The depths of Rukia's inner world are being ravaged by the harshest snow storm that has ever torn through the boreal forest. The normally clear skies have been transformed by the power of the hogyoku creating strange purple and white clouds that bear nothing but torturous cold winds. The Rukia herself sits in a clearing with a fire on the ground, staring into it wondering what she could possibly do to escape this nightmare. Across from her, Hoakita is sitting in a nearly identical pose just in a mirrored position while Sode no Shirayuki herself merely stands a few paces away with her feet in the snow. Over the past few days since she was forced to hollowfy, Rukia and her hollow self have been tied together by a red and black soul ribbon. As time goes on, the ribbon pulls them closer and closer together, when the ribbon shrinks to the point no distance is between her and her hollow then the transformation is complete. There's only a few feet of distance left the ribbon attached to the center of their chests where the soul chain would be had they been a normal plus soul.

"Any ideas for how we're going to get out of this one?" Hoakita asks, breaking the silence between them. Though the winds and weather create more than enough noise in the background, the lack of any conversation makes it deafeningly quiet.

"No," Rukia says with a hard sigh. "At this rate, we'll fuse together tomorrow and I don't know if either of us will be conscious after that."

"Whatever may happen, it seems like I will still exist to some extent. I'm not linked to either of you." Shirayuki adds as she sits down on a log by the fire. "I know you're afraid of what will become of you, that you're afraid of what Ichigo may think, and what will happen once this is all over."

"Soul society didn't hesitate to sentence me to death for giving Ichigo my powers. Head captain Yamamoto has been merciful enough to let us stay in the gotei 13 with hollow powers and has even permitted more people to use them. I'm not afraid of becoming an arrancar in the sense I won't get to go home. I'm afraid that my friends will fear what I will become." Rukia responds, "If I become an arrancar, could I even get to become a mother? Could I even get to continue as a soul reaper? Could I purify souls with my blade or would anything I cut be eaten by the sword or myself."

"The Hogyoku feels different." Hoakita says, changing the subject. "When I had it just after I was born here, it felt calm, peaceful and even nurturing."

"What does it feel like now?" Shirayuki asks.

"It feels..."

"Distressed."

"Yeah, like an animal in pain." Hoakita says, suddenly the two are pulled even closer together, as the soul ribbon between them is shortened by almost half. "Looks like we have to get cozy together." The hollow says as she takes a seat on the same log Rukia is on.

"If anyone has any ideas, now would be the time."

"I got nothing."

"Me either, I kinda wanna see where this goes."

"We're doomed." Rukia says, her memory drifting back to spending time with Ichigo in the human world. Getting teased by him for her drawings, his furrowed brow, his laugh.

"Hey... wait a second. I just thought of something." Hoakita says, her abrupt sit up yanks Rukia off the log they're both on. Rukia and Shirayuki turn to face the hollow with a raised eyebrow. "A few weeks ago Ichigo was training with Urahara and fought Grimmjow again. From what Ichigo said, Grimmjow had explained something about resurrections."

"That he hunted down his hollow self then ate him right?" Rukia asks

"Grimmjow said that he became one with his hollow self, meaning when he was inside his soul after being exposed to the Hogyoku he was a soul reaper. He had to have been since he fought his own hollow. I am your hollow self but you aren't your shinigami self. Shirayuki is." Hoakita declares, pointing at the lavender haired woman.

"So what are you saying, we get you and Shirayuki to fuse together like Zangetsu? You become a zanpakuto arrancar?" Rukia questions.

"That would work, though it would require us severing that soul ribbon then bond it to me. When Hoakita and I become one being I don't know if your powers with your swords will be the same. Though, hopefully you'll be able to keep both blades, learn how to use resurrection and bankai eventually." Shirayuki agrees to the idea.

"When we first tried to sever the soul ribbon it was extremely painful, for both of us, but if we fuse it to you quick enough it should work... right?" Rukia asks though the other two have no idea what to say in response.

"Only one way to find out, and we don't have enough time left to brainstorm this. The next time it encroaches we're going to fuse whether we're ready or not. So it's now or never." Rukia and Shirayuki nod affirmatively to each other before the sword spirit steps to the Hollow and Soul reaper.

With the crimson blade in the hand of her hollow, and the pristine icy blade in the hand of her zanpakuto, the two spirits that inhabit Rukia's inner world cross blades over the soul ribbon attaching Rukia and Hoakita together. The hollow and zanpakuto nod to each other then cut against the spirit fabric, gliding through it like a pair of scissors. The pain is immediate, forcing Rukia and Hoakita to their knees clutching at their heads, or anywhere they could to alleviate the pain. Screams escape their mouths as the sensation feels like being electrocuted and burned. Acting quickly to spare them any more pain, Shirayuki manifests her own red spirit ribbon before clasping her fingers on the frayed black spirit silk coming from Hoakita's chest. The zanpakuto cuts through her own spirit ribbon before quickly tying the frayed end of Hoakita's and her own together. The fabric pulls taught then dissolved together making a single strand of silk between the hollow and soul reaper spirit. When the link is reforged, the pain for all three of them ceases, though they don't have the time to recover. Rukia sits up from her crumpled pose watching as her hollow and Sode no Shirayuki are pulled together before dissipating into spirit particles.

Rukia stares as the crimson spirit particles of her hollow, and the lavender hued particles of her sword spin about like snowflakes disturbed by the wind. The purple sky above them begins to calm as energy is drawn in towards the two spirits fusing. The particles begin to glow brighter and brighter as the energy from the Hogyoku is absorbed into them. Rukia has to shield her eyes from the intense light, turning her head away and looking towards the horizon. As she does, she notices a change to her inner world, in the far distance, beneath the mountains is a large city having seemingly manifested from nowhere. Though she can't be certain, from what Zangetsu and Ichigo had told her of his inner world, the skyscrapers are a clear indication that their inner worlds are bonded if not fused with one another. The light coming from Sode no Shirayuki and Hoakita begins to fade, gaining its color once again, the red and lavender glow of their spirit energies is gone. Replaced by a blended, cool, elegant and royal tyrian purple color, the purple reiatsu collects in a humanoid form.

As the spirit particles break away and drift upwards like falling snowflakes, the new form of Sode no Shirayuki and Hoakita Kareki appears. Her skin is still the white pale flesh of Shirayuki, her eyes a stark black like Hoakita but her irises now a vibrant purple. The kimono of Shirayuki is now a dark red with accents of white along the seams and folds of the fabric. The cuffs of her sleeves are an elegant white, along with the trim of the folded portion over her chest. The silk sash at her waist is white as well, the spirit's hair having changed to the same tyrian purple that her spirit energy is putting off. At the sides of her hips are both of Rukia's swords, Chimamire on her right and Shirayuki on her left, both in their sheets. At the top of her head sits two white fox ears, her pupils taking the same shape as that of a fox. Most importantly, in the center of her chest sits a hollow hole, though quite a bit smaller than Hoakita's, the fused sword spirit's hole is half the size and sits at the midpoint of her sternum.

"Shirayuki? Hoakita?" Rukia asks, staring into the eyes of this new spirit. The fused spirit takes in her first breath before relaxing slightly, allowing herself to float to the ground. The storm overhead has passed, revealing the pristine blue cloudless sky of Rukia's inner world.

"That's who I am," The spirit responds, "Though, I have a new name now that we have become one."

"Who are you now then?" Rukia asks, not knowing whether she can call this new entity friend or foe, she takes a half step backwards. The spiritual pressure exuding from her fused zanpakuto spirits is unlike anything she had ever experienced. Eclipsing that of what her brother, captain, former lieutenant and betrothed have produced combined.

"My name is..." Rukia sees the spirit's mouth move as she speaks but all she hears is silence from her.

"I couldn't hear you speak." Rukia says, more to herself than to the spirit, though the woman before her hears what she said.

"It wasn't likely you'd hear my name again, but you know what that means." The spirit says, her voice echoes like that of Hoakita's. "To earn my power...."

"I must defeat you..." Rukia finishes the spirit's sentence.

"Indeed." The spirit responds as she draws the crimson blade from her left side. Rukia expects the spirit to immediately run her through wincing as the blade comes free of its sheath. "You cannot expect to win without a weapon. Take it, the only way you'll beat me is if you learn my name."

Outside of Rukia's inner world Aizen stands expectantly over the humanoid fox hollow form of Rukia. Her body has been bound by the Bakudo level 99 spell Bankin, wrapping her in bandages, stabbing into her chest, shoulders and back with acupuncture needles. She's held flat to the ground by another 99th level Bakudo, being the first song of Kin this time. Her mummified body is restrained by two long tapestries that hold her flat to the ground with dozens of stone pillars nailing the fabric to the floor. He removes the Hogyoku from a small altar that stands in front of Rukia's hollowfied form, before placing the artifact in his pocket. The process is almost complete, he had exposed her to the full power of the awakened hogyoku daily for the past week, each time for over two hours. Now her body has stopped resisting the influence of the Hogyoku, meaning that her transformation is truly beginning. A smirk grows on his lips as he turns towards the door, exhaling a sigh of satisfaction and relief that his plans are beginning to come together. Though, as he exhales he notices something odd. His breath is visible in the air, then he shivers. The action disturbs him, he hadnt noticed the change in temperature in the room, but now he feels it. At first it was so slow it wasn't even noticeable, but now the temperature is plummeting almost as fast as a skydiver without a parachute. Aizen turns over his shoulder to look at the mummified form of Hollow Rukia, noticing that from beneath her, ice fractals out from where she's contacting the ground, staining the floor in white frost. The wraps that cover her mask and face have been pierced by a set of antlers beginning to grow from the ice covering her body. Aizen goes to step out of the room but he finds himself stuck to the floor. Looking down, he notices that ice has creeped underneath his boot and has frozen his feet to the ground. He chuckles to himself, even now moments before her consciousness would vanish into the new being that she is to become she still defies him.

"Starrk." Aizen says as he exits Rukia's room. The giant marble doors slamming shut behind him then immediately freezing solid. "I want you to guard her. No one is to disturb her during the final moments of her transformation."

"It will be done, Lord Aizen." The Uno Espada, Coyote Starrk responds. Starrk pulls the hood of his jacket over his head, his long unkempt brown hair leaking out of the hood over the sides of his jacket. As Aizen passes him, he walks to the center of the door, positioning himself just in front of the large number zero in the center. "Why do I have to do this alone?" He asks himself. The coyote joined Aizen to no longer be alone, no longer condemned to infinite loneliness. He tried splitting his power off so that he would have a companion, in doing so he created Lilynette but the two of them still feel alone. The frigid reiatsu flooding out from the door is a cruel reminder that death is cold and lonely.