The beast was a powerful reminder that the effects of Aizens experiments would be felt for decades to come. These creatures were crawling out of the woodwork as of late and still causing all kinds of trouble. That sunny afternoon soon became dark with black smoke billowing into the sky, through the trees in the forest, and soon into the residential areas of the Seireitei.

This creature looked like something that was extracted straight from hell. Red skin, black membranous bat like wings, a series of knarled horns, crooked fangs, and a birdlike white hollow mask. In fact, Aizen had somehow done just that. It was powerful, but unstable hollow-devil. It was the only one of it's kind that the Shinigami had encountered. Heat emanated off the creature distorting the air around it. It was so hot that it ignited the trees it walked past. It left a river of melted rock and scalding mud in its wake. Soon half of the woods in the area were on fire.

Hitsugaya Toshiro and his vice cbaptain were first on the scene. Toshiro immediately released his Hyoinmaru to put out the fires. The ice put out flame, but also created scalding steam that created a large danger zone that residents needed to be escorted away from. And once the water evaporated the flames would start again.

While standing in the sky he spotted the source of the unending heat and tried to contain the hollow-devil with rings of ice from his zanpakuto, but it seemed no use. The creature would melt the ice and laugh, fire spewing out of his mouth as he did so.

Captain Kuchiki, Rukia joined Hitsugaya in trying to freeze the creature, but even their bankai only slow it down for moments. They were losing energy and running out of options.

Other captains and vice captains arrived on the scene, but the beast continued its rampage, destroying whatever it saw with fire and maniacal laughter. The 2nd squad lurked in the trees, waiting for a time to strike, but the heat repelled them. The 3rd, 5th, and 7th squads worked to clear the area of civilians and get them to safety before the beast burned through their areas.

The 8th and 9th officers were both in the living world and scattered around Rukongai on other assignments. The 12th squad stayed in their labs collecting information and analyzing events in real time searching for a solution. The 4th squad readied their hospital for the incoming injured, and sent some unseated officers out to triage in the field.

This left the 6th, 11th, and 1st squads to join the 10th and 13th. Byakuya arrived in time to help his sister and allow Toshiro to rest for a moment. A lash of Senbonzakura's blades was effective in halting the beast and gaining its interest. The heat it gave off though made it difficult for Byakuya or his Vice Captain to even view the creature. They had to back off. Byakuya eventually needed to use Senbonzakura to shield himself and the other Shinigami. They stood in the quiet shimmering dome of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, frustrated that they couldn't even get close enough to fight the beast.

There were a few effective attacks, but the risk to the Shinigami was too high to be a viable solution. Matsumoto rode on the tail of Hyoinmaru and after the ice cooled off the beast she attempted to use her zanpakuto to cut. While this was effective in the short term, The hollow-devil did not sit back and take the attack sitting down. His beaklike hollow mask opened up and shot a flaming cero her way. Hyoinmaru melted beneather her feet but she was snatched up by Renji's snake bone bankai, Zabimaru. The sword caughter her in it's mouth and returned her to the cool side of the grass where squad 4 could attend her wounds.

The Captain Commander and his Vice Captain as well as other officers faced similar challenges and had to hang back. Commander Kyoraku looked distracted, watching the cool tree line, away from most of the action.

As the Kuchiki's, Toshiro, and Masutmoto appeared nearby in a flash, Nanao asked "Commander? What should we do?" He looked to his left, at the mounting fire. He sighed, and just as he was ready to reply he was interrupted by the sound of Squad 11 approaching the scene.

They were still loud, boisterous, full of bravado, but now crisper in their movements, and precise in their execution. Penny was at the vanguard, directing and shouting orders. The group then began to surround the dome of heat that was emanating from the creature.

Nanao gasped "Those aren't zanpakutos!"

"OY!" came a familiar voice form behind Kyoraku.

The commander turned and smiled "Kurosaki! Good to see you, though this may not be the best time." He tipped wide brimmed straw hat to Orihime who had joined her husband in this trip to Soul Society. He turned his attention back to the battlefield and watched as Penny directed her unseated officers to use shovels. They were digging a large ditch and create a fire line. The girls that had flanked her at her first meeting with the squad were flanking their captain again. The creepy twins, as they people had started to call them, kept their hands on the hilt of their zanpakuto, their wolf like eyes focused on their target, ready to spring into action. The men and women of squad 11 used movements fueled by similar processes to shunpo to dig blindingly fast. A large ditch surrounded the fire, halting it from spreading across the grass.

The other squads looked on stunned, not only by the coordination, preparation, and cleverness, but also at the healing power of the squad members. There were injuries from the flames, from smoke and from inhalation, but when one fell, if they couldn't help themselves another would help them with healing kidou and soon the two were back in action. They were an army all by themselves. Penny had transformed an already strong group into a truly powerful team.

After a sufficient ditch was dug Penny called them back. More ragged than they were before, but all of them returned. A few limped into formation behind her, but they all returned to their precise mark. They were all trained and at the ready.

She felt a lot of pride watching her squad executed orders promptly. With her white cloak snapping on the breeze and one sharp nod of Penny's head the twins rushed forward and released their water zanpakuto with symmetrical grace. Two tsunami's of water blasted out of their swords, over the flames, extinguished the raging fires, and drained into the ditches creating a mote.

The steam rose and the cry of the beast and flames returned, but were still contained by the fire line. It very suddenly became a much more manageable fire. Penny looked over to her colleagues and yelled "10! 13! Get in there! Take your shot!" They listened, making the Commander chuckle. More and more water poured onto the beast knocking it to the ground and giving Toshiro and Rukia a chance to do real damage with their zanpakuto.

The beast was soon coughing smoke, and it's flames were reduced to almost nothing. In its last-ditch efforts to survive it started to cough up strange rocks. Everyone halted, cautious of what it was doing. Then it became apparent that the rocks, were not rocks, but balled up mini-hollow devils.

They rolled to a stop, then sprang into action. Tentacles began to sprout from the parent creature, flying off into different directions. It's tentacles seemed endless and the ends, as a few unseated officers unfortunately found out, were tipped with katana blades.

All the captains and some of their squad members were on the field now, fending off the tentacle blades, and the tiny devil-hollows. They were not strong little creatures and turned to dust with one slice of a zanpakuto, but their power was in numbers. The tentacles were flying rapidly, haphazardly. Penny was slicing the tiny creatures in all directions. More irritated than threatened. Soon Kyoraku was at her side, and they moved back to back fending off the tentacle blades and small creatures.

Kyoraku said "Looks like we're winning, Penny-chan." He swiped his blade vanquishing a tiny devil with minimal effort.

Penny replied "We're on the field of battle Commander" she too sent a couple of the little creatures to their demise with the swipe of her unreleased zanpakuto. Kyoraku and Penny stood back to back on the battlefield fending off the creature with plain swords. The Shinigami were fending it off, and the 11th squad took the lead. Penny was proud of their postures and could see the lessons she passed on to them. They were winning the battle. Off in the distance Penny heard Nanao cry out, but it was just another scream among the noise of battle.

It wasn't to Kyoraku and he flashed off to help his Vice Captain. Penny felt Kyoraku leave her side but thought it was just a small space between them. She was wrong.

She felt a tingling on her lower back before the tentacle struck her. It pierced her like a kebab and then threw her in the air.

Everyone helplessly watched as Penny's body tumbled through the air. Penny was always fighting and she couldn't even be still being flung through the air. She tumbled over and over sticking out her hands to grasp onto something. She hit the ground with a thud and Byakuya's stomach turned hoping that out of the snapping sound he heard was just tree branches, and not her neck.

She was flung beyond the tree line and everyone made the heart wrenching decision to focus on containing the devil-hollow.

Squad 11 continued with their orders, diligently and filled with passion. They had a well-practiced contingency plan in place just in case of this or a similar scenario. The devil-hollow began to regain it's strength. The men were tiring, and the endless number of mini-devils kept coming. They continued to fight long and hard.

Byakuya looked on, then glanced in the direction of where Captain Penny had been flung. For a moment, only a moment, he bit his lip then let it go. It was a habit his grandfather had mostly scolded out of him, but it surfaced now and again. He then glanced back in the other direction watching his sister contemplate using her bankai. It would leave her open to devastating attack if it were not initially successful. He glanced back at the trees and then felt eyes on him. He saw Kyoraku eyeing him with a bit of shock. They were both then distracted by the cackle of the hollow-devil.

Kyoraku saw Byakuya out of the corner of his eye and was just taking some inventory on his captains now that Penny was out of the area. He had confidence she would pull through, but still was worried, and felt guilt for not warning her he was leaving her side. He looked at Byakuya. "Hmf" he half chuckled. Penny bites her lip like that sometimes. In that moment , surrounded by the chaos and flames of battle, it hit him all at once. Byakuya's eyes. Sojun, Penny, Byakuya. Her boy had almost died. The way she looked at Kuchiki at the captains meetings. Byakuya is more powerful than anyone in his family, hell, anyone among the noble families in centuries. The timing of it all. No…he can't be…He was born before Penny got pregnant. When Byakuya glanced back towards where Penny had fallen he knew. He's smart like her, fast like her, quiet like her, powerful like her, That's undeniably her son…how can this be? I must be wrong.

Penny was jolted awake by a sharp nauseating pain radiated through her left side. How long have I been unconscious? The sun has already set. She looked up and saw the stars twinkling cold and indifferent to her pain, to the blood sweat and tears of her squad. Her physical pain was inconsequential to her compared to the shame she felt having been batted aside by her enemy like a rag doll. My face hurts. Good, pain means it will repair. The blood from lacerations on her scalp bled down into her left eye. She tried to blink it away but realized that was not helping. She sat up, winced from jostling her broken arm and ribs, and managed to get to her feet. "Mmmn Uuuh!" she blurted surprised at the pain. Just keep going. She looked down and saw her skin glowing as it healed.

She thought of the pain she had felt in the past and welcomed the new pain. Being sliced to pieces. One foot steady on the ground. Being left for dead on the trash. She dragged the other foot forward and stood up straight. Rape. The internal bleeding stopped. Betrayal of the old woman. Her skin closed up. Being set on fire by classmates. All of these things would kill a normal person, but it feeds me. I will continue to overcome all of it. Keep it coming! One step forward. Byakuya being taken from me. Here, she faulter, her leg giving out causing her to kneel. Her brow knit in anger and frustration and she stood again, with more resolve. She took another step. Soujun dying. She walked faster. Ukitake dying for all of us. She ran. This piece of shit-hollow dares to think this minor would will be the end of me?! Penny used her captain's power and tremendous speed to return to the battlefield. She knew the wound was not minor, and that using her ultimate power would likely make the damage more severe, but she was determined to end this conflict immediately.

When she arrived back at the battlefield and saw the creature that had batted her aside her rage could not be contained. Her reiatsu burst outward forth jolting the other captains with her sudden appearance and action. Their training prompted them to tell her to leave and heal, but their instinct, their guts, told them to leave her be. They could sense the power welling up inside of her. Penny's eyes opened wide and clouded over with white light. The other captains' danger instincts backed off.

When the devil-hollow came in to view she said "You sucker punch me and you think I'm not going to come for you?" she screamed. The heat that rolled off of her incinerated any of the small hollow-devils that tried to approach, and many that didn't. The color of her reiatsu took on an orange hue as it shot upward like a column of flame. Everyone could feel she was holding back as best she could.

Kyoraku Soutaicho approached her, as close as was safe, and yelled out to her "Penny-chan? Maybe you could take a rest? You're injured." She felt his concern. He knew she was pushing her limits and may tear herself apart. Gale force winds rolled off Penny's flame and wailed against the Captain Commander. He placed one of his large hands on top of his hat to keep it on. He didn't get too close for fear of burning up.

She looked at him and her reiatsu burst into full on raucous flames. He jumped back, uselessly shielding himself with his straw hat and a raised elbow as the fire licked outwards. "Or not" he quipped simultaneously amused and worried by the new 11th squad captain.

Kyoraku had landed next to Kuchiki Byakuya who stared at his peer and her indignant fire. The heat warmed his face, the fire reflected in his deep dark eyes. He gripped the hilt of Senbonzakura with white knuckle frustration.

Kyoraku turned his attention back to Penny and realized the other Shinigami needed to clear out of the area. Penny was about to go nuclear. Literally. When her hand gripped the hilt of her sword everyone nearby felt the same instinct: Get out. Everyone fled the field.

This instinctual voice was also loud in the hollow, except he found he could not move. It was too late. From the bottom of Penny's feet shot magma into the ground that streamed towards the hollow. From the underground, magma arms broke up the ground between them like large burrowing animals. The Earth peeled away revealing pools of magma underground. She raised her flaming sword and gave it a sharp shake wordlessly transforming it into a whip of molten flame. "You little shit" she spat through gritted teeth "You like fire so much, here, have some of mine!"

Before the waves of light-distorting heat pushed him away, Byakuya looked over his shoulder as he flash stepped away and saw two enormous hands made of lava and molten rock burst from the ground and snatch the hollow hybrid by the legs as it tried to fly away.

Byakuya had to get to safety and followed the Commander and others to Sougyoku cliff. The captains, vice captains, injured and fourth squad medics all watched from a distance as the ground opened up to a field of glowing lava. The Hollow screeched and screamed as it was then was pulled into the lava to its waist.

Penny walked across the lava like it was the cool damp grass that it replaced. Her sword had become a flowing whip of molten lava. The hollow wailed and screamed. To those on the hill the torture was not quite necessary but saw it as a natural part of her weapon. She was a product of suffering, who had been tortured all her life. Her weapon would likely reflect this kind of pain. The form of a whip confirmed to everyone she had been a slave.

The witnesses were all silent, watching in sheer disbelief at the scale of her zanpaktuou. This was just her shikai. It was a true force of nature.

Penny had been personally offended and humiliated by this creature. She wanted to also show her peers she was not limited to physical fights like her predecessors. She had simply chosen not to use her zanpaktuo's full powers until now. The hollow was being consumed by flames, but somehow broke free from the grip of her shikai. They all suspected she allowed it.

She raised her flaming whip and whispered "bankai." Her sword became a solid beam of white heat that shot straight up into the night sky. From straight over head, just as the Hollow stretched his melting wings wide in an attempt to fly, she brought down her sword of light.

From the Souguoku everyone was temporarily blinded by the light of her weapon and dove for cover. It was so bright there was no shadow. After the initial flash they felt a hot wind that knocked many of the less powerful over tumbling to a stop. The fire lit the sky as bright as day. Ichigo threw Inoue to the ground and covered her with his body. The light faded, but the commotion did not.

Ichigo looked up from his crouching position where he held he and saw an enormous mushroom cloud bubble upwards over the horizon. His stomach turned with recognition and fear. A power this terrible should never be unleashed. He put his head down and gripped Inoue closer to him. They both prayed to every god man had ever worshiped that they would be okay. Then the moonlight was blocked and ash began to fill the sky blotting out the stars.

Then everything ceased.

The cloud stopped growing, the ash hung suspended in the air, and the fire and flame at the base of it all halted and looked like smoked glass. It then all funnelled, with furious speed, down to a distant point where Captain Kenpachi Penny stood. All the fire, all the flame, smoke and ash returned to the long katana blade she held in front of her. The grass and the trees folded back into existence and the sky cleared revealing the twinkling stars and brilliant exotic flowers filled all the fields that had been scortched as far as the eye could see. The vegetation came back with brilliant lush vigour. The landscape looked like a fairytale.

It was a few quiet moments before the crickets began to call again. People began to breathe again and stir from where they had crouched or hid. The air was no longer acrid with blood and fire, but sweet with the fragrance of flowers and freshly cut grass.

Byakuya was one of the first to get to his feet and immediately approached Orihime, helping her to her feet. She blushed a bit as he looked at her so intently. As Ichigo got to his feet behind her Byakuya said to Orihime "Kenpachi Penny…she was badly injured."

Orihime nodded, understanding what he was asking of her. She didn't understand why Byakuya would be the one to ask her to heal the woman, but she did not care. She was happy to help. Byakuya took her hand when Ichigo grabbed his wrist. "I'll take her" he said, simply. It was obvious Ichigo did not want Byakuya carrying his wife through a battlefield.

Byakuya conceded and said "As you wish" and all three disappeared in a flash step.

After Penny's bankai was complete, and the land mended back together, she fell over,and landed in a bed of flowers of her own making. She whimpered and rolled to her back. She silently thanked heavens no one was around to hear the sound because, even in her physically frail state she would have been embarrassed. Her vision was blurring and she knew she could barelyhang on. Ah, tulips. She looked up at the sweet pretty bulbs that resulted from her firey attack. My favorites. The heat did not further damage her body, but had incinerated her clothing. She had no shame over nudity nor her scared and damaged body. She rolled onto her back feeling the cool green grass once again on her bare skin. What a lovely feeling. She still felt pain as her wounds returned and were worse than before. Her blood pumped out of the hole that reappeared and watered the flowers around her.

With her good hand she took her sheathed sword and stuck it in the ground. She turned her head and looked at it, smiled and said "Thank you". She appreciated being able to have such a cathartic moment. She then rolled onto her good side and painfully got to her good foot, leaning heavily on her sheathed zanpakuto.

She began to limp forward and noted that there was a pain in her left leg that she had ignored that was now worse. She began to sweat and shake. "Where the shit did everyone go?" she muttered to herself knowing full well where everyone went. She fell on her right knee and saw blood dripping from a gash in her side again. "Oh no" she gasped. "This is much worse than I thought…"

She slumped fully to the ground, feeling her reiatsu spilling out too. She instinctively put a hand on her side and felt her damp shredded body. Her last thought was At least I went out like a boss…

Blackness overtook her.