Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters.
A.N. - My continued thanks for your reviews!
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Individually, they might not have remembered enough to find their way back to the fortress of Las Noches. When the eight of them pieced together their fragmented memories, however, they were able to map out a route through the desert.
It did not take them long to return to Aizen's side.
The ex-Shinigami captain sat on his throne looking unconcerned and unsurprised, as if he had been expecting them. Halibel dropped to one knee in his presence, and the others quickly followed her example.
"Lord Aizen, I humbly beg your forgiveness for taking so long to reach you, and for coming before you in such a pathetic state. We pray that you will still find us worthy and restore our hollow powers."
Their leader smiled down at them fondly, like a parent reassuring a child. "My my, such serious faces. You met my expectations; there's no need to be ashamed."
Despite her inability to feel emotion, including fear, Orihime still had a strong sense of self-preservation that screamed at her to run away from there. She fought this off with difficulty as she shakily rose from her prostrated position, remembering Ulquiorra's words.
"Aizen-sama," she began, feeling the other Espadas' eyes on her. "Please restore my powers first. When I died, I lost almost everything. I'm useless to you as I am now."
She watched the man's smile fade as he recognized her. "Orihime Inoue. Isn't this a surprise." He leaned forward in his throne, beckoning her closer. "Tell me, my dear. Why would I wish to restore your powers... when you last used them to betray me?"
Orihime halted her approach, standing frozen in shock. She didn't even move when a second later, she felt a sword edge pressed against her throat. Somehow, the scene felt very familiar.
"I humbly apologize, Lord Aizen," said Ulquiorra, keeping his blade steady despite the new shakiness in his voice. "I was convinced by my memories that she was important to you. I would never have brought her here if I suspected that she was a threat to you."
Orihime couldn't believe what was happening. She had threatened Aizen? When--how could that have happened? She was one of his loyal Espada, wasn't she? After all, Ulquiorra had told her-
But then Ulquiorra now had his sword aimed at her neck. Clearly, his memories of her were in doubt, just as her own were. And despite the feelings the Fourth Espada claimed to have for her, he hadn't hesitated to aim his weapon at her when he thought his lord was in danger. If Orihime had ever wondered what she truly meant to him, she now had proof of where Ulquiorra's priorities lay.
As these thoughts raced through her head, Orihime could hear Aizen chuckling. "Oh, she was never a threat. I always had my doubts about her. But you, Ulquiorra, have once again proven your loyalty to me."
The green-eyed Espada bowed his head in acknowledgement. Orihime still couldn't believe his betrayal, and hoped that any moment now, Ulquiorra would grab her and they would flee together back into the desert.
"What do you want done with her, Aizen-sama?" the fourth Espada asked him instead.
The man sat back against his throne and hummed thoughtfully. He reached into his cloak and withdrew a swirling purple object. Orihime gasped in recognition.
"So you remember the Hyougyoku, Orihime-chan? You wanted it so badly at our last encounter, and weren't you just now begging me to give you hollow powers?"
This is wrong! screamed the voices in her mind. Run away! Flee, while you still have the chance!
Orihime ducked her head and summoned her shield, which slammed against Ulquiorra's sword as he tried to swing it down at her. She dove past the kneeling Espada and raced towards the exit, but a hand cruelly grabbed her from behind and jerked her backward. She spun around and gasped to find Aizen holding on to her robes.
"Changed your mind?" he continued casually. "This might help you find a new point of view." So saying, the glow of his reiatsu poured into the purple orb in his hand until it shone with blinding light, which then struck Orihime full in the chest. Her entire body itched and burned, as if her skin were peeling away. She wanted to cry out in pain, but almost gagged as white liquid poured out of her open mouth and wrapped itself over her face. She felt her eyes tearing and forced them shut as she saw the white substance clouding her vision.
A dark presence grew in her mind. She shrank back from it as it suffocated her senses, revolting her with its pure malignancy. She made a half-hearted attempt to fight it, but quickly retreated back into herself as she sensed its massive strength.
I wanted power, but not this! she cried to herself. I'd rather feel half-empty and weak, than filled with this horrible darkness!
She heard Aizen speaking to her, and forced her eyes to remain shut. However, a will stronger than hers now took full command of her body, and she reluctantly opened them to see her vision now framed by bone-white eye sockets.
"After all the trouble we went to through to find you, Orihime-chan, the only polite thing to do would be for you to remain here."
"Of course, Aizen-sama," she heard herself say. In her mind, however, she was screaming.
Orihime awoke to find herself panting and her robes drenched in sweat.
It was their fourth night in the desert. Despite trying to piece together a map of Hueco Mundo from what little each of them remembered, the Espada were no closer to finding Las Noches than they had been upon their arrival.
What a horrible dream, she thought to herself with a shiver, wrapping herself in her cloak. Nearby, she could also hear Yammy tossing and moaning, and knew that he was having another of his routine nightmares
She climbed to her feet and paced around their small camp, feeling slightly better after that bit of stimulation. Images from the dream still haunted her thoughts, especially the memory of Aizen awakening the dark being inside of her. Had that been her hollow? Was that her true self--the one Lord Aizen and the other Espada remembered and expected her to be?
No, that can't be the real me! she insisted firmly to herself, remembering how wrong that other presence had felt. And if it is, I don't care--I won't let them turn me back! Even if I stay weak like this forever...
Did that mean she was abandoning Lord Aizen and the rest of her fellow Espada? Surely they would never allow her to leave them. If she tried to escape, they would kill her--or worse.
Her pacing led her to stand over Ulquiorra, who rested peacefully by the fire. Orihime normally felt comforted by her protector's presence, but the memories from the dream were still too fresh in her mind. She could almost feel the pressure of his blade against her neck. She had once welcomed his strength, but now she recognized that his power could be a threat to her. He had been all too ready to cast her aside for the sake of Aizen's approval. Despite Ulquiorra's reassurances and professed feelings for her, Orihime worried that his words had been empty--spoken more out of reflex from suddenly finding himself with a conscience than from any conscious soul-searching.
Even if he did mean what he said to her, those feelings would all too soon be stripped away when he regained his hollow self. Orihime remembered from the dream what it felt like to have her consciousness be forced back into a small corner of her mind while the hollow took full control. At that point, even the illusion of Ulquiorra as a warm and caring protector would disappear.
She felt her eyes brim with tears as she realized that she was truly alone and friendless, stranded in an unfamiliar land with enemies on all sides. The one person she had depended on to save her was just as likely to turn her over to her greatest enemy.
A large hand suddenly clamped itself over her mouth, muffling the sound of her screams as she felt someone grab her from behind. She felt the world spin as she was shunpoed backward a short distance, and was left to guess at the identity of her assailant until she heard his voice whisper in her ear.
"I see through you, Sexta Espada," he hissed. "You have played us all for fools, pretending you were one of us. But in my dreams, I've finally found my memories. I saw you locked in an isolation cell in Las Noches. I remembered Ulquiorra leading you around like a prisoner on a leash. And I remembered seeing you in the living world, a pathetic human, and breaking through your precious shield with a single finger!"
Orihime gasped as she actually visualized the memories as Yammy described them to her, recognizing them as real. What could that mean?! Had they been wrong all along? Was she really a human--not one of Aizen's arrancar?
"No need to wake the others for this. I'll take my time and savor killing you slowly," the giant said, barking a laugh.
Orihime couldn't see what the newly-promoted eighth Espada was doing, as he still held her faced away from him. She braced herself for the worst, waiting until the right moment to summon her shield. She intended to use it as a distraction, rather than holding any real hope that it could protect her from that monster.
"What are you doing?" a new voice interrupted them. Orihime entertained a brief illusion of Ulquiorra coming to her rescue, but the voice was not his.
"Go mind your own business, Zommari."
"I have more business with you than this girl, Tenth Espada. If you want to challenge us, you do it in the proper order."
Orihime gasped as Yammy suddenly dropped her onto the sand. She heard the ring of steel being unsheathed, and felt the pressure of two powerful reiatsu pressing her against the ground.
The clash of swords was directly on top of her, and the voices in her mind again urged her to save herself. Orihime crawled on her hands and knees until she was far enough away from their spirit pressure to climb to her feet.
I should use this distraction to escape the Espada. I can't stay here and watch--no matter who wins, they'll want to fight me next!
Yet what was the likelihood she would succeed in escaping? They had access to their Shinigami powers, and could probably track her reiatsu from great distances. Her offensive powers were lost, and all she could summon was her shield.
But they might not know that, she suddenly realized. They probably guess that I'm weak, and if I run away, they'll know for sure. If I can fool them somehow into thinking I'm stronger, they might not want to fight me, she reasoned quickly.
It was a safer bet than running away and knowing that when they found her, she would die.
A high-pitched ring drew her attention as she saw Yammy's zanpakuto snap in half after a fierce exchange with Zommari's weapon. The giant looked down at the broken sword in disgust before tossing it aside.
"It doesn't matter. My fists are the only weapons I need to take care of you."
Zommari shrugged. "I have no objection to fighting hand-to-hand." He sheathed his sword, then explained to the startled Espada, "I don't want to hear you complain later that this fight wasn't fair. Not that you'll survive."
"We'll see about that," grinned Yammy, looking increasingly more confident. He lowered himself into a crouch, then leapt up suddenly, startling his opponent as he threw handfuls of sand in his face. As Zommari sputtered and wiped at his blinded eyes, Yammy launched an uppercut to his unprotected jaw, sending the large black man flying. Yammy didn't wait for him to land, shunpoing to materialize behind him and toss another punch to his lower back. Zommari's body arched in pain, but he managed to reach out and grab hold of Yammy's arm. The tenth Espada grinned, placing his other hand over Zommari's to hold it in place as he spun and aimed another punch at the man's chest as they both fell, Yammy landing on top of the other man and pinning him down with his fist.
"I hope you're watching, girl," Yammy called out to her, startling Orihime. "I'll do the same thing to you. Though when I get you in this position, I may decide to get creative."
Suddenly the brute yowled in both pain and surprise as the body beneath him disappeared and five different Zommaris seemed to materialize around him, landing various blows to his chest and face. The pummeling continued mercilessly as Yammy's body slowly came apart. Despite the threats he had given her, Orihime could not bear to watch what was being done to him. She lowered her eyes to the sand, not wanting to turn away completely and risk appearing weak. That was when she noticed the glint of his discarded zanpakuto.
"How...did...you...do...it?" gasped the dying Espada between labored, gurgling breaths.
"Someone as weak as yourself never stood a chance against me. Your challenge was pathetic, yet I decided to give you the opportunity to prove yourself if you could. If you had continued to punch me as I was thrown through the air, you might have managed to actually harm me. As it was, you lost the moment you allowed my feet to touch the ground."
Orihime raised her eyes as Yammy's body finally fell. Zommari looked at it impassively, then turned his gaze toward her. Orihime knew that her face betrayed no emotion, because she felt none. Yammy's zanpakuto was hidden in the folds of her cloak, but she knew better than to test the broken blade against someone with Zommari's experience and speed. Her bluff of strength was her only protection now, as intuition told her that her shield would not block him this time around.
He seemed to study her for a moment, then nodded to himself and turned away, heading back to their camp.
Orihime managed to suppress her sigh of relief, but couldn't quite believe her good fortune. Zommari was still a threat, and the constant worry of him unexpectedly attacking her at any moment finally drove her to ask what was on her mind.
"Are you going to challenge me, Seventh Espada?"
The grim black-skinned giant made a sound of displeasure. "We have already lost three Espada, and have yet to find Lord Aizen. What kind of aid could we bring him if we keep killing each other? No, I will wait until we return to him, and for you and I to have our powers restored. Then we shall see how we stand."
Orihime nodded sadly. She no longer wanted her powers restored; not if it meant surrendering herself to her hollow.
"Did I do good, Hinagiku?" Lily asked, beaming at him proudly.
The one-eyed Shun Shun Rikka nodded approvingly. Apparently Lily's ability to stimulate Orihime's imagination also helped her shape the girl's dreams--a useful talent that almost compensated for Lily's annoying over-stimulated and over-positive behavior. In this case, they used that ability to craft a nightmare which they hoped might trigger some of Orihime's buried memories. They had been more than successful, and Orihime had been able to conclude all on her own that joining Aizen's side was a very bad idea.
Privately, however, Hinagiku was worried. Orihime's ignorance had protected her, and allowed her to better blend in among the Espada. Now that she knew the truth, she would be constantly on her guard and might give herself away. The last thing she needed was more attention, as the others were already growing suspicious of her.
"Keep a close eye on her, Baigon. I suspect Orihime will need those protective instincts now more than ever."
The stout Shun Shun Rikka grunted in agreement.