Kisuke felt suffocated now, the heat between the two rising, their reiatsu lashing out against each other. Shattering the cold dissonance of the night. "Why do-.." Kisuke was cut off again, as Aizen raised a finger over the blond's lips he uttered a quiet sentence.

"Words can't save you this time, Kisuke."

No, this can't happen... he can't be serious...Time elapsed too fast. There was no possible way to escape this now, Somewhere deep within he felt a crushing feeling of despair, grasping his heart and sense of thought, clenching tighter, a wave of utter disbelief crashing over him.

There was a slight crash, the echo emanating outside the door, Aizen briefly released the soft wrists he held. The sounds continued, beginning with soft noises then becoming sonorous crashes. He was inclined to ignore this interruption but the noise was slowly obtruding his thoughts, he was becoming increasingly irritated. "Well aren't you going to go and see what that is?" Kisuke teased as hope reinstated in his heart for a brief second before he quickly buried it, remaining undetected.

Sousuke released his grasp on Kisuke's sensitive wrists "Don't move..." His tone not a simple warning but a command as his eyes conveyed the threat, a sinister spark clouding them. He then stood up and slipped silently towards the door before exiting and closing it behind him, a second click told the blonde the escape route was locked. Kisuke sighed, at least now he had a chance to breathe, a chance to think more clearly. He placed his face in his hands, the timing of that distraction was almost a blessing, it was all too close. His heartbeat slowly returning to normal as the cool night air brushed over him, tugging at his messy hair.

Not knowing how much time he had, he drew a deep breath and surveyed the room, he saw a drawer and closet far off to the shadows. Searching for something he could use, he found an old patchwork kit and a brush. By removing some of the brushes metal bristles and getting a thick needle from the kit he began trying to pick the lock on the barrier preventing his escape. Sweat formed on his brow, his fingers in a rapid yet delicate fumble, a few clicks echoed through the agonising silence and the door was unlocked. He gasped in air for another breath as he pushed the door open with a slight creak. He peered out of the cracks, searching the area limited by the lack of light. The hall was clear.

He slowly padded out into the darkness, if he were caught now Sousuke would definitely end him. He crept down the looming and ominous hall, it contained various paths spreading off in multiple directions, he didn't have the time to decide what led where, instead he followed one to the north-east. His breathing silenced as much as possible, as he put to use the knowledge and skill he gained from his experience with the stealth force. His steps nothing more than a light touch to the cold floor, reiatsu clinging to his body, not to disclose his location.

The path led on for a while, he held a silent hope that Sousuke hadn't returned to the room yet, as he knew this place far better than Kisuke, he would be found near instantly. Passing by a strange set of corridors, he noticed an array of traps set. Inquisitive, he tested if these were working, inactive...meaning this area hadn't been used in a while, but it had however been traversed recently, that thought alerted him but he continued. He followed the set of deactivated traps along, before he came to what looked like a laboratory, he peered through a window, the darkness concealing what was inside but he could feel Benihime close by, her cries calling for him.

Meanwhile Sousuke had closed in on the source of the unwelcome interruption, a few rebellious hollows had made their way into the meeting hall and started creating chaos. Sousuke was beyond anger now, he was furious but his reticent mask gave the illusion that he was uncaring, the face he had continued to show to the world. Three swift and precise strikes carried out within the blink of an eye and the hollows disintegrated, fading away like black smoke. He turned as if nothing had happened, ignoring the mess before him. They were nothing but replaceable pawns, he was completely unfazed.

Kisuke looked for an entrance, letting a resigned sigh slip as he noticed it was locked by a numerical code. He slumped at the wall beside the device, he was so close to having his Zanpakuto back,to escaping, but now this obstacle..it seemed hopeless. His hands slid down the wall and met a fine pile of sand, most likely traveled in from the desert. He collected some in his palm then positioned his hand in front of the device, with a light gust of breath the fine sand dispersed over the code numbers, it worked, the fine sand had clung to the numbers that had been used recently.

8-7-3-4-9, he just needed to figure out the sequence, it was a three try system with a six digit code, but he had only retrieved five numbers, meaning one had been used twice, he glanced over the code numbers again noticing the sand layer was slightly thicker on the number eight. So the complete list of numbers was 8-7-3-4-9-8. He thought about it, the paranoia spread throughout his thoughts again, he glanced quickly over his shoulder to reassure himself as he set to work decoding the lock.

His first try was 9-4-8-3-8-7, the screen flashed red, his nerves now building, what if he was wrong three times? Would it set off an alarm? the answer seemed obvious, of course it would. He took a shaky breath as a thin layer of cold sweat slowly veiled his body. 4-7-3-9-8-8, the dull blip and the red blur caused him to contain his frustration again "Damn it..." his voice a low whisper. One last chance, if he were to get this wrong, his effort and his attempt to be free thus far would be burned before his eyes. His fingers like ice, his hands uncontrollably shaking, he raised his numb fingers to the console again.

8...9...7...4...3...8

His breath at a standstill as his heart seemed like it mirrored the movement. He felt like his throat was closing over as his whole body was trembling in anticipation...

Access granted were the first words present as the screen glowed a sombre green. Slight relief set in as he grabbed the cold steel handle and gave a light turn, the door slid open. He crept in cautiously before he closed the door. Benihime trembled slightly as he examined the area for any sign of traps guarding her. Once he was certain there were none he retrieved her. He felt safer, but he knew he definitely wasn't in the clear. He decided to take a quick survey of the lab, maybe there was something useful in this abandoned husk of discovery and creation.

The blond sifted through some papers, checking them against a small amount of light from a small torch he had found in a nearby drawer, hiding under the desk every time he turned the light on. His paranoia was a little drastic, but within good reason. At all costs he did not want to return to that place.

After looking through various papers a set of blueprints caught his eye. He read through it, briefly skimming over the notes. "A device for creating Garganta?" His voice near silenced, but his tone revealed undeniable interest, he read on before noticing an attached document:

- Notes for 7/10/10-Experiment testing - Garganta creation

The tests of my device were flawless, obviously because I created it. Further reasearch and testing recorded no changes in the test subjects with minimal effects reported. Now considered safe for use.

The rest of the notes were torn and illegible but the main thing was this crucial device was obscured somewhere in the vast room. Kisuke opened countless desks, drawers, cupboards and storage before he came to a broken lock, he opened the cabinet slowly. Very few papers were there...But where was the device? His mind-set into a new panic, before he caught a glimpse of a tattered and partially ripped paper protruding from the side of the cabinet hinge, notes of a prototype with similar results to the final device.

He peered in the only storage box he hadn't checked. There it was, the prototype device, glowing with a blue luminescent light, collecting it he now had the next stage of his escape plan. He felt a sudden wave of spiritual pressure hit him, emitting overwhelming rage and asperity, the familiar reiatsu sent dread throughout him almost paralyzing him with shock.

He snapped back to reality, quickly turning as he heard the sound of footsteps emanating from the corridor ... A slight noise of fear passed Kisuke's lips as he quickly closed the storage box and crept under a desk in front of the laboratory window, hoping he wouldn't be discovered. He slipped the device in his coat to conceal the glow as his hand gripped Benihime tighter. His breath was caught and held as a looming shadow was slowly cast across the floor, moments before a man with brown hair peered in the window...