Author Notes: This chapter is more about laying the groundworks for the upcoming battle between Soul Society and the Dio Hueco.

The final two are introduced as their appearance bring out very startling developments in the narrative.

Chapter 21: Anastasis of the Dead Gods

El Rey Dorado

Xiuhtecuhtli arrived just in the location of the Dio Hueco, a floating golden fortress over the deserts of Hueco Mundo.

Tezcatlipoca sat on a throne as the other Dio Hueco stood around him. They turned to see the turquoise haired Dio Hueco with the bluish-purple sphere.

"Within this is one of the six Jinn that represent the Samsara Cycle. Beings able to do anything that can ascend or devolve an individual. Now, we can return to our former glory.," said the bandaged Dio Hueco.

"We don't have much time. I doubt this mere vessel can fully manifest the entity in its rightful form, but its manifestation will grant our desires without a backlash."

"It took a little bit, but I managed to get it without much trouble. I hope this lowly human's technology can be of use to us.," Xiuhtecuhtli muttered.

Tezcatlipoca closed his eye and began to chant-

"Omnipotens deus ex machina revertatur a putrido his nostris divinitatis testis. Preces nostras iniurias persequi depravatam iure credimus nobis Tales enim nostrae concessionis infringere quod sit caeleste Domini!"

With this, the sphere puffed in a pink cloud and revealed a gaunt, gray skinned jinn with a skeletal head. White orbs glowed in its otherwise black empty sockets.

"I was once in tune with a lowly Soul Reaper who's contradicting desires didn't fight with my own- Oh Lord Tezcatlipoca! I will now aide you! It may not be the correct divinity, but it's better than nothing.," the entity said with a bow.

He began to chant in an alien language as he rose his energy, not quite Spiritual Pressure, but something else entirely into the sky.

"Will this potentially revive our other colleagues? Lord Xipe Totec and Lord Quetzalcoatl?," asked the green flattop Dio Hueco.

Tezcatlipoca sneered at the mention of Quetzalcoatl's name, but sighed.

"The wish allows for those affiliated with the user to be affected as well. So I suppose they will also return."

Bluish-purple energy illuminated the sky.

The Dio Hueco each emitted an aura of bluish purple as each collapsed on their knees.

The sphere shattered, causing the jinn to vanish, but the deed was done.

Tezcatlipoca's bandages proceeded to come off to reveal a handsome face with waist length mid-purple hair and four black dots arranged perpendicularly with two above his eyes and below his cheeks. Additionally, his sclera turned white, his hole in his abdomen area shrunk into nothing and his skin tone turned a more natural tone.

The same repeated for the other Dio Hueco as well.

The entity smirked as he said-

"It feels wonderful. Wonderful to be alive again."

North America

In a low-rise apartment, a couple were sitting as they were getting ready for the next match.

"We've been seeing some weird people in suits and others in long-coats since we've been here. Then they up and vanished a couple of days ago. That's odd. This could be bad Yasutora.," said the woman as she looked outside the window.

She was Jackie Tristan, the mother of Oscar Jr. Sado and wife of rising professional wrestler, Yasutora "Chad" Sado.

"I think saying Chad is easier around these folks. The paparazzi grind you if you don't say me around here...And Ichigo would grind you the same if we were over there at home...What do you think for a souvenir for Oscar Jr, Jackie?," Chad asked shyly.

"This is serious. It might mean this is gonna involve that side as well.," the woman said with irritation.

Jackie then noticed that Chad's arm was throbbing.

"What the hell's the matter with you?!," she asked with intense concern.

Chad's right arm glowed with liquid before it morphed. It gained a shield, which extended from his hand to some distance beyond his forearm, with an intricate pattern. Hollow-like teeth lay in the center, with a rose-like pattern or skeletal nose and eyes near the end. There was a hexagonal plate, which covered his wrist up to his shoulder.

His Brazo Derecho de Gigante (Right Arm of the Giant)- his apparent Fullbring that laid in one of his arms, the beliefs of his grandfather, Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa that he took pride in.

"What the hell?! We're not in a fight with a monster right now! Is it an enemy?!," she asked.

"No...it's like it's happily crying out like it's about to return home, and through this violent awakening brought on by its true brethren it's regained its sanity. It doesn't feel like a Fullbring...and come to think of it...it doesn't feel like my grandfather was even in this arm to begin with...I was so wrong...What even is this?,"

"You don't even know the half of it, hijo.," said a voice.

Chad then looked at the hand, which had made a talking motion with its fingers in order to speak.

"I knew my familia would free me one day. Thanks for being a temporary housing for this God.," said the hand as it then manifested a mouth to speak and finally a fully humanoid face.

The arm tore off of Chad, leaving a stump, which instantaneously regenerated the boxer's old arm.

The arm bulged out and transformed before their eyes into a humanoid.

The form solidified into a 9 foot tall toned figure had dark red hair that was straight cut and reached his ankles, with two chest length hair bangs, and a short goatee. He had whitish-silver iris eyes and looked like a mature adult. He wore a red collar with a dual symbol of a light red flower and a leaf, black armbands with red lining, a red loincloth with a light red dual symbol of a snowflake and a sun, and black leg-bands with red lining. Unusually, he had a bright crimson and dark red striped honey comb structure worn over his left shoulder and attached to his left hand with a hole protrusion to presumably fire projectiles out of. The right arm had a black shield, which extended from his hand to some distance beyond his forearm, with a red intricate pattern of a flower, sun, leaf and snowflake arranged perpendicular to each other within a cross shaped diagram.

Xipe Totec Dio Hueco of Seasons Agriculture, Vegetation, the East, Gold/Silver Smiths, Liberation and Renewal.

While he was initially a pale-white skinned humanoid with black sclera and a huge hole in his stomach, a bluish-purple aura covered him and he changed into a darker brown skin tone with white sclera eyes and his stomach no longer having a hole.

Chad and Jackie were bewildered about the entire event and baffled about the entity now standing before them.

"It's good to be a God again.," he said as he opened a rift in space and began to enter into it.

"W-what's going on?! W-why were you my arm's power!? Are you a parasite copying my power?! What are you?!," Chad demanded.

The entity pointed to the golden coin that Chad was wearing.

"That's the true source of your power. You were just using me as a temporary boost with the assumptions that they were your own. And what's in the other arm isn't yoru Abuelo let alone his teachings to begin with. I all want to do is reunite with my familia, so you discover the truth on your. Something that your familia was keeping from you all this time. Figure it all out for yourself.," said the entity as he vanished into the rift.

The rift closed as Chad and Jackie stared in confusion.

Karakura Town

Himitsu was busy putting in coins to get a late night snack when she saw something particularly odd.

"A-am I having a dream standing up?," the girl asked herself aloud.

Spiritual Particles began to gather in the center of town and form into a humanoid shape before her eyes.

It formed into a 14 foot tall, muscular, indigo iris eyed figure had a green feathered body, a reptilian head with a rounded beak at the end of his upper jaw, white eyebrows and a long white beard, green feathered wings on his back and a long green feathered tail ending in a plume. He wore an indigo overcoat over his shirtless torso, wore a indigo colored headdress with green plumage feathers, an indigo collar, an indigo loincloth with a bright indigo wind symbol in the center and black leg-bands with indigo lining. He looked much older yet was fit for his aged visage.

A bluish-purple aura covered him and his hole in abdomen area shrunk to nothing and his sclera turned weight.

Quetzalcoatl- Dio Hueco of Rain, Winds, Creation, Sapience, Science, Freedom, Agriculture, Crafts, Arts, Calendars, Venus, the Sky and Directions.

He stared at his surroundings in confusion for a moment before sighing.

Himitsu stared in stunned and awed silence.

Without saying a word, he opened a rift and entered into it.

Himitsu quickly rushed away before she could think more of what she had just seen.

Hueco Mundo

Quetzalcoatl appeared in front of a sanctioned off wall and phased into it.

He entered into a bleach white lab room on the other side, complete with several white lab-coat wearing, goggle totting scientists doing experiments on a Hollow of a wildebeest like structure strapped to a table. Vials, beakers, syringes and test tubes were neatly laid out on the nearby tables.

He wasn't sure what a Hollow was, but knew the situation was not just.

The head scientist walked forwards as he observed the intruder.

"What do you do here?," the bipedal, anthropomorphic entity asked.

"Most of these things become mindless, mediocre brutes incapable of further progress..., but if you force them to cannibalize, inject blood transfusions/cell implants into useless saps, unreciprocated breeding, torture in both physical/mental, etc. All these can lead to create advancement to a higher stage with exponential growth.. And something to preoccupy the Soul Reapers.,"

"Why do this to humans?," asked the reptilian.

"In the name of science..., but personally, I like to drag down people who watch from on high with their pretentious obligations to settle debts, heroism, or altruism; and making them lose the right to refuse things that would disgrace them.," said the head scientist with a sadistic tone of voice.

"Then you're beyond salvation.," said the humanoid as suddenly rain began to fall from the celling. However, this wasn't a normal kind of rain. The rain that dropped impaled the scientists and caused them to drop dead on the ground.

Telekinetically, he removed the straps as he helped the Hollow to his feet.

"Where can I find more of your ilk?," he asked.

The Hollow then pointed to a door in the following room.

Quetzalcoatl phased through it and saw several individuals who should've been dead by the public accounts of the Soul Society yet were there on raised tables.

A large humanoid Hollow with a fish-like mask and a dorsal fin on his back. His shoulders and arms were plated with what appeared to be part of his mask, and his body eas covered with dark gray stripes, resembling the scales of a fish

Fishbone-D- Hollow.

A large nāga-like Hollow with shoulder-length black hair and a skull-like mask with narrow red iris eyes; beneath this lay his original Human face. The majority of his muscular body was dark brownish-red in color, but his arms were a deep red, and a black pattern resembling sawblades on a thick strip starts on the small of his back and ran down the length of his tail, the tip of which was completely black. His Hollow hole was in the center of his chest, near his collarbones.

Acidwire- Hollow.

A large six-legged insect like Hollow with gray-greenish skin with orange joints, as well as orange spots on his back. His mask was plain white with a humanoid face, framed by two tufts of brown hair and a forelock of purple hair that fell over the top of his mask.

Hexapodus- Hollow.

A medium-sized, bipedal green Hollow with a mask resembling the face of a frog that had two long extensions coming out of the sides, resembling pigtails, and yellow iris eyes. Its arms were long and thin, resembling bones with a spherical joint attaching each forearm to its respective upper arm encircled by two black streaks, with large, humanoid hands, while its legs were thick and muscular at the haunches before tapering down to normal-sized feet. Its crotch was covered by two black marks encircling its thighs and a third running up its chest, where it disappeared under a layered purple carapace that rises up behind the head. Its Hollow hole was located in the center of its chest

Demi-Hollow- Pseudo Hollow.

A large humanoid with a Hollow mask with three red tassels on the top of his head, which covered the upper and lower parts of his head with his red iris eyed face with semi-colon markings under his eyes stared blankly He also wore green fur all over his body with his arms covered in black markings and feet exposed. His Hollow hole was at his sternum.

Grand Fisher- Arrancar No. 62.

A giant Arrancar with tanned skin, a powerful build, and a ridge-lined cranium. He had brown iris eyes, black hair, long, bushy sideburns, and a thin ponytail reaching his upper-back. Aside from this, he is bald. He had orange eyebrows, and red markings under his eyes. He wore the standard Espada uniform, with the only difference being his jacket was always open. There was a large hole in the center of his chest. What remains of his Hollow mask was the jawbone, complete with 8 teeth,, which rested on his chin.

Yammy Llargo- 10th/0 Espada/Arrancar no. 10.

A tall, muscular, dark-skinned Arrancar with noticeably large lips. The remnants of his Hollow mask consisted of a row of bony spikes along the crest of his head, forming something similar to a Mohawk hairstyle along with a pair of skull-shaped earrings and a thick bony necklace. He was also bald and had golden yellow iris eyes with tiny pupils. His attire consisted of a long mandarin-style Arrancar jacket with a small opening at his chest area. He wore a default hakama like all other Arrancar, although his sandals resemblde traditional martial arts training shoes. He had three triangle-shaped tattoos on his chin. He also had four lines running down from his forehead directly above his eyes that end with dots appearing as exclamation points. These were on both sides of his head, giving him a total of eight lines.

Zommari Rureaux- 7th Espada/Arrancar no. 36.

A very tall man with a thin and lanky body. His face was frequently set in an expression which revealed his upper teeth. His black hair hung past his shoulders, concealing the left side of his face and a large white eyepatch with one exposed dark gray eye. The eyepatch hid his mask fragments, consisting of a small set of jawbones and teeth surrounding his Hollow hole. The tattoo signifying his rank as 5th Espada was located on his tongue. His clothing consisted of a modified Arrancar jacket with an overblown spoon-like hood and an opening starting at the neckline, showing most of his midsection, and closing at his waist. He also wore six rings around his wrists, three on each arm. He wore the standard hakama, but the ends of his pant legs close inside extended and curved boots.

Nnoitra Gilga- 5th Espada/Arrancar no. 44.

An elderly, tan skinned man, with a left olive green iris eye, a white mustache and white hair. His face was lined by large scars on the left side of his chin that went down to his neck and across his right eye. Despite his aged appearance, he was quite stocky and muscular, and when standing with the slouch of an elderly person, he was of a fair size. He wore a regal white leather coat with black fur lining, short sleeves, and three black fur stripes running along the bottom. He wears a golden wristband on both wrists, and a belt consisting of three thick chains attached to a large metal disk with a sun emblem. Overall, he resembles a barbarian lord of Viking origin. The remnants of his Hollow mask took the form of a five-pointed crown just above his forehead.

Baraggan Louisenbairn- 2nd Espada/Arrancar no. 19.

A lean built man with blue-gray iris eyes and wavy, dark brown hair, which ended at the base of his neck, was always unkempt, and parted down the middle. He had a faded goatee. His clothing was typical of an Arrancar: he wore a white jacket outlined in black, though altered with the collar upturned. A black sash was worn in a manner similar to a matador around his waist and he wore white gloves. The remains of his Hollow mask consisted of a fanged bottom jaw which is positioned along his neck. His Hollow hole was on his sternum, right below the tip of his mask.

Coyote Starrk- 1st Espada/Arrancar No. 75

A young-looking female Arrancar. Her outfit consisted of white-colored briefs with a black line positioned in the middle, arm-warmers, a revealing vest with a high collar and thigh-high, fur-lined boots. Her Hollow hole was positioned in the center of her stomach. The remainder of her Hollow mask was the form of a helmet, with two horns on the top of her head. The left horn looked as if it had been cut off and the left half of the mask covered her left eye. Her right eye was light pink, with the left eye covered by her Hollow mask and a flame design over the eye socket and she also had light green hair arranged in a very basic manner.

Lilynette Gingerbuck- Arrancar no. 76.

Additionally to this, there were countless other Arrancar and Hollows that were supposedly sent to the Seireitei and Rukongai as they would be purified across centuries.

At the end of the hall were three doors, one labelled Zanpakuto, another Still Silver and the other Chevalier Creux.

Disgusted by the implication, Quetzalcoatl rose his Spiritual Pressure and it caused the entire facility to blow up.

Citadel of the Soul Emperor- Following Morning- Palace of the Soul Emperor

As the groups walked into the room, Soifon muttered-

"Where's that damn Kisuke, his flunky... and Lady Yoruichi? They should be here by now. As should this Isshin."

Ichigo held his head down as he likely figured that they too had been killed by the Dio Hueco.

Ashiyaku sat on his throne with a stern expression as he uttered-

"The Dio Hueco have achieved their objective. They now are planning to kill us all. Prepare for war."

Suddenly to the Soul Reapers' surprise, the other groups began to walk in the other direction.

Then Ichigo said something surprising-

"I'm not strong enough to fight. Leave me out of this."

His tone sounded dejected and forlorn. Everyone from the Eastern Branch stopped at this announcement.

Ashiyaku sighed with an apparent annoyance then turned to Genjō as the black haired youth opened a doorway with his key-like sword.

"What's the meaning of this?! I thought this was just a phase-," Rukia said.

"I bet you'll do get without me. Bye...," he said as he entered into the portal and back in his house.

Rukia clenched her fist with disgust, but then softened when she realized-

Of course Ichigo isn't going to fight. He's failed to do the one thing he failed to do for his mother...Hopefully, he'll regain his resolve soon enough.

With that, the Eastern Branch reluctantly followed the other branches towards a large Senkaimon into Hueco Mundo.

World of the Living

Ichigo opened the door to the clinic and was mildly surprised at what he saw.

Takara, a shaggy haired woman that was his mother, Kaguyahime, a bespectacled woman with purple hair, Heiwa, Sensō, Greta, Maschera who now wore earmuffs, Ichika, Nemuri, Debra, Matilda, Orihime and Kazui were now walking out the door.

He didn't have the energy to argue.

Kazui also noticed his lack of reaction, was concerned, but decided it was better to talk about it in the evening.

With that, everything went back to normal...

...Except the real Isshin, Yoruichi, Kisuke and Tessai were gone.

And it began to rain all of the sudden as if to capture the mood Ichigo was feeling.

Next Chapter: Homicide-1