As soon as Tadashi pushed the door open, eyes were immediately on the two, along with gasps coming from a few of them. Urahara was the first to break the silence. "Well, well." he said with a small smile, tilting his hat down to shadow his eyes. "We were just about to continue without the you two."
"Didn't I tell you that I would not start until I found Asa-nee?" remarked Tadashi flatly.
"A-Asa-dono!" greeted Rukia with surprise, but she was mainly relieved that the said woman wasn't hurt by the enemies despite being away for so long. "You're here!"
"Are you alright?" asked Renji, who was both surprised and relieved as well. "Did they try to hold you back?"
"I'm fine." she assured with a nod. "I guess you could say that I took up too much time to deal with them."
Yumichika released a sigh. "I don't know how she does it, but I'm jealous that Asa-sama always leaves a fight without a single scratch on her beautiful face." he sulked.
Asa took note of the building they were in. It was actually a research laboratory belonging to none other than Kurotsuchi himself. They were standing on a platform filled with liquid reaching past their ankles, and each of them had a big bead in their hands. But that wasn't all. She looked over and noticed Ukitake on his knees, with the top on his Shihakusho undone, and black miasma was oozing from his face to the sky, where the Soul King Palace would be.
"What's happening to Ukitake-taichou?" she questioned worriedly.
"The Soul King is dead." explained Tadashi seriously, prompting her to look at him. "Ukitake-taichou has activated what he called as Kamikake to become the Right Hand of the Soul King in exchange for his life. I think he managed to reach the Soul King, since the shaking has stopped." Now that he mentioned it, Asa did notice that the ground had stopped shaking when she left the Central 46 Compound. She thought that the tremble was temporary, but if it weren't for Ukitake's sacrifice, things would've continued and got worse.
"How long will this last?" questioned Soi Fon, looking at Urahara. "I didn't think Ukitake would completely become the Soul King's substitute. But this stability will only last as long as Ukitake's still alive. So how long will this last?"
As a Shinigami who had been under the said Captain for so long, Sentarou would not accept such statement. "Captain!" he scolded. But deep down, he knew she was right.
"It's a fact!" she responded before turning back to the man in clogs. "Am I wrong, Urahara?"
"I don't know." was his reply. "This is the first I've heard of this whole Kamikake thing, so I can't really tell how long it'll last. But one thing's for sure, we have to look for another way to stabilise Soul Society while Ukitake-san's standing in for the Soul King, as soon as possible. Let's hurry. We'll make the doors and head to the Soul King's Palace!"
"Yes!" responded everyone else.
Unfortunately, just before they could complete the outline of the door, it started to disperse, catching everyone off guard. "What's happening?!" demanded Ikkaku.
"The door is disappearing immediately after we make it." said Yumichika with disbelief, answering his question.
"There isn't enough Reiatsu!" noted Nanao.
"What?!" responded Hisagi with shock.
"Ukitake-taichou always used his Reiatsu to continuously support his body." she explained. "And that makes his Reiatsu way stronger than the rest of the group. But now that he's out of commission, there isn't enough Reaitsu for the door! At this rate-" She was abruptly interrupted when someone placed a hand on the bead she was holding.
"What do you mean by "at this rate"?" questioned Lisa, who was now adorned in a Shihakusho. "There's no way we're gonna let things go "at this rate", are we?"
"I'm in the damn Shihakusho, happy?!" yelled Hiyori, who was also wearing the said garment with the rest of the Vizard. "So gimme the bead already, Kisuke!"
"Don't forget about us!" called Tadashi, stepping onto the platform with Asa next to him.
The latter then noticed someone standing next to her. Looking up, her eyes widened with surprise when she saw who it was. "Y-You're okay!" she said with relief.
Byakuya turned around to face her properly, taking in her appearance before reaching for the stray strand of her and tucking it behind her ear. "We'll talk later." he muttered, earning a nod from her as she smiled at him, to which he reciprocated with a small one.
"Hm..." came a familiar voice from above, which immediately grabbed Urahara's attention. "Popped in because I heard there was a gathering, but wow, look at what you've done to my research lab."
"Kurotsuchi-taichou!" gasped Urahara.
"I see, I see." continued the said man as he jumped into his lab. "Gathering everyone and having them use their Reiatsu for the door. I don't get it, though. If you needed a large amount of Reiatsu, why didn't you just use my Reiatsu Amplifier?" He then walked over to a huge machine wedged into the wall.
"You should've told us when you had it then." said Urahara with a drip of sweat on his cheek.
"Well, I didn't think we'd be in such a mess." shrugged the Captain. After typing some things on the keyboard, the Reaitsu Amplifier was activated, releasing more Reaitsu that was enough to connect the outline of the door again.
"It's working!" cheered Hisagi. "We'll make it!"
But the shaking started again, catching everyone off guard. "What's happening?!" demanded Urahara, who was just as confused as everyone inside the laboratory.
At that moment, the darkness emanating from Ukitake's mouth vanished, shocking his 3rd Seats who were becoming more worried. "Ukitake-taichou?!" called Kiyone. Once the black miasma was pulled out of the said man, he fell onto his back and laid limp. Kiyone and Sentarou rushed forward, and the latter cradled his upper body. Both of them called out to him, trying to wake up him.
Tadashi watched where the black miasma was going to. "The Soul King's Right Hand is disappearing?!" he questioned. But his eyes widened with shock when he saw the direction it was moving and its manner. "No. It's like it's being absorbed somewhere."
When the black miasma reached the sky, it turned pitch black. "It's so dark." commented Hisagi uneasily. "Almost like it's midnight. What's this all about?"
"What do you mean "what's this about"?" repeated Soi Fon mockingly. "It must be those damn Quincy, that's what it is. Look at that!" She fixated her gaze on a large figure in the sky. "Part of the Shakonmaku is missing, and that's probably because Seireitei's Wall's falling on it. And just a while back, the Soul King's Right Hand escaped through that hole and headed towards the Soul King's place. As things are, the enemy will target that hole and that'll be bad for us."
"Ah!" exclaimed Oomaeda when she jumped to the top laboratory. "Taichou, where are you going?!"
"Where, you ask?" she remarked. "Are you planning to sit on your asses and do nothing? Don't know about you, but I'm planning on destroying that ugly net around us!" Unsheathing her Zanpakutou, she said, "Bankai! Jakuhou Raikoben!" Her Zanpakutou soon took the appearance of a gold armour missile launcher base encasing her right arm that came all the way above her shoulder, acting as a face shield that covered the right side of her face. The entire weapon was made up of a large pointed gold cylinder with black markings, and twice her size. She aimed the weapon at the Shankonmaku, but before she could fire it, vast amounts of dark creatures entered through the hole and swarmed her. "What- What's all this?! Ugh, go away!"
The creatures that were swarming her were suddenly destroyed by an over-sized spiked ball. "You okay, Taichou?!" asked Oomaeda, only to be punched in the face.
"Quiet!" she scolded."And what took you so long?"
"Aw, c'mon!" was his response.
"We can't let them get to the lab or it's all over for us!" stated Hisagi as he charged at the creatures that were starting to multiply as they approached the Shinigami. "Let's wipe these things out! Kazeshini!"
"Don't need you to tell me what to do!" remarked Ikkaku, who also had his Shikai activated. "Houzukimaru!"
Yumichika then followed, "Fujikujaku!"
"Senbonzakura." Byakuya wiped them out with his Shikai as he emerged with Rukia and Renji. Despite the wide scale damage, the creatures continued to approach them.
Ikkaku clicked his tongue out of annoyance, saying, "This'll never end. Damn... At this rate, we ain't even gonna get to that net thing!"
However, the creatures were suddenly crushed by a massive Reiatsu, one that was all too familiar to Asa. "This is hilarious." he said mockingly, instantly making everyone in the room feel uneasy. "Why are you lot waving your swords around like that?"
"That's impossible." said Rukia weakly, staring at the person with shock. "You're..."
"Just use your Reiatsu and squash them all in one go." continued the man. "Easy."
"No way..." trailed off Renji, who was as shocked as Rukia.
"You're... Aizen!" she finished off.
The said man was placed across them, sitting on the chair with a cold expression. "Oh, long time no see, Kuchiki Rukia." he greeted upon hearing her voice. "But then again, I never did get to speak to you after I left the Gotei. Well, congratulations on getting your promotion. It's great that they're finally acknowledging your services."
Rukia merely glared at him. "You should've been locked up. What are you doing here!"
"They let me go." was his reply.
"Enough of that! Who'd do-"
She was soon interrupted mid-sentence when a familiar voice said, "It was me." The person than stepped out from behind the chair, shocking the people around him even more. "I'm sure you'll ask me to explain myself, but let me tell you this. We need his powers."
"What are you saying, Kyoraku-taichou?!" demanded Renji angrily.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?!" fired Hisagi.
"I sure as hell don't agree with asking for help from someone like him!" added Ikkaku.
"I second that." said Yumichika, who was calmer than his peers, although he felt the same. "There's no way we can just forget about all that he's done to us."
"You know no shame!" snarled Soi Fon.
"All this talk is a matter of pride, isn't it?" said Shunsui calmly, surprising them with his response. "Well, let's talk about Gotei then. Pride won't save the world. We need to fight evil with another kind of evil. I don't think I'm evil so where does that put us?" Everyone else immediately became silent.
"Looks like the discussion's over." stated Aizen. "Well then, don't you think it's time you undo the seals on my hands and let me get out of this chair?"
"I can't do that." said Shunsui.
To which Aizen asked, "Why not?"
"I'm sure I told you." he began. "I'm only allowed to undo three of your seals. The mouth, left eye, and your ankles. I'm not authorised for anything more than that."
The sitting man heaved a sigh. "So you're telling me to deal with all of this in a chair?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something." assured Shunsui nonchalantly.
"That's cheap." remarked Aizen. "You know very well I don't have the power to do so."
"This isn't about whether you have the power to do so or not." said the Captain. "I watched as these little eyeballs chewed on you while you were seated. So don't tell me you haven't done anything about it."
At that note, more of the dark creatures began swarming from above, only to be destroyed by Aizen's Reiatsu alone. "Heh." he responded. "You're making things hard for me."
"You're very welcome." said Shunsui before his eyes widened with realisation. Quickly turning to the rest of the Shinigami, he ordered, "Move! Get back into the research lab!"
"Hado #90 Kurohitsugi." Aizen cast a black spiritual coffin which crushed the remaining creatures, putting a notable amount of strain on the veil of darkness looming the whole of Seireitei.
The Shinigami were able to evacuate the scene by returning to the research lab, where Byakuya approached the current Captain-Commander and said, "You freeing Aizen means that you've insulted all of us here." Asa stood at the side and watched with an unreadable expression, though her brows furrowed slightly with concern.
Shunsui merely stared below and tilted his straw hat. "I know." he said. "You can beat me up as much as you like later, but let me protect Seireitei for now."
The black coffin soon dispersed, completing getting rid of the darkness created by the swarms of creatures. Once they knew that it was safe, they leaped out of the laboratory and took in their surroundings. "What power." commented Hisagi. "There isn't a speck of those monsters left."
"That's what his powers can do." explained Tadashi. "It could be that his powers have grown from the time he fought with Ichigo."
Renji looked at him with surprised before his gazed landed on the man in the chair. "So he's gotten stronger even while trapped in Muken." he growled. "Damn monster."
Aizen released a sigh. "To think that it could survive a direct attack attack from my Kurohitsugi." he noted. "This must mean that it's made of the same stuff as Muken, then. This is one good chair."
"Bastard." cursed Renji when realisation struck him. He did all of that on purpose!"
"This isn't the time to talk." said Soi Fon, who had prepared her Bankai once more and aimed it at the Shakonmaku. "We need to break that thing while we still can before those eyeballs come back!"
"Don't need to." said Aizen, surprising her. "My Kurohitsugi's gravity has put cracks on that net. That just says a lot about its density. All I've got to do is use my Reiatsu on it and it'll come crumbling down."
Just as he was exerting more of his Reiatsu, Hirako noticed that the outline of the door was unstable again. "Stop, Aizen!" shouted Rukia. "The door! The Reiatsu we collected for the door will disperse!"
"Door?" he repeated mockingly. "You don't need that either. There's a hole in the wall's of the Soul King Place, isn't there? If you've got some business at the Soul King Palace, at least let me set the roads for you."