He gets his ass kicked... though not literally, as his zanpakuto not even once used his legs. They just continue to fight until he can barely stand up. That's when his zanpakuto throws him outside his mind.

"Ugh," he says, slowly cradling his head between his hands.

"Finally with us, fruitcake?"

Looking up, he sees P-Rick and Aizen, with the latter holding a cup of something in his hands. Where did he find the cup and the—? Wait, no. That train of thought leads to madness and he really doesn't care, does it? Better to move on,

"Where's Yushima?" he asks softly, but even that hurts to say.

"He's searching for a place to make our base. After all, we'll need space to put all the machines you're going to ask, won't we?"

He frowns. "We'll need money if we want a place to—"

"Oh yeah! About that, they're going to make an underground base, like the one that the guy with the bucket hat used to have. Man, if you knew the details that go around doing something like that!"

P-Rick sounds amazed as he babbles on about some physics theories they broke and how they can mold something and, and...

His head hurts, but he still tries to listen as P-Rick sounds honestly happy. He nods whenever he understands something but still keeps quiet.

"... isn't that right, schemer?"

He sees Aizen nod, and before he can help it, he asks, "Wasn't he 'Old Dom'?"

"Yeah, but then I started telling him 'bout it and he looked so fucking interested. I had to change it, man. Just to save my processor from killing itself."

His loud voice makes him wince. Apparently, Aizen saw it too as he leaned over and whispered something to P-Rick.

"Oh, didn't know about the noise, fruitcake," P-Rick says, but this time in a lower tone. He doesn't apologize, but that doesn't surprise him. This is as far as he will get of an apology from him and he's okay with that.

"First time doing Jinzen?"

Sighing, he tries to stand up. When he realizes he can't, he just nods.

"There are a few Zanpakuto spirits that are calm enough to let you out of your mind gently instead of just kicking you out." He takes another sip of his cup. "It seems yours is more of the latter."

He nods with a small whine.

Aizen chuckles.

.

.

It's not until two hours have passed that he feels his head once again in place. "So, updates?"

"I've got a list of everything we need," P-Rick says with a burp. "We can tell SHIELD to send it all to us in some warehouse where we then can collect it."

"And how we will move it from there to the new base?"

Aizen's smile widens slightly. It's then that Souma realizes that the man with his legs crossed is sitting on the air, probably to avoid touching the dust that surrounds the place. "That's when Yushima's amazing ability will help us."

As if summoned by those words, Yushima appears in a shunpo, first nodding in the direction where Aizen is before nodding at Souma.

He raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment, trying to remember all the abilities listed in his character profile. "...Portal creation was your ability, wasn't it?"

The green-haired shinigami nods. "My Shikai allows me to manipulate space. I can use it to open a portal and then move the machines to the base. It also helped me to create the base more quickly. That's why I was the one to find a good place."

A burp. "Yeah, that and I don't trust our schemer out there, alone. With all those innocent sheep waiting to be schemed against, that are the meat-bags called humans."

Souma gives Aizen an apologetic smile, but he still asks the system out loud. "System, the people I summoned can harm other companions or myself?"

'No permanent injury or any malice-intent movement is allowed.'

"Can they manipulate each other or me?"

'No malice-intent movement or word is allowed,' it repeats.

"See, P-Rick? Everything's going to be fine."

"It said nothing about well-intentioned manipulation," he grumbles. "Someone smart can get around it easily enough."

"We can't work together well if we're constantly wary of each other." Souma sighs, but he still adds on, "Let's move on, guys. We can only gain trust in time."

.

.

Half an hour later, they are inside their new base. It's under an enormous tree in Central Park, heavily hidden under barriers, with Aizen only adding more complex ones on top of the one Yushima left.

"Woah!" he says as he looks around at the endless space with a false sky on top of it. It's like the one Urahara has, just less dusty. The ground seems to be cut in two as there are no rocks or dirt under his boots. It looks more like polished stone.

"Hey, hey! I'm here, fruitcake. Move the camera so I can see around, too."

"Oh, sorry, P-Rick."

He moves the phone around and is not surprised to hear him cackle. "Oh, yes, baby! This is what I was talking about!"

Souma smiles as he looks at their new base. Hopefully, their new home, too.

He turns around and sees Yushima and Aizen looking at him and P-Rick. For the shinigami, this is probably nothing, but for them, it's more. Not just a place to invent, but the hope that he can save more. Or at least not let more die to Hollows.

Sighing, he feels the stress that's been on top of his shoulders since months ago leave him slightly. He smiles honestly at both of them and bows, his voice trembling a little. "Thank you."

He takes a deep breath and stands up, his smile still in place. "Well, let's plan, now, okay?"