Chapter 5: Reclamation

The massive gate in Urahara's underground cavern rippled and tore open as two bodies were roughly ejected from it. They landed face-first in the sand and painfully brought themselves to their feet. Urahara laughed as he dusted himself off.

"My but that was enjoyable! I haven't been to Soul Society for over 100 years, and I even got to see some of the old faces," he glanced over at Ichigo, who had a distant look on his face. "I wouldn't worry too much over what just happened there Kurosaki. My old friend Genryuusai takes the weight of too many hardships upon himself, and it leaves him unaware of individual feelings sometimes. I think I am correct in saying that most of Soul Society—and certainly myself among them—are glad that your powers have returned. From what I can see they are as strong as I had hoped!" he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You have an amazing power for self-suggestion Kurosaki. You instinctively knew of the danger you held within yourself after I sealed him, and your subconscious convinced yourself that your powers had been consumed with the seal—the very opposite of what had happened—in order to preserve against that threat. If you turn that power towards controlling your strength in battle, I have no doubts that you will be able to protect your friends without fear of re-awakening the Nameless One."

Ichigo focused on Urahara's words. "Yeah, I remember while I was still sleeping, Zangetsu told me something about 'the will.' I didn't know what it meant, but that dumbass Kenpachi reminded me that the will to fight is what's been driving me forward so far. I lost it for a while, but now I know that it's the only way to protect them…Chad, Inoue, my sisters, even my father and everyone else I know here. If I have to, I'll go to Hueco Mundo and destroy Aizen myself!" his fist tightened as he spoke, and his eyes had regained the powerful idealism that Urahara recognized from the invasion of Soul Society. The enigmatic shop-keeper smiled broadly at Ichigo's revival.

"I'm glad to hear that, Kurosaki. For now, though, I believe you have some breathing room until you're required to take that sort of drastic action."

As they walked away towards the spiraling stairway up to the normal world, they heard two other bodies hit the sand, and looked back to see a grinning Abarai Renji and Kira Izuru pick themselves up and dust off, their brand new Captain's robes billowing proudly.

**

Aizen looked down from the pinnacle of the Montaňa Miedoso, watching the seething masses of his Hollow army swarm across the face of enormous crag that rose above the bleak surface of the world of the dead. He was smiling, a facial alteration that made him seem strangely warm and friendly amidst the maelstrom of controlled chaos that he kept in line like a puppet-master holding thousands of strings. Everything continued to go according to the Pattern that he had foreseen many years ago when he first dreamed up this solution to breaking the limits of existence. These Arrancar were but a step along that path; a mighty step to be sure, but they still lacked the ability to overcome everything. Aizen would see to it that those limits would be broken though, the Pattern was completing itself as he watched, weaving itself together from the countless threads that he guided.

"Aizen-sama?" a questioning voice came from behind him. He turned around from his vigil and saw who had spoken at the table. Ah yes, that is right; he had called them here for an important meeting. He would have to save his musings for the moment.

"Patience Ricardo," Aizen said in the calm voice that he always displayed, even in the harshest of circumstances. He now swept his gaze across the long table, meeting the eyes of each of the Espada in turn. These 10 Arrancar were his greatest creations yet, comparable in power to all his other forces combined and then some. He had no doubt that soon he would be capable of crushing Soul Society within his fist, and then his real work could begin. The Throne of the Universe stood waiting for him, and he would stand within its glory one day and finally complete the Pattern that he had begun weaving almost 100 years ago. "I was simply taking the time to align my thoughts to the purpose that I have called you here for today. This meeting is very important, as we will be taking steps to begin our invasion of Soul Society."

All of the Espada grinned evilly in anticipation of slaughtering the Shinigami, and some of them chuckled as they imagined what was in store. Only Ulquiorra remained emotionless, sitting as if he was part of the stone that his chair was made from. As the primer Espada, the others feared him not just for his power, but for the cold, analytical way that he approached every situation; willing to instantly kill anything that hindered him in his goals. Aizen viewed him as a perfect creation.

"First however, I will have your reports as to the defenses surrounding the Montaňa. Report on the first line, Ricardo," his gazed turned towards the Espada with a 7 on his chest: a tall, lanky Arrancar with shaggy hair and sharp, raptor-like eyes.

"The Montaňa is completely surrounded with sentries that can sense anything attempting to approach within 10 kilometers, no matter how small it is," Ricardo stood as he spoke, rising to a good 2 meters in height. "I have run drills and they were able to mobilize the second and third lines within 5 minutes after sensing an intruder."

"That is acceptable, but it would be preferable for it to be closer to 3 minutes," Aizen replied as he turned his gaze away from Ricardo. "And the second line then, Sashial?" he asked of the Espada with a 3; a female Arrancar with a small, shapely body. The reports continued for a few minutes, until suddenly everyone fell silent as they felt something above them. As one, the Espada and Aizen turned their eyes towards the rock ceiling that was the inside of the pinnacle of the Montaňa.

With the groaning roar of tearing stone, the peak of the mountain shattered and was blown away by a blinding tempest that darkened the now open sky above. As suddenly as it began the maelstrom started to subside, and a figure descended into the meeting room from the open ceiling. It was massive, bigger even than Yami, but completely shrouded in a white, billowing robe that obscured even its head. A massive blade was sheathed at the figure's hip; it looked like 2 long swords had been bent together into a helix pattern. The robed being touched down lightly upon the table, belying its 3.5 meter stature. Now standing upon the table, it simply stood there amidst the 10 most powerful Arrancar in Hueco Mundo, completely silent. The Espada sat there for a moment, almost bewildered at what had just occurred. It was impossible to tell if the thing was looking at them or just standing there, but it seemed to project an aura of impossible size and majesty.

After a moment, Aizen spoke with clenched teeth. "How did this…thing get past the defense lines?" his tone was of barely suppressed, monumental anger that snapped the Espada out of their reverie.

"I flew," replied the robed figure, now visibly orienting on Aizen in an unquantifiable fashion.

"T-that's impossible!" Ricardo stuttered, standing up confrontationally yet backing away at the same time. "The weather patterns over the Montaňa are specifically designed to make it impossible to fly higher than the sentries can detect!"

The thing was still focused on Aizen, but responded. "If you were to recognize me as you should, you would know that such a thing is no barrier to my power."

The Segundo Espada, a bipedal beast-like creature, suddenly gasped in astonishment and recognition and shot to his feet. "It is you! You are… 'His' general from 100 years ago, the Vortex Lord!" some of the other Espada now showed fear in their eyes, while others remained confused.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aizen's voice was calm again, which was even more frightening than before.

"I have come to deliver a message to you who dwell in the Montaňa Miedoso," the Vortex Lord said in an incredibly deep voice that was felt more than heard. "The time of the Master's awakening is drawing nigh, and soon he will rise greater than ever before. I have brought a command that is backed by his authority. Leave this place or bow before the Master when he returns. Your only other choice is complete annihilation. You do not have long to make your decision, so I suggest that you do it soon," he turned with a swish of his robes, but suddenly Yami leaped at him with his zanpakutoh clearing its sheath with a steely rasp.

"You think you're gonna tell us what to do, you robed freak? Let me show you the power of the Espada!" instantly the Vortex Lord had drawn his immense helix blade and blocked Yami's powerful slash. They stood at an impasse for a moment, the other Espada transfixed at the sudden confrontation.

"I see," the ultra-bass voice issued from the obscuring robes. "This is your answer then? I will leave you with a taste of the power of the Master," the aura surrounding him began to heighten, and suddenly Ulqiorra stood up, a hint of emotion cracking the diamond-hard façade of his expression.

"Yami get back you fool!" he shouted, but the Vortex Lord's grip tightened upon his blade and the tempest that had torn the top from the Montaňa sprang into being around him in a smaller, more controlled and intense fashion. The spirit energy concentrated into the winds was so thick one could actually see it as it spun around in a blazing vortex. Yami's eyes widened in shock as he simply dissolved within the storm, the Vortex Lord's spirit energy completely overwhelming his own and assimilating him. The other Espada leapt from their seats and struck defensive postures as the massive presence within the violent winds surveyed them. Ulqiorra calmly unsheathed his zanpakutoh and flickered out of sight.

The purple-black tempest suddenly distorted and trembled as Ulqiorra reappeared, having impacted the edge of the cyclone at massive speed. He pushed forward, the winds bending out of his way instead of reaching for him and consuming him. He reached the Vortex Lord and clashed blades with him.

"Impressive, false Arrancar," the robed intruder rumbled as he caught Ulqiorra's blade upon his and held it there. "You created a barrier from your own spirit energy to shield yourself from my zanpakutoh's release. You possess well-honed analytical skills; you should come with me and serve the Master."

"My only master is Aizen," Ulqiorra's voice betrayed no emotion, as there likely was none. "And you will die here despite your foolish bravado. You cannot overcome all of us."

As soon as the words left the primer Espada's mouth, he detected something intangible that caused him to disengage and leap back. It was not fear he felt, but simply the knowledge that for some reason it was the best course of action to take.

The storm around the Vortex Lord exploded outwards, knocking the Espada and Aizen to the ground. The enormous figure raised his helix blade to the sky and leaped out through the open ceiling, another vortex forming around him as he did so causing him to float in the air.

Aizen quickly recovered and shouted "Espada, to me! We will combine your power and shoot him out of the sky," the 9 remaining Arrancar quickly ringed around him, each placing their right hand upon Aizen's raised zanpakutoh. I had hoped to save the knowledge of this technique for when I used it to destroy the barrier surrounding Seireitei, but I cannot let this creature survive after its audacity! The Espada concentrated all of their spirit energy into the blade, which began to hum with power. "This is the strength that will shatter the dominance of the shinigami into nothingness. Witness the power of the Mil Imperio Cero!" Aizen said calmly as he pointed the blade at the flying figure above them, who had turned to see what the source of the energy was.

A sphere as black as midnight and large as a car blasted out from Aizen's blade, trailing spiraling ribbons of dark power as it plowed through the space between the open peak and the Vortex Lord, who had sheathe his blade and now stopped movement in midair and held his arms forward. Bone-white hands over a foot across showed from the sleeves as he held them palms-up towards the incoming sphere of destruction. His aura suddenly became overpoweringly massive, staggering the Espada and causing the mountain to tremble, and space itself began to warp around him as perspective distorted wildly and glitches formed in the air. As the Mil Imperio Cero closed the distance, the distortion seemed to gather closer to him, and he called out in a voice that was heard across the entire mountain, "Cero Supremo!"

Nothing seemed to happen for a second, but then as the black sphere reached the Vortex Lord, it warped and shuddered and a perfect circular hole formed in it and passed the huge being without touching him. The distortion was now clearly visible as it traveled through the air towards Aizen and the Espada, who dived out of its way. One of the Espada wasn't fast enough and screamed in agony as his body bent and stretched in strange directions when the distortion passed through him and traveled down into the mountain, seemingly unstoppable. The affected Espada lay still, all life seemingly left from it, as the Vortex Lord let forth a deep, basso roar of laughter and fly off out of sight. Aizen stood speechless at what had just occurred, and the Espada looked bewildered at their seemingly invincible group having suddenly lost two members.

This was definitely not a part of the Pattern that he had anticipated, thought Aizen as thousands of calculations ran through his mind of how to remedy the suddenly untenable situation.

**

(chapter isn't over but this is all I have for now)