[Elektra]

The first thing that caught Murcialgo's eye was a small table in the very back of that room.  Upon closer inspection, however, he realized that it wasn't just a table.  It was a pedestal of sorts, with three different levels.  On the top was an odd looking temple-like shrine, but its two small doors were closed, preventing him from seeing whatever was inside.  As soon as he got closer, that eery feeling he had felt when they originally found the place intensified to the point that he got shivers up his spine.  What was this thing?

[Elektra]

Ulquiorra was sure that he felt a spike in reiatsu around him just then, and sped up.  He tried different doors, but they all led into other rooms.  Knowing Murcialgo, he would've headed straight to the center of the building, but it was hard enough to find the path he'd taken.  Finally he found a staircase down, and Ulquiorra decided to take it down.  Hopefully his foolish partner had done the same a few minutes before him, and hadn't managed to get to far ahead.

[Elektra]

Murcialgo tried his best to ignore that odd feeling and he edged closer to the shrine.  He was intent on opening it up, but it was as if there was some unseen force trying its best to warn him not to.  Finally, he got close enough to see the shrine itself, and the other two levels of the pedestal as well.  There were tiny candles lined up on the bottom row of the pedestal, and looked to have been lit many times.  Then there were vines crawling up toward the shrine, which he found odd, seeing as there was no other plant life around.  Everything about this place was just so puzzling...

[Elektra]

Ulquiorra made his way down the stairs quickly, not bothering to even take the last five or ten.  He landed nimbly on the floor before walking on calmly.  All he really wanted to know at that point was where Murcialgo had wandered off to.  Was it really to much to ask?  He frowned, and turned down a hall, then suddenly sensed Murcialgo's reiatsu, as well as another being's prescence.

[Elektra]

Murcialgo edged right up to the shrine, and reached out his hand.  He knew it was probably a dumb thing to do, especially with that eery force that was swirling around, but he couldn't help it.  He touched the two doors, and gently opened them both a second later.  There was no initial reaction to this change, but as he relaxed, the small, melted candles suddenly lit up, glowing softly.  It created shadows that began to dance around the walls, and it illuminated the inside of the shrine.  He bent forward, trying to get a better look, for he could see something, but it still wasn't clear.

[Elektra]

Ulquiorra was mad at that point.  No, not frustrated, mad.  Murcialgo had disappeared, and now that he had found the damn idiot, there seemed to be another being around the area.  He headed straight for the room when he saw it light up slightly, where he found Murcialgo leaning toward a peculiar shrine.  "What are you doing?" he asked, pulling the other man back.  "There's something in there, Ulquiorra-sama." Murcialgo said in reply, getting out of the Espada's grip.

[Elektra]

He was hesitant to believe his partner, but he didn't sense any kind of trickery.  Ulquiorra forced him to the side, and walked up to the shrine himself.  Murcialgo protested, but stopped when Ulquiorra raised his hand for silence.  Then he leaned in, and touched the object inside.  It was then that everything went still for the second time.

[Elektra]

The sudden change was almost no change at all.  It was as if for a second everything was frozen in place, but after that, it all resumed once again.  The only difference was that this time, there was a shadowy mass in the corner of the room.  It had no definite shape, but there were two red, eery eyes there, staring at Ulquiorra.  It was almost unnerving, having it floating there silently.  Of course it was just as eery to hear it speak.

[Elektra]

"Why are you here, Arrancar?" it asked flatly.  It didn't move, it just continued floating there.  Ulquiorra had no idea how to respond to that, seeing as he wasn't quite sure why he was where he currently was himself.  But apparently the being didn't like the silence, and asked again, only to be met with the same lack of an answer.  Finally, Murcialgo seemed to tire of this, and spoke up.  "He is here because he got his ass handed to him by a human soul reaper, and turned into dust."  Ulquiorra glared at him, hoping that his partner would drop dead for the time being, but nodded in agreement.

[Elektra]

At first, Ulquiorra was sure that Murcialgo's comment had aggravated the spirit, but a second or two later, he heard the weirdest thing ever.  Laughter.  That spirit which currently sat in the far corner of the room began to laugh.  When it stopped, Murcialgo had quite the look on his face, as did Ulquiorra.  This didn't seem to faze the spirit being however, who regained its composure soon after and cleared its throat, if it had one.  "Well, I see that you have quite the friend, Arrancar.  And it would also seem that you have no idea why you have come to this realm, which means I will have to explain..."

[Elektra]

Ulquiorra said nothing, but nodded curtly as if to let the being know it should continue.  It might not have been the most polite way of doing such, but it got the point across, for the shadow began to talk once again.  "I won't explain it all immediately, since there is an important reason for your coming here instead of going straight to hell where almost all of your other fallen comrades were sentenced.  There was one other Arrancar, quite the odd fellow.  I spoke with him for what was years here, and he finally gave me quite the interesting answer to a question I'd posed when he first came here.  In fact, I believe he is back in a place known as Hueco Mundo to you beings.  He had quite the odd dog with him as well if I might say so myself."  Suddenly it stopped talking, and chuckled to itself.  Murcialgo raised an eyebrow, but didn't manage to get a word in before the being continued again.

[Elektra]

"Well, you're here because regardless of what happened before your death, the moment you died, there was something that made it hard to distinguish whether or not your were meant to suffer in eternal damnation or not.  Your partner had piped up earlier and told me that you were killed by a soul reaper, but that doesn't make sense.  If that was all that took place, then the gates of hell would have opened up and let you in.  What else happened?" it asked without any emotion.  That was when Ulquiorra began to get slightly annoyed.  If he understood correctly everything that was just said, then that would have meant that the woman with whom Kurosaki was obsessed was the one who saved him from hell and caused him to go to this place in between.

[Elektra]

Apparently Ulquiorra hadn't bothered to hide what he was thinking about at that point, for it was brought up almost immediately.  "Yes, even a human seems to have a great impact on you.  Don't look so surprised; this isn't that uncommon.  Throughout history there have been tales of different beings changing themselves because of a human.  And while I cannot say myself, I have a feeling that this is something like what happened to you.  After all, you can rest assured that you would not be here if not for someone changing you at that last possible minute.  Nevertheless, that is not the point.  You must think back on your experiences before your arrival here.  Not on your defeat that you suffered through, rather, everything that happened.  For that it not the point of your coming here.  You must answer a question that I shall pose.  And answer it truthfully, without bearing grudges against those who are brought up in your answer, but taking into consideration only your instinct.  The only correct answer is the answer that you think of immediately.  There is no room for reconsideration.  There is not turning back.  There is but one chance, and you must take it."

[Elektra]

"I suppose that I understand." Ulquiorra said simply.  After all, it was not a complicated proposal; all he was asked to do answer a question without feelings or bias.  To ask this of an Espada who had lost all meaning of emotion long ago, this was an easy task.  Or so he thought.  When the shadow being spoke up again to ask the question, however, he realized that might not be the case.

[Elektra]

Murcialgo and Ulquiorra looked at each other when the being ended his short speech.  He had stopped to let them give their answer, but it became apparent that an answer was not going to come immediately.  What was he supposed to say?  Some might have said that the answer was simple, but they would have been ignorant.  Though at this moment, Ulquiorra almost envied such ignorance and the innocence that came with it.