[Soul Society]
Commander-General's office

Li answers the call, mildly perplexed. "Oh, the bomb? It's for demolishing an old prison facility. Is there a problem? Maybe I can help, I have the blueprints just before me. Oh, and don't worry about the hydrogen or uranium isotopes. Those will be shipped to you at first oppurtunity."

---

[Hueco Mundo]
Las Noches - Valentina's quarters

Meanwhile, elsewhere... a man wakes up, rising to a sitting position on a bed he doesn't remember falling asleep on. The last clear image in his mind is of some sort of a snake crawling towards him, and him tearing its head off. But the dark room doesn't look like it has any dead snakes in it. He must've been dreaming.

His eyes wander around, eventually fixing on a large bag lying on the floor. That must be his. But the rest of the room isn't. He brings his hands to rub his sore head, trying to figure out where he has ended up in. It would help if the air around him would stop howling in frustration.

Oh, yes. The howling. He glances at the walls, the floor, the ceiling. All of them look like they were made of pale sand, or perhaps bone dust. He must be back in the world of hungry ghosts. Bit by bit, it comes back to him. Jehoel came to fetch him, along with some cat-girl. Tamaki and some odd woman tagged along, while Hasunaga and others were left behind.

Mikael drops out of the bed, stretching his aching limbs. He starts looking for a door, intent on searching where Tamaki and Jehoel might be, when he remembers he promised the cat-girl to stay in this room untill she'd come back. And there's no sight of her. What a bother. Shakily, Mikael walks to his bag and sits next to it, pulling out a notebook and a pen, and then the assault rifle he stole acquired from his homeland. Might as well try doing something productive while waiting. Carefully, he takes the weapon apart, placing its pieces in neat rows on the floor.