The Sexta Espada

By Spunky0ne (a request by Red Cr0w)

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After the war with the quincies, three Espadas are chosen by Central 46 to receive a special honor. But what will happen when the procedure goes unexpectedly awry?

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Chapter 1: The Pardon

Within the meeting chamber of Central 46, the 46 councilors looked down from behind their barriers at the three hollows who stood waiting in the center of the room. The first was a tall, rugged man with unkempt, wavy brown hair and handsome blue-grey eyes. The second was a tall, athletic and buxom woman with blonde hair and eyelashes, angry green eyes and a flickering reiatsu that threatened mayhem. The final Espada was a slender, glaring male with ice blue hair and eyes and a challenging expression. All three looked less than pleased at the dubious 'honor' of being addressed directly in a council meeting by the Seireitei's lawmakers.

"Starrk Coyote," the head councilor said sternly, "Harribel Tier and Jaegerjaques Grimmjow, welcome to Central 46. We appreciate you accepting our invitation to join us so that we can show you our gratitude for your efforts in the war. Kyouraku Soutaichou has spoken highly of the three of you. In fact, your actions were instrumental in helping us to defeat the quincy king. Please accept our thanks."

"Forgive me," Starrk said, stepping forward slightly, "but to be honest, none of the three of us chose to help out of any love for the shinigamis. We were fighting for our lives, the same as all of you. I do have some gratitude for Kurotsuchi Mayuri for being responsible for reviving me, however, that is mitigated by the fact the man made me a zombie and used me without any regard for what I might have wanted. My real gratitude goes to Urahara Kisuke for finding a way to return me out of that zombie state. I don't really need your gratitude, but I thought it would be rude not to attend, since you asked so nicely by sending those goons to round us up."

"I am with Starrk," Harribel said in a low, challenging tone, "While it is true that your officers rescued me from the Wandenreich, I was held in equally uncomfortable conditions until my comrades arrived and freed me."

"And still, you did defend the soul king," the head councilor pointed out, "so we felt that we needed to both compensate you for the inconveniences and also do something to show our appreciation for your efforts in the final battles."

"I just did what I was contracted to do," Grimmjow growled irascibly, "I didn't do it for you old, stuck up bastards and I didn't do it for your soul king!"

"We are aware of your less than commendable attitudes," the head councilor said dryly, "But while we do not condone your behavior overall, there are strict guidelines for our treatment of former enemies who come to our aid. We are compelled by our charters to offer you treatment for your wounds, which we have, as well as compensation for your losses and troubles, and some manner of award for your achievements."

"You don't need to..." Starrk began.

"Nevertheless, we shall follow the laws of our society. We have healed all of you and now we will offer something commensurate to your actions."

"Oh? And what do you have to offer us?" Harribel asked confrontationally, "What do shinigamis have that us hollows would want besides the taste of your reiatsu?"

Grimmjow snickered and behind their respective shields, the councilors scowled and whispered angrily to each other.

"We think that what we have to offer you is appropriate, given that you are hollows and former enemies, but also allies in this war."

He paused as the large double doors leading into the chamber opened and three men and a woman entered the room. The first, a man with shadowed grey eyes and pale hair, gave the three an amused smile and bowed his head briefly in greeting. The second, a small, scowling woman with odd braids in her hair, and wearing a second division taichou's haori, simply glared at them and waited. The third and highest ranked in the group, smiled warmly at them, which sent a slight chill down Starrk's spine as he recognized the new soutaichou as the man who had killed him in the Arrancar conflict. The final taichou, a very lovely and solemn dark haired man with steel colored eyes, merely stood gazing at them and waiting.

"What the hell is this?" Grimmjow demanded, "Why are these guys here?"

"I think you need to make your intentions clear," Starrk insisted, his voice growing angry, "We begin to feel surrounded. After all, the war with the quincies is over and we are not bound by that alliance anymore, but still you..."

"Do try to be patient," the head councilor chided him, "I know you are hollows and not so mannerly, but we will explain. Urahara-san?"

"Okay, like Head Councilor Yuudai said, we all appreciate your accomplishments in the war," Kisuke began, "And Central 46 spent a lot of time considering what would be the proper way to thank all of you. We thought a party mingling our forces would be pretty dangerous, now that the agreements between us have lapsed."

"You are probably right about that," Starrk sighed, "I don't have much interest in getting drunk with a bunch of shinigamis."

"And medals and ceremonies..." Kisuke added.

"Would just bore the crap out of us," Grimmjow finished.

"Right," the shopkeeper agreed.

"So, where exactly do you come in, Urahara-san?" asked Harribel, looking somewhat less angry and more curious.

"Well," Kisuke went on, "as I said, the councilors couldn't figure out exactly what to do because nothing they came up with seemed right. But about the time they were ready to pull out what's left of their gray hair, I showed up to present a new invention...to get their approval. And the guys here liked it so much that they decided to offer you its fine benefits."

"Yeah?" Grimmjow growled, "and what are those?"

"Well," Kisuke said, dropping into a 'selling' voice, "Aren't you guys all kinda done with hanging around that dark desert, being bored outta your minds, living without sunlight and all that?"

"Well," Starrk said, looking amused, "We are hollows, after all."

"Yeah, you are. You're hollows...ones who worked your way up from mondless animals and have actually regained your minds. You're not all that far from shinigamis..."

"Except for the masks and the lack of our hearts," Harribel concluded.

"And for a long time, that was a big, huge problem," Urahara said charmingly, "Because, if you wanted to take the next step and be made back into shinigamis..."

"Don't think we're letting you kill us, you bastard!" Grimmjow snarled, baring his white teeth, "Sure, we'd be shinigamis again, but we'd lose our fucking memories! And while you don't seem to have a problem with that, I for one, do!"

"I agree with Grimmjow," Harribel said firmly, "And I demand that we be released at once!"

"I'm with them," Starrk agreed, "I'm lonesome, but I don't want to die...again...and come back with nothing!"

"Take it easy," Kisuke cajoled the three practically steaming hollows, raising his hands defensively, "No one's suggesting taking your memories. In fact, the invention I made is one specifically designed to preserve a hollow's powers and memories, while offering them a way to regain their shinigami souls."

"Come again?" Grimmjow mused, looking confused.

"You want to make us shinigamis again?" Harribel asked.

"And you will not take our powers or memories?" Starrk added disbelievingly, "How is that possible? The pain from our human lives becomes our mask and powers. When we lose our mask and powers and are cleansed of our sins by a shinigami blade, we are separated also from all memory of our lives as hollows as our masks shatter and our powers die."

"That's been the way it was for thousands upon thousands of years," Kisuke agreed, "But with my invention, it's possible to open a connection between a particular shinigami and hollow and to allow the shinigami to break the mask and excise the in, while holding the hollow's identity, his or her memories and powers, inside their own hearts. I, myself, chose the three shinigamis to be assigned to do this for you, and the best part is, it's gonna happen right now."

"What?!" the three Espadas chorused, their eyes collectively darkening and their reiatsu beginning to swell.

"You are not laying a hand on us!" Harribel snapped, "Killing us is no reward!"

"Ah," sighed Starrk, "but don't you see, Tier? In the guise of this 'gift,' these councilors are making sure that the hollow world can raise no offensive against them."

"And what do you care for the hollow world, when you will no longer be a part of it?" Yuudai asked sternly, "Do you really care that much about those barbaric creatures there that you would forgo taking your rightful place as powerful shinigamis here just to go and have to deal with them?"

"Just because we have regained our minds and civility does not mean that we have no feelings about them, or the world we live in," Harribel argued.

"Understandably, you feel a cameraderie with others like youselves," Yuudai acknowledged, "But you three will no longer be like them. You needn't bother yourselves with the pressure of ruling them, but can assume respectful places here."

"And just forget the others exist?" Starrk asked pointedly, "Sir, we may be hollows, but we, unlike the others, have a code of honor."

"Which makes you more like us."

"I don't fucking call shanghaiing us and bringing us here to force this thing on us any code of honor! You're lying, manipulating bastards!" Grimmjow seethed, "I'm not letting you touch me! The one who tries, dies!"

He stiffened as Urahara laughed softly and withdrew a small, black item that resembled a remote control.

"Relax, no one has to touch you at all," he purred softly, "And if you need more incentive, then think about this. If this transformation is a success, then I can begin a whole program to help more hollows to be saved this way and returned to life too."

"So, what you're really doing is using us as guinea pigs," Harribel spat, "I should have known we couldn't trust you!"

"Shinigami scum!" Grimmjow snarled, baring his teeth.

"Stay back," Starrk warned Kisuke, "We don't want to attack anyone. We just want to leave."

"Now, I might have been willing to let you do that," Kisuke said with regret in his voice, "but as I agreed to abide by the rulings of this council when they lifted the ban on me returning to Soul Society, I've got no choice."

Before the hollows could move, he pushed a large red button on the device in his hand.

"Taichous?" Kisuke urged the officers.

Byakuya, Soi Fon and Shunsui stepped forward, Shunsui positioning himself in front of Starrk, Soi Fon in front of Harribel and Byakuya in front of Grimmjow.

"Very good," Kisuke went on, "Now, when the three of you were in the healing center, we actually had the three taichous you see do some bonding with you. They personally healed you. To open the connection, I collected a small amount of your reiatsu and matched it with a taichou who seemed to resonate well with you."

"What the hell is he saying?" Grimmjow demanded.

The Sexta Espada watched in dismay as Byakuya's reiatsu suddenly swelled into a lovely pink cloud around his body and Grimmjow's responded by rising into a complementary blue swirl. The same odd effect repeated itself between Soi Fon and Harribel, then Shunsui and the piqued Starrk.

"Anyone here find it odd that the guy who killed me is the one who's supposedly resonating with me?" Starrk asked, scowling.

"I don't even know this prissy prettyboy!" Grimmjow objected.

"Oh, I assure you there's no coincidence in what is bringing you together," Kisuke chuckled, "Grimmjow, there, once tried to kill his resonant's sister. Starrk, well, you said it, Shunsui killed you."

"What about us?" Harribel complained, glaring at Soi Fon meaningfully, "I don't even know this one at all!"

"But you know her buddy, Toshiro, ne? You tried to do him in."

"That seems like a little bit of a stretch," complained Starrk.

"Forget that shit!" Grimmjow shouted, "What are you doing to us?"

"Like I told you," Kisuke reminded them, "You were matched with a taichou who resonated well with you and that taichou infused your body with their healing reiatsu and a very tiny offering of their life force."

"Their...life force?" Starrk whispered, his eyes rounding, "But, that's crazy! To be touched by a shinigami's life force...?"

"Usually, you're right," Kisuke confirmed, "It wouldn't turn out well for the hollow or the taichou, but with this technique I created, the touch of that life force, the little sacrifice causes a change so that when your respective shinigamis touch you with their zanpakutous to break your masks, the little bit of themselves they shared with you preserves that part of you that would have been lost. Now, the transformation to a shinigami happens pretty slowly. It will take a few months. And during that time, you will be given a place to live with your resonant. The taichous will infuse your bodies daily with their reiatsu and soon, your hollow hole will fade and you will become shinigamis. That's it. No fuss, no muss, no memory and power loss."

"We told you we don't want this!" Harribel cried, trying to pull away from Soi Fon and screaming in fury as she found herself trapped and frozen in the swirl of reiatsu around them. Starrk too, found himself locked into a cloud of reiatsu and gazing at Shunsui's dark, friendly eyes.

"Hey, I really am sorry about what I had to do before," the captain commander apologized, "I didn't want to kill you but those were my leader's orders, just as your leader's orders were to kill me. Look, I know you're pretty upset about all of this. I wasn't pleased either, but the council had the right to order me to comply."

"I imagined it was something like that," Starrk said, shaking his head unhappily.

On the far side of Harribel, Byakuya watched silently as Grimmjow strained to break free of their mingled reiatsu.

"Damn you unbelievable sons of bitches!" the Sexta Espada seethed, "How dare you? How fucking dare you?"

He turned his deadly eyes on the calm noble.

"I'm going to kill you!" he screamed, launching himself at Byakuya, then watching in dismay as his extended claw sank into the noble's body without hurting him at all.

"What did you do?" demanded the furious hollow.

"Oh yeah," Kisuke laughed, "I forgot to mention that while you're in transition, you can't attack your resonant. Remember, they shared a little of themselves with you, so they're protected from your attacks."

He paused and watched as the furious hollows raged against what was happening, then wavered and began to sway ominously.

"Wh-what the hell?" Grimmjow panted, his eyes growing fearful, "What's happening to me? I...I c-can't...!"

"What's happening is that the transition is taxing your strength," Kisuke explained, "You'll get it back with rest and the infusions from your resonants, but you're going to be a little sapped from time to time. Don't worry, it's not harmful and you'll get used to it. It will go away when the process is complete."

"When the process is complete!" panted Harribel, "How can you animals live with yourselves? We honored the treaty and came here even though we didn't have to. You pretend to give us a reward for our cooperation, but instead, we are your guinea pigs! This is an outrage!"

Yuudai moved out from behind his shield and glared down at the three.

"We have done what is best for all of you, offering you an end to being the travesties you were and offering you a place in civilized society. There is no dishonor in any of that. You have been elevated above your hollow kin."

"What hollow kin?" Starrk aid softly, frowning as the infringing reiatsu began to overwhelm him.

The legs of the three hollows wobbled beneath them and one, two, three, they collapsed unceremoniously into the arms of their resonant 'keepers.'

"The three of you and you, Urahara Kisuke, are tasked with the keeping, caring, protection and managing of those hollows while they are in transition. You are to make frequent reports on their progress and inform us at once if they begin to deteriorate, for any reason, or if they seem too powerful to control."

"And what will you do if those things happen?" Byakuya asked, glancing down at Grimmjow's angry sleeping face for a moment.

"We will have them euthanized," Yuudai said coldly.