Thanks for reading and your reviews. Please keep it up guys. I just want to say that when you read Ash's dialogue, imagine a Jamaican accent.

Chapter 24: Marshalling the Troops

Frank James didn't trust his companion. For the past several hours they had walked deeper and deeper into Hueco Mundo. He had never been this deep before and he was starting to get worried. He turned to his companion. "Where are we going?" he asked. "We are going too deep into the Menos Forrest. If we go much farther then we will run into some of the most powerful and nasty hollows alive."

His companion didn't seem to be bothered by the information. "We will not have any trouble," he said. "The person we have gotten this book for has assured me that we will not be harmed." He stopped for a moment at a fork in the path and started walking to the left. "As to where we are going, we are going to a place I believe you call the Void."

Frank's arm shot out and he grabbed the man's shoulder and forced him to turn around. "Are you insane!" he yelled. "No one and I mean no one goes into the Void and lives to tell about it. Not even Vasto Lordes go there unless they are the most powerful alive."

The companion didn't say anything as he stared at Frank's hand on his shoulder. Slowly Frank let him go. "I am not insane," he said. "As long as we have this book we will not be attacked."

"And what happens when we give the book to whomever asked for it," asked Frank. "How do you know that we won't be Menos chow?"

"Because this individual needs us for other things," he said. "Don't worry."

Frank was dubious. "I swear if it wasn't for the chance to pay back those Soul Reapers I'd never would have come here," said Frank. "I promise you, if things go south then you're on your own. I'm not going to stand around and fight."

His companion just cocked his head to the side. "As you wish," he said. "But it will not come to that."

Frank opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it when they came to the mouth of a large cavern. Frank felt sudden coldness in his stomach as they entered the cave. He knew that they had entered the Void. Frank put his hand on his Soul Cutter hilt and kept his head on a swivel. After what seemed an eternity they came to a grass hut. Frank was curious about the hut. Nowhere in all of Hueco Mundo did grass exist but the hut was clearly made of the stuff. In the corner of his eye he saw something move in the shadows of the cave, but when he tried to see what it was, he couldn't make it out. His companion came up to the hut and opened the wooden door. "I've got a bad feeling about this," said Frank. "Something like this shouldn't be here."

His companion walked in and after a moment hesitation, Frank followed. He had to duck his head when he entered the hut. Small bones hung from the ceiling as well as several hollow masks. In a corner of the hut was a small shrine with small figurine surrounded by candles. In front of it was a plate of food and a shot glass full of a clear liquid. In the middle of the room is a cauldron full of green liquid that was bubbling and smoking. Frank walked over to the shrine and reached out to touch the idol. "I wouldn't be doin that if I were you," said someone behind Frank.

Frank spun around and drew his pistol and pointed it at the man behind him. He put the barrel of the gun between the solid white eyes of an unconcerned hollow. "Who the hell are you?"

The hollow backed away and Frank got a good look at him. He was a black man whose mask was gone from his face, the remnants being in the form of long white dreadlock flowing down his back. He had a human skull painted on his face and he spoke with a deep Jamaican accent. "That be my alter to de Messiah," he said. "If you want to be keeping your limbs, it be best if you leave it be."

"You still haven't told me who you are, friend," said Frank not lowering his weapon.

"They call me Ash Paranall," said Ash. "I be the high prophet of the Messiah."

Frank looked surprised for a moment and lowered his pistol and looked at his companion. "You dragged me all the way to the void to meet Ash Paranall?" he said angrily. "This guy is a nut job. He came through Tortuga preaching about the coming of a Hollow Messiah that would lead us to victory over the Soul Reapers and how we should join him in a holy Crusade. No one believed him for a second."

Ash Paranall stroked a small doll that hung around his neck. "You don't believe in his commin?"

Frank sneered. "Partner," he said. "Your Messiah is nothing more than a myth. If he even existed then he would have been here by now."

Ash Paranall smiled. "It's okay that you don't believe," he said. "Soon you will see his commin and you will believe then." Frank shook his head. Paranall reached into his shirt and pulled out a case and looked back at Frank's companion. "You would not be here if you didn't have what I wanted in exchange for these shards." Frank's companion pulled the book out of his robes and handed it to Paranall. Paranall opened it and read a few pages. He looked back at Frank's companion. "This is exactly what I wanted," he said. "You have done well."

Frank's companion bowed his head. "Thank you," he said. "I'm glad you're pleased."

"What the heck is so great about that stupid book anyway," asked Frank. "I'd like to know what me and my brother risked our necks for."

"You tried to read it," said Paranall looking at Frank's companion.

"I admit that I did try to read it," he said. "But I could not translate it."

Paranall let out a low chuckle. "This book be the holy word of the Messiah," he said. "It is written in a dead language that only the faithful know. This will tell us how to raise our Messiah and his plan to destroy all Shinigami." Paranall looked at Frank's companion. "The fact you would want this information is no surprise consideren who you are."

"You know who he is?" asked Frank looking at his companion. "I've been try'en to find that tidbit out."

Paranall nodded. "I'm not surprised that he didn't tell you," he said. "If anyone found out who he is, then a lot of shinigami would be comin for you. Isn't that right, Captain Aizen?"

When he heard the name of his companion, Frank pulled his gun again and pointed it at his Aizen. Aizen sighed and pulled back his hood. "I tried very hard to keep my identity secret," he said. "I'm surprise you even know of me, and knew I was here."

Paranall grinned. "The Spirit World knows all," he said rubbing the strange doll around his neck. "I simply asked the Spirits and they told me."

"I'm surprise that Hollows from America know who I am," said Aizen.

"Who doesn't," said Frank holding his gun in Aizen's face. "You're the Captain that betrayed his own comrades. You built an army of powerful hollows then stabbed them in the back when you felt you didn't need them anymore. In the end despite all your plans and allies, you were beaten by a mere human."

Aizen sneered. "There was nothing mere about that boy," he said. "I simply underestimated him. I will not make the same mistake again."

"And what makes you think I'm going to give you a chance," said Frank. "What makes you think I won't put a bullet in your head right now?"

"Because you need me to help you get your revenge," he said. "Because without my help and the help of my shards, you and your brother will be hunted down for you attack on the Archive building."

Aizen could see Frank thinking over what he had said to him. Frank's eyes narrowed to slits. "Bastard," he said holstering his gun. "Guess we have no choice."

"Excellent," said Aizen. "Together we will create a world where Hollow's will rule."

Paranall shook his head. "Take heed of my words Aizen," he said. "If you seek to supplant the Messiah, you will fail as you did before."

Aizen smiled at Paranall. "Perhaps I am the Messiah."

Ash Paranall frowned and toss the shards to Aizen. "I highly doubt that," he said. "Normally I would kill you for blasphemy, but a deal is a deal. You will have safe passage from the Void." As Aizen left, Paranall pulled a small pouch off a table and tossed its contents on the ground where they landed with a clatter. Aizen watch in fascination as Paranall read the bones. "You can go," said Paranall picking the bones up. "The bones do not tell me your destiny."

Aizen nodded and left. Frank moved to follow him when he heard a clatter. He turned and saw that Paranall had tossed the small bones on the ground. Frank looked down at them then back at Paranall. "What's this all about?"

Paranall studied the bones for a moment then scooped them back up. "We will meet again, Frank James," he said. "You have a part to play in the rise of the Messiah."

Frank stared at him for a moment then left without saying a word. Ash Paranall smiled and turned to his shrine. He knelt in front of it, opened the book and began to chant some of the words. The eyes of the Shrine began to glow.

After they had left the hut, Frank looked at Aizen. "Jesse should have gathered the hollows you wanted by now," he said. "Do you have enough Shards for all of them?"

Aizen opened the box and saw four shards inside, far less then he had hoped for. "I've only got four plus the one I had," he said. "This is all that remains of the Hogyoku." He smiled at Frank. "Of course you and your brother get one each." Frank looked at the black jewels and felt something off about them. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he wanted nothing to do with these shards. "I will need your help in selected the three most powerful remaining hollows for me."

"Yeah, sure," he said still not taking his eyes off the shards.

"Good," said Aizen shutting the case with a snap causing Frank to look up. "Let us be on our way, we have much to do if my new world order is to be established."

Soul Society:

Yamamoto looked at the assembled Captains. "As you know we have had a troubling report from American Captain Ryohei Kuchiki," he said. "I have asked for Captain Kuchiki to give his report."

The doors to the room opened and Captain Ryohei and Lieutenant Grey walked in. Ryohei whispered something to Grey who nodded and waited outside the door. Ryohei walked to the middle of the room and bowed. "Thank you for inviting me here," he said. Yamamoto nodded. Ryohei nodded. "Nothing much has changed," he said. "We still haven't confirmed the existence of Hogyoku shards, but we are leaning towards the opinion that they do exist."

"What evidence do you have to support this claim," asked Komamura.

"An informant gave us the information using a listening device in a room that was occupied by the James brothers and their partner," said Ryohei. "He was also offered a shard himself in exchange for joining Jesse James and the army he is gathering."

"That seems rather convenient," said Komamura. "If this informant was offered a shard, then that would mean you are taking the word of a hollow."

Ryohei nodded. "That is correct," he said. "My informant is a hollow, but I trust the information he gives me."

"And how do you know he is not feeding you false information," asked Captain Kurotsuchi. "He could be setting you up to weaken your defenses."

"He wouldn't betray me," said Ryohei. "If he did, someone stronger would kill him as payback for betraying me."

Kurotsuchi rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. Ryohei continued. "After an extensive search, we have narrowed down what was stolen." Ryohei looked down at an I-Pad. "All of them were books that were very old. The first was a book about Powerful Kido spells, the second was the complete Roster of our Zero Division, and the last was a book written in an ancient language that we were unable to translate."

"So we can assume they wanted the Kido spell book," said Captain Hitsugaya.

Ryohei shrugged. "It's the most likely choice," he said. "The spells written in the book are all level 99 or higher. Some of those spells are extremely dangerous and are capable of destroying entire cities in one fell swoop."

"That's not good," said Ukitake biting his thumb. "If any of those Hollows can learn to use those spells it would be devastating."

Yamamoto looked at Ryohei who was studying his I-pad. "You seem unsure about what was stolen."

"The Kido spell book is the most obvious choice," he said. "But I have a bad feeling about that book we couldn't read. It was put in our vaults long ago and if someone knows how to translate it, it could be worse than anything else they could have stolen."

"Does anyone know anything about it at all," asked Unohana.

"We have a digital copy of the book that we are trying to translate as fast as possible," he said. "We hope to know what it is soon. As soon as we know I will…" The doors to the room opened again and Grey rushed into the room and whispered something in Ryohei's ear. Ryohei turned to the captains. "We just received word from Captain Donavan," he said. "We found the location of the hollows that are going to receive the shards. A strike team has been assembled and we will soon get the answers we're looking for."

"Then we will send someone to assist you," said Yamamoto raising to his feet. "Captain Kurosaki will go with you."

Ryohei nodded. "I'll stay here to help coordinate reinforcements to Fiddler's Green," said Ryohei. "Lieutenant Grey will take Ichigo to the rendezvous site."

Yamamoto nodded. "Agreed," he said. "You will depart within the hour after you have told you're wife where you are going. As for the rest of you prepare our forces for battle. Dismissed!"

Ichigo walked into the nursery where Rukia sat in a rocking chair rubbing her belly singing softly. Ichigo stood in the doorway and just admired the sight. Rukia finished her song, looked up and smiled at Ichigo who walked over and kissed her on the forehead. "I swear," he said. "I have never seen a sight more beautiful than the one that blesses my vision before me."

Rukia felt her heart skip a beat at his words. Ichigo started to stand up when Rukia grabbed the front of his uniform and brought his face down even with hers. "That was the most beautiful thing you have ever said to me," she said. She kissed him as deeply as possible cupping his face in her tiny hands. Ichigo responded and kissed her back. As his hands started to roam her body, he felt a tiny kick in the palm of his hand. "She moved," said Rukia.

"He moved," replied Ichigo smiling. He kissed Rukia again and sat down on the floor next to her. "I've got to go," he said. "Captain Yamamoto arranged to have me meet with Lieutenant Grey for some sort of mission in Hueco Mundo." Ichigo noticed that Rukia looked down. "Are you ok?"

Rukia looked downcast. "I'll be fine," she said. "I wish I was going with you."

Ichigo shook his head. "Unohana said you needed to stay and rest," he said. "When everything is over I'll fill you in." Ichigo got up to leave when he felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked down and saw worry in Rukia's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Rukia wanted to say something, but decided not to. "Nothing," she said forcing herself to smile. "Just hurry back."

Ichigo wanted to find out what was wrong when a knock came at the door. A servant entered. "Capitan," he said. "Lieutenant Grey is here."

Ichigo looked at the servant. "Tell him I'll be right there. The servant bowed and left the room. Ichigo turned back to Rukia and kissed her on the forehead. "I won't be long," he said. He then leaned over and kissed Rukia on the stomach. "Take care of your mother while I'm gone."

The door opened and Lieutenant Grey pushed past the servant. "Are you coming?" he asked. "We have a lot to do in a short time."

Ichigo turned and gave him an irritable look. "Can't you see I'm talking to my wife?"

Grey took off his hat and bowed. "Sorry ma'am," he said. "I haven't seen you since that Akashiya deal."

"Yeah," said Rukia sarcastically. "Last time you were here, you almost killed Ichigo."

Grey nodded his head. "Yeah, that was fun," he said. "You know I never got paid for that whole job."

"My heart bleeds for you," said Rukia. "If it makes you feel better I can give you a cookie."

Grey smiled. "Thanks, but no," he said. "Before we left, we ransacked his house and took a good chunk of his stuff. We made a good bit of money when we sold it, so we got our pay."

Ichigo looked surprised. "You robbed Akashiya?"

Grey smiled and nodded. "Yeah, and it was fun too," he said. "After I got all healed up, Grey Wolf and I came back and robbed him blind."

Rukia wasn't sure if the American was lying or not, but she decided it was best if she didn't know. She looked back at Ichigo. "Be careful," she said. "I don't like the idea of you not being here."

Ichigo was about to say something when Grey threw his arm around Ichigo's shoulders. "Don't worry about Ichigo here," he said smiling. "I'll take good care of him."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Rukia.

Ichigo shrugged Grey off. "Can you wait for me outside," he said. "I'd like to say goodbye to my wife without you watching."

Grey nodded. "We need to leave in a two minutes," he said.

After Grey left, Ichigo kissed Rukia again. "I'll be okay," he said. "I'll be home soon."

Rukia held Ichigo for a moment. "Hurry back," she said. "If you miss our little girl being born, so help me I'll tie you up and give you to Captain Zaraki as a present."

Ichigo smiled. "Don't worry, Midget," he said. "I wouldn't miss our son being born for the world."

Ichigo kissed her again and walked out of the house. As Ichigo left, Rukia got up and watched him as he left the grounds with Grey. Rukia wanted him to stay. She wanted to tell him that she was scared. She wanted to tell him not to go and fight and let the others handle this. She wanted to tell him that she was scared that their child would grow up without knowing their father. She wanted to be by his side and help protect him from harm. Rukia closed her eyes. Something deadly was coming and she knew Ichigo would be in the middle of it. She just prayed that Ichigo would be alright.

Thanks for reading. Ash may seem random, but I have plans for him later and I am trying to establish a hollow religion. When I came up with this, I thought that hollows would be more into voodoo like religion than anything else. Any ideas would help out. Thanks for reading.