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


Chapter 22: Balancing the Scales

In the air above the Sereitei, Soul Society

Inside the flying cannon, Ichigo Kurosaki and his team consisting of Yasutora Sado, Orihime Inoue, Ganju Shiba, Jinta Hanakari, Ururu Tsmugiya, Yoruichi Shihoin and Tessai Tsukabishi, were sitting and waiting for their arrival at their destination: The Royal Realm. While the trip was long, it was worth it, considering their intentions on preventing Yhwach from reaching his goals. But would they make it in time?

Ichigo was now sitting against the metal with his arms rested behind his neck. Ever since they took off from the Squad 12 Barracks, the orange-haired man had been pondering about how he would fight the Emperor of the Wandenreich. But his thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Orihime.

"Hey Ichigo. Yoruichi. Chad. Ganju" the young woman called out their names and they focused their attentions on her. "I don't know what you think, but this really brings back memories. Back then when we were saving Rukia. I remember how Yoruichi was in her cat form" she mused to herself while recalling back to the time when they were in the air to save Rukia from her execution in the Sereitei. But that was a long time ago.

Yoruichi couldn't help but to smile smugly at this, recalling how she looked to fool everyone with her cat form. "You know I can still transform myself if you want to" she told her.

"Now, now, Yoruichi. I think you look perfect just the way you are" Tessai assured his longtime friend.

But Orihime suddenly fixed a disappointed look on her face, as she thought about someone. "But Uryu was with us that time" she said, sounding somewhat slightly bitter. True, the orange-haired woman had also been saddened to see a good friend of hers go over to the enemy side. "Does any of you think he will come back?" she suddenly asked lowly.

Ichigo was filled with so many conflicting thoughts, yet he knew he had to respond to his childhood friend. "Of course, he will. I mean, nobody's that heartless" Ichigo said, although there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "But on the other hand, I've got a bone to pick with Yhwach. That bastard has gone too far with all the lives he has already taken" Ichigo said, gritting his teeth in anger over saying that line. "If Uryu chooses this path of his, then I'm still not gonna back down. I'll pin his ass against the wall and make Yhwach pay for his crimes" the orange-haired man said.

"You sound so…...bitter Ichigo" Yoruichi noted while watching Ichigo's expression. "Is it just me or are you starting to get focused on vengeance?" she then asked the Substitute Shinigami.

Ichigo fixed his stern eyes upon the purple-haired woman. "You don't know the half of it" he replied lowly. "Anyway, everybody knows the plan. When we're up there, off to fight the bastard and his buttslave" he told them in a surprisingly foul way.

Yoruichi cocked an eyebrow and knew that even though Ichigo had changed since Aizen's defeat, there was a few things that he lacked. Therefore, she decided to get more personal with him, by fixing a sympathetic glance towards the orange-haired man.

"Ichigo. I know why you carry this grudge against Yhwach. And I don't fault you for having it" she told him, much to his surprise. "But if you are to stand against him, you can't allow rage to overcome you. Because that's exactly what he wants…and what Aizen wanted when you fought him" Yoruichi pointed out.

Ichigo was only surprised to hear those words, yet he didn't do much as to speak back. He faced the metal floor, trying to reflect on what he was just told. But he eventually faced Yoruichi and smiled lightly.

"Alright. I guess that I can't argue with you on that one, Yoruichi" he told her before trying to face everyone sitting around him. "Listen up, everyone. I don't know if I should call you crazy or stupid for joining me on this trip, but I am very grateful that you came along" Ichigo then said, expressing his gratitude for those who sat around him.

Chad gave him a thumb gesture in return, while smiling lightly. "You can count on my assistance, Ichigo. I've been training for this!" Chad assured his friend. "There is no going back from this battlefield" he said to Ichigo.

"I am also prepared" Tessai said while adjusting his glasses. The tall man was having his staff beside him, and he wore his outfit from his days as the Captain of the Kido Corps. "With my great intellect and abilities, you will be pleased to have me onboard, Ichigo" he said to him.

Yoruichi smiled smugly after hearing this. "I'm in this too" she said while facing Ichigo. "You'll need all of us on this trip, Ichigo. That we can assure you" she told him, forcing Ichigo to simply nod in return.

"I know. Just don't get so cocky with me, Yoruichi" the orange-haired man thought.

"I'm also here!" Jinta said and held onto his kanabo. "With my trusty kanabo at my side, I'm ready to kick some Quincy-ass! This shall be fun!" the red-haired teenager exclaimed and grinned cockily.

For some reason, Ichigo slumped inside of him by hearing Jinta's words. "That kid's really full of himself, isn't he?" he wondered while staring at the boy's confidence in himself.

"You can count on my support as well" Ururu spoke up, as she meek girl held onto her rocket launcher. "Since Quincies use bows and arrows, they will not stand a chance against my rocket launcher" she said, although she was slightly confused.

"Ururu has incredible strength, that I don't deny" Ichigo thought in his head while watching her. "But even if that's true, is that enough to take on a Sternritter-level Quincy? I don't think so" he concluded, suggesting that the young girl could rather deal with the Soldats or other types of troops in the Wandenreich.

"Don't forget about me!" Ganju exclaimed and leaned onto the metal wall with a proud expression on his face. He then faced Ichigo. "Remember, I managed to take on that flamboyant Shinigami, whom I tried to outrun. I used fireworks and look what results I got!" he said, recalling the time when he fought Yumichika.

But Ichigo only sighed in annoyance by hearing this. "But Ganju, you forget something. We're dealing with Quincies whose levels surpasses or equals to that of a Shinigami captain. If you expect to fight someone on the same level as Yumichika, then you've sadly mistaken" the orange-haired man sternly pointed it out.

Ganju snapped in irritation by hearing this. "I know that, already! Are you suggesting I only joined you so that I could take on the low-ranked Quincies? Get real! In a place such as the Royal Realm, you don't bring inexperienced fighters with you if you plan on conquering it" he answered in return, before calming himself. "From what I know, the military in the Royal Realm is drastically different than the one in the Sereitei. And I'm not just talking about the Royal Guard and it's five members. Hell, even the common soldiers, aka the Divine Soldiers, are more focused and disciplined than normal low-ranked Shinigamis" the long-haired man told Ichigo and the rest were listening.

Tessai nodded his head in return. "I have also heard so many things about these Divine Soldiers. It is said that their fighting style is equal to that of a Shinigami lieutenant" the tanned-skinned man noted.

"That's nothing but a pack of exaggerated rumors" Yoruichi spoke up flatly. "Yes, they are good. But I seriously doubt that the Divine Soldiers will be enough to stop the enemy" she pointed out to everyone.

"I'm glad that all of you are sharing this information with all of us" Ichigo commended her, Tessai and Ganju, before specifically facing Ganju with a slight smile. "I believe in your words, Ganju. You prove us that you're willing to face the enemy. I'm impressed" the orange-haired man praised the long-haired man.

Ichigo began gazing upwards to the cannon's ceiling, as did the rest of the group. They were on their way to a battle which would definitely be chaotic. But the first question was whether they would make it in time. That remained to be seen.


In the icy cityscape, Sereitei, Soul Society

While Ichigo and his group were on their way to the Royal Realm, the fight between the 13 Court Guard Squads and the Sternritters continued below them. Ikkaku and Yumichika had also been separated from their comrades by the shockwave, which ended them in battling Sternritter Z – The Zombie: Giselle Gewelle. The black-haired girl had raised dead Shinigamis as her zombies, which they had become by making contact with Giselle's blood. She had almost ended up tricking the two members into attacking her, only for them to realize her true intentions.

But Ikkaku and Yumichika had to also contend with the zombified Bambietta Basterbine, who used her Reishi bombs to attack them. They kept going on until Captain of Squad 12: Mayuri Kurotsuchi arrived with not just Nemu, but also new inventions to counter Bambietta's bombs. But there was more that Mayuri had brought with him, in order to fight the Shinigami zombies. In hopes of resolving to less drastic measures, Mayuri used the newly-resurrected Arrancars, he had found in the vault of Szayelaporro Granz, the former Octava Espada in Sosuke Aizen's Arrancar's army. Thanks to Mayuri, they were still alive and breathing.

The five Arrancars that Mayuri had resurrected was the former Privaron Espadas: Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio and Cirucci Sanderwicci, the briefly Sexta Espada: Luppi Antenor and two Arrancars from different Fracciòn: Charlotte Chuhlhourne from Barragan Luisenbarn's and surprisingly Di Roy Rinker from Grimmjow Jaegerjacquez's. While three of them were found in Szayelaporro's vault, the others were found as corpses in Karakura Town, especially with Di Roy, who was frozen and almost cracking.

The five Arrancars, under control of Mayuri, did fight off the zombified Shinigamis, although Yumichika took great issue with Charlotte, still recalling their last battle. But all that changed when Giselle called out something that really shocked the two members of Squad 11. What they believed to have seen was a zombified Toshiro Hitsugaya. He dealt with both of them, before facing Mayuri, who was more than happy to test his drugs on the zombie, for the sake of the Sereitei. With the help of a time loop-like drug, Toshiro fell on the ground and the scientist tested his drugs on him. But the scientist was in for a shock, as what he previously thought was Toshiro, was nothing but a fake.

Mayuri saw that it was ordinary Shinigami, who was just as tall as Toshiro. His face and real eyes began revealing itself, bore he disintegrated, thanks to Giselle's actions. And before he knew it, zombified versions of Kensei, Rose and Rangiku appeared behind him, yet the scientist was mostly focused on the Sternritter.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mayuri asked lowly while facing the girl in a wary manner. "How in the world can an ordinary zombie like him, possess the abilities of Captain Hitsugaya!?" he demanded while the zombified Shinigamis were on the verge of attacking him, only for the Arrancars to take care of them. Mayuri watched as they fought. "If I am to believe in my instincts, those three are not the real, Matsumoto, Mugurama and Otoribashi. Indeed, they are only imposters that you have created. But how can they possess the same abilities?" he wondered in slight disbelief.

Giselle found Mayuri to be amusing. "Remember when I said that I can zombify Shinigamis by simply spread my blood on them?" she asked him. "Truth is, if my blood is mixed with these Shinigamis' blood, then I will be able to change them into any person that I want. You see, I have been given access to the blood samples of these Shinigamis and have tasted them as well" the Sternritter told him.

Mayuri was stuck dumbfounded by her statement. "But that's preposterous! I am the only one who possesses the blood samples of all the captains and lieutenants! How did you get hold of them!? Did you steal them from my lab!?" he angrily asked the Quincy while pointing his Zanpakutou at her.

Giselle only scoffed at him in a whimsical manner. "Aren't you a grumpy, old man?" she quizzed him before fixing a smug look on her usual goofy face. "Don't get your knickers in a bunch. I never had the need to infiltrate that filthy place to steal a blood sample. All that I had to was to drink the blood the Shinigamis had left behind from their bodies" she told Mayuri, before holding up her Heilig Bogen.

There was something that the Captain of Squad 12 did not understand yet. "If Hitsugaya and the others were not zombified, then what happened to their real bodies?" the scientist wondered while recalling that his computer had failed to detect their Spiritual Pressure throughout the Sereitei. "There could be two answers to this mystery. The first one, the missing captains and lieutenants are dead, and their real bodies has been confiscated by the enemy. Or the second, the missing captains and lieutenants have…." Mayuri's pondering was interrupted by a skull-faced Heilig Pfiel almost hitting him, although the scientist managed to dodge it with ease.

"What's the matter, Mr. Scientist? I thought that you said you were gonna do some experiments on my zombies" Giselle asked tauntingly at him. "Well, say something" she told him.

Mayuri only glanced at her with dispassion and annoyance. "My, my, you really are an annoying little girl. Interrupting me while I am pondering is just rude" he remarked sternly in return before fixing a smug look at the Sternritter. "Now as for your question, I do have some experiments I would like to test on these extraordinary zombies of yours. Just watch them now" he then told her while pointing his finger at the three zombified Shinigamis, that were on the floor, much to Giselle's own surprise.

"What!? But how?" she exclaimed in shock over seeing her puppets being beaten by mere Arrancars.

Mayuri went over to them and used his drugs on each of them. By infusing these zombified Shinigamis with blood samples of famous Shinigami captains and lieutenants, Giselle's zombies would become his zombies. The fake Kensei, Rose and Rangiku stood up and faced the Sternritter.

"I put drugs into the blood of those Arrancars, so that each time the captains fought, they would only be travelling back into time until the effect would work" Mayuri said as the Arrancars listened, not believing what they just heard.

"What did that sick freak just say!?" Cirucci asked to her comrades.

Luppi was feeling the same thing. "How should I know? I'm not the one who knows about science" the young Arrancar said.

But something was boiling inside Dordoni as he listened. "Coño! This bastardo must have infected our bodies while we were left for dead!" the goofy Arrancar surprisingly exclaimed in an angry fashion.

"I don't care what you all think!" Di Roy said as he glanced at Mayuri. "How about I try killing you until there is nothing left of your…" before the Arrancar could continue with his threats, he was electrified thanks to Mayuri pushing his remote.

"Mind your manners, pitiful creature! Don't forget who brought you back to life!" he rebuked Di Roy. But the scientist began concentrating on the Sternritter. "As I already told you, I also have the blood samples of every Shinigami captain and lieutenant. And to be telling you this in a simple way: your zombies are now my zombies! That means I win, and you lose" the scientist revealed with a grin, his puppets standing behind him.

Giselle was about to make her move, as were Mayuri and his men, only for them to snap, as they could both hear someone laughing cunningly on the sidelines. Neither of them had heard of this voice, and as they turned to the side, they were stunned to see who was standing there. It was an Arrancar, but not just any ordinary Arrancar. It was one of the Dechados: Pieddot Picasso. But was it really him? The man in the white burlap mask took small steps forward while facing both parties.

"I see that you are marching out the zombies. Intriguing but also cruel at the same time" Pieddot noted smugly. The Arrancar then looked over his shoulder to face the surviving, but also gravely injured Charlotte, who had been slashed thanks to the zombified Toshiro. The purple-haired man could barely stand properly. "Thank you for filling me in, Esclavo. You may not be bad after all" he then thanked him, although Charlotte did not give him any response, as he only panted in return.

For some reason, the four Arrancars began gradually moving towards Pieddot, as they had never seen him before. "Who the hell are you!?" Luppi asked while facing him with suspicion.

"And what have you done to Charlotte, weirdo!" Cirucci asked in her sassy tone as usual.

But suddenly, Pieddot aimed his claws at the four Arrancars and there was a small crossbow attached to his arm. Before the four Arrancars knew it, Pieddot fired a tiny dart on one of them each, and the darts hit their faces.

"Do not fret, misguided souls. These darts of mine are giving you a cure from all that drug and poison you have been exposed to by that hideous Shinigami" the paragon told them and began facing Mayuri, who only glanced at him unfazed. However, the captain did take some steps towards the mysterious Arrancar, who only glanced at him cunningly. "Oh, do you have to something to say?" Pieddot then asked him.

Mayuri simply chuckled lightly by what he heard him saying. "My, my, you really have guts to say such, considering that you are standing in the Sereitei, which is the domain if us Shinigamis" he told him, before pointing his Zanpakutou at the Arrancar. "But I could care less about it. Based upon that cape, as well as the description I was given to by Kyoraku, you are one of the so-called Dechados, unless I'm mistaking" he told the man in burlap mask.

A smug expression was formed inside Pieddot's burlap mask, as he found Mayuri to be amusing. "You are correct, Captain of Squad 12, as well as current President of the Department of Research and Development: Mayuri Kurotsuchi" the Dechado said in return. "Maybe I should introduce myself. I am Paragon Pieddot Picasso, the imperial researcher to His Highness himself. I have heard that next to Kisuke Urahara, you are the smartest man in the entire Soul Society. Is that really the truth?" Pieddot suddenly asked the Shinigami.

Mayuri's eyes widened in surprise, as he didn't expect the Arrancar to know what his name was, let alone the fact how he hated to be placed one step behind Urahara. He clenched Ashisogi Jizo tightly, not being able to hold back his urge to simply stab him. "I see…you think you are tough, is that it?" the scientist asked and stabbed Pieddot with his Zanpakutou, much to the Arrancar's surprise. Mayuri felt some relief and satisfaction by performing this on the Dechado. "I am sorry for being this rude, but I am getting just more and more intrigued by this empire that you serve. But as much as I would've liked to know more, I have other important manages to attend to, so just do me a favor and die so that I can be on my way" the scientist said to Pieddo, like it was no big deal for the Arrancar to die, considering that Mayuri disregarded life.

As Pieddot was having the Zanpakutou pierced in his chest and thought to be dead, the paragon suddenly formed a smug grin on the inside of his burlap mask and this caught Mayuri completely by surprise. In fact, the scientist backed further away. Pieddot simply laughed, first doing it lowly before letting it out loudly in mockery to Mayuri's actions. The Shinigami only gritted his teeth in anger by hearing this.

"This is the one who succeeded Urahara as the smartest man in the Soul Society?" Pieddot asked the man dressed in white armor in an insultingly way. "Ridiculous, just utterly ridiculous! If you were that intelligent, then you would have known by now that what you see before you….is not the real me!" he said before revealing something underneath his cloth. To Mayuri's own surprise, he sees a small locker, in which cogs are running and working. At the same time, he could also see that oil was leaking from the wounds instead of blood. Pieddot laughed once again at Mayuri's cluelessness. "Such a clown! Did you honestly think that this was the real me? This is only one of the many androids that I have created. They all look exactly like me. And you are probably wondering how I was able to get this android inside the Sereitei. Well, the android's exterior is made with Sekkiseki. With it, my android is capable of passing through the Shakonmaku with ease" the Dechado explained as Mayuri simply stood and listened.

But the scientist refused to believe what he was hearing. "You lie! There is no way that anything can…." Mayuri paused by seeing another locker being opened, revealing a bomb which was going off in five seconds.

"And by the way, I have activated this android's self-destruction mode. It will go up in smokes from 5….4…..3….2" he began the countdown.

Once it was finished, an explosion appeared and it was big, although Mayuri and his zombies managed to avoid being taken by the explosion. In fact, they had hidden behind some rubbles, and as the commotion ended, Mayuri was eventually joined by his lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi. She was still dressed in her white outfit, similar to her captain.

"Master Mayuri. Shall we move on to the next phase?" the woman asked her creator.

The Captain of Squad 12 faced her with a stern glance. "Not yet, Nemu. We first have to deal with that zombie girl and those lousy….." the scientist was stunned to see that neither the Arrancars or Giselle were with them, as they were gone. This only infuriated Mayuri. "Damn! All of them used my distraction by that Arrancar to escape! He will pay for humiliating me like this!" he cursed out of anger.

Nemu knew that she had to find a way to calm her master's outburst. "But at least we have the captains and Lieutenant Matsumoto" she insisted to him.

"But they are not even the real ones, Nemu!" the scientist told her. "No, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, Otoribashi and Mugurama, all of their bodies are out there somewhere. Whether they are dead or alive remains to be seen" he explained before facing the zombies he had gotten control over. "But we will keep these zombies with us for a while, until we found their real counterparts" he concluded. But Mayuri was still thinking about the android that Pieddot had used to communicate with him. "What was one of the Dechados doing in the Sereitei, anyway? I thought that they had no interest in our battle against the Wandenreich. But then again, this was only one lone Dechado, so he was probably sent as a spy" Mayuri concluded and then ordered Nemu and the zombies to follow him.


At another place in the icy cityscape

Byakuya Kuchiki and Shuhei Hisagi had been sent off to another location in the icy cityscape, where they were forced to contend with Sternritter L – The Love: PePe Waccabrada, who had used his ability to get in control of his fellow Sternritters: Candice Catnipp and Meninas McAllon. The two women had begun attacking both Liltotto Lamperd and Robert Accutrone, thus sending them away from the Shinigamis. Therefore, PePe would have both Byakuya and Shuhei by himself.

At first, Byakuya thought that Shuhei would easily deal with PePe, but he was wrong. In fact, Shuhei had tried to attack the round man, but he had already been caught by PePe's ability. The Schrift PePe had been given by Yhwach: The Love, gave him the power of Induced Infatuation. This meant that anything that was hit by PePe's ability, would follow any command he said.

As Byakuya had dealt with Shuhei, he moved on to confront PePe, but despite finding his attacks predictable, there was one thing that he failed to predict. PePe was able to use his ability on Zanpakutous as well, as Senbonzakura was now obeying every command PePe gave him. And to make sure that Shuhei was still willing to fight for the Quincy, the fat Sternritter activated his Quincy: Vollständig: Gudoero, which meant: Sexuality of God in the Quincy language.

With Shuhei in possession of Senbonzakura, as well as his own Kazeshini, Byakuya kept battling the lieutenant with hand-to-hand combat. But that was until Mayuri Kurotsuchi arrived with his zombies. They dealt with both Shuhei and PePe, and returned his Zanpakutou to him. But the proud Captain of Squad 6 had some questions for the scientist. Mayuri was more than happy to answer, and explained the whole story, including the fact that these were not the real captains and lieutenants. The Captain of Squad 12 told him on how he was able to make these Shinigamis his servants. At the same time, the zombies also dealt with PePe, who was trying to use his ability to attack on the zombies, but to no avail. The fat man was then sent flying away by the zombified Kensei.

"And that is how I was able to do it" the scientist told his fellow captain about the story of these zombies. "They may not be the real Mugurama, Otoribashi and Matsumoto, but at least I saved whoever these Shinigamis are from death" he said like it was no big deal.

Byakuya was not impressed by his words. "It doesn't matter who they are. You could have let them die peacefully. Why only prolong their suffering when all that they desire is to escape being toyed with their bodies?" he firmly asked Mayuri, who only glanced up to the cloudy sky.

"As usual, we all have different opinions" he replied, but he was not finished speaking. "But don't you think that protecting the Sereitei even after one's death would be the dream of any soldiers of the 13 Court Guard Squads?" he suddenly asked the proud captain.

The black-haired man only narrowed his eyes by hearing this. "That is nothing but sophism" he simply said sternly.

"Whatever" Mayuri said and faced Byakuya with a smug look. "At least I am not someone who blindly follows orders based upon a false propaganda. Wouldn't that be called sophism, Captain Kuchiki? You did after all murder an entire village of Interminables" he then said, forming a teasing smile in the process.

The moment Byakuya heard those words coming out of Mayuri's own mouth, his eyes snapped back to the horrors of the past. Without even thinking, the black-haired man threw some of Senbonzakura's blades at the scientist and they narrowly missed him, although Mayuri's right cheek had received a cut. The scientist became outraged.

"What the hell was that for!?" he angrily demanded at Byakuya, who was fixing a surprisingly deadly gaze on Mayuri. Despite seeing him like this, Mayuri grinned cockily in return, indicating that he was not afraid. "What's wrong? Did I ruffle some feathers here?" he teasingly asked the black-haired man.

Byakuya suddenly pointed his Zanpakutou at his fellow captain. "Do not toy with my patience, Kurotsuchi!" he lowly, yet strictly berated him. "Had you not been a captain, let alone a Shinigami, I could have killed you for saying those words to me!" he then added with more harsh words, which was actually not typical of Byakuya.

Mayuri only glanced at his fellow captain with nothing but dispassion in return. "Don't be so ignorant about yourself, Kuchiki. You blindly followed Yamamoto and your grandfather into this campaign, almost like a zombie" he pointed out while even motioned his head at the zombies he had found, indicating that he was comparing Byakuya to a zombie. The man in white clothing eventually fixed himself a smug smile. "But in the end, you are just like me" he said.

"I am NOTHING like you!" Byakuya angrily snapped at the scientist. "And for the record, you are nothing like Urahara, as you will always be stuck under his shadow" the long-haired man pointed out.

The Captain of Squad 12 snapped in outrage over hearing Byakuya say such things to him, as Mayuri fervently hated whenever somebody said that to him. "That's it!" he exclaimed and drew his Ashisogi Jizo, with Byakuya readying Senbonzakura. The two captains were on the verge of battling, before each of them was stopped by two other captains of the Court Guards.

Shinji Hirako of Squad 5 was blocking Byakuya's passage while Sui-Feng of Squad 2 was blocking Mayuri's. They had arrived just in time to stop the two captains from starting a terrible and unnecessary fight.

"You two guys mind telling us what the fuck you're doing?" Shinji asked in his usual foul language. "And how come Kensei, Rose and Lieutenant Matsumoto look like a trio of mindless zombies?" the blonde-haired man then focused his eyes on his fellow Vizards.

"They are not the real ones!" Mayuri told both him and Sui-Feng. "One of the Sternritters has the ability to transform her zombies into anything she desires. She does that by simply drinking their blood and mixing it with her own" the scientist added to his explanation.

Sui-Feng only faced this grimly and looked at both Mayuri and Byakuya. "We are in the middle of a battle, yet you two wanna focus on fighting each other!?" she angrily asked the two captains, dismayed by what she had seen them doing. "Both of you seem to have forgotten what it means to be part of the Court Guard! And by doing so, you disgrace our legacy" she criticized them.

"Bah! What do you know about legacy!?" Mayuri suddenly confronted Sui-Feng, who only glared at him in return. "All of us standing here knows that compared to Yoruichi Shihoin, you are nothing but a spineless apprentice without guts! Your actions at this "summit" only proves it, based upon what I have been told!" the man in white clothing began badmouthing Sui-Feng.

The blue-haired woman could not stand being badmouthed and given an unfairly comparison to her former captain. Slowly, she pulled out her Zanpakutou and glared daggers at Mayuri, who still had Ashisogi Jizo in his hand.

"Take that back…...you pale-skinned cocksucker of Urahara!" she spat in return and Mayuri only got angrier by the minute.

But before any fight between the Shinigami captains could escalate any further, the line of rubbles that laid before them were blown away to bits and dust came out, with the captains forced to back away from what was happening. But as the dust settled, the four female Sternritters and Robert had stood before them in a line. However, Liltotto was carrying a black hand, which she suddenly began chewing on. Both Byakuya and Mayuri could see that the belonged to PePe, as she had indeed been eating him.

"My, my, that girl has quite an appetite for having such a small body" the scientist noted, before facing smugly at the Sternritters. "Nevertheless, I grow bored with you Quinces, especially you, zombie girl!" he said while specifically facing the black-haired girl.

The three zombified Shinigamis began their move against the Sternritters, but Robert, who stood in the middle took a few steps forward and holy light enveloped around him as he removed a Sanrei Glove. "Even the dead can feel pain of my bullets! And I will gladly show you how that is true!" he exclaimed as Robert was now activating his Quincy: Vollständig. "Grimaniel!" he said the name of his form, which was Walk of God in the tongue of the Quincies. He had gained wings that looked like they were made out of pixels and a Heiligenschein shaped like a star-formed Quincy Cross.

As the zombies jumped in the air, Robert quickly aimed his pistols at his targets, and without delay, he fired repeatedly, the bullets driving them up towards the air, making sure that they stayed up there.

With them in the air, another of the Sternritters activated her Quincy: Vollständig and it was Candice, which resulted in her getting lightning bolt-shaped wings and a Heiligenschein of electricity. She then flew up towards the zombies. "I'll let these freaks taste real lighting, now that I'm empowered by my Enelisen!" she aggressively exclaimed while saying the name of her form, which was Electricity of God in the Quincy tongue. Candice then threw her arms up in the air and concentrated on forming a large thunderbolt up in the skies, before sending them down towards the zombies. "Electrocution!" she yelled and the thunderbolt hit all the zombies, eventually sending them down.

The four Shinigami captains had been able to avoid getting hit and were now watching as the thunderbolt struck the ground. As the strike ended, the four captains could see the skeletons belonging to what was previously the zombies. From what they looked like, they seemed much smaller and did not match the exact physique of Kensei, Rose and Rangiku. Therefore, they were not the missing captains and lieutenants.

"NO!" Mayuri exclaimed as he fell down to his knees, seeing his zombies being turned into nothing but skeletons. He angrily faced Candice up in the air. "YOU FILTHY WHORE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" he angrily asked while looking up to the blonde-haired woman.

Candice simply shrugged her shoulders as she faced. "I'd be worrying less about some skeletons if I were you!" she said in return and suddenly vanished with her Hirenkiyaku. But she did that for a particular reason and the captains could see that someone was up in the skies.

It was Meninas McAllon, but suddenly, she activated her Quincy: Vollständig with her Sanrei Belt. In this form, she had gained Reishi wings which were in large heart-shapes as well as a Heiligenschein over her hat. But changes had also happened to her body, as there were immense muscles on Meninas' body, except for her head of course. Her clothes also seemed ripped off, except for the torso of her outfit.

"Amazonigen!" Meninas said the name of her new form, which meant Strength of God in the Quincy language. Truth be told, Meninas did look like an Amazon woman, which explained the name of her form. But the woman was diving down towards the ground and dug herself in a hole.

The ground suddenly erupted and Meninas flew up with a giant rock she had picked from beneath the earth itself. It just as large as one of the 13 barracks in the Sereitei. Without delay, Meninas threw the giant rock at the shocked captains, who knew they had to react.

"HOOOOOLY SHIT!" Shinji shouted in outrage as the giant rock fell towards them. "EVERYONE, MOVE YOUR ASSES!" the blonde-haired man added and none of them even bothered to fight back and immediately vanished as fast as they could with the help of their Shunpo. In fact, Shinji narrowly managed to avoid getting crushed underneath it, and he took his time to catch his breath. "Fuck…...that was scary…holy hell!" he said lowly while panting.

Byakuya suddenly appeared beside him. "You appear fine, Captain Hirako" he noted lowly while gazing up at the giant rock that he saw beside him. The black-haired man was just as shocked as his fellow captains were. "Such immense strength…...who would have thought that a young woman like her could lift a rock of this size?" he noted in slight disbelief.

"That's something we'll have to worry about later" Shinji said and gained composure. "It's obvious, these Quincies are hellbent on killing us for real" he said while pulling out his Zanpakutou. "Perhaps it's time to fight for real" he then noted with his smug grin.

But suddenly, both captains could feel someone appear beside them from the rock and to their shock, it was Robert. He was using his ability to appear inside the giant rock, while sticking his upper body and arms out with his Reishi Pistols. Both Shinji and Byakuya resorted to use their Shunpo and vanished as he fired his pistols.

Byakuya faced him and aimed his finger at the Sternritter. "Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!" he said and successfully managed to trap Robert in six wide beams of light. The Captain of Squad 6 was trying to catch him while using this ability, which would prevent him from hiding or moving any further. Robert was caught in surprise when he felt the beams hold him.

Shinji grinned. "Way to go, Kuchiki. You caught that bastard!" he said while brandishing Sakanade.

Despite seeing this, Robert forced a smirk underneath his moustache, as he was silently chuckling by seeing this. "Such delusional creatures" he commented lowly before to the captains' shock, freed himself from the Kido-spell with ease. Robert also got out of the rock and faced Byakuya with a dispassionate glance, as he was still in his Quincy: Vollständig. "Imbecile! After seeing my power, you thought you could trap me with a mere Kido-spell?" he asked Byakuya and aimed his guns. "With my Grimaniel, I can enter and exit anything that I please, even a Kido-spell as strong as the one you just performed!" Robert taunted before firing.

On the giant rock, Sui-Feng suddenly stood on top of it, confronting Meninas, who were descending down towards the top, facing the Shinigami. The blue-haired woman narrowed her eyes.

"You may have a great deal of strength, but you don't impress me for a minute" Sui-Feng commented.

Meninas was only glancing at her in a surprisingly bored expression on her face, which contrasted greatly to her usual naïve attitude. "Is talking all you Shinigamis do?" she suddenly quizzed Sui-Feng and the muscular girl landed on the rock. "I was expecting you to be more focused, considering your status as the Commander of the Stealth Force" she then remarked.

Sui-Feng twitched in anger at hearing Meninas acting like a know-it-all. She pulled out her Zanpakutou and brandished it. "You will learn respect, Quincy! Sting all enemies to death…...Suzumebachi!" she said, activating her Shikai. But the Captain of Squad 2 was not yet finished. "Since you want to show me how intelligent and crafty you are, I will gladly silence you with my newly developed attack! Mukyu Shunko!" she said and she activated her own Shunko, with vortexes and winds empowering around her.

Meninas watched as Sui-Feng vanished with fast speed, appearing right behind her. The captain was intending on stinging the Sternritter, as she saw Meninas' strength as inferior to her own speed. But as Sui-Feng was about to sting her, Meninas vanished from her sight. Sui-Feng reacted quickly by looking behind, but she could see that the Quincy was not trying to attack her from behind.

"What the hell…" she wondered.

But she suddenly felt her left arm being grabbed and Meninas grabbed her and held it tightly. "I never intended to attack you from behind" the pink-haired girl said to Sui-Feng's own shock. "I simply used my Hirenkiyaku to vanish further away from you, yet your reflexes made you look behind" she added to her explanation.

"You scum! Let go of me!" Sui-Feng yelled as she moved Suzumebachi to stab Meninas on her stomach. But as the tip of her Zanpakutou hit there, it did not stop and Sui-Feng snapped by seeing blood veins protecting the girl's muscular six pack stomach. "NO WHAT IS THIS!?" she yelled.

"When I am in my Amazonigen, my Blut Vene's defensive capabilities increases. Therefore, your Zanpakutou can't inflect damage upon me" Meninas told her before firming her hold on Sui-Feng's left hand, much to the captain's agony. "You may have the speed, but it won't help you against my power!" she surprisingly berated her and broke Sui-Feng's hand, causing the captain to scream in agony. But Meninas let go of her grip and backed away from her opponent, who was on her knees clinging on to her left hand. Even now, her hand was bleeding while her fingers were shattered and broken. Sui-Feng faced the Sternritter with an angry glance on her face.

"YOU BITCH! YOU BROKE MY LEFT HAND, YOU FUCKING QUINCY-BITCH!" she yelled out in anger at the young girl with profanity, which was actually unusual of her. Sui-Feng pointed her right hand and Suzumebachi at the Sternritter, her eyes filled with anger and hatred. "NOBODY BREAKS MY HAND AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! BANKAI!" she yelled and her Zanpakutou changed from Shikai to her Bankai. "JAKUHO RAIKOBEN!" she yelled and aimed the missile at Meninas.

Meninas got shocked when seeing this. "I sense enormous amounts of explosives inside that missile!" she noted, but suddenly snapped when Sui-Feng fired the missile. Meninas got cautious when seeing this. Without even thinking, she used her strong hand and managed to actually hold the missile, although it was flying at a fast speed, thus managing to push the young girl away from her spot, step by step. "This is harder than I thought! Maybe I should resort to my full extent of my Schrift!" she noted in her thougts.

Sui-Feng snapped in shock as she saw how Meninas was holding on her own against the missiles. "Impossible…...how does she…" the captain was even more stunned when she saw that Meninas' size and muscles were expanding and she grew a bit taller than in her usual form.

Meninas' entire body changed once again, and her hat was removed thanks to her size growing, letting her pink hair run along her overgrown body. Her arms and abs were growing taller than the size of her head and there were more muscles in them than in her legs. She looked humongous and she no longer seemed like the usual sweet and nice girl any longer. With her big and strong hands, she was able to hold the missile and eventually held it upwards, eventually letting it fly to the top of the Shakonmaku, where a loud explosion could be heard from above, as it was quite large, although it couldn't break the Shakonmaku.

"NO…...TELL ME THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!?" Sui-Feng yelled in anger and fixed her eyes upon the humongous abomination that was Meninas McAllon.

"That was quite a dangerous attack you just pulled" Meninas spoke up, her voice still as normal as in her smaller petite form. "That said, I can't allow you to live, Shinigami. Therefore, I must…..." the Sternritter was interrupted by somebody attacking her from behind. Turning around, she could see that three Shinigamis were standing with their Zanpakutous ready.

Shinji had also noticed who it was that appeared and his eyes widened in surprise. It was three members from his own Squad 5. "Momo! Matsuri! Fujimaru!" he exclaimed in surprise over seeing his lieutenant, 3rd seat and 4th seat respectively.

Matsuri glanced down at their captain and smiled. "Don't worry about us, Captain Hirako! Omadea offered to take care of Hisagi. We thought that you could use some help in taking these bullies here!" she called out to him.

Momo smiled at him as well. "We'll handle this as a team!" she insisted to Shinji before facing Sui-Feng, who had gotten up on her feet. "Captain Sui-Feng, swallow your pride and let us handle this. You're to injured to continue fighting. Run while you still have the chance!" she called out to the blue-haired woman.

Sui-Feng only widened by what she was hearing from Momo. "Run away from a fight?" she uttered out the words lowly, before facing Momo with an angered expression on her face. "I would NEVER do something as disgraceful as….ARRGHHHHHHH!" she was suddenly shocked by Candice, who had fired a Galvano Blast with her Heilig Bogen. This resulted on her falling onto some rubbles.

"Will you ever shut up!?" Candice asked while groaning in irritation. "Seriously, my ears are bleeding by hearing you opening that mouth! I don't get why you were made a captain in the first place!" she added with her distaste of Sui-Feng.

The three members of Squad 5 saw this and became enraged. "That coward! She attacked Captain Sui-Fung from behind!" Fujimaru said while gritting his teeth. He also held his Zanpakutou tightly. "These Quincies have no honor!" he added to his thoughts.

Momo held Tobiume tightly and watched as Candice appeared beside Meninas. "Alright, you two! We can do this! We are members of Squad 5!" she said with both Kudo-twins agreeing with what Momo just said.

"Well said, Momo!" Matsuri said and activated her own Shikai. "Swath…Kotomaru!" she exclaimed and pointed her Zanpakutou at the two.

"Flash…...Ryujomaru!" Fujimaru actiated his own Shikai and faced their adversaries.

Candice smirked while seeing how determined they were on fighting them. "Woah, those punks really think they're up to this" she said and faced her overgrown friend. "Hey Meni, how about you and me take on these three brats? They sure could need some ass-whooping!" the blonde-haired girl told her comrade, who sighed briefly before answering.

"Very well, but don't get in my way too much, Candi" Meninas said while reminding Candice at the same time.

The blonde-haired girl simply shrugged her shoulders in return. "Tch, whatever" she replied without worry, considering that Meninas was physically stronger than her now.

Shinji only glanced at his three subordinates with a slight grin on his face, realizing that those three were determined to challenge the Sternritters. "Heh, alright. Then you three kids better not let me down, cause I'm rooting for you" the blonde-haired man said. But Shinji felt the need to avoid something, as Liltotto was using her ability, to almost swallow him. The Captain of Squad 5 widened in disgust over seeing her long jaw stretching itself. "Damn. You are one, ugly motherfucker. Do you have your own specialized toothbrush for that mouth?" he then asked her.

Liltotto only narrowed her eyes when hearing this. "Your humor eludes me, Shinigami. It is time that I begin acting serious for once!" she said and suddenly activated her own Quincy: Vollständig, with her getting Reishi wings formed like shark-teeth. At the same time, her mouth began growing wider, as Liltotto were getting shark-teeth inside her jaws. "I bet you taste fresh! So I will eat you alive with my Numisen!" she said while saying the name of her form, which was Hunger of God in the Quincy language.

Shinji simply smiled cockily and readied Sakanade. "Well, you asked for it, lady" he responded smugly in return.

While the fighting commenced at the giant rock, Mayuri had since after narrowly escaping it, made his way to his lab. He had been angry and disappointed in seeing how his own zombies had failed against the Quincies. Right now, he was scrambling to make his way to the lab, but was suddenly approached by Nemu, who stood before him.

"What are you doing just standing there, you dimwit!" Mayuri asked her while sweating. "Get your ass in gear!" he then rudely requested, with Nemu following her superior as he requested. "Damn those Quincy-fiends! My project was a success, until those types of Sternritters appeared!" he recalled on what he had seen.

"Are you running away, Mr. Scientist?" a girly voice came from behind, and Mayuri stopped on his tracks, turning around to face the black-haired girl he knew from before. It was Giselle, who was only sitting on a pillar with a bored expression on her face. "Aww, don't be such a party-pooper! The festival had barely begun!" she said in a goofy way.

Mayuri gritted his teeth in anger and held his Zanpakutou. "You! You and your demented friends ruined my experiments! I am now without zombies, all thanks to you!" he said, having never been so angry and irritated at his opponent.

Giselle only scoffed at his words. "And you're mad because of that? They weren't even yours to begin with" she replied and suddenly stood on her two feet, facing the man in white clothing with her usual laid-back expression. "Besides, I can always acquire more zombies if you so desperately want them" she said and all of a sudden, holy light began enveloping around her. But it only lasted a brief moment and when it was finished Mayuri snapped by what he was seeing.

"No, it cannot be!" Mayuri exclaimed while seeing Giselle's new form. Giselle was now having blood streaming from her eyes and mouth, while certain places of her face were stitched. She was also decorated with skulls on her knees and forearms. Her Heiligenschein was that of a satanic star and it floated above her head. Her Reishi Wings were made of bones and she let them stretch to each side. "What manner of creature are you!?" the scientist demanded an answer from the Sternritter.

Giselle only faced Mayuri and his lieutenant with unusual empty eyes, almost as if she was a zombie itself. "You wanted a zombie? Well here you have it!" she told him in a tone that was similar to that of a zombie. "This is my true form. This is my Todentoten!" she exclaimed while telling them the name of her form, which was Death of God in the Quincy language.

To be continued…..


Author's note: That was a good chapter! This took us to a glimpse of Ichigo and his group, while delivering us a view of what happened on the battlefield below. I have made some changes to how they were fighting while Ichigo and the others were on their way to the Royal Realm. The zombified Toshiro and co. is also changed with them simply being ordinary Shinigamis, who has the blood of the original. Where they really are, remains to be seen. And about the resurrected Arrancars, I chose to add Di Roy because he had a larger speaking role among those who served as a Fracciòn. Now let us see the new terms we got introduced to in this chapter.

Enelisen – meaning Electricity of God: This is the Quincy: Vollständig belonging to Candice Catnipp. It gives her more control of thunder and electricity.

Amazonigen – meaning Strength of God: This is the Quincy: Vollständig belonging to Meninas McAllon. It gives her increased superhuman strength. (Fun fact: I was inspired by the Hulk from the Marvel Universe and Wonder Woman from the DC Universe when I imagined what her form would look like)

Numisen – meaning Hunger of God: This is the Quincy: Vollständig belonging to Liltotto Lamperd. It gives her increased abilities with her Schrift.

Todentoten – meaning Death of God: This is the Quincy: Vollständig belonging to Giselle Gewelle. It gives her the appearance of a zombie. (Fun fact: I was inspired by Thriller from Michael Jackson when I thought about her appearance)