A/N: Isame Kuroda: I thought that was because being a Quincy is a thankless and dangerous job that Ryuken didn't want for his son. Regardless, he might not believed initially, but after what happened to Masaki and Kanae he started believing. As for the time travel - changing the past is a very important point, that I really need to get to, but more intermediate stuff just keeps coming up. Can you believe that this story was supposed to be three chapters long? Yeah, I can't either.

Krazyfanfiction1: Thank you!

general zargon: Yes, Hikami needed servants, and I didn't want to make more OCs (one is more than enough), so instead I chose the character I desperately wanted to punch :)

Ecci: I checked it out, and while Hikami doesn't look much like Morgantha (Hikami is sun-themed - blond, bright clothes, lots of gold), but the voice and the attitude seems spot on!

Interlude 11: Caged

The world remained the same – the towering skyscrapers, no longer tilted sideways, and a wide expanse of water cutting into the cityscape from one side. And yet something felt… not quite wrong but not exactly right either.

Muramasa paced back and forth trying to pinpoint the sensation. It seemed to radiate from the portion of the Inner World that belonged to Ichigo, only from a deeper layer than the one he was currently in. Zanpakuto spirit paused indecisively. He wasn't exactly invited to dig so deeply into his wielder's soul even though he doubted that Ichigo would mind. Besides, whatever happened didn't feel dangerous. On the other hand, if something was wrong, it was his duty to fix it.

With strengthened resolve Muramasa searched for the easiest access point.

It wasn't long until he found a building imperceptibly different from the others. Slightly hesitant, he touched the glass that rippled like water and stepped through.

The world he appeared in was covered in thick fog leaving only a small portion of flat white desert and gnarled black trees visible. However, what attracted his attention was a cage standing in the middle and the figure sitting cross-legged inside. The caged spirit matched his surroundings – white with just a bit of black visible – white coat with black fur on the sleeves and collar, white hair covered partially with what looked unnervingly like black Hollow's mask with a long curved horn. In his white-skinned clawed hands the spirit held two black weapons – a large khyber knife and a smaller trench knife.

Muramasa didn't notice how close he came to the steel bars, stunned that he wasn't the only spirit there. But how? He had access to all Ichigo's memories, yet nothing in them suggested that someone else inhabited his soul.

The caged spirit opened his eyes – the right one looked normal, but the left one had pure black sclera.

Muramasa nearly jerked back but tried to keep his surprise from showing. "You are awake," he noted.

The spirit looked at him then slowly stood up, "You found us. We were wondering how long it would take you." The voice sounded flat, expressionless, as if the caged spirit hadn't spoken in a long time.

Zanpakuto stepped closer, running his fingers over the steel bars and the invisible walls between them. The cage felt strange. It was Shinigami reiatsu, no mistake there, but not his and not Ichigo's either.

"Isshin," the spirit spoke again. "He trapped us."

"Why?" Muramasa asked. "Who- What are you?"

"Our name is meaningless now. You took our place."

Muramasa felt his eyebrows climbing up, "You are a Zanpakuto? Then why doesn't Ichigo remember you? Why are you trapped here?"

The spirit shrugged, "Necessary at one point. Had to be bound. Couldn't survive otherwise."

Muramasa fought the urge to rub his temples. This was insane. "Meaningless or not, what is your name?" he asked finally.

"Zangetsu," the spirit responded. "Or perhaps Tensa Zangetsu? We are not quite sure." He was quiet for a brief moment then asked, emotion finally slipping into his voice, "Will you free us?"

"Free you?" Muramasa repeated, eyes narrowed, and pressed his hand to the side of the cage again trying to feel the spirit within.

"It's damaged already," Tensa Zangetsu said stepping closer. "We will break out in time. Or you could free us now. There is a lot of power inside us. You can take it. We will give it to you freely."

Muramasa crossed his arms, his expression closing off. "Why? Didn't you say I took your place? Don't you hate me for it?"

"No," the caged spirit said simply. "We exist to protect Ichigo but we are trapped. We couldn't save him. You did."

With a sigh Muramasa shook his head, "I can't make a decision like this on my own."

"Then bring Ichigo here," Tensa Zangetsu responded. "We will wait."

Chapter 11: Gateway to Hell

"Drop the Bankai," Kaien said. "Conserve the power. You'll need it."

Renji shrugged refusing to show how much the brisk words and serious expression of the usually laidback Arrancar unnerved him. He grasped the sharp tip of his tail in one hand and concentrated on the thin fracture within his soul, forcing it to split back in two pieces, "Hanase, Zabimaru."

His whole body glowed and quickly shed the bone-like carapace, starting from his head, revealing his normal human form underneath. Once his feet were free, the remains of the tail shortened and changed shape becoming the familiar chain-sword. Renji sealed his Shikai sheathing Zabimaru and turned to Kaien with arms crossed, "Well?"

Chad was also out of Fullbring, watching the Arrancar with interest. The former Shinigami was up to his waist inside a small Garganta doing who knew what.

"Found them!" Kaien announced suddenly, diving out of the rip in space and forcing it wider with a wave of his hand. "C'mon! No time to waste!"

With a brief glance at each other and a shrug, Chad and Renji followed.

With mounting worry Ishida looked at his friend kneeling in the white sand and clutching his head. It was unnerving to say the least, since the last time Kurosaki was so out of it was after Yhwach nearly ripped apart his soul. The Quincy scowled forcing down the rage as he remembered the so-called emperor. Good damn riddance! The world was so much better without any god-wannabes.

He sighed remembering his (admittedly stupid) idea to join Wandenreich. Kurosaki caught him in time and yelled for at least an hour describing in detail everything that could go wrong. Needless to say, the idea was abandoned rather quickly. Ishida shuddered to think what could have happened if he did go through with it. Becoming one of Yhwach's puppets seemed like the least terrible outcome.

"I… remember…" Ichigo wheezed suddenly. "Remember… Taiyo… no Mon…"

Ishida could feel his mind blacking out.

Taiyo no Mon.

Gate of the Sun.

/The enormous structure connecting Seireitei to Schatten Bereich that the scientists from the Twelfth Division studied under the watchful eye of their new/old Captain towered over the buildings, visible from every corner.

Uryu put his chin on his knee trying to mentally distance himself from the loud voices below. Someone (he suspected Kyoraku) brought the alcohol prompting the already annoyed Quincy to escape to the roof. He understood the reason for celebrating – it was the one-year anniversary of the end of the Blood War, the repairs were finally complete too, and a new batch of Shinigami arrived from the Academy. He understood the reason, but it didn't mean he wanted to take part in the celebration. It was too loud, too overwhelming, and too full of morons for his taste.

He sighed, feeling the approaching reiatsu. Well, if the relative peace he found had to be broken…

"There's more than enough space here," Ishida said, not moving from his spot.

"I can see why you came here," Chad responded coming to sit not quite close but not so far that they couldn't hear each other. "The view is rather beautiful."

Ishida snorted, the setting sun briefly reflecting off his glasses, "I was thinking more about the lack of noise. Then again, they are so loud, I'd hear them even on Earth."

Chad didn't respond, seemingly lost in his thoughts, and the Quincy continued, "I get where they are coming from. They want to-"

'Feel alive,' he wanted to say, even though it sounded slightly ridiculous when talking about Shinigami, but the words stuck in his throat, pressure building behind his eyes. Ishida squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't. Fucking war. He needed therapy.

Drawing a shuddering breath, Uryu concentrated on the few good things that came out of the whole disaster. At least he had a family now, though he couldn't stop thinking of all the people who could never come back to their loved ones.

A hand on his shoulder was a welcome distraction from the depressing loop his thoughts tended to spiral into.

"We survived," Chad rumbled. "We survived and saved everyone we could. Life goes on."

Yes, life went on, it always did. Through pain, grief, and loss…

Didn't stop him from wishing it never happened though.

Uryu stubbornly refused to look at his friend with his emotions so off-kilter, staring instead at the faraway Gate. He hated the damn thing, remembering sharply how it made the invasion possible from wherever the Wandenreich army resided. At least with Silbern destroyed no one could attack from the shadows again.

…He should have remembered that fate was always listening.

With the sound that still haunted his nightmares the Gate activated./

Gasping like a fish out of water, Ishida jerked awake. The second invasion, the beginning of brief but vicious Hellfire War, how could he forget it?! No wonder Kurosaki was brought to his knees if this was what he remembered!

The sound of space tearing open attracted his attention, familiar reiatsu flowing out of the newly formed Garganta.

"Here you are," Kaien said jumping out, Renji and Chad following him. "Now we just have to wait for the others."

A/N: Seems like 13 really is an unlucky number if it took me so long to write this chapter.

Hanasu (離す) – separate, divide, part. "Hanase" is the imperative form (thanks to Starrie Wolf for pointing it out!)