Aizen tapped his fingers against the monitor, a look of annoyance hidden under a look of amusement known only for those few who had the ability to see it.

Hundreds of video screens surrounded by the complex wire and machinery that connected them were plastered on the walls, giving him almost voyeuristic knowledge of his self made kingdom, from the dunes and outcroppings, to the many inches of his army's holdings and homes.

Hmm, since when has the Gotei 13 cared about one of their pawns?

Captain Unohana, one of the eldest and most dangerous of Gotei 13 had been sent with a strike team to presumably rescue Ichigo Kurosaki, and the rest of the Ryoka who had invaded Hueco Mundo.

That had been his plan from the beginning.

The strategy was a combination of a double envelopment and a feint. The fools didn't know he could close the metaphorical gates and trap them in. While the Shinigami, Yamamoto sent were busy fighting the lower Espada and Numeros, Aizen would send his main force to Karakura Town. The Shinigami would almost certainly be there to defend it. The Espada would be sent to blitz the Captains while the Numeros and Fraccion would flank the lieutenants and lower seats.

After their defeat, Aizen would create the Oken and finally destroy the abortion ruling over the fools and sheep. He would create the world the way it should be, and not the way the cowards want it to be.

What he didn't plan was the worm he named Octava closing the hole and allowing a paltry amount of the Shinigami's strength to go through.

Then again he had always been too open handed with the Arrancar. But that was mandatory. They were stubborn by nature and if he didn't give them the illusion of freedom the army he had put hundreds of years into generating may have shattered into thousands of pieces like the reflection off a mirror or the mirage of water being disturbed by a fish breaking the surface.

Aizen was entertained by this recent outburst of justice and honor by the Shinigami. This loud vocal eruption of hypocritical haughtiness for his actions, was amusing when he thought back about the crimes committed by them and the so called nobles they protect. Compared to his trifling crimes, the atrocities committed by the Soul Society were darker and more of a hell worthy sin then what he has done and he will do.

To show offense at his toppling of the abomination they called their monarch and worshiped as an God was almost made him laugh. But he had once come across a parable in the World Of The Living that correctly defined the nature of the Soul Society.

Sheep will follow any false Sheppard regardless of the fur and fangs he refused to hide.

This was only a minor snag and would lead to a change of plans. He would have to go all out from the start. Have the top five Espada be a hammer strike through the middle, as their fraccion and the gillians flanked them from behind, resulting in complete encirclement.

He'd keep Inoue here though. Unlike the rest of the Hollow's Aizen felt she wasn't as dispossible. Her powers were an anomaly almost as great as the Hogyoku. Almost.

Turning her into a Hollow had been a remarkable bout of foresight, Aizen thought. Had he not seen her powers personally, or heard the reports from Ulquiorra, he would have just used her as bait and left her to her fate. Maybe she would have given her to Nnoitira as a reward to leal service. If he been in a good mood he may have given her to Tier or Starrk.

The girl was a weak, pathetic thing, her mind corrupted by childishness and naivety, her talents wasted on her kind heart and conscience. She couldn't even harm a bug, let alone one of her enemies. She didn't even try to fight back or see if Ulquiorra was bluffing. She was submissive like a beaten dog.

But her powers… They were a strange oddity to even him, who's knowledge of the world was greater then any mortal. She had been given the power to reject the seemingly eternal walls of fate and destiny, but her own humility rejected any conscious attempt to know what to do with them.

Except destroy the hogyoku.

Aizen had saw through her little ruse. He knew when she had quickened the pace of the orb that she intended to destroy it. Under her fear, he could sense her secretly undermining him. The insult to his intelligence was just another reason he turned her.

That did beg the question as to what was the exact origin of her powers. Aizen refused to believe that an ordinary human could just happen to win the proverbial toss of the dice when it came to obtaining powers. Aizen had theories, but all of them needed to be tested.

And the risk he took with the Hogyoku couldn't happen again. Starrk and Harribel's consciences made them unpredictable, Barragon was plotting to avenge his usurpation, and Grimmjow became more and insolent. Regardless of their loyalty and difference in strength, any one of them could steal it for their own ends.

What if one of the objectives ordered by Yamamoto was the retrieval and destruction of his most prized creation, his Promethean magnum opus that would mark his ascension and revenge against the Royalty and their subsurvient

And if the Espada proved as dispossible as he thought, he'd need any advantage he could get against the Royal Guard...

Aizen smiled. He knew then, how he would assure his divinity. What if he used the Hogyoku on himself?

But he couldn't just keep it on his person. It had to be merged with him, and he decided that he would put it in a place where its emotional use had been taken from him and lost permentally but performed it's biological use even after a thousand years.

His heart.

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The horde came upon them battle ready, shimmering through their distant horizon like a mirage.

In spite of the neutral temperature of the false sun, they could feel the heat, as their enemies Reiatsu licked and kissed them the closer they came.

Rukia furrowed her brow, trying to get a exact read on their strength. A quizzical look appeared on her face.

"Chad, do you feel the spiritual pressure? Its… The same. The exact same for all of them..."

"Yeah… But don't lose focus. They're already here."

The noise the Arrancar's made when they moved reminded Chad of a Cicada. They certainly seemed to be as numerous as bugs. They had gone from a mile to half a hundred feet in an instant, kicking up sand and dust as they marched towards Chad and Rukia.

We're outnumbered. The demon in the front was some kind of twisted, malformed, almost, no was, satanic, its mask being in the visige of some kind of Goat. That had to be the commander.

On the left and right there was a score of identical monsters with only skulls for heads. They moved in unison, their marching being in lockstep. Ever since he got here, Chad had gotten Deja Vu from his time in his homeland, but now the similarities were getting laughable. It was almost as if he walked into the festival and was surrounded by men dressed in calavera masks.

"Who are you?" Rukia asked pointing her sword threateningly at the living breathing demon.

The leader regarded her with little interest till he finally spoke. "Why should I give you anything? Both of you look half dead already. I only need to speak to finish the fight."

Rukia grinned mockingly. "It's a sign of respect and pride for the Shinigami. It shows how far you've risen. Let me give you a example. I am Rukia Kuchiki of Squad 13."

The Goat chuckled. "There is no such thing as respect and pride in Hueco Mundo. Only those who are stronger then the other will survive here. You eat, you fight, you breed, you die. But I'll play along with your cultural pieties. I am Arrancar #61, Rudbornn Chelute, the leader of the Exequias."

Rukia inclined her brow, in confusion. "Exequias?"

Chad answered for Chelute. "It's Spanish for Funeral Rites." Chad turned back to the Goat faced leader. "My guess is they finish off the dying foes his overlords didn't bother too."

Chad and Rukia almost thought that the goat almost rolled its eyes. "That is the purpose of the Exequias yes but not my only objective. I have been ordered to kill all intruders and failures by master Szayel and bring them back for him to study."

Chad heard but also didn't hear him say "failures." He shakily asked for clarification. "Does that mean… That the foes I spared…"

"They are dead."

Chad and Rukia looked at him with utmost fury, raising their reiastu in anger. "They were your comrades! How could you-"

"Were you not listening? Only the strong have the right to survive here in Hueco Mundo. Anyone who is weak isn't fit to be a soldier. Aizen-Sama is the strongest and has ordered that every fool who can't beat you ryoka isn't worth being in his army to harrow Heaven and its riches. And I shall not let you pass."

Rukia went put her sword into a guard stance while Chad cracked his knuckles and stretched, before he taunted the hollow. "You should be a piece of cake then. Me and Rukia just got done defeating two Espada! If they were number nine and seven how do you think number sixty one will fare?"

"For the heresy of breaking two of Lord Aizen's swords, you shall be punished with death!" He pointed at his two foes, his army raising their many blades. "Attack now!"

They charged.

The anticipation had finally subsided for the both of them as the expected became certainty. The clones held their blades inside right, as they swarmed upon them like a wave. They watched as the tin soldiers scattered and spread into a crescent shape, hoping to trap the two and close in on them like a vice.

But their foes had other plans. They nodded towards each other and Chad took the right, while Rukia took the left. Chad was a human tank, using his Devil arm to tear at least nine into pieces with the concussive force of his fist. Two tried flanking him with Sonido but Chad elbowed one, and back kicked the other. Checked felt bits of spongy meat on the back of his arm but ignored the disgust bubbling in the back of his throat for now. A few managed to slash his leg and arms but they were immediately disarmed. Literally.

Meanwhile, Rukia was cutting down foes like straw, slashing one under the right side of the ribcage, the other deep in the navel, one between neck and shoulder and so on and so on.

Rukis professionalism shined through, her expertise on her Zanpakuto shone. She kept them from getting too close but still waited for them to come to her. They weren't bad with the sword but Rukia was better. But their movements were completely in sync, making Rukia suspect that they were just mindless meat puppets controlled by the cowardly bastard hiding behind his men.

Rukia felt at peace. At least she didn't have to kill her best friend once again. She was just fighting monsters…

It was over quickly. The bodies had turned into piles of useless carrion waiting to be a scavengers lucky snack. Chad and Rukia gave other a thumbs up and charged toward the donkey general, ready to exact their own justice.

He showed no sign of worry or anger. That wasn't just because he had a goats face, and goats can't emote. Rukia was perturbed at his serenity and stopped in her tracks.

"Chad, wait!"

"Grow, Arbol."

The monster's reiatsu exploded, sending shockwaves of dust and rocks towards the two companions. Enormous tendrils sprouted from Chelute's bottom half, wrapping themselves against his waist and shooting him up as tall as a basketball hoop. On each side of his back four thin spindly branches grew out of his back, some kind of odd white skulls hanging from its succor.

"Did you think that those were my only servants? That I cannot create more of my army? You are truly arrogant to think that it would be easy to defeat my army.

"What are you talking about? You created those monsters?"

"Of course. Though I do not expect an arrogant Shinigami like yourself to understand, I am the one true member of the Exequias, Observe."

Rukia and Chad watched as the skulls grew twisted white bodies and transformed into the soldiers they had just defeated. Like overripe fruit, they plopped on the ground, squatting before standing attentively.

"Aizen-sama is the being that will destroy death itself and become god of a new world. He has blessed me with these divine powers as a gift of my devotion. I am become the tree of life, creating my servants from my fruit, turning them into my flesh and blood."

Rukia chewed on that for a moment. Something about that gave something away, a weakness, a flaw in his so called divine powers. Just as she was about to get it, Chad caught her attention.

"Rukia, look behind you!" Rukia gasped.

Running out of the dunes were a hundred of the tin soldiers, ready to impale the both of them. Chad turned to Chelute, a look of anger on his face.

"Confused? Those soldiers you defeated were only the vanguard. Behind you comes the main host."

Chad and Rukia turned towards each other and raised their Reiatsu. They had a true fight on their hands now.

Chad unexpectedly fired a El Directo a Chelute. Chelute billowed and twisted in the wind just in time, but lost two of his branches. He snapped his fingers, and his slaves built a wall of flesh protected him from the neck down.

His host had made it. Chad through many hooks, jabs, straights, and checks managed to clear a path to Rukia. Then a few jumped him, stabbing him through the meat of the shoulder.

"CHAD!" Rukia cried.

But Chad could take care of himself. He grappled the swordsman and used him as as flail before throwing him to a large group of soldiers.

The loss of attention nearly cost her. Six of the warriors tried to turn her into a shish kebob but Rukia barely made it out, watching them impale themselves.

Rukia danced around her foes, creating spires and living sculptures of ice. She had to think of a plan quick if they wanted to get out of this alive. They were about the same strength but they were outnumbered almost hellishly.

Rukia turned towards the general, scowling. It had created a column of at least five hundred soldiers to guard it from any attacks towards his person. The remaining branches were fertile as ever, growing more and more…

Wait.

Why weren't the other branches growing back?

Unless…

They couldn't!

Rukia realized his weakness. His "fruit" could only bud if there were branches from which you could grow. If the main branches were pruned, then the tree would be unable to bear any fruit and spread into a forest. Rukia honestly didn't think she could've remembered her gardeners techniques at such a opportune time.

Rukia now had a plan. "Chad, go for Chelute! Attack him from all directions! Trust me!"

Chad nodded and charged through the horde and fired straight at Chelute. As expected, the living wall protected him. Chad fired from the sides and behind only to get the same result. Chelute laughed, unawhere that he just lost the fight.

What Rukia was trying to do was not destroy his guard but seperate him from the rest of his army. She had noticed that the way the soldiers built the wall was completely straight and uniform. So Rukia had tricked him into created a square and boxing him in.

Rukia wasted no time. "Juhaku!" A trail of ice quickly spread from the ground to the base of the living shield, trapping him in a wall of ice.

Rukia had Chad catapult her above the wall, her ivory blade shimmering when the sun met its reflection. As she brought the blade down, she knew then that she had forever routed the army of Rudborrn Chelute.

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"Nel, quit it!"

"Go, horsey go!" Nel happily screamed getting saliva all over black kimono.

"Go that way, Itsygo, that way!"

"That's not the right way to go!" Ichigo lied hoping to get her to regain focus. Truth was, Ichigo didn't have a clue where he was supposed to go. The castle was so vast Ichigo felt like it would take days to get from one side to the other. Landmarks, the sand, the sky, even the Arrancar looked and felt the same to him. He had gotten lost.

Damnit four eyes is right. It didn't help he couldn't sense others or even control his own Reiatsu either. The bastards came to him like moths to a light.

Suddenly, Ichigo tripped on a rock, falling face first, spreadeagled. When he got off he noticed that Nel was off his back. He panicked for a moment, before he found Nel facing him with a hundred yard stare. Ichigo didn't like the look of it. She looked absolutely horrified.

Ichigo calmly knelt in front of her, having a bad feeling in his stomach.

"Nel, what's wrong?"

"Pesche, and Dondochakka. Uryroo and Renji too…" Tears went into her eyes. "They're fading fast."

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Uryu couldn't breathe. That didn't help his pain.

He was shocked that he hadn't passed out. It must have been part of what ever spell the bastard had put on him. The pain was so intense as it pulsated through his body, shaking his tissue as tears came unwanted to his eyes.

He didn't want to die like this, suffering in the dirt unable to fight back against a disgusting bastard who would get away with hurting his friends. The shame of defeat and pure evil winning brought more salt sinking through his eyes. But there was something else.

The fact that he would never see Inoue-san's smile again, knowing that he had failed her. Knowing that given her keen sense of spiritual pressure she could be feeling him suffer. That brought more misery to his enflamed nerves then any physical torture Szayel could ever put him through.

His ears were ringing but he was started regain his lost focus. He realized that Szayel hadn't brought any new pain to his senses. Struggling to move his body he heard his tormentors irascible voice.

"…No you idiot crushing the heart and brain, will kill them instantly!" He heard something rip along with a shrill scream. "Just wait for the signal and remember everything I told you."

The piping voice of Szayel's fat Fraccion screamed excitedly. "I will do master, I will do, I will do!"

He heard the sound of sand shifting under feet getting closer and closer, until he could pratically feel his verminous smirk looking down on him, the smile that reminded him of his greatest foe.

"Well Quincy, there's been a change of plans." He could feel him wiping his hands on the dry part of his cloak. "You and your friends should really have sent an invitation. I would have been happy to be a guest to so many interesting people!"

"Get on with it..." He may have just wanted it to end already but he would give the satisfaction of him begging.

He could see Szayel's annoyance. "I have gotten more then enough data on all of your friends, except one. The strong one, the wildcard that Aizen sent goons after. I have never come across such a interesting specimen! Where do you find him?"

"Kiss my ass."

"I'll do more then kiss it if you tell me how someone had not only gotten so strong in a short amount of time but also has the strangest Reiatsu I've ever encountered."

That took Uryu aback, "What do… You mean?"

Szayel sighed. "I guess those glasses are just there for fashion. He takes the appearance of a Shinigsmi but has the spunk of one of our very own espada. And now that I've noticed that his reiatsu is somewhat similar to your own."

This wasn't making any sense. He must have passed out after he lost his stomach. "Ichigo has Quincy Reiatsu?

"It's faint but its there. But this leads to the bigger problem. By the time it would take me to fully analyze the complexities of his being, I'd be a few feet shorter. So I have to improvise a third act."

He could sense Szayel grin even wider. May your teeth shatter you monster.

"You should be excited! You get to be part of the third act! I can imagine it now. The hero comes across his friends about to be murdered by the beautiful villain, and is forced to take his own life to save his love ones… Only for the villain to go back on his word!" Szayel heartily laughed as Uryu's frustration boiled over.

"You coward! You can't face him yourself so you use us as collateral?" He would have said more but at that moment Szayel kicked him in the stomach, making him cough and vomit up more blood.

"There's nothing cowardly with having intelligence. You would know it you had prepared to come here. But no, you came here, knowing nothing of the enemy and terrain. That's not just stupidity, that's pure and perfect suicide."

Uryu wanted to say more even if it fell on deaf ears, to scream that he had done it for something a hollow like him could never understand.

But his hypothesis that Szayel was keeping him conscious was completely incorrect. His vision faded and before he passed out he felt Rukia's and Chads presence.

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Yeah kinda of an asshole cliffhanger isn't it? Love writing this one, hope you enjoy it as well. (:

And Inoue-Chan still refused to show up to her own story! I swear this is completely unintentional. She was going to show up but this chapter got way too long! I spent three hours street writing this one. My back is messed up, and I feel exausted but good about myself! I hope you enjoy my latest chapter!

Maybe enough to leave some reviews this time please? You don't have to do it, I love you all regardless of the amount of reviews!