Life after Death

Chapter 23 - The Beginning of the End

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"As I am sure you are all aware, the war that seemed so distant is finally here. In less than 12 hours, we will be moving out to take over Soul Society, just as it has been planned." Aizen declared to the ten Arrancar gathered around the long table.

They had all been gathered here shortly after the meeting between Lucy and the three leaders of this place had ended. Everything had been planned - how much she actually contributed she had on idea though - and it was going to be revealed to everyone gathered here now. Though the importance varied, each Espada had been given some role to play during all of this.

She'd given all her ideas to them even though she wasn't really sure which side she was on. She didn't know what else to do. Aizen would immediately notice it if she suddenly began holding back. So she gave them everything she could think of even if it didn't really benefit what she and Grimmjow were trying to do.

They wouldn't really be getting any chances to speak with Gin either, she was pretty sure. They would just have to jump into this blindfolded and feel their way through it. There was no time for them to could come up with a proper plan.

She bit her lip as she realized she'd been spacing out long enough and looked to the one who'd killed her, awaiting his next words, just as everyone else was.

Strangely enough, he'd decided she should be standing up by the three of them rather than down by Grimmjow as she usually did. What he had in mind by doing this, she had no clue.

The former Shinigami neatly folded his hands in is lap, looking out at everyone gathered as if to make sure they were all paying him enough attention. "The war will be fought out on three fronts." He told them, which earned him some surprised looks and a bit of muttering between the people in front of him.

Yes, this war was a bit peculiar in that regard. The same two sides would clash with one another three different places all at the same time.

"There will be fighting going on here, in Las Noches, in Soul Society - naturally - and on Earth, in that little town the human, Ichigo Kurosaki, resides in." He explained, silencing them as he spoke. "You will be spread out between these three worlds and fight in this war without any questions asked, is that clear?" He asked them all quite harshly.

This was one of the few times he openly stepped out of his good-cop routine and into his bad-cop one instead. The fact that it was such a rare sight only served to get the point across as clearly as it possibly could be; no matter what, he was the boss of this place.

When he'd gotten the affirmative confirmation he needed, he continued his explanation of how this would all play out. "As you know, we still have the human girl alive and in our possession, safely tucked away in a cell." He started out, getting a slight nod from Aaroniero, who was the one in charge of that part of Las Noches. "Her presence will draw the human boy here within the day. He likely already has noticed her absence and will soon figure out that she is here." He told them.

Impressively enough, though his attitude going into this meeting was about as high as the bottom of the sea, Grimmjow actually seemed somewhat interested in what Aizen was presenting. In all likelihood, he was searching for that opening in which they could take him down while he was too busy with and distracted by something else to see it coming. They both knew there would be very few off those, so that was why he was paying so close attention. Lucy could only wonder if there actually were any at all. But if nothing else, he'd know what they were up against, so it was as it should be.