Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. The original characters belong to me.


Chapter 15: A Perfect Storm

Inside the Department of Research and Development, Sereitei, Soul Society

Thanks to Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, discovering a way to prevent the shadows from reaching the laboratories, scientists could continue with their work while fixing on communications throughout the now transformed Sereitei. Mayuri and Nemu had even put on them some weird clothing, which somehow also acted as their new armors. With Urahara arriving to assist them, Squad 12 along with the other squads were now confident on holding on their own in the midst of battle. His discovery on how to return the stolen Bankais had boosted some morale inside the Shinigamis, but at the same time, they knew that the battle was far from over.

As he and Mayuri were working, Urahara had suddenly received a call from Ichigo, who was already starting his long journey from the Royal Realm to the Sereitei. He had urged both him and the other Shinigamis to remain strong until he had returned. Urahara then promised him that they would do that indeed.

As Urahara put away his phone, he soon began continuing his work with the scientists and researchers. The blonde-haired man eventually fixed his eyes upon Mayuri, who had been watching Urahara speaking to Ichigo on the phone.

"Ichigo said he had already begun his move towards the Sereitei. But it will take a long time before he reaches us" Urahara explained to him before fixing a slight smile. "But I have some good news. Renji and Rukia should be landing at the Sereitei shortly and join the battle. The training they received in the Royal Realm will prove helpful against the enemy troops" he then tried to assure him.

But Mayuri was still acting as unfazed as ever and he resumed on his computer. "Well that is good news indeed. But I'm afraid I have some bad ones as well" the Shinigami in weird clothing said while checking on his computer. "It's odd. The Spiritual Pressure of Captain Sui-Feng is still intact, but those of Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Komamura's are not, and that includes those of their lieutenants" the Captain of Squad 12 noted with surprise and then clicked on his dashboard. "But now I see that even the Lieutenant of Squad 3 is intact as well" he then added.

He was joined by Urahara, who too was surprised by reading the signals. Could those captains and lieutenants have perished? Maybe it too early to conclude, as they had to see this with their own eyes.

"We'll figure it out someway" Urahara assured his former vice-president in the Department of Research and Development. He then turned his attention to the current vice-president. "Hey Akon, any luck in finding the whereabouts of Renji and Rukia?" he suddenly asked the black-haired man.

"Confirmed! They are now approaching the Sereitei as we speak!" Akon said while he was watching the screen on his computer.

Urahara smiled smugly. "Excellent! They will be valuable assets to this fight. I'm sure of it" the blonde-haired man commented.


In the rubbles of the icy cityscape

The night had almost descended upon the transformed Sereitei and the bumbling Sternritter called Mask De Masculine was now beaming with pride over being able to perform a surprise attack on Shuhei Hisagi, Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa. Having been separated from Izuru and Tetsuzaemon thanks to Bambietta's giant bomb, Shuhei had found himself lying amongst the rubbles and had snuck around to see if he could find any other Shinigami near him. But it was nearly impossible for him, considering that the Wandenreich had spread high-density Reishi throughout the icy cityscape, thus making it impossible to feel a Spiritual Pressure. But he ended up finding Ikkaku and Yumichika hiding behind a wall.

Ikkaku had suggested that the three of them stick together, as he knew that the Quincies were expecting them to be running around the cityscape out in the open. That would only leave them vulnerable to their attacks. However, they had failed to realize that Mask had been watching them and was had prepared his surprise attack on them from the air and managed to land on them all, thanks to his big size.

Mask watched with pride and saw his tiny partner James arrive at the scene with a wrestling bell and a hammer. The wrestler-styled Sternritter then proceeded to stretch out his arms in a heroic manner.

"Another job well done! Villains never know when to quit, do they James?" Mask asked the chubby man, who simply nodded his head repeatedly as a yes. The Sternritter then made a heroic pose of himself, which only made James awe at him in return. "Hah, nothing is impossible for Sternritter S – The Superstar: Mask De Masculine!" he exclaimed with overconfidence, while James continued to hero worship him.

"So, this is where all that noise is coming from?" Mask snapped by hearing a familiar voice. Turning around, he could see the gothic Sternritter named Äs Nödt stand not far from him, the long-haired man doing nothing but simply glancing. "I see that you have taken out some fools. Quite impressive for an oaf like you" he added with a sarcastic praise of Mask.

The wrestler Quincy simply smiled by seeing him. "Hey there, Äs! Glad to see a fellow Sternritter in this evening!" Mask exclaimed while facing the gloomy man. But he could notice how sort different Äs was behaving, even though the spiked mask of his covered his mouth. "You look sort of miserable tonight, my friend. Did something happen?" he asked him while wanting to know.

However, Äs was not necessarily keen on answering him and proceeded to move on. "Just shut up. I'm in no mood to be celebrating tonight" he said with a slight angered tone. "My precious Senbonzakura Kageyoshi…gone!" he thought inside of him, as he knew that Byakuya had somehow been able to reclaim his Bankai.

Despite seeing how miserable Äs was behaving, Mask decided to continue speaking with him anyway. "Have no fear, friend! An honorable hero like me is always here if you need any assistance!" the wrestler Quincy said while smiling gleefully underneath this moustache.

Äs was about to begin moving, until he along with Mask could feel some tints of strong Spiritual Pressures coming from the skies above them. The two Sternritters were able to see that there were two Shinigamis headed for the Sereitei.

Mask held his hand over his mask to get a better look and he sighed as he saw who it was. "Oh great! More villains arriving on the battleground" he remarked.

But Äs had his black eyes concentrated on one of the Shinigamis, who was a young black-haired woman dressed in weird clothes. Despite her new outfit, Äs quickly recognized who she was. "Rukia Kuchiki…excellent!" he noted smugly to himself and looked over his shoulder to face his oafish partner. "Mask! You can have that red-haired clown to yourself. But that black-haired woman…..is mine" he told Mask in a slight intimidating voice.

Even so, Mask never seemed scared of him and simply gave him a thumb up in return. "Well, if you say so. Then I won't stop you" he said but then suddenly came up on something. "But are you sure you don't require my assistance? We could take those two together?" he then asked one last time.

Äs only rolled his eyes in return by hearing this. "You underestimate my abilities, Mask. His Majesty gave me a Schrift: the letter F – The Fear. With it, I shall torture my opponents and make them fall in the endless pits of despair. Now if you excuse me, I have a Kuchiki to take care off" the gloomy Quincy told Mask before vanishing by using Hirenkyaku.

Mask, who had not been able to catch everything Äs was saying, simply scratched his head, before forming a gleeful smile on his face once more. "Well, I guess we'll be battling more villains tonight, James!" he said to his partner, who only cheered for him in return.


Inside the icy palace of Silbern

Inside the Wandenreich's own crown jewel, there had been two executions of a couple of Sternritters, considering that they had failed against the Shinigami captains whom they had stolen their Bankais from. As punishment, they were to be personally executed by Haschwalth himself. Those two Sternritters were Sternritter I – The Iron: Cang Du and Sternritter K – The Knowledge: BG9. Sternritter E – The Explode: Bambietta Basterbine had barely managed to survive her encounter with Komamura, but she suffered a much crueler fate than that of the others.

When the execution was finished, Yhwach had ordered Uryu to dispose of the bodies, and the four-eyed prince accepted his order without hesitation. But would he really do something like that? He had felt kind of dissatisfied by seeing two Sternritters getting executed by his liege instead of their enemies.

But with Yhwach and Haschwalth being focused on the approaching night, other things were secretly taking place in one of Silbern's hidden laboratories. There were two beds, and the bodies of Cang and BG9 were lying on them each. Scientists and researchers of the Wandenreaich were researching their bodies and one of the scientists, a short blonde-haired man turned around to see that someone had entered. He immediately bowed in respect before the one who had entered, as did the other researchers and scientists.

"Welcome back, sir!" the blonde-haired man said with a smile.

The one he was speaking to was none other than Uryu Ishida, the Crown Prince of the Wandenreich. He simply smiled by seeing the researcher's formalities. "I appreciate the assistance you have given me here, Hugo Alvarez. It was wise of me to trust you" the raven-haired man said as he walked towards the two dying Quincies lying on each bed. Uryu adjusted his glasses. "Those two received deadly injuries from Haschwalth…but I still believe that they will be able to survive" he commented while seeing their bodies.

Suddenly, one of the other scientists approached the young man with a concerned glance. "Are you certain about this, Prince Uryu?" a Quincy with a black moustache said while briefly taking a glance at the dead bodies. "Wouldn't it be too dangerous for you to be experimenting with their bodies? His Majesty had ordered them both executed" he added with a hint of stress in his voice.

Uryu simply glanced at the scientist sternly. "I already know that, Reinhardt Hasselkampf. But amidst this battle, it is only foolish for us to be executing our own troops! Such is disadvantageous when it comes to warfare" he told him strictly as the other listened closely. "What His Majesty did was nothing but a waste of Quincy lives. I can only accept the death of a Sternritter, as long as their entire essence is eliminated by the enemy…until there is nothing left of the body" the four-eyed man went on explaining and all researchers listened to their prince's words in awe.

However, one bald-headed scientist felt immediately reluctant to agree with Uryu, so he pointed an accusing finger towards the young man. "You…...you're plotting a coup against His Majesty….aren't you!?" he demanded, although he was sweating and shaking at the same time. "I knew it! I knew that we couldn't trust an outsider such as…." the bald-headed scientist suddenly stopped speaking, when he felt like a Reishi Arrow, or an Heilig Pfeil as they were called, had almost passed by his left cheek. He stood in silence and didn't move a muscle, until the long cut on his left cheek revealed, causing him to howl in pain.

Uryu had just fired an Heilig Pfiel with his newest Heilig Bogen, and he had done that with no remorse for the scientist. "Tread carefully, Arthur McQueen. What I am doing here, is only in the best interests of the Wandenreich. Therefore, I advise you to shut up and listen. You do want the Wandenreich to succeed in battle, don't you?" he sternly told Arthur and made sure that all other researchers were listening to what he was saying. "I am the Prinz von Lichts! And I became that the moment His Majesty made me his successor to the throne. And as your crown prince and future emperor, all of you are obliged to follow my orders without any questions, just as you follow His Majesty! Do I make myself clear?" he explained strictly while making sure that all the researchers were loyal to him.

One by one, the researchers kneeled before Uryu, not wanting to provoker their crown prince, whom could actually kill them on sight, yet he did not. He only "warned" them in order to keep them in line. Somehow, this contrasted greatly to Yhwach's own methods, as he simply killed those who failed him. Maybe Uryu was perhaps the opposite of what Yhwach was in terms of compassion and mercy.

A young woman with blonde hair and glasses started kneeling before the Crown Prince of the Wandenreich. "I, Kana Kido, hereby pledge my loyalty to you, Crown Prince" she demonstrated her loyalty towards him.

The Quincy named Hugo approached his liege once again with a nod. "I will remain loyal to you, Prince Uryu. Until my dying breath" the blonde-haired man told him, causing Uryu to fix a slight smile. "By the way, shall we put their bodies in the life capsules? They seem ready to undergo the program" he then asked Uryu.

The raven-haired man simply nodded his head and all the researchers began carrying their bodies into a secret room hidden behind one of the room's machines. Uryu only watched them go there and could see Arthur, who was still watching him while shaking with fear.

"Arthur!" Uryu said lowly, yet strictly. The bald-headed Quincy simply saluted before him in return, not saying a word or anything. Uryu continued to give him a threatening glance. "What I just fired was only a warning. The next Heilig Pfeil I fire…...will end you permanently, unless you obey my commands" the raven-haired man suddenly told him and Arthur only bowed his head in respect before joining his colleagues in the secret room. With that taken care of, Uryu decided to head back upstairs and seek an audience with Yhwach, as he was currently unaware of what he was doing now.


Inside the city of El Dorado, outside the Coliseo, Hueco Mundo

Orihime, Chad, Jinta and Ururu were now standing in the middle El Dorado, looking at the amazing building called Coliseo. It functioned as an arena, while at the same time, a place of entertainment for the proud and stoic citizens of El Dorado. Even now, they could see thousands of citizens streaming into the colosseum's openings and it was apparent that there was a show taking place inside Coliseo.

"Man, things sure seem interesting inside that place" Jinta remarked while seeing the amount of Arrancars and Hollows entering. The red-haired boy then faced his friends. "How about we go see what's inside?" he suggested to them out of the blue.

Chad was dumbstruck by hearing the suggestion and faced Jinta sternly. "Waltzing straight into a colosseum is not the best strategy" the brown-haired man pointed out and took a glance at the entrance. "And besides, I can tell by looking at these lines that something's dangerous is about to take place inside that place" the Fullbringer added warily.

"Hey you! Buttslaves of Ichigo! You got a second or two?" the outrageous and aggressive voice of Grimmjow Jeagerjacquez could be heard, as the blue-haired Arrancar was facing them with his feral eyes and psychotic grin. The group of friends were very uncertain about why he was feeling this way.

"You seem to be in a good mood today" Orihime suddenly spoke up lowly, wanting to know why he was feeling like this. "Is there any reasons for that?" she then asked him out of suspicion.

"You do remember that we won't tell you about Ichigo, right?" Ururu suddenly asked while pointing out their opposition to this.

The grin on Grimmjow's face quickly changed into that of a scowl, and his eyes narrowed with anger. "Quit bringing up that goddamned subject! You know that I'd only waste my time killing insignificant rats like you!" he angrily pointed, causing the group of friends to snap in shock, as they knew that he could easily kill them with ease. Grimmjow fixed a cunning smile at his opponents. "But enough of that, I wasn't looking for Ichigo. I was looking for you" the Legionario then revealed smugly.

The group of friends got cautious when he said that, wondering why in the world a bloodthirsty warrior like Grimmjow would seek out them instead of Ichigo. Nevertheless, they decided to hear what he wanted as long as it didn't involve any killings.

"What do you want with us?" Chad spoke lowly and warily.

"Simple" Grimmjow said and pointed his right thumb backwards towards Coliseo. "Today's a joyful activity happening inside this colosseum. Since you got nothing but sightseeing to do, how about you join me on watching some real fun in there?" he suggested to them.

"You want us to join you watching the fights taking place, inside?" Jinta asked with a raised eyebrow. "But how do we get permission to enter?" the young boy then asked.

Grimmjow simply rolled his eyes and motioned for them to come with him. "Relax. Just stick with me and you will all be granted free passage. Hell, you don't even have to pay Aquñars to enter, let alone book seats at the tribunals" the blue-haired man told them and fixed a smug smile. "Both the Legionarios and the Dechados get to have their own personal and private quarters at the tribunals. That also includes seats, the best that is in Coliseo" he remarked.

Slowly, the gang of four had begun to follow the aggressive Arrancar and into the colosseum, even though they were still uncertain about the Legionario's intentions for letting them in with him. But instead of saying either yes or no, they simply followed him to the entrance.

While most normal citizens would have to wait in lines to enter, Grimmjow walked straight up into one of the city guards, who saluted for him in return and bowed respectively. The city guard was standing behind one of the Coliseo's guard posts, that was located around the structure.

"Legionnaire Grimmjow, what an honor to see you" the guard said and began eyeing the group that was following him. "Oh, you wish to take these strangers to the Legionarios' tribunals, yes?" he asked the Arrancar while facing the group.

Grimmjow simply nodded his head and the city guard stepped aside and the back of the guard post revealed a secret door that opened. The group of friends were surprised that such existed only for high-ranking members of the Imperio de Hierro.

The blue-haired Arrancar then motioned for the group of friends to follow him and they did as he requested. They entered a stony corridor with flares, swords and shields hanging on the walls.

"What kind of place is this?" Orihime suddenly asked, as she and her friends watched where they were going.

"It's a private passageway that only members of the Dechados and the Legionarios are allowed to use. Nobody else are permitted entry, unless they're with a Legionario or a Dechado" Grimmjow replied as he kept walking, not even bothering turning back to face her.

Chad however, was still curious to know more. "But what about Allowin? Isn't he allowed entry?" the tall man asked the Arrancar.

Hearing this only caused Grimmjow to laugh, much to everyone's confusion. "That scary bastard doesn't even need to use these corridors!" the blue-haired man answered. "He's got his own personal space at the highest tribunals, including a throne and a balcony. He simply stays there whenever there's an event taking place in Coliseo" the Legionario spoke up, thus answering Chad's question.

Eventually, the gang reached to the upper tribunals, having walked up a stony stairway to reach it. As they entered the Legionarios' quarters, they were stunned to see a that the quarters had fancy seats, a roof over the tribunal, as well as servants providing the Legionarios with drinks and snacks. This only demonstrated to the kind of luxury the Legionarios were given because of their loyalty to Allowin.

But there was more, as not all the Legionarios were present. Ssutze Briffa, Appius Titus Caesar and Único Barcellos De Oliveira were nowhere to be seen. However, two captains of the Ojos: Rudbornn Chelute and Ebbaline Da Navarro, were also present, all thanks to permission from Borddum Chelute.

Gantenbainne noticed Chad and the group arrive and formed a smile, as he approached Chad and greeted him with respect. "I'm glad that you decided to show up, Yasutora. Let me assure you that in an event like this, fighters like us can be inspired to improve our fighting skills" the orange afro-haired Arrancar told him and looked over his shoulder to face one of the servants. "Hey you, bring these guests some refreshments" he told one of servants, who appeared to be a female Arrancar.

As the group of friends got to know the place, they were treated with refreshing water from El Dorado and it was always cold and worth drinking. However, each member of the group had been able to find and befriend a Legionario, just as Chad had done it with Gantenbainne.

Orihime found herself greeted by not just Belladonna and Violetta, but also Ebbaline, as they were pleased to see a fellow woman be with them. Orihime was surprisingly stunned by experiencing this kind of acceptance from Arrancars.

"I never got the chance to know you fully, as I've only heard from what Grimmjow, Yammy and Gantenbainne has told me" Violetta said to Orihime with a sweet smile. "My name is Violetta Bracquemond, a member of the Legionarios…..and probably the cutest of them all!" she introduced herself while giggling, as she liked meeting new face, regardless of which people they belonged to.

Both Belladonna and Ebbaline rolled their eyes by seeing this, yet Ebbaline eventually decided to introduce herself. "I'm one of the captains in the city guard called Ojos: Ebbaline Da Navarro" the blonde-haired woman introduced herself.

While Orihime was unsure about whether to trust them fully, she nevertheless accepted their introductions in a friendly manner, as she knew that these Arrancars would not put their hands on her.

"Well, it's a pleasure in meeting you all" Orihime told them while smiling. "I'm Orihime Inoue" she then told them about her name.

"Yeah. We all know that. No need for you to tell us" Belladonna musingly pointed out.

Meanwhile, Jinta and Ururu were given the cold shoulder by Yammy, as he simply glanced at them while eating his snacks. The two teenagers still remembered what they had done to fool him, but they felt that it was necessary. They also realized that apologizing for their actions was too late.

"Heh, you're still nothing but a pair of runts to me" was all that Yammy could say.

Jinta felt angered by the former Espada's comment, yet Ururu encouraged him to calm down and simply ignore Yammy's rude persona. However, another Legionario began facing the two teenagers with interest. It was Ozzy Namatjira and his partner Lizzie, and they both smiled by seeing the two teenagers.

"Hey, don't mind Yammy. He's the bounce among us Legionarios" Ozzy said, much to Yammy's irritation and to the two teenagers' surprise, as he spoke to them in such a laid-back manner. "Anyways, I reckon two are offsiders to that battler, Kisuke Urahara, yes?" he asked them in his slight Australian accent.

Jinta only raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is he talking about?" he wondered lowly while facing the orange-haired Arrancar.

"He means that we are helpers to that hardworking man, Kisuke Urahara" Ururu suddenly pointed out.

Both Ozzy and Lizzie were surprised by hearing Ururu's intelligence when it came to interpreting accents and phrases. "Wow, at first me and Lizzie thought you were nothing but a Wuss, but you've really shown us! You're actually beaut" Ozzy remarked.

"Yes, a beaut person!" Lizzie joined in complimenting Ururu. "And that means a fantastic person" she added with a short explanation.

While Ururu simply gave them an approving nod in return, Jinta was furious over what they had been called. "Hey! We may work for that perverted trader, but I wouldn't necessarily consider us to be his helpers! That's way too simplistic!" the red-haired boy pointed out while trying to deny the fact.

Yammy could hear his voice and he sighed in irritation. "Has someone ever told you that you are quite the loudmouth?" he asked Jinta.

Ururu formed a smile with her meek expression. "Tell me about it" she surprisingly said while smiling at Yammy.

This caused Jinta to glance at her outrage. "Hey! Whose side are you on, anyway!?" he angrily demanded from him, as he could hear both Ozzy and Yammy chuckle, thus making him feel more annoyed by the minute. It only got worse when Ururu joined in on the laughing.

Chad had taken his seat besides Gantenbainne, but he also sat near Grimmjow and Borddum. They gazed upon the arena, which was crawling with spectators shouting cheers and praises to whoever was going to fight. Chad was starting to find this interesting, as he had never expected someone like Arrancars to have this kind of entertainment. It reminded him of the Romans and their gladiatorial fights.

"Will Allowin be watching this event?" Chad asked Gantenbainne, who simply shook his head as a no.

"His Highness have over important things to concentrate on, so he has decided to not attend this event. The Wandenreich's new invasion of the Soul Society has left him plenty to ponder about El Dorado's security" Gantenbaine told the Fullbringer.

Chad simply nodded his head in understanding and then refocused his attention on the battleground, as he suddenly noticed that a small, chubby white-skinned Hollow, with the head of an elephant as his Hollow-shell. It was currently, standing on a platform high above the arena, guarded by Arrancars. This indicated that he was the announcer of the event taking place in Coliseo. The small Hollow stood up and bowed his head as the spectators lowered their noise.

"Greetings, citizens of El Dorado! It is a great pleasure for me, Phreasantair, to welcome you all to this spectacular event of seeing both worthy and unworthy gladiators fight in this arena to our amusement!" the Hollow announced and the entire audience cheered in return. The chubby creature named Phreasantir then proceeded to stretch out his arms. "In this fight, we will be witnessing an all-around battle royal between a swarm of Esclavos, three Legionarios, three famous Gladiadores from Coliseo, and of course…...Coliseo's own ultimate gladiator!" he announced and once again, cheers erupted across the arena.

Suddenly, Único, Ssutze and Ceasar appeared behind Phreasantir, looking forward to this match, as they scoured the battleground lying before them. The majority of the spectators had taken their eyes on them, and continued to shout praises to them. The three Legionarios then proceeded to jump into the battleground, as the gates around the arena began opening, thus releasing thousands of simple Arrancars, as well as some Hollows into the battleground.

"I have been waiting for a good fight!" Único exclaimed while cracking his giant knuckles.

Ssutze simply scoffed at her comrade's delightfulness. "Don't forget: you can't have all the opponents to yourself, Único" the raven-haired woman sternly reminded him.

This only made the luchador-like Arrancar glance at the pale-skinned woman, before letting out a sarcastic chuckle. "You do not scare me, señorita! I have dealt with opponents far tougher than you!" Único pointed out with confidence.

The raven-haired woman simply drew her Zanpakutous and glanced at Único coldly. "It's unwise to get cocky with me!" she simply told him.

"Enough foolishness!" both Legionarios turned to face Caesar, as the Arrancar with the helmet had now drawn his spear and shield. "We have a battle to win, and I shall not let myself be distracted by your senseless bickering" Caesar explained them, before readying his fighting stance, as it was indeed almost time to fight.

The announcer seemed pleased with what he was seeing. "Okay! Now you have seen the Legionarios! Now let us give a welcome to the Coliseo's most famous Gladiadores!" Phreasantir shouted and pointed his finger towards three Arrancars that were had already exited the gate from the other side. "Citizens of El Dorado, give Muumin Rureaux, Vladeenmyr Vrubel and Christoff Bracquemond a warm and receiving welcome!" he shouted as the audience cheered for the three Arrancars.

Chad and his fellow Humans got their chance to see who these mysterious Arrancars. Muumin was the black-skinned woman, dressed in a white armor, as well as a cape and a helmet, which revealed everyone her golden eyes, as well as her mouth and chin. She was definitely dressed for combat. Her Zanpakutou was formed like that of a knight's lance. Vladeenmyr was the round middle-aged man with black hair and a moustache, which made him almost like Leo Trotsky or Joseph Stalin. But while he had black hair, the white Cossack hat that functioned as his Hollow-shell barley showed much of it. He even looked like a Russian Cossack, as his Zanpakutou was formed like that of a Russian saber. Christoff was the young man with short purplish hair, similar to Violetta. He wore black boots, but the rest of his outfit were pale white. He even looked like he was artillery officer in the armies of Napoleon Bonaporte, except for the fact that he did not wear a hat. The belt he carried around his waist held two Napoleonic guns, which probably were his Zanpakurous, they were similar to the ones used by the former Prima Espada, Coyote Starrk.

"Listen carefully, you two! The target I set my eyes on, remains my target and my kill alone. Remember that" Muumin suddenly warned her comrades sternly.

Christoff only sighed while closing his eyes. "Whatever you say. It's not like we have any chance of winning against the Legionarios anyway" he pointed out.

Vladeenmyr suddenly let out a deep chuckle, and it almost sounded like the Santa Clause. "How motivating you sound just now, Christoff" he remarked with a deep Russian accent, which was also very uncommon. "Let us begin this battle, comrades! It is almost time" he then added while unsheathing his saber.

Christoff pulled out his guns, but he suddenly snapped by hearing a familiar voice calling to him. Looking up, the purple-haired man could see Violetta wave her arms at him. "What are you…...doing?" he wondered in his head.

Violetta cheered for the Gadiadores, while waving at the one named Christoff. "Do your best out there, Christoff. I'm rooting for you, big brother!" she called out and waved her arms.

Chad suddenly raised an eyebrow by hearing this. "So that man with the purple hair is this girl's brother?" he asked both Gantenbainne and Grimmjow. "Some of you have the same last names, it's almost as if this civilization is either India or Pakistan" the tall man admitted.

"There is a particular reason for that, Fullbringer" Chad focused his attention on Borddum, who was the one who just spoke up. "Maybe it is time for you and the other strangers here to learn about El Dorado's nobility" the skull-faced Arrancar said.

Orihime was surprised by hearing this. "You mean that you have noble houses, like those in the Soul Society?" she quizzed Borddum.

Belladonna smiled smugly by hearing this and faced the orange-haired woman. "You speak the truth here, Orihime. Yes, we do have noble houses. Like the Soul Society there exists many of those families, but there are only four great houses that commands a great deal of respect amongst the citizens of El Dorado. At first you have the House of Luisenbarn, the one which me, my sister Annabelle and our late brother Barragan belong in" the brunette explained.

"Then you have the House of Rureaux, which is the one Muumin, Lord Xerxxes and his late brother Zommari belong in" Borddum joined in, but he suddenly rose up from his seat, as Rudbornn suddenly stood beside him. "I will also let you all know that me and my cousin Rudbornn are of noble blood as well. We are from the House of Chelute, which is also one of the four great noble houses" he then revealed.

Violetta then began fixing a confident smile of her own, as she faced everyone. "And last but least, the House of Bracquemond! The perfect house where me, my big sister and my big brother come from!" she exclaimed happily, although most of her fellow Legionarios simply glanced at her with no enthusiasm.

Jinta only yawned deeply, as he was feeling tired over hearing all this talk. But he could suddenly, feel the entire ground shake, and his friends did that as well. But it was not an earthquake. In fact, they could see a large iron gate suddenly opening and it made them all wonder why it made so much noise.

Phreasantair fixed his head towards the iron gate and made a declaration for everyone to hear. "And now, citizens of El Dorado! It is time to let loose the Coliseo's ultimate gladiator! And beware! He is a dangerous weapon that will not rest until anything before him lies dead! So let us give the ultimate gladiator a warm welcome!" the Hollow declared as the darkness inside was shown to everyone.

"Uh oh, it looks like they're releasing that crazy Galah again!" Ozzy remarked with slight worry in his voice.

"Yeah, he's definitely one, crazy Galah!" Lizzie added to his statement.

But Grimmjow only scoffed by hearing this. "Well, what do you expect? In a fight like this, there's no doubt that they would be sending him into the arena" the blue-haired Arrancar pointed out.

Chad could feel a chilly sting by looking into that opened gates. "What kind of Spiritual Pressure is that?" he asked warily while facing Gantenbainne. "For some reason...I believe I have sensed it before" he added.

Orihime had begun to feel similar to what Chad had just said. "You're right, Chad. I can just feel it, even by sitting so high above the battleground" the orange-haired woman noted grimly while gazing into the opened gates. "It does remind me of someone. But is this even an Arrancar?" she wondered while admitting some of her thoughts.

Gantenbainne sighed deeply before facing the tall man, as well as his busty friend. "I knew you would say that, Yasutora. And I do know this Spiritual Pressure as well" he admitted to the two Humans. "In fact, you had faced him before once…...back in Las Noches" he revealed grimly.

Both Chad and Orihime snapped in their eyes while hearing the afro-haired Arrancar's words. Was what Gantenbainne just said true? They had difficulties in accepting it.

"How can you say that?" Orihime asked lowly. "You say Chad faced it back in Las Noches? But then means that this must be a…" the young woman was interrupted when Rudbornn spoke up.

"Yes…...you are correct, Orihime Inoue. This was an Arrancar formerly in service of Aizen" the bull-skulled Arrancar told her. "However, it was something more than just that…it was actually one of the Espadas as well" he went on revealing.

This only caused more shock about the Humans, as they could feel that that this Spiritual Pressure was growing more powerful by the minute. A shadowy creature suddenly stepped out of the dark, and entered the open battleground slowly. As the spectators got a glimpse of it, they all had shocked expressions on their faces.

As the Humans got a glimpse of who it was, they too were shocked by what they saw, as this Arrancar seemed indeed recognizable to them all.

"No way…...it's him!" Chad exclaimed by what he was seeing.

"But…...how!?" Orihime wondered lowly.

This time, Belladonna was more than willing to fill them in on how this was possible. "While Aizen and his slaves ruled Hueco Mundo, one of his lapdogs were rampantly slaying Hollows and Arrancars alike. In fact, he was so bloodthirsty and uncontrollable that he went on a rampage and slaughtered an entire colony of Vasto Lordes, as a means to satisfy his lust for bloodshed. The Imperio de Hierro had already managed to shelter the majority of the Vasto Lorders from Aizen, but this genocide did not go unnoticed" the brunette woman told the Humans, while recalling on what she knew. "During Aizen's downfall, this Espada fell at the hands of the Shinigami captain: Kenpachi Zaraki, and he saw this as his glorious death in battle. However, His Highness had other plans for him" she revealed cunningly while forcing a smirk with her lips.

"His Highness wanted to punish this lapdog for his atrocious actions, so he dispatched Lord Pieddot to conduct an experiment on both the lapdog and his only Fracción" Borddum then spoke up while gazing upon the horrid creature that had showed itself. "When discovering their corpses, the lapdog was dead, while his Fracción named Tesla Lindocruz was still alive. Lord Pieddot came up with a fitting punishment for them both. He brought them to his observatory in El Dorado, and began experimenting on them both. However, Lord Pieddot managed to bring this lapdog back to life…...by transfer Tesla's life to his corpse. Therefore, he was brought back to this world, as nothing but a mindless monstrosity and zombie, all thanks to His Highness' desire to see him suffer" the skull-faced Arrancar went on explaining.

"So in other words" Chad began speaking slowly. "He's been brought back to this condition, as a punishment?" he asked lowly, still not getting the explanation.

Meanwhile, the three Legionarios on the battleground each had different reactions to seeing this. However, Ssutze's was the most visible, as the pale-skinned woman was now smiling smugly by the monstrosity that had entered the battleground and was even now beginning to slay any Esclavo it came across.

"Heh, I knew they would release him eventually!" she exclaimed with satisfaction in her voice. "The former Quinto Espada in Sosuke Aizen's army: Nnoitora Gilga. Well…I'm not sure if he's even an Arrancar anymore" she said the monstrosity's name, which was in fact Nnoitora.

The former Espada had changed dramatically since being resurrected as a mindless monster. He was in the form of his Resurrección: Santa Teresa, and still carried his four scythes, as well as having four arms. But his skin had changed into that of pale grey and his tongue was stuck out of his mouth forever. There was no number written on the tongue anymore, and the cuts he had previously received from Kenpachi had been stitched, and they were clearly visible. He still had his Hollow-hole in his left eye, while his other eye was completely pale. There was no mistaking, Nnoitora had become a mindless zombie.

The announcer didn't even have to begin the match. Nnoitora was already cleaving everything that dared stand in his way, and although there were swarms of Esclavos, the zombie easily disposed of them with swipes, as well as firing a golden Cero from his tongue. But while he was a zombie, Nnoitora still possessed some manner of speaking, although it sounded both bitter and slightly broken.

"KILL! ALL! WEAKLINGS!" he shouted as he continued his attack. But there was more to those words. "KILL! KENPACHI! ZARAKI!" he also began shouting while cutting through the masses.

Ssutze and her comrades were enjoying eliminating Esclavos, with her cutting them with her blades, Único shattering them with his immense strength and Caesar impaling them with his pike, as well as throwing his shield like a boomerang. However, Ceaser could see a lance heading straight towards him and used his shield to block it. The throw was powerful, that it pushed Caesar a bit further as the lance hit his shield. The Arrancar with the helmet stood up while panting.

"Heh, nice try, Muumin. But you have a long way to….." he was caught by surprise when he heard someone appear behind him by using Sonido.

Muumin was preparing to land a kick at him from behind and smirked. "Just who are you talking to, Caesar? I am right heeeere!" she delivered her kick, only for Caesar to turn around and stick his pike up in the air, forcing Muumin to narrowly dodge it by moving to the side, thus avoiding getting pierced. She landed on her feet and quickly got hand of her Zanpakutou, when as she forced it to lose itself from Caesar's shield. The woman in armor then fixed a cunning grin while seeing her opponent stand on guard. "Don't get so cocky with me. What I just did was only to test your reflexes" she insisted to him.

The Arrancar with the helmet only faced her and locked onto her, as if she was his target. "You are the cocky one here, Muumin. I'd expect you to least know that the Commander of the Conquistadores is not to be underestimated" his hallowed voice could be heard through his helmet as he made his mover and charged towards his opponent.

Meanwhile, Ssutze was clashing swords with Vladeenmyr, and they both used Sonido to go faster. Eventually, they clashed with their blades and they were trying to overpower the other.

Ssutze smirked by seeing her opponent with his saber. "When are you gonna fight for real, Vladeenmyr? You are not even trying!" she asked while taunting him.

But Vladeenmyr simply glanced at her with no enthusiasm in his eyes. "Your humor eludes me, Legionnaire Ssutze. It would be wise for you to respect those who are elder than you" he reminded her, before proceeding to kick her in the stomach and fire a white Bala with his finger.

But Ssutze quickly got wind of it, and simply crossed her Zanpakutous to block it. She still faced him smugly. "You call that a Bala!? Hah! The Balas belonging to the captains in the Ojos are better compared to yours!" she taunted him once again, finding amusement in this.

Vladeenmyr brandished his Zanpakutou and faced Ssutze with slight annoyance. "You are starting to be a slight pain in my ass, Ssutze. How about I help you with cutting off that big mouth of yours?" he asked, not caring about the fact that he was speaking to a lady. Vladeenmyr then made preparations to move, and charged towards the young woman.

Ssutze then readied her blades and simply stood prepared for the challenge. "Come and get me then, Mr. Vodka!" she taunted him once again.

But both were in for a major surprise, as someone had already used Sonido to appear before the two fighters. It was Nnoitora, who was screaming with anger and prepared to swing his scythes at them both. Fortunately, they used their Zanpakutous to block his attacks, although they tried to stand their ground against him.

"Damn it! With the number taken away, Nnoitora's formerly restrained Spiritual Pressure has continued to grow!" she remarked beneath her gritting teeth. "Somehow, that magic Pieddot used to resurrect him gave him some kind of new strength" she added to her analysis.

Vladeenmyr was holding on his own against the scythe. "And you say that now!?" he said in outrage.

Nnoitora was still growling like a monster, but he suddenly uttered out words angrily. "YOU. ARE. WEAK!" he spoke in anger, and all of a sudden, his tongue began preparing a golden Cero.

As the two Arrancars were briefly filled with distress, it stopped when Único suddenly launched himself at the zombie and slammed his face by his right knuckle. Nnoitora was sent flying to the wall. The luchador-like Arrancar simply chuckled by seeing his actions.

"Hah! The strong always triumph!" he declared with pride.

Christoff had suddenly aimed his two pistols at the muscular Legionario and he narrowed his eyes in a deadly manner. "Bad idea to take your eyes off your opponent, steroids" he commented and then locked his guns. But before he could fire, Único vanished from his sight and suddenly founded himself right above the purple-haired man. "What the…SHIT!" he cursed by seeing this.

"Prepare to feel my elbow, pretty boy!" Único taunted Christoff and landed into the ground, causing a big shockwave. But as the dust settled, the wrestler could see that the young man was nowhere to be soon. "That little squirt! He's…..." he stopped when he could her a familiar voice.

"Right above you!" Christoff was suddenly standing above him and were aiming his pistols at Único's head. "You may be stronger, but I'm definitely quicker! So let's see if your muscles can withstand my bullets!" he taunted him and was about to pull the triggers, until he and his comrades could notice something happening at the other end of the battleground.

Nnoitora emerged from his attack, his injuries quickly recovering all thanks to the regeneration he had gotten from being a zombie. He howled once again in anger as a means to attract opponents to him.

"Instant regeneration!?" Ssutze noted in her thoughts while seeing this. "He really has become a monster! I can't believe that His Highness would support a punishment such as this" she added.

But on the Dechados' private quarters in Coliseo, Nelliel and Harribel were having their own reactions to seeing their former comrade being reduced to this. True, Nelliel barley remembered what had happened to Nnoitora when he fell in combat, but it wasn't until she became a paragon that she learned the truth about his fate.

"Is this what Grimmjow was talking about when he suggested I go see a match?" she wondered in her head.

"I can't believe this is true" Harribel noted by what she was seeing. "At first, I only laughed at the idea of Pieddot bringing Nnoitora back as a zombie…but here he is…...being this monstrosity" the blonde-haired woman added warily.

The sea green-haired woman began her time to reflect on what she had been told about Nnoitora's fate. She knew how it happened and how it was commissioned. "This is Nnoitora's punishment…...for murdering the colony of Vasto Lordes. He had always wanted to die in a glorious battle and got as he wished…only for the Imperio de Hierro to punish him by resurrecting his twisted body" Nelliel recalled on what she had been told. "I wonder…...if Nnoitora had simply left the Vasto Lordes alone…...would he be given a different fate?" she added, while recalling that some of the former servants of Aizen that had ended up in El Dorado had somehow been helped back by Allowin, who saw a chance for redemption inside of them.

Suddenly, Nelliel felt Harribel put her hand on her right shoulder and the two female paragons faced one another. The blonde-haired woman was facing Nelliel with reassurance.

"You think about that there was a chance you would be able to save Nnoitora back then? You shouldn't take blame for any of this" Harribel told her. She and Nelliel then faced Nnoitora. "He chose his own path, and let his lust for battle guide him. This is the result of his folly" she assured her.

As stunned as she was, Nelliel smiled lightly by hearing this and embraced Harribel in a tight hug, with the blonde-haired woman gladly returning it.

To be continued…..


Author's note: That was chapter 15. We got to see how the battle with the Quincies were going, as well as Uryu's hidden agendas inside Silbern. And in El Dorado, we saw the return of yet another former Espada, as well as introduced to this new system of El Dorado. Now let us see the new terms that we learned in this chapter.

Gladiadores – Spanish for "Gladiators": This is a trio of well-renowned gladiators that have become celebrities in El Dorado for their matches and agilities. Whether they remain as powerful as a Legionario remains to be seen, but they do know how to hold against them in a fight.

And here are the voice actors I've picked up for these new Arrancars. Hope you enjoyed meeting these new characters.

Muumin Rureraux – Danielle Nicolet

Vladeenmyr Vrubel – Richard Cansino

Christoff Bracquemond – Robbie Daymond