Disclaimer: In no way shape or form do I own Bleach and/or Full metal Alchemist. I just own the characters I create is all ;)

"Oi, Ulquiorra," Rarna began, his voice low and timid. "Can you and Grimmjowe take this tin can to Aizen without me?"

"Hmm, what's this?" Grimmjowe questioned, suspicious of Rarna's actions. "We're almost there and you say this now? What are you, a coward or something?"

"Who the hell are you calling a coward you ass face?" Rarna exclaimed, exploding with rage. "I just don't want to face Aizen after only returning with only 1 of the 2 we were supposed to get. Sure he acts all harmless but my skin crawls every time I see his face. I just get a weird feeling you know?"

Grimmjowe laughed. "Ulquiorra, can you really believe the nerve of this guy?" Grimmjowe looked over his shoulder, flashing Rarna a devilish smile. "You might wanna watch what you say about Lord Aizen. You never know who's going to hear what you say. Trust no one."

Rarna stiffened and stared at Ulquiorra. He remained silent the rest of the way, his mind a mess of fear. Only minutes later, the 3 arrancars and Al stood before the giant twin doors which Aizen was behind. Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder to check on Grimmjowe and Rarna. 'Looks like they both decided to stay.' With that Ulquiorra knocked lightly on the door, signaling Aizen. The doors slowly but surely opened up for them on their own. Ulquiorra shoved his hands in his pockets and walked right in. Grimmjowe's grasp on Al tightened as he followed closely behind Ulquiorra. Rarna hesitated for a moment but made up his mind. He wasn't going to be shown up by that smug Grimmjowe. Hurriedly, Rarna made it inside before the twin doors shut him out.

"Ah, Ulquiorra. You're late." Aizen said, his tone calm and cool. Ulquiorra walked straight up to Aizen while Grimmjowe and Rarna stayed at a safer distance, hoping for Ulquiorra to do all the talking once more.

Ulquiorra bent down on one knee. "Please forgive us sir. We ran into some...complications."

"Hm?" Aizen's eyebrow arched. "Was it the Shinigamis again?"

"Hai... They were quite annoying." Ulquiorra replied.

"So then, where are these Alchemists?" Aizen asked, staring at Grimmjowe and Rarna. "It seems to look like you've brought me nothing."

"As I told you before my Lord, we ran into some complications. However, we did manage to capture one of them." Ulquiorra glanced over at Grimmjowe, beckoning him to bring Al to Aizen. Grimmjowe understood and walked up to Aizen in at a slow and cautious pace.

"This is the only one we managed to obtain." Grimmjowe told Aizen, holding Al in Aizen's view.

"That doesn't look like much," Aizen commented, his eyes bouncing back and forth from Grimmjowe to Ulquiorra.

"Rest assured sir there is a lot more to him than meets the eye." Ulquiorra said, staring at his feet.

"Well, aren't you going to speak?" Grimmjowe whispered to Al. Grimmjowe got no response. This made Grimmjowe antsy. Rarna watched carefully what was going on in the background. "Come on now, speak! I know you can." Al refused to say anything. Grimmjowe's eyes slowly moved to Aizen's. His cool, calm composure never changed but Grimmjowe could feel it in the air. Aizen was not amused.

"This one in particular is...unique." Ulquiorra stated, trying to ease up the tension.

"Hm?" This caught Aizen's attention. "What do you mean by that?"

"Look sir," Grimmjowe called out, removing Al's helmet to reveal what was inside him, nothing.

"Just what are you trying to show me exactly?" Aizen questioned a bit confused as he stared into Al.

"As you can see, my Lord, there is nothing in this suit of armor. It's basically like an empty shell." Ulquiorra explained.

"Go on," Aizen commanded, his eyes still trying to figure out Al.

"But this suit of armor can walk, talk and do almost anything, even though there's no one inside." Rarna chimmed in from the background.

Aizen stared curiously at Al. "Why does he do nothing then?"

"We're not sure to be honest. I can't figure out just why he won't do anything," Grimmjowe said, frustrated. Aizen stood up from the chair he was sitting in and walked up to Grimmjowe, his eyes fixed on Al. Grimmjowe shrunk back a little, letting Aizen look at Al as much as he could. Aizen reached his hand to Al, wanting to feel if he was actually metal or made of some kind of material.

Instantly, Al shoved Grimmjowe away, catching Grimmjowe off guard and throwing him off balance. Al took this chance to leap out away from Grimmjowe and rush towards Aizen. He cocked his arm back and flung it forward at Aizen, hoping to catch him off guard as well. Within moments, Al's body crashed against the ground, Aizen sitting on top of him with his zanpakutou stabbed through his back. Aizen leaned over Al to peer inside him. He saw his zanpakutou cut clean through Al's armor yet Al still struggled against him.

"So you do move." Aizen noted, staring in awe.

"Get off me! Get off me now! Let me go!" Al screamed, flailing around as he attempted to free himself.

"And it appears you can talk as well." Aizen seemed pleased.

"You piece of trash!" Grimmjowe yelled, throwing Al's helmet at the ground. "How dare you!" Rarna couldn't help but laugh at how pathetic Al made Grimmjowe seem. Especially in front of Aizen.

Al's helmet knocked against Aizen's feet. Aizen reached down and picked it up. He stared into Al's red eyes. "Tell me, just what are you?" Al said nothing. "How is it that you are able to walk and talk with no physical body? Just what are you made of?" Al still refused to say anything. "Lucky you you, my friend, I'm a patient person. However, my patience will tire." Aizen warned. "Just what are you called?"

"Al," Al mumbled.

"Al, huh?" Aizen began. "Do you know why you were brought here, Al?" Al remained silent once more. "I need your power, Al. It will be of great use to me."

"Just what exactly do you need my 'power' for?" Al questioned.

"I need it protect my arrancars from those damn Shinigamis. I believe you have the type of power that can crush them."

"The Shinigamis? You mean like Ichigo, Toshiro and the others?" Al asked, shocked. Aizen nodded. "What have they ever done to you? To me it looks like you guys are the ones who are attacking them."

"It's not all that simple." Aizen said, spinning Al's helmet on his finger. "It's kill or be killed. We just want to survive. The Shinigamis wish for us to be wiped out of existance. I cannot allow that to happen to the arrancar." Al was still unsure of what to make of Aizen. "Isn't there something you want to protect no matter what the cost?" Al froze. "Isn't there something you must acquire, some kind of power to aid you?"

"The philosophers stone..." Al trailed off. "Tell me. Do you know what it is? Do you have one in your posession now?"

"The philosophers stone?" Rarna, Grimmjowe and Ulquiorra mumbled, puzzled at this.

"Hmm. I can't say I've heard of something like that." Aizen told Al. "However, if you lend me your power then perhaps I can return the favor for you." Al took this into consideration as he silently sat still for a moment, thinking. "Grimmjowe, Rarna. Please take our guest to the holding chambers with the other one. I wish to speak to Ulquiorra alone about something." Aizen pulled his zanpakutou out of Al's armor suit. "I'll give you some time to think about my offer so please think long and hard about this. I could help you out so much more than those Shinigamis ever could."

Al stood up as Aizen took a step back. He tossed Al his helmet. Al caught in and put it back in place, sighing in relief. "Come on big guy, this way." Grimmjowe uttered, still holding a grudge against Al for what he did to him earlier. Al complied and walked out the door with Grimmjowe and Rarna. Rarna seemed please to be finally away from Aizen. They walked to the highest point of Hueco Mundo to the farthest end of the holding quaters.

"This...Is where...You'll be staying...For a while..." Rarna explained, out of breath for all the walking.

"Arigato..." Al said dryly.

Grimmjowe stared at Al. "Aren't you even tired from that long walk?"

Al shook his head. "I don't feel things like that. I hardly feel anything at all."

"What do you mean by that?" Rarna questioned, still panting.

"It's just because of what I am. It's a bit complex and I don't think now's the best time to try to explain this." Al replied calmly.

Grimmjowe snorted. "Whatever." Grimmjowe unlocked the massive door before Al and opened it up. "Stay in here for a while and think like Lord Aizen requested. We'll be back to get you whenever Aizen feels like you've had enough time to think." Grimmjowe explained. Al said nothing but cooperated with their request. Once Al was in the holding chamber, Grimmjowe closed the door and locked it once more. Rarna and Grimmjowe took their leave, their minds a raging whirlpool of thoughts.

Al looked around the room. It reminded him of a small apartment room, only it looked nicer and cleaner. Al heard something stir in the far back of the room. He heard footsteps approaching. "Who's there?" Al demanded to know, getting ready to defend himself. A person emerged from the shadows. Al stared and eased up a little. "Who are you?"

1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-

The Shinigami relam was nothing like Ed had expected it to be. There were so many things around for Ed to look at, he couldn't keep up. Toshiro seemed to be annoyed at this. "You can go site seeing later, Elric. Right now we have business we need to attend to."

"Shut up." Ed complained. "You can't order me around. I don't take orders from the likes of you." Ed proclaimed with a smirk. Toshiro glared at Ed.

"But you'll do what I tell you to. Now come on." Roy commanded, grabbing Ed's ear and dragging him along. "There's time for touring later."

"Ouch, ow, ow ow! Damnit Mustang cut it out! Ow, ouch! Damnit this hurts!" Ed yelled in pain.

Toshiro smirked to himself, satisfied. "Captain, should we let him do that?" Matsumoto questioned, chuckles erupting from her throat.

Toshiro said nothing but continued to walk. The group of Shinigamis and Ed and Roy made steady progress towards the head captains office, once Roy released Ed's ear. Toshiro walked right in without knocking. Hesitatly, the others followed him. "Toshiro...You're finally back." The head captain noted. Toshiro stopped inches away from the head captain's desk, his lieutenant observing Ed and Roy. Everyone else stayed a bit farther back from Toshiro.

"I'm here to report on my latest assignment."

"Go on then." The head captain commanded.

"When we arrived in...Their world, they were already being attacked by the arrancar, as you suspected." Toshiro began. "We aided them and fought against the arrancar but in the end, the arrancar managed to capture one of them, I'm sorry sir."

"I see, so then who are these two?" Yamamoto questioned, opening his eyes to get a better look at Roy and Ed.

"We brought back one of the first people we encountered, Edward Elric. He calls himself the Fullmetal Alchemist. And the other one is a friend of his who's also an alchemist. So far all I know is his name is Roy."

Edward snorted. "The Colonel and I aren't friends. He's such an ass."

Roy glanced at Ed, amused. "Is that anyway to talk about your superior to others?"

"I'd hardly call you my superior, you baka." Ed said, looking away from Roy.

Roy chuckled to himself. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang. My state name would be the Flame Alchemist. It's an honor to meet you." Roy introduced, bowing his head respectfully to Yamamoto.

"Kiss up." Ed commented. Roy flashed a smile in Ed's direction. Ed just rolled his eyes.

The head captain rose from his seat and walked up to Roy and Ed. Roy stayed in his bowing stance as Ed looked away at different objects in the room. They both felt a little awkward. "How long ago was the other one captured?" The head captain questioned Toshiro, still observing Ed and Roy.

"Not too long ago sir, as soon as the other one was captured Ed here got injured so he had to recover in the hospital. After he felt ready to leave we brought him straight here." Toshiro explained.

"You know that other one had a name! His name is Al, he's my little brother." Ed told the head captain, quite annoyed. "Now the only reason I came is to get my brother back. So tell me what I need to do and I'll be on my way."

Everyone was in a state of shock at how Ed spoke to the head captain. "You best watch your tone boy," the lieutenant warned, gripping his zanpakutou. "Be respectful when in the presense of the head captain!"

Yamamoto laughed in Ed's face. "You're pretty gutsy, I'll give you that. But I'll take a lot more than guts alone to fulfill the task you wish to complete."

Ed sternly looked at the head head captain. "I don't care what it takes. I WILL rescue my little brother at all costs."

"It's good to see such determination in such a young boy. However, like a said it will take a lot more than guts alone to complete a task like this. You need proper training." Yamamoto explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Roy questioned, standing up straight to face the head captain. His back was starting to cramp up.

"You can't just rush into Hueco Mundo, unless you have some kind of death wish." Ichigo spoke up, answering Roy's question.

The head captain nodded at Ichigo's answer. "Even captain level Shinigamis have their hands full whenever they enter Hueco Mundo. It's not an area where you can just roam freely around in. It takes special training to prepare you for what you'll be up against." Matsumoto explained.

"I don't have time to train! I have to go there now and bring Al back! I don't care how strong these arrancars or whatever the hell they are seem to be. I've trained my whole life and always come back, even from the dead in some way." Ed explained, a smug smirk on his face. "Now tell me what I need to know how to get to this place so I can be on my way."

Yamamoto slammed his staff on the ground. "Such arrogance! You may have encountered some arrancars, even espada level arrancars already, however, their mission was to also capture you, alive. Once they're given the command they'd kill you in a heart beat."

Ed snorted. "I'd love to see them try."

"Ed, be reasonable about this." Roy began. "Sure you may be a big shot back in the alchemic dimension but here, you're a nobody. We have no clue what people in this demensionare truly capable of. The best choice of action right now is to get a feel of this dimension and to observe the fighting techniques of those we know nothing of. Use your head for once. Or would you rather die and leave Al by himself, at the mercy of the arrancar?" Roy challenged.

Ed clenched his fist. "Tell me something, head captain. What's so interesting to everyone in this realm about what we are? Why are people after us?" Ed demanded to know.

Yamamoto thought about this before speaking. "It's because none of us have ever come into contact with beings like yourself. The arrancars, in my opinion, wish to use your powers against the Shinigamis to kill us off and to control not just the soul society but the world of the living as well." The shinigamis stiffened at Yamamoto's words. "If we have no experience in dealing with beings like you we wouldn't stand a chance. But if you teach us your ways, and you learn about our ways, I'm sure we could fight off whatever they throw at us."

"So what are you saying? You'd kill my brother?" Ed questioned, twisting the head captain's words.

"No, Elric, stop trying to twist our words around." Toshiro replied, his tone as cold as ice.

Ed stood frustrated, torn on what to do. "Well judging by our current situation, Ed and I will stay here to train as you say. As soon as we're done, however, we will be going to rescue Alphonse. That's the plan that I've formulated." Roy explained.

"Roy I've already said we don't have time to waste! I'm as ready as I'll ever be!"

"5 days." Ichigo uttered. All eyes turned to Ichigo. "Stay here and train with us for 5 days. If you're as ready as you say you are then 5 days should be long enough to train. However, if we feel that you're still unprepared then we'll extend the time. Does that sound fair enough, Edward?" Ichigo challenged.

"We'll take you up on that offer," Roy answered for Ed.

"Well, Elric, what do you say?" Toshiro questioned, a hint of mockery in his voice.

Ed clenched his fist and looked up at Ichigo, his eyes a blaze with determination once more. "5 days huh? That's too easy for me. I say we cut it to 3 days tops."

"Don't act so cocky. You haven't seen anything yet." Ichigo promised, his eyes battling Ed's eyes.

This sparked Ed's pride. "And the same goes for you all, you smug bastards."

"It's settled then," Yamamoto exclaimed, slamming his staff on the ground once more. "5 days of training it is. After the 5 days are up you all are to report back here and tell me of your progress. I expect results."

"Hey wait a sec-"

Roy grabbed Ed's ear again and began dragging him out of the room. "We got it, don't worry. We'll be back in 5 days and ready to leave so I suggest you'd all better have a way for us to get to this Hueco Mundo place within the 5 days."

"Ow, ouch! Damnit Roy not again!" Ed exclaimed, trying to pry Roy's hand off his ear.

"All of you in here are to aid these two in their training. Do whatever is necessary to prepare them. You're all dismissed." The head captain said, returning back to his desk. They all bowed their heads in respect to the head captain and followed Roy and Ed out the door. Roy released Ed's ear. The redness of his ear resembled that of a tomato. Ed rubbed his ear, trying to sooth the pain.

"It seems the head captain has placed you all in my care, so I will be deciding the best course of action for this training." Toshiro announced, stepping in front of Ed and Roy.

"Huh? The captain said we're all supposed to aid him." Ichigo recalled. "What makes you think you're the leader, Toshiro?"

"For the last time Kurosaki, my name is CAPTAIN Histugaya. And since I'm the only one with a captain's rank in this little group, that makes me in charge." Toshiro explained, annoyed with Ichigo. Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes.

"So where are we off to first then?" Orihime chimmed in timidly.

"First we're going to the training grounds." Toshiro glanced over his shoulder at Ed and smirked. "Let's just test how good you really are. Wouldn't you agree, Elric?"

Ed sneered at Toshiro, knowing what he had in mind. 'Maybe this training stuff won't be THAT much of a waste...'

1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-

Back at central, things only began to become more complicated. "Tell me, Hawkeye, where has the Fullmetal Alchemist and Mustang gone?" The Fuhrer, King Bradly questioned, his assistant close at his side. They had entered Ed's hospital room just minutes after Roy and Ed left for the Shinigami realm. They had Riza, Winry and the Crystal duo pretty much backed into a corner.

"Well um...You see sir," Hawkeye began. She had no idea what to tell him. 'It's just like Roy to do this to me...I'm going to kill him when he gets back.' The Fuhrer arched an eyebrow, his smile never fading from his face. 'I've got nothing...'

"I'll tell you where they went," Winry began, trying to aid Riza.

Riza sighed in relief. 'Thank god for Winry. Surly she's come up with something.'

"They went to the bathroom and then to get something to eat so we're not sure when they'll be getting back." Winry lied.

Riza nearly fell over. 'That's the best she can do! We're screwed...'

"Oh? Is that so?" The Fuhrer challeneged. "Why would they need to leave the room to go to the bathroom when there is one in here and why would they need to go get food when there's a tray of food over then next to the bed?"

'Shit, shit, shit!' Riza cursed. 'We're so dead.'

"Winry, just what are you talking about?" One of the crystal duo questioned. "Didn't you hear what they said?"

The second crystal duo nudged the first one in the ribs. "What are you saying, Diva?"

Diva's big blue eyes shifted towards her partner, the blackness of her eyes giving her a devilish glint in her eyes. "What? Don't tell me you weren't paying attention too, Bri Bri."

Bri Bri tilted her head in confusion. "Uh..Oh yeah, now I remember!" Bri Bri exclaimed, playing along.

Diva turned back to the Fuhrer. "Fullmetal and Hot head went to go investigate something in the city. Someone came rushing in here and said they needed their help because something had happened so Fullmetal and Hot head went to go investigate what all the hula balu was about, you know?" Diva explained, flashing a convincing smile at the Fuhrer.

"Oh? Why wasn't I informed of this little incident then?" The Fuhrer questioned, keeping his cool expression.

"Well apparently it just happened like when the person came in here and told us what happened. Roy and Ed went off immediately with this person, of course to help out. We were just about to come inform you but then you showed up here." Bri Bri illistrated for the Fuhrer. "Thanks for saving us the trouble of finding you though!"

"Well I'm glad to be of assistance," The Fuhrer uttered, turning to make his exit. As he grasped the door knob of the room, he turned back to the girls. "Make sure when they return you tell them the Furhrer wants to seem them. There is a matter I need to address with them. See you around, ladies." With that the Fuhrer took his leave, his assistant giving Winry, Riza and the crystal duo one last glance and then followed closly behind the Fuhrer. Once the door closed they all waited for a good minute or two before anyone spoke.

"Did he just actually buy that?" Winry asked, astonished.

"Looks like, good work you two." Riza praised.

"Heh, it's a good thing I pulled that out of my ass." Diva commented to herself.

"I don't think that'll buy us a lot of time. What if the Fuhrer finds out that we lied to him about the incident with the person? What then?" Bri Bri asked, concerned.

"Well I'll just pull something out of my ass again," Diva told Bri Bri, a smile playing across her lips.

"This is no time for joking, this is serious!" Bri Bri scowled.

"Looks like we have to find a place to hide to keep safe," Riza concluded. "Any ideas on where to go?" Riza asked everyone.

Winry smiled and perked up. "I think I know of a place that might just do the trick." Everyone tilted their heads, wondering what got her so cheerful.

'Here we go again...' Riza commented, sighing.

1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-123456790-1234567890-123456790-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-

A/N: -Crawls out of the hole i've been in-

Holy hell I'm still alive? o.o... You guys probably want an explanation as to where I've been, why I haven't updated and so forth, right? that or you don't really care and you're just glad I've finally given you SOMETHING at least. Well here's my explanation!

I've started to get this thing called a life, I'm not really sure of if I know exactly what that is and I've lost all ideas I thought of for this story soo yea...That's the best I can come up with ^.^'''''''''''''''

You guys have been waiting far too long so I'll do something special for you guys! Anything you want to request, say so in the reviews because I'm not sure what I should do for you guys for being gone for soo long. Please make them reasonable!

ALSO! I'm sorry about the annoying spelling mistakes I've made in past chapters! I've tried to fix them so hopefully that won't be an issue. If that does become an issue, however, please don't be rude about it and tell me about it. I'm really sorry that there were so many errors but next time please correct me in a nice way, don't be so rude please ^.^;;;;;;;

I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE! I WILL TRY TO UPDATE FASTER!

Thank you all for waiting for this!~

Please review and tell me what you think thankies!~

Sincerely,

Anku