Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters.

A.N.: This chapter will have spoilers from the manga concerning certain Espada's powers. You have been warned.

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If the Shinigami forces hadn't all been called back to defend the Seireitei in case of a possible attack, someone might have spotted the gaping hole in the night sky over Karakura town. The few inhabitants who even had the ability to see the ten figures suddenly leaping out of the giant maw were either asleep or otherwise occupied, and so it was that Orihime and nine other spirits landed without incident at an abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of town.

"So this is the place?" asked Yami, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Orihime nodded, certain of this particular memory. "Yes. They have a barrier over it so that no one else can see them or feel their presence inside."

"Well then, it might be better if we let our sexy Espada here...I'm sorry, I meant Sexta Espada-," Nnoitra quickly amended, noticing Ulquiorra's menacing glare, "-introduce us first. We wouldn't want them to think this was an invasion."

"Go on, Orihime," Halibel told her. "This was your idea, after all."

The auburn-haired girl nodded, then braced herself as she crossed the Vizard shield. The tingling sensation she felt as she emerged inside the warehouse told her that her presence had triggered an alarm.

She took a few tentative steps when no one immediately challenged her. A quick look behind her showed the Espada still framed by the open doorway, though Orihime knew that they couldn't see her from that side.

When she faced forward again, she gasped as a shadow rose up directly in front of her and clutched her arm in a vice-like grip.

"You!"

"H-hi?"

There was something vaguely familiar about the goggle-headed female, but Orihime couldn't say whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What are you doing back here? Berry-tan is still in Hueco Mundo looking for you!"

"I'm sorry--who?"

"Ichigo, you moron! He left us to find you, even though he wasn't through with his training. Now if gets slaughtered by Aizen, it'll be your fault!"

Orihime sensed that Ichigo's name normally triggered strong emotions inside of her--joy? vengeance?--but crippled as she was, she was shut off from any of it. Now all she could cling to was cold logic as she tried to work past her initial confusion. "But why would Ichigo fight Aizen? I thought the Vizard were leaving Aizen-sama alone."

The other girl gave her an exasperated stare and began counting on her fingers. "One, he was fighting to bring you home ...but somehow you managed to do that on your own anyway. Good job, seems your friends have risked their lives for nothing! Two, Berry-tan is not officially one of us and what he does is none of our business. And three... oh hell, do I really need a three? Yes I do. Why are there ESPADA standing outside our door?!"

"I'm sure Orihime has a good reason. Now please, let go of her Mashiro."

The green-haired Vizard gave a soft yelp of surprise as her arm was gently but forcibly removed from Orihime's by a kind-faced giant. Orihime looked up gratefully at her rescuer, who she recognized but could not name.

"Please, sir, you have to help us. We need our hollow powers back so that we can save Aizen-sama!"

"Hmmm?" rumbled the mustached giant in surprise, his frown not the least bit encouraging.

"Are the rumors true then, Orihime-chan? Have you really betrayed the Soul Society to join with your kidnappers?" asked a new voice from the shadows. Suddenly six more faces were illuminated in the gloom. Orihime shrank back from the last speaker, whose odd grin reminded her of Nnoitra.

"I don't know anything about a kidnapping," she protested. "And I haven't betrayed anyone. I was always an Espada."

The goggle-wearing girl was back, this time jabbing her finger repeatedly at Orihime's body. "Oh yeah? Then where's your hollow hole, huh? Is it here? There? Here maybe?" Each jab was followed by a cry from Orihime, who wondered what she had done to aggravate the other female.

"Enough, Mashiro. It is easy to sense that she is no hollow," commanded the speaker, who Orihime suspected was their leader.

"Not any more," Orihime confirmed. "That's why we came to ask your help."

"Hachi, is there any truth to what she's saying?" asked another female, this one wearing a red outfit with a sword strapped to her right shoulder.

The giant studied Orihime, his expression becoming downcast. "I cannot say what might have happened to her since she left for Hueco Mundo, except that in that time, she has died and been reborn into the Soul Society. That might explain her confusion."

"We'll have to interrogate the others, then, to get the full story," sighed the leader. "Very well, let them in."

The man they called Hachi proceeded to cross his arms in front of him and then slice them through the air, creating a violent gust of wind that made the building shudder. The waiting Espada seemed to know at once that the barrier was down, and boldly strode into the Vizard's home.

"Greetings, cousins. We are delighted to find that the legendary Vizard are more than simple myth," smiled Halibel, bowing her head as she approached them.

"Maybe we prefer to stay a myth," said the Vizard leader, throwing the Espada an eerie grin. "Maybe you should start by giving me a reason not to kill you all."

The Espada stiffened, but Halibel motioned for them to keep still. "As I'm sure you can sense, we have very little power as we are now," she continued carefully. "That is why we came here, to ask you to share the secret techniques you used to gain your hollow halves."

"You've just told me why you don't pose a threat. You still haven't told me why I should care," snorted the Vizard, sounding bored.

With another gesture from Halibel, each of the Vizard suddenly found themselves at the end of an Espada sword. Halibel remained where she was, but now leaned her weight against the zanpakuto she had planted into the ground. Orihime watched in stunned silence, unaware that her companions had already relearned how to summon their Shinigami weapons. Did they expect her to-?

"Careful, Vizard. I said we have little power compared to what we once were. I never said we weren't a threat," growled Halibel.

None of the Vizard looked overly concerned by the weapons pointed in their faces. Even Hachi seemed more worried about Orihime's safety than his own; completely ignoring Ulquiorra's sword at his throat and appearing more unsettled by the green-eyed Espada's close proximity to her.

"So you aren't completely helpless. That's good. It's so hard to respect someone who has no spine." The Vizard leader leapt down from his perch, startling the baffled Espada who had been guarding him. Halibel didn't even blink as he shunpoed up next to her, raising his own sword and casually running a finger along its edge.

"So you wish to become hollows, eh? I feel it's only fair to warn you that it will be much harder this time around."

"Whatever it takes," said the dark-skinned female, sounding determined.

"Well, for starters, now that you've been purified, you no longer have the soul plate in the middle of your chests that so conveniently showed you what part of your spirit needed to be carved out. So your options are three-fold: One, find a body and possess it for twenty-or so years, locking your powers inside it, at which point a new soul chain will form which you can then sever at will-"

"We don't have that kind of time!" snapped Szayel, who was trying hard to keep his sword aimed at Mashiro despite her tendency to float around the room.

"Two," continued the Vizard, throwing the pink-haired Espada an annoyed look, "somehow convince a hollow to graft its powers onto you. As you can imagine, this presents its own set of challenges, and quite frankly, I don't think you're going to find any willing subjects. I know of only one case-"

"What's the third option?" Halibel interrupted, growing impatient.

The man resumed his eerie grin. "The third option is to put your soul at the mercy of a hollow, and allow it to feed on you. Eventually, it will corrupt enough of your spirit to turn you into a hollow yourself. Unfortunately, you cannot be sure what else it might destroy in the process."

"It's a risk we're willing to take," sighed Halibel, then with a grim nod at the others, sheathed her sword. The Espada followed her example and immediately flash-stepped to her side. Orihime was about to follow them when she felt Hachi tugging at her sleeve.

"Please don't do this, Orihime-chan. You don't belong with them."

"Then where do I belong, Hachi-san? There is something wrong with me--I've felt it ever since I arrived at the Soul Society. It's like a piece of who I am is missing; like what your leader just said happens when you become a hollow-"

"Orihime-chan, listen to me. We've had this talk before, even though you may not remember. You and I have the gift of restoration. If any part of you is missing, you have the power to bring it back."

She shook her head. "Maybe I used to, but I think that gift is part of what's missing. I don't have the power to do that any more."

Hachi seemed ready to say something when Halibel called out to her, "Come, Orihime. We are leaving." Turning to the Vizard leader, she added, "You have our thanks, cousins."

The grinning man was no longer smiling. "Think nothing of it. However, it would be wise of you not to make assumptions. Although neither of us bear any love for the Soul Society, it would be a far stretch for us to call one another allies. If you violate our privacy again, we will kill you."

Halibel turned on her heels and marched back through the gateway, the others a step behind her. Orihime threw Hachi an apologetic look as she rushed to join them.

"Oh, and Orihime?" the Vizard leader called to her. "Just so you know, if in the future you try to cross the barrier again, it will kill you, too."

Hachi threw the man a sullen look, but did not dare to countermand him. Orihime nodded her understanding, then followed the Espada back out into the night.


They paused to orient on the baying howl of their prey. The hollow hadn't shown any signs of being aware of them, which meant that it was either too busy feeding, or that it didn't consider them to be any threat.

Yami, who had been standing close enough to Orihime to see her shiver, grinned a toothy smile.

"Does a little thing like that scare you, girl? It's not even a measly gillian!"

"Oh?" asked Aaroniero in a high voice, having overheard the other Espada's comment. "And what's so measly about a gillian, hmm?"

"Quiet, both of you!" hissed Halibel, drawing up alongside them. "We're close enough that it might hear you." She then shunpoed ahead, and the two males were forced to give up the argument in order to catch up.

Orihime didn't even try, knowing that she wasn't skilled enough to match their speed. Minutes later, when she found them clustered outside a park, she took a moment to lean against her knees and catch her breath.

"Pshh, not only can't she draw her zanpakuto, but she can't even shunpo!" snickered Yami in a whisper that was still loud enough for everyone to hear. Orihime felt her face flush a deep crimson.

"It's not my fault--no one ever showed me how!" she protested weakly.

"Drawing your zanpakuto should be as natural as breathing," Aaroniero commented offhandedly. "Maybe Yami is indeed on to something. No Espada could possibly be this pathetic, even without her memories." He moved to approach Orihime, who braced herself to summon her shield, when a sharp jab made him stop.

"You will leave Orihime alone, Aaroniero." Ulquiorra stood behind him, his sword pressed against the other's back.

"Ulquiorra," grumbled the Ninth Espada. "I am surprised at how often you come to this lady's rescue. If you aren't careful, some of us may get the wrong ideeeee-ah!" He cried out as Ulquiorra dug the tip of his sword a little deeper, earning him a hard look from Halibel and the others who were busy observing the hollow from the concealment of the bushes. Orihime couldn't see anything clearly from where she was standing, except for a vague black outline shuffling past the children's playground.

"I can clearly remember Lord Aizen ordering me to watch over her," Ulquiorra told him softly. "However, I don't remember him telling me any such thing about you."

"Bah," spat Aaroniero, drawing himself away from the other's blade. "What would I need your protection from anyway? Measly gillian, indeed. I'll show you what this measly gillian can do!"

Before the others could stop him, Aaroniero walked past the Espada's hiding spot and planted himself directly in front of the startled hollow.

"I have a proposition for you," he called out to the creature, who Orihime could now see resembled a giant boar. A boar with far too many limbs that all twisted the wrong way and a skeletal face with three eye holes, but Orihime would still definitely call it a boar.

"And why should I care?" the hollow moaned at him, lowering his tusks in preparation to strike.

"Because if you agree, you will get an easy meal. And if you do not, you risk getting cut apart by this," he said, holding up his zanpakuto.

The sight of the Shinigami weapon seemed to enrage the giant hollow. He dove forward and tried to gore Aaroniero, but the latter leapt onto the hollow's back and buried his sword in its spine. The creature flailed its many limbs helplessly, unable to reach the Espada's perch. As Aaroniero sawed the vertebrae in half, the hollow stopped moving all together.

"Fool, you killed it!" shouted Yami. "Now we'll have to go find a new one!"

"I didn't kill it, you idiot. I merely showed it the price of disobedience." The hollow began to wail piteously, rolling its head from side to side. Aaroniero jumped down and kicked it in the teeth. "Shut up! You should have just listened to me in the first place!"

"Kill me then," the hollow said. "If you don't, other hollows will come to feed on me."

Nnoitra laughed at the miserable creature. "We are the other hollows, fool. But we haven't come here to feed just yet."

"Instead, I'll give you a chance to feed on me," Aaroniero explained. "But I want you to do it slow, and stop when I tell you. If you don't, these others here will make sure it's the last thing you ever do."

The hollow looked startled, but agreed. Orihime then watched in grim amazement as the Espada lay down in front of the creature's mouth and let the hollow draw in bits of his soul. Aaroniero's body began to shudder, and before long he was screaming in pain. When the Espada commanded it to stop, the hollow obediently clamped its mouth shut. Despite this, Aaroniero's body seemed to tear itself apart, until finally it disappeared completely.

"Won't be long now," said Halibel.

In moments, a bright flash of light announced a new presence nearby. They all turned to stare as a mass of roiling purple tentacles materialized a few yards away. The mass continued to writhe and grow, until two very large eyes and a mouth sprouted at the thing's center.

"It seems you've recovered your old looks, Aaroniero," Szayel congratulated him. He waved a hankerchief under his nose as he approached to study the newly-transformed Espada. "As well as your old smell. I wonder if it's enough, however? Will you be able to recover your-"

His words were cut off as a tentacle wrapped itself around Szayel's waist and pulled him inside of its body. The other Espada immediately jumped back a safe distance and drew their zanpakuto. Orihime was relieved--although somewhat ashamed--to see Ulquiorra once more defending her. The crippled hollow was not so lucky, and it too was dragged screaming into Aaroniero's bloated gut.

Just as suddenly, the body seized and collapsed in on itself, as if someone had pulled a plug and deflated it. The watching Espada did not relax in the slightest, even when a lone figure drew itself out of the violet muck and calmly walked towards them.

"No need to panic, it's just me," Szayel announced, flicking bits of goo off his robes. "When that fool swallowed me, I used Gabriel to resurrect inside of it, and destroyed him in the process."

"So why did he turn on you?" asked Yami in surprise.

Szayel snorted in derision. "The fool had clearly let too much of himself get eaten. He lost the part of his soul that could reason, the part that would have made him an arrancar. After being fed on by that hollow, there was nothing left of him but the basic hollow instinct to feed."

"There's something I still can't figure out," said the large black man who was the Seventh Espada. Szayel inclined his head at him in polite puzzlement. "I can see how Aaroniero regained his powers after becoming a hollow," Zommari continued. "But Szayel, at what point did you regain your ability to use Gabriel?"

The Espada scientist smiled, then without warning shot a tentacled arm around Zommari's throat.

"You see too much, old friend. I think it's time I put out some of your eyes-"

Before Szayel's misshapen hand could tunnel its way into Zommari's horrified face, he stiffened and dropped back, gurgling violet slime as he fell. No one said a word as all eyes turned to Stark, who was calmly wiping purple blood off his zanpakuto.

"All right, we've wasted enough time with this," said Halibel, at last breaking the silence. "I don't know what went wrong with Aaroniero, but I won't risk it happening to the rest of us. Weak or not, we will return to Lord Aizen as we are, and beg him to use the Hougyoku on us."

As the higher-ranking Espada cast the kidou to open a portal out of the living world, Yami inched his way over to Ulquiorra and Orihime.

"Overall, it's been a rather productive night, wouldn't you say?" he chuckled, drawing an imaginary number eight on his left shoulder. "Lucky for you, Orihime, I still have Zommari in my way. I thought I'd give you fair warning, though, that I'll be nipping at his heels, and he's gonna feel the pressure to start nipping at yours soon enough."

Before either of them could reply, the garganta was ready, and Yami was the first to leap through. Orihime was about to follow when Ulquiorra held up his hand in caution.

"I will follow Lord Aizen's orders to the best of my ability, but I am only the Fourth Espada," he told her softly, cupping her chin in his hand. "You must recover your powers soon, before any of the top three begin to doubt you. When we find Lord Aizen, you must be the first to kneel before him and ask to be restored."

Orihime nodded at him wordlessly, her mind still reeling from the violence she had witnessed between her fellow Espada.

"Don't worry, if you are important enough to him that he commanded me to protect you, he will surely not let any of the others harm you."

With that last bit reassurance to sustain her, Orihime accepted Ulquiorra's hand as they crossed over into Hueco Mundo.