Lost and Found

The young black-haired woman was in a hurry. Rushing through the corridors of the newly-rebuilt Gotei Barracks, she was looking for somebody. She hoped he was nearby. He was. A tall and imposing man with brown hair was just concluding a training session with some recruits. Gráinne appeared beside him in a flash. "Captain Reinhart? Do you have a moment?" She waited until the recruits had disbanded and left before speaking again. "Captain Reinhart, um... Jensen. I have a favor to ask of you. This will not be an order, and I understand if you decline. When we took back this place, there were two Vizards who played a pivotal role. Since then, I have been fortunate enough to become friends with them, especially Elayne. But she has gone missing, and the most accurate reports say that she entered combat with a Sinner, defeated it, then was pulled into a Gargantua. I have not heard from her since. I am going to Hueco Mundo to find her. After the help we got from her and her brother Raiden, I refuse to abandon her. I wish to know if I can rely on you to come with me. One of the senior Coalition officers is coming with me. I hope you understand that I have to do this. What is your answer?"

Soon after Gráinne stood in the Ark chamber with Jensen and Alexander Kerensky. She looked to the green-haired man with a steely gaze. "I'm ready when you are sir." Even though she was the Captain Commander of the Gotei, Gráinne still felt compelled to address people as though she was a subordinate. Diath had questioned her on this many times, but Gráinne could not provide any answers. She awaited the activation of the portal, so she could get her friend back.

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Sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, in her bedroom in the heart of Los Noches, Olivia Firestorm watched as her new friend digested, quite literally, the idea of eating food made by people, as opposed to food made of people. "You're doing really well. Don't worry, it gets easier with time." The young white-haired girl was clearly struggling with some kind of internal battle, but thanks to Liv's ministrations, it was a battle she was winning.

Liv took the plate from Elayne's lap and opened a Gargantua. She then hurled the plate through, along with any other crockery she could find in her room, then closed it again. "So nice of Gaige's dad to do the washing up for me." She chuckled, but then became serious in a hurry. There was something happening. Something big. "Can you feel that? I'm no expert, but a power that big has to be the Captain Commander, and she's not alone. That feels like Jensen. They might be here to look for you. We should go." With that, they left. Destination, the White Desert.

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Gráinne stepped through the portal into searing heat. The White Desert certainly lived up to its reputation. The heat did not bother Gráinne all that much, given that she was a master fire-manipulator. She watched Jensen and Alexander exit the portal and take position beside her. She nodded to Jensen, then began to release her Spiritual Pressure. It wouldn't be long before someone took notice.

It didn't take long for the two shinigami to be escorted to the Ark Chamber. Where Jun was working diligently, but still managed to greet Jensen with an energetic "hi." Alexander turned to greet the duo. "Greetings, Captain Commander, Captain. We'll be ready shortly." Sure enough, not two minutes later, the portal opened, leading to Hueco Mundo. The green haired man led the way...

~

Rui was shocked to sense the Captain Commander of all things in Hueco Mundo. To his knowledge, their R&D were gone...so they had no way in here. Apparently not. The blond child-like arrancar sonidoed away to meet them...hoping he could warn them off before Arngrim and his army comes to them.

He did it...but couldn't stop. The four foot ten, ninety-five pound boy bounced off of something hard and musclely. Looking up, it was a tall captain that he had bounced off of. There was a familiar green haired man with them as well, who looked very much amused. Standing up and dusting himself off, the boy spoke. "Well...I guess that's one mystery solved. Captain Commander, may I ask why you're here? With I'm assuming to be a Coalition bounto? Shouldn't you still be in Soul Society, rebuilding now that you've put Aizen away for good?"

A very small amount of his power was leaking. It would feel warped if they could sense. It should also be curious how he knew about those three things. The crimson eyed kid had on a red hakama and jacket with black ribbons on it and a sword on his back. The jacket also left his stomach visible, and his hollow fragmant was a lightning bolt shaped hair pin. He looked outright frail and girly.

Jensen blocked a wooden katana swing with his own and knocked the weapon aside, taking the man's leg out from under him. "Gotta keep that defense up friend." He said as another recruit came at him, just as the captain commander walked in. Jensen held up his hand and the man stopped his weapon inches from him. "Good control.." He said grinning. He turned and gave Grainne a fond smile. "Of course captain commander. Everyone's dismissed, go wind down for the rest of the day." He said.

He listened to Grainne's request. Of course there was no way he could say no, not that he ever would. "I would accompany you to hell and back. So of course I'll help you save your friend." He replied. He grabbed his Ninjato and slid it into its sheath, then pulled on his haori. "Ready when you are."


Elayne scarfed down another platter of satay chicken skewers, skewers and all, admiring her arrancar iron stomach. She hadn't realised she would have to eat so much food, each bite, she wondered to herself why she wasn't huge after all the food she'd eaten over the last few days. Liv shoved a platter of prawn wontons towards her and she grimaced. "Oh come on! you know i hate prawns!" She wined. But then there was a massive surge of energy nearby. Elayne shot to her feet, knocking the platter off her lap as she did. She hid her smile as the scattered across the floor.

Eleyne paled a little. Which was kinda hard, since she was pretty pale anyway. "Oh that's them alright. Why would they come here, wont your father send out his forces because of this?" She asked. She didn't mention that she wasn't exactly ready to see Grainne yet. She was worried how she would react... "We better go out then, before they spark a war..."


They arrived at the coalition hq and Jensen nodded to alexander when he greeted them, and gave jun a thumbs up. He waited patiently until they were ready to go, and then the portal did its work and they were in hueco Mundo. He hadn't been here in a few years now. It was still the same of course, sandy and dark. "Well that went-" Jensen suddenly tensed and his hand went to his weapon as he sensed something powerful moving towards them very very fast. Only for the thing to speed right into him and bounce off like a tennis ball. Jensen frowed at the little arrancar as he got to his feet, The kid didn't attack so he released his sword.

"This is a rescue mission. One of our friends got in a fight, went full hollow and got herself trapped in here. Have you noticed anything strange, little man, since you seem to know allot about whats been going on." He watched the arrancar carefully. Was he a spy? He must not work for the cero king if he was telling them to flee before the espada showed up, Speaking of which, Jensen looked up in the direction of Los Noches, as power flaired in response to Grainnè's. "My dear, I think the king is awake..." He said to Grainne.


Arngrim noticed it the second she arrived. Even a fool who couldn't sense would feel her arrival. Arngrim frowned, as far as he could tell there was only two, Captain commander Grainnè and a very powerful captain, most likely Jensen reinhart given that there was no captain stronger in the gotei that he knew of. He had a feeling he knew why they were here. Oh, she might be an arrancar now, but Arngrim knew who Elayne Arashi was, and it made perfect sense that the gotei would come looking for her after what happened in Seireitei. Arngrim ordered his chariot prepared and intercepted his daughter and the girl. "Come on you two, we've got visitors and I'm pretty sure I know what they want." He said gruffly.

Gráinne watched the young boy that had accosted them upon their arrival. Jensen announced to the young Arrancar the mission that they were on. But before Gráinne herself could speak, she felt an unmistakable power flare up and head towards them. Jensen confirmed the situation. Gráinne tightened her grip on her Zanpakuto hilt. The Cero King was incoming, and he was in a hurry. As Gráinne knew he would be. Gráinne's cheek fluttered as she tightened her jaw. Time to meet the boss.


Liv and Elayne were en route to the position of the Captain-Commander. Then, Liv heard the unmistakable sound of her father's chariot. It came to a halt beside them, and Arngrim told them to jump aboard. They promptly did, and were then zooming across the desert. Liv arrived at the same conclusion as her father as to the purpose of the Captain-Commander's visit. She looked at Elayne with a warm look. "Looks like your friend has come to get you."


Gráinne felt them longer before she saw or heard them. The mighty chariot of Arngrim Wolfcloak, leader of teh Espada, roared into range. Gráinne's acute sensing recognised the power of the Cero King, and a smaller one that she guessed from the similarities to Arngrim was his daughter. But there was a third being on the chariot. The power of that being was the smallest of the three, but while it was definitely an Arrancar, there was something familiar about it as well, though Gráinne was sure she had never sensed it before.

The chariot arrived swiftly and sure enough, Arngrim Wolfcloak stepped down. Gráinne bowed respectfully to him. "Hello. I apologize for the intrusion sir, but I would not have come here if it wasn't important." Liv jumped down and stood beside her father to regard the visitors with a cool gaze. Gráinne bowed to her too. "You must be Olivia. It's a pleasure to meet you." Liv surveyed the young Captain Commander for a second. "Likewise, Captain Commander." The blonde-haired Arrancar then spotted Jensen standing beside Gráinne. She beamed at him and waved. "Hi Jensen. How's it going?"

Gráinne regarded the father and daughter for a moment, then spoke again. "Right. As we informed your young friend here," Gráinne gestured to Rui. "I am here to search for a close friend of mine. She and her brother helped reclaim the Soul Society, and I owe it to her to look after her. My intel informs me that she engaged a Sinner in combat maybe a day or two ago. She is reported to have defeated the sinner, but she fell into a Gargantua and presumably ended up here. While I believe you are a man of your word and you would not attack my friends, there are others in your realm who are not so honorable, as you know." Gráinne took a deep breath. She was about to find out how robust Arngrim's word was. "Elayne is a Vizard. I believe she-" Liv interjected. "Was a Vizard. I'm sorry to interrupt, but your friend was once a Vizard, but she isn't anymore." Gráinne fixed a concerned glare on Liv. The Arrancar tried to return a look of defiance, but withered in the ferocity of Gráinne's gaze. "Explain!" The Captain-Commander looked to the cart, having remembered about the third power signature. She could not believe her eyes.

Rui was about to speak when he felt it himself. "That's putting it mildly...I doubt there is a single being that haven't felt you, and he's coming with friends...none of which are his Espada, however and I don't recognize the one. To answer your question, Mr. Captain, I have not. Souls and hollow move in and out of Hueco Mundo more commonly than what you may expect. I do recall sensing a major fight in the human realm between a Vizard and a Sinner. But as soon as it ended, I lost interest and sensed elsewhere."

Rui was honest and maintained his calm. He'd wait for the big man to show up himself. And listened to the happenings. His crimson eyes started to glow as he checked the other young lady with them as his migrained sparked to life, making him flinch. Seriously, couldn't she be more calm about this? Smirking, he spoke up first. "Her reiatsu is far too similar the vizard you're looking for for it to be a mere coincidence. A soul can change depending upon outside and inside factors. If something happened during the fight that effected the shinigami half of a Vizard, it could spark a change. A hollow can become an Arrancar, since that is all that would be left. Lord Wolfcloak can vouch for my Pesquisa. Captain Commander, it would be much appreciated if you would calm down...I'm sure Miss Firestorm will fill in more if you did so..."

He hated those with short tempers...they always make his migraine worse...

Alexander watched with a scientific gaze. What the boy said made some sense. Question was, how soon could it happen? Was this other arrancar girl the one they are looking for?

Elayne frowned at Liv. She was right, Grainne was here. She didn't like how Arngrim showed up and ordered them in, and then took off towards Grainne and captain Jensen at break neck speeds. She could run damn fast, but vehicles were not supposed to go this fast. Especially chariots! They arrived, and Elayne, unsure about how all this was going to go down became very shy and slunk into the bottom of the chariot, hiding from the others.


Jensen watched the Cero king come at the, hand on his sword. This couldn't be good. Arngrim hadn't been very active lately, but he had destroyed soul society very effectively. If the king decided to act now their were in his domain and in serious trouble. But he did not draw his sword, as he watched his commander take charge of the situation as the cero king arrived. He felt overwhelming pride in her as he watched her, the girl who went from a simple painter to a competent captain commander in a few months.


Arngrim watched the trio, and Rui, carefully. Of course the boy was here. He was always near when something interesting was happening. Arngrim ignored him, glanced at the green haired man he'd met before, and locked gazes with Jensen Reinhart for a moment. Then he looked at Grainnè. "Greetings young commander. You've taken quite the risk coming into my home. I might be courteous in the human world but this.. Well it was a little rash, no?" He said. She said she trusted he was honorable and he sighed. "I take that as a request for a temporary peace? Very well."

Arngrim looked at Olivia as she spoke. So she knew the captain. Interesting, he would find out how later. He looked back to Grainnè as her anger rose at Liv's words. Arngrim bristled in return. "Calm yourself. No harm befell your friend at the hands of my daughter or myself. We found her in this state." Arngrim looked around. Where was the girl? He looked in the chariot to find her hiding in the bottom of it. He raised an eyebrow and she gave him a weak smile.

Gently, he picked her up by the collar and hoisted out of the chariot as if she were a cat. She gave Grainnè and Jensen a sheepish wave as Arngrim dropped her on her feet. "This is your stray i presume." He said. "As Rui said, its not so much of a stretch for a vizard to end up a hollow, and a hollow an arrancar." Arngrim said.


It didn't take long for someone to notice Elayne hiding. Unfortunately for her it was Arngrim, and she was plucked from the chariot with a squeek before she could do anything to stop it. She waved at Grainne as Arngrim spoke. Then everyone went silent and looked at her. "Well.. Its true, I woke up like this after the fight in the human world. Olivia found and helped me, so dont be mad at her, I'm the only one to blame for what happened." She said, staring at her feet now.

Gráinne gazed with a look of slight annoyance at the young boy Arrancar, but then her expression returned to normal. They were, after all, in the realm of the Cero King, and it would not be prudent to antagonize his subjects. "My apologies. I did not mean to cause offense." She listened to the explanations from all of them, and stroked her chin. It was then that Arngrim suddenly turned and plucked something out of the chariot. The something, turned out to be Elayne. He deposited her on the ground. She explained what had happened. Gráinne nodded, her expression turning to one of relief. She turned to Liv. "I am sorry for my curtness earlier. Thank you for saving my friend." She stepped forward and, looking distinctly unsure of herself, gave Liv one of the most awkward hugs you could imagine. She then stepped back and swished her hair. Liv looked confused and amused. "Um... you're welcome? Keep working on it."

Gráinne then turned to Elayne and suddenly lunged, wrapping her up in a far more natural looking hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!" Liv smiled at the reunited friends. She stepped back again and turned to Alex. "I think our business is concluded here." She turned back to Arngrim. "I apologize again for the intrusion. Thank you for looking after Elayne." Then she held out her hand to Elayne. "Are you ready?"

Alex frowned slightly. "Captain Commander, I do not think bringing her with us is wise. While we have had one arrancar in our ranks once upon a time, he fought long and hard to maintain his position and to gain our trust. While I could make something to assist her with her diet of souls or if Miss Firestorm has taught her how to deal with that problem, it would still cause problems for us. The outrage and backlash would be outstanding, and that's not counting the police force and our turrets. I'd recommend she use a gargantua to return to the human realm, preferably not in New York, Bogota, or Cairo and in some place isolated."

Rui looked with a amusement, but alas, the situation is settled. Turning to leave, he spoke to Arngrim. "Lord Wolfcloak, is our game night still on?" Unless he was still needed or was interrupted, he would sonido away at tremendous speeds.

Elayne was surprised Grainne hugged her. She hugged her friend back, sighing. "Thanks to Liv. I'm glad your not mad about me being an arrancar." She said. Jensen stayed quiet throught the exchange, keeping an eye on the King as he pondered the development. Arngrim watched  quietly too. Grainnè went to leave, and held out her hand to Elayne who hesitated. "I don't know. I.." Elayne looked at Liv. "I don't know. I'm not sure if i'm safe around humans yet. Maybe I should stay here for a while longer..."

Arngrim nodded to Grainnè. "She's welcome to stay as long as she likes. If the coalition is worried about bringing her back, I could always give them something else to worry about? no?" He said. Jensen huffed. "Thats not even funny." He replied. Arngrim laughed. "Regardless, she can stay. No harm will come to her under my watch. Ah and yes Rui. I'll see you later. "

Gráinne regarded Elayne fondly. She looked at Arngrim Wolfcloak. While she did not always see eye-to-eye with the Cero King, she did have respect for his honor. She gazed at him for long moments. Then she nodded and smiled. "Very well. I will respect your wishes Elayne. I believe in Mister Wolfcloak's word. Thank you both again for looking out for her. Elayne, if you need me, you can reach me through the former Kishimasuku headquarters." Her business concluded, Gráinne turned to leave. She looked to Jensen. "I believe we are done here, Captain. I am sorry for wasting your time." Then she turned to regard Alex with a polite forbearance. "Well then. At your earliest convenience Mister Kerensky. Thank you for your help and I apologize that I kept you for so long."

Watching them leave, Liv turned to Elayne with a look of admiration. "You didn't tell me the Captain-Commander was such a looker. She needs to hug more though I feel. Maybe you should hug her more. I don't know. Cute gal. You'd make a super-cute couple. If you're into that kind of thing. Not that there's anything wrong with it. In fact I encourage it. Girls are much nicer than guys anyway. So, hungry? If you want, we can also play poker with Father and Rui, though I'm convinced Rui cheats..."

Rui nodded, then walked two steps before he heard Liv speak about him. He couldn't hide his smug grin. He most certainly does not cheat. Winking at her, he sped off with a very audible crack of his sonido.

Alex simply nodded. Taking a device of his, he pressed a button, making an opening directly behind him. "Shall we then?" The trio left to head back into the human realm. Jun gave an enthusiastic greeting to them.

"So, did everything went well?" Kai was also eager to know. Before the shinigami would leave, Jun would approach Jensen. "So...question...did Riku survive?" The boy wanted to know simply so he knew he could still find the guy and challenge him someday.

Elayne nodded to Grainne, then jumped across the gap and hugged her quickly and said goodbye. "One last thing before you go." He said as grainne asked Karensky to take them home. "My grandfather told me stories of my family when I was human. He always told tales of Thurstan blackhorn, one of my ancesters, and the mercian warrior that killed him in single combat. I've always wanted to ask you what you might think of that story." Arngrim said to Jensen.

"They both died. I would call it a waste but at least it was an honorable battle." Jensen replied. And then they were gone. As soon as they were, Liv practically jumped down Elayne's throat about how atractive Grainne was and that she should hug more, causing Elayne to turn very red. "Damnit Liv you useless Lesbian." She muttered and scrambled back into the chariot. Arngrim chuckled. "Come on lets get out of here."

When the others returned to new york Jun came over to ask Jensen questions. The Warrior nodded. "He did survive. Barely. He's a little messed up right now, lost his memory and allot of his power. Maybe you should pay him a visit sometime, try to help him out.

Gráinne watched the final exchange between Jensen and Arngrim. She did not know what they were referring to, but she did not question it. She smiled at Elayne and walked away, following Alexander Kerensky as he brought herself and Jensen back to the Living World. Liv chuckled as Elayne withered in the face of her interrogation. "Just sayin'. Anyway, let's go. Maybe I can get Father to change the game to Monopoly. At least I'd stand a chance at that..." Liv followed Elayne onto the chariot and headed home with Arngrim.

When Gráinne, Jensen and Alexander arrived back in New York, Jun and Kai approached them and asked if everything went well. Gráinne nodded politely. "Yes. I found my friend. She is in safe hands with Miss Firestorm. Thank you for all of your help sir." Jun then approached Jensen as they were leaving, asking the Captain if Riku had survived the reclamation of Soul Society. Jensen informed the young man that he had, but that he had lost his memory and a chunk of his power. Gráinne waited for Jensen to finish before opening a Senkaimon and heading home.