Aizen was free?

Was the Soul Society aware of this?

How are they going to stop him?

I struggled to stop these questions as they swirled around my head.

I soon arrived at the Urahara Shop. I debated whether or not I should reveal my encounter with Aizen.

I walked into the dark building. Making my way to my room, I realized that all of the lights were off. Everyone must already be in bed.

Not wanting to disturb anyone, I walked into my room, and chose to make my decision in the morning.

~•~•~

I was standing in Hueco Mundo, the lifeless wind blowing only a little bit of sand. Halibel stood in front of me, her back to me. She had her sword drawn.

"What are you doing here, Aizen?" she demanded.

"What happened to all of the respect you had for me?"

"That all disappeared when you tried to kill me to finish my battle against Captain Hitsugaya."

I moved to the right. Now I was able to see Aizen. He held no weapon that I could see.

"How is Grimmjow doing?"

How is Aizen aware of who is alive? I would claim that this was just a dream, but it feels far too real to be one. This is more like a vision.

"You have no business with Grimmjow. You shouldn't even be here."

"And why is that?" Aizen smirked. He could tell that he was getting under Halibel's skin.

"You should still be within the Soul Society. Why did you come here?"

"I'm here to make a deal. You could side with me, and not worry about being killed now."

"We Espada will never side with you."

Aizen looked slightly taken aback, not being used to being defied by us.

"Very well." Aizen went back to his usual calm demeanour. "I suppose you would rather lose your life than lose control over Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra had the same problem, just with Orihime."

"You spoke with Ulquiorra?" I could tell she was surprised, even though she was unable to see her face.

Aizen chose not to answer. Instead he said this: "Last chance to change your mind, Halibel Tier."

The third Espada shook her head. "Espadas will never bow down to the likes of you again."

Aizen looked irritated. I have never seen so much emotion on this man before.

I gasped and jolted upright. With a quick glance to the window, I saw that it was morning.

I took a few deep breathes to calm my nerves.

That's when I noticed the spiritual pressure. I recognized all of them.

I stood up and opened my door, in time to see Kisuke Urahara about to knock on my door.

"Good. Your up. We have some business to talk about."

I followed him into the living room and immediately saw Orihime, Ichigo, Chad, Uryu, Yoruichi, Haschwach, Bazz, and Captain Hitsugaya. Orihime walked over to stand next to me.

"I'm not sure if your already aware of this," Captain Hitsugaya started, "but Sosuke Aizen is free."

Everyone stared in surprise and horror, but I simply nodded. "He came to visit me last night."

Everyone turned their wide eyed stares to me. No one accused me of working with him, which surprised me. It appears that they trust me.

"What did he say?" Uryu asked.

I explained the encounter from last night.

"So he's trying to recruit you. Does that mean that he'll do the same to the other Espada?" Kisuke murmured.

"I believe so." Then I explained the vision I had last night.

"It could just be a dream, but it's the only lead we have on his whereabouts," Hitsugaya said. "It's worth checking out. I'll alert the Head Captain, and we'll see what he says."

Toshiro stepped out of the room while pulling out his Soul Pager.

"What do you think the Head Captain will say?" Orihime asked while grabbing my hand. I squeezed hers in reassurance.

"It's hard to say. He probably will send a few of us to Hueco Mundo," Kisuke answered.

After a few moments, Toshiro walked back into the room. "The Head Captain has decided to trust you," he said, looking at me and readjusting his turquoise scarf. Then, to the rest of the group, he said, "Head Captain Kyoraku wants Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Orihime, Kisuke, Yoruichi and Ulquiorra to investigate Hueco Mundo."

My eyes widened slightly in surprise. I was trusted enough for the mission?

Bazz crossed his arms, looking irritated. "I'm not going. Damn."

Haschwach simply nodded, then proceeded to drag Bazz out of the building, since the two weren't coming. 

"I'm going to go back to the Soul Society," Toshiro announced, then followed the two Quincys.

"Let's go to the basement," Yoruichi nodded. We all followed her.

I couldn't help but wonder why I was trusted. Aizen had gone to me to get me to join him, and it's likely that he will try again. Was it because I denied him?

Kisuke began to make the Garganta, while Ichigo passed me his Combat Pass, already in his Soul Reaper form. I pressed the pass against my body and I listened to the thud of my gigai landing on the ground before throwing the pass back to him.

It was... Strange being in my Espada uniform, and having my hollow hole, again. I had grown used to being without it.

I took a quick glance at my gigai. It was similar to my real form, but had some differences, like the missing hole and if didn't have my teal tear marks.

"Are you ready, Ulquiorra?" Orihime asked, looking up at me.

"Yes," I said. "Of course."

The Garganta was ready.

"Let's go," Kisuke stated before jumping in, the rest of us following suit.

As we ran through the Garganta, I couldn't stop the feelings of déjà vu.

A/N
Whelp. That update took longer than planned, and the chapter was pretty short. My bad. I had writer's block, but I managed to push through it. I meant to publish sooner but, ha ha, I spent the day playing Lego Batman.

Well, thanks for reading this story! Happy new year!!