It was close to midnight when Grimmjow woke in the squad one cells with a start. He was just getting his bearings when an explosion rocked the building.
"What was that?" He called to the guard outside his cell but the soul reaper looked just as shocked as him. Then they felt it: the all consuming darkness.
"Aizen..." the soul reaper wheezed. Grimmjow tensed.
"Let me out of here! Let me go now!"
"Just shut up." But his voice quavered. Another explosion hit.
"He's after Orihime, you have to let me out!"
"I can't."
"Just do it!"
The third explosion struck and Grimmjow was thrown to the floor. He tried to move and found the chains had been obliterated along with the wall and cool night air came in. But that was not what he felt. He felt searing heat at his back and realized his jacket was in flames. He pulled it off and rolled clear of more flaming debris that were showering around him. His shoulder popped painfully back into place, he hadn't even realized it had dislocated in the explosion, and he howled in pain.
Panting on the floor, he felt his whole being go cold as the flames all around him died and a dark figure floated to earth next to him. Grimmjow was unable to move in his presence. A finger traced down his burnt back, taking the injuries away with it as it lifted. The pressure lifted too and he gasped in air before slowly turning around.
"Ah Grimmjow, I thought I felt your spiritual pressure. Glad to see you're still alive." There was a clatter and he saw his zampakuto drop to the ground before him.
"A-Aizen?" He stammered, picking up the blade.
The man squatted next to him and put hand under his chin. He looked deep into his eyes.
"You don't remember me do you? Well I am you're master, and I am here to bring you home."
Grimmjow swallowed and Aizen released his chin but grabbed his good shoulder to help him to his feet.
"I'm sure its very confusing for you, but we'll get it all sorted out when we get back to Heuco Mundo, for now, just follow me. We have to get one other."
Grimmjow complied for the time being. He could feel the waves of power that rippled off this man and suddenly understood why Orihime was worried about giving him back his memories. Someone this powerful could have done anything to him, to make him bend to his will. He shuddered unconsciously at the thought just as another man joined them.
"This is him?" The white haired soul reaper asked.
His master nodded. "Grimmjow, the sixth espada. Did you find the girl?"
"In the fourth division, like we suspected."
"What are they doing?"
"Couldn't tell."
Grimmjow bit his tongue and followed. They blasted a path right through the doors and he had to hold himself back from running to Orihime's side when the doors to her room were shattered.
"Back away from her." Aizen ordered the healers.
"Wait." Grimmjow stepped forward and shivered when he felt Aizen's attention rest on him along with a great deal more of his power.
"What is it?" Aizen asked, annoyed.
"They have to keep healing her."
Aizen relaxed his sword slightly and listened to what Grimmjow had to say.
"What do you mean? Is she hurt?"
"She's lost her powers. We woke up in some cave, it was on fire...there was this thing, an arrancar but insanely powerful. He shot a cero at us and she blocked it with this golden shield thing. Anyway, it was too much for her." Aizen turned from Grimmjow to Unohana.
"Perhaps you could provide a more coherent explanation."
"What Grimmjow says is correct. She suffered spiritual trauma. She is now in a medically induced coma to try and restore her powers more quickly."
"I see. So you were planning to use her as well. But for different purposes, I presume." He approached the group around Orihime's bed and let his sword tip come to rest against Unohana's throat.
"How long?"
"Days."
"Too slow." He swung but in the blink of an eye, the fourth division captain countered. Grimmjow didn't even see where the blade came from. He didn't have long to contemplate however, as the room erupted in flames. The Head Captain had arrived.
"Shit." Ichimaru took over for Aizen and battled Unohana while the ex-captain turned to face his former master. Grimmjow stood in between, barely able to stay on his feet between the two crushing forces. The pressure lessened when a cool hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Take the girl and run." Aizen whispered in his ear. "I will find you, when it is over."
Then the battle was on and Grimmjow had no choice but to run away. He dodged blasts of spiritual pressure here and there but managed to get to Orihime's side.
He pulled out the iv and then removed all the sticky pads attached to her to read her vital signs. Then he lifted her as gently as he could and sodinoed out of the burning house of healing.
He ran far, not knowing exactly what he was looking for. He didn't want to go back with Aizen, he didn't want Aizen to get his hands on Orihime, but he also didn't want to be the Soul Reapers' prisoner. He had to try to escape both, he determined. As long as he and Orihime were safe, there wasn't much more he needed.
He had given in to the fact that the girl was important to him, but his arrancar sense of self preservation told him not to get involved in her rescue attempts of this Toshiro kid or to get involved with Aizen again. But how could he hide himself from such a monster?
He growled to himself even as he ran, annoyed at his own weakness. A few Soul Reapers crossed his path but he sent them flying back with ceros before they even knew what was happening. He knew what he really needed. He needed his memories back. Currently, he possessed more power than he knew how to use. His memories would help him get out of this situation, tell him how to escape Aizen.
He came to a building just at the edge of the Seireitei and ducked inside. It was a guard post for the wall, abandoned in the attack in the city centre. Grimmjow squated against the wall, the stone sending chills down his bare back. He cradled Orihime close and did the only thing he could think to do: he poured all his spirit into her, hoping it would be enough.
The healers had only been giving her small doses of their power. But this was a full onslaught of raw, espada riatsu. The procedure that was supposed to take days was complete in a mere hour. Orihime gasped, her chest felt like it would burst, and Grimmjow immediately stopped what he was doing and set her down. She leaned against him for a few more seconds and then pulled away to inspect the situation. She felt strange, the sensation of his power inside of her was overwhelming. She flexed her fingers powerfully, feeling an unfamiliar build of energy there, not like her own powers. She looked up at him suddenly, the questions filling her.
"What happened?"
"Aizen came. He told me to take you and run. I did, but now I don't know what to do. He wants to take both of us back with him."
Orihime's fists clenched in fear, remembering the last two times she'd been to Heuco Mundo. It didn't seem to matter how many times she escaped, he always came after her again.
Grimmjow watched the fear form in her eyes but didn't know what to say. He was hoping she would be able to give him some ideas.
"I don't know what to do." she said almost sobbing. "Maybe the Head Captain will win."
"Maybe..." Grimmjow really hoped the two would just kill each other in battle. That would solve a lot of his problems.
"Orihime, use your powers on me now. Maybe I'll be able to figure something out if my memories return."
She hesitated before raising her hands. "Okay." her fingers came to rest on his temples but just then a sudden bust of dark spiritual pressure made them both freeze. She cringed and fell into his arms and he raised one hand to shield them from the debris of the exploding door. He waited to see which menace stood in its wake and swallowed hard when he saw the man dressed in all white.
"Grimmjow. You've done extremely well, I'm pleased." He stepped in but the other two still could not rise because of the spiritual pressure. Aizen lifted it after a moment and apologised, pretending he forgot, but Grimmjow knew he did it to frighten them. He could see that Grimmjow was not really loyal to him.
"Come now." he said as he pulled the sixth espada to his feet, Orihime safely under one arm. "Let's go home."
Orihime shivered when a sharp breeze wafted up from the dessert and caught the skirt of her uniform. They had just stepped through the Garganta and now gazed upon the enormous palace. They were just at the bottom of the stairs at the main entrance.
"Hmm. Seems we've arrived just in time." Aizen said. Orihime glanced his way to try to read his features.
"Wh-what do you mean?" she stammered.
"You're friends, Orihime, they've been up to no good." Within seconds she understood. At the top of the stairs two small figures appeared, one with hair as dark as the night around them, the other's as pure white as the moon. Black smoke billowed out of the doors behind them. It only took the two young soul reapers a second to realize the danger.
"Orihime!" Rukia cried in dismay, pulling the little captain closer behind her. He stiffened when he saw Aizen.
"Just run Rukia!" Orihime screamed back but it was no use. Aizen pulled out his blade and disappeared before her. She was so scared she didn't notice the strange expression on Ichimaru's face as he shifted beside her, and then disappeared himself.
Orihime was already running up the stairs, Grimmjow following. She saw Rukia roll down a couple of steps, clutching her stomach and Toshiro fell back when Aizen struck him in the face.
"Rukia! Toshiro!" Orihime reached Rukia's side, preventing her from tumbling another step, but Aizen loomed above them.
"Move." he ordered but she shook her head defiantly.
"Grimmjow!" Aizen barked and Grimmjow tensed behind her. "Remove her."
Grimmjow looked from the powerful man back to the only person he really trusted. She stared up at him with pleading eyes.
"NOW!" Grimmjow grabbed Orihime by the shoulders but didn't move further. He caught the flash of white and threw himself over Orihime, who in turn, fell overtop of Rukia.
Blood splattered down onto Grimmjow's bare back, he looked up slowly and saw the blade through Aizen's shoulder. Gin withdrew, and Aizen's eyes narrowed darkly as he turned to face his subordinate.
"What do you think you are doing, Ichimaru?"
"I'm sorry Captain. I don't know what made me follow you. But whatever it was, I don't remember it, and I can't watch you kill these soul reapers and gain the power you seek. You need to be stopped."
"Oh Gin, I forgot about this side of you." he clashed his sword against Ichimaru's and leaned close. "That part of you died so many years ago."
The two titans clashed back and forth but Ichimaru was losing fast.
"Time to go." Grimmjow pulled Orihime up and stuck his sword into the air. The cracks appeared.
"Take Rukia." Grimmjow didn't even argue, he just wanted to get them out so he grabbed the bleeding Soul Reaper and yanked her to her feet. Before she could even gasp in pain he was shoving her through the gate.
"Now come on!" He reached back for Orihime but found himself face to face with Aizen. The cracks behind him shut, he saw the prone figure of Ichimaru sprawled on the top steps and finally his eyes locked on Orihime's watery brown ones. Her mouth was covered by one of Aizen's hands, her whole body was trembling.
"Grimmjow, you disappoint me." the shock of dark pressure struck him like an anvil and he was unconscious before he hit the stairs. Aizen sighed as he picked up the arrancar and then looked over to Toshiro. He released Orihime and nodded to the boy. "If you'd be so kind, Orihime."
She walked stunned, toward the miniature captain and scooped him up in her arms. Then, with no other choice, she followed Aizen back into the palace.