Most of you probably don't realize this (since I picked it up pretty quickly), but I made a huge mistake when posting both chapters 1 and 2. Luckily, I fixed it in time. Enjoy!

Ogichi made a mad dash through the two huge double doors and left Aizen's throne room, zipping past Renji and Uryu before they had time to react. The room was left with a heavy silence for a moment as the three people in the room processed what had just happened. Orihime was the first to move and also dashed for the door.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

However, she was nowhere near as fast as Ogichi, and so Uryu had no trouble grabbing a hold of her and keeping her there. He hated to admit it, but they couldn't worry about Kurosaki now. They couldn't catch to him now, not in the condition they were in.

"Let me go, Ishida-kun! Please!"

"Inoue-san! That's enough!"

She continued to try to struggle out of his grasp, but eventually stopped and drooped down onto the floor, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"What's wrong with him? Why is Kurosaki-kun acting like this? I just don't understand."

"Inoue-san…I'm sorry…"

Renji decided now would be the appropriate time to speak up. They couldn't afford to spend any more time there. Any Espada could decide to show up out of anymore at any given moment, and he didn't want to be around when that happened.

"Sorry to break this up, but we should get out of here. We're not exactly in friendly territory."

Uryu glanced at him and nodded in agreement and looked over at Orihime, who still had her face downcast. He was about to say something to comfort her, but before he could do so, she stood up and walked over to the Espada's mutilated corpse. It was a gruesome sight, to be sure. Most people probably wouldn't be able to stomach a scene like that. It looked like something out of a horror movie. Orihime knelt down beside the corpse and began healing it.

"Souten Kishun. I reject."

Her voice seemed somewhat dull now, but Uryu could guess the obvious reason why, and cast the thought aside.

"Inoue-san, are you sure you should be healing the enemy?"

He observed the pained look that crossed Orihime's face for but a moment, but it soon disappeared and was replaced with the sad look she had just before.

"No one deserves to die that way, not even someone like Aizen."

Uryu was somewhat taken aback by that comment, but he figured that was just the way Orihime was, and simply continued to look on as she worked. Slowly, the different parts of Ulquiorra's body began reattaching themselves, all the damage caused by Ogichi began to disappear, and eventually, not a single scar remained on his body.

"We should get out of here. Abarai-kun?"

Both Orihime and Uryu looked over to where Renji was standing, towering over Aizen's body. His zanpakuto was drawn and raised over his head. His expression was one of pure hatred and rage. He was about to strike when Orihime stopped him.

"Abarai-kun! Stop!"

She couldn't take any more death or blood. It was too much for one day. For an entire lifetime. She just could not take it anymore.

"Please stop…"

"But…Rukia died because of what this bastard did! If he hadn't done all of this, Rukia wouldn't have died fighting the Espada! Do you want me to just ignore that fact? And how about all the other people he's hurt, huh? How about their pain? Do you want me to ignore that too and let him live? I won't! I'm gonna kill him!"

Orihime could say nothing in reply and merely looked down at the floor once more. He was right. Too many people had suffered because of Aizen, and while she didn't want the killing and bloodshed to continue, she wouldn't heal Aizen if Renji did him in. Renji lifted is sword up once more, and brought it down to deliver the finishing blow to the unconscious Aizen. However, his attack was cut short when his zanpakuto broke.

"Now now, I'm afraid I can't let you do that. It just isn't very nice to attack an unconscious man, wouldn't you say, Abarai-kun?"

"Ichimaru…Gin!"

"Abarai-kun! Behind you!"

The tip of a sword was placed on the back of his neck, and he knew it was over. He knew this reiatsu. It was Kaname Tousen.

"Damn it…"

Ichimaru looked at Renji, and then Uryu and Orihime. He then looked all around the room and took notice of the fact that the Hougyoku was no longer there.

"Oh my, how unfortunate. It looks like we're in quite the predicament. You've done quite a naughty thing, Inoue-san. Not very nice at all."

Tousen turned his head in Gin's direction, silently asking what they should do next. Gin thought for a moment, and then concluded that nothing could be done at the moment.

"It looks like fate wasn't in our favor today. Let them go. There's no point to keeping them around, or killing them either."

Tousen nodded in agreement, and removed the tip of his sword from the Renji's back.

"You're all free to go."

At that moment, Ulquiorra had regained consciousness, and looked around the room in a daze. Had he survived the attack? He didn't think it possible. There was too much reiatsu poured into that attack for him to have survived. But as he looked around, he noted that Kurosaki was nowhere to be found, and was replaced with Tousen and Ichimaru. Slightly confused, it didn't take him long from the looks he was receiving that he had been healed, most likely by Inoue Orihime."

"Ah, what convenient timing, Ulquiorra. Would you be so kind as to escort these three to the human world? I'm afraid keeping them around would serve no purpose to us."

Still somewhat dazed, Ulquiorra attempted to regain his composure and nodded in silent agreement. He didn't know what had happened while he was unconscious, and he guessed Ichimaru had a good reason for letting them go. Plus, he wasn't one to question the orders of his superiors, and with Aizen not able to object, he would simply do as he was told and leave it at that.

"What about Rukia?"

That was Renji's first thought at the new development. Even if Rukia was dead, he still wanted to take her body back to Soul Society, and not leave it here for hollows to feast on. At least that way, she would simply continue the endless cycle and be reincarnated, and not devoured like some everyday meal.

"Oh yes, of course. My apologies. Ulquiorra, would also be so kind as to take these three to Aaroniero's chamber? And while you're at it, I'm sure they would also like to take the body of Sado-san with them."

Ulquiorra, finally having composed himself to a halfway decent state, simply bowed and uttered a "yes sir" to confirm he acknowledged the orders and would carry them out. He turned towards the door of the throne room.

"Please follow me."

They were reluctant to do so at first, not really trusting Gin or Ulquiorra, but they figured that, given their present situation, they didn't have much of a choice, or a chance to fight back. So they quietly moved to follow Ulquiorra.

"Buh-bye now! Say hi to Matsumoto for me, would you?"

That was the last thing they heard from within the throne room.

Within the throne room, Gin and Tousen briefly wondered what to do next. Noitora was done for, that was for sure. Only Inoue could heal him in the state he was in. So, they decided to forget about him and focus on their fallen leader. Even with his injuries, he wouldn't die, even if left alone, but they figured it would be best to get him in tip top shape as fast as possible.

"Would you please go find a medic, Tousen?"

"Of course."

Tousen then disappeared as he used shunpo to exit the room and find the best arrancar medic to heal their captain. Gin could already tell, this was going to be a long day.

Ogichi had run all the way out of Las Noches and into the middle of the cold desert when he finally lost control to Ichigo again. Ichigo could see the white skin begin to turn back to its normal color, and could feel the hollow receding into the back of his mind, letting out a stream of curses as he did so. He felt so pathetic and useless at his own inability to prevent his hollow from taking control, despite all the time the Vizards spent training him. Once again, he told himself, that he was truly pathetic. Finally taking not of his surroundings, he found that he not on a cold hard floor like that of Las Noches, but rather, lying in hot sand, which felt like it was scorching to his skin despite the cold air of Hueco Mundo.

"Where the hell am I?"

He briefly wondered why the sand was so hot if there supposedly was never any sunlight in Hueco Mundo. He disregarded the thought as quickly as it came, and pushed himself up weakly to look around. He could not see a thing in any direction. How far had his hollow ran? Not even the colossal Las Noches could be seen in the horizon, even as a speck. And worse still, he didn't know which direction his hollow had run from exactly. His footsteps could only be seen for about a hundred or so feet, running around in random directions, the rest had been covered up by the sandy winds. He couldn't believe it. He had finally regained control of his body only to find himself not only in a weakened, but lost in the middle of a desert.

"Fuck!"

He could hear the yell echo for miles, but he knew no one would probably hear it. He cursed himself again.

"That's what you get, king! You should've let me stay in control!"

'You shut the fuck up! I don't want to hear any more bullshit from you!'

"You really should learn to mind your language, king. It's very unbecoming of you."

'Just shut up. I'm tired of you voice.'

"Fine, whatever. Arguing with someone as stupid as you is no fun anyway. See ya later, king!"

Satisfied that his hollow would leave him alone, he decided that despite his situation, he should begin moving. Staying where he was wouldn't get him out of his problem. He tried to think of how exactly to get out of Hueco Mundo. If no one with the ability to open Garganta found him, he would probably be stuck here for the rest of his pitiful life. He cursed at himself once again. This was definitely going to be a long day.

Ulquiorra silently led Orihime, Uryu, and Renji into the chamber of Aaroniero Arleri. Immediately Renji spotted Rukia and rushed to her side. Uryu and Orihime followed closely behind. Ulquiorra, in the meantime, decided to busy himself by checking on the corpse of Aaroniero. To his surprise, however, it was already. He could sense faint traces of Grantz' reiatsu in the room.

'I see, he already got to him then. No doubt he's already experimenting on the body in this research chamber.'

Not having anything else to do, he turned to observe the others from a distance. He would have preferred to attack them or to leave them to take care of themselves, but again, he was not one to question or go against his superiors orders. His instructions were clear, and he would carry them out without fail. It was then that he overheard what they were saying.

"Rukia!"

Renji was holding her up to see if she was still alive. He checked her for a pulse, and to the surprise of both Renji, she was still alive, although just barely. Ulquiorra caught the look on Renji's face, and he too was somewhat surprised that Kuchiki Rukia had survived. It would seem, that with every passing moment, the Espada appeared less and less competent, almost weak. At the very least, he felt vastly different than from before his last battle with Kurosaki. He didn't know what power Kurosaki had used, but he was certain it was something very similar to his power. He had heard of such power from Aizen-sama.

"Ulquiorra. I have a question for you. You know already that whenever a hollow removes his mask and obtains the power of a Shinigami, an arrancar is created, correct?"

"Of course, Aizen-sama. Why do you ask?"

"Do you know what a Shinigami who obtains a hollow mask and the power of hollows is called?"

He had never really thought about it. In his mind, he did not believe such things could exist, despite how foolish it was to believe so. He shook his head.

"No, Aizen-sama. I'm afraid I do not."

"They are called Vizards. They are perhaps the only beings in existence that can truly rival, and defeat, arrancars, generally speaking, of course."

"Vizards? I had never heard or seen such a thing."

"In a very similar manner to arrancar prior to my arrival here with the Hougyoku, vizards exist in limited quantities because, simply put, it is very difficult to obtain this power through natural means. As a matter of fact, judging from the reports made by Urahara Kisuke regarding vizards, and my own research on arrancar, with and without the Hyogyoku, I would say that it is even more difficult for a Shinigami to become a vizard than for a hollow to become an arrancar, specifically when it comes to controlling and sealing that power."

"All very interesting, Aizen-sama, but may I inquire as to why you would bring this up all of a sudden."

"Of course. To keep it short and sweet, I believe Kurosaki Ichigo is one such being. A vizard, a Shinigami who has obtained the power of hollows through some strange means, no doubt through the intervention of Urahara Kisuke."

"What would make you believe such a thing, Aizen-sama?"

"Grimmjow mentioned briefly that during his latest bout with Kurosaki Ichigo he had utilized a new, and fairly strange power, which was activated when Kurosaki donned a mask that appeared to be the mask of a hollow. Furthermore, the reiatsu he felt, he said, felt strikingly similar to that of an arrancar. He also mentioned in passing that as he was about to deliver the finishing blow to Kuchiki Rukia, another strange person with a zanpakuto appeared to aid Ichigo, and that he too, donned a strange mask that appeared to be a hollow mask."

"So, what you mean to say, Aizen-sama, is that, not only do you believe Kurosaki Ichigo to be a vizard, but you also believe that he may be allied with an unknown quantity of other vizards."

"Correct. You do catch on quick, Ulquiorra. Once I have the ouken in my possession, I will have to make an effort to hunt down and eliminate these vizards, as they could prove to be quite a nuisance to my plans."

"Of course, Aizen-sama."

Ulquiorra observed that, while Kurosaki Ichigo had not donned such a mask during their last fight, he had indeed matched all the other characteristics of a vizard. And based on his personal experience, he was sure that Kurosaki had not even used a tenth of his power to eliminate him. However, it did not seem like he was fighting Kurosaki at all. Perhaps being a vizard had side effects? From what he could guess, in exchange for a power even greater than an arrancars, the vizards had to put up with dual personalities, or possibly even souls. It was the only logical explanation he could think of that would constitute both the immense increase in reiatsu, as well as the dramatic shift in personality that Kurosaki had exhibited in the past few hours alone. That thought alone made an uncharacteristic chill run down his spine. Brushing the thought aside, he continued to silently observe the scene before him as Inoue Orihime began to heal Kuchiki Rukia. Surely enough, moments later, Kuchiki had gotten up as if she had not been injured at all. Inoue's power still managed to amaze him, even now. He walked up to the group, which was busy exchanging words of praise and thanks.

"Are you finished? We have yet to find Sado Yasutora and get you back to the human world."

Rukia immediately went wide eyed and made to grab her zanpakuto, but Renji's hand grabbed hers and stopped her.

"Don't worry, Rukia. He's not here to hurt us."

"What?"

"Listen, I'll tell you the story later. Right now, we're not really in a position to be wasting time."

Rukia gave him a look, but figured that he knew what he was talking about. Whatever had happened, she was sure she could trust Renji. And so, she silently nodded and got up, eyeing Ulquiorra suspiciously, but he just ignored the look and began to lead them outside, through the corridor Rukia had taken to get to Aaroniero's chamber. She has so much she wanted to say, and from what she could tell, so did the others. But they refrained from doing so, probably because of the presence of the arrancar, which she figured as an Espada, and a powerful one judging from his reiatsu. That was when she realized something.

"Where's Ichigo?"

She saw how grim the expressions of Renji and Ishida became, and how Inoue visibly drooped, pain and sadness gracing her features as she said the name. However, they said nothing, meaning that it too, was a long story that was not to be told in front of the arrancar. And it could only mean one thing. Bad news.

Ichigo was still wandering. He had been doing so for hours now, and still no sight of anything other than the occasional crystal-like 'dead plant'. His frustration was building quickly and he felt like his mind would snap like a thin twig under a person's foot if this kept up any longer. Despite his mental protests, he knew complaining wouldn't get him any closer to where he needed. He didn't even know if he was even getting closer to where he wanted to go. As a matter of fact, he didn't even know if it was possible to get to where he wanted to go from where he was at now. All he wanted to do was go home. He wondered briefly what had happened to the others. Were they safe? He certainly hoped they were alright. Otherwise, everything that had been sacrificed would have been for nothing.

"……."

And so, without another word, he cleared his mind of such negative thoughts and focused only on getting

Ichimaru and Tousen watched in silence as the arrancar medic worked on Aizen. After about an hour or so, Aizen managed to regain consciousness, and forced himself up.

"Did you have a good sleep, Aizen-taicho?"

Aizen simply stared up at him and Tousen for a second. He wasn't in the mood to joke around, all things considered, but he didn't think it wise to lose his cool around his subordinates. It would only serve to further destroy his god-like image.

"Not as good as I had hoped. What is our status?"

"Not good. Not good at all."

Tousen, being more direct than Ichimaru when it came to conveying messages, intruded to speak.

"The intruders are currently being escorted out of Hueco Mundo by Ulquiorra, at our command, with the exception of Kurosaki Ichigo, who had run off earlier in a currently unknown direction."

Before Tousen could finish, Aizen interrupted with his own question.

"When you say intruders, do you also mean Inoue Orihime?"

Tousen paused for a second, pondering what answer to give him, and he figured the direct and honest approach would be best.

"Yes. It would seem that prior to our arrival, Inoue Orihime used her power to completely erase the existence of the Hougyoku, thus rendering her useless to our cause. Because she was no longer of any use to us, we allowed her to go with the rest of the intruders."

The news about the Hougyoku was none too pleasing at all. This set his plans behind for another year or so. It would take him quite a bit of time to reproduce a substitute for the Hougyoku. Because Urahara Kisuke had never written down in his research exactly how the Hougyoku was created, the best he could do was make a makeshift substitute based on all the date compiled on it throughout the years of its development, as well as the short time he himself had actually used it to create arrancar. And even if he could make an adequate substitute for the creation of the ouken, there was telling what kind of side effects it would have if he used it to create more arrancar. For the first time in his life, he truly had a great measure of respect for the former twelfth division captain. He must have been quite a genius indeed to be able to create something as complex as the Hougyoku.

"I see. In that case, we haven't time to spare. Please gather the Espada and relay the news to them. I have to go speak to Grantz."

With that said, he rose to his feet, and without another word, left the throne room. Both Ichimaru and Tousen thought Aizen's behavior to be rather strange, but they figured it wasn't anything surprising considering it had been anything but a normal day.

Orihime quickly healed Chad's wounds, and began breathing labored breaths when she finished. Despite her friends initial concern for her well being, she told gestured that she was fine. Chad, who was somewhat surprised at the presence of Orihime, was first to speak.

"What happened?"

Uryu was the one who responded this time.

"We don't have time to discuss that right now. We have to leave now."

Chad was still somewhat confused, but nodded and slowly got up. They were all expecting the next question that came out of his mouth.

"Where's Ichigo?"

Noticing the look they were all giving him, he knew that they couldn't tell him now. And if that was the case, then he knew it was something bad.

"I see. Alright then, let's get outta here."

They all nodded silently, and Ulquiorra led them to a special chamber in Las Noches, which the arrancar used to open Garganta and travel to the human world. With a simple wave of his hand, Ulquiorra opened Garganta, and gestured for them to follow him in. Orihime suddenly developed second thoughts about leaving and turned around to walk back.

"Inoue! Where are you going?"

"To find Kurosaki-kun!"

"Hold it, Inoue!"

Renji and Uryu both grabbed Orihime and held her back. Chad and Rukia, not understanding what was going on, stood and simply observed. Ulquiorra simply waited for the little show to end. He was a patient individual, so the wait did not bother him much.

"LET ME GO! I HAVE TO FIND KUROSAKI-KUN!"

She was now becoming hysterical. Uryu understood perfectly that Orihime had feelings for Kurosaki, but this was no time for her to lose her cool. They didn't even know where to begin looking, and so, now was not the opportune time to be losing one's cool and jumping on stupid decisions. Not only were they weakened from their battles, but they were deep in enemy territory and vastly outnumbered and outmatched.

"Inoue, please, you're not going to help anybody like this!"

"NO! Let me go…please. Just let me go. I-I want to find him…"

"……."

She broke into a fit of tears, and both Uryu and Renji took advantage of her vulnerable state to drag her into Garganta. Chad and Rukia followed closely behind, and the portal closed.

Seconds later, a similar portal opened but a few blocks away from Urahara Shoten. Having sensed the opening of Garganta, Urahara was already on his way there. Soul Society had also picked up the signal and dispatched three captains as a precautionary measure. The group, save Ulquiorra, stepped out of the portal, and turned to listen to Ulquiorra's parting words.

"Please remember, that from this point forward, if you enter Hueco Mundo once again, not only will you be considered enemies, but you will also be actively hunted, by Espada no doubt. So, I would recommend that at your current power levels that you not attempt to return to Hueco Mundo, even to find your nakama. Until we meet again."

Garganta then closed up, causing Ulquiorra to disappear from their sight. The group then turned towards Urahara Kisuke, whose face was, as usual, hidden behind his fan.

"Welcome back! It seems you've surpassed all my expectations! You've managed to come back more or less intact, and with Inoue-san in tow! But you guys don't seem too happy? Anything wrong?"

Orihime then burst into another fit of tears. He briefly wondered why. And then he blinked, and noticed something was slightly off. He realized what it was, and his face suddenly darkened.

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry."

That was his simple reply, but no one could say anything in response. All they could hear were the silent sobs of Orihime. Then, suddenly, another portal opened next to them. For a second, the ground thought that the arrancar had changed their minds and come to attack them. But after a second they realized it was the portal utilized by Shinigami to travel to the human world. As soon as it opened, out stepped three Shinigami captains, specifically, Hitsugaya Toushirou, Zaraki Kenpachi, and Kuchiki Byakuya. They looked like they were ready for a battle. Zaraki in particular looked rather disappointed when he noticed there were no enemies around.

"Damn. And I came here expecting a good fight."

"Kuchiki-taicho!"

Renji saluted his captain. He felt much better now, knowing that he wouldn't have the death of Rukia on his conscious. Byakuya nodded at him, which was about as much gratitude as Renji was going to get for protecting Rukia.

"Nii-san!"

Rukia jumped to hug Byakuya, and with a smile plastered on her face, she nodded when Byakuya asked her if she was alright. Renji was a little jealous of his captain, but he figured it was normal for siblings to do that. Byakuya quickly composed himself and turned to Renji.

"Report!"

Renji once again saluted, and began his report.

"As you can see, we succeeded in our mission to safely recover Inoue Orihime from captivity at the hands of the traitor Aizen Sousuke. In the process, we were able to destroy the Hougyoku, effectively eliminating Aizen Sousuke's ability not only create more arrancar, but also to create the ouken, Aizen's true objective. As a bonus, we were also able to eliminate one of the ten Espada, in particular, the Noveno Espada, Aaroniero Arleri."

Renji paused, and glanced sadly at Orihime for a split second. He truly felt sorry for her. She was obviously in love with Ichigo.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to return with Kurosaki Ichigo, and his current whereabouts and status are unknown. We have reason to believe that he is still alive, but unfortunately we have no proof to sustain this."

Despite the fact that most of them already knew that much, to have the words come out of one of their mouths served to cement the fact, as if it hadn't really been true until those words were said. It only caused Orihime to start another fit of pathetic sobbing. Byakuya spoke up, as if unfazed by such news.

"I see. Regardless, you are to return immediately to Soul Society by order of General Commander Yamamoto. You are hereby banned from returning to the human world for a period of three months. You will receive your debriefing when you return to the Seireitei. Are your orders clear?"

Rukia in particular appeared to be surprised by such orders, but knowing how Soul Society functioned, she thought it lucky to get off just with that, regardless of the fact that they had come here under the 'orders' of her brother. Renji was not surprised in the least with the news however, but still said nothing. Byakuya appeared as if he was about to repeat himself, when Renji replied in a low voice.

"Yes sir, Kuchiki-taicho."

Byakuya then looked down at Rukia, who looked somewhat saddened at such news. But as she turned to Renji, and then back at her brother, she knew that it would no good to object, and so she should just accept it for the time being.

"I understand, Nii-san."

"Very well, you are to return with us immediately."

They both nodded. They walked over to Orihime in an attempt to comfort her, but she didn't even move to acknowledge their presence. They looked at each other with a saddened expression, and then with a quick wave to rest of the group, turned and walked into the portal. Zaraki and Hitsugaya then followed them in, and Byakuya stayed for a little longer to relay to them the orders of Soul Society.

"In addition, Inoue Orihime is to be placed under the immediate protection of Soul Society. So as to not interfere with her normal life, we will dispatch no less than two Shinigami captains and four vice captains to protect her at all times."

Orihime said nothing, but she nodded her head ever so slightly to acknowledge that she had heard him. She was in no mood to argue with him anyway. It wasn't like he could anything anyway. The decision probably came from the top, from Yamamoto himself. Byakuya then stepped into the portal without another word, and left the group to their own thoughts. Urahara then approached the group and lowered his fan.

"Maybe we should head back to my shop. It's going to rain soon."

Everyone stared intently at Orihime. They wondered what she had been thinking about ever since they left Aizen's throne room. They could only begin to guess as they watched her rise, and begin what she would later call one of the longest walks of her life.

"DAMNIT!"

Ichigo collapsed into the sand. He had been walking for hours nonstop, and didn't have the energy to keep going. He knew it was a horribly bad idea to lie down in the desert, and much less sleep, but he couldn't help it. He was too tired. He sensed a presence, but it was so faint, he thought it had to have been his imagination. And so, despite his mental objections, he gave in to his body's desire and went to sleep in the desert of Hueco Mundo.

Expect Chapter 3 within the next week. The ideas just keep rolling in, so it should be ready by then.