Ikkaku had told her he was supposed to be in position at one of the four pillars the next day, and yet her nerves were so frayed she felt as if her entire body was going to catch fire at the slightest inconvenience-and this was much more than a slight inconvenience.

Chessebelle had her hand gripped so tightly to the sheath of her zanpakuto that she began to think she would either crush it or her bones from the force.

The tension was palpable, almost every captain and lieutenant standing in this diversion, simply waiting. A pack of lions ready to pounce, their muscles tensed and eyes dilated with a desire to kill.

She stood below them, on a nearby rooftop, wanting to be close to the action as well as a view of the entire scene. The head captain had placed Ikkaku, Yumichika, Shuhei, and Kira at the four corners and put out orders for any other seated individuals to patrol the streets of both the real Karakura Town and the fake one. Akon and herself had both agreed to keep most of their squad in the real Karakura Town, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute being top priority for their division and often proving to be the most useful during invasions. He would stay there while Chessebelle dispatched to the fake Karakura.

A sudden screech tore through the air, a rip in the very fabric of sky beginning to form. There was a symphony of zanpakuto rustling in their sheathes, watching as the garganta formed before the 13 Court Guard Squads before revealing the three traitors.

Sosuke Aizen was first to leave the safety of the void, stepping into the bright blue of the fake Karakura town with Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen behind him. The three stood proud for all to see, Aizen wearing a smug expression that made Chessebelle's skin crawl.

"You humor me, Head Captain. You must know that this distraction doesn't suit you."

His voice was smooth, calm. Even facing most of the Gotei 13, Aizen wasn't phased. Slate hues glanced towards Captain Hitsugaya, the boy flicking the hilt of his zanpakuto, the metal gleaming against the sun and ready. The former captain chuckled as he looked each and every one of them over, brown eyes regarding them like children.

"This does nothing but put a brief delay on things," He paused, raising one hand and snapping his fingers. "A very brief delay."

Three more gargantas suddenly appeared, Chessebelle sucking in a sharp breath through her teeth at the sight.

The first contained just two figures-a hunched over man with wavy hair and a slack-jawed expression with a smaller female wearing a one horned helmet and hardly anything else.

The second held a burly old man, a crown atop his head and scars gracing his face. Behind him stood a group of bodyguards of varying sizes and appearances.

The last garganta revealed a tall blonde woman, her arms across her bust and the collar of her jacket covering the lower half of her face. Three other women stood behind her, sneering down at their enemies.

They all wore a varying version of the same clothes-a similar shihakusho with inverted colors.

"Starrk, Barragan, Halibel." It wasn't an introduction to the Gotei 13, but the start to an order, Aizen closing his eyes as if thinking. "Kill them where they stand. Then let's move to the Soul Society and destroy the real Karakura Town."

The Gotei 13 seemed to hold their breath, waiting for something more. Chessebelle lifted her foot, making a move to leave her position and help the rest of her comrades but halting as the Head Captain suddenly lifted his cane. The spell around his zanpakuto dispelled, curling back and revealing his weapon. The twelfth division member was taken aback at the sight-she had never seen the Head Captain unsheath his zanpakuto since she became a soul reaper.

It was only for a moment, however, as Yamamoto released his zanpakuto. An inferno suddenly washed over her head like a tsunami, completely obscuring her view. The heat slapped her skin, the shinigami bringing her arm over her face protectively. The sleeve of her shihakusho was singed when she brought it down, looking up to see Aizen, Gin, and Tosen all encased in a fiery prison.

She stared in awe at the sight, the power that came from it nearly making her collapse.

The shinigami could hear a conversation happening above her between the Gotei and Aizen's arrancar army, but could only make out garbled words. The burly espada with the crown was suddenly missing fraccion, four of them having been dispatched.

She could feel his spiritual pressure enter the area. Her heart skipped a beat as the realization hit her. Chessebelle used her shunpo, lifting herself over the rooftops of the fake Karakura, heading towards the south-west tower. As she ran she could hear Yamamoto's gruff voice behind her.

"Attack them with all your might!"

It was a fast transition, a single moment and the enemy pounced on their victims.

"We've already got a coward!"

Chessebelle was inches from Emilou Apacci's face, a wild grin spread across her face.

The twelfth division member had always been calm and collected, bordering on emotionless after Shinji Hirako's death. Even when other Gotei 13 members tried to prod her for a reaction, even when enemies taunted her like Apacci was doing now, and even when Ikkaku teased her-she never let much of anything get to her.

But this was her breaking point as she could already see a plume of debris and smoke coming from her destination. Slate hues were torn from the pillar as Apacci swiftly brought her hand up to grab Chessebelle's hair. The shinigami quickly brought her hand to meet the arrancar's forearm, her nails digging into her flesh like a hawk grabbing its prey.

Apacci wasn't taken by surprise, her grin faltering for only a moment as she looked into the smaller woman's eyes, a ferocity burning within them that had laid dormant for centuries.

"I have to be somewhere to deal with more pressing matters than someone like you." Chessebelle's voice was stone, firm and cold with a tone that deflected any further questions.

The fraccion's grin widened this time, leaning close to the side of the white-haired shinigami's face.

"I'm going to bury you in the ground." Apacci followed up her words, reeling her head back before bashing it into Chessebelle's forehead with such force that she was thrown to the ground below, a crater in the cement from the impact.