Summary: Nemu tried to help Uryuu and his companions escape. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned.

Author's Note: Sad and tragic ending. Don't say I didn't warn you.

What am I looking at? Uryuu thought as he entered the cellar.

It was almost too much to take in. The cellar was much bigger than the common room above them circular and cavernous. Pillars and arches bore the weight of the tower above them. The gloom was illuminated with candles making flickering shadows everywhere. There were shelves holding bunches of dried plants, animal skulls, tubes, pots, boxes and other containers everywhere. The floor was tiled and decorated with many strange symbols and glyphs. Towards the back of the room, there was a huge white circle containing a pentagram drawn with lines of salt. At every point of the star, a black candle burned. Worst of all were the jars. Made of the clearest glass Uryuu had ever seen, there were dozens of them lining the border of the circle. Each of them was filled with a clear fluid. Suspended in the fluid were hearts. Human hearts. Staring in horror, the icy feeling in the middle of his chest grew larger and tighter when he realized they were moving. The liquid at the top of the jars rippled from the currents generated by the fluids pumping in and out of those ghastly undead organs. Moving forward to get a closer look, he felt Nemu seize his arm to stop him.

"Be careful not to disturb that." She warned. "The gate between worlds is very thin right now. If the pattern is altered, anything might come out."

Uryuu could believe it. He wasn't one to believe in magic before, but even his untrained eyes could see the surface of the pentagram ripple and swell like rubber sheet. Something, probably several somethings, were trying to push their way out. Nemu pointed out three gaps in the circle.

"Your three hearts would complete the circle and lock in the spiritual plane Father wished to contact. Until then it's very unstable. It's best to avoid it."

Uryuu didn't doubt her, allowing her to lead him away by the arm. Once his eyes got used to the dimness, he spotted his friends on the opposite side.

"Ichigo, Chad!" He cried. They were both lying on two of three trestle tables forming a U shape around a black marble altar at the back wall. One of the tables was empty, prepared for him no doubt, draped in white linen with a small pillow. The altar held a book, a chalice, a ceremonial dagger and three more of those glass jars. Nemu began to administer a dose of the antidote to Chad.

"This will take longer than it did with you." She said. "He's much larger."

"How about Ichigo?" He asked. "Is there enough for him?"

She held up the bottle and shook it. "Just enough. I think it will do."

Moving out of her way to let her work, Uryuu noticed something propped up against the wall. Or rather, someone. There was a man wearing glasses standing there. His hair went down to his shoulders and he was dressed in modern, stylish clothes like a noble or a prosperous merchant. His face was frozen in a silent scream of horror, his eyes wide with terror.

"Who's this?" He asked striding over to the man. "Should we take him with us?"

"Leave him." Nemu directed as she fed Ichigo the medicine. "He's already dead."

Uryuu reached out to touch the man's hand. It was warm to the touch. His eyes certainly seemed lively enough.

"What are you talking about?" He said. "He's still alive. He just seems paralyzed."

Nemu put the now empty bottle down on the table. "You don't understand. That man angered father. He received special treatment."

She walked over and pulled the man's shirt open. Uryuu could see the bloody gaping hole where his heart should be.

"This man is already dead." Nemu repeated. "It's just taking a very long time."

Uryuu stared in horror. This was monstrous. The man was clearly alive and suffering, caught in the split second between life and death. He could see in his eyes that he knew what was happening. How long had he been like this? Since before their arrival he was sure. And how long would he stay like that? Uryuu fingered his daggers hilt. Maybe he could end his suffering early? But how? The man was already missing his heart. Would cutting his throat make any difference or would it just make things worse? His thoughts were cut short by Ichigo's groan.

"Where am I?" The young knight demanded in a raspy voice.

"Careful." Nemu cautioned. "You've been drugged for days. You'll be weak for some time."

"Drugged?" Ichigo responded. "What are you talking about?"

"We'll explain later." Uryuu said. "Right now, we have to wake up Chad and get out of here."

"And where's 'here'?" Ichigo asked. "Man this place is creepy."

"No time for that." Uryuu replied. "Help us get Chad up."

He knew Ichigo was too weak to really do anything, but it was important that he have something to do to keep his mind occupied and focused on escape. Even though he'd been treated first, Chad was harder to rouse. Chafing his wrists and calling his name, they managed to bring the big man back to consciousness. Like Ichigo, he started asking questions as soon as he could talk.

"We don't have time." Nemu informed him. "Father could be finished with his preparations at any minute. We have to leave as soon as possible."

"It's a little too late for that." A voice called out from the top of the stairs.

Whipping around, the young adventurers were just in time to see the necromancer make his grand entrance.

The humble innkeeper pose was nowhere in evidence now. The man stalking down the stairs had transformed into a dark priest straight out of a nightmare. He'd painted his face black and white making him look sinister and alien. An elaborate ceremonial headdress framed his demonic face. His long white robes were bordered with arcane black symbols. Worst of all was the staff in his hands. An ugly device covered in barbs and spikes, the head was a polished bronze sculpture depicting a baby howling in pain. If you looked at it too long, it seemed to move.

"How dare you betray me like this?" He demanded reaching the foot of the stairs. "Do you honestly believe you can overturn their fates?"

Nemu froze in fear unable to reply. She stared at her father like a bird hypnotized by a snake, unable to move, hardly able to breathe. The boys had no such problem. With a glance and a nod between them, they moved forward to attack. Uryuu handed his short sword to Ichigo then his dagger to Chad before taking his bow off his shoulder and nocking an arrow. They lined up in front of Nemu to protect her and stalked forward to confront the innkeeper.

"Halt!" Mayuri shouted. "Do any of you fools have any idea of the significance of the symbols you're standing on?"

Glancing down, they saw they had somehow lined up neatly on various round sigils on the floor tiles. Ichigo shook his head.

"No."

"Good." Mayuri replied pressing in a stone in the wall.

Every sigil on the floor exploded unleashing strange bolts of energy in all directions. Nemu barely had time to seek cover under the altar. The boy's bodies were lashed and burned by the cracking streams of power causing them to scream in agony before being thrown off their feet. They crashed into shelves and pillars as they flew backwards. Soon after, the charges in the floor were spent.

"Didn't expect to need that." Mayuri observed surveying the burning wreckage of his cellar. "Didn't think it would be this messy either. Still, fortune favors the prepared. Nemu! Help me put out these fires so we may continue."

Suiting actions to words, Mayuri propped his staff against the wall and grabbed a nearby bucket of sand from the floor to smother the nearest flame. There were a lot of flammable items in the cellar. This wasn't the first time he'd had to scramble to put them out. After a moment or two he looked over and noticed his daughter was not helping. She was kneeling over the fallen archer checking his pulse.

"Nemu! Didn't you hear me? Stop fussing over the sacrifice and help me put out the fire!"

The look she gave him was shocking. She looked…angry. And defiant.

"No." She quietly murmured.

"Excuse me?" Mayuri asked in amazement. "Did I just hear you refuse a direct order?"

"You did." She confirmed in a shaky voice. "I will not help you anymore father. I am taking these men out of here. We are leaving."

Mayuri scowled. "I see that boy put some strange ideas in your head." He retrieved his staff from its resting pace. "No matter. It shouldn't take me long to beat them out."

Nemu retreated from her father's advance, stumbling uncertainly backwards nearly tripping over debris but unable to take her gaze away from her father's furious eyes. She yelped when her arm brushed up against a burning shelf. Looking wildly around, she could see the fire had quickly spread nearly everywhere. She coughed as the smoke and fumes began to sting her eyes. Her back pressed up against the wall.

"Nowhere left to run child." Mayuri snarled. He raised his staff to strike.

Reaching into her apron pocket, Nemu desperately pulled out her last ditch defense. Mayrui actually lowered his staff and laughed.

"What? You actually think you can harm me with THAT?"

She didn't want to. She had made the doll a little at a time in secret using scraps of burlap, twigs and a little paint. And hair from her father's brush. It had helped keep her sane when the pain and abuse had been too much to bear. She only made it to make her feel like she had some control, like there was a way out. No, she never seriously thought she was ever going to use it. Now she had no choice. She pulled a length of twine out of her pocket.

" Spiritus ut adiuvetis me in quacumque die invocavero,"

"What?!" Mayuri exclaimed.

She wound the twine around the doll.

"Spiritus in ignis, et spirituum in tenebris"

"You would dare do such a thing to your own father?" He demanded.

Her chanting grew louder as she held the doll aloft.

"Accedite ad me et tua commoda mihi"

Ghostly tendrils formed in the surrounding smoke reaching out to the necromancer. He swung at them with his staff unsuccessfully trying to make them go away. Nemu pointed the doll at him and issued the final command.

"Adiuro vos!"

The spell complete, the whirling smoke solidified into solid ropes. Howling in protest, Mayuri found himself tightly bound.

"You deceitful little ingrate!" He cursed. "Taught yourself spells behind my back did you? To use against me?"

"I...I am sorry father." Nemu said as she gingerly made her way past him. "I will release you as soon as we are clear."

Mayrui gave an evil chuckle. "Oh, I don't think so."

Bound though he was, he still held on to his staff. While difficult, he managed to lift his arm high enough to rap the end sharply on the floor. The baby's head on the top opened its mouth and shrieked. Nemu clutched at her ears in pain. Her concentration broken, the ropes became smoke once more. Another rap and the staff fell silent. This time Nemu was truly helpless as Mayuri raised his staff high.

"Did you really think such a childish level of magic could hold ME?" He roared before smashing her across the face.

She was screaming, Uryuu thought as he clawed his way back to consciousness. He coughed, breathing in hot air and smoke as he raised himself up on one elbow. He needed a moment to find his glasses. Putting them on didn't show him anything good. The first thing he saw was the not-quite-dead man propped in the corner, his clothes blazing, his skin blackening. Everything in the cellar seemed to be on fire. And standing in the middle of the hellish inferno, he saw the necromancer Mayuri savagely kicking his helpless daughter. Nemu cried out in agony as he stomped down on her ribs.

"Stop it…" Uryuu rasped reaching across the floor for his fallen bow. Rising to a kneeling position, he pulled an arrow from his quiver, nocked and drew. Nemu cries fell silent as Mayuri kicked her in the head.

"Stop it!" Uryuu shouted.

The sorcerer turned in surprise. Then sneered.

"Wait your turn boy." He scoffed. "It seems I need to teach this wretched creature her place. You have only yourself to blame for her suffering. It's all your fault for turning her against me. Not to worry though. In the end, you will all serve my purpose."

"Serve this!" Uryuu snarled as he fired.

Mayuri didn't seem at all alarmed. Just as Uryuu's fingers released the bowstring, the wizard held up his hand and began a chant. The arrow stopped mere inches from Mayuri's painted face. Astounded, Uryuu drew and fired again, and again. The results were the same. The shafts hung suspended in front of Mayuri. Still chanting, he gave the archer an evil leer. With a wave of his hand, he turned all the arrows back towards Uryuu. A simple flick of his fingers was enough to send them all flying back as fast as they had arrived. Uryuu barely managed to get out of the way, one of the shafts scoring his arm as he rolled sideways. Hitting a burning shelf, he sprung to his feet with a yell, hastily beating out the fire started on his sleeve.

"Do you understand now boy?" Mayuri jeered. "You're completely helpless against me as I am now. And soon I will use your heart to grow even more powerful. There's not a single thing you can do to stop me."

Uryuu's only reply was to nock and draw again. He aimed straight for the necromancer's heart, anger and defiance blazing in his icy blue eyes. Mayuri laughed.

"You wish to continue this farce? Very well, but make it quick. The hour of your sacrifice is fast approaching."

With a savage grin, Uryuu fired…at the jars surrounding the pentagram on the floor. One of the jars broke, spilling the strange fluid and its gruesome contents.

"What?!" Myarui shrieked.

Uryuu ignored him, firing shaft after shaft at the jars. One by one they shattered, the still beating hearts pulsing on the ground, a few rolling into the nearby flames to sizzle.

"Stop you fool!" Mayuri demanded. "Do you realize what you are doing? You've doomed us all!"

Uryuu didn't pause for a second breaking even more jars. Goaded into action, Mayuri ran across the room to strike Uryuu down with his staff. He then hurriedly rummaged through a smoldering supply shelf to get a box.

"I have to fix the salt lines." He muttered running towards the pentagram. "If they're washed away…"

He didn't have time to complete the thought. The strange fluid had already made several breaks in the pattern. Freed from the containment of the protective lines, the weakened spot in reality churned, rippled…and broke. Through the stinging smoke, Uryuu could make out a dark shape rising up from the hole in reality. He had no idea what the creature could be. Mayuri seemed to know. Dropping the now useless box of salt, he turned to flee. He didn't get even a single step away before a slimy barbed tentacle lashed out from the thing to loop around his waist pulling him back. Shouting in rage and fear, the necromancer fought to free himself, chanting powerful spells while striking the monster with his staff. More tentacles whipped out to wrap around his arms and legs drawing blood even as they pulled him closer to danger.

None of that was Uryuu's problem. Eyes stinging from the thick smoke, he crawled on the ground towards his companions. Ichigo and Chad were trying to get up when he found them. He grabbed Ichigo by the shoulder.

"Can you move?" He shouted. The crackling of the flames and Mayuri's shouting made normal conversation impossible.

"Do we have a choice" Ichigo yelled back. Flames were licking across the ceiling and the air was like a furnace.

"What is that?" Chad yelled staring at the thing attacking Mayuri.

"Another good reason to leave." Uryuu replied. "Now help me! Nemu's been hurt."

Nodding their agreement, the two followed Uryuu, crawling on the floor as low as they could to avoid the smoke. Though it only took a moment, it seemed like hours to Uryuu before they found Nemu's prone form.

"Nemu? Can you hear me?" He asked shaking her shoulder. She didn't respond. She was bleeding from the scalp where her father had kicked her. He couldn't even be sure she was still breathing. "Help me get her out of here." He asked his companions. Pulling her up, Uryu got under one arm and Ichigo the other. With Chad leading the way, they staggered towards the only exit to the cellar. Every now and then there was a brilliant burst of light coming from behind them as Mayuri continued to struggle with the thing from beyond.

"This is not good." Chad shouted as they approached the stairs. Uryuu quickly understood what he meant. The open cellar door was acting like a chimney, the flames rushing upwards towards the fresh air.

"How are we going to get past that?" Uryuu wondered aloud.

"I have an idea." Ichigo responded. "Wait here."

Letting go of Nemu, Ichigo rushed towards the back. Fighting for air, Uryuu sincerely hoped Ichigo knew what he was doing and tried to ignore the growing flames. He lowered Nemu to the ground and tried to revive her.

"Nemu, can you hear me?" He said giving her a shake. "Nemu, wake up."

It was a relief to see her eyes flutter open. She seemed dazed and disoriented for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes widened in alarm.

"Uryuu!" She cried sitting up. "We have to get out of here. The tower is very old. It can't hold up long with a fire like this!"

"Don't worry." He assured her. "We'll be out of here before you know it."

Painful screams from behind them made her turn her head.

"Father?"

He pulled her face into his chest. "Don't look." He told her. "It's nothing you want to see."

Ichigo returned carrying the linen from the sacrificial tables

"Here, put these sheets on over your head. It might give us enough protection to run though."

Uryuu fingered the sheets. They were thick, but would they be enough protection? They didn't have much of a choice. Even staying low to the ground, they were running out of air.

"This will help." Chad said holding up some sand buckets he'd found. The young giant threw the sand all around the exit dousing as much flame as he could.

"Get ready." Ichigo said wrapping himself in linen.

With only three sheets, Uryuu shared his with Nemu.

"Now!" Ichigo shouted running up the stone steps.

Uryuu and Nemu followed him with Chad taking rear guard. The solid stone of the steps was reassuringly solid as they scrambled upward. The hot air and smoke rising up through the hatch was almost unbreathable. Reaching the common room, things weren't much better. The old wood of the tower was going up like tinder, the ceiling above them already blazing away and the floor beneath them groaning. Ichigo used his linen to beat out the flames in front of him.

"This way!" He shouted.

The other boys joined him. They had to get past to the other side of the room to the exit where things weren't burning yet. Trying to beat out the fire was clearly going to take too long. Thinking for a second, Chad grabbed one of the thick dining tables, using his enormous strength to overturn it and use it as a bridge across the fire. They rapidly scrambled over it to the unburned floor beyond. Uryuu helped Nemu make her way across.

"Almost there." He assured her.

"This is really happening." She said in wonder. "We're actually going to make it."

"Of course we are." He replied with a smile.

Hopping off the table they rushed across the rapidly heating floor to the exit. It took Chad only a second to undo the latch and throw it open. The cool, fresh air rushing in was the sweetest thing they'd ever smelled.

"You first." Uryuu said pushing Nemu forward.

"NOT SO FAST!"

The companions could hardly believe their eyes when they turned around. Mayuri the innkeeper was rising up from the cellar like a demon from hell. His battle with the creature from left him torn and bloody. His left eye was gone. His right arm was hanging by a shred of flesh to his shoulder. His entrails draped down in front of him like an apron of gore. Clearly he was mortally wounded. And yet he managed to cling to life, a strange energy crackling around him keeping him together. The flames seemed to have no effect on him at all. He held up his staff in his remaining hand and pointed it towards them.

"Habere!"

Tendrils of light sped out from his staff to wrap around their necks, choking off their air. Uryuu tried to pull it off. He saw everyone else trying to do the same, their fingers passing right through the insubstantial energy rope. After a second, he could feel himself being pulled towards the wizard. Trying to resist soon proved futile. He was being being pulled towards Mayuri no matter how hard he pulled backward. Even Chad was being dragged inexorably towards the necromancer. Mayuri laughed at their struggles.

"Now this is a proper binding spell." He gloated. "You miserable bastards have ruined my life's work. You even managed to get me killed. I'm almost impressed. Thanks to your interference I won't be able to hold on for much longer. At least I'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're all going to die with me. Especially you, you traitorous little bitch!"

The boys looked at each other trying to see if anyone had a plan. Uryuu knew he didn't. Neither did Ichigo. Or Chad. He was sure he'd see the same confusion and helplessness Nemu's eyes.

If he could have shouted he would. He could see her decision a split second in her eyes before her action. He reached out to grab her but it was already too late. Without warning, she stopped struggling against the spell and ran towards her father full speed. Mayuri's remaining eye widened in surprise. "What are you…?" Was all he managed to say before Nemu leapt towards him in a full tackle. With a heavy thud, she hit her father mid-waist, wrapping her arms around him and letting momentum carry them backwards. They vanished from sight, tumbling back into the inferno. The spell was immediately broken. The boys tumbled backwards taking in deep breaths. Uryuu struggled to his feet.

"Nemu!" He cried stumbling towards the cellar.

Suddenly, the ceiling gave way. The supporting timbers on the other side of the room had burned out of the joints in the stone wall causing it to crash down forming a barrier of fire. In desperation, Uryuu tried to pull some of the timbers free. Burning his hands, he grabbed a loose board and tried to dig with it.

"Help me!" He called over his shoulder.

"Uryuu, stop." Ichigo ordered. "There's no way you can get through that."

"We have to!" Uryuu yelled. "We have to save Nemu!"

"This place is going up like kindling." Ichigo countered. "We have to get out of here before the whole thing collapses on us."

"Not without Nemu!" Uryuu raged.

"I really hate to do this." Ichigo warned. Lashing out with a right hook, he knocked his friend off his feet. Before fading out, Uryuu saw Chad leaning over to pick him up.

He found himself draped over Schneider's back. The sound of hooves filled his ears and the ground rushing past his face greeted his sight.

"I think he's waking up." Chad rumbled.

With a groan, Uryuu pushed himself off the moving horse. He landed on the side of the road with a thud. Ichigo reigned in his mount immediately, jumping off and rushing over to kneel down next to him.

"Uryuu, are you all right?" He asked.

Uryuu answered by grabbing Ichigo by the collar and pulling him to the ground. Straddling his friend, Uryuu lashed out with his fists, smashing Ichigo in the face as hard as he could.

"You let her die!" He shouted. "You let her die you bastard!"

Ichigo stoically absorbed blow after blow without even trying to defend himself. He knew his friend needed a target for his angerand he felt more than a little guilty besides. Chad grabbed Uryu by the collar and pulled him off.

"Enough." He rumbled. "It wasn't Ichigo's fault."

"We couldn't save her Uryuu." Ichigo said as he sat up. "There was too much burning wood between us and a whole lot more getting ready to fall down. There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry. I know that's not good enough, but that's all I have. I'm sorry."

On some level, Uryuu knew that. Nemu had dragged her father back into the cellar to kill him, sacrificing her own life in the process. She had done it to save them. To save him. Taking in his surroundings, he saw they were well down the road, their horses loaded down with whatever Ichigo and Chad had been able to scavenge. The fire from the inn lit up the night sky far behind them. He took a step towards the angry glow, then another before collapsing to his knees head in hand. Tears began to stream down his face.

"I was going to show her the world." He sobbed. "I was going to show her cities, and mountains, and the ocean. I was going to take her across the sea in the biggest ship there is. I, I was going to show her…everything."

In sympathy, Ichigo and Chad sat down next to him. Ichigo reached out to clasp his friend on the shoulder.

"We'd all be dead now if it weren't for her." He mused. "We owe her everything."

"Who knows what evil she destroyed?" Chad added. "If what she said was true, her father might have gained dangerous powers to harm the world."

Uryuu knew his friends were trying to make him feel better. It wasn't working.

"If I'd only been faster. If we had gotten out sooner."

"Stop it!" Ichigo ordered. "There's no use playing the what-if game. We did the best we could. There's no fixing it now."

"We have to move on." Chad observed. "She would want you to live Uryuu. She would want you to carry on."

"That's right." Ichigo agreed. "You have to live on for her. You owe it to her to keep moving forward."

The words barely registered in Uryuu's ears. He was in too much pain.

"Can't we just stay here? Just for a little while longer?"

Ichigo and Chad shared a look.

"Sure." Ichigo allowed. "We can stay here a while longer."

They sat for a while in silence letting their friend pour out his grief. It was a shock to them all when they heard her voice.

"When my love and I parted, the wind blew cold"

The young men looked at each other.

"It can't be." Ichigo muttered.

"When my love and I parted, our love untold"

"Nemu." Uryuu gasped. "She's still alive!"

"Though my heart was crying, "Love, come with me"
I turned my face from him and sought the sea"

Jumping to his feet, he vaulted onto Schneider's back. Sawing on the reins, he turned the gelding back towards the inn.

"Uryuu, it's impossible!" Ichigo shouted. "There's no way she could have survived!"

Uryuu ignored him, savagely spurring his mount into a full gallop.

"When my love and I parted, we shed no tears
For we knew that between us lay weary years"

Just how far had they rode while he was out? Leaves and branches whipped at his face as he recklessly galloped back to the inn. Nemu's voice was loud and clear the whole way. She wanted him to come back. He could feel it. At last there was a break and the trees. And there she was.

Standing on top of the tower with her arms outstretched, Nemu was singing her heart out to the night sky. In an instant, Uryuu knew what had happened. Unable to get to the exit, she must have made her way up the stone steps to top. Now she was trapped. Fire was pouring out of every window and portal in the building. It was only a matter of time until the beams inside were too weak to bear the stone's weight and the tower fell. To leap was to die. To stay was to die. The only difference was time.

"A bird was singing on a tree
And a gleam of sunlight lay on the sea"

Evan as he continued to ride, he could suddenly see her face as if she was right in front of him. That shouldn't be possible with the distance and the darkness. He shouldn't be able to hear her either. All he should be able to hear were the roar of the flames, the pounding of Schneider's hooves, the thudding pulse of his racing heart in his ears. He realized that this was her gift. The Glamour. The ability to control what a person heard and saw. She was using her powers one last time for him. Saying her goodbye. Passing on her love.

"Parting is bitter and weeping, vain
But all true lovers will meet again"

He leapt from Schneider's back at the foot of the tower, the heat from the flames stinging his skin.

"Nemu! Nemu, I'm here!"

He wanted to rush unto the building. He wanted to climb the tower walls. He wanted to sprout wings and fly, anything that would work, anything that would let him carry the woman the loved in his arms away to safety. There was nothing he could do. He could only stand there helplessly, the flames scorching his flesh, tears filling his eyes.

"For no fate can sever my love from me
For his heart is a river and mine, the sea"

He could see her sweet and smiling face showing no regrets or sadness, hear her beautiful voice washing over him letting him know she loved him, letting him know everything was going to be all right. The illusion held him in her spell right up to the second the tower collapsed sending a flaming pillar up to the heavens.

The End