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The Nanza pass is a well developed fortress that sits in the middle of the only pass into Meribia. It is constantly guarded by Kyle De`Alkirk and other Knights of Meribia, and someone passing through must get permission from BOTH of the guards. This doesn't mean you actually have to get permission if you are an attacker-that would be pointless. It means two turns to pass through the gates.
Crossing the mountains is impossible do to an enchanted weather brought about when Althena first developed the world into what it is, and therefore only one with the power of Althena herself (Ghaleon, perhaps) could cross them unharmed. The rest must enter through the pass.

Ryo stood at the head of the fortress, looking out of the valley and into the wilderness beyond. Sighing, he once again took to thinking of the reasons he had been drawn out. "Something's on the move...I could swear I can feel the power of Ghaleon, but he has taken no mark in this war-why now? Perhaps, I will have to give it up..." Ryo lowered his hand to the hilt of his sword, remembering the bargain he had made in return for services...if he was lucky, however, he would have no need for them.

Following behind the destruction left by Grimmjow, Gin surveyed the accumulating damage with his usual upbeat demeanor. It was true, that blue-haired Espada was born to fight, kill, and destroy everything he set his eyes on. Watching the arrancar doing what he was meant to do was like watching a machine in action. Swift, efficient, and brutal. But Grimmjow couldn't have all the fun, after all. That's why he and his newfound partner were here.

"Sho' looks like he's enjoyin' 'imself, eh Lucas-san?" the shinigami nodded to his right as the garganta closed behind him. He didn't even have to look to know that his partner was with him, even if he wasn't hovering in plain sight as he was. It was all part of the strange connection they'd made since meeting before the Grindery months earlier, after they Espada had been gathered by the Magic Emperor. Never would he have thought he would find such an interesting companion, but the half-devil had proven to be just that.

Now, the two of them would demonstrate just how strong a team they made before the eyes of the Resistance.

"Thunder Clap!" The shout rang out through the mountain range as a speeding figure crashed into the ground, sending a lightening filled shockwave at the Arrancar. The dust had no time to settle before being forcibly moved by his energy, as the head of the city himself appeared. Turning his head to look at a number of the soldiers, he nodded. "Job well done...now get out of here! This is a class red alert!" The men nodded mutely, and those who had not yet engaged in battle suddenly understood the power of their enemies and turned, letting out a yell of terror as they made their escape. Ryo's right arm transformed back to normal once more from its enlarged size, and he drew forth his nameless sword with a grim look plain on his face. "Don't pursue them...The Dragonship Destiny is waiting past the barricade, and I've given the order that the next person who goes back through there gets terminated by the blinding light of the Holy White Dragon Cannons! That means, we fight here..." Ryo knew he was outmatched surrounded by three Espada, whom he had received a report of from Ukitake, but he had to make sure the damage wasn't extensive...at least, to their lives.

"Sho' thing, Grimmjow-san," Gin smiled, dropping to the ground below following the failed attack of the White Knight of Meribia. Once his feet touched down, the shinigami turned and glanced up at his friend who still seemed a bit wrapped up in his previous maneuver. "Comin', Lucas-san?" the sly Espada asked in a lighthearted tone, his usual expression in tact. He had known that Ryo would show up in Meribia to meet them, that was never a question in his mind. Then again, he was probably much more informed by their master than the others in attendance today...

'Where to first?' he asked himself jovially, senses sharp but body free of tension. None knew just how skilled this member of Ghaleon's Espada was, though if anyone had an idea it would be his partner in crime, Lucas. Nevertheless, attacking at this very moment would most likely prove to be a fruitless, foolish endeavor.

Lucas paused in his ritual to stare at the Captain and laugh his usual dark cackle. Closing the book and tucking it back within the confines of his coat, the half devil strode forward to stand beside his partner. Upon hearing Ryoman's claim that none shall pass, the half devil points at the White Knight, striking an intimidating pose and calling out, "A joke like you has no bearing to tell us where we can and cannot go. Your words have sealed the fate of your precious city in blood. Now, stand still!" As the signature phrase echoes through the pass, the others, with the exception of Gin, who Lucas had included in his technique, began to feel the pull of time slowing them down until only Lucas and Gin were left unaltered and able to move. To their eyes, the world around them was now inverted in color, every moving thing around them adhering to the half devil's command to stand still. With a devilish grin, Lucas speeds past Ryoman and Grimmjow, the fleeing Nanza forces and even the uns aimed straight at the canyon without any of them even seeing him, knowing Gin too would follow. The crystal blue eyes of the half devil could see their prize, Meribia, a city full of life, full of souls to feed the Temen Ne Gru should they take over this place and he complete the summoning ritual.

Irritated by this turn of events, Lucas growls angrily at the White Knight, quickly drawing Alucard and firing a shot off at the broad side of Ryoman's blade, deflecting it out of his way then launching upward hard and fast to deliver a powerful knee strike to his opponent's face OR if Ryo avoided it, leap past the White Knight and continue on his way, all the while shouting, "You arrogant fool! You would have only had to fight one of us, not THREE. Now DIE!" Simultaneously, Quicksilver dissipates, using up Lucas's only spare orb, freeing Grimmjow from the trap as well. Now Lucas' prophecy would come true, the White Knight would have to face off against three Espada alone.

To the Espada's dismay, the veteran warrior blocked the blast with the flat end of his transformed blade-arm and then, when the knee had almost made contact, used his sword in his other hand to deflect the attack and using the spin of the attack launched his own roundhouse, knocking his enemy back. Ryo's eyes took on a totally shocked look however when he saw Grimmjow reawakened, and he knew that the two before him had already been too much to handle on his own. "Damnit...what to do." Ryo paused, his mind wandering back and forth from the two to the one. They would be able to wreak destruction in the city until the reinforcements he called arrived, but Grimmjow was obviously the most powerful of the three...

'Never mind! Do what you can!' Ryo told himself, knowing that as many people as could were evacuating as they spoke. He didn't know how to keep the pair there any longer, and would have to entrust the city to his knights. "Justice Laser!" Ryo shouted, his arm transforming into its powerful laser state. The blast wasn't directed at Lucas, but at the newly freed Arrancar on the ground who he hoped to keep at bay, along with the other two.