Edward arrived in Soul Society promptly and Flash Stepped to Yamamoto's office. He threw the doors open forcefully and stepped in, ignoring the shouts of his bodyguards. He tossed the corpse on Yamamoto's desk, and spoke blankly:

"Done. The Free are done." Yamamoto was unmoved by the display, and spoke simply:

"Oh? And who's this?" Edward looked solemnly at the body, at Natsume's body, before replying:

"His name was Natsume. He-he was my… partner. I think…" Edward paused, realising something "But you already knew that, didn't you?" The room was silent, no one daring to speak, until the General Captain himself broke the silence:

"Gentlemen, would you excuse us?" His team bowed officially and then quickly departed, leaving the two in peace.

"Explain, now." Edward demanded, staring down the captain. Yamamoto paused for a second, and then began his explanation:

"You are an anomaly. A mistake. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you, for the second time. 300 years ago, you were a Soul Reaper in my division; in fact, you were almost my lieutenant. You were a prodigy, the first in your class and an easy seat, so good that I was confident you could handle it."

"Handle? Handle what?"

"There was a threat to Soul Society's integrity originating from Hueco Mundo. I created an elite team to investigate the issue, well in fact you did. You chose each member individually. The report stated that you were killed in action, and I thought we'd lost a brilliant Shinigami. But we were wrong. When a soul dies, they are reborn as a totally new being. But you didn't. I don't know why, but you… lingered. Your abilities, your powers, even your Zanpakuto, it all remained." Yamamoto looked at Edward guiltily, having hid this for too long "You endured. But your memories didn't." Edward had to sit down after hearing all this, the shock near knocking him out.

"I-I'm not Edward? Who-who am I? Clarice, my mum, are they even… my family?"

"Go and meet with Kurotsuchi. There's something him and I have been preparing for a while now."

Edward met Rebecca outside, who spoke comfortingly:

"Hitsugaya told me everything. It's OK, we're gonna sort this out!" She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't react. Rebecca removed the hand with a silent sigh, and the pair left for 12th Division.

"When the old man came to me with this project I must admit, I was intrigued. Usually I'm asked for new Gigai technology, a waste of my talents, but this was a real challenge. Not anything I'd struggle with, of course, but one all the same." Kurotsuchi bragged about his skills the entire time, until he bought them to a locked chamber. He found a key hidden among many others on a large hook, and used it to unlock the door. The locks clanged loudly, and the doors opened themselves dramatically. Inside sat a machine similar to that of Natsume's design, but with no computers and a simple console instead. Kurotsuchi led them in and began explaining the machine's use:

"I trust Yamamoto has filled you in." He said plainly, obviously not caring about Edward's plight "Memories are never lost, like energy they are eternal, so they can be retrieved. Yours have been dormant for quite some time, but I'm confident my invention can return them."

"You're confident?!" Rebecca cried

"Very. Now, if you'd simply sit in that chair we can get this over and done with!" Edward stepped over to the machine, but didn't sit in it.

"What about me… now? What about my life now? What will happen to my memories?"

"Well, the mind is fickle. It can't carry two lives. Your current memories will be overwritten, but all of your skills and experience will return."

Edward stared at the console in thought. Deciding on the path he should take. He stepped over to the chair, touching the armrest. He looked back at Rebecca and Kurotsuchi, before pulling out his sword and quickly stabbing it into console. It flashed and sparks flew as the machine shut down altogether. Kurotsuchi flew into a mad panic, whilst Rebecca simply grinned.

"How predictable!" she said with a chuckled. Edward smiled, and then spoke happily for the first time in ages:

"I wasn't going to leave my family and life behind for the sake of a past life. It wasn't worth it." He walked out the room, before turning around momentarily. "So, up for sparring?"