I was fast enough to be a threat but slow enough to at least see what I was doing. I knew learning how to use Raibaju was going to be a pain in the ass, but I didn't know just how big of a pain in the ass it was going to be.

I stabbed Lienne in the thigh, then released enough electricity to overload her body, but hopefully not kill her. Of course, I had no idea how much electricity was needed to paralyze a reishi body, and even if I did, I wasn't sure how to deliver the exact amount, so I just went with my gut feeling.

The green-haired Arrancar's body went limp, and if it hadn't been for my arm around her waist, she would've fallen to the ground. I took Raibaju out of her flesh with little fanfare. Lienne didn't even yelp in pain, her body devoid of feeling, especially in that area.

"W-What have you done!" she yelled in fear. She moved her head around frantically, as if trying to see if she could control the rest of her body.

"Oh, so you can still move your face. That's convenient; I wasn't sure how I was going to get you to talk if you couldn't move your mouth."

"You bastard," she growled, her face contorted in pure rage. "I refuse to tell you anything!"

I sealed Raibaju, feeling seriously drained. Even though I had a network of lifetimes of reiatsu, Raibaju used a lot. It made sense why the wolves needed a Transcendental to provide them with energy. Any other shinigami would've died within the first three minutes of usage. They were a bit too powerful to actually be useful.

Lienne continued cursing, and instead of standing in the middle of a ruined part of town, I picked her up and continued on my way to Urahara Shoten.

Now that I was used to traveling to speeds near the speed of light, shunpo seemed so slow.

Spoiled brat.

Oh, shut it. This was your fault.

I arrived to the front of Urahara's shop, ignored said man's greeting, and dropped Lienne in front of me. She cursed me so much that a cloud could've appeared over her, but neither of us paid her any mind.

"You have a new friend, Costa-kun?" he asked with an unperturbed smile.

"You know me, making friends everywhere I go, especially the ones that try to kill me."

"And you brought her here because?"

"I need her to talk, and nobody can make her talk like you can."

Urahara took out his fan and hid behind it, no doubt to conceal his stupid smile. "Oh, you flatter me, Costa-kun! I do have a talent for drawing out information! But I must ask, who is your friend?"

I kicked Lienne lightly at her sides. "Come on, it's rude to not introduce yourself."

"There is nothing you can do to me that will make me cooperate with you?"

"How about giving Midori-sama a most painful death if you don't?" I replied, my voice menacing.

That seemed to shut her down. "Y-You wouldn't!"

"On the contrary, I would. Because, once you said her name, I started to piece it together. And I just finished piecing it together. I'm pretty good with names, you know, and I especially remember the names of people I've fought. Something about the rivalry, you could say. Midori is your master's name, and I met a girl named Saigo in my class." I saw Lienne's eyes widen and her skin pale. "Saigo Midori. Now that is not a name I'll easily forget. It's because of my fight with her that I was promoted to Class One in Shino. Sad that she had to go betray Soul Society for someone like Aizen."

I crouched in front of her, staring down at her rather terrified face. "I could easily kill her. Saigo thinks I don't know who she is, but unfortunately for her, she thinks she has a competent Arrancar who can keep the identity of her master a secret. So, what will it be, Lienne? Your master's death or your information?"

Urahara whistled and moved from his spot behind the counter to in front of Lienne. "I didn't know you were so good at speaking, Costa-kun. And here I thought you genuinely needed my help."

I looked up at him and grinned. "I wasn't lying when I said I had just pieced it together. No doubt that bitch was being too nice to me."

"If I tell you anything, Aizen-sama will kill Midori-sama once he finds out I betrayed him. She will be held accountable for my actions."

"Once she finds out her cover has been blown, I think she'll take Soul Society's side once again. She'll stand trial for her crimes, but I don't think Soul Society will execute her if she submits willingly and offers information," I said. "All of that hinges on you telling us what you know. Cooperate with us, and your master lives. Don't, and you both die."

"What about me?" Lienne asked. "Sure, my master lives in one of those scenarios. But what about me?"

I cock my head to the side.

"She means her survival," Urahara said. "She wants guarantees for her survival as well."

"You're an Arrancar. Soul Society would kill you where you stand."

Lienne's eyes narrowed. "See, there is one thing everyone in Hueco Mundo despises about you shinigami. You think that anything that isn't purely you is tainted. Deviate a little from being a normal shinigami and you're suddenly a menace to everything and everyone. Be a hollow, be part hollow, be a Quincy, be a ryoka, be anything that isn't purely a shinigami and you're already a menace to them."

Be a Transcendental.

Raibaju huffed in amusement.

The Arrancar turned her head to look at Urahara. "I don't understand how you can even still be allied with them."

Urahara's eyes widened. "You know about me?"

She nodded. Well, as much as her paralyzed body lets her nod. "Aizen-sama told everyone the story of how the first Visored came to be. How they cast them out because they had some hollow in them. How they exiled you because you caused it. A civilization that refuses change is not one that is meant to stand. Aizen-sama will replace the balance of things to allow us all to live together."

"At the exchange of consuming countless of souls," I interjected.

"Does that deny our right to live?"

I waved a hand. "I didn't come here to debate about whether you have a right to live or not. We leave that to the philosophers in times of peace. Besides, you're quite mistaken if you think Aizen wants to grant you any rights to live. He wants to become a god, and a man like him wouldn't make a very benevolent god."

"It's not like the one we have is any better. At least I know this one's nature," Lienne bit back. "And at least there is hope of change with Aizen-sama than staying with whoever you follow."

You thought Lienne would give you all the information you wanted by threatening to kill her master, but you overestimated her loyalty towards her. So, you failed, but that doesn't mean that you have lost the game.

There is nothing I can offer her that will make her want to cooperate with me. I can't even guarantee her safety.

You don't need to guarantee anything. Lienne relies on hope of change. Just offer her that and see where it takes you.

"Fine, fine," I said and sat down, my knees getting a bit weak from the crouch and my earlier fight. Plus I'm sure I bruised a rib at the very least. "You're worried about your future, fair enough. I understand that sentiment; I worry about my future every day. If there is one thing that I'm certain about is that once this war is over, neither side will want to fight again for a while. If Soul Society wins, I don't see why they will poke their noses in Hueco Mundo. We've left Hueco Mundo alone for as long as I remember. So, the only thing you have to do is survive, Lienne Dromeda."

"What if you're wrong?"

"What if Aizen is wrong?" Urahara interjected. "You have no guarantees with him either."

"So I would just be relying on your words?"

"If you know anything about me, then you know I've hidden a group of Visored for a very long time. Worse comes to worst, I don't doubt I can hide an Arrancar."

"You would do that?"

"We terribly want that information. I know we just had a rather nasty fight," I said with a wry smile, pointedly looking at her still bleeding thigh, "but if you're willing to look past that, so will I."

Lienne dropped her head back to the wooden floor and just stared at the ceiling. Her eyes softened marginally and turned towards me. "You don't offer me much of a choice. Fine, I agree to your terms, but would you mind healing me before we continue?"

"Of course."

"And make sure to clean my floor, Costa-kun. Nothing scares a customer away like a pool of blood near the entrance."

"I would agree with you only if you got any customers, Urahara-san."

It took me twenty minutes to heal Lienne's wounds and bind her hands together, and another thirty minutes to leave the floor stainless. Who would've known blood was so difficult to clean?

We sat across from each other in one of Urahara's private rooms. Neither of us know when Renji is coming back, and as much as I want to see Al, I can't have Lienne see him, even if she isn't technically our enemy anymore. The less people know a Dormant is staying here, the better.

Lienne easily told me about Las Noches, the stronghold where Aizen and his puppets live. It is a castle made out of white stone, a beautiful structure against the backdrop of Hueco Mundo's eternal sands. She told me about the Espada, the top ten Arrancar in Aizen's army, and the Mascaras, the top then Visored in his army. They all oversee the other Arrancar and Visored. Some Visored have Arrancar underlings, like her and Midori, meanwhile other Arrancar have Visored underlings. The distribution was equal, going along with Aizen's rhetoric that everyone had a right to live.

She couldn't tell me the names of the members of the Espada or Mascaras. The lower ranks don't have access to that kind of information.

"Even if I told you, it would be impossible for you to beat them," Lienne said with a tone of finality. "Both the Espada and Mascaras have taichou-level power."

I crossed my arms and shook my head. "I find that hard to believe. None of the Visored had taichou-level power. Even if they had the potential to become taichou, it's been too little time since they deflected."

Lienne shrugged. "I don't know about that. Midori-sama seemed to revere the Mascaras a lot."

Even if the Mascaras weren't as strong as Lienne had said, Aizen had too many powerful followers. The amount of shinigami who could go head to head with a low-ranking Arrancar was very low. Along with the four hundred shinigami Aizen had taken with him and the three hundred Arrancar he had recruited, his army was around a little bit more than seven hundred. If only seated shinigami could fight and have a chance to win, then only a bit under three hundred shinigami could fight and maybe not die. The rest of our force was in for an almost certain death.

However, if the Twelfth managed to perfect the antidote to reverse the Hollowfication, then that significantly lowers the power level of more than half of Aizen's army, and unranked shinigami could then fight against other weakened shinigami, since there is no doubt reverse Hollowfication isn't painful.

"That leaves twenty," I murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"The ten Espada and the ten Mascaras. Those twenty can only be fought by taichou-level shinigami, according to what you told me. We only have thirteen captains. That puts us at a distinct disadvantage if they all decide to attack at once."

"Plus Aizen-sama. Aizen-sama alone could probably kill everyone."

"Not that soutaichou though. His power alone could melt him. And, well, everyone around him so let's hope it doesn't come to that. But, there's another question that is bothering me. Why did Midori get the mission to kidnap me?"

"Aizen-sama personally requested for her to kidnap you, but I'm just as clueless as to why."

"Is she very strong?"

"Yes, but you're stronger," Lienne admitted grudgingly.

I frowned. Aizen wouldn't make such a careless mistake and send weak captors for me. He was a perfectionist, annoyingly so. He either underestimated me, or he meant for me to beat Lienne. The former was easy to explain, but the latter sent shivers down my arms. If he meant for me to beat Lienne, then he was either testing how strong I was or wanted me to take her for information.

Okay, if he was testing how strong I was, then he wanted to know my mastery over my Transcendental powers. If he wanted me to take Lienne for information, then he planned for me to take her somewhere I considered safe from my shinigami companions and I also considered comfortable. And Aizen would definitely know the only place I felt comfortable in was Urahara Shoten.

The only place I would feel comfortable in keeping Al.

"Oh, no," I whispered.

A massive source of reiatsu appeared a few meters away from us. I immediately stood up, my rib flaring up in pain, and grab Raibaju.

We have made a terrible mistake. Hearing how horrified Raibaju sounds only puts me more on edge.

The source headed towards the residential area of the Shoten, where Al sleeps. Al doesn't even know I'm here, since he can't sense reiatsu. Luckily I felt Urahara's reiatsu flare up, and Yoruichi joined in on fighting them. They could buy me some time. I can't let Al be taken away now, not when Soul Society has so many problems. Adding a Dormant to it all won't help.

"W-What?" Lienne yelped. "That reiatsu..."

I turned towards her so quickly I almost hurt a muscle in my neck. "You recognize it?"

"No," she said softly. "But I recognize that power level. That's a Mascara, no doubt. A Mascara along with their chosen follower."

I gritted my teeth. A Mascara, here? That massive source of reiatsu is a Mascara? I knew Lienne had no reason to lie about her army's power level, but I had thought she was easily impressionable, considering all Arrancar are somewhat young compared to their shinigami counterparts. But she wasn't lying. How the hell had Aizen gotten his army to be so strong in such a short amount of time?

Could the Hogyoku affect more people than just Aizen?

"What do we do?" Lienne continued, not even bothering to let me finish processing the information. "I'm a traitor to my cause."

"On the contrary, you did exactly what Aizen had always wanted you to do."

"He planned on you taking me here?"

"That's the only explanation as to why they're here, right? That doesn't mean he won't kill you and Midori, though."

"But what's the plan? There has to be something we can do!"

That power level was completely beyond me and Raibaju. I would just serve to get in the way of Urahara and Yoruichi at this point. Those two were extremely strong, but they couldn't give it their all here. They loved the Living World too much to completely change it. That and they were on the defensive.

"They're here for someone," I revealed. "We must protect him. If he falls in Aizen's hands, then we would have serious trouble."

"But where can we take him? Soul Society?"

"No, he's human, and his body is firmly attached with his Chain of Fate."

"Then there's nowhere for him to go."

I nodded grimly. "No, which is why I must fight off the invaders."

"You?"

I stared pointedly at the bandages around Lienne's thigh. "You're wounded. If I am to be a nuisance in the battlefield, you would just be a burden. Stay here and live. You never know when you might become useful." Her ability to shield reiatsu from leaving a certain area might come in handy later on, especially for one-on-one fights and stealth missions. That way, there's an almost guarantee that no reinforcements are going to show up.

Lienne looked annoyed, no doubt remembering that I'm the one who left her in this state, but at least she doesn't seem to hold a grudge. "Fine. I'll go try to find some help."

My eyes widened. "You would do that?"

"As far as I see it, both of us are dead women. It's just a matter of when rather than how at this point."

I stood up, my hand clutching Raibaju rather tightly. He wasn't paying attention if he hadn't complained about how I was hurting him. "Maybe, maybe not. But we've wasted too many precious minutes here. Let's hold them off. Remember, this might be an impossible mission, so don't lose your life over it."

Lienne's brown eyes looked shocked at my obvious concern over her, but she just nodded. "You too."

And with that we both part ways, with Lienne heading outside in search of any large forms of reiatsu, and me heading outside, where Urahara and Yoruichi have moved the fight.

How do you feel about the idea of possession?

What?

What? What do you mean possession?

Exactly what you heard. One of the benefits of having many lifetimes at your disposal is the ability to be possessed by one of them. Now that you've used my shikai and met Kamui and Shiranui, possession is the next step in mastering your powers. Of course, having them willingly give you your body back is a matter of trust, but I'm sure you trust Kamui, right?

Is that where you wandered off to? To talk about possessing me? I mean, if Shihoin Kamui is going to possess me, then there's no doubt we'll win this one!

It's not that simple, Artemis. His soul is possessing you. That means that if your reishi body cannot withstand the effects of Kamui's life force possessing you, then you might... well, dying is a possible side effect.

I stopped in the middle of the hallway. I couldn't have this conversation in the middle of a fight with a Mascara. Why is death always a possible side effect with you?

Death is a definite side effect of living. The amount of reiryoku possession consumes is staggering as well. I estimate only three minutes of possession with your current reiatsu reserves.

Is there any way of increasing that time constraint?

The reason why possession is so consuming is because Kamui, in this case, has to make up everything your body doesn't know how to do with his own power. He has to make up for your lack of mastery over myself, for your body's weakness, for your lack of knowledge in Kido, for your shortcomings in hakuda and hoho––

Okay, okay, I get it! No use in reminding me, Raibaju. Fine, I'll think about doing this possession thing. I've already used my shikai today and didn't die, I won't mind testing that luck.

I continued flash stepping towards the battlefield. I probably lost around five minutes in formulating a plan, but if I hadn't done so, I would've probably been more of a burden than help.

Urahara had Benihime drawn, his stance defensive, meanwhile Yoruichi landed a ferocious kick at a rather muscular man. He wore a shihakusho reminiscent of mine, except with some sort of white coat. His face was hidden behind a white mask similar to those worn in balls, except that it covered his face entirely.

The other one was also a Visored, albeit smaller and a woman, with a coat over her shihakusho and a rather simple white mask with flames painted at the outside.

"Is this the one, Hinamori-sama?" the muscular man asked.

I stiffened at that name. Hinamori? As in, Momo Hinamori? In that case, there's no way I want Toshiro coming this way.

"No, but she's the weak link," Hinamori replied in a cold tone opposite to the fire burning in her zanpakuto.

Urahara looked alarm, and Yoruichi grunted. "We just have to hold them off until help comes," I said to them.

"They're rather occupied at the moment," Urahara replied rather grimly. "It's just us, Costa-kun."

"Then there's no choice," I murmured. Possession is another power I would've loved to use at my own pace, but this war is not giving me any chances to practice. All of my careful avoidance of danger and risks was now backfiring in my face.

But I can't let them take Al. I can't let Aizen become a Transcendental, only to then kill me and do something... Something I didn't know but I just knew wasn't good.

Let's do it, Raibaju.

I'll go find Shiranui.

"Urahara-san, Yoruichi-sensei, I'm not sure what's going to happen, but if anything, please get out the way."

Yoruichi stared at me in shock. "Artemis?"

Someone gently pushed me away from my body. It felt like what happened with Xerten Portos, except that instead of possessing another body, I simply took the backseat in my own body. It was only until I heard the ocean's waves and felt the soft sand in my feet that I realized I was in my Inner World.

Raibaju nudged my hand. "Welcome back. Come, let's go see what's going on outside."

The white wolf walked towards the ocean, his paws leaving footprints in the sand. I, however, left no footprints, even though my feet were firmly rooted in the sand and I could feel it.

"That's because you're here but also not really here." It definitely serves a testament of how well Raibaju knows me that I didn't even have to ask the question. "Only if you come here through meditation or sleeping can you fully interact with your Inner World."

"Which means I can't go and explore what's beyond in the ocean."

"Correct. If you get lost out there, then you might never truly come back. So, it's better to prevent that from even being an option. But hurry, or we'll miss it."

Raibaju trotted the rest of the way, with me jogging behind him. Raibaju looked up at me, his golden eyes amused, then beckoned towards the ocean. The water's reflection was crystal clear, almost as if it wasn't even an ocean, but instead of seeing the sand, I was looking at the outside world.

"So this is how you see what I'm seeing."

The water showed Yoruichi and Urahara's confused faces. My head must've moved down, because now I was looking at my hands. Kamui flexed my hands experimentally, as if not completely used to the idea of having a reishi body. Then again, it had been half a millennia since he had been outside. Everything must be so different for him.

"Well," my voice began amusedly, "I can't take too long here or else I might kill Artemis. Ready for a real battle, old friend?"

I saw my hands unsheathe Raibaju, except the sword was subtly different. The tsuba was red, to begin with. And the zanpakuto had a very pronounced fire motif to it.

"Wait, that's not you, is it?"

"I'm your zanpakuto, Artemis. Kamui can't use me."

"That makes sense. So, he's going to fight with Shiranui and make it completely obvious that Transcendentals are a weird bunch."

"A weird, powerful bunch."

"Moyasu, Shiranui," Kamui said, and the world around him became fire.