"My, my." Aizen Sousuke raised an eyebrow at the scene unfolding on his screen.

"What's goin' on, Aizen?" Ichimaru Gin wandered into the room and leaned on the wall, from where he could watch both Aizen and the screen.

"Come and see for yourself, Gin." Aizen replied, moving his swivel-chair slightly to the left, allowing Gin a place next to him. Gin, knowing he was beaten, moved up to stand closer. Aizen knew perfectly well that Gin could see the screen from where he was currently standing, but he wanted to be able to judge Gin's reaction. Gin watched him, he watched Gin. When Aizen was the one doing the watching, he rarely saw him doing anything constructive. Even Tousen was making himself useful finishing the construction of Las Noches, but Gin seemed to find nothing so fulfilling as wandering around the half-completed corridors and harassing Arrancar, the Espada were his favorite targets.

Aizen looked back at the screen, keeping Gin in the corner of his eye. An almost life size Hinamori Momo took up the majority of Aizen's viewer. She was somehow carrying multiple large packages over one shoulder while barking out orders and pointing in various directions with the other arm. Kobayashi suddenly appeared behind her, carrying six boxes stacked up higher than his head, and tried to get her attention. His face registered slight confusion, which changed to shock when she violently collided with him. Kobayashi, over half again Hinamori's weight despite not having an ounce of fat on his body, was unaffected. Hinamori, however, fell disgracefully over backward and hit her head on a wall. Gin chuckled as Kobayashi ran over to help her up and get her packages back together.

"Looks like she's in a li'l over her head, there, doesn't she?"

"I don't think so at all. Look at this." Aizen pressed a button on his chair and the camera zoomed out, revealing that the entire Fifth Division was buzzing like an anthill after a cave-in. Almost twenty five hundred Shinigami were running about packing, checking, packing things they had almost forgotten, and double checking. Internally, Gin was laughing uproariously; and Shinsou's amusement wasn't making it any easier to limit himself to his usual grin. This was going to be fun.

"Ya know, Aizen, I'm almost sure I don't remember you telling her to bring the whole Division."

"No, I certainly did not." Aizen took a sip of tea from the cup he had been keeping on the right arm of his chair. "Although, to be fair, I may have been a tad vague. I believe I told her that she could bring anyone she wished from the Division." He zoomed back in on Hinamori, who had gotten to her feet and was directing traffic once again. "I had intended for her to bring only three or four close friends. Even then, I only wanted those along so that she did not feel as though she had abandoned people she was responsible for and personally cared about. I need her to believe in what she's doing, or she will be worthless. It appears, however, that Hinamori-kun had other plans."

"So, what'cha gonna do? Can she keep 'em?" On the last question, Gin intentionally mimicked the imploring, yet slightly whiny voice a little girl might use when asking to keep a small animal she had found in the back yard.

"I will answer your question if you can answer mine, Gin. Which is easier to defeat, the Gotei Thirteen or the Gotei Twelve?" Aizen turned to face his first and oldest student. Tousen wasn't important, he was simply a Shinigami who detested the status quo. He was merely on Aizen's side by coincidence, and thus wasn't to be fully trusted. He was, in Aizen's mind, expendable. Gin, however, was another story.

Aizen remembered when he had first met Gin, the night when, as a boy, he had attacked and killed the Division's third seat. He recognized a great deal of potential in the violent youngster, and hoped to get him under control before he was caught and sent to the Maggot's Nest or executed. Teaching Gin to think logically and control himself had been challenging, but rewarding. Although Gin had been extremely stubborn and belligerent, he had learned eventually and learned well. Very few things had pleased Aizen so much as the first time his then-Lieutenant had solved a conflict by talking someone down. To be more precise, Gin had deliberately lead the rebellious officer around in some of the most confusing circles of pseudo-logic and paradox Aizen had ever seen. By the time Gin was done toying with him, the poor man had contradicted himself five times and was too busy questioning his own existence to resist capture. You've come a very long way, Ichimaru Gin.

"Another thinking game, Aizen? Fine, I get it. Even though the Division is pathetically weak, the most important thing is the emptiness they'll leave in Seiretei. The morale effect of having a full division leave, putting a huge hole in the Seiretei, would be worth three Espada, right?"

"Precisely." Aizen took another sip of tea. "And as a wise man once said, 'Counter emptiness with fullness, fullness with emptiness.'"

"Sun Tzu, Art of War, Chapter concerning Emptiness and Fullness. That's our hole reason for being here, isn't it?" Gin's double-pun on the "emptiness" of their "Hollow" allies was rewarded when Aizen chuckled. Despite the fact that Gin was pretending to have a completely incorrect idea of their motivations, the usually taciturn leader of Hueco Mundo had a serious weakness for wordplay.

"Ooh, look, they're ready to go." Gin said as he pointed at the view-screen's image of the courtyard. Hinamori and the entire Fifth Division were just finishing gathering in front of the barracks. She appeared to be yelling out a few last orders.

"Hmm." Aizen agreed in his usual semi-grunt. "She knows they don't have any time to waste. The Captain of Second Division will come looking for her Lieutenant shortly." A red dot, accompanied by soft beeping, lit up in the miniature map of Seiretei in the upper left hand corner of Aizen's viewer. He reached out and tapped it, and the viewer switched from the Fifth Division to a northern street, down which Soi Fon and several other Secret Mobile Corps officers were currently running.

"Uh-oh." Gin said in a sing-song voice. "Looks like Hinamori-chan will have to fight her way out after all."

"Not necessarily, Gin." Aizen stood up, and the viewer automatically switched into standby mode. A two-headed indigo falcon superimposed on a unified sun and crescent moon, Aizen's insignia, came on as a screen-saver. "Come."

"Hai, hai, haiiii!" Gin responded with the first three notes of the "Superman Theme" as he followed.

* * *

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" Hinamori called out as she shouldered her pack. "We can't afford to have anyone unconvinced with us when we go. From the moment we take off, there's no turning back. Anyone who isn't absolutely sure about what you're doing, please turn around now."

"What the hell are you talking about, Lieutenant?" Their sixth seat shot back. "If I wasn't sure, I would have gone back to the Second Division! Let's go!" The rest of the Division shouted their agreement.

"Excellent! Okay, everyone who can't fly, grab onto someone who can!" Most of the younger, less experienced Division members grabbed onto their more powerful comrades, most looking a bit queasy at the prospect of leaving the ground. Sasha was somehow carrying three people. Armin, on the other hand, was having problems with just one. The new academy graduate whom Sasha had comforted during the meeting was standing rather painfully on Armin's left foot, and was clutching his arm much too tightly. Hinamori grinned at his situation and long-suffering expression, then turned to face away from the barracks.

"Take off on three!" Hinamori shouted. All chatter stopped immediately as the Division braced for takeoff. "One!" She could feel the adrenaline rush building. "Two!" The tension in the air was almost tangible. "Three!" She kicked off the ground and into the sunrise, 2500 Shinigami behind her.

Several people yelled, some in terror, some in delight. Hinamori couldn't hear them. She was enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair and the beams of the rising sun on her face. She closed her eyes and simply flew, relishing the freedom of the sky. It struck her as a fitting metaphor for what she was doing. She was leaving the ground of Soul Society and flying to freedom and her Captain. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice Armin until he flew up next to her.

"Hinamori-dono!" He cried.

"Yes?" She snapped herself back to reality. There will be time to fly later, damn it, stay focused!

"Several spiritual presences are approaching from the north-east. It's Captain Soi Fon." Armin's face was taught with worry, and the girl he was carrying looked close to panic.

"Alright, then, have them form up behind me. We'll wait for Captian Aizen here." Hinamori knew perfectly well that she had no chance of defeating Soi Fon, despite the fact that she was one of the weaker Captains. Hinamori estimated, however, that she could hold Soi Fon off for three minutes if she used every trick she knew. That was more than enough time for Aizen to rescue them, if he hurried. That's too many "ifs," thought Hinamori, just get here soon, Captain!

"Hai." Armin replied, and flew back down to the rest of the Division. "Get on my back," he told his passenger, "I will probably need to use Meergottin."

"H-Hai." She stammered nervously and clambered onto his back.

"Oi, everyone!" Armin called out to the Division, "regroup behind the Lieutenant and be ready to support with kido. Officers, release your Zanpakto the moment the battle begins. Unranked soldiers, do not attack with Zanpakto unless you see a clear opening, understood? I don't want to lose anyone before we even get there!"

"Hai!" They called out and zoomed over behind their Lieutenant. All of them were hoping that they wouldn't have to fight. Many of them still hadn't fully registered that they would have to fight the Shinigami, or hoped that it could somehow be avoided. Thousands of nervous soldiers stood out against the morning sky.

Not good. Thought Armin as he glided up to Hinamori's side. The whole damn Seiretei can see us! If Captain Aizen doesn't get here soon, we'll be overrun! He felt something a thousand feet below. Shit! They're at the barracks! She's probably already found Oomaeda! He drew his zanpakto, but didn't have time to admire the way she shone in the orange and pink light of the sunrise. He saw and heard the other officers doing the same, although no one released. His passenger, he thought her name was Ailia, squirmed in terror at the thought of the coming fight.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just don't touch my arms and be ready to fire kido shots over my shoulder. What's the highest level attack spell you can use without the incantation?" He looked over his shoulder to the girl on his back.

"Number 4, Byakurai, sir." She looked like she was about to be sick.

"That's good enough. Just don't miss." He tried to smile reassuringly, although he was sure he wasn't the best person for this job. She looked slightly comforted. Armin was amazed that he had actually had a measure of success, as he usually scared people by mistake.

An explosion suddenly ripped from the barracks, almost knocking the over-laden Sasha out of the air. Seven small figures shot up from the fireball toward them. Soi Fon had made her intentions perfectly clear.

"Everyone! Fire your most powerful spells at my target!" Hinamori called out on a sudden flash of inspiration. She held her hands out in front of her and focused her energy there, preparing to release. "Hado 66, Souren Soukatsui!" Twin blasts of blue fire burst from her hands and shot toward a huge, immediately recognizable building several thousand feet away. Armin instantly realized what she was doing and grinned.

"Hado 63, Raikoho!" He cried, shooting a massive streak of lightning out of his palm at the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. This will make that bastard Kurotsuchi work overtime for months! The rest of the Division opened fire on the Institute, pulverizing the walls under a withering barrage of Byakurai, Shakahou, and Soukatsui.

"Fuck!" Hinamori could hear Soi Fon curse from below as the Institute exploded in a tremendous orange flash. A very unpleasant looking purple smoke leaked out from the ruined building and began spreading over Seiretei. Hinamori couldn't quite make out the effects on the nearby individuals from so high in the air, but several adjacent buildings were already beginning to grow thick coats of black mold at an absurd speed. Soi Fon and the others changed course and dashed off to try to control the damage. Crisis averted, or caused as the case may be. Hinamori allowed herself a moment of smug triumph as complete chaos erupted below her, but a low growling sound behind her made her turn around. What she saw coming out of the Garganta which had just opened left her stunned.

It was Aizen, but, it wasn't Aizen. His glasses were gone, giving his face a more sleek, streamlined affect. His eyes were sharp and perceptive, yet serene and in control. His hair was slicked back, but he had left a lock hanging over his face. Instead of a Shinigami uniform, he wore a long white jacket over a white shirt and hakama with a dark red sash. But even more than the change in appearance, his demeanor had totally transformed. The man before her was no longer Captain Aizen. But who is he?

The man took in the situation in a split second, then looked at her and smiled, possibly sensing her nervousness.

"That was quite clever of you, Hinamori-kun. Forcing your pursuers to stop chasing you in order to rescue someone else while you dealt such a devastating blow to their army was the perfect maneuver for that situation." He came forward and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You didn't even need my assistance. You should be very proud of what you did today," he lifted his hand and turned to the rest of them, "all of you!" A cheer went up from the rebels.

So that's who he is. Aizen Sousuke wasn't speaking to them as a mentor to his students, or even as a Captain to his men. The way he carried himself with unshakeable confidence, the way he spoke with certainty and power, it all left no room for doubt. The Captain's Haori was always to small for him, wasn't it? Captain Aizen had been someone that they could fight under without fear, but the new Aizen was someone they could fight for without regret. Aizen Sousuke was a king, and Hinamori had never been more confident. As long as they stood behind this man, they were invincible.

Aizen was sincerely impressed with his Division's performance. While not as important as he was allowing them to think, their victory had been a great stroke of luck. Their total destruction of the SRDI made his self-appointed task slightly easier. Mayuri's research projects were one of the few things he wasn't easily able to predict. Putting Mayuri out of the way for months repairing his facility would give Szayel-Apporo Granz that much of a head start. He hadn't been expecting that level of resourcefulness out of the weak Shinigami. Maybe, he thought, they do have the potential to be useful in their own rights.

"Come!" he called, "We must not waste time here." He lead the way to his Garganta, which Gin had kept open and guarded. Hinamori was the first to follow, smiling wider than she had in years. The rest of the Division followed their Lieutenant, with her most trusted soldiers, Armin and Sasha, as rearguard.

* * *

First Division

A hell butterfly landed on Captain Commander Yamamoto's finger as he sat at his desk twenty minutes later. The Gotei 13 were still trying to figure out what had happened earlier, and he was finally receiving Captain Soi Fon's report. Now, he hoped, he would discover why the SRDI was a smoking ruin, half of Seiretei was covered in some kind of black mold which was proving impossible to kill, and several shinigami were mysteriously impossible to contact. Given the results of today's accident, he would have been given to suspect one of Captain Kurotsuchi's unauthorised experiments. Given the circumstances, however, he didn't know what to think.

His Lieutenant could only hear the Captain Commander's side of the following conversation, but he didn't need anything else.

"Yes, Captain Soi Fon? What is your status?" The old man's grumpy voice always seemed to echo in any given room.

"What?!" He shouted so loudly that Sasakibe fell out of his chair. He quickly stood up and brushed himself off. This was not good.

"Could you repeat that, Captain? I'm almost sure I heard you say that an entire Division has just defected." Holy shit! An entire Division?! Sasakibe was understandably shocked. He heard Soi Fon's voice in response, but it was too quiet to make out.

"Is the Third Division still there?" A pause. "Well, at least Lieutenant Kira isn't insane, unlike someone we know. What about the Research and Development Institute? Any news from them?" So it was the Fifth?! Hinamori... No, she's too weak. There's no way she could have gotten the courage to do this. It must have been that fourth seat of theirs, I always thought he was dangerous. There's no way we could have misjudged Hinamori that badly, she's a weakling and a fool. Hidaka, on the other hand, I could imagine leading them all into this.

"Wait, let me make sure I have all of this correctly, Captain Soi Fon. It will take six months to completely rebuild the structures, and much of the research may never be recovered?" Sasakibe felt a bit unsteady and propped himself up on the wall with one arm. He had never even heard of anything remotely as catastrophic as the events of today. This made even the Quincy War with its obscene casualty ratio look like a minor hiccup! An entire Division had defected to the Hollows! Just what the HELL happened over the past few days, anyway? First, Aizen, of all people, goes mad, now his whole Division followed him?! The bloody world is upside-down!

Tenth Division

Hitsugaya sat at his desk staring at untouched paperwork, forehead wrinkled in worry. Ever since that early-morning explosion at the SRDI, Hinamori's entire Division had been missing in action. The young Captain was agonizing over what might have happened to his childhood friend. He wondered if Aizen had kidnapped her during the confusion of the explosion, or maybe the explosion itself was responsible. He didn't even look up when his Lieutenant walked slowly into the room.

"Captain?" Matsumoto asked softly. "May I come in?"

"Certainly." Hitsugaya replied stiffly. Wait a minute, since when does she ASK?!

Matsumoto quickly walked over to his desk, she made no move to irritate him or make small talk today. This surprisingly polite behavior and her uncharacteristically serious expression only added to Hitsugaya's worries.

"Here, Captain. It's the report on the events of this morning." She placed the paper down in front of him, then left the room in a hurry. She clearly did not want to be in the room to feel her Captain's wrath after his reaction to the news.

Her attitude wasn't helping Hitsugaya at all. No, he thought, she can't have been killed. She just can't have, and certainly not by one of Kurotsuchi's experiment failures! He slowly worked up his courage and read the report, almost expecting the worst.

Matsumoto couldn't resist. She leaned slightly into the doorway just in time to see Hitsugaya's terrified expression change to one of abject shock. His mouth hung slightly open and his eyebrows were almost up to his hairline as he continued reading. He only got halfway through the report.

He roared and tore the paper in half as he jumped over his desk, scattering forms everywhere. He ripped Hyorinmaru out of his sheath and threw him across the room. The zanpakto stuck quivering into the wall just inches from Matsumoto's concealed head.

"What the FUCK, Hinamori?" He screamed, then paused, panting. Matsumoto was stunned, she hadn't expected him to react so violently. But then, given the past week, she didn't know why she bothered to 'expect' anything anymore. She turned and ran for her life, and so missed what happened next.

"What are you doing, Momo?" Hitsugaya whispered to himself, staring at the floor. A single tear came down his right cheek, breaking a long-held seal. The confident, self possessed Captain he pretended to be disappeared, and a confused, betrayed young boy collapsed onto the ground and cried.

Sorry, everyone, this chapter simply refused to come out properly. I just couldn't make the scene where Aizen gets them out work the way I wanted it to. -Growls in frustration- But finals are gaining on me, and I wanted to get this chapter up before I have to take a break. I promise that I'll tell you why Aizen changed his mind about killing Hinamori next chapter!

I was going to explain Aizen's heraldry here, but I think it would be better if he explained it later on.

About the rather large number of OCs that are very prominent in this story: when I was starting this story, it was just Hinamori going to Hueco Mundo, but she really needed her own "supporting cast." The Arrancar weren't working, they're Aizen's, and Hinamori would have been totally isolated if she'd gone alone. She needed some of her own people, so I went with the obvious choice. Besides, I plan on having a lot of fun with their abilities!