A/N: We all have our couples. And this is my couple. So if you don't agree with it or have some harsh words about the pairing, then I'll have to ask that you don't read it. Szayel/Nemu

Slowly wandering the narrow corridors, she looked around for any kind of trace or hint that would tell her where she was exactly. It was definitely a lab based on the heavy scent of chemicals in the air; although the conjoining smell of blood was something she couldn't exactly explain. This wasn't Mayuri's lab so...who else's could it be? She was unfamiliar with any other known scientist or let alone anyone else who would have any use for such a large structure. Slowly stepping out of yet another hallway, she paused momentarily as it opened up into a much larger room than previous experienced. Her hands remaining on the corner piece of the wall as she did a quick survey of the new area before looking up at the faint sound of fingers striking the keys to a computer. She listened intently for several moments before moving towards the source, already having pinpointed it coming from the dark entrance way just across from where she was standing. Walking softly, her footsteps didn't even echo as she slowly approached the dark room; taking note of the small streaks of light that were being emitted from an unseen source inside of the area. She paused momentarily at the doorway before stepping inside to get a better view of the place.

There was a large computer screen mounted on the wall that looked as though it was viewing, recording and playing back several different videos and images; she couldn't see most of them as the computer sped through each picture and video to give them only a blink of time to show. The equally large keyboard had selective keys lit up while others lit up momentarily under a harsh touch. A dark figure was standing in front of the screen with fingertips quickly working across the keys. The person stopped suddenly for a moment and turned around towards her.

"I see you're finally awake."

The smooth voice caught her attention as she looked up towards the figure, still masked slightly by the dark. It sounded familiar to her but she couldn't pinpoint the memory; why did it feel as though everything inside of her had been emptied out?

"And I'll make a good bet that you don't necessarily remember me or anything else that happened."

"Where's Captain Mayuri?" she questioned.

The figure, now obviously a man telling from his voice, let out a rough sigh before the lights flickered on above them. Illuminating the dark room with bright waves that easily cut through the darkness and revealed the shadowed figure, who had only been slightly visible from the computer lights. His slender form was dressed in the average white-and-black Espada uniform that clung to his body like a second skin; only his had large blood stains running down the front of it. Pink strands of hair dipped slightly into his face, which he carefully brushed aside with one hand before readjusting his glasses. He placed both of his hands back against the cold metal frame of his computer desk and shifted his weight as he leaned back as well.

"He's dead."

She highly doubted the pink-haired Espada was telling the truth. There was no way Captain Mayuri could be dead; there was no way her Captain would fall. "You're lying."

"That's a reasonable response and it doesn't surprise me the least bit that you would reject that accusation with denial. After all, everyone does." he remarked. "But I'll go into details about it later once you've regained some of your memories back."

"What do you mean by 'when I regain some of my memories back?'" she questioned; still trying to figure out why this man looked so familiar. She knew he was an Espada and she knew she had seen him before. But as for a name or anything else to grasp at...she was at loss.

He sighed and rubbed one temple for a moment. "Yes well I do apologize for that. It seems as though my healing skills are starting to lack in doing much good, seeing that they do more damage than anything else. But I give it only a few minutes, possibly an hour, before you'll fully regain everything back to normal. Until then however, I would advise that you finish healing first. I don't need you snapping and rampaging through the place until you know exactly what you're dealing with."

A sling of selective words crossed his mind as yet another shot of pain tore through half of his body; forcing him to slightly cup the right side of his ribcage. He had managed to fight off the initial reaction to that damn human super drug, or whatever the hell it was called but the effects of it was still running through his body. Every now and then would either be sudden pain, momentary blindness or a very common reaction, vomiting blood. None of the side-effects were easy to tolerate, but it sure as hell beat being dead.

Pushing aside the pain as it slowly subsided, he stepped away from his massive computer and slowly headed out of the pitch dark room. He barely took note of the sudden change in lighting as he crossed through the room and entered one of the many maze-like corridors. While he could easily just use a portal to get to his destination sooner, with the drug still running through his system he didn't necessary trust that it would work or that it would open to the correct destination either. But there were more important manners at hand than just the drug...there was that woman. He didn't know where she had gone off to and really at this point he could care less, after all when she would find him when she was ready to speak. And seeing as how their previous conversation ended, he was certain she had plenty of questions to ask him. As of now, she was no threat. After such an extensive healing process, her strength would not be able to support itself within her frail body; which was a good thing seeing as the shape he was in himself, he wouldn't be able to give much of a fight back if she were to attack him. But after looking over her information he had gathered, there was a very slim chance that she would choose such a decision on her own. The man who had once dictated her life was now dead.

Oh and how that Captain was more of a pain than that damn Shinigami and Quincy team. That creepy smile of his was still etched into his memory and that irritating voice, that could drive any perfectly sane person to their death, echoed in his head. But the feeling of luring him into a false sense of security and then changing the tide of the battle at the last minute was more exhilarating then crushing all those organs and tendons from before. He let the Captain get close enough to where the tip of his sword started to cut into his chest before he struck. He could still feel the warm blood running over his fingertips when he tore them through the man's neck and let his nails split open his throat; watching blood squirt out of his severed jugulars and leave a red mist in the air. There was nothing more exhilarating than watching the Captain's body hit the ground after a long, stressful battle. The only thing that could've beat that one moment was the following one where he completely decapitated the body. Sure, it was easier to dissect bodies when they were in one whole piece, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to completely desecrate his enemy. All the fun he had in tearing the body to pieces once he was done with his research and the overall dissection part; he placed both the Captain's severed head and heart in a jar, which he kept in his lab on his desk. Just a little reminder of the battle.

"Why did you bring me back?"

The question caught him off-guard as he had failed to pick up on the woman's presence but from the sound of it, she managed to put the pieces together. He paused for a moment but didn't turn to face her. "Because despite my previous actions, I do try to keep some kind of conduct of manners. And seeing as you were the victim of my Gabriel affect and I really do owe the battle to you, or at least your body, I figured it was the least I could do. Although it did put me through this horrible drug-effect but I suppose that's my own fault. It was a clever idea to poison your body with that kind of drug but unfortunately for your Captain, it didn't work quite as well as he had hoped. Did you really think that I wouldn't have predicted something like that?"

She could remember that Gabriel affect. She could remember her body feeling as though it was getting ripped apart from the inside out and then eventually dropping to the ground as an empty shell. But...the Espada she was looking at now didn't even seem to resemble that monster out on the battlefield. Then again, she didn't get a chance to look at his face beforehand but he seemed much calmer now and in control of himself.

"What about Ishida? Renji? Did you kill them too?"

"No. They passed out after the battle. I have them stored in a room somewhere around here and last time I checked, they weren't dead." he replied as he slowly turned around to face her. "They still have their injuries but they're not fatal so they should last for awhile."

"You plan on killing them, don't you?"

"No I was going to use their bodies for decorations on my walls. I think they'll look nicely in my lab."

His hint of bitter sarcasm was vaguely apparent when he spoke. "Let them go."

"Now why would I do that?" he questioned; readjusting his glasses.

"If you let them live and release them, you can have me." she spoke.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Well that's quite an exotic offer; you would be willing to trade yourself for those two? Now why exactly do you think I would accept that?"

"You said it yourself; you're still suffering from the effects of that drug. I can offer an antidote." she replied. "The drug has hindered and slowed down your body's ability to heal properly, shown by your hand; it's still bleeding. Just as well, it's attacking every part of your body and while the effects are somewhat minor at this point, they show the potential to elevate at any given moment. They won't kill you but it could implement serious damage that may or may not turn out permanent."

A light chuckle left his lips as he crossed his arms. "You mildly surprise me with your observations. There might just be more use of you than I originally imagined. I'll put your offer into consideration and give you an answer by tomorrow. Until then, I suggest you rest or you'll collapse on the floor and I would much rather not have to deal with that at the moment."