Foreword: I know that the espada technically went to hell because of the recent prologue to the hell chapter, but this is purely for the sake of speculation. I have six chapters and one intermission already pre-written. Only posting the first chapter and prologue until I get demands for moar.
About the author: Yeah, I know this is kind of pretentious of me to do this section but I figured this information would be somewhat pertinent. I had not watched a single episode of Bleach until January 2nd, 2011. I was pointed to the series by a good friend of mine and fell in love with the show ever since the soul society arc. It took me about two and a half weeks, but in that time I watched the whole anime, side arcs and all, and read up to the most recent issue of the manga. I have no life, right? But anyway, it was nice, because I was reminded of how much I loved anime as a child, my favorite shows being G Gundam and Sailor Moon (shut up, it was a good show). I am writing this because I feel the espada characters were not elaborated enough and deserved some good analytical spotlight. Here's to them.
Preface: My intention with these installations/chapters is to have at least half the amount of substance as one manga chapter usually would. The chapters (excluding intermissions) will usually be over 1,000 words each. Yes, they're going to be short, but that's because I don't want to bore you to death. I am trying to go for the most anime-resembling feeling with all of these writings. I will stick to canon as much as I can in order to make the intrigue that much more… intriguing. I hope you all enjoy the direction I take the story in the later chapters. These first few chapters are just to acquaint you with the situation that they are in in terms of logic. I promise to make it somewhat more thematically and emotionally engaging later on. Constructive comments or new ideas are appreciated, so long as they're not dumb :)
Final note: I do not own the rights to any of these characters or Bleach-specific terminology, Tite Kubo and his associates do. Enjoy.
Prologue: Unmasked
"Where am I? How am I keeping my memory and my soul joined in this place?" thought Starrk. He was floating around in darkness, but could barely feel his physical form. He wasn't in the passage world, and there were no spirit particles so it couldn't have been the world between Hueco Mundo and a garganta. He dwelled some more on his situation. "That's right; I was killed by Captain Kyouraku."
After that thought, he waited for several days. "Am I… going to have to spend eternity here?" Starrk is unaware of the situation he is in, but it seems as though he is going to have to experience loneliness all over again.
That is, until he heard a familiar voice:
"Starrk, is that you?"
Starrk gasped with unfathomable surprise, "Lily...nette?"
"Starrk! You're okay!" Lilynette cheered with glee. However, the happiness of their reunion is short lived as there is an abrupt shift that destabilized their dimension. They were both shaken by this quake-like force.
"What was that? Are you alright, Lilynette?"
"Yes, but it feels like we're being pulled toward that hole."
'Wait, what hole?' Starrk thought. He looked down to see a portal linked to a verdant forest.
"What should we do, Starrk?"
"Lilynette… hold on to me." She complied, and he used his remaining spirit force to push the two of them toward the portal.
Starrk was lying on his back, arms stretched out, unconscious. He slowly began to wake up. He gained a little strength and lifted his hand in front of his face.
'This light… it's almost unbearable, even with these trees in the way.'
'Wait… trees?'
Starrk leaped up to find himself in the environment that the portal was linked to. Foliage surrounded him; leaves fell as the wind flowed through the forest. However when he looked up he couldn't find a trace of any such portal. He came to his senses and realized that he was in a coherent physical form once more.
'Wait, then where did Lilynette go?'
"Lilynette. Lilynette? Lilynette? Lilynette!"
"Shut up, dummy, I'm in here."
He looked down and saw a sheathed katana on his hip, its tsuba made of four silver wolves circling the blade and its hilt wrap and scabbard were a pale pastel green. He then began to investigate his body further. He was still wearing the fur-lined coat and pants from when he died. He felt around his neck.
'Where did my mask go, or at least, the remains of it?'
He let his hand follow down to his sternum.
'Why is that hole gone? What is this place?'
A cold, empty voice murmured behind him, "Fool, you have still yet to infer where you are? Think about it: this place is composed of spirit particles, and, superficially, it doesn't resemble Hueco Mundo or Hell. Your mask has vaporized, and your hollow hole has closed up."
'That voice…'
"What is it, Starrk? Are you still surprised that I'm here with you and speaking to you in…
…Soul Society?"
Starrk's eyes widened as he turned his head.
"U-Ulquiorra?"
His espada comrade was casually leaning his back against a tree. His eyes were closed, at first, but his bleak glare soon fell upon Starrk.
'It looks like Lilynette and I aren't the only ones here. I can't tell whether I should be relieved or afraid.'
"Relax, Starrk. It looks like you need some form of explanation."
"Tch. Like you have one?"
"Of course I don't, but I've been here about five minutes longer than you. I have a theory of sorts, if you're willing to listen."
"Sure, I don't have anything better to do."
"Let's begin, then. I believe that our being here is a sign that our souls have broken free of the hougyoku's will. You know that the blade of a zanpakutou is specifically designed to send hollows to Soul Society, correct? I believe that the fact that we all were defeated by shinigami has led us here. Aizen, and the power of his hougyoku, has helped us retain our identity and powers."
"At least…" Ulquiorra paused. "…our shinigami powers."
Starrk realized, after several moments of staring at Ulquiorra, that his mask and hole were gone as well, but Murcielago still rested on his hip. He was also wearing his standard arrancar vestments.
"So you see now. That world that you were floating in was neither the passage world nor Soul Society, but merely inter-dimensional space. There is a temporal gradient between there and Soul Society, hence why it feels to you like it has been two weeks but really only about 20 minutes have passed. The will of the hougyoku extends that far. But somehow that boundary abolished that connection from us and extracted just our souls."
"Also, I'm sure you're feeling it now, Starrk. That feeling of relief: the feeling that lets us know that we're alive again. I know that I'm supposed to embody emptiness, but…
…I feel… wonderful right now."
'Man, I don't think I've ever seen Ulquiorra smile like that. But he's right. We are no longer hollow. We are full fledged souls. That explains why we were able to keep our zanpakutous. That at least somewhat explains how Lilynette fused with me once more but still kept a distinction.'
"However…" Ulquiorra continued. "I've still yet to come up with an explanation for that city over there. It bears no architectural resemblance to Seireitei or Rukongai. Come, fly up with me."
'How could I not?' thought Starrk.
As they flew up through the canopy of the forest, Starrk began to see four pillars. His eyelids shot open out of surprise.
"No… that can't be… that's impossible! We were just fighting there!" yelled Starrk.
"I see. So that's the real Karakura Town."
PROLOGUE: END