Author's Notes:

The main reason why this is so late is the number of exams I've had in the last week. High school ain't easy, trust me :/ Thankfully, they're all over for the moment now. The next one I have is this Friday, and it doesn't need studying. After that, the next one is Monday. Anyways, that means I'm free for the next while. Also cause I fell in love with the filler arc in the anime "Unknown Zanpakuto Tales" and "Beast Swords" arcs. They're. Amazing. Best fillerz EVAH.

Also, this chapter was extremely late because of its humongous length (8000 words O_o) and all the research behind it. I'll explain everything at the bottom A/N's.

So yep, thank you to Kakushi Miko, Unico Luna Angelo, Bokmal14, Tifalochrt, Hotaru-Jaegerjacquez, Yamapikarya, CoolGirl150, deadpoolhulk, sblack13 and .lolcatsrule. for all their amazing reviews. Omg guys, I am... speechless in front of all the nice words and constructive advice I'm receiving. I love you all so much for this :D

Alrighty then, the chapter we've all been waiting for... IT'S SOUL SOCIETY TIME :D

Warning: Grimmy swears in this one O: Gasp, what a shocker...

The day had passed quickly, too quickly for both the Espada's and the Shinigami's tastes. All three of them found themselves in front of a closed Senkaimon gate far quicker than they wanted to be.

"Are you boys ready?" Urahara asked as he paced around the Senkaimon, looking at the three boys, all in Soul Form. Their gigais and Ichigo's human body were out of commission for the moment, left upstairs to be cared for by Ururu and Tessai. Jinta would just break them if he tried.

"Pshh, ready as I'll ever be to go hand myself over to my greatest enemies." Grimmjow growled nervously, hiding his anxiety behind anger.

"Ah, but the tables have turned, and Soul Society is not your greatest enemy anymore, right?" a mischievous glint lit up in the older man's eyes.

Grimmjow didn't reply. He knew it was true, and that now, he was safer with Soul Society than with Aizen, yet he still couldn't consider the idea of handing himself over to people who hated him.

"Whose crazy idea was this, anyway?" he complained loudly.

"That would be mine." Urahara chuckled amusedly.

"You crazy bastard, you're gonna get both of us killed. We're still Espada, and no matter what the story is, they'll never give up an alibi to get us executed." The blue-haired Espada ran a hand through his hair.

The blond shinigami simply shrugged as if saying "do what you want" and walked for the Senkaimon. His gaze hardened as he put a hand on it.

"It's ready."

The three teens stiffened in anticipation as the older shinigami waved his hand, the gates sliding open, a light shining inside.

"Ichigo will lead you to Soul Society. Watch out for the Soul Train and the Currents, but asides that, you'll be fine." He smiled, and briefly flashed them a melancholic, almost worried glance. "Good luck, boys."

"Alright then!" Ichigo stretched and grinned at his two friends. "Let's not waste any time! Come on!" he finished by shunpo-ing right in front of the gate and entering after flashing Urahara a small smile. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra looked at each other indecisively for a second before sonido-ing where Ichigo had shunpoed and entered without a second glance.

Urahara simply made sure they were in before he closed the gate and sighed, tipping his hat down to obscure his eyes.

"Just come back home, boys... Please."

Inside the gate, at first, all the boys saw was dark. When they did get accustomed to the dim light, they spotted Ichigo, who was a little further ahead.

"Hurry up guys. Let's make the most distance while the train is still out of sight." He ordered, breaking into a run.

The Espada sonidoed next to him quickly and sped up to match his steps, looking around at the precipice world. It did look dark and gloomy.

Too absorbed in their sightseeing, none of them realized the Soul Train was behind them until it actually was right behind them.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed, making the Espada turn around, only to be blinded by the bright light in the front of the sweeper.

"What is that?" Ulquiorra asked calmly, matching Ichigo's strides easily.

"A sweeper of a sort. You get touched by it, and your soul's a goner. It's made to prevent people from staying in the precipice world for too long." The shinigami briefly explained, concentrated on running. "It usually does go faster than most shinigami, though, so we might wanna speed up."

"Right." The Arrancars nodded in unison and pumped their legs faster as the weird device whirred behind them. It did get annoying, though, so after a while, the three elite souls decided to shunpo and sonido instead of just run. It'd take reiatsu, but it's not like they had a harsh battle ahead of them.

"Well..." Ichigo thought wryly, wincing. "Let's hope not..."

"There's the light!" The Cuatra suddenly noted, pointing ahead as a small light appeared at the end of the tunnel.

"Yeah, that's where we're going. Not long now." The orange-haired teen nodded.

No more words were exchanged until they all stumbled into the light and out of the precipice world.

The three of them fell to their knees, panting. It did seem like a short time they were there, but their missing reiatsu proved otherwise. Not the best idea to shunpo and sonido in the precipice world.

"Alright then. Where have we landed anyhow?" Ichigo muttered out loud, looking around. They were certainly inside Seireitei, but he wasn't sure where. The twists and turns did tend to get quite confusing at some point. At least he knew he had landed in a vast open space, and it did look a little familiar to where he'd fought Renji for the second time and beat him.

"Well, you're the guide here." Grimmjow looked around, staring at the simple, yet robust constructions, the bright blue sky, and just the light air in general.

Soul Society felt so much more different than Hueco Mundo, even more so now that he had the time to step back and enjoy it.

If they hadn't noticed the rushing reiatsu towards them on time, it was probably because they'd been sightseeing. Then again, it had never been their intention to hide.

The two Espada gasped shortly as enormous reiatsu suddenly surrounded them, white figures floating into view one by one, shunpo-ing into a circle all around them.

One by one, all the thirteen captains of the Thirteen Protection Squads appeared around them. The Vice-Captains appeared only a second afterwards. Yet one thing remained the same in all the squads.

The glares.

It was kinda pressuring, to say the least. Having so many people watching you, staring at you, hatefully, if it wasn't forbidden to add.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

They all turned to the gruff voice that spoke, coming face-to-face with an old man with a very long beard, leaning on his cane.

"Welcome back to Soul Society. Unfortunately... We'll ask you to back away from the Espada and let us take care of the rest for now."

In a flash, the captains of the thirteenth and sixth squads were behind the two Espada, gripping their arms and shoving them to the back, ropes immediately binding them in place.

"Stop! Don't hurt them!" Ichigo immediately ordered, making the two captains stop in mid-action and stare, wondering what to do.

"They are the enemy! Restrain them!" the head captain bellowed, making the two men look around, ripped between decisions. A few seconds later, they nodded and kept binding the Arrancars' arms back.

"Damn it, that hurts, you know." Grimmjow whined, shaking a little in Ukitake's arms.

"Stop hurting them." Ichigo called coldly again. "They're with me."

"With you, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya scoffed. "These guys have been our enemies from the very start! How can they be with you all of a sudden?"

"That's true, kid." Soi Fon crossed her arms, glaring. "What do you have, a permanent concussion?"

"No, I have common sense, something which you obviously lack." Ichigo retorted.

"Why you-" the second squad's captain never had the time to finish because that's when Renji stepped in.

"Ichigo's telling the truth. They're not the enemy anymore."

Rukia quickly joined his side, glaring at Byakuya firmly.

"Believe us, Nii-sama, they are not the enemy."

There was a small silence, until the captain commander spoke again.

"Nonetheless, take them to a prison cell and suppress their reiatsu. I want them bound so tight they can't even twitch." He ordered before turning around and heading off.

"Kurosaki..." Grimmjow winced as Ukitake apologetically finished binding his wrists together. "You better know what you're doing."

...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

The two Arrancars ended up in a prison cell a few hours later, staring at the empty walls each on their side of the cell. For both of them, shackles had been installed on their wrists and had been secured on the wall on top of them, loose chains binding them from their ankles to a hook on the floor.

"We've been in this position more than once, right?" Ulquiorra suddenly whispered for the first time in hours, chains clinking gently as he turned his head to look at Grimmjow, who was watching the cracks in the wall pensively.

"You're too pessimistic. We've got an entire life ahead of us. We should just forget about the past..." he encouraged, not even looking back.

In a sense, his companion's words rang true.

They had been in this exact same position before.

And yet, both of them felt awkwardly inclined to prefer this situation over the others they'd been put in, ultimately leading to this.

Captivity.

Again.

"I'm sorry, Grimmjow, but..." the Cuatra finally sighed. "I feel like I'll burst if I don't talk about... stuff. Does that make me weak?"

"In a way, yeah." The Sexta nodded, looking to the side to meet the Cuatra's worried green eyes. "Cause it means you can't keep your pain to yourself and require help from others." He looked up, staring at a crack in the ceiling. "That's what I used to think, though. After coming to the real world... Ichigo taught me that asking for help is one of the greatest strengths you can have." He chuckled darkly. "I'm still debating whether it's okay to throw away all the beliefs I've built to protect myself from the world to instantly adopt this vision of the world... But... Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I will be King. But not by force. I'll find another way, but I will end up on top."

"Does that mean... It's okay for me to... be afraid...?" The Cuatra asked as if the emotion was quite foreign to him.

"Quite frankly, yes, it is." The Sexta chuckled for a moment, then his smile died down, and he was left staring at the ground. "I... I'm kind of scared too, y'know... Scared cause I don't know what's in store for me in the future. I'm used to having my life planned out for me: Live for Aizen, die for Aizen. But I've finally opened my eyes and realized it doesn't work that way. I have to make my own destiny now, and... frankly? I don't think I'm capable."

"All you gotta do is fight, right? Fight, and never let anyone drag you down. Find your freedom and become stronger to make your own destiny."

"Yes... I think that right now, all we can aim for is one common goal." Grimmjow's eyes lit up with passion and hate. "Bringing that Aizen bastard down for good."

"Yes, he deserves to pay, for everything." Ulquiorra quietly agreed, pulling his knees up in a rattling of chains and putting his head down on top of them, tired. Many thoughts were whirling in his head, and yet he couldn't pinpoint exactly which one to deal with first.

Instead, he settled for staying silent and seeing what would happen next.

They must have stayed a couple more hours in there before the door finally opened, light filtering into the dim cell. The two Arrancars winced and growled as they noticed two people at the door, heading silently for them.

"Just when I was finally getting some sleep." The blue-haired male snickered humourlessly as one of them, with curly brown hair, stepped inside the cell, looking very very bored as he approached Ulquiorra. "Oi, what do you think you're doing?" Grimmjow growled, glaring at the newcomer.

Ulquiorra simply looked up, staying calm despite the situation. If the need arose, he could try and defend himself. The choker they'd been forced to wear suppressed all their reiatsu, but if he could get his arms free, then he could hold his own for a while, until escape options opened in front of him.

"Calm down kid." The brown-haired man finally spoke, yawning lazily. "Just doing what I'm asked to do, I have no intention of hurting you." He shrugged and gently started working with the chains that bound the Cuatra's wrists to the wall.

"I'm surprised." Grimmjow scoffed as the white-haired man from before went for him. "Weren't we your sworn enemies just a few hours ago? What happened to that?"

"Well." The long-haired captain that was freeing him interrupted. "You were, and you still are. I personally, do not like harming innocents, and I do believe you feel the same way, Kyoraku."

"Yes, I do." The other man nodded and finally got Ulquiorra's wrists down. The latter winced as his stretched muscles finally came to rest as he put his bound hands in his lap and sighed.

"Innocents? What a joke. You, of all people, should surely know how many people we've killed and hurt on behalf of that Aizen bastard." The blue-haired Arrancar spat on the side, yet couldn't help feel relieved once his arms had been eased down as well.

"Well then, if that's the case, why didn't you stay with him in Hueco Mundo? It sure would have saved all of us, and you, a lot of trouble." Ukitake sarcastically answered, his smirk letting on that he knew more than he showed.

The Ex-Espada suddenly sobered, looking down, shadows veiling their eyes. Was there a reason for them to stay in Hueco Mundo? Not after what happened... No, they had nothing left there. They had a mutual agreement going on in their minds by now: They were not destined to go back to Hueco Mundo. Ever. And much less die there.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's with the gloomy mood all of a sudden?" Kyoraku sighed, opening the shackles on Ulquiorra's ankles and letting them drop noisily on the ground.

"You don't have to say anything." The thirteenth division's captain smiled gently, watching Grimmjow's glazed eyes follow his movements absently as he unlocked his ankles as well. "Kurosaki told your story. Captain-Commander is still debating your sentence, but if it comes down to a vote, I... I, personally, will vote for your innocence and release."

"We don't need your pity..." Grimmjow simply whispered, too overwhelmed to argue further. First, their sworn enemies treating them well, then Ichigo covering for them the entire time, and now this. He didn't even know what to feel anymore.

"It's not pity. On the contrary. It's because we believe that Aizen, and not his subordinates, should be punished for what he's done. That's all." The brown-haired captain shrugged and gently grabbed Ulquiorra's upper arm, helping him up. Grimmjow idly wondered why his comrade needed the support until Ukitake did the same to him, and he stumbled as soon as he got up.

"Damn it." He growled, feeling wobbly on his legs. Not only were his legs sore and trembling, but all his energy and reiatsu had been sapped out by that choker of his. As much as he hated to say it, he needed the support the older man was giving him.

"Don't worry. As soon as you're announced innocent, you'll have them taken off." The thirteenth squad's captain simply told him before letting go of his arm and intertwining his pale, long fingers in the heavy chains that still bound the Arrancar's wrists in front of him. "Now come."

"Yeah, let's just get this over with..." Kyoraku sighed, dragging Ulquiorra out after Grimmjow.

The small procession walked in silence, neither of the shinigami nor Arrancar having anything to say to each other. In fact, it was kinda awkward for the two Espada to be pushed –or in this case, pulled- around like this.

Then again, as long as it wasn't Aizen pushing them around, they both agreed that they didn't mind that much. Besides, they'd already lost everything they'd built during their short lives as Hollows, and now, with a whole new life ahead of them, they intended on rebuilding perfectly, without any cracks or holes, this time.

That is, if they ever survived their little pleasure trip to Soul Society.

With those thoughts in mind, the two Arrancars were led into a very large circular room.

On one side were stadiums aligned, where important seats of every division were sitting in silence, watching curiously as the Arrancars were brought in. On the other side of the room were the stadiums where the Vice-Captains of each and every squad were seated, also watching curiously. Right up front, against the wall, were the seats reserved for the 13 captains, Yamamoto sitting in the very middle, practically towering over everyone in the room. They too, only had eyes for them.

And in the very middle of the room, in the circle delimited by all the seats, was standing Ichigo, looking at them with a reassuring smile as they came up to his side.

"Here you go..." Kyoraku gently whispered, quickly prying the chains off of Ulquiorra's wrists, letting him rub the red marks on them in slight pain. Even before the chains were dropped, clattering on the floor next to the Cuatra, Kyoraku had flash stepped and was now sitting in his place in front of them.

"Good luck." Ukitake caringly encouraged, removing Grimmjow's chains as well before imitating his friend and returning to his place at the very end of the seats reserved for the Captains.

"Well then, good morning to you too, everyone." Grimmjow stretched his tired limbs and rubbed the deep marks left by the chains on his wrists.

"I told you that if you hurt them, you'd be dealing with me." Ichigo calmly stated.

"Ichigo, it's okay. This pain is nothing. Hardly even called pain." Ulquiorra assured him quietly, not wanting to be caught in the middle of a heated argument between Shinigami.

"Now, let us begin." The Head Captains voices echoed in the room as he stared gruffly at the Espada. "The essential question first. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you two here and now."

Grimmjow smirked amusedly as the reply instantly popped into his mind. Oh, this was going to be a fun afternoon after all.

"Give me one reason why you should."

"You are our enemies and have tried to kill members of the thirteen protection squads on many occasions. You are also a part of Aizen's army, and the least strength there is in that army, the better."

"I don't answer to badly formed sentences." The Sexta shrugged.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Soi Fon immediately perked up at the comment.

"I'll only answer if you use your verbs correctly. Say... in the past tense, maybe?" Grimmjow rubbed his chin in a pensive, yet mocking way. "Maybe like... You were a part of Aizen's army, and the least strength there is in that army, the better."

"Supposing I did put my verbs in the past tense, what would your answer be?" Yamamoto asked, not showing it if he was only slightly amused by this conversation.

"Then there would be no point in answering since we cannot have an answer now for what has taken place in the past." Ulquiorra butted in before Grimmjow could go on unleashing a bunch of swears.

"Well then, you are Hollows. Moreover, Arrancars. That should be more than enough reason to kill you." Captain Komamura stated from the side of the seats.

"Here, here, see? That, right there, is discrimination! Racism, even." Grimmjow ran a hand through his messy hair, making it even messier.

"Besides, don't the 13 squads' rules serve to settle peace between all living and soul beings? How is breaking two puppets going to solve anything? You might wanna go get the puppeteer instead. For the moment, the strings have broken, but you never know when the puppeteer might decide to start playing with the puppets again and will simply replace the strings." The Cuatra calmly explained.

"Some sense of justice. Just like that bitch Tousen." The blue-haired Arrancar growled, phantom pain dancing across his left arm at the mention of the former shinigami.

"Don't insult Tousen!" Komamura roared, getting up furiously and slamming his hands on the desk in front of him.

"Seventh Squad Captain, please remain seated!" the Head Captain's voice boomed, silencing everyone. The animalistic captain sat back down, bearing fangs at Grimmjow.

"Good job, idiot, you just made yourself another enemy." Ulquiorra quietly whispered to him, rolling his eyes.

"Well what the bloody hell was I supposed to say? I love Tousen and enjoy having tea parties with him? The freakin psycho cut my arm off and burnt it to ashes for no other reason than 'cause I don't like you'!" The Sexta yelled back, his cheeks reddening with all the blood rushing to his head in anger. "And then try to forget how Szayel whined on for days and days as he made me a new one?"

"Why wouldn't I remember? My high speed regeneration was the one used as a medium to get you your arm back." The Cuatra Espada sighed and pushed some hair out of his eyes. "Sometimes, you're such a handful, Grimmjow."

"Shut up, and you're a jerk." Said Espada smirked and turned back to the Head Captain as he cleared his throat.

"Well then, done bickering?"

"Yes Sir, please go on." Grimmjow mock bowed and snickered.

"Well then, Cuatra and Sexta Espada of Former Shinigami Aizen's army, what do you have to say to sustain your innocence?"

"The puppet show will not end until the puppets are considered boring and consequentially thrown away. I'm not ready to see that happen yet." Ulquiorra calmly answered, staring straight at the Head Captain.

"The cake was a lie." Was all Grimmjow muttered.

There was an astounded silence in the room, and all incredulous stares went to the Sexta, who was glaring at the ground, arms crossed.

"What? Why are you all looking at me like I'm an idiot?"

"You just talked about cake in the most important discussion you'll ever have in your pitiful existence!" Soi Fon growled.

"Second Squad Captain, please calm down." The Head Captain waved a hand to silence her, then looked back at the Espada. Ulquiorra was sadly staring at the ground, appearing to simply be depressed if not for the raging anger and desperation whirling in his eyes. Grimmjow was showing his emotions more visibly, clenching and unclenching his fists, grinding his teeth together, shaking in anger.

"My life is as full of potential as yours. It's as important as yours. Now shut up, don't speak of things you don't know about." He seethed quietly, firing lightning at her with his fierce, angry blue eyes. "I'm not as stupid as some people think. They think I'm the psychotic bastard who only loves swinging a sword around for the sake of seeing blood. That might... partially be true, but..." he finally unclenched his fists and hung his arms at his side, looking up at the entire row of Captains, yet unable to speak.

"We have feelings. We are Hollows, yes, and we lack a heart, yes, but we have evolved, evolved to become much closer to Shinigami. We have developed feelings. What you all know of us and our personalities, they are all lies. They are what we wanted you to see. Devoid of emotion, I, personally, did try to attain that status, but found it impossible. Emotions are the foundation of life and sanity in itself. It's impossible to lead a life without feelings." Ulquiorra tied up his loose ends until his comrade found the strength to speak again.

"I'm not stupid. I don't particularly appreciate being treated as a stupid, mindless, violent psycho. Okay, so I am violent and I might be psychotic sometimes. Doesn't mean I can't feel things like anguish, or ecstasy, or agony, or betrayal, or despair. I'm labelled an inferior being because I have lost my heart... But I am not inferior to anyone in reality, because asides from the hole in my gut, nothing is different from you and I." He finished quietly, containing his rage.

There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone stared at Grimmjow. Even Ichigo was surprised that the Sexta was actually able to go on with a conversation like this without ripping anyone's throat out yet. Probably because he still had that choker of his.

Speaking of which, the young shinigami could tell that the piece of metal was draining their reiatsu and energy far too much. They'd have to end this soon or force them into collapsing. They were Espada, and could go on for another while, but still, it was dangerous to overestimate them, especially now that Aizen's not watching over them anymore.

"Oh, before I forget." Ukitake suddenly piped up. "What was that thing with cake that you mentioned?"

"Ah, the cake." Ulquiorra whispered, eyes downcast, lips set thinly in a frown. "What a lie."

"Power." Was all that went past the Sexta's thin lips.

"Power?" Kyoraku repeated curiously, scratching his head tiredly.

"Yes, power. It was all we desired. For lowly Adjuchas like us, power was what we needed to survive. We knew we couldn't do shit if we stayed in Adjuchas form, and that we needed to gain a real body in order to become fully autonomous. And so we fought. We endlessly grew, eating more and more Hollows, until we couldn't count anymore. But we never seemed to evolve..." the blue-haired Arrancar started.

"And then he came." The jade-eyed Hollow added in. "That bastard. He knew exactly what we wanted, exactly how to draw us in. He promised us happiness, safety, comfort, power. He offered us everything. All we had to do was give our minds, bodies and souls entirely over to him."

"And that's when we realized it was either a shot at this newcomer, or leading a life of despair wandering the endless sands of Hueco Mundo, trying to find a way out of this never-ending hell. We were the chosen ones, and practically had no choice but to follow him. And so we did." Grimmjow's words were cold and straight, yet it was somewhat obvious he was trying to hide the regret laced behind them.

"Then what about the-"

"It's like when you promise cake to a child in return for doing your work. You take advantage of the child because he doesn't understand what it means to be fairly treated, and only has his eyes on the cake he's been promised. It's only a few years later, when the child continually does the work and grows up, never actually receiving his rewards that he realizes: wait a minute, I'm not going to get it anyways, so why am I working this hard? And that's when he'll just drop it and realize that the cake, the reward, the power we'd been promised was all a lie."

There was another silence as everyone in the room pondered on the Sexta's words. For the violent, rash, psychotic Arrancar he was known for being, he really had a way with words.

"Smooth talker." Ichigo simply commented in a whisper, making Grimmjow grin.

"Just trying my best to not get our sorry little asses executed." He snickered, lightly bumping Ulquiorra's arm with his knuckles.

"You can be so childish sometimes..." the latter sighed, although a faint smile danced on his black and white lips before disappearing into that ever-present frown.

"What about the crimes you've committed?" Byakuya calmly returned to the subject.

"We haven't really done anything major. We've attacked the real world a few times, but with zero casualties in total." Ulquiorra reminded them. "The rest of the time, we were just holed up in Las Noches and working from there."

"Yeah, and the last time we did anything big was that attack on Seireitei a couple of weeks ago. How many casualties did you have in that battle?" Grimmjow crossed his arms and glared at the Head Captain.

"Fourth Division Captain?" Yamamoto called in a questioning tone.

"Although our barracks are still overloaded with severely injured shinigami from the other week, we have counted no casualties, as surprising as that may sound." Restu Unohana calmly answered, staring down at the Espada, coldly, yet somehow gently, too.

"How is that even possible? This is the Espada we're talking about!" Soi Fon objected violently.

"Who do you think we are, barbarians?" Grimmjow spat.

"Yes, Grimmjow is right. Simply because we are Espada, it doesn't mean we don't carry our pride as well. Our mission dictated we had to plant bombs, nothing more, nothing less. We find no point in killing innocent people who cannot defend themselves adequately. We are fighters, warriors, not murderers." Ulquiorra calmly explained.

"Yeah, and besides, asides from material damage, all the damage we've done has mainly been done to him." The Sexta smirked and pointed at Ichigo, who crossed his arms. "If so, shouldn't he be the person to choose whether we live or die?"

"Oi, don't say that like it's nothing, I do carry a grudge for hurting me so many times." Ichigo finally smirked. "Then again, I do feel bad for you and the entire Aizen-going-on-a-rampage situation you've been put through, so I guess I could save you out of pity." He watched amusedly as Grimmjow's thin eyebrows quirked in anger, his fists clenching and unclenching. "You poor little thing."

"SHUT UP!" Grimmjow's hand immediately went to his side to grab Pantera, but he remembered it'd been confiscated when his hand closed upon empty air. He growled, and immediately clenched his fist, lunching for Ichigo.

Ichigo immediately turned around to stop him while Ulquiorra simply watched calmly, almost knowing what would happen next.

Grimmjow suddenly stumbled, eyes widening as he lost his footing. The young shinigami's eyes also widened as the Sexta started falling for the ground, but even faster than him was Ulquiorra, who had already grabbed Grimmjow's falling hand to keep him from hitting the ground.

"That was insulting..." the teal-eyed Arrancar whispered, glaring at Ichigo as Ulquiorra helped him stand.

"Sorry, sorry, just taking revenge for all the times you've cut me." Ichigo smirked, but then turned to the Captains. "I thought I was clear when I said I'd get angry if you hurt them."

"We didn't hurt them." Mayuri piped in. "Those chokers are what are doing the trick. They absorb energy, as well as reiatsu, making them an indispensible tool for subduing jumpy little Hollows such as them." He smirked, raking his middle finger's long nail across his cheek absently.

"Coming back to the subject, what should we do as to their sentence?" Byakuya interrupted.

"Well, I'm the one they attacked the most, so I should be able to decide." Ichigo answered coldly, throwing a look at Grimmjow, who was lightly leaning on Ulquiorra, and the latter, who looked almost as bad as Grimmjow. "They're not at fault. They haven't done anything major. I say we absolve them of their so-called crimes and let them go free." His glare was steady, drilling into the Head Commander's forehead.

"They did cause us a lot of trouble beforehand, though, so we can't just let them go free." The Second Squad Captain growled, glaring at the Arrancars. "They're Hollows. And Hollows deserve to die. There is a reason why they are Hollows. It's because at the base of things, they've been bad during their lifetimes and lost their hearts after their death." She pointed out.

"That is true..." Unohana pondered out loud.

"Uhh, no! I refuse to be put in the same class as those lowly weaklings who couldn't even fight to keep their hearts!" Grimmjow yelled at her. "You think I wanted to be a Hollow? Oh sure, it's been my lifelong dream to lose my heart when I die!" he added sarcastically. "I've simply never had good timing, that's all. I ended up wandering the streets of my village when I died and was attacked and eaten by some Hollows that had been attracted to the reiatsu of the Shinigami in charge there."

"That explains why you're so violent. Mustn't have been nice, being eaten alive like that." Ichigo commented, although it did have a slightly humorous undertone to it.

"You wanna try, Kurosaki? I got some contacts that might help you with that." Grimmjow raised a brow, grinning cynically.

"I've simply never had the chance to be buried." Ulquiorra stated calmly when Ichigo decided not to reply to Grimmjow's comment. "I wandered around for a long time, without a shinigami to send me to Rukongai, and in the end, my Chain of Fate corroded itself and I was turned into a Hollow."

"And that comes to prove we haven't done anything bad in our lifetimes, either. It's kinda like we'd become Shinigami if someone had decided to help us get to Soul Society." The Sexta shrugged. "Oh well, your loss, ain't it?" he smirked arrogantly.

"Don't bet on it." Soi Fon seethed, crossing her arms childishly.

"Hey, hey, hey, I also infiltrated Seireitei and destroyed it in all its entirety, and yet here we are, having a nice, pleasant little chat with no one glowering over my head." Ichigo interrupted, putting his hands on his hips to accentuate his annoyed position. "I don't see how they should be treated any differently, since just like me, they were the enemy and became good right afterwards. The only difference is that they have a huge hole in their body, and I don't!"

"True enough..." Kyoraku nodded sleepily.

"Then what should we do about their sentences?" Hitsugaya asked, very serious, as usual.

"How about we come down to a vote?"

All heads suddenly turned towards the door, watching in surprise as the new figure walked in, heading for Ichigo.

The woman finally stopped next to the Shinigami, the Ex-Espada glaring at her back.

"Ah, so you have come after all." Ichigo smiled, looking into her yellow eyes. "Yoruichi-san."

"Well, Urahara was sure you'd get into some kind of mess on your own, so he sent me to babysit." The woman snickered and crossed her arms.

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon called, eyes wide and unfocused as she watched her stand by the Arrancars. No way. There was no way her beloved teacher would support them... right?

"Oh, hello, Soi Fon." The cat-woman smiled and waved lightly at her. "In any case." She turned to greet the Head Captain with a glare. "How about we settle this debate with a vote? Anyone who wants them to be executed can stand up in their places, and whoever is for them being absolved of any punishment can come stand by us."

There was some silence as the Head Captain pondered on the former shinigami's words, then sighed, hitting his cane against the floor.

"In that case, anyone present in this room today is allowed to participate in the vote. After hearing these two Arrancars' story, arguments and testimonies, choose whichever option you truly believe in. Whoever believes that they are innocent can stand by their side. Whoever believes they should be executed can simply stand up in their seats. No one will judge you by whichever side you choose, and so, choose wisely, but following your own values." His heavy voice boomed in the room.

As soon as his last word was finished, Renji shunpoed to their side, standing firmly. Rukia quickly followed.

A second after, both Captains Shunsui and Jushirou appeared by their side, smiling, almost as if telling them they'd keep their promises.

There was a small silence as the small group of people glared at the room, almost as if challenging them.

Matsumoto suddenly shunpoed by their side, startling Hitsugaya.

"Matsumoto!" he asked in a loud, disbelieving voice.

"I'm sorry, Taichou, but I believe they don't deserve to die after having fought for so long." Her stare was straight and determined, so much that it made a shiver run down the young captain's spine.

As soon as they heard her words, Kira and Hinamori appeared by her side, staring at the head captain. After watching their captains for a second, Kiyone, Sentaro and Nanao also shunpoed. Whatever their captains believed would be their beliefs, since they were the ones who would guide them throughout their life.

Unohana finally shunpoed by their side, Isane quickly going to her as well. She didn't seem very sure, but her captain's comforting, decided glare set her mind straight. Yes, she would support the two Hollows.

Hisagi finally shunpoed as well, looking annoyed, but determined to stand by them. Almost as a reaction to that, Komamura also appeared, his lieutenant rushing to his side.

Zaraki finally went to their side, Yachiru almost immediately appearing on his left shoulder and turning around to smile at the Arrancars, whose eyes were wide, disbelieving that so many people would actually defend them.

"Grimmy-chan and Ulqui-kun, right?" she laughed, making the two Espada raise brows at their new nicknames. "Nice to meet you! I'm Yachiru, and this is Ken-chan!" she introduced her captain by poking one of the spikes on his hair.

"Oi, Sexta, right?" Kenpachi simply called without even turning around.

"That's what they used to call me." Grimmjow nodded, curious.

"I like those eyes." The eleventh division captain slightly turned to look at Grimmjow, smirking ferociously. "I will be looking forward to our fight."

"We have a pre-planned fight already?" the Sexta sighed, brushing the hair falling in his face back. "Fine, nice to meet you too."

Hanatarou finally sauntered up, smiling and bowing to the Espada, who stared back, mildly shocked.

"Hello there. I'm Hanatarou! Nice to meet you!" the kid seemed a little nervous, but the Espada eased it off with a small smile. Turns out they didn't have as many enemies as they originally thought.

Ikkaku and Yumichika followed quickly after, staring crossly at the Espada but sighing quickly afterwards.

"My brain tells me you're dangerous, but my guts say you're innocent." Ikkaku commented.

"For the most part, anyway." Yumichika shrugged.

Slowly, more unnamed officers started piling up in the middle of the room, staring defiantly up at the others, as if daring them to judge them wrong.

"Is that all? Then whoever wishes to see them dead please stand up." Yamamoto called as the remaining people stood up, staring coldly down at the Espada, who were simply watching and hoping their number was higher. Grimmjow simply smirked at the ones who wanted them dead, and Ulquiorra stared, freezing in place most of the lower class officers that wanted their deaths.

When no more movement was made in the room, the Head Captain started counting. The Espada and Ichigo held their breaths as they watched the Commander's eyes dart by, counting.

"The vote..." after an agonizingly long period of time where they all waited in bated breath, the Captain-Commander finally spoke up. "Is a tie."

"What? But we're not an even number of people in this room! How is that possible?" Ukitake asked immediately.

"Someone has not cast their vote, then." The Commander's eyes turned to his side, and almost immediately, all eyes went to Soi Fon, who was still seated, staring at the desk, eyes wide.

"Ah shit, we're screwed." Grimmjow put a hand to his forehead as soon as he realized that Soi Fon was the one who would decide of their sentence.

"Second Division Captain, make your choice. Do not be biased by anything you see, and follow your intuition and your heart." The Head Captain ordered, watching her as she clenched and unclenched her fists in an effort to calm down her frantic heart. What would she do?

She really did not believe the two Hollows deserved to live, but her long-time master, Yoruichi, did. And to her, that's all that mattered. Then again, the Head Captain had specified not to be biased, but was following the one person you trusted most a source of bias? Once she thought back to it, the Espada could have details about Aizen they didn't know about yet, but they were criminals! They had to be killed! Even if... even if they narrowly escaped Aizen's wrath and escaped, two less enemies to deal with, that's good! Then again, they weren't enemies for sure now, right?

All the contradictory thoughts whirled in her mind, blurring her senses and making her head hurt. She clutched her ears to block out the noises, but realized it served to nothing.

That's when she heard it.

"Soi Fon..."

Her head immediately whipped up and she looked down to see Yoruichi smiling gently at her.

"Yo...Yoruichi-sama!" she gasped.

"Soi Fon, it's okay. Close your eyes for a moment and listen to your heart. Do what your heart says is right. No one will judge you." The purple-haired woman gently told her.

The Second Division Captain finally put her arms down, staring blankly at the desk.

After what seemed like an eternity for everyone present in the room, she finally pushed her chair and stood up, slamming her hands down on the desk and shaking.

"Well then, it's been decided." Yamamoto's voice boomed, making the Espada's hearts sink. They were so close, so close to being free again. All their efforts, all their struggles, had they all been in vain? Were they really going to die here, now?

"Don't worry, I'll get you out." Ichigo whispered to them, determined not to let his two new friends die. His hand absently went to Zangetsu's hilt if the need to fight ever arose.

"According to popular vote, it has been decided that the Espada-"

He never got to finish because in the blink of an eye, Soi Fon had disappeared from her seat, reappearing next to Yoruichi, who blinked in surprise, and smiled, taking her hand.

"This is my choice. I swore to follow Yoruichi-sama forever, and I will. I was quite unsure of the situation, and so, I turned to her. She's the one who will guide me. I trust her judgement." She glowered at the rest of the court challengingly.

"You did what you thought was best, Soi Fon. I'm proud of you." Yoruichi smiled, gripping her hand tighter.

"Thank you, Yoruichi-sama..." the woman blushed and looked down, caught unaware by the praise.

"Well then, I'll rectify that. By popular vote, it has been decided that the Espada shall live and have full access to Seireitei as long as they respect the shinigami rules." Yamamoto, who was the only one allowed and obliged to stay neutral, announced. "This case is closed."

"Ah, we did it!" Ichigo yelled out, relieved. "Gosh, I was sure this was gonna turn awry."

"Yeah, especially with him around." Ulquiorra calmly jerked a thumb in Grimmjow's face, who rolled his eyes and smirked.

"You know you can't live without me."

"I know I wouldn't have lived without you, but I'm not so sure about not being able to." Ulquiorra smirked lightly, amused when he watched Grimmjow grit his teeth.

"Ah, wonderful turnout, isn't it?" Ukitake cheerfully butted into their conversation.

"Yeah, nice to know we have some people in Seireitei who don't totally hate our guts and want to see us lie in our own blood as soon as possible." The Sexta Espada nodded in fake seriousness.

"Also..." Ulquiorra turned to Soi Fon, who was watching them, and quickly turned away when she realized they'd locked gazes. "Thank you, Soi Fon, was it? We're indebted to you for saving our lives." He gently told her.

"Who said I did it for you? I did it for Yoruichi-sama!" she violently answered before disappearing in shunpo.

"Don't let her get to you." Yoruichi simply shrugged.

"Thanks." The Cuatra rolled his eyes.

"Oi oi oi, I have a good idea!" Kyoraku put a finger in the air. "As a celebration, we should organize a party, what do you say, Nanao-chan?" he asked, turning to his lieutenant, who simply adjusted her glasses and sighed.

"You're only looking for an alibi to drink."

"That may be so, but at least we're taking people down with us!" Kyoraku laughed cheerfully, taking Nanao's hand and tipping his straw hat. "Everyone must come! My sakura garden in an hour, see you all there!"

And he disappeared with his lieutenant in shunpo.

"Well then, what now?" Grimmjow crossed his arms, letting go of Ulquiorra to try standing on his own.

He never got to finish because that's when Kenpachi turned around, and in a flash, he had drawn his zanpakuto and had swung it at Grimmjow, who quickly jumped back and flipped over his hand, sliding back.

"Hey, are you crazy, you damn pirate?" he yelled, watching as the man dislodged his sword from the ground.

"Yey, go Ken-chan, go!" Yachiru cheered from his shoulder as Zaraki stepped towards Grimmjow, who was watching him wide-eyed.

"I think you and I will get along. Battle. Now." The man with the eyepatch grinned widely, raising his zanpakuto again.

"Hey, what the hell?" Grimmjow yelled, jumping back again and again until he hit a wall. His legs all but crumbled beneath him, and he evaded Zaraki's sword just in time, forcing a Sonido to reappear by Ichigo's and Ulquiorra's side. He stumbled a bit, letting his companion steady him, panting as he felt his mind darken. "Ichigo, the hell is up with this guy?" he looked at the weird man who was dislodging his sword from the wall.

"Zaraki, stop it! They don't even have their weapons and because of the chokers, they're not even in any condition to fight!" Ichigo yelled, staring firmly until the captain of the eleventh division sighed and sheathed his zanpakuto.

"Fine. But we will fight someday, both of you, mark my words."

And with that, he disappeared in shunpo as well.

"Well, I suggest we get these removed." Ulquiorra used his free hand to poke the choker that was practically squeezing his throat tight.

"Ah, I can do that!" Hanatarou smiled dumbly, pointing at his face. "The key to those is in the fourth squad barracks." He turned to his captain, who was watching with a gentle smile. "Taichou, can I let them rest in the barracks until Kyoraku-taichou's party?" he asked.

"Of course, Hanatarou. Just don't break anything." She smiled warmly again before shunpo-ing away, her lieutenant following quickly after.

"Alright then, follow me!" Hanatarou pumped his fist in the air and headed for the exit, both Ichigo and the Espada walking out after him.

"Alright everyone, catch ya later!" Grimmjow yelled with a smirk at everyone who had defended them, not even turning back as he waved.

"Yes, everyone, it was nice to meet you all. Thank you again, and we do hope to see you later." Ulquiorra bowed lightly before jogging to catch up with his friends.

What a wholly new and awkward world they'd landed in this time. He couldn't help but think so as he caught up with his former rival, walking side by side with his former Espada comrade and a clueless little shinigami through the streets of Seireitei.

Author's Notes:

THE CAKE IS A LIE. Sorry, I had to make that reference somewhere (: Sorry, sorry, you can beat me with a stick U.U

Alright, for research. May Tite Kubo bless Bleachpedia. If writing this chapter took 6 hours in total, 3 hours were spent on Bleachpedia doing research.

The reiatsu-draining chokers are my own creations, although they are possibilities since in the second OVA, the main antagonist had the power to drain reiatsu just by touching Ichigo. Also, Ichigo felt terribly weak afterwards, so that explains why Grimmjow's stumbling everywhere.

As for the way the Espada became Hollows? I created their pasts because there's nothing canon about that, and I also needed them to look good in front of the Gotenjuusantai O_o So yey, nice people becoming evil, how awesome is that? :D

Also, I tried to incorporate humor to all the heaviness in this chapter and laid off the angst. Most of the angst is concentrated in the cell scene, and you can tell it's not my usual type of angst. This one's... softer, if I can say it that way :/

If you thought Soi Fon was going to stay standing up, raise your hand :D *sees no one raising a hand* Good to know I can't write suspense and plot twists O_o

Also, if you want to know why everyone who stood by Grimmy's and Ulqui's side actually stood, then think. If you think real close, they all have a personal gain from it. Remember that the Espada have been close to Aizen, Gin and Tousen, and know some stuff...

Anyway, I won't spoil it any more for ya. Next time, Kyoraku's party (*pats Kyoraku on the head* Oh, Shun-chan, always looking for an alibi to get wasted *sighs*) and we delve deep into the Espada's time in Hueco Mundo.

Also, I need your opinions on how to get the various members of the squads to act about their defected captains or friends. Should they be touchy about the subject, or just not care, or maybe demand to know everything? I gotta know, cause next chappie's mostly dialogue between drunken!Shinigami and drunken!Espada :D Come on, where's the humor?

In any case, me stop spamming, me beg you to leave a review instead. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEE REVIEW D: I worked REALLY HARD on this chappie and I'd appreciate it if I had feedback and/or constructive criticism and/or answers to the questions I asked. Also, don't bother flaming, cause then I'll just send Wonderweiss. It's super effective~