Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does. Any other references made in this story belong to their respective owners. I only own the OC characters.

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The call to war came from Toshiro after Maddie informed him of the immediate threat. "The demon who came through was too powerful for us to defeat alone, so we need to gather our forces to keep these demons from overrunning our world."

"I understand the implications of this matter," Toshiro conceded, "although I would like to know the caliber of the demon you crossed blades with."

"All you need to know," Maddie responded, "is that she is a powerful demon who kills fir the sheer pleasure of it. You absolutely cannot let your guard down around her."

Toshiro sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anything more out of her. Her apparent unwillingness to tell him what the demon was like made him believe that this was a subject that she didn't want to touch. He knew not to press any further on the matter. "Alright, I'll have everyone prepare for battle." He walked out from the room, leaving Maddie, Carter, Ichigo, and Rukia together. Once he had left, Ichigo grabbed Maddie by the wrist, leading her into an adjoining room. Rukia and Carter followed. When everyone was inside, he closed the door rather harshly. He turned around and pointed his finger at Maddie's chest. "If I'm going to be able to trust you, you need to tell us what's going on. The demon I found looked exactly like you. What the hell was that all about?"

Rukia stared at Ichigo, not believing what she was hearing. Maddie noticed her expression. "You haven't told her yet?" she asked, pointing at Rukia.

"I want you to tell both of us, right here and now. And don't leave anything out," Ichigo demanded. He looked at Carter. "I'm assuming you knew about this too?"

Carter hesitated before nodding, a pained expression flashing across his features. Maddie sighed next to him, running her hands through her hair, preparing for what was going to be a long explanation. She sat down hard, as if the fatigue from the previous fight rushed through her all at once. Everyone else continued to stand, staring as she splayed her legs out in front of her.

"It was true, what she said," Maddie began. "She was once a part of me."

Rukia was confused. "What is she talking about, Ichigo?"

"The demon that slipped through looked exactly like her," Ichigo explained, pointing at Maddie. "She said something about the both of them being the same."

Rukia's expression was scrunched in disbelief. "But how is that possible? How can there be two of you if you only have one soul?"

"That's just the thing," Maddie said. "Have you ever considered the possibility that a soul can be ripped apart?"

Neither Rukia nor Ichigo had thought of such a thing. Maddie continued in the present silence. "I suspected as much. Every human being is made up of both angelic and demonic qualities. That's what makes us who we are. Why every human is unique. Humans are the medium, the balance, between the forces of good and evil."

"That doesn't explain how a soul can be ripped into pieces," Rukia stated.

Maddie drew her legs in. "The demonic part of humans is expressed through the flaws of human nature. Negative thoughts and emotions such as fear, anger, hatred, despair, they all make up a person's deep-seated subconscious, where they are stored. I'm not saying that mankind is inherently evil. Everyone has the choice to be good or evil. In humanity, they coexist inside everyone, in a perfect balance."

"So, what happened to you?" Ichigo asked.

Maddie sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest. She paused, reluctant to continue, before speaking again. "It wouldn't be a surprise to say that the Prince of Demons, the most powerful demonic force in the world, brings out the worst in people. That's what happened, but in a more literal sense."

Ichigo blinked at the implication. "You mean he split you into two?"

The young pseudo-human nodded solemnly. "He did it to weaken me. He wants my soul first and foremost. Now that it's torn apart, it makes both of us vulnerable. I'm not even me, not completely. Just half of what I once was."

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. The magnitude of what Maddie had said made his heart go out towards the young woman. He couldn't even bear the thought of being separated from Zangetsu again, hell not even his inner hollow. They all depended on each other too much to survive. He looked over at Rukia, and could see that she was thinking the same thing.

Ichigo glanced at Carter. He was avoiding eye contact, but he could tell that this subject upset him as much as it did Maddie. "I watched it happen," Carter suddenly spoke. His voice jolted the Soul Reapers out of their lamentation. "But I was too late to do anything. I was completely helpless. I did nothing while all her pain was forced to the surface. Fighting her was the hardest thing I've ever done. She couldn't take back control, so the easiest thing to do was to get rid of it."

Maddie shot a reassuring look over to Carter, a look that said, "it wasn't your fault." At that moment, Ichigo understood how Carter felt completely. "And that resulted in your soul getting ripped apart," Ichigo stated flatly.

Maddie nodded again. "Believe me, if things were different, I would have lived with it. But it's dangerous for me to exist like this. No one can live as half of themselves. If I use too much energy, I could easily burn out. If we were made whole again, I could easily wipe out his entire army."

"Wait, really?" Ichigo was quite impressed. Maddie had used an enormous amount of spiritual pressure in her fight earlier, and it was truly astonishing that she used to defeat entire armies. It made her more intimidating.

"Really," Maddie answered. She stood up from her position on the floor, which the Soul Reapers now realized that she had been completely drained. She hadn't been lying about the risk of using too much of her power. With a yawn, she stretched her arms above her head.

"Well, that's enough sob stories for one day. I'm exhausted. I think it's about time to hit the hay," she said.

"How long do you think it will take that... other you to arrive with her army?" Rukia asked, not exactly sure what to call Maddie's separated soul.

Maddie put her hand under her chin in thought. "I would say about a day or two. Normally, if she had a large enough dimensional portal, she could summon one in a matter of seconds. But the implications are different, so she would need more time."

The two Soul Reapers stared at her in shock. "Are you kidding me?" Ichigo exclaimed. "We only have that long to prepare?"

"Don't worry too much," Maddie assured. "The demons she's going to bring will seem like child's play compared to her. Mere foot soldiers. And from what I've seen so far, they'll be no match for you. The only one we should be concerned about is her."

"If you say so," Rukia admonished.

The group decided to part ways, since the attack could happen at any moment, and they all needed to do what they had to to prepare. After exchanging parting words, each team retired to their mutual quarters.

Ichigo and Rukia were on their respective sides of their rooms, in their beds, with Ichigo yet again left wide awake, staring at the ceiling. The coming task seemed daunting, and the biggest fear he had kept nagging at the back of his mind. This other, demonic version of Maddie was just about, if not more, powerful than Aizen had been. And the devil himself was supposed to be even more powerful. He just wasn't sure if he was going to be capable of fulfilling his responsibility that he felt he had to uphold. He sighed audibly.

"I can hear you thinking, dummy," an irritated voice berated from the other side of the room.

Ichigo almost jumped out of his skin. He had no idea that his brooding had been that loud. "Sorry to wake you, Rukia," he apologized.

Rukia shifted in her bed to look at him. "It's alright, I wasn't sleeping anyway." She sat up in her bed, the sheet falling to reveal her in her nightclothes. The moon shone through the door leading outside, accentuating every feature of her face and every curve of her body. Ichigo couldn't help but think how beautiful she was. "Tell me what's bothering you. Is it the same thing as before?"

Ichigo's silence confirmed her suspicions. He sat up and looked down at his lap, not even meeting her gaze. She let out an exasperated sigh. Grabbing her pillow, she threw it at the orange-haired Soul Reaper, catching him off-guard.

Ichigo spluttered. "What the hell was that for?!" he exclaimed. He stopped short of his tirade when he noticed Rukia's stern expression.

"Now listen here, Ichigo," she began, jabbing a finger at him. "You need to stop torturing yourself over what might happen. Because no matter what, I know we'll still be by each other's side."

Ichigo was stunned by the forceful pep talk. He knew Rukia cared about him, but this suggested something a bit more, something that was hiding just below the surface, screaming for it to be let out. But Rukia maintained her composure.

Ichigo smiled and threw back Rukia's pillow. "Thanks, midget," he said gratefully. Rukia replaced her pillow and thumped down on it with a"hmph" before promptly falling asleep. Ichigo laid back down on the soft mattress and did likewise.

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Author's Note: Hello, everyone! It's been so long! I'm sorry I disappeared. As I announced earlier, I was struggling to survive college and dealing with my mental health. I've seen people's comments and I'm surprised that this many people like it and wanted an update, seeing how much I actually hate this. It needs revising, big time. But here's the long-awaited update (at least for a few people).

I've said this before, but I'll say it again. If anyone is inspired to make fanart of any of my stories, you are more than welcome to. In fact, I encourage it. I definitely won't demand it from you guys, but if you do, I would love to see it. Or if you're all like me, who can't draw anything better than stick figures and can only express themselves through writing, that's fine too.

I don't know when I'll update this again. I'll have to revise every chapter before posting it, so it'll take time. I have so many things to write. Hopefully I'll have more time to do that this semester. I'm currently obsessed with the Corrupted Steven theory in Steven Universe Future.

Praise is appreciated and constructive criticism is encouraged.

See you next time!

-The_Mayflower